Low-fat Potato Dinner

This dish is very filling and is pretty low in calories and fat but high in flavor.

Baked Potato with Salsa:
1/2 cup corn
2/3 cup black beans
1/2 cup chopped spinach
1 Tablespoon Wildwood Aioli or a vegan mayo
Salsa to taste

Mix the ingredients and serve over a warm baked with a side of salsa.

This dish was served with a side of yellow watermelon sprinkled with lime juice.

Carnival Cruise and Vegan Food

After our wedding and ceremony, Mr. Bolsh and I dashed through the sparklers to our pedi-cab where we were taken through the city in a bike powered cab. We arrived at our hotel room very late, took a three hour nap before catching our 6am flight to Houston, Texas. Luckily, our baker, Sweetpea Bakery, supplied us with breakfast treats. We then took an hour and half bus ride to Galveston, Texas where we waited in line for over 2 hours before entering our beautiful balcony room to start our 7 day Caribbean cruise on Carnival's Conquest.

This is what our cabin looked like:
The View:

Of course, this is about food and not our trip. We had a great time on every island we visited. Now onto the food.

I had contacted Carnival prior to our departure to make sure we had vegan food. They tried to assure me there would be vegan food for us and that we should just speak with our wait-staff when we got on board. I wasn't very happy with that solution and was preparing to eat pasta with condiments and lots of fruit.

We packed an entire suitcase of junk food. Mr. Bolsh and I have sweet tooths so most of our food was cookies and candy. We must have been the only people who brought food on a cruise!

The first night of food was a salad and a baked potato. The hostist introduced herself and asked about our needs and showed us a prepared vegan menu. We approved our breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next day, all of which had more hope for the boring salad and dry baked potato of the evening.

Breakfast was boring oatmeal and fruit, but it was good enough. Later it was blueberry pancakes once they found out that's one of my favorite breakfasts.
Lunch was grilled onion and peppers on a hot dog bun.

Food photos in no particular order:

"Burrito" with a side of Salsa and Guacamole:
Simple, but good.
Tomato Soup:
Salad with Italian Dressing:
Pasta with peas and plain tofu:
We thought this soft, plain tofu was microwaved. They only served us tofu one other time, covered in BBQ sauce. It was no better.
Black Bean Burger:
Coconut Rice Pudding with Berries:
This won my favorite dessert award
Breakfast was often Blueberry pancakes and fruit:
Vegetable Soup:
Black Bean Soup:
Fruit Struddle:
Soggy and not my favorite.
Pasta:
Dinner Salad:
Herbed Polenta:
This dish could have been terrible, but it was fantastic and served with a side of sauted mushrooms and another of spinach.
Dinner Salad:
I must say that some of the saddest salads I've ever had have been on this cruise.
Corn Chowder:
I forgot what this was called but it seemed like left over veggies rolled in tortillas, deep fried, cut into pieces. Then, served with a side of pureed peas:
Creamy Pasta:The Chef and Webly:
I don't think he really wanted his photo taken with me, or anyone else.
Non Main Dining Room Food:

We checked out the sushi bar:
We found the coffee shop with soy milk:
Buffet:

Left over polenta with herbs, glass noodles and vegetables, and watermelon:
Drinks:
What do you call an alcohol-free, dairy-free drink? I don't know but it seems like the begining of a joke.We found the 24 hour Pizzaria!
The food was hit and miss. Most of it was good, if not great. I give them a lot of credit for trying. I would encourage other vegans to travel Carnival without fear. There's no need for an entire suitcase full of junk food, but it sure was nice to have some vegan baked goods! We're headed up to Alaska next year for a family cruise. We will be taking more Sweetpea cookies for sure and those little cartons of soy milk came in great for quick breakfasts with their boxed cereal.

Love,
Mr. and Mrs. Bolsh

(Tulum, Mexico; 125 F)

Tofu Scramble

Last weekend I attended the Post Punk Kitchen Vegan: The Gathering and cooked a large amount of tofu scramble Sunday morning. People were really happy with the dish and hearing Julie tell me it was "the best tofu scramble" she'd ever had, was a compliment to many any heart smile.

Sun dried tomato Tofu scramble with Basil

I don't really have a recipe but it usually goes like this:
Saute onions, add garlic, mix. Add tofu, a bit of soy sauce and any dried spices and cook until the tofu starts to brown.
Add veggies related to their firmness (carrots, to green beans, spinach and tomatoes) and add fresh spices last.

Miso Popcorn

I thought I would have a smart idea again like the pesto fries and come up with a new popcorn flavor, but my idea flopped.

Miso Popcorn Flavoring:
1 Tablespoon red miso paste
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon Vegenaise

Mix it all together and quickly mix with the popped corn. Top with Nori spice.

The reason I wasn't happy with it is because I don't like wet popcorn. I don't like melted butter on my popcorn. Maybe if I was able to dry out the miso and make it into a powder, it might be better.

Fall Back Popcorn:
Popcorn popped in Earth Balance and topped with a bit of salt.


On a popcorn note - I found a popcorn machine at Pirates Tavern and asked if I could use it. I was like a kid in a candy shop - so much fun!

Tofu Apple Quesadilla

I've been enjoying the panini grill to the extreme.

Tofu Apple Quesadilla:
Marinaded and grilled tofu
Sliced Fuji Apples
Follow Your Heart cheese

Place it all together and grill.
I was trying to figure out a dipping sauce for this. I kept munching on it thinking and by the time I thought of using a Balsamic Vinaigrette, I was finished.

