Baby food, Super Bowl cheese ball and Committing to the Blog

I had a list a mile long of all of the things I was going to do on my maternity leave. I am back to work now and the list remains. Sigh. But you must approach all such lists in the same way - one thing at a time. So, I really want to commit to recording recipes in this blog. The little bit I have done has been so useful to keep track of recipes we like and what went right and what went wrong to improve the recipe for next time. I have at least half a dozen draft posts I will finish but it seems only appropriate to just start today.  So, here's a quick recap of some recipes from this weekend.

First, how can this be a VeggieMommy blog without recipes for Veggiebaby? I just made the following two recipes for our little man. I tend to make several batches of food every couple of weeks. I freeze it in ice cube trays and then store the cubes in ziplock bags to be reheated as needed. First up, green beans and quinoa. I know, yum;) (Read:sarcasm.)

Green Beans and Quinoa
12 oz. green beans
1 cup quinoa

1.   Trim ends off green beans.  Steam for 10 minutes.
2.   Place 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until all of the water is absorbed.
3.  Combine the green beans and the cooked quinoa in the food processor and process to desired consistency.

Rice, Lentils and Carrots
1/2 cup lentils
1/2 cup brown rice
1 carrot diced
3 cups water

Place all ingredients in pan.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour.  Puree or mash to desired consistency.

I love lentils, so I also made myself some lentils while the baby mash was cooking.  This time, I just cooked the lentils with water, but I usually use a combination of vegetable broth and water.  Add some diced carrots, onion and garlic.  Add pepper to taste.  Serve with a salad or rice.
 
Now, onto the Super Bowl party.  We finished our basement over the holidays to add some home office space and a bar where VeggieDaddy can serve his Homebrew.  We decided that the Super Bowl would be a great time to unveil the new bar to our friends (and their 17 children!).  We just made chili, a football-shaped cheese ball, and threw in some frozen pizzas.  The guests brought appetizers and desserts, which included some tasty little cheese buns, baked brie, artichoke and spinach dip, king cake, cheesecake frosted brownies and cookies, among other tasty treats.  It was a great spread!

Super Sweet Potato Chili
1 large onion, chopped
3 small or 1 large sweet potato, cubed
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans
2 cans cannellini beans
2 cans pinto beans
5 cups water
2 1/2 cups beer (I used an IPA)
1T Garlic
2 t Cumin
1 t Seasoned salt
1T Pepper (I used ancho because I didn't want it to be too spicy for the crowd, but the combination of the sweet potatoes and spicy is really good when you do spice it up.)

I cooked this in the crockpot all day, but you can make it in a large pot on the stove as well.  This makes ALOT.

1.   Set crockpot on high and allow to heat.  Saute onions with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil until translucent.
2.  Add sweet potatoes and allow to cook while preparing the beans.
3.   Open all of the cans of beans and dump into a colander.  Rinse and drain well.
4.   Add the tomatoes, beans and all remaining ingredients and stir. If you use a crockpot with a timer, set it to 8 hours on low.  Since I was home, I cooked it on high for a few hours because there was so much to cook, it needed the high heat to get going.

Kickoff Cheese Ball
This is from the Parents Magazine February 2012 Issue, also reprinted here.  This is super cute and the girls had fun helping me make it.

4 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
4 oz. Colby-Jack cheese, cubed
1/2 cup canned chickpeas. drained and rinsed
1/4 cup finely chopped jarred roasted red pepper
1/2 cup small pretzel twists
Chives or green onions for decorating

1.   Combine cheeses and chickpeas in a food processor and blend until smoothe, stopping to scrape down the sides a few times.  Add the red peppers and pulse until just combined throughout.
2.   Spoon mixture into a shallow dish and spread.  Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
3.   Crush the pretzels into crumbs either in the food processor or by placing in a ziploc bags and crushing with a rolling pin.  Spread the crumbs on a piece of wax paper.
4.  Scoop the cheese out of the dish and form into a football shape with your hands.  Roll it around in the pretzel crumbs to coat.  Transfer to a serving plate and use the chives or green onions to make the laces.

 With the chickpeas, this is much healthier than your usual cheese ball, and it holds its shape much better!

And on tap we had VeggieDaddy's Mocha Stout, a friend's Scottish Pale Ale, and Green Flash West Coast IPA.

And, with that, I will sign off for now with the pledge to post at least a few more times this week.

