Potato and Leek Soup

We got leeks in our CSA box this week. Leeks are a nice treat, since they are expensive and we don't buy them on a regular basis. So I hunted down a recipe on vegweb that was easy, fast, and used what I had available in my kitchen. The winner was this soup, which came together in a flash and tasted good.

Marinated Orange Tofu

Marinated orange tofu seemed like a really good idea at some point but I never got around to posting the picture. But then I found it in my "spring cleaning" (or would it be fall cleaning?) of the computer and decided to pop it on here. I love me some good tofu and advocate tofu love for all, so posting anything good and tofu related is good. Yes.

This night we had it with some stir fry veggies, noodles, and pot stickers.

Roasted Veggies and Kale Salad

I don't need to comment on this. If you read this blog, you know the BP-DR household loves oven roasted veggies. I did pair it with a kale salad from vegweb, which was quite nice. Even DR ate the kale and "liked" it!

Fudgey Brownie!

One of the "big" questions of the vegan world is which is better: fudgey or cakey brownies? I've never thought about it much, but I did have an interest in finding a good, fudgey brownie since it could give me some bragging rights. So when my Vegatarian Times came with a brownie recipe in it, I decided to give it a whirl. The first time, I forgot the sugar. The brownies were still good, just not too sweet. The second time I made them Cammers came over with some butter pecan soy icecream and we had a feast. The recipe has a banana in it, so they have a mild banana flavor. They were very fudgy though.

Homegrown Tomato Pizza

I went to visit my homie RC the other day, who found the cutest kitteh ever running in the street by her house. She couldn't' find a shelter to take him, the BF fell in love, and now they have cat #3. We were planning on giving him a bath to clean him up, but our scheduals didn't line up well enough to give time to that. On the way out, she gave me some big tomatos from her garden. Oh boi! as DR would say (tomatos *might* win over potatoes in her book). I made a seasoned pizza crust and put the sliced tomatos on top. I also added some chopped orange bell pepper we had in our CSA box.

Seasoned Pizza Crust
1 c warm water
1 TB sugar
1 tsp yeast
big splash olive oil
2-3 c flour
2 TB nutritional yeast (aka nootch)
1 tsp "green" herbs (oragano, thyme, whatever)
1 tsp salt

Proof the yeast in the water with the sugar. After it's foaming and going, add everythign else and kneed until smooth, adding flour as needed. Let rise for 1-2 hours or use right away. I guess this is just pizza crust with stuff added. But it is still good.

Corn Potato Soup

Haven't I made this before? Another "invented" soup (one of the things I like about knowing how to cook - I don't need recipes for most stuff!) that has potatoes, corn, and vegan bacon bits added for some adventure. I used some chickybaby seasoning from my homie's upcoming cookbook. I will have to talk about that when it comes out. I helped test a mess of recipes and it will be good!

Un-Meat Loaf

DR really likes "family style" kinds of dinners. I define "family style" as anything that involves mashed potatoes. So I made this un-meat loaf I found on vegweb. I then went to make mashed potatoes but, with both DR and Cammers seeking some dinnertime chow, I discovered I was short on potatoes. In a moment of creativity, I added a box of frozen pureed butternut squash. I was worried that DR would dislike the "healthier" potatoes (mashed potatoes being one of her favorite foods EVER), but she won't stop talking about them now. I think I found a squash convert!
We also had some of the leftover bread from yesterday to go with it. Yum!

Homemade Bread

I didn't use a recipe, I just winged it. I was inspired in part by The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen, which has a nice chapter talking about about how to make break. So I invented this simple yeast bread. Well, not so much "invented" as just "made."

One thing he talked about was cutting the bread on top to help it rise during baking. I guess this is true: it did get bigger than most of my loafs AND it looked totally cool.

Pasta with Oven Roasted Onion and Swiss Chard

I got the idea to make a "fancy dinner" for DR since I've been slacking in the kitchen. So I got out my copy of The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen (mostly vegan - a fantastic book!) and made pasta with oven roasted onion and swiss chard. For interest, I added some carrots that I also roasted in the oven. It was really tasty! What I love about this cookbook is that all the recipes (well, most) are vegan, including the baked goods, and they are "fancy" in a "I can bust this out in an hour for dinner with minimal effort" kind of way.

Peaking out in the corner is a loaf of fresh bread I made. I just I was feeling quite adventurous.

Taco Salad

I made a really fantastic taco salad. It has mushrooms, beans, tomatos, and homemade tofu sour cream.

Mac'n Cheeze

Humm. Mac'n Cheeze. I keep trying out different recipes in hopes of finding one I really like. So far, this one is the winner.

For the record, as we say on vw, the posts will be slow and lazy for the next bit. The semester started and I have a three-load, dissertation, and job market to manage. Therefore, I don't cook dinner.

What am I eating?

Mujardarah

Mujardarah is one of my favorite dishes. Other than caramelizing the onions, it is very quick and easy to put together. Not much bother.

At first, DR was not excited, because she doesn't like grains for some reason. Well, not "dislike" but she definably doesn't go out of her way to eat them. But, heck, you toss some caramelized onions in there and she'll eat them done, leftovers and all!