This recipe from Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease doesn't sound particularly appealing to me, but I wonder if it might get Simran to eat peas again without them being purchased as jarred baby food. I'll be making this with Simran in mind, so I'll be simplifying it a bit. My changes are in italics.
Ingredients
2 cups frozen peas
4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp minced garlic
cilantro, a handful or more [I'll be omitting this since it's for Simran and cilantro seems to be her least favorite part of normal avocado guacamole.]
1 small red onion, minced (1/4 cup) [I'll be omitting this as well since she doesn't like raw onion in her guacamole.]
1/2 cup minced ripe tomato
pepper, to taste
red pepper flakes, to taste [I'll probably omit this since it's some very concentrated spiciness.]
Directions
1. Put peas under warm water until softened but still cold. [I'm lazy -- I'll just move them from freezer to fridge a few hours before I want to use them.] Place peas, lemon juice, garlic, and cilantro in a food processor and process until very smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl. [WHY? Why do I need to sully another bowl? I'll just add the tomato and pepper to the food processor and mix them in as much as I can without everything pouring over the sides. Or if I make it in advance, I can mix the final additions together in a Rubbermaid container. No need for so many mixing bowls.]
2. Stir in the onion, tomato, pepper, and pepper flakes. Let stand for 10 minutes and serve within an hour or two (it loses its bright color after that, but still tastes the same).
Monday, April 29, 2013
Meal Planning
Time for weekly meal planning. This week I have the following to use up: a red and a green bell pepper, a bunch of arugula, an avocado, and a crown of broccoli.
Arugula-Feta Pita Pizzas
This is just the spinach and feta pita bake made with leftover arugula instead of spinach. It will use up my leftover feta and arugula. If I don't have enough feta, I'll use the remnants of smoked mozzarella in my fridge too.
Artichoke-Bean Pitas and Almost All-Orange Soup
The soup recipe is new to me. I made the artichoke-bean pitas once before and they turned out pretty good. This should use up the pitas leftover from the pita pizzas, and I think I'll serve the leftover avocado in the pitas too.
Catalan Sauteed Polenta with Spinach and Butter Beans
I haven't made this in awhile, I think Simran will like it (though the butter beans and spinach may require food processing for her), and it will use up some more of the spinach I need to buy for the almost all-orange soup.
Tofu Scramble and Kale with Walnut Sauce
We took one week off from making the tofu scramble, but I'm ready to have it again. It's quick and easy and Simran eats all the leftovers. I'm considering making some kind of pancakes or crepes as dessert. Depends on how much time I have that afternoon.
Gnocchi with Spinach and White Beans
This should use up any remaining spinach.
Vegetable and Tofu Stir-fry
This will use up the cubed tofu already in my fridge, whatever is left of the bell peppers, and at least some of the broccoli.
Black Bean Burgers with sides of Whipped Sweet Potatoes (or maybe sweet potato fries) and Kale with Walnut Sauce
I was looking for some kind of bean patty recipe and I came across this one on AllRecipes. It has really good reviews. I'm not sure what else I'll do with this meal since I had originally been planning on just patties, not burgers on buns.
Arugula-Feta Pita Pizzas
This is just the spinach and feta pita bake made with leftover arugula instead of spinach. It will use up my leftover feta and arugula. If I don't have enough feta, I'll use the remnants of smoked mozzarella in my fridge too.
Artichoke-Bean Pitas and Almost All-Orange Soup
The soup recipe is new to me. I made the artichoke-bean pitas once before and they turned out pretty good. This should use up the pitas leftover from the pita pizzas, and I think I'll serve the leftover avocado in the pitas too.
Catalan Sauteed Polenta with Spinach and Butter Beans
I haven't made this in awhile, I think Simran will like it (though the butter beans and spinach may require food processing for her), and it will use up some more of the spinach I need to buy for the almost all-orange soup.
