Well, you can, but it just does not sound very nice, does it? Peasant food gets a bad rap, or it did.Food basically made originally by poor motherfuckers is now what we call peasant food.They could not afford the supposed finer things in life such as some dead cow, or strangled chicken.So, it was called peasant food.Yet, so much of it is tasty, hearty, rich, and just plain awesome.Who can hate a tasty stew? Well, perhaps a soulless monster, or whatever.
Pasta Fagioli, falls under that moniker, and it wears it well.You like tomato sauce, pasta, and cannellini beans ? Well, then you will love this, jerks.
Do not question me, I speak the truth.Now, I have given you a semi tomato sauce, made from semi scratch, so you can stop being lazy and buying jarred fully made sauce.Okay? Good.I say semi, as I will save you some time by purchasing some canned sauce and canned diced tomatoes.So, I am not that much of a task master, am I? I am a bit testy, today.So be it.
This recipe is inspired by Veganomicon’s pasta fagioli recipe, tho they do things a bit differently, and lack some of the spices that I adore.
let us begin…
Ingredients.
- Box of pasta, smaller shells, or penne, basically anything other then something over the top large.I like wheat pasta, but that may just be me.
- 2 cans , 14 ounce, of diced tomatoes.
- 2-3 cans of tomato sauce, the plain, unseasoned and such kind.
- 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, or the equal in minced garlic.You decide your level of laziness, here.
- 1 small to medium onion, diced.
- 2 Tbsp of olive oil.
- 2 Tbsp of Thyme.
- 2 Tbsp of Oregano.
- 3 Tbsp of basil.
- 2 cups of cooked, and soaked, ready to go Cannellini beans.
Now, as usual, you will need a few essentials, such as , oh , an oven, some pots, and pans, basic things.Music playing in the background would also be a nice idea.Now, cook the box of pasta to its directions.Fairly simple, pot, boiling water, pasta, and so on.While that is going on, place the oil, onion, and garlic into a skillet, a large one, and saute for 8 minutes or so.Till you can smell their aroma, but not till they are brown and gross.Do not burn them!Now, add the diced tomatoes, including the liquid they were in.Bring that to a boil, and let it cook, mixing a bit, for about 15 minutes.This is how you wold generally make sauce from scratch, but I like a chunky sauce, so do not let it cook all the way down.
Okay, now add the sauce, and seasonings, as well as salt and pepper.You can add more or less of the seasoning, just try it out.Test the sauce!Mix here and there, not constantly.You can now add your beans, followed by the cooked pasta.Mix well, letting it cooking a few minutes to heat up the beans, and the pasta as it has more then likely cooled down by now.
Serve, and eat, and all those good ideas.
Last weekend, I did something I try and avoid doing do much, I feel ashamed even mentioning such a filthy, horrific thing to you.I really do.I needed a few showers, myself, to feel I got rid of the filth.No, I did not watch ” The Hills Have Thighs” on late night Cinemax.I have, before, but no that is not what I am talking about.No, I am talking about something perhaps a bit more dirty.I watched many hours of the Senate, our, umm, beloved senate ? They were working on something that is nearly two decades in the making, and I had to watch.I had to.
They voted on, and finally beat a filibuster, and beat that old fool John McCain, and passed the repeal on the abysmal “Don’t ask, don’t tell” laws that we have had for our military for nearly two decades.
Finally.
Now, we can enjoy all the silliness that the right will have to offer, such as the chestnut that now poor straight male soldiers will have to shower with gay soldiers.Oh, the nightmare! Or, not.They seem to think the military had no gays in its services, and that now with this repeal, the military will be changing its colors from military greens to bright pinks.
Frankly, it is odd to me that the two major fights the LGBT community have fought for are serving in military, and marriage.Yeah, I am not a fan of both.Their dream is to get married, and possibly die fighting for their country.Well, more power to them, and they should have the right to suffer, just like anyone else who wishes to marry.
I was going to talk a bit about the other major bill, that failed; The Dream act.Maybe I should rejoice in the final victory for finally allowing gays in the military?Maybe.
I think I will, for now.
I happen to have cable, Comcast cable.They are quite the evil monopoly, and calling them for anything is about as easy as performing brain surgery.I have the super duper big package. (Yes, I said I have a big package.) It includes every channel one could imagine, and some I do not even know I have until some late night I slip by it while switching channels, randomly.
That is how I discovered the show “Food Jammers.” It is a Canadian based show, that airs ,for me, on the Halogen Network.Yeah, no idea what is basic premise of that channel, but the show is great.They are not even remotely vegan, but they are very industrious, and entertaining.I highly suggest watching it, sometime.Anyways, they aired a show about dumplings, and yes, I watched it.I came away wanting to try to make dumplings.So, I made dumplings.This here chronicles some of what I did, today.
How exciting, I know.First, I will show you how to make the filling I used, which could just be made on its own as a nice side dish, or used as a filling for the dumplings.
