Leprechaun Tricks. Year two.

Last year was so much fun I think we have to do it again!  Thankfully, Phoebe isn't frightened of the fictional Leprechaun this year so it's all fun and no tears.

The kids left rainbow bread and little notes

Here are my plans and limericks (shh!  Don't tell the kids):

Tue –shamrock napkins spread out on the table & colleen the wind up st. pattys day doll on the table (we left rainbow bread out)
I came to see the Navin’s place
I left some shamrocks for your face
the bread was great
and now it’s late
I left Colleen here on this vase


Wed – green toys all out
I played with toys the color green
but I made sure I wasn’t seen
I won’t be caught
But fret you not
I’ll come back while you’re in a dream


Th – rainbow with playsilks made into a circle on floor
Rainbows spun around and round
In the sky?  No, on the ground!
I danced all night
into the light
But made sure not to make a sound

Fri- Hats, gloves, scarves all over the house in a line
These things I’ve left upon the floor
You do not need them any more
Spring air will come
soon winter’s done
which one of you did I hear snore?


Sat- Sunglasses on stuffed animals sitting on chairs/table
Today is the last trick I play
I must go, I cannot stay
the tricks were fun
but now they’re done
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

A working meal plan!

I think I've finally found a plan that works!  Here are my days (for each theme I have 4-6 options and I select which one works best that week:

Sun- Salad	Blackbean & Corn Salad Quinoa salad Blackbean & Quinoa Sala Meat and Salad *green salad with canned beans
Mon- Mexican	Bean Burritos Chili Stuffed Peppers Stuffed Peppers *TJ’s frozen burritos
Tues- Around the World	Egyptian Lentil Stew Mujadara Curry Chana Masala *Take Out Middle Eastern Food
Weds- Soup	Lentil Soup Red Lentil & pumpkin soup Sneaky Black Bean Soup *TJ’s Box Soup
Thurs- American	*Veggie Burgers *Hot Dogs Portabella Mushrooms Sloppy Lentils
Fri- Italian	*Pasta & Sauce Bean Bruschetta Pizza
Sat- Stir Fry	Peanut Ginger Stir Fry Lemon Stir Fry Grilled Veggie Wraps with Honey Mustard Sauce *Frozen Veggies and beans

Amazing Vegan Cookies (Double Chocolate)

Since going dairy/soy/egg free we have tried a lot of vegan baked goods.  Nothing has turned out nearly as good as these cookies.  These are A-MAZ-ING.  Recipe is here and here are my adjustments:

VEGAN DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

• 2 cups flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil (CANOLA)
• 1-1/4 cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons ground flaxseeds
• 1/2 cup nondairy milk, like soy or almond RICE MILK
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup nondairy chocolate chips or chunks. TRADER JOES (they are manufactured on equipment that processes dairy but that is ok for me)

Instructions for Making Vegan Chocolate Cookies

Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix the ground flax seeds with the non-dairy milk, and whisk them together well. Set this aside for a few moments to thicken.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir them together with a whisk until well-blended and there are no lumps of cocoa powder remaining.

Combine the sugar and the vegetable oil in a large bowl, and whisk them together until the sugar is nice and moist. Now add the flax seed mixture, and the vanilla extract, and mix them into sugar until it thickens into a smooth, shiny batter.

Add all the dry ingredients at once and stir carefully, mixing until everything is incorporated and you have just a few spots of flour remaining. Finally, add the chocolate chips or chunks and mix them into the cookie dough along with the last of the flour. The dough will be stiff.

Use a cookie scoop to form 1-inch balls of dough and use your palm to gently flatten them slightly into discs, then place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F for 9-10 minutes, until they're puffed and have lost the raw shine in the middle. Remove them from the oven and let them cool for 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet, then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.

These double chocolate cookies have a soft, rich brownie-like texture, with little pockets of melted chocolate throughout. They're so decadent, no one will believe they're vegan

Chick Pea Curry

This was really really good.  Not often that something I just threw together works so well.