Tofu Scramble and Kale with Walnut Sauce
We took one week off from making the tofu scramble, but I'm ready to have it again. It's quick and easy and Simran eats all the leftovers. I'm considering making some kind of pancakes or crepes as dessert. Depends on how much time I have that afternoon.
Gnocchi with Spinach and White Beans
This should use up any remaining spinach.
Vegetable and Tofu Stir-fry
This will use up the cubed tofu already in my fridge, whatever is left of the bell peppers, and at least some of the broccoli.
Black Bean Burgers with sides of Whipped Sweet Potatoes (or maybe sweet potato fries) and Kale with Walnut Sauce
I was looking for some kind of bean patty recipe and I came across this one on AllRecipes. It has really good reviews. I'm not sure what else I'll do with this meal since I had originally been planning on just patties, not burgers on buns.
Artichoke-Bean Pita Sandwich
I started making this pita pocket sandwich based on the fact that this artichoke-bean dip resembles tuna salad in texture. All amounts are approximate since I'm trying to type this up based on memory. It's a sandwich, so you basically just fill it as you like.
Ingredients
Artichoke-Bean Dip
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tomato, thinly sliced
5 leaves lettuce
avocado, sliced (optional)
Directions
1. Mix the celery and green onions into the artichoke-bean dip.
2. Fill the pita pocket with a thick layer of artichoke-bean dip. Then add tomatoes, lettuce, and any other vegetables or condiments you like. Dijon or spicy brown mustard wouldn't be bad.
Ingredients
Artichoke-Bean Dip
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tomato, thinly sliced
5 leaves lettuce
avocado, sliced (optional)
Directions
1. Mix the celery and green onions into the artichoke-bean dip.
2. Fill the pita pocket with a thick layer of artichoke-bean dip. Then add tomatoes, lettuce, and any other vegetables or condiments you like. Dijon or spicy brown mustard wouldn't be bad.
Awesome Almost All-Orange Vegetable Soup
This recipe comes from Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. I chose it because I'm having trouble getting Simran to transition from baby food yams and carrots and squash to "real food" versions of orange vegetables. She eats them more readily when they're cooked into other dishes, so I thought I'd give this one a try. She's usually pretty good about eating soup.
Ingredients
1 large acorn squash, baked, seeded, and cut in chunks
2 sweet potatoes or yams, baked, peeled, and cut in chunks
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
3 carrots, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped (3/4 cup)
6 garlic cloves
2 cups red lentils
8 cups water
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
3 or 4 handfuls fresh spinach (or more) or chopped kale with the spine removed
3 zucchini, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bake acorn squash and sweet potatoes for up to 1 hour, until soft.
3. In a large soup pot, over medium high heat, stir-fry onion, carrots, celery, and garlic until soft and carrots are beginning to soften. Add a little water if anything seems to stick. (To save time, skip this step and go straight to step 4.) [I'll be skipping this step. I've never managed to cook garlic over medium-high heat without causing it to brown and go bitter, and it certainly doesn't have the heat tolerance of onion, carrots, and celery, so this step sounds ill-conceived. All the vegetables will cook through in the boiling soup anyway.]
4. Add red lentils, 8 cups of water, rosemary, and crushed red pepper. Increase heat to high and bring to a simmer [I think this is supposed to say "boil"]. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes, until lentils have almost dissolved.
5. Add acorn squash and sweet potatoes to the pot and mash into the soup. (A potato masher works well.) Cook 10 minutes more. [I wish I could see a photo of this because the texture of mashed potatoes and squash thrown into soup sounds absurd.]
6. Add spinach and stir into the soup until it wilts. If you use kale, it needs to cook a little longer than spinach.
7. Stir-fry zucchini in a nonstick pan over high heat until just beginning to brown. Add red pepper and stir-fry 1-2 minutes more. (If you are in a hurry, you may omit this step; add uncooked zucchini and red pepper in step 6.) A few minutes before serving, add stir-fried zucchini and red pepper to the soup mixture.
