Muffin Meals

Stuffed Dreidle/Stocking Cookies

2008-12-18T20:07:00.001-08:00

I grew up making these as stocking cookies. But I had a brainstorm this week to make stuffed dreidle cookies.

1/2 C crisco shortening
1/2 C soft butter
1/2 C sifted confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond flavoring
1/4 to 1/2 tsp food coloring
2 1/4 C sifted Gold Medal flour
1/4 tsp salt

for surprises:
9 candied cherries, quartered
1/4 C broken nuts
1/4 C chocolate pieces
anything else you think would be tasty inside

Mix well shortening, sugar, flavorings and food coloring.

Blend in flour and salt. If dough seems too dry, add a few drops of cream.

Chill 1 hour. Heat oven to 400 degrees. In palm of hand, pat 1 level teaspoon of dough and shape into dreidle shape or cut out with a small cookie cutter. Place surprises in appropriate spot.

Cover with another dreidle shaped cookie. Press to seal edges. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Cool.

Frost tip of dreidle and handle with confectioner's sugar icing.

For stockings: shape dough into a square in your palm. Put treats on one side of the dough, and fold over. Shape into a stocking or L shape.

When finished baking, frost the trim, heel, and toe with confectioners frosting.

Makes about 2-3 dozen.

Spinach Pesto Portabellos

2008-12-17T16:53:00.000-08:00

I didn't get a picture of mine. So I took this picture from the place I got the idea from.

Spinach Pesto Portabellos

Ingredients

* 1 portobello mushroom per person
* olive oil
* Freshly made pesto, or from a jar
* chunks of Cheddar and Monterrey Jack cheeses

Directions

Put the mushrooms on a foil lined cookie sheet and spoon the pesto onto the mushrooms leaving spaces for the cheeses. Chop the cheese into pieces and alternate between the pesto. Sprinkle the pine nuts over and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and melted.

Spinach Pesto

1/4 C Walnuts or Pine nuts
4 oz basil leaves
4 oz spinach leaves
Parmesan cheese (optional)
Olive Oil
Garlic Salt to taste

Layer nuts, basil and spinach, and oil in a blender, processor or magic bullet. Puree. Mix in cheese and salt to taste.

Braised Tofu with mushrooms

2008-08-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

I have not posted in a while, mainly due to the fact that I am chronically tired again. Yep, I'm pregnant, with our third!

Mini Muffin is super busy, learning more than most almost-4 year olds. She's in gymnastics, swimming, she may be able to go to preschool, and may be in Tae Kwon Do, all of which she loves. She also is making great leaps in her education, already reading, writing, and doing some simple math.

Mocha Muffin is busy blowing our minds. He is the only kid in his swim class who actually swims. The other kids are close, but not quite at his level. Oh, and at 16 months, he's the youngest as well. He also apparently knows some numbers, as he's been bringing his numbers from his puzzle to me and telling me their names, correctly! EEK! I'd like to say its the nutrition, but its more than that LOL.

Tonight's dish was something I'd been wanting to make for quite a while, but never knew how. I finally found a recipe for it, here. I didn't measure, I modified, and it came out a tad salty, and the Muffin Man requested I leave out the scallions next time. They were a bit tough. But even the kiddos loved it. We served it over brown rice.

1 block tofu, sliced into large pieces, about 1/2" or less thick
4-8 white mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
soy sauce (again, I didn't measure, the recipe says 4-5 tsp)
sweet soy sauce to taste
2/3 C water
1 tsp corn starch added to water
1 tsp sweet chili sauce

Brown the tofu on both sides. Remove from pan and saute mushrooms, adding garlic at the very end. Add in water, and the rest of liquids. Boil until it thickens and the corn starch clears. Serve over rice.

Opps, a not so great one

2008-06-17T11:15:00.001-07:00

I really like summer squash casserole. However, this one wasn't so good. I used matzah meal in place of the bread crumbs, and I think I put too much in, as it was too dry.

The vegetables on the side where good.

Well, here is the recipe, as I have made it successfully before. As usual, I substituted the liquid dairy for soymilk with a couple tablespoons of cornstarch.

Squash Casserole

Ingredients

Serves 8

* 2 pounds yellow squash or zucchini, (older larger squash may be used here), cleaned and cut into 1/2-inch rounds
* 1 yellow onion, peeled and cut into large dice
* 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
* 1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
* 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
* 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1 cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place squash and onion in a medium saucepan, and cover with water. Add 1 tablespoon salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well, and transfer to a large bowl.
2. Add 1 cup breadcrumbs, eggs, cream, thyme, 1/2 cup cheese, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and remaining teaspoon salt. Gently stir to combine. Pour into a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Spread remaining 1/2 cup cheese and remaining 1/2 cup breadcrumbs over top. Cover, and bake until set, about 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking until top is browned, about 10 minutes more.

Oven Baked Fries, a great side!

2008-06-02T08:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, its been a while. But that's because this picture was taken of a meal just before a camping trip. Which was followed closely by another camping trip the next weekend, where I got slightly hurt. I bruised my bottom. And that made it hard to sit and write this up.

So now I am writing this up for all of you.

Here we have a nice summer meal, great for a barbeque. A Vegan Burger, steamed corn (you could roast yours over coals if you'd like), and oven baked fries.

The Fries make a great compliment to many meals, and this version has very little fat. Plus they are seasoned by herbs. Thyme and Rosemary make a great combonation, or you could use what we do, which is your basic italian combo, basil, garlic, oregano, and paprika.

You will need:

1 potato, cut into strips or wedges.
Herbs, whatever you choose.
Non-Stick oil spray.
Salt to taste

Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray. Lay the potatoes out, in one layer. Sprinkle with herbs and salt. Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are soft and turning golden brown.

Enjoy!

Matzah Lasagna, Matzagna? - Vegan Friendly

2008-04-24T21:32:00.000-07:00

I have two images for you tonight, if I can get them loaded on here. First, our traditional Passover dinner. We eat this each Passover at some point, its a very yummy tradition. It is simple, and surprisingly faster than regular lasagna.

Matzah Lasagna
Otherwise known as Matzagna.

6 matzah sheets
1 block tofu
2 cup frozen spinach, thawed
6-8 mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 jar spaghetti sauce
italian seasoning
shredded cheese - optional

You will also need two 10x13 baking dishes, one for the lasagna, one for water.

First mash your tofu into a cottage cheese sized mixture. Squeeze the water out of the spinach and mix with the tofu. Season with the italian seasonings to taste. Fill one baking dish halfway with water. Place two matzah sheets in the water. While that is soaking, put a small amount of spaghetti sauce in the other baking dish to keep the lasagna from sticking. Let the matzah get well moistened on both sides, and then place into the other baking dish. Place half of the tofu mixture and then half of the mushrooms on that. Put a third of the cheese if using, and about a third of the remaining spaghetti sauce, and then moisten two more matzah's. Repeat layers, tofu, mushrooms, cheese sauce one more time. Moisten two remaining matzah sheets, and then cover with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until done.

The second image is of Mocha Muffin, enjoying his Cream Cheese and Jelly Matzah sandwich. This is his first experience with Matzah crackers and let me just say, he didn't have to be asked twice. Our friend asked to try some this year, so we brought some to him one day while we were preparing for our congregation's Seder. He pulled one out and Mocha Muffin IMMEDIATELY started asking for some with his hand outstretched! Yep, no doubting his heritage!

Indian Food - Palak and Aloo Curries - VEGAN

2008-04-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

Well, after getting emails I will attempt to resurrect this blog. I may only be able to blog once a week however. My 3 year old daughter is homeschooling, and my one year old (yes its been a year already!) is growing well and fast!

Tonight we had something very colorful and I decided to share this. First we had Palak Paneer, my vegetarian style. Instead of Paneer which is Goat Milk Cheese, I use Tofu chunks.

The process is very simple really, I use a half a block of tofu, and fry it up until its firm. I then add curry powder, paprika, and Garam Masala to taste. Frozen chopped spinach is added next, approximately 12-16 ounces. You can add some coconut milk as well if you'd like. Salt to taste

The other curry we had was an Aloo Curry. This recipe is a tad more complicated, but just as simple. You will need:

1 half Cauliflower head, chopped
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can Coconut Milk
1/2 tsp turmeric
paprika to taste
curry to taste
salt to taste

Saute and steam the cauliflower. Add the turmeric, and the curry powder and paprika to taste. Throw in the chopped tomatoes, and then boil that until the cauliflower is soft enough for you. Pour in the coconut milk and then salt to taste.

And that is it!

Serve over brown rice.

Hot Dog-Topus Sounds fishy!

2007-11-22T01:40:00.000-08:00

I have been so busy with some creative ideas for teaching MiniB Muffin, I totally forgot about this blog. I'm sorry. Here's a picture of one of the things that has kept me so busy!

Apple Baskets

These are math tools to teach numbers, addition, and subtraction. The apples really go into the baskets, so MiniB Muffin has been learning how to so simple addition!!

I also have made Leaf Letters, the Alphabet on Leaf shapes, for teaching letters and spelling. For instance, today we spelled Pear, Peas, Pig, Pie, and a couple other words.

I made a calendar for her as well. It has the dates and month attached by Velcro, and is made from poster board. If anyone is interested in anything else I've done, or to see pictures of these items, let me know.

Now onto today's food.

I am totally into making food fun. It often will the get pickiest eater to eat. However, with MiniB, I never had to worry about that. Even so, I still like to make her meals fun now and again.

Someone, but I"m not sure who, gave me this idea for a Octodog. However, I can never say that word. So we call it an Hot Dog-topus. Its basically a hot dog, vege in this case, with the last two thirds of its body cut into eight legs. Then you spread it out on the plate, or beans or whatever you are pairing it with. Next to the hot dog-topus, you'll notice some fishy friends. There is also cucumber (sea cucumbers if you want to get imaginative), cauliflower (kind of looks like coral maybe), snap peas (can we say kelp?) and a few sliced mushrooms.

Give it a go, let me know if YOUR kids like their hot dog-topus.

Pumpkin Pie, a picture story

2007-10-25T00:33:00.000-07:00

Sigh.....

If it isn't one thing, its another. My batteries kept dying on my camera everytime I wanted to post!!! Well now I have a nice sweet picture story for you.

Take a Pumpkin. Cut it in half. Pull out all of the seeds. The best way to do this is with a spoon. However, the most fun way, as any cute muffin will tell you, is with your hands!! Add a little silliness to it, like seeds on noses, ears, or all around messiness. Trust me, the pie will taste better!

Now, once your pie halves are nicely cleaned, bake them in the oven at 350. The time it will take will vary, according to your pumpkin, but a half hour is a good starting point. You want your pumpkin to be soft. So check it about when you can smell it. When done, remove from oven and let cool.

After the pumpkin is cooled, peel the outer skin off. If you have a champion juicer, perfect. If you don't, find some other way to puree your pumpkin. Puree it til it is like babyfood. You will need about 2 cups of this, so put the rest aside for the freezer or in the fridge for cookies or something.

Use the following recipe, and enjoy!

1 C packed light-brown sugar
1 T cornstarch
1/2 t salt
1 t ground ginger
1 t ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 C fresh Pumpkin Purée , or canned
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 C evaporated milk

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, pumpkin purée, and 3 eggs. Beat well. Add evaporated milk, and combine. Set aside.

2. Fill pie shell with pumpkin mixture. Transfer to prepared baking sheet.

3. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°, and continue baking for 30 minutes more. Cool on a wire rack.

Odds and Ends, and reviews!

