My cat likes beans!

This has nothing to do with cooking - but this is my cat, Andrew. I have (and he has) discovered recently that he LOVES beans. Any kind of legume - he loves them. Dry beans that have been soaked - not so much. But if you open a can of beans, he will RUN to the kitchen and beg for one. I don't like to give him one (he isn't supposed to eat salty food to help avoid UTIs) but I don't like to hear him cry either. What's a girl to do?

Quick Yeasted Pizza Dough, Processor-Style and CD's Favorite Greek Pizza

We decided to have pizza tonight. Actually, I wanted to run to the store and grab a frozen pizza and call it a day but, at the last second I had a change of heart and decided to see what CD had to offer in the pizza department. My sweetheart used to live next to this little hole-in-the-wall pizza dive that served Pizza Capriosia which was just a good, Greek style pizza.CD's recipe sounded similar so I gave it a whirl.
The dough was too easy to pull together; its only down fall of course being that it takes almost an hour to rise. The hour, however gave me time to run to the store for ingredients. I did substitute canned artichokes for frozen and didn't pile the pizza as high as CD suggests but otherwise followed the recipe. Finally. Not since Kung Poa Tofu have my sweetheart and I agreed on a recipe being 'Great' or 'Okay'. This one gets two very full thumbs up. We can't wait to have it again and show it off to friends. I almost wish we had invited friends over...but that would mean less for me to eat. Maybe next time. There is one down fall though - I can never again eat that frozen Greek style pizza now that I know how it 'should' taste.

"Pot Roast" of Seitan, Aunt Gloria-Style

Typical. My husband thought it was great and I thought it was only okay. Oh well. It was good. Very important to let the stew boil and then simmer to drive the sauce into the seitan - otherwise it's not good. I've never had horseradish before and I thought I'd put in too much but by the time it was done melding, it was fine. Maybe even a little too sweet but once it was mixed with rice, it was right on the money. I might not make it again on my own, but since the man liked it, I might. We shall see.

Gigi Hamilton's Really Hot, Really Delectable Mixed Beans with a Lot of Ginger

Excellent. So good. I made a whole pot of these and we ate them all over the course of a few days. I've never had hominy (I had to look up what it was online to help me find it in the store) but it was great! Every time I had these at work and would heat it up, people would ask what I was having. I LOVE having great smelling, vegetarian dishes that people seem surprised smell so good. We will be making these beans again and again. The 1/4 cup of ginger is a lot, but I diced it in the food processor in a fit of laziness* and it worked great!


*If I had to cook food the hard way (the way our mothers and grandmothers had to) I doubt I would cook so much. I mean, you've read how much I love my food processor. Really. We would just eat out, I'm afraid.

Chocolate-Orange Biscotti

I've never had biscotti. Ever. But our neighbor wanted cookies and the man isn't here to make them so I tried this recipe out. Pretty good. I didn't realize they are twice baked (or even that biscotti is supposed to be crunchy) but I figured it out in the end. My friend's dad is a chef and she said that my biscotti turned out great - that I only need to serve it with coffee and it would be perfect. Seeing as how I'm not a choco-holic, I'm happier to make this and share it, but it's a good "company's coming for tea" treat. Plus, now I know what the heck it's supposed to look like!

Maple-Oatmeal Cookies

I love oatmeal raisin cookies so these are an obvious choice to try out. They are good. Quite subtle, but good. I had trouble finding grade B syrup and settled for grade A. The maple-ness of the cookies was perhaps too subtle and I suspect the grade B syrup would fix that. These were great though and I'll make them again when I have a sweet tooth - but not a raging sweet tooth.

P'oatage of Asparagus, White Wine and Lemon

I love soup. And this sounds so fancy. It's only okay in my book. I probably won't make it again. I thought the wine was a little strong - which could just be the wine I used - but I can think of better ways to use the asparagus (like the oven-roasted recipe in this book!). I did like making it as I've been introduced to nutritional yeast and I got to use our hand blender we got as a wedding gift and floating those asparagus heads in the soup was great fun! But, like I said, I probably won't be making it again. Using oatmeal to thicken the soup really did make it nice and creamy without all the fat - a tip I may be utilizing again sometime........

