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The Kitchen Recessionista

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

Crock-Pot Cowboy Stew.

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This was one of those long days that was filled with fun, but that stretched on and on till all hours. First LeeLee and I put in a full workday (as you do), and then we continued on our separate paths to two different meetings. He gets dinner at his meeting; I came home with a rumbling stomach from mine. But I knew I wasn’t getting fed – it was a volunteer shift, after all – and so I’d managed to plan ahead on this springtime Monday, thanks in large part to my trusty Crock-Pot.

Before leaving for work this morning, I whipped up a batch of Cowboy Stew from over at Stephanie O’Dea’s site, a site (and recipe) I turn to quite often when it comes to slow-cooker masterpieces. I can’t think of a single time she’s let me down! And this stew has been a long-term winner for LeeLee and me. In fact, I had just barely turned it on and was heading out to work when LeeLee came into the house from the gym this morning, peered into the Crock-Pot, and gasped, saying, “Is that Cowboy Stew?!”

Don’t worry, pal. There’s plenty for your lunch this week. Mine, too!

This stew cooks up like a dream and takes no time at all to prepare. It’s amazing how tossing in a few cans of this-and-that can make such a wonderful end result with amazingly little effort! And whether you’re ready to eat in four hours or 10, it cooks beautifully up until the last minute.

I ate tonight at the TV trays, which we use quite a lot on more casual evenings home, when we’re eating in shifts or in singles (or, often, on Sunday nights when we’re not dining outside). While LeeLee was out, I caught up on a couple of old episodes of “The Golden Girls” while the Bozos lolled around like big furry oafs. (I’ve not yet discussed the Bozos at length. I’ll do so in an upcoming post!) After two helpings of stew, I was plenty satisfied – stuffed, even – but even after eating my fill, there’s still several lunches’ worth for us both. And I have a feeling we’ll put every morsel to good use!

:)

Sunday Cookout: Veggie Dogs With Baked Beans and Tater Tots.

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The high temperature today was supposed to be a ripe old 60 degrees, but in actuality we barely broke 50 here in Northern Virginia. No matter: The grill beckoned regardless, and I was only too happy to respond to its siren song!

I’m still a little out of practice with the ol’ barbecue, this being only the second time I’ve used it since spring sprung, and admittedly tonight I almost made a rookie mistake when I found my charcoal bag empty and the grill barely half-full of coal. But thank goodness for Past Hope, who left half a bag of Match Light over from last season for Present Hope to discover! Oh, happy day!

And so I was able to fire up the grill with a flourish and then place a pan of baked beans atop the grate to cook for half an hour while the tater tots (the rest of the bag from last week’s creamed tuna dinner) baked in the oven indoors. (I’ve still never found a good way to bake them on the outdoor grill but would welcome suggestions!) With about 10 minutes to go, I tossed the veggie dogs on the grill as well, turning every 2 minutes or so, and then put two hot-dog buns on to toast with just a couple of minutes left. Everything was ready at once – oh happy day! – and I pulled all of the ingredients off and set up a little buffet inside, it still being too cold to dine al fresco and whatnot.

We topped our veggie dogs with a heaping helping of black-pepper kraut from our friends at No. 1 Sons – the pepper played so nicely with the Savoy cabbage and left the kraut with a dainty yet hearty texture and taste – and dug in! Everything was fantastic, if I do say so myself, and indeed there are no tater tots left (as per usual – we’re not proud). But – but! – there are plenty of veggie dogs left for lunches this week, as well as a hearty serving or two of baked beans. So we can begin the workweek with vigor.

Have a great week, all!

:)

Comfort Food Extraordinaire: Vegan Creamed “Tuna” Over Toast.

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Look who’s back! (Again!) Lots to say, lots to update y’all on, but for now, let’s dig into a meal.

Tonight, I was hankering for a little bit of comfort food. For no reason, really – the workday went great and the sky was a sunny blue – but there I was hankering nevertheless, wanting something down-home and home-cooked just like I grew up on. In these situations, I can think of no better meal than creamed veggie-tuna over toast – with some English peas and tater tots besides. Homegrown heaven!

I’ve discussed my vegan creamed tuna recipe on these pages before, so I won’t reiterate the whole thing here again. But suffice it to say, the whole process took a scant minute more than 10 to complete – in fact, I had finished my part before LeeLee even arrived home from the gym! But that’s another positive trait of creamed tuna – it keeps beautifully on the stove while we wait.

