Butternut Squash Mac n' Cheeze

This recipe comes from the Oh She Glows blog which is a vegan blog I found in my recipe hunting adventures. Although I am not vegan, I was drawn to try this one out. Below is her unedited recipe. I'll share my changes below.

Butternut Squash Mac N' Cheeze

1 fresh butternut squash* (peeled and chopped) OR 1 cup canned butternut squash OR canned pumpkin
Extra virgin olive oil, S & P
1 tbsp Earth Balance (or other non-dairy butter replacer)
3/4 cup unsweetened & unflavoured almond milk (revised from 1 cup)
1 tbsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
6 tbsp nutritional yeast, or more to taste
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4-3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2-1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2-1 tsp kosher salt (to taste) & ground black pepper, to taste
4 servings brown rice macaroni (8oz or half a 16oz package) makes 3 1/4 cup cooked
Mix-ins of choice (e.g., kale, spinach, broccoli, peas, pumpkin seeds, etc)



1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line a casserole dish with tin foil. Mix chopped squash with EVOO, S & P. Roast for about 40 minutes, uncovered, or until tender.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the cheeze sauce in a pot on the stove top. Add Earth balance over low-medium heat. In a bowl, whisk together milk and arrowroot powder (or cornstarch or flour) until clumps are gone. Add into pot and whisk. Stir in remaining ingredients (nutritional yeast, Dijon, garlic, S & P) and whisk over low heat until thickened (about 5-7 minutes or so).

3. Cook your pasta according to package directions. The sauce makes enough to cover 4 servings of pasta.

4. In a blender, blend the sauce with 1 cup of roasted squash (or if using canned, simply stir 1 cup into the pot).

5. Add cooked, drained, and rinsed macaroni into pot, along with cheeze sauce & mix-ins. Heat and serve.

Notes: 1) My 3.5 pound squash made 5 cups cooked squash, so I had about 4 cups leftover. 2) The sauce does not cut in half well (the blender has a hard time blending it up), 3) I tried this recipe with canned pumpkin and it was awesome!



Tine's Changes: I did use a fresh butternut squash for this recipe. It was a pretty common vegetable around the house growing up. As I am NOT vegan, I used regular butter, but I did use almond milk. I used cornstarch and no nutritional yeast (which I hear is more for texture than flavor anyway). As for the pasta, I used regular old macaroni. I added peas for an additional veggie.

Veggie Pizza with Tofu Ricotta

 You already know I'm a fan of pizza. All kinds of pizza. I've constantly been on the hunt for a better crust recipe and I think I've finally been able to settle on one. The best part? It only requires 30 minutes to rise rather than the HOURS that many other homemade crust recipes called for. I'm all about that now.

You'll see that this pizza was actually a combination of three recipes: pizza crust, veggie pizza and tofu ricotta. The best part? Three different sources. Let's get to the pizza!

First the dough. I scoured Allrecipes and finally decided on Pizza Dough III.

Pizza Dough III
from All Recipes

Ingredients:
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 cups bread flour (I used all purpose)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons white sugar

Preparation:
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, white sugar and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Form dough into a round and roll out into a pizza crust shape. Cover with your favorite sauce and toppings and bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Tine's Notes: What I love about making your own crust is that you can flavor it yourself. I added 1 tsp of basil leaves and 1 1/2 tsp of oregano. Those are the flecks in my dough

So I wanted pizza and had no tomatoes or sauce in sight. And I wasn't going to the grocery store. I googled alternatives to pizza sauce and found this Tofu Basil Ricotta recipe. I adapted it for what I had on hand and I have to say, I am totally doing this from now on.

Tofu Ricotta

adapted from Food.com

Ingredients:

1/2 package firm tofu, drained and pressed

1 tbsp lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp garlic salt

black pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Crumble tofu in a small bowl until consistency is of ricotta cheese. Add lemon juice, oil and salt. Add black pepper to taste. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Tine's Notes: The original recipe called for basil leaves, garlic and nutritional yeast. I already had seasoned my dough so I decided not to add anything else. I didn't have nutritional yeast available either. I used the entire serving to top my pizza dough. Turns out, I should have pressed my tofu a little more as it was just a tad runny.

