This will be hard for me, it really will be.I am not beating around the bush when I tell you this is going to be hard to relate to you the nightmare I had to go through this week.I fear flashbacks.No, I dread them.I fear waking up in the middle of night, a cold sweat on my forehead, a shiver running down my spine.But, I am just postponing what needs to be told; I should really just get to the heart of the matter, and tell you a;; about it.I will just pull the band-aid off, fast and tell you.
I was without power, and more importantly cable television and internet for nearly 4 days.
I know, I know, I know.I am brave to even mention such a horror, again.But, before I go on; This is not mocking those who are still going through much worse than what I faced.I am simply telling you how I lived, what I did, since Sunday, to this point.
It was horrific; No television, no movies, no snarky comments online, none of my long winded rambles even here, on my blog.The Horror.
I did something that I think our brave pioneers had to suffer with; Reading by candlelight.Reading, can you fucking believe it? I had to read books for days!
Oh, the horror.
Hold me, tightly.I need a hug for even telling you all this. Okay, I am being a bit over the top.Clearly! I do not want you touching me, get away from me!
I have provided you with some proof of the storm, and the carnage it left.I had to spend an entire afternoon picking up the mess.That was not as upsetting as it could have been,as I had nothing better to do.Remember, I had no television to distract me.Yeah, pretty horrific.
But! I now have my good friends television and internet back, and power, and I finally got to cook something, again.This was made up as I went, and it came out brilliantly wonderful, much like myself, or something.
It is kind of a Mexican-ish stew.Does it have a name? Oh, I do not know, and does that matter? We can just call it Mexican TVP Stew.Okay? Okay.Gracias, or something.
Stew Ingredients.
- 1 yellow onion, chopped up.
- 2 to 3 large tablespoons of minced garlic.
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- 1/2 a cup of apple cider vinegar.
- 2 tablespoons of chili powder.
- 1 and 1/2 cup of TVP chunks.
- 2 teaspoons of cumin.
- 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
- 2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper.
- 2 teaspoons of garlic salt.
- A few dashes of salt.
- 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.
- 2 teaspoons of oregano.
- 1 teaspoon of pepper.
- 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, including the liquid.
- 1 cup of frozen corn.
- 1 and 1/2 cup of black beans, soaked,rinsed, cooked.
- 2 cups of water.
As I already stated,this was made up as I went, and maybe it is based on something, and I just do not know, or maybe it is not.Does it matter? No.
Start off by heating the olive oil over medium heat, in a large pan.Throw in the onion and garlic and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, till the onion softens, and becomes fragrant.Pour in the apple cider vinegar and chili powder and cook till it just about glazes the onions and garlic.
Add all remaining ingredients minus the frozen corn, stir occasionally, and let cook for 20 minutes.Now you may add the corn, let the corn warm through, and then serve.
I had mine with some heated up soft shell taco tortillas.You can, too.Or not, that is not really a burden to me.Since I have just went survived days without electricity, web, and television, I am going to try and get past the small things, such as whether or not you use tortilla shells on the side for this dish.
I have been changed,scarred, or something.But, probably not.
Risotto is pretty good, but I always tend to never make it.I seem to forget about it – I do not know why.I will try and remind myself to make it more often, but maybe I will even forget the reminder.Who knows?!
Whenever I make risotto, I think of a couple things.One of those things is the amount of stirring it takes to make a good risotto, and the other is a bit more abstract.Or stupid.You know that horrible Styx song?
This one?
Maybe the song would be better if it was called ‘Mr Risotto’ ? I doubt it.
Anyways, one of the big crops I have been harvesting out of my vegetable garden of late has been zucchini.I have a lot of zucchini.I mean, really, a lot.I did not even know what to do with all this zucchini, so I asked some of my lovely followers on twitter what they would do.I received some good answers, some not so good answers, and plenty of snark.That is my own doing, as I tend to only answer a question seriously maybe one out of every 5 to 6 questions.
No one gave me the idea for the risotto, I gave myself the answer.Asking that question was beyond a waste of time.My followers can go fuck themselves.But not really, I am just kidding. X’s and o’s and all that crap.
This zucchini risotto, like any risotto demands a lot of stirring, thus you need a strong arm and wrist or you will get tired.I have no such worries, thanks to years of masturbating.I could be joking, I may not be joking.Did I just make a masturbation joke in a risotto recipe? Yes, yes I did.
Ingredients.
- 1 yellow onion, diced.
- 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil.
- 3 tablespoons of minced garlic.
- 1 zucchini, diced.
- 6 cups of vegetable stock.
- 2 cups of arborio rice.
- 4 teaspoons of basil.
- 2 teaspoons of oregano.
- A couple dashes of salt.
