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The Kitchen Recessionista

So, here we are, in a recession. Let's eat!

Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai.

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spaghetti-squash-pad-thai

Well, now, here’s a use for spaghetti squash that I never would have anticipated!

A couple of weeks ago, I was thumbing through The Kitchn (as I am want to do) and came across a recipe that immediately piqued my interest: Spaghetti squash pad Thai. With tofu, of all things! With the CSA autumnal season in full swing and winter squashes arriving at our door every 45 seconds (or so it seems), this recipe proved to be quite timely indeed.

I’ll admit it: Though I’ve been working fairly late hours this week, I came home relatively early tonight just to put the spaghetti squash in the oven. I knew it would take an hour to bake, after all, and I was just dying to get the pad Thai party started!

So when I got home, I immediately put my biggest squash atop a baking sheet and placed it in the oven at 400 degrees for an hour, turning the squash over halfway through. In the last half-hour of baking time, I sliced up a block of tofu, pulled out my favorite cast-iron skillet, and stir-fried the tofu until it was golden brown on both sides.

Now, this Kitchn recipe and I did deviate in terms of our technique. The recipe calls for putting things in and out of the pan piece by piece; I did that once, between the tofu and egg, but otherwise I refrained. That’s probably because I neglected to purchase any spring onions, or cloves of garlic. No, rather, when dinner was nearly done I simply sprinkled some minced onion over the top, mixed it in, and called it a day! Also, in the sauce, I did not use the tamarind paste or the fish sauce (naturally), opting instead for a soy-sauce/water/brown sugar blend. I also added a dollop of peanut butter to the spaghetti squash at the last, because … well, why not?

I did, however, add the peanuts, cilantro, and red pepper flakes to the top of the dish for garnish, along with some lime. So I didn’t go completely far afield!

Oh, and did I mention that my cast-iron skillet is now smooth enough to scramble eggs without a lick of sticking? This is by far one of life’s greatest feats.

Anyway, ingredient substitutions or no, this meal turned out great. LeeLee and I enjoyed a couple of helpings apiece and polished off nearly an entire spaghetti squash between us. (Oh, that’s right – whereas the recipe called for half a squash, we used the whole thing. It’s what we do!)

The beauty of this recipe is that the “spaghetti” strands absorb so many of the dish’s flavors, without adding to the heaviness at all! The tofu, too, picks up the spices and richness of the dish, from the soy sauce to the Sriracha (did I mention I added Sriracha?) to the peanut butter and even the cilantro. In combination, it’s an amazing marriage of flavors and texture that just can’t be beat.

As it happens, we’ve got another spaghetti squash hanging out on the dinner table presently! I may have to try this squash-as-Asian-noodle thing again next week. Stay tuned!

:)

Green Chile and Mushroom Quesadillas.

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onion-green-chile-quesadilla

Now, to be fair, this meal had a bit of a bumpy start.

First, these quesadillas were supposed to be Swiss chard quesadillas. But my chard went to pieces on me, becoming all brown and soft before I ever had a chance to put them together into a meal! Not all is lost – we can compost them in our smart little kitchen compost pail – but still, my heart sunk at the realization.

And before that, before I’d even entered the house, the avocado I bought today for tonight’s meal somehow managed to fall out of the grocery bag, roll down the dark Alexandria street – while I chased behind, eyeglasses hanging halfway off my face as I scurried down the way – and then into the storm drain! Oh, I was not amused. Actually, I take that back – I was quite amused. I couldn’t stop laughing, in fact. I still keep giggling every time I think of it!

So by the time I got in the house and discovered the Swiss chard situation, I merely shrugged and moved right on to Plan B. Which, I might add, happened to be an excellent plan indeed!

First, I pulled out a nonstick pan and sprayed it with cooking spray. Then I diced half an onion – the other half from Sunday night’s Italian sausage extravaganza – and added it to the pan, setting the heat to Medium. Once it started to turn translucent, I added in several handfuls of sliced white mushrooms, the larger of which I broke in half.

I scanned the cabinets, looking for more ingredients. Then my eyes fell upon one of my very favorites – whole canned green chiles!

Onto the cutting board they went, where I roughly chopped them and added them to the mix. Finally, I added some ground cumin and chipotle powder to the veggies as well, let everything heat through and soften nicely, and then took then pan off the heat.

I like to bake my quesadillas – I find they stay crispy this way, and aren’t quite as unhealthy (or unwieldy!) as cooking them in the pan with oil. So I placed about a quarter of the onion-chile mixture atop a tortilla, then topped the veggies with cheese, and finally placed a second tortilla on top, spraying it gently with some cooking spray. Then I repeated the process three more times!

All that was left then was to bake the quesadillas for about 12 minutes at 450. By the time they were ready, they were crispy and slightly brown, and the cheese was bubbly. Time to eat!

