Dinner

I made lasagne; my daughter really liked the manicotti that I recently made and I had some of Miyoko's vegan smoked "mozarella" cheese that I had used. I put four layers of lasagne down, then added leftover canellini beans with Brussels sprouts , plus some of the vegan cheese and sauce. I put down four more layers, then sauteed onion and garlic, plus mushroom and Swiss chard and more sauce. I put down a final four layers then sauce, and baked in a preheated 375°F for 40m. Results Dinner was good and I was pleased at "reinventing" the leftovers this way. Though it wasn't no added fat, I didn't use a lot of the vegan cheese, so it was reasonably low in fat. Ideas for the future It's not so difficult to make lasagne, though it does take a bit of time. One puts sauce down in a baking dish (I used a 9"x13" glass one) then boils four lasagne noodles at a time (these wheat ones cooked in about 5 minutes) and places them on the sauce. Fillings go ...

I wanted to cook with canellini beans - they're soft and creamy. I bought some organic Brussels sprouts yesterday and thought that they would go well with the beans. I soaked the beans overnight then pressure cooked for 15m after just covering with water and adding a vegan bouillon cube. In the meantime, I sauteed halved Brussel sprouts, shallot, and garlic; when almost done (I cooked with no oil in a cast iron pan), I stirred in some red onion slices and cooked another few minutes. I mixed the cooked beans with the sprouts, garlic powder, salt, chopped jalapeno, dried sage, and lime juice. It came out well!

Brussels Sprouts are on sale and I had a 1 pound bag of them. I thought that I'd use the Sprouts and cook them with baby lima beans, starting with a gentle saute of the Sprouts. Here is what I did. Ingredients 1/2 cup onion, cut into 1/4" cubes 1 garlic, finely (1/8") diced 1 pound Brussels Sprouts (I counted 34), outer leaves and ends trimmed and then halved (almost 4 cups) 1/4 + 1/2 cup water 1/4 t salt Vegan bouillon cube 2 cups frozen baby lima beans 1 1/2 cups carrot (I used one large carrot) cut into approx. 3/8" slices 1/2 cumin seed 1/4 garlic powder 1/4 t turmeric 1 T dried chives 1/2 cups onion cut into 3/8" cubes Process I put the garlic, onion, and Brussels Sprouts into  my  Instant Pot  pressure cooker and used the saute function to saute, waterlessly, frequently stirring, on low for about 5 minutes till the onion was lightly browned. I added 1/4 cup water, salt, and the bouillon cube, and reduced the saute to low. I continued stirring but less freq...

I was going to make a chickpea main course and had chickpeas soaking and then set to pressure cook for 30 minutes. However, I found on sale good looking Brussels Sprouts, so made a Brussels Sprouts main course by sauteeing without oil over medium heat on a cast iron pan halved sprouts with garlic and onion. I added a little more onion as well as a chopped (3/8") plantain about 10 minutes later, once I had some charring on the sprouts. I cooked for 5-7 more minutes till the plantain was cooked, then mixed in a little salt, freshly ground black pepper, fennel seed, garlic powder, ume plum vinegar, and lemon juice, then kept it warm in my toaster oven till ready to serve. I put a little garlic and some frozen spinach into the cooked chickpeas and returned to pressure cook for another 5 minutes. I mixed in a little onion, cumin powder, lemon juice, and salt, and served, along with the Brussels Sprouts and salad. Results Pending Ideas for the future Pending

I have some extra grilled " artihearts " (grilled artichoke hearts) leftover from our glorious Thanksgiving dinner so will be coming up with several meals featuring them. Here is what I did today. Ingredients 2/3 cup onion cut into 1/2" cubes 2/3 cup frozen mushroom slices 2/3 cup frozen Brussels sprouts 1 6 ounce packet grilled " artihearts " (grilled artichoke hearts; alternately, regular artichoke hearts) cut into approx. 1/2" cubes (a little over a cup) 2/3 cup frozen bell pepper slices (maybe 1 1/4" x 1/4") 1/4 t salt 1/8 t freshly ground black pepper 1/8 t garlic powder 1/8 t tarragon 1/8 t fennel seeds Process I put, in this order, the onion, mushroom, Brussels sprouts, artichoke, and bell pepper into a large Saladmaster stock pan. I cooked waterlessly - i.e., I covered the pan and heated it on medium high until the vapor release started jiggling, then I reduced the heat to low till the jiggle stopped. I let it cook for about 20 minutes....

