Leftover Cakes

It's my last day here in Denver before going home to California for the holidays. I have a few containers of left overs in the fridge that I wanted to use, but didn't want to just eat the same meals I've had numerous times in the past week or two. I came up with the idea of forming little cakes out of the food, frying it and calling it a new meal! Unfortunately, the split pea soup was just too wet of an ingredient to throw into the cakes, but dad did suggest using it as a pasta sauce or something, so I froze it with the plan of using it later on for that purpose. 

This is the lentil, spinach and rhubarb dish that I threw into the food processor.

The food that I did end up using was 1 1/2 containers worth of the lentil/spinach dish with the rhubarb on top. I ate most of the rhubarb from the mixture, so I threw in the lentils and spinach into the food processor. I also had 1/4 container of the barley and mushroom dish (that Britney hadn't finished last week and I was so over I didn't want to try to eat it by itself). I mixed that stuff up and then added about 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup oats to try and stiffen up the mixture. 

After I put all the leftovers into the food processor, this is what it looked like. This container is the extra mixture I put into the freezer after making my 8 cakes for today.

In the meantime, I took out a bag of mixed greens that I had received after a family night last week at work that we hadn't used. I threw the greens into a hot skillet with some oil and let them shrink down in size. They smelled bad but I didn't think they'd be uneatable. 

Here are the greens that I sauteed with nothing but a little canola oil. I don't have any onions or garlic in the house since I'm leaving, but surprisingly with just a bit of salt and pepper they tasted pretty awesome!

Once the greens were finished, I dropped little circles of the pulverized mixture into the heated skillet and let them cook for a few minutes on both sides. They cooked quite quickly and I just flipped them so both sides would be browned. 

My 8 cakes for the day. While they aren't all exactly cooked perfectly, they all taste delicious and show my learning curve as I figured out the heating level of the pan and stove top!

Can't get enough of this yummy sauce! I LOVE condiments!!!!!!! :D

To finish it off, I put the cakes and greens on a plate and then drizzled the food with the sweet Thai chili sauce.  What a delicious treat that is completely different from the meals they started from. I even have some extra cakes for dinner tonight and some mixture I put into the freezer for another meal later on. I love using up all my food!!

And voila! Simple as that and there is 0 food waste!! Bon apetite!

Chocolatey S'more

After my Chocolate Tasting Party, Eileen (the Dove Chocolatier who put the party together), left Britney and I a few goodies, including a few chocolate covered graham crackers. They had been sitting on the shelf for a few weeks, so the other night, I broke one up into quarters (we'd just had that nice big meal of the mashed potatoes and roasted veggies), and broke up two marshmallows for the grahams. We then enjoyed some gooey open-faced s'mores! YUMM! (I must throw in here though that my apple cake warmed up with a little marshmallow on top was even better! Marshmallows are common since we have 1/2 a bag left from the chocolate tasting party!)

Blanched-peanuts Peanut Butter

I bought a bag of blanched peanuts one day because I'd just read an article that talked about the health benefits of boiled/blanched peanuts compared to other nuts. (http://nutritiondiva.quickanddirtytips.com/are-peanuts-good-for-you.aspx) Unfortunately, I didn't find them too tasty. I put them in my oatmeal, but even then I still wasn't too excited about them. I decided the best way to use them, instead of just choking them down, was to put them in my beloved food processor and eat them as peanut butter. That's exactly what I did too! Since they were blanched, the peanut butter turned a much lighter color. The good news is that the butter is pretty good (when do I NOT like peanut butter?!) and it makes my oatmeal nice and thick, just like I like it!

Tofu with Root Vegetable Mash

Beautiful, eh?

Tofu WITH ROOT VEGETABLE MASH

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2817

I changed this recipe from its original form as "Turkey with Root Vegetable Mash" because of my preferences...we'll see how the changes turn out!!

Serves 12

This elegant tofu dish is excellent with a quick chutney of chopped raw cranberries, dates and navel orange segments.

Ingredients

1 package tofu
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water --used water, I'm cheap!
3 leeks (about 1 1/2 pounds), split, rinsed, sliced 1/2-inch thick and rinsed again --just used one big one
2 turnips, cut into 3/4-inch cubes --used 3 smallish beets and just one turnip
1 small bunch mixed herbs, tied together with kitchen twine
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
1 large celery root, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks --skipped
1 cup unsweetened almond milk  

Method

Place tofu in a large pot and add broth, leeks, turnips and herbs. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer, covered, until tofu is cooked through and vegetables are tender, 35 to 40 minutes (probably less time with tofu rather than turkey).

Meanwhile, boil potatoes and celery root in separate pots covered by a few inches of cold water until very tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, combine in one pot and add almond milk. Mash with a potato masher or large fork until smooth.

