Pita Pockets and Supper!!

We had Pita Pockets for supper with black bean patties, carrots, cucumber, lettuce and Greek olive oil lemon dressing.  They were SO good, I could have just kept eating them!!!

Pita Bread

1/2 C gluten flour

1 C all purpose flour

4 C whole wheat flour

1 1/2 t. yeast

1 t. sugar

1 1/2 t. salt

2 1/2 C warm water

Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl combine water yeast and sugar and let sit for 10 min.  Once yeast mixture has bloomed, add to dry ingredients and mix till a nice dough is formed. Add all purpose flour if needed to create a tacky but not sticky dough and knead for 5-7 minutes.  Transfer dough to a greased bowl and let rise for 1 hour or till doubled in size.  Preheat oven to highest temp (mine was at 550 degrees) and roll out circles of desired size and put onto a sheet pan ready for the oven.  When the oven is up to temp, place sheet pan on the bottom rack and bake till puffed and just browning. (5-7 minutes)  Repeat this process till your dough is gone.  The recipe above made about 15 pockets!  See below for the filling and dressing recipe.

For the filling we used my black bean burgers, carrots, cucumber and a spring mix salad.  The dressing is simple, but makes these sandwiches go from good to GREAT!!!

1/2 C olive oil

1/4 C lemon juice

1 t. garlic granules

1 t. oregano

1/2 t. salt

Adjust lemon juice and salt to your taste preference.



Combine and drizzle over prepared sandwiches.

Aw-Some Coleslaw

I just used up another head of cabbage from our garden.  I made coleslaw for potluck at church tomorrow!!  I get a lot of my recipes off of allrecipes.com because I find that if they have good reviews and a lot of them, the recipe is pretty good and worthy of a try.  Again I was not disappointed.  This coleslaw recipe came off of that website and I think it will go into my recipe book!!  The recipe is posted below for quick reference and my substitutions are in ( )...

Aw-some Coleslaw

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used Vegenaise)
1/3 cup white sugar (I used raw sugar)

1/4 cup milk (I used soy milk)

2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar (I used lemon juice for this also)

salt and pepper to taste (I didn't add any)

9 1/2 cups shredded cabbage (I just used 1 large head)

1/2 cup grated carrots (I used 4 carrots)

1/4 cup minced sweet onion (I used 1t. onion powder in sauce instead)

Whisk together mayonnaise, sugar, milk, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt and pepper in a large bowl.

Toss the cabbage, carrots, and onion into the dressing; mix well. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to overnight before serving.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Looking in the garden the other day, I realized that we have 6 heads of cabbage ready to be harvested NOW.  What are we going to do with 6 heads of cabbage? 

Well, that is where this recipe came from, and I said to my friend Sara today, "I don't know why I call it Chicken Noodle soup because I don't use chicken or noodles in it.  I use FriChik and Cabbage..."  So I really should rename this recipe Fake Chicken and Cabbage Soup...that just doesn't sound as appealing.  Anyway, here we go...

1 large Onion chopped

3 cloves Garlic minced

4 Carrots chopped

Saute above in oil then add:

1 head Cabbage chopped and water to just cover cabbage

10 pieces FriChik plus liquid

1 t. Onion Powder

2 T. Chicken like seasoning

Salt to taste

Let simmer till cabbage is cooked and enjoy!!

Very good and very easy!  The cabbage has a very good texture in this soup, and to me doesn't overwhelm of cabbage.  Don't be scared of this healthy version, just give it a try then you can judge.

Quick and Saucy

What do you do when you look at the clock and realize that you should have started supper already, and that your family is going to be hungry in T-15 minutes?  You look in the fridge, pull out whatever veggies you have and make up a quick spaghetti sauce. 

Here I sauteed 1 Onion, 3 Carrots and 1 Zucchini with half a package of Griller Crumbles.

Then I added 2 cans of tomato sauce with 1/4 can of water, 1/2 teaspoon each of oregano and basil, and let that simmer till slightly thickened.  

And finally put that over a bowl of whole grain penne pasta!

We also had some leftover bread from the previous post, and watermelon which I forgot to take a picture of.

It usually doesn't take too much planning for a quick meal as long as you have some staples like tomato sauce and pasta on hand.  I usually have some veggies that need to be used, and can often find some kind of veggie meat in the freezer.  The ingredients above, with a few variations, can be used to make several different dishes like pizza, and stir fry too! 

