Texas Armadillo Tater Tots and "Special Sauce" Ranch Dressing

My husband has been in a potato mood lately, and frankly, I'm getting a bit sick of plain old IPot steamed spuds with Golden Gravy and veggies on the side and wanted to make something different but still easy enough to make.

Enter the Esselstyn family instead of the McDougall one.

Here are the potatoes I'm making:

Texas Armadillo Tater Tots
makes 18 tots

18 red baby potatoes (or any color)
1 cup (8 ounces) hummus
1/2 to 3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning

Preheat oven to 425ºF and line a baking pan with parchment paper.

Slice most of the way through each potato at 1/4 inch intervals (Hasselback).

In a food processor, combine the hummus, water, and 1 tablespoon of the seasoning and blend well. Place this into a bowl.

Put all the potatoes into the bowl and stir to coat each potato and get the seasoning mix to sneak down into the wedges of the potatoes.

Place the potatoes on the lined pan and pour the remaining mix over them.

Bake until the potatoes are thoroughly cooked, about 45 minutes or longer, depending on the size of the potato. They should be tender in the middle and crispy outside.

Serve with ketchup or Rip's Ranch Dressing.


Engine 2 Cookbook
page 108

Of course, I used the Esselstyn's Our Hummus.

Our Hummus
From the book by Ann Crile Esselstyn and Jane Esselstyn. "The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook."

1  (15 oz) can no salt added chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 large cloves garlic
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 T spicy brown mustard
freshly ground black pepper to taste.
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

  In food processor, combine the chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, mustard, and pepper to taste. Add salt if desired and 2 T water and process until smooth. Serve immediately.

Variations.: Top with Caramelized onions, blend in cooked sweet potato, or add green onion.

But when it came to the ranch dressing, I didn't want Rip's because it contains cashews. Instead, I went for a ranch dressing from the McDougall forums:

Special sauce
post by Alvah » Tue Oct 06, 2015 5:14 pm

I'd like to share my version of a ranch dressing I use all the time, in salads, on baked potatoes, over vegetables, in panini. I modified the recipe by omitting the dill and jalapeño and adding a few other things.

Process in food processor:

2 green onions
1 package low fat silken tofu
1 t seasoned rice vinegar
1 t onion powder
1 t garlic powder
1 t salt
1 t sugar
2 t mild curry powder
1/3 c nutritional yeast
1/2 c low calorie plant milk

Yummy!

Yes, I had tofu! Last week I noticed our grocery store changed the endcap in the "healthy" section from chips and cookies to assorted other foods, from organic pickle relish to organic Kosher jelly, assorted fizzy waters (organic, of course), and there, behind some organic chocolate bars, I noticed the familiar lilac of the MoriNu Lite silken tofu box peeking out! There were 2 of these beauties hiding back there! Just when I had given up hope that this tofu would ever reappear in the United States again (It's been sold out everywhere since March), I was blessed with these! Just in time (OK, maybe a little late) for summer salad season! I had no idea exactly what I was going to do with them, but I grabbed them. The expiration date is next month, but I'm sure I can use the other one next week in one of Mary McDougall's recipes, like a potato salad. 

As for Alvah's recipe, since I haven't had ranch dressing in a long, long time, I can't really say how close this came to it, but I do know I'll be making this sauce again. Next time, though, I'll either reduce or skip the salt entirely and use half the curry powder. It is a great tasting sauce, though.

The execution . . .

Well, some mistakes were made.

