black magic, brown rice

I know, I know - how many posts can I really devote to brown rice?

At least one more.

I am just so pleased with myself at the moment.  Tonight I made the Seitanic Jambalaya from Veganomicon in just under an hour!  The book gives it an hour and a half, and previous attempts
have seen me begging the rice to be plump and done after two and a half hours of simmering uselessly on the stovetop.  Tonight, though, I nearly made this into an express meal!

Well, okay, let's not get out of control here.  Besides, it's not like I did anything terribly innovative - I just used the same trick I've employed for other brown-rice-stovetop-simmering recipes - I cooked the rice separately and then added it to the pot.  Ah, yes.  The pot.

Another contributor to my success may have been the use of my beautiful 4-quart saute pan.  Everything fit!

Speaking of perfect fits (and awkward segues...), I am so excited about a new development exactly halfway between the two center city locations of my company.

HipCityVeg is the new venture by Nicole Marquis, who was formerly the General Manager at my dear, departed, and sorely missed Horizons.  I knew I was in love when I read a review that featured a casual mission statement from the proprietress: "I wanted to put Horizons on a sandwich."  Um... you had me at Hello!

Great reviews abound and apparently there have been lines out the door since the place opened on Monday.  I am hoping to stop by there for lunch tomorrow since I will be traveling from one store to the other and, like I said, it's mid-way.  My mouth absolutely watered checking out the menu...

I'm putting my camera in my purse now and with a little luck (and probably a lot of patience), I'll finally have some food photos for you tomorrow (and of course, as detailed a review as I can muster!)  Until then, chickpeas, take care!

sunday, lazy sunday

I set my alarm for noon today.  I still hit snooze several times before convincing myself to get up.

I sat around in my bathrobe for hours, drinking cup after cup of amazing coffee.

That's right - Dark Chocolate Ecstasy.  You can't tell me that's not a killer name for a coffee.  It made the kitchen smell amazing, so Mister and I made and drank two pots.

I've been peeing almost all day, but it was totally worth it.

All day, or more likely between each new cup o' joe, I asked myself with a touch of anxiety, "Isn't there something I should be doing?"  Each time, the answer was the same - NO.  I did all the food shopping yesterday and we can wait a few more days for laundry, so no, there was nothing that needed doing.  It was great to just relax and enjoy my day off.

I'll admit, though, I'm still a little jittery from all that coffee - it's a bit more than I usually drink in a day and it was nearly as consistently administered (via hand to mouth) as it would have been if I had that sought-after IV drip of caffeine.  Mister just brewed a pot of decaf, but I am definitely done with coffee... until tomorrow.

Between being overly lazy and overly caffeinated, I definitely had the energy to cook dinner.  I made Mexican Rice and Bean Bake from Vegan on the Cheap, although I really ought to put "bake" in quotation marks (like I just did) because I haven't baked this since the first unnecessarily time-consuming time I made this.  I find it comes together much more quickly and with less gnashing of teeth when I cook the rice separately from the rest, adding it in once it's fully cooked.

While the rice was cooking, I minced a dark green poblano chili because I think it's wasteful to get those expensive little cans of flavorless and mushy diced chilies.  To soften the pieces up a little, I sauteed them with olive oil and garlic for at least 5 minutes, probably longer, before adding in everything else.

That smelled so good and only got better with the gradual addition of salsa, beans, sweet white corn, and then finally, the cooked rice.

I haven't made this in a long time and now I'm kicking myself because I did not remember it tasting as incredible as it did tonight.  I'm not in the habit of buying/using white corn, but it added a neat "surprise" to the dish.  It was crunch and sweet when you were not quite expecting something like that to be part of the dish, providing a nice contrast against the otherwise savory nature of this recipe.

Last night we had Pasta Florentine from The 30 Minute Vegan.

It was tasty and I always enjoy the nooch-heavy "cream" sauce, but aside from that, it was nothing special and I couldn't think of a single clever thing to say about it.  So you just get a half-decent picture.  Lucky you!

sunshine polka dots

Happy Monday!  The countdown is on - Monday down means only three more days until I wake up before the sun and race it westward to California!  I'm scheduled to touch down at 1pm-ish, so if I win, I might admit the world is coming to an end.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great weekend.  As my previous post shows, I was pretty busy on Saturday, and Sunday as well, but in a totally different and far more fun way.  On Sunday, we met up with friends we haven't seen in a while - some of them we haven't seen since our wedding!  Fifteen of us descended upon North Bowl in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia and spent about five hours eating, drinking, and making merry.  It was a mixed bag, in terms of the service level being a bit below where I expect customer service to be, but we weren't there for the waitstaff, we were there to see each other.  Even Mister managed to be social!

