Luscious Loaf

There's something about fall that causes this palpable shift in what we crave and what our bodies are telling us to eat. The moment the leaves turn, I want apples, squash, pumpkin and savories. Even in the middle of a 75-degree day, I'm wishing for meatloaf.

I remembered the tastes I liked best about traditional meatloaf and ramped it up a bit. There were some leftover baked beans sitting in the crockpot, so I dumped them in. The result was unexpectedly terrific.

Meatless Loaf with Baked Beans

1 cup or less ketchup (I used bottled "tomato sauce" from the Indian store)
1/2 package veggie burger crumbles
1 green pepper, chopped finely
1 cup or more canned vegetarian baked beans
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbl. fresh basil (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
1 Tbl. fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oven to 325F/165C. Grease a loaf pan or an 8x8 pan.

Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl, adding ketchup a little at a time. Make sure your final product clings together and isn't too soupy. If it is, add a bit more of the bread crumbs.

Put it into the pan and bake for 45 minutes. At this point, cover the top with some more ketchup, if you like, and cook for 15 minutes longer.

The Sweetest Potato

I love sweet potatoes. But I'm a little tired of eating them candied, sugared, or casseroled. So why not soup?

Here's my version of sweet potato soup that got rave reviews here at home. It's super low fat, and it's got this great mixture of flavors that make you feel like you're being treated instead of deprived of fat.

Sweet Potato Soup
Oil for frying (or water if you want to go oil-free)
1 large yam or sweet potato (about 3 cups), peeled and cubed
3 cups vegetable broth
1 Tbl. maple syrup
1/4 tsp. frehly ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Adobo seasoning
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Topping ingredients:
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 Tbl. lemon juice
2 Tbl. maple syrup

Heat the oil or water in a saucepan and add the potatoes and Adobo seasoning. Brown and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add broth, maple syrup, and spices. Cover and cook until potatoes are soft.

In the meantime, mix together the topping ingredients. If you'd rather use fresh apples, dice a pie apple, such as a Granny Smith.

Puree the soup. Now either add the topping directly or spoon it on top of the soup after it's in the bowl.

Vacation with the Carnivores

Probably the toughest meal situations I've had to deal with have revolved around family. My parents and siblings are die-hard carnivores, though my sister is much more vegetarian-friendly than the rest. Mom tries to cook for me, but she still thinks roughing it means going without meat in her spaghetti sauce.

So it's up to me. We spend time at their cottage in Ontario. I bring the food and I cook. Not much of a vacation for me, but it's how we manage to eat as a family without forcing tofu on my parents. Here's what I cooked this year:

Progresso soup for the evening we arrived

Mark's Favorite Chili

My Risotto with Smoked Gouda

However, Dad can't eat cheese and doesn't like rice. Plus, I take my ingredients along, so I have to have non-perishable things. You can't take fruits and vegetables across borders, so I do buy those when I get there, but the fewer things I need to buy, the better.

And did I mention they have a great stove, but a hand pump for water? If we want hot water to wash dishes, we haul it across the cabin from the bathroom sink (the only real plumbing is in the bathroom), so we try to keep dishes to a minimum.

Oy.

Here's what I think I'll take along next time:

Tortilla Pie

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (15 oz)
1 10-oz package frozen corn, thawed (or 1 can)
1 cup mild salsa
2 cups Pepper Jack cheese, grated
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
4 10-inch tortillas
oil

Preheat to 450 F.

Mix all ingredients except tortillas and oil together in a bowl. Heat a skillet to medium-high heat. Brush both sides of a tortilla with a little oil - heat until golden on each side for one minute.

In an oiled casserole dish or baking pan, put one tortilla, then top with some of the filling. Alternate two more layers the same way, ending with a tortilla. Press the top tortilla down gently to meld the layers a bit.

Bake for 12 minutes. Cut into wedges.

Feeding the Meat Eaters

I love when they all come home. I hate having to find one thing that several picky eaters will want to eat. Worse - they're all carnivores and the idea of vegetarian has them heading to the nearest fast-food joint.

So far, I've managed to feed them "safe" foods that they're used to eating sans meat, like fettuccine Alfredo. However, once we get beyond vegetable soup and grilled cheese, I'm in a quandary. What now?

Here's a recipe I cooked up that may do the trick. I've been craving it since my favorite restaurant moved out of town to a downtown location. Crepes are great because even if I'm not eating meat, they can use leftover turkey to fill theirs with whatever keeps them happy.

