Eat Like a Rabbit

My husband gave me a massage a few weeks back as a birthday present. While I was enjoying the pampering and assistance relaxing since I was still recovering from the very recent delivery, my folks came over and made me dinner.

I'm not sure if she was apologizing or telling me to add to my grocery list, but my mom told me she'd used every can of tomatoes I had in the cabinet (3, I think). I never have pre-made pasta sauce in my cabinets. It's so much fun and generally cheaper to make my own. What Mom didn't realize was that there were different kinds of tomatoes in my cabinet: Muir Glen Fire Roasted, Muir Glen with Adobo Seasoning, and Muir Glen without salt. We were all pleasantly surprised by the nice flavor and hint of spice in the resulting sauce. Naturally, she added flavors of her own like garlic and onion powders, but you could definitely taste the difference in the tomatoes.

Last week, a reporter from iReport at CNN wrote with a "Weekend Assignment" story request for a video of a signature dish. Eggplant Bruschetta is one of my classic dishes, and today Paul and I visited the same stall at the Maitland Farmer's Market where we picked up our first eggplant. You can check out the video of making Baked Eggplant Bruschetta and learn the recipe at ireport.com.

About a week ago, Paul cooked us up a big batch of pinto beans. We froze some, had haystacks/taco salads one night, and quesadillas another night. Then we must have had burritos for lunch all week. Don't get me wrong. We like burritos. And the beans were realy good; so, we didn't mind the lack of variety. However, the whole concept inspired me to be a little more creative with an overabundance of beans. In our brainstorming, I came up with the idea to serve chili baked potatoes when my folks came over during the week. The idea went over well, and it spawned the creation of the recipe below. I tried to keep it simple, and would say although it's very good the way it is, there's still a number of ways to change it up. If you are the simpler, don't-confuse-me, indecisive type, stop reading here. (Can you tell I've been reading parenting books?)

1. Add Morningstar Farms Grillers Starters for a chunky, meatier flavor.

2. Don't drain the pinto beans if you're a fan of a juicier chili--or stew!

3. Use Muir Glen Adobo Seasoned canned tomatoes for a hotter base.

4. Mix your beans or choose black over pinto.

5. Make a chili pie with leftovers by scooping chili over Fritos, topping with cheese, and baking.

Recipe for Chili Baked Potatoes

Serves about 6

• 1 can Muir Glen Fire Raosted Tomatoes, chopped slightly in a food processor if your guests don't like chunky tomatoes
• 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, diced
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 3 cups cooked pinto beans
• 3/4 t ground cumin
• 1/2 t chili powder
• 1 T olive oil
• 6 medium baking potatoes
• Cheese as desired
• Cilantro for garnish

Saute onions in olive oil on medium heat until translucent. May undercook for a stronger flavor. Add garlic and pepper. Stir and cook until just before garlic browns. Add tomatoes, stir, and simmer (until my frozen beans had defrosted enough in the microwave to remove them from their bowl). Sprinkle in cumin and chili powder. Stir in beans, cover, and turn fire to low. Continue to stir occasionally and monitor for 20 minutes or longer (depending on when the potatoes are done).

Spoon chili over potatoes, allow cheese on top as desired. Garnish with cilantro. Salt and hot sauce should be available at the table.

Our best results for baking potatoes in the oven is wrapping them in aluminum foil to keep them from drying out and setting them on the rack in a 450' oven for about an hour. You can also microwave them (max of about 3 at a time), but Paul claims that's technically steaming, not baking.

Times are tough. Many people are in need. We're blessed to both still have our jobs. However, in an effort to keep us both from being exceptionally stressed over money while I'm out on matrnity leave, I've tried to be as cheap as possible--especially looking for diapers on sale.

One day, Paul forwarded me an email from the chaplain at the college about the needs of some of the students. I learned there is actually a pantry set up at the college for students--including single parents--who are trying desperately to better themselves so they can have enough money to put food on the table. But, sometimes during that quest is a struggle to actually get food on the table. Hence the request from the chaplain to help fill the pantry. He also requested toiletries, and I know that chap stick is important for medical professionals to look more. . .professional.

We had a short layover in Atlanta on our way to Mississippi on Thanksgiving Day. We walked the terminal briefly, and elected to stop at Atlanta Bread for a snack. There was a very long line and lots of employees were working hard to make the experience speedy. They were very kind considering they were stuck at work on a holiday. We were amused by their uniforms. Each shirt had a word on the back that was a play on words; for example: Teashirt. It was very cute.

