(Vegetarian) Hamburger Pie

Hamburger Pie.

It's a recipe my mom used to make when I was growing up. It was always one of my favourites, and my dad's, too. I remember Mom once telling me that she'd never met a man who didn't love it. So, once, many years ago, I decided to make it for Shane (substituting veggie burger crumbles for the usual ground beef, of course). As far as I can tell, my mother was right (as usual...funny how we never figure that out until we're grown, isn't it?). Shane loved it. Luckily, so do the kids (well, two of them. The little one eats the potatoes, veggie burger, green beans and corn all separately, so it works out okay ~ I just leave a little bit of each ingredient aside for her). For me, it is the ultimate comfort food. There's the burger, the potatoes, green beans, corn, tomato soup...mmm-mmmm! It's quick and easy to make, doesn't dirty a lot of pans, makes everyone happy...What's not to love?

So, here ya go. This is a simple one.

Start by making some mashed potatoes. That is, unless you already have mashed potatoes left over, in which case, you'd might as well use those. You can make homemade mashed potatoes or instant, whichever you prefer. Make them the way you usually do, because that's the way you like them, right? My family won't eat instant potatoes. I tried once. They all looked at me like I was crazy. Funny. I remember loving instant mashed potatoes as a kid.

Next, in a large cast iron skillet (or stovetop to oven casserole...or a skillet, then later transfer to a baking dish...but we have always used the cast iron skillet, just like Mom does), heat a little olive oil. Get the skillet good and hot over medium-low heat first, then put in your oil ~ just enough to coat the bottom of the pan a little. Let it heat for a few moments. Add one package of veggie burger crumbles, your choice. Sprinkle in a few dashes of ground black pepper and a little onion powder. Brown the burger, then add one can of cut green beans, drained, and one can of corn, drained. Stir in one can condensed tomato soup, and cook until it is hot through.

Turn off heat. Spread mashed potatoes evenly over the top, then pop in the oven at about 400℉ until hot and bubbly around the edges and slightly golden on top. Remove from oven and let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

That's it. Perfect.

Note: If desired, you can sprinkle a little grated parmesan over the top before you bake it, but we don't do that, since we have dairy allergies here.

Also, I have to admit, tonight, I did not have canned corn, so I just threw in some frozen mixed vegetables. It was STILL perfect. I'm pretty sure this stuff is almost impossible to wreck.

Enjoy!

EDIT: Mom said this recipe originally came to her from her sister, my aunt, Eleanor (Gambino) Larsen. Thanx for the info., Mom ~ and big thanx to Aunt Eleanor for the recipe. We sure do love it.

I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconut Cupcakes

Well, now I have three. I HAD a lovely bunch of coconut cupcakes last night, before a bunch of people ate them. Now, I have three. And they are lovely. You'll have to trust me this time, because I didn't bother to snap a picture, but they turned out very cute, indeed.

I have to say, these cupcakes did not come off without a hitch. You see, since watching a late-night cooking show early last week, I have been craving coconut cupcakes. It just never seemed to be the right time to make them, until yesterday.

The night before last, I couldn't sleep ~ not a wink! So, around 5:00 a.m., I gave up, got out of bed and tiptoed out to the kitchen to (finally!) make coconut cupcakes. I decided to adapt the great vegan vanilla cupcake recipe I had discovered online a couple of months ago. How hard could it be?

Hard. I used coconut milk beverage, which I had used when making the vanilla cupcakes, and added coconut flavouring instead of the 1/4 tsp. almond or vanilla extract (in addition to the usual vanilla extract) recommended in the original recipe. I don't think either of those things was the problem. I also opted to use margarine instead of oil (which I had always used before in the recipe). Now, this was presented in the original recipe as an option, so that might not have been the problem, either. Honestly, I think the problem was loud, rumbly, low-flying aircraft. There seemed to be an abundance of loud, rumbly, low-flying aircraft at that particular time. At any rate, my sad little cupcakes fell. I let them cool, thinking maybe they weren't as bad as they looked. Upon tasting, we determined they were, indeed that bad.

At first, I wasn't really feeling like washing up all of the dishes and starting over, but, as the day wore on, I decided I really wanted those coconut cupcakes. After all, I had been craving them for more than a week. So, I went online and found what sounded like a good recipe. I figured, if it flopped again, I'd give up...for the day, anyway.

