Spring Strawberry and Asparagus Salad - simple, tasty, cheap.

So it's been a long time since I've posted - I apologize. Between work, new puppy, gearing up for classes, I've been swamped and ... I confess ... doing a lot of take-out. I know, I know - it's bad. It's easy, fast, and the Margaritaville Mistress has been teaching and taking her own classes.

So tonight, I decided to cook a quick and simple meal!

Spring salad:

This is my traditional celebration of spring. Once I can buy the goods, I know that the weather's going to improve, with the days getting longer and Daylight Saving Time meaning I'm no longer coming home from work when the sun sets.

1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1" segments
1 pint of strawberries, hulled and sliced
Baby spinach

Dressing:
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp ground black pepper

In a 3qt saucepan, fill with water and add salt. Bring to a gentle boil. Blanch asparagus for 5-7 minutes, until it turns emerald green. Drain and cool in refrigerator.
Mix the honey, vinegar, oil, and pepper until thoroughly mixed.
In a separate bowl, toss the spinach, asparagus, strawberries, and dressing until coated and mixed.

It's that easy.

I made it tonight with simple honey-cured ham slices and dinner rolls.

It's simple, it's fast, and it's so tasty and refreshing.

vegan cake recipe - experimental!

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1/4 cup cocoa powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
* 1 cup water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add the oil, vanilla, vinegar and water. Mix together until smooth.
3. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.



And the frosting recipe:
6 Tbsp. soy margarine (Earth Balance sticks are great)
¾ cup cocoa powder
2 2/3 cups organic powdered sugar
1/3 cup rice milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Preparation
Cream margarine. Add cocoa and powdered sugar alternately with rice milk. Beat to spreading consistency (additional rice milk may be needed). Blend in vanilla.
Makes about 2 cups of frosting or enough for 1 double layer cake.

Comfort foods - kielbasa and yellow rice

So one of my favorite dishes is incredibly quick and easy to make, and is pretty much the ultimate in comfort food for me (with the possible exception of my mom's green pea salad).

Kielbasa and Yellow Rice
1 pack Vigo's Yellow Rice
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 white onion, small, diced
1 lb kielbasa, sliced into 1/4" circles

Start the yellow rice per instructions on the pack.
In a 10" skillet, add a Tbp of olive oil. Heat at med-high.
Add the pepper and onion to the oil - sautee for 8 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.
Add the kielbasa to the pepper and onion. Brown meat for 10-12 minutes.
Add kielbasa, pepper, and onion to the rice. Cook for additional 5 minutes.

Done!

What's your favorite comfort food?

Experiment with tikka masala - initial results.

Ok, so I tried the tikka masala non-dairy version that I described previously. The results were not spectacularly bad, but were certainly not what I expected either.

First, a confession - I made two errors when making the masala itself:
1) I didn't sautee the onion/ginger/garlic mix with the pepper/garam mix for 2 minutes. I added it at the same time I added the tomatoes.
2) I forgot about the ground cashew powder I set aside. Whoops.

You might also want to add to the list of mistakes "buying your garam masala at the local QFC, and not an authentic Indian grocery."

So the end result was less the fiery delight called chicken tikka masala, and ended up much closer to chicken chai masala - that is, the sauce was peppery and a little on the sweet side. It wasn't bad, but unexpected.

Next time, along with following the actual recipe I set out, I'm going to reduce the amount of honey used by half and include maybe a teaspoon of salt in the mix.

Dairy-free, egg-free dumplings

So one of the charms of Southern cooking is the good ol' chicken 'n' dumplings. Unfortunately, the dumplings I grew up eating involve milk and possibly egg. So how could I share this delight with my wife?

Enter ... dairy-free, egg-free chicken and dumplings.

3 1/2 C chicken broth
2 C water
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved length-wise

Bring broth and water to a simmer in a saucepan. Add chicken and poach at a simmer until just cooked through (approx. 6-8 minutes). Transfer chicken breast with a slotted spoon to a side bowl. reserve 3 1/2 C liquid.

