Guacamole Fettuccini

Because I grew up in Minnesota back in the 40s and 50s, the word "avocado" was unknown to me, as was the fruit itself. Then came the day when an aunt and uncle visited us from The Golden State and nestled inside their suitcases were several large green things they called avocados. I was fascinated with the odd looking produce and even more astonished when I was told they grew on trees.

My aunt cut one of the dark green fruits in half to reveal a seed the size of New York--or so I thought. I was used to berry seeds or even citrus seeds, but nothing I knew came even close to the giant residing inside that light green mass.

My aunt removed the seed and scooped out some of the soft innards. Without any adieu, she slipped the spoon into my waiting mouth. To me, child that I was, it felt slimy and nasty and so mushy I quickly swallowed it. When asked if I wanted more, I shook my head no and escaped to another part of the house.

To my mind, an avocado was the armpit of produce world.

When I was sixteen, my family moved to California. And to my dismay, my mom discovered avocados. I remembered not liking them "way back when" and refused to eat them. Even the rest of the family considered them less than a perfect food. Looking back, I know that mom just didn't know what to do with them. Then one day a neighbor showed her how to make guacamole. Mom bought some tortilla chips and put the two products together on the table.

My sisters and I ate up every last scrap.

Thus began my love affair with the avocado and while there are many brands of the green spheres, the only one I really like is the Haas. These days I can slice an avocado onto fresh bread, add salt and pepper and tomato and sliced onions and eat my way through what I consider to be the perfect sandwich. I slice this lovely fruit into salads or serve it inside my vegan tacos or smear the creamy stuff on a flour tortilla and gobble it up without batting an eye.

So it was one day when I was looking through a vegan cookbook searching for dinner ideas, that I came across a pasta dish with an avocado sauce. I was intrigued. As usual, I tweaked the recipe to suit my own taste buds and served it to my carnivore company. We all had seconds. I guess that means it turned out pretty good. It looked so pretty, I even took its picture.

GUAC-A-CINI

1 lb fettuccine

2 avocados, pitted and removed from skin

1 big bunch of fresh basil

3 cloves of garlic, peeled

4 sun-dried tomatoes

1/2 cup toasted nuts, any kind

1 Tbs. lemon juice

1 Tbs. lime juice

1/2 cup olive oil

2 dashes of hot sauce, whichever is your favorite brand

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the fettuccine in a large pot of salted water, according to the directions on the box. Drain and set aside.

Into a food processor bowl put everything from the avocados to the salt and pepper. 

I love one dish meal recipes. They make
being the kitchen bearable.

Pulse until the mixture is well blended, but not so much that it is an indistinguishable mess. There should still be some minuscule chunks visible as in the photo above.

I prepared a few ingredients that might be added, should the guest wish to add them to his plate: a small bowl of finely minced sweet onion, minced tomato--flesh part only, vegan Parmesan cheese for those who wished to sprinkle it on top of the pasta dish.

My guacamole. I changed the recipe
around to turn it into an avocado pesto.

I gave serious thought to using cilantro instead of basil, but came to the conclusion that it may be too spicy to go with the pasta. If I had been making true guacamole, I'd have used cilantro only.

Because the main course was a meal in itself, I served only garlic bread alongside.

Serves 4-6

Depending on how many you're feeding, cook the fettuccine accordingly as
this recipe does not keep well. I had a lot leftover and it quickly went to
a muddy color that was most unappetizing. Since I was feeding only
three, I should have cooked only a half pound of pasta, though I
would have still made the whole recipe of avocado pesto. It would
have made the fettuccine all the more flavorful.

Kale Chips So Good You Won't Want To Share

I've been reading alot about roasting kale leaves and turning those healthy greens into something akin to a potato chip. A couple weeks ago I decided to see what all the hoopla was about and brought home a BIG bunch of curly kale from the market.

Remove the tough stems

I removed the tough stems and cut the leaves into large pieces. Then I put the leaves into my colander and gave them a good wash. I'd read that the leaves had to be absolutely dry or they would steam in the oven and that isn't what I wanted. My purpose was to create a crispy leaf that would fall apart in my mouth.

