Apron Strings

This was one of those meals created out of necessity. I’m fighting ickiness in my throat and needed something soothing to eat. This thick soup was perfect for my sad throat and delicious, too! I’m going to serve it again at dinner with a veggie loaf.4c mushroom broth
6 red potatoes, cubed
2c cabbage, shredded
1/2t ground cloves
salt and pepper, to taste

Put the broth and potatoes into a soup pot or dutch oven and bring to a boil, uncovered. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender when you stab them with a fork.

Add the cabbage and spices, stirring to combine everything well. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Serve!

My garden yielded its very first harvest: 2 big cucumbers! If you read my other blog, you know the story of the mustard greens that were covered in fuzz and tasted terrible. It turns out that the problem was not that the mustard greens were bad, but that they were not mustard green so much as cucumber plants! When I went to untangle the vines, I discovered 2 little guys hiding under everything. There are more on the way!
To make the salad:

1. Pick one organic cucumber from your veryown garden.
2. Put on the hippiest music you own (I suggest American Beauty).
3. Dice the cucumber and 2 T organic vidalia onion
4. Drain one can organic great northern beans.
5. Toss everything with Annnie’s Organic Papaya Poppyseed dressing and 1 T organic shoyu.

veggie mixture
1 large sweet potato, diced
1 kolrabi, diced (a turnip will do, in a pinch!)
1 yellow squash, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 vidalia onion, diced
1 can chick peas, drained
1 head garlic, in cloves

sauce
1 poblano pepper, seeds removed (if you like things spicier, leave in some or all of the seeds)
1c veggie broth (or weak beer, if you prefer)
2t each: cumin, coriander, curry powder, garam masala, garlic powder

toppings (optional)
dried fruit of your choice
nuts or seeds of your choice
unsweetened, dried coconut

Preheat the oven to 450.

Combine all of the veggies from the first group in a 9X13″ baking pan.

Whizz the pepper in your food processor or blender and add the broth and spices. Mix everything really well, and pour it over the veggie mixture. Stir everything right up, and put the pan in the oven for 50 minutes, stirring every 15 or 20 minutes, to make sure nothing dries out or burns.

Sprinkle on your favorite toppings, and eat! This is nice over cous cous, rice or all on its own!

2T olive oil
1 yellow squash, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can chickpeas, drained
1t dried garam masala
2T tahini
1t chili garlic sauce (or other hot sauce of your choice)
2T water

salt and pepper, to taste

In a medium frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high and cook the squash andn onion. When the squash softened, toss in everything else and stir well. Heat for a few minutes more, and serve over grain of your choice!

1c brown rice
2c water or veggie broth

2T veggie oil
1/2 of a large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4c white wine
1 block extra firm tofu, cubed
2 tomatoes, diced
2 cans pinto beans, drained
1T chili powder
hot sauce, to taste

cheez, optional

Cook the rice on the stove or in your rice cooker.

When the rice has about 10 minutes to go, heat the oil on medium and fry the onion, garlic and tofu for a few minutes, until the onion is translucent. Then, dump in everything else but the rice and cheez!

Reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer until everything is heated through and the tomatoes start to get liquidy. While this cooks down, you have enough time to fix yourself a margarita. I’m just sayin.

Mix in the rice, and top with the cheez, if you like.

1/4c olive oil
1 young vidalia onion (or 1 leek), chopped green and white parts
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 head garlic, in chunks
2T italian seasoning
1t fennel seeds
1t cayenne (you can use more or less or none, depending on how spicy you like things!)

2 glasses of red wine

8-10 plum tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 can canneilini beans, drained

1 box whole wheat rotini (or whatever pasta you like, really)

those pine nuts that you weren’t craving until Bonnie mentioned pine nuts (toasted walnuts would be fine, too! or toasted, slivered almonds!)

Heat the oil over meduim and add the onion, red pepper, garlic and spices. Sautee for a few minutes, stirring, until the onion whites and peppers start to soften, then dump in 1 glass of red wine. The other glass is for you! Have some!

Start getting that pasta ready! Set up the water to boil.

Dump the tomatoes and beans into the pot and lower the heat. Cover, but check on things to see if they need stirring. If they do, you’ll know!

Your water for the noodles should be boiling. Dump those in and check the package to see how long they need to cook. When the noodles are done, your sauce should be all ready! Toss everything together, top with those pine nuts and eat!

2T olive oil
1/2c sliced mushrooms…whatever sort you like!
1/2c broccoli slaw
2 cloves garlic
1/2t fennel seeds

1/4c sundried tomatoes
2T water
1T soy sauce
2-3T pine nuts
1t italian seasoning
1t onion powder
dash of cayenne
1/4c nutritional yeast plus 2 extra tablespoons

Heat the oil on medium high and toss in the mushrooms, broccoli slaw, garlic and fennel. Sautee until the mushroom s soften, then throw in everything else, except that extra bit of nutritional yeast. Heat everything all up until it starts to get a little bit creamy, then transfer it to a bowl. Top with the extra yeast and serve!

This could serve one as a really big dinner or two, with some soup and garlic bread on the side! If you want to make it soy free, you can add a little salt, up the water by a tablespoon and omit the soy sauce!

1 head broccoli, in florets (or any veggie you like, really)
2 cloves garlic
1 block tofu, cut into strips
1/2c high gluten flour
oil, for frying
2 cups brown rice, cooked
2 1/2 cups cheez sauce of your choice. I used the mac n cheez sauce from The Uncheese Cookbook.
2 handfuls sunflower seeds

Steam the garlic and broccoli until the broccoli is just bright green.
Dredge the tofu in the high-gluten flour and deep fry in the oil until golden brown.
Mix everything up in a 9X13 pan and top with the sunflower seeds.
Serve!

1/2 box whole wheat rotini pasta

1 can asparagus, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained

1T margarine
1 large zucchini, diced
1t salt
1t chili powder

1 recipe cashew sauce

Set pasta to cook however the package tells you and preheat the oven to 350.
Meanwhile, mix beans and asparagus in an 8″X8″ glass baking pan.
Sautee the zucchini, salt and chili powder in the margarine on medium high, until the zucchini is softened. Mix this with the beans and asparagus.
Add the pasta when it’s all cooked up!
Pour on the cashew sauce and stir everything well.
Bake for 20 minutes.

You could totally use any veggies and beans you wanted in this, whatever you have on hand.

1 eggplant, sliced into rounds
1/2c cornmeal
2t italian seasoning
2t dried, minced garlic
olive oil

1 small can tomato sauce
1/4c nutritional yeast
1t fennel
1t italian seasoning
2t dried, minced garlic

1 yellow squash, sliced into coins

your favorite fakecheese, shredded

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix the cornmeal, italian seasoning and garlic. Lightly oil a baking sheet and put the eggplant in a single layer, then rub the eggplant with the cornmeal mixture and drizzle with oil. Flip all the slices over and do the same thing to the other side of each piece. Bake the eggplant for 15 minutes on each side.

Mix the pasta sauce with the remaining spices and nutritional yeast and spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of an 8″X8″ baking pan. Spread a layer of squash over the sauce, then a layer of eggplant. Pour a layer of half the remaining sauce and then lay out another layer of eggplant. Top with the remaining sauce and then the shredded fakecheese.

Bake for 40 minutes. Let the casserole stand for at least 15 minutes before serving, so things get a chance to settle!