New Years day we didn’t feel like leaving the place so we scavenged what was in the kitchen. We had some champagne leftover from the night before and didn’t want to let it go to waste. We had received some honeybell oranges in the mail as a gift and wanted to use those as well.  To make the vinaigrette mix: 2 tbsp champagne 2 tbsp white wine vinagar juice of 3 oranges 1/4 cup olive oil 1 clove garlic minced 1 tbsp fresh thyme We served this over lettuces with thinly sliced radishes and roasted chestnuts. Roasting chestnuts is easy its just a little time consuming. First cut a slit…

For this recipe you need to prepare spicy seitan sausage to use as part of the stuffing. For the seitan you need: 1 cup vital wheat gluten 1 tbsp nutritional yeast 1 tbsp chickpea flour 1 tbsp dried mince onion 1 tea sp caraway seeds 1 tbsp liquid smoke 1 tbsp liquid aminos 1 tea sp oregano 1/2 tea sp cayenne pepper 1/4 tea sp garlic powder 1/4 tea sp salt 1 tbsp vegetable oil 3/4 cup water Mix ingredients together and kneed dough. Flatten dough and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. You will also need two delicata squashes. Cut them in half long ways and scoop out the…

Tamales are fun for celebrations. These would be great for New Years. This recipe makes a small batch. You may need to double the dough part if you are feeding a crowd. First start by fire grilling some of your veggies. These will be used in the filling and the sauce. 5 tomatos  1 large white onion 2 poblano peppers 3 jalepeno peppers drizzle of olive oil salt and pepper Cut the tomatoes in half and quarter the onion. Cut the tops off of the peppers and scrape the seeds out. Drizzle a little olive oil over the vegetables and add a dash of salt and pepper. Throw everyting on…

My wife just got back from a business trip to Portland, Maine and wanted to share a few of her travel finds.  No one made fun of her southern accent but several people were very curious where she was from. Lunch one day was at the mall food court which is normally not very exciting but they have a local company there called Kamasouptra (http://kamasouptra.com/home.php) that serves nothing but gourmet seafood, vegetarian, and vegan soups. She tried a vegan soup, Artichoke Stew, that was great. After work that evening she tried two fun local restaurants.  First at East Ender (http://www.eastenderportland.com/) which is a small farm to table bar and kitchen…

We don’t bake a lot but around holidays suddenly baking cookies sounds like a great idea. This is a very simple recipe. The hardest part is rolling out the dough but just do it in small batches and use lots of flour on your surface and rolling pin. We tried making different shapes this time but the best ones turned out using a square ravioli punch and a tree cookie cutter we bought for a dollar at world market. For the cookies: 3 sticks of butter 1 cup sugar 2 & 1/2 cups flour 1 tbsp vanilla extract 1 tea sp cinnamon Add the butter to a large mixing bowl…

This past weekend we made a Christmas themed cardboard cat house. Its pretty cool. Our two cats Spooky and Lucky are indoor cats but they still seem to get cold in the winter. So we built them a little shelter and decorated it. There is a towel in the inside of the house for them to curl up on. here are a few photos.

Pierogies have become part of our Christmas tradition. For Christmas Eve dinner my wife’s family always has a meal inspired by their Polish heritage. On Christmas Eve we will have pirogi with potato filling, sauerkraut, and mushroom. For this recipe we made a mushroom sauerkraut filling but you can fill with anything.  For the filling: 1 white onion finely diced 2 cups chopped mushroom 2 cups sauerkraut 1 tbsp butter Sauté the onions in butter until about half done about 3 minutes. Then add the mushrooms and cook until all the moisture has left. When the mushrooms have cooked down add the sauerkraut and mix well. Cook for an additional…

We just got back in town last night after traveling to see family for the holiday. Stopped at the grocery store on the way home to pick up a few things for a quick pasta. For the pasta: 2 cups chopped leaks 1 shallot minced 1 clove garlic minced cooked linguine noodles 2 & 1/2 cup brussel sprouts quartered 2 tbsp butter 1 cup vegetable broth 3 tbsp spicy brown mustard hard cheese for grating on top Melt the butter in a large pan. Then add the brussel sprouts and cook for about five minutes. After lightly browning the brussels add the chopped leaks, shallots, and garlic. Cook for five…

2 sweet potatoes 1 cup finely shredded carrots (a food processor works well for this) 1 white onion finely chopped 1 clove minced garlic 1 can (15 oz) white beans drained and rinced 14 oz firm tofu 2 tbsp liquid aminos 1 small 6 oz can tomato paste 1 tbsp brown mustard 1 tea sp ground sage 1/2 tea sp ground marjoram 1 tea sp salt 1/2 tea sp white pepper 1 tea sp smoked paprika 1/4 tea sp cayenne pepper 1/4 tea sp ground coriander seed 1 tbsp nutritional yeast 1/8 cup sunflower seeds 3/4 cup quick oats Rough peal and chop the sweet potatoes and cook in boiling…

Sometimes we just like doing a few appetizers instead of a full dinner. It can be fun and interactive. Here are some easy options. For the mushroom pate: 2 cups crimini mushrooms 1 large shallot diced 1 clove roasted garlic 1/8 cup red wine 1 tbsp pine nuts 1 tbsp olive oil Pop the stems off your mushrooms and clean. Thinly slice the mushroom caps. Add the diced shallots, mushrooms, and olive oil to a saute pan and cook until well done. Then deglaze the pan with the red wine and reduce the wine. Add the cooked mushroom mix to a food processor with pine nuts and roasted garlic and…