The peas, of course, took no time at all to heat up, and the tater tots were done after 25 minutes in the oven. And then we were ready to chow down – which we did, with gusto!

I toasted two slices of Ezekiel bread (which I started using during last year’s Ironman training cycle and have fallen in love with as a result) and piled the creamed tuna high on each of our plates, and we filled out the dishes with the peas and potatoes. Two helpings apiece later and we were plenty satisfied – and have plenty of creamed tuna left over for lunch tomorrow! (The peas and tots, however, were decimated.)

:)

Veggie Fried Rice With Sweet and Sour “Pork.”

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veggie-fried-rice

Ahhh, Chinese takeout-at-home night! I love whipping up a takeout meal in faster time, and with better results, than we’d get if we were actually picking dinner up from someplace.

As usual, our veggie fried rice was the anchor of tonight’s dinner, but it had a twist! Instead of the usual seitan, tonight we tried out Gardein’s new sweet and sour “porkless bites” to serve alongside the rice. The prep couldn’t have been easier – just a few minutes of heating-up time in the pan and then a minute to mix the sauce in and let everything marinate – and the final result was glorious!

And the fried rice itself turned out quite nicely too. I trotted out my trusty recipe from Christy Jordan at the Southern Plate and got straight to work, omitting the eggs and tweaking the seasoning a little bit based on what I had on hand tonight (swapping onion powder for garlic powder, for instance). Within minutes, everything was ready to eat, and LeeLee and I sat down to begin the feast!

I don’t mind telling you that there’s not a single grain of rice nor molecule of sweet and sour “pork” left. Nor are there any of the four spring rolls I heated up in the oven. These things happen when we’re hungry and the food is good! Chinese takeout-at-home never disappoints.

:)

Linguine With Summer Veggies and Chik’n.

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vegan-linguine

Friends, the past couple of weeks have been Big Fun, but Big-Time Hectic as well! From a trip home to visit family to watching my Ironman training plan ramp up-up-up, I’ve been enjoying every moment, but I’ve certainly missed y’all. And I’m happy to be back updating these pages!

As training has begun to take more and more of my time, I’ve found myself looking for meals that are both filling (read: carby) and easy to put together on a moment’s notice. Tonight’s linguine certainly fit the bill!

I first enjoyed this recipe nearly 15 years ago, when LeeLee and I went to our friend Erin’s home for dinner and she made us a pasta dish much like tonight’s. (Incidentally, as I was cooking tonight, I asked LeeLee, “Remember how we went to Erin’s apartment after she moved back to town and she made us dinner? Remember this linguine?” He replied, “I remember going to her apartment that night, but I don’t recall the linguine.” HOW CAN HE NOT RECALL THE LINGUINE? But I digress.) The dish was genius in its simplicity: In a pan, sauté olive oil, diced onion, zucchini, a couple of cloves of minced garlic, salt, pepper, and plenty of cherry tomatoes while your pasta cooks in a separate pot. Erin’s version may also have had summer squash – even I admit I am a little foggy on that part – but the beauty of this dish is, the veggies are easy to swap in and out. Over the years, we’ve added mushrooms, asparagus, peas, and kale with no ill effects!

Tonight, I also added a package of Gardein chik’n in order to work in a little extra protein, as well as adding in some fresh basil, oregano, and chives from the garden. Once the linguine was cooked, I tossed it into the pan with the veggies and chik’n, mixed everything around thoroughly, and we were ready to eat!

I topped my pasta with some vegan mozzarella shreds, plus some nutritional yeast because that’s what I do. LeeLee went the more purist route, adding only a little extra salt and pepper. We both mowed down two servings apiece and were just tickled pink that we’ve got plenty left for lunches tomorrow!

I’ll always be thankful to Erin for turning me on to this dinner! It’s certainly served us well over the years.

:)

New Recipe: Kale-Polenta Sauté With Chickpeas and Tomatoes.

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kale-polenta-saute-vegan

I’ve had a lot of cool foods in the fridge and cabinet over the past few days. Some kale from last week’s CSA box at Great Country Farms; a tube of polenta I picked up on a whim just because I love it. A tomato I brought home from Bigg Riggs’ stand at Saturday’s farmer’s market. An onion I purchased from Mr. Lopez’s stand at the same market, one week earlier. And some chickpeas just hanging out in the cabinet, waiting for an adventure.

