I just want something I can never have

I seem to always have one of two things working against my culinary adventuresome-ness.  Either I don't realize that an ingredient is super-bizarre and not likely to be hanging out on the shelves of your average Whole Foods, or in some strange subconscious way, to challenge myself, perhaps, I seek out recipes that use esoteric ingredients I may very well never need again.

You wouldn't really think that fava beans would fall into one of those categories, would you?  Well, maybe the first - the one where I didn't think it was all that strange an ingredient.  After all, they were the star of a very famous line in a very famous movie in the not-too-distant past.  Nevertheless, much like my extensive Hunt for Harissa, my attempt to make a meal involving what I thought was a relatively common Italian vegetable took me all over the city before I finally secured the magic ingredient.

Many thanks to DiBruno Brothers in Rittenhouse Square for having just enough amazing things to also have the thing I was seeking.  It had fallen over on a top shelf, but I found it and made it mine.  Actually, the harissa was also hiding on a top shelf.  Does that say something [aristocratic] about my tastes?  Maybe it just means I should be taller.

So, the bag of dried beans didn't exactly say "Fava Beans" but I figured Fava Anything was closer than I'd gotten previously, so I brought them home, soaked them last night, and boiled the heck out of them tonight.  To my great delight, I appear to have successfully revived them and made them a part of our dinner: Tuscan-Style Beans with Tomatoes and Sage.

I served them over the leftover Pasta e Fagioli because I didn't feel it was necessary to make new pasta when we hadn't finished that yet.  Additionally, there seemed to be a slightly disproportionate ratio of beans (cannellini + fava) to tomatoes, so I figured it was probably a nice touch to use pasta that already had tomato slush on them.

Unfortunately, entirely due to the base, Mister thought we were having leftovers for dinner and was very surprised when I pressed him for a reaction to the meal.  After he explained that dinner was leftovers and I explained that only the base was left over, he explained that he thought anyone who would eat just beans and tomatoes for dinner was quite out of his/her mind, thereby confirming my suspicion that this meal needs a base.  As they go, I think pasta was the best option, but perhaps a fresh, bigger pasta would be better in the future.  I thought small was the way to go, but after Mister's reaction, I'm reconsidering.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I need to be in a pretty special place to actually listen to the song that inspired the title of what was otherwise a fairly jovial post, so if you're interested, click here. You go on and check it out.  I'll hang back here.

a bean is just a bean

I'm gonna make this quick because I have to get up earlier than usual and my internet connection is being stupid and that is immensely more frustrating than it would be ordinarily due to the huge and unnecessary amount of stress trying to strangle me.

Tonight's dinner was Veggie Goulash from La Dolce Vegan.  We haven't had this in a long time because I repeatedly forget how good it is.  Granted, when you look at the ingredients, it's easy to see my hesitation.  It just doesn't seem like this is going to end well: carrot, zucchini, tomato, cauliflower, and pinto beans?

Doesn't it look incredibly tasty, though?  That's because it is.  I always forget what a good simmer in some garlic-laced, paprika-spiked broth will do for a melange of vegetables.  I did make a couple of adjustments due to budget issues (or, you could just say I'm frugal to a fault?).  Fresh cauliflower is stupidly expensive when I only needed a relatively small amount, so I bought a block of frozen cauliflower.  Although I'm pretty good at stretching frozen veggies packed in bags, I'm not so good at figuring out how to protect a cardboard box from freezerburn, so I just threw all 10 oz of cauliflower in there.  I'm pretty sure Mister didn't mind.  I also subbed Great Northern Beans for the Pinto beans.

Pinto beans would have been a little creamier, I'll grant you, but I cannot figure out this weird recent phenomenon at Superfresh.  For reasons unknown and probably illogical, for the first time I've ever seen, Goya brand beans are much more expensive than store-brand beans.  The brown rice is actually more expensive than Carolina rice.  I don't get it.  So, since Superfresh was having a Great Northern Bean sale (5 for $3!), I bought 3 cans of those instead of a can of Pintos ($1.07, which doesn't seem like a lot, but for beans??  really???), and two cans of cannellinis @ $.89 apiece. 

That's all for now, kids.  It would have taken me half the time to write that (or I could have written twice as much) if I didn't have to wait 15 seconds for the damn pinwheel to stop spinning after every second sentence.  Hopefully, tomorrow's better.  See you then!

on a lighter note...

Why don't we talk about food tonight?  Food so good that it can't possibly stir up controversy since it can be unanimously agreed upon that good food can also be tasty food (and pretty food - let's not neglect the food porn).  Why don't we do it like this: first we'll have a picture parade (to make up for last night's dearth), then we'll talk about the new menu.  Ready?  Let's go.

Last night, before I got all caught up in reading Mama Pea's post and answering some of the commenters with my own thoughts, leading to my novel-post because I had to get all those thoughts swimming around my head out in some kind of semi-coherent way, I made Rice Island Casserole from Vegan on the Cheap.  This is another one of those "baked" recipes that I have turned into a stovetop simmer recipe, because brown rice and my baking skills just do not get along.  I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but in my world, rice does not cook in the oven but rather on top of it.

It's such a good dinner - I never have trouble clearing my plate.

Or bowl.  Whatever.  The one thing I'm a little sad about is purely aesthetic - the kidney beans are pale.  Mister was kind enough to accompany me to both stores last weekend, enabling me to shop faster (he was just following me around with the baskets) and buy a little more (since he was there to help carry - he's such a handsome little pack-mule).  When we were at Superfresh, he made a comment on the absurdly high price of beans.

Beans are supposed to be cheap, right?  I mean, isn't that the punchline - "we were so poor growing up that mom ate beans because there was only enough 'real food' for us kids" right?  Actually, I know someone who did eat beans so her children could have more substantial food.  Anyway, I haven't been paying attention really, because beans are just one of those "essential" items that I pick up every single time I'm at the store.  It wouldn't really matter if they had tripled in price - I would still buy them and just be surprised at my higher bill.  His initial impetus to exclaiming his disbelief was that he wanted to pick up a can or two of refried beans but they were "way too expensive."  We happened to be having this conversation as I was picking out the whole beans and I noticed a huge difference in price between the dark and light kidney beans.  I don't actually know, besides color, what the difference is between them (logic would dictate the darker beans would be higher in antioxidants, but that's just a guess), so I decided we didn't need the more-expensive dark kidney beans.

