sticks and stones... in my soup

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

I'd like to call BS on that for two reasons.  First and foremost, words can hurt a lot.  If you don't believe that, you were never a 7th grade girl.  Second, planks and rocks might break bones, but sticks and stones probably won't even bruise you.  Someone got it backward.

Sticks and stone will probably break your teeth, though, should you find them in your Homey Vegetable Stew with Dumplings (from The 30 Minute Vegan).

If you remember the first time I made this, you'll probably notice the dumplings look a little different from the way they did then.  A little...browner?  A little less cohesive?  Kinda gross-looking, actually?

The recipe calls for Spelt flour, but I was plum out - it's not one of those things I just keep around the house.  I was going to use plain ol' wheat flour, but when I grabbed the bag down from the cupboard, I saw a special little jar hiding behind it - the mesquite flour my sister had ground for us from the pods of the mesquite tree in her backyard!

I pulled it down and measured out 3/4 cup to start making the dumplings, but I noticed there were some pebbly looking spots.  In the interest of evening things out, I put the flour through my sifter.  Good thing, too!  When the flour had drifted dustily down into the bowl to be mixed with soymilk and canola oil, I looked into the sifter to see little bits of sticks and seeds and possibly stones (?) hanging out there.

Considering we don't have dental insurance right now, I'm glad I decided to sift before Mister broke a tooth.

When I set down the bowls, the dumplings smelled a little like gingerbread.  They were sweet and a little mealy, but not in a bad way.  I will probably do this in the future, but I will cut it half-and-half with "normal" flour because the mesquite flour did not hold the dumplings together all that well, and I think they were a little sweet for Mister's tastes.

I thought they provided a great, if not unexpected foil to the very salty-savory broth of the chunkier-than-I-remembered-it stew.  It was just right for this first truly chilly fall day, though.

peanut-scented zen

I think the whole "bowl" idea is more of a West Coast phenomenon.  Maybe I'm wrong.  I'd like to be, actually, because I love bowls - I love the way they look, I like how much easier it is to eat most things from a bowl, rather than chasing things like cabbage, cannellini beans, and rotini around a plate.  Let's have a short flashback parade:

Waaaaaayyyyy back in February 2010, my parents gave me The 30 Minute Vegan for my birthday.  I've mentioned in the past how fruity and flowery the book is, written by a hippie couple blessed to live in Hawaii where it's warm enough all year to consider a 50% raw diet do-able.  Raw.  I can deal with raw.  When we start talking about "living" soup, I get a little creeped out, to be completely honest.

Anyway, although I'm sure I had some other "bowl" recipes (Isa also favors them, which might put a bullet in my West Coast Bowl theory), it was this cookbook that introduced me to the Monk Bowl.

Later that same year, Mister and I took a trip out to LA for Blizzcon and some QT with his sister, her husband, and their adorable little boy.  While out there, we visited Native Foods, which as you can probably imagine, is a whole restaurant whose menu consists almost exclusively of bowls.  To back up just a second, here is the basic make-up of the ubiquitous "Bowl."

• rice, quinoa, bulgur, or some other kind of grain; occasionally noodles, depending on cuisine.
• veggies - usually steamed, occasionally lightly sauteed or raw.
• protein source: tofu, tempeh, possibly seitan, commonly beans
• topping: a dressing of some sort, maybe two - BBQ sauce, ranch dressing, tahini-mustard dressing, etc - normally a "creamy" or opaque sauce, rather than a vinaigrette - "bowls" should not be confused with salads.

So anyway, my whole point is - I heart Bowls.  Mister could probably do without them, but he's never complained really... he just tends to set the table with plates when he has a chance.

Tonight, I made Monk Bowls again (you might have seen this coming).  This time I was not overly concerned with perfecting the symphony in my kitchen or creating peaceful zen through multi-tasked cooking.  No, this time, I was focused on a change I've made from the last few times I made this.  I did not feel like making a dressing, even though it takes about 5 minutes if I'm really clumsy.  I also did not feel like steaming the vegetables, because as I learned a little bit ago, I really don't like the water-logged flavor/texture of steamed veggies.  I combined my solution for those two "problems" in one action.

The book even mentioned this, but I hadn't bothered reading the variations until last time I went through the menu.  I sauteed them instead.  In order to provide the flavor that would be missing from the dressing I did not intend to make, I made it a two-step process.

First, I poured a generous amount of olive oil into a pan and let it heat up a bit.  I added about 2 tsp of za'atar, scant 1 tsp of sea salt, and about 1/3 tsp garlic powder.  I let them warm in the oil, then stirred everything together.  When the sesame seeds in the za'atar started to pop, I added the bowlful of chopped veggies (a red pepper, three carrots, and a head of broccoli) and stirred everything really well to coat the veggies with oil and za'atar.  Then I covered everything up and let it steam-saute while I tended to my roasting tofu and simmering brown rice.  All said, I let it simmer like that, stirring now and then, for nearly 15 minutes, which turned out perfectly, flavor- and texture-wise.

Angst was pretty sure he liked the smells in the kitchen and waited patiently in front of the dinner table.

He begged, noisily, throughout the entire meal, too, even though we insisted there was nothing he wanted.  Mister even put his bowl on the floor so Angst could inspect it.  Upon determining Mister wasn't eating real food, he turned his big sad eyes on me since apparently, I had what he really wanted.

I know I had what I really wanted!  It turned out really well.  The tofu was sublime.  I pressed it in my handy Tofu Xpress before a brief marinating time in soy sauce, peanut oil, and water (okay, maybe there was a little drop of toasted dark sesame oil, too).  It had a great texture after roasting 15 minutes and I don't remember the flavor pervading the tofu as much as it did this time, so I will continue to press the tofu for this recipe, even though it's not called for.

The sauteed veggies came out great, with a good yet subtle flavor from the za'atar.  I will probably make some dressing next time, purely because dressing is fun.  I just didn't want to deal with it tonight, and I had gotten the idea in my head to use some of the za'atar I got in San Francisco.

I wouldn't say it was a zen ballet, but then again, I'm not sure I would use that language to describe anything.  Why don't we just leave it at: it was easy, it was tasty, and I'll do it again.

sunday, lazy sunday

I set my alarm for noon today.  I still hit snooze several times before convincing myself to get up.

I sat around in my bathrobe for hours, drinking cup after cup of amazing coffee.

That's right - Dark Chocolate Ecstasy.  You can't tell me that's not a killer name for a coffee.  It made the kitchen smell amazing, so Mister and I made and drank two pots.

