It's a miracle, the life that grows out of the soil with some simple seeds...I was surprised and overwhelmed with awe to catch this image one recent morning....my first zucchini sprouts of the season poking their way out of the soil... there was literally a hole in the earth! Way cool...
Then, literally (and barely) two mornings later, they were up and out, reaching for the sky....
Of course, it's a good thing that that I'm not a grower/farmer for the local CSA that I just joined this year, because I'd be way behind! :) Here is the load from the first pick-up of the year: a huge bag of mixed greens, a large bag of spinach, radishes, peas, shiitake mushrooms, and a huge head of bok choy. So, here's what we made with last week's "crop"....
To use up the shiitakes, and fill my craving for tofu, here are Shiitake-Stuffed Tofu Steaks with Hoisin Glaze from The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook, by Robin Robertson. I pressed the tofu while I prepared a salad, then sauteed the stuffing of mushrooms, red onion (I forgot to get scallions), garlic and ginger. Then, I stuffed my first tofu steaks! Perfect :)
Here are the tofu pieces, crisped in sesame oil and hoisin sauce. The extra "stuffing" was great on the side, along with some millet. Can you see the beautiful salad on the side? I made use of the CSA radishes, greens, and peas, topping them with a Sesame-Lemon Vinaigrette from The Everyday Vegan. I call this my "Stir-Fry Salad!" It was a great compliment to the flavors in the tofu, as the dressing also had hoisin in it.
Here's a closeup of that bad boy...It's mouth seems to be saying, "eat me!" OK, that's a little too graphic for us vegans....sorry....Anyway, hubby was impressed with the entire presentation...said it was like a gourmet chef in the kitchen! :) Four stars for this one! ****
If you've never had polenta before, try it in the pre-cooked tube! I was surprised that four out of five people in the grocery store had never heard of it (I had to ask five people to find it), and only one knew what it looked like but thought it was some kind of cheese! We're in the south - home of cornmeal, right?? Anyway, the tube is not refrigerated and you just peel away the wrapping (not very enviro-friendly, I know!) and here is what it looks like...
I bought the polenta to use in a dish that was going to use up the bok choy and spinach from our CSA pickup. Here is my mis en place - this was so easy to make! You can see chopped sun-dried tomatoes, chopped seitan (homemade, right from the freezer!), quartered polenta slices, and a big bowl of greens, just waiting for that topping of tamari and balsamic vinegar...
And here is the finished product, Seitan-Polenta Skillet with Greens, from Vegan Express. My husband (I'm going with "Mr. P.L.V" for peace, love and veganism, from now on! - tired of "husband this" and "hubby that") said that this was his favorite dish all week. He grew up in PA, so polenta was a common and favorite food of his... Four stars from him, three and a half from me. ***1/2.
I had to bring something to the CSA picnic that they always have on the first pickup night, and this Toasted Millet Salad with Curried Dressing from The Candle Cafe Cookbook was just so easy and yum! What an amazing dressing! As usual, I had to halve the dressing amount. But I forgot to halve the grain amount and ended up with enough millet to eat all week! Oh, and I had some issues with cooking the millet. Apparently, there are two ways to cook it - 1) mushy and creamy-like, or 2) fluffy and grainy-like. I wanted the grainy but got the creamy. But you know what? People at the picnic devoured it anyhow! There was hardly any left out of the huge bowl... I'd say a solid three stars ***.
With the long Memorial Day weekend, I spent one day in the garden, one day cleaning and one day in the kitchen! I got the dehydrator going and made this easy and AMAZING Come Bite the Apple Cookies from Rawvolution, my newest cookbook (well, one of them!). After a recent raw food presentation at our Vegetarian Group, I was geared up for some high-nutrient, low-heat food! Boy, these were soooo good. Just apples, raisins, ground almonds, cinnamon and agave nectar! Oh, and 24 hours in the dehydrator....not something to make the night before your child's school bake sale! (But how cool would it be to have raw cookies at a bake sale??)
