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.

Culturally Schizophrenic

I committed last time to share the results of my experimentation in the kitchen, and I’m tickled to announce that things turned out super tasty!

Behold, my Middle Eastern Inspired Taco.

I had some frozen baked falafel, and I made hummus with cilantro, garlic, and “taco” seasoning and wrapped it all up in a whole wheat tortilla. I use these spices in my taco seasoning: chili powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper.

Now, I didn’t have many frozen falafel. Alex admitted that he sometimes takes a ball from the freezer and eats it cold. I don’t know if that’s flattering or not. Anyway, we had more than enough food.

The reason there was so much food was because I made baba ghanoush, too. (When everyone spells things differently, how do you decide what to use? Just pick one and stick with it?)

Lately, I’ve had a hankering for baba ghanoush and decided to go for it when I saw a Food Network chef make it on television. Sometimes, that’s all it takes (thanks, Aarti Party!). I was tempted to buy some ready-made from the grocery store, but it was chock-full of mayo (really, Sabra?).

Instead of making regular baba ghanoush, I riffed from the Horizons cookbook recipe for Mexican baba ghanoush. The recipe included roasted eggplant, cilantro, lime juice, and jalapeno. It actually called for pumpkin seed butter, which sounds really good – but I didn’t buy (or even look for) any. Instead, I used tahini but tossed in some pepitas for good measure.

I’ve been enjoying this in pitas for lunch the past two days, stuffed with more cherry tomatoes, lettuce, and onion. I can tell you for sure I’ll be making more homemade baba ghanoush.

MoFo Nachos

This post is yet another in the series of me being too awfully busy to write a proper post, but still enjoying the challenge of posting every day. I was away from home all day today and came home hungry – for nachos.

I love to pile chips on a cookie sheet and toss everything in the oven. This is blue and yellow corn chips, chipotle salsa, smashed pintos, diced tomatoes, and Follow Your Heart shredded cheddar. Cold toppings include lettuce, cilantro, Follow Your Heart better than sour cream, and homemade guacamole. Pair with a beer and enjoy.

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?

This is not the Black Bean Burger I ate tonight

But I sure wish it was.

Actually, tonight and last night I didn’t cook. Last night I served at Ronald McDonald House and put out tons of food for “make your own subs” night. I’m still struggling with what to bring to these monthly dinners, even though I’ve been going for almost three years. I bet if I’d brought these black bean burgers, it would have been a hit (although I would be able to identify the locals hollering for sausage). My contribution was from a box – two packages of Suddenly Salad. Yes, they ate every last noodle. I also brought two cucumbers and two red onions, sliced quickly and thinly on my mandolin, my new favorite kitchen gadget.

Tonight I had a meeting at a popular chain family-style restaurant that I dislike immensely. After being our summer hiatus, our monthly meetings have resumed. We see each other pretty much once a month, and I’m new to the club and I have trouble remembering names. Almost everyone orders the same thing each month, though, so I remember Hamburger Girl, BBQ Quesadilla Girl, Chicken Tenders Girl, and our newest addition, Funnel Cake Fries Girl. I guess it’s not bad that I’m Veggie Burger Girl. You are what you eat, right?

I have no problem being veggie burger girl. In fact, I’ve long been seeking the perfect veggie patty recipe. I’ve had several I’ve liked, and this one from Veganomicon is a new favorite. It’s made with black beans, wheat gluten, bread crumbs (I used panko, it was all I had and it turned out fine), cilantro and dried spices, and some garlic and onion for good measure. I’m sure it’s a classic that I’m late on trying.

But the one that gets my vote for the absolute best so far is the bulgur burger I found on Epicurious. I think those win because not only do they have beans and bulgur, but they have walnuts and cilantro. My first attempt on those was crumbly but still delicious.

Not that I’m comparing. Oh, yes I am, but I still liked these so much you’ll see them twice.

I grilled these patties in foil over the weekend along with some thick slices of onion, broccoli spears, and red bell peppers. The patties were perfect with a healthy dose of my favorite condiment, smokey sweet barbecue sauce.

For dessert, a grilled peach.

Falafel Feast and Quinoa Tabouli

The other day, I was having a serious craving for tabouli. This traditionally Middle Eastern salad is something I’ve only recently come to enjoy. I think I had a bad first experience with tabouli in a Lebanese restaurant where it was nearly entirely parsley and was just too much to chew.

Falafel feast with dilly tzatziki, hummus, quinoa tabouli, whole wheat pita, and fresh sliced cucumber, carrots, and celery.

Alex and I talked about going to Myra’s for dinner to enjoy some tabouli, but after having seen several bloggers making falafel recently, I decided to try this at home and make my own feast of falafel, hummus, and tabouli.

The first thing I did was to make tzatziki, and I adapted a recipe so much that I am putting my on tzatziki recipe below. This is something I came up with on my own that was good, though. Really good. I used dill, and I’m not sure that’s entirely authentic, but that’s a whole ’nother question about whether I can make any authentic food. Let me tell you, though, I bought a big bunch of fresh dill and I loved the smell. I think I’ll have to try growing dill next year.

I’ve made falafel before, but only from a boxed mix. The reason I tried making it myself again was because I figured I could bake it instead of frying it. I’m not against fried food, but it’s too much trouble for me at home, and it’s probably best it’s a special treat for eating out.

