Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Southwestern Frittata, Bread, and Fruit

Dinner 9/28/09 from Holly and Chris

I hope no one minded a cold frittata. Every other Monday we have to make our meals in advance and I've always thought this meal was just as good the next day. Turns out it was fortuitous this week since Heather had her baby early Monday morning and Roman hung out with us for part of the day.

Southwestern Frittata

onion, sliced 1/8 in
potato, sliced 1/8 in
1/2 c. sweet corn kernals
Smoked cheese, sliced
1/2 roasted poblano, diced
oregano
7 eggs
milk
garlic
olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place onion in bottom of baking dish with a few glugs of olive oil, bake for 10 minutes. Add garlic on top of onions. Rub potatoes with olive oil, layer on top of garlic, sprinkle with salt, bake for 10 minutes.

Reset oven to 400 degrees. While oven cools, whisk together eggs and milk. Add corn, roasted poblano, oregano, and cheese slices to the baking dish and cover with the egg mixture, bake for 20 minutes until the eggs have puffed.

Garlic and Herb Pecan Bread
1 c. milk
5/8 c. water
4 tbsp EVOO
5 1/4 c. bread flour
2/3 c. rolled oats
1/2 c. chopped pecans (I'd add more next time)
2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp basil, chopped
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp yeast

Pour the milk, water, and EVOO into the bread machine pan. Sprinkle the flour over and rolled oats, ensuring they cover the liquid mixture. Add the chopped walnuts, garlic, oregano, and basil. Place the salt and sugar in separate corners of the bread machine. Make a shallow indention in the center of the flour and add the yeast.

Set the bread machine to the dough setting. Remove, divide into 2 loaves, and let rise for at least 3o minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes.

Fruit Salad
Cantaloupe, blackberries, and strawberries

Total cost = $25

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Sausage and Peppers, Farfalle with Mushrooms, Spinach Salad with Honey Dijon Dressing

I made many, many sausages yesterday from this recipe. Today I put it all together for a feel good in the belly dinner.

Sausages and Peppers
Brown the sides of six veggie sausages
Saute 1 onion and 3 bell peppers in olive oil. Salt and Pepper. Serve with pepper mixture on bottom and sausages on top. Dijon mustard is great with these!

Farfalle with Mushrooms
10 - 12 oz farfalle, prepared
12 oz. mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
salt, pepper
1/2 cup parmesan

Saute mushrooms, garlic, salt and pepper. Scoop over farfalle, mix with cheese and serve.

Spinach salad with dressing
Organic baby Spinach, tomatoes. Basic.

I cooked for Heather and family today, too. Total for 5 meals: $41.50.

Monday, September 28, 2009

yellow curry tofu, jasmine rice, egg rolls & honeydew

self admittedly i have been in a cooking rut. it seems like i make the same few dishes over and over and over..... thanks to the co-op i have been inspired to branch out again. so, what to do? ah yes, one of my true loves, thai food!!

yellow curry tofu

ingredients:
tofu
karee yellow curry paste - 1 can (maesri brand purchased from thai fresh)
coconut milk - 1 can (mai ploy brand purchased from thai fresh)
cauliflower
broccoli
carrots
raw cashews

press tofu to remove water. cut in cubes and marinate in dark sesame oil, tamari, orange zest and fresh ginger. place just a touch of dark sesame oil on a rot iron skillet and cook the tofu slowly on medium low heat until browned. set aside. scrape off the top "fatty" part of the coconut milk, place in a pot and saute the curry paste in it for 5 minutes. then add the remaining coconut milk and 1 can of water. add your veg and simmer until done. garnish with raw cashews.

rice


ingredients:
jasmine rice
cilantro
sauteed garlic, onions, ginger

place equal parts rice and water in a pot. bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, put the lid on and don't open for 20 minutes. finely chop some garlic, ginger and onions and saute. add to rice after it is cooked along with chopped fresh cilantro.

egg rolls

Ingredients: amounts are my best guess :)
Egg roll wrappers
Celery (3)
Carrots (3 grated)
Onions (1)

Cabbage (1)

Garlic (5 cloves)

Ginger (1" fresh)

Ground pepper
(several turns)
Egg (2)

Tamari (3-5 T to taste)

Sugar (1T)
Cilantro (handful)
Mint (handful)
Lime juice (1)


Canola oil (for deep frying)

Saute onions, celery, carrots, garlic, ginger cabbage, soy sauce ground pepper and sugar. Add egg, herbs and lime juice and put aside. Once cooled, stuff this filling (about 2 tablespoons) into the spring roll wrappers and seal. Fry egg rolls in hot oil until golden brown and drain.

sweet and sour dipping sauce (recipe from thai fresh)

