Vegan Meatballs

This recipe is from Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen.  We have enjoyed each of her recipes that we have tried, but she does have a few that have nuts that I cannot vouch for.  (Carol, I believe with a few easy substitutions you could make these gluten free.)

Meatballs and Pasta

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice, cooled
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. dried basil
1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional)
canola oil for frying

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and cook onion and mushrooms until soft and lightly browned.  Add garlic and cook a few more minutes.  Transfer to a food processor.  Reserve the skillet for later use.

Add cooled brown rice, bread crumbs, flour, basil, salt, pepper, and red pepper (if using) to the food processor.  Pulse until the mixture just comes together.  If necessary, transfer to a large bowl and mix with your hands.  Season to taste and let cool slightly.  Form the mixture into 1 to 2 inch balls.

Heat canola oil in the reserved skillet over medium heat and pan fry the meatballs in batches.  They should be well done and browned on each side with a nice crust.  Drain on paper towels.

To serve:
Combine cooked pasta with your choice of sauce.  Top with meatballs and garnish with parsley and Parmesan topping.


I see no reason these couldn't just as easily be served with a gravy.  I would assume they would not "simmer" well in it though, but I haven't tried doing so either.

Kitchen Duty

I've been trying to keep kitchen duty light and it has meant a change in shopping, but needs must kind of thing.

 

 

a kind of sort of Italian sausage sub

I had limited energy, so I used a purchased whole wheat roll.

Sliced a vegan Italian sausage, added some bell pepper and onion, and sautéed it all with a tiny bit of olive oil.  Then I stirred in a couple of tablespoons of marinara and let it heat.

A quick topping of Daiya mozzarella. 

 

 

 

My sister took care of brunch on Sunday -- delicious by the way!

Then I had more energy for cooking on Sunday evening. 

I made my first ever egg rolls -- I used up a bag of broccoli slaw mix, some mushrooms, onion powder, and a bit of Bragg's Liquid Aminos to make the filling.

I brushed them very lightly with oil and air fried them.

 

 

 

This was my Aldi find of vegetarian chili.  There's a baked potato under there and a light topping of Daiya cheddar.  Extremely easy, filling and inexpensive.

 

Up and About

We decided I was doing well enough to go out and help run some simple errands.  My husband drove me, did the cart pushing, and all the lifting.  Bless his heart!  However, I think we accomplished everything and are set up for the rest of the month.  (We do have one more errand to run on the day I have a doctor's appointment, but beyond that I think we are finished.)

1.  I had to return a school book by mail.  This will net us a full refund minus the small amount of postage.  He handled this errand for me and I sat in the car.

2.  We dropped off a donation to Goodwill and I walked down one aisle.  I'm looking for a 9x13 casserole dish that does not have the end handles like typical Pyrex does.  My small oven will not hold my dish because of the handles.  Sadly, they didn't have one.  I'll keep searching.

3.  I had a short list for Dollar Tree.  I needed Valentine's Day cards to mail to my nieces and nephews.  I bought oatmeal crème pies, 4 jars of mushrooms (thanks Carol for the head's up that they had them), 2 rubber spatulas, 2 sets of measuring cups, 6 aseptically sealed cartons of soy milk, 2 graham cracker crusts,  and 1 small baking pan, 1 cake mix, and 1 brownie mix.

4.  While I was in Dollar Tree, my husband, who had a coupon for five pads of paper for $1.00, walked to the Staples next door to pick that up.

5.  In that same complex is Michaels.  In keeping with my resolution to not shop for crafting items unless I need them for an ongoing project, I picked up two skeins of yarn to go towards the afghan I am working on.  I believe I now have enough to finish it.  (This will be my first completed Christmas present for my 2017 list.)  I also bought a ball of #10 thread.  I use this on and off and had just finished up my last ball.  I had a coupon for 30% off all yarn purchases and used this to reduce my costs.

6.  We went to the library to pick me up a couple of books.  I picked up two mysteries to read and one audio book so that I can listen while I crochet.

7.  On our way back home, I thought I was running out of energy, but by the time we got nearer I thought I could finish up by hitting Aldi.  We had a reasonably small list.  We came home with:
4 bags of corn chips (on sale for 99 cents each), 2 jars of organic salsa, 1 package of mint cookies, 1 package of fig "newtons," 3 containers of vanilla soy milk, 1 carton of lactose free milk, cabbage, zucchini, cucumbers, 2 bags of radishes, 2 bags of kitty treats, 5 lbs of red potatoes, bananas, 2 boxes of pop tarts, 4 cans of vegetable soup for my husband to take with him, and 3 cans of vegetarian chili.

