Sweet Potato Tofu Scramble

Date: Some time last week, and the week before that too

Ingredients
1 block firm tofu, drained
1 yellow onion, chopped
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 T organic extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 medium red potato, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 tsp tumeric
2 medium tomatoes, cut into six or eight pieces or chopped

Directions

1. Heat cast iron pot. Add olive oil and heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for five minutes or until soft and yummy aroma rises up.
2. Add the potatoes, cover and let cook for approximately ten minutes.
3. Crumble the tofu into the pot.
   
4. Add the mushrooms and spinach, cover and let cook for approximately ten minutes.
   
5. Stir in the tumeric and mix well. Cook, uncovered for another minute or two.
   
6. Serve with pieces of tomato; alternately, chop the tomato and add to the pot after the tumeric.

Recipe Analysis
This recipe makes six servings. I haven't figured out the calories, etc. yet. It makes a good breakfast or snack.

Notes

1. Used up all my tumeric making this last week. Must buy more.
2. This works great as a stand alone meal, or in a wrap for on-the-go meals.
   
3. J loves my tofu scrambles. I use whatever veggies we have - I try to keep sweet potatoes and potatoes around, so I've been using those lately. And mushrooms, which she always picks at the store, but then we don't use for anything. (She likes to break them up if I give them to her raw, which, while fun for her, doesn't involve her eating them!)

First Black Lentils & Quinoa

Date: August 25, 2009 (made for dinner for us all)

Ingredients
1 cup small black lentils (I got them in bulk from my local health foods store - I think that they might be beluga lentils, but I'm not sure)
1 red onion, chopped
1 - 1 1/2 T organic extra virgin olive oil
Organic No-Salt Seasoning
3 cups water

1 cup quinoa grain (I mixed red and the regular grain color one -- very pretty)
3 cups water

1 medium head broccoli, washed and broken into florets
1 medium head cauliflower, washed and broken into florets

Directions
Lentils: 1-5
Quinoa: 6
Broccoli & Cauliflower: 7

1. Heat cast iron pot. Add olive oil and heat. Add onion and saute for five minutes or until soft and yummy aroma rises up.
2. Add the lentils (picked through) and water.
3. Add as much or as little of the seasoning as you like.
4. Stir to combine spices, lentils, and onion. Bring to boil.
5. Continue to cook until lentils have absorbed all the water, approximately 40-45 minutes.
6. Add quinoa and water to another pot. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cook until all water is absorbed.
7. Steam broccoli and cauliflower together in another pot.
   
8. Serve Lentils on the Quinoa (you can mix them together if you like), with broccoli and cauliflower.

Recipe Analysis
This made enough for three large servings for us for dinner and two smaller leftover servings, so maybe six servings in total if they were the same size. Nutritional analysis from caloriecounter.com -- they give it an A.
Serving Size: 366 g
Calories per serving: 268, Calories from fat: 50
Details: 13.6 g protein, 41.9 g carbs (14%), 13.3 g fiber (53%), 2.4 g sugars, 26 mg sodium (1%), 0 mg cholesterol, 5.6 g total fat (9%), 0.7 g saturated fat (4%), 3% DV Vitamin A, 57% DV Vitamin C, 6% DV Calcium, 22% DV Iron.
Highlights: Low in saturated fat; No cholesterol; Very low in sodium; Low in sugar; High in dietary fiber; High in manganese; High in magnesium; High in phosphorus; Very high in vitamin C.

Notes

1. I love quinoa. I only have less than 1/4 cup of the pretty red quinoa left, so I need to find where I bought it in bulk and buy more! Hopefully I got it here in BK somewhere...
   
2. J loves these lentils. I really need to figure out what kind they are! And buy more...
3. This is a very filling meal.
   
4. Make sure to work on the three parts at the same time -- don't just do the lentils, remember to put the quinoa on to cook and the veggies to steam around the same time.
   

Too Hot For J Chili

Date: August 23, 2009 (made for dinner for me, Jacqui, and Dave; used for take-to-work lunches this week)

Ingredients
1 15-oz can organic garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-oz can organic pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-oz can organic kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 T minced garlic
1 1/2 T organic extra virgin olive oil
1 15-oz can organic corn, drained and rinsed
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp + 1 tsp (too much) Mexican-style chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried organic oregano
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1 cube vegan Rapunsel vegetable bouillon with sea salt

2 cups brown rice
4 1/2 cups water

1 medium head broccoli, washed and broken into florets

nutritional yeast

Directions

1. Rinse rice. Put in put with water or in rice cooker and cook. If using a rice cooker, put the fresh broccoli on the steamer rack in the rice cooker and let it do double work. Otherwise, you will need to steam the broccoli separately.
   
2. Heat large cast iron pot. Add olive oil and heat. Add onion and saute for five minutes or until soft and yummy aroma rises up.
3. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, and bouillon. Stir to combine.
4. Add the spices and garlic, stirring to combine.
5. Smell with stuffed-up nose and decide it needs more chili powder. Proceed to add enough that the chili is too spicy for Jacqui.
6. Cook chili over medium heat for 20-30 minutes, to allow flavors to blend.
   
