I recently bought some TVP (textured vegetable protein otherwise known as defatted soy flour granuals) to play around with in the kitchen. Lent, with its meatless Fridays, has given me a perfect excuse to come up with a new recipe to try out on my meat and potatoes loving partner. He didn't notice these nachos were not made with beef until I told him. That said, I could tell the difference but they were delicious and I have never been one to believe anyone can make soy taste identical to beef. I did not try to make my mixture taste like beef; I just wanted it to have the same spicyness and mouth feel as the real thing and I think I succeeded. It is really easy to make, too.

Ingredients:
1 cup TVP
7/8 cup vegetable stock
Olive oil
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 small clove garlic, chopped or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 small onion chopped or 1 teaspoon dried onion
3/4 cup water
Tortilla chips, cheese, salsa, jalapeño pepper slices and whatever else you like on your nachos

Reconstitute TVP with hot vegetable stock and allow to sit for ten minutes in order for TVP to absorb stock. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a sauté pan and brown TVP as you would ground beef. Combine chili powder, paprika, cumin, garlic and onion in a small bowl. Sprinkle spice mixture over browned TVP, add water and blend. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until spices are well incorporated and most of the moisture has evaporated. 

Assemble nachos by placing a layer of tortilla chips on an over safe plate, sprinkle with TVP mixture, salsa, shredded cheddar and pepper slices. Repeat. Heat in microwave 30 to 60 seconds on high or place briefly under broiler flame in conventional oven until cheese melts.  

I wouldn’t hesitate to use this mixture in tacos. Fill taco shells with TVP mixture, top with shredded cheddar and heat in microwave or under broiler until cheese melts then top with shredded lettuce and salsa or chopped
tomatoes.

Carnivores can make this recipe substituting one pound ground beef for TVP and vegetable stock. Before adding spices and water, drain browned beef on a double thickness of paper toweling.

Ingredients:
Nougat Cream Center -
3 c. sugar
1 1/3 c. light corn syrup
1 c. water
2 egg whites, beaten stiffly
1/4 c. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
Caramel Coating -
2 c. sugar
1 1/4 c. light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
1 lb. pecans (walnuts), chopped
1 1/2 c. light cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Nougat Cream Center: (Can be prepared several days ahead)  Combine 3/4 cup sugar, 2/3 cup syrup and 1/4 cup water in medium sized pot. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, then boil to 238 degrees. Pour syrup over beaten egg whites, beating constantly until slightly cool; about 5 minutes. Spoon into a well-buttered bowl, then make a "well" in the center. Let stand.
Blend 2 1/4 cups sugar, 2/3 cup syrup, 3/4 cup water over medium heat; stir until sugar dissolves. Boil to 258 degrees. Pour syrup into egg white mixture in bowl; beat until thoroughly mixed. Stir in melted butter, vanilla and salt. Beat well. Let stand, beating occasionally until mixture is very stiff.
Press evenly into 8x8x2-inch pan lined with parchment. Cover and refrigerate until cool and firm. Before making caramel coating, turn nougat out on cutting board and cut into 16 equal logs.(I cut it in half and cut each half into eight logs.)

Caramel Coating: Combine sugar, syrup and 1/2 cup cream in 2-quart pot. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves; boil to 236 degrees. Add another 1/2 cup cream and cook again to 236 degrees. Then add last 1/2 cup cream and cook to 242 degrees.
Lower heat and stir often as caramel thickens. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt. Pour caramel mixture into top of a double boiler on low heat. 

I've read that the logs should be dipped into caramel, drained slightly and then rolled in nuts but it has been my experience that this softens the nougat and makes a mess. When I allowed the caramel to cool enough to not melt the nougat it wasn't pliable enough to use as a coating. My solution was to paint a thick stripe of caramel on a piece of parchment, place the nougat on top of that, then drizzle caramel over remaining sides and ends. Roll in chopped nuts or surround log with pecan halves until covered.

These were absolutely delicious but I think I still need to tinker with the recipe a bit to make the nougat hold up better to the caramel during assembly. Once they were assembled they were fine but they were a mess to make. Also, as I tried the nougat and caramel separately, I thought this confection would be a bit bland but all together I believe it balances just right. I use a sharp knife to cut slices off the logs to eat it because my dentist doesn't need another boat.  

