Lentil & Tomato Soup with Escarole, Macaroni & Squash and a “Vegetarian Feast”

Busy weekend. Yesterday I made two fast dishes (one for lunch) and tonight an easy right-into-the-oven Tofurkey “Vegetarian Feast”. Reviews were mixed.

Lentil and Tomato Soup with Escarole from Jack Bishop’s The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook was a hit with the kids and Mom and Dad. I even used a can of lentils instead of dried beans as the recipe instructed, so it was fast too. I couldn’t find organic dried lentils at the store this week, so I bought a can of Westbrae Natural Organic Lentils to substitute. I reduced the water in the soup by 3 cups to compensate, but then ended up adding back another cup or so because it got too crowded in the pot.

I will definitely make this one again, with or without the dried lentils. It made a fast Saturday lunch.

For dinner I had half a butternut squash left from the soup I made last week. When I was flipping through Ken Haedrich’s Feeding the Vegetarian Family I came across Karen’s Macaroni and Squash, basically a vegan version of Mac and Cheese using squash for the sauce. When I read a recipe that I already happen to have all the ingredients for, I take it as a sign that I should make it.

Well, some signs should be ignored, I guess. I loved it, but I was the only one! I’m probably going to pawn some off on my mom tomorrow, or else I’ll be eating it all week. Freddie has issues with sweet flavors being in normally savory dishes. He loves mac and cheese and as I brought it to the table he said,”We’re having macaroni and cheese for dinner?!” He was psyched. The revelation that the cheese was actually butternut squash was truly a disappointment for him. I told him to salt and pepper it up, but it didn’t help. (He ate leftover enchiladas from the night before for dinner.) The girls didn’t care what was in it, but they didn’t really like it.

Oh well. I may try it again one day when Freddie is not home, because I think the girls should like it and I am stubborn that way. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy it. Thank you, Karen for letting your husband put this recipe in his cookbook. That was very nice of you.

Tonight, after an afternoon of leaf raking and bagging I cooked up a Tofurkey “Vegetarian Feast”. It is super easy. Basically after defrosting the Tofurkey roast, complete with stuffing, you surround it with onions, carrots and potatoes and baste it in olive oil, soy sauce and sage. It needs to be defrosted 24 hours before, so it needs some preplanning. It cooks for nearly an hour and a half, but takes only about 10 minutes of prep. Only change I would make next time (there will be a next time!) is to double the amount of veggies. I went with what it said on the box, but I could have easily put in two onions, four carrots and six potatoes.

I cooked the whole feast in my Le Creuset round Dutch Oven, with the lid on until the last 10 minutes. It worked perfectly. Warmed the gravy in a saucepan and boiled the apple-cranberry dumplings before briefly sauteeing them in oil before serving per the directions. Everyone liked the gravy, but no one was too excited about the dumplings.

One last note, my kids shared the “jerky” wishbone that’s included in the box. I was sort of shocked to discovered they liked it!

Friday Night Vegetable Enchiladas

I turned to reliable Ken Haedrich once again tonight and tried his recipe for Enchiladas with Corn and Fresh Vegetables made with his Red Chili Sauce, both from Feeding the Healthy Vegetarian Family. I had never made it before and I guess it’s embarrassing to admit, I usually just use jarred salsa or enchilada sauce when I’ve made enchiladas. These, however, were much better!

I made the sauce per the recipe (which was easy and fast) and just made a couple changes in the enchilada filling by skipping the celery, decreasing the parsley (because the girls are turned off by greens) and adding about half of a 15 oz. can of black beans. Because the enchiladas were our entire dinner, I wanted to add the beans to make sure they were filling and provided protein. Think I succeeded on both accounts, and everyone ate them. Freddie ate two whole servings and gave it 4.25 stars. I did serve them with some low-fat sour cream because 1) we like it and 2) the girls eat anything with sour cream on it. Anyway, good yummy dinner and less than half hour of prep time, which is a definite plus.

Ken recommended softening the corn tortillas in oil and, well, I just couldn’t bring myself to do that. I just softened them in the warm chili sauce and this worked reasonably well, as he suggested as an alternative. Next time I may trying steaming them. I did not get the enchiladas wrapped up super tightly, but they did not fall apart, so it worked.  Also had that extra volume of the beans in there.

Today was the day I did my approximately-once-a-week menu planning and grocery list. Most times I really enjoy this task and today was one of those times. The little one was sleeping and my big girl was painting at the table as I chose recipes and thought about what we’d have over the next week or so for dinner. Made a list of a nice variety of dishes and we’ll just see how many of them I can make in the coming week. One or two usually fall through the cracks as the week progresses, but I love being able to just glance at the list each night, choose something and make it. Weeks I don’t do this, I’m completely lost at 5pm every night!