I have made vegetable pizza before, but with some different vegetables. And finally the actually toppings for my veggie pizza: celery, bell pepper, red bell pepper, onion, broccoli, mushrooms and spinach. I also did a sprinkling of Italian cheese blend. I added the spinach about 8 minutes before I took the pizza out of the oven. You want them to be just wilted.

What I love the most is that homemade pizzas are never drowning in oil thus my stomach does not get upset at me. And I definitely don't feel guilty for indulging in this veggie goodness.

Korean BBQ Tofu

I've been using a lot of tofu lately and wanted to find new ways to cook it outside of pad thai and spring rolls. This recipe highlights the fact that tofu loves to take on flavors of spices you marinate it in. Although this doesn't have the texture of meat, it's delightful Asian flavor will win you over.

Korean BBQ Tofu

Ingredients:

2 tsp onion powder

5 tbsp sugar

2 tsp dry mustard

garlic powder

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 c soy sauce

Preparation:

Cut tofu in strips 1/2 inch thick and marinate in spices and soy sauce for 2 hours or more. Then fry and garnish. I use a cast iron grill pan to make beautiful grill marks.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

If you can't eat spinach like Pop-eye, this recipe is for you. Also, I've always been intimidated by lasagna for some reason so I never made it. Until now.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

adapted from Skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:
10 lasagna noodles, cooked
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained
15 oz fat free ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
salt and fresh pepper
32 oz tomato sauce
10 tbsp mozzarella cheese

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.

Lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

The original instructions say to use wax paper to lay out the noodles. You'll see I ended up using lightly greased cookie sheets because I wanted a hard surface and it made for moving around the kitchen easier.

Also, the original recipe also called for 9 noodles; I actually cooked 10 lasagna strips just in case I tore one, but it turned out 10 portions was exactly right.

I found a pre-made roll of mozzarella and end up just slicing about 1/2 inch thickness to top each spinach roll with. I love the cheesiness. You'll see I actually use less tomato sauce than called for and more cheese.

 Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 10 rolls.

To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll.

 10 perfect servings

Delicious!

Baked Okra

Fried okra was definitely one of my favorite things to eat growing up. There is an old wives' tale that eating okra makes your hair grow thick, my family told me that's what happened to me. If it was the okra, I don't regret it. In an effort to not fry much of anything, I found this recipe on Pinterest and had to see if it could be just as good as the fried stuff... and IT IS.

Baked Crunchy Okra

from The Spotted Fox blog

Ingredients:
bag of frozen cut okra
Italian style bread crumbs
paprika
2 egg whites
salt & pepper

Preparation:

In a bowl, toss together bread crumbs, a few healthy shakes of paprika, and salt & pepper.

In a separate bowl, toss a handful of your cut okra in the egg whites until they are nicely coated.

Take each piece of okra and cover with your bread crumb mixture.

Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the okra on the baking sheet and make sure they aren’t touching one another.

Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes, turning your okra halfway.

Garlic Basil Parmesan Quinoa

This is a perfect side dish for many different dinners. What do you like to add to your quinoa?

Garlic Basil Parmesan Quinoa

Ingredients:
2 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth/stock
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 tablespoon fresh basil, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt (sea salt or Kosher)

Preparation:

Bring the broth/stock to a boil over medium heat. Stir in the quinoa. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the basil, garlic, cheese and salt until fully combined. Serve immediately.

I served it alongside my ratatouille. Tada!

Tofu Scramble

I'm going to have to apologize for this one because I cannot remember where exactly I got the recipe, but I've already memorized it. Super simple healthy breakfast, here you go!

Tofu Scramble

Ingredients:
1 serving tofu (about 4-6 oz.), crumbled
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 turmeric
olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
mushrooms, red bell peppers (any other vegetables you would like)
3 tbsp tomato sauce

Preparation:
In a small bowl, mix the crumbled tofu with the cinnamon, cumin and turmeric. I tend to go heavy on the cumin and light on the turmeric (which I read is more for color anyway).

In a medium sauce pan, heat the oil and add the garlic and onions. Saute until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes, and then add the rest of the vegetables. Cook through for about 4-5 minutes and add the tomato sauce and tofu and warm through. I generally use the prepared jarred sauces, but you can also use 1 tbsp tomato paste with some water as well.