They are much prettier, though.

Speaking of pretty (I'm getting so good at these segues), how about these cherries?

Every week, Whole Foods reduces the price by $1, but I really don't think they'll go much lower than $5/lb, so I decided this was the magical week we could have some.  If I'm wrong, well, I guess we'll have to get some more when they're a lower price, won't we?  I wouldn't mind - they were as sweet, juicy, and ripe as they are beautiful.  Cherry red is one of my very favorite colors (you might have guessed that from the placemats).

I actually got up early enough today to go to the Headhouse Farmers Market.  Well, to be honest, I frequently get up early enough to go to the farmers market but end up missing it because I'd rather spend the time waking up slowly and watching Evanescence or P!nk videos on YouTube.  Today I actually went...and was disappointed.  I guess it would have been okay if I didn't have a specific list of items in mind and if I was willing to pay more to support local agriculture that may or may not use genetically modified seeds.  I will probably return in the future, because there were a lot of fun booths that had stuff I would buy if I weren't on a budget, but I tried really hard to be frugal this week since there are a lot of beginning-of-the-month expenses to wipe out the paycheck I just got. 

After playing at the farmers market, Mister and I met up with my parents for a little brunch at Farmicia in Olde City.  We went there almost exactly 2 months ago with them and they enjoyed it so much they specifically requested returning there, so I made the reservations and off we went.  There was a deflating baby and a squeaking fan, but as always the food was delicious and the cocktails inventive.

I had the same thing I had last time, but this time I actually remembered my camera.  This is the Scrambled Tofu with Vegan Chorizo.  Obviously, that's on the right.  In the back were sopapillas (kind of like Mexican pita) to scoop up various parts of the meal.  On the left is a crisp tortilla with a generous lump of avocado-tomato salsa.  The tofu could have had a little more flavor, but its relative blandness helped to even out the spicy kick of the chorizo.  The sopapillas are pillow-soft and delightfully chewy and did a great job delivering the big chunks of avocado, dotted with crisp tomatoes, to my mouth.  In the back right, you may observe a slightly cloudy-looking drink.  That was my Little Miss Sunshine.  I ordered it because the name is hilarious and because it sounded fun - strawberry-flavored vodka with fresh lemonade.  It was very easy to drink and if I didn't keep reminding myself it had alcohol in it, I probably could have knocked back two with minimal effort.

Before they left, my mother gave me a delightfully fragrant, hydroponic basil plant.

Let's see how long it takes either for me to kill it or Angst to eat it.  Mister and I are fairly confident that he would be repulsed into stopping his nibbles after only one bite (which would confirm that it is most definitely not spinach), but I'm hoping that he can smell that it's not spinach and just stays away from it.  It looks so pretty in its Classico jar (bonus: if Angst does decide to eat it and knocks over the jar, at least I won't have lost another vase).

Since I had all day, pretty much, to prep for dinner, I saved the most time-consuming recipe on the menu for last - Orzo Pilaf from Vegan on the Cheap with Tofeta from How It All Vegan.  As I mentioned in the menu, VotC has its own tofeta recipe, but I like the one in HIAV better.

I needed a new dress for Cousin's wedding this weekend.  Okay.  I didn't need one, but I can only wear the same dresses so many times before people start wondering if I do laundry.  Besides, the last time I bought a dress, it was for my wedding, so I think it's okay to get another one after 4 years.  Anyway, before I headed out to Greene Street Consignment, I put the tofu in my handy-dandy Tofu Xpress to press while I shopped.  When I returned, with a dress, I diced it and put it back in the box along with the marinade to which I accidentally added twice as much basil as the recipe prescribed, then let it marinate for an hour in the fridge while I did other stuff.

building a base of greens

mmm....so tasty

I really like the crunch and varied texture provided by the lettuce leaves.  I've made this before and did not serve it as a salad and it was just fine, but I think this is a better way for the future.

Finally, the new menu.  More than half of it comes from a cookbook I have pretty well neglected since we moved: The Complete Vegan Cookbook.  That's a shame - it has a lot of good recipes.  So I started my recipe search there and nearly concluded it there as well, except that I had at least one recipe I knew I wanted to make from Vegan on the Cheap (will I ever get tired of this cookbook?).

1. Curried Cauliflower, Garbanzo, and Tomato Salad from CVC because cauliflower is awesome, but curried cauliflower = Mister in heaven.

2. Pasta Puttanesca with Artichokes, also from CVC.  I really like puttanesca sauces - they are so flavorful as to be nearly overwhelming.  I am curious about the combination of what I consider two fairly different tastes (and I might be doing it wrong, so I guess we'll see).  Puttanesca sauce is salty and kind of dark tasting, whereas I consider artichokes a little tangy from the brine they usually soak in during storage.  I'm supposed to be using frozen artichokes, though, but I couldn't find any.

3. Bulgur and Red Lentil Pilaf with Kale and Olives, also from CVC.  I love this dish.  That's all.

4. Provencal Black-Eyed Peas with Asparagus, also from CVC.  When we were first dating, Mister and I worked very close to one another, so we would sometimes take a short break for ice cream or other little treats.  A few times, I stopped at Baskin-Robbins on the way to meet him and I would call and ask what he wanted - his answer was normally, "whatever's weird."  In the spirit of that, I chose this dish - it's definitely weird: Black-Eyed Peas definitely have their place in Cajun/Creole cooking, and that cuisine is certainly influenced by Provence, but I think we're taking a mighty big leap here.  And then there's the asparagus.  That just doesn't make any sense to me.