8. Add cilantro and green onions just before serving.
[I have some thoughts on how I would change this before even making it. I plan to omit all the pre-cooking except for the acorn squash and yams, and even those are just to save time, not because it's essential. A lot of the Esselstyn recipes call for superfluous browning of onions and vegetables in a nonstick skillet and I don't really get why because it rarely adds anything. I plan to omit the zucchini altogether from this soup. And I plan to puree all the non-green vegetables into a sort of bisque rather than mashing some of the stuff together and letting the rest just float there. I'll add the bell pepper with the squashes just before pureeing. I'll add the cilantro and green onions just after the kale. I'm a little hesitant about the kale -- maybe I should puree it too so that it isn't impossible for Sim to eat. I wonder what that would do to the color of the soup.]
Ingredients
1 large acorn squash, baked, seeded, and cut in chunks
2 sweet potatoes or yams, baked, peeled, and cut in chunks
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
3 carrots, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped (3/4 cup)
6 garlic cloves
2 cups red lentils
8 cups water
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
3 or 4 handfuls fresh spinach (or more) or chopped kale with the spine removed
3 zucchini, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bake acorn squash and sweet potatoes for up to 1 hour, until soft.
3. In a large soup pot, over medium high heat, stir-fry onion, carrots, celery, and garlic until soft and carrots are beginning to soften. Add a little water if anything seems to stick. (To save time, skip this step and go straight to step 4.) [I'll be skipping this step. I've never managed to cook garlic over medium-high heat without causing it to brown and go bitter, and it certainly doesn't have the heat tolerance of onion, carrots, and celery, so this step sounds ill-conceived. All the vegetables will cook through in the boiling soup anyway.]
4. Add red lentils, 8 cups of water, rosemary, and crushed red pepper. Increase heat to high and bring to a simmer [I think this is supposed to say "boil"]. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes, until lentils have almost dissolved.
5. Add acorn squash and sweet potatoes to the pot and mash into the soup. (A potato masher works well.) Cook 10 minutes more. [I wish I could see a photo of this because the texture of mashed potatoes and squash thrown into soup sounds absurd.]
6. Add spinach and stir into the soup until it wilts. If you use kale, it needs to cook a little longer than spinach.
7. Stir-fry zucchini in a nonstick pan over high heat until just beginning to brown. Add red pepper and stir-fry 1-2 minutes more. (If you are in a hurry, you may omit this step; add uncooked zucchini and red pepper in step 6.) A few minutes before serving, add stir-fried zucchini and red pepper to the soup mixture.
8. Add cilantro and green onions just before serving.
[I have some thoughts on how I would change this before even making it. I plan to omit all the pre-cooking except for the acorn squash and yams, and even those are just to save time, not because it's essential. A lot of the Esselstyn recipes call for superfluous browning of onions and vegetables in a nonstick skillet and I don't really get why because it rarely adds anything. I plan to omit the zucchini altogether from this soup. And I plan to puree all the non-green vegetables into a sort of bisque rather than mashing some of the stuff together and letting the rest just float there. I'll add the bell pepper with the squashes just before pureeing. I'll add the cilantro and green onions just after the kale. I'm a little hesitant about the kale -- maybe I should puree it too so that it isn't impossible for Sim to eat. I wonder what that would do to the color of the soup.]
Monday, April 22, 2013
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
I ended up making different changes than I expected to this chocolate buttercream frosting recipe for Simran's birthday cupcakes. I had expected to replace some of the butter with shortening, but instead I just reduced the amount of sugar because I kept tasting while I mixed and discovered it was really good before I'd finished adding all the sugar, and I didn't want to oversweeten. I also doubled the recipe because the original batch only covered eight cupcakes. Warning: Perhaps because of the reduced sugar, this buttercream melts really quickly. Make room in your fridge for whatever you're frosting before you start or that cake will get very messy.
