At home, Sick!

I hate being sick.

It's Tuesday and I just got back from a weekend in Seattle where I got food poisoning from the airport on my way home. So yesterday i spent the day in bed recovering. That sucked but wasn't nearly as bad as how I feel today which is nothing more than a common cold or flu. I don't want to complain and believe it or not thats's not why I am writing this post. Instead, I am writing to talk about the delicious vegetarian Mazzo Ball soup I just made.

When I get sick, my all time favorite thing is Mazzo ball soup. Unfortunately, it is ALWAYS made with chicken broth. That's when being able to cook has its real benefits...

Take mazzo ball mix and prepare as instructed or if you don't have mazzo ball mix either use mazzo, crushed up, or saltines, or dried out bread crumbs. just make sure it is bland and dry. crush it up real fine and add about an egg, 1T oil, 1T water, and 1/4 t salt per 1/3 C dry product. mix well and refrigerate for an hour.

Take the onion, carrots, and celery, add them to a soup or stock pot with about a tablespoon of oil. Saute a few minutes depending on how well you like your veggies cooked in your soup. Meanwhile mix up some vegetable bouillon by dissolving it in the pan. Combine the bouillon and the veggies well and added about a teaspoon and a half of garlic salt. (OK, I like my food salty so reduce here as needed)

If you didn't dissolve the bouillon in the amount of water it says, then you have to add more to the pot. I always add a little extra just cause I know some is gonna boil off or get absorbed by the mazzo balls.

After your mazzo has been chilling for an hour and your soup stock is boiling all you do is get your hands wet and take about a teaspoon of mix into your hand and roll it into a small ball. drop it in the boiling soup and continue with the rest of it. cover the pot and boil the whole thing over medium low heat for a half hour or so....

So delicious and hits the pot when you're sick!

Pizza!

Tonight we went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, La Parolaccia, and I had this pizza that I LOVE!

Form their menu:

'Focaccia “Forza Italia” 

Thin crust focaccia from our wood burning oven, topped with goat cheese, tomato sauce, Arugula, fresh tomatoes and white truffle oil.'

The combination of flavors is excellent with the creaminess of the goat cheese, the spicy Arugula, along with the earthy plover of the truffle oil just makes a great dish. 


I have got to make this at home!

Vegetarian Lasagna with Goat Cheese

I had a craving for lasagna the last couple days and just couldn't figure out how to get one that didn't have lactose in it. So I decided to make my own. I scoured the Internet for recipes and found one on food.com that would serve as a pretty good basis. Of course I needed to adapt it a bit to add more protein and also get rid of the lactose...

Here goes!

1 C. TVP
7/8 C. boiling water
1 T Dried Onions
1/2 t garlic salt (optional)
1 lb 10oz jar marinara sauce or some other kind of red sauce
8 no-cook lasagna noodles
150g goat cheese (one roll)
2 eggs
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
8 oz Trader Joe's yoghurt cheese slices (plain, chopped into small pieces)
1 teaspoon garlic salt 
12 oz Trader Joe's yoghurt cheese (plain)
1/4 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese


Preheat oven to 325

First, put the TVP, garlic salt and onion in a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over it and wait about 5 minutes. Stir in the entire jar of marinara sauce, set aside.

In another bowl, combine the goat cheese, eggs, basil, chopped yoghurt cheese, and garlic salt. Stir well to get the goat cheese fully incorporated.

In a greased 13x9x2 baking dish, spread a small portion of the sauce across the bottom. (it helps to set about a half cup of the marinara sauce aside before mixing all of it with the TVP so you get a nice thin layer).

Place 4 noodles across bottom of pan.

Spread half of the goat cheese mixture over noodles. It helps to put a tablespoon at a time first, distributing them around and then spread each little glob into the others. 

Then put about a quarter of the TVP Marinara mixture over that, spreading evenly.

Then use half of the whole yoghurt cheese slices and cover the sauce. 

Put another quarter of the sauce on top of the cheese slices. (Alternately, you can put the cheese slices directly on the goat cheese mixture and then half of the sauce on the cheeses but I prefer to get everything integrated. It's up to you.)

Then put the other four noodles on top of the sauce and repeat the layering. All of your goat cheese mixture should be used as well as your cheese slices and sauce.

Then spread the pecorino over the top and put in the oven for 30-35 minutes.

Let set for ten minutes before serving and enjoy!

Spinach, Garlic, and Artichoke Pesto

Perfect for pizzas or grilled veggie sandwiches!
This delicious spread is easy and can accompany practically anything your imagination can think of...


2 C frozen spinach, thawed
4 cloves garlic
6 - 8 oz marinated artichoke hearts, drained
6 T extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese


Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor until finely mixed.


Enjoy!

The Vegan Mouse: VeganMoFo: Posole Stew with Squash, Collards and Pinto Beans

The Vegan Mouse: VeganMoFo: Posole Stew with Squash, Collards and Pinto Beans

This is a delicious vegan version of the New Mexican stew. I make it with slight variations:

I don't use sugar, collard greens or tomato sauce.
I used a 28oz can of diced tomatoes.
I add a half teaspoon of garlic salt and more jalapeno pepper.
And finally I add more veggies like yellow crook neck squash...

Add a few tortilla chips when you serve it and you have an absolutely amazing stew that even the non-veggies can love!