Whatcha Makin'??

[MadamSarcastra]

Man that sound great! It's been a long time since I've made scalloped potatoes--a roux of olive oil, soymilk, lots of rosemary and garlic and pepper?
Your last soup so inspired me! I have a pot of potatoes, carrots, noodles, corn, peas and frozen leeks from Trader Joes. I'm not sure leeks freeze well- we'll see how they are after cooking. Cooking in a broth of Better than Boullion no chicken with tons of seasoning
And celery!

Oh, me too!! You know, I don't know if I've ever made scalloped potatoes from scratch.... I mean, must have! Or not. I've always loved cooking and I love potatoes! I MUST have made au gratin/scalloped taters. Although I used to take many more short-cuts. Thinking back to ye olden days (my bad girl giggin' times ), I do believe the scalloped/au gratin dishes in the past were those horrid packaged, processed, super-high-sodium, dehydrated, just-add-water-and-butter boxes of sh*t.
This go-around, I made at least 5 or 6 times MORE food, for WAY cheaper, and SOOOO much healthier!

Thanks much "Big Food", I don't need or want you anymore!

@silva And I SO wanted leeks in that soup!! But my buddy Jerry hates them. I've never cooked with leeks. Lousy bastid. LOL

 

[GingerFoxx]

Last night I stayed up way too late making my costume for the office Halloween party, which due to scheduling conflicts, is being held this Thursday. Each department was assigned a decade. My department got 1950s. We decided to narrow it down to 1950s television. My hair and makeup skills are near non-existent, and I didn't want to spend a lot of time and money to look like a recognizable celebrity. (Lucille Ball had been my first choice, as a redhead) So I decided to think outside the box and dress as a 1950s Swanson TV dinner.

I have a cardboard cat food tray wrapped in aluminum foil for the base, orange, green and yellow beads as frozen mixed vegetable, polyester stuffing and felt as mashed potatoes and butter (the images online always showed butter on EVERYTHING, I swear) and a rubber dog toy that doubles as a convincing faux steak. Tonight, if I am ambitious, I will make a replica of the packaging. I plan to hang the whole thing over my shoulders, sandwich board style, so I can still work in costume without too much trouble.

In retrospect, I realized I can not recall a time I dressed as a human character for office Halloween...

 

[MadamSarcastra]

Well, since I have more nooch now & a whopping FIVE cans of black beans & some slightly wilted leftover power greens, I'm makin' a larger batch of healthy, spicy, "cheesy" black bean dip!

 

[silva]

I do love leeks, and was exicted to try Trader Joes frozen ones. Did not like- they've got that frozen onion taste that doesn't go away after cooking.
The soup was a hit with my two sons. There's one serving out of yesterdays 5 quarts!

 

[MadamSarcastra]

Well, I'm still feeling under the weather, but I'm gonna try to muster the energy to make tomato soup. It's supposed to be WAY better than chicken noodle when you're sick. And I don't like analogs or meat-flavored things. Anyhoo, the thought struck me when I got a text from Jerry earlier saying "Getting sick." I've got a slightly runny nose, scratchy throat irritation, I'm still coughing (and I've NEVER had a smoker's cough), mostly at night 'cuz of the post-nasal crap... ever so slightly feverish, too. My folks still sound like crap. And yesterday Jerry (who hates chicken noodle soup) said the gal in the office at work went home sick... the gal who relieved her went home sick... the student who relieved HER went home sick.... and this was all just yesterday. So SOMETHING'S goin' around & it's persistent.

Tomato soup to the rescue!! Gonna add all the rest of my garlic, some red bell pepper (vitamin C), & some red onion.... I hope my stick blender works. Guess I'd better get to it. Right after this Airborn.... LOL

 

[MadamSarcastra]

"Tomatoes are chock-full of antioxidants which give a real boost to your immune system, but also the garlic, shallots, and basil used to add flavor to this scrumptious soup possess immune-boosting and flu-fighting properties. Garlic provides an excellent source of allicin, a compound that has strong anti-bacterial and anti-viral activity against infections, while basil and shallots offer copious amounts of flavonoids that provide antioxidant protection."

Source: Best Soup Recipes for Treating Common Cold and Flu

I have four cans of tomatoes (two of which have a decent amount of zinc), I have plenty of garlic & dried basil, I have red onion & red pepper (no shallots).... I'll be adding turmeric, as well... a touch of cayenne... maybe some hemp milk for creaminess without mucus-inducing dairy (lots of vitamins/minerals & loaded with Omega 3s/6s)... and plenty of nooch (which is packed to the hilt with awesomeness.)

I wanna make sure I have enough onion & pepper left to make more of those sauteed veggie sandwiches I've been craving.... and if I don't do dairy, they'll also be great for cold/allergies! Unbeknownst to me, mushrooms apparently have allergy-treating nutrients! And I KNOW baby spinach is great for ya!

I think I'll be visiting this site frequently: Heal Your Body With Food and Optimal Nutrition | HealWithFood.org

 

[MadamSarcastra]

My team of cold-busters....



Here we go!

