Mediterranean Olive Oil & Lemon Vinaigrette

I figure out what I am going to fix for dinner for a week usually on the Sunday before. I decided yesterday that tonight we would have the Asparagus Popover from awhile ago, and a green salad. So today at about 3pm I start to think about dinner, and if there is anything I should be doing early. Then it hit me: I had no new recipe! I have already made the popover before. So I picked out a cookbook to start looking for a salad dressing, and the first one I pulled down was Veganomicon. It had to be a dressing where I already had all of the ingredients, because I had already done to the grocery store this morning. And sure enough, they had one. This dressing went perfectly with my little popover. Toby really liked it, and thought it would go well with some shredded Parmesan on his salad, so he added that to his.

rating: 7.5

Mediterranean Olive Oil & Lemon Vinaigrette
(from the book “Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero)

1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced finely
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper

Whisk all the ingredients together and store in an airtight container. Kepp refrigerated until ready to use.

French Dressing

Here’s another recipe from the old Betty Crocker cookbook I have. I was really craving my faux-crab cakes, so I thought maybe have a salad with them, and make a new dressing. This recipe makes alot of dressing. But, eh, I don’t know…it was ok. Nothing great. Toby said it tasted very mustard-y. I thought it tasted very vinegary. oh well. But my faux-crab cakes were awesome! We had those a green salad with this dressing, and some coleslaw. Oh, I didn’t have a spare jar (!) to shake this in, so I used a whisk.

rating: 4

French Dressing
(from the Betty Crocker cookbook, 1969)

1 cup olive oil, salad oil, or combination
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp paprika

Shake all ingredients well in tightly covered jar. Refrigerate. Shake again just before serving. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Peas, French style

I knew that I wanted to have the (Faux) ground beef casserole again, but I needed something green on the side. I found this simple recipe for peas in an old cookbook from Betty Crocker. Reading this, I thought, what exactly does lining the pot with lettuce leaves do for this dish? Is it just for looks? But, I did exactly as Betty said. My bag of peas was actually 16 ounces instead of 10, but they still turned out great! I couldn’t believe it! They had such a good flavor! My 19-month old son even liked them! I will definitely hang onto this recipe and make it again. We enjoyed our peas with the Faux Ground beef casserole and a yeast roll.

rating: 9

Peas, French Style
(from Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, 1969)

3 lbs fresh green peas (or 1 package (10-ounces) frozen green peas, partially thawed and broken apart)
lettuce leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp butter

Line medium saucepan with lettuce leaves; add peas. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and nutmeg; dot with butter. Cover peas with more lettuce leaves. Cover; cook over low heat 15-18 minutes or until peas are tender. Discard lettuce leaves.

serves 4

* If using fresh peas: heat 1 inch salted water )1/2 tsp salt to 1 cup water) to boiling. Add peas. Heat to boiling; cook uncovered 5 minutes. Cover and cook 3-7 minutes or until tender. If desired, add 1/2 tsp sugar and a few pods or leaf of lettuce to boiling water for added flavor. Drain.

Spicy Black Bean Burgers

I was really looking forward to making this recipe. I bookmarked it way back, and just now bought everything to make it. Once I had everything mixed and started making the patties, the mixture seemed very wet to me. It says that it’s good to let them set up in the fridge for awhile, so that’s what I did. I was hoping that would help. I made 5 BIG burgers out of this mix. I used a cast-iron skillet like it calls for, with no oil, and I don’t know. They stuck to the pan and were just so darned hard to flip! They kept falling apart! The actual taste was really good, it’s just that they would not hold together. Toby was eating one, and half of it fell onto his plate. I don’t know if I would make these again. If I did, I might do as one commenter (on the blog where I got the recipe) said, and that was to coat them again in the panko crumbs after they’ve been in the fridge, and to fry them in a little oil. I served these on whole wheat buns with provolone cheese, some leftover slaw I made this weekend, and some tater crowns!

