Shepherd’s Casserole Take 2

Quick post tonight as I’m trying to rest to kick this cold before we head to Cancun.  Woooo hooo!  I’ve also gotta clean the house and start the packing.  Anyway, needed to use up the root veggies in the pantry including turnips, beets and potatoes and wanted to throw something together in an hour break I had from 6pm to 7pm.  So, I put together another version of the Shepherd’s Casserole from last week and had it ready so I could just turn on the oven at 9pm when I got out of my evening meeting.  The only variation this time was using a beet instead of an extra turnip, which made it absolutely beautiful with pink and magenta hues.  In my haste to put it together I forgot to put the peas in, so I just served ‘em on the side and garnished with a dill veganaise.

Thai Stew

What do you get when you cross a mirepoix with Thai ingredients?  Chinese Chard Curry Stew!

This was super easy and fabulously earthy.  Ryan went back for thirds!  This makes easily enough for six.

Saute 2 cups rustic chopped mirepoix in 1 Tbs sesame oil and 1 tsp chili oil until onions are translucent.  Add in 1/2 cup water, 1 Tbs. ground ginger, 2 Tbs. soy sauce, 1 chopped potato, 1 stalk of lemongrass, and 1 tsp black pepper.  Stir and continue to sautee a few minutes.  Add in 2 cups of water and slowly stir in 1 can of coconut milk.  Cover and simmer 10 minutes.  Add in 1 cup sliced mushrooms, 3 chopped scallions and 3 cups chopped bok choy (or Chinese Chard if your CSA hooks you up!).  Continue to simmer 15 more minutes until all vegetables are soft and chard is tender.  Season to taste with salt, pepper, ginger and chili oil.  Serve with rice and cilantro.

Out to Eat

“Everybody get dressed.  We are going OUT to eat.”

Just like the tragedy of the family turkey in A Christmas Story, so was my day, past week, past month, and so instead of getting in and cooking, Ryan took me to Green for dinner.

Mexicali Burger – this has ultimately made me realize that I don’t like Teese

Crab Puffs – crispy and creamy….mmmmm…..

All in all I like Green and appreciate that they gave me a night off from cooking.  But, my food is better   Perhaps I should open a restaurant?  Muah ah ah ah!

Home Grown Sunday

Ryan signed us up for a local CSA.  At first I was disappointed with the amount of food we got for $20 a week.  But, my mind is totally changed after tasting the goods.  I have never had scallions so sharp, arugula so peppery and dill so sweet.  I’m blown away at the freshness that local ingredients offer.

With our recent load of veggies, I made a Shepherd’s Casserole.  The bottom layer was caramelized onion, garlic and celery.  Next was diced turnip and carrot with “beschamel” sauce  and dill.  On top of that was a spiced TVP mixture that was baked.  On the side I served Ceasar salad with sundried tomatoes and dried cranberries.

Spring in the Gardein

I got $20 from someone for my birthday, so I took that cash and ran to my local Whole Foods.  One thing I had to buy as per the rave reviews of others online was Gardein’s Chick’n Scollopini.  Today was another 14 hour day at work (in at 7am, home at 9pm) and Ryan was nice enough to wait until 10pm for a delicious dinner.  I made fresh broccoli as a side.  The other side was my own recipe of scalloped potatoes.  I sauteed onion and rosemary with olive oil.  Then I added in the sliced potatoes, with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  Then I put in a Tbs of EB and a good cup and a half’s worth of soy milk.  I let it simmer until the potatoes were cooked through and the milk reduced.  I did add a bit of milk halfway through.  At the end I tossed them with chopped scallions.  Then, for the main dish, I did up the Gardein cutlets according to the package and topped them with a lemon/veganaise/basil sauce.  Voila!

Pasta Party

Today I worked 14 hours…it wasn’t even supposed to be a crazy day!  But, the ultimate way to decompress and enjoy the stormy weather outside:  a huge bowl of pasta!

I made a cashew cream sauce with miso and garlic.  Tossed that with pasta, broccoli, chopped spinach, button mushrooms and sundried tomatoes.  Ryan was in love and scarfed down 2 bowls!

Wedding Season

It’s that time in life when everyone we know is getting married.  2 weddings this past weekend.  So, in honor of such festivities I made a sort of Italian Wedding Soup.  I started fava beans and cranberry beans in veg stock with onions this morning in the slow cooker.  When I got home, I threw in quinoa, celery, pan fried home made sausage from a few weeks back, more stock, garlic, basil, oregano, miso, liquid aminos, salt and pepper.  I served it with a mixed green salad doused in my homemade flax caesar dressing with pepperocinis.  Perfetto!

I survived

To start this all off, Katie’s got an amazing giveaway.  I almost don’t want to advertise, but if I want a chance at the beloved Vita-mix, I gotta link it

Meanwhile, if it’s the start of the semester you can know I’m busy.  Up to my elbows in staff training activities and student development.  We had a fantastic spring 2010 CA training.  My Dad was the keynote speaker and I had a successful session that covered the issue of human loneliness and how to build better relationships.  90 hour work week equals not a lot of cooking, though.  So, tonight was my chance to reclaim the week past.  On the menu tonight was Indian Guac on Pita Chips and Broccoli/Spinach Coconut Curry over brown Rice.  The Guac was Indian because of a bit of coconut milk, coriander, cumin and cardamom.  Success!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I turned 28 on Wednesday, but we finally got around to a proper celebration this weekend with the family.  I’ve got a big week ahead and a lot of work still left to do, so I’ll recap in pictures.

But, best news of all…I got an iPod Touch as a present from my folks.  I already downloaded the WordPress application!

Vegan Birthday Cupcakes from Adrianne and Chris Hott!

Me and My Sister at dinner on Saturday at the White Chocolate Grill

A fuzzy picture in the dark lighting of the restaurant.  I got the Portobello Sandwich (nix the mayo, nix the cheese, double checked the bun, toasted without butter, added guacamole) and crispy perfect fries.

Mom made the Poundcake from Vegonomicon (added choc chips) and served it with mixed berries and Soy Delicious Vanilla.  I’m spoiled!

Decompression Sushi

I think that I really love cooking.  How do I know that?  I had another crazy day at work and my ultimate therapy was getting into my kitchen and making dinner.  Food is so great.  It allows you to be creative, it’s relatively predictable in the technique, but the payoff is pretty quick and totally satisfying.

Tonight I made sushi again.  Ever since my first experiment in sushi, I’ve been dying to do it again.  This time, leftover breaded tofu cutlets, green onions, avocado, orange sauce marinated mushrooms, cucumber, sriracha, and roasted peppers all rolled up in quinoa and nori.  I even let Ryan into the kitchen to roll a few.  But, our eyes were much bigger than our bellies and we only finished off 5 of the 7 rolls we made.  But, since there’s no actual raw fish, we put them in tupperware and we’re both having sushi for lunch tomorrow. Woot, woot!

Meanwhile, yesterday was my birthday.  Because work was so crazy, I really only had energy to have Ryan take me out for dinner and dessert.  He took me to Udupi Cafe, my favorite Indian restaurant in the world, and then we went to Mojo Yogurt at Tempe Marketplace for dessert.  I am partial to Yogurtini, but I do like the vibe and decor at Mojo better.  I had the non-dairy orange (only vegan flavor) topped with almonds, blackberries, strawberries, and kiwi.  We sat by the outside firepit and enjoyed our sugary treats.  The rest of the birthday festivities will be this weekend with my family.  Can’t wait!

Now back to the grindstone.  Fall and spring training are a lot of work!