been a long time comin'

Hello Friends!  It's been a while, eh?

By way of a very short explanation for my sporadic posts, a few of which had absolutely nothing to do with food, and my months-long absence from any kind of posts, I will just say that life has changed a good bit this year, and sometime in the late winter, early spring, I decided that I didn't have anything interesting to say about food anymore.  I was repeating recipes and/or not cooking due to an awkward schedule and I just couldn't think of anything worth saying about stuff I'd made dozens of times before.

Sorry about that, but let's get back to it, shall we?

A couple of weeks ago, I lost my job.  It's cool, don't worry - I feel much better, actually.  It was incredibly more stressful than it needed to be and although I felt good about the things I was able to accomplish in my relatively short time there, my professional development was being strangled.  So, aside from that "money thing," I've decided to consider my newly acquired LotsaTime a blessing.

Back to that whole "money thing" for a minute, though.

If you look back over older posts in this blog, you'll see a few times when our financial situation changed and we had to readjust our budget/financial paradigm.  I'm a naturally frugal person anyway and gain great satisfaction from seeing the little "You saved $___.__ today!" that prints out at the bottom of my SuperFresh receipt after I painstakingly examined the 3 different brands of Navy Beans to find the one that would save a bit of money.  Maybe not the best example, but when I can pay $3.59 for 28 oz of organic fire-roasted diced tomatoes or $0.88 for 28 oz of "regular" diced tomatoes, I find that a bit of a victory.

So what has inspired me to start writing again?  Well, in a sense, I found a new thesis statement (do you remember having to learn those in elementary school English class??): How to Still Eat Well (taste-wise, as well as nutritionally) with Diminishing Funds.

When I lost my job, I had already put together a menu for the following week, since it included Thanksgiving, which I had the privilege of hosting again this year (click here for last year).  It made my insides shrivel up when it came time to run our purchases down the conveyor belt of each store and watch the cashier tally up our debt, knowing it would be higher than usual and at possibly the worst time.  Nevertheless, we had a delightful Thanksgiving and it took us many days (nearly a week, actually) to clear enough leftovers from the fridge for me to start cooking things that created more leftovers.

When it came time to shop for this week's food, I did something I haven't done in years.  Literally.  As in, since before I started this blog and began charting out weekly menus (which I continued all through my absence, even though I didn't share them with anyone but Mister).  I went to the grocery stores and just bought staples and a few fresh veggies I knew would play well together.  Then what?  Then I took all the knowledge I've been storing away over the last three years of Cookbook Studying and just made it up!  I know, right?

One night, I made a thick, hearty minestrone using some canned tomatoes, fresh zucchini and carrots, and orzo lovingly donated to us by my dear FIL (which is a whole other story for another time, but let's just say Mister comes from good stock).

Oh?  You want a recipe?  Well... it's the least I can do after leaving you high and dry for so many months.

Hearty Winter Minestrone (I know it's not winter yet, but it should be!)
yields about 4 quarts (I'll let your bowls decide how many servings that is)

1 Tbsp olive oil
6-7 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed (depending on clove size and personal preference)
4 stalks of celery, thinly sliced
2 large carrots, sliced into pieces of uniform size
2 small zucchini, diced*
1/2 tsp McCormick Mediterranean Sea Salt Blend
1 quart vegetable broth (or measure 4 cups water and add 2 bouillon cubes when it starts to boil)
28 oz crushed tomatoes
15 oz petite diced tomatoes
15 oz can of white beans (cannellini would be good, but I used Great Northern)
scant tsp sea salt
1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried basil
1 cup dried orzo
* The easiest way I've found to do this is to "top and tail" the zucchini, then slice each one 4x lengthwise, then cut those slices 3x lengthwise and then just cut across in half-inch slices.

This is definitely the kind of meal where you can be chopping ingredients as you go along, so you should, because it'll shave off a little time.  Don't get me wrong - this is absolutely a delightfully slow-cooked soup, but there's no need to be standing around watching the pot for 5 minutes until it's time to add the next thing, right?

Heat the oil in a 4- to 6-qt pot on medium-low.  When the oil starts to shimmer a little, add the celery and garlic.  Stir well to combine and thoroughly coat with the oil, then cover and reduce the heat to low.  While they're cooking, cut up your carrots.  When they're all cut up, add them to the pot.  If you have super-fast, ninja-like knife skills, feel free to dice the zucchini and add that at the same time you add the carrot - the idea is to give the celery about 5-7 minutes of quality time in the sauna, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing burns.  Whenever you add the zucchini, sprinkle the Mediterranean Sea Salt blend over the whole mess, stir, and cover again.  Let that melange mix and mingle for another 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the diced tomatoes, then sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, and basil, then pour in the quart of broth and stir everything together.  Turn the heat up as high as it will go and wait for your soup to boil.  It'll probably do this faster if you cover the pot again, but don't wander off and check your facebook - you want to be ready the very moment the broth starts to boil, so hang out in the kitchen and glance between the latest issue of Vogue and the pot on your stove.

When the soup has reached a healthy boil, slowly pour in the cup of uncooked orzo while stirring the pot. Continue stirring while the broth boils for another minute or two, then lower the heat to medium/medium-low.  The soup should be at a vibrant simmer, but not boiling.  Be sure to stir frequently now that you've add the orzo - the first time or two that you stir, you'll likely find yourself pushing stubborn bits of pasta off the bottom of your pot, but once you've gotten to the 8 or 9-minute mark, you can relax the stirring and just let your soup simmer another 10 minutes or so.

Taste for seasoning; if necessary, add more salt and/or pepper, and serve immediately.

carpe diem...et rosae

I can be a bad influence.  I don't mean in that You-Should-Do-Drugs-'Cause-It'll-Make-You-Cool kind of way.  Rather, I encourage people to choose the better of two evils when locked in an internal conflict of conscience.  For example, the following conversation occurred at work today:

Colleague:  I really want to go to Sampan for lunch, but I shouldn't.
Me: Why not?
Colleague:  I brought a sandwich, so I was just going to get soup.
Me:  Okay...
Colleague:  Aw man.... I just remembered how good their soup dumplings are...[self-flaggelation follows]
Me:  You should go.
Colleague:  No, I should eat my sandwich, otherwise it will go to waste.  I'll just go tomorrow.
Me:  You don't know tomorrow will come - no one is promised tomorrow.  If you want to go, you should go today. [little horns start to poke up from under my hair]
Colleague:  You're a bad influence.
Me: Yes.
Colleague:  But I'm having dinner with my cousin after work, so the sandwich will go to waste.
Me:  The sandwich you were eating earlier?
Colleague:  Yes.  But I still have half left.
Me:  Okay, but it's 4:30 right now and you're working until 9, so you won't have dinner until 9:15 at the very earliest.  You'll be back here at 5, you'll eat your other half-sandwich around 7 because you'll need a snack to get you through until dinner.
Colleague:  You're a bad influence.
Me: Yes.

