Mushroom Stroganoff

Yet another dish I never ate as a child unless you count convenience food versions. Hamburger Helper this time, rather than Campbell's Soup. Even though I never ate the real deal and only have photos and imagination to base this recipe on, I've managed to get carnivore approval on this one 3 times over!

- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 white onion, halved and cut in half inch slices
- 8 oz mushrooms, sliced (your choice, I've used white buttons and portabellas with equal success)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 can evaporated skim milk + half a can water (liquids at room temperature)
- half a teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 4 dashes vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried dill (optional)
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- two-thirds cup frozen peas

Egg noodles tossed with parsley and butter
Sour cream or yogurt

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add one tablespoon of oil, mushrooms, onions and a pinch of salt. Stir well and cook, covered, for 2 minutes (If you've planned well, your pasta water is boiling. Put your egg noodles in during this step!). Watch out for a huge cloud of steam when you lift the lid. Now saute the onions and mushrooms until everything is soft and beginning to brown. Add in the garlic and cook until fragrant, just another minute or so. By now, the pan should be fairly dry, so go ahead and stir in the second tablespoon of oil, give it a minute to heat up, and then sprinkle the flour over everything. Stir well, until everything is coated with the floury roux, and then cook, stirring continuously for 2-3 minutes.

Continuing to stir constantly, pour in the canned milk and then just enough water to make a slightly-too-thin sauce. Bring to a boil, and then lower the heat to simmering. The sauce will begin to thicken. If it gets too thick, add a touch more water (preferably from the egg noodles you're cooking).

Stir in the Worcestershire, Dijon mustard, peas, dill, and season to taste. Cover and remove from heat. Allow to stand for 5 minutes to let the peas heat through. Spoon over egg noodles and top with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.

Are you feeling sickly?

Vegetarian Chick'n Noodle Soup to the rescue! Now, to be honest, my mom never made chicken noodle soup from scratch. But she was a whiz at opening cans whenever she heard coughing and sniffly noses.

It may seem odd that I needed to make chick'n noodle soup for the first time when the high temperatures are topping 100F, but I had a need. I kept trying to tell myself to wait until the weather cooled off, that soup is more of a fall food, that I wasn't even feeling sick... but my mind kept coming back to it. When I walked past some Chicken Style Seitan at the health food store, I knew it was time.

This recipe marks my first time making any variety of chicken (or chick'n) noodle soup, my first time using seitan, and my first time eating chicken noodle soup not out of the red and white can.

I can offer up the testimony of 4 grownups, 1 four year old and 2 parrots that it was mighty tasty. It can be easily veganized by using eggless egg noodles or other pasta of your choice. Just make sure to adjust the noodle cooking directions to suit the pasta you're using.

- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 ribs celery, cut in quarter-inch dice
- 3 carrots, cut in quarter-inch dice
- 1 medium potato (approximately two-thirds cup), cut in quarter-inch dice
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed and roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 container chicken-style seitan (I used White Wave brand), roughly chopped and with juice reserved
- 6 to 8 cups vegan chicken-flavor stock (vegetable stock probably will not yield the same results)
- one quarter cup parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon rosemary, finely chopped
- 2 cups wide egg noodles
- two-thirds cup frozen corn kernels
- one quarter cup white (shiro) miso
- half a teaspoon freshly ground pepper (or to taste)
- salt to taste

Heat a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to the pan and lightly fry the chopped seitan until most of the liquid has evaporated and the edges are beginning to brown. Remove the seitan from the pot and set aside. Add the second tablespoon of olive oil to the pot and dump in the celery, carrot, and onion along with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent and the vegetables are beginning to brown in places, approximately 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute more.

Pour in 6 cups of stock and the cubed potatoes and then bring to a boil. Add the egg noodles, return the stock to a boil, and then turn down to a simmer. Simmer for 10-11 minutes or until the noodles are done. Return the seitan to the pot. Stir in corn, parsley, and rosemary, and cook until the corn is heated through. If you feel the soup is too chunky, add some or all of the reserved 2 cups of broth until the juice:stuff ratio suits your taste.

Finally, remove about a cup of broth and whisk in the miso. Stir the miso broth into the soup and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper as needed.

