Terrifying Tuesdays: thanksgiving and cauliflower and bonus!

I'm two weeks behind. So a quick round up and some bonus recipe reviews!

Last week I made Vegan Dad's Mini Pot Pies. Of course I served it with turkey, being an omnivore family and all... It was delicious!! But, the recipe goes totally against the rules of TT - in that there's no way it could have been low fat. The only thing I deviated on was that I used store bought puff pastry. And I really enjoyed buying little ramekins... it's always fun to shop for new things. Okay, so the boys weren't wild about it - because it was loaded with vegetables. Gary and I thought it was better once we put some chopped up turkey pieces in it. I think, if you were to stick with the veg. theme, it'd be better with some faux meat. I guess I just need that meaty "chew" factor.

This week I chose a roasted cauliflower recipe from "The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen" cookbook by Peter Berley. I'll post the recipe since I've seen it online with some modifications.

Spicy Roasted Cauliflower with Sweet Peppers and Cumin

3 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp hot red pepper flakes
1 cauliflower, cored and separated into florets
1 lg. red bell pepper, halved, seeded and sliced into 1" strips
1 lg. yellow bell pepper, halved, seeded and sliced into 1" strips
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves


1. Preheat the oven to 450* F. 2. In a large bowl, combine the lemon juice, oil, salt, ground cumin and red pepper flakes. Whisk to combine. 3. Add the cauliflower and bell peppers and toss well. 4. Spread the vegetables in a baking dish and roast for 45 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes for even browning. 5. Transfer the vegetables to a serving dish, garnish with fresh cilantro leaves, and serve.



It's vegetables, so the boys didn't like it. I loved it and finished it off for lunch today - yum!! The peppers really took the sourness of the lemon juice, so that was the only thing I wasn't wild about. I was so paranoid roasting the peppers and cauliflower together, since they are different densities. But if you stir it every so often, it turns out fine. I will definitely be making this again, either with or without the peppers, and even if it's only for me. Gary liked the peppers but not the cauliflower. It seemed like a lot to have cumin AND cumin seeds, but it turned out fine.


Next is a picture of a bread I made last week. I'll be making it again and again until the dough is used. I had read in the newspaper about a new cookbook that has come out. It's Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Don't be mislead by the name. It takes longer than 5 minutes. What it is, you make a gigantic batch of dough that lasts 2 weeks in the fridge. You take out a hunk of dough and bake it when you want, but the catch is it has to rest for 90 minutes before baking. Still, it's easier than making fresh dough every time. It's no knead too! And healthy. Bonus!

It's pretty good, but it cries out for something to be spread on it. Makes a good sandwich bread. (note the leftover yucky halloween candy and the lovely gecko trivet my friend Jenny made for me)

I've already told y'all about my obsession with the BBCA tv show You Are What You Eat. So I finally made one of her recipes. The one for salmon with spinach and leeks. First off, I had to do some conversions from metric to regular. What on earth is gas mark 6?! I poked around on some conversion charts and poked around for other recipes and found one that said 400degrees F. One recipe said cook for 25 minutes, another said cook for 10 minutes! It took at LEAST 30 minutes for it to get done to my preference (um, that would be cooked throughout). It was easy to assemble and smelled lovely, but I just don't care for baked fish. I think it's a mental block rather than anything else. It's fine, but I'd rather eat my fish grilled and my spinach fresh or boiled (without the fish drippings). oh, another conversion was with the spinach. It called for 500gr. What? It turns out the bags of baby spinach you get at the grocery store are only 170 gr. (IIRC). That was more than plenty. No need to be wasteful.

I have 2 leftover leeks I need to do something with. I have no clue.

Terrifying Tuesday - 2 week edition...

First, I have to say I'm so bummed that Guiding Light has gone off the air. That was one of my favorite "stories".

Last week was not a thrilling TT. We tried pomegranate. I did a little demo on how to get to the seeds, a hands on demo. Gary helped. The boys are too old, they were underwhelmed. Anyway, we all deem it pretty good, but the seed - do you spit or swallow? (I'm sorry that's raunchy) I eventually decided to just swallow the things because it became too tedious to pick the seeds out of my mouth.

This week we tried Brussels Sprouts! I cannot remember where the recipe came from, I'm pretty sure it's either from someone's blog, or a cookbook of mine. I just didn't document it.

Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Roasted Red Peppers

2 tablespoons Grapeseed oil (use this as it is wonderful at a high heat!)
2 cups shredded Brussels Sprouts (chop or use a grater)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped purple onions
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup coarsely chopped roasted red peppers (homemade or from the jar)
1 tablespoon white Balsamic vinegar
Garnish: Chopped walnuts

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add Brussels sprouts, onions, and walnuts. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are tender and sprouts are bright green, about 5 minutes. Stir in peppers and vinegar. Continue cooking until heated through, about 2 minutes. Place on serving platter and garnish with chopped walnuts if desired.
Yield: 4 servings

notes:

I didn't use grapeseed oil, but I did splurge and buy the white balsamic. Um, using a grater is just ridiculous. I coarsely chopped the sprouts.

This recipe was pretty good. It got a thumbs down from Jake, but a half thumb for both Gary and Ryan. I thought it was so-so at first, but the more I ate it, the more I liked it. It's pretty too. I wasn't wild about the red pepper or vinegar part. But anything with nuts is always a winner! I had a few sprouts leftover so I'm going to steal Kath's recipe of roasting them with maple syrup tonight. Or maybe something different since I'm making bbq chicken and I think that's too many sweet things on a plate...

This was the first time I've ever had brussels sprouts and I'm glad I tried them. They are supposed to be very high in lots of nutritious stuff and be good cancer fighters.

