Foodie Friday : Cooked veggie salad

Is this a food blog or a running blog?  Years ago I merged my food blog with my running blog...and now I post more about food than running!  I really do intend for this blog to be a little bit of everything, and there is a running update post in the works.  I just have to make some time to figure out what to say and get it typed up.  Apparently food is easier to write about. 


Run Club had a potluck on Wednesday and, no surprise, I did not remember it when I was grocery shopping on Sunday.  So Tuesday afternoon rolled around, I really did not want to go back to the store, and in addition to the bread I said I would bring, I wanted to bring something healthy because no one else had volunteered to bring anything healthy and I have pretty much become the designated healthy-food bringer.  I swear I'm not trying to be a healthy-food fanatic...I just know my body feels better when I eat vegetables! 

Anyway, I raided the fridge and freezer to see what I could make without going to the store.  I didn't want to make anything that needed to be hot, because I knew I couldn't keep it hot up until the time it would be eaten after we all ran, but I also didn't want to bring raw veggies because I hate raw veggies.  A quick google search confirmed that I wasn't the first person to think of serving a cold, cooked, veggie salad.  So I whipped one up. 

Cold Cooked Carrot Salad

1.5 lbs carrots

24 oz frozen cauliflower

6 oz frozen corn

2 tbsp (ish) minced garlic

olive oil 

for the dressing : Tuscan Herb Olive Oil and 18 yr aged Balsamic 

Chop the carrots into bite-sized pieces and sauté in olive oil.  Stir frequently to aid in even cooking. When they start to brown, add frozen corn.  Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until corn begins to brown.  Add minced garlic and cook for another minute or two.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Sauté frozen cauliflower until it is cooked through and the edges are browning.  Add to the bowl. Allow to cool to room temperature.  (I set it outside on the screened porch to help it cool faster...)  Drizzle with Tuscan Herb Olive Oil and Balsamic, stir well.  

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When I finished running some people had already started eating and someone asked me if I made the cauliflower salad.  Yes, yes I did.  Although I prefer to think of it as a carrot salad.  It was a hit, and most of it got eaten, but thankfully there was a little bit left to enjoy at home the next day!

Cumin-Rubbed Beef

Step 1 : Mix together cumin, mustard powder, garlic powder, sea salt, sage, and bread crumbs.
             Heat water for pasta, add pasta when the water boils.  Try to time it so pasta is done around the                    same time as the beef.

Step 2 : Coat pieces of eye of round beef with the seasoning mixture, then brown them on each side.

Step 3 : Pour red wine into the pan, just enough to cover the beef. 

Step 4 : When the beef is about halfway done, add vegetables to the pan.  

             I used cabbage and carrots.  I also grated some ginger into the pan. 

Step 5 : Remove the beef from the pan when it is done.  Once the pasta is drained, add it to the pan with the              vegetables and sauce, mix well. 

Step 6 : Eat.

Stuffing Muffins

I always throw the ends of bread loaves into the freezer.  Sometimes they turn into stuffing, sometimes bread pudding.  I got a new roommate recently, and it's been getting hard to close the freezer door.  I had almost 2 loaves worth of bread in there, so I figured it was about time to do something with it.  I didn't manage to use all of it, but I did manage to use of some of it!

Ingredients

garlic cloves

fresh ginger root

1/4 yellow onion

2 slices of bacon

2 small carrots

big handful of cranberries

1 egg

veggie stock

c 3/4 loaf of dried bread

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350.

Chop the garlic, ginger, and onion and saute in some olive oil.  Chop the bacon and add it when the onion starts to brown.  Grate the carrot and put it in a big bowl.  Chop the cranberries and add them to the bowl. Add the garlic/ginger/onion/bacon mixture.  Beat the egg and add it.  Add c 1/2 c of veggie stock.  Mix well.  Break the bread into roughly 1 inch pieces and add it.  Stir well until all of the bread is moist.  Add more veggie stock if needed.  Grease a muffin tin.  Shape the stuffing mixture into 12 balls and put them in the muffin tin.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.  

Cranberry-Beef Stew

2 lb pot roast

(coat with wheat flour, cinnamon, and cocoa powder)

5 carrots

(chopped)

1/2 onion, 4 cloves garlic, big chunk of ginger

(chopped and sauteed)

1/2 c cranberries

1/2 c pumpkin, 1/2 c beef broth, 1 c cranberry juice

(blended)

5 large mushrooms, chopped

Place the coated pot roast in the bottom of a crockpot.  Put the sauteed stuff on top.  Dump the carrots on top, then the cranberries.  Pour the liquids over the contents of the pot, then scatter the mushrooms on top.  If you have a bunch of extra flour/cinnamon/cocoa coating like I did, sprinkle some on top.

 Cook on low for 7.5 hours. 

(My pot roast was pretty thin.  If yours is thicker it may take more time.)

When the meat is cooked through, remove it from the pot.  Shred the meat, discard the fat.

Return the shredded meat to the pot and stir well.

I ate mine with some barley.  Delicious.

Corn-Veggie Chowder

This is some kind of a hybrid between corn chowder and vegetable soup.  

And it's pretty delicious.  

Like everything else I make.

Peel 2-3 yukon gold potatoes and boil them.

Mince 5 cloves of garlic and a large chunk of ginger root.  Chop 1/4 of an onion.  Brown them in a dutch oven with a few tbsp of butter and some olive oil.  When they start to turn brown, add 4 chopped carrots, 1/4 c veggie stock, and 1/4 c water.  Chop a big bunch of brussels sprouts, add them as well.  Add seasonings to taste, more veggie stock, and more water.  Cook for a few minutes.  Add one 15 oz can of corn and one 12 oz can of evaporated milk.  Simmer for awhile.  

When  the potatoes are done, mash them with butter, milk, salt, oregano, and shredded cheese.  Add them to the soup.  Stir well. 

Eat. 

Enjoy.

Cider-Whiskey Pot Roast

2 large gold potatoes, chopped

3 medium carrots, chopped

1/2 c chopped cabbage

1/2 c mushrooms

2.5 lb pot roast

1/2 c Jameson Irish Whiskey

1 c apple cider

1 tbsp finely chopped ginger

flour

cinnamon

Spread the potatoes on the bottom of a crock pot.  Layer the carrots on top, then the cabbage, then the ginger.  Coat the roast with flour and cinnamon, then place it on top of the vegetables.  Scatter the mushrooms around the roast.  Mix the cider and whiskey and pour it over the roast.  

Cook on high for 7 hours.

When done, shred the roast to be used in various dishes throughout the week. 

I think it will make a nice pulled-beef sandwich.  

I think I will also use some of it for home-made lo mein later this week.

Here's tomorrow's lunch.

Pot Roast

Crock Pot Adventure Número Dos 

4 small potatoes

3 carrots

1/3 head of cabbage

6 mushrooms

1 granny smith apple

2.5 lb hunk o' beef

1/2 c flour

seasoning to taste

1/2 c apple cider

1/2 c veggie stock

1/8 c red wine

Chop the veggies and throw them all in the crock pot except for the mushrooms.  Mix together the flour/seasonings and coat the beef with the mixture.  ( I used salt, pepper, oregano, mustard powder, and garlic powder...I think...).  Put the beef on top of the veggies.  Add the mushrooms on top, then pour in the liquids.  

Cook on High for 4.5 hrs

Dinner is Served.

With a glass of Red Wine.

(Or a mug of hot cider, if you prefer)

A delightful meal on a cold November evening.