After I got the raw cookies "cooking," I did fire up the oven to bake my "muffin trilogy:" Blueberry-Lemon Muffins from The Joy of Vegan Baking, Carrot-Raisin Muffins from Vegan with a Vengeance, and Apple-Pie Muffins, also from Vw/aV. I subbed some bananas for the sugar in the blueberry ones...bad choice- they just weren't sweet enough, but a great rise, compared to the other two that were a little flat. But, great taste in all three! Three solid stars for each one *** (although the carrot-raisin one was my fav, same as Isa!).
And, last week's menu....Layered Vegetable Lasagna, from Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes. This was great looking and tasting but...
Didn't quite stick together on the plate....disappointing. Good with extra sauce! Three stars ***, just about...
And, with a craving for something toothy, here are Chickpea Cutlets, made with the addition of wheat gluten, which gave them their chewy, dare I say "meaty" (which I never really go for!) consistency! Made these for Mr. PLV really...
On top of a bed of spinach fettucine with steamed asparagus! Three and a half stars....Reminded me of the horrible childhood years that I loved veal parmesan, actually...how the hell did it take me so long to connect that with this?.....
But, to end on a happy note, here is one last incredible meal (OK, so it was only a three star, but the salsa made it a four!!!) and a great vegan athlete story....
This Almond-Crusted Tempeh with Strawberry-Mango Salsa was also from Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes, surprisingly enough. I just couldn't get enough of the sweet and spicy salsa, but Mr. PLV hates fruit with his meal and had to settle for a white balsamic vinaigrette dressing that just didn't do it justice. All served over a bed of millet and yes...CSA mixed greens! The story is as follows...I ran in my first half-marathon last weekend! I felt strong and prepared and whizzed by those pokey meat-eaters on the hills! Despite previous knee-injuries acting up, I placed 130 out of nearly 2500 women, 23rd in my age group of nearly 400! Yeah, baby! Go Vegan! :)
Wow! I can't believe it's been two weeks since my last post! I had to work last Saturday, and I spent Sunday in the garden and the week was so hectic...well, you all know how that goes. I actually had a draft with all the pics - it just never got any words :) So, here are two weeks worth of drool-worthy food!
Actually, it was pretty simple fair these past couple of weeks, what with being so busy and all. We start with steamed asparagus, on a bed of greens with a light "honey" mustard vinaigrette (can't really see it here). I over-did the asparagus the first time - 3 minutes is all it really needs! I eat as much asparagus as I can this time of year because it's gone so quickly! I hate to say it, but BJ's wholesale club has had the best deals on asparagus - the skinny stuff, too! Our first CSA pickup starts this week, so hopefully I'll be local and organic the rest of the year!
One of my favorite dishes these past few days has been these Raw Soft Tacos with fresh salsa, from Rawvolution, my newest cookbook acquisition. I can't tell you how amazing these things taste. You use ground walnuts in place of the meat and then with the fresh, homemade salsa, there is nothing quite like it! You don't even care that it's not piping hot (especially during hot summer days). The only thing not raw was the whole wheat tortilla, which I used in place of the chard leaf - I was trying to use them up before they went bad. The only change I would make (and after talking to other raw chefs they have the same comment) is to use less nama shoyu, or soy sauce. I used Bragg's Liquid Aminos, which also appears to be raw, because I didn't have the raw shoyu, and either way, it was waaay too salty :P You can halve the shoyu if you make this. I guess it would need some additional water, then, though. Four stars for this bad boy! **** And the best part? No cooking time means dinner is on the table in record time!
Husband and I explored a new Indian recipe from Vegan Fusion World Cuisine - Sat Cit Ananda's Chana Masala with Padma Baba's Spelt Chapatti. We just love chana masala, but thought this one could have used much more spice! There is no garam masala in this - that's what I'll add next time. But the coconut milk made it nice and creamy - even hubby liked it! I sprinkled it with black sesame seeds, too. Three stars *** Unfortunately, the chapatti didn't fare as well. It burned very quickly and turned out pretty tough and hard. After speaking with an Indian friend (experienced with these foods), she said that that recipe didn't sound like chapatti. She recommended adding more fat (olive oil was in this recipe, but she recommends yogurt - I wonder if soy or coconut yogurt would make the grade?) to make it more pliable. She also promised to make us some homemade chapatti herself! Yay! Two, maybe one star for this poor thing *. Barely edible.
