Sloppy Joe Gets a Vegetarian Make-Over

Wow, it's been a looooong time since I've been in the kitchen!! We were out of town this weekend, celebrating Diwali/Thanksgiving with some friends on Friday and visiting family Saturday and Sunday. Thursday really was the last time I cooked something. It was a nice break from the kitchen, but I was glad to be back today.

We got back last night and there was no food in the house. The girls ate Weetabix, and Rob and I ate chili that I had frozen a few weeks ago. So, needless to say, we made a trip to Whole Foods today. The menu for this week consists of some newcomers and some repeats.

Tonight's feature was a newcomer from Veganomicon. We had Sloppy Joe's vegetarian cousin Snobby Joe. Remember Manwich from when you were a kid??? Snobby Joe is about as close as you will ever get with a homemade, vegetarian version. These sammies (more Rachel Ray speak) really do take you back. Our girls have never had Sloppy Joe's before, so this was their first experience, and I think it was a good one. Mairin actually ate and liked hers, and Stella wolfed it down (although, she had to eat hers without a bun, because WFM had no buns that were not potentially contaminated with peanuts). I followed the recipe exactly, except I gave each sandwich a sprinkling of nutritional yeast just before serving. The recipe didn't specify what kind of lentils to use, so I used Puy's because I like them the best. Our Snobby Joe's were accompanied by some oven baked sweet potato fries and some steamed broccoli. It was delish.

Sweet Potato Fries:

4 sweet potatoes
2 Tbsp canola oil
sea salt
pepper

Heat oven to 450. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into fry shape. Combine fries with oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread fries on baking sheet in a single layer and bake at 450 for 30 minutes, turning once during cooking.

I also made some veggie stock tonight. My bag of scraps in the freezer was so full I'd already started a second, so I thought it was time to get the stock made. I didn't take a picture last time I made stock, and I regretted it in the end, so this time I took a picture.

I can't really give a recipe, as the stock is different each time I make it. It just depends on what particular scraps I've saved up since last time, and I don't measure the herbs and spices, I just throw them in. So, each batch is unique. But, always delicious.

There's something so rewarding about simmering your own stock all day, and then using it for your cooking. Homemade stock really lends a terrific flavor to all of your dishes, and it's so easy to make, you should try it sometime.