Mad Cooking Skills

Well then---you gotta do a grilled veggie pack. I ditched my propane and propane accessories a year ago in lieu of the sweet sweet reward of charcoal grilling as well. Forgot what I was missing. Bought a full size Weber kettle and haven't looked back. Too big for roo though.

Anyhow, put yer favorite combo of raw veggies in a homemade foily packet. Add some Good Seasons salad dressing and some parmesan cheese. Grill for about ten minutes on each side, then tear open top and grill for ten more. Good stuff. Travels well in a tupperware if you make it up at home and construct the foil packet on site. Same would go for tofu kabobs. Premade and pre marinaded so you can focus on soaking yourself in sauce while at the roooooo !

Just a word of caution to fellow cookers. We are experiencing a severe drought in TN so be VERY careful with flames and charcoal this year. I think we've gotten 2-3 days of measurable rainfall in the past 3 months at my house. And this is the wet season. Please be careful.

Mmmm...love the foil packet idea. I think it'll be wise to have stuff pre-cut and pre-marinated ready to go. I also have a ton of wooden skewers for kabobs...they could come in handy.

One question though, I read on the official Bonnaroo site that all fires have to be extinguished with water and can't just burn out (which is what we usually do). Will the water make for a mushy mess of ash or what? I want to be safe, yes, but neat too.

Yes, it will make a huge steam cloud filled with ash. There's really no way around it. I always extinguish my fires/coals when we are no longer attending them, and if they're still hot, I always get an ash cloud. Just add a little water at a time and it will minimize the mess.

Good point about sealing off the coals.

Tell me you remembered the ice cream! Good Eats

I plan on makin' some packed veggie quesadillas pre-roo, then putting them in my cooler for a tasty snack once I'm on the farm... Question: Do you think they will hold up that way?

thats what I'd hoped.. just wanted someone to back me up on it! Thanks!

So I had great success in trying out a new made up recipe for vegetarian meatballs at this years roo. I know there are some fellow crunchies out there, as well as some of you who enjoy it all, or are, at least, experimental ;D ! If you are a veggie who sometimes buys pre frozen meatballs to protein up your pasta-this recipe will save you a ton of cash if you are willing to put in a little time and some fresh ingredients.

I'm about to put forth said recipe-and because I cook by ratio and feel rather than off of a card or out of a cookbook, this may get a bit windy or lengthy. Bare with me.

This recipe will make approximately 100 meatballs that are about the size of a pingpong ball, maybe a bit smaller. If you are used to buying the prepackaged frozen ones, you will know that they typically cost about 5 bucks for a box of 12 or so. This recipe for 100 will cost no more than 15 bucks. Plus, you freeze them in meal sized packages and have about 10 meals for 2 if ya break 'em up that way. Also note, that you could leave it as a loaf, and feed an army veggie meatloaf.

ok-here goes:

Several steps are necessary to pre prepare individual ingredients which should be put into a rather large mixing bowl when readied.

Start with 2 12oz packs of frozen Morningstar meal starter veggie crumbles. These are the ground beef substitute and will cook up like 2# of ground beef. You can use any similar frozen ground product. Allow to thaw. Then fry for about 4-5 minutes in a large frying pan with ample olive oil to achieve nice browning. Place into the large mixing bowl for later.

Next, dice up 3-4 stalks of celery into pretty small pieces.(all ingredients are recommended organic but i won't go into that here). Do the same with a softball sized onion variety of your choice. Also dice up 4-5 heads of garlic(heads not cloves).You could also add a red or green pepper to this step, but i didn't have one at the time. Simmer these 3 ingredients in the same large frying pan in olive oil as well. They are done when they are softened, but still hold a bit of body. Maybe about 12 minutes on low heat. During the last 3 minutes of this step, add oregano, basil, and parsely(to taste) to the top. Then mix it in and simmer it for said 3 minutes. Cook spices as little as possible to avoid losing essence. Place in large mixing bowl with crumbles.

Add approx 12oz. of seasoned breadcrumbs to the mix. This is about half of a typical canister of them.

Add one pack of Fantastic Veggie Chilli mix. This is essentially tsp(textured soy product + chilli powder). If you are lucky enough to be able to get TSP in your grocer's dry goods section by the #, do that and add several shakes of chilli powder.(to non veggies: tsp is more of what you got from the frozen crumbles, but dehydrated).

