Sweet or Salty?

I recently purchased Nava Atlas' Vegan Express cookbook, as I really need to find fast recipes to throw together while the little one is chipper. Since the weather is getting nicer, we've been looking for salads (Kyle wants to eat salad every day). We had an avocado and mango kicking around in the fridge, so the Black Bean Salad with Avocado and Mango seemed fitting (again, I'm nowhere near the cookbook now, so the title could be off).

I liked it, but couldn't tell if it needed to be sweet or salty. I re-read the recipe, and sure enough, no salt was mentioned. With the onions and avocado, I was looking for a salty flavour, like guac. But with the mango and lime juice, it seemed like a sweet salad.

Regardless, it was good and not spicy (conducive to breastfeeding), but I'm still wondering what to add to it to make me not question whether to add sweetness or saltiness. If anyone else makes this and has any ideas, please let me know!

Quiz Time!

What is this a photo of? Is it:

a) a 5th grade science experiment
b) a fuzzy area rug up close
c) tasty Berry Coconut Crisp from Vcon

The answer is c). I really need to improve my photography skills, as they do not do this recipe justice. I did find the topping sank into the fruit, but maybe it was supposed to do that? Regardless, it was very tasty.

Sunshine and Mud

Luckily, there are a few days of forecast sun on the horizon, bringing hope that spring and green grass aren't far behind. Right now, our lawn consists of dead grass, mud and little mountains of bunny poop.

I've been making really simple and mundane meals lately, but here are a couple of new things. Leek and Bean Cassoulet from Vcon. It was actually really tasty as I wasn't expecting too much. Princess liked it.



I tried Tofu Marsala from What the Hell does a Vegan Eat Anyway. Mmmm, divine. I didn't have the right kinda wine and my cooking in general would probably make a gourmet cringe, but it was tasty.



Our meals have consisted of a lot of salads. I think fresh greens, beans and veggies are so photogenic. If you haven't tried the dressings in Vcon yet, check them out. I highly recommend Spicy Citrus Vinagrette.



Finally we marked Tay's 17th with Jelly Donut Cupcakes. A few of them looked a little x-rated, hopefully this one is PG enough to post.

New Stuff!

So much for relying on the other sister to draft some posts! Kidding - we were both mentioning how we've made mostly tried-and-true recipes lately, so nothing too postworthy.

But I did have a creative burst of energy, and tried some goodies (please note that titles are not exact, as I'm nowhere near Vcon right now and taking advantage of some free time while the little one sleeps):


First up - Low Fat Banana Bread from Vcon. Delish! I think I used 3 large bananas, so it was pretty gooey. I also added some walnuts and chocolate chips. Yum!


Next - a creation I made on my own. Cooked up some onion and garlic, added some roasted cubes of sweet potatoes, Yves Chick'n Tenders and veggie broth to serve with pasta.


Finally, after trying quinoa a decade ago and finding it bitter, I thought I'd try it again. Am I ever glad I did! No idea what recipe I had tried before that made it taste so gross, but Vcon's Quinoa Salad with Black Beans (again, title might be wrong), was soooo good. I used red onion instead of scallions. I think it will be a good summer staple...I think I made it now with the million pounds of snow we have here in an attempt to bring on summer :(

I'm It

OK, so I've been 'tagged' - I am so sleep deprived that I couldn't even focus on the paragraph explanation of what that means, but I finally figured it out :) Vegan Dad got me...so here is yet another post about something I didn't make (will I ever have time again to try a new recipe???).

Here are 5 things about me (most of which seems to be described in my profile - I guess I'm pretty simple):

1. Huge Duranie - major Duran Duran fan. Although I'm not sure if I can still call myself that since I hadn't gotten around to buying their latest album. I'll blame new parenthood for that one.

2. I always have a song in my head - not sure if this constitutes some kind of mental illness, but it's like I always have some kind of soundtrack going on. Very weird. Honestly, I don't hear voices...really...

3. I find toilet humour hilarious - it never seems to get old...and no, I'm not really a nine-year-old...I'm 30.

4. I hate vacuuming - more than anything...well, almost...I'm not a fan of having to get needles at the doctor. I think they are tied.

