Justin & Meredith Winokur's Kitchen Cooking Notebook
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All for 'vegetarian'
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Brunch: Buffalo Eggs -- back to top
Meredith's family does something called Armadillo Eggs which is a jalapeno stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in maple sausage. This is a much healthier version, modified both for what we had on hand and (mostly) for calories.
We took mini sweet peppers and filled them with buffalo dip (hence the name). The buffalo dip is similar to the Hungry Girl one. It was half a block of fat free cream cheese, Frank Red Hot and a chunk of Laughing Cow blu cheese all microwaved. Anyway, we then coated it in Gimme Lean. It was actually really difficult to coat them because it is so sticky. Each pepper has a quarter of a gimme lean.
Points are difficult but they were low. Even with half of a gimme lean per person, it was low. The buffalo dip was with fat free cream cheese which is also low.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 689, 2010-11-21_120703
Vegetarian Bean Fajitas, Fiber One Fried Onion Rings and Spinach -- back to top
The fajitas were just onions, peppers, mushrooms and kidney beans with fajita seasoning. I would like to make my own seasoning sometime but this worked well enough. We added the red kidney beans right at the end so they didn't get too smashed. The beans were there to be a source of protein and some substance. We made the onions rings inspired by the Hungry Girl Recipe I copied below. We really just winged it but it was helpful to have the recipe. They were pretty easy with two people so you that I did not get my hand full of egg. Finally, we made sautéd spinach because it was getting old and we wanted to use it.
Fiber One Onion Rings (from Hungry Girl)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 823, 2010-12-23_113425
Vegetable Lasagna with Butternut Béchamel (homemade pasta). Plus potatoes. -- back to top
This is the same recipe as last time, but this time, we use spinach. Again, we didn't have swiss chard so we had to use something else. Spinach fit the bill.
The biggest difference was that I made the pasta myself. I followed the recipe at the bottom of this post but we used 1/3 of the recipe. It was really good using my own pasta. It took a long time but it was nice and easier to use? It was also more flavorful and it cut nicely. That may also be because we used low-fat cheese instead of fat free. It also came out nicer because we used the pan lid instead of aluminum foil.
We also had roasted potatoes.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1089, 2011-03-24_091339
Pasta with veggies and Artichokes -- back to top
The intention of this meal was carb-loading before the Tour Du Port. We sautéd onions, added some frozen corn,peas and then fresh spinach. We then added whole wheat pasta and sprinkled some cheese on top (I forget the type of cheese).
We also had artichokes (not pictures). They were pretty old but good. I think it was my first time eating them not canned. We used a fat free ranch made with ranch powder a greek yogurt (beats the extra sweet bottled stuff) and a truffle-salt and garlic greek yogurt dip. The ranch was good. We didn't love the other very much.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1446, 2011-10-08_142200
Vegetable Lasagna with Butternut Béchamel -- back to top
We made the lasagna with the recipe from 2011-02-07 with spinach instead of swiss chard. Also, we were light on the spinach and mushrooms. Because of that, we made it in the smaller glass dish. We used Barilla no-bake lasagna noodles.
This one was interesting in that we made it, it sat if the fridge for two days, in the freezer for two days and then we defrosted it and cooked it. Surprisingly, it turned out to be okay. I do not think we made any other changes other than the type of vegetable.
As always, the points on this were extremely low since it is basically all veggies.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1639, 2011-12-19_135511
Baked egg in Avocado and a Hamburger -- back to top
The main part of this was the avocado. We had read about it on Lifehacker but we changed it a bunch. Meredith made a stuffing out of egg beaters, cheese and Pace salsa. We hollowed out a bit of the avocado to make a bigger space and poured the egg in. We baked it for about 20 minutes. I think at 400 but I do not remember for sure and the site doesn't seem to have it. It was really good and cool. The warm avocado added a nice touch and the egg stuff was also good.
I also made a lean hamburger with a lot of different seasonings including curry powder and cayenne. It was dry but fine.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1806, 2012-02-11_182727
Quinoa Patties and Purple Potatas Bravas -- back to top
We made quinoa from the recipe below. Meredith put it together so she may have more comments, but we basically followed the base of the recipe though we needed a bit more egg. We also used gouda instead of the parmesan. We also used regular flour. Instead of frying it, we baked it like the zucchini fritters. We baked them at 440°F for 15 minutes, then flipped them and baked for another 10. I was prepared to have to really scrape but in the end, they came off nicely. They were really good. I really liked the thin parts that were extra crispy. The flavor was subtle which contrasted with the patatas bravas and its heat. It didn't help that my head/nose was stuffed so the flavors were even harder to discern.
The patatas bravas we more or less based on the standard except I also added some leftover canned sauce. I used a lot of cayenne and all of the called for paprika was hot paprika plus, I added some smoked hot. I also forgot the garlic and vinegar but I added a lot of onion and garlic powder. The sauce was good, but it was rather spicy. Again, being a bit stuffed up, made this strong flavor eclipse the quinoa.
Vegetable Parmesan Quinoa Patties (from Eat Well Meal Plans)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1903, 2012-04-14_091120
Pasta with Chickpeas and Arugula -- back to top
I used the recipe below to make this. I didn't have good mozzarella cheese so I just used grated, 2%. I also used toscano for the top. The arugula I used was a bit old and possibly pushing its lifetime. It worked pretty well. The dominant flavor was the balsamic vinegar but I still liked it. The chickpeas gave it some real protein too. Also, I used whole wheat penne (and less) instead of shells
I was in a hurry to I forgot to take a picture of my dinner serving, and then took a picture of the lunch version.
Pasta Shells With Chickpeas And Arugula (from Serious Eats)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1965, 2012-05-14_213902
Zucchini Fritters and Pasta -- back to top
I made zucchini fritters at least starting out with the original recipe. It was actually a bit thick before I added anything else, but then I remembered the baking powder. Except, I accidentally added corn starch. That made it even thicker! I think I may have used a bit too much flour. It was a little bit more like pancake batter. As I said, it was thick before but it made very few despite using two whole zucchinis.
I also made a small side of pasta (using the "plus" kind that is whole grain and more protein). I added some cheese, butter spray and lots of Penzeys Sandwich Sprinkle. It was also pretty good!
I could have stretched it to two meals but since I didn't need lunch the next day and since the fritters are low, I just did it as one.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2014, 2012-06-15_214832
Zucchini Fritters -- back to top
I made the normal zuchinni fritters using the standard recipe. I wasn't overly hungry so this was all I had. I did a few thing differently. Most notable is that I put about a tsp o salt on the zucchini before pressing it. This was the draw pi more moisture. As usual, I added a bunch more seasonings including garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, etc. Oh, I also used a lot of minced dried onion in place of onion all together. It was different and certainly easier not having to chop and drain onion.
I had to scrape them off but I am getting pretty good at that and it wasn't all that difficult. They were pretty good and a perfect low point meal since I wasn't too hungry
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2123, 2012-07-15_215425
I followed largely the recipe from here. It called for 3 cups of quinoa and, according to a website, quinoa expands 4x. Well, I decided to use a cup of quinoa just in case. I am glad I did since It only made 2.5 cups. Good to know in the future. I made the quinoa with beef broth defeating the vegetarianism, but it can be done without. Also, it took about 18-20 minutes and not the 10-15 it calls for.
