I eventually get to the Edamame Pasta here.

Hubby is so very good about my fondness for vegetarian nights. He's also very good about just shutting up and eating, however, so that could also have something to do with things. He winced ever so slightly when I told him I was going to make an edamame pasta, but he had two large servings, so whatever, I'm gonna take that as a win.

I kind of feel like I can just stop writing right here and let you get on with the recipe, but maybe you've missed me and therefore I need to keep blathering for a moment. Plus I've had a couple V0&Diets tonight and that obviously means I think I'm far more interesting than I actually am. Or it means I am more interesting than I usually am, and so either way, I can't stop.

So. What's new?  I spent a solo weekend in San Diego for Labor Day, not laboring other than the giant amounts of work my stomach did.

Saffron's Vietnamese Noodles

Case in point: Saffron for lunch on Saturday. My favorite Thai, and I get it approximately once every 5 years, so it was even more appreciated. And delicious. Holy shit, it's delicious. And THEN I had sushi. Like, a lot of it. For two days in a row.

I also went snorkeling with sharks (and my two fave SD dudes) but NBD. Also, they are LEOPARD Sharks. I kept calling them Tiger Sharks, cause whatever, cat sharks, but my snorkeling host/oldest&dearest/guy on fire Jon pointed out that Tiger Sharks will eat you, while Leopard Sharks will let you, like, snuggle with them. So, yeah.

Ok...enough of that. Pasta time! I used yellow tomatoes but red are of course fine, and I like romano cheese, but parmesan would be just as good. Just pick a pasta that has the little grooves in it, cause it holds the pesto better than the smooth kind.

Edamame & Pesto Pasta

1 package frozen shelled edamame (about 2.5 cups)
About 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup extravirgin olive oil
1 pound (1 box) uncooked cavatappi (or similar) pasta
1 cup grape/cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup grated fresh Romano cheese

Combine basil and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) in a food processor or blender; process until smooth. Slowly pour oil through food chute (or just pour it in there if you need to, whatever), and keep blending/processing until all evenly mixed.

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain. In same pot, place edamame and cover with water. Bring back to a boil (or until hot), then drain them into pasta. Combine pasta, edamame and basil mixture in large bowl or the pot, tossing gently to coat. Add tomatoes and half the cheese, tossing to combine. Taste and add salt if needed. Sprinkle with remaining cheese to serve.

Seriously Literate, IRL edition

Well, hellooooo strangers. My phone is once again full of photos of dinners I haven't written about, so here is the first attempt to rectify that little situation.

Anyway, I've read so little since the monkey weaseled his way out of the womb and into the world that it's embarrassing. Like, for real, my library card expired. So I did the only thing I could think of that was sure to work—I started a book club. With other actual people who would hold me responsible and, obviously, also like to drink wine and eat read.

I hosted the first go around. Book was Monday Mornings, chosen by my friend A, who claims a friend of hers had recommended it. And I'm totally calling her out here, because the book was horrendous.

Ok, it wasn't horrendous. But it wasn't something I'd recommend. I can see it making a good tv series, if you happen to be in the market for another medical drama (Oh, you aren't? No one else was, either.) but Sanjay Gupta should stick to being a neurosurgeon and CNN medical correspondent. I mean, I don't mean to be harsh; it wasn't poorly written, it was just, well, pretty one dimensional. I just didn't care about the many, many characters, most of whom weren't particularly well developed, if developed at all. It was just chapter after chapter after chapter, and then the ending was just blehhhhhh, really?

So let's talk food instead! It was a small group this month, only 5 of us, so I of course had to go overboard on the food. And yes, I made food cards. Shh. My mom already made fun of me. Yeah, they had books on them. It's BOOK CLUB, y'all. But know what I didn't have to do all night? Tell people what they were eating. Boom. It's the little things, peeps.

We had my mom's ham rolls, which are flour burrito sized tortillas spread with low-fat cream cheese, sprinkled with a garlic salt, dried oregano, pepper and basil mixture, layered with thin sliced deli ham, then topped thinly with chopped green chiles, chopped green onion and chopped olives. Rolled up, chilled, then sliced about 3/4 in thick. It's quite possibly one of the best things in the world.


I also tried a lemony, rosemary ricotta dip I found online (an Anne Burrell recipe. I liked, didn't love, but was still a nice something different) and my favorite summer soup—gazpacho. Served it in a pitcher with the toppings on the side to make serving interesting/easy, which I had to pat myself on the back a bit for later. Especially the plastic cup/bowl part. Nobody wants to do dishes after a get together.

Don't know how I've never posted my gazpacho recipe, so here we go...also a great use for all those summer veggies y'all are growing in climates more suited for that sort of thing than mine.

