Happy New Year! Traditional Southern New Year's Dinner, Vegetarian Style

It is supposed to mean good luck and prosperity for the year. The southern tradition of greens and black eyed peas. let's try and make it a little healthier for you. These recipes are adapted from several authors and made vegetarian by emaxhealth.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hoppin’ John
½ pound dry Blackeye peas
4 cups water
¼ pound vegetarian Italian “sausage”
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
½ cup green pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 packet Sazon Goya seasoning
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon ground pepper
Hot pepper sauce to taste
3 cups water
1 cup long-grain rice (can use brown rice for more fiber)
Sort and wash beans. In a 6 to 8 quart pot, soak beans in 4 cups water. Do not drain. Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook sausage with olive oil until heated through. Add onion, pepper, and celery; cook until tender. Add mixture to beans in pot. Stir in remaining ingredients except for the rice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until beans are tender. Add more hot water if necessary. Beans should have about 2 cups of liquid when they are tender. Stir in rice and simmer covered 20 to 25 minutes or until rice is tender. Serves 4 to 6.
Recipe adapted from Goya Foods Inc.
Heart Smart Collard Greens
1 pound fresh collard greens, chopped
14 ounces vegetable broth
1 ½ cups water
3 tablespoons Extra Virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon sugar
Bring broth, water, olive oil, salt, and pepper to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add the greens and sugar; bring to a boil again. Cover pot and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes or until desired tenderness.
Recipe adapted from Nature’s Greens, a product of Walter P Rawl & Sons.
Vegan Cornbread
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup sifted flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
4 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 tablespoons turbinado sugar, (Sugar in the Raw brand)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 to 1 1/4 cup plain low-fat soy milk or rice milk
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the canola oil in a 10- or 12-inch cast-iron skillet and heat the skillet in the oven until the oil is hot (about 10 minutes). Remove from the oven and swirl around so that the oil coats the skillet bottom and sides; set aside. Or while the oil is heating, you can work really fast to mix the corn bread before the oil starts to smoke or gets too hot.
Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large measuring cup or bowl. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the applesauce and milk (if using rice milk, start with 1 cup). Use a fine-mesh strainer to sift the dry ingredients into the wet mix. Carefully add the heated oil from the skillet; the mixture will bubble a bit. Mix well.
Pour the warm batter into the hot, oiled skillet and bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cut into wedges and serve warm. Makes 8 servings.
Recipe from Levita Mondie-Sapp, printed in the Washington Post 10/10/2007


Traditional Southern New Year's Dinner, Vegetarian Style

Food & Dining: Freezer Guide

If you are ever wondering how to wrap that chicken breast or if you can freeze eggs, take a look at this handy guide from the Washington Post's food section.


Food & Dining: Freezer Guide (washingtonpost.com)

Manhandled Meat. Uhmmm..Get Your Minds Out of the Gutter. It's a Recall

Another beef recall. Make sure and check what you have at home.
National Steak and Poultry began a voluntary recall of 248,000 pounds of beef products marketed under its name as well as under names that include Carino's Boneless Beef and Moe's Beef Steak.

A consumer hotline at the company carries a recorded message noting "this is the first recall in our company's nearly 30-year history."

Oklahoma Company Recalls Beef in 6 States - Sphere News

Safety of food at airports spotty - USATODAY.com

Who can say this is a big surprise? Make sure you carry a thermometer with you to check the temperature of the sandwich you buy at the airport.

Safety of food at airports spotty - USATODAY.com

Chocolate Wars Heat Up As Cadbury Faces Takeover Bid From Hershey

It is always wonderful to see the rally when trying to save a life. Here's to Cadbury.

Contained in the article by Caitlyn Kelly:

Kraft’s bid for Cadbury has got Britons’ knickers in a twist. It’s as though someone from their side of the pond had decided to re-make KFC or New York bagels or whatever beloved, all-American food icon works best for you. Chocolate, for many Britons, is one of the major food groups. Read the rest of battle here.

Lake Clifton greenhouse project harvests 1st crops -- baltimoresun.com

This story should inspire us all. We always want to grow this and grow that.  It is beneficial to your health overall, not to mention the Zen feeling you get from gardening.

Lake Clifton greenhouse project harvests 1st crops -- baltimoresun.com

Secret Tamale Stash

If you share this with my husband, it's curtains for you. When I was first married, I couldn't wait for my husband to leave for work so I could listen for the tamale lady pushing her cart down the street.

He was so sure I would become sick from eating the different street foods. No matter, I did it anyway. While the neighborhood I lived in at that time was less than desirable and nicer streets and fancier homes came with our upgrade, I miss the street food sold in my old neighborhood.

In an homage to my dear tamale lady, I made my own from a recipe right on the package of Maseca for Tamales by Azteca Milling. I swapped the lard for vegetable shortening, and the pork for chicken.  If you have the chance to pick up a package of this

tamale flour, go mad.

