Felt Like Knitting

Hearts of Palm

There is a cafe in the church where I work and it comes in handy when I don't have my lunch packed.  Today they had Greek salad with grilled chicken and it was delicious!  There was an unknown vegetable on the salad and I determined I was eating hearts of palm.   Yum!

Do any of you use heart of palm in your recipes?  What do you do with it?  I'm kind of surprised that I've never tried it before!

My apologies if my blog looks huge.  When I view it in Chrome, it is huge.  When I view it in Safari, it's fine.  Not sure what to do to fix it...  It may be time to open a Typepad ticket.  (I'm wondering if it has something to do with my last post which was done from the app.)

Book Review and Giveaway: The Market Vegan

I currently eat meat, but I've been a vegetarian a few times in my life.  Once I tried eating a vegan diet, but I didn't eat the right things and I quickly felt yucky.  There was more I needed to know to keep myself healthy.

Lately I've become more interested in eating vegan meals.  I already make some vegan-friendly things like vegetable chili, but I would love to make desserts and casseroles that don't contain dairy products.  That would make me very happy.  And it would make me happy if my family would eat the same foods I want to eat.

Enter Laura Gesin and her e-cookbook called The Market Vegan:  A Collection of Vegan Home Tested Recipes.  I discovered Laura through her podcast, Apocalyptic Diner.  Her cookbook contains 33 recipes and includes recipes for creamy soups, baked goods and desserts and even quiche!  After trying several recipes, I know I'll be making more vegan meals from this great cookbook.

Stir fry made with tofu and vegetables 

I decided to first make a tofu stir fry using the Asian Style Tofu Marinade.  What a great idea to marinate the tofu before cooking with it!  Usually when I throw tofu into a stir fry, it doesn't take on much of the flavor of the sauce I add at the end.  Not so with this recipe.  The tofu had a great flavor.  I used some of the marinade to flavor the vegetables, too.  Served over Barilla PLUS pasta, this was a pretty healthy meal.  The only modification I will make next time is to use a little less vinegar.  It didn't taste bad, I just don't use a lot of vinegar in my cooking so the flavor was a bit strong for me.

Red Lentil Curry with Vegan "Naan"

Next up was Red Lentil Curry with Vegan "Naan."  I love lentils and pita bread, but I'm not a fan of dishes using curry powder so I wasn't sure if I'd like it.  The same is true of cilantro - a little goes a long way with me.  But I loved this dish!  The flavor was really good.  This was a quick cooking meal and I can see myself making it often.  

About using lentils:  I found out that not all lentils are created equal.  I shopped at my local grocery store instead of the natural foods store and my grocery store didn't stock red lentils.  The lentils I bought required a longer cooking time.  I definitely want to try red lentils the next time I cook this.

To fulfill my desire to make non-dairy dishes my family will eat, I made the Vegetable Casserole.  This dish combines potatoes and several other vegetables with a creamy sauce.  Another win!  This was very tasty and I can see my family eating this as a side dish.  It would be easy to experiment with other vegetables or maybe even use the sauce recipe in scalloped potatoes.  

Another thing I learned:  do not use whole wheat flour to thicken sauces.  If you are out of white flour, opt for cornstarch instead! 

Peanut Butter Pie

The dish I was most looking forward to making was the Peanut Butter Pie.  Since I'm lactose intolerant and most desserts include dairy products, I usually end up taking an enzyme when I eat dessert.  That is handy, but it can get expensive.  Problem solved!  This pie is delicious!  It has a nice texture and a great flavor.  

This pie sets up in the freezer.  I was so looking forward to trying it that I cut into it too early and it was more like pudding pie.  Steve thought it was okay, but he didn't like the texture.  The next night he had another piece and said it was really good!  And I shared it with a vegan friend at church.  He loved it and has asked for information on how to get the cookbook.

There are many more recipes I look forward to making from this book like Eggplant & Italian Bread "Lasagna," Vegetable Lo Mein, and Pumpkin Scones.  And it will be easy to make them.  The recipes don't take much time to make and they call for common ingredients found in most stores.  The vegan products like cream cheese, cheddar cheese and almond milk were easy to find at my local grocery store.

This is my first time using an e-cookbook and I have to admit that I printed it out before I even thought about putting it on my Kindle Touch.  So much for trying to be "with it"...  Even though it's designed for the Kindle Fire (and Nook, iPad, PC and Mac), I found that it was pretty easy to see in landscape mode once I finally put it on the Touch.  I found the type to be a little small in portrait mode, but that could just be my eyes or the fact that the Touch is smaller than the Fire.

