Ginger Fried Rice

This was from today's food section in the New York Times. Sounds like a delicious way to use left over brown rice (which I always seem to make more than I need) and a simple midweek meal. The protein comes from a poached egg on top. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/dining/271mrex.html?ref=dining

My trip to the Bulk Bin. Long overdue!

I have been reading about BPA seeping into our canned goods (see link below) and have decided to try to stop eating canned beans and tomatoes. Apparently, tomatoes are the worst in terms of leaching BPA from the can because of their acidity. In any event, if you are not aware of the hazards of BPA, they are well documented from the FDA's recent findings to the New York TImes editorials. But I digress!
The idea of soaking my own beans seemed very intimidating and time consuming as well. However, after mustering my courage and attempting a couple of dried bean soakings from the supermarket, I realized I was ready to experience the bulk bin store. Basically, it's an entire store of whole grains and natural ingredients. There are not plastic containers, cardboard boxes or packaging of any sort. Just bags and whole grains. Aisle upon aisle of the most exotic and mundane. They have lentils of five different varieties, flax seeds, chickpeas, black beans, adzuki, you name it. I could not have been more excited when my grand total of four different items (chickpeas, kidney, lentils and black beans) came to a grand total of 9 dollars. Trust me, I bought enough beans to feed a family of four for at least a couple of weeks. Now granted, you wouldn't want to eat the beans/grains without lettuce, vegetables, spices etc, but still a pretty incredible bargain. If you don't have an entire store devoted to this philosophy, check out your local health food store and give it a try. It will be an adventure to say the least.

(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-starkman/tests-find-wide-range-of_b_342967.html)

Vegan Oatmeal Cookies with Nuts and Chocolate Chip

Working from my favorite cookbook, Bittman's Vegetarian cooking, I decided to try a vegan version of the classic oatmeal raisin cookie. Truth be told, I had a chocolate craving and we had nothing sweet in the house...What's a girl to do? This was even easier than a traditional recipe because you don't have to whip the butter or soften it. You substitute any kind of neutral oil, canola, corn for the butter and apple sauce for the eggs. I used rice milk instead of cow milk which I prefer anyway. I added chocolate chips and walnuts to give it a different twist and the result was terrific. The whole process took about ten minutes to prep and another 15 in the oven. Next time I will freeze half the dough since we now have about twice as many cookies as come with any trader joes bag. As an added bonus, our whole house smelled like a bakery on a rainy day. Very cozy!

Tofu Stir Fry with Scallions

This was an incredibly simple and satisfying dish that I made tonight. From Mark Bittman's vegetarian cooking, it calls for:
1 1/2 pounds of extra firm tofu (drain before cooking)
3 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon garlic chopped
1 tablespoon ginger chopped
(2 dried chili, optional)
2 bunches of scallions
1/2 cup veggie stock or water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
(sesame seeds sprinkled on top, optional)
Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch or slightly larger cubes. Put the oil in a large skillet over high heat. When hot, add the garlic and the ginger and the chiles if you're using them and cook stirring for about ten seconds. Add the tofu and the white part of the scallions, cook stirring occasionally until the tofu begins to brown. Add the stock and cook, stirring until half of it evaporates, add the green parts of the scallions and stir for about 30 seconds.
Add the soy sauce , stir and taste adjusting seasoning.
I added a splash of peanut sauce (from TJS) which made it extra delicious. Next time, I might even use more scallions, ginger and garlic. This was a winner!

Vegetable Garden and Compost

One of my new years resolutions is to start a compost and a vegetable garden this year. Mark Pollan recently wrote that a sixty dollar investment in a garden can generate over seven hundred dollars worth of food. A pretty good return on investment! Also, I am troubled by the idea that the food we throw away in the trash ends up in landfills that contributes to global warming. I am planning on attending a short workshop at Silverlake farms in next few weeks if anyone is interested in joining.

Pear Almond Upside Down Cake

Last night I tried my first foray into baking. We were invited to a dinner party and asked to bring dessert. Once we did a run to the store for the buttermilk and almond paste, this was pretty straightforward. The only problem was with the kids running around I forgot to put in the baking powder. Ten minutes into the oven, I saw it sitting on the counter and realized my mistake. Instead of throwing in the towel completely, I decided to mix it into the batter and lower the bar of my expectations. Shockingly, it turned out just great. The presentation was beautiful and the result was delicious. I used a recipe from Mark Bittman's vegetarian cooking cookbook. It was a variation that he outlines under the plum upside down cake recipe. Definitely recommend this one.

A simple vegetarian meal for the kids

Sauteed polenta and added some red sauce (tj's marinara) on top. Steamed broccoli and mixed it in with Ruby's polenta. She loved it!