Now, I think the only thing I did differently than the original recipe was to add coconut flavour (Frontier Natural Products Co-op Coconut Flavor, to be precise). Here's what I did, along with a link to the original recipe:

Vegan Coconut Cupcakes

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut milk (actual coconut milk, not coconut milk beverage)
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut flavouring
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Fill cupcake pan with liners. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, coconut, baking soda, and salt. Add in the rest of the ingredients, adding the vinegar last. Stir until well combined.

2. Pour into cupcake liners and bake 30 minutes or until centers come out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

3. Frost with your favorite vegan buttercream frosting. Decorate with freshly toasted coconut.

Here's the link: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=22157.0

I made a vegan coconut buttercream frosting, like this:

1/2 cup Spectrum Organic Butter Flavor Shortening
3 TBS coconut milk (regular, not "light")
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. coconut flavouring
2 dashes salt
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup shredded coconut

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, cream shortening, coconut milk, vanilla, coconut flavouring, and salt until smooth and well-combined. Add sugar, a little at a time, mixing well after each addition, until desired consistency is reached. Gently stir in coconut or, if preferred, sprinkle shredded coconut on top of cupcakes after they are frosted, instead of mixing it in.

I mixed in the coconut and put colorful sprinkles on top, but I thought they would be nice topped with finely shredded dark chocolate, or even finely chopped dried pineapple, too.

Notes:
In both recipes, I used unsweetened shredded coconut, which is hard to find. I got mine at Whole Foods Market. If you can only find sweetened coconut, go ahead and use it. If you are concerned about your cupcakes being too sweet, you can reduce the sugar a bit, but I don't think it will be a problem, as one of the things we really enjoyed about these cakes was that they were not overly sweet.

I am sure you could substitute your favourite vegan margarine or even plain shortening for the butter flavor shortening, but I really like the flavour it gives the frosting. Just play around with it until you find what works for you.

These cupcakes are even better the next day. They just seem moister and more coconut-y. I highly recommend making them a day before you plan to eat them, and storing in an airtight container overnight. Enjoy!

Simple Soup for a Busy Day

Long time, no post.

Sorry. With one kid in 5th grade (looking for a good Middle School), one in 8th (looking at High Schools) and one in 2nd (just being a 2nd-grader, but, really, that's enough), two of whom are musicians and the third a ballerina...well, the joint is jumping here in Sunny So-Cal. (Yeah, it is sunny, even in the Winter.)

Top that all off we a recent trip to Montana for the holidays, then a bout with some miserable intestinal malady, and follow it all up with a sinus infection for daughter #1, and you'll have a rough idea of how our last couple of months have been.

So, a couple of nights ago, I happened to look up and think to myself (as I often do), "Oh, that's right ~ dinner! I have to cook that."

It was late, I was tired. Nobody felt like eating anything heavy. But I did have a package of Trader Joe's Thai Vegetable Gyoza (pot stickers) in the freezer.

Here's what I did:

Bring to boil:
2 qts. water
1 TBS (or more, to taste) vegetarian boullion of your choice
3 nice, thick slices from a large onion
1 rib of celery, sliced

Season to taste with soy sauce, a dash or two of seasoned rice wine vinegar and a pinch of Chinese Five Spice seasoning.

Add 2-3 cups frozen mixed vegetables (I used an organic frozen vegetable mix that I had on hand)

Bring back up to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the frozen pot stickers and simmer just until they are hot through.

Tada!

Soup.

I found it was fairly important to eat this right away, before the pot stickers could get mushy. Otherwise, I highly recommend fishing out the pot stickers and setting them on a plate, instead of leaving them in the broth. I suppose you could cook them separately, and then just spoon the soup over them in your bowl, but my method was quick and easy, and dirtied only one pan.

We'd had a fairly protein-heavy day, so I didn't think it was necessary to add anything else this time. However, I think some cubed tofu or a handful or two of edamame would be nice. Also, I am sure the addition of other, more interesting vegetables (and fresh, rather than frozen, too) would be make it even better, but I was going for quick and simple.

My apologies for the lack of pictures this time. If you want, one of you can make it and take a picture. Then you can show us all how lovely it was :)

Gazpacho (for Shane)

When Shane and I first got got together, before there were children with sensitive little tastebuds, ballet recitals, orchestra performances and drumsticks, we moved to the Tempe, Arizona area together so that I could finish my Theatre Education degree at ASU. There, we met some of our best friends, and we discovered a great little place called Pita Jungle, where we used to share an order of hummus w/ pita and cold, refreshing bowls of gazpacho on a hot afternoon.