I tossed a small side salad to accompany the meal, and we feasted with aplomb. The green chiles gave a tang to the quesadillas that I hadn’t experienced before, and the mushrooms and onions are always perennial favorites. The cheddar cheese was sharp enough to handle all of the competing flavors without losing any ground itself, and soft tortillas were a wonderful bed for every ingredient to rest upon.

I have no idea why it took me so long to try green chiles in quesadillas, but you can bet that they’ll soon be mainstays in this meal! And to think, all it took was some rotten Swiss chard and an avocado in the storm drain to get me to this point. I can think of worse outcomes!

:)

Crock-Pot Monday: Vegan Cowboy Stew.

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vegan-cowboy-stew

Boy, was I happy to see (and smell) the Crock-Pot when I arrived home tonight!

LeeLee and I knew today would be a long day for us both. We each have projects that are about to come to fruition this week, and today was the day for each of us to spend extra hours at work getting everything in order for the rest of the week. So though it took a few extra minutes this morning to prepare the slow cooker, I knew it would pay off in the end!

“The end,” incidentally, came around 7:20 tonight, when I entered the house to be greeted by a screaming kittycat – who was two hours late for feeding time – and the wonderful aroma of one of our favorite Crock-Pot creations, cowboy stew. I came across this recipe years ago over at the wonderful Stephanie O’Dea’s blog, A Year of Slow-Cooking, and it quickly became a favorite here at Chez Recessionista!

And so it came to pass that this morning, I placed some vegan ground “beef,” chili beans (I can never find Ranch-style beans!), tomatoes with green chilies, Italian stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and two cans of small whole potatoes into the crock with a cup of water and some garlic powder and dried minced onion. (The recipe calls for corn, but I just plain old forgot to pick any up at the store this weekend! Ah, well.) (The recipe also calls for an optional garnish of jarred jalapeno slices, which I dutifully and excitedly purchased and then … forgot to use. Ah, well, once more!) Then I flicked the heat to Low and left the house for the day.

We ate tonight in shifts – I got home first, then LeeLee arrived about 40 minutes later – but we enjoyed our meals nonetheless. We served the stew with a slice of garlic bread on the side – perfect for dipping! And each of us went back for seconds, because this recipe is just that good.

And what’s even better is that we’ve got plenty left over for lunch tomorrow! This may be the autumnal debut of my beloved Thermos – who knows? I’ll keep you in suspense!

:)

Sunday Cookout: Vegan Italian Sausage With Roasted Delicata Squash and Zucchini Bake.

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italian-sausage-squash

“It feels like summer was here just a minute ago,” LeeLee lamented as we bundled up in long sleeves to head outside for tonight’s cookout. Even with pullovers and flannel shirts, we were still chilly as we embarked on our weekly “read while the meal cooks” date in the back yard. It won’t be long now till we fire up the smoker for the first time this season!

But in the meantime, we poured several dozen charcoal briquettes into our trusty red grill and proceeded with yet another summertime-style cookout! Tonight the Match Light wouldn’t, well, light right away, but a couple of paper towel balls soon sorted things out and the next thing we knew, it was time to cook.

I prepped all of the dishes prior to cooking out, so by the time the coals were heated, we were ready for business. Tonight was a two-grill-pan sort of night – first, I placed the slices from two delicata squashes (from our friends at Great Country Farms, of course), cut into half-moons, into one disposable pie pan and tossed them with olive oil and a hint of cherry pepper/cinnamon seasoning. Next, for the other pie pan, I diced a yellow zucchini (also from GCF), tossed it with some cherry tomatoes, and added a pat of butter and some salt, pepper, and onion powder. I covered both pans with foil and put them on the grill once the coals had died down!

Each of the squash pans cooked for about half an hour in total – I took the foil off the zucchini with 10 minutes to go in the cooking process and added some cheddar cheese and bread crumbs to the top, making it a true-blue zucchini bake. After that, I placed four Tofurky Italian sausage links onto the grill as well and let them heat through, which took about 10 minutes.

Once the sausages were hot and slightly crispy on the outside, I took them up, threw two hot-dog buns on in their stead, and then removed both pie pans from the grill. The buns didn’t take but a minute to heat up, and before we knew it we’d trundled back inside to eat! (It was just too cool to comfortably eat outside tonight! The end of a summertime era. Sigh.)

I don’t mind telling you, we mowed down our food tonight as though we were in the 400-meter dash. We both took care of an Italian sausage apiece and all of the zucchini between us, and we made a goodly dent in the delicata squash. Finally, to round out the meal, we each enjoyed several helpings of some pickled beets, purchased this weekend from our friends at No. 1 Sons. What could be better?

I’m pleased to know that we’ve got two sausages left for lunch tomorrow, plus enough delicata slices to pull us through the tough times of a normal Monday. If only we had some more zucchini bake, as well! But alas, we just weren’t planning that far ahead.

:)

New Recipe: Vegetarian Macaroni-Beef Skillet.

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vegetarian-macaroni-beef-skillet

Tonight, I arrived home with nary a molecule of energy or patience to cook a huge dinner. So I plumbed the cabinets and came up with a new recipe: Vegetarian Macaroni-Beef Skillet!