Gazpacho with Fresh Corn and Goat Cheese 
(adapted from a Real Simple recipe)

(Just roughly chop all of the veggies, you're gonna blend them)
2.5 lbs ripe red tomatoes
2 cucumbers, peeled
1/2 a peeled white onion
2 large garlic cloves
2 bell peppers, any color (but red or orange is prettiest)
Juice from half a lemon
About a tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp rice (or other) vinegar
Salt
Pepper
More lemon juice (the other half?)
Couple dashes Tabasco (optional)

To top:
Fresh corn (just cut it off the ear, it doesn't have to be perfect)
Crumbled goat cheese
Chopped cilantro

Immersion blender?
Chop everything up and toss it all (veggies through vinegar) into a bowl (or two, depending on the size of your bowls) and use an immersion hand blender to combine everything until pretty liquidy. Stir in 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper.

Blender/Food processor?
Get two big bowls. Chop everything up and toss all the veggies into one. Then just blend as much as will fit into your blender at a time (AKA work in batches) and transfer the blended batches to the other bowl until you get it all. Add the lemon, tomato paste, vinegar, and 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper and combine well.

Then stick it in the fridge to chill, at least an hour. When it's nice and chilly, add more salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste and Tabasco (if using). Combine well, and serve with a handful each of cheese and corn on top, sprinkled with a bit of cilantro.

Let's be real, I don't really care what he eats as long as he eats.

So remember when I was a smug childless and was all, "Geez, parents-feeding-their-toddler-pre-made-crap, get your shit together and cook them some real food?"

Yeaaaaah, sorry about that. I need to get my shit together.

But what do you do when they refuse chicken, but will eat defrosted nuggets dipped in ketchup??

You give them defrosted nuggets with a vat side of ketchup. I would much prefer that E ate actual fresh food, but when he pushes it away (literally)...well, the kid needs to eat.

I really do make the effort to give him the best versions of crap I can. I get the chicken nuggets with the least saturated fat I can find, the organic, wheat frozen waffles, and the all-fish fish sticks. We get the gluten free, organic mac and cheese. The non corn-syrup ketchup. You know, the expensive shit. Yes, sigh, whatever.

And when I caved and bought him some Uncrustables (frozen, pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Oh. EM. Gee.), I got the whole wheat, low sugar version...but I hated myself all the same. I could have made him the same damn thing myself from scratch. So why didn't I?? Cause last night I made him a quesadilla, peas, a sweet potato, and cottage cheese. And he ate the potato. That. Was. It. And maybe I was still a little burnt. OK?? Maybe I know that he likes whole wheat English muffins with peanut butter on them for breakfast, and I knew he loves (LOVES) some berries, so he'd be all over it. And I could actually give him a quick lunch without him sulking outside the baby gate, whining that he's hunnnnnnngry (by means of non-verbal baby bitching, which is so much worse) while I made him something.

DAMN IT PEOPLE, THIS BABY SHIT IS HARD.

Deep breath. SO. When my friend Shawna posted what I'm sure she thought was just a fun "check this out" repost on tumblr today, I died a little.

A cookie recipe with two ingredients. Two. Bananas. Oats. Let's just say I was enjoying my very first "Mama's out on a beach towel killing her weird tan lines while reading an InDesign refresher course manual and possibly checking social media at the same time while bebe naps" mid afternoon break, and it turned into a, "Holy shit, I'm making this NOW" situation.

OMG Ma, these are amazeballs.

The recipe made 10 smallish cookies. E ate 4. I was hoping he'd eat more than that, but he's 15 months old, and I can't reasonably expect my toddler to overcompensate for my eating issues. On the plus side, even if I HAD eaten all of them, I'd have eaten two bananas and a cup of oatmeal. I can deal with that.

More importantly, if that's what he'd eaten, COOL. Oatmeal and a banana? That's like...breakfast. If he wants that for a snack? DONE. Eat as many breakfast cookies as you want, sweet thang.

I thought this was a bit lacking on the sweets department, so I'm gonna add 1 tbsp sugar or a handful of mini chocolate chips and some vanilla next time. Which is gonna be like, tomorrow.

Vegan, Baby-Friendly, Just Make Them Already Cookies
2 large ripe (brown) bananas
1 cup quick cook Oats
1/4 tsp extract (Vanilla? Almond? Pick one. Or none, whatev.)
Dash Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350
Mash bananas and oats til evenly mixed. Gently include any other ingedients.

Coat cookie sheet with cooking spray (IMPORTANT!), and spoon it out drop-style, aiming for 10-12 cookies.

Cook for 15 minutes. Serve warm, cause they get a little mushy when they're more than a few hours old.They probably won't last that long, though. Cause they're HEALTHY COOKIES AND YOU CAN GORGE ON THEM.

You're welcome.

You should make this curry after you hire me.

As usual, the new year has brought some changes around my house…Hubby's still busting his ass, getting paid far less than he's worth, E's been requiring more and more attention (and therefore requiring more nanny hours), and this exhausted mama has officially gone freelance, meaning way more flexibility, way more new work needed, way more say over the projects I do choose to work, and unfortunately, (for the time being, anyway) way less regular income. In other words, we're broke asses, and having to meal plan again.

And this is where I ever so gracefully segue into telling you how to reach me for any freelance design projects you may need: Pamhuberdesigns.com. And I'm currently working on jobs in Cali (branding, packaging design and a direct mail campaign), Kentucky (logo), and Florida (wedding invites) so I'm freakin' national right now. Email and Skype are my BFFs. Fingers in the hang loose sign, wiggling by my ear. Call me! 