Otherwise, I used a bit of extra carrot but just one zucchini. I also added a bunch of seasonings including garlic powder, minced onion (a lot) and 21 seasoning salute. I had to use a bit extra flour (whole wheat) since there wasn't as much quinoa. It was still wet but it worked fine. I didn't have green onion. Also, I used a bit less than a tablespoon of ground thyme. I also used ricotta salata instead of parmesan cheese. I cooked them for about 17 minutes per side on 440 (yes, I cannot use normal values)
I was a bit nervous that it wouldn't be very good since when I tasted the batter it was just okay, but they came out really good! More pronounced flavor than last time and really good
Points Plus for the 11 patties:
Quinoa (1 cup dry)...17
Egg Beater (2 egg worth)...1.3
Whole Wheat Flour...2.7
Greek Yogurt...1.4
Ricotta Salata...7 (just a guess, but a very safe one)
-----------------------------
~29.4 for two servings.
So about 15 for all of dinner isn't too bad!
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2151, 2012-07-29_211937
Zucchini and Wheat berry mix -- back to top
This idea was inspired by something Meredith made and a few recipes, including this one. Basically, I started with a bit less than a cup of dry wheat berries. Supposedly, you are supposed to soak them overnight, but I googled how to cook them without soaking. Maybe they would have been less chewy had I soaked them, but I like the chewiness. Then, I used the mandoline to finely slice two zucchinis. I was supposed to salt and drain them but I forgot. I then mixed the wheat berries and zucchini. I added a bit of salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. I mixed a bit of apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and a really small amount of olive oil with some more seasonings. I mixed them up and added it. After that was all mixed, I added 4 oz of TJ's light feta crumbled.
It came out really, really good! I wish I knew exactly how much of everything I added so I could do it exactly again! There was a nice chewiness with good texture. Maybe a bit too wet from not draining the zucchini but not too bad. And pretty low points.
Points Plus
~1 cup dry wheat berries...16
4 oz feta...4
2 tsp olive oil...2
--------
22 for 2 meals.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2164, 2012-08-01_140756
Shakshuka with Fennel and Feta -- back to top
First, the brussel sprouts. It was a while ago that I made them so I had to refresh my memory of how I was doing it. I followed a Serious Eats recipe. I'll reiterate it here for future reference. I heated the oven to 500_with_ the pans. Then I put the halved sprouts on the hot pan. Some people recommended flipping it to cut side down but I decided to leave it as is. I had already tossed them with a bit of olive oil and lots of salt and pepper. Anyway, I put them on the pan and put them in the oven for about 20 minutes, rotating half way. One thing about doing it this way is you really have to watch the leaves that broke off since they will burn.
For the shakshuka, I followed the recipe pretty closely. with an extra serrano and a very large jalapeńo. I also skipped the parsley and used a mix of regular and hot paprika instead of the smoked. For both the paprika and the crushed red pepper, I used a lot extra. I also threw in some garlic powder. I didn't make any more changes that I can recall except messing with the times as needed. I was worried that the eggs were overdone but they were perfect. Since I wasn't doing bread, I wanted slightly harder (somewhere between runny and medium) and that is exactly what they were. I used lite feta instead normal. Oh, and I used 6 eggs. It made a lot but it was enough for 2 meals. (Despite what the recipe says)
I didn't really taste the fennel but it was my first time cooking with it and I liked it. I smelled it a lot while cooking. I wonder if I can do anything to add more of its flavor. I am sure I did taste it in there, but maybe not very strongly.
Shakshuka with Fennel and Feta (From A Sweet Spoonful)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2796, 2012-10-28_202002
Red Curry Spaghetti Squash and Zucchini Fritters -- back to top
The spaghetti squash was based very loosely on the recipe below. Basically, I just used it for tips on how to deal with red-curry paste. I wasn't making soup though, so I didn't really need the majority of it. Anyway, I used about 2 tbsp of red curry paste though I didn't measure so who knows. I followed the instructions on frying it a bit in olive oil. I used 1 cup of (Osem) chicken broth with splenda instead of sugar.
The one thing I need to keep in mind in the future is that it takes a long time for all of the water to cook down. I should plan for that better time wise. Also, maybe a cup of water is too much. With tomato sauce, you are putting it on top but with the curry, both this time and last, it is more about the flavoring.
For the fritters, I followed the standard recipe, again with extra seasonings (paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, TJ's 21 seasoning, etc). However, instead of onion, I used_a lot_ of minced, dried onion. Probably a bit too much as it took over the flavor, but that wasn't a big deal. I did my normal pressing of the zucchini between trays with paper towel, but it was still pretty wet. I ended up letting it cook a bit longer to dry it out more. Also, for the first time ever, I didn't have to scrape it off the tray to flip. I do not know what changed, but I am not complaining.
I just reread the recipe and I used twice the amount of egg. Oh well. I'll be more careful next time.
20-Minute Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup with Chicken (From Serious Eats)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2805, 2012-10-30_203909
Roasted Cabbage with Parmesan and fake meat thing -- back to top
The main star of this meal was the cabbage. I followed the recipe below and I didn't need to make many changes except I used shredded cabbage. I think the only thing I did was let it cook a bit longer to brown. The cheese was very important as it enhanced the cabbage flavor. Otherwise, I think it may have just been bland. I used real ground parmesan as opposed to the fake stuff. I thought it came out really well. Some of the cabbage was more browned but there was a nice mix of flavor and char. And, as I said, the cheese really came through and brought out the flavor of the rest.
Shredding it was also really easy. I peeled the outer layers and then quartered it. I cut diagonally to remove the core. Then I used the mandolin to slice it along one of the flat edges. Super easy and quick.
I also threw together a protein part. It is basically sautéd onions with some Trader Joes fake beef strips. I added some red wine dijon sauce (used here and here). I do not love the beef strips, but I had them and wanted to use them up.
Roasted Savoy Cabbage with Parmesan (from Daily Unadventurous in Cooking)
(2014-01-08 Note: This recipe was added to My Recipe Book)
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2811, 2012-10-31_202604
Roasted Asparagus (and other stuff) -- back to top
I wanted to continue the trend of roasting vegetables. I didn't follow any specific recipes but read a bunch. They are all pretty similar. Roast asparagus at 425 for about 10-15minutes I did that, but I also turned on the broiler for a little bit at the end to get some more crisp.
I do not know I overcooked it or what, but it was crispy on the outside and a bit mushy on the inside (though I like mushy asparagus). Still, it wasn't as good as other roasted vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprout, cauliflower).
And on that note, I had another half a head of cabbage and I was still hungry (I did also have a noodle-type bowl), so I made more roasted cabbage (not pictured)
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2819, 2012-11-07_200947
Brussels Sprouts Hash with Fried Sage and Soft Cooked Eggs -- back to top
I made this a while ago based on the recipe below. I followed it pretty closely including the oil (since there isn't much else in it). It was interesting to used fried sage leaves but I do not think I really tasted them too much. Honestly, I was disappointed by this. It kind of just steamed the brussel sprouts (which I bough chopped already). Maybe I needed to use a bigger pan so as to have more in contact with it. I think if you cannot get a good char on the sprouts, then you miss so much of the flavor.
Brussels Sprouts Hash with Fried Sage and Soft Cooked Eggs (from Serious Eats)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2840, 2012-11-15_113403
Black Bean Empanadas and Edamame -- back to top
I am writing this a bit after the fact so I do not recall everything. I made the standard empanada dough. I do not think I followed all of the timing on the recipe, but it came out okay. I again steamed the beans for a bit like last time which made them easy to mash. I do not recall if I put Dave's Insanity in, but I think I did. I remember them being very spicy.
