Purslane Potato Salad

I did a little happy dance when I finally found purslane at the Farmers Market this weekend! (My kids thought I was insane; Well, I am, but that's another post entirely).

My wonderful and always-knowledgeable friend Froggy got me turned onto the stuff. OK, he grew some last summer and even though I never got to sample his gardening skills, he impressed me with the nutritional benefits and all, so I'd been dying to try it!

First of all, yes, I know, I know... purslane is a weed! The most common weed in the United States in fact. It supposedly grows EVERYWHERE from Alaska to Death Valley! But evidently not in MY back yard. Yet.

Weed or not, it's suddenly cropping up in upscale restaurants, trendy markets and produce stands - another new "Superfood" if you will. (Excellent post here by fellow blogger Bazu on Superfood trends - love it, LOVE it!!)

Anyway. I digress.

Purslane has been eaten as a vegetable and used as a medicinal herb in many other countries for centuries. It's not a "new" food, folks!

A couple historical notes I found interesting (because I'm such a foodie-history-geek that way):

-- In England in the seventeenth century, the cooks of Charles II were required to add its leaves to all salads to help the king with his well known digestive ailments.

-- An 18th century pharmacology list from Scotland recommends it "...to cool heat in the liver and be excellent for hot agues, all paines in the head, want of sleep or the frenzy, haemorrhages and to ward off evil."

-- The ancient Greek physician and botanist Dioscorides recognized its medicinal powers as anti-inflammatory and analgesic as well as soothing to the digestion. He also is quoted as saying that "it reduces the desire to fornicate". Hmmmmmm....

OK, besides all that utterly FASCINATING information - we now know purslane is high in essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6, pectin (known to lower cholesterol), fiber, antioxidants (protection from free radicals that damage & destroy healthy cells), and coenzyme Q10. To name a few.

Pretty good stuff, huh?

So what does it taste like? I guess like slightly "lemony" spinach, but not as tangy as online reports seemed to indicate it would be.

We really liked it raw, though there's a lot of recipes for cooking it too. I wonder if the nutritional benefits would diminish if cooked? No matter, I had a ton of ideas for using it, but ended up putting it in a basic potato salad.

Even though the picture looks like potato goo, trust me, it was incredible! I won't want potato salad any other way from now on!

Purslane Potato Salad

4 large Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes

1 cup of Vegannaise
1 cup celery, sliced thin
1/2 red onion, diced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (I don't like "yellow" potato salad so I use less!)

6 radishes, sliced

1 cup coarsely chopped purslane, leaves and tender stems

3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

3 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill

Peel (often I don't peel them) , cube, and boil potatoes until soft and fork tender.

Drain and let cool. Put potatoes in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients.

Mix well, taste and adjust salt and pepper if necessary.

Chill and serve. The flavors blend and taste best if chilled over night.

Farmer's Market, again.

I can't stay away.

Every weekend it calls to me... "Come sample the berries... buy a vegan cinnamon roll... stock up on produce... squeeze a ripe peach... smell the flowers... find veggies you've never tried before..."

And I'm weak.

I succumb to the temptation of all things fresh and local and green.

See? Here are just some of my purchases this week:

• tiny new potatoes
• purslane
• Asian cucumbers
• several types of garlic
• Walla Walla Sweet onions
• baby red onions
• Rainier cherries
• tomatoes
• 'Turbo' squash
• wild mushrooms

Just as lovely, but for some reason, not pictured:

• blueberries
• blackberries
• peaches
• fresh-baked, soft German pretzel (vegan) *burp*
• pea vine shoots
• baby beets and beet tops!

If I'm inspired, I may post the creative ways I use some of this abundance. Mostly though, my kids will just gobble it down with no cooking or pretty plating presentation needed.

Sorry I Haven't Blogged Much Lately...

Sorry I've been a delinquent Blogger...

It's not my fault.
I'm having trouble getting any time to use my computer :)

Vegan Lasagna-of-Decadence

Totally Cheesy Vegan Lasagna!

