eggs is back!

Pumpkin Risotto with Rainbow Chard

Pumpkin, chard and all produce from the amazing weekly CSA box we've been getting since May from Groundwork Organics in Junction City, Oregon.

Pumpkin
Sage (grown at home -thanks mom)
Shallots
Garlic
Rainbow Chard
Nutmeg
Parm Cheese (or substitute)
Veg Stock Salt/Pepper
Penne pasta





The chanterelles were in our box from Groundwork Organics yesterday and I couldn't resist!

Penne Pasta with Chanterelles and Shallots

melt in your mouth amazing.

new floors!

Before:


During:




After:

Veggie Wontons

These were perfect on a day when I was really craving something crunchy and Chinese but didn't want to eat out. They were a meal for the two of us filled with tofu and some sauteed veggies.

Ingredients:

3 cloves of garlic sliced
4 scallions diced (white part and some green)
2-3 tablespoons of tamari soy sauce
1 block of firm tofu- rinsed, and patted dry
1 tablespoon canola oil plus canola oil for deep frying
2 cups of sliced mushrooms (I used crimini)
1 cup of shredded napa or savoy cabbage
2 tablespoons sliced ginger or powdered ginger
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
sriracha or chili sauce to your liking
1/2 package of wonton wraps





Instructions:
Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a wok or large pot
Add tofu in crumbled pieces - cook for 3-5 minutes
Add mushrooms - cook for 3 minutes more
Add garlic and ginger and 1/2 the soy - saute
Add cabbage and cook until wilted

Remove from heat and toss with sesame oil, remaining soy, sriracha, vinegar,and scallions.
Allow to cool down a bit and flavors to meld.
Place 1/2 a tablespoon of mixture in the center of wonton wraps
Wet the perimeter of each wrap with a bit of water
Fold wraps over and press to seal

Deep fry dumplings in canola oil for 1-2 minutes
Drain on paper towels

Serve with dipping sauce of your choice and a side of bok choi or broccoli.

Yum!




The deer came back again but this time they checked us out from the back yard.

Sorry guys, no wontons for you!

Sweet and Sour Soba Noodles With Tofu

Tofu loves to be paired with spicy flavors. I love adding tofu to curries or in a stir-fry.

This dish is more of a Chinese/Japanese mix-up prepared by a Italian/Scandinavian mix-up for her Ukrainian/Polish crack-up!

I made it up on the fly and it worked.


My favorite kind of miracle.




Ingredients:

Sweet and Sour Sauce:
3 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 garlic cloves minced
1+ tablespoon catsup
1+ tablespoon hot chili sauce (like sriracha)
1 teaspoon ginger (fresh diced or in powder)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons canola or sesame oil
2 green onions diced (all of the white part and a bit of the green)
juice of half an orange

whisk all ingredients in a bowl and set aside

Veggies:

I used what was left in the fridge(not much):
cabbage (half a head)
onions (1 yellow and 1/2 red) sliced
garlic - 3 cloves sliced
ginger - 1 teaspoon
carrots - 2 shredded
green peas - half a bag of frozen
2-3 tablespoons of canola oil
1-3-4 oz. of soba noodles cooked as per package instructions
4 green onions diced

Instructions:
Heat the wok or pan with a little canola oil and crumble the tofu in. Cook the bite sized crumbles for 3-4 minutes then remove from wok.
Add another tablespoon of canola oil to the wok and saute the onion for 2-3 minutes then add garlic and ginger. Cook for another minute or so then add whatever sliced veggies you have in the fridge chopped or sliced into bite sizes. Add one veggie at a time - cooking each for a minute or two on it's own. Add a little tamari/soy sauce with each new veggie to layer the flavors. Cook veggies through 7-10 minutes.

Add the tofu back to the wok and toss with veggies. Add noodles and sweet and sour sauce and toss to coat.

Top with green onions.

