Veggie and Tempeh Stroganoff

Veggie and Tempeh Stroganoff
Ingredients
1 package Tempeh, sliced 1/4"
2 medium Onions, quartered
2 medium Carrots, peeled and sliced 1"
1 medium Red Pepper, sliced 1" strips
1 teaspoon Olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced thin
1 tablespoon Vegetarian Worcestershire
1 8 oz jar Mushroom gravy base, dilute with water as
per instructions on the jar
4 ounces Vegan sour cream
8 ounces Fusilli Pasta , Prepare according to package instructions 1 bunch fresh spinach or swiss chard, cleaned and steamed
1⁄4 cup water, as needed to steam veggies
Method
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add Tempeh strips and cook, turning until both sides are browned. Remove from pan and set aside.
Add the onions, carrot, red pepper, and garlic to the hot skillet. Add a few tablespoons of water to create steam. Add water as needed to steam to veggies. This should take about 5 mins.
Then return the tempeh to the pan with the veggies along with the mushroom gravy, water, vegan sour cream , and vegan Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
Serve over Fusilli pasta and top with steamed spinach. Set the Worcestershire sauce bottle on the table for additional seasoning as required to taste.

Source: Becky's Kitchen (4 servings)

Remember Mollie Katzen and Moosewood Cookbook?

Mollie is famous in the world of Vegetarians.
Check out her Website and her simple to follow recipes. She has incorporated animal proteins in a few recipes as well.

http://www.molliekatzen.com/get_cooking_sample_recipes.php

Vegan Red Stuffed Peppers

Summer produce will be around the corner and this is a really tasty version of an old standby; Stuffed Peppers.  Growing up my mom always made stuffed peppers. She made them with Green peppers, rice and ground beef.  My updated version uses red peppers, as they are sweeter and less apt to repeat on you, brown rice with it's added vitamins and fiber, and no meat or cheese.  My secret ingredient is Grape Leaves. They add a wonderful tangy flavor that makes one forget there is no meat or cheese.
I hope you enjoy.
Happy Mothers Day to all the women of our past, present, and future.

Stuffed Red Peppers

INGREDIENTS:

- 2 cups brown short grain rice, cook in 5 cups of water until mostly done
- 2 medium onion, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 4 cups zucchini, 1 inch cubes
- 2 lbs red skinned potatoes, 1/2  inch cubes
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb plum tomatoes, diced
- 1 quart vegetable stock (VS)
- 1/2 bunch mint ,fresh, chopped
- 1/2 bunch dill, fresh , chopped
- 1/2 jar grape leaves, drained
- salt, as desired
- white pepper ground, as needed, about 1 T or to taste
- 10 whole red peppers, cut in half,remove seeds
- red pepper flakes, 1/4 tsp
- tomato diced,canned, undrained
- 1/2  bunch parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup vinegar, champagne or apple cider


METHOD:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook Brown Rice. 2 cups of uncooked rice.

Cook celery for 4min in a stainless skillet with 2-4 T of Vegetable Stock (VS). Set aside.

Steam potatoes for 4 min.  Set aside.

Saute onion  for 4 mins in 2-4 T of VS. Set Aside.

Saute Garlic for 2 mins  in  2 T of VS.Set aside

Saute Zuchinni for 4 min.   4-6 T of VS. Set aside.

Combine the above in a large bowl.

Now add the Olive oil,mint,dill, parsley,salt, pepper, red pepper, diced plum tomatoes and vinegar.

Taste and adjust seasonings.

Line baking dish with the grape leaves and pour a layer of the canned diced tomatoes in the bottom.

Stuff peppers with filling.

Place stuffed  pepper halves in pan and cover each with a grape leaf.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.

Bake for 1 hour.

Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

 They can be frozen before or after they are baked.

SOURCE: Becky

I caught my first swarm!

A swarm in May is worth a load of hay
A swarm in June is worth a silver spoon
A swarm in July — let them fly

There were 3 clusters of bees in this bush making up the swarm. The largest is in the background of this photo on the left.


"Swarming is the natural means of reproduction of honey bee colonies. A new honey bee colony is formed when the queen bee leaves the colony with a large group of worker bees, a process called swarming. In the prime swarm, about 60% of the worker bees leave the original hive location with the old queen. This swarm can contain thousands to tens of thousands of bees. Swarming is mainly a spring phenomenon, usually within a two- or three-week period depending on the locale, but occasional swarms can happen throughout the producing season." from Wikipedia

I will remember today for a long time. Seeing a swarm and getting it to go into a hive box was an amazing accomplishment. I grabbed by bee gloves and bee vail first. I brought my camera too. I carried a hive box with some frames in it and placed under the swarm.

Then I shook the swarm and they dropped into the box, but thousands of bees were flying around. I did this again with another box.

 I left for a while and when I came back all the bees had moved into one of the boxes, the box with the queen, I assume because the bees follow her by scent (pheremones). In the evening when all the bees were settled I moved them back to my bee yard. I will check them in the morning.

It's the morning after catching my first swarm. Today Huck and I went to see if the bees liked their new home. (Huck does not come anywhere near the bee yard, he was stung once. He is a quick learner)
They like it! It has plenty of room for a growing family and they love the neighbors (the Honeybees of Colts Neck). It's done deal. Closing took place this morning.
I took this video showing how I checked the hive box to see if the swarm was still there.

After removing the outer cover, I could see and hear the swarm through the inner cover!!!! See them? I feel like a new mother!

I will watch the weather and feed them only if it is really cold or extremely rainy. Bees can't fly in the rain (watch the Bee Movie).  In a couple of weeks I'll check inside the hive to see if the queen laying brood and the workers are building up honey stores.

Here a Chick, there a Chick, everywhere a Chickpea Soup

Sunday evening is a good time to soak a pot a beans for cooking the next day. Last night a put up a pot of organic chickpeas for the soup I'm making today.
Trying out the NY sunday Times recipe for Chickpea Soup;

NY Times Chickpea soup

My Health Coaching Website is live. Take a peek.

As many of you know, I am a student of the Institute for Integrated Nutrition in NYC. I am having an amazing year studying to be a Health Coach!
 This is my new website! Take a peek and see what kinds of Healthy tips and services I will be offering once I graduate!

Click on this link:
Becky's Whole World Health

I've just discovered the Fabulous Beekman Boys

I never heard of the Fabulous Beekman Boys before  I received an email from Williams Sonoma promoting their Heirloom Vegetable Gardening program this past weekend.  Of course I ran over to WS to buy my vegetable seeds and logged onto their Website:


The Fabulous Beekman Boys


Oh, they have a show on Green Planet too!

I'm loving them.  They are 2 city guys who buy a farm near our upstate (wanna be a farm ) in Schoharie County, NY.  I love that they have the same dream Tom and I have of creating a sustainable farming lifestyle.
Can't wait to see what they come up with.