400-calorie dinners (ii)

Two more all-star recipes to add to the 400-calorie dinner collection this week:

Falafel-Stuffed Eggplant:

I bookmarked this recipe ages ago . . . what took me so long to try this?  Light yet filling, with a welcome burst of summery flavors to brighten up the bitterest of cold winter days.  (I can imagine how much tastier this would be when everything was actually in season!)  I did modify the recipe slightly, adding the eggplant pulp to the filling, instead of "reserving for another use."  (Huh?  What on earth would anyone do with just around a cup of eggplant goo?  Hm.)  352 calories, loaded with fiber, protein, A, C, calcium, and impressively high in iron.  John claimed he wasn't all that hungry prior to dinner this evening, but managed to gobble up his portion just fine.  Must have been good!

Sauerkraut & Sausage Casserole:

This dish is as warm and cozy as the previous was bright and summery.  (Hey . . . I crave variety!)  After making my own vegetarian kielbasa, this dish was a snap to prepare, and I love the combination of tangy, salty kraut, (homegrown, home-cultured, and home-canned at our house!), savory faux sausage, sweet onions and apples, and tender-crispy potatoes.  A bargain dinner at 297 calories, packed with protein and loaded with vitamin C, there's definitely room for a chunk of dark rye with butter alongside this entree, or alternately . . .

Dessert!

German Honey Cookies:

If you enjoy simple yet surprising sweets, this is a cookie you MUST try.  There is enough honey in the dough to be clearly present in the baked cookie, yet the copious amount of vanilla and ground ginger sneak in and hang out in the background.  The cookies are sweet but not cloyingly so, buttery without being overly rich, and friendly to the healthy eating plan at 97 calories each.  I made a few modifications to the original recipe, following a more traditional method of creaming the butter and sugar together by hand, then stirring in the honey, egg, and vanilla, before finally adding the dry ingredients, and I also subbed in half whole-wheat pastry flour for some of the all-purpose.  This is only the second time I've made these, but I much prefer this batch -- my first attempt (years ago) was soft, pillowy, and almost cake-like using the technique in the recipe; this batch is soft, toothsomely chewy, and dense -- a perfect cookie texture, in my opinion.  (P.S. watch 'em like hawks, and pull them out of the oven JUST as they begin to brown and are completely set -- over-baking these beauties turns them tooth-breakingly crispy in a heartbeat.  Or, if you like crispy cookies, by all means, over-bake away!  I bet they would make great dunkers, in that case.)  Someday, I'll try these with fresh ginger in lieu of the ground, and likely achieve cookie nirvana.  :)

Falafel!

Simple Sunday night dinner - homemade pita topped with falafel and all the fixings!

life is uncertain . . .

. . . blog about dessert first!

I don't think I've mentioned this yet, but I went in with a couple of friends (Courtney! Crystal!) and ordered cherries, peaches, and blueberries from a local apple orchard that trucks fruit in from Michigan. Crystal and I split 10 pounds of sour cherries, and they arrived yesterday!

First order of business? PIE, of course. :)


Oh. Yes.

I haven't had a piece of real cherry pie in SO long, and cherry pie is my FAVORITE PIE EVER. (I feel very strongly about cherry pie, obviously.) :) Totally worth the 40 minute drive out to the orchard to pick up the cherries!

~~~~~~~~~~

Mid-July is a fun time to go to the Farmer's Market. I think Dan and I spent over $70 this week! Our fridge is packed with fresh veggies, and several of them made their way into meals this weekend.

For example . . .

Homemade veggie Italian sausages, new potato salad with a buttermilk-herb dressing, and more green salad with more homemade blue cheese dressing. Yumyumyum.

And . . .

Falafel with the usual fixings, and a side of Greek Zucchini Salad with Crumbled Feta. Normally, I don't much care for zucchini . . . I think of it as flavorless, watery, and soggy when cooked. I could see myself getting behind zucchini with this salad, though! The thin ribbons of zucchini and summer squash soaked up the lemony dressing beautifully, and the feta was a nice, salty addition. Yum again!

~~~~~~~~~~

What kinds of veggies are you enjoying this summer?

more fast food

We've had a couple more superfast meals this week . . .

