Salad

We had this salad with our roasted beets. This time we threw in a couple craisins and my lady had some avocado in hers, as you can see. She also made a simple dressing with oil, vinegar, garlic and salt & pepper.

Roasted Beets and Onions

I believe I got this recipe from the company where we get our produce delivered. We had gotten two bunches of baby gold beets and I was unsure as to what to do with them! The recipe was easy enough; take the beets, onions, and garlic cloves, toss them with some olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and stick in the oven. Our oven sucks; it usually runs hot so as you can see, some of the beets and onions got overcooked. And we even turned the heat down in order to try and avoid that. What we did eat was quite tasty; the beets were somewhat sweet which I wasn't expecting and the roasted garlic cloves....yummy! I am glad we tried this as neither my lady nor I had ever cooked with beets.

Salad

Another delicious dinner salad with the basic ingredients of leaf lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, sprouts, sunflower seeds, shaved parmesan and pepper. My lady captured a great pic of the salads this time.

Stir-Fried Tofu with Greens and Cashews

This dish was taken from the May 2000 issue of Vegetarian Times and had a nice taste but it came out extremely salty. I followed the directions in steaming and salting/peppering the greens in batches but I think we had less than greens than the recipe called for so the salt was just too strong. So salty in fact that we couldn't eat much of the greens, and after a moment, the tofu absorbed some of the salt when we put them together; it was a shame it turned out as such as I could tell the underlying flavor was quite nice. We used both kale and chard as the greens. I hope to try it again someday, but I will be holding back on the salt by a lot!

Omelet with Leeks and Irish Cheddar

This deliciously naughty butterific dinner omelet was based on another flat omelet I had made from Vegetarian Supers from Deborah Madison's Kitchen by Deborah Madison. I softened up some leeks and grated the cheese and mixed them all up with the eggs and cooked til the bottom was golden, slid it out, flipped it over and cooked til firm. It wasn't quite as flavorful as the previous omelet since it had basil and smoked mozzarella, but it was still decadent goodnesss....

Seitan "Chicken" and Cashews

This dish was really tasty! It was the first time I'd use seitan, let alone "chicken style". It came from The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook by Cathe Olsen and had lots of great fresh veggies in it; such as onions, bell pepper, carrots, cabbage and corn. We made the sauce with a small amount of veggie stock, soy sauce, arrowroot powder and red pepper flakes. It was quite flavorful and the texture was good. Upon opening the seitan, straining it and ripping it into bite size pieces, it felt like I was handling meat which was kind of weird, but it all worked out. I had some leftovers on some steamed rice and it was super yummy! I would definitely like to make this again and also make some more seitan based dishes.

Salad

Today we had this salad for lunch. About the same ingredients as last time we made it; mix of greens, baby spinach, sprouts, carrots, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, shaved parmesan and pepper. I'm glad we've been getting salad fixins in our deliveries and have been eating them more often.

Chard Mashed Potatoes

I guess potatoes were our theme for this week. We also received baby chard and a head of romenesco broccoli in our produce delivery so decided to make these mashed potatoes from the March 2001 issue of Vegetarian Times to utilize the chard and then just steam the broccoli. We topped the potatoes, once served, with a small amount of grated Parmesan for that little bit of extra flavor. Very tasty.

Portuguese Potato and Kale Soup

This deliciously satisfying soup came from The Big Book of Vegetarian by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley. We received some baby kale, onions and carrots in our produce delivery and this soup put them to great use! We also got to use our new food processor to blend up the russet potatoes to make the soup creamier before adding back them back to the stock and throwing the red potatoes and kale in. A bit of salt & pepper, and viola, a tasty dinner!

Leek and Garlic Risotto

This dish came from Local Flavors by Deborah Madison. The actual title is Leek and Green Garlic Risotto, but when I grabbed the green garlic, it had gone soft so I just used regular garlic. We choose this recipe to use the leeks and green garlic we had delivered on Monday but it was very rich; too rich in fact. We each only ate about 1/4 of the servings. This is the second time we've made a risotto that was just too rich for us. I think this one would have been ok had we just had a small dollop as a side dish to something else rather than trying to have it as a main course. Not surprised it was so rich with cream in it. It actually turned me off on trying to make any other risotto dishes for awhile. Oh well, there are plenty of other recipes to try!

Salad

Tonight we just threw together a nice big salad with a lot of the items we received in our produce delivery on Monday: a salad mix of greens, baby spinach, radishes & carrots. We also threw some items in we had on hand: cherry tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts, sunflower seeds, freshly ground pepper, and then I shaved some parmesan cheese on top. It was a very satisfying salad.

