New Food Challenge

Katie over at Chocolate Covered Katie has a try-a-new-food-challenge going this month, and I decide to participate.










...and I tried jicama. Didn't much care for it. I tried it raw and the taste was a combination of watercress, onion and mild apple -- euwwgggh. =p



But, I baked it in the oven as "fries" and covered it in either chili or spicy "cheese" sauce and it wasn't soo bad that way. But I definitively won't be going back to this one.

Here's some pictures:

with chili,








with "cheese" sauce,







Well, here's to new experiences!

"Tried and Tasted"

One of the major contributors to me going vegan again was the FatFree Vegan Kitchen blog I frequent and cook from. Even as an omnivore, I was able to find delicious recipes that both I, and my picky family, could enjoy. The cook, SusanV, masterfully avoids using added fat in her recipes without losing so much as a morsel of flavor in her dishes

Since I've been cooking Susan's recipes for myself for ages now, I decided to give the Tried and Tasted a go which was started by Zuzana of Zlamushka's Spicy Kitchen and is, as she says, "an opportunity to thank your fellow bloggers for sharing their recipes by re-creating them and writing about your experiences."

The recipe I decided to recreate is the lasagna. I had high hopes for this dish and have been eyeing it for a while now, since it's one of her daughter's favorites. And believe me, E (her daughter) is not often wrong!

I made my own marinera sauce, bought rice lasagna noodles by DeBoles which are great to work with. No pre-boiling, pre-cooking needed -- you just stack and stick (in the oven). I had no spinach in the house, so I used kale. Cooked that with some water and apple cider vinegar in a 2:1 ration of liquids for 10min or so. Yummy! And I don't much care for nutritional yeast, especially in cheeze recipes, I used 1/2 cup cashews. Otherwise, I followed the recipe to a "T." All I have to say is, E was right! Scrumptious!

Here's a few (really lousy) photos:





It was lunch at work for a week!!








Oh, and did I mention I ate it with Namaste brownies and DDD's Sweet Almond Sauce for dessert?

Soy patties -- too yummy for words!

These were a recent invention, but I fell in love with them with all of my vegan heart and I know they will soon be on the menu again! Here's one -- isn't it a beaut?!! (That's roasted broccoli and green beans and butternut squash risotto with.)

And the recipe:

SOY PATTIES

Ingredients

Patties
-2/3 cup cooked soy beans

-2 boiled artichoke hearts

-1/4 cup jalapeno slices (from a can)

-1/4 frozen zucchini slices

-1 tsp minced garlic

-1/5 of a red (or green) onion, sliced

-1/4 tsp paprika

-1/2 cup blanched almonds

-1 cup baby spinach

-1 cup mushrooms

-1 tsp creole seasoning

-salt and pepper

-1/2 tbsp sesame seeds

-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

-1 tsp parsley

-1 tbsp milled flax seed

-3 tbsp water

-2 tbsp vegan parmesan

-1 cup oats

“Mayo” dip

-2 tbsp vegan mayo

-1 tbsp hot sauce

-2 tsp mustard

Put cooked soy beans, cooked artichoke hearts, jalapenos, frozen zucchini slices, minced garlic, red onion and paprika into a food processor and chop. Place in a bowl. Add blanched almonds into food processor and grind. Add to bowl. Place baby spinach and cooked mushrooms (seasoned with creole seasoning) into processor and chop. Add to bowl. Add salt, pepper, sesame seeds, red pepper flakes, parsley, vegan parmesan and oats to the bowl. Mix. Form into patties and cook in olive oil until brown. Serve with hot “mayo.”

Easy peasy!

Fritters

My favoritest black bean fritters!! Plus, mashed cauliflower with mushroom gravy, spicy "mayo" and roasted green beans and broccoli -- heaven!

Hello blogosphere!

Testing...testing...

Coming up: lunch! Stay tuned