Cheese

I really shoulda-coulda-wished I'd taken a picture of my entertaining meal tonight, but Nora was crying and needed to eat and not many people waited for me to get things together on the table before jumping in. The photo above is appropriate although not exactly accurate.

Before Nora, I was on a television show at church. It took about 4-5 hours of your time one night a month. I didn't know how I could ever accomplish the task, especially if Paul wouldn't get off in time for me to be there and the church is not on the way home from the hospital for him to fetch Nora. Instead of returning to the front of the camera, I decided to join the behind-the-scenes effort and signed up for cooking one night every few months or so. I figured at least I could bring Nora to the meal, and an occasional mass cooking adventure would be good for me and wouldn't take me away from Nora too much. The first hypothesis was true. I enjoyed myself very much. However, after spending an hour harvesting and separating the chives from the herb garden (on loan from my mom), I decided it really was taking me away from Nora more than I had hoped. However, the remainder of the prep-work was a cinch.

When you have foods, you naturally need to find a way to use them. I had an odd selection of items that led to the creation of this recipe. Luckily, my husband was rather impressed with it, and we both enjoyed it. A warning: It was very filling, and for a light Sunday afternoon snack, we were happy eating just half for each of us.

Recipe for Spinach Pesto Quesadilla

• 2 Large Flour Tortillas
• 1/2 cup Spinach Basil Pesto
• 1/2 large tomato, sliced
• 5 black olives, sliced in thirds
• 1/4 shredded Parm/Reg or Jarlsberg Cheese

Warm a large skillet over medium heat. Place one flour tortilla on the skillet. Spread basil evenly to the edges of the tortilla. Top evenly with tomato slices and olives. Sprinkle cheese on top and cover with second tortilla. Warm until light brown and crisped on one side. Flip over
and cook on the other side. Slice with a pizza slicer (on a cutting board so you don't mess up your skillet).

I should have tried this recipe much sooner, but broccoli and cauliflower were just three weeks ago on sale for a really good price in our little corner of the world. The recipe came from a book called The Vegetarian Bible, a gift from friends, Frank and Emily. Unfortunately, they gave me the book right before I started feeling sick from my pregnancy, and I wasn't interested in cooking for a long while after that. I'm glad I finally got the time, energy, and desire to pull it out.

What I liked about the Tart: I love the way this tart "hides" broccoli and cauliflower because I know some people who aren't fans of cauliflower. We had no problems eating this cauliflower. The filling was egg-free, a big plus when there are people out there who don't want to eat eggs or who are allergic. The filling was really nicely flavored. I also thought the tart presented very well and cooked well in my pie plate. The best part about the tart is the crust. Paul raved about it. It was a basic oil crust with paprika. Truly amazing. I'm perfectly happy using this crust in every savory dish I ever make again.

I was playing around with the concept of how much Paul loves roasted red pepper on Sunday. Being so near a cleaned-out kitchen food-wise, I came up with this little dish that would make for a nice appetizer or a "sampler platter" with other items for a light lunch.

Following About.com, I roasted the red pepper and meanwhile spread out Triscuits on a jelly roll pan. (I only had the original kind, but I think the low salt ones would work better. Come to think of it, a little toaster oven would work better, too, if you were just making enough for two.) I sprinkled onion and garlic powder over the Triscuits. When the peppers were done, I removed them and turned off the oven. Then, I placed the tray of Triscuits on the bottom rack to warm. (Don't forget to wrap the peppers in aluminum foil.) I topped the Triscuits with slices of mild Jarlsberg Cheese and then a piece of the finished chopped bell pepper.

Judging by Paul's reaction, I can't say it was a big hit. He thought the Triscuits had too much going on, and honestly, he is happiest with the straight bell pepper on a good bread. But, given the right opportunity, I think this could make a very nice, simple, and quick to make appetizer.

I'm tooting my own horn right now. Last week I felt like nothing I made was exceptionally successful. In fact, I've delayed some of my sad posts so I don't lose readers to do my lack of encouragement about my kitchen duties last week. But so far this week. . .I'm most proud of myself. OK, I know it's only Tuesday and last night was my first dinner of the work week, but it was good. Even my dad said so. TWICE!

The best thing about this recipe was that I had the enchiladas together in about 16 minutes. The sauce added another 20. (One batch of sauce wasn't enough!), but it was so worth it. Truly a one-pot meal, I put the dinner together at 1400, picked up the kitchen, and left until 1700 when I came back and put it in the oven. After eating, I literally only had Pyrex, dinner plates and forks, and the knife and cutting board for the lettuce to add to the dishwasher afterward. (Thanks to my Mom for cleaning all that up!)