3/4 C non-dairy milk (we use unsweetened almond milk)
1 t vinegar
2 C flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 C margarine or non-dairy butter (we use Earth Balance)

Mix the milk and vinegar and set aside.

In a bowl, combined the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the margarine until crumbly. Add the milk and vinegar and stir until just combined.

Drop the dough in spoonfuls into the simmering broth. Cover. Cook for 10-15 minutes. Slice chicken and add to soup. Cook for 1-2 additional minutes to warm through the chicken.

Non-food post: English First is stupid ... and bad grammar.

So there's a popular meme going around, it reads as follows:
WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Press 1 for English. Press 2 to disconnect until you learn to speak English. And remember only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, JESUS CHRIST. And the AMERICAN SOLDIER. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom. If you agree... copy and paste in your status....

I don't even know where to begin with this. While I'm little-c conservative, and believe firmly in measured, calm progress, I'm actually fairly liberal when it comes to immigration and how we treat non-natives in this country. I believe strongly in letting any and all immigrants short of criminals (and I don't mean illegal immigrants) come to this country to pursue the perhaps-mythical American Dream.

The first presumption, and the one that offends me most, is that all those who live in the United States should speak English. While it is of course a requirement to have a modicum of fluency to attain citizenship, there are those who are here as guests, as students to learn and appreciate what the US has to offer, and those who are here as family of those who have moved here to attain the above-mentioned dream. This genuinely offends me, perhaps most because it presumes that those who wish to speak their native language are not fluent in English. As someone who is fluent in more than just English, I can say with utmost certainty that even being fluent in another language doesn't change the comfort and ease that speaking my native language gives. Especially in a land where it is rare to hear my native tongue. Wanting to speak your native language in no way denigrates English; wanting to speak your native language in no way implies a lack of fluency - though that might be my ego speaking.

Also, the concept of fluency presumes a set vocabulary. My mother, whom I love dearly, wouldn't know a ... well, a router (señalizador de ruta) versus a router (router de mesa). And yet we presume that a foreigner should know the difference.

The second presumption, and the one that amuses me the most, is the presumption that those who are born American should get a pass on fluency, either in English or another language. It always seems that those who are most ardent about English First are also those who are least likely to speak any other tongue. It's more than a little presumptuous to think you have an inherent right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness and deny others simply by accident of birth.

Additionally, those who are most ardent also seem to be the least fluent. I'm not talking about being unable to discern when to use "effect" and "affect," or "who" and "whom"; I'm referring to people who wouldn't be able to find subject-verb agreement with a field guide to grammar. Who think it's a badge of pride that they ain't never had no college education. And who wouldn't see the point I just made.

So I propose this: we abolish the provision of foreign language options, absolutely. And instead we implement a franchise test. A grammar and vocabulary test that covers up through, say, high school graduate English skills, and the person must pass it before he receives the ability to vote. Or have a driver's license. Or be able to work in a job that pays more than minimum wage. This seems fair to me - holding everyone to the same standards and expectations.

I said I was conservative, didn't I?

As for the last portion - I can't wrap my head around it. Comparing American soldiers to the Messiah of a major religion baffles me, and elevates them in a manner that is simultaneously jingoistic and completely lacking in perspective. I respect American soldiers, and think they are doing a great service and taking high risks. But they are doing a job, a job by choice, and deserve the same respect that we accord firefighters and police officers. No more, no less.

Vegan pan-fried cornbread - a not-so-oldie

1 1/2 C non-dairy milk
2 t lemon juice
1 2/3 C flour
1 C cornmeal
4 t baking powder
3/4 t salt
1 jalapeno pepper diced
1 C corn
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/2 C honey

pre-heat oven to 375. Place lightly-greased 10" skillet in oven.

In small bowl, mix together milk and lemon juice. Set aside.

In separate large bowl, mix together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and diced pepper.

In blender, puree corn, oil, and honey until smooth and well-combined. Add the milk and lemon juice, the slowly add the puree to the flour mixture, stirring until just combined.

Pour the batter into the skillet, and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. I used the toothpick test (when it comes out clean).