Eating through the Freezer

I’ve learned a lot of things since I’ve taken cooking and what we eat more seriously. One is, cooking dried beans is easy and way better than canned. And, more notably, beans are really good in tofu scramble. So, I made Mexican-style tofu scramble.

So in my efforts to eat everything in my freezer, I had a bag of cooked kidney beans. Not my favorite beans (sorry!), but still not something I wanted to throw out. I also had some frozen potato cubes, hash browns, whatever they may be called. Those are no problem to eat up, but made a good side.

I threw sauteed green bell pepper and onion in with the taters and topped them with salsa. I seasoned the tofu with spices like your grocer’s packet of taco seasoning. And I tossed in the kidney beans, some corn, and cilantro and green onion. Yum-and-yum.

The best part about this was that by adding so much stuff into the scramble, I had lots of leftovers. So, this morning I enjoyed a breakfast burrito.

What’s left in the freezer? I’m not ready to think about it.

Summertime is Grillintime

I love grilled vegetables. When Alex and I moved out of apartments, I bought a cheap gas grill to celebrate, like a housewarming thing. For me. And it’s just perfect for summer vegetables.

Everything I grill is my favorite. I love corn, portabellas, onions, and bell peppers. Yellow squash and zucchini are good, too. And I have okra coming in my farm bin Wednesday – it’s going on the grill, and it’s all mine.

Typically, I’ll cut the veg into chunks, toss it in some canola, and season with one of those shakers with a variety of pre-mixed seasonings. It’s my shortcut – I’m not endorsing it, and I can’t remember when or why I bought it. Sometimes, though, I plan a meal.

I recently grilled kale, sweet potatoes, and Field Roast smoked apple sage sausages. I love sweet potatoes and kale together, and grilling them worked really well. I used these instructions for pre-cooking and seasoning the sweet potatoes, and I just rubbed the kale with canola and put it right on the grill.

Some of it got a little charred, but that’s okay. It was delicious.

I bought one of those vegetable trays for my grill, and I just take it inside and scrub it after each use. It’s been in heavy rotation this summer.

In other news, I’m still waiting to hear back on the job, and honestly that’s been all I can think about lately. Sometimes I try to think about what to do for my first give-away, and here’s the problem: I learned so much about how to eat by blogging and “meeting” other bloggers. Seriously. I was eating tofu and black beans and had no idea what to do way back when. So what can give my teachers? A “best teacher” coffee mug? I am going to make a decision this week – promise. And a night with my wall-scaler Alex is still a possibility.

Things in the Backyard

On a whim, I bought some leeks because I heard they were good on the grill. Actually, the tagline might have been “great on the grill!!!!” I didn’t look into how to cook them, and they weren’t good. These guys were tough and stringy. My post-grill research indicates that there are a lot of steps to grilling leeks and making them edible. I think I’ll stick to pureeing them in soups from now on. 

Everything else grills up beautifully: portabella strips, red bell peppers, corn, and – grilled separately, and first – my favorite: asparagus. I feel like someone on a cooking show trying not to make eating the delicious food look ridiculous.*

Besides grilling up the veggies, I decided to break out something I’ve had for years and never actually used. It’s a rainbow cat harness and leash. Our three cats are all indoor-only, but we treated the bravest two of them to a walk around the backyard over the weekend. Athena went first, and she overcame the indignity of wearing the harness as soon as she realized she was outside.

Twinkie was distressed that we didn’t take him out. He was less accepting of the harness, but once we got it on him, he was more eager to explore. Poor cat hadn’t been outside since he was four months old. I took this photo through the glass door while he whined.

I’m sure this is something we’ll be doing a lot more of. Yes, grilling, and taking the felines out.

*I know it doesn’t help that I’m wearing a gross t-shirt with the neck cut out. I don’t like things around my neck. This is yet another work gift, and I blurred out my company’s logo, leaving a blotch that looks like a grease stain.

Tofutti-less dessert and (almost) rice-less Fried Rice

Let’s start with the good stuff. Oh, it’s all good tonight. Sometimes, I eat dessert first. Especially if I have a lot of cooking to do and need a snack.