With that, Colleague headed out the door for his lunch of Kimchi Fried Rice and Soup Dumplings at Sampan.  He came back 30 minutes later with a satisfied smile and the last bite of an ice cream cone that had been his dessert poking through his lips.

I try to live by that whole "carpe diem" thing.  Some people think it's morbid when I point out that we don't know that we'll have tomorrow, but it's true and I'm just trying to be realistic - you don't know.  People close their eyes on their last day every day - if today is mine, I want to know I had a good one and didn't say, "eh, tomorrow," as though I had a limitless supply.

Actually, one thing, before we move on to happy things - here is a clip from Brandon Lee's last interview before he died quite unexpectedly on the set of "The Crow."  You can skip to minute 5 for the part that is relevant to the first part of this post.

Now, Angst also likes to live in the Now, and doesn't want a single opportunity to eat something he shouldn't to pass him by.  Enter the newest object of his hungry lust:

Two or three times a year (anniversary, birthday, and/or Valentines day), Mister ignores that Angst likes to destroy my roses and gets them for me anyway.  At that point, Angst commences to stalking them, so we have to take them in the bedroom at the end of each night.

Yesterday was Mister's and my fourth wedding anniversary, which we celebrated by me working until 9pm, freezing my butt off as I walked home, and then hugging some and deciding to go out tonight instead (when I was home from work much earlier).  Nevertheless, he did a bunch of sweet things for me - he got me my beautiful roses, changed the kitty litter and lit a smelly candle, and turned on the heat so I'd be warm when I got home from work.  He's a keeper!

After a full day of trying to find somewhere to fill the void of Horizons and wishing Vedge was open, we ended up at La Fourno, having an enjoyable Italian meal.  I will say, they have some of the most creative and substantial salads I've seen - we had some trouble finding the lettuce under all the grilled veggies!  There was nothing terribly outstanding but I do have one little word of advice for my friends at La Fourno: wine should never be served in a heated glass.  They really need to work on differentiating "cellar temperature" from "pizza oven behind this wall" temperature.

midweek mediterranean

If you're into words, you might find the timing of my mediterranean menu a bit amusing - if you just use words and don't find their make-up particularly fascinating, feel free to jump down a paragraph 'cause I'm about to geek out and get super boring.  Medi means "middle" (terra means land/earth, so terranean is just another form that complements the prefix) - Lord of the Rings geeks are overjoyed at this moment, I imagine, but the point I'm trying to make is that this geek thinks it's funny my three-day fest of Mediterranean dishes starts in the middle of the week.

Okay, Geek-Out over.  On to the food!  When I got home from work last night, Mister was feeling ill, so we took a short but welcome nap on the couch together, then he got up and played his video games for a little while and I ate what was left of the Fusilli with Lentil Sauce with a side of Hummamole on Bread. That gave me plenty of time to think about what I wanted to cook tonight.

I had determined by the time I got home that I was going to make pasta, since there were two pasta dishes left and I'd prefer to put the one rice dish in between them.  Moderation, you know...  Anyway, as is usually the case as Friday nears and I still have "fresh" vegetables living in my crisper drawers, I inspected them to see whether the escarole or the broccoli was closer to sliminess.  Escarole won, so we had Penne with Cannellini Beans and Escarole from Vegan Italiano tonight:

It is just as delicious as it looks and I'm glad I made this tonight.  I've made it once before and it was my first encounter with escarole, so I was caught a little off-guard by the crunchy, toothsome texture of the escarole.  This time around, I knew what to expect from the greens so I could just enjoy the whole experience - the green (escarole) + red (tomatoes) + white (cannellini beans) palette of the dinner is delightful enough - just as the colors echo an Italian flag flapping in an arid Mediterranean breeze, the taste of those ingredients transports me to the terra cotta villa in which I've never dined (but hope to in about a year!).  Regretfully, since it is Wednesday and not Friday, I did not have a nice, deep glass of red wine to help me through dinner, but the water and olives were quite appropriate accompaniments.

speedy vegan?

I was originally going to title the post "Speed Vegan" but I didn't want it to be confused with the cookbook by the same name.  Although I sure would enjoy the SEO hits that may result from such a clever title, I don't want to be the cause of all the disappointment people would feel upon discovering this was not an associated blog.

However, I do want to share with you one of my cookbook gems: Vegetarian Times Fast and Easy.  This is a pretty good book - a lot of recipes are surprisingly tasty.  That truly was not intended to be the backhanded compliment it looks like.  What I mean is that some of the recipes combine bizarre (and sometimes difficult-to-find) ingredients but it always comes out well.  Other recipes you can look at and just know they'll be great.  I enjoy the first kind - I love being surprised by dinner.  This is actually pretty funny, considering what a picky eater I was as a child and how I hated to "try new things."

A few nights ago, I made one of the latter - an old, faithful standby, Tuscan Vegetable Ragout.

It's an incredible melange of crunchy, creamy, squishy, and squeaky.  Squeaky?  Well, yes - haven't you ever noticed how sometimes artichoke hearts make a squeaky sound?  You'll notice now.

Anyway, there are general ingredients - white beans, tomatoes, zucchini, artichoke hearts - which make up the standard Italian cuisine base, wouldn't you say?  Then there are embellishments, just like a good opera. [If I could take a brief detour: through my adolescence, I was trained as a classical vocalist.  One of my favorite things about Italian music was the Aria - the purpose of an aria is to showcase the ethereal voice and undeniable talent of, normally, a soprano.  As luck would have it, that was the part I sang.  The structure of an aria is similar to a canon in instrumental music - you start with a simple theme, but then to "show off" you sing through the exact same tune a second time but with wild - yet tasteful and perfectly articulated - ornamentation.  I am not saying that I fulfilled all the lovely descriptions I just gave of the Diva, but I did adore singing the second round of an aria.]

In Tuscan Vegetable Ragout, the ornaments take the form of cubed smoked tofu, sliced kalamata olives, and occasionally small pasta.  I skipped the pasta this time around because I felt like the menu was already quite noodle-heavy, so I served it on brown basmati instead.