2007-10-02T23:52:00.000-07:00

I have been so very tired. I don't' post on here because I think about it about midnight, when I'm too tired! But tonight, I am making myself. Its only 4 minutes before midnight, so I should have 4 minutes of energy left.

Here are some posts I ended to do near Rosh Hoshanah. But as you can see, that didn't happen.

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. And as every culture, we want it to be sweet. So we eat Apples and Honey to remind us of that! So here's my pic to show you all my wish that you have a sweet new year!

To go with the theme of Apples and Honey, one of my readers took my apple pie recipe and did exactly what I hope everyone does. She TRIED IT! Only, in true chef fashion, she modified it. Now that's my kind of cook!!

Here are her comments. "Your have posted a recipe for a one crust apple pie with honey. It sounds wonderful. I am bringing desserts to our holiday dinners and am bringing a honey cake with lemon syrup topping and want to make an apple crisp. Do you think this recipe would set up enough without the bottom crust or should I add more corn starch? Thanks." I replied to her that I believed it could as I've made apple crisp before with honey. And then after the fact. "The apple crumble (or whatever it was) came out great. My only complaint was with the apples I chose. The Granny Smiths softened more than I would have liked. But I do like the honey much better than sugar and will continue to use the honey from now on. Thanks"

I notice that if I don't use my GS apples while they are at their greenest and firmest, they do soften quite a bit. So, try it again with very firm apples (if yours weren't already), or go with another firm apple. I have no options with my apples, I'm allergic to all but GS and Gravensteins.

My last photo is of MiniB Muffin with her food creation from the children's class. Sukkot is the most recent holiday we were studying (there are Four happening this month!!!), and so to get the kids interested in class, and because messy food is fun, they made graham cracker Sukkahs! Those candies and marshmallow creme probably isn't even close to being vegetarian, let alone healthy, so she didn't end up eating much of her sukkah, but she she had fun making it!

Have a good evening and I hope to post again tomorrow!

Spaghetti, how exciting....

2007-09-20T22:27:00.001-07:00

Yes, last night we had spaghetti, plain old spaghetti. Well, not plain, I added TVP to the sauce, but still....

So, since I am sure you ALL know what spaghetti looks like, I'm posting a much delayed blog on my breakfast strudel. The Muffin Man loves the store bought toaster strudels. Yes, I linked it, but you don't have to bother going to the site, just trust me, they aren't all their price says the should be! Plus they are filled with sugar, yet Anti-Sugar Muffin Man adores them....

So, I figured, I can make strudel!! The more I thought about it, the more I thought of the Sound of Music (Raindrops on Roses and Crisp Apple Strudel).....no really, I think I can.

So I thought, and decided breakfast should be more than fruit and cream cheese. So I made a breakfast strudel! I followed my game plan for breakfast burritos, and made scrambled eggs, with gluten burger sausage, from the night before, crumbled in the egg, tator tots, and cheese. I also added sauteed onions and mushrooms. I then took phyllo dough, brushed it with olive oil, layered it three layers thick. I laid out my fillings along the LONG edge and wrapped two nice LONG studels. I baked it at 375 until golden brown on top, about 30 minutes.

Ok, this was so good, I have been craving it ever since....come to think of it, I have extra burgers from today.....mmmmmm

Ok, back to the blog, Mini Muffin wasn't so sure of the presentation, but she did enjoy her meal!! The Muffin Man ate his up, and by the end of breakfast, there wasn't a strudel to be seen! In both strudels total I only used about 3 eggs, half an onion, 5 mushrooms, about 25 tator tots. And six phyllo dough sheets.

This was definitely a repeatable!

I'm Sick - A vegan solution!

2007-09-19T06:36:00.001-07:00

Not bad sick, just a cold. I got it from the kids...wouldn't you know. So for supper we had soup. MMMM nice veggie soup! I didn't have all my veggies I usually use, but I did have: 1 onion, 1/2 stalk broccoli, 2 carrots, and a potato which I diced and sauteed together. I then added oregano, basil, garlic salt, and paprika. To that I added a chopped scallion and fresh off the cob corn, and a few strips of MorningStar Chik'n Strips diced up. When those were all mixed together I added an entire batch of soy milk, approximately 4 cups.

MMMMM Very good!

Now two little things about the MorningStar Chik'n Strips. Normally, I try not to buy too much vegemeat. Its not good for you, and its usually too expensive. However, my aunt and uncle and their daughter came for dinner one night and as my uncle isn't too keen on nonmeat foodies, especially those with lots of veggies, I decided to get them for him. They're pretty good! I also discovered a couple of weeks ago they are VEGAN! So now, even better! I still don't buy them much, and we don't use them as directed. I mainly dice them up, and so far they will last us 3 meals!! So, I suppose they can be a nice treat now and again. Ok, back to the soup!

As I was sick, I added a nice crushed clove of garlic to my bowl....MMMMM.

MiniB Muffin loved her soup, and ate a nice bowl of it heartily. I will be eating the last bowl of it for breakfast this morning, as I am still feeling a bit yucky. But that much soup and only a bowl was left over!! WOW!

Definitely a good thing, so next time you're not feeling well, try a nice bowl of veggie soup!

A Cheesecake by any other name...

2007-08-31T22:03:00.000-07:00

What can I say about this....other than WOW!

I grew tired of the recipes I had, so asked a food group I'm on to please give me some ideas. They did! This is one of them. A Savory Cheesecake.

First, the Muffin Man's reaction, and MiniB Muffin. I don't have a regular sized springform pan, so I just used my two 6 inch ones. We ate one last night. I encouraged the Muffin Man to eat more, but he insisted we take it to church with us tomorrow night and have it served to the worship team and Rabbi. MiniB Muffin wasn't sure with her first taste, and continued to not be sure. But by the end of the meal she was snarfing down her portion. I think that the next time I serve this, she will be less cautious.

Me? Well, let's just say it's a good thing I was full, or the Rabbi wouldn't be getting any.

Warning, this dish is long, involved, and oh so worth it! Here is the recipe.

Savory Vegetable Cheesecake
This main-dish cheesecake comes from Mollie Katzen's "The Enchanted Broccoli Forest".
8 servings, 2 hours 30 min prep

3 cups grated zucchini
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup minced onions
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup grated carrots
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup freshly minced parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 large eggs
fresh ground black pepper
2 medium tomatoes, sliced into rounds,then sliced in half
3-4 tablespoons breadcrumbs

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees farenheit.
2. Butter a 10" springform pan and sprinkle with breadcrumbs, set aside.
3. Put the grated zucchini into a colander.
4. Salt lightly, and let is sit about 15 minutes, then squeeze out any excess moisture.
5. Saute the onions in butter with 1/2 t salt.
6. When they start to turn translucent, add the carrots, garlic, zucchini, flour, basil and oregano.
7. Keep stirring and cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes.
8. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley and lemon.
9. Beat the cheeses and eggs together until well blended.
10. (Hello, Kitchenaid mixer!) When the cheese and egg mixture is nice and fluffy, fold in the veggies.
11. Season to taste with black pepper.
12. Pour the mixture into the springform pan.
13. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes-- then pull it out for a minute.
14. Remember those tomatoes?
15. Dredge them in the breadcrumbs and decorate the top of the cheesecake with them in a pretty spiral pattern.
16. Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees, and bake another 30 minutes.
17. Turn off the oven and just let the cheesecake sit in there for another 15 minutes.
18. Then, take it out of the oven and let it cool about 10 more minutes before cutting and serving.

yellow squash pizza?

2007-08-15T06:25:00.000-07:00

Yes folks, I was feeling creative! I made pizza, only I wanted something unique. So I used yellow squash, eggplant parmesan, broccoli and onions. I was hoping that the yellow squash would taste similar to zucchini, which I like on pizza.

YES! It was delicious. Everyone loved it and the entire pizza was gone by bedtime. Considering the pizzas I made are on cookie sheets, that's a lot of pizza!

Tomorrow I'll post yet another unique food adaptation I made recently!

Eggplant: VEGAN!

2007-08-10T22:47:00.001-07:00

I figured out a way to make Eggplant Parmesan vegan! Its really very silly and simple! Flour the eggplant, then dip it into water, or put it under running water....just to moisten the flour, not to wash it off. Then you put it in your seasoned breading! IT WORKS!

So tonight I had leftover eggplant, so I made eggplant sticks. VERY yummy. And after sampling eggplant all week, MiniB Muffin decided she really does like it. Especially after dipping it into ranch dressing or marinara sauce.

Definitely not healthy, but OH SO GOOD!!!!!

no sleep = no posts

2007-08-09T00:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys, Mocha Muffin stopped sleeping as long, and I get less sleep!! Plus The Muffin Man is home more often now to, so I don't get as much computer time either!

Raw Food! Great for health, easy to cook, and typically COLD!!!!! Nice on hot days, and for crunchy cravings.

Pesto! Here's a neat story. We belong to two churches, and go to both of them on Saturday. Typically when I take food to the fellowship meal afterwards I make twice as much so I can take the same thing to both congregations. So this time I made Pesto and intended on making Pasta just before leaving the house.

Only we got sick. And we never went. So I had all this Pesto....for no reason. So we had pesto for supper that night. To add to the raw food theme I added raw vegetables. Well, around 6pm we get a call. Odd, as everyone knows we'd be at service at that time. I answer it and its a friend of mine who's locked herself out of the house with her two kids! So, Muffin Man goes to get her and the kids, and brings them over. Lo and behold, I have food all waiting for them. Thank you Lord for the Pesto and Pasta!!!

Mini Muffin is still trying to decide if she likes it yet or not!

Yo Quiero Tacos

2007-07-06T20:53:00.000-07:00

Another warm day, another post on keeping food healthy, vegetarian/vegan, and cool!

We had tacos tonight. This is the second time we've had tacos, and Mini Muffin LOVES them. She has also mastered the knack of eating them. "Pick up taco, tilt head, tilt taco, chomp!" Tonight, she ate 1 and a half tacos, filled with beans, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, and the like!

Here are some Taco ideas to keep you healthy and cool.

S&W chili beans
Vegetarian burger meat.
TVP
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Cheese, vegan or otherwise
Green Peppers
Onions
Olives
Mushrooms
Salsa
Sour Cream, vegan or otherwise
Salad Dressing

Tips: To save on heat, don't crisp up the Taco Shells. Quite often they are perfect right out of the package. Just heat up your protein source, your beans or meat subsitute.

The plate you see above is a Tupperware Taco plate complete with Taco Holders. I love using these because the Tacos stay upright!

So, what ingredients would YOU like on a Taco?

Busy Crazy Days

2007-07-05T06:37:00.001-07:00

The last month has been crazy. I am hoping to have some time later to post another hot weather meal. I was going to post it now but can't find the picture right off....

SOON!

Thanks for sticking with me!

vegetable soup stroganoff...WAS vegan

2007-06-07T08:10:00.000-07:00

Last night I made Creamy Vegetable Soup, with cauliflower, carrots, fresh off the cob corn, onions, scallions, and asparagas. Muffin Man came home and thought I had made stroganoff. He had his poor little heart set on that so badly that I told him if he made spaghetti I'd turn my soup into a stroganoff.

I'm glad I did. Muffin Man had an excellent idea and all I had to do was add some cornstarch to the soup (mixing cold soy milk and cornstarch together and boiling the soup and adding it in). I used the last 1/3 cup or so of sour cream and put that in as well, to give it the stroganoffy flavor. I'm sure you could use Sour Supreme or something in place of that.

MiniB Muffin usually isn't a big fan of gravy on foods, but she ate this up without any arguments. Maybe the idea that she could have a cookie afterwards help. MiniB Muffin and I had made Chocolate Chip Craisin cookies earlier in the day and she had been told she could have some after supper. MMM the Power of good food!

