MoFo 16 Sweet Potato Bowl and a Meteor

Crazy Boy aka Psycho Boy usually makes something on Wednesday nights. He went shopping for his ingredients and he even took a photo I call, "Still Life With Knife".

He had an allergy attack earlier today, slept a little and then met me on my run tonight. On our walk back from the track,Crazy Boy pointed up at the sky and said, look a meteor! Sure enough it was a beautiful star burst that we got to experience together. Crazy Boy can often see things that other people can't. He can often find the miraculous in the ordinary. I probably would have missed my first meteor if my hero had stayed home. I've probably seen a meteor before but somehow everything always seems more special with C.B.

We watched it fall from the sky and journeyed home, but again my hero was weakened by allergies. Perhaps what we witnessed was not a meteor at all, but a nugget of Krypton.

 

Psycho Boy tries to regain strength from warm towel.

Alas, he could not recover in time to prepare something so his sidekick took over.

Riffin' on Engine 2 Rip's Sweet Potato Bowl (changed up a bit).
Feeds one out of commission super hero and his sidekick.

2 medium sweet potatoes cubed and roasted
1 can of black beans drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper seeded and diced
10 ounces pineapple chunks drained
1 handful of fresh spinach chopped
1 avocado pitted and diced
juice of one lime
2.5 T balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp of pink Himalayan salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Scrub and cube sweet potatoes. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with canola oil. Lightly spray sweet potatoes. Roast for about 25 minutes until lightly browned. Place everything in large salad bowl and toss gently.

Today:Look for the miraculous in the ordinary. Maybe wish upon a star, or be someone's super hero, you never know who's day you might brighten, just by being you.

MoFo 17 Is This Soup Godot or To Stay?

I've been bedridden for almost two days. I was courageous enough to scuff to the kitchen and make that ice cream and ugly cake I told you about. Crazy boy is making me vegan chicken noodle soup. It must be Godot soup or some existentialist plot. I am very grateful that Psycho boy has taken it upon himself to make this cure all, but this is killing me. First he didn't have enough broth, so he had to run out to his 4th store to get it. He announces each action, like, "now I'm cutting the carrots into semi-circles." He ends each statement with a question, like, now I'm caramelizing the onion, okay? Okay. Okay already. He has just announced "I bet the longer this sits, the better it tastes". How about the longer I sit the longer I fast? OMG this has now evolved into the War and Peace of soups. Never mind Austria, I might have to find Napoleon to invade the kitchen. Now Psycho Boy wants me to look at the soup while he's oohing and aahing, " look how the rice pasta thickens it, ooh we might need some Himalaya salt, ah how 'bout some nooch?" Yay. It's Ready. And I'm feeling better and I'm not in a holding cell! Let me tell you, this soup was well worth the wait...just like my crazy boy, well worth the wait!

Is This Soup Godot or To Stay? Larry's Soup that He Learned From Me only Slow Cooked

3 boxes of 16oz. vegan broth
1/2 onion cut in semi circles according to PB
2 C carrots- Larry likes semi circles
3 stalks celery for taste not chopped (GiGi has an aversion to cooked celery)
5 cloves of garlic minced
2 boxes of TJ Chick-Un Strips- chunked
1/2 box of rice spaghetti
about 3 C spinach
sea salt
21 salute
nooch to taste
canola spray

Spray heavy bottomed pan with canola spray (or use 2 T canola oil and heat pan) add onion, carrots and saute beyond translucent but not quite caramelized. Add garlic (might have to spray more at this point). Add Chick-Un Strips and cook for a couple of more minutes. Add broth. Season to taste. Bring to a boil and add pasta and cook according to package directions. Add spinach during last minute of cooking time. This all in all should be a rather quick soup to make. I feel better already.

Chick-un Noodle Soup

MoFo 7 Popeye Pin Wheels With Olive Oyle

I always had the impression that Popeye was a vegan. I mean besides being a spinach junkie Popeye's motto is "I yam what I yam". Popeye even owned a restaurant called "Spinach Heaven". Popeye once made a documentary called "Spinach vs. Hamburger", which is considered the Food Inc. of the 30's. I just found out that Popeye's "Spinach Heaven" served Spanish spinach omelets, so apparently Popeye is a vegetarian not a vegan. His archenemy Bluto passed away a number of years ago, (clogged artery), bloated and sad and alone, still pining for Olive Oyle. I'd rather not analyze Olive Oyle's eating habits in this post. Suffice it to say she has remained a size zero-zero throughout her life.
Don't be Wimpy, give these Pin Wheels a whirl.

