Spiced Po and To Matoes

HEY!!!!!


Made brekkie for Bee this mornin'.  Curry spiced potato wedges and broiled tomatoes with garlic, cumin and cilantro.  Some scrambled tofu on the side would make this great to serve for brunch!  I also made baked bananas for 'breakfast dessert' (slice banana in half, top one half with vegan chocolate chips and toasted coconut, put other half on top, wrap in foil and bake at 350 for 10 min).

Curried Potato Wedges and Broiled Tomatoes with Garlic and Cumin

Ingredients:

-4 large russet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced into large wedges lengthwise

-2 tbsp veg oil

-1 tbsp curry powder

-2 slightly underripe tomatoes, washed and quartered

-1 tbsp veg oil

-1 tsp cumin

-3 cloves garlic, sliced

-1/3 cup chopped cilantro

-S&P

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.  Toss the potato wedges with the oil and curry powder.  Bake on a cookie sheet for thirty minutes or so, flipping the wedgies half way through cooking.  Season with S&P.

Set your oven to 'broil'.  In a small casserole dish, toss the quartered tomatoes with the oil and cumin.  Tuck the garlic into the tomato chunks, under the seeds and such and broil the tomatoes until they are melted and oozy.  About 5 min... Then toss the tomatoes with the cilantro and season with S&P.

NOW EAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

XOXO

V.V.

Sprouts and Squash

Hey Lovelies,

Bee and I had a very special house guest recently, who when asked what she liked to eat, responded "I like brussel sprouts.  And spaghetti squash."  MUSIC to my ears.  Bee and I went grocery shopping seperately prior to the arrival of our guest and both returned home with squash and enormous bags of brussel sprouts.  And after they were all gone, as well as our wonderful guest (ATM, who we can't WAIT to see again!), we went out and bought more squash and sprouts.  YUMMY!  And such hearty, healthy and delicious winter fare. 

Here's a pasta recipe that was concocted late at night after many, many nights of celebrating the return of ATM.

Spaghetti with Sundried Tomatoes, Soy Chick'n and Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:

-1 box spaghetti noodles

-3 tbsp olive oil

-1 cup brussel sprouts, quartered lengthwise

-6 cloves garlic, sliced

-chili flakes (to your taste)

-2 tsp dried basil (if you have fresh or freeze dried basil, use 1/4 cup!)

-1 cup chopped soy chick'n (you don't actually have to use it, but it's tasty protein!)

-1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes

-juice of 1 lemon

-1/2 cup chopped fresh parsely

-1/3 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs
-S&P

Boil water in a large pot and cook the spaghetti until it's al dente (tender but still with a bit of bite).  Strain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water (it will become part of the sauce, the starches in the pasta water help to thicken!), and set aside.

Toss the brussel sprouts with 1 tbsp of olive oil and season with S&P.  Bake in a roasting pan for about 15 - 20 min in a 375 degree oven, tossing them halfway through.  Set aside.

For the sauce, heat the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over med-high heat.  Add the garlic, chilis, soy chick'n and bsail and saute until soy chicken is lighty browned.  Add sundried tomatoes, lemon and pasta water.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Add the spaghetti, lemon, breadcrumbs and sprouts and toss well so the pasta is well coated.  Season with S&P and serve!


YUM YUM YUM!!!!!
XOXOXOXOXOXOX
V.V.

Applesauce

Hello Sweeties,

We know the Dutch are crazy, but they are particularily APPLE CRAZY.  My Oma makes applesauce that would make little Dutch angels weep.  It's in a whole other league than any beige, flavourless slop that you might buy in a jar at the grocery store.  And it's PINK! 

Making applesauce is very homey and domesticated so if you are trying to cheer up a friend (or Dutch person) it is suuure to please.  Especially with some homemade granola or a crushed oatmeal cookie on top, which is what I did when I made applesauce for my roomate, Bee, right after we'd moved into our apartment and began hanging pictures on the walls (always improves the lived-in factor of a place). 

Oma Applesauce
Ingredients:
-8 macintosh apples
-Juice of half a lemon
-1 cup water
-2 tsp vanilla extract
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-pinch salt

Wash the apples really really well in hot water.  Quarter the apples, (skin-on, core-in) and place them in a large pot with the water and lemon juice.  Cover the pot and bring to a boil on high heat.  Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the apples become a mushy, lumpy, saucy mess.  

Place a fine mesh strainer over  a large bowl and pour the sauce through the strainer, stirring it to help it pass through without all the peels and little icky bits.  Discard the peels and icky bits.

Stir in the vanilla, cinnamon, brown sugar and salt.  Let the heavenly sauce cool and then EAT IT!!!!!

*****VARIATION ALERT*****
*You can core the apples and leave the peels on, skipping the straining step and just mashing the sauce with a potato masher.  This makes a nice chunky sauce :)

*Try leaving out the vanilla and adding a tsp of fresh grated ginger.  AH-MAZING!

*If my Oma were making applesauce, she might slip in a few tablespoons of grand marnier or brandy ;)

XOXO
V.V.   

Roasted Eggplant and Zucchini Pizza with Leeks and Spinach

BABIES!!!!

Exciting things are happening in the world of V.V.!  I have a new apt (a.k.a. NEW KITCHEN) and a new roomate (a.k.a. NEW SOUS CHEF)!!!!  Both are absolutely wonderful and have already aided in creating some unbelieveable meals.  My roomate, Bee, made this incredible wilted spinach salad with roasted sweet potatoes and a warm dijon vinegrette that I can't wait to post!

It seems that Bee and I have done nothing but invite people over to EAT since we moved in and it has been SO MUCH FUN!  We had her family over for a fabulous three course thank-you-for-helping-us-move dinner on Sunday.  I didn't take any pictures but I will DEF post the recipe.  Last night, we had a bit of an impromptu pizza party and wound up with a DELISH blog-worthy combo.

Roasted Eggplant and Zucchini Pizza with Leeks and Spinach
Ingredients:
-2 or 3 premade pizza crusts
-1 eggplant, chopped into small cubes
-1 zucchini, also chopped into small cubes
-4 tbsp olive oil
-1 tsp thyme
-2 tbsp vegan butter
-1 leek, washed well (it tends to get sandy between the leaves, rinse em well) and sliced thinly
-1 large bunch spinach, roughly chopped
-3 cloves garlic, sliced
-1/2 cup red wine
-S&P
Sauce:
-3 cloves garlic
-1/3 cup toasted sunflower seeds
-1 cup chopped parsley
-juice of one lemon
-2 tbsp tahini
-1/2 cup olive oil
-2 large tomatoes, quartered and broiled until soft and mushy

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.  Toss the eggplant, zucchini, thyme, olive oil and a bit of S&P.  Roast the veg in the oven for about 20 min, or until everything is soft and delicious looking.  Set aside.

Switch that oven temp to 400 degrees.  In a skillet, heat the vegan butter over medium highish and saute the leeks until they are wilted and soft (sprinkle them with a little salt and they'll wilt faster).  Then add the garlic and wine and cook until most of the wine is cooked off.  Wilt the spinach into the leek mix then season everything with S&P and set aside.

In a blender, pulse to chop the garlic, seeds and parsley.  Add then lemon juice, tahini, oilve oil and broiled tomatoes and blend until smooth.  If the sauce is toooooo thick, add a tbsp of red wine of two.

TO ASSEMBLE:  Spread a thick layer of sauce onto the crusts and top with roasted eggplant mixture and leek mixture.  Bake in your 400 degree oven for about 8 - 12 min, or until the crust is GOLDEN!

YUMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

XOXO,
V.V.