5. Farfalle with White Beans and Cabbage from VotC.  I bought a big head of red cabbage for one of last week's salads and only used a very small amount.  The recipe calls for green cabbage, but we're just going to improvise a little.

6. Coconut Curry Rice also from VotC, except I forgot to pick up more curry powder.  Looks like a mid-week trip to Whole Foods is in my future...

everyone deserves a second chance

So, I really wasn't that thrilled with how last night's dinner came out, in case you couldn't tell.  By the time I got home from work today, amazed that Friday snuck up again so quickly, I was even less excited about tonight's dinner.

The plan was to make Chili and Polenta Casserole from Vegetarian Times: Fast and Easy, and although I've made it before, with some success, I just was not feeling it tonight.  In fact, when Mister asked me what I was making for dinner, my first impulse was to answer, "Reservations."

However, in this particular battle, FrugalMe won, so instead of doling out $12+ for a plate of pasta I know only cost $1 (tops) to make, I decided to get creative.  I issued myself the Basket Challenge.

my "basket"

I'm sure you can imagine we ended up with a mediterranean-themed dinner with those ingredients, but that was pretty much what I was going for anyway - that was what I had my tastebuds set on when I was searching urbanspoon for newly sprouted restaurants in Queen Village.  As I was gathering all of those items for their family photo, a plot started to hatch in my head.  So, hoping for a second chance to share with you a good recipe, as well as giving the canned tomatoes and beans, along with the polenta and nearly-freezer-burnt broccoli a second chance to be tasty, I made dinner.

Easy Vegetable Ragout on Mediterranean Polenta
4 servings

24 oz tube of prepared polenta
olive oil spray
Mediterranean sea salt blend (* I use McCormick brand)

2 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1 Tbsp dried organic basil
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 to 1/2 cup vegetable broth
14.5 oz can of Fire Roasted diced tomatoes
15 oz can kidney/cannellini beans
2 cups [frozen] broccoli florets

Open polenta over sink - a decent bit of water will squirt out when the plastic is pierced.  Unwrap and discard puckered ends.  Cut polenta into 12 equal rounds.  Spray a square skillet with olive oil and preheat on medium-high for at least one minute before adding polenta.  Cook polenta 12-15 minutes, flipping every 5 minutes and re-spraying.  After the first flip (@ 5 minutes), sprinkle Mediterranean salt blend over polenta, then spray with oil.  After the second flip (@10 minutes), sprinkle this side of the polenta with the salt blend, spray with a bit more oil.  You'll flip it once more for a few minutes to make sure the salt blend "rubs in," so to speak.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add garlic and saute a minute or two, taking care not to burn it.  Add undrained tomatoes, vinegar, tomato paste, and basil; stir to combine.  Increase heat and bring to a lively simmer, then reduce to medium low and allow to simmer gently 2-3 minutes. Add 1/4 cup vegetable broth and broccoli florets; stir to combine, then cover and allow to simmer about 5 minutes, stirring once.  Add another 1/4 cup of broth with the beans if the ragout seems too dry, stirring well to mix into the tomato mixture. 

Once all ragout ingredients are in the pot, cover and simmer a minute or two more while removing polenta from the skillet.  Place three polenta rounds on each plate, then top each plate with a quarter of the ragout.  Serve immediately, with mixed meze olives and a spicy red wine (for example, a pinotage or superTuscan) for a light, yet flavorful meal.

Enjoy!  We certainly did - the polenta was the most flavorful I've ever made it, owed completely to the salt enhancing the other spices/herbs in the blend and being complemented by the tomato sauce.  The balsamic vinegar was a total afterthought, but I'm so glad I included it - you can pick it out in the final product - it adds just the right amount of oomph.  The tomatoes were also delightful - the sweetness of the organic basil really enhanced the flavor of the roasted tomatoes and the crunch of broccoli, soaked with semi-sweet sauce was a good addition.  In the future, I'll use cannellini beans because they are far creamier than kidney beans and I think that will take this dish completely over the edge into hedonism territory.

As always, if you decide to give this a whirl, please let me know what you think!

worst thing ever

Frozen Kale.  That's it.  That is the worst thing ever.  Wanna know the second worst thing ever?  Frozen beans.  Yup, frozen beans.

I may be exaggerating slightly, as there are probably worse things, like war, famine, tornadoes eating the entire southeastern part of the country, Japan being swallowed up by the Pacific ocean, and the possibility that Obama really does possess an American birth certificate (sorry, couldn't resist).  Yet, as far as culinary experiences go (and aside from The Saffron Incident), frozen kale is absolutely the most disappointing.

Tonight was the second experience I've had with frozen kale and it was even more disappointing than the first.  I love kale so much fresh that I thought I'd hit a goldmine when frozen kale started popping up all over the freezers in Whole Foods...but it was more like a landmine, causing two recipes to more or less blow up in my face.  Not literally, thank heavens.  Story time!

A little while ago, can't remember just when, I was in the frozen foods aisle of Whole Foods and as I extracted whichever bag of organic goodness I had originally sought out, I noticed something different out the corner of my eye.  I looked closer and saw a little flat box with kale, kidney beans, and navy beans.  I thought to myself, "Hey, this might come in handy some night when I'm feeling lazy pressed for time!" and dropped it into my basket.  Well, tonight was that night, and I thought I would make a cheater version of my already pretty quick-cooking Easy Tuscan Linguini by subbing the frozen kale-n-beans side dish for the shredded kale and can of navy/cannellini beans in the original recipe.  Also, for a little added flavor (and to use up the other two Tofurky from Tuesday's Cajun Rice and Beans), I sliced the sausages and sauteed them lightly in olive oil before adding the frozen stuff.