I've been peeing almost all day, but it was totally worth it.

All day, or more likely between each new cup o' joe, I asked myself with a touch of anxiety, "Isn't there something I should be doing?"  Each time, the answer was the same - NO.  I did all the food shopping yesterday and we can wait a few more days for laundry, so no, there was nothing that needed doing.  It was great to just relax and enjoy my day off.

I'll admit, though, I'm still a little jittery from all that coffee - it's a bit more than I usually drink in a day and it was nearly as consistently administered (via hand to mouth) as it would have been if I had that sought-after IV drip of caffeine.  Mister just brewed a pot of decaf, but I am definitely done with coffee... until tomorrow.

Between being overly lazy and overly caffeinated, I definitely had the energy to cook dinner.  I made Mexican Rice and Bean Bake from Vegan on the Cheap, although I really ought to put "bake" in quotation marks (like I just did) because I haven't baked this since the first unnecessarily time-consuming time I made this.  I find it comes together much more quickly and with less gnashing of teeth when I cook the rice separately from the rest, adding it in once it's fully cooked.

While the rice was cooking, I minced a dark green poblano chili because I think it's wasteful to get those expensive little cans of flavorless and mushy diced chilies.  To soften the pieces up a little, I sauteed them with olive oil and garlic for at least 5 minutes, probably longer, before adding in everything else.

That smelled so good and only got better with the gradual addition of salsa, beans, sweet white corn, and then finally, the cooked rice.

I haven't made this in a long time and now I'm kicking myself because I did not remember it tasting as incredible as it did tonight.  I'm not in the habit of buying/using white corn, but it added a neat "surprise" to the dish.  It was crunch and sweet when you were not quite expecting something like that to be part of the dish, providing a nice contrast against the otherwise savory nature of this recipe.

Last night we had Pasta Florentine from The 30 Minute Vegan.

It was tasty and I always enjoy the nooch-heavy "cream" sauce, but aside from that, it was nothing special and I couldn't think of a single clever thing to say about it.  So you just get a half-decent picture.  Lucky you!

the fruitier side of Atkins

I'd like to start by saying that the Atkins diet and fruit couldn't possibly put too much more distance between each other - did you know that you can't even eat an apple until you've nearly reached your weight loss goal?

I've made my feelings about the Fadkins diet pretty clear over the course of multiple snide remarks snuck into myriad posts, so I'm not going to babble on too long about what a horrible diet it is and how backwards the "nutrition" is.  I would like to state, though, that there is something very wrong with a diet that tells you not to eat lean cuts of animal (oops, I mean meat) and not to pull the skin off of that animal (let that sink in), and that if you really feel like you must do one of those things, for heaven's sake, add a pat of butter (not margarine, even) to your vegetables (God forbid they escape the fat-fest unscathed) to "make up for it."  Don't believe me?  Check it out for yourself - prepare to be horrified.

Actually, I spent a large part of my day today in a horrified state.  The time I wasn't horrified was spent in confusion, I think.  In order to more thoroughly equip my new hires to answer objections to our weight loss program, I was doing research to update our competitor comparisons.  Some of our competitors impressed me, to a point of near-disappointment in our own program.  Others mystified me in that way in which you don't know whether to be more impressed with the skill of the snake oil vendor or the stupidity of his patrons.  I've settled for a contemplative place in between.

Against my better judgment, though, I found myself surprised and impressed with one "improvement" or innovation taken on by the folks behind the Atkins diet.  They have assembled a group of chefs to create Atkins-friendly/approved recipes.  This is nearly identical to something my company launched this Diet Season, but is still in the preliminary stages of development....but hey, 2012 should be a great year...as long as the world doesn't screech to a halt on May 21st.  Anyway, I was intrigued by something on their chefs' page - something I didn't think could possibly be reckoned to a meat-and-fat-oriented diet: Mark Reinfeld, of The 30 Minute Vegan fame is one of the chefs.

That's right.  Vegan Atkins.  Does that blow your mind as much as it blows mine?  I spent the rest of the day pondering that one.

So, it seemed only fitting to make Pasta Florentine, from 30MV, for dinner tonight.

This could actually be a meal in The Twenty Minute Vegan, if such a book existed, because it really doesn't take 30 minutes.  Do you want to know what took me the longest in making this dish?  Boiling the pasta water.  The rest is such a snap, whether you use organic frozen spinach (highly recommend) or fresh spinach.  I love the "cheesy" sauce, and I especially love how Mister eats it all up without realizing that the source of the savory is nutritional yeast, not cheese.  I also like how the strength of the nooch's flavor covers up the "soyness" of the milk.  I can't really taste it, but Mister can, so whenever I can cover it up, I do.

Well, time to clean up...right after I spend a little quality time with the slice of Apple Spice Coffee Cake that's been whispering to me the whole time I've been typing...

choose your tofu adventure

Or Bean, or Tempeh...but not in my home.

Tonight, I made Monk Bowls for dinner from The 30 Minute Vegan.

They are so tasty and easy now that I'm rocking the zen.  I figured they'd be a calming influence as we celebrated Friday and moved into what will be a busy but fun weekend.  Additionally, they were the only item left on my menu and my brain is waaaaay too full to make room for creativity, even if I do have the ingredients for it.

I served our Monk Bowls with Lemon-Miso Tahini Sauce, also from 30MV.  This was my first time making this particular sauce.  The first time I made it, I did a second-cousins-once-removed kind of version of Dreena Burton's Sesame Mustard Tahini Sauce.  That was pretty intense and although I enjoyed it, I figured I may as well at least experiment with the four dozen other awesome sauce recipes involving tahini.  It was a little more watery than other sauces I've made, but I think that was partially owed to the different tahini I used.

Here is what I love about Monk Bowls: I've never made the same one twice.  If I make them once a month for year, I will still not make the same one twice.  I guess they're like the culinary equivalent to snowflakes?  In any case, Monk Bowls are kind of like a Choose Your Own Adventure book.  You can base the bowl on quinoa or brown rice (I did) or maybe even rice noodles.  You can build your bowl with 8 cups of any kind of veggies you want.  This time around, I did half broccoli and the other half yellow pepper and cucumber.  Other times I've included carrots and/or cauliflower and a different color pepper.  Maybe next time I'll steam exclusively root vegetables or squash (If I'm only cooking for me).  Although I have always used tofu as my protein (because it's just so awesome!), the book tells me I could sub beans or tempeh if I wanted to...and if the tempeh wouldn't explode my Mister.  Finally, you can top it with any variety of sauces/dressings.  I tend toward the "creamy" kinds, based on tahini or peanut butter or miso, but maybe next time I'll mix things up a bit and top the Monk Bowls with something completely off the wall....like infused oil or a vinaigrette!

