Vegetarian Pot Stickers

Do not, I repeat, do not be intimidated by the name. If my Savanah came make them, then so can you ladies. Savanah and her dad were watching, of all things, the Food Network and saw Alton Brown making won ton soup, egg rolls and pot stickers. She was intrigued. She realized that we would have to vegetize the insides to the pot stickers, but other than that all we would have to buy would be the dumpling skins.

On our next shopping spree (which is not a spree, for we do it every week like clock work) won-ton, egg roll skin thingies went into our cart. Two nights later we were all woofing down pot stickers (I had 11, but who's counting) So, if you thought these were difficult to make, my 15 year old daughter can do and so can you. I will say that this is not something you can walk away from. This is a have to be there kind of dish. But oh so worth it. To get thee original recipe go to Food Network and hunt for Alton Brown's recipe, you will not regret it or go wrong.


EDIT IN: We used a small amount of chopped tofu when we sauted our veggies, maybe 1/4-1/3 cup?)
1 red onion sliced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms (we did not use)
1 cup white cabbage, shredded (we used whatever cabbage we had on hand, it changes from week to week)
1 cup carrots, shredded
1 cup chopped garlic chives or chives (we used garlic instead)
1 teaspoon white pepper (regular black pepper here)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 package round dumpling skins, also called gyoza (preferably twin dragon brand) (we used won ton wrappers)
Salt to taste
Canola oil
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In a wok or large saute pan, add a little oil and saute onions and ginger. Add the mushrooms and stir. Add the cabbage, carrots and chives. Season. When mixture is soft, place in colander to drain. Add the sesame oil and cilantro when mixture is cooled. Check for seasoning.

Using the gyoza skins, make half moon dumplings keeping the bottom flat.( we placed the won ton wrappers as if we were looking at a diamond, then placed our filling inside, the folded it so the final shape was that of a triangle) In a hot non-stick pan,(we used a regular aluminum heavy bottom skillet and it worked just as well) coat with oil and place dumplings. When bottom gets brown, add 1/4 cup of water and immediately cover. This will steam the dumplings. Carefully watch the dumplings and completely evaporate the water so that the bottom gets crispy again and sticks to the pot. We also found that it was better to run 2 skillets at a time, unless there are just 2 of you then you are good to go.

Serve with dipping sauce.
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SPICY SOY DIPPING SAUCE:

1/3 cup thin soy sauce (we sued tamari)
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup sliced scallions
1 teaspoon sesame oil 1 tablespoon sambal (did not have so we did not use this one)

What Do You Say??

Just recently it has hit me that just about every time Savanah and I go anywhere and there is food involved, we get poked fun of. She takes it in stride, but it bugs me to the point I nearly blow my stack.

I stay calm mind you, for doing so would only bring me to their level. But I get tired of the tofu jokes. I don't sit there and lambaste them about eating an animal who has been cruelly treated and slaughtered just to be on their plate. I could, but I don't.

So how do you people handle all the jokes and ridicule from the same people, all the time about the same old thing. For I am getting tired of it real quick. I just want to have some quick witted remark to smile back at them with, all the while they are scratching their heads and thinking about what I just replied with.

Thanks for listening and am welcoming your responses.

Oh My Stars

I love meat analogs. I know they are processed food, but they serve a purpose. When Savanah goes on a sleepover, she can more easily fit in if she brings her Boca Burgers, or her veggie dogs. But this again is not a main staple in our diet. Just recently we learned to make a Kick -A black bean burger. Wow!

But today I want to thank Morning Star Farms for a great little website. Savanah found Italian sausages at Walmart. I know I cringe every time we shop there, but until my financial situation changes, that is thee only place I can get my money's worth. Anyhow, she found the sausages and I knew what our next available lunch was going to be. So today we had Italian sausages on whole wheat hot dog buns smothered in sauteed onions and sweet peppers. But then I just wanted to check out Morning Star Farms to see what they had in the way of recipes. Oh my stars. I found this great little mayo thing that I literally slathered on my sausage. Check it out here

Again, we do not live on this items, but it is not to be able to join in when others have what we no longer do. And it shows them that we can still eat it, just not the same way you do.