These peanut butter cups have big chunks of graham crackers in them, and they’re topped with rich dark chocolate. I didn’t have nuts to add in, but as much as I liked the graham cracker crunch, I know I’ll add nuts (or pretzels!) next time. Oh yes, there will be a next time.

I saw these peanut butter cups via The Shenandoah Vegan and the recipe looked like something I could try. I’ve been enjoying these cups for the past week or so, all the while amazing myself that both Alex and I have exercised enough self-control that we even still have some left.

Yes, I made more than are pictured. I had about 30. Still impressed? Those are mini-cups. I’m also proud of myself for making a dessert that didn’t center on Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese.

I have a tendency to let my stir-fries get out of hand. I throw in a little of this, a little of that, and the next thing I know, my wok is overflowing and I have leftovers for days.

This wasn’t so bad. In fact, it was delicious. But I don’t know whether it’s the pineapple fried rice I intended it to be. I had what I thought was a lot of leftover cooked rice, and I added broccoli, red bell pepper, green peas, mushrooms, baby corn, scallions, cashews, tofu, and pineapple. I used canned pineapple after a bad experience with my most recent fresh pineapple, and the juice along with red pepper flakes and curry powder made for a wonderful sauce.

The rice? Who needs it?—not me!

Southwest Stir Fry

I decided to try this as a different way to cook some of my favorite foods (black beans and corn). Then I decided to search the web to see if I was unknowingly copying someone else’s idea of a southwest stir fry. The first few results were very different, so I’m in the clear. Actually, I’m so far into the clear that maybe I should come up with another name for this.

This dish isn’t too different from times I make black beans and rice, and it’s not terribly different from a Chipotle burrito bol. This is just another chance for me to put together some of my favorite foods. I think it’s better than either one.

We started by frying the tofu cubes, cooking the rice, and cooking the collards (for some reason I wanted these as a side dish). After that is done, this is super easy.

My stir fry is onion, green bell pepper, mushrooms, black beans, corn, and diced tomatoes and green chiles (canned, like Ro-Tel).

Oh, yes, and I made a little dressing to go on it. I really like making my own dressings because I like them so thin.

This was simply a spoonful of Vegenaise cut with the juice from the canned tomatoes and ranch-style seasoning. Right now, this means garlic powder, onion powder, salt, smoked paprika, and a little cumin. And lots of black pepper. I’m still working on my favorite ranch proportions, but I love how easy it is to mix up a little batch just as I need it.

My Thanksgiving

This is a typical Thanksgiving, for me. For the past seven years or so, I’ve pretty much done small Thanksgivings, either by myself (yes, really) or just with a few other people. This year, there were four of us - my parents, Alex, and me, at my house in my tiny kitchen.

It’s good when the plate is loaded with a variety of tasty eats, and this is one time of year that I don't mind my foods touching. I made many of the things my family typically enjoys, with a few changes to accommodate Alex’s requests, and of course everything was vegan. Clockwise, starting at 12:00 on the plate, we had:

• Cornbread dressing, made with cornbread, biscuits, celery, and onion
• Paula Deen’s corn casserole with vegan analogs (Better Than Sour Cream, Earth Balance, no cheese)
• Broccoli Casserole with a Daiya cheeze sauce similar to what I used as the macaroni and cheeze base, with cashew cream in place of soymilk
• Roasted sweet potatoes with maple and pecans
• Roasted Brussles sprouts
• Tofurkey with vegetables accompanying it during the roast (onion, carrot, celery)
• Cranberry relish
• Mashed potatoes, mushrooms, and mushroom gravy

All four of us enjoyed the meal. My parents even enjoyed the Tofurkey – my dad went back for seconds! I had offered to get some (pre-cooked) turkey for them, and thankfully they declined.

The cats are not enjoying the company; they’ve hidden themselves out of sight and are keeping each other warm in a bed built for one and have only come back into the open now that my folks have returned to their hotel:

I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving, or a wonderful Thursday. I’ll share the details on the Derby Pie tomorrow – it was delicious! Right now, I have a lot to be thankful for, but on a lighter note - I’m thankful I’m not a Bengals fan. Cincinnati sports teams have broken my heart one too many times.

