Spicy Southwestern "Steak" Salad, a rainy race day, and a sick puppy

Looks like a wet, stormy weekend has begun. Paul is running the Derby Festival Mini-marathon this morning with about 15,000 of his closest friends. Sadly, I am not running it this year. Stepped in a hole in the back yard on Easter Sunday playing badminton and badly strained my calf muscle. There are more races to come, but this one is special and I hate missing it. Praying that the storms hold off for another few hours and that all the runners finish safely.

***UPDATE ON THE RACE: Paul finished in 2:47. This by the man who used to weigh over 430 pounds!! SO proud of him!!!

One of our poodles, Winston, has been having nosebleeds off and on for the past year. He had a massive bleed on Thursday and scared me to death. The vet can't find a tumor or any other cause for the bleeding. Mostly it has been an inconvenience because he sneezes blood all over the place, but this one was different. He is 12 years old, but is so healthy in every other way. Worries me. I love my fur babies......


Top - my sweet Winston. Above - Winston interrupting Paul's daily crunches.

Okay, on to a brighter note.

Here is the first of at least a couple of recipes that I will be sharing using Delight Soy products. If you have ever eaten vegan General Tso’s Chicken, vegan Beef and Broccoli, or vegan Southwest Steak Salad from Whole Foods’ salad/hot bar, then you are already familiar with these products. I did not know until recently that you can special order them from their deli department. Check these products out at this website: http://www.delightsoy.com/product.php

Here are some observations about these products:

• I had to order in advance (2-3 days) and in bulk. I ended up with 5 pounds of popcorn chicken and 3 pounds of sliced beef. Both came frozen.

• The popcorn chicken comes with or without General Tso’s sauce. I originally ordered it without the sauce, but when I got home, I found that they had given me the product with sauce. I wasn’t very happy about that, but I made my own sauce anyway and added it when I made the General Tso’s. It was still yummy. I will be blogging about that recipe on another post, hopefully within the next few days.

• This stuff ain’t cheap. I paid $8.99 a pound for both the chicken and beef products. It’s worth it, however, if you have a special meal to prepare or just want to treat yourself!

• I like the popcorn chicken much better than the beef. That isn’t to say the beef isn’t good. In fact, both products are so much like the real thing I have to keep reminding myself that it is not a dead animal! The recipe I am posting this time uses the beef, although I am sure you could use the chicken instead – we had already eaten up all the chicken when I made this and I needed to finish up the beef.

I made two batches of this. Paul loved it and says it’s “Reneé at her very best – tasty, spicy, pretty, healthy, and very filling.” Awww…. thanks sweetie…….

You can substitute tofu, seitan, or even marinated tempeh for the sliced beef. But I recommend trying the sliced beef at least once! Try to make the vinaigrette a day in advance so the flavors can meld.

Spicy Southwestern Steak Salad

Salad
16 oz. Delight Soy sliced beef (or substitute of your choice)
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
*2 cups roasted corn kernels, fresh or frozen will work
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
2 red peppers, thinly sliced
½ red onion, thinly sliced
1 bunch green onions, sliced, with green parts
8 oz grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 head romaine, torn into bite-sized pieces
1-2 heads red leaf lettuce (depending on size), torn into bite sized pieces

Spicy Vinaigrette
¼ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice and zest of 2 limes
**½ tsp chipotle chili powder
**½ tsp ancho chili powder
1 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp onion granules
1 heaping tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbs dried cilantro
2 tsp salt

Preparation
In a 9” x 13” glass baking dish, combine all the salad ingredients except for the lettuce. Toss to combine well. Set aside.

Combine the vinaigrette ingredients in a glass jar with screw-on lid or in one of those make-it-at-home bottles that come with packaged dry salad dressing mixes. Shake vigorously until emulsified.

Pour ½ of the dressing over the salad and toss to coat everything. Reserve the rest for serving at the table. Cover and chill for a couple of hours, if possible. Note: some diced avocado would be fabulous on this. Although I adore avocado, I am severely allergic to it, so you won't see it in anything I make. So sad......

Garnish with toasted slivered almonds. Serve over the lettuce with the extra dressing on the side.

*To roast the corn, preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly spray a baking pan with non-stick spray. Spread the kernels out in a single layer in the pan and roast until brown. It should take 10-12 minutes. Watch it so it doesn’t burn! Alternately, roast the corn on top of the stove in a dry cast iron skillet.

**If you prefer less heat, use 1tsp of regular chili powder plus a tiny pinch of cayenne. The chipotle and ancho chili powders, however, give it a wonderfully smoky taste and smell!

I'm not dead yet.......

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. I have been working crazy, crazy hours and visiting my daughter and grandbabies in D.C. I've been cooking, alot, actually, and have lots to write about. I just can't seem to get my act together enough to blog.

Some new products I have been experimenting with are Delight Soy's Popcorn "Chicken" and their sliced "beef" product. At least they are new to my kitchen. The "chicken" product is what Whole Foods uses to make their vegan General Tso's which they serve on their hot bar. The "beef" is what they use for several difference entrees including vegan beef and broccoli. I love, love, love the popcorn chicken and have been feasting on homemade General Tso's but the jury is still out for the beef product. More later on both of those.