As I mentioned, this was the last meal on this week's menu.  I'll be rejoining my SuperTuscan at the table shortly, accompanied by Isa and Dynise for a little planning on the upcoming week's menu.  I absolutely adore Veganomicon and The Urban Vegan, but I'm sure I've mentioned before that these recipes consume a little more of my time than those in, say, 30MV.  Since I am about to dive face first into piles of prep and training for the upcoming busy season at work, I figured I would indulge myself this last week before everything goes topsy turvy and I start writing my posts backwards.  Slow, savored meals should adorn the upcoming menu, although I'll admit I'm still looking for the faster slow recipes (if that made any sense).

Time for some audience participation!  If you are at all familiar with the 'Nomicon or Urban Vegan, feel free to make a recommendation for future meals.  Tomorrow's tales should involve chocolate, so stay tuned!

home is where the...wine is

It's getting to be That Time of Year.  If you turn back the cyber-pages of this little blog and travel back to my December 2009 and January 2010 posts, you'll find a lot of babbling, random, which-way-is-up posts, as well as my justification: I work for a weight loss company and we're gearing up for Diet Season.  Today, I learned that in order to make sure we get everything done between now and mid-December, I will need to create at least three clones of myself for one of the weeks, and no fewer than two of me will be necessary for most weeks.

While on the train on my way home from a completely overwhelming day, my brain re-inflated enough for me to remember to take a short detour on my walk home from the train station to pick up a nice mini-bottle of Beaujolais (which I am presently halfway through).  Unfortunately, Angst can't blame the following pictures on Mommy's Special Juice...just the deteriorating capacity to reason.

That hat was on my head while I walked home, but after I put on my glasses, Mister (who wears glasses and beanie hats) decided we all needed to look like a family and put the Hat on the Cat

Angst doesn't seem to like wearing hats, so he probably hopes we got it all out of our system.

After playing Dress-Up with the kitty, I brushed myself off while he nursed his ego-wounds and started dinner.  Apparently, New York saw its first flakes of snow today, but in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs, it was just gloomy rain.  It did stop before I got home, but everything was damp, including the air, and just the exhaustive nature of the day all by itself was quite enough to warrant Homey Vegetable Stew with Dumplings from The 30 Minute Vegan. 

I've made this before, but my dumplings were much prettier this time and it still impresses me that those lumps of sticky dough really do steam into a solid biscuit.  They are sinfully simple to make - there are five ingredients in the dumplings and only slightly more in the stew.  I think what I like the most about these dumplings is that they are made with spelt flour, which give them a savory flavor I can really only describe as "real."

The whole stew is remarkably rich.  There isn't a whole lot of broth, especially when you take away the part that made sticky dough into biscuits.  Perhaps it is the concentrated nature of the broth that makes it so good, but Mister and I happily ate two bowls each and I am already anticipating the leftovers for WorkLunch tomorrow.  Hopefully, I will have more time tomorrow than the ten minutes I had today to wolf down my lunch, because this should be savored.

On another note, while I'm running around at work like tofu with my head cut off, I am gratified to come home each night and find that while he started with the entry/dining area, Mister appears to be working his way through the apartment, cleaning up the messes that have accumulated in recent months.  I know I don't have the energy for that kind of ridiculous behavior right now!  I'll happily bring home the seitan if he'll keep my home straightened up.  I love how far we've come in the reversal/dismissal of traditional gender roles during my lifetime.  Now, if only we could find a way for Mister to carry and bear a child, I might find a way to become interested in parenting ;)

I think the wine is getting to me...

Happy Monday, MoFos!

Anyone who is unacquainted with VeganMoFo is probably pretty offended by now, so let me wish everyone a Happy World Vegan Day!

Welcome, anyone new to Angst Loves Spinach - I hope you enjoy poking around here as much as I enjoy writing!  I'm super excited that VeganMoFo IV has finally begun and I can't wait for the round-ups to start.

By way of a short introduction, I'm Natalie :)  I went vegetarian 8 years ago, following the lead of my then-boyfriend, now-husband, affectionately known here as "Mister."  A brief, uninformed, PETA-induced stint with veganism followed about 6 months later and lasted for about a month.  Most of Mister's favorite things involve cheese or ice cream, and to be honest, for most of my life, I've been pretty in love with those things as well.  Last fall, I got involved with VeganMoFoIII, and learned so much from other bloggers, causing a great amount of introspection and self-examination.  I battled with myself on subjects like honey, wool, cats as natural carnivores, and my own reticence to take that last step.  However, in the course of being vegan for October, to be true to MoFo, I realized that it wasn't nearly as big a sacrifice as I thought, and after the Readers' Choice Awards issue of VegNews came out, I decided it was worth a second shot.  Over the last year, I've grown increasingly "vegan" in my lifestyle choices, and after reading Skinny Bitch three times this summer and then reviewing it here in September, I decided to just go for it.

Angst is my cat.  He loves spinach, various other leafy things (that may or may not include rose leaves and petals), jalapeno potato chips, pretzels, hummus, pizza, Sweetzels, and a variety of other things cats shouldn't eat.  They are all Sometimes Foods, though, so a little taste here and there shouldn't do too bad for him.  He is my little love and I thought his affinity for dark, leafy greens was funny, so now you know where the name of the blog comes from.

my muse, Angst

 
I hope you'll leave me a comment and say hi if you're new.  I'm happy to hear from new people if you've found your way over from VeganMoFo, Twitter, or Facebook (although, if you're on FB, I know you already).  Now, onto the vegan foodie fun!

Mister has recently left his job and is now our little homemaker; house-husband seems long and antiquated.  Anyway, upon my return from work today, I found that he used his first full day at home to clean out a mess that had been building in our entryway/kitchen/dining area (we live in a very small apartment in Philadelphia).  When I thanked him, he told me that he wanted my kitchen to be my happy place!  I found a keeper.  As a reward, I let Mister choose dinner from our weekly menu.  As you may know or will soon learn, Mister Loves Pasta, so naturally, he chose Pasta Florentine from The 30 Minute Vegan, accompanied by sliced artisan bread and a Tuscan olive oil dipping sauce.