Excellent with challah and fruit salad, whether you've got the flu or not.

Song of the South?

Most of what I cook is influenced by foreign cuisines. Simple, easy, tasty, but not things that I ate as a child. I didn't eat tofu or fresh basil or balsamic vinegar or goat cheese or fresh cherries until I was a grownup who did my own grocery shopping. I love all those foods passionately, and unless cherries are out of season or I ate all the chevre the night before, you will always find those foods in my kitchen.

But sometimes, you just need to eat what you were raised on. I didn't have all day to cook up dry pinto beans, and I don't eat bacon, so making a pot of beans like my mama's was pretty much out of the question. However, I will say that I put together a mean red beans and rice on some pretty short notice. Okay, so the rice wasn't the Minute Rice my mom served me as a kid. But it was some beautiful Texmati rice that I think is a couple steps up from instant.

To make sure everything is ready about the same time, start cooking off the veggies for the beans, then put the rice on, and then put your cornbread muffins in the oven.

Red Beans and Rice
For the beans:
- 1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
- half an onion, finely chopped
- half a red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 rib of celery, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian seasoning
- half a cup chopped tomatoes (canned are fine)
- one quarter teaspoon of vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
- a few drops (like 3 or 4) Liquid Smoke
- sprinkling of Lousiana Crystal or Frank's Red Hot sauce
- 1 can pinto beans or red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- enough water or veggie stock to barely cover all this other stuff

Saute onion, pepper, carrot, and celery over medium heat until the onions begin to soften and turn translucent. Then add the garlic, tomatoes, and herbs and cook for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Dump in the beans, Worcestershire, liquid smoke, hot sauce, and barely cover with water or stock. (This is the time to put the rice on!) When I say "barely cover," I mean a few little bean tops may be breaking the surface here and there. Don't add too much liquid or you'll have bean soup instead of saucy beans!

Now turn the heat to medium-low, cover the beans, and simmer them until your rice is ready, or about 25-30 minutes. Check the consistency. If the bean juice is too soupy and not thick enough for your liking, take out a few spoonfuls of beans and veggies and squish them up. Return them to the pot and they'll thicken everything up nicely. Before serving, season to taste with salt, pepper, and hot sauce.

For the rice:
- 1 cup Texmati rice, rinsed until the water runs clear and drained well
- 1.25 cups water or veggie stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed slightly
- pinch salt
- coarsely ground black pepper to taste
- however much butter your conscience will allow

Put everything together in a saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Bring to a boil, stir once, cover, and lower the heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to stand, still covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff with fork, add butter, and serve. This rice is really fantastic as a side dish to just about everything. Often I'll eat it for dinner with a big salad and a couple of boiled eggs.

Oh, and did I mention this is a three-fer? Or a four-fer if you count the cornbread muffins you'll be making from your favorite mix! On to dessert, my darlings! This crumble serves 2 generously. If you have more fruit to use up, multiply the other ingredients accordingly. One more hint: since there's very little sugar in this, it could be on the tart side. If you like sweeter desserts, please up the sugar to your taste.


Cherry Nectarine Crumble
- 2 slightly overripe nectarines, pitted and sliced
- half a cup fresh cherries, pitted and halved
- pinch nutmeg
- one quarter cup unsweetened apple juice
- one quarter teaspoon of almond extract or half a teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch

For the topping:
- one quarter cup flour
- one quarter cup rolled oats
- one quarter cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts or pecans
- 2 tablespoons shredded coconut
- pinch cinnamon and/or nutmeg
- pinch salt
- 2 tablespoons cold butter (I used Brummel & Brown, which is not butter, but worked nicely!)

Stir together all dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Cut or pinch the butter into small lumps, and then use your fingertips to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter remain.

Toss the fruit with cornstarch, almond or vanilla extract and nutmeg and dump into a sprayed or oiled small baking pan. Pour over the apple juice. My pan is a 6 inch round Pyrex dish with 1.5 inch sides, and this crumble fit perfectly in it. Crumble the crumble topping evenly over the fruit, making sure to cover the entire surface evenly. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until the juices are bubbling around the edge of the dish and the topping is golden brown.

Serve with yogurt for breakfast, or with a scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt for dessert.