Click here for the Christmas Tamale recipe.

Foods Advertised to Children on TV Remain Nutritionally Poor, Despite Industry Pledge

A new study by Children Now reveals the failure of the food and beverage industry’s “Better-for-You” initiative to achieve promised improvements in the nutritional quality of foods advertised to children. Read the rest here:Foods Advertised to Children on TV Remain Nutritionally Poor, Despite Industry Pledge

THE NIBBLE Gourmet Food Gifts, Specialty Food, Mail Order, Online Gift Webzine

Take a look at this website, if you want to be chock full of tidbits.

Gourmet Food Magazine Website: THE NIBBLE Gourmet Food Gifts, Specialty Food, Mail Order, Online Gift Webzine

Gravy Recipe, How to Make Gravy | Simply Recipes

This recipe is from the absolute best of recipe sites, Simply Recipes.
Elise Bauer runs the site and is magnificent.


How to Make Gravy from Scratch

Here are two basic ways of making gravy from roast drippings, one using corn starch, the other using flour. In each case, you start with the roast drippings. You may have much more drippings than you need for the amount of gravy you want to make. You can follow this guideline - for each cup of gravy you would like to make, start with a tablespoon of drippings. So, if you want to make 2 cups of gravy, drain all but 2 tablespoons of fat and drippings from the roasting pan (set aside for future use). These instructions will be for the end result of 2 cups of gravy, but you can easily divide or multiply to adjust for how much gravy you want to make.

Method

Making Gravy with Corn Starch
1 Remove the roast from the pan. Place pan on stove on medium high heat. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp of the drippings in the pan.
2 Dissolve 2 Tbsp of corn starch in the minimum amount of water needed to make a thin paste - about 1/4 cup. Pour into pan with drippings and use a wire whisk or spatula (as pictured) to blend into the drippings

3 Stir with a wire whisk until the gravy begins to thicken. As it thickens, slowly add water, stock, milk, or cream, or some combination to the pan. Alternate stirring and adding liquid, maintaining the consistency you want, for several minutes (about 5). You will probably add about 2 cups of liquid all together. Taking into consideration the evaporation that is occurring while you are cooking, you will end up with about 2 cups of gravy. Season with salt (we use Vege-Sal).


Making Gravy with Flour
1 Remove the roast from the pan. Place pan on stove on medium high heat. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp of the drippings in the pan.
2 Into the 2 tablespoons of drippings in the pan stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir with a wire whisk until the flour has thickened and the gravy is smooth. Continue to cook slowly to brown the flour, and stir constantly.
3 Slowly add back some of the previously removed drippings (remove some of the fat beforehand if there is a lot of fat). In addition, add either water, milk, stock, or cream to the gravy, enough to make 2 cups. Season the gravy with salt and pepper and herbs.

20 Ways to Feed Your Family for $100 a Week

20 Ways to Feed Your Family for $100 a Week

An International Tour of Holiday Cookie Recipes

Check out more recipes from Lehigh Valley Live

An International Tour of Holiday Cookie Recipes

Lebkuchen Spice Spritz 

2/3 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons vanilla
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In large mixer bowl, combine sugar, butter, egg, salt, spices and vanilla. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until mixture is light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add flour. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed, 2 to 3 minutes. If dough is too soft, cover and refrigerate until firm enough to form cookies, 30 to 45 minutes. Place dough in cookie press. Form desired shapes 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. For glaze, in small bowl stir together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle or pipe over warm cookies.

Recipe courtesy of Christmas-cookies.com/recipes

The Facts About Soy :: Soy Myths & Facts

The Facts About Soy :: Soy Myths & Facts



Check out this website for information on soy and soy products. You'll be surprised.

Courtesy of LA Times: Viennese Hazelnut Chocolate Raspberry Bars

CHOCOLATE LAYER

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) finely ground toasted blanched hazelnuts

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Dash sea salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted European-style butter

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, ground to a powder

Click link below for rest 

  Recipe: Viennese Hazelnut Chocolate Raspberry Bars -- latimes.com

Tantalizing Turkey Recipe From the Delicious Alton Brown

Only the people in my immediate family know about the crush I have on Alton Brown.
It is the stop and stare in amazement whenever he opens his mouth kind of crush. He was skinny when I first saw him, got a little chunky( barely noticed it) and recently lost some weight. I'll take him in a small, medium, or large.
His wife is a lucky lady.

I have finished drooling. On to the turkey.......

Good Eats Roast Turkey

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Prep Time:

15 min

Inactive Prep Time:

7 hr 0 min

Cook Time:

2 hr 30 min

Serves: 10 to 12 servings

Ingredients

• 1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:

• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 gallon vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
• 1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:

• 1 red apple, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cup water
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 6 leaves sage
• Canola oil

Directions

Click here to see how it's done.

