VCON-athon, part I

I've been cooking like a madwoman lately!

Lunch last Sunday:

Green Onion Egg Drop Soup on the left, and fried rice on the right. (We had leftover rice from dinner out a day or two earlier.) The rice was excellent, but the soup was just okay -- I probably wouldn't make it again.

Yet MORE cobbler:

Straight rhubarb this time. YUUUM. I will be sad when rhubarb season is over for the year. :(

Dinner Thursday night:

Tempeh fajitas! I sliced a package of three-grain tempeh into sixteen slices, and marinaded it for a couple hours along with thickly sliced red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and half a red onion, in the following:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp chipotle chile powder
zest and juice of two small limes
3 cloves garlic, crushed (no need to peel or chop)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups water
After their soak, I pan-fried the tempeh and veg in a hot cast-iron skillet, and served them in homemade flour tortillas, (recipe from the Joy of Cooking), garnished with Chile-Chocolate Mole, (from VCON,) sliced avocado, and mixed baby greens.

P.S. I used a new kind of flour in the tortillas. My co-op carries all-purpose flour in bulk, but also something called "white flour," which is milled from wheat that has had the bran removed, but not the germ, so it has a better nutritional profile. This may be my new all-purpose flour from now on! It sure made heavenly tortillas.

I've been missing prepared breakfast cereals with my whole "five or less" rule, so I decided to try a new granola recipe:

I've been kind of displeased with homemade granola in the past, but this recipe did not disappoint! This is the best homemade granola I've ever made, the simplest recipe by far, and the closest-tasting to "commercial" granolas, in my opinion. (But without all that extra yukky stuff, of course.) I loosely based it on a recipe for Apricot-Almond Granola from Cooking Light, but with several modifications. Here's my version:
1. Combine in a mixing bowl: 2 cups quick oats, 1 cup puffed brown rice cereal, 1/2 cup sliced almonds, 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, 1/2 cup dried cherries, 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots, and 1/3 cup golden raisins.
2. Melt 1/2 cup agave nectar and 1/3 cup Earth Balance together. Pour over oat mixture and combine well.
3. Spread the granola in a greased 9X13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees Farenheight for fifteen minutes. Stir, and bake an additional 10 minutes. Allow the granola to cool in the pan before stirring again. Transfer to an airtight container for storage.

And here, finally, is the VCON-athon:

Sauteed chard, Shredded Parsnip and Beet Salad in Pineapple Vinaigrette (from VCON,) Broccoli Polenta (from VCON,) and Louisiana Crowder Peas from the Farmer's Market last weekend. Both the salad and polenta are incredible -- make them NOW, if you haven't already!

Here's the (vegetized) recipe for the peas, if you can get your hands on some:
1. Rinse 1 lb. peas, and place in a pot. Cover with water and soak for 30 minutes.
2. Drain the peas and return to the pot. Add 8 cups of water, 1 canned chipotle in adobo, 1 tablespoon adobo sauce, and 4 tablespoons Earth Balance. Bring the peas to a boil, then allow to boil for two minutes. Then lower the heat, cover partially, and allow to simmer for one hour.
3. Saute 1 large onion, chopped, in a small amount of oil. Add to the peas with 2 teaspoons salt, 1 tablespoon mixed dried herbs, (I used Fines Herbes,) a bunch of freshly-ground pepper, and 1 clove garlic, peeled. Continue to simmer the peas for 30 minutes, or until soft.

And, I finally, finally, broke out the ice cream maker:

Lemon-Buttermilk Ice Cream from Cooking Light. This is an unusual sorbet-ice cream hybrid, and is addictive and delicious! Sweet, tart, creamy, and refreshing, it sort of reminded both of us of lemon cheesecake. My only complaint is the yield of the recipe -- it made so much, I had to freeze it in two batches! I'll just cut the recipe in half next time.

