We didn’t want to be those parents. But only parents of premies might understand why we wanted to celebrate our son turning one year old, at his corrected age. We celebrated his actual birthdate a couple months ago but also invited people over two months later. We just didn’t tell anyone it was because we were celebrating on the inside. Read the rest of this entry »
Tofu scrambles. We’ve made them plenty of times – dillicious, chili masala, curried dill, tahini chickpea, and mighty migas. And then there was the Revolutionary Savoury Egg Mix just waiting for a tofu scramble. They are all good but we make dillicious the most often, since we love it so. However, I have to tell you. We’ve found the chickpea scramble that rules them all. The BEST tofu scramble is right here. And it is deliciously doused in nutritional yeast and also sneaks in chickpeas.
Read the rest of this entry »
Last weekend, we tore up our garden. I think we did pretty well for keeping the garden going until the end of October. The tomato and tomatillo plants were ripped out, asparagus ferns chopped off, new garlic planted and we made a new lasagna compost garden to be ready for us next spring.
We continue to harvest a bit, too. I may even be able to store some of the Ayocote Morado runner beans, which only started to produce bean pods in September despite a summer of glorious red blossoms. I harvested them, too, but they are bright green and lush. I will try to dry them indoors. The kale keeps growing, though, and I hope to keep it going to capture some seeds next year. Read the rest of this entry »
I always loved eating peanut butter, but I ate even more of it while pregnant. Breastfeeding brought a whole new level of hunger as I build a new human and possibly even higher levels of consumption. It is usually limited to breakfasts and desserts, and even though I had stirred it into stews before (hello, African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew), this version is easily made in a slow cooker, simplifies the spices with curry powder, swaps chickpeas for kidney beans and I love how effortless the frozen spinach brings another layer of goodness. The coconut milk and peanut butter make for a creamy base that is deliciously paired with the sweet potatoes and carrots. I added some peanuts for garnish, but the crunch was a fun treat when they were immersed in the stew, too. Read the rest of this entry »
Our tomato consumption is still going strong but I would hate to bore you with so many consecutive tomato recipes. Another garden winner this year were the boisterous tomatillo plants. I have given away more tomatillos than I have eaten myself. Most of my friends have made and canned salsa verde. I don’t have the time or equipment to can this year, so I looked for less traditional ways to use tomatillos. When I spotted Alissa’s chickpea chile verde, I knew we had a winner!
It is local corn season!
This baby business has had me cooped up most of the spring and summer and it is nice to finally feel like the early hazy days have lifted somewhat. It only took 9 weeks. One problem with having a preemie is that his newborn period runs longer. We have to wait for his corrected age for him to develop his milestones. So no, he isn’t sleeping through the night just yet. Not even close.
But, it was nice to wake up while corn season is in full force. Rob can grill the corn pretty quickly and if you have any leftover, or can spare a handful of cobs, this is a fantastic soup. Read the rest of this entry »
This summer we’ve been eating a lot of soups and stews. It could have been that we were immune to the hot weather, as we spent the majority of it in an air conditioned NICU. Or, more likely, that we’ve been making up for lost time and stocking our freezer with extra food. We have fully adopted making a second batch of a recipe and freezing half. Soups and stews are great for that. Read the rest of this entry »
In the past few months, and last few weeks especially, Rob has had to do a lot more around the house. And when Rob does the cooking, it means the kitchen is filled with curry.
More of a creature of habit than me, Rob has been cooking through our favourites, Dal Bhat, Tamarind Lentils and innumerable batches of Creamy Broccoli Dal.
He must have become bored, because one day he opened up his favourite cookbook, 660 Curries, and made chana masala.
So, I must admit I got talked out of planting anything last weekend and it was probably for the best. We had a few chilly nights which might not have been great. Otherwise, the garden is ready (we added some top soil and coconut coir to the lasagna garden) and just waiting for plants. I am waiting for my order of asparagus rootlets which I am super excited about. Mostly excited about the possibility of endless years of homegrown asparagus, even though I know I won’t be able to harvest anything at all this year.
You have probably noticed I have been struggling with the blog lately. I am barely eking out a post per week. It is a combination of a few things: less time spent cooking and less time to blog about it. It certainly isn’t that I have stopped eating (HA!) but I found myself nodding when I read Ginny’s latest post about Vegan Food for People Who Don’t Cook. Combined with quite a few batches of my Easy Vegan Lasagna, and incessant snacking on hummus and crackers, it feels like I have been eating hummus non-stop. And no, I wasn’t even making it myself, the bulk of it came from store-bought varieties. Not sorry. Read the rest of this entry »
I remember someone told me they didn’t like curry because it always tastes like curry powder. Well, if you always use the same curry powder, of course they will be similar. Most of the time, I don’t use curry powder and try to use the individual spices to create new concoctions each time.
Examples: Martinique Sweet Potato Coconut Curry, A Riff on Massaman Curry, Cauliflower and Chickpea Balti, Cauliflower Dal with Panch Poran, and our favourite Nepalese Dal Bhat. Read the rest of this entry »
Yes, I am still chomping away on my cabbage. When the heads of cabbage are this big, I can usually 4 recipes out of one head. I still have plenty of plans for cabbage, but it might take me a while to share them as I space them out on the blog.
I hope you don’t mind me sharing recipes from my newest favourite kitchen gadget. Rob bought me an Instapot and we’ve been slowly exploring it – both with the slow cooker and pressure cooker functions (I will be waiting a while to try the yogurt function unless someone can point me in the right direction for something easy). Read the rest of this entry »
Before I was vegan, the only Indian food I liked was butter chicken. Then I met Rob and we explored lots of great, naturally vegan curries. While we have veganized some of Rob’s favourite curries (see this Vegan Khao Soi), I never even thought to veganize butter chicken.
Until of course, I spotted a healthier version that was mostly vegan, except for that chicken. Read the rest of this entry »
While I have never eaten a white chili, this definitely reminded me of my time in Houston.
This chili has no red in sight. No tomatoes. No red chiles. No red kidney beans.
Instead, we use all the white and green counterparts: green Anaheim peppers. White kidney beans and even some chickpeas. Spinach adds another punch of green. And corn, technically yellow, is almost white. The original recipe called for hominy, which is actually white, so I was the one deviating from the white/green template.
the taste space 