Dinners, Lately

Perhaps inspired by my husband's culinary cofidence, I have been experimenting more in the kitchen these days, choosing to view dinnertime as an opportunity for creative expression, rather than a chore. Okay, so that may be romanticizing the whole thing a bit, but I have found that I enjoy cooking much more when I am not tied to a recipe. And the results have been fantastic! Here are a few things that I've made:

Brussel Sprouts w/Tempeh Bacon and Toasted Pecans, Brown/Red/Wild Rice Blend, Baked Sweet Potato

The brussel sprout dish pictured above was inspired by a similar one (using real bacon) featured on a PBS cooking/gardening show I watched recently. For my version, I used store-bought tempeh and infused it with a bacon-like flavor using this marinade recipe (alright, so I did use one recipe). As the tempeh finished marinating, I washed the brussel sprouts and then threw them in a pot of boiling, lightly salted water for about two or three minutes, just enough time to take away the raw edge. I then trimmed and quartered (or halved, depending on the size) the sprouts before setting them aside. Next, I took a handful of pecans and popped 'em in the toaster oven, heated to 400 degrees. I removed the tempeh from it's marinade and placed the strips in a heated skillet with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. When the bacon had browned a bit, I added a diced shallot and the brussel sprouts. It was at this point that I realized I had forgotten about the pecans, which really only needed to be toasted for about 5 minutes. About half of the pecans were salvageable, so I chopped those and tossed them into the pan as well. Mixed it all together and finished it off with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

I am so proud of how this dish turned out. Stephen and I both thought it was delicious (and even better the next day, cold). I served it with a mix of brown, red, and wild rice and baked sweet potatoes topped with Earth Balance, salt and pepper. Actually, Stephen opted to put brown sugar on top of his. I realize this is common practice, but I just don't get it. Sweet potatoes are so sweet on their own! Hence the name, I guess. Also, next time I'll be sure not to cook the potatoes quite so long; they turned out rather mushy.

Cheese-less Hella Veggies Pizza

It is official: pizza does not have to be smothered in cheese in order to be delicious. The beautiful pie pictured above has not an ounce of dairy on it and, believe me, it was supremely scrumdiddlyumptious. The night that we ate this, I was looking to make a quick and easy meal, so I went ahead and used a store-bought crust (Mama Mary's Thin 'n' Crispy). While I can appreciate a big thick chewy crust, my personal preference is for thin and slightly crunchy, so Mama Mary's was perfect (plus, it's completely dairy-free, whereas many store-bought crusts include cheese). They also have a whole wheat version but, unfortunately, my grocery store was not carrying it at the time. One of these days, when I have more time on my hands, I'll have a go at making my own crust. My dear friend Keri makes a delicious one that she swears is super simple (and can be made using whole wheat flour). If I ever get around to doing that, I'll be sure to write a post about it.

Now, getting back to the pizza I actually did make. First, I brushed the crust with a thin coat of olive oil, followed by a very generous coat of bottled tomato basil pasta sauce. Next I took one sliced zucchini, one coarsely chopped red bell pepper, a large handful of sliced white mushrooms, and a couple small handfuls of baby spinach and threw 'em all into a large bowl where I drizzled and tossed them with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I spooned the veggie mixture onto the crust and sprinkled the whole thing generously with Italian seasoning. Finally I popped it into a 425 degree oven for ten minutes on a pizza pan and an additional eight minutes directly on the rack. And then, I ate it. Well, we ate it together, Stephen and I, every last crumb. And didn't feel gross and bloated afterward. Now that's my kinda' pizza!

Gardein Tuscan Breasts, Rotini w/Kale and Tomatoes, Oven Roasted Asparagus

The meal pictured above was my least favorite of the four featured in this post. BUT, patting myself on the back here a bit, the one thing I didn't really like about it was the thing I didn't make myself. Vegan chef Tal Ronnen has a (fairly) new line of plant-based (vegan) imitation meats produced under the brand name Gardein. The "Tuscan Breast" pictured above is one of the products from that line. Now, I think Tal Ronnen is totally awesome and I am fully supportive of this line because it seems to be helpful in getting meat eaters to sample the veg lifestyle (the textures and flavors are strikingly similar to the "real thing"). That said, I don't really think this stuff is for me. For the most part, I try to avoid fake meats for the simple fact that they are highly processed and I'd rather have a diet made up of mostly whole foods and less processed soy products such as tempeh and tofu. That said, I've been known to cook up a Boca Burger on nights that I'm eating alone and don't want to bother with anything more complicated. The funny thing is, when it comes to processed fake meat, it tastes best to me when the meat it is imitating is processed itself. You know, chicken nuggets, sausage patties, that sort of thing. I mean, Morningstar has some products that taste good. (Unfortunately, though, they all contain eggs and dairy. Sad face.) When processed soy products try to imitate plain old unprocessed meat, something gets lost in the translation. Or maybe not. Maybe it's just too realistic and that realism is exactly what turned me off. Either way, I will not be buying those again (but that doesn't mean you shouldn't!).

For the pasta dish, I boiled whole wheat rotini and threw a bunch of chopped kale in during the last minute. After draining the pasta/kale mixture, I put it all in a bowl and mixed in grape tomatoes (halved), fresh basil, the juice of one lemon, sea salt, black pepper, and nutritional yeast, which gave it a slightly cheesy/nutty texture and taste. This side dish took center stage as Stephen and I gobbled it up greedily. For the second side dish, I tossed asparagus in olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper and oven roasted it to perfection.

Later, as I was packaging up the leftovers, I decided to chop up the leftover asparagus and throw it in with the pasta. I added a splash of balsamic vinaigrette to keep it from getting too dry and stuck it in the fridge. The next day, we had a delicious cold pasta salad on our hands. Our forks were fighting in that bowl, let me tell you.

Seitan and Veggies in Red Curry Sauce Over Brown Rice, Spicy Oven-Roasted Purple Potatoes

My husband loves Thai food. He says that it is right up there with Mexican as his two favorite types of food. Coincidentally, he is the one that first introduced me to Thai food. (And I introduced him to Indian; our love was based on curry.) It had been a while since I cooked a Thai-inspired meal, so I decided to give it a go with my new-found culinary confidence. Now, I could've gotten all fancy and created my own curry sauce but, honestly, I'm not feeling that confident yet. Plus, I was tired. I mean, I have kids, which, dude. If you don't know, I'm telling you: that shit makes you tired. Anywho, I opted to go the store-bought route and picked up a jar of Thai Kitchen's Red Curry Paste and a can of their Lite Coconut Milk. I simmered the two together with one tablespoon of brown sugar before adding one sliced yellow onion, one sliced red bell pepper, and one 8 oz. package of seitan. I stirred in some chopped fresh basil near the end. I served this delectable dish over brown rice. On the side, I served spicy oven-roasted purple potatoes: purple potatoes chopped and tossed in olive oil, curry powder, ground coriander, ground turmeric, a touch of ground red pepper, sea salt, and black pepper and then roasted in a 475 degree oven for 30 minutes. They were perfectly crispy-soft with just the right amount of spice. 

Stephen really enjoyed this Thai-inspired dinner and made it very clear throughout the entire meal. It is so rewarding to me to have a husband who is so vocal in his appreciation of the time and effort I put into a meal. Makes it all worth it. Even better, there were plenty of leftovers for him to take to work the next day, which saved us money and him time.

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Okay, so this was a pretty lengthy post. Hopefully at least a few of you made it through.

What have you been making for dinner lately?