Another Engine 2 Recipe - Polenta Bake (Edited 9/2018)

Edited  - The Engine 2/Daily Beet site was revamped, many of the old articles and recipes removed, lost to the ages. The link now goes to the archived page, thanks to The Wayback Machine site.

With the hot weather upon us (90's this week! After 40's last week.), I'm looking for foods that cook up well either on the stovetop or microwave oven. Back in June 2012, the Engine 2 blog, The Daily Beet, had an entire post on one-dish meals, and every one of them I've tried so far can be easily made in the microwave as well as regular oven. I've already written about a couple of them, such as the Mexican Layered Casserole, and here's another from that post, Polenta Bake. It's similar to the others in the basic formula - tomatoes - starch - veg 1 - veg 2 - more tomatoes - spices. They're the oven version of the Jeff Novick SNAP meals.

Polenta Bake 

Pre-heat oven to 350

1 thin layer of chopped tomatoes
1 layer of sliced polenta rounds
1 layer of sliced mushrooms
1 layer frozen spinach
1 layer chopped tomatoes (thin layer)

Sprinkle with Italian seasoning

Bake for 35 minutes or until the mushrooms look done.

I used the plain, unflavored polenta, but next time will probably use an Italian seasoned one.

For the tomatoes I chose 2 15-oz. cans of diced unsalted. For the first layer I just put the juices from both cans down, then the polenta, and then dumped the first can on that. If you like things spicy, try a can of Rotel or other flavored tomato for one or both cans.

Cremini instead of white buttoned tomatoes, and I shopped them up into small pieces instead of slices, only because I was running out of room in my casserole dish. 

The spinach was defrosted and squeezed before I put it in the casserole dish. I only did that because I took the spinach out of the freezer, got distracted and had to do something else before making the casserole, and by the time I actually went to start it, the spinach was defrosted (I said it was hot yesterday!) so I just gave it a good drain and squeeze in a colander.

As for spices, not only did I use my trusty Penzey Italian Herbs Seasoning, but I also added about half a teaspoon of what used to be called Penzey's Italian Dressing Mix but it now known as Italian Vinegar and Oil, even though it contains neither vinegar nor oil but is dry, like the Good Seasonings packets of dressing mix. It did add a little more taste but next time I'll skip it and add spice with flavored tomatoes.

I thought it lacked something, so added a can of rinsed and drained cannellini beans on top of the spinach layer. I'm glad I did.

After I popped the glass lid on I shoved this in the microwave, set it for 15 minutes on HIGH, then walked away, feeling smug that I'm making a hot meal for the family without making the kitchen any hotter than it already was.

My smugness was short-lived. Alas, this is another recipe with no photo because I was embarrassed at the mess. Even with squeezing out the spinach and chopping the mushrooms into smaller pieces, this loaded my big Corningware oval casserole dish, and as it heated and bubbled, it bubbled it's way out of the dish, along the glass lid, and across the round microwave carousel plate. I caught it before it managed to overflow the plate. By the time I got it cleaned up my husband was already home, changed out of his office clothes, played with the mail, and was ready to sit down and eat, so I had no time to make the dish pretty and grab the camera. Take my word for it, you've seen one overflowing tomato-based casserole you've seen them all! LOL

What will I do different next time? Well, use the larger pan, the one I use for lasagna, first off. A flavored polenta (or make my own), a can of Rotel, skip the salad dressing spices. I might add a few sliced - olives, black or green - and if I'm out shopping the day I make it again, I'll grab a loaf of crusty Italian bread to sop up all the juices.

Thanks, Engine 2 Team, for another winner!

Randa's SNAP Corn Chowder

Everyone who knows the VegSource team or Jeff Novick knows the Nelson Twins, Randa and Nina.

