Plethora of Panini: pairing and pearing

I know when I've hit the tail end of a series. It is usually when I
really can't imagine eating that dish once more in a very long time.
I still have the last few paninis on the docket, but I am growing
very near to not being able to eat another for a while.

In fact I'm starting to crave chimichanga... If I can't grill
sandwiches, I'm gonna find something else to grill.

Since this Panini was so extraordinarily simple and not very
high in vegetable content, I had to pair it with another more
nutritious dish. Monkey-man has been complaining about wanting
soup because he doesn't want to get sick. So instead of arguing
that it isn't soup that will keep him from getting sick it is
a good load of vitamin heavy veggies, sleep and exercise--
I quietly made him some sweet potato stew and he was content.

The stew had sweet potatoes, russet potato, bell pepper, turnips,
onions, garlic, cabbage, and carrots. It was a simple base of broth,
soy milk, whole wheat flour, sage, paprika, bay, oregano, sea salt,
black and white peppers, and peanut butter. I don't usually pair stews
and sandwiches, I usually go with a bisque or blended soup.
But as long as you are sure to moderate with a smaller sandwich,
it is perfect.

The panini was stuffed with vegan rice pepper jack cheese, sliced
apples and pears, a sprinkling of garlic powder, and if you're
adventurous, some jalapenos! The sweetness of the fruit is perfectly
balanced with the spiciness of the 'cheese' and peppers.
I've also heard of pair peaches or apricots with brie, but
I'm not sure what vegan cheese I'd use for that. The vegan brie
we did make from The Uncheese Cookbook had much too much onion
powder in it and I cannot imagine that going with peaches...
I'll keep experimenting and get back to you on that one.

Get your fix with sweet, spicy, and savory all at once.
That's an order!

Pumpkin Patch Part Four: Pumpkin Chili

I'm pretty bummed that last week I made an awesome pumpkin curry
for a potluck and totally forgot to take a picture for you all.

That's why there was a gap of a couple days. However, last night
we made a version of Monkey-man's favorite meal ever-- or one of
them anyway! Chili with roasted potatoes and the best-est cheese
sauce!

Usually I like summer squash or zucchini in my chili, but instead
I used pumpkin. And we got these amazing vitelotte potatoes at our
local grocer. The skins were almost black, but the inside was a
rich, beautiful violet. At first I thought they were going to
taste like the purple sweet potatoes that I used to get in Hawaii,
but these were wonderful. They had the same texture as your run
of the mill potatoes, but had a deeper, earthier, rustic flavour.
Apparently they are native to Peru and Bolivia. Usually I think
of Europe and Ireland when I think of potatoes, but supposedly
Peru is the birthplace of more than 90% of potato varieties we
eat and love today.

I'm sorry, this wasn't meant to be a post about potatoes!
This is a post about pumpkin in Chili! So here you go!

Pumpkin Chili

2-3 cups fresh pumpkin, chopped largely
1 can or 4 large diced tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup of corn
2 cups of beans, cooked (any kind you like)
1 small pepper
1/2 cup TSP or TVP (opt)
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 vegetable bouillon cube
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onions and garlic for about five minutes in a large
pot over medium heat in a few tablespoons of water or oil.

Add the pumpkin and a little bit more water an cover, cook for a
few minutes then add the tomato and seasonings. Cover and cook,
adding water if needed and cook until the pumpkin is starting to
get a little bit tender, but is not completely cooked-- about 10
minutes max.

Add the pepper, corn tvp and beans and cook/heat through. You may
need to add a little extra water or veg broth for the tvp. By the
time the tvp is plumped the pumpkin should be cooked through, but
not mushy.

Serve over roasted potatoes and topped with your favorite cheese or
cheese sauce. Monkey-man added daiya moz just for good measure.
If this isn't hot enough for you, throw in a diced hot pepper like
a habenero or some hot sauce if you're kinda lazy and don't want
to deal with chopping hot peppers...

Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

Whenever I don't really feel up to cooking or I'm worried abut
time, I make soup. It was one of those 'what needs to be used
in the fridge' days. I didn't have a lot of open kitchen time
and had a ton of broccoli that needed to be used, so cream of
broccoli soup it was.

I like adding potatoes because it adds a heartiness and
thickness that is so yummy. You can either use a variety of
vegetables or keep it simple with some foundation onions and
garlic then add a dash of nutmeg!

