Quick and dirty

Yes, it's time for another hurried post as I scramble to finish my NaNoWriMo novel. I'm past the 35k mark but there are only 7 and a quarter days left to reach 50k. Yikes! So here's the quick and dirty low down on what I've been eating while franticly novel-ing.

Thursday was a rice and lentils day with carrots, cauliflower, and bok choy. Served with my favorite quick and dirty dish: broiled tofu! (Thanks Veganomicon!)



Friday I went to LA for a yoga event, so I ate a sandwich in the car on the way down. Yum.

Saturday in LA I ate at the M Cafe. Highly recommend it. I had a seitan cutlet served over rice and veggies. I was so hungry and excited for the excellent food that I forgot to take a picture. The one negative comment I have for them: the chocolate cupcake was delicious but the frosting sucked. Since half the point of a cupcake is the frosting it was very disappointing.

Sunday morning we had brunch at Real Food Daily. I had a gluten-free waffle with soy-whipped cream and strawberries. It was served with tempeh bacon and hashbrowns. The one negative comment for them: the tempeh bacon was so salty that it really tasted like bacon but I couldn't eat more than one piece. That's too bad because it was delicious in some ways and I had three pieces on my plate. And I appreciated that it was homemade tempeh bacon, not from some pre-flavored package a la Herbivore. Still, I should be able to finish my bacon.



Monday night we had squash soup with a secret ingredient of black-eyed peas. Served with rice this was a delicious soup made by Dandelion the Bitter Green.



Tuesday last week we made buckwheat and a red lentil pate. This was served with a burdock, carrot, and broccoli kimpira.



Wednesday: more soup leftovers with rice and baby bok choy.



Thursday was quinoa served over salad greens tossed with kale, carrots, and broccoli. Special ingredient: fresh walnuts from the farmer's market!



Friday night we ate snacks for dinner. Yep, we really did.

Saturday I tossed all the leftovers into one pot and made something with broccoli, carrots, buckwheat, and quinoa. We served it with a fresh batch of broiled tofu to liven it up.



Sunday night we had burritos. Tonight we're having falafel. Yes, that's what happens sometimes when it's quick and dirty month.

Halfway point

I'm over halfway! I've hit the 25,000 word mark on the NaNoWriMo novel so that surely means I have time to write a blog post.

Last weekend when Dandelion the Bitter Green was out of town I think I ate nothing but Mexican food, or my version thereof.

Friday night was roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes served in a tortilla with leftover rice and kale and carrots dish and avocado.



Saturday night was pinto beans flavored with miso and broiled carrots and zucchini, served in a sprouted corn tortilla with more avocado.



Sunday was more pinto beans cooked with chard, kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) slices roasted in the oven, the leftover carrots and zucchini and some more tortillas.



Monday night Dandelion the Bitter Green made the entire meal. I think all I did was boil water. And everything he made was delicious.

We had rice and lentils with a salad of steamed broccoli and carrots, fried tempeh bacon, arame (a seaweed), and sunflower seeds.



Tuesday night we had pizza from our local pizza place.

Wednesday night is pasta night. Tonight it's served with fresh walnuts (from the almond lady at the farmer's market!), fried tofu, and brussel sprouts and carrots with garlic.

Try, Try Again

Apologies in advance for the month of November. I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month where we crazy fools try to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I'm on track so far but if anything falls behind it will probably be the blog. So look through the archives and pick your favorite thing that I've forgotten I ever made and ask me to write about that. In December.

For now, a quick list of what I've been eating. It's likely to be frozen pizzas and take out once the real novel writing starts because time spent cooking is time I should be writing. Hence the chance the procrastinate and write a blog, cook a meal, or, gasp, eat dinner at an actual table.

Friday night: Steamed veggies (carrots, bok choy, and purple kale) tossed with vinegar and oil, served with rice and lentils.



Saturday night was Halloween so we ate burritos from Papalote's after wandering a small section of the city in our fancy costumes. This is the best burrito place in town, especially if you are a vegetarian. Tofu mole, actual vegetables, soy chorizo-- these guys have everything a vegan could want and more.

Sunday: pancakes for brunch and a red lentil cauliflower curry for dinner. With a side of purple kale over brown rice.



Monday: Brussel Sprouts! If you are not a fan of the b. sprouts you really should be. When cooked well they are some of the most delicious vegetables ever. I seriously can't get enough. This recipe was simple and from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. (Buy it! Support my company!) We ate it with a shitake and rice dish which totally reminded me of Japan. I have no idea how Dandelion the Bitter Green did it so I can only say it was delicious and a fabulous combination.



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Brussel Sprouts with Garlic
1 lb sprouts, ends cut off and cut in half
about 5 cloves of garlic
some olive oil

Heat the oil in an oven proof pan (cast iron works great for this), add the brussel sprouts in one layer cut side down. (If you can get them all in one layer you must have a really big pan! Mine did not fit so I had to do more stirring than he recommends but it still worked.) Let them cook until brown on the cut side. Then add the garlic, stir and toss in the oven (which you very intelligently pre-heated to 400 degrees.) Stir every ten minutes and cook for a total of 20-30 minutes. The brussel sprouts come out soft, sweet, and tasty. I had to stop myself from eating them all that one night.
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Tuesday was more leftovers because that cauliflower curry makes a lot of food.

Wednesday was an attempt to use leftover rice in some more interesting way. For once, as sometimes happens, I didn't like what I made. It was rice with carrots, kale, and almonds. But it was boring and had no flavor. I also made roasted sweet potatoes and red potatoes with thyme. That dish was good but didn't make up for the other one which of course made a huge amount and I will be eating it all weekend.



Thursday: I tried to fix the dish from last night (since I have so much of it I can't let it go to waste) and it worked much better. I heated up a skillet with a little water. Added the rice dish and some soy sauce and then added two spoonfuls of almond butter and a touch more water. Stirred it up until it was all coated and was very happy with the results. Day 2 = Success!