Baked Bananas

Ew. I love banana bread but the idea of a baked banana seems....weird. But I trust CD and this was so easy to make it was a joke. My husband saw me put it in and take it out and his question of "Um, are you going to bake that banana?" and "Uh....that banana is black!" perfectly summed up my hesitations. Then I cut it open and put butter and brown sugar on it and we both shut up so we could shovel in this delicious dessert. The only weird thing then was that my brain was shouting "Hey! That's a black banana - it's going to be mushy!" and my taste buds were singing how good it was. It doesn't taste like banana candy (thank goodness!) but it is great! Try it. First you'll weird out your guests/family and then they'll be asking if there are more.

Cupboard Enchilada Sauce

Excellent. I knew as soon as I opened the lid off the food processor that this was a winner. SO easy to make and really quite good. The only thing that really takes time is the roasted red bell pepper but it's needed to pull all the other ingredients together - so don't skip it! I highly recommend trying this on your next enchiladas. I bought a jalapeno to put into the sauce to kick it up a bit and I forgot to throw it in. Probably better since I know now exactly what the un-tampered recipe tastes like. Next time though...

CS's Famed Tofu-Broccoli Enchiladas

Good. Not swooning good but certainly good. Might I advise you to be sure you don't over-chop the onions and broccoli? You really need those solid chunks in the smooth mixture. I hate adding salt to things but have found it's needed to perk some things up and the mixture needed more salt than the 1 t she suggests. Otherwise, this was really good. My new 'thing' is that, if I'm going to eat something that is high in fat or calories, I don't scrimp. Meaning no more buying cheap, pre-shredded cheese. If I need cheese from now on, I'm buying the good stuff. I did this last night and I noticed a difference. My sweetheart simply proclaimed everything 'good' so who knows. I'll make this dish again but maybe not because I'm craving it.

Iced Herbal Cooler

Known as Punch Juice in my house (my husband is an interesting fellow). I hate tea. I should just tell you that now. Which is why it's weird that I like this so much. It's great. A bit labor intensive (especially when your sweetheart can drink the whole pitcher in a few hours) but worth it - especially for company. I couldn't find red zinger so we use apple or cranberry zinger. Still delicious. In fact, my sweetheart asked for it just the other day and made such a sad face when I said "That's a summer time drink" that I'll probably make it for him when he comes home next (Can you tell which of us is spoiled?) Anyhow, definitely treat yourself and try this out.

Cuban Black Bean Soup

What's that? You can't find this recipe in PV? That's because it's not there. This is a recipe from Soup & Bread and frankly, I don't know why it isn't in PV. I've made bean soups before. They are okay. I never super love them. Mostly I just make them for the warmth and smell they spread throughout the house. This soup, however, I LOVED. The first day I made it it was only okay. But the next day, apparently after the flavors melded, I couldn't stop eating it. I bet I ate six bowls in one day. I'm not bragging- I feel like I'm confessing but that's how it is. It was so good. I did over chop the peppers and onions....so next time I won't do that. But holy cow was this good. And so easy to make. And inexplicable. I mean, it was just some beans, onions and peppers....how did they make such a delicious taste? I'm not sure, but I'm willing to do the research (a.k.a. more tasting) to find out.

Neo-Classic Crepes

I've never had crepes before but, seeing as how we ploughed through the entire batch of these in a few days, I think these were a success. And they were so easy to make! I actually don't even want to try the classic crepes - how could they be any better? Sure, making these required a trip to whole foods to get the special flour but they were SO worth it. And so versatile. I really thought they would be good for about one thing but we ate them with left over vegetables rolled inside and then we ate them for dessert with just a hint of vanilla and powdered sugar. And I felt so fancy making them, too! I can't wait for guests to come over so I can whip these up! I know the recipe looks long but it's mostly just explanation. Try them - everyone you know will thank you!

Blueberry Crisp

Holy COW! This is so, so good. And so easy to make. We had Bill and Agnes (awesome friends of ours) over for lunch and we had a huge meal that they either really liked or put on a good show for me. I served this with ice cream for dessert. They raved and had seconds. I've discovered those to be the perfect compliment to the chef - topped only by asking for the recipe. But the raving is nice. I made this with peaches because I don't care that much for blueberries. I don't hate them but a whole pan of them seems overwhelming to me. Perhaps a half a batch of blueberries. Anyhow, I snuck a bite of the crisp before I baked it and it was so good. I might even like the crisp better than the fresh fruit I was using. It's hard to say. I should make another pan of it to help me decide........

