Day 16 and 17 Vegan September 20, 2014

Day 16

I really need to stay away from all of those muffins that I baked. So I put them in the freezer.  I was hoping since they were out of sight it would help me not eat all of them in one day because they are REALLY good.

So far, so good 🙂

I ended up making myself the Pad Thai Salad from Appetite for Reduction. I did make some modification because I didn’t have any bean sprouts.  I ended up adding cucumbers and tomatoes to the salad and it was just the thing I needed to make me feel better about eating a few too many muffins yesterday.

For dinner I made the Potato and Kale Soup with Sizzling Chorizo from Viva Vegan.  I ended up changing a few things in the recipe so that I could bring out more flavor in the ingredients.  The original recipe said to add the onions, potatoes, garlic, herbs, and liquid and bring to a boil. Which I am assuming is traditional for this type of soup.  Well, I discarded tradition for a bit.  I sautéed the onion in 1 tablespoon of annatto oil until they were tender then added the garlic and cooked for a minute until fragrant.  Then I added in the herbs, potatoes, and vegetable stock. Brought it to a boil, let simmer for 25 minutes until the potatoes were done, mashed the potatoes a bit.  Added in a 1 pound bag of frozen kale from Trader Joe’s (more than the recipe called for, but it also uses fresh).  At the ended you adjust the seasonings and add some white wine vinegar to taste.  Cook up your vegan chorizo, I used Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo, and sprinkled it on top of the soup.  I didn’t add any additional olive oil or annatto oil to the recipe.

I would like to take a bit to express my love for Trader Joe’s. 1) I really do love everything that I have tried there, and 2) the cashier praised the crap out of the Soy Chorizo and she was right.  It is FANTASTIC!!! Speaking as an omnivore, that might be my go to Chorizo because I don’t need the grease and the yucky feeling I get after eating the “real” stuff.

Back to the soup, I really loved it and I have been living off of it while my husband is at his conference.  I am definitely making that again.  Now I just need to go get more potatoes and make a trip to TJ’s for some Soy Chorizo 🙂

Day 17

Very uneventful, just eating leftovers, going to work, and doing my 5k training.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Savory Brioche Pockets May 21, 2013

For the week of May 21st, Carrie of Loaves and Stitches hosted the recipe for Savory Brioche Pockets, which is located on pages 421-422 in Baking With Julia.

I actually made these for dinner when my father was here helping us with the girls. I changed up the filling a bit to make them a Main Course. I omitted the asparagus because I had been eating that a lot and wanted a break. In its place I added ham, and then I had to omit the roasted red peppers because I actually didn’t have enough room in the pockets for them since the ham slice was so thick. Everyone actually really enjoyed these, even my 2 year old who ate her pocket without the ham.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Rustic Potato Loaves April 2, 2013

This weeks Tuesdays With Dorie is Rustic Potato Loaves, which is located on page 138 in Baking With Julia. This recipe is being hosted by Dawn of Simply Sweet. Head on over to her blog to get a look at her results and the recipe.

I actually loved this recipe because the rising time was so quick that you had fresh, delicious bread in no time. For the potatoes, I cooked two russets with skins and then put them through a food mill to remove the skins. I also figured this would mashed the potatoes better than just putting them in the mixer with the paddle attachment. Granted I did use more dishes, but I don’t get to play with the food mill very often. I was very surprised how easy this recipe was. My loaves didn’t turn out like footballs, but I didn’t mind that because they are “Rustic” and turned out very nice. Instead of spraying the oven with water to create steam I just throw a couple of ice cubes into the bottom of the oven and that seems to work perfectly fine.

We ate half of one loaf during dinner, Emma really liked the bread. The other half of the loaf we have been using to make sandwiches, which it makes great bread for. The other full loaf I brought over to my in-laws for Easter Dinner. This is a recipe that I will definitely make again.

Daring Cooks: Savory Edible Container April 14, 2011

Renata of Testado, Provado & Aprovado! was our Daring Cooks’ April 2011 hostess. Renata challenged us to think “outside the plate” and create our own edible containers! Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 17th to May 16th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!