As you can see, we also added cauliflower to up the nutritional standing of the masala. Yummy!
These pics are from last year's Indian Wraps, from The Candle Cafe Cookbook. I was so excited this year, to use up some leftover broiled eggplant (from a previous dish) and a bit of tofu I had kicking around, too! I just broiled the tofu, too, as it was raining too hard to grill. At any rate, the grilled version of last year was much preferred except....
This time around, I didn't just halve the marinade/dressing recipe, I cut it into thirds at least! This made it way less greasy and much more yummy. This chickpea salad that went into the wrap used up some olives and chickpeas I also had kickin' around.
As I did last year, I served this year's wrap with leftover brown rice, instead of couscous. Better nutritional value, and just as good!
Ummmm..... Still, only three stars *** because grilled is better!!
Speaking of leftovers, my husband has this habit of not using up all the marinara sauce in a jar (we have a great homemade recipe, but he doesn't have time). So, I used up the rest of a jar last week with some new rice penne pasta. With a sprinkle of Parma, it was darn good!
Last weekend's dinner was a delectable Tofu Stir-Fry, adapted from the Vegan Fusion World Cuisine book, with shiitake mushrooms and snow peas and an orange bell pepper. We added asparagus, of course! And, the omnipresent black sesame seeds :) The tofu turned out great and the sauce was perfect! Three and a half stars ***1/2. I'm kind of burned out on stir-fries, not that we have them that often...
Using up some more veggies, these roasted grape tomatoes were previously from a scene of, "Veggies Gone Wild." I bought this ginormous case of them from BJ's when my parents were here to stay (they were from the US, while the smaller case was from Mexico!) and I just couldn't get through them all. They were starting to get wrinkled and shriveled. So, into the oven they went, halved and sprinkled with olive oil, salt and pepper. The results? Amazing! Saved the day and the veggies...
Then came my second favorite meal of this post: Roasted Tomato-Pesto Pasta! This was my own homemade concoction and sooo simple. Just tossed a cube of frozen pesto into the hot bowl of hot noodles, mixed until it spread all around, and then tossed in the roasted tomatoes from the above photo. Results? Four stars **** and the easiest meal in the past two weeks! Wish I had thought of it this past winter...Well, off I go to bake some muffins, oat bars and other snacks for work, along with some seitan that I'm also craving. I'll need the energy after my first 1/2 marathon tomorrow morning!! :) Go vegan athletes!!
Over a year ago, I bought a Twinkies pan, after reading about making vegan corn dogs on the Vegan Lunch Box blog. But the corn dogs didn't materialize, as I'm not a big eater of processed food (even homemade processed food), and the pan sat there on the tippety top of my cupboard shelves.
Then, last week, it was my husband's birthday and guess what he wanted? Twinkies :) After last year's success with vegan Fauxtess Cupcakes (like the Hostess kind -see the link) from Vw/aV, which, I cannot believe I didn't blog about ack!, I was more than happy to oblige. Luckily, they were as easy as pie (again, pie is not easy, but I'll stick with the cliche, I guess). Just a basic vanilla cupcake batter in the Twinkies pan and then pipe the frosting (homemade of course) into the cakes in the three places through the bottom! And the results? Four stars**** maybe more! They were moist and sweet and soooo good. I made them for our monthly Veg Group meeting, too, and they were scarfed up. The only tweak I had to make was because I didn't have the barley malt powder for the "marshmallow flavor" in the frosting. The first time, I used a bit of barley malt syrup but it turned the white frosting pale brown, so I left it out the second time. 
I bought the pan from Bed Bath and Beyond but they no longer carry it. Try this link here. Next up - vegan corn dogs!
