French Bread Pizza...and More Pizza!

I am a little mad at myself because I spent $20 on groceries this week when it should have been less than $15. :( I bought some packaged stuff like Boca veggie burgers and a few items that I need for a dessert I'm making this weekend for a lunch party. Oh well! I haven't been cooking out of the pantry since the red lentil dahl. I ate that for almost 3 days straight! I might delve into the pantry tonight to make something for dinner but I don't know what yet. Lunch was easy today. I had some french rolls that I bought and made some pizzas with sundried tomato pesto that I already had in the fridge. I also added some vegan mozzarella (another bought item), fresh tomato and green peppers. They were quite good though the cheese didn't melt enough to my liking.



Edited to add:

Dinner was a full pizza pie using Gillian McKeith's whole wheat sweet potato crust recipe. Yum Yum! This pizza was just right. Lots of sauce, dripping with goopy vegan mozzarella and lots of nice toppings. The melting happened with this pizza as opposed to my lunch pizza because it stayed in the oven a lot longer, about 20-25 minutes. (In case you're wondering I used Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella)




Check out the yumminess up close!


I ate two slices and will eat more tomorrow!

Cooking out of the Pantry: Red Lentil Dhal

While compiling my list of pantry staples yesterday I already had in mind the first thing I was going to make: Isa's Red Lentil Dhal. I had all the ingredients, so this afternoon I got to work. I've never made dhal before, I've only had it at indian restaurants. I was pleasantly surprised how wonderful, complex, rich and flavorful this dhal was! The first step of toasting and grinding your own spices really contributes to the tasty flavors.

Pantry staples used:
1 cup split red lentils
assorted spices
veggie broth powder
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste (I only used 2 TB and freezed leftovers)
white jasmine rice

Other vegetables/fruits etc:
1 lime
1" piece of ginger
1 onion
3 cloves garlic

Ingredients I had to purchase: none



Look at that rich color!


My little lunch serving. This recipe makes A LOT so I will be eating this for a while... Money has been saved!

Cleaning out the pantry.

Times are tough. Very very tough. Business is slow for me and it has been since January 1st. It's a bummer and there's not much I can do except keep on looking out for a part time gig that will help me out. In the meantime, take a look at my shop, you might find something you like!

I've been reading up on the vegan blogs and came across some great ideas at Melomeals. Melody is on a strict budget and has been spending $3.33 per day on food. She has been using up all of the food in her pantry which is what I plan to do this month. I've got a ton of stuff in there that I haven't used and/or have forgotten all about. My challenge this month is to use up as much of it as possible and try to spend less than $15 per week on fresh veggies/fruits and any miscellaneous ingredients that I may need. I told my non-vegan husband that if he's not too keen on eating out of the pantry, he may go ahead and make his go-to pastas, grilled cheeses and whatever he wants to make for himself.

I, on the other hand will try to work with these items:

-brown rice/white rice/sushi rice
-corn pasta/white pasta
-quinoa
-bulgur
-millet
-pearled barley
-oats
-TVP (textured vegetable protein)
-whole wheat flour/all purpose flour
-split red lentils
-green lentils
-yellow split peas
-instant mashed potatoes
-black olives
-roasted red peppers
-tomato sauce/tomato paste/canned diced and stewed tomatoes
-2 cans white beans
-1 can black beans
-1 can fava beans
-1 can refried beans
-2 cans kidney beans
-5 cans chickpeas
-dry aduki beans
-dry red salvadorean beans
-sundried tomato pesto
-chinese style plum sauce
-1 large can pure pumpkin
-plain soymilk
-2 cans coconut milk
-various curry pastes
-frozen corn
-frozen spinach
-russet potatoes
-onions/garlic
-white bread loaf
-german rye bread
-whole wheat pitas
-corn tortillas
-flour tortillas
-taco shells

Lots of things with potential to be great meals! I see a few curries happening, maybe some tacos, burritos as well as casseroles (my favorite kind of dish!). I think it will be a fun challenge. To those of you out there going through tough times and having to pinch pennies, all the best to you and hopefully you are eating well.

