It’s interesting the way things come full circle sometimes. Brandon and I were both raised vegetarian, and now we seem to be cooking and eating more and more vegetarian food ourselves after years of incorporating meat into our diets.

For the most part, we were always vegetarians at home and carnivores at restaurants and that’s still more or less the case. I rarely cook meat, and now do so less than ever. What’s interesting is that we are starting to crave recipes we both ate and loved as children, some of which use gluten or tofu-based meat substitutes.

We had similar upbringings, as both our parents raised us vegetarians and cooked meals that are popular in Seventh-day Adventist households. However, his family has remained vegetarian to this day, while mine has strayed a bit and now eats meat occasionally. (I should note that my sister has reverted back to a completely vegetarian diet, though!)

Because of these similarities, we have a lot of crossover in what a nostalgic, childhood-favorite meal means to us. It’s actually really exciting when I mention to Brandon that I loved a particular recipe and he says, “I loved that one too!”

The other day we drove into Silver Spring to go to the Adventist Book Center there which boasts a pretty impressive health food store component. We wanted to stock up on some of our favorite gluten/soy meat substitutes. Neither of us had been there in years, and we were sick of buying the substitutes from Safeway at 50% higher prices. (I’m not kidding. A product priced at $4.50 at the book center costs about $10 at Safeway.)

On our way to the check-out line, I noticed that they had some vegetarian cookbooks on a shelf and I went over to take a look (I’m a sucker for a good cookbook, what can I say?). I got super excited when I noticed they had two cookbooks I’ve been wanting to buy for a really long time: An Apple A Day (Volumes 1 & 2).

These cookbooks are old: Volume 1 was first published in 1967 and is in its 16th printing with 135,000 copies sold throughout the U.S. Keep in mind that’s how many copies have been sold a completely word-of-mouth basis. This is a really great vegetarian cookbook. The second volume (there are three total) is newer and was published in 1983.

The recipes were compiled by the National Auxiliary to the Alumni Association of Loma Linda University in California and are mostly original or adapted recipes from doctors’ wives there. Although these older recipes sometimes reflect a dated view of vegetarian food (featuring dishes high in fat, salt, sugar, etc.), the newer additions provide substitution hints and frankly, it’s easy to adapt these recipes on your own into lower fat versions.

Tonight we’re having Potato-Cheese Soup, after Brandon mentioned last night over corn on the cob that it was one of his favorites soups his Mom made when he was young.

Here’s the original recipe (from An Apple A Day Volume 2):

Potato-Cheese Soup

• 2 tablespoons margarine
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
• 2 tablespoons floor
• 7 cups low-fat milk
• 1/4 teaspoon curry
• 2 teaspoons McKay’s chicken-style seasoning
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 cup small curd cottage cheese
• 6 oz. hash brown potatoes

Saute the onion and green pepper in margarine until tender. Blend flour in. Add milk, curry and chicken seasoning. Mix well. Add the salt and lemon juice. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and comes to a  boil. Stir in the cottage cheese and hash brown potatoes. Cook covered for 10 minutes.

It sounds kind of funky as older recipes tend to be, but I guarantee it will be tasty. (Cottage cheese is used in the recipe to produce a thick, creamy soup without heavy cream, and also provides a bit of extra protein.) And, as I said before, it’s easy to make simple substitutions—for example, using non-fat cottage cheese to make the recipe even healthier.

I’ll let you know how it turns out!

Brandon and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends. My dad gave me a few turkey tips via phone this morning, and thanks to him and Martha Stewart, it came out better than I could have imagined. (All 18 pounds of it.) I cooked almost everything I wanted to (I left out a couple dishes because I realized that I was running out of room to put it, and that there was no way we’d be able to eat it since our guests also brought food.)

And everyone was included in the fun: even Molly and Milo got a little tidbit of turkey on top of their dinner tonight.

