Veggie loaf, who thought of this? It seems it was one of many recommended meals during WWII to help housewives provide nutritious and varied meals while being faced with food shortages and strict rations.
The veggie loaf was meant to achieve several purposes – use leftovers (veggies & stale bread), replace meat, provide variety and use ingredients that were readily available and economical such as beans and carrots.
From what I recall, there were few vegetarian loaf recipes until the late ’60s. By the end of the 1970s, however, there was at least one veggie loaf recipe in every natural food’s cookbook. Over the years, though, vegetarian loaves gained a bad reputation. Sadly, many early recipes came out of the oven resembling bricks and were just about as appetizing. If you followed a typical recipe as it was written, you wouldn’t have to worry about not having enough food to go around. No one wanted a second helping. Times have definitely changed, with the increased interest in the vegetarian lifestyle of today.
Even though Brion & I are not vegetarians, I have always loved vegetables, so incorporating a veggie loaf into a meal with meat works for me.
Print Recipe
Mushroom, Chard & Brown Rice Loaf w/ Mustard Sauce
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
|
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Instructions
Vegetable Loaf
In a small pot, bring 1 cup water & a pinch of salt to a boil. Add rice, lower heat to a simmer & cook rice until water has been absorbed & rice is tender. Set aside.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions & cook until translucent. Stir in garlic & celery; season with salt & pepper. Cook until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
Add mushrooms & herbs; cook until mushrooms release their juices & the liquid evaporates, about 5 more minutes. Add chard & cook until wilted. Stir in sun dried tomatoes, then remove from heat & let cool slightly.
Preheat oven to 375 F. Generously grease a loaf pan with olive oil.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, mustard & broth. Add vegetable mixture & rice; stir to combine. Pour vegetable mixture into loaf pan & smooth flat with a spatula.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, until edges are nicely browned. While the vegetable loaf is baking, prepare mustard sauce.
Allow to cool slightly, then run a knife along the edges & flip onto a serving platter & slice. Serve with mustard sauce.
Mustard Sauce
In a small pot, melt butter then add flour to form a roux. Cook until bubbly & flour is lightly browned, stirring constantly. Add vegetable broth & mustard. Bring to a simmer & cook for about 5 -10 minutes. Remove from heat & serve with vegetable loaf.
All onions are not created equal so using the best onion for the job can really add a depth of flavor to your meals.
Onions are the workhorses of the kitchen and the foundation of so many billions of dishes across the globe that we forget how lovely and delicious they are all by themselves.
For most of the year, you’ll find red storage onions at the supermarket, which are pungent and spicy. In the summer months, you’ll often find fresh red onions, which are much milder, and lack a bit of the ‘onion-y’ flavor you’ll find in their yellow and white cousins.
The main difference between red onion and white onion is that red onions are a little spicy in taste while the white are comparatively sweeter and less mild.
It is a well-known fact that almost all dishes feel and taste incomplete without the presence of onion in them. Stuffed onions are an impressive side dish and a perfect complement to any main dish.
Print Recipe
Creamy Roasted Red Onions
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
|
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Instructions
Onions
-
Peel onions, trim the root ends so they will sit upright & cut about 1/2-inch from tops. Rub onions with olive oil & season with salt. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove from oven & allow to cool slightly.
Gently remove the centers leaving a shell of about 2-3 layers. Return a slice of the center to form a bottom. Coarsely chop onion centers.
Filling
In a bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, salt, herbs de Provence, garlic powder, minced garlic & chopped onions. Spoon filling into onion shells.
Topping
In a small bowl, combine Panko, butter, cooked bacon & parsley. Spoon carefully over onions.
Bake for 30 minutes or until filling is heated through & bread crumbs start to brown. Serve immediately.
Timbale is derived from the French word for ‘kettledrum’, also known as timballo, can refer to either a kind of pan used for baking, or the food that is cooked inside such a pan. The crust can be sheet pastry, slices of bread, rice, even slices of vegetable.
This dish is much hardier than soufflé, and is often likened to a crustless quiche, because it is less likely to fall after being removed from the oven. A timbale is different from souffle in several ways; to begin with, the eggs are not separated, but beaten together. Timbale also incorporates breadcrumbs for body, and frequently uses milk rather than cream. It is made with a variety of cheeses.
Common ingredients in timbale include ham or other meats, along with vegetables. It can make a hearty meal or an excellent accompanying side dish, and is also delicious when served cold. Timbale is usually cooked in a tray of water, because the steam helps the custard to set.
Timbale dishes are made from a variety of materials, including enameled metal and ceramic. They are designed to be partially submerged in water during cooking, and are usually capable of standing up to extreme temperatures, since they are used in the oven. They come in a wide variety of shapes, although round dishes are most common. Timbale is often prepared in individual ramekins. Most are attractive enough to be brought directly to the table for service, although many timbales are unmolded and plated so that they can be dressed with a creamy sauce.
For our timbale, I decided to make it without eggs & make a nice cheesy sauce instead. To make it a full meal deal, I added some ground pork but stayed with the original concept of layering everything. It not only tastes great but makes a nice plate presentation.
Print Recipe
Timbale of Zucchini & Sausage
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
|
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Instructions
Béchamel Sauce
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Sauté garlic & mushrooms for 2 minutes. Add flour & cook 1 minute, stirring to combine. Remove from heat & gradually add the milk, stirring constantly, then return to the heat & cook, stirring until thickened.
