Ozark Cornbread

I've learned over the years, being married to a Southern-bred man, how cornbread differs regionally. Anything with sugar, my husband snootily dismisses as corn cake. So, his birthday was on Thursday, and like everyone in my family, he got to choose a homemade birthday dinner of any delights he wanted. One of his requests was cornbread, which I can now safely say meets his approval. And, for an added flourish, I baked it in my cute teddy bear tins - adorable, aren't they? By the way, he thought I should have named this post "REAL Cornbread," so that gives you an idea of his passion.

His complete menu was:

Boca burgers with bar-b-que sauce
Corn bread
Fried potatoes with onions and garlic
Slow cooked pinto beans
Steamed broccoli

Butterscotch and chocolate pudding pie (I made two to feed the guests)

So without further ado, here's the photo and recipe of the cornbread.

Ozark Cornbread

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. of canola oil if using cast-iron skillet, or Pam spray if using non-stick pan
2 cups yellow cornmeal (can use coarse ground, as well)
1 and 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
Ener-G Egg Replacer for three eggs (1 and 1/2 Tbs. of Egg Replacer and 6 Tbs. water), mixed thoroughly
2 cups soy milk
1/4 cup vegan margarine, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. If using a cast-iron skillet, swirl the oil around to coat the bottom and stick in oven to preheat while you prepare the ingredients. If using a non-stick pan, spray with Pam. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In a separate medium mixing bowl, whisk the blended Egg Replacer, soy milk and vegan margarine. Pour wet ingredients into the dry and mix thoroughly. Pour ingredients into the preheated skillet or into the non-stick pan, and bake for 25 minutes, or when a toothpick is inserted comes out clean. (Note: after using a cast-iron skillet, wash, and to prevent rusting, do not air dry. Instead, heat a burner on medium heat, and keep on burner until water is evaporated.) Delicious! Serve with margarine and your favorite liquid sweetener, if desired. Feeds at least five hungry vegans.

Tofu Curry Salad Sandwich

This is a tasty little sandwich that we like to eat on occasion. It's inexpensive, quick and yummy, so what's not to like?

Tofu Curry Salad Sandwich
Ingredients:

1 pkg. extra-firm tofu, drained
3/4 cup Vegenaise
1 Tbs. curry powder
3 green onions, trimmed and sliced thinly
2 stalks celery, sliced lengthwise and then thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Red leaf lettuce, leaves separated and washed
Good multi grain, whole grain bread

Directions:

Mash the tofu with a fork in a medium mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, except the lettuce and bread, and mix thoroughly. Chill before serving, if you wish, or serve immediately. Spread a nice amount between two slices of bread, add some lettuce to it, and dig in! Nice, fast dinner for a busy night. Feeds five hungry vegans.

Big Bean Tostadas

Yum! I love Mexican food, so we have some form of it about once a week in our home. This is a really easy and tasty dish to make. I like to put the various toppings in a sectioned party tray, so people can tailor their tostadas to their tastes. The only things I put in the shells for everyone are the beans and lettuce. This is always a great success in our home.

Big Bean Tostadas

Ingredients:

5 big pre-made tostada shells - We use Del Oro Tostada Crowns (4 in a box, 2 boxes)
2 16oz. cans or 1 30oz. can vegetarian refried beans
5 packed cups red leaf lettuce, sliced thin
1 container of Tofutti Better than Sour Cream
1 jar of your favorite salsa - we use Herdez
Your favorite vegan cheese - we finely grate 1 cup of Vegan Gourmet, cheddar style
3 avocados, sliced
1 can of black olives, sliced in thirds
3 tomatoes, diced
4 green onions, sliced

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Warm the tostada shells in the oven for three minutes. Heat the refried beans over medium heat until warmed through, about five minutes. Stir occasionally. Divide the beans between the shells by how much a person will eat. In our family, that may not be equal since we have very little people, medium people and big people. Divide the lettuce the same way. Separate the toppings into a divided party tray, and supply spoons and forks for getting the toppings out. Mound your shell until it looks good enough to eat. Then eat it! (You will have a few extra shells leftover for another meal.) Feeds five hungry vegans.

Baked Leeks with White Sauce

This is a delicate recipe that gently weaves its way into your heart, a comfort food that I make a couple of times a year. Leeks, with their mild onion flavor, work well with the other ingredients. Hope it warms your tummy.

Baked Leeks with White Sauce

Enjoy the leek!

This is what the Sacramento sky looked like last night. My oldest blessing was in the backyard and saw it and said I should take a picture. So, I did and am sharing it with you to show you how beautiful it was.