Speaking of cancer... I had my yearly mammogram and it went very well. Yay! Another year down!

Terrifying Tuesday: recipes!

I tried a few new recipes yesterday, so I thought I'd share them.

Kath Eats Real Food is a blog I like to visit and I have it in my favorites. It always comes up on the page that has her BBQ tofu. I've been wanting to make this for about a year now. So I finally made it yesterday for lunch. I made it exactly as she described. It's a little bit sweet. Little bit, lotta bit. I still have 1/2 slab of tofu, so later this week I'll try it with the leftover KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce that I have in the fridge. Oops. I'm making BBQ chicken tonight - so I'll figure out a different way to make the tofu. No biggie.

For supper I made a new recipe that is family/kid friendly. I get these Betty Crocker Dinner Made Easy emails and they sent this recipe - Healthified Mexican Pasta Skillet. It's kinda like a hamburger helper (blech) deal. Ground beef (or ground turkey), salsa, tomato sauce, water, macaroni noodles. Super easy. Really. And tastey. I used whole grain macaroni, 93% ground beef and everything else they say, just not the specific name brands.

Good stuff. I need stovetop recipes for when grill season comes to an end. This will work.

Now, for Terrifying Tuesday. I made Artichoke Toasts. The recipe came from a cookbook I got from the library. It's called Sneaky Veggies by Chris Fisk. This book came out right before the Desperately Delicious and The Sneaky Chef books came out (but not as widely publicized). This cookbook isn't full of purees. It has some interesting recipes in it that I'm looking forward to trying. The artichoke toast recipe could not be any easier.

2 slices whole grain bread, toasted
1 4oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
2 Tbsp grated parmesan

I used my hand blender to puree the hearts. Divide evenly and spread on the toasts. Sprinkle with the parm and broil for a minute or so.

It did not get met with the best reception. An acquired taste. I think the marinade was a bit too sour for our palates. I guess the marinade is supposed to be like an italian dressing or something. Maybe a different brand would taste better, or different. It's worth experimenting, I think. I will not give up on artichokes. This was our first foray into this vegetable. It's high in fiber. It deserves another shot or two.

I've got a bunch of recipes flagged in this book. I'm gonna try a few before it's due back in the library. I'll keep you posted on what does/doesn't work!
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As you know, vegetarian/vegan blogs are a favorite of mine. Also, weight loss television is a favorite too. I discovered a show on BBC America called "You are what you eat". Fascinating - but she does talk about poo, so you may not want to eat while you watch it, depending on how sensitive you are. I really perked up at some of the foods she gets them to eat. She mentioned some smoothies concoctions and something called "haricot bean loaf". What is a haricot bean? Turns out it's navy beans. The guy tasted it and said it was tastey. This was before he started her regimin - so it must actually be good. So I started cruising the handy dandy internet and found several websites that feature her and her books/recipes. Her name is Gillian McKeith. I was getting all excited until I started reading book reviews and looked at her recipes. She puts them on a basically vegan/macrobiotic diet. Really strict. It amazes me that the people can go from one extreme to the other and really stick to it. But it seems they do! I don't think I have that will power. One of her smoothies called for 6 pieces of whole fruit - 1 to 2 servings! I'm not talking about berries, I'm talking pears and mango and such. Big fruit. Sounds pricey. Plus some recipes were for quinioa (plain, just made with bullion) for breakfast. Blech. Anyway, it was hugely interesting and the show is great.

I'm gonna try that haricot bean loaf. LOL! Really. We may have to follow up with a trip to McDonald's (gasp). :-)

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One last bit of food talk. I've been keen on trying some new fish recipes. I cannot stand baked fish or stews or soups. I like it grilled or fried. Not fishy. So I'm gunning for a fish taco recipe. I found an interesting one on you tube. By a chef in a restaurant. It looks simple and tastey. I hope it works. I don't know how else fish can be fixed, so I feel a bit desperate. I really want to try to get to that two servings of fish a week. I'm open to ideas!!

Terrifying Tuesdays: Ranch Dressing

You may be thinking, what's so terrifying about Ranch Dressing? Not much. But this is homemade, and is supposed to be vegan if you follow the recipe. I got the recipe from the book "Skinny **itch in the Kitch" and since I made a few alterations, I'll put the recipe here.
Makes about 2 cups
1 cup vegan sour cream (I used low fat sour cream)
1/2 cup soy milk
1/4 cup safflower oil (I used canola)
1 Tbsp agave nectar (for real? I used honey)
1 Tbsp granulated garlic powder
2 tsp chopped dill
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cider vinegar
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp tamari or soy sauce (I used low sodium shoyu)

In a blender or a food processor, combine all ingredients and process until smooth. Set aside in the refrigerator overnight to allow the flavors to bloom. Store refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Gary said it was mild, but he gave it a thumbs up, as did I. The boys did not. It has a bit of a bite to it if you get a good dose of it. I think it must be the dijon. But it's good.
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Rats. I forgot what I was going to post. I'm sure it was good. LOL!

Oh, I guess I'll talk about making friends and this new move. You know, I've lived with myself all my life (duh) so I know me. But how much and when do you reveal stuff to new people? In Hawaii, bc happened to me there. It just kinda was made known. You go in for multiple surgeries and organize a Komen walking group, people figure it out. (the one flat side was a huge givaway! LOL) But it's different now. I went in to the doctor last week for my cough and began answering the nurse's questions (basic medical history). She asked me to list the surgeries I've had as an adult. I look at her like "brace yourself" and started rattling them off (the gist of them really). When I finish I'm like "that's basically it" and she says "that's a lot". Which surprised me a bit because she's a nurse and I figure nurses hear it all. Really, it sounded ridiculous to me too as I was listing them.