The flavors of the various parts combine into a mouthful that is at once sweet (from the artichokes and tofu) and a bit savory (from the tomato-drenched beans and zucchini) with the satisfying crunch of zucchini combined with the smoothness of creamy cannellini beans.  There is nothing outstanding about this dish other than how perfectly its parts come together to make a whole.

Tonight's dinner, on the other hand, was quite outstanding, flavor-wise.  Tonight I made Singapore-Style Noodles with All That Other Stuff.  I nearly forgot how stirfries worked, which is amusing to me as they were all I did know how to do before I learned to cook.

I have gotten so used to chop-as-you-cook recipes that when I know I'm making a time-saver, I tend to automatically go to that.  You cannot pull of a successful stirfry this way.  No, fortunately, I remembered just in time that you really do need to prep all of the ingredients before you heat the oil.

This required 4 prep bowls, 2 knives, 2 measuring spoons, 2 measuring cups, and 1 whisk to accomplish, but I did pull it off and the result was terrific.  Love at first bite for Mister.

Me?  Well, it bit me.  Does it look tasty?  It totally is.  Does it look spicy?  It definitely is.  Furthermore, it's that sneaky spicy that doesn't hit you at first and then all of a sudden you're like "holy cow, my mouth is on fire!"  This should have been obvious as I was whisking nearly a tablespoon of curry powder and a teaspoon of harissa into the sauce, but it wasn't really.  I'm still stupidly brave about both of those ingredients and continue to forget how much harissa especially likes to kick me in the throat halfway through my meal.

It was absolutely worth it, though - I could only handle one bowl.  Mister had plenty of time to plow enthusiastically through two bowls while making mean jokes about dinner eating me.  He also had a good laugh as I tried to cool my burning tongue and lips by unwrapping the last Li'l Dreamer and pressing it to my tongue, which was sticking out through my lips.

Hey, ya know what?  I may have looked like a doofus, but it worked.  And it was delicious.

eat, drink, and be merry

...for tomorrow, we die.  Or go back to work.  Same thing.

All kidding aside (who's kidding?), I had such a delightful weekend, I am both dwelling on each moment and regretting that it all ends when I go to sleep tonight.  Each day has adventures of its own, so we'll keep a positive outlook, shall we?  Probably the best way to guide you through my fabulous weekend is another picture parade, with me popping in from time to time to share a fun story.  Let the good times commence!

There has been a lot of good eating going on lately.  I snapped the above picture while having a surprise lunch with my dad.  I surprised him by being in center city mid-day on Thursday, so we went to Farmicia for a nice little lunch.  Although I was tempted by the Hummus and Avocado Sandwich, I ended up getting the Tres Tamales, which was three (no, really?) perfectly sized tamales, stuffed with their vegan chorizo and "vegetables" (which appeared to actually just be diced chili peppers).  I love how the tamales came in a Tv Dinner-like tray-plate.  In the leftmost top were scrumptious refried black beans.  In the middle was a very spicy salsa roja, and on the right was a pickled cactus salad.  Being an adult, I tried the pickled cactus, even though every cell in my body was saying, "No...I don't think that's a good idea..."  It wasn't, but I chewed up one piece and swallowed, satisfying my need to be adult and classy.  Then I chased it with a nice swig from my celebratory peach fizz (peach nectar + cava).  Dad enjoyed a Crab Cake on Brioche that was thick enough he decided it would be in better taste and manners to make it a fork-n-knife sandwich, rather than trying to unsacrimoniously shovel it all into his mouth.

This bit of my breakfast was part of a super-awesome discovery just before I left the produce section of Whole Foods last week: Mango Nectarines.  Interesting flavor - they look like a champagne mango with their yellow-pale green skin, but they taste more like a nectarine.

Speaking of Whole Foods, I think I'm falling in love with Trader Joe's.  We'll recall that the logistics of my first journey out there were probably not ideal for making me put it on my list of places that I regularly shop.  However, yesterday, I got done teaching a bit later than I wanted to and in order to redeem the day (because teaching someone how to make music isn't fulfilling enough :P), I decided to get off the train at Suburban Station instead of Market East.  Trader Joe's is just a few short blocks from the stairway from subterranean to the city surface, so I decided to take my chances on the buses running more frequently on a Saturday (they do).

I got all these veggies for only $19.95:

• 2 zucchini 
• a cucumber 
• 3 shallots 
• 2 garlics 
• 2 limes 
• 1 lb bag of lemons 
• 7oz arugula 
• a bag of snow peas 
• a bag of broccoli florets 
• a bag of shredded cabbage 
• a red pepper 
• an orange pepper 
• and a quart of vegetable broth

as a result, I saved about $15 total for this week's grocery bill, which is pretty significant considering this menu has seven dinners, not 5 or 6 like normal.  Also, this came in handy when I went to Superfresh and discovered that ThePowersThatBe have decided that consumers were getting their canned beans for a steal, so in the one week between the last time I shopped there and yesterday, they felt justified in increasing the price of beans 32 cents.  

When you're talking about beans, that's a serious number.   I mean, really - $1.19 for a 15oz can of chickpeas?  I guess it could be worse... they're still 80 cents more expensive than that at Whole Foods.  

Anyway, I ended up making the least expensive meal last night, primarily because I wanted to use up my Tofurky sausage and leftover Coconut Rice before something bad conspired between them in the fridge. The only thing I needed to buy for Stewed Lentils with Soy Sausage from Vegan Express was a can of tomatoes.

I heated up the leftover Coconut Rice from our Jerk Seitan the other night, but there really wasn't quite enough leftover to match the volume of the stewed lentils.  In the future, I think we'll need twice as much rice and I probably could have used more than 1 cup of diced tomatoes, too.  The 2 sausages instead of four, though, was right on.

After dinner, since it was Saturday and all, I made myself a little cocktail:

Pineapple Malibu Rum + 100% Papaya nectar + Lime Perrier

Speaking of fruity cocktails, Mister and I had brunch with my parents today (this appears to be turning into a monthly event) and while Mister and Mom stuck to French press coffee, Dad and I decided to celebrate the true nature of brunch: an excuse to drink frilly cocktails way too early in the day.

Closer to the camera is my beverage, April in Paris (st. germaine elderflower liquer + white wine + champagne).  I felt a little silly ordering it, with all that flowery name and whatnot, but I needn't have felt that way since my dad followed up by ordering a Ruby Slipper (absolut ruby red vodka + lime juice + triple sec + cranberry juice + champagne) which is the pretty pink drink further from the camera (and close to my father).

