Chili Verde con Papas

Chili Verde con Papas, page 240
with fresh homemade corn tortillas

This was really, really delicious. I adore those cute little tomatillos, and chile verde is such a comfort food. The stew had an amazing aroma as it simmered away in the kitchen this afternoon.

It really did not seem spicy to my taste buds, at all. Once you remove the seeds, jalapenos are actually a pretty mild pepper. This time, El Hombre and I both spiced up our bowls with some extra dried red chile flakes. Next time, I would probably leave the seeds in at least one of the jalapenos, or swap them out for a hotter variety, such as serrano. Poblano peppers would be good here, too, instead of the green bell pepper.

I was surprised at the amount of kale in the finished dish. I guess I was expecting a lower ratio of greens to stew, but I loved the way it turned out. It was chock full of kale, which paired beautifully with the chile verde base.

(Anyone notice the spelling variations in this post? I had to go back and correct my post title... the AFR recipe is titled "Chili Verde," even though my instinct is to spell it "Chile Verde." I think "chile" is the correct spelling for "chile verde," while "chili" would be used for "green chili." Anyway, it's good food.)

Bistro Broccoli Chowder

Bistro Broccoli Chowder, page 204

El Hombre was the biggest fan of this chowder. He said it had a really good chowder-y taste to it, and that the seasonings were good.

I had a hard time deciding if I really liked it, or not, and why. I haven't cooked very much with parsnips before, so maybe I'm not a fan of parsnips...? I think perhaps I'd like this better if I replaced the parsnips with cauliflower, and the rosemary with some fresh basil instead.

The girls gave mixed reviews. SweetPotato was not into it at all. SweetPea at least finished her bowl, but I'm not sure that I can say she liked it.

And now I have a few more parsnips leftover in the fridge... any suggestions on what I should do with them?

Forty-Clove Chickpeas & Broccoli

Forty-Clove Chickpeas & Broccoli, page 125

This was just what I needed tonight. Simple, comfort-like food. Easy. Tasty. Healthy. Cozy.

As an added bonus, smashing up those garlic cloves by giving them a good hard whack underneath the side of a heavy knife is really good for releasing a little aggression.

I had some baby potatoes from my garden that I thought would be a nice addition here, so I threw those in, too. Also, I used more garlic. The recipe may be called "Forty-Clove" Chickpeas and Broccoli, but it really only calls for ten. I used two whole heads of garlic, but they were big cloves. I didn't count, but I would guess there were maybe fifteen to twenty. They were good, and the house smelled absolutely amazing as they roasted in the hot oven.

The other great thing about this recipe: preparation and clean-up is minimal. Who doesn't love that? I think this dish just might become a staple in this house.

A pan-ful of goodness. Do I really have to share?

Potato-Spinach Curry

Potato-Spinach Curry, page 232
with brown basmati rice and Masala Baked Tofu, page 146

Tonight's dinner was a lovely affair of saag aloo, masala tofu, and basmati rice, enjoyed outside in the fresh air of the evening.

While I loved the feature AFR recipe, I must say that the most exciting part of making tonight's dinner was digging up my own potatoes from my own garden. They were so beautiful! Look:

Freshly dug and scrubbed potatoes from my backyard garden

And, they were delicious, too!

But anyway, back to the recipe. SweetPea helped me make the potato-spinach curry; she helped chop up those beautiful potatoes, as well as stir and taste along the way. We added more salt because of the low sodium veggie broth that I've been using (more on that below). We also left out the red pepper flakes to make it kid-friendly, and instead had some available on the table to sprinkle on as desired for the adults.

Also, I decided to revisit the Masala Baked Tofu, because I think I've figured out what went wrong last time. Not that it was bad last time. It's just that I've heard so many people rave about it, and yet it didn't get me all excited like it seems to do for others. The missing factor for my first attempt seems to be salt. Yes, salt. So simple, right? I've been using a no-salt-added vegetable broth in an attempt to be more sodium conscious, and I think the masala marinade suffered as a result. So this time, I added a bit more soy sauce, and it made a big difference. I will also confess that I was feeling lazy and used granulated garlic and powdered ginger in the marinade, instead of the fresh versions, and both seemed to work great here. El Hombre confirmed that this attempt was much better than the first, so whether that was due to the extra soy sauce, or the dried spices, or a combination.... who knows?