I never thought I'd be one to whip out a few homemade pita on a weeknight:

This whole falafel meal, including making the pita, came together in under an hour. Pita is definitely a weeknight bread, since it takes only about 5 minutes to bake . . . if you have Artisan Bread dough in the fridge already, it's even easier. Falafel mix from the bulk bin, some homemade yogurt-tahini sauce, and roasted green beans (from the FM) rounded out the meal. Yum!

Last night's dinner was even faster:

"Huevos Rancheros" has to be one of the fastest, easiest, protein-est meals on the planet, and it's mighty tasty, too, in my opinion. Whole-wheat tortillas, canned refried beans (GASP!), a little leftover shredded cheese, fried egg, diced avocado, and a little leftover sour cream rounded things out. Extra veggies are always a must, so side salads were an easy choice. YUM. I want this for breakfast again today, but unfortunately, we're out of eggs. :(

laundry list of dinners

I don't think I was feeling terribly creative when I did last week's meal plan . . . lots of "repeats," here. Well, at least we ate healthfully and well!

"Brooklyn Pad Thai," from Vegan with a Vengeance:

I usually try to add an extra vegetable to this recipe, (usually broccoli,) to amp up the nutritional value. Last week, local cabbage was on sale, so I picked up a 1/4 head and gave it a try! The cabbage worked very well in this recipe -- melted into the dish, and just sort of acted like extra noodles. Delicious!

Homemade pita, falafel w/the fixings, and tabouli:

I found a recipe somewhere for "winter tabouli," that called for sun-dried tomatoes instead of fresh ones. Worked well! I add TONS of mint to my tabouli, which is usually too much for most people, but Dan and I love. Yum.

Crock Pot Chili:

I've bastardized a Vegan Planet recipe to the point where I might just post my variation someday. I love chili, and I LOVE my Crock Pot!

Don't forget the cornbread muffins:


PIZZA:

Artisan Bread half-whole wheat crust, roasted garlic & olive oil puree for "sauce," a variety of leftover cheeses, roasted red peppers, broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, red onion, and spinach. I LOVE PIZZA.

Brunch for dinner:

I think blue potatoes are so dang fun! Am I weird? Anyhow, lately I've been throwing a drizzle each of balsamic vinegar and soy sauce into my kale, and it's been heavenly! What's your favorite way to cook greens?

the last of the Olive Oil Dough

I used my last glob of "Olive Oil Dough" to make a batch of gorgeous, puffy pita tonight!

Really, other than convenience, WHY have I been buying pita? (And since it only takes, like, fifteen minutes to make pita from refrigerated dough, why have I been buying pita at all?) YUM.

Stuffed the pita with . . .

. . . falafel, expertly cooked by Dan, chopped veggies, and yogurt-tahini sauce. Deeeeeeeeelicious!

Oh yeah . . . and before Dan cooked up the falafel, he cleaned the bathroom! (We're talking, dusted between the radiator slats, scrubbed the floor on his hands and knees, etc.) Not that I'm bragging or anything . . . !

weekend recap, fun mail, and check one thing off the list

I have very few pictures from this weekend, partly because I was lazy, and partly because I loaned my camera to Courtney for the day on Saturday. (She's selling some stuff on Craigslist.) I promise we ate, though!

Saturday brunch was our usual poached eggs, kale and mushrooms, and crispy-delicious hashbrowns. Dan was quite the helper this weekend and tore up the kale, sauteed the kale and mushrooms, and made the hashbrowns! It's tricky squeezing two of us in my teensie kitchen, but we made it work. :)

Saturday dinner was delicious, and I think becoming one of my all-time most favorite meals -- Hot-Sauce Glazed Tempeh (from Veganomicon,) mashed potatoes with my own version of very speedy gravy, and steamed broccoli again. Dan took charge of the potatoes and gravy -- I've never had butterier mashed potatoes . . . and he wanted to add olive oil, too! I have to draw the line somewhere??? ;)

After we got home from church on Easter, I made a rather untraditional Easter Dinner:

Who says you can't have falafel sandwiches for Easter Dinner? Homemade pita, cucumber, onion, tomato, and romaine lettuce rounded out the deliciousness, all covered in a sauce made from plain soy yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and some grated fresh garlic.