Enjoy.

serves 2-4

Creamy Mushroom-Barley Bisque

Another rainy Saturday afternoon here in Western Oregon. What better than a hot bowl of creamy mushroom bisque to warm us up?

It was delicious and fairly simple to make.

Looks like we're not the only ones craving something warm. This sweet doe looks very interested in our soup du jour:




Mushroom Bisque: (totally vegan - but it can obviously be made with dairy if one is so inclined)

Ingredients:
1 onion diced
4 cloves of garlic - chopped finely
3 cups of chopped mushrooms (I used cremini)
3 tablespoons of canola butter (Earth Balance is great)
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 tablespoons of whole wheat flour
2 cups of plain soy milk
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
7-8 cups of vegetable broth or water
1 cup of barley (rinsed)
1/4 cup chopped parsley (optional)
1/4 cup of sherry or Marsala (optional)
salt and pepper to taste



Instructions

Saute the onion in olive oil until translucent
Add chopped mushrooms and saute for another 2-3 minutes
Add half of the garlic - saute until mushrooms begin to sweat
Season with a pinch of salt, thyme and pepper to taste
Add barley and saute for one minute
De glaze pan with sherry at this point or simply add broth(water) and bring to a boil
Lower to a simmer, cover and simmer for 40-50 minutes to cook barley.

Meanwhile make the roux:
Melt canola butter in a small saucepan
Add remaining garlic and saute for a minute
Add flour and whisk
Cook the flour for a minute then whisk in milk
Continue to whisk as the sauce thickens (4-5 minutes)
Add salt and pepper to taste
Set thickened rue aside until needed

After 40-50 minutes the barley will have cooked and the soup will have reduced and filled the kitchen with a glorious smell
At this point lower heat and stir/whisk in the creamy rue
Adjust seasoning to taste
Top with parsley


Serve hot!

Chocolate and Hazelnuts and Bananas...oh my!

These are just a few of my favorite things:





I love this homemade "Nutella" on top of bananas. I think hazelnuts and chocolate are a divine combination. I first tried Nutella when I was a junior studying abroad in Europe. My uncle Luigi (I kid you not) had stocked up on the sweet treat a few months before when my kid brother had come to visit.

Nutella on crusty bread is a favorite of many bambini d'Italia.

And apparently 20-year-old foreign exchange students too!



Unfortunately, Nutella, like most commercial nut-butters contains a few ingredients that I am not so crazy about. Nutella contains a LOT of sugar, a LOT of modified oils and not a lot of hazelnuts (only about 13%).


So I searched the Internet for a healthy(but yummy),homemade recipe and found a great one at: Su Good Sweets. This recipe contains more nuts, less sugar and more real cocoa than the Nutella you can buy at the market. I used organic brown sugar in place of powdered sugar and it turned out great. I also used just a tablespoon of canola oil instead of the 1/4 cup of oil called for in the original recipe.

This is a truly, delicious, alternative to peanut butter and you can adjust the sweetness to your liking.

Walrus loves the roasted hazelnuts that fall to the floor when I'm rubbing the skins off.

Lucky dog.

This spread is great on pancakes, waffles, toast, in sandwiches and it is brilliant partnered with bananas.


mmm mmmm mmm.


Nutella Advert:



pretty slick.

Pantry Challenge - good chocolate on the cheap

Craving Chocolate?

I love chocolate. I will spend a bit of money to get that fancy bar of organic 70-80% cacao bar from the market each week just to have a nibble now and then.

It can add up.

Well, tonight I found a solution. I made a thick chocolate sauce/non dairy ganache from cocoa powder, sugar and Earth Balance and figure that could save a us a good 10-12 bucks a month.

It was rich and delicious and tasted just like my favorite chocolate ganache.

Why didn't I do this years ago?

Chocolate sauce on bananas is so damn good.

2 parts cocoa powder
2 tspns sugar (or sweetener of your choice)
2 tablespoons good cocoa (Dutch)
1 tablespoon canola oil or Earth Balance spread-melted

mix ingredients together to make a thick, rich sauce.
adjust to taste then dollop on a sliced banana or fruit of your choice.
top with crushed hazelnuts or walnuts.

yum.

serves two.