The menu at Valanni is pretty diverse and full of tasty-looking things beyond their fruitilicious cocktails (now might be a good - or damning - moment to point out that Valanni is a fabulously trendy hotspot in the heart of Philadelphia's "gayborhood").  I decided to get Cinnamon French Toast with a citrus glaze and vanilla-maple syrup, sprinkled with pecans and dried curants.  I had no idea how thick the bread would be!

For my savory side, I also ordered Roasted Potatoes which required me to ask our [very nice] server for salt - apparently the cook isn't a fan.  Roasted anything should always involve salt.  I guess you have to play it safe, though, when you're cooking for a bunch of strangers who may or may not have hypertension.

The purpose of my parents' visit was to bring me gifts from afar - Arizona, to be more specific.  The last time we had brunch with them was right before they left to visit my sister, so today was the "now we're home and we have presents" phase of brunch.  Oh, and also because we love each other.

Anyway, there were two big special presents that provoked the visit.  The first is this amazing handmade bowl:

The creator is Michael Nowack, a now-local artisan.  To my surprise, it is both microwave- and dishwasher-safe!  Add that to gorgeous and we have a winner!

Because my parents love my husband more than me, they also gave us two hot sauces and a grill spice mix that contains not just one kind of hot pepper - no, there are five chilies in that mix.  The pain they are clearly trying to inflict upon me, though, was balanced out by the sweetness of the other special gift.

This is Mesquite Flour.  I saw some in Essene yesterday, so it's comforting to know where I can get more if I need it, but this is "special" mesquite flour.  My sister, apparently an earth mother, plucked the pods from her very own mesquite tree and pounded them into this flour all by herself.

You know what they say: You can take the girl out of Africa, but you can't take Africa out of the girl.

Once we'd digested brunch and finished up any last-minute errands that needed running on the weekend, I made dinner.

This image just brings joy to my heart in that welling-over kind of way.  Doesn't that look tasty?  Hearty? Savory?  It doesn't hurt that it's also an attractive color combination, but anticipating the taste makes me want to drool even now.

I served up Pasta E Fagioli from Veganomicon with a delightful mixture of olives and the last of my Apothic Red.  I'm finishing the wine with a few squares of my dark Belgian chocolate from Trader Joe's (and kicking myself a little for not picking up another three bar set while I was there yesterday).

Farewell, Weekend, until we meet again!

how low can you go?

[note: Blogger crapped out on me mid-post last night, so "Part I" will be last night's post, leading to "Part II" which is tonight's dinner adventures.  Look it as a bonus post!]

I have pretty low blood pressure.  I have since I was a young teenager.  The same way that some people (ahem, Mister) need to eat a certain way to manage their blood sugar levels, I sometimes have to eat to manage my blood pressure.  It's actually a fairly enviable position in which to find oneself - I fear, though, for the day Mister's family history of heart disease threatens our little family because we love salt.  Although I am good at enhancing the flavor of foods without adding salt, I would not be as happy a little chef if I couldn't add my precious Mediterranean Sea Salt to roasted vegetables.  In fact, my world might stop turning if I couldn't sprinkle roasting broccoli or asparagus or potatoes with this magical mixture.

I don't have any pictures because Mister and I were in quite a rush to eat (hungry, hungry hippos), but dinner really wasn't anything especially attractive tonight anyway.  I made Pasta Puttanesca from Vegan Express and roasted some broccoli with olive oil and the sea salt blend as a side dish (gotta get some green in there, right?).  For you to truly understand why I love this blend so much, I want to clarify that there are plenty of other flavor elements besides just the incredible chunks of sea salt that catch themselves in a floret to deliver a satisfying crunch when you bite down.  The ingredients on my blend are: sea salt (really?), garlic, basil, oregano, lemon peel, red bell pepper, and the ever ubiquitous "natural flavor."

Speaking of red bell peppers, I don't know what happened to the one I was supposed to slice for tonight's dinner!  I know I got one, but I'm wondering if I accidentally used it for a different recipe.  In any case, I ended up substituting my orange bell pepper for it and I don't think it mucked up the flavor too much.  The pasta was good, but not as good as I wanted it to be and not as incredibly tasty as the roasted broccoli.

Speaking of broccoli....  When I was at Trader Joe's, I saw a bag of broccoli florets for what looked like a pretty decent price - probably a better deal than anything but frozen.  I looked around a bit and discovered that I would get a lot more broccoli for my buck if I bought the convenient pre-cut bag of broccoli than if I got a couple of spears and spent all that time separating the little florets from one another.  Score one for convenience!

[Part II]

Ever since our "celebrity chefs" came to visit and put on a little show a couple of weeks ago, I've been craving chickpea burgers.  Chef Michael Solomonov (Zahav, etc), made turkey burgers, served on the burger thins I love.  They looked so much like chickpea burgers, I kept hoping that if I wished hard enough, they would be.  Alas, they remained little beige patties of ground-up birds, so I had to DIMyself.

I didn't take a picture of the burgers because a) they were not even close to as attractive as Chef Solomonov's turkey burgers and b) burgers just aren't all that exciting to photograph.  Even though the turkey burgers looked very tasty, I would not have whipped out my camera if I'd had it with me.  I might have just had a small inspiration, though.  We'll get back to that later.

Along with the Lemony Garlic Chickpea Patties from Vegan on the Cheap I made the Middle Eastern Chopped Salad from Vegan Express.  This was most definitely worth photographing:

Local cucumber, tomatoes, and a yellow bell pepper came together to make a colorful and festive looking salad, sprinkled with fresh parsley and lemon juice, enriched with olive oil and oil-cured black olives.  I love cucumber-tomato salads dressed with lemon juice and olive oil.  I think I would have been happy to include some garlic as well, so I'll keep that in my mind for the next time I make this salad, but I will freely admit that I am sorry I've never made this before.  It's a lot of chopping, so between that and the made-from-scratch burgers, dinner took well over an hour to prepare, but it's nearly Friday, right?  A little sleep deprivation never hurt anyone, right?

stiiiilllll going...powered by smoothies & espresso

I'm not sure there are words strong enough to express my longing, yearning, pining even, for Friday.  Once I have safely made it to and through Friday, I have a glorious, much needed, and much deserved 3-day weekend.  I do mean 3 days, too - I'm not teaching on Saturday and I don't have to go back to Diet Land until Tuesday.  Nevertheless, powered by three things that are becoming steadfast favorites, I am powering on, pushing myself to endure every day that stands between me and Friday night.