Oven-Roasted Shiitake Mushrooms with Garlic and Course Salt and the virtues of fresh ground black pepper.

YUM! These are quite possibly the best hors d'oeuvres ever - and I don't really like mushrooms that much (morels excluded). I'm eager to try these several different ways; cooked longer to be crispy and cooked less to be more juicy and chewier. They are just so good. I made some and forced my friend - who hates mushrooms - to try them with great success!!! They are just SO good. You must go try them for yourself. (Do yourself a favor and use the sea salt.)

On another note: My husband wants a pepper grinder. We registered for one for our wedding but..well, let's just say the idea of a gift registry - or gifts for that matter - escaped a large portion of our guests. Anyhow, we've never used fresh ground black pepper. Ever. I had never used it. I grew up on ground pepper and I was content to stay that way. BUT - for once I was a good wife and, upon seeing peppercorns in a disposable grinder on super sale, I bought them. I used the grinder once. ONE TIME - and then threw out all our ground pepper. They aren't even the same thing, are they? Fresh ground pepper is .... perfect. It's actually fruity in a way. It's just so good. It makes everything better doesn't it? I beg that you just try it once and if you don't like it (as if!) you can send it to me - I'll use it!

Wenonah Fay's Chilled No-Middle-Ground Peanut Soup

It's odd: I like apple juice, love onions, like celery, garlic and peanut butter. Put them all together and I almost gagged. This soup was really bad. Really. And I REALLY wanted to like it. It sounds great! And the caption says that "only special people" like it. So - much like a good hypnotist- CD had me WANTING to like it. And yet, my taste buds were not on board. Granted, I don't care for curry much (and am thus putting off making any of the curry dishes in PV) so a smarter chef would have had an inkling that I might not like it. But even my good friend Greg agreed - no good. I even tried eating it with toast like CD says. But in the end, I guess I'm just not special enough for this soup.

Shocking Pasta

Wonderful. Very fast and wonderful. Who would have thought I would ever be singing the praises of a beet? But man are they good. I know I've told you before how great they are, so I'll hold off on that. It did take about 35 minutes to bake the beets but, if you have them baked on hand, this dish would take about 10 minutes to make (the time it takes to make the pasta). Its color is beautiful and the raw garlic leaves you with just a little bite. I'm not sure I would serve this to guests just because it is not really very fancy...but then, neither am I so maybe I would. Besides, I can't tell you how much I enjoy it when my non-vegetarian husband asks for dishes like, 'That delicious beet pasta.' Also, the beet greens are so nutritious that buying the beets is really like getting two meals in one.

Salad of Quinoa and Roasted Vegetables

It's good. It's not GREAT - but it is good and I will probably make it again someday. It seems to be a nice dish to make and have in the fridge to work my way through. CD suggests that it is better cold and OH is it better cold (and the next day!). We ate it warm right when it was done and it was only so so. But today it is much better. My sweetheart came home while I was cooking it and said he could smell it outside and hoped that it was our kitchen that smelled that good - so that's nice! I would like there to be bit more of a change in textures - right now it's all soft save for the zucchini. Perhaps next time I'll put in some carrots or onions with some bite left to them so as to provide that. CD says this is a good potluck dish and, provided you can serve it cold, I agree. Cook on!

