Salads That Don't Wilt: #1

It's all about throwing together whatever you have!

 

Wheat berries, collards, chick peas, walnuts, sundried tomatoes, green olives, onion, carrots, artichokes, fresh basil, olive oil, salt and pepper

Let Them Eat Veggie Stock

Eating fresh food not only opens up a world of new meals to make, but I also find myself wasting less of the food by trying to use every last bite I can get out of an ingredient. I get that cooking may not be on everyone’s ‘passion’ list but some things really are more simple to make from scratch than making boxed macaroni and ‘cheese’. (Gag. Excuse me.)

I use veggie stock a lot in my meals for many reasons. Yes, I have plenty of boxed stock on hand but I also make my own quite a bit. Because I already use the basics on a regular basis (onion, carrot, celery, mushrooms, and friends) I wind up with little end pieces here and there that aren’t used in the main meal itself but seem like a waste to throw away.

For those little bits, I keep a bag in the freezer where I throw pieces in over time. When the bag fills up, it’s stock time!

Let’s cover the steps needed in this horribly daunting task:

Throw bits into a bag, located in freezer.

Because I assume you were going to throw these into a trash bag or some container *anyway*, I’m not even going to count this as a step.  

1. Remove bag from freezer, dump in pot
2. Cover with water to tops of veggies
3. Simmer for one hour. Possibly go get your nails done in the meantime
4. Let cool and strain liquid into appropriate container

 

Add salt, bay leaves, thyme or whatever else you want if you’d like it seasoned differently. It’s all optional (though I do at the very least recommend the salt).

Use in: rice, sautéed veggies, thinning out pesto for pasta, etc.

“But you still wind up with the chunks of veggies, except cooked!”

If you’re a hot kitchen mess like me, then you throw all the leftover cooked bits into your homemade marinara sauce as your ‘secret ingredient’. Best marinara sauce EVER.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnddddd……you’rewelcomeverymuch.

UPDATE: If you have bought your veggies from a grocery store, ***MAKE SURE*** to remove ALL stickers applied BEFORE cooking. Sometimes one sneaks by the best of us :(

 

 

Are Your Hormones Out of Wack or Are You Just Happy to See Me?

It’s clearly been too long since my last post, which in a way is good – I’ve been keeping myself busy with a number of little ‘projects’ and with my eating habits becoming second nature, I’ve had a little break from my food obsession (even obsessions deserve a break now and then).

Recently I celebrated my 6 month Vegan milestone. I envisioned coming up to this point that it would feel like such a huge deal, such a huge accomplishment. But the fact is, it just felt like a normal day. I was a little surprised by my own reaction and realized the bigger accomplishment: I’ve settled so well into my eating habits that it no longer feels like a project in itself.

Another food journey has begun, however; when I had my blood tested several weeks ago, I found out I have Hypothyroidism. Even though it’s not a huge deal, I was thrown off by the news and it took a long time to wrap my head around what it meant (I honestly had no idea what it was or that it was apparently so common). Being so unfamiliar with this disease, I had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that it wasn’t something I could ‘eat’ my way out of. Two doctors and a nutritionist later, I have a better grasp on it all and categorize it in a similar manner as allergies or depression; Some things you feed your body can certainly hurt the ailment but as much as you try, food may not provide all the relief needed.

The biggest shock I found was learning that some of my daily, beloved veggies could actually be causing my levels to spike even more (who knew that kale and I would have such a forbidden love affair?). While I’m not sure that all the foods listed as ‘problematic’ affect me in a negative way or that they need to be completely avoided altogether, it’s a slight curveball in my long term eating plan. The biggest kicker seems to be soy products, which thankfully I don’t consume much of since I already noticed feeling horrible after eating too much of (just another reason to trim down the processed foods!).

So, onward and upward. If anything, I need to get back to my obsession and find new recipes as it is. This just gives me a good excuse!

 

 

Hummus, Collards, Tomato, and Walnut Wrap

 

Redemption

This weekend we were out and about in DC and wound up at…(drum roll please)…Sticky Fingers Bakery! This is the ‘all items vegan’ place that won ‘Cupcake Wars’ on the Food Network. I had been wanting to try it out for so long and a cold, windy day gave us a perfect excuse to go and hang out.

Items ordered: BBQ Burger (The Boy), Black Bean Quesadilla (The Hubs), Rueben (Me), and Carrot Ginger Salad Wrap (to split). It was all Dee. Licious. It felt SO GOOD to be in a place that I didn’t have to create my own dish, question ingredients or leave feeling cheated by my meal and I loved how everyone loved everything that was ordered. This absolutely made up for last weekends restaurant fiasco.

Oh – and I didn’t even touch on the desserts. We each got a sweet treat before we left and I also tucked two little sumthin’-sumthin’s aside for The Hubs and I Saturday Night Couch Date Night (when you haven’t gone out on a date in – what? A year? – with your Hubs, you gotta make something work). The Stout & a Shot and Peanutbutter Fudge cupcakes were great. The Blueberry Muffin was fantastic. The Boy won the overall prize with his Little Devil cake. That is, until we opened our Date Night Brownie. O. M. G. Words cannot describe. But my husband said it best, ‘This is worth driving into DC for these alone’. It was the most fabulous brownie I have ever had in my life. My *LIFE*.

Of course we ate them before pictures could be taken, but we did get a mid-bite pic.

 

 

And here is a dish that was made the night before: Veggies and Peanuts with Rice Noodles.

 

 

 

 

Sadness with a Side of Cheese

Well, it was bound to happen…I had my first bad restaurant experience. It probably wouldn’t have been too upsetting, but in addition to the fact that we very rarely go out to eat, we went to one of our favorite restaurants thinking I wouldn’t have any problems finding food I would eat and love.

One of my favorite dishes I make (Stuffed Poblano Peppers) is inspired by a dish that I love to order at this particular restaurant. I knew it would need some things omitted but one of the things I love the most is the grilled vegetables it comes with, so I couldn’t wait.

It’s too long to get into details, but the bottom line was a combination of not having a great waitress to start paired with my being so disappointed by the entire experience that I didn’t even want to get into the complications of sending it back. Hubs was mad (such a good Hubs) because he so clearly heard me ask the waitress for ‘no cheese, sour cream, or anything dairy’, only to be given a plate coated with cream sauce and mozzarella cheese. But that’s a customer service issue and a whole different conversation.

Thankfully I had a nice batch of cashew cheese, black bean salsa and avocado waiting for me at home. Next time I’ll just stick to what I know best – salsa, black beans, avocado, rice and tortillas (hmmm, that sounds good right now). Another restaurant, another time. 

White Bean and Kale Soup with Toast

Simple Things

Call me a simple girl but of everything I make lately, I am always amazed at my soup. Up until recently I was always a ‘pot of water with bouillon cubes’ kind of girl. I later graduated to homemade chicken stock. It never occurred to me that I could literally chop up a bunch of vegetables, cover them with water and call it a day. Low budget, day-before-grocery-shopping, plentiful, easy to make, comfort food.

And while none of my dishes ever come out exactly the same, soup is always such a fun ‘never know what you’re going to get’ grab bag.

 

Sweet potato, asparagus, kale, lima bean, corn and wild rice soup.

One Meal at a Time

Today I had TWO…

count ‘em: not ONE but TWO

people ask me to pass along some vegan dish recipes to them! More than the number it was the different people themselves that shocked me. How awesome is that?!

Super awesome.

 

 

Pad Thai(ish) Dish