I dunno. I'm sure it's all moot. As the topics come up, things will come out naturally.

When I first got diagnosed with bc, I wanted to wear the pink ribbon type shirts. But I don't any more. But the other day I ordered a SPI belt that was a Komen edition. It's black with two pink ribbons embroidered on it. Is it weird that I want it out there, but in a subtle way? Not as a badge of honor or anything. Because I know that I got off so easy. But I don't want to talk about boob jobs and I don't want anyone to be taken by surprise if I get a recurrence. (I'm still waiting for that other shoe to drop)

I'm finding it hard to concentrate with the tv on right now, so I'll leave off right here. Weird blog I know.

UPDATE! I went to Walmart today and guess what I stumbled upon? Agave Nectar! It's expensive, but I bought a little squeeze bottle of the stuff. Who would've thunk?

Terrifying Tuesday: Carrot Cake

Yay! Dessert!

Yesterday was boy's day, so I decided to do a fun recipe. I had chosen this recipe for Gary, since he likes carrot cake and I had initially wanted to do this for his birthday - but I may not be doing TT during the move. We'll see how that works.

I got the recipe from the emails I get from Dr. Andrew Wiel. I also found the recipe on his website, free to the public, so I feel free to post it here.

Carrot Cake

Description
Carrot cake is a perennial favorite, but it is often loaded with vegetable oil and laden with a cream cheese frosting. Our version is healthier, using a small amount of olive oil, a full cup of honey for moistness and flavor, and a combination of whole wheat pastry and unbleached flours. The crunchy walnuts even add a bit of omega-3 fats to this sweet treat. With a cup of hot green tea, this cake will make you forget about cream cheese frosting. Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 cups firmly packed finely grated carrots
Juice of 1 large orange
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup light olive oil
1 cup honey, liquefied in microwave (30 seconds)
1/2 cup crushed or chopped pineapple, drained
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a mixing bowl, stir together the carrots, orange juice, vanilla, olive oil, honey, and pineapple until well blended.
3. In another bowl, stir together the flours, baking soda, and spices. Mix in the walnuts.
4. Blend the dry ingredients into the carrot mixture, stirring until just mixed.
5. Pour the batter into a nonstick 8-inch-square baking pan and bake for 45-60 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven, let cool slightly, and remove from pan.

My notes:
I made this exactly as described, except I used a different size pan. There was a lot of batter. I don't have a 9X9 pan, but I do have a 7X11, so that's what I used.

My pan is glass, not non-stick, so I also used some Pam on it.

I cooked it for 45 minutes and it was plenty done - it actually had a slightly burnt taste although it didn't look burned.

I got to use my food processor to shred the carrots. Yipee! I love my fp. It's fun and quiet. I don't like washing the parts and I don't have the counter space - but I will soon!

It got thumbs up all around except for Ryan. I was really surprised Ryan didn't like it. Maybe because it had nuts. I think he's wanting to decide he doesn't like nuts. I'm fighting it with all my heart!

I would make this again, but I need to adjust the time on it.

Another note about this recipe - while it is made with healthy oils and whole wheat flour and no eggs, all that good stuff - it is high in calories. But so is regular carrot cake with cream cheese frosting! Plus he calculated serving size based on 9 servings. I got at least 12-15 (I can't remember how many squares I cut).

This time I was smart and just left out a few pieces and froze the rest. Otherwise I'd eat them all!
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for boy's day I got my guys each a disposable camera, a camelback waterbottle, a candy lei and a 6 month subscription to Club Penguin. I find that last one hilarious. Here are two boys, almost 10 years old. They played on Club Penguin last year and had totally dropped it. But now they're all back into it and the free membership is just not enough. Hey, if it will keep them young and innocent for a little bit longer - I'm all for it! Those teenage years are just around the corner. Yikes!

Terrifying Tuesday: Yemiser Wat

First I need to conduct a little business here. I'm going to take a blog link off the side. I'm not sure why, but whenever I exit Megan's Munchies and try to get into another blog, I get thrown into this weird Internet Explorer loop. I don't even use Explorer! I use the AOL software! So I'm gonna take down her link. I'm a little scared to visit her site, and that's sad because it's a neat blog. But I need to figure it out before my laptop explodes.

Okay, so last night we went international. I got this recipe through a regular on Weight Watcher's. Who got this recipe from another regular, who got this recipe from a vegan website who got this recipe from a vegan cookbook. LOL!

This is the link to the recipe. http://www.fatfreevegan.com/beans/yemiser.shtml As you can see, it's Ethiopian. Which sounds so exotic!

This is the link to the lady who created the recipe: http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/579094.htm I will post more about that after I review the recipe.

recipe notes:
First, don't be intimidated by the list of ingredients. They are mostly spices. I practically had to pull out all the spices out of my cabinet - or at least a whole lot of them! Second, the recipe called for you to saute the onions in a non-stick pan. The pan I used was not non-stick, so I opted to add some canola oil. And thirdly, the recipe has a flaw - it doesn't tell you what to do with the lentils after you boil them! So I drained them, and then added them when I added the tomatoes and broth.

verdict:
One thumbs up (me), two thumbs down (the kids), and a 1/2 thumb which turned into a 3/4 thumb from the hubby. It actually is pretty tastey, oddly sweet (but I think that's due to the spices like nutmeg and ginger). Gary gave it a better rating after he tasted it with the brown rice (like the recipe calls for). I think the kids didn't like it because they are kids. It makes a huge amount. It was fairly easy to make and not hot at all. (I only used a 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes) Actually, the more I ate it, the more I like it. But I didn't have the leftovers for lunch today because I had other leftovers to eat. We'll see tomorrow...

