diversity for dinner

So, over the weekend (when I wasn't writing my novel about Bay Area Eats), I got to construct and shop for my full week menu.  I definitely had another one of those ILoveTraderJoe's moments and each time I go there I find myself more willing to go out of my way to shop there.  I'm still getting used to the layout and the much smaller size than Whole Foods, but I pay about half of what I do at Whole Foods and I'm still working out that budget thing.

On Friday, I made Aloo Gobi from The Vegan Table because Mister Loves Curry, especially with two favorite veggies.

It was quite a bit more chopping than I anticipated, but by the time I crammed all 4 potatoes, 6 tomatoes, and head of cauliflower into my miserable little saute pan (near fail!), it smelled too good to think it wasn't worth the work.  I steamed some brown basmati over which to serve it and then called a very happy (and by then, very hungry) Mister to the table.

After dinner, I made up my new menu:

1. Granada Paella from The Urban Vegan, which is one of the main reasons I had to at least drop in to TJs, but the whole $25 for a bag I'd pay $50+ for at WF was also pretty alluring.

2. Bean and Bulgur Tacos, also from The Urban Vegan.  I've passed this recipe a dozen times, each time wondering exactly how that would work, but being unwilling to take the chance of finding out.  Carpe Diem, friends!

3. Orecchiette con Broccoli, also from The Urban Vegan.  Hopefully this time I won't make myself sick.  I do anticipate this will be my easiest and tastiest attempt because I bought a convenient and inexpensive bag of pre-cut broccoli florets at TJs and I plan to dissolve the miso in something that isn't rancid this time.

4. Fusilli with Lentil Sauce from Vegan Italiano.  I was poking through some old posts and came across the first time I made this and thought, Hey, that was pretty good - let's have it again.  So there you go.

5. Penne with Cannellini Beans and Escarole, also from Vegan Italiano.  I'm still finding my way around TJs, but for all I could see, Whole Foods is still the only place to go for escarole.  Not that it's a huge, irreplaceable part of my life.  There may or may not be a post soon on Pretty Woman in an Ugly World about a recent customer service encounter at Whole Foods that may or may not be fueling my search for an alternate organic grocer...  maybe.  

Anyway, with a fridge full of food and well-stocked cupboards, I did the logical thing and made Sloppy Joes from The Urban Vegan.  Nothing exciting - they were as fabulous as they always are, which unfortunately makes for seriously boring blogging, so we'll move on to last night's dinner: Fusilli with Lentil Sauce.

This makes an absolutely delicious sauce, but I'm not thrilled with how soupy it comes out.  I think 2 cups of broth + 14 oz undrained diced tomatoes might make a little too much liquid, especially when you include about 4 Tbsp of liquid condiments.

I think where I go wrong with the sauce is following the directions.  That whole Tyranny of the Recipe thing again... the recipe instructs me to cover the pot while the lentils bubble and boil their way to plumpy-tenderness, presumably so that the steam helps the process along, but I think they will still plump up just fine if I leave the lid off and allow the liquid to evaporate and concentrate a bit.  I think Mister will appreciate that, too, since puddles at the bottom of his pasta bowl make him a little sad.

As long as you ignore the puddle beneath this pile of pasta, it's really a very attractive (and super easy and tasty) dinner.  I really should make this more often.  I used de Puy lentils this time around and I think I probably would have done better with regular old Goya brown lentils.  The way they held their form was a little distracting - I would have liked them to blend in with the rest of the sauce a little more.

Tonight, Mister and I were both pretty starving by the time I got home from work, so ignoring the good sense that told me to save my fastest cooking meal for tomorrow night, I sped through the prep for Bean and Bulgur Tacos tonight.

In the little square of plastic, you see something you could easily mistake for very creamy guacamole.  You would only be half right...it's Trader Joe's Guacamole Hummus - 50/50 blend of avocados and chickpeas with various seasonings mixed in.  You can also see the little corner I dug out with a flatbread and part of a red pepper...quality assurance, you know.

It was a bit spicy, owed to the blended jalapeno and at least a little garlic, as well as some cilantro and lime.  It was an unusual color.  Does anyone like Fiona Apple?  On her first CD, Tidal, she sings a gorgeous song called "Pale September."  For some reason, the opening line (Pale September - I wore the time like a dress that year) always made me think of a pale chartreuse chiffon dress, gossamer against sunlight and a gentle breeze.  If I had married in September, rather than October, I would have hunted that color down and made it my wedding color...and promptly made enemies of my bridesmaids, at least three of whom would not have been flattered by the shade, but hey - it's my wedding, right?