The only thing missing was a nice glass of deep red wine and once I started cooking, you can believe I was kicking myself for not picking up a bottle on my way home from work.  We've had this several times since I got the cookbook in February because it's super-tasty to eat and even easier to make.  Oddly, though, I don't think I've ever made it taste the same way twice.  This time, Mister asked if it was normally "this spicy," and I explained that last time I had, in fact, forgotten to add the 1/2 tsp of black pepper.  I'm glad he was happy with the flavors because another difference in this prep was that I used Tempt hempmilk, and through my breakfast adventures, I've discovered that hempmilk and heat don't seem to like each other very much - the hempmilk seems to separate and is not at all attractive in coffee.  It played well with the nooch, though.

What I'm really excited about was this morning's breakfast.  I love breakfast the way Mister loves pasta and Angst loves spinach.  I especially love cold weather breakfasts like waffles and oatmeal and syrupy fruit.  I had some recent success with an apple oatmeal recipe, so I've been playing with some other flavors.  I also have a winter-breakfast cheerleader, so ALB, I dedicate this tasty breakfast to you!

Breakfast Fried Rice
serves 1 (but easily multiplied)

3/4 - 1 cup cold, cooked brown rice
1 [red] d'anjou pear, diced
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used Tempt unsweetened hempmilk)

Heat pear in a large nonstick skillet 2-3 minutes, until the pieces are golden and begin to release their juices.  Stir in the rice and non-dairy milk.  Bring to a lively simmer/light boil, then lower heat to medium-low.  Stir in vanilla and maple syrup.  Simmer, stirring frequently, 2-3 more minutes, until all liquid is absorbed.

Enjoy and please let me know how it goes for you if you decide to make it!

chili 'n' chips - it's what's for dinner

Tonight, I made Put the Tex in Your Mex Chili from The 30 Minute Vegan.  I resisted making this for a long time for a couple of reasons - first, I think the name is stupid.  Second, and hopefully more importantly, I already have at least two really great "go to" chili recipes.  Nevertheless, adventure beckoned, so despite my inability to procure a poblano pepper from any one of three grocery stores in Philadelphia, I made this chili tonight.

I couldn't get a very good picture as there was a very hungry, scent-enticed Mister hovering at the table ready for his crazy wife to stop taking pictures of dinner and just eat it.  That's his shadow you see on the table behind my chili.  I served it with multigrain tortilla chips and didn't even bother putting down silverware - Mister has trained me well.

It was a flavorful chili and Mister had seconds, but the recipe will require a little tweaking if I make it again.  I say "if" only because I have some favored chili recipes and sometimes it's okay to stick with what you know.  It was entirely too soupy for Mister and me - I think I would cut the 4 cups of broth down to two.  I might also serve it with a chunk of cornbread, just in case there's still some broth at the bottom of the bowl to sop up.

I was thinking about my invitation for topic suggestions for the upcoming VeganMoFo IV and realized I overlooked a major point of the event - does anyone have a recipe they want to see created/modified?  I've hit a little bit of a wall, creatively, probably due to the immense amount of brain power I waste use at work.  I used to subscribe to Cooking Light magazine and something I liked was that in each issue, they took a "family heirloom" recipe that was overflowing with cholesterol, fat, and sugar (not to mention, calories!) and revise it to be a little kinder to the contributor's waistline and arteries.  I made an attempt to replicate my own "heirloom" recipe, handed down to me by my mother, who got it from her best friend, who got it from her aunt, who got it God knows where.  I didn't hit a home run my first time at bat (sorry, it's Phillies season), but I'm willing to try again. 

Do you have any suggestions?

it's right around the corner

"It" could be any variety of things.

It is currently approaching Midnight, which means it's almost Friday.
When I wake up, it will be Friday, which means all I need to do is survive the day and get home to begin my weekend (aside from that pesky working-on-Saturday thing).

Two weeks from today will find Mister and I settled into our hotel room in sunny San Clemente, looking forward to a well-deserved vacation and fun with our distant, beloved family.  The day after we return home will be our anniversary, so our next romantic dinner at Horizons is right around the corner.

Something struck me a couple of days ago.  It's October (if I haven't made that clear by my obnoxious imaginary jumping around for joy) and I hadn't heard a thing about VeganMoFo!  I enjoyed it so thoroughly last year and have been looking forward to it this year, but a week into the month it occupied last year and not a peep from any of the blogs I followed as a result of last year.  Then, finally, Jess from Get Sconed wrote the post I've been waiting for:

VeganMoFo IV is right around the corner!  This year, it will be during the month of November, which will provide a literary cornucopia of awesome vegan Thanksgiving celebrations from which I can steal ideas for next year to read about and enjoy!  I signed up as soon as the form was available on the Official Home of VeganMoFo and I'm already thinking of things more entertaining/insightful than "here's what I had for dinner tonight" to convince a whole new set of strangers that they want to read my nonsense.

Is that a great segue or what?  Here's what I had for dinner tonight:

Udon Bowl from The 30 Minute Vegan - descriptive name, don't you think?  Regardless of the unremarkable name, this dish was delightful.  I had a realization while I was sitting at the table waiting for Mister to wash his hands as the steam and scent wafted up my nostrils: I absolutely love tamari and ginger as a base.  The olfactory satisfaction I gleaned from just sniffing at my dinner was astonishing.  Fortunately for my other senses, it tasted just like it smelled: a charming combination of sweet and salty.  The recipe doesn't make a whole lot, but it is listed under the lunches so that makes sense, I guess.

Anyway, back to VeganMoFo, last year I solicited topics from my readers, so if anyone would like to leave me a comment with a suggestion for something you'd like me to write about next month for VeganMoFo, I'd be happy to hear from you.  Round-ups? Restaurant, book, or product reviews? Why Angst won't stop his relentless pleading for a piece of my Sweetzels?

coconooch florentine

Before I get too far into what will probably be a relatively short post, I just want to show you a picture and ask a question.

Can you see how incredibly green that spinach is?  I'm still in awe of the twice-as-expensive-but-totally-worth-it organic frozen spinach I used to make our Pasta Florentine tonight.  I thought about not taking pictures, since it wasn't all that long ago that I made it last, but then I looked at it and felt like I needed another picture to showcase how amazing a frozen vegetable can be.

Mister was having a hungry day so between the two of us, we housed the whole pot-full.  Besides the SuperSpinach, there were two things I did differently this time around.  I eyeballed my bag of nutritional yeast and decided it was probably exactly as much as I needed, so why bother dirtying another measuring cup when I could just dump the whole bag in there?  Probably more notable was my use of So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk [beverage].  I feel like it had a very different taste than when I have made the same dish using soymilk.  Mister didn't complain through any of his three helpings, though, and he doesn't really like the flavor of soymilk, so perhaps it's an improvement.  It did seem a little creamier - I'll admit the soy makes it a little tiny bit grainy in texture.