Cheese Biscuits and "Orange Soup"

I guess we had an orange theme this weekend. On Friday night, the girls and I ended our long week without VeggieDaddy, who was out of town for work, at our favorite chinese restaurant. We ordered our usual: one order of sesame tofu (served with broccoli and covered in a yummy orange sauce) and one order of steamed tofu (no sauce). On Saturday, we went to the Farmer's Market (which has moved inside University Mall for the winter) and picked up some great baby carrots, along with some yummy cheeses (VeggieDaddy traded a couple of his homebrews for some of the cheese). On Sunday morning, we made the cheese biscuits below and made egg biscuit sandwiches. While the girls and VeggieDaddy made the biscuits, I put the soup on the stove for lunch. AND, clementines have been ingested daily. All in all, alot of orange foods for one weekend:)

Cheese Biscuits

2 cups flour
1 t salt
3 t baking powder
6 T shortening
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup finely grated cheddar cheese

1. Mix the flour, salt and baking powder.
2. If you have a food processor with a dough blade, just cut the shortening in 1/2 inch chunks into the flour and then process for 30 seconds. If you don't have a food processor, get one. Just kidding, just cut or rub in the shortening until shortening is well-combined throughout.
3. Stir in the milk, and once mixed in, add the cheese, then knead lightly.
4. Roll the dough 1/4 inch thick.
5. Cut the dough with an upside-down pint glass, or a circle cutter, if you're fancy.
6. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden.

Side note on this recipe: this is based on a recipe from The Treasury of White Trash Cooking, by Ernest Matthew Mickler and Trisha Mickler, a classic given to me by some friends when VeggieDaddy and I first moved in together. Thanks ladies!

Butternut Squash Soup

I called this soup "orange soup" because it sounds alot more appetizing to a 4 year old than squash soup.

2 ribs celery, chopped (including the celery leaves)
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 T olive oil
1 lb butternut squash, peeled and cubed (I buy Trader Joe's precut)
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
2 t cumin
1 t sage
1 t turmeric
Pepper to taste
4 cups water

1. Cook the celery, onion and garlic over medium heat in 1 T olive oil until softened.
2. Add the squash, potato and spices and continue to cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
3. Add the water and bring it to a boil. Turn down to simmer and cover.
4. Cook for 35-40 minutes, or until the squash and potato are softened.
5. Puree in a food processor until smooth.

Have a great week! If we get a "snow day" tomorrow maybe we will come up with some special inauguration day recipes!

Finally, something they love

It has been almost two months since I have posted to this blog. The silence has not been for a lack of cooking. More a lack of appetite. The girls have both become supremely picky! I am not, nor as far as I can recall, have I ever been picky. So I honestly don't get it. How can they go from loving all kinds of food - Indian, Thai, spicy, etc. - to only macaroni and cheese and peanut butter and jelly (with crusts removed and only if cut into the preferred shape of the day!)? Yes, I am exaggerating a bit - they still eat raw or steamed plain tofu by the pound, and plain pasta with butter is a popular choice, but these aren't real great blog fodder. So, when I threw together a zucchini soup for them this past weekend (and a risotto and stuffed pepper for VeggieMommy and Not So VeggieDaddy) and they both LOVED it, I knew I needed to come back to this blog - if for no other reason than to record the recipe for future reference, although it will likely be months before they love it again:)



Creamy Zucchini Soup

Ingredients:
• 1 leek, sliced
• 1 ½ T olive oil
• ¾ cup carrots, coarsely chopped (I use baby carrots and just slice)
• 1 ½ t garlic
• 2 t parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 large zucchini, cut into ½ inch cubes
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• ¼ cup cream

1. Sauté the leeks in the olive oil over medium heat for about 2 minutes.
2. Add the carrots, garlic, parsley and salt and pepper and let cook for another 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally until leeks just begin to brown.
3. Stir in the zucchini and continue cooking for about 5 minutes, but don’t let the zucchini start to brown.
4. Add enough broth just to cover the vegetables. After the mixture comes to a gentle boil, turn down to a simmer and cover.
5. Stir occasionally and continue simmering about 30 minutes, or until the carrots are softened.
6. Puree in a food processor.
7. Return to pot and stir in the cream. This step can be skipped if you want to keep it vegan or lower in fat, but most little ones can use the extra calories! Ladle into bowls and serve it up.

This soup is good enough to serve the whole family (although you may need to make in a greater quantity), but we had planned a risotto (which the girls would normally enjoy) for dinner, and only made the soup when our 4 year old started groaning loudly that she DOES NOT like risotto. So, briefly, here’s a yummy risotto and stuffed pepper for less picky VeggieKids.