They were good but not all too notable but it was good. I always forget how much of a pain-in-the-ass it was to make empanadas but it was good.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2887, 2012-12-10_212710
Pasta Mustard Tuna thing -- back to top
This was basically my standard type of pasta meal I like to make before a bike ride. I basically put mustard with pasta and a can of tuna. I used white wine to reduce it all together (though I used too much and the pasta got over done)
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3024, 2013-01-11_093314
Taco Lentil Cupcakes -- back to top
I got this idea from Meredith. I made lentil tacos (and a taco wonton of sorts). I took 1 cup of dry lentils, 2 cups of water and a packet of taco seasoning. As it cooked down, I added some sautéed onions, peppers and julienned zucchini. I did the standard taco cupcake thing but I was careful to not overfill them. I had a few leftover wrappers and some lentils so I also made some wonton things.
The whole thing was pretty good but not as amazing as I had hoped. It was flavorful and relatively easy; though it took much more time than beef. I really liked the wonton thing but the wrapper-to-filling ratio is not good enough so I doubt I'll do them as the primary meal. Also, point wise, the lentils were more or less the same as had I done beef. But it did make more. Actually, with all the extra, I added some cheese and microwaved it for a bit. That was also very good.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3095, 2013-01-21_204815
Laughing Cow Pasta -- back to top
I made a quick pasta thing. I cooked the pasta (3 oz, 1.5 servings) and put it into the dish with a laughing cow wedge. I then added sprinkle cheese, Penzeys sandwich sprinkle, garlic powder and dried minced onion.
It was pretty good and fairly quick. However, I do not think it was really enough food. May have been better with a side.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3121, 2013-02-01_090005
Butternut squash, seitan hash -- back to top
I kind of threw this together. I cut up most of a butternut squash into small pieces and then I kept tossing them in a medium-high temp cast iron pan. I just used pam as the oil. I kept tossing them, covering them some of the time and letting them cook down. I added lots of rosemary and some salt. As they got more finished, I put a thing of seitan into the mix. Finally, I cracked eggs into the pan and put it in the oven. I alternated between the oven at 450 and the broiler. I think I may have gone just a but too long as the yolks were more set than I would have liked, but not too bad.
The stuff was very good. I would definitely do it again. Other than cutting the squash, it wasn't too hard and made a nice, low(ish) point breakfast. I am not sure if you have to start counting the squash at a certain point or not.
Also, on Emily's suggestion, I tried roasted the squash skin. I ended up burning most of it, but the unburned pieces were surprisingly good. I expected them to be chewy and gross but they weren't
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3211, 2013-03-01_191300
Lentil Moussaka -- back to top
This was different. I made lentil Moussaka. I basically followed the standard recipe except instead of beef, I added 1-1/4 cup dry lentils. According to this Kitchn post you should be careful cooking lentils with acid because they can remain hard. I decided not to heed that and let it cook in the tomato sauce. Well, they were cooked but still noticeably crunchy. next time, I'll cook them separately and then add them towards the end. I also added more seasonings as I went since it didn't have the usual flavor.
Also, I made the béchamel with regular flour (no point change) but I used a more gentle heat. This worked well. I think I got a better sauce that tasted less floury.
Overall, it was pretty good. Nowhere near as good as the normal with meat, but not too bad either. I do think it needs more seasonings with the lentils.They are much healthier and vegetarian for Emily. Again, it made a lot. At least two big dinners and two nice size lunch type portions. And, as I said above. much lower points with the lentils
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3218, 2013-03-02_224746
Vegetable and Egg Fajitas -- back to top
I made vegetable and egg fajitas for breakfast. I took a whole onion, a bunch of birds eye chiles, lots of mushrooms, a poblano and beans. I then added egg (beaters) at the end, and mixed it all in. I used salt, pepper and a bit of adobo seasoning.
It was very good but very spicy. We had it with low-cal tortillas.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3229, 2013-03-03_102252
I made shakshuka in a manner combining the first time and last time. I started with some fennel (which I need to read up on the propper way to cut) and onion. I added to that a habanero pepper, a poblano pepper,broccoli, carrots, celery then a 28 and 14 oz can of tomatoes (once all the other veggies were well softened). I also used a bunch of paprika, hot hungarian paprika, oregano,parsley garlic powder, salt, pepper and probably other stuff I don't remember. I let it cook uncovered for about 25 minutes. I then poached 6 eggs into it and let them cook. I ended up turning up the heat to try to get rid of more liquid. It burned the bottom pretty badly, but it wasn't a big deal. when it was done, I added 4oz of light feta.
It was very good. No overly strong flavors (not even the anise) but it was a lot of food with some good flavor. And I especially love when broccoli cooks in tomato sauce! The whole thing was 4 points for the feta, plus 12 for the eggs for 16 total. It made a large dinner and lunch so 8 for both! Not bad.
I also roasted some of the extra broccoli. It was good.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3344, 2013-03-24_202844
Falafel and Spinach Salad -- back to top
I made falafel. I based this on the regular falafel, but again using the food processor like last time. The biggest changes were that I went extremely heavy on the parsley and cilantro. I basically just chopped a bunch of each. That explains the very green color. I also went heavy on all of the spices. The other major change was that I used rye flour since I had it out and accessible. (I actually made the dough the night before and just formed/baked them today). I also used 3-4 tbsp of flour to counteract the extra wetness from the food processor method.
I also cooked it for 20-25 minutes per side instead of 15. And I did it on the silpat which worked very well. They were very, very good
. Lots and lots of flavor. And pretty easy too. I think refrigerating it overnight helped too.
I also had spinach+arugula salad with FF dressing and McCormick Salad crunchy things
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3419, 2013-04-12_090920
Mushroom + Quinoa Stuffed Mushrooms -- back to top
I made Mushroom + Quinoa stuffed mushrooms. First, the filling. I started with sautéing half an onion using dry sherry to deglaze the pan. I then added a lot of finely chopped mushrooms. That included both the stems of the caps I stuffed and an additional pack of mushrooms. Basically, a lot. I kept adding sherry and letting it cook away. I then added_cooked_ quinoa (started as 1/2 cup dry, Osem in the water). Finally, I added lots of garlic powder and TJ's 21 seasoning salute.
For the mushroom caps, I pealed away the outer layer and then spread laughing cow into the inside. I cooked it for 25 minutes at 350 (see 2011-01-10). These mushrooms were a bit small making it difficult. And annoying to peel. I wonder if there is an easier way.
Anyway, they came out pretty good. They were small and not the most filling thing, but the laughing cow trick really gives it a lot of flavor. And the topping got nice a crispy, though a lot fell off the caps.
The points were 9 for the 1/2 cup dry quinoa, 3 for 5 wedges of Laughing cow, plus some for the sherry. It made two meals worth including extra filling. Even if you count the sherry as, say, 5, it is 17 for two meals. Not bad.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 5745, 2013-04-15_064200
Zucchini+Pasta with a Fried egg and Roasted Curry Cauliflower -- back to top
I based this loosely on this recipe. Basically, I thinly sliced zucchini into little pieces using the mandolin. I then added a tad of olive oil and lots of salt and pepper. Then I added 1 serving of Whole Wheat Plus pasta. I added a bunch of grated ricotta salata. I mixed it all together and microwaved it to warm it up. After it was done, I added two "fried" eggs. (probably over-medium. No oil, just doesn't in the pan). I added more salt and pepper plus more cheese. It was really good. The egg flavor mixed well with the salt and pepper (and cheese).
I also made curried cauliflower. It was very good but way toooooooo salty. The salt shaker broke open a bit and poured in. Still, it was very good. Crispy as always and really good.
