Lately I've Been . . .

Watching . . . 

BBC's "Planet Earth" series.  We've finished two discs so far, about six episodes total, with many more to go.  (Good thing I spread them out in my Netflix cue!)  We have been enjoying them, both for pretty pictures and learning opportunities, and sometimes an excuse to take a nap on the couch.  :)  We tend to enjoy the "making of" spots at the end of the episodes more than the actual episodes.

Eating . . . 

Magic Kale Salad with tempeh bacon

And Buttermilk French Toast

Planning . . . 

On taking better care of myself this spring.  I've been lucky in the past, having lots of walking naturally incorporated into my daily routine.  With this new job I started in October, not so much.  :(  I'm scheduling weekly walks with a small group of friends, and also hoping to slowly reintroduce yoga into my week.  I'd like to work my way up to three times a week!

Reading . . .

Either the Harry Potter series start to finish, or the Anne of Green Gables series start to finish.  I need a brain break and some de-stressing!  Which series should I read first?

Inspired By . . . 

People who cloth diaper their babies.  I fully plan to cloth diaper my own children someday, whenever that may arrive, but lately, we've generated a LOT of laundry, just the two of us.  I couldn't imagine laundry for a family, PLUS diapers every few days!  Wow.  Major props to those of you out there who manage to stay on top of that.  :)

Excited About . . . 

Our garden!!!!!!!!  Seriously, it's worth that many exclamation points.  The snow is finally, finally, FINALLY starting to melt!  We're getting some spring things started inside, and hoping to till in a bunch of compost in a couple of weeks.  Fingers crossed!

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So, what have you been up to?

pumping up the produce

As I wrote earlier in the week, I am trying to make an effort to eat more produce these days -- specifically, more veggies!  I tried to center our meals around veggies this weekend, and chose Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers as my "focus cookbook."  (Do any of you ever do that when you are meal planning?  Sometimes when I'm overwhelmed by ideas and options, I choose one cookbook and select only recipes from it for upcoming meals.)

Breakfast Saturday morning:

How to have French toast nearly effortlessly on Saturday morning?  Slice the bread and set it out to dry before you go to work on Friday morning.  Friday night before bed, make a custard, (I used 4 eggs, a cup of milk, a tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla, several dashes of cinnamon and nutmeg, and a pinch of cardamom,) and soak the bread in the fridge overnight.  With these simple jobs done, all you have to do is get up and fry up your toast!  Yum.  I made us a beautiful fruit salad for the side.

Saturday supper:

Since butternut squash is John's favorite soup variety, I figured I better try the recipe for "Thai Butternut Squash Soup" from my focus cookbook.  I was really pleased with the results!  I made a couple of small modifications, (I roasted a whole squash instead of using frozen puree, used more spinach, and used the whole can of coconut milk and less water,) and we both loved this.  (I especially loved the salty, savory little "tofu croutons!  Tasty delicious.)

Sunday lunch:

"Magic Kale Salad" with pan-fried tempeh.  A repeat, for good reason!  Felt so good to eat a huge plate of greens!

Sunday supper:

A favorite from my focus cookbook this week, "Saucy Hungarian Eggplant."  I haven't made this in ages, and what a shame!  Light yet hearty, this stew is totally nutritious, flavorful, and also helped me take advantage of the GIGANTIC bag of bulgur I bought from Costco not too long ago.

It wouldn't be a quiet weekend without a baking project!

I really felt like baking today, although I wasn't ready to start my Christmas cookies quite yet.  :)  I searched the interwebs for a somewhat healthy muffin recipe full of holiday flavors, and ended up adapting a recipe for molasses spice muffins . . .

Whole-Wheat Gingerbread Muffins
Yield: 24 mini-muffins plus 8 standard muffins

Ingredients:
1 stick butter at room temperature (I used salted)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup molasses
2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
pinch cloves

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, buttermilk, and molasses, and stir until smooth.
3. Combine the flour, baking soda, and spices.  Stir into the wet ingredients just until combined.
4. Fill muffin liners 1/2 to 2/3 full.  (These puff up a lot, thanks to the buttermilk/baking soda reaction!) Bake mini-muffins for about 15 minutes, standard muffins for about 24 minutes.  Cool, and store tightly covered at room temperature (or in the fridge, if you don't think you'll eat them in a few days.)

