Get back to the book (Sparkles)

It's been a while but I'm planning to get back to the book. Here was our vegan dinner from a few nights ago. We also had a sweat potato. We ate the ravioli we saved and some of them did not freeze well and fell apart but it was easy to cook the rest up. 

Tofu Chillaquiles (Kacie)

This was spicy and tasty. Not sure why I had to toast and then soak the tortillas, but yummy.

Cauliflower Cream Pasta (Kacie)

This was solid. George was not impressed when he saw Cauliflower in the fridge, but wasn't mad at me when he actually ate it. Not sure if I'll make it again, but it was good. I added fake meatballs.

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad (Kacie)

This was super tasty. So much so that mom asked me to make it for the whole family to celebrate Oma's birthday! Good stuff 

Pumpkin Chili (Sparkles)

Hey, this is good! If it were a show it would be 90210. It's dramatic and a lot is going on in it. 

I thought you made this, Kacie but I couldn't find the post, so maybe not. I used black and pinto beans. 

Split pea lettuce wraps (Kacie)

These were tasty little guys. I couldn't find yellow split peas, so mine were green. Good little dipping sauce, and easy to do. It made a lot of the pea stuff, so there are plenty of leftovers.

Do you like my cool little meal planner pad of paper?

Braised Cabbage (Kacie)

Braised cabbage was much better than I expected it to be! Totally different flavor than most everything else in the cookbook, but it was a nice and homey departure. I left lots of time since sparkles said it took forever! 

Tofu Scramble Tacos(Kacie)

So I was on a hiatus for a while.

I did a whole30, which is super clean eating (no dairy, sugar, gluten, soy, grains, and on and on) but also heavy on the meat. For me, that's eggs and fish. It was good, and I'm glad I did it, but I'm also happy I'm done! 30 days without any treat or loose day is hard. However, I am super proud that I did it. I needed to get off of the sugar roller coaster I was on (kind of), and I did. I'm able to enjoy some Christmas treats with more control and pleasure, which is nice.

It also meant I was super limited on ingredients, so I just didn't cook from the book because it was too hard. Sparkles said early on that she wanted more simplicity from her veggies. After 30 days of total simplicity, I was pumped to cook something with a little pizazz.

It could just be the whole 30 talking (did I mention no beans or corn either?), but I loved these. They were easy and flavorful. Yum. I actually ate four (I was super hungry). George ate a bunch too and my mom took the rest. I got la tortilla corn tortillas, and they were really good. I added some guacamole and a little chipotle pepper sauce. Yum.

Mango Curry (Sparkles)

This is mango curry with dry fried tofu. I had to use green curry paste instead of red. My favorite part is the combo of veggies. 

Tangerines dipped in chocolate ruined by Sparkles

Kacie made these already and I made some for December book club. 

As you can see I kinda gave up half way through on my tangerines  because the chocolate wasn't cooperating, I burnt some chocolate and I was more interested in listening to the book club book which was really great.  So here's a Merry Christmas pic starring Kittane and also Happy Hannukah from Slinkerbelle. Dreidel tonight! 

Spicy pickles carrots and lemony red lentil soup (Kacie)

I was super skeptical of these carrots. 

And then it turned out that they were delicious!  Hot and tangy and crunchy! So good! I would never have made this were it not for our challenge!

I also made the lemony red lentil soup. Mine is not as pretty as it should be because I already had organic sprouted lentils on hand, but they were not red!

 Soup was delicious, and it made a lot, which I like in a soup recipe.

I even are these two together for dinner.

I'm doing a whole30 right now. I'm on day 6. (I put that Greek yogurt on those legumes before the challenge). It's no sugar, grains, dairy, soy, legumes etc. the idea is to try getting rid of all possible inflammatory foods for a month). It means that j am very much not vegan right now! Lots of fish and eggs for me. I've always liked experimenting with food, and I needed to do something different for a little bit. 

I think there are some compliant recipes still left for me to make! Plus, I need to write up my pad Thai blog too!