Needless to say by the time we got home my daughter said I was walking like an old lady.  I was exhausted.  After all was put away, I made us a quick and simple lunch.

1 can of the vegetarian chili, 2 baked potatoes, and a bit of Daiya cheddar crumbles -- easy, less than $1.50 a person.
 

Slowly Working

I've reached the stage where I feel just good enough to be miserable. 

With a little help I can piddle in the kitchen and kitchen work always makes me happier.

 

We had 3 sweet potatoes that needed to be cooked.  I tossed them in the Instant Pot and put them on for 30 minutes.  I let the pressure drop naturally and when I could handle them I mashed them. A cup went into a dozen muffins and a tiny "tea" loaf.  I added raisins and flax seeds, and I used whole grain flour to make this pretty healthy.  To veganize them I used egg replacer and coconut sugar.

 

 

Friday night was pizza night.  My daughter likes her without sauce and she requested cheddar cheese.

 

We had our vegan pizza -- sauce, Daiya mozzarella, onions, bell pepper, and olives.

Both were made on homemade whole wheat crusts.

 

 

 

I used labor saving devices to help me stick to healthier eating and to increase my productivity.

The pressure cooker and the bread machine are both easy to operate and pretty energy efficient.

 

Free Food Preservation

 

My husband came in and his first words were, "I know the timings bad, but...."  All I could think was what now...lol

Turns out someone had given him a large bag of apples.

 

I knew I would not be able to can them alone, but with the three of us working together we managed to get them put away.

 

My daughter brought in the canner and the canning supplies.

We got the jars going and then I sat at the island and we worked on the apples.  She cut and I cored.  Everything went into the pressure cooker, along with some water, spices and coconut sugar.

8 minutes in the pressure cooker (once they came up to pressure)

 

Then my husband mostly drained the apples and I pureed them with an immersion blender.  (I saved the liquid and sealed it in a jar.  It will be used to make "apple syrup" for pancakes.)

 

We ended up with 5 pints of apple butter and the pint of "apple juice" that I will thicken with cornstarch when we use it.  We also saved out a small bowl of apple butter to use now.

 

A little family cooperation and nothing was wasted!

 

 

 

 

Pressure Cooker Love

 

 

The instant pot is hands down my favorite kitchen gadget -- it works well when I am pressed for time, or in this case, when I have low energy.  I also like that it is an energy saving device. 

Half a package of pasta, a jar of organic marinara, bell pepper and onions I froze, Gardein meatballs, and water.  Six minutes on high pressure and while it was coming up to temp I made garlic toast with my homemade wheat bread.  This made enough for supper and leftovers for next days lunch.   

"Sits and Thinks"

  My husband's favorite quote (or one of many) ---  "Sometimes I sits and thinks and sometimes I just sits." That seems to sum up my day yesterday.  

I'm not one for sitting for hours on end.  I'm forbidden to go up and down the stairs alone.  Forbidden to lift anything.  For someone who is a constant piddler, this is quite stifling. I'm spending an excruciating amount of time sitting and thinking.   The highlights of yesterday were limited.
I'm rewatching the Inspector Morse mysteries on Acorn TV.  

I also am working on a crocheting project.  I have three skeins of the variegated yarn and one solid gray.  When I mentioned Christmas gifts I forgot to add that my uncle gave me two skeins of yarn for Christmas.  The gray was the second skein he gave me and it seems to be going well with the variegated from my stash.  I am hoping the four skeins will produce a decent sized throw.

 

The second skein he gave me was a variegated yarn and I believe the color way was called Woodlands or something similar.  I crocheted a really cute bucket hat with it.  It used the entire skein except for maybe enough for the center of a granny square.

 

 

I also cooked supper with my daughter's help.  It was a simple meal, but it seemed to take twice as long as it normally would.

I cooked rice and soy curls stir fry.  I used the Instant Pot to cook the rice and made a double batch.  I also made enough stir fry to send lunch with my husband and have leftovers for myself.  

 

This was my first time trying the soy curls and I was pleasantly surprised by how good they are.  Since I wasn't sure about the yield, I cooked the whole 8 ounce bag.  It looks like a fourth of the bag will be enough for one meal for my husband and me.  I have the leftovers in the fridge to use in a different meal.  I'm leaning toward some kind of casserole or perhaps a "chicken" soup type dish.

 

 

Even with the soy curls, this was a pretty frugal meal.  I buy rice in bulk, the peppers were some I bought on sale and froze myself, the broccoli was an Aldi purchase, and I made my own sauce using corn starch for a thickener.

 

After dinner my husband took me for a short ride just so I could get out of the house.  I came home, he helped me shower, and it was back to my trusty recliner.  So I could "sits and thinks" some more.