Again, everyone enjoyed tonight's dinner. Both kids liked the potato-spinach curry, and my Dad went back for second helpings of everything. As El Hombre and I were cleaning up the kitchen, I saw a lime left on the counter and realized I forgot to add the freshly squeezed juice as the final step in the making of the curry. But oh well - it was still delicious! Nothing seemed amiss. Getting the kids to eat their cooked spinach and my Dad to enjoy tofu so much that he goes for another serving... a win!

Brussels Sprout-Potato Hash

Brussels Sprout-Potato Hash, page 65
with scrambled tofu and toasted pumpernickel

Is it Tuesday already? Yes, yes it is. The month of May is turning out to be quite the crazy time for this family, and I'm really looking forward to things slowing down once June is here. However, we just returned from a great little family vacation last week, and this hash hit the spot as we settled back into home on Monday night.

It was pretty easy: slice up some Brussels sprouts and potatoes, cook until about tender, add some onion, garlic, thyme, and lemon zest for seasoning and cook another fifteen minutes or so, and it's done. Served with scrambled tofu and toasted pumpernickel, and it was like a cozy breakfast for dinner. SweatPea surprised me and went back for a second serving. While SweetPotato enjoyed the potatoes and seasonings, she reported the Brussels sprouts tasted a bit "strong" for her young taste buds. I enjoyed this dinner, as did El Hombre; leftovers were equally enjoyable as part of my lunch today.

Scallion Potato Pancakes

Scallion Potato Pancakes, page 61
served with a veggie-sesame stir fry

El Hombre returns with a guest post after some crazy schedules the last two weeks!

Tonight's Scallion Pancakes were definitely a big hit with kids and adults alike. The recipe is very straight forward, easy to execute, and just plain delicious. As Isa states, the pancakes are very delicate before baking and should be handled with care. After trying to gently coat the first pancake in panko breadcrumbs, I found it best to use a thin spatula from the start and forgo hands altogether. After coating, it was off to the oven to bake. One adjustment I would try next time is to reduce the temperature from 425 to 400 or 375 degrees to let the middle firm up more and not over-crisp the outside. I served the pancakes with some sautéed cabbage, broccoli, green beans, edamame, and toasted sesame seeds in a little soy sauce and presto - a great family feast!

Side note - La Mujer helped out with the sautéed veggies and the toasted sesame seeds. There might have been a slight over-toasting mishap with the first batch of sesame seeds. Let's not delve into the frivolous details and just say after some broken glass dinner still turned out great. :)

Goddess Nicoise Redux

Poolside Goddess Nicoise, page 25
substituting tofu in place of chickpeas

The Goddess Nicoise Salad has been one of my favorite AFR recipes, by far, so far. I decided to bring it back for Easter to share with the rest of the family, since they weren't around the first time I enjoyed it.

We chose to spend our Easter afternoon lounging poolside in this glorious Austin spring weather. As I whipped around the kitchen beforehand, steaming baby potatoes and green beans and buzzing up some goddess dressing in the blender, I suddenly realized that I had no chickpeas for the salad. Ack! Then, inspiration struck as I considered SweetPea's suggestion from earlier that day that we eat some egg-less (tofu) salad sandwiches (I guess veggie salads don't excite her like they do me): why not use some diced extra firm silken tofu in place of the chickpeas? I think the result was lovely; it was light yet still sophisticated.

This marks the third time I've made a batch of the Green Goddess Garlic Dressing. The first time was with my friend Anne, when we made it with young green garlic, and it was positively divine. The second time, I used the full amount of regular garlic; it was still delicious and pleasing, but it had a much stronger bite from the raw garlic that was too spicy for the girls. This time, I made a double batch of the dressing (to use throughout the rest of the week), and I only put in half the amount of garlic. It is again an excellent dressing, but the raw garlic still gives it a fairly spicy kick that makes it hard for the girls to enjoy as much as El Hombre and I do. I am thinking that the next time I make this dressing (because I will - I love it!), I'll try using lots of roasted garlic instead. I'm imagining that it will give the dressing a deep and rich, yet mellow and sweet garlicky taste, rather than the sharp zing of raw garlic.

