spice and rice and everything nice

I'm already thinking [dreaming] of autumn, my favorite time of year, and even the dead cold of winter.  No, it's not actually all that hot right now, no 100+ temperature heatwaves to complain of (although Mister and Angst are wilting and weeping like there is).  I seem to have a penchant for cooking spicier-than-I-thought-they-would-be meals in the middle of summer, when the last thing I want to do is overheat my body from the inside out.  So I'm thinking of how handy Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo is going to be come the snowy, bitter winter months, when all we want is something that will heat us from the inside out.  Or maybe just keep the inside warm.

Isn't that a fabulously trippy package?  I love all the colors that really ought not be combined - quite amazing, but I'll tell you, it's not difficult to locate on the shelf!

By the way, if the meat association I made last time wasn't gross enough for you, I'm just going to let you use your own colorful imagination on this next one.  Once I had freed the chorizo from its non-intestinal casing, I thought it looked super gross.  Good thing I already knew how it tasted...

ew.

Regardless, I chugged along, combining the various components of Granada Paella from The Urban Vegan and testing the true capacity of my 2.5 quart pot (because I was too lazy to clean up the pot I meant to use last night - Fridays are not good for my energy level).

I'm pretty sure if it could have overflowed, it would have.  I was kind of envisioning the funny moment in almost every sitcom or comedy movie in the late 80s, early 90s where the pot of popcorn pops too much and pushes the lid off of the pot and spills onto the stove and floor.  You do know what I'm talking about, right?

Okay, so stupid memories and poor analogies aside, it made for a very tasty and very innard-warming dinner.  Not the best thing in August, but at least I have another hot meal in my arsenal for that first bitter chill this fall.

When I told Mister it was the same chorizo I used to burn my face off with the tacos, he laughed incredulously and asked me why I used it again.  I explained my expectation that the basmati rice would calm the flavor a bit.  It did, actually - it was still quite spicy and hot (if I haven't made that clear yet), but the rice dispersed the heat and made it tolerable enough that although my face still turned red and my nose still got sniffly, I only needed my Apothic Red and a little TJs Belgian chocolate to sooth the burn this time around.  Which is fortunate, since I didn't want to test my luck trying to get ice cream home from TJs today.

So, in the interest of saving money (and showing Whole Foods they aren't the only game in town - I'll let you know when the post is up), I'm making a habit of doing my menu and grocery list on Friday night or Saturday morning, then stopping at Trader Joe's on my way home from teaching.  Since I was doing my best to get everything I would ordinarily get at WF, my bill was a bit higher than it's been...but it was still well under $40, so I consider it a total victory.  I filled my basket with many tasty things to make:

1. Panang Cucumber Curry from the new Vegetarian Times magazine that made my mailbox happy a few days ago.  I don't know if I've ever actually cooked cucumber, so this should be interesting, to say the very least!

2. Braised Cabbage with Seitan from Appetite for Reduction, which has been feeling a little left out lately, so the rest of the menu is also sourced from that amazing cookbook...since I know I can count on Isa to never let me down!  This is actually in a section of the book some people might consider appetizers or side dishes, but it looks substantial enough to me - protein, veggies, served on Basmati for a starch...we're good to go!

3. Forty-Clove Chickpeas and Broccoli, which I intend to serve over mashed potatoes, because that's awesome.  It's also awesome that at Trader Joe's, they call russet potatoes "The" Potato and only charge 29 cents apiece.  Compared to other produce prices at Whole Foods, I'll admit that $1.79/lb sounds like a great deal for potatoes...until you realize that most russet potatoes are nearly a pound each!

No, I'm probably never going to stop being awed by how much I'm saving by shopping across town.

