Unhealthy splurge

I'm not saying I eat healthy all the time, but I try to stay away from greasy, fried foods.  If I have chips, I make sure I'm at least eating them with some fresh salsa.  I bake almost exclusively with whole wheat pastry flour.  But.  These cheese curds have nothing healthy about them; they were a total splurge (which we ate with a big, green salad loaded with veggies, if that's any consolation) and totally worth it.  I used the batter for beer-battered tofu from "Vegan Brunch" and cubed up half a brick of Follow Your Heart nacho cheese (that was Chad's pick; I would have gone for almond cheddar).  Although the result was melty, greasy and delicious, it will probably be a while before I make these again!

Adventures in AFR

A few weeks ago, I finally bought Appetite for Reduction and have been loving it!  We have made two or three things each week and already have a few favorites-- including Baked Falafel.  So... here are some recent pictures and thoughts on some delicious meals!

The first thing we made was Baked Falafel, which we have made probably half a dozen times now.  Last night, Chad was even successful making them solo.  The first time we made them, we just ate them plain for a snack.  Since then, we usually make a big salad with cucumber, tomato, red onion (for me) and tahini dressing.  The recipe is so easy, just throw the chickpeas and some other ingredients in the food processor, blend until smooth, mix in a few other seasonings, form and bake.  They can be ready in right around 30 minutes, so it's a surprisingly easy weeknight meal.

The second thing we tried was another salad-- Pad Thai Salad with Peanut-Lime Dragon Dressing.  We doubled the veggies and added some pan-fried tofu triangles to make it a meal.  Since I've been in love with anything Thai and peanutty lately, I thought this salad was amazing... lots of fresh veggies and flavor.  I also liked making the dressing from scratch.  There are a bunch of recipes for dressing in this cookbook that I'm planning to make.  I like that you can adjust the seasoning, oils and such and know exactly what you're eating.  Plus, you can always taste freshness!

The remaining recipes in random order:

Herb-Roasted Cauliflower and Bread Crumbs

This was a simple side, but was SO flavorful.  The bread crumbs and herbs make the cauliflower taste rich and buttery.

Mac & Trees with Easy Breezy Cheezy Sauce

Another vegan mac and cheeze recipe to add to my arsenal!  This had a good flavor, not too rich.  The big stalks of broccoli (or trees) bulked it up and added more flavor.  I think I used a whole box of whole wheat pasta and still had enough sauce to go around.

Lasagna with Roasted Cauliflower Ricotta & Spinach

This recipe used a combo of cauliflower and tofu to make a ricotta-like filling and black olives on top in place of cheese.  It was really filling and made enough for dinner and lunch for me and Chad.  I can see this becoming a fall and winter favorite.

Curried Chickpeas & Greens

Another really quick and delicious meal.  This was the first time that I used mustard seeds, garam masala and I also finally bought fresh ginger.  I LOVED this recipe.  It was so flavorful from all of the seasonings (I think there is something like 10 different spices), tomatoes and kale.  I'm already looking forward to making this again!  (This picture is from my phone.  Somehow my camera battery was dead for over a week!)

Arabian Lentil & Rice Soup
I don't know how I missed taking a picture of this one.  Chad will probably say it's because he made it, which he did, but that's not why there is no picture.  This was made with creamy red lentils and jasmine rice, with its own share of veggies.  It was also a good way to use up some of our homemade veggie broth (it's taking over the freezer!).  I think we had enough of this for a few left-over lunches, so that was a little bonus.

I think that's it... so far.  I'm loving this book and there is so much that I still need to try!  I love that, like Isa's other books, there is such a variety of recipes.  There are safe favorites (like Mac & Trees  and Classic Black Bean & Veggie Chili) mixed in with other recipes that I wouldn't normally seek out (like Curried Chickpeas & Greens and Curry Laksa). I'll let you know what else I try soon...

Bye, Bye Wisdom Teeth; Hello Blender!

