A new quick and easy favorite

So, I'm still on that quick and easy kick. I can not wait for school to be over and life to slow down a bit this summer. Not to mention, I can't wait for the rain to stop and the farmer's markets to get in full swing. They've been on for about 3 weeks now, but they are pretty skimpy this time of year.

Lack of time + Lack of inspiration = Quick and Easy!! Luckily, though, with this sandwich quick and easy does not = boring. What sandwich do I speak of you ask?? Well, that would be "Better Than a BLT" from ED&BV. I was a huge fan of BLT back in the day, but I've never been much of a fan of tempeh, so I figured my BLT eating days were over. That was until I came across this recipe that called for the tempeh to be chopped (and since my dislike of tempeh is a texture thing, I thought chopped might do the trick). Not only did this recipe take care of my tempeh problem, it also included one of my most favorite foods in the entire world, avocado.

I can't even begin to tell you how delicious this sandwich was. It will definitely be a summertime staple here....can't wait until those tomatoes get ripe!! Since the girls didn't like it too much there were leftovers which we had as a condiment on tofu scramble tacos the following night....again, a delicious use of this sandwich filling.

Along with the sandwiches we also had Roasted Garlic and Artichoke dip from ED&BV as well. This dip was good, but slightly too garlicky for me. I think next time I will decrease the amount of garlic a bit. Surprisingly the garlic didn't even phase Mairin, who gobbled up a rather hefty portion. This will be a fantastic dish to bring to any summer picnics that might come up, as it can be served hot or at room temperature, and can withstand several hours of setting out on a buffet or in a basket with no need for refrigeration.

Vegetable Filled Phyllo Rolls

I was reminded by the Blackened Tofu how much I liked Eat, Drink and Be Vegan, so I decided to go with another recipe from it tonight. This time I tried the Moroccan Infused Vegetable Phyllo Rolls with Balsamic Maple Sauce. Once again, Dreena did not disappoint. This is super simple to make, yet it's such an interesting dish you'd think it took hours (well, actually, it does take hours, but that's just baking, not actual "in the kitchen" work). I used the vegetables that are called for in the recipe, but really I think you could use just about any combination you had on hand......actually, I was thinking that some yam would be fantastic in this dish. And while I did add the dried apricot, I really think it could do with out. The apricots got a little hard in the roasting process, and they didn't add that much sweetness to the dish.

My mom and brother both came over for dinner tonight, and both very much enjoyed this dinner. They are often critical of my vegan food, so I'm always thrilled when I've made something that they enjoy (which, for the record, is most of the time!!).

Snow Day....we had about 12 inches!!!

Running in the snow is very hard!!

Louis was sinking with every step.

Mommy made a snow angel and couldn't get up!

The snow was up to her knees!! But, she loved every minute of it!!

And yes, this post was food (well, ok, drink) related. This is the best part of playing in the snow.....hot cocoa when you come in!! We made Hot Coco-Cocoa from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan. It's a combination of coconut milk, vanilla non-dairy milk, cocoa and maple syrup. What a great way to warm up!!

Savory Lentils

Tonight's dinner was Savory French Lentils from ED&BV. Very good.....even the girls liked them, and for Mairin to like lentils, they must be good!! I love french lentils anyway, they hold their shape so nicely and don't turn to mush like most other lentils. They also have a very distinct flavor that other types of lentils don't have. Dreena does this one up right, with a great combination of herbs. Ironically, I didn't have the savory that the recipe calls for, so I subbed in a little extra thyme and a bit of sage. It did the trick.

I served the lentils over some steamed brown rice. Alongside we had steamed carrots, zucchini, and sugar snaps drizzled with ED&BV's Maple Balsamic Sauce. Yummy. Maple Balsamic Sauce is great over vegetables. I did leave out the tamari though, just in case Stella wanted to have a taste.

Quick and Easy Repeat

I have to attend a CEU course all weekend , which means getting up at 6am, and not returning home until around 6pm. Not my idea of a pleasant weekend, but something that unfortunately has to be done.