After Work Veggie Roast

This is one of those dinners that is so good and yet so simple I wonder whether I should share it. This meal came together really quickly and required minimal attention, so I was able to do other things while it cooked.

Yes, I ate white rice, made with this foolproof 12-minute method, mixed with chopped cilantro and (heated) frozen organic corn. Quickie confession #1 – when pressed for time, I eat white rice over brown. Hey, at least it’s not Minute Rice.

For vegetables, I used two portabella caps, sliced pretty thinly, and storebought cut veggies including red onions and orange, green, and red bell peppers. I also tossed in a few grape tomatoes. These guys went in the oven with a “grill” spice shake that I’ve for probably too long. It was mostly black pepper, but very good.

You know what, for $5 I did spend more than I would have if I’d chopped them myself, but it’s still cheaper (and tastier) than eating out. Quickie tip #2 – the pre-cut veggies seem overpriced, but sometimes it’s worth it if it means eating that instead of takeout, if you’re on a budget.

There you have it – my quick supper. Yet again tastier than some of the things I’m still perfecting, or trying out. I’m trying to choose which fail to share this Friday.

When you’re pressed for time, what do you eat?

Super Easy Taco Soup

I find many, many recipes I want to make from the blogs I read. Among my friends? Not so much. When I learned that a friend made vegetarian soup, I couldn’t wait to try it.

I’ve mentioned my monthly dinners at Ronald McDonald House before. (And after the next time I go, I’ll write more about that.) Everyone brings something, and after the residents eat, we’ll usually eat some leftover food and hang out for a bit. Typically I’ll stick to my own food, but when a friend mentioned that her soup was vegetarian, I gave it a try.

Yes, I quizzed her about any possible chicken broth or other animal ingredients, and that’s when she shared the recipe. This soup is mostly beans, and that’s certainly fine by me! Plus it’s super easy. If you just open cans, it’s really really really easy. I used frozen corn, frozen beans that I’d cooked from dry beans, and mixed my own seasoning from my ever-growing spice cabinet, and it was still easy.

Taco Bean Soup

• 2 cups, or 1 can black beans
• 2 cups, or 1 can pinto beans
• 1 can diced tomatoes, or Ro-Tel style green chiles and tomatoes
• 2 cups, or 1 can corn
• Broth or water, or even the liquid from cans, to make soup desired consistency
• 1 can refried beans, or 2 cups pinto beans, pureed
• Taco seasoning mix (recipe here) or store bought pouch

Combine all ingredients and heat through. The refried beans mixed with the water (or liquid from cans) makes the soup broth really thick. I like the sweet pop of the corn, too. This concoction is similar to a chili, but different. At least to me.

Top as desired with cilantro, Better Than Sour Cream, jalapenos, or just eat plain or with cornbread or corn chips.

I used my homegrown jalapeno and a bit of Better Than Sour Cream on top, along with some corn chips. This made a big pot of soup (and next time I’ll include more tomatoes so I expect it to be even bigger) but we both ate all the leftovers really quickly. That’s how I judge a good recipe.

Tomatillo Soup

Anybody out there know what to do with tomatillos besides make salsa verde?

I didn’t, so I searched the web. I learned that they’re sometimes called husk tomatoes, and that they are usually sticky under the green husks. I’m glad I read this, because I’ve been having some quality problems with my “Farm Fresh” Delivery. That’s sad, but at least I know when I’ve got a bad apple. I don’t know that I could tell a bad tomatillo unless it was really bad.

I found a recipe for Corn & Tomatillo Soup on the Center for Disease Control website, of all places. Evidently they’re trying to encourage us to eat more fruits and vegetables. To control disease, of course. This should really be called Corn, Green Pea, and Tomatillo Soup, because it gets a lot of its body from green peas. I checked a few other soup recipes, too, and they all seem to be variations of the same thing. Yes, they all include peas.

I pureed the tomatillos, onion, peas, and jalapeno, but I left the corn whole and threw in cilantro at the end. The recipe calls for spinach, but I figured they were just trying to throw in all the green vegetables they could, so I left that out.