To prove either how popular the restaurant was or to prove they weren't prepared for the holiday crowd, while we were waiting after placing our order, we heard that they had run out of sesame bagels. Luckily, I had chosen a cinnamon raisin. I ordered it with butter and to my shock, the answer was to spray Pam on the bagel before toasting it. I was very disappointed in my bagel. I also was disappointed because I wanted a smoothie, but they were out.

Well, we're back from a lovely Thanksgiving trip to Star, Mississippi, and I'm happy to say we've brought a bit chillier weather with us. So, I cracked open my Moosewood Restaurant Soups and Stews cooking "deck of cards" this morning and laid out some recipes to investigate this week. We also have some leftover sweet potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, and mashed white potatoes. So aside from a quick trip to Publix to take advantage of the sale that started on Friday, my time in the grocery store will be pretty limited. I hope a quick tasty supper will allow us time to plan a few things as well as do some last-minute computer shopping thanks to CyberMonday.

Menu Items for Week of November 30

• Jamaican Tomato Soup with Popovers (under Side Dish tab)
• Cream of Spinach Soup with Carrot Orange Salad (under Side Dish tab)
• Risi e Bisi with Arugula and Warm Mozzarella Salad (under Side Dish tab)
• Sweet Potatoes au gratin, Veggie Turkey and Gravy, Veggies
• Leftovers or sandwiches

And lots of seasonal fruit for dessert!

We first learned about Muir Glen Organic Tomatoes when we were doing our "Pasta Taste Test." I didn't have a coupon at the time and had no idea how much I would fall in love with them. I have since quit buying pasta sauce--even when it's available for a great price. I love making my own with these full-flavor tomatoes, a little onion, garlic, and basil from our herb garden. However, I have become a serious believer in couponing (Especially when it comes to stocking up on diapers!) and love finding links to print $1 coupons for 1 Muir Glen Product ($1/1). I can buy 8 oz. cans of Tomato Sauce at my local Publix for $0.89 a can. With the coupon, the tomatoes are free! If I get a can of diced tomatoes, I end up paying about $0.40. That's a great price for organic-anything! Below are a few links to $1/1 printable coupons. You can print two per computer. You can also find notes to get an additional coupon by becoming a fan on Facebook in the Recommended Links in the right hand column.

When Paul's folks were getting to Orlando last night, it was near dinner time. I asked Paul if he wanted to meet them somewhere and eat faster. I wasn't surprised with his choice of Dandelion CommuniTea Cafe. We have done a lot of eating there recently, including last month when Paul took a group of fellow attendees at an internet conference there for dinner on a Saturday night. The restaurant is a great choice for individuals who are vegan or who are allergic to dairy or wheat. Since I have pretty much been perfectly happy with salad, grapes and an occasional pizza during this pregnancy, I was more than happy to visit the restaurant for a salad I didn't have to make or clean up myself.

In case we haven't shared a photograph of it before, the Giddyup can be a salad or a wrap in "haystack" style--chili, blue corn chips, mixed greens, tomatoes, scallions, and vegan or organic cheese. We always choose the side of hummus, and Paul adds a ranch-style salad dressing called "green goddess" for an extra $0.50. My salad included a nice variety of vegetables, and I always like the sunflower seed topping.

This is another one of my mother's popular recipes. She makes her own ranch dressing. Because it doesn't have a strange aftertaste that sometimes comes with buttermilk ranch, isn't as salty, and can be made dairy-free, it's quite popular. In fact, I know people who don't like ranch dressing at all who each this dressing. It also works great as a dip. The dip in the photograph was slightly thicker because I didn't add milk due to known food allergies of the guest of honor.

The only caution is that this recipe is significantly about taste. Taste it. Taste it often. Be very careful to follow the recipe. When I made this two months ago, I wasn't so careful because I thought I remembered the recipe well and have never ruined it. . .til now. It came out way too salty. Generally, there are ways to fix almost any mistake with this dip. If it is too salty, add a little more mayo and additional seasonings. Too much lemon? Salt helps that out. That's why I say: TASTE IT!

This dip has so many uses. You can use it to dress potato salad with some green onions and veggie bacon bits. I love to make cole slaw out of it. It even tops a Mexican salad well. The last thing Mom created from the base was her 1,000 Island dressing. The notes for that are at the bottom of the recipe.

Recipe for Ranch Dressing a la Claire

• 1 C mayonnaise
• 1 t onion powder
• ½ t garlic powder
• ¼ t celery seed powder
• dash red pepper
• 1 t lemon juice
• ½ t sugar (optional)[I don't ever add this.]
• 1 t sweet basil, dried
• 2 t parsley, dried
• 1 t chives, dried or fresh
• ¼ t salt or to taste
• ¼ C milk or ½ C milk (optional or soy, if preferred)

Mix mayonnaise, lemon juice, and dry ingredients. Add ¼ cup milk for dip or ½ cup milk for salad dressing.