I made the hummus a bit too thick. By the time I was ready to use it, it was as thick as clay and just as difficult to use. Because of that, I wound up using too much water in the armadillo sauce. Since I had a bag of 40 of those tiny potatoes, I planned on making double the sauce. Two cups of the hummus went into the food processor. I reached for the Cajun seasoning and saw I needed to open a new jar. There were 2 jars in my spice box, 2 different brands, neither the one I just finished. I opened the first and tasted it. It had a weird chemical taste. Opened the other, and it was different, but not at all like the older one.  Oh, well, it’s going to have to do. In that goes into the food processor. My husband walks into the room and offers to help. I hand him the 2 cup measuring cup, tell him to double the amount of water on the paper and pour it into the machine. He does that and the water starts pouring out around the spindle! Instead of at most 1 1/2 cups of water he used 2 cups. He misunderstood what I told him to do.  You would think an 11 cup food processor could hold more than 4 cups, but you’d be wrong. I learned that last year when I tried to make that corn soup.

So, after I blended up the “batter” he cleaned the mess. It looked like hummus soup.

While he cleaned, I started in on cutting all those tiny slits in those 40 tiny potatoes.  My hands were so sore afterwards. The batter got poured into the bowl with the potatoes and I let them soak in it while the oven preheated and I got the parchment paper on the pans.

Using a slotted spoon, 20 potatoes went on each tray, and a bit of the liquified hummus got poured over each. The pans went into the oven, a timer was set for 20 minutes so I could rotate them, hubby helped clean everything up, and away we went into the air conditioned bedroom to watch TV for a few minutes. When the timer dinged I moved the trays around, reset the timer for 25 more minutes.

45 minutes came and went and the potatoes were still hard. How? These were those tiny things! Checked again in 5, then 10, and just took them out after an hour in the oven. Here’s how they looked:

Good enough. If they’re still too hard to eat I’ll nuke them, but as it turned out, most were okay enough. The few we have leftover will be eaten during tomorrow’s lunch and they'll soften up as they get nuked. The 2 pounds of cauliflower were devoured, though, as well as over half the ranch dip/dressing. The saltiness seemed to have died down a bit since I made it in the morning.

The verdict:

My husband loved every morsel of it, including some of the baked on batter that he peeled off the parchment paper. It tasted a bit like cheese crackers our son ate when younger. He liked the tiny slices that made these baby potatoes disguise themselves as Hasselback potatoes. The ranch dip, now as firm as I wish my hummus was, he declared “good” but not “great”. Even so, he already asked when I plan on making this meal again.

As for *my* opinion, if I had my druthers I wouldn’t bother with the slits and I wouldn’t bother with making these in an oven. I wouldn’t even be opposed to skipping the “batter” part, either, but the next time I will make the batter, but all by myself, so I can keep track of how much liquid it needs. Hopefully it comes out right, and the batter adds a lot of flavor, and roasting it in the oven transforms them into something magical. To me, that ranch dressing/dip made the whole meal.

Message from the McDougall Program

This email was sent out this morning regarding the free content. Better hurry and grab everything while you can!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dear McDougall Friends, Since mid-April Dr. McDougall’s Health & Medical Center has offered all digital content on our website for free. During this uncertain time, there is nothing more important than staying safe and healthy. We hope you have benefited from and shared Dr. McDougall’s powerful teachings with friends and family. Please note, on August 1st our digital content will revert back to paid content. Both online courses will resume offering continuing education, and certification for The Starch Solution Course will be reinstated. In the meantime, please enjoy:  Lecture series eBooks The Starch Solution Course* Dr. McDougall’s Dietary Therapy Course* We hope you share our materials with your family and friends. * During this time, both online courses will not be offering continuing education nor certification status for The Starch Solution Course. Best of Health,

Happy Independence Day (Weekend)

A Dining "Outdoors" Question

Is it still considered "outdoor dining" if you're in a 4-sided, windowed tent over brick pavement like this? Yes, that wall closes up and the restaurant says they can easily do that in inclement weather.

One Advantage of Being Hypothyroid

While my husband and son, 2 men who usually sport the shortest of buzzcuts, both look like shaggy dogs right now after 4 month of no barber (We were all due when they closed), my hair looks like it barely grew. In fact, a neighbor recently asked where I had it cut with all the places still closed.