Stay tuned, because I have more cooking planned for the remainder of the weekend!

more cobbler

I finally broke out the local rhubarb I've been stockpiling in my freezer:

I might have had this for breakfast yesterday morning . . . and again for dinner. Shh . . . don't tell.

another busy weekend!

Saturday morning, I got up bright and early because I had to go down to the vet to buy more cat food -- after that urinary tract infection Oliver had late last fall, he's been on prescription food ever since. Since the vet is only open until noon on Saturdays, I had to hightail it. Dan offered me the car, but I decided to ride my bike -- since the vet is only 2 1/2 miles away, I thought I'd save the gas and save the environment a little bit, too. After my quick errand, I was hungry! Brunch Saturday:

Scrambled eggs this week instead of poached, (covered with salsa, of course,) hashbrowns, kale, and grapefruit. This brunch never seems to get old for us!!

After brunch, we took the light rail down to Minnehaha Park to check out the falls. We've been to the Falls before, but I wanted to figure out how to get there on the train. (We're taking the kids on a field trip to the Falls this week, and I wanted to make sure I knew exactly how to get to the park from the light rail stop.) When we arrived at the Falls, Dan and I discovered we were both hungry again -- so we had lunch at Sea Salt, located in Minnehaha Park. I was worried, since the restaurant is known for their seafood, but lo and behold, there was not one but TWO veggie options on the menu! I debated between the walnut burger and veggie tacos for a long time, and eventually settled on the tacos. Delish! Corn tortillas, black beans, fresh salsa, loads of cilantro, and a spicy corn relish, too. Yum! We finished our meal with an ice cream cone apiece and a quick walk down to the falls before hopping back on the train home.

When we arrived home, Dan's phone was practically ringing off the hook -- his best friend, Ryan, was calling to see what time we would be able to meet up with him and his fiancee, Savaneary, to drive down to the Buddhist temple. Yes, the Buddhist temple! Savaneary is Cambodian, and they had invited us to join them for the Cambodian New Year celebration!! We had a wonderful time checking out the temple, eating Cambodian food (oh, how do I love bubble tea!!) and just hanging out, although it was quite cold and a little bit stormy at times. Pictures at the temple:









We arrived home much later than we had anticipated Saturday night, but we had a wonderful evening!

This morning, I began my day with another quick trip to the Minneapolis Farmer's Market, accompanied by Courtney. Guess what I found??

Yes indeed, folks, the first local, pesticide- and herbicide-free rhubarb and asparagus to be had! Woo! I decided to wash, chop, and freeze the rhubarb for later use, but put the asparagus to good use for dinner tonight:

Sweet and Sour Tofu over brown rice, with a side of roasted asparagus, of course.
And what would Sunday dinner be without a stellar dessert??

Blueberry and cranberry cobbler, (both local, but frozen,) with a scoop of vanilla Haagen Daz. (Not our usual ice cream of choice, but Dan ran to the corner store to pick it up while I was cooking -- to quote Dan, "it's not great, but at least it doesn't have corn syrup!" Man after my own heart.)

And, I'll close the weekend with a recipe, because even though my cobbler wasn't quite vegan, it would easily veganize. Recipe:

Combine:
4 cups fruit (chopped/sliced if you use apples, peaches, etc.)
3 to 6 tablespoons sugar, depending on how sweet/ripe your fruit is
1 1/2 teaspoons flour (unless you use berries, then up the flour to 1 tablespoon)
pinch salt

Pour the fruit mixture into a greased 8- or 9-inch pan.

Combine:
3 3/4 ounces (about 1/2 plus 1/3 cups) flour (I used white whole wheat)
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
CUT IN:
3 tablespoons Earth Balance
STIR IN:
6 tablespoons plain yogurt or soy yogurt

Drop the dough on to the fruit by rounded tablespoonfulls. Sprinkle the dough with a ltitle additional sugar if desired. Bake the cobbler at 350 degrees Farenheight for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the topping is browned and the fruit is bubbly all the way through. Cool slightly before serving -- serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.