Veggie Feast

I’m one of those “sorta” vegetarians. I can not do without a veggie omelette and salmon steak but I eschew dairy. (Makes me gassy.) About every four or five years I hold a Veggie Feast where I invite friends and family to my place where I cook a ton of vegetarian dishes. My last one was in New Bedford, MA (2004) and it had a brunch theme. Because this year I have a patio with a grill, the theme was a no-brainer, COOK-OUT!

Nine folks trekked all the way out to Leominster, MA for an afternoon of eats and conversation. The menu was:

Appetizers: Spinach-Artichoke Hummus, Avocado Salsa, Lentil-Bulgar Stuffed Grape Leaves

Main Course: Grilled Veggie Kabobs (in a homemade marinade), Spaghetti Salad, Sweet Potato Salad

Dessert: Fruit Tart, Oreo Truffles, Soy ice cream (the only store bought dish)  

I must admit it was hard work. I cooked most of the dishes the day before and was cooking about an hour before the first guests arrived but it was all worth it. Every dish came out spectacular (if I do say so myself) and each lady (it was a ladies-only event) went home with copies of all the recipes enclosed in a Night Garden Photography greeting card.

Where was Hubby? He worked that day and then headed over to his folks where his Dad grilled steak. They celebrated an anti-Veggie Feast.

I suppose the next Feast will be in 2013.

All’s Good

I don’t have anything pithy to say but I’m happy about a number of things on this April 17th.

• It’s supposed to hit 70 degrees.
• I’ll be heading out on a bike ride around Lancaster and Sterling.
• The Bruins beat the Canadiens last night 4-2!
• I made an awesome deep-dish pizza the other night. The sauce was homemade and I used sauteed kale for filling. I was very proud of it. (Soy cheese on the left. Dairy cheese on the right.)

Ummm...Good...

Get out and enjoy the day!

I’ve Been Slimed?!?

On Saturday, the In-Laws came over for a Christmas feast prepared by Moi. I baked a Butternut Squash Lasagna using a 5 bay leaf cinnamon tomato sauce. Yes, I must admit, it was DELICIOUS!!! But I saved the best for last.
I baked a homemade Pumpkin Pie. I can’t do dairy so I used a vegetarian’s best friend to substitute for the heavy dairy that usually goes into a pumpkin pie. The In-Laws are meat and potatoes kind of folks. Father-In-Law took one bite and said:

I’VE BEEN TOFU’ED!!!

Sick House

Me feeding Hubby and our Undocumented Servant

Yesterday Hubby came home all out of sorts: headache, sore throat, swollen glands, and a “needles and pins” sensation. I went out to stock up on Nyquil (my FAVORITE OTC ever) and Chloraseptic. Needless to say, Hubby is home today recuperating. I love it went when Hubby is sick because it so rarely happens and he’s a man about it. Sometimes too much so…

Me: Hon, do you want some tea?

Hubby: I’ll make it.

Me: Hon, do you want a blanket?

Hubby: I’ll get it.

It’s like he’s never sick, even when he is sick. I’m SO not that way. Case in point:

Today, I was planning on running in St. Cecilia’s. Ya know, one last run before the BIG storm comes. So anyway, I’m in the kitchen cleaning my awesome cast iron skillet, I turned the wrong way and, next thing, I’m doubled over saying a few choice swear words under my breath. It feels like a huge knot has entangled itself in the muscles in the lower right side of my back, near the hip. Hubby says to lie down on the couch and he makes a warm compress to place over the lower back. Sigh…what a man. (My back is better but not for running. Hubby’s feeling better, too!)

For doing that lovely act of “For Better or Worse,” I made him a batch of homemade soup. Here’s the recipe and stay warm:

Noodle Soup (AKA Homemade Ramen Noodles)

3 fistfuls of Udon Noodles

5 Cups Vege Broth (or chicken or beef broth. Whatever floats your boat.)

3 Cloves Garlic, chopped or minced

Salt

Cook the Udon Noodles in boiling water for three minutes. Don’t overcook. Place noodles in a colander and strain using cold water. Place aside.

In the pot that you’ll make the soup, place some olive oil and sautee the garlic over medium heat until garlic is golden. Add the broth. Bring the broth to boil. Add some salt. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. (Add whatever you’d like.) Put the cooked noodles into the broth and set to simmer for a minute or two. Serve.

Easy!

Hausfrau Offering II

Hubby & Me

For my second installment of the neato domestic doings I wish to share with you, here is my cracker recipe. This is a very simple recipe and I’ve been experimenting with making more “fancy schmancy” versions but I’m not QUITE there yet. (Currently my fancy schmancy crackers turn out like flat bread, which I know sounds very exotic, but really isn’t in reality.)

Simple Crackers

1 Cup all purpose flour

2 Tablespoons margerine/butter/oil (like corn)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Place parchment paper or lightly dust some flour on a baking sheet. Take out the handy food processor and mix the flour, butter and a pinch of salt. (At this point you could add rosemary, thyme, ground flax seeds.) Drizzle some water, no more than 1/4 C, while mixing. Stop mixing when the dough is holding together.

