now or never

Tomato season is almost at an end. The quantity quickly dropped off with the arrival of the cooler weather. Instead of the 5 pounds of tomatoes we were still getting two weeks ago, we got 1 pound, and they are mostly still green. And there are always some that begin to rot immediately, ripe or not, so I have to remain vigilant and use them as soon as possible. So when a tomato isn't quite ripe but needs to be used NOW, a puttanesca pasta sauce is delish. While you are preparing the sauce, put another pot on for your pasta.

Puttanesca

1-2 T. olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 hot pepper, seeded & chopped
1 tomato, diced
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
6-8 olives, sliced
1-2 T. capers, drained
1 cup tomato sauce (or 1 small can tomato paste + a few T. water)

Put olive oil in a saute
pan over low heat. Add
garlic & hot pepper. Cook
less then a minute, then
add diced tomato & salt.
Cook 1-2 minutes. Add
olives & capers. Cook for
another minute. Then
add tomato sauce (I thawed
the oldest batch of sauce I'd
made during the peak of
tomato season two months
ago). Cook over medium-low
heat until reduced to desired
consistency. Toss with hot
pasta. I also added a cup of
frozen spinach when the

pasta was almost done
cooking to add some
leafy greens to the meal.




Pasta Puttanesca

Ryan worked in Boston this weekend with his father. I sent him off Saturday morning with enough food to get him through the day, though he also scored some veg sushi at the convention and some chips & salsa.
Ryan's food for the day: peanut butter pretzel Mojo bar; white chocolate macadamia Luna bar; baby carrots; a pickle; snap peas; smoked Tofurky, lettuce, soy cheese, Veganaise sandwich on Italian bread; an apple; grapes.

Pasta Quattro

Winter is when we eat the most pasta. Probably too much! But here are a few tasty dishes we enjoy again and again...

Pasta w/Squash & Sage
Mushrooms

mushrooms:
1 T. olive oil
1 T. margarine
8-10 medium mushrooms
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
4-5 dried sage leaves,
crumbled
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1/4 kosher salt

squash sauce:
2 cups steamed squash
1/2 cup water or veg broth
1 T. olive oil
2 T. margarine
1/2 a bouillon cube
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar

Pasta or ravioli of your
choice.

This is a delicious way to
use fresh or frozen squash.
Steamed butternut squash
is fantastic for this dish!

First, peel, cube & steam
the squash. Or use frozen
thawed squash.

Next, wash the mushrooms.
Slice fairly thin. Heat olive oil & margarine over medium heat. Add mushrooms. Stir occasionally. After about 2-3 minutes, add the garlic and sage. Cook for a few more minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so, allowing enough space in between mushrooms for any liquid to evaporate. As mushrooms begin to brown and dry out, add cayenne pepper and lemon juice. You want the mushrooms brown, but not burned. Remove from heat and sprinkle with kosher salt. Set aside.

Start the pasta cooking while you prepare the squash sauce. Puree the squash in a food processor with 1/2 cup water or vegetable broth. You may add a bit more water if necessary to process. Heat olive oil & margarine over medium-low heat. Add the 1/2 bouillon cube and mash with fork and stir briskly to dissolve (do not allow to burn). Add squash puree. Stir. Add salt and sugar. Stir and heat through.

Drain pasta. Toss with a little margarine or olive oil. Pour squash sauce over pasta. Top with sage mushrooms.

Tomato Bac-un Pasta

1/2 box of pasta
1/2 package Smart Bacon
1 T. olive oil
1 T. margarine
2 cups chopped, peeled
tomatoes, drained
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Here is a super quick dinner fix.
While pasta is cooking, peel apart half a package of Lightlife Smart Bacon strips. Slice or tear into bite-sized pieces. Heat olive oil & margarine over medium-low heat. Add Smart Bacon. Cook 2-3 minutes, flipping over pieces until lightly browned and slightly crisp. Add tomatoes (canned diced tomatoes or whole peeled tomato work well here, and I save the liquid for soups). Add a sprinkle of salt and a touch of cayenne pepper. Stir and heat through. Toss with drained hot pasta.