I don't know how filling it would be as a meal itself. Because I fixed it with pork chops. Is that wrong? To fix a vegan recipe with grilled pork chops? Shhhhhh. Don't tell anyone!

I am so very fascinated with the vegan/vegetarian thing. I love the look of some of the recipes, but often wonder if they would fill me. Sometimes I fix stuff with the fake meat, or with beans or tofu (which I love), but it just does not satisfy. If you add a little meat, then wah-lah, satisfaction. Yeah, I've been reading about umami - the "fifth taste". I dunno.

Anyway, I spend too much time on the internet reading vegan/vegetarian blogs - wondering what it would be like to eat like that all the time. I get stuck on the practicality aspect. It just doesn't seem to translate into MY life. And causes me stress just thinking about it. Plus I don't have the convictions against eating meat. BUT, if I get one more cancer - I swear something has to change. Drastically. (I do not think meat causes cancer, but I do need to eat more nutritious foods)

Meanwhile, I continue to experiment with meatless recipes. I also eat meatless breakfasts and lunches (for the most part).

One side benefit that I did not anticipate - Gary's reactions to the foods. He's pretty picky. There aren't a whole lot of fruits and vegetables that he eats. He's a meat and rice man. NOT potatoes! Before Terrifying Tuesdays, he MIGHT taste something that I made that was not normal. And then pick out the offending bits. But now, he WILL taste the recipe. He realizes that the boys really emulate him, so he doesn't complain or make faces or segregate bits out of his food. And he takes an honest taste test. And I believe he's loosening up a little. The man has the pallette of a child, but maybe we'll grown him up a little. :-) I don't know if I can wait for his taste buds to dull with age.

Terrifying Tuesdays: BBQ Salmon

The Recipe:

BBQ Salmon
1 1/2 - 2 lbs. salmon
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. grated orange rind
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 lg. garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper

Put the salmon in a large baking dish. Whisk the remaining ingredients together in a small bowl and pour them over the salmon. Marinate at room temperature for 45 minutes or in the fridge for 2 hours. Grill or broil the salmon for about 8 minutes a swide, or until it's as done as you like it. Serve immediately.

This recipe is from the cookbook "One bite won't kill you!" by Ann Hodgman. Love the title, don't you?!

We all loved it - but we all love grilled salmon anyway - yes, even the boys. Forget that fishstick business. But, but, but...... you couldn't really taste the marinade. So, what's the point? I usually just put a ready-made rub on my salmon and a squirt of lemon which is a thousand times easier. (probably could do without the rub too!)

We also had a new french fry, it's by Alexia and is organic and no trans fats. They were good. And since I don't do the french fry thing much, it's worth the higher cost. I had read in someone's blog that the tater tots were good, but the commissary didn't have any.

And, to feed into my cookbook addiction, I went to Target today and bought the new "Hungry Girl 200 under 200" book. I'm not sure why I bought it, since there is the website, and a lot of the food is "fake". But sometimes you just need a fast to fix recipe that isn't fattening. It takes time to make everything fresh and sometimes you run out of fresh stuff at the end of the week. (I'm trying to justify buying yet another cookbook!)
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I go to get my stitches out tomorrow. I'll be glad. I think he did a great job and it'll heal up beautifully. The rash on the other hand, it's a mess. You can literally see the rectangular area where the bandage was. This picture was taken just now. So it's 6 days after the surgery. Oh, well. You can also see where they cut my hair. LOL! not a big deal. could've been much worse.

Terrifying Tuesday: East Coast Lasagna

I'm so lazy, this is so late. The good news is that we found a winner. Almost.

First, I'll start with the recipes. I got the recipes from "Skinny B**** in the Kitch". (Lord only knows what possessed me to pick up a cookbook, much less any book, that has a swear word in the title and then followed by thousands throughout the book - totally tacky and classless - can't believe I gave these women my money) I'm going to copy and paste these recipes in here, and my justification for that (since I haven't been doing it) is because there is a flaw in the recipe that I want to discuss and there are changes I made. So these are not exact copies of the recipes, at least the red sauce is not exact. And I'll discuss that too. I just want you to know that the recipes below may vary from what's in the book.

East Coast Lasagna

6 qts. water
about 3 tbsp. fine sea salt
1 lb. whole wheat or brown rice lasagna noodles
5 cups Basic Red Sauce (see recipe)
4 cups Tofu "Ricotta" (see recipe)
12 - 14 oz vegan ground beef (if frozen, no need to thaw)
10 oz vegan mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350* F.

In an 8-10 qt stockpot over high heat, combine the water with about 3 tbs. salt. Bring the water to a boil, add the noodles, and cook according to the pkg directions. When the pasta is done, drain it, briefly rinse it (just to make it cool enough to handle), and drain it again. Separate the noodles and lay them on foil, waxed paper or parchment paper to keep them from sticking together.

Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 13X9 Inch pan. Top the sauce with some of the lasagna noodles, overlapping them slightly. Top the noodles with 1/3 of the Ricotta, 1/3 of the ground beef, and 1/3 of the cheese, spreading each layer of ingredients out evenly. Repeat the noodles, ricotta, beef and cheese layers 2 more times (you may not need all the pasta).

Place the pan of lasagna on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the tip of a knife inserted in the center of the lasagna comes out piping hot, 60 to 75 min. (check on it periodically to make sure the cheese isn't burning. If it seems like it might, cover with foil unitl the final 15 minutes)
Remove the lasagna from the oven and let it sit 10 to 15 min. before cutting and serving.


