Fast Veggie Curry from Scratch

My trick to a fast weeknight meal is doing small things every night to slowly prep for the next night or multiple nights.  For any type of bean, soak them overnight then put them in the slow cooker the next morning with fresh water and let them cook all day.  I don't bother with seasonings because I want them to be versatile, just like a can of beans.

My secret with winter squash is to cook them when I have the oven on for something else.  Just stab it a few times with a knife to make sure it doesn't explode and put it on a baking sheet in the oven along with whatever else you are cooking.  If the other things are done before the squash is soft, just leave the squash in the oven and turn the oven off.  There will be enough carry over heat to cook it all the way through.  The way you know its done is that the skin is soft.  Don't bother doing anything with it that night and just put it whole in the refrigerator until you are ready for it.

Now that the prep is out of the way, we can get on to a fast weeknight meal.  Into a skillet went the black beans, cubed squash, diced hot peppers, and curry powder.  Cook until warmed through then add in the coconut milk.  I let it simmer a bit to reduce and combine the flavors.

Top with some parsley and enjoy.  Making all this from scratch would be an all day affair, but split it up into small chunks over multiple days and a week night dinner is ready in 10 minutes.

French Toast

This lovely loaf of bread that I made truly was delicious.

Unfortunately there was only so much I could eat before it was past its prime.  Luckily a Saturday morning came around and French Toast was in order.

Into the liquid mix went eggs, vanilla, milk and cinnamon.  That butter is for the pan.

While mixing everything up get the butter in the pan and start heating it through.

I tend to use a 9x9 baking dish to mix all the wet ingredients together.  It is a great shape for laying out the bread in one layer.

Stir everything up and slice the bread.

Soak the bread in the egg mixture for a few minutes on each side.  The more stale the bread is the longer I let it soak.  Really, you can't over soak but if it doesn't soak long enough you still get the stale center of the bread in the final product.

Into the hot skillet it goes.

Cook on both sides until brown.  You can see some extra bits of egg attached to some of the pieces of bread.  That is because any egg mixture left when the last piece of bread goes in the skillet gets poured over the top of the bread directly in the skillet.  No reason to waste the egg.

For a fun little treat, once the french toast is out of the pan toss in some banana and pear to get them warm and caramelized.

Now that is what I call breakfast.

In my opinion this breakfast is delicious enough with out the syrup and it saves a few calories.

Tomatillo and Peanut Soba Noodles

This dish came from another crazy thought process of mine.  Tomatillos are sour and in my mind can be used to replace a lime flavor.  I was trying to come up with a way to use some soba noodles I had on hand and they are right by the peanut butter in the pantry.  That is where the idea was born. 

I cooked the tomatillos in a flaming hot cast iron skillet to get a bit of char on them.  

Once they were cooked through, peanut butter, soy sauce and fish sauce went into the skillet to make a quick sauce.  Toss with the cooked noodles and call it dinner.

Jute Mallow Stew

Greenling was kind enough to provide a recipe for how to use the Jute Mallow.

As usual, I modified a bit by leaving out the chicken and serving the stew over polenta.

First into the pot goes the onion, garlic, jalapeno and cilantro.

The jute mallow is washed, prepped and ready to go.

Add in the chicken stock, jute mallow and lemon juice.

It is quite liquidy, but that really goes nicely with polenta.

Overall it was quite a nice dinner.  I've never seen jute mallow in a grocery store, but I think I would buy it again if I ever saw it.

Greenling Local Box Sep 16-20

Some pretty good produce this week

You know its fall when winter squashes start showing up.  Some might say it is a problem that the weather is still in the 90s but for me, I'll take it.

Something I had never heard of in this box was Jute's Mallow, also known as Corchorus. It is common in the middle east and usually served as a type of stew so I am going to give that a go.  Asia greens will be cooked and served with beans, avocado will go with lentils into a quick salad, and pears will go in smoothies.  Everything else is still up in the air a bit.

FWF - Rolls

 

A few whole wheat rolls that I made started showing some mold.

You can barely see it in this picture, but there is just a small spot on the roll in the bottom left.  I was just one day too late on using them up before they turned.