Ingredients:
Water ½ cup

Sugar 1 cup

Vinegar ½ cup

Minced garlic 3 tbsp

Salt 1 tsp

Finely chopped chili 1 tsp

orange zest

In a small heavy sauce pan, combine the sugar, water, vinegar, garlic and salt. Bring to a rolling boil over medium heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar and salt and reduce heat to low. Simmer until the liquid thickens slightly to light syrup. Remove from the heat and add the chili peppers and orange zest. Cool to room temperature.


honey dew

cost ~ $30

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Pesto-Crusted Salmon, Broccoli & Asparagus, and Grains

The wild-caught pacific salmon was on sale at Sprouts, and we haven't had any in a while, so I couldn't resist. I haven't added up the cost of this meal yet, but I think it was okay considering we got to eat salmon! It cooked a little quicker than I expected and I found out that the smoke alarms in our apartment DO WORK, and they are deafening! So if you try this, keep a close eye on it (we don't have a window on our oven door :( ), and turn your vent on! I was in such a hurry to get them out of the oven that I touched one of the lids with one of the pyrex dishes, and it melted it, so I'll get a new one soon and take the melted one out of rotation:\-. I apologize for how hard I expect it will be to clean them, too! Anyway, here are the recipes, total to follow:




Grains
Mix of brown rice, quinoa, whole oat groats, and millet, cooked in vegetable stock for flavor

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

"Meatloaf", Potatoes, Carrots

So sorry, you guys! I had to stick my meatloaf and potatoes in the oven again as they were undercooked. So sorry!!! And I was late dropping off. Ugh!

Once the meatloaf cooked a bit and the potatoes became softer, they were pretty yummy, in my opinion. All recipes are from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.

Meatloaf
makes a 6 cup loaf
2 onions
2 cups walnuts or other raw nuts
2 cups oats
2 eggs
2 TBL miso, ketchup, tahini, etc. Something to bind.
2 TBL spice (I used New Mexico Chili Spice blend)
Salt and Pepper

Whack it all together in the food processor without getting it too mushy. Cpread in greased loaf pan, cover with foil, bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 30 minutes. I think this should be baked longer covered or at a higher temp.

Baked Potatoes
Wash and rub potatoes with olive oil. Cover in salt. Bake at 425 for 1 hour.

Glazed Carrots
1 lb. carrots
2 TBL butter
1/3 cup water
salt and pepper

Put in pan, simmer with lid on for 20 minutes. Uncover and cook until most liquid is gone.

I did cook for 5 families tonight because I delivered food to Heather. Who wants to cook when they are so pregnant? Total: $28.17. Better!!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Tacos, Green Rice, and Watermelon

Tacos

2/3 c. TVP
1 Poblano
1 onion
3 garlic gloves
1 can of black beans
1 can of stewed tomatoes
1 goya azafran spice package
Salt, Pepper, Cumin, Chile Powder, Smoked Salt

Saute the onion, poblano, and garlic. Once soft, add goya packet to coat veggies. Add tomatoes with juice and turn the heat to low. Add TVP and drained beans. Add water as necessary and seasoning to taste.

Serve with avocado, grated cheese, sour cream, and whole wheat tortillas.

Green Rice
from Rachel Ray

1 c. brown rice
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 pound spinach leaves
4 scallions, coarsely chopped
2 limes, zested, juiced
1/2 cup veggie stock

Place the cilantro, spinach, scallions, lime zest, half a cup of stock in food processor and process into coarse green paste. Stir into your rice pot in the last 3 to 4 minutes of its cooking time.

Watermelon

Total Cost = $24.00

"chicken" & biscuits, corn on the cob, carrot juice

wOw! you mama's rock! cooking for four families was certainly a challenge and a learning experience for me!

"chicken" & biscuits
(this recipe is for one family)

2/3 package quorn "chicken" tenders (on sale at whole foods!)
sautee frozen tenders in olive oil, s&p until browned and set aside
------------

2 1/2 cups no-chicken stock
place in small sauce pan and heat until hot

----------------------

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 onion
2-3 celery stocks
3-4 garlic cloves (add towards end)

1/3 cup flour

In a large pot melt the butter and saute the onions and celery over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.

Add the stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick.

---------------------

1 t salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup medium-diced carrots (i steam them until almost done)
1 cup peas (i like petite frozen)
fresh thyme & oregano

Add salt, pepper and the heavy cream. Add the tenders, carrots, peas, onions, and herbs. Mix well.

Place the stew in a 10 x 13 x 2-inch oval or rectangular baking dish. top with biscuits, brushed in egg wash, and bake for 15 minutes @ 375 degrees or until biscuits are done. i didn't have time to make biscuits so i used the natural ones in the tube from central market.

corn on the cob
bring pot of water to a boil add corn and cook for ~15- 20 minutes
season with butter and salt


organic carrot juice
we have a champion juicer. organic carrots from costco.

total cost $43.39

oops! i didn't really know what the budget was but looks like i went over! oh well, hope you enjoyed it! :)

Friday, September 18, 2009

Bye Bye, we'll miss you!