Fortunately for everyone, I married in October, so they wore crimson instead.  My point?  The Hummamole (that's what Mister and I are calling it) was that color.

I shredded a big bowl of romaine lettuce and sprinkled it over top of a generous smear of the Hummamole on each tortilla, then topped it with the bean and bulgur mix.  It was light yet filling and really hit the spot with a variety of tastes and textures.  I guess in that way it was very much like the dinners in this post.  The heat and tanginess of Indian curry, the savory toothiness of pasta with a rich Italian sauce, and a new take on a familiar Mexican taco recipe, replacing the brown rice with coarse bulgur.   

tonight's winners: Angst and Chorizo

At work, we frequently run little daily contests to inspire our sales agents to do their very best (Silly me, I usually regard that as "work ethic," but what do I know?).  Since our sales department is open from 7am until Midnight, there are a number of shifts that spread across the day, so normally, we'll have a "day shift" winner and and "evening shift" winner.

Angst is our Morning Winner.  I guess.  Remember the struggle of skill and wit that has been playing itself out in our kitchen?  Last night, the score was stuck at Mouse 2, Me 'n' Mister 0.  This morning, the score changed a little... as of this morning, the score was Mouse 2, Me 'n' Mister 0, and Angst Won.  In case I needed a reminder that Angst is neither vegan nor buddhist, stumbling out of the bedroom to find him batting a dead mouse around the kitchen is a great way to remember.  By great I actually mean nauseating and not the best way to wake up.  I was simultaneously proud of him for behaving like a cat and so, so sorry the little mousey wouldn't let Mister and I catch him and release him into a nice, grassy, cat-free area.

Mister was proud of me for disposing of the mouse without waking him up, even though he told me I could have.

Evening Winner

I had intended to make Mama Pea's Chickpeas and Dumplings tonight, but for inexplicable reasons, I walked into a home that was in no way as chilly as I needed it to be to want to make a homey, hearty stew with dumplings.  Mister decided it wasn't hot enough to have the A/C on, which I appreciate as our financial situation could almost always be better, but I have to admit - I disagreed.  Nevertheless, my desire to make the stew was gone with the air, so I opted to make the Chorizo Veggie Wrap from Katie Briggs at Philly Broadcaster.

Freeing the vegan chorizo from the "casing" came the closest I've been to feeling completely disgusted toward meat since...well, since this morning.  I did my best to banish thoughts of dead mice from my visual memory as I squished the bloody red faux sausage out of its plastic tube and into the sizzling skillet.  It immediately smelled the way I thought it should, which was delicious, by the way.  It smelled very similar to the chorizo they use at Farmicia, but as I ate my dinner I became convinced that it is most certainly not the same, since my face has never actually caught fire at Farmicia.

Fortunately, I was generous in my slathering of guacamole.   I didn't realize at the time that it would save my face from falling off; I just really like this guacamole.  It's the best guacamole ever.  It's so good that I have absolutely no problem sneaking up on strangers at Whole Foods and telling them they should buy it because they'll never eat better guacamole.  It's so good I can ignore the frugal side of me nagging about how there's no good reason it should be that darn expensive.  No reason except that it's the best guacamole ever.  So, since I had applied about a half-inch layer of guacamole, I was able to at least partially battle the chorizo for the ethical treatment of my tongue.

The arugula added a fun crunch and a bit of cool, crispness amidst a very spicy dinner.  Unfortunately, it had the tendency to grab hold of something slimy of either the guac or chorizo persuasion and attach that thing to my lips when it slurped past.  In the future, I'll probably chop up the arugula so it just sits there like it's supposed to with its little green hands folded in its little green lap.

Seriously, though, these wraps are phenomenal.  The chorizo was quite a bit spicier than I expected it to be (for no good reason, other than the less spicy nature of the chorizo at Farmicia).  In fact, it was so spicy that I went through two large glasses of water and a small cup of almond milk and Mister laughed at my red nose and sweaty brow.  But, it was so tasty that I still had a second [smaller] wrap [loaded high with mouth-saving guac], even though I knew it would burn my lips.

But hey, that's what chocolate's for, right?

I've found that spicy things make me crave chocolate.  I'm sure there's a scientific reason, but I'm not terribly interested in that right now.  What I am interested in is how Trader Joe's packs so much amazing taste into these little dark chocolate bars?  What's even better?  They sell these 1.65 oz Belgian chocolate bars in three-packs at the cash registers for about half of what I normally pay for one Endangered Species bar.