Mushroom and Rice filling.
Ingredients.
- Brown rice,A cup and a fourth a cup.
- Two cups of vegetable stock.
- One onion, chopped, diced, what have you.
- 2 cloves of garlic, or cheat and used minced garlic.(I did)
- 2 stalks of celery.
- A little over a cup, maybe a cup and a half if you want, of chopped mushrooms.
- 2 Tbsp olive oil.
- 1 Tbsp of Thyme.
- 1 Tbsp of Sage.
- 1 Tbsp of Marjoram.
- Almond slivers, crushed.I used about half a cup.
- Salt & pepper.
Place the stock and rice in a pan, lid it, bring to a boil and let cook till you have no liquid.This took me about 30 minutes, or so.While that is going on, and you can multi-task, place the oil in a skillet, and saute the onions and garlic, do not burn it, but you know, cook it.This should be between five and eight minutes.Then, add the celery, mushrooms, ground almonds, and the seasonings.Mix, and let cook another five to eight minutes.Add in the cooked rice, and there you have it.
Now, for the dumplings part.
Ingredients.
- 1 cup of all purpose flour.
- 1 cup of whole wheat flour.
- 1 Teaspoon of salt.
- A little over a cup of water,you can always add more, but you cannot take water out.
- Gravy, 5 cups worth.
Mix the two flours in a bowl, with the salt, and add the water.Mix this, and kneed for a few minutes till you have a nice, not sticky, soft dough.Let it sit for about an hour, covered.Go watch a Law and Order or House episode, I do not know.You can find something, I am sure.Now, roll the dough out on a floured surface, you want the dough to be 1/8th of an inch thick.I used a glass and it’s edge to cut out circles.I am positive that a cookie cutter, or maybe something else would work, too.
Alright, finished that? Now, place about a teaspoon to a tablespoon of the mushroom and rice filling into the center of each.
So, you did that, now you wanna fold them over and seal them up.They do not have to be that pretty, and using a fork will help, maybe.You can google image search them if you wish to find the perfect looking dumpling,so be it.I forgot to take a picture of the next step, so sue me.Jerk.
Anyways, I should have said you will need gravy, so either make your own ( will post a recipe one of these days) or one you purchased pre-made.Your call!.You will need to water it down with water , stock, or just more gravy, as you are going to need about 5 cups of it.
Place the gravy on simmer to boil,in a large enough sauce pan.When it comes to a gentle rolling boil, add the dumplings.Let them cook, covered in the gravy for 25 minutes.Spoon them out, and top with some gravy if you wish.I did, and I generally know what I am talking about, despite what you or my neighbors may think.
I served mine with a curried couscous that I should also post one day, as well as that gravy.Here for the final photo, a nice blur , as usual.I repeat,I am not an award winning photographer.Anyways, enjoy.Or whatever.
Recently, last week I think it was, a study came out.Yes, I love studies, I really , really like studies, especially stupid ones, or ones that prove me correct.This one falls under the ” I already knew that.”
Yes, it is true:Fox viewers are among the most misinformed.But, we knew that already;Didn’t we?
I like rice dishes, I do.But, often I think they come out soggy, over cooked, undercooked, and so on.Okay, they used to.I feel most of the time now a days I have some what control over the rice cooking skills ( or should I say skillz?)
I had this idea, a while back, but cooked it in my slow cooker, and it came out like some horrid mush.So,I thought it over more, and decided to do it in the oven.It came out lovely.Or yummy, or wonderful, or flavorful, or all of the above.You doubt me? Well fuck off , then.
No, no, no.I am sorry.That was rude, it really was.
Ingredients
- One large green pepper, diced.
- Kidney beans, red beans, whatever, take your pick;A cup and a half, or so.Cooked and rinsed, and ready to go.
- Two tomatoes, chopped and diced.
- One onion, diced.I used a yellow one.
- Three stalks of celery, chopped!
- Tbsp of hot sauce.
- Tbsp of Red pepper flakes.
- Tbsp of Thyme.
- 2 Bay leaves.
- Tbsp of Oregano.
- Cup of diced Seitan sausage.
- 3/4 a cup of uncooked rice.I used a long grain brown.
- Water
This is really fucking easy, really.I think the drones who drool as they watch hours of Glenn Beck would have no issue making this dish.Place all ingredients other then the seitan inside a lidded dish, I used my pyrex, or whatever it is called.Now, just barely cover it with water, do not over do it, or you will have soggy rice!The oven should have been preheated to 350 degrees.Lid the dish and place in oven, and cook till you see barely any liquid, now add the seitan sausage.Mix a bit, and let it cook till there is no longer any liquid.The oven time should come out to around a half hour.
That is about it.Simple, flavorful, a little spicy and again;VERY SIMPLE.
You are welcome, once again.
