Risotto Ball Salad & Tortilla Pizza

John and I are heading down to PA on Thursday for a long weekend, so we’re trying to finish up the contents of the fridge. This includes an open bottle of wine that needs to be polished off – it’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.

There was also leftover tex-mex risotto, which was initially destined to become risotto cakes. Attempt #1 of simply trying to form risotto patties failed miserably, so I added in some whole wheat panko breadcrumbs. Attempt #2 with the addition of breadcrumbs also failed, so I added in an egg white as a binder. Instead of making “cakes”, I rolled the risotto into balls and dipped ‘em into some more panko. The risotto balls went back into the fridge to set-up for about an hour.

Meanwhile, I magic-bulleted a creamy avocado “dressing” comprised of:

• 1 ripe avocado
• about 3 Tbsp 2% plain greek yogurt
• juice from one lime
• pinch each Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, cumin, coriander, garlic & onion powder
• about 1 Tbsp water to thin out the dressing a bit

I defrosted some frozen sweet corn (rinse with cold water in a colander for a quick defrost) & tossed it in with baby romaine.

In sticking with the southwestern theme, I put together a couple of tortilla pizzas. Onto two Trader Joe’s habanero lime tortillas, I spread TJ’s enchilada sauce topped with chopped mild green chiles & 50% reduced fat jalapeno cheddar cheese.

The risotto balls were baked at 400* for about 20 minutes, and the tortilla pizzas were added into the oven for the last 5 minutes. I dabbed on some Mrs. Renfro’s jalapeno green salsa, and voila!

The risotto balls turned out great! They got nice and crispy on the outside, and were a fantastic topping to the avocado-dressed salad.

The tortilla pizzas were also tasty – good flavor combination!

Let’s see, lets see… what else needs to be eaten before we leave? Ah yes, there are exactly enough vegan oatmeal creme pies to last until our departure Here’s a super close-up:

Time to “couch it” with the boy & furry pals. Goodnight!

A Savored Snack

Mid-afternoon, I sloooowly savored this delicious combination of Oikos organic vanilla greek yogurt & defrosted frozen berries.

It was such a pleasurable experience to take my time enjoying this snack, which got me to thinking that I need to work on eating more slowly. Though I’m not one to often scarf down my food, it sure doesn’t take me a full 20 minutes to eat a meal – the recommended length of time (so your stomach can register being full).

I sometimes find myself filling my fork or spoon before I’ve even finished chewing the previous bite! I can’t help but place some of the blame on our insanely fast-paced way of life here in the States. The emphasis on quick meals has saturated our society, and in turn depleted the pleasure of drawn-out meals.

Any thoughts about savoring meals?

Goat Cheese & Pear-Pumpkin Panini

A panini press turns cold sandwiches into toasty packages with a warm, gooey center. So good!

In this one:

• 2 slices homemade whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread
• goat cheese
• homemade pear-pumpkin butter
• pear slices

I’m in love with the flavors of this panini!

I could eat this again for my next meal, but I wouldn’t want to bore you

Pumpkin Mousse Oatmeal

I am hereby officially crowning silken tofu as the secret & essential ingredient to perfectly creamy, mousse-like oatmeal.

Stovetop:

• 1/3 cup each rolled oats, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, water
• pumpkin mousse: ~2 Tbsp silken tofu blended with ~1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 banana

Mix-ins/Add-ons:

• pumpkin pie spice
• pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground flaxseed
• pear-pumpkin butter
• walnut-almond butter

The pumpkin mousse was lusciously smooth & silky. It was so good that I’m going to whip up a batch with a bit of maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice and eat it for dessert  Silken tofu is rapidly becoming one of those ingredients that I must have on hand.

Another perk of the pumpkin mousse was the volume it added to my bowl of oats. Without adding many calories, I filled my bowl almost to the brim!

Is there an ingredient that you always have on hand in the kitchen?

Craving Veggies & Cookies

After work, I relaxed with a glass of wine while catching up on the latest episode of Showtime’s The United States of Tara.

We went the easy route for dinner by heating up a couple servings of frozen & thawed leftover minestrone stew. I added a touch of water to loosen it up a bit, and sprinkled in a few extra pinches of crushed red pepper flakes.

I couldn’t actually taste the parmesan shavings, but it makes for a nice photo! This stew is jam-packed with veggies…

but I was in a vegetable kinda mood, so we also had kale chips.

Once my craving for veggies was satisfied, my sweet tooth took over. I’m absolutely loving these “oatmeal creme pies“!

Revamped “Fluffernutter”

I cannot remember the last time I had a Fluffernutter sandwich (which Wikipedia maintains is the official Massachusetts state sandwich – who knew?).  Neither white bread nor Marshmallow Fluff ever graced disgraced the cupboards of my kitchen while growing up, thus I sought out these highly processed – yet essential for a fluffernutter – ingredients at friends’ houses. Since adopting my parents’ healthy eating habits, I too became turned off by the crappy ingredients in fluff (corn syrup, artifical flavors & artifical colors) and resigned myself to a future without this favorite sandwich of childhood.

Sounds bleak, huh?

