So we got beets in this weeks CSA. When I was wondering "what in the heck do you do with beets?", I got on the internet. I searched around and found this site Vegan Coach with more information than you ever needed to know about cooking beets.
So we experimented.
1st we scrubbed and peeled the beets, we also scrubbed and peeled 2 apples.
2nd we sliced the beets and apples.
3rd we followed the websites direction on sauteing beets
Place a frying pan with a lid over medium heat. Add a little extra-virgin olive oil (1 teaspoon should do it). When the oil is hot, add pre-peeled diced or chopped beets. Stir. Add a few Tablespoons of water** and cover with lid. ** Adding a little water or other liquid (such as vegetable broth) to the pan ensures that the oil doesn't ever get too hot and makes for a very tender end result. Plus, you use less oil this way, which is healthier. ;o)
Saute for 5-15 minutes, depending on how small you have made them. Beets are done when they're tender to your liking.
4th we added about 1 tsp of cloves with 1-2 tbsp of brown sugar and a dash of salt.
It was actually pretty good. The kids ate it up. Maybe you should venture outside your comfort zone and try some beets :)
Saturday
Wednesday
Hide the Lentils Tomato Sauce
This recipe was sent to me by someone in my mom's group. It was delicious and supposedly freezes well.
1 tbsp olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp sea salt
ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry red lentils
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cup water
2 tsp fresh rosemary chopped or 1 tsp dried
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp agave nectar
1 fresh or dry bay leaf
1 tbsp red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
In a large pot on medium-low heat, add oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes (reduce heat and/or add a few drops of water if needed to prevent garlic from burning. Rinse lentils. Add lentils, tomatoes, water, rosemary, basil, agave nectar and bay leaf. Increase heat to high and bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 22-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lentils are fully softened. Uncover and simmer for 3 minutes to reduce liquid. Stir in vinegar and season with additional salt, pepper and/or agave nectar if desired (ours didn't need it). Remove bay leaf and serve sauce as is (or puree it with a hand blender to hide the lentils from picky eaters)
This was a big success in our house, where we aren't huge fans of spaghetti sauce. We served this over spinach linguine and it was delicious.
1 tbsp olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp sea salt
ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry red lentils
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cup water
2 tsp fresh rosemary chopped or 1 tsp dried
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp agave nectar
1 fresh or dry bay leaf
1 tbsp red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
In a large pot on medium-low heat, add oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes (reduce heat and/or add a few drops of water if needed to prevent garlic from burning. Rinse lentils. Add lentils, tomatoes, water, rosemary, basil, agave nectar and bay leaf. Increase heat to high and bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 22-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lentils are fully softened. Uncover and simmer for 3 minutes to reduce liquid. Stir in vinegar and season with additional salt, pepper and/or agave nectar if desired (ours didn't need it). Remove bay leaf and serve sauce as is (or puree it with a hand blender to hide the lentils from picky eaters)
This was a big success in our house, where we aren't huge fans of spaghetti sauce. We served this over spinach linguine and it was delicious.
Sunday
Easy Vegetable Soup
Looking to make vegetable soup but don't have the time to start from scratch? Here you go. Easy and really REALLY good. My husband made this up while winging it one night.
Saute 1 chopped onion & 1 tbl minced garlic in large pot until brown.
Add 6 cups of water and 3 vegetable bullion cubes.
Bring to boil and add 3 cups diced potatoes, cook for 5 minutes
Add 2 tbl italian seasoning, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp red pepper, 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1/2 tsp salt.
Add 1 bag of frozen vegetable soup vegetables (ours is delicious with okra even included in it)
Cook for 10 minutes
Viola! You are done. It is delicious. May be a bit spicy for some of you but you can always add less pepper. In my opinion it is perfect.
Saute 1 chopped onion & 1 tbl minced garlic in large pot until brown.
Add 6 cups of water and 3 vegetable bullion cubes.
Bring to boil and add 3 cups diced potatoes, cook for 5 minutes
Add 2 tbl italian seasoning, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp red pepper, 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1/2 tsp salt.