I know, it's usually impossible to say "wonderfully-rich-and-cheesy" and "Vegan" in the same breath, but this lasagna is pretty close. Oh man!

I have been tweaking this recipe for ages and finally think it's about right. Not watery. (which I hate-hate-hate). Not too saucy. Not any "fake-cheese-taste". Nothing to make omnis look skeptical... (and even though I usually add 'em, tonight, no veggies to make the kids look skeptical).

OK, if you gave up cheese yesterday and still insanely miss the ultra-gooey-stretchy-stringy-meltyness of "real" mozzarella, you might not be totally fooled. I'll give you that.

There's no gloppy-greasy-clog-your-arteries animal extracts here. But I promise, for almost any open-minded still-slightly-cheese-wistful vegan, this is pretty good (and VERY rich!!) schtuff!

Sorry about the picture, of course tonight we over-baked the lasagna something awful and even though it still tasted heavenly, I wasn't about to make a second batch just for a purty picture...

LASAGNA:

First, you'll need:

"Cheesy" Lasagna Filling

1 Cup of soy or rice milk, heated but not boiling!
1/2 Cup of raw cashews
1 block of firm tofu
1/2 carton Tofutti Cream Cheese
1/8 Teaspoon of salt
1 Teaspoon of onion powder
1/4 Cup of nutritional yeast flakes*
2 garlic cloves
2 Tablespoons of lemon juice
2 Tb. cornstarch
1/4 cup fresh herb leaves (I use a mixture of basil, oregano, sage, parsley and rosemary)

In food processor or GOOD blender (like a Vitamix) place the very warm milk and cashews in first, blend until liquefied, (careful, hot liquids can splatter) then put in the rest of the ingredients and blend until thick and creamy.

To assemble lasagna, you will need the following ingredients:

8 cups of your favorite tomato or spaghetti sauce
Spinach leaves (if you want, I didn't use it 'cause I have a spinach-hater)
Sliced, sauteed portabellas (again with the vegetable-hating children, so I left this out tonight...sigh)
1 box lasagna noodles (I used the "no-boil" noodles)
Cheesy filling mixture (recipe above)
Deep 9 X 12 lasagna pan
foil

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
To begin, pour a layer of tomato sauce mixed with 1 Tbsp. olive oil across the pan and spread it out with a spoon. (The olive oil keeps the bottom layer from sticking or scorching.)

Next, place a layer of noodles in the pan. I overlap them a bit even though it says not to on the package.
Spread 'cheesy' mixture fairly thickly across noodles.
Add spinach and/or mushrooms if you're using.
More sauce, another layer of noodles.
More cheese, spinach, mushrooms, etc... keep layering and end with sauce and top with cheese.
'Tent' tinfoil over the pan (so it completely covers the pan but doesn't touch the surface). Make sure that the foil is closed down on all sides so that the sauce won't dry out (as mine did). Next, place it in the oven for 60 - 70 minutes on 375 degrees.

Remove foil. If it's too juicy, or you want the top more brown, bake uncovered for another 15 minutes.

If you want a more "melted-mozzarella" type cheesy look on top, shred some 'Follow Your Heart' mozzarella on top the hot lasagna, put under the broiler for about 30 seconds or JUST until "cheese" melts (or liquefies).

Let set for 5 minutes to set up, and serve. Fight your kids off with a stick for the leftovers. Yum.

Sandwiches...

Aside from the sudden abundance of zucchini, we haven't been doing much creative in the kitchen lately.

To prove it, I'll post pictures from the last two night's suppers...

Ready for my extra-original, amazingly tasty, one-of-a-kind vegan dinner specialty?

Tah-dahhhhhh.....Sandwiches and sandwiches.

I know, just not that exciting, eh?

I figured I'd show the world that even we creative, talented, amazing (ha!) vegan cooks take the night off on occasion! (Sometimes more than one night if the mood, dirty dishes, PMS cravings and kitchen temperature strike them).

Sandwich ideas:
Avocados, red garden tomaters, watercress, spinach, Walla Walla Sweet onion and "cheeze" made from nutrition yeast on Rudi's Organic Whole Grain with Flax.

