I've Been Busy

As the cost of absolutely EVERYTHING has gotten higher, I'm trying to be creative in how I spend my money.  My family is full of big eaters (me included), and I am used to going to the grocery store once a week and coming home with enough food to feed an army.  I am a sucker for fruits and vegetables, and I've found that I often end up tossing a bunch of stuff that has gotten lost in the back of the refrigerator (I know I'm not the only one).  So, I've decided that I will walk over to the grocery store during my lunch hour to buy the food I'll need that night for dinner.  Of course, I'll make sure that the staples are there for the kids-breakfast and lunch fixings, but I'm not wasting more money buying things for a recipe I might or might not make.  I started today, and I got the ingredients to make homemade Marinara Sauce with Olives to have on top of my Spaghetti with Beanballs.  It was perfect.  The beanballs are really popular at my house, so I always double the recipe.  If you haven't tried these, why wait another minute?

I also got down to serious cooking business this weekend.  I made Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Backyard BBQ Sauce (for BBQ Tofu) and Messy Rice.  The cookies lasted about 2 hours.  I normally don't really like raisins in my cookies, but I followed the directions and added the whole bag.  Wow, they were actually delicious.  Chewy, oaty, with a nice hint of cinnamon.  

The Backyard BBQ is a winner.  I've made this before, but this time I added maple syrup instead of molasses.  The flavor was a little sweeter, but not in a bad way.  I appreciated the spiciness of the red pepper flakes, and it tasted great on the tofu.  

As for the Messy Rice, what can I say?  I am sucker for all rice.  This was no different, though the coriander seeds really added to this simple, yet tasty dish.

As I continue with Julie and Julia, I have to admit, I am really happy that I picked Veganomicon to cook from.  Some of those dishes that Julie makes are even hard to read about.  Soaking and boiling calf hooves?  Extracting bone marrow?  Putting chicken livers in jelly (from the hooves) and refrigerating it (and then eating it cold).  My god.  If you are ever doubting your resolve as a vegan, just open that book and read about some of the things that she cooks.  Unbelievable.

Is it Friday yet?

The Veganomicon challenge continues....

Question for the wine drinkers out there (or cocktail sippers, or whatever)-have you ever noticed how a couple of glasses of wine before/with dinner can really help make the evening more, I don't know, relaxed and more fun?  I didn't get to read any of Julie today because I was at home with a sick kid.  He kept me up all night long with inconsolable sobbing.  Poor dude. Poor mommy.  And for all you non-parents out there, it is summer vacation... so I had a 2 year old and a 5 year old whining at me all day while I felt guilty about missing work, and then I felt guilty about feeling guilty.  What a weird, nonproductive cycle. It must have been was the lack of sleep-right?  Anyway....I counted down until 6pm (wow-I know some of you are wondering what took so long), and I cracked open a bottle of medium-dry Riesling for my sister and me.  The stresses of the day seemed to float away as we sat on the back porch and watched the kiddies run through the sprinkler.

Of course, that can only last so long.  Now, I'm sitting here after being awake since yesterday morning with a boatload of dirty dishes everywhere, food that needs to go in the fridge, and a nice layer of sunflower seeds coating my floor.  And, I'm hoping to be in bed in 50 minutes.  

But I know, let's keep this about the food.  So, you are asking yourself-why are there sunflower seeds all over the floor? (or maybe not, but let's pretend you are)  Well, because despite having a ton of leftovers from last night's fabulous meal, I had some carrots and portobellos that I wanted to use in the fridge, so I made the Curried Carrot Dip and the Portobello Salad with Spicy Mustard Dressing to accompany the leftovers, which were once again the main course. 

 Isa- Terry- you two haven't let me down yet.  The carrot dip can easily take the place of hummus (or be eaten side by side with that magical creamy spread)-the curry makes it so delicious, and the color is out of this world.  Oh, and it is made with sunflower seeds.  I whipped that dip up as my kids watched while sitting at the kitchen island shoving sunflower seeds down their throats.  My son, who despite no sleep and weird stuff in his poor eyes, pretended he was Cookie Monster and missed his mouth more often than not.  As for the salad...who doesn't love a marinated portobello with avocados, red onions and spicy mustard dressing?  I mean, the smells those marinated mushrooms created in my kitchen were to die for (or, as my colleague would say, "It smelled so good, it made me want to slap my momma," though neither of us would advocate slapping your mother-I'd be without a hand if I tried that, for sure.)  And, as for the leftover Tomato and Roasted Eggplant Stew and Soft Poppy-Seed Polenta-still pretty darn tasty after a day in the fridge. Not surprising for the stew, as the flavors blended really nicely after some time spent getting to know one another-but the polenta heated up reasonably well too. 

Now, if you'll forgive me-I hear a sink full of dishes calling my name.  It's something like, "Bit#%, you better get over here and clean me out!"  And, I'm nothing if not abiding.....

Day One-No Offense Julia Child but....

I was reading Julie and Julia on the train on the way to work this morning.  I got to the chapter where she is going to make a beef dish and needed a cow's thigh bone to extract the marrow.  I gagged.  She had her brother, husband, and friend all searching New York for a butcher with a thigh bone.   How in the world can some actually extract marrow from a bone and then EAT it?  

Remember your pre-vegan days?  I hated to cook.  I made my parents (and then my husband) take meat off the bone before I'd eat it.  I couldn't eat read meat until it was black all the way through and watch out if I found something colorful in my chicken.  I am so glad those days are over.  Now, I make something other than over cooked vegetables and pasta with processed cheese (gross, I know), while my husband cooked some meat that I'd take a nibble of as long as I didn't see it prepared.

So tonight, I made: Soft Poppy-Seed Polenta and Tomato and Roasted Eggplant Stew.  That was good.  I did a couple of things wrong:  I unthinkingly used a spoon instead of a whisk to make the polenta, so there were lumps.  I also used some left over seitan broth from the other night in place of vegetable broth.  The taste was great, but it turned out kind of brownish.     

The stew was fantastic!  I sliced the eggplant too thin, so I cut down on the roasting time.  The flavors of this stew were just perfect.  Roasted eggplant, red peppers and garlic with tomato and chickpeas.  This is definitely a "make again" dish, as my friend Lisa would say.  Although, it is really more suited for fall or winter (and not hot, humid Chicago summer).

So, this dish isn't the most photogenic, but don't hold it against the poor stew.  It was really yummy.  

What's the lesson tonight?  Probably to remember to use the whisk with polenta-and if presentation matters, skip the seitan broth.

Over 250 Vegan Recipes in 365 Days

And so it begins....I was in the book store today looking at the vegan cookbooks, when I realized a few things.  First, I own almost every single one. Second, I love Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero (and Vegan with a Vengance, but I need something big here) and use it to find something to cook weekly at least.  In fact, sometimes I read it like you might read a trashy romance novel.  Third, I've been wanting to set myself up with a new challenge.  So, instead of buying the one cookbook that I don't own, I bought the book Julie and Julia by Julie Powell.  In this book, Julie decides to make over 500 intense Julia Child french recipes in one year. 

Could this be the next project?  Might this be the next challenge that annoys my husband because I've added another task on my to-do list? YES! I decided to take a page from her book (pun intended) and start my own recipe challenge.  However, no Julia Child for this vegan... I am going to make every recipe in Veganomicon and I'll document my experiences here. 

Will this challenge help me find my place in this world?  Probably not, but it's an excuse to make some good food!