Know when to follow

I was so ready for brown rice and kale this week. It's kind of a joke about macrobiotics, that that's all we eat. It's totally not true but I would have been happy to have it after last week. After my parents left my mother-in-law arrived. That meant pizza, Japanese food, and Millennium (high-end vegan food). The Millennium meal was so delicious that I forgot to take a picture until my plate was clean. (And no, I did not lick it clean. Just very, very carefully ate every tiny bit.) It was blackberry BBQ tempeh with corn/pozole mash, collards greens, and some sauces.



I had several awesome drinks as well. A Strawberry Snap (black pepper infused vodka, strawberry puree, ginger agave, Proccesco) and vodka added to a Blueberry Smash (muddled blueberries, lemonade and something else). Oh, and a dark chocolate cheesecake for dessert.



After all that rich food we made a very simple dinner on Sunday. Brown rice and lentils (hurrah!) with roasted broccoli and carrots.



Monday night was me trying to follow a recipe without having all the ingredients. A split pea soup became a split mung beans and carrot soup. But it did have homemade croutons which were totally easy and delicious. (Recipe from Macrobiotics for Dummies)



Tuesday was another recipe night. (I was obviously feeling brave this week.) Red lentil cauliflower curry from Veganomicon. Delicious even when (again!) I didn't quite have all the right ingredients.



That lasted through Wednesday (and maybe into the weekend!) Tonight will be a simple meal of a salad, toasted buckwheat, steamed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots), and adzuki beans all tossed with vinegar and oil.

Cheesecake!

I know I should be working and that tomorrow I will regret that I got so little done today. However I thought I should share the most delicious dessert I've had in a while. (And, no, it is not the strawberry rhubarb pie/soup I made last week. That was an absolute failure in firmness. What gives, arrowroot?)



This is a picture of the strawberry cheesecake (vegan) that I had at Weird Fish last week. So amazing! We were marveling over how great it was-- even if you weren't vegan! (Shocking!) But that's the goal, right? To be able to wow omnivores with the awesomeness of vegan food. This dish would be able to do it. (Though not with the catchy title the waitress said someone had suggested: Soy-curd cake!)

[Photo courtesy of Scott Walker.]

Restaurant Survival

Yes, I survived a week of restaurant food. My parents were here and I think we ate out almost every night. The one time I made food was a quick dinner before a party. Both Dandelion the Bitter Green and I needed to shower, wrap presents, and get the dinner made. The secret magic? Quinoa. Best grain for fast cooking. We made that with slivered roasted almonds and a side of cauliflower and kale. Quick and easy once everything was cut.



The next time we made dinner was also a fast night. We made kasha (toasted buckwheat), which is my second favorite grain for super fast cooking. It takes about as long as it takes the water to boil before it's all done. And it tastes amazing! I had previously been using untoasted buckwheat (simply called buckwheat) because it was cheaper and I figured I could toast it myself if I really wanted to. And then I accidentally bought the toasted kind and now I don't think I could go back! It's so much more flavorful. The one thing to watch out for is texture. If you're (or someone you love) a texture-issue person you might not like it as much. It kind of comes out as slightly grainy mashed potatoes.



We made the kasha with broiled summer squash (because that was so good and easy last time). Served with a dish of broccoli and kidney beans. The beans were canned but a nice organic, no salt variety. If you need something quick high quality canned beans are an easy way to cut corners.





Tonight was pasta with an amazing fake white sauce made out of cauliflower and lots of garlic and oil. Plus broiled tofu (yum!) and a salad. Very rich and filling. And did I mention the strawberry rhubarb pie I made last night? It finished cooking so late that I haven't tried it yet. Inaugural tasting right now...

Summer leftovers

Ok sorry for such a delay in giving you the update on the awesome things I made last weekend! But hopefully this will keep you satisfied because now that my parents are here I haven't cooked in almost a week (eek!) I'm starting to get tired of restaurants.



Thursday last week I made the quintessential summer menu: Boca burgers, corn on the cob, broiled zucchini with carrots and onions, and strawberry shortcake. The shortcake was made with some of my sourdough starter so it was the dense not-so-sweet kind of shortcake. Also had some vanilla Coconut Bliss ice cream on hand. Delish!



Friday was leftovers of that plus a salad.



Saturday was also leftovers. That was a lot of squash and boy, was it good!



Sunday was wild rice, my favorite "green beans vinaigrette" from the Macro cookbook, roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes, and sauteed greens. I've eaten that for lunch almost every day this week. Hurray for leftovers!

Heirlooms

The weekend in food was rather chaotic. Though I have to admit I was impressed that the breakfast place in Big Sur had vegan fake sausage. Not usually something I indulge in (fake meats) but this time it was worth it. We also had New Orleans vegetarian red beans and rice, traditional 4th of July cookout, and lots of chips and snacks.

Once we got home we had brown rice and heirloom beans (Vallarta variety from Rancho Gordo beans) with steamed veggies and a tahni-miso-lemon sauce.



Monday we had a soup/stew with broccoli, carrots, and celery root with the leftover rice and beans. Plus a super-garlic hummus made out of the beans as well.

Tuesday night was quinoa with the final bit of the beans and carrots. Plus a savory dish of broccoli and chard.



Wednesday night is pasta night. Soba noodles served with tempeh, baby bok choy, and chard.

Summer holidays

This is a short week because of the holiday so after today I'm not sure what I'll be eating. I did pretty well earlier this week in trying to recreate one of the dishes from Manzanita (roasted veggies with hijiki). I realize now they probably pressure cooked theirs whereas the oven roasting, like I tried, dried out the hijiki.

Monday night was a broccoli and rice soup with adzuki beans and sautéed greens. I had also gotten one of those Donna's Love Sticks as a bit of bread to go with the soup.



Tuesday night was the famous hijiki and roasted veggies dish. Served with a grain medley (mochi rice, barley, and rye), sautéed chard, and the infamous broiled tofu. This night I made the broiled tofu with limes instead of lemon juice. It was so tangy we all loved it.



Wednesday night was my taco noche because Dandelion the Bitter Green was already out of town. I made a quick pot of savory pinto beans, blanched some chard and ate it all with the leftover rice/ roasted veggies and chips.



Tonight, after making another famous batch of the rice krispie treats, I ordered take-out (Thai food).