Veggie Quesadillas

A friend and I got together for dinner but we didn't feel like doing anything too involved, so we made veggie quesadillas. We gathered all our supplies and started the process.

Cream of Celery Casserole

I had extra celery left over in the vegetable drawer and creme of celery soup in the cupboard so I decided to get a little experimental and make creamy celery casserole. Now let me prefix this with the following statement: I don't care for celery.  I only ever buy it to put it in soup or in this case, add flavor to the turkey, and thus I ended up with extra. I did not want to see it go to waste, so I decided to run with the idea of a celery casserole I found somewhere on the web.

I sauteed the celery in butter for about 5 minutes until I could put my fork through it, and then I transferred it to my pyrex pan, added sauteed mushrooms,  cream of celery soup, some bread crumbs and a little vegan cheese.

I baked it for about 30 minutes and transferred it to my plate. It made a nice presentation, but I did not care for it.  Celery and I just do not see eye to eye.  I did however eat all my mushrooms and cheese- those I definitely could not let go to waste.

Vegan Lasagna

I decided to be extra adventurous with dinner this week. I love eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, spinach, Daiya cheese, and cashew cheese, but how are they all together? I figured I would try and use the zucchini as my pasta, and make a gluten free, dairy free, vegan lasagna. I've been eating more vegetables lately, as if I didn't already eat more than the average person, and thus have found myself leading a slightly more vegetarian diet.

I love cheese, but the one downfall to real cheese for any baked dishes is that it gets gummy and messes up the sponge when you wash dishes. I have gotten hooked to herb cashew cheese by a local Sacramento vendor; it's great paired with crackers and veggies. It sort of has the consistency of ricotta, and thus I used it as a replacement in my pseudo-lasagna dish. Basically I just layered all my veggies and cheese, plus some homemade pasta sauce like anyone would and baked it for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.

It got a little bit more liquid-like than my typical lasagna,most likely from the moisture of the vegetables, but it was absolutely delicious! And I didn't feel bad about eating it.

Eggplant Pizza

So I bought a giant eggplant at farmer's market last weekend, not quite sure what I was going to do with it, but wanting to do something fun and different.  My husband says he generally doesn't like eggplant, but I think this meal changed his mind.  We took large rounds of eggplant, fried them using Choice Batter--the best breading for frying, gluten free or not, hands down-- and then baked them with homemade tomato sauce and Daiya cheese on top.  The result, a gluten free, dairy free, vegan dish to be eaten with knife and fork. Simple and delicious!

Vegetarian Sloppy Joes

When I was a kid I hated sloppy joes.  I generally still have a thing against sloppy, mushy foods that require a bowl because they have no form, but slowly I'm coming around. I've developed a chili recipe I enjoy, and have been playing around with more healthy options.  Last week I tried out a recipe for lentil sloppy joes from one of my newer cookbooks, Gluten Free on a Shoestring.

Mediterranean Flare

What does one do when all you have is vegetables and beans in the house? Well you end up making a variety of vegetarian dishes.  This week it just happened to be some Lebanese dishes. Surely people must make hummus at home because it's just so simple, and such a great, healthy snack- I love it with cucumbers.  Maghmoor, however, is probably a little less common of a dish in most households.  I was iffy about making this because it calls for a small amount of mint (I HATE MINT), but I just used half of what was called for and it was ok.

The dish is pretty much just eggplant, tomatoes, and garbanzo beans, with a few other vegetables. Since it's supposed to be eaten with pita bread I had to substitute and used crackers, but mainly I just ate it by itself, because it was good.  The food lesson here is don't let the name of the dish scare you, you just might like it. I know I'll be making this again.  Plus I know I'm eating 5-7 servings of vegetables a day- are you?

Avocado Gazpacho

I have been on a kick to use more produce in creative ways.  When I came across a recipe for avocado gazpacho I thought I'd give it a try. I don't like soup, but I decided to go for it anyway, because I like avocados.  I am happy to report that I did indeed eat a bowl of this, with added tortilla chips; I needed something to crunch or chew. You know what is more satisfying though, avocado frosting!

Sesame Asparagus

Very basic and healthy food can be quite satisfying. When it comes to desserts I love to overindulge, so the rest of my meal needs to be healthy and simple to balance everything out. I feel like I'm entering this new little world of cooking with local and fresh ingredients. Last night I found myself with mushrooms and asparagus, so I combined them with some sesame seeds and made a delicious side dish. I got the sesame seeds from someone at work, the mushrooms and lemon from someone's garden, and picked up the asparagus at the co-op. A few simple items; who knew it could be so tasty. If you added in some tofu, you really could have a complete vegetarian meal.










Ingredients
10 spears fresh asparagus
1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced thin
1 teaspoon peanut or sesame oil
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

Directions
1. Saute mushrooms in oil until cooked through. Add a squirt of lemon juice and pepper. Then set aside.
2. Put sesame seeds into same skillet and brown slightly. Set aside.
3. Then fill a saute pan with 1/2 inch water.
4. Bring to a boil and add asparagus.
5. Cover for 1 1/2 minutes or until bright green; drain and plunge into cold water to retard cooking process.
6. Combine all vegetables in serving bowl and enjoy.