This is the first holiday in a long time where I haven’t felt anxious, stressed or overwhelmed, and I thank God that my life seems to be coming to happier, more relaxed place. It’s due to a lot of things: a fortuitous job opportunity that allowed me to leave another, the constant support of a great guy who I feel lucky just to know (let alone be married to) and the most wonderful, understanding family and friends. I feel like for the first time the thoughts of starting our own family aren’t as scary or ridiculous as they used to (but don’t get any ideas, Brandon!) and that our house isn’t just a place where we live—it’s becoming our home too. And, each day, I’m thankful to have this blog. I could never have guessed that such a fun hobby would lead me to some of the most special friendships I’ve had in years.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal (or maybe you’re just sitting down to eat!) and that you survive Black Friday shopping tomorrow. (I think I’m going to skip it this year and just sleep in. Blasphemy, I know, but I’ve got almost all my Christmas shopping done!)

Oh, and before I forget! Here are a few shots of the pies and turkey:

I’m just getting started on cooking my way through 11 dishes (pies first!), so I thought I’d share what I have on the docket for tomorrow. We’re spending Thanksgiving with two close friends and their kids and I want to have some new stuff and some traditional stuff, but nothing too crazy or hard. I’m relying heavily on about 20 old issues of Martha Stewart and Food & Wine to make this happen, so don’t let me down, guys! (I know they won’t. If anything goes awry, I have only myself to blame!)

1. Pumpkin Pie

2. Pecan Pie

3. Maple-Glazed Sweet Potatoes

4. Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Walnuts

5. Simple Stuffing

6. Roast Turkey with Herb Butter

7. Brandon’s Mashed Potatoes

8. Roasted Garlic-Parmigiano Broccoli

9. Relish Tray

10. Kale

11. Layered Salad

Phew! I’m most nervous about the two pies and the turkey. The other stuff will be pretty fast and simple. If you have any turkey tips, please pass them on!

What are you making for Thanksgiving?

EASY (LAZY? NOT FANCY) ICED COFFEE

I got a whole bunch of questions about my iced coffee “recipe” when I mentioned yesterday how much of it I have been drinking.

I’d like to think that I’m quite the coffee snob—except when I make it at home. At home, I’m simply satisfied if it tastes good to my unrefined palette.

Here’s what I do:

1. Brew some Tim Hortons Coffee, courtesy of my grandparents or parents picking me up a big can of grounds or beans. (Thank you, thank you!) From this point, you can use a covered container (like this one) and chill in the fridge for an hour or two, or, if you can’t wait…

2. Just pour the coffee into an ice-filled cup. (See below for a tip on how to use your ice cubes more creatively!)

3. I don’t like sugar in my coffee, so for a bit of extra flavor, I just add a tiny bit of fat-free vanilla flavoring. I know, I know, it’s full of chemicals, blah, blah, ruins the coffee. I think that is certainly true, if you use too much. But a small, delicious drop isn’t going to do you in. Yet.

And, there you go. I’m sure you’re considerably underwhelmed by my masterful iced-coffee making directions, but hey—if you want the fancy, go pay $4! :)

Here’s a tip from Steph on how to get more coffee flavor!

• “Just read that you are making/consuming iced coffee by the bucket (if you could send some up to Boston, I’d appreciate it!) so here’s a little tip: make coffee ice cubes so that you can keep your coffee cold without sacrificing any flavor!”

Yum! Thanks Shaun! And only $37.

• You should look into a Toddy maker. toddycafe.com/index.p… Cold brewed coffee makes a better tasting iced coffee, imo. From their website: “A bold, super-smooth taste that’s easier on the stomach.” I agree.

I promise I am usually a good cook. Cross my heart.

But, last night, I was short on time, energy and ingredients, so I found some random pasta recipe on AllRecipes.com on the way home in the car and knew I had enough stuff on hand to crank it out.

Wrong.

I was already cooking the pasta when I realized I had no chicken broth. Okay, no problem, I had some cream of chicken soup and could improvise.

Okay, no sour cream. Dammit. No choice but to keep going at that point. I tasted it. The cayenne burned my life. Brandon asked how it was going. I whimpered a reply and kept going, hoping I had imagined how hot it was.

So, I got the asparagus ready (thank god I had something other than the pasta) and then dished the pasta up, handed Brandon his plate and looked away pretending like all was normal.

“WHOA! What is IN THIS?!” He said, choking. I shrugged.

“A little cayenne pepper.”

