DOUBLE POST

So long time, no post! Life has been crazy busy between work and school, so I've not cooked much. Lunch and dinner has been either peanut butter and jelly or a hodge podge of spinach, green beans and mushrooms. Yesterday though, after 4 grueling hours of econ homework, I came home and decided to make two recipes that would feed me through the week. These last few pounds before goal weight number 1 have been slow and stubborn to come off, so I decided to cook asparagus and chickpea casserole and mexican pumpkin soup from fatfreevegan. I modified them a little but overall, pretty fantastic.

Asparagus and Chickpea Casserole
(from blog.fatfreevegan.com) Serves 4-6
1 onion chopped
2-3 cloves garlic chopped
1 lb asparagus chopped into bite size pieces
1 pkg mushrooms chopped
2 big handfuls of fresh spinach
1 can rinsed chickpeas
1 cup plus 2 tbs vegetable broth
2 tbs flour
1 1/2 tbs nutritional yeast
3/4 c almond milk
salt, pepper, basil to taste
2 c frozen hash browns

Saute the onions and garlic over med heat until soft. Add mushrooms until they also begin to soften, then reduce heat to low, add 2 tbs vegetable broth and the asparagus and spinach, then cover and let cook for 3-4 min. Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining broth, flour, nutritional yeast and milk. Pour this mixture over the vegetables and when it begins to bubble, add the chickpeas and seasonings. When the sauce begins to thicken, put it in a casserole dish, cover the top with the hashbrowns and bake at 400 until the tops begin to brown and crisp, roughly 30 min. I think I had to turn the broiler on for mine for an additional 5 min.

Turned out really well! I love the idea of having hasbrowns as a topping versus breadcrumbs or crackers, and much better for you than cheese!

The mexican pumpkin soup is a little like a chili. I loved it. While making it, my roommate said "wow, you really do love pumpkin." I can't get enough. I'm sad that it's starting to get warmer out because that means this is probably the last pot of soup I'll make. That's okay though, just means gazpacho and avocado time is right around the corner.

Mexican Pumpkin Soup
(also from blog.fatfreevegan.com) Makes 4-5 servings
1 onion chopped
3 garlic cloves chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
5 med red potatoes chopped into bite sized pieces
1 can pumpkin puree (ugh, not the same as pumpkin roasted, but can't find that now)
4 c vegetable broth
1 can kidney beans
3 big handfuls of spinach
Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, dried herbs, all to taste

Saute your onion and garlic in a dutch oven on med heat. Reduce to low and add the remaining ingredients, then cover and let simmer for 30 min or until the potatoes are tender. I think she added 1/3 c soy or almond milk but honestly, I think it was awesome without and why add more calories?

Curry

One of my weaknesses is Indian food. I love it. What I love most now about Indian is so much of it is or can very easily be made vegan. Last weekend I went to visit some lovely ladies, so as a big thank you to my roommates for keeping an eye on my Whitney, I made dinner. I wanted to replicate the amazing pumpkin curry I ate in San Francisco, but I couldn't find any pumpkin, so I worked with what I had.

It was great. I super super loved it. I ended up making so much that I froze some, and it thawed nicely. The coolest part to me is that I just winged it as I went. It was really nice over some rice but just as good without. I don't have a picture but trust me, it was beautiful (but I'm biased) =P

In other news, I moved to Owings Mills and I started school at UMBC on Thursday! So exciting! I feel so happy where I am in life and I hope 2011 continues being awesome. Hopefully 2012 will bring a new career as a teacher and not the end of the world in December (although looking at my school debt that might be good for my financial state).