So we just wrapped up our last week of filling in for you guys, and I have to say, it was amazing. First of all I have cooked dinner once this week instead of 5 times which has freed up about 2 hours a day which is huge when you have 2 kids! Secondly, it has really branched us out as far as vegetarian eating... we were a bit worried when we started that we would miss our chicken that we eat almost every night, but we never once felt like we were missing anything, it was all so satisfying and delicious. It also broadened my horizons when it comes to cooking with vegetables. I usually just use the same old things, same old steamer, same old spices, and this has shown me that there are so many more things to try if I am a bit more adventurous. My favorite part was getting to try new things that we had never eaten before! We thank you ladies from the bottom of our hearts, and would love to fill in again sometime if you need us! Hopefully we'll be getting our own dinner share set up soon, and I'm sure we'll be modeling it after what ya'll have set up. Good eats!

Spinach & Grain Gratin, Moroccan Carrot Salad, & Steamed Broccoli

Sorry for any kalamata olive overload here. I didn't realize that the casserole and the carrots both had them when I planned the menu.
-Summer

Spinach and Grain Gratin, adapted from this recipe.
In place of the rice, I used a mix of brown rice, quinoa, whole oat groats, and a little millet. I replaced the pine nuts with walnuts and used parmesan cheese because that's what I had on hand.

Moroccan Baby Carrot Salad
I used regular baby carrots in this.

Steamed Broccoli
Frozen broccoli, a few chopped cloves of garlic, steamed with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper


Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Goat Cheese and Red Pepper Wraps, fruit salad, chips, and fresh veggies

So, I tried out the Good For Life Gluten Free tortillas for the wraps but I found they were pretty crumbly. Bummer! I hope the wraps were still good, though!

Wraps
tortillas
goat cheese
roasted red and yellow peppers
cilantro

Fruit Salad
cantaloupe, figs, plums, apples, strawberries

Fresh Veg with Ranch
Honey tomatoes
baby carrots
Ranch Dressing

Chips

Cookies

Total: $37.51. Ok, my meals are becoming expensive!! Time to cut down on the expensive ingredients.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Lentil Bake, Rosemary Sweet Potatos and salad

Ok, we'll see how this turns out. My friend said her kids love it, but it looks really really soupy in the oven right now, so I'm holding my breath.

Lentil Bake: ( I doubled this recipie, but it still doesn't look like that much...)

Mix together:
1 3/4 cups Lentils, 2 cups water, 1 bay leaf, 2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/8 tsp margoram, sage, thyme, 2 large onions-chopped, 2 cloves garlic, 2 cups canned tomatoes
Cover and Bake 30 minutes

Uncover and add 2 large chopped carrots, 1/2 cup celery. Re-cover and bake 40 minutes.
Stir in 1 green pepper-chopped, 2 Tbsp chopped parsley. Sprinkle cheese on top

Rosemary sweet potatoes:
Cut up 8 potatoes, sprinkle with salt, drizzle olive oil and rosemary, Bake covered for 45 minutes or until soft!

Salad: mixed greens with Walnuts and craisins!

Cost-
onion- 1.80
sweet potatoes- 5.00
green pepper- 1.00
celery- .50
cheese- 4.00
carrots- 1.00
tomatoes- 2.00
lentils- 1.50
spring mix- 4.00
Walnuts, craisins, spices, I have already and don't know what they cost...

Total- $20.80


Sunday, September 13, 2009

Green Chile and Cheese Egg Casserole - 9/13/09

Posted by Ernest. Last dinner from the Salaz family for a little while. :(

This dinner was very easy to make, and as Stella will most likely arrive this week (knock on wood), we didn't put as much prep time as we usually do. Hope it was still satisfying!

We love this coop and we're going to miss it, but we will be back!! All the dishes have been awesome by the way.

Green Chili and Cheese Egg Casserole
2 dozen farm fresh eggs
32 oz. sour cream
3 cups cheddar cheese
5 cans green chiles (fresh would have been tastier)
salt and pepper

Baked till golden brown for 45 minutes. 4 servings total.


Mixed Salad
Organic greens, English cucumber, grape tomatoes, carrots, pitted black olives and just a bit of red onion. We found a few surprise pits so I hope you all didn't get any.

The dressing was left over vinaigrette from last week's quinoa salad. Shhh don't tell anyone.


Watermelon Delight
Cubed, seedless watermelon with coconut shavings, golden raisins and a pinch of salt. Was this an odd epicurean choice? I kinda dug it.

Total - about $25 bucks

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Dinner 9/6/2000

Vegetable Chili, Quinoa Salad, Fruit by Heather

Sorry it has taken me sooo long to post this, we have been computer-less at home and it has been a rough week all around... on the up swing now!