I didn't calculate the points, but it must be low. Just the pasta, a bit of oil, the eggs and the cheese.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 5748, 2013-04-16_210707
Falafel and Za'atar Dip -- back to top
I basically did my normal falafel but I went heavy on the spices and added garlic powder and lots of za'atar. I also really let it cook for a long time (25 min/side). I do not know which change made the difference, but they came out exceptionally well! Lots of flavor, lots of crunch, etc. They even tasted like they were fried. I think making smaller balls helps that since there is just so much more surface area. Plus, then you get 20 little falafel which is more than enough food!
I also made za'atar-garlic dip. I just mixed a lot of za'atar and garlic powder in fat free greek yoghurt. It gave the meal some more protein and it tasted pretty good!
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 5782, 2013-05-06_141633
Shakshuka and Stir-Fried Broccoli -- back to top
I threw together shakshuka from the following:
I did the onions and shallots first, then added the peppers, then the rest. I let it cook for about 30 minutes or more and then poached eggs inside of it. I topped it with grated parm cheese. It came out very good. Lots of flavor. And the broccoli was nice and covered with the tomatoes. I probably could have cooked it a bit longer, but it was fine. It did have a nice spice to it, my guess is it was the jalapeño seeds.
I also tried to make something with the rest of the broccoli. I had the dipping sauce from tuna tataki(from 2013-05-02). I strained it to remove any chunks of stuff, including some old tuna that was there. I added some (actually, too much) corn starch. I then steamed broccoli a bit then added the sauce. As I said, it was too much corn starch and the whole thing thickened too much. That wasn't so bad, except that the sauce was extremely salt and way too lemony. It may work well for a tuna dipping but it pretty much failed for coating/stir-frying broccoli. I ate a few pieces and threw out the rest.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 5787, 2013-05-07_210733
Open-Face Falafel Patties with Za'atar spread -- back to top
I wanted to make falafel (with the changes I noted on 2013-05-12) but I wanted enough for a lunch a day later. So instead of eating it all, I made them more into patties, then I served them open face on multi-grain, low-fat english muffins. I made a za'atar dip with za'atar, greek yogurt and garlic powder. I also served them with a thin slice of tomato.
They were extremely good as always these days. Nice crisp to them with lots of flavor. I liked them served this like too. I think I would use tzatziki instead of za'atar dip in the future if I didn't have to make it myself. Either way, I would also add a thin slice of cucumber.
Point-wise, it came out the same as just eating the whole thing but this is more interesting and makes more.
Made two servings. Here is the points for one (4 open-face things)
2x Multi-grain low fat english muffins...5.8
1/2 can chick peas...4.8
1/8 cup flour...1.4
1/2 tsp olive oil...0.6
4oz (1/2 serving) FF Greek Yogurt...1.6
---------------------------------------------------
14.2 or 14
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 5798, 2013-05-11_225440
Carrot (and regular) Pasta with Zucchini Fritters -- back to top
I made a mixture of carrot "pasta" and regular. The carrot pasta was inspired by this Kitchn Post, but I didn't really follow anything specific. I used a vegetable peeler to slice down 4-5 carrots (after discarding the outside). Then, I put four cloves of minced garlic into about 1 tbsp of olive oil and a heaping scoop of Smart Balance (already hot). I also added a heaping pinch of crushed red pepper. After that went for about 30 seconds, I added the carrots and then one serving (2oz dry) of mostly cooked pasta. I mixed it all and added a bit of the pasta water. I also added garlic powder, salt and pepper. When I put it into the bowl, I added some cheese.
It came out very good. Much more bulk than just the pasta and a good amount of flavor. I liked it very much and I would definitely do it again. I may also find a way to get more of the carrot out of it. I still had a good amount of carrot left. Using thicker carrots would work much better but they didn't have them at the supermarket.
I also madezucchini fritters with with no major changes. I did let them cook a bit more to crisp them up.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 5800, 2013-05-12_200245
Poached Eggs over Roasted Asparagus -- back to top
I wanted something fast and light. I roasted asparagus as I did on 2013-05-20 basically the exact same way. While that was going, I poached eggs like on 2013-05-01. Note that the time in the water was about 4-5 minutes. I thought they were overcooked but the yolks were still pretty runny.
The meal was pretty good. Kind of plain, but it was fast
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6154, 2013-05-30_100835
I made pretty standard shakshuka. I put in the following in roughly this order:
When it was all done, I poached 6 eggs in and then let them cook for a while. Then, after splitting it into two servings, I topped it with low-fat feta.
It was very good. Not overly flavorful but I could taste the seasonings and the feta brought out a nice flavor. I like getting all of the vegetables and I can get a lot of food for almost no food.
One thing I did differently was that I used the big stock pot. That made life very easy compared to the more shallow pan. I will do that again!
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6169, 2013-06-03_200531
(Almost Vegan) Broccoli "Beef" with homemade (almost vegan) "Oyster" sauce -- back to top
I made a vegetarian (and extremely almost vegan) Broccoli "Beef".I replaced the beef with seitan strips (and I did still marinate it in the marinade). I bought 2x 8oz boxes (the WestSoy red boxes)
Replacing the oyster sauce was harder. I made a vegetarian (and almost vegan) oyster sauce from the recipe below. Instead of mushroom bouillon cubes, I used Better Than Bullion mushroom base. It has milk derivatives which is why this whole meal wasn't vegan. I used a garlic and black bean sauce instead of just black-bean. And finally, I used turbinado sugar instead of brown. I may have let it cook down a bit too much since it was rather thick but it was enough for what I needed.
Other than that, I followed the recipe pretty closely except doubled. I also used the mushroom base instead of chicken broth. I steamed the broccoli in the microwave. Alton Brown had mentioned that the microwave ruins the nutrients but based on the comments in this The Kitchn article and the linked NYtimes article, I decided it was probably still fine. (and considering I made over two pounds, it was really the only way)
Overall, I liked it very much. The seitan did perfectly well in place of the beef. I cannot say the sauce tasted identical, but it was either pretty close and/or perfectly good on its own.
The whole meal was pretty low point-wise. There were two boxes of seitan as the main points contributor. It made 2 Justin-size meals or one Justin size and two Meredith size (she had leftovers for lunch -- It wasn't that it was_that _much food, it's just that not everyone can eat a pound of broccoli). I would definitely do it vegan (or vegetarian) again.
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Vegan Oyster Sauce (from Food.com)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6194, 2013-06-17_215418
Broccoli Slaw Red Curry with Seitan -- back to top
My obsession with broccoli continues. I tried to make a broccoli slaw pasta-ish dish. I steamed broccoli slaw for about 4 minutes. While that was happening, I half an onion and half a pepper. I then added a box of cubed seitan. I added the slaw and a whole bottle of Trader Joes Red Curry sauce (12 points in the whole thing). I mixed it all and let it cook down.
I like the idea of trying broccoli slaw as pasta, but I definitely need to steam it longer. It was still crunchy and after a while, I felt like I was just eating straw. I should also continue to explore other sauces. This one was pretty good but was too rich by the end.
Still, this was relatively low point (only other source of points was the seitan) and quick meal. I will try to expand on it in the future
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6201, 2013-06-20_215634
Soy Chorizo Salsa Pasta -- back to top
I was trying to make something out of leftovers and other things I had around so I came up with this meal. I started by browning half an onion. I then added 1/3 of the soy chorizo (from the other day), and I dumped in a bunch of salsa. In the mean time, I cooked up 1.5 servings of "Plus" pasta. As that was almost done, I added two wedges of laughing cow. I mixed in the pasta and topped it with half an avocado.