Come to the Island of.....

2007-05-31T23:23:00.000-07:00

MMM Plantain! Do you know why we eat black beans and rice? Because it pairs itself so nicely with Plantain!

Plantain, a large hard banana that can be pinkish when you open it, and yellow when you cook it! We LOVE plantain!

MiniB Muffin still isn't sure about this fried banana gig. But she sure does LOVE the beans! The only kid I know who will pass up fruit for black beans and rice!!!

YUMMY!

2007-05-30T06:50:00.000-07:00

Taco Salad, Nacho Supreme...No matter what you call it, its a Haystack, and it tastes great!

This is an awesome hot weather food, as its all cold except the beans. Here is how you make a haystack

Chips
beans
cheese (optional)
lettuce
tomatoes
onions
mushrooms
peppers
olives
other salad veggies
quacamole
salad dressing
sour cream

Stack ingredients in order that you like them. Eat. Enjoy.

WARNING!!!! Its impossible to make a small haystack!

Hot Dog!

2007-05-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

Hot Dogs and Macaroni Salad! What could be more American. Macaroni Salad is one of Muffin Man's favorite foods, so whenever possible I make it for him. This time we had MorningStar Farm hotdogs with them. Obviously not vegan, as the hotdogs have eggwhites and the macaroni has cheese, but you can make the macaroni salad with vegenaise and leave out the cheese!

MiniB Muffin LOVED it, it was her first time with hotdogs. She's not so sure about eating them in the bun, but dipped in ketchup she likes!! She also loves the macaroni salad!

Muffin Man was overjoyed at the sight of the salad, so he was very happy.

A Good Deed

2007-05-25T08:40:00.000-07:00

I would like to encourage all of you to do a good mitzvah (a good deed) this next month. If you know or hear of anyone who has just had a baby, please ask to pay them a visit, and bring them food! When MiniB Muffin was born, our church made us food for a week, different people taking a different day. It was so nice not to have to cook while I was bonding with my baby, and healing from my ordeal.

This time around, someone thought to bring me a meal even though it wasn't my first baby. She even made us a vegan meal!!! I appreciated this so much, and her food was so delicious, I had to share it on here.

Here is what she sent, vegetable barley kale soup, whole wheat pita bread, strawberries, salad, and small dishes of hummus and salad dressing. Thank you, my friend, for your kind gesture! May all good cooks do the same for others!

Happy Shavu'ot!

2007-05-23T11:23:00.001-07:00

Our newest Mini Muffin is here!! He's two weeks old now, and life is slowly returning to normal!

Happy Shavu'ot Shavu'ot is the same as Pentecost, and traditionally cheesecake is served during this holiday. So I have a nice present for you all, a vegan cheesecake recipe.

I do have a disclaimer though, its been a while since I have made this and the last time I did, the vegan cream cheese I used wasn't up to par texture-wise. However, this is a TNT recipe that tastes like cheesecake and is completely vegan!!

Vegan Cheesecake

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup real maple syrup

1 (8 ounce) package firm silken tofu
1 (8 ounce) container nondairy cream cheese
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 1/2 lemons, juiced
1 cup confectioners' sugar (icing sugar)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy milk

1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling (substitute with something??)

Directions
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2 In a medium bowl, mix together graham cracker crumbs and 1/4 cup maple syrup. Press into springform pan. Bake for 5 minutes.

3 In a blender, combine tofu, vegan cream cheese, lemon zest and juice, and confectioners' sugar. Dissolve cornflour in soy milk, and add to the blender. Blend until smooth. Pour filling into crust.

4 Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Reduce heat to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C), and continue baking for 15 minutes, or until set. Cool on a wire rack, and then chill for several hours.

5 Remove from springform pan, serve.

Hot Pockets!

2007-04-23T12:30:00.000-07:00

I decided the other day to have Hot Pockets again. I love these! Its very simple really, for 5 pockets you'll need 2 batches of pie crust (vegan recipe at bottom of post), and a variety of vegetables and vegetarian meats/beans you want. This time I used Wham cut from the large log you can purchase, broccoli, onions, and mushrooms. However, you could also use any kind of bean, or vegetable, whatever your taste buds can conjure up.

MiniB Muffin ate half of her pocket, about the size of the small one in the picture. She hasnt' felt well recently, she's had a bad cold, so her appetite has been down.

Muffin Man ate his, and complained that I cook too good. I liked them so much I kept eating mine, even after I was full!!

Vegan Pie Crust
1 C flour
1/4-1/2 olive oil
1/2 tsp or so salt
6 T ice water

Add salt to flour. Mix olive oil into flour with a fork. Cut it in until it is coarse. One tablespoon at a time, add the ice water. Mix and roll out.

Voila....easy! And vegan. I actually don't know how to make pie crust any other way as I've done it this way for SOOO long.

Chickpea Ala King (VEGAN)

2007-04-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted. Most evenings I'm so sore and tired its all I can do not to scream. Its too hard to type, so I don't get to post.

This is my chickpea ala king. We haven't had it in forever because the last time I made it I used soymilk. Don't use soymilk...use the cashews. Its much better!

Next to that is a stuffed tomato. The recipe is my own creation. We had blackbeans and rice last night, so I used some of the leftover beans and rice, added some cooked fresh spinach, a few mushrooms, and stuffed those tomatos. I did add cheese to the top, but that is optional.

The first time I had this was in Massachusetts. Some neighbors we had been getting aquainted with wanted to feed us a meal in their small one bedroom apartment (the same size as ours, but less sitting room as they had a baby). They served us this. MMMM it was good. I have been craving this for a while, so finally decided to make it. What I like best about this is the fact that not only is it tasty, its colorful!!

This time around I didn't have all the vegetables it called for, so I made substitutions, according to color. Since I usually use both red and green peppers, broccoli instead of green peppers, no mushrooms (lazy), and corn instead of peas, as I didn't have a yellow, but broccoli is green. Here's the recipe as written.

Chickpea Ala King

1 C onion, chopped
1 Red or Green Pepper
1/2 C mushrooms
1 C carrots chopped
2 T Oil
3 C water or substitute some with the garbanzo bean liquid
1/2 C cashew pieces
4 T sesame seeds
2-3 T McKay's chicken seasoning (vege)
1-2 T cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1 T onion powder
3 C frozen peas ( I use less)
2 C cooked garbanzos or 1 can garbanzos
1/2 C blanched slivered almonds (optional)

Saute first 4 ingredients in oil. Combine cashews, sesame seeds, and enough water to cover in a blender. Blend til nuts are pureed. Add rest of water corn starch, and seasonings, and blend til mixture is smooth. Pour over sauteed vegetables and cook until sauce thickens. Add frozen peas and garbanzos, and almonds if using them. Cook until hot, and serve over rice.

That's it!!

Yes, its been a while

2007-03-29T15:15:00.000-07:00

The last couple of weeks has been hectic! I only have 5 weeks of the pregnancy left, and I feel like I've been wacked with a truck! My stomach still is giving me problems and morning sickness is back, so I haven't really had much desire to cook, let alone post!! However, now that spring is springing, I'm able to get some nice spring and summer ideas for foods, so likely there will be some more posts soon.

If you don't see anything some days, just assume I didn't have the energy and I will post when I can.

This posting will also have 2, as Biscuit Boy (my nephew) was here over the weekend and I let him help me make some Muffins for Breakfast. We had Peach Muffins!! We were going to make some chocolate chip ones, but I didn't have enough brown sugar for both types.

Also on here are some Asparagus Burgers. These ones are not vegan, but I will post the vegan recipe for them. I got this from the Cookbook Taste and See by Penny King.

Ingredients
1 1/2 C asparagus, chopped raw or steamed
1/2 C almonds blended to meal
1 C grated carrots
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 C thick nut or soy milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 C Oats or 1/2 C potato starch

Directions
Blend smooth milk, oats, onions, and seasonings.
Mix all ingredients together. Drop by tablespoonfuls on an oiled baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes on each side.

The Muffin Man and I both love these patties so when we get to have them, its a treat! They also taste good with a brown gravy on top, and make a great substitute for egg foo yung. The last time we had them, Mini Muffin wasn't sure about it, and wouldn't eat them. This was LAST year! So I thought maybe her taste buds have changed. NOPE! When I gave her some, she took a bite and said "this Yucky!" Well the rule in our house with new foods is you have to take two bites, because the second bite might not hit your tastebuds the same way. So she took the obligatory second bite, after a bit of arguement, and then proclaimed again, "This YUCKY!" Apparently, my veggie loving girl has her limits!!! Oh well, maybe next year! Until then, we'll still eat them and she will still have to try them.....even if its just a bite or two!

Looking forward to more spring type foods!!!

The return of the Falafel!

2007-03-10T11:21:00.000-08:00

Since we had all those sprouts, I decided to make falafels again! This time we got pita bread that WORKED!

These were very tasty and healthy. Featured here on whole wheat pita bread is a large flat falafel, as I decided to make them bigger, and save a few minutes. Accompanying the falalfel are slices of cucumbers, tomatoes, and of course, a nice healthy handful of sprouts.

Everyone enjoyed them!

The infamous Mac n Cheese

2007-03-09T20:41:00.000-08:00

Oh MY!!! This was an amazing meal...The Muffin Man had been asking...no, begging....for Mac N Cheese for a few days. I finally managed to make it and it was very yummy! I'm not sure exactly what I did different, but whatever I did apparently worked! I didn't have broccoli, so I used carrots.

Complimenting the Mac N Cheese was a salad, topped by home grown sprouts! This is MiniB Muffin's plate, so she only had alfalfa sprouts...but us adults added radish sprouts to our salads as well.

MiniB Muffin ate well. She ate her salad, and then her mac, and then asked for more mac, and then more mac, and then more salad! My goodness, I was beginning to wonder if she would EVER get full. I think its the first time she's EVER asked for more Mac N Cheese! Usually we have to bribe her to eat it by agreeing to give her more salad if she eats her mac.

Sprouts seem to be the new thing in our home again. I finally got a location that works, and we have a light on them. At first, I was having problems with the sprouts turning mildewy...because that's a big problem in our house anyway! But I played around with it and it seems to be working. MiniB Muffin is "in charge" of the sprouts, and she loves it. She waters them every day, and watches the water travel from tray to tray. She loves to sample them, and is learning to like the flavor and texture of sprouts. In foods she loves it, but if she gets a mouthful of just sprouts....well lets just say the jury is still out on that one. I've only given her alfalfa ones to eat so far, even though she grows both kinds. The Radish ones are just too hot for her yet.

If you are blessed to find a sprouter, give it a try! Your kids just might like growing them!

Sick for a week!

2007-03-06T09:18:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night, the night I made vegan crabcakes..., I got sick...

I stayed sick until yesterday!! There were some days I didn't want to get out of BED! God took care of me though, he had arranged for Muffin Man to not have to be scheduled for work last Thursday or Friday, which meant I didn't have drag my pregnant butt around taking care of MiniB Muffin...Muffin Man was here to do that.

I did get my crab cakes made however, just not posted. I got this recipe from Susan over at Fatfree Vegan Kitchen. However, I have to admit, because Muffin Man doesn't appreciate fat free foods the way I do, I fattened it up a bit. I fried them in a pan, rather than baked them. There is a lack of vegetable as a side, I was just too tired to do that as well. I figured the 2 carrots and 2 stalks of celery, plus half an onion in the cakes made up for it. The white rice is due to the fact that the store was out of brown rice!!!