What three things?

• Espresso (say what you want about Starbucks, but I will not apologize for my iced caramel americanos - they taste like iced heaven in a cup)
• More Italian food - old habits die hard, especially when I can't think of a terribly good reason to stop this addiction.
• Smoothies!  Tasty, frothy, drinkable nutrition!  If I got enough sleep at night, I could probably easily sub out a smoothie for my espresso.  But I don't get enough sleep.  I love you, Starbucks.

I really don't think anyone wants to read my Ode to Caffeine and besides, I am well aware that this is not a healthy way to go about life.  Like I said, I don't get enough sleep.  It's a long story.  I'm pretty sure any faithful readers are also growing quite weary of my pasta-worship, too, but let me just share for a moment before moving on to the "good stuff."

Last night, I finally made Italian-Style Rice Casserole from Vegan Italiano because I finally bought peas.  In the course of preparing it, I realized I was woefully short of carrots, a fact that did not truly "hit home" until I started to prepare dinner tonight.

I love this risotto-like dish.  I love it because it's hearty and creamy and fully of veggie goodness (the peas nearly outnumber the rice!) with a few spikes of salty mixed in from the chopped kalamatas.  I love that even though it's supposed to be a baked dish, it comes together stovetop in approximately 30 minutes - I think that is at least partially owed to my use of the not-so-indigenous-to-Italy Jasmine rice.  After a ton of pasta dishes, I was happy to let go of my Italian fetish with a rice dish.  Or so I thought.

Tonight, I started to get everything together for Naked Burritos, and then remembered that I used the last four pitiful carrots for dinner last night, leaving me no carrots for the burritos.  Stop asking yourself what kind of sick person puts carrots in burritos and follow me back down the path to Il Belpaese.

So, I opened up my little gold book of magic and started to assemble ingredients and found myself lacking a fairly important one, so I looked at my menu for a quick-cooking one, as my stomach was trying to eat itself, and decided upon a recipe from Appetite for Reduction.  Broccoli Con Pasta, to be precise.  I made Dynise's version of this recipe not long ago, but I think I prefer Isa's.  It has a hot little kick from the red pepper flakes which can be at least partially dimmed by balsamic vinegar and wine, or left to simmer on your tongue and lips a bit.  It also does not involve trying to dissolve miso in hot oil with a flat whisk.  It also fits into that wonderful and welcome category of Perfect Portions/no leftovers.

With my continuing tribute to Italy out of the way, we can get to the real fun: Smoothies.  A few weeks ago, I posted about my smoothie virginity.  At least one daring and caring soul stepped forward to help me overcome my scarcity of smoothies: Kelly from Living on the Vedge.  She offered to meet up with me for a smoothie date, which we did on Saturday and it was delightful.  Prior to our meeting, though, I decided to dabble a bit - test the chunky, fruit-filled waters, if you will.

I began my Smoothie Odyssey on my way to work one morning.  I had an unintentionally light breakfast, leaving me quite ravenous by the time I got to the train station.  As luck would have it, there is a delightful little corner joint right where the Gallery meets Market East.  I have stopped a few times in the past for one of their abundant and varied fruit salads.  I noticed they had fresh-pressed juices, so I thought maybe I'd give one a try, but as I drew closer, I noticed a smoothie menu.  I shrugged a little to myself, then smiled at the waiting countergirl and ordered the Pink Lady: banana, strawberry, and carrot, blended with ice.

isn't she pretty?

I tried to reserve my judgment a little as I had nothing, really, to which I could compare my pretty pink smoothie, but it was darn good.  There was enough ice to give it texture, and I'm pretty sure they used a frozen banana, too, but it was totally drinkable as well.  I can't deny I was a little bit attracted to the color, especially since I thought the carrot would make it a little more orange...kind of like the Pineapple-Carrot Smoothie I got at Pure Fare on Saturday (the prettiest little Judgment Day there ever was!):

However, lest you believe that was all carrot turning it that amazing shade of orange, I think it was more the orange juice than anything else.  It was a tasty smoothie, profuse with citrus flavor between the OJ and the pineapple.  It was obvious there was carrot, though, as the blender did not completely pulverize it, resulting in the occasional chunk lodging itself in either the straw or my teeth.  Hot, I know - it's a good thing I wasn't trying to charm Kelly with my good looks and graceful smoothie consumption.  It was very thick but there was a certain comfort to be derived from drinking something that was clearly whole fruits and vegetables only moments before.  Kelly sipped on the Detoxifying Green Juice - she had been in a few days earlier and fell in love.  I think I am destined to return and try the Kale-Apple Smoothie and the green juice...and possibly one of the brownies I was assured is vegan!

Finally, when I got my hair touched up a few weeks ago for BIL's wedding, I stopped into Cups & Chairs to pay a long-overdue visit.  I had my detox tea for the first time since I finished Mister's this winter and could have kicked myself for forgetting how refreshing and addicting they are.  While I was waiting, I glanced up at the newly revamped drink menu and noticed something I hadn't seen in the past (probably because it wasn't there): a Matchanana Smoothie.

I correctly assumed it was matcha and bananas, as well as some plain soymilk and ice.  I headed over to Salon Sugar with my detox tea, but returned the following morning for a Matchanana to sip on my way to work.  By the time I made it to the train station, I'd sipped through half of it.  It was okay, but a little strange - first of all, it was way more soymilk than anything else.  Since she used a fresh banana, it didn't really stand out the way the texture of a frozen banana would have.  The matcha added a unique grassy-green flavor, but overall, it was not outstanding.  It was kind of like green milk.  Which doesn't sound that good.  It wasn't bad, but I won't get it again.

I wanted to try a Starbucks (anyone surprised?) Vivanno Smoothie, but the whole focal point is a blend of fiber and whey protein they add to promote energy and satiety.  Considering whey is a milk protein, that kind of went out the window.  I have my smoothie-eyes open wider now, so if I find anything exceptional, I'll report back, but for now, I'm going to sign off and dream of kale-apple smoothies and maybe treat myself to another smoothie from the corner place at Market East tomorrow...if there's time and space after my SBUX run ;)

broke the streak

After three days of Italian meals, I finally pulled my tastebuds [temporarily] away from Europe and convinced myself to make one of the Asian-influenced meals I've been putting off for a week.  I made Better-Than-Takeout Tofu Stir-fry from Vegan on the Cheap and as always, it was delicious.

