Low Fat & FAST Veggie Taco Meat

This vegetarian taco meat is low fat, cholesterol free, super quick to make, cheap, and your kids won't know the difference (neither will your spouse if you don't tell)!!! "TVP" is textured vegetable protein, and can purchase in different sizes and flavors at a health food store or online. It's very cheap and is a staple for hunger prevention in foreign aid programs.

Here's one place to get it (though I've seen it cheaper - and it's dry so VERY light, so you get a lot when you reconstitute it): http://www.nuts.com/cookingbaking/beans/soybeans/soy-protein.html?gclid=CLvllZOlgLgCFcJj7AodcH8A5Q

Veggie Taco Meat

3 cups TVP (brown ground type)
4 cups hot water
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 ½ teaspoons paprika
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoons cumin
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons oil, for frying

1. Stir all but oil together in a large bowl and then allow to set for at least 15 minutes.

2. In a large skillet, heat oil on medium heat and add "taco meat" evenly.

3. When mixture begins to brown on the bottom, 2-4 minutes, stir well. Stir occasionally, browning to desired darkness.

Summer Goodness! - Green Tomato Cream Soup

Summer is full of goodness! I really dislike the heat, but I can put up with a little roasty-toastiness in exchange for the most amazing foods all year. I love all summer fruits - berries, melons, stone fruits - I'm sure I could happily live on them alone. I love fresh garden tomatoes, garden herbs (fresh mint tea and rosemary bread!), green beans, zucchini bread, fried squash - and... GREEN TOMATOES. I love green tomatoes. Often I just dip slices in a little plain flour and then pan fry them (and salt lightly) on a hot griddle. They're faster, easier, and healthier than the breaded, deep fried kind, and I like them just as well! I'll try to post some of those this summer.  But for now, here's another neat thing to do with summer's green goodness:

Green Tomato Cream Soup

1 Green tomato, chopped
2 cups cabbage, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 small jalapeno, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons margarine
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chicken style Seasoning
¼ cup cashews
4 cups of water

1. Sauté all veggies in margarine and 2 cups of water until soft, about 10 minutes.
2. Blend cashews in 1 to 2 cups of hot water until very smooth, about three minutes.

3. Combine all and blend until very smooth, then bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook for another five minutes.

Rosemary Pesto Toast

This is a delicious new recipe is from Mike's special birthday meal today! His favorite herb (without competition) is rosemary, and this pesto is wonderful.
 
Rosemary Pesto Toast

½ cup soy mozzarella cheese
What half cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup fresh rosemary, stems removed
¼ teaspoon salt
5-10 pieces whole grain bread, depending on the size

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Blend all (but bread) in a blender until smooth.

3. Spread mixture on bread and place on a cookie sheet and toast for 7-10 minutes.

Indian Peas

We had the most delicious potluck in a long time - Indian food! These peas were a little more neutral (not spicy hot :-), so they went over pretty well. Here's the recipe - easy and fast.

Indian Peas

3 tablespoons oil
1 cup chopped green onions
1 cup slivered almonds
¼ cup soy sauce or Braggs liquid amino's
½ teaspoon ginger powder
1 lb. frozen peas
½ cup chopped cilantro

1. Fry onions and almonds in oil until onions soften.

2. Combine all but cilantro and cook down on medium heat until peas soften, about 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Stir in cilantro and serve!

Light and Delicious for Summer - Tofu Lettuce Wraps!

Here is a light and delicious summer lunch. It's even great to "take-along" to work... Thank you Jill Hudson and Ruby Jackson for this refreshing, filling treat!


Tofu Lettuce Wraps

2 ½ c. Extra firm tofu, water packed
½ c or more Burger Crumbles, Morning Star Farms
1 T Chicken style seasoning
1-2 t. EVOO (olive oil)
3 Green onions, minced
2 T toasted sesame oil
2 T honey
½ c. onion, chopped
2 T light soy sauce
dash cayenne pepper, optional
2 garlic cloves, minced
FOR WRAPPING:
Either iceburg or Romaine lettuce leaves
PEANUT SAUCE:
1 can coconut milk
¾ c. peanut butter, (crunchy adds texture)
1-2 T fresh lemon juice
½ t. salt
⅓ c. sucanot or brown sugar, or to taste
⅛ t. red curry paste, optional

1. Saute onion, green onion, garlic, tofu cubes (chopped in 1/4 inch pieces), and burger in olive oil till browned. Add remaining ingredients and cook 4-5 minutes longer. Remove from head and allow to cool before filling the lettuce leaves.

Top with Peanut Sauce

2. Peanut Sauce:

Heat coconut milk in a kettle on low until it simmers. Then add peanut butter, sucanot, salt and curry paste. Simmer on low until sauce is well blended and begins to thicken.

Watercress Salad? Delicious!

Watercress is hard to find - so much so that many of you may have never tasted it or even heard of it. It is delicious! It's spicy and oddly radish-y, so needs to be tamed down with a good dressing. It's also finicky, but so very worth taking the time to care for it properly (Look at the nutritional information below). I was so excited to find mine in a local spring last week as it's so hard to find in a grocery store!!

Watercress Salad

4 slices whole grain bread, chopped or ground into crumbs
3-4 tablespoon oil
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup oil
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon salt
½ sweet onion, slivered
4 cups watercress, chopped just before assembling
8 ounces mushrooms , sliced very thin

1. Fry bread crumbs on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until brown, about 3-5 minutes. Remove to glass plate to cool.

2. Mix lemon juice, 1/4 cup oil, mustard, honey and salt with a fork until well blended and set this dressing aside.

3. Prepare veggies as indicated, saving watercress til last… soak in ice water briefly if wilted, then chop and dry just before combining all and serving! Combine all.

*Use dressing to taste!

Look here to access nutrition information:
 http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/watercress.html

Creamed Beets - Don't Be Scared! ;-)

I realize that few foods illicit a stronger response than beets. It's one of those foods that most people either love or hate, but that, without question, generate much enthusiasm! (Sounds like some people I know...) Perhaps that's because they "taste like dirt" (thanks, Marion Peppers!). I actually like beets, so I am on a mission to contribute recipes that loosen people up a bit on this topic. After all, they're so good for you, and how can anything pink be bad?

One more comment on this recipe: It passed the potluck test. If you can take BEETS to potluck and they are consumed (emptied!) - THEY WIN (hands down).

Creamed Beets

2 cans Beets, chopped
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
⅓ cup cashews

1. Saute onion in the oil until onions soften completely or even brown slightly.

2. Drain beets into a blender. Blend cashews into this purple-red liquid until very smooth. (It may help make it smoother if you blend for 2 or 3 minutes with about half of the liquid first.)

3. Combine all in a pot and bring to a boil. "Cook down" a bit, to blend flavors, about 3-5 minutes.