Mofo 2013 - Day 2 - A is for Artichoke Arancini with Arugula Salad and San Marzano Tomato Sauce

The beginning of the alphabet is a joyous beginning to this year's MoFo. While there were several very worthy foods starting with A (asparagus, avocado, apples, apricots, almonds, etc.), I decided to utilize the noble artichoke and nutty arugula.

The artichoke is believed to be a native Mediterranean plant from the thistle family. There are over 140 varieties of artichoke. If you have been a follower of the blog for a while, you may remember our epic artichoke plant that yielded more than 50 of these beautiful globes. For this recipe, I used canned artichoke hearts. you could easily sub fresh or frozen. Oh man, now I want fresh artichoke hearts!

Arugula lends a nutty backdrop for the rich Arancini. Arancini is a pretty name for friend rice balls. These Sicilian balls of glory are crispy and a touch sinful. The San Marzano Tomato Sauce is the perfect sauce to dip your balls in! Enjoy!

Artichoke Arancini with San Marzano Tomato Sauce

Makes 16 balls

1 recipe Artichoke Risotto
1/2 package Daiya Havarti Wedge Cheese, cut into small cubes (a little smaller than 1/2 inch), keep very cold until ready to use
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 recipe San Marzano Tomato Sauce (recipe below)

10 large basil leaves, chiffonade for garnish

Oil for frying ( I prefer to use grapeseed oil)

Artichoke Risotto

1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons minced yellow onion
1/3 cup canned artichoke hearts, drained, chopped small (measured after chopping)
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine, chilled
1 3/4 cups cold vegetable stock
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried

In medium sauce pan heat olive oil over medium heat. Add minced onion and saute for about 3 minutes until slightly softened. Add artichoke and saute for another minute. Add rice and saute, stirring to coat, about 2-3 minutes. Turn heat to low and add wine. Simmer, stirring constantly until wine is absorbed. Repeat with cold vegetable stock (1/2 cup at a time). Risotto should be cooked through, but not mushy. If all liquid has been added and risotto is still not done, add 1/4 cup cold vegetable stock at a time until proper doneness is attained. Remove from heat and stir in nutritional yeast and parsley. This risotto is wonderful as a side dish on its own. If you want to have it that way, stop here and serve immediately. For the balls, cool completely in refrigerator. This step is very important. If risotto is not completely cooled it will be sticky and difficult to work with. Can be made a day ahead of time.

While risotto is cooling, start preparing tomato sauce (see recipe below).

Using a xx oz. scoop, scoop out approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons risotto. with index finger, make indentation large enough to insert cube of cheese. Insert cheese and cover up hole completely. Set ball on plate. Repeat for next 15 balls. Set aside.

Add oil to 10 inch iron skillet until about 1 inch deep. Heat oil to 350 degrees.

In bowl combine bread crumbs. Roll each ball in breadcrumbs to coat and place back on plate. Cooking in batches of 4, carefully slide arancini into oil. The balls can be delicate, so use caution when putting them in the oil. Fry for about 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully turn to other side. I find using two forks to gently turn them works really well. Fry for another 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oil and place on paper towel lined plate. Repeat for remaining balls.

Serve immediately drizzled with warm San Marzano Tomato Sauce. Garnish with fresh basil chiffonade. Serve with Arugula Salad on the side.

San Marzano Tomato Sauce

This is a very simple sauce. The San Marzano tomatoes are key to making the flavor, oh so special. Sauce can be used on pasta as well.

Makes about 3 cups

1/3 cup minced sweet onion
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minted
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper
28 oz can pealed whole San Marzano Tomatoes with juice

Heat olive oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent, about 3-5 minutes, stirring occassionally. Add garlic and saute until just fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add salt, pepper oregano and crushed red pepper. Saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes. Turn heat to low. Break apart tomatoes with wooden spoon. Let simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. I let it keep cooking until risotto is cold, which is sometimes longer. Can be made ahead and refrigerated for several days.