Bread for supper, bread for dessert!

I used the last of my whole wheat loaf for a light supper and a delicious hazelnut-chocolate spread dessert.

Supper:
Creamy Red Lentil Curry soup
Small tomato and cuke salad
slice of whole wheat




Dessert:
Homemade hazelnut-chocolate spread on toast.




Yum!

Takes me back to Uncle Luigi's :)


I'll post the recipes in a bit.

Don't Mess With Texas

Texas sure surprised them last night.

Don't mess with Texas.

And don't mess with a hungry dog:





She's not amused.

Mock Egg-Salad Sandwiches

I needed an excuse to bake some bread.

These babies hit the spot.




I followed Lee's "Tofu egg salad" recipe from the PPK website but added a tablespoon more of country Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons of chopped red onions, a tablespoon of nutritional yeast, and a handful of chopped Italian parsley for more flavor. They were delicious. Creamy and tangy with a good "egg-y" texture from the firm tofu. I was really impressed.

For the bread I followed the recipe for whole wheat bread straight off the Bob's Red Mill website. I used Bob's Organic Whole Wheat Flour and I was really pleased with the taste and crumb of these loaves. Not as sweet as my beloved honey whole wheat bread (King Arthur Recipe) but I think for savory sandwiches like this one, the honey sweetness wouldn't be right.

This bread tastes great. It tastes just the way whole-wheat sandwich bread should taste and even better slightly toasted.


Now what sandwich should I make next?

Pantry Challenge - take 2!

Yay, a challenge! I want to see how long my family of 2 plus 1(large 90 pound beast) can last with just some essential groceries and the basics in the pantry. Last month we were able to cut our 500-600 dollar a month grocery habit in half due in large part to an unexpected snow storm that trapped our car in the garage. This month I want to bring that bill down to $250 or even $200 if I can.



Just doing my part to kill the U.S. economy.

What do you expect from the daughter of an immigrant?

So, 12 days in - $95 bucks down (including dog food) we have left:

In the Fridge:

2 heads of cabbage
condiments galore
3 carrots
4 celery stocks
2 pints of yogurt
1 pint of ricotta
half a red onion
12 day old bunch of parsley
yeast
1/2 bottle of white wine
beer

In the Freezer:

2 bags of frozen broccoli
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
vodka
1 bag of frozen spinach
1 box gardenburger breakfast sausages


In the Pantry:

1 bag of dried beans
2 small bags of lentils
1 can of black beans
rice
1 box of spaghetti
canned tomatoes
oils, spices, salt and sugar
little bit of whole wheat pastry flour
honey
can of sweetened condensed milk from like 2005?
half a box of dried cereal
tea and coffee
.5 oz of dark chocolate
vinegars


I figure we could last another week, maybe even two if we tried REALLY hard. I'm going to try and push us to get through Sunday. No soy milk makes breakfast pretty tough. We ate the last of our hot cereal this morning. I'd bake us something if we had enough flour left. Breakfast sausages don't fly for Jason.

He may not make it. He needs his cereal.

"Come on man! Don't wimp out on me now!"

Lentils for breakfast, anyone?

As American as Mac and Cheese! (sans cheese)

Just in time for Presidents' Day.

I made Get Sconed's recipe for vegan Mac and Cheese but added a tablespoon of country dijon mustard for a bit more tang and used whole wheat penne. It has a great hearty flavor to it. I think this the sort of thing that I could make for "mac and cheese traditionalists" without worry. Creamy even though there's no cheese, no butter and no milk. Maybe not something to make for my Italian mother, though.

It was tasty in a burgers and fries sort of way.

Jason loved it last night. Loved it even better cold, for lunch.

Must be that nutritional yeast.

Now, I wonder if I can pull off a non-dairy version of Jason's childhood favorite, noodle casserole?

hmmm...

