Tuesday: (Vegan) Chili today, hot tamale!

OK so I am being a little silly, but this might be the last of the cold weather here for a while... it's meant to be warmer as the week goes on, so now is the time to get your CHILI on.

In a large pot on top of your stove put:

1/4 cup olive oil

3 chopped sweet onions

1 chopped green pepper

1 chopped red sweet pepper

2 jalepenos sliced

4 cloves of minced garlic

Saute these veggies until they are soft. To this mixture add:

1 can of drained organic black beans

1 can of drained organic white kidney beans

1 can of drained organic red kidney beans

1 can of drained organic pinto beans

3 large cans of diced organic tomatoes or Cento if you can't get the organic ones.

2 tablespoons of chili powder

1 tsp seasalt and ground black pepper

1 tsp sugar

Stir these additions and then simmer them for three hours. This can be done in a crockpot if you have to leave the kitchen. Just make sure that you do the first step in a pan on the stove!

After the cooking is done, adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve in a nice bowl with corn chips and avocado slices. Pass the sour cream if you are so inclined and have some extra salsa and hot sauce on hand for those who like to "spice it up" more! A nice IPA goes well with this dish.

Friday: chop suey

Such a New England dish - one that at the ripe young age of 11 I came to know from the school cafeteria, or "caf" as they called it in Vermont. It was so much fun to be a foreigner from the midwest and not know what "soda" and "hamburg" and "chop suey" was! Since that time, it's been part of our meals here in chez schwake - in a variety of forms. Mine comes with the dreaded soy crumbles and rice pasta, due to my issues with all things wheat and animal. Rainer however was at the stove last night and whipped up a pretty darn good version as you see it below. It's easy to change out your personal favorites for the main ingredients too, so please. Take liberties!

Boil a 12 oz box of elbow rice pasta, rinse and drain (change out for your favorite elbows)

In a large deep pan cook down two cans of Cento diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, garlic and chopped onion to taste.

In another fying pan cook up a pound of ground organic turkey (or you use my soy crumbles in the next step)

Drain and mix into the tomato mixture. Add the noodles and stir until hot all the way through.

Serve with a variety of cheese toppings. We like parmesan, feta and as pictured, my choice: crumbled goat's cheese. C'est manifique!

Monday: Baby Kale with beans and champignons

Something green to boost those vitamins and minerals! Easy too ...

Steam one small bunch of baby kale until tender. Make sure to chop off any tough stems parts!

Drain and reserve any kale water for later use in broth. Add three tablespoons of olive oil, one cup of white beans and four sliced mushrooms. Heat through and sprinkle with a tsp of sea salt and ground pepper, mixed with a clove of garlic minced and a hearty dash of tumeric. Top with a couple of squeezes of lemon and enjoy!

Wednesday: Bubble and Squeak!.

Toad is in jail and the washerwoman brings him his dinner of "bubble and squeak" ... ah "The Wind in the Willows"! One of our favorite books and claymation movies features this delicious meal so humble and so good for a winter's night. Bubble and Squeak! Even the name makes you smile. I know you love this Grace and so do we. Bonus points as you can really do it in the one pot - but using a frying pan makes a nice crust. This should serve four or make enough for leftovers for a few meals

Boil 4 russet potatoes and a half a head of cabbage chopped up in salted water. When the potatoes are cooked through drain thoroughly. In the same pot or better yet a frying pan, melt two tablespoons of butter with a tablespoon of olive oil. A non stick pan works well for this dish.

Mash the drained potatoes and cabbage well and add a chopped spring onion or three greens and all together. Add a splash of milk or cream - if you want to,but you know me I don't - and lots of salt and pepper to taste.

Put this mash into the oil/butter pan and press down all around to make a giant pattie. Cook it slowly so it doesn't burn but becomes deep brown on the bottom. If you can manage it, flip it over piece by piece (say four wedges worth) and brown the other side. Often I just do one side and that works for me! Don't crowd the pan too much and make two batches if you have more than two inches of mash mixture in the fry pan. It will keep in the fridge for another go round the next day!

You can enjoy it just as it is without a side of sausage but here we have to have bratwurst for a select few. Most any kind of sausage is a great accompaniment to this dish. Me? I like it just the way it is - no meat!

Wednesday: Hot Tofu Soup

It has been snowing for the past two days here, so soup keeps creeping back into our lives. I felt like making something quick for lunch today and something which might help Grace get back on her feet again knocking this cold of hers out a bit before flying out tomorrow. I also had very little time, so this one was made up as we went along, using what I had on hand. Try it - it's very warming and good for what might be wrong with you!

In a small sauce pan:

1 Tbs. organic bouillon ( I used beef as that is all we had on hand, but any will do!)

4 cups of filtered water

1/2 tsp tumeric

1 clove minced garlic

a few red pepper flakes, you know how much you can take!

1/2 cup thinly sliced on the diagonal snow peas or snap peas

4 oz. tofu cut into small cubes

2 green onions sliced into small rounds

Mix up the bouillon with the water and bring to a boil. Add the spices and stir. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour into your favorite two soup bowls and enjoy! Nothing else needed.

Tuesday: Panfried Quesadilla

When we are at a loss for what to eat here at chez Schwake we always end up making ourselves a dang quesadilla. (nod to napoleon dynamite) Today I found myself with just one lonely tortilla so the following recipe ended up being a little different than our normal, two tortilla regular issue. It passed the test with sister Chloe and that is a hard test to pass for sure.

Take one multigrain or corn tortilla large size and spread on it:

2 Tbs refried or not black beans
2 Tbs. salsa
4 Tbs. chopped green peppers
1/4 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, combination of anything you can shred is fine)

Heat up a small pan with a tablespoon of olive oil. Fold the quesadilla over in half and carefully place it in the pan. It might spatter a bit (per normal here, right?) and cook until golden on the underside. Carefully flip it over and do the same on the second side. Slide it off onto a plate and garnish it with slices of avacado (ours had "gone by" before I shot the photo) and a dollop of sour cream and more salsa, sprinkle with cilantro fresh or dried. Easy and pretty much the best quick lunch around!

Thursday: the healing soup

Oh the nasty bugs continue to roam our part of New Hampshire with a vengeance and that calls for soup. Healing soup! Get your soup pot on and add in:

1 Tablespoon of vegetable soup base (i love organic better than bullion) or start with homemade soup broth.(recipe coming)
2 quarts of filtered water
1/2 tsp tumeric
2 cloves of crushed garlic
1 sprig of rosemary

Let simmer. In another pan saute two sweet onions in small dice until translucent.

Add the onions in to the pot along with:

2 carrots cut into a small circles
2 small diced sweet potatoes
1 small bunch of kale chopped very small
1 or 2 leaves of fresh basil
1 cup of cut corn
3 small red potatoes diced
5 thinly sliced baby portabello mushrooms
and salt and pepper to taste

When all the root veggies are tender, add in a handful or two of brown basmati rice. Cook until rice is done and enjoy with your favorite bread!