Mediterranean Stew over Broiled Polenta

I'm trying to eat less and less "GF" grains. By that I mean that I am trying to cut down on fake bread, muffins, bagels, cakes, cupcakes, etc. that are GF versions of the real thing. I feel much better and I've got a much happier tummy. But already being vegetarian means that leaves even a smaller list of options. But I've decided that I'm going to cook more chickpeas, tofu and such, and spend more time exploring veggies.

My first attempt was to make something I had made before, just add a few more ingredients. This Mediterranean stew has tofu, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, tomatoes and onions. A little of everything really, and so yummy. Add just the right spices, and serve over broiled polenta and you've got yourself a very tasty and satisfying meal. I know I did, and Older Daughter scarfed it down in just a few seconds flat.

Mediterranean Stew over Broiled Polenta

One sweet onion, chopped
One can of chickpeas
Two cans of diced tomatoes (organic, GF of course)
One sweet potato, diced
One cup firm tofu, drained, pressed and diced
cinnamon
cumin
parsley
salt
pepper
cayenne pepper

In a very large saute pan, saute the onion over medium heat for about five minutes.

Add tomatoes and chickpeas and cook for a few minutes to bring it up to a simmer.

Add sweet potato, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until potato is tender.

Add tofu, salt, pepper, about 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp dried parsely and 1/2 to 1 tsp cayenne pepper, according to your tastes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and turn off heat. Let mixture sit for about 5 minutes to warm tofu while polenta broils.

Slice polenta into 1/2 inch discs (I used Trader Joe's or Safeway's polenta with sun dried tomatoes). Turn broiler on high, put one small dot of olive oil on each disc and spread it around. This ensures the polenta won't burn under the broiler.

Place polenta under the broiler for about five minutes. I've got mine on the middle rack, not too close. Watch carefully, mine don't get brown, just sizzling.

Serve stew over polenta slices. I add a dash of cayenne on top for a kick, but that's up to you. Older Daughter likes a big, big dash of cayenne. To each his own. You can also serve this over rice, in a more traditional way. I've got leftovers and I'm out of polenta, so it looks like it might go over rice for lunch tomorrow. Even on it's own, it's great.

Enjoy!

Tofu Curry "Chickenless" Salad on a Lazy Saturday

Ever have one of those Saturdays when it's peaceful and relaxed and you just don't want to do anything? Well, today was my day. My husband is in Michigan for the weekend, oldest daughter is working and younger daughter has a friend over and is spending the day drawing quietly in her room with said friend (their choice, they love to draw. Today they're making their own deck of cards with index cards.)

So, I decided to lounge, read magazines, watch Dr. Who and House and read a good book... just sort of do nothing. Here's what happens when you read a book around here. I always thought cats did that. I never had a dog that did it, but there's a first time for everything.

Take some time to relax and be with yourself. If the opportunity arises to take time to be alone, do it. We don't always have to find something to do. Sometimes it's OK to do nothing, even if it's just for 20 minutes, or in my case today... All Day!

Lovely. But, what do you eat on a slow, relaxed day like this? For breakfast Daughter and I made Strawberry Crepes with her friend and the girls took a turn at cooking the crepes. They did a great job. Then carrots, celery and hummus for lunch. Then what to have for dinner? I was recently at Whole Foods and saw a "chicken" salad made with tofu in their deli section. Shouldn't be too hard, huh? So I improvised and came up with something fast and yummy, with very few ingredients.

Tofu Curry "Chickenless" Salad
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/3 cup GF mayo
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 cup diced very firm tofu, drained and pressed to get out all the moisture
1/2 cup chopped apple
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 tsp parsley (I used dried, but fresh would be even better)
salt to taste

Just mix the first three ingredients into a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together. You can serve on lettuce as a salad, or on toast as a sandwich or in a tomato bowl (remember those?) The longer it sits, the more the tofu will soak up the flavors of the dressing.

I had mine today on GF sandwich bread from GF Creations in Phoenix, and a few slices of tomato. I'm thinking I may stuff a tomato tomorrow with the leftovers, since all I had was a Roma tomato and it's hard to stuff those little guys.

Enjoy!

Quick But Yummy Breakfast

We had an incredible storm the other night here in Phoenix, and we were without power for about 15 hours. I know this photo doesn't do the storm much justice. Daughter took it as we sat on the patio watching the storm pass over. I was afraid to open the fridge or freezer for fear of thawing everything out, and we ended up eating out as much as possible. I suppose we were lucky since some people are still without power and there were downed trees in their yard, or powerlines went down like dominoes. We didn't have any water damage, or wind, just the lack of power that made it pretty uncomfortable to sleep. As my sister awaits Gustov in New Orleans, I suppose I shouldn't complain.

Now that the power is back on and the plants are drying out, I'm starved. I couldn't decide what to eat for breakfast this morning, and didn't want to pull out pans and such. And even though I just love my old standby... Rice Chex with rice milk, I just wasn't in the mood.

