Tofu-Stuffed Manicotti

Today's post was originally going to be called Winn-Dixie and Chance Encounters, because I had the good fortune of meeting three like-minded young ladies at Winn-Dixie while I was in the produce section. As we talked about vegetables, juice, and farmer's market locations, my husband reminded me about my blog and the fact that I have abandoned it lately. I changed the name because I figured anyone looking for a manicotti recipe wouldn't be able to find it unless I used the actual word in the name.

I have been trying new recipes, and I have taken pictures of a few of the recipes. But...somehow...I never made it on here to post them.

So, here I go again, with renewed motivation to post new recipes, with pictures, more regularly.

Today, I made stuffed manicotti. Instead of using ricotta cheese, I used silken tofu for the stuffing. I altered the recipe on the box of pasta to make it work. Here are the ingredients that I used.

1 box Manicotti
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
6 oz mushrooms, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced (the originally recipe only called for one clove, but I like garlic)
6 oz. fresh spinach (I actually used a spinach arugula mix, which was quite tasty)
16 oz silken tofu
dried basil, to taste
1 t. sea salt
1 jar marinara sauce
shredded mozzarella

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook the manicotti for 7 minutes. Drain and cool on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil so that it won't stick.
3. In the meantime, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and garlic. Saute 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in spinach. Continue cooking 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
4. Whisk the tofu to loosen it up, add basil and salt. Stir in mushroom mixture. Add shredded mozzarella. (Unfortunately, I didn't plan on using any cheese so I didn't measure it. I had originally planned to make this a vegan dish, but I couldn't resist the temptation to add the mozzarella)
5. Spread the marinara sauce on the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish. Fill the manicotti shells with the mushroom mixture and place in baking dish. Pour remaining sauce evenly over filled shells.
6. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Cover with foil.
7. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

This recipe was delicious! But, it did have a few problems that I would like to fix the next time.

1. First, one jar of marinara was not enough. When the shells were done baking, most of the marinara had cooked away. This left the shells dry around the edges. I would have liked for the shells to be able to swim in the sauce.

2. Also, I would have liked to have fresh basil. Unfortunately, I only had dried. It tasted OK, but fresh basil would have been better.

3. Finally, I would have liked each shell to be more "stuffed" so next time I will use less shells so that I can fill each shell more. As you can see in the picture, the shells flattened out because they didn't have enough stuff inside them.

Almost everyone in my family liked this dish. I will definitely make it again, with the changes. Enjoy!

 

Two Tomato Bruschetta

The other night I wanted to have something that was fresh and tasty. I started playing around in the kitchen, and this is what I came up with.

plum tomatoes, diced
green tomatoes, diced
zucchini, diced
minced garlic
onion, diced
olive oil
apple cider vinegar
sea salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
Italian bread

I combined the first eight ingredients in a bowl and let it sit for a while so that the vegetables would soak in the flavor of the oil and vinegar. Then, I cut the bread in half. I loaded the veggies onto the bread and baked it in the oven for about 10 minutes. When I pulled it out of the oven, the bread was crispy, and the vegetables were heated through. I left it in the oven another five minutes because I was hoping that the vegetables would get a little toasted (that's probably not the right word, but I'm talking about when the tomatoes get a little black around the edges).

I don't know if I took it out of the oven after the five minutes because I was afraid to burn the bread or because I was too hungry to wait while the smell filled the kitchen. In any case, it was delicious! If anyone out there can tell me how to achieve the "toasted" tomatoes without burning the bread, please let me know. I'd love to try this recipe again with even better results.

Here's a pic.

M.I.A. Southwestern Falafal

Boy! I don't know what happened, but I've been missing for days. Working at a school during FCAT Crunch time is a unique experience. Stress levels run high and the days slip away from me.

Anyway...I've made one new dish from a recipe that I found in an old issue of Cooking Light. It was "Southwestern Falafel" which was interesting because the recipe called for a base of pinto beans instead of chickpeas.

The first time I made them, I used too much oil and I didn't use a nonstick pan. Fortunately, neither  mistake affected the flavors. However, they did affect the presentation. The dish was definitely not picture worthy. On the positive side, my children liked the them a lot, so I am very happy that I can add one more vegetarian dish to our family meal repertoire. On the down side, my kids thought they were appetizers and ate most of them, so I was left without a substantial dinner that night...which is why I made them again a few nights later.

The second time around, I used just enough olive oil in the pan to add taste, and I remembered to use a nonstick pan. They came out perfect! They were also very picture worthy. Unfortunately, I ate them before taking a picture for this blog post. Maybe, next time...

The falafel tasted very good served fresh, but when I ate the leftovers for lunch the next day, they were soggy.

