sunday in the garden

Most of my garden has been planted. I still have some transplanting and bed building to do, but considering that we're not even a week out from the last frost date, I'm in pretty good shape.

I transplanted these peonies from my husband's grandparents' house. I was worried that they wouldn't survive the move, but they're thriving and full of buds!


My strawberry plants arrived from the mail order nursery in pretty poor shape, but now they're thriving in a mix of compost, peat moss, and vermiculite.

My lavender and chives have come back heartier from last year's plantings.

I transplanted lavender from around the yard to this bed under my kitchen window. I'm hoping the wind will blow just right ;)

And of course, no garden is complete without a set of vintage gnome statues in need of painting :)

vegetarian sloppy joes

I love vegetarian food, but one of the hardest things about becoming a vegetarian as an adult is that by the time I reached my 20's, my tastes were pretty much set, and it was hard to give up the foods I've loved all my life.

Then, I realized that with a little creativity, I could fake most of my omnivore favorites! If you read my blog on a regular basis, you've probably noticed that I've devised a fair amount of veggie versions of meat based dishes. ("meatballs", general tso's tofu, "cheesesteak" sandwiches, etc.)

Another one of my made over favorites is sloppy joes!

1 large onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped
1 can tomato puree (28 oz.)
1 T soy sauce
1 1/2 T yellow mustard
1 T sugar
2 t chili powder
1 1/2 cups TVP
1 1/4 cup water
olive oil
buns

Saute the onion and green pepper in olive oil until it's soft and lightly browned. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer, stirring often, until the majority of the liquid is absorbed.

I usually serve this in toasted whole wheat burger buns with pickles.

The recipe makes a decent sized batch (think Manwich), how many sandwiches will depend on the size of your buns and how full you make them. Standard size buns are easier to handle than the bigger sandwich size buns.

In addition to being less expensive than sloppy joes made with ground turkey or beef, these are lower in calories and almost fat free, which frees up a calorie and fat gram deficit that might be better spent on say, french fries, ice cream, or a cocktail ;)

the winner is...

Number 1, donnexia!!!! Please email me your contact info :)

Thanks to everyone who posted comments, and extra thanks to my new followers!

memorial day giveaway

I've made my first batch of iced tea, eaten a hot fudge sundae for dinner, and transitioned to sandals. I hope you're enjoying your unofficial start of summer, too :)

In honor of Memorial Day, I'm having my first giveaway. In keeping with the spirit of the holiday, I'm giving away a brand new nylon American Flag and four patriotic napkin rings.

I'm not sure of the flag dimensions and I'm too tired to measure it, but it's a decent size, big enough to hang outside in front of your house without looking cheap :)

The napkin rings have a nice vintage/Americana look. You can't tell how nice they really are in the photo, but they're nice... I also bought a set for myself.

To enter, post in the comments section, or better yet, start following my blog between now and Monday night. I'll choose a winner on Tuesday morning by a random drawing.

The lucky winner will have new patriotic swag in time for July 4th :)

I'm limiting this giveaway to US readers only. Who else wants American flag swag anyway? I truly appreciate everyone who takes time out of their week to read my posts, and I hope my non-US readers aren't upset with me.

menu planning

For the most part, I cook everything we eat from scratch. At the moment, the only prepared foods in my house are Boca burgers, a Kashi frozen meal, a frozen burrito, a few boxes of Zatarain's black beans & rice, Tofurky, a box of Kraft mac & cheese, and an assortment of condiments.

There are several reasons for this: GMO/processed foods freak me out, HFCS is the devil, real food tastes better than processed food, it's healthier, and cooking from scratch is usually less expensive.

Working fulltime, combined with a preference against dining out for the same reasons mentioned above means that I have to be extremely organized when it comes to menu planning and food preparation.

Here's how I do it:

• I set a menu of at least five dinners of varying degrees of complexity from simple to simple-intermediate, and make sure I have everything on hand and ready to go. I save new recipes and the really tricky stuff for the weekends.
  


• My plan is flexible...I see it as a pool of meal options that I choose from based on how much time I have, how tired I am, and what we feel like eating. If traffic was light and I'm home on the early side, I'll make something a little more complex. If traffic was a nightmare and I really need a cocktail and some downtime, I'll cook something simple. Mercifully, most weeks are a mix of crazy and not so crazy days :)
  


• I try to prep things as soon as I buy them. Meals come together much more quickly if everything is chopped and sliced ahead of time. Who needs Dream Dinners?
  


• I make sauces and salad dressings ahead of time and store them in mason jars in the fridge. They're ready to go and I'm not tempted to buy pre-made.
  


• On Sundays, I make a batch of lunch food for the coming week. Chili, soup, a beans (or tofu) & rice dish, quiche, or some sort of wrap filling or salad are my favorites. I pack individual portions in mason jars, and we have lunches through at least the middle of the week. When it runs out, we eat dinner leftovers, or sometimes buy lunch (not more than 1x/week).
  


• Sundays are also baking day! I make muffins, coffee cake, or cornbread for breakfasts, and and cookies, a cake, or a pie for snacks (and because it's fun).
  


• I keep homemade hummus in the fridge. It's a healthy snack with cut veggies or pita chips, and can also be the foundation of a delicious veggie wrap.
  
  

We live in a fairly upscale area with grocery prices to match. To save money, I drive across town and buy my groceries at Price-Rite and the asian grocery and produce stores. The only things I can't get there are specialty items like tempeh, soy milk, TVP, Tofurky, and tahini, so once in a blue moon, I'll swing by Trader Joe's or Whole Foods.

