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The Kitchen Recessionista

So, here we are, in a recession. Let's eat!

Lemon-Basil Pasta With Garlic Bread.

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Now, if this isn’t the quintessential summertime meal, I don’t know what is!
I’m not gonna lie – it’s been a bit of a rough day.  Work and home events (with a $650 mechanic bill as the cherry on top!) today have conspired to cast a pall over Chez Recessionista today, so I knew that what LeeLee and I needed was a bright and cheerful meal, and fast.  (A glass of white wine didn’t hurt, either.)  Enter: Lemon-basil pasta!
I know I’ve written about this dish before, but indulge me for a moment, if you please, in this my hour of need. :)  I can’t get over how such a simple, quick-cooking dinner can taste so good!  But this one hits the spot, each and every time.
Tonight, as the penne cooked, I added a quarter-cup of olive oil, a tablespoon (plus a splash) of white balsamic vinegar, the juice of two lemons, a carton of grape tomatoes, about 20 leaves of chopped basil, a block of cubed Gruyere cheese, salt, and pepper to a serving dish and combined them all well.  Once the pasta drained, I tossed it with the oil-and-lemon mixture, plunked a slice of toasted garlic bread on each of our plates, and dug in!
I’m telling you what, this may have been a stressful day, but by the end of this dinner we were both more relaxed, laughing and carrying on as per normal.  That’s the magic of the lemon-basil pasta, friends.  (And maybe the glass of wine.)  It’s a curative remedy for whatever ails you!

:)

Sunday Cook-In: “Pepperoni” Pizza With Salad.

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Instead of my usual grilled mini-pizzas, tonight I wanted to try to bake a full-sized pie over the coals, but Ma Nature gave us a head-fake.  As soon as the dough had finished rising, here came the rain, little drizzles and showers sprinkling down in the back yard.
I gave it a few minutes to sort itself out.  No dice.  So after much deliberation, LeeLee and I decided to simply bake the pizza in the oven.  And AS SOON AS I PUT THE PAN IN THE OVEN, the sky cleared and the sun came out.
Oh, Ma Nature.  You can be so fickle.
On the plus side, the pizza was great – we used the dough recipe I’ve blogged about before, and topped it with sauce, whole basil and Cuban oregano leaves, mozzarella cheese, veggie pepperoni, and chopped bell pepper.  We paired it with a side salad teeming with great veggies, including a cucumber from last week’s Great Country Farms box, and in tandem they made a great meal!
So maybe we didn’t have the cookout of our dreams, and maybe I didn’t get a chance to give my new grilled-pizza concept a try.  Oh, well.  The end result was great!

:)

Vegetarian Chik’n Posole.

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Looking back, it probably wasn’t the wisest menu plan to add this dinner into the weekly lineup as a heat wave barreled through.  But that’s OK!  We both adore chik’n posole, no matter the season.
This soup is hot from a temperature standpoint, sure, but it’s also incredibly spicy – both LeeLee and I felt like we’d been working out in the yard for an hour by the time dinner was over!  It’s amazing what one can of Rotel will do to jazz up a dish.  We used to make posole with hand-cut tomatoes and jalapeno, but the Rotel is much quicker and, I’ve gotta say, often more flavorful.  And, tonight at least, certainly more spicy!
The posole itself was as easy as ever to make.  Simply heat chik’n strips, Rotel, hominy, broth, garlic powder, onion powder, and a dash of pepper to boiling and cook until heated through and tender!  To make it look more complicated, tonight I cooked everything in my French oven – it just brings an air of class to the occasion, you know?
Alongside the posole, I heated up two slices of garlic bread – perfect for dipping.  Paired with a nice cooling glass of Moscato, this dinner couldn’t be beat!

:)

Vegetarian “Beef” With Broccoli.