I feel like I should warn you in advance not to expect any creative one-serving recipes tomorrow night.  I already have my plan for Misterless Dinner - I pass by Blackbird every night on my walk home from the train, so since I was so busy today I could barely bring myself to make dinner when I got home, I'm going to give myself the night off tomorrow and stop in for some Daiya pizza....and maybe some cake.

like caviar, but without the fish zygotes

What a delightfully crisp second day of October today was!  It was a delightful mid-60s day with a gentler breeze blowing than the gale-force winds I've been fighting my way through all week.  Most importantly, for the first time since last weekend, I saw the sun.  I'm actually not a big fan of sunshine, but after a week of rain every day and every night, I was pretty happy to squint today.

I was remarkably productive for a Saturday - I'm pretty sure I owe that to knowing how little I'm going to accomplish tomorrow, since the wedding we are attending is at the Lancaster County Winery, over an hour and a half away from Philadelphia.  I got up only about fifteen minutes after Mister left for work, and after my breakfast (waffles with pears cut up and lots of Earth Balance - so tasty and exactly what I wanted on this first truly cool day of autumn) and shower, I headed out to replenish my supply of matcha, as well as my supply of canned goods from Superfresh.  I always think it's ironic that I go to a store called SuperFresh specifically for pantry staples (canned beans, tomatoes, pasta), but really, let's compare: $.71 for chickpeas at Superfresh versus $1.99 for chickpeas at Whole Foods.  They may be organic, but when it comes to canned beans, I really don't care $1.28-worth.

When I returned from teaching this evening, I headed over to Whole Foods for the fruits and vegetables portion of my groceries and had a staring contest with a bag of arame.  More specifically, I had a staring contest with the price tag - it was a little higher than I wanted for a little more quantity than I felt comfortable with since I've never used the sea vegetable before and don't know if Mister or I will actually like it...we're not big fans of sea fare.  There were a few things I couldn't find for some reason, so I'll be heading over to Essene tomorrow at some point.  We'll see if they have a sample-sized bag of seaweed...er...vegetable.

So, true to last night's warning, my menu is composed completely from The 30 Minute Vegan and Vegan Express and will be marked only by "30MV" or "VegEx."

1. Udon Bowl from 30MV.  I love their "bowl" recipes and I believe this is one of two that I haven't made yet...this is the recipe that is asking me to try eating that thing that clung to my legs in a most horrific way when I was a child, contributing to my lack-of-desire-bordering-on-phobia for "swimming" at the Jersey Shore.

2. White Bean-Tarragon Soup also from 30MV.  I was a good girl - I managed to restrict my soup-happy heart to only one soup on this week's menu.  I can't make any promises for next week, though.  I had gotten Isa's amazing lentil soup into my brain, but it takes over an hour to make, so when I saw this, I thought "yay for tarragon!" and put it on the menu.  I picked up some Rice Vegan American "cheese" and intend to serve the soup with my best attempt at vegan Grilled Cheese sandwiches.  Don't tell Mister!

 3. Pasta Florentine from 30MV.  I've made this several times now.  It's tasty, it's easy, and having made it more than once, it's familiar, which is helpful on a broken-brain night.

4. Put the Tex in Your Mex Chili from 30MV.  Yes, I got chips.

5. Curried Chickpeas with (Chutney) Bulgur from VegEx.  I made this last August and not since then because the Chutney Bulgur kind of sucked.  I remembered, when I came across the recipe in my cookbook, that I liked the Curried Chickpea part, so I decided to fudge the chutney bulgur and see what happened.

6. Stewed Lentils with Soy Sausage also from VegEx.  This was dinner tonight.

When I made it before, right after I got the cookbook, I commented on how ugly it was.  In the instructions, Nava clearly recommends black beluga lentils.  Unfortunately, at that time I could not get any.  As you see in my happy picture, I did get them this time.  They smelled delicious while simmering and look like little caviars - which is probably where beluga lentils got their name...

menu fail and vegan paneer

First things first:  I've been trying to be a little more creative in my photo taking - I recently remembered my camera has a zoom feature (most do, I'm sure).  Furthermore, if you hold real still and let it focus, you can actually get some highly enticing shots.  Exhibit A:

This shot really redeemed the number of photos I dragged to the "trash" because gooky sauce doesn't take pretty pictures.

Last night's dinner was Hunan-Style Orange "Beef" and Asparagus Stirfry from VTCC.  I got to use some of my favorite things in the making: the zester I was so excited to find in my Christmas stocking (despite the weird looks my mother gave me) and those funny rice noodles.  I also used two of Mister's favorite things: asparagus and fake beef.  There were a few amazing things about this dish.  For one, I didn't realize how much flavor the freshly grated zest of a whole orange would impart to the dish, even when added at the very end!  Second, I'm not sure what the point of coating the stirfry strips in cornstarch was, but it had two very noticeable effects: it coated the bottom of my wok with a layer of blech (that's the scientific name) that I had to scrape off with my fingernails (all the while realizing that the nonstick nature of the wok has absolutely left the building), and it made the 2 cups of sauce into a very gooky, sticky, lacquer (which probably didn't help the situation at the bottom of my wok).  Although I won't put this in regular rotation, it was certainly good enough to make again, and just one bowl each was quite enough for Mister and me.

Tonight, we had Tofu Saag from The 30 Minute Vegan.  It was extremely flavorful, thanks to the recent reunion I've had with my beloved Frontier Curry Powder as well as some cumin and coriander.  I continue to adore the way all recipes in that book that use tofu have you roasting it first.  It smelled so good in the oven and there was a richness of flavor that it added to the dish that would put real Indian paneer to shame. 

I used frozen spinach (per the recipe instructions) but neglected to thaw it first like the recipe suggests.  As a result of my own stupidity, it became more than a 30-minute meal, but we had nowhere to be, so there wasn't any rush. 

It tasted as good as it looks.  I served it on top of Jasmine rice, which does not take 40 minutes to cook, as the bag claims.  Fortunately, I checked on it "halfway" through (yes, I know you aren't supposed to lift the lid, but I'm just too good at making rice stick to nonstick cookware to take that chance) and found that it only needed about 5 more minutes.  Also, in place of the onion and to give it a little color, I sauteed a diced orange bell pepper with the garlic and ginger.  It was very flavorful and I absolutely would not be able to eat it without the rice.  While the noodle dish (above) was heavy enough that we only had a serving each, this meal is rich enough that we could only stomach one bowl.  I will definitely make this again, though I will probably cut down on the spice blend just a little.