Recipe for Pinto Bean Enchilladas

• 15 medium-sized corn tortillas
• 1 small onion
• 1 small bell pepper
• 1 cup frozen corn kernals
• 2 1/4 cups cooked pinto (Canned beans work, too.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Quarter onions and bell peppers. Chop well in mini food processor. Mine were almost creamed, and that works well, adding significantly more flavor than the usual dicing technique.

Place tortillas on wet paper towel in a tortilla warmer and microwave 1:30 minutes. You should be able to achieve the same effect in a large microwaveable bowl covered with a wet paper towel. Heat one minute and warm additionally if tortillas are not pliable.

Layer one spoonful each of beans, onion and bell pepper mixture, corn, and cheese into tortillas. Roll tightly and lay in Pyrex dish.

Top with canned enchilada sauce or make your own. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Top with shredded lettuce, salsa, and sour cream if you wish.

Recipe for Enchilada Sauce

• 3 packages Savory Choice Concentrated Vegetable Broth
• 3 cups water
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder

Dissolve vegetable broth concentrate in water and whisk in flour. Pour into medium skillet on a medium-high flame stirring constantly until sauce thickens. Add additional flour if necessary. Stir in cumin and chili powder and remove pan from fire. Pour sauce over enchiladas.

Cost Per Person $1.02

We had such an excess of sweet potatoes last week (But hey, they were a good price!) I looked for all my recipes using the vegetables. One idea came from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home, one of my favorite cookbooks. The recipe reminded me very much of the quinoa potato pancakes because of the large variety of seasonings. And the concept was just as good. Each seasoning lent its own flavor to the mixture. I can't imagine living without any of them. It only took one shredded potato in between two tortillas each for a full meal. I dressed the plate with green vegetables and tomatoes just for color.

The sweet potato quesadillas had quite an unusual flavor. As I've pointed out before, I don't like highlighting the sweetness of sweet potatoes. I don't enjoy sweet sweet potatoes. I kinda felt the salty cheddar cheese and cumin (although a pleasantly surprising flavor to mix in the shredded sweet potatoes) made the potatoes taste more sweet. But it was still an intriguing enough flavor to make me plan on making them again.

Yep. It's for real. I still like roasted red peppers. Only took me 28 years to learn this. This time I tried it chilled. Nope. Warm to room-temp is best. But still like it. Paul called it perfect. Wow! Don't think he describes much I make as perfect. Can I serve it every day?

As for the pasta. I didn't get it. It was simple and I liked every ingredient. But for some reason, it just didn't hit a cord. Why? Still don't know. The recipe was from Moosewood Restaurants New Classic Recipe Book. It dirtied a few more dishes than I would have liked (bowl for cooling asparagus tips, extra pot for reheating the pasta once it's all mixed together). But I really wanted to like this recipe. In fact, I didn't even imagine I wouldn't. I'd been looking forward to it all week. After first blanching the asparagus in the boiling water and then boiling the rotini, I noticed just that 3 minutes really added flavor to the water and therefore added extra flavor to the pasta. The sauce of blended lemon, oil, and asparagus stems seemed so brilliant. But when it all got together. . .I was really disappointed. Even Paul shrugged his shoulders.

Last week my folks and I went to the Orlando Public Library as a play day for the four of us and Nora. There's a great little coffee shop and cafe in the library run by a couple who are vegetarians and wanted to start a vegetarian restaurant. However, they didn't want to leave out meat-eaters; so for an unusual twist, the vegetarian items can be made with meat as opposed to most restaurants that automatically think meat unless you say otherwise. The owner and his wife were very kind and patient with our slow decision making and called their patrons by name. Even having not tasted the food, I would have returned just because of the customer service.

I haven't blabbed about it yet, but the story would make much more sense if I did. Here goes: I am not planning a dining schedule this week for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Paul is gone to a convention, and since he can be so much of an inspiration to me, I'm happy dining on PB&J and fresh seasonal fruit until his return. Secondly, I had a small trip to the ER (As if any emergency trip is small!) on Friday morning and am currently in a position where I am not allowed to be off my feet long enough to make anything other than PB&J, which means I have to sit to cut my orange, too. I tried to move some furniture in the middle of the night (Why would a pregnant woman be up in the middle of the night?) and the furniture won. I broke my toe at the joint where it connects to the foot and have been tied up in a very unattractive, winter boot to hopefully keep the bones in place until they heal back together. Praise God it was a clean break and--unless I don't take care of it properly--will not need further treatment.

