Cool Slaw

Cool Slaw (page 38)

I ate several meals out downtown this weekend with others whom I was attending a conference with. This means I ended up eating several salads. You know-- it just doesn't seem to occur to most restaurants that it is quite possible to prepare a satisfying meal without meat, dairy, or eggs... unless it's a salad. Of course, even then, everything still has cheese in it somewhere, you know-- to make it "satisfying." Now, I had some great salads this weekend. Really, delicious salads. And at home, I eat many, many salads as the main part of my meal... but the salads I make are HUGE. I think I first heard Wendy use the term "Hugh Jass Salad." Hugh Jass, indeed. But these restaurant salads, while quite delicious and bursting with flavor, were no Hugh Jass salads.

I'm getting a bit ramble-y here, but the point I'm trying to make is that it was nice to come home and have some "real" food.

El Hombre planned a little cook-out for our Sunday afternoon, with some veggie burgers, grilled corn-on-the-cob, and fresh guacamole and chips. There was still an unused half-head of cabbage in the refrigerator leftover from the Curried Cabbage & Peas, so it seemed appropriate to also make the Cool Slaw to go with our dinner.

I've made this recipe before, but as a component of the Buffalo Tempeh Wraps, which were so, so good. Have I mentioned how *~*magical*~* cashews can be, when blended into sauces and dressings? Cashews, a little onion, a bit of apple cider vinegar, mustard, agave, some water... that's it, blended into oblivion - the perfect creamy, dreamy dressing for this coleslaw. So. Freakin'. Tasty.

Anyway, this is good stuff. The perfect people-pleasing coleslaw for summer cookouts and potlucks. If you haven't already, give it a try!

Curried Cabbage & Peas

Curried Cabbage & Peas (page 111)
(substituting baby yellow squash for carrot)

Tonight was kind of a disorganized dinner-making experience. Still, dinner made it to the table, and that's what's important, right?

First of all, I didn't get home until nearly 6:00 pm, and I really wasn't in the mood to cook dinner as soon as I walked in the door. I was really quite tempted to just pick up some Chinese take-out on the way home, but I told myself, no, we have food at home, and Chinese take-out is way too greasy, anyway.

I had originally planned to make the Braised Cabbage with Seitan (page 97), but my week didn't go exactly as planned, and I didn't have any prepared seitan for the recipe. But, I still had the cabbage. Amy commented here on yesterday's post that she recently enjoyed the Curried Cabbage & Peas; I thought, hey, I've got peas! I'll make that! Along with the 40-Clove Chickpeas & Broccoli, since I've also got a big pot of chickpeas and some broccoli hanging out in the refrigerator. OK, a plan was in place.

I quickly got the chickpeas, broccoli, and garlic (and quartered small red potatoes) in the oven to roast, then I started slicing up an onion and the cabbage. Then I discovered, oops, no fresh ginger root. I figured this qualified for one of those "in a pinch" situations, so I subbed dried ginger. Then I realized, darn, no carrots! Well, might as well use up those baby yellow squash that have been languishing in the crisper drawer.

The resulting Curried Cabbage & Peas turned out okay, but not great. I'm sure the missing fresh ginger root would have made a big difference. And the carrots certainly would have made it more colorful. But all-in-all, it wasn't bad, especially considering the last-minute ingredient substitutions that were made.

I'm always trying to think of ways to make these veggie "side dishes" into a more satisfying complete meal. I bet this would be great served over brown rice with the addition of some cubed tofu or chickpeas.

Buffalo Wrap (more like soft tacos, actually)

El Hombre's plate of "Buffalo Baja Tacos," based on the Buffalo Wrap, page 271
Taco filling: Buffalo Tempeh (page 161), Cool Slaw (page 38), and diced tomatoes

This was an excellent dinner tonight.

The Buffalo Tempeh rocked. After the last tempeh fiasco (thanks, y'all, for the insight!), I decided to play it safe by simmering the tempeh wedges in a little water for about 10 minutes before marinating; this method seems to not only "open up" the tempeh to soak in the marinade, but I think it draws out most of the bitterness as well. Also, my tempeh sat in the marinade all afternoon, not just for one hour.

I couldn't find the large whole-wheat wraps in my grocery store, only soft taco-size tortillas, so I'm calling these Buffalo Tacos instead of Wraps. Topped off with the Cool Slaw and some diced tomatoes, El Hombre and I were in taco heaven. Because of the coleslaw, they were reminiscent of baja fish tacos... so let's just call them Buffalo Baja Tacos, shall we? Next time, I'll even include some lime wedges for squeezing fresh juice over them just before devouring. Ooh, and some avocado, too. And cilantro.

And the Cool Slaw: this recipe is pure genius. Those raw cashews are amazing tricksters, turning this slaw dressing into a cool, creamy, dreamy concoction. Even the kids were crazy about this one.

So, all-in-all, a very good dinner. And a pretty good day. I got a run in, I ate well and within my personal eating plan, and the scale told me this morning that there is no real lasting damage from my indulgences in wine and desserts over the last week. No losses, but no gains, either. Whew! Moving onward and up!