Vegetable Chili
2 onions
4 hatch chilies
3 poblano chilies
4 bell peppers
6 corn on the cob
3 cans kidney beans
3 cans black beans
chili powder
cumin
oregano
garlic
paprika
cayenne
salt pepper
2 cans tomatoe sauce
4 cans water
masa (for thickening)

Ernest did all of the chopping for this (the main job), It made alot of chili, I took some to a friend who just had a baby.

Total (for 5 meals)-- $20

Quinoa Salad
Cooked quinoa
bell peppers
purpple onions
cucumbers
vinaigrette (parsley, lemon, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, sugar)

Total--$6

Fruit (strawberries and grapes)-- $9

Total cost of entire meal (5)-- $35

Friday, September 11, 2009

Caramelized Tofu and Sweet Potato Fries ::: 9/10/09

Cooked by Summer

from 101cookbooks.com. I added some bok choy to this.

Rice Pilaf
a mix of brown rices and some white rice seasoned with turmeric and some "all-purpose seasoning

I wish these had been crispier...

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Vegetarian Tagine, Cucumber Salad, Green Beans

Vegetarian Tagine
Veggie Mixture:
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 inch fresh ginger
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons tumeric
some Vietnamese Cinnamon Bark
2 carrots
1/2 head broccoli
2 zucchini
1 cup garbanzo beans
1 can diced tomatoes

Stew all ingredients together until veggies are softish.

Couscous:
1 1/2 cup veggie broth
1 cup couscous

Boil veggie broth. Add couscous, stir. Turn off heat and let steam for 5 minutes.


Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream Dressing
Cucumbers, sliced
1/2 cup sour cream
2 TBL. white wine vinegar
salt/pepper
fresh dill

Green Beans
- steamed with salt, pepper, and a bit of butter.

Again, I cooked for 6 families (our 4 plus 2 food tree mamas). So the total is for 6 meals and not 4. Total: $45.82

Monday, September 7, 2009

Falafel, Hummus, Taboule and yogurt-cucumber salad

Yogurt salad:
plain greek yogurt-$5
1 cucumber .50
a bit of mint (I had it, so free)

Taboule:
Near East taboule salad-$5.50
3 tomatoes- $1.00
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Hummus:
4 1/2 cups Chickpeas $2.00
1 1/4 cup Tahini $1.50
1/2 cup olive oil
some cumin, paprika, salt, garlic, lemon juice (I just put it in until I think it tastes good!)

Falafel:

here is the recipie I used... I usually use a box but decided to try my hand at Falafel from scratch, and now I see why I use the box! We'll see how they end up...
parsley-.50
onions-$1.00

Ezekiel tortillas to wrap it all up! $5.50
Organic spring mix and baby spinach- $4.00

Total- $26.50

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Tuscan White Beans and Foccaccia ::: 9/3/09

Tuscan White Beans w/ Sage
from Recipezaar

from The New Vegetarian Epicure
(the link is a different recipe because it would take me forever to type it our here. If anyone wants it, let me know)

Salad
::: Are you guys tired of the salad? I know it's kind of a fall-back, and they may always seem the same. I thought it might help to make a dressing as well) :::
Organic Mixed Greens
White Mushrooms
Cucumber
Kalamata Olives

Honey Mustard-Yogurt Dressing
(I made this up as I went, so no specific measurements)
Olive Oil
Walnut Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
honey
dried mustard
prepared dijon mustard
turmeric
thyme
dried onions

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Dinner 9/1/09

Welcome to September!! Yippee!
These recipes came from one of my favorite's: The Vegetarian 5-ingredient Gourmet by Nava Atlas. I call this meal "Fancy Rice and Beans."

Gingered Coconut Rice
one can coconut milk
1 1/2 cups basmati rice
2 garlic cloves
1 to 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
1 to 2 teaspoons curry powder
salt to taste

Combine 2 cups water with the can of coconut milk, boil. Stir in rice, garlic, ginger, and curry powder. Cover and simmer about 35 minutes.

Garlicky Black Beans
1 TBL olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minces
4 cups black beans, cooked
1 lime, juiced
1/4 cup cilantro

Heat oil in pan, add garlic ans saute. Add the beans, 1/2 cup of water, and lime juice. Cover over medium heat until a gentle simmer. Mash some of the beans and simmer for another 5 minutes. Top with cilantro.

Tomato Mango Salsa
1 cup chopped ripe tomatoes
1 medium to large mango
3-4 Hatch chilis
several sprigs of cilantro
1 to 2 TBL fresh lime juice

Whack it all together in food processor.

Red Bell Peppers
For some veggies.

Now, i made 6 meals of this because I had 2 food trees to deliver to. So, my price is for 6 meals, not 4.
Total: $46.00