an obvious choice

With all of the gorgeous, fresh, local veggies in season right now, and the cooler temperatures we have been enjoying in MN as of late, I needed to make a massive heap of roasted veggies, wouldn't you agree? I followed the "Roasted Ratatouille" recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers, adding 2 cups of cooked chickpeas for a little more protein/staying power. Now, what to do with those veggies, you ask?

Why, stuff them into crepes, of course -- isn't that the obvious answer?? ;) I haven't made crepes since Mardi Gras, and I was starting to feel like it was about time! My crepe recipe is so simple, (2 cups flour, 2 1/8 cups milk, 1 stick butter, melted, and 4 eggs,) and so delicious, (must be all that butter, plus then turning around and cooking them in more butter!), I felt like it was the obvious choice. :)

Thanks to French classes in high school, I have been making crepes for over half my life, so they feel like the easiest thing in the world. I also have a crepe pan . . . I know, I know. I don't make much room for unitaskers in my kitchen, but it's just so much easier to cook crepes in a crepe pan, as opposed to a nonstick frying pan. (No "tails" of batter shooting out of the edges when I use a crepe pan.) How 'bout you? Have you ever made crepes before?

millet polenta!

Way back in December, a recipe for Millet-Cheddar Polenta with Roasted Vegetables from Fine Cooking caught my eye . . . I really don't eat much millet, but am always looking to diversify my diet, and I LOVE polenta (and cheese, obviously!) so I thought this recipe would definitely be worth a try.

Our foul weather today dictated something warm, creamy, and comforting for dinner -- and this recipe fit the bill perfectly!

As ever, I can't follow a recipe exactly as written, so I made the following changes:
~ I used a totally different combination of veggies, (wanted to use up some things I had on had, plus also wanted more color in the meal,) and tossed them with a simple combination of olive oil, salt, pepper, and plenty of minced garlic
~ I cut the amount of butter in the polenta down to two tablespoons; the polenta still seemed extremely rich to me, and I'd probably cut down to just a single tablespoon in the future
~ I found the polenta's texture benefited greatly from a few minutes beating from the stick blender -- more creamy, less lumpy :)

Now, I don't think I'll make millet polenta every single time in the future, but this was a definite winner! I'm happy to find another way to enjoy a grain that doesn't get much attention in my kitchen, for sure!

What are some ways you enjoy millet?

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.

Sesame-Maple Roasted Tofu!

Dinner tonight:

A recipe from Eating Well, with udon noodles hiding underneath. Other than stringing the peas, which seemed to take an eternity at the time, this was a relatively simple recipe to prepare! I guess that's what I like so much about roasting -- you just chuck everything in the oven and forget about it for a (short) while, and then dinner is ready!

I tried out a new variety of tofu in this recipe -- Wildwood has started making a super-firm tofu that is just like water-packed tofu, only not packed in water, so there's no pressing/draining needed. It's awesome! I think that one 10-ounce pack of the Wildwood tofu has about the same tofu as a 14-ounce water-packed block, once the water has been pressed out.

I may be a convert, and never go back to the other types of water-packed tofu I've bought in the past! Way to go, Wildwood! (They also make an excellent soy yogurt, in my opinion!)

October = SOUP MONTH!

Before I get into Soup Month, a few food photos:

Basic Marinara (from Cooking Light):

A very, very easy recipe (we're talking, 20 minutes of prep and an hour simmering virtually undisturbed on the stove,) which I haven't actually tasted yet! This past issue, Cooking Light ran a master recipe for "Basic Marinara" that could then, in turn, be used for upwards of 10 different recipes. Most of the recipes weren't vegetarian, but a few of them were, and the sauce also freezes well. Super-cheap, compared to buying bottled sauces all of the time, and I had the option of using FIRE-ROASTED TOMATOES intead of regular ones. (Mmmm . . . fire-roasted tomatoes . . . !) This recipe yielded four 2-cup packages for my freezer, plus a quart to keep in the fridge for now (12 cups total.) I think this recipe could also be easily adapted to use zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, or whatever other veggies you really like in your pasta sauce. I may never buy another jar of bottled sauce again! (P.S. It calls for fennel seed, which is just plain yummy.)

Coconut Rice Pudding (with Banana!):

This is a recipe that I significantly modified from this month's issue of Cooking Light as well. I would like to continue to tinker with it, since I used Arborio rice this time, but would prefer to use brown rice in the future. I also used a couple of eggs this time, since they have been hanging out in my fridge for a while, but I would like to come up with an eggless version in the future, too. (P.S. This has stored and reheated well for breakfast all week long!)

Roasted Tofu 'n' Veg:

Oh, how I love purple potatoes. :) This is just a total, cheater, go-to meal for me, but it still tastes good and gets those veggies in!

And now . . .

With all the power of my Food Snobbery vested in me, I officially declare October to be . . .

SOUP MONTH!

(At least in my kitchen, although you're welcome to hop on the Soup Month bandwagon.)