The girls appeared in Jeff's first 2 Fast Food videos, among other places. Randa has also developed some recipes of her own, including the one I made yesterday for lunch, her version of a SNAP meal, Corn Chowder:

RANDA'S CORN CHOWDER
Ingredients:
-onion
-bag of frozen corn
-bag of frozen cauliflower
-bag a frozen peas
-2 large potatoes
-rosemary
-2 low sodium vegetable broths
-cup of leafy greens (kale, spinach, etc.)
Preparation:
-Pre-cook potatoes in the microwave.
-Chop up onion and sautee it with some rosemary in a pot.
-Add 2 cartons low sodium vegetable broths to pot.
-Add bag of frozen peas, cauliflower, and corn to pot.
-Add leafy greens of choice.
-Cut up the potatoes, and add them to the pot.
-Bring to a boil
-Let simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes (until vegetables are cooked)
-Serve

I did nothing different except simmer this soup longer than 20 minutes because we like our cauliflower soft. Here it is, right after the initial boil:

Most corn chowders I've seen have some form of milk in it - this one doesn't. To me, this made it just a corn soup, but a tasty one at that.

Also, when I make chowders, I usually grab the immersion blender and have at it, but this one I left intact and whole. After being sick with the flu for the past week and a half (yes, again) it was nice to actually taste the individual components of a meal again.

We each had 2 big bowls and I have 3 of my Corningware 3-cup containers filled with leftovers for lunches during the week. It's going up in the low 80's today and the air conditioners aren't in the windows yet, so I'll probably enjoy this cold later.

Another Great Post by Natala on Engine 2

An excerpt from one of her recent posts:

Being overweight in this society is not easy. While the number of obese people has been on the rise year after year, the way people who are overweight are treated has not become any better. It’s still ok (for most) to laugh, make fun of and look down at overweight people. I have been hurt, more times than I can count because of my size, physically and emotionally. Being overweight since the age of 10, has not been easy. I did what I could to not be noticed, but alas, everyone seemed to notice me. I thought this would go away when I became an adult, but sadly it did not. People said (and still say) awful things about me. I really don’t feel like walking around with a shirt that says “I’ve lost 200 pounds, so back off”, so I’ve learned to ignore what I can, and on the bad days, when something really gets to me? I just let it get to me. Sometimes I go punch a punching bag, seems to help the most, to be honest.

If you've been overweight your entire life as I have, you've GOT to read her entire post and all the comments. It'll make your day!

Lately the Engine 2/Daily Beet sites are more inspirational to me than the McDougall forums have been. I have a feeling I'll be signing up for the Engine 2 Extra site again very soon. It'll take some maneuvering of finances but hubby said we can swing it now. I look forward to seeing the changes since I was last there, the month of opening the site.

My Beef With Meat Is On the Way!

I love how Amazon sometimes mails pre-orders out early so the customer gets the book on its day of release! I pre-ordered Rip Esselstyn's My Beef With Meat and as of Sunday afternoon it's on its way from the South Carolina warehouse and will be delivered Tuesday.

Too bad I'm suffering my first Spring cold right now and reading the book will have to wait until I've recuperated, because otherwise I'll forget everything I read.



For now, I'll have to be content with these video advertisements. It would be so nice if ads for books like these would show up on television.



My Beef With Meat... Http://mybeefwithmeat.com from engine 2 diet on Vimeo.


MBWM from engine 2 diet on Vimeo.

And I think this is Natala doing a sneak preview of the book in the first 3 1/2 minutes of this 14 minute vlog post


Video Blog 9 from engine 2 diet on Vimeo.

Wendy's Notes from Dr. Fuhrman's Lecture

Plant-Based Nutritarian Weight Loss Recipe Blog

I really have to get moving reading the rest of his books and the Immersion Excursion series that are piled up on my dresser!

Today is World Tai Chi and Qigong Day

I'd like to offer my thanks to Dr. Robert Bates, Lee and Karen Holden, Garri and Daisy Garripoli, Thich Nhat Hanh, and, believe it or not, David Carradine, who sparked my interest in the gentle martial arts many, many decades ago.

Heart Healthy Pizza

Long time McDougaller Mark Sutton published a book last year entitled Heart Healthy Pizza. I probably wrote a blog post about it at the time. Recently Mark has been doing some local cable spots and live cooking shows demonstrating these pizzas. As a test run to the live shows, he filmed a few test runs and posted some on his YouTube page.

The first videos he shows tell how to make the kale that will be used on his pizza. He says the kale takes about 20 minutes to cook, and since he's limited to 10 minute videos he had to break it down to 4 real-time videos to get the process start to finish.

