Dinner

I decided to make risotto like I described last May  with a 1 to 2 ratio of arborio rice to water pressure cooked for 5m, along with cubes of potato and carrot, plus peas, onion, and garlic. I also prepared tempeh (tofu for my daughter; I had some tofu, too) in the air fryer at 350°F for 4m. Results Pending Ideas for the future Pending

My wife and daughter are traveling on Friday and I'm teaching tomorrow, so this is my last meal for the family till they return. My wife had picked up some broccolini, which I thought I'd make a mixed vegetable waterless dish out of. I picked up some  Hempé brand soy-free hemp seed and chickpea tempeh, which I air fried at 350°F for 4 minutes then 400°F for an additional 2 minutes. I put, in this order, a little onion, half a head of broccolini chopped into 1/2" pieces, maybe 2 cups of frozen cauliflower florets, 3/4 cup frozen bell pepper slices, and a large baby bok choy, cut into 1" lengths, 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. I mixed the "fried" tempeh and vegetables, then mixed in 4T of Frontera brand key lime skillet sauce  (1g of fat per 2T). ...

The hurricane is slowly passing us by and finally we had some sunshine today - but also tornado warnings this morning, a lot of rain, and nearby areas experienced flooding. We are lucking out and haven't even lost power, but I'm still focused on bringing down my frozen food inventory. I recently bought frozen riced broccoli (blanced organic broccoli and salt), and decided to cook it waterlessly (I just put it in my small  Saladmaster stock pan, 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 7-10 minutes, really just to defrost and heat up. I made a "cheese" sauce to serve atop the broccoli by blending soaked cashews, water, nutritional yeast, garlic, salt, and, for color, a little bit of tomato and red bell pepper. I mentioned in the recent past about, for me, a new tofu company called Hodo Foods  . I bought their braised tofu and used it with dinn...

I'm excited about our new air fryer, the Cuisinart   Air Fryer Toaster Oven TOA-60 . I got it about a week ago and am impressed by its toasting (even and fast) and baking, with or without convection (it's fast!). I finally wanted to try the air frying function. I believe that all "air frying" is with this oven is convection baking, maybe with faster air circulation, and with food put in a rectangular basket with holes allowing air circulation. That basket sits atop a baking tray that I put aluminum foil on to make cleanup easier. For my first try, I was going to make a battered seitan, but my wife forgot to pick up bread crumbs and it turned out that we were out of seitan. How about tofu steaks for kiddo and me, and tempeh ones for my wife? I have read that quinoa can be a good coating, so made some quinoa. I also bought some frozen French Fries. I put a little canola oil on a paper towel and wiped the basket to help with keeping food from sticking. The fries were eas...

We had a Kindergartener friend over for dinner and I thought I'd make a simple whole wheat pearled couscous meal. The couscous is easily made in a ratio of 1 : 1.5 of couscous to water. Here is what I did. Ingredients 1 clove garlic finely minced 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pearled cousous 2 1/4 cups water 1 cup frozen mixed chopped vegetables Vegan bouillon cube 1/4 t salt 8 ounce packet of tempeh cut into thin rectangles maybe 3/4" x 1/2" x 1/4" 1/8 cup onion cut into 3/8" cubes (I used both red and sweet onions) 1-2 T coconut aminos (or soy sauce or tamari) (optional) 1/2 t dried chives Process I dry sauteed the garlic for a minute in a large  Saladmaster  stock pan with no water or any other item. I then added the water and couscous, along with the vegetables, bouillon cube, and salt, and brought to a boil. Once at a boil, I reduced the heat to low and simmered, covered, for 10 minutes. While the couscous was cooking, I sauteed the tempeh and 2/3 of the onion on ...

For Valentine's dinner today, it was just my wife and me, and I decided to cook with zucchini again. I sauteed in a cast iron pan some onion, garlic, zucchini, and tempeh then, once browned, put in a stock pan with spinach and marinara, and simmered on low, covered for 5-6 minutes. I served with shelled edamame (cooked waterlessly) and baked potato (that I had pressure steamed in my  Instant Pot  pressure cooker. Results Pending Ideas for the future Pending

I picked up some nice looking  Jimmy Nardellos peppers  at the farmers' market today. I hadn't seen these before but read that they saute well. Here is what I made. Ingredients 8 ounces tempeh cut into thin (app. 1/4" thick) 3/4" squares About 10 Jimmy Nardellos peppers, rinsed but with stems intact 1 t onion, chopped into 1/4" cubes 3 ounces mushroom cut into 1/4" or so slices (I used frozen but either fresh or frozen would be fine) 1 clove garlic, finely (1/8") chopped 1/2 t salt 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper 1/2 t lemon or lime juice Process I sauteed the tempeh in a cast iron pan that I had put a few drops of oil onto then wiped clean first to leave a small oil residue. I sauteed for maybe 10 minutes on medium - medium-high heat, turning occasionally, till brown, adding the onion and mushroom about halfway through. In another cast iron pan similarly prepared, I sauteed the peppers on medium heat, stirring occasionally, till all peppers had a bit...