Cut the leaves into sections

I dried them well on a couple of kitchen towels, then let them sit for about 30 minutes. I used two sheet pans to roast the leaves on as they have to lay single deep or they'll not turn crispy. I set the oven for 350 degrees and when it was good and hot, I put the kale leaves into a bowl and drizzled 2 Tbs. of olive oil atop them, added a healthy sprinkle of sea salt, and gave the leaves a good toss so they all got coated. If you're not a salt lover, you could leave it off. I'm a salt lover.

Leaves ready for roasting

I roasted them for 10-15 minutes, or until I could see these faded green leaves nearly standing straight up on the sheet pans. They were so crispy they nearly fell apart when I plated them, but I didn't care and neither did the company I had invited to dinner that night.

They made a perfect accompaniment to the mushroom burgers I served as the entree. From what I thought and from what my company said, I could have served a boatload of kale chips and forgotten the mushroom burger because the chips were just that good.

Ready for eating. Ugly but delicious

Beef Stew You Won't Believe Is Vegan

When my daughter was in the 10th grade, she tried out to be a cheerleader and made the team. You'd think there would be no parent involvement in having a cheerleader in the family, but guess again. The first call I got was from the cheer coach, informing me that the cheerleaders always gave a special dinner for parents and faculty and the cheer mothers were to do all the cooking. I was assigned a stew recipe and told in no uncertain terms that I was not to change a single ingredient as this particular recipe had been tried and improved over the years and was now at perfection. I was to double the recipe and show up with it in hand--along with my cheer daughter--at the school cafeteria at 4:30 on a particular afternoon. That would allow us time to prepare for the onslaught that was to descend within the hour.

I did as instructed, never even tasting the stew to be delivered. In fact, I was so busy with the serving, that by the time I got to eat, there was no stew left anywhere. I heard people talking about how wonderful the dinner had been so you'd better believe that by the next night I'd made what came to be called in our house "the recipe" for my own family. Over the years, I've passed this recipe on to untold people because once tasted, they always ask how to make it. I always tell them the same thing I was told: "It's perfect; don't change anything."

Once I became vegan, I wondered if I could replicate "the recipe" using my home made seitan. I experimented over time and finally came up with a stew so similar it's difficult to know it isn't the real thing. Since I promised you last week that I'd pass this treasure onto you, here it is. I made two tiny tweaks to give this stew the mouth feel of a meat dish. Other than that, I reiterate what I was told: Don't change a thing. It's perfect.

VEGAN BEEF STEW

1 lb. seitan, cut into bite sized chunks (home made seitan is much more economical)

2 Tbs. olive oil

3/4 cup flour

Put the flour into a bag, dump in the seitan chunks and give it all a good shake.

In a deep pot, bring the olive oil to frying temperature

Brown the seitan until it resembles beef that's been lightly fried

Turn off the heat and add to the pot:

4 large carrots, cut into 3/4" pieces

4 large potatoes, cut into 3/4" pieces

1 large onion, sliced thin so it will nearly disintegrate into the gravy this recipe automatically produces

2 small bay leaves or 1 large one

1 garlic clove, minced

In a large measuring cup place:

1 1/2 cups of hot broth, vegetable or no-beef broth

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbs. Kitchen Bouquet (in the spice aisle and vegan; it adds a great beefy taste)

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. sugar

Big pinch of cloves (don't leave this out; it's what gives this stew it's extraordinary taste)

1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup of hearty red wine (I use Burgundy)

Stir the liquid to distribute everything evenly, then pour it over the seitan and vegetables. Cover the pot and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until the vegetables are fork tender.

The seitan will puff up as the dish cooks. That is normal. It shrinks back quickly and gives the mouth-feel of eating read meat.

I serve only a side salad as the dish is a full protein/vegetable meal in itself. My hubby always liked bread so he could sop up the gravy.

Serves 4 and can easily be doubled.

Vegans are always messing with favorite recipes, trying to
change them into vegan deliciousness.

Pizza Margherita

I love pizza. All kinds of pizza. I especially love when it swims in melted cheese and lots of pepperoni. Alas, vegans don't eat that sort of thing. So I wondered if I could come up with a decent alternative. Something that would taste like pizza, have the mouth-feel of melted cheese, and the tangy bite of pepperoni.