7. Serve hot over brown rice with broccoli on the side.
8. When realize that the chili is too spicy for J, give her broccoli, brown rice, and nutritional yeast, which she loves!
   

Recipe Analysis
The chili was enough for D to have two servings, me one, and then leftovers for 3 lunches, so six big servings. Nutritional analysis from caloriecounter.com -- they give it an A. I don't know about their numbers on this one...seems like an awful lot of protein...
Serving Size: 440.7 g
Calories per serving: 873, Calories from fat: 96
Details: 48.8 g protein, 152.6 g carbs (51%), 38.5 g fiber (154%), 17.2 g sugars, 62 mg sodium (3%), 0 mg cholesterol, 10.7 g total fat (16%), 1.4 g saturated fat (7%), 35% DV Vitamin A, 58% DV Vitamin C, 24% DV Calcium, 78% DV Iron.
Highlights: Low in saturated fat; No cholesterol; Very low in sodium; Low in sugar; High in dietary fiber; High in iron; High in manganese; High in magnesium; High in phosphorus; High in thiamin.

Notes

1. This is what I get for cooking chili when my nose is stuffed up from a sinus infection/cold.
   
2. Nice thing though, rice + broccoli + nutritional yeast is still a good meal for J. :)
3. This made great lunches for me this week!
   
4. I don't trust caloriecounter's analysis on this one. The numbers seem way too high. I know my chili is good, but I don't think it's that good!
   

The allure of an eggless omelet?

I found this recipe in The Nutritional Yeast Cookbook by Joanne Stepaniak. It sounds so intriguing...

Eggless Omelets
--makes 4 omelets--

Ingredients
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 T Red Star Vegetarian Support Formula nutritional yeast flakes
1 tsp non-aluminum baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch of tumeric

Scant 1 cup nondairy milk
1/2 tsp canola oil

Additional canola oil, as needed for cooking

Directions

1. Place dry ingredients in mixing bowl and stir together until well combined.
2. Pour milk and oil into dry ingredients. Stir well using wire whisk to make a smooth batter. Let the batter rest for 5-10 minutes, then stir it again.
3. Mist a skillet with canola oil or non-stick cooking spray. When skillet is hot, pour 1/3 cup of batter into it, immediately tilting and rotating the skillet to distribute the batter evenly and create a 5-6 inch round.
4. Cook the omelet until the top is completely dry, the bottom is a deep golden brown, and the edges start to curl up slightly.
5. Carefully loosen the omelet with a metal spatula, and gently turn it over. Cook the second side until it too is a deep golden color and flecked with brown. Slide the finished omelet out of the skillet onto a dinner plate.
6. Make the remaining omelets following the same procedure. Adjust the heat as needed during cooking, and add a this layer of canola oil or cooking spray to the skillet before cooking each omelet to prevent them from sticking to the pan! Stack omelets until finished.
7. To serve, fold omelets in half or stuff omelets with filling before folding.

Thoughts
I might try it this weekend. Have to buy flour (I ran out of all kinds of flour a while ago and have avoided recipes that require any kind since then). Maybe make a cheeze to go with it?

And...

In non-recipe news, I am down to 155 (give or take 1/2 lb). Pre-J weight and five pounds to pre-A weight. Woo hoo!!!

Slow Cooker Late Summer Provencal Stew

Date: August 24, 2009 (morning, put in the slow cooker for that day's meals)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups dried small white beans, soaked overnight (got them on markdown at Target...)
4 1/2 cups water

2 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic (or more as you like), minced
1 1/2 T organic extra virgin olive oil
2 medium eggplants (Farmer's market buy on Sat), peeled and cubed (1/2 inch cubes)
2 medium summer zucchini (Farmer's market score), cubed (1/2 inch cubes)
1 very large heirloom tomato (again, Farmer's market score), diced
2 T herbes de Provence
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cube Rapunzel vegan vegetable bouillon with sea salt

Directions

1. Remember to soak the bean overnight! Rinse them, then add beans and water to cast iron pot on stove. Cook for for approximately one hour over medium heat.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the veggies - chopping, dicing, etc.
   
3. Place all vegetable and spices into the slow cooker.
4. Add the beans and their cooking water.
5. Put slow cooker on high and allow to cook for 2-3 hours. Add more water as needed.
6. Serve over or with brown rice.
   

Recipe Analysis
I estimate that this recipe will make eight servings of yummy soup. Nutritional analysis (excluding bouillon) from caloriecounter.com -- they give it an A.
Serving Size: 388.9 g
Calories per serving: 201, Calories from fat: 30
Details: 11.2 g protein, 34.8 g carbs (12%), 11.0 g fiber (44%), 6.1 g sugars, 137 mg sodium (6%), 0 mg cholesterol, 3.3 g total fat (5%), 0.5 g saturated fat (3%), 6% DV Vitamin A, 27% DV Vitamin C, 12% DV Calcium, 25% DV Iron.
Highlights: Low in saturated fat; No cholesterol; Very high in dietary fiber; High in iron; High in manganese; High in magnesium; High in potassium; High in vitamin C.

