winter garden

After a short trip to Georgia (the US state, not the country - you have no idea how many people think, nay swear, that I am of Eastern European descent.  If I am, it's news to me!) where I wandered about with my jacket open carelessly to the spring-like weather, I am back in Philadelphia and it is growing cold.  We had our few nice days, too, as I apparently brought some of the warm back with me (or, you know, the jet stream or some other meteorological explanation), and there may be a few nice days left, but don't deceive yourself - it's December.

Would it be easier to put up my Christmas tree and start decorating for the few weeks we have left this holiday season if it was cold and snowy?  Yes, of course.  I'm still holding out hope for a white Christmas and Mister and I have mint cocoa and some peppermint oreo-type cookies leapt off the shelf and landed safely in my basket at Whole Foods today.  Nevertheless, there was time for one more "spring cling" in our made-up menu.

Although a part of me aches for my neatly planned menu and my well-organized grocery lists, I am actually enjoying this different way of shopping; haphazardly selecting things to cover our basic nutritional needs and then hoping everything can play nice in the sauteuse.  I had grown quite weary of my cookbooks and needed to get myself out of a MadeThisAMillionTimes rut.  It's nice to have "safe" recipes you can come back to, where you can locate the right page in the cookbook by the proximity of splatters and spills, where you can nearly make the recipe from memory but just need a few crib notes and stolen glances at the book.  This little bird was ready to stumble out of that safe nest and the lifestyle/financial change was the nudge I needed.

Green Garden Paella
4-6 servings as a main course

2-3 Tbsp olive oil
3 large cloves of garlic, pressed or minced
3 stalks of celery, sliced thinly
1 large(ish) green bell pepper, 1-2" long thin slices
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 cup basmati (or jasmine) rice
3 cups vegetable broth (or 3 cups water + 1 Rapunzel bouillon cube)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried and lightly crushed tarragon
4 oz smoked tofu, cubed (small)
10 kalamata olives, sliced lengthwise into quarters or sixths (depending on the size of the olives)

Heat the oil in a large saute pan (4-qt) over medium-low heat.  Add celery and garlic and stir well to combine and coat with oil.

Cover the pan and reduce heat to low.  Cook, stirring frequently to prevent burning, for about 10 minutes.  You can be slicing the pepper during this time.  Once the celery is tender, stir in the green pepper.

Replace lid and cook for about 5 more minutes, stirring once or twice.  Dice the zucchini.  When you're ready to add the zucchini, remove the lid from the pan and push the pepper and celery out to the sides of the pan, creating an empty space in the middle.  Within a moment, this space should be invaded by the oil and accumulated cooking liquid.  Once this occurs, add the zucchini in this space and sprinkle with the salt.  Do not stir.

Cover and turn heat up slightly.  You should hear evidence of slightly higher heat in the sizzling sound your food is making.  Allow the zucchini to steam-saute for about 1-2 minutes, then lift the lid, sprinkle on the thyme and tarragon and stir everything together.  Shake the rice over the vegetables, then pour in the broth and stir.  Raise heat to medium to encourage boiling and the minute it comes to a full boil, reduce heat to the lowest setting and cover.

Cook the paella, covered and without stirring, for 15-17 minutes.  You can check your facebook, read emails, peruse your new issue of Southern Living (it's the Christmas copy!), whatever.  What you should be doing, though, is dicing the tofu and slicing the olives.  Once they're all set, you can resume wasting your time however you please.  When the 15-17 minutes have passed, take the lid off your paella and put it somewhere out of the way - you won't be needing it anymore (until it's time to do the dishes).

Add your tofu and olives, then stir everything together.  There should still be a noticeable amount of broth to be absorbed.

Leave the pot uncovered and the heat on the lowest setting and let your paella simmer for 10-15 more minutes, stirring from time to time.  When nearly all of the broth has been absorbed, spoon into bowls and serve.

