The Versatile Lentil

Per Richard’s suggestion, we had lunch at the Green Gables Cafe. Christian had a soup and I had a lentil patty. It was tasty and seemed easy enough to make so I came home and decided to give it a whirl. I found this recipe from the Moosewood cookbook and made it twice. The first time was good but the second time was better because I added the Arlene sazon. It also happened that the second time Richard was here and just in time for lunch. So it came full circle; Richard, the lentil and us. One big happy lentil patty circle.

Patty party in a bun

Same patty with the cluck and crack free curry

On A Roll

This picture does not do the roll justice.

I used some leftovers I had (butternut squash and brown rice) and decided to revamp them, with the help of my savory little friend Nori and what resulted was pure scrumptiousness.

To make it, I just roasted some 3/4 inch wide strips of butternut squash in the oven until they were tender. Then I just pressed the brown rice onto the nori sheet, added the squash and rolled it up with the grace of Masaharu Morimoto (at age five).

Served with some shoyu and a large house salad from the local Japanese restaurant (didn’t have the ingredients for ginger dressing). Perfection!

WHY?

What is going on here? We followed Alicia’s instructions to a tee and our mochi look nothing like hers.

We need some serious help.

Our pathetic little mochi.

Healing Soup and TLC

Last Monday I woke up with serious stomach cramps accompanied by nausea and other distasteful digestive system issues. I couldn’t eat and barely kept water down. On the second day of this I was feeling pretty weak so I asked my dear hubs for some TLC and some soup. Although I’m still waiting for the TLC he did make the soup and what a soup it was! It had: kale, sweet potatoes, onions, butternut squash, corn, garlic, tomato, chili flakes, carrots, potatoes and noodles. It was magically healing. Here it is in all its splendor.

Maybe the TLC is in the soup!

Mad Skills = Delightful Lunch

One very surprising thing about becoming a mom is how limited time becomes. Some days I find myself eating my meals in 5 minute spurts or taking 20 minute nursing breaks between bites. Actually preparing a meal becomes a serious rush. Add to that, days like today when the fridge has remnants of what used to be groceries and lunch becomes a really daunting task. Thankfully some days, I’ve got mad skills which paired along incredible speed result in lunch magic. Today was one of those days.
I made a lettuce-less salad because I only had some parsley which fit quite well with the theme.  Added to that cucumbers, red bell pepper, purple onion, olives, carrots and dressed it with lime, salt and olive oil and got a fresh, tasty salad. I made a tahini sauce/dressing, heated up some pita, and leftover quinoa and had myself a feast.

All the right food groups

Tahini Sauce/Dressing Recipe

1/2 cup tahini

1 lemon or lime

1/4 cup water

pinch of salt

Wisk all ingredients together and taste for seasoning. Add more water if you want it runnier.

It's portable so I can eat and chase Agatha!

No parecece un sandwich de milanesa?

The Superhero Diet & Self-Discovery

The best meal of the day: Fried Udon Noodles

Today was my first day on the Kind Diet’s superhero meal plan. I can’t say that I enjoyed most of the dishes (actually I wasn’t ecstatic about any), but I did learn about my personal tastes.

I now know I do not like pine nuts. I also learned about parsnips.

Cluck & Crack Free Curry Sauce

Better than the original

This is our version of the mustard n’ curry sauce from our favorite non-vegan, take-out eatery Chicken Kitchen. We thought we would have to give their mayonnaise-based, crack-infused sauce up, but with the help of Ricardo el Magnifico, we found the recipe online and made substitutions accordingly.

So here is our vegan version:

12 tsp Organic Vegenaise

1 1/4 tsp Yellow Mustard

1/2 tsp Curry Powder

A little drizzle of Light Agave Nectar

(Add some water and stir if you want a runnier consistency)

Pink Sauce a la Arlene

Such pretty colors

Another picture from a different angle

Today Mom and I had lunch alone and decided to make the pink sauce that Arlene had recommended. It was really fast and easy with few ingredients (mainly cashews, canned crushed tomatoes, garlic, tomato paste and some fresh basil). Mom did an amazing job of seasoning it, of course, so it came out FANTASTIC! She couldn’t get over how “cheesy” it tasted. It reminded her of the pink sauce at Peppolino, her favorite restaurant in New York City.

-Anita

P.S. We should probably all start signing our name at the end of our entries because there isn’t any way for the readers to know who wrote what.

Bienvenidos Anita y Richard!

Photo tomada por Christian

Mientras cortaba la torta,pensaba, hojala haya salido bien rica y por suerte, les gusto!

Slice of vegan heaven! God bless Gna.

Quise sorprender a los chicos que volvian de Nueva York. Fue una receta del libro nuevo, 1000 Vegan Recipes. Fue bastante facil y voy a probar de hacer el cheesecake.