I failed time and time again. So I decided to give this illusive entity one last try. Now I'm not going to tell you that it tastes exactly like the real thing. But as a vegan, I was more than happy with the outcome. In fact I'm so happy with it that it will be my Saturday night fare for weeks to come. Hubby and I always indulged ourselves with pepperoni pizza on Saturday nights. And while hubby has gone to live in heaven, I think I'll re-instate my Saturday night fare. Fond memories all around.

Before I give the recipe, let me share some things I've learned. The best vegan cheese I've found that melts like the real thing is Daiya. I used the vegan mozzarella shreds. I put them all over the pizza, just as I would have real mozzarella. When it melted, it was a puddle of white. I used too much. This cheese melts so well, a little goes a long way.

To my palate, the vegan mozzarella doesn't taste like the real thing. It seemed rather like melted provolone in my mouth. No matter. It was quite good and while it didn't string like real mozzarella does, it dripped into a lovely mess on my plate. You'd better know I scraped it all up and stuck it on my leftover crust. Yes, it was that good.

I purchased a vegan pepperoni. While it has the slight smell of pepperoni, it is missing the peppery bite of the real thing. Just so you know, it wasn't awful, but in the future, I'll leave it off and just make a regular pizza margherita--my favorite anyway.

The pizza dough I prefer is one that is thin and crisp. The recipe I'm sharing is like that. If you prefer a crust that is soft and bready, this isn't the crust for you. But I like the crunch of the crust to go with the tomato and cheese softness. They pair well together.

Because the pizza dough needs about an hour to rise, I made it early on. I used my food processor and had the whole thing in a greased bowl and rising before more than ten minutes had passed. If you don't have a food processor but you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, use that. If all else fails, make the dough like your grandma did. By hand. It just requires more time and a lot of kneading to get the dough elastic and pliable.

PIZZA DOUGH

Into the food processor bowl put:

3/4 cup of warm water, about 110 degrees

1 package rapid rise dry yeast

Let it set a minute or two until you see bubbles forming. That shows the yeast is alive.

Add to the processor bowl:

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. olive oil.

Turn the processor to dough or mix or whatever your appliance has for mixing and let it rip. I always let the processor do all the kneading for me. If your dough doesn't form into a nice ball inside the bowl, add up to 2 more Tbs. water, a bit at a time, until a nice ball forms. Transfer the dough ball to a greased bowl, cover with saran and set it in a warm place to rise. I leave my bowl on the back of the stove top. It will rise to double in 45 minutes to an hour. When the dough is ready, roll it into a large circle if you have a pizza pan or a long rectangle if you're baking it on a sheet pan. 

THE PIZZA PIE

I'm showing the pizza before baking as it is easier to see the arrangement. Once the pie was cooked,
it was difficult to tell how I'd put it together.

Set your oven to 500 degrees

Brush the crust with olive oil to seal the dough. Skip this step and the the toppings will leave the bottom crust limp and doughy.

Cover the oiled crust with red sauce. I cheated and used a jarred spaghetti sauce. It takes less than a cup of sauce. Add more and your topping will all roll off into your lap when you try to eat a slice of this pie.

Atop the red sauce, add the Daiya cheese. Because it melts so well, use less than you think you'll need. You can always change the ratio next time you make pizza.

Now add fresh basil leaves on top. Put them all over the pie. 

Slice 2 large, ripe tomatoes into thin slices. Spread them all over the pie. If your tomatoes are small, use as many as needed to cover the cheese.

I put a few pieces of vegan pepperoni on my pizza. I won't go to that expense again. The pie was great and didn't need the faux meat.

Sprinkle the pizza with a drizzle of olive oil and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned and the cheese is melted. Try not to moan while you eat.

Serves 1-4 people, depending on how hungry they are.

When a vegan wants something bad enough, she will go to any extreme to find a way to make it.

Steak Dinner--Photo Copied and Veganized

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I'm not sure about that, but what I can say is that when the following photo showed up in my mailbox, along with a greatly discounted coupon for the meal itself, my mouth began salivating.