So, after a medium-sized walking day at work, I purchased a salad with the last of my Jason's Deli Giftcard in order to eliminate any additional time on my feet. This was only the second salad that I have purchased from Jason's and like the other girl at the bar said, it really does seem like a good deal.

Cost Per Person $6.99

Sometimes, the best laid plans aren't enough. Remember how my menu plan for the week included pre-cut vegetarian turkey and zucchini to make a second batch of soup? Well, tonight, for some reason, soup wasn't a good idea. It is a bit warmer in Florida, and I grazed on goodies all day at the office. So, it didn't take me long after getting in my car and starting the drive home to evaluate what was in the fridge and to change my mind. What I loved about the fajita idea was that everything had been prepared already. So, it was a cinch to cook, and I had two huge fajitas on the table within 15 minutes. Moreover, my only dishes were two plates, the sauteing skillet and spatula, the cutting board and knife for the onion (they were only in rings), and two knives and forks to eat with. Thanks to an empty dishwasher, clean-up was even faster than cooking!

Recipe for Veggie Fajitas

• 2 Large/Burrito Size Flour Tortillas
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar
• 1/4 large onion, diced or sliced
• 1/4 bell pepper, sliced
• 1 cup vegetarian turkey, cubed or sliced
• 1/2 cup zucchini, cubed
• 1 T Oil, olive or other preferred sauteing

Note: Proportions of veggies and veggie-meat were what I had on hand. The beauty of such a recipe is that you can always add or take away or exchange. There is no wrong as long as you like what you are putting in the dish!

Place a medium to large skillet on medium-high heat. Pour in oil and add onions. Stir until onions soften. Add bell pepper, zucchini, and turkey. Stir to coat with oil. Let sit occasionally to brown sides of veggies and stir again. Veggie-meats do not have a minimum cook time. You only need the food to be cooked through (and the veggies tender, of course). Place tortillas on microwaveable plate. Spread vegetables evenly in center of wrap. Sprinkle with cheese and roll. Microwave 30 seconds to melt cheese OR while the veggies are cooking, place the tortillas on top of the skillet so they catch the heat from the cooking. Turn often to make sure all sides are warmed. Then, you don't have to microwave the finished product.

When Paul's folks were getting to Orlando last night, it was near dinner time. I asked Paul if he wanted to meet them somewhere and eat faster. I wasn't surprised with his choice of Dandelion CommuniTea Cafe. We have done a lot of eating there recently, including last month when Paul took a group of fellow attendees at an internet conference there for dinner on a Saturday night. The restaurant is a great choice for individuals who are vegan or who are allergic to dairy or wheat. Since I have pretty much been perfectly happy with salad, grapes and an occasional pizza during this pregnancy, I was more than happy to visit the restaurant for a salad I didn't have to make or clean up myself.

In case we haven't shared a photograph of it before, the Giddyup can be a salad or a wrap in "haystack" style--chili, blue corn chips, mixed greens, tomatoes, scallions, and vegan or organic cheese. We always choose the side of hummus, and Paul adds a ranch-style salad dressing called "green goddess" for an extra $0.50. My salad included a nice variety of vegetables, and I always like the sunflower seed topping.

Cost Per Person $8.50

The "girl's part" of the bridal shower where this, the ranch dressing and chocolate cake with raspberry glaze was served, was to be followed by a co-ed trip to a local restaurant and bar. So, I chose light snacks (except for the cake) to serve at the shower. The crackers and cheese cubes were a hit and half of the vegetables were gone. Naturally, most of the cake did not come home with me.

We went out to Qdoba last Tuesday night with Travis and Patty, friends that work with Paul, but Patty and I knew each other long before we were married. They loved it and said they would go back. The great thing was that Qdoba has "Taco Tuesday" where chicken and beef tacos (crunchy or soft) are just $1 each. Paul asked the servers, and they agreed to make the vegetarian ones $1, too. (Why not? After all, the veggie ones are cheaper to make than the meat ones.) Paul had salsa, beans, cheese and lettuce on his, but it looks like guac would have cost extra.

For that reason, I stick with the burrito. Since beans are a texture not too favored right now, I just had rice, cheese, guac, pico de gallo, and a green medium salsa. Qdoba is always yummy. (Although, it always seems to taste just a little better when we're eating it in an airport coming to or from Italy, but that's another story.)

My fairly limited research doesn't say how long this great $1 taco deal is good for, and I did see a tweet from twitter that suggests the deal may be on another day of the week in another city. So, give your local Qdoba a call.