Enjoy!

Will you Rata- my -touille?

Remy, oh Remy! You have revived my blog! Yes, I still appreciate Disney at my age.

Dear lonely blog, I abandoned you for so long. Life got busy, I cooked less, ate even worse and now I am ready to return. Seriously. I finished school and before I get stuck in a vicious cycle of work I'm cooking almost every day. Also, I've become vegetarian. Yeah, I know, a lot has changed. So welcome back!

First up, ratatouille!!! Caught myself watching Ratatouille and becoming inspired to actually try my hand at it. And it was GOOD. Now YOU go make it!

Baked Ratatouille
from Vmac & Cheese

Ingredients:

• Extra virgin olive oil 
• 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced 
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped 
• –pinch crushed red pepper flake 
• 1 medium-large zucchini 
• 1 medium-large yellow zucchini 
• 1 orange heirloom tomato [I omitted this one!]
• 4 medium vine tomatoes 
• 1 small Japanese eggplant [Definitely recommended]
• 1 tbsp tomato paste 
• –Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to season [I use the regular stuff]

For garnish:
–Asiago or your choice of cheese [I did Parmesan Reggiano and mozzarella]
–Fresh basil, julienned

Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 400°.

In a medium skillet, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and let cook for a minute until  soft. Add in half of the chopped garlic, the crushed red pepper flake, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring occassionally. Prep the vegetables.

Slice the vegetables to your desired thickness. You'll see I went super thin. I'll probably go a little thicker next time seeing as how my tomatoes just refused to be sliced as thin as everything else. Yes, it did drive me a little nuts in the end.

Once the onions are soft, add in the tomato paste to the pan. Let it warm and melt into the onions. Transfer the onion mixture to the bottom of your baking dish, and drizzle with a tablespoon or so of olive oil.

Arrange the vegetables in any pattern you would like, alternating colors. Sprinkle the rest of the garlic over the top of the arranged vegetables, then season the whole thing with salt and pepper, and drizzle with a bit more olive oil.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes to an hour, or until the mixture is very bubbly and the vegetables look tender. Remove the dish from the oven, and turn your broiler on to high. Layer shaved or sliced cheese on top of the cooked vegetables, then bake underneath the broiler until the cheese gets bubbly and brown. Let the dish sit for a couple minutes, garnish with freshly chopped basil, and serve.

Tine's Notes: As you can see from my pictures, I sliced my veggies super thin. By hand. [Don't worry, I still have all my fingers intact.] I'm a bit of a masochist like that. Don't worry, I have a mandolin on my Amazon wish list. I followed the recipe pretty much at a T, I used 2 types of cheese to top since that's what I had on hand - Parm Reggiano and mozzarella. I had so many veggies that I had this dish plus a 6x6 pyrex filled to the brim. I actually added more pepper and red pepper flakes to the onions at the bottom of the smaller dish and it really shined through to my liking.

Hot and Spicy

Two words I've come to love and like Pavlov's dogs, my taste buds start watering. I can't help it.

Hot and Spicy Tofu
from Allrecipes

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 pound firm tofu, cubed
1 red onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green chile pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup hot water
3 tablespoons white vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Preparation:
1. Heat peanut oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Toss the tofu into the oil, and cook until browned on all sides. Once browned, toss in onion, bell pepper, chile pepper, and garlic; cook until just tender, about 5 minutes.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the hot water, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, and red pepper flakes. Pour over tofu and vegetables, toss to coat, and simmer 3 to 5 minutes, or until sauce thickens slightly.

Tine's Notes:  I used plain vegetable oil which was fine. My tofu was medium texture so it crumbled a bit while cooking, but overall held up. I must be colorblind, I used a regular onion and green bell pepper (this is what happens when you go with on-hand ingredients, right?) Instead of using a chile pepper, I used Thai chili paste, a dab will do ya, trust me. My inner saucier would have preferred more so I recommend adding more water.

Alliteration What?

This dish will surely have you seeing green-- in a good way. This dish brought to you by the letter P.

