Ma and Pa's Blog

Today’s mail included an item addressed to me from the state Department of Aging!!! I guess I’m officially OLD . . . and now I have the Golden Buckeye Card to prove it!

I think I’ll go back to the place I used to get my haircut (when I had a little hair left) and flash my new card. They had offered me a discount about ten (maybe fifteen) years ago if I had a Golden Buckeye Card. I was thoroughly offended.

Today, I’d have no basis to complain . . . argh.

I can’t wait to see what other mailing lists I end up on, now.

For those of you who liked the Vegan Ribz we had at Hocking Hills, you are gonna LOVE seitan sausage! I’d been wanting to try the recipe for awhile, and finally got off my butt to try it tonight. Dad had been asking for Moroccan Stew * so I figured the sausage could be a nice accompaniment to the dish, but if we didn’t like the sausage, the stew is still great on its own. But, man, it was SO good!

I followed the recipe from Vegan Dad, for a very tasty Italian sausage that is incredibly easy to prepare. I did the mixing in the food processor, pulsing the garlic cloves and beans ’til smooth, adding all liquids and seasonings and pulsing once or twice, then adding the gluten and nutritional yeast and mixing until it was a rubbery mass around the blade. I didn’t even try to shape the mass into sausage shapes, but divided the stuff into sixths and plunked each blob onto its aluminum foil sheet, rolling it up as directed. I steamed them for 40 minutes while the stew was cooking, then unwrapped them onto a cooling rack. I grilled two of them for dinner tonight and I’m looking forward to using the other four sausages later this week. The sausages exceeded our expectations, and the recipe could easily be modified to mimic breakfast sausage (addition of sage, omitting fennel) or even Hungarian (more paprika, garlic and pepper flakes). I think grilling them outside is a brilliant idea and that’s probably how I’ll use them next, but a saute with onions and peppers would be nice–or in spaghetti sauce!

Vegan Dad is a favorite site of mine–very readable with easy to follow recipes and interesting menu ideas–a great go-to resource for dinner ideas for the vegans among us–and some great ideas for us omnivores as well!

Sadly, just a while ago, we succumbed to another stupid blog temptation and blew the hell out of our healthy dinner–five minute microwave cupcakes. They’re also good. Not healthy, just good.

*I can let you know of my (minor) modifications to the stew recipe if you’re interested.

>>> Mayo Clinic’s “Heart Healthy Meals Page” <<<

Well, I tried the lentil salad I told Jeff about awhile ago: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_170126,00.htm It was pretty good, just not photo-worthy. (I certainly don’t think it justified Giada’s signature toothy orgasm face when she tasted it on her show, but I don’t think she eats enough food to be able to make any distinction between well-seasoned food and so-so dishes; any sustenance at all probably elicits ecstasy. But I digress.) I didn’t find any fancy-schmancy french lentils, so I just used run of the mill green lentils and man, one pound made a BOATLOAD. If I make it again, I will only use 1/2 or 3/4 pound, keeping the other ingredients at the levels suggested in the recipe. The grapes and cucumbers were a nice addition, and the toasted walnuts I subbed for the hazelnuts added a nifty crunch and flavor. We also squeezed a lime over the salad as we plated it, and it added a little extra, welcome zing. Maybe with less lentil, the tasty lemon vinaigrette flavor would come through more. Anyway, it was good, not great, and I’m not too upset that there is PLENTY left over for another meal. It may or may not put in an appearance at Hocking Hills. And now, because we feel all virtuous and whatnot about having eaten such a healthy meal, tomorrow I may cook up the slab of baby back ribs that’s waiting for us in the freezer…

Look at all this cool work going on as they pave our street . . .

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I have tried many times to start plants from seeds. Flowers, vegetables–the seedlings all die. This year I tried mightily to grow some basil from seed and, once again, I had to toss the damned tray of dead/dying seedlings into the trash and buy a couple pots of healthy, happy basil. Now, it’s not a big deal, obviously. But as I was grubbing around in the flower beds I got to thinking about Peak Oil and the coming famine. If these guys are correct, we’ll have to grow our own produce in a few years and man, we are totally screwed. The only way I’ll be able to keep my family fed is if I volunteer to go to the Soylent Green factory.

I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather and some relaxation! Our weather is warm and sunny, Larry has gone to bring Nanny & Poppy here for a holiday bbq rib dinner and maybe a few games of euchre with the dessert, and BBC America is having a Full Monty Memorial Day–Monty Python’s Flying Circus all day. Life is good–ribs and the Pythons! Happy beginning of summer, everyone!

Jeff and Anna Marie know about my obsession with interest in quinoa; I’m really excited to find this super food that is a grain AND is good for me! I love rice, pasta–indeed, all things wheat-y. And my love affair has helped to make me the woman I am today: fat. Anyway, to find a protein packed grain that is so versatile and tasty is a real treat. (I’d even tried Shirataki Tofu noodles as a substitute for pasta–they’re not. Shudder.) So, Jeff, tonight I made a large dish of quinoa/tabbouleh: Quinoa, chopped fresh parsley, cucumbers, scallions and tomatoes with lemon juice and a touch of olive oil. It was a nice salad-y side dish and will be my lunch for the next 3 or 4 days. Very tasty–I recommend it.

Now here’s the part everyone should get excited about: I also made QUINOA COCOA CUPCAKES!!!!! While noodling around for quinoa recipes, I found this recipe:

http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/1493/Quinoa-Cocoa-Cupcakes and decided to give it a shot. The recipe reminds me of the oatmeal cake recipe that was all the rage in the 60′s. I got 10 very puffy, happy cupcakes from the recipe and Dad is really happy that there are some baked goods in the house. Yum-o ! Caleb and Jeff, you WILL be seeing these this summer! The only modification I had to make was that I had to add about 2/3 c. more water than the recipe called for, but that may be because I used 3/4 c. quinoa from the batch I cooked this evening; perhaps if I had cooked it as written (1/3 c. quinoa to 2 c water) it would have been soupy enough. Whatever. If the batter looks too dry, add water! Now go try it!!

In family news, head on over to http://benandstephanie.blogspot.com to read Stephanie’s account of her latest foray into health care hell. Sounds like she may be bidding farewell to her gallbladder sometime soon. Ben told Aunt Jean & Uncle Bob that Steph’s broken and should still be under warranty, so he was going to send her back to them to fix and then they can return her. So if ya get a chance, send some love her way!

A very bold and tasty vegetarian meal (scroll down to ‘Indian Style Letil Curry’). It was a bit spicy (would probably reduce the peppers next time) but very enjoyable and satisfying. The eggplant recipe is here.

Today was the last day of Mike, Jenn, Caleb & Owen’s visit, and part 2 of Christmas dinner (this time with Ben & Stephanie), and Jean’s birthday (she discovered that she’s two years younger than she thought she was — whatever # that is).  Here are several pics from the dinner — mostly bowling on the Wii console. Also included is one picture of Owen taking an after lunch nap. He went to sleep so quickly and so soundly that his arms didn’t even relax.