Breakfast - Entry #1

Thank goodness I don't eat the way I blog -- in binges!! Yikes. Finally, an update to my blog and this one is dedicated to an often overlooked, but highly enjoyed meal: breakfast.

I used to not do breakfast on a regular basis, but having a baby has changed all of that. I love breakfast food (doesn't everyone?), but reserved breakfast for a weekend outing. Now, though, I must have breakfast and find that it has become one of my favorite parts of my morning. There's my quick fix breakfast, which is the most popular since I do have a baby. The quick fix is waffles from the freezer to the toaster and two Morningstar veggie sausages with my coffee and soymilk. Usually, instead of syrup, I have fruit on my waffles (berries or bananas). The bananas work great because I can slice up half of the banana for my waffles and mash the other half up for Sky.

I have also become quite skilled at making omelets, so I'm sharing today the technique I use for beautiful omelets and my favorite, healthy goodies to go in the omelets.

My omelet is a two egg omelet. I use butter (just a pat) and peanut oil (just a drizzle) to set the stage for the omelet. This prevents sticking and creates the perfect cooking set up for the omelet. Also, I use a smaller pan, since I only use 2 eggs in my omelet. If the oil/butter combo (after the butter has melted) is not just coating the pan, I drain off the excess.

I whisk the eggs. I don't add salt, pepper, cheese, milk or anything at this stage. Then pour them into the pan (over medium-high heat). Once the omelet begins to set, lift the edge with a wooden spatula (or whatever spatula you prefer) and let the wet portion run under. Once the omelet seems pretty well cooked (to your liking), simply fold it over.

If you want to add goodies, which I highly recommended, I add them when it seems that the egg is about to set -- still a bit wet (and always after I've done the lift up edge trick). My favorite additions are spinach and mushrooms (typically sauteed ahead of time with some garlic) with some good parmesan tossed in. Sometimes I just toss in the parm if I don't really have any great veggies on hand.

As for salt and pepper, I think it is best to add after the egg is cooked -- along with, if you like, parsley or chives sprinkled on top.

Check back tomorrow (and it will be tomorrow!!) for my follow up breakfast blog featuring a delicious Cinnamon-Raisin French Toast I made for myself for Mother's Day.

Lunch

Avoiding Food Waste and Making Soup

According to some studies, on average, homes generate 474 pounds of food waste each year in America. That's a lot when people are starving here in America and in other countries.

I find that taking stock of the fridge, not going crazy at the grocery store, and cooking with what you have make a big difference. (My blog recipes are definitely based on what I have and I will make the same dish in different varieties based on what I need to use up). Sharing is also a great idea. I used to have a huge problem with produce going bad, but now I just share my produce if I think I won't be able to use it up. I've also discovered that when it comes to using up ingredients - soups are your best friend.

Here's my latest two soups both inspired by the contents of my fridge. Also, you don't have to eat all of the soup once you make it. You can freeze some for later, which I often do.

Soup #1 - Taco Soup

I had lots of leftovers from a taco bar we did at work, and I was leaving town and couldn't eat another taco, so I made taco soup using:

• Ground Turkey (seasoned with taco seasoning) - probably had 1/2 a package of cooked ground turkey left
• Black beans (seasoned with taco seasoning) - probably had 1/2 a can left
• Diced tomatoes (probably 1/2 cup)
• Frozen corn (between 1/2 and 1 full cup)
  
• Frozen tri-colored bell peppers (probably 1/2 cup)
• Canned tomatoes (with sauce) -- I diced them myself (I had used half of one large can of tomatoes in a soup the week before and the other half was in the fridge)
• 1/4 of a jar of salsa
• Vegetable stock (as needed to get the soup consistency that you want) - you could use water, if you don't have vegetable stock (if you use water, you may want to add more seasoning, though mine was seasoned perfectly with the taco seasoning that was on the beans and meat and the salsa)

Note: Of course you can omit meat and add more beans for a vegetarian version

The preparation was very simple -- aside from chopping the tomatoes, all I did was dump all of the leftovers into the crock pot along with the frozen items and turn the crock pot to high, stirring upon occasion. Perfect cooking style for someone with a 5 month old.