2 to 3 days before roasting:

Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Gyudon(Beef Bowl), Because I Am Nowhere Near a Yoshinoya

 4 Servings


I had a craving for Yoshinoya's beef bowl.  A 50 mile drive for this is not warranted in today's economy. I researched how to make my own Japanese bowl of rice and yummy flavored beef.  Unfortunately, I had almost none of the ingredients. No dashi, no mirin, no red ginger, and no sake.


Here is what I had:

• 1 pound thinly sliced top sirloin( I froze it before attempting to slice)
• 1  large onion, sliced thinly
• 1 1/3 cups beef broth to which I added 2 Table of sugar and 3 T of balsamic vinegar. (my dashi)
  
• 4-5 T soy sauce
• 4 cups white rice cooked ( I miss my rice cooker, it is in storage after a cross country trek)
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced(not in the recipe, but I love garlic)
• black pepper
  

In all honesty, after slicing the beef, I marinated it in 2 T soy sauce and some garlic powder for a couple of hours. This was all by feel.

The onions were brought to a simmer in a 2 quart saucepan filled with the beef broth, sugar, and balsamic.  I then added the additional soy sauce. Once this came to a boil I got ready to add the beef and sliced garlic. I did this to order so as to not crowd the saucepan and bring the temperature down. This ensured the raw beef cooked quickly.  I ladled the beef over 4 individual bowls of white rice. The pepper is personal..some of us had it, some didn't. You know I had it.

Loved it. Next time, I want to go authentic. It was okay for a recipe on the fly.

Sources for Organic Thanksgiving Ingredients

For those of us still trying to get out Thanksgiving meal together...take a look at this.

Sources for Organic Thanksgiving Ingredients

The Final Four Next Iron Chef Elimination: Exclusive interview with Chef Amanda Freitag

The Final Four Next Iron Chef Elimination: Exclusive interview with Chef Amanda Freitag

Posted using ShareThis

Totally Stolen....Pumpkin Jelly, Happy Halloween!

This is from 'The Green Chronicle' (Thank You) and is a neat idea for those that hate wasting pumpkin flesh, but want to go away from the usual bread and pancakes.

Pumpkin Jelly

1 medium sized pumpkin
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 orange
2 lemons
1 heaped tablespoon bruised ginger

 Directions
- Peel the pumpkin if necessary and remove the seeds from the flesh.
- Cut the flesh into dice.
- Put the grated rinds and juice of the orange and lemons into a large pan.
- Add the pumpkin, sugar and the ginger tied in a muslin bag and leave overnight.
- Pour off the excess juice and discard.
- Bring the pumpkin flesh, ginger and sugar mixture to the boil, and simmer for about 1 to 1 1/4 hours (remove ginger after 20 minutes or so) or until the pulp becomes almost transparent and the syrup quickly sets when tested on a cold plate.
- Leave to cool, then put into jars.

Iced Blended Coffee Stat!

I hate to admit to feening for that perfect cup of coffee, but I do.
Last week I visited my mother and as if I were a robot, proceeded to fix a pot of coffee without thinking. I tried my best to drink it all, but the sugar-free creamer she had made me want to vomit. I personally like half and half and raw sugar.

Anyhoooo, I ended up pouring what was left of the unsweetened, thick black stuff into an empty water bottle and storing at home in the fridge.

The next day as I prepared to make a fresh pot, a light bulb appeared over my head. I wanted a coffee like they make at that expensive ass Starbucks. Oh, so delicious (or as my family would say "Oishii").

Thinking like a barista on crack, I poured eight ounces into a blender with a few ice cubes and 2 teaspoons of raw sugar with a couple ounces of half and half. the blender roared for a few seconds and out poured manna, magically into my tall mug.

I was proud for not wasting and also proud that I managed to not spill a drop as it poured down my gullet. I even licked my lips to make sure.

Beanrito

I don't always eat meat. So there.

I decided to go meatless(not dairyless), today. It was not by choice, but time was an issue.
It was too easy.

What you'll need is:
One 15 oz can of black beans(rinsed)
One packet McCormick Original Taco Seasoning.
4 large flour tortillas
Lettuce, chopped tomato, salsa, chopped avocado, shredded cheddar, sour cream, and chopped onions were the garnish.

In a 2 quart saucepan, I brought to a simmer the black beans with 1/4 cup water and 3/4 packet of taco seasoning for 5 minutes. After they were heated through and the seasoning coated the beans, I used my microwave to heat the tortillas for 15 seconds.

I then took about 1/4 cup of the mixture and layered it in the tortilla with my choice( or my family's) garnishes.
Wrapped the suckers up like diapers and chowed down. I did miss my cold cerveza, but you can't have it all.

Linger Mints, Not what you think....