This soup was good. I’ll admit I was kind of surprised because I had no idea what to expect. I used corn stock for my broth, so this soup was sweet from the green peas and corn, and the tomatillos have a tart, almost lemony, flavor. This is another good summer soup that tastes really good when it’s slightly warmed, not hot.

Are there foods you’ve never cooked? How do you approach a new ingredient?

Spaghetti Squash and Balsamic-Grilled Vegetables

I don’t participate in a CSA (community supported agriculture), but I do have a bin of produce delivered nearly every week. Much of the selection is local, but from a variety of farms, and it’s either local or organic. Often both, or at least no-spray. I go back and forth on whether I like this better than shopping the farmer's market. I do both.

That’s not really my point. My point is that I was too busy lately to remember to customize my bin. This means instead of selecting what I want to be delivered, I got the standard order. This means I have several items I wouldn’t have chosen for myself: “no-heat” jalapenos, a spaghetti squash, and tomatillos.

Let’s start with the easy one, the spaghetti squash. It turned out pretty good, and yes, it shreds to look like spaghetti noodles. What’s your favorite way to eat this squash, if you’ve had it before? My first try was good, but I’d be willing to experiment if I get one again.

I steamed it, I guess, in the microwave (yes, I used a microwave), and then shredded it and finished it in a skillet with a little olive oil, garlic, and fresh basil. The squash was so mild in flavor (or maybe the microwave zapped out the flavor as well as the nutrients?) that it mostly tasted like the basil. I liked it, though. We both ate a good bit of these squash noodles and have both enjoyed leftovers since this meal.

I had originally planned to roast my squash along with some other vegetables in the oven, but it was just too hot to turn it on. Instead, I grilled green beans, red onion, broccoli, eggplant, and corn. I finally got a tray to make it easier for me to grill the smaller vegetables. Before, I’d used foil. Besides the drawback of being disposable, it didn’t really work that well.

I made a quick marinade of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and garlic. I should have used a blender on this; instead, I have little flecks of garlic falling through the grill. See my effort to place a few pieces atop the eggplant? I saw Rose’s post too late and her interesting photograph down the blender. Next time, next time. Maybe I can also do skewers like she does. I’m also taking notes from Diana with her balsamic roasted vegetables, especially the eggplant. I can’t wait to try her barbecue balsamic roasted eggplant next time.

Alex ate half of one piece of eggplant and saved the rest for me. Sweetheart.

Home-style Vegetables and Useless Kitchen Gadgets

Do you find yourself hungry for familiar flavors? I love trying new things, but there are some old standbys that I keep coming back to. I recently tried to choose a favorite recipe to submit to a contest and asked Alex what he thought might do well. He suggested chili, pot pie, and lasagne. All of that is stuff we’ve made dozens of times and all of those are variations of meals I grew up eating.

One thing I love in the summer is making fresh vegetables the way we would when I was growing up, with the slight variation of leaving out the animal fat flavoring. I haven’t missed it, and Alex doesn’t know any better. I told his mom that I’d never had crisp green beans before I had hers.

Yes, my plate is very, very full. I can’t get enough of this!

My plate is a little starch-heavy, but I had some potatoes I wanted to use up and the corn and squash looked really, really good. Plus, I couldn’t find any fresh beans I liked. Instead, I went with collards to get some more green on the plate.

I cooked the squash up like my mom does, although I didn’t get it quite as browned as she does. Maybe when I get older, I’ll have more patience for browning squash. It’s sliced and steamed along with a sweet onion, then mashed and pan-fried with some Earth Balance. This is the star of the plate for Alex.

I’ve made the smothered okra before. This time, Alex tried it, but he left most of it for me! I just can’t get over how sweet these fresh tomatoes taste when they’re cooked down, even when I don’t add any sugar.

I made the creamed corn by using the most pointless kitchen device, the corn zipper, to remove the kernels from two cobs of corn. Then I cooked them with some Earth Balance and soy milk.

I think I remember buying the corn zipper because it’s cute. It has a smiley face on it. It takes off two rows of kernels at a time. That is a lot of work! I can understand why I forgot about this little device when I was making my roasted tomato and corn soup and removing the kernels with a knife!

