Inspiration from a Restaurant

Okay, so eating out as a vegan is challenging, but not always a bad thing.  We went away for the weekend and took Fred's mom out for dinner to an Italian restaurant. Although the menu was full of cheesy delights, I managed to find Spaghettini with Mushrooms that was delicious. I added a salad, and had a great meal.  Tonight for supper, I re-created the Spaghettini with Mushrooms.  Here's my take on an easy peasy pasta dish.

Spaghettini with Basil and Mushrooms

Saute:
2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 sliced mushrooms

1 sliced portabello mushroom

1Tbsp dried basil

Sea salt to taste

Toss with spaghettini. (I used brown rice rotini for Tara) 

Tonight's salad was a mixture of fresh spinach, sliced mushrooms, roasted sliced almonds, and cubed smoked tofu (for Jacey and I). 

All-in-all it was a really simple supper. Simple, but satisfying.  :)

Comfort Food

Eating leftovers for lunch at work is one of the best treats! Especially when it is a delicious version of a traditional Shepherd's Pie topped with an amazing Mushroom Miso Gravy. Even though these seem like time consuming meals to prepare, especially on a weeknight, I don't really ever spend more than an hour getting supper ready.

Shepherd's Pie

Prepare some mashed potatoes.  Sometimes I like to add minced garlic and parsley before I mash them up.

While the potatoes are cooking... 
Saute: 
1/2 onion, diced
3 carrots, diced
5 sliced mushrooms
1 Tbsp minced garlic

Add: 
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
large can (or 2 cups) of cooked lentils
Saute for a couple of minutes. 
Add 1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp parsley
1 1/2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
4 tsp tamari

In a measuring cup, stir together: 
2 Tbsp corn starch 
1 cup of veggie broth
Add it to the veggies. Stir well and cook until thick. 

Put the mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 pan and top with the mashed potatoes.  
Bake at 350 while you make the gravy.

Mushroom Miso Gravy

Saute:
1/2 onion, finely chopped
7 -10 mushrooms, finely chopped
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil 
until the veggies are leaving some brown in the pan. 
Stir together: 
2 Tbsp corn starch
2 cups veggie broth
2 Tbsp Braggs or tamari
1 tsp dill weed.  
Add to the mushrooms and onions in the pan, and cook until thickened.  Remove from heat. 
Add:
1 tsp miso.  
Stir and enjoy. 

 
When I took my lovely leftovers to work, Lorraine said, "That smells really good. Like comfort food."  She's right. Sometimes you just need mashed potatoes and gravy.  Mmmm.

Eating Out? (no thanks!)

Eating out can be such a treat, but it can also be such a disappointment. We had high hopes when we went for supper last night to a new restaurant. There were so many choices on the menu.  It was actually quite excessive. I ended up choosing stir-fried veggies on rice. The salad bar consisted of iceberg lettuce, coleslaw, bean salad (from a can?), and raw veggies. The dressings were Thousand Island, Italian, Ranch and French. I felt like I was back in the '70s. The only saving grace was that we enjoyed our time out with 2 of our children and our friends. 

As far as the meal goes...I am making up for it tonight with a Mexican night at home: Spanish Rice, Chili, and Corn Muffins. Tara is home for a couple of weeks. She is avoiding wheat as much as possible, and also avoids meat, dairy and eggs. She still eats seafood, but I'm sketched out by the amount of waste that our fishing industries produce, so I will stick to the vegan meals.

Spanish Rice

Saute:
1/2 large onion, chopped 
1/2 green pepper, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil 
2 cloves of garlic

Add:
1 large tomato, diced 
1 tsp dry basil
1 tsp of oregano
1 Tbsp of chili powder
Add: 
1 cup brown rice 
2 cups of water
simmer 50 minutes, or until rice is tender.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chili

Saute:
1 large onion 
1 green pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil 
2 cloves of garlic (sounds like the rice recipe). 

Add: 
3 carrots, diced 
10 mushrooms, sliced
1 cup of frozen corn, 
1-28 oz can diced tomatoes, 
1 Tbsp chili powder, 
1 tsp cumin, 
1 lg can black beans, rinsed and drained 
1 lg can kidney beans, rinsed and drained 
1 regular can of beans in tomato sauce, 
salt and pepper to taste.  
Simmer for 40 minutes or so until flavours have a chance to blend.

Corn Muffins

Stir together: 
3/4 cup of yellow cornmeal, 
3/4 cup of flour (I used a gluten free variety, but the recipe calls for regular), 
1 tsp baking powder, 
1/2 tsp baking soda, and 
1/4 tsp salt. 
In another bowl stir together: 
egg replacer (to equal 2 eggs - I used 2 Tbsp psyllium husks and 4 Tbsp water), 
1/2 cup soy milk or water, 
2 Tbsp sweetener, 
2 Tbsp olive oil, 
1/2 tsp vinegar, 
1 cup frozen corn kernels. 
 Mix the contents of the two bowls together and drop into greased muffin tins. 
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. 

Where to Begin?

I guess that starting anywhere is better than starting nowhere.
Breakfast this morning: toast with peanut butter, coffee with soy.
See what I mean about being a "normal" vegan.
Food doesn't have to be weird to be from the earth, although I must say that toast and peanut butter isn't my usual way to start the day. I seem to have been on a bit of a dive the last few days. Supper last night was Tofu Dogs (I like them better than Veggie Dogs).  Fred sliced up some tomatoes and green peppers and sauteed some mushrooms, onions and garlic to go with them, but still.... Tofu Dogs for supper???? Of course Fred and Ethan had the animal equivalent in a bun, but all men have their weaknesses...