So tonight's dinner was a repeat of ED&BV's Popeye Pasta that I have blogged about before. I think this is a great recipe, it's quick and it's delicious. And an added bonus, it's a great pairing of an iron rich leafy green with the necessary Vitamin C. Just for an added iron boost we had a spinach salad with blood orange vinaigrette to go along with our pasta.

Tonight Mairin ate a surprising amount of pasta and claimed that now she "loves spinach". I will be the happiest mama on Earth if that's the case, but I'm skeptical, and pretty sure that tomorrow she'll be turning her nose up at the leftovers!!


For dessert we finished off our Cherrybrook Kitchen brownies, as there were exactly 4 left since we ate 4 of them last night.

OK, I guess by now you are wondering how I made 8 brownies in a square pan, right?? You got me, there were actually 9. Don't tell my kids, but I ate one of them slathered with peanut butter for breakfast ;)

Anyway, tonight we topped the brownies with ED&BV's Warm Raspberry Sauce. Oh my, was that ever a good idea!! Raspberries and chocolate rock!!

Sweet Potato Lentil Chili

Tonight's dinner was Sweet Potato Lentil Chili from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan. This chili is awesome, definitely a new favorite of mine. Rob commented that it was so much better than regular chili......he's not a chili fan, and he really liked this one. I had to make just a few minor changes to the recipe. It calls for cumin, I was out, because I used it all in my Bombay Chickpeas from last night. It also calls for red pepper flakes, which I was also out of. So, I subbed about 1/2 tsp extra chili powder to give it the addtional heat and cumin flavor. Instead of using a can of regular crushed tomatoes, I used fire roasted, which I think just add such a unique and incredible flavor. I don't think I'd make it with plain tomatoes. I also used up the last of my kidney beans making Chipotle Lime Two Bean Hummus for Rob. So, instead, I subbed cannellini beans.

I topped the chili with some diced avocado. And, served some cornbread on the side. YUM!!

Chickpea Broccoli Casserole

We've been having left-overs and pasta with sauce from a jar for the past few nights, so there's been very little to blog about. With the exception of some Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from ED&BV, and some more vegan muffins, I haven't really cooked anything.

So, tonight I thought I'd get back in the kitchen. I decided to make up this Chickpea Broccoli casserole from Vegan with a Vengeance. It seemed simple enough, and it was. It was also great because I could make it up and refrigerate it, then have Rob pop it in the oven while I was out teaching my class. Seems like the perfect solution to a quick weeknight meal, right? Well, it was the perfect solution if you like bland casserole with more or less raw vegetables in it. In other words, BLECH!!! I even heeded Isa's warning that it was bland and added what I thought was an adequate amount of seasoning....still, no flavor. I also cooked it the recommended amount of time......basically raw veggies. This casserole was an all out flop. It really was the most unsatisfying meal I've ever eaten. I couldn't even bring myself to make the kids try it, and we all ended up eating cereal.

I know there are a lot of VwaV fans out there, but I have to say I'm not one of them. I've checked this book out of the library several times, and I've never found a recipe in it that I like. Most of the recipes seem to include soy which Stella can't have, or seitan, which all of you who follow my blog know how I feel about that!! I guess I'm gonna have to send this one back to the library and stick with my trusty ED&BV, because I've had quite the opposite experience with it.....I have LOVED every recipe I've tried!!

Popeye Pasta

A few weeks ago we had Olive Oyl Pasta from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan. Tonight we had pasta dedicated to Olive Oyl's other half, Popeye. Again, this recipe comes from ED&BV. It's penne pasta in a tomato based sauce with lots of fresh spinach wilted in at the end. Like everything else I've ever made from this book, it was phenomenal. Along with the pasta we had a spinach salad dressed with Annie's Naturals Tuscany Italian Dressing, and Dreena's Simplest Garlic Bread. I also whipped up some White Bean Spread (also from ED&BV) to slather on the garlic bread. The bean spread was delicious and I can't wait to use it on some veggie sandwiches tomorrow.