Monkey-man likes his soup with all the big vegetable chunks,
but if I'm cooking for guests and such or if I used some funky
or odd shaped veg I'll blend the whole batch. It is also good
if I want to hide a certain vegetable from my picky Mom. Even
blending half is good and gives you the best of both worlds.

I served these with some baked potato cakes. They are super light
fluffy biscuits. I also added a little bit of kale to keep the super green
color. It is important to try and chop everything around the same size
so that it cooks evenly.

Simple Broccoli Vegetable Soup



2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
2 medium potatoes, cubed
2 small crowns broccoli, chopped
1 cup shredded cabbage
2 stalks celery, chopped
2-3 leaves of kale, shredded
1 bouillon cube
1 1/2-2 cups unsweetened soymilk or nondairy milk
2 tbsp braggs
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp sage
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
salt and pepper to taste
water

Saute the garlic and onion briefly with water, until tender
and fragrant. Add the remaining vegetables (except kale) with
about a cup of water and cover. Continue to cook, stirring
occasionally until potatoes are almost soft. Add the kale and
cook for about 5 more minutes.



Either add to a blender and add soymilk slowly until you get
your own desired thickness or just add the soymilk and
nutritional yeast if you're not blending. Keep on low-med heat
to heat added soymilk, but do not boil.

If blended, add nutritional yeast last. It adds a nice subtle
cheesy taste that rings of old cream of broccoli.

Tater Scramble

I guess we were on a roasted mexican potato kick. But I especially liked
this because it was one of my favorite meals... tofu scramble.
However, not the way we normally serve it up. Instead we used our
marinating tofu feta from the uncheese book to jazz to twist it around
as a tater scramble with tofu instead of a tofu scramble with a side
of taters.



We went by the same seasonings of chili powder, cumin, salt, and
pepper but also threw in some jalapenos and bell peppers. The tofu
feta cooks up nicely, gets a little puffy, but crunchy.

We loved it on pizza and it was just as good with potatoes.

We always have our scrambles with earthbalanced toast, but also had
some yummy avocados on hand! The avocados on the 'buttered' toast
perfectly balanced the spiciness of the peppered scramble.

Mexican Roasted Taters

I looove me some roasted potatoes. Any seasonings... My favorite has
to be rosemary and sage. But these mexican seasoned potatoes were
pretty darn good too.

We had some left-over taco filling and beans from the tamales I made
the night before and we didn't want get overloaded with corn tortillas
or fattened up with chips.

You roast them at 450F, tossed in a little bit of olive oil with your
seasonings. Cook for about 10-15 minutes on one side and flip cooking
for about 5-8 minutes more. They get all crispy and soft in the middle.

I used some sea salt, chili powder, a wee bit of cayenne, pepper and
some lemon juice. We had some black beans, sweet corn, steamed
cauliflower, our taco mix, some sweet chillies and a nice salad.

Breakfast Burrito Bamboozle

There are these really large flour tortillas sold at trader joes,
one of the only wraps or tortillas that are vegan. They tend
to tear pretty easy, but they are soo good- especially if you
get them on a fresh day.

They are one of the things I always seem to have around, showing
you just how often I eat burritos and wraps. I have to say that
I like them because they are cleaner than sandwiches and you can
be more exciting with what you put in 'em. I like throwing left-
over curry or salad in a wrap.

Not that I only eat white flour tortillas, they are just the most
accessible and the only ones near that don't have over 20 ingredients.

But hands down, I love breakfast burritos the most. When I'd get
taken to a fastfood mexican place as a kid, I always wanted to
order french fries with my burrito to stuff in to attempt to simulate
a breakfast burrito.

It is also one of the only ways I would eat eggs or red sauce.
Now I love mixing it up with different beans or just doing some
spicy taders.

My latest joy as been getting the vegan tofu eggs down.
I'm not talking about a tofu scramble here, very different.
Think plain scrambled eggs, now we're talking.


I just cooked the potatoes with some chili powder, cumin, salt,
pepper, garlic, onions, basil and a tomato. I don't have any
hot peppers right now, so I just added a splash of some hot
chili thai sauce that gave it a bit of tabasco fiasco.

Now the eggs are super simple. Cooked in a nonstick pan, dry...
Mash half a block of tofu add a squirt of mustard, 2 tablespoons
of braggs, black pepper, and a good sprinkling of kala namak-
black salt.

I got it at the Punjab market a couple miles away.
Basically its carbonized salt (pink, not actually black) that has
a strong sulfuric essence. I picked up the idea from the Vegan Crunk
who posted a recipe for some tofu deviled eggs a while back.
Haven't made the deviled eggs, but I've been using the salt in my tofu
salad sandwiches and scrambles. One smells screams eggs, try it
and you will understand. The pack was only $1, so there is no reason
not to.