Notes

1. I wanted to also include a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes in this recipe, but everything wouldn't fit in my slow cooker. Need to buy a larger slow cooker...
2. J loved this soup according to D. She ate a bowl and a half for dinner that night with me. Pretty cool.
3. This recipe is based on various recipes for ratatouille that I found online when I decided I wanted to buy eggplant.
   

Cheezy Corkscrews

Date: August 26, 2009 (morning, made for lunch)

Ingredients
Pasta
Eddie's Organic Vegetable Corkscrews Pasta

Sauce
3 cups water (maybe less--must try to remember)
1/4 cup organic quick cooking rolled oats
1/2 tsp dried organic oregano
1 tsp dried organic basil
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup red onion, minced
1 T garlic granules
4 T tahini
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
2 T lemon juice

Directions

1. Heat water to boil for pasta. Cook pasta for 9 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine all ingredients for sauce in blender and blend until smooth.
3. Heat over medium heat until sauce thickens.
4. Pour sauce over pasta as desired.
5. Serve with steamed broccoli or other vegetable.

Recipe Analysis
I'd say that the sauce is enough for 8 servings. I used caloriecounter for the analysis -- A.
Serving Size: 115.8 g
Calories per serving: 95, Calories from fat: 41
Details: 4.8 g protein, 10.6 g carbs (4%), 2.9 g fiber (12%), 0.2 g sugars, 16 mg sodium (1%), 0 mg cholesterol, 4.6 g total fat (7%), 0.6 g saturated fat (3%), 0% DV Vitamin A, 19% DV Vitamin C, 5% DV Calcium, 12% DV Iron.
Highlights: No cholesterol; Very low in sodium; Very low in sugar; High in dietary fiber; High in iron; High in manganese; High in magnesium; High in niacin; High in pantothenic acid; High in phosphorus; Very high in riboflavin; Very high in thiamin.

Corkscrews (organic semolina, spinach, beet, red bell pepper, paprika):
Serving Size: 3/4 cup (56g) dry
Calories per serving: 200, Calories from fat: 5
Details: 7 g protein, 41 g carbs (14%), 2 g fiber (8%), 1 g sugars, 15 mg sodium (1%), 0 mg cholesterol, 0.5 g total fat (1%), 0 g saturated fat (0%), 4% DV Vitamin A, 2% DV Vitamin C, 2% DV Calcium, 8% DV Iron.


Notes

1. Sauce is supposed to also have tumeric, but I ran out last week (making tofu scramble).
2. J "ate this up" according to D. Score one for my yummy sauce!
3. I ate it up too - brought a serving for my morning snack :) YUM
4. I added the nutritional info on the pasta above. :)
   

Lentils Kale & Amaranth

Date: August 26, 2009 (night, made for next day's meals)

Ingredients
1 cup small black lentils (I got them in bulk from my local health foods store - I think that they might be beluga lentils, but I'm not sure)
1 red onion, chopped
1 - 1 1/2 T organic extra virgin olive oil
1 - 1 1/2 cup chopped kale (I chop it in a food processor and freeze it in batches)
Organic No-Salt Seasoning
3 cups water

1 cup amaranth grain
3 cups water

Directions

1. Heat cast iron pot. Add olive oil and heat. Add onion and saute for five minutes or until soft and yummy aroma rises up.
2. Add the lentils (picked through) and water.
3. Add as much or as little of the seasoning as you like.
4. Stir to combine spices, lentils, and onion. Bring to boil.
5. Add kale and continue to cook until lentils have absorbed all the water, approximately 40-45 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, add amaranth and water to another pot. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cook until all water is absorbed.
7. Serve Lentils on or next to the Amaranth.

Recipe Analysis
I estimate that this recipe will make six servings. Nutritional analysis from caloriecounter.com -- they give it an A.
Serving Size: 340 g
Calories per serving: 280, Calories from fat: 54
Details: 13.7 g protein, 44.1 g carbs (15%), 13.4 g fiber (54%), 2.0 g sugars, 24 mg sodium (1%), 0 mg cholesterol, 6.0 g total fat (9%), 1.1 g saturated fat (5%), 52% DV Vitamin A, 40% DV Vitamin C, 10% DV Calcium, 29% DV Iron.
Highlights: Low in saturated fat; No cholesterol; Very low in sodium; Low in sugar; High in dietary fiber; High in iron; High in manganese; High in magnesium; High in phosphorus; High in vitamin A; High in vitamin C.

Notes

1. Amaranth appears to be more of a breakfast cereal grain. It also spat at me and burned my hand while cooking. I think I will stick with other grains to pair with lentils next time.
2. J loves these lentils. I really need to figure out what kind they are! And buy more...I only have 1/3 cup left after making this dish last night!
3. My recipe name sounds like a law firm! :P

Dinner Recipes

I've been thinking that I will try to record the recipes I make for Jacqui (and me/Dave) and their reception here...maybe I can even (eventually) work on photos...

I will go through the past week's that I remember...