Pasta, Pesto and Peas
From Food Network - Ina Garten

Ingredients:
3/4 pound fusilli pasta
3/4 pound bow tie pasta
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 1/2 cups pesto
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/4 cups good mayonnaise
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, defrosted
1/3 cup pignoli (pine nuts)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:
1. Cook the fusilli and bow ties separately in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes until each pasta is al dente. Drain and toss into a bowl with the olive oil. Cool to room temperature.

2. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the pesto, spinach, and lemon juice. Add the mayonnaise and puree. Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta and then add the Parmesan, peas, pignoli, salt, and pepper. Mix well, season to taste, and serve at room temperature.

Tine's Notes: I used elbow macaroni and rotini as my two pastas. Left out spinach and pine nuts (those suckers are expensive!). I had a jar of pesto sauce patiently waiting to be used and now have about 1/4 of it left over. Have you turned green yet?

Greek Orzo

Greek Orzo with Feta
Recipe from Allrecipes

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano
1 (8 ounce) package crumbled feta cheese
1/2 pound dried orzo pasta
1 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preparation:
1. Stir together olive oil, lemon juice, olives, tomatoes, red pepper, red onion, garlic, oregano, and feta cheese in a large bowl. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and toss the tomato mixture. Sprinkle with chopped parsley to serve.

Tine's Notes: I modified this recipe a little for my own taste and availability. Omitted olives and red bell pepper. I used 2 sun-dried tomatoes and 1 roma, 1 clove of garlic, and dried oregano. I didn't have parsley, but I used the other green stuff we always have on hand, cilantro. I used a small red onion which really packs quite a punch, tangy! I didn't use as much feta as in the recipe since I went by taste. Very bright and flavorful dish!

First day of summer, but I like spring [rolls]

*If you follow Allrecipes on Facebook, they do a Meatless Monday recipe of the day and today it was the tofu parmigiana I used a couple of posts ago!

In honor of following along with their theme, today would be perfect to share with you a meatless option. Oddly enough, we go vegetarian probably 2-3 times a weekly without consciously thinking about it. It's more for mother's health than anything. You'll notice I've only made a red meat (steak) once since this blog started up.... looking for the healthy fat/protein, if you will. Enter chicken and fish. And tofu!

This recipe was shared with me through the awesome kids of the Go Green, Eat Smart apprenticeship of Citizen Schools at Bedichek. These kids spent a semester learning about and cooking up vegetarian dishes. I tasted it at their demo and had to make it for myself... and when I did, I made a dinner of it. Yes, honestly.

Spring Rolls

Ingredients:
Thin rice noodles (vermicelli)
Rice spring roll wrappers
1 carrot
Few basil or soft lettuce leaves
Cilantro
1 package Hard texture tofu
Teriyaki sauce

Preparation:
1. Prepare the following sauce:
        1 small clove garlic, crushed
        1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
        1 tbsp peanut butter
        2 tsp lime juice
        1 tsp brown rice syrup
        2 tsp water

        Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl, except the water. Add water as needed for the right consistency.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Open package of tofu and drain excess water. Cut tofu into slices 1/2" to 3/4" thick. Choose a baking pan that fits just the amount of tofu you want to bake in one single layer. Put 2 tbsp of teriyaki sauce in bottom of pan. Place tofu on top and cover with more sauce. Can add a little water so it will not burn. Place pan uncovered in oven. Bake 10 minutes then flip over. Bake additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

4. Cut carrots into thin strips. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Blanch carrots. Wash basil leaves and cilantro and let dry.

5. Cook noodles by immersing in boiling water. Gently separate noodles with tongs or a spoon. They should be done in 3 minutes. Taste to check doneness. Pour noodles into colander and rinse with cold water. Let drain.

6. In a pan large enough for the spring roll wrappers to fit, add warm water. Dip one spring roll wrapper into the water until it softens. It is ready when it is flexible and translucent.

7. Assemble your fillings in front of you. On a flat surface, lay the softened wrapper. Place 1-2 herb leaves first in the center. Place other ingredients such as carrots and tofu on top. Place a small amount of noodles also in center on top of pile.

8. Fold the side of the wrapper closest to you over the filling. Fold in the sides and lastly roll away from you tightly to seal the filling in.