It was actually really good and super simple. Probably mediocre in terms of points but I didn't calculate it specifically.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6237, 2013-06-30_211933
Zucchini Pasta with a Fried Egg and Roasted Okra -- back to top
The zucchini was the same ideas as what I had done on 2013-04-16.I started with a lot of zucchini julienned (I wish I had weighed them first but there were 5 small to medium ones) with some finely chopped mushrooms. I then added a can of washed garbanzo beans. I added 1 Tbsp of olive oil, a bit of balsamic vinegar, then some salt, pepper, garlic powder and minced onion. After I mixed it all together, I added some parmesan cheese. I finally topped it with an (accidentally overcooked) egg.
The okra was inspired bythis recipe. I followed the suggestions and roasted them whole and at 425. Maybe it was because they were whole, or maybe it was something else, but they took a very long time to get any type of crisp to them. Probably over 30 minutes. And, they really weren't that good. I guess I would try it again (maybe cut up though) but I am in no hurry. (Pictured is the whole thing but I took half for lunch)
Points Plus (for two large servings)
Olive Oil...3
Garbanzo beans...10
Eggs...8
Parm Cheese...4-5 (guesstimated)
--------------------------------------
26 for the whole thing, or 13 each night. Not bad for a lot of food.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6287, 2013-07-09_214041
Zucchini Creation -- back to top
I had a lot of zucchini and I needed to do something with it before it went bad. My original plan was to make a filling and "cupcake" it but I decided to just eat the filling. I julienned 3 zucchinis and sautéd it with half an onion, finely chopped mushrooms and seasonings. I then added a can of black beans and finally, two laughing cow wedges. It was okay though I got kind if sick if eating zucchini by the end (made two meals)
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6427, 2013-07-31_163048
Zucchini Fritters -- back to top
I made zucchini fritters. This is the first time I used a salad spinner to drain the zucchini and onion. I added the salt first to help pull out moisture. I spun it a bit, then let it sit (while tending to the beer). Then I spun again.
Pretty standard prep otherwise. The only thing I did differently as cook it on the silpat instead of non-stick aluminum foil. I do not know if it was that or something else, but it was very much not browned on the bottom after 20 minutes. I gave it another 10 then flipped. I think I will go back to the non-stick foil.
I guess the spinner worked well enough.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6465, 2013-08-09_022028
Vegetarian Breakfast Cupcakes -- back to top
I bade breakfast tacos using the normal taco idea (~350 for 15-18) except, on my Dad's suggestion, I baked the bottom shells first. I put them in the oven for about 5 min just to crisp them.
The filling was small pieces of Gimme Lean and eggs. I cooked the gimme lean first and took it out of the pan. I then scrambled the eggs (about 4 eggs plus about 1 eggs worth of egg beaters). I mixed it all. Ari together and seasoned it.
I wish I had made smaller sausage pieces and maybe more eggs (and better chopped) as it seemed like the chunks were too big for the cupcakes. It turned out fine in the end. The cheese (mozzarella) filled the gaps nicely held it together.
Overall, they were very good! And we also had bagels and a mango (too much food)
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6521, 2013-08-22_064004
Breakfast Cupcakes (Take II) -- back to top
We made breakfast cupcakes again. My dad did most of it so I am not sure of all of the details, but the filling was eggs with softened onions and pepper-jack cheese chunks. We put them into the cupcakes which we again pre-cooked the base layer.
I cooked them for about 14 min at 350 which seemed sufficient (and the base was about 4-5 minutes towards the end of the oven warm-up).
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6526, 2013-08-26_174528
Lentil Moussaka -- back to top
It's not the prettiest picture, but I made lentil moussaka. I followed my moussaka recipe (since changed to note lentils) and my post from last time. Based on the suggestions of the last lentil attempt, I cooked the lentils separately and added it to the main mixture when the time came. I also ~1.5x all of the spices. I do not think it is needed for the beer one, but the lentil one does.
A few other changes were that I cooked the eggplant on a cooling rack over the pan. It think they crisped a bit more. And I forgot the butter in the béchamel. It didn't make too much of a difference making think I can skip it.
I made it on Sunday and refrigerated it and then cooked it tonight at 375 for about 45-55 minutes (I turned off the oven at 45 and let it sit as I did some other things).
It came out really, really good. Lots of flavor and good texture. The lentils were a tad over cooked but really not bad. I would definitely consider doing it with lentils over beef again.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6702, 2013-09-23_070701
Pressed Tofu and Japanese Vegetable Pancakes -- back to top
Meredith and I made this meal together for when Emily was here.
First the tofu. Meredith had done something like this before and we tried again. We took extra firm tofu and pressed it pretty hard to try to drain it more. We then marinaded it. The original marinade was a combination of: garlic powder, liquid aminos (soy sauce), sesame oil, sriracha, rice vinegar, worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and a bit of water. We let it sit for two days however, we decided that we wanted a stronger flavor and darker color so we added some Soy Vey to it about an hour before cooking. We cooked it in the oven at 425 for about 30 minutes (flipped halfway).
They came out pretty good. Meredith said they weren't as crispy as before and not quite as good. Oh well. We still liked them.
The vegetable pancakes were inspired by the recipe below. We basically followed the idea but added extra carrots (grated by the way) and roughly 1.5 times everything else (except that salt, which was a mistake). We mixed them in two bowls since it was so much and kept combining as needed. We added the flour and eggs but kept adding flour and eggs until we basically liked the consistency. We were not super careful with keeping track of how much we added and kind of played it by ear.
We baked them on non-stick foil at 425 for 25-30 min, flipped them and then another 10 (inspired byzucchini fritters and the like). Instead of the included sauce, we used the marinade from the tofu. It was mostly Soy Vey but also some of the other seasonings.
The pancakes turned out pretty good. Lots of veggies! They could have definitely used more salt. And maybe a bunch of other seasonings.
I like doing this kind of pancake in the oven. They come out pretty good and we can skip the oil! Of course,_real_pancakes would probably not work out so well.
Japanese Vegetable Pancakes (from Smitten Kitchen)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6738, 2013-10-11_171014
Huevos Rancheros Pizza and Butternut Squash Hash with eggs -- back to top
Meredith and I made breakfast for us and Emily. I made the butternut squash hash. It was pretty simple. I just cooked the squash on low to medium low (with and without a lid) until they were mostly cooked then I upped the heat to brown. We added a bunch of sliced kale about 1/2 way into cooking. I used salt and pepper but nothing else too fancy since I was preoccupied while cooking. I finally poached a few eggs into the squash and finished it on the broiler.
Meredith assembled the breakfast pizza. We started with a whole doughball but it was one of the wet from the other day. Between the texture and it being right from the fridge, it was hard to form. As you can see, it is the size of a normal pizza (made with 8 oz) but this is with 16 so it was much thicker.
The pizza was a huevos rancheros (ish) pizza. The "sauce" was mild salsa. We first cooked it jalapeños and cheese and then about half way, added the eggs (just two), kale and then the avocado when it came out.
Both the pizza and the hash were very good. The hash could probably have used more flavor and more crisp (which is harder to do with squash). The pizza had a great flavor and texture but was too thick (as expected). I would have liked a bit more salsa but it was well within the realm of personal preference.
Overall, there was a lot of food and it was very, very good
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6748, 2013-10-13_182522
Mexican Night: Lentil Tacos, Home Made Guac, Sweet Potato Fritters, and Roasted Artichokes -- back to top
This was quite the meal. Emily wanted mexican so this is what we came up with. In no particular order:
I had read a few sites on artichokes and decided to simply cut it in half, trim the stem, coat with garlic and small slice of lime. I roasted them for about 40 minutes at about 400. I had to take them out because they were burning.