I also tried a spicy peanut noodle dish from Veg News magazine this week for lunch. It was supposed to be served cold or room temp, so that was perfect for my lunches on the go. The first day, it was awesome (and nicely spicy!) but after a couple of days, it was just a little too stuck together for me. Didn't look anything like the picture in the magazine, either...I also prefer red bell peppers, but only had a green. And, I added cubed cold tofu as well. At least my mother, who was in town for the week, enjoyed it! I give it two and a half stars ** 1/2.
These Berry Muffins from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan, were pretty easy to make of course, and they were also a great way to use up some chickpea flour (also known as besan and gram flour). They were very hearty tasting (also had oat flour in them) and I liked the blueberries, although nothing is better than fresh blueberries! Can't wait! Three strong stars for these bad boys ***.
As I was still working while my parents were visiting, one night my mum cooked up dinner for us! Alongside some broiled asparagus, we had Veganomicon's Snobby Joe's! Wow and yum! Even with less chili powder (my dad can't do spices) they were still awesome. Loved having lentils for a change! (Especially brown ones because I usually do red.) A pickle on the side makes everything nice (Vlassic doesn't use high fructose crap, either). Three and a half stars ***1/2!
The rest of the week we enjoyed Eggplant Pizza, seitan and pepper fajitas, and, last but certainly not least, this Ziti Bake from Veg News magazine. Wow and holy cow! So creamy and saucy and yummy and comforting! Would have been a great dish for the winter.... Used macadamia nuts and cashews to create a ricotta and a cream sauce, along with tomato sauce (also homemade, but could have been jarred or canned) and lots of fresh parsley. Four stars **** easily! So, that ends the week of vegan comfort food: muffins, Sloppy Joe's, Twinkies, and baked pasta. I'll try to make some healthier fare next week....but what am I saying?? These WERE healthy! :) That's the great thing about being vegan. Even your junk food and comfort food is healthier. (Even the Twinkies had no cholesterol, animal fat, or trans/hydrogenated fats!). Before I leave, I haven't forgotten about Earth Day! I did the same booth at our local Earth Day festival as last year, though this time with two other Veg Group members to keep me company, and we talked to at least 100 people! Yeah! Click here to read the top 10 reasons a vegan diet is better for the planet!
One of my New Year's resolution "intimidating meals to try," was certainly risotto. I have never made it before, and honestly I'm not a big "creamy white rice" kind of person, mostly on account of health reasons (and, risottos usually aren't vegan).
But, enticed by a recent Veg News recipe for Springtime Medley Risotto, using sun-dried tomatoes and asparagus (two of my all-time fav veggies!), and lured by a box of Arborio rice already sitting in my cupboard (and thus costing me only the price of the fresh asparagus, which was so delicate and skinny - yum!), I jumped in.
You know how they say, "easy as pie?" Well, pie crust and pies are nothing to sneeze at. They can be fiddly and difficult! Risotto, on the other hand, is a breeze in comparison (thus the title of this post). For this recipe, you just saute some green onions, salt, and garlic in olive oil, add the rice to toast it quickly, then add 1/2 cups of veggie stock one at a time, stirring a bit, until all 6 cups are absorbed. Nothing to it! The blanched asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes were added at the end with some lemon zest, lemon juice and freshly ground black pepper. Results? Fabulous! Creamy and flavorful, the only tweak I would make would be to use less salt (the tomatoes I used were already heavily seasoned as they were from an oil-packed jar, so it was probably my fault!). Three stars ***, only because of the saltiness. 
To go along with that perfectly spring-like dish, we had this spring salad, its recipe from the same article in Veg News. This was even better! Greens, fennel, oranges and pine nuts (supposed to be almonds, but I'm a little over-dosed on almonds recently) with a dressing that kicked ass! Even my husband, who hates all things fruity, ate this salad and especially liked the dressing. It was just a white balsamic/olive oil vinaigrette. Four stars for this baby ****! I'm not a jump up and down fennel fan, but it was a perfect spring choice and the whole dish matched the risotto perfectly!