The next - yellow heirloom tomatoes (which look sorta like cheese!), red onions, sprouts, lettuce, Vegenaise and Tofurkey sandwich slices on Silver Hills Flax Seed Bread.

Creative, huh?

OK, despite the crappy photography that makes them appear rather NEON colored, there were both really good.

Of course, if I'd really been a good Mom I would have whipped up a colorful "chick-pea-spinich-flax-cranberry-pomegranite-watermelon-tempeh salad with balsamic-sun-dried-tomato-porcini mushroom dressing" or something equally dramatic, to serve on the side.

But we were all pretty happy with just plain ol' sandwiches, so that's what I went with. I'll get creative another day.

Zucchini Bread

I know it's been done a million times and we all have our favorite recipe.

Here's mine. It's vegan, and it's good and it uses up a little bit of that damn zucchini!

Zucchini Bread

2 cups grated zucchini (I shred mine really fine)
En-ER-G Egg Replacer (or Bob's Red Mill or other brand, whatever you use) equiv. to 2 eggs
1/2 cup silken tofu mashed
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar (sounds weird, but you won't taste it, it's essential to help baking soda work)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup applesauce or mashed banana
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Grease 2 - 8x4 inch loaf pans.
Mix egg-replacer with water according to package directions (should be about 1/2 cup).
Blend egg-replacer with tofu and oil in food processor or blender until smooth.
In a large mixing bowl, combine zucchini, applesauce, sugar, vinegar and vanilla extract.
Add tofu mixture to zucchini and mix well.
In a medium size mixing bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking powder.
Gradually mix dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture.
Pour batter into the prepared loaf pans.
Bake for 40 to 60 minutes.

This is a great recipe, and easy because you can adjust it according to what you have on hand.
Use less egg-replacer and more tofu, use all tofu (though it may be more heavy...).
I have tried the flax-seed egg substitute here and honestly it doesn't work so well - if someone else has better luck, please let me know!!
You can use all applesauce instead of oil (though it will be more crumbly).
You can use banana instead of applesauce.
Use all whole wheat flour if you want.
Add nuts or raisins or chocolate chips if you like.
(I sometimes add chopped, dried apricots - YUM!!)
I've even used shredded carrots and apples instead of zucchini, sometimes I use 1 cup zucchini and 1 cup well drained bits of pineapple.
You can add a little more shredded zucchini too, though the bread will be more dense and heavy.
It makes great little muffins for my kids breakfasts too!

This bread freezes well, makes a nice gift, and ships great.
Depending on conditions, it can stay out of the fridge, wrapped in plastic, just fine for several days, though it never lasts that long.
(Don't tell anyone, I mail out zucchini bread all summer long to unsuspecting souls who haven't managed to hide from me and my baking skills yet, they think it's from the Zucchini Fairy!).

Tofu Scramble with Zucchini

Weekend breakfast. Yum.

Tofu scramble with zucchini and herbs from the garden.

Since I'm a toast freak, we had to have some toasted Rudi's Organic Whole Wheat Bread, and a couple nectarines on the side - we're still getting the most beautiful nectarines from the Farmer's Market!

Tofu Scramble is about the easiest and most basic thing I do with tofu.

My kids love it and would eat it three times a day if I made it! It's quick, it's versatile; I can season it any way I like, and usually whatever veggies we have on hand get added as well. Serve it with toast, rolled in a burrito, on an English Muffin, in a taco, in a pita... Best. Vegan. Breakfast. Food. Ever.

Tofu Scramble With Garden Zucchini

1 lb firm water-packed tofu, crumbled
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 of a white onion, chopped
2 small zucchini, chopped
1 tsp turmeric powder if you like it an "eggy" yellow
large handful of fresh basil-oregano and rosemary; chopped finely
2 tsp. veggie "chicken-style" bullion powder
*pinch of India Black Salt (Optional: but gives it a very authentic "eggy" taste! Look for this seasoning next time you're at an Asian or Indian Market)
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying

Heat your skillet on medium. Add the oil.
After a minute or two add all remaining ingredients and cook, stirring frequently, until tofu has browned, veggies have cooked thru and it has achieved your desired consistency.
I like it pretty dry and crumbly. If you prefer it more moist, you can add 1/4 cup soy milk right at the end for "creamy" scrambled tofu.

