Chickpeas and Dumplings

Comfort Food at it's finest:

1 can chickpeas drained
1 can pinto beans drained
1 cup carrots sliced
1 cup celery sliced (3 ribs or so)

1 cup of frozen corn
(notice I'm into 1, I go for simplicity here)

1 cup mushrooms sliced
1 quart vegetable stock (I like Kitchen Basics unsalted the best)
1 cup frozen or fresh peas

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp olive oil
Tumeric, smoked paprika, sage, poultry seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, nutritional yeast


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Heat oil in pot and add veggies starting with the garlic and mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes (I cook as I chop). Once the pan is hot add stock to cover, chickpeas, pinto beans, and frozen veggies. Season to taste (I used approximately 1 tsp of paprika, 1/2 tsp sage, 1 tsp poultry seasoning, and 1/3 cup nutritional yeast, the rest, I'm not sure on - I do know I went easy on the tumeric, it's a great flavor but don't overuse) remember the dried seasonings will bloom and merge. Add the rest of the stock, give it a stir and top off with a couple cups of water. Cover and bring to a boil then reduce heat to a steady low boil. Cook for 20 minutes or until the carrots are soft. Meanwhile make your favorite drop biscuit recipe (I used Betty Crocker's cookbook) or mix up bisquik then add to the pot. Boil uncovered for 10 minutes, then cover for an additional 10.



Delicious, filling, and no chickens were harmed in the making of this recipe :).

Bread and Tomatoes

Since exploring more vegan foods coincided with the weather changing, I have been baking up a storm. Most people would probably use the new Vegan cookbook Happy Herbivore to explore Vegan main dishes. Me? I am fascinated by the baking section, which uses no oil, no eggs, and on and on. So this week we have been living on Apple Crisp muffins, Blueberry oatmeal muffins, vegan chocolate chip cookies, and on and on. They are all amazingly delicious and really, you don't miss the eggs, oil, etc. Seriously you don't! And of course since I bought yeast at Costco, I took out the breadmaker to start making bread. Have you seen bread prices? Insane! And frankly there is no comparison between homemade bread and what stores claim as bread.

Now I know that many people are against breadmakers, classifying them as an evil object, but for a busy person who tends to forget things or multitask too much, they're great! They aren't set and forget items though, here are my tips for using them:

Be prepared to make a lot of bread. This loaf was just couple hours old.
I blame the cats.

• Buy yeast in bulk. I can get a large container of yeast for just a few dollars at Costco. It's insanely overpriced in the small packets. Keep it in the freezer and just measure it out as needed. 
• Use water that is slightly warmer than it should be. Not hot, but bathwater warm. It will cool as you're putting in your other ingredients, and it needs to be warm for the yeast.
• When you turn it on watch it and be prepared to add more water or more flour. You want to make sure it's forming a ball. The ball shouldn't be sticky, just a firm dough ball that will feel tacky to the touch. I typically go light on the water, and add another 1/4 cup or so, slowly as it's mixing the first time.
• Find simple recipes, and don't be afraid to change them up. I switch whole wheat and regular flour a lot.
• Be prepared to bake a lot of bread. I know I have 5 people, 3 dogs and 3 cats who all like the bread but seriously we go through a LOT of bread this way! But it's ok, it's cheap and everyone is happy.
• When the bread comes out of the maker, immediately take a bit of oil on a paper towel and rub it lightly all over. This will keep the crust from drying out and add flavor. I use olive oil for it, since I use olive oil practically for anything. My grandma used to use Crisco. 
• Don't have a breadmaker? Look on Craigslist. Mine came from there, in the box, never opened for 10.00. Score!

Speaking of olive oil, since I'm trying so hard to cut out saturated fats, I'm not using butter on bread. Instead, I placed a small bowl of olive oil in the fridge with a bit of garlic salt added to it. Olive oil hardens up when cold, and I can spread a small amount on the bread, using a healthy oil instead of a saturated one. It's also amazingly good. I think I was Italian in another life.

What? Doesn't everyone arrange their tomatoes in crystal candy dishes?
No? Weirdos.

Finally, we went to the farmers market today. There is still a ton of food available, even here in the frozen north. I went a little wild with the tomatoes, but who could resist them? They are such a beautiful thing, they just make me happy! This may again relate to that Italian in another life thing.

Happiness in a bowl

Dear Martha and Julia

Dear Julia, can you please tell me your secret to following an 18 step recipe for stew? I always start, and end up with some delicious yet definitely not Beef bourguignon, especially when the stupid liquor store closes before 11:00 on a Saturday, and when in Minnesota they don't sell wine in grocery stores. Maybe you lacked these problems? Or maybe you had more time to shop? In any case, I hope you don't mind my crockpot stew, it's kind of the same thing. But really not.

I like my stew with broth, you can add less liquid for a thicker stew

Recipe is easy:
1 package mushrooms brown mushrooms.
1 package baby carrots
5 parsnips
5 yukon gold potatoes
1 package celery
1 medium yellow onion.
1 pound stew meat
Enough stock to cover (personally I use chicken stock)
sprigs of fresh thyme
garlic
dash of worchestershire sauce

1. Pat stew meat dry and toss stew meat in flour using a plastic bag, (preferably one without holes, unless you want to a
2. Drizzle olive oil and add some butter to a pan and heat. gently saute mushrooms and dump into crockpot.
3. ctually look like you were cooking. 
4. Coarsely chop an onion and saute both the onion and meat in the pan.
5. While that's browning, dice the celery and parsnips into the same size (approximately) as the baby carrots. Slice potatoes in half and then into 1/2" pieces. 
6. Add all veggies to the crock pot. 
7. Add the meat and onions, mix gently, add garlic (a good tablespoon - I love garlic!) and thyme to the mix.
8. Add enough broth to cover. 
9. Cook for 5 hours on high, or 9-10 on low. It's done once the potatoes are cooked, and can be speared with a fork. Enjoy with bread.

Dang, that's still 9 steps. If you want it to taste better, or more authentic, add red wine to the browning meat. I use a good burgundy. But it's good this way too.
 
Now, ahem, Martha, I know you do crafts, how do you clean your house at the same time? And how do you keep your cats from destroying everything? Furthermore, I have a large glass jar of sand. What should I do with this? I am thinking of having the kids decorate it with shells, but maybe that's too blase' Any suggestions?

You would be proud though, that I managed to finish 4 yarns today, 2, start to finish, the others plied.

Left to right:

120 yards of Navajo plied Taste The Rainbow (from the Painted Tiger)

380 yards of super soft 2 ply Haught Pink (knittyandcolor)

125 yards Navajo ply Hydrangea (The Painted Tiger)

200 yards Navajo ply Vineyard (Louet Northern Lights roving)

I totally, completely screwed up Hydrangea, I had the tension set too high and it just wacked out the finished yarn. So N-plying wasn't the best idea, in retrospect, I should have just plied it. But it's done, and it's pretty, just not perfect. It'll still make a nice something someday. I still have a lot of that to spin, and the same with the rainbow. That was originally supposed to be spun back on itself but someone (Neptune) shredded the roving and I ended up N-plying instead. Maybe the Painted Tiger puts catnip in the color. Or else he was inspired by the name.

And I love the pink, and the rainbow. Anyone else? I have no idea what I'll do with them but I LOVE THEM!

Rainbow Bright!