March

January and February always feel like the longest months to get through, especially since we moved to a snowy climate. Sure, the first couple of snowstorms are fun novelties, and the sheer white landscape is beautiful to look at. But after the holidays, the days of cold and snow seem endless. The snow turns gray and then black along the roads, but stubbornly refuses to melt. So I am always happy to see March arrive. It makes me feel that, at last, spring is near! And that makes me feel happy and optimistic in general. Besides the first day of spring, March means St. Paddy's Day and Olivia's birthday. I think it's going to be a great month.

Here are some meals we've had over the past few days. First, a couple of Urban Vegan testers, for her new holiday cookbook.

Lettuce Soup

Kibbeh

When I told Tony we were having lettuce soup he said, "What are we, in the Great Depression?" I admit, it sounded too simple to be tasty, but Dynise has a way of teasing rich flavors out of the simplest ingredients. Garlic and cumin give the soup a Mexican-ish flavor. It is great with a drizzle of hot sauce.

Kibbeh is a Middle Eastern dish typically made with minced lamb or beef, that is either formed into balls or served casserole-style. This vegan version is made from bulgur and lentils. I served it with spicy Cumin-Harissa Sauce, which I've tested before. It was so good, I had to make it again. I also served hummus and pita alongside.

When I went grocery shopping, I impulse-bought some tofu dogs and had one when I got home. I know it's unwise to grocery shopping before you eat.  But sometimes it can result in a lunch that is exactly what you were craving.

A lightning-fast yet amazing pea pesto soup, one of my all-time favorite soups. The recipe is from Nigella Lawson and is available online.

From Vegan on the Cheap, smoky tempeh with cabbage and potatoes. A hearty, uncomplicated, yet tasty dish. I caramelized the onions to give it extra depth of flavor.

I also made a different kind of recipe this weekend...not a food at all, but made from mostly edible ingredients.

It's a natural homemade deoderant. The recipe came from Leslie over at Pixiepine Blog. She reported good results after using it for a month, so I decided to give it a try. My skin is so sensitive to most deoderants that there is only one brand I can use (Dove Sensitive Skin) and I've always been a little creeped out by all the chemicals in it.  I've tried Tom's of Maine in the past and it did not work for me at all. Happily, I am having great success with Leslie's deoderant. I love the soft scent of the coconut oil base. Yum.

Of course my little man Jackson helped me with all my kitchen creations. Look at him standing on his tiptoes so he can stir.

Miss Olivia is so close to taking her first steps unassisted. I think it will be any day now.

And Monster got a new bed over the weekend. So all my babies are kicking off March in a happy mood. (Actually, Monster can't decide if he wants to sleep in his bed or chew it to pieces, but I think either outcome would make him happy.) I hope March brings you much happiness, too!

Check it out, Lacey Loves Food is giving away a copy of The Happy Herbivore cookbook!

Brunch and Blogger ABC's

This morning, I made a big stack of apple-cinnamon pancakes for Jackson to have during the week.

And for brunch we had breakfast burritos, made with some homemade soyrizo I had in the freezer, scrambled tofu, and ancho chile salsa.

It's been awhile since I've shared a recipe, so here's one for that salsa.  It is a cooked salsa, so it takes longer than some, but I think it's worth it.

Ancho Chile Salsa

28 oz. can diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp. olive oil

1/2 med. onion, chopped

3-5 dried ancho chiles (depending on your desired heat)

1 cup water

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

First, put about a cup of water to boil in a saucepan. Tear the stems off your dried chiles and get the seeds out. Dried chiles can be fragile, but it's totally fine if you tear them up in the process. When the water boils, pour it over your chiles and let them soak.

In a pan over medium hear, saute the chopped onion in 1/2 tsp. oil for five minutes. At this point, drain your chiles and add them to the onions along with the tomatoes, garlic, 1 cup water, and all your spices. Turn up the heat and bring the salsa to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Let it cook for 20 minutes.