This was my first attempt in making “real” falafel, and I used a recipe I saw recently on Vegan Epicurean. This turned out wonderfully. I used a mix of garbanzo beans and soybeans and for green herbs I used both dill and cilantro, and I did use her suggestion to include raw sesame seeds. I mixed all the ingredients in my teeny-weeny food processor and it wasn’t too terribly difficult. Alex rolled them for me. He wants to make sure he gets credit.

Vegan Tzatziki

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vegan mayo, I use Vegenaise
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 cup fresh dill
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• dash cayenne
• 1/2 cup chopped cucumber
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Method:

Place Vegenaise, garlic, lemon juice, dill, paprika, and cayenne in blender. Blend until smooth. Just before serving, mix in cucumber and parsley.

Tzatziki is usually made with yogurt, and this is one of those things that gets stronger as it ages. I made this in the morning when I realized we would be having falafel, and it was just perfect by suppertime.

I also made hummus in the food processor. Actually, I made that right before I made the falafel and I didn’t worry too much about cleaning it in between.

The final component of this feast was the tabouli. Even though I was craving tabouli and I had bulgur on hand, I decided to veer from the tradition and make mine with quinoa. I used a recipe I found online, and I used red quinoa. Even though I only used one cup of dry quinoa, this made so much tabouli that we will be eating it for days. But hey, that’s what it might take to satisfy this craving.

My biggest mixing bowl, nearly full with quinoa tabouli. I’m adding the tomato a serving at a time, though, to keep it fresh.

Even though all these components were a lot of work, the ingredients went with each other (a few lemons, a bunch of parsley, a bunch of dill, cucumbers all over the place, sesame in the falafel and tahini in the hummus, and so forth). And I’m not going to pretend that this is authentic by any means, but it’s good. Good, good food, and that is the reward for all this work.

Oh my, I feel like I’ve fallen to peer pressure. Again. Do you get cravings just by seeing what someone else is eating?

Seitan Sandwiches

I feel like a real vegan cook now. Forget the quinoa salads, the tofu tacos, the frozen banana soft serve. It’s not the Tofutti cuties, flax eggs, or tempeh bacon. It’s only now that I’ve completed the initiation rite. Yes, folks, I have made homemade seitan that tastes good.

I’ve tried before and failed. I’ve failed so badly that I’m not going to link back. I’ve failed so many times that Alex has just encouraged me to keep purchasing the West Soy boxed stuff from the grocery store rather that put myself through the torture of making it at home. I’ve tried several recipes and it never quite came out right. I knew that the next time I tried, I needed a better recipe. I had my eye on the Post Punk Kitchen.

It’s probably been more than eight months since my last failure, and in the meantime I purchased Veganomicon, so I figured the baked Seitan Cutlets recipe would be just as good, and that’s what I used. I made six delicious seitan cutlets and used three of them for the Vietnamese Seitan Baguette with Savory Broth Dip from the same cookbook. It was heavenly.

The seitan is baked in broth, and then that broth is reserved and flavored with more garlic, ginger, and 5-spice, making a delicious dip along the lines of a the French Dip sandwich. The sandwich is built with seitan, cucumber, red onion, and cilantro.

Yes, that’s a lot of broth!

I can’t believe how much time and wheat gluten I wasted on bad seitan. Maybe I should blame myself instead of the recipes, but I had success. Eventually.

Okay, now that I’m an official member, what can I do next?

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?

Horizons at Home

Have you all voted for the VegNews 2010 Veggie Awards yet? I went through all the categories and was really impressed with how much stuff I knew about or have tried – as well as all the awesome stuff I haven’t tried (yet). I’m proud to say Cincinnati’s own Park + Vine is nominated for best storefront. I’ve also tried two of the best restaurant nominees, Chicago Diner and Horizons.

I lived in Philadelphia for several years as a student, and Horizons was a special place I loved to go. After we moved away, Alex gave me a Horizons cookbook. At the time, I scoffed, thinking he was asking me to cook him a Horizons-quality meal. There were also many, many ingredients I wasn’t familiar with. Back then, I cooked much simpler foods, repeated menus a lot, and we also ate out more often. I had less time to cook at home, too, working two jobs, finding my way around a new city, and getting ready for our wedding.

Now, though, I figured it was time to revisit the cookbook. I made oven-roasted tofu with a pesto made of basil, cilantro, garlic, ginger, and macadamia nuts. The tofu is marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, and a “Latin” spice blend. I cut the tofu into three large pieces because I like the way it looks. The marinade and pesto are so flavorful that even the middle of the big piece of tofu is seasoned, and it’s nice to have the more bland center bites along with the super-coated edge bites. I also like some crunchy macadamia pieces on top, too. Those beauties aren’t just for show!

For sides, I actually took the recommendations in the cookbook and made coconut rice with brown basmati and a marinated tomato salad. The tomato salad is also from the Horizons cookbook and is a nice twist on the cucumber tomato salad. Actually, the recipe features the cucumbers over the tomatoes, but I switched the ratio because I only like cucumbers a little bit. The salad also includes scallions and basil.

The dressing for this salad is unlike anything I’ve seen before, but it was sweet and delicious. It’s made with carrots! All those little orange bits you see are from the carrots after going through the food processor. Other dressing ingredients include Vegenaise, lots of ginger, some spices and seasonings, and a little water to thin it out. The only vinegar in this dressing is from a teaspoon of ketchup (I used my Local Folks Foods ketchup). I have to say, I prefer this sweet salad to the vinegar-dressed cucumber salad we’ve had several times this summer.

This is a cookbook I’m glad I pulled back out, and I hope to incorporate a meal at Horizons during my next trip back to Philly. But in the meantime, I’ll be trying more of their recipes at home.