I challenge you to take a look at what you already have in your fridge and pantry, and see if you can come up with a quick and delicious meal for your family this week, and let me know what you come up with!!

18 Hour Artisan Bread

Last night I started the dough for bread that we are having for supper tonight and taking for lunch on Sabbath tomorrow.  It is SO yummy that I wanted to share it with you!!

Here is the link to the recipe that I used but I also made an herbed version that goes something like this...

Basic recipe

4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp yeast
2 cups water
1 1/2 tsp salt

Optional ingredients for the herbed version

Dried onions
Dried garlic
Parsley
Basil

Mix all together and let sit for 18 hours.  Turn dough out onto floured parchment paper or silicone baking mat.  Let rest/rise for 1.5 hours.  At 1 hour, preheat oven to 425 degrees and bake for 35-40 min.  Let cool completely before slicing and enjoy!!



Black Bean Veggi Burgers

Ok, so this is the second time that I have made these burgers, and turned out GREAT again.  I got the recipe off of a website called  allrecipes.com.  I have come to like this website because there are also great reviews.  Check it out when you have a chance, in the meantime, here is the recipe and some of my pictures.

Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pie

1/2 onion, cut into wedges

3 cloves garlic, peeled

1 egg

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions

In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.               

In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.               

In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.

Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together.

Form into patties of desired size and cook on nonstick skillet or electric skillet till done.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!!

Spaghetti Sauce and Family Dinner

So, I just finished making spaghetti sauce this morning because my husband decided that it would be cheaper to make it than to buy it so he purchased the BIG cans of tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes from Costco and I made sauce this morning.  He also went out into the garden and picked fresh oregano, sage, rosemary and thyme for the sauce.  When he came in from picking herbs, he commented on how nice it is to be able to go out into the garden and pick stuff fresh to use in our kitchen.

Sauce

1 6lb 10oz can Tomato Sauce

1 6lb 10oz can Crushed Tomatoes

4 Onions Minced

6 Cloves Garlic Minced

1 T Garlic powder

Fresh Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, Sage (to taste)

Let simmer for a couple hours and then can or freeze after cooled.

I also needed to make something for a family that we met about a month ago who just had a baby about a week ago.  I decided baked pasta would fit the bill since I don't know them that well and don't know what their food preferences are.  I think it turned out just right and I will let her bake it when she is ready to serve it to her family.  I am off now to make them a salad so that when Malachi wakes up from his nap, we can deliver the meal.

Baked Pasta

Pasta of choice (I used colored spiral)

Spaghetti Sauce

Mozzarella Cheese

Parmesan Romano Cheese

Boil pasta till just done and rinse under cold water.  In a bowl, mix all ingredients until desired consistancy.  The more sauce the better since it will be baked again.  Sprinkle a little more cheese on top and you are ready to bake at 350 for 30 min or till bubbly and cheese is melted!

Happy Friday everyone and I hope you take time this weekend to spend making memories with your friends and family!

Crispy Polenta and Vegetable Ragout

Here is a quick and easy recipe that can be done with any vegetable you have in the fridge.  I got inspiration from a picture that I saw on Vegan Dad's facebook page but I couldn't find the recipe anywhere so I made my own!!  I especially like the sweet potato because of the subtle sweetness you get in every bite!!

Polenta
6 cups water
2 cups polenta
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt

Bring water to a boil and stir while adding the polenta.  Add basil, oregano and salt and turn down to simmer.  Cook till thick and no longer crunchy and spread out on a 10x15 sheet pan.  Let cool and set up for a couple hours before serving.  Cut into desired shape and size and pan fry in a small amount of oil till just warmed and crisp.  Serve with Ragout on top.

Vegetable Ragout
2 cups sweet potato diced
1 small head cauliflower diced
2 portabello mushroom caps diced
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 14 oz can tomato sauce

Roast sweet potato and cauliflower in 400 degree oven till soft and done.  Meanwhile, dice mushroom caps and add to a sauce pan with the tomatoes and tomato sauce.  Bring to a simmer and turn off.  Once vegetables are finished roasting, add them to the mushroom and tomato mixture and combine.  Serve warm, on top of crispy polenta.