A lovely excursion on Bainbridge

A friend and I recently took a quick day-trip over to Bainbridge Island. I haven't been on a ferry in years (probably at least 15 years...) so it was fun to take the ferry to the island. I took a ton of pictures of the Seattle skyline, it was so pretty!We had brunch at Cafe Nola, where we both ordered their award-winning French Toast.It was so amazing - I would gladly travel back to the island just to eat this again. After brunch we went to Eleven where they have a 5 for $5 wine-tasting. The wine was delicious, and I bought a bottle of their 2008 La Ronde.We ended the afternoon at Mora Ice Cream, where I enjoyed a bowl of dark chocolate and coconut ice cream. The shop is super tiny but cute, and they seem to be quite popular.I had a lovely time on the island, and I plan on visiting it again soon.

Potato & Kale Enchiladas

We tried another recipe from Veganomicon, and once again it was a miss. I don't know why so many people seem to love this book while I only somewhat like it. I know what you're thinking: "It's because it's vegan you dummy!". I don't think that's actually the case, as I've had many vegan recipes that are tasty and that I'd make again. It just seems like this cookbook is mostly a miss for me (and the spelling/grammar/missing word errors really annoy me). I'll keep trying recipes though, maybe I'll find some better ones in the book.

Potato and Kale Enchiladas with Roasted Chile Sauce
from Veganomicon

You can find the recipe here. I had some trouble with this recipe, as my tortillas would not roll properly (I think they were too small) and just broke into pieces. I had to modify the recipe and make it into more of a lasagna, with tortillas on the top and bottom and filling in the middle. That really didn't change the flavor of the meal at all, which was a little off. I think we would have preferred spinach instead of kale. If I make these again I'll try that instead. Here are some pictures from this meal:

This is the husband's plate after dinner - you can tell he really didn't enjoy the kale. :)

BJ's Brewhouse Review

Last week the husband and I ventured down to Southcenter Mall to try a new (to us) restaurant: BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse. I'm looking for a place to take my family for my birthday next month and wanted to "preview" this restaurant. The food ended up being only OK (I had the sliders and E. had a burger). The food was basically bar food, and nothing to write home about.

At the end of the meal we decided to split a Pizookie, which is what this restaurant is known for. A Pizookie is a fresh-baked cookie topped with icecream served in a deep dish pizza pan. We had their peanut butter cookie topped with vanilla icecream, and it was delicious. It really hit the spot and was the perfect size to share.
I doubt we'll ever go to this restaurant again, but we still had a nice time. If you're looking for a bar atmosphere and are in the area you would probably enjoy this place.

Snobby Joes

I just love the name of this veganized version of Sloppy Joes. The recipe is from Veganomicon, and it was one of my more successful recipes from this cookbook. I'd probably make this again, although the recipe did not blow away my tastebuds.

Snobby Joes, courtesy of Veganomicon (this recipe is also on the author's blog so I'm going to list all of the ingredients in this post without fear of copyright infringement). :)

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked lentils
4 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
1 green pepper, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
6 kaiser or sesame rolls

Directions:

• Combine the lentils and water in a pot and bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside (I missed this part about draining the lentils so my end result was a lot more liquid-y than it should have been).

• Saute the pepper and onion in oil over medium heat for 7 minutes, then add the garlic and saute for another minute. Add the cooked lentils, chili powder, oregano, salt, tomato sauce and paste, and simmer for another 10 minutes.

• Add the mustard and syrup and stir to combine. Let sit 10 minutes before serving. Serve over the rolls and enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread Massacre

Several weeks ago I tried a new pumpkin bread recipe from allrecipes.com. It had glowing reviews, and I thought I'd get a couple loaves out of it and be able to bring one to work to share. I followed the recipe with only a few changes: I added some whole wheat flour, reduced the sugar by 1/2 cup, added chocolate chips to one of the loaves, and baked them in 2 regular loaf pans instead of 3 smaller ones (but I increased the cooking time due to the bigger pans). I thought everything was going well; I tested several locations in the loaves and they appeared to be cooked through.

I took the loaves out of the oven and turned them upside down on the cooling rack - and that's when disaster struck! Batter went everywhere - all over me, the counter, the floor. Apparently the loaves weren't done! I managed to salvage most of one loaf, and part of another. I put them back in the oven to continue baking, and they were both still edible in the end. Next time I probably won't add chocolate chips, and I'll be more careful when testing the doneness of the loaves!


Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread
courtesy of allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
15oz pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup olive oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups sugar (I used 2 1/2)
3 1/2 cups flour (I used 2 cups white, 1 1/2 cups wheat)
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ginger

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease 3 loaf pans (or 2 if you increase baking time).