You can add whatever seasonings you like, and whatever veggies as well. ANYTHING goes here!

Belgian Waffles and Chunky Nectarine Sauce

My Sprouts wanted Belgian Waffles today - you know, the big, fluffy kind with the oversized 'waffle' pattern?

I discovered I don't have good luck with heavier, whole-wheat pancake batters when making these waffles, so I had to modify my "standard" vegan pancake recipe somewhat.

It now turns out light, crisp and wonderful but I'll admit it took some experimentation to get to that point...
Well, lazy cook that I am, I had planned to simply serve these with maple syrup, but as I put the piping hot waffles on the table in my best Betty Crocker imitation, a little Sprout voice said "But I wanted a FRUIT SAUCE topping..."

*Gasp!*

SuperMom to the rescue, of course.
(Who am I to deprive my Sprouts of FRUIT?)

My "recipe"?

Cut up two super-ripe nectarines.
Throw in food processor for a few seconds...

Presto! - "chunky nectarine sauce", I feel like a chef!

Now, admittedly, it may look like barf in the photo (sorry for that mental image, really) but seriously, it was a HUGE hit!! And what could be better for you than plain fruit, really?

The potatoes are some baby Yukon Golds that we scored at the Farmers Market, fried crispy with some sea salt. Truly decadent.
-------------------------------

Here's the waffle recipe.
It works in both a regular waffle iron or the Belgian kind...

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup white flour
1/4 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
2 cups soy or almond milk I like vanilla almond milk here but use whatever - rice milk is too thin)
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp ground flax seed whizzed with 6 Tbsp soymilk
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
In a blender or food processor, combine remaining ingredients and process until well-combined and "airy".
Add soymilk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until moistened - don't overmix or the waffles will turn out tough and heavy, a few lumps are fine.
Mixing the wet ingredients in a blender introduces lots of air bubbles, to make the waffles light and fluffy.
Cook according to your waffle maker.
The batter is enough to make 4 - 5 large Belgian waffles.

Marionberry Pie

Ahhhh... Marionberries are in season once again! By far my favorite berry, they are a wonderful local variety of blackberry; but bigger and sweeter than any blackberry I've ever seen.

(Yes, they're mostly grown in Oregon, but hey, we're not that far away!)

We picked some up at the Farmer's Market on the weekend and my youngest Sprout helped me make a pie.

(She wanted me to make sure everyone knew that she measured the sugar into the berries, helped roll the crust and sorta 'crimp' the edges - and she cut the slits in the top of the pie!)

I was otherwise occupied and didn't use a recipe, just sort of threw this together, so no "Marionberry Pie" recipe to post, any Blackberry Pie recipe will work, Google has a million...

But I am posting my fool-proof, quick and easy, flaky pie crust recipe, since it seems to be requested frequently.

Since everyone seems to have berries available right now, go make a PIE!!

For a 10 INCH - 2 crust pie:

2 2/3 c. flour

3/4 c. oil

4-5 tbsp. ice water

pinch salt

Mix flour and salt.

Stir oil and water together.

Add all at once to the flour.

Mix, divide dough in half and flatten into a disc.

Put on a square of wax paper. Top with another square.

Roll out between sheets of wax paper. (I know I'm making that part sound simpler than it may be for some people...)

Peel off top paper, and turn into pie pan.

Peel off remaining paper.

Repeat with top crust.

Fill pie and top with crust.

Pinch edges together, cut slits in top.

Bake for 45 min. at 350 degrees or until bubbly and browning.

Enjoy!

Baseball, Hotdogs, etc. etc...

Yesterday evening was spent in beautiful 80 degree weather at Safeco Field (Seattle's baseball stadium, for those who are less sports-inclined than I am).