Valentine...

We've been vegetarians for just about 3 years now and this past year I've tried to add more vegan recipes to my repertoire. Cutting back on eggs and dairy while incorporating more vegan products (besides veggies, grains and legumes) into the mix.

It's challenging.

But fun - like a science experiment with your taste buds. Who would have thought something called nutritional yeast would finally make tofu taste good?
And vegan curries rock.

We happen to live in one of the best places in the world for vegans/vegetarians. Vegan blogs profess our big city neighbor to the north as "Vegan Mecca" for crying out loud. And we certainly have more hippies per capita than Stumptown!

Veganism aside, it's fun trying new things and even better when they turn out to be delicious.

Last night J took me out for the big V-day holiday. This is the one night a year that he gets to call the shots on dinner. It's always a surprise. I never know where or what or when.

Last night he made reservations for us at a new Vegan/French restaurant in town. A sweet little bistro style place downtown. The menu was full of some interesting vegan appetizers and entrees as well as a couple vegetarian (i.e. with cheese) options. Sticking to the spirit of the evening, we ordered all vegan:

sesame crusted mushrooms
mixed greens salad with walnuts
french lentil filo stack with cashew creme sauce
black bean empanadas


Well, the food was so-so. Appetizers good - entrees mediocre. But I don't think it is because the food was vegan. I think the flavors just didn't meld well. The chef was bold with his choices and I applaud that. But bold doesn't always mean good.

One thing I love about some of the better restaurants in town is that I often come home and try to make a few of the dishes myself - and I usually make them a bit healthier.

Not after last night.

We came home and raided the pantry for my chocolate chip banana muffins :)

Sweets for the sweet

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins







Nancy Silverton's Cake Donut(holes)




Banana chocolate-chip muffins

I made these for me. In my humble opinion, chocolate and banana is a match made in taste-bud heaven. I used a 3 oz dark chocolate - 80% cacao bar chopped up into little bite sized bits of goodness. I made this with whole wheat pastry flour, a cup of Nancy's non-fat yogurt, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, canola oil, one egg and a cup of mashed bananas.

They are great warm (with the dark chocolate oozing out) or cold.


Classic buttermilk cake donut-holes

These little guys were for Jason. Fried little vittles topped with cinnamon and sugar - nuff said.

I picked up Nancy Silverton's: Pastries From the La Brea Bakery from the library this weekend.

Foolish, foolish girl.

How can I stick to my healthy salad and veggie plan with this book in the house? I swear everything in this book calls for at least 2-3 sticks of butter. Believe it or not her cake donut recipe was one of the healthiest recipes in the book. I adapted the recipe a bit and made only half the recipe and I made little holes instead of the proper donuts out of shear laziness. I also used yogurt in place of buttermilk.

They came out perfectly - light and crunchy with just a hint of nutmeg and that divine cinnamon smell throughout the house.

Best donut recipe I have made, yet.

Nancy Silverton made Julia Child cry in pleasure. You will too if you make these donuts.

"A Triumph!"

Spinach Power Salad!

Okay, after a beer and chocolate post I thought it would be appropriate to post a healthy vitamin packed recipe. It isn't quite salad season, but who cares? It's the Chinese New Year and temple food (as Ms. Lawson likes to call it) is called for. Here goes:

Super Spinach Power Salad
serves one

Baby Spinach - 1-2 cups
Napa Cabbage - 1/2 cup cupped
Romaine - 1/2 cup chopped
Roma Tomato -1 chopped
Onion- 1/4 small red diced
Olive oil/brown rice vinegar (just a teaspoon or so of each) with salt and pepper to taste

Chickpea Fritters (Mark Bittman's falafel recipe again!- chickpeas, onion, garlic, parsley, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, lemon juice, baking powder)


Take that Dr. Oz!

I had this with a yummy soy-blueberry-banana smoothie. I'm on vitamin overload right now. Ready to do anything :)

Chocolate Porter Cupcakes

These are an adaptation of an adaptation.