I was so sad when the bag open and spilled kale stems and hard-looking beans into the pan...I had really hoped for a more substantial presence from the kale...and some leafy bits, I might add.  Nevertheless, I heated everything through, mixed it together with the marinara sauce and linguini and hoped for the best.  It was "decent" as long as you ignored that the kidney beans were not thoroughly cooked before being frozen or they don't freeze well, because they were crunchy and that is not a quality I seek out in my kidney beans.  However, I still believe this has a lot of potential as a fast-and-easy weeknight recipe, as long as you substitute organic frozen spinach or fresh kale - not frozen kale; it's gross.  So, I promised you a recipe and a recipe you get (modified, so there's a chance you'll actually enjoy it):

Pasta Marinara with Kale and Beans
* about 4 servings *
Ingredients:
24 oz prepared marinara of your choice
1 cup canned kidney beans
1 cup canned navy/great northern beans
2 Tofurky sausages, flavor of your choice (I used Kielbasa)
2-3 cups fresh kale, finely chopped or 10 oz block of frozen chopped organic spinach 
8 oz linguini (whole wheat if your loved one will eat it - mine won't)
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1 Tbsp olive oil

Boil water for pasta, then cook according to package directions, about 10-11 minutes.  Drain.

Meanwhile, cut each "sausage" in half lengthwise, then slice into 1/2" pieces.  If using fresh kale, chiffonade or chop finely and set aside.  When the pasta is halfway through cooking time, heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the garlic about 30 seconds, until fragrant and slightly golden.  Add sausage and stir to coat with oil.  Saute on medium for 2-3 minutes, stirring once, then reduce heat to medium-low.  Add kale, beans, and marinara; stir to combine, then cover and cook 2-3 minutes, until heated through and kale is lightly wilted. [if using frozen spinach, you'll want to thaw and drain it first, then add with the beans and marinara.]

Add drained pasta to the pot and toss to combine.  Remove from heat and serve immediately, preferably accompanied by a small bowl of mixed olives and a generous glass of red wine.

cheap, fast, and easy

There used to be a club night in Philadelphia called Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control - I never actually went because it was a little too "punk" for my tastes - never was a big fan of punk or ska (punk's grandkid) and like I've mentioned, beer isn't really my thing, so $1 PBRs don't exactly get my fire burning.  But I like the idea - have a good time; eat, drink, and be merry, all for very little money and in very little time.

Let me introduce you to dinner:

Salsa Rice and Red Beans is quickly becoming one of my top 5 recipes in Vegan on the Cheap.  I don't really have top 5 lists, but if I did, this would be on it.  Depending on the rice you use and your [possibly] growing proficiency at cooking brown rice, this recipe gets faster-cooking every time I make it.  I don't know why I expect any recipe I make from a cookbook whose expressed purpose is not necessarily to get dinner on the table in under 30 minutes to take SOOooooo much longer than 30 minutes, but I'm always pleasantly surprised when I find a quick-cooking recipe in an unexpected place.

In my brain, anything involving brown rice will take upwards of one hour.

Fortunately, I don't know whether it's the basmati or the new [to me] stovetop, but I haven't had my usual trouble with brown rice since we moved.  Here's hoping the streak continues!

nothin' to write home about

Last Meal on the Menu Night is always a risky place to be.  Sometimes, I hold off on a recipe because I've lost interest in it, other times because it was too time consuming to make during the regular work week.  Sometimes I save the best for last and other times I'm not sure how it will turn out so I wanted to leave wiggle room for a replacement dinner.  In any case, tonight's Last Dinner was BBQ-Flavored White Beans with Sausage and Spinach from Vegan Express.

Leaving it for last, in this case, actually was somewhat strategic for two unrelated reasons.  The first reason had to do with how darn long this week felt.  Honestly, I feel like I haven't seen my piano students in two weeks, but I know I taught last weekend because I had a new student start.  The week didn't exactly drag by, but it really took Friday a while to get here.  I wanted to ensure I wouldn't have to put out a lot of effort for the Friday night meal (I was also counting on a lack of energy due to anticipated trouble sleeping last night, since there's an Irish bar across the street and whatnot).  The other reason was that I was a little concerned about the BBQ sauce.  Like I mentioned when I added it to the Sloppy Joes, I wasn't sure how I would feel about using it, unadulterated, as a main ingredient.  The flavor is pretty strong and tangy, which is not at all like the homemade BBQ sauce I usually use in this recipe.  In fact, at some point this week, I was kicking myself for actually buying BBQ sauce when I am perfectly capable of making BBQ sauce I knew I'd like for far less money.


Truth be told, I wanted to buy the BBQ sauce.  I was curious, since I've never actually bought BBQ sauce before, and I had heard good things about Annie's.  I'm glad we tried it, although it wouldn't be a "regular" in our pantry or fridge.  The most amusing thing for me was how perfect the amount in the bottle (12 oz) was.  Apparently, 12 oz = 2 Tbsp + 1 cup, because that was what I needed for the two recipes and that is exactly what came out of the bottle.  I had to shake the last bits out for dinner tonight before rinsing and recycling.

Anyway, all that being said, you really can't get too excited about beans-n-wieners, even if spinach and organic BBQ sauce are involved, so I'm just going to move on to the new menu:

1. Bulgur and Red Lentil Pilaf with Kale and Olives from The Complete Vegan Cookbook.  It's been a while since I've made this, but I just adore the tastes and textures, and it was the main reason I decided to start my dinner-hunting in that book.

2. Curried Bulgur Casserole with Garbanzo Beans, also from The Complete Vegan Cookbook.

3. Tuscan Vegetable Ragout from Vegetarian Times: Fast & Easy.  It's been quite a while since I made this and I don't know why - it's quick, easy, and delicious, and if I really wanted to make the effort, it never has to be the same twice.

4. Warm Chickpea Ragout with Swiss Chard, Carrots, and Harissa, also from Veg. Times: Fast & Easy.  See, I'm doing this two-fer theme...two recipes with bulgur from the same cookbook, two recipes for Ragout from the same cookbook...see?  I know, I'm so clever.

5. Garlicky Tofu with Spinach over Pasta also from VT:F&E.  I was a little rice-heavy last week and since the first two recipes this week use bulgur as the grain, I wanted to make a concerted effort to have more pasta for my Mister.