I'm actually not going to spend a lot of time talking about our experience with North Bowl because I used up a lot of my words in the email I wrote to the management.  The happy ending, for now, is that the management responded quickly and appropriately and my happiness with the venue has been restored by their actions.  More details coming later....along with one of two upcoming surprises. [ilovesecrets]

Tonight I had a real conflict within while trying to determine what to make for dinner.  The part of me that hates when food grows limbs in our refrigerator and runs away or turns funny colors really wanted to make the Black Bean Burgers since I'm using up the burger thins from when I made the Lemony Chickpea Burgers and I don't know how long it will take them to grow "friends."  Another part of me wanted to make a longer-cooking meal since I had time, and yet another part of me wanted to make a meal with lot of leftovers for lunch this week.  Eventually, I settled upon the Mexican Rice and Bean Bake from Vegan on the Cheap.

Because a 4oz can of about two tablespoons of diced green chilies is pointlessly expensive, I pick up a cubanelle pepper at Whole Foods and diced it to saute with the garlic, and in place of the onion, I use my last shallot.

I'll admit, this picture made me a little nervous.  For one thing, I've never cooked a cubanelle pepper and I wasn't sure of its exact heat level.  The lightness of the pepper worried me, as it seems like they get hotter as they get lighter (ghost chilies, anyone?).  Also, apparently, shallots make my eyes tear the way onions make people who eat onions eyes tear.  I really wasn't sure what I was getting myself into.

[I would like to take just a moment to direct your attention to the pretty little Whole Foods brand pinto beans hiding behind the bowl there - 89 cents each, baby - that's right!  Thank you, Lacy!]

Turns out, I was getting myself into a fabulous base for a very tasty dinner.  I know I've made this before, because I know this isn't the first time I've said, "no, I am NOT baking this."  I can't remember when, though - what I do know is that I should make this more frequently because at the moment, it's a contender for the 2nd place spot for my favorite rice-n-beans recipe.

It's just spicy enough to keep things interesting, but I'm still able to eat it, which I consider a plus, since it's my dinner, too. In addition to the "just right" heat level, the little drops of sunshine scattered throughout (also known as "corn") added a satisfying and sweet pop of "other" flavor into a very savory and spicy dish.

Stay tuned for the unveiling of Secret #1 soon!

big fat butter beans

Have you ever eaten butter beans?  I hadn't.  I knew I'd seen them in stores, yet I still had some difficulty finding them and spent a little time pondering what would be an acceptable substitute if I couldn't find them.  Never fear, though!  The Bastion of Beans (Goya) would never let me down, so I did leave Superfresh with two cans of butter beans.

In case the "intro" didn't give it away, we had the Parsley, Butter Bean, and Cherry Tomato Stew from The Low GI Cookbook for dinner tonight.

I don't know why this surprised me, since the cookbook does actually have some very attractive pictures of almost every recipe, but butter beans are friggin' huge!  They were bigger than the half-moon slices of Tofurky sausage I added for substance!  They were bigger than the halved grape tomatoes (which were actually quite large for grape tomatoes)!  Texturally, they were kind of like really big cannellini beans - definitely a creamy center.  A person might even say they were "buttery," which is how I imagine they got their name.


"Hey - HEY!"
"What?"
"Have you eaten these beans?"
"No, why?"
"They're so....buttery!"
"Okay..."
"I'm going to call them butter beans."
"Good call."


That's the naming conversation.  It's acted out in my head by two cavemen who greatly resemble the characters in B.C., except hairier.

Anyway, all said, it was a pretty good stew, which I served over surprisingly fragrant brown basmati rice.  This actually happened - I was standing at my counter, chopping veggies, when an enticing scent invaded my nostrils.  I looked all over for the source of this scent before realizing it was the rice.  True story.



Although I found the size of the butter beans a bit disturbing initially, they really did help with the intense flavor from the sausage.  Without the added sausage, though, I'm not sure this would have been quite as happy a dish.  It smelled very strongly of the 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon I added in and I feel like the taste would have been overwhelming if completed by the 1/2 tsp of sugar I forgot to add and did not include the savory notes contributed by the sausage.

