Polenta

I made some polenta last evening. I don't make this often. Phil is not a big fan of corn meal. I have, however, decided that he is only half of our family. So, polenta it is! We were doomed to have chili for the third night in a row and I wanted corn bread. Last night I made popovers, which were good, but contain eggs and didn't really hit the spot with the chili. I decided to try polenta instead for a couple of reasons. One, I was under the misguided impression it was faster than making muffins, which it is not. Two, I always toss out 3-4 cornbread muffins because we don't eat them. Lastly, I am going to try to freeze it and see if I can use it later.

Phil always needs bread with dinner, and because I had eaten chili for lunch, I needed some variety. I don't eat sandwich bread, for some reason. Maybe it takes me back to the days when I took sandwiches for lunch as a kid. But I really have to be in the mood to eat a sandwich. I know I am digressing a tad ;-), but Phil took his lunch to work daily for over 30 years. He mainly ate sandwiches. He usually packed two sandwiches. Every day! I can't figure how can stomach them every day now that he is retired. He just loves sandwiches. I guess that is what makes us different.

I grew up eating fresh baked bread. My mother made it occasionally because we lived way out of town and if we were running out, she made bread for our sandwiches. Unlike Phil, I love the aroma of freshly baked bread and just can't let it cool before taking the first slice. Years ago my mother bought a wheat grinder, which I still have. She would buy a huge bag of wheat berries, grind them, and make bread, which us kids used to laugh about. It was very dense. A couple of days old, it could be used as frisbees or hockey pucks. Honestly, I am going to get some wheat berries and fire up the old wheat grinder again. Anyone need hockey pucks?

I am also going to make a sourdough starter and make my own sourdough bread. With all the press adulterated or GMO wheat and corn are getting, I think it might be best to try to make a more wholesome bread, since we eat so much. That stated, Phil is trying to learn to like homemade bread. I make fococcia bread, and he tries to toast it and eat it, but can't figure out how to make a sandwich with it. I will have to see how the sourdough experiment goes. Stay tuned.

Back to the Spicy 3-Bean Chili. It is vegan and delicious! And of course, you know how chili is? It gets better each day. I made it a little spicy the other day, but Phil is getting used to the spicier foods, thank goodness. I love spicy foods. We put a square of polenta in a bowl and poured the chili over it. Delicious! and filling!

Tomorrow, marinara sauce over polenta and I will freeze the rest. Phil was not at all excited that I had made so much. :-)

I did it! I think I have reached a balance.

I think my last post was Friday. We were doing really well on our "mostly vegan" diet. I still stray with a little cheese over my tacos. Then the weekend came. I was out grocery shopping and had the bright idea to invite my sister and her BF to dinner. I know her BF does not eat vegetables, so I decided to make a tri tip. He could have all he wanted, my husband could eat some, and best of all, it could be grilled outside. I have really gotten used to NOT having the odors and greasy residue that cooking and eating meat brings to the room.


At any rate, Phil grilled the tri tip, and I roasted cauliflower and sauteed Swiss chard from the garden. I chose not to make a starch. I am not sure why. I just don't think of it any more. About 50% of the time we have a starch as a filler. I usually think of it as a source of protein in the absence of beans or nuts, but since we had the roast, I asked Miles if he would like me to make some pasta with pesto. He said, no, the meat and bread would be enough. He said he would eat some of the 'lettuce' stuff (chard). I felt a little guilt, but not enough to make the pasta. Now, in retrospect, I could have made some rice or polenta or even the pasta. Oh well. Maybe next time. At any rate, we all seemed to eat enough. My sister brought the bread and pie. I must say I was not strong enough to steer clear of the bread she brought. I can safely say it has been years since I have had store-bought garlic bread. It was a treat! Then there was the pie. She also brought a peach pie. I was happy to say I was not impressed. It was too sweet. I wonder where the peaches came from? We were thankful for her additions to the meal, though. We ate it all.