Sunday supper was a super-simple whole-wheat pasta with marinara and parmesan, green salad on the side, but I made a fantastic dessert:

I cleaned out my freezer and made a raspberry, rhubarb, and apple crumble, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Dan searched high and low for a store open on Easter selling ice cream, and came back successful . . . eventually! (It made it that much more worth it, right?)

~~~~~~~~~~

I got fun stuff in the mail today:

Since I completed the 31-Day Yoga Challenge, I rewarded myself with not two, but THREE new yoga DVDs! (Well, I guess techinically FIVE new DVDs, but three of them are a set, so . . . it counts as one, right?) I chose to skip a new pair of yoga pants in favor of some new challenges. I've been enjoying the sun salutes from Yoga Journal's "Step by Step Session 1," and will progress to Session 2 once I'm feeling stronger and more flexible -- maybe another month? "Yoga for Every Body" seemed very intriguing to me -- it's a highly-customizeable DVD, allowing you to choose your level (beginning, intermediate, advanced,) length of practice, and specific target areas, such as back or neck pain, improving balance, etc. "Stress Relief Yoga for Beginners" is an old favorite I had on VHS, that REALLY needed updating.

Between all of my new DVDs and the practices I downloaded at the end of last month, I'm going to feel challenged (at least in the yoga department) for a LONG time! Woo!

~~~~~~~~~~

Last, I'm pleased to report that I will officially mail away all of my paperwork to renew my teaching license TOMORROW! (I would mail it tonight, except that I don't have enough stamps -- that sucker is heavy!) Now that I've finished that project, I can move on to bigger and better (and more fun) things, like cleaning out my apartment to prepare for Dan moving in this summer. Woo!

weekend meals & the staples!

First, here's a look at our meals from Saturday and Sunday:

Saturday Brunch:

Waffles and homemade vegetarian sausages! I topped my waffles with sliced banana and maple syrup . . . mmmmm. I think I may be experiencing technical difficulties with my waffle iron, however -- it's not browning the waffles AT ALL. Hm. Maybe it's just time for a new waffle iron?

Prepping Saturday Dinner:

I made burger buns . . . knobby burger buns! This lead to Dan and I having a very silly conversation about "my buns." "I wanted flat buns, but I made knobby buns." "Flat buns are better than knobby buns." "I didn't squash my buns enough." "Maybe next time I'll slash my buns so they stay flat." Etc. You get the idea. :)

(The "buns" conversation, coupled with singing classic alternative and indie rock songs in the style of Henrietta Pussycat, lead to a very goofy evening.)

While I had the oven on, I made a batch of blueberry-streusel muffins:

So good. If I wasn't already planning on baking in a little while, I'd totally be mowing one of these right now!

Saturday Dinner:

I made Melody's All-American Burgers. Not usually a veggie burger lover myself, I have to admit . . . these are A-MAZ-ING!!!!! Seriously, if you like veggie burgers even a little bit, you HAVE to make these. Like all homemade burgers, they tend to be softer than the commercially-made ones, but that's okay . . . SO GOOD. (My only complaint was that her directions to use a 1/2 cup of mix made HUGE burgers . . . I'll probably use 1/3 cup going forward.) Dan almost ate two, until I distracted him with a blueberry muffin. :) (I wanted leftovers!)

Sunday Lunch:

Seitan and Dumplings again . . . it's that good.

Sunday Dinner:

Falafel and a Minneola! I love bulk falafel mix . . . 1/3 cup mix, 1/4 cup water, stir, let sit for 15 minutes, panfry, voila! Dinner in what feels like moments. (And a single serving for solo diners!)

AND NOW . . . The Staples.

I had multiple requests for my list of staples that I keep in my house, so I thought I'd just post them here, instead of sending out a mass email. Please note that I generally buy organic, fair-trade, and/or local as much as I can. Some items are specifically labelled organic, but much of what is on this list actually is!

Here's a list of stuff I generally have on hand at all times:

FLOURS: whole-wheat bread, whole-wheat pastry, "gold and white," coarse cornmeal/polenta, hi-lysene corn flour, rye, chickpea

SWEETENERS: organic natural granulated sugar, organic brown sugar, organic powdered sugar, agave, honey, maple syrup, molasses, brown rice syrup, golden syrup, organic corn syrup

MISCELLANEOUS BAKING: vital wheat gluten, kosher salt, egg replacer, cocoa powder, cornstarch, nonfat dry milk, baking powder, baking soda, extracts (vanilla, almond, peppermint, lemon,) muffin liners, arrowroot, cream of tartar