For 1,000 Island Dressing: Add ¼ cup dill pickles, finely chopped and 1 tablespoon ketchup.

While out with my mom one Friday, we stopped at a bookstore and ran into our pastor's wife. She asked us if we wanted to join her for lunch and recommended a health-food store like Whole Foods called Chamberlin's. I'd never been there before, but I once heard a patient rave about their yogurt. I was excited to give it a shot, but was saddened to learn that they no longer offered frozen yogurt.

The salad bar looked really good, but some reason (possibly the price) deterred me, and I went for a sandwich. My mom ordered the vegan chicken pot pie, and we split the pie and the sandwich. I think we both preferred the sandwich over the pot pie.

I was really impressed by the freshness of the tomatoes and cucumbers off of the salad bar that went into my sandwich. I also thought the way they sliced the top off of the pita bread was interesting. It was the first hummus I had had since being pregnant, and it was very good. The tabouleh seemed a bit strange because I had never seen a recipe with bell peppers in it. I don't think it was bad at all. In fact, with the veggies and hummus it was very good. I just didn't expect it.

A couple weeks ago, the office ordered lunch for us courtesy of a patient because our nurse practitioner, Shani, is moving away. That's a story in and of itself cause we've bonded so much, and I'll miss her terribly. Anyway, not realizing feta is considered a "soft" cheese and is off my diet, the girls were quite proud that they had ordered this delicious looking Pacific Veggie pizza for myself and Shani (who is a pescatarian). Also, not realizing that the pizza had feta on it, I dove in because it looked so fabulous. It was only after I had a slice that I found an advertisement attached to the top of a box with the ingredient list. I was so disappointed because I was really surprised how yummy it tasted. I'm a girl rather stuck on making pizza at home, but have found lately in my pregnant-always-sick-cooking-makes-me. . .you know. . .state, I've been eating out more and experiencing even pizza from outside of my kitchen. This is one of those pizzas I would love to eat again after the baby or even sooner if they'll hold the feta cheese, which would be sad because it was crunchy and had a nice little bite to it. I'm also not sure that the provolone used vegetarian enzymes as my research says provolone is one of the cheeses that uses calf rennet most often.

Last week at work went better than I had planned, but there was enough going on that I really appreciated the light dinner ideas I has scheduled during last week's post. The only change I made was to have Mexican Pizza on Friday night instead of the Egg Fu Yung, which means I have at least one meal already planned for this coming week! It's kind of like a roll-over.

Menu for the Week

• Egg Fu Yung with Asian Patties
• Corn on the Cob. . .maybe in a cold soup with fresh tomatoes
• Pasta and white bean dip on rolls
• Bagels (which I will get fresh from Einstein Brothers Monday or Wednesday with a coupon for 1/2 off a Baker's Dozen) and Smoothies
• Morningstar Farms Black Bean Burgers

Paul still has quite a collection of black eyed peas and rice for his lunch. Perhaps he will want some this week for dinner one night which will let me off the hook more.

Sometimes, the photos of a meal go up on flickr before I get around to posting the story behind it. Our dear friend, Brent, had the kids by himself over the weekend while Lisa, his wife, was away with her family. Brent saw our picture of the Mexican Pizza, guessed how to make it, and made one for the kids. He said Kyle liked it, and he loved it. Apparently, Elena wasn't so sure about it. Therefore, I can actually post the opinions of this dish beyond our household. The first photo was from our dinner and the second is from Brent and the kids' dinner. Notice that Brent had mushrooms and bell pepper on the top of his pizza. The options are endless!

Recipe for Mexican Pizza

• 2 Burrito-sized Flour Tortillas
• 1/8 onion, sliced
• 1/4 small bell pepper, sliced
• 1/4 cup sliced black olives
• 1/3 can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
• 1/3 can Refried Beans
• 1/2 cup (more or less) cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place one flour tortilla in the center of a jelly roll pan (I like a pan with edges so juices don't run). Spread refried beans over the tortilla. Lay the onions, bell peppers, and black olives around over the beans and top with one layer of cheese (optional). Place second tortilla over the toppings (like a quesadilla), and top with the tomatoes and additional cheese. Bake in oven 7 minutes or until edges are brown and cheese is bubbling.