The picture that got
me thinking

Now I receive a lot of coupons in the mail and most get tossed into the recycle bin without further notice. But this one caught my eye. And even though I'm seldom tempted by meat anymore, this particular meal called to me and I just had to take the time to make it vegan so I could partake of it's lusciousness.

As you know, if you've followed this blog, my years-long medical problems caused a doctor-prescribed vegan diet for the rest of my life, and while I didn't think it would make any difference in fighting the intestinal disease I had, I was more than surprised when I began feeling so fit and fine. What keeps me vegan is the horror of ending up back in intestinal surgery. Four times was enough. I don't ever want to go there again.

Thus, I veganize just about everything that appeals to my appetite. Or at least I try to. And while this "photo-copied" dinner won't taste quite the same as the original meal, it turned out to be so good one of my guests  commented that "she liked that meat." The rest of us chuckled. We weren't eating meat. But what we were indulging our senses in was so good, it gave the idea of meat. We all left the table full and still fit. Who can argue with that combination?

FAUX FILET MIGNON

4 giant portobello mushroom caps

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 Tbs. Montreal Seasoning

Rub the mushroom caps with the oil and sprinkle with the Montreal Seasoning. Allow to rest on a counter top for at least an hour so the mushrooms absorb the flavorings.

Use a cast iron skillet heated to hot. Place the mushroom caps in the pan and turn the heat to medium. The water that comes from the mushrooms should be enough to keep them from burning. If not, add a tsp. of olive oil to the pan. Cook the portobello caps about 10 minutes on each side or until they turn dark brown and take on the look of a seared steak.  Top each cap with 1 tsp. of Bearnaise butter and serve immediately.

BEARNAISE BUTTER

2 Tbs. vegan margarine

2 tsp. fresh tarragon leaves, finely chopped

2 tsp. minced shallot

1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1/8 tsp. salt

Mix the ingredients together and let sit in the refrigerator till needed. This recipe makes enough for the current meal with some leftovers for another time. Serve atop the hot mushroom caps where it will slowly melt and give the mushroom an even more distinct hint of eating real steak.

As for the fresh asparagus, I drizzled it with olive oil, sprinkled it with salt and pepper, and oven roasted it at 450 for 20 minutes. Turns out delicious everytime, even though the tips  become caramelized, which only adds to the great taste.

The potatoes were scrubbed, covered with foil, and oven roasted at 375 for 1 hour. I served them topped with vegan sour cream and chopped chives.

Sometimes I wonder who made up the lie that vegans
only eat unattractive foods. I'm out to dispel that myth.
Are you with me?

Sassy

The Italian taught me how to make fresh tomato sauce in her tiny condo kitchen in the late 80s. Even as I watched her, I didn't quite believe it. Fresh garlic in olive oil, fresh peeled and chopped tomatoes, basil, salt, pepper. It was so good. So fresh and simple and good. And no recipe.

For a young cook, no recipe was a little problem. It took a long while to throw my cares to the wind and experiment with quantities and trust my nose. The Italian had been cooking for a long time. You could see her connection to food when she chopped and stirred and served. She's the one who first told me that if you eat right you will save on medical bills.

I was thinking of her as I was learning this pepper sauce. I found it in a cook book that said things like one onion, one yellow bell pepper etc. This still bothers me. Put two onions side by side and tell me, how can my sauce be good each time if one time I chop that onion and it turns out to be one cup and the next time I chop that onion and it is one and a half cup? Small, Medium and Large are not helpful measurements. So I set about to make my own recipe.

Sassy Pepper Sauce

(Yields 4 cups sauce)

4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cups chopped fresh Roma tomatoes (no need to peel them)

1 cup chopped yellow bell pepper

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

2 cups chopped onion

2 Tablespoons chopped garlic

Heat the olive oil in a heavy sauce pan. Add the chopped vegetables and cook for about 10 minutes. 

That's it. 10 minutes. The vegetables should be soft, the onion translucent and your feet should lift about two inches off the floor when you inhale it's rich goodness.