Lately, I've been enjoying scooping some of my muffin batter out into my mini-muffin pan, and taking those to work.  I love to bake, but we can't always get through a full batch of muffins before "the fuzz" gets to them.  :(  My coworkers have been enjoying the somewhat healthy, homemade "mini-treats" I bring occasionally!  A great solution to my "problem," and a win-win for everyone!

from scratch, more than ever

I have been enjoying the cooler temperatures we've had in MN these past few weeks!  I'm back in my kitchen, enjoying making things from scratch more than ever -- old favorites (bread, granola, marinara, piecrust, beans,) and new challenges (yogurt, butter, and sour cream) have all come out of my kitchen this week!

Here are a few finished products, incorporated into meals:

A simple casserole of eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, basil, and fresh mozzarella, smothered in homemade marinara:

Homemade triple-berry pie, with homemade vanilla ice cream:

French toast (made from homemade bread):

A (homemade refried) bean-and-cheese quesadilla, with salsa, guacamole, and homemade sour cream for dipping, with a side of roasted broccoli and bell peppers:

Delicious all around!  So far, this re-commitment to from-scratch cooking doesn't seem to be costing me too much extra time -- I have been spending one weekday evening doing kitchen prep and some baking, and that seems to serve me well through the week!

What are your favorite things to make from scratch?

birthday treats!

Last Friday was John's birthday! We celebrated with some special activities (hiking and a trip to the Science Museum,) and most importantly, some special treats!

 "Spanikopita," from The Cheese Factory Restaurant Cookbook:

I haven't made this since Christmas, and since John had been frequently demanding requesting it since then, I thought it would make a fine birthday meal. :) I made the right choice! While devouring leftovers last night, John said, "I think this might be my favorite thing EVER to eat." (Or something along those lines, anyway!) What's not to love? A stick of butter, a pound of filo, three pounds of spinach, a couple of eggs, an onion, some herbs and spices, half a cup of heavy cream, and a pound of feta!  Pictured in the background is a gigantic, steamed artichoke.  I love artichokes SO much, and John is also a fan.  We have been eating a lot of artichokes lately, as I've been able to score jumbos at Costco for a reasonable price.  John announced last night, "it's official -- we've become artichoke people."  We have.  And it's a good, good thing.

 A special birthday breakfast:

Brie and apple butter-stuffed french toast. Hell yes. You, too, should try this at home.  Pizza Luce brunch, I kick your butt.

Who needs cake when you can have birthday pie?

This Lemon Cream Pie from Real Simple was FANTASTIC. Sweet, slightly spicy cookie crust filled with a sweet-tart, creamy, light lemon filling. I may have baked the crust a minute or two too long, as it was impossible to cut in the pie plate. Solution? I pried the entire pie out of the plate and cut it into wedges on a cutting board. Problem solved, pie devoured, and I'll remember to shoot for a shorter bake time next time.

"Whole Wheat Fusilli with Swiss Chard and Balsamic-Roasted Onions," from The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen, by Peter Berley:

Anybody else out there own this cookbook?  I picked it up used a while ago, after a lengthy library preview, and although this is my first recipe to try from it, I can't WAIT to dive further into this cookbook.  Berley's ethic seems to be right in line with my style of cooking, and the recipes are new and fresh -- just the breath of life I need in my cooking these days.  Back to this recipe . . . so simple, yet so fantastic!  Proof that all you need are a few high-quality ingredients, a good knife, and a little skill to put together an amazing meal.  Balsamic-roasted onions?  Possibly my new favorite food group.  ;)

Last weekend, I made a batch of chocolate chip cookie bars to take to the reception for our church choir concert; John was sorely disappointed that they weren't sticking around for him to eat!  So, I figured I better make another batch for portable birthday treats:

We enjoyed these, along with some sandwiches, apples, and other snacks, on trail during John's birthday hike Friday.  I think I might like chocolate chip cookie bars BETTER than chocolate chip cookies.  They seem to stay softer, somehow, and I love how thick they are!  Mmmm.