Arugula Salad

6 cups baby arugula
1/3 cup dried cranberries
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons raspberry balsamic or 2 tablespoons balsamic with 1 teaspoon agave nectar

Place arugula and cranberries in large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar. Toss. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cinco de Mayo 2011

I have to admit, I used to love the drinking holidays in my younger years. However, I've either gotten a lot older or smarter or both. I no longer stay out until the wee hours of the morning, wonder how I got home or nurse a nasty hangover. For these things I am truly grateful. OK that confirms it...I AM OLD! Hee hee.

Cinco de Mayo was not a holiday we celebrated back in my youth. I really only learned to appreciate this fine celebration after I moved to AZ. Many people incorrectly think that this holiday is Mexican Independence Day (which is actually September 16th). It is actually a celebration of the Mexican army's victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. 4000 Mexican soldiers took down an army of over 8000 French and renegade Mexican soldiers. It was a huge victory. Now that you know the true reason for the holiday, lets talk about food and drink.

Admittedly, I spent much of my day at work gorging myself on chips, salsa and guacamole. So by the time I was heading home, I had lost my entusiasmo for creating a festivo Mexican dinner. I was very torn to say the least. I hate passing up any day that allows me a theme for my kitchen toiling, so I had to find something to make.

I still had cornmeal pizza dough left over from Vine and Dine in the fridge. I set about digging through the disaster that is my fridge to see if I could scrounge up any reasonable ingredients for a tasty pizza. Somewhere in its depths I found a small amount of enchilada sauce. I have no idea which recipe I used it for originally or how long it had been in the fridge. But I gave it the sniff and taste test and decided it was safe. I found some mushrooms that needed to be used, stat. There was some Soyrizo I just happened to pick up the other day. A friend of mine had given me a load of fresh cilantro from his garden yesterday and I hit the garden to find a couple of lonely jalapenos to throw into the mix. The results of this impromptu fridge cleaning/Mexican themed creation were tasty!

Cinco de Mayo Pizza

Makes 8 slices

Cornmeal pizza dough (enough for one 14" pizza)
1/4 cup enchilada sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup soyrizo
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup vegan cheddar, mozzarella or combo ( I prefer Daiya)
2 fresh jalapenos, thinly sliced
few springs of cilantro, leaves only

Preheat Oven to 500.

In a 10 inch saute pan or iron skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms and Soyrizo and saute until mushrooms are just starting to release their liquid and Soyrizo is just browning. Remove from pan and set aside on a plate. Add a touch more oil and saute the onions until they just start to soften, about 3 minutes. Remove from pan.

Roll out pizza dough to 14" diameter. Place on corn meal dusted pizza pan. Using a large spoon, spread enchilada sauce onto dough. Sprinkle minced garlic evenly over the pie. Do the same with the mushrooms, Soyrizo and onions. Sprinkle the Daiya evenly over the other ingredients. Place jalapeno slices and cilantro leaves decoratively over the top of the cheese.

Place pizza pan on rack that is about 6" from top of he oven. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes. Cheese should be bubbling and the crust should be golden. Let sit for about 5 minutes before slicing. Wash down with a cold Mexican beer (example below).

Playoff Food

Well, my Bears lost. I am so bummed they didn't make it to the Super Bowl. I was hoping Papa Bear Halas could look down and smile today, but it was not to be.

I was supposed to meet some friends to watch the game and they bailed. So I pouted for a little while and then thought "Why am I sitting here in this bar by myself wondering what I can order to eat?" So I could have sat there and ordered mediocre food and paid way to much, or I could head home and kick back with the doggie and make something I REALLY wanted.

I am on my quest to lose weight and once a week I allow myself a splurge. Today was that day. I fired up my fryer and made some sinful yumminess. The base is crispy fried Cascadian brand crinkle cut fries. They were placed on a pizza pan and covered with Daiya cheddar cheeze and thrown under the broiler. While the Daiya was getting tantalizingly melty, I tossed thinly sliced jalapenos and red onions in seasoned flour to lightly coat and threw them in the fryer for about 2 minutes. The fries were pulled out of the oven as the cheeze was just perfectly melty. Then the crispy fried jalapenos and onions were sprinkled on top and voila! I think these just might be my new favorite football watchin' snack!

