summer slaw.

mmm... cabbage.
mmm... summer.
mmm... slaw.

summer screams cole slaw! it's so versatile.
in salads.
on sandwiches.
by itself.
with bbq.
possibilities are endless!

i love slaw. i especially (and really only) love home-made slaw. none of that pre-packaged crap that's swimming in mayo. that shit's for the birds...
i personally like to make my slaw with a teeny-tiny bit of mayo and more red wine vinegar. (something i'm clearly a HUGE fan of) i'll mix it with some dried minced onion, and the varieties are limitless! limitless!
typically, i'll slice my cabbage into medium-long strips and toss it. today, i ran it through the food processor. i (more like cuisinart) chopped it into tiny little bits, and i'm liking it.
i mixed my head of cabbage with the chopped up bits of 5 carrots. i added about two tablespoons of low-fat hellman's, and about 1/8c of red wine vinegar. i tossed it together, added some dried minced onion and black sesame seeds. (why not?!)
i'm letting my cole slaw sit, i love how it gets "cooked" in the vinegar and gets nice and dense.
i'm amped to throw my cole slaw over salad, and more specifically throw it on a toasted roll with some vegetarian ribs.

yum!
perfect.summer.dinner.

yellow corn meal!

it's polenta!
i've sliced the polenta roll and baked it, but i've never made creamy polenta.
no better time than the present!

i found a recipe for creamy polenta. it was pretty basic, 4x as much water as yellow corn meal. added a little faux-butter spread, and some weight watchers cream cheese. i know the key to creamy polenta is to keep on whisking. so whisk, i did!
i was pretty impressed with myself on the polenta front.
now... what to top it with.
mushrooms! and spinach! and onions!
i mixed that up in a pan, and topped my polenta.
now, some type of sauce to finish it off. i mixed some french onion soup mix with chicken broth, cooked it down, and added a tablespoon of weight watchers cream cheese. it made a great creamy onion sauce that worked well with the polenta and the veggies.
i didn't add anything to the polenta, no salt. no pepper. i figured starting out with it as a uber-plain base would be good for my trial.
it worked out perfect.

of course it did, i'm awesome!

eggierolls.

yum!
egg roll wrappers and won ton wrappers are soooooo under appreciated.

i had some leftover egg roll wrappers and thought, what the heck could i fill these things with? naturally, i have nine million bags of frozen chopped spinach in my freezer. so i took out a bag to defrost, and some mushrooms and thought i'd fill them with spinach and mushrooms.
clearly, my horrible memory failed me as i started defrosting a broccoli / cauliflower / carrot mix. after the veggie (california, i believe?) mix was defrosted, i worked in shifts with the food processor to chop the mix up with some onions. after we reached a nice mix of super tiny, tiny, small, and medium sized pieces, i added sweet chili sauce and a little tso. i filled my eggierolls until they were ready to explode, and i baked them at 400* for about ten minutes on each side.

i'll pat myself on the back... they're awesome!
edna even liked them.

come over, i'll make you some.

cabbage casserole!

who would've thought that those two words would have worked well together?
not me!
apparently vegetarian times did.
(what an excellent resource as a publication and a website!)
they had a recipe for a cabbage strata, which naturally, i refused to follow the recipe on and had to give it the good 'ol kathrine treatment.
bow chikka bow wow.
i doctored their recipe slightly, adding my own fabulous touches to it!
i started by blanching the cabbage leaves in garlic water. (i refuse to use salt!) i also browned some finely slivered onions, cooked down two cans of diced tomatoes, and thawed a 16ox bag of spinach.
now that everything is (almost) mise en place....
i greased up a 9x9 baking dish and made a layer of cabbage leaves on the bottom of the dish. on top of the cabbage layer, i sprinkled my browned onions. yum! i love onions! after, i spread a layer of my cooked down diced tomatoes (which i cooked down with garlic and italian seasoning). on top of that i placed a mixture of spinach & fat free cream cheese. the original recipe called for ricotta, and for some reason i could not bring myself to buy dairy. i figured i would forge ahead, doing without. alas, considering the dry nature of the cabbage and the cooked down tomatoes, i dug up a bar of fat free cream cheese that had been hiding in my fridge. i mixed half a bar with the 16-ish ounces of thawed, drained spinach. so, after the cabbage. after the onions, and after the tomatoes, came 6 splotches of spinachy cream cheese, on top of my casserole, looking like a die. i re-layered, and re-layered, making (i believe) three layers in total. cabbage, onions, tomatoes, spinach. i baked my strata (how fancy!) at 350 degrees for about an hour.
mmm!
a full-on vegetable bake!
what more could you ask for?

date night dinner!

i was super excited for this dinner!
oh sister, you're spoiled!

i started by throwing a bit of olive oil, chopped garlic, and the juice of half a lemon in a hot pan. i tossed in the piece of tilapia, and as the tilapia cooked, i added the juice of the other half of the lemon and dill. (dill... one of my faves!) i use the chopped up herb paste in the tubes (it's cheating, i know, but it's easy and the herbs don't spoil. they're a miracle!) i will say, i cooked this piece of tilapia perfectly!
woot!
as for the side, i suppose you could call it at tapenade?
who knows!
i cook down some sweet onions, (the more the better, in my opinion!) add diced tomatoes, chopped up kalamatas, and a roasted red pepper. or two. i cook the onions until they start to brown, add the peppers, and then add the tomatoes. i like to cook that mixture on super high, in order to cook out most of the moisture. once the mixture has cooked down, and finally i add the olives.
oh god, i love kalamata olives.
together, the fish and the tapenade work perfectly. the richness of the cooked down vegetables and the light taste of the fish compliment each other so well.
i will say, i was looking forward to this dinner all week, and it was so worth it.
easy and delicious!

just like your mom!

magical mystery dinner!

i have to say, for this, i am very proud of myself.
i made an excellent stir-fry with broccoli, cauliflower, onions, and pineapple. that's pretty much my go-to delicious & easy meal. i seasoned it with some cayenne powder, garlic, and whatever else i haphazardly picked out of the spice cabinet. i cooked the onions first, so they'd caramelize. yum! then, i cooked down some frozen broccoli & cauliflower. once it was heated through, i added the onions, mixed, then threw in the pineapple. i use the rings and cut them down. i like how the pieces aren't the same size. yes! i'm neurotic!
once my stir-fry was screaming hot & ready, i added the best part.
this, is where i have to give myself a round of applause.
i made.... satay sauce!
one may think: no big accomplishment, monster!
alas, i made satay sauce with... pb2!
powdered peanut butter?
yes! it's fantastic! it has no preservatives and has 85% less fat AND calories than regular peanut butter. genius!
so, to make my outstanding pb2 satay sauce:
(holy crap! an actual recipe! with measurements!)
1/4 c pb2
1/8c low sodium soy sauce
1/8c low sodium chicken broth (to get to desired consistency)
1 tbs chopped garlic (i buy pre-chopped in the jar. yep, i'm a cheater)
1tbs cilantro (i buy the paste in the tube. busted again.)
mix it all together. yum!
i think i added a little more soy to give it a kick.
plus, i made a double batch.

not only was it delicious!
but i'm just so creative!

what's that i hear?
oh, it's your stomach growling!
roar!

she's back for round two, ladies & gentlemen!

she's done it again, folks!
how exactly?
i'm not so sure...
my sister has, once again, managed to cook something.... and it's delicious!
here you have:
tofu / brown rice / onion / tomato stuffed colored peppers!
i'm led to believe that she made the mix of tofu, brown rice, diced tomatoes, onions, basil, etc, and then stuffed the peppers and baked them.

everyone,
*round of applause*