Root Lovers' Winter Salad

Sunday, November 19, 2017 - Dinner
Root Lovers' Winter Salad (with Creamy Apple Cider Viniagrette dressing)
Recipe from Run Fast. Eat Slow. by Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky



The recipe said the salad could be made with any combination of root vegetables, mixed with chickpeas and roasted. I followed the authors' recommendation and used carrots, gold beets, parsnips, and rutabaga. I've never made parsnips or rutabaga before. I will definitely make parsnips again. The rutabaga was good, but maybe not worth the trouble of scraping off the wax casing. All the vegetables tasted great, and they went well with the arugula and the creamy apple cider vinaigrette dressing. The dressing was quick and easy to make, and the leftovers were great on spinach salads.

I saved the leftover vegetables (separate from the greens) to reheat for lunches through the week. They would be fine on their own, but I mixed them with arugula to make more of the salad. I can't wait to try this recipe again and experiment with other combinations of vegetables!

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.

"Honey" Mustard Salad Dressing

Saturday, January 21, 2017 - Lunch
"Honey" Mustard Salad Dressing  (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This salad dressing was quick, easy, and delicious. It took about two minutes to get all the ingredients and mix them together, then I poured it on my salad. It tastes good, and I know what's in it. The recipe uses agave instead of honey, since it's a vegan recipe, and it tastes the same, maybe a just little richer. One recipe made enough dressing to last me a couple weeks. I will make this again in the future. I included the optional olive oil this time, and it was good, so next time I'll try it without the oil to see which way I prefer.  

Peanut Butter Smoothie

Monday, November 21, 2016 - Lunch
Peanut Butter Smoothie (Recipe from Mayim's Vegan Table by Mayim Bialik)

This smoothie was pretty good. It was my second attempt at this recipe, this time without the optional spinach (see earlier post). It was much better this way. The only change I might make, if I were to try it again, would be to add a little extra almond milk to thin the consistency; it was a little thick, but still tasty and filling.

Pumpkin Curry

Sunday, October 23, 2016 - Dinner
Pumpkin Curry  (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This pumpkin curry was delicious, and perfect for a cool fall day.  I made it a little spicier than the recipe suggested, and it was nice and hot with a hint of sweetness.  The only thing that made it a little weird was the texture of the coconut - at first, I thought that the lentils were undercooked, but it was just pieces of coconut.  Perhaps next time I could blend the coconut before adding it to the curry sauce.  This curry dish was tasty and satisfying, and it made 10 servings, so I have plenty of leftovers for lunches!  

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!

African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew

Saturday, September 3, 2016 - Dinner
African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

I've been wanting to make this recipe for a while, so as soon as my local farm had fresh sweet potatoes, I jumped at the chance to cook up this stew.  I was not disappointed.  The stew smelled delicious while it was cooking, and it tasted fantastic.

It reminded me a little of the Saffron-spiked Moroccan Stew, but while that was sweet and spicy, this one was a hearty stew with a strong peanut flavor and a hint of sweetness.

I served the stew over couscous, per the cookbook's recommendation, and added some texture and made this meal even more filling and satisfying.

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.

Peanut Butter Smoothie

Monday, August 22, 2016
Peanut Butter Smoothie (Recipe from Mayim's Vegan Table by Mayim Bialik)

I did not like this smoothie at all.  It was very thick, strong on the peanut butter / banana flavor, and the (optional) spinach did not go well with the other flavors, in my opinion.  I may try it again some other time - without the spinach - but there were other smoothies from this cookbook that were much, much better.

Cornmeal-Crusted Tempeh with Orange Ginger Sauce

Sunday, August 22, 2016 - Dinner
Cornmeal-Crusted Tempeh with Orange Ginger Sauce (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This dish turned out well - the tempeh was tender with a crunchy cornmeal crust, and the sauce was really good.  This was probably my most successful attempt at breading something - it came out perfectly.  It was a bit messy to make, and it took a little while, but it was worth it.  

The flavors in the sauce didn't seem like they would all go together (oranges, onions, capers, garlic, ginger), but the sauce turned out to be very good.  I had a lot left over, which would probably taste good on some frozen chik'n nuggets to make orange ginger "chicken."