I looked in the fridge and viola! breakfast was there. Just a little bit of both Fontina and goat cheese left over from a quiche for book club, and one Roma tomato. I just bought a loaf of GF sandwich bread from Gluten Free Creations, a local GF bakery.

I toasted the bread, placed sliced fontina on each slice (just enough for both left, yipee) and a little goat cheese. Putting the cheese immediately on the toasted bread lets it melt just so slightly, but not completely. Then top with slices of tomato. I added a little Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper and there you have it. The Fontina and goat cheese give a great, salty texture and the tomato had a ripe, fruity flavor. I grabbed a few fresh basil leaves from the bush in the back yard, which added to the already wonderful flavors. The bread was toasted just enough to give a great crunch. Yum... what a great way to start the day.

BTW, what did Daughter eat, you may be asking? A chewy, yummy bagel from Einstein's with cream cheese. She loves to torture me with things I can no longer enjoy, but this time I know mine was much better and I didn't even want the bagel. Things are looking up!

Enjoy!

Fridge Fried Rice

Here's a quick idea for a dinner on the fly. The other night Daughter and I were hungry, and didn't want to run to the store for anything. We decided to find something in the fridge. Half of a yellow squash, half of a sweet onion, and half of a tub of mushrooms. We found some frozen Jasmine rice in the freezer and of course had a few eggs in the fridge. Veggie fried rice it is!

This one was simple...chop everything up, saute in a little olive oil and garlic. Then when they were all cooked, add the rice (enough to fill the saute pan) and mix. Cook for a moment, then add some veggie broth. Let this simmer slowly till the broth is absorbed by the rice. Finally, add a little GF tamari and a scrambled egg chopped into little pieces (beautiful daughter did a great job with these. We like them well done so they don't fall apart.)

Serve with a salad and you've got a great dinner. If I had tofu in the fridge, which I usually do, I would have tossed that in also to add some protein. But, since I didn't, we just went with the fridge cleanout. Anything will do really, and it felt good to eat everything left in the bin before filling it up again at the farmer's market on Wednesday.

Enjoy

Confetti Pasta

While watching TV awhile ago, I saw a cooking show using lentils and pasta. Nice idea. I looked around and realized that I had bought some yellow lentils the other day, I just didn't have a plan for them. Now I did.

This dish came from part inspiration and part TV cooking show. Of course, it's GF, as always. But these days I'm trying to use more ingredients that are good for you with protein, vitamins, etc. I think it's important to try and eat as healthy as possible these days, why not give your body a boost? I looked in the fridge and came up with a plan, pasta with lentils, tomatoes, onions and greens. Not only would this be good for you, but it had to be tasty as well with all these good things.

One thing I learned from my friend Linda many years ago was to use bagged salad for other things. She made a wonderful pasta dish using just caramelized onions, leeks and a bag of mixed greens for salad. They add a great texture and flavor. And it's a quick thing to add to any pasta dish for a bit of color and pizazz.

The name Confetti Pasta came from my husband, who remarked how beautiful it was. He then ate a bowl of it and said it was the best thing I'd cooked for him. He gave it a 9 because, as he explained, if he gave it a 10 I would get a big head. Isn't he precious?

I love this dish because it's so beautiful, colorful and inviting. Of course, as always, feel free to improvise with anything else you have in the house. Add any veggies you want. It's already a rainbow of colors, adding zucchini or eggplant would just add to the colors, or even sun-dried tomatoes or roasted red peppers.

Confetti Pasta

1 bag TJ's brown rice penne
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1 bunch of greens, chopped. I use 1/2 a bag of baby greens with arugula, spinach, etc.
3/4 cup yellow lentils
3 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chopped basil
1/2 cup veggie broth
1 1/2 cup water

1. Start water to boil for pasta. When water boils, cook as directed. Be careful with the penne, it tends to stick together when you first put it in the water. Make sure to salt the water well and stir for the first minute or so. I also add some olive oil to the water to make it less sticky.

2. Add lentils to water and broth in a separate pot and simmer for about 20 minutes. Check for doneness at 20 minutes and decide if you need more time. Also, keep some water handy in case you need to add more as the lentils cook.

3. Heat about 2 Tbs olive oil in a large (very large) skillet. Add onions and a pinch of salt and sweat (covered) for about 15 minutes, then cook uncovered over low heat for another 15 minutes until they begin to carmelize.

4. Add chopped tomatoes, garlic powder, basil and salt and pepper to onions. Let these cook over low heat while you wait for the pasta and lentils to finish.

5. Drain lentils and pour into onion, tomato mixture. Toss gently, careful not to break the lentils.

6. Drain pasta just at al dente. Rinse quickly with cold water (I find this keeps the GF pasta from getting mushy). Add pasta to pan with veggies and mix. Pan is getting full now, so mix slowly.

7. Finally, turn off the heat and throw the greens on top and mix gently. The heat from the pasta and veggies will wilt the greens just right.

8. Serve with shredded Romano cheese and red pepper flakes.

Enjoy!