Scrambled Tofu Rancheros

Although my first encounter with Scrambled Tofu was pretty unsatisfying, I've been tweaking the process for the past year and found something my husband and I both like. The recipe is the same as linked above, except that I don't use bell pepper anymore - just nicely browned onion and garlic in olive oil.

The key, I think, is draining the tofu. That gets rid of the strange flavor.

This morning,

I grilled a corn tortilla,
spread some re-fried beans on the roasted corn goodness,
spooned on some tofu scramble,
and topped with salsa and fresh diced tomatoes.


It's not something I would make every morning, but sometimes during a fast a little extra protein helps.

Since I would eat Mexican food five times a week if my family tolerated it, this meal is a special treat for me.

Beautiful Beans

At Coffee Hour last Sunday, our priest's wife asked me if I had planted beans. "They are so gratifying" she explained, "they sprout quickly and flower." I agreed with her; they are gratifying. And, I figured, by way of fasting food they are Orthodox. (smile)

I planted two types of beans this year. Pole beans called rattlesnake, which have a horrid name, but make pretty green beans with dark purple splashes that disappear when they cook. Sort of like those hot wheels cars that turn colors in the freezer, but more, um, natural.



















Those will slowly produce all summer. I wish I had planted more!

Then, I planted etna beans, which are an Italian Soup bean. Why did I choose etna? Well, they make pretty pink and white pods and pink and white beans - why else! Also, I figured soup beans would be good to have around.

Farmers Market Goodies

Our square foot garden is taking off, but we still head to our little town's Farmers Market each Saturday morning.

Zinnias for our Anniversary (11 years!)


Squash and Peaches scattered about the counter

We are so very thankful to have the opportunity to be locavores, and I especially appreciate the opportunity to get to know the growers has we visit them throughout the summer!

Gift from God: Zuchinni Bread

I finally couldn't put it off any longer.

Every time I take a bite of my Pawpaw's recipe, I can see and hear and smell my Nana & Pawpaw's kitchen. The only reason I hesitated is because of doubt that the recipe, copied from a phone call in my mother's hand on yellow and white striped paper, would translate into a fasting treat, but it was time. Time for for Zucchini Bread.

I'm glad I did it, and here's the recipe for any of you who might be starting to get an abundant crop.

The only change is that the original recipe called for 3 eggs instead of rice milk and egg-replacer.

The Ingredients
(WET)
3/4 cup of rice (or soy) milk, warmed and beat with 1&1/2 TBS of Energy Egg-Replacer
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update: taking Marfa's advice, I made it again with 3/4 cup of applesauce and 2 TBS of flax meal instead of the rice milk/egg replacer combo - worked just fine. I did decrease the sugar a little, to compensate for the added sweetness.
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1 c oil
2 c grated raw zucchini
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
(DRY)
3 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1&1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

The Steps
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Grease 2 large loaf pans.
3. Beat wet ingredients and sugar.
4. Sift dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
5. Add dry to wet and add 1 TBS of vanilla, and optional chopped nuts or raisins.
6. Bake 50-60 minutes.


One loaf stuck to the pan because we didn't wait until it cooled to take it out. The other loafs came out fine after a couple of hours cooling. It seems a little oily, so I might decrease the oil next time, but let me tell you:

sitting at our round wooden kitchen table here in 2010, I was completely transported to 1986, at the rectangular table in my Pawpaw & Nana's kitchen in the little village in south Louisiana. Thank you, God, and please bless my grandfather Gilliam, and grant rest to the soul of my grandmother June.

Gift from God: Working Mother at Home

As a teacher, I am very thankful for my summers at home with my kids.

Though I do feel, a bit... incapable maybe?

This morning at 7am I woke up determined to accomplish one major thing today:

Sweep the tile living room floor.

At precisely 2:08 pm, I finished sweeping. Okay, prayers and breakfast are important. And lunch. But how did it take us so long to clean the living room floor and sweep?

At school, the bell rings every 55 minutes, and grown-ups and students move and function. I guess I need to find my rhythm at home.

Lord, thank you for these precious months.
Lord have mercy on us, and help us find a way to work as a family at home.

Win, Lose or Draw?

Win - Spicy Green and Black Saute'
Last night, a friend brought over some sweet basil, a black bell pepper, a banana pepper, and a long hot pepper. We chopped them up and sauteed them with some garlic and chopped zuchinni. Oh my - a real treat.

Lose - harvesting cucumbers naively, attacked by little pricklies that this novice gardener did not realize guarded cucumbers.

Draw - My Shopping List. Somehow I left a couple of things from the last fast on there (like creamed corn and hominy) that I don't need this month, and I'm having trouble editing them back out. Oh well. By the way, I ended up scratching off over half the list before going, so it's not as huge of a list in practice as it appears.

And... more wins!

Win - Wheat Berry Tabouli
Whisk juice of 1 lemon, twice as much olive oil, salt, pepper and 1 clove of minced garlic. Pour over cooked wheat berries (1 cup), a chopped cucumber, a chopped tomatoe, and some chopped mint. I would have used parsley, but mine is going to seed so I didn't bother. Nice.

