Mister picks a winner!

I'm sure I've previously mentioned my countless attempts to involve Mister in the dinner-decision-making process.  I've probably also mentioned his apathetic reticence.  On rare occasion, I have shared a fun story of changing my dinner plans due to an enthusiastic request from a Mister looking at the menu over my shoulder.  As you've probably gathered, if Mister actually participates in choosing dinner, I'm entirely too delighted to turn down whatever request he made.

This is why we did not go out to dinner tonight.

To be honest, today was a real bummer of a last day off from work.  It was grey and miserable in the morning, which I don't mind, but it certainly makes it a little harder to get moving.  I had a pleasant surprise(ish) in the form of my Cali Sister coming to visit.  We wandered over to Cups & Chairs, where I haven't been since Old Faithful died, and met up with Mister for a round of tea and brunch.  I had a blueberry bagel that could have been dessert, accompanied by a Green Tea Soy Latte that was utterly delicious.  Sister had a Caprese sandwich and a Vanilla Latte, while little Nephew pushed pieces of an omelet around a plate.  Mister had the vegetarian omelet with a Detox Tea that he really tried to drink, but didn't.  After some fun conversation, I bid Sister farewell just as a steady rain began to fall, threatening to drown my hopes of completing outdoor chores.

I stood in my kitchen with my coat buttoned up and my grocery list tucked in my purse, glancing out the window and trying to determine how much rain was actually falling.  I eventually decided that despite my disposition, I am not made of salt and ventured out into the rain.  I made it to Whole Foods, filled my bags with goodies and got about halfway home before the heavier rain started.  I opened my umbrella and hastened my steps, then took my time unloading the groceries in hope the rain would die down so I could go to Superfresh.  Eventually, that did occur.

What does any of this have to do with not going out to dinner?  Well, after traipsing through the rain for groceries and a horrendously unsuccessfully shoe-shopping attempt, I sat in my kitchen by half-light, since one of the bulbs blew out again last night, and could not muster the desire to cook.  I wanted to go to dinner just around the corner, have pasta with rich, garlicky sauce, and at least a glass or two of Montepulciano.  Mister was totally on board, by the way, until I had to go and derail the whole thing by showing him the menu...at which point he commenced to drool.

Can you blame him?  I constructed this week's menu completely from Appetite for Reduction, so his reaction should be testimony that you can eat mouth-watering things while trying to lose weight.  No, Mom, I'm not trying to lose weight.  It's good to know, though, that if I did want to lose weight, I wouldn't feel deprived! (I sound like a commercial for my company). 

Anyway, why don't I share the menu with you so you can see why Mister didn't want to go out to dinner anymore (and why I couldn't help but agree, on second glance):

1. Hottie Black-Eyed Peas and Greens - I had completely forgotten about the New Years tradition of eating black-eyed peas and collards for good luck until everyone I knew posted about it in some social media.  So, I figure, good luck is better late than never, right??

2. Forty-Clove Chickpeas and Broccoli - I'll be honest: this recipe alone was the reason I wanted this cookbook.  I was fortunate to get a sneak peek when Jess from Get Sconed! was testing for the cookbook and I was hooked from that moment.

3. Pasta Con Broccoli - hey! Broccoli finally got Not-Gross.  I'm taking advantage.  Besides, after reading the recipe through twice, I was in love.

4. Ginger Bok Choy and Soba - pushing my luck with the bok choy situation, but the adult variety is usually available, so I figured I'd take my chances.

5. Pasta e Fagioli with Spinach - because apparently, a girl can never have too many pasta fagioli recipes... it's like the Italian answer to Rice-n-Beans.

6. Braised Cabbage with Seitan accompanied (hopefully) by Jerk Asparagus.  When I got the book on Christmas, I was glancing through the food porn section in the middle of the cookbook and saw the Jerk Asparagus.  Mister and I love the jerk spices, so I wanted to make this ASAP.  Of course, there is no asparagus to be found now.  I selected the cabbage-n-seitan because I needed a recipe to help me use the rest of my New Years Seitan.

So, the recipe that got Mister over the prospect of bruschetta, pizza, and possibly tiramisu (some of his absolute favorite foods)?  Not surprisingly, Forty-Clove Chickpeas and Broccoli.  I served it on top of homemade mashed potatoes, creating another holy trinity of Mister's favorite foods: broccoli, chickpeas, (garlic) and mashed potatoes.  It was super simple to prep, and then it just sits in the oven, stinking up your kitchen in the most delightful way for about 45 minutes.  It was amazing and I'm so glad we ate at home after all (plus, I listened to my new CD while prepping) - we just about licked our bowls clean.

Go, right now, and get Appetite for Reduction.  Make this recipe.  Angst says so.

Okay, you're right.  He didn't say a thing, but he sure is a persuasive napper, isn't he?

rain in december

It just seems like that shouldn't happen.  Not in Pennsylvania, anyway.  It's been relatively overcast for a couple of days and yesterday we had a few moments of snow-globe weather that we paused a meeting at work to observe.  Tonight, streetlamps and traffic signals are reflected on the slick city streets.  I'll admit, I'm grateful they are reflecting on wet roads and not ice-coated roads, but there is something more depressing about December rain than rain in any other month (except possibly February).