Seattle Mariners. vs. Detroit Tigers Yay! Seattle won which made the evening even more worthwhile! And Safeco is such a great place to watch a game anyway. Even from the "cheap seats" the view was spectacular!

I mainly wanted to post because my kids were so cute - and OK, because I'm also impressed that Seattle has been rated one of PETA's Top Ten "Vegetarian Friendly Ball Parks".

There was all sorts of veggie goodness to drool over/choose from. Much of it was vegan!

Of course, most important, there were veggie hotdogs.

What baseball game is complete without a hot dog - and in veg-friendly Seattle? We get to have veggie dogs with our baseball!

And for those who prefer something else along the veggie lines? There were also veggie burgers of several types and grease-levels, veggie sushi, deli sandwiches, fresh fruit, salads, baked potatoes, and the famous and completely amazing and wonderful GARLIC FRIES which you MUST eat, (even if it's only in self defense).

The fries are addictive. These big, hand-cut slabs of potato, topped with tons of minced fresh garlic and herbs. Heaven. (Really, I want to lick my picture here just thinking about them.)

Of course the kids gorged on blecchy things like "Dippin' Dots" and frightening-colored Jones sodas after they'd done the garlic fries. Yum.

Gotta love these American traditions.

Hemp Seed Pesto

I made this pesto Sunday night with basil from my very own herb pots, finally!

I'd run out of other nuts I usually use for pesto, but had some wonderful Rising Moon Organics Vegan ravioli just begging to be cooked, so I decided to try my hemp seeds in the pesto.

Best idea ever!

If you're looking for way to get those Omega-3's and aren't a huge flax fan, give hemp seeds a try! Yummy!

Hemp-Seed Pesto

1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup shelled hempseeds
2 Tbsp. dry breadcrumbs
2-3 cloves fresh garlic (I used more)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp soft Earth Balance or other vegan Margerine
2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon white miso

Blend in food processor until creamy smooth. Serve over hot pasta.

Keeps in the fridge at least two days - not sure how much longer since we ate it all...

Lunch at Fei's Cafe, Albuquerque

If you're ever in Albuquerque, you need to go find Fei's Cafe! The place is amazing and ALL VEGAN!

Froggy introduced me to this place and now I'm trying to think of a reason to go back tomorrow or the next day.... Lunch here was so insanely yummy-licious!

Everything is super inexpensive and portions are on the smaller side, so you can try several things if you can't narrow it down...

We started off with vegan Boba Tea, and some 1000 layer-tofu-skin something-or-other which I can't remember the name of, and these heavenly little fried seitan tid-bits called (I think) Vegetable Nuggets.

The Hot-N-Sour soup was amazing and filled with all sorts of tastes and textures. We had other stuff, served in lovely bento-box sort of trays - but I forgot to photograph it. Try the cold sesame noodles though - which are not pictured, but quite drool-worthy.

Again totally vegan. Everything is.

Go there. Eat. Tell the nice people that Froggy and Tofu-Mom recommended it to you. (OK, don't say that, they'll look at you oddly!)

Saturday Farmer's Market

Just a few pictures from the Farmer's Market, sorry if the page takes forever to load. I couldn't resist the colors!! The produce was soooo beautiful this week (every week).

Makes me so happy to be vegan, you know? It just wouldn't be the same taking pictures of bacon or something...

The cinnamon rolls are happily vegan too - I know they're not produce... but come on, CINNAMON ROLLS!


Little Sprout loved cooling off in the fountain - as did most of the other children - and a few adults!

Hope each of you have a great weekend!!

Seitan 'Roast' and Purple Potatoes for breakfast

Breakfast this morning was Little Sprout's favorite: tofu-scramble and fried potatoes.

Because I was out of regular white potatoes, I used up some Peruvian Blue potatoes I'd picked up at last week's Farmer's Market. They cooked up so pretty and purple, and made AWESOME home-fries, though they looked almost black after frying. Even so, my Little Sprout said they were super-good - "but the peaches were more yummier". Better get more of those this weekend!