Tofu Marinade:
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tsp. all purpose seasoning salt
1 tsp. thyme
water - enough to cover the sliced tofu.

I usually just keep a block of tofu marinading in the fridge with this mixture.

It's a very plain, and white meal. Spinach would look better in here.

Christmas in July

My friend Shelley throws the best parties, so much so that she throws two Christmas parties a year. I wanted to come up with a a new way to enjoy something common. With that in mind I came up with a dessert dip - cheese and crackers.

Cheesecake Dip with Ginger Snap Cookies:
1 8 oz. container Tofutti Cream Cheese
1 12 oz. container vacuum packed firm tofu
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons corn starch
2 Tablespoons soy milk
2 Tablespoons raspberry jelly.

Blend cream cheese, tofu, lemon juice, corn starch and soy milk in a food processor until smooth.
Place in square baking pan and bake at 375F for 25 minutes.
Let cool completely.
In a glass dish spread sides with a bit of raspberry jelly. Layer cooled cheesecake dip with some raspberry jelly in a decorative fashion.
Put in the fridge for 2 hours before serving with ginger snap cookies.


The dip was a hit!

Potatoes with Carrot Tarragon Sauce

Potatoes with Carrot Tarragon Sauce:
2 large potatoes
olive oil
1/2 sweet onion
1 large handful baby carrots
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 Tablespoons Mirin
3 cloves garlic
2 sprigs tarragon
Salt and pepper to taste

Slice the potatoes in round and boil until soft, but not falling apart.
When the potatoes are done, spray cookie sheet with olive oil and place boiled potatoes on sheet and bake about 10-20 minutes at 425 F until lightly browned on both sides.
Saute the onion until caramelized. Deglaze with Mirin.
Add carrots and water and boil until the carrots are very soft. Add garlic last three minutes of cooking.
Blend the carrots, onion, left over water in the pot and 1 sprig of tarragon until pureed.
Spread across a plate and place boiled and baked potatoes on top. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and tarragon.
Serve warm.
This sauce is fun to trick people because they will think it's a cheesy sauce. Really, it's a hearty, lightly sweet and warm carrot sauce.
The sauce would make a great soup with more liquid. This sauce had Mr. Bolsh licking his plate!

Kitchen Gadgets

The following meals feature dishes made from new kitchen gadgets.

First the Panini Grill:
I love grill lines on my food. I can't wait until the day we have a backyard grill to include the smoky flavor. The Panini grill is great because it's larger than a George Foreman Grill and the lines are closer together.
I wanted a quick meal so I threw on a cut of cabbage, onion and some quickly miso-marinaded tofu. I sprayed the cabbage with soy sauce and sprayed the onion with olive oil before sprinkling on some kelp powder before grilling. I walked away and when I came back there was hot, grilled food waiting for me. I stacked them on top of each other and called it a meal.


Rocket Blender or "The Magic Bullet":
The Magic Bullet is a tool I've heard people rave about for a long time and I ignored it because I have my dear food processor to fulfill all my desires for chopping, blending, shedding. The Bullet seemed like the Vita Mix people who are just loyal.
When I broke our blender I went out and bought a Rocker Blender, just to try it. I had no idea the world I was about to step into!

Peaches and Cream:
Smoothies have been a great way to fill me up while not having much time for a full home cooked meal.
1/2-1 cup raw cashews soaked in water for an hour or more (I have these soaking in the fridge these days)
1- 1 1/2 cup soy/rice milk
1- 1 1/2 cup frozen peaches or strawberries

Blend the cashews with a bit of soy milk.

You might need more soy milk or other liquid, so just blend until it's thick and creamy.

Add the frozen fruit and maybe more liquid. Blend until the consistency you desire.

Take off the blender attachment and add the drinking cap.

We've really enjoyed this kitchen gadget because it's quick and easy both in clean up and use.
The pros, beyond the clean up and user-friendly style, are how well it blends ice and how you don't have to push down or stir the items -you can just lift it up and shake! When it's ready to serve you just throw on a little drinking cap to cover up the threaded edge and drink away.
The cons to this toy is the annoyance of screwing and unscrewing the blender attachment. Blenders are great because you can continue to add items while blending, something you can't do here.

Creamy Potato Soup:
I've been pretty stuck on the cashew cream lately. I used it in a potato soup to make it creamier and a bit thicker. It was a hit.
Cashews, veggie broth, carrots, onion, potatoes, and basil.


Pesto Shells:
Here I was trying out the Bullet again while making pesto.
basil, olive oil, veggie broth (to cut the oil down), garlic, cashews, sun dried tomatoes.

The problem with using the Rocket here was that to dice the garlic small enough the pesto became soup-like it was so smooth. I prefer various sized basil pieces in my pesto over a pesto-soup. It still got the job done but I will be sticking to my food processor for pesto.

Little Pies

A few weeks ago Jess and I prepared for her 4th of July party together. I enjoy cooking with Jess because we work similar to each other in the kitchen - cooking, cleaning, tasting, adding, experimenting.
You can see more of what she made over here.

Raspberry Coconut Pie:
This was based off my coconut pie recipe. Jess wanted them pink, so we added the juice of some raspberries but it turned lavender. They still tasted great!


Yogurt Fruit Pie:
Luckily, Jess made the crust for all of these because I really dislike making pie crusts.
These were filled with apricot yogurt, various thickeners and sweeteners before throwing in some fresh fruit.

07.07.07

Time to tie the knot at 7:07pm.
Look forward to our culinary experiences cruises the oceans in a couple of weeks.
Bye!