MOFO - Day 13 - Chicken Nachos a la Lombardi's

This is going to be short and sweet because I have a hot date with my handsome honey. If you know me or have followed my blog for a while, you might know that I got my first cooking gig when I was 15 at a place called Lombardi's 2nd Effort. Oddly enough it was an awesome Mexican joint that also made pizza. The owner was definitely Mexican, but he loved Vince Lombardi and his philosophy. They gave me my first opportunity to cook and I fell in love.

The other day I was on FB and my very great cooking bud from this very restaurant had asked me if I remembered how we made these. It stirred up wonderful gastric memories and I developed an unbelievable hankering for their famous chicken nachos.

In this version I used chicken seitan cutlets cut into 3/4 inch pieces. They were coated with my favorite taco seasoning and seared until they were dark brown. I used some thicker and very crunchy chips. This is very important, because otherwise the chips will not hold up the the toppings. The chips were topped first with a small dollop (maybe 1/2 teaspoon) of toffutti sour cream, then one chunk of the seasoned chicken. I then placed very thinly sliced Daiya Italian blend over each chip and garnished with a thin slice of jalapeno. Slap these babies under the broiler for about 3 minutes until the chips start to brown and the Daiya is bubbling. Serve with your favorite salsa and share a great memory with yours truly.

Mucho Gusto y gracias Dan Cervantes, wherever you are.

Chipotle - Sausage - Bean Breakfast Burro

I woke up really hungry today. I mean really hungry. I've been on a mission to shed the 40+ extra pounds I've gained since I met Fred. I'm not blaming him at all, but I tend to cook, eat, and drink more when I am happy. Happy is a good thing, fat is not. So, I am cutting back on the unhealthy, fried, high-fat, sugary crap and eat more nutrient dense foods. Today I wanted to splurge a little. While this is a little indulgent, it is not totally unhealthy as it packs a whopping 24.9 grams of protein per serving. It is a little high calorie at 495, but only 23% of the calories are from fat.

Why all the nutritional mumbo jumbo you might ask? I have become obsessed with the MyPlate tool on the livestrong.com website. I have been plugging in many of my recipes to see how well they fare on the fat/carb/calorie scale. Eventually my obsession will cause me to find another nutritional site to track vitamins and minerals too, but that will be for another day when I have more time on my hands.

Are you still with me and awake? If so, you will win the bonus prize of an awesome recipe to treat you and your family too when you are craving some good hearty breakfast burros!

Chipotle - Sausage - Bean Breakfast Burro

6 - 1/2 burrito servings

Canola spray

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 package of gimme lean sausage broken up or crumbled

1/2 cup sliced cremini mushrooms

1 cup cooked red kidney beans

2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced

1 12 oz package firm tofu

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon tumeric

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup Daiya Italian Blend (or cheddar if that's the way you roll)

3 12" whole wheat tortillas (if you find low fat, you can lower the calorie content here)

Spray a bit of canola spray into a 10" iron skillet or non-stick pan. Over medium heat, saute garlic for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add Gimme Lean and brown. Once sausage is browned, add cremini mushrooms and a touch of water if pan is getting dry. Saute until the mushrooms just start to release their juices. Add kidney beans, tofu, nutritional yeast, tumeric, and salt and mix until everything is well distributed. Turn heat to med low and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Mixture should be moist but not wet. 

Once mixture is cooked, sprinkle 1/4 cup Daiya on one end of each tortilla. Top with tofu mixture and roll up burrito style. You can eat them at this stage, but I like to cook them a little longer. In another large skillet, spray a bit more canola oil. Place rolled burritos in pan seam side down. Cook for 3-5 minutes until just starting to brown and crisp up a bit. Flip and do the same on the other side.

Serve with your favorite salsa.

The filling can also be enjoyed as a scramble without the tortillas. That cuts 110 calories and 2 grams of fat from the recipe. Leave off the cheeze and cut out 90 more calories and 7 grams of fat. So yes, I probably could have done without the tortillas and cheese, but sometimes it is just worth it. Hey, I still have 700 or so more calories to consume today! So there!!!

