What's on the menu today?

[Lucinda]

Today was a brunch day for me.

Just finished a big plate of salad greens, green onions, marinated garbanzos, sunflower seeds, shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, and tried a new cranberry vinagrette recipe. And a couple of small slices of warm fresh bread and butter, of course. :)

I'm not sure about dinner yet, Bill had to go out of town and I'll keep it simple if he's not going to be back in time for dinner. Maybe breakfast for dinner.

[Inchworm]

1. Vegetarian Reuben Casserole

I think... lol

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=8451706&mesg_id=8451706

:hi:

EDIT: can't spel

[Lucinda]

4. Yum....sounds good!

I think I'd try marinating the tofu in the sauerkraut liquid with some caraway seeds then sear it.

Let me know how it turns out as a casserole? I'm supah curious. :D

[Inchworm]

29. It was yummy

Had all the tastes, but I learned that I should try tempah(sp) next time. Although I crispied up the cubed tofu, it had the wrong texture.

:9

[Richard Steele]

2. For supper, I'll be roasting a chicken stuffed with sweet Lebanon Bologna and a pink grapefruit...

We'll be starting out with homemade french onion soup,
made with red onions and topped with Jarlsberg Swiss...
for side dishes, I'm planning Alu Dopiazza and some nice fresh
crimini mushrooms simmered in a beef stock reduction.

(Monday is my only day off when I have time to cook- can you tell? :9)

[Lucinda]

5. Sounds really interesting! I have a couple of questions...

I've used apples, lemon and onion together as a stuffing for poultry with rosemary, but I've never tried grapefruit. Is the grapefruit flavor/fragrance discernable or is it one of those "sum of its parts = something new" things? I love grapefruit and I don't think i've ever heated it.

I've never heard of Alu Dopiazza. Is it a curry?

[Richard Steele]

7. Dopiaza is an onion-based sauce with coriander, cumin, & masala spices.

I think the name actually means "Double Onions";
you start by cooking onions, and add more onions
halfway through. It's not HOT like curry, so it's
a good way to introduce people to Indian Cuisine.
It's most often a chicken or lamb dish, but works
well with vegetables as well. Tonight, it's potatos (alu).



As far as the chicken/grapefruit, I've never done it before.
It was an impulse that came to me last night when I was out
shopping for supper- I was reaching for a lemon when I noticed
that one of the grapefruit in the next bin over was a bit smaller
than all the others, and I thought, "I'll bet I could squeeze
half of that thing into this chicken...."
We're gonna see how it turns out.

The lebanon bologna I have is truly sweet, so I thought
I'd try for a sweet/spicy kind of thing- pink grapefruit
instead of lemon, and I'll rub the bird inside & out with
salt, coriander, garlic powder, and red pepper
with juuust a touch of brown sugar.
Maybe a pinch of cumin in there, too.

Like many of my dishes, it's an experiment...and my housemates
are my guinea pigs! Muahahaha!!!!!!!!

Wish me luck. :hi:

[Lucinda]

8. Absolutely! if you have time I'd love to hear how it turned out.

I'd love to see the Alu Dopiaza recipe some time too! I've never been a big curry fan, but I keep trying Indian dishes because I love the components.

[Richard Steele]

11. Well, the general consensus was that the grapefruit didn't do anything special for the chicken....

Certainly kept it moist and tender, but it just lacked
that special extra 'zip' that chicken gets from a lemon.
It might be fine with a bare chicken, but it certainly
couldn't keep up with all the spices in & on this one.

On the plus side, though, I had the onions for the soup
almost completely carmelized when I realized we were
out of white wine...so I deglazed the pan with the juice
from the remaining half-grapefruit, and that worked out
just fine.

All in all, I guess I broke even on my great grapefruit experiment.

[Lucinda]

16. Thats the joy of experimentation though! You never know what will click.

:)

[grasswire]

3. the two teenagers have decided to try vegetarianism

So now things are more complicated. I must have very low carb. So I guess I'll be eating a lot of omelets and making them a lot of pasta -- they're not very adventurous eaters.

[Lucinda]

6. I might be able to make some suggestions if you'd like some ideas...

I was a vegetarian for several years (and I have also low-carbed)

What kind of foods did they like before they became vegetarians? And are they still eating eggs or dairy?

Sauteed portobello mushrooms make excellent burgers. If they are mushroom friendly at all. :)

And a lot of Mexican main dishes can be made with beans and cheese instead of meat, and they have very low carb tortillas on the market now that might make it workable for you too.

[hippywife]

13. I make a killer veggie burrito

stuffed with Spanish rice, refried beans, cheese, guac, onion, tomato, sliced black olives, sour cream (actually I use my homemade yogurt) and an avocado tomatillo sauce. I started making them that way when my other half went vegetarian for about four years and even I loved them. We only eat meat once a week (twice if there are leftovers) but I still make them this way because we don't miss the meat in them at all.

[Lucinda]

18. I ran across a yocheese recipe on a low carb site once but lost it before I could try it

Homemade yogurts are very versatile! And the burrito sounds awesome. :)

[hippywife]

20. We use it for lots of things.

It is so easy to make. I also use it subbed in for all or part of the milk in some of my baking. When I have goat milk, I make cheese with it. It's awesome!