Sunday we had leftovers. Breakfast is always the easiest when eating well. I think Sunday we had pancakes. Phil hates it when I do this, but I like to throw some frozen blueberries on them. They don't need butter and I can eat them a little maple syrup. That and a little fruit, I was good for the day. I think I had leftover vegetables and nuts for lunch.

Fast forward to this evening. I made a filling, salty, rich vegan dinner. Kung Pao Brussels sprouts, stir fried some red and green bell peppers, some tofu-sesame patties (recipe later), and white rice. The Kung Pao was fabulous. Really hit the spot. 

At the store Friday I bought:

• cashews
• cauliflower
• green onions
• jalapenos
• iceberg lettuce, which we love, so sue me! 
• sliced beef and fresh bologna (like that matters) for Phil's lunch
• Raisin bran
• spaghetti noodles
• Greek yogurt
• a variety of canned tomatoes and tomato paste

We have to remember to prep our summer garden and grow tomatoes. Last year I put up more than 40 pints of tomatoes and marinara sauce. Nothing like home grown tomatoes. It makes it hard to buy tomatoes at the store.

Went back to the store today:
Costco:

• bread
• cabbage salad mix
• onions
• Peta chips
• mayonnaise

Food 4 Less:

• pinto beans
• avocados
• apples
• bell peppers

Tossing out food.

I hate that! It is probably the main reason I have not gotten in the habit of filling my refrigerator with vegetables. I need to be in the mood to eat and cook certain things, and I had the tendency to leave foods too long in the crisper. They lose their color, vitamin activity, and frankly, once I have decided not to use a specific item, I just won't. Sad.

I just wanted to leave this update. In the past two weeks, the only food I have tossed out is an handful of green beans and a half a head of broccoli. That is great for me. I am writing mainly to remind myself to go through the crispers every other day. What I don't think will use immediately, I will clean, cut up, and toss in the freezer bag I have in the freezer filled with vegetable scraps for soup stock. :-)

Saturday and having company this evening.

Well, lets. see. I am quickly (after 50 years in the kitchen :-/ ) that the more varied ingredients I have at my disposal, the easier it is to scare up a nutritious, tasty meal. I know I have mentioned this once or twice already, but I really loved the pesto I bought at Lakewood Meat and Sausage.

We were able to eat the Cheesy Casserole twice and this morning I am going to freeze the rest. It just can't be finished today.

I made pasta with pesto again. Phil was happy. Me, too, for that matter. I paired it with oven-roasted cauliflower and Swiss chard. I opened a nice bottle of wine I had picked up at Murrieta's Well winery; a delicious red blend called The Spur.

Then I made the minestrone. I forgot to tell you about the minestrone. My friend Gary sent me a recipe the other morning. It sounded delicious and I happened to have all the ingredients, it looked to be a cold day, so I made it. It called for beef, which is traditional in minestrone. I have made it in the last without the beef and Parmesan cheese, but it was always missing something. I believe now the answer is SALT. Everything tastes better with salt.

But I digress. I made a huge pot with 1 pound of stew meat. In reality, that is not much meat for the number of servings it created. And Phil was so happy to have some meat. He had gone out with his mom the day before and stopped for a hamburger on his way home. I really don't want to see him sneaking out for meals, so we are starting to achieve a balance. Great!

Needless to say, with the casserole, pesto, and soup, we were set for food for three or four days. Last night, after our daily errands and cleaning the garage, I decided to toss a couple of potatoes in the oven. We had baked potatoes and salad for supper. Perfect. Oh yes, and finished that wine.

Cook it. Eat some. Freeze some.

Of course, I make the entire 16 ounce bag of beans and freeze some. Sometimes I don't know why. In my pressure cooker, it takes less than 30 minutes to make a pot of beans; less time than it takes to defrost them. I can even make a small pot. Anyway, I still do it.