I'm not too cool to pick my groceries off of pallets and bag my own, so my grocery budget for two weeks, including pantry stocking is about $60.

With a little planning and prep, I can cook dinner at home from scratch in about the same amount of time it would take me to order and pick up take-out. The cost savings is significant, and I know exactly what we're eating.

cornbread

I love cornbread, but it was coming out too dry and crumbly. So, I decided to master it, and came up with this moist, honey-kissed, almost cake-like version that uses a 1:3 cornmeal to flour ratio.

I think it's just perfect, though I'm not sure my Southern friends will agree ;-)

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

2/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 1/4 cups milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 T butter, melted
1 T honey

Combine the flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl and set it aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, oil, butter, and honey. Add it to the dry ingredients and stir just until it's blended.

Bake it in a greased pie plate at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Or bake it in four mini loaf pans...
just shorten the cooking time by 10 minutes or so :)

scallion pancakes

Scallion pancakes are delicious, easy, and inexpensive to make! I serve them as a quick snack, or prelude to asian-inspired meals like my general tso's tofu.

1 cup flour
1 t sugar
1/2 t salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup water
2 T toasted sesame oil
1 cup chopped scallions

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in the eggs, milk, and water, then stir in the sesame oil and scallions.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook 1/4 of the batter at a time, flipping when it starts to bubble and cook through.

Soy-ginger sauce:

3 T soy sauce
1 T rice vineger
1 T chopped scallions
1/2 t grated fresh ginger

Whisk everything together and serve it with scallion pancakes.

chickpea tacos

I have a minor culinary obsession with chickpeas. They're inexpensive, high in protein, iron and fiber, low in fat, and can help lower cholesterol. I buy them in 6 lb. cans, by the case.

I'm amazed by chickpeas' versatility, and they've become the staple of one of my favorite healthy, fast, at home meals...chickpea tacos!

3 cups cooked chickpeas*
1/2 cup liquid from cooking chickpeas (or water)*
1 packet taco seasoning
taco shells & toppings

This couldn't be easier! I add the chickpeas, liquid, and taco seasoning to a skillet and cook it over medium-high heat until the liquid is absorbed.

I usually serve the chickpeas in hard taco shells with lettuce and salsa. I've also served them in flour tortillas, or over a bed of romaine for a quick & healthy taco salad!

This is a very inexpensive and healthy meal. The chickpeas cost $2.69 for a 6 lb. 14 oz. can; taco shells are $.99; taco seasoning is $.29; salsa is $1.49 for a 12 oz. jar.

*Or two 15 oz. cans of chickpeas, one drained and one undrained.

homemade lavender cleaner

I love this lavender-vinegar cleaner, which I use in place of Windex for all-purpose cleaning. The essential oils have antimicrobial properties.

1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
10 - 15 drops of lavender essential oil (or lemon or tea tree)

Add everything to a spray bottle. Shake to combine.

mother's day muffin basket

I spent Saturday afternoon listening to Joni Mitchell and baking Mother's Day muffins for my mother in law.

I made my jumbo blueberry muffins, individual coffeecakes, and mini loaves of cornbread. The coffeecakes were a bust because the streusel didn't set properly.

Still, it was a nice little basket of homemade goodies :)
(I wish I'd made one for myself)

homemade veggie burgers

This is one of the best veggie burgers I've ever had and they're very easy to make!

The recipe came from an old issue of Vegetarian Times and is credited to the Chicago Diner.

3 celery stalks, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
2 t onion powder
2 t garlic powder
1/2 ground black pepper
12 oz. fresh mushrooms, finely chopped
3 cups oatmeal (not quick oats)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour

Bring 4 cups of water along with the celery, onion, soy sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in the oatmeal, mushrooms, and flour. Cook it 5 more minutes, then transfer it to a bowl and chill it.

Form the chilled mixture into 8 patties and bake them on a greased baking sheet at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, turning half way through. Allow them to cool, then grill them over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes per side.

I served them on kaiser buns with lettuce tomato, pickles, mustard, and ketchup.

Next time, I'll top them grilled portabellas, aioli, and feta!

homemade "body on tap" shampoo

My grandmother has stockpiled enough health and beauty products to last decades. She's never rotated them, and I'm pretty sure I could make a small fortune selling the discontinued stuff on Ebay ;)

In her stockpile, I discovered "Body On Tap", the most amazing bodyfing shampoo ever! Unfortunately, like many awesome things (Vanilla Cookie Crisp, Marshmallow Krispies, and Pine Bros. cough drops come to mind), it was discontinued in the 1980's.

It's been reformulated, but sells for $14.95 a bottle and that's kind of steep for something you could've bought at K-Mart during Dollar Days.

So, after years of mourning the loss of my beloved shampoo, and of using way too much product to achieve a similar, but far too stiff full-bodied look, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Really, how hard could it be to mix beer and shampoo?

Here's my homemade version of Body on Tap shampoo! I get more body and shine from this concoction than I ever have from the salon products I've tried.

1 cup beer
(use the classy stuff, I like leftovers, or Black Label 40's; flat is OK)

1 cup shampoo
(I like V05 because it's cheap, and not tested on animals)

an empty bottle
(I reused one from my Trader Joe's conditioner)

Bring the beer to a boil in a small pan over medium heat. Boil it uncovered until it's reduced to 1/4 cup.

Whisk the shampoo into the reduced beer.

Viola! Instant body :)