The other day I wanted to make something for lunch that wouldn't take too long but that was still healthy and homemade. So I made the cauliflower potato soup with nutmeg from La Dolce Vegan. It was pretty good...it was even better the next day. As with most soups the taste improves as the flavours have time to blend and establish themselves. So maybe not the best "Last minute" soup but still very yummy. I really like cauliflower in soup. I didn't have any fresh cauliflower though so I used up the rest of my frozen ones. Its nice to have those on hand for situations exactly like this, because cauliflower is not a staple in my fridge.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, this week I'm following the menu plan from Vegan Cooking for One. The cookbook gives a grocery list for the week and then there are recipes for Sunday lunch, dinner and dessert, weekday dinners and Saturday lunch. The book claims the recipes make enough for one, but so far I find that its still too much food for one sitting. It does make a lot less than some other conventional recipes though. Basically, it leaves you with leftovers for lunch, which is a bonus. For anyone who has the book, I am doing Week 2 of the Spring/Summer recipes.
So Sunday lunch was basque salad. I did most of the prep work Saturday night so I could just throw it all together at lunchtime. Its a simple recipe. Its roasted red pepper strips and sliced tomato on whole wheat toast with a dressing made of oil, vinegar, paprika, tomato paste, garlic salt and pepper. I roasted the pepper and scalded and skinned the tomato the night before. I had never done either one, but the recipe explains how to do it and I had fun roasting and skinning the peppers!
This is a recipe best eaten with a knife and fork. With the first piece of toast I used my hands and it was quite the mess, and the toppings kept falling off onto my pineapple on the plate. Afterall, you are putting a whole pepper and tomato onto two pieces of bread...that's a lot! The second piece was better with a knife. The recipe was okay...it wasn't gross or anything but I doubt I'll make it again.
Dinner was vegetable pilau special. This was kind of cooked the way a casserole would be but didn't end up looking like it on the plate. I made the turmeric-spiced rice the night before in my steamer to save time. The turmeric stained the container bright yellow :(. On top of the rice there was onion, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, chili powder, tomatoes, carrot, peas, green bean and slivered almonds. All in all, a pretty good dish. Again, I don't think I'd make it again any time soon but I did like it. The almonds added a much needed crunch.
Most of the prep work for the dessert was done the night before too. It was strawberry "cheese". Now this, I would make again. The recipe said to hang soy yogurt in cheesecloth over a bowl for several hours or overnight. The yogurt would then resemble fromage frais. I don't know if mine did, but some liquid did drip out and the yogurt became thicker. Then I refrigerated it overnight. Then all I had to do was mash a few strawberries (organic) in a small bowl and add the yogurt and some sugar and mix it all together. Mmmmm I loved it! Of course, this recipe only make a single serving, so I gobbled it up really fast. I used a tablespoon or a bit more of sugar, but if the strawberries had been sweeter I wouldn't have needed as much.
So all in all, Sunday was a good day food wise ( I had Wolffie's chocolate walnut loaf from LDV for breakfast with raspberry jam...I'm so naughty!) and although I wasn't blown away by the recipes, I enjoyed them and can say I tried a lot of new things!
Today's dinner is a stirfry...photos and deets to come later.
8 comments:
My favorite nutrition book ever is Eat, Drink and Be Healthy written by the head of the dept of Public Health at Harvard. It's very good and he doesn't buy into any claims by dairy/meat industry advocates.
He also just came out with a new book called Eat, Drink and Lose Weight that is co-written with Mollie Katzen of Moosewood fame. I'm reading it right now and it's really good and they are very pro-plant based diet and tell you you can get your protein from wherever you want.
links: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743223225/sr=8-2/qid=1146509097/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-0426935-1067033?%5Fencoding=UTF8
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401302491/sr=8-1/qid=1146509097/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-0426935-1067033?%5Fencoding=UTF8
My godmother bought me The Idiot's Guide to Being Vegetarian and The Vegan Sourcebook at a yardsale,
Doh! Never hit "enter" prematurely!
What I was GOING to say was that you should thank ME as well, since I hooked your godmother up with those nice books and all.
thanks for the links emily...I'll look into it at the library/nearest book store.
yardsale...I'm thinking you had more to say, and it was probably funny :P
thank you ys :)
Wow, what a cool grandmother!
Hi! I hope this doesn't come across as really mean or smarmy, but since I have been reading your blog regularly and this time you mentioned wanting to lose weight...try cutting back on all the baked goods and bread products. eat more fresh fruits and veggies, try more whole grains like couscous, quinoa, barley. a few days ago, you posted a menu with pasta and potatoes in one meal! all carbs, no protein. everything you make looks and sounds delicious, just a little low on fruits and veggies. maybe keep baking for one day a week? just my thoughts...
thanks anon...not mean at all. That's basically what I've been planning on, I mentioned elsewhere that I would stop baking. And I do eat fruits and veggies as snacks, I just don't post about it, because its not a recipe or anything. :)
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