Add 1 bag of frozen vegetable soup vegetables (ours is delicious with okra even included in it)
Cook for 10 minutes
Viola! You are done. It is delicious. May be a bit spicy for some of you but you can always add less pepper. In my opinion it is perfect.
Weekly Menu- 2wks
We finished our two weeks of menus. We will buy all the non-perishables this week and buy vegetables weekly. We also begin our CSA this Thursday, sooo yummy new vegetables. We are going berry picking on Wednesday, sooo yummy new fruit. I am very excited.
Sunday-15th- Vegetable Masala
Monday-16th - Hide the Lentils Tomato Suace with Spagetti and broccoli
Tuesday-17th - Big Bowl Quinoa
Wednesday -18th- Matzoh ball soup with mock chopped liver salad
Thursday-19th- Tacos with Quorn meat, beans and mexican rice
Friday-20th- Quick Tortilla with Eggs
Saturday-21st- Fruity cous-cous salad and grilled vegetables
Sunday-22nd - Brown rice and Red Beans with Green Chilis
Monday-23rd- Polenta Casserole
Tuesday-24th- Falafel, Greek Salad
Wednesday-25th- Bean soup and Sandwich
Thursday -26th- Chili and Hotdogs with Popcorn Fries
Friday - 27th - Oatmeal with Eggs and Feaux Bacon
Saturday- 28th - Vegetarian Fajitas, Beans and Rice
Sunday-15th- Vegetable Masala
Monday-16th - Hide the Lentils Tomato Suace with Spagetti and broccoli
Tuesday-17th - Big Bowl Quinoa
Wednesday -18th- Matzoh ball soup with mock chopped liver salad
Thursday-19th- Tacos with Quorn meat, beans and mexican rice
Friday-20th- Quick Tortilla with Eggs
Saturday-21st- Fruity cous-cous salad and grilled vegetables
Sunday-22nd - Brown rice and Red Beans with Green Chilis
Monday-23rd- Polenta Casserole
Tuesday-24th- Falafel, Greek Salad
Wednesday-25th- Bean soup and Sandwich
Thursday -26th- Chili and Hotdogs with Popcorn Fries
Friday - 27th - Oatmeal with Eggs and Feaux Bacon
Saturday- 28th - Vegetarian Fajitas, Beans and Rice
Thursday
Weekly Menu
I am going to attempt to begin re-posting our weekly menus. I hope this gives some of you ideas. I try to mix things up by having a weekly pasta dish, oriental food, a soup, Mexican food, something grilled, breakfast for dinner and try something new. We don't always stick to this and you could have Mediterranean in there or anything that your family loves. These seem to be the hits in our house. The weekly menu helps us with our budget, helps to decrease the amount of time we are spending shopping and overall helps us organize.
This week we are having
Monday-9th
B: Fruit Shake with Tofu, Fruit, Yogurt served with toast
L: Egg Salad Sandwich, chips and fruit
D: Pasta with Pesto Sauce, Fruit and Salad
Tuesday-
B: Egg Tacos with Sausage and Potatoes
L: Nutbutter (we use almond b/c of my peanut and now cashew allergy) Sandwich with Honey, Raisins and Fruit
D: Stir Fry Vegetables with Tofu and Rice
Wednesday-
B: Chocolate Chip Waffles with Almond Butter (Served as a sandwich)
L: Fake BLTs (or salami for the boys) with carrots and fruit
D: Vegetable Soup and Sandwich (for my picky eater named Alex)
Thursday-
B: Biscuits with (fake) Sausage
L: Wagon Wheel Pasta Salad with carrots and fruit
D: Tacos, Beans and Mexican Rice
Friday-
B: Muffins
L: To be decided (I know we are so behind the ball)
D: Eggs, sausage and pancakes (you can't ever go wrong with breakfast for dinner in our house)
My breakfast and lunches I tend to repeat every week because lets be honest are you coming up with more than 5-7 different breakfasts and lunches every week. So that having been said I will only post our dinners from this point forward unless I discover something AMAZING.