For dinner, (well, way before dinner) I decided a "pot roast" sort of thing, using seitan, sounded good. Using a seitan roast recipe by Bryanna Clark Grogan (Look down the page under "Easter Recipes") recipe, I made the seitan into one large loaf.

I liked this recipe because I could knead it in my bread machine. I then baked it in the oven, adding carrots and potatoes during the last 45 min. (Imagine there are carrots and potatoes in the picture - I sliced it before adding the veggies to the plate!). Perfect!

Just a side note - the recipe calls for a little bit of ketchup in the cooking broth, but I was all out, so I added some tomato sauce. Upon tasting the broth, it didn't have any tomato flavor at all, so I dumped in the rest of the can. Still not too tomato-y but the broth was pretty red. I figured this wouldn't hurt anything. And it didn't.


But when we got the "roast" out of the oven and sliced it, it was very reddish inside with red "juice" running out. (Doesn't look quite so "red" in the picture, unfortunately). I have to tell you, it freaked my kids out JUST a little! "Mom, that stuff looks so.... real!"

It was still incredibly good, (as all her recipes are) and the leftovers made great sandwiches the next day.

When 13-Year-Olds Have Too Much Time On Their Hands...

My Middle Sprout evidently needs an outlet for her creativity this summer (or maybe I'm not giving her enough chores!)...

She created her very own blog. When you're running out of better things to do, check it out: The Adventures of Veggie Barbie and Carnivore Ken.

(You know you secretly want to see what Barbie's up to, her life's more exciting than mine.)

Not much there yet, but give those creative thoughts a few days to percolate... Of course I'm biased since I'm the Mom, but I promise it might be almost entertaining. (More so if you happen to be, oh, thirteen or so!).

Happy 4th of July

No parades or picnics here, we stayed at home like the boring people we are...

No, seriously, I used today as an excuse to finally get my back patio cleaned up and all 20-something pots cleaned out and replanted with flowers and herbs... I know it's late, but we'll be enjoying them through the end of September easily...

The Sprouts were a huge help today! We worked hard transplanting, cleaning, scrubbing the cement, cleaning the furniture, splashing the hose....

Afterwards, by popular demand, my oldest Sprout made everyone's favorite: Taco Ring which I guess I've already posted somewhere back in the foggy past.

EDIT: Please note I finally linked to the Taco Ring recipe for those who are lazy like me and didn't want to dig for it .

(Ignore the Mike's Hard Lemonade bottle in the picture... we were celebrating America's Independence... or something...).

We had some beautiful Rainier cherries from the Farmer's Market, to go with.

Then we sat on the back porch, enjoyed the flowers and plants, ....and the view... of hundreds of dollars worth of incredible, amazing (and most-likely illegal) fireworks that our neighbors for miles around were setting off ... beautiful.

Ratatouille; The Movie and the Dinner

Well, Monday night, we went to see the newest Pixar creation, "Ratatouille", which, if you've been living under a rock and haven't heard, is an animated movie about a little rat who loves to cook.

I loved it, as did my daughters. And as a vegan, I thought it was great that even with the plot based on a restaurant kitchen, and French food, they only had a couple minor shots of "meat" being cooked... Most of the time, the little rat was busy helping slice zucchini or mince garlic. Pretty cool! In the end, he whips up a dish of ratatouille that steals the show.

So on our way home, my Lil' Sprout asked if ratatouille was a "real" dish (when I was 7, I had never HEARD of ratatouille, and I'm sure I was 27 before I knew how to pronounce it!!) I assured her it was, and amazingly, it was even vegan!

She perked up and asked what was in it. (This is where I knew things could get tricky...) I said "usually um.... eggplant, onions, zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic and basil." She wrinkled up her nose and said "eewww" - but in a rather disappointed sort of way.

Then she asked hopefully "Well, are those things in big chunks or mushed up so you can't see them?" (She knows I'm famous for "hiding" veggies). So I thought about it for a moment and said "Well, usually it's in chunks all cooked together. But I bet I could make some ratatouille that was NOT chunky... would you like that?"