• Mix pumpkin, eggs, water, oil and sugar until blended. In separate bowl mix the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Stir dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture, then pour into loaf pans.

• Bake for 50 minutes, making sure they are done before removing from the oven! :)

**That picture at the top was taken as soon as these were out of the oven. The one on the right came out in pieces, and I had to pry part of it off the bottom of the pan.**

A night out in Sumner

Several weeks ago we met my family at Mama Stortini's, a cute little restaurant in Sumner. We actually had my wedding rehearsal dinner here, so I always enjoy returning to this restaurant.

They give you complimentary bread, and I started my evening with their Mocha Latte Martini. The martini was delicious, but it was very strong! After just one I was done for the evening and switched to water. :)

For dinner I had the Mama's Fettuccine Bolognese, which was good but the sauce was much thinner than I had expected. The husband got the Dungeness Crab Ravioli, but he wasn't as impressed with his meal. The crab tasted a little too "seafoodish", and we think the crab might have been frozen and not fresh, which is sad when you live this close to the ocean!

For dessert we split Tiramisu, and their version was a lot creamier than other versions of this dessert that I've had. It was quite good though.

Veggie Stew in the Crockpot

Here's another recipe from Quick-Fix Vegetarian. You can find the whole recipe here.

Indian-Style Vegetable Stew (page 164)

Heat the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, ginger, scallions, cumin, cinnamon and cardamom in a covered skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes, then transfer to a crockpot. Add the potatoes, chickpeas, water and salt/pepper to taste. Heat on low for 8 hours, adding the spinach for the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Serve over rice.
This recipe was good, but it wasn't very filling. We were still a little hungry after dinner, so I'll add more protein next time.

I swear it's not oatmeal

I tried another recipe from Veganomicon, and sadly this one wasn't very good. I saved the leftovers, but they looked so disgusting the next day that I threw them away. When my husband first saw this meal he thought it was oatmeal. It really does have a very similar consistency to oatmeal, but it's actually mostly lentils.

Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions
recipe courtesy of Veganomicon

This recipe actually recommends you use Red Lentils because they become so soft and don't hold their shape - I actually think this recipe would be improved with a different lentil because some texture would be nice!

I honestly don't even feel like giving you the ingredients or directions to this recipe, as it just wasn't very good at all. If you want to make it, check out page 177 in Veganomicon. Here's some pictures from this recipe - now tell me, doesn't that last picture just look unappetizing?

Pretty Quick Pinto Picadillo

I just discovered that the Quick-Fix Vegetarian cookbook is on Google books and the entire book is searchable! So, you can see every recipe that I've been making in this book, which is pretty sweet!

I made the Pinto Picadillo recipe this time around, which you can find here. This recipe is easy and has a very interesting flavor profile. The apple lends a nice, sweet taste to this dish, although my husband was a little put-off from combining apples with beans. Still, I recommend giving this dish a try.
Add onions, pepper and garlic to a large oiled skillet, cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the beans, tomatoes, apple, raisins, olives, chili and seasonings. Simmer for 15 minutes, then serve over rice. Garnish with parsley and almonds if desired.I served this with some leftover broccoli from my pierogi meal.

Pierogis with broccoli and walnuts

I made another fun, easy recipe from the Quick-Fix Vegetarian cookbook (mentioned earlier this week) which uses store-bought pierogi. However, I also came across the exact same recipe online which credits Ladies' Home Journal. The recipe isn't very complex so perhaps they both came up with the recipe on their own.

Potato and Onion Pierogi with Broccoli and Walnuts
courtesy of Robin Robertson, and also Ladies' Home JournalIngredients:
1 box of frozen potato and onion pierogi (I used Mrs. T's)
3 cups broccoli
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
Ground pepper to taste

Directions:
Cook the pierogi and broccoli in boiling water for 5 minutes (until pierogi floats). Drain.Heat oil in skillet, add onions and cover until softened. Stir in walnuts and pepper flakes, add the pierogi and broccoli and cook for another 5 minutes. Season to taste.
The recipe is super easy to make, and I enjoyed trying pierogi for the first time. I might try making my own pierogi in the future but using frozen ones definitely made the recipe fast. The broccoli and walnuts worked well with the potato and onion flavors, and the red pepper flakes added a nice heat to the meal. I will definitely make this again.

Anything with nutella is delicious

The 2nd cookie recipe I made last week was for a more traditional cookie, although this one was with Nutella! If you haven't had Nutella before you should try it; you can even just spread it on crackers if you want.