Now this is the part I can't help you with. This is the individual taste part. Add salt, pepper and chili powder to your particular taste. Start with a 1/2 teaspoon of each. Stir it in, taste it. Wait a bit. Not right? Add. You can not subtract from a sauce, so take your time.

What to do with this sauce? Add it to a pot of beans. Spoon it over pasta. Just look at it. It is a feast for the eyes. And just before you serve your sassy dish, dash some fresh parsley over the lot for good measure. It's the color wheel trick. Colors across the wheel from each other compliment each other. Just like peppers and tomatoes compliment each other, red and green are friends. 

Zesty Corn Salad



I served this salad to company and was barely able to save enough for a photo. I kept what was left and surrounded it with flour tortillas warmed over an open flame and ate it for lunch the following day. The spicy juice was every bit as good as the zesty veggies and I used up my last tortilla as a dipper. Yum.

 Since becoming a vegan, I think I've seen at least a dozen recipes for corn salad and every one of them includes black beans. While I adore black beans, sometimes I just want a vegan recipe sans beans of any kind. From time to time, my mouth hungers for something out of the ordinary. Something zesty that will titillate my taste buds. Something for my own table or a family potluck or a church dinner that will cause people to seek me out and beg me to tell them how to make it.

I can't tell you where I got this recipe because I've had it for so long I've forgotten. Most likely, it was at one of those family gatherings or church potlucks where, ego in check, I begged for the recipe myself. Wherever it came from, I think you'll enjoy it. With summer's bounty hitting the grocery stores and Farmer's Markets, there is no better time than now to seek out vegetables fresh from the fields. Once the produce is picked, it takes but a few hours for their  natural sugars to convert to starch, so the sooner we get them on the table, the happier our taste buds will be with the party that's going on in our mouth.

ZESTY CORN SALAD 

In a medium size bowl, combine 2 Tbs. Mexican Spice Mix (recipe follows) with 1/4 c. of  olive oil and 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar. Whisk together.

Add to the bowl:

2 cups of cooked corn, kernels cut from the cob taste best

2 large tomatoes, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 cup sliced black olives
1/2 cup diced chili peppers (I use either fresh Anaheim or Pasilla, sometimes called Poblano, as they are the mildest. If you like spicy, toss in some jalapeno.

The seasoning mix contains salt, so I didn't add any extra, but if the salad isn't just right for your palette, add salt and pepper to taste.

Stir everything together, cover with plastic wrap and leave it in the refrigerator at least two hours. Overnight is better. Before serving, sprinkle the salad with 3 Tbs. chopped cilantro. Approximate servings: 4

This dish is good as a stand alone salad, but it serves well as a filling for avocado halves, topping for a veggie-burger, wrapped inside a warm flour tortilla, or stuffed into a giant baked potato. Happy Summer!

Fresh corn is low in saturated fat, very low in sodium, and has no cholesterol. It is high in dietary fiber, magnesium, phosphorus, thiamine, and vitamin C. When purchasing fresh corn on the cob, look for tight husks, healthy silks, and plump kernels. It is best to eat fresh corn the day it is purchased but if it has to be stored, leave it in the husks to prevent drying out. The longer corn sits before cooking, the less sweet it will be because the natural sugars will convert to starch. If the corn had to sit too long after dad brought it in from the field, mom's trick was to add a bit of sugar to the water she boiled the corn in. Worked every time.

MEXICAN SPICE MIX

1 Tbs. chili powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. sea salt (I used kosher)

1 tsp. black pepper

Mix everything together and store in an airtight container. This blend of ingredients is less costly than the seasoning packs from the grocery store and is easy to toss together. The blend is shelf stable for a good 3 months. Probably longer, but it usually gets used it up before then.

Copyright 2011 by Sandra L Keith, All rights reserved

Summer In A Bowl

With summer's plethora of fresh vegetables, vegans are always on the hunt for additional ways to use them. However, you don't have to be vegan to enjoy this week's recipe. It's so good even veggie haters will like it.

I hate to cook. I hate it when the weather is cold and when the weather is hot. Particularly when it's hot. And while being in the kitchen is the ultimate happiness for some, it is the bane of my existence that food needs to be prepared at all. No matter what my feelings on the subject, the truth is I'm an excellent cook. I figure it this way: if it has to be done, it better be worth remembering.

