Vegetarian Frugal Housewife

“”The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.””
~ Thomas Edison, 19th-Century American Inventor

When I was in college and planning my first trip abroad I had my heart set on Northern Ireland. Maybe it was because my ancestors were Irish or because I was enthralled by the politics of the place or because I thought it would look cool on a resumé to have gone to Queen’s University. At any rate, I was half way through the process of applying to the program when my best friend, a great lover of Latin America, convinced me to go with her to Mexico instead.

She had lived in Latin America before, going there to learn Spanish and weaving, but I was really only swayed by the difference in cost. Plus, when going to live abroad for the first time, it is nice to travel with a friend. Of course I hadn’t considered the fact that in Ireland they speak English and in Mexico they don’t. Hmm.

To say that I experienced “culture shock” would be a mild understatement. I was horrendous to be around and no one, whether the Mexican students at my school or the Americans with whom I lived and hung out, could escape my wrath. The one shining light was food. Food and sunshine. I loved walking by myself in the Mexican sun. And my best friend loved to cook too. So that was our common ground.

She had learned lots of recipes during her previous trips in Latin America and taught me a few real gems. My favorite, by far, was Chicken Tinga. It’s a spicy little number made with shredded chicken and tortillas.

Years later I became a vegetarian and spent many long months without eating Tinga. Then I discovered tempeh, a match made in heaven. It has great texture, crumbles nicely and takes about any flavour you can throw at it. Hence, Tempeh Tinga was born. Perhaps not made for the cultural purists out there, but a tasty treat for any adventurous vegetarian tongue.

I hope you enjoy it!

Tempeh Tinga
Makes: Enough for 6 large burritos
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30-50 minutes

Ingredients:
Tempeh (3-4 patties, crumbled or sliced into chunks)
Plum Tomatoes (4 Large)
White Onion (Equal to Tomatoes)
Cilantro (4 or 5 Sprigs)
Garlic (2 or 3 Cloves Chopped)
No-Chicken Broth (1 cup or less)
Chipotle Peppers (1/2 Can or to Taste)
Cooking Oil

Optional:
burrito wraps
salsa
cheese
crema

Directions:

1. Crumble or slice the tempeh into chunks.
2. Dice an equal amount of tomatoes and onions. Place them in separate bowls.
3. In a saucepan, put 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil and heat it. Add the diced tomatoes to the oil and cook until soft. DO NOT allow the tomatoes to become liquid. Once softened, remove from heat and return to their bowl, leaving a bit of liquid behind in the pan.
4. Add more oil to the pan and, once heated, cook onions. Heat until transparent. DO NOT brown or burn the onions. Once they become transparent you may add the previously softened tomatoes.
5. Add tempeh and approximately half a can of chipotles, along with some of the liquid from their can. Leave some peppers whole and break up others. *The more you break up, the hotter the tinga.
6. Use the No-Chicken broth, or tap water, to wet down mixture. About 1/2 a cup to 1 whole cup will do.
8. Test the tinga for taste. If it is not spicy enough you may break up more of the peppers or add more. REMEMBER that as tinga sits it becomes hotter, keep this in mind when taste testing.
9. Fry up some flour or corn tortillas. Place tinga on top with whatever you wish. Cheese and sweet cream or sour cream are very good with it. Enjoy!

If you enjoyed this post, perhaps you'd like to buy me some tofu or make a tip jar donation.

“Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you. ”
~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr., Author, Life’s Little Instruction Book

As a Mom to a toddler I am constantly looking for quick, healthy meals that I can make with minimal effort. They have to be something that will last at least 2-3 meals and they must be tasty to the little chief.

I have been trying to figure out how to get more quinoa and buckwheat into our lives, since they are so healthy and kind of cook themselves while you walk away and do other things. Quinoa has nearly 15% protein and is debatably the healthiest grain out there, but how to make it appealing to a toddler?

Well, we are lucky in that our son is a bit less picky than the average toddler. I attribute this to our use of baby led weaning as our method of feeding him from day one. But it is also the variety of tastes that he has been exposed to, including curries, sushi, sauerkraut, gourmet cheeses and such. Generally he will eat anything that has a good flavour and combination of spices. Grains, however, are not easy for him to hand-feed himself unless they are a part of something else.