In the fall/winter time a typical weekly list looks something like this:

1 or 2 soups

muffins or a quick bread

1 dessert

1 pasta dish

1 tofu-based dish

1 rice dish

1 casserole

1 super quick dinner

salad that works for a couple nights

At least that is what I think it is. After I write these lists, I cross out each recipe as I make it during the week and throw the paper away at the end of the week, so I have no record of what I’ve made. This is one reason I am doing this blog! Maybe after a few months I’ll check back on this and see how accurate this is.

 

Butternut Squash Soup and a hummus discussion

I used Jack Bishop’s The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook again today and made the Butternut Squash Soup with Parmesan and Sage. I just left out the parm and sage. Honestly, the two fresh sage leaves in each bowl would freak out my preschooler who doesn’t like anything that looks like lettuce (this includes anything from parsley to seaweed). I bought them, but then was in such a rush to get the food on the table I skipped the sage and forgot the parm. After I tasted the soup I remember the parm, but really didn’t feel it would taste right with it.  For some reason the soup was very sweet, even more than I expected. Sweet soup with salty cheese sounded kinda a gross to me, like those cheddar-mints Angelina Ballerina’s friend Alice is always buying. Despite the sweetness, neither of the girls loved it. The little one ate a little, but the preschooler had just one spoonful. We have some leftover, so I will try it with the sage and parm tomorrow for lunch. I’m skeptical though.

To go with the soup and cheese and crackers I planned to serve, I made one of my favorite hummus recipes, Green Onion Hummus with Lime from one of my most reliable cookbooks, Robin Robertson’s Quick Fix Vegetarian. It wasn’t until after I bought this cookbook that I realized it is actually a vegan cookbook, but it really doesn’t matter. There are at least a dozen recipes in there that have become staples for us and very few that have been duds. The only things I change in the hummus recipe are as follows: 1) Always double it (because it is so good). 2) Double the amount of green onions on top of that. 3) Add more than the 1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper recommended. I have also tried this recipe substituting olives and lemon juice for the scallions and lime juice.

I am all for easy meals (why else would I buy a cookbook with such a name), but there are some things I think are worth a wee bit of effort. Hummus is one of them. After all, you could easily buy hummus at the grocery store. But taking the ten minutes required to make hummus is so worth it. Homemade hummus and prepackaged hummus are like two completely different foods! And homemade it so much better. One reason is, I think hummus tastes best at room temperature. As soon as you make it, it is so creamy and perfect. After you refrigerate it and let it sit awhile, it does get more flavorful, but it loses something too. It’s less creamy I think. And it doesn’t taste as good cold.

 

This week’s meals

Sunday – I like to make dinner in the middle of the day sometimes on the weekend. So when the kids napped at 1pm Sunday, I got busy in the kitchen. Baked up some frozen stuffed shells with red sauce and parmesan reggiano (which is more about assembling than cooking — not that there is anything wrong with that!). Also used a recipe for Kale and Red Potato Soup with Garlic-Rubbed Croutons from The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook by Jack Bishop. The night before I’d had a frustrating time at the grocery store.  (Sometimes I do shop at night, though usually not Saturday, but when the kids are home sleeping and they are pumping the soft rock as I cruise the aisles, I find it a nearly spa-like experience. I can’t be the only one.) Anyway, I could not find organic kale, so I bought swiss chard and, strangely, I found organic seasoned croutons when I could not find any decent organic bread to make croutons. So I made the soup with what I could get. The color was very green and sort of scared the kids, but the croutons encouraged them to eat a little at least before going nuts on the stuffed shells, which I knew would be a home run. Freddie loved the soup. He’s on a big soup kick. I liked it, but think next time I’ll try it with the kale.

Monday -Because of the above mentioned frustrating grocery store experience, I had to go to another store today because I was out of toasted sesame oil and I wanted to make Asian Tofu Cakes from The New Vegetarian Times Cookbook. I vaguely remembered making them before, but there was no notation in the book. Normally, the first time I make a recipe I write the date in the cookbook and comments. I ask Freddie to rate it on a scale of 1 to 5 stars and put that down too. So this time I was going to record it. The cakes came together easily, though I used less egg whites and more whole wheat flour then the recipe said. I also put the shredded carrots in the cakes instead of using them as garnish, which turned out to be a happy accident and one I will repeat on purpose next time. The kids would not even try them (even though I called them asian veggie burgers), but they were so good Freddie and I ate all 4 servings between the two of us. We let the kids eat all the jasmine rice I made on the side and we just went to town on those yummies. They were so easy I’d be tempted to make them again just for us when the kids have something else. We rated it 4.5 stars.

