Dinner 3/9

Eggplant Parmesan
(over gemelli pasta)

Mache Salad w/ Tart Cherries
(w/ lemon vinaigrette)

Dinner 3/8

Portobello Mushroom Pave*
(from Charlie Trotter and Roxanne Klein's "Raw" book I mentioned the other day)

Baby Cucumber Sushi
(baby cucumbers w/ the center hollowed out and stuffed w/ macadamia nuts, jalapeno, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil -- all Liz's work)

Shaved Fennel Salad
(w/ olive oil and lemon vinaigrette)

Corn Soup
(w/ curry oil, also from the "Raw" book)


* so, we had an all raw dinner last night, the Pave took a little more work than usual -- and indeed most recipes in this book are along the lines of A+B+C+D+E+F+G+18 hours (of sprouting, marinating or dehydrating)=Z. The Pave takes overnight to marinate the paper thin slices of portobello mushroom (used my trusty ceramic kyocera blade). The end result looked much like the picture in the book, so I'd consider it a success...

The book itself is a coffee table book along the lines of "French Laundry", but the one advantage is we live about 1.5 hours from Farmer Jones' place (where most of the more esoteric veggies can be found). I don't forsee my diet becoming completely raw, but perhaps a couple of dinners per week (as well as breakfasts and lunches). Hey, I'm already a vegan, how much more weird can going raw be? ;)

If you want to see larger versions of my laughable attempts at "food styling" and "plating" just click on the smaller pictures...

Dinner 3/7

Massaman Curry
(tofu, potatoes, shallots, coconut milk, green curry sauce)

Steamed Broccoli
(w/ soy ginger sauce)

Basmati Rice*

* normally it'd be jasmine, but we're *gasp* out at the moment ;)

Dinner 3/6

Duxelles Stuffed Ravioli
(w/ port reduction sauce)

Glazed Carrots

Green Beans w/ Truffle Oil

* The duxelles were made with shiitake mushrooms and shallots, deglazed w/ maderia. The pasta dough contained some ground herbes de provence and then were run through the pasta roller, ending on setting "5". Then they were hand shaped and cut into triangles and square shapes. The port reduction sauce is just 1 cup of inexpensive ruby port (I've used tawny as well) reduced to a syrup with a little salt and pepper added.

The carrots were braised in water and glazed at the end w/ some maderia. The green beans were blanched, then sauteed w/ shallots and a drop of truffle oil at the end.

Dinner 3/5

Soba Noodle Stir Fry
(w/ sesame oil, tofu, jalapeno, carrots, garlic and ginger)

Edamame

Wine

Coturri Syrah 2001*

Yes, the new shipment has arrived -- woo hoo!

Dinner 3/4

Bruschetta
(zucchini, tomato and garlic)

Roasted Tofu w/ Lemon, Thyme, Olives and Garlic
(via Martha Stewart, April 2002)

Steamed Broccoli

Dinner 3/3

Cap'n Janeway
(rigatoni w/ tomato and cream sauce)

Mixed Greens Salad
(w/ fig vinaigrette)

Italian Bread

Dinner 3/1

Tex-Mex Enchilladas
(Corn tortillas fried in oil about 2 seconds per side, dipped in the cumin, mexican oregano and ancho chile sauce, then stuffed with soy cheese and onion. Makes about 20, place seam side down in a cassarole dish, cover with the rest of the sauce and onions and bake @ 350 for 10 minutes)

Arroz Verde
(Poblano Rice Pilaf)

Dinner 2/29

Orzo, Bean and Greens Soup
(kale, mustard greens, paprika, saffron, turnip, orzo and veg stock)

Cordoban Asparagus
(asparagus w/ sauce made from bread, garlic, cumin and saffron puree w/ parsley)

Seitan and White Bean Stew
(variation on the Spanish classic "intoxicated beef" w/ seitan, carrots, rasins, olives, garbanzo beans, veg stock and a shot of sherry)

Dinner 2/28

Toor Dal
(yellow lentil soup w/ garlic, red pepper, cumin seeds, and onion)

Purple Potatoes w/ Mint
(boiled, then sauteed w/ mint, garlic, jalapeno salt and pepper)

Korma
(seitan and tomato stew w/ garlic, corriander, clove and cinnamon)

Basmati Rice

Dinner 2/27

Warm Crimini Mushroom and Fingerling Potato Dinner Salad
(over mixed greens w/ creamy green olive dressing)

Italian Bread

Dinner 2/26

Mushrooms in a cream sauce over Farfalle w/ Tofu Cutlets*

Steamed Broccoli

* Sliced crimini mushrooms sauteed, then add 1 cup veg stock and reduce almost all the way. Add 1 cup cream sauce (1/2 box soft tofu w/ soy milk) along w/ rosemary and oregano, slightly reduce. Pour over cutlets and pasta