Ratatouille Couscous

2 T. olive oil
1 eggplant, peeled, sliced
1 T. water
1/2 tsp. salt
1 zucchini or summer
squash, halved & sliced
1 onion, quartered &
sliced
8-10 mushrooms,
quartered
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 jar pasta sauce
1 box couscous (cooked according to directions)

This dish is pretty easy, but the vegetables do take a bit of time to cook properly.

Peel an eggplant, slice, and cut into strips. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add eggplant and salt, stir, and cover. Halve and slice a zucchini. Add one tablespoon of water to eggplant, stir again, cover. Quarter and slice a medium yellow or white onion. Add zucchini & onion to pot, stir, cover. Quarter the mushrooms, add to pot, cover. Chop a bell pepper into bite-sized chunks. Add bell pepper and 1/2 a jar of your favourite (or homemade) pasta sauce, cover. Cook for 5 minutes, stir, cover. Check every few minutes until vegetables are tender.
Once everything is in the pot, cook couscous in a separate small covered pot (takes only 5 minutes). Fluff couscous. Serve couscous and ladle ratatouille sauce over the top.

Lemon Spinach Pasta

1/2 box pasta
1 tsp. salt
8 oz. frozen leaf spinach
2 T. margarine
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. capers, drained
plenty of fresh black
pepper

Another easy peasy pasta dish for when you're in a hurry or don't feel like doing much cooking...

Cook 1/2 a box of pasta with 1 teaspoon salt added to the cooking water.
3 minutes before pasta is done (we like our pasta well-cooked, usually 12-14 minutes for standard shaped dry pasta, so around 10 minutes) add frozen spinach to pot and return to a boil. Drain. Toss with margarine. Add lemon juice, capers, & black pepper. Toss. Top with extra black pepper.

Winter Soups, Part 2

Enjoy these delicious
soups with your family.
Spring will be here soon!

Mushroom Barley

1 onion, diced
1 T. olive oil
1 tsp. walnut oil (optional)
4 chopped sage leaves (or
1 tsp. dried crushed leaves)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 large carrots, diced
6-8 white button mushrooms, halved & sliced
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1/3 cup barley
2 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water

Combine first 5 ingredients over med-low heat, cooking until onions are soft, about 10 minutes.
Add next 3 ingredients (garlic powder, carrots & mushrooms) and cook another 5-10 minutes until mushrooms darken.
Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for about 45 minutes.

Split Pea Soup

1 onion, chopped
2 leeks, washed and chopped
1 T. olive oil
1 T. margarine
1 tsp. liquid smoke
1 tsp. salt
1 carrot, chopped
2/3 cup dried split peas
1 medium potato, chopped
2 cups vegetable stock
3 cups water
1 cup frozen peas
pepper to taste

Combine first 7 ingredients over medium-low heat, cooking until onions & leeks are soft.
Add split peas, potato, vegetable stock and 2 cups of the water. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 1.5-2 hours, until split peas are softened.
Add frozen peas, remaining 1 cup water, and fresh black pepper to taste. Cook 10 more minutes.
Turn off heat. Blend until creamy but lumpy using an immersion blender or food processor.

Pasta & Bean Soup

1/2 medium onion, diced
1-2 stalks celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, diced
1 T. olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. liquid smoke
2 cups tomatoes, diced,
chopped or crushed
2 cups vegetable stock
1 can chick peas, drained & rinsed
1 can cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
1 cup small pasta (I used mini farfalle)
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram

Combine first 6 ingredients over medium-low heat, cooking until onions are soft.
Add tomatoes & vegetable stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cook 10-15 minutes.
Add chick peas. Cook 10 more minutes.
Add remaining ingredients. Cook 15 minutes.

Carrot Ginger Soup

1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp. fresh ginger (or 2 tsp.
chopped jarred ginger)
1 T. olive oil
1 stalk celery, chopped
5-6 large carrots, chopped
1 large potato chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. dried dill
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup water

Combine first 5 ingredients over medium-low heat, cooking until onions are soft.
Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium & cook about 40 minutes.
Turn off heat. Puree until smooth in a food processor or with an immersion blender.

If you prefer a milder soup, reduce ginger by half and cayenne pepper to just a sprinkle.

Busy, busy

The weekend:
Ryan harvested the
first beans from the
pole beans he planted
at preschool in the
spring.







Dinner included this
miso tofu from Vegan
Yum Yum, minus the
liquid smoke flavour.
The kids and I really
enjoyed it.