6. Broccoli Pasta with Savory Sauce.  Ditto.

never going to unpack

Alternate Title:  I spend too much damn time "at work" and will never accomplish anything besides making dinner and staring at my computer for a few minutes during the week.

The thought of waiting until the weekend to do something about the pile of boxes in my bedroom and "living room" makes me more than just a little crazy, though, so I'll be brief (didn't I say that last night, before yammering on?) tonight.

I made Salsa Rice and Red Beans from Vegan on the Cheap for dinner tonight:

It looks a little different from the last time I made it because I used Basmati rice in hopes of speeding up the cooking process and having more free time tonight to be productive.   It's 11:25pm.  Clearly, that worked.

Anyway, I really like this recipe.  It's easy, it lends itself well to variation, which makes me happy when I want to be a little creative but still follow loose guidelines.  I like being familiar enough with a recipe that I can just kind of glance at it amid the chopping and sauteing and happy stinking up the kitchen.  No fire alarms tonight, though, thank heavens!

Sometimes I think about cooking for a living and I wonder if that would take the joy out of it.  The things I like about cooking are things that would make for a rewarding occupation: I love the gently guided creative process, I love that there is always a tangible result for your efforts, and I get great joy from nourishing the body of the person who eats my foods.  Even if it's just me, it makes me happy to know that I have created this nourishing thing (that also tastes good) that I am eating to sustain myself.  When I make oatmeal with fruit and nuts for breakfast, I sometimes wonder if that will be the most fulfilling moment of my day.

Maybe that's why I've stopped making it on weekdays.

No, it's actually a time concern.  I already spend too much time getting ready for work, traveling to work, etc. to get up even earlier just so I have enough time to make oatmeal.

Okay, time to move some stuff.  Nothing throws off your getting-ready-for-another-stimulating-day-at-work zen like trying not to trip over myriad boxes and bags.  If I accomplish nothing else tonight, I want to clear the mess in the bedroom.  Maybe tomorrow I'll get to the stuff that has consumed my couch and, well, the entire cozy living area.

packing lists

I'm a list girl.  I used to be incapable of taking a trip (vacation) without making a list of what I was going to pack, checking everything off as I packed it, and then re-checking it when I was re-packing to leave my destination.  I make to-do lists, especially when I want to justify taking a day off from work.  I make grocery lists each week and wish lists at least once a year (Christmas).  I have a running list of restaurants I want to visit in New York and cookbooks I will eventually add to my shelves to compensate for the five I got rid of in the packing/purging process.  The whole 9 months between my engagement and my wedding can be retraced by following one huge list I still have on my computer.

I am actually surprised that I haven't made a packing list for this move, but I think that's owed to the completely overwhelming nature of packing up my entire home.  With my wedding, I could construct a timeline, replete with projected deadlines for the completion of various tasks, and with the included reward of being able to check off the finished things.  The only way I have any clue how far along I am in this packing process is by the growing City of Boxes developing residences throughout my already crowded home and by [eventually] running out of things to put in boxes.

I had already anticipated running headlong into nostalgia and other such pangs during the unearthing of things I probably haven't looked at in years, so while I have had to force myself to look at some things objectively enough to say "even though this is old, it's kind of ugly and not really worth anything," and recognize that I was only holding onto it because it once belonged to someone who isn't part of my life anymore, I can let them go with the understanding that I don't love that person any less without an ugly teapot to remind me of them.  On the other hand, I've found some fun things that I've rushed over to Mister to share:

 It's a funny little Christmas plate and aside from the fact that it is obviously hand-painted, there's nothing special about it.  Until you turn it over to wrap it up...

"Hand Painted in Italy for F.B."  FB are the initials of my mother's mother, Florence Beverly.  That's pretty darn cool.  Quick side story that will only be funny to women old enough to remember "adopting" Cabbage Patch Kids: My mother's mother was one of [I think] five children and all the girls had names a CPK creator would envy: Florence Josephine, Erma Matilda, Henrietta something-or-other; amazing names.

Anyway, back to 2011, after two days off from work, I managed to get there today.  I even brought home two more boxes, which made for a challenging walk home from the train (since the buses still aren't running near my home).  I may still do a little packing tonight, but I decided to take a blog & Beaujolais break first. 

Since my green pepper urgently required my attention, I decided tonight was as good a night as any to make my favorite Cajun Red Beans and Rice from The Accidental Vegan.  This is absolutely my favorite rice-n-beans recipe; I'm pretty sure it's the generous addition of Worcestershire sauce, although I think the scant bit of liquid smoke helps.

In place of the usual Tofurky sausages, I used what was left from my homemade seitan.  I'll tell you, this recipe is going to save us hundreds of hard-earned dollars.  It was actually a bit better with the seitan than with the sausage, though I think I'll slice the seitan next time, rather than cubing it.  Lots of chewing.

Finally, in my effort to stave off more packing until tomorrow, I constructed the new menu for next week, which may very well be the last full menu before we move.  I have quite a collection of Cooking Things, as well as an entire 3x1' shelf of herbs and spices, so next weekend we'll probably have to start packing some of it.  I probably won't realize how much that limits me until it's too late, but suffice it to say that I anticipate only getting two or three items in before switching to sandwiches/take-out.

So, in the spirit of list-making, I present to you
The Last Full Menu in This Residence

1. Pasta with Red Peppers and Basil

2. Chickpea Broccoli Casserole from Vegan with a Vengeance.  Since it bakes for about 45-60 minutes, I figure it will give me time to pack while it's baking - hooray for multi-tasking! 

3. Orecchiette with Cherry Tomatoes and Kalamata Tapenade also from VwaV.

4. Rice Island Casserole from Vegan on the Cheap; I have a few tricks so it doesn't take as long as it did last time, but even if it does...see #2.

5. Tuscan White Bean Pizza also from Vegan on the Cheap, because pizza is awesome and there are no leftovers (I suspect that will also become important over the next 15 days).

