Dinner 11/30

Seitan Stir-Fry
(seitan, red chile pepper, red bell pepper, scallion, carrot, asparagus)

Basmati Rice

Dinner 11/29

Cappellini Pomodoro
(sauteed onion, garlic and tomato over angel hair pasta)

Grilled Asparagus
(par-boiled three minutes, then marinated briefly with olive oil, tamari and pepper, then grilled)

Homemade French Bread*

* sadly, the last of the six loaves Liz made for Thanksgiving -- it was a pretty quick meal to put together -- a good thing on a Monday ;)

Dinner 11/28

Tofu w/ Lemongrass*
(tofu cutlets, split in the middle and stuffed w/ a puree of lemongrass, shallot, red pepper, garlic and tamari, seared, then baked to cook the insides)

Spicy Noodle Pie
(udon noodles, chile paste, scallions, fried in a 10" non-stick pan, flipped once, used as base for tofu/green beans)

Peppery Green Beans
(sauteed onion, red bell pepper, green beans, tamari)

* all Jean-Georges -- a great antidote for too much Italian food ;)

Dinner 11/27

Spaghetti w/ Marinara Sauce

Garlic Bread

* post shopping, you need an easy dinner ;)

Dinner 11/26

Baked pasta
(fusilli pasta, w/ broccoli, tomato, soy cheese)

Homemade French Bread

Dinner 11/25 (Thanksgiving)

First Course

Granny Smith Apple Salad
(mixed field greens, cubed granny smith apples, dried cherries, balsamic vinagrette)

Mushroom Pate

Homemade French Bread

Second Course

White Bean and Porcini Soup

Third Course

Butternut Squash Ravioli*
(w/ sage butter)

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Braised Brussel Sprouts

Cranberry-Orange Compote

Dessert

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheescake**
(topped w/ whipped cream and raspberries)

Coffee


* we made these about 11 am, and ended up with enough extra dough/filling to freeze another three dozen. I'd forgotten how fun (and easy) it is to make ravioli. Once you get the dough down to setting number 5 on the pasta rollers, these just float like little clouds on your tounge (yes, a BDJ moment from Iron Chef). Ethereal.

** this was the second best cheescake Liz has ever made (only behind the espresso bean cheescake over there in the left hand column). The cheesecake was made with pumpkin puree, tofu and a bit of Silk Nog in place of the heavy cream. Cooked in a bain-marie, there was minimal cracking, but the top was filled in w/ a chocolate ganache, so you wouldn't have seen it anyway. The filling had exactly the right texture (creamy, yet firm -- not rubbery at all) and the taste was all Thanksgiving spices of nutmeg, cinnamon and pumpkin in the right proportion.

Dinner 11/24

White Bean Cassoulet

Roasted Potato Slices*

Homemade White Bread

* tried cutting them in 1/4" thick rounds and roasting them for about 20 minutes -- they'll be really good as a base for hors d'ouerves for the holiday party...

Dinner 11/23

Seitan and Lentil Stew

Braised Leeks

Mushroom Pate*

Homemade French Bread

* from the Millennium cookbook. Yummy.

Dinner 11/22

Wild Mushroom Quesadillas
(oyster mushrooms, rajas, onion, tamari, soy cheese, cilantro)

Arroz Verde
(leftover from the other day)

Dinner 11/21

Broccoli Rabe and Soy Sausage over Penne Pasta*



*finished off the soy sausage -- probably the last we'll see of that -- we could have just added the spices instead...

Dinner 11/20

Stir-Fry
(tofu, carrot, red bell pepper, red onion, szechuan peppercorn, tamari)

Jasmine Rice

Dinner 11/19

Stuffed Poblanos
(potatoes, soyrizo, onion, garlic, cilantro, soy cheese)

Arroz Verde
(Poblano Rice)

* this batch of Poblano's were eye-watering hot. Usually they're not quite so fiery -- I wish there was some way of testing them beforehand, to get an idea of where they sit on the Scofield index...

Dinner 11/18

Seitan Lo Mein*
(seitan, onion, garlic, carrot, red bell pepper, tomato, noodles, turmeric, tamari, cherry pepper)

Sear/Steam Green Beans w/ Tamari and Sake

* with sort of a Mongolian twist (turmeric, tomato).

