zucchini and beans couscous with baby beet remoulade

My CSA box is brought on Fridays; among other things, I received amaranth greens, dill, baby beets and zucchini. As I was looking through Speed Vegan, trying to be inspired (I knew there would be no cookbook with a recipe using the exact ingredients I had), I came upon 'Zucchini and Red Beans.' That was enough for me.

I sauteed the zucchini with onions, started slow-sauteing garlic, put the baby beets in a pot of water and started Israel Couscous cooking. I made a remoulade sauce for the beets - simply veganaise, yogurt, capers, pickles, dill and parsley. I brought the whole thing together with some red beans and added the amaranth greens to the zucchini at the last moment. I topped the zucchini saute with the beets remoulade and that was it. 

While David and I enjoyed our meal very much, the kids decided it was too adult-y for them. David said the kids are being Veg-air-tarians. Get it? They are eating nothing but air.

Cost Breakdown:

zucchini: $3

amaranth: $3

beans: $2

beets: $2

couscous: $.50

garlic and onions: $1

remoulade: $2

Total to feed a family of 5 if they all ate:

$13.50

  

Zucchini and Beans Couscous Recipe

baked pasta with rapini and shitaki

As I was perusing the Food Network for research, I came across an Ina Garten recipe for baked pasta. She used 6 T of butter, 3 c of cream and several different varieties of cheeses. Except for the quantity of fat and cholesterol, the dish sounded good. Veganizing it was easy and cutting the fat was a breeze. The dish doesn't really look that photogenic, but it is fabulous! Crunchy on the top because the pasta was baked for 10 minutes, but creamy on the inside. So good.

 I subbed whole wheat pasta for the macaroni, used rapini instead of radicchio as well as switching everything out but the sage and shitaki. The kids thought the rapini was too bitter (nothing new there), although ate pretty much everything else. Whatever wasn't eaten by the kids was taken care of by David who volunteered to be the human food-disposal tonight.

Cost Breakdown:

cashews and Earth Balance: $2

rapini: $3

shitaki: $3

pasta: $3

sage: $1

nutritional yeast, Follow/Heart, Daiya: $4

Total to feed a family of 5 + Dad's lunch:

$16.00

(Food TV recipes tend to be expensive, it seems.)

hot and sour soup with bok choi

  Mikel needed to make something quick today. He likes Chinese Hot and Sour Soup and we haven't had much luck finding a recipe he liked; none were like he's had in restaurants. Although we had tried and failed a few times in the past - too complicated, too sour, didn't have all the ingredients, etc. - it did supply the much needed experience to go from making it so-so, to finally making it exceptional. It was ready in a jiffy and it was tasty. All good.

Cost Breakdown:

1 oz shitaki mushrooms: $1.50

1/2 package baked tofu: $2

onion, garlic, ginger, vinegar, green onion: $2

bok choi (CSA): $2.50 

Total to feed a family of 5:
$7.00

hungarian layered potatoes

Continuing with Dad's Day, I made Layered Potatoes. This, too, is a childhood favorite. Of course, when my dad made this, he used bacon, pork sausage, at least a pint of sour cream, eggs and tons of butter!

 A little adjutment was required here. I made some super easy seitan sausage, made some creamy 'sour cream' using almonds and I used olive oil instead of butter. Not diet food, but not hear-attack material either. Since my CSA brought swiss chard, and since chard stands up to long cooking times, I added that and some yellow squash to the layers as well. 

It turned out very yummy; creamy and savory.

Cost Breakdown:

seitan sausage: $1

potatoes: $3

chard and squash: $4

almonds and lemon: $3

Total to feed a family of 5 twice:

$11.00

HUNGARIAN LAYERED POTATOES PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

coco loco

When we lived in San Francisco we patronized a quaint little cafe, Feel Real, that was open only when the owners decided to open.
There were many times we would show up, but the owners didn't.
Still, the place had awesome food. Two of their most fabulous meals were a veggie burger, that resembled no 'burger' I've seen since, and Coco Loco, a coconut, seaweed, noodle dish with steamed greens.
To die for.
Since we are no longer in San Fran, it was up to me to recreate it. I did. Kate asked for this one; she said it's been too long. I think the last time when the aroma of coconut milk and lime filled the kitchen was last month. Gotta love anything that is green and with seaweed and is being requested by a ten-year-old.

Cost Breakdown:

2 bunches, kale: $5

noodles: $2

nutritional yeast: $1
(I just found this place. I have not used it, yet, but the cost is a lot cheaper.)

coconut milk: $2

garlic, lime, tamari: $1.50
seaweed: $2
 (I bought it bulk from Frontier Co-op)

Total to feed a family of 5:
$13.50

persian polenta, parsnip and kale

Whenever I have lots of vegetables in the fridge, or whenever the CSA box looks too inviting to resist, I make '2 veg and a grain.' I try to find a common theme and run with it. Today's was Persian.

I sauteed carrots and parsnips with Turkish apricots - typical of this region is dried fruit in savory dishes. I made creamed kale, not exactly Persian, but I have been craving it. I also made salad with black fig vinagrette, cranberries and shredded carrots. And finlly, I made polenta with fenugreek leaves and seeds and a few strands of saffron. After cooling the polenta I sliced it into rectangles and broiled it. 

There you have a Persian-inspired meal. 

Cost breakdown:

bunch kale: $2.50

3 parsnips and a carrot: $2

apricots and cranberries: $1

polenta: $ .50

3 c rice milk: $1.50

1/2 head romaine lettuce: $1

spices, onion, garlic: $1

Total to feed a family of 5:

$9.50

  

avocado patty and grilled onions, fennel, and greens

It is Mikel's Birthday Week!

 That means he gets to pick what we eat this week. First choice: Baked 'chicken' patty (I used Cluckphrey vegan brand) sandwich. Although I stay away from being a short-order cook in my home, in this case I customized each sandwich for individual preference. Pictured is mine: avocado, red onions, on fresh sourdough bread, with some Better Than Sour Cream. Yum! My oldest daughter begged for my second half. To accompany it, I grilled some fennel, red peeper, and onions with mixed greens that came in my CSA on Friday.

udon, shiitaki and kale in miso broth

This dish, from Veganomicon by Moskiwitz and Romero, has been frightening my hubby - in fact, it was supposed to be prepared on Tuesday night. Since the kids aren't feeling well, I decided I would make it.  Well, it turned out to be delicious! I was very happy with it. The kids were not as impressed, however, bringing the rating down to: