Tank is still at garage camp. Oh my how the weeks fly. After my conversation with the garage staff last week, they are keeping me in the loop. I called them yesterday to see how things stood, they were still working on figuring out just what the problem is, and they called me back near the end of the day to tell me how things were going. They are anxious to get Tank fixed, and the repair paid for, and we are anxious to get Tank back. Similar goals. All I can do is wait and keep my fingers crossed. I am beyond being frustrated about this, and I have now adapted to a lifestyle where I have no mobility when Attila has the car at work. Thank goodness for online shopping, and Amazon Prime. All of my appointments for the next two weeks have been cancelled or rescheduled. There is no public transit here, and taxi fare isn’t in my budget. At some point Attila will have to start taking vacation time, so that I can have a vehicle for appointments, but it hasn’t come to that yet.
My project for today is to make meatless meatballs. We purchased some from Walmart once, and actually preferred them to beef or chicken meatballs. But the store-bought products are full of chemicals, and are extremely expensive.
The second issue with meatballs is the meat. I like to restrict red meat consumption to one meal a week, chicken consumption to two meals a week, fish consumption to two meals a week, and that leave two meals a week that will be vegetarian. We love our Quinoa and Spinach in the Instant Pot, so that will be a weekly dinner. One more meatless meal needed, and that is where the meatless meatballs come into play, Spaghetti and Meatballs.
The solution is to find a good recipe for meatless meatballs, and make them myself. Today is the day for attempt number one. I am following a recipe called Simple Vegan Meatballs. The meatballs will be for dinner tonight, I am trying this recipe for Soccer Mom Spaghetti and Meatballs.
This will take most of the day!
First thing was to find the coffee grinder, to grind the flax-seed. I use a lot of flax-seed. It is a basic ingredient for muffins, breakfast cereal, and my Turmeric Breakfast Cookies. I always use it whole, and do not grind it.
Popular wisdom says flax-seed must be ground to get all the nutrients out of it. I spent a lot of time looking for the research that lends support to that theory, and found none. The often stated “fact” is not supported by any scientific studies, just assumptions. I KNOW the whole flax-seed I consume does not remain whole when digested, don’t ask me how. So if it is being broken down for digestion, I am not entirely sure that grinding it has any nutritional benefit, it might, but that remains to be seen. I am open to reliable evidence one way or the other.
Oh yes, I had to find the coffee grinder, no idea where to start looking for it, so that took some time.
After finding the coffee grinder, stowed away in a plastic bag in the topmost cupboard of the storage closet in the kitchen, the flax was ground and the “flax egg” was made and set aside in the refrigerator. After 15 minutes the flax egg and the rest of the ingredients went into the food processor. The taste was wonderful, but the consistency was nothing like the online recipe. It was too soft to hold a shape. So the saute step was skipped, and the meatball mixture was dropped by spoonful onto the baking sheets and baked.
A few adaptations were made to the recipe. The quantities were changed to: two drained cans of chickpeas, 1 tablespoon of ground basil, 1 teaspoon of oregano, two teaspoons of garlic plus, 1 tablespoon of garlic granules, 1 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper, 1 tablespoon of parsley, and 1 teaspoon of tomato powder (homemade). No salt was added.
These soft meatballs will not go into the Instant Pot, where I fear they will turn to mush, or dissolve. They will be heated, and placed on the dish after the spaghetti has been cooked and plated.
The whole concept needs work, the goal is round meatless meatballs, cooked and frozen, and ready to throw into a meal in the Instant Pot. First steps are always the hardest!
Worldly
Weather
0°C
Date: 9:00 AM EDT Tuesday 30 October 2018
Condition: Mainly Sunny
Pressure: 101.9 kPa
Tendency: Rising
Temperature: 0.4°C
Dew point: -1.2°C
Humidity: 89%
Wind: WNW 11 km/h
Visibility: 24 km
Quote
“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
Aristotle
384 BC – 322 BC
I thought, “I’ll send the link to my recipe for meatless balls,” but no, I haven’t posted it yet. WTHeck! Hope it’s still there, tucked into my book of papers. It uses tofu; maybe you don’t eat tofu? -Kate
I lied. Happ’ly. Here it is: http://stubblejumperscafe.blogspot.com/2014/09/sweetnsour-delish.html
I think a person could mash cooked chickpeas to substitute for tofu, which is expensive and, in my local store, not even available.
Why thank you Kate! Tofu, don’t have any in the house, as we don’t usually eat it, but I can get some. The recipe I tried is very different than yours, so it will be fun to try again! The recipe I am using calls for tempeh, but said you could substitute chickpeas, which I did. This is an adventure!
I’ll be very interested to follow the meatball journey. I’m intrigued by the concept.
Wendy, 🙂 I think it will be a journey. The review on the first batch of meatballs is in, potential but not there yet. When this batch is consumed, on to batch number two!
Alas, poor Tank. I’m sorry to hear he hasn’t been fixed yet. We’re in a similar predicament here. The furnace has now received two parts and it still isn’t fixed. A new motherboard now shows a oressure error but there are several things that could cause the problem. We’re now standing at $1,000 in an no surety what will fix it. We’ve decided to opt for a replacement furnace. Doing that, they will remove the part charges and some labor from the attempted fixes. It’ll cost about $4,000 but on an inefficient 15 year old furnace that was too much for the house (which would cause it to overheat), this appears to be the best option.
I remember reading some years ago that flax seed should not be ground by a home grinder. The oils in the flax degrade from the heat of grinding unless it’s ground basically cryogenically.
Wow, amazed you still don’t have the truck yet. I do admire your resourcefulness. I hope the meatless “meatballs” tasted good. …Joan
Teri, Tank’s issues are a mystery, fingers crossed they solve the puzzle!
Too bad about your furnace! There are rebates for new furnaces, and I think you can get a $4000 grant for installing a heat pump, something to check out to see if it is relevant to you.
Looked up flaxseed, not much in the way of warnings from reliable sources, lots of conflicting information from self-proclaimed experts, the usual. They Mayo Clinic says this: “Whole seeds can be ground in a coffee grinder and then stored in an airtight container for several months. Because some unripe and raw flaxseed can have certain toxins, keep serving sizes to less than 50 grams (5 tablespoons of whole flaxseed) per day.”
I eat flax seed daily, but only about a teaspoon at the most, so I think I’m good to go.
Joan, I know, the Tank situation is incredible to me too, and it does not bode well. I had one other experience with a vehicle like this, and it was disastrous. Still, I hope for the best, and prepare for the worst, 🙂
The meatballs tasted good, but they needed twice the flavouring since I added twice the chickpeas, and I didn’t do that, so they were kind of bland. Attila thinks they will be great once the recipe is sorted out. They were also too mushy, but that was because I inadvertantly added too much liquid, silly me. Back to the drawing board!
Well, the new furnace goes in on Monday. It’ll be $4,400 minus a $250 rebate. There was a $2500 rebate but it ends today. No way we’d be able to jump through all the necessary hoops before the end of the business day.
Teri, wow that is such a near miss! So disappointing. Glad to hear that you will have reliable heat on Monday!