"Chicken" Parmigiana

Saturday, August 13, 2016 - Lunch
Skillet "Chicken" Parmigiana (Recipe from Betty Crocker Easy Everyday Vegetarian)

This is a recipe I started making over 10 years ago.  Like many of the other recipes from this cookbook, it's a simple combination of mostly store-bought ingredients.  I used Boca brand vegan breaded "chicken" patties.  I melted some lactose-free (but non-vegan) cheese on one of the two patties.  This recipe could easily be made vegan without cheese, or using vegan cheese.  This is a quick recipe that is easy to make, filling, and tastes good.

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.

Peach-Bourbon Compote

Saturday, July 30, 2016 - Dessert
Peach-Bourbon Compote (Recipe from Runners' World, August 2016)

This dessert was delicious!  I'm surprised it was featured in Runner's World, since it's basically fruit covered in syrupy molasses, sugar, and butter, with little bit of bourbon.  I made it even less healthy by adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I made this dairy-free using almond milk ice cream and nondairy butter.

Falafel Burgers

Saturday, July 23, 2016 - Lunch
Falafel Burgers (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

These chickpea and parsley burgers were tasty.  I have made them before, and I usually cook them in a skillet with a little oil.  This time, I baked them in the oven according to the recipe directions.  I modified the recipe slightly, to use less onion and slightly less garlic than suggested.  I also added water to the mixture to help form it into burger patties - otherwise they would have been too dry.  Even so, they crumbled during baking and when I tried to flip them part way through the baking time.  The crumbly burgers were a little messy on a bun, but actually worked well in pita sandwiches, because they spread out in the pockets and allowed more room for veggies without ripping the bread.  

The recipe had an accompanying recipe for vegan tzatziki sauce (a cucumber / sesame yogurt sauce), but the store only had vanilla soy yogurt, instead of plain, and it might have been weird with the sweetness of vanilla.  I'd like to try making the sauce eventually.

Lavender Lemonade

Sunday, July 17, 2016
Lavender Lemonade (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This lemonade hit the spot on a hot summer day! The infusion of lavender with fresh-squeezed lemons was delicious and refreshing.
(It would also be tasty with a splash of vodka or gin.)

It took much longer than it should have to make, because I couldn't find my citrus juicer (or maybe I only imagined that I have one?), so instead I squeezed the lemons by hand. I also tried, with limited success, to use a spout-style 'juice extractor,' but it works better for larger fruits like oranges and grapefruit.
I will definitely make this recipe again, and I will make sure I have the proper tools next time.

As an added bonus, every time I make this, I'll be helping to keep my overgrown lavender plant from getting out of control.  And I'll get yummy lemonade as a reward.

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!

Smokin' BBQ Tofu

Saturday, June 18, 2016 - Lunch
Smokin' BBQ Tofu (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This was a great post-run lunch on a hot summer day.  The recipe called for the tofu to be pan-fried, with a little oil, then baked with a thick covering of sweet and spicy barbecue sauce.  The tofu was crispy and fluffy, tasty and filling.  I used store-bought barbecue sauce, but I'd like to try the recommended recipe from this cookbook.  I will definitely make this recipe again - it was simple and delicious!

Tofu Benedict with Chipotle Cream

Sunday, June 5, 2016 - Lunch
Tofu Benedict with Chipotle Cream (Recipe from Vegan Cooking for Carnivores by Roberto Martin)

I've never had eggs benedict, so I don't know how it compares, but I enjoyed this tofu benedict recipe.  Instead of hollandaise sauce, the patties were topped with chipotle cream, a vegan chipotle mayo sauce.  I made a couple slight modifications to the recipe from the cookbook - I omitted the red bell peppers in the patties, since I didn't have any in the house, and I used english muffins instead of bread for the base.  The dish turned out well.  The tofu patties tasted good, and crumbled easily like scrambled eggs.  The flavor was good, and the charred tomatoes complemented the spices and herbs in the tofu patties.

Chipotle Cream

Chipotle Cream - Recipe from Vegan Cooking for Carnivores by Roberto Martin

This sauce is a vegan chipotle mayo that goes well on sandwiches, wraps, burgers, and tacos.  I made it originally to go with Tofu Benedict, another recipe from the same cookbook.

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.