So, cook the tofu over medium heat until it starts to dry out a bit
and brown. Throw it furiously into your tortilla and eat with voracity.



Like I said, any kind of beans are awesome in these guys, or
peppers. Vegan cheese, I'd recommend Follow My Heart's Pepper Jack
to grab a little spiciness. If you asked my brother, he'd say it
needed catsup. What is your favorite thing to put in burritos?

P.S. Since I mentioned the Vegan Crunk, I have to add that she is
having a giveaway right now for a copy of Tamasin Noyes' cookbook,
American Vegan Kitchen. So check that out!

7 Days of Irish Luck, St. Paddy's Day: Grilled Potato Cakes

In the midst of piles of papers, counting up grades and cramming
I got in a wee bit of St. Patrick's Day celebrations.
My Monkey-man came over the night before to surprise me, but
I think I surprised him more with the yummy garlic soup.

We watched some Black Books and celebrated being Irish with Dylan
Moran. It was weird being home on St. Patrick's Day though.
I've always thrown parties, wandering around all night telling
Irish jokes with an accent til I went hoarse.

This morning we slept in late and I used the last of my potatoes
to make some grilled potato cakes and washed it down with Irish
breakfast tea.

These are different from your typical hashbrown-ish dinner cakes
and very different from the baked ones I made the other night.
These are smooth and simple, topped with earthbalance and agave-
perfect for a nice, quiet Irish breakfast.

Grilled Breakfast Potato Cakes

Ingredients

3 potatoes, peeled-chopped-boiled
2 tablespoons of earthbalance
2/3-1 cup whole wheat flour
salt

Drain the potatoes, reserving a little bit of water. Mash with
the earthbalance. Add a little bit of water to make sure the
potatoes are not dry. Salt and add the flour.

The flour should equal to about 1/3 the amount of potatoes you
have. Mix gently and flatten out on to your counter.
Cut into triangles and grill on a dry non-stick skillet.



Grill until golden and flip.
Serve with dark agave and a pat of earthbalance.

7 Days of Irish Luck, St. Paddy's Day: Colcannon

Colcannon is a traditional dish served on St. Patrick's Day for
the lovely green and white, but more commonly around Old Hallows
Eve. A ring would be hidden in the dish and the lucky lady
(or not so lucky if you bit it) that found it was bound to marry
in the spring.

The traditional recipe uses a lot of fat, I cut it down and added
a bit of nondairy milk to retain the creaminess.

It can be made with curly kale or cabbage, I used regular cabbage
and purple cabbage to make it even more beautiful!

Colcannon

Ingredients

about 4 potatoes, ready to boil
1/2 cup regular cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup purple cabbage, shredded
1/4 onions
1/4 cup earthbalance
a couple green onions, diced
1/4 cup soymilk
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper to taste

While your potatoes are boiling, saute your green cabbage,
garlic, and onions together just until tender. After saute
the purple cabbage, so as not to dye the others.

Alternately, you can saute just the onions and garlic and
set aside (or omit) and blanch the cabbage in your hot
potato water after pulling the potatoes out.

Anyway, after the potatoes are cooked place them in a dish
and mash the butter in, adding just enough nondairy milk
to make it creamy.

Mix in your cabbages (and onions if using) and season with
salt and pepper. I topped my with green onions and stuck
it the the over for just a few minutes, partly to keep it
hot while I was cooking other things and partly to give it
just a little be of a different texture on the top.

I love the way that the purple cabbage dyed just a wee bit
of the surrounding potatoes, they looked like puffy little
clouds...

7 Days of Irish Luck, St. Paddy's Day: Baked Potato Cakes

These have been on my list for a long time and it was so worth the
wait. In famine food you find nearly everything has potatoes in it,
and potato cakes are pretty common, but I definitely prefer the
baked version. I really forgot how wonderful these were.

You can serve them with practically anything and are a great swap
for your average biscuits. In fact, I believe I'll serve these this
year at Thanksgiving instead of dinner rolls.

These guys are light and fuffy and just a little bit flakey.
The potato makes them airy and soft. Normally these are made with
chives, but I use green onion to add more flavour.

Only three days til St. Patrick's Day!! Aren't you excited!?

