Perfect meal for a rainy January day

So super overcast for many days. Never really feels like daytime, feels more like pre-dusk. Pre-dusk from 8 am to 5 pm, and then night. Today and tomorrow are waterlogged (is this a foreshadow of Mother Earth giving us a spring of resplendent wildflowers? Hope so). What's the perfect time goblin for nine potentially boring and definitely soggy hours of pre-dusk? Cooking and baking a late lunch with my partner while listening to Paul McCartney's Ram and George Harrison's All Things Must Pass on vinyl. Simple solution, indeed, to Texas's version of the winter doldrums. Also, feels so great to have a mate who knows all the words to "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey;" I'm a lucky one.

Matt made Lentil and Spinach Soup and Focaccia. I had never heard of nor seen (let alone, ate) a spinach soup. So verdant! So yummy! So super food-y!

The soup recipe is from an out-of-print vegetarian cookbook (apparently without an author). I can transcribe the recipe in the comments section, if wanted.

P.S. The immersion blender Christmas present came in super handy for this one.

The focaccia recipe is from our food bible.

P.S. The mandolin slicer (plus protective gloves) Christmas presents came in super handy for the decadently thin tomato slices!

The apple crisp recipe is from Can you Believe it's Vegan? I stumbled upon this cookbook at the library. It's a very healthy recipe, using oats and spelt flour (an ancient grain high in both fiber and protein) and sunflower oil (instead of a butter substitute). Very delicious.

2nd Edition!: Cooking Plant-Based Recipes -- a SIX day retrospective

The almost-vegan (we eat honey!) cooking team has returned to show off their awesome yumminesses. Annnnnnnnnd, here we go!

Thursday: Drunkard's Noodles
A delicious Thai dish, usually made with fish sauce and/or oyster sauce. Matt's recipe uses vegan oyster sauce (available at an Asian supermarket near you!). Matt's really perfected the art of deep fried delicious tofu, and I am grateful.





















Friday: Creamy Pesto
Yep, that's correct; I said creamy pesto. It's actually super easy and decadent to make one's own vegan cream. Just throw a bunch of nuts (we used cashews) and water into a food processer until, well, creamy. So delicious and fatty (just like real cream, but with the healthy fats).
















Saturday: Vegan Pizza
The key to our amazing pizza? A marble rolling pin! Seriously, don't skimp on this amazing tool. The heavier, the better. Ours was a I'm-cleaning-out-the-basement-,-so-take-what-you-want kind of gift from my mother-in-law, and it's the most wonderful inadvertent present I could have ever hoped for.

Oh, and we know a superb soy-based mozzarella cheeze, if you're interested.

When my brother visited last month, we made some pizza, and he gave us one of the best compliments on it. He said, "It tastes like pizza!" So there you go.
















Sunday: Pumpkin Muffins (breakfast) -and- Pearled Barley, Tofu, and Kale Stew
'Tis the season for pumpkin stuff, which is convenient because this prettiest veggie works well for as an egg substitute when baking.































Monday: Braised Butternut Squash in a Tomato Sauce, with quinoa
This recipe actually calls for any pumpkin or squash of one's choice. In Chile, we made this dish often with this amazing, unique pumpkin they sold everywhere. It was great. Butternut squash worked fantastically, too. This is such a simple recipe with minimal ingredients but with so many taste dimensions. Plus, one of the ingredients is wine, so that means leftover wine TO DRINK!
















Tuesday: Bulgur Chile -and- Cornbread
This chile recipe has a special taste component--reconstituted dried chiles of one's choice (e.g. chipotle, guajillo, ancho, etc.). The bulgur is nice and filling and takes the place of ground meat or soy chunks.

Matt made these

VEGAN PUMPKIN CINNAMON ROLLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

'tis the season.

Click here for recipe!

Cooking plant-based recipes from scratch: a five day retrospective

We have become a husband-and-wife cooking team. As of late, a vegan cooking team. A lot of heart goes into our food. Matt is a gifted cook, and I can do a few delicious dishes really well. Usually, Matt is the line cook to my executive chef (i.e. I tend to coming up with ideas. find recipes, crave specific ingredients, and/or sometimes I just demand my favorites of Matt's repertoire. In other words, the poor dude is a slave to my whim. Hope he doesn't mind my role, because, well, too bad; it ain't changin.').

It's funny, though, because the more we cook at home, the more restaurant food disappoints. We can often do it better; and moreover, making it at home costs a shocking fraction of the price of eating out.

A lot of times people say, "Well, going out to eat is a special treat." Sure, but cooking and creating together is just as spesh to me.

Below, what we ate for dinner (and for lunch the next day, as leftovers) this week

Sunday: Caramelized Onions and Quinoa -and- Collard Cole Slaw

Monday: Crispy Cajun Chickpea Cakes

Tuesday: Indian Style Spinach and Potatoes (the naan was not homemade--this time) -and- Dessert: Sweet Couscous with Cardamom and Pistachios

Wednesday: Yellow Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Tofu

Thursday: Root Soup -and- Boule (french bread made by Matt)

Tonight: Vegan Pizza...can't wait!