Florentine Ricotta Pie

My attempts at blogging every day have failed. In fact, my attempts at blogging at least a couple of times a week have failed. Lately, it seems that we have been having leftovers, or a repeat of something I have already posted, or (and this is the most likely) I simply do not feel like taking photos of the food I just prepared. I would rather just eat it and then lay back and read, rather than scourge the literally dozens of photos I have snapped of the meal, trying to find the best one. Anyway, tonight is an exception. I made Florentine Ricotta Pie from The Uncheese Cookbook. I used fresh spinach rather than frozen and made a pie crust from scratch. Making a pie crust from scratch is not as daunting as some people believe it to be. There are only four ingredients:
1 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C olive oil
1/4 C water
Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk together the olive oil and water in a small bowl, then add to the dry ingredients. Briefly knead into a uniform dough, then roll out on a cutting board until the dough is formed into an approximate 10-inch circle. Place into a pie plate and crimp the edges. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes before adding the filling and baking again. I also added soy bacon bits to this pie, and I do whenever I am making any quiche-type pie. It's just delicious.

Chili Stuffed Green Bell Peppers

I am proud of myself. I worked a little later this evening, arriving home at 7pm from a meeting on 99th Avenue and Peoria. I had to stop at the store for some soy milk first. Upon my arrival, I fed two whining cats and started the dishwasher, which was completely full. I then set about making homemade chili and homemade rice. I then followed the recipe from Vegan Planet
for stuffed bell peppers, and had it done by 8:15pm. AND I'm sick, to boot! Anyway, these bell peppers are stuffed with a mixture of chili, rice, and vegan cheese (like Follow Your Heart), then doused in a sweet and sour sauce consisting of tomato juice, chili powder, sugar, and apple cider vinegar. I won't post the recipe for the bell peppers, but I will post the recipe for the rice I made (I always make rice this way, in fact). This way of cooking rice was taught to me by my friend Cici, who just happens to be an amazing cook and is studying culinary/restauranty type things in Italy. It's very simple: Simply chop one clove of garlic and fry it in one tablespoon of olive oil until it is brown. Remove the garlic, but for the love of God, don't throw it away! Munch on it while you're cooking. Add 1 cup of rice to oil and fry it for a minute or so. Then add 2 cups of water (yes, it was sizzle, don't be alarmed), as well as salt and garlic powder to taste. Stir and bring to a boil. Lower heat to low and cover. Cook for twenty minutes. I really should have taken a picture of the rice, but I forgot. That's okay, I'm sure you know what rice looks like.

Vegan Nachos

All right, fine. My nachos have real cheese on them. But even if I had chosen not to put cheese on them, they would still be delicious. Jeffrey loved his. It took me almost 24 hours to decide whether or not to post this, because the pictures are so blurry. I got all excited about how nice and colorful the food looked and neglected to rest the camera on the tripod or at least on the counter and instead held it in my apparently shaky hands. But despite the blur, you will see the loveliness that is vegan nachos. Clearly not a difficult recipe, but I will post it all the same just in case you want to try my version.

Ingredients:
Tortilla chips (a lot)
Refried beans
Ground veggie meat (I used Boca Ground)
chopped olives, onions, lettuce, and tomato
Jalapenos (I forgot to chop one, but I would have used it had I remembered)
Vegan cheese (I used Follow Your Heart brand Nacho Cheese for Jeffrey's), grated
Salsa, sour cream, and guacamole

Method:
Pile chips on a plate, then sprinkle cheese on top. Microwave or put in the oven until the cheese melts, or at least is warm (although this cheese is great, it's not an awesome melter). Then plop spoonfuls of refried beans on top, followed by the veggie meat, then with the rest of the toppings in whatever order pleases you. Devour.

Breakfast Burritos

Every vegetarian has his version of the tofu breakfast burrito. This is my version, which I make for Jeffrey on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I make myself a burrito as well, except mine is not vegan. Both are quite delicious, so I will post both recipes for your enjoyment. These burritos are made with potatoes, and I have previously employed sauteed home fries or sometimes homemade hash browns. I attempt to make everything from scratch as often as possible, but I get a little lazy on the weekend mornings. Thus, I began using french fries in the burritos. You may use whatever type and style of potato you prefer; I do not feel that any type is better than another.

