Wordless Wednesday

Mo Veg

It's been a goal of mine to increase my intake of vegetables.
I'm not a true vegetarian, as I eat fish occasionally,
but the bulk of my diet is plant-based.
Here are some quick and simple ways to increase
your daily dose of the good stuff.

One of the easiest ways to enjoy veg

(especially in the winter),

 is to cut them into pieces and roast them.

Here is a combination of onions, carrots, zucchini and sweet potatoes,

liberally coated with olive oil, salt and Italian herbs.

The parchment-lined sheet pan goes into a 375 degree oven

for 20 minutes, then gets turned and cooked for another 10-20 minutes.

The finished product can be added to stews, soups,

or savored as a side dish with any meal.

You'd be amazed at how sweet they taste!

I roasted a half of a red cabbage this same way,
and it was so delicious!
(Any combination of veg can be substituted.)
 
The other half was simply sliced to add to salads.
That crunch is so satisfying,
 and better for you than croutons! 

Using a food processor takes the effort out of shredding veggies.
In just a few seconds, I had more than enough carrots and zucchini shredded
to add to my morning glory muffin recipe.

The rest was dressed simply with homemade honey mustard dressing
and eaten as a side salad with lunch or supper.

Kale is one of my absolute favorite things to eat.
Up until a few years ago, I had never tried it.
It's a regular staple in my daily salads now.
Another way to enjoy this tasty green is to make chips.
I have to admit, I haven't been too successful at this yet,
my chips never seem to get as crisp as I'd like.
It doesn't stop me from eating what comes out of the oven though!



I do often make steak fries out of white potatoes,
and sweet potato fries, both baked instead of fried.
Who can resist a yummy tater?



Acorn squash is another wintertime selection.
It's easy enough just to roast it in the oven with 
some olive oil, salt, cinnamon and a sprinkling of honey or maple syrup.
I have a hard time not eating the whole bowl.




And nothing beats a hot bowl of homemade soup
on a cold or rainy day.
It's as simple as throwing a bunch of chunked veggies
and some select spices into your crockpot with water or broth
and letting it cook on low for 6-8 hours.
By suppertime, you've got a savory and healthy meal. 

Feel free to check out all of the veggie recipes,
which can be found under the header.
We have "allergy-friendly" for those who have limited diets,
and "scratch recipes", including a sampling of vegetarian and vegan options.

Make some extra veggies this weekend
and see what happens!
 

Stuffed Peppers (Vegan)

This is an allergy-friendly meal,

as it contains no gluten, dairy, eggs or nuts.

It's also vegetarian and vegan.

One thing it's not lacking is flavor.

Even Big K sampled it!

A friend told me she made stuffed peppers for her hubby

and when I saw these beautiful peppers on sale,

I knew I wanted to make my own version.

I hollowed out the peppers and chopped up the tops,

 and diced about 1/4 of a yellow onion.

I also added a couple of stalks of chopped celery.

There was some leftover rice from another meal

and I always have beans made ahead and stored in the freezer.

The pinto beans take the place of meat, since I don't eat beef or poultry.

A few simple spices add just the right seasoning.

Here I used chili powder, cumin and sea salt,

but the herbs can be mixed and matched every time this dish is made.

 The veg was sauteed in a bit of olive oil until softened,

 and the spices were added.

 All of the ingredients were combined,

adding a little more olive oil to bind them together.

Before adding the filling, 

the insides of the peppers were salted.

They were then stuffed and baked in the oven 

about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Enjoy!

Homemade Red Pepper Flakes

This summer we grew jalapeno peppers

from starts we bought from friends at the farmers' market.

As we don't use many peppers in our food,

I knew that these were destined for something else.

After reading how to easily make red pepper flakes

on the Old World Gardens blog, 

I decided to give it a go.

The peppers were picked, washed

and the ends were trimmed.

 They were then placed (as is) on a cookie sheet 

lined with parchment paper.

I've read that it's important to line the surface

so that the heat doesn't get imbedded into the pan.

I use parchment for most of my oven-based cooking,

so we always have it around.

The peppers were left in the oven most of the day

(at least 7 hours) at 170 degrees.

This dries them out slowly.

If you have a dehydrator, that would work too.

 The food processor does a great job of pulverizing the peppers.

The jar is kept right next to the stove top.

One of my favorite dishes in which to use these 

is my mom's homemade gravy (tomato sauce).

It was one of the first recipes I shared here on the blog.

You can find that recipe here.