The Popeye Pasta was enjoyed by all.....as you can see, Stella had it all the way up to her forehead.

I had initially intended to "hide" the spinach by chopping it up real fine in the food processor, because I figured there was no way Mairin would touch it otherwise (although, funny enough, she loves spinach in her omelets). Well, turns out that Mairin was playing at a friends house and ate some things over there, so I figured she wouldn't be hungry for dinner at our house. I don't have to "hide" anything from Stella, so I just chopped the spinach coarsely and tossed it in. Mairin came home from playing, and in an attempt to stall bedtime a bit, decided that she didn't eat enough at her friend's house and needed some "pa nay nay" (our made up word for penne......remember Sha Nay Nay from Martin??). Of course, I was sure she wouldn't eat it when she saw that it had green in it...........I was wrong, she ate all but about 2 bites of her serving. She never even mentioned the green!!

White Bean and Rosemary Soup with Jumbo Croutons

Last night was another new dish from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan. We had the White Bean Soup with Rosemary and Jumbo Croutons. Wow!! This soup is good. Want proof........Mairin ate 2, yes you read that right, 2 bowls. Of course, she's a crouton addict, so the croutons being in the soup helped.

This soup has a very mellow flavor, with each of the ingredients imparting their own subtle flavor. It's a thick and creamy puree, Rob described it as having the texture of gravy. He actually thought it was a bit like biscuits and gravy in a bowl. I don't know, I didn't quite get that feeling, but, to each his own I guess.

This is a very quick dish to prepare as well. I didn't get home until after 7, and we were eating by 8. That included all of the prep of the veggies and everything. We'll definitely be adding this one to our soup rounds.

Revisiting Eat Drink and Be Vegan

Yes, it really has been 5 days since I've cooked a meal. Well, almost. I did make some lentil soup in the crock pot last Thursday, but it's been 5 days since I've really cooked. Rob and I have been in Chicago celebrating our 8th anniversary and spending some much needed time alone together!! I've been letting someone else do the cooking for me. We had room service for breakfast every day. Oh, how heavenly......laying in bed while your breakfast is delivered right to you. I can't even remember the last time I got to lay in bed, eat my breakfast, and then continue to lay in bed for 2, yes TWO, more hours. Dozing off and on, no kids climbing on me, heavenly I tell you, simply heavenly!!

We did get out of bed and venture into the city as well. We had a lovely dinner at the Silver Spoon. Fried tofu with peanut dipping sauce for starters, and Spicy Crazy Noodles with Tofu for a main course. Followed by drinks at the Palm Court of the Drake Hotel. For our anniversary dinner the following night we ate at Sushi Wabi. I, unfortunately, didn't stay totally veg.....it's hard to do at a Sushi Bar. Here we had Yawa Ragani (tempura soft shelled crab with honey wasabi dipping sauce) for starters. Followed by a Godzilla Roll for me (tempura shrimp, orange tobikko, avocado, cream cheese, green onion, chili sauce, spicy mayo and sesame seed). We finished with Green Tea Cheesecake and again drinks at The Drake. I had intended to take pictures of our weekend meals, but we failed to bring the camera, so you'll just have to use your imaginations.

So, on to tonight. I decided to revisit ED&BV for Dreena's Olive Oyl Pasta. This is basically a pasta of your choice topped with a tomato based sauce with sauteed garlic and shallots (I substituted some minced red onion), and a combo of Kalamata and green olives. All drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. As expected, this dish was out of this world.......Dreena really does have some amazing recipes in this book. I served the pasta with some garlic bread that I made by slicing a mini baguette from WFM then brushing it with a bit of melted butter and sprinkling with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Then I baked it at 350 until it was starting to brown and was crisp. Rob says it was possibly the best garlic bread he's ever had!