Basic Red Sauce

2 tbsp. oil
1 onion, cut into 1/4" dice
8-10 cloves garlic, minced
2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1/4 cup fruity red wine (optional)
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. hot sauce, like Tabasco (optional)
1 Tbsp. agave nectar (optional)


Heat the oil in a 4-6 qt stockpot over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender. 6-8 minutes (adjust heat, if necessary, to avoid browning). Add the garlic and cook stirring occasionally, 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes and tomato paste, increse the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the wine, if using, along with the basil, oregano, salt and hot sauce (if using). taste, and if the sauce is too acidic, stir in the agave. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 2 months.


Tofu "Ricotta"


14 to 16 oz extra firm tofu, crumbled
3 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 tsp fine sea salt

In a food processor, combine the tofu, garlic, olive oil, oregano and salt and pulse to puree. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
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Recipe notes:

• The Skinny B gals like to use refined coconut oil, and they give their arguments for it. I'm not quite sold on the idea, nor do I wish to experiment with my health since I do have high cholesterol and can somewhat control it through careful watch on my diet. So on the red sauce recipe where I have "oil", they call for the coconut oil. Where there is evoo on the ricotta, they call for evoo.
• On the lasagna assembly portion of the recipe, they only call for the use of the sauce one time, in the beginning before you put down the first layer of noodles. Obviously this is a mistake, since the recipe calls for 5 cups of sauce and lasagna needs it's sauce. So, you need to remember to include a layer of sauce each time. This is the one recipe mistake that I caught.
• I used white lasagna noodles because I don't have access to whole grain noodles
• I used regular part skim mozzarella cheese because we are not vegan and soy cheese just doesn't melt or taste as good as real dairy cheese. Why mess up a good lasagna?
• The mistake I made when I typed out the recipe is that I forgot to include the vegan ground beef. I didn't realize that until it was time to cook. I happened to have a 1/2 pound of ground beef and just 1 Amy's hamburger patty - so I nuked the beef, thawed the patty and made do with that.
• I used canola oil to saute the onions
• 8-10 cloves of garlic is a LOT, it's good, but be warned that it's an odor that will be hard to shake
• We don't drink so I didn't use wine
• I didn't have fresh oregano, so I used dry, 1 tsp
• I used Cholula hot sauce because that's what we had
• I used sugar because that's what my mama uses! (instead of the agave)
• the tofu they sell around here comes in 12 oz tubs, so I bought two and used 1 and 1/4 pkgs.

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The results were really good. Thumbs up all around. I do want to make it sometime with just the faux hamburger. Next time I will give myself more time to make it. It took about an hour of hustling (before baking). Either I need to make the elements ahead of time, or start earlier. Also, I need to remember to check it earlier to make sure the cheese doesn't get overcooked. And be more generous with the sauce. It was a little on the dry side. When I assembled, I did not measure out 5 cups, so I don't know how much I used.

While I am not a big fan of this cookbook for personal reasons, they do have an excellent pizza sauce recipe.
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And so you won't think that Tuesday is the only day I experiment with food, I made a quinoa recipe on Monday that I saw in the newspaper. I couldn't resist. It was okay, could have done without the orange segments in it.
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Tomorrow is the day I go in for my little surgery to remove that spot on the side of my face. I've become quite the spokesperson for sunblock ever since I was diagnosed with skin cancer! I've already offended a couple of people, I do believe! Not that I mean to, but you'd be surprised how resistant folks are to the idea of using sunblock. But this is the tropics and the sun is very serious here. That reminds me, I want to take before and after pictures. At least a before picture, now that it's not gross and bloody. It's just red. It would be educational.

Terrifying Tuesday: Pecan Crusted Fish with peppers and squash

We finely have a winner folks! Something edible! I'm not sure where I got this recipe, so I'll post it anyway.

Pecan Crusted Fish with Peppers and Squash

12 oz. fresh or frozen catfish,
whitefish, orange roughy
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 tsp. onion salt
1/4 cup a-p flour
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1 egg
2 sm. red/orange sweet peppers, quartered
1 med. zucchini, bias-sliced 1/2" thick
1 med. yellow summer squash,bias-sliced 1/2 inch thick
1/4 tsp seasoned salt

1. Line a 15X10X1 inch baking pan with foil. Lightly spray; set aside. Thaw fish, if frozen. Rinse fish; pat dry. Cut fish into 4 serving-size pieces; set aside. 2. In a shallow dish combine pecans, cornmeal, and onion salt. In another shallow dish combine flour and ground red pepper. In a small mixing bowl whisk together egg and 1 tbsp water. Dip each piece of fish in flour mixture to lightloy coat, shaking off any excess. Dip fish in egg mixture, then in pecan mixture to coat. Place coated fish in the prepared baking pan, tucking under thin edges. 3. In a large bowl combine sweet peppers, zucchini, and sqash. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil and seasoned salt; toss to coat. Arrange peppers and squash around fish, overlapping vegetables as needed to fit into pan. 4. Bake, uncovered, in a 425 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork and vegetables are tender.

per serving:
302 cal, 15g total fat (2g sat fat), 98 mg chol., 367 mg sodium, 21g carbo., 3g fiber, 21g pro.

I pretty much made this recipe as stated. I used catfish. I wanted to use orange roughy, but the commissary didn't have any. I'm not a big fan of vegetables cooked with fish, but I did it anyway. Next time I'll grill the vegetables or cook them somehow, but separately. The vegatables got a little burned and the squashes were downright slimey. Yuck. But the fish was great. I'm sure you could use any nut. It's not a recipe that's far out there, but it's something I haven't yet tried on the family.

