Vegetarian Sloppy Joe

I spent most of my childhood growing up in Brooklyn. Of all the fond memories I have of those times, having fun with my friends in the school cafeteria provided me with some of the happiest times of my educational life. From winning the skelly competitions, eating contests, and chocolate milk drinking contests, to banging beats on the table for impromptu musical performances, lunchtime was always fun (unless the supervising people were being ridiculously mean us).

One meal I remember being an all-round favorite was Sloppy Joe. I have no idea why they call it Sloppy Joe, but every kid I knew loved it, and devoured it sloppily, though happily. Some would scoop it into their bread and have it sandwich style, others would dip their bread in pieces at a time, and others would eat the Sloppy Joe, and forget the bread. There were many ways to enjoy this meal.

Because of the way I was raised, I grew up eating different kinds of meat. One day I asked one of the lunch ladies if they would tell me some of the ingredients so I could ask my parents to try to make it. "Ground beef" was among their ingredients.

"What's that? Where does it come from?" I asked.

The sweet old ladies laughed and answered "From cows, sweetie."

I cried my heart out for days and never ate Sloppy Joe again. Yet, more than 14 years later, yesterday morning I woke up thinking about Sloppy Joe. What if I could make a veggie version? I told hubby about my idea and looked at me as if I had two heads. How could I tell him about something with meat in it that tasted so good and then tell him I was going to make a veggie version?

The carnivore had a point. I promised to make it as close to the real thing as I possibly could and started researching for veggie Sloppy Joes online. Surprisingly, there were quite a lot. However, most of them called for things I couldn't get my hands on down here, like TVP (textured vegetable protein), vegetarian ground meat, portabella mushrooms, and extra firm tofu.

So I decided to invent my own thing. Not only was I inventing something I hadn't eaten since my childhood, I wanted it to be edible, and even more daunting, pass the carnivore approval test. I had my work cut out for me.


HOW I MADE IT

1/4 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms
2 tbsp butter, margarine, or oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 medium - large cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup mixed vegetables (carrots, corn, peas, string beans, bell peppers)
1 whole stick of dried bean curd
3 tbsp tomato sauce/pasta sauce
5 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tbsp vinegar
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 tbsp freshly chopped green seasoning
2 medium - large pimientos,jalapenos
1 whole hot pepper (I used a Congo Pepper)
3 cups water


1. Put the bean curd stick, whole, in a pot of boiling water for about ten minutes. Remove from heat, cover the pot, and leave the bean curd to soak in the hot water for three hours. Wash the bean curd and squeeze out the moisture. Cut into strips and chop finely. Put into a bowl and season with 1 tbsp freshly chopped green seasoning, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp paprika, and salt & pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

2. In a medium - low heated saucepan, add 2 tbsp of butter, margarine, or vegetable oil (you can also use cooking spray). Add the chopped shiitake mushrooms and leave for two minutes. Add chopped onion and minced garlic. Stir, and leave for another two minutes. Add seasoned bean curd and stir.

3. Blend the mixed vegetables for three fifteen second intervals and add to the saucepan. Stir, add 1/2 cup of water. Add tomato sauce/pasta sauce and add another 1/2 cup of water. Add the chopped pimientos/jalapenos and vinegar.

4. Stick the hot pepper on the end of a fork or skewer and roast it on the stove top for five minutes, turning consistently to roast evenly. Add it to the pot and cover. Turn the heat down to low and let simmer for ten minutes. [Note: the pepper loses most of its spiciness as it is softened through roasting and even more so throughout the cooking process.]

5. Once the sauce has thickened, add salt and pepper to taste and add the rest of the water and let it simmer until the sauce thickens again. Then add the tomato paste, stir, and remove from heat.

Serve and enjoy!


REVIEWS

Following the old tradition from the school cafeteria, I served this with bread. However, I made French bread to go with it rather than buns. I absolutely loved it! My first portion was just as I turned the heat down, and the flavor hit me like a wave. My personal taste isn't one for the slightest inkling of salt, so I enjoyed it better with my second, cooled down portion. After the second portion I almost proposed to myself. I offered hubby a sample, and later he agreed to try some on his own. As for the pepper, there's never enough pepper in anything for me, so I cut pieces of the pepper with every serving I had and relished in the juicy, soft flavor.

