A few weeks in to this experiment and I am still loving it! It's been so fun trying out new recipes that I've flipped past over the years for one reason or another. I think my favorite out of the new recipes from this week was the Sunflower Mac, and I also ended up making one of my top 10 faves again (Red Hot TLTs) because I had tempeh and romaine laying around!
Here’s what I made this week:
Kale salad with butternut squash and lentils
You've gotta massage your kale. As Isa says, "Don't worry; kale can take it!"
I would make this again
I made 1 substitution (ginger juice for ginger)
And since I've now mentioned it many times, here's the ginger juice that I buy
This would not freeze well, and while kale keeps fine (even with the dressing already on), you do need to eat lentils within a few days of opening the can
I also did not end up taking a picture of this, so you'll just have to envision it! Since it has been absolutely freezing in Asheville lately, I also had this as a warm salad. I just popped it into the microwave for about a minute all assembled. This is a very hearty salad, so it served me well as a main dish.
Farmer salad with chive vinaigrette

I would make this again
I made 0 substitutions! Wow
I wish I had bought more mushrooms!
Okay, this salad was a delight. When I tried the dressing on its own I thought it was going to be too pungent (I mean it has a TON of chives and dijon mustard in it) but once it was on the salad it really balanced things out.
I absolutely love mushrooms, so while I cooked as much as the recipe called for, I wanted more and ended up running out of it for my leftover servings. I also still had leftover kale from a previous week's recipe, so I added that in to my first serving and that was great too, so if you don't like arugula, this could be a kale-based salad too.

Harira with eggplant and chickpeas
I would make this again
I made 2 substitutions
I definitely froze some of this (and gave a serving to a friend!)
Here’s what I substituted:
Ginger juice for ginger
Green/Brown lentils for Moong Daal - I often have canned lentils, but not dried, but I almost always have moong daal because I love making Kitchari for breakfast (and I loosely follow this recipe).
This was a lovely surprise! I don't know that I love chickpeas as much as Isa does, but she sure does know how to use them! This soup has a lot of bold flavors in it, including some fresh herbs. Also, believe the serving size! This serves 8-10 and that's no lie.
I gave a large serving to a friend and she loved it! I also froze a serving, and I think I ate this still for like five days. I love eggplant, but I don't always know how to use it best, so this is a great new eggplant recipe for me!
Sunflower Mac
I would make this again - I think it's my new fave from this week
I made 0 substitutions
I don't know if this would freeze well
Ok, lucky you if you don't have the cookbook but want to make this delicious pasta, it's available on Post Punk Kitchen!
Finding a good vegan mac and cheese is either something you are driven to find as a vegan or don't really care about. Nowadays, there are so many boxed and frozen varieties that really mimic gooey dairy-based cheeses.
So usually, that's what I gravitate towards, and honestly I was skeptical of a sunflower-seed based sauce!
Now, I am a convert. This is super easy and made so much sauce I had to include two pics! That is my 4.5qt pan filled nearly to the brim.
Looking for more at-home vegan mac options? I also love the mac and cheese mix from Miyoko Schinner in "The Homemade Vegan Pantry." (That link goes to my affiliate page on Bookshop.org!)
Red Hot BLTs (one of my top 10 faves!)
This is one of my top ten favorites from Isa Does It. I probably make it at least once a month. I love Frank's Red Hot sauce, and usually add some extra to my sandwich. I also, unabashedly, love vegan mayonnaise. My favorite has always been the classic Vegenaise (and no, I don't know that I pronounce it correctly). Add some toasty bread, crisp romaine, and a slice of tomato and you have a classic vegan sandwich.
Weekly reflection:
Oof, ya'll I don't know about for you, but this was a tough week for me given the incoming administration. Monday was again bitterly cold here and I was just not in a good place. While filling my cup in the morning, I looked out upon the scraggly tree that grows just tall enough to reach my window and saw a flock of little birds perched with puffed out feathers, warming themselves. I'm trying to take solace in simple moments like these.
I'm also still trying to find a balance of work and personal projects now that I no longer have my regular day job, and that's been a challenge as well. One of the things I'm currently doing is an HR podcast with my friend and longtime colleague, Stacey Nordwall. This week's workplace headlines were scary and sad, really across the board.
Towards the end of this week I took some time for personal journaling and wrote a mantra for the next few months (and then I'll revisit it and see how it's feeling) and I have that displayed on my desk now. It has helped bring me back to earth and not feel so scattered.
And oh right, food-wise, as I said in the beginning, I'm still really enjoying this experiment! I usually cook about 3-4 recipes a week, so it hasn't been a huge change from that perspective and it is simpler just knowing that I'm going to pick my meals from one book. I have honestly been avoiding the "handheld" section a bit because I find homemade veggie burgers to usually be a bit fussy, but I'm going to tackle some soon!
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