rating: 6

http://tinyurl.com/6c2b9w

Ravioli with Brown Butter and Sage

This is a recipe I’ve been sitting on awhile. I finally decided to make it. The ravioli I had in my freezer was a bigger bag than this called for, so I saved about 1/3 of it and put it back in the freezer. Toby looked at all the ravioli in the pot and then at my pan of butter, shallots, and sage, and didn’t think I would have enough sauce for all the pasta. I proved him wrong! I didn’t think this would have much taste, but let me tell you, it was great! I just thought it would be all bland, and wasn’t sure I wanted to use whole sage leaves, but this just had a really good flavor. I will definitely make this again. With this, we had garlic bread and a green salad (with some leftover Colin Cowie vinaigrette).

rating: 8.5

Ravioli with Brown Butter and Sage
(from the January 2007 issue of Real Simple magazine)

1 24-ounce package fresh cheese ravioli
6 tbsp unsalted butter
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
16 fresh sage leaves
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 cup (3-ounces) grated Parmesan

Cook the ravioli according to the package directions. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat until it foams. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, until golden, 1-2 minutes. Increase heat to medium, add the sage, and cook until the leaves turn crisp, about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat. Season with the salt and pepper. Return the drained ravioli to the pot, add the butter and sage, and toss gently. Add 1/2 cup of the Parmesan and toss again. Divide among individual bowls and top with the remaining cheese.

serves 4

Chocolate of the Gods Mousse

I didn’t post anything last Thursday because I had house guests. My mom and her friend came to stay with us for the weekend. I planned to serve the Mile-High Tortilla Pie to them, but they ended up missing dinner and arriving later than I had expected. Toby and I enjoyed the Mile-High Pie anyway! This is such an easy dish to make that really impresses people. Anyway, to make up for not posting last Thursday, I am posting twice today. For dessert last night I made this Chocolate of the Gods Mousse. It tasted so rich and decadent and was simple to make…the hardest part was fitting it all in my little food processor. You usually don’t say avocado and dessert in the same breath, but here it is! It’s chocolaty, delicious, and vegan! I did not add any of the optional ingredients listed below. I also did not add mint. Toby said it was really good, but needed a little sugar. I disagree.

rating: 8

Chocolate of the Gods Mousse
(from the July 2008 issue of Shape magazine)

2 large Haas avocados, cubed (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp maple syrup
2-4 tbsp organic evaporated cane juice or organic sugar, available in health food stores (optional)
2 tbsp Omega Nutrition coconut oil, available in health food stores (optional)
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 cup cocoa powder
1 pint raspberries
1 handful fresh mint leaves, chopped
shaved dark chocolate (optional)

Place first seven ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Sift coca powder with a metal strainer to remove lumps, then add to avocado mixture and blend until smooth. At this point you can refrigerate in a tightly sealed container for up to a week or freeze it for up to a month.

When ready to serve, evenly distribute half the raspberries among four wine goblets or martini glasses. Add a dollop of mousse to each, followed by a sprinkle of the mint, the remainder of the raspberries, and another dollop of mousse. (If you have more mousse than you need to serve four, the extra can be refrigerated or frozen). Top with more mint and shaved chocolate, if desired, and serve.

Serves 4.

Colin Cowie’s Vinaigrette

I had planned to make a ravioli dish tonight, but I decided that the spaetzle that my MIL had left in the freezer for us 3 months ago needed to get eaten. Tonight. So I thawed that out and warmed it up with a couple of beaten eggs thrown in, then topped it with some browned shallots. The recipe tonight is from an old issue of O Magazine. It’s a really easy salad dressing. It should have gone on some green leaf lettuce, but all we had was romaine. It was really good. And it makes alot, so we have some leftover.

rating: 7

Colin Cowie’s Vinaigrette
(from the January 2007 issue of O Magazine)

1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp chopped shallots
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup olive oil

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard, shallots, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in oil. Makes 1 1/3 cups dressing.