It got 3 thumbs up (Gary gave it a 3/4 thumbs up) and 1 thumbs down. Ryan ate it up anyway. The only other things on his plate were the vegetables and purple sweet potato. He had to eat something!
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On the food front, our commissary finally got that Truvia stuff. I've been dying to try it, so I snatched up a box Sunday. I dunno. This stuff tastes more fake than the fake stuff, to me. If you take a little taste of it straight out of the package, I get hit with what I think is going to be bitter, but then it disappears. It's kinda weird. Almost like how the sugar alcohols disappear on you - you know in those sugar free hard candies. Since it said that one packet was the equivalent of 2 tsp of sugar, I put one packet in my hot tea. Just not quite sweet enough. Hey, I usually like 2 packets of splenda in my tea, so I guess I like it pretty sweet. I've been using 1 packet in my oatmeal - I'm still not sure about the bitterness factor. Too reminiscent of sacchrin - yuck! So this stuff is still up in the air for me.

I'm not sure why I want to change anyway. You hear all those negative nellies going on and on about the evils of Equal and Splenda - I like them! I don't think either have aftertaste and they haven't affected me physically, as far as I can tell. But I'm really not the one who can say, "I've been doing it all my life and I'm fine!" Because I've had too many major illnesses to get away with that. I've NOT been fine. Maybe it's my water bottles, maybe it's my toothpaste, maybe it's because I was bottle fed. Who knows? But I like me sweets.

We are making small motions towards our move. Gary's got to do some car stuff - I've made arrangements for dental records to be sent to me. I still need to call my eye doctor. My medical records will stay at the hospital until the bitter end, and then I will hand carry everything with me. This is VITAL. You've got to hand carry all your xrays, mammograms, EVERYTHING! Don't trust it to the mail.

I'm getting kinda sad about the move. I can see changes happening already. One of my good friend's has placed a bid on a house and is in escrow - it has a pool, so we'll miss out on many good pool parties. The neighborhood has become a reconstruction zone - they are doing new sewer lines. It's horrible. Our sweet, quiet neighborhood. There are a couple of other school moms who are moving this summer. One mom is currently having her house packed out. So things will be different here anyway. I won't be leaving the same place.

I've had a cold for over a week now. I've been sleeping on the infamous recliner. I keep hoping the moist night air will heal my cough. Plus I can't stand the thought of disturbing Gary's sleep with my coughing. I just want to breathe!

Terrifying Tuesday: Barley with Curry, Carrots and Almonds

(obviously I'm not a food stylist -sorry!)

I'll post the recipe for this one. It's pretty simple. I got if from a cookbook of mine "Superfoods, Cook Your Way to Health" by Jyl Steinback.

Barley with Curry, Carrots and Almonds

1 1/2 cups nonfat chicken broth
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup quick-cooking barley
3/4 cup chopped carrot
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp curry powder
1 Tbsp. sliced almonds, toasted

Combine chicken broth, water, barley carrot, onion powder and curry in medium saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 12 to 15 minutes until barely is tender. Remove lid and cook 3 to 5 minutes; stir in toasted almonds and serve.

Serves 4
calories: 153
total fat: 1g
dietary fiber: 6g
sodium: 361 mg

my adjustments:
I don't have or know where to get quick cooking barley. I had pearled barley, so I increased the simmering time to 35 minutes. I had slivered almonds on hand, instead of sliced and I dumped in the rest of what we had which was just over a tablespoon. The more the merrier! Everything else I kept the same.

The results: 3 thumbs up, 1 thumbs down from Ryan. I think this was Ryan's first time with the curry flavor, so it will take him a while to adjust. We will deem this one a keeper. Maybe not a regular, but I'll definitely make it again.

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In other news... today I had an MRI - my follow-up from my abnormal mammogram. Ugh! It had been a couple of years from my last one, and I'm already dreading next years! I did fine, but near the end I was getting close to a freak-out. I started getting warm and was breathing warm air. I was starting to sweat. Sweating will make you claustrophobic for sure! No, the closed in-ness didn't bother me a bit. It's the not being able to move for over an hour that gets you. Everywhere there was a pressure point, it hurt. My forehead, my right shin - well, those were the only two that bothered me. Then my left shoulder - oy! I was about to scream about that! They had me laying there in a superman pose - with my arms stretched out front. Which was fine for the first half hour. When they finally got me out of the tube, my shoulders were frozen. It was hard to get up. Our bodies just weren't designed to stay in one position like that. We are designed to MOVE!

Before the MRI I prayed that I would be given calmness, and He was faithful. I actually almost fell asleep a couple of times. But then the noises would start up or would change and almost startle me. I really don't know how long the thing took, but it was at least an hour. Let's see, I was changing clothes and looked at my watch and it was 10:38, and then after I walked out of the MRI place to the bathroom it was 12:18. You have to factor in a little time for waiting, not much, time to change clothes and time to get the i.v. and then get all situated. So I think that leaves at least a full hour for scan time.

Today I put the boys into a spring break "program" at the school, so I would have plenty of childcare time without worrying about them. They were going on a field trip to one of those places that has all those big blowup bouncy things. I'm sure they are having fun and I will pick them up in about an hour or so.

I have a dentist appointment this month (plus Ryan needs to get a filling) and also have the "thing" cut off my face on the 17th. Medical month. Blah. What I really need is to get my hair cut again.

***** edited to say my doc just called with MRI results - hey I wasn't supposed to get those for 3-4 days! this is same day! everything is normal - I've got simple cysts - yeah, we knew that - and my implant is intact! *whew* big sigh of relief! Next!

Terrifying Tuesday: Smothered Beans

I got this recipe from The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen by Peter Berley.


Listen to his description: "I like to imagine that up in heaven the saints all order this dish at a club where Louis Armstrong is leading the band. It is that delicious." How could I resist?!


Again, I won't post the recipe, but it involves dried Great Northern beans, pinto beans, leeks and collards. And braising. Ever braised before? I hadn't. I found out in an article in today's paper that that is one of the top 10 cooking trends for 2009! I feel so current!


I also used this recipe to get a new pot. It calls for a heavy flameproof casserole. The only casserole dishes I have are Pyrex, which I don't think you can use stovetop. I found this calphalon pan - I just so happen to be trying to convert all my pots and pans to calphalon, one piece at a time. It's just like my 12" pan, except for the handle deal. I would never be able to fit my 12" pan in the oven with it's long handle.






Anyway, back to the recipe. I do not have a good track record with cooking dried beans. I always use the overnight soak method, and the beans yesterday got soaked at least 12 hours. This time it was hit or miss. There were some crunchy beans and some cooked beans.


The collards and leeks take up a lot of fridge space.


The verdict: 3 thumbs down and 1 thumbs up. I LOVED it! And goody, I get all the leftovers for my lunches this week. My kids gave it a thumbs down because they are kids, and it was vegetables, blech, blech. Gary gave it a thumbs down because he could taste the collards. He did say it had good flavors. Maybe I could find another leafy green to use.


I think I will cook this recipe for my parents sometime.


As far as ease, it was not a hard recipe, but it's a recipe that requires planning ahead. You have to soak the beans. Leeks and collards are not vegetables I have on hand. You have to do a little boiling, then saute'ing, assembly and then the braising (which takes up the oven for a while).

Obviously the nutrition is good with all the vegetables. And it was tastey and filling, so it was satisfying for a main dish. The recipe called for 3 tablespoons of olive oil, which seems like a lot, but this is going to spread out into a lot of servings for me - so I should be okay.

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But I want to mention an uber-easy tastey recipe that a friend told me about that I made Monday. Super, super easy. Chicken stuffed manicotti. I think it's a betty crocker recipe. Take the dry manicotti shell, stuff in a raw chicken tenderloin (or cut up chicken breast into strips) that has been sprinkled with garlic salt. Mix 3/4 c water with a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce. Spread a little sauce in the bottom of your casserole dish, lay out the stuffed shells, spread on the rest of the sauce covering all the shells and bake, covered at 350 degrees for about 1 hour. Uncover and top with cheese and bake for a few more minutes until melted.


As you can tell, you can make as much or as little as you want at a time.

**edited to add a picture of the smothered beans (today's lunch)

Double Whammy Wednesday - and the drama of picky eaters

We didn't do Terrifying Tuesday because our school had a fundraiser, asking us to eat at Mama's Island Pizza and Baskin Robbins. Our school playground is so close to it's monetary mark but not there yet, and the construction has already begun! Yesterday we were blessed to have our Representative Cynthia Theilan's son donate an auger and recruit the Hawaii job corp to dig post holes using the auger. How awesome is that?!! Plus they used leftover lumber from our boardwalk to construct work tables (very green) and did a lot of other stuff in preparation for the build.



So, yesterday we had double whammy wednesday. Double whammy because I made the planned Valentine's dessert and then I made a recipe I found on the internet. Where to start? With the food or with the drama that accompanied the food? Let's start with the food. I have pictures today! (not good pictures...)



For dinner I made a recipe I found on the Vegan Dad blog http://vegandad.blogspot.com/. I'm going to post the recipe because I have some comments on changes I made and such.



INGREDIENTS
- 5 cups water
- 1 1/2 cup basmati rice
- 5 green cardamom pods
- 1/2 tsp tumeric
- 1 cinnamon stick, broken in two
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 cloves
- 2 tbsp oil
- 3 onions, sliced
- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1" piece ginger, minced
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- juice of 1 lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3-4 tomatoes, thickly sliced
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 2/3 cup plain soy yogurt
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 2/3 cup hot water
METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a casserole dish. Get water boiling in a pot. Add rice, cardamom, tumeric, cinnamon, salt and cloves. Parboil for 3 mins, drain, then return to pot and cover to keep warm.
2. While water is boiling, heat oil in a large frying pan. Dry onions for 8-10 mins, until a deep golden brown. Add chickpeas, spices, lemon juice, and season to taste. Fry for 3-4 mins, until heated through.
3. Place chickpea mixture in the prepared casserole dish and top with cilantro. Top with enough sliced tomatoes to cover the chickpeas. Spread yogurt over the tomatoes, then top with cashews and raisins. Top that with rice, and pour water evenly over the top.
4. Cover and bake for 60-65 mins, until liquid is all absorbed and rice is cooked. Serve topped with more chopped cilantro.



My notes:

1. I don't have white rice in my house any more, so I had to figure out how to parboil brown rice. (what is parboil anyway??) So, I boiled my jasmine brown rice for 15 minutes, drained it and left it in the pot until I was ready for it.

2. I also picked out the cloves and cinnamon stick. They didn't specify that in the recipe, but who wants that surprise?

3. ground cardamom costs $13 for a 2 oz jar! cardamom pods cost $10 a jar! I chose just the ground cardamom and guessed at how much to use instead of the pods. I had all the other spices.

