Caldo Verde with Crumbled Tempeh

I have been cooking up a storm lately, just not blogging much. I have decided that to catch up, each time I post something new, I need to also post something old!

John picked this recipe from the Appetite for Reduction cookbook. I am not a huge fan of tempeh but was excited that he was helping out with meal planning!

It turned out so good. I was not sure what to expect, but it is a soup (I now know that Caldo Verde means green soup!) that is spicy and tangy and really filling. It consists of onion and garlic, fennel, thyme and red pepper flakes, along with veggie broth, potatoes and kale (recipe calls for chard). The tempeh is boiled to remove the bitterness and flavored with lemon and tamari.

I did skip the step at the end where you are supposed to puree half the soup for a more creamy consistency. I just did not have the motivation to get the blender out and then have to wash it. Regardless, this soup is fantastic.

Caesar Salad with Eggplant Bacon

This eggplant bacon is definitely something to write home about.

The salad consists of lettuce and a Caesar Chavez Dressing (shallots, cashews, tahini, miso, lemon juice, dijon, capers, water, salt and pepper blended) from the Appetite for Reduction cookbook.  Here is the recipe for the dressing.

The eggplant bacon is very simple (but burns easily and is then disastrous!) and includes only 3 ingredients: eggplant, soy sauce and liquid smoke. The eggplant is sliced, roasted for 8 minutes, flipped, roasted again for 3 minutes, then cooled. After it is cooled, it is dipped in the soy/liquid smoke mixture, roasted for 3 more minutes and ready to eat!

Broccoli Bistro Soup

A super fast, delicious soup recipe. Rosemary and parsnips really make it pop. Here is the recipe from the Appetite for Reduction cookbook.  I sprinkled toasted pine nuts on top.

Manhattan Glam Chowder with Tomato-Parmesan Crackers

This recipe has been on my mind since I bought the Appetite for Reduction cookbook. I have never in my life eaten clam chowder so it isn't because I miss the 'real thing'. For some reason, it just appealed to me.

I did learn that Manhattan Clam Chowder is tomato based and New England is the creamy version. I am definitely a fan of a thin, veggie flavor over a heavy creamy one.

The soup was great, the texture was fun (the 'clams' are chewy shitake mushrooms and the 'ocean' flavor comes from nori sheets!) and the crackers added a nice crunch. I followed this recipe but used 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 cup fine corn meal. I added dried tomato flakes and sesame parmesan to the mix.

On the side, mixed greens, sunflower seeds, marinated red peppers, garlic and olives, and the leftover roasted veggies and chickpeas from dinner a few nights ago. 

Veggie Potpie Stew

From Appetite for Reduction, John made this for dinner and said it took exactly one hour to prepare, as the recipe states. It was really good; it tasted exactly like what I would expect a potpie to taste like! But, I have to be honest, I did miss the crust. We had bread on the side, but it just wasn't quite the same! Here is the recipe.

Pumpkin Soup, Salad, Veggies and Cobbler

Pumpkin Soup
Even though fall is over and spring is finally here, I can't stop buying the little organic pumpkins that I keep finding in little shops around town.  I made a few alterations to this recipe including: carrot instead of apple/pear and oat milk instead of soy/almond. We sprinkled spicy paprika and cilantro on top. The soup went really well with these Bread Sticks. They are quick, versatile, and have a great texture.

From the Vegan Italiano cookbook,  I also made Asparagus with Tomato Vinaigrette. It sat in the fridge overnight and was very marinated by the time we ate it. It was served at room temp.

I am really in love with this recipe for Roasted Eggplant. It is so fast and tastes really good!

I have made this salad before. In my opinion, it is the perfect combo of flavors: pasta, white beans, sundried tomatoes, fennel, olives, and more. Trattoria Pasta Salad with White Beans.

And, for dessert. Pear Berry Cobbler. This recipe is officially in my permanent mix now! 

Two dinners from my cast iron skillet

Last week, I made dinner two nights in my cast iron skillet and both turned out quick and delicious.

First, Sicilian Skillet Pasta Pie from Vegan Italiano. Here is the recipe. I did make a few adjustments. Because I was out of olives, I made a batch of seitan chorizo crumbles. Also, I did not have spaghetti noodles so instead I used elbow macaroni. The pieces, obviously, did not 'slice' as the recipe says they should. We spooned portions out and devoured them!

