Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  Here is what I currently have in the fridge that I need to use up:  a whole mess of corn tortillas, lots of carrots, about half a chopped green bell pepper, a sliced red bell pepper, about half a green cabbage shredded, a few homemade whole wheat tortillas, about half a pound of sliced white mushrooms, a pound of baby spinach, and one tomato. 

Pudla and Cucumber Tomato Salad
Turns out these are really easy to make, pretty healthy since I use almost no oil, and I like them a lot.  I made the batter too thick the first time and they were more like pancakes than crepes, but they tasted good anyway.  This time I'll be throwing some vegetables in the food processor -- I think onion, tomatoes, and a few peas is what Sameer's aunt includes -- and mixing it into the batter.  I chose to err on the side of very very bland last time, just in case I messed up the consistency of the batter or Simran refused to eat it with flavor.  I attempted to make cilantro chutney last time and failed miserably.  I plan to buy some this time and try making a couple other veggie-based dipping sauces (e.g., red bell pepper tomato chutney, which is actually a thing that exists, though I plan to make up my own recipe based more on the buffalo hummus recipe).  The coconut chutney turned out great and there's still some leftover in the fridge.

Tostadas with Slow-Cooker Refried Beans and Red Cabbage Slaw
I've never made tostadas before, but Sameer likes them, and they seem easy.  They'll also use up some of the corn tortillas in the fridge.  I'll just crisp up the tortillas and layer them with refried beans, cheese, guacamole, tomatoes, lettuce, green onions and sour cream.

Chilli-Garlic Noodles  
This will use up the remaining milder chile-garlic paste, the shredded green cabbage, some of the carrots, and all of the green bell pepper.

Raw Rainbow Pad Thai
Since my BFF Jackie got me a vegetable spiralizer for my birthday, I'm finally making this vegan pad thai dish with raw veggies as noodles.  Since it looks pretty low-cal (which can often lead to Sameer and feeling the need to eat something else later), I think I'll heat up some of the appetizers in the freezer to go with this.  We have potstickers and some other kind of fried vegetable thing.

Spaghetti with Marinara & Veggie Meatballs and Fresh Broccoli & Carrots with Homemade Ranch Dressing 

Wraps and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
Now that I have a recipe for 100% whole grain no-oil wraps that I can make myself at home easily (and they taste several times better than store-bought wraps, though that isn't hard to do), wraps are a more desirable meal for me than ever.  I plan to lay out our various leftovers from the week (dipping sauces from the pudla, leftover cut veggies, random cheeses, etc.) and we can make our own wraps to suit.  I've done this for lunch before, and it's fantastic.  It uses up leftovers without tasting like leftovers.

Saag Tofu and Brown Basmati Rice and Naan
I made this meal a couple weeks ago, and it was really good and shockingly easy.  Especially the naan, which I didn't expect to be so easy.  I even used half whole wheat pastry flour, and Sameer didn't notice.  He said it tasted like restaurant naan.  This time I want to try making garlic naan since I find the plain a bit bland.

100% Whole Grain Wraps

I found this wrap recipe within another recipe for grilled veggie wraps.  It is easy, healthy, and tastes better than any store-bought wraps I've ever found.  I've made a couple small amendments to the original recipe, including doubling it.  I generally make a batch of these at least once a week.

Ingredients
2 cup whole wheat flour + extra for rolling out the dough
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup ground flax seeds

Directions

1. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  You want it to be hot before you put anything in it, so let it heat up while you make the dough.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, ground flax seeds, and salt.  Add the water and knead by hand until it forms a sticky ball of dough.  If this seems impossible, add tiny amounts of water until it works.  (Too crumbly means you need more water; too sticky means you need more flour.  Add whatever you need in miniscule amounts and you can fix pretty much any problems your dough might give you.)

3.  Turn out dough onto a floured surface.  Divide into six pieces, and roll each into a ball in your hands.  Flatten the balls and roll each out into as thin a sheet as possible.  If they tear, just seal the tear by hand and roll over it.  Add a drop of water to seal it shut if necessary.