It's a very attractive dinner and it smelled fabulous while cooking, but I can't say I'll rush to put this on the table again.

another day, another dollar [saved]

This has nothing at all to do with the rest of this post, but I thought you might be interested to know that Angst has spent more time in the kitchen lately than I have.  It started a couple of nights ago.  I was sitting here at my computer, clickity-clacking away, when I spied something out of place in my peripheral vision.  I turned to see what was awry with just enough time to see something that appeared to be small and gray and possessing a tail skitter away.  Angst chased his new friend under the dishwasher and then sat there for the rest of the night, waiting for his little buddy to make another appearance.  Honestly, it happened in such a flash, I couldn't be sure if it was the cute little mouse I thought it was or a really big cockroach.  Obviously, my vote was for the former.

No appearance was made by Angst's little friend, who only popped his little head in during the heaviest part of the recent rainstorm, so Mister and I assumed he had found his way back out to wherever mice in the city live (probably someone else's home?).  Then, just a few minutes ago, I noticed Angst was stalking the stove, staring quite intently at various parts of it.  Nothing says "Exciting Monday Night" like this: the cat was staring at the stove and I was staring at the cat and occasionally glancing at the stove.  Then it happened: a tiny, gray, fuzzy head popped up out of one of the burners and looked around.  He popped back down after I may or may not have exclaimed something relatively unholy...

He's good at hiding, so who knows how long he'll stay, but I'm not letting Mister kill him, so we'll see what Angst ends up doing.  He likes mice.  We had one at our ghetto apartment and he used to hang out by the stove and wait to pet it.  That mouse was much bigger than this one and he never did me any harm, so I don't see why this one needs to meet an untimely demise.  I'm just glad he turned out to be a mouse, not a 'roach.

So about that dinner... I didn't end up making dinner last night since we didn't even get home from the wedding until almost 7pm...and then we took a short nap.  Around 11, we both broke into leftovers and then went to bed.  Very exciting, I know.  But that's why I made Coconut Curry Rice from Vegan on the Cheap tonight.  I was a little surprised by how amazingly flavorful it was, for how simple a recipe it is.  I was completely astonished, though, when the brown rice actually did cook in the coconut milk.  As I was adding the rice to the dish, I thought to myself, "No, no...this is a mistake."  It took a little longer than I wanted it to, but it was well worth the wait.  I served it with some garlic naan.

Besides the normal savings earned by my diligent use of Vegan on the Cheap, this meal saved us money by helping me create the illusion of tasty, authentic Indian food right here at home.  Last night, I found myself craving a trip to Lovash for their amazing samosas, crispy poppadums, and startling spices.  However, right now I am both making an attempt to scale back our unnecessary expenses, as well as devoting any "extra" food money to our final trips to Horizons before they close.  All in all, a very "cheap" evening, which leaves more cash for a trip to Horizons in the [hopefully] near future.

A few other cash-savers included attending Employee Appreciation at work today.  Due to the stylish and healthy way we celebrate things, we had vendors with all kinds of health foods, served from little red kiosks under white-and-red striped umbrellas.  Here's the rundown: sno-cones, cotton candy, popcorn, smoothies, and soft pretzels (it's a "Philly" thing, as one new hire who recently moved here from Massachusetts pointed out).  Even though I know there is nothing natural or worth eating in that yellow flavoring they put on popcorn, it doesn't change the fact that it smells incredible and tastes as yellow as it looks, so I treated myself to some. I couldn't tell you the last time I had that kind of carnival popcorn, so I was able to justify it.  I also had a pretzel and would have had a smoothie, but the line was way too long.  So, there you go - afternoon snack taken care of with no added expense to me!

Finally, I managed to sneak off with about a half dozen "fresh" bagels for Mister's breakfast this week (probably me, too....I mean, they're free and they're bagels - what's not to want?).  One of the nighttime supervisors has a team member who works at Manhattan Bagel during the day, so he frequently brings in the bagels that would have gotten thrown away.  He had a haul of about 4 dozen bagels, so when my colleague invited me to help myself, I certainly did!