I also roasted some
turnips, summer
squash, & eggplant
in the oven. Steamed
broccoli & watermelon
slices completed the
meal.

Monday:
The meals are pretty
simple these days when
Dada is at work. Lunch:
mini pumpkin muffin;
fresh pineapple chunks;
cold tofu w/soy sauce;
udon noodles with green
beans; Animal Parade
calcium vitamin.

For the grownup:
spicy vegetable satay
over udon noodles;
pineapple chunks.




Tuesday:

CSA farm pick-up day:
- 1 head lettuce
- 3 bell peppers
- 1 hot pepper
- 1 bunch scallions
- 1 lb. carrots
- 4 cucumbers + 3 from the seconds table
- 2 eggplants
- 1 giant pattypan squash
- 2 zucchini
- 1 pint orange cherry tomatoes
- 1 quart blueberries

We saved most of the
pick-your-own items
until later in the week.

Here's AJ showing off
the pattypan squash he
chose because it looked
like a big "star".


Ryan munched on a
cucumber on the way
home. He managed to
eat half of it, then saved
the rest for the next day.






Dinner: tofu spinach
ricotta stuffed pasta
shells.
This another family
favourite at our house.
I really need to make
a bigger batch because
they disappear so
quickly.

Corn on the cob and
a salad accompanied
the stuffed shells.





Wednesday:AJ's lunch for preschool camp: 2 pbj sandwich quarters; raisins; orange sections; lettuce & cucumber salad; 2 leftover stuffed pasta shells; broccoli florets. Not shown: lemonade; water; Luna bar for morning snack.

Thursday:
Back to the farm
for pick-your-own:
- bouquets of flowers
- string beans
- swiss chard
- a huge bag of basil
for pesto

And from the farmer's
market: bread, tomatoes, popcorn, corn on the cob.

Later in the day my MIL cam to visit the new baby. She brought us more corn, green & yellow beans, & lettuce from her boyfriend's garden in upstate NY.

Friday:

I never found time for
my usual friday blog post
because it was Nate's
2nd birthday! He opened
presents in the morning.
In the evening relatives
came over for a party.
One of his favourite gifts
was this book Food For
Thought.



I didn't want to break the
bank feeding everyone,
nor did I have a lot of time
to spend cooking. So we
served chips & dips and
watermelon, and then had
a pasta bar & garlic bread;
I figured pasta wouldn't
be rejected by any of the
kids. So I made 3 kinds of
pasta and 3 sauces: a red sauce with Nate's meatless meatballs, a mushroom sauce with red wine, and a pesto with all that basil from the farm.
AJ--my picky eater with the big appetite--enjoyed the buffet of food.

And don't forget the cupcakes! The basic chocolate cupcakes with a vegan buttercream frosting from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World always impresses people.

Comfort Casserole

Ah comfort foods! Various
bruschetta made with
mostly local ingredients:
- tomato, basil, garlic, olive oil.
- swiss chard, garlic scapes,
raisins, cannellini beans,
olive oil.
- roasted garlic & herb "butter".

Roasting garlic couldn't
be easier. Just cut off
the tops off each head
enough to expose the
cloves inside. Then wrap
in foil and bake in a 400
degree oven for half an
hour. Pop out the soft
roasted cloves and voila!
This is still from our remaining garlic share from the farm last year! They're just starting to sprout so I thought it was time to use some serious quantities in preparation for the new harvest coming later this month.

Monday:

Now here's something all-American...macaroni casserole. This is NOT health food! I think my pregnant nesting instincts took over and I just had to have it. Ryan declared it "the best dinner in a long time!" and "Even better than spaghetti!" My father used to make something similar with tuna and cheese, but here's my vegan version from what I can remember:

Comfort Casserole

1 box macaroni pasta, cooked al dente and drained
2 cups frozen peas & carrots, (or fresh carrots added to pasta water during last 5 minutes)
1 can fried onions (or 2 onions roasted until carmelized and crisp)
1 package Lightlife Chick'n Style Strips, diced (optional)
1 cup grated soy cheese (optional)
2 cups (or one batch) nutritional yeast "cheese" sauce (see recipe below)
1 cup creamy broccoli soup (I use Imagine Creamy Broccoli Soup)

Place cooked pasta in a large casserole dish.
Stir in peas, carrots, 1/2 can of onions, chick'n strips, cheese, 1/2 of the cheese sauce, and soup.
Spoon the remaining cheese sauce over the top.
Cover. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.
Uncover. Add other 1/2 can of fried onions. Bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Nutritional Yeast Cheese Sauce

1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup flour
2 T. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 cups water
1 T. margarine
1/2-1 tsp. mustard

Place first 5 ingredients in a small saucepan.
Add water and cook over medium heat, stirring consistently until the sauce thickens (5-10 minutes).
Remove from heat and stir in margarine and mustard.