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Artichoke Puree & Roasted-Corn & Tomato Topping

Whew! That’s some title. This was very easy to make, and turned out to be really good! It was very “fresh” tasting! I am glad that I bought the 4 portobellos, because they do shrink a little while cooking. 2 of these per person is not too much, I don’t think. I did not use a grill, so instead of grilling the corn, I sprayed olive oil spray in a pan, and kind of pan-roasted some frozen corn (I remembered to take it out of the freezer about 2 hours before dinner, but I knew that wouldn’t be enough time to thaw). The corn came out fine that way. Toby really liked this. I think I will make it again sometime. It’s nice to eat fresh veggies! We enjoyed this with some potato pancakes and a green salad.

rating: 8

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Artichoke Puree & Roasted-Corn & Tomato Topping
(from the July 2008 issue of Shape magazine)

For the Artichoke Puree:

3/4 cup artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 clove garlic
sea salt

For the Corn-Tomato Topping:

2 large tomatoes, seeded and diced (about 2 cups)
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, pressed (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 ears corn, in their husks
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

For the Mushrooms:

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 large portobello mushrooms, stems and gills removed
sea salt (optional)

Place the artichoke hearts, oil, thyme, garlic, and a small pinch of salt in a blender and pulse until smooth. Add more salt to taste. Set aside.

Preheat the grill to medium heat. Meanwhile, place tomatoes in a bowl and drizzle with oil. Add garlic (if using), basil, and parsley and toss gently to combine. Set aside.

When grill is hot, cook the corn, turning frequently, about 10 minutes, or until husks are charred and pulling away from cobs. Let stand until cool, then strip husks and remove silk by rubbing with a dish towel. Cut kernels off cob and toss them with tomato mixture; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

While the corn is cooling, grill the mushrooms. Pour oil into a small dish. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat both sides of each mushroom with oil. Place mushrooms on grill, gill side down, for about 8 minutes. Flip mushrooms and continue grilling for 6-8 minutes more, or until edges begin to brown. Lightly sprinkle with salt, if desired.

On a large serving platter, place mushrooms gill side up and spread artichoke puree over them. Top with corn-tomato topping and serve.

Serves 4

Summer Corn & Vegetable Soup

This soup sounded light and refreshing and EASY. Well, it was easy. It was really bland, so I added alot of salt and pepper, but it still was never WOW. Toby said it was ok. I probably won’t make this one again. But it sure is pretty! I served this with some bread.

rating: 5

Summer Corn & Vegetable Soup
(from the May 2008 issue of More magazine)

4 cups fresh corn kernels or two 10-ounce packages frozen corn, thawed
2 cups nonfat milk
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced (about 1 cup)
1 medium zucchini (about 1/2 lb), diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth (I used veggie)
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
3/4 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
fresh lemon juice, to taste
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons (optional)

1. Put 2 cups of the corn and the milk into blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and zucchini; cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the remaining 2 cups of corn and the broth; bring to a coil. Add the pureed corn and the tomatoes, and cook until warmed through but not boiling. Add the salt, and season to taste with pepper and lemon juice. Serve garnished with the basil ribbons.

Serves 6

Corn Spoon Bread

I’ve had this recipe for a good 18 months now, and I am just now getting to it. I substituted 2% milk for the whole milk (I would normally use Silk soymilk, but I have to get rid of this milk that I bought for my toddler to drink- he doesn’t like it). I also used dried thyme instead of fresh. The verdict? I liked it, Toby did not. I really like casseroles like this, but he just informed me that he is tired of “all the puddings!” He does not care for the texture. He says it tastes like uncooked eggs (but of course they are cooked). Oh well. I would give it about a 7.5, and he would give it about a 3, so I guess I will have to meet in the middle and say a 5.

rating: 5

Corn Spoon Bread
(from the November 2006 issue of Real Simple magazine)

3 cups whole milk (I used 2%)
2 cups fresh corn kernels or one 10-ounce package frozen corn, thawed
3/4 cup finely ground cornmeal
2 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for the dish (I used Pam on the dish)
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (I used a sprinkling of dried)
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large saucepan, over medium heat, bring 2 cups of the milk and the corn to a boil. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining milk and the cornmeal. Whisking constantly, slowly add the mixture to the boiling milk. Reduce heat and simmer gently, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in the butter, thyme, salt, pepper, and eggs. Transfer to a buttered casserole or cast-iron skillet. Bake until golden and set, about 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 6-8