Almost all of the leftovers are at John's house, so the question begs: what on EARTH am I going to have for dinner tonight?

pre-church breakfast

Typically, Sunday mornings are a mad rush out the door for me -- and I'm not very good about getting a decent amount of food in my belly pre-church. (I can't tell you how many times I've dashed away, cluthing a slice of bread or an apple. The horror!) No wonder I'm so hungry by the time church is over! :)

Today, however, I woke up earlier than I usually do, and had time to make myself something to sustain me through all of that singing and listening -- French toast!

I had a partial loaf of VERY old homemade bread that was either going to be eaten or tossed today -- I decided to soak it in a simple egg/milk/agave/Penzey's Baking spice custard while I drank my coffee, fried it up in a little butter (gasp!) and drizzled it with syrup. A simple, thrown-together fruit salad on the side complimented things nicely, and I am now full and happy, enjoying my second cup of coffee (double gasp!)

This coffee better kick in quick, because I'm starting to feel like I could go back to bed. Sigh. Sometimes leaving the house in the morning is so hard, isn't it?

breakfast and groceries

It's always a little surreal the first time each year when you wake up and there's snow on the ground! Today, I woke up, and there was a LOT of snow on the ground -- wet, sloppy, gloppy, slushy snow, and tons of it! The snow has been coming down all day, and it's finally starting to peter off. Yuk!

What to do when you have no plans and the weather is disgusting? Make French toast, of course!

I used the last six slices of sandwich bread we had on hand, dried them out in a warm oven, soaked them in the "Fronch Toast" custard from Vegan with a Vengeance, (to which I added a tablespoon of agave nectar and a half-teaspoon of Penzey's Baking Spice,) and fried them up in a little Earth Balance in my cast iron. Ta-da! An excellent breakfast on a dreary and gross Saturday morning. (We had coffee and clementines, too -- caffeine and vitamins are also requirements!) I would absolutely make this recipe again! The chickpea flour and cornstarch lended a nice thickness to the custard, without the weird "egginess" I associate with traditional French toast. (I am a L/O vegetarian, but really don't care much for eggs, so I don't use them often. Hooray for vegan baking and cooking!)

After breakfast, Dan had a wild idea -- he suggested we go OUT in the slop! So out we went. We walked to the library, took the bus home and dropped off our books, then hopped back on the bus to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. After enjoying some (free!) art for a little over an hour, we walked over to "Peninsula" Malaysian restaurant for a wonderful lunch! After lunch, we walked some more . . . all the way over to the Wedge for our weekly haul! This week's vegan grocery cart:

BREAD:
Rudi's Organic 100% whole wheat sandwich bread
BULK:
local maple syrup
locally-roasted, organic, fair-trade coffee
local, organic rolled oats
GEN MERCH:
Preserve razor refills
HERBS & SPICES:
kava kava root
PACKAGED GROCERY:
organic, vegan Worcestershire sauce
organic canola oil
Good Earth original herbal tea (coupon!)
Lemon Zinger tea (coupon!)
Knudsen's ginger ale spritzer (coupon!)
organic dark chocolate (coupon!)

Why so little in our grocery cart this week? Well . . . 'cause I'm not done with the shopping! Stay tuned for a mystery grocery shopping adventure, happening tomorrow!

weekend eats

We've had a nicely laid-back weekend -- running errands, doing laundry, hanging out at home and reading, and, of course, cooking!

Monster batch of beans and rice:

I make a huge amount every time, because this dish is so versatile. We tend to have portions topped with shredded cheese (this week, a smoked chipotle gouda,) for lunches, scoops stuffed into tortillas and baked in the oven for burritos, and mountains on top of lettuce with avocado, salsa, and sour cream for taco salads. On its own, the dish is relatively low in fat and quite high in fiber, and a nice way to get some whole grains, beans, and veggies in us several times throughout the week. I had a big bowlful topped with cheese for lunch today, and I scooped it all up with some organic corn tortilla chips. Bonus!

