new years's musings

Today I went and bought myself a plant. A nice trailing plant, which I put in my bathroom on the edge of the tub. A humble little guy, who despite it's meager origins, has cheered me immensely on this cold, dark winter day. Maybe this sounds neurotic, but I have gone into the bathroom several times, under various pretenses, just to check on my plant. A living plant inside, while everything outside sleeps.

This quiet time has been restorative, yet I am now finding myself in a strange duality of fully enjoying the season and also looking forward to the coming of Spring. I am, and will always be, a warm weather girl.

I have been spending alot of time in the kitchen, trying new recipes, pouring through cookbooks, going through websites like allrecipes.com. One cookbook which we have particularly enjoyed the results of is Food and Wine's Italian Cookbook. It is not a vegetarian cookbook, although it does include several non meat dishes. It is a very health conscience book, however, which I appreciate. Several recipes can be modified to vegetarian very easily. The meat eaters in my family equally loved the dishes with and without meat... something of a rarity in this house to please everyone. I will post some of my experiments in the next few days.

Besides cooking I have spent alot of time at home with my family, going to movies with my husband, reading, and at the gym- running, doing weight training, and tons of yoga. I finally got window treatments put up, and am still loving the effect. So cozy!



I feel myself readying for the oncoming semester (14 hours) and more time up at the salon. I am beginning to feel that familiar old anticipation coming over me, and I know in a few weeks I will be guns ablazin'! But, in the meantime, this quiet time has been lovely and necessary, and I try to embrace every second of it.

Greg booked our 2010 family vacation a few days ago. It's in June. We are going on another cruise. This one is 5 days and will be in the Caribbean. Everyone is all excited about getting in shape and being in a bathing suit, but I am in shape now but will probably be pregnant then, lol!! Talk about irony!

I took this picture of a corner of my house yesterday when the light seemed just right. It is some of my pottery, some of a friend's, and a still life I did a few years ago while on a sunflower kick that lasted far too long:

pesto/tomato pasta sauce

Last night I was experimenting some in the kitchen, and I came up with what we thought was a very good pasta sauce. It used the pesto that I make, and then combined it with a tomato sauce. Here is the recipe:

Ingrediants:

Freshly made pesto (see recipe). Use all of it.
6 very ripe, large, organic tomatoes, coarsley chopped
5 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 large organic yellow onion, chopped
1/2 cup extra virgin, organic olive oil
1/4 cup organic Italian parsley, packed
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Saute onion and garlic until golden.
2. Add in tomatoes and cook over medium low until the begin to fall apart. About 45 min.
3. Add pesto, parsley, salt, pepper. Stir and heat through. Cover and remove from heat.

Add to you favorite pasta. I put mixed it into a large pot of penne pasta, and it was delicious.

Tomato Sauce

This is a recipe from Biba's Taste of Italy, by Biba Caggiano. It is a delicious, light, and healthy sauce, and has a myriad of uses, from pasta to pizza. I have even used in soups. This is a tradional Italian staple, originally from the Tuscan region, and I find it nice to keep it on hand. If canning isn't your thing, it freezes very well.

Homemade Tomato Sauce
Conserva di Pomodoro

Ingredients
12 lbs. very ripe organic tomatoes, preferably plum tomatoes, cut into large chunks.
2 large organic onions, cut into pieces, coarsely chopped
3 organic carrots, cut into small rounds
3 organic celery stalks, cut into small pieces
1 cup loosely packed organic, flat-leaf italian parsely leaves
1 1/2 tsp. organic sea salt, or more to taste
small bunch of basil, stemmed (20-30 leaves)
1/4 cup organic, extra virgin olive oil

Directions
1. Combine the tomatoes, onions, carrots, celery, parsley, and salt in a large stockpot, over medium heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin falling apart and the other vegetables are soft, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

2. Puree the tomato mixture in batches in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Place a food mill with the disk with the smallest holes over a large bowl and pass the tomato puree through it to remove the seeds and skins. Return the sauce to the pot and season with salt. Cook it at a gentle boil until it has a medium-thick consistency. Stir in the basil and turn off the heat.

Migas

I really wanted to wait to share this recipe until I had a picture of my own migas to add, but alas, there is no telling when this will happen. So, I have decided to go ahead and post the recipe, promising myself to add a photo later.

Despite the obvious Mexican influence, migas originated in Texas, birthplace of many wonderful Tex-Mex hybrids. Initially conceived as a meatless meal during lent, it has been adapted as both vegetarian and non vegetarian over the years.

If you have never had migas, you will love this dish. It is a wonderful, healthy, and satisfying Sunday brunch, or can even be used as an ecletic dinner. My recipe is meatless, but you can add pork sausage, beef, or chicken, if you choose. I will often add the meat or poultry on the side if I am cooking for non vegetarians. Chorizo is also a popular addition to migas for meat eaters.