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Another night, another CSA vegetable taken care of!
Tonight, I took a page out of Diana Kuan’s The Chinese Takeout Cookbook (not literally, of course – c’mon, this is a library book!) and whipped up a batch of “beef” with broccoli.  Of course, Ms. Kuan uses the real thing, but being a vegetarian household, we were only too pleased to substitute Gardein’s “beef” tips in its stead.  The broccoli, as you might have guessed, arrived via last week’s CSA box from Great Country Farms, and I was only too happy to put it to work!
I won’t give away the whole recipe here – Ms. Kuan has a book to sell! – but I will say that I used the florets from two heads of broccoli, plus a good amount of the stalks, and gave them a three-minute head start in the pan before adding the beef tips in.  I’d set the rice and spring rolls on to cook (and bake, respectively) prior to getting the pan heated up, and by the time the broccoli, beef, and sauce mixture was ready, the rest of the meal was too!
I tell you what, I don’t think there’s a single recipe I’ve tried out of this cookbook that I’ve even so much as disliked.  Every one of them has been fantastic!  And this one was no exception.  We loved the beef and broccoli, and the sauce was wonderfully “meaty” in taste (primarily because of the soy sauce and broth blend).  Served over rice, it was a complete meal that filled us both up but didn’t leave us overstuffed.  And we paired the main course with a side of two spring rolls apiece – a perfect combination!

:)

Pasta Primavera With Foccacia.

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I don’t know whether I’ve mentioned this in, oh, a day or so, but: We’ve got a lot of squash to work our way through at the moment.
Thank heaven for pasta primavera – that forgiving dinner that allows you to throw in whatever vegetables you have on hand and make a great meal out of it all!  I like to use the sauce recipe that I found eons ago over at $5 Dinners, and it’s never let me down.  Tonight, instead of red wine vinegar I used balsamic, and the sauce was no worse for wear.  You really can’t do anything to hurt it!
For some protein, tonight I baked up a batch of Sophie’s Kitchen’s breaded vegan shrimp, and by the time the pasta was ready, so were the shrimp!  Then all that was left was to whip up the sauce and add in a plethora of veggies.  On tonight’s docket: Two yellow squash (why skimp? We have so many of them!) and plenty of green beans, both products of Great Country Farms, as well as a container of grape tomatoes.  I let everything soften up a bit for 5 minutes or so before adding in the cooked shrimp and, finally, the pasta, stirring everything around to combine it.
The ease of this sauce always tickles me.  What starts out as a couple pats of butter and a couple spoonfuls of flour, mixed with some almond milk, becomes this creamy sauce that tastes so rich!  I love how deceptively simple it is to make – and to consume, I might add.
On the side for tonight’s meal, I heated up the remainder of a loaf of focaccia we bought on Saturday at the farmers’ market, courtesy of Maribeth’s Bakery (one of our favorite local bakeries!).  I just sliced it into two (large) slices, wrapped the focaccia in foil, and baked it at 350 as the vegetables cooked.  By the time the main course was ready, the focaccia was warm and the cherry tomatoes embedded within it were bubbly.  Perfect!
I don’t mind telling you that we ate with gusto – the vegetables were soft, yet still had a bit of bite, and the primavera sauce was wonderfully creamy and flavorful, with hints of garlic and balsamic.  The vegan shrimp brought some gravitas to the dish and gave us a boost of protein to boot.  And the focaccia could’ve been the star of the show, it was so well-received!
I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of pasta primavera for this summertime’s bounty!  But I can’t complain a bit.

:)

“Beef” and Squash Tacos With Yellow Rice.

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Well, friends, the time has come around again: We are in the middle of a Squash Boom.
I can’t say I’m too upset with this turn of events; I happen to like summer squash very much, and I look forward to seeing the varieties I’m going to receive weekly in my CSA box from Great Country Farms.  But still, after a week or two, serving plain old squash just isn’t going to cut it.  We’ve got to get more creative.
Tonight: Vegetarian “beef” and squash tacos!
This is actually an excellent pairing if you ask me.  The squash fills out the, well, taco filling very nicely and is an excellent complement to the burger crumbles.  I coated a skillet with nonstick cooking spray and threw one diced yellow squash in to cook for a few minutes.  Once it was slightly soft, I added a bag of Morningstar Farms burger crumbles and sprinkled in a generous helping of adobo seasoning for taste.  As the “beef” mixture cooked, I heated up the taco shells, which I’ve had in the freezer for a couple of months (try it – they keep beautifully!).  Unfortunately, the shells had clearly had a fall from grace – or at least a fall from the freezer shelf – once or twice, and as a result they were taco slices rather than whole shells.  That’s OK, though; we just made a salad out of the meal, using the shells as the base!
Soon, the rice was ready, and so was the beef-and-squash mixture.  The tacos had heated up nicely, so we put everything together!  First, we had our layer of taco shells, then a layer of rice, then the beef-and-squash mixture, then lettuce, tomato, sliced black olives, Daiya pepperjack shreds, sour cream, hot sauce – the works.  You could certainly add or subtract toppings based on your taste!
And the final result was magnificent!  LeeLee and I both loved how the squash and burger crumbles played off of one another, giving a complexity to both ingredients that neither one would have had by themselves.  The squash was tender yet firm, the beef teeming with the garlicky adobo seasoning – there wasn’t much left over, I can assure you!
I haven’t done much experimenting with the idea of squash in Mexican recipes,  but you can rest assured that after tonight’s results, I’m just getting warmed up!