Put it all together – as I did in the cast iron skillet tonight – and you’ve got yourself one heck of a meal!

The recipe itself is below, but in case you want to take the long and winding road to get there, here we are. I knew I needed a one-pot meal with minimal cleanup and minimal prep time tonight – we went to Guns N Roses last night, you see, and did not get home until nearly 2 a.m.! – and I also knew I wanted a healthy meal that made use of ingredients I already had on hand. And to be sure, I didn’t have to pick up a single new food for this dinner – a happy feat, indeed! I didn’t have the patience nor the time for tomfoolery in the kitchen tonight, and this meal fit the bill just perfectly.

Now, while I have you on the line, a word or two about Guns N Roses. The show was amazing last night! This was my first GNR show – and frankly, I’m surprised the day ever came, since I never expected them to get together again for a tour. But they were very much worth the wait. They played all the greats, including my very favorite, “Estranged,” and the party lasted for a good two and a half hours. TWO AND A HALF HOURS! I was amazed. It was a sight to behold, and I’m quite glad we went.

Of course, I know y’all aren’t here to discuss Guns N Roses specifically, but I thank you for humoring me. I’m just so excited, you see!

Anyway, back to the food. I put several tablespoons of vegetable oil into my skillet and swirled the skillet around to fully coat it with oil. Then I fired the heat up to medium and added half a diced onion. A minute or two later, I added the tube of polenta, cut into rounds and then into a dice (about four pieces per round), and then added a first go-round of salt and pepper. Once everything began to brown up a bit, I tossed in a drained can of chickpeas and let them heat up, moving everything around very gingerly.

Once the chickpeas had heated up, I added some washed, cut kale and again mixed everything up carefully (so as not to bust the polenta up too much). After about 7 minutes, the kale had begun to wilt, so I added a diced tomato, juices, seeds, and all. Then I added a second helping of salt and pepper and let the flavors mingle for a few minutes until everything was heated through and the kale was nice and tender.

Then it was time to eat! We spooned plenty onto our plates and topped it with vegan parmesan and hot sauce (and, in my case, nutritional yeast, because when don’t I?). And then we mowed down nearly every single molecule. I guess we were hungry!

Recipe below.

 

KALE-POLENTA SAUTE WITH CHICKPEAS AND TOMATOES.
Serves 2-4

What you’ll need:

2-3 tbsp. vegetable oil
½ onion, diced
1 tube polenta, diced
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 bunch kale, washed, destemmed and roughly cut
1 tomato, diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet (cast iron if you’ve got it) over medium heat. (You may need to turn the heat down after a few minutes if you find the onion and polenta are browning too quickly.) Add the onion in an even single layer and cook for 2-3 minutes. Next, add the polenta atop the onion, nestled along the skillet floor, and cook another 3-4 minutes until it begins to brown and the onion becomes slightly translucent. Season with salt and pepper to taste (you’ll do this again near the end).

Next, add the chickpeas in an even layer and after 1-2 minutes shift the ingredients around in the pan gently, letting them settle for another 4 minutes. Then add the kale and gingerly stir the ingredients around again so that some of the kale is able to touch the bottom of the pan. Shift the sauté around every couple of minutes for the next 4-5 minutes.

Finally, add the tomato and another round of salt and pepper, stir gently to combine, and allow the tomato (and the rest of the ingredients!) to heat through. Take the pan off the heat and serve!

:)

Sunday Cookout: Chik’n Sandwiches With Zucchini-Potato Hash and Snap Peas.

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vegan-chik-patty-with-veggies

Friends, tonight was one of my very favorite kinds of Sunday Cookouts – the all-grill version! From the sandwiches to the hash to the peas, everything we ate was cooked on the grill. I love nights like this!

The zucchini-potato hash was a concoction I just sort of made up as I went along, and it turned out beautifully. I knew we wanted to have a starchy side to go along with our snap peas, but I’d grown tired of the Usual Suspects – and, frankly, thought maybe it would be a better nutritional choice if we enjoyed a little less starch in our dinnertime routine. So I decided to cut the potato with a beautiful yellow zucchini, mix the two together with salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, a pinch of vegan cheddar cheese, and a pat of butter, and heat them in two foil packets (combined) on the grill!

