and Another....

Peaceful Morning

Life Changes

I've not been a fan of blog writers that submit lame reasons why their blog has become dormant. Now I find myself in a similar situation. I haven't stopped cooking, but I have stopped trying new recipes as often. New house, foot surgery, raising chickens, creating a garden, lots of company, quitting one job and starting another. and now it's July. Time is flying.

The garden has been a lot of learning. We've been harvesting radishes, kale, romaine, squash, zucchini, beans, green peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and okra. It's a lot of fun and the chickens are great companions.

Potato-Tofu Bake

Recipe from "Cooking with the Right Side of the Brain" by Vicki Rae Chelf. Not bad!

Vegan "Pepperoni" Pizza

A little pasta sauce on the crust, followed by vegan "pepperoni" slices, onion, chopped mushrooms and spinach. The topping is the tofu and lemon sauce from Mark Sutton's "Heart Healthy Pizza". I used smoked paprika in place of the regular and added a bit of dijon mustard. Was delicious!

"Crab" Cakes

I've been wanting to try this recipe for a while. It comes from Lindsay Nixon's Everyday Happy Herbivore. I saw some beautiful oyster mushrooms at the grocery and knew the time was right. They turned out really good. I served it with roasted cauliflower and couscous and the ever present kale salad. The recipe said it would make 5 cakes, but I had a full 6.

Creamy Rice, Spinach and Tofu

From this recipe: http://vegweb.com/print/node/34675

Used fresh spinach and used arborio rice. Will be doing this one again. Plenty of leftovers :)

Vegan Manicotti

From this recipe: http://vegweb.com/recipes/ricotta-and-spinach-suffed-manicotti - I used fresh spinach instead of frozen. Quick and easy.

Wheat Meat with Mashed Potatoes and Chickpea Gravy

I use Robin Robertson's Vegan on the Cheap's slow cooker recipe for the seitan. I then used Isa Moskowitz's Appetite for Reduction's Silky Chickpea Gravy.

White Bean Pizza

Still haven't gotten the lighting down in my new house for pictures. This pizza was great. Used Robin Robertson's "Vegan on the Cheap" recipe for the Tuscan White Bean pizza and also added some "Gimmee Lean 'sausage'" - delicious!

White Bean and Barley "Risotto" with Kale and Tempeh

This recipe comes from Robin Robertson's "Vegan On the Cheap". I turn to this cookbook time and time again, it's becoming well loved and shows on the dog-eared pages and notes made in the margin. A little more time consuming than a week night allows, made for a lovely Sunday evening.
And best of all, plenty of leftovers.

Bean and Rice Burritos

Not the prettiest or most photogenic dish made, but quite good. Sauteed mushrooms and onions and jalapenos, added black beans and drained fire-roasted tomatoes. Rolled into burritos with rice and Queso sauce from Lindsay Nixon's Happy Herbivore cookbook. Served with kale salad. Nice and warm on a chilly evening.
Back to tax season....