When we tried to eat them, they were still too undercooked. We couldn't get to the meat of the artichoke. I microwaved them for 5 minutes which helped a bit but not really enough.
I like the idea of using dry heat but it just didn't seem to cook them enough. I will look into steaming them and_then_ roasting. Or, I saw something that used a foil packet. Maybe, I simply need a lower temperature.
Meredith made the dips too. They were both fat-free greek yogurt based. One was honey mustard where she mixed mustard and honey (duh) into the yogurt.The other was tequila-lime (which tasted a bit like margaritas). Both were good though the honey mustard was more popular.
These were based on the recipe below. The idea is that you boil sweet potatoes and then press them (smash them?) flat. However, it became clear pretty early on that they were not smashing well. I do not know if they were too big or if I had done something else wrong, but they weren't really working. So, we microwaved them a bit more and mashed them. Then, we used the seasoning mix (doubled) and coated both sides. We baked them for about 25 minutes at 400.
They came out really good. The sweet potatoes themselves had a lot of flavor and the seasoning mix was spot-on. We will do them again
Meredith made the guac and it was absolutely amazing. She can come back and comment on exactly what she did, but it had some different ingredients than usual. Most notably, I very finely chopped some onion, cilantro and jalapeño peppers. I do not know what other seasonings she used but it was amazing!
I made the taco filling. First, I cooked lentils like I do for the moussakka. I separately sautéd an onion and a whole container of finely chopped mushrooms. I combined them all. I used taco seasoning but I also added garlic powder, pepper and crushed red pepper to the mix. I let it all cook down together.
We served it with chopped onion, cilantro, FF greek yogurt (as sour cream), cheese, low-carb tortillas (gummy. Would not rush to get again) and mini tomatoes.
Everything was very good except the chewy artichokes. The meal was a lot of work but it was fun. There was lots of collaboration and everyone (Emily was there too) working together.
Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes (from The Creek Side Cook)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6763, 2013-10-14_230214
Gimme Lean Breakfast Cupcakes -- back to top
This was roughly a repeat of breakfast cupcakes[1, 2] I made with my dad. I followed the normal cupcake procedures. I cooked up 3/4 of a gimme lean and then added onion (added it a bit late but I actually liked how it came out). I then added that to scrambled eggs (5...and they were real). I added a bit of salt and pepper and then added it to the par-cooked shells. Again, the filling was a bit chunky making it hard to really control the amount. But, I used a bit of cheese to help the top layer stick better. And I did the top layer with less filling.
They were really good and flavorful. Using real egg really made a difference. I think in the future, I will try to do something like half real eggs and half egg beaters to get some of the flavor without the fat.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6766, 2013-10-15_172417
Cauliflower Fritters -- back to top
I made cauliflower fritters kind of based on last time except that I made a lot of changes. They were roughly as followed:
They were pretty good. A bit chewy and probably could have cooked a bit longer but they still had a lot of flavor. I like to have different ways to cook cauliflower so I am happy with this.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6815, 2013-10-23_102446
Mushroom Wontons and Sliced Seitan -- back to top
I had been wanting to try making wontons "fried" in the oven so I decided to make them with mushrooms. I took a small onion and cooked it down / sautéd it (but slower and with more oil than usual). I used about 2 Tbsp of canola oil. I then thoroughly chopped 8 oz baby bellas and 8 oz crimini. I let them really cook down and added some white wine and I let it cook down even more. I then took half out and immersion blended it so it was a mixture of chunks and smooth mushroom.
I then made a bunch of different wonton types as you can see from the above and below picture. The complete half-folds held the most which was good to know for the future if I want to use something else and actually fill it. Some of the other kinds were cook but really didn't hold much. Actually, the trick I figured more and more was to use less filling. I also used a pastry brush to wet the edges instead of my fingers so that it was easier keep my hands dry.
I cooked them at 350 for 20 or so minutes
I also made seitan using the same idea as here with even less soy. I also used white wine in the sauce. I made 2x the recipe and froze half for another time. Again, I mixed it first in a bowl and then the food processor. That works really well to not make a mess.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6930, 2013-11-19_202919
Cauliflower Pizza -- back to top
I made cauliflower dough pizza. I had seen various recipes for it in the past but I was hesitant because I though any calorie savings were negated by the cheese. But I cam across it again and realized that it was really not that much cheese.
I followed the recipe below. After making the cauliflower "sand" and cooking it, I laid it out on a pan sandwiched with paper towel and pressed it (stood on it). I wonder if that was not enough because it was pretty wet when I added the egg. Still, I made it as large as I thought it would fit on the bottom of my cast iron pan. Here is where I made another mistake. I should have just split it since it was a bit too thick. After I cooked it (see below), it was still pretty wet. I would have preferred it to be smaller and thinner.
Anyway, because it was so thick, it didn't really crisp very well, even though I did the first cook for about 15 minutes. I made my own sauce with 1 14 oz can of tomatoes. I immersion blended it a little bit and added oregano, a bit of olive oil and seasonings (oregano, basil, salt, pepper, etc). I also topped it with some ham (from a ham steak) and peppadews.
The whole thing was pretty good and I'd do it again but I would improve it as I mentioned above. I had to eat it with a fork a knife but hopefully I won't have to next time if I cook it well. I do think that the idea is pretty cool, even if it will never be as good as the_real_thing.
Cauliflower Pizza Crust (from Tasty Kitchen)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6955, 2013-11-23_172820
Lentil Taco Cupcakes -- back to top
I made lentil taco cupcakes (with the regular method) as I have done before. I reduced the lentils to 3/4 cups (and 1.5 cups water, simmered for 10 min then drained). I sautéd half an onion, a julienned zucchini, half a green pepper, and a jalapeño. I then added the lentils. Instead of just taco seasoning in water with extra spices, I did about 1/3 cup hot salsa, some water, taco seasoning and other spices. The other spices included chipotle powder which added a nice extra punch. When I mixed that into the rest, it was not wet enough so I added some white wine and let that cook down.
They were really good today. Last time I wasn't as impressed but they were better tonight. The shells were nicely crispy and the filling was well seasoned and flavorful. The filling was just enough making me thing that 3/4 cups lentils==2/3 lbs beef is a pretty good relation.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6967, 2013-12-02_204347
Seitan Chorizo Topped with Poached Eggs -- back to top
Meredith and I made breakfast for us and Emily. I made the seitan chorizo multiplied by 1.5x. Meredith poached eggs (without vinegar too) and we topped it with scallions (it was some weird asian kind. I'll ask Meredith and update it)
The whole thing was pretty good. I am really liking this seitan chorizo recipe (and I have done it a lot in the past few weeks). It was also a great protein packed breakfast.
2020-11-27 note: the truth has finally come out. Emily had requested “poached eggs” which Meredith begrudgingly made. Only after she made it did Emily realize she meant to say “Fried eggs”
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7059, 2014-01-05_135130
Socca with Various Home-Made toppings -- back to top
This was Meredith's idea and mostly her execution but I'll do my best to explain. We had socca (french chick-pea flour crepes) with all kinds of toppings inspired by a restaurant near us. I have my picture assembled. Here is everything we had. Note that everything was made by scratch:
So, it was a pretty easy and very pretty meal. We would certainly make it again!
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7149, 2014-01-16_084242
Cauliflower Fritters and Seitan -- back to top
I made cauliflower fritters with the regular recipe with a bunch of feta, rosemary, paprika, and other seasonings. They came out a bit wet but I was afraid to cook them too much longer as I could smell the cheese melting. So, they were a tad undercooked but really, really good. The feta really adds a lot of flavor! And they are really easy!