Ingredients
Ingredients
12 tablespoons butter, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup cocoa
2/3 cup whole milk
1 tbs vanilla
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup cocoa
2/3 cup whole milk
1 tbs vanilla
Directions
1. Place butter in a bowl and beat until creamy.
2. Add sugar and cocoa, mixing well.
3. Stir in milk in portions, stirring each time.
4. Add vanilla.
5. Spread on cooled cakes.
Meal Planning
Time for weekly meal planning. Here are the leftovers I have to use up: broccoli florets, a sweet potato, a yellow and a green bell pepper, extra firm cubed tofu, a yellow squash. Here is what I'm making:
Thai Green Curry with Brown Rice
I already have all the ingredients for this because Sameer and I had planned to make it a couple days ago while his parents were here.
Black Bean Oatmeal Burgers on Whole Wheat Buns and Kale with Walnut Sauce
These are tasty little burgers, Simran eats them, and we haven't had them in awhile. She's recently taken a liking to the kale in walnut sauce too.
Creamy Avocado & White Bean Wraps with Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
Sameer and I really like this and it includes a couple different components Simran can eat. I also have a bag of frozen organic broccoli in the freezer this will use up.
Black Bean Nacho Pizza and Kale with Walnut Sauce
We all like this pizza (including Simran, who always gets her own tiny slice and has liked every variety of pizza she has ever tried) and we already have most of the ingredients for it.
Arugula/Tomato/Green Onion Sandwich and Vegetable Barley Soup
This sandwich recipe is new to me, from Caldwell Esselstyn's book. It should use some of the tomato and green onion we'll already have on hand for other recipes this week, as well as some of the Ezekiel 4:9 brand sprouted grain flax bread in the freezer that I haven't bothered trying yet. The sandwich also includes no-tahini hummus, which Simran always likes. The soup is one I've been making for years.
Penne alla Vodka
I haven't really made this dish since Simran started eating solids, but since we now let her have dairy occasionally, Sameer suggested we finally make it again. We already have the veg Italian sausage, vodka sauce, penne rigate, and a yellow squash. It will use up whatever broccoli is left over after making Thai green curry and stirfry.
Thai Green Curry with Brown Rice
I already have all the ingredients for this because Sameer and I had planned to make it a couple days ago while his parents were here.
Black Bean Oatmeal Burgers on Whole Wheat Buns and Kale with Walnut Sauce
These are tasty little burgers, Simran eats them, and we haven't had them in awhile. She's recently taken a liking to the kale in walnut sauce too.
Creamy Avocado & White Bean Wraps with Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
Sameer and I really like this and it includes a couple different components Simran can eat. I also have a bag of frozen organic broccoli in the freezer this will use up.
Black Bean Nacho Pizza and Kale with Walnut Sauce
We all like this pizza (including Simran, who always gets her own tiny slice and has liked every variety of pizza she has ever tried) and we already have most of the ingredients for it.
Arugula/Tomato/Green Onion Sandwich and Vegetable Barley Soup
This sandwich recipe is new to me, from Caldwell Esselstyn's book. It should use some of the tomato and green onion we'll already have on hand for other recipes this week, as well as some of the Ezekiel 4:9 brand sprouted grain flax bread in the freezer that I haven't bothered trying yet. The sandwich also includes no-tahini hummus, which Simran always likes. The soup is one I've been making for years.
Penne alla Vodka
I haven't really made this dish since Simran started eating solids, but since we now let her have dairy occasionally, Sameer suggested we finally make it again. We already have the veg Italian sausage, vodka sauce, penne rigate, and a yellow squash. It will use up whatever broccoli is left over after making Thai green curry and stirfry.
Arugula, Tomato, and Green Onion Sandwich
This recipe comes from Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.
