I swear that this blog has become a recepticle for me to show off my unhealthy drive to make decadent desserts, and be illiterative. Still, I DO make actual food, like, food you can eat three to five times a day... Sometimes. I feel like I should make a confession here. I am a really really weird eater, or a scavenger, or a weird scavenger eater? I obsessively, impulsively have to try a taste of every thing available. It is a horrble trait i really need to conquer but ohmygoditssohard! So when it comes to cooking I go for quick gratification, or concoctions based on what I have lying around... which is often rather obscure or not at all measured. Withered ginger, the scrapings from a near-empty jar of red curry paste, salvagable scallions. half a zucchini... yeah I can work with that, but doesn't make for a great or photogenic recipe.
Desserts fit really well into my lifestyle because no one turns down a piece of cake, a brownie, or even a scoop of ice cream. I can make them, and disperse it at a leisurely rate over the next several days. Real food, however... is not quite so easy or fun to hand out like say, prescription drugs at an end-of-year college party (is that off-colour?). Sometimes, however, I get inspired, or the leftovers I have lying around line up just right... So I present you with a more asthetically-appealing fridge and pantry cleaner... Actually, this is going to be a poor recipe, because well.. it was a pantry cleaner, so I'm giving estimates, and if you don't have it, you'll have to improvise...
Spicy Fennel Seitan Sausage Muffaletta
1 8-10" round olive loaf, cut into three layers
Varying volumes of spicy faux meat (depends on how thick you like it, oh thats what she said)*
1/2 cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 c olives
2 T garlic
1 Shallot, peeled, coarsely chopped
Pepper
Salt
Olive oil
2-4 C baby spinach (or chopped regular)
2 T Brown Rice vinegar
2 Medium Tomatoes, thinly sliced
Roasted red peppers (or in my pantry-cleaning case, I used a roasted red pepper and carmelized onion relish)
*I used a home made spicy fennel seitan sausage that I have not yet gotten a consistent recipe for, will back link it to this post when I do have it. Millenium's cookbook has a good recipe here.
Toss the spinach with brown rice vinegar, let sit.
In a food processor place the cherry tomatoes, olives, garlic, shallots, and salt/pepper in to taste. Give a glug or two of olive oil. Pulse until it reaches a consistency you like (I enjoy coarsely chopped, but you can make more of a paste).
Thinly slice the "meat," and spread on the bottom slice of the bread. Top with a layer of the tomato-olive relish. Top with half of the spinach, place on baking sheet. On the middle slice of the bread, place a layer of tomatoes, then sausage, then roasted red peppers. Top with remainder of spinach.
OPTIONAL: Place sandwiches under low broiler to wilt spinach (yum).
OK I need to stop procrastinating... Sandwich is pictured with a simple mixed greens and low fat sorta-not-UNhealthy chocolate cookie.
Desserts fit really well into my lifestyle because no one turns down a piece of cake, a brownie, or even a scoop of ice cream. I can make them, and disperse it at a leisurely rate over the next several days. Real food, however... is not quite so easy or fun to hand out like say, prescription drugs at an end-of-year college party (is that off-colour?). Sometimes, however, I get inspired, or the leftovers I have lying around line up just right... So I present you with a more asthetically-appealing fridge and pantry cleaner... Actually, this is going to be a poor recipe, because well.. it was a pantry cleaner, so I'm giving estimates, and if you don't have it, you'll have to improvise...
Spicy Fennel Seitan Sausage Muffaletta
1 8-10" round olive loaf, cut into three layers
Varying volumes of spicy faux meat (depends on how thick you like it, oh thats what she said)*
1/2 cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 c olives
2 T garlic
1 Shallot, peeled, coarsely chopped
Pepper
Salt
Olive oil
2-4 C baby spinach (or chopped regular)
2 T Brown Rice vinegar
2 Medium Tomatoes, thinly sliced
Roasted red peppers (or in my pantry-cleaning case, I used a roasted red pepper and carmelized onion relish)
*I used a home made spicy fennel seitan sausage that I have not yet gotten a consistent recipe for, will back link it to this post when I do have it. Millenium's cookbook has a good recipe here.
Toss the spinach with brown rice vinegar, let sit.
In a food processor place the cherry tomatoes, olives, garlic, shallots, and salt/pepper in to taste. Give a glug or two of olive oil. Pulse until it reaches a consistency you like (I enjoy coarsely chopped, but you can make more of a paste).
Thinly slice the "meat," and spread on the bottom slice of the bread. Top with a layer of the tomato-olive relish. Top with half of the spinach, place on baking sheet. On the middle slice of the bread, place a layer of tomatoes, then sausage, then roasted red peppers. Top with remainder of spinach.
OPTIONAL: Place sandwiches under low broiler to wilt spinach (yum).
OK I need to stop procrastinating... Sandwich is pictured with a simple mixed greens and low fat sorta-not-UNhealthy chocolate cookie.