Enter vegan Ricemellow Creme – not new on the market, but new to me! Ingredients: Brown rice syrup, soy protein, natural flavors, natural gums. Ok, so it’s not exactly something to eat by the bowlful, but it’s certainly decent enough to redeem my pal the fluffernutter.

I cut two thin slices of my whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread, and slathered one with crunchy Barney Butter & the other with Ricemellow Creme. Can you go wrong with ingredients like that? I think not.

Now that’s a fluffernutter worth eating!

I ate the Gala apple mid-morning, and enjoyed some Oikos organic vanilla greek yogurt with the sandwich for lunch. I love how incredibly thick Oikos yogurt is – and this flavor is like a less-saccharine version of vanilla icing. This was a *sweet* lunch!

I packed this all-star bar for an afternoon snack:

What was your favorite kind of sandwich as a kid?

Pear-Pumpkin Butter Open-faced Wafflewich

Back to work today, so I wanted something quick & easy for bfast.

• Nature’s Path Hemp Plus waffles
• pear-pumpkin butter, which I made last night
• unsulfured dried cranberries
• toasted walnut pieces
• Kashi Honey Sunshine (cereal? on waffles? YEAH!)

I love wafflewiches, but I just eat them so darn fast! One of the many reasons I adore oatmeal is because it takes me a while to finish a bowl.

Have a great Monday!

Another “Brinner” Variation

Breakfast for dinner, how I love thee…

My egg sandwich was comprised of:

• whole wheat english muffin from Whole Foods
• 1 over easy egg
• crumbled goat cheese (great addition!)

On the side, we had:

• smoked turkey kielbasa from Trader Joe’s, sliced and heated in a dry skillet over medium heat until crispy
• Alexia hashed browns – which are organic, pre-seasoned (although I added some ground black pepper), and delicious when browned in a skillet with a bit of extra virgin olive oil

After dinner, I raided my stash of homemade  Vegan Oatmeal Creme Pies – I love the spices in these Veganomicon cookies, and the Ricemellow Creme filling is a perfect accompaniment. Yum!

Back to work tomorrow…

Asian Salad & WW Raisin Bread Part II

This huge salad was inspired by a plethora of produce in our kitchen that needed to be eaten!

Salad:

• bed of baby romaine & spinach
• 2 shredded carrots & 1/2 shredded english cucumber
• edamame
• orange segments
• toasted sunflower seeds
• gomashio
• salted peanuts

Oil-free salad dressing:

• 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
• about 2 Tbsp silken tofu
• 1 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp seasoned rice wine vinegar

Blend dressing ingredients in a blender or magic bullet.

I have been missing out on the fantastic use of silken tofu in homemade salad dressings! The tofu added a lovely creamy texture to the dressing – I’ll definitely be playing around with this concept.

Have I mentioned how convenient having a bread machine is? Well, it is VERY convenient. While I cleaned up the kitchen, did a few loads of laundry, and worked out at the gym, the bread machine was busy mixing, kneading, rising, and baking this gorgeous loaf of whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread:

Now, that is some serious HEIGHT! I guess the yeast worked it’s magic.

My one gripe about the bread machine is that it didn’t do a great job of fully mixing the raisins into the dough. The raisins that were left on the outside burnt a little bit, but not to an inedible point.

This 100% whole wheat bread is dense, chewy, slightly sweet, and hearty – perfect!

Of course I had to have a slice fresh out of the oven bread machine, and I fully enjoyed the heel.

Thanks again, Linda, for the great gift!

Boston-based Foodbuzz Featured Publishers: Are any of you planning on attending the dinner at Machu Picchu Restaurant on April 18th? I was thinking we could meet up before heading over. Email me if you might be interested foodliving@gmail.com.

Caramelized Apple Oats & WW Raisin Bread Part I

There was no question that I wanted a big bowl of oatmeal on this rainy & dreary Sunday morning. We’re out of bananas, so I racked my brain for a creative fruit mix-in. Our hydrator is stocked with both pears and apples, neither of which lend to oatmeal the same creaminess of bananas. Instead of just chopping up an apple, I decided to caramelize the slices to achieve a softer texture.

I sprayed a skillet with canola oil cooking spray over medium-high heat, and cooked the apple slices until they started to brown, about 5 minutes.

Then I added in about 1 tsp of pure maple syrup, lowered the heat to low, and cooked the apple slices for another 5 minutes, until they softened.

Stovetop:

• 1/3 cup each rolled oats, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup water
• caramelized apple slices
• 2 chopped medjool dates
• 1 Tbsp silken tofu

Mix-ins/Add-ons:

• 1 tsp ground flaxseed
• ground cinnamon & pure vanilla extract
• Barney Butter

The soft & slightly sweet apples were a wonderful substitution for bananas, although ‘nanners reign supreme. I should have blended the silken tofu before adding it to the pot in order to achieve the custardy consistency of this oatmeal. Just adding a spoonful from the block made it difficult for the tofu to blend into the oats.

I’m attempting my 2nd loaf of homemade bread using the machine my future mother-in-law gave me Here’s a photo of the ingredients needed to make whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread (the raisins are added after the kneading process):

In 3 1/3 hours, we should have a lovely loaf of fresh, warm bread!