Last weekend, we were so busy making these stuffed peppers, I didn't have time for my usual blog post! We opted for a recipe from The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook, by Robin Robertson. The filling was wicked easy: brown rice, black beans (from the freezer - yay for another New Year's resolution: cooking dried beans!), salsa, cilantro, and corn, I think. Then, we sealed them with water-soaked toothpicks and popped those babies on the grill!
Alongside some steamed asparagus, they were a hearty, filling meal! Three stars ***.
Earlier in the week, I made these Oatmeal Fruit Squares, from The Joy of Vegan Baking, for a Sierra Club meeting. I wasn't too sure I liked them at the time, but this was because I had been eating jellybeans and had overdosed my sweet tooth :) So much for going without sugar all year - oh well! I actually forgot to put the salt in, but everyone who ate them raved about them, so four stars it is ****! They were pretty easy and I used raspberry jam for the filling. Trappist Jam is my favorite jam (I grew up on the seedless red raspberry!), but as it's a Massachusetts jam that's often hard to find down here in VA, Bonne Maman jam/preserves is a decent replacement. Just wish it were local! I've never made homemade jam before. Maybe that'll be another thing I'll try this summer!
Meanwhile, it's finally smoothie weather down here (at least on occasion - it got to over 80 degrees yesterday -woohoo!), so Dreena's But Where Do You Get Your Protein? Smoothie was a big hit in our household. I used hemp seeds and cashew butter, along with the soy milk and frozen fruit. Three and a half stars *** 1/2!
Meanwhile, my husband had a week's vacation, and he promised to make dinner one night. When he said he was making Beans and Franks, I was like, "OK...." but he made them from scratch! Well, the beans at any rate. Well, they were canned but the sauce was homemade and he took his time making them just right. They were pretty good, but I'm not sure I liked the brand of hot dogs (Smart Dogs). At any rate, is was nice having a hot meal waiting for me after work. Two and a half stars ** 1/2.
And what's faster on a weeknight than beans and franks, a simple salad and a glass of red wine? I think a side of cornbread would have made this the perfect meal.
In non-food news, our rain barrel is finally up and running (literally!- ha, ha!). It filled up after just one morning rain - wow! If you're looking for an easy "green gardening" tool, this is the one to have. Cut down on water waste, conserve during droughts, and save on the water bill, too, if you have one! Gravity forces the water out the bottom, which we propped up on cinder blocks to give it height so the watering can would fit underneath.And, with the gorgeous weather this weekend, we even got away for a first of the season hike. The trees are still just barely budding, so the leaves didn't inhibit the view. These two picks were actually taken from the road as we drove away from the parking site at the end of the hike. Can you imagine living there?? What a view!! Happy spring everyone! Now go make some risotto!
It appears that despite a yummy week of food, it was all mostly leftovers that I blogged about last week! Thank goodness for the freezer and stockpiling meals for busy nights!
Anyway, I did manage to make some fresh goodies this weekend. These Coconut Candies from Veg News magazine, are all completely raw and also completely delicious. I made them for my monthly Veg Group meeting, and there wasn't a crumb or shred of coconut left! Just dried fruit and nuts and unsweetened coconut, and they really do taste like a sinful treat! Four stars, as always ****!
Alongside those, I served these Carob-Almond Truffles from the same Veg News issue. This picture isn't as pretty - I think I over-did the carob. It does tend to soak in to the fruit/nut mixture overnight.
Still, a big hit! Three and a half stars ***1/2.
Tonight, I promised to drop off some vegan treats for a fellowship event, so these Snickerdoodles from Vegetarian Times magazine were whipped up with little work! If you have never heard of this cookie, it's basically a sugar-"butter" cookie, rolled in cinnamon and sugar. Delightful and perfect every time, this recipe never fails, although I usually find that the recipe only produces about half the number of cookies that it claims to make. And I don't think I'm making them too big! They are really cute, little cookies! As always, four stars ****!