Thanks to Kristen (FrugalGirl) for hosting FWF.

FWF - Herby Dogs

Just a bit of waste this week.  A mostly full packet of veggie dogs and a sprig or two of Oregano.

No excuse for the Oregano, I just got lazy and stopped pulling it out of the fridge to use.  The veggie dogs on the other hand were a request for a vegetarian at a cookout we had.  I will be the first to admit that I eat a lot more vegetables than I do meat, but these processed veggie dogs just aren't my thing.

Ingredients

Water, soy protein isolate, soybean oil, evaporated cane syrup, pea protein isolate, tapioca starch, salt, potassium chloride, bakers yeast extract, carrageenan, dried garlic, natural flavor (from plant sources), natural smoke flavor, xanthan gum, fermented rice flour, guar gum, oleoresin paprika (color).

Honestly, what is half of that stuff?  Anyway, I never could convince myself to eat these so instead they went into the bin.

Thanks to Simply Being Mum for hosting FWF.

Split Peas and Wheat Berries

Prepare yourself for the ugliest meal ever.

Ready...

Set...

Go...

What you see there are split peas and wheat berries.

The night before I poured a bit of both in a pot with some water, covered and simmered for about 30 minutes while I was getting my dinner ready.

A sprinkle of green onion (only because it was also going in my dinner), some salt and pepper and that is lunch for the next day.  Who says healthy cooking/eating is hard?

Greenling Local Box - Sep 9 - 13

I took 3 or 4 weeks off of receiving a Local Box from Greenling to get caught up on all the food I had in the refrigerator and to make sure I wasn't wasting it since we weren't home for a few weekends.  Which means, I was quite exciting for the delivery last week.

For this week:

• Bibb Lettuce - Salad for lunch
• Pears - Morning smoothie when they are soft enough
• Jalapenos - They get added to almost every dish for a bit of spice
• Carrots - Lentil, Celery and Carrot Salad.  Also, the greens have been cooked and will be added randomly to dishes to just up the nutritional content a bit.  
• Basil - To be combined with additional basil from my plant and some cilantro to make a pesto
• Portabella Mushrooms - Sauteed with Pesto and Quinoa
• Patty Pan Squash - Sauteed with some rosemary and served as a side dish to Tilapia

To be used later:

• Mini Pumpkin - What am I supposed to do with them?  Suggestions welcome.
• Potato
• Butternut Squash

Desktop Lunch - Tomato Salad

Here is another view into an average lunch at the office.

Tomato salad with the tomatoes on the bottom.  This keeps the spinach from getting soggy by lunch time.  For the dressing, is a touch of sesame oil and vinegar poured directly on the tomatoes.  No need to stir because they will have all mixed around by lunch and any step I can cut out in the morning means I can get out the door that much quicker.  With the spinach there is also a bit of basil.  Per usual, salt and pepper added at the office.

Leftover quesadilla on the side for a bit of textural variety and that is lunch at my desk.

FWF - Mostly No Waste

 

Last week I had no waste because I had not been home.  The trend continues because after work on Monday I bought just a few staples for my morning smoothies and some things to bolster the dishes I am making from my pantry this week and it has not been long enough for any of that stuff to go bad just yet.  In the interest of full disclosure though, I did toss one or two mushy grapes and the ends of some bananas that were a bit too brown, but that falls into my normal category of trimming produce, which I am not so sure is waste.  Does anyone disagree though, that kitchen scraps are waste?

Thanks to Kristen (FrugalGirl) for hosting FWF.

Flowery Salad with Chicken Rinds

It doesn't happen very often, but it sure is fun to add an edible flower to a salad.  There is a pop of color and makes the whole dish just look whimsical.

In the above...baby greens, radishes, mushrooms, sauerkraut, fennel fronds, jalapenos, chicken rinds and of course the lovely flowers.  This salad did not need any dressing with all the wonderful flavors going on.  Sauerkraut for the vinegar component and the chicken rinds for the fat component.

Speaking of chicken rinds...you should totally make them.  Anytime I buy a whole chicken to cook in the slow cooker, I take the skin off an render the fat out to use later.  Just chop the raw skin up into smallish pieces and place in a skillet over medium-low heat for about 20-30 minutes stirring occasionally.  All of the fat cooks out of the skin, which I store it in the fridge to use later in place of butter or oil, and in the skillet you are left with crispy fried chicken skin.  Consider the rinds a low carb crouton.