Good thing I plan to go back for more chorizo....

it's the thought that counts (great guac doesn't hurt, though)

I didn't even know I liked guacamole until this year, so imagine my delight when it improved what could have been a less-than-pleasurable "dining experience."  Let's throw this puppy in reverse and back up to Monday.


After a relatively unremarkable day at work, I was driving home, excited to see my dear husband, already thinking about dinner.  As I sang along with Lady Gaga, I was picking through the menu in my mind and alternately thinking about whether I wanted to try to convince my well-rested Mister to take me on a date.  Upon arriving home and climbing the stairs to the apartment, I was quite surprised to open the door on a dark and empty home.  As I entered, I did a quick scan of the place:

cat? check
Mister? missing
Mister's bike?  also missing
note on the table in Mister's chickenscratch?  check.  It read something to the effect of:

hanging out with the guys at C____'s, took the phone, call me when you get home pls.

Ah, yes - Mister's cellphone/our home phone? also missing.  So, I pulled out my cellphone and called "home," but no one answered.  Mister called back a few minutes later, apparently having a little trouble answering the flip-phone.  Apparently, the boss was having a little BBQ on his roofdeck; although Mister was just going to stop by, Boss presented veggie burgers, thereby making Mister feel compelled to stay...and invite the Missus.

He had me at "roofdeck," so I checked the status of Angst's food (adequate) and headed back out the door, to Angst's dismay and disapproval.  I walked the four and a half blocks to the BBQ reminding myself how fortunate I am to live somewhere I feel comfortable walking around alone after dark (and how glad I am I found flat sandals I can live with), and then climbed four flights of stairs to the Boss's apartment and adjoined spectacular jungle roofdeck.

I was not seated for even a moment before Boss parked himself across the table from me and commenced to showing me the Super Awesome Antique Campagnolo Corkscrew some of the guys got him for Christmas a year or two ago.

Of course, he couldn't just show me this super-cool corkscrew - he had to demonstrate how awesome it was...by opening a bottle of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and pouring me a glass.  I don't remember the label - it was kind of dark and I was kind of starving by now - but it was light and sparkly and well-suited to black veggie burgers.  Or hockey pucks.  Couldn't quite tell from a distance.

It was really sweet of Mr Boss to get veggie burgers and fire them up on the grill for us.  I think he got a little overzealous over the size of the flames, which resulted in the veggie burgers being a little crunchier than they are when you cook them on a skillet.  Regardless, Mr Boss had also supplied a little tub of the most amazing guacamole to date.  It was just Whole Foods homemade guac, but it was so good - creamy, but with decent-sized chunks of unmashed avocado and a healthy amount of raw garlic.  I slathered the bottom of the bun with about a half inch of guacamole (it's "healthy" fat) and the top with a generous squirt of ketchup.  It worked like a charm - between the wine and the condiments, I could barely tell the veggie burger had been burnt almost beyond recognition.  It was nice, though, to not have to cook dinner, because I really wasn't feeling it.

Last night, then, we had what I would have made on Monday if we hadn't gone to a little party: Cajun Red Beans and Rice from The Accidental Vegan.  It was just as good as it was the first time I made it, and it didn't look any different either, so I didn't take pictures.

Tonight is One-Serving Wednesday.  I took a different way home from work tonight on a colleague's suggestion and got a little turned around twice (literally, actually), so to say I was ravenous by the time I walked in the door would be an understatement.  I munched on some SnapeaCrisps while I formed a plan in my brain because I really did want to cook something.  I knew this: I was in a savory mood.  A glance in the fridge made my plans complete.  I grabbed the leftover kale, "leftover" Tofurky sausage, and leftover rice and came up with....

Kale and Sausage Skillet
(makes 2 scant servings)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 Tofurky kielbasa (or your preferred vegan sausage), halved lengthwise and sliced
2-3 cups of chopped kale
3/4 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup V8 Spicy Hot (or regular V8/tomato juice + a pinch of black and red peppers)

Heat oil on medium-high heat; add sausage and stir to coat with oil.  Saute on medium heat 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sausage begins to brown.  Stir in garlic and kale.  Cook, stirring constantly, until kale is slightly wilted and bright green.  Stir in rice and V8.  Cook 2-3 minutes more, stirring, until liquid is absorbed and rice is heated through.

As you can probably tell from the recipe, it is a quick-cooking recipe, which is always a helpful thing to have in your back pocket.  It's also very tasty and green.  I have really fallen quite in love with kale and I hope Essene finds and stocks those kale chips.