Remove tofu from broth and set on a platter. Discard herbs. With a slotted spoon, spoon leeks and turnips around tofu and keep warm. Return pot with broth to medium-high heat and boil until the liquid is reduced to about 3/4 cup; pour over and around tofu. Reheat vegetable mash. Serve and enjoy! 

Nutrition

Per serving (about 11 oz/306g): 220 calories (10 from fat), 1.5g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 65mg cholesterol, 140mg sodium, 23g total carbohydrate (3g dietary fiber, 3g sugar), 26g protein

I just roasted the tofu with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. I don't know how boiled tofu would be, doesn't sound too tasty!

I put the potatoes in the food processor to mash them. I read on a different blog that doing this makes them as dense as wall paper glue, but I liked the gooieness and thought they tasted pretty good. Of course, this wouldn't be my number one choice for mashing potatoes, but it was easier than doing it with a fork or something (no masher at this house...yet!).

See how creamy? I even added about a 1/2 container of tofu,  and a little soy milk,  into the food processor with the potatoes so they were super creamy.

When I was shopping, I was trying to stay on budget and some of the vegetables were either not available or were expensive, so I ended up getting some beets (I LOVE BEETS!) to roast with the leek and turnip. It turned out beautifully purplish/redish and green! Christmasy!!

What a yummy meal!!

Roasted Butternut Squash with Sage and Cranberries

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH SAGE AND CRANBERRIES

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/1216

Serves 4 to 6

Roasted squash embodies the essence of winter meals, caramelized onions add a piquant touch, and fresh sage and dried cranberries dress it up for the holidays. A versatile side dish that complements anything from a weekday family dinner to a lavish holiday celebration. Ingredients with an asterisk (*) are available as Whole Foods Market Brands.

Ingredients

1 medium butternut squash
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil*, divided
Sea salt and ground pepper
2 medium onions
2 tablespoons chopped sage
4 tablespoons dried cranberries or cherries

Method

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Peel squash and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds from the center and discard. Cut squash into large chunks. Coat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste and arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until well caramelized.

Peel onions and cut into large chunks. Coat with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and spread on a second lined baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until well caramelized. When squash and onions are done, toss with sage and cranberries. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 9oz/247g-wt.): 210 calories (100 from fat), 11g total fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 240mg sodium, 29g total carbohydrate (6g dietary fiber, 9g sugar), 2g protein

A Christmas Night with the Roomie

Britney and I have been wanting to drive by Denver's City and County Building that is crazily decorated for Christmas. Last night we took a little field trip over to the building and had some fun taking a few shots of the festive building:

And right before we left, I made her my new little dessert: warmed up apple cake with a little bit of marshmallow on top (yes, I know marshmallows aren't vegan, but David brought two bags of them to the Chocolate Tasting Party and since one of the bags is open...plus, it tastes good on the apple cake!)

Spicy Lentil and Spinach with Rhubarb Chutney

Spicy Lentil and Spinach with Rhubarb Chutney

http://www.vegalicious.org/2009/09/14/spicy-lentil-and-spinach-with-rhubarb-chutney/

This is a nice hearty meal for the cooler seasons of the year. It’s particularly nice with hearty whole grain bread and a nice mixed salad.

This recipe came in need when I realized that rhubarb in your oatmeal isn't the best thing if you don't want to add a lot of extra sugar to sweeten it up. When I was at the grocery store the other week, I decided to go for the on sale frozen produce for my oatmeal, that being rhubarb. I thought it was a fun new idea. Well I just used it for the first time this morning and let me tell you, wasn't the best idea I've had. As I was eating it, I took some time to explore online some options for savory dishes with rhubarb (because of course there is the traditional rhubarb pie, which I wasn't interested in making at this time), and I came across this recipe. I stopped by the store on my way home from work today to get a few of the ingredients I didn't have. I also used a few ingredients I already had, adding to the recipe 1/2 head of cabbage that I was afraid was going bad. 

How did it turn out, you ask? AMAZING!! Of course I ended up making a lot more than the recipe called for, which made the original batch taste bland, so then I added more spices and herbs. And my natural inclination is "Oh there is a lot of food here and Cayenne is a good flavor, let's add some...and maybe a bit more...and a little more", and before you know it the dish is pretty darn spicy. I started the dish with the intention of NOT making it spicy, but low and behold, that's exactly what I did. One awesome surprise was how great of a chef I felt after I tasted the rhubarb chutney; I even said "Damn that's good!" The combination is pretty darn fabulous!