Tomatillo Hash

This is not your average hash.  The tomatillos are replacing potatoes and they bring a nice sour flavor to the party.  Just a thought, can I still call it a hash if there are no potatoes?  Luckily I am not a chef so I get to play by my own rules.

Ingredients: Leftover roasted chicken drumsticks plus the onions that were cooked with the chicken, poblano pepper, tomatillos, parsley, eggs

Dice it all up, aside from the eggs and parsley, and cook in a skillet over medium heat for roughly 10 minutes or until the tomatillos are soft enough for your liking.  When everything is cooked through, crack the eggs on top and cover.  Continue cooking for about 4 minutes, or until the whites of the eggs are done, but the yolks are still soft.  

Sprinkle with parsley and enjoy :)

Seasoning Note:  You may be wondering why I didn't mention salt and pepper.  That is because the chicken and onions were already quite seasoned and brought enough to the table, but I also prefer food that is lighter on the seasoning.

FWF - Nothing Here

 

I have absolutely nothing to share. This is a certainly a good thing, but I cheated a bit because I haven't been home much. Tomorrow is another multi-day wedding weekend after just completing one last weekend over Labor Day. Of course, I knew these were coming so I stopped buying produce, aside from fruit for my morning smoothie, about three weeks ago. So leading up to the craziness I was eating anything that would perish, or freezing it.

Preparedness is key when schedules get crazy. Good luck to everyone else.

Thanks to Simply Being Mum for hosting FWF.

The Rest of the Okra

Spiciest Taco Ever...

You remember how I mentioned I put some jalapeno in that Okra I cooked?  Well it got hotter with time and when I put it in a corn tortilla with a bit of a spicy jalapeno cream sauce that made for one hot meal.  But man was it tasty.

Leftover vegetables make a great filler in a tortilla if you don't want to eat them plain.  Just sayin'.

Okra with Leftover Salsa

Okra and tomatoes are a great pairing in my mind and I've been making a version of stewed okra with tomatoes for many years.  Usually it is with frozen okra and canned tomatoes, but this time around I had fresh okra and leftover salsa.  In an effort to consume all the food that comes in my house, the two went together in a skillet.

Dice the okra and sear it in a very hot skillet.  If you look closely you will see some brown/black bits in the okra above.  That my friends is flavor.  Once the okra is mostly cooked through, toss the salsa in with perhaps a diced jalapeno if you like some spice, and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook a bit more and serve up.

I ate it with some pinto beans, sprinkled with a bit of cheese.

FWF - Bad Orange

This week was really not so bad.  

That is a moldy orange, two not-so croquettes and a portion of a leftover egg roll.  Does anyone know why oranges go moldy like this?  The rest of the bag was perfectly fine so I'm not sure why this one went bad.  As for the egg roll, that was completely my fault.  I put the egg roll in the main compartment with the rest of the leftovers so it got soggy and therefore unappetizing.  Really, I should have put it in the other compartment of the take away box so it wouldn't get soggy.  Lesson learned (and hopefully not forgotten).
Thanks to Kristen (FrugalGirl) for hosting.

Long Overdue Greenling Boxes

Perhaps you guys won't notice the dates I received these boxes in relation to what day this post is going up?  That would be great....

July 18

Watermelon, Blueberries, Purple Eyed Peas, Onion, Tomato, Carrot, Tomatillo, Cucumber, Okra, Parsley

August 1

Peach, Blueberries, Grapefruit, Pickling Cucumber, Microgreens, Asian Greens, Radish, Parsley, Pear, Onion

All the fruit and carrots went into smoothies as usual and the greens were sauteed and become lunches.  Both of which are boring so I won't really write much about it.  More to come on the tomatillos, okra and salad fixins.  Unfortunately, I ruined the Purple Eyed Peas with too much Marjoram so what we didn't eat that night just went in the trash.  Maybe I should have come up with a way to re-purpose, but I just couldn't think of anything at the time.  Oh well.