I will admit, I was having a little bit of trouble deciding between that and the other "leftover" recipe which shared the Asian theme.  Both required broccoli, and the two heads I had sitting in the crisper for a week were certainly the impetus to make one of these meals.  On the one hand, I had a red bell pepper that had been languishing in the crisper drawer just as long as the broccoli, and while peppers are slightly heartier than fragile broccoli blooms, I didn't want it to get all shrively and ugly.  On the other hand, I wanted to use my new toy and I knew I wouldn't have the patience to wait an hour for it to do its magic on a weeknight.

For my birthday (yes, the one in January that I didn't see my parents to celebrate until February...again), my dear mother got me something I've wanted for a while - Tofu Xpress.

I had kind of hoped it would speed up the pressing process a little more than it does, but I had to admit it was pretty cool how quickly the reservoir fills with water after you screw the compressor in place.  After an hour of pressing, there wasn't going to be too much more water squeezed out of my tofu and I was quite pleased with its texture.  It also seemed to get crispy on the outside a little faster, though that could have been my imagination.

I can see this little tool coming in quite handy in my culinary future, especially if I can teach Mister how to use it (which shouldn't be hard - you literally just put the block of tofu in the box and screw the top on) so the tofu can begin pressing while I'm on my way home from work.  However, this week we have a completely tofu-less menu.  I did decide to try to tire myself out of this incessant desire for Italian food, so everything on our menu this week (except the leftover Asian dish) caters to that flavor profile.

1. Rice Noodle Bowl with Broccoli and Bell Pepper from Vegetarian Times magazine.

2. Fusilli with Lentil Sauce from Vegan Italiano.  I hope no one's surprised this was the first book I grabbed when preparing the new menu...

3. Penne with Cannellini Beans and Escarole, also from Vegan Italiano.  I've almost made a bunch of recipes that list escarole among the ingredients, mainly because I've never tried this particular leafy green, but then I never end up doing so because I can never find escarole.  It's kind of like my Bok Choy Curse, but to my great delight, when I got to Whole Foods, there were a few heads of escarole hunkered down in their bin just waiting for me to discover them and take one home.

4. Italian-Style Rice Casserole, also from Vegan Italiano.  Don't worry!  I haven't lost my head - I have very little intention of actually baking this.  Since the recipe starts out simmering stovetop for half the cooktime, I'll probably just finish it stovetop, too, out of sheer laziness and the desire to eat dinner before midnight.

5. Pasta e Fagioli from Veganomicon, served with roasted asparagus.  I saw a recipe for Paste e Fagioli in Vegan Italiano, but decided to go with what I know.  I have a dozen recipes for this bean and pasta dish and this one reigns as chief (at the moment).  I didn't feel like discovering a new recipe - if it ain't broke, you know what they say.

6. Chickpea Piccata from Appetite for Reduction.  Again, I saw a recipe for Piccata in either Veganomicon or  Vegan Italiano, but remembered how phenomenal this recipe is, plus I already know I can serve this Piccata over mashed potatoes, and it's been a little while since I've mashed up some potatoes for my mister.

I should get to bed soon so I can start the new work week rested and rejuvenated by another fabulous weekend.  Unfortunately, I slept late today and my body has very little desire to return to unconsciousness just yet.  Fortunately, that means I'll probably bake cookies and may even craft my "bonus post."

fabulous weekend > blogger

Apparently, blogger just couldn't handle all the awesome I was going to post, so in anticipation of fab-overload, it just shut down.  For like two days.  Fortunately, it will likely result in a bonus post sometime in the next 24 hours, as long as I can hide enough of the awesome from blogger to prevent it from running away and hiding in a safe, dark corner somewhere.

Where to begin?  Well, I guess we'll have to go back to Thursday night and recap our dining adventures:

Finally, I made Penne with Spinach and Chickpeas in Garlic Sauce from Quick Vegetarian Pleasures.  I'm on a serious Italian-flavor/pasta kick at the moment.  I am giving serious thought to an All-Mediterranean menu for the upcoming week, just to get it out of my system...  Funny about that - when I was choosing which of the final three dinners to make on Thursday night, I wanted to make this one more than anything else, yet I was conflicted because I knew that the last two dinners were both Asian-influenced and I wasn't crazy about the idea of serving them back-to-back.  Not to fear!  As you'll learn later in this post, they both survived menu selection to be spread across a second week!

Again, I haven't cooked from QVP in over a year, maybe longer, which means it's been a long time since I've had this dish, though it was a fairly regular part of the rotation when I had fewer cookbooks.  I could already taste its memory as I started preparing the garlic and tomatoes (which are quickly becoming my favorite things to saute together in some olive oil) and as I was stirring in the spinach, I could almost feel its silky texture against my tongue.

It became evident someone else also wanted to feel the silky texture of spinach against his tongue.  I tried to remind Angst that he only likes raw spinach and that he'd already eaten all of his pieces, but he was insistent.  We got about one minute and two bites into dinner before his incessant begging and big sad eyes got the better of Mister, who tossed a slimy piece of "broken" spinach on the ground so Angst would remember and leave us alone.


That plan utterly backfired as we watched, amazed, as Angst happily slurped up his slimy spinach and looked up for more.  They say your tastes change as you get older.  I figured that only applied to humans, but since Angst has decided, only a week after his eleventh birthday, that he likes cooked spinach now, I guess I figured wrong.


Speaking of figuring wrong...

In February, Kelly at Living On The Vedge published a less than enthusiastic review of Amande almondmilk yogurt.  Fortunately for Amande, in February I have very little interest in eating yogurt.  I associate yogurt almost exclusively with breakfast that also involves fresh berries and homemade granola, so it doesn't usually make the grocery list in the colder months of the year.  Having stumbled upon Kelly's not-so-favorable review of their product, the fine folks at Amande wanted to make good.  They explained that they have recently changed the recipe and wanted her to try their newer run of products, so they sent her a little care package in which she received her favored flavors: vanilla and plain.  She had much prettier words for the almondmilk yogurt this time around, so when I saw it on the shelf at Whole Foods last week, I thought I'd give it a try.

I got the blueberry flavor, as neither the vanilla nor plain flavors have found their way to [my] Whole Foods yet.  I got it home, put it in the fridge, and promptly wussed out.  It occurred to me that if WF didn't have the new flavors, maybe they still had the run of yogurt that wasn't so good.  I let it sit there for nearly a week, even though I exchanged glances with the little plastic cup every time I opened the fridge.  Finally, as Mister was hogging the bathroom getting ready for his brother's wedding, I decided to go for it, hoping it would at least sustain me until we got through traffic to the venue (it did).