OK - this is getting hard...I am trying to think of a 5th thing...

5. I used to think I could sing - was even on a local talent show called 'Homegrown Café' and sang 'Could've Been' by Tiffany. The only reason I picked that lame song was because the rules stipulated that you couldn't pick background karaoke music that had any backing vocals on the track, and there were limited choices back then, let me tell you.

That's about it. I'd tag other bloggers, but don't have time to prepare all of the links :(

Fruit!

OK, so I'm real late in posting this - and I didn't make it :(

I got Kyle this cool fruit floral arrangement for V-day this year and had to post about it! It was very pricey for a bunch of fruit, but it is definitely a good idea to make myself for a special function. Take a head of iceberg lettuce and put into a decorative vase, cover it with nicer leafy lettuce, poke skewers with fruit cut into different shapes.

Or order one from www.ediblearrangements.com.

Food for Hibernation

I've been trying to cook my way out of February and the long cold winter. May spring come quickly and without warning. First a few soups, synonymous with cold weather comfort.

Vcon's Ancho-Lentil Soup with Grilled Pineapple. Now I love grilled pineapple.



From the same, Tomato-Rice Soup with Garlic and Navy Beans. I was too environmentally conscious to fire up the oven just to roast the garlic, so I used the lazy alternative. But I didn't use canned beans! I made a huge pot of white beans, so we'll be seeing more of them in the near future. This recipe is really, really good and totally blows canned tomato soup out of the pantry.



I'm still working on the Nov/Dec issue of VegNews and tried the Barley Soup with Porcini and Dill from page 79. It was tasty, not stellar, but simple to make.



I love Vcon's Black Bean Burgers and have made them twice so far. This is a lousy photo that does not do them justice. They are super topped with avocado slices and Cilantro Sour Cream.



While we were at Rainbow Foods I bought some pre-made seitan and have been eying the Vietnamese Seitan Baguette with Savory Broth Dip recipe ever since I first got Vcon. My only regret is that I didn't buy two packs to make more sandwiches. I want to try again with a huge batch of homemade seitan because these were awesome. The sauce is kinda reminiscent of St Hubert's dipping sauce from my getting-sketchier-by-the-year childhood memories.



I borrowed La Dolce Vegan! from the library and picked out Portobello Pot Pie because Costco sells portobellos by the boatload. This recipe was easy and really good! Both Pete and Princess raved about it. I sauteed everything in a cast-iron skillet and then placed the crust on top and popped it in the oven.



One recipe in Vcon that has received a lot of press is Eggplant-Potato Moussaka with Pine Nut Cream. So of course, I had to make it. In particular, I chose to make it on a night that Sarah let me bring dinner over for the new parents. So far, it's my absolute favourite thing that I've made out of that book, and there's some pretty stiff competition. Here is the calm unbroken expanse of Pine Nut Cream.



We ate it faster than I could take a good photo of the inside.



In top spot for The Best Vcon Dish That Can Be Thrown Together on a Busy Weeknight - Tangerine Baked Tofu. I took a pic of the ingredients because I can't believe how so few things can taste so good together. Of course, booze helps.



Ya, that's Loblaws tofu. I hate shopping there, but they do have good tofu. And here are the citrusy baked 'fus cavorting with broccoli.



Finally, dessert! I took Dreena's recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and changed up the amounts a bit to yield enough cookies to feed our family for a couple of days. At least a day. They are great for lunches because they don't have any nut-related ingredients.

Healthy Kid-Friendly Oatmeal Cookies

Dry
2 cups spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp allspice (omit if using chocolate chips)
Wet
½ cup organic sugar
½ cup canola oil
½ cup maple syrup
¼ cup soymilk
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp blackstrap molasses
Extra
1 3/4 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins, dried cranberries or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine Dry ingredients in small bowl. Mix Wet ingredients in stand mixer on medium speed or in food processor until sugar is dissolved. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix. Add in Extra ingredients. Scoop onto cookie sheets lined with silicone or parchment paper. Bake for 12 minutes then let cool on sheets. Makes 2 dozen cookies.