:)

Vegetarian “Steak” With Mashed Broccoli and Potatoes and Beets.

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Tonight’s dinner was a CSA-inspired meal if I’ve ever seen one!
Our protein, the Gardein “beef” tips, didn’t come from Great Country Farms, but very nearly everything else did.  First, I prepared the beets, lovely little ruby beauties that came to us in last week’s CSA box, by roasting them in foil at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.  As they roasted, I prepared the (CSA) potatoes, halfway peeling them and placing them in a large pot of soon-to-be-boiling water.  Then I added the (CSA) broccoli florets, roughly chopping them before placing them in with the spuds.
When the beets came out, 45 minutes later, I heated up the beef tips as I let the beets cool and then rubbed their skins off with a paper towel.  Then I sliced them, placed them in a serving bowl, and topped them with salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, and goat cheese.
I put the beets on the table and turned my attention to the potatoes!  I used my handy potato masher to mash everything up after draining the boiling water from the pot, then added some butter, sour cream, almond milk, dill, and parsley.  I mashed everything up until it had developed a chunky consistency and then flicked the beef’s burner to Off.  Just like that, it was time to eat!
Now, THIS was a hearty meal.  LeeLee and I both love “steak” and potatoes – I’ve mentioned this plenty, I know – and tonight was no different.  Also, over the last couple of years I’ve worked hard to get over my aversion to beets, and with the help of balsamic and goat cheese, I’m certainly getting there!  Tonight we divided the serving bowl even-Steven and there wasn’t a single morsel left when it came time to do the dishes.  Good thing, too, because we’re expecting more beets in this week’s farm box!  I’m going to attempt another serving style for those; stay tuned!
Anyway, this was a wonderfully meaty meal for a Tuesday night – and now my crisper is almost ready for this week’s new shipment of vegetables.  It’s a never-ending cycle – but it’s a tasty one!

:)

Sunday Picnic: Falafel Pitas With Salad.

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So, this isn’t our usual Sunday Cookout, for a couple of reasons:
  1. We cooked out last night with friends before the Alexandria fireworks display (and, as per usual, I was so busy chatting and carrying on that I neglected to take the first photo of our meal).
  2. We were supposed to go out for a picnic in the park tonight – starring falafel pitas!

Well, No. 1 occurred flawlessly, and we had a delightful time as ever.  Notice, however, that in that second bullet point I said we were supposed to go to the park.  That changed this morning, when we realized that our Sunday schedule, much of which became work-related for LeeLee, had gotten a little jam-packed.
But not to worry!  Our picnic fare didn’t go to waste; we decided to simply picnic at home tonight instead!
I pulled out a falafel recipe I’ve had years and years and got to work. I can’t even remember where I got the recipe in the first place – in my big homemade cookbook of all types of printed-out recipes, it’s just copied into an email that I sent to myself in – get this – July 2003.  And let me tell you, from Day One it has been a winner!
Basically, all you do is this: Add two (drained) cans of garbanzo beans to a food processor, and top them with parsley, scallions, turmeric, ground cumin, garlic powder, salt, and a dash of cayenne.  Then pour a quarter-cup of water on top of the mixture and add the juice of one lemon.  Then process the heck out of everything until it’s smooth!  Then add a third of a cup of flour, stir it in well, and you’re ready to cook.
The thing I like most about this recipe – other than its ease of use – is that it calls for baking the falafel rather than frying, and in this day and age, I need every calorie-counting trick I can get!  So just simply spoon the falafel mixture out into little patties onto a baking sheet and bake them for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.  They’ll be perfectly crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside by the time they’re done – just how you want falafel to taste!
We tucked our falafel into halved pita bread, adding lettuce, cucumber, and a pinch of feta cheese to round out the sandwich.  Then I put together two side salads (one for each of us, y’know) with basic ingredients – lettuce, cherry tomatoes, black olives, croutons, cucumbers, and the like.  I couldn’t resist adding some potato chips to our plates just for a real picnic feel!
The final result was wonderful.  The falafel was fresh and flavorful, and the salad was a great accompaniment.  The halved pitas were just enough – they didn’t overstuff us, but they didn’t leave us hungry.  And we have quite a few falafel patties left for tomorrow’s lunch, which makes me quite happy!
So it may not have been the picnic in the park we’d planned, but it sure turned out well anyway.  I’ll take it!
:)

Get Out of the Kitchen: Goodwill.