Veggie Pad Thai with dry-fried tofu (Sparkles)

Did you already make this KD? 

Pretty hilarious recipe and very tasty end result. Do not make all of the noodles unless you need more than 5 servings. Add more broccoli and tofu if you really want to use all of the noodles. 

The sauce with the tomato paste is interesting - I wonder if you could use tamarind paste without fish sauce like a lot of Pad Thai recipes use.  

My favorite instructions from the recipe: 

-“get all the rest of your veggies and herbs on lock"

-“Don’t eat this all at once because that is too much salt for one day. F@$&.”

-“You’ll hear the steam escape from under the tofu as you do this. It sounds like screams, but keep the f@$& on.”

Warm the Fuck Up Minestrone (Kacie)

Yum. Pretty straight forward. I used stars, simmered it longer than the recipe, and put in extra kale. We ate it for days and it was delicious.

Black bean tortas (Sparkles)

These guys are spicy little crunchy tortas and anything on ciabatta bread is pretty delicious. But just like Italian restaurants- if the bread is the best part- then it's really not that great. 

This little guy has potential.  The ratios of ingredients seem a little strange to me. The consistency of the beans and the mayo (above)are way too thin. I would not add broth next time at all  or maybe 1/4 c to the beans. The mayo would be even nicer if it had a thickness to it- maybe add a little cornstarch or way less coconut milk (1 cup?). It makes SO much anyway. It's a little bizarre. It was very filling and with some modifications I think it will become a good recipe. 

Chickpea and smoked almond Sammies (Kacie)

Sparkles post called this the tuna fish of vegan sandwiches, and it is!

I thought it made for a great little sandwich.

I also thought the smoked almonds alone were tasty

Roasted beet and quinoa salad (Sparkles)

I actually loved the kale and the beets together. Then I poured the hot quinoa in and it cooks the kale. To me it wasn't as good after that so I'd let it cool next time or not add the quinoa at all. The beets are very delicious!!! 

I thought this was going to be one Jason would not like since beets do not have a lot of fans. He really liked it though and we had the longest conversation about beets that we've ever had. 👊💬

Vegetable noodle soup with ginger miso broth (kacie)

Sparkles review of this said it was bland, so I made some changes. I used these things (which I consider weeknight cheats)

I used a bunch to ramp up the flavor. I couldn't find miso, so I added extra soy sauce. I also cooked the broth on low for three hours.

As suggested, I topped with sesame oil, siracha, and a dash of lemon juice.

There were a lot of moving parts, but it was such a tasty dinner.

I mixed together the leftover noodles and veggies with sesame oil and rice vinegar and tofu and sent it with George for lunch.

Barley Stuffed Peppers (sparkles)

Oooh. It's so cold. This is a great meal for a cold day. I like edible containers for food.  I think the red ones taste better if you want to eat the pepper. 

Quick Cilantro Lime Slaw (Kacie)

This one is supposed to go with a taco recipe, but I had cabbage I needed to use up and I needed another side for dinner!

It was crazy easy, yummy, and much healthier than normal slaw. I will keep this one on hand for sure.

We also had quinoa and siracha glazed Salmon, which was a yummy recipe from the Skinnytaste cookbook.

Braised Winter Cabbage and potatoes (Sparkles)

Announcement: this takes about two hours so plan ahead, unlike me. I may pass out from hunger before this is done. I know, I know, the authors SAID to read the whole recipe before cooking.  They also say give cabbage a chance and I agree. 

. I'm working on some teachers pay teachers stuff and watching glee on Netflix while Jason works late so I will try to stay distracted while this cooks.  I think I will put thousand island dressing in some of this when it comes out - you could make a vegan one- it has egg yolk in it. 

I  am also dog sitting and these guys are getting along - Mister Slinky and Lilly already ate dinner. Maybe I will eat this tomorrow. I ate some cucumber and shockingly it did not make me feel like I could wait another hour to eat. 

Update: delicious! Great with hot sauce! This is a good one for a winter potluck!