Splendid Sustenance
August 18, 2008 at 1:09 pm · Filed under Easy Peasy, Veg Family CB
Blue Lake beans have come in full force, I understand why it is wise to plant some of your beans a couple weeks apart now. Oh well, hind site is….yeah, anyway. Perusing my cookbooks I settled on Sesame Stir-Fried beans out of The Vegetarian Family Cookbook. Definitely one of my very favorite cookbooks for FAST meals. I love this recipe, it really gives the beans an edge but doesn’t over power the beans delicate flavor (wow! don’t I sound like I know what I am talking about).
1tbls Olive Oi
2tsp Sesame Oil
1tbls Tamari (or Soy Sauce)
1tsp Granulated Sugar (or sweetener of your choice)
1lb Fresh Green Beans, trimmed
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1tbls sesame seeds (I used Seaweed Gomasio by Eden Organics)
(add a mental image of the Tamari bottle in this picture that I neglected to included)
Heat oils, tamari, and sugar slowly in a wide skillet. Add the green beans and stir to coat. Cover and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Uncover and add 1/4cup of water and the garlic. Increase the heat to med-high, then stir-fry until the green beans are done to your liking and slightly seared in spots. If needed , add small amounts of water, just enough to keep the skillet slightly moist but not so much as to prevent the beans from browning. Cooking time depends on the tenderness and thickness of the beans.
Transfer to a serving dish and toss with the sesame seeds. Serve warm.
I served it with steamed white rice and stir-fried seitan. For you meat eaters, you might pair this with some grilled salmon or maybe pork chops.
August 13, 2008 at 12:25 pm · Filed under Kitchen Arsenal
Don’t leave! I wonder if there will be an award for the most infrequent posts for the next blog awards? I could enter and likely win. Something happens in summer where I simply don’t spend as much time in the kitchen, the kids have me outside a lot and therefore dinner is usually not thought out at all. I imagine I will have to become creative in the land of tomatoes soon however, I have planted 3 too many tomato plants for sure. I foresee much diaper rash. Sigh. For the sake of posting ANYTHING I thought I would show you one of my favorite kitchen items, my Cast Iron press.
Behold…
In this particular instance I am using it on a burrito. You heat the press on one of your other burners then put it on whatever you want to press. It makes particularly good grilled sandwiches, obviously, and I imagine it would be great to use on meat if that’s your thing. Much cheaper than a panini press and takes up very little space.
How’s that for a cop-out post? If you are seriously needing to see what is going on in my head you could always follow me on Twitter, it’s a rollercoaster of fun!
August 2, 2008 at 11:09 am · Filed under Easy Peasy, Photos, Random, Success, outings
went to the farm recently where we were able to buy a gazzilion raspberries for next to nothing, I also picked up some Walla Walla onions which I stuffed with yum (why do I want to make a lewd Build a Bear joke here?) Anyway this recipe is adapted from The Splendid Grain which I highly recommend you own.
4 large onions
2 tbls oil from sun-dried tomatoes in oil
2-3 crushed garlic cloves
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, julliened
1 cup cooked grain of choice, I used millet
1/4 cup packed fresh basil
salt and black pepper to taste
Preheat your oven to 350˚F
Take your mild onion of choice and peel the outer layer. Slice a bit off the top but leave most of the roots on the bottom, just try to flatten them a bit. Take a spoon and scoop out some of the innards, not too much or your onions will go flaccid, set innards aside to use. Put your onions in a steamer basket over boiling water and steam them for 10 minutes until they are sturdy but softened. Drain them on paper towels upside down while you assemble the rest.
In a saute pan heat your oil and then add the onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Saute for about 5 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add the sun-dried tomatoes. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the grain and basil, stir. Season with salt, to taste.
Pack the mixture into your onion shells mounding the mixture slightly. Pour water into a dish large enough to hold the onions without crowding, to a depth of 3/8inch. Place the stuffed onions in the dish, cover with foil, and bake for about 40 minutes until very tender and heated through. Eat.