Tonight, I'm making mashed parsnips and turnips, for the first time. I found the recipe at http://miedemaproduce.com/main_dishes.html

I thought the recipe sounded interesting for a few reasons. First, it calls for thyme, which I love almost as much as rosemary. Second, I've never eaten, or cooked, a parsnip OR a turnip in my entire life....Wait a minute...I take that back. I think I may have added one or the other to a soup once. BUT, I don't think that counts. This is the first time that I'm using them as main ingredients. Finally, I have developed a fondness for mashed anything recently.

When I was little, very little, my abuela would take care of me, and she used to make mashed potatoes, mashed malanga, mashed boniato, etc., etc...which she would proceed to attempt feeding me...which I would proceed to throw at her, at the floor, the walls... I hated the stuff. I hated the consistency more than anything, I think.

As I grew up, I continued to dislike mashed viandas. Actually, "dislike" is more of a euphemism. If I were completely honest with myself, I'd have to say that I loathed, despised, truly hated them. Even as a teenager, I remember doing that gagging thing that little kids do when they are forced to eat something they hate, lol. I remember how my mom used to make something else for me to eat so that I would eat something. She was my hero for doing that...and a lot of other things that she did...but more about that some other time.

Anyway, ever since I started this vegetarian journey, I've developed a taste for mashed root vegetables. I actually find myself craving them sometimes. When I saw the recipe, my mouth started watering, and I just knew that I had to try it out.

I still wouldn't say that I love mashed root vegetables, but I can definitely enjoy them now., and I'm looking forward to tasting this dish.Once I make the mash, I'll post about the flavors.

I hope it will be good.

Risotto Returns

I've made risotto once before, and I followed the recipe like my life depended on it, lol. I've actually been so intimidated by risotto in the past, that the closest I usually ever got to making it was buying the arborio rice. Then, I'd just stare at the container in my kitchen hoping that I could simply will it to happen.

So, today I'd had enough of this wishing and hoping for risotto, and I decided to jump in feet first and make up my own risotto recipe. I'm very happy with the result, especially, since this is only my second time making the stuff. Here's what I used:

extra virgin olive oil
1 large zucchini, diced
4 carrots, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 jalapeno, finely diced
fresh parsely
fresh cilantro
dried rosemary, to taste
dried thyme, to taste
sea salt, to taste
freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
3 cups arborio rice
cooking sherry
4 cups vegetable broth
coconut milk creamer
1/2 stick margarine
5-blend Italian cheese blend

I listed the ingredients in the order that I used them because the recipe kind of took on a life of its own as I worked. It was fun!

I've seen recipes where the vegetables are roasted and then added to the rice towards the end...but I have a big pot...and I was kind of lazy about getting something else dirty. So, I decided to just saute the vegetables in the pot and then add the rice to "toast" right in with the veggies. I'm sure some dead culinary genius is rolling in his grave about my audacity, but oh well...

Anyway, after the rice was a little translucent, I  added some sherry--just because I had some in the pantry and it smelled so good--and some of the broth. Once it was absorbed, I started adding the rest of the broth as it needed it and the stirring began. Let me tell you, that is some workout! I was sweating like I'd run a few laps, lol.

 Right before the rice was cooked all the way, I ran out of broth, so I looked in the fridge and saw that I had coconut milk creamer left over from a dessert recipe I had made. I added it to the risotto and the creaminess started to look really good. This led to the margarine which made it perfectly creamy. But, of course, the dairy demon got me when I was putting the margarine back. There it was in the deli drawer calling out to me **sigh** Well, I grabbed that cheese and dumped it in there and OMG it was perfect!

Originally, I had intended for this recipe to be completely vegan, but I just couldn't resist throwing the cheese in at the end. Honestly, though, it tasted great without it. I know because I had to taste this thing all along the way to make sure that it was tasting the way I wanted.

It took longer to cook than I expected, but I suppose that's because of the insane amount of rice that I used. I don't know what came over me...three cups!?! Really? Next time, I'll use 1 1/2 cups of rice and less of the vegetables. After all, I could have stored the veggies that were cut up instead of making so much.

Now, I have a huge pot full of risotto, LOL. I am going to have to have risotto for lunch and dinner tomorrow, AND I'm going to have take extra with me to work so I can give this stuff away or it will go bad before I can eat it all.

Lesson Learned: RICE GROWS A LOT...BE REASONABLE!

Being Sick Is No Fun

I've been home for two days now, and even though I would love to be able to stay at home always, it's no fun staying home because you are sick. I've just been getting by with food for the past few days...nothing very interesting. Tonight, I'll try to make dinner.

Playing With Fire

Tonight, I almost set the tree in our backyard on fire...along with our neighbor's house. I am mostly sorry...but let me start from the beginning.

It was cold today, which is a real treat in South Florida, so we decided to have a fire in the backyard. We have a small fire pit that we use to roast marshmallows with the kids. Sometimes, we just have a "campfire" for the fun of it.

