Pumpkin Seeds

Finally writing this down ...

• Collect pumpkin seeds
• Wash/remove excess fluff
• Brine for each 1cup of seeds:
• 2cup water
• 2T table salt
• Boil then simmer 10min
• Dry (overnight is ok)
• Coat with olive oil and bake at 400F for 20-25min (toss frequently, until golden)

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

As of tonight, it's been nearly over two years since we've had this meal.  Personally I've wanted to learn how to make it for quite some time (since a visit to Italy in 1997!).  Grabbed the simplest looking recipe I could find on the internet (food network).  Made it with the following modifications based on items we had on hand:

• Turkey bacon instead of regular bacon or pancetta (this also required the addition of a little butter during the garlic sweat step)
• Fresh basil instead of Italian parsley
• Grilled garlic cloves instead of raw
• Added some chopped tomatoes for a little added color

It turned out great, and was heartily enjoyed by our most finicky food critic:

Added bonus: there are plenty of left overs for a repeat performance at lunch tomorrow!

Green onion (scallion) pancakes

Just this last Friday, we went out for dinner at Fu Man Dumpling House, a small Chinese restaurant about a quarter mile from our house.  A few noteworthy things:

• Lia loves BBQ pork chow mein
• The dumplings at $6.95 for 12 are a delicious steal.

They also had on the menu leek and green onion pancakes, but sadly, the leek ones were sold out for the day.  So, we ordered the green onion ones - which Lia also happily devoured.  We had plenty of left overs, which still tasted awesome as a Sunday lunch.

Next came the obvious question - what can we make at home on our own? The first requested item (from Lia) was the pancakes.  Googling about, I came across this recipe on Appetite for China along with the suggestion to eat them with a nice cold one on Eating Out Loud.  Added bonus, these things are vegan.

Time to powder up the kitchen!

Vegan recipes from Karen

Here are a couple of vegan recipes we got from our neighbor Karen.  Can't wait to try them!

Vegan Pancakes:

• 2-1/2 cups flour
• 2-3T sugar
• 1-3/4 to 2T baking powder
• 1T veggie oil
• 1tsp salt
• 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 cups soy milk or water
• 1 egg replacer
• 3T margarine (Earth's Balance)
• cinnamon to taste

Banana Bread

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2tsp baking soda
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1/2tsp salt
• 1/2tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 egg substitute
• 1 cup mashed banana
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 5T "milk"

1. Sift flour, baking powder + soda, salt, and nutmeg
2. Cream sugar and margarine
3. Beat egg and add to cream mix w/ banana and vanilla
4. Mix in sifted ingredients until just combined
5. Stir in milk
6. Bake 350, 40-45min or until knife comes out clean.

Cinnamon rolls

• 2 tubes Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 6T butter
• 2tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Cream sugar, butter, and cinnamon until smooth
3. Spread mixture on rectangles and roll.  Chill at least 1hr.
4. Cut each into 6 pieces and place in a greased 9x13in pan.  Stuff foil in extra spaces to keep rolls snug.
5. Bake 20-25min (30min if chilled overnight).

Vegan Ricotta Cheese

• 1pkg extra firm tofu (12oz)
• 1T olive oil
• [Garlic salt]
• [Oregano]
• [Basil]
• 4tsp yeast flakes (to taste)

1. Mix together to consistency and taste

Easy Cheese Lasagna

• 1 jar (28oz) spaghetti sauce
• 6 uncooked lasagna nodles
• Vegan ricotta cheese (see above)
• 1-2 cups canned corn
• 1-2 pkgs of vegan gourmet mozzerella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Grease 11x7in dish.
3. Spread 1/3 of spaghetti sauce on bottom of dish.
4. Arrange 3 noodles in a single layer over sauce.
5. Layer another 1/3 of sauce
6. Layer all ricotta
7. Layer corn
8. Layer 1/2 mozzerella.
9. Layer remaining noodles.
10. Layer remaining sauce
11. Cover dish with foil
12. Bake 1hr (until noodles are tender)
13. Sprinkle remaining mozzerella
14. Bake uncovered 5min.
15. Let stand 5min before serving.

Tomatillo Salsa (aka Pang's Va-Va-Voom Verde)

Updated! Behold glorious pictures of the entire process ...

The goods

• 2lbs fresh tomatillos (they look like green tomatoes with paper hats on)
• 1T kosher salt, or:
• 1T coarse ground sea salt
• 2T fine sea salt
• 2T table salt
• 1T lemon juice
• 1T minced garlic
• 1T canola oil
• 1/2 cup chopped white/sweet onion
• 1 cup chopped cilantro (looks like parsley, smells better)
• ## jalepeños, seeded, veined, and chopped:
• 1 = mild
• 2 = medium
• 3+ = muy caliente (each additional "+" = an additional "muy")
• substitute with seranos for "¡oy! ¡hace un fuego en mi boca!"

All side ingredients ready to go ...

Make it:
Take the party hats off the tomatillos and wash off the waxy coating from the skin, strain and place in a baking dish.