The rules for this challenge are as follows:

Mandatory Items: To make a SAVORY edible container and fill it with something appropriate.

Variations allowed:

• You may want to use one of the ideas provided here as described, or give them your own twists and your own recipes for the content.
• Or, you can choose to create something totally new, from scratch.
• As long as it is a container, it is edible, and has a content suitable for it, I want you all to have a lot of fun challenging your creativity!

For this challenge I decided to go with a recipe that I have wanted to bake for awhile now, but just ended up putting it on the back burner, Bacon and Egg Pastries w/Spinach and Roasted Red Peppers.  The edible containers is actually puff pastry, something that is very yummy, and something that I have made for a Daring Bakers’ Challenge.

These pastries were very yummy, and can be eaten anytime of the day.  We actually had them for dinner, and they were fantastic.

Bacon and Egg Pastries

with spinach and roasted red peppers

Source: Cuisine at Home, April 2008, Issue 68, page 32-33

Makes 4 pastries

Total Time: about 1 hour

Fry; Add and Saute:

2 strips thick-sliced bacon, diced

2/3 cup white or red-skinned potatoes

1/2 cup onion, diced

1/2 cup roasted red peppers, diced

1/2 t. minced fresh rosemary (I omitted this)

1 1/2 cups fresh spinach

Salt and pepper to taste

Beat; Add:

2 oz cream cheese, sofened

3 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup Gruyere or Swiss Cheese, shredded

1 T. all-purpose flour

1/2 t. zosher salt

1/8 t. cayenne

Roll out; Brush Pastries with:

1 sheet purchased puff pastry, slightly thawed

1 egg beaten with 1 T. water

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Coast four 4″ quiche pans with removable bottoms with nonstick spray and arrange on a baking sheet (I used 4″ round springform pans because I didn’t have quiche pans.  They turned out great, but just not as pretty).

1) FRY bacon in a large saute pan over medium heat until crisp; drain on a paper towel-lined plate.  Pour off all but 1 T. drippings and return pan to burner.  add potatoes, onion, peppers, and rosemary; cook covered, until potatoes are tender, about 8 minutes.  Stir in spinach, reserved bacon, salt, and pepper; set filling aside.

2) Beat cream cheese in a bowl with a hand mixer, then blend in eggs.  Add milk, cheese, four, and seasonings; beat to blend.

3) Roll pastry on a lightly floured surface into a 12″ square.  Cut into four 6″ squares, then lightly press 1 square into each prepared pan.  Spoon about 1/3 cup potato mixture into each pan, then pour about 1/3 cup egg mixture on top.

4) Fold corners of sough onto filling, brush with egg wash, and bake until crust is browned and filling is set, 20-25 minutes.  Let stand 5 minutes before unmolding.

Daring Cooks: Papas Rellenas March 14, 2011

Kathlyn of Bake Like a Ninja was our Daring Cooks’ March 2011 hostess. Kathlyn challenges us to make two classic Peruvian dishes: Ceviche de Pescado from “Peruvian Cooking – Basic Recipes” by Annik Franco Barreau. And Papas Rellenas adapted from a home recipe by Kathlyn’s Spanish teacher, Mayra.

This months we were given a choice to make Ceviche or Papas Rellenas because of my currently state (pregnant) I cannot have Ceviche so that narrowed it down for me.  Mike and I enjoyed the Papas Rellenas with Salsa Criolla for dinner.  I essentially spent most of the day prepping all of the items so that I was able to cook up dinner as soon as he came home from work.  It actually worked out really well for us.  Good thing I actually thought ahead instead of trying to fly by the seat of my pants.

Vegan Adventure #22 and VeganMofo #7 October 15, 2008

There was a miracle somewhere and I made a full vegan dinner.  Who would have thought it was possible?  Funny thing is it was very easy.  Another weird thing has occurred.  For about 4 days or so I actually could have been considered a Vegetarian.  I ate absolutely no meat, and it was completely by accident.  Since I have been cooking a lot of vegan food, that is what I have been eating, but it didn’t stay strictly vegan since I had some sweets that happened to have dairy and eggs in them, opps.