Migas

Ingredients:

8 eggs (from organic, free range chickens!)
1 organic onion, chopped
1 large, organic jalepeno pepper, chopped and seeded
1 large organic tomato, chopped and seeded
6 organic corn tortillas, cut into strips
1 cup freshly grated, organic monterrey jack cheese
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup olive oil
1 TSBP red pepper flakes
1 tsp organic freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp organic sea salt
1/2 cup fresh, organic cilantro, chopped
1 cup salsa
1 chopped avocado


Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, water, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

2. In a small skillet, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil and add tortilla strips. Add a bit of sea salt and cook until they are slightly crisp. Set aside.

3. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and saute onions until golden. Add peppers and tomatoes. Heat throughm making sure not to overcook the peppers and tomatoes. You want them "just barely" cooked.

3. Add the egg mixture to the skillet; cook for a few minutes and then add 3/4 cup of the cheese, red pepper flakes, and 1/2 of the cilantro.

4. Continue to cook the egg mixture, stirring constantly. When the eggs begin to become firm, add the tortilla strips.

5. Continue cooking and stirring the eggs until until cooked throroughly. Top migas with remaining cheese and cilantro.

6. Top each individual serving with the avocado and salsa, and serve with flour tortillas.

Migas are delicious served along with sides of black or refried beans, quacamole, fresh fruits, hash browns (I will soon add a great recipe for Southwest Hash Browns that is amazing), or spanish rice.

cooking for vegetarians and non vegetarians

What a great and busy weekend we had to cap off the end of summer! A friend, who has been touring the country on his motorcycle, came to stay with us for 2 nights, which added to the sense of celebration and fun. The weekend also included parties, a work day at the community garden, yoga, shopping, dining out, a couple of large, fun meals at home, touring downtown, and a movie! Needless, to say, by Sunday night, we were tired, but a good tired.

People often seem perplexed at how one can be a vegetarian and cook for non vegetarians, and vise verse. A question I frequently hear when we are socializing is, "But what will you eat?" I understand that the idea of cooking meals for both vegetarians and non-veggies seems daunting, but having done just that for the last 20 years, I can guarantee that it is much easier than in sounds.

The best way to approach it is to base a meal around a central, non animal food, such as rice, beans, pasta, a bread type food, and the like. For example, last night my family came over to welcome back my son who is home from college for a few weeks. I wanted to do something simple, healthy, and delicious that everyone would enjoy, but would not require much effort on my part. I consulted with one of my "partners in crime" (my mother), and we decided to do pizzas.

I made the dough in advance (see Pizza Dough recipe), allowing it ample time to rise, fall, and rise again. In this case, the pizza dough would serve as the central base, or core, of the meal. By evening time, all that needed to be done was to roll out the dough, add toppings, and bake. We made two cheese pizzas and one with sundried tomatoes (see sundried tomato recipe), artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, and balsamic vinaigrette drizzled over the top. Had we wanted to, we could have easily added chicken, beef, or pork to one of the pizzas, accommodating the meat eaters among us.

Another example from this weekend was Sunday Brunch. In this case, the core of the meal was an egg dish called migas (obviously, this would not work for vegans). Along with the migas, off to the side I served tortillas, veggie sausage, pork sausage, organic hash browns, sliced organic fruit, salsa, sliced avocados, and pico de gallo (see recipe). The migas as the base allowed everyone to tailor their meal to suite their own tastes.

Sometimes I will take a pasta dish and use grilled sliced chicken or other animal food, to top the pasta for the non vegetarians. This is so easy, and no one thinks twice about it. The trick is to change thinking from building the meal around the meat, poultry, or seafood, to building the meal around a non meat dish. It is simple when you think of it in those terms.

pico de gallo

Being Southerners, we love Mexican food. A wonderfully fresh and healthy staple of Mexican cooking is Pico de Gallo, an uncooked tomato sauce. It is traditionally used for dipping tortillas and tortilla chips, as a topping for enchiladas, chalupas, tacos, burritos, and other Mexican dishes, as well as a filler for wraps, tacos, burritos and the like. It can also be used as a delicious garnish to compliment most Mexican dishes. We like to keep fresh Pico de Gallo on hand as it is such a wonderful addition to so many meals, and also makes a great, healthy snack.

Pico De gallo:

Ingredients:

1 lb. large, ripe, organic tomatoes, chopped
2 fresh, large, organic jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 large organic onion, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup fresh, organic cilantro, chopped

Combine 1st 3 ingredients in a bowl; add cilantro and salt and pepper to taste. Makes about 2 cups. Refrigerate.

pizza dough

Ingredients:

2 tsp dry active yeast
2 3/4 cup lukewarm, filtered water
2 TBSP organic, raw sugar
1/2 tsp organic sea salt
2 TBSP organic olive oil
8 cups organic, all purpose, unbleached white flour

Instructions:

preheat oven to 450

1. Disolve yeast, sugar, and salt in the lukewarm water and set aside.
2. Mix remaining ingredients in a large bowl and pour into yeast mixture.
3. Mix and knead for about 15 minutes, until smooth.
4. Place dough into an oiled bowl, cover with a clean cloth, and place in a warm place (or a shut off warmed oven), until dough has doubled in size. About 1 hour.
5. Remove, punch down, and return to bowl, allowing dough to re-double.
6. Remove from bowl and separate into 3 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough, one at a time, and place on an oiled baking sheet, pizza pan, or stone. Stretch dough until pan is covered, making a small edge.
7. Spread pizza topping over dough and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until bottom is nice and brown.