The next few videos show how to shape the pizza crust, how he dresses this one particular pizza, the making of the sriracha-flavored cheeze sauce he's using on this pie, and a short video showing the finished product, including the now-hardened cheese sauce covering the entire pizza.

While I haven't made that particular pie of his (yet), I have made others, and they beat anything you'll find in the grocer's freezer by miles and are perfectly fine to eat on any plant-based food plan, whether it's Dr. McDougall's, Dr. Fuhrman's or even the more restrictive Dr. Esselstyn's, and everything in-between.



So go visit Mark's site and his blog, take a look at the wonderful pizzas that can be made in your own kitchen that you can eat without guilt. Tasty AND healthy!

Sandie's Pizza Potatoes

A long time ago, on a VegSource far, far away, Sandie posted her original recipe for a casserole named Pizza Potatoes. The McDougall forums no longer exist over there and the original post from 2003 is long gone, but Sandie also posted the recipe on her Geocities recipe site. That's gone now, too. Luckily someone else had remembered it and asked about it on the current McDougall forums back in 2006, and Sandie, luckily, is also a member of those forums and answered, so now it's a permanent part of that site.

The original recipe, as written:

Pizza Potatoes

4 cups thinly sliced potatoes (I used Yukon Gold, my
favorite), divided.
2 - 3 cups favorite pizza toppings:
* sliced zucchini
* sliced onion
* sliced mushrooms
* sliced artichoke hearts
* diced red and/or green peppers
* sliced tomatoes
* sliced black olives
* fresh spinach
* any other sliced veggies you desire!
pizza sauce (see recipe below or use canned)
1 - 2 cups water (DO NOT ADD IF MAKING IN THE
CROCKPOT)

Place 2 cups potatoes in a large, non-stick or pan
sprayed baking dish. Layer pizza toppings on top of
potatoes. Cover with half the pizza sauce. Layer on
the rest of the potatoes and the sauce. Pour the water
into the corners of the baking dish. Press down
mixture to allow liquid to cover surface of
ingredients. Cover and bake in a preheated 325 degree
(F) oven for approximately 60 - 90 minutes, uncover
and bake an additional 20 - 30 minutes (until potatoes
are tender) and top is crisp.

Approximately 6 - 8 servings

NOTE: This recipe may also be made in the crockpot.
Layer ingredients in crockpot as described above. DO
NOT ADD THE WATER. Cook on low for 6 - 10 hours.

My changes:
Instead of slicing potatoes I used a bag and a half of frozen hash browns.

The toppings I used were onions, garlic, mushrooms, spinach, frozen pepper strips, and green olives.

Although Sandie also posted a recipe for spaghetti sauce, I used a jarred oil-free low sodium marinara sauce. I did not add any water to the recipe. I figured with the veggies it'll have enough liquid.

I also gave a very generous sprinkling of Penzey Spice's Italian Herb mix over the top of the last layer of tomato sauce. 

I placed a layer of sauce, a layer of tomatoes, a thin layer of potatoes, a thick layer of dry-fried chunked onions, garlic, peppers, and mushrooms, and covered that with a bit more sauce. I then laid another layer of potatoes and a handful of spinach and about a quarter cup of the olives, then covered that with some sauce. Then came the last layer of potatoes and tomato sauce, plenty of herb mix, then covered with first parchment, then aluminum foil, and into the oven it went.

All that time and the exposed taters aren't even browned

I cooked it for almost 90 minutes, removed the covering, and cooked for another half hour, all at 350º F. When I finally took it out of the oven, the sauce was bubbling nicely around the outer edges but the center was warm but still a bit cool to touch. By now hubby was home and starving, waiting to eat.

We ate it anyway. He wanted some cheese on his so I tossed some Daiya mozzarella in his bowl. The leftovers were packed into 2, 3-cup Pyrex containers and popped into the fridge for a decent reheating for weekend lunches. 

Next time I make this I'll be sure to start a whole lot earlier and let it cook for at least another half hour without the foil so it gets not only warmer but a bit crispy around the edges. It probably took so long because I started with frozen potatoes and more than the recipe called for. Actually, the next time I make this will probably be during the warm summer months so I most likely will dump it all into a Crockpot to cook. I refuse to light the oven once the outside temp reaches 65 or so, because that means our apartment on the top floor here will already be in the 80's, especially the kitchen, the only room besides the bathroom without air conditioning.