We also shredded a bit of Mozzarella Sheese on top of the monster portions.

Second, Tempeh Helper from Appetite for Reduction. Because I have never eaten real Hamburger Helper, I can't really say whether it is comparable or not. But, it was really good.  I do think I added a bit too much seasoning to my cheezy sauce because it was quite salty and a little overpowering. Here is the recipe. 

Anniversary Dinner!

John and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary with this lovely dinner. I did most of the prep work the day before (Sunday) so I could have it on the table at a decent dinner time (Monday). The meal included:

Cashew Nut Loaf stuffed with Garlic and Mushrooms
Silky Chickpea Gravy
Butternut Coconut Rice
Green Beans with Truffle Oil and Sea Salt
Lemon Macadamia Nut Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream Frosting

So, the loaf is excellent. My mother-in-law made if for Christmas dinner last year and John specifically requested it for this meal. Instead of making a stuffing (an option in the recipe), there is a layer of sauteed garlic and mushrooms in the middle (assembly process shown below). I have always shied away from nut loafs because of a previous, bad experience. Fortunately, this one has turned me back on to the concept.

I used a combo of almonds, pecans, and cashews. For the bread crumbs, I used a combo of panko and crushed spelt crackers (I didn't realize that I didn't have enough crumbs until it was too late to go buy more! But, it worked out very well.)

The gravy is rich and thick and salty and sage-flavored. It went nicely with the loaf.

I do not have a link to the Butternut Coconut Rice, which is a complete shame because it was the highlight of the meal! I am not a huge fan of rice, but I will make this recipe any and every time I can find a butternut squash at the grocery store! It is a combo of garlic and ginger along with sesame oil, shallot, lime, red pepper flakes, and topped off with creamy coconut milk. We also sprinkled toasted coconut on top. It is addictive stuff! And even better, the recipe is from Appetite for Reduction.

The green beans were sauteed in a touch of truffle oil and sea salt.

And finally, the dessert! I bought new cupcake liners (silicon) and was really excited to try them out. They worked very nicely, left no paper waste, released the cupcakes very easily and in perfect shape, and were easy to clean.

The recipe is from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. The cupcakes are tangy and fruity while the macadamia nuts are crunchy and delicious! I did substitute almond meal for the macadamia nut meal and, in the frosting, coconut oil instead of shortening.

We also had Tofutti Strawberry flavored icecream. Unfortunately, we were very disappointed. The flavor was so bad we are considering writing the company. John even suggested that we somehow got a 'bad batch' because of how awful it tastes. It is reminds me of some horrible chemical strawberry flavoring. It is organic and I am usually not disappointed with the brand (LOVE the icecream sandwiches). But, in this case, we will never buy this product again!  

Pad Thai Salad with Peanut-Lime Dragon Dressing

I strongly believe this salad recipe has potential, but I ruined this potential with bad lettuce and too much hot sauce! First, the lettuce I bought was extremely tough. It was organic romaine but has the consistency of cabbage (for the white part) and kale (for the green). Not appetizing!

The dressing was delicious before I discovered my bottle of Sriracha had a little blockage, which quickly became unblocked when I applied a little pressure. The result was about 4 times the amount I can stand! Even John was struggling with it.

We had spring rolls on the side (not pictured) and they helped immensely by offering a bit of cool relief.  

The recipe is from Appetite for Reduction.

Hoison-Mustard Tofu with Unfried Fried Rice

The original recipe for the tofu includes lettuce wraps. That would have been delicious, but we did not have the right lettuce. So, we just served it alongside the rice and were very happy!

Both recipes are from Appetite for Reduction (my other cookbooks have been getting dusty lately!)

The recipe for the tofu is here. I bought a huge jar of hoisin sauce from the Asian market a few weeks ago, so fortunately we really enjoy the flavor!

The Unfried Fried rice is nothing really special, just rice cooked with sesame oil, shallot, garlic, ginger, soy and green onion. We added carrot and snow peas.

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans & Toasted Cumin Seeds

I have made almost half of the salads in Appetite for Reduction. This was good but not my favorite. I had such high expectations for the flavor of toasted cumin seeds. The book says they taste smoky, but I did not get that effect.

At any rate, it was an extremely quick recipe that includes quinoa, toasted cumin seeds, tomatoes, lime juice, agave, black beans, scallions, and mixed greens.