Carefully puree the salsa in a blender until it has a smooth consistency. Enjoy!

I saw this over at Vegan Epicurean so I thought I would fill out my own while I'm waiting for Tony to get ready so we can go run some errands. The errands are not absolutely necessary, but we are hoping Jackson will sleep in the car. He missed his nap yesterday and he was a grumpy bear last night, so we are hoping to remedy that today.

Blogger ABCs:

A. Age: 34

B. Bed size: Queen

C. Chore you hate: Dusting

D. Dogs: Awesome.

E. Essential start to your day: Oatmeal

F. Favorite color: Silver

G. Gold or silver: See F

H. Height: 5'7"

I. Instruments you play: None

J. Job title: I was a librarian, now I'm a stay-at-home mom

K. Kids: Jackson, 2 1/2, and Olivia, almost 1

L. Live: New York state

M. Mom’s name: Linda

N. Nicknames: I'll keep those between me and the people who call me them :)

O. Overnight hospital stays: One night when I had Jackson, two nights with Olivia (I have a special fondness for the doctor who told me, "Your ob-gyn in Texas must have been backwards to only keep you one night. Here in New York we do things the right way." Yeah, because we really needed that extra 24 hours of crappy hospital food and people barging into the room every few minutes as I'm trying to rest.

P. Pet peeve: Cocky doctors, hehe. And people who don't pick up after their dogs.

Q. Quote from a movie: "The time to make up your mind about people is never." - The Philadelphia Story

R. Right or left handed: Left

S. Siblings: My younger brother, Sean, and his lovely new bride, Melissa

T. Time you wake up: Around 7, depends on the kids

U. Underwear: Yes

V. Vegetables you dislike: Raw green pepper.

W. What makes you run late: Kiddos

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Dental, shoulder

Y. Yummy food you make: Yes I do

Z. Zoo- favorite animal: Sloths

Cardamom-Scented Tofu with Coconut Spinach Rice

I was up early this morning...Olivia is cutting her two front teeth and she has not been sleeping well. She woke me up at 4 a.m., wide awake. She sat there and chattered to me in her baby language for almost two hours. Now she is back asleep, but I'm wide awake. I am watching the pouring rain that is supposed to turn into snow later, and eating a bowl of oat bran with raisins and banana. I usually eat oatmeal but I thought I would try something slightly different.

It has a chewier consistency than oatmeal and is a little more gummy, as well.  I like it, for a little change of pace. You really do have to pay attention to it while it is in the microwave, like the packaging tells you. Yesterday I walked away for a few seconds, and when I came back, it had bubbled up over the edges of my bowl and made a goopy mess in the microwave!

 Last night I made a tasty Indian-inspired meal from The 30 Minute Vegan's Taste of the East. I pressed the tofu in my Tofu Xpress, which helped it attain a firm, paneer-like texture when sliced into cubes. While the tofu was marinating and baking, I made the sauce, which tasted like a rich gravy, with notes of cardamom and sesame.

 

I served the tofu over the coconut-scented basmati rice. The rice was studded with chickpeas and spinach, and it was a perfect pairing.  And, it was no more difficult than making regular rice on the stovetop! The rice didn't overwhelm us with flavor on its own, but it soaked up the savory gravy and we couldn't stop eating it.  I haven't made many recipes from this cookbook yet...just haven't gotten around to it...but so far I'm loving everything I make.

Jackson and Olivia played with their wooden blocks while I was cooking. Jackson is getting a lot better at playing and sharing, which makes me very happy. He loves his "baby sisser," as he calls her He loves all babies, really. Yesterday I brought home a package of toilet paper with a baby on it, and he cried "Awwww, baaaaabyyyyyy!" and kissed it. He is the same way with pictures of dogs. Every day when it's time to feed Monster, Jackson has to kiss the dog on the Beneful package before I put it away. Little kids are funny.