Of course she would! She's pretty willing to try new things, but there are a few veggies she just does not like if they're "chunky". You have to admit, eggplant isn't a favorite with a lot of people so I can't argue there... It just figures - she'd try something because a little cartoon rat made it look good! Bless their little animated hearts if they get a kid eating eggplant, I say!!

So I took my basic ratatouille recipe and prepared the veggies as I always do (oven roasting the tomatoes, pepper, onion, garlic and eggplant). Then I pureed the roasted veggies into a thick (and heavenly!!) sauce. I mixed in the fresh herbs, garbanzos, and sauteed zucchini (fortunately Lil' Sprout LOVES those!!). Since it was thick and sauce-like, I served it with crispy pan-fried polenta slices. And it was a HUGE HIT! (eggplant, bell peppers and all...)

My oldest Sprout came home from work and ate the rest of the (non-chunky) ratatouille cold out of the pan. "Awesome pasta sauce, Mom!!" She's right. It would make awesome pasta sauce.

Roasted Veggie Ratatouille

1 lb eggplant, 1/2-inch dice
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb zucchini, chopped coarsely
1 red bell pepper, chopped coarsely
1 Walla Walla sweet onion, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup organic extra virgin olive oil
1 lb Roma tomatoes, chopped coarsely

1/2 cup low sodium tomato sauce

2 TB red wine or 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 TB (or more) minced fresh garlic
3 TB (or more) minced fresh oregano

3 TB minced fresh basil
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
3 oz capers, (good for "adult food" but my kids hate 'em!)
Preheat oven to 400°F.

Dice eggplant first. Combine with salt, set aside in a colander to drain. Prepare remaining ingredients.

Rinse eggplant. Combine eggplant, tomatoes, onion and bell pepper, with olive oil. Place in roasting pan. Bake 45 minutes or until veggies are soft and starting to brown, stir once during cooking.

Meanwhile saute zucchini in a small bit of olive oil until tender crisp. Add garlic, wine, tomato sauce, pepper, garbanzos and fresh herbs. Keep warm at low simmer until roasted veggies are done.

**(I pureed the roasted veggies at this point - they were so rich and aromatic, I may do this more often!!)

Combine roasted veggies with zucchini mixture and serve with crusty bread.

We have a new dog!

My children told me last week that they were ready for a new dog.

I'd been leaving the decision up to them after they lost their precious Chelsie just this past May.

So armed with much "suitable-breed" research and high hopes, we trotted off to the Humane Society on Saturday, to see what was available in the doggie department. I told the kids we might have to look for a while, and maybe even return several times, to find a dog that we felt was "right" for us.

The place is a HUGE labyrinth of adorable faces and wet noses and I always want to spend time with each dog. If I had my way (and money and space!!) I'd return home with every single one of those big, shaggy, old, not-so-adoptable dogs (though they DO have a good record - this shelter is well on their way to meeting the goal of being a "no-kill" shelter by next summer). But I digress...

We walked through the kennels and looked at lots of dogs who were great; sweet, wonderful, adorable - but wouldn't work for our situation for whatever reason - "not good with cats", "can't go outdoors", "not for small children"... I didn't think we were that picky but we kept having to walk past dog after dog...

Finally at the very end of the last row, (isn't it always that way?) we discovered a little guy whom we all fell in love with immediately!

Well, the shelter happily put a "hold" on him and said he'd be ready for pick-up Friday. My kids were bummed we couldn't bring him home right then and there, but the staff explained there was a waiting period, plus all adopted dogs got a vet check-up, x-rays, shots, a behavioural evaluation and a microchip - and all that took the employees some time to complete....
So this morning (Monday! Five days early! Wow!) I got a call and the shelter had "our" dog ready to come home. They had completed all the evaluations and such in record time, because they needed as many empty kennels as possible for the 4th of July.

They said they get over 200... TWO HUNDRED lost animals into the center after the noise and confusion of the 4th. I know this is a large-city shelter - but...wow!(PLEASE make sure your pets are safe and secure if you'll be celebrating!!!).

This afternoon we proudly brought "Wilson", our darling little Rat Terrier, home with us!! I am positive he's as thrilled as my kids are!