Dinner 11/17

Eggplant Parmesan over Penne Pasta*

Grilled Raddicchio
(olive oil, salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar)

Brasied Brussel Sprouts

Homemade Italian Bread


* OK, it's official -- I'm tired of Eggplant Parm. My son would eat it three times a week (and cassoulet the other four). I think the next eggplant gets turned into Baba Ghanouj ;)

** hello to those clicking over from tari's blog

Dinner 11/16

Stir-Fry*
(tofu, carrot, sesame oil, tamari, jasmine rice)

When you have a really long day, it's 6pm and your wife is about to walk through the door -- you're really, really glad you made extra rice the other day and that frying tofu and carrots in the wok takes less than 10 minutes. Add rooster sauce and viola! ;)

Dinner 11/15

Tofu Marsala with Yellow Trumpet Mushrooms over Fusilli Pasta

Sauteed Artichoke Hearts, Sun-Dried Tomato and Kalamata Olives

Dinner 11/14

Stir-Fry
(tofu, enoki mushrooms, ginger, garlic)

Jasmine Rice

Hoisin Green Beans

Sear/Steam Brussel Sprouts

Garlic Eggplant

Dinner 11/13

Mushroom Ginger Soup
(dried shiitake, fresh ginger, scallions, carrot, veg broth)

Vegetable Lo Mein
(leeks, carrots, garlic, ginger, scallions, tofu, rice noodles, tamari)

Sear/Steamed Brussel Sprouts

Dinner 11/12

PomPom (or Lion's Mane) Mushrooms on Ciabatta

We ended up going to the Big Food Expo in Cleveland yesterday and nibbled throughout most of it, so we weren't really that hungry when we got home. Got to say hello to the always orange clogged Mario Batali and Michael and Liz Symon (got a nice Lola t-shirt), Missed Rachael Ray, and Alton is only on Sat/Sun...

Dinner 11/11

Fusilli w/ Onion, Red Bell Pepper and Soy Sausage*

Ciabatta Bread


* these are Italian types (read: spicy) and are more solid that the soyrizo, but tend to dry out pretty quickly. These sort of fall under number 4 in the left hand column, but *shrug* they weren't bad...

Dinner 11/10

Pozole
(seitan stew w/ onions, garlic, hominy, ancho chiles, veg stock and mexican oregano)

Wild Mushroom Quesdilla
(oyster mushrooms, tamari, onion, soy cheese, flour tortilla)

Papusas
(masa dough, onion, soy cheese, soyrizo)

Dinner 11/09

Stir-Fry
(tofu, sesame oil, tamari, red bell pepper, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, scallions)

Hoisin Green Beans
(seared/steamed grean beans w/ tamari and hoisin sauce)

Jasmine Rice

Dinner 11/08

Rosti topped w/ Chanterelle Mushrooms
(potatoes, onion, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper)

Butternut Squash Soup
(butternut squash, veg stock, nutmeg, sage, salt and pepper)

Braised Brussel Sprouts

Homemade Ciabatta Bread

Dessert

Macerated Strawberries in Balsamic Vinegar over Almond Pound Cake

*a fantastic Fall dinner all the way around ;)

Dinner 11/07

Broccoli Rabe and Sun-Dried Tomatoes over Pasta

Dinner 11/06

White Bean Cassoulet

Polenta

Braised Leeks

French Bread

Dinner 11/05

Turmeric Cauliflower and Scallions

Spicy Okra w/ Chiles

Cumin Potatoes w/ Chiles

Eggplant in Creamy Yogurt Sauce*
(from Saveur)

* this is really the first time I've cooked with the vegan yogurt, and it held up pretty well -- not too liquidy, sweet or firm.

Dinner 11/04

Mushroom Risotto

Grilled Asparagus

Baked Artichoke Crock
(artichoke hearts, vegenaise, red pepper, capers)

Ciabatta Bread

Dinner 11/03

Roasted Cavolfiore
(roasted cauliflower w/ oil packed black olives and breadcrumbs)

Braised Leeks

Roasted Russian Fingerling Potatoes

Dinner 11/02

Stir-Fry
(tofu, carrot, shiitake mushroom, scallions, garlic, ginger, tamari and sesame oil)

Jasmine Rice