And so I've been trolling the usual sites, looking for new ideas. I'm hoping that when they do work, I'll be lucid enough by the end of the day to actually write them down for you.

This original recipe is actually called Chickpea Curry with Basmati Rice, so when my basmati-obsessed Hubby walked into the kitchen, saw me measuring brown rice and subsequently glanced at my recipe, he of course so helpfully offered, "It says Basmati…?"

1. Read the ingredients, buddy. It says OR brown rice. 2. I'm cooking, you're eating. Shhhhhh.

Also awesome as leftovers with cooked red meat heated up with it. We used leftover tri-tip, but next time Hubs wants to try lamb.

Vegetarian Chickpea Curry
Cooked brown rice (Get a bag, follow directions for 1 cup. Heads up: it takes about 45 minutes)
Canola oil (about a tbsp)
3 large shallots, thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 tsp garam masala
2 tsp madras curry
 large pinch (fresh white) pepper
2 cans chickpeas, rinsed/drained
1 29oz can crushed tomato
1 6oz package baby spinach
About 1/2 cup nonfat greek yogurt
Large handful chopped cilantro
Salt to taste (1/2 tsp or so)
Good squeeze fresh lemon juice

In large soup pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium high. Add shallot and saute a couple of minutes. Add garlic, cook another minute or two. Add garam masala, curry and pepper and saute 30 seconds or so.

Stir in chickpeas and tomato, and cook about 4 minutes over medium heat or until hot. Gently stir in spinach until wilted, a minute or two. Turn off heat and stir in yogurt, cilantro and salt. Stir in lemon juice. Serve over rice.

Just throw it in there and cross your fingers.

So you bought a whole head/bag of shredded cabbage for the cup needed for Posole and don't know what to do with the rest, huh?

I figured I better improvise or it would be yet another half used bag of vegetable, rotting in my crisper. So I threw it in a cucumber salad and hoped for the best. And it worked—it got raves from the hubby and I thought it was fantastic. We had it with steak, but it would be good with some sort of Asiany chicken or fish, too. Something fairly simple-this has a lot of flavor.

Cucumber Peanut Salad
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground chile paste like Sambal Oelek (or to taste)
Medium squirt fish sauce (or 1/4 tsp salt)
1 large cucumber
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, finely chopped (I used the food processor)
Decent handful chopped cilantro, including the stems
3 green onions, just the light green/white parts, sliced
About a cup of shredded cabbage
1 green onion (the green part), thinly sliced (to top)

Combine vinegar and sugar (and salt, if you're using it) in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until all is dissolved. Turn off heat, add chile and fish sauce, and set aside to cool.

Peel cucumber and halve longways. Use a spoon to drag down the middle, removing the seeds. Slice into fairly thin slices and place in small bowl. Pour dressing over cucumber, and toss gently to coat. Put cabbage into a medium/big bowl, and top with cucumbers and sauce from the small bowl. Add peanuts, cilantro and green onion, and toss just before serving. Top with remaining green onion.

It should not be this hard.

I have a handful of foods that I just can't master handle even begin to not utterly fuck up. And they're basic, too. Bacon, for example. Either completely burned or completely uncooked. I can't flip fried eggs to save my life. (Actually, breakfast foods in general tend to get the best of me).

Lasagna is another. It should be simple—sauce, pasta, filling, cheese, sauce, repeat, repeat, repeat. But for whatever reason, I can't deal with it. It's either too wet and falls apart, or I don't put enough sauce and it's dry and blech. I just...I can't do it, I don't know.

Anyway, that was just a tangent. What I intended to start with was that my little food processor has had quite the workout today.

I'm making all of E's food, so I figured I'd try and get a head start on the next week...so with the help of the processor and some new ice cube trays, I'm now stocked up on peas, carrots, green beans, and sweet potatoes. (We're also very slowly moving through banana and avocado. Peas we love, sweet potatoes we love. Feet kicking, baby-bird mouth wide open, spoon grabbing L-O-V-E...avocado, on the other hand, gets a clamped lip. Will. Not. Eat. Cracks me up.)

But I also came across a recipe on Pinterest for a Veggie Pesto Lasagna that looked delish, so the first step was making some pesto. A little birdie (the internet) told me that the best pesto is a bit coarser than the store bought mush you generally find (and I usually make), but instead of chopping by hand (please), I just added a bit lot less olive oil and pulsed a bunch of times until it was nice and coarse.

Pesto
It's not real scientific here:
A handful of pinenuts
A whole bunch of basil (maybe 2 cups? more?)
4 cloves of garlic, roughly sliced
About 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Sea Salt (a good pinch)
Olive oil (2 tbsp or so)

Combine all in food processor. Use accordingly.

Accordingly, in this case, is about 1/3 of a cup, so I have a ton left. I'll figure something out. But holy hell, my lasagna finally turned out. Even though I had to use cottage cheese instead of ricotta (don't ask why I was doing my cheese shopping at Target)...it totally worked.

