Recipe 205 Tomato and Okra Stew pg 151

Maybe you have to be Southern to get into Okra. The gooey texture takes getting used to. With enough Braggs and red pepper it all got eaten but no rave reviews from any of my family. So I rated it just V. Maybe if I had used fresh instead of frozen okra it would have been better.

Well, I've gotten a little behind on cooking the recipes in the book but I have been in the kitchen quite a bit with my grandaughter, Lewella. We made a gingerbread house fully decorated and a train cake with all the cars from engine to caboose. We had so much fun adorning it with candies and colored frosting. I should have taken a photo for you. Back to serious cooking tomorrow......

Recipe 204 Miso Soup

Who would ever guess that a soup with a name like Miso would ever taste so good. I rated it V+ as I would definitely cook it again. This is an extremely healthy dish, as Miso is a known cancer fighter. In fact, the Journal of the Natl.Cancer Institute
reports a 50% reduced rate of breast cancer linked with Miso soup consumption.

If I rated recipes on their health promotion this would be a V+++.

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving. I saw a wonderful sign outside a church in Rockland that said Thanksgiving is our Declaration of Dependence Day. I like that!

Recipes 202 & 203 both V++

Just in time for Thanksgiving, I pulled out Bill's recipe for stuffing (pg200). This is the best stuffing I have ever tasted. Fresh herbs do make all the difference.
I am so glad I took the time to plant an herb garden. I had the use of them all summer and now I will bring them inside for the winter. Hope you will try this truly great recipe.

Katie made another awesome dish, Spinach Artichoke Casserole(pg 141). After Thursday, if you are hankering for a change of pace from the old Thanksgiving Tofurky leftovers, try this mouthwatering dish. You will be glad you did.

Recipe 201 Beet Salad V+ (pg 19)

Katie made this healthy dish for her family and I was lucky enough to have a bite of the leftover salad when I visited her on thursday. It has an intriging texture and I thought it was one of the more pleasant ways to eat one of my least favorite foods, beets!

It must be childhood memories of having to clean my plate and gag down those strange, mushy beets. I can't think why else I would have developed such an aversion to them. They say that time heals all wounds and I guess that is true because now I rather like them.

Katie said next time she makes this salad she would decrease the wasabi by 1/2 as it was a little overpowering. I think I would agree.................

Recipe 200 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you hear the bells ringing?

Minestrone Soup pg 44 was rated V++ by all five at the table tonight. It is wonderful and I would rate it high on the "comfort food" scale.


Tonight I am heading to Lexington and will be shopping at Trader Joe's tomorrow. When Mom got wind of this she said "don't forget to get my gingersnaps at "G.I.Joes"
She was completely serious!

Recipe 199 ! Granola (pg 165)

I was sceptical about this recipe as it sounds strange because it calls for using a box of granola in the recipe? But I was delightfully surprised when I tested it out in a bowl with cold soy milk. I made 1/2 the recipe as directed, sweetened with molasses and the other half sweetened with maple syrup. Both were wonderful!

I am looking forward to breakfast tomorrow.......................

Recipe 198 Wild Rice and Pine Nut Salad V+++

Awesome is the only way to describe it. We couldn't stop making exclamations about how good this salad was all during dinner. This is like nothing you have ever tasted in your life. Your taste buds are going to go (pine) nuts over this. This would be a great salad to have around for the holidays. It will keep in the refrigerator and it would be wonderful to pull out to eat with those Tofurky sandwiches!!!!!!!!!

#197 Mushroom soup

Almost to 200! I think I will celebrate with a big cook off. What fun.

Tonight, I made the Mushroom soup on pg 45 which was quick and easy but not very tasty until I added cooking sherry, Braggs and vegetable bouillion. That brought it up to a V+. Its a healthy recipe and it might be better, as Bill suggests, as a sauce for pasta.

Long day so I will keep it short........................

Recipe 196 Cranberry Crisp pg 175 V++

For a great holiday dessert try Bill's Cranberry Crisp! I topped it off with Vegan whipped Cream (which I found at Whole Foods) It comes in an aerosol can just like Ready Whip. I served it warm and it was not only picturesque but delicious. I did sprinkle the fruit with 1/3 cup of raw sugar before adding the granola topping and it was plenty sweet. The recipe calls for stevia but I just can't stand the taste of it so, not being a complete purist, I added a little sugar.

