Tuesday Lunch - Beans and Rice with Corn and Avocado Salsa (Kate) (June 8)

Kate made today's lunch. She took a simple idea - beans and rice - added freshly toasted and ground coriander and cumin seeds and made a salsa using corn, avocado, tomato and cilantro. Yes, I have a ten-year old who loves cilantro and said the salsa would not be salsa without it!

Very tasty and easy dish.

Cost Breakdown:

rice: $.50

beans: $4

avocado and tomatoes: $3.25

corn, cilantro, onion, peppers, spices: $2.50

Total to feed a family of 5
(Dad gets it in his lunch tomorrow.):

$10.25

4 out of 5 stars

Beans and Rice with Corn and Avocado Salsa Recipe

Thursday Dinner - Yakitori with Seared Cabbage and Almonds (June 3)

This was awesome! Yakitori is 'grilled chicken' in Japanese.

 The seitan 'meatballs' I made turned out just right - flavorful, held together very well, and moist (is that too cake-y a description?). I made the teriyaki with mirin (Japanese rice wine), tamari, ginger, garlic, and sugar. I quickly grilled the cooked 'meatballs' on my enameled grill pan (highly recommended - food does not stick and it is not non-stick), basting with the sauce. The cabbage was flash seared on the same grill pan (just not at the same time), with some carrots, garlic and tamari. Garnishing the dish are toasted almonds and sliced scallions. I served the teriyaki on the side as extra dipping sauce. Yum! Youngest daughter does not like ginger (too 'spicy'), but otherwise it was a meal we all loved. It was sweet, salty, and a little spicy. Great combination, ask any giant food processing company.

Cat loaned me her manga for the picture. I am such a lucky mother to have a daughter so interested in Japanese culture to have some props ready for my pic.

4 out of 5 stars

Friday Lunch - Quesedilla (May 21)

Leftovers!

I had some beans and rice leftover, so I made a quick quesedilla, adding grilled peppers and onions. Topped with some Tofutti Sour Cream, it made a fast, delicious lunch that even the kids enjoyed.

4 out of 5 stars

Tuesday Dinner - Cheeze and Spinach Enchiladas (May 18)

This was an absolute hit! With everyone, except my oldest daughter, who does not care for enchiladas or spinach, which removes this dish from the running for her. The rest of us were okay with that, though; more for us! I used half Daiya Cheddar and half Follow Your Heart Mozzarella, shredded, and melted them on the stove, adding the spinach and grilled onions, and a little chili powder. Not only did it melt well, but it tasted creamy and divine. This is a very high 5 stars, only lowered because Daughter Number One doesn't like anything, it seems.

5.5 stars out of 5

 

Blue Corn Enchiladas Recipe

Monday Dinner - Mexican Beans and Rice (May 17)

This is a family favorite, from Vegan Fire and Spice by Robin Robertson. I adapted it by adding tortilla chips instead of bread crumbs. It is very easy to prepare as long as you have cooked beans and cooked rice on hand.

Since there are five people in this family making the menu, looking over this week's meals, it seems we have inadvertently made it Mexican week. We have tonight's meal, the salad tomorrow is Southwestern, Cat is making Tacos, and there is Enchiladas scheduled for the weekend.
Ole!

5 out of 5 stars

Tuesday Dinner - Sechuan Beef and Broccoli (May 11)

Tuesday night is Asian/rice night.

Tonight we had cornstarch-crusted-beefy-seitan browned in a well-seasoned wok. After they were browned and removed, sliced broccoli, onions, and peppers were added to the wok, a little water, steamed for three minutes, and a sauce of garlic, chili, tamari, vegetable broth, and cornstarch, was introduced to make a flavorful sauce to coat the vegetables. After adding the seitan back into the wok with the vegetables, it was served with brown rice.

This recipe was adapted from Bryanna Clark Grogan's "Authentic Chinese" cookbook. It was excellent.

5 out of 5 stars