Category Archives: Recipes

Vegan Tomato Soup

Posted on March 24, 2020 by | Leave a comment

My daughter has been asking for tomato soup for a while, and I figured tonight was a good time to make it for her – plus I had all the ingredients! I followed a recipe I found online, with a couple of modifications from the comments, and my daughter was very happy with it. It was quick and easy to do – I actually made the soup in advance, and then had her heat it up and add the coconut milk when she was ready to eat it. Note that I added a diced fresh tomato to the ingredients below – I had it and it was getting close to going bad so I had to use it.

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 28 oz can diced or whole tomatoes
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp. oregano
  • 1 tsp. dried basil
  • 1/2 – 1 tsp vegetable broth base
  • salt to taste
  • 1/3 cup coconut milk

Instructions

Heat oil in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add onion and saute until soft. Add garlic and saute, stirring, for a minute. Add the tomatoes. If using whole tomatoes, push with a wooden spoon to break out. Add the water, paprika, oregano, basil and vegetable broth base. Turn heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth.

Taste and add salt if needed. At this point, you can refrigerate if you want to use it later. Right before serving, heat the soup until warm and then stir in the coconut milk.

Adapted from Lisa’s recipe at healthy nibbles

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Mayo Lime Spread for Burgers

Posted on March 7, 2020 by | Leave a comment

I really enjoyed this mayo spread with the HelloFresh Pork Burgers I made the other day. While I doubt I’ll have a reason to make it again, you never know. It’s also a tasty dip for fries

Ingredients

  • 1 lime
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

Instructions

Zest the lime and set aside, half remaining lime. In a small bowl, mix together the mayo, sour cream and minced garlic. Mix in the lime zest and squeeze the lime into the mixture.



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Sweet Potato Coconut Curry

Posted on March 5, 2020 by | Leave a comment

I made this coconut curry for my vegan daughter and vegetarian niece for a family dinner, and they both enjoyed it. It’s very easy to make and you can use any vegetables you have around, tofu or really, anything. My daughter did like it with the sweet potato. Use as much curry as you like.

  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1/2 yellow onion , chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 14 oz. can coconut milk
  • 4+ tsp curry powder
  • 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. maple or corn syrup
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 sweet potato , peeled and chopped
  • 2 cups vegetables, peeled and chopped

Instructions

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until they soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and sauté for one minute.

Add the coconut milk, curry powder, soy sauce, maple syrup and salt. Mix well. Taste and add more curry powder as needed.

Bring to a boil and add the sweet potato. Turn down heat to low, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables and mix well. Cover the pot and cook until the vegetables are done, about 10 minutes.

Adapted from Detoxinista

Marga’s Best Recipes

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Review: Hello Fresh’ Sirloin in a Mushroom Sauce + Recipe

Posted on September 23, 2019 by | Leave a comment

Rating: 7/10

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Hello Fresh seldom offers steak as part of their regular offerings. Instead, dishes with steak are usually considered “gourmet” and require an additional supplement. These are usually a very poor value, so I never ordered them. I did this time because when I added to my cart, HelloFresh showed that the 65% off discount that I had applied to the supplement as well. Alas, when I checked my account I realized that I was charged the full supplement price, which makes me feel defrauded. Still, it’s a lesson learned and in the future I just won’t order any meals that require paying a supplement.

This meal kit for Sirloin in a Mushroom Sauce with Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Carrots was pretty good, if a little too much work. It basically had 5 components that had to be cooked separately: the steak, the mashed potatoes, the carrots, the onions and the mushroom sauce. I think one (the onions) could have been skipped without losing much beyond cooking time.

But all ingredients were very tasty and, in particular, the mushroom sauce was phenomenal, which helped elevate both the meat and the mashed potatoes. I’ve had similar mushroom sauces before, but I liked how simple and quick this one was (recipe below).

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All the ingredients were included and they were mostly fresh (the carrots were a little wobbly) and good quality. The steaks were very, very thick but at least they were around the same thickness.

I paid a little over $20 for this meal kit, including the supplement, or about $10 per person.