The idea for Soup Month began, away back in August, when it was still hot and humid. I love soup, and boy, did I miss soup when it was so hot out. I also have a mountain of delicious-looking soup recipes that I have never tried. SO, the idea of Soup Month was born -- not that I will only eat soup in October, but that I will try my darndest to try out a whole bunch of new soup recipes, and also, stock up my freezer with leftovers to last the winter through!

Soup Month will begin with a preview couple of recipes later this week. Let me know if you want to join me in Soup Month, and I'll link you in my next post!

a chilly kitty and tofu X2, plus a P.S.

First, I assume Oliver must have been cold today, because he spent most of the afternoon camped out in front of the radiator. If I had been him, I would have been majorly overheated, but I guess he was happy!


Next, here's what I had for dinner sometime last weekend . . . one of my many "cheater" meals, consisting of buckwheat soba noodles tossed with "special peanut sauce" (peanut butter, tamari, ginger, rice vinegar, and a splash of sesame oil, warmed, with a little bit of water to thin it out,) pan-fried tofu cubes, and steamed broccoli.


Last, here's a repeat of mashed potatoes with (leftover, from the freezer) Punk Rock Chickpea Gravy, and roasted veggies and tofu:

(My eyes were more than a little bigger than my stomach . . . I saved about half the veggies for another day! Oh well.)

It's been a busy day -- five loads of laundry and several mountains of dishes later, I'm ready to relax for a while . . . !

P.S. I also made some soup tonight, but it's absolutely nothing to look at, which is why there's no picture here. It's not the best soup I've ever made, nor is it the worst, but it tastes pretty good. Chickpeas, green beans, green peas, onion, garlic, olive oil, veggie broth, tumeric, lemon juice, and parsley. (Oh yeah, and salt and pepper, of course.)

"It's like vegan Thanksgiving!"

(a direct quote from Dan the Man last night, upon initial inspection of what we were having for dinner.)

First off, I made an apple pie yesterday afternoon. I love making pie -- it's a long process, but it's so darn much FUN! (Yes, I'm a nerd.) I made my great-grandma Agnes Donahe's pie crust recipe, and then filled it with peeled, sliced, Granny Smith apples, mixed with cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and flour. I know that I've told you all about my love affair with pie in the past, so I'll spare you a retelling. Photos are better anyhow:

I had a piece last night, as did Dan, (the man who hates all dessert except for pie and gummy candy,) and I had another piece for breakfast this morning. Three cheers for pie!

Now, on to the taters. Aren't they cute?

I had never heard of buttercream potatoes before, so I decided to give them a try. Holy yumminess, Batman! I quartered and boiled the 2 pounds of potatoes pictured above (that's a cereal bowl they are spilling out of -- aren't they cute?) with four cloves of garlic. Once the taters slid off a fork when pierced, I drained and mashed them (and the garlic) with a little bit of butter and a little bit of rice milk, salted and peppered them, and then folded in some chopped parsley. I haven't made mashed potatoes in a LONG time, and we both enjoyed them very much.

AND, I made Punk Rock Chickpea Gravy for the first time! Upon initial review of the recipe, I decided I would make one major change, which was pureeing the gravy with my stick blender, instead of leaving it chunky. I thought the gravy had a slightly unusual flavor on its own, but when spilled over the potatoes, it was fabulous! I only made half a recipe and had a TON of gravy leftover, (even with two pounds of taters,) which I stuck in the freezer to use another day. Next time, I may use a little less tamari, because I found the soy flavor slightly overpowering -- I may substitute a little miso, or just plain ol' salt. We shall see.

For our main course, I chopped up a bunch of veggies with my new knife, (sweet potato, onion, fennel, zucchini, and red pepper,) tossed them with some cubed tofu, extra-virgin olive oil, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs (fennel fronds, parsley, thyme, and rosemary,) and roasted them in a 425 degree oven for about 45 minutes. This yielded enough dinner for Dan and I, plus leftovers for both of us for lunch today. Me, being the hungry moron I was, forgot to take a picture of my plate last night! So, you get a photo of leftovers . . . sorry!

(The gravy did kind of congeal in the fridge overnight, but I assume it will loosen up once rewarmed.) You can kind of see the potatoes peeking out underneath the mountain of gravy over there on the right, can't you?

I may make "Swiss Chard with Chickpeas and Couscous" for lunch today, and save my leftovers from last night for work lunch one day later this week. Off to job search now . . . wish me luck!

oh, happy dinner!

I made the best dinner tonight, and it was so simple! I chopped up a bunch of veggies, pressed and cubed some tofu, tossed it all with some extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs (fennel fronds, parsley, sage, and thyme,) and roasted the whole mess in the oven for 45 or so minutes at 400.

Going into the oven:


Coming out of the oven (not much different . . . !)


Ready to eat (with a side of oven-roasted sweet corn)


I forget how much roasting shrinks down veggies, because when I put the pan in, I thought, "sheesh -- this will make at least three servings!" Notsomuch -- I ate half of it for dinner tonight! The ONLY change I will make in the "recipe" for next time will be marinading the tofu in something first (it was a little bland, despite all of the herbs.)

Oh -- and to top it all off, I had a couple scoops of Cookie Avalanche for dessert . . . !!!!!