Orzo Pilaf with Roasted Red Peppers and Peas

Sunday, February 12, 2017 - Lunch
Orzo Pilaf with Roasted Red Peppers and Peas (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This pilaf was tasty and filling, and the mild flavor makes for a good winter meal or side dish.  It was fast and easy to make, and I have plenty of leftovers for lunch for the week.

Pasta with Tomatoes and Artichokes

Sunday, September 4, 2016 - Dinner
Crowd-pleasing Pasta with Tomatoes and Artichokes (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This sauce was flavorful and easy to make, and the recipe made so much food that I'll have plenty of leftovers for lunches this week!

Warm Spinach Salad

Monday, August 22, 2016 - Dinner
Warm Spinach Salad (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This salad was delicious!  It was quick and easy to make.  The recipe name is a bit of a misnomer: the spinach is cold, with warm balsamic dressing poured on top.  The dressing only took a few minutes to cook on the stove, while the pecans toasted in the toaster oven.  I don't normally like raw red onions, but when they absorbed the warm dressing, their texture and flavor turned out great.  I have a lot of leftover dressing (the recipe made 6 servings), so I'm planning to try it cold as well as reheated.  It might also be good as a marinade.

Boston Baked Beans

Sunday, August 7, 2016 - Dinner
Boston Baked Beans (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

These beans were delicious!  They tasted as good as (or better than) canned, name-brand beans.  They were pretty simple to make, with only a few ingredients to mix together and bake.  It could be even faster with canned navy beans, instead of starting from dry beans.

The photos didn't come out as well as I would have liked.  Originally, I was planning to make the baked beans for a meal with corn on the cob and green beans.  The summer feast would have made for a better photo than the beans alone, with a little more color.

I would definitely make these again -- they were fantastic.

Chickpea Salad

Saturday, June 25, 2016 - Lunch
Better-Than-Tuna Salad (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This salad was fantastic.  It didn't taste anything like tuna (which is perfectly fine with me), although the texture of the mashed chickpeas was similar to shredded tuna.  The recipe said that the salad could be made with whole chickpeas instead, but it recommended mashing them for texture and to help it hold together better for sandwiches.  The next time I make this, I might skip the effort of mashing the chickpeas and use them whole, because I ate much of the salad by itself (instead of on sandwiches), and I could easily make pita-pocket sandwich to hold the salad.

The salad had a few ingredients that I'm not used to seeing in a tuna salad - like carrots, red bell peppers, and walnuts - in addition to the more traditional celery.  I plan to make this salad again - it would be great for summer cookouts!

Tofu Egg Salad

Sunday, May 22, 2016 - Lunch
Tofu Egg Salad (Recipe from Vegan Cooking for Carnivores by Roberto Martin)

I've never really loved egg salad, so I was not sure what I would think about this recipe, but I was pleasantly surprised.  It tasted very similar to egg salad, in my opinion, and although I don't think I'll eat much of the leftovers, I enjoyed my sandwich.  My husband was skeptical of the substitution of tofu for eggs, but he liked it, and said it reminded him of the sandwiches his family would eat as a picnic lunch on vacations when he was a kid.  Today was a great day for a summer meal, and I think this recipe would be fitting for a summer picnic or barbecue.  

Outrageous Granola

Saturday, April 23, 2016
Outrageous Granola (Recipe from Mayim's Vegan Table by Mayim Bialik)

This granola turned out perfectly. It was crunchy and delicious, and relatively simple to make. I made the granola on Saturday afternoon to eat for breakfast on Sunday. It smelled delicious as it was baking, filling the whole house with the scent of toasted oats, nuts, and maple.

I sampled some of the granola on Saturday evening, and saved the rest for later. It was great by itself, and it made a fantastic cereal - topped with almond milk - for Sunday morning breakfast.  It would also be good on top of yogurt.

This recipe is a new favorite, and it would be easy to modify the types of nuts and dried fruit to try different flavor combinations.  