Enjoy!

hurts so good/Mister saves the day

I truly don't know how these things happen.  I thought I was finally finished my food shopping when I walked out of Trader Joe's this evening, only to get home and start making Granada Paella from The Urban Vegan and discover that I was short a red bell pepper.  I don't know how many times Mister has gone out after I started making dinner to get something I was missing (tortilla chips, refried beans, spinach, to name a few) but we can add Red Bell Pepper to the list.

He came back with a brown paper bag and my spidey-sense* told me the red pepper was not alone.  Indeed, after Mister pulled out the pepper, he smiled and reached back into the bag and gave me chocolate, "because you ran out."  What a sweetheart! because I did eat my last mini-chocolate bar from the halloween candy last night.  I thought it was sweet that he wanted to be as vigilant about my dark chocolate supply as I am about his bread supply.
*spidey-sense: the magical ability of wives to know beyond any shadow of doubt that their husbands will return home with at least 1 item more than they were sent out to get.  I inherited mine from my mother and that's why my dad isn't allowed to go to Pepperidge Farm unchaperoned.

Anyway, I recognized that Mister was probably about to be even more helpful as I was cooking dinner.

I love this recipe - truly I do - but I keep forgetting how now that I make it correctly, it burns my face off.  This is normally how dinner goes when I make this:
Bite 1: mmmm....tasty, but hey, that's a little spicy!
Bite 2: umm.....
Bite 3: chokecough
water break
get a few more bites in: face starts to feel a little hot around the ears, eyes, and nose
water break
few more bites: nose starts running
wipe nose
water break
few more bites: now my tongue and lips are burning at a steady rate, almost ignorable
few more bites: can't quite feel my tongue
Time for 2nds! (can't help it - it tastes so good it's worth the pain)
grand finale: my nose is red, my ears are red, my nose is sniffly, my lips are burning and my tongue is nearly numb... and my husband, who by now has plowed through three bowls without blinking or taking more than two sips of water, is laughing at me.

As I've learned previously, the best way to treat these "symptoms" is with dark chocolate.

Thank you, Mister

Although Angst initially showed some interest in dinner, it didn't take long for him to decide he wasn't terribly interested in whatever was making his Lady disintegrate, so he found something else to be far more interesting than our dinner time talk about dubstep. [By the way - if you want to see something incredible, click here and prepare to hold your breath for about 6 minutes.]

Inside that large Williams-Sonoma bag live some other, smaller paper bags.  Just before we sat down, Mister added the little brown sack from Essene to that bag, but Angst really wanted it.  This is the last in a series of pictures of him climbing into the larger bag to snuffle at and try to retrieve "his" bag.

my bag.  mine.

weight loss never tasted so good

Relax, Mom, I'm not on a diet.  However, tonight I did cook from a diet cookbook [again].  I took a short break last night to make Granada Paella from The Urban Vegan and I am continually surprised by how astonishingly tasty it is!  There are relatively few foods I could eat so fast (from enthusiasm) that I would give myself a bellyache.  This is one of them.

It's a shame it doesn't look as good as it tastes. I think part of that is due to my negligence in checking the frozen veggies before I went shopping, so there were no frozen peas to add, keeping the dish a generally red and beige combo...not exciting.

I've noticed something about my shopping/menu planning.  There are certain things I take for granted - I just assume certain things will always be there.  As a result, I have found myself in the same position I was in last night more than just a few times.  In my brain, though, frozen vegetables reproduce in the freezer and all of my herb/spice bottles are magical and bottomless.

My empty jar of basil begs to differ.

Regardless, tonight brought us back to The Low GI Cookbook with Chicken [Seitan] and [Baby] Bok Choy Stir-Fry. 

This meal, amusingly enough, looks far more delicious and fun than the Paella.  Looks are not terribly deceiving, either.  While I certainly won't say that this recipe would make me choke in my excitement to pile it all in my mouth, it is extremely tasty, simple, and Second-Helping-Mister-Approved.