1/2 of a 17.3 oz. package of Pepperidge Farm (Fahm) Puff Pastry Sheet (hooray they're vegan)
2 T of Earth Balance melted or 2 T of Olive Oyl (ha ha)
3/4 C Daiya shredded mozzarella or cheddar
1/8th C of nutritional yeast (nooch)
1-2 T of Tofutti "cream" cheese
1 clove garlic smashed and minced
1 chopped green onion
1 T non-wine Dijon or regular Dijon if you want
10 0z. chopped spinach thawed with as much water squeezed out as humanly possible

Preheat oven 400 degrees. If using Earth Balance go ahead melt it and set aside. If using olive oil pour it in to a ramekin. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Stir Daiya, nooch, tofutti, mustard and garlic in medium bowl.

Flour flat surface. Unfold pastry sheet on to aforementioned surface. Brush pastry sheet with chosen oil. Top with Daiya mix, and then some spinach. Starting with the short end roll up pastry like a jelly roll. Cut into 12 pieces. Place cut side down on baking sheet. Brush with melted EB or olive oil. Bake 17-20 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

A personal note. My late aunt's name was Olive. She was a kick with a great sense of humor. Sometimes I'd call her Aunt Pickles. We all miss you Aunt Olive. (This post is dedicated to her memory) xoxo

Soup Challenged No More

Are you a nudnick in the kitchen? Never made a soup in all the years on the planet? Opening a can of Amy's or Campbell's tomato soup and heating it in a nuke proof bowl is the most prowess that you've ever had. Fall is the perfect time for soup, but of course you knew that. Winter is around the bend and wrapping your hand around a steaming mug of goodness is a perfect way to warm up those delicate mitts of yours. Don't fret my little noodle brained soup challenged reader, you can do this! Stay warm.

Based on a Soup from "A Beautiful Bowl of Soup" by Paulette Mitchell

2 Boxes "365" Vegan Broth (or vegan stock) = 8 Cups
1/4 C Soy Sauce
4 Ounces dried Rice Noodles
8 Ounces Spinach (bag of organic is good)
2 C Fresh or Frozen (thawed) Corn
2 Green onions finely chopped
2 T Earth Balance
Red Pepper Flakes
21 Salute Seasoning (optional)

Combine Veggie broth, corn, and green onions in heavy pot. Bring to boil over high heat. Add corn and green onions. Add rice noodles and cook according to package directions (around 6 minutes). Half way through noodle cooking time, add spinach. Taste and adjust seasoning.
To serve, use tongs to divide noodles, spinach and corn among bowls, then ladle in broth. Top each bowl with a teaspoon of Earth Balance and red pepper flakes.

See I told you you could do it!

The Color Eggplant

Lynn chose to refresh her walls with a palette of mint julep, pistachio and sea foam. Lynn decorated with a green thumb and accented rooms with lavender. Lynn also loved the color purple almost as much as Oprah does, but this blog is not about Oprah.


Oprah never ever read my blog,even though she was sued by ranchers and calls herself a vegan. Real vegans read my blog! Oprah has never asked me to pose for any of O's magazine covers. Oprah might love the color eggplant, but she's not getting any of it. According to a nationwide survey Oprah does not need any more lasagna.
This recipe is in honor of Lynn and should be as appetizing as her decorative paint.

Roasted Eggplant and Spinach Ricotta Lasagna (vegan of course)

1 Box of Vegan No-Boil Lasagna

1 Medium sized Eggplant,olive oil spray

28oz. HM or Your Favorite Purchased Vegan Tomato Sauce
Approximately 1/2 C of Chopped Sundried Tomatoes in Oil
10oz. "Follow Your Heart"  Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
1 Cup Water

Vegan Ricotta (this is multi purpose and can be used to stuff shells, or toss with spaghetti)

8oz.Frozen Spinach thawed
1 Firm Tofu Drained and Pressed
2 tsp Fresh Lemon
2 tsp Olive or Canola oil
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 C Nutritional Yeast (nooch) + 3 T

Roasted Eggplant
Preheat oven 425. Line cookie sheet with foil. Lightly spray with canola oil.
Peel and slice eggplant into rounds.Lightly salt. Place on cookie sheet and bake about 4-5 minutes each side. Set aside.
Turn  Oven down to 375.

