Oatmeal Pancakes

There are some morning meals that define the destiny of your day. This stack of oatmeal pancakes was just such a thing. From the first bite, I knew I would be content for the rest of the day. I found this recipe in Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Who would think that something as simple as an oatmeal pancake could bring such comfort? I think the tanginess of the buttermilk, the texture of the oats, the subtle sweetness of the maple and vanilla, and the lightness of the pancake made it one spectacular dish. And since this was a laid back holiday weekend, I had plenty of time to savor it all. I opted to toss in some fresh blueberries for an extra treat. Normally, I don't keep buttermilk in the house but I just so happened to have it on hand for another recipe. After having these oatmeal pancakes, buttermilk is going on my shopping list every week.

Oatmeal Pancakes
(makes fourteen 4 inch pancakes)

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons brown sugar or maple syrup
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Stir the oats and buttermilk together and let stand for 20 minutes. Beat the eggs with the vanilla, sugar and oil, then stir in to the soaked oats. Combine the dry ingredients and add them to the oat mixture as well. For each pancake, drop 1/4 cup batter onto a heated griddle or skillet, with a little melted butter, and cook over medium heat until the tops are covered with holes. Turn the cakes over and cook the second side. Because of the moisture in this batter, the cakes need to be cooked slowly but turn them only once.

Tomato Gravy

I know that Italians refer to their tomato sauce as "gravy" but, trust me, this is not the Italian version. I'm breaking protocol here today with my alphabetical cooking, since I'm still on the letter "A". But there was no way I could wait until the letter "T" to give you this mouthwatering recipe. I believe it will quite possibly be the easiest thing you've made since toast and I think you'll thank me for finding such a delicious way to use up all of those tomatoes.

Here's the story. When I was growing up, my dad made tomato gravy every summer. Usually at the end of the summer when the fat, juicy, overripe tomatoes were falling off the vines. He served his over a bed of white rice. Oh, my god how I loved his tomato gravy! So this weekend, I met my friend Wayne at the Farmers Market. Outside, while waiting for him, I spotted big white boxes of huge, juicy tomatoes. I immediately took out my camera and began snapping away. When I got home, I called my dad to find out what his recipe was for tomato gravy. I couldn't reach him so I went on with my day. A few hours later, my mother called to tell me that she and my dad had been out shopping and saw two bags of big, juicy tomatoes. My dad immediately snatched them up thinking about his tomato gravy. He bought one bag for me and one bag for him. Call it Kismet. Call it clairvoyant. I call it a reason to make one of the best damn comfort foods I can ever remember. This tomato gravy is so simple. Only 3 main ingredients: butter, flour and tomatoes. That's it. I've made it for my lunch today just the way dad did; over a bed of white rice. I've just enough left over to heat it up tomorrow and mix it in with some linguine or shells and some fresh Parmesan cheese.





Tomato Gravy
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 large, ripe tomatoes
salt, pepper, garlic powder and fresh basil, if you have it.

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the flour and wisk until thick and smooth. Chop up all of the tomatoes and add them to the roux. Make sure to add the pulp of the tomato too (the juice of the tomato is what makes the gravy). You will see the tomatoes begin to cook and turn in to a nice, thick gravy. There is no need to add any liquid! Season the gravy with salt, cracked black pepper, garlic powder and freh snipped basil. Turn it down to a low simmer while the rice cooks. Spoon it over a bed of rice and enjoy!

Day 11

Day 11. Still going strong. Yesterday, I was at my parent's house celebrating Mother's Day with a brunch. My mother made it easy for me. She only served one egg, cheese and sausage casserole. She was gracious enough to make another casserole which consisted of baked apple french toast. She also offered fresh fruit, corn bread and pumpkin bread. My brother and his wife were raving about the roasted kale chips they make. Well, I love using raw kale in my morning green smoothies. But the thought of kale chips intrigued me. I've been singing the praises of this nutritious leafy green for many months. Not only is it nutritious, it's also inexpensive. I can pick up a huge bag at the grocery store for about a dollar and it lasts me all week. Here's a little google information:

Kale is one of the healthiest foods around. It's full of vitamins A, C and K, and it is a great source of manganese, calcium and iron. It also has no cholesterol and offers a nice serving of fiber and protein.