Enter my new creation, quichoa. You take your basic quiche ingredients and give them a nutritional boost by adding ample amounts of quinoa. Voila! You’ve got a dish that can take any old, nearly spoiled veggies and cheese that you need to get out of your fridge and that can also be dumped in a pan and baked without fuss. It’s fast becoming a favorite in our home!

For this version I used some leftover onion, a sadly neglected tomato, a tiny bit of cauliflower and my last mushroom. There was also a bag of cheese curd that remained after a cheese fries snack that I made last month. Added some eggs and cooked quinoa to complete the bake. I cooked the Quichoa in a square pan so they ended up as a sort of Quichoa bar once they were cut.

What I adore about this particular recipe is the way that you can literally use anything you have on hand that needs using up. You can substitute fresh sage or basil for the dried herbs, you could use carrots and broccoli instead of tomatoes and mushroom, you can use tofu instead of cheese, etc. Heck, you could even make it into a fruity Quichoa, by replacing the salt and herbs with sugar and cinnamon and then adding apples, grapes, strawberries, cherries, kiwi, peaches, pineapple…whatever you have.

Papa was terribly astounded at the fantastic deliciousness that resulted simply by adding quinoa to eggs and veg. I was pretty chuffed too, since it was one of my anything but the kitchen sink, last-minute recipes. And the wee chief? Well, he liked it! He especially liked taking the squares of it in his little hands and eating them bite-by-bite like a big boy. :-) Having the quinoa embedded in eggs makes for much less mess as well.

Go on and try it. You know you want to!

Quichoa Veggie Bake
Makes: 6-12 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 35-45 minutes
Cooking Temp: 325°F

Ingredients:

1/3 cup quinoa
2/3 cup water
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
4 large eggs
1/2 cup soy milk (or other milk)
1 large tomato
1 medium onion
2-3 brown mushrooms
1.5 cups chopped cauliflower
1 cup crumbled or cubed cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tsp provençal herbs
pinch cayenne pepper
salt
pepper

Tools:

mesh collander
saucepan & lid
knife & cutting board
frying pan
mixing bowl
8×8″ square cake pan OR
a quiche pan

Directions:

1. Rinse quinoa and place in a pan with 2/3 cup water and 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast.

2. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low.

3. Cover and simmer until all water is absorbed.

4. While quinoa is cooking, chop all vegetables. (I prefer diced.)

5. Sauté vegetables in oil, briefly, just to soften them.

6. Remove quinoa from heat.

7. In a mixing bowl, scramble eggs with milk, herbs & spices.

8. Slowly mix in the warm quinoa and veggies.

9. Stir thoroughly and then add your cheese.

10. Pour the entire mixture into a greased pan and cook on 325°F for 35-45 minutes.

11. Remove from oven when the edges are slightly brown and the center stops being a bubbling, floppy mess.

12. Cool for 10-15 minutes and serve with salad, soup or fruit.

If you enjoyed this post, perhaps you'd like to buy me some tofu or make a tip jar donation.

“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.”
~ Oprah Winfrey, Actress and Media Mogul

Little boys and big machines. It seems to be an innate attraction.

A little over a year ago we were blessed with our first child, a happy, healthy boy named Thoreau. As you might gather from his name, we hoped he would share our love of nature and the outdoors and maybe go in for some hiking & canoeing. Like all parents we took joy in watching him grow and blossom from a little fleshy doll into a thinking, feeling person. By his 8th month we were waiting hopefully for the big firsts: first tooth, first word, first step. Would he say “Mama” first or “Papa,” or “Cat”? Who would be the first to be anointed by his sweet voice?

The winner was none of us. It was the shiny, noisy green guy next door.

No, we don’t live next door to an alligator or any aliens. We live next door to a farm. Farms mean….TRACTORS! So it happened that “tac-tah, tac-tah” became Thoreau’s first words and his clarion call. Forget about Mamas and Cats and Cars and Milk, life for our little boy is about tractors, whether big, small, old or new, red or green. Tractors are the end all, be all of being alive and having eyes.

It was funny and amazing to both of his parents, the way that this tractor obsession developed. We live on a busy, rural road. By Thoreau’s 5th month he already loved being held by the front window so he could watch the cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles whizzing by. In fact, during his most fussy times, this was the best way to calm him. So he and Papa stood by the window, often for several hours, and watched and watched. As spring broke and the sun became warm, baby, Mama and Papa would go and lay under the beach umbrella on a blanket and Mama or Papa would say the words that corresponded to the vehicles as they passed by.

