vegetarian pizza on multi-grain crust

Ingredients
1 T olive oil
1 T sugar
1 t salt
3/4 c warm water
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
oil
1/2 c all purpose flour for kneading

Toppings: Eggplant, Onion, Mushroom, Spinach, Pasta Sauce, Havarti Cheese,

Preparation
Mix ingredients. Sprinkle with oil. Cover dough and place in a warm draft free place to rise for 1-2 hours. Check every 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roast vegetables separately. Season to your desired taste. Pour dough onto counter. Divide in half. Makes 2-12 inch crusts. Press your dough onto pizza pan. Pre-bake for 5 minutes. Watch. It should rise. Spread sauce and vegetables. Bake for 5-10 minutes. Place cheese on top. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

stuffed cabbage rolls

I used the traditional cannonball cabbage. Most food designers use savoy. Any bountiful cabbage with bold big leaves will do just fine! This cabbage served two purposes. 

The large dark and medium green leaves served as the perfect wraps for stuffing. The inner lighter green and white cabbage leaves were cut into 1x1 inch squares for stir frying!

1-2 bold heads of cabbage
grain meat loaf mix (check recipe on blog), reduce recipe to 2 cups instead of three
pasta sauce
olive oil
Italian seasoning
salt
toothpicks

Carefully cut the base of the cabbage. This will make the leaves easier to peel away from the head. Place as many leaves as you'd need into a large pot of cold water. Bring the pot up to a fierce boil. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of salt. Cover. Reduce heat to medium-low for 20-30 minutes. You don't need to over cook because the cabbage will continue to cook/bake in the oven.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees on Convection setting. Bake time 45 minutes.

Add four T of pasta sauce to your 2 cups of hydrated grain meat loaf mix. Remove your leaves and immerse into a cold water bowl bath. Spoon your grain meat mix into each leaf. Do not overfill. You want enough space to roll and tuck the edges without breaking the leaf or pushing out the filling. Pin your loose edges with a toothpick.

In the bottom of your baking pan(s) brush with olive oil and pour some of your pasta sauce. Place your rolls gently on top of the sauce. With a nylon basting brush or spoon, layer sauce on top of your rolls. Sprinkle with oil. Cover with foil and bake. Allow the rolls to rest covered for 10 minutes after baking.

stir fry vegetables

Every once in awhile the regular 10 inch skillet with the 3 inch deep drop just will not do. There comes the time when you have to pull out the beast. In this case it is the faithful wok.

The secret to a great stir fry does not rest with the skillet you use. One can pull this show off with a 7 inch fryer if necessary.

The mystery is uncovered when you take your time and not throw everything into the pan at the same time. I am learning this while speaking on it. As I watch the master's show at the some of the famous hibachi grills, they are precise. They are working with massive heat and moving fast. Know that you are working with different textures, flavors, and sizes. Some are sweet naturally, others are take longer to cook.

Another lesson learned, is to not over cook. No one wants a soggy mash over rice or noodles. As you prepare 1-2 two vegetables over high heat and oil, remember that unless you plating them immediately for serving, pull back. The wait time it takes to complete the entire entree will allow each set of vegetables to continue cooking as they cool down on the charger.

Once all vegetables have received some fire, you can then combine them all for a quick toss to marry the flavors. Just make sure you season each on their own for layered flavor. When reheating, do so in a broiler, never the microwave!

Ingredients
red pepper, green pepper, red onion, zucchini, cabbage, carrots, green beans, baby spinach, and eggplant

Served over whole grain linguine.

caramel apple topping and oatmeal waffles

Caramel Apple Topping
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, diced
2 T butter or margarine
pinch of cloves
pinch of cinnamon
1-2 cups of water
1/4 cup almond milk
2 T brown sugar
1 T corn starch


Bring to a boil, simmer until tender. Place this over ice cream, waffles, or use for pie filling.