I recently came across everybody likes sandwiches blog on red ale and chocolate cake which is an adaptation of Nigella Lawson's Guinness Chocolate Cake.


I didn't have Guinness or red ale in the house - but I did have the happy medium: Porter! And not just any porter, but Oregon's own Deschutes Brewery's Black Butte Porter. I had to try it out. Tis the season for chocolate, as you know.


Cupcakes are a lot more fun than cake and bake more quickly - which I find is crucial with a sudden chocolate craving.

"Must have chocolate, now!"


Basically I stuck to the Nigella recipe just subbed the porter for the Guinness. I also skipped on the frosting since we didn't have any cream cheese in the house. But I will definitely try these again with the frosting. These little guys were delicious on their own, but they could use a bit of sweet, dense cream on top. Just like a good pint.

Yummy and moist with a great tangy twist.


Pair with a game of Scrabble and your best buddy ;)

Pantry Challenge

Have you come across these Pantry Challenges online? It sounds like an awesome idea to me; try to survive for as long as you can on just what you have left in the pantry.

I suppose it depends a lot on the size of your pantry. I've checked out a few pictures of these pantries from folks who have lasted a long time. These pantries are stocked with enough food to make it through a good 6 months! We're talking HUUUUUUUUGE. So it isn't exacly what I would call an equal opportunity challenge.

Our pantry is one top cabinet in our galley kitchen. Modest to say the least. But it does the job.


However, we inadvertently entered a pantry challenge of our own when the snow fell and completely blocked our driveway this last week. Being wimpy west-coasters we were not prepared for that much snow! Also, big J busted a window in the car that we had recently equipped with studded tires. So we were stuck.

We could walk to the main places we needed to get to during the week, but we couldn't get to a proper market and back with all the weekly groceries in the snow.(I can just picture us hiking up the hills in the slushy snow with our stolen grocery cart!)

So we were forced to make it through the week on just the leftovers in the pantry. I was pretty impressed with the outcome. Breakfast was interesting since we were out of cereal and milk and it turns out J isn't a fan of old-fashioned oats. But he toughed it out. We drank Tetley tea in the mornings since we were out of coffee by Monday and I had to soak a ton of dried beans for pantry soups and improvised supers.

But we did great!

I'll bet we could make it another week or so. But I need me some coffee!

I think we'll do a proper pantry challenge after we restock the anemic pantry with some of the basics like yeast and sugar, canned tomatoes and the aforementioned heavenly brew.


We'll be living it up pioneer-style!


Well, pioneers with in-door plumbing and heating, spendy dog food, and organic dark roast of course!

The Best Falafel Salad, Ever!

It is snowing outside.

But inside it is as warm as an Israeli summer.

This was a delicious lunch and perfect on a snow-day like today. I have tried three different falafel recipes in the last month or so and this one was by far the best.

I followed Mark Bittmann's recipe from his New York Times' podcast : Chickpeas in Love: The Minimalist Makes Falafel

They came out perfectly: Light, crunchy and filling. We had them on top of a basic Greek salad.

Delish!

This is my new favorite vegetarian salad. The falafels are packed with protein and plenty of flavor. They were so much easier to make than the other recipes I have tried . There is no flour or oil or egg. So they are good for you too! Just chickpeas, onion, garlic, herbs and spices.

Writing about them is making me hungry again. They're THAT good.

My Roots Are Showing

Italian and Norwegian comfort food:


Spinach-Ricotta Penne



Mushroom and Shallot Spaghetti



Norwegian Cinnamon Buns (Modified Nigella Lawson Recipe)



It has been freezing cold here in Eugene, Oregon for the last week or so.

Sunny and cold.

Warm, comforting, and homey food has been in order. The Italian food was a given, but I also have some strong Scandinavian ties too. So I tried Nigella's Norwegian Cinnamon Buns. Our tummies were very satisfied.