I had an exciting start to my spring break yesterday-- a visit to the oral surgeon to have my wisdom teeth removed.  This is something I've been putting off for at least the last 10 years, since my orthodontist first told me it would be a good idea.  When we moved to Illinois, my new dentist was the third person to tell me it was a "good idea."  Since my spring break is a week earlier than Chad's this year, I figured now was as good a time as any and finally made the appointment.

I don't know if the doctor gave me a few extra doses of Novocaine or what, but I couldn't tell the difference between my tongue and my bottom lip for a good six hours!  Chad enjoyed making fun of me, since I could barely swallow enough water to take my antibiotics and pain meds.  I finally tried to eat some jello in the early afternoon, which was not as easy as you might expect.  I couldn't move my jaw enough to chew, so I basically slurped it by the spoonful and swallowed the chunks.  I decided if I was going to go through the effort of "eating," I needed to try something a little more worthwhile... which is where the blender comes into play.  We had some leftover Mexican Bean and Rice Bake and broth from last weekend, so Chad threw that in the blender and the resulting drink was much more satisfying than globs of jello.  The other two quick, yet nutritious and delicious "cup-friendly" meals I had are listed below.  The soup was so good, that I might make it again with a big loaf of homemade bread when I can actually chew again!

10-Minute Cheezee Cauliflower Soup

1/2 head cauliflower, washed and broken into large pieces

1 medium carrot, cleaned and cut into thick coins

1/2 c veggie broth

1/4 c cheezee sauce (I used extra from AVK)

Prepare steamer on stove top and add veggies.  Steam until soft, about 10 minutes.  Combine veggies, broth and sauce in a blender.  Blend on high until smooth.  Add more broth or water to achieve desired thickness.  Serves 2.

Banana Milk

Blend 1 ripe banana with 2 cups milk (I used unsweetened almond) on high until no chunks remain.  Pour into glass and top with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

I have a feeling I'll continue using the blender a lot more often than usual in the next week...

Cook Book Challenge Week #2

Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook
Today's Menu
Breakfast: Pumpkin-Cranberry Scones
Dinner: Mac Daddy

I received "Veganomicon" as a Christmas gift from Chad's parents this year.  I was so excited, because I always flip through it at the bookstore and think of it as "The Betty Crocker of Vegan Cooking."  I've tried a few things so far, but this week I'm adding to the list... 

served with sliced blood oranges

Breakfast is my FAVORITE meal of the day, so I was excited to have some extra time this morning.  I love pancakes, waffles... the usual breakfast suspects.  Veganomicon has some delicious recipes-- Chocolate Chip Brownie Waffles, Blueberry Corn Pancakes.  Chad didn't want pancakes or waffles, he wanted tofu scramble.  Veganomicon doesn't have a recipe for tofu scramble.  We almost settled on a bowl of cereal, but I finally found Pumpkin-Cranberry Scones and we agreed on that.  As a bonus, we already had everything we needed!  I also finally had a good reason to use my new Penzeys spices from Chad's mom.  I don't know if it was my flour (I don't buy white all-purpose, so I always have to adjust), how I cut in the butter, or my inexperience in scone-baking, but we ended up with more of a cake than the dry, crumbly scone I was anticipating.  Either way, they were delicious and just the right thing to munch on while we disassembled the Christmas tree and packed away the decorations.  

looks good enough to eat?!

On to dinner... I've really been craving mac and cheese lately.  A while ago, I made my first vegan attempt with Stovetop Cheezee Mac from "Vegan on the Cheap."  I wasn't super excited about it, but it made good leftovers as Chili Mac.  So, when Isa and Terry warned in the blurb that this is a recipe to share with "vegans and vegetarians" because people are "sketchy about nutritional yeast," I was a little worried myself.  In the end, it was better than I hoped.  I followed the recipe pretty closely, only I didn't realize that I was supposed to make a double batch of the Cheezy Sauce and tossed in some frozen spinach that I had on hand. It turned out rich, creamy and delicious.  I topped it with some Adobo seasoning for a little spice.  Chad claimed the leftovers for lunch, so I guess we've found another keeper!

Tomorrow we're going to try home-made seitan for later in the week... hopefully I have more luck with that than the scones!