This morning while I was getting my Bento Box ready for lunch, I tried the kale chips and I have to say that I am hooked already on this crunchy green goodness. Here is the recipe:

Roasted Kale with Sea SaltSeveral large leaves of kale
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil mixed with one crushed clove of garlic
1 teas. sea salt (I used kosher)
A grind or two of fresh pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Wash and trim the kale: Peel off the tough stems by folding the kale leaves in half like a book and stripping the stems off. Toss with extra virgin olive oil and garlic. Roast for five minutes on a cookie sheet. Turn kale over. Roast another 5 to 7 minutes until kale begins to turn slightly brown and becomes paper thin and brittle. Remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve immediately.

Toss it in a bowl with olive oil and seasoning:

Spread it out on a cookie sheet and bake until crisp. I'm already envisioning this sprinkled on top of soups and mixed in with rice and sushi.

Check out today's Bento Box. With food this pretty and healthy, who would want to go back to meat?

The beginning...

I've been meatless now since Friday, May 1. It almost seems ridiculous to blog about the process of going vegetarian but for me it feels so important to document this journey. Like so many others, my attempts to go vegetarian over the years have been half assed. In the past, I would find myself 14 days in to it at a McDonalds scarfing down a double cheese burger with fries. It really comes down to a lack of discipline; well, that and the fact that I was just not ready. I think I've pinpointed the problem: in the past, I made a very abrupt conscious decision to stop eating meat. This time around, I've felt a calling to go vegetarian. Lately, I feel repulsed when I stroll my cart past the meat department. Especially looking at cut-up chicken parts. I've even felt repulsed at the idea of buying processed foods, frozen and boxed. I feel happy at the thought of eating things like tofu, beans and fresh produce from the local farmer's market. I wish you could have seen the face of my mother as I told her the other day that I plan to go vegetarian. I'm 44 years old. My mother is in her 7O's. She was raised with the basic belief that you would die of malnutrition if you didn't have your daily serving of meat. Only hippies and strange cults did things like being vegetarian. She rolled her eyes at me and then, literally laughed at me. As a child, I was extremely underweight and a picky eater. I hid my peas in my milk. I only ate corn as a vegetable and today, I wonder if corn even really passes as a legitimate, nutritional vegetable.

Although I still don't eat peas and carrots to this day, my tastes have vastly expanded. Every morning starts with a green smoothie loaded with fresh fruit and kale. Once I bring myself to justify the expense of a Jack LaLaine Juicer, I may get my daily dosage of beets and carrots after all.

The way I see it, there will be several challenges in this process:

1. What type of vegetarian will I become? How far am I willing to go? Am I really prepared to give up dairy products and eggs? I freaking love these things. I can't even imagine giving up shellfish at this point (maybe I'll have to start watching Lobstermen on the discovery channel until I feel so guilty about those crustaceans that there would be no way to eat it).

2. Every one else in my house eats meat and/or poultry. My daughter and husband eat it all. My son only eats turkey, fish and chicken. My daughter would rope a cow from a car speeding at 80 MPH. As it is, I find myself preparing 2 different meals to accommodate the four of us. Now I'll be adding a third meal for me.

3. The ultimate dilemma: if I find that it is unacceptable to buy and prepare meat for myself, what gives me the right to justify that it's okay to prepare it for my family?

So, what's been on my plate since Friday, May 1?

*eggs and homefries
*miso soup and vegetable sushi
*green smoothies
*eggplant Parmesan and Caesar salad
*bowtie pasta with pesto, red peppers and shrimp