Hubby nodded and mmmmhmmmmmmed throughout his serving, but is now curious to try it with beef. Yay me and my big mouth. *pouts*

Quick Fix: 10 Minute Wedges in 5 Easy Steps

With all that's been going on, I lost a bit of my cooking zeal today. I didn't want to make any big meals, nor did I want to clean up the kitchen again (I go from compulsive cleaner to 'this'. Go figure.) Thankfully, hubby obliged by offering to provide today's meals. As he's still working on getting the car fixed and so on, this of course means food from *gulp* outside.

I don't know if I was brainwashed growing up, or if having really bad food-poisoning in my early-mid teens scarred me for life, but I just don't like buying food on the outside. It makes me cringe, it makes my blood crawl, and I feel all eeeeewwwwwwyyy just thinking about it.

There have, of course, been moments around other people where the only available choice (to them) was not to prepare beforehand and drop in to some random (or well-known) food spot. In such cases, I kept my cringes to myself. I'd usually be the only cringer anyway.

So hubby and I came to an arrangement, where he would gladly buy his own meal from *gulp* outside, and I'd prepare a quick-fix something for me. I have absolutely no idea what got me thinking about wedges, but all of a sudden I wanted them really bad. So, I did the only thing possible in this situation. I got to work.


HOW I MADE IT


1 medium-large Idaho or Irish potato per serving
2 cups of vegetable oil for deep frying
a deep-ish pot you can fry in with a proper fitting cover
a few sprinkles of salt and black pepper

**last minute sauce if you're really curious: (per serving)
three tbsp ketchup
one tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp spicy brown mustard (any mustard will do, you can leave it out if you like as well)
1/2 -1 tsp hot lime flavored peppersauce (I go for more because I like it super spicy. If you don't like anything spicy, just add a drop for flavor)
1/4 -1/2 tsp freshly chopped green seasoning (optional)

1. I used one large Idaho potato to make one serving for myself. Wash and scrub the potato thoroughly (I'd advise you to keep a scrubbing mechanism or toothbrush put aside just for food stuff.) and cut out any bad spots if you see any present. If any part of the potato is really soft, it's not good.

2. Put the 2 cups of oil into your pot. Make sure the pot is on medium-high heat. Cut the potato into wedges. the easiest way I can recommend is to slice the potato vertically three times, and then slice those three parts to your desired size. I usually just cut the potato in my hand, so I don't have an average size.

3. The oil should be hot by now. If you're not sure, drop in a small piece. If it bubbles up and makes a lot of noise, it's definitely ready. Throw all the wedges in, and cover for five minutes. If you're afraid of being splashed by oil, just remember not to jump. Grab a handful and carefully put it into the oil. Still afraid? Then put them in just a few, maybe two or three at a time.

4. This part is where you stop multitasking and focus on the pot. Once the five minutes are up, uncover the pot, turn the wedges so that the slightly browned sides are now facing the bottom of the pot, and re-cover the pot. Raise the heat to high for two minutes, then turn down to low as you turn the wedges again, re-cover, and leave for a remaining three minutes. The wedges should be a golden brown now. Drain the wedges with your frying spoon, and set them out on a paper towel or napkin laden dish and turn the stove off.

5. Fold the napkin or paper towel around the wedges and allow any remaining oil to drain out from the wedges. Discard any oily paper. Sprinkle some salt and black pepper to your taste, about a 1/4 tsp of salt, and half that amount of black pepper for most people. I made a quick-fix sauce that I mixed together with one of the wedges (see recipe above). Serve warm with or without sauce. Enjoy!

REVIEWS

I enjoyed these wedges so much, I told hubby forget about a normal dinner. I plan to make them again this evening. It was even better with the sauce! The wedges were a beautiful mix between a light golden brown and a slight honey brown, and the inside was soft; richly accentuated by the sauce.

Hubby had a taste as well and insisted that I make these the exact same way for his dinner tonight. There's one place that we both trust for buying food 'outside' and we always order wedges. After tasting these hubby assured me that we wouldn't be craving their wedges anytime soon!

Eggless Pineapple Upside Down Cake

What do you do when you have three leftover pineapple slices from pizza night and five leftover maraschino cherries from cake month? Invent an eggless pineapple upside down cake!