We loved gazpacho. In fact, somebody gave us a tote bag with a recipe for gazpacho printed on it, but, before I ever got to try it, the bag disappeared. Then there was school, and work, and soon enough, children, a move to California...and somehow, I just never got around to trying my hand at making gazpacho. I don't know why. I always knew it would be easy enough, and I always knew how much we liked it, but I just never did. That is, until yesterday.

While I was (and continue) to recover from bronchitis (and terrible side effects from the medication I was given), I had a lot of time on my hands. I decided to spend some of it researching gazpacho recipes in an effort to find one that sounded like it might approximate our beloved Pita Jungle gazpacho. I discovered that, traditionally, gazpacho contains bread, but the one we liked so much didn't seem to, so I decided to skip that. I found a lot of variations, but, in the end, decided to base mine on a recipe in the Joy of Cooking. I did make some modifications (and you might make more) but the resulting gazpacho was so well-received by my husband, that I promised to share the recipe with friends, so here it is (mine, that is, not the Joy of Cooking's...'though it is close):

GAZPACHO

In a food processor, finely chop:

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, coarsely chopped
1 medium green pepper, coarsely chopped
Remove to a large bowl (or pitcher).

Finely chop in the processor:

1 small red onion
1/3 - 1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro (leaves only; no stems)
Remove to the same bowl or pitcher.

In the processor, finely chop:

2 1/2 lbs ripe tomatoes, peeled*, seeded and coarsely chopped
Remove to the bowl/pitcher.

Now, to the chopped veggies in your bowl/pitcher, add the following:

1-2 cups tomato juice (start with 1c, mix, decide if you need more)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsps. salt

If desired, add 1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and minced, or a few dashes of hot sauce. I chose to skip this and serve with hot sauce on the side, since I wasn't sure how spicy the kids would like it. Remember, too, if you will be storing it in the fridge for a day or two, the hot pepper will get hotter over time as it sits, so you might be better off leaving that on the side.

Taste and adjust seasonings. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

This makes a very thick soup. If you like it thinner, you can add ice cold water to thin it. Make sure the water you add is cold, so your veggies stay nice and crisp.


*The easiest way to peel a tomato is as follows:

Bring to a boil a large pot of water. Have ready nearby a large bowl of cold water. Cut a tiny "x" in the bottom of each tomato. Plunge tomatoes into hot water for just a minute or so, then fish them out with tongs and drop them into the cold water for another minute or so. When you pull them out of the cold water, you should be able to pull off the skins with very little effort. Cut peeled tomatoes in half, scoop out the seeds, and you're ready to roll.

Hope you all enjoy this as much as we do. We are keeping it in a pitcher in the fridge and eating at it whenever we feel a little peckish. Shane has requested that I keep some around "all the time." I am not sure how realistic a goal that is, but I will try to make it often :)

(Thanx, honey!)

The Banana Muffin, Perfected

It's difficult to type while patting oneself on the back, but I'll try. You see, for some time, I have been trying to arrive at the perfect banana muffin. Something that tastes good, has a pleasant texture (moist, but not mushy; tender, but not crumbly...) and is not too terrible from nutritional standpoint. After making many adjustments to many recipes, by Jove! I think I've got it! Now, you can have it, too :)


Perfect Banana Muffins

1 cup almond meal
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 TBS graham cracker crumbs
2/3 cup oil
1 cup honey
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups mashed bananas
½ cup hot milk or milk substitute**


Heat oven to 325 F.

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine oil, honey* vanilla and eggs. Stir mashed bananas into wet ingredients and mix well. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, alternating with hot milk.

Pour batter into greased muffin tin and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until done.

Optional: serve topped with a dollop of peanut butter and a drizzle of honey (do this upon serving, or provide toppings on the side ~ do not top them all and plan to store them this way).

* Tip: Measure oil first, then use the same measuring cup to measure your honey, and it will slide out cleanly, without sticking.
** I used So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage, but you can use your favourite milk substitute…or regular milk….or probably even just plain water.


And here's the rest of the good news: I found a site that will let me input a recipe and figure the nutrition facts. Check it out.


Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 85 g

Calories 258
Calories from Fat 109
Total Fat 12.1g
Saturated Fat 1.7g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 42mg
Sodium 290mg 12%
Total Carbohydrates 34.7g
Dietary Fiber 1.7g
Sugars 18.3g
Protein 4.7g
Vitamin A 1% • Vitamin C 3%
Calcium 3% • Iron 7%
Nutrition Grade C-
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet


I am no nutritionist, but I think this one stacks up pretty well. What do you think? Are these good numbers for a muffin? I mean, I am not thrilled with the C- grade, but, when I compared it to the nutrition facts on another site for a generic banana nut muffin, I found that mine had fewer calories, less sugar, less sodium, less fat, less saturated fat, more protein, more fiber and more iron, so, for a snack food that you don't plan to eat every single day, it's probably okay, right? I mean, it may not be the healthiest food in the whole world, but, for what it is, I think it's acceptable.

Obviously, if you serve it with the optional peanut butter/honey topping, you change the nutrition information, but it is so, so yummy that way. And, if you eat it for, say, breakfast, it's probably still a pretty decent choice. I checked the nutrition facts for that (assuming 1 TBS peanut butter and 1/2 tsp honey per muffin), and it wasn't bad, IMO. Calories and fat rose, as expected (363 cal. and about 20 grams of fat, which is, admittedly, a lot), but so did the protein, fiber and iron, so, you know, make informed choices. You could probably lower the fat in the actual muffin by subbing applesauce for some of the oil, but you have to go in knowing that the resulting muffin won't be quite as moist as the original, and you'll bring up the sugar count a bit, I suspect.

Ultimately, I feel this recipe works for us because it is sweet, but not too sweet, and because Kaia won't eat baked goods with nuts in them...but...nuts are so good for you! The addition of almond meal to this recipe packs in little extra nutritional umph, but it blends right in with the texture of the wheat flour, so she'll actually eat it. Hallie is not a huge fan of whole wheat baked goods (weird, because she loves whole wheat pastas), so using part whole wheat and part all purpose flour makes it a little less...um..."Whole-Wheaty," I guess.

The Afterschool Special

AKA ~ afterschool snack.

We're snackers. In fact, I tend to snack my way through my days, rather than sitting down and packing away a great big meal all at once. Maybe that's why I never post here. I'm too busy snacking.

Because I know this, I try to encourage healthy snacking habits. Every bite counts, so if I can pack a little nourishment into every morsel, all the better, right? I think so. When I use eggs, I make sure they are the ones that are especially high in Omega 3 fatty acids, for instance, and I like to add applesauce or pumpkin to the pancakes, so my finicky little non-fruit-and-vegetable-eating 7-year-old will accidentally get a little something that might be missing from her limited diet. I try to use wheat bread and brown rice, I add pureed carrots to my tomato sauce. You get the picture.

But then, we like to have fun, too. I mean, we can't be serious all the time. Sometimes, you want cookies, candy, muffins, cake...you know, treats. And sure, we have those things sometimes, but, when I can, I try to keep it as healthy as possible. It just makes sense to me. If I can give my family a delicious treat, but amp up the nutrition a bit, why not?

So, on this, the third day of the new school year, I will devote an entry to after-school snacking.

I have always felt that, when the kids get home, they should get a little time to unwind before they tackle the books again. I like to give them about an hour to decompress, relax, play, run off steam, and have a little snack to fuel them through the rigors of homework that await. I generally keep around the house an assortment of healthy snacks: nuts, dried and fresh fruits, veggies, hummus, whole wheat pita, cheeses, yogurt (dairy and soy), whole grain crackers, olives, graham crackers... We're not really a Goldfish crackers and juice box kind of family, but we do have those sometimes, too.

I had been wanting to do a little something special for back-to-school, but Justice's scheduling problems ate up Monday afternoon, and jury duty killed Tuesday for me, so, here I was on Wednesday, finally, with time to make something a little more involved than, say, yogurt and fruit.

I settled on this:

Agave Spice Cake

Ingredients

* ¾ cup agave nectar
* 1 cup applesauce
* 3 eggs
* 1 tsp. vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* ½ teaspoon ground clove
* ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 scant cup whole wheat flour
* ½ teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* ½ tsp salt
* 1 cup strong brewed decaffeinated coffee
Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together the first 4 ingredients.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, spices and baking soda.
3. Add the flour mixture to the wet stuff, alternating, with the coffee. Beat well.
4. Put into one greased 9"x13" pan.
5. Bake at 325F--60-90 minutes.