Me, smiling with the corn zipper.

Alex doesn’t quite get as excited as I do about this kind of supper, but he enjoys it. He tells me that he never had greens before he met me, but he likes them now.

Another meal I loved growing up was called Beanie Burger Biscuit Pie. Maybe this was an early sign of my annoying love of alliteration, or maybe it was a sign of my early love of beans. My mom, who is an awesome cook, doesn’t like that I remember that as the highlight of my childhood, but maybe that’s just what kids do. I think I’ll try to make my own Beanie Burger Biscuit Pie.

How about you – what are your favorite food memories? Do you still enjoy them?

Sloppy Joe and Lazy Sunday

I hope everyone had a good weekend! I can’t believe it’s almost Monday again, but last week flew by for me faster than any I could remember before. I guess I’ve reached that age when time starts going by too quickly.

I spent a little time this weekend cleaning for some company that will be here shortly, but I also played some bocce ball and went to the Taft Museum.

You can hardly see me there! Today was the final day of an exhibit on Pictorialism and they were encouraging visitors to bring their cameras and take some photos. I asked Alex to take a photo of me. I took a photo of my car. I got a primo parking spot!

After the musuem, I had a quick meal of sloppy joes and steamed vegetables, along with some pan-fried potatoes coming into a second life after being boiled. I use the Fantastic World Foods Sloppy Joe mix, and that’s a favorite in this house. Sometimes it’s more tomato-y, sometimes less (depending on whether I remembered to purchase extra tomatoes), but I always like to have it with grilled onions and it’s a dependable quick favorite.

On the weekends, sometimes I get the desire to make an involved meal, and other times I want to go out. As much as I like to cook, sometimes I want a break – and lately, I’ve wanted that break on Sunday nights.

Do you have a favorite quick meal, or any shortcuts to share? For me, it’s either pasta and quick veggies or something like this sloppy joe. Sometimes this kind of predictable meal is just what I need.

Summer Tomato and Corn Soup

I bought lots of tomatoes to make another batch of my beloved smothered okra. Instead, Alex told me he would try some fried okra. So, I fried the okra, along with some green tomatoes. It’s easy enough once you go through the work of heating up a whole skillet of canola.

Fried okra; fried green tomatoes with creamy tofu-celeriac sauce from Vegan Soul Kitchen

But what to do with all my tomatoes? Tomato soup! Soup in the summer? Even if you don’t want a hot soup in the summer, there’s no doubt that’s when you get the best tomatoes. So, I made tomato soup. And I enjoyed it.

I compared recipes from both Veganomicon and Vegan Soul Kitchen, did a bit of combining, and ended up mostly following Terry Bryant’s recipe from Vegan Soul Kitchen for Charred Plum Tomato and Sweet Corn Soup with a Kick, without the crispy okra strips he includes (I’d used up my okra!). It was time consuming, but not difficult, and it was well worth the time. This made a large batch of soup that’s good cold, straight from the fridge, or even better warmed slightly to just below room temperature.

Before and after photos of my corn to corn broth and tomato halves to oven-roasted tomatoes.

This soup starts with a corn stock, made from corn cobs in water. I boiled this down while the tomatoes roasted in the oven. In my photos, you’ll see that I did not take off the tops of the tomatoes before they roasted because I figured I would remove them after they cooked. This was a mistake I hope to only make once. It was messy work getting those tops off!

The whole recipe is so simple: corn stock, roasted tomatoes with their juices, roasted garlic, onion, and the corn reserved from the cobs. It’s so fresh and delicious. The kick is from red pepper flakes and it was just spicy enough and the even the roasted tomatoes taste fresh and summery. I enjoyed mine with some cilantro.

Quick & Easy Cheater’s Chili

I’m all for convenience foods, on occasion. As much as cooking can be relaxing, I often feel pressured to get a good meal on the table. The more I cook, the more often I’ve heard Alex (meaning well) tell me that he’d rather have whatever I make over whatever we can buy going out.

