Bee Ell Tees

Bee Ell Tees (page 271)
Whole-wheat bread, Cashew Miso Mayo (page 270), spinach, tomato, and Eggplant Bacon (page 42)

The eggplant bacon is something we keep going back to; it's been great in salads, and we loved it in the breakfast sandwich. This weekend, I thought it was time to try a simple BLT for a casual Saturday night dinner.

I also tried making the Cashew Miso Mayo for the first time. I was at a little bit of a disadvantage here because I killed my food processor just the day before (which means I'm in the market for a new one... anyone have one they love and would recommend?). I used my blender instead, which worked great at first, but the more blended the cashews got, the more thick the mixture became, which resulted in the blender just throwing all the mayo up on the sides of the blender, where it stuck instead of falling back down for further blending. I blended for many, many minutes, and scraped down the sides many, many times, but it still never got quite as creamy and smooth as it would have if I had been able to use my food processor. Still, it was really tasty, and the perfect spread for these sandwiches.

Bottom line: these sandwiches were a hit with all of us. Yum!

Pasta de los Angeles

Pasta de los Angeles, page 177

Right off the bat, I was slightly suspicious of this dish. "Pasta goes Mexican!"? Hmmmm.

I have to say, it wasn't bad. It really wasn't great, either, but it wasn't bad. Most interesting, however, were the reactions from the rest of the family. El Hombre, who I thought for sure would be the most critical, actually seemed to like it. He said it was reminiscent of a seafood-y pasta dish (?!?), like it had those little canned cocktail shrimp in it somewhere. Huh?!? SweetPea, my nine-year old, said it reminded her of the Pasta con Broccoli, and then proceeded to douse her portion with Caesar Chavez salad dressing. Okay. SweetPotato, the seven-year old, thought it was okay, but a bit on the sour (lime) side, and the black beans were the best part. She ate the beans and left the pasta.

As for me, my reaction was "Meh." It was okay. I'm not really convinced that this is what the angels are having up there in heaven. I'd rather eat my black beans, tomatoes, and cilantro in a tortilla, or a salad, or over rice, but this was interesting to try once. I probably won't make this again.

Potato-Spinach Curry

Potato-Spinach Curry, page 232
with brown basmati rice and Masala Baked Tofu, page 146

Tonight's dinner was a lovely affair of saag aloo, masala tofu, and basmati rice, enjoyed outside in the fresh air of the evening.

While I loved the feature AFR recipe, I must say that the most exciting part of making tonight's dinner was digging up my own potatoes from my own garden. They were so beautiful! Look:

Freshly dug and scrubbed potatoes from my backyard garden

And, they were delicious, too!

But anyway, back to the recipe. SweetPea helped me make the potato-spinach curry; she helped chop up those beautiful potatoes, as well as stir and taste along the way. We added more salt because of the low sodium veggie broth that I've been using (more on that below). We also left out the red pepper flakes to make it kid-friendly, and instead had some available on the table to sprinkle on as desired for the adults.

Also, I decided to revisit the Masala Baked Tofu, because I think I've figured out what went wrong last time. Not that it was bad last time. It's just that I've heard so many people rave about it, and yet it didn't get me all excited like it seems to do for others. The missing factor for my first attempt seems to be salt. Yes, salt. So simple, right? I've been using a no-salt-added vegetable broth in an attempt to be more sodium conscious, and I think the masala marinade suffered as a result. So this time, I added a bit more soy sauce, and it made a big difference. I will also confess that I was feeling lazy and used granulated garlic and powdered ginger in the marinade, instead of the fresh versions, and both seemed to work great here. El Hombre confirmed that this attempt was much better than the first, so whether that was due to the extra soy sauce, or the dried spices, or a combination.... who knows?

Again, everyone enjoyed tonight's dinner. Both kids liked the potato-spinach curry, and my Dad went back for second helpings of everything. As El Hombre and I were cleaning up the kitchen, I saw a lime left on the counter and realized I forgot to add the freshly squeezed juice as the final step in the making of the curry. But oh well - it was still delicious! Nothing seemed amiss. Getting the kids to eat their cooked spinach and my Dad to enjoy tofu so much that he goes for another serving... a win!

Spinach Linguine with Edamame Pesto

Spinach Linguine with Edamame Pesto, page 174
(actually a wider pasta, more like fettucine)

My tummy is full and happy. Tonight's dinner was an all-around crowd-pleaser, with an enthusiastic thumbs-up from everyone, including both kids and the grandpapa.

I was a little concerned when I realized, halfway through making dinner, that this recipe is supposed to serve only four, and there are five of us. So I cooked up about 3/4 of a pound of pasta, instead of just a half-pound, keeping my fingers crossed that there would be enough pesto for this to work. As it turns out, there was no need for me to worry: the recipe for the edamame pesto made plenty, and by the time it was all mixed up with the pasta and sauteed mushrooms, there was plenty of pasta for everyone.

I can tell you right now that I'll be making this pesto again, and not just for smothering pasta. I'm dreaming about using it on steamed veggies, stirring spoonfuls into soups, spreading it onto sandwiches...

Lotsa Veggies Lentil Soup

Lotsa Veggies Lentil Soup, page 198
with a whole-wheat Carrot Spice Muffin

This was one of those really easy throw-stuff-in-a-pot-and-call-it-soup recipes. I love those kinds of recipes. Especially when they turn out yummy.

Now, I've made my fair share of lentil soup before. Who hasn't? But this recipe is different from my standard lentil soup fare for a couple of reasons. First, it calls for French, or du Puy lentils, which I had never cooked with before until I made the Upside-Down Lentil Shepherd's Pie. These lentils are different from regular ol' lentils; they are a bit firmer, and they don't cook down to mush quite as quickly. The texture is good and hearty. Also, Isa calls for tarragon in this soup recipe, which is an ingredient I don't normally keep stocked in my pantry. The tarragon is nice, though; it adds a different dimension to lentil soup that I haven't quite had before this recipe.

While the soup simmered away on top of the stove, I had time to whip up some whole-wheat Carrot Spice Muffins from the FatFree Vegan Kitchen, which were the perfect complement to the soup.

I also loved all the veggies in the "Lotsa Veggies Lentil Soup." In addition to the amount of zucchini called for, I used an extra zucchini squash that was hanging out in my refrigerator. The more the merrier, as they say!

All-in-all, a superb soup, and a recipe worth hanging on to for another day.