Serves:  6-10

Ingredients:

Scant one cup water

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cups unbleached white bread flour

1½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon rapid rise dry yeast

Combine ingredients into bread machine pan; liquids first, followed by flour, salt and sugar in wells in corners and yeast in well in center. Run machine on dough setting.

When cycle has finished, remove to floured surface and gently punch down. Divide dough into six to ten pieces depending on whether you want large or small pita breads. Roll pieces into balls and let rest under lightly oiled plastic wrap for ten minutes.

Roll and flatten each ball into ¼” thick circles and let rest another ten minutes. Place dough circles on cookie sheets and back in preheated 450 degree (F) oven for 5 to 6 minutes until puffed up and lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

These are so easy to make and well worth the effort.

 (If you don’t have a bread machine I would combine all the ingredients with a mixer, let rest in a bowl covered with oiled plastic wrap and a towel for 20 minutes, knead and repeat. Allow dough to double in size before picking up recipe where dough cycle has finished.) 

To make recipe, read up. 

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil (such as canola oil)

1/3 cup honey

5 cups oatmeal

1/2 cup dry milk

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch salt

1/2 cup raisins

Mix brown sugar, oil and honey in a saucepan and heat until sugar is dissolved. Combine oatmeal, dry milk, cinnamon and salt in rectangular cake pan. Pour sugar mixture over dry ingredients to coat and bake at 375 degrees for ten minutes. Cool in pan, mix in raisins and store in air tight container. 

The fun part of this recipe is what you choose to mix into the cooked recipe to make it yours. I love dried cranberries and unsalted peanuts. Other ideas are sunflower seeds, tree nuts, shredded coconut, wheat germ, flax, chopped dates, dried apple pieces or chocolate chips. The only limit is your imagination. 

(Imagine courtesy wylio.com) 

Ingredients:

¼ cup butter

1 large Vidalia onion, thinly sliced

3 large sweet potatoes

6 cups chicken broth

½ teaspoon ground allspice

½ teaspoon dried sage

Cracked pepper to taste

Method:

Pierce potatoes with a fork, length wise and bake in microwave oven approximately eight or nine minutes until cooked most of the way through but still firm. Cut potatoes in half and scoop out meat from skins. Discard skins and set aside potatoes. If you would rather, you can peel potatoes, cube them and add to soup when you add the broth but I think baking them is easier and cleaner.

Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium heat and cook onion until soft and brown, stirring often. Add remaining ingredients. Continue heating until all ingredients are evenly heated and potatoes are tender. Remove from heat and blend in kitchen blender in batches. HOT LIQUIDS WILL EXPAND WHEN BLENDED SO BLEND CAREFULLY UNLESS YOU WOULD LIKE TO WEAR YOUR SOUP. Return to heat and heat until desired eating temperature. Enjoy. 

Addendum: 

As a variation to the original recipe I heated some of the soup in a ramekin topped with sharp cheddar cheese and threw this under the broiler to melt and brown as one would cook French onion soup. The results were out of this world and now my preferred method for eating this soup. 

1 cup baking soda

1 cup borax

1 cup table salt 

and six drops of your favourite essential oil for scent 

Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl, sprinkle with essential oil and store in an airtight container. If you don't have essential oil, you can skip this part. I happen to have plenty of essential oils since I make hand & body soap at home. I store my cleanser in an old tea canister I marbleized a while back. 

One thing I really like about this cleanser is, it is pet safe. This doesn't mean you should clean your pets with it but it should be safe to use around most pets. 

For a soft scrub with bleaching properties add hydrogen peroxide to desired consistency. I have used this cleanser on many different surfaces such as my tile kitchen counter and the cook top of my stove but you may want to test on a inconspicuous spot to make sure it won't scratch your surfaces. On shiny surfaces, no matter what kind of cleanser I use, I always do a final wipe with white vinegar. Vinegar will get rid of any excess oils or haze and the smell disappears once it is dry. 

Now that you see how easy it is to keep your home clean with everyday, natural ingredients you can get rid of all that poisonous junk taking up space under your sink! Happy cleaning.