There’s other reasons to eat at home, too, though. It’s often cheaper than going out. I do have some restaurant reviews coming up, and I go out sometimes even when I don’t post – like last night, I went to Lavomatic with some friends after a discussion group. I’d already eaten supper before I went out, and I spent $20 on a glass of wine, a bowl of gazpacho, and tip. I don’t know that I’ll ever be at a point in my life when I can do that regularly.

This is cheap, easy, and tasty. I threw all these ingredients into a slow cooker during a break from work: Bush’s chili magic chili starter, Boca crumbles, chopped onion, and canned crushed tomatoes. After this had cooked a while, I added frozen corn. Serve with leftover cornbread. I like it with Fritos, too.

This warm meal is good even in the summer, and it’s one of Alex’s favorites all year round. We compromise: one night okra, one night chili.

Here’s a shout out for something I’ve read on a few different blogs: blueberry smoothies! I’ve been having smoothies all summer but I normally stick to strawberry or spinach with my banana. I used some of my farmers’ market blueberries to make a delicious smoothie this afternoon.

Blueberry smoothie in my blue glass: banana, ice, blueberries, soymilk. Simple and delicious!

I love stepping outside and enjoying a nice smoothie and a break from work. Everyone have a great Friday and a better weekend! I hope I didn’t sound too tired in this post, it’s been a bear of a week for me.

Patty cookout: Bulgur Burgers

My series of trying different burgers has been on pause, but I brought it back with what I consider the most delicious one yet: bulgur burgers from Epicurious. I found these when searching for a new recipe to use some bulgur I had on hand and I couldn’t resist.

These patties are formed from cooked bulgur, pinto beans, and walnuts and seasoned with onion, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and cayenne. I ended up throwing in some wheat gluten, too, to try to hold them together but I wound up just stuffing them in foil pouches before throwing them on the grill.

I also grilled some corn on the cob. This is my favorite way to eat corn.

You just have to be sure to trim the ears so no silk tempts the flame, and then soak them in ice water for at least 20-30 minutes. After you grill them in the husks, the silk falls away and the corn is tender and moist.

We only ate two of the four ears and the leftovers were great later, too. I cut them off the cob for storing in the fridge.

You can hardly see my sides, but I served this with cole slaw I made from Vegan Soul Kitchen. It’s a dressing of tofu and vinegar poured over thinly sliced raw cabbage. I made this the night before so it would be ready to eat the night we grilled out.

I know I’ve talked about the slow cooker being a way to keep the kitchen cool in the summertime, but grilling out is the obvious option! With so many vegetables at their peak now, I think I’ll be grilling out again, soon. What is your favorite grilled food? I am ready to put this to use!

As soon as I left apartment living and moved into a house, I bought a grill. Seriously, it was a housewarming gift for us.

Beans, Beans, and Beans

I spent a few days looking at the leftover can of coconut milk in my fridge after I used about half for that tasty peanut sauce. I needed to think of a use for the remaining coconut milk. I decided to make some seriously tasty black bean soup from the Horizons cookbook. Horizons is a wonderful fancy-pants vegan restaurant we used to visit in Philadelphia, and I got the cookbook as a gift after we moved away. This was a couple of years ago, before I really started cooking, and at the time was a little overwhelming as it was filled with tasty, but complicated-looking, recipes filled with ingredients I had never bought.

The Horizons black bean soup was one of the least intimidating recipes in the cookbook, so it’s one I made early on and has been a favorite that I’ve made many times.

This soup is made with black beans, vegetable broth, garlic, onion, jalapeno, spices, diced tomatoes, then pureed and finished with coconut milk and topped with cilantro. Another bonus is that it comes together pretty quickly because nothing needs to cook for too long.

Because I was already cooking up some dried black beans, I also made an old favorite that’s super simple, but also super tasty and easy. Every time I make black beans and rice, I can’t get over how good it tastes.

I used brown jasmine rice, black beans cooked from dry beans, the same spice blend I used for the soup, and some frozen corn. This was my first time using Trader Joe’s roasted corn and it was pretty tasty. That's it. Nothing special, nothing complicated.

The rice took the longest to cook out of any part of this dinner, but since it doesn’t require supervision, that still counts as easy in my book.

Confession: I ate black beans and rice for breakfast today. Yum, yum, yum.