Dan's brother, Ryan, came over for dinner last night and I made sushi!

Huge platter of veggie sushi (cucumber, avocado, and red pepper) for the vegetarians, (Ryan and I,) and Dan went to Costal Seafood and bought himself a couple of small pieces of fish. I made him a couple rolls with his fish, and then sliced the rest as thinly as I could for some sashimi. He was happy. :) Ryan and I dominated the edamame, too!

Leftover buttermilk syrup + stale bread = perfectly good reason to make French toast!

I am EXTREMELY picky about my French toast, and almost never order it in restaurants, because it is almost always awful. My secret tricks? Start with very stale, almost dry bread, (I tend to dry mine out in a 200-degree oven if it's not dry enough on its own,) and let the bread soak in the custard mixture overnight, for maximum gooey center potential. Plus, a half-teaspoon of Penzey's baking spice added to the custard mix just makes everything better!

What are your French toast tips/tricks?

Lately, Sunday night has become pizza night at our house! This first pie is topped with olive oil, heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and salt and pepper:

This second pie is topped with organic pizza sauce, red onion, sliced fresh garlic, mushrooms, kalamata olives, and a mixture of four cheeses (mozzarella, parmesan, goat, and feta -- can you tell I was cleaning out the fridge???)

I love pizza!

breakfast, supper

I can't remember whether it was Monday or Tuesday, but I got it in my head that I wanted French toast. So, I sliced off some homemade bread and made some!

Basic recipe, nothing fancy. Delicious topped with sliced banana, toasted walnuts, and maple syrup! This had to have been a nutrition-packed breakfast with all of the healthy ingredients in the bread (whole wheat, molasses, flax,) and the bananas and walnuts, too! Yum.

Dinner Tuesday night:

Dan brought over some tofu, potatoes, and vegetables, and I whipped up a quick roasted tofu and veggies (broccoli, carrots, and red peppers,) seasoned with some extra-virgin olive oil, Northern Lights (from Wayzata Bay Spice Company,) a little extra salt, chili flakes, and a splash of balsamic vinegar at the end. Also, Dan requested "potato-mashed garlic." Ha. (Which translates to mashed potatoes with lots of garlic.) Side of stinky (but delicious) potatoes. :)

In other news, does anyone else think this week is DRAGGING?? Isn't it Friday yet? I don't mean to complain or anything . . . I'm just ready for the weekend. (Even though it's supposed to be FREEZING again in Minnesota! Sheesh.)

I'm also ready for spring, but that doesn't seem to be on its way quite yet.

Pain Perdu

No, not pain . . . "pain," as in the French word for bread. Somewhere, I read that the original recipe name for French Toast is actually "pain perdu," which translates to "lost bread." I guess that's what those crazy French did with bread that they misplaced for a couple of days. Anyhow, breakfast today:



This is not the best French Toast I've ever had, but it's definitely the best vegan French Toast I've ever made. I've been tweaking this recipe for the cookbook for quite some time now, and after Crystal and Ryan were kind enough to test both the normal and vegan versions for me, I concluded it was time for a wee bit more work. So, back to the kitchen.

I think I'm happy enough with this version, given it's as healthy as I can make it while still leaving it tasting excellent. My only complaint is that it sticks to the pan just the teeniest bit . . . but then again, that could be because something is off with the cure on my cast-iron frying pan. (I re-cure it every month or so, and it's still not as slick as a whistle. Argh.) I wonder if I used a nonstick skillet, whether that would happen. I bet not.

Then again, I'm trying to get away from my nonstick pans, after all of this craziness I've been reading about Teflon lately. I don't think there's a huge health risk to me using them, but I'm more concerned about the icky that is produced when making Teflon.

One more excuse to go out and buy a couple of beautiful, stainless, All-Clad saucepans and saute pan, right? ;-)

(We'll have to wait for that one until a job shows up.)

Speaking of a job, I should go keep looking for one now.

P.S. Best strawberries of my life. Swear to God. Hooray for organics!