Pasta and Green Beans with Peanut Sauce

Sunday, March 20, 2016 - Lunch
Pasta and Green Beans with Peanut Sauce (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This recipe was tasty, and relatively simple to make.  It was fairly similar to a family recipe for an Asian pasta salad, and I prefer the family recipe.
This dish was also somewhat reminiscent of the Pad Thai recipe from this same cookbook, and I prefer the flavors and variety of vegetables in the Pad Thai recipe.

Served with tofu.  The tofu made the dish more filling, and helped it to serve as an entree instead of a side dish.

Home-Fried Potatoes

Saturday, March 19, 2016 - Dinner
Home-Fried Potatoes (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

It's a couple days late for St. Patrick's Day, but I made this delicious potato recipe for dinner.  The potatoes were fantastic, and fairly simple to make.  Steaming them first made them fry perfectly - not too soft, and slightly crispy without getting burnt.  The fixings of onion, garlic, parsley, and paprika were a great blend of flavors for the potatoes.  I might start using a variation of this recipe when I make mashed potatoes as well.

Polenta Hearts and Roasted Red Pepper Coulis

Sunday, February 14, 2016 - Lunch
Polenta Hearts
Roasted Red Pepper Coulis
(Recipes from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

Polenta Hearts were a fitting meal for Valentine's Day. I used a cookie cutter to form the heart-shaped polenta cakes. The cooked polenta needed to chill for at least an hour to set up enough to make shapes, so I had enough time to clean up the kitchen, prepare the ingredients for the sauce, and go outside to run a couple miles in the snow. The recipe filled a 13x9 baking pan to half an inch deep, which yielded about 10 hearts (2-3 servings) plus another 1-2 servings of extra polenta. The finished product was delicious. The sun-dried tomatoes, fresh parsley, and fresh basil added a good mix of flavors to the polenta - and the fresh herbs made my kitchen smell great.  I'm pleased with how well some of the photos turned out - the natural lighting must have been just right today.   

The coulis was very good. It was simple: put the ingredients into a blender, then warm the blended sauce for a few minutes on the stove.  It had a good roasted pepper flavor (without the sliminess of eating whole roasted peppers), and it was a little sweet and a little spicy. I would like to make this again to try it as a pepper-based pasta sauce.

Oven-baked "French Fried" Yams

Sunday, February 7, 2016 - Dinner / Superbowl snack
Oven-baked "French Fried" Yams (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

These fries tasted good, but they were too soft.  I adjusted the cooking time and temperature from the first baking sheet to the second one, but the fries still weren't as crispy as I would have liked.  A few extra minutes in the toaster oven helped a little.

The savory herb and spice mixture in this recipe was different than seasonings I've used on sweet potato fries previously.   It was a good flavor that went well with the sweetness of the fries.

Quinoa and Corn Medley

Sunday, Februray 7, 2016 - Lunch
Quinoa and Corn Medley (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This recipe was quick and easy -- it took less than 45 minutes, including prep time to chop all the vegetables and herbs.  The finished product was filling and tasted great, and since the recipe made 6 large servings, there are plenty of leftovers for lunch this week.  I really liked the mixture of Latin and Mediterranean flavors: the quinoa, corn, lemon, and parsley complemented one another well.  This is one of my new favorite quinoa recipes!

Naan (leavened North Indian bread)

Sunday, January 31, 2016 - Lunch
Naan (leavened North Indian bread) - Recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

This was my first time making homemade naan from scratch.  I cooked the naan on a pizza stone in the oven, and since only 1-2 pieces fit on the stone at a time, I was able to experiment with a variety of different dough thicknesses, cooking times, and the amount of (dairy-free) butter brushed on top.  The last couple trials turned out very well - the secret seemed to be thicker dough, with a moderate brushing of butter, cooked for the shortest time within the suggested range.

The whole process was very time consuming (8 pieces at 6-10 minutes cooking time each, plus prep time and 2+ hours waiting for the dough to rise).  I can get fresh naan from the local grocery store bakery, so it's unlikely that I'll make my own in the future - at least not on a regular basis.

Served with two curry dishes as part of a big Indian feast for lunch.