This meal was very good, we had grandma, Corn Muffin, over for it. She says she bribed her way in with the purchase of the Old Bay Seasoning. I had invited her previously, however. Both Corn Muffin and the Muffin Man said that the cakes were very good, but didn't quite taste like crab...not enough for them at least. The recipe was good and so I will have another item to have to make. Our only REAL complaint was from MiniB Muffin who said it was too spicy for her tongue. I only used half of the OBSeasoning too!

The night before Corn Muffin had made Zatarain's Crab Cake Mix with tofu, and said that that tasted better, but was definately spicy as well. I have to look at the ingredients again to verify that its vegetarian. I believe their mix is....It says chicken flavoring, but I could find no mention of chicken within the flavoring ingredients, so I'm wondering if its chicken flavoring similar to McKays.

So there you have it! Not Fatfree Crabcakes!!

Pesto, food of the gods....

2007-02-26T20:16:00.000-08:00

I bet you are all wondering why I called this post Pesto, and yet there is picture of our infamous pizza! That's because this pizza is made with PESTO!!!!!!!!

Yes, I've done this before, but I decided to do it again. I made enough Pesto to have lunch tomorrow and sauce for pizza tonight.

MiniB Muffin is boycotting naps, and was so tired she fell asleep around 5pm. She did wake up in about an hour but was in such a mood she only wanted to eat a few bites of salad. Poor little girl. She'll get some pizza tomorrow. She does not like Pesto yet, so it'll be a good meal tomorrow for lunch for her, while Muffin Man and I chow down on green spaghetti!!

I added a half of a teaspoon of pesto to my half of a tablespoon (approx) of ranch dressing.......Ok, that's now my favorite dressing EVER! I bet it would taste good even without the ranch. Just an idea for all of you saladeaters!

2 different meals

2007-02-21T13:49:00.000-08:00

I apologize for not having posted. For most of a week I have been simply exhausted...and therefore not able to do much on here.

Here is a couple of meals we have had recently:

Stirfried Rice

I had been absolutely exhausted one day, but around dinnertime suddenly had a burst of energy...so I made stirfried rice and wontons. There was just enough rice leftover for breakfast the next morning (good for me as leftovers is generally what I have to eat nowadays....nothing else is fast enough to fix), but all 14 wontons disappeared...MiniB Muffin, who "only likes cheese puffs" even ate two!! I apologize that there are no images of the wontons....

Wonton:

TVP granules
Brown gravy mix
water
minced onion
minced garlic
minced mushrooms
Wonton wraps

Take 1 tablespoon gravy mix per 1/2 cup water. Soak desired amounts of tvp in mixture. Saute TVP and minced onion, garlic, and mushrooms, until onions are translucent. Place approximately 1 tablespoon in the center of your wonton wrapper, fold and fry.

Haystacks

Easy meal that can be made vegan, or otherwise.

Chips, beans, cheese (optional), lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, and any other vegetables you feel like putting on top. Then top it with any or all of the following, sour cream (optional), salsa (not pictured), salad dressing, and quacamole.

I accidently made a haystack a bit too big for MiniB Muffin. She still ate the whole thing!! Definately a favorite meal at this house, and great for kids as they can leave off any toppings they aren't too keen on....

Falafels

2007-02-11T15:21:00.000-08:00

I finally decided to attempt the infamous Falafel. I've had them in Jerusalem before, and do NOT like the versions you can purchase here. So, not having been brave enough to make my own, I just didn't have any. I thought they'd be too tricky. But I decided the other day to just DO IT!!!!

So, the preparation began. I wanted to have sprouts to go with it, and sprouts are good for you. So MiniB Muffin and I started some seeds last weekend.

I mixed and mashed and made my mix. Then, because I wanted to bake them, I flattened them and tried it out....hmmm...baking wasn't working this time. So I fried them....sigh....

But oh they were good!

We had a visitor come over for lunch, and he seems to have survived the meal. Our visitor was an old classmate of mine...from high school.

I have displayed here all the ingredients we used for our falafel sandwiches....its hard to see whats INSIDE a pita pocket, so I put it outside...that and I kinda accidently got pita folds and thought I got pockets...OPPS! Next time I will get pockets!!!

This is definately a recipe I will keep playing with, as the dough was a bit wet. That's why they wouldn't bake right I think. But they were so good I don't think anyone minded!!

Mac and Cheese again, but with Woodstock!

2007-02-08T21:47:00.000-08:00

I know I know, Mac and cheese again??!?! Hey, I had nausea today something awful, so this was a meal I KNEW I could keep down. LOL. Ignore the salad dressing, I forgot to take a pic BEFORE I put it on...so just imagine your favorite dressing on there instead.

If you're wondering about why there's a pic of Woodstock on here, some ladies I'm friends with on a parenting board are doing a fun project/game where we send Woodstock all over the world visiting some of us. He'll even be going overseas to places like Australia. He's at my house this week and The Muffin Family are having loads of fun with him. He may be featured again in the next couple of days...so beware. Anyway, I just had to give him his own little plate, because you cater to guests...right?!

OH MY Hot Tamale!!!!!!

2007-02-07T19:17:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about making Tamales for sometime now, but EVERYONE told me they were a big deal for the holidays and you had to reserve a whole day for it...and....and....

I decided recently to do some research, and those naysayers were right....and wrong!!! Most people do make SPECIAL Tamales like that, but many cultures use tamales as we do sandwiches....so my interest went up significantly!!

Here is what I did. It was a bit time consuming for my first time, but that will lessen next time. I think I spent an hour doing the whole thing, being distracted by MiniB Muffin and The Muffin Man, while checking my directions a billion times... I expect much less time next time.

Basic Tamale Dough with Sweet Roasted Corn

2 cups corn kernels, fresh off the cob
1 1/2 cups masa harina
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 softened butter, margarine, or olive oil.
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons water
10 fresh corn husks (I ended up using only 7)
Meat mixture (vegemeat w/ sauteed onions and peppers)

Cook the corn in a non-stick pan, stirring constantly, until it is sweet and golden brown -- you want the natural sugars to come out.

Mix the masa, baking powder, salt, and cumin thoroughly together.

In another bowl, beat the butter until very light and creamy, about 5 minutes. If using olive oil, skip the beating and add directly to the masa. Add the corn and beat for 1 minute. Gradually beat in 3 tablespoons of masa mixture, then 3 tablespoons of water until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Continue beating in the masa and water, alternately, until the dough is very smooth and of spreading consistency, about 5 minutes.

Place 1 husk on a flat surface and put about enough dough in the husk that flattened out, leaves a 1-inch gap all the way around. If using filling, add filling to center. Fold the sides of the husk to the center to overlap. At this point you can tie them or fold the ends over the center of the tamale. Repeat with next husk.

Place it seam side down in a steamer pot that is big enough and boil water in lower section for 1-2 hrs. Unfold one to see if its done, the dough should seperate from the husk easily.

Yield: 7-10 tamales

Adapted From: Emeril Lagasse, ESSENCE OF EMERIL SHOW#EE2185

Oh my goodness, very good. I will be doing this again with different fillings!

MiniB Muffin wasn't sure about the Tamale, so just incase I served this with rice and beans. She picked the corn out of the masa and ate her rice and beans....and ate about 1/4 of her tamale. Success in my eyes....she tried it and ate some. Next time I'm sure she'll eat more.

BTW I posted three meals today, so be sure to scroll down!

Soybased Corn Chowder...MMMMM

2007-02-07T09:56:00.000-08:00

Now that we are making our own Soymilk, I know exactly what's entering our system, and it ain't anything but good! Thanks Corn Muffin!!!

I made some fresh soymilk, and used it as the base for this lovely corn chowder. Corn, onions, and potatoes, flavored with oregano, paprika, garlic, and basil.

Toast for dipping in....MMM good.

MiniB Muffin loved her soup, as usual, and heartily ate it all up with her bread. She even practiced dipping the bread. Didn't do to badly either.

The Muffin Man was gone for a meeting last night, so he ate when he got home, and couldn't help himself, had to go back for seconds......at 11:30 at night!!! Just couldn't sleep without one more bowl!

Monday night, simple pastas

2007-02-07T09:45:00.000-08:00

Monday, I took my glucose test, to rule out gestational diabetes. Definately not MY choice of tests, I hate those things. It threw me for such a huge loop all day long that I was totally unproductive.

So we had spaghetti and salad for supper. A nice vegan meal with lots of healthy nutrients and carbs for me. For lunch I pigged out on potatoes to help get my blood sugar somewhat normal...it did work, for a few hours. I was back to normal the next day.

Warning, you will be seeing more white breads and starches for the next few months, as my body seems to hold onto those better right now.

MiniB Muffin loved this meal, of course. After all, what could be better than spaghetti complimented with loads of veggies?!

2007-02-04T11:45:00.000-08:00

The end of last week wasn't the greatest for pictures of food, as one night we ate leftovers and another night we made spinach quiche, but then ended up being treated to dinner by our friends when they got home from Thailand. SOOOO...I'm posting a picture of my Challah, the bread I have started making again on Friday nights.

Usually when I make Challah, I do a three strand braid, but this time I decided to try to be creative and do a four strand braid....Wow, that is definately better than a three strand!! Maybe next time I'll get brave and do a five or six strand!!!

Just so you know, this is half of a batch of bread, but the bread is sitting on a dinner plate!! And the batch is the size of a typical loaf of bread, so Challah is long, but a bit narrow and short in height when I made it. It is however wonderful to eat!

And for all you Sesame Street viewers, when you make a pb & J sandwich, you get what we call a Mumphrey the Magician sandwich....a Challah Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich!!! (Mumphrey says A la Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, as he waves his wand!)

Tofu Sandwiches

2007-01-31T11:11:00.000-08:00

We love eating Tofu Fish Fillets, but I didn't feel like having it again so soon, as we had eaten them twice in a week recently. So I satisfied my tofu craving by making tofu sandwiches. I breaded and fried the tofu, grilled some onions, and we had these sandwiches.

Very good tasting!!! MiniBerry Muffin even ate her whole half sandwich, and extra tomatoes.

Easy Lunch, yet oh so good!

2007-01-31T11:01:00.000-08:00

Tomato Soup, quesedillas, and salad.

Can you get more American? My nephew came over for Friday night/Sabbath, and this is the lunch we all had. We all loved it. I put red peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, kidney beans and a salad mix together. Baby spinach, and some other baby lettuces...not sure what. I normally don't buy the salad mixes, but it was given to me the day before by Corn Muffin.

The tomato soup had canned tomatoes, kidney beans, dried basil and italian seasonings in it.

My nephew reminded me I had forgotten to take a pic, so that's why there is cheese and salad dressing in the picture. I usually leave that stuff out so the vegans can enjoy looking at the food LOL!

MiniBerry Muffin's response to the food....SOUP!!! She loves soup, and salad, so this meal was a hit!

NEWS NEWS NEWS!!!!!!

2007-01-26T23:33:00.000-08:00

The Muffin Family is going to have another Mini Muffin, in May! Hence the reason for Mini Muffin's name change to MiniBerry Muffin, she loves berries so much it just fit!

I am changing what I am doing with my blog, but only just a tad. I will try to mainly blog during the week, as the weekends are often so busy I can't take pictures and blog them. I will do my best to keep up with this blog, but being almost 7 months pregnant, I must ask for your patience...not that you all haven't had plenty already with our TOO LONG haitus! I will be researching new and yummy meals, but sometimes you may see repeats...I hope you all don't mind. Also, if I don't post for a couple of days, I will come back and post. Not only am I pregnant, but we are working on running our 2 businesses from our home office, and I get to do a lot of the calling, so at the end of the day, I just may be too TIRED!!!