For dessert Mairin and I made Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, also from ED&BV. Again, they are amazing. And again, they were another "best I ever had" from Rob. They really are great, and relatively healthy too. And an added bonus, they don't have one single ingredient that Stella can't eat, which seems to be unusual these days. So, we've finally found a treat that Stella can eat...yay!!

With the holiday's coming, the posts may become few and far between, as I've got a a lot of planning and prepping to do, but keep checking, there will at least be a few this week. I do have quite a feast planned for Christmas day, so hopefully in the hustle and bustle of it all I can remember to snap a few pics for you guys!!

Back to the Kitchen

Back to reality.......we had a wonderful time in Cancun, no one was ready to come back to our real lives. It was one of those vacations where you do absolutely nothing but relax. We were all loving basking in the sun, swimming all day, sipping drinks by the pool, having massages, temperatures in the 80's........but alas, back to reality.

Back to reality can only mean one thing, back to the kitchen (it was nice having someone else cook all of my meals for 7 days!!). But, before I could get back in the kitchen, I had to get to the store (we had a box of cereal, a dozen eggs, and one 1/2 gallon of Silk left when we returned). So, I hauled myself out into the frigid weather (in all fairness it was in the high 40's yesterday, but it felt pretty chilly in comparison), and got to WFM. Needless to say, with next to nothing left at home I had to spend a small fortune, but we do have food now, and I'm all set to cook.

Rob and I were both commenting that while we didn't want to leave Cancun, we were looking forward to returning home to my cooking (a girl can't get a decent vegetarian meal in Cancun...hence all of the seafood I consumed). So, for last nights dinner I planned Chickpea Sensation Patties from ED&bV, mashed potatoes with Thick and Rich Gravy (gravy also from ED&bV) and I cooked up some green beans that we'd bought at the end of the season from the Farmer's market and had frozen.

I've been reading a lot of raves for Chickpea Cutlets from Veganomicon lately, and since I don't have that book I used Dreena's chickpea patty recipe instead. I haven't made one of Dreena's recipes that I haven't liked, so I was sure this one would serve as a wonderful substitute until I get my hands on Veganomicon.

Of course, I was right. The chickpea patties really were sensational, and the gravy was incredible. This wasn't a meal that I thought Rob would be crazy for, but he loved the patties and even asked for more gravy (which says a lot considering he very much dislikes gravy). Even Mairin ate half a patty which is really something for her.

The recipe makes 8 patties, so there are leftovers for lunch today.....you forgot to take your lunch today Rob, looks like I'll be eating the patties, sorry.

Bean and Corn Tortilla Lasagna

Last night we had my dad and step mom over for dinner so they could visit with the girls before we leave on our Holiday Vacation. I decided to make a repeat of a meal we had a few weeks ago, Bean and Corn Tortilla Lasagna, from ED&bV. Rob loved this dish when I made it before, so I knew it was a satisfying vegetarian option for the meat eaters. My dad and Sandy both loved the dish, and as far as I know, they didn't even miss the meat. You may recall from last time that I had changed the recipe slightly to make it in a smaller casserole dish. Well, this time I followed the recipe exactly, and to be honest I think Rob and I liked it better last time. Stella again gobbled hers up like the little piggy she is. Mairin was a little more hesitant, and in the end, ate Weetabix for dinner (again!!).



To go along with the lasagna I made a fresh guacamole. For this I use one ripe avocado, smashed. Sprinkle with a tad of sea salt, and squeeze half a lime over it. Mix in one chopped roma tomato, half a small onion diced very small and a handful of cilantro leaves and stems chopped. When the dish is intended for adults only I add in one jalapeno pepper also diced small. Knowing that the girls would be eating the guac last night, I left the jalapeno out. I also served some tomatillo salsa from Whole Foods Market along with the guac and chips.

