Playin Martha Stewart

I came across an interesting link the other day: $25 + 1 Hour Preparation = 5 Healthy Lunches. Hmmm.... sounds good to me!

http://www.lemondrop.com/2010/05/09/cheap-healthy-lunch-recipes/

I had to make a few additions at the grocery store (bananas, parsnips, and a bottle of Cabarnet Shiraz of course) so my bill was slightly more than $25. And, given the inclusion of poultry, I had to modify a few recipes. But overall, this is a great combination of delicious foods! I popped open the bottle of wine and started chopping, blending and boiling away.

I was pretty impressed with the Homemade Hummus. I added in some garlic with diced red, jalapeno and serrano peppers for a lil "Puerto Rican" flavor, and was actually surprised it wasn't very spicy (I have my good friend Jen to vouch for that). Served with whole wheat tortilla, cut up and baked into chips, this would have been AWESOME-- except for me going fresh-squeezed-lemon crazy! lol How does one fix too much lemon? Oh well. Live and learn, live and learn.. :)

Since I was all at once trying to pre-make lunches for the week AND whip up dinner for me and Jen, I next threw together the Asian Ginger/ Noodle sauce and served it over whole wheat fettuccine noodles and a steamed vegetable mix. Sooo good.. I love Asian dressing!

I proceeded to make the Spicy Black Beans and the Vegetable salad, all while baking a recipe of Roasted Potatoes and Parsnips, given to me by my homemade-cuisine-loving boss. I had tried his delicious recipe for Cracked New Potatoes in Red Wine and (Rosemary) this past weekend, so I was sure I wouldn't be disappointed. And I wasn't. My first experience with parsnips was grandiose!

For tomorrow's lunch, I've lined a whole-wheat tortilla with hummus & salad mix, and another with the spicy black beans & salad mix. Pretty sure it's gonna be awesome- but I'll let you know for sure. And I'll let you know how that 5 day lunch budget worked too. (Can't be any worse than 5 days in a row off the Dollar Menu!)

Cauliflower & Asparagus Tart

Well, helloooo there invisible-Sherina-blog-readers!! It has been a while since I've updated this blog. Fortunately for myself, I know myself and my chaotic life, and I DID provide a disclaimer at the start that this blog might be rather infrequent. Yes, something to work on.

On the up side, while I haven't been able to BLOG about it, I have been doing some cooking! Since one of my advertisers is a farmer's market (Rajzer's in Decatur, go if you can!)- I am now part of the "informed" fresh produce crowd who knows it's currently asparagus season. To support my advertiser, and to my obvious benefit, I purchased some fresh asparagus with the intent of finding a vegan recipe...Luck!

I made the following recipe about 2 weekends ago. All went well until the "tart" was outta the oven and the first taste test. P.S. Am I the only person in the world that didn't know it was NOT a good idea to use vanilla soy milk in a recipe of this sorts?? Just wondering...

So, the first one ended up in the trash (Think: melted vanilla ice cream on steamed asparagus.. yuukk).

Oh well. The SECOND one turned out much better..Except, I didn't realize "Tart" was literal..?? So, to offset the slightly bitter taste, I ended up adding a seasoning mixture of Rosemary & Garlic. The result? AWWESOMENESS!! :)

Ok, enough of all that.. here's the recipe from the cookbook "Vegan" by
Tony Weston and Yvonne Bishop:

Cauliflower & Asparagus Tart

Pastry
-2 1/2 cups self-rising wholegrain flour
-1 tsp. vegan bouillon powder
-1/2 c. rapeseed oil
-1/2 c. rice milk or soy milk

** NOTE: the first time I made this, the dough didn't hold together very well. The second time, I unintentionally put in a whole cup of (NON-VANILLA) soy milk- and it worked like a charm.

***ANOTHER NOTE: I couldn't find the politically incorrect "rapeseed" oil ANYwhere....so I used Canola. Worked fine for me, and there was no awkward "ingredient" conversation involved.


Filling
-1 medium cauliflower, broken into florets
-1/4 lb asparagus, trimmed & washed
-olive oil, for oiling & frying
-2 red onions, chopped
-2 oz. shiitake mushrooms, sliced
-1/2 c. frozen sweet corn
-1 c. sweetened soy milk
-1 c. rapeseed oil
-juice of lime
-2 tbsp. rolled oats
-2 tbsp. vegan tomato sauce
-scant 2 tbsp vegan bouillon powder
-1 tbsp Dijon mustard
-smoked paprika
-black pepper

1. Grease a 12 inch tart or pie plate. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. To make the pastry, place the flour and bouillon powder in a bowl and rub in the oil, then mix in the milk. Knead the pastry gently for a few moments, then roll out on a floured surface and use it to line the prepared dish. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until just cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, steam the cauliflower and asparagus separately until hot but not cooked- about 4-5 minutes.
4. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and fry the onions and mushrooms until soft. Add the mashed sweet corn and stir until hot.
5. Heat the soy milk in a saucepan until hot but not boiling. Transfer to a food processor or blender, add the rapeseed oil, season with pepper and mix well. With the machine still running, add the lime juice and mix thoroughly to prevent curdling.
6. Add the oats, tomato sauce, bouillon powder and mustard to the milk mixture and blend again.
7. Oil the inner base of the pie crust, then spread a thin layer of the oat mixture over it. Place a layer of the mushroom mixture on top, then a layer of the cauliflower, followed by the remaining oat mixture.
8. Arrange the asparagus spears on top and spring with smoked paprika. Return the tart to the over and cook for 20 minutes, Serve with a green salad.