Another great thing about this book is that purchasers will get three updates between now and May 31, 2013.  How cool is that?  I can't wait to see what else Laura creates!  She plans to revamp the table of contents to include sections for recipe types and she may be including page numbers for people like me who may want to print it.  

I totally recommend this cookbook!  To get your copy, go to Laura's website, VoxPopNJ.com, and you will see the cookbook on the right sidebar.  Laura was kind enough to give me a free review copy and since I loved the cookbook, I want to pass on a free electronic copy of this cookbook to one lucky reader.  

Please leave a comment on this blog post about why you want to try vegan recipes,  a favorite vegan dish you have already tried or even just "I'd love to try this cookbook!"  Comments will remain open until Friday, September 14, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern when I will use a random number generator to select a winner.  I will announce the winner here on that day.  Good luck!  And happy cooking!

The Best Trip Ever! (Part 2: Food)

One of my favorite things about Asheville was the food.  From the B&B to the restaurants, I did not eat a single thing that didn't taste wonderful.  And apparently I felt compelled to document what we ate because I have lots of food photos.

Each night we were treated to homemade chocolate truffles.  Delicious!

The B&B had a tea time (which was a little more like happy hour) with yummy treats I did not photograph.  Someday I'd like to recreate the cupcakes with lemon curd coconut icing.  Mmm...  Their breakfasts were wonderful!  Homemade scones (best I've ever had), fresh fruit with whipped cream, a lovely strata one day and Bananas Foster waffles the next.  Can you see why I did not want to leave this place?!

  
The first night we ate at a restaurant called 9 Mile.  I think this is the first time I've had Jamaican food but it won't be the last!  Steve had Soon Come which had lots of fruit and a wonderful sauce.  I had tilapia with a coconut chipotle sauce.  So, so good!

We needed just a little something after we toured the Biltmore so we ate at the Arbor Grill.  The Ploughman's Lunch was yummy.  I was so happy that Steve liked it because now I can make this at home.  I already have!

Last but not least was a wonderful meal at Rezaz.  This may have been the best thing I ate.  They were definitely the most delicious sea scallops I've ever had!

Sea scallops over polenta with corn/pablano hash, spinach and some wonderful sauce.

Steve had gnochhi with the best parmesan cream sauce and balsamic vinaigrette.  I took flat bread from our appetizer and dipped it into the sauce to try it.  I couldn't stop!  What is it about sauces?  They really make a dish, don't they?

I wouldn't be able to live in Asheville because I would put on too much weight from eating at all the great restaurants!  But I do want to go back someday to try a few more.

 

FO Friday - Hats for Haiti

I woke up this morning to read/hear about the terrible earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan.  What does one say in a knitting blog when this happens?  It seems a little odd for me to ramble on about what I've knit or cooked or read.  So I will just leave you with the photo above of some of the hats I'll be sending to Estella.  Doing something for those in need (even in a different part of the world) in a time like this feels like a good thing to do.  Prayers going to all those in Japan and around the world who are affected by this latest natural disaster...

 

 

 

Naturally

Yesterday Lydia posted about color.  I do love color!  But right now I'm into naturals, too...

           
                   Seeds for sprouting broccoli, alfalfa, and mung beans

I think the colors are so pretty and would make good yarn colorways, especially those broccoli seeds.  There are many good sources for directions on sprouting at home but my favorite so far is Sprout People.  Right now I have broccoli and alfalfa in process and I'll let you know how it goes.

While we were at the natural foods store, we looked around and found lots of cool things we may try later.  We mostly just left with the seeds. I'll let you guess which purchase was Emma's.  :)

 

Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

Are you looking for something different to serve guests?  Try these rosemary shortbread cookies.  They're delicious!

Pumpkin scones

I have so many things I'd like to share with you - FOs, costumes, decorating - but I have no time to write.  So I'll just share this quick thing - pumpkin scones.  I made them for my Bible study group because

1) Mary first told me about the yummy pumpkin scones at Starbucks and she's in the group.

2) She and Vanessa have both made delicious treats (maple oatmeal scones and butternut squash muffins) and I felt I should do the same.

I liked the scones a lot and will make them again, maybe for Thanksgiving or Christmas breakfast.  They weren't hard to make and didn't take much time (even with two types of glaze on them).  The only change I made was to use 2% milk because I didn't have half-and-half or whole milk.

I hope you're all doing well.  I've been trying to stay up with my blog reading but haven't gotten to them all or left many comments.  Just a few more weeks of this and things will calm down!