Please enjoy our future blog entries! I am so grateful for those who have missed us!

I'm BACK!!!!!!!

2007-01-26T23:18:00.000-08:00

Hurray! I got the card I needed to install on my computer to add more USB cables to it. Praise God, my very good friend was at the computer store when Muffin Man got there, as a customer, and when it came time to be helped, he was given what he asked for and was told they weren't charging him for it. WOW!

So, for lunch today we had sandwiches, nothing fancy. However, for MiniBerry Muffin (MBM), I used cookie cutters to make her sandwiches and vegetables cute. Why? Surely not because MBM won't eat her veggies....No. She loves her veggies. But she likes having her sandwiches look cute, so why not!!!

In our sandwiches today are Wham, that infamous vegetarian substitute, kosher cheese, cucumbers, lettuce, radishes and on Muffin Man's, onions. We discovered today that MBM LOVES radishes...so add that to the ever growing list!

Yes, we normally eat healthier bread, but this is potato bread, and oh so yummy!

So this is the first meal that the Muffin Family is posting after a too long hiatus. I hope you enjoyed it!

Baked Potatoes

2006-11-27T14:04:00.000-08:00

I still don't have my computer back up and running properly, but I thought I'd post this meal. A board I go to had a conversation on what to put on a baked potato, so I thought I'd do a post on baked potatoes.

Here is what my family often eats on baked potatoes.

Sauted broccoli, onions, and mushrooms.
S&W chili beans - vegetarian
margarine
sliced green onions
shredded cheese
salsa
sour cream
ranch dressing
vege baco bits

I think that is about it. There are lots of things to eat on a baked potato, and done right, it can be a satisfying meal. How do you all eat your baked potatoes?

Okra

2006-09-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

I've had a number of people ask me, what the heck do you do with Okra. So I did a little research.

http://southernfood.about.com/library/weekly/aa081401a.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okra

Wikipedia states that Okra "has the same mucilaginous properties as nopales [prickly pear cactus fruit]." This is a very nice way of saying, its slimy.

So, word of warning, if you can't handle slimy foods....don't try to eat this. If you aren't sure, only buy a few okra at first.

If you want to try okra, there are many ways to cook it. You can steam it, boil it, cook it in stew. You can cut it in small rounds and fry it, a favorite of ours is to bread it like eggplant parmesan and fry it that way. I also like to stir fry it with onions and Indian spices like curry or garam masala.

The best way to prepare it depends on how you will cook it. If you are going to leave it whole, just trim off any blackened ends and then cook as desired. Word of caution here, leaving it whole will give you more of the slimy properties.

If you are wanting small peices, cut off the very tip of the pod and the stem and then cut the remaining portion into rounds. Prepare and cook as desired.

I hope all this information helped you all.

2006-09-10T08:37:00.000-07:00

I wanted to continue to post, however, when I rebuilt my computer I had to downsize my motherboard. I don't have enough USB ports and have to climb under the desk whenever I want to upload photos. Not an easy task.

I will try to get the photos I've done posted, and then I will be putting my blog on haitus until I am able to upgrade my computer. I apologize to everyone for having to do this. I've thought long and hard about this before I made my decision...but obviously, as this week showed me, I am not able to switch the cables as often as I should. I haven't posted since last week, even though I intended to.

During this next week I will hook up my camera and post the few pictures I have. And then I will leave my blog up, just won't update it. I will leave it up for archival purposes.

Thank you all for watching this blog and I hope you have been helped by my Muffin Meals.

And we are BACK!!!

2006-09-06T08:57:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm finally back! My motherboard died and I had to build a new computer out of two. So now I'm running at a lower speed, but with more drive space. Go figure!

It took a bit to get back because I had to catch up on all the stuff I hadn't done while the computer was down. And now I can catch up on this!

Here is a meal we had while we were down. Later today I hope to post last nights meal!

Garbanzo vegetable curry over rice
Stirfried okra and onions.

I LOVE Okra, any way shape or form. However, I have to admit, this is one of the best ways. That and breaded. I took frozen Okra, because I couldn't find it fresh, and stirfried it with sliced onions. I added garlic salt, and a little Indian seasonings...and presto....perfect Okra.

Mini Muffin ate her Garbanzo beans and rice but wouldn't touch the Okra. However, Muffin Man ate it without a fuss....so HURRAY!!!!

We are experiencing....

2006-08-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

We are experiencing technical difficulties at the time being. I am posting this from a friends computer as ours isn't running at this time. Honest, we have not forgotten you!

Thanks for viewing and thanks for your patience!

Vegetable Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

2006-08-24T00:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, today I decided I would make soup! What kind of soup, I wasn't sure. I knew I wanted a cream based soup, but not just potato, and not just corn chowder. I also didn't have enough of anything to make a "cream of" soup. SOOOO, I decided to make an everything soup!

I sauteed one half onion diced, one half carrot sliced, a ear of corn (cut off the cob), and 3 baby red potatos. I covered all that with soymilk until it covered it by about an inch or so. I cooked that for a bit. I added basil, oregano, thyme, garlic salt, and paprika. Then I sliced up 3 mushrooms, and two scallions. I added those to the pot and then added soymilk til it seemed like soup, instead of milk covered veggies LOL. I cooked it till the mushrooms looked cooked and shrunken....I did add some cheese, but that is optional. Then I just had to wait for Muffin Man to be ready to eat. When he got home he requested to have Grilled Cheese Sandwiches as well, but I didn't take a picture of those.

Then it was time to dig into the soup. Mini Muffin has this thing for soup....she's not terribly fond of it at first. But she LOVES to dip her sandwiches and bread into it...so she gets some into her system. So, she only had a small amount, and some of the veggies. But....oh man....was that soup awesome! I couldn't BELIEVE how great it was. Muffin Man had to give the last bowl to Corn Muffin, when she came to babysit Mini Muffin this evening because he said "You've got to have some of this soup...its AWESOME!" Now how's that for a compliment!

Try it, you'll like it!

The return of the Pizza

2006-08-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

As I'm sure you all know, we love pizza. And now we have passed that love on to Mini Muffin. Yesterday, she was trying to help me decide what to eat. She was pulling out stuff for stirfry....but I didn't really want that yesterday...I was hankering for a good homemade pizza. So I asked her if she wanted Pizza....she said no, then realized and added a quick YES! and started helping me get pizza stuff out of the fridge!

Crazy baby, she's not even 2!!

So Pizza it was, this time the fun ingredient was chopped Chik'n Nuggets. I used half whole wheat pastry flour for the crust, along with my pizza herbs, thyme, oregano, basil, and rosemary...and garlic!!!

Mini Muffin ate almost her whole slice, the size of one up on the picture! She then fed the rest to the dog, who was immensely grateful! Muffin Man took some for lunch, and I finished up the rest for breakfast this morning, and let me tell you, it was just as yummy today!

Morningstar Farms Veggie Bites - also, a review

2006-08-21T22:59:00.000-07:00

Tonight we tried MorningStar Farms new Spinach Artichoke Veggie Bites. They only have 9 in the package, so I decided to add red potatoes and carrots to the meal. Basically it was a meal made completely of side dishes....sometimes those the best. This was NOT one of those times.

The plan was to have parsnips and carrots mixed....The parsnips were slimy and nasty, I had bought them at the end of last week. So, just carrots and scallions. The potatoes were good, however. The Veggie Bites were ok....I wish we had baked something a bit different, like the chik'n nuggets, but alas, we had wanted to try something new. Mini Muffin did eat almost all of one...so that was great! She shunned her potatoes and carrots today...might have had something to do with her cold. And yes, she does seem to get those every few weeks....

All in all, the food wasn't horrible, but it wasn't the best meal I've prepared in the past. Hey, I'm allowed to have one not so great meal once in a while!!

Breakfast!

2006-08-21T12:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Muffin Man had a craving for some hashbrown casserole similar to the one we had in Georgia. So I made my own recipe, with tator tots, broccoli, mushrooms, and onions, and then poured 6 beaten eggs over it and put cheese on that.

I also made pancakes and blueberry sauce. MMMM.

Mini Muffin loved her pancakes and blur bears (blue berries). She had a few bites of the tator tot casserole. Muffin Man loved breakfast!!

I'll get a pic soon!

What do you do when your fridge is almost bare?

2006-08-17T08:22:00.000-07:00

I go shopping!!! I don't know about you guys. But since I hadn't gone shopping yet when I had to make supper, I grabbed what I could. Tonight I made cheese/tofu lasagna and fried green tomatoes. Yah, Yah, a lot of tomatos....but it was good!

Mini Muffin ate half of her slice of lasagna, which was roughly half of one of mine, as well as trying to eat half of a slice of green tomato. She's growing up so well, she ate most of it without help, just had to cut it for her.

DH enjoyed his meal and ate to the stuffing point, as did I!

Just so you know, we didn't forget about you guys, we just haven't had a chance to sit down for a real family meal until last night!

Apology

2006-08-15T08:12:00.000-07:00

I am sorry. I was not able to post to let you know I was leaving on vacation. I"m back now!!! We went to a family reunion Thursday - Monday.

Will post this evening!

Chili Rellanos

2006-08-09T22:49:00.000-07:00

Tonight I had invited my mom and my grandmother over for Chili Rellanos. I tried an eggwhite batter, which tasted good with the enchilada sauce on it, but not so good without the sauce. Next time I'll use my passover breading. Everyone commented that the matzo meal was the best rellanos breading yet! But hey, I had to try.

The chili's were roasted under the broil setting and turned periodically until their skins were black. Then I put them in a glass bowl and covered the bowl with plastic wrap. Their own heat steamed the skins loose, which I just peeled off. I stuffed them with a mixture of cream cheese and chedder cheese. I battered them and baked them at 350 until golden brown. I bake them rather than fry them because it is healthier that way.

As with any good Mexican meal, beans and rice to compliment. The beans were thanks to Grand Muffin, who brought vegetarian chili beans, with vegetarian meat inside.

Everyone, except Mini Muffin, LOVED their chilis. Even Muffin Man enjoyed his, after he put enchilada sauce over it. The beans were good too, of course. Mini Muffin was more than pleased to eat her beans and rice, and leave her chili. She's still not used to it. One of these days I'll get her to eat it LOL.

Sandwiches

2006-08-08T08:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was out for most of the day and then had to make cookies when I got back. SOOO.. I made some simple.

I layered my sandwich with spinach, green leaf lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and one slice of cheese and some of that infamous vegetarian turkey. It was a very good sandwich.

Mini Muffin ate some tomatoes, and cucumbers, and a few bites of her little piece of turkey, but then apparently gave the dog the rest.

Tonight I'm making macaroni and cheese....mmmm

Patty Pans

2006-08-07T07:30:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the blurriness of the image. Last night we had Stuffed Patty Pan squash! I stuffed it with a mixture of the removed Patty Pan squash, shredded carrots, scallions, mushrooms, bread crumbs, and italian herbs and seasonings. I also added two eggs. I did not measure, but I only had 3 patty pans, big, medium, and small. The amount of stuffing I had far exceeded the squashes and I cooked it in a tiny dish as well.

I coupled that with some cooked brown rice and green beans.

Mini Muffin didn't feel brave enough to try the squash! She did however eat as much rice as is on the plate there, and 3 green beans!

Muffin Man enjoyed his food, although he wasn't sure about the Patty Pan. Looked a little odd to him. It was very good though. I was warned that these squashes don't always taste as good as other summer squashes, but these ones were delicious this way. I was very surprised and delighted to find that this recipe really was good. Here are some links for Stuffed Patty Pan Squash you might enjoy.

MMMM Quiche!