FNF - Rachel Ray - Spring Chickn Towers

Spring Chickn Towers with Asparagus and Lemon Dijon Sauce

Hey gang, it's Food Network Friday again. If you're new to the blog, this is a fun challenge we try to do once a month or so. We pick a Food Network recipe and do a vegan interpretation of that recipe. Each entry is posted at Tami Noyes' sight Vegan Appetite. Check it out!

If you are a Rachel Ray fan, I have good news for you. I've been able to veganize and reduce the fat for this recipe just in time for swimsuit season. As a side note, I don't usually like to use prepared meats and such, but it seemed to work well for this recipe. It makes it fast and easy. This recipe boasts only 287 calories per serving and about 12.7g fat. It comes together fairly quickly for an easy and fancy weeknight meal.

3 Servings

12 - 16 oz extra firm tofu (1 package), pressed
3/4 cup Daiya Italian Blend Cheeze
6 Yves Deli Ham slices
1 lb fresh asparagus trimmed to 4 inch pieces
1 cup low sodium vegetable broth
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
juice of 1 large lemon (approx 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup loosely packed flat leaf parsley, chopped
pinch white pepper


Slice tofu block into 3 equal rectangles. Take each section and slice into three equal thin rectangles. If you prefer, you can use cookie or biscuit cutters to make fancy shapes. Smoke with apple or alder wood for 15 minutes. You can use right away or refrigerate for up to 2 days. As an option, you can purchase pre-smoked tofu.

Steam or blanch asparagus until just bright green. Do not overcook. You want it a bit firm and crisp. Keep warm.

Start sauce by mixing 1 cup cold water, bullion, lemon juice, and arrowroot in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk frequently until sauce thickens. Turn off heat. Stir in dijon mustard and parsley. Keep warm.

Preheat oven to 450.

Cut small hole in middle of tofu and ham slices for asparagus spears if desired. If you prefer you can serve asparagus on the side. If your tofu has been chilled; on griddle or in iron skillet, warm apple smoked tofu and ham slices. Once warm layer in iron skillet or other oven safe dish sprayed with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Layer by first putting slice of tofu, then 1 slice ham cut or folded to the size of the tofu, then carefully layer shredded Daiya Italian blend (approx 2 tablespoons per layer), repeat and finally top with last slice of tofu. If you are putting the asparagus in the tower, put two small spears cut to approximately 3-4 inches in length in the hole.

Once the towers are layered in the pan, bake for 5-8 minutes until cheese starts to melt.

While the towers are baking, spread sauce evenly over 3 plates. Place cooked towers in the center of sauce. Garnish plate with remaining asparagus spears and quartered cherry tomatoes (optional).

Pizza Night

I had a hankering for pizza. It would not go away, so not being one to deny myself, we had a pizza night last night. Now when I go out for pizza, I am often shocked at how much places charge for extra ingredients. This is the beauty of DIY pizza at home. You can add to your heart's content. For this pizza night we opted to make two smaller pizza's instead of one biggie. This way we could make two very different varieties.

Before I left for work, I mixed up the dough from Joanna Vaught's Potluck Mania Issue #1. We gave it two risings; one slow in the fridge and one faster in the slightly warm oven. I was hungry and not so patient. When I got home from work, Fred already had the dough rising in the oven. I'm pretty sure I didn't let it get a good second rising.

Next I selected my ingredients and got them all prepped. For the first pizza I decided to do a vegan version of on of my all time fav pregan versions: Mushroom, Sausage, and Onion. I sauteed the mushrooms in a touch of olive oil with just a little salt. Be careful not to overcook them, just saute until they are barely starting to get soft. The onions were carmelized by sauteeing slowly in olive oil with just a touch of sugar and salt until they were golden brown. I used browned Gimme Lean sausage because I had some left in the fridge. I toyed with the idea of using Julie Hasson's Italian sausages from the freezer, but was too hungry to wait to thaw them out. I used Joanna's no cook pizza sauce from the same 'zine as the dough. We love garlic, so of course we had to add extra minced garlic. So it went like this: dough rolled out as round as Fred could manage (this is no easy task we found), sauce, veggies and sausage evenly distributed. Top with Daiya cheese and sprinkle with oregano. Bake for 20 minutes at 450.