Roll out the dough on the floured baking pan. IMPORTANT: Roll out the dough as thin as possible so it bakes crunchy. I end up rolling a number of dough batches to make this work. Using a knife, score the dough into squares. (Or not if you want to break them into yuppy/artisan/Au Bon Pain looking crackers.) Before placing in the oven, you can sprinkle salt or any other kind of seasoning that suites your fancy.

I have a slow baking oven, so I leave the crackers to bake for about 22-25 minutes. Basically, leave them in until they start to brown. 

It took me three tries before I got “real” crackers. Good Luck!!!

Hausfrau Offering I

Ever since I left the rat race behind (a whole TWO weeks ago), I’ve been releasing my inner housewife. I will share with you the fruit of my domestic doings. Today I offer you my Super Duper Spinach Artichoke Hummus Recipe. (I’ve been tweeking this sucker for awhile.)

1 19 oz can of chickpeas (if you can only find 14.5 oz cans, adjust amounts accordingly), drained and rinsed

1 12 oz bottle of artichoke hearts (basically you’ll be using half, 6 oz, in the recipe)

1/3 cup tahini

2 cloves garlic (use as much or a little as you like)

8 oz frozen cut spinach (basically half of a 16 oz package)

Keep by your food processor ready to use: ground (or whole seed) cumin, salt (I like kosher salt best but sea salt works great, too), black pepper, paprika, lemon juice, olive oil, 1/4 cup water

In a food processor put in your chickpeas, tahini, 1 clove (or more) garlic, a squirt of lemon juice, a dash of olive oil, and put into as much or as little of the other spices as you like. Turn the food processor on high. Puree until smooth. If it seems a little chunky and not smooth, dizzle the water while puree’ing. (Not all at once!) I also add a little more lemon juice and olive oil. Once is looks smooth, stop, taste, and add some more seasonings according to your liking. Leave the hummus in the food processor for the moment.

Now for the spinach: In a skillet, heat up some olive oil and add a clove of garlic. Saute the garlic for about a minute. Add the frozen spinach (I don’t thaw it beforehand. Too impatient.) Break up the spinach and cover for 5 minutes. Uncover and break up whatever frozen spinach is still chunky. At this point you want to evaporate as much water as you can. I sprinkle powdered garlic and onion and some salt over the spinach while stirring. Just about when you think most of the wetness (it will never get dry and you don’t want it that way.) is evaporated, add a dash of lemon juice during the last 30 seconds.

Place half of the sauteed spinach into the hummus still sitting in the processor. Puree the spinach until it’s evenly mixed into small pieces throughout the hummus. Last step (phew!): mix by hand the remainder of the sauteed spinach into the hummus.

Store hummus in an airtight plastic container and let it sit for at least two hours in the fridge. (Overnight is even better.) This allows the flavors to mingle and get to know each other.

You may need to tweek this recipe to your own taste. I’ve probably broken at least 6 cooking rules (“You don’t THAW your spinach?!?”)  verbotten on the Food Network but what the heck, it works for me.

ENJOY!!! And let me know if you’ve tried it.

Now What?

I’m living through Day 2 of the purposefully unemployed. What did I do on Day 1? Got up at 6 a.m. (Yes, that’s sleeping in for me.) Made myself a breakfast of two eggs, toast, and brewed a few cups of Shelburne Falls Breakfast Blend coffee. (I can feel my blood turning blue with every sip.)

Then I spiffed up the place because the condo association had scheduled a contractor to check out each unit’s fire alarm system. I had to get out of my pajamas and put on some real clothes by 10 a.m. Sheesh! While the contractors were doing their thing, I tried my second attempt at making crackers. It’s easy but with anything, one must tweek the recipe. I added lots of garlic powder and cilantro to the dough and rolled it as thin as I could. It still looks and tastes more like flatbread than crackers but it’s better than the first batch and will only get better.

I also tried my hand at making spinach artichoke hummus. I can barely taste the artichoke but it would make a good garlic hummus. That ingredient I can taste in spades. Practice. Practice. Practice.

When Hubby came home, we tried running but it was so cold and windy, we both decided that 1/2 mile was enough. Seriously, it was cold. In the evening we attended mass at St. Leo’s in Leominster, ate leftover lentil stew and watched the Bruins beat the Canadiens in Montreal, 3-2.

Overall, it was a good Day 1. And Day 2? I started a Crock Pot meal, a chicken dish with lots of tomato sauce, garlic, onions, green bell peppers and carrots. Not to worry, I’ll be making a batch of homemade seitan later in the day for moi. Yes, I’m indulging my inner hausfrau. I kinda like it.

Just hanging.

Did I Miss Something? III

Hubby and I did our grocery run today. I’m not a meat eater but Hubby loves his animal protein. So while he was selecting his choice cuts, I found myself in a section of Hannaford’s that I usually don’t peruse. What I discovered astounded me. I suppose if the “UBIQUITOUS THEY” can make chicken, meat, and pork from soy beans, chicken sausage shouldn’t surprise me. But when those same chickens have been fed a 100% VEGETARIAN DIET so the poultry-lover can be assured of an antibiotic and preservative free meal, I scratch my head.

Call PETA!