- A couple dashed of pepper.
First thing you should do, and this is important : You need to get yourself into the kitchen.That is an essential part of cooking, as usual.Heat up the vegetable stock, over medium heat, and let it sit and simmer.In another pan, saute the onion in the olive oil.
Cook the onion for about 5 minutes, over medium heat and then add in the garlic and the zucchini and cook for another few minutes.Stir in the rice, and cook all that for a couple minutes.
Now for the fun part.Pour one cup of the vegetable stock into the onions, zucchini and rice mix.Stir constantly till all that liquid is absorbed, gone.Repeat!
After stirring and added a cup of stock three times, not two times, not four times, but three times, stir in the basil, oregano, salt and pepper.
Pour and stir in the remaining cups of stock, one cup at a time, as before.
You can top with some parsley, or perhaps some vegan cheese topping.I did, and I know you want to be just like me.So, go for it, skipper.
I could have just called this a vegetable stew, instead of a ragout.But, this name makes it sound more like I know what I am doing, more like I am an actual chef.Vegetable Ragout just sounds more fancy.I like fancy, you like fancy, we all like fancy.Well, I hope you like fancy, or perhaps you like simplicity.Maybe you just are boring.Be boring, see if I care.Though, I might.
Honestly, I will not care, or will try my best not to.
Ragout is a thicker type stew, or so I think.So, it does fit, as this is something you can eat off a plate, not a bowl.That makes sense to me.Whatever, just try the fucking recipe.
Ingredients.
- Two tablespoons of olive oil.
- Onion, slices, chopped into thin half-moons.
- 2 tablespoons of minced garlic.
- A cup of vegetable stock.
- One carrot, grated.
- One zucchini, chopped into little strips.
- One cup of frozen corn.
- One cup of edamame beans.
- One tomato, chopped, diced.
- One tablespoon of tarragon.
- One tablespoon of basil.
- Half a tablespoon of oregano.
- 1 teaspoon of thyme.
Heat the oil in a large pan, on medium heat.Cook the onion and garlic till the onions start to become soft.Now, and this could really be hard,I mean really hard, add the vegetables other then the tomato, and the vegetable stock.Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat and cook till the zucchini becomes somewhat soft.
Toss and mix in your seasonings and tomato, and cook another 5 minutes.
Serve with some polenta, whatever, I do not care.I enjoyed mine with a baked potato.
So, there.
I could have come up with a better title, I suppose.I also suppose this may bother you,or not.Oh, well.The fact of the matter is simply I just do not think I need a better title for this post.So,fuck off.No, do not do that, I like my few readers, and I appreciate you, I do.Or, something.Whatever.
Anyways, recently had the pleasure of eating this greasy, yummy, oh so not healthy sub.It was beyond yummy, and I could have eaten two of them.I was in full pig mode.I told myself;I have to duplicate this.So, I did.Here is my work on this ever important subject.This is hardly original, and I am sure there is a million such recipes out there, on the world wide web.But, I could care less, or something.
So, I give you the vegan cheese steak.
Steak Seitan Ingredients.
- 1 cup of gluten.
- 4 Tbsp of Garlic powder.
- 3 Tbsp of yeast.
- 3 Tbsp of steak sauce.
- Half a Tbsp of Olive Oil.
- Fourth a cup of Braggs Liquid Aminos.
- Half a cup of Vegetable stock.
If you have your own seitan, or your own seitan recipe, then just use that, if you wish.Be that way, see if I care.Anyways, mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, and mix the wet ones in another.Then, I think you can guess what happens next? You can? You are so smart!
yes, mix them together.Mix and then knead till you have a stretchy dough.Elastic.Cut the dough up into some pieces and flatten out a bit.
Now, bring a skillet or pan to boil, with 4 cups of water, and 4 cups of broth, mixing in two tablespoons of garlic powder, and two tablespoons of steak sauce.Once this concoction is at a boil, place the gluten dough pieces inside, and bring the broth back down to a low simmer, instantly.Cook for about 45 minutes.
Okay, now for the rest of the sandwich.
Sandwich Ingredients.
- One medium sized green pepper.Chopped up into small pieces.
- Medium sized onion, chopped, diced, whatever.
- 2 Tbsp of Olive oil.
- 3/4th a cup of Daiya Cheese
- Salt.
- Pepper.
- Seitan, thinly sliced pieces.
- 2 Tbsp of Steak sauce.
Okay, use the oil, and fry up the onion and pepper till soft.
Add the seitan strips, and the salt and pepper, and the steak sauce.
Now,toss in the Daiya cheese.Mix a few times, the cheese will melt nearly instantly.Serve in a sub roll.
one of these days maybe I will get a better camera, or make a better effort to take better photos, but whatever.I do not care enough, this is about food, or something.Fuck it.