I'll admit, I was a little...underwhelmed...terrified when I peeled off the top to find a solid, slightly jiggly, light periwinkle mass inside.  It remained completely unattractive as I did my best to whip it into something appetizing with my spoon.  Finally, I decided to just taste it and see if it was worth stirring before using up all my precious energy.  The very first thing I noticed was how light it tasted - kind of like a little blue cloud of slightly sweet goo.  Not bad goo, either.  It was a mild tasting yogurt, certainly more sweet than tart and without an overpowering fruit flavor, which in this case was perfect.

While I don't think Amande will take up permanent residence in my fridge, it's nice to know there is another nondairy yogurt available for the times I don't feel like the sometimes cloying sweetness of Silk and don't feel like spending twice as much for So Delicious's coconutmilk yogurt.  I am looking forward to trying the vanilla flavor, as well as dressing up the plain or using it to make tzatziki some day in the future, but I won't be breaking down anyone's door while I wait.

This afternoon, after teaching a couple of lessons, I stopped by my oldest student's high school graduation party.  I was amazed at how happy she was to see me and how closely she stayed by my side - as though it was my party and she was the one who didn't know anyone.  Turns out we're having some uncertainty about the future with a little bit of separation anxiety thrown in for flavor.

Isn't she beautiful?  I am so proud of her and I'm having my own selfish moments of not wanting her to grow up and leave me.  I have been teaching that little girl beautiful young lady since she was just a timid little 8 year old.  It has been such a blessing to me to watch her grow up and I count it a privilege to be a part of that.

After a few hours, a couple of glasses of wine and some tasty Italian desserts, I got back on the train and headed home.  After arriving home, I realized Angst needed food and kitty litter, so I put my jacket back on.  Since he was seated by his window, Mister decided there were entirely too many "icky people" outside for me to go to Superfresh unescorted, so he shoved his feet in his shoes and came with me.  We stepped out onto the sidewalk and immediately breathed in the heavenly scent wafting from the open door of Hostaria da Elio and found ourselves hungry for rich, flavorful Italian food (anyone surprised?).  When we reached Superfresh, I suggested picking up a couple of ingredients for our own Italian feast.

I can't tell you how pleased I was with the way this sauce came out.  I picked up a jar of Classico Cabernet Marinara, but then remembered how little texture jarred sauces have, so I also grabbed a can of diced tomatoes.  Since I got the garlic-n-olive-oil kind, I didn't want to drain the tomatoes, but I also did not want a wretchedly watery sauce.  Here is where the only love I can muster for science makes a brief appearance: I sauteed some garlic, added the tomatoes, turned the heat up high and watched the magic of evaporation reduce my tomatoes to a potent sauce base.  In the last three minutes, after almost all of the original liquid had disappeared, I added the jarred sauce, stirred everything up and reduced the heat while I drained the pasta.

Oh yes, and while I retrieved the garlic bread from the toaster oven.  I love my toaster oven.  I also love $1.25 sticks of french bread just the right size for Mister and I to each have two generous pieces of garlic bread.

Simple?  Quite.  Delicious and flavorful?  You bet.  Did Angst beg?

Does the Pope.... just kidding.  Yes, of course Angst begged.  Once again, we tried to remind him he doesn't like garlic, but he was not to be deterred by silly things like that.  Once again, Mister pulled a piece of his bread off and dropped the Angst-sized "crumb" on the floor.  Once again, my grumpy old man decided to show that his tastebuds have matured with this recent birthday and ate it all up and asked for more.

Mister has become far more attached to his little partner in crime than he is willing to admit most days.  Granted, I work 6 days a week, so the last thing on my mind is buying gifts for a creature who is unaware of what a birthday even is, but Mister really wanted to get the kitty birthday presents.

 

Here is Angst's cute new food bowl (water bowl beneath).  Around the outside it says "kittykat" and they are just the right size.  He also got the little bugger a new stash of catnip for dessert.  So "happy birthday" to my little punk!

lifestyles are like a woman's purse

For many reasons not worth going into right now, we're [temporarily] back to being a one-income family.  We did that for years, in a sense, so we'll be fine, but right now I'm still adjusting.  I think lifestyles are like a woman's purse: the more space you have, the more stuff you manage to fit into it.  Mister and I were really good at living primarily on my income, but when he started working in the city, it was like we won the lottery.  At first, we stuck to our plan to still live off of my salary and save every penny he made so we could move into a house.  Over the past year or so, we started to allow ourselves little indulgences just because we could, so although I know we can live relatively comfortably off of just my paycheck, I'm having a little trouble [and some anxiety attacks] trying to remember how.

Part of my memory returned to me this evening as I stood in my kitchen plotting dinner.  I got distracted last night - my brain wasn't really with me, so I failed to construct the new menu.  I intended to do it before work today, but I slept late (because I'm freaking exhausted, as my last post may have shown) and dilly-dallied shamelessly for the first couple of hours I was awake, so I ended up making a mad dash for the train anyway and didn't get my menu done.  I also had to clean up the death and destruction wrought by the kitty while we were sleeping.

This is what the rose looked like last night:

This is what it looks like now:

Yes, it is considerably shorter and my Lenox bud vase is considerably more distributed...in tiny shards.  Bad Angst.  Fortunately, he was too traumatized by the catastrophic explosion of the crystal vase to shred the rose, so he just left it there in the remains of the first wedding gift we've lost.

So, that was a heck of a thing to wake up to after a night of anxiety and introspection.  Let's look at the bright side - there's one less vase to wrap when we get to packing for our Spring move!

Anyway, when I got home from work, I thought it would be nice to go out to La Fourno, an intimate Italian place a couple of blocks away.  I had a craving for a good, garlicky pasta dish with dark red wine, and maybe one of their fabulous salads.  Then I remembered we have no money for such frivolous things.  Then I remembered I'm actually a pretty good cook these days and that pasta sauce was one of the first "homemade" things I mastered with approval from Mister and his Sister.  So, I popped out the door and ran up to Superfresh for a couple of ingredients and came home to make an Italian feast complete with a rich pasta dish and crunchy-outside-pillow-soft-inside garlic bread...at about $1.75 a serving (which is substantially less than we would have paid at La Fourno).