Dinner 2/25

Pasta "Stir-Fry"
(mushrooms, onion, carrot, fennel, celery, red pepper, veg stock, soy parmesan over gemelli pasta)

Italian Bread

Dinner 2/23

Pad Thai
(tofu, onion, celery, carrot, yellow bell pepper, jalapeno, tamarind paste, thai noodles, bean sprouts)

Dinner 2/22

Leftover Night (see Saturday)

Mardi Gras Wine Tasting at Riverside Wine and Imports

Cajun Black Bean Salad served in an Endive Leaf
Spicy White Bean Gumbo Soup w/ Cornbread
Pasta with Cajun Green Beans, Potatoes and a Creamy Pesto*
Mirliton Ratatouille served in Red Pepper Rings
Jambalaya, served in a Portabella Mushroom bowl
Bananas Foster in Phyllo w/ Caramel/Rum Sauce

* an upgraded version of the potato lasagna from last week. this one had much more basil and turned out very well, we got a lot of postive comments on that dish.

Dinner 2/20

Pizza
(tomato, onion, red pepper, tomato sauce)

Dinner 2/19

Spicy Black Bean Soup

Mirliton Ratatouille*
(chayote, eggplant, onion, red bell pepper)

Eggplant Parmesan over Capellini

* a weird mix of Italian and Cajun tonight, I was trying out some recipes for the tasting, and used the rest of the eggplant for the kids dinner as well...

Dinner 2/18

Mushrooms Madagascar*

Mashed Potatoes

Steamed Broccoli

* cremini (or button) mushrooms, shallots, garlic and green peppercorns sauteed, then put in a ramekin and covered w/ veg stock and topped with soy cheese and thrown in the oven for 10 minutes at 350. It's really more of a soup...

Dinner 2/17

Cap'n Janeway*
(gemelli w/ spicy tomato cream sauce)

Spinach Salad
(Black Cherry Vinaigrette)

Homemade Bread

* I know I always explain this, but some folks are new to the blog... the recipe is adapted from a dish that Kate Mulgrew made, and was printed in "People" magazine about a zillion years ago. She used Penne, but any pasta will do, and she also added Vodka, it's optional, but does cause a reaction to the tomatoes (thank you Shirley Corriher)...

Dinner 2/15

Cabbage Pierogis*

Borscht

Raddichio and Endive Salad
(w/ garlic and ginger vinaigrette)


* this is reason you make (and freeze) all those extra pierogi's in September when the cabbage was plentiful ;)

Dinner 2/14

Spaghetti w/ Tomato Sauce*

Garlic Bread

Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake**

* why yes, we did recreate the scene from "Lady and The Tramp" ;)

** just the like the picture on the top left.

Dinner 2/13

Tofu Biryani
(tofu, rice, currants, garlic, ginger, onion, cinnamon, cumin seeds, cardamon)

Zucchini and Fenugreek

Turmeric Potatoes

Dinner 2/12

Seitan Mole
(onions, garlic, red pepper, seitan, chocolate, tomato paste, tiny splash of bbq sauce)

Arroz Rojo
(Red Chile Rice)

Spinach Salad
(w/ creamy tequila dressing)

Dinner 2/11

Cajun Pasta w/ Green Beans and Potatoes*

Garlic Bread

* for the tasting next weekend, I tried making it as sort of a potato lasagna, putting the pasta, green beans, corn and basil infused bechamel sacue in between the layers. I like the way it turned out, but I'll probably make mini-versions in 2oz ramekins... Not Atkins Friendly ;)

Dinner 2/10

Pizza
(tomato sauce, red bell pepper, onion, garlic, red pepper, tomato slices, soy cheese)

Mixed Greens Salad
(w/ creamy dill dressing)

Dinner 2/9

Seitan Au Poivre
(seared seitan w/ mustard cream sauce, green peppercorns and capers)

Mashed Potatoes

Haricot Verts

Dinner 2/8

Stir-Fry
(tofu, carrot, yellow bell pepper, onion, garlic, ginger and daikon)

Basmati Rice

Dinner 2/7

Lasagna*
(tofu ricotta, oven roasted tomatoes, garlic, onion, celery, carrots, red bell pepper, red pepper, oregano, soyrizo)

Steamed Broccoli

Homemade Garlic Bread

* yes, lasgana two times in the same week -- the other one was a single serving size, this one was a big pan of it. We're trying them out for a future tasting of organic Italian wines in April...

Dinner 2/6

Spinach and Red Pepper Gratin

Eggplant Frites
(dregged in flour, cornstarch slurry, seasoned bread crumbs, deep-fried at 375)

Fusilli w/ Cajun Red Sauce
(red onion, garlic, red pepper, soyrizo, red bell pepper, tomato, cayenne -- slightly pureed w/ an immersion blender, toss the pasta in and serve w/ the eggplant frites on top)