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.
This is going to sound like a lot of work, but it is not.
I often say that, and more then likely, I may be lying.But, this time, I swear, I am telling the truth.I used my wok for the main cooking, but a regular skillet would work.I just think you may wish to use that underused wok, and you sound cooler if you said you cooked this in a wok.Well, maybe.I can’t really say if it is possible for you to sound cool, or not.I hardly know you!
But, let us try.
These would be your ingredients, it is essential you stick mainly to this, or you will not be making what I had in mind, and thus not come out with what I had in mind.
Ingredients
- White onion, diced some what small, but not too small.I would say about a cup’s worth.
- 2 tbsp of Oil, I generally use Olive oil, but that is usually just because I am stuck in my ways.
- 2 Tbsp of Green Curry paste
- Carrot, chopped, shredded.Half a cup, something along those lines.
- Cabbage,shredded, between a cup and two cups, closer to 2.
- Mashed Potato, about a cup and a half.
- A few slices of Bread.
- Lemon juice, two tablespoons.
- 1 Tbsp Cumin.
- Salt & Pepper.
- Breadcrumbs.
Yeah, see I told you that looked like a lot of ingredients.But again, I promise, this is not that hard.You want to start out by heating up that oil in your wok, or skillet.Place your curry paste, onion and cumin in the pan, and fry away , mix as you do so.You want those onions soft got it ?You better.Add the carrots, and then the cabbage.You want everything to become a bit soft.Now, add your mashed potato.
You should be mixing all this as you go.Do not be lazy, for once, thank you.As this is cooking, a few minutes or so, by not it should be about 10 to 15 minutes into cooking, take those bread slices, and dunk them in a bowl of water.soaking the bread up , and breaking the slices down to a think goo, or paste.
Add the bread paste to your pan, and mix in, well.Throw in the lemon juice.
Now! Sorry, I got excited ,there.Take this off the heat, and let it cool down, and dry out a tad.You need the mix to dry up a little so you can mold them into cutlet shapes, duh.
So, yes you guessed, right.Mold them into cutlets, and dunk and roll in the bread crumbs.
You can either fry them, or bake them.I baked mine at 375 degrees, for about twenty minutes on each side.
i topped mine with a chutney, would you also be that needy that you would like that recipe, too?
Fine.
Tomato and Raisin Chutney
Chop up two tomatoes, as you do that, heat up a pan with some oil, and place in the pan some mustard seed, about two or so tablespoon’s worth.Add the tomato, also add, a fourth a cup of sugar, and a cup or so of raisins.Fry that up, mix as you go.Now, add some water, not too much, I think I used maybe a few tablespoons , or so.You want to see the sugar and water kind of thicken.That is about it, really.
You should be able to get yourself together enough to make the chutney while the cutlets cook.Maybe.
Whenever I see “Cumin” on my seasonings and herb shelve, I laugh.I am somewhat juvenile.I will leave you with that.
Now, what you have been waiting for, my infamous, badly lit, poor photograph of my dish, I am sure these win you over! I do have a better camera, and hope to use it, soon.I know, I know…
I have a recipe to share, along with more of my rambling dribble about some issue.Sort of.What shall we delve into first, perhaps the recipe?
You won me over , alright.
So, I have to be a bit honest, I despise doing that.Really, I do.I have a few recipes that I should be adding.But, if I go and post three in one night, I will look even more like the proverbial blogging loser.So, please let me hold onto some resemblance of esteem.
Sweet and Sour Tempeh
Ingredients.
– 1 package tempeh, cut into 1 inch cubes.
– 3/4 cup vegetable stock or broth.
– 2 tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos.
– 2 tbsp olive oil
– 1 can pineapple chunks (and juice)
-1 green &red bell pepper ,seeded, and sliced up.
– 1 yellow or white onion, chopped
– 2 tbsp brown sugar
– 1/4 cup vinegar (cider or white)
– 2-3 tbsp corn starch
I fry up the tempeh in a pan, adding in the onions and peppers, fry for another few minutes , or so.More like five minutes, if you are that detail orientated.You want to see the onion and peppers are begin to soften.
Add the broth and the Bragg liquid aminos.Let that simmer, and while that does simmer, in a bowl mix the remaining ingredients, other then the pineapple chunks, but do use the juice.Make sure the starch is not clumpy.Pour that mix into your pan.Add the chunks of pineapple.
The sauce will begin to thicken, so make sure you have your busy little hands stirring.That is it, easy.
I serve this over brown rice, or even Israeli couscous.
I had another thing to say, some thought, it has completely escaped me.So, just enjoy the sweet and sour tempeh.