Rotini with White Bean-Tomato Sauce
serves 6

12 oz Rotini
14 oz Fire Roasted diced tomatoes in puree
14 oz petite diced tomatoes, drained
15 oz cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
6 oz tomato paste
7 oz roasted red peppers, chopped
2 Tbsp Olive oil
4 large cloves of garlic, pressed or minced finely
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp Balsamic vinegar
1/2 to 1 tsp sea salt (to taste)

Set a pot of water on high heat.  When it boils, add pasta and cook as package directs.
While waiting for the water to boil and pasta to cook, heat the olive oil on medium in a 2.5-qt saucepan.  Add garlic and give it a good stir, then reduce heat to low and saute for about 3 minutes.  Sprinkle on basil and marjoram, stir again and saute 3-5 minutes, being careful not to brown or burn the garlic.  Pour in both cans of tomatoes and the tomato paste, then stir well to combine.  Increase the heat to medium-low, bringing the sauce to a light simmer.  Stir in salt, Balsamic vinegar, and cannellini beans, then simmer, stirring occasionally, while the pasta cooks (about 10 minutes).
Once the pasta is al dente, drain and return to the pot.  Pour in the sauce and toss to coat.  Serve with garlic bread and vegan parmesan, and maybe a full-bodied red wine, if that's what floats your Italian-style boat.

Italian Feast Friday

A lot of times, I like to mix things up - I dig the fusion cuisine.  I'm not terribly skilled at concocting fusion recipes just yet, but I love piecing together a side dish from here with an entree from there, so to speak.

Nevertheless, sometimes a completely unified dinner is fulfilling in a way I can only describe as peaceful.  It's as though all the components that make food into a meal come together and harmonize in such a way that you would have to be oblivious to the world around you not to pause mid-chew and appreciate how good your meal is.  I would say it's a zen-like experience, but that would introduce fusion language into a very coherent dinner.

Tonight, I welcomed a hard-earned weekend by making Clara's Pasta e Fagioli from The Urban Vegan.  From Dynise's description, I expected the results to be a lot soupier, but it was undeniably a pasta dish.  I suppose I could have added the cup of broth for flavor without interfering with the "pasta dish" aspect too much - I cannot fathom how one little cup of broth would have turned the monstrous portion (48oz of leftovers crammed into GladWare after we each had two helpings) into soup.  Don't get me wrong - the weather is becoming perfect for soup, but Mister has already made it clear that he is not ready for that yet.

Following Dynise's own method of eating this delightful bowl of pasta and beans, I ran out for fresh bread to turn into garlic bread and I was really quite thrilled with the results - I dare a restaurant to make a more attractive plate:

Well...okay, it would probably be a little prettier without that burnt edge there, but I'm not perfect for heaven's sake.

To round out the perfect Italian-ness of our dinner, I served up the last of the olives and poured myself a healthy, celebratory glass of Francis Coppola Diamond Malbec (AKA: Velvet).  Okay...the wine is Argentine, but that's really just a short swim from Italy anyway.  Regardless of geography, it could not have completed the flavors of our dinner tonight better if it was grown in the foothills of Tuscany.

I blinked...where's July?

When I shared my menu for the past week, I mentioned that all the chosen meals were there because they would cook up quickly, which was important because I anticipated a busy week.  I can honestly say that I have never said TGIF as with as much conviction as I did yesterday.  Don't get me wrong, I have been quite relieved to meet the end of my work week many times before, but normally, I was too tired to care by the time it happened.  Crazy though my week was, I still had the energy to be excited for Friday.

Thursday night, I made Pasta Jambalaya from Vegan Express, and because I continually complain about the crunchiness of the celery, this time around I bypassed it completely in favor of a second green pepper.  It worked out perfectly.  I also used about half the Tofurky - I didn't think it was necessary.  Other than that, I don't have a lot to say about that.  Besides, I'm more excited about last night's dinner.

This is my amazing, gorgeous, beloved sister (-in-law).  We had a date last night - we even got hooked up with a table for two with a romantic view from the patio of Positano Coast.  Visit the website for some pretty pictures (of the food as well as the gorgeous facility).  I have wanted to dine here since I was taking my Tourist Walk about a month ago.  The dinner menu leaves quite a bit to be desired for those of us who do not wish to sup on the flesh of myriad creatures, but the wine list is to die for...no pun intended.

I had the only thing I could - Eggplant Napolean.  The portion was perfect, especially since Sister and I had gracefully gorged ourselves on Italian bread, peppercorn Olive oil, and mixed Mediterranean olives while waiting for our entrees.  Sister indulged in the Baked Cannelloni, which would be perfect for Mister, aside from the ground meat in it.  I also ordered a quartino (9 oz carafe) of Tempranillo - upon tasting it, Sister declared it her favorite wine.  She had never had Tempranillo before, so it made me laugh a little.

Continuing the Italian theme, tonight, Mister and I had Tuscan Vegetable Ragout from Vegetarian Times: Fast & Easy.  

Every time I make this, and I actually repeat this dish more frequently than others, Mister always asks what it is - he never recognizes that we've had it before.  The reason, of course, is that because the recipe invites variation, I change it a little each time.  This time, I added in cubed smoked tofu and orecchiette.  It was delightful, and served with a bowl of mixed olives and a glass of Tempra Tantrum Tempranillo-Shiraz, it was quite filling

Tomorrow, we'll be gathering with family at my parents' home.  I will be providing some tasty bits to supplement my mother's food, but I don't want to give my secrets away, so come back tomorrow to read about that.  In the meantime, let me share the upcoming week's menu:

1. Warm Chickpea Ragout with Swiss Chard, Carrots, and Harissa from Vegetarian Times: Fast & Easy.  Yes, this is leftover from last week's menu - I hadn't factored in dinner with Sister when I made the menu.

2. Pasta with Fresh 5-minute Basil Tomato Sauce from La Dolce Vegan.  Note the timeframe.  I'll be at next Friday before I know it.

3. Veggie Goulash also from La Dolce Vegan.  I love this book and it's been waaaaayyyy too long since I constructed a menu with its help.

4. Punjabi Peppers and Tofu also from LDV, because I love this recipe too much to not make it when I'm making my whole menu from this book.  It is so painstakingly simple that it's a shame it looks and tastes so impressive.

5. Vegetable Biryani as the final selection from LDV.  I've never made this because I'm very happy with the recipe I have in my Moosewood Cookbook, but this recipe appears to cook up faster and biryani is just so good.

Angst is happy that July is over.

Sssshhhh.....Don't tell him August is worse...