Ingredients
arugula
tomato
green onions
no-tahini hummus
whole-grain bread
Directions
1. Toast 2 pieces of whole-grain bread, and spread each piece with lots of no-tahini hummus.
2. On bottom slice, top hummus with green onions cut in small pieces, or thinly sliced red or sweet onion.
3. Cover onion with sliced tomatoes. Add arugula or any other lettuce of your choice.
4. Add top slice of toasted bread and press down, so that it all holds together.
[Edited 4/25/13: This sandwich was surprisingly not bad. I would eat it again by choice. We even used fancy organic flax bread by Ezekiel 4:9 brand. This was Simran's first sandwich. I gave it to her to feed herself, and she happily deconstructed it and ate the pieces, including eating straight arugula.]
Ingredients
arugula
tomato
green onions
no-tahini hummus
whole-grain bread
Directions
1. Toast 2 pieces of whole-grain bread, and spread each piece with lots of no-tahini hummus.
2. On bottom slice, top hummus with green onions cut in small pieces, or thinly sliced red or sweet onion.
3. Cover onion with sliced tomatoes. Add arugula or any other lettuce of your choice.
4. Add top slice of toasted bread and press down, so that it all holds together.
[Edited 4/25/13: This sandwich was surprisingly not bad. I would eat it again by choice. We even used fancy organic flax bread by Ezekiel 4:9 brand. This was Simran's first sandwich. I gave it to her to feed herself, and she happily deconstructed it and ate the pieces, including eating straight arugula.]
Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
This is a recipe of my own concoction, based originally on the broccoli soup recipe from Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. I added blended white beans and nutritional yeast flakes to add flavor and creaminess.
Ingredients
2 large onions, chopped (2 cups)
4 garlic cloves, chopped
16 oz. broccoli (preferably frozen and already washed and chopped -- I just dump a whole bag into the pot and save lots of time)
3 tbs nutritional yeast flakes
16 oz. can of white beans (look for Great Northern or Cannellini beans), drained and rinsed
4 cups vegetable stock
1 tbs Bragg Liquid Aminos
pepper, to taste
Directions
1. Bring onions, garlic, broccoli, and vegetable stock to a boil in a soup pot. Lower heat, add beans and nutritional yeast, and cook for 10-15 minutes, until broccoli is tender and bright green.
2. Process in batches in a blender until mixture is smooth and brilliantly green, or use an immersion blender right in the soup pot.
3. Season with Bragg liquid aminos and pepper.
Ingredients
2 large onions, chopped (2 cups)
4 garlic cloves, chopped
16 oz. broccoli (preferably frozen and already washed and chopped -- I just dump a whole bag into the pot and save lots of time)
3 tbs nutritional yeast flakes
16 oz. can of white beans (look for Great Northern or Cannellini beans), drained and rinsed
4 cups vegetable stock
1 tbs Bragg Liquid Aminos
pepper, to taste
Directions
1. Bring onions, garlic, broccoli, and vegetable stock to a boil in a soup pot. Lower heat, add beans and nutritional yeast, and cook for 10-15 minutes, until broccoli is tender and bright green.
2. Process in batches in a blender until mixture is smooth and brilliantly green, or use an immersion blender right in the soup pot.
3. Season with Bragg liquid aminos and pepper.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Simran's Birthday
 |
| Simran's Bday Snacks |
Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting (Sameer and I both find straight buttercream a bit dense and just too buttery on cake, so I'm cutting it with some shortening and only using the recipe in the link as a base.)
Pink French Macarons with Real Strawberry Buttercream (I've already made the cookies and the strawberry puree.)
For beverages, we've got water and soda, but I wanted to make something special too, so there will be
Old-Fashioned Lemonade over ice. I've already made simple syrup since that seems to work better than mixing sugar and cold water.
For snacks I'm cutting up various mild cheeses, I bought like six boxes of different kinds of crackers, and I'm assembling platters of cut fruit and crudites with homemade ranch dressing (or possibly dill dip instead).