After the successful deviled egg recipe in The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper, I was excited to try the Sardinian version on the opposite page of the cookbook. Boiled eggs always tend to happen toward the latter life of a dozen because I know I can get away with boiling all of them at one time. In this case, I boiled some a day or two ahead of the game and kept them in a sealed container in the refrigerator until I was ready to make this recipe. Pre-boiled eggs takes at least 10 minutes off the prep time.

Recipe for Mexican-Style Couscous

Inspired by a genius cook in Paris.

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup Couscous (uncooked)
• 1/2 cup tomato juice (from can of diced tomatoes) and 3/4 of the can of tomatoes
• 1/4 large onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 1 tablespoon seasoned salt (ours is homemade)

If you were inspired after reading my post about the fabulous quality of Muir Glen Organic Canned Tomatoes, this is a great time to give them a shot. I came across an advertisement for a printable coupon today at Money Saving Mom. I also received a coupon in my email because I signed up for their newsletter. Unfortunately, it is the same coupon as s available for print, and therefore, I could not print it as well. The maximum printable times is two per computer. However, additional computers connected to a printer and the internet can yield additional coupons.

Not only do I write a blog, but I read blogs. It's a great way to learn what other people are looking for when it comes to food and to try to help them out if I have answers. I had read a couple blogs about these things called Johnson's Buddies. They are little green bars with soap in them that fit perfectly in childrens' hands and lather quickly teaching them how to wash. They seem popular among moms, and I purchased one once because I was collecting a bunch of $1 items to go in a big blanket to give to a girl at the office.

Eat Like a Rabbit is home from a fabulous field trip to study food across the Atlantic. The experience was incredible, and I invite you to stay tuned to the entire story of the trip with specific reviews of restaurants. Unfortunately, we are suffering from jet lag and are trying to get back into the swing of things both at home and at work. ELAR prides itself on sharing pictures of food and other experiences and therefore will delay in posting stories about the trip until the photos and/or videos have been edited. Please forgive the delay.

Paul wanted some poached eggs to go with some English muffins I got on sale. His mom had a very simple plan for accomplishing the meal. I also acquired some Simply Potatoes on sale at Publix and thought this would be an opportunity to try something new. I love the speed and ease of poaching the eggs in the microwave and how our small Vignelli bowls are a perfect size for accomplishing the task. Paul used our "splurge" item of white cheddar from the imported shelves at Costco and sliced tomatoes on his sandwich and topped the eggs with dill, salt, and pepper. It really was good.

After reading The Splendid Table's How to eat Supper, I decided to not take anyone's word for it, but to do a trial of pasta on my own.

This salsa went over so well at the group dinner, that I decided to take the same recipe and make it again in the form of enchiladas. Paul was confused because I used flour tortillas--which made it look more like burritos--instead of corn tortillas. However, it was quite the success because a few people came up specifically to shake my hands when it was done. As was common on those nights, there was a line for the food when I arrived, which gave me no time to take pictures. The above picture was a plate of leftovers we made for someone who was late. On the night of the enchiladas and Spanish rice, there wasn't a bite of anything left except the chips and salsa.

I specifically made this pizza to highlight the simpleness of using a soybean-based meat substitute in a meal. The prices for this meal are estimates because the price of the vegetarian food varies so greatly among stores. Certainly, a local speacialty health food store has the potential of being cheaper than a major supermarket.

This was a fabulously colored vegan dinner focused on vegetables easily accessible in our local stores. I really enjoyed it, but Paul said that the frozen lime juice I had defrosted to mix with the sugar snap peas. I do caution cooks to follow the recipe closely because the peas did not hold their bright green color.

The recipe for the peas came from foodnetwork.tv called Mint Sugar Snap Peas. I did use frozen peas and would be happier trying the recipe with fresh peas in the future. I used the roasted sweet potato recipe with olive oil, seasoned salt, and fresh rosemary for the red potatoes; and I sliced some very ripe tomatoes.

I was so excited when the idea to make this came to me. When I was growing up in Louisiana, I visited a restaurant that made superb calzones. My last trip home was devastating because the restaurant had changed its menu and the calzones were not the same as they had been. So, I decided to make up the recipe at home and was so proud of the results. It was the exact taste I was looking for.

I love bruschetta. There are many varieties for creations from my "Moosewood Cooks at Home" cookbook. We had an excess of tomatoes this day, so I created my own. I wrapped the entire loaf in aluminum foil and placed it in the oven at 350 degrees to warm. If it were just the two of us, I would place a few slices in a regular toaster. Toasting to dark makes the bread crumble-y and not toasting enough makes the bread a bit tough so when you bite into it the toppings fall off. We regularly test slices of bread while heating to ensure it's the right texture.