A Note About Soy

I have tried both Smart Ground brand and Boca brand soy crumbles and I have to say that Smart Ground tastes like cigarette butts.  I still have a box in my fridge that I don't even want to open because I'm afraid of the smell.  It ruined an otherwise perfectly good Mexican Lasagna last week.

Boca, on the other hand, is gracing my spaghetti sauce tonight.  I've heard Morningstar Farms is even better, but I haven't tried them yet.

I have, on the other hand, tried Morningstar Farms' veggie burgers, and found them to be delicious, especially the Griller burgers.  I also bought Mushroom Lovers burgers and Chik'n Burgers, but have yet to try them.

Morningstar Farms Chik'n nuggets are pretty good substitutes for the real thing, and I really dug on the veggie corn dogs.  Unfortunately, they have been discontinued... some sort of a supplier issue.  Sad face.

Spinach and Mushroom Couscous with Feta and Black Beans

This pretty much hits all my staples in one go.  It's the assimilation of two recipes with a little of my own personal touches thrown in.


1 1/2 cups couscous
1 12-oz. pkg frozen spinach
1 lb chopped mushrooms
1 14-oz can low-sodium black beans
2 1/4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp garlic & herb Mrs. Dash
1 pkg low-fat crumbled Feta cheese


In a saucepan, combine the couscous and 2 cups of broth and cook as directed.


In a separate skillet, cook onion, mushroom, black beans and garlic until tender.  Stir in lemon juice, remaining broth and Mrs. Dash.  Add spinach and simmer.  Stir couscous into vegetable mix and sprinkle feta on top.

Salmon Potato Cakes

I came up with these up the other night for the baby's dinner, but they were so good that we've been munching on them ever since!

1 medium red potato, peeled and diced
1 2.5-oz pouch of pink salmon (I used Chicken of the Sea)
2 tsp Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb
1 tsp butter
3/4 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350.

Boil the potato and butter until soft.  Drain and add to the food processor with the salmon and 1 tsp of Mrs. Dash.  Puree until well blended.

Mix the other tsp Mrs. Dash with the breadcrumbs and fold the salmon-potato  blend into the breadcrumbs. Stir until well-mixed.

Pat into small cakes on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.  Flip and bake for another 10 minutes.

Lea's Boursin Pasta

This recipe is directly lifted from my friend Lea.  About ten years ago, when she was in culinary school, she made this for dinner one night and it was AMAZING.  When I asked her for the recipe the other day, she said she didn't have one... but she helped me figure out what the basic ingredients might have been.  I made it for dinner last night, and WOW!  Exactly as I remembered it!  Best of all, it's fast... I think this took me around 30 minutes to make.

2 packages fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion
2 tbsp chopped garlic
1 bunch of fresh asparagus, cut into pieces
3/4 cup vegetable broth
2 cups whole wheat pasta shells
1 8-oz container of Boursin Garlic & Herb cheese

Cook pasta, drain and set aside.

In olive oil, cook the onions until they're clear in color.  Add garlic and mushrooms.  Saute for about 5 minutes before adding the vegetable broth and asparagus.  Let simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is gone.  Add the pasta at this point, and stir until all the ingredients are mixed.  Finally, add the Boursin.  It should melt pretty quickly since everything is hot.  Make sure the Boursin is well blended into the main ingredients.

Add black pepper to taste, and (if you need MORE cheese), top with a little fresh grated parmesan.