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes
I found this original recipe on AllRecipes, but I've been using it for awhile and made some changes of my own, including doubling the recipe because I don't see the point in doing this much work when I don't have any leftover pancakes at the end to freeze for later (they freeze and reheat really well in the microwave). They're really buttery and sweet, so they don't really need syrup. I sometimes top them with syrup or fruit, but I also like these pancakes plain with a glass of milk.
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted
cooking spray
Directions
1. Combine flour, sugar, baking
powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg and melted
butter into buttermilk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet
ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium
heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the
skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a
spatula, and cook until browned on the other side. (I recommend only using cooking spray for the first pancake. If you have a non-stick skillet, you won't need to recoat it. I also recommend using no more than medium heat and lowering it to medium-low as the skillet gets hotter. If the heat is too high, your pancakes will brown too fast and the insides won't have a chance to cook through.)
Meal Planning
I'm posting my menu late this week. I had everything written on my grocery list, as per usual, and now I can't find it, so I think I threw it away. I'm trying to remember everything now so that I can pull up my meal plans for the rest of the week. Here is what I made / am making:
Tofu Scramble and Swiss Chard with Walnut Sauce and Buttermilk Pancakes
I'm making tofu scramble once a week now. It's easy, Simran likes it, and it makes leftovers for the next day's lunch. I also had leftover buttermilk from Sameer baking an orange pound cake, so I made a triple batch of pancakes.
Tortilla Pie and Red Cabbage Slaw
This will use up some of the corn tortillas in my fridge, as well as some of the shredded cabbage leftover from last week.
Creamy Avocado & White Bean Wraps and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
I'm not sure if I'll end up actually making this or not. It'll probably be this dish or the tortilla pie rather than both in the same week. It depends on how plentiful the leftover shredded cabbage really is. It's one of our favorites here at our house though, for all three of us.
NY Style Pizza and Kale with Walnut Sauce
Sameer wanted New York-style pizza, so I'm trying it again this week, probably on Friday. I'm doing it entirely according to the recipe this time rather than allowing any of my own shortcuts since the crust was way too thick last time.
Spaghetti with Marinara and Kale with Walnut Sauce
I'll probably do this one over the weekend because it's fast and easy.
Whipped Maple Sweet Potatoes and Chard with Walnut Sauce and vegetarian fish from the prepared frozen foods section
Sameer suggested whipped sweet potatoes, so I'm taking this opportunity to use up some more of the vegetarian fake meats in my freezer. There won't be much left after this. Finally.
Tofu Scramble and Swiss Chard with Walnut Sauce and Buttermilk Pancakes
I'm making tofu scramble once a week now. It's easy, Simran likes it, and it makes leftovers for the next day's lunch. I also had leftover buttermilk from Sameer baking an orange pound cake, so I made a triple batch of pancakes.
Tortilla Pie and Red Cabbage Slaw
This will use up some of the corn tortillas in my fridge, as well as some of the shredded cabbage leftover from last week.
Creamy Avocado & White Bean Wraps and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
I'm not sure if I'll end up actually making this or not. It'll probably be this dish or the tortilla pie rather than both in the same week. It depends on how plentiful the leftover shredded cabbage really is. It's one of our favorites here at our house though, for all three of us.
NY Style Pizza and Kale with Walnut Sauce
Sameer wanted New York-style pizza, so I'm trying it again this week, probably on Friday. I'm doing it entirely according to the recipe this time rather than allowing any of my own shortcuts since the crust was way too thick last time.
Spaghetti with Marinara and Kale with Walnut Sauce
I'll probably do this one over the weekend because it's fast and easy.
Whipped Maple Sweet Potatoes and Chard with Walnut Sauce and vegetarian fish from the prepared frozen foods section
Sameer suggested whipped sweet potatoes, so I'm taking this opportunity to use up some more of the vegetarian fake meats in my freezer. There won't be much left after this. Finally.
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