Veggie Pesto Lasagna
12 no-cook lasagna noodles
1 jar marinara (I used a tomato basil)
2 cups cottage cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pesto
Thyme (about a tsp)
Oregano (about a tsp)
Sea salt
Fresh mozzarella, torn into small pieces
Olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup shredded zucchini
Chili flakes to taste (I used a 1/2 tsp or so)

1 package baby spinach

Preheat oven to 375.

Saute garlic, onion and zucchini until soft. Add chili flakes, and gradually add spinach until wilted. Remove from heat.

In large bowl, combine cottage (or ricotta) with the parmesan, pesto, thyme, oregano, and salt.

Coat baking dish (I used a 9x13) lightly with cooking spray. Pour enough sauce to very thinly cover the bottom (1/2 cup or so). Arrange 4 noodles to cover (break off the corners if you need them to fit better). Spread half of the cheese mixture across the noodles (make sure and cover them all to make sure they cook well), then half the spinach mixture across the cheese. Arrange half of the mozzarella across. Top with 4 more noodles, and pour half of the remaining sauce. Repeat with remaining cheese, spinach, and mozzarella. Top with remaining 4 noodles and the rest of the sauce.

Bake for about 40 minutes, covered lightly with foil.

6-10 servings, depending on how you cut it.

Sam the Cooking Guy

There are a ton of things I loved about living in San Diego...my friends, the weather, the smell...it also gave me my love for Thai food, fish tacos, and cooking in general, seeing that SD was where I first had my own kitchen (and boys to impress, natch.)

There are obviously a million special memories to savor from any big city you live in for any extended period of time. One of my most favoritest things, however, was Sam the Cooking Guy. (Favoritest is totally a word today.)

This is Sam. Back then, he was just a local dude who liked to cook, and someone brilliant decided he was rad enough to put on local television. I. Love. Sam. Hubby and I both absolutely adored his show, and it was one of those quirky things we had in common back in our dating days. His food is generally pretty simple, but it's always packed with flavor, and he honestly looked like he was just having a good time cooking. In his own kitchen-dog running through the shot and all. Sometimes he even burned shit. It was awesome.

Last year I discovered that Discovery Health had picked up his show for a bit, and I was beyond stoked. It wasn't quite as fun as the original, being "real tv," but that happens. Now it looks like you can still catch him on certain local channels, but not here, so I have no idea what it's like these days. Check it out and let me know??

Anyway, I forget about Sam...and then for some reason he'll pop into my head. Last week that happened, and I immediately started craving his Roasted Tomato and Goat Cheese Salad. Hubby swears I had never made it for him before, but that can't be true...but the fact is, I need to make it more often. It's fabulous.

While I was at it, I also tried his Pasta with Artichokes. All I can say is yum.

Add a roasted head of garlic and a loaf of french bread to all of that, and it was quite the garlicy feast. Sam, you never let me down. And am just now realizing I should have asked for one of his cookbooks for Christmas.

Tomato & Goat Cheese Salad
(adjusted to serve 2)
1 package cherry tomatoes (I used yellow ones this time)
1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled
A few cups of mixed greens or romaine
3 cloves garlic, crushed
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper (I actually used white kampot pepper)

Cut tomatoes in half or fourths, depending on how big they are. In a bowl, combine tomatoes, garlic, a tsp or two of olive oil, salt, pepper, and a splash of balsamic. Cook at 400 for about 25 minutes or until tomatoes are soft and starting to brown.

Arrange greens in bowl, top with tomatoes, and sprinkle on goat cheese. Top with a bit more olive oil and balsamic (less than a tbsp or so, depending on your taste) and finish with more pepper.

Oh, and if you need more of a reason to jump on the Samwagon, there's always this:

African Potato Peanut Stew

It's been under 80 degrees for like 4 days in a row, so I'm going to go ahead and assume it's finally fall around here. (Please? I have a growing stomach to cover, and sweaters help a ton.) We'll see how it goes, but in the meantime, I'm still going to make cool-weather food and try and coax it along.

This stew is fairly simple, really, with a medium amount of prep, so it was good on a week night. The original recipe calls for it to cook for over an hour, but I checked it after 40 minutes and the potatoes were perfectly cooked...I think I may have chopped them smaller than intended, but the bite size pieces make more sense. So just check it along the way...when they're done, you're done. Easy as that.

Hubby commented that lamb would be a good addition, so if you want to meatify this, go ahead and throw some bite sized chunks of lamb or beef in after the garlic and brown for a couple of minutes before continuing. I did use chicken broth instead of veggie broth, but other than that, I thought it was great as a vegetarian dish. Oh, and you can use all peanuts for this (use up to a cup), I just ran out and liked the addition of the almonds.

I love how colorful it is once you get over it and just stir in the topping. Which you should do, by the way.

African Peanut Stew
1 cup 0% greek yogurt
1/4 cup minced chives
splash of olive oil
half a yellow onion, halved and sliced
1 shallot, sliced (optional)
half a large bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts, halved
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 tsp salt
1 minced red chile or 1 tsp crushed red pepper
2 lbs peeled, cubed sweet potatoes (I sliced about 1/2 in thick widthwise, then quartered those)
3/4 lb baby red potatoes, halved or quartered, depending on the size
2.5 cups fat-free broth
28oz can diced tomatoes

Combine yogurt and chives, chill.