Broil the tomatillos on high for ~15min (until they start to ooze and get a little char).

 

Place tomatillos (and any oozed juices) into a food processor and puree.

Add all other ingredients and pulse until well blended.

Place mixture into a metal bowl (on ice to serve immediately, or cover with cling-wrap and chill in fridge for later).

Eat it:

• Serve cold with:
• Tortilla Chips
• Meat and beans
• In tacos
• In burritos
• What ever you fancy

Sauteed Asparagus, Beans, and Mash Potatoes

Tools

• 1 big pot
• 1 little pot
• 1 saute pan
• large bowl (preferably metal)
• potato masher

Ingredients

• 6 small yukon gold potatoes
• 3-Tbsp Earth's Balance organic buttery spread (or margarine)
• 1-cup milk (coconut milk beverage or almond milk)
• 1 can (15oz) black beans
• 1/4 large onion
• Asparagus Recipe(1):
• 1-lb fresh asparagus
• 1-Tbsp soy sauce
• 1-Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/2-tsp bottled minced garlic
• 1/2-tsp bottled minced ginger
• 1-Tbsp canola oil

Prep

1. Peel potatoes and place in large pot
2. Place beans (with fluid) in small pot
3. Slice onion into half rings about 1/8in wide
4. Asparagus:
1. Sauce: Mix soy sauce, red wine vinegar, garlic, and ginger in small bowl
2. Trim and discard woody ends of asparagus and slice diagonally into ~2in pieces

Cook

1. Potatoes:
1. Fill large pot with water to cover potatoes and heat to boiling
2. Boil potatoes for ~20-30min (until easily penetrated with a fork)
3. Transfer cooked potatoes to a large bowl and mash
4. Add butter and milk and mash/mix until desired consistency (add more milk as necessary)
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Beans:
1. Simmer covered on low heat until potatoes are finished
3. Asparagus:
1. Heat oil in saute pan over high heat
2. Add asparagus and sauce
3. Saute until asparagus is easily pierced with a fork (~3-6min)
4. Remove from pan
4. Onion:
1. Add sliced onion to pan with residual asparagus sauce and oil
2. Saute on med-med/low until onions are translucent
   

Serve

1. Plate about 3-4 heaping tablespoons of mashed potatoes per serving
2. Top with onions
3. With a slotted spoon, get beans and distribute over the top of the potatoes
4. Place 8-10 asparagus segments on top

Eat.

References

1. Asparagus recipe from "What Else is to Eat?: The Dairy-, Egg-, and Nut-Free Food Allergy Cookbook", Lina Marienhoff Coss, Plumtree Press, Sept 2008, p.95 (Amazon)

Sweet Potato and Avocado Pasta with Dinner Rolls

Equipment

• Dinner Rolls:
• 2 6-part muffin pans
• large mixing bowl
• wisk
• flour sifter
• Sweet Potato and Avocado Pasta:
• 3 qt pot
• 10in (25cm) frying pan
• cutting board

Ingredients

• Dinner Rolls:
• 1pkg active dry yeast (2-1/4 tsp.)
• 1cup lukewarm water
• 1 egg
• 1/4cup sugar
• 1tsp salt
• 1/4cup oil
• 3cup flour
• Sweet Potato and Avocado Pasta:
• 3-4cups fusili pasta
• 1-2 small-medium sweet potatoes
• 1-2 ripe avocados
• 1/4 medium onion
• 1/4lb whole crimini mushrooms
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1tsp Italian spice mix (1:1:1 oregano:marjoram:thyme)
• 2Tbsp olive oil
• 2Tbsp butter

Prep

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Heat 2qts water in pot to boiling
3. Make dinner roll dough
1. Dissolve yeast in water in mixing bowl
2. Add: egg, sugar, salt, oil, 1-1/2cup flour. Beat with wisk until smooth.
3. Add remaining flour. Beat with wisk until smooth.
4. Grease muffin pans
5. Fill muffin pan cups half way and let rise 5-10min (until double).
6. Clean mushrooms:
1. moisten a paper towel and rub dirt off of mushrooms
2. separate stems from caps
7. Chop:
1. sweet potato into approx. 2cm cubes
2. onion coarsely
3. mushroom stems finely
8. Slice mushroom caps
9. Slice avocado
10. Crush garlic cloves with flat side of knife. Remove skin. Chop finely.

Cook

1. Bake dinner rolls 15min.
2. Pasta
1. boil per package directions
2. drain
3. Sweet potato
1. Heat olive oil and butter in pan over med-hi heat
2. Add garlic, onion, mushroom stems.  Saute 3-min, stirring frequently.
3. Add sweet potato, mushroom caps, Italian spice mix. Saute 3-min, stirring frequently.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low.  Cover and simmer 5min, stir, continue simmering until sweet potatoes are soft.

Eat

1. Plate pasta and top with sweet potato saute.  Garnish with sliced avocado.
2. Butter dinner rolls and serve on the side.