Of course, my mind was elsewhere this week, as not only did I forget to take a picture of the other cookie I made for this event (Walnut-Carob-Cranberry Clusters, from ED&BV), but I also forgot to take a pic of the Cooking Light Tropical Muffins w/ Coconut-Macadamia Topping. The clusters came out looking like clusters when I was looking for cookies, which may have been my fault, but to be honest, I also expected them to taste a little sweeter - more like a chocolate chip cookie. I love carob and I love cranberries (and there was coconut in them, too - yum!) but I was really disappointed in these. I think I would add more sweetener and flatten them out a little. They were nutty and crunchy and since I only had one bite (I'm still trying to stay low-or-no-sugar!) maybe they were better than I thought. At any rate, the ED&BV clusters were OK, maybe a two star rating ** out of four.
The muffins, on the other hand, were fabulous! Moist, sweet and just perfect. However, I did have to not only veganize them, but, surprisingly enough, make them more healthy! They had oil, refined sugar and sweetened coconut in them! I took out the egg (used Ener-G-Egg replacer), used agave nectar instead of the brown sugar (also better for you), used whole wheat pastry flour, unsweetened coconut, and left the topping off altogether. I felt pretty proud, making a Cooking Light recipe not just vegan, but healthy! Four stars ****
After a week of Black Bean and Banana Empanadas (from the freezer - made these last week) and Raunchy Red Lentil Soup (also made last week - both are amazing!), I was ready for something more spring-like this weekend. Hubby and I settled on this Tempeh Asparagus Stir-Fry from a Vegetarian Times 2007 issue (not 1907, as it currently says at this link - ha, ha!). I made it a couple of years ago, and the tempeh was just as moist and flavorful as I remembered! Even my husband remarked on how tasty it was. The veggies and the broth, however, could have used more spice. Three stars ***.
And that's it for the week! I made a really quick (but huge!) salad tonight, topped with fresh tofu and a Mango-Coconut jarred sauce I found on sale a while back. It was all I wanted after a day in the sun! We finally installed our rain barrel, and I put in lots of flowers.
Here are some crocuses, which came in several weeks ago...
And here are my favorite hyacinths, drooping because the blooms are so heavy! A lone purple tulip keeps the newly planted yellow marigolds company.
And it seems that pink and yellow are my garden colors for the year! These are my first hydrangeas ever (hope they last!) and hopefully my daffodils and pink tulips will also take to the rather damp clay soil. Ran into lots and lots of worms (like, 20 per shovel scoop!), so cross your fingers for a good planting season to come!
It's a miracle, the life that grows out of the soil with some simple seeds...I was surprised and overwhelmed with awe to catch this image one recent morning....my first zucchini sprouts of the season poking their way out of the soil... there was literally a hole in the earth! Way cool...
Then, literally (and barely) two mornings later, they were up and out, reaching for the sky....
Of course, it's a good thing that that I'm not a grower/farmer for the local CSA that I just joined this year, because I'd be way behind! :) Here is the load from the first pick-up of the year: a huge bag of mixed greens, a large bag of spinach, radishes, peas, shiitake mushrooms, and a huge head of bok choy. So, here's what we made with last week's "crop"....
To use up the shiitakes, and fill my craving for tofu, here are Shiitake-Stuffed Tofu Steaks with Hoisin Glaze from The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook, by Robin Robertson. I pressed the tofu while I prepared a salad, then sauteed the stuffing of mushrooms, red onion (I forgot to get scallions), garlic and ginger. Then, I stuffed my first tofu steaks! Perfect :)
Here are the tofu pieces, crisped in sesame oil and hoisin sauce. The extra "stuffing" was great on the side, along with some millet. Can you see the beautiful salad on the side? I made use of the CSA radishes, greens, and peas, topping them with a Sesame-Lemon Vinaigrette from The Everyday Vegan. I call this my "Stir-Fry Salad!" It was a great compliment to the flavors in the tofu, as the dressing also had hoisin in it.