Me Baked Potato Cakes

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup earthbalance
1 cup soymilk, soured with a tsp of vinegar or lemon juice
1 green onion, minced
1 cup (still hot) Fresh mashed potato

While your potatoes are boiling and your soymilk is souring...
Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl, cutting in the earth-
balance to form little pea sized balls (as you would with biscuits
or pie crust). Add the wet ingredients (potato included), then
the onion, just until mixed. Don't over mix it or it will become
tough.

Turn out on to a floured surface and fold it a couple times,
just to add some layers. Pat out into about 3/4 inch thickness.
Cut into squares and place on a lightly oiled baking pan.



Bake for about 20 minutes at 425, until the look golden around
the edges. I dare you to not eat these all straight out of the
oven.

7 Days of Irish Luck, St. Paddy's Day: Irish Boxty

It was a while back that I made potato cakes that bordered on
hashbrowns. The potatoes were shredded with onions and seasoned.
Although good, not traditional like Irish Boxty where the potatoes
are blended before cooking.

The supposedly became a staple during the famine when food had to
be stretched. I like to think of them as something more decadent
though, like Irish Crepe! They're rolled with hot savory filling
and gulped down!


Our were filled with cooked cabbage in a mustard sauce with tofu
bacon, grilled to a crisp. (The Irish love their bacon, tofu for me!)
Here is the original post on tofu bacon marinade, I add
paprika and garlic powder now when I have it and cut out all but
1 tablespoon of the soy sauce or use braggs.

Irish Boxty~ Potato Crepes

Ingredients
3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup soymilk
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt

Blend your potatoes, adding soymilk if you want to make it easier
on your blender. Add the flour and salt and mix well. You can
adjust these depending on how thick you want your boxty to be.
I like my thin thin, so hopefully you can go from there.

Heat a teaspoon of earthbalance on a skillet at medium to high
heat. Pour about a quarter cup into the skillet, swiveling it
side to side to make sure it spreads evenly and round.


Once it starts to brown just around the edges, you can flip it.
You might have to free it a little, so as not to tear.
After the first, depending on your pan, you may not have to
reoil. To keep them warm, put them on an heat safe plate in the
oven.


Roll up with whatever fillings you like and enjoy.

Potato Leek Soup and Rustic Garlic Bread

Thinking back, when I was a teen I ate the same thing a lot.
Had pretty much generic meals every other night and never
tried anything new. Believe it or not, I was a picky picky kid.
I guess that's why I'm so tolerant with my little brother and Mom.
Because I was just like them.

I'm not sure if its the influence that veganism has had on my life or
the wonderful support I've had from my boyfriend, but with the
exception of snacks and some breakfasts I rarely if ever eat the same
thing twice in one month. Unless its seriously on of our all time
favorites like chili-cheeze taters or curry.

And I've been on a major cooking crazy. Monkey-man swings off
to work and I make dinner for when he comes back. What a good
little domestic witch I am! (ha) I think its really the excitement of
surprising him with something new that we haven't eaten together
before.

Now, with my organic delivery I've been getting bushels of leeks
and we've been throwing them into all the soups, stews and
stir-frys right along with the onions but I haven't made him potato
leek soup before. I've been dying to try my friends recipe which
sounds amazing, but I've get to have both leeks and apple cider
in my fridge at the same time. I will someday!!!




Basic-basic-basic Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients (for two)

1 med onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large leeks, halved and sliced
2 med-large potatoes, chopped (I used russets w/skins)
4 cups of veg broth
salt, pepper, and rosemary or dill
1 bayleaf

Saute the onion in a little bit of water over medium heat until
translucent. Add the leek and garlic. Keep adding water if it
starts to stick. Saute for a few more minutes and then add the
potatoes. You can saute with olive oil to add a little more flavor
if you like.

Throw in the potatoes and vegetable broth, along with whatever
herb you picked and the bayleaf. I use anywhere from 1/2 tsp- 1 tsp
dried herb, but please flavor to taste.

Bring to a boil and turn down and simmer until the potato is tender.
About 20-25 minutes. Flavor with salt and pepper and using an immersion
blender, blend about 1/3 to thicken up slightly.

Pre-blended


After blending...




I'm not sure why I thought this was going to be rustic
but sure enough didn't come out like it.



Don't get me wrong, it was delicious and fresh, warm bread is
always welcome. But I wish I had added more garlic. I put in
about 6 whole cloves halved when I could have put in twice that much.


And this should have really been fermented overnight, but hey.
It served its tasty purpose.