Now, I know I said I would strive to have a menu this week which excluded an Indian-style meal.  Maybe next week...

1. Orecchiette with Broccoli, Chickpeas, and Tomatoes from Vegan Italiano by Donna Klein (a good Italian name if ever I saw one).  I also purchased something special today to drink alongside:  Castello Banfi Centine Toscano, a Super-Tuscan.  I hope it's as awesome as it sounds!

2. Penne with Roasted Vegetables and Garlic Puree also from Vegan Italiano.  I fear the Fatkins Hysteria has infiltrated my mind in at least a small way, because I got this far into my menu and said "Okay, that's enough pasta for the week."  Someone save me.

3. Mediterranean Rice Salad with Roasted Red Peppers from One-Dish Vegetarian Meals by Robin Robertson.  Okay, you got me - rice is still one of those evil carbs, but I like to look at it as a whole grain :)  Besides, the Mediterranean diet makes a lot more sense in my little Greek(-Irish) household.

4. Indian-Spiced Vegetables over Basmati Rice also from One-Dish Vegetarian Meals.  I almost made it through, but Indian-style food is just too tasty to leave out!

5. Moroccan Chickpeas with Couscous from One-Dish Veg. Meals.  I have made this before, but it's probably been about a year, so I figured it was okay to dust this one off.  I love the flavors of Moroccan-inspired dishes, too, but I feel like most Moroccan dishes have been "anglicized" for our bland American tongues.  At the same time, I feel like there's probably a good reason for that and my Irish tongue is thanking me for that.

Just in time for Memorial Day, Summer has made an appearance today.  Here's how Angst is coping:

fast food - have it your way

So, apparently I've been too busy to bother posting here, so the very first thing I want to do is plug for The 30 Minute Vegan again. Without that book, dinner this week would not have been possible. At the very least, it wouldn't have been healthy. I've mentioned before that Mister would be happy to eat pizza for dinner every night, and he almost got his wish, so maybe he's not as big a fan of this book as I am. In any case, my time continues to be limited, so on with the parade of fast food.

First up, Sunday's dinner - Easy as Pie Stirfry. It was absolutely easy, though there was a great deal of chopping involved. It probably would be easy-as-pie if I would just invest the $20 in a mandoline. I'm getting faster at my prep, especially thanks to my new "chop & scoop" cutting board that funnels my newly chopped bits into whatever vessel they need to occupy, but I'm starting to think I'll never be Food Network fast. I guess I'll never be a celebrity chef, unless America's lazy rise up and demand a narcoleptic hostess.

On Monday, I made the super-duper-fast Mediterranean Hummus Wraps.


They were far tastier than I expected them to be and I had pretty high hopes for these babies to begin with, so let me make a recommendation - get this book and make these wraps. Next on my list of food-blog-feats-to-accomplish is to learn how to take a better picture of wraps, burritos, fajitas, and quesadillas. In other words, I want to figure out how to take attractive photos of enclosed dinner - I'm sure the answer lies in cutting said dinner item in half and propping one end up on the other, but I was afraid they would fall apart if I did anything other than wrap them as well as I could and then push them, seam-side down, onto the plates and hope they made it through our dinner prayers. By the way - if you want to see some amazing pictures of food, check out Another One Bites the Crust - you can also link to it on the right side of the page.

Tonight's dinner, then, was the last dinner on my humble (and fast) menu this week: Seitan Curry Bowl. By the way - this one and the wrap were part of the Lunch section of the book - I figured those meals would probably be even faster to make and I was more or less correct. This one comes together so quickly you almost run out of time to gather the spices. It's perfectly flavorful and not as overwhelming as I thought it would be considering how much curry powder, cumin, and soy sauce is in there. Also, it allowed Mister and I to take advantage of the amazing depth of flavor present in in-season asparagus. I anticipate a decent amount of asparagus recipes for the next couple of weeks, since the season is so tender and short and as tonight's experience proved, there is a remarkable difference in taste when [Mister's favorite] veggies are in season.

I'm off for now - one more day of work before my one-day weekend, so you can count on a new menu either tomorrow night or Thursday, if I get to it in the midst of re-planning my mini-vacation to Arizona and baking Irish Soda Bread :)

a fresh coat of paint

I spent three and a half hours at Salon Sugar today (this seems to be a trend). It always passes quickly, though, because Candi is fun to talk to and she plays great music. It will never cease to amaze me how rejuvenating it is to look in the mirror when all is said and done. This time we really did it up - my own husband did not recognize me from a slight distance!

not the best picture, perhaps, but you can really see my hair!

So, although I scarfed down a Banana Nut Odwalla bar on my short walk across the street to the Salon, after 3.5 hours, I was not only euphoric about my new look (and trying to get used to the hair in my face - AKA bangs), I was also pretty hungry. It probably didn't help that Candi and I spent at least an hour of the time I was there talking about various tasty food in the immediate vicinity. I was almost practical and thought about going home to heat up some leftover soup and roast my garnet yam, but then I remembered that it was my one true day off and I decided to enjoy some of the "local cuisine." So, coming out of Salon Sugar, I swooped around the northeast corner and walked the block to Essene Market. In addition to being an obscure and generally overpriced produce/oddities market, there is a small cafe in the back with a self-service hot food bar. I had been craving weird food, so I selected one of the larger containers and filled it up with a millet cake, stirfried bok choy, roasted potatoes and cauliflower, fried parsnips, and some savory, chewy baked tofu. The parsnips were a little off and the bok choy got stuck in my teeth, but I was very happy with my paper bowl of lunch.

After my satisfying lunch, I grabbed a small squirt bottle of agave nectar for my teas at work and a miniature Green & Black 70% chocolate bar, then headed over the Whole Foods to do my grocery shopping for the following menu (once again, all from The 30 Minute Vegan):

1. Tofu Saag which we had tonight - more in a minute
2. Homey Vegetable Stew with Dumplings which we'll have tomorrow, since it's supposed to drop 15 degrees and be all rainy and miserable.
3. Mediterranean Hummus Wraps
4. Seitan Curry Bowl which I skipped over last time in favor of the Monk Bowl.
5. Easy as Pie Stirfry

This book really hasn't let me down yet! The meals really do come together quickly, even though at first glance they look like a lot of effort. Honestly, the only thing I can find "wrong" with the recipes in this book are that they come together so quickly and are so action-packed that I don't have a minute to make salads. I didn't feel like salads were really necessary tonight, though, since our main course involved a pound of spinach...call me crazy, but I think we satisfied our greens quotient.