[Lucinda]

22. Goat cheeses rock. I especially love feta, but the softer cheese are excellent.

I've never tried making any......may have to change that!

[wildeyed]

9. Making a stir fry for dinner.

Chicken, garlic and whatever I have in the veggie drawer.

[Lucinda]

10. Always a popular choice around here.

[wildeyed]

12. I was pleasantly surprised to find a mango and a green pepper in the crisper,

so with a mess of garlic and some sichuan sauce, it will have that spicy/sweet thing going.

[Lucinda]

15. Yum. Sounds like a tasty combo! We never get good mango here.

I have dinner envy!

[hippywife]

14. Today's lunch

for my other half was Quorn Naked Cutlets cut in half and put on small homemade wheat buns with mayo, organic tomatoes and loose leaf spinach with a homemade carrot raisin pineapple salad, a couple of clementines, and some homemade fig-stuffed shortbread cookies. He eats homemade yogurt and fruit before leaves for work and I also pack him something to eat mid-morning. This morning it was homemade pecan sticky buns. Can you tell how I spend my Sundays? LOL

I was craving Pad Thai (thankyouverymuchStinky) so I went for that at lunch instead of packing mine, too. It was very disappointing. :(

Tonight is leftover rigatoni and meatballs with a spinach salad.


It's sleeting here and is supposed to continue through the night and tomorrow so we may get an ice day tomorrow. :bounce:

How was that cranberry vinaigrette, BTW? Sounds very interesting.

[Lucinda]

17. Fig-stuffed shortbread cookies got my attention!

I love fig and shortbread. Never had the two together. How do you make it?

The cranberry vinagrette was pretty good. I made a small test batch and smoked my kitchen all at the same time! :eyes:

I attempted to boil a cup of juice down to intensify the flavor and thicken, but I was on the phone with my fella (who is out of town) and it burned. :(

So, I ended up just using the straight juice:
3 T - cranberry juice
2 T - olive oil
1 T - mustard
black pepper

Covered it, and shook vigorously. It is a beautiful deep melon color and has lots of flavor. I'm going to try it again with the juice reduction tomorrow.

[hippywife]

19. It's a recipe I usually used to use for

decorated cookies at Christmas.

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
2 cups all purpose flour

Cream butter well. Add sugar a little at a time, continuing to cream. Beat the egg to a lemony froth and beat into the butter/sugar mixture. Work the flour in to the mix. (I do that last step with my hands. It's really the best way to get it well incorporated.)

Divide dough in two and roll out on a well floured surface...very thin. Cut out with a 2" round cookie cutter (or whatever kinda cookie cutter you like.) Pick up with a spatula and place on a buttered cookie sheet and bake 8-10 minutes until edges are starting to brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Repeat until all the dough is gone. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.

I get these fig almond cakes at Whole Foods. Basically, they're just figs processed down into a really thick paste with almonds embedded in them. Nothing else in them. I put it in my food processor with the juice and zest of an orange, and a few T. of fig preserves. I spoon about a T. onto a cookie, top it with another cookie and press the edges together. They look like raviolis. Bake at 350 for about 12-15 minutes. (Maybe a little less, until the edges are golden.)

I don't buy juice but I might try that vinaigrette with some cooked down whole cranberries. Sounds perfect for a spinach salad with my cold roasted root veggies. :9

[Lucinda]

21. Thanks for the recipe. I'm going to try it soon!

I think the cranberry should work well with spinach and root veggies.

I've got a sweet potato I might roast with a few other things. Might be a great addition to my current salad fetish!

[hippywife]

24. I edited the cookie recipe a little

for the cooking time. I think my oven is on the fritz at the moment because we ran out of propane the other night. :eyes:

[Lucinda]

26. Ah cooll! I'll resave it. Thankie for making the corrections.

I'm terrified of propane, silly I know...We may build far enough out that it will be one of our options. So I better get ovah it!

[Gormy Cuss]

23. Ma Po tofu and stir-fried Yao Choy

Ma Po is a standard dish around here. The Yao Choy is a first -- I bought it at the farmers' market.

[Lucinda]

25. My fella has been experimenting with bean paste sauces, but I don't think we've ever had Ma Po

The recipes I'm seeing online look great.

Yao Choy sounds interesting too. I'm like greens more and more as time passes. Yet another ingredient that I've never worked with!

[Gormy Cuss]

27. The key to Ma Po is good ingredients.

Salted black beans are a must and the packaged ones are better and cheaper than most jarred Black Bean sauces. See second from the left and the beans in front of the bag. I paid fifty cents for a bag that size and it lasts forever:


I use "Lan Chi" brand chili paste with garlic but any Chinese chile paste will do, and if at all possible sprinkle some freshly crushed Sichuan peppercorns on the dish at the end of cooking.


Other than that, it's a simple dish that's quite forgiving of changes in ingredients.

[Lucinda]

28. Thanks for the tips! Our markets have very limited options, so we order online

I'll keep an eye out for the brand!