4. Pasta Con Broccoli to make up for the blandest meal I've ever made.


5. Ginger Bok Choy and Soba.  Maybe.  If I can find soba and bok choy.

6. Moroccan Chickpeas and Zucchini which I realized, as I was flipping through the pages, I've never made before.  I scanned the ingredients and discovered that this may be the first recipe I'll make that has the word "Moroccan" in the title and does not include fake ground meat.  So, of course, I needed to try it.  Let's see if Moroccan food can be tasty when it's only vegetables!  (I'll bet it can.)

things you don't need to know

Did you know that only about half the population notices a little something...different...after they eat asparagus?  In recent years, asparagus has gotten a lot of press.  Some people like to point out the vegetable's aphrodisiac qualities and subtly phallic nature.  Others, like myself, focus on even more vulgar features...yessiree, I am one of the chosen ones.  I can smell when I've eaten asparagus.

Like tonight.  I have had this bunch of asparagus in my fridge for a week, because I had intended to serve it as the requisite Something Green with our Pasta e Fagioli last week.  However, I was in such a hunger frenzy to get dinner on the table that night that I completely forgot about the asparagus until I was about to plate our dinner.  I guess it has a little more longevity than I thought it did.

So, since he survived Judgment Day and has remained planted here on Earth with Mister and I, I decided to spoil my kitty a little.  When I was making up my new menu last night, I thought I would be nice and make Sloppy Joes again.  After I accidentally closed his paw in the bathroom door, then stepped on his tail, and couldn't make the air stop being in the mid-80s, I decided today was a good day to make it up to him.

I was going to make french fries to go along with the Sloppy Joes from The Urban Vegan, but then I remembered the asparagus and decided to see if I could roast it quickly enough that I didn't make the kitchen unbearably hot.  I sprayed it with olive oil and sprinkled it generously with my beloved Mediterranean Sea Salt (McCormick), then roasted it in a 450-degree oven for about 15 minutes while the Sloppy part simmered.

Before I go, let me share the new menu - it's a bit salad-heavy.  Mister and I came to the unanimous decision that it was time to start integrating meal-salads into our menu, since it's not supposed to dip below mid-80s for about a week.

1. Orzo Pilaf from Vegan on the Cheap with Tofeta from How It All Vegan and served on lettuce as a salad.  The recipe in VotC has its own tofeta recipe, but when I made it before, I found that I preferred the tofeta from HiaV.

2. Rice Island Casserole also from Vegan on the Cheap.  I don't have anything clever to say about this.

3. Sloppy Joes from The Urban Vegan.  'nuff said.

4. Nicoise Salad from The Urban Vegan, possibly with a french baguette morphing it into pan bagnat.

5. Pasta with Beans and Chard from Vegan Express.  I love this and how easy it is to make.  I would have loved it if Whole Foods wasn't selling mutant chard this week.  I don't know what's wrong with it, but I do know I didn't want to bring any of it home with me.  I guess I'll have to head over to Essene tomorrow after all, something I thought I'd avoided when Mister accompanied me to Whole Foods, thereby allowing me to bring home more stuff than I am able to carry on my own, which has been the main reason I've been spending too much money at Essene lately.  The other reason is because it's an awesome place.  Besides, I also didn't get garlic for the same reason - the non-organic garlic was scary and the organic garlic was puny.

6. Spinach, Artichoke, and Chickpea Salad from Vegan Express.  In the past I have largely ignored Nava's chapter on Satisfying Salads, much to my detriment, it would appear.

7. BBQ-Flavored White Beans with Sausage and Spinach also from Vegan Express.  I love this meal.  ALSO, I want to use up the BBQ sauce in my fridge.  I don't know how long it stays good and I don't like wasting food, so I guess I'll never find out.

In other news, Mister and I have been devoting a lot more energy than most sane people would to keeping the poor, fur-covered kitty cool.  I have been trying to find an ice cube tray (with no success unless I want a novelty tray that will make my ice "cubes" look like brains, robots, or pistols), but until we get one, I've been filling up the 1/4 and 1/3 cup plastic measuring cups with water, freezing them, and stockpiling them in a box in the freezer when I haven't been dropping them directly into Angst's water bowl.  Mister, still trying to deny that he loves that little allergen furball, took the initiative to wet a washcloth and put it in the freezer, then lay it across the kitty's hot back.

And our final installment in the TMI department is a picture of my dear ol' Dad, celebrating Memorial day in style...

...on his boat, with his aviator sunglasses (okay, that doesn't completely make sense), and a cold one.  It's okay, though, he's earned it.

Thank you, Daddy.  Happy Memorial day to you, Poppop, Uncle Carl, and all the others who have served and who continue to serve our country.

oh holy hotness

Once again, I am not talking about me here.

Tonight's dinner was Veggie Goulash from La Dolce Vegan.  Mister and I felt that the best way to chose between the final two dinners on the menu was to evaluate which veggies were closest to becoming science experiments in the crisper - the shriveling zucchini won.

I got about the gathering and prepping of ingredients and realized that I was missing a couple of ingredients.  It isn't a very far stretch to substitute basil for marjoram, but I will admit, it took me a moment or two to figure out what to do about the vegetable bouillon cube I didn't have because I used it to recreate my Sayadia on Wednesday.  I decided to use the maximum paprika - 2 teaspoons - as well as a sprinkling of curry powder, along with 1 scant cup of water.  It came out well, even if it made my mouth into a fireball and my face began to sweat and my nose threatened to run while Mister laughed at what a weenie I am and I thanked God for how effective dry red wine is at putting out mouth-fires.

One of these days I should have Mister take a picture of what happens to my face if I eat something my Irish tastebuds perceive to be "too spicy."

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to mix up the paprika a little - 1 tsp of Spanish paprika (mild) and 1 tsp of Hot Hungarian paprika.  I really, truly did not expect it to pack that much fire.  It's a gorgeous shade of red, yes, but so is "normal" paprika - the kind that doesn't make me think the Coconut Bliss in my freezer would be a good intermezzo to my dinner. 

Remember Operation Gratitude Attitude?
1. I am grateful that I had the foresight and self-knowledge to start with just one tsp of the hot stuff.
2. I am grateful that SuperTuscans are dry enough to partially smother the fire that had dominated my mouth by the time Mister helped his Hot Greek Self to seconds.
3. I am grateful that I have a tasty pint of Coconut Bliss in my freezer (talk about intense chocolate - you need to try this!).
4. I'm grateful that it is Friday night.  That actually has nothing at all to do with dinner.  I'm just glad as heck these past two weeks finally ended.

some like it hot

Not my husband, though, unless we're talking about curry or szechuan food.  It was really hot in Philadelphia today - it still is when you live on the second floor of any building.  Thank heavens the restaurant downstairs is not presently occupied and doing business!  I don't care much for excessive heat, but I'm not going to lie around and cry about it like Mister and Angst (who is utterly miserable and would gladly donate his fur coat to PETA).

I do what any logical woman would do when the temperature is pushing 90 and she's flanked on either side by whining men.

I fired up the oven.

Yes, I did.  I don't know what possesses me to do things like that, but when I gave Mister his dinner cuisine choice of Greek, Mexican, or Japanese food, he chose Greek (surprise, surprise), so I slaved in a hot kitchen with a hot oven to make Greek Quesadillas!

I didn't take any pictures because they don't look too different from the other vegan "quesadillas" I made recently, but I will share the recipe, though I might tweak it for my future theoretical cookbook.

4 large whole wheat pitas, split in half
4 oz hummus (I used roughly half of an 8 oz container)
1/4 cup sliced kalamata olives (I cut them into sixths lengthwise)
1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers
1/2 of a 5 oz bag of baby spinach

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.  Spread hummus on the inside of all 8 pita halves.  Evenly distribute the baby spinach leaves among 4 pita halves, then sprinkle with kalamata slices and roasted peppers.  Top with remaining 4 pita halves and press down lightly.  If any filling pops out the sides of the 'dillas, just push it back in.  Put on a baking sheet (or save yourself the trouble and just assemble them on the sheet) and then bake for 10-12 minutes.  Allow to cool slightly (primarily to avoid burning your precious little fingertips) and then cut into quarters with a pizza roller.