Happy Halloween! I had a little pumpkin puree on hand and was very happy with my recent ( October 18th ) experiment cooking with seitan and pumpkin puree. I came up with the idea of cooking seitan with vegetables and pumpkin, then mixing in fresh, raw tomatoes when I served. I made the mistake of mixing the tomatoes in with the couscous which I had thought to make as a side dish - and, in hindsight, I think my "mistake" was fortuitous as it nicely elevated the taste and presentation of the couscous. Here's what I did. Ingredients 1/2 cup whole wheat couscous 3/4 cup water (I accidentally used 1 cup) 1 cup frozen Brussel sprouts Vegan bouillon cube 2/3 cup tomato cut into 1/2" cubes (much of a small-medium tomato) 2T minced basil leaves 3/4 cup onion cut into thin half moons app. 1/4" x 1 1/2" 8 ounces of seitan (I used strips, but any convenient size can be used) 1 1/3 cups carrot cut into 3/8" widths (I used two medium carrots) 1 2/3 compressed cups k...

We had a visitor from Mexico City coming tonight to spend two nights with us. He's not vegetarian, so I thought I'd make something with seitan to let him try a food he likely hadn't had before. I made a waterless Brussels Sprouts dish. Here is what I did: Ingredients 1 cup onion cut into approx. 1/4" x 3/4" half moons (I used about half of a medium Vidalia onion) 1 clove garlic, finely (1/8") diced 2 cups (12 small-medium) Brussels Sprouts, halved 1 1/2 cups button or crimini mushrooms cut into quarters (I used 8 crimini) Kernels stripped from one cob of corn (maybe 3/4 cup?) 3 leaves bok choy, each leaf halved and then cut into 3/8" pieces 8 ounces seitan, slices or cubes 10 leaves fresh oregano, roughly chopped into approximately quarters 1/2 t salt 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper Process I put, in this order, the onion, garlic, Brussels Sprouts, mushrooms, corn, bok choy, and seitan into a large Saladmaster stock pan. I cooked waterlessly - i.e., I...

I picked up some great looking shiitake mushrooms at the farmers' market the day before yesterday and thought I'd make a simple rice dish topped with seitan and sauteed shiitake mushrooms (I sauteed them in a cast iron pan where I added a little oil and wiped it off before starting, cooking onion and garlic along with the mushrooms). The rice was brown rice, cooked in a 1 part rice to 2 parts water, a pinch or two of salt, a vegan bouillon cube, and 1/4 t turmeric thrown in for good measure. I also sauteed in the same way Brussels sprouts with onion and garlic, then mixed in salt, black pepper, capers, and lemon juice. I made a massaged kale salad, as well. Results Dinner was good - we all enjoyed it. I wish that I had some tomato to add a nice contrasting color accent. Ideas for the future One thing that I rarely do in my cooking is to use sauces. Tonight's meal is the kind that could have benefited from a sauce, perhaps a lemon tahini or citrus mint with the Brussels spro...

Brussels Sprouts were on sale at the cooperative grocery store today, so I decided to try roasting them similarly to what I did for the Valentine's Day dinner . I also included a golden beet, cut into 3/8" cubes. At 450°F, I oven roasted the beet with onion for about 30 minutes and the Brussels Sprouts with onion for about 15 minutes. I did not broil, but removed from the oven; the beet looked and tasted good, so I just sautéed on cast iron the Brussels Sprouts and onion, along with (for my wife and me) tempeh, bell pepper, more onion, and chopped spinach. I added a bit of salt and garlic powder when I served. For my daughter, who doesn't like spinach or tempeh, I left out the spinach and used tofu instead of tempeh. I also made a tasty tomato salad. I gave my daughter some tasty organic grape tomatoes that we also bought today. For my wife and me, I halved tomatoes, and mixed in chopped green chili pepper, ume plum vinegar, Indian black salt ( kala namak ), and fre...

I made a simple waterless dish by cooking in a large Saladmaster stock pan onion, garlic, quartered Brussels Sprouts, and most of a bunch of Swiss chard for about 20m. I served with sweet potato and black beans cooked in my Instant Pot . After cooking, I mixed into the beans onion, marinara sauce, fresh Meyer lemon juice, ground cumin, and salt. Results Pending Ideas for the future Pending

Happy Valentine's Day! My family likes Brussels Sprouts but my wife prefers them pan cooked and charred, not steamed or pressure cooked, as I usually prepare them. I had the idea initially of braising Brussels Sprouts after oven roasting them and then pan sauteeing them, perhaps cooking them, covered, with broth as a final step. I thought of cutting fresh tomato into heart-shaped like sections and using them in the main dish for the Valentine's theme. Here is what I did. Ingredients About a half pound (maybe 8) Brussels Sprouts, end and outer leaves removed, then cut into 3/8" slices 3 cloves garlic, finely (about 1/8") minced Onion, of about same volume as garlic, also finely minced 2 firm medium Roma tomatoes, cut into 1/4" slices and then quartered 1t fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice 1/2 t dried oregano 1/4 t (or to taste) salt 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper Process I put the Brussels Sprouts in a oven-proof dish and topped with the garlic and onion, then...