Curried Coconut Shrimp

I finally made something worth talking about! I've been quite busy with another project, so I haven't had the time to experiment much. We're going gluten free on Monday, and I felt the need of a few new recipes to get me through. This is my first one, and I like to think it turned out well. The dc ate it, and that tends to be a qualifier around here! The thing is- I didn't weigh the shrimp that I used, but I know that we each had five shrimp! Also, this isn't one of those exact science recipes (although most aren't!), so there's lots of room for improvisation. You could use chicken instead of shrimp, change the veggie or noodles or even use rice; add more or less curry....this is just a basic idea to work with!

Sautee 20 shrimp in olive oil for a couple of minutes. Add 1Tbsp creamed coconut and 1/2can of coconut milk. Stir well to break down the creamed coconut. Add 1Tbsp curry powder (or to taste) and 1/2c peas, and cook for another minute or so. Serve over rice vermicelli.

Cranberry Meringues

This is the recipe that I made today, but I'm not happy with it. Too many of them didn't cook properly. I'm posting it because so many people HAVE had success with it, plus regardless of whether they set properly or not, the failures still taste good. They just don't have the texture to make them something I'd share with friends. Perhaps I should have extended the baking time, but I was so busy today that dh kindly took them out of the oven while I was out!

Cranberry Meringues

Ingredients
3 large egg white(s), at room temperature
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup canned cranberry sauce, whole berry
1/3 cup dried cranberries, about 80 cranberries
Instructions
Preheat oven to 200°F. Coat 2 large sheet pans with cooking spray or cover with parchment paper.

Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form; gradually beat in sugar until mixture is very stiff and shiny. Gradually fold in cranberry sauce (you can add a few drops of red food colouring at this point, if desired) while beating for 1 minute.

Drop batter by teaspoonfuls onto prepared sheet pans; press 1 dried cranberry into the top of each cookie.

Bake for 2 hours. Cool completely before removing from pans. Store in airtight containers. Yields about 4 cookies per serving.

On another note, I have been planning on making carmel corn for the past week or so, but I keep forgetting to buy popcorn! Maybe it isn't meant to be. Or maybe I need a serious break.
Another thing: today I put a ham, carrots and potatoes in the crockpot, covered them with a mix of 1/2c maple syrup and 1/3c water, set it on high, and dinner was ready in 5 hours. It was tasty, easy, and now I don't have to woner about lunch for the rest of the week; obviously we'll be eating ham sandwiches! (Might be a step back from the whole vegan thing, but right now I'm just glad that we had a warm and nutritous meal.)

Leftover Soup Idea

I don't know about anyone else, but when I make soup there's usually a cup or so left over. Not enough for anyone to be bothered warming up, but what a waste to throw it out! So, this is what I do:
Mix leftover soup with some broth (any kind that will complement your original recipe eg/veggie, chicken, beef...), and make sure it's enough to cover the bottom of a casserole pan. Pour the soup into your pan, and heat in the oven at 400F until it starts to bubble. This shouldn't take very long, so while you're waiting, mix up a batch of biscuits, using 1/2 cup more liquid than usual. When the soup is bubbling, pour biscuit dough over the top, place back in the oven, and bake until the biscuits are done- 20-25 minutes.
This is good with any type of soup I've tried it with- veggie, noodle, even a cream soup. If it's leftover chili or even a minestrone that your dealiing with, you could use the biscuit dough or just top with a cornmeal muffin recipe. It's easy and tasty, and perfect for a quick lunch or dinner.

Pumpkin Polenta & Vegetarian

I found this recipe on Tofu Mom's blog. It looks great, and there's a pumpkin seed and sage pesto recipe to go with it. I didn't copy that though, since I'm not sure where to buy raw, hulled pumpkin seeds.

Crispy Pumpkin Polenta Triangles


1/2 cup squash or pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons soymilk
1 tablespoon margarine
1/2 tablespoon agave or maple syrup
Salt
1/2 cup polenta cornmeal (or coarse ground cornmeal)
1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more for frying

In a medium saucepan, combine the pumpkin with the water and bring to a boil. Add the soymilk, margarine, agave and a generous pinch of salt.

Add the polenta cornmeal in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Cook over low-ish heat, stirring until thickened and cornmeal is cooked - about 20 minutes.

Scrape the polenta into a loaf pan and refrigerate until firm. When firm and chilled, run a knife around the sides of the pan and unmold the polenta. Slice into 1 1/2 -inch squares/rectangles, and then crosswise into triangles;
Fry the triangles in batches, turning once, until deep golden and crisp, about 2 - 5 minutes per side.

Transfer to paper towels or brown paper bag to absorb excess oil and drain.
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Now, I am lactose intollerant, and dd is as well now. Also, dd eats very little meat, and as a family we only eat meat once or twice a week. So....I believe that we'll be going vegetarian. My 9yo niece will be excited. She's been a lonely vegetarian in our family for the past few years.
I'm not sure how dh will take this- we talked about it, but since he's out of town, it wasn't really in-depth. I don't think he'll care- he can always get a burger at work if the need takes him!
I've been hoping for a while to get The Uncheese Cookbook, and now I believe I'll be adding Raising Vegetarian Children to my list. Both books are by Joanne Stepianiak, and have been listed as important go-to books on different sites and blogs that I've been reading.

Paneer

For a few years now, I have been wanting to try a curry recipe that a friend gave us. I've held off though, because I didn't have a recipe for paneer, nor did I know where to buy it. Now I do! I'll have to make it this week. Dh will be so happy!

