Egg-less Frittatas

 This recipe has many ingredients, but it’s easy to assemble and TASTY!!!!

I took them as an addition to a non-vegetarian party and they were all gone in about 10 minutes… my best friend and her mom almost did not get a chance to try them.  If non-vegetarians were devouring them at a Christmas party, image how good they taste.

EGG-LESS FRITTATAS

1 package of firm silken tofu, drained of water

1/2 cup of soy milk

4 tablespoons of cornstarch

2 oz goat cheese - I used half of a small log

1/2 cup sour cream

squirt of Dijon mustard – about 1 teaspoon

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1 cup of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained of as much water as possible

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, without sulphur dioxide

1/2 cup of chopped grape tomatoes

4 green onion stalks, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped

1/4 teaspoon garlic and herb seasoning

Salt and Pepper to taste

Canola oil spray

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. 
2. Place the first 7 ingredients in a blender.  Process until completely smooth and silky.
3. Place tofu mixture in a large bowl and add the spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, grape tomatoes, garlic, parsley, seasoning, green onions, salt and pepper.
4. Lightly spray 2 muffin tins with canola oil spray.  Spoon mixture into muffin pans using a 1/4 cup measure.
5. Bake in oven for about 30 minutes until they’re set and a bit golden on top.  Check that a knife or wooden skewer comes out cleanly before removing from oven.
6. When they’re done, remove from oven and let cool for about 20 minutes.  When they’re cooler, they’ll come out from the pan neater and nicer.

They’re light…  you can serve them as a party appetizer, you can also serve them as a nice brunch entree with a nice green salad.  I guess you could also bake it in a baking dish and cut it into pieces instead of doing individual servings… I just have not tried it like that yet… so I am not sure if we’ll need to make adjustments to to baking time.

This recipe yielded me 20 individual fritattas.

  

 ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 This is my last post of the year.  I will take a few days off from cooking and blogging.  This has been a wonderful few months… I promise to come back in the new year with new added inspiration to cook and share with you all.

May the New Year 2008 bring only the best…  until then.

Madelyn.

Pesto 101

This is my recipe for pesto… my mom loves pesto and every time I have too much basil that might go bad, I do a batch.  It’s great on it’s own with pasta, as a condiment, as an ingredient for a salad dressing or to add to a recipe where you would like some fresh basil flavor.

 

PESTO

2 tablespoons pine nuts or almonds

3 garlic cloves

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 cups basil leaves, strip away the stems

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Mix  everything in a food processor. 
2. Add more olive oil if the mixture seems a bit dry.

Store in a jar in the fridge or you can freeze it in an ice tray for individual servings .

Sofrito 101

Sofrito is the foundation of many Latin dishes… it’s a mixture of garlic, peppers and onions.  Very similar to the “trinity” from the South, where the foundation of many dishes is garlic, carrots and celery or even carrots, onions and celery…  I guess every culture has their own combination… this is ours.

 

SOFRITO

1 head of garlic

2 large onions

4 cubanelle peppers – we call them around here cooking peppers or “pimientos de cocinar”

1. Chop everything in a food processor.
2. Store in the refrigerator.  It will keep for a long time… you can even freeze it if you feel it’s too much amount to use in a few months time.

 I use this as a foundation for many dishes…  to start off any stewed dish, to give added flavor to a rice, to season a white “bechamel-type” sauce… you name it.  I wanted to share this basic recipe, because you’ll start to see it as an ingredient in many upcoming recipes. And, instead of having to chop onions, peppers and garlic  every time, sometimes you can shortcut by adding a few tablespoons of sofrito.

Carob Granola

This is a take on Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate and Peanut Granola.  I gave the recipe to my mom this year and she gave them away as presents to her friends at the yoga center.  She wanted to make something that was good, but easy to do as well.

It turned out really good. And because she does not eat chocolate anymore, she added carob powder instead of the cocoa powder.