Mushroom sauce

I recommend you double the sauce

  • 3 Tbsp butter, divided
  • 4 oz white mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 Tbsp. beef demi-glace
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard

Melt 2 Tbsp. butter over medium-high heat in a pan, preferably one you used to cook steak. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until softened – 2 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the demi-glace and the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and stir in the mustard. Simmer until slightly thickened. Stir in the remaining Tbsp. butter.

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Vegan Chili Recipe

Posted on September 7, 2019 by | Leave a comment

My vegan daughter discovered she liked vegan chili while eating at the A.Y.C.E. buffet in Vegas – and she asked me to make her some at home. I went with this recipe because it had fairly good reviews and it seemed easy and flexible enough to make. I did make a couple of changes from the original, but my daughter loved the results and has kept bugging me to make it again.

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp. oil
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 large carrot, shredded
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 cup rice or bulgur, rinsed
  • 2 Tbsp. chili powder
  • 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
  • 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1 14.5 oz tomato puree
  • 1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt.

Directions

Heat oil in a large cooking pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and carrots and sauté, stirring often, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Stir in the rice or bulgur, chili powder and ground cumin.

Add the tomatoes and beans and stir well. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for about an hour, or until the beans are tender. Season and serve.

Marga’s Best Recipes

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Review: Gobble’s Greek Pita Wrap with Grilled Vegetables & Hummus

Posted on May 24, 2019 by | Leave a comment

Rating 8/10

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This kit came with already made hummus, tzatziki, olive tapenade and za’atar spice, as well as a zucchini, a yellow squash, 2 roma tomatoes, a slice of red onion, a small bag of arugula, pita bread and pita chips. Preparation consisted of slicing the squashes, quartering the tomato, sauteing them for about 8 minutes and then assembling the pitas. You then serve it with a side of pita chips and hummus. So a super quick meal to put together.

I didn’t use the tzatziki or tapenade, omitted the onion and substituted the arugula for some spring mix I had to accommodate my daughters’ preferences. I also added some cubed tofu to add protein to the dish.

In all, she was very happy with the results. She found it a very tasty meal. She particularly loved the pita bread. The problem is that the kit came with only two pita breads – so one per person. That was not enough for the amount of filling there was.

This is also a pretty simple meal to put together on your own, though I wouldn’t know where to buy the spongy pita bread they sent.

I got this kit for free due to credits and a welcome back promo code. Use this referral link to get a free kit for 2 with your first box.

–
Note: if you use my referral link I *may* get some credits in return, if I happen to be subscribed to the meal kit service at the exact moment you use the code – which is unlikely.

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New International Recipes Up!

Posted on April 23, 2019 by | Leave a comment

It might seem like my International Food project is dead, given that I’ve been working on it for 19 (yes, you read that right, NINETEEN) years and I haven’t even finished the “Hs”, but I’m still working at it. Slowly, very slowly – obviously.

I just added some new cuisines to the list, and some have pretty good recipes, so check them out.

Gascony

Here I found a satisfying roasted chicken and a delicious apple pie recipe.

Gibraltar

Did you know “the rock” has its own cuisine? And a pretty good one at that. From shashouka, to rosto to french toast, Gibraltarians eat very well.

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Hangzhou

It’s all about the dongpo

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Hidalgo

The pastes were most traditional, but I just fell in love with the chicken stew.

Hungarian-American

This wasn’t the most successful cuisine I’ve cooked, but it introduced me to “American goulash”

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Review: Marley Spoon’s Glazed Steak with Farro & Bell Pepper Stir-Fry

Posted on April 21, 2019 by | Leave a comment

Rating 7/10

Glazed Steak with Farro & Bell Pepper Stir-Fry

This was my second Marley Spoon’s dish and, most likely, my last one. It was perfectly fine as a dish, and I thought the presentation was quite attractive, but it wasn’t special enough to justify the issues I had with it.

First, the steak. It wasn’t particularly great quality – it was sirloin, after all -, and the two steaks were of significantly different thickness, which means that cooking them both together resulted in one more done than the other. While the tamari sauce (recipe below) added a very good flavor, the steaks were not particularly tender.

The farro/red pepper stir-fry was good – or would have been, had I not added the spinach. Once again, it provided an unappetizing bitter taste to the dish.