Walrus, J and I took advantage of all this sunshine we've been getting here in rain-central by getting out and soaking in the rays. There are quite a few nature trails up here in the hills and it fun to get all bundled up and head out for a hike. A trace of snow fell Thursday evening as we walked...now that's a perfect winter day!



Spinach-Ricotta Penne
serves 4-6

1 lb box of whole-wheat penne
1 large(12 oz or so) bag of fresh spinach
3 cloves of garlic - finely diced
1 tablespoon of Earth Balance Butter substitute (or reg. butter)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups of whole milk Ricotta
1/4 cup chopped fresh Parsley
1/4 teas spoon fresh grated nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in olive oil
Add garlic and saute for a minute to soften
Add spinach and saute( this is a lot of spinach so add a third at a time and saute with garlic to wilt spinach down)
Add salt and pepper to season ( I like about 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of salt)
Cook pasta for 10 minutes or so(just a bit under required -you will continue to cook pasta with the spinach mixture)
Add pasta to cooked spinach to coat
Add ricotta and nutmeg - blend as it melts into the pasta
Sprinkle on chopped parsley

Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Enjoy!!

Enough with the pasta, already!

More lazy lady's food.





sorry.

I find that I get into funks with food. I'll be creative and adventurous for a couple of weeks and then, (in Brooklynese)"Forget about it!" I'll throw together a simple pasta with tomatoes and whatever is left in the pantry for a sure thing. Simple and tasty is all I ask.I could eat this same meal for a week and so could my old man. Actually he could eat the same thing for a month as long as it's tasty and prepared by someone else.

Obviously I'm in a post-flu funk right now and all I want is pasta.

Can't say how long this will last, but at least another 3-5 days for sure.

Who knows? Does this happen to you?


What food(s) do you turn to when you get in a funk?

Pantry Pasta:

1 box of whole wheat spaghetti
12 oz chopped tomatoes
half a yellow onion chopped
2 tablespoons of olive oil
7 chopped kalamata olives
3 cloves of garlic minced
half a bag of fresh spinach
cooked and rinsed can of canellini beans
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
a nice shaving of Parmesan cheese on top.


You could throw in more beans or some artichoke hearts if you have them around. Anything that is in your pantry that satisfies your comfort zone will do.

Serves 5-6


Drink with whatever you like.

Top Five Foods To Eat When You're Too Sick To Cook:

by Eggs McGeez

1. Pizza

Any kind that suits your fancy. That's right, top yours with tuna and sweet corn, Mr. British Isles! Whatever floats your boat. Pizza has healing properties whatever the topping.

Athough, I do believe the classic Margheretta does have the most effective fever-reducing powers; thin crust, light sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil with a light drizzle of the best extra virgin olive oil.

mmmmmmmm...

Have husband-unit pick it up from local restaurant and clean up that drool, Missy!

2. Pasta

This can be any type of pasta and any sauce combo. It must, however, be one of your favorite combos. This is key.

Husband-unit SHOULD be able to put this together with minimal intervention. Here's what J did last night:


not bad, huh?


3. Chinese Take-Out

This does require a GOOD Chinese restaurant within 10 miles. Have husband-unit pick up the massive assortment of goodies you ordered at the peak of your fever.

move! move! get on it man!

4. Matzoh Ball soup and Chocolate Chip Danishes (or Rugelach).

I know I am getting a bit specific here, but the combination is essential.
Yes, this does require that you live in Los Angeles or New York as I have yet to find a really good deli elsewhere...so we're screwed.

Move on to #5

5. Doughnuts or Cake, or both

Do NOT have husband attempt to make these. These require a skilled hand. Send husband-unit to fancy bakery downtown to pick up said items.



Call me in the morning.


runners-up:

-toasted "everything" bagel with a schmear of cream cheese, sliced tomato and sprinkle of kosher salt.
-pad thai with your choice of protein from that rocking thai restaurant on 7th.
-burgers on toasted buns with the works (again, your choice of "protein")
-anything but plain old soup please.