I believe I have already mentioned the fact that no matter what creative items I have packed for my lunch to brown-bag-it for work, I can't seem to bring myself to eat it when I actually get to work. Talk about lack of self-discipline! I hope this isn't a permanent change that comes with pregnancy! I'd been craving a pretty loaded baked potato. So, on Thursday, I left the office in between patients to drive the block to Wendy's to pick up a baked potato at the drive-thru and return back for the afternoon load. Shows you how long it's been since I've eaten fast food, I remembered a chive baked potato costing $0.99. The price tag for the potato and the even more necessary at this point, ice water, ran $3.58. Yikes! Again, there goes our food budget.

Sometimes, the photos of a meal go up on flickr before I get around to posting the story behind it. Our dear friend, Brent, had the kids by himself over the weekend while Lisa, his wife, was away with her family. Brent saw our picture of the Mexican Pizza, guessed how to make it, and made one for the kids. He said Kyle liked it, and he loved it. Apparently, Elena wasn't so sure about it. Therefore, I can actually post the opinions of this dish beyond our household. The first photo was from our dinner and the second is from Brent and the kids' dinner. Notice that Brent had mushrooms and bell pepper on the top of his pizza. The options are endless!

Recipe for Mexican Pizza

• 2 Burrito-sized Flour Tortillas
• 1/8 onion, sliced
• 1/4 small bell pepper, sliced
• 1/4 cup sliced black olives
• 1/3 can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
• 1/3 can Refried Beans
• 1/2 cup (more or less) cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place one flour tortilla in the center of a jelly roll pan (I like a pan with edges so juices don't run). Spread refried beans over the tortilla. Lay the onions, bell peppers, and black olives around over the beans and top with one layer of cheese (optional). Place second tortilla over the toppings (like a quesadilla), and top with the tomatoes and additional cheese. Bake in oven 7 minutes or until edges are brown and cheese is bubbling.

Cost Per Person $0.86

After typing my initial disconcerting post about the lack of vegetarian cheese, I have since done hours of research and am feeling more relieved. I'm sad that I failed to check (or have forgotten that I checked) nutrition information before buying products. At least now I know some ideas of how to continue on with my current menus--like burritos--without interruption.

Horizon Organics says on its website all cheese is 100% vegetarian.

A much more accurate and detailed list of Vegetarian Cheeses.

I was talking to my mom about my dilemma. She was listing off companies that she had gotten letters from years ago that said their cheeses were vegetarian-friendly, but then I told her my study this evening said some companies have changed. She immediately went and read the label on the block of Kirkland Medium Sharp Cheddar (the Costco brand). Although it doesn't say Kosher, it does say it is made with no animal enzymes. I wasn't able to look for myself because the package on my cheese is already gone. At least that product I use is safe.

You have now fallen into the beginning of a research project that I fear may have no end. I was in Target with my mom on Friday checking out the store and seeing if it's worth driving the extra distance for a better selection of natural and organic foods when we discussed the new Kraft Natural Cheese and this "new" Natamycin listed on the package. That brought me to searching for the most natural cheese, which led me back to the fact that some cheeses aren't vegetarian. (I remember not being allowed to eat any Kraft products or Oreos as a kid because of the animal products in them. At least Oreos have changed.)

I've done a few Google searches now and have attached some posts that I found interesting. One thing that positively baffles me is that some people seem rather discrete about the ingredients listing just "enzymes," but not what kind. I even went straight to the manufacturer's website, like Organic Valley, and learned that even those products are not all animal by-product free. Yet, a list I read said that Organic Valley was all vegetarian. You know what that means? Means I have to check up on every cheese I buy while I'm sitting at home at the computer, and I cannot just grab something I used to think was safe.

Babybel is vegetarian.

Le Tango Du Chat

6, rue Saint Severin
75005 Paris
Tel: 01 43 54 69 69

I don't know how we found this restaurant, how we got there, or how much we paid for the meal. I was just following the group for a change instead of leading the pack.

Down in the basement of the La Tour Notre Dame Best Western was a small room with brick walls and archways and nice tables with chairs crammed up against the wall to provide enough seating. Many Europeans don't do breakfast. At most, it's a hot drink and roll. Occasionally, juice accompanies the meal. I learned pineapple juice is quite popular in France.

One day last week, our office had a free lunch delivered by a drug rep. The menu was Tijuana Flats, a chain Mexican restaurant started by some local college kids that has done incredibly well with its fast food and HOT sauces with funky names. I was very impressed with the amount of food delivered because we are a large office and generally the amount set aside to allegedly serve 50-60 people only feeds 40 or less. So in case you were looking for a casual catering recommendation, this is my vote. Naturally, the salsa isn't special, but it's fresh. The same goes for the guacamole.