Win - Sunny Squash Soup, borrowed from Fat Free Vegan. I added all the optional ingredients except the tumeric, and only used half a jalepeno. Because of the potatoes, this soup was very creamy. Terrific way to use summer squash!

Chickpea Mash for Sandwiches

Since Presv. Maria asked,

Basically, drain the can of chickpeas and then then pretend you're making traditional tuna salad.

Add mayo, mustard, sweet pickle relish and a little salt and pepper. Mash it all up and use with bread or crackers.

Apostles Fast Menu

Here's one more menu, to add to the many good ones already out there, in case you are looking for fasting ideas. We rotate suppers every other week, but keep breakfast and lunch the same. The google document has many links to recipes, and I'll try to add more as I get them collected. View Apostles Fast Menu on Google Docs Here's the Shopping List. It is VERY tailored to our hometown, and I would probably not buy all these things every week. Hopefully the garden will provide most of the produce. However, I can print this off, carry it around the kitchen, strike through the things I already have, and then use it at the store. It covers 2 weeks, with the exception (which is marked in the document) of produce that will be bought fresh for the second week. And just for fun, here are two of my favorite recipes that I would have put in the menu, except that they are too spicy for my family: Vegetarian Kung Pao Green Chile Potato Soup

First Fruits - Oriental Coleslaw

So little, yet so exciting! I had to laugh as I was reminded of the Israelites tithing their first fruits to God. What good would one small, oblong bell pepper and a sprig of basil do?

This bell pepper and thai basil teamed up with a cabbage from the Farmer's Market to make Oriental Coleslaw. No one else in my family likes it, which worked out well, as I took the leftovers for lunch at school all week. What a treat!

Oriental Coleslaw

The Ingredients
1 small head of cabbage
1 carrot, grated
1 bell pepper, thinly diced
1/2 cup of toasted almonds, chopped
1 pack of Oriental Ramen noodles, crushed
2 Tbs of Sesame Seeds
1/3 cup of roasted pumpkin seeds
1 green onion, thinly sliced
4-5 leaves of thai basil, thinly sliced

Dressing:
1/2 cup sugar (or less to taste)
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
seasoning packet from noodles

Steps
1. If you want to achieve Asian appearance, roll up 3-4 individual leaves of cabbage at a time and very thinly slice across for long, skinny ribbons.
2. Cook and stir dressing ingredients until boiling. Cool.
3. Right before serving, add dressing and mix.
4. Most importantly! - Leave out any ingredients you don't like and throw in ones you do.

Don't like cabbage? Use broccoli in stead.
Want meat? Add chopped cooked chicken.
Oh, and honey-roasted sunflower seeds are very good in this.

Gifts from God - Pentecost Flowers

Inspired by posts by Matushka Emily and Sara at Liturgical Year For Little Ones, the kids and I went outside this morning to find flowers for Pentecost. Oriental Lilies, Cosmos, Oregeno, Parsley, Jasmine, and Various Flowering Weeds made their way from ground to little red bike trailer to vase.

Blessed Feast!

Garden - 3 weeks later

big tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
rattlesnake green beans
etna italian soup beans
new zealand spinach
mesclun lettuce
spineless okra
banana peppers
jalepeno peppers
green bell peppers
yellow bell peppers
potatoes
zuccini
cucumbers
cantelope
cosmos
marigold
thai basil
sweet basil
mojito mint
lemon balm
marjoram
lavendar

still to plant: eggplant and delicata squash

For an Abundance of the Fruits of the Earth

Let us pray to the Lord!

Inspired by my fellow bloggers' garden plans, I decided to post our little garden plot for this Spring.



We started 3 years ago with a 4 x 8 plot, based on Square-Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. It is the plot you see in the foreground of the photo. Although you could just add all new bagged ingredients into your bed, we (well, my dad and husband) dug up a little of our own soil and mixed it with topsoil, compost, peat, and cow manure. That way we didn't have to purchase as many bags.

This year we added a 3 ft. by 8 ft. raised bed behind it, with (drum roll, please......) TRELLISES! We had watched this video from our local library over the winter. Watched isn't accurate. We stalked this video. We watched it again and again and rewound certain sections, scribbling down measurements and tips. We watched it with building excitement (my son is my Little Builder after all). We watched it with growing confidence that we could actually do this. We re-checked it out of the library so many times they wouldn't let us renew it anymore.

Then we waited until it would quit raining already!

Over Spring Break, we built the new bed and trellis. Those pvc pipe pieces are nestling garden netting between them. After adding seeds and seedlings, we pinned in place a soaker hose, attached to a manual timer for easy, consistent watering. This bed is far away from the house, down by the sunny road,

To the left of the original bed are my pots of herbs and flowers, with some irises planted in the ground.

This is our Gift from God, and whenever I drive by it on the way out, I bless it with the sign of the cross and repeat the prayer from the Great Litany of Peace for an abundance of crops.