2006-08-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my mom and I made some meals for my friend again. Incase I didn't mention it before, she owns Special Thai, the local Thai food restaurant that I go to so much, and Vege Thai, the Vegan Thai food restaurant across the river. I've enjoyed getting able to cook for her, as she's always cooking for us! Today we made her a salad and quiche, so I made the same thing for us. I layered spinach leaves on the bottom, and added steamed carrots and broccoli to the top. Then I used the my usual egg/soymilk mixture and put a bit of cheese on the top.

Very good! Muffin Man was very pleased, and most of the quiche was gone. So was most of the salad. Mini Muffin ate some raw veggies, and a few bites of quiche. She wasn't too hungry because our friend gave her a banana.

Update post

2006-08-04T08:03:00.000-07:00

I had a meeting last night and didn't really make supper. I did make Muffin Man a pasta salad, but there's no pictures. Sorry about that.

Tofu Eggplant Lasagna

2006-08-02T22:41:00.000-07:00

I made lasagna tonight! Only, I switched it up a bit. This time, instead of just my usual vegetables, I added slices of eggplant. I also added rosemary and garlic to the italian seasonings I added to the tofu.

MMMM MMMMM. Tasty! Muffin Man and I enjoyed our immensely, and together managed to eat half of the 9 x 13 inch pan!

Mini Muffin is sick, either still or again. So double that with tiredness and yah. She was a mess. However, she enjoyed enough to TRY to eat. But poor thing was too tired, cranky, and sick to eat.

I had planned on having corn, but I forgot. I also planned on making bread sticks, but when I had to take the Muffin Pup to the vet, that idea was thrown out the window! But hey I put a TON of vegetables in this lasagna! 2.5 carrots (the other half went into my friends' salad, they had a baby last weekend), one eggplant, one small stalk of broccoli, and a half of an onion. So I don't feel guilty at all about the nutrition of this one dish meal!

Been super busy, will post soon

2006-08-01T23:36:00.000-07:00

Really, I promise I will post soon!

Stuffed Eggplant

2006-07-29T07:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight I needed to use up our eggplant, and tried this new recipe! I stuffed the eggplant with a mixture of the removed eggplant, mushrooms, onions, and ritz crackers. You could easily use breadcrumbs or vegan crackers in place of that however. I baked it at 350 for close to an hr. Sides of sauteed green beans and yellow crooked neck squash.

One plate and you're full! Very tasty! Mini Muffin wasn't too thrilled, but again, she was tired, cranky and still getting well. The rest of us enjoyed our meal!

The eggplant was a bit bitter, so next time I'll soak it in salt water first.

Naan, Naan, Naan, Naan Naan Naan! (mostly Vegan)

2006-07-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm only trying to be silly with the title. Pardon me, I came down a cold. Anyway, this is what we had tonight. Chana Masala, Palak Paneer, and Naan. The Naan isn't vegan, but I'll work on that. This was my first try ever, pretty good considering you are supposed to have a Tandoor oven, and I don't. I used Tofu in place of the Paneer (goat cheese) as well.

Anyway, short blog tonight, I'm going to bed early. Mini Muffin liked the Chana Masala and Naan, and she sampled the Palak Paneer. Muffin Man seemed to enjoy it, but he was exhausted tonight, so didn't say much. Night!

Fried Green Tomatoes

2006-07-25T22:29:00.000-07:00

No, this isn't about Fried Green Tomatoes the movie! I saw some green tomatoes at the local farm stand so snatched them up. I haven't had fried green tomatoes in so long! I invited my mother and Grandmother over for supper last night. With all this heat, combined the fact they are moving, I figured they could use a good meal that they didn't have to work for!

The big red thing there is manicotti. Tofu-stuffed as usual with minced scallions and mushrooms mixed with the tofu. And because of the heat, a nice healthy salad.

I let Mini Muffin "help" with this meal too. She got to see me stuffing the manicotti, slicing the tomatoes and she got to put all of the ingredients of the salad in the bowl after I cut them. Mini Muffin absolutely loved the green tomatoes. I wasn't sure if she would, but she did. She also ate half of her half of a manicotti....not bad for a 1.5 year old. She sampled the salad as well.

Grand Muffin ate her food with utterances such as "mmm", "good", and "good food", all the way through her meal. Corn Muffin did the same, however she did comment that she couldn't comment much because she was too busy stuffing her face! Muffin Man wasn't so sure about the Green Tomatoes idea, but we all noticed that he went back for a generous second helping!!

Awesome meal!

Editing to give recipe for the fried tomatos.

I used:

3 large green tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inches
1 C cracker crumbs or Matzo Meal
1 tsp each of dried: Oregano, Basil, Parsley, Thyme, Paprika, Garlic.
2 eggs
1 C flour

In one bowl beat eggs, and set aside. In another bowl, mix cracker crumbs and seasonings. Put the flour in a third bowl. Flour each side of the tomato slices, and then dip into the eggs. Dredge each slice in the breadcrumb mixture and fry on each side until golden brown.

Good ol' Steak and Potatoes!

2006-07-25T22:14:00.000-07:00

Ever had the craving for meat and potatoes, but couldn't have the meat? Well, your search is over! This is a complete Steak and Potatoes meal, it even has the buttermilk biscuit! Coincidently, its the ONLY part of the meal that isn't vegan! Gluten Steak patties, baby red potatoes, and green beans. I later added basic brown gravy, however it would have hid the lovely meal!

Mini Muffin helped in snapping the green beans. She's been doing it with me recently. Sometimes she forgets to take the ends off, but usually she does pretty well. Crazy thing is, she's doing beans as well as I did when I was 6 or 7!! But letting her help me is aiding in getting her to eat more green beans, and thus like them.

Very good meal! Definately took away the desire for meat and potatoes, thus leaving me plenty of creative thinking for the next meal!

No Picture

2006-07-20T01:03:00.000-07:00

We had beans and rice and a dish of carrots sauteed lightly with onions. But no picture.

This weekend we may be going on a church thing called Campmeeting. Its where our whole church, all of the different congregations, meet together and have service in tents and things. Its great. As we will be picnicing, I'll try to get a picture or two of some of our meals.

Night All!

Pizza and Pasta Primavera!

2006-07-19T01:32:00.000-07:00

My mom and Grandma came over on Monday and brought us Pizza! So we all had a great stuffing meal of Pizza and salad. MiniB Muffin ate salad fixings, and some spinach! She also ate most of her piece of pizza. Thanks Grandmas!

Tonight I made Pasta Primavera. I used green beans, onions, baby carrots, mushrooms, and garlic in it. This time I didn't use cornstarch in my soymilk to see how it worked.

MiniB Muffin didn't feel well this morning and took an early nap. She was so tired at supper that she didn't feel like chewing anything, so she didn't want to eat the vegetables, just slurp the noodles. However, for us adults the sauce was perfect! I may use a tad amount of cornstarch next time, but not much. This was a very good meal that we all enjoyed!

Squash Casserole and breakfast

2006-07-19T01:21:00.000-07:00

I made a nice little breakfast for us the other day. It was in a small bowl, and I didn't think it would fill us up. We were all very happy with the size. Mini Muffin ate half of hers. Definately a good idea!

The Squash Casserole meal, was, yes, very yellow. Who said it was bad to eat lots of yellow!! Anyway, I got the recipe from Martha Stewart. I used 2 yellow crooked neck squash, one half of an onion, 1 C soymilk with corn starch added, 3 eggs, and 1.5 cups of cracker crumbs, thyme, salt and some cheese. MMMM.

We all loved it. Mini Muffin had a small amount and has decided yellow squash is her friend! She was too busy to eat a lot however!

Been busy

2006-07-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

I will post soon, promise!

Build Your Own Sandwich

2006-07-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

Until yesterday, it had been so hot, I'd been trying to not use the oven much. So here we have build your own sandwich night. Basically I pull out a bunch of sandwich fixin's and everyone gets to choose their own. As you can see here, I chose lettuce, tomatos, mushrooms, cucumbers, radishes, and lettuce. I never thought they'd be great on sandwiches, but I was wrong, radishes definately make a good sandwich topping!

Muffin Man complained, but agreed it was better than hot food on a hot day. He took all but the radishes. He didn't see them, or at least that was his excuse! Mini Muffin ate tomatoes, cucumbers, and some bread and cheese. All seperately. She has decided cheese isn't so bad, in small quantities.

Curried Green Beans and Mexican Food

2006-07-12T01:10:00.000-07:00

Hows that for a title! I'm still catching up on housework and things...so I'm posting another previous meal from this week - Soft Tacos. Rice, Beans, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, etc. Wonderful filling meal.

Verdict: We used up the last of the baby lettuce that we had in the fridge for this meal, and let me tell you, it was so great on those tacos! Mini Muffin ate tomatoes, beans and rice, and sampled some lettuce.

Now, for the Curried Green Beans.

I sauteed tofu, cut in cubes, until golden brown. Just before they were done I added 2 cloves of garlic, crushed, to add flavor. Then I added a small bag of frozen green beans, and cooked them until almost done. I poured a can of coconut milk on top, and seasoned with curry powder and paprika to taste. I then added salt to taste, as Muffin Man always says I forget salt...and yes I do. That was it. I am sorry I dont' have better measurements. I'm not that kind of cook very often!

Tofu Fish Fillets

2006-07-10T21:04:00.000-07:00

The first night back, that is, Thursday, I made tofu fillets. Poor Muffin Man, he had no one to cook for him for 11 days. I decided to give him something he would really LOVE! Fish Fillets, tarter sauce, and curried green beans and tofu.

The green beans and tofu were inspired from my favorite restaurant. One evening I said to Niki, make me something with green beans, and she made this dish for me! I LOVED that and made a note to make it myself!

Verdict: I sent the leftovers with Muffin Man for supper while at work. He thanked me the next day and asked if we had anymore curry leftover!! (we didn't, he'd already eaten it all at work). But, wow!

Mini Muffin wasn't too sure about the green beans, but she ate the tofu and a few bites of beans. Great Meal!

Back from Vacation!

2006-07-07T23:12:00.000-07:00

I'm still pretty tired from my trip, but I can't let all of you down! Here's a piece about a restaurant we went to on our trip! We went to a restaurant called Noah's Ark. Here they have vegan food, vegatarian food, and a few select meat dishes (but only to satisfy those who wouldn't otherwise "survive" dinner). I had the lasagna, which they offer in both veggie and vegan style, and my mom had a greek meal! The little girls, my niece and Mini Muffin, had chicken nuggets, Mini Muffin's being vegetarian of course!

Verdict: Very good! I choose to have a smaller portion, and I'm glad I did. I was able to eat it all, but not feel miserable! Mini Muffin had never had anything like chicken nuggets and she loved them! She had them again later during the trip when I bought them for her and she loved them then too! The restaurant was nice, I enjoyed poking around the gift shop area. We didn't take a tour because we were headed to the Wildlife Safari! Mini Muffin got a camel ride there, and hasn't forgotten it yet! 2 weeks later and we still hear about the "Camool" and how fun it was!

I hope that next week I can catch you all up on the two meals we've had this week.

Black Bean Burritos (VEGAN!)

2006-06-22T00:46:00.000-07:00

Tonight we were going to have black beans and plantain. But sadly, the Plantain was no good. I'm definitely going to have to have DH pick the next one out.

So, having the beans all prepared, I improvised. And oh, am I glad I did. Black Beans, rice, tomatoes, lettuce and guacamole! Holy Moly!

Mini Muffin ate half of a tomato, and some beans and rice. She just LOVES tomatoes! I ate all that I had here and was satisfied. DH ate the same amount and he didn't seem to complain either. He mentioned that he liked the beans this way!