I haven't been very diligent during the last week or so about sticking to my personal exercise and eating plan... tomorrow morning I will step on the scale to see what kind of damage I need to deal with. Sigh. I have no real excuses; I just need to realize that it's important to stick to the plan even when I'm feeling busy and overwhelmed with all the little details of life. Maybe even more important during those times. Anyway. Moving on...

Goddess Nicoise with Green Goddess Garlic Dressing

On Friday night I had a chance to slip away and spend the night with my dear friend Anne, who lives down in Bastrop. She lives in a beautiful historic home in the old downtown area, and it's always lots of fun to visit. Anne was a good sport, allowing me to choose a recipe from Appetite for Reduction for us to cook and enjoy for dinner on Friday evening.

Goddess Nicoise, page 25

I settled on the Goddess Nicoise salad, figuring it was an appropriate choice for two goddesses such as ourselves. We had a grand time and drank far too much wine throughout the evening; even so, we managed to pull off a delightful supper.

A briny mashed-chickpea-and-capers mixture here replaces the traditional Salad Nicoise components of tuna and hard-boiled eggs. Our tastes called for a little more dressing, caper brine, and salt than the recipe stated.

We were lucky to have the freshest red leaf lettuce available; Anne had just returned from visiting her cousin's farm that day, and she had brought back some farm-fresh produce with her, including some green garlic that we opted to use in the Green Goddess Garlic Dressing, instead of regular garlic.

The dressing... whoa. Deliciously mesmerizing. Delightfully titillating. Highly recommended.

Upside-Down Lentil Shepherd's Pie

First, I want to say thank you to everyone who is stopping by for a visit here. This project is only two weeks old, and already I can feel your support. So, thank you!

Also, I wanted to give a little update on my progress in the weight-loss department. I'm down about 3 more pounds over the last two weeks. Yay me! Since the end of January, however, I've lost a total of about 13 pounds, so there's definitely a downward trend here.

I've been getting better at getting regular exercise and workouts in. I think I'm feeling a little more muscle tone here and there, and it's not my imagination. The dog and I are getting in some good walks together. I've been kicking my own butt doing cardio-strength drills with the Nike Training Club app. But food-wise, I need to focus a little more on Fuhrman's "basic skeleton plan" (fruit for breakfast, salad topped with beans for lunch, and more salad plus cooked vegetables along with the cup of whole grains/starchy vegetable for dinner), and make sure I'm fitting the AFR recipes into that framework, as much as possible. And I just need to remember to be patient with myself. It'll happen; I'll reach my goals.

But now, onto the recipe of the day:

Upside-Down Lentil Shepherd's Pie, pg 117

Isa, you win: I ate the mushrooms, and I liked it.

I mentioned already that I'm not really a fan of mushrooms, but somehow this worked for me. Was it the variety (shitake - not cheap, by the way)? Was it the way they were chopped up (pretty small - I was scared of ending up with big chunks)? Or was it the delicious combination of the other vegetables, spices, and seasonings (the Worcestershire here definitely gave it that "somethin' somethin'"), lusciously ladled over the cauliflower mashed potatoes?

I don't know. But I liked it, and I'd eat this again. Even with the mushrooms. Who am I?!??

Spicy Blue (or Red) Potato & Corn Salad

Spicy Potato & Corn Salad, pg. 18
with mixed salad greens

First, the obvious. Those are not blue potatoes up there. I had no luck finding blue potatoes, so I went with baby reds, instead. The other minor substitution I made was shallots for red onions, because I used up all my red onion in last night's korma. Oh, and I took a lazy shortcut and used about a cup and a half of thawed, frozen sweet corn, instead of slicing the kernels from 3 ears of steamed corn on the cob.

Now, I don't want to seem disingenuous by gushing about practically every single recipe in this book, but seriously, again, this was super, duper good. The amount of chipotle called for gave immense flavor with just the right amount of heat. The pinto beans rounded everything out to make it a filling salad. When tasting the finished dish to determine if I wanted to add any more salt (no) or smoked paprika (yes), I found myself going back for more than one test bite. Maybe two, or three. Possibly four. Okay, maybe five. You know, to get it right.

For this recipe, Isa gives instructions to steam the potatoes, which I had never done before. I had always boiled potatoes before, when making a potato salad. The steaming technique turned out to be brilliant, however; the potatoes were tender while still firm, never mushy or falling apart.