Barbers and salons reopen here on Monday June 22nd, and they're still trying to figure out how to comply with all the new guidelines. We all have appointments for next Friday morning at 7:30am, as soon as our son gets home from work. I made myself this mask to wear. My husband has a beard and my son scruff so they have to wear regular masks somehow. My son said he may try the one with tape first and see if it sticks. If I can't find the fashion tape she says to use in the instructions, I'll use plain old Scotch double sided tape (Yellow dispenser). My skin can tolerate it for the 10 minutes or less I'll be in the chair.

On the page she also gives advice on how to use a cloth mask for a haircut, and even has a free PDF download of all the instructions when you send her your email address.

While on her site, take a peek at all her purse patterns. I've been making them since she released her first pattern, way back when we still had a fabric store in this city. Stylish and easy to make. I still use the Wonder Wallet I made from her very first pattern from "way back when".

Almost Forgot to Plug Esther's Interview! (Edited version)

I've mentioned Star McDougaller Esther Lebeck Loveridge a number of times here, and also pointed out her fabulous FaceBook community, Esther's Nutritional Journey about her story on how she lost 155 pounds in 3 years while in her 70's.

I don't remember if I mentioned her book, released during this current Covid crisis, called From Donuts to Potatoes: My 366 Day Journey on a Plant Based Diet.

Or the 6 page Beginners Manual to MWLP that she wrote and encourages everyone to share wherever they can.

The other day she was interview by Chef AJ, and during her talk she demonstrated how she makes her morning oats, AJ's Cauliflower Bisque, and the Esselstyn's Easy Bean and Corn Salad, as well as her own version of the Jane Esselstyn 3-2-1 Dressing (She uses lemon or orange juice instead of maple syrup).

Her husband Ben even makes a surprise guest appearance. :)






Edited to add:

RECIPES FROM COOKING DEMO WITH CHEF AJ:

1. OATMEAL: Use your choice of oatmeal: groats, steel cut or rolled oats and make 8 servings, pour into container and cut into 8 squares when cool. Scoop out a serving, add water and reheat in microwave or add almond milk after reheating. Add fruit and cinnamon, if desired.
2. SIMPLE BLACK BEAN SALAD: Put the following ingredients in a large bowl and stir: 2 cans black beans and 1 can water chestnuts - rinsed and drained, 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes, 16 oz frozen corn (thawed, if necessary), 1/2 diced purple onion, a bunch of cilantro chopped, juice and zest of 1 lime and 3 T balsamic vinegar. (Garlic powder optional). Tip: If you want the crunchiness of the water chestnuts spread throughout the salad, slice them even smaller so you have more chunks.
3. 3:2:1 SALAD DRESSING: 3 parts balsamic vinegar, 2 parts mustard (I like Dijon) and 1 part lemon or orange juice. It's good on salad and squirted on broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. I use 3 fourths cup balsamic vinegar, 2 fourths mustard and 1 fourth lemon or orange juice.
4. CAULIFLOWER BISQUE: Put the following in your Instant Pot: 2 Pounds (large head) of cauliflower, 2 Pounds of sweet potatoes, 1 large yellow onion, 8 cloves garlic, 2 T dried dill, 2 T no salt seasoning (I use Costco) and 6 cups of water or broth. ( I use water - cheaper and handy). Set timer on high for 10 minutes, release pressure and add 4 T Dijon mustard, 4 T nutritional yeast and 3 C Almond Milk. Use emulsifier to blend up the soup (can use a Vitamix but it is a large quantity). Freeze extra. Good in a bowl, over rice, or over potatoes too.

Just a Quick Check-In

The mood around here is elevated to "optimistic" after going an entire week with no Covid deaths. Also, we now have more people listed as "recovered" than "active" cases. Next week they'll start allowing restaurants to have outdoor dining, although there was only room for 1 or 2 tables on our city's sidewalks in pre-covid times, even less now with the social distancing rules. Parents are happy day care centers are starting to reopen, and summer day camps will be allowed starting mid-July if all goes well. Next week we'll even be allowed to go into stores to shop instead of pre-ordering (if you know the store's stock by heart, since most shops don't have a web presence) and curbside pickup. But the poor kids have classes until the 25th and still have no idea if they'll be allowed back into the school buildings come September.