I'm really enjoying their method of roasting the tofu - it works better than I would have imagined for only 15 minutes of roasting in a medium-heat oven. The spice mix was a little intense for the amount of spinach - in the future, I will probably cut it down a little because we were walking the fine line between intense umami and need-bread-to-choke-it-down. I definitely needed the rice.

zen: my kitchen's feng shui is broken

Let me start by saying that what prevents me from becoming a full-on hippie (besides the awful fashion statements I associate with them) is that I can not stand all the fruitiness. Thank heavens, the feng shui craze seems to have passed, but I have two things I would like to say about it now:

One: I think it's a big load of bullcrap.
Two: There might be a little sliver of truth hiding in all the froo-froo "good vibes, man" BS disguised as a bona fide Asian art form/philosophy.

Tonight's dinner was the Monk Bowl from The 30 Minute Vegan, with a little special sauce I'll go into later. First, I want to talk about the not-quite-zen experience that was my dinner preparation. In their happy-flowers-everywhere introduction to the recipe, Jennifer constructs this meal prep into a "symphony of multitasking." It was not a 30 minute meal (though it could be with practice) and it most certainly couldn't be called a symphony, unless you were possibly referring to the noisy banging-on-piano-strings crap that late-20th century "composers" wrote.

The cubing, marinating, chopping, roasting, and steaming part of the prep could almost have fit together like a perfectly disjointed Chopin Mazurka. The "symphony" fell apart, ironically, with the assembly of the Monk Bowls. The zen of the moment collapsed and my kitchen feng shui promptly imploded. I think zen requires a larger kitchen, or at the very least, more counter space. It's a sad day when I don't have room to do an assembly line kind of thing with a roasting pan, a pot of rice, and a bowl of steamed veggies.

Fortunately, fruity feng shui and the zen of meal preparation have nothing to do with taste - Mister and I were both thrilled with (both of) our Monk Bowls. You see in the picture tasty blocks of roasted tofu, marinated in tamari and peanut oil, 8 cups of steamed broccoli, carrots, and red bell pepper, on top of my renewed flame: Basmati rice. To top it all off? An even tastier (and much easier to assemble) surprise: a slightly altered version of Dreena Burton's Sesame Mustard Tahini Sauce.

I found the sauce when I was poking around on my new favorite blog: Peas and Thank You. There were some fun links under the recipe section (Peas and Carrots) and when I saw the Sesame Tahini dressing, I thought it would be interesting - it was amazing! And it still is, since the recipe made quite enough sauce for Mister and I to have two Monk Bowls each, generously "drizzled" with this intense dressing, and still have plenty left over for the, well, leftovers, and for at least a pair of salads. The only real difference between what is posted and what I did involved subbing peanut butter for the tahini, since I didn't have any on hand.

So far, we are two recipes into my new cookbook and our experience so far has been spectacular (if not increasingly sarcastic in terms of my caustic comments - which is really just an attempt to shield all of you from the sugar-and-spice-and-everything-nice overload I'm encountering on every page). Stay tuned for more fun adventures!

nooch noob

The past couple of days have inadvertently presented plenty of opportunities to try new things, or at the very least, [accidentally] develop alternative versions of tastes I associate elsewhere. For example, last night I made Pomegranate Saute on Cinnamon Bulghur. Unfortunately, in so doing, I found the bottom of my previously bottomless bottle of pomegranate molasses, and I found it after adding only half the amount I had written into the recipe. I also discovered that I had no more red wine vinegar and it didn't occur to me exactly how different white wine vinegar would taste, especially with the not-100% apple juice I used. While I wouldn't call the results disastrous, I don't want to repeat the version I made last night. I prefer the original.


I used Mott's for Tots, which is only 54% juice - the other 46% is water, in an attempt to cut calories. They come in perfectly portioned 6 oz servings, which was exactly how much I needed for the recipe, and since they're almost half water they have only 50 calories. I don't actually care about that, but I got to thinking about two things: how sick it is that we have calorie-reduced drinks for toddlers, but more importantly (since I work in the weight loss industry and have parents calling frequently about their obese offspring) how sick it is that we actually do need to worry about this.

So, the half-juice, the half-pomegranate molasses, and the not-red wine vinegar combined in a way that might actually be beneficial in a chili, but not in my saute. It tasted like beer. I don't like beer, but at least now I know how to emulate the flavor in case a recipe calls for it.

Thursday was kind of lost to me because I finally got my taxes done, but it was so windy and cold I didn't feel like going grocery shopping if I didn't have to. And I didn't have to, because I still had the ingredients for the Saute and could easily pick up a couple of things on my way home from work last night if I needed to. I finally made it to the store today and when I was studying the Wall of Bars at WF, in order to drop one off for Mister on my way home (he works around the corner from WF - lucky dog!), I found something new! I was hoping that if I stared hard enough I might be able to will the Luna cookies to transform into Nectar bars. No dice, but I found this instead:
The brand new Clif C bars, meant to replace my truly defunct Nectar treats. These babies pack about 130 calories each, making them a reasonable snack, and they also provide 1 serving of fruit per bar. That's a little disappointing, since Nectar bars provided 2, but I actually like eating fruit, so I guess it's not necessary. Clif C bars are available in four flavors: Apple, Blueberry, Cherry Pomegranate, and Raspberry. I picked Apple because it seemed the least likely to be a bad first experience. It was pretty good, but the nuts on top were not crunchy and I felt they should be. I will not be excited about these until they find a way to replace my loved-and-lost Lemon Cashew bar. Sniff.
I have one left, which I am hording in my drawer at work, waiting until the perfect moment to enjoy it for the last time. I should probably check the expiration date soon.

Tonight, with all the ingredients assembled for a week of dinners, I faced my usual conundrum of where to start. Today was actually a really nice day in Philadelphia and since I came home from teaching to find my husband had actually opened one of the windows (which he does on every first day of 50-degree weather after weeks of mid-30s highs), so I didn't think his hot Greek blood would tolerate a soup dinner. Fortunately, that eliminated two choices. Ultimately, even though there was almost nothing perishable in this dinner, I made Pasta Florentine from The 30 Minute Vegan.