Paneer
Yield: 1 1/2 cups

1/2 gallon whole milk
2 TBSP lemon juice

1. In a heavy saucepan, bring milk to a boil. (When it has reached full boil, it will look very foamy and quickly - QUICKLY, I say - rise in the pot. To avoid the ensuing mess, remove it from the heat right away.) Add lemon juice and stir until small curds separate from the whey, about 2-3 minutes.
2. Let sit 10 minutes so curds can develop, then drain into a collander lined with 2 layers of cheesecloth. When cool enough to handle, tie up opposite ends of the cheese cloth and squeeze out remaining liquid.
3. Place paneer, still in cheese cloth, on a plate. Flatten to 1/2" thick and top with another plate. Rest something heavy on top (such as several cans or the Joy of Cooking) and let sit 20 minutes.
4. Pour off any liquid that remains and refrigerate overnight, or use immediately by cutting paneer into 1/2" cubes and frying gently in oil, turning to brown each side.

I found this recipe at food musings, and chose it after checking out several other sites. There were a lot of helpful comments on this site, which hopefully will make my own efforts more effective!

Here is the recipe that I will be using the paneer in. It's one of my favourites, but I've never made it myself. There are lots of other types of mattar paneer out there, some are tomato based, some use tofu to replace the paneer. It just depends on what you like! I found this recipehere. I was too eager to wait for our friend's recipe, which someone (not me) deleted from the computer....

Mattar Paneer

Ingredients:
Green peas – 1 cup
Sugar – a pinch
Paneer – 1 cup, cubed
Oil – 1+1 teaspoon
Ghee – 1+1 teaspoon
Cinnamon – 1 inch stick, broken into halves
Cloves – 3
Cardamom – 2
Cummin seeds – 1-1/2 teaspoon, whole
Black peppecorns – 8-10, whole
Onions – 2, medium size, finely sliced
Red chilli powder – ½ teaspoon or to taste
Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon
Ginger – ½-inch piece, finely chopped and crushed
Garlic – 3 cloves, finely chopped and crushed
Green chillies– 3, medicum size, medium hot, sliced into halves
Tomatoes – 2, medium size, finely chopped
Yogurt/Curd – 1/2 cup
Garam masala powder – 1 teaspoon
Cilantro leaves – chopped for garnishing
Lemon juice – 1 teaspoon
Salt – 1 teaspoon or adjusted to taste

Method: Boil the green peas with a cupful of water and a pinch of sugar. Cook till tender and keep aside. We love home-made paneer and prepared it very closely as described by Jenn at Atabela, i.e., heat milk till reduced by 1/4th part, add the lemon juice or yogurt (we use lemon juice and found it is more tastier that way), to seperate the curd and whey, tie the curd in a muslin cloth, after the curd is out of moisture, flatten it and cut into paneer cubes. Thanks Jenn for the inspiration. Please see the picture above to see our results.

Heat a pan and pour in the first part of ghee and oil. When smoking hot, deep fry the paneer pieces in oil until light golden color, remove from heat and keep aside. In the same oil when very hot, add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, black pepper, cummin seeds, and finally onions. Saute until the onions are golden brown here and there. Add the coriander powder, red chilli powder, and turmeric powder. Saute for a minute taking care not to burn the dry masala powders. Remove from fire, allow it cool, and then grind the onion mixuture to a smooth and thick paste. Heat the remaining ghee and oil. Add ginger, garlic, and green chillies. Saute for 2 minutes. Add the ground onion paste and saute for a minute. Add the tomatoes and saute until the oil separates from it. Add the yogurt, cooked peas, paneer pieces and salt. Allow it to simmer for 10 minutes. Add the garam masala mixture a minute before removing mattar paneer masala from the heat. Garnish with coriander leaves, lemon juice, and a dollop of salted butter on top. Serve hot with chappathis, pooris, bread, or plain white rice. Enjoy mattar paneer masala.

Lasagna!

Tonight we'll be having lasagna. It's a recipe that I've adapted to my own tastes from a Reader's Digest cookbook. (It really only has faint traces of the original...as in the lemon juice!)I love it, and I always make a huge pan so that we can eat it for the rest of the week.

This is my recipe (I modify almost everything I make!)
sauce:
2 cans tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste
lemon juice(2 Tbsps or so...)
1 container cottage cheese
1 egg (for binder)
1 c ricotta
1/2 c parmesan (Sometimes I don't bother with the ricotta or parmesan...I tend to save those for company!)

Saute:
garlic (at least 3 cloves)
1 large spanish onion

Add:
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms, saute until release juices
1 cup pepper (any colour!)
1 med zucchini (chopped)
carrots
green beans
squash.....basically chop any veggies that you like and add them!

Top with 3(at least) cups fresh spinach, cover and simmer until wilted (couple of minutes at most)-can use frozen though, and then just heat through!

Then, just layer! I add grated cheese to the top of every layer of sauce. Bake @ 350 for 1 hour.

Meatloaf

Tonight was meatloaf night. Not vastly exciting to most, but my dc love it. Tonight I decided to
try something new, and made an apple-ground chicken meatloaf. It turned out great, so I thought I'd share my recipe.

1 pkg. ground chicken
3 slices of bread, cubed
1 egg
1 grated apple
1/2 small onion
1/4 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Mix well, put in pan and bake for 45 min. at 350.

Now I need to surf and find a good recipe for the zucchini I bought today. I'll only need half of it for my veggie lasagna, so I'm thinking muffins or cookies....