Lastly, and un-food related, I just wanted to share the view out my kitchen door (I wish I'd taken it about 2 days ago though before the wind came and blew off half the leaves). I often look out onto my back-yard while I am cooking and think of how fortunate I am. The trees are lovely in fall (they are lovely in the summer too, but the fall colors are just spectacular). We are blessed with such a beautiful home and beautiful surroundings, and I just felt like sharing..........thanks Rob!!

Orange Sesame Tofu

We had another Eat, Drink and Be Vegan night last night (we had quite a break from it and I was excited to start in on some more of Dreena's recipes, they are always winners with me.). I made Orange Sesame Tofu over Coconut Lime Basmati Rice, with a side of roasted broccoli that was drizzled with toasted sesame oil and tamari. I started by pressing the tofu for about an hour to remove the excess moisture. To do this I cut a block of extra firm tofu in half horizontally, wrap both halves in cheese cloth then I sit a smaller plate upside down on top of a larger plate, place the tofu on top of that and weight it down with a cast iron skillet. After about an hour the tofu is pretty well pressed, although if you'd like a drier tofu you can always press it longer.

I then proceeded with Dreena's recipe for both the Coconut Lime Rice and for the Orange Sesame Tofu. The tofu marinated while the rice cooked and then I prepped the broccoli. I washed and trimmed one head of broccoli into bite-sized florets. After it has dried slightly I place it on a baking sheet, drizzle it with toasted sesame oil, a dash of salt and pepper, then stick it in the oven at 400 with the tofu. The tofu took about 20 minutes total, and I let the broccoli cook for as long. After the broccoli is removed from the oven I splash on just a dash of tamari and mix it all up real good.

I served it all up and we ate it with chopsticks just for fun. Mairin was determined to use chopsticks and lo and behold, she was able to eat with them on her first try........it took me forever to learn to use chopsticks. She tasted her tofu and claimed to not like it, but I think she was just being obstinate, as she didn't make a face or spit it out as is what generally happens when she doesn't like something. She did eat all of her broccoli though, and for that I am happy!!

To finish it off we had Coconut Cake (also from ED&BV), but instead of a 2-layer cake, I turned it into cupcakes. I was also going to make the Coconut Icing, but it required Xanthan Gum, which costs over $10 at WFM, and I refuse to pay that much for any one ingredient. So instead, we drizzled it with Warm Raspberry Sauce.......ok, so I didn't drizzle it, I poured it on because that stuff is so dang delicious (we used the rest of it to cover our pancakes this morning).

All in all, it was a delicious meal. It was actually meant to be my birthday meal last week until my mom offered to take us out. It would have made a fantastic birthday meal, even if I did have to cook it myself. We did decide that next time the tofu needs some red chili flakes sprinkled on it. It just really needed another layer of flavor, and some heat as well.

Lazy Sunday Morning Becomes Lazy Sunday Evening

Well, the slow and lazy morning became afternoon, and then it became evening. Yep, it was a full day of lazy. At 5pm we finally decided we should take our pajamas off and go outside for awhile. So, we threw on some clothes and caps and hauled our butts outside. We took a walk and played on the swings for awhile before coming in to make dinner.

Again, dinner came from ED&BV (and I promise to lay off of it for awhile after this, my next 3 days of meal plans do not involve opening this book!!). Tonight we had Bean and Corn Tortilla Lasagna with Avocado. I changed the recipe slightly because we didn't need a 9x13 sized dish of this for just the 4 of us. So, I halved the amount of tomato sauce used, halved all of the spices, but kept the original amount of garlic, beans and avocado, then assembled it in a small Corningware dish. I didn't measure the amount of corn I used, I just sprinkled some on until I thought it looked right. I also didn't measure the amount of cheese I used, again, just sprinkled it on until it looked right (by the way, I subbed shredded cheddar jack for the vegan cheese). Then I baked at 400 until the cheese was melted and bubbly.