I had been meaning to try my hand at this cake, but I didn't have the time, I didn't have a recipe, and so my list of excuses grew.

However, in the midst of some serious car trouble, I decided to cheer myself and hubby up by giving it a try after doing some bbq chicken for him on the stove. So this is how I proceeded with my invention. Shout out to Ren, by the way, for asking for the recipe!

HOW I MADE IT

2 cups of flour
2 flat tsp baking powder
1/2 cup wholewheat bran
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1/2 - 3/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4-1/2 cup of water or milk
2-3 tbsp melted butter
1/2-3/4 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp vegetable oil
3 slices of pineapple (that's what I used; you're welcome to use as many as you like!)
5 maraschino cherries (again, this is what I had on hand; use as much as you want!)
a 3:1.75 mixture of powdered milk and water

{NOTE: my measurements are not exact (I don't think they ever are) as I usually average my ingredients, so if I say one tsp first and then say two tsps later on, please don't hold it against me}


1. Cream together 1/2 cup of butter and 3/4 cup of brown sugar with a fork until smooth and creamy. If you feel the need to taste this part (like me) then do so only if you're making the cake just for you or a very close loved one who doesn't mind (like a hubby who wants to taste it too).

2. Add the powdered milk mixture. I used about six heaping tbsps of powdered milk to maybe 4-5 tbsp of water. Fold it into the creamed butter and sugar, and make sure to get the lumps out.

3. Begin alternatively adding flour and pineapple juice and mix with each addition until you've reached a medium consistency. Start and end with flour; with the first addition of flour, add the baking powder and wholewheat bran. When you run out of pineapple juice (it's okay to use the juice from the pineapple slices can if you're as busy as I am), start adding milk or water. Once the batter starts looking batter-ish, and not like a runny dough, add the vanilla essence. Add the tsp of vegetable oil last. The batter should have a medium consistency. Not thick and lumpy, and not runny, but somewhere in between so that it slowly runs along the edge of the spoon without dripping off like water or clinging on in lumps. There should be no lumps in the batter.

4. In your baking dish, put 2-3 tbsp of melted butter. My dish was wide and a bit longer than square, so I went for 3 tbsp. The easy way to melt the butter is to pop the dish, butter included, into your preheating oven until the butter melts while you start cleaning up and slicing your cherries and pineapple slices. The easier way is to pop your dish in the microwave for under a minute, maybe seconds more depending on your dish (make sure your dish is microwave safe), if your dish can fit in the microwave.

5. Sprinkle the 1/2 cup of brown sugar all over the melted butter, as evenly as possible. Hubby has a very sweet 'sweet tooth', so I added a bit more. Arrange your cherries and pineapple slices to your preference. Do not arrange, and then pick up and rearrange. You'll kind of screw up your evenly spread butter-sugar thing. If it's your first time, I suggest drawing up a design first. A popular idea of arrangement is a whole pineapple slice in the middle with a cherry inside, and half pineapple slices cupping cherries for the rest of the cake. I cut my cherries and some of the slices smaller to spread out for the whole cake, but most people go with whole or half pineapple slices and cherries sliced in half. A tip for the cherries: Place the cut side facing you, so that when you flip the cake (we'll get to that) the round side will be decorating the cake.

6. Pour the batter into your dish, on top of your pretty design. Bake in your [preheated] oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-45 minutes (the top should kinda bounce/spring up when you touch it. It won't be as springy as a cake with egg, but it works).

7. When the cake is finished, take it out of the oven quickly, and turn it over onto a platter or cake dish right away. The point of doing it quickly and so soon is so that the caramelized sugar (yes the sugar-butter thing did that) doesn't harden.

Serve hot or cold, and enjoy!


REVIEWS

Of course, I was the first one to try this cake. I couldn't resist. I had my cake hot, with some chocolate ripple ice cream and enjoyed being in sweet heaven. However, as it was still hot, I originally thought it was too sweet. I had some more when it cooled down and it was perfectly fine. For an eggless cake, the moisture is unbelievable!

Hubby tried some cake when he racked up for the day on the car, and went back for more. He absolutely loved it! He tried his after I had the hot cake, so, thinking it was too sweet I warned him, but he insisted that it was perfect the way it was. (I later agreed).


Happy Baking!