How about an easy week night dinner?

Because that's what you've got here!
Take some French or Italian Bread, and place it in a 450 degree oven to toast. Sprinkle some Extra Virgin Olive Oil for added flavor and golden color.

Once all nice and toasty, "scrape" a peeled garlic clove across the top (the crusty consistency will grate the garlic for you). Layer with thinly sliced tomatoes, sprinkle with some basil, and then add the cheese on the top. Some salt for flavor, maybe some cracked pepper for oomph. Return to the oven, melt the cheese, and VOILA! Dinner! Make as much or as little as you need!

My bread, in use.

If you scroll down to yesterday's post, you will see that I successfully modified a French Bread recipe for sandwich bread. However, how can I measure the success of a recipe until I use it? Sure it TASTED good, but what kind of sandwich did it make?

The first effort was the most important - Peanut Butter and Honey sandwich for my young (picky) children. I got this great set of cookie cutters that has about a zillion shapes. I wanted to try a larger one and a smaller one. My batch cut up as easily (if not a little easier than the sore bought bread). Moreover, from the bite that I grabbed, I thought it tasted better. The spongy nature of the bread gave lots of places for the honey and peanut butter to hide!
How did it go for the real judges - my children? Well, my son (who usually only picks at his PBJ's) DEVOURED it. My daughter ate it as quickly as she normally does.

Verdict: The sandwich bread works for the kiddos.

Now, onto a more "grown up" sandwich:
Chickpea Salad:
Mash up a scant 1/3 cup of chickpeas
add: 1/8 - 1/4 of a diced onion.
1 clove of ultra mashed/minced/grated garlic
1 teaspoon of DILL relish (or chopped up dill pickle)
1 teaspoon yellow mustard (or Dijon, if you prefer).
1 Tablespoon of mayo or mayo alternative.
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix together in bowl. It should clump together, but not be over done with mayo.

Spread over bread, put the other slice on top, cut, enjoy!

Verdict: The best chickpea salad sandwich, EVER.

If you're avoiding extra carbs, I have been known to put this salad over a bed of greens and enjoy that way too. It's really very versatile. But then again, why would one want to avoid carbs with this kind of bread hanging around?

When Tomato Met Orange.

They fell madly in love.

Or maybe I fell madly in love. Whatever. During our summer Portland trip, we went on a food tour, and on it visited a deli that served tomato soup. The first sip was one of those where an amateur foodie furrows their eyebrows. The taste was not a problem - it was divine. The problem was that I wanted to identify the flavor. It was something citrus, but I had a hard time pinpointing it. Thankfully, the tour guide knew, and directed me: Orange. I was told that the recipe was online, but could not find it. So, I did some research and found that it was as simple as adding some orange juice to a tomato soup recipe. I have an standby I use often, so I figured a variation wouldn't be difficult. My variety is a slight be different - improved for my palate. If you're after a knock-off, I would suggest flying out to Portland and getting some there.

Softly Spicy Tomato Orange Soup

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil.
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 pounds of tomatoes, diced
zest of one orange
1/2 teaspoon garam marsala
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1 6 oz can of tomato paste.
1 carton of vegetable broth
1-1.5 cups FRESH SQUEEZED orange juice
1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped into small pieces.

To cook, start by sauteing the onions and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat.

When the onions are softened, add the tomatoes. If you are feeling so inclined, and like a thicker soup, you can seed and juice the tomatoes. This will change the proportions of things like paste and broth, but you won't have any seeds in the soup. I never do this, but you certainly can.

Cook the tomatoes for around 5 minutes. Add zest, garam marsala, and cardamon. Let cook for another 5 minutes. Reduce heat if necessary.

Add broth and paste, Let cook together for around 10 minutes or so - you want the flavors to meld.

Add soup to a blender or use an immersion blender. When it comes together, add the cilantro and orange juice. Now, I know one question is "can I use store bought?" The answer is "I suppose," but I find store bought to be MUCH stronger. It makes it very easy to overdo the orange flavor in the soup. Even with the fresh, I would also suggest adding just a cup of the OJ. Then cook for a few minutes, and taste. Assess to see if you want to intensify the orange flavor or not. A fresh orange is not a standardized product - depending on the freshness, season, and ripeness, you could get an entirely different flavor. You can't un-add something you've added, so it's better to add slow, taste, and add again.

Simmer for as long as you want to reduce, thicken, and meld. Let sit in the pot for 10 minutes or so off the burner to continue the flavor union.
Season with salt and pepper, garnish with additional cilantro, if desired. Serve with crusty bread.

A Vegan Alternative to Sloppy Joes.

