Menu for the last couple of days

For posterity!

Lentil Shepherd's Pie

I sort of made this up based on several recipes and didn't measure as I went along. Doing the best I can from memory. Serves 8? It's a lot of dense food. Tastes even better the next day.

6 russet potatoes, cubed
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp minced garlic (3-4 large cloves)
2 cups frozen veggies (I used peas and corn)
1 Tbsp thyme
1 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp black pepper
3 cups cooked lentils
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil (or 1/4 tsp liquid smoke)
3 Tbsp margarine, plus extra
1/4 cup unsweetened plain soymilk, plus extra
salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring large pot to a boil and put potatoes in for 18-20 minutes, until a piece crumbles when you try to put a fork in it.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil on medium-high in a large pan. Sautee onions about 5 mins, until translucent. Add garlic and frozen veggies, cook 5 mins. Mix in spices, then add lentils and cook 5 mins. Reduce heat to medium-low and mix in soy sauce and sesame oil.

3. The potatoes will be almost done - CAREFULLY use a ladle to scoop out some hot water and add to lentil mixture. Keep adding until there is some spare liquid, enough to seem like a gravy. (You can also just dissolve 1/2 tsp corn starch in hot water instead.)

4. Preheat oven to 400.

5. When potatoes are done, drain well. Return to pot and immediately add margarine and soymilk. When the margarine melts, mash until there are no more lumps - if it seems dry, add splashes of soymilk and mix until you get the texture you want. Add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Pour lentil mixture into deep 2.5 quart casserole dish and top with mashed potatoes. Use a fork to draw lines in the top and dot with margarine (optional).

7. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top of the potatoes start to brown.

Strawberry Cobbler! Except I only had 6 cups of fresh strawberries (sliced) so I added 2 cups of frozen blueberries from last season. Oh, and went light on the sugar in the topping. I used a mystery flour (thanks Joni) so the topping looks different than the ones on the website.

Next up: Olive Lentil burgers as we have olives, lentils and mushrooms to use up.

Brussels Sprouts with Dijon and Balsamic Vinegar

I've been trying to nail down different ways to do Brussels Sprouts. The vaguely Chinese-style is pretty easy (minced garlic, ginger powder, soy sauce, sesame seeds, maybe some rice vinegar or cooking sherry), but I really like Balsamic with them, too. I was aiming for vaguely French-inspired, although I don't do much French food since it doesn't play well with veganism as far as I can tell.

Trader Joe's Brussels Sprouts in the microwaveable bag (1 lb.)
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Sea salt
Dijon mustard
Cooking sherry
Black pepper
Fresh thyme

1. Microwave sprouts for 4 minutes, with a piece of bread to absorb a little of the ass-smell. Cut in half, lengthwise.
2. Heat 2 tsp olive oil in large pan on medium-high heat. Add shallots and sautee until they begin to brown.
3. Add sprouts and sautee until they begin to steam. Add a healthy splash of balsamic - 2tsp, maybe 1 TBSP. Sprinkle with 3 or 4 pinches of sea salt.
4. Cook about 5 minutes, then add about 1 tsp of mustard and a couple of healthy splashes of cooking sherry.
5. Stir well and cook for 2 more minutes. The vinegar, sherry and mustard should make a sort of paste that clings to the shallots and coats at least part of the sprouts. If it's too thin, keep cooking it down; if it's too thick, add more sherry.
6. Remove from heat, grind some pepper on top and tear the leaves off of a few sprigs of thyme. You don't need too much. Stir together and serve immediately.

When working isn't a problem

Things have taken off, and my schedule has stabilized. This may be, in part, due to roommates waking up insanely early even on the weekend to go showshoeing and mountain climbing and other alien pursuits. Also this cold hasn't helped, I've been waking up before my alarm from the sound of my tongue cracking (since my nostrils don't work).

The thing I am still having trouble with is getting things done around the house, and sticking to an exercise schedule. My new thought is that if I have fun new video games to play, it will get me down in the exercise area and function as a non-food reward (those are hard to find). Of course I can't afford to buy new games so instead I made a small investment so I can do a little h4x0ring. Stay tuned.

The other day, when the pantry was a bit bare, I decided to try cooking up some of this grain mix that's been sitting around forever. It's a combination of Trader Joe's harvest grains mix, some buckwheat groats, and assorted unknown dried beans, legumes and grains. Possibly rice? Who knows. Here's what it looks like:

 

So I cooked it up with some Italian spice blend (no salt when cooking lentils) and it came out tasting like mashed ass. After that initial disappointment, I decided it was a perfect time to make some burgers to freeze for quick protein. Lately my joints have been extra achy and my brain malfunctioning what with the cold, so I decided I might be low on Omega fatty acids. Hence this recipe:

Omega Burgers
Makes 10+ burgers depending on how big you make them. 

1 cup walnuts
4 cloves garlic
6 green onions, white parts only
3 cups mixed, cooked grains
1/4 cup ground flax seed
2 TBSP soybean oil (aka vegetable oil)
2 TBSP soy sauce
1/4 can beer
1/2 C chickpea flour (or other flour)
1/2 C cornflake crumbs (or breadcrumbs or panko)
olive or vegetable oil
season salt
black pepper

Combine walnuts and garlic in a food processor and run until fairly well chopped. Add green onions and puree. Scrape the sides and add grains, flax, oil, and soy sauce. Process until it starts to freak out or a large clump starts circling, then slowly pour in beer until it has a paste-like texture. Scrape into a bowl and mix in chickpea flour and cornflake crumbs, adding more beer if it becomes too thick to work, or more flour & crumbs if it's too wet. You're aiming for something that you can shape into a patty in your hand that sticks together, but doesn't stick too badly to your hand. 

It'll look about like this (note I used Busch Lite because it's not like I'm going to be drinking it or anything):

You can either panfry these or bake them. Panfried are squishy in the middle, but have a nicer color and a crisp crunch.

To bake, preheat oven to 400 (or maybe 425, I had them at 375 and it was too low). Brush a baking sheet in olive oil. Shape burgers by about a 1/3 to 1/2 cupful in your hand. You can squash them flatter on the baking sheet. Brush the tops with olive oil and shake on a dash of season salt and grind some fresh pepper on the tops. Mine looked like this:

Bake for at least 20 minutes and keep checking until they're firm, starting to brown on the bottom and hopefully will release easily from the sheet. It might take longer so adjust times/temps accordingly.

For panfrying, cover a plate with paper towels or torn pieces of a paper bag. Heat a skillet on medium heat and add enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Drop in a burger (I did mine one at a time but you can be daring and try more), and cook a few minutes until you can see the bottom edge starting to brown. Flip and cook the other side for a minute or two and cook until it's as brown as you like. Here's about the color after the first flip:

Put the cooked burgers on the paper-covered plate to absorb the extra grease. Use the leftover oil to caramelize onions, if you like.

I had mine with caramelized onions, salsa and avocado, or the next day with some ketchup and mustard on a cracked wheat sourdough roll. Both are good.


If you have a dog that does well with onions and garlic (they can be toxic), or you leave those out, get the dog to clean your hands for you:

Thanks Lulu!