Cooking

[pameladean]

At the beginning of this year I got tired of buying random vegetables and protein sources and hoping I could make them match up into dinners, so I started doing an abbreviated version of menu planning. I write the dinners I want to make down on a Post-It and then do the actual shopping. This week's Post-It says "Pad Thai (REMEMBER THE CABBAGE -- well, I did remember it but I didn't put it in), Grogan's Minestrone (frozen multigrain ciabatta rolls), ALL THE PIES."

I have saved, or more accurately, failed to recycle, a random assortment of these Post-Its, which I reproduce below for my own reference and possibly for your mild interest.

Tempeh Mushroom Stroganoff
Carrot Cashew Curry
Sardine Pasta (GET GREEN VEGETABLE)

Fish Masala, Aloo Gobi
SOUP, bread
hoisin explosion tofu (Tropp)
chickpea and sweet potato curry

Mimi's Spaghetti (Grogan again)
fish masala, green bean and potato curry
beans and kale (check to see if enough canned black-eyed peas)

Tofu Tacos
Tempeh Mushroom Stroganoff
Salmon, sweet potato, broccoli, frozen rolls

Carrot Cashew Curry
Sardine Pasta, green beans
MAKE BANANA BREAD
Curried red kidney beans with mustard greens

Vegan Lasagna (spinach mushroom Gimme Lean mock sausage)
Tofu vegetable quiche
Tofu fried rice

Very spicy delicious chickpeas (Jaffray), curried peas and mushrooms
macaroni and goat cheese, vegetable casserole (Grogan)
pasta with soy chorizo

Pasta with cauliflower, feta, and walnuts (add broccoli)
Tortilla casserole
lentil cassoulet (get mock sausage, price shallots)

Tuna curry, steamed broccoli
Lebanese/Canadian macaroni and bean casserole, add kale or else GET GREEN VEGETABLE
Vegan chili, ditto cornbread


That does look odd. Vegan food is always safe for me. I can't have cow's-milk products. I can have sheep or goat's-milk cheeses, but they are expensive, so we don't have them that often. I don't eat eggs or meat but I do eat fish and seafood, which are also expensive, except for sardines and canned tuna. Mock meat is fairly pricy too, except at Trader Joe's.

Cooking anecdotes welcome in the comments.

Pamela

Comments

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I made (little red) beans and (that weird Italian) kale for dinner tonight, along with mushroom risotto. Yesterday I made ginger-tahini-dressed broccoli, Lebanese chicken, and a squash, goat cheese, bacon combo stirred up with pasta. Some of those recipes I have been carrying around since the 1980s, and so I finally decided to make 'em.

After dinner tonight, I also made that gingerbread recipe you introduced me to, but it failed. I tried to mix the butter and molasses together with just a spoon, but because I have a tendon problem in my right elbow currently, I was imprecise at it. So I think that was part of the problem and the rest of the failure was caused by using a just-slightly-too-big pan. Pity.

K.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Having pulled out the gingerbread recipe (which is in my hand, so I copied it from something), I see that it is called "Molasses Gingerbread" and it claims to be from American Cookery by Amelia Simmons, 1796.

Project Gutenberg has that book, and the recipe is nothing like the one I have. I vaguely recall that you said it was Mary Washington's recipe, or Martha's, or something, but those kinds of search terms turn up nothing approximate.

K. [has no pearl ash, for starters]

[pameladean]

I got the recipe from the out-of-print cookbook Ginger East to West, and that includes both the original with the pearl ash and the updated-for-modern-sensibilities recipe, which is the one you have a copy of.

I called it George Washington's Mother's Gingerbread, which is also in that cookbook, but I got confused about which one was which. I think the alleged George Washington one is a lot more complex.

P.

[pameladean]

I've adapted some of my recipes from the eighties, but they aren't as interesting as yours, for the most part.

My main problem with the gingerbread recipe is not having the pan ready and then worrying that the acid in the molasses will activate the baking soda too soon while I'm rushing around finding the 8x8 pan and greasing it. I've had one or two rather flat outcomes, but for the most part it has been okay, except in my head.

P.