I also tried seitan again. I tried to use the 1:1 ratio (by volume) but it really was too wet. I ended up adding extra gluten to make it more doughy. The ingredients (including the gluten are below). I cooked them in the pressure cooker (no aluminum foil) for 30 minutes (Time starts when steam vents, setting 2/10 to hold pressure). I combined the dry ingredients a bowl and the wet in a cup. I mixed them and then hand-kneaded for 5 minutes (timed!) I didn't rest the dough. I keep reading mixed reviews on if that matters
Dough:
Broth:
They were better than last time but still not incredible. They were almost too light and fluffy. I think I need to increase the gluten. Also, I want to work out a measure by weight for both the water and the gluten
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7247, 2014-02-12_083652
Gimme Lean Sausage Sandwich -- back to top
There wasn't much to this meal. I took half a package of gimme lean and I cooked it on the grill pan. I then put on some of Meredith's homemade harissa (recipe to come...eventually) and then melted some cheese. I put it on two pieces of toasted rye. Really simple, fast and good.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7436, 2014-02-13_172946
Potato Hash with Fried Eggs -- back to top
I had some leftover potatoes from yesterday's moussaka so I made home-fries. I first sautéd a really small onion and then I put in diced leftover potatoes (They were par cooked from yesterday). As they neared completion, I added some (too much) salt and pepper. I finally topped them with two over-medium fried eggs. A fairly quick and simple breakfast!
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7478, 2014-02-18_094305
Zucchini Fritters and Edamame -- back to top
I wanted a simple and fairly light meal so I madezucchini fritters (no real changes or anything) and some steamed edamame. Pretty straight forward.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7482, 2014-02-18_221948
Asparagus Stir-Fry -- back to top
I made a stir fry using the "broccoli beef" recipe for the sauce with a pound of asparagus and a zucchini. The meat was the fake chicken from the asian market. I thought it was really good as usual. And it looks pretty as it was being cooked in the dutch oven.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9605, 2015-02-05_133508
Tofu Bahn Mi Stuffed Peppers -- back to top
Meredith and I made Bahn Mi stuffed peppers.
We started by marinating pressed extra-firm tofu. We marinated with
(This came from some site but it is heavily modified as above)
We baked it at 350 for 40 minuted (tossed half way) and then let it sit and keep cooking in the cooling oven. At the same time (with the oven off) I put in the two halved peppers to cook a little.
This cooked the peppers just enough to not be raw and it slightly overcooked the tofu (though I kind of liked the extra chewy tofu).
We then filled the peppers with the tofu, sliced cucumber, sliced jalapeno, mint, and pickled carrots. The pickled carrots were from Vietnamese Home Cooking (book, local copy). We just followed the recipe as it was. It may be a ton of points in the recipe but you don't drink all (or barely any) of the liquid.
Oh, on mine, I also made a Sriracha mayo with light mayo.
Pickled Carrots (From Vietnamese Home Cooking by Charles Phan)
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Saag Paneer (homemade), Lentil Soup, and Cauliflower -- back to top
We had a family friend visiting with a very restrictive diet but we decided to see what we could do. Here is the full list:
No soy, grains, bananas, coffee, chickpeas, peanuts, peas, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, potatoes (sweets are ok), beta-glucan, mastic gum, gum arabic. Plus, [is a] vegetarian (no fish).
Add on that Meredith and I are trying to eat much more healthily and this becomes quite a challenge. We decided on Indian but this was also hard as tomatoes seem to be everywhere!!! I mean, we had to search through tons of recipes for ones that didn't call for them in the first place.
But, we ended up with:
I'll get to the saag panner soon, but first just the paneer. We wanted to make it low fat since otherwise, it is like eating cheese and that is a ton of points. By the way, in the future, we could do tofu in place of paneer and save a ton of calories and ease. But no soy for this meal.
I read a bunch of recipes but went with this "Food for 7 Stages of life" recipe (Local1). I liked that they went through all of the different options for curdling the milk and made it pretty clear that skim was ok.
However, we went with 1% (hence the really low fat but not quite fat free). We made some other changes as we went including:
The thing that really amazed me was low little it made. As you can see in the photos below, it made all of 7.25 ounces out for 1/2 gallon 1% milk (73 oz.). That is insane! You can see how much whey is left too (we saved some for other uses).
Oh, next time, I will use a larger pan. Once the milk started to boil, it made a huge mess!
How to make [Organic and Fat Free] Paneer at home? (from Food for 7 Stages of life)
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Again, we really struggled to find a recipe that didn’t call for (and seem to rely on) tomatoes. But eventually went with Vegetarian Times (Local).
We followed the recipe pretty closely except:
It worked out ok. Mostly tasted like sautéed spinach with a strong flavor of ginger and coriander. Essentially, like Indian sautéed spinach but not saag paneer. I think this is one of the recipes that really do benefit from heavy cream, etc. I do not know if I would attempt saag paneer again unless I am willing to use the cream.
Saag Paneer (from Vegetarian Times)
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We again struggled with the tomatoes, but eventually ended up with this Food.com recipe (Local) recipe. Actually, this was doubly difficult since we struggled to find vegetable (or vegetarian chicken) broth without tomatoes (see the photo below).
On the soup, we also stayed pretty true to the recipe except that we
We used all of the regular broth and half of the low sodium. It was pretty simple. Maybe a bit mushy but not bad. I think if we made this one again, we would go light on the cardamom. That flavor was a bit too strong.
Indian Lentil Soup (Dal Shorva) (from Food.com)
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We did our regular Curry Roasted Cauliflower Recipe again with the Tandoor Chicken Masala (same as used on 2015-11-11). We made a ton of it. Probably 2.5 heads worth. It was so much that, for the first time, I didn't finish what was left.
Also, I do not know if we didn't need it before or used it and forgot to note it, but we didn't add salt and it was missed. Good otherwise. Nice char and, as usual, lots of flavor
The original site has a good bit of useful pictures. Therefor, I also included a link to the PDF printout on the local page ↩
Cauliflower with Soy Chorizo -- back to top
We made a quick meal. Just roasted cauliflower (but for less time) and then we tossed it with soy chorizo, capers (and the liquid) and a little bit of jalapeños. We used a different type of soy chorizo. It tasted about the same as the Trader Joes
Grilled Veggies, Tofu, Halloumi, and others -- back to top
We finally got a grill and put it together. We had some friends over to break it in. We also decided to go with a vegetarian meal (just for kicks).
There were lots of food that required various levels of prep. We went with a mix of easy and hard.
Nothing much too it. We just used salt and pepper on them. They were grilled for about 10-15 minutes on each side. As you can see, some got a bit burned, but they all came out okay. Actually, this was surprisingly not dry like most squash is usually. It may have been the grill or the 2 hours (ish) they sat with the salt and pepper. That may have had to do with it too
We just cut them put them in a pouch with a bit of salt, pepper, and oil. I cooked them for a long while but not really long enough. They could have been more caramelized a bit better. Next time, I will use some butter too and then I will also let it go for a good bit longer. Get some real caramelization on them.
Just salt and pepper. We went easy with these
This was the one marinade we really did by our selves. We used the miso-marinated carpaccio recipe. We followed the base marinade pretty closely except that we added a tablespoon of gochujang. We've done Sriracha before, but I figured that given that this was a miso-based marinade, we should use something else super fermented. It worked out well. A bit spicy. We did forget the rest of the recipe including the pistachios, but it still worked out well.
This also marinated for a few hours
We've used this a few times before (see 2015-08-01,2016-05-16). We marinated it in Franks Red Hot. Pretty simple but it also worked well. As you can see in the photos, I burned it a bit. They were kind of dry, but still good. I should be careful next time and use a lower heat. It is still kind of crazy that they don't melt!
Another easy prep. We used the Trader Joes "Super Firm Organic Tofu". We cut it into medium-sized slices and marinated it with Soyaki Sauce. Again, marinated for a few hours and then grilled. I really like working with this tofu. Anything else would need to be pressed for a long time but this stuff just works fine. It also came out pretty good. Maybe a bit dry, but still pretty good.
The bread was the Trader Joes sour-dough rolls
We made a pretty simple dessert Meredith found on Serious Eats (Local). There wasn't much to it and we forgot to buy the peanut butter chips. But the rest was pretty easy and it was good. We had to use some a toothpick to hold some it together. It was a bit messy as a lot of it fell over on the grill. Lots of chocolate and marshmallows on the plates1.
I thought they were pretty good. Maybe a bit strange having the warm banana but I did like it. Ours was certainly not as pretty looking as the ones in the original recipe.
Grilled Banana Boats With Peanut Butter, Chocolate, and Marshmallows (from Serious Eats)
Local Copy -- U: guest, P: name of my dog
They carbonized nicely and came off easily after I blasted the heat at the end. ↩
Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Tofu -- back to top
This was a very simple but pretty good meal; especially for a weeknight. We pressed and then marinated tofu in some Soyaki (or Soy Vey) plus sriracha.
I halved a bunch of brussel sprouts and tossed them with some oil and salt. I preheated an oven to 450°F with a pan in there. Once it was up to temp, I roasted them cut-side down for 20 minutes. I then took them out and tossed it all with the tofu and more Soyaki and sriracha. I then roasted it for another 7.5 minutes.
Pretty simple and not too much work. Plus I think this is a pretty healthy meal!
Kimchi Fried Rice -- back to top
Meredith and I made Kimchi Fried Rice from Food52 (local 1). We followed the recipe pretty closely but with less rice. Actually, we made 4 cups of dry brown rice and stored 3 bags in the freezer. I did the rice with 2:1 ratio water, to rice. Toasted the rice in butter for a bit then added water. Simmered covered for 50 minutes then rest for 10.
Anyway, we used 1/2 a pack of the Super Firm tofu cubed and stir-fried as the main meat. We also went heavy on the soy sauce. The Kimchi was the one pictured below.
We didn't have all of the other optional ingredients but we super, super bulked it up with 1/4 head of cabbage (plus a little) and a huge amount of sugar snap peas.
It made a lot of food though it was really just the rice ad tofu with calories/points.
I liked it a lot. It wasn't as good as the restaurant one Meredith had a little while ago but it was still good. I used nearly the full thing of kimchi. Next time I would use it all since this was pretty good.
And, we got to have meat-free Monday!
U: guest, P: name of my dog, all lower case ↩
Falafel and Kabocha -- back to top
I made the usual falafel. I actually made it yesterday and made a double batch and froze half. It was pretty standard except I used apple cider vinegar instead of the lemon and I went heavy on the oil and spices. I actually made these changes to the recipe. Meredith liked it a lot and I thought it was pretty good too.
I also made kabocha squash (400°F 30 min w/ a flip 1/2 way). And Meredith made her normal Tzatziki
Honey Dijon Balsamic Brussel Sprouts with Tofu -- back to top
I decided to again try to make roasted brussel sprouts with a good sauce finished on the stove. I basically combined 2016-11-17 and (mostly) 2016-11-02. In the former, I finished them with a sauce on the stove. In the latter I tossed it and roasted it a bit more. I am not sure which method I prefer between the two but I'll keep it in mind for next time.
I made my own recipe based on a few others around. All it all, it was:
Preheat oven to 450°F with pans in the oven. (and with convection)
Toss brussel sprouts with a bit of oil, salt, and pepper. Lay face down and roast for 20-25 minutes (I did 30 this time. it was too much).
Mince garlic with a little bit of salt. Combine honey, mustard, and vinegar.
When the brussel sprouts are near finished, Heat some oil in a big pan and sauté the tofu for a bit. Add the garlic and let it go for a bit then add the brussel sprouts. Add the rest of the sauce and toss.
I am still not sure if I love this idea or recipe. As I mentioned, 30 minutes was too long. The little leaves got a bit burned. And this sauce was ok. Not amazing but also not too bad.
Kimchi Fried Rice -- back to top
I made the kimchi fried rice like last time based off of the same recipe. I followed the recipe for the general guide, but we used a lot of vegetables.
We had most of a bag (1 lbs?) of snow peas and then also a handful of sugar-snap peas. I also sautéed a bag (1 lbs) of mushrooms with the 1/2 block of pressed tofu at the beginning. I also added 1 Tbsp of butter.
We liked it. More complex than last time which may be the butter or having used a different kimchi. I also added a bit of extra juice from the kimchi for extra spice.
The rice was one of the extra things we froze last time which worked well.
Roasted Cauliflower and Soy Chorizo -- back to top
Not much to this. Our standard roasted cauliflower with soy chorizo. I tossed cauliflower with some oil and smoked paprika. Once it was roasted for about 30 min at 400°F (with convection). Meredith then heated up about half of a pack of soy chorizo with a bit of oil and capers (plus juice).
It was quick and easy!
Sweet Potato Chili Fries and Salmon with Brussel Sprouts -- back to top
Emily was visiting and wanted to make use chile sweet potatoes fries (Local1). Emily followed that recipe pretty closely. We did half with the cooling rack on the pan and the other right on a tray. They came out pretty good. I think I would try that again, though I would work harder to make sure they are uniform in size.
I also made roasted brussel sprouts. They didn't come our super amazingly. I think they got a bit bitter but we still ate them.
Finally, I made (and also overcooked) seared salmon. There wasn't much to it. I used some Emril and spilled a bit too much on one piece but were good other than that.
U: guest, P: name of my (smaller) dog, all lower case ↩
Broccoli Chorizo -- back to top
Meredith did the work on this. We wanted to make our pretty normal cauliflower with soy chorizo but Costco was out of cauliflower so we went with broccoli. Meredith roasted it for about 30 minutes and then sautéed it with the soy chorizo and capers. She also tried something funky: she added some zested meyer lemon to it. I think that added a nice aroma, though I am not sure I really tasted it too much.
It was acceptable with broccoli, but was also much chewier and not as good as cauliflower.
Shakshuka with Eggs -- back to top
Second day of Whole30. We made shakshuka as a simple meal that we could also do some prep ahead. We cut the onions and peppers ahead of time to make life easier.
We had:
We sautéed the onions and red bell peppers (with some salt and pepper) until they were started to caramelize. I used a mix of ghee and olive oil. I then added the tomatoes and then a ton of spices:
It let it cook down and then poached eggs in it.
It came out very good. Wasn't too much work with the prep. The roasted tomatoes also gave it a very nice flavor. I also liked the caramelized flavor.
We make Japanese Curry. While we didn't make it from scratch, we used roux blocks which are very common in Japanese home cooking. They are really easy. You sauté the vegetables and then add 3 cups of water and half the package (or adjust as needed). Once they dissolve, it thickens a good bit.
We used:
And "super firm" tofu for the protein...which worked well.
We actually ended up letting it simmer for longer since we wanted to soften the potatoes (and the carrots to a lesser extent).
We decided not to serve it on rice, but there was more than enough food. We could probably do it on rice (maybe cauliflower?) to bulk it up and make lunches1. It was really good!
The curry we used:
The whole package is 12 "servings" so 3 each (~330 cal) is not too bad considering the other veggies. ↩