When you serve it, you can add shredded cheese, crushed chips, sour cream or avocado/guac if you have any left from your Mexican/Taco Fiesta.

This soup kicked ass! It was definitely one of my favorites. I didn't end up freezing any because I liked it so much that I ate it all before I left town. Thus, I avoided food waste and saved my self some money. Win. Win.

Soup #2 - "Miso" (sort of)

I made this soup this morning. I have a great miso paste that a friend gave me and I had some vegetable stock (that I had previously made) in the fridge, as well as some other veggies that were just taking up too much space, so I consolidated and my miso had:

• Tofu (about 1/4 of a package browned in a pan with peanut oil and soy sauce)
• Edamame (1/4 cup)
  
• Mushrooms (1/4 cup previously cooked with olive oil and garlic)
• Broccoli (I only had about 6 pieces of broccoli left and it was raw)

That's it. If I had green onion, I definitely would have added it. The mistake was adding the edamame -- it didn't really work out so well. The mushrooms were great, though.

Preparation -- again, simple. I put the veg stock in a pot and dumped in all of the vegetables and add in two solid tablespoons of miso paste. While I was bringing that up to a boil, I browned the tofu, dumped it in and let everything simmer. Then, I enjoyed the soup for lunch.

With both soups, these are suggestions -- see what you need to use up and create your own soup. Let me know how it goes!

Butternut Squash Chili - Try It!!

Chili - Yes, butternut squash "chili." This is a recipe that I love that I got from a friend, Laura. What I don't love is peeling and cutting the squash into small cubes. But, I suppose the chopping burns calories and makes me appreciate the meal even more.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed into bite-sized pieces
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• Vegetable broth or stock
• 1 can of black beans
• chili, red pepper flakes, cayenne, cumin (to taste)
• shredded cheese, sour cream, cilanto and/or avocado (for garnish/topping)
  

1. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil for a few minutes
2. Add squash (peeled and cut into bites) and canned diced tomatoes with juice (I've used the Ro-Tel with diced chilis before. This latest time, I used Trader Joe's canned tomatoes that weren't diced, that's what I had, and just diced them myself. I've also made it without the tomatoes, which I also like)
3. Add water and veggie broth, as needed, to cover the squash with liquid.
4. Cook it until the squash is soft.
5. Add 1 can of black beans (no juice) and chili powder, red pepper, cumin, and whatever you like to make it taste more like chili.
6. Enjoy! You can eat it with rice or top with cheddar, sour cream, cilantro, avocado.

You can also do this in a crockpot, which is what I typically do.

It freezes well, in case you make a big pot and want to save some for later.

Roasted Carrot Soup

Another vegetarian gem -- and this one I created purely on my own, no other recipes consulted or adjusted or used as inspiration. Instead, the inspiration was the veggies!

Ingredients

• Carrots, three sliced for roasting
• 1 Potato, cubed
• 2 small turnips, cubed (if you don't have turnips or don't want to use them, you could probably add another potato and an additional carrot or two)
• 2 shallots, diced
  
• Vegetable stock or broth (1/2-1 quart, depending on how thick you want it)
• Cumin
• Olive Oil
• Curry powder
• Salt and pepper

Preparation

1. Slice carrots for roasting - once sliced, place on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle salt, pepper and cumin (toss to coat evenly)
2. Roast at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes (start checking it at 15)
3. While the carrots are roasting, chop the other ingredients
4. Sautee shallots in olive oil (for about 5 minutes)
5. Add potatoes and turnips and cover with vegetable stock/broth - I only had 1/2 quart of stock, so it ended up being a thick puree, but I found I really liked it that way.
6. Cook until tender (typically about 15)
7. Combine ingredients in a food processor or blender (I use a blender, since I don't have a food processor) and puree. (You may need to stop and stir it around a bit to get everything to puree evenly). I recommend adding a bit more cumin as well as some curry powder during the puree process (I just add a little at a time and taste, instead of measuring).
8. Enjoy!