I recently purchased the cookbook Veganomicon, and finally got around to trying one of the recipes - Snobby Joes. It is a vegan take on the beef favorite. I have to admit. It was excellent. Instead of using a "fake meat" - you create the substance with lentils. It is a fairly quick meal and reheats well. It's also VERY pantry friendly, as the only fresh veggies are onions and green peppers.

Lentil Sloppy Joes - Inspired from the very wonderful cookbook Veganomicon.

1 cup uncooked lentils
4 cups of water
1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you like heat)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 small can of tomato paste
1/2 regular can tomato sauce.
2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
bread from French bread, toasted if made the day prior.

(1) Boil the water and add the lentils. Cook until soft, 20 minutes or so.

(2) Use a bit of oil and cook onions and peppers until they start to soften. Also cook garlic if using fresh.

(3) When vegetables start to soften, add oregano, salt, garlic if using powdered, and cayenne pepper. Stir for just a moment, then add the sauce and paste. Let simmer on low for 10 minutes.

(4) Add the cooked and drained lentils. Let simmer on low for 10 or so.

(5) Add the syrup and mustard, let heat through.

(6) Slice bread in chunks, and then through the middle to get the bread like the picture.

Tastes even better the next day!

The easiest party dish ever.

Now grab a tortilla chip and dig in. Yum.

I had to bring in a "covered dish" for a summer staff development. Because of my own dietary needs, it also had to be low fat, vegetarian, and hearty enough to hold me if everyone else brought a meat dish.

I immediately thought of the layered bean dip I adopted from my mother. Now, she got this from a friend in Hawaii, and you have to be aware that this is a dish you can make as fatty or as healthy as you want. In my opinion (and the discerning taste of my husband) - the lighter version is just as delicious. Considering that it was completely eaten up before I left - I'd say that my fellow teachers didn't mind it either.

Layered Bean Dip

1 can re fried beans or bean dip (I use Old El Paso Fat Free).
2-3 avocados smashed with lime juice
1 Package Taco Seasoning (make your own?)
1 16 oz-ish tub of sour cream (I use fat free - you can use Greek yogurt, but it's not as good)
Diced tomatoes
Shredded cheese (I use 2% Mexican generally, never go fat free - it's terrible)
1 small can of sliced olives
3 scallions, thinly sliced in rings
jalepeno if you like them.

(1) Mix the tub of sour cream and taco seasoning together. Let sit for a while. It's fine to whip it up the night before - the longer it sits the better. In fact, if you get going and realize that the tub is just "too much" for the plate that you are making - keep the rest and use it as a vegetable dip. It's wonderful!

(1) Grab a large plate. Any shape, varied sizes, you will make the dip to it! I get the smaller of the two pizza pans I have (maybe 20 inches in diameter?), put down some aluminum foil to cover the holes (and make for easy clean up), and use that. I always have a little rim of plate around. To make it pretty, you can push chips in the sides at serving time to give the dip a fun "border." Even prettier with colored chips.

(3) Spread the beans down first, then the avocado mixture, followed by the sour cream. I like to leave the avocados more chunky (I like big hunks of avocado on my chips), but this is to your taste. I suggest trying the three bottom layers to decide what flavor suits you, and decide on proportions for that. The sour cream mixture is salty, so I wouldn't make that layer TOO thick.

(4) Now comes the tomatoes. Again, to your taste. I love how the tomatoes balance the salty flavor of the sour cream, so I use a fair amount here.

(5) The cheese, more means more calories, so you adjust to what you need.

(6) The final ingredients on top, to taste. (7) Enjoy with a good corn chip. I love Kettle's or Garden of Eatin's

For us, this is a completely reasonable dinner - especially during football season!

Something new to do with mint.

Zucchini Mint Salad

(totally can't remember where I pulled this from).

1 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
2 Tablespoons Pine Nuts
2 Ounces crumbly feta cheese
2 medium zucchini, sliced as thin as you can make it.
3 Tablespoons chopped mint leaves
Zest + juice from one lemon.

Mix together in a bowl.

Let sit for 10 minutes.

Makes 4 side dishes or 2 light meals. 6 points in the whole thing. Divide accordingly.

WONDERFUL!

Now I'm full :)

Homemade nachos

One of my most favorite things to make with leftover black beans are homemade nachos. It's such a simple dinner, and one that always tastes so good. Now, if you're like me, I like my nachos FULLY dressed: guacamole, sour cream, fresh tomatoes, red onions, olives, black beans, and cheese. LOTS of cheese.

Tonight, I had to pass by the nachos, but I went ahead and served them to the husband and children.

To prepare:

Preheat an oven to 350, and cover a pizza pan with aluminum foil. Then go ahead and collect the ingredients. This is what I had on hand.