If at first you don't succeed, put it in a pie

succeed
I had the best intentions of making a wonderful pot of smokey
pumpkin soup. I had a container of pumpkin that I had frozen
from Christmas and was intent on using it up.

I made the soup before, but something went horribly wrong.
It tasted pretty bad, but in the way where you can't place
what was wrong. It is supposed to be blended smooth and
flavoured with a wee bit of condensed liquid smoke.
It imparts memories of smokey gouda cheese and oven roasted
pumpkin. Yet for some reason this time it came out tasting
more like smokey feet.

Oh gods! Ok, it wasn't quite that bad. I'm exaggerating.
But we put it aside in hopes of the flavour settling and
it mellowing itself out.

The next evening I cooked up some onions, garlic, carrots,
potatoes, sweet potatoes, and a bit of bell pepper with
some sage... mixed the pumpkin soup in and dumped it in
a pie crust.



For some reason my curse hadn't worn off yet and my
crust came out bready. Not bad, but not flakey.
Oh well. It still tasted damn good.



Pies, or shepherds pies, or even pasties are a great
and delicious way to use up leftover soup.
That's why its an even better idea to have a batch of
pie crust in your freezer for emergencies.
I still have an uncooked pumpkin in the kitchen, now
I need to decide if I'm gonna attempt pumpkin soup again
or if some pumpkin sweets are in order.
Oh well, I'll probably just make curry!

Dinner Pie, Oh My: Part Five

I've heard it said "Eat Dessert first, you never know when

you're gonna die." I strongly concur.

However, what if your dessert was hijacked by a dinner

disguising as a dessert. Like a pie, that wasn't your

average pie...

Yes my friends, I am talking about the dastardly meal

that is shepherds pie or worse yet pot pie. Shepherds pie

though is very often mislabeled... It actually is just a

veg and meat pie topped with potatoes and baked. Pot

pie actually has a pie crust.

I remember my dad making shepherd's pie when I was

a kid and I hated celery, so I never wanted to eat it.

And you have to admit that dinner pie isn't the most

photogenic or appetizing looking meals... So naturally,

as most children do, I had to give it a suitable nickname.

My Dad's shepherd pie became "Shepherd's Hulgh" --

as in a puking noise. I'm not sure how to spell that, but

you get the picture.

I feel pretty bad about this because my Dad is a damn

good cook and he doesn't cook nearly as much as he used

to, very sad. Also, I know that if I had his shepherd's pie today

I wouldn't be complaining.

We did a special take on the whole shepherd's pie idea today

for dinner... Our filling was just a load of mostly broccoli that

could be the base of a very good soup. (onions, garlic, broc,

carrots, sage, rosemary, bay leaf, soymilk, salt, pepper,

and a vegan roux).

Now the crust is what brings us back to the traditional sense

of shepherd's pie-- taders. Instead of lobbing some potatoes on

top we made a potato crust, as follows.

Potato Pie Crust

2 cups mashed potatoes, cooled

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp water

Mix all but water. Slowly add water until a ball is formed.

Divide and roll out in to about 1/8" thickness.

This is good for a 9" crust and up. We used an 8" pan and

still had some dough left over. Once the bottom

of the crust is in place, pierce some holes in it with a fork

and prebake for about 8 minutes at 350F.

Pour in your filling and apply the top crust. Cut a couple of

slits in it, so the heat can escape. Bake for 30 minutes or

until golden brown.

My Shepherds "hulgh!"

Hee hee looks like the pie puked though!

Curry in a Hurry

It never ceases to amaze me that although I really don't have

tremendous amounts of stuff going on in my life-- at least

compared to what I was doing during my undergrad--

Everyday I still feel like everything is done in a hurry.

I cannot say if it is our culture, our society or just me, but

I always feel like I have so much to do, never get anything done

and am always HUNGRY!! Hee hee. Well, maybe not always,

but when I get home I want food right then in my face!

And the joy of being on one's own? I get to make whatever I want.

... Sort of. Although I dream of eating gooey brownie ala mode

every night and pie every morning for breakfast, I don't because

I don't wanna look as round as a pie. So instead I look to my other

favorite foods for respite.

All time, absolute favorite, king of them all?? Curry... *wipes drool*

You can get curry powder pre-mixed ready to go or you can throw

in the spices separately. Amusingly enough curry is not a traditional

indian dish, as many of us believe. Its actually a westernized take

on an indian blend of spices in a sauce used on whatever. Funky, eh?

