Breakfast yesterday was overnight slow cooker farratto from a new cookbook, Big Vegan by Robin Asbell and Kate Sears. It contained a mixture of faro and oats, cooked in apple juice and cinnamon with apricots. I like oatmeal and all the fiber and such therewith, but sometimes the creamy oatmeal texture needs a little shaking up. This grainy dish was a tasty breakfast with an interesting texture, and I think will be even better with a little soy yogurt or heated almond milk for the leftovers. This #77 was an A-. It needed a touch more liquid and soaking the crusty edges off the crock pot took most of the day.
We had friends over for pizza last night. I had a lovely vegan pizza, with garlic olive oil and sea salt and rosemary on top. I baked it for a while, then brushed on some pizza sauce. It's not exactly fontina and feta, but then again, no animals were harmed in the process. I think the garlic needed to be notched up a bit, but it was lovely.
For a starter, I made a new recipe from Big Vegan. Beet and apple slaw, though it had more oil than I usually like to use even after I cut down a bit, was an interesting new way to use up the beets that have been filling our CSA. One medium beet went a long way, and the slaw was tangy and slightly sweet. The apple taste was barely perceptible. The Baker liked it a lot. I was hoping that the apple would be a stronger taste in the whole, and give it a B+. It was almost too savory for me.
#79 was a cheescake dip with fruit skewers from Peas and Thank You. I am not certain the cheesecake dip title is descriptive enough; the dip itself is a bit more than half blended kiwis. The dip itself, even though I accidentally dropped more ginger in it than the recipe called for, was quite good. I'd probably just call it ginger-kiwi cream cheese dip instead, or something of the sort. I dipped in a variety of pineapple, grapes, and strawberries, though melon would probably have been lovely as well. It was easy to make, and the most time consuming part was peeling all the kiwis. I loved it, and the Baker liked it a lot too. I give it an A.
I made it to the fantastic #80 this morning. I've been on quite the smoothie kick lately, and was excited to try another kind of smoothie. It isn't as if I don't still love the cherry chocolate almond and blackberry basil, but it is nice to branch out and get some variety. I made a strawberry banana blender smoothie from Big Vegan. Other than not having any greens in it (which I might add a quarter cup next time for some added nutrition) and having a bit of a gritty texture due to the added oatmeal, it was lovely. It had no added sweetener, but the sweetness was just right and the color was such a lovely pink.
Last week was a bear, between school lunches and play rehearsals to attend quickly after work. I often ran out of the house with not enough lunch, and had a second smoothie for a quick but not lasting enough dinner. My plan this week had been to cook a great deal more in order to not only get closer to #100, but also so that I have plenty of leftovers for this work week. I cooked a variety of things today, both old and new.
After my breakfast, I cut up a baguette and put a light amount of garlic olive oil and herb mixture to make crostini. Now that I don't eat parmesan any more, these are a lovely addition to eat with my Italian-inspired soups. While this was baking, I put together a disappointing cornbread from Peas and Thank You. Cowgirl cornbread was not bad, but it was not very interesting. I usually veganize the additions required for Trader Joe's cornbread, and I find that excellent, but I have yet to come close with any from scratch recipe sadly. This just did not have any complexity of flavor. It might work really well as cornbread croutons for adding to chili or some such, especially with the right herbs. #81 gets a C-.
#82 was a cookie I've been meaning to make for a while. Who says only kids can have a little desert with lunch? I miss the old days of my little Debbie snack cakes just a touch, even though Mom almost always made me choose between oatmeal cream pies and fudge rounds, when I preferred the brownies or the nutty bars. This cookie, the applesauce softie, is one of the healthiest overall cookies in Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. I thought a couple of these low oil, low sugar, whole wheat pastry flour cookies in my lunch would add a nice little happy ending without fattening up my lunch too much. I'm happy to say they turned out well, which is par for the course with this book. They aren't overly sweet, just a nice spicy touch. I think next time I will try one of the variations, though, and add raisins or walnuts for a little something extra. They're a good solid cookie, though nothing I would die for and dream over. B+
For dinner tonight and for lunches tomorrow, I have once again made an attempt to find that perfect lentil soup. This time I thought I might find it in the escarole and lentil soup in Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen by Donna Klein. Most of the recipes I've made by her so far have been just excellent, though there have been a couple of soups that weren't too great. Sadly to say, this was one of them. It lacked any sort of punch, and I added a couple of large pinches of a few of my favorite spices at the end after noticing its' lack of vim and vigor. I've read some reviews that said it was better the next day, and I hope so; I'm going to pack it for lunch tomorrow. #83 gets a C- so far, but who knows, it might upgrade to a C tomorrow.
I might just make it to 100 by autumn equinox yet. Ten more cooking days, 17 more recipes to go. If I cook dinner Tuesday night, a night I have more time, and go through a goodly amount of recipes next weekend, and maybe dry another couple new smoothies or morning porridge, I might make it after all.
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