Indian Feast

Sunday, January 31, 2016 - Lunch

Indian feast (multiple recipes from two different cookbooks by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

Today for lunch, I made multiple Indian dishes:

Chana Masala (curried chickpeas) from The Vegan Table
Masoor Dal (red lentils) from The Vegan Table
Naan (leavened North Indian bread) from The Joy of Vegan Baking

Served with basmati rice

It was a delicious and filling meal, and there are plenty of leftovers for the week!

Mashed Yukon Gold and Sweet Potatoes

Sunday, December 27, 2015 - Dinner
Mashed Yukon Gold and Sweet Potatoes (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This was a simple and satisfying recipe on a day when I was feeling under the weather. I had some help with peeling and cutting the potatoes, then little effort remained to boil, drain, and mash the potatoes. The finished product was delicious - a sweeter version of mashed potatoes. The peachy color was pretty, resulting from the combination of yellow and orange potatoes. 

I used more almond milk than the recipe suggested, and I hand-mashed the potatoes (versus using an electric mixer) because I like my mashed potatoes to be creamy, yet lumpy.  

Prior to cooking: 

Carrot Ginger Soup

Sunday, December 13, 2015 - Dinner
Carrot Ginger Soup (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This soup was a unique combination of flavors that blended well together.  It was tasty, and really hit the spot on a dreary day.

Served with sweet and sour tofu and broccoli.  The sweet and sour sauce also turned out well, but was not a good combination with the soup - they were too similar and overpowered one another.  This soup would be a good appetizer or side dish with many other Asian meals. 

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Soup

Saturday, November 21, 2015 - Lunch
Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Soup (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This soup was a great lunch on a cool day.  It was a nice blend of sweet and spicy, and it was hearty and filling.  The leftovers were also very good.  The soup tasted like a delicious mixture of sweet curry and pumpkin pie!

Sugar Snap Peas with Toasted Sesame Seeds

Thursday, October 15, 2015 - Dinner
Sugar Snap Peas with Toasted Sesame Seeds (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This dish was amazing - probably one of my favorite vegetable recipes of all time! It was super-quick; the longest part of this recipe was waiting for the water to boil to steam the pea pods. It was a short steam, then a quick searing with sesame oil, and tossing with salt and sesame seeds to finish. The peas were tender yet crispy, and they tasted delicious. I was planning to take leftovers to have with lunch tomorrow, but there weren't any! I will definitely make this dish again. This could be a go-to recipe from now on!

Miso Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms

Tuesday, October 6, 2015 - Dinner
Miso Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms  (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This was an easy recipe to make. I combined the ingredients in a pot, then let it cook while I took a quick post-run shower. It was ready to eat shortly after I got back to the kitchen.

The soup was tasty. It wasn't particularly filling, which I suppose is why it's usually served as an appetizer. Next time I'll make something to go with it, or possibly add more veggies and/or some tofu.

The recipe makes 8-10 servings, so there are plenty of leftovers for me to eat for lunch the rest of the week. 

Dark Leafy Greens with Sesame Miso Dressing

Thursday, October 1, 2015 - Dinner
Dark Leafy Greens with Sesame Miso Dressing (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This was a quick (less than 15 minutes) and easy dish to make.  The greens tasted good with the sesame miso dressing, but I think I would have preferred more greens for the amount of dressing.  I started with a full bunch of turnip greens, which cooked down more than expected during the steaming process (something like kale would have been sturdier), so we ended up with two small-ish servings.

Substitions: 

The dressing recipe called for mirin, a sweet Japanese rice wine, but I didn't have any (and didn't want to get full bottle for the small amount needed), so I substituted 1 Tbsp rice vinegar plus 1/2 tsp sugar.  

The other substitution I made was to use toasted sesame seeds, instead of starting with raw seeds and toasting them myself. This was quicker, and I don't think it detracted from the flavor.

Overall, i enjoyed this recipe. It would be a good side dish for Japanese or Thai dishes, or it could stand on its own. If I make it again, I will use more greens to get a higher ratio of greens to dressing. I might also like to try this as part of a rice & veggie bowl.