Heat oil in dutch oven or stock pot over medium high. Add onion, shallot and bell pepper, saute 2-3 minutes. Add garlic, saute until fragrant, less than a minute. Add peanuts, salt and chile. After a couple of minutes (stirring often), add potatoes, broth and tomato.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover. After about 35 minutes, test every 10 minutes or so to see if the potatoes are soft. When they are, turn off heat and let sit 5-10 minutes.

Top with a dollop of yogurt mix to serve. (Serves 6, roughly 350 cals per serving)

It's falafel...sort of?

I guess you can call this a Mexican version of falafel...cause I have no idea what else to call it. To be honest, I was pretty skeptical while making it...the "avocado spread" was a little weird (needed some heat and did not need the sour cream—or greek yogurt, in my case-I've adjusted for this recipe), the patties were super sticky and needed to cook way longer than the recipe called for, and I didn't have any greens...but really, it tasted pretty good.

So, you know, follow theirs, follow mine, don't follow at all. Up to you.


Pinto Falafel & Avocado Pita Sandwich
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup crushed low-fat tortilla chips
2 tbsp or so coarsely chopped red onion
very small handful cilantro
about 1/4 tsp cumin
1 large egg white
small squeeze of lime juice

1 peeled avocado, mashed
2 tbsp chopped tomato (or about 5 chopped cherry tomatoes)
1 tbsp finely chopped red onion
1 tbsp 0% greek yogurt (optional)
squeeze of lime juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
pinch of fresh black pepper
dash of hot sauce (Tabasco works)

Canola oil
Whole wheat pitas, cut in half crosswise
Thin red onion slices, separated into rings

In food processor or blender, combine first 8 ingredients (beans through lime). Pulse until blended. (I have a mini food processor, and everything fit perfectly in it, though I had to add the beans a bit at a time.) If you don't have a blender, just cut everything really small and then mash it all up with a fork.

In large skillet, heat a bit of canola oil over medium high. When oil sizzles (test it by throwing in a drop of water-it should go crazy), take a smallish handful of bean mixture (1/4 cup or so), shape it into a patty-like shape, and fry it about 4 minutes a side or until dark golden brown on both sides and they stick together.

While they cook, combine the avocado ingredients. Open the pita and spoon in some avocado, top with a cooked patty or two, and arrange a couple onion slices (and green stuff if you've got it. I think even lettuce would work).

Almost summer...and you know what that means...

Summer food! Bright colors and flavors, oven-free cooking, sitting outside...I loooove cooking this time of year. And I have got a new one just for you, courtesy a little gem from Cooking Light.

It's vegetarian (and could easily be vegan if you swapped out the cheese and mayo), but got a big thumbs up from hubby, though I shouldn't be surprised—he's usually a good sport with meatless meals. We both thought it was crazy tasty...plus minimal clean up is always a plus. I used the Il Fornaio burger buns from Fresh & Easy, which are hands-down my favorite kind, even though they're pretty hearty and therefore not the lowest in cals. But I figured we made up for it by going meat-less, so I got over it.

Served with microwave-roasted sweet potatoes (wrapped in damp paper towels and cooked about 6 minutes, flipped over and cooked 6 more). Color and flavor (and fiber!) galore, let me tell you.


Portabella Cheese Burgers (for two)
1 large clove garlic, minced or finely sliced
cooking spray
2 large Portabella caps, gills and stems gently removed
Worcestershire Sauce (Or balsamic would also work)
S&P
2 tbsp mayo
2 tbsp blue cheese crumbles
1 roasted red bell pepper, sliced thinly (Use jarred to save time)
thinly sliced red onion
Arugula, washed and trimmed
2 sets of burger buns

Drizzle worcestershire over cleaned mushroom caps, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Heat large saute pan over medium, coat with spray. Add garlic, stirfry til softens a bit, less than a minute. Remove to small bowl. Add cheese and mayo to garlic, stir well to combine. Set aside.

Coat pan with spray again, and add mushrooms. Cook about 4 minutes a side or until tender. Turn off heat.

Toast buns (if you like), spread mayo mix onto the bottom buns. Top with mushroom, cap side down, and top with arugula, onion and peppers, and top with other bun. Or do it whatever order you want—Cooking Light says to put the mushroom on top of the veggies. I don't follow directions either...

Roughly 250-300 cals a serving, depending on bun type and mayo brand.

Leaving it to the Pros.

I don't have much experience with the whole meat-less lifestyle. I went a few years attempting to be a quasi-meat eater, only eating chicken and fish, but even then I would cheat every six months or so and go to town on an In-N-Out Burger. I guess I'm fine with my omnivore lifestyle because I'm a fan of the food chain, and like to pretend it's ok that the animals I eat were raised for that purpose (which kind of negates the point of the food chain, but whatever). I'm not insensitive, I'm an animal lover, we know this. I won't eat foie gras, because I have seen in person how those geese/ducks are force fed (plus it tastes like fat). And to my knowledge, I have never even tasted veal. And don't plan to.

