Stuffed Banana Peppers

I have not been cooking lately. My dissertation is due in TWO WEEKS and I have been writing and freaking out a lot. Add to that the well over 90 degree temps here and I have not been very hungry. However, I have been trying to use up produce as I buy it so it doesn't go to waste.

This is one of my very favorite things: stuffed banana peppers. These are ALL OVER western New York, but are nowhere to be found down south. Now that my husband knows that I know how to make them it's hard to get him to stop asking for these. I added vegetarian sausage to this batch and it was delightful!



Stuffed Banana Peppers
4 banana peppers
1/4 tube veggie sausage
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
4 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/8 cup bread crumbs (more if you need it)

Cut the peppers open and remove the guts. You can microwave them for a minute or two after they are emptied to make them easier to stuff. Just cool them for a bit afterwards.

Saute the veggie sausage, and when browned add the cream cheese and mix. Add everything else and there you go. Stuff into peppers (not your mouth)

Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes depending on your desired level of done-ness.

I served these with some tilapia I breaded with bread crumbs, Parmesan and Italian seasoning after dipping it in an egg-white wash. Also my fave roasted asparagus!

Very simply, very quick dinner. Now back to proofreading!!!!

1/4 cup

Red Thai Tofu

Well, husband and I just went mattress shopping and I am so happy that we will have a real mattress! Ours is like sleeping in a valley right now. Life is about to improve for me drastically. We were starving, even though it was only 5 when we got home.

This dish was awesome. It came out looking like the tofu I ate every day in China, but the Thai flavors are out of this world. It was 30 minutes start to finish, and only 110 calories per serving!!! Win and win!

The recipe is another one from Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra. I served this with some roasted asparagus and wine (obviously).

Red Thai Tofu
1 block firm tofu, cubed up
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup sliced shallots
1 giant clove elephant garlic, or 4 cloves standard garlic
1 Tbsp fresh ginger
1 Tbsp red curry paste (hence the red thai tofu)
1/2 cup H2O
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp light agave nectar
15 leaves Thai basil (even Whole Foods didn't have it, regular basil worked just dandy)

Heat up your skillet and saute tofu in a little bit of oil or cooking spray. Just shake the pan around rather than stirring the tofu and breaking it all up. It takes about 10 minutes to brown. Add a tad of soy sauce (not all of it) and brown for a minute or two longer. While it's cooking, chop up the veggies so you are ready to chuck them in the pan while it's good, oily and hot. Set tofu aside.

Add the veggies to the pan, and cook for five or so minutes. Mine browned up a lot, so I added a Tbsp of red wine to loosen up all the good bits from my skillet.

While all that's going on, make up the sauce by mixing together the water through the agave. Add the sauce back to the pan with the tofu. Cook for 5 minutes just to heat through. Add the basil and serve. DONE.





The wine:

Dave and I went to a "blending party" at a local winery recently. Our red blend won 2nd place in a blind taste test of all the other attendees. However, the winery owners liked our blend so much, they decided to bottle it! How fun. Not like we get royalties or anything, just a fun story. It's called "dedication" by Round Peak's Skull Camp line of semi-dry wines.



You're jealous. Admit it.

Stuffed Poblanos with Bean, Spinach and Avocado quesadillas

I bought poblanos maybe 2 weeks ago to stuff with something. Sadly, working nights got into the way and I haven't made dinner more than twice in two weeks. As my husband doesn't cook - this had meant A LOT of meals out (besides breakfast and lunch) - so although my schedule is tight this week I am making it a point to make dinner each night. I looked for a recipe online for stuffed poblanos, but couldn't find one that sounded appealing - so I threw a bunch of stuff together and luckily it tasted great.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers:
2 poblano peppers
1 tsp olive oil
1 clove elephant garlic (or two cloves regular garlic), chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup cilantro
1/3 can black beans
1/3 cup canned diced tomatoes
1 Tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp cream cheese (or tofutti better than cream cheese)

Preheat broiler. Slit open peppers and remove seeds. Char in broiler for about 5 minutes per side, until nice and charred.

Meanwhile, saute garlic and onion in olive oil. Add spinach and cook for one minute, then add cilantro, black beans and tomatoes. Season with all of the spices, and if you so desire, add the cream cheese. This makes it into a great consistency that will stay together. Stuff the peppers with the mixture, put oven down to 350, and bake 5 minutes longer.


I served these with what Nava Atlas calls a "big quesadilla." These ones are based on a recipe from the Vegetarian Family Cookbook. They are so simple and you don't miss the cheese at all.

Bean, Spinach, and Avocado Quesadilla:
2 wheat tortillas (I use fajita size)
1/3 can fat free vegetarian refried beans
1 cup spinach
1/2 avocado
salsa, hot sauce

Heat grill pan (or just plain old saute pan). Fill 1/2 of each tortilla with a few Tbsp of the refriedd beans. Top with spinach. Fold in half. Cook on a oiled grill pan until brown on each side- about 2-3 minutes. Top with avocado/salsa/hot sauce. That's it!

No Deer in the Kitchen

On Christmas, my husband's uncle gave him a deer shoulder. I don't know what he was going to do with all of that venison, but my husband accepted it anyway. It was super gross, just a stripped deer leg, hoof and all, hanging out in the freezer for a month. I refused to go in the freezer and kept telling him to get rid of it. Well, today was another *SNOW* day (read: 1 inch of snow, all schools closed.... my entire building empty) so I woke up a little late because I didn't see the urgency of rushing into work.