I was happy to receive a package in the mail yesterday...new incense! There is nowhere around here to stock up on our favorite brands, so I have started ordering it online. It makes me feel like a kid, waiting excitedly for the mailman to deliver the box. We love Incensio de Santa Fe and Nag Champa. Nippon Kodo is also good, although we didn't get any this time. We are always burning some kind of incense or candle in our home. It is one of the few items we splurge on. Do you like to burn incense/candles? What are your favorite scents? Or, have you gotten anything cool in the mail lately?

Well, I should probably get some laundry going before the babies get up. Have a wonderful weekend!

Restaurant Review - Zorona

Yesterday, the kids and I were stuck inside due to the nasty weather. I was having one of those "hungry days" where I could never eat enough to feel full. And for some reason, every time we emailed each other during the day, Tony and I brought up restaurants -- our all-time favorites, as well as new ones we'd like to try. So of course, when Tony got off work a little early, I was quick to suggest getting out of the house and going out to eat, and he immediately agreed.

We chose Zorona, a Jordanian restaurant we had dined at a couple of times previously. They have a great deal where you can pick five items for $9.99, with plenty of vegan options.

We started with velvety, rich hummus and pita, which Jackson mostly commandeered for himself.

Olivia loved the Middle Eastern music that was playing. She practiced her belly dancing while we waited for our food.

Tony had the unsettling feeling that he was being watched.

When our food arrived, we dug in and cleaned our plates. I had baba ganoush, stuffed grape leaves, tabouli, fava beans, and falafel. 

There are different kinds of stuffed grape leaves, known as dolmas or dolmades. Some are filled with lemon rice, and some have rice with a tomato-cinnamon sauce. Oh, and some contain ground beef, so it's a good idea to ask before biting into one! Zorona serves the kind with lemon rice, a.k.a. the best kind.

Olivia ate almost all the fava beans.When I would stop feeding her to take a bite of my own, she would grab at my arm with her little hands and try to push my spoon back towards the fava beans! It always surprises me what kids like eating if you just offer it to them. With a full tummy, she contentedly fell asleep in the car on the way home.  And my tummy felt full at last, too.

Urban Vegan Tester #20 - Noochy Broccoli

Today's lunch was Noochy Broccoli, another simple yet flavorful tester for the Urban Vegan. Broccoli florets are transformed into a spread that's perfect with crackers or crostini. It would also be good on a veggie sandwich or wrap.

It snowed a lot, so we stayed inside all day. I was happy to have my cuddle buddies to keep me warm as I drank my tea and watched the falling flakes.

Guatita (Potato Peanut Stew)

So, I recently discovered that I love soy curls in tacos, but what else could I use them in? I was leafing through Viva Vegan and came across a recipe for guatita, a creamy potato-peanut stew that is popular in Ecuador and Chile. Since I'm trying to cut down on my prep and cleanup time in the kitchen, this one-pot meal sounded appealing. When I saw that one if the ingredients was soy curls, I was sold. 

I served it over rice, garnished with hot sauce, cilantro, and pickled red onions, which I had left over from my Valentine's feast.  We all loved it. Jackson liked the soy curls most of all. The stew is hearty but not heavy, with complex flavor. Even if you're not a peanut butter fanatic like me, I would still recommend it. The peanut butter blends seamlessly with the other flavors; it's not the first thing you notice.

How was your weekend? We did a little early spring cleaning and got rid of a bunch of stuff we don't need on Craigslist. We had beautiful weather here on Friday, sunny and in the 60's. I took the babies out for a long walk in their double stroller. It felt so good to get outside! Of course today we're expecting six inches of snow, but it is only February so I'll take the occasional nice day.

Urban Vegan Tester #19 - Romesco Bruschetta

My latest tester recipe for the Urban Vegan, Bruschetta with Easy Romesco Sauce, perfectly meets my need for simple meals with minimal cleanup. In the time it takes to toast some baguette slices, the sauce is ready, since you make it in the food processor.

Romesco is a Spanish sauce made with roasted red peppers. I served these little toasts with chili-marinated olives for a light, snacky lunch.