The portion was also on the small side – I was left hungry after eating it.

Even more vexing was the fact that the kit didn’t include all the ingredients I needed to make the meal. It asked that I provide my own balsamic vinegar. Fortunately, I had some – but the whole dish would have been a fail if I didn’t. To be fair, Marley Spoon did mention in the instructions online that dark balsamic vinegar was needed, but I shouldn’t have to look carefully at every recipe to see what ingredients I have to provide. They really should send everything you need other than oil, salt and pepper (other kits do).

In all, it was a nice meal but frustrating.

Tamari Glaze

  • 1/4 cup tamari soy sauce
  • 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tsp sugar

In a small bowl, mix all ingredients together until the sugar dissolves. Use to glaze meat or as a sauce.

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Review: Green Chef’s Cauliflower Tacos al Pastor

Posted on April 11, 2019 by | Leave a comment

Rating: 8/10

This kit for Cauliflower Tacos al Pastor, Slaw with cilantro-lime aïoli and refried black beans was a complete success for my vegan daughter. She actually wants me to make her more of these.

The key to the dish is the sauce, of course, so I imagine I’ll have to experiment and find one that my daughter might like. Safeway has a pineapple peach salsa that might fit the bill. The cauliflower for these tacos is basically sauteed for 3-4 minutes with green pepper (which she didn’t like so I’ll omit next time), you then add some cubed pineapple, 1/4 cup of water and the al pastor sauce, and put it in a 400F oven for 15 minutes.

This kit also taught me how to make mashed black beans – you put the canned beans in a pot with a little bit of water and a teaspoon of vegetable stock concentrate, cook it for five minutes and then mashed.

The cabbage in the kit was supposed to be mixed with a cilantro aioli, but this wasn’t vegan, so I had to skip it. The cabbage was sort of blah on its own, but it added some crunch to the tacos.

Again, all in all she liked them and she wants me to make them again.

And I will, because I’m certainly not going to pay $26 to make this meal. I paid $10 with a promo, and for that it was a bargain.


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Review: Green Chef’s Chicken Katsu

Posted on April 11, 2019 by | Leave a comment

Rating 5/10

I’m getting bored writing reviews of meal kits, but I want to at least finish this project. After trying Green Chef this week, I only have one more meal kit company to try (Marley Spoon), and then I’ll be ready to give my final verdict as to which is the best Meal Kit company. But I’ll give you a hint: it’s not Green Chef. You’ll have to wait until my review of the company to hear why, however.

I made the Chicken Katsu Noodle salad with cabbage, carrots, pineapple & pickled ginger tonight and shared it with my daughter. We weren’t particularly impressed.

First, as the cook, I really resented all the needless preparation. The cabbage, pineapple and pickled ginger had already been processed and cut into strips or cubed – and yet I was told to chop them. Why not go all the way and send them chopped? Most annoyingly, the instructions asked that I cut the chicken breasts horizontally into two thin cutlets. That’s the sort of task that requires sharp knives and knife skills. I did a fairly good job of it, but it shouldn’t be left to the home cook to do this preparation.

I did enjoy the chicken, however. The chicken cutlets were dipped in tonkatsu sauce, breaded with panko crumbs, sauteed on both sides for 3 minutes and then cooked in the oven for 6 more. I really would like to know why I couldn’t just finish the whole thing on the stove (I hate having to preheat the oven), so Green Chef fails for not explaining this. But my daughter really liked the chicken and it looks like the sauce is available commercially and it’s also fairly easy to make.

The noodle salad, OTOH, was a disappointment. It lacked flavor and none of us liked it.

I also wasn’t thrilled that the meal didn’t have any exotic ingredients. At this price point, I expect it to include things I can’t easily get at my supermarket. In all fairness, it did have some very cool looking black & white sesame seeds – but that was just for show – and it did include pickled ginger in the salad, but the salad sucked.

This meal kit had 580 calories per serving. It was on the small side and I was left hungry (but then again, I didn’t want to eat the salad).

The regular price for this meal kit is ~$26. I paid $10 with a discount, and really, I wouldn’t pay more than that.

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