I had to make a few tweaks, obviously, as I mentioned when I constructed the menu.  For this meal, seitan replaced the chicken (and I'm pretty sure it improved the dish both nutritionally and taste-wise).  I also used my favorite brand of rice vermicelli to replace the egg noodles called for in the recipe.  Finally, I needed to replace the oyster sauce and it seemed to me that the best way to do this was to sub my vegan Worcestershire sauce.  My tastebuds agreed.  I have never actually eaten 'real' oyster sauce to my recollection, so I have absolutely no idea what it tastes like, but I do know that Mister and I were mutually pleased with the way the sauce came out.

Our little friend also seemed excited about dinner, since he came out of hiding and made a quick dash across the back of the sink to the stove to check out the pot while we were eating!  Although Angst seemed pretty sure the little bugger was hiding behind the toaster over this morning, we were starting to think he'd found his way out.  I think Mister is waiting for it to starve to death and just hoping he finds it while I'm at work and can dispose of it with no tears.

winning!

God bless Charlie Sheen.  That man is completely out of his mind, as well as touch with reality.  Unfortunately, I don't think there will ever come a time he will be old and wise enough to look back over some recent interviews and be embarrassed.  I think he truly believes he is winning (and since he's not dead yet, I guess he is).

Fortunately, everyone can win sometimes!  I would not classify my overall life as "winning" and I spend more time than I should dwelling on ways I've disappointed myself, but I've had a few great days lately (though some could definitely be better described as "bi-winning," thank you, Charlie).  Oh, and by the way - Happy May!

Last night, I issued myself another Basket Challenge, since I didn't go food shopping until today.  Well, let me back up - we almost went out to dinner last night, but then we remembered it was Saturday and we don't like crowds of annoying people falling all over the place while we try to walk to a restaurant.  Mister framed it like this: "Why don't we go out tomorrow night, when it's nicer out?"  It was actually cooler today, so.... anyway, I ran up to Superfresh to grab a couple of ingredients and then made a new recipe that I think requires at least one more making before I share the recipe, but I'll show you pictures:

So pretty and colorful while sauteing

Pretty and tasty, though it does need "something more"

So then, with PIFA over, taking with it all of my reasons to screw around and not be productive on my one day off, I did make my way to about a half a dozen shops today to accomplish various errands.  When I set out to start shopping, I wanted to head over to Williams-Sonoma before it closed - I "needed" a flat whisk.  I've been resisting getting one because I already have 5 whisks in various sizes, but I have made one of the items on our new menu before, using one of those 5 whisks, and let me tell you - it doesn't work.  I really needed a flat whisk to make this recipe work.  Here begins a small comedy of errors.

I walked out the door and headed west because as long as I was going that way anyway, I wanted to stop into Salon Sugar and make an appointment to cover up my grays before the upcoming wedding season.  That accomplished, I headed up to Spruce Street to catch a bus to Center City West because I wanted to save a little time.  As the bus was approaching, I pulled out my April Trailpass...and realized it was May.  I put it away and started my trek up to the train station where I waited in the longest line I've ever seen there (people overflowing from the serpentine pen!) and got my new Trailpass so I don't miss the train waiting in line tomorrow... anyway, since the station is only a few blocks from my desired destination, I just strolled down Broad Street, amazed at how clean it was after yesterday's huge PIFA street fair.

It's not every day you see a ferris wheel in the middle of Broad Street in Philadelphia, so I think a person could logically say the PIFA went out in style...

Anyway, after procuring my whisk, I headed across the street to MAC...I mean...I was up there anyway.... whereupon a nice young man with almost as much mascara and slightly less eyeliner than me proceeded to paint my lips with the "perfect" berry shade.  A few moments later and lighter of purse, I headed down to Whole Foods to continue the spending spree for this menu:

1. Penne with Spinach and Chickpeas in Garlic Sauce from Quick Vegetarian Pleasures.  I have had this book for years and neither Mister nor I have a clue where it came from.  We know it came home from one of his tours with him, but we don't know how it got in his bags.  Anyway, I have several favorite recipes in here that have been neglected while I played with my shiny new books.  I decided to blow the dust off the cover and flip through for some old-timey goodness.

