Tuesday, November 04, 2008

I Liked It So Much, I Made It Twice

WWHFDLN (What We Had For Dinner Last Night)

Middle Eastern Lentil Soup

Just like we had the other night, except with Moong Dal and I 'smoked' the paprika (read: it burned a little before I could swoop in and add some water). Still, very good and I used up the last of our parsley. I liked it so much, I made it twice.

WWHFDTON (What We Had For Dinner The Other Night)

This was borne out of desperation and fortunately, everyone liked it! Yea!

Beany Pasta with Kielbasa

1 Tofurkey Kielbasa cut in half long wise and sliced
1 can cannellini beans
1/2 pkg soft silken tofu
1/2 16oz pkg pasta
2 T nutritional yeast
1 T oil
fresh oregano to taste or 1 t dried, crumbled
1 t salt

Boil your pasta.
Dump half of the beans in your blender or food processor and add the tofu, salt, oregano and nutritional yeast. Blend.
Drain and rinse the other half of the can of cannellini beans and set aside.
In a large cast iron skillet, brown your sausage in 1 T of oil. Add the beans and sauce and mix well. When pasta is done, add the pasta and mix well. Serve.

Finally, this curry. I made it a little different but not much.

1/2 block firm tofu, pressed and cubed
1/2 C maple roasted cashews
1 C pineapple chunks
1/2 pkg frozen broccoli
1 shallot, sliced thin
2 T curry paste
1 can coconut milk
1 T brown sugar

Toast your cashews; in a large cast iron skillet, toast the raw cashews on high, stirring constantly, until browned (skip this step if your cashews are already roasted). Stir in 1 T maple syrup and stir and stir until the cashews are mostly dry and before all the maple coating clumps off. Remove from pan and set aside.

In a large pot on med high heat, mix the shallot with the curry paste and cook until shallot is tender. Add the brown sugar and mix well. Add the tofu and stir until tofu is well coated and hot. Add the coconut milk and mix well. Gently mix in the pineapple and broccoli and heat through. Simmer until desired thickness (now that I think about it I think I stirred in a T of cornstarch) and serve over rice.

Finished the Francine Prose book (Reading Like A Writer). Thought it was really meaty and great. Lots to sink your proverbial teeth into. Would like to own it. Am interested in reading Chekov now. And this Green guy. And Proust?

Started Monster Island, but the gore got to me. I am a wuss.