4. the recipe calls for sliced onions. I think it would be better to quarter the slices, because they were big and unwieldy and hung out together in the casserole (it was hard to get them evenly distributed)

5. I used regular dairy fat free plain yogurt. So that makes my version not vegan.

6. I wouldn't know where to find raw cashews, so I used planters lightly salted.

7. don't be intimidated by the ingredient list. It's mostly spices.



Here are the pictures. I forgot to take them before we served ourselves, so excuse the carnage. (yes, my dishes are Buttercups on Blue - I meet lots of people who have Poppies on Blue)

My comments about this dish.

• I was afraid the rice wouldn't cook, but it did. In my serving, there were 4-5 hard rice pieces - so I guess they all didn't cook.
• This smelled soooooo good when I was cooking the chickpeas. Even my kids commented about how good it smelled.
• I liked it, with the exception of the tomatoes. I thought for sure the tomatoes would be great - but they tasted sour. ?? How weird is that?
• new addition: last night I thought it was the tomatoes for sure that were sour tasting, but maybe it was the maui onions I used? I'm eating it for lunch right now and trying to pick it apart - I'm confused...
• Plus the yogurt seemed to coagulate in clumps on the tomatoes. Yuck. I think it probably should be stirred into the chickpea mixture.
• I would be tempted to make the whole thing without the tomatoes, but I bet they add a lot of the moisture which cooks the rice. So maybe completely cook the two elements separately and just layer on the plate? I dunno.

The family reaction? Thumbs down from the kids and a so-so from Gary. I will be eating a lot of leftovers. I pulled out the tomatoes and packed up a baggie for the freezer. I think this recipe is worth tweaking and I welcome suggestions.

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Now on to the big drama. The dessert. I chose a recipe from my Pink Ribbon Special edition BH&G checkerboard cookbook. It's called Berry Clafouti and I even bought cute little quiche dishes. I won't duplicate the recipe (because I'm lazy and would have to type it out...) but it's just a layer of berries covered with a light batter and bake. I used blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. (I couldn't commit to just one kind!) It smelled like heaven!

Again, I forgot to take a picture before I started eating it so excuse the carnage and bluriness!

It was wonderful. I think we all agreed that the raspberries were the strongest in tartness - so if tart is not your thing, you might not like it.

The drama: Ryan's first bite he said he liked. But I think the bite was the size of a microbe. He started to refuse to eat any more, which is frustrating since he said he liked it! Then he started crying!

I should have seen it coming because he had been harrassing me about supper ever since school got out. I can tell he had built it up in his mind that he was not going to like it, all he had to do was eat one bite and be done with it. This child can go a long time on very little food. Of course, I had been putting up with attitude all day, and I had specifically chosen a non-chocolate recipe for him, so I was quite upset by this time.

I wont' go into all the details, but I suppose you could call me an ogre for wanting him to eat his dessert! I gave him all the lectures a mom gives. He's heard them all before. This kid has had eating issues from the get-go. Some of it is physical - it certainly started that way. But there is also the mental aspect. If you think it's going to taste bad, then it will. I've got to hand it to him, he's quite brave when he does try new foods. Eating a grape to him is as scarey as eating a bowl of worms.

Anyway, I resorted to my usual "you must eat x number of good sized bites" (he can't handle being told to "eat it all") and we ended it with a hug and cuddle. No one was hurt during the exchange, but I certainly felt like bashing my head against the wall.

Ryan is a super good kid. This is the ONLY area we struggle with. It hurts my heart sometimes because feeding my family is my favorite way to show my love. I have to remind myself that he doesn't mean to hurt me, it's not personal. I also have to remind myself that over a LONG period of time and after thousands of "just one bites", he does sometime come around. He has come a long way, and maybe by the time he is an adult he'll be eating vegetables and fruit. (I apologize in advance to his future wife)

Okay, before this turns into a novel, my final parting thoughts. I've approached TT with a attitude of mystery. I thought that would add to the fun. But I need to rethink that. It seems to have added to the stress for Ryan. I'm torn between thinking that if he knows what we are going to have he'll have time to decide to dislike it, and thinking that if he doesn't know then he'll work himself up into a tizzy of worry. And my other thought is that 2 mystery dishes was just too much. One at a time from now on.

it must be fall!

even though it doesn't feel like it. Because I made soup! It was yummy. I also made bread using the recipe I posted many moons ago. I'm going to have to label my recipe threads. Here is the recipe I used, I got it off the weight watcher chat boards. I made a few changes as you'll see in the notes beneath the recipe.

Beef Barley Lentil Soup
1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups cubed red potatoes ( ¼ inch pieces)
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup dry lentils, rinsed
½ cup medium pearl barley
8 cups water
2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
2 cans (14 ½ ounces each) stewed tomatoes

In a non-stick skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker (crock pot). Layer with the potatoes, celery, carrots, lentils and barley. Combine the water, bouillon, salt and lemon-pepper; pour over vegetables. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until vegetables and barley are tender. Add the tomatoes; cook 2 hours longer.

Yield 10 servings.

Notes: I used stew meat and trimmed off all the visible fat. I browned the meat and onions, but I'm sure you could get away with not doing that. I only had 1 can of stewed tomatoes (which I blended with a hand blender) so I added a can of rotel tomatoes. The cooking time - well, I didn't need 8 hours! Very yummy.

I'm sorry I haven't posted all week. I had a very unpleasant day Wednesday and it's affected me for a long time. I wish people were more aware of how their words can really hurt. Even when they mean to hurt you (at the moment) - it really, really hurts. Probably more than intended.

I've got some pictures to post. We had a huge rain this weekend, and while we were driving past the Koolaus on the H3, I hung my phone out the window and took pictures of the waterfalls cascading in between the folds of the mountains. I need some time to resize them for internet posting.