Additionally, it seriously interferes with my weekend ritual of food shopping.  That is the one advantage I'll grant to suburb-dwellers - grocery shopping in the rain isn't that big a deal because you shop inside and are only outside long enough to move your groceries from your cart to your car before returning home in an enclosed, heated box.  I, on the other hand, walk to the store and walk home and I have to say - it's not easy to carry groceries and an umbrella.  I got the first leg of my shopping in before the rain but I'm a little leery about what tomorrow brings (according to weather.com, it brings nothing but more rain, but there must be a break in the clouds sometime).

Even though I didn't have my usual hectic schedule today, I still taught my lessons, which is becoming more time and effort consuming with the recent addition of two bright young ladies, so I didn't get a chance to relax.  Tomorrow morning is definitely for lounging, especially if it's going to be raining and gloomy, so I'm already plotting a luxurious breakfast (we'll see if it actually happens).  The point of all this blithering nonsense is that I got home from teaching around 7ish with exactly no motivation to make a pastry crust, find space to roll it out, and then take all the other necessary steps to make Samosa Pie.

Fortunately, Dragani and I put together a handsome menu last night and one of the options could be constructed solely from food I buy at Superfresh, so tonight's dinner was the perfectly hearty, homey, and savory Chickpea Stew with Fried Polenta from Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook.

I can't say it enough: I love this meal.  It is so easy to make that I probably should have saved it for a night I'm feeling more braindead, but I guess you could say I'm still recovering from the week.  It combines nearly all of my favorite things: polenta, blended sauces, savory garlicky-tomato goodness.  How could I go wrong?

As you've probably observed, I branched out for this week's menu, consulting more cookbooks than the one I've been using for three weeks straight.  We still don't have any money, but I had a few recipes on my mind that I really wanted to make and this week I am more interested in quick-cooking meals than inexpensive ones.  As a result, I spent twice as much at Superfresh as I spent on all of my groceries a couple of weeks ago, but I think Mister was about to cry for lack of frozen pizza anyway.

1. Samosa Pie from Vegan on the Cheap will be tomorrow night's dinner.  Tomorrow will probably be a lazy, inside-chore day (yay for laundry and the Christmas tree!), so I'll have plenty of time to make the crust during the afternoon hours. There might even be time (and energy) for cookies!

2. Jerk Seitan on Coconut Rice from Vegan With a Vengeance.  I got a huge craving for this when I made the Island Rice Casserole last week, so now, I'm going to fulfill my own fantasy.

3. Warm Chickpea Ragout with Swiss Chard, Carrots, and Harissa from Vegetarian Times: Fast and Easy because nothing warms you up inside quite like a burning tongue and lips.  Look how diverse I was this week - three meals, three cookbooks!

4. Chili and Polenta Casserole also from Vegetarian Times: Fast and Easy.  Once again, a meeting of all things beloved by me and the Mister: chili, polenta, and [ta da!] something I can prepare tomorrow and stick in the fridge for a couple of days before we eat it, a convenience that will come in darn handy by mid-week, I'm sure.

5. Potato Corn Chowder from The Accidental Vegan.  I couldn't tell you exactly what caused me to crave this, but this was another recipe I specifically hunted through this book to find.  I just seem to recall loving it more every time I made it, so it's kind of like comfort food.

6. Cajun Red Beans and Rice also from The Accidental Vegan.  Speaking of comfort food...as long as I had the book out, I flipped through looking for a final fast and easy meal and found this - I may be a vegan cliche, but this is my favorite rice-n-beans recipe.  Speaking of vegan cliches, how's this one for you: as I was riding the train to the southwest suburbs today, the train stopped to pick up passengers in University City (imagine that).  As I sat against my window, I noticed a little weed garden full of long, green leaves and thought to myself, "I wonder what those taste like.  Someone should gather those for cooking."  Then I realized they were probably skunk cabbage.

PS: I still haven't slept, so it's still Saturday.   ;P

home is where the...wine is

It's getting to be That Time of Year.  If you turn back the cyber-pages of this little blog and travel back to my December 2009 and January 2010 posts, you'll find a lot of babbling, random, which-way-is-up posts, as well as my justification: I work for a weight loss company and we're gearing up for Diet Season.  Today, I learned that in order to make sure we get everything done between now and mid-December, I will need to create at least three clones of myself for one of the weeks, and no fewer than two of me will be necessary for most weeks.

While on the train on my way home from a completely overwhelming day, my brain re-inflated enough for me to remember to take a short detour on my walk home from the train station to pick up a nice mini-bottle of Beaujolais (which I am presently halfway through).  Unfortunately, Angst can't blame the following pictures on Mommy's Special Juice...just the deteriorating capacity to reason.

That hat was on my head while I walked home, but after I put on my glasses, Mister (who wears glasses and beanie hats) decided we all needed to look like a family and put the Hat on the Cat

Angst doesn't seem to like wearing hats, so he probably hopes we got it all out of our system.

