Pasta con Broccoli

Pasta con Broccoli, page 169

Well, we finally have a dud.

Isa says up front that this is "simple food," but frankly, it was just boring and bland. I even used twice as much minced garlic as what the recipe called for. To be fair, I did leave out the red pepper flakes during the cooking process, for the girls, and didn't add them in until my serving was on my plate. So I suppose it's possible that cooking the red pepper along with the garlic, thyme, and brothy-wine (or is it winey-broth?) would have lent better depth to this dish.

Speaking of the girls, they thought it was okay, so perhaps it's not fair to call this a complete flop. At least it appealed somewhat to the kid-palate.

See that sprig of basil up there? That's what saved this dinner for El Hombre and me. I added it to the dish purely for photogenic purposes at first, but ended up shredding a few leaves and adding it to the pasta on my plate. That helped tremendously.

I probably wouldn't bother making this again, but if I did, I would certainly bang it up by adding about ten times as much garlic and a handful of the shredded fresh basil.

Masala Baked Tofu

Masala Baked Tofu, page 146
with saag and gobi aloo

This was... okay. Not bad, certainly, but not terribly exciting, either. We ate it tonight as a main dish, along with some saag (spinach) and gobi aloo (potatoes and cauliflower).

The seasonings were fine; El Hombre remarked that he would have preferred it to be more "saucy." The girls, however, loved it, so I suppose that means it is probably kid-friendly, depending on the kid. The seasonings were mild enough to not scare them off. I think I would have like a more bold flavor, but then, the kids might not like it.

Again, like the Basic Baked Tofu, this would be a fine choice for a sandwich, or wrap, or to top a salad. But as a star attraction on the dinner plate, it just didn't have enough ooomph on its own.

However, having said all that: I am totally stuffed after tonight's dinner, but I think it's because I ate too much saag. "Too much" surely doesn't apply to spinach, does it?

Transformation: an art exhibit

"Food really is an artistic medium to restore the body to its original design and function. A well-nourished body truly is a work of art! May we all fully embrace the incredible journey to getting our health and lives back!" ~ Emily Boller

This quote really spoke to me as I was reading Emily Boller's story. She is an artist who chronicles her amazing journey to health through an art exhibit called "Transformation." Need some inspiration? Go check it out.

Transformation: an art exhibit by Emily Boller

Upside-Down Lentil Shepherd's Pie

First, I want to say thank you to everyone who is stopping by for a visit here. This project is only two weeks old, and already I can feel your support. So, thank you!

Also, I wanted to give a little update on my progress in the weight-loss department. I'm down about 3 more pounds over the last two weeks. Yay me! Since the end of January, however, I've lost a total of about 13 pounds, so there's definitely a downward trend here.

I've been getting better at getting regular exercise and workouts in. I think I'm feeling a little more muscle tone here and there, and it's not my imagination. The dog and I are getting in some good walks together. I've been kicking my own butt doing cardio-strength drills with the Nike Training Club app. But food-wise, I need to focus a little more on Fuhrman's "basic skeleton plan" (fruit for breakfast, salad topped with beans for lunch, and more salad plus cooked vegetables along with the cup of whole grains/starchy vegetable for dinner), and make sure I'm fitting the AFR recipes into that framework, as much as possible. And I just need to remember to be patient with myself. It'll happen; I'll reach my goals.

But now, onto the recipe of the day:

Upside-Down Lentil Shepherd's Pie, pg 117

Isa, you win: I ate the mushrooms, and I liked it.

I mentioned already that I'm not really a fan of mushrooms, but somehow this worked for me. Was it the variety (shitake - not cheap, by the way)? Was it the way they were chopped up (pretty small - I was scared of ending up with big chunks)? Or was it the delicious combination of the other vegetables, spices, and seasonings (the Worcestershire here definitely gave it that "somethin' somethin'"), lusciously ladled over the cauliflower mashed potatoes?

I don't know. But I liked it, and I'd eat this again. Even with the mushrooms. Who am I?!??

Spicy Blue (or Red) Potato & Corn Salad

Spicy Potato & Corn Salad, pg. 18
with mixed salad greens

First, the obvious. Those are not blue potatoes up there. I had no luck finding blue potatoes, so I went with baby reds, instead. The other minor substitution I made was shallots for red onions, because I used up all my red onion in last night's korma. Oh, and I took a lazy shortcut and used about a cup and a half of thawed, frozen sweet corn, instead of slicing the kernels from 3 ears of steamed corn on the cob.

Now, I don't want to seem disingenuous by gushing about practically every single recipe in this book, but seriously, again, this was super, duper good. The amount of chipotle called for gave immense flavor with just the right amount of heat. The pinto beans rounded everything out to make it a filling salad. When tasting the finished dish to determine if I wanted to add any more salt (no) or smoked paprika (yes), I found myself going back for more than one test bite. Maybe two, or three. Possibly four. Okay, maybe five. You know, to get it right.

