Crusted Tempeh with Avocado-Mango Salsa

Another recipe from the "secret test kitchen." Looking at all the good recipes on the test list, you might be seeing a whole lot of them over the next week! I will have to post a link to the cookbook when it is out, since you'll be wanting to buy it when it comes out. Actually, the author is featured last month over at vegcooking. Ha, checking it out, you can see the recipe at the bottom of her page, along with lots of other yummy ones!

I decided to try this because I had all the ingredients in the fridge--wow! The tempeh is seasoned and fried and then topped with a savory avocado-mango salsa flavored with coconut, lime, and other things (how much can I say? It's a secret test kitchen!). My camera died while I was taking pictures, so boo--the picture is the best of the bad. I also made some giant avocado rolls for DR, since she had to work late and has been waiting for the avocados to be ready for a couple days. She is always in "sushi mode"!

Moong Dal

This was my first recipe from a friend's cookbook that several of us from vegweb are testing out. I was going though those she sent us and knew I was going to eat this tonight. It's more complex than the Indian dishes I usually make--ones that involve oil/spices, add lentils/water/whatever, and cook into mushland. This involved a yellow pea dhal and a spiced tomato mix that got stirred in at the end. DR really liked the use of coconut oil in it. I just liked it, plain and simple. I made some more of the potatoes and spinach that DR likes for a side.

Kale, tomato, beans

Last night was a nice veggie heavy "stew" dish. I bought a huge mess of kale at the store and was looking around for a recipe to make. DR really likes tomatos, so I started there and found this recipe. It's called "Pretty Easy Bean Dish" and the author is right--it was pretty easy! It was fun using the fresh kale. I had about 8 cups of it that needed to get cooked down into about 3 cups. I love greens.

I made some garlic toast on the side. It was quite good! I had run out of my pasta spice blend and so I created something following the label--italian blend, paprika, pepper, ginger, some other stuff I can't remember...

Dahl and Company!

I'm not sure why I went all out for dinner tonight. School was busy today and I was productive. Perhaps it was the lack of structured meals today. Who knows? Perhaps I just need to get my mind off of things not related to things I enjoy. cooking is the perfect distraction.

Anyways, DR loves potatoes (as you all know) and we both love Indian inspired dish. I decided to use up some ingredients I had in the fridge--a sweet potato, spinach, mint--and hunted for recipes that fit this bill. I totally raided recipes from my home away from home on the internet and found a trio of yummy dishes: Sweet Potato Dahl, Indian Spinach and Potatoes, and Grilled Naan. I also made some Mango Chutney and brown rice to help round out the meal. I used some mint instead of cilantro in the chutney and doubled the spices in the Dahl. This all tasted very nice once I mixed it up on my plate and chowed down, using my naan as my spoon.

Mushroom Potato Soup

DR really likes potatoes (actually, I can't stress this enough!). She also likes mushrooms. So I thought, why not combine them both into a soup? Tonight, I pulled out the pressure cooker and came up with this soup.

Mushroom Potato Soup
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 carrot, peeled and cubed
1 stalk celery, sliced up
2 c white mushrooms, sliced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 TB olive oil
4 c veggie broth

Place all the veggies and oil into pressure cooker. Over medium heat, cook for about 5 minutes, or until veggies start to soften and the pot smells fragrant. Add stock and lock on lid. Bring pot to pressure and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let the pressure come down naturally. Soup is done! Wasn't that fast?

Alternatively, you can just simmer everything until the veggies are cooked. However, since I received my PC as a gift last year, I like to blast my soups to doneness! Its nice because it lets me have a fresh, homecooked dinner in a little bit of time.