Many times I have wanted a burger, well a veggie burger, and many times I have made, or tried to make, a black bean burger.Generally, they have not come out to my high expectations.Often, they are akin to hockey puck shaped pile of slightly tasty sawdust.I have noticed that often you either have black bean burgers that fall apart, or are just so dry that you may as well be eating sawdust.
Neither result is one I really want, do you?I did not think so.
I also got a bit inventive, and wanted some flavor, so I used some liquid smoke, and bbq sauce.The result was flavorful, and juicy enough.
So, let’s make some burgers.
Ingredients.
- 2 cups of black beans, soaked,cooked, rinsed, and dried.
- 1 small green pepper, chopped into 2 or 3 inch pieces.
- Half a cup of diced onion.
- 2 Tbsp of minced garlic.
- 1 tbsp of liquid smoke.
- 1 tsp of cumin.
- 1 tsp of chili powder.
- About a fourth a cup to a bit more of BBQ sauce.
- Breadcrumbs, not more then a cup, maybe less, just have a bowl of it at your side.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and lay out some tinfoil on a baking tray, and spray the tinfoil with cooking spray.
Grab your processor,and put all the ingredients minus the breadcrumbs into it, and turn it on.Process it till all is mixed.Easy.Now , it should be a rather moist, and far too wet to form into patties.So , add some breadcrumbs, and process.Add more and more till you have a stickier and harder material.
Really easy, huh ? Oh, yeah.Now , form into patties and place onto the pan, put in oven, and cook for ten minutes.Flip them, maybe even add a bit more cooking spray to the tin foil, and cook another ten minutes.Serve on your favorite bread, bun, with all your favorite condiments, and toppings.
You are welcome, again.
I am still sick.Have i mentioned that I am sick? No, yes? Well, I am.I am still sick,actually.I have not felt well, nope.No, I have not felt very much like myself.Yes, I am sick.Did I mention I have been sick?
Okay, I will stop the complaining.For now, anyways.So, I made some chickpea cutlets, no bother posting the recipe here, as it is neither original or my own in any major way.Normally, I love chickpea cutlets in a sandwich, or even with some pasta.This time, I made up a new side for them.It worked our marginally well, it was good.So, shall I begin? Yes, I am sick, but I think I can muster it.Okay, let’s begin.
Ingredients.
- Mushrooms, chopped, diced; take your pick, a little over a cup.
- Half a white onion, chopped and diced.
- 2 Tbsp of minced garlic.
- 2 Tbsp Thyme.
- Salt and pepper, to taste.
- A half a cup of vegetable stock.
- 3 cups of spinach, washed and chopped.
- Tbsp Olive oil.
You could probably use something other then thyme, and I am not even sure that is best thing for it, but I love thyme.Really.So, heat up the oil, in your pan.Yes, on the stove.Saute the onion and garlic, till it gets to that yummy look, you can smell the flavors, but its not burnt.
So, what do you think the Red Sox’s chances are this year?Did I mention I am sick? Okay , sorry, got distracted.
Add the mushrooms, and cook for about five to seven minutes.Pour in the broth, ass the thyme, salt and pepper, and cook till the broth reduces.Toss in the spinach, happily.Or just put them in, that is fine, too.Just cook till the spinach leaves begin to wilt, we do not want soggy spinach.
Serve, and eat.Simple, and nice.Kind of like me, but not at all.Oh, and here is my trademark shitty photograph.Happy tails.Did I mention I was still sick?
I have been ill recently.IN fact, I am still ill.Cue the Smith’s song.Chills,cough,sore throat, you name it.So, I have been less then motivated to think, let alone cook.Thus the tragic canyon between the last post and this one.I finally cooked.A soup.I can’t say this is a charming, tasteful, or lovely soup.And, yes making a soup when sick is about as cliche as one can get.Pardon me, please.But, it was tasty enough, and simple enough, to maybe warrant a few words.Maybe.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of Seitan, chicken flavor, chopped up into little chunks.
- 3 medium sized carrots chopped up.
- A cup of sliced celery, that could be a stalk or two, I do not know.
- Cup of Brown Rice.
- 3 cups of vegetable stock
- Half a cup of diced onions.
- 3 cups of water.
- 1 cup of Green beans, fresh or frozen.
- 1 Tbsp of Thyme.
- Salt.
- Pepper.
- Tbsp of Olive oil.
This is somewhat bland, as that is what I wanted, as I cannot really taste much at the moment, and what I can seems altered.So, feel free to toss in anything else you would like to.Or, not.
I heated up the oil in a large pot, and added the onion, and sauteed for 5 or so minutes on medium heat.I then added the seitan.Cook for another 5 minutes, or so.Add the broth, water,Rice,celery,carrots,thyme,green beans.Okay, just add everything that is on the list.Turn the heat down to about half way through medium and low, lid it and let it cook for about 40 minutes.I think.The cold has made me a bit off, just keep an eye on it.You do not want overcooked , soggy veggies.Or maybe you do.
This is really simple, and possibly bland.That is what I wanted, so sue me.Jerks.