Dairy Hollow House Oatmeal Cookies

My sweetheart is the baker in our house. I do the lion's share of the cooking, he the baking. It relaxes him. If he's had a bad day or is stressed, or bored or just wants to bake, he makes cookies. Usually it's chocolate chip (his favorite) but occasionally, I suppose if I've been good enough, he makes Oatmeal - my absolute favorite. Since he's been gone on tour now for several days and I've been very good, I decided to make these myself. I am currently reading 'The Secrets Of Baking" by Sherry Yard because I am very interested in the science of baking and cooking. After reading just a little, I can now tell you the difference between cookies that have butter melted prior to mixing and those that use 'softened' butter to cream into the ingredients. Thank goodness for my KitchenAid Mixer as it made short work of creaming the butter. I did choose to use butter in lieu of vegetable shortening. It cut back on (a little) fat and reduced the trans fat to zero. I also wanted to do the variation right away but chose not to for two reasons. One, I think it best to try the recipe as is before messing with it and two, I would have had to go to the store to get almond extract and it's snowing out there. I did, however use dried cranberries instead of raisins. I just like them better. Anyhow, the cookies are great! I trusted CD and pulled them out before they actually looked done so that they will be nice and chewy. They are. The recipe makes a TON so I'm taking several dozen to improv class with me today and let them eat them all. One thing though - the recipe says to mix the nuts and raisins with one cup of the oatmeal mixture....and then never says what to do with them. Roll the balls in it? Stir it in last? I emailed CD ( you can do that you know) to ask her but she's very busy so it may take awhile to get back to me. In the meantime, I was going to roll the balls in the mixture...and then that didn't make sense. So I just mixed it all in last. I hope that's what you wanted, CD because these bad boys turned out fantastic! I can't wait to share them with everyone.


UPDATE: CD wrote me back a mere three days after I emailed her for help. Here is what this fantastic woman said: " Dear Becky,

I am so glad to know you are enjoying and using Passionate V and having fun with it, and I do indeed consider you a friend not yet met. Yes, the oatmeal and raisins get stirred into the creamed mixture. And I will get on this and put it on the "House of Corrections" page on the PV website.

I remain grateful and delighted not only that the book is so much a part of your and your family's lives, but that you took the time to tell me. Very kind, and I hope you will love the cookies, too. Oh, and please feel free, if you like and only if you like, to write a reader review of the book on www.amazon.com and/or www.barnesandnoble.com --- when I'm browsing books I always believe my fellow readers more than the professional reviewers, though that may just be my own quirk.

Anyway, have a delicious, healthy, fun, interesting 2007.

Warmly,

CD"


Additionally, I have since tried the variation of the almonds and the apricots. Holy cow!! They are SO good. LOADS of people have told me they are the best cookies they've ever eaten - from my husband to the crossing guard I see on the way to work. (my husband likes the originals, she liked the variation). I really can't say enough about these cookies. YOU MUST TRY THEM YOURSELF!!

Cabbage and Greens with Kidney Beans and Caramelized Garlic

I'll admit it - I didn't think this dish would be all that great. I bought the Kale to make it (Kale, by the way, is the food of the week on one of my favorite websites - World's Healthiest Foods) a couple of days ago and soaked and cooked the beans on Monday but just never got around to doing it. I even made polenta on Monday to eat with this. Instead, I blew into the house tonight and in about 20 minutes threw this together. I'm sorry I waited. It's so simple but it's clearly the best of all the foods. So delicious. I can't even tell you. The garlic spreads this goldenness all about the dish. It was mouth watering. I put the greens and cabbage in to stir-fry with doubt but by the time it came out of the garlic scented oil, I knew this dish was a winner. My sweetheart has a show tonight and I sent it with for his dinner so no word on what he thinks of it.
Really. This dish is so good I'm afraid to mess with it - afraid to try to 'fancy' it up. It's just the very simple best of the foods involved. We're going to be eating this for years to come - and it's chock full of super healthy foods!
I bet my parents never thought I would be a vegetarian. I was one of those kids that only put meat and cheese on her tacos and now I actually crave things like cabbage and kale. It's a crazy world - but the ride is fun.