Tine's Notes: For the dipping sauce, I used sugar instead of rice syrup, just a dash will do you. Also, feel free to add additional filling, I added bean sprouts

Thing(s) I learned: Growing up without it, I'm a now a big fan of hard texture tofu. I really do like cilantro.

Salad: Friend or Foe?

Sometimes I joke that salads are like grazing on grass. The most basic ones. Do you crave that? I like flavor, texture, crunch.

This salad came about via another Iron Chef moment (glimpse into the fridge to check ingredients) and baby spinach and a cantaloupe greeted me. By now you should understand that I just basically mix whatever I have on hand into something edible. Not a bad way to explore food actually. Don't be scared by this salad, it gets better I promise.... it's pretty!

Spinach Cantaloupe Salad with Mint

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh spinach leaves
1 cup sliced cantaloupe
1 cup sliced avocado
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves

1 tablespoon mint apple jelly
1 1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced

Preparation:
1. Divide spinach between 2 serving plates. Arrange half of the cantaloupe and half of the avocado in a circular pattern over the spinach on each plate. Sprinkle with diced red pepper and fresh mint.

2. Mix together the mint jelly, white wine vinegar, oil and garlic. Drizzle over the salads. Serve.

Yields: 2 servings

Tine's Notes: It's best when served cold, so I arranged the plates and popped them in the fridge minus the dressing for about 10 minutes. The fresh mint leaves really make the salad so don't skimp on them. I was worried about the garlic in the dressing, but it is surprisingly mild and masked by all the other flavors. The cantaloupe is a great refreshing pop in this otherwise odd salad. A perfect summer salad.

No pictures, no pictures

Correct title. There are no pictures of the meal I made tonight. Why? I was just that hungry. [BUT I won't leave you with nothing to look at, this a food blog, I know you come for the pictures.]

Reality: If I don't shop for particular ingredients that I deem necessary for a dish, I often go Iron Chef in the kitchen.
Translation: I do substitutions and or make MY version of the meal. Works out pretty well. Most of the time.

Tonight's dish:

Carrot Rice
recipe and photo by Allrecipes.com 

Ingredients:
1 cup basmati rice
2 cups water
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
1 tablespoon margarine
1 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
3/4 cup grated carrots
salt to taste
cayenne pepper to taste
chopped fresh cilantro

Cooking:
1. Combine rice and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid, and allow to steam until tender, about 20 minutes.

2. While rice is cooking, grind peanuts in a blender and set aside. Heat the margarine in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned golden brown about 10 minutes.

3. Stir in ginger, carrots, and salt to taste. Reduce heat to low and cover to steam 5 minutes. Stir in cayenne pepper and peanuts. When rice is done, add it to skillet and stir gently to combine with other ingredients. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Tine's Notes: I used brown rice and I used a rice cooker. Sue me. I left out the peanuts, used butter and left out the cayenne pepper. My customers are a little picky. I used the tsp of grated ginger and added extra ground ginger. It is flavorful and slightly sweet. I actually loved the way it turned out.

This was served with Steak Dianne. What is that? Basically, steak with a butter sauce. You know how to cook a steak right? [See blog title banner for a picture of a steak.] I thought using a butter sauce would be somewhat acceptable since I didn't season the steak before I cooked it. [Note: I didn't have Worcestershire sauce on hand so I used a splash of a Bloody Mary mix I had which also covered the need for extra salt or pepper. Improvisation skills!]

Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter melted
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
chives, minced
salt and pepper

Baked Falafel with Tzatziki Sauce

So there's this little restaurant I love called Baba's Mediterranean Grill that we frequent. I'm proud to say that the cultural food options have really expanded since I last lived in the area. [Although I have yet to find a decent Thai place.] When eating out, I almost always add it to the mix of options. My family even ate here for my birthday. As much as I like to try new dishes, I like to stick to what I know there-- usually a falafel platter which comes with 2 sides. Ever since, I've been curious about making my own... and for the health conscious, this is great because it is baked and NOT fried like typical falafel.

Baked Falafel

Ingredients:
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cilantro leaves (tightly packed)
1/4 cup parsley leaves (tightly packed)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Plain, dried breadcrumbs for forming balls (optional)

Cooking:
1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Combine all of the falafel ingredients except 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the breadcrumbs in food processor.