For this recipe, Isa gives instructions to steam the potatoes, which I had never done before. I had always boiled potatoes before, when making a potato salad. The steaming technique turned out to be brilliant, however; the potatoes were tender while still firm, never mushy or falling apart.

This would be a great potluck dish; it's sure to impress folks.

2nd Avenue Vegetable Korma

2nd Avenue Vegetable Korma, with chickpeas
and brown basmati rice

Another delicious dish from AFR - and this one was so easy, too! Quick and simple to make at the end of a busy day, with flavorful and satisfying results. The most difficult part of the entire recipe was chopping up the vegetables, and that wasn't hard at all. I swapped out half of the cauliflower for some broccoli, and added some chickpeas to bulk this up for a main dish.

Vegetable korma is a type of Indian stew of vegetables in a mild, creamy curry sauce. This sauce had just the right balance of creaminess, spice, and sweetness. For me, there was just enough heat to warm things up without overpowering all the fab flavor. El Hombre went ahead and christened his plate with some extra red chili flakes and cumin, but he has asbestos mouth and likes to sweat when he eats.

There are leftovers in the refrigerator - I look forward to having more of this with lunch tomorrow!

Jerk Asparagus

Jerk Asparagus, pg. 91
served with simple black beans and brown rice

El Hombre guest-posts!

Today is Wednesday and the beginning of my appearance as your Wednesday guest chef. Maybe chef is a stretch, but I can definitely cook up some good food for the family. The oldest has dance practice on Wednesdays, so it’s up to me to have dinner ready when everyone gets home.

On the menu tonight was Jerk Asparagus with black beans and rice. So, the first comment from SweetPotato upon entering the house was, “What’s that funny smell?" SweetPea just had a puzzled look on her face. Fortunately, Jules’ first comment was, “It smells amazing!" I guess jerk seasoning just has that type of effect on people. I also thought it smelled amazing. Overall, a very simple and quick recipe to fix. The key is definitely the jerk spices, bold and in-your-face with goodness. The foundation consists of ginger and garlic, with a good mix of spices to add heat and sweetness. The squeeze of a lime wedge to finish it off was the perfect touch to bring it all together. Combine that with my special refried (no oil, just water) black beans and some good sticky brown rice, and there you have it.

Definitely a hit with the adults, while the girls had to ease into such a robust spice pallet. The asparagus was sautéed in the jerk spices long enough to achieve a good tenderness without losing its crispiness. I usually like my rice spiced up as well, but the plain brown rice served as a good balance to the wonderfully intense asparagus. I love the jerk seasonings, and I'm already thinking of incorporating them in future dishes.

Breakfast (for Dinner) Sandwich

Breakfast Sandwich, pg. 269
Whole -wheat English muffin, tofu scramble with wilted spinach, Eggplant Bacon, and Caesar Chavez Dressing

El Hombre started his weekly golf league playing tonight, so the girls and I are on our own for Tuesday night dinner now, for several weeks. The plan tonight was to try Isa's suggestion for a breakfast-type sandwich, something we could take with us as we headed out for the evening for SweetPotato's ballet folklorico class and a few errands. I'm talking about a whole-wheat English muffin stuffed with scrambled tofu, wilted spinach, eggplant bacon (!) from the chapter "Full-On Salads," and that ahhhh-mazing Caesar Chavez Dressing.

This was really good. Tasty, easy, and convenient. I did not do the Curry Scrambled Tofu with Wilted Arugula suggested in AFR; instead, I just whipped up a simple tofu scramble with our family's favorite scramble seasonings, something I knew the girls would like - nutritional yeast, garlic and onion granules, and salt, with a couple handfuls of spinach wilted into the mix.

Chickpea Piccata, Cauliflower Mashed Pototoes (Caulipots), and Romaine Lettuce with Caesar Chavez Dressing

Chickpea Piccata (pg 115) served over Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes (Caulipots) (pg 54)
on top of a bed of arugula and baby spinach leaves
In the left-side background - romaine lettuce leaves with Caesar Chavez Dressing (pg 43)

After a long, busy weekend during which I fell off the wagon a bit, diet-wise, I made up for it tonight with a dinner using three, count 'em: three!, recipes from AFR. And let me tell you - this was a FANTASTIC meal, with rave reviews all around!

But first, a bit about life since dinner last Wednesday night...

On Thursday, the girls and I went to our weekly homeschool co-op meeting, during which we had our end-of-the-month potluck lunch. My dear friend Paula made these amazing Lebanese stuffed grape leaves, and I could. not. stop. eating them. Also, one of the other moms made cupcakes to celebrate March birthdays, which were very thoughtfully vegan (for our family) and gluten-free (for another family). How could I turn down one of these cupcakes?

On Friday, our family attended another potluck, this one hosted by Rip Esselstyn, author of The Engine 2 Diet. While all the food there was plant-strong and oil-free, it was also quite delicious, and I'm sure I ate too much. In addition, someone brought these gigantic chocolate-chip banana muffins, and I ate one of those, too. The whole thing. It was really good. But, beyond the food, it was a really fun event, and we got to meet lots of new people. A highlight was meeting Natala from Vegan Hope. She is such an inspiration!

