Back in the (Kitchen) Saddle Again

Alas, last week was really a wash for me and food. With three days of what could only have been food poisoning, and then more days with residual effects such as heartburn that were only solved by bland, white foods, last week's CSA pick up really was a wash (compost - yeah!). I literally hugged my salad bowl the first night I had a little salad of fresh, organic, local greens & snap peas with a raw macadamia nut dill dressing. And my first glass of OJ - heaven!! So, I'm back in the "kitchen saddle" again this week, and deliriously happy. I really feel freaky sometimes, with how happy I feel just preparing good food.
My favorite dish this week so far has got to be this Stir Un-Fry from Rawvolution. I used all local, fresh ingredients (pretty much, anyway), and only found the dressing to be a little too salty (the book tends to call for far too much soy sauce in all its recipes). What was amazing, was that despite the mediocre dressing, I loved this dish (4 stars ****) more than the "real" stir-fry I made alongside it!


This cooked stir-fry was based loosely on the Ginger-Miso Stir-Fry from The Candle Cafe Cookbook, with diced, browned tofu and all the same veggies as the Stir Un-Fry. Although I liked this sauce (and Mr. PLV, back from his trip liked it, too! We both gave the dish 3 1/2 stars) I liked the crisp texture, brighter colors and overall more vibrant-tasting veggies in the Stir Un-Fry better!! I was amazed that a raw dish could taste better, right alongside a cooked one. I challenge you to try a raw un-fry today! Next time, I would just use this ginger-miso cooked stir-fry dressing (watered down) on the stir un-fry.
Meanwhile, I was able to save the zucchini and summer squash from last week's CSA pickup, in the form of (what else?) these two Zucchini Breads from The Joy of Vegan Baking. Although a little too sweet, health-wise... taste-wise they kicked ass! Moist and flavorful (I added both walnuts and raisins), the crisp, chewy crust was the best!! I always loved the end slices & "crust" best :) Four stars for these beauties... **** I'll be making zucchini pasta later this week with my new Spiralizer :)

Meanwhile, my own zucchini plants are growing like crazy, even in my patio pots, and are actually doing better (knock on wood!) than last year's ones in the garden!
Here's a shout-out to Lindy Loo over at Yeah that Vegan Shit, who recently pointed out how many people post photos to brag about their...plants...I laughed my ass off and then I thought, well, it is a miracle to me, still, that I can stuff some seeds into soil and they turn into these! And hey - MY ZUCCHINI PLANTS ARE BIGGER THAN YOURS! (not even sure she has any). But seriously, you have to read her blog - it's had me in (laughing) tears more than once...
And last but not least, my yummy little lettuce heads (first time I ever grew these!) were just calling Mr. Bunny or Mrs. Groundhog to come feast, so I yanked one out of the ground and plopped into my smoothie at lunch yesterday. Yummmm....I really am a freak with food ....and proud of it!