Tuesday – Tried making my first ever risotto! Used a recipe from The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook by Jack Bishop for Risotto with Porcini Mushrooms. Also made his Fennel and Orange Salad. As luck would have it, Freddie had a friend visiting who is practically a risotto making expert! He helped me to properly draw the starch out of the lovely arborio by adding boiling water in small amounts, instead of the warm water I was using.  I was so happy for his help I did not even mind too much that he kept taste testing the risotto with the same spoon (rinsed under the faucet, is this hygenic?). Anyway, it was YUMMY. Strangely the girls would not really eat it, which I found quite confounding. Surprisingly, they did eat the salad, mostly because they both love oranges and olives. Sadly, both because the kids didn’t eat it and it took nearly an hour at the stove, I probably won’t be making this risotto again soon.

Today (Wednesday) – Oh Ken Haedrich, why can’t you be my neighbor? I would invite you to a potluck supper in a second! Feeding the Healthy Vegetarian Family is one of my favorite cookbooks — and most successful with the kiddos. Given the name of the cookbook, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised. Anyway, tonight I made Ken’s Artichoke, Pepper and Olive Frittata with Mediterranean Relish. Oh my gosh, it was so awesome! Freddie gave it 4.9 stars out of 5 (his highest rating, because he does not give out 5s). And yes, the kids did eat it. I left the feta cheese out of their portion because they don’t like it and they did well, at least until they got distracted by consuming the insides of slices of baguette I served with it. We will definitely try this one again. Think it would make a great entree for a brunch even, sort of fancy and pretty looking.

This afternoon I also made an Orange Cranberry Bundt Cake by modifying a recipe from another of my fave cookbooks, The Joy of Vegan Baking. Perhaps someone will recognize the irony is serving a vegan cake after an egg frittata, but I am just reporting the facts of the dinner. Sometimes I cook vegetarian and bake vegan. Sometimes I cook vegan and bake vegetarian. Anyway, I used Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s recipe for Blueberry Orange Bundt Cake, but substituted fresh cranberries for the blueberries because, hello, it’s fall and I LOVE cranberries. I also took a risk and doubled the recipe because my bundt pan is large (and I wanted a big cake, let’s be honest). I’d made the recipe before, and as my daughter would say, her bundt recipe is toddler-sized. We wanted a grown up size cake, and boy did we get it! I have enough to share for sure. If you have even the tiniest interest in vegan baking, this cookbook is a must have. Even if you don’t and you just love yummy baked goods, you should get it! Colleen, you can come to my house for potluck anytime too. Just bring dessert!

That’s our dinners for the week so far… Right now I am watching the CMAs and I really wishing I had legs like Carrie Underwood. Maybe I should stop each the kids’ Halloween candy.

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

A few weeks ago I made pumpkin soup just to use up some fresh pumpkin I had leftover from another recipe. We all loved it. Rather than taking the extra step of roasting the pumpkin in the oven first, I skipped right to the soup pot, and nobody even missed it. Plus it was one less pan to clean up, which I love.

Today I tried to recreate it — and succeeded. Yeah! I wrote it down this time, so here it is… We’ll definitely be having this again. I served it with a mixed green salad and one of a vegetarian mom’s best friends — Quorn Chick Nuggets and ketchup for the kiddos (okay, we sneaked a few too).

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

2 Tbsp salted butter

2 C. chopped onions

2 cloves garlic

6 C. cubed fresh pumpkin

4 C. vegetable broth

2 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 C. skim or plain soy milk

chopped apples or toasted pumpkin seeds for garnish (optional)

Directions

1) Melt the butter in the soup pot. Add the onions and garlic and cook until translucent and fragrant.

2) Add the pumpkin and spices. Cook ten minutes, stirring periodically.

3) Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil before lowering heat. Cook until pumpkin is tender, about 10 minutes. (At this point you can turn off the heat and leave soup on stove until you are about ready to serve it.)

4) Puree the soup in a blender and return to the soup pot. Add the milk and heat to desired temperature, but don’t boil.

The kids like this garnished with chopped apples (about a 1/4 cup of 1/3″ cubes). They help to cut down the spiciness. I like it with toasted pumpkin seeds. You can do either, both, or neither!

Serves 4-6

my bowl garnished with pumpkin seeds

passed the taste test!

Easy Dinner Solution for a Tired Mom

Now I didn’t say that I cook every night, did I?

My husband and I spent the night in the city last night while Grandma watched the kids at our house. It’d been nearly two YEARS since we’d gone away together for a night and so, yes, we enjoyed it! But today everybody was tired and I needed a easy fix for dinner.  The solution: curry sauce from the pantry, veggies, tofu and rice. I put some jasmine rice on the stove top to cook and got out my wok and steamer.

On days like this I use what’s on hand. So I grabbed four carrots and a bunch of broccoli.  Peeled and sliced the carrots on a diagonal and cut the broccoli into appealingly sized florets. Steamed the veggies while the rice cooked. Basic stuff. Dare I say, boring?