Our next little lovely was a Pesto Pizza. We started with Julie Hasson's Basil and Spinach Spread (pesto) which will be in her upcoming Vegan Diner cookbook. On top of that we layered lightly sauteed zucchini, beautiful campari tomatoes, roasted red peppers, Daiya Italian blend cheeze, then we sprinkled the top with kalmata olives. This was also baked for 20 minutes in a 450 degree oven. I honestly thought I would like the first pizza the best, but this one stole my heart. It was really tasty! One ingredient I meant to use on this one was arugula from our garden. Oops. Well, I have some leftover dough in the freezer. I see arugula/ricotta calzones in our future!!!

Fred was very happy to report that Heineken is indeed vegan!

As soon as I get the dough perfected, I think we should have a make your own pizza party!!! We'll let you know!

Vegan MOFO - Day 18 - Gourmet Pasta

This recipe was sent to me by my lovely friend Julie. This Casserole is a ridiculously rich and over the top dish not to be taken lightly. As a matter of fact, this could easily de-rail my biggest loser efforts, thank you very much. But holy mama is it freaking delicious. I am truly amazed at how many of the family favorites are laden with high-fat and normally big time dairy ingredients. C'est la vie. I left my camera at my friend's house (along with the leftovers LOL), so I will post the pics when I get them uploaded. Even the totally omni kids chowed down on this. When you have some calories to spare, make this one.

Gourmet Pasta

2 cups TVP
1 3/4 cups vegetable broth
2 teaspoons kitchen bouquet
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 - 14.5 can diced fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 - 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 - 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
5 oz ribbon noodles
1 cup toffutti sour cream
4 oz. toffutti cream cheese
6 green onions, chopped
1 cup Daiya cheddar cheese
1 cup Daiya Italian blend

Preheat oven to 350.

Stir kitchen bouquet into vegetable broth. Heat mixture and pour over TVP to rehydrate. In a large skillet heat olive oil. Brown TVP. Once browned add minced garlic and saute for 2 minutes more. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Lower heat to simmer. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain pasta. While pasta is still hot, stir in cream cheese, sour cream, and green onions. Mix well. Coat 4 quart casserole with canola oil (I prefer spray canola). Layer 1/2 of noodles, then 1/2 of tomato mixture, then 1 cup of Italian cheese mix, remaining 1/2 of noodles, remaining tomato mixture, then 1 cup of cheddar.

Bake uncovered for 35 minutes. Turn oven off without opening. Let sit in oven for 20-25 minutes. Serve immediately. Can also be refrigerated and re-heated at 350 for 25 minutes.

Vegan MOFO - Day 10 - An ode to Mrs Eichenberger

Mrs. Eichenberger was our lunch lady in grade school. We actually went to school in a time when lunches were actually real food made by old ladies who cared about what they cooked for the kids. We paid 4 cents for a pint of milk.

One of my favorite lunches was the "pizza burger". It was neither a pizza or a burger. In hindsight and with many years of food experience behind me, I found it was a rather crafty way to use the leftover spaghetti sauce from the lunches earlier in the week. The matrons of the school cafeteria took spaghetti sauce (probably made with some soy burger rations) and a really cheap nasty cheddar cheese that got totally crusty when broiled. OK, now when I think of this today I'm thinking, "really? That is some nasty shiitake." But in the day it was like gold.

I had some leftover spaghetti sauce from the remake of Tracey's sauce. I found some Orrowheat sandwich rounds, which seemed to me to be the perfect canvas for this remake. I slathered that sauce on the rounds, added some Daiya cheddar and plopped it under the broiler. Ah, the sweet memories of grade school took over my snobby foodie palate and made me 10 years old again. It was the best forking lunch I've had in a long time. Viva la Mrs. Eichenberger and LITH Elementary School!!!

Vegan MOFO - Day 7 - Piot's Cheezy Potatoes

Day seven and I'm wishing my friends and family had low fat favorites. It just is not the American way. My Biggest Loser challenge is very challenging with recipes like this one.