 

CAROB GRANOLA

1/4 cup carob powder
4 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup sunflower seeds, shelled
3/4 cup sesame seeds
3/4 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 cups raw peanuts or raw almonds
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons canola oil

1. Preheat oven to 310 degrees F.

2. Mix everything together very well in a large mixing bowl.
3. Spread the mixture evenly in 2 baking pans and bake for about 1 hour, turning over half-way through baking. Allow to cool and store in an airtight container.

Strawberry Kanten

This is a recipe I learned from Diane Carlson while at a cooking retreat called the Conscious Gourmet back in April of this year.  I made some wonderful friends and learned some awesome recipes, this being one of them.  Among the wonderful friends, my friend Kathleen from Kathleen’s Vegetarian Kitchen.

 I learned this is called KANTEN because that’s another name of the agar-agar in the recipe. It’s an easy recipe, but you need time to make it… you’ll see why…

 

 STRAWBERRY KANTEN

4 cups apple juice – Knudsen’s organic brand is highly recommended

1/4 cup agar flakes

1 tablespoon roasted almond butter

dash of lemon juice

pinch of sea salt

2 cups strawberries

1 tablespoons maple syrup or to taste

1. Place apple juice and agar flakes in a medium saucepan.  Set aside for 15 minutes so the agar flakes start to dissolve a bit in the juice.  Bring liquid to a boil, lower heat and gently simmer for 5 minutes or until agar is completely dissolved.
2. Pour the hot kanten into a metal bowl or metal baking dish and place in freezer until very firmly set.
3. Slice 1/2 cup of strawberries for garnish.  Puree the remaining strawberries in a blender with maple syrup and salt.  Strain the strawberries through a fine sieve to remove as many seeds as possible.
4. When the kanten is fully solidified, break it up into a food processor.  Add the almond butter, lemon juice and salt and puree until smooth. Layer kanten and strawberry sauce in parfait glasses.  Garnish with remaining strawberries.

It’s important to use the metal bowl to help the kanten solidify faster.  Depending on how cold your freezer is, this part will take at least 2 hours.

 The color of the apple juice you use will definitely affect the color of your kanten.  The Conscious Gourmet version was made with Knudsen’s apple juice.  The version I did on  my own was made with Mott’s Natural apple juice, therefore, this latter version was beiger, while the Knudsen version is pinkier.

 

Garlic Parsley Breadsticks

This is a great appetizer or accompaniment to any Italian dinner. 

 

GARLIC PARSLEY BREADSTICKS

1/2 package of refrigerated whole-wheat bread-stick dough mix

1/4 cup of parsley, finely chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix in a small bowl the parsley, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil.
2. Let it sit on top of the counter to marinate for about 20 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
4. Take the bread-sticks dough and spread the garlic parsley mixture on one side.
5. 
6. Twist the individual bread-sticks and place next to each other in a baking sheet.
7. 
8. Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until the bread-sticks are golden brown.
9. Serve warm.

You can definitely use this same garlic parsley mixture to make regular garlic bread… just spread it on a cut baguette and bake in the oven until crunchy.

My apologies… the bread-sticks smelled so good, I forgot to take a photo of them.

Super Easily Dressed Green Salad

This is my go-to dressing…

It’s sooooo simple, people usually don’t believe it only has 4 ingredients.  And the only thing you’ll dirty is your hands to toss it together with the salad.

This works with ANY green salad – romaine, arugula, iceberg, baby spinach or a spring mix. I added this time grape tomatoes, but it’s your salad, you can add whatever you’d like.  I’m just showing you the dressing…

 

SUPER EASILY DRESSED GREEN SALAD

1/2 bag of spring mix salad

6-7 grape tomatoes

the juice of 1/2 a lemon

about 1/4 cup of olive oil – use the best stuff you have around here

salt and pepper to taste

1. Place salad greens and tomatoes in a salad bowl.
2. Squeeze the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper on top of salad.
3. Toss gently with your hands to dress.