This recipe is easily doubled, and keeps covered in the fridge for days.
Great for mac & cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, casseroles, stuffed shells or enchilada toppings, pizza, etc.

Tuesday:
Ryan's lunch for farm camp: tempeh, lettuce & tomato sandwiches; flat pretzels; watermelon; cold spinach; black raspberries.

Ryan loved using this
2-tiered Pokemon
bento. I'm sure it will
get a lot of use this fall
for kindergarten.




Ryan wearing a
flower crown he
helped make at
the farm.





CSA farm share:
- 2 1/2 quarts strawberries
- 1 head green leaf lettuce
- 1 bunch scallions
- 1/2 lb. mixed baby greens
- 12 stems rainbow swiss chard
- 12 stems kale
- 15 garlic scapes
- 2 large zucchini
- 1 quart peas (1/2 snow peas, 1/2 shelling peas)
- 1 lb. carrots

Wednesday:
Oops! I totally forgot to photograph AJ's lunch!! He had his first day of preschool camp and obviously pregnancy brain took over. He watched me pack his lunch, and declared every single item to be his favourite: "Spicy tofu! My favourite! Mashed potatoes! My favourite!" Etc. His lunch box came back empty, with the exception of the juice box...he's never been a juice drinker.

AJ's lunch: spicy baked tofu; green beans; mashed potatoes; cantaloupe; mini pumpkin-carrot-apple muffin; a cookie; juice box; water bottle; and a Luna bar (for his morning snack).

Thursday:
Ryan's lunch for his last day of farm camp: strawberries & black raspberries; spicy baked tofu; green beans; onigiri triangle; carrots; mini pumpkin-carrot-apple muffin. Not shown: juice box; Luna bar for his morning snack; water bottle.

We have a patch of black raspberry bushes on our property and each year I've trimmed them back just a bit and we've been getting better and better yields every summer. Ryan has been picking/eating about 1/2 pint each day! But I can't manage to get out there and get a photo before everyone picks them!

At camp the kids made herbal "dream pillow" sachets and drew pictures of the dreams they wanted to have.

I love using kale in
soups. Beans go
particularly well,
along with an orange
vegetable and anything
else you have handy in
the fridge. My favourite
herb for soups is
marjoram.

From the farmer's market:
- kettle corn
- loaf of white bread
- quart of new red potatoes
- 3 tomatoes
- 1 cucumber
- loaf of apple pie bread (not
shown...my husband hid it!)

Just a fun picnic dinner (I'm getting lazy while so uncomfortably pregnant):
- popcorn, green bell pepper, apple, pretzels, tortilla chips, celery & carrot sticks, peanuts/almonds/raisins.
- fresh shelled peas, black raspberries, tiny pickles.
- grilled nutritional yeast "cheese" sandwiches.

Friday the 4th of July:

My husband took the
boys to grandma's pool,
along with a deli style
pasta salad, watermelon,
and popcorn. I usually
add broccoli to this pasta
salad, but some steamed
zucchini seemed like the
logical choice at the
moment. I stayed home and ate a few bowls of my own!

Fresh Farm Meals

No snacks this week since it's the first week of summer vacation!
On the weekend I made everyone's favourite dinner "The Yummiest of Yummy Tofu Dinners" as Ryan calls it, or ma po tofu with veggies:
I think I could make this every
night for a week and nobody
would complain. And it's a great
way to use green vegetables,
especially asian greens and beans.
This week I used our baby bok
choy from the farm.