Fava Bean Fritters

I got some nice whole wheat pita to use up so I quickly whipped up these fritters and enjoyed them in a sandwich with some fresh lettuce and garlicky cucumber sauce. Yummers.

Fava Bean Fritters
(makes about 10-12 fritters)

1 14oz. can cooked fava beans (foul mudammas), drained and rinsed
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
handful of shelled, unsalted sunflower seeds
1 TB tahini
2-3 TB whole wheat, corn or all purpose flour (for binding)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
handful chopped cilantro
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degreesF.
Combine all ingredients in large bowl. If you want a smoother mix, you can pulse everything in a food processor. I like to mix it up with a spoon and then get a dough blender or potato masher and roughly mash everything together. Make sure it's seasoned the way you like. ( I should have seasoned mine with more salt as I found it lacking a bit in flavor.) Roll bean mixture into balls and flatten into little 2" patties and place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with oil. Bake for 30 minutes flipping halfway.

Variation: You can fry these in some olive oil too. They will be more crispy and probably even more tasty!

Baking as a stress reliever.

It does work! When you're feeling a little anxious or stressed, baking or cooking gets your mind off your worries beautifully. I was originally going to make cookies but I didn't have the right ingredients so this pineapple upside down cake was the next best choice. I made it healthier by subbing half the flour amount with whole wheat flour and omitting half the sugar. Don't know if that was a wise choice but we'll find out when I taste this later on after it has cooled completely. It's a shame I didn't have little red cherries to stick in the pineapple holes. You will find the recipe for this cake here.

EDIT: This cake was good. Not too sweet and a just a bit "health foody" because of the whole wheat but still good!

Miso Macaroni

I got this recipe from The Veggie Lovers Cookbook. It's supposed to be macaroni but I used brown rice spiral pasta instead. I love anything flavored with miso and this dish has lots of it. I used Kyoto White Miso paste which is very light and sweet. I'm sure if you used red or any darker colored miso it would have a different flavor. The sauce is made with broccoli, onions, garlic, miso, veggie broth, Earth Balance margarine, nutriitonal yeast and tamari. It's very good!

Mini Wet Burritos

I visited my aunt today and she had made two trays of chicken and shrimp enchiladas to take home for my husband and parents. They looked really tasty when she pulled them out of the oven and I wanted some! On the way home, I started concocting an enchilada recipe in my head with the ingredients I already had at home. I only had soft taco size flour tortillas at home so actually I made mini wet burritos because enchiladas are made with corn tortillas, not flour. Inside is a mixture of quinoa, black beans, tomatoes, green peppers, corn and mexican spices. The sauce is just tomato sauce mixed with cumin and chipotle chile powder. I also drizzled some vegenaise mixed with ketchup and lime juice on top to make it festive. These were really delicious and perfect with fresh guacamole!


I only ate one of these. Very filling.

Here's the recipe for those interested:

Quinoa, Black Bean and Corn Burritos

Filling:
2 TB olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. taco seasoning or just plain chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1 14oz. can diced tomatoes, drained with juice reserved
1 14oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups water
3/4 cups quinoa
1 cup frozen corn, thawed in microwave
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:
1 8oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
pinch of cayenne

Drizzle:
1/4 cup vegenaise
a squirt of ketchup
a squirt of lime juice

6 soft taco size flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat olive oil in a medium sized pot and saute onion, bell pepper and garlic until they are soft. Stir in the cumin, taco seasoning and oregano and then add the drained tomatoes, black beans, water and quinoa. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to medium low and cover. Let simmer for 20 minutes or until quinoa is tender. Add thawed corn and mix into the quinoa mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
Prepare sauce:
Mix the can of tomato sauce and the reserved tomato juice in a bowl. Season with 1/2 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder. Add a pinch of cayenne and stir until combined. Prepare drizzle by combining vegenaise, ketchup and lime juice in another small bowl.
Prepare burritos:
Spread a little bit of sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Fill a tortilla with about 1/2 cup of the quinoa mixture. Roll the tortilla closed and place seam side down in the baking dish. Proceed with the rest of the tortillas. Pour remaining sauce on top of all the burritos. Drizzle with vegenaise/lime juice mixture. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.