I took a big bite—it was all show—and tried to hide the sweat and tears dripping down my face. He gamely ate it all, but we sat there laughing and sweating and drinking water like it was going out of style. He coughed several times, but still ate it.

I asked him if he wanted seconds, but he turned me down. I have no idea why. It was…so delicious.

Brandon and discussed dinner on the phone a bit ago and we settled on haystacks.

How I will focus through the rest of the day with this on my mind is yet to be determined:

I don’t profess to be a master chef, but I do love cooking. It relaxes me the same way flute playing relaxes me: it allows me to be completely involved in something to a point where everything else on my mind falls away.

I had seen this recipe from Smitten Kitchen making it’s way around on Tumblr a few weeks ago and decided last night that I’d give it a go. I am so glad I did!

Here’s what you need to make Tomato Sauce with Onion & Butter with Linguine, Roasted Garlic Potatoes and Heirloom Tomato Salad.

Sauce & Pasta:

• Two cans whole peeled tomatoes
• 5 tablespoons of butter (or about 75% of a stick, if you want to guesstimate)
• One yellow onion
• Linguine pasta or another type of long, thin pasta, such as spaghetti

I loved how simple this was. 45 minutes on the stove and it was done! The sauce was truly delicious. I was really skeptical of its rave reviews (no garlic?!), but the taste was light and a little sweet and perfect! To get recipe instructions, see Smitten Kitchen’s rundown.

Roasted Garlic Potatoes:

• Several new potatoes, halved
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• Two cloves of garlic

Set oven for 450. Place potatoes in a baking dish. Halve garlic cloves and squeeze them in around the potatoes. Drizzle olive oil on top, with salt and pepper to taste. Bake for about 45 minutes (just as long as your pasta & sauce will take, by the way!). Serve as is, or with a bit of cheese or an extra drizzle of olive oil. We ate them straight out of the oven. You can play around with this too, adding rosemary or other spices on top of the potatoes before putting them in the oven.

Heirloom Tomato Salad:

• Two large heirloom tomatoes, preferably in different colors because it’s more fun that way
• Fresh, firm green olives (pitted)
• Feta cheese
• Olive oil
• Salt.

Cut up tomatoes however you prefer. I like smaller bites of tomatoes instead of large halves. Place tomatoes in a bowl, put feta on top of tomatoes. Place olives on top of that. Put a bit of olive oil over everything, add some salt and let it sit while you finish cooking everything else so the oil flavors everything nicely.

This is my kind of meal: fast, easy, delish and inexpensive. YUM!

So, Easter has never really been a big thing for Brandon or me, but this weekend I am going to change that!

Depending on how our schedules look, I may bring out the big guns and make Ree’s Pot Roast for Easter Brunch.

As a newbie to this holiday, any classic Easter recipes I should check out?

Brandon made Ree’s Steak Bites for me last night, and also made mashed potatoes and steamed some broccoli. Oh, yum!

(I also didn’t need to send him any recipes.)

Brandon makes the most fantastic mashed potatoes I’ve ever had, and although they are patently unhealthy—they are so good, you’ll forgive yourself the butter and salt.

Here’s how he makes them:

Brandon’s Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

Potatoes (any kind you like), peeled and quartered; heavy whipping cream; stick butter; salt and pepper

How to Make:

• Boil the potatoes until fork tender
• Drain off the excess water and put potatoes back into pot
• Add butter
• Get out a hand mixer (like these) and begin “mashing” potatoes with the mixer on a low speed
• Mix until butter is almost entirely blended and then add about a quarter cup of the cream
• Continue mixing until potatoes are smooth and free of lumps
• Taste test! Add salt and pepper. If you’re like Brandon, add more butter or cream at will

Like I said—unhealthy as all hell—but so yummy.

(Photo from The Pioneer Woman Cooks)

Last night I wrote a plea for recipes that were fast and easy since I’ve been so tired/stressed/unwilling to spend an hour over the stove!

Your suggestions were amazing.

I am consistently awed by all of you wonderful bloggers and your kindness and generosity!

I’ve compiled all the recipe suggestions below so you can tag this post for a quick reference if you too are in a cooking slump!

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