I also made Chickpea cutlets :-)

Trattoria Pasta Salad with White Beans

The salads alone make the cookbook Appetite for Reduction worth the purchase. Everything else is great also, but the salads...yum! They are meals. They do not leave you with the feeling, "All I had for dinner was salad..."

Pasta, northern white beans, arugula, red onion, roasted red pepper, kalamata olives, pepper and a Sun-dried Tomato-Walnut dressing make this meal complete.

The dressing blends the flavors of sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, fennel seeds, shallots, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and marjarom.

Catalan Couscous Salad with Pears

John made this salad, from Appetite for Reduction, for dinner one night and it was delicious and filling. The basics include spinach topped with whole wheat couscous, toasted almonds, pear slices, and Romesco dressing.

The dressing is oil-free and addicting! It consists of almonds, shallots, roasted red peppers, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, agave, salt, pepper, and water.

The salad takes very little time to put together and has the combo of sweet (pears) and savory (dressing).

Brussels Sprout-Potato Hash with Silky Chickpea Gravy

Wow. I haven't blogged for a long time! Life has been, as always, busy. We moved into a different apartment in Aarhus, Denmark. Both John and I have permanent contracts here now, and we are settling in to stay for more than 8 months!

For the first time in 2 years, we are in an unfurnished apartment (we were previously in furnished, company housing), meaning we had to buy all new stuff. I was able to pick up some really fun kitchen items. Although I do miss my old stuff (it is still in storage in Portland, Oregon), I am adjusting nicely.

I have actually cooked a lot in the past month, but many of the things I made have already been posted, or the cameral was packed, or I forgot, or I was lazy!

This meal was one of my favorites for a variety of reasons. 1) John did the cooking AND cleaning! 2) Brussels are my fav. 3) Silky Chickpea Gravy...no more words needed.

The recipes are from Appetite for Reduction.

Here is a recipe for the gravy. Also included in this link is a recipe for Caulipots from the same cookbook. I have not tried them yet!

Here is the recipe for the hash. The flavors of garlic, thyme, and lemon are fantastic.

Polenta Stuffing

This is definitely on the menu for Thanksgiving this year! It is from Appetite for Reduction and is really good. Polenta is cooked and cooled flat so that it can be cut into squares. It is then cooked with an onion, celery, garlic, sage, thyme, salt and pepper. It tastes so much like the traditional stuffing my mom used to make!

Herb-Roasted Cauliflower & Bread Crumbs with Salad

Continuing on with our salad kick...The cauliflower is chopped, coated with seasonings and bread crumbs, and then baked. The recipe is from Appetite for Reduction and in the recipe it suggests tossing the cauliflower into a salad. To the lettuce I added red pepper, zucchini, carrot shavings, and pumpkin seeds. The dressing is the following added to a blender and blended until smooth: a shallot, red wine, agave, olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. The salad reminded me of  a healthier version of panzanella because of the breadcrumbs on the cauliflower.

Braised Cabbage with Seitan

John bought a huge head of cabbage that we have been slowly working our way through, we had leftover seitan from a stew recipe earlier in the week and leftover brown rice. So, this came together really quickly. We were out of garlic so I sprinkled garlic powder and onion soup in for flavor. The recipe is from Appetite for Reduction (Big suprise! I have been making something from it almost everyday since I brought it home).

Portobello Pepper Steak Stew

I am working my way through the recipes in Appetite for Reduction and have not been disappointed with one so far. I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants more veggies in their diet, no (or less depending on who you are!) meat, and lots of low-fat nutrition.

As for this recipe, it will be made again...many times! We dumped the stew over crusty ciabatta rolls. The flavor of red wine, fennel seeds, and portobello mushrooms was mouthwatering.

Garlicky Mushrooms and Kale with Chili-Lime Rubbed Tofu

The tofu was great. The concept of "rubbing" the spices on saves the time of marinating. The mushrooms and kale were very tastey also. Both recipes are from Appetite for Reduction and there is a nutritional bit about kale that states it provides around 10% of our daily requirement in one cup. Because kale shrinks down so much, it is easy to eat 4 or 5 cups in a meal.

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with Grilled Tofu

So. Good. Another score from Appetite for Reduction. The salad is topped with a Peanut-Mint Gremolata that is heavenly. The dressing is sweet and spicy with soy and lime flavors. A combination of tofu, lettuce, vermicelli noodles, veggies, and mint made this salad such a satisfying meal.