I have also gotten around to trying out Daiya vegan cheese. I tried the Italian blend style. I used it for a pizza and a vegan quiche. It melted very nicely and tastes pretty cheesey, as far as I can remember what real cheese tastes like, anyway.

All three of these products are a bit pricey, so I'll be enjoying them in moderation.

Here I am with Jane-Claire on her first birthday.


And here is my Emma being a silly girl.

Curried Chickpeas

What a great weekend it's been! I took a vacation day Friday since we were celebrating our anniversary.. Friday and Saturday were wonderfully warm, sunny days and I got the raised beds and one of the flower beds bed cleaned out. I planted lettuce and spinach and sowed wildflower seeds. The only down side to the weekend was Kentucky loosing to West Virginia.

Friday night Paul and I had dinner at Shiraz, a relatively new restaurant here in Louisville. We enjoyed generous servings of tabbouleh, quinoa, hummus, falafel, and eggplant, along with a sampler of various flatbreads. We had a lovely chat with the owner, a first generation immigrant from Tehran. It never occurred to me to take pictures until it was too late. Next time!

I've had a couple pounds of dried chickpeas hanging out in the pantry for awhile waiting for me to get some inspiration. Inspiration actually came in the form sticking to the pantry challenge. So, yesterday afternoon I put the chickpeas to soak in my older, smaller crock pot. Last night I turned the crock pot on high, expecting to wake up to bubbling chickpeas, fragrant with the dried chipotle peppers I seasoned them with. Not! I woke up to very well-soaked chickpeas that were cold as a stone. Alas, my old crock pot is dead. Which is a little sad, since that old crock pot was a wedding gift to Paul and me many years ago. So I dumped the chickpeas into a big soup pot and cooked them on the stove, which worked out fine.

Two pounds of chickpeas will make a bunch of hummus and a big ol' pot of curried chickpeas, which was perfect for a cool, rainy weekend. This is my take on Curried Chickpeas.

Curried Chickpeas

4 cups cooked chickpeas (fresh are best, but canned will work in a pinch. If you use canned, drain and rinse well.)
1-2 tbs olive oil
1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed and seeded (I used one of the chipotle peppers I cooked with the chickpeas for a smoky flavor)
1/2 large onion, cut into chunks
2-3 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground ginger or 1" fresh ginger
2 tsp curry powder (more or less to taste)
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp coriander
2 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
juice of 1 lemon

Place the onion, jalapeno, garlic, ginger, curry powder, chili powder, coriander, salt, turmeric, and garam masala in a food processer and blend into a thick paste.

Heat the oil in a dutch oven. Add cumin and mustard seeds and fry until they start to pop. Add the onion-pepper-garlic paste, and fry for another 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and mix well.

Place 1 cup of the chickpeas in the food processor and pulse until the chickpeas are almost pureed. Add the processed chickpeas to the pot and stir to combine.

Add the remaining chickpeas to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes, or longer if you want, stirring frequently. Add a little water if it gets too thick. Taste for seasoning and add salt if desired.

Serve this over rice if you want, or scoop it up plain with pieces of torn toasted pita bread.

Jamaican Black Beans and Tofu

Yes, I have made some changes to the blog's format. Any thoughts on the new template? I can't decide.......

Little by little the pantry has been filling back up and getting more cluttered. So, I am once again challenging myself to shop as little as possible and use only what is in the pantry and fridge to prepare our meals. Tonight's meal was the first of this current pantry challenge. It is bold and spicy and nutritious and delicious!

Jamaican Black Beans and Tofu
1-2 tbs olive oil
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 block extra firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cut into 1/2" cubes
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups bottled barbeque sauce (I used Bulls-Eye Original; it contains no high fructose corn syrup)
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tsp Jamaican jerk seasoning
zest and juice of an orange

Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven. Add sliced onions and sauté until onions are transparent. Add minced garlic, tofu, and the orange zest. Sauté until the tofu is browned on most sides. Add barbeque sauce, jerk seasoning, orange juice, and vegetable broth. Stir to combine and add beans. Bring mixture to a boil, then cover and reduce to simmer for at least 10 minutes.

Serve over rice.

Once again, tonight's photo is blurry. I think I'll switch cameras for the next post and hopefully it will turn out more clearly.

Cheezy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Proof that spring is here! The day lilies are poking their heads up even though the crape myrtle is still as bare as a winter day. The roses are putting out new leaves and I can see tiny green shoots peeking out of the wildflower bed. We spent the day mulching, trimming, pruning, weeding, and raking. It has been a wonderful weekend!

This super quick and easy recipe is based on the cheezy sauce I make for tofu scramble. I added a bit of heat and a lot of roasted red peppers. I usually double this, because it is super versatile. Serve it as a macaroni and cheeze-style main dish or over veggies as a side dish. It also makes a delicious dip. After it is chilled, it is a really awesome sandwich spread - use it with your favorite veggie deli slices!

Cheezy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp onion granules
8 oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained
pinch of red pepper flakes or 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional, more or less to taste)
2 cups water
1-1 1/2 tsp prepared mustard
2-3 tbs Earth Balance
smoked paprika

In a blender, combine the flour, nutritional yeast, garlic, granules, onion granules, mustard, water, pepper flakes or cayenne, and roasted red peppers. Blend on high until smooth. Pour into a sauce pan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until it becomes very thick. Remove from heat and add Earth Balance. Sprinkle with smoked paprika.