HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Halloween

A little bit of this and little bit of that

This meal was a combination of various things in the refrigerator.  It consisted of leftover pasta and sauce, chopped vegan "soyage", and shredded brussels sprouts.  I realize that photographing food and plating it nicely is a skill and this plate looks like a mess but this is exactly what my plate looked like when I ate it.  I just wanted a no fuss meal.  

Hurricane Sandy

This Hurricane has been predicted to be terrible so preparing is essential.  Having adequate water, food, and first aid supplies is critical.   Yesterday I started preparing food in the event of a power outage. So far I made a lentil and vegetable soup, pasta salad, spinach dip, and a carrot cake.  I just want to make sure I have food that could be eaten without a lot of fuss.  If we lose power I can heat up the soup in a chafing dish with sterno.  I almost forgot to mention that I made peanut butter in the blender and 2 loves of honey oatmeal bread.

I made this in a pressure cooker so it was done in 30 minutes.  I sautéed  onion, celery, garlic and tomato in olive oil then added the dried lentils (washed and picked through),  and vegetable stock.  When the beans are tender add butternut squash, zucchini, potato and carrot.

Since I love to bake and all of the stores in this area were out of bread I just made 2 loves of this bread.  This recipe is from the Kitchen Aid mixer cookbook.

Simple pasta salad with a remoulade dressing green peas, carrots, red bell pepper capers, and dry seasoning

Classic carrot cake

A bag of peanuts in the blender = peanut butter

The storm is getting stronger now  and rain fall is steady

Squinting in the rain. After he handled his business he was running in the rain to get back to the house

Restaurant Spotlight: Noodi Thai Chef

I went to a small Thai restaurant in Media Pennsylvania called Noodi Thai Chef and had a great vegetarian dish called Mee Goreng.  The dish was made with tofu, broccoli, carrots, baby corn and covered in a very tasty brown sauce.   I would definitely order this dish again and recommend this restaurant.  They have a great selection of vegetarian options and are aware of avoiding fish sauce, oyster sauce and eggs in their vegetarian and vegan dishes.  

Rice and Beans with Mustard Greens and Plantain

I love mustard greens and could probably eat an entire pot.  I made this dish because I found some really great looking greens at the local market. I simply sautéed onion and added the washed and chopped mustard greens.  Served with rice and beans this is a great combination.   Plantain on the side really makes this a tasty dish.

Chocolate Cupcakes with chocolate frosting

I used a recipe for cupcakes from The New Best Recipe cookbook which is from the editors of one of my favorite magazines ( Cook's Illustrated).  The recipe is for yellow cupcakes and uses sour cream making a very rich cake.  I decided to frost with store bought chocolate frosting which happens to be vegan and decorate with sprinkles.  I was very happy with the results and I make these cupcake all of the time.  

Looks Good But Tasted Bad

 I had an extremely busy day and my only option was takeout. I ordered General Crispy Tofu at a local Chinese restaurant and while it looked like it should have tasted very good it was really bland and greasy.  This restaurant has a vegetarian section on their menu and I have ordered from them in the past but this was the first time I was disappointed.

Kennett Square Mushroom Festival

I don't like mushrooms but I love food festivals.  I have been going to the Kennett Square Mushroom Festival for a few years and always learn something new about mushrooms.   I just wanted to post some pictures from the festival this year and also show some of the vegetarian options available at this festival.  

  

Mushrooms for sale

Kennett Square is the mushroom capital of the world

The white dots are baby button mushrooms

All grown up!--Adult button mushrooms

There were many different varieties of mushrooms

Chili and Chips

Just decided to have a quick snack so I defrosted some chili I had in the freezer which I made a few months ago.  I  put tortilla chips covered in shredded cheese in the oven and 10 minutes later it was ready

Veggie Pad Thai with Tofu Triangles

After coming back from NYC late and tired I decided to make a quick dish of Pad Thai and Tofu Triangles.  This is not an authentic Pad Thai but I like it.  I pressed the tofu then coated with a mixture of flour and cornstarch then browned in a cast iron skillet until brown.  I like to eat the tofu with a sweet and spicy sauce from Trader Joes.   The rice noodles were cooked until tender and then added to a wok which had the veggies and sauce.  For the sauce I just combined a few of the soy based sauces I had in the refrigerator and some tamarind paste.

Vegetarian Travel: Harlem NYC

I'm back New York City this weekend and headed to Harlem. My friends and I went to an Italian restaurant called Lido on 117th Street and Frederick Douglass boulevard. I ordered the Gnocchi with Truffle Butter, Pecorino, and Sage. They made the dish vegetarian for me by removing the Guanciale and chicken stock. This was a good dish and hit the spot. The portions are small and I was looking forward to dig into a big meal but I filled up on the bread they served and all was well.

Marinated Artichoke and Capers- in a light pasta sauce

This is a really savory dish that uses both marinated artichokes and capers and canned diced tomatoes.  The addition of several dried seasonings helps to round out the flavor.  In addition to the ingredients pictured I added a vegetable bouillon cube, and fresh garlic, a medium onion and a yellow pepper. 

Leftover Magic

It's really not magic but sometimes I just want a really quick meal without a lot of preparation.  I want to just "throw" a meal together in under 20 minutes. For this leftover meal I used the potatoes gratin from a few days ago and just added a few slices of Trader Joes Eggplant Parmesan Slices with barbecue sauce and sautéed shredded brussels sprouts.

Challah French Toast

Challah bread is one of my favorite breads to make.  It is great right out of the oven and several days later.  It also freezes really well.  Any basic Challah bread recipe works well but I used the challah bread recipe from the Williams-Sonoma baking cookbook.  

Add flour, salt eggs, yeast, and water to mixer

Let rise until doubled in size

Divide dough into 4 long "ropes" and do a 4 strand braid

Let rise again until doubled in size

Brush with lightly beaten egg sprinkle with poppy seeds and bake until golden brown

For the French toast: Mix 2 eggs beaten, any dairy or dairy substitute, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a dash of maple syrup
Dip bread in mixture and be sure to coat each side then fry in a pan with any oil you prefer.

Serve with maple syrup and whipped cream 

Top with powdered sugar if you like

Veggie Pancakes

 This is a take on traditional potato pancakes/latkes but I add shredded zucchini and carrot to the shredded potato.


 I never use a recipe for this but add a lightly beaten egg to shredded veggies (4 russet potatoes, 1 medium onion, 1 zucchini, and 1or 2 carrots).  Salt and pepper to taste.  Add flour if needed.

Fry in canola oil until brown. Flip and fry other side until brown.

Place on paper towel to absorb some of the oil

A little ketchup 

Simple Applesauce

My friend who works at an apple orchid surprised me with about 60 apples.  I love to bake and plan on making a few apple pies, apple crisps and apple coffee cakes but I was really craving applesauce.  It is so easy to make and cooks very quickly.

This is just a small fraction of the apples

Slice the apples into chunks put in a pot and add a few cinnamon sticks

Done and ready to eat in 20 minutes