Sometimes simple is BETTER. There are times when I WANT gourmet food with many steps to prepare ... and a sink full of dishes. There are times when I want comfort food and a casserole in the oven. And then there are SIMPLE meals. Just as much satisfaction with so much less work. :)
Today I am blogging about simple food ... that just happens to be QUICK food too. :) What is YOUR favorite simple dish/meal ?
Mine (hands down) is PASTA. Last night I made 10-minute pasta in one pan ... does it get any better than that ? I'm not including a recipe but rather the method I used. It seems a bit lengthy when typing it out but it's so quick !
1. Non-stick wok or deep skillet with water 1/2 way up the sides
2. Vegetable soup base (instead of salt)
3. Once the water was at a rolling boil I added in enough pasta (linguini) for 4
4. When the noodles were just shy of being done I drained the pasta water/broth off into a mug for later
5. I halved a pint of grape tomatoes, added some minced garlic, and tore in some basil (saving more for finishing)
6. Once all the liquid from the tomatoes was absorbed I added a handful of nutritional yeast and the cup of cooking liquid a little at a time to make for a "creamy" sauce.
7. That was it ... and if I had used angel hair pasta instead of linguini it would have been more like 6 minute pasta ! :)
It had such a great flavor and was mild enough for my oldest son and the babies too ... I just put the "baby" portions in the food chopper to break it down a bit. It's all to taste ... since we were catering to adults and children there was no "heat" but my husband was able to add hot sauce to his in the bowl.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
You say it's your birthday ! ...
I used a mix as time ran out and I needed something fast ! :) I used the Yellow Cake Mix from Cherrybrook Kitchen and it
turned out just fine ... tasted like (good) Nilla Wafers.
I didn't want a huge cake and tons of sugar so I simply dusted the mini-cakes with edible glitter.
Friday, October 2, 2009
It's refreshing ...
It's refreshing to go somewhere for lunch and find things on the menu you can EAT. :) It's refreshing to ask for something without cheese and not be looked at like you are nuts. It's refreshing when you start in with "is xyz vegetarian" and are told "yes but if you are Vegan then ... would be an option". It's refreshing to find a staff member that clearly KNOWS what goes into the menu items.
We have family in town for the weekend and meals out are always interesting with 1 Omni Senior Citizen, 1 Vegetarian Adult, 2 Vegan Adults, 1 (picky) Vegetarian Child, and 2 Vegan Babies ! :) We ended up going to Berry Hill Baja Grill for lunch (last minute) and had quite a nice experience.
The first thing going for us was that we were early-birds and waltzed in at 11:15. You know you've got kids when that's a normal time to eat lunch! hahaha The second was that this is a restaurant/bar combo without table service which seemed to work to our advantage when we were able to seat ourselves and order when we were ready ... and were able to leave when the "natives got restless" as we had paid for our meal in advance. The third bonus as far as I am concerned was that they had an all-you-can-eat salsa bar + tortilla chips. Woo Hoo ! ;)
It's the small victories that mean the most! :)
We have family in town for the weekend and meals out are always interesting with 1 Omni Senior Citizen, 1 Vegetarian Adult, 2 Vegan Adults, 1 (picky) Vegetarian Child, and 2 Vegan Babies ! :) We ended up going to Berry Hill Baja Grill for lunch (last minute) and had quite a nice experience.
The first thing going for us was that we were early-birds and waltzed in at 11:15. You know you've got kids when that's a normal time to eat lunch! hahaha The second was that this is a restaurant/bar combo without table service which seemed to work to our advantage when we were able to seat ourselves and order when we were ready ... and were able to leave when the "natives got restless" as we had paid for our meal in advance. The third bonus as far as I am concerned was that they had an all-you-can-eat salsa bar + tortilla chips. Woo Hoo ! ;)
It's the small victories that mean the most! :)
Thursday, October 1, 2009
October 1, 2009 - Kickoff VeganMoFo
On the heals of my 28-Day Vegan Kick-start I am itching to get back some of my "convenience" foods.
Every day we eat ... for nutrition, for comfort, for a sense of community ... in social gatherings, at dining tables, on TV trays, and (sometimes) standing in front of the refrigerator. I have a degree in nutrition. Take from that what you will ... there are plenty of Respiratory Therapists that smoke! :) Taking your own advice is always the difficult part isn't it?
My husband and I are self-proclaimed foodies and enjoy cooking together ... too much sometimes. :) Some people could care less about food ... I am not one of those people ! It's not ALL about recreating dishes from my past pre-Veg life ... modification of lifestyle not withstanding.
Sometimes it's about looking into the eyes of my children and wanting to create nutritious meals that taste GREAT. My husband was brought up in a household where meals were HEALTHY at the expense of flavor ... part of the Fat Free Revolution in the late 80's when plastic cheese and rice cakes reined supreme. :)
Sometimes it's about wanting a chocolate chip cookie the size of a saucer ... or ooey gooey pizza that you would SWEAR has "real" cheese on it. Regardless of the reason I am always searching for innovation in my Vegan kitchen.
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