I've heard many a friend or television cook claim that their food was prepared with love and that's why it tastes so good. That statement is beyond my ability to fathom. Prepared with love? My food is plopped into a pan or oven or crock pot with great impatience, praying it will cook itself so I can ignore it till serving time. I also hear some chefs claim that food is sexy? Now that one really passes me by. I've never known anyone who got hot and bothered just looking at a bowl of soup or a plate of tofu. Utter nonsense.

Food is food and whether it tastes good or not, it will fill our stomachs and fuel our bodies. That is its purpose. Too often our pesky taste buds get in the way. And we all know what happens when that's the case. Ever notice a baby being fed peas? In the mouth; out of the mouth. My daughter was like that. I honestly believe she was born hating peas. No matter how often I tried getting them into her tummy, they'd make the "baby-food loop" and come right back out on the tip of the tiniest tongue I'd ever seen.

Perhaps it was during those days as wife and mother that I determined to make my food so good no one would ever spit it out or send it to the trash can. And while my oldest child loved vegetables of all sorts, my daughter was as picky as they come. The one saving grace was that she adored beets, eating them with seeming relish. Beets became my hiding place for the other things she needed but wouldn't swallow--like green beans and all baby-jarred meats.

All of that history to say that in my kitchen, food has to be easy to prepare and taste so good that even those who think they hate vegan offerings will love it. As I did last week, I'm passing onto you a family recipe that's been around so long I honestly have no idea where it came from. It was a staple on my mom's table every summer and it's long been a favorite on my table. My mom used whatever was ripe in the garden; I use whatever is in the frig that looks cold and crunchy. Happy chomping.

MARINATED VEGETABLES PAR EXCELLENCE

Make the marinade:

1/3 cup high quality extra virgin olive oil 

3 Tbs. Japanese seasoned rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. basil

1/4 tsp. dry mustard

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. crushed garlic

1/8 tsp. black pepper

Whisk everything together and set aside.

Prepare the vegetables:

1 medium red onion, sliced thin

3 cups of thin sliced zucchini

3 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and sliced thin.

Pour the marinade over the vegetables and mix well. It will look like there isn't enough marinade. Don't be fooled. Juice will come out of the vegetables and mingle their own flavors with the marinade. Cover well with plastic wrap. Allow to sit at least two hours. Overnight is better. Easy dish to make ahead.

When I make this salad, I use shredded carrots, diced celery, diced cucumber, sliced radishes, diced green onions--white and green parts, broccoli cut into tiny florets, and if there is leftover fresh cabbage, I'll slice it thin and throw it into the mix. I also toss in a diced and seeded jalapeno or two, depending on how hot they are. Since I don't care for raw zucchini, I substitute the veggies I do like and if I want this salad to fare well for a couple of days, I leave out the fresh tomatoes and use diced red peppers instead. The peppers will remain crisp while the tomatoes turn to mush. 

As long as you keep the ratio of marinade to vegetable mixture accurate, you can make a small batch to a giant batch and use any combination you wish. This summer salad keeps well and I use it as a stand alone salad or atop a veggie burger or tofu dog or black bean taco. My guess is you can find other ways to use it that I haven't thought of.

If you substitute any other vinegar for the Japanese seasoned rice wine vinegar, you will need to add sugar to cut the marinade's acidity. If you choose this route, add honey or sugar to taste, but why not splurge and buy the preferred vinegar. It's not that costly and the taste if worth it.

This summer salad is good just the way it is but if you like a bit of spice, toss in some jalapenos or Serrano peppers. Just remember to remove the seeds and ribs as that is where most of the heat hides.

Copyright 2011 by Sandra L Keith, All rights reserved

Ahh Bella, How I Love Thee....

For me, mushrooms of any kind have always been right up there with tofu as my least desirable edibles.  I've had a real change of heart since I learned how to turn them into burgers. Who knew?

I have been having an affair with portobello mushrooms. I've configured them every way I could imagine and while the food was tasty, it wasn't a winning recipe. Not until I stole Marie Callendar's version of the giant fungus. Now it's worth blogging about. Let me tell you how it came to be.