Ingredients (vegan version):
2 T olive oil
1/4 of a block of extra-firm tofu, sliced lengthwise into four half inch thick strips
2 T nutritional yeast flakes
1 strip Smart Bacon
1 slice of Tofutti cheese
Potatoes (as many and whatever type you prefer)
1 large flour tortilla

Method (vegan version):
Cook your potatoes. If you are using french fries, preheat your oven and begin to bake the fries before you start anything else. If you are making fresh potatoes, cook those first and then set aside. Heat the olive oil on medium heat in a non-stick skillet. Spoon the nutritional yeast flakes onto a large plate or cutting board. Roll the strips of tofu in the flakes until covered. Let sit for a few minutes and then roll again. Fry the tofu in the olive oil for about five minutes on each side, until it is golden brown. Fry the strip of bacon during the last five minutes alongside the tofu. While the tofu and bacon are frying, tear the slice of cheese into small pieces and place in the middle of the tortilla. Remove the bacon from the heat and pat on a paper towel to remove excess oil. Tear into small pieces. Assemble the burrito in this way: potatoes, tofu, bacon. Make sure to place everything in the middle, covering the cheese. Fold the burrito (I am not going to tell you how to do this. Folding a burrito can be frustrating for the beginner, so if you are not adept at burrito construction, you may fold it in the way which works best for you). Serve with Cholula or salsa, and sour cream. Guacamole is good too, if you have it available.

Ingredients (omnivorous version):
2 eggs
1 slice of whatever cheese makes you happy (I use Muenster)
1 strip of Smart Bacon
Potatoes (as many and whatever type you prefer)
1 large flour tortilla

Method:
Follow the same instructions as the vegan version, however fry eggs rather than tofu and do not use olive oil.

Corn Dog Night

Corn Dog Night has been a tradition in this household for quite a while. Before Corn Dog Night, we had Taco Night. During the days of Taco Night, we invited friends over for beers, hanging out, and of course to indulge in vegan taco goodness. But, something happened during the transition from Taco Night to Corn Dog Night. Actually, a lot of things happened, some being that our friend who would always participate in Taco Night moved and we both got new jobs. How those things add up to Isolated Corn Dog Night, I know not. But I think it has to do with not wanting to share these buttery, delicious dogs. We often speak of reliving the Taco Night and having friends over for dinner on Fridays again, but alas, the greediness always wins, and Corn Dog Night is a battle between just us - wooden skewers fly, the last of the vegan ranch is snatched from the other's hand, arms are slapped until splotchy red trying to sneak that last dog from the communal plate.

Regardless, Corn Dog Night is not just about the corn dogs. It is about drinking, and dancing, and playing video games, and talking, and watching multiple episodes of Intervention on YouTube. Corn Dog Night is an experience. Maybe someday we'll get over our selfish ways and be social again. Oh, and the recipe is from www.randomgirl.com. We love her.

First Blog Fail and Muffaletta

Tonight, I failed. Well, I failed last week, but the effects of the fail were only realized tonight. I threw away the rechargeable batteries for the camera. This probably happened because I ran out of batteries for the Swiffer a while back, and have since been using the camera batteries as a replacement. So when the batteries in the Swiffer ran out of charge, I simply assumed that they were regular, non-rechargeable batteries. And threw them away.
Regardless, I had the spirit of enterprise to purchase new batteries over the weekend and thus had batteries for the camera. Although this weekend I will be purchasing new rechargeable batteries to make up for my fail. Anyway, this is my first dinner blog. Tonight I made "Chickpea and Avocado Muffaletta" from Vegan Planet, a great cookbook that I use often, but with a few changes. Muffaletta traditionally contains sliced meats and cheeses, but this recipe omitted those and utilized a chickpea and roasted red pepper spread as well as sliced avocados to replace the carniverous ingredients. The sandwich also contains a lovely olive salad with olive oil, parsley, and garlic. Some of the bread is scooped out of the middle of the sandwich to make room for the olive mixture. Aided by Jeffrey's suggestions, I added Smart-Deli Ham and Tofutti mozzarella cheese. I also omitted three fourths of the green olives, as they do not agree with Jeffrey's palate. The end result was delicious, and solidified by Jeffrey's common after-dinner cry, "Thank you for a wonderful dinner!"