Here we go again.
A mint for the vagina. Please let me be dreaming. I thought we had enough to choose from for the lady parts. It's a little off topic, but messing with your nether regions can change the balance and give you more than a minty fresh sensation. Let's leave the mints to our mouths.

Mobile Cravings

The coolest site is currently in soft launch, and for Angelenos is a godsend. The beloved roach coaches are easier to find, thanks to Mobile Cravings.

CalorieKing Diet Diary for Palm OS

There is a 7 day free trial of CalorieKing Diet Diary for Palm OS. If you like it, full price is $30. For those of us who love to eat, it can be a blessing.

Food Porn Indeed

I love looking at a delicious meal. At Food Porn Daily, their motto is "Click, drool, repeat".
I'm drooling.

Pee Wee Herman, Off Topic

I saw an interesting Jay Leno tidbit about Mr. Paul Reubens aka Pee Wee Herman.
Take a look at the original here.

Wish I would have turned to him instead of Chopped on Food Network( should have tivo'd).

Get a free sample of Total® Blueberry Pomegranate cereal before they run out.

Just Click the word 'Total' above.

Salisbury Steak

Serves 6

Remember to always adjust to your taste buds. It's only food.

1 1/2 pounds 80/20 ground beef
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 t pepper
2T oil
2 T flour
2 cups water
one third package onion soup mix
1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp celery salt
1 can sliced mushrooms, drained
salt and pepper to taste


In large bowl, mix beef, bread crumbs, onion, egg, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Firmly shape into 6 oval patties. Over med-high heat, Brown patties in skillet in oil, remove from skillet. Stir flour into remaining oil in skillet until caramel colored. Add water and heat to boiling. Add onion soup mix, Worcestershire, celery salt and mushrooms.Return patties to pan, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over buttered noodles or rice.

Oven Fried Chicken Wings

I admit that the accent got me going, but Chef Jean Pierre's rough recipe for oven fried chicken left me smacking my lips.

He used mustard and egg as the base in which you dipped the chicken before rolling it in dried biscotti crumbs and panko bread crumbs.
I used wings and baked at 400 for 45 minutes.

COUPONS.COM

I use coupons.com often and never though about how much others may use them. If you're like me and other families just looking for the save, try it.

Ground Beef Tamales

I made them and they were weak, I will post a recipe once I perfect them, the way I want. The masa was perfect, but the feeling left something to be desired. I did not have a steamer, so I was improvising. It was not my best work. Looking at
Williams-Sonoma for items to soothe my mind.


COOKIES needed!!!!!!!!

Chicken Creole

I am a fan of tomato based sauces and chicken, so what better than putting it together and over fluffy white rice.

I used:
3 lbs. chicken legs
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 26 oz can whole tomatoes with juice
2 T tomato paste
1 cup of hot chicken stock
2 chopped garlic cloves
1 t sugar
1 t Cajun seasoning
salt & pepper to taste
1 t Louisiana hot sauce to taste
2 cups rice, cooked

I first seared the chicken legs and removed them from the pot. I then sauteed the celery, onion, and bell pepper until soft.
I added the chicken broth, tomato paste and tomatoes to the pot, gave a stir and then added the sugar, Cajun seasoning,hot sauce, and salt and pepper. I brought it to a simmer and added the chicken to finish cooking on a very low heat for 3 hours, until it fell off the bone.

Once done, I slapped some rice in a bowl and told the family, eat up or shut up.

Who would?

I don't know if it's is some sort of pica, but I had someone ask me about the calories in cement. I love the smell of freshly poured cement as much as the next addict, but I never wanted to sit down and have a bowl of it for breakfast.

Stove Top Carne Asada Tacos

Note: I have used flank, skirt, sirloin, rib eye, etc.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 lb sirloin steak, sliced thinly (freeze slightly to allow for easier slicing)

For the marinade:

3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
one bunch fresh cilantro chopped

2 limes, juiced
2 T red wine vinegar

Juice of one lime

¼-cup olive oil

1-teaspoon salt

1-teaspoon ground black pepper

1-teaspoon garlic powder

1-teaspoon chili powder

1-teaspoon dried oregano

1-teaspoon ground cumin

Directions:

Place the thinly sliced steak into a 1-gallon zip top storage bag.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients and pour into bag with steak.

Seal bag and lay flat in a large baking dish.

Allow to marinate 1 to 4 hours, turning occasionally.

When ready to cook, remove meat from marinade.

Heat some vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook wok style, stirring constantly, until meat is cooked.

Serve with warm flour tortillas, black beans, chopped cilantro, and some onions.

I also like radishes and jalapeños on the side.

Welcome

Hello all.
I am a married mother of two that loves cooking in my spare time.
We enjoy eating, so in order to do that, I MUST COOK.
Join me on this years journey, to see what kind of trouble we can get into.