Ricotta
Make Ricotta. Mush the already pressed/drained tofu into a medium bowl. If your hands are clean use them to mush the tofu, it's fun. Add lemon juice, garlic and spinach. Mush with your clean hands again. Keep mushifying for 2-5 minutes. Add nutritional yeast (not Brewer's yeast)
and olive oil. Go ahead you can use a fork to mix now. Cover ricotta until ready to use. Clean your hands after all that mushing.

Lasagna
Spray a 9x13 lasagna pan. Ladle some sauce on bottom of pan and spread evenly with enough to cover the pan. Follow with a layer of lasagna noodles (yes they can overlap)  then a layer of ricotta spread with spatula and a teaspoon of sundried tomatoes on each lasagna noodle. Folllow with a slice of roasted eggplant,sauce and then shredded cheese. Continue layering. Last layer should be shredded cheese. Sprinkle remaining 3 T nutritional yeast on top of lasagna.
Pour 1 Cup of water evenly over the  top lasagna layer. Make sure to get some of the water into the corners of the top of the lasagna or they will get too crunchy.

Cover tightly with two sheets of overlapping foil. Bake 30-45 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Shug in the Color Purple said, " I think it pisses God off when you walk by the color purple in a field and don't notice". So for today, just today, why not take a moment and savor and delight in the very thing you might have rushed by yesterday. I mean just to be on the safe side, you don't wanna piss anybody off. Now enough noticing...your lasagna is burning.

Soup Assessment

Yeehah it's 81 degrees and sunny here in Northern California. It's almost summer if the fog doesn't roll in. Some people who are not familiar with Bay Area weather assume we have the same climate here as in Los Angeles. Comparing Bay Area climate to Los Angeles'  is like comparing pigeons to chickens, which just reminds of all those dopey psych tests they used to make you take. Remember those? Larry does. (We've both been assessed many times.)

Pigeons are to chickens like 1000 Island dressing is to___ ( correct answer is  Freddy Kruger )

to

Freddy Kruger likes his radicchio undressed which is why that answer makes sense.
I digress. I really don't know if the summer is coming or not. Sometimes it comes for a little while and then disappears until October. Mark Twain once said the coldest winter he ever experienced was a summer in San Francisco. Mark Twain was a very famous humorist who did not write the "Texas Chain Saw Massacre".

It is good to eat soup during a frigid (as in very cold...) summer.

GiGi's White Bean Veggie Sausage and Spinach Winter/Summer Soup (serves 4)

2 cans white beans (cannelini) (drained and rinsed)

1 qt container vegan broth

one chopped onion

one garlic clove minced

one red potato chopped

5 carrots peeled and chopped

one "Gimme Lean" veggie sausage link

3/4 bag spinach

1/2 cup-1 cup of Nutritional Yeast (Nooch)

1T sea salt or more to taste

lemon wedges

canola spray, 2-3 T olive oil

Do all your prep. Spray stock pot and add 1 T of the olive oil. Heat oil at a medium low flame (any kind of flame that does not blow up the house is good). Add onion and potato and saute about 5-7 minutes until the onion is translucent. (if you hold the onion up and look through it, you will see the potato)
Now add sea salt, garlic, carrots and veggie sausage link. Saute about 3-5 more minutes then add the vegan broth. Bring to a boil (yes aren't those flames, amazing bahaha?)
then simmer (bring down the flame now...go play with matches somewhere else) for about a 1/2 hour. Add nutritional yeast and spinach. Cook  for about 1-2 more minutes until the spinach is slightly wilted. Add more sea salt if you want. Serve in bowls with  lemon wedges. Drizzle each bowl with remaining olive oil. (Add more nooch if you like).
Now cuddle and slurp.