Although each curry powder you buy is gonna be different most do

have a blend of coriander, turmeric, cumin and fenugreek. Red or orange

curry powders have different kinds of chillies and peppers.

Here I just used an average blend of yellow curry powder and

added some extra surprises.

Yellow Curry in a Hurry

1 tablespoon of olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, chopped

1 tsp grated ginger

1 large bell pepper, chopped

2 carrots, cut into rounds

3 potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 package of tofu, cubed (can be fried beforehand)

2 tablespoons of curry powder

2 tablespoons of hot chili sauce

1 cinnamon stick

1 can of coconut milk

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.

Add the onion and cook until translucent and tender.

Add the garlic and ginger and keep stirring until fragrant,

about a minute or so. Next add the spices and chili.

Next drop in the slower cooking vegetables-- mainly the

potatoes. Add a little water, while these are all cooking to

prevent sticking. You can use vegetable broth if you like too,

I like adding a bouillon cube to add a little extra flavour.

Throw in the cinnamon stick and continue to cook on low-med

heat until all the vegetables start to cook. Stir in the coconut

milk and tofu and cook until heated through. Season with

salt to taste.

Serve over basmati or jasmine rice topped with fresh cilantro!

Simple foods for long days

It has been a tough week settling into classes, the 'new' abode,

the ... kitchen situation..., and of course transportation-- or

sometimes lack there of. Using public transport, I've had to

tac on an extra hour to two hours to everything I do. Sometimes

more when I'm lugging large bags of baking goods or dishes around.

Needless to say that when I've finally gotten back to the ol' tool shed

in the back, I've been a little worn for wear and not the in most

enthusiastic mood for cooking. But it always reminds me that some of

the most simple things can be the best and most comforting...

This evening, while steaming some beets for tomorrows salad,

I made some steamed collards and some potato grill cakes.

As I am not able to cook for one person (I am trained to cook army-

sized portions) I am usually left with at least some leftovers

for the next few days. Well, I'm getting a little better at least.

Now I'm cooking for about three people or two really hungry people.

I was surprised at what a heavenly combination collards

and potato cakes made, I hope you enjoy!

Potato Cakers

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

3-4 tablespoons water

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup onion, minced

1 large potato grated (about a cup and a half)

Mix the flour and just enough water to make a pancake

batter consistency. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix

well.

Portion out on to a heated-oiled griddle and flatten/shape.

Allow to become golden brown before flipping, about 5 minutes

on a medium to high flame.

makes 4-6 potato cakes

Cranky Papa Palooza

As I've been busy packing and more packing my Dad has been

doing a lot of the dinner cooking. If theres something Cranky

Papa makes best its stews, curries, and chili! Take a look...

Coney Island Chili with Soy Parmesean

Potato and Cauliflower Stew

Oh yeah, I did make some Bombdiggity Baked Beans

Spuds on Top

It all started when I wanted

to do some kind of veggie

casserole for dinner, but I

didn't have enough flour to

make a pot pie. I hate casseroles

with bread crumbs on top.

I don't like how they taste and

how they get both crunch/stale

and soggy at the same time.

Bread crumb casseroles just

gross me out, OK?

Well, I had this idea of doing a

potato au gratin style top and ran

with it... Really, this could not

have been easier and my Mom loved it.

That is saying something!

Spuds on Top

ingredients

3-cups of mixed vegetables, roughly chopped

(onions, bell pepper, squash, green beans, carrot, celery, etc.)

1 clove of garlic, minced

3 tablespoons of oil or non-dairy butter

3 tablespoons of flour

2 cups of vegetable broth

4 russet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced thinly

1 1/2 cups of large chunked tvp, presoaked in vegetable broth

misc herbs; I used sage, celery salt, and black pepper

Parboil the potatoes for about 5-minutes, but do not cook until tender, and remove from heat.

Heat a little bit of water, broth or oil in a large pan or wok. Cook garlic, then onions until

fragrant. Add rest of veggies and cook until bright but still keep crunchy and remove from heat.

Melt/heat the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, while stirring,

until browned. Slowly add in the 2-cups of vegetable broth and cook until it begins to thicken into a nice gravy-sauce.

Mix the chopped, tvp, and sauce all together and dump it in a casserole dish.

Layer by overlapping the sliced potatoes over your veg mix in the dish. You can dot with

non-dairy butter or drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper.

Toss into your oven- gently, but with passion and cook covered for 10-minutes and uncovered

for 30-minutes more or until potatoes start to brown @ 375 degrees F.

Enjoy~