I have never riced cauliflower  and should try it sometime to use in making a delicate dish. However, I found frozen riced cauliflower at Whole Foods Market - what could be easier?! I decided to make a simple cauliflower rice dish. Ingredients 1 cup brown rice (uncooked) 2 cups water Vegan bouillon cube 1/4 t salt 3 cups riced cauliflower 8 ounces tempeh cut into cubes approx. 3/8" in size 1t ginger, finely (1/8") diced 1/4 cup onion cut into approx. 3/8" cubes Process I prepared brown rice the normal way by simmering, covered, for 50m the rice and twice as much water, along with the bouillon cube and water. I quickly opened the rice pot when it was done, mixed in the cauliflower, and covered and let stand another 10 minutes till the cauliflower was defrosted and slightly cooked. While the rice was cooking, I prepared the tempeh. I heated on medium high a cast iron pan with a very little bit of oil (maybe 1/4 t), then rubbed the oil off, leaving a light glaze. I added th...

I have heard of people making curried tomato sauces and found a simple and interesting recipe that I could easily make vegan. It calls for cooking onion, bell pepper, garlic, curry powder, and thyme till vegetables are soft, then adding stewed tomato and simmering for 5m. I thought I'd use fresh tomatoes. I was thinking of making a rich Indian-Italian inspired tomato sauce and mix in artichoke quarters, but as I got going, I thought that I had a good collection of vegetables and that artichokes wouldn't be properly hilighted. Below is what I came up with. By the way, a fellow Food for Life instructor, Cathy Katin-Grazzini, shared today a very nice "cheese" sauce recipe that I should try. Her website is a great resource for healthful vegan cooking. Ingredients 2 cloves garlic, finely (1/8") diced 1 medium shallot, finely (1/8-1/4") diced 3 spring onions cut into 1/2" lengths Medium bell pepper cut into approx. 1/2" squares (about a cup) 3 medium...

My wife had picked up an interesting looking  thin sandwich bun (OneBun Multigrain by Ozery Bakery ) that was a bit like an English muffin but that was pre-split to open into two thin halves. I made a simple dinner by putting a little oil on a cast iron pan then wiping the oil off, and grilling tempeh (tofu, in a separate pan, for my daughter), bell pepper, mushroom, and onion. I served the grilled vegetables with mustard, mixed greens, and pickle in the warmed buns. We picked out some huge tomatoes recently, and I served each of us a thick slice from one. We all enjoyed dinner. I don't usually eat sandwiches for dinner, but this one was good and welcome.

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...

We have a Lebanese restaurant in the area, Neomonde , whose seeded pita pockets I like. I picked some up yesterday and decided to make a simple sauteed tofu and vegetable dish served in the pita. I sauteed with no added oil on a cast iron pan and, since tofu bothers my wife, made an equivalent dish for her with tempeh instead of tofu. I also made some peas with basil. All I did was put 2 cups or so of frozen peas in a small Saladmaster stock pan along with 2t frozen chopped basil, and waterlessly cooked for about 10-15m. Results Dinner was simple but good. My daughter had a girl her age visiting for the evening - she had never had tofu in her life, but enjoyed the meal. Peas and basil makes a good combination! Ideas for the future I don't generally serve or eat sandwiches for dinner, but a pocket sandwich somehow sounds appealing. I should serve these periodically and experiment with a variety of interesting fillings.

I found red chard on sale at our coop today; we've not had chard in a while, and I had a head of cauliflower in the refrigerator, so I thought of cooking a chard and cauliflower dish. Preparing it waterlessly (using a quality Saladmaster  pan and cooking, covered, on low) sounded good. Here is what I did. Ingredients 2/3 cup onion cut into approx. 1/4" x 3/4" pieces 2 cloves garlic, finely (1/8") diced 5 cups (maybe 2/3 or a bit more of a medium head) cauliflower florets approximately 3 cups (packed) greens (I used red chard, but other kinds of chard, kale, or, if you like a bit more "bit", mustard greens could be used instead); I used 5 chard leaves, cut the stems into 1/2" lengths to make up about 3/4 cup, then hand stripped the leaves to approximately 1" pieces (about 2 1/2 cups) 1/4 t (or to taste) salt 1/4 t turmeric (optional) 1/4 t garlic powder (optional) 1/4 t black sesame seed Process I put into a large Saladmaster stock pan, in this o...

I picked up on sale some nice simmer sauces today, including a Moroccan one . I made a simple vegetable dish of tempeh, broccoli, onion, potato, and carrot cooked with the simmer sauce. The sauce packet claims to serve 7, but I think it's more like 4. Each serving has 1/2 gram of fat, so, even with larger servings, I'll describe this meal as "almost no added fat".

I recently bought a nice looking product, organic green lentil lasagne from Explore Cuisine  and decided to make lasagne. These noodles are 50% green lentil flour, and otherwise are made of green pea four and brown rice flour. I like Rao's pasta sauces but have only bought them a few times as they are expensive. They were recently on sale, and I purchased their artichoke sauce . Here is what I did. Ingredients 8 ounce dry uncooked lasagne noodles 2 ounces tempeh cut into thin slices approx. 1/4" x 3" x 3" About 20 ounces marinara or other favorite tomato based sauce Ingredient 2 8 ounces of seitan Vegan bouillon cube 2 cups onion cut into half moon slices approx. 1/4" x 1 1/4" ( maybe 2/3 of a medium onion) 1 1/4 cups carrot cut into 3/8" slices (3 small-medium carrots) Process In a glass baking dish, I put one noodle down and covered it with ample sauce. I repeated, with less sauce in the middle, and ample sauce again atop. In between two of the top...