Rich and Righteous Miso-Tahini Stir-Fry Sauce

Excellent! I almost feel bad for saying so many dishes are so good - but they are. You know I'll tell you if they aren't (see Salt of the Earth Breadspread). I had seen the recipe for this days ago and knew I had everything on hand. My husband likes meals with several dishes and, after I put the shepard's pie in the oven, I figured I'd make this and then he could have a multi-dish meal (Kudos to CD for suggesting always having a pot of rice on hand. I made this dish in about 45 seconds). I used peanut butter in lieu of tahini (again, see Salt of the Earth Breadspread) and I put in crushed garlic (who is surprised?) and seasame oil. I meant to put in an orange but that would have pushed this dish's prep time up to 2 minutes or some ridiculous time like that. Maybe next time.
Anyhow, it was delicious and fast! A touch too rich to eat everyday but what a great meal it would make if you didn't know what to make and you wanted to eat NOW.
Update on the polenta: I lined a casserole dish with the hot polenta to set up. I used it to make up a shepard's pie. I worked out great because I just threw in the last of whatever we had on hand. I hate when vegetables go bad because I don't use them in time and I was able to use the last of the green peppers, carrots, spinach, and celery. Not to mention use up the cream of mushroom soup my mom bought me to make tuna casserole because - "You can eat tuna!" I love you, mom. For some reason, I imagined the polenta would be more firm - more cornbread like. I guess that's because that is what it smells like when it cooks. It was mushier, but not in an unpleasant way - much like the mashed potatoes they were replacing. All in all, it was a good meal if I do say so myself. And I do.

Ginger Sauced Carrots

I don't recall if that is the ACTUAL name of the dish but my cat has me held prisoner in this chair until he decides to get up. So, for now, they are Ginger Sauced Carrots. Anyhow, they're gone. My sweetheart liked them so much that he ate them all. He ate at least a half a pound of carrots in one go because he liked them so much. As is our custom, he LOVED them and I thought they were okay. Well, better than okay. They were good but I didn't snarf them down like he did.
Additionally, I made crockpot polenta today in anticipation of making Cabbage with Carmelized Garlic, Kidney Beans and Greens tomorrow. I've seen recipes where you have to stir polenta constantly when at the stove for 45 minutes. This was plug it in and go. It was nice. The polenta is going to turn out rather plain I'm afraid (doesn't all polenta?). And I'm eager to try the 'spicing up' tips CD offers. But I'm going to try it 'regular' first and then throw whatnot in. We shall see.


Update: Ginger GLAZED Carrots is the actual name. Sauced = Glazed? Oops

Sweet-Sour Skillet Soysage Supper

It's good. It's not great. I'll probably never run through the house chanting "Sweet-Sour Skillet Soysage Supper" over and over. But it's good. I put in a bit of extra honey as the blackstrap molasses was very prominent. It turned out fine. Also - I'd never heard of "tomato fillet" before. Though it sounds obvious, I had to look it up to be sure. There was barely any liquid in the pan at first but after it simmered for 20 minutes there was significantly more liquid and it was much better. It has nice heat and isn't spicy - it's more sweet. So it's a nice change. I sliced the carrots a hair too thick but it's nice to have a firm carrot in a sea of softer foods.
We spent the last of our wedding gift cards from Pampered Chef. I'm FINALLY going to get a chef's knife (I've been using steak knives all this time!). It came today via UPS but no one was home. Here's hoping we can get the timing down tomorrow!

Stir-Fry of Tempeh and Green Beans with an Apricot-Mustard Glaze and Traditional Asian-Style "Crisping" Marinade and Method for Oven-Baked Tofu

Sweetness. That is the overriding theme of this dish. Still-crisp green beans in with sweet, delicious red peppers smothered in a glaze that is sweet but not too sweet (Dessert, however is out of the question). I did all the variations that were supposed to make the dish more Thai - influenced and a little hotter. Really, the sauce remained pretty sweet and the only heat I could discern was from the super thin Serrano slices I threw on top. Still, this was good. I'm not so sure that I'll crave it like I do the Kung Pao (I ate it six times in eleven days). Another change I made to this dish was to use Traditional Asian-Style "Crisping" Marinade and Method for Oven-Baked Tofu" instead of the tempeh CD suggests. Normally I would have tried the tempeh (I like it and it makes for another recipe) but the holidays have the store schedules all messed up and the only store open on January 1st was Jewel who doesn't carry tempeh. None the less, the dish was no worse off for it, I'm sure. I do make some changes in this tofu recipe. I cube the tofu prior to baking as I think that having an all around, crisp coating is tastier than cutting through the coating after baking to reveal softer tofu. Additionally, I cut the amount of tofu CD calls for in half but keep the marinade the same. I feel I've told you this already.......
Well, here's something I didn't tell you - Some people can never grasp what it is to be a vegetarian. If you doubt me, just go to a holiday dinner with your non-vegetarian family. I recommend eating before you go.
Happy New Year to you!