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

for the lentil and spinach:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1-2 cups water as needed
• 1 cup lentils
• 4 cups spinach, washed and spun dry
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• cayenne or Cajun spices (optional)

for the rhubarb chutney:

• 1 onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3-4 stalks rhubarb, chopped
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger

Directions:

To make the lentil and spinach stew:

1. Saute the chopped onion in the oil,
2. Add the minced garlic and further saute.
3. Add the cumin, coriander and paprika mix well.
4. Add the lentils and allow to lightly saute in the oils and herbs.
5. Add the tin of tomatoes, and tomato paste.
6. Add 1 cup of water, the bay leaves crushed a bit and bring the lentils to boil.
7. Turn the heat lower but allow the lentils to softly simmer.
8. Add additional water as needed.
9. Season to taste with salt and pepper, cayenne and or Cajun spices as you wish.

Meanwhile:
to make the rhubarb chutney:

1. Saute the onion in the oil.
2. Add the copped rhubarb and allow to saute until it begins to soften.
3. Add the vinegar, brown sugar and spices.
4. Mix well, and allow to gently boil.
5. Reduce to a simmer until the liquid has evaporated and the rhubarb is a thick mass.

Shortly before serving, add the washed and spun dried spinach to the lentils.
Fold the spinach in and allow to wilt.

Serve the lentil spinach stew with the rhubarb chutney on the side or drizzled on top.

Celebration Lentil Loaf

Lentil Loaf = Celebration Time!

CELEBRATION LENTIL LOAF

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2808

Serves 6

This festive main course is rich and tasty on its own, but you can also pair it with vegan mushroom gravy.

Ingredients

1 cup brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
3/4 cup bulgur wheat
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup apple cider (non-alcoholic)
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

Method

Put lentils in a small saucepan with 2 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer until lentils are very tender, about 40 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Put bulgur in a small saucepan with 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer until bulgur is tender and water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Set aside.

In a medium skillet, combine mushrooms, onion, cider and poultry seasoning. Cover and simmer over medium heat until vegetables are very tender, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and pulse until just chopped. Scrape into a bowl and fold in lentils, bulgur, oats, bell pepper and parsley.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8- or 9-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Pack lentil mixture into pan and smooth the top. Bake until edges brown slightly, about 1 hour. Cool in pan 15 minutes, then invert it onto a serving plate. Remove parchment and cut the loaf into slices. 

Nutrition

Per serving (about 6 oz/160g): 230 calories (15 from fat), 1.5g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 110mg sodium, 44g total carbohydrate (10g dietary fiber, 6g sugar), 12g protein

Bulgur wheat and lentils mixed together.

Vegetables sauteeing.

Sauteed veggies are put in food processor to make a paste.

The lentils, bulgur wheat and red peppers are stirred together.

Then add the food processed paste to the lentil mixture. Bake for 45 mins or so and it becomes a loaf!

And voila!!

Vegan Apple Cake

Vegan Apple Cake

http://www.egglesscooking.com/2009/01/26/vegan-apple-cake/#axzz1756OgCYj

I had some extra vegan pumpkin cake dry ingredients after making a batch for Pam and Rich for Thanksgiving (not realizing that the ingredients on the recipe I used, the same as for Dusty's pumpkin birthday cake, made 2 breads instead of 1)--I just bagged 1/2 of the dry ingredients for a future time. This is the future time. I am hosting a chocolate tasting party (more about that to come soon) today and need some things to dip into chocolate fondu. The woman who is helping me host the party from Dove Chocolate, whose name is Eileen, said that people really like Lady Fingers and other little cookies, etc. but I figured I could use that dry ingredients bag and bake something homemade. I have finally finished off my homemade pumpkin puree (with the Haitian pumpkin soup I made earlier this week, blog entry coming soon on that meal), so I couldn't make more pumpkin bread. I decided maybe apple bread would be yummy since I have some extra apple sauce in the fridge. That's just what I did too! Even though the recipe called for three cups of freshly grated apple, I just used three cups of apple sauce. And since the proportions of the pumpkin bread and the apple cake were a bit off for the dry ingredients, I ended up making 1 1/2 apple cakes.

Something I learned: you can substitute baking power and baking soda for one another, but you need to be careful of the proportions. One website I read said that you need to use between 2-3 times more baking powder for baking soda, and you may also want to omit the salt since that can inhibit the rising capabilities of the chemicals in the two ingredients. I'm writing this now as my apple cake is baking and I have two full circle pans baking and they both look close to overflowing, so I guess that's a good sign that I used plenty of baking powder, I just hope it tastes OK and that they don't overflow!

Oh and another tidbit: there are 3 teaspoons in 1 tablespoon--always good to know such conversions! Here's hoping for the best with those cakes!

I didn't get any pics of it by itself but there are pics of it at the Chocolate Tasting Party blog.