 

[silva]

I'll stick with mushroom miso with ginger garlic paste!
I can't remember the last time i had a tomato broth soup. I do use canned diced tomatoes often

 

[Moll Flanders]

I really like tomato soup, for me I have to blend it up smooth with my stick blender and add plant milk or else I feel like I'm eating a bowl of pasta sauce, without the pasta. Vegan chicken stock too, I'm so glad I found that stuff. It tastes much nicer than veg stock to me.

I think I'm going to make tomato soup for lunch today now.

I'm also making a birthday card for my husband. I think I am just going to draw a logo from a band he likes for the front of the card.

 

[shyvas]

I really like tomato soup, for me I have to blend it up smooth with my stick blender and add plant milk or else I feel like I'm eating a bowl of pasta sauce, without the pasta. Vegan chicken stock too, I'm so glad I found that stuff. It tastes much nicer than veg stock to me.

I think I'm going to make tomato soup for lunch today now.

I'm also making a birthday card for my husband. I think I am just going to draw a logo from a band he likes for the front of the card.

I also like cream of tomato soup. I always add other vegetables to make it less acid in taste.

 

[MadamSarcastra]

I really like tomato soup, for me I have to blend it up smooth with my stick blender and add plant milk or else I feel like I'm eating a bowl of pasta sauce, without the pasta. Vegan chicken stock too, I'm so glad I found that stuff. It tastes much nicer than veg stock to me.

I think I'm going to make tomato soup for lunch today now.

I'm also making a birthday card for my husband. I think I am just going to draw a logo from a band he likes for the front of the card.

The veg-chicken broth taste just creeps me out... I can't do the meat-flavored stuff or analogs. I DID add some hemp milk to it.... hauled it over to Jerry's & blended everything up in his Ninja. He said it turned out great!!

 

[MadamSarcastra]

I'm gonna get to prepping/chopping/sauteeing vegetables... gotta scrub the mushrooms first, everything else is already washed.

I've been fiending more of those deliciously flavorful, kick-*** sauteed veggie flatbread sandwiches (red onion, red bell pepper, garlic, mushrooms... tomato & baby spinach come dead last after reheating tonight... avocado is the final topper).... Even got more amazing vegan red pepper almond mayo from https://www.facebook.com/HeathersRestaurant/

 

[MadamSarcastra]

Pulled ingredients to make my altered rendition of this: Double Chocolate Berry Muffins • Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes

A little cheer-me-up treat for Jerry.... his washing machine croaked last night.

I don't have any muffin tin liners so I think I'm just gonna make this cake-style.

 

[MadamSarcastra]

I thought I was out of vanilla extract, but I wasn't! I had access to everything but the flax mixture... I had organic flour, organic cane sugar, non-GMO vanilla extract, non-GMO hemp milk, organic cacao powder, organic 88% vegan dark chocolate squares (that I had to quarter with a knife... ow.).... and this sh*t is ALL totally vegan!!

BEFORE:




AFTER:



YAY!! Well, I sure hope Jerry likes it, anyhoo.... LOL

 

[MadamSarcastra]

Re-sauteeing some veggies for another awesome sammich!! MAN, I love these things!!

P.S. -- Jer said the vegan double chocolate-blueberry cake/loaf/whatever ^^^^ was fantastic!

 

[MadamSarcastra]

Think it's time for some more pasta sauce! I can use one of my red onions, as well as get rid of what's left of the older container of baby spinach.... if it's a touch wilty, that's just fine in sauce. Off I go!

 

[MadamSarcastra]

Pasta.

But on to more important things. I'm leaving this here as a reminder of sorts... so someone LIKE or QUOTE this post so I get an alert. Thanks much. Jer's prop folks ain't pullin' their weight & I said I'd help. I LOVE helping with props! Especially certain time periods. I know my sh*t & I've got a good eye.... at least a hell of a lot better than some late-teen/early-20-somethings who don't even care & are only doing this to get required credits. LOL

 

[MadamSarcastra]

I've just begun making a list of brand names from the early to mid-1950s.... I'm using, surprisingly, a "wedding gift tracker" grid-like form.... and I was able to change the heading from Wedding Gift Tracker to Brand Names... and the heading of the three columns to Product, Character, & Years Used. Was even able to change the dumb flower pic by heading to a pic of Speedy!!

I'll post it when I'm done. Incidentally, this is for props for "Raisin in the Sun"... specifically for food/can labels & boxes... Jer wants that kitchen to be crammed with stuff.

Here we go! (Man, I love this sh*t.... LOL )

 

[MadamSarcastra]

OMG, this is flipping frustrating! **sigh** I'll continue to work on this until the set goes on stage. Apparently, I'm already getting a credit in the program. I'd better make sure this sh*t is right.

In the meantime, I'm gonna save what I've got so far to my thumb drive so Jer & I can discuss.... gonna stay over there tonight.... I'm just to buggy from working on this crap for HOURS.

 

[SuicideBlonde]

I am doing my roots (making me pretty) and baking a giant pumpkin chocolate chip cookie (cake). (vegan)