• Pintos
• Pink beans
• Black beans

This week I froze:

• Some of the caramelized onions and spaghetti squash and it was a delicious lunch.
• Part of the spaghetti squash plain and will bring it out to eat with some of the pesto I brought home from the store yesterday. 
• The rest of the pesto I will freeze by the tablespoon full in an ice cube tray. I love to add it to spaghetti sauce. 

I want to try to freeze :

• burritos to take for lunch

That's all for now. I just wanted to remember that I really liked the frozen squash with onions. 

Making use of the food in the Fridge

I can't believe how few groceries I have had to buy at the grocery store this week. Since my last shopping trip, we had:

• Garlic and Rosemary steak, potato patties, sauteed bell peppers. I love the flavors. It is one of my favorite meals, even without the meat. I had a couple of slices of meat and saved out half of the marinade to see if the flavor was as good without the meat drippings. YUP! https://friggardenandgrocery.blogspot.com/2014/10/garlic-and-rosemary-steak-with-potato.html
• Bean burritos for dinner. Pintos from the freezer. Fresh made Mexican rice.  Salsa. OK, and cheese. A little can't hurt.
• Cheese and spinach ravioli with pesto sauce and steamed cauliflower. Geez it was good. Say Cheese! Yesterday I worked and stopped at a local meat market that carries pasture fed, natural, organic meats. I was thinking I might buy some eggs and maybe a couple of chicken pieces for Phil. I could barely walk in, the smell of meat was so strong. I did, though, and they had no eggs. It seems pasture raised chickens don't lay eggs in the winter. Who knew. At any rate, I saw some raviolis and pesto and brought it home. 
• Taco salad. It was fun utilizing ingredients I had finally had the foresight to buy last weekend at the grocery store: lettuce, carrots, jalapenos, and green onions. I made some fresh black beans (love my  pressure cooker), and cilantro from the garden. Basic dressing of olive oil and lime juice. I wish I had had an avocado. Anyway, it was delicious anyway. I had a little steak leftover from earlier in the week. I sliced and heated it for Phil. 
  

Superbowl Sunday

Today was a good day. Traditionally, Superbowl Sunday has been a day of snacking and booze. The longer I am eating whole foods, the better I feel and the less I want meat. I can say, at this point, I am not as concerned with eliminating the little butter I use on bread or to saute, as I am focused on finding tasty, easy to make, vegan meals.

I am learning that I can exchange vegetable broth for meat broths. I can substitute mushrooms for beef in spaghetti sauce and I have even substituted it in "Beef" Strogonoff. It is the texture more than the taste that drives me.

I am also learning to use more of my herbs and spices.

So...back to Superbowl Sunday.

• Breakfast was the usual. I am still eating Greek yogurt. Breakfast was fruit, yogurt. Phil had leftover pancakes. 
• Lunch for me was leftover (previously frozen) split pea soup and a couple of toasted baguette bread slices*. Phil had a roast beef sandwich. 
• Dinner: Around 2:00 I started prepping for the game. I chopped and sliced a bunch of different vegetables: carrots, green beans, red bell peppers, cucumber, and green onions. *The other day I had been at the grocery store and purchased a baguette of sour dough bread. I brought it home, sliced it into small rounds, brushed lightly with olive oil, and baked about 15 minutes. I also bought some Sabra hummus with olives. It is delicious. I made a dill dip and some cinnamon almonds. We started munching about 3:30 and that was the last thing we ate. We are still full. 
• https://thekitchengirl.com/how-to-make-crostini/

Where I need to work on removing dairy from my day.

• Look into vegan butter substitutes. I'm not sure if it is better than butter. How bad can a tablespoonful of butter a day be? Really?
• Cheese. I have already bought Nutritional Yeast. I have started buying cashews regularly. Maybe next month. 
• Dips: again, not sure how bad yogurt is. It is nice to be able to have something to dip veges into occasionally.