There was a day when I had a doctor appointment close to Marie Callendar's Restaurant. Considering I hadn't eaten lunch, I stopped by, thinking I'd have some pie and coffee. Before I could mention my desire, a menu was plopped next to me. Thinking I'd just give it a once-over strictly for fun, I opened it up and began looking at the pictures. And there it was. A portobello mushroom burger. The photo set me to drooling. (I hate it when that happens, it's so un-ladylike) and the next thing I knew, I heard myself ordering it.

I was somewhat taken aback when the burger was set in front of me. No kidding, the whole thing had to be more than two inches tall. One bite convinced me it was meaty, juicy, and while it didn't taste anything like a hamburger, it was so good I considered taking another to-go so I could have it for supper. Then along comes the waiter, asking how everything was. I did my ooh and ahh thing and then asked him to see if the chef would give out the recipe. He hesitated a moment, then agreed and off he went. A few minutes later he informed me the mushrooms were oven roasted with a covering of fresh thyme and rosemary. I knew that wasn't the real recipe because I could detect hints of basalmic vinegar and olive oil and chipotle. Chefs are so tricky.

First chance I got, I cooked up the biggest portobello I could find, using my Marie Callendar knock-off recipe. Can I say it was delicious? Or even outstanding? Or simply the best mushroom burger I'd eaten since the restaurant one? The other portobello burgers I'd tried paled in light of this new find. I hope you'll give it a try and then write and tell me what you think. After all, you know what Shakesphere wrote  in Romeo and Juliet. "A portobella by any other name would taste as good." At least I think that's how it went.

The roasted portobello looks enough like meat to fool the eye. It won't fool the palette, but the whole package is so juicy good, you won't care. I served my burger with corn on the cob, oven roasted in its husk. Can I say delicioso?



PORTOBELLO BURGER---My Restaurant Knockoff 

Portobello mushrooms, 1 per serving. Remove the tough, woody stems. Place the mushroom caps in a zip lock bag for marinating.
1/2 cup olive oil
2-3 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. chopped fresh rosemary
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
2 cloves of garlic, chopped

Allow the mushrooms to marinate at least 30 minutes. An hour is better.

Set the oven to 400 degrees. Lay the mushrooms on a cookie sheet lined with foil (easy cleanup), with the top facing up. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for approximately 20 minutes. Fewer mushrooms will take less time. Gigantic ones will take more time. You will know they are done when they look like a hamburger, all brown and toasty. Save the marinade for another use. Most recipes I've tried say to cook the mushrooms only a few minutes on each side. For me, it wasn't enough, as they still looked and tasted like mushrooms. I wanted a beefy taste and that's what I got via roasting for a length of time.

Make the mayo for the buns. I used 1/4 cup vegan mayo and 1/4 tsp. chipotle powder. Stir together. If you like things spicier, add more. This ratio was fine for me.

Warm the buns. I purchased extra large buns because the bella's were so big. Smaller bella's, use smaller buns.

I put my mushroom burger together the old fashioned way with generous portions of tomatoes, onions, and lettuce. I left off the ketchup, mustard and pickles because the bella was zingy enough having been marinated in the vinegar. You do as tastes best to you.

If you can't find chipotle powder at your grocery store, you can purchase it from www.penzeys.com--which is what I did.


Copyright 2011 by Sandra L. Keith, All rights reserved
Top photo is courtesy of MS Word Clip Art
Middle photo is the property of the author and may not be reproduced without permission.

Salad for the Blue Collar Man

Although my husband has no interest in going vegan, he is committed to a healthier diet. He used to make 4 deli meat and cheese sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and snack every morning before going to work. Last year he started making soups and now packs them along with one less sandwich. lately, he has been packing salads too, further reducing his meat and cheese intake. I volunteered to make him a couple of salads to go, after he complained of getting bored with his. I love salads with crunchy carbohydrates and rich texture. Here they are....

