Recipe....

From Simple Suppers. (BUY THIS COOKBOOK! Seriously....)

1/4 cup mayo
1 T ketchup
2 t white or cider vinegar
pinch of salt
black pepper to taste
pinch of sugar
1 8 oz. package of coleslaw mix or 4 cups finely shredded cabbage
(I chopped regular and purple cabbage- but probably only 3 cups....)
8 thin slices of rye or pumpernickel bread ( I used only 4 pieces- for just a one sided sandwich )
4 tomatoes, sliced (I only used one tomato- with 2 slices on each piece of bread)
8 oz thinly sliced swiss cheese

I also added horseradish sauce to each sandwich ;-)

In a bowl large enough to hold the coleslaw mix, stir together the mayonnaise, ketchup, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar. Add the coleslaw and toss well.

Assemble the open-faced sandwiches on the baking sheet if you are going to use your oven broiler, or on trays if you're going to broil in batches in a toaster oven. Arrange the slices of toast an inch apart. Place about 1/2 c of coleslaw on each slice and top with tomato slices then cheese.
Broil the sandwiches until the sheese melts, 3-5 min. Serve open-faced.

Yummm!

Two yummy eats of the week: Veggie Reuben and Veggie Curry. Can you tell I love veggies? ;-)

Gooood Lunches!!!

Yesterday, after a walk and some park-playing with my boy, I came home and was in a mad hunt for a great, quick lunch. I had some day old potato soup, and then I wondered what to pair with it. I decided on using up the last of the rosemary bread-for some tuna melts. Boy, was that a treat! I just made tuna salad, sliced some cheese (this one was from Holland!) on top of sliced bread with a bit of mayo on it.
I broiled the tuna melts in the oven at 550 degrees for about 5 min.

Today I came home from a run, and knew what I wanted to make by the time I got home. In Eugene where we live, there is a great restaurant (a few of them, actually) called Cafe Yumm! They sell bottles of their sauce- and we have a good sized one in the refrig. They made a few varieties of 'bowls'- I just get the Original. It's such a simple, wholesome and DELICIOUS bowl of food. ;-) All you have to make is some brown rice, spicy black beans (well....they just use black beans, but I love everything spicy), and I made up some Salsa Fresca, that was an EXCELLENT touch! If you'd like (for toppings)-avocados or guacamole, salsa, grated cheddar cheese, sour cream & chopped cilantro.

Not only does it taste so great- it doesn't make you feel heavy or greasy after eating. It's one of my favorite things to eat!

My dinner last night...

I'm so not a 'planner'- I just spontaneously decide to make things.....
I DO like to plan some meals- but I'd say more often than not- I check what I have in the refrigerator and pantry and imagine up a meal. I think that this is where I practice my 'art time' - since I rarely get to work on making jewelry, let alone- painting, drawing, letter making......etc. Since there needs to be food on the table every day, I guess I've made a compromise. To artfully cook. HA!

Last night I looked through Simple Suppers cookbook and mentally checked off ingredients I KNEW I had....and decided on Curried Tofu with Tomatoes~ (I added zucchini to the mix, too)
Pictured here, also, is my son's favorite appetizer- Roasted Potatoes and Sweet potatoes with garlic and rosemary, and fried zucchini.
For the roasted potatoes-I cut up 2 medium sized sweet potatoes (yams are what they are, rather!!!), and 1 large, large! potato. Cube and drizzle with olive oil until well covered. Mince about 5 cloves of garlic and also about.....a tablespoon of fresh rosemary. Dried rosemary is ok, but not the best ;-) Mix with your hands, well. Broil at 550 degrees for about 12 min or until well browned. Stir have way through broiling!

Here's the Simple Suppers recipe for the curry:

2 cups chopped onions
1 large red pepper
1 t salt
2 T oil
4 cloves garlic ( I put at least 5+ in)
1 1/2 T grated peeled ginger root
2 T Curry Powder or Garam Masala
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 cake firm tofu (I put 1/2 amount in), cubed
1 28 can of diced tomatoes
black pepper or hot sauce- this is where I made a mistake, HAHA! I decided (without tasting) that Black Pepper would not be enough- I added some good shakes of Cayenne.....YIKES, it was spicy! But good. Sour cream or plain yogurt tones it down a bit
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY~ Fresh Cilantro- chopped. As much as you like. ;-)

In a large saucepan with a lid, cook the onions, peppers, (zucchini, too!) and salt in the oil on medium-high heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, Curry Powder, cinnamon, and tofu, Cover and cook on medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cover and simmer for about 10 min. to allow the flavors to develop. Occasionally stir gently. Add black pepper or hot sauce to taste.
Serve with Naan bread- flatbread.....whatever bread you like ;-)

more....

Still! More favorites...

more favorites...

-Pictures of some of my makings this past year....

Some of my favorite dishes...

I just want to post some of the things I've made in the last 8 months (before the food blog started...) These are new and old favorites. A lot of the dinners came from one of my prized new cookbooks- Simple Suppers. And some- are just my family hand-me-down recipes- and ones I just make on my own without a recipe. Enjoy, and try not to drool, (haha!)

Tortilla Soup

Ahhh, it's been awhile ;-)

I made, what I like to call Soul Soup yesterday. (Veggie) Tortilla Soup is so easy, and it always tastes SO GOOD. Perfect for a rainy day- perfect when you need to spice your tastes up.

I start by mincing about 3-4 cloves of garlic- you can always use more!
1 med. onion, chopped
1-2 bell peppers, chopped
a couple of hot peppers to spice it up- or, like yesterday when I had none, I used a good teaspoon and a half of cayenne. I always add more, to taste.
Saute this for a few minutes.
I sliced up a medium tomato and added it to the saute, then I added one can of tomato sauce....or two.
Then added 2-3 cans of black beans, and one can of corn.
To add a smokey, spicy taste- I added a 1 1/2 teaspoon of chipotles in adobo sauce.
This isn't necessary- but some recipes say to add chicken stock- I added maybe a cup of it. I've made it without....your choice!
And finally, I chopped about a 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro.
I let the soup simmer for awhile....then topped it with drop of sour cream, a little pepper jack cheese and some homemade corn tortilla chips.
You can also add avocado slices to this too. ;-)