It was incredibly easy to make and tasted fantastic! Rob claimed to not be hungry prior to dinner, but somehow managed to eat 2 pieces of this lasagna (go figure). Stella didn't approve upon first try, but eventually decided that she loved it and couldn't get enough. Mairin flat out refused to eat hers. But when faced with the possibility of getting a cupcake for dessert she quickly decided that she'd eat it, and lo and behold, she even liked it (oh, the wonders of bribery!!)

This is definately one for all of you meat eaters to try. It's going on my list of meals to make when my non-veg friends come over (wait, I guess I mean when anyone comes over, as I don't actually have any veg friends.......except you HM-D, but I don't expect you guys to be over for dinner anytime soon, although we'd love to have you!!)

A Lazy Sunday Morning

Sunday morning is pancake morning at our house. We have pancakes for breakfast nearly every Sunday morning. It's something Rob started doing for me when I was pregnant with Mairin. We've kind of kept at it, except that now I fix the pancakes.

Typically it's just 365 brand pancake mix from Whole Foods Market topped with maple syrup. Sometimes we mix it up a bit and use strawberry sauce to top them.

Today, we tried something totally new. We had Banana Cream Pancakes from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan (no, it's not the only cookbook I own, but it's the newest in my collection, so I'm trying as much of it as I can) topped with Warm Raspberry Sauce (you guessed it, also from ED&BV!!). The batter consists of spelt flour, bananas and coconut milk. They were delicious, and a very nice change from the norm. Mairin ate hers topped with whipped cream. Stella didn't eat hers at all. She loves pancakes, but she was less than thrilled with these. It was quite humerous to see her look at the pancakes (which look like your run of the mill pancake), pick it up to eat it, and get angry and spit it out when it didn't taste like the pancakes she knows and loves. But, don't let her reaction be your judge, get the book and try them for yourself, I think you'll like them.

After breakfast we proceeded to prep some green beans we got from the farmers market yesterday. Mairin and I snapped and washed them all. Then we blanched them, threw them in an ice bath, laid them out to dry and bagged them to be frozen.

Following green bean prep was pumpkin carving. I love pumpkin carving, there's something so nostalgic about carving pumpkins. One of my favorite parts is sticking my hand in the pumpkin and pulling out all of the goo. I love the way it feels and the way it smells....mmmm.

Apparently Mairin doesn't like it as much as I do. In her eagerness to help, she stuck her hand in the pumpkin and quickly let out a blood curdling scream, as she pulled out her hand covered in goo. We couldn't get her to the sink quick enough to satisfy her. Anyway, the carving continued, and the end results were quite nice. The princess of course belongs to Mairin, and the traditional jack-o-lantern is Stella's (it has 3 teeth, just like her!!).


While I did the carving (I know, it's typically Daddy's who do the carving.....I'm too much of a control freak to let that happen here), Rob washed the goo off of all the pumpkin seeds. We then laid them out on a baking sheet to dry for a bit. Before they were completely dry we sprinkled them with brown sugar, a touch of granulated sugar, and some cinnamon. Then we roasted them at 350 until the sugar carmalized and the seeds were crisp.


They taste like fall. And an added bonus was that our house smelled absolutely fabulous as the seeds roasted.

By then lunch time had rolled around. I know what you are thinking, and yes we did spend our entire morning in the kitchen.

We had left-over chili and hummus from last night. The girls had grilled cheese and tomato soup that was left over from Whole Foods Market yesterday. We eat lunch at WFM every Saturday and Mairin loves their Tomato Dill soup. This was Mairin's creation -----------> tortilla chips crumbled into her tomato soup. She insisted that we photograph it to post on the blog. And she's sure that you will all try this tasty concoctions yourselves.

A Nice Evening for a Bowl of Chili, and a Bonfire

It was cold today. And worse than that, it was cold and gray. It was truly a stereotypical fall day. It was a perfect day for a bowl (or 2) of chili. We'd been invited to a Halloween/Fall party and bonfire and we were to bring a dish to share. Chili was what I brought to share.