6. Pasta Jambalaya from Vegan Express

Mexisraelican cuisine...figure that out

One of the things I admire about Isa's recipe creation and matching is the joy she finds in fusion.  Not trendy fusion, like French-Chinese or Nouveau Mediterranean or whatever it is Horizons does - no, Isa likes to mix things that don't belong.

I do, too, but I'm not quite as skilled at it.  For some reason, it always works with Isa's pairings.  Not so much with mine.  I know I have at least one poor pairing in the past, but tonight's was truly bizarre: Mexican and Israeli.  Perhaps we don't even need the label "Mexican," but even if we took a close look at Latino cuisine, I don't think we'd find many points of similarity with Israeli/Middle Eastern cuisine (aside from Mister's love of each).

For dinner, I made Salsa Rice and Red Beans from Vegan on the Cheap.  It was pretty simple to make, since most of the time was just letting the brown rice simmer away until it was cooked (only about 45 minutes, this time).  I cooked the rice completely separately from everything else, but it all came together in the end for a strangely sweet rice-n-beans.  I'm not sure if it was the fresh poblano or the fresh tomato, or even the canned tomato, but there was something undeniably sweet going on.

While the rice was simmering away, I had about...oh...45 minutes of free time, so I filled it with much chopping.  On my way home from work, I decided to take advantage of the not-arctic weather to stop into Superfresh for kitty litter and my usual fruitless glance where the fresh spinach should be but isn't.  One big difference today, though - there was spinach there!  I picked up a bag for tomorrow night's curry (finally), then remembered how I wanted to get a few extra veggies yesterday but didn't want to go out in the cold, so I grabbed my memory grocery list and a basket, and still remembered the kitty litter.

The fruits of my chopping was the Mega-Israeli Salad from the forthcoming UV2.

Texturally, it had many layers - crispity-crunchety peppers, more refined toothsomeness from tomatoes and cucumber, with a creamy smooth bite of avocado.  The dressing was delightfully simple and pulled everything together in the most mouth-watering way.  I didn't even get a chance to ask Mister what he thought, because before he finished chewing his first mouthful, he was exclaiming how good the salad was.

There's a tartness from the lemon that is only slightly overwhelmed by the zing of raw garlic, which only dominates the dish as much as you let it - you could also allow it to draw out the crunchiness of the raw veggies with even more intensity due to their enhanced flavor.

The salad was amazing and will absolutely find its way onto my table again (and hopefully, the tables of family and friends who ask me to bring food to gatherings).  As far as pairing it goes, I guess we'll have to play around with different main courses - it completely overpowered the Salsa Rice and Red Beans, with their subtle, sweet flavor and creamy texture.

 Mister did exactly what I expected him to do when he saw the mountain of rice and beans and tomatoes - he went to the cupboard and pulled out the tortilla chips left over from our last chili adventure.  To my amusement, he alternated between scooping up rice-n-beans and treating his salad like really garlicky salsa.  Either way, dinner got an enthusiastic thumbs-up from Mister.
 

Mister likes it simple

My poor husband.  Every weekend, I sit around dreaming up some crazy new menu with as much culinary variety as I can muster, making an earnest effort to cook every recipe in my cookbooks that does not contain an ingredient Mister or I won't/can't eat (except my occasional sneakiness).  I make a list of exotic sounding dinners, both because I think they sound fun and because I am pretty sure no one wants to read about the Chinese take-out we ordered the other night.  Then, after all the plotting, planning, listing, and shopping, it comes time to cook these delights.  I always have trouble picking the first recipe of the week, so I usually solicit Mister's assistance.  Here is a rough transcript of our pre-dinner conversation:

Me: what looks good?
Him: uummmmm......
Me: anything jump out at you?
Him: uhhhhh.... one of these, because I don't know what Caulipots are and I don't want to eat Bulgur Kale Stew.

So, I made what I was leaning toward even before this interaction: Farfalle with White Beans and Cabbage, from Vegan on the Cheap.

It was very tasty in a subtle, slightly sweet way.  Green cabbage is really growing on me (not literally) and I replaced the onion the recipe called for with about 5-6 cloves of garlic, pressed.  In place of the liberal sprinkling of salt and pepper, I shook a generous amount of Mediterranean Sea Salt over it and I think that probably added a little extra something.

But...Mister's "outburst" got me thinking.  It's a little bizarre to feel badly for a man who never has leftovers for dinner and only has about a dozen repeat dinners in a year due to his crazy wife's penchant for culinary exploration, but stick with me.  I've mentioned before that Mister would probably be happy if 50% of our dinners were Italian-influenced; I'm starting to think Mister would be happy if every once in a while, I shelved the cookbooks and just made dinner.  Normal people dinner, like spaghetti with marinara or burgers and fries, or stuff like that.  I actually can't think of any others because I've gotten so good at wanting to "gourmetize" everything we eat that I don't really know what other people eat for dinner.  Maybe it's because we really don't know any other veg-folks, so I have no archetype for a "typical," June Cleaver-esque vegan meal.

Mister eats a lot of weird stuff he probably wouldn't choose from a menu at a restaurant.  To thank him for bearing with me through my wing-stretching and recipe-testing, I'm going to make an effort to have at least one "normal" recipe on each menu.  If I can actually think of more than one (right now, all I've got in my brain is pasta with sauce), maybe I'll do a "theme week" and just make simple, Mister-approved meals. 

No.  Probably not, but it was a nice thought.

not first date food

I have the most delicious garlic breath right now.  Does anyone else enjoy the aftertaste in your mouth when you know you're breathing fire on anyone brave enough to stand near you?  I love the way garlic, especially raw garlic, lingers.  Fortunately, so does my husband.

Tonight's dinner consisted of two raw-garlic-heavy recipes I wanted to test for the upcoming sequel to The Urban Vegan.  I am so fortunate to have these sneak previews and feel forever indebted to Dynise for selecting me as one of her testers.  So far, I've tested five of her recipes and from what I can tell, there ought to be a waiting list when this puppy gets published!  The ones I chose to make tonight, though, take the vegan cake.