Add Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, Dijon mustard & 3/4 cup of the combined parmesan & smoked cheddar cheese (reserving 1/4 cup), stirring until the cheese melts. Remove from the heat & stir in the parsley.
Sausage & Veggies
In a saucepan, scramble fry ground pork until cooked. Drain on paper towels. Sauté mushrooms until moisture evaporates.
Slice zucchini thinly & lay on paper towel. Sprinkle with salt to help draw the moisture out; pat dry. Slice potato thinly, leaving skin on.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line 2 – 5-inch round pans with removable bottoms with foil paper to prevent leaking.
DIVIDE veggies, sausage & sauce BETWEEN THE 2 BAKING PANS. In the bottom of each pan place a layer of potato slices, overlapping slightly. Next layer some leeks & mushrooms, top with a bit of sauce then layer sausage (sprinkle sausage with smoked paprika) & zucchini. Spoon a bit more sauce over all & repeat with a second layer.
Cover with foil & bake for 45 minutes, then remove the foil & bake for a further 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with reserved 1/4 cup grated cheese. Allow the timbale to stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve with remaining 1/4 of sauce on the side.
Don’t think for a moment that cabbage doesn’t belong on pizza — it definitely does. When the days grow shorter, we start to crave heartier meals. Cabbage is good … meatballs are good … cabbage/meatball pizza is double good! Here’s a new spin on the classic pizza – topping a pizza crust base with meatballs, cabbage, spices & cheese.
People have been piling ‘stuff’ on dough, and then heating it up, for thousands of years. That includes the Chinese, who some believe gave Marco Polo scallion pancakes, leading to the theory that he introduced pizza to Italy.
Others point to the ancient Greeks, who covered their flatbreads with herbs, oil, and cheese. But no matter who is responsible for pizza, there is no denying that it has serious global appeal.
Cabbage is an unsung kitchen hero. It’s actually one of the most versatile veggies in your arsenal. If you’re just reserving it for slaws and salads, it’s time to broaden your horizons and discover some of the amazingly delicious things a simple head of cabbage can do.
While the dough is pretty critical, the toppings are just as important to get right. Specific toppings will come down to personal preference.
The duo of sautéed cabbage & meatballs makes for a hearty, satisfying topping perfectly suited for crisp autumn weather.
Print Recipe
Pizza w/ Cabbage & Meatballs
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
|
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Instructions
Pizza Crust
Cook potato, peel & mash. In a bowl, combine yeast with lukewarm water. Allow to stand for about 3 minutes until foamy; add butter, salt, sour cream & potato & mix well. Stir in flour, one cup at a time. When dough is completely blended, turn onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead dough about 10 minutes, until smooth & elastic. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap & allow to rise in a warm draft free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Cabbage
In a large pot, place thinly sliced cabbage, water, sugar & salt. Cover & simmer for a few minutes until cabbage is soft & has reduced in volume. Place cabbage in a dish. Melt butter & oil in pot then add flour & cumin to make a roux. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring so that there are no lumps as it thickens. Add cabbage to roux & cook for a couple of minutes. Remove from stove & stir in fresh dill & chives; set aside.
Meatballs
-
In a bowl, combine all meatball ingredients & mix well. Form into 28 balls & place on foil lined baking sheet that has been lightly greased. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, until JUST cooked. do not OVERBAKE as they will bake some more when they are on the pizza.
Assembly
Line a 9 x 11-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Press out pizza dough over the bottom & up the sides of the pan. Sprinkle a bit of the smoked cheese on the crust, then place a layer of half the cabbage mixture & lightly drizzle with a small amount of tomato soup (sauce). Repeat again with cheese, cabbage & sauce. Roll cooked meatballs in remaining tomato sauce. Place meatballs, in rows on top, then sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake for 40 minutes or until crust is golden. Garnish with fresh dill, slice & serve.
Whether broiled, fried, baked or pan-seared, fresh, wild-caught scallops are an excellent stand-alone dish or will compliment a salad or pasta with their sweet flavor and delicate texture.
Sea scallops are widely known for their iconic, beautiful shape …. a fan-like shell with fluted grooves. Different varieties are found in oceans all over the world and come in many sizes. For commercial purposes they are labeled similar to shrimp. A number is used to designate how many scallops of a given size it would take to constitute a pound. The label 20/30 means it would take 20/30 scallops to make up a pound and labels like U10 means it would take less than (‘under’) 10 to make a pound.
Scallops are bivalve mollusks (meaning having 2 shells- usually united by a hinge) that have a reddish-pink, upper shell and white or cream colored, lower shell.
Brion & I love seafood so this meal definitely works for us.
Print Recipe
Parmesan Baked Scallops over Egg Noodles
Votes: 2
Rating: 4.5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
|
Votes: 2
Rating: 4.5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Instructions
Gouda Sauce
In a saucepan, melt butter; whisk in flour & cook, stirring until frothy. Add milk, whisking until sauce comes to a boil & starts to thicken. Add cheese & spices & continue to cook a few more minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; set aside.
Parmesan Scallops
-
In a 9-inch square baking dish, melt butter & toss scallops in it. In a bowl, combine next 5 ingredients & sprinkle over scallops. Gently stir to spread them out in one layer. Bake about 15-20 minutes.
Egg Noodles
In a pot of salted, boiling water cook egg noodles until al dente. Drain. Reheat sauce & combine with pasta. Divide between two serving plates & top each with baked scallops.