That said, I have a lot of respect for vegetarians (at least the kind that let you eat next to them without a grimace on their face while citing evil facts and such). It's a difficult choice to make, and I admire their conviction—and depending on their reasons behind it, it's an understandable decision.

I know I claim to make a lot of 'veggie' meals, but I've never tried a true vegan dish. So when I saw a pic of my one true vegan buddy's breakfast the other day, I figured she could do a much better job in this department than I can. And so, I turn it over to fellow Central Cali-an and blogger Jessica. Like me, she's a big fan of big taste and small effort...Thanks so much for sharing your recipe and writing this all up! It looks absolutely delish...and from your hubby's ravings, sounds like it tasted just as good! It's on my 'to-try asap' list.

She was also kind/smart enough to include a little glossary for us meat-eaters at the end of the recipe. Enjoy!


Vegan Sausage and Spinach Frittata
 
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ yellow onion, chopped
½ package vegan sausage (I used Lightlife Gimme Lean)*
1 block extra firm tofu
1 ½ cups cooked chopped spinach
Vegetable broth
Unsweetened almond milk
Ener-G egg replacer* (or cornstarch could would work)
2 TB Nutritional yeast*
S&P
Parsley
Chives
8 spears of asparagus, quickly steamed
 
Preheat oven to 400.
 
In a large sauté pan, sweat onion and garlic in olive oil.  When translucent, crumble sausage into pan and brown.  In a bowl, mash cold tofu with fork until crumbled.  Add tofu and spinach to sauté pan and add a splash of vegetable broth to deglaze the pan.   Add in pepper and salt, to taste.  Warm throughout and then add in about a cup of your milk substitute of choice.  You want the mixture wet, but not thin.  Sprinkle about a teaspoon or two of egg replacer (or cornstarch) over the top along with nutritional yeast and fresh or dried parsley and chives.  Mix well and pour into baking dish.  Press asparagus spears into the mixture.  You can quickly steam them, or if you’re lazy like me, buy a package of already cooked frozen spears from Trader Joe’s and just use those.
 
Place dish into oven until bubbling and browned.  Depending on how deep your dish is, you could bake this from 25 to 45 min.  You’ll know when it’s ready when you shake the dish and the frittata doesn’t jiggle.  Let cool for 5 minutes before devouring.
 
Served with some ketchup, this thing is a brunch dish from heaven.  When your omnivore husband goes back thrice**, it’s a winner. Big thanks to Pam for inviting me to be a guest on her fabulously delicious blog!

*Glossary:
If you’re not vegan/vegetarian, some of these items may sound unfamiliar or even frightening. I’ll elaborate a little on each to better acquaint readers

Vegan sausage; Comes in all shapes and textures. The tube of Gimme Lean is nice because you can slice it into patties or crumble it into dishes. I often crumble it into breakfast potatoes and peppers for a brunch potluck dish and the omnivores are none the wiser.

Ener-G egg replacer: This yellow and orange box is easily found in health food stores. It’s a mixture of tapioca and potato starch. An excellent stand-in for eggs in baking, but it is also useful in dishes like these, which are normally entirely egg-based. The tofu replicates the eggs, but the Ener-G gives it a little puff-up and hold. Cornstarch would work just as well here.

Nutritional Yeast: An excellent source of protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Lends a cheesy/nutty flavor and creamy texture to dishes. Mix it into soups, stews and casseroles or sprinkle it atop veggies for a B12-filled cheesy boost.

**You’re welcome, Conan.

The Jamie Oliver Experiment

I'm not sure how I feel about Jamie Oliver. I mean, I hardly ever watch him, and I don't know much about him...Being British indisputably gives him that pompous air, which is bad, yet funny (you know this is true)…but he's got that laid-back vibe going on, which is good...so far, the worst thing I can find about him is that his children are named Poppy Honey Rosie, Daisy Boo Pamela, Petal Blossom Rainbow and Buddy Bear Maurice. Though, really. That's, well...siiiigh. I can't talk crap about people's kids. Even if it's just their names. But come. on. Even for a big hippie-fan like myself, that's kinda much.

Anyway. Hubby bought me one of his cookbooks for Christmas, and thumbing through it, we both saw tons that looked great. So, as a heads-up, we'll be adding a lot of his recipes in the next few months.

This particular recipe came from his website; I was at work when I made my shopping list, so the first couple we're going to try are basically our 'intro to Jamie' recipes. Starting with Linguine with Tomatoes and Capers.

At the beginning, I was a little worried. A) I had never heard of tomato passata, and even me, the Google Queen, couldn't find any definitive explanations for it. Instead, it was a bunch of generic, "it's sorta tomato paste but not tomato paste and sometimes it's cooked and sometimes it's not and it's not really sauce but it's kinda sauce...and so I was forced to wing it. And B) This is basically red clam linguine, sans clam. And since I think the clam is the best part of red clam linguine, I was worried it would be pretty much blah.


