Cassoulet

I'm very excited about my new purchase. I have never had a proper Dutch oven, but now I do! I have yearned for one by Le Creuset, but as you may know, they are very expensive. I stopped into Canadian Tire to look at attachments for my Kitchen Aid stand mixer when low and behold, I saw this -


It was displayed on and end aisle at HALF PRICE! It was listed at $99.99 but on sale for $49.99. Needless to say, any thoughts of pasta attachments flew right out of my head. I wanted the Dutch oven.

Lovely! It's such a pretty deep red colour. I haven't used it yet, but I already know what I'm going to make first.

Leek & Bean Cassoulet from Veganomicon.

These are pictures of one I made in the winter months. I had to cook it in a large skillet on the stove then transfer to an oven safe dish to finish it in the oven. Not really much of a nuisance, but still.....Now I won't have to!

If you have not made this dish yet, I don't know what you're waiting for. This is totally worth the cost of the book. I wanted to just keep eating, it was so delicious. I don't know which I liked better, the stew part or the biscuits. Both were incredibly good. Come on colder weather. I want more cassoulet!

Easy Peasy

A while ago, I bought Colleen Patrick Goudreu's newest cookbook The Vegan Table. Right near the beginning, is a recipe for Spring Vegetable Risotto. I knew I had to make it. I patiently waited until asparagus was in season, got all of the other ingredients needed and got stirring.

I'm still a bit of a novice when it comes to making risotto, but once I got the first few tries under my belt, I'm no longer intimidated. Despite what one may think, in the end, it is pretty easy-peasy. Jim is always standing by the ready for when I need him to take over periodic stirring duties while I prepare other things for dinner.

Doesn't this look absolutely delicious!? It made so much that we had it for 2 nights and I still put a container in the freezer. Can you freeze risotto? I guess I'll find out.

With all the fresh local produce available, I like to make simple dishes where the flavours really shine through. This one is so ridiculously easy.

Pasta with roasted cherry tomatoes, spinach, fresh basil, Asiago cheese...mmmmm. There is hardly any cooking involved in this one. I found the recipe on line somewhere, but did print it out, so I'll include it at the end of this post.

Speaking of ridiculously easy, last night I made Zoe and Andy's Sesame Tofu from The Garden of Vegan.

I'm positive I've blogged about this before because it's a snap to make and it's so tasty. 5 ingredients including the tofu, probably 15 minutes of prep and cook time total and it's done!

I served it with some fresh Ontario cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini and sliced carrots that I just sauteéd/stir-fried with some olive oil, onions, garlic, salt & pepper. Delicious!

ROASTED CHERRY TOMATO PASTA WITH SPINACH

3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ cup balsamic vinegar*
2 tbsp. olive oil*
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. each salt & pepper (I halved this)
4 cups baby spinach leaves
1 pkg. spaghetti (or enough to serve 4-6 people)
½ cup Asiago cheese, shredded
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
Toasted pine nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 400F. Toss the tomatoes with the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Spread tomatoes on a foil-lined or parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast tomatoes for 20-30 minutes or until shrivelled and lightly browned.

Scrape the tomatoes and juices into a large bowl. Add the spinach. (At this point, I put a large plate over the bowl to help steam the spinach and wilt it a bit).

Meanwhile, prepare pasta according to package directions. Toss pasta with the spinach, roasted tomatoes, Asiago cheese and basil. Sprinkle with pine nuts, if using. (I don’t like pine nuts, so I left them out). Serve with additional cheese on the side.

*The first time I made this, I found the pasta to be a bit too dry. The second time around I used 6 tbsp. balsamic vinegar and 3 tbsp. olive oil. I found that to be better.

My Big Operation by Simon

Hi everyone! Simon here. I haven't posted for a while, and since Mommy's been kind of slow at getting something new up, I decided I'd tell you all about the big operation I had.

Unfortunately, I tore the cruciate ligament in my knee. Dr. Woolard said we had to go to a specialist so Mom & Dad drove me almost all the way to Mississauga to see a special doctor!


I ended up having 2 doctors look after me. Both of them we ladies and they were super nice.

Here I am eager to go in. Unlike most dogs, I really like going to the vet. They always fuss over me and give me treats. To tell you the truth, I love the attention. See how I'm holding up my leg. That's the one I got the operation on. It hurt me to stand on it, so I just hopped on 3 legs.

I had to stay overnight for 2 nights. I was glad when Mommy came to pick me up. Although I liked everyone at the hospital, I missed my own stuff.

This is my leg the day I got home. See how it's all bruised. It kind of hurt. But look! I got stitches! How cool is that?

My leg was really swollen too.

And look what they did to me at the hospital. They shaved a big chunk of my fur off! It's a good thing it isn't winter time. I'd freeze!

I also had 2 shave marks on my front legs. This is where the IV's were. What a nusiance that was. I was sure glad when they took those things out.