Butternut Squash Curry

1 onion chopped

3 or 4 garlic cloves chopped

2 parsnips cleaned and chopped into bite sized pieces

2 smallish red potatoes chopped

1lb chopped butternut squash (I found it in a container already cleaned and cut up)

1/2 package extra firm tofu pressed until the liquid is mostly gone and chopped

1 can coconut milk plus 1 can almond milk (more if you like your curry a little on the runny side)

2tbs red curry

1 tbs curry powder (if you have it)

1tbs cumin

red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onions and garlic in a dutch oven over med heat for a few min. Add the rest of your vegetables and tofu, milks and seasonings (mix curry paste with some of the milk then pour into your pot). Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer away until the vegetables are soft, roughly 30-40 min. Serve with rice or naan.

Because you are adding potato, you might need to up your salt and spice, so really make it to taste. I know when I finished, I added hot sauce.

Quinoa Chili-esque

I. Love. Quinoa. Love it. The worst part about the whole thing is rinsing it, but other than that, it's wonderful. While on my trip I had two roasted sweet peppers stuffed with red quinoa, cranberry nuts and roasted garlic with a pepper puree on top. It was amazing. I will most definitely work on replicating that recipe once I get some red quinoa.

Yesterday was pretty lazy, so I decided to make a big pot of something so that lunches and dinners would be prepared for the next couple of days. Lo and behold, I had a large bag of quinoa that I purchased a few days before my trip. I started looking at some different quinoa recipes but found that I was missing two many ingredients from one or another, so I went with me own.

I have given birth to a super awesome quinoa chili-esque dish. It was fantastic. It's supposed to last me a few meals, but it'll be gone in like two days. The best part is it's pretty versatile. Really whatever vegetables you have on hand can be thrown in.

Quinoa Chili

2 cups uncooked quinoa

3 cups of water

1 small onion diced

3 cloves garlic minced

1 bag frozen vegetables (mine had red peppers, broccoli and mushrooms in them)

2 cans black beans

1 can kidney beans

2 cans diced tomatoes, 1 of them drained (mine were fire roasted with oregano and garlic)

2 handfuls of spinach

1tbs chili powder

bay leaf (if you have it)

dried oregano to taste

salt, pepper to taste

First soak your quinoa in water for 10 min. Then rinse it 2 or 3 times, carefully removing any small stones that might be left behind. Cook the quinoa, covered, in the 3 cups of water until the water is mostly evaporated, roughly 20min.

In a dutch oven, saute your onion, garlic and vegetables on med low heat for 10 min. Then add your tomatoes, bay leaf and beans, reduce heat to low. By this time your quinoa should be done, so add this to your pot, add the seasonings and cover and cook for 30 min, stirring occasionally. When it has thickened up to your desire, turn the heat off, add the spinach, check for any needed spices and serve. Some vegan sour cream would be nice with this!

Back to norms

So I'm back...unfortunately. I cannot express how much I loved being there. When I got off the plane, someone shoved me to move faster and all I could think was how he should slow down, but it's all cool. DC is just too wound up and tense, it was nice to be in an area that was laid back. I'm hoping the new attitude stays for a while because it's refreshing. Really can't wait to go back though.

The last night I was there, I may or may not have sang and danced to "It's Tricky" with the beautiful Lucky.

I am badly in need of a real camera or a phone that takes pictures that aren't so grainy.

Anyways, I'm off work for a couple of days, which has been awesome to catch up on sleep. I've also been applying to jobs which I hope isn't too painful. I'm asking my former boss if I can come back as a student for a bit, and if they let me, I can.....

move out this weekend!

(it's okay mom, you can clap)

But more on that later =)

Expect a recipe post later today because I found this at the grocery store last night:

I had an organic, prepackaged curry dinner with these in them and I honestly couldn't tell they were not real noodles. And that whole package has only 40 calories. I'm thinking of doing a pasta with tomatoes, olives, cucumbers and mushrooms, so when I get it together on this lazy, snowy Tuesday, then I'll post my results!

Last Day

My team was pretty amazing.

Drinking at SF City Hall

This picture does not do the place justice. Plus I got to see the mayor and he's pretty much Hotty McHotpants.

Ah the green fairy