This was my first time ever cooking with the magical ingredient known across vegetarian and vegan circles worldwide as "nooch." I have seen multiple recipes calling for nutritional yeast, but I have shied away for two main reasons. First, I couldn't find it for the longest time, until another Philadelphia food blogger told me she gets it at Whole Foods. I looked in the bulk aisle, where she said it would be, and to my great surprise - it was there! Second, it just sounded so bizarre, I couldn't believe I would actually want to eat it. Like many things, though, the power of persuasion lies mostly in presence: the more I read about it in cookbooks and blogs, the more I thought, "Surely, all these people couldn't be wrong."

My first encounter with the Clif C bar was slightly better than mediocre. My first encounter with nooch was sufficiently impressive to balance that out. I'm not sure I would say it tastes like cheese, but perhaps if I hadn't eaten cheese for years I could draw that correlation. It is certainly savory and has a good flavor. I only got a small bit from the bulk bin because I didn't know how things would go, but I think it's fair to say these funny little flakes will find a permanent home in my "pantry."

something old, something new

I remember when I was a child, my parents used to brush their teeth with baking soda periodically. My mother once explained to me why, but that was well over 2o years ago and I'm not ashamed that I don't remember it now. I, on the other hand, have been a devoted fan of Aquafresh in all its incarnations for most of my life. My dedication and faithful use of this toothpaste is actually due to what I perceive to be a mild case of paranoia on my part. In the more than three decades I have had teeth, I have never had a cavity or a root canal and I have all of my wisdom teeth still in my mouth and doing just fine. I didn't know anyone else who used Aquafresh but I saw my friends getting cavities and having trouble with their teeth, so in my semi-logical teenage mind, I figured my toothpaste was magical and that the moment I switched to a different toothpaste, all my teeth would fall out of my head.

I'll have to let you know how that works out, because when the last bit of toothpaste was squeezed from the tube last week, I replaced it with Tom's of Maine Natural Whole Care.


Something that has been bothering me for at least the past several months was how downright weird toothpaste like Aquafresh, Colgate, and other "mainstream" brands are. I mean, they're sweet! How does that happen and how can it be good for my teeth? Bit by bit, I became somewhat appalled with the ingredients in my toothpaste (hint: not magical faeriedust) and at just the right time, stumbled across an ad for Tom's toothpaste.

It doesn't taste like much and it actually leaves you feeling like your breath is less than minty fresh, but I'll tell you - my teeth haven't felt this clean since the last time I escaped from the dentist's office. I have been using this toothpaste twice a day for the past week and I am still amazed each time I finish brushing. They feel absolutely clean and here's the real kicker: I've been using Aquafresh Whitening for years, trying to reverse the staining done by years of overusing coffee and red wine. After only one week of using this hippie toothpaste, presumably made from tree bark and raindrops, there is a noticeable difference in the color of my teeth.

So, thus ends my raving review of Tom's of Maine toothpaste. Before we go into my next product review (something new), let me share this week's menu.

1. Pomegranate Saute on Cinnamon Bulghur - I was actually going to make this tonight, but Mister didn't feel like eating, so I had what was left of the Seitan Cacciatore with a mega-salad (mixed greens, sprouts, carrots, a clementine, sliced green olives).

2. White Bean-Tarragon Soup - this is one of the simpler soup recipes I've seen that actually attracted me. My idea of a good soup, perhaps colored by Mister's distaste for drinking his dinner, involves a ton of varied ingredients - a bulky soup, with five different veggies, maybe some beans and/or pasta or rice. This looked too good to pass by, though, so we'll see how it goes.

3. Tofu Saag - this looks like a creamier and less spinach-pressing-intense version of Palak Paneer, which is one of my favorite Indian meals. I've seen recipes like this in other cookbooks, but always passed on them, probably because it looked too difficult or I thought the results would be too bland.

4. Pasta Florentine - because you can never eat enough frozen spinach. And because Mister might die if I don't start making more pasta. It must be the sliver of Sicilian in him.

5. Homey Vegetable Stew with Dumplings - There is a similar recipe in Veganomicon and it looks so tasty and hearty and comforting, but it also looks extremely time-consuming and I have not been willing to make the effort yet. This recipe has almost as much promise and seems slightly easier to make. Maybe it will enhance my zeal to make Isa's recipe next time.

6. Monk Bowl - because that's just an awesome name for food. Also, because roasting tofu sounds like fun.

On Tuesday night, I made the Cajun Beans & Rice from The Accidental Vegan. I am so glad I did because I think I have finally found a satisfying recipe for this staple! I used ambiguously named "Red Beans" from Whole Foods, along with diced green pepper, and leftover Basmati (even though the recipe called for brown rice). I really think the magical ingredient that made this recipe better than others I've tried was the vegan Worcestershire sauce.

Anyway, I served it up with a nice big salad of mixed greens, carrots, kalamatas, and green grapes. It was a very nice dinner and it came together with delightful speed.

All of this week's menu items (except for #1) come from the newest member of my Cookbook Army, The 30 Minute Vegan by husband-wife team Mark Reinfeld and Jennifer Murray. This book is walking the tightrope between adventurous and fruity. This couple is blessed to live in Hawaii, which probably plays some role in the hippie air conveyed at times by this cookbook. Overall, though, I am thrilled with it. I put it on my Wish List sight unseen, which is rare for me. Because so many cookbooks have similar recipes, when I'm recruiting a new one to join its brothers and sisters on my shelves, I'm looking for a spark of creativity or something truly exceptional to set it apart from the others.

This book has so many of the elements I favor in other cookbooks - each recipe is accompanied by suggested partner recipes, which is so valuable if I decide I'm actually interested in making a side dish or appetizer. There is also a decent introduction that reads more like a blog in that it is very self-centered. I mean that in the purest form of the word - the introduction involves things that the authors find important in their own lives - what ingredients are necessary in their pantry/fridge, what cooking tools they can't live without, what causes tug at their hearts. I like knowing those things because it helps me to evaluate where I stand on things like, say, spirulina (a newer "superfood" - algae...not interested, thank you).

The point of the book, in case you missed it, is fast-cooking meals. The authors obviously care a great deal about the way they fuel their bodies, though, so they have included little snippets that tell you how you can enhance the meal if you have some extra time, as well as ways to cut down on cooking time/effort even more, in case you just spent 45 minutes looking for parking and are now officially starting to turn inside out from hunger.

I haven't really bought into the whole raw/living foods thing, but I do think it's neat that the authors have provided alternative ways of preparing certain recipes in order to make them live, and have marked recipes that are already raw/live with a little heart. I'm not interested in making raw/live food a way of life but I have been interested to try a recipe here and there and see what it's about, so this could be a fun experiment. I'll let you know how it goes!