* Adopted from Taste of Love Cookbook

Low Carb Pasta Alternative: Tofu Shirataki

Chicken is a staple of us in my house, but I like to experiment with alternative, low calorie, low carb, and high protein options. I've slowly been exploring the world of vegetarian dishes, and tofu can be a big part of that way of eating. So a couple weeks ago I made a tofu soup, and then last week I stumbled upon a new product: Tofu Noodles from House Foods. They come in an 8 oz package found in the refrigerator section, and only have 40 calories in the entire package! If you're attempting to consume less carbs, but still want that bowl of pasta, this is a great option.

The noodle package suggested draining and intense rinsing before consuming them. They do have an interesting, slightly fishy smell that might be off putting, but work past it, rinse them, and it will disappear. Then I heated them up for about 30 seconds in the microwave, add whatever sauce you want, I just used butter the first time, and Alfredo the second time, and enjoyed it like pasta. They come in three pasta shapes: spaghetti, fettuccine, and angle hair. I will say the spaghetti is probably the one to start with, as the wider noodle of fettuccine did taste less like pasta and more like tofu, but the spaghetti, I could hardly notice. The noodles are somewhat elastic like pasta, and just slightly more chewy the regular pasta. With all that said, give these a try.

Tofu Quinoa Soup

Soups and salads are great healthy options for lunch, and since my husband can only eat so much salad, I've been experimenting more with soups, as well as alternative filling foods, such as quinoa and tofu. I know my husband likes the miso soups he gets when he goes out for sushi, so I figured I'd make something along those same lines.









Ingredients
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 square of firm tofu, baked (If you don't buy pre-baked, cut into into small cubes and bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.)
2 large carrots, sliced
8 oz sliced mushrooms, sauteed
1 cup water
3-4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 Tbsp soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
green onions, optional

Directions
1. Combine quinoa and 1 cup water in pot. Bring to boil, then turn heat down and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
2. When quinoa is done, add in carrots, sauteed mushrooms, baked tofu, soy sauce, and broth. If it's looking a little thick, you can add in additionally broth or water.
3. Simmer on low for 15 minutes or until carrots are tender.
4. Taste test, and add in salt and pepper as desired.
5. Serve or store in single serving containers for the week. Add green onions at time of serving.

Acorn Squash

So while at Dave's Pumpkin Patch this past weekend I decided I wanted to bake some squash. I had never had acorn squash, and I was told it was similar to butternut squash, which my husband likes, so I got a couple of each kind and then later figured out what to do with them. It was really difficult to cut this sucker in half, but eventually I I got it split. I scooped out the center seeds, and followed this fairly easy recipe for a great side dish.

Ingredients:
1 medium size acorn squash
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup butter
1 cup nuts
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tsp cinnamon
1/8 Tsp nutmeg
3 Tbsp orange juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut squash in half and scrap out seeds.
3. Set squash halves, cut side up, on baking sheet.
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. Cover with foil.
6. Bake 25 minutes.
7. Combine butter, nuts, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and orange juice.
8. Remove foil and fill centers with stuffing.
9. Bake another 15 to 20 minutes, uncovered.

The stuffing stays a liquid/soup, but if you use a spoon and scoop it out, dipping the piece into the center liquid, it is absolute delicious. Very sweet and savory. You could very easily buy some small baby acorn squash, chop off the top, scoop out the center, and do individual servings for everyone for an awesome preservation.

Recipe from 1,000 GF Recipes by Carol Fenster

GlutenFreeda's Burritos

I do my best to cook and eat from scratch as often as possible, but everyone needs convenience foods, such as the GlutenFreeda's burritos. I bought the vegetarian and dairy free burrito to start and finally got a chance to have it for lunch today. With only 177 calories this burrito certainly seems more healthy than most frozen burritos. From my recollection most frozen burritos usually have more around 300 calories and certainly contain more sodium than the 11% in this burrito.

Interestingly, you're supposed to microwave the burrito right in the plastic wrapper, (at 50% power) and as I gingerly slide it out of the package and on to the plate the tortilla did tear a little. As a vegetarian burrito I felt like there should have been more tofu in it, however the tofu was in fact one of the last ingredients, making this burrito mainly beans and rice. I really wish there had been more tofu, but oh well. Overall it's not my favorite, as it was kind of on the bland side for me, but I would eat it again if I were in a pinch. And I do want to try some of the other flavor options, especially the chicken and cheese!

Portobello Mushroom Burgers

For dinner tonight I was slightly inspired by a local burger joint that offers a burger in a bowl, The Counter, so I made an open faced portobello mushroom burger, which basically is a big salad without a bun, but it was absolutely delicious. That cheesy oval underneath the tomatoes and onions is the mushroom, and my husband and I gobbled them up. Portobellos are nice and meaty so they are very filling, unlike how I feel after eating tofu, but I'm working on enjoying tofu. Anyhow, if you like your vegetables, and like cooking simple and easy meals, this is a perfect meal for you.

Ingredients
2 portobello mushroom caps
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tsp dried basil
1/2 Tsp garlic
1/2 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp pepper
2 slices provolone cheese

Directions
1. Place the mushroom caps in a shallow dish.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegars, oil, and seasoning
3. Pour mixture over the mushrooms.
4. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes or so, turning twice.
5. Preheat grill for medium-high heat.
6. Grill for 6 to 8 minutes on each side, or until tender.
7. Top with cheese during the last 2 minutes of grilling.