Vegetarian Frugal Housewife

“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!

“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 thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens.”
~ Robert Browning, English Poet and Playwright

LOL. I wanted to name these biscuits something cute and that is what I came up with. Don’t know why the taste of them reminded me of seafood. Probably because people alway seem to put onions or garlic, salt and butter together with seafood, so these biscuits taste to me the way that seafood smells. Weird, since they are vegetarian.

Anyway, we live in Nova Scotia now and it is (sadly) still wet, cool and windy in May. While we were out walking along the ocean today I got the urge to come home and make nice, warming biscuits. My problem? No yeast. Hmmmm…

My past experiences with yeast-free breads have not always been failures, but they’ve also not always been edible either. What to do? My only guess, more baking powder.

I also had some savoury ingredients in the fridge and, a real rarity in our house, actual butter (organic of course). So I threw it all together and hoped for the best. Since I am very picky about the consistency of my finished bread products, I didn’t hold my breath that these would be anything other than rock solid and dry.

But, a-ha, hey presto…they came out shockingly fabulous. Soft, flavourful and great when topped with butter, hummus or cheese! I’m so proud.

By the way, though several shallots were sacrificed, no famous race horses were harmed in the making of these seabiscuits. ;-)

Oniony Seabiscuits
Makes: 9-12 biscuits
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 12-18 minutes

Ingredients:
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rye flour
.5 cup barley flour
3 tbs baking powder
2-3 tbs flax seed (or flax seed meal)
1 tsp salt
1.5 cups rice or soy milk
1-2 tbs honey
.5 cup melted butter (or margarine)
1 large egg (or egg replacer)
3 shallots (sliced fine)
1 large handful fresh chives (chopped)

* optional: 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
* extra milk as needed for consistency

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Mix dry ingredients.

3. Mix wet ingredients. Leave shallots, chives (& cheese) separate.

4. Slowly add wet ingredients into dry, mixing thoroughly with hands or spoon.

5. Fold in shallots, chives (& cheese).

6. Oil a baking sheet, leave a little extra for your hands.

7. With oiled hands, make biscuits by forming thick, flattened balls of dough, roughly palm size.

8. Place on baking sheet, 2-3 inches apart.

9. Bake 12-18 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out cleanly.

10. Cool 10 minutes.

11. Serve with butter, hummus, cheese or dip in soup.

Yummy-nummy!

“Food made by hand is an act of defiance and runs contrary to everything in our modernity. Find it; eat it; it will go. It has been around for millennia. Now it is evanescent, like a season.”
~ Bill Buford, American Author & Journalist

We used to live in Britain, Mama actually studied for her Masters degree there, and we just fell in love with the place. I can tell you that most of our food adventures there were homemade and centered around Indian food and using local wild plants. But, there were the occasional products that we enjoyed.

One of these was Heinz baked beans. Though Mama grew up on Boston Baked Beans, she eventually took such a liking to these British beans that it was nearly an addiction.

Fast forward to our current home in Canada and you get Heinz beans imported for $3.00 a can. Crazy! We spent 12 bucks a week on them for nearly a month before deciding that it was finally time to crack the code and make them ourselves.

Mama set to work with her innate gift, the “magical recipe tastinator” and deciphered the code pretty well. :-) A few tweaks after tasting and here is the damn-near-perfect result for you. They cost very little, make quite a lot, last ages and fill you up for hours. We hope you enjoy them!

Union Jack Baked Beans
Makes: 10-14 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: Hours and hours


Ingredients:
2 lbs navy beans
800 ml chopped tomatoes (nearly pureéd)
1 large onion, halved
4 cloves garlic, whole & peeled
3 tbs cider vinegar
5-6 level tbs brown sugar
3-4 tbs molasses
4 heaping tbs tomato paste
1-2 tbs olive oil
pinch cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
pinch cumin
1/8 tsp paprika
1 tsp prepared mustard
3-4 sprigs rosemary
2 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tbs baking soda

Directions:

1. Soak beans for 8 hours, or overnight
2. Drain and rinse beans.
3. Put in pan, with baking soda, and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil.
4. Boil for 30 minutes. Rinse, drain and set aside.
5. Place two halves of onion and 4 whole garlic cloves in pan with oil and bouquet garni.
6. Fry for a few minutes, then add crushed tomatoes, vinegar, mustard and molasses.
7. Add beans and all remaining ingredients.
8. Return to a boil for 10 minutes.
9. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours.
10. Place is oven-safe baking dish.
11. Cover and bake at 250 for 2-3 hours. *
12. Fish out the onions, garlic and bouquet garni. (If you can find them, I can never locate the garlic.)
12. Test and add salt and pepper as needed.

*Alternatively, remove from stove and place in a crock pot on low for 4-6 hours.

These can be served in myriad ways. I like them with scrambled eggs, veggie sausage and fried mushrooms. We also eat them over mashed potatoes.

All-in-all they make for a very filling, tasty and nutritious meal, at a fraction of the cost of canned beans. :-)

“Once you get a spice in your home, you have it forever. Women never throw out spices. The Egyptians were buried with their spices. I know which one I’m taking with me when I go.”
~ Erma Bombeck, American humorist (1927-1996)

While in Guatemala earlier this year, Papa managed the near impossible (or so I thought.) This is to create a guacamole that Mama actually liked.

You see, Mama had lived in Mexico over a decade ago, and grown up in an East Coast city with loads of Spanish people and Spanish food around, yet never once tasted a guacamole that she liked. Which made this Mama very sad, as I know how healthy avocados are and really, really wanted to like them.

Try as I might, no likage occurred. It wasn’t the slimy greenness of the guacamole, that I surprisingly can handle. It was the flavour, or lack thereof.

Until magnificent Papa got his hands on some nicely ripe avocados in Guatemala. A quick list from Mama of what is usually in Guacamole, plus a few hints and tips from online resources and ta-da! Papa’s Delectable Guacamole!!!

And it truly is, too. I cannot stop eating it and I am now a happy lover of guacamole. So, thanks my dearest Papa! You rock! Saved the day once again, haven’t you?

Now, for those Latin American food purists out there, I know that some of the ingredients may not be traditional. But, we were going for the Mama tastebud stamp of approval only. ;-)

Without further adios, or whatever…..

Papa’s Delectable Guacamole
Makes: 1 serving
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes


Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado
1 clove garlic
2 tbs salsa
juice of 1/2 lime
salt
pepper

Directions:

1. Cut avocado in half, remove seed and scoop the meat into a bowl.

2. With a fork, mash the avocado and mix thoroughly, making a cream paste.

3. Dice the garlic very fine. Mix it into the bowl.

3. Add the two tablespoons of salsa (or more, if desired).

4. Mix all ingredients well. Salt & pepper to taste.

5. Serve with tortilla chips, rice and beans or burritos.

So delicious! So scrumptious! So delectable! I bet that, once you start, you can’t stop eating it!