There is a complete shot of dinner.  Because the two recipes I tested tonight could both be appetizers, preludes to a main course, I decided to combine them and add a bowl of mixed Greek olives and hope Mister was in the mood for mezze.  The two delightful (and charmingly complementary) recipes I made were Gussied-Up Tabbouleh and Smoky Zucchini Bean Dip.

Due to the generally prohibitively expensive nature of fresh herbs, I don't use them very frequently.  One of my hopes/goals for my next home (or the one after that) is to have some space where I can plant at least an herb garden.  I would love to use fresh herbs more, but $2.50 for a cupful of mint is not my cup of tea.  Additionally, I'll admit, chopping approximately 2 cups worth of fresh herbs is not something I'm in the habit of doing, but it was much easier and more enjoyable than it's been in the past, thanks to my brand new Calphalon knife (thanks, Mom!).

Yes, I even took the care to garnish my tabbouleh with a pita wedge.  Can I tell you something?  This is the best tabbouleh I have ever eaten.  My husband hails from a first-generation Greek family.  I have raved about the tabbouleh from Cedars.  I don't like scallions, raw tomatoes, or mint in savory things.  This is a great example of that saying "the sum is greater than the parts," because I could not comprehend how amazing this tabbouleh is.  In her introduction to this recipe, Dynise writes that she made this frequently as a "young" vegetarian.  I can see why - I could see myself making a double portion of this on at least a bi-weekly basis throughout the warmer months and just scooping some out as desired.  

Don't let the sheer fabulousness of the tabbouleh distract you from the wonder that was our zucchini bean dip, though.  I can't tell you what all was in it (although I think some things should be obvious...), but I want to say that one of the ingredients and I have had our differences in the past, so I was a little nervous about its inclusion in this recipe.  I was faithful to the recipe, though, and just scrunched my eyes shut, wiggled my nose, and hoped that the other ingredients would make up for it.

They did.  I tasted the dip before putting it down in front of Mister and my eyes almost popped out of my head.  This dip is just bursting with flavor from various profiles - slightly nutty to the exciting bite of raw garlic (which is still dancing on my happy tongue).  I served it with pita, which doubled as scoops for the fork-disinclined Mister.  He happily dunked the wide end of the pita wedges into the dip, then used his offending fork to shovel some tabbouleh onto the pita and shoved the whole thing into his mouth.  He hasn't been eating much since he got sick, but he did a great job finishing off almost his whole bowl of tabbouleh and a decent bit of dip.  The recipe makes a ton - two generous cups - and if you were to buy the new book, make this, and take it to a party... people would be talking about you for days (in a good way)!  Because of the delicious snap of raw garlic, I think this dip would be most amazing when accompanied by sweet crudites, specifically, sliced red bell peppers and carrot sticks.

We'll try that tomorrow.  We're well past our first date.

creature comforts

In case I've failed to mention it so far today, it is SO COLD in Philadelphia.  We're headed into our second major cold snap - as in, today was the warmest weather we'll see this week and after only five minutes outside my face was in pain from the cold.  Add to all the freezing-to-death the fact that another chaotic and stressful week has only just begun at work and I'm already exhausted and you can probably imagine I was in a "let's be comfy and eat ourselves into hibernation" mood tonight.

While I prepared our Cajun Rice and Beans from The Accidental Vegan, Mister and I discussed how ravenous we've both been lately and how it can only be attributed to our bodies' natural survival instincts trying to fatten us up for the winter.

Mister and I have some odd conversations, but him blowing my mind with existential philosophy while we ate water ice beside a small stream in Manayunk one Spring day was one of the things that won my heart to him.  The fact that he's the handsomest man I've had the pleasure to call mine doesn't hurt.

Anyway, after all the cold, you would think I would have made the thick, hearty potato chowder...and I almost did.  But then I remembered looking at the weather forecast this morning and seeing that the warmest it will be tomorrow is 27 degrees, I figured the soup dinner is probably better suited to tomorrow.  Besides, along with the bone-chilling cold I brought home from the train station, I couldn't shake my desire to make my favorite rice-n-beans recipe.

I used a yellow pepper instead of green and pink beans instead of red.  I did this because there were two green peppers at the store and one was gross and because I couldn't find small red beans.  A happy side effect was how different it looked from the last time I made it - I figure, if I'm going to repeat a dish this frequently, I should at least make an effort to have it look different.

To proceed with our eating-our-way-into-hibernation trend, I couldn't escape the desire for dessert.  Alas, there was no chocolate hiding in my cupboards and I finished the last Sweetzels a couple of weeks ago.  No sweet treats were anywhere...until I pulled my long-patient can of pumpkin puree from the cupboard and grabbed VCTOTW from my cookbook shelf.

I made the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cupcakes before and I neglected to add the cinnamon piping then as well.  Does it enhance their deliciousness?  Possibly - someday I'll find out.  Are they still amazing without it?  Absolutely!  I think it's time for another...

One final note, in case I forget by tomorrow night: when I had carefully scooped one cup of pumpkin out of the 15 oz can, there was still some squishy bright orange glop still in there (I'm sure you can imagine).  I want to have pumpkin oatmeal tomorrow, but I knew I would be super sad in the morning if I just stirred in the leftover pumpkin without enhancing it in some way...it doesn't taste like much on its own.  I transferred what was left from the can into a small tupperware container, then sprinkled on some cinnamon and probably about a heaping Tbsp of brown sugar, poured on a dash of vanilla extract and whisked it all together.  Hopefully, it will make for a fun, bright orange breakfast!

victory is mine...for now

I knew it would happen eventually.  I knew if I just kept trying, plotting, scheming, and trying again that someday, I would win.  I had some strategy on my side, with plenty of time to mull over my course of action to be sure that this time I would prevail.

I beat Brown Rice.