We still had our Christmas tree thrown in the backyard...and it was pretty dry...and the temptation to see it go up in flames was too great. I threw it on the pit and all of a sudden the flames were at least 12 feet high. The wind came and the flames looked as if they were whipping the tree in our backyard. Then, the fire started going towards my neighbor's house. Before I knew what I was doing, I had grabbed the trunk of the tree and pulled it off the pit.

My husband had warned me and been adamant about how much of a bad idea it was...he had told me not to do it. Usually, I'm the "responsible" one. But, I hadn't listened.

All of a sudden, the realization of how crazy this whole thing was hit me. What had I been thinking?!? I could have burnt the house down...I could have gone to jail for arson...I could have endangered my family and my neighbor's family. I was ran to the faucet for water...my kids ran into the house screaming "WATER" and we were dousing the fire with as much water as we could get on it. It was over in seconds.

I felt so horribly sorry for the whole thing. And yet, as all of this was happening, the one thing that I found to be hilarious was the fact that my children had run in and grabbed coffee mugs and only filled them halfway with water. When they had thrown the water on the fire, all you could hear was a quick little sizzle. It was so funny, despite it all. Even after all of the craziness, the cuteness and innocence my children showed was priceless. I'll never do something like that again, but I'll never forget their reaction.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot...I didn't have anything interesting to eat today.

Bean Patties and Uncomfortable Moments

Yesterday I went to lunch with some coworkers. We went to Chilis, and I have to admit that even though I was happy to actually go out to lunch, I was very nervous about being able to choose a vegetarian meal at a place like Chilis.

As I looked through the menu I realized how big of a role meat plays in our culture here in the US. The idea of a satisfying vegetarian meal is practically inconceivable to most people. Vegetarian options are seen as side dishes or appetizers, at best. My situation was further complicated by the fact that  most appetizers and side dishes on the menu had some kind of meat mixed in. I didn't want to be that person at the table that has to custom order every single part of the meal and make everyone late getting back.

Anyway, as I looked through the menu, I saw that they had an avocado burger on the menu. I liked the sound of that. I figured that the avocado replaced the meat, and I liked the idea of an avocado sandwich. But, it turns out that the avocado doesn't replace the meat, at all; it goes on top of the hamburger patty as an extra ingredient. Then, I saw that Chili's does have vegetarian burger option: it's a black bean patty. Even though I really just wanted the avocado, I went ahead and ordered the black bean patty with the avocado. I figured I could taste the patty and see if I liked it for future visits.

The black bean patty was all right. It wasn't spectacular. I would have probably liked the sandwich better with just the avocado, but I'm glad I tried it, nonetheless. The only truly disappointing part of the sandwich was the bread. I guess ordering the bean patty means they automatically use a different bread. It's a wheat bun with rolled oats on top, which sounds good...The problem is that whatever they did to it to heat it up made the bread SO dry, that it fell apart whenever I bit into the sandwich...very messy.

I had the sandwich with a small coleslaw instead of french fries because I didn't want all that grease. The cole slaw was pretty generic.

Ok, now here's where I go off on one of my tangents...you know, the part I actually want to talk about...

Going to lunch with people who aren't vegetarians presents a whole other social dilemma that I want to talk about. The social interaction that is wrapped around eating gets funky for me, and I hate the feeling that I get from people around me when I choose a vegetarian meal. I get the same reaction from EVERYONE that is a part of my life: family, friends, colleagues....well, I take that back...my husband and children don't have the reaction that I'm about to describe.

There's always that face...the one that makes me feel so uncomfortable that I want to run away to avoid feeling bad. So, instead of running away, I've decided to place a comic spin on the situation and make a list of all of the faces I get from the various people in my life.

But, first I'd like to state a disclaimer. I'm in no way judging anyone for making these faces. I think their facial reactions are natural and involuntary. I don't even think they realize they are doing this. This is just my way of dealing. Here goes...

1. The "Why don't you just have meat like all of us?" face. I get this from people who want me to have the group mentality. It's like being in school and not having the cool shoes that everyone is wearing. Buy the shoes so you can be one of us! they say.

2. The "I feel somewhat ashamed about myself or my unhealthy choices so I want you to join me so I don't feel as bad" face. I get this from people when they are eating something they shouldn't be eating. Be fat and indulge with me! they say. I have to admit this group is the most fun. I've been a part of this group myself from time to time, LOL.

3. The "What are you trying to prove?" or "What's your angle?" face. I get this from people who think I'm on some vegetarian crusade to change them. You can't change me! they say.

4. The "You are WRONG and I am RIGHT" face. I get this from people who need validation and who think that I'm the one  judging them. You are going to die if you don't eat meat! they say.

Sometimes, I get a mixture of these reactions all at once, and I feel like shouting out, "I'm just doing this for ME. It has nothing to do with YOU!"

...but, that would look pretty crazy, so I just walk away feeling impotent. Then, I imagine some meat-lover counterpart of mine writing her own blog with a list of faces that I've made, LOL.