I made these using white whole wheat flour and a smidge more than 1/2 cup white (refined) flour. Pans greased with real butter because I still need to buy baking spray for my new house. I don't think the oven was at the full 375 when I put them in, and it may have gone up to 400 mid-baking, because my oven has been a bit weird lately.
And, we shall see...
I made a big pot of vegetarian chili for my anti-Superbowl party (beer, classic snacks, the company of friends, but no annoying game to sit through)yesterday and I'm really happy with how it came out. I think part of the trick is that I didn't really add any water--all the liquid came from the tomato products and maybe a tad from not-perfectly-drained reconstituted TVP. I was especially happy that it was flavorful enough since the TVP was totally unseasoned. (You can buy beef or chicken flavored TVP and I think I've used that in the past.)
To the best of my memory, this is what I did (in a humongous 11-qt stockpot, which was useful because it's thick and can kind of splash if it bubbles when it's cooking--but this doesn't make anywhere close to 11 quarts of chili, as eyeballing the recipe should reveal):
-2 onions, chopped relatively fine, sauteed in a healthy (haha) amount of oil with some (1 TBS each?) cumin and chili powder (mine was labelled "mild". Can't remember where I got it.)
Added after a while:
-2 smallish red peppers, diced relatively fine (more so than the onions)
-3 cloves of garlic, minced
-about 1-1.5 (dry) cups of unflavored TVP, the sort with a texture approximating ground beef/turkey, reconstituted with boiling water (but I mostly tried to squeeze the water out again before adding to the pot)
-1 jalapeno pepper, diced (including seeds)
I stirred that around for awhile, then added:
-3 (small-14-16oz) cans of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, 1 of which was pulverized in the food processor)
-about the equivalent of 1 more can of not-fire-roasted tomatoes, also pulverized
-about 1/4 cup (maybe less? maybe 2 TBS?) of cocoa powder
-a bunch more cumin, a bunch more chili powder, some dried oregano (ground between my palms, which I believe makes it more potent somehow), a bunch of paprika, maybe 1/4-1/2 tsp of liquid smoke
-2 cans of low-sodium dark red kidney beans (drained)
-2 cans of low-sodium pinto beans (drained)
-3 more cloves of garlic, minced
I let it cook on a pretty low flame for a good long while. It needed a little bit of salt.
On Saturday I tasted dukkah (brand: "Alexandra's", imported into the US from NZ, oddly) on bread (dip bread in olive oil, dip in dukkah, eat) and it was very tasty. I want to try to make some myself. The kind I ate and liked had hazelnuts, sesame seeds, coriander seeds (oh so different from fresh coriander--AKA cilantro!) and cumin.
from http://www.endlesssimmer.com/2008/07/29/oh-yes-its-ladies-night/
I want to make this, haven't done it yet.
I'll probably buy pre-roasted cashews (maybe the 50% less salt sort), skip the cilantro, and...not sure about the hot pepper. I just like the idea of a crunchy cabbage salad with something other than ramen noodles, tasty as they are.
1 1/2 cups unsalted raw cashews
1/2 of a medium-large red cabbage
1 basket of cherry tomatoes, washed and halved
1 tablespoon curry powder
3/4 cup cilantro, chopped
One cap full of olive oil whisked with 1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
One finely diced hot cherry pepper, seeded and veined (optional if your guests are sensitive)
Sprinkle
raw cashews with season salt and splenda (or sugar). In a skillet
roast the cashews for 5 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan a few times to
avoid burning. If you have extra cashews, put them aside for people to
snack on… they sure are tasty!
Cut the cabbage into two quarters
and cut out the core. Shred each quarter into thin slices, bite-sized.
Combine the cabbage, tomatoes, cherry pepper, and cilantro in a bowl.
In
a separate bowl combine the lime juice, olive oil, salt and whisk. Add
to the cabbage mixture and gently stir to combine. Just before serving
fold in the cashews. Taste and adjust the flavor with more salt if
needed. Serve room temperature or chilled.
--
Postmortem, months later - this was pretty good! I wanted it to be a little sweeter so I added some juice from some tangerines I had sitting around that weren't really a good texture for eating anymore.
from http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Polish-Sausage-Kraut-Skillet-AllRecipes
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup water
2 potatoes, sliced
1 cup sliced carrots
2 tablespoons beef bouillon granules (I used vegetarian chicken bouillon)
1 teaspoon white sugar (omitted)
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 (14.5 ounce) can sauerkraut, drained
1 pound kielbasa sausage vegetarian sausage I used Tofurkey italian sausage
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
salt and black pepper to taste
Heat the butter in a large skillet with a lid over medium heat; cook and stir the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the water, potatoes, carrots, beef bouillon granules, sugar, and caraway seeds; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook until the potatoes and carrots are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.
Place the sauerkraut on top of the vegetables in a layer, and place the sausages onto the sauerkraut. Cover, and cook until the sausages are heated through, about 15 minutes.
Whisk the flour into the sour cream in a bowl, and stir into the sauerkraut mixture. Bring to a simmer to thicken the sour cream, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve hot.
I made this by accident while trying to make a peach milkshake with frozen peaches.
Blend in cuisinart til almost pulverized:1 cup (ish) of frozen peaches
Add a few scoops of low fat yogurt and sugar to taste. AND a splash of almond extract. That's what makes it really nice. I'm not usually a big fan of frozen yogurt or fruit ice creams, but this was pretty good. Maybe not the best choice for December, though.
This is not a recipes I've used, it is a challenge to myself.
I'm scared of beets. (Also brussels sprouts, but that's a different animal.)
I asked some folks for suggestions, and here's what I got. Someday, I will try these things:
-raw beets shredded into a salad
-"shred beets, then saute in olive oil with garlic and onion. Add mustard,
red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper at the end. Delicious! Brussels
sprouts are good sliced thin and roasted on a tray or sauteed with a
little nutmeg and lemon juice. They get a nice flavor when they
caramelize."
-"boil them, and separately boil potatoes and carrots, chop everything up
with a pickle and some scallions, and dress with vinegar, oil, black
pepper, salt, and sugar. This is called "surprise salad" since you don't
know what you're getting in every bite- everything is colored by the
beets."
