Vegan/AR political party

America’s Party of Science and Ethics

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Vegan Whipped Cream made from Chickpeas

I would be dubious, but my dad learned about this at a cooking class and said it was good!

Curry Fries

I made another recipe from Isa Does It: Baked Garlic-Curry Fries.  They were really good.  I used red potatoes instead of russet and 1/2 t garlic salt in place of garlic and salt.

With this we had Beany Burgers on Whole Wheat Buns, steamed kale with balsamic vinegar, and another marvelous salad.

Lentil-a-roni

Dinner tonight was Lentil-a-roni, microwaved broccoli with balsamic vinegar, and another delicious salad.

The lentil-a-roni has become an instant favorite.

 

Split Pea Soup

Tonight we had Split Pea Soup, Coiled Light Rye Rolls, steamed kale with balsamic vinegar, and I had a delicious salad I’ve been making lately, with “Power to the Greens” mix from Trader Joe’s, cherry tomatoes, cukes, mushrooms, about a tablespoon each of sliced toasted almonds and dried cranberries, some kind of crunchy thing, in this case TJ’s Sesame Melba broken up a bit, oftentimes sliced avocado, but not today, and topped with Maple Balsamic Dressing, which takes seconds to make, has no fat, and is just perfect with the sweetness of the cranberries.

That greens mix is so delicious I eat it right out of the bag like a barbarian.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Chocolate Peanut Butter Candies and Chocolate Bunnies

We had our typical Saturday night dinner, Lasagna Rollups, whole wheat fusili with Marinara and Cashew Parmesan, and Focaccia with olive oil and Dipping Spices.  We also had sauteed zucchini and Baco Noir, and my husband had a salad, too.

For dessert I tried something new, something nice for February: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups.  Reese’s are not vegan, so this is a treat I haven’t had in five years.  They were delicious!

Curried Peanut Sauce Bowl

Curried Peanut Sauce Bowl

Tonight I made “Curried Peanut Sauce Bowl” from Isa Does It.  I didn’t serve restaurant style bowls (pre-assembled) because I have kids and don’t want to dictate how much they should eat.

I think the peanut sauce would have been better if I had not substituted crunchy peanut butter for creamy.  The tofu was good but I find frying tofu to be more work and less tasty than microwaving it.  Probably I’m doing it wrong.  And I’m not sure the kale was a good choice for a curry.

So if I made this again, I would use creamy peanut butter as directed, microwaved tofu, and a milder veggie.  When I am really happy with it, I’ll post the recipe.

Split Pea and Rutabega Soup

Thursdays I make lunch for my parents, and today was my fourth recipe from Isa Does It, Split Pea and Rutabega Soup.  It was great!  I had to go out and buy the star anise pods, which I’d never heard of.  I found them in a health food store’s bulk section.  They are neat looking from a botanical standpoint – I’d like to see them at different life stages.  They also added a wonderful flavor; I wasn’t so sure about essentially adding licorice to my soup, but I put my faith in Isa and went for it.

We had this with toasted slices of 100% whole wheat bread from my bread machine.  I set it up to bake overnight and it’s ready to take in the morning when I go to my folks’.  I forgot to bring vegan butter, so we spread it with some olive oil I was trying to use up, which had herbs in it from dipping Focaccia.  Yum.

Spaghetti and Tempeh Meatballs

Spaghetti, Tempeh Meatballs, Sauteed Kale

Today was recipe three from my new cookbook, Isa Does It.  I made her Tempeh Meatballs for Spaghetti with Marinara, sauteed kale on the side.  The meatballs were good, though we added salt at the table.

I normally steam greens and we add balsamic vinegar at the table, but I get a little tired of that sometimes, so added a new simple prep: I have been buying bagged organic tuscan kale from Trader Joe’s, and I just toss a few handfuls into a small frypan with olive oil, and sprinkle on garlic salt.  I have pooh-poohed garlic salt in the past, but I like how it tastes on this.  Sometimes I add red pepper flakes at the table.  I find that cooked this way the kale has the flavor of kale chips; not crispy, but also not much work.

Isa’s book is really funny, and her recipes are fun to read.  My versions of them are usually pretty terse, so buy her book for the entertainment.  Here’s my discussion on recipe copyright.

Lentil-A-Roni

Tonight we had our second recipe from Isa Does It, Lentil-A-Roni.  So delicious, we gobbled it right up.  This was my first time cooking with cashew cream – we liked it!

Her directions are so intuitive for me.  Usually I end up translating cookbook directions into my own style, but Isa Does It Myyyyy Waaay.