2. Spicy Ragout of Vegetables and Tofu, also from Quick Vegetarian Pleasures.  Whereas I have made #1 on many, many occasions, I have never attempted this recipe, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes.

3. Sloppy Joes from The Urban Vegan.  I am so looking forward to the new book coming out I kind of can't stand it.  So, while I wait, I'm revisiting some favorites from book #1 and living in the world-traveling, cosmopolitan faerietale world Dynise has constructed for me.

4. Granada Paella, also from The Urban Vegan.  This is my favorite Paella recipe and one of my favorites from the book.  I love the way it tastes and once everything it chopped and in the pot, I can just putter around my kitchen, say, sorting through and throwing out a week's worth of neglected mail.  Not that I would let something like that pile up.  Just a hypothetical situation...

5. Orecchiette con Broccoli, also from The Urban Vegan.  This is the recipe I "needed" the flat whisk for, provoking my travels all around Center City today (in the course of which I found a little hidden/secret kitchen toy store on Walnut St called Kitchenette.  Next time I have a ton of money and nothing to spend it on - yeah, right - I will go there for a shopping spree).

6. Punjabi Peppers and Tofu from La Dolce Vegan.  Just because it's been way too long since the last time I made this. 

Before I tell you about dinner, I want to introduce you to my new kitchen assistant:

Great company while chopping, dicing, sorting, and sauteing.

Tonight, instead of going out, I offered Mister a choice of cuisines (mainly because I couldn't make up my mind between 4 and 6), and asked him if he'd prefer Indian or Spanish.  Apparently, my husband is able to make the distinction between Mexican and Spanish, and therefore recognize how infrequently we eat latino food that isn't inspired by the southern-most tip of the continent, so he chose Granada Paella.

I'm so lucky to have such a pretty measuring dish to measure my one cup of diced red pepper! I don't usually measure the red pepper - I normally just get one pepper, dice it and call it a day.  However, my pepper choices this afternoon included tiny, misshapen, mutant peppers at Whole Foods or the hugest red peppers I've ever seen at Superfresh.  I figured two of the huge ones would equal the three normal-sized ones I had intended to purchase, so in order to make sure I had enough peppers for the other meals, I actually measured this time.  How could I help it when I have such gorgeous kitchen tools?

Doesn't that look delicious?  Believe me - it is.  Now that Mister and I have figured out the hidden location of vegan chorizo sausage, I will make it 100% true to recipe next time, but this time I still diced some Italian-style Tofurky, which is still awesome.

I may not have as much money as Charlie Sheen, or as much fame or nice things or notoriety, and I certainly don't have two "goddesses," but every bite of dinner tonight told me that I most certainly am "winning."

I'm a city mouse

In the introduction to The Urban Vegan, Dynise recounts the children's story about the country mouse and the city mouse and proclaims herself a city mouse.  As I read more into the book and remember posts from her blog that I've read in the past, I realize that she is my neighbor, geographically - I was out walking today and passed this tree.  In any case, I can identify with so many things she references, but more so, just her love of the city I also call my own.

I must admit, when I went through the book the second time, one of the things that stood out to me is how frequently she refers to the "boondockian coal-mining region" of her childhood, as well as how much more frequently she makes reference to being an urbanite, a city girl, an urban vegan, etc.  I think she mentions city life in every recipe intro, which makes sense since the book is about being urban and vegan, but there were times I thought, "do we really need another reference to what a busy city girl you are?"  I realized, though, that I am the same way - I relish that I am a city girl now, as I also grew up in what is just barely suburban Philadelphia.  When I returned to my hometown for my friend's father's viewing, I couldn't help gaping as I drove through what used to be a very under-developed area.  To put it another way - one reason I moved to Philadelphia in my early 20s was because my hometown was about as exciting as watching snails race one another.