AND....AND...It was VEGAN!! Now, if I could have just added those plantains!

Eggplant Pizza.

2006-06-21T01:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I almost forgot to take a picture. But I did manage to get one of the last, lonely piece of pizza!

If any of you are thinking, EWWW, Eggplant on PIZZA, let me explain. I first had Eggplant on my Pizza several years ago at small restaurant called "The Trolley Stop Pizzeria", in Massachusetts. This place had all sorts of oddities on their pizza menu..apples, almonds, and yes, Eggplant. My mind envisioned brownish purple slimey blobs....but they told me they used their eggplant Parmesan. I was intrigued, and tried it. And that, my friends, was the best ingredient I've EVER had on my pizza. It became so common for me to order, that they began to know which pizza I wanted before I asked! Mushrooms, onions, and eggplants, please!

So now, I bring the secret to you all! Next time YOU make eggplant parmesan, try saving aside a couple of slices to add to your pizza. Trust me, you'll be glad you did!

I made this pizza on whole wheat crust!

Verdict: Muffin Man was so surprised at the flavor. I don't think he believed years ago when I'd order it. He does now!! He did mention however, that the pizza crust tasted, um, wheaty. GOOD! Mini Muffin ate half of a pizza slice. Pretty good, I think. I ate 4. Yes, 4!! Then I ate the last one before bed.

Macaroni & Cheese Please!

2006-06-20T01:08:00.000-07:00

First off, I have some bad bad sad news.....Starting this weekend, I will be on vacation to Central California and will most likely not be able to post. HOWEVER, I will take images of things I think you will enjoy and post them when I get back. I should be back to posting July 5th! We may even find some new vegan restaurants on the way. If so, I am SO taking pictures!

HOWEVER!!! This week I will continue to post. Once again, this doesn't start until this weekend!!! I may also try to get a comment from the Muffin Man on his eating experiences without me. He'll be staying home this trip.

Now, for supper. And yes, I almost forgot to take a picture. But I did take one and you all can enjoy.

Yes, its the infamous Macaroni and Cheese! However, I do believe that if you do this meal right, it doesn't have to be unhealthy! For instance, as you can see, there is MORE salad than macaroni! Secondly, there is broccoli, onions, and carrots in the macaroni. Third, this is homemade, from scratch! No box mixes. Thus, you can control the ingredients and amounts you put in!!

Corn Muffin (my mom) came for supper tonight. Hence, Mini Muffin almost didn't anything but red peppers and cucumbers, but then she discovered how fun it would be to let GRANDMA feed her. So she ended up cleaning her plate! HURRAY!

Muffin Man gave me a dear compliment. He called me from work to tell me that dinner was good and he greatly enjoyed it! HURRAY AGAIN!!! This was indeed a good meal, and not just because he said so!

Eggplant Non-Parmesan

2006-06-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

Last night we had Eggplant Non-Parmesan. I made us each a small salad as well.

I sliced the eggplant into 1/3 inch slices, and dipped them in flour, then in egg, and then in cracker crumbs. The cracker crumbs were crushed finely, and seasoned with crushed rosemary, oregano, thyme, basil, and red peppers. I then fried it in olive oil until brown on both sides. If anyone can give me a Tried and True method to do this without eggs, I'll try it and post the results!

Verdict: Very good! Unfortunately, we accidently spoiled Mini Muffin's appetite by letting her have crackers and things before I made supper. (by we, read Muffin Man). So, she had some tomatos and that was it. Hmmm.....The Jumbo Muffins stuffed themselves. There were also two eggplant slices left, so those will end up on pizza one day soon!

O-Crud, its Okra! Vegan!

2006-06-15T20:24:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made a variation of Kadhai Bhindi, variation being because I didn't have mango powder or a few of the spices. I sauteed garlic, onions, and okra together, added some garlic salt and presto, done!

I also made Eggplant Curry, by sauteing onions and garlic with the eggplant, and then put coconut milk in until it covered the eggplants, added curry and garlic salt, and some paprika.

The last thing we had were lentils. Basic lentils.

Muffin Man was out on business this evening and didn't eat supper with us. He took his to work with him, so I don't know what he thinks of the meal. Mini Muffin stuffed her little tummy with lentils and rice, but didn't want to try the okra and eggplant. The jury's still out on curried eggplant and okra as far as she's concerned! I give this meal an A+! It was healthy, delicious, and it LOOKS wonderful!

Update! Muffin Man said his food was good, however, when asked about the Okra, he said, "it was ok.... "
I'm pretty much the only person in this house to appreciate Okra properly, but that's alright with me. MORE FOR ME!!!!!

VEGAN!!!! Asian Food

2006-06-15T00:41:00.000-07:00

Whoo hoo, what a surprise. An Asian meal that's vegan LOL. I have to say, this is probably the easiest menu, aside from Indian, to make Vegan.

Menu: Tom Yum, a Thai soup, Sushi, and Stir fried rice.

Tom Yum: This is a sweet and sour soup, usually made with Shrimp and flavored with Shrimp paste, or fish paste. Here is what I did to make it vegan.

2 C water
3 fresh mushrooms medium size cut into convenient spoonable size pieces
2 stalks of lemon grass, bruised (this isn't eaten, but is an essential flavorant)
2 "kaffir" lime leaves
2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce.
1-2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
2 chunks of Galanga root.
1/4 cube tofu, chopped into convenient spoonable size pieces

Beat the lemon grass with the grinder of the mortar and pestle, or with the back of something like a cleaver. Heat the 2 cups of water to boiling point, add the lime leaves, lemon grass, galanga root and soy sauce. When it is highly aromatic, add the mushrooms and the sweet chili sauce. Taste to see if it needs more chili sauce or soy sauce. Serves 2 and a half!

I apologize for the blurry pictures. I am not sure what was wrong with my camera today. I notice it only did that on the warm foods, so I'm wondering if steam was an issue.

Verdict: Mini Muffin was hesitant about trying the Tom Yum. However, we've eaten this at our friend's Thai Restaurant before, so I think she realized it was familiar. She ate a several bites and then discovered the sushi....which she LOVES! So she proceeded to eat most of one of those. When I finally gave her the rice, she ate most of that, only stopped because her belly couldn't hold anymore! Healthy and delicious!

Special thanks to Corn Muffin, my mom, for messing up her Tom Kha recipe the other day and donating the lime, lime leaves, lemon grass, and galanga root for this meal!

BAM!!! BOP!! WHAM!!!!

2006-06-13T18:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, just being silly with the title. I want to post a little on Worthington Foods. Wham, Turkey, Fri-Chik, are all made by Worthington. MorningStar Farms brand favorites of ours are Chik Patties, Bacon Strips, Sausage Links, and Sausage Patties.

The MorningStar Farms foods can probably be bought at just about any grocery store. The Worthington Foods probably will only be found at Adventist food stores such as places called Adventist Book Center (ABC) or A Better Choice Nutrition (ABC). A store locator can be found here.

Many of these foods are not vegan but are only vegetarian. However, you will NOT find meat in them. They are all vegetarian. I hope this information helps!

Sandwiches, Sandwiches, Sandwiches

2006-06-13T01:09:00.000-07:00

The last few nights we've had sandwiches. Tonight it was because we were in a hurry. The other nights because I really didn't want to "cook". It was too warm. Sunday we had Hoagies and chips. I took Hoagie Rolls, layered them with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, onions, and wham. These were awesome! We even added a bit of horseradish to it! MMMM.

DH ate his sandwich and Mini Muffin picked at hers. She's kinda in that stage. She ate her tomatoes though! She ate most of her wham, and some of her bread. She did want some chips though!

The second sandwich I'm featuring is the all American grilled cheese! Add that to tomato soup and you have a winner! I added green chilies and kidney beans to this soup. I also snuck in mushrooms and onions into the sandwiches.

Mini Muffin ate all of her soup and asked for MORE! She had a baby bowl, MUCH smaller than this one. She also ate half her sandwich, dipping it all the way! Her sandwich was on baby -sized bread. That may explain her eating so much of it! Her little tummy was tight as a drum!

Tomorrow should bring something BESIDES sandwiches!

Fish Fillets

2006-06-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

I made Tofu Fish Fillets with tarter sauce, rice, and green beans. However, DH wanted fish fillet sandwiches! So we added the bread as well!

These were very good! I apologize that you can't see the tofu fillet very well, but it basically looked like my tofu burger's. The biggest difference between the two were the fact that I didn't marinate the tofu this time.

Mini Muffin ate 1/2 of a fillet, and some rice and bread. "Beb" as she calls it! She declined the green beans today but I got a couple into her.

I want to thank all you guys for letting me know how your meals work when you try these ideas! It spurs me on to get creative!

Fondue!!!!

2006-06-08T00:49:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, this is not vegan fondue. I wanted to make that, but had just about none of the ingredients. So I made chedder fondue. We used bread, brussel sprouts, tomatoes, mushrooms, and roasted garlic as our dipping mediums. Not pictured are the garlic cloves as they weren't out of the oven yet...I forgot they were cooking. No, they didn't get burnt!

Verdict: This was a first for both the Muffin Man and our little Mini Muffin. Mini Muffin doesn't take to well to new items, generally she pretends to hate them. Have them a few times and she loves them! Add cheese to the mix, and well....she hates cheese. (Loves Cheez-its, go figure!) Muffin Man, however, couldn't get enough and ended up pouring fondue onto his plate so he could eat faster and thus get more in!!! He said, "Fondue! Where have you been all my life!" I'm wondering how he'll react to the vegan one, as he tends to like vegan things even more! This was definately a winner!

Lasagne

2006-06-08T00:32:00.000-07:00

I promised lasagne! And now I deliver. Not that you all haven't seen it before. But that's beside the point.

Tuesday night I had a couple of visitors for supper. Some nice young men came to our house to discuss theology, and the differences between our two (or three) religions. I didn't post that last night because after they left I was tired. Anyway, for supper, I had made a tofu lasagne and salad. Seeing as I STILL didn't have any lettuce, I made a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, and mushrooms. I tossed it with a smidge of olive oil and basil and thyme.

The lasagne had broccoli and carrots in it, along with tofu and some tillamook cheese. As you can see, it came out textbook!

Verdict: The two visitors had no CLUE it was tofu. They thoroughly enjoyed the meal, and were shocked that tofu could blend so well into foods. Mini Muffin ate her's happily, vegetables first of course! The salad was surprising tasty, I'm not a big fan of vegetable salads without lettuce.

Spaghetti!

2006-06-05T23:55:00.000-07:00

I was going to make lasagne. I even made bread to go with it, and I was going to make a salad. BUT, we were out of tofu, and pasta sauce. We also had no lettuce. So I went to the store today to buy tofu, lettuce, pasta sauce, and spagetti noodles in order to have a spaghetti meal with the young LDS men who were coming to dinner. However, the lettuce was nasty. So, no salad. And the young men weren't able to come at dinner time, so hence I have a TON of spaghetti left over. I'm sure I'll find a use for it. But I made the bread into herbed bread in the oven.

Those young men are coming tomorrow, and I'm hoping to have the lasagne made then. I'm not sure what I'll make to go with it, but I'll try to be creative!

Again, no photo as of yet as BlogSpot won't let me. SOON I PROMISE!

Quesedillas

2006-06-05T23:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry for no picture. I'll post as soon as BlogSpot lets me! Last night's meal consisted of a small quesedilla each, with rice and beans and a vegetable side: zuchinni and corn. Simple and satisfying!

The zuchinni was apparently very bitter, so everyone left that on their plates. But the rest of the food was eaten happily!

Indian food! VEGAN!

2006-06-02T20:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, here's another vegan meal. Lentils, brown rice, coconut vegetable curry, and samosas! The samosas were made with pie dough, stuffed with curried potatoes and garbanzo beans. I then baked them at 350 till the dough was nice and done, at least 30 minutes. I didn't really keep track.

The lentils were basic lentils, but the curry was made with the rest of the potatoes from the samosas, a can of garbanzo beans and frozen mixed vegetables. I cooked all that in water thickened with cornstarch and at the end added a small amount of coconut milk, to give it creaminess. I seasoned the whole thing with curry powder, paprika, and garlic salt.

Verdict: Good and filling! If you want to feed people well, this is it! I was full after eating the plate of food pictured here. Mini Muffin still isn't feeling her greatest, but after tasting the food, decided it wasn't all that bad, and ate half of her plate. That still wasn't much, but hey, she ate it! My mom was here again, (yes, she eats with us a lot now!) and she was in heaven! Definately a great meal. I'm glad DH begged for it for so long!

Stirfry and Chili Cheese Puffs

2006-06-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

The stirfry is vegan. However the cheese puffs aren't. The cheese puffs are basically wonton wrappers stuffed with cream cheese mixed with sweet chili sauce! Its my mom's recipe! And its the best! I'm wondering how vegan cream cheese would work here.

The stirfry is tofu, carrots, broccoli, and rice stirfried together. I also made egg drop soup, but we ate it all before I remembered to take a picture! For that I julienned some carrots, broccoli, and scallions, and boiled them. I added a package of ramen noodle oriental seasoning and then when the whole thing was boiling well, added two eggs, slowly. Next time I'll grab a snapshot! I also added some seaweed in at the end.

Verdict: Mini Muffin ate some of her chili cheese puff, and half of her soup. She tried to eat some fried rice but as she isn't feeling well, she didn't eat much. The rest of us however....lets just say, everything's GONE!!!!!!!

Simple Southwestern (Vegan again)

2006-05-31T21:29:00.000-07:00

Nothing fancy tonight, but delicious nonetheless. Black Beans and Rice and sauteed corn. I cut the corn off the cob and sauteed it with olive oil and scallions. I seasoned it with oregano, garlic salt, and paprika.

I was going to have corn on the cob one night, but it never happened and tonight something told me to cut it off the cob. I did. Good thing too, because some young men from the LDS church came by and we had a grand chat. (Seriously we did, we love it when they come!) They will be coming by for supper next week. Anyway, due to our chat, we would not have had time for DH to eat corn off of the cob, so it turned out perfect!

Verdict: The adults liked it. Mini Muffin was tired, cranky, hot, etc. She's 19 months after all! She ate about half her plate and then was "done." So we let her be done.

WonTon Ravioli's (VEGAN!)

2006-05-30T22:44:00.000-07:00

More Wonton Pastas! I didn't use vegan wontons, but I listed this as vegan because that is easily substituted. I stuffed these ravioli's with tofu and spinach, using paprika, garlic salt, oregano and thyme to season them. The bread is that loaf of homemade italian bread, buttered with garlic butter and cooked in the oven. And the usual nice tossed salad.

My mom came today for supper. I made 35 ravioli's, using 70 wrappers, 1/2 cube of tofu and 2 cups (?) spinach. There was enough for 3 adults, Mini Muffin, lunch for DH, and more in the fridge. Unfortunately, my ravioli's started to fall apart, so next time I will be making tortellini, as those holds together better. But, it tasted awesome!

My nieces were also over, but they had eaten already. They still managed to get into the garlic bread!

Mini Muffin ate one ravioli (basically two wonton's or tortellini's) and some cucumbers and bread. Very happy child! Everyone was stuffed and happy!

Fajitas (VEGAN!)

2006-05-29T20:26:00.000-07:00

Fajitas! I sauteed julienned carrots, onions, bell peppers and mushrooms and then layered them with S&W chili beans and rice in a tortilla. VERY GOOD!

Verdict: This dish is easy and delicious. Mini Muffin loved it, but then it has vegetables, beans and rice, all her favorite ingredients! Us adults stuffed ourselves after two! And its vegan, and very healthy!

Burgers and Fries, VEGAN!

2006-05-29T10:23:00.000-07:00

Its Memorial Day, and what is more American than Burgers and Fries! We had our Gluten Burgers, and homemade potato fries.

To make the potato fries, slice your potatoes into whatever size and shape you want. Toss with olive oil and then season with italian seasonings such the ones I used last night: rosemary, thyme, oregano, and garlic salt. Bake at 450 for approx 20 minutes, or until tender.

Gluten Burgers

3/4 C quick oats
1/2 C gluten flour
2 T wheat germ
2 T yeast flakes
1 tsp sage or McKay's seasoning

mix together and add
3/4 C hot water
2 T soy sauce
1 T oil

Stir liquids into dry mix and set for a few minutes. Wet hands and shape into four patties. Brown both sides in a skillet. At second side, add 1/2 C - 1 C water, cover and cook until the water is gone.

Verdict: Mini Muffin loves this meal as do we all! I'm not sure if her favorite part is the potatoes or the slice tomatoes! Definately a hit!

Ramen Noodles and Vegetables

2006-05-26T21:31:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know, this is not a picture of what we ate for supper. However, oriental ramen with mixed vegetables isn't really all that exciting. However, my attempt at Italian bread is! I know, it's not a pretty loaf. But hey, its only my second try in 8 years. This was the bread I started on sunday, and finished last night! It tastes great!

Interestingly, back to the topic of supper, most families stick mixed vegetables into pasta dishes in hopes that their child will eat more vegetables. We, on the other hand, stick vegetables into pasta dishes in hopes that our Mini Muffin will eat more PASTA! She loved on the vegetables and picked at the pasta. Silly little Mini Muffin!

Nothing for tomorrow probably, but we'll see you back next week!

Personal Spanakopitas

2006-05-26T00:35:00.000-07:00

Upon trying to decide what to make tonight, my eyes fell on the phyllo dough in my fridge. I didn't really want to do the whole cassarole dish, as it takes a while. But then I thought, why not do little personal ones! And boy, were those easier and faster!!! I used:

1/2 of a bag of chopped spinach
1/3 of a large carrot, grated,
And some feta and chedder cheeses.

I then mixed it together and filled the dough. You just have to make sure to squeeze as much water out of the spinach as possible. I rolled them up like little greek burritos, oilying with olive oil, and presto, done! I brushed them with oil on the top, and baked them at 350 for about 30 minutes (half the time for the whole thing!) It made 4. This would be perfect for a family who doesn't have the hour to make the pie and another hour to bake it. I'd say 30 minutes prep at the absolute most, 30 minutes baking. Plus, during that 30 minutes baking you can have the rice cooking and make your vegetable side!

Verdict: Awesome meal. Mini Muffin ate half of a pie, and all of her small serving of rice. DH ate his, and said "awesome meal!" I loved mine. This is a winner!

No Bake Mac & Cheese

2006-05-24T00:04:00.000-07:00

I still can't use my oven. Oh, did I forget to explain why? That's simple. I tipped a fresh hot pizza over on accident and coated my oven with grease and cheese and sauce, and....ugh! That was monday. You know, the day that I was just getting well...and there's no picture. Now you know the OTHER reason I didn't put an image of food. Muffin Man graciously went and bought ANOTHER Papa Murphy's Gourmet Vegetarian pizza to replace the one that I trashed...which had been originally purchased by my mom, Corn Muffin, to help us out since I was so sick and sore all weekend. Sigh...

Don't worry, I'll get to clean my oven tomorrow. Then I'll be baking the bread I've wanted to make, since Monday. I'll be able to bake the cookies I made and froze...on Monday.

DH wanted Mac & Cheese tonight, so he asked me to make it without baking it afterwards. I did and it was great! It's still better baked...but at least this time I got the salt right on!

Verdict: Mini Muffin ate half of her small little bowl. DH and I both had two bowls, I finally got full for the first time since last week. HURRAY! Broccoli and onions and mac and cheese.

Cream of Asparagus (VEGAN!)

2006-05-22T19:09:00.000-07:00

I needed to use up the tofu marinating in my fridge for several days, so I did. I made tofu nuggets. I used the marinade from last time, see post below, and flour seasoned with garlic salt and paprika. I also made Cream of Asparagus soup, using the Broccoli Soup recipe, adding dill weed and a few other herbs.

Verdict: Mini Muffin LOVED the tofu! She ate 6 pieces! And what's not to love, its the best tofu I've ever had!! Having left the tofu soaking for several days, they really retained the italian flavor! Muffin Man really enjoyed the nuggets as well, and ate most of them. Not that he's a pig though, I told him to since I'm still not feeling well. The soup was fantastic. We all ate one bowl of it, I would have had more but again, not too well! DH isn't a big fan of soup as it is...so if he ate it I'm happy!

Ugh

2006-05-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

Don't know if there will be a post this evening....I've been sick all weekend. Hopefully I'll be good as new tomorrow as Mini Muffin has her swimming lesson. She has made tremendous progress this last week and I don't want her to miss her lesson!

Editted to say I have a moment of quiet here. I'll post the marinade from the tofu burgers.

I took a ziploc sanwich-sized container I used approximately:

2 TB soysauce
2 TB olive oil
1 tsp each of oregano, paprika, thyme, and crushed rosemary.

I then stacked the four slices (all that would fit coincidently) and filled it with water. After sealing, I shook up the container a few times while let it sat for 20 minutes. The flavor wasn't extremely strong, but it did add flavor to the burgers. Letting it sit overnight will add more flavor.

Tofu Burgers

2006-05-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

It has been hot! I'm just thankful it hasn't been in the 100's like it has in eastern WA. But it hit 90 this week and now is back to 70. In an effort to survive we've been eating macaroni salad and sandwiches. Last night we ate the last of the macaroni salad.

Last night I made tofu burgers. A girl in High School (way back when) gave me this idea. Only tonight I soaked it in a marinade and floured it to add some crisp. Very yummy!!!

Verdict: Mini Muffin wasn't sure. She hasn't had tofu this way yet. But she ate a few bites and focused on her macaroni salad and sliced tomatoes. She LOVES tomatoes! DH ate his and said he really liked it. He had hoped I had made more than one patty a piece, but I hadn't. I loved mine and this is definitely a keeper!

Hot HOT Weather

2006-05-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

We have had weather in the 80's and 90's around here. So we've been eating lots of sandwiches. Here is one of them. This has herbed cream cheese, lettuce, mushrooms, cucumbers, and radishes and cheese between homemade wheat bread. It had a side of corn chips and salsa.

Verdict: I'm not sure I've put radishes in a sandwich before, but I'll definately be doing it again. DH said it was "Interesting." Mini Muffin had a cream cheese sandwich with chunks of cucumber on the side and grapes. She ate most of it, happily.

I think my computer is back to normal.

2006-05-17T07:03:00.000-07:00

The other day my computer overheated and I wasn't sure if I was going to lose. I didn't, fortunately. So now I can post again. Sunday was Mother's day, so we had a Mother's day brunch with my mom. Omelettes, Hashbrowns, and fruit. Here's the picture DH took of the spread. The Omelettes had red pepper, onions and mushrooms.

Verdict: We stuffed ourselves! I think Mini Muffin had more fun eating the fruit than anything else. Very good brunch.

Mini Muffin's Lunch

2006-05-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

I'm also including in an additional post today, a lunch. Mini Muffin had a lunch the other day with her bread, previously featured. I thought you'd all like to see it. She had a cream cheese sandwich with blackberry jam, grapes and a glass of soymilk. She loved having a sandwich with her own bread!