I'm so glad I tried this 

and I will be sure to grow more peppers next summer

so that I can make enough to share!

Easy Kale Beanburgers

Every once in a while, I make beanburgers.
Since I don't eat meat, they're a great substitute for when the boys 
are enjoying their turkey burgers.
My farmer friends, Faye & Lynn have been supplying me with an abundance of kale,
as well as harvesting it from our own veggie garden.
I've been working on incorporating it into more savory dishes,
while also relishing it in my daily lunchtime salads.
This veggie burger recipe was easily assembled
with simple ingredients that we had on hand.
It's a keeper.

Half of an onion was diced.

You could use any type of onion, leek or shallot.

A 15 ounce can of cannellini beans was rinsed, drained, 

then added to the onion.
You could replace these with pinto, garbanzo, black beans or lentils.

The beans were mashed with a fork.

You could use a food processor or a potato masher.

Some spices were introduced.

I added cumin, chili powder, salt, garlic powder and a touch of cayenne.

Rice was used as a binder.

We had leftover rice from "Taco Tuesday",

so this enabled us to use up the remainder of the rice.

You could use brown rice, quinoa, or even oatmeal

if you want to keep it gluten-free.

Two eggs were used to add richness and help bind the mixture.

To keep this vegan, you could use the flax seed trick,

or use a vegan mayonnaise instead.

We added a bit of cornmeal for texture 

and formed the concoction into patties.

Pan-fry on each side for about 4 minutes in a little olive oil,

and you'll be chowing down some mighty good grub.

To half of the burgers, I added some chopped kale.

Mix together just until combined,

and pan-fry those babies up.
For a low-carb alternative to a bun,
I used a leaf of Tokyo Bekana to wrap it up.
A dab of mayo and ketchup added made it absolutely scrumptious.

I hope you'll give this easy recipe a go.
It's a quick and simple way to add
tons of nutrition to your diet.

"Hunger is a good cook."
-Proverb

One Simple Thing-Cast Iron Cleaning

Cast iron has been around for centuries.
It's one of the longest lasting type of cooking utensils.
This workhorse can cook everything (literally) from soup to nuts.
I am blessed to have my mom's iron skillet
and it is cherished, especially now that she's gone.
I can remember her making omelets and all kinds of roasted veggies in it.
In fact, it rarely got a day off.
The bonus with using cast iron, is that some of the iron leaches into the food,
so if you have difficulty keeping your iron stores up, (like I do),
this is a great way to add iron to your diet without having to take pills.

Before you begin your seasoning it's okay to wash it with soap and water.
I use a repurposed nylon mesh bag to scrub it well.
After this initial cleaning, you shouldn't use soap on your pan again.

After allowing the pan to dry well,
lather it with olive oil or your favorite animal fat.

Make sure you coat the outside and the handle as well.

Place it in a 350 degree oven for at least an hour. 
You'll notice the shiny patina when it comes out.
This ensures a nonstick surface .

  Once seasoned, coarse salt can be used to scrub
any stubborn remnants in the pan after cooking in it.
Usually hot water and a swipe with a paper towel is enough to do the trick.
You can season as often as you wish,
but the patina should last a good long time
as long as soap isn't used on it.
Cast iron skillets are one of the easiest things to find
in thrift stores and yard sales.
With just a little bit of time and patience,
you can acquire pans that will last your lifetime
without spending much money.

Here are a couple of yummy recipes we've featured using cast iron:

Crispy Catfish
Ghee

For more tips on cast iron care, read this.

Thrifty Thursday-Got Pyrex?

Do you love vintage?  Are you all about the retro look?
Have a thing for old kitchen tools?
I recently read an article in

From Scratch Magazine

about this wonderful website called Pyrex Love.

It's always a thrill for me to find old Pyrex containers
at the thrift store.  This glassware, which is made in the USA,
is heavy-duty and long lasting.
In fact, it's still going strong after generations have handed it down.
Things just aren't made the way they used to be
and I enjoy collecting these quality and functional pieces.

Here's a snippet from their fascinating site:

"We’ve tried to provide an online community for glassware collectors 
who are interested primarily in Vintage Pyrex. 
We post about our own Pyrex finds as well other pieces 
that readers have come across. We have a Pyrex reference guide 
 in which we try to list the different patterns and pieces 
you might come across. We are expanding that section 
as time permits and are also working on a FAQ."

 

It's good to know that as my collection grows,
there is a place I can go to learn about the history
of the pieces I purchase.

Want to learn more?  
Have fun browsing  here.