The results were glorious. The zucchini and potato went together so nicely and, after a half-hour of cooking time, each bite was fork-tender and melted in our mouths. We mowed down the entire bowl’s worth and don’t feel a twinge of regret about it. The same goes for the snap peas, which I grilled in another foil packet with a pat of butter and some paprika. They were so tender by the time they came off the grill – and we made our appreciation known by leaving no pea behind!

The chik’n patties held up beautifully as ever, and despite our best efforts we did manage to leave two of them for tomorrow’s lunch. They’ll go very nicely in a couple of wraps!

:)

Tofu Scramble Taco Salad.

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tofu-scramble-taco-salad

It’s Taco Tuesday around here again! Tonight, I used the remaining taco salad shells from last week while cooking up some tofu scramble – normally reserved for weekend brunch – to serve as the salad’s anchor. Then I topped each bowl with plenty of lettuce, tomato wedges, sliced black olive, vegan pepperjack cheese, sour cream, and salsa, and we sat down to eat.

It’s amazing how quickly this meal comes together! From beginning to end, the cooking time took less than 20 minutes, and we had a hearty, healthy, flavorful meal to show for it by dinnertime! LeeLee and I chowed down with gusto, mowing down our crispy bowls in no time flat and then adding a few tortilla chips to sop up the rest of the scramble (and its allies). We left not a molecule on either plate and aren’t a bit ashamed!

We’ve been at the beach for a few days, enjoying our annual summer vacation, and it’s definitely time to get back into good dietary order. This taco salad was just the ticket we needed to get back on the on-ramp to good health!

:)

Taco Salad.

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vegan-taco-salad

Today marks the beginning of Week 2 of Ironman training (did I mention that I’m training for an Ironman triathlon? Yes, well, I am), and also served as the first two-a-day workout of the week. So by the time I got home from work, my stomach was rumbling and my patience for lengthy cooking times was … short. To say the least.

Enter: Taco salad!

We gave the cat her kidney fluids and then I got straight to work on dinner. In one pan: A package of cubed seitan, seasoned with adobo seasoning and cumin. In my trusty pot: A can of refried beans brought to a simmer. And in the oven: Two crispy taco-salad bowls, ripe for the filling!

As everything heated up, I went out back and plucked some lettuce leaves from the garden, then came back in and washed them off, setting them aside until Go Time. Once the shells were heated through and the seitan was fully cooked, I turned off all the eyes to the stove and got to work on the assembly line.

First, I heaped a generous portion of refried beans into each bowl. Then I topped the beans with plenty of seitan (but not all), and then the lettuce from the garden. Next I added the rest of the seitan and then some cherry tomatoes, sliced black olives, and Daiya pepperjack vegan cheese. We finished our salads off with some hot sauce from She Peppers and then the dressings of choice (I’ve been in LOVE with Daiya’s Ranch dressing lately!), and then we dug in!

There’s something so fresh, so filling, about a dinnertime salad, and LeeLee and I both ate our fill and felt perfectly satisfied after the fact. That’s not to say we didn’t pine for more – our appetites extended far beyond our hunger! – but all in due time. We’ve got two more taco bowls left, after all, and who’s to say what the rest of the week’s meals will bring?

:)

Vegan Toona Melts With Fruit Salad.

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vegan-toona-melts

Well, friends, Ironman training is here. I’ve got 20 weeks to go before the Big Day and the “official” training plan began yesterday! Which means today was my first two-a-day of the season, with a swim before work and a run afterward. So by the time I got home, I was feeling a bit … tired. Sleepy. Maybe even a little sluggish.

Thank goodness for these “tuna” melts! I’ve written about them before – Sophie’s Kitchen has outdone itself with this vegan toona, y’all! – and they never cease to fill our stomachs and make us happy. Tonight, I experimented with two different kinds of vegan cheese, Daiya’s cheddar slices and Field Roast’s Chao slices, and LeeLee and I were pleased with both styles.

We served the melts alongside a heaping fruit salad, which was teeming with blueberries, bananas, mandarin oranges, blackberries, and some hand-picked strawberries. It was the perfect quick-fix meal! So fresh and light on a hot late-spring day, but yet so filling, as well. That’s a combination that never gets old.

I made a full four muffins’ worth tonight, and I’m pleased to say that we’ve got plenty left for lunch tomorrow. I can’t wait!

:)