This dish was so hard to photograph for me, I think I needed a black bowl to show off the onion correctly. Doesn’t matter so much though, it tasted damn good.
……….
Pete has been on vacation all week. We have stuck near home for the most part, we did make it to one of my favorite beaches around here though. If you get the chance you really should get to Ebey State Park on Whidbey Island. I’ll let the pictures do the talking…
Ahhh…
July 18, 2008 at 12:37 pm · Filed under Random
sh, sorry to like never ever post ever. You know how it is, this pesky life thing just gets in the way of my blog…the nerve. So yeah, I’m not dead, still kickin’ and so is my garden! Check it out!
Zucchini blossoms galore! And my cherry tomato plant has gone insane, there are probably more than 50 tomatoes growing on it at the moment. I have a feeling we are going to have some serious diaper rash around here.
I think I totally overdid it on the jack-o-lanterns. We are going to have MANY carving pumpkins. ONE FOR EVERYONE!
……..
I don’t have a recipe for you all today, but I have a recomendation if you ever find yourself in the Seattle area. I had the opportunity to eat at Serious Pie this last weekend and it might just be the best pizza I have had.
This is the yukon gold potato, rosemary, and olive oil pizza. Cheese-less and perfect.
Go there if you’re in the neighborhood.
I’ll try to be back with a recipe in short order, pinky swear.
July 4, 2008 at 5:26 pm · Filed under Random
Congratulations Everyday Bailey! You have just won Deborah Madison’s “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone”
E-mail me at thicket23@gmail.com with your address to get your prize…
Now GO pay it forward!
June 30, 2008 at 7:21 am · Filed under Random
Contest is closed! Look back in a bit for the winner!
Since I am posting so little recently I figured it was only fair to join in with Swistles Pay It Forward contest. Here’s what you do, just leave a comment about the last book you read and how you liked it. Easy huh? In return you will win a fabulous prize, once I figure it out. Come back here Friday to see who won. Oh and you sort of have to have a blog to enter seeing as the idea is to “Pay it Forward”. As Swistle states: 3) Each winner will get a gift in the mail. Each winner will then continue on the grand tradition, holding his or her own Pay it Forward contest. Typically such a contest starts with a photo of the received loot, so we can all snoop nosily.
And for complete randomness have a picture of a Fajita!
June 20, 2008 at 9:32 pm · Filed under Condiments, Easy Peasy, Irritation
It has been exactly one week since I weaned my youngest and I have been taking a wild emotional roller coaster, wilder than when I was knocked up. I now realize just how important that calming breastfeeding hormones is….”Paging patience, has anyone seen patience?” Cough.Sputter.Spit. Or something. Everything is grating on me, not a peach of a situation. So when life gives you sour tomatillas make Salsa Verde! I adapted this from Veganomicon, it turned out fantastic. I made a slightly different version of the polenta casserole to pair with it.
10 Tomatillos - husked, cleaned, diced
1 tsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves minced
1 hot pepper, seeded and minced (I used an Anaheim only because there were no hot peppers)
1 1/2cups vegetable broth
juice of 1 lime
1 cup loosely packed cilantro
salt to taste
In a small pan over low heat, saute garlic and pepper in oil until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Add the tomatillos, saute until the tomatillos begin to soften and release moisture, about 5 minutes. Add the broth, bring to a slow boil, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat, let cool until it is not steaming, then add the cilantro, lime juice and salt to taste. Pour in a blender or use an immersion blender and blend.
Mmmm…
This would be good on so many things, I’m not even sure where to start. So I won’t, I’m irritatted just thinking about it.
…..
I wanted to tell you quickly that I am reading a really interesting book on nutriton “Breaking the Food Seduction” by Neal D. Bernard, M.D. You might remember him from Super Size Me if you saw it. Anyway, it really is changing the way I see food. I am looking at food as fuel instead of something that fills the hole and tastes good. Interesting stuff, definately worth seeing if you library has it.
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