Monthly Archives: July 2011

Though it’s gotten better in recent years, I have a bit of a cookbook hoarding problem. I’ll admit to curling up with a cookbook in bed. The problem is with so many cookbooks, plus recipe clippings from magazines, plus the entire internet, well, I get a little overwhelmed and most of my cookbooks don’t get used. There is one, however, that I find myself going back to time and time again and that’s the PDQ Vegetarian Cookbook.

This cookbook promises healthy meals that can be made quickly without a lot of prep work. It relies heavily on frozen veggies and quick cooking grains and pastas. I guess it’s sort of the antithesis of the whole farm to table movement, but hey, when you’re tired after work, opening a can of corn and incorporating that into a healthy recipe is a lot more appealing that chopping up a ton of veggies. Plus even if the veggies aren’t fresh, having a veggie-based meal at home is much healthier than picking up take out or going out to dinner.

The back cover says the following:

• More than 240 nutritious recipes for appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, main courses, side dishes and desserts.

• No cutlery, graters, juicers, electric mixers, blenders, or food processors required.

• Tips on using convenience foods like ready-washed salad greens, precut fruits and vegetables, jarred sauces and ready-made crusts.

• Most dishes ready in 30 minutes – with minimal kitchen cleanup.

• Over 100 egg-free, dairy-free vegan recipes with no tofu or other substitutions necessary.

I like to think of this book as very carnivore friendly. While all the recipes are vegetarian, and some are vegan, they don’t have any strange ingredients. While I don’t mind some of the more interesting ingredients in some vegetarian cookbooks, I know that Jason prefers food that resembles what he’s used to. (For those that have asked, he’s not vegetarian anymore. It lasted for a month.) With recipes like cheese stuff shells, Tex-Mex Baked Potatoes with Chili Beans and Skillet Breakfast Potatoes, it’s probably good for kids too. Last night, I made Szechuan-Style Lo Mein Stir-Fry with Broccoli Slaw and Peanuts (only without the peanuts).

{Recipe here.}

I liked this but I thought the sauce to pasta ratio wasn’t right. I’d do either more sauce or less pasta. Other than that, it was quick and tasty.

In between the time that I wrote this post and the time that I’m publishing it, I bought another cookbook. Clearly, I have a problem.

1. Thank you so much for liking Piggy Toes on facebook. We are up to 504 fans! I promise I don’t send out annoying status updates that often. If you have kids (or nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters, whatever) and would like them to be our fan of the week, let me know. They’ll get a free book in the mail.

2. I discovered that instagram is really cool. I had more fun taking pictures of the mall than shopping.

3. I’m going to Florida on Saturday for my great uncle’s 90th birthday party. I keep telling people that he’s my uncle instead of my great uncle and everyone seems quite confused to how I have an uncle that’s 30 years older than my parents. I don’t. He’s my great uncle. I’m coming back on Sunday. Short trip.

4. My cold has turned into a cough and chest congestion. I think I’ve consumed more cold medicine in the past week than I have in a few years. I’m typically not big on medicine, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

5. I went to the gym tonight with the intention of running. I forgot my headphones. No headphones = no run. I can run without music outside, even though I don’t like to, but on the treadmill, forget about it. I thought it was probably for the best since I keep coughing anyway. So I did a lifting workout instead. I also discovered that my deodorant is no longer working.

6. I made that Shepherd’s Pie that I was going to make on Tuesday. Except I altered a lot of things and forgot to put tomato paste and some spices in it altogether. Still, I think it turned out pretty good. Nothing a little bit of marinara sauce can’t fix anyway.

Shepherd’s Pie
adapted from the Engine 2 Diet

3 Yukon gold potatoes
1/2 cup milk alternative (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk because that’s what I had. You can’t taste the vanilla, promise.)
12 oz frozen corn
1 large onion, diced
16 oz portobello mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
16 oz vegetarian meat crumbles
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
salt and pepper to taste

1. Steam potatoes until soft. Then mash them with milk, nutritional yeast and salt.

2. Cook onions and mushrooms until translucent. Add garlic and salt to taste.

3. Put vegetarian crumbles in bottom of casserole dish. Top with onion/mushroom mixture and then with a layer of corn. Top with mashed potatoes.

4. Cook for 45 minutes at 400.

It would have been better if I remembered to add the tomato paste, Bragg’s Aminos and worcestershire sauce to the crumbles. Oops. I guess I got impatient and didn’t realize it.