The cooking process was easy enough to give my tired brain a break tonight, and for that I was incredibly grateful. I cooked a pot of macaroni pasta, and as it cooked, I heated up my Le Creuset French oven with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, then added veggie ground “beef.” Once it heated up, I added two cans of tomatoes with green chilies (aka Rotel – but let the record show that I purchased the store brand), a jar of sliced mushrooms, and some cumin, dried minced onion, garlic powder, and cayenne powder. Then I mixed everything up well and let it continue to simmer until the pasta was cooked through.

Once that was the case, I drained the macaroni and added it to the Le Creuset, mixing everything together again. Finally, I added about a cup of shredded Mexican blend cheese to the top of the pasta, let it melt for about five minutes, and then dinner was served!

LeeLee and I dug right in tonight and helped ourselves to two servings apiece, I must confess. (I’m justifying that by this being a 20-mile long run week, but I’m not quite sure that justification is accurate.) And we both loved the way this meal turned out! The macaroni gave the dinner some heft, while the spicy tomatoes provided a kick to each bite. And the spices themselves completed the meal beautifully, making it much more well-rounded in the end.

In short, we’ll certainly add the vegetarian macaroni and beef skillet to our regular rotation! Glorious.

The recipe’s below. :)

VEGETARIAN MACARONI-BEEF SKILLET
Serves four (or more)

What you’ll need:

1 package elbow macaroni
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 package vegetarian ground beef
2 cans tomatoes with green chilies
1 jar sliced mushrooms
2 tsp. dried diced onion
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cayenne powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 cup Mexican blend cheese or vegan cheese, shredded

Set a pot of water to High heat, and when it’s boiling nicely, add the macaroni and cook according to package directions.

As the macaroni heats, heat the olive oil in a pan on Medium, and then add the beef, cooking until softened and heated through. Next, add the tomatoes, mushrooms, and spices, stirring until combined. Continue to heat on Medium-Low until the macaroni is ready.

Once the macaroni is cooked, add it to the pan with the beef and stir thoroughly to combine. Then add the cheese on top, let it melt for five minutes or so, and serve!

Enjoy!

:)

Vegan Tuna Melts With Salad.

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vegan-tuna-melts-salad

LeeLee was out of town last night (he’s back today – whoohoo!), so while I knew I wanted to cook a little something at home, I wanted it to indeed be a little something. Leftovers certainly don’t go to waste around Chez Recessionista, but by the same token, the weekend is looming large, which generally means we’re more prone to eating out. So while I welcome leftovers, I don’t want to waste them, either.

With all this in mind, I scanned the cabinets and came upon an oldie but a goodie: Vegan tuna melts!

It seems like every five minutes one of our local grocery stores is having a buy-one-get-one-free deal on English muffins, so we’ve always got plenty hanging out in the freezer just waiting to be used. I defrosted a couple of muffins in the microwave, cut them open, put them on a baking sheet, and then opened a can of Sophie’s Kitchen Toona and divided it evenly among all four slices. Then I placed a half slice of Daiya Swiss cheese on each muffin and put the baking sheet in the oven at 375 for about 15 minutes.

The cheese was bubbly and the muffins were warm by the time the oven timer dinged, and I dug right in, grabbing two muffin slices off the pan and leaving the other two for leftovers. Then I spooned a heaping helping of salad onto my plate, as well, adding some Snapea Crisps for good measure (because I adore them). And then I dug right in!

I loved the original version of tuna melts way back in the day, and I love the vegan version now just as much. What is it about the meals you grew up with that provide such comfort decades later? These melts always bring me back to a feeling of home, every single time.

:)

Vegan Cuban Black Bean Soup.

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black-bean-soup

The Pope’s in town, so I’m in a confessional mood: This was supposed to be a Crock-Pot Tuesday meal, but I overslept this morning to the tune of half an hour. And then had to rush out the door to take a pug from the animal shelter to the vet for surgery. (And THEN said pug freaked out so badly in the car that she flipped her kennel over, causing me to pull over and wedge it against my Roadside Emergency Kit so she couldn’t flip it again. But that’s another story for another day.)

So suffice it to say, by the time I got home I wished I had made tonight’s Cuban black-bean soup, fresh out of Robin Robertson’s Vegan Planet, in the Crock-Pot! But alas. So into the Le Creuset it went and merrily cooked away for the better part of an hour until all the vegetables were soft and the broth was well past piping-hot.

In the last few minutes of its cooking time, I heated up two breadsticks in the oven, and they were a wonderful accompaniment to our meals! Which were, incidentally, eaten in shifts, as LeeLee was called away to an evening meeting he hadn’t planned on and the dinner service went on as planned. But good news! The soup held up just beautifully in the Le Creuset until LeeLee’s return, so he wasn’t the worse for wear.

This soup makes a TON, and we’ve got plenty left for the week! Some, I’ve spooned up for our lunches; some I’ve gone ahead and frozen. I love a multipurpose meal!

:)