GRAINS: rolled oats, Bob's Red Mill 10-Grain hot cereal, panko breadcrumbs, long-grain brown rice, short-grain brown rice, sushi rice, wild rice, Basmati rice, Jasmine rice, whole-wheat couscous, whole-wheat pastas, quinoa, spelt, pearl barley

MISCELLANEOUS DRY BULK: TVP, miscellaneous dry beans, red lentils, green lentils, brown lentils

OILS: extra-virgin olive, canola, safflower, toasted sesame, peanut

VINEGARS: balsamic, red wine, white wine, apple cider, white, rice

CONDIMENTS: BBQ sauce, Vegenaise, salsa, sriracha, ketchup, tamari, Crystal hot sauce, jam, apple butter, dijon mustard, wasabi, Bragg's liquid aminos

FREEZER: ground flax seeds, fresh breadcrumbs, active dry yeast, cooked beans in 2-cup portions, chipotle chiles in adobo

MISCELLANEOUS FRIDGE: miso, red curry paste, chili paste, capers, olives, tomato paste, tamarind paste, sundried tomatoes, vegetarian worcestershire, homemade vegetable broth powder, ghee, pasta sauce, parmesan cheese, nutritional yeast flakes, seeds and nuts (white and black sesame, almonds (whole and sliced,) walnuts,) chocolate chips, unsweetened flake coconut

PRODUCE: garlic, onions

DRIED HERBS: parsley, mint, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, basil, sage, thyme, tarragon

WHOLE SEEDS: caraway, poppy, celery, anise, cardamom, brown mustard, cumin, fennel

GROUND SPICES: file powder, coriander, cumin, cardamom, mace, pumpkin pie blend, garlic, onion, tumeric, chili powder, chipotle chili powder, sweet paprika, cloves, curry powder, dry mustard, ginger, cayenne, cinnamon, sumac

WHOLE SPICES: black pepper, chili flakes, whole Indian chilis, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, star anise

~~~~~~~~~~

I'm curious to see what you guys think of my list -- am I crazy for keeping so much stuff around? Am I missing essentials, in your opinion? Let the great staple debate begin.

classics and fantastic treats!

While I may have been feeling a little bit uninspired when planning meals for the weekend, "classics" are still tasty and healthy!

Dinner Friday night:

A regular repeat at my house, Thai coconut soup with tofu and mushrooms, garnished with plenty of green onions and cilantro. (Jasmine rice hiding underneath.) The soup was not nearly spicy enough this time around . . . I wonder if my curry paste is getting old? Hm.

Saturday brunch:

Another classic, this weekend with two-potato hashbrowns instead of our regular Yukon golds. I asked Dan if he was getting sick of this brunch; he replied, "nope." It's healthy, easy, and keeps both of us happy -- what's not to like?

Valentine's Day Dinner:

Falafel in homemade pita (Artisan Bread, as usual,) with a giant, delicious salad on the side. Dan helped a ton with this meal, which was very nice -- he made the tahini sauce, cooked the falafel, and made half the pita. I was glad for his help, even though we trip over each other in my tiny kitchen. All I did was make the salad and chop the veggies to go in our falafel! An easy night for me. :)

AND NOW . . . on to the treats:

Valentine's Day Dessert:

Chocolate Fondue!! I used this recipe, courtesy of Eating Well, which was a cinch to prepare (measure ingredients, microwave, stir, voila!) and incredibly delicious. The recipe serves two, although it still made too much chocolate for the two of us after our filling falafel. A keeper recipe for sure, though -- look at all of that delicious fruit! And dark chocolate IS a good source of antioxidants, after all! A heart-healthy treat for a heart-holiday! ;-)

Last, a heart-themed baking project:

I made the sugar cookies from Joy of Vegan Baking, and made a pink vegan buttercream to top them off -- 1/4 cup Earth Balance, 4 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon almond extract, red food coloring, and 3 tablespoons almond milk. This made enough frosting to generously cover the 24 cookies the recipe yielded, plus enough leftover for copious bowl-licking. I used to loathe almond extract as a child . . . I'm so glad my tastebuds have grown up!

~~~~~~~~~~

We're off to brunch with Dan's family this afternoon, so there won't be much more cooking left this weekend. Hope you all had an enjoyable, treat-filled holiday weekend!

What special Valentine's Day meal or treat did you make?