I make a Vegetable 3-Bean Chili. It's my adaptation of a recipe that I got off of a Rachael Ray episode. I know how a lot of my fellow bloggers feel about RR, but I like her. Granted she doesn't make a lot of vegetarian friendly meals, but she does inspire a lot of people to cook at home (and remember, I'm just recently vegetarian, so I myself have made a lot of her meals). And she's just so darn personable. I mean, when you watch her on t.v. she feels like someone you went to high school with or something, ya know?

Anyway, I don't know the exact recipe (I've been making it so long I kind of know it by heart now), and I don't have exact measurements because I basically just make it by taste, but here's a pretty close guesstimate:

2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or EVOO in Rachael Ray speak)
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper (or hot pepper of your choice), chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced.
sea salt
1 Tbs ground cumin
2 Tbs chili powder (plus more to taste)
5 cups vegetable stock
2 cups cooked kidney beans
2 cups cooked black beans
1 15 oz can fire roasted tomatoes, undrained
1 can vegetarian refried beans

Heat oil in a large soup pot. Saute peppers, onion and garlic until vegetables begin to soften. Season with salt, cumin and chili powder and cook for about a minute more. Deglaze pot with vegetable stock. Then add in kidney beans, black beans and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer. Let simmer for awhile (I don't really know how long, just until you are about ready to eat I guess). Stir in 1 can of refried beans to thicken chili. Taste and season accordingly with more chili powder and/or salt.

Since we aren't vegan we like to eat ours with a dollop of sour cream and a little sprinkling of cheddar cheese. I also add in some chopped cilantro leaves when I have them.


I also made the Chipotle Lime 2-Bean Hummus from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan to bring along and share. I let Rob have a sample after I whirled it up in the food processor, and he couldn't stop eating it. It really did turn out delicious, and we have plenty left over (I made a double batch) to snack on tomorrow. I think next time I will add slightly more chipotle hot sauce, but other than that, it was perfect. We dipped tortilla chips in it, but we're going to be trying it very soon as a burrito filling.

Soup's On!!! (and cookies too)

After nearly a week with ED&BV sitting on my shelf, I've finally gotten around to making something from it!! I must be the only person who owns ED&BV that didn't start cooking from it right away. It's that whole menu planning thing, you know. I had my weeks meals already planned before I purchased the book, so it kind of set me back a bit on getting to try some of Dreena's tasty creations.

Last night was cold and rainy, again (I think it's been raining for a week now). I'm trying really hard not to complain. We were 10 inches behind normal for rainfall this year and in the past week we've gotten 8.36 inches, so we're nearly breaking even now. And, I've been hoping for awhile now that soup weather would get here. However, the grey rainy days are starting to get old......how about chilly and sunny for a change.

Anyway, it was again, another perfect night for soup, so I finally pulled out ED&BV. One Wild Chick Soup was what caught my eye. I followed the recipe pretty close, however, I didn't have any wild rice. I did have a combo of long grain and wild, so I used that. I also threw in a vegan vegetable bouillon cube to amp up the flavor a bit. I left out the fresh herbs and used slightly more (on Dreena's recommendation) dried herb. And finally, I had a bunch of red kale in the refrigerator that needed used up, so I chopped it up and threw it in too. The result was savory and delish!! Rob thought it tasted like Thanksgiving (isn't it funny how anything with sage reminds us of Thanksgiving). This one was comfort food for sure, and it will be frequenting our dinner table this winter.

Yesterday started off kind of rough for us. Mairin hates getting up in the morning and getting ready for school, it's a battle every time. Thank heavens it's only 3 days a week......we're in for it when she starts kindergarten next year, oy.

So, to make everyone feel better, I thought baking cookies together would be a good idea. What kid doesn't love baking cookies with their mama? And who can feel bad when there's chocolate involved? So, we settled on Chocolate Chunk Spice Cookies (also from ED&BV).