Chard and Rice Casserole

This tasty casserole was taken from The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook by Cathe Olson. The actual title was Kale and Rice Casserole, but we used chard instead since that was one of the items in our weekly produce delivery. It was really yummy. We had just gotten a food processor so I was able to mince the chard quite easily. The only thing was that it turned the brown rice pink when I first mixed it in. That went away upon baking it though. The egg topping consisted of eggs, nutritional yeast flakes, nutmeg, salt, pepper and a small amount of cheese, which was optional. I really liked the way the egg browned during the baking. It was quite tasty and the leftovers kept well and I had them twice during the work week. I think we'll be making this again.

Corn and Cashew Nut Curry

This yummy curry came from The Wok Bible by Sunil Vijayakar, Becky Johnson and Jenni Fleetwood. It consisted of shallots, cashews, red curry paste, potatoes, lemon grass, tomatoes, corn, celery, ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar with fresh basil on top. The recipe also called for kefir lime leaves which we couldn't find and scallions which went bad before we made this. It was quite flavorful and the leftovers were good the next day. It was a bit wetter than I expected, but the taste was nice and it firmed up when stored for leftovers.

Slow Spanish Rice and Beans

An easy Sunday favorite from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson. Read more about this delicious stand-by here or here from the past when we've made it.

French Onion Soup

This soup was fantasic! I have always loved French Onion Soup and I've been on the lookout for a vegetarian version. My lady found the recipe in The Big Book of Vegetarian by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley. It was so filling and rich; especially compared to the lighter dishes we've been focusing on. We used Gruyere cheese and it was delicious on top of the French bread. My only gripe would be that I didn't carmelize the onions enough so they weren't quite as soft and sweet as I would have liked. Something to work for next time we make it though! We heated up the leftovers for another dinner, threw it in the broiler after adding the bread and cheese and it was just as good as the night we made it. Yum!

Spicy Black Bean Chili

This yummy chili came from the book, Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson. It had a really nice flavor and not too spicy for my lady to enjoy. We had it with some Jasmine Rice; very satisfying. It had minimal ingredients: onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, tomatoes, black beans, green chiles and salt & pepper but packed a flavorful punch. Will probably make it again.

Sesame-Crunch Tofu

Another recipe featuring Jasmine Rice from Entertaining for a Veggie Planet by Did Emmons. The tofu was very tasty. We marinated it for a few hours; the book suggests anywhere from 1-24 hours to marinate. It says to drain the tofu keeping the marinade for a drizzle. There was no marinade left! I put together a little mixture of soy sauce & sesame seed oil as a drizzle since the marinate consisted of that plus fresh ginger and garlic. The tofu was rolled in a flour and toasted sesame seed mixture then fried and turned out nice and crunchy. It was pretty flavorful although I don't think my body liked the flour too much. A nice filling dinner.

Tofu, Broccoli, and Tomatoes with Curried Peanut Sauce

Not the most original name, but a unique tasting dish from a cookbook we recently received from a good friend; Entertaining for a Veggie Planet by Didi Emmons. The dish had quite a different flavor to it than we've been having. The Curried Peanut Sauce had a very strong flavor. A small amount drizzled on top was just enough; more than that would have been overpowering. Another different thing was cooking the tomatoes; not used to eating warm cherry tomatoes. A very odd sensation for us. We put the mixture on some Jasmine Rice as suggested in the book. A good meal; will we make it again? I'd say probably not. The best thing I liked about it was the broccoli, it's been a long time since I'd had any and boy was it yummy!

Sweet Glazed Tofu Cutlets

I've been wanting to make this again for some time and finally got around to it. We both really liked it last time we made it and it was as flavorful as I remembered. I could have cooked the tofu just a bit longer but it still came out ok. It was a bit more chewy last time and I think the tofu we used this time was fresher so there were a few reasons the texture was different probably.

More recipes coming soon

Luinda has been on vacation and then sick so we haven't done a lot of home cooking these last couple of weeks. That will change this week so stay tuned! Happy New Year!

Amost Irish Stew

One of our newer tried & true slow cooked favorites as of late. Although this time I completely forget to add the kale and by the time I had dished it out we were too hungry to wait another 15 minutes! Was yummy without it but I do really enjoy the chewy greenness that the kale provides. We have made this a few times now; the first being great (if interested, the recipe is included in the first post), the second being a bit mushy for unknown reasons. Although we both love this, I don't want to make it too often or we'll get sick of it!

Summer Veggie Tacos

An easy, adaptable favorite in our household. We have made this a few times before and they are always a little different and always delicious. This time