The kids love this. It is quick and easy to mix up, and mine has never taken longer than 60 minutes in my oven. I wish I could remember where I found the recipe, but I have made several modifications since then. The flavour is similar to gingerbread, and the texture is firm, but moist. It is not too sweet, and agave nectar, as I recall, has a low glycemic index. Sometimes, I substitute pumpkin puree for the applesauce, and substitute pumpkin pie spice for the other spices. That is divine, too.

Children were thrilled to find this waiting when they got home from school, and they will be getting slices in their lunchboxes for the next few days, too. Give it a try ~ it's especially nice enjoyed with a glass of milk (or milk-like beverage of your choice), while listening to your Schoolhouse Rock CD :)

School days, school days...

Dear ol' golden rule days..

Ah, yes, it is that time of year again. Time to dust off the old backpacks and lunchboxes (and replace the ones that the cat defiled near the end of the last school year), label mountains of new socks, try on the old uniforms, school shoes, sweaters...And time for school lunches.

In a world full of quick this and disposable that, we have made a concerted effort to strike a balance between convenience, health and personal responsibility. It's harder than it sounds...and, also, easier than it sounds, once you get the hang of it.

Our children carry lunch to school each day. We have thought about letting them buy school lunches, but, as vegetarians, the options available to them at the school cafeteria are very limited. Even on days when they offer a vegetarian option (cheese pizza is the only offering I have ever seen), they cannot guarantee that it will not be gone by the time my girls get up to the counter. Besides which, Justice can't have the cheese, anyway.

The great thing about packing lunches is that I know exactly what they are getting, so I can try to make healthy choices. Another bonus is that we can use reusable containers and utensils, so we aren't adding heaps of garbage to the landfill. The girls have cloth lunchbags, thermal bowls, water bottles, containers in a variety of sizes and cloth mats for wrapping their sandwiches. In addition to the health and environmental benefits, I find it is fairly easy, most days, to make sure that everyone has something she actually likes and will eat.

There are a couple of down sides. At least once a year, some teacher or other adult with express concern about the fact that one of my children isn't eating what they consider a "complete lunch." The truth of the matter is, sometimes my girls can be finicky (some more than others). I know what they ate for breakfast, what they will eat for snack after school and what they will have for dinner. In short, over the course of a day, they will get everything they need. To be honest, Kaia doesn't like most fruits and vegetables, so I don't often pack them for her. It would be a waste of perfectly good food. She also doesn't like sandwiches, or most traditional school lunch foods. I guess it throws them off when they see that she has things like crackers, yogurt, nuts..., but no real "main dish," as it were. The other stumbling block we have occasionally hit is other kids at school thinking my kids' lunch is "weird." The girls have all had to deal with this at some point, and I am pleased to report that they have all gotten through it. Hallie once said to a kid who told her that her food (hummus, tabouli and pita bread) was gross, "Um, you're eating dead animals." Granted, probably not the most polite thing, but, really, mashed chickpeas are gross food and flesh it not? Eh, it's a matter of opinion, to be sure, but, having both mashed chickpeas and sliced rare roast beef while working at a deli in college, I would beg to differ.

Anyway, here we are, on the first day of school. We have new haircuts, new backpacks, new pencils, a huge supply of fresh loose-leaf paper, carefully selected back-to-school ensembles...and our very first school lunch. What to pack? hmmm...

Well, it was the first day back, so I asked each of the girls, if they could choose their very favourite school lunch, what would it be? Their answers were surprisingly do-able, so they all got just what they asked for. Here's what they took today:

Justice:
gnocchi w/ olive oil, basil and garlic (packed in thermal bowl)
baby carrots
chocolate soy pudding
water

Hallie:
panini w/ fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil
baby carrots
peach-mango gel (vegan jell-o)
water

Kaia:
peanut butter (in a small container w/ a spoon)
banana
panini cut into slices
chocolate pudding
apple juice

I think we did pretty well, frankly. I'll admit, I did buy the prepared pudding and fruit gel in little plastic cups. Like I said, we try to strike a balance. Nutritionally, I think their lunches stack up pretty well. Kaia's is most likely to raise a few eyebrows. Funny thing about that is, if I had made the peanut butter, banana and bread into a sandwich, nobody would have thought twice about it. The only difference would have been that the child would not have eaten her lunch, and, for me, that's a fairly monumental difference.

Now, what's Mama having for lunch? hmm...leftovers, perhaps? We had tacos last night...maybe a taco salad? Or perhaps some of that gnocchi? Come to think of it, what's a great "back to school" dinner?

Off to the kitchen!