I haven't gotten another box since these two because I had way too much food to eat and if I am going to keep my Food Waste Friday posts to a minimum I need to eat what I have.  Also, my mom's garden has been quite productive and she has been graciously sharing.  Thanks!

Not Quite Croquettes

My husband loves Croquettes.  Crispy on the outside.  Light and fluffy on the inside.

I, on the other hand, am perfectly satisfied with just what I call a Potato Cake.  Mashed Potato mixed with Egg and Flour, formed into a patty and cooked in a skillet.

Of course I want to make him happy so I tried to make my Potato Cake more like a Croquette.

Things I changed from normal:

• Thicker Patty
• Coated the outside in Corn Meal
• A bit more grease in the skillet

As the title suggests, I wasn't quite successful.  Maybe it is time I actually read a recipe to a croquette and give that a try.  First though, I must have leftover mashed potatoes again.

FWF - Travelling Got Me

Another Friday is here and it is time to fess up to some waste.  I was unexpectedly sent on a business trip for the last half of last week so was unable to finish eating up the things I had planned on taking care of before they went bad.  On top of that, I found out at 5pm the day before that I was leaving so I didn't even have time to prepare and freeze a few things. Sauteed Yellow Squash & Peanut and Soba Noodle Salad

On to the good news.  I was able to save some old rolls before I left by turning them in to croutons. 

I cubed the rolls, then put them in a skillet over medium heat with a few pats of butter.  Give them a shake every few minutes so you can get all the sides nice and crispy.  When they are about done, I toss in the chopped herbs, salt and pepper.  Garlic would also be a nice addition, but honestly I didn't want to go the effort on this particular day.

Good luck to everyone trying to stay to zero waste.

Thanks to Simply Being Mum for hosting FWF.

My weakness

Hi, my name is Kristina and I am addicted to Quesadillas.

I go so far as to take some leftover omelette, mix it with some leftover sauteed greens and stuff it in a crunchy, fluffy and oh so delicious quesadilla.  Serve with some sour cream and I am in heaven.

I am sorry, but I fear you will see many, many more posts about random things that I put into a quesadilla.  Try it...I promise you too will love it.

Spaghetti Squash Salad

What do you get with one spaghetti squash, three tomatoes and some basil?

A delicious spaghetti squash salad of course.

Directions:
Stab the spaghetti squash a multiple times, just like you would if you were baking a potato.  Microwave until it gives to the touch.  This particular one took about 10 minutes and I was checking on it after every two.  Leave it to cool for about 5 minutes before you do anything else with it, otherwise you won't have any finger tips left.  Cut the squash in half and scoop out all the seeds in the middle.  Using a fork, flake the tasty strands of flesh into a bowl, adding in the diced tomato and chopped basil.  Add a splash of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper and dive in.


P.S. I hate to admit, but the spaghetti squash and the basil came from Greenling and I forgot to take a picture that week.  Please forgive?  The tomatoes came from my mom (Thanks!)

Layered Salad Lunch

There are some days that what I pack for lunch puts me in my happy place and other days, it is just fuel.

This my friends was a happy place kind of day.

What you see there is a layered salad of Cucumber, Sauerkraut, Brown Rice, Tomato, Basil and Spinach with a drizzle of Olive Oil before the spinach and basil went on top.  Per usual, salt and pepper were added at the office.  The chewiness of the brown rice complimented the textures of the fresh vegetables.  Then the sauerkraut brought the right amount of acidity to the party.  Usually vinegar is too strong of a flavor for me so I loved the subtle twang of it.

I love summer and all it has to offer.

Eating Leftovers Plus Tomatoes

What to do when a friend asks if you want their leftover veggie enchilada at the end of dinner out because they are going out of town and won't eat it?  My answer will of course be...Yes!  Why waste good food?

To round out the meal, I sliced a garden fresh tomato and topped it with just a bit of salt and pepper.  This is something I don't do often enough.  Summer in Texas is great for tomatoes and when they are so fresh you really don't need to do anything to them to make them delicious.  Tomatoes have been plentiful in my parent's garden this year.  They have been kind enough to share :)

A great and free dinner.  Doesn't get much better.