We love burritos. I try to have them at least once a week as it takes the stress off of the creative side. Sometimes, we are even lucky enough to get them for lunch if we are on the road. Moreover, it is our most common meal just before leaving or just after arriving at the Orlando International Airport. All of this makes me wonder if a trip to Taco Bell once a week would be a better option than buying the supplies and making them at home. It's time to make an evaluation.

Cost Per Person $0.90

Somewhere I heard about someone making fried zucchini. I started thinking it would be yummy. I like zucchini. I like fried foods (in moderation). And, after all, I like fried okra. I would have to like this, right? I served the zucchini with flatbread, rosemary and olive oil to make little sandwiches at the table. We liked it fine, except that it was greasy. I think I could get the same flavor without the extra oil just by sauteing zucchini slices like we do for the lemon zucchini pasta.

Paco's is a small restaurant on Fairbanks Avenue and should almost have a downtown Orlando address instead of a Winter Park address. With its size and mismatched table linens and chairs, it might be hard to imagine how the restaurant could be celebrating 27 years and consistently have a line of hungry patrons waiting in the small entrance. The easiest answer would be really good food and really good service.

This salsa went over so well at the group dinner, that I decided to take the same recipe and make it again in the form of enchiladas. Paul was confused because I used flour tortillas--which made it look more like burritos--instead of corn tortillas. However, it was quite the success because a few people came up specifically to shake my hands when it was done. As was common on those nights, there was a line for the food when I arrived, which gave me no time to take pictures. The above picture was a plate of leftovers we made for someone who was late. On the night of the enchiladas and Spanish rice, there wasn't a bite of anything left except the chips and salsa.

These are the absolute cutest cheeses I've ever seen. They come individually wrapped and in large numbers in Costco's Special Cheese section. Paul can easily take one to work. They look adorable sitting beside a dinner plate. And they make an ordinary salad definitely look unusual. The cheese is very soft and mild. I love to sprinkle a bit of black pepper over the cheese to highlight its true white color.

I was so excited when the idea to make this came to me. When I was growing up in Louisiana, I visited a restaurant that made superb calzones. My last trip home was devastating because the restaurant had changed its menu and the calzones were not the same as they had been. So, I decided to make up the recipe at home and was so proud of the results. It was the exact taste I was looking for.

Don't get nervous, I use a soybean based vegetarian alternative to regular chicken. It comes in large rolls from health food stores and is very versatile. We find many uses from slicing like lunch meat to dicing for enchiladas to shredding for chicken salad.

We're big fans of Mexican, and generally don't mind a visit to Taco Bell when it's good. However, since Taco Bell has come out with a line of products in grocery stores, we prefer to do Taco Bell at home. We use the vegetarian blend refried beans and on occasion their medium taco Sauce. Most of the time Paul likes his Cholula sauce instead. It has a stronger vinegar taste.

Pizza has so many options. And, I believe, when made properly can be exceptionally balanced and rather good for you. I like to focus on flavor, less cheese, and a less oily crust. The first time I made a pizza at home was when I was taking care of my father while my mother was visiting my grandmother. His response was "Well, I hope you learned your lesson." Fortunately, that was a number of years ago. But to tell you the truth, cooking is always a learning process.

At work one day, I was mentioning to a fellow coworker who loves to cook that I had purchased a beautiful eggplant at the Maitland Farmer's Market the previous day and hadn't a clue what to do with it now that I had acquired it. A patient in my room overheard me and gave me a recipe that has been a success with my family and that has been passed around the office. I've already sent my thank-you letter, but again, I say THANK YOU!

The original recipe called for diced chicken. I have not tried adding soy-chicken to the dish. I'm quite happy as it is. This can be a nice supper all its own, but we have also served it as an appetizer with a light pasta dish for a fancier meal.

Recipe for Stuffing Eggplant

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cut eggplant in half, and carve out insides of eggplant leaving shell in tact.
• Dice insides of eggplant and put into mixing bowl.
• Add a can (drained) of diced tomatoes, 2 cloves garlic, 1 cup diced onion, and olive oil to coat mixture.
• Mix thoroughly adding salt and pepper to taste.(Remember, you can always add more of this at the table.)
• Stuff mixture back into eggplant shells.
• Top with sliced Mozzarella or Jarlsberg Cheese. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
• Place shells in center of jelly roll pan and place pan in oven.
• Cook until cheese is browned, about 30 minutes.
• Top with fresh chopped basil just before removing from oven.
• Serve with fresh French bread, olive oil, and Balsamic Vinaigrette.