Summer treats

I missed Ten on Tuesday this week but the topic was a good one - 10 Ways to Celebrate Summer.  Here are two of my favorite ways:

making ice cream 

 and growing vegetables.

We called the ice cream Almond Joy because we used a coconut ice cream recipe and added chocolate covered almonds to it.  I toasted the coconut first but that's not a requirement.

I hope you're having a wonderful time celebrating summer!  It's half over here - several school systems start back the first week in August.

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Things You Love to Eat/Drink During The Holidays

Since there is no official Ten on Tuesday topic this week, Carole and Hillary have decided to talk about their favorite holiday foods and drinks.  Sounds good to me!

1.  Sailor Duff - This is a steamed pudding (cake) that is covered with warm vanilla sauce and whipped cream.  My grandmother made it and I think of her every single time I make it.  The recipe is even in her own handwriting and I feel blessed to have it. 

2.  Sauerkraut - Because of my German heritage, we eat sauerkraut for good luck on New Year's Day.  This is the only day of the year that I get to sit down to a serving of sauerkraut.  Yum!  (On a side note, I had the best dip at Saturday's party.  It was like eating a reuben sandwich.  I'll share the recipe with you when I get it.)

3.  Stuffed shells - And because of my Italian heritage, we have Italian food for Christmas Eve each year.  My favorite is stuffed shells.  The best part is having leftovers the next day.  It's always a relaxing Christmas day!

4.  Spiced anything - I love the taste of spiced cider/apple juice/whatever.  Here's a recipe I don't make very often but I love to drink:

Hot Cranberry Punch

2 tablespoons whole cloves
1 tablespoon whole allspice
12 inches stick cinnamon, broken
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 cups hot water
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups canned unsweetened pineapple juice
2 1 lb cans jellied cranberry sauce
a few pats of butter

Tie cloves and allspice in cheesecloth.  Combine spice bag, cinnamon, brown sugar, 1 cup water, and salt.  Bring to a slow boil.  Add juice and 3 cups of water.  Crush cranberry sauce with fork (or put in blender with some of the water).  Add to mixture and bring to boil again.  Simmer 5 minutes.  Remove spices.  To serve, put in warmed punch bowl and float butter on top.  Decorate with clove-studded orange.  Serve with stick cinnamon.

When I make it, I skip the punch bowl, butter, and clove-studded orange.  And I don't serve it with stick cinnamon.  I usually let it simmer on the stove but a crock pot would work great, too.

5.  My grandma's candy - This is something I don't get to eat anymore.  My grandma's family had a candy factory when she was young and she was well versed in how to make hand dipped chocolates.  When I was little, she would make and sell her candy at Christmas.  Our family would get a box of it for a present.  My favorites were the chocolate covered cherries and the peppermints, but it was all the best candy I've ever eaten.

6.  Microwave toffee - This recipe came from Southern Living  magazine many years ago.  It's easy and delicious!

7.  Peppermint stick ice cream -  So delicious!  Since I can only find it this time of the year, I stock up on it.  But with Emma also loving mint, the ice cream doesn't last as long as I'd like.  :)

8.  Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe-Joe's - These are fabulous!  I love the minty taste of the cream filling.  And they're more like DoubleStuf Oreos because they have lots of the filling.

9.  Candy Canes - I only like Bob's.  Other kinds don't taste right to me.  Do you know that fake peppermint taste?  Hate it!

10.  Christmas cookies - It wouldn't be the same without some Christmas cookies.  And they can be so pretty!  I'm not even sure that I have a favorite because they are all so good.  What's your favorite?

Monday Morning Potato Rolls

I wish you could have been here last week.  On Thursday I baked a loaf of bread and a pan of rolls.  The whole house smelled so good!  I'm not proud to say that I ate four rolls with honey soon after they came out.  In my defense, I hadn't had lunch.  But still...I had no restraint.

The Monday Morning Potato Rolls recipe is from the latest Cooking Light magazine.  It's easy and delicious.  This is the first time I've kneaded dough in my KitchenAid and I wish the manual had better guidelines for the amount of time needed.  The recipe called for ten minutes of kneading by hand and I used the dough hook for four minutes.  What has worked for you?

                                       

Here's my menu for the week:

Monday:  Scalloped potatoes and ham

Tuesday:  Venison pepper steak (One of these days I'll remember to get it out of the freezer!)

Wednesday: --

Thursday:  Turkey & Pasta

Friday:  Sloppy joes, carrots, applesauce

Saturday:  Parmesan tilapia, roasted sweet potatoes, veg

Sunday:  Flank steak with cucumber-pepperoncini relish

Menus are already up at orgjunkie.com.