Penne With Vodka Sauce

To say we love pasta is an understatement. It is more my sons favorite. I prefer the Mediterranean diet, and my husbands favorite is Mexican, and Savanah's is Italian as well. Whoa, and to think my husband is Cuban and that is still not his favorite ethnic style food. But this one is wonderful. We had seen a vodka sauce on TV and thought we would try it, so we did. Nine out of ten of them called for heavy cream so we substituted with our non-dairy milk. This one we snagged from Food Network and from Giada. So try this one and see.

1 quart simple sauce (recipe to follow)
1 cup vodka
1/2 cup heavy cream (almond or rice milk will do)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese(we did not use)
1 pound penne
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Simmer the tomato sauce and vodka in a heavy large skillet over low heat until the mixture reduces by 1/4, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Stir the cream into the tomato and vodka sauce. Simmer over low heat until heated through. Stir in the Parmesan cheese until melted and well blended.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta and transfer it to the pan with the sauce, and toss to coat.

Simple Tomato Sauce:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
4-6 basil leaves
2 dried bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 T unsalted butter, optional (we did not use this)
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In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrot and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and reduce the heat to low.

Cover pot and simmer for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and taste for seasoning. If sauce tastes too acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 T at a time, to round out the flavor. Pour half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce. If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and then pour 1-2 cup portions into a plastic freezer bags. Freeze for up to 6 months. Makes 6 cups Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Black Beans

This I got from a girlfriend of mine who loves to cook as much as we do, in our home. But her black beans take on a different twist. They are a hair sweeter then my Martha's Black Beans. These are not my husbands favorites, but if they are on the table, they go on his plate.

2 lbs. (5&1/2 cups) dry black beans (debris picked out)
3-3&1/2 quarts water, as needed
1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup honey (or other sweetner)
1 t cumin
Up to 1 T salt
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Cook beans and drain, leaving a small portion of liquid as desired; add remaining vegetables and ingredients; continue cooking for 20 minutes.

This is simple stupid. No extra work needed, nearly a one pot meal. Serve over rive and you are good to go.

True Southern Grits

All I know is that these thinks are delicious beyond words. And I also know that many Northerners do not get it, when it comes to these lovely little gems. I was raised in the South (even though many Southerners will not admit to Florida being in the south) and grew up with this on our breakfast menu many days through the week.

You can eat them savory or sweet. But my favorite is just plain with a bit of butter. We have added some cheddar cheese to thee equation, for that is my husbands all time favorite way of eating the, but he will do with plain if that is how I make them. The recipe is simple stupid and I tweaked them via Paula Deen. She taught me how to add the salt to the dry grits so that they were properly salted as you added them to the boiling water.

1/4 dry grits
pinch of salt
1 cup of water
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Bring water to a full rolling boil. Add grits along with salt. Bring back to a boil and keep at a boil until the grits begin to sputter and pop. At that time, turn your grits down to a simmer and cook until desired consistency.

They should be not cloppy thick or runny thin. Somewhere in between. A pat of butter is optional. And cheddar cheese is also optional.

Good Stinkin' Waffles

That was Savanah's title on her hand written recipe...I swear to it, no lie. A friend of ours had given us a few recipes when she gave us her hand me down waffle iron (That is by no means a complaint), and we experimented with a few recipes and they were OK, but we finally found this one and sha-BAM, we hit the jackpot. Savanah also veganized it, which is a plus. So here goes. But if you want to see our older version of waffles, go to my breakfast categories and scroll down to waffle time. But trust me these are way better,

2 cups milk (we used almond or rice)
2 t vanilla
1 banana, mashed (the riper the better)
2 cups flour
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
2 cups sugar (we use raw)
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Ina small bowl whisk together the milk, vanilla and banana and set aside. In a larger bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Then once sifted add the sugar.

Add the wet mixture to the dray and mix well. Pour into preheated waffle iron and let cook until brown.

You will have to play with your waffle irons. What works for us will not work for you. For us it is about 3-5 minutes, depending on how done you like your waffle. But with the banana in the mixture, Ooo La la!