This recipe is busted out regularly during our combined family get togethers. My friend Piot sent me her recipe for Cheezy Potatoes. Her daughter Rachel loves these and requested them for her birthday dinner last weekend. This is a very quick and easy dish to put together. It packs a very high-cal punch, so proceed with caution. Whenever these are busted out, there are never many leftovers.

The original version includes lots and lots of dairy and butter. The butter is replaced by Earth balance, the cheddar is replaced with Daiya cheddar style, and the dairy based cream of mushroom soup is replaced with this vegan recipe.

Piot's Cheezy Potatoes

1 pound frozen hash browns, partially thawed

1 1/2 cups cream of mushroom soup

4 tablespoons Earth Balance, melted

1/2 onion, chopped

4 oz. shredded vegan cheddar (I highly recommend using Daiya for the right texture)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Plain potato chips to crumble on top

Preheat oven to 350.

Melt butter in small saucepan. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except for potato chips. Pour mixture into oiled 8 x 8 pan. Crumble potato chips over the top. Bake for 35 minutes.* Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

****Version Dos****

My friend at work is very allergic to onions. But I didn't want her to miss out on potato goodness. I decided to modify the cheezy taters so she could enjoy them. As a bonus I think this version is just as good or better!

1 pound frozen hash browns (preferably O'brien style, chunks rather than shreds)

1 1/4 cup Tofutti Sour Cream

1/4 cup strong vegetable broth

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

4 oz vegan cheddar (again I recommend Daiya)

4 tablespoons Earth Balance, melted

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Salt and pepper to taste.

Plain potoato chips to crumble on top.

Preheat oven to 350.

Melt butter in small saucepan. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients well except for potato chips. Pour mixture into oiled 8 x 8 pan. Crumble potato chips over the top. Bake for 35 minutes.* Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

* cooking time will vary slightly depending on how frozen the potatoes are. Begin the professional that I am, I use the finger test to see if it's done. You can also use a thermometer inserted into the middle most portion of the taters. They should be at about 150.

**As another side note, this recipe doubles nicely. Just use a 9 x 13 pan and up the baking time 5-10 minutes.

Vegan MOFO - Day 2 - Daiya Cheese to the Rescue

Well, today I was going to post a conversion of one of Fred's childhood favorites, but it was an utter failure. Like totally nasty I could use it as a paste failure. What a drag! So I'm going to have to rework it and post it another day.

I'm working 12 hour shifts this week, so I'm not cooking anything complex to speak of. Simple and quick will be the order of the week if I'm in charge of the cooking. However, I'm hoping Fred will be my pinch cooker this weekend. Maybe if I'm really nice, he'll hook me up!

Anyhoooooooo. I'm going to go back to my childhood repertoire for today. After my miserable failure in the kitchen last night, I had to do some quick thinking. Fred had been working on our new garden most of the day and he was starving. After he choked down some of the paste casserole, I offered up something a bit more tasty. When I was in high school, I worked two jobs and went to school, so I was pretty busy. I figured out a few things I could always make on the fly. I practically lived on eggs over easy and toast, boiled frozen corn, french fries, and grilled cheese. Don't worry, there were vegetables in the mix too. My dad was quite a gardener.

Grilled cheese was one of my ultimate comfort foods. I loved the gooey, creamy, rich cheese oozing out of the bread. Oh yes, and the bread, whole grain, perfectly browned and crispy. Wow, I'm drooling and it's only 630am. Fred used to love Velveeta and I was a big fan of Kraft Deluxe Singles. EW! I know...like one molecule away from being plastic or something like that. Still, I loved the stuff. I wasn't very hopeful about finding an ample sub, but then came Daiya cheese. It was love at first melt. I bought some the other day for another recipe I am hoping to convert next week. I was psyched I had this lovely container of yellow-orange joy in the fridge. I whipped out the iron skillet, slathered some yummy multigrain bread with Earth Balance and made the perfect grilled cheese. It was late, so we shared. It was so freaking good that next time there will be NO sharing!!! Ah thank you Daiya for bringing one of my all time favorites back to life.

I promise, when I have days off, I will get more creative.