Look what they had to say about me in the papers they sent home with Mommy. What can I say? Even in those circumstances, I was able to charm the ladies.

After a couple of days my leg started to look a lot better. The swelling was down and the bruises were gone.
I was sent home with antibiotics and pain killers so I spent most of my time like this.

Or this. I was really able to catch up on my sleep. Mommy and Daddy had to massage my leg and do exercises with me to keep my knee joint moving. Boy, was that great! I just laid there and they did all the work!

I had to wear a cone when I couldn't be watched so I wouldn't touch my stitches. They get itchy and it's hard for me to resist the urge. Well, I'd been such a good boy & not once touched them. Mommy & Daddy felt sorry for me having to sleep in my crate with the cone on, so after 5 days, they left it off one night.
I was overcome with the freedom and chewed out almost all of the stitches. What can I say? It was that devil on my shoulder. Mommy let me out of my crate in the morning and freaked. She called the vet and we had to drive out so they could look at it. I didn't see what the big deal was. My cut was holding together just fine. This time, I got staples.

How cool is that? It garnered me quite a lot of sympathy. hehehe. But I had to wear that damned cone every night and anytime Mommy & Daddy were away from home.

Here it is a couple of days before I got the staples out. Lookin' good. We went to see Dr. Woolard who took them out. He said everything looked good and that I'd healed nicely. What a relief that was. On the way home I hear Mommy say "no more cone". Yay!!

But, I gotta tell ya....I'm a Jack Russell and that devil was back on my shoulder. My incision was a little itchy, so I chewed on it and ripped off scab and made it bigger. Mommy said I was "trying her patience". Uh-oh.

Next thing I know, she comes home with this spray that she squirted on my leg and boy, did that stuff taste awful! I didn't mess with my scab any more.

It started looking really good and I was feeling pretty good too.

And here is my leg now. The fur has grown back and practically covered up the scar. I'm mobile and get all my long walks again. I can run and am feeling fine.

Yep, things are pretty much back to normal. Now to get Mommy posting again.....

Two New Cookbooks

The Olympics are well underway and I've been trying to watch as many of the events as I can. To help get in the spirit, I'm wearing my super warm Olympic mittens.

These are offically called Torchbearer mittens, and they are part of Hudson's Bay Co.'s Vancouver Olympics line. They are only $10, and the net proceeds go to support Canadian athletes. (as with all the items in the line) They are quite the hot item and are apparentley sold out! You might be able to find some still in stores. Check The Bay or Zeller's. If you can't find the mittens, there are still scarves, toques, hoodies, T-shirts, etc. so you can deck yourself out and show everyone your Canadian pride. I see people everywhere wearing Team Canada gear. WOOT!

I got a couple of new cookbooks and have made a dish from each one.

This is one of the books I got. I have 3 of Robin Robertson's other books and everything I've made out of those ones has been good. I thought this would come in handy for nights after work or days when I'm feeling lazy. The first dish I tried was this -

Roasted Winter Vegetables with Seitan Chunks and Brown Gravy. This was a snap to throw together! The cooking time was more than 30 minutes, but the prep was about 15. This was so good - comfort food at it's finest.

The recipe didn't call for sugar snap peas, but I had a couple of handfuls left over in a bag, so I threw those in near the end of the cooking time. This is one of those dishes that can be mixed up to suit what you might have in your fridge. I also had half of a rutabaga that I added & it all worked out just fine.

Another book I got was Vegan YumYum! If you've followed Lauren's blog, you know what fantastic things she whips up in her kitchen.

This is not a very good picture, but the dish is delicious. It's Marmalade Tofu with Kale and Lemon Pearl Couscous.
My tofu came out much darker than Lauren's. I used soy sauce rather than tamari and frozen tofu. I find if the tofu has been frozen, it sucks up more marinade than if it's used straight out of the package.

The recipe says this can also be made with seitan. I'd like to try that as well.
If you'd like to try this dish, the recipe can be found here along with a much better photo. :o)
For our wine choice, I picked this Grüner Vetliner.

Grüner Veltliner is the most widely grown grape in Austria and is known for being a very food friendly wine. There are a lot of simple, inexpensive bottles out there, but if you've never had this varietal, splurge a little and get a decent one.

Winter Warmer, One Dish 2 Ways

Even though we were experiencing "The Winter That Wasn't", (it finally did snow last night, but not a lot) we've had a few really cold days. When coming in from the blustery weather outside, a stick-to-your-ribs dish is what's needed to warm you up. Enter Chocolate-Chipotle Chili from The Urban Vegan Cookbook.

Seriously - she had me at 'chocolate.' Even though this may sound like an odd mix of flavours, trust me - chili & chocolate make a great combo. This can be made spicy if you like it that way, or not so much so if you're a wuss like I am. The flavour is still all there.