As you can see from my blog, I'm really getting into soups. They are easy and a great way to use a variety of vegetables (I had never used turnips before) and you can get several meals out of one batch or freeze some for later. This makes soups great for a new mom like me.

Coming soon -- my first attempt at making curry/Indian food and a blog about stock - making your own and store bought.

In This Week's Lunchbox: Pasta Salad

Coming soon - Roasted Carrot Soup (it's delicious. I made it this morning for tonight) and maybe another cookie recipe.

Those of you who follow or check in on this new blog frequently will notice that there was no lunchbox posting last week. That's because I didn't get around to making anything, but had a pre-made herb salad mix (with goat cheese, plum tomatoes and slices of salami added in), tuna (just straight out of the pouch with nothing added -- that was a busy day), and a subway veggie sub.

This week, I'm back on track with one of my favorite pasta salads (of course one that doesn't use mayo -- I despise mayo). It may not be that pretty, but it is simple and good.

Ingredients:

• 1 box/package tri-colored rotini pasta
• Carrots, Broccoli and Cauliflower - I used one of those pre-made bags as there was an organic bag of these 3 veggies already chopped and packaged together on sale for $1.50 at my grocery store. (Of course you can always buy them separately and then chop -- if you do so, you need about 1/2 head of broccoli and 1/4 head of cauliflower plus some baby carrots, maybe 1/4 of a small bag or even a bit less)
• Parsley, chopped of course (just enough to add some flavor, but not overpower)
• Olive Oil
• Ranch Dressing Dip Mix (just the mix or Italian Dressing Mix or put together your own Italian Spices/Seasonings together for it)

Preparation:

1. Cook the pasta and immediately after run under cool water

2. Chop vegetables (if needed)

3. Mix together the pasta and vegetables

4. Drizzle with olive oil, parsley and dressing mix of choice -- add the dressing mix in little by little and taste so that it doesn't overpower everything else. Toss together and enjoy.

Yep - it's that simple, but once the pasta salad chills, I always find it to be quite good. Some additions that I suggest from past experience include: tomatoes and mozzarella or parmesan cheese. You could also add basil instead of parsley.

One another note -- the winter vegetable "chorizo" soup I made last week got more and more delicious and I think I ended up having it for dinner 3-4 nights and it was wonderful each time.

Winter Vegetable Soup with "Chorizo"

It's Vegan! Really!! I used Soy Chorizo (from Trader Joe's) and Veggie Stock. For people who eat meat, you could, of course, use pork chorizo or sausage and chicken or beef stock.

Ingredients

• 2 medium-sized carrots, diced
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
  
• 1 turnip, cubed/diced
• 1 potato, cubed
• Chorizo or Sausage (soy variety or meat, depending on your preference)
• Approx. 1 quart of vegetable stock or broth (or chicken or beef stock, if you prefer)
• 1 can kidney beans
• Thyme
  
• Salt, pepper
• Olive Oil

Preparation:
1. I chopped all the vegetables first and set them aside and then cooked up the chorizo over medium heat with olive oil in the pan. Then I set the chorizo aside.
2. In the same pan (as the chorizo was cooked), I cooked the turnip, carrots, onion and shallot in olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
3. Next, put the cooked vegetables in a crock pot with vegetable stock and turn on low.
4. Again in the same pan (you could use different pans, but I have a 3 1/2 month-old and no dishwasher, so I simplify), cover the potatoes in water and bring to a boil. Cook until tender.
5. Once the potatoes are tender drain them and add to the crock pot along with a can of kidney beans.
6. Add chorizo to the crock pot as well.
7. Add thyme, salt and pepper (this is all to taste)
8. Turn crock pot on high (I probably had the pot on high for an hour or so)
9. Switch to low (I did this when I left the house and left on low until I came home at the end of the day, at which point I just switched it to warm).

You don't have to make this in a crock pot. You could cook the soup on the stove for 40 minutes to an hour and be ready to serve it. The crock pot is just so easy that I used it instead. I also added some quinoa to the soup, which I had in the fridge. I think rice would also work well in this soup.

I love coming home to a warm pot of soup at the end of the day, especially when it is cool out. I hope you enjoy it as well!.