We Are More Than A Scale

With Rip Esselstyn's new book about to come out in a few weeks, I decided to go take another look over on the Engine 2 Diet site and catch up on some Daily Beet articles or recipes I may have missed. Boy, were there a lot of them!

One of the articles that struck me was this one by one of the Engine 2 team's coaches, Natala. Here's the beginning paragraphs:

       More than a scale

For as long as I can remember I have been on a diet. I remember going to weight loss meetings when I was in Middle School. I remember trying my first diet pills when I was 14. The agony of diets is something that I have been struggling through almost my entire life, 24 years to be exact.

When I started going plant-strong I weighed upwards of 450 pounds. Life was not good for me, every day was a struggle. I didn’t weigh 450 pounds for lack of trying different diets, I weighed that much after attempting every single diet known to man, go ahead, ask if I’ve been on a certain diet, if it is out there, I’ve tried it.

For those people who, like me, struggled for decades to lose even an ounce and cry when the scale is up even a half pound, this article is a must-read.

I'm more than twice her age and have been through this struggle for almost 60 years now. I'm really tired of the agony of weigh-in's that show no loss, even though I'm almost 150 pounds over a "healthy" weight - and HAVE been for over 40 years. I'm been officially overweight since the day after my birth! Like Natala, with each weight loss attempt more weight eventually came ON instead of going off. I really want to just stop. Like Natala (and many, many others I've read about on the McDougall and Fuhrman message boards and elsewhere) I lost quite a bit of weight when I first went on the no added fat, whole foods, plant strong food program (McDougall MWLP, in my case), and like Natala and those hundreds of others, the weight loss slowed, stalled, then stopped completely after a while. A long while. For years, even while going towards more nutrient-dense whole foods and following strict MWLP, at times experimenting with a more Rice Diet like program (Dr. McDougall's suggestion, actually) and going well under 1000 calories. I actually gained weight during that phase of my dieting life, so decided to go back on the regular McDougall program and take what I get and try ignore the scale. Of course, after 50-plus years of weight loss dieting, that hasn't happened (the ignoring part).

When you finish reading Natala's post, search the Daily Beet for other posts by her, then watch this video of her with Chef AJ and Julianna Hever cooking Thai Noodles using a Mary McDougall recipe:




It's been many years since I had such an upbeat attitude as Natala has, and I hope she retains it throughout the rest of her journey, whether she losses another ounce or not.

Blueberry Dumpster Fire Cobbler

This is one of those rare times I wish I still had a silicone cake pan.

I made this recipe from the Engine 2 web site, Blueberry Dumpster Fire Cobbler:

Blueberry Dumpster Fire Cobbler
Preheat over to 350 degrees.
Ingredients:
2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla
2/3 cup milk substitute
3 tablespoons agave nectar or maple syrup
2 cups blueberries
Instructions:
Combine flour and baking powder in a small bowl.
Combine vanilla, milk substitute, and agave nectar or maple syrup in a measuring cup.
Add contents of measuring cup to dry ingredients and mix until smooth. The batter will be runny.
Pour the batter into a non-stick 8-inch square pan. Sprinkle the blueberries over the batter. Bake for 45 minutes or until browned.

If you look at it from this view, it looks pretty good:

but on the opposite side of the plate:

The whole soggy center of the cake was so heavy with blueberries that as it cooled it sort of fused itself to the center of my tried-and-true non-stick cake pan and when I went to turn it out onto the platter, the entire center of the cake and this bit on the side chose to remain in the cake pan. I had to grab a silicone spatula and scoop it out, plopping it back into the center of the cake, smoothe it out a bit, but by then that side piece was stuck fast to the blueberry goo and wasn't going to move again.

Once it sat a while it solidified and was very easy to cut into quarters and my husband even ate his without a fork and not one blueberry dropped.

It was a very tasty cake, and while I wouldn't serve it to guests, I would certainly make it for my husband again. It all came together in less than 5 minutes. The only change I might make next time is to use fresh blueberries instead of the frozen ones. It would probably have been less soggy. But these organic frozen blueberries I have are such cute tiny ones, about a third to half the size of fresh supermarket blueberries and much tastier, which is why I chose them. Oh, well.