It took some time and some of the tricks I had hiding in my sweater sleeve, but tonight, I made Mexican Rice and Bean Bake in only one hour.  Better yet, it was quite pleasing to the eye, so I took a picture this time!

It was every bit as hearty and savory as it looks.  I devoured it.  I was hungry, I was still a bit bone-chilled from the walk home, and...I think I'm getting sick.  What a time!

I have my many weapons to battle this nemesis as well, so hopefully, between my echinacea and herbal detox teas, I'll knock whatever this is out of my system before it knocks me out of commission - I absolutely cannot miss a moment at work this week.  That brings us to tonight's moment of zen:

thank you, Yogi Tea...sometimes we need remindin'

Italian Feast Friday

A lot of times, I like to mix things up - I dig the fusion cuisine.  I'm not terribly skilled at concocting fusion recipes just yet, but I love piecing together a side dish from here with an entree from there, so to speak.

Nevertheless, sometimes a completely unified dinner is fulfilling in a way I can only describe as peaceful.  It's as though all the components that make food into a meal come together and harmonize in such a way that you would have to be oblivious to the world around you not to pause mid-chew and appreciate how good your meal is.  I would say it's a zen-like experience, but that would introduce fusion language into a very coherent dinner.

Tonight, I welcomed a hard-earned weekend by making Clara's Pasta e Fagioli from The Urban Vegan.  From Dynise's description, I expected the results to be a lot soupier, but it was undeniably a pasta dish.  I suppose I could have added the cup of broth for flavor without interfering with the "pasta dish" aspect too much - I cannot fathom how one little cup of broth would have turned the monstrous portion (48oz of leftovers crammed into GladWare after we each had two helpings) into soup.  Don't get me wrong - the weather is becoming perfect for soup, but Mister has already made it clear that he is not ready for that yet.

Following Dynise's own method of eating this delightful bowl of pasta and beans, I ran out for fresh bread to turn into garlic bread and I was really quite thrilled with the results - I dare a restaurant to make a more attractive plate:

Well...okay, it would probably be a little prettier without that burnt edge there, but I'm not perfect for heaven's sake.

To round out the perfect Italian-ness of our dinner, I served up the last of the olives and poured myself a healthy, celebratory glass of Francis Coppola Diamond Malbec (AKA: Velvet).  Okay...the wine is Argentine, but that's really just a short swim from Italy anyway.  Regardless of geography, it could not have completed the flavors of our dinner tonight better if it was grown in the foothills of Tuscany.

I like my men like I like my rapini...bitter and green

Sorry. It couldn't be helped.

I took some of my cupcakes to work to share with my trainees (and a couple other lucky folks). One of my trainees said the chocolate banana cupcakes tasted healthy. I don't know how I feel about that, but both the chocolate banana cupcakes and the ginger-coconut-carrot cupcakes were very well received by my boss. Well received = wolfed down.

When I came home from work, Mister had been home for hours. He's been pretending not to be sick for days, but today it hit him at work and he came home, right after his boss sent him to some fruity Eastern-medicine-man who gave him some herbal pills. I'm all for alternative healing, and the last time he sent Mister to this guy for acupuncture it worked wonders, but Mister's description of his visit makes me wonder how the guy even knew what to "prescribe." Reading the ingredients of the pills, though, it looks like some kind of herbal detox with a lot of the herbs that probably taste too bad to put into my detox tea.

My idea of the perfect cure for anything that ails you? SOUP! So dinner was Hearty Peasant Soup and it was hearty alright! It was basically a tomato-based soup with plenty of beans and rapini (broccoli rabe). It came together quite easily and quickly, compared with some of my [beloved] Moosewood soups that take 2 or more hours to prepare. Mister laughed at my appraisal of our dinner, but here it is: it tasted very natural...smoky and green, which is a bizarre combination. I would almost say woody, but I don't know if I want to apply that word to soup. The rapini was quite bitter...I think I prefer it steamed in a soy sauce marinade, rather than simmered in a tomato-y soup...I think the soy sauce brings out the bitterness in a much more complementary way than the acidity of the tomatoes, combined with the pleasantly astringent flavor of the 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar. I will make it again, but I think I will try to substitute kale for the rapini and make some hot, crusty, rustic garlic bread to serve alongside.

rice reincarnated

Today was so much fun! In the end, the farmer's market was a bust, I gave up on the Italian Market (I wasn't de-stressed enough yet to deal with the crowds and chaos), and the ultimate in self-pampering became the only thing I accomplished today. Aside from my deep desire to spend some quiet time at Cafe Fulya, I really don't feel bad about the three hours I spent in Salon Sugar today, letting Candi KaBoom do amazing things to my hair.

The salon itself is painted in shades of pale and hot pink, and there are pink and black vinyl curlicues reaching out along the walls from behind the ornate gold mirrors. There aren't words to describe how awesome this place is or how happy I am with my hair!
Also, I have finally fixed the Red Rice and Beans recipe. Also, that's a crappy name for dinner, so I gave it a spiffier title. Without further ado, I give you...

Risotto Mexicano (pronounced meh-hee-KAHN-oh)
serves 4-6
Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice
1 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 cups V8 Hot & Spicy
2 Tbsp canola oil
4 cloves garlic, pressed/minced
1 tsp chili powder
1 large red bell pepper, diced
2-3 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
15 oz black beans, rinsed and drained
5 oz baby spinach

Bring water to a boil in medium saucepan. Stir in rice, then cover and reduce heat to lowest setting and simmer 10-15 minutes. When almost all the water has been absorbed, stir in the V8 juice. Cover and simmer 10-15 more minutes.
Meanwhile, dice the pepper and tomatoes, but keep separate Heat oil on medium heat in a deep pot. Add garlic and pepper; cover and saute 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in chili powder, tomatoes, and black beans. Simmer, uncovered, 1-2 more minutes. Pour in rice and V8 - it should not have been completely absorbed by the rice yet. Simmer, uncovered, about 10 minutes, until rice is tender and most liquid is absorbed. Stir in spinach until wilted. Remove from heat and serve.