Add one can of Lentil soup. I imagine you could also use fresh lentils or rehydrated dry ones. Can was typical soup size.

Now add about 5 eggs. Eggs are the glue that holds this all together when baked. So when you knead this all by hand(the next step) it is important to note the texture of the resulting loaf. If it is too dry, add another egg or some water if you are afraid of the added cholesterol. If it is too wet, throw it all out ! Just kidding. Simply add some more breadcrumbs 'til it seems like the meatballs will hold together after a short bake. Stop and have short bake, you are two thirds done.

Use a teaspoon to make pingpong sized meatballs. I chose this size for versatility. They can be enjoyed with pasta without overwhelming the plate, but are still big enough to have on a hardroll with some sauce and provalone as a meatball grinder.

Schmear olive oil around on two large cookie sheets or flat brownie pans. Space meatballs about an inch and a half apart on all sides. If i remember right , you can get about 50 per sheet this way. Once meatballs are placed, sprinkle with a bit of garlic salt.

Bake at 420 for about 12 minutes. Open oven and roll them all over. A bit of a pain to do for a hundred meatballs, but well worth it. Cook for another 3-6 minutes and roll to another "side". Sprinkle with another pinch of garlic salt on other sides. You are going for a well browned exterior so that these meatballs will not go to mush when simmered in sauce. Do this all for about a half hour total including original 12 minutes. Your oven may require to be a little hotter to achieve sufficient browning.

Allow to cool and split up into meal sized freezer bags. Take care to lay flat in freezer until frozen so balls remain in tact.

Then, when ready to eat, thaw-or not- balls and simmer in your favoite red sauce. Scoop onto pasta or into a hard roll and enjoy.

I think I may add some sunflower seeds to the mix next time just for variety.

Hope ya enjoy.

Thanks for the recipe! I just tried the morningstar crumbles for the first time this past weekend for a taco salad and it was SO GOOD! I've been looking for good veggie recipes, and this helps!!! Thanks!

Wow!! Great recipe! Haven't tried it yet but I'm gonna try it asap. Sounds really good!

Since we're getting to that time of year I'll share my super easy fall tofu chili recipe:

3 (15 oz) cans dark red kidney beans (all ingredients preferably organic)
3 (15 oz) cans black beans
1(28 oz) can diced tomatoes (i use Muir Glen fire roasted)
1/2 pkg of extra firm tofu, crumbled and drained
1/2 med green pepper
1/2 med red pepper
1/2 med yellow pepper
1/2 med orange pepper
2 small jalepenos
1 habanaro (sp?)
2 red fresno peppers
2 garlic jewels, I don't think this is what they are called ... but the sections in a clove, minced
1 cup organic mild chedder cheese
1 tbs. non fat plain yogurt
All of the spices I use, I use them to taste. I would approximate, but I honestly do not know. Start with about a tsp of each and go from there. I also like it spicy, so you may want to omit the really spicy-spices
Paprika
Crushed Red Pepper
Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Salt

Start by draining all of the cans of beans and tomatoes into a drainer, then put in a large pot on med heat, stirring occasionally. Once it starts to boil a little, not rapidly, add the tofu while stirring.
Cover.

Chop all peppers into small pieces. Add them as you chop. Stir frequently at this point. Add garlic and spices. Turn down to low heat and cover for 15 mins.

Add cheese and yogurt. I usually cover and let simmer for about 2+ hours. I have found the longer it simmers, the better it tastes. But depending on your hunger... 45 minutes is fine.

Omit and add as you please, as long as you don't over do the spices there is no going wrong with this chili... I alternate peppers for different seasons. Red and green for Christmas, yellow and green for Spring. Fall is my favorite though!! ;D

Edit- STIR FREQUENTLY THROUGHOUT THIS RECIPE... CHILI LIKES TO BURN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE POT OTHERWISE!

Good idea!! You don't know how many times I've almost bought a crock pot but said, what am I gonna use that for! Well, now I know!

Meat and Beer is all that will be on the menu next year......

I'll be burnin a side of cow and a lil bok bok bok bigok at the RV