Vegetarian Biscuit Gravy

VEGETARIAN BISCUITS & GRAVY
Make your favorite biscuits. I recommend using Pioneer Baking Mix.
When you put the biscuits in the oven, begin the gravy recipe.

Serves 4

7oz (half package) Vegetarian Patty Sausage (pork style)
2 cups Milk
4 Tbsp Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 dashes of Liquid Smoke
4 Tbsp Butter

Melt butter in a saucepan on medium heat.
Fry sausage, breaking it up into tiny bits with a spatula.
Cook until its lightly browned.
Stir in flour and cook about 5 minutes, occasionally stirring.
Add milk, salt, cayenne, and liquid smoke.
Stir until gravy thickens to desired thickness.
Serve immediately on the biscuits.

Herb Shrimp with Pepe Pasta

Serves 4

2 oz Onion
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Garlic, minced
8oz Tomato, diced
4 fl oz White Wine or Vermouth
32 Shrimp, fresh, peeled and deveined
24 fl oz Vegetable Stock
8 oz Acini di Pepe pasta, dry
2 Tbsp Lime Juice
1/2 oz Butter
1 Tbsp Green Onion (green part only), chopped fine
1/2 tsp Tarragon, chopped fine
1/2 tsp Parsley, chopped

In a dutch oven, heat oil on medium. Saute Onion for 5 minutes, then Garlic for 1 min. Add Tomato and Wine. Reduce "au sec". Only a trace of liquid should remain.
Add shrimp and cook at least 4 min. Shrimp should curl before completing.
In another pot, bring Stock to a boil. Add Pasta and simmer 15 minutes.
Drain the Pasta, pour back into the pot (off heat). Stir in Herbs and Butter.
Combine Pasta mixture with Tomato/Shrimp mixture. Serve immediately.

Dill Sauce

This is great on salmon. Also works well on roasted vegetables.

1 Cup Half & Half
1 TBSP Dill, finely minced
1 TBSP Shallot, minced
1 tsp Garlic, minced
¼ tsp Salt
1 ½ TBSP Dijon Mustard
1 tsp oil

Heat oil in small skillet or pot at medium-hi.
Sweat Shallot and Garlic.
Reduce heat to Medium.
Add all remaining ingredients and cook until thickened.
Hold for service covered on lowest heat.

Vegetable Soup

Here's an easy soup with a lot of flavor.
It goes very well with a grilled cheese sandwich.

10oz Yellow Onion, finely chopped
5oz Carrot, sliced into 1/4 inch disks then quartered
5oz Zucchini, sliced into 1/4 inch disks then quartered
1 tsp Minced Garlic
14.5oz can Diced Tomato
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (omit if you don't like it spicy)
1 tsp Dry Parsley
1 tsp Dry Basil
4 cups Vegetable Broth
1 cup Frozen Peas
2 tbsp Olive Oil

Heat Oil is a soup pot at medium heat.
Add Garlic, Onion, Carrots, and Salt.
Cook covered 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add Tomatoes, Zucchini, Broth, Pepper, Basil, and Parsley.
Raise heat and bring to boil then reduce heat back to medium.
Simmer uncovered about 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the Peas.

Serve!

Tuna Noodle Casserole (Stove top version)

I think this is much easier than the baked type.

2 TBSP Butter, unsalted
10 oz Mushrooms, sliced
8 oz Onion, minced
1/2 tsp Salt
8 oz Egg Noodles
2 cups Vegetable Broth
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 cup Frozen Peas
2 Tbsp Fresh Parsley, minced
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
3 5oz cans of Albacore Tuna, or 2 7oz foil pouches
Lemon wedges for serving

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Saute Mushrooms, Onions and Salt appx 15 minutes, or until the mushrooms are browned. Remove mixture from bowl.
Add Cream, Broth and Noodles to the pot. Bring to a simmer and cook covered at medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.
Mix Mushroom mixture, peas and tuna to the pot until tuna is warm and peas are thawed. add pepper and serve with lemon wedges.

Yields 4 servings of appx 13oz

Mushroom Leek Soup with Wild Rice

Mushroom Leek Soup with Wild Rice

6 oz (1 cup) raw wild rice
3 cups vegetable stock
2 T oil
8 oz (2 cups) of leeks rinsed and chopped (2 large leeks or 3 small. Use white/light green parts only. Not the dark green part)
4 oz (1 cup) of carrots peeled and chopped
4 oz (1 cup) diced celery
1/2 t dried rosemary
1/2 t dried thyme
2 bay leaves
2 t salt
4 dried shiitake mushrooms crumbled into small pieces (no stems)
4 oz fresh wild mushrooms rinsed and chopped (no stems)
4 cups water
3 T soy sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry or white vermouth
black pepper to taste

In a large pot with a lid, bring rice and 3 cups of stock to boil.
Reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a soup pot and saute leeks for 5 minutes.
Add carrots, Celery, Rosemary, Thyme, Bay Leaves, Salt, Fresh Mushrooms, and Shiitake Mushrooms and saute for another 5 minutes.
Stir in water, soy sauce, and sherry/vermouth.
Simmer 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves. When rice is finished
cooking, combine soup and rice. Stir and add pepper. Serves 4 to 6

Know the smoke points of oil

The "smoke point" is the temperature that any particular cooking oil will smoke.
The goal in preheating oil in a pan is to reach the temperature where you see light wisps of smoke dancing around on the oil. Any hotter than that and you'll burn the oil.

Cooking oils/fats are selected not only for their flavor but for the ability to reach the right temperature for the type of cooking.

Here are some highlights:
(approximate temperature in Fahrenheit)

350 Butter
470 Canola Oil
485 Clarified Butter/Indian Ghee
460 Olive Oil (not virgin)
510 Refined Safflower Oil

I usually use only Butter, Canola, or Olive Oil. Those three easily cover the standard needs of the home kitchen. On my electric stove at home, I usually use butter on a heat no higher than 6, Olive Oil no more than 7 to 8, and Canola Oil for highest temperature cooking. Of course at lower temperatures choose whichever complements the flavor of the food best.