Finally I post a new recipe!

Heather reminds me that I am a bad, bad blogger. I keep forgetting to post new stuff! Anyway, dinner last night was pretty darn amazing, if I do say so. I forgot to take pictures, but thought I could include the recipe none the less. My pattypan squash have gotten way out of hand, and are not the petite little things I usually like, so I needed a new way to deal with the monster size ones. Here is what I came up with-

Stuffed Pattypan squash

6 6-8inch pattypan squash
1 bag Morningstar Farms crumbles
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
2 hot peppers, diced
small tomato, diced
sea salt to taste
2 TBS each fresh parsley and basil, chopped.

Preheat the oven to 375
Remove the tops from the squash, remove the seeds, and hollow out a space in the squash. Chop any meat removed from the squash, and add to medium size bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, and toss. Pack this mixture into the squash cavities, packing down tightly. Top each with about a teaspoon of butter, as the crumbles tend to be dry. put the tops on the squash, and bake for approximately 30-40 minutes, or until the squash is fork tender. Really yummy way to enjoy these first summer fruits of the garden, served with quinoa or couscous. Enjoy!

Drunken Berry Shortcakes

The last of the Easter Dinner entries- dessert! Nothing better than a true summer/spring dessert like shortcake, and not that knock off crap made with little angel food tart thingies either. No, we are grown ups here- we have real shortcakes, and this time the fruit got a little jazzed up too. So- here we go-

For the shortcakes-

1 3/4 cups flour

3 TBS sugar

2 pinches salt

1 tsp baking powder

6 TBS vegan butter

Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it is the consistancy of cornmeal.

Make a well in the middle, and stir in, all at once, 3/4 cup Silk French Vanilla coffee creamer. Stir just until combined, and then turn out onto a lightly floured counter and knead lightly and quickly. Roll out to 3/4" thickness and cut with a 3" biscuit cutter, and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake in a 450 degree preheated oven for 12-15 minutes. Let cool, then split and fill.

For filling:

Take about 2 quarts fresh berries, rinsed, and capped, sliced if necessary. Sprinkle with 3-4 TBS of sugar, and 1/4 cup of grand marnier, and place in a covered container in the fridge for several hours. This time I used strawberries and blackberries.

SoyaToo Soy Whip whipped cream

To assemble- place the bottom of one of the split cakes on a dessert plate, and cover it with whipped cream. Pile some fruit on top, cover with the top of the cake, more whipped cream and more fruit. Eat up!

The Fabulous (almost)Famous Rolls

People have been making and devouring these rolls for as long as anyone knows in my family. Legend goes that in the beginning they were made with a potato water starter, and I know that my Grandma and mom both made thiers with lard and greased the tops with bacon fat. Luckily, things have changed over the many, many years, but this is still the best bread around. A batch will make 3-4 pans of rolls or loaves of bread. You will need about 5 lbs of flour. You can use any flour you like, and mix and match as desired. You can also vary your flavors with add-ins, just pick your poison and have fun.

Start with your biggest bowl......

Combine 1 cup water (warm to touch, not hot)

1 handful sugar

1 packet active dry yeast

Let it sit for 5-10 minutes until bubbly all over the top.

To this add-

2 more handfuls sugar

1 handful salt

about 2/3 cup shortening

4 more cups of warm water

enough flour to make a batter the consistancy of cake batter

Beat this very well.

Continue to add flour, until a ball forms. Dust your countertop with flour, and turn the ball out onto the counter. Knead for 5-10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Let the dough rest while you wash the bowl out, dry and grease it well. Place the ball of dough into the bowl, and then turn the ball over so that both sides are greased. Cover with a damp towel and set in a warm place to rise, until at least double in bulk.

After the dough has risen, squeeze it a few times to remove the excess air. Form your rolls by pinching off balls about the size of a small tangerine, and pulling any rough edges down, and into your curled thumb and forefinger, leaving you with a nice, smooth dome on top. Touch the dome on the bottom of a greased cake pan, then set the roll rough side down into the pan, filling from the outside in. Fill the pan well, but do not crowd the rolls. Alternatively, you can make loaves of bread, using loaf pans. At this point you can freeze the dough for future use, or let it rise in the refridgerator. To use immediately, let the dough rise again for at least another 45-90 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375, and bake until golden brown. Butter the tops, and serve hot with lots of butter. Yummy!! Helpful hint from my mumma- if you knock on the bottom of a metal pan with a wooden spoon, when the rolls are done they sound hollow!

Guide to photos- from left to right- nice dough ball, now smooth and elastic, let rise till double in bulk means fill the giant bowl, and bring on the butter!

Easter Dinner thoughts....

I love Easter for oh so many reasons, and food is high on the list. World famous rolls are, of course, included, but more on that later. First I want to discuss that underrated item, the side dish. So neglected, or relegated to gooey concoctions of marshmallows or canned soup and weird fried onion bits we would never dream of serving them any other time of the year, but somehow feel honor bound to foist them on our loved ones at holidays in the name of "tradition". Bah!
I say screw the traditions, let's eat good food!!! Seasonal, fresh, simply prepared, and delicious, if I do say so. What do you suggest, one might ask?