That’s where the jarred curry sauce came in. Today I grabbed a jar of Patak’s Mild Curry Sauce, which has a nice short list of pronounceable ingredients and contains no animal products. The jar says to use a pound of chicken to feed 3-4 people. I subbed the veggies mentioned and a 14 oz. package of extra firm tofu.  After draining the tofu, I wrapped it in a clean kitchen towel and compressed it gently to release most of the liquid.  Then I cut it into 1″ cubes and pan fried them in a little oil in the wok until those cute little cubes were golden and crisped. When they were done, I dumped them out onto a paper towel lined plate.

Now, because I have young children who don’t always like foods mixed together (though sometimes they surprise me), this is where I put some of each of the dish’s elements on those great divided plates they make for the kids. They each got a good sized drop of curry sauce in one corner too. My kids often like dipping their food and keeping the sauce separate saves the meal from complete disaster if they decide today is a “no sauce” day, or they don’t like this particular one (even if they did last time).

For my husband and myself, I put the veggies, the tofu and the curry sauce all in the wok and heated the mixture through.  Served it on top of the rice in a nice open mouthed bowl with a piece of naan. Done.

Trick or Treat: Halloween Menu 2009

We had a full house for dinner and trick or treating last night: seven adults and six kids under the age of ten. (Plus one baby!) We vegetarians were outnumbered so I had to appeal to everybody.

It starts to get dark by 5:30 here and since by then the kids have been waiting ten hours to hit the streets (not literally) for candy, we do trick or treating before dinner.  The trick is getting them to eat dinner when they get home, before diving into their candy bags. We were mostly successful with the kids last night — and got thumbs up from all the grown ups too, both veg and non-veg alike.

I found the inspiration for last night’s entree online at Martha Stewart. She called it Baked Rigaboney. I made some changes to vegetarian-ize the recipe and make it a bit healthier. Good comfort food, road-tested by a princess, a mermaid, an alien, a piglet, a witch and a strongman! I’ve written the adapted version below.

With a big Italian baked pasta dish on Halloween, you need some garlic bread to keep the vampires away. I saw this Green Gobble ‘ems recipe — using four cups of fresh spinach! — on Rachel Ray’s 30 Minute Meals last week. It was successful with all but the preschoolers (I kept some bread plain for them). Just two notes: 1) On the show she cut the bread up into cubes before putting on the spread and baking it. That is what I did and it worked well.  Much easier than trying to cut up hot bread when it comes out of the oven. 2) It makes enough for two loaves of Italian bread, so feel free to half the recipe if you have a smaller group.

We rounded out the meal with a fruit salad and a lovely green salad made by my sister-in-law. All in all it provided enough filling food to prevent everyone from overindulging in candy. For a Halloween dinner, in my opinion that proves success.

Look Ma, No Bones! Baked Rigatoni

Adapted from Baked Rigaboney by Martha Stewart

Serves 16-18

Ingredients

4 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

10 oz. tomato paste

2 – 28oz cans crushed tomatoes with basil

1 tsp sugar

salt and pepper

1 1/2 lbs whole wheat rigatoni

3 – 14 oz pkgs Tofurky(R) Italian sausage

2 lbs part-skim ricotta cheese

1 1/2 lbs shredded mozzerella

Directions

1) Heat 2 tbs olive oil on medium heat in a dutch oven. When heated, add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent, stirring occasionally. Add the tomato paste and stir another 2 minutes.

2) Add the tomatoes, sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When done, turn off heat and leave covered.

3) In a large pot of salted water, cook rigatoni until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

4) Heat 2 Tbs olive oil in a large skillet (if you don’t have a large one, cook in two batches).  Cut veggie sausages horizontally into 1/2 inch slices. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently to crisp all pieces. Set aside when the sausage reaches your desired crispness.

5) In a bowl, mix half the mozzerella cheese with all the ricotta.

6) In a very large baking dish (I used a 10x13x3″ pan, but if you don’t have one this big you could use two 9x13x2″ pans) layer 1/4 of the sauce, half the pasta, 1/4 of the sauce, the sausage, the ricotta mixture, 1/4 sauce, the rest of the pasta, the rest of the sauce, and top with the plain shredded mozzerella.

At this point you can cover and refrigerate the dish. In fact, I would highly recommend putting this dish together the morning of or even the night before you plan to serve it. Gives you time to clean up the kitchen and yourself before guests arrive.

Take it out of the fridge and uncover an hour and fifteen minutes before serving. Preheat the oven to 350. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the cheese bubbles and browns on top. Cool 10 minutes before serving and enjoy! You won’t even have to tell the meat eaters it’s vegetarian.