Butter, softened (I used Earth Balance – 4 tbspns)3 tablespoons

Sugar3/4 cup

Ener-G (in place of 1 egg)1 and 1/2 teaspoons

Water2 tablespoons

Soy Milk (if using Ener-G)3 tablespoons

Vanilla Extract1 teaspoon

All Purpose Flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)1 cup

Baking Soda1 teaspoon

Salt1/4 teaspoon

Ground Cinnamon (I used 1/4 teaspoon)1/2 teaspoon

Ground Nutmeg (I did not use)1/2 teaspoon

Apples, peeled and diced (I grated it)3 cups

Nuts, chopped (I used 1/2 cup walnuts)1/4 cup

1 Preheat oven at 350F for 15 minutes. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish.
2 In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Since the quantity of butter is very less, the creamed mixture was dry and resembled coarse crumbs.
3 In a blender/food processor blend together Ener-G, water, soy milk and vanilla extract until nice and foamy.
4 Add the Ener-G mixture to the creamed butter/sugar and beat everything together with the hand mixer until thoroughly combined. This mixture looks creamy like a white sauce.
5 In another bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg (if using). Add this to the wet ingredients. The batter will be thick.
6 Stir in apples and nuts. Mix it thoroughly.
7 Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with just a few crumbs. Mine was done around 38 minutes. You can also see that the cake starts pulling from the edges.
8 This cake can be sliced directly from the pan while its still warm, so no need to wait for the pan to cool to invert it and then slice it.

Thanksgiving Pizza

The last night of my stay at Pam and Rich's in Granby, we made homemade pizza with whole wheat sourdough crust, tomatoes, onions, olives and so much more!! It was delicious and I got to take some home. (This was still part of my vegetarian time, not vegan, so I ate the cheese on it too!)

Chocolate Tasting Party

When Britney and I went to the Colorado Country Christmas gift show in November, we met Eileen, a Dove Chocolatier, who does Chocolate Tasting Parties at peoples' houses. She asked if I'd be interested in hosting a party, to which I said OF COURSE, but "how much does it cost?" It is FREE. So I climbed on board the chocolate train and got my party started. I decided to do an AmeriCorps Christmasy party. Eileen brought all the fixings, I supplies the fondue dippings (with the help of Alexis and David) and we ate some tasty food on this glorious December Sunday afternoon!

Can you believe these are all chocolate? Eileen, the Dove Chocolatier, made these with the chocolate dipping machine thing she has, so fancy!

I met up with two friends from Berkeley who are now living in Boulder on Friday and Emma gave me these beautiful flowers that were in her office3. I love seeing them on our kitchen table since I don't ever have flowers in our apartment.

Here are the flowers from another angle, they're so pretty I want you to really get a feel for how nice they are!

And I even have some Xmas decorations!

With some lights on a garland on our TV table!

And for the Chocolate Tasting Party, Eileen brought a few packages for display: one is of gingerbread cookie mix and chai tea mix, the other is of chocolate martini mix!

Here's an entire table of goodies!

Chocolate Fondue

Shopping in the Dove Chocolate magazines for goodies for Christmas presents!

An assortment of samples: chocolate mint bites, chocolate peanut butter bites, chocolate-cinnamon covered almonds, all so tasty!!

Pretzels with a cool whip vanilla spiced chai tea dipping spread! Salty AND sweet!

Chocolate covered graham crackers

Chocolate covered pretzels

Such a nice gift, right?!

Apples that were cinnamon spiced and then drizzled in white chocolate. Eileen recommended putting them in salads, which goes along nicely with Dove's recommended 3 servings of chocolate per day, one in each meal of the day!

Who wouldn't?!

This is where you can find all the goodies you may want to buy through a Dove Chocolatier!

Alexis: "I can't believe Missy is eating MY chocolate!" (we were sampling raspberry-Merlot flavored dipping chocolate and a mint dipping chocolate!)

Eileen is hooking Daina up with some dipping chocolate.

Jennifer and Alexis are enjoying the little chocolate cups filled with coffee-liquor! What a celebration we were having!

At the end, Eileen made some chocolate martinis that were very strong and very sweet. Luckily Jonathan and Jennifer really enjoyed them and helped us finish them up. 

All the dippings for the chocolate fondue: apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries, marshmallows, chocolate cookies, brownies and vegan apple cake!! WAY too much food!

We had so many dippers we neded more chocolate!!!

Britney sure is enjoying her bite!

Eatin', chatin' and learning some geography (the world map is behind me on the wall).

I got some decorations for our apartment, finally, making it feel much more festive!

 With the ambiance lighting!

Frosty the Snowman is in 245 Bannock St!

The left over goodies from today's party!

Isn't he so cute? What a great decoration for a whole $2! Great Good Will purchase!