Spinach Rice Crepes with Mushroom White Sauce

The Sauce:
2/3 cup sliced mushrooms
cooking spray
2 Tbl. butter
2 Tbl. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup water (or substitute both milk and water for 1 cup milk)

The Crepes:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted

The Filling:
1 cup brown rice, cooked
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
1/4 cup minced or finely chopped onion
white sauce
dash of Herbes de Provence

Make the sauce first. Heat a skillet sprayed with cooking spray to medium heat. Add mushrooms and saute until soft. Add butter, melt, then add flour and cook for a minute until the flour is browned a bit. Slowly stir in milk and water, making sure to get all the lumps out (except the mushrooms, of course). Heat until thick, adding salt whenever you like. Set aside. This is a medium-thick white sauce.

If you have troubles getting it un-lumpy, toss the whole thing in a food processor, mushrooms and all - unless you'd rather have whole mushroom slices in your sauce.

Make the filling next. Using the still-hot skillet, saute the onion until clear. Add the spinach for a minute, wilting it. Transfer to a bowl, then add about 1/4 cup of white sauce (keep things somewhat moist, but not wet) and the rice. Season with Herbes de Provence (or thyme/sage as you prefer). Add salt and pepper to taste.

Make the crepes last. Mix the flour and egg in a large bowl using a whisk. Add milk and water gradually, then salt and butter, beating it until it's all smooth.

Heat sprayed skillet to medium hot. Using a measuring cup, pour 1/4 cup of batter into the pan, turning it until the batter spreads to cover the bottom entirely. They'll be thin, as they should be. Cook on each side for about 2 minutes, then remove it to a dinner or serving plate (heated, if you prefer). Fill with filling mixture (I use about 1-2 Tbls. depending on crepe size). Spoon a Tbl. of white sauce over it, garnish it with a mushroom or sliced almonds, if you prefer, and serve.

Just Peachy

I've had an up-and-down last few weeks with small health upsets and the loss of a long lost love, so I went into the kitchen looking for comfort. You'd be proud - I bypassed the Hershey Kisses. Instead, I put together a terrific peach cobbler that was less like cobbler and much more like a custardy thing. I can't explain it other than it was divine.

Peach Cobbler
2 lb. peaches
1 c. sugar, divided
1/2 c. flour
1 stick butter, cut into bits
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a square pan (I used a glass one). Slice peaches and mix them with half the sugar.

In a food processor, mix together flour butter, baking powder, and sugar. Stir in egg and vanilla.

Spread a small amount of the dough on the bottom of the pan. Put peaches on top. Drop remaining dough onto the top without spreading it. Bake for about 45 minutes.

Cool and eat.

Be A Pepper

The weather here is still hot, but with that late-August dryness that makes evenings gloriously cool. The farmer's market is loaded with choices, and peppers are looking fantastic. So, stuffed peppers!

Meatless Stuffed Peppers
4 large peppers
1 package Smart Ground veggie crumbles
1 cup cooked couscous
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. fresh chopped basil
2 cans diced tomatoes
Ketchup for the top

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Either cut the tops of the peppers or slice them in half - whichever way you like to stuff them.

In a bowl, combine all but one can of diced tomatoes. Stuff into peppers. Top with a little ketchup. Place peppers in covered dish, dump the second can of tomatoes inside the dish, then cover and cook 20-25 minutes. Spoon some of the tomatoes onto the peppers and serve.

Chilling with Summer Soups

This week the thermometer is topping 100 all week. Thankfully the humidity is blessedly low, but who wants to turn on an oven or even a burner in that heat?

Instead, I dug in the fridge for something cool, preferably cold. I'd just bought two packages of strawberries - soup!

I messed around with ideas and ingredients and here's the result:

Strawberry Soup
2 lb. strawberries
2 Tbls. Port wine
2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. cardamom
dash freshly ground cinnamon

In a blender, blend strawberries and wine until smooth. As it's blending, add yogurt.

Pour into a large bowl and add remaining ingredients. Stir well (until sugar is dissolved). Refrigerate an hour.

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This was by no means my first chilled soup. I've made gazpacho before, but wasn't nuts about it (I'm not a fan of uncooked tomatoes). But I stumbled on a great mango gazpacho recipe that's been a favorite here for years.

Mango Gazpacho
3 soft mangoes, peeled and pulp removed any way you can manage it
2 cups mango nectar
2 cups coconut milk
2 Tbl. fresh minced ginger
1 Tbl. lime juice
1/4 cup brown sugar

In a blender, puree mangoes, ginger, and coconut milk until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and blend again. Chill at least an hour.