Fat and Crafty.com

Planning my grocery shopping this week, I stepped out of the norm and reached for a cookbook. This time it was Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. 
I picked out a simple vegetable stir fry with Mushroom, Broccoli Peppers and Carmalized tofu.

The tofu was first, a package of pressed tofu, cut up, then fried till golden brown. Once it was golden brown  and crispy on the edges, i tossed the glaze onto and moved onto the veggies.
Since peppers are a no go in my household  it was going to be carrots. I pulled out the bag of carrots to grate them and discovered that they were all bad. Disappointing since i’d just purchased them.

The next package was the mushrooms, and the liquid pooled on the top was a bad sign. The mushrooms were bad too.  It was down to the freezer, a pakage of frozen stir fry and a package of snap peas. Tossed in with the broccoli, these provided  a decent  substitute, but this was not what i wanted. I had visions of fresh cooked veggies with carmalized tofu on a bed of brown rice.

While i’m glad I have enough stuff in the freezer for back up, Ultimatly it was a disappointing dinner.

Last weekend I cleaned up my magazines and sorted them into seasonal catagories. Spring, Summer Autumn, Holiday and Winter.  I divided up the months and sorted them into big piles, dedicating different places in my house for each set of magazines. Planned my rotations and I’m feeling organized.

I’d like to get more elaborate on my grocery planning. I’d like to sit down and calculate the nutritional balance of the recipes and figure out what I’m high on and what I’m low on.  What meals need extra vegetables which need to have the fat cut. I can go with a gut instinct. It would be nice to sit and run the numbers though.

But not yet This afternoon I sat down and planned out the next two weeks grocieries, using this seasons magazines. The Spicy Chicken Cakes with Horseradish Mayo came from Cooking Light, and while the cakes weren’t spicy they were tasty.

Spicy  Chicken Cakes with Horseradish Mayo

Cakes:
3  slices whole wheat bread
1  pound skinless, boneless chicken breast
3  tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
1  teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1/4  teaspoon salt
2  large egg whites

Horseradish Mayo
2  tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
2  teaspoons prepared horseradish
1  chopped garlic clove
1/8  teaspoon salt

To prepare cakes, place bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or
until coarse crumbs measure 1 cup (discard remaining breadcrumbs). Set
breadcrumbs aside.

Place chicken in food processor; pulse until
ground. Combine chicken, chives, 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, seasoning,
1/4 teaspoon salt, egg whites, and breadcrumbs in a medium bowl; mix
well (mixture will be wet). Divide mixture into 8 equal portions,
shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add patties; cook 7 minutes on each side or until done.

To prepare aioli, combine 2 tablespoons mayonnaise and remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Serve with cakes.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 chicken cakes and about 1 1/2 teaspoons aioli)

  If this works, this post will be mirrored between all of my blog sites, meaning on livejournal and typepad, and even on all three of my blogs on typepad.
I find the idea of this interesting. First for Livejournal, since I have little interest in making public posts it wont do me much good. But, if I decide to make a general update, or to archive material over mutliple sites this will do it, I think.

Status of the blogs?  Livejournal is the most active, as always. Seattlejo.com/ The Cooking Blog The Church Blog are all on haitus till the end of this week.
Any other post anywhere else is  a bonus.