Stuffed Pepper
• 1 cup reconstituted Textured Vegetable Protein (“TVP” is available at most grocery stores. The dried granules come in a bag. Follow the directions on the bag – just add boiling water. It makes a great meat-like substitute – I love using it for sloppy joe’s.)
• 1/3 cup goat cheese
• 1 garlic clove, diced
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 cup red pepper sauce*

1. Mix the TVP, goat cheese and garlic clove in a small bowl.
2. Carefully cut around the stem of the bell pepper and remove the seeds and fleshy parts from the inside. Place the pepper in a small baking dish.
3. Pack the TVP mixture tightly into the bell pepper. Replace the cap. Drizzle with olive oil.
4. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.
5. With the risotto, one-half pepper per person is sufficient. Carefully slice in half and drizzle with sauce.

*You can either use store-bought sauce or make your own. To make your own, puree two roasted red bell peppers (Either roast one pepper in the oven or use a jar of roasted bell peppers packed in olive oil) with some olive oil, garlic, oregano, basil and parsley. Add cream or some milk if you like it creamy, or red pepper flakes if you like it spicy.

Zucchini Pesto Risotto

• 2 T butter
• 2 shallots, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 cup + 2 T risotto
• 2 T pesto
• 1 large zucchini, cut in ½ inch cubes
• 2 cups vegetable broth + 1 cup water
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1. I use my awesome-can’t live without- rice cooker for this but you can also make it on the stove although I make no guarantees (not that I ever do).
2. Set the rice cooker to regular and melt the butter.
3. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until shallots begin to soften.
4. Add the risotto and stir to coat. Cook until white spot begins to show on the risotto grains.
5. Stir in the pesto and zucchini. Add the broth and water.
6. Cook for 20-25 minutes, until most of the broth and water is absorbed, but risotto should not be mushy.
7. Add lemon juice and parmesan cheese, and serve.

Slow Cooker Veggie Chili

Now that the weather is getting cooler (even here in the South), it is time for some more stews and soups! The recipe below makes a ton so adjust accordingly if you want less or if you have a smaller slow cooker. To make the below, you need a 6 quart slow cooker. I like to make a lot and freeze some. I usually don’t have as many fresh ingredients as I did today so please know that the peppers, carrots and sweet potato aren’t necessary. The sweet potato does add a nice flavor that the kids like however. Sometimes I will use less beans and throw in some veggie burger crumble.

This is great to make overnight or while you are at work. You can also prepare all of the ingredients and throw them all in together in the morning. If your cooker shuts off automatically cook for 6 hours on high. If not, set to low and cook for at least 8 hours. If your cooker is new you probably don’t want to throw everything in and leave the house for 10 hours. You will need to get familiar with your particular cooker to gauge exact cooking times.

Ingredients:

Cooking Spray
1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium carrots or 10 baby carrots, chopped
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 small green and 1 small red pepper, diced
Garlic, 2 generous shakes
Cumin, 2 shakes
Turmeric, 1 shake
Cayenne pepper to taste
Chili powder to taste
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans diced tomatoes
3 ½ cups water

1. Spray the slow cooker bowl with cooking spray.
2. Turn the slow cooker to high and add the olive oil while you chop the vegetables.
3. Add the onion, carrots, sweet potato, peppers to the slow cooker bowl. Add the spices and stir gently to coat.
4. If you have time, let the vegetables cook for 20 minutes before adding remaining ingredients.
5. Add the beans, tomatoes and water. Cook for 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

Wonders from the Summer Gardens (of Others!)

Last week brought some wonderful surprises in the produce department, especially in light of last week’s post (and the further encouragement to eat local in light of continuing salmonella outbreaks). My co-workers shared cucumbers, tomatoes (yellow and red!) and purple eyed peas. We are new to purple-eyed peas – but, being vegetarian, we are always open to the wonders of the bean world. So, amidst our usual hurried weeknight meals, we tried some new things.

The week started with the free cucumbers. I made cucumber almond gazpacho. My one year old loved it, but our four year old refused to try it. Her tastes change on a daily basis these days:) I love gazpacho because it’s so cool and refreshing in the summer and you can get very creative with ingredients. We have done cucumber gazpacho before but the almonds are new (I had a delicious almond gazpacho in New Orleans last month that served as the inspiration for this recipe).

Cucumber Almond Gazpacho

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole almonds
• 4 medium size cucumbers or 6 small, peeled and roughly diced
• 2 T fresh dill
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 T lemon juice
• 1 T olive oil
• 2 T white wine vinegar
• 1 cup water

Put dill and garlic in food processor and process briefly. Blanch almonds and peel. Add almonds and olive oil in food processor, and process for one minute. Add remaining ingredients and process until desired consistency. You will want to add more or less of the vinegar and water, depending on your taste and how thick you like it.