Here's a closeup of that bad boy...It's mouth seems to be saying, "eat me!" OK, that's a little too graphic for us vegans....sorry....Anyway, hubby was impressed with the entire presentation...said it was like a gourmet chef in the kitchen! :) Four stars for this one! ****
If you've never had polenta before, try it in the pre-cooked tube! I was surprised that four out of five people in the grocery store had never heard of it (I had to ask five people to find it), and only one knew what it looked like but thought it was some kind of cheese! We're in the south - home of cornmeal, right?? Anyway, the tube is not refrigerated and you just peel away the wrapping (not very enviro-friendly, I know!) and here is what it looks like...
I bought the polenta to use in a dish that was going to use up the bok choy and spinach from our CSA pickup. Here is my mis en place - this was so easy to make! You can see chopped sun-dried tomatoes, chopped seitan (homemade, right from the freezer!), quartered polenta slices, and a big bowl of greens, just waiting for that topping of tamari and balsamic vinegar...
And here is the finished product, Seitan-Polenta Skillet with Greens, from Vegan Express. My husband (I'm going with "Mr. P.L.V" for peace, love and veganism, from now on! - tired of "husband this" and "hubby that") said that this was his favorite dish all week. He grew up in PA, so polenta was a common and favorite food of his... Four stars from him, three and a half from me. ***1/2.
I had to bring something to the CSA picnic that they always have on the first pickup night, and this Toasted Millet Salad with Curried Dressing from The Candle Cafe Cookbook was just so easy and yum! What an amazing dressing! As usual, I had to halve the dressing amount. But I forgot to halve the grain amount and ended up with enough millet to eat all week! Oh, and I had some issues with cooking the millet. Apparently, there are two ways to cook it - 1) mushy and creamy-like, or 2) fluffy and grainy-like. I wanted the grainy but got the creamy. But you know what? People at the picnic devoured it anyhow! There was hardly any left out of the huge bowl... I'd say a solid three stars ***.
With the long Memorial Day weekend, I spent one day in the garden, one day cleaning and one day in the kitchen! I got the dehydrator going and made this easy and AMAZING Come Bite the Apple Cookies from Rawvolution, my newest cookbook (well, one of them!). After a recent raw food presentation at our Vegetarian Group, I was geared up for some high-nutrient, low-heat food! Boy, these were soooo good. Just apples, raisins, ground almonds, cinnamon and agave nectar! Oh, and 24 hours in the dehydrator....not something to make the night before your child's school bake sale! (But how cool would it be to have raw cookies at a bake sale??)
After I got the raw cookies "cooking," I did fire up the oven to bake my "muffin trilogy:" Blueberry-Lemon Muffins from The Joy of Vegan Baking, Carrot-Raisin Muffins from Vegan with a Vengeance, and Apple-Pie Muffins, also from Vw/aV. I subbed some bananas for the sugar in the blueberry ones...bad choice- they just weren't sweet enough, but a great rise, compared to the other two that were a little flat. But, great taste in all three! Three solid stars for each one *** (although the carrot-raisin one was my fav, same as Isa!).
And, last week's menu....Layered Vegetable Lasagna, from Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes. This was great looking and tasting but...
Didn't quite stick together on the plate....disappointing. Good with extra sauce! Three stars ***, just about...
And, with a craving for something toothy, here are Chickpea Cutlets, made with the addition of wheat gluten, which gave them their chewy, dare I say "meaty" (which I never really go for!) consistency! Made these for Mr. PLV really...
On top of a bed of spinach fettucine with steamed asparagus! Three and a half stars....Reminded me of the horrible childhood years that I loved veal parmesan, actually...how the hell did it take me so long to connect that with this?.....
This Almond-Crusted Tempeh with Strawberry-Mango Salsa was also from Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes, surprisingly enough. I just couldn't get enough of the sweet and spicy salsa, but Mr. PLV hates fruit with his meal and had to settle for a white balsamic vinaigrette dressing that just didn't do it justice. All served over a bed of millet and yes...CSA mixed greens! The story is as follows...I ran in my first half-marathon last weekend! I felt strong and prepared and whizzed by those pokey meat-eaters on the hills! Despite previous knee-injuries acting up, I placed 130 out of nearly 2500 women, 23rd in my age group of nearly 400! Yeah, baby! Go Vegan! :)