Hazelnut Cocoa Cookies
courtesy of allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
3/4 cup Nutella
1/2 cup white sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, 1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:
Beat butter, Nutella, and sugars in a large bowl until smooth. Blend in the whole egg, then the egg yolk and vanilla.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and slowly mix into the butter mixture (put some muscle into mixing this - it takes awhile to get all of the ingredients incorporated). Press the dough into a ball (the dough will seem a little dry), wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll the dough into large balls and place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake until cookie is slightly firm. I tried 8 minutes at first and didn't think they were done, but they were - my next batch was slightly hard so I will be sticking with 8 minutes from now on. Cool on wire racks.
These cookies were incredible. My husband raved about them, and they will definitely be going on my cookie rotation list!

A non-chocolate no-bake recipe!

I've been in a baking mood lately, and last week I tried two new cookie recipes. Here's one of the recipes:

Peanut Butter and Honey No-Bake Cookies
courtesy of allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/3 whole milk (I substituted almond milk)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 pinch salt
1 cup crunchy peanut butter (I used smooth)
3 1/2 cups instant oatmeal (I used regular oats)

Directions:
Combine butter, milk, sugars and honey in a pan and cook over medium heat. Bring to a boil for at least 2 minutes (the recipe says 90 seconds but that is not long enough!). Add the salt and peanut butter, mix and immediately add the oatmeal. Stir to combine, add extra oatmeal if needed (I did, ended up being at least 4 cups of oatmeal).Drop the dough by spoonful onto parchment paper and allow to set up for 2 hours.

These cookies were good but they aren't my favorites. One person described them as "soggy", which is never a good adjective when it comes to food! However, another person told me they LOVED them and asked when I was bringing more. I guess it's all about personal taste!

Mexican Chicken Chili in the crockpot

My sister gave me the Taste of Home Slow Cooker magazine for Christmas, and I decided to try a crockpot chili recipe from it. The recipe is super fast to put together, and I only modified it slightly.

The recipe says to brown the chicken in a skillet first and cube it, but I omitted that step and just put the chicken into the crockpot while frozen. After it cooked for 8 hours I shredded the chicken and mixed it back in with the other ingredients, which makes for almost no prep time at all!

The magazine recipe is very similar to this recipe. The only changes are to add an additional can of tomatoes, use real chicken, frozen corn instead of canned, only one 14 ounce can of broth, add extra green chilies and to season with chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper.
I would make this recipe again, but next time I'm going to reduce the broth by half. This recipe turned out more like soup than chili.

Should-have-been Vegetarian Cassoulet

I have been cooking extensively from the Quick-Fix Vegetarian cookbook (by Robin Robertson), and you're going to be seeing several more recipes in the coming week from this book.

I made her Quick Stove-Top Cassoulet recipe, with one big modification. I used regular pork sausage instead of veggie sausage - it's what I had on hand. I did feel a little guilty for subbing a meat product into a vegetarian recipe, but oh well. I didn't add any additional salt to the recipe either, as there was plenty from the pork and broth (if you don't get no-added salt beans or tomatoes you'd be getting even more, too).

Cassoulet "is a rich, slow cooked bean stew or casserole" - it's really not that similar to our regular American casseroles as this recipe was cooked exclusively in a pan on the stove. There was no oven time at all.

Directions:I cooked the sausage in a very large skillet over medium heat, and when done removed them from the pan and cut into small pieces. I then put the carrots, onions and garlic in the pan, covered and cooked until soft.Add the beans, tomatoes, broth, and thyme, cover and cook until veggies are tender. Add the sausage back into the mixture, get everything warmed and cover with the bread crumbs.
I actually really enjoyed this recipe, although I'm not so sure about the bread crumb topping. I put in the recommended amount but it seemed a little too grainy for my tastes. Next time I'll probably only put a 1/2 cup in.

Lemony Tuna, Olive, and Veggie Pasta

Do you have a recipe that you can fall back on when you're too tired to cook and are contemplating having pizza delivered? This is my fall-back recipe. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Lemony Tuna, Olive, and Vegetable Pasta
from mediterrasian.com (I've doubled the recipe to ensure leftovers!)

Ingredients:
1lb pasta
24 green beans (trim ends and cut in half)
2 red peppers, julienned
12 ounces canned tuna
6 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 small can diced black olives
2 tablespoons flat parsley
2 tablespoons capers, chopped
2 cloves garlic (diced)
1 teaspoon lemon zest (I omit this)
1 teaspoon sea salt (I omit this)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
Cook the pasta, adding the green beans and red peppers to the pot for the last 8 minutes of cooking.Mix the tuna, olive oil, lemon juice, olives, parsley, capers, garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper in a bowl. Drain the pasta, return to the pot and top with the sauce mixture. Toss to combine. Enjoy!My variations: throw the garlic cloves in the water at the same time as the beans and peppers. Let it cook and mash it before adding to the sauce mixture. You can substitute any veggies in this recipe - I love adding peas in place of the beans.