Next, layer. I warm up the beans separately, and put them immediately on top of the chips. Then I toss on the cheese. You can add red onions and olives top the top too, but I would hold off on adding the guacamole, sour cream, and salsa until the very end.

Bake for around 10 minutes or so. You want the cheese to be nice and melty.

Dallop on your favorite toppings and serve! This is SO simple, but wonderful and light yet satisfying all at the same time.

Other ideas for toppings: green onions, refried beans, marinated chicken or steak, hamburger, vegetarian meat crumbles, fresh tomatoes, cilantro.

I had way more pictures to add, but blogger is being stupid. Sorry! You will have to make your own to see all the melted gooey goodness.

6/26 Meal Plan

A very disappointing and uninspiring list of sales this week.

Sale items: Berries, grapes, and corn

Friday: Poached eggs over polenta with avocado and tomato Pico-De-Gallo

Saturday: Mexican Casserole

Sunday: Black Beans and Cilantro Rice

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: Nachos (for husband) and taco salad for myself.

Wednesday: Wing it (gasp)

Thursday: Wing it (gasp)

I saw down to plan meals, and just couldn't make it through the week. Friday and Saturday were easy because I missed a couple meals from the previous week. Then I thought about the fresh cilantro and avocados I had in the fridge. I always have black beans on hand, so those will be easy to cook up. I do have all the fixings for pizza, and my kitchen is well stocked so I know I can whip together a meal in a hurry. I think I will take a bare-bones list to the grocery store and stock up on a few extra fruits and veggies for snacking.

The problem is - after a weeks worth of training - I am not feeling particularly creative. All those creative juices are mentally in my classroom this week, and I just can't seem to get "into" my kitchen. I did make a low fat creme brulee tonight - it was "eh."

Once the weekend hits, I will probably be a bit more experimental feeling. I should make some bread this weekend. Maybe I can put a smoothie or two on my list too. That might be sort of fun to experiment with. We'll see what fun pictures I can drum up for the blog.

6/20 Menu and Grocery List

I'd like to start this with with warning you all that the menus are going to get a bit lower calorie. Being the foodie that I am, still with high flavor. Just a tad lower in fat.

Why, you ask?

Well, I'd noticed that my hip has really been bothering me lately. So, I stepped on the scale, told my hubby that I was rejoining, and that was it. Weight Watchers is an old friend of mine. The only one that allows me to eat what I want, so long as I plan accordingly. I had taken a "break" as I was feeling worn down from my work schedule and the restraints from the plan. Being summer, and the fact that the coming school year will not be bringing me the same constraints, it was time to go back. My hope is that I will be down 20 pounds by the school year, giving me plenty of motivation to cut back on the plethora of goodies that IS my workplace.

I've also recently purchased a Wii fit. HELLO!?! Where the heck has THAT been for the last three years? When my daughter was born, I was able to get into a fairly regular stroller walking routine. It all worked out fantastically. For about 6,000 different reasons that I will not bother you with - it stopped. And stayed stopped. We got an elliptical trainer, which was PERFECT for two weeks until it broke. That's when we decided to invest in the fit. I was skeptical of how well a video game system would work me. It may not be for the athlete, but a Mom who can't escape her two kids for a moment will be well served by the fit. Heck, my daughter takes the second controller and goes on runs WITH me.

So, here goes the Weight Watcher Friendly Menu:

Sale items: limes, avocados, mangoes, baby carrots, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, baby portobello mushrooms, organic salad bags.

Friday: Burritos (tortillas - no, I haven't learned to make them homemade yet - with black beans, rice, cilantro, and low fat cheese. Topped with tomatoes & avocados)

Saturday: Breakfast will be Huevos Rancheros. Dinner will be mushroom, pineapple, pepper, and onion kabobs with corn and baked potatoes. I will likely make some french bread too. And some sort of dip, although I'm not sure what yet. Dessert I plan on making a Blueberry Creme Brulee that I got from the Weight Watcher's site.

Sunday: Breakfast will be polenta topped with poached eggs along side of a tomato avocado salsa. Dinner will be leftovers, as I'm certain we will have plenty.

Monday: Salads and french bread. I think I will try to mix this up with some herbs or fresh garlic.

Tuesday: Tomato soup and bread

Wednesday: Mushrooms and gravy over cous cous or rice.

Thursday: Mexican casserole, another Weight Watchers recipe.

As we work through the week I will be sure to post wonderment! For "extra" food (and lunches) I have a simple avocado toss and mango salad.

My apologies + weekly menu

I promised you every day. I have failed.

Forgive me?

I surely hope so.