I didn't have everything for this recipe either, so we winged it, and they turned out fabulous. I didn't have any dark chocolate chunks, but I did have semi-sweet chocolate chips, so I subbed those. I also didn't have any barley flour so we used all-purpose baking flour. And, believe it or not, I didn't have any baking soda (I used the last of it to scrub my bathroom last week), so I had to skip that. Otherwise, we followed the recipe. They were so gooey and chocolatey, and without all of the sugar that regular cookies have they felt so "unsinful".......I had 2!!

It's left-overs tonight, so I'll be back with more in a few days.

Busy Weekend = Little Cooking

We had a busy weekend, so there wasn't a lot of cooking going on. Friday night we took the kids to the Zoo for the World's Largest Halloween Party. They had a great time. Mairin took her friend with her, so we took the kids out to dinner before we went. We went to our favorite quick and kid friendly Mexican fast-food, Q-doba. They have a few vegetarian choices, the vegetarian nachos seem to be my favorite at the moment (although they are loaded with fat.......I guess we all deserve a little fat now and again don't we??).

Saturday was/is errand day for us. So, our day started at the Farmers Market. Next week the market goes on hiatus for the winter, and it's slim pickin's there this time of year. I got some peppers that I needed for the chili we'll be having later in the week. I bought up all of the lima beans that they had left so I could freeze them. We got a few zucchini, a few potatoes, and some green beans. I wanted to get some eggs, but I didn't need them and we had a long day of errands left to do, and with temperatures in the mid-80s it didn't seem like a good idea to let eggs sit in my car all day. Next week we'll hit the market with the intention of buying everything we can that will freeze well and use it over the next few months.

Next we hit the bookstore to use some gift cards our girls got for their birthdays. And, while we were there, I picked up my copy of Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan. So, expect to see a few meals by Dreena in the days and weeks to come!

Rob has taken up biking, so after the farmer's market, we headed to the mall to pick up some gear that Rob needed for his big bike ride on Sunday. By that time it was lunch, so we decided to eat at California Pizza Kitchen. They too have a few vegetarian choices, so it wasn't difficult finding something to eat. I had the Mediterranean salad, which was delicious. Of course, I did get the standard "are you sure you don't want chicken on that?". Am I the only one that gets that "you must be crazy" stare when you order a meal without meat??

Finally, we made it to Whole Foods Market to finish our shopping. I really need to start doing my shopping at Rainbow Blossom and support local business, but Mairin would be devastated. Whole Foods is one of her favorite places to go, when asked if she wants to go out to eat, and where, the answer is always "Whole Foods".

Well, by the time we finish all of this it's evening already, and I don't feel much like cooking. So, we had our old stand-by, spaghetti with sauce from a jar. I could make this everyday and my whole family would be happy. My kids and my husband eat spaghetti like it's going out of style. While it's a really boring meal, and completely uninspired, I love that all I have to do is boil some water and open a jar and I have a meal that puts a smile on everyone's face.



Sunday, my mom and I went outlet shopping.....my kids were in desperate need of some fall/winter clothes. I knew that after a day of driving and shopping that I wouldn't feel like cooking when I cam home. However, we'd had more than enough junk, what with all the eating out we did this weekend. I really wanted to make my family a home-cooked meal. Enter, the slow cooker. We had No Hurry Vegetable Curry, from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker. I pretty much followed the recipe exactly, however, I didn't have any ground coriander, so I skipped adding the 1/4 tsp of that. I also added 1 cup of coconut milk, instead of the 1/2 cup that the recipe calls for. When I got home I could smell the curry from the garage. It smelled like a wonderful Indian restaurant. I cooked up some basmati rice, while Mairin put on a fashion show with all of her new clothes.

We ate the curry over rice, with a little mango chutney on the side to mix in. I'll have to say, it wasn't the best curry I've ever eaten. But it wasn't the worst either, and the fact that the slow cooker did most of the work makes it a sure bet that I'll be making it again, although I'll do some adjusting to the recipe next time. The addition of the sweet, hot chutney really made the difference, and I think I'll just add it directly to the curry as it cooks.