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Friends, I’m going to let you in on a little secret.  You know when you’re walking around a store, and they come on the intercom and say, “Attention, Goodwill shoppers”?  They’re talking about LeeLee and me.  Well, at least sometimes, in part.
Often, after we drive through the donation station at our local Goodwill, we pop into the store itself and take a look around.  And even on the days when we don’t bring any products home, we’re suitably entertained, that’s for sure!  First of all, it’s amazing what some people will donate (and, obviously, what other people – including ourselves – will buy).  It’s also quite a study in trend bubbles that have burst – think the George Foreman grill, bread machines, quesadilla makers, and more.  (For the record: We are the proud owners of all three of those products.  And we use them!)
But perusing the Goodwill merchandise isn’t just a sociological study for us.  No, I can safely say that we’ve picked up pint glasses, dishware, picture frames, an Army jacket (for me), and even a Jos. A. Bank suit (with the tags still on) at the store!  And that’s only the tip of the iceberg.  What’s more, our purchases are made at a fraction of the original cost of the items.  (LeeLee’s suit, for instance, ran us a grand total of $35.)
Now, don’t get me wrong; we buy a lot of our items new, and some items (shoes, etc.) I can’t wrap my mind around buying at Goodwill, though I know they’re perfectly fine.  But Goodwill is a great place to go to fill in the gaps, and/or look for unbelievable deals!  The trick is to go in with an open mind – they may have 50 glassware sets, they may have none – and a willingness to check back frequently.  LeeLee and I find ourselves in our local Goodwill about once a month, and we almost always stumble upon a good deal.
And if you don’t get what you’re looking for the first, second, or third time, that’s OK – the browsing is a treasure hunt all on its own!

:)

Vegan “Shrimp” Sandwiches, Kousherie, and Peas.

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I apologize for posting last night’s meal so late (that is, a day later — ahem!).  Can I let you in on a little secret?  Yesterday was my birthday, so I spent the day as a lady of leisure — volunteering, swimming, chatting on the phone with old friends.  As a result, I was feeling SO leisurely that I didn’t even fool with writing a blog post!  I was thinking of you, though, as I cooked, and felt you might like the menu.  So here it is!

Since it was my birthday, I decided to tackle a few of my favorite foods, beginning with a vegetarian version of the shrimp sandwich I used to love at this restaurant named Harry’s, down on the Gulf Coast in a little town called Carrabelle.  I used the breaded vegan shrimp from Sophie’s Kitchen, and it turned out just beautifully!  I was going to get fancy and mix up an Old Bay Aioli, but I neglected to remember that I had no Old Bay in the house.  (I hope this memory lapse isn’t a sign of old age!)  So once the shrimp was baked and the buns were toasted, we simply topped our sandwiches with some Vegenaise and lettuce and called it a day.  The end result was just like I remembered from Harry’s!  We piled our sandwiches high with shrimp, so there was protein in every bite, and the lettuce gave us a little crunch.  (And I’ll try the Old Bay aioli another time.)
Alongside the sandwiches, I whipped up a big batch of kousherie, with a few modifications from the recipe I’ve just linked to — we used macaroni instead of spaghetti, for instance, and I boiled the lentils along with the pasta.  Also, instead of making a big pot of rice, I simply warmed up two packets of Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice and added them to the mixture before serving!
The peas were a wonderful addition to our plates; English peas are some of my very favorite veggies, and we mowed down the whole pot.  Plus, they added some much-needed greenery to our surf-and-carb meal!
We paired our dinner with a bottle of Flying Dog Dead Rise, a beer brewed with — what else? — Old Bay.  Don’t recoil in horror; it’s actually a very subtle seasoning in this brew, and we love the end result.  It was a fitting way to toast a wonderful day!
:)