Chickpeas, pressure cooked (not soaked, 40min)
onion, chopped
garlic, chopped (~ 2-3 cloves)
1 inch ginger grated
water
coconut milk (~3/4cup)
curry powder
cumin
salt
tomato
frozen peas

Pressure cook chick peas,
meanwhile, sautee onion, garlic & ginger.  Add all the other ingredients until tomato (including chick peas)- enough water to cover.
Simmer low for 2 hours.
add peas moments before serving, let cook long enough to heat up.

pressure cooker bean times... FYI

http://fatfreevegan.com/blog/2010/05/25/pressure-cooker-bean-cooking-times-at-a-glance/

The Christmas Beast

This was the third year that we had a Christmas Rib Roast and I've got to say, I love the tradition!  This was the first year I had to cook it myself.  Here is the website that was really helpful: http://www.thehungrymouse.com/2011/03/22/restaurant-style-prime-rib-roast/  This year our roast was 7lbs... I think.  It had the bone on with it cut and then tied on.

And here is a reprint of the recipe from Pat:

If you have time or desire – you can “dry age’ the roast for 1-3 days in the fridge. (Pat dry, place on rack over plate with paper towel. Put in fridge, not touching anything) This intensifies the flavor even if done only one day. If your fridge has any “odors” you may just want to skip this step. We had a 3.5# “large end” rib roast in 2010.It fed 6 adults and 4 children with sparse leftovers. For that size we made a seasoning mix of 2 ½ to 3 T of Fleur de Sel + 2 ½ T cracked black pepper + 5 coarsely chopped cloves of garlic. Take roast out of fridge an hour before cooking to bring to room temp. Tie the roast with cotton twine, near each end parallel to the bones – it keeps the outer layer of meat from pulling away from the muscle Adjust the oven rack to lowest position and preheat to 250 degrees. (I think we did 250 w/ convection) . If you plan to make some gravy – you can put about ½ cup of flour in a small ovenproof container. Put it in the oven at the same time as the roast. It will brown/cook and when you use it to thicken the drippings it will give the gravy  a better flavor…since the flour has “has cooked” …plus it will  brown giving the gravy a deeper color. Heat a large heavy bottomed roasting pan ( I used the large cast iron frying pan) over medium high on a burner. Place the in the hot pan and cook on all sides until nicely browned. It should take about 6-8 minutes and may render about ½ cup of fat. Remove roast from pan, set a rack in bottom of pan and return roast onto the rack. Now is the time to season the meat w/ the mixture. Place the roast in oven until the thermometer registers 130 for medium rare – I think it should take about about 2 ½ hours. Once at 130 – remove from oven, tent with foil and let stand about20 minutes ( our roast went from 130 to 143 at the end of resting). Carve away. That’s all I have in my notes – hope it works out as well as your memory of the 2010 beast. Most of the guidance I used is from the Cook’s Illustrated “the New Best Recipe” book. Gravy is always a challenge. I poured the juices from the roasting pan, separating the fat out. I returned the “defatted” drippings to the roasting pan and adding some good beef stock/broth. Scape up any bits from the bottom of the pan. From here on in it’s a personal “game”. . . you need to taste to check for salt level – then decide whether you want to use broth, wine or water to “expand” the quantity … and you can make a thick paste with some of the browned flour – and add a tsp at a time to “thicken” to desired level. Be creative as you like – or if you have enough drippings, you may just want to defat and use it. Hope that provides some type of a recipe for you. Have fun and enjoy! Love to all Pat/Mom

Red Lentil and Pumpkin Soup

This soup ROCKED!  A winner.  Thank you, Pat!
Red Lentil and Pumpkin Soup (Cooking Light – Best Recipes Nov 2012)

Hands on time: 28 minutes. Total time 28 minutes.

2 tsp canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
3½ cups vegetable broth, divided
1 cup dried small red lentils
1 tsp ground cumin (you may want to adjust to taste)
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
1 cup water
¾ cup canned pumpkin
1 T. grated peeled fresh ginger
1 T. fresh lemon juice
3 T. fresh plain low fat yogurt (optional)
¼ cup unsalted pumpkin seed kernels, toasted
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

(Pat said: I shredded a carrot and added it to the soup on the second day + a little more ginger)

Heat a large Dutch oven over med-hi heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and garlic to pan; sauté 4
minutes.

Stir in 3 cups of broth, lentils and the next 4 ingredients (though red pepper); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat,
and simmer 10 minutes or until lentils are tender.

Use blender until mixture is smooth. Return pot to medium heat (Pat uses a hand blender but I much preferred the consistency I could get with the vitamix)

Add remaining ½ c broth, 1 cup water and pumpkin to pot; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in
ginger and lemon juice.

Ladle into bowls; top each with dollop of yogurt, 1 T. pumpkin seed kerenels and 1 T. cilantro.

Makes 4 (1 ½ cup) servings.