Sam is going up to help Bill and Debra finish closing in their new timberframe home tomorrow with another man from our church and many other volunteer friends of Bill and Debra's. Maybe I can send you a photo of this amazing structure as Debra usually sends us updates. I will try......

Sweet Potato Risotto V++

Want a change of pace and a completely imaginative meal? If the answer is yes, try cooking this wonderful dish on pg 150. The directions are slightly incomplete so just wing it like I do and you will be delightfully surprised like I was with the wonderful taste and texture of this dish.

Tonight, we had a potluck supper here with all our tenants. What an array of spectacular dishes we had: Spanikopita, Asparagus Salad, Tortelini, musakka, and the carnivore option of Roasted pork with Mango Salsa. For dessert: apple pie, Short bread with caramel and chocolate topping etc. Wow, am I full.

After dinner we played a game for an Ice breaker where you write about some adventure you have had that no one else in the room would know about. Then you all try to guess who did it. Sam wrote " I blew up a significant piece of my property with dynamite" They all guessed immediately who that was.

I wrote that I met my husband while skiing and he invited me to share the chairlift ride with him. As we neared the top, he accidently slipped of the chair and dropped 25' to the ground, landed on his feet and pretended he did it intentionally!

They all guessed correctly on that one too!!!!!!!

194 Recipes cooked and one of the best was cooked tonight

You have to try Tomato Pie on pg 151. It is fast and fantastic. You can assemble the pie in five minutes when using a frozen WW crust. The directions are a little unclear but just put all the listed ingredients in the crust with cheese on top and sprinkly lightly with tabasco. I did not use any Braggs. I used 1/2 green onions and 1/2 chives where Bill called for Spring onions (not sure of what they are but this worked just fine)

Let me know if you want a cookbook. I will get you one for just $10. This recipe is worth $10. alone.

I think I will celebrate when I hit 200 recipes!!!!!!!!!

Black Bean soup V++ wonderful autumn soup

This is a great soup for a cold evening See pg. 20. I was delightfully surprised by the wonderful taste. So I must share it with you:

1 lb dry or 3 cans of black beans (which I uused)
1 Lg onion and 2 cloves of garlic chopped and sauteed is oil
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dry mustard

Mix all together is large pot and add a cup or 2 of water and simmer for 1/2 hour

Add 1/2 to 1 cup of dry sherry and Braggs to taste

Blend till smooth and serve. Add water if to thick. Serves 4

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Recipe 37 of the 100 day challenge (192 recipes cooked so far this year)

Wow, only 150 plus recipes to go!!!!!!!!!!!! We'll make our deadline yet.

Last night, we had 5 dinner guests and I served Pasta Fagioli pg 120. It was a great dish for company as it is all in one pot. I served it with a salad and hot bread and everyone loved it and several had seconds.

In my best Italian accent, I told Debra Irwin we were making what is listed as Debra's mother's recipe for Pasta "FA-GI-OLI". I thought I really had the pronunciation down. Quizically, Debra asked do you mean "Pasta FAZOOL"? Guess I better brush up on my Italian!!!!!!

Day 24 & 25 Two more recipes (one is a great Thanksgiving recipe)

Tonight I made Stuffed Shells with Marcella Spinach page 148 ✓+

I ate dinner about 4.5 hours ago, but I am still tasting garlic! To make the filling I pureed chick pea to make a paste which held together all the other ingredients, I thought that was a great way to thicken the sauce instead of using ricotta. If anyone out there is going to make this recipe I would recommend cooking the garlic with the mushrooms and onions. If you are going to stuff the shells and not bake them like the recipe suggests I would suggest adding all the ingredients to a big pot and bringing to a simmer and then stuffing the shells. I followed the recipe but then felt like the dish needed some time in the oven, so I baked the shells at 250 for 25 minutes. The shells dried out very slightly, but the flavor and consistency of the stuffing was improved. I might even add a little sauce to the top. So... recipe needs some work, but good flavor. This was my first time stuffing shells, it's a fun way to serve a meal! Katie

Here is a great way to serve Sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving. See Bill's recipe for Sweet Potato Casserole pg 150. The best part is it can be done ahead and it cooks in a crockpot for 4 hours. I gave it a V++ as it is delicious and it could not be easier to cook! Ruth