Although I was off from work today, I had to get up and out early so I could move my car from the metered space it occupied (one of the less delightful aspects of city life).  This afforded me the time in the day to get a great deal done - I was astonishingly productive.  I can only guess that the sparkling weather was what invigorated me, because I very often have days like today planned only to see my to-do list half undone at the end of it.  Even though all the things I did today were pleasant, even enjoyable, I just haven't been able to get myself to do them until today. 

The point of all this is just to say that I am more in love with my city now than I have been in a while.  I think after a while you get used to things and start to take them for granted, but then a day like today comes along and I realized at every turn how much I love where I live and how fortunate that makes me.  I came into contact with a lot of truly pleasant people - people kind and courteous enough to make me forget all of the other kinds I usually seem to encounter.  Sometimes it's all in your mood and mindset, though - I had a couple of good encounters early today and that colored my perception for the rest of it, generally.

There was the friendly bank teller
And the quirky, spiky-haired man who sold me some hair dye
The enthusiastic cashier at Essene who wished me a happy day and called me by the name my receipt printed out for him
The grateful fellow customer who thanked me profusely for helping her find Vital Wheat Gluten
The warm gentleman who sold me my amazing new pair of Carlos Santana sandals and gave me a flower
The helpful salesman at Williams-Sonoma who helped me find the one thing I couldn't locate on my own, despite the very demanding, newly-married couple who apparently wanted him to find every item on their registry that their guests hadn't given them
The numerous complete strangers who complimented me on my hair and/or makeup today

I could go on, but you get the point.  It was just a great day and I love being a "city mouse."

So, back to my adventures with The Urban Vegan - so far I have made two of my dinners and both were fantastic.  I think Dynise just might have something here.  Honestly, the only fault I find so far is that for all her mention of being a busy city girl, it seems like most of her recipes take well over an hour from chopping to serving.  That being said, she has managed to provide me with the only paella recipe (using rice) that doesn't involve 2 hours of simmering only to still bite down on uncooked kernels of rice.

I made her Granada Paella and it was sublime.  It really doesn't look very exciting and I was a little concerned about that since I seem to have convinced myself that food must look interested to be interesting, but it was quite flavorful and surprisingly creamy.  I used Basmati rice, instead of Arborio, and I left out the saffron because I'm still a little scarred from my last (first) experience with it.  To my extreme surprise (and ineffable delight), the rice fully cooked in the broth in the 30 minutes I gave it.

Actually, let me share the introduction to this recipe, as it provides a perfect example of why this book is such a pleasure to own:

Granada, Spain is one of my favorite cities in the world - especially at night.  Wandering through the silent, curving streets after midnight feels just slightly dangerous, as if you are peeking in someone else's window.  Except in this case, the window is an entire city with a culture all its own.  The silence is inevitably shattered, at some point, by an angry flamenco guitar and the loud, off-key singing of some bar patron who's had too much sangria.

Tonight, I made Balsamic-Roasted Vegetables.  It was very tasty, though I made some mental notes of changes I would like to make next time.

It's very pretty, yes?  For the four peppers the recipe calls for, I used two red, one orange, and one yellow pepper.  There are also three Yukon Gold potatoes in there, and I substituted broccoli for the eggplant.  To make it a more substantial dinner, I added the left over Tofurkey sausage from last night's paella.  The only things I will do differently in the future are these: use a bigger roasting pan and roast the potatoes for about 15 minutes before adding the other vegetables.

I'll leave you with that tasty image.  I need to get to bed so I can wake up early and make food before we go to church and lunch with my in-laws.  I also need to touch up my hair with the aforementioned dye.  I am becoming more Greek with every passing year - by the time I have my own house in which to host holidays, I'll just stay up all night preparing the food.