Well, I happened into the kitchen and it looked like GROSS ANATOMY class in there. Husband Dave had been thawing the leg all night in the sink, and was literally slicing the meat off the bone in my kitchen. There was even a pile of fascia on a plate nearest me. I almost barfed. And WTF was I supposed to do about COFFEE???? There was a half a deer sitting right next to my pot!!!!
Needless to say - I had to wait until I got to work to have a stupid cup of black tea.

After he finished his dissection, I NICELY ordered him to sanitize EVERYTHING. I was completely grossed out and am grossed out again now thinking of it. So now he and his buddy are off feasting upon the abomination that is no longer in my freezer (one positive?) while I am at home alone...

Such a monstrosity in the kitchen deserved a completely vegetarian dinner.. so I whipped up some Polenta Stuffed Peppers from the Moosewood Simple Suppers Cookbook. I've made them before, but neglected to post the recipe! You can find the recipe on my sister-in-law's blog by clicking HERE.



Additionally I made my favorite BBQ tofu with the BBQ sauce I had left over from THIS RECIPE.



Of course I had some wine, a lovely Malbec. But wait, what is that hiding behind my goblet? Well, it's not vegan, but it was lovely. A beet and mandarin orange salad- 2 beets, 1/4 cup orange slices, 1 Tbsp goat cheese and a drizzle of olive oil. Oh yeah. No blood, no deer, no meat.



Let's hope Bambi stays out of the kitchen next time.

Some Vegan Southern Cooking

The week after vacation is always a struggle. It takes me awhile to get accustomed to being productive for 8-ish hours a day. My sickness finally subsided today (Sunday) - meaning that I really wasn't in the mood to cook or eat all of this week. Early in the week I managed to move off of the couch long enough to make this emergency-type dinner:

BBQ Seitan:
1 package seitan
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 onion
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup good-tasting BBQ sauce


Saute veggies, add seitan, add BBQ.... DONE. Dave wanted some rice with it, but I just stuck to a serving of protein and veggies.

Let's ignore the fact that the photo is upside down and I can't figure out how to turn it right-side up on my P.O.S. Thinkpad.




BBQ Black-Eyed Peas Collard Rolls
After taking a full day off of work on Tuesday- I was ready to take on some serious cooking on Wednesday. My friend from work had made these for a Louisiana-themed dinner party before and I really enjoyed them. I spotted a huge pile of collards at the grocery store and decided the time had come to make them. However, I used almost EVERY pot in my kitchen, and made a gigantic mess. I would definitely not make this on a weeknight again. The BBQ sauce is pretty good - but doesn't come close to my favorite Sweet and Stick BBQ sauce devised by Vegan Dad.

The original recipe comes from Veganomicon, and can be found on this site. There's very little ingredients other than the BBQ sauce. Collards, cremini mushrooms, and black eyed peas.. all rolled up with some chopped collards in some steamed collard leaves. Try it out if you want to get dirty Southern faster than saying "why come ya'll ain't eat no meat?"

I served this with some whipped mashed potatoes. Red skinned potatoes, smart balance, better than cream cheese, parsley and salt and pepper. Yum.

Crustless, Eggless Quiche

Doesn't sound very fun, eh? Well, let me tell you - this quiche tastes GREAT. I couldn't believe how smooth the tofu gets from a whirl in the food processor- it was unreal. I saw the recipe HERE initially, on This is Vegan. The original recipe can be found HERE. I left the sweet potato out because I didn't have one, though I didn't feel I was missing anything!

Garden Quiche:
1 package firm tofu
1 small onion
1/2 yellow pepper
1/2 red pepper
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. miso
1/2 cup nutritional yeast


Saute Veggies.



Put the rest of the ingredients in food processor and blend.



Fold together and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Let sit and eat! I had mine with a nice salad with some of my balsamic dressing from yesterday.

Fun with advisors and Polenta!

Describing the relationship of an advisor to an advisee sometimes proves to be difficult. It's kind of like a mix between a boss, parent, Drill Sargent, and babysitter. Everything you want to do requires their permission. They guide your career, serve as the rate-limiting factor for your progression through school, make you feel like crap, and serve as your biggest fan. No matter what - they are the ones that will get you to graduate. You need their help to put out publications, okay your dissertation, and ultimately provide a recommendation for you. It's a very complex relationship - and it's different with everyone. Thinking your advisor hates you is a pretty common theme in grad school. Google "my advisor hates me" and you'll get several thousand hits. However, by the end most realize that their advisor does not in fact hate them... after several years of therapy.

My dad went to business school, and told me that my advisor uses a management style known as "everything is an emergency." Everything has to be done RIGHT away, and ASAP emails are abundant. This morning, I decided I would sleep in. It's Friday - and I had finished my work due NEXT week, so I decided to sleep in. At about 9, my phone starts buzzing at me- alerting me to a new email. It was from my advisor -saying to email him AS SOON AS POSSIBLE when I arrive at work. Well, crap. I throw on clothes, rush out the door, arrive at work unshowered and smelly - to email my advisor back. His reply? "Let's meet in 2 hours." UGH.

Anyway- the husband was gone last night, so I got to cook for myself yet again. I make a fun polenta dish when I don't feel like throwing anything too complicated together- so I saute up some veggies, and warm two slices of polenta in the microwave. Add veggies (onion, pepper and broc) to top, smother with tomato sauce and a sprinkling of Daiya and nuke again... and dinner is done. I was CRAVING carbs last night so I bought some sour dough bread. The wine is Skull camp's "anticipation" made by Round Peak vineyards. A young un-oaked chardonnay with less than 4% residual sugar- a nice semi-sweet wine. Perfect to accompany the 50 thank you notes I got through yesterday.
Now I am off for a swim - that will serve as my first "shower" of the day.