Asparagus Tips with Lemon
Choose very young, small asparagus tips, about 1 lb, and use immediately. Rinse gently, pat dry. Bend the stalks to break off the tips- where they naturally break is where they stop being tender. Throw the bottom half into your compost bin.
Heat 2-3 TBS of olive oil in a heavy saute pan, over medium heat. Toss in the asparagus tips, along with a few pinches of sea salt, and fresh ground pepper. Heat for a few minutes, keeping the tips moving at all times. Add 4-5 slices of fresh lemon, and the juice of 1/2 of the lemon. Just before serving add a tablespoon of vegan or real butter and toss again.

Redskin potatoes with garlic and dill-
Boil 2 lb of redskin new potatoes, scrubbed and cut into bite sized pieces, in salted water, for 15-20 minutes, or until fork tender. Drain, toss with vegan butter, 1-2 TBS minced garlic, 1-2 TBS dill, sea salt and pepper to taste. Mash slightly, if desired.

Spring peas-
Choose nice, firm, filled pods- and shell them immediately. Rinse the peas, and add to a pot with just enough water to not quite cover them. Add a few pinches off sea salt, some fresh ground pepper, and some vegan butter. Fresh peas need nothing else- don't sully the flavor!

Carrots-
Carrots are sweet enough on their own, so I do not want to even consider a glaze. And I HATE mushy carrots! I like to choose the multi colored ones, slice them into rounds, and then just saute them slightly- maybe with some lemon to balance the sweet.

So as soon as I find some batteries for my camera..... step by step instructions on ROLLS!!!!!!!!

Basic Stir Fry, and then tonight's not so basic stir fry....

Many, many moons ago, in a land far away, my darling in laws gave me my first wok, with Sandra's fool proof stir fry recipe. This is it, the whole kit and kaboodle.

1lb protien of choice, cut into strips and soaked in marinade

1/2 cup thin sliced onion

2 cups vegetables of choice(pick at least 2), cut on the bias or into matchsticks

1 can oriental veggies- ie bean sprouts or water chestnuts, drained.

2 TBS of sesame oil

Easy marinade- 4 TBS soy sauce, t tsp flour, 2 tbs water. Mix with fork, toss with protien, and drain off before cooking.

To cook- heat oil over med high in a heavy wok until hot, but do not allow to smoke. Add protien, and cook through, remove to a plate. Add onions to the wok, and toss, then veggies, keeping them moving at all times. Once heated through, add the protien back, and the oriental veggies, and just heat through. Serve over rice.

Tonight was my first night back on my diet, so I wanted something light, delicious, and filling. I used brown rice- very filling, and then went a little veggie crazy.

1 lb tofu, dry fried (see somanynoms.blogspot.com for directions), then brushed with Hoisin sauce and cut into cubes.

onion

celery

purple carrots

shitake mushrooms

sugar snaps

Up until this point- this was prepared and cooked like the stir fry above. Just before serving, I tossed in a handful of pea shoots in, for additional crunch, and it was delish!! Very light in calories too- my guess is between 250-400 calories per serving, rice included. Enjoy

Tofu Dill Salad

So on the weekend, I like to make at least one thing in bulk that is good for lunches during the week. This is one of those recipes. It is nice and light- great for spring and summer, keeps and travels well, and super easy to make.

This recipe is a bulk recipe- so it can easily be halved. You will need to start with pressing your tofu well- you want it pretty dry.

2 lbs extra firm tofu, pressed dry, and crumbled.

2/3 cup chopped green pepper

2/3 cup chopped onion

2/3 cup chopped celery

1 cup veganaise

2 TBS dill

sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients together, and serve. Great with lettuce, tomatoes, and and crusty yummy whole wheat bread....... yummer!!!

The world's most underrated food......

Tofu. That wonder of nutrition and energy, is probably one of the blandest things this size of... well, grits. Now I love me some grits, mind you- add some buttery spread and salt and pepper, maybe some cheese, mmmmmmmm. They taste like whatever you put in them. So to our hero today, tofu. You can change it into a pretty good substitute for a lot of animal products, or just add goodies to make it taste yummy on it's own. My next few entries will be kind of an ode to tofu.
It is important to remember that if you expect meat free versions of your favorite meat dishes to taste exactly the same, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Whatever you make is never going to "taste just like chicken", or whatever. It is important to great flavor, in the style of the dish that you are trying to copy.
One of the first steps to transforming tofu into something wonderful, is to remove extra moisture. I use a lot of extra firm in most of my recipes, and after draining off all the liquid, you should press the block to remove more. The simple way to do this is between layers of papertowel, and under several heavy books, changing the towels and adding weight, for about an hour. Slightly more high tech and much more effective- use a vise, and pieces of plywood. Wrap the tofu block with papertowels, and sandwich between 2 pieces of plywood. Place in vice, and slowly tighten over about 30 minutes.
At this point you can season, cook, or for added texture, freeze. Freezing tofu gives it a chewy texture.
Case in point..... adding nori flakes and sea salt to crumbled pressed tofu will give it a sea food like flavor. Most yummy. Just food for thought for tonight.... recipes to follow!