All was fine. For my passata, I chopped a brown onion and about 6 garlic cloves, sauteed them in a bit of olive oil about 5 minutes, then added about half a can of tomato puree (the big can). Cooked a few minutes and then proceeded with the recipe. Easy, especially with my chopper. And I do love easy.

Final results? We both give thumbs up. Simple, fast, and tasty. Make sure and use the lemon, btw, I think it brightens it up quite a bit.

This is a Thanksgiving post.

I know I'm not even posting in the right month (speaking of...crap, Book Club...), but better late than never, right? It's not like any one is needing holiday recipes in the 4 weeks between Thanks and Xmas. And if you are, well...sorry, my little elves. You're far more festive than I.


Let's start with apps, shall we?

Pretty easy. Chips and dip and salsa, a veggie tray (baby carrots, cukes, bell peppers, celery, raw green beans, snow peas) with dip, and a spinach cheese ball (beautifully rolled, Mrs. B.).


Look how cute I am. I mean, we are.
As for dinner itself, we kept it weirdly traditional this year, at least compared to last year. This turned out to be a good thing, since we ended up hosting a bunch of out-of-towners...many of whom needed their 'traditions.' Boys. (Shaking head) And so to my planned turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce and tri-tip (hubby's addition), we also added corn, broccoli, and sweet potato casserole. (Guests were in charge of booze and dessert. Many thanks to Big Perm for the pumpkin pies. Delicious. As for the nickname, just go with it—for once, I didn't make it up.)

Let's focus on said casserole, shall we? Show of hands...who likes sweet potato casserole? You know, the one with marshmallows on top? That's actually made from yams, not sweet potatoes? Anyone? If you do, well, here's another recipe for it. If you don't, well, you might now. I even surprised myself with this one. Thanks, Mom, for the base for this recipe. For some reason this wasn't as sweet as I remember yours being, but I've refused to taste it for the past, oh, 20 years, so forgive any false memories.

Sweet Yams
About 4 medium large yams, peeled, quartered, and sliced
All spice
About 2 or 3 tbsp margarine
about 3 tbsp brown sugar
About 1/4 cup crushed pineapple
good pinch salt
mini marshmallows

Steam yams in steamer with allspice (I have a steamer with a screen for spices...if you have that, go for it. Otherwise, just steam however you steam veggies—If you don't, buy something that lets you. And eat some veggies, damnit—then add a pinch of all spice in the next step) about 20 minutes or until soft.

Preheat oven to 375 (or 400 or whatever your bird is at).
In large bowl, mash yams, margarine and brown sugar, then stir in pineapple and salt. Cover with marshmallows, cook about 35 minutes or until hot and marshmallows begin to brown.

As for the enormous 21lb bird...I totally threw my back out with this monster. After I got rid of all the nastiness inside (neck, giblets, ick), I rubbed the whole thing with a butter/fresh sage/S+P mix, rubbing as much under the skin as I could, too, then baked the whole thing at 375 for about 4 hours. (About 20 minutes less than I was 'supposed to,' and then wrapped it in foil, breast side down, for about 45 minutes. SO JUICY!) Annnd...voila.


I think everyone was happy. Or full, at the very least. And now I guess this means I should break out the Christmas decorations...and finish my book club blog. Sigh. One thing at a time...

I'm in love...

with my new favorite toy, a shiny, speedy, sinfully delicious 15in Mac BookPro. Best part? It's wireless. Yes, I understand all laptops are...unless you have been putting off buying a new battery and have been attached to the wall for the past year. Anyway...yuh-uh-umm. It's so purdy.

As hard as it was, I tore myself away from playing long enough to make and feed myself eggplant parm. (side note: I LOVE my toaster oven...I totally used it for this.) I used this cooking light recipe, with some minor changes...made half a recipe, so I just did one layer of eggplant, topped with sauce, the cheese mix, more sauce, then torn fresh pieces of small mozzarella balls (an oz or so) and 2 provolone slices. Baked for 45 minutes total, but it could cook a bit longer. Served with chicken-broth cooked rice.
Also yum.


Oh, and I think I've mentioned this before, but it's worth repeating...after you slice the eggplant, sprinkle both sides with salt, layer between paper towels, let sit 5 to 10 minutes, then rinse before using. It makes them less bitter.

It's fall enough

Hubby and I have been on a budget. Which isn't really cool, cause that basically means I'm on a budget, seeing that I do all the shopping...
Not the point. We've been good...especially me, who counts Starbucks, the chiropractor, and mani/pedis among the (few, actually) major cuts. And let me-my bare toed, nail-bitten, sore self-tell you...I need me some pumpkin spice latte. They've been at the 'bucks for like a month, and I haven't had as much as a sip. I'm telling you, the air changes a bit, it's suddenly dark when my alarm goes off in the morning, and my need for pumpkin hits.

And so, as I'm trying to save money...this is my alternative. I cook. I wanted to do stuffed shells, but all I could find were lasagna noodles, so once again, I adapted...it worked. Served nicely with baby carrots steamed with dill. Even KittyH wanted some.