I assure you I have a good excuse. You see, my district has required that I ge "FRI"-ed and finish my ESOL endorsement. I did THREE moduals in my online courses last night. I worked from noon - 9 PM, with only the distractions of my own children. I turned off the computer and walked out of the office. Then I remembered that I was breaking my promise. I opted for bed anyway. I was just so tired from all the reading. Math teachers are not meant to be endorsed in reading. I think that class is harder than all of my master's level coursework combined.

Anyhow, as a show of good faith, I will be posting twice today. Here I will post my menu for the week with recipes attached. Next will be my "ode to Father's Day." I hope both serve to please.

Weekly menu:

Good sale items: Vine ripened tomatoes (could this be in response to the current salmonella outbreak?), grapes, raspberries, ricotta cheese.

Thursday: Leftover black beans and rice (from previous week's menu), sauteed green peppers and onions for extra vegitables.

Friday: Pasta salad, but THIS time I made it TOTALLY fat free and with no packaged goods (except for the pasta). I included olives, a tomato, broccoli, green onion, carrot, and celery. I then added red wine vinegar, garlic powder, oregano, a sprinkle of salt, and about 1/3 of a cup of water. It was wonderful, and GONE quickly!

Saturday: Frozen tomato soup + bread, will make fresh with tomatoes later in the week to replace frozen batch.

Sunday: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! Bruchetta with Balsamic reduction, mozarella/mushrooms/and thyme, Brie and Fruit, bread, and Panna Cotta with raspberry sauce. Ricotta pancakes and ginger syrup for breakfast.

Monday: Cornbread, black eyed peas, and rice

Tuesday: leftovers

Wednesday: Fried rice

Thursday: Potato pancakes

Disconnected.

So, I know I promised organic foods today....but I can't seem to find the words. You see, the wonderful petree dishes that I live with brought home their "end of the school year, aren't you going to miss daycare" cold. Yesterday I couldn't breath at all, and today my head feels about twice the size that it normally does. I ordered some eucalyptus and peppermint oils for my cleaning arsenal, but those won't be here until the end of the week (at best). So, today I will suffer in silence.

Yeah, me suffer in silence. Who am I kidding? I will suffer until my husband gets home. Then I will whine and make HIM suffer. (LOVE YOU BUNCHES HONEY!)

In the mean time, I also promised a post every day. Darn it, I'm at least going to deliver on THAT promise.

This last weekend, in an effort to counteract a recent unbelievably large grocery run, I made a couple pots of beans. I made black beans for later in the week, but I also made chickpeas. Chickpeas are also known as garbanzo beans.

Now, garbanzo beans/chick peas are often used in hummus (I believe that they are garbanzo beans when dry, chickpeas when cooked up). I have found them to be a very useful bean otherwise. They are quite flavorful, and have a different sort of consistency. They blend up quite nice in hummus, but they also mash for a chunkier texture, or can be eaten whole.

Here, I described the first steps in making your own hummus as actually making the beans.

"Start by soaking the beans all night or day. Wash and toss the ickies.When ready to cook, place beans in a dutch oven, with around a gallon of water.Bring to a boil, cook for 1.5-2.5 hours. You want a bean that can be mashed with a little effort, blended creamy easily, but isn't falling apart. When done, pour into a colander and drain."

When not making chickpeas for hummus, I highly suggest amending this by adding some olive oil, spices, and salt to the boiling beans. A friend of mine suggests the last hour, but I sometimes do it right from the start of cooking (not soaking, mind you) with success. I've tried thyme, sage, and fresh basil. I really love the way the fresh basil turned out recently. Basil has sort of a buttery flavor that worked with the beans. For me, salt is really important to bring out the flavor - and you need a surprising amount. Testing an underdone bean during the cooking process won't hurt you, and it will allow you to get a feel for what spices need to be adjusted. It's better to go light on a spice early, decide the flavor isn't full enough, and adjust. Better, that is, than adding too much of something. In the mean time, I would start with a tablespoon of whatever spice you want to try to start.

So, the beans are cooked, now what?

Chickpea Sandwiches: Mash them with a fork, and make an egg salad or tuna fish-like sandwich. I add mayo, mustard, and dill relish to mine. With my recent basil find, I tried just some balsamic vinegar and mashed it all together, then on a bun. AMAZING, a bit better than they mayo, and vegan if you lean that way.

Add to any salad for a protein burst

Eat with rice, for simplicity. Stealing an idea from a friend, I added some light sour cream to the beans and it worked. It seemed weird, but it worked. Not a ton, just enough to "dress" the beans a bit.

And, lastly, my new favorite - Chickpea Salad. I haven't given orangette any love lately, so here I go. Uber simple, and tasty. I just had this for lunch.

It is time for me to nurse my head cold, but before I go, I wanted to give all of Miranda's friends and family a quick shout out. Miranda told me that she My Spaced you all - and I wanted to say thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you again real soon!