This makes a nice, thick chili, chock full of veggies & beans (and chocolate!) I took Dynise's suggestion and served this with tortilla chips that we used to scoop up the chili. It makes a terrific super casual meal that is perfect for when you want to park yourself in front of the TV and stay inside for the night while the wind howls.

We washed it down with this Swedish pear cider. The touch of sweetness offset the heat of the chili. The addition of wild berries makes this cider super delicious.

This is interesting dish I made a couple of weeks ago that was so super easy, it's ridiculous.

I found the recipe in a Weight Watchers booklet. It's made with broccoli slaw & spinach. The recipe called for shredded chicken, but I used Quorn Chik'n Tenders. You could use any kind of faux chicken or even tofu. This was really good! I served it over brown rice.

Since this is 'The Winter That Wasn't', the barbecue has been seeing it's fair amount of action. Who am I kidding? We Canadians barbecue in the snow. It doesn't matter the weather.

PC Blue Menu Soy Burger, Potato Wedges & the broccoli slaw & spinach without the chicken that I tried as a vegetable side dish.

Oh, I loves me some spuds. I tossed these with a bit of olive oil, garlic & onion powder, then spread them out on a parchment lined baking sheet and baked in a hot oven. So freaking tasty!

Although the broccoli slaw was good without the Quorn, I think it's better with.

QUICK BROCCOLI SLAW STIR-FRY WITH CHICKEN

2 tsp. canola or safflower oil
4 scallions, sliced
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 garlic clove, minced (I used 3 'cause that's just the kind of girl I am)
1 (1-pound) bag broccoli slaw
1 (5-ounce) package baby spinach*
2 tbsp. teriyaki sauce**
1 cup meatless chicken strips/slices/chunks of your choice (sautéed until lightly browned)

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok; add the scallions, ginger and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the broccoli slaw and cook until just softened, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the spinach, a handful at a time, and the teriyaki sauce; cook, stirring, until the spinach is nearly wilted, about 2 minutes more. Add the meatless chicken, stir through the dish and heat until chik is hot.

Serve at once.

*I added more spinach than the recipe called for. You can, of course, use regular spinach that has been chopped or torn into smaller pieces.
** I added a bit more sauce just because I love teriyaki. I think the 2 tbsp. wouldn't have been enough. It was just barely enough for the chik-less side dish.

Steaklets Pepper

First I want to share with you one of my Christmas gifts. It's this handy-dandy kitchen cart from IKEA. I don't have a lot of counter space, so just getting the mixer off of the counter gave me, what feels like, tons of extra room . Also, being able to put large bowls and things on the shelves also frees up some cupboard space. It's a plus-plus! And, I had the fun of a little project in putting this together.

The flowers were a surpise from Jim one day.

Gorgeous! Whenever I walked near or into the kitchen, I could smell them right away. Yea, I pretty much kept them in the kitchen. It's where I was spending most of my time & I wanted to enjoy these flowers as much as I could. I shuffled them between the kitchen and my computer desk.

While browsing the herbs in the grocery store, I saw this.

I think these must be something new to my regular store, because I've never noticed them before. They had a lot of varieties to choose from and they were the same price as the non-organic herbs!

Added bonus - they're Ontario grown! When I picked up this package, I knew I wanted a big ol' baked potato with chives

I also got some Yves Veggie Burgers and some assorted veggies, went home and got to work on dinner. This is why you aren't supposed to grocery shop while hungry.

Look at all this! I couldn't finish everything, obviously. It was all very good. The brussels sprouts are Best Brussels Sprouts from Vegan Lunchbox (you can find the recipe here). The broccoli and carrots were just steamed. There's my potato with chives! It was so freaking yummy!

The burger dish I made was from Linda McCartney's Home Cooking. This was one of the first vegetarian cookbooks I bought. Quite a few of the recipes use meat analogs and when I was first changing my diet, it made the transition very easy. Some of the recipes became tried and true favorites, like this one. It's quick and you probably have all of the ingredients on hand already.

STEAKLETS PEPPER

3 tbsp. vegetable oil (I used way less oil)
4 vegetable burgers
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed (I used 3 cloves, just because we like garlic!)
2 green peppers, seeded and chopped (I used a green & a red)
1 cup vegetable stock or water
1 16oz. can chopped tomatoes (I had some leftover fire-roasted tomatoes - they work well in this)
1½ tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. soy sauce

Pre-heat oven to 350F. Heat the oil in a large pan and brown the burgers on both sides. Remove the burger from the pan and place in a hot oven.

Add onions and garlic to the pan and sauté until they are tender. Add the peppers and most of the vegetable stock to the sauté, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Mix the cornstarch and soy sauce with the remaining vegetable stock to make a smooth, lump-free paste. Add this to the sauce and continue to simmer.

When the sauce has thickened, return the burgers to the pan. Increase the heat for 1 minute. Serve immediately.