Still no word on when the library will reopen. We have books to return and a list of things we want to take out! First the governor said June 22nd, but later said there's no date yet.

I've been getting out of the apartment again, but mostly for doctors - another podiatrist visit and finally my 6 month ophthalmologist's appointment (2 months late). He's still only allowed what's deemed emergency eye surgeries, and he said some of the cataract surgeries he was allowed to classify as emergency. Instead of 15-20 surgeries twice a week he's averaging 5 a week, and all sorts of hoops he, his staff, and especially the patients have to jump through, including multiple covid swabs for all of them. He also chuckled and said to me that I won't be needing his surgical expertise for a while yet - my right eye's cataract is actually improving and my vision is better than the last few visits. He even saw changes for the better in the retinal scan, something he rarely sees. When I told him the credit goes to my diet, he said to keep it up and I may no longer need his services. I know that's an exaggeration - I've been seeing an ophthalmologist for over 10 years now for various problems - but it was nice to know things aren't getting any worse, especially since my arthritis is and I may be forced to see a rheumatologist and go on those potent meds that have vision problems as known side effects. I keep stalling, but the hands are getting so bad some days I can't even type, and my podiatrist said my feet are getting worse. Heck, I wake up multiple times a night with pains in my shoulders, legs, back.

But today, the sun is supposed to be shining, the temps aren't going to get too high, and the grocery store has been getting much of the frozen and fresh veggies back in stock, although at much higher prices, but at least I can (hopefully) get my entire food order again (Still a shortage on paper products). Keep your fingers crossed for me - mine are too stiff to do it myself.

Worth the Investment

Remember this post from April when I made Mary McDougall's Oriental Dressing? At the time, my only complaint about it was that even with a lot of the Instant ClearJel it was still watery and I vowed to purchase a bag of guar gum, the product Mary recommended all along.

Well, I did. And you know what? It worked! Just that tiny 1/4 teaspoon of this stuff and letting it sit for about a half hour in the refrigerator made a nicely thickened solution. It was thick enough that those little bits of minced garlic stayed suspended for hours instead of sitting on the bottom of the jar!

Since the package arrived I've made the dressing to serve over rice and veggies twice already and will be making another batch tomorrow morning. My husband said it beats out even Bone Sucking Sauce and Jane Esselstyn's 3-2-1 dressing. I'm now thinking of using it over linguini noodles and broccoli, and if I can ever find it in stores again, tofu.

Mary McDougall had something when she repeatedly said this is the best dressing she ever made!

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P.S. Our city just had its third day in a row of no Covid-19 deaths and only 10 currently hospitalized with it! Of course, now that non-essential stores are open for curbside pick-up and churches are re-opening (for private prayers with social distancing and masks, no masses or other ceremonies), and some places like gyms and daycare centers are illegally opening for business, we all expect this victory to be short-lived, but for now, we'll take any good news we can!

Good News for A Change

Our city just hit the second day with no Covid-19 related deaths! 

Since March we did have 2 non-connected days with no deaths. but this is the first time we've gone 2 days in a row.

Excerpt from Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook

Mary Pope, admin/owner of the Dr. Esselstyn Preventing And Reversing Heart Disease- Recipes and Discussion Facebook group, has recently pointed out that the Amazon page for the book The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook: Over 125 Delicious, Life-Changing, Plant-Based Recipes by Ann and Jane Esselstyn has a long excerpt from the introduction. Scroll down the page, beyond the Editorial Reviews, after About the Author, and hit the Read More link.


Great information about the food plan Dr. Esselstyn recommends - this info alone is worth the price of the book!