Yummiest of Yummy Tofu Dinners

1 T. peanut, canola, or safflower oil
3 chopped scallions
2 chopped garlic cloves
1-2 tsp. minced ginger
1 tsp. hot sauce, red pepper flakes, or a small diced hot pepper
1 large head bok choy or 2-3 heads baby bok choy, chopped with stems & leaves separated
1 lb. firm tofu, cut into bite-size triangles
1 small can sliced bamboo shoots
2 cups frozen haricots verts or green beans
3 T. soy sauce
3 T. rice vinegar
3 T. cooking sherry
1 T. sugar
1 cup vegetable broth
2 T. cornstarch + 4 T. water
2-3 packages ramen noodles or rice noodles, cooked & drained (optional)

Heat oil in large pot or wok (I use a large cast iron pot) with scallion, garlic, ginger & hot sauce.
Add bok choy stems and stir fry about 2 minutes.
Add tofu and bamboo shoots and stir fry for another 1-2 minutes.
Add bok choy greens.
Mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, cooking sherry & sugar. Add to pot.
Add vegetable broth and green beans. Stir and cook at a low boil for about 5-7 minutes, or until greens beans are just wilted and soft.
Turn off heat. Stir in cornstarch mixture. Serve in big bowls over noodles or as is.

Father's Day:

The day began with a bunny
stick puppet show and pancakes.
I wasn't up to doing anything
extra special...being very
pregnant and having 3 boys
is enough!



For lunch I made this absolutely
fabulous "Pea Shoot Salad with
Avocados and Bacon" from the
Gourmet's Fresh cookbook. The
dressing was fantastic. And I used
Lightlife fake bacon that cooks
up crispy.


We ate out at a Mexican
restaurant for dinner, then
came home to enjoy an
apple-rhubarb pie with
Soy Delicious Neopolitan
ice cream. Dada is a big
pie fan.


Monday:
Husband's lunch: bell
pepper strips; steamed
asparagus; grape tomatoes;
purple grapes; more pea
shoot salad....there was
plenty of leftover dressing
for a few more servings.



Another recipe from Gourmet's
Fresh: "Farfalle with Roasted
Garlic and Pea Puree". A yummy
way to use peas. I decided to add
the pea greens to the pasta
cooking water at the very end
instead of adding them raw.
Very tasty.

Tuesday:
Another one of Ryan's creations:
a sandwich filled with Tofutti
cream cheese, carrot, grapes
& avocado. He loves to tell me
about when he grows up how I
can come visit him and all the
delicious meals he'll cook for me.
I can't wait! LOL.




Wednesday:

I must admit I am not a fan
of raw radishes. But they are
easy to grow and we always
get plenty from the farm, so
I am determined to find new
ways to prepare them so I
can enjoy them. I tried this
simple Pickled Radish recipe
online. It is so easy to slice
radishes, throw them into a
glass jar or container, shake
a few times, and in 24 hours
watch them transform into
something new and delicious.
I ate the whole batch myself!



Lunch: chinese-style asparagus
and super spicy eggplant over
rice.
Our last item from the previous
farm season is garlic, still hanging
in the basement stairwell, plant
tops and all. I just snip off a head
whenever needed.

CSA share:
- 1 bunch summer savory
- 1 head red leaf lettuce
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 1 bunch rainbow swiss chard
- 1/2 lb. spinach
- 1/2 lb. mixed baby greens
- various herbs: sage, oregano,
thyme, sorrel
- 1 bunch pea greens
- 1 bunch scallions
- 2 quarts strawberries
- 1 quart sugar snap peas

Dinner: child & adult portions of:
strawberries; snap peas; sauteed
swiss chard with garlic & raisins;
tofu herb ravioli with sauce.

Wednesday:
Dinner: pasta primavera with
leftover pea sauce. Lots of
veggies including peas,
broccoli, carrot & bell peppers.





Thursday:
local pickins from the Farmer's Market: red & yellow new potatoes; flat-leaf parsley; a loaf of white bread (what a treat!); yellow squash & zucchini; 5 hothouse tomatoes.

I was so exhausted after a
visit with my midwives and
food shopping that I wanted
a simple comfort food dinner.
I whipped up a sun-dried
tomato & parsley hummus
spread on some onion focaccia
bread & topped with capers.
Oh, my, gosh...soo good. That
and a salad & some snap peas to munch was all that we needed.

Next week Ryan starts CSA farm camp...so I'll have at least a couple of kid lunches to post!