On Saturday, El Hombre and SweetPotato got up early to make chocolate-chip banana muffins for breakfast, inspired, obviously, by the delicious muffins at the previous night's potluck. Saturday's breakfast muffins were smaller than those at the potluck, but ultra-delicious, and of course, I ate more than one.

And finally, on Sunday, we spent the day adventuring around town and thrift-store treasure hunting. We stopped for lunch at Counter Culture, on Natala's recommendation, and thoroughly enjoyed everything we ate. I had the Jackfruit BBQ sandwich, El Hombre had the Tempeh Reuben, SweetPea had the Philly Seitan sandwich (a big sandwich, for her!), and SweetPotato had the Almond Butter & Apple sandwich. And then, because obviously we had been food-deprived all weekend (um, not really), we sampled the desserts - the raw brownie bites, the donut holes, and the lime-basil cheezecake. Wow!

But back to tonight's dinner...

First, the Chickpea Piccata: I've been trying to make this dish for almost a week now, but someone kept drinking the cooking wine I purchased especially for this recipe! More than one bottle mysteriously emptied while I wasn't looking. I'm not naming names, but I have my suspicions. El Hombre claims it must be the cat's fault, but that doesn't sound right to me. Anyway. One of SweetPea's all-time favorite dishes is seitan piccata, which, while delicious, is not exactly low-fat or plant-strong. So, we were both excited to try this dish. She decided the chickpea piccata is equally as delicious as the seitan version, and even went back for a second helping, along with the cauliflower mashed potatoes.

Which brings me to the Caulipots, or cauliflower mashed potatoes: I was a little wary of this recipe, since I've made mashed cauliflower before and didn't really enjoy it very much. I suppose, then, I was expecting mashed cauliflower to be like mashed potatoes. It's not. But! When you combine mashed cauliflower WITH mashed potatoes, it's like magic! I couldn't really tell the cauliflower was there; it was pretty much like eating just mashed potatoes. And who doesn't love mashed potatoes?!?

And finally, the Caesar Chavez Dressing: Holymoly!!! Amazing! Devine! SO GOOD!!!! Words are not adequate to describe how delicious this salad dressing is. I wished my tongue was long enough to lick the inside of the blender jar. I'm so excited to have more of this on my salad at lunch time tomorrow.

All-in-all, this whole dinner was a winner. Raves all around, from every member of the family. Date-dinner- or dinner-party-worthy. I will be making this again, and again, and again, for sure!

Want the recipe for the Chickpea Piccata? You can get it here, but why not just get your own copy of the book with all 125 rocking recipes, while you're at it? You won't regret it.

A Little Bit More About Me, and How I Roll

My introductory post is here, but I just wanted to mention a few more things.

Although I am a born-and-bred Oregonian, I now live in Austin, Texas with my husband and our two daughters. I never thought I'd ever live in Texas (you know, because of stereotypes and preconceived notions and the like), but we LOVE it here in Austin.

In this space, I will refer to family members with nicknames, and I probably won't post pictures of faces. My husband's native language is Spanish, so here, he will be know as El Hombre. He's awesome. We have two daughters: SweetPea, a nine-year-old, and SweetPotato, a seven-year-old. They're awesome, too.

As a matter of fact, our girls are the very reason our family has become vegan. Just a little more than a year ago, they both decided to stop eating meat for ethical reasons (first, SweetPea, and then SweetPotato shortly thereafter). We had also just previously learned the reason for SweetPotato's chronic belly-aches: dairy. We weren't huge carnivores anyway, but the thought of no meat and no dairy for growing kids put me in a sort of panic. After all, WHERE would they get their PROTEIN? Their CALCIUM? You know, the usual concerns of the uneducated.

So I began to research. This is something I'm good at. And the more research I did, the more I realized that transitioning to a plant-based diet was good for ALL of us. And it was good for the planet. And its good for the animals. Duh. I mean, I already knew this all this. But the more I learned, the more I realized that I couldn't come up with one good reason NOT to go vegan. I cooked vegan at home, and then one day El Hombre surprised me by announcing at dinner that he was ready to go full-board, too. Soon, we begun to apply this philosophy to other areas of our life as well, beyond the food we eat: the clothes and personal-care products we buy, etc.

So that's us, in a nutshell.

But before I go, a word about how I cook: unless I've said otherwise, I will modify these recipes so that there are no added oils. I'm not trying to go "fat-free," but I do want my dietary fat in it's whole-food form, not processed and extracted. Like from, say, nuts, seeds, olives, avocados. (Here is a good list with plenty of reasons to avoid oil, and here is an excellent commentary on the topic.) For example, instead of pouring cooking oil into the pan to saute onions or whatever, I'll will saute without the oil, using a technique similar to this.

And that's all I can think of for now...