2. Process the mixture for 10 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and process for 10 more seconds. The ingredients should be well incorporated but the mixture should still be slightly coarse; go through 1 or 2 more processing cycles to achieve this consistency, if necessary.

3. Divide the mixture into tablespoons and form into a ball. [I ended up with about 15 balls] Lightly roll the falafel balls in plain dried breadcrumbs to help hold them together during baking and placed them on a unlined baking sheet.

4. Brush the falafel balls with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and place them in a 425F oven. Bake the falafel in 4 stages. After 10 minutes, I rotated my baking sheet front to back. After 20 minutes, I used a spatula to flip the balls. After 30 minutes, I rotated my baking sheet front to back again. After 40 minutes, I removed the falafel from the oven.

I served the falafel in pita pockets with the chopped romaine, tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce.


Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill (optional: mint)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 kirby cucumber, peeled and finely diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl; stir to incorporate. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes prior to serving. Taste after chilling and adjust seasonings if necessary.

[This was perfect, I didn't need to add any more salt or pepper.]

And of course, you need pitas... yes, this meal took awhile to make...

Vegetarian Pad Thai

I am guilty of making pad thai with a premade sauce. It was edible, but this recipe is so much more flavorful and worth the effort. Although I prefer my pad thai on the spicy side, this is the sweeter version, but I'm sure you can tweak the recipe to your preference. You'll notice the substitutions/omissions I made and it was still great. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Pad Thai

from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
2/3 cup chili sauce [I used leftover taco sauce]
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 1/2 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger
1 tsp chopped seeded serano pepper [I used jalapeño]
1/2 pound uncooked wide rice stick noodles (báhn pho) [I used skinny rice noodles (py mai fun)]
1 package extra firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes [I used soft texture I had on-hand]
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups fresh bean sprouts [I omitted this since I didn't have any]
3/4 cup diagonally cut green onions
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro, divided
1/3 cup coarsely chopped dry-roasted peanuts
6 lime wedges

Cooking:
1. Combine first 6 ingredients; set aside.

2. Cook noodles in boiling water 5 minutes or until done. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain well. Heat 2 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add tofu; cook 7 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from pan.

3. Combine egg whites and egg, stirring well with a whisk.

4. Heat 2 tsp oil in pan over medium high heat. Add garlic, and sauté 10 seconds. Add egg mixture, and cook 30 seconds or until soft-scrambled, stirring constantly. Stir in chili sauce mixture and noodles; cook 2 minutes. Stir in tofu, bean sprouts, onions and 1/3 cup cilantro and peanuts over noodle mixture. Serve with lime wedges.

Yield: 6 servings

Shrimp Saté with Pineapple Salsa

Following along with all my dog-eared pages from my newly acquired quick meal cookbook, this was up next. Also, I'm beginning to develop an obsession with fresh pineapple. Is that a problem?

Shrimp Saté with Pineapple Salsa

from Cooking Light Eat Smart Guide

Salsa:
3/4 cup finely chopped pineapple
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 tbsp minced seeded jalapeño pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp cider vinegar (I used apple vinegar)
1 tsp honey (I substituted this with a dash of Splenda)

Saté:
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp chili powder
24 ( about 1 1/2 lbs) large shrimp, peeled and deveined
cooking spray
4 cilantro sprigs (for garnish)

Cooking:
1. Prepare grill. (Indoor grill pan once again, today it's rainy)

2. To prepare salsa, combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl.

3. To prepare saté, combine mint, juice, salt and chili powder in a large bowl; add shrimp, tossing gently to coat. Thread 3 shrimp onto each of 8 skewers. Place shrimp on grill rack coated with cooking spray (I skipped the skewers and grilled them individually); grill 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until shrimp turn pink. Serve with salsa. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings (2 skewers/6 shrimp and 1/4 cup salsa)

Side dish...
Almond Rice Pilaf

Ingredients:
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups uncooked instant rice [I used regular long grain white rice]

Cooking:
1. In a saucepan, saute onion and almonds in butter until the onion is tender and the almonds are lightly browned.

2. Add broth; bring to a boil. Stir in rice and cover. Remove from the heat. Let stand for 5-8 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.