Serve immediately.

Baked Pasta with 4 Cheeses

This is my FAVORITE pasta dish of all time!!!!!!

 I did it last night as a Birthday present dinner for my friend Walter, who traveled with me to Spain this past Summer.  And whom I am trying to convince to apply with me to be in The Amazing Race.

If I have to ask for a Last Meal, this will be the dish I would request.  This is an adaptation from a Martha Stewart recipe, which is actually a recipe from a Providence, Rhode Island restaurant called Al Forno.  I’ve never been to Providence, but if I get to go, Al Forno is the only restuarant I need to go.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do…

 

BAKED PASTA WITH 4 CHEESES

1/2 pound whole-wheat pasta – shells, penne or rigatoni would all work well

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese – I sometimes use a pre-shredded cheese blend from the store

1/2 cup  freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, divided in half – half for mixture, half for topping

1/4 cup freshly grated Fontina cheese

2 tablespoons ricotta cheese

1/2 cup pureed tomatoes

10 fresh basil leaves, torn with your hands

1/4 teaspoon salt

a few grinds of freshly cracked pepper

1. Heat oven to 500 degrees. 
2. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook until al dente.
3. 
4. While pasta cooks, place cream, cheeses, pureed tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil in a large bowl.
5. 
6. Drain pasta and toss together with cheese mixture in bowl.
7. Pour into a medium-sized baking dish.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup remaining Pecorino Romano on top.
8. Bake until bubbly and brown on top for about 15 minutes.
9. Turn off oven and leave in there for a few minutes for the sauce to set a bit.
10. Serve immediately afterwards while still hot.

• It’s important to watch out the measurements of the cheeses.  The right amount will melt beautifully and create the most wonderful sauce.  When I started to eye-ball the amounts, sometimes the results were not as I expected. 

• I make this recipe right in my toaster oven…    

• And the recipe doesn’t reheat very well.  It will still be tasty, but the sauce becomes a bit oily…  just so you know.  This is one of those recipes to make and eat in the moment.  Every time I do it for company, people can’t believe that came out of a home kitchen.  It’s unbelievable!!!

I served this last night with my Cinammon Vanilla Plantains and my Super Easily Dressed Green Salad.  Oh, and I also did my Garlic Parsley Breadsticks.

Buen Provecho.

Natural Cold Remedy

I no longer take chemical medications when I get a cold.  I try to eat well, take a natural vitamin supplement, etc.

But still, I get the occasional cold, just like I have right now.  My mom taught me about this concoction to help the system get rid of the “stuff” congesting inside of you…rather than drying it up all inside.

It’s super easy and tastes better than any Robitussin around.

 

NATURAL COLD REMEDY

1/2 cup honey

the inside clear gel of an aloe vera leaf

the juice of 2 limes

1. Mix all the ingredients in a blender. 
2. Drink about a 2 tablespoon measure every hour or so…  It’s super good, so you can drink it as often as you want.

If you have a cough, add in a 1/4 of a small onion to the mixture and blend. 

Feel better – I am feeling better myself…

Sangría

When I host parties, I try to offer a variety of refreshments for people to choose. My Sangría is always the hit of the party… I even stopped buying other stuff because this is what people drink the whole night.

I do not drink alcohol much now that I am vegetarian, so I will give you the basic recipe and you can adapt it to your preference either using real wine or a non-alcoholic wine, such as Welch’s or Martinelli’s Sparkling Apple Cider.

SANGRIA

1 bottle of red wine or Welch’s Sparkling Grape Wine
1/2 bottle of Lime flavored Perrier
3 cups orange juice, freshly squeezed preferably, but Tropicana works fine
the juice of 3 limes
1 Granny Smith apple – cored and sliced
1 Valencia orange – sliced
1 lime – sliced
ice cubes

1. In a large pitcher throw in the fruit slices.
2. Mix in the wine, sparkling water, orange juice and lime juice. Add ice.

Salud!!!