The Home Stretch

I'm trying to get as many of the 100 done before the weekend is over, and there are a few I've done so far this week, so I decided to blog them out of the way before I went much further.

Now that I have rehearsal 3 nights a week, I don't have as much time for cooking, but I still managed to get several accomplished this week.  It started out as a Thai inspired week, as 84 and 85 came from Real Vegetarian Thai by Nancie McDermott.  Because I had all the ingredients on hand, I decided to make yellow curry paste, and using that, make yellow pineapple and pea curry.  The paste smelled flavorful and I could not wait to eat my curry, however the curry itself, with two kinds of peas, pineapple, tofu, and potato, was disappointing.  Other than being to hot for my palate, there really wasn't much else of a flavor to the dish.  It was hot with an aftertaste of incredibly bland.  The Baker liked, but did not love, the dish.  I'm going to use the curry paste for another dish or two before I pronounce it a lost cause, but the curry combination itself was a no go.  C for the paste, D+ for the curry.  It was edible, but I did not want to eat the leftovers.

Next came another Thai-inspired recipe, something quick, easy, and I was certain I would at least somewhat enjoy.  My love of Brussels sprouts meant that Thai garlicky Brussels sprouts met with success for both myself and the Baker.  We both assessed that they were good without being our favorite Brussels sprouts recipe.  Garlic and sprouts is a pretty good combination, and in this recipe, they have an added touch of Asian flair in the sauce.  One thing I don't like about the recipe is that it calls for a "vegetarian stir fry sauce" so there is no option to make the recipe entirely from scratch.  In a pinch, I don't mind using bottled sauces (I used a Trader "Ming's" sauce here which worked well) but I would rather have a sauce recipe from scratch with an option in the recipe to replace it with a bought sauce.  I give #86 an A-.

I went back to Big Vegan next.  This book is really capturing my heart.  It relies on whole food ingredients, does use some of the more unusual ingredients without going overboard, so I feel like I'm stretching myself without being overwhelmed.  Most of the recipes also feel simple, though I could imagine they might be overwhelming a touch for a novice cook.  This is also a rather large compendium, much like 500 Vegan Recipes or 1000 Vegan Recipes, and it covers a variety of basics, but it doesn't spend too much time or space re-making a lot of the basic vegan dishes there are dozens of recipes for everywhere.  Yes, there are some of those the authors offer their spin on, but a greater percentage is offering recipes that seem like they should be vegan standbys already.

Chilled cantaloupe soup with almonds was one of those recipes.  It was simple enough; cubed melon, blender, a little liquid.  I think the whole thing had about 5 ingredients.  Although I love cantaloupe, the toasted almonds and orange zest really added extra depth to the taste of the melon.  I will likely make this again; it seemed like a great soup for a warm summer day if you're feeling a little bored with plain cantaloupe.  #87 gets an A.

My search for the lentil soup came to an end with the French lentil and potato soup from Big Vegan.  I added a little liquid smoke, and will probably double the garlic next time, but this was quite a tasty lentil soup.  It really wasn't too different; very similar to the split pea soup I make but with thyme and lentils instead of split peas.  I guess it's the simplicity that really works.  I'm looking forward to eating the leftovers today, as the flavors are probably even more melded now.  All this is proof of success, unless I suppose I reheat and find it disgusting leftover.  This #88, since it still needed a few adjustments, gets an A-.