Pumpkin Lasagna
Olive oil
A few thin slices onion, chopped
A couple garlic cloves, minced
About half 14oz can pumpkin
1 container low fat ricotta
1 egg, beaten
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
Allspice
Cardamom
1/4 cup or so of chopped walnuts
Lasagna noodles, prepared or no-bake (I love you, trader joes)
Store bought light alfredo sauce ( I use the refrigerated buitoni stuff..molto bene), diluted with a tbsp of water or so, if needed, to get to a smooth, medium thin sauce
Parsley, to serve


Preheat oven to 400.

Sautee onion and garlic (or use an equal amount of shallot) in a bit of olive oil for a few minutes until soft. Remove from heat.

In medium bowl, combine ricotta, pumpkin, egg, about 1/4 tsp each of ground allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt. Add pepper to taste (good pinch). Add garlic/onion mix. Combine well.

In casserole dish, cover bottom lightly and evenly with a bit of the Alfredo (1/3 cup or so). Make layer of lasagna noodles, breaking pieces up if needed to puzzle piece it together.

Spread 1/3 of pumpkin mix across noodles. Cover with another layer of noodles. Spread 1/3 pumpkin mix, then sprinkle across half the walnuts. Cover with noodles, then rest of pumpkin, then noodles, then pour over remaining Alfredo sauce. Sprinkle rest of walnuts across top. Cover with foil. (if using no-boil noodles, let sit 20 minutes before continuing)

Bake for 30 minutes, remove foil, cook another 10 minutes or until bubbly.

Let cool 15 minutes or so. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.


*if you can see, the rockalicious salt on the carrots (and everything else I cook lately) is the.best.ever. Let's just say it was a gift. From Cambodia. From a straight up salt field. I also have the.best.pepper.ever., also from Cambodia, but I've been afraid to use it. Much like the super awesome olive oils we got as wedding gifts two years ago(Thanks L&E!)...I've devoured one of each of said 'duel gifts,' and have been delighted...which makes me more hesitant to use the other. It's like a good wine...Perfect occasion, you know? Anyway. Thanks again, Boss Lady. Get better and go on vacation already. You and Tom bring back the best stuff. (xo)

-posted out of laziness from my iPhone.

As long as my cooler's on, I'm making summer food.

This got a "this is good" not once, but twice during the meal. Agreed. I intended on making it with steak, but decided/was persuaded to leave it in its marinade and BBQ some chicken instead. Summery, no?



The original recipe calls for pine nuts and haricot verts...but my bank account said nuh-uh. One day I'll try it and compare. Til then, this will do just fine.



Green Bean, Tomato and Basil Salad
(adapted from a Cooking Light recipe)

Package green beans (about 12 oz)
Package grape tomatoes, halved
One shallot, finely chopped
Juice from half a lemon
Lemon zest (1 lemon)
1 tbsp honey
About 2+ tbsp 0% Greek yogurt
Salt and pepper
Large handful chopped or ribboned basil
About a tbsp slivered almonds, toasted or plain

Cook beans until almost cooked, rinse with cold water and drain.

In a large bowl, mix juice, yogurt, honey, salt (1/4 tsp or to taste) and a bit of pepper. Add tomatoes and beans. Toss. Sprinkle with basil, zest, and nuts. Toss gently to serve.



-posted out of laziness from my iPhone.

I can have potato salad and potstickers for dinner if I want to.

So, my grandma was from Oklahoma. (Well, one of them was; the other was from Kansas, which, really, is kind of the same thing) And like many grandmas, she passed down a couple of recipes that my mom's side of the family has kept firmly in rotation. I'm not entirely sure if it's because of tradition, love, or some sort of otherwise commitment...either way, Grandma's potato salad rocks...not to say I don't douse it up a bit; it's just that I'm introducing it to this generation (and not to be insensitive, but most of my family recipes-from both sides-are good as nostalgia, but need just a bit of updating).

Or something like that. I loved the original, I just realize now that mayo is not exactly my friend, so I cut that WAY back and added a couple small things to substitute (see optional items).



Grandma's Potato Salad (kinda)
About 6 largish red potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
1 small red onion, chopped finely
3 hard-boiled eggs*, chopped (I remove the yolk from 2 of them)
About 4 celery stalks, trimmed and chopped small
3 tbsp mayo (or to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
dash of garlic powder, optional
a couple dashes Tabasco, optional
Squeeze of lemon juice, optional

Put potatoes in large pan, cover with water and a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, cook about 10-15 minutes or until just cooked (It's not scientific, taste it!). Drain, rinse in cool water.

While that cools, do the rest of the chopping/cooking if you haven't yet.

Combine everything. Be gentle to not mess up the potatoes, but don't worry too much if you do. Perfection is overrated.

Chill. Enjoy with BBQ'd food, steak, chicken, or anything else that screams summer. Even pot stickers. Especially if you're home alone. Cause I won't judge if you eat a whole (small) package if you do. (In which case, you win. Pot-stickers should be consumed far more often).



*Boil about 10 minutes. Let sit, them cool and peel eggs. Or however you do eggs. Mine come out right about half the time. This time I cooked on medium about 20 minutes and it never boiled, but they were cooked perfectly. I consider eggs one of my Achilles heels, so if you have any tips, send 'em my way.