Oriental Salad

salad leaves

carrots (chopped or grated)

grape tomatoes

green onions (chopped)

Ramen noodles, uncooked

dried banana chips

sesame sticks (a kind of snack made with wheat)

Sesame Vinaigrette

1/2 cup light vinegar

4 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup salad oil

2 tablespoons sesame seed oil

1 teaspoon pepper

If you're packing this to go, you must separate the vegetables, crunchy toppings, and the dressing in their own containers. This salad is a variation of the Nappa Salad posted on 3/6/11. Assemble your favorite salad leaves and veggies. Chop Ramen noodles, banana chips and sesame sticks (I buy them at Trader Joes). Add crunchy mix on top. Shake and pour on dressing. Yummy!

Power Salad

salad veggies

brown rice

vegetable stock

chopped apple

garbanzo/chick peas

pecan nuts

toasted flax seeds

1tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

Make brown rice according to directions ahead of time. I substitute 1/2 the water with vegetable stock (store bought) to add flavor. Any left over rice or noodles should work just as well here. Assemble salad leaves and veggies the way you like them. Open a can of garbanzo beans, and drain. Chop pecans and apple. I found a toasted flax seed at Trader Joes that has a wonderful flavor. I bet if you took the time to candy these pecans, you could add another layer of complexity to this super salad. Mix up the oil and vinegar and your prep work is done. The only question is do you eat it in or take it out?

Lazy Sunday Mornings

Brew the coffee. Read the paper.Make some bagels. Enjoy the unseasonably warm winter day. It is just a tease for tomorrow comes snow, sleet, freezing rain and bitter cold. Will this winter ever end? We'll have enough bagels to sustain us for a few days!


This recipe is a variation of a recipe from one of those old Sunset cookbooks from the sixties. They specialized in one subject paperback cookbooks- Bread, Chinese, Vegetable, etc,. Lot's of photos and step by step instructions which were especially helpful for anyone unfamiliar with the subject at hand. They are still publishing them in addition to the magazine.


If you have not tasted a fresh bagel, you are in for a treat. It is nothing at all like those donut shaped white bread substitutes you get in the freezer case. The secret is boiling them before baking and they are really very easy to make. And if it is a lazy Sunday, you have the time. The only thing that makes them non vegan would be the topping-butter, cream cheese, smoked, salmon, etc. Today is our vegan day so we serve with vegan margarine or heart healthy olive oil.Break out the cream cheese and lox tomorrow!


Easy Sunday Morning Pumpernickel Bagels


2 packages active dry yeast
2 cups warm water(110 degrees, test it on your wrist)
3 tablespoons dark molasses
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups rye flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 tablespoon molasses in 3 quarts water
cornmeal for dusting
olive oil for glazing
caraway seeds for sprinkling


Turn on the Rolling Stones. Loud. No, really loud!

Stir the molasses into the warm water and sprinkle yeast over. Stir to dissolve and set aside.Let sit until foaming.

In a large bowl stir together the flours, caraway seeds and salt with a wooden spoon. Add the water/yeast mixture and stir together into a ball. Turnout onto a floured surface and knead until silky and smooth, 10 to 15 minutes. Add more flour if necessary to keep from sticking but the dough is drier than typical bread dough so this probably won't be necessary. Turn into an oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.


Punch the dough down, knead briefly on a lightly floured board to release air, then divide into 12 equal pieces. Form each piece into a smooth ball by gently kneading. Holding a ball with both hands, poke your thumbs through center. With one thumb in the hole, work around perimeter, shaping bagel like a doughnut. Place shaped bagels on a lightly floured board, cover lightly and let stand in a warm place for 20 minutes. Don't worry if they don't look perfect like those ones that taste like Wonder Bread. It's all about taste.Turn on Neil Young.






Bring molasses and water to a boil in a large pot and lower to let it boil gently. Lightly grease a large baking sheet and dust with cornmeal. With a slotted spatula, drop 4 bagels(one at a time) into the gently boiling water and turn often for five minutes. Lift out and drain briefly on a towel before placing on the baking sheet.




Brush the bagels with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with caraway seeds. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until well browned and crusty. Let cool on a rack.



See? Easy! Split.Toast. Dribble with olive oil. Grab the paper, a cup of coffee.Turn on Johnny Cash. Enjoy!