This week we are having
Monday-9th
B: Fruit Shake with Tofu, Fruit, Yogurt served with toast
L: Egg Salad Sandwich, chips and fruit
D: Pasta with Pesto Sauce, Fruit and Salad
Tuesday-
B: Egg Tacos with Sausage and Potatoes
L: Nutbutter (we use almond b/c of my peanut and now cashew allergy) Sandwich with Honey, Raisins and Fruit
D: Stir Fry Vegetables with Tofu and Rice
Wednesday-
B: Chocolate Chip Waffles with Almond Butter (Served as a sandwich)
L: Fake BLTs (or salami for the boys) with carrots and fruit
D: Vegetable Soup and Sandwich (for my picky eater named Alex)
Thursday-
B: Biscuits with (fake) Sausage
L: Wagon Wheel Pasta Salad with carrots and fruit
D: Tacos, Beans and Mexican Rice
Friday-
B: Muffins
L: To be decided (I know we are so behind the ball)
D: Eggs, sausage and pancakes (you can't ever go wrong with breakfast for dinner in our house)
My breakfast and lunches I tend to repeat every week because lets be honest are you coming up with more than 5-7 different breakfasts and lunches every week. So that having been said I will only post our dinners from this point forward unless I discover something AMAZING.
Wednesday
Zucchini Muffins
These are delicious muffins we make for breakfast weekly. Sometimes we omit the walnuts because Alex is not in love with nuts. We double the batches and freeze them too. These freeze beautifully.
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup natural granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup organic vanilla soy yogurt
2 tbl light vegetable oil
1 cup firmly packed grated zucchini
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the yogurt and oil. Stir together until smoothly combined. Stir in the zucchini, raisins, and walnuts.
Divide batter between 12 muffins and bake for 20-25 minutes.
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup natural granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup organic vanilla soy yogurt
2 tbl light vegetable oil
1 cup firmly packed grated zucchini
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the yogurt and oil. Stir together until smoothly combined. Stir in the zucchini, raisins, and walnuts.
Divide batter between 12 muffins and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Fresh Noodles Lo Mein
We had a delicious Lo Mein last night. All the boys loved it, which is a surprise and hit in our household. This recipe is from The Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook by the Editors of Vegetarian Times (my favorite magazine)
1 tbls dark sesame oil
1/2 pound firm tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes
4 vegetable bouillon cubes
4 cups cold water
1 tbls grated fresh ginger root
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
3 tbl bottled teriyaki sauce
1 large clove garlic, minced
1-8 oz package fresh linguine
1 16-oz bag frozen Oriental style vegetables
1 small onion, sliced lengthwise into petals
2 scallions (green and white parts) sliced finely
Heat the sesame oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the tofu, stirring until golden on all sides, about 2 to 3 minutes. In a large soup pot, bring the bouillon and water to a boil. Add the ginger, cayenne, teriyaki sauce, garlic and linguine. Simmer 2 minutes. Stir in the browned tofu, vegetables and onion, return to a boil and simmer 2 minutes more. Garnish with scallions.
Variation:
Use dried linguine or other pasta instead of fresh and increase the boiling time to cook the pasta al dente.
1 tbls dark sesame oil
1/2 pound firm tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes
4 vegetable bouillon cubes
4 cups cold water
1 tbls grated fresh ginger root
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
3 tbl bottled teriyaki sauce
1 large clove garlic, minced
1-8 oz package fresh linguine
1 16-oz bag frozen Oriental style vegetables
1 small onion, sliced lengthwise into petals
2 scallions (green and white parts) sliced finely
Heat the sesame oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the tofu, stirring until golden on all sides, about 2 to 3 minutes. In a large soup pot, bring the bouillon and water to a boil. Add the ginger, cayenne, teriyaki sauce, garlic and linguine. Simmer 2 minutes. Stir in the browned tofu, vegetables and onion, return to a boil and simmer 2 minutes more. Garnish with scallions.
Variation:
Use dried linguine or other pasta instead of fresh and increase the boiling time to cook the pasta al dente.
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