This would be a great potluck dish; it's sure to impress folks.

Chickpea Piccata, Cauliflower Mashed Pototoes (Caulipots), and Romaine Lettuce with Caesar Chavez Dressing

Chickpea Piccata (pg 115) served over Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes (Caulipots) (pg 54)
on top of a bed of arugula and baby spinach leaves
In the left-side background - romaine lettuce leaves with Caesar Chavez Dressing (pg 43)

After a long, busy weekend during which I fell off the wagon a bit, diet-wise, I made up for it tonight with a dinner using three, count 'em: three!, recipes from AFR. And let me tell you - this was a FANTASTIC meal, with rave reviews all around!

But first, a bit about life since dinner last Wednesday night...

On Thursday, the girls and I went to our weekly homeschool co-op meeting, during which we had our end-of-the-month potluck lunch. My dear friend Paula made these amazing Lebanese stuffed grape leaves, and I could. not. stop. eating them. Also, one of the other moms made cupcakes to celebrate March birthdays, which were very thoughtfully vegan (for our family) and gluten-free (for another family). How could I turn down one of these cupcakes?

On Friday, our family attended another potluck, this one hosted by Rip Esselstyn, author of The Engine 2 Diet. While all the food there was plant-strong and oil-free, it was also quite delicious, and I'm sure I ate too much. In addition, someone brought these gigantic chocolate-chip banana muffins, and I ate one of those, too. The whole thing. It was really good. But, beyond the food, it was a really fun event, and we got to meet lots of new people. A highlight was meeting Natala from Vegan Hope. She is such an inspiration!

On Saturday, El Hombre and SweetPotato got up early to make chocolate-chip banana muffins for breakfast, inspired, obviously, by the delicious muffins at the previous night's potluck. Saturday's breakfast muffins were smaller than those at the potluck, but ultra-delicious, and of course, I ate more than one.

And finally, on Sunday, we spent the day adventuring around town and thrift-store treasure hunting. We stopped for lunch at Counter Culture, on Natala's recommendation, and thoroughly enjoyed everything we ate. I had the Jackfruit BBQ sandwich, El Hombre had the Tempeh Reuben, SweetPea had the Philly Seitan sandwich (a big sandwich, for her!), and SweetPotato had the Almond Butter & Apple sandwich. And then, because obviously we had been food-deprived all weekend (um, not really), we sampled the desserts - the raw brownie bites, the donut holes, and the lime-basil cheezecake. Wow!

But back to tonight's dinner...

First, the Chickpea Piccata: I've been trying to make this dish for almost a week now, but someone kept drinking the cooking wine I purchased especially for this recipe! More than one bottle mysteriously emptied while I wasn't looking. I'm not naming names, but I have my suspicions. El Hombre claims it must be the cat's fault, but that doesn't sound right to me. Anyway. One of SweetPea's all-time favorite dishes is seitan piccata, which, while delicious, is not exactly low-fat or plant-strong. So, we were both excited to try this dish. She decided the chickpea piccata is equally as delicious as the seitan version, and even went back for a second helping, along with the cauliflower mashed potatoes.

Which brings me to the Caulipots, or cauliflower mashed potatoes: I was a little wary of this recipe, since I've made mashed cauliflower before and didn't really enjoy it very much. I suppose, then, I was expecting mashed cauliflower to be like mashed potatoes. It's not. But! When you combine mashed cauliflower WITH mashed potatoes, it's like magic! I couldn't really tell the cauliflower was there; it was pretty much like eating just mashed potatoes. And who doesn't love mashed potatoes?!?

And finally, the Caesar Chavez Dressing: Holymoly!!! Amazing! Devine! SO GOOD!!!! Words are not adequate to describe how delicious this salad dressing is. I wished my tongue was long enough to lick the inside of the blender jar. I'm so excited to have more of this on my salad at lunch time tomorrow.

All-in-all, this whole dinner was a winner. Raves all around, from every member of the family. Date-dinner- or dinner-party-worthy. I will be making this again, and again, and again, for sure!

Want the recipe for the Chickpea Piccata? You can get it here, but why not just get your own copy of the book with all 125 rocking recipes, while you're at it? You won't regret it.