4. You can lightly oil your skillet, but I don't find it necessary.  Put a wrap in the hot skillet and allow to cook about 30 seconds.  It should brown slightly in places, but if you let it cook too long, it will end up tostada-hard rather than tortilla-soft when it cools (not inedible, just not foldable).  Turn it over and cook the other side for about 30 seconds.  (If you are in doubt about whether a wrap has cooked through, do what I did and tear off a piece and eat it to check.  You will quickly learn how to gauge doneness without eating them.)  Remove wrap to a plate and cook remaining sheets of dough in the same fashion.

Use immediately or seal in a container such as a large ziploc bag and refrigerate for up to a week.

Cherry Chip Cake with Cherry-Vanilla Frosting

I made a cherry chip layer cake a few weeks ago that I want to recreate for my birthday next week.  Now I just have to remember how I made it...  I got the cake recipe from completelydelicious.com. 

I came up with the maraschino cherry frosting recipe by looking at lots of different cherry frosting recipes, trying one, and then fixing it by making it more like the vanilla buttercream recipe on the site where I found the cake recipe.  If you reserve the juice from the 10 oz. jar of maraschino cherries, it should be enough to make the frosting. 

Ingredients

For the cake:
• 1 10 ounce jar maraschino cherries
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (I never buy unsalted butter.  I use salted for literally everything.  It's fine.  I usually cut the salt in half for the rest of the recipe though.)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large egg whites (save the yolks! I toss mine in the freezer and, when I have 8 yolks total, make ice cream)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups cake flour (I don't buy cake flour since I use it so rarely.  I substitute 2 cups minus 4 tbs AP flour + 4 tbs corn starch instead.  Just make sure to mix it up really well.)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice 

For the buttercream frosting:
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 5 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, or as much as needed (or cow's milk -- it hardly matters -- but almond is what I keep on hand)

Directions

To make the cake: 
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter (I use Pam spray instead) and flour two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. (FYI: the secret to getting a cake out of its pan without destroying it is cutting non-stick parchment paper to fit in the bottom.  I cannot get a cake out of the pan in tact any other way.)
2. Drain the maraschino cherries, reserving the juice. In a food processor or with a sharp knife, finely chop the cherries. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the butter and sugar at high speed until light and fluffy. This will take about 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and add the egg whites one at a time, mixing after each. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix until combined.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a smaller bowl, combine the buttermilk and maraschino cherry juice. Add the flour mixture to the mixer in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk mixture. Mix after each addition and scrape down the bowl as necessary. Stir in the chopped maraschino cherries.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, about 30-35 minutes. Let cool in the pans 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

To make the frosting:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. 
2. Gradually add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating well. 
3. Beat in maraschino cherry juice, vanilla extract, and almond extract. 
4. Gradually beat in additional powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with small amounts of milk, until frosting reaches desired consistency.  Remember you want it to be spreadable.

Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  Here is what I currently have that needs to be used up:  lots of carrots, a pound of baby spinach, most of a red onion, one sliced red bell pepper, one green bell pepper, one tomato, and two avocados.  Here is what I'm planning to make:

Cheese Pizza and Crudites with Homemade Ranch Dressing 
It's supposed to be cool at least a couple days next week, and I'd like to make this for my birthday if it's one of those days.

Fresh Veggie Tacos and Slow-Cooker Refried Beans and Red Cabbage Slaw
This will use up the avocados and the tomato.

 
California Wraps and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
These will use up the red onion, some of the carrots, and the rest of the sprouts bought for veggie tacos.  The soup will use up one of the many cans of white beans I have in my cupboard.

Chilli-Garlic Noodles  
This will use up the green bell pepper and some of the carrots.

Enchiladas Verdes and Red Cabbage Slaw and Slow Cooker Black Beans 
These will use up the spinach and the rest of the red cabbage bought for making slaw with fresh veggie tacos.  It will also use up some of the corn tortillas currently in the fridge.

Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  I have a little carry-over from last week's meal planning since I made an impromptu pizza on a particularly cool day and got take-out on another.  The forecast for the next week is warmer, and I've been trying to avoid using the oven on days that get above 80 degrees. 

Currently in my fridge needing to be used are:  a brick of firm tofu, some chopped red bell pepper, fresh baby spinach, a tomato, half a dozen eggs, one avocado, and a few white mushrooms.  Here is what I'm planning to make:

California Wraps and Garlic Broccoli

Pudla with veggie dipping sauces (?) and Curry Pumpkin Soup

Grilled Veggie Wrap with Garam Masala & Carrot Hummus and Black Bean and Citrus Salad 

Quesadillas and Slow-Cooker Refried Beans
These quesadillas will give me the opportunity to use up any flour tortillas I have on hand. 
 
Tandoori Tofu and Cilantro-Lime Brown Basmati Rice and Palak Chaat

Cheese & Veggie Omelets and Vegan Sausage Patties 
Unless I'm missing liquid smoke (I have to check), I already have all the ingredients for these vegan sausage patties on hand.  The omelets should use up my tomato, mushrooms, and pretty much anything I want to throw into them.  I just need to buy cheese.


Vegan Green Goddess Dressing with Grilled Veggie Kabobs and Zucchini 'Crab' Cakes

Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  We have essentially nothing perishable on hand since we spent the last week in Alabama, and I've got more meals than usual since I'm going to the store early this week.  A few dishes are new.  Here is what I plan to make:

Grilled Veggie Wrap with Garam Masala & Carrot Hummus and Black Bean and Citrus Salad

Vegan Green Goddess Dressing with Grilled Veggie Kabobs and Butter Bean & Basil Salad and Brown Basmati Rice Pilaf

Seitan & Veggie Stirfry and Brown Rice

Saag Tofu and Brown Basmati Rice 
I don't know how authentic this recipe is, but it lists things I can identify and already own, so it seems like one I should be able to handle.  It also looks pretty healthy.

Pudla with veggie dipping sauces (?) and Curry Pumpkin Soup
Sameer's aunt made some really good pudlas while we were in Alabama, with the onion and tomato and peas and I don't know what else all blended into the batter.  I'm going to attempt to make something similar and then serve it with some kind of mild dipping sauces to see if I can get Simran to eat it.  I think it would be really good with coconut chutney, which is one of my favorite things, and maybe a mild cilantro chutney with garlic too.  I wonder if I could make a dip from seasoned blended spinach or blended red bell peppers and maybe fire-roasted tomatoes in order to sneak more vegetables into Sim's diet.  She eats ketchup with a spoon.

Veggie Summer Rolls with Peanut Lime Sauce

Fresh Veggie Tacos and Red Cabbage Slaw and Slow-Cooker Refried Beans

Red Chile Cheese Enchiladas and Red Cabbage Slaw 

California Wraps and Garlic Broccoli
The wraps will use up the rest of the sprouts from the veggie tacos.  Hopefully the wraps I make for the grilled veggie wraps earlier in the week will work well enough I can use them for this too.  I haven't had much luck yet with making oil-free wraps or tortillas.

Black Bean & Citrus Salad

This recipe comes from Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.

Ingredients
1 large onion, diced (1 cup)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced (1 cup)
6 oranges, sectioned, membranes ad pith removed (1 1/2 cups)
2 tsp orange zest
1/4 cup fresh orange juice, reserved from orange sections
3 tbs fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 - 1/2 tsp Tabasco or other hot sauce
1/2 - 1 cup chopped cilantro
2 15-oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
arugula or baby spinach

Directions

1. Stir-fry onion and pepper in a nonstick sauce pan over medium heat until just tender. Add orange juice or water as necessary. Set aside.

2. Place orange sections in a large bowl.

3. Combine orange zest, orange juice, lime juice, cumin, and Tabasco in a bowl.

4. Add onion mixture, cilantro, and beans to orange sections. Add juice mixture and toss to combine. Serve over a bed of arugula or baby spinach.