*The extra dough can be refridgerated and saves very nicely. We like to experiment with different pizza toppings. A favorite right now is brushing a light coat of olive oil on top of the dough, drizzeling with balsamic vinegrette, adding a very light dusting of freshly grated, organic parmesan cheese, and topping with sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, carmelized onions, and basil. We vary this with using a homemade pesto as a sauce.
My son's love the traditional cheese pizza, which we make healthier by using homemade tomato sauce and topping with organic, freshly grated parmesan and mozzerella. You would not believe the difference the quality of cheese makes, so if you DO eat dairy, take the time to use the good stuff.*

sun dried tomatoes

I make my own sundried tomatoes at home in the oven (yes, a bit of an oxymoron, I know). They are so easy, far less expensive, taste great, are less processed, and I am assured they are organic. It is also a great way to use up all those tomatoes you have grown all summer, if you garden as I do. My family LOVES sundried tomatoes, and we use them in many dishes; from pasta sauces to pizza toppings. I will even put them on top of homemade bread coated with homemade pesto for a lovely breakfast or snack (this is soooo good it is ridiculous!). If you have never made your own sundried tomatoes, here is how I do mine....

Sundried Tomatoes:

Ingredients:

Organic tomatoes- I prefer Roma, but any type will do. About 10-20, depending on how many you want.

Organic balsamic vinaigrette

Organic olive oil

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 250
2. Cut tomatoes into halves, lengthwise.
3. Place on oiled baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette, and bake.
4. Bake for 3- 4 hours.

easy homemade bread

Ingredients:

1 cup warm, filtered water
1 TBSP organic milk (rice milk works as a substitute)
2 TBSP organic olive oil
2 TBSP organic honey (try to get local honey, of possible-helps with allergies)
2 TBSP organic brown sugar
1 tsp organic sea salt
3 cups organnic wheat flour
2 tsp organic instant dry yeast

Instructions:

1. Combine 1st 6 ingredients in large mixing bowl. Stir.
2. Add flour and yeast and knead until smooth, about 15 minutes.
3. Place dough in greased bowl, turning once to coat top. Cover with clean towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
4. Punch down dough, knead a few more times until smooth, return to bowl. Let rise, covered in a warm place until doubled again. About 30 minutes.
5. Shape into a loaf and place in an oiled bread pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.
6. Remove from pan, let bread cool on a rack.

Bread can be stored in airtight bag or frozen. This recipe also make a nice white bread, in which case we simply substitute the wheat flour for an unbleached, organic white flour like Bob's Red Mill.

Basic Hummus Recipe

Basic Hummus:

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
1 16 oz can of organic chickpeas or garbanzo beans
1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
3-5 tablespoons organic lemon juice (depending on taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons organic tahini
4 cloves organic garlic, crushed
organic sea salt, to taste
2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:
Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

Place in serving bowl, and create a shallow well in the center of the hummus.

Add a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) of olive oil in the well. Garnish with parsley (optional

*This is a basic recipe. Feel free to experiment with various additions, such as roasted red pepper, crushed red pepper, sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives. This recipe makes a good amount of hummus, although since we go through alot of it in our house, I usually double it:)

Pesto, the new Superfood

Recently we have been pesto eating fools. Not the pre-made store bought variety, mind you, but our own, green goodness, organic, made from scratch, wonderful pesto. The recipe is easy:

Jalapeno/Basil Pesto

2 Cups basil leaves, packed.
1/3 Cup organic, unsalted pine nuts (or whatever kind of nuts you have on hand)
1/2 Cup organic, extra virgin olive oil
1/2 Cup organic, freshly grated parmesan/reggiano
3 cloves fresh, organic garlic, minced
2 large organic jalapeno peppers; chopped
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Combine basil leaves and pine nuts in food processor, blend. Add garlic and jalapeno peppers; pulse a bit more until blended.

2. Slowly add olive oil, blend. Add cheese, salt and pepper to taste.

Note: If you are sensitive to spicy foods, simply omit the peppers. We live in Texas, so we like the added pop.

This is an incredibly healthy and versatile dish. First you have the fresh basil, which retains all of its vitamins and nutrients being so fresh and raw. Add to that the power of raw garlic, benefits of olive oil, protein of nuts....it truly is a superfood. And completely raw, meaning it retains all its nutrients.

Not only does it taste amazing, has incredible health benefits, and it easy to make, but this food is very, very versatile. We have used is as a dip for crackers and pita breads, a sauce for pastas, a marinade for veggies and (for the carnivores among us) poultry and seafood. It can be used on pizza dough, combined with breadcrumbs for a filling for mushroom caps, and even spread on toast and topped with sundried tomatoes for a lovely breakfast (I actually had this this morning- it was delicious!).

And, in the end, if you are anything like me, you have grown A LOT of basil this season. This is a delicious and healthy way to make use of all that green goodness!