Baked Leeks with White Sauce

Ingredients:

Leeks:
8 leeks
Water
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

White Sauce:
2 cups of soy milk
2 Tbs. vegan margarine
2 and 1/2 Tbs. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper

Topping:
1/3 cup vegan cheese, mozzarella style, grated finely
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. paprika

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour several cups of water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Trim the very bottom of the leeks off, keeping the ends intact. Cut most of the the greens off, so you are left with the firm white part. Cut each leek lengthwise, leaving an inch uncut at its base. Turn them 1/4 and make the cut again. Each leek should have four sections at this point, with the bottom keeping them together. Gently fan each section out and rinse off, making sure there is no grit left hiding. Place leeks in the boiling water with the lemon juice. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 16 minutes. While the leeks are boiling, prepare the white sauce. Pour milk into a small pot and bring close to the boiling point. Remove from heat and set aside. In another small pot, melt the margarine over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk together. Cook two minutes over low heat, stirring frequently. Incorporate the milk into the flour mixture very slowly, stirring constantly. Season sauce with the salt and white pepper, and continue cooking over low heat for ten minutes, stirring frequently. Drain the leeks and lay side by side in a small casserole dish. Sprinkle them with the salt and pepper, and pour the white sauce over the top. Sprinkle the nutmeg over the sauce and the cheese over the nutmeg. Top with the paprika. Bake for 20 minutes. Very tasty. You can use this sauce recipe over other prepared vegetables and bake, as well. Serves at least five hungry vegans.

Strawberry Cream Cheese

This is a very easy recipe, and it tastes good and looks beautiful, so I make it every now and then. It's a simple spread that we like to put on bagels for breakfast. Maybe you'll like it too.




Strawberry Cream Cheese
Ingredients:

1 8oz. container of Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
5 large strawberries, washed
Cinnamon Raisin and Plain bagels

Directions:

In a medium bowl, scoop out the cream cheese. Dice the strawberries very small. With a fork, gently mix together the two ingredients. You can either toast or not toast the bagels beforehand, then spread the cream cheese over them. Open wide and enjoy. Feeds five hungry vegans.

Casarecce Pasta with Tofu Marinara Sauce

Well, today was my birthday, so I thought I'd give you a small snapshot of the day. First of all, my family completely surprised me with a new camera, and these are the very first pictures with it (including some that aren't posted). Anyhow, we went downtown to have a precious photo restored, and while we were there, we went to our favorite Ethiopian restaurant for a birthday lunch. When we came home, we went for a walk, and the family dog joined us as usual. I made a pasta dish for dinner, and my children pitched in to make me a cake. My nine-year old daughter basically made the whole cake with my supervision. She wants you to know that she is the one that wanted a double-layer cake. I picked chocolate with chocolate frosting; I wanted chocolate chips, as well, but we were out. My three-year old son helped big sister by pouring the soy milk into the mixing bowl, and my twelve-year old daughter created a specific design with the candles. I liked the pasta dish, but in the recipe directions I've made some notes as to some possible variations. I hope you like the pictures and the recipe!

Casarecce Pasta with Tofu Marinara Sauce

My birthday Ethiopian lunch (salad is out of frame)

Earl (with the two youngest blessings behind him) on our walk

My birthday cake!

Casarecce Pasta with Tofu Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 pkg. of extra firm tofu, drained
3 14.5 oz. cans of diced tomatoes
1 can of black olives, 1/2 of the olives chopped fine and 1/2 kept whole
1 4oz. can of diced mild green chiles
2 carrots, grated
1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. fennel seed
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 pkg. of Casarecce pasta (or other medium pasta)

Directions:

In a large pot, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until translucent, about ten minutes. Break up the tofu into large squares in the pot, and mash with a potato masher. Cook for another ten minutes, until tofu begins to really blend in with the onion and garlic. Add the rest of the ingredients. When it comes to a boil, lower heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes. While the sauce is simmering, prepare the pasta according to the package directions. Ladle the sauce out over individual portions. We served this with a big green salad. My children have an aversion to chunky sauces or salsas, so I blended some sauce for them, and it tasted just fine. That actually gave me an idea for a future sauce recipe. I made this particularly mild, so it would be appealing for my children, but you can spice it up if you wish. Red pepper flakes or more fennel seed or salt would be tasty. Also, you can omit one can of diced tomatoes and add tomato sauce for less chunks or tomato paste to thicken it. Feeds five hungry vegans.

Chili Cheese Nachos

Tonight was another nacho night for the family. I love making variations of nachos, and this one sounded good to me. As usual, the corner of the nachos without cheese is for my oldest daughter who is not a fan of it. And as usual, we watched a movie while seated around the ottoman in the living room. Tonight's entertainment was "The Next Avengers," a superhero flick. This is an easy recipe - hope you like it.

Chili Cheese Nachos

A chili cheese nacho chip

Chili Cheese Nachos

Ingredients:

1 tsp. olive oil
1 pkg. Smart Ground, Mexican Style
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 14.5 oz. can kidney beans, drained
1 30 oz. can pinto beans, drained
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 Tbs. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 and 1/2 cups Vegan Gourmet cheese, cheddar style, finely grated
Really big bag of corn tortilla chips

Directions:

Make sure oven rack is in second position from the top. Preheat broiler. Then make a simple chili. In a large pot, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the Smart Ground and stir until heated through - don't burn. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the cheese and chips. Mix well and continue heating for about 20 minutes. In a large platter, put a few handfuls of chips to cover the bottom. Scoop the chili on top. Spread the cheese over that. Broil for about four minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Check to make sure it doesn't burn. Remove from oven, and surround the nachos with a ring of chips. Add a small garnish of chips in the middle. Have a large bowl handy with spare chips. Munch, munch, munch. Feeds five hungry vegans.