Mystery Ingredient: Scallions

Sometimes it’s easy to use all the produce in my bi-weekly bin. Sometimes it’s difficult, mostly if it seems like everything is only going to last a few days or if I have plans to go out while I’m overloaded with goodies at home. Other times, though, I’m simply not sure what to do with the veggies I get.

This past week, I got scallions and snow peas. Is the answer obvious? Maybe, but it was tastier than I expected it to be.

We use scallions often enough: in pad thai, on taco night, with frittata or tofu scramble. I typically only use snow peas in stir fries, but for this meal I intentionally kept things simple and made the snow peas central item.

I cooked a few diced carrots and the snow peas and added some fresh ginger and lemongrass from a tube I have on hand in the fridge, plus some soy sauce. Then I added some frozen corn and the leftover brown basmati rice from my dinner earlier in the week. After the corn and rice were warmed, I added the scallions and tossed to cook them slightly. These were such a nice touch of mild onion flavor. Voila! A nice meal from leftovers and orphaned veggies.

Polenta, Spinach, Onion, and Cranberry

In addition to my infatuation with my new cookbook (you’ll keep hearing more about that, I promise), I’ve been bookmarking recipes online and waiting for the right time to try them. I had a really good polenta salad at Honey and was eager to try this recipe I found for Fried Polenta with Sweet Garlic Greens.

This was a really quick and simple recipe, but one that requires two pans. I actually made it as a lunch, so that shows how quick and easy it is with a prepared “tube” of polenta and some bagged baby spinach. In one pan, cook sliced red onions and garlic, then add the spinach, cranberries, and pine nuts. In the other skillet, brown slices of polenta.

I think I’m going to try cooking with polenta again. I can’t say that I really liked this mixture. The cranberry and garlic were overpowering. I think I might have to find a way to imitate one of my favorite frozen meals from Trader Joe’s – the polenta with peas and spinach. And if I can’t get the polenta to work the way I want to, I’ll at least have some yellow grits.

Can anyone suggest a good way to try polenta?

Something Like Pad Thai

This was a quick stir-fry of veggies, tofu, and rice noodles with San-J Thai Peanut Sauce. I know I said I wanted to get away from the jarred sauces, but this was already in the fridge, so I wanted to use it up. Next time I’ll be making my own.

• Pressed Trader Joes’s Tofu, carefully browned on each side
• Broccoli
• Red bell pepper
• Baby corn
• Onion

Topped with peanuts, scallions, bean sprouts, and lime. Yum!

Comfort Food, Cornbread Casserole

This dish is something I tossed together for a quick and hearty dinner. It’s not something I invented, but I didn’t follow a recipe either. I was hungry for this kind of food, so the best way for me to get it is to make it myself. It was go-oo-od. I think that's a new level in the tasty scale of yumminess.

Ingredients:

Cornbread (from a mix, or homemade)
8 oz. Frozen corn, divided
1 bag Morningstar Crumbles, or your favorite variety
1 cup Black beans (rinsed and drained from a can, or dried and cooked)
Canned tomatoes with diced chiles
Mushrooms
Shredded cheddar cheese

Begin by cleaning and quartering the mushrooms. Cook in a skillet 3-4 minutes, then add the crumbles (I defrost first for a minute or two), black beans, half the corn, and the tomatoes. Stir together and season with salt and pepper. Add shredded cheese. I used about 1/2 cup because I was trying not to go overboard. This would be good with more cheese if you like, or no cheese if you like.

Separately, make the cornbread according to your favorite directions. I also add the other half of the frozen corn to the cornbread mix. This addition was Alex's special request. I used the Little Crow Miracle Maize brand and made it with soymilk and Ener-G egg replacer.

Transfer the crumble mixture to a casserole dish. I used a 13x9 after I saw how much food I’d made. Dollop the cornbread mix on top, carefully spreading it without stirring it into the first layer. Sprinkle with additional cheddar, if desired.

Bake according to cornbread directions, keeping in mind that if the cornbread is thinner than the recipe calls for, it will take less time to bake. Mine was bubbly and done in about two-thirds of the required time. Test with a toothpick or cake tester for doneness.