Here is your money-saving tip o' the day: although cherries are now increasing in price again, Whole Foods is blowing out organic strawberries at $3.50 a carton - they are so incredibly red and smell so good, you will do yourself a serious disservice if you let this pass you by.  By the way, not only are they extremely attractive - they taste like the best strawberries you've ever had. 

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...

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!

creative cooking part 2

Alternate title: When Bulgur = Brown Rice and Bake = Saute.

I'm glad I'm comfortable enough in my cooking skin now to deviate from the tyranny of the recipe.  I'm normally a pretty By-the-Book kinda gal, mainly because I figure if someone took the time to write it down, I should probably at least try it their way.  However, if I insisted on cooking "by the book" this week, we would have been SoL for at least three dinners...out of six, that's pretty significant.

Tonight I made the only think left on the menu (there is one more "slot" but it says "Go Out or Improv." Considering how much I've already improv-ed this week, I'm leaning toward a date...).

 
Curried Bulgur Casserole with Chickpeas from The Complete Vegan Cookbook is something I've made twice before, both times to mixed results.  I try to learn from my "mistakes" and I had to do some things differently this time because of ingredient issues, so the first change I made was that I cooked up some brown rice in place of the bulgur, since I used the bulgur for this recipe two nights ago.  It actually came out pretty nicely, with a slightly more substantial texture than that which was achieved by the bulgur the first two times.

The second thing I did differently was to simply cook the whole "casserole" stovetop, rather than baking it for 20 minutes.  This was due to a few things - for one, I fear baking brown rice.  It just doesn't go well for me, and I was having so much success boiling it, I didn't want to ruin things.  Also, it seemed like an unnecessary step that would only prolong the dinner-making process.  It's a good thing to keep in mind for make-ahead dinner, but if you're putting it together fresh, there's really not much reason to bake it as far as I'm concerned.

Finally, I remembered in my review of the other two times I made this that I was disappointed in the flavor - despite the prominent presence of my favorite curry powder and despite smelling delightful, when I tasted this about minute before it was finished cooking, I was astonished at how little taste there was.  The recipe judiciously calls for a very small amount of salt - 1/4 tsp.  In my world, that is far too little and I'm sure Mister would agree.  I have decided that the correct amount is closer to a full teaspoon and it will remain there until salt becomes an issue for Mister or me.

Tomorrow will either be super boring or really fun, so hopefully you'll check back to see what dinner ends up being - I'm not completely sure yet myself!

wonders never cease

A couple of weeks ago when Mister and I did our speed-shopping at Essene, he misunderstood that I wanted him to fetch brown rice and basmati rice and returned with Brown Basmati rice.  Tonight was the first night I needed to open that bag and use it and it was an interesting experience.  Although brown basmati takes as long, possibly longer to cook than long-grain brown rice, it smells so much better.  I'm not sure of the price difference, but this might be a worthwhile switch for the future, because the only thing I hate more than the huge and unnecessary amount of trouble I have cooking brown rice is how bad it smells.

In fact, the brown basmati rice smelled so good while it was simmering that Mister, who previously was not sure he was hungry but "go ahead and start cooking anyway, I'll probably be hungry by the time it's done," shuffled into the kitchen and decided he was so seduced by the scent that he couldn't wait for dinner to cook, he had to eat a sandwich because he was so hungry now.

I hate it when he does that.  It really drives me crazy when he eats something I consider substantial right before we have dinner.  I keep forgetting the Food Math Mister laid out for me about a week ago:
I figured out that I eat about three times as much as you and twice as fast, so I'll always eat more and be finished first.

With that in mind, I tried to think of his pickle-n-mustard sandwich as an appetizer.  Clearly, it was, since he scarfed down two healthy helpings of dinner as well as half the olives I set out.  What was this magical dinner?

Greek-Style Rice Pilaf from The Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook.  I had some serious misgivings about this dish while it was cooking and I will accept at least half the blame for that.  The recipe comes from the Fast, Fast Foods chapter of the book and the largest ingredient is 3 cups of cold, cooked rice.  Although I intended all week to make rice after dinner so that I would have it ready, I failed to do so.  As the weekend approached, I decided as long as I would have the time, I would prefer to cook the rice and then add it to the dish so it was fresh.  I think I underestimated the importance of the rice being precooked and cold.

Because I used freshly boiled rice, it was far more gelatinous that I would have preferred and I started to worry that it was going to resemble something too close to risotto for Mister.  Since you already know the end of the story, you know I needn't have worried, but it really started to look smushy and creamy.

It came out just fine and with just the perfect amount of lemon.  The lemon was extremely willing to give up its juice and because I felt the lemon flavor was way too strong in the chickpea patties I made the other night, I worried it would be overwhelming in this dish as well.  Apparently, I worry way too much - it completely enhanced the vinegary flavor of the artichoke hearts while the sweet green peas played the perfect foil by adding a touch of sugar.  I think the peas also brought out the mellow sweetness of the marjoram I subbed for oregano because I really wish I didn't have to cook with dried oregano ever and I can't wait until the herb garden from my mother blooms so I have fresh oregano.  Maybe then I can stop hating it.

When I put our dinner on the table, someone had taken up Mister's chair as though he was waiting for me to serve him at the table.

He's so good at scowling.  You'd never know how spoiled he is, with his china food and water bowls and leopard print appointed Kitty Cave.

moving makes me stretch

Although it probably would have been wise to stretch my muscles out a bit before and during the moving process, I did not.  That may very well be the reason my back hates me and my arms and legs were introducing me to muscles I didn't know I had by the medium of pain.  Regardless, the way this move has made me stretch is in the kitchen these past two days. 

Although yesterday's dinner was planned out and shopped for, I had no plans at all for tonight, but I did have spinach, carrots, and brown rice!  Yeah, I know, you're drooling already, I'm sure.  I spent most of my homeward commute brainstorming about what we could eat for dinner without stretching our poor bank account any further.  I also didn't want to buy a bunch of stuff since I know I'll finally construct a real menu and need to shop for that.

Turkish Spinach Pilaf
about 4 servings

2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup brown rice
1 Turkish bay leaf
dash of cinnamon
2 large carrots, thinly sliced (about 1.5 cups)
4-5 cups finely chopped spinach (about 4-5 cups)
15 oz can of chickpeas

Bring broth to a boil in a medium saucepan (about 2.5 quarts).  Stir in rice and bay leaf, then cover and reduce heat to low.  Simmer 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, slice the carrots as thinly as possible - I was able to get some to be nearly translucent.
Add thinly sliced carrots and cinnamon; stir to combine and simmer 5-10 minutes more.  Remove bay leaf.  Lay chopped spinach over the rice and carrots.

Cover the pot and raise the heat slightly.  Allow the spinach to steam on top of the pilaf for 5-10 minutes, then stir into the rice, adding the chickpeas.

Cover and cook until spinach is wilted and all liquid has been absorbed by the rice.

It took about an hour and 15 minutes to be ready, but I'm already brown rice-challenged and now I'm trying to cook it on a new stove with new quirks, so if you prepare this and get a better time, please let me know!

It was fun and very attractive.  It was a little less flavorful than I wanted it to be, so in the future, I may tweak it by adding tamari or perhaps an herb blend to liven it up a little - I might even do a combination of tamari and the low, sweet heat of harissa.  Only time will tell how far I can stretch!

welcome weekend: wine & chocolate

I made it through the week, the day.  I'm home, with a loving husband and a sweetly snoozing kitty.  I'm halfway through my second glass of Montepulciano.  The first glass accompanied a tasty dinner, of which I couldn't get enough:

I love the color of those deep red kidney beans - they're nearly purple against the tawny colors of the Rice Island Casserole from Vegan on the Cheap.  I think it only took me half the time to make it this time around, due to a not-so-secret trick I used to ensure the rice actually cooked: I cooked it in the broth, separate from the rest of the ingredients, only combining everything for the last ten minutes while the liquid cooked off.

I had two and a half helpings - I couldn't stop eating it!  Surprisingly, I think my overindulgence was owed at least partly to the way the single dish satisfied all the tastes our mouths desire: sweet and savory, etc.  That's my opinion, anyway, because normally, if one taste dominates a dish, I find myself foraging within an hour, looking for whatever the opposite taste is. 

Speaking of which, my second glass of wine accompanied a deliciously dark square of chocolate, thanks to Endangered Species Bug Bites.  I wish I had a second one, especially since three squares equals a full serving.

I'm happy to put this week behind me and greatly anticipating next weekend and preparing to move.  For now, though, it's time to finish up the wine and get some sleep, a precious commodity this week.  Menu tomorrow!

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.
 

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!

limited time offer

So, I knew it wouldn't last forever.  Perhaps, if I ever get tired of the blog being called "Angst Loves Spinach" I'll change the name to Taming of the Brown Rice.  Not quite as catchy, I'll grant you, but I feel like I spend an inordinate amount of time discussing my inability to cook brown rice.

I finally tasted victory the other day, but I knew it would be short-lived and tonight's dinner reinforced that belief strongly.

I made Rice Island Casserole from Vegan on the Cheap.  When I started cooking, I asked Mister if anything on the menu jumped out at him.  He refrained from giving any guidance other than "you might want to make something that takes a while, since you're starting early."  Pretty good guidance, actually, considering how darn long it took to cook.

Fortunately, while it was simmering away...for about two hours...it smelled amazing.  That just made the waiting more difficult!  There was such a great combination of herbs and spices that just simmered away smelling very much like the pan of mulling spices left on a back burner in my mother-in-law's kitchen on Christmas Eve.  I thought, as it simmered and simmered, that once it was finally finished, if it tasted anything like it smelled, it couldn't help but be a phenomenal success.

I was absolutely right.  It was so good and it brought out a serious hankering for Isa's Jerk Seitan on Coconut Rice...

Bonus!  I made cookies for a colleague (and because cookies are awesome):

The recipe is that of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from VCIYCJ, but I used cranberries instead of raisins and I plumped them in some hot water while we were [finally] eating dinner.  My kitchen smells so good right now.

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'

organic spinach and the continuing battle with brown rice

Years ago, when I became a vegetarian and then moved within 5 blocks of a Whole Foods Market, I became an avid fan of organic produce.  I understood it was a bit more costly than conventionally grown (and at times, manipulated) fruits and vegetables, but I was convinced I could taste a difference and if nothing else, I was full of the zeal which often accompanies a major lifestyle change.

Years passed, times got a little tough...I lost my job at a non-profit organization after multiple cuts in government funding, coincidentally occurring at the same time as Bush's Great War.  In the nine months it took me to find a new job, I would be lying if I said I had little trouble surviving on unemployment.  I took a part time job and continued to look for full time work while trying to nourish my body while being as thrifty as possible.  Actually, Robin's book would have come in awfully handy if it had been written in 2006.  In any case, while I continued to purchase the best quality food I could justify with my shrunken budget, I let organic food slide, bit by bit, out of my diet.

Why did I do that??

I've recently been reminded, in many ways, of the superior quality of organic produce, as well as other staples.  Mostly out of laziness (I prefer not to scrub my pesticide-coated food with steel wool), I have gotten back into the habit of buying organic fruits and most vegetables.  However, in the frozen food aisle, I have continued to buy "normal" vegetables.  In preparation for tonight's Indian-Spiced Lentil Ragu from Vegan on the Cheap, I needed one of those nifty boxes of frozen spinach.  The past several times I've purchased those little cubes of chopped greens from Superfresh, I have found myself fishing out dead and brown pieces, as well as prickly sticks, and I'm not fond of dissecting my frozen veggies.  So, this time, I decided to try the boxes of organic frozen spinach at Whole Foods, just to see if there was a difference.

I don't know why this continues to surprise me.  I guess I'm just that dense sometimes.  My first thought upon adding the green brick to my ragu was exactly how green it was; there was not a single shred of rotted brown spinach or sticky stems.  It remained a green that could only be described as lush throughout the cooking process and even the curry spices couldn't muddle its beautiful emerald coloring.

I'm not sure you can see it too well in this picture, but it is gorgeous and more tender than I have been accustomed to when eating frozen spinach.  I didn't even realize the different texture until tonight, but once again, the organic proves to be worth its price even when frozen.

Last night, I waged another battle in my war with Brown Rice.  I don't know why we can't just get along and live harmoniously.  It wants to be cooked; I want to cook it - I don't know why we can't work together for what is obviously a common goal.  Nevertheless, I nearly lost the battle last night.

There are no pictures of the Mexican Bean and Rice Bake from Vegan on the Cheap.  I was too angry at dinner to photograph it.  I am somewhat convinced that Brown Rice is not necessarily picking a fight with me, as much as it is trying to avoid bathing in Tomato Juice.  It seems that every time I have trouble with Brown Rice, it involves this nemesis.  After waiting over two hours for dinner to cook last night, I have come to the unshakable decision to always cook the rice separately from anything that involves tomatoes.