Caramel Apple Oatmeal Waffles w/ Corn Flake Fried Tofu

Oatmeal Waffles (vegan)
1/2 c oats
1/2 c oat flour
1 c ap flour...
2 T flax meal
1 T baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 t vanilla flavor
1 c almond milk
3 T oil

Mix ingredients well. Let stand for 1/2 hour covered. Heat griddle. Batter will be thick. You want this!

peach cobbler

2-3 15 oz. cans yellow sliced peaches

1/8 t. cloves, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg
1/4 brown sugar
1 t. corn starch

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Separate peaches from juice except one can. Pour juice into sauce pot. Whisk in corn starch. Bring to a boil. Add sugar, and half of other spices. Reduce to low. Add peaches.

for the crust:
3/4 stick butter
1 c. ap flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. milk

Melt butter in baking dish. Allow to cool. Whisk ingredients together and the remainder of the spices. Cover with saran and allow to aerate. Spoon batter into baking dish on top of butter. Do not mix. Ladle peaches onto batter. Do not stir. Place into oven on center rack. Back for 30-45 minutes or until cake is brown, moist but not wet.

eggplant parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan

It's a great time of the year to pluck an eggplant or two. The price is right. My favorite dish, is the Eggplant Parmesan. It's a busy job, so prepare your workstation. Use gloves to avoid the messy. You will need: Buttermilk, Bread Crumbs, and Seasoned flour.

On occasion I prepare the 'wet' ingredient of a flax egg. Any substitutions are okay as long as you understand that I can barely assure you that if you follow this preparation that your results will resemble mine. I certainly cannot stamp my approval on a complete recipe makeover. Follow carefully the first time and adjust at a later day.

Ingredients
1 large eggplant, cut 1/2 inch thick slices (discard the stem and base)
salt
buttermilk
seasoned breadcrumbs
seasoned flour
Olive oil for frying
pasta sauce (make your own or use a commercial brand of your choice)
Mozzarella cheese

other
baking pan
frying pan
cookie sheet

Eggplant Parmesan over
Whole Grain spaghetti with
gluten-free Cheesy Garlic toast

Preparation.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

The purpose of the salt is to sweat your sliced eggplant in order to release the water or as much as possible. In doing so, you will avoid a soggy dish. Assemble your slices on a cookie sheet and sprinkle salt on each side. After 2 hours, they should be ready to go.

Heat oil and reduce temp to medium high. Shake slices, individually in seasoned flour, then dip into buttermilk, and finally toss into bread crumbs. Set aside, repeat. You will fry each side of the eggplant slices until brown. Blot with paper towels. Repeat this process until all slices are browned. Place a layer of sauce at the base of your baking dish.

Place slices in shingle fashion sprinkling cheese then adding sauce. Repeat. On top, apply sauce and a layer of cheese. Sprinkle dried basil. Cover with foil. Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes covered but tent the foil to avoid sticking. In the last minutes, remove foil and continue to bake until cheese is toasted.


Remove from oven. Cover and set for 10 minutes. Serve with pasta, cheese sticks, salad, or whatever you choose. Enjoy!

multi-grain pita

Salad in a Pita

Ingredients

1 c AP flour

1 c wheat flour

1 c warm water

1 pkg. active dry yeast

1 T olive oil

1 t salt

1 t sugar

*½ cup of wheat and ½ cup of white flour mixed for kneading. 

**Olive oil and pastry brush for garnishing. This also keeps bread soft and delicious for later use.

Preparation

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar. Watch for foam to rise. Mix yeast prep with flours and salt in a mixing bowl. Add a little more water, a few teaspoons at a time if dry. Knead with palm just until combined. Massage oil on dough ball. Cover with plastic wrap. Then cover with a kitchen towel. Set in a warm area (microwave oven) draft-free for 45 minutes to 2 hours.

On a counter surface, sprinkle flour then knead. Keep kneading and sprinkling flour until the cup of mixed flour is gone. Roll out to form a log. Cut into 6 equal parts. Roll each into a ball in the palm of your hand. Cover with towel to keep from drying out. Sprinkle additional flour on surface. Take each ball separately and roll out using a rolling pin to form 6-7 inch disk. 

Cheesy Grits, Breakfast Pita Sandwich

Heat your oven to 450 degrees (convection) or use a skillet and heat on stove top. I used my Comal skillet for tortillas for this recipe. Cook time is up to five minutes on medium low on stove top. Watch. Heating time will vary. Continue to flip. It may inflate. That is okay. Do not let it burn, but it is okay to let it brown. Watch for a rise around edges.

Remove when done. Brush lightly with olive oil. Slice in half. Using a knife, separate the pockets gently so it does not tear. Wrap in wax paper. Place in a covered dish or zip lock bag.