After playing Dress-Up with the kitty, I brushed myself off while he nursed his ego-wounds and started dinner.  Apparently, New York saw its first flakes of snow today, but in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs, it was just gloomy rain.  It did stop before I got home, but everything was damp, including the air, and just the exhaustive nature of the day all by itself was quite enough to warrant Homey Vegetable Stew with Dumplings from The 30 Minute Vegan. 

I've made this before, but my dumplings were much prettier this time and it still impresses me that those lumps of sticky dough really do steam into a solid biscuit.  They are sinfully simple to make - there are five ingredients in the dumplings and only slightly more in the stew.  I think what I like the most about these dumplings is that they are made with spelt flour, which give them a savory flavor I can really only describe as "real."

The whole stew is remarkably rich.  There isn't a whole lot of broth, especially when you take away the part that made sticky dough into biscuits.  Perhaps it is the concentrated nature of the broth that makes it so good, but Mister and I happily ate two bowls each and I am already anticipating the leftovers for WorkLunch tomorrow.  Hopefully, I will have more time tomorrow than the ten minutes I had today to wolf down my lunch, because this should be savored.

On another note, while I'm running around at work like tofu with my head cut off, I am gratified to come home each night and find that while he started with the entry/dining area, Mister appears to be working his way through the apartment, cleaning up the messes that have accumulated in recent months.  I know I don't have the energy for that kind of ridiculous behavior right now!  I'll happily bring home the seitan if he'll keep my home straightened up.  I love how far we've come in the reversal/dismissal of traditional gender roles during my lifetime.  Now, if only we could find a way for Mister to carry and bear a child, I might find a way to become interested in parenting ;)

I think the wine is getting to me...

peanut butter makes everything taste better

Well, probably not everything but it sure does make a lot of things taste better. It kind of saved dinner tonight! Here's a quick story...

When I was doing my normal morning routine, I checked weather.com to see whether I would be able to go food shopping upon returning from work this evening. According to weather.com, it was going to pour buckets of rain all day...so I took my umbrella with me, but needed my sunglasses instead. However, as I drove home, the sky over my beautiful city was ominous and growing more gray with each passing moment. I checked the weather again when I got home (5:30ish) and this time weather.com told me I had enough time to run to Whole Foods, speed-shop, and run home again before the downpours started around 7:15 PM. Moments later, just as I was preparing to run out the door, Mister arrived home from what was apparently a pretty craptastic day at his job and proceeded to bend my ear with his tales of woe. He noticed I was only half paying attention, while I glanced out the window for some sign of the rain holding off, and asked what was up. I told him I wanted to go to Whole Foods and he said, "I don't think that's going to happen," just as the skies opened up and tons of rain began to drench the streets, cars, and unfortunate outside-people.

I had just about despaired of dinner and was starting to think of what flavor Chinese food I would order when Mister said "I have faith in you." That more or less sealed my determination to find something to turn into our dinner (this would also keep me more dry that running down the street for Chinese take-out). I looked in the miserably empty freezer, then in an eclectic but nearly empty cabinet, and finally in the crisper drawer and refrigerator. Slowly, a bizarre plot hatched itself in my mind and I thought, "Really? I hope this doesn't suck..."

To my ineffable surprise (and delight), dinner was an absolute triumph! I still can't believe how well it came out... I'm starting to think I might actually know a thing or two about this cooking game! Out of nowhere, stringing together what was, in my mind, a completely bizarre combination of ingredients, I have produced one of my favorite dinners in a while. It was also really easy to make, and only took about 45-50 minutes start to finish. Without further ado, I give you...

(okay, it's not very pretty, but it tastes good)
Peanut Butter Peas & Cabbage on Curried Rice
serves about 6

Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
1 Tbsp curry powder*
1/2 tsp salt
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1 cup water
1/3 cup red lentils
salt & pepper, to taste
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2 Tbsp oil
2 cups shredded red cabbage
8 oz green peas
4 oz apple juice
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup peanut butter**

1. Combine 2 cups water, curry powder, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in rice, cover and reduce heat to lowest setting. Simmer 45 minutes.
2. In a smaller saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil. Stir in lentils, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 10-15 minutes, then uncover and simmer until rice is done cooking. The lentils will be mushy and resemble a chunky sauce.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saute pan or large pot. Saute cabbage, covered, 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Combine apple juice, vinegar, and soy sauce and pour into cabbage. Bring to boiling, then stir in peanut butter until smooth. Stir in peas, cover and simmer on low for 5-10 minutes, until heated through.
4. Remove from heat and stir in lentils. Serve over rice.
notes:
* I use Frontier brand curry powder - it's the best I've found. It smells great and has a really bold taste - it's made up of: Turmeric, paprika, fenugreek, coriander, black pepper, cumin, ginger, celery seed, cloves, caraway, and cayenne. If your local food-selling establishments do not offer Frontier products and you cannot persuade them to start, you can order online at http://www.frontiercoop.com/ .
** You can use creamy or chunky peanut butter - I can't see how it would make a difference. If you care, I used chunky peanut butter because that's what we have. No brand, just the store's generic "brand." I think the chunky is more fun because then there are little peanuts in the food, too.