I was certain that one of his first words would be “car” since we said it so often and he loved them and it seems easy enough to say for a baby.

The “tractor” thing was surprising, though not entirely, since Thoreau’s great-grandpa was a lifelong farmer and tractor enthusiast. Neither one of us parentals ever emphasized tractors though, they were just part of the mix going up and down our road. What was surprising, for Mama & Papa, was the way that Thoreau not only said tractor but completely conceptualized what a tractor is, looks like and does. A couple of weeks after he started saying it we happened to see a tractor drawing in a book and he jumped right at it and screamed “tactah, tactah.” How did he know that crude illustration was a tractor? Then a week later the same thing to a photograph of a tractor in some ad on Mama’s computer screen. And then in a country music video. Amazing! No one said, “Look it’s a tractor.” He just knew. Well, let’s just say that babies are magical. They are capable of much more thought and understanding than you may realize.

A few months later, as his first birthday was rolling around, Continue Reading »

“Grilled cheese and tomato soup is the ultimate comfort meal.”
~ Ina Garten, American Author, Barefoot Contessa TV host

Okay, I am not French, but I aspire. Hmm…how to make creamy tomato soup sound more enticing? Simple, make the recipe sound foreign. LOL.

But, in all seriousness, I am a child of the 80’s. I grew up on instant food. Originally it was mac-n-cheese and pot pies. My dad just cooked them as the box read, but my Mom at least added some nice things to make them more “adult.” Like chives in the mac-n-cheese.

By the time I was in high school I was cooking “instant” foods for myself. I had this one crazy comfort meal that I used to make on the days I was home alone and ruled the place. I liked to have several different bowls or plates with something different on them, so I would make one scrambled egg, half a grilled cheese sandwich, one bowl of corned beef hash and a huge bowl of tomato soup. Not all that vegetarian, I know, but who knows any better at 15? I used to add extra bits to all of it, little rosemary here, little dijon there, but the only thing to add to the soup was a pinch of onion salt and garlic powder. Hey, when Campbells’s gets something right, why mess with perfection?

Only problem is all the mystery junk-o-la that they put in their soups. Do they taste good? You bet they do, and Campbell’s mostly has MSG to thank for that. That’s something I never realized or even thought much about until I met a girl in college who was viciously allergic to MSG. One day she said she couldn’t eat any of Campbell’s soups and reminded me about her allergy. I was SO appalled. Do you mean to tell me that good old, hearty, homey, traditional, American, Campbell’s soup is made with MSG? Oh, for shame!

Today I was inspired to try and recreate that youthful comfort food in my own kitchen. The inspiration was a glut of tomatoes from our garden, most of which had seen better days.

You’ve got to get the skins off the tomatoes if you want to do it justice. So this recipe has a bit of extra labour involved, but not to worry, it ain’t too difficult. Besides, creamy tomato soup, minus all the baddies, is totally worth it. Right?

Crémeux Soupe à la Tomate
Makes: 6 or more bowls
Prep Time: 20-30 minutes
Cooking Time: 40-45 minutes

Ingredients:
15 large Tomatoes
2 cans of Chunk Tomatoes
1 large Onion (roughly chopped)
1 stalk Celery (sliced thin)
3 cloves Garlic (roughly chopped)
6-10 leaves of fresh Basil
6 tbs Butter
2 tbs Flour or Corn Starch
3 cups Soy (or other) Milk
2 cups Vegetable or no-Chicken Broth
1 tbsp onion salt
.5 tsp garlic powder
.5 tsp pepper
.5 tsp thyme
.25 tsp rosemary powdered
pinch of cayenne
pinch of ginger
salt (to taste)

* optional: 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Tools:
large stock pot
blender
slotted spoon
large bowl or pot of cold water
empty mixing bowl
cup of luke warm water

Directions:

1. Fill stock pot with water and bring to a boil.

2. Using the slotted spoon, gently place fresh tomatoes into the boiling water and boil for 2-4 minutes, removing each tomato when you see a split in it’s skin.

3. Place boiling tomatoes into the bowl of cold water to cool them. You may need to replace the water once or twice with cold water before the tomatoes are able to be handled.

4. When tomatoes are cool, squeeze them individually with your hands to remove the skin, either squeeze or cut out the top, hard portion of each tomato (where the stem connects) and then place the rest of the tomato into your empty bowl.

5. Once all tomatoes have been hand-processed, place them into the pot you will be using to make your soup.

6. Roughly chop onions & garlic. Sauté until softened a bit and add them to the soup pot.

7. Add celery, basil, butter, milk, broth and spices to the soup pot.

8. Simmer for 30 minutes on medium heat.

9. Remove from heat and blend until smooth.

10. Dissolve flour in a small cup of luke warm water and then add to soup.

11. Stir and simmer on low for 10-15 more minutes.

12. Taste your soup and feel free to tweak the spices or flour content to get your preferred taste and consistency.

13. Serve with sandwiches, salad or crusty bread. Yum!

If you enjoyed this post, perhaps you'd like to buy me some tofu or make a tip jar donation.

“Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie.”
~ Jim Davis, 20th-Century American Actor

When I was a child, everyone was crazy about chocolate cake. It seemed to be the star of every birthday party, along with the balloons, presents and pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey.

Myself, I’ve never been extremely partial to chocolate. I can enjoy it, to be sure, but I don’t crave it. And, it certainly isn’t at the top of my “yummy” list, whether we are talking about cakes, cookies, candy or ice cream.

I was pretty boring as a kid, preferring oatmeal cookies, white chocolate candy and plain vanilla ice cream. Then, something happened that set up my cake preference for life…I tried my first slice of spice cake.

I honestly have no idea where or when this happened. But I do know that once I tasted it, I never had another cake preference again. Wedding cake? Must be spice cake. Birthday cake? Yup, spice cake. Baby shower? Sign me up for some spice cake!

Other people have harangued me for my choice numerous times. Apparently there are large numbers of people who dislike or even (shudder) hate spice cake. Those people are boring whiners who need to take there Devil’s Food cake and shove off! LOL.

But, my one fault has always been that I have never baked a spice cake myself that did not come out of a box marked Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines. Truly. Never. Not once. Until just this year.

I wanted to make something special for my hubby’s birthday in May. And those of you who read this blog will know that we are healthy food people, or at least natural food people. So, how could I turn to a box.

Well, I couldn’t do that. So, I did my research, practiced a little trial-and-error and ended up with the most moist, lovely, homemade spice cake. It was a big hit (with “Happy Birthday” written in Russian) and was devoured rapidly…more of it by me than anyone else. I can’t help it, I just LOVE spice cake.

Now I have baked it again, confirming its amazingness and am sharing it with you. Enjoy! :o)

Scintillating Spice Cake
Makes: 2 9-inch round layers
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:
1.25 cups whole wheat flour
1.25 cups white flour
1.75 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
.25 tsp salt
1.5 tsp cinnamon
.5 tsp ginger
.5 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
.75 tsp allspice
.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice
.75 cup melted butter
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 cups pumpkin pureé
.5 cup buttermilk
.5 cup milk (I use soy.)*
1 apple, slice very thin

Optional:
raisins
walnuts
applesauce (replace 1.5x for the milk)

Cake Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in one bowl.
3. Combine all wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
4. Slowly mix wet into dry ingredients to create a smooth batter.
5. Add any extras (raisins, walnuts etc…)
6. Line bottom of one spring form pan with apple slices
7. Pour in the bottom 1/4 of two buttered springform pans.
8. Bake for 45-55 minutes, testing near the end with a toothpick.
9. Release spring edges and allow to cool for more than 1 hour before frosting.
10. Cut the top of the non-apple lined cake so as to make it flat level.

For Buttercream Frosting:

3.5 cups powdered sugar
1 cup softened butter
.25 cups milk
3 tsp vanilla

Frosting Directions:

1. Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla.
2. Add milk slowly, as necessary, to achieve desired consistency.
3. Cool in the fridge for 15-20 minutes, or as long as needed.
4. Place the leveled cake on the bottom of your cake plate.
5. Frost the top of this level cake.
6. Gently turn the apple-lined cake upside down and place on top of the bottom layer. (This sometimes works better if you refrigerate the cake for an hour first.)
7. Frost top and sides of entire cake generously.
8. Store in a lidded cake carrier or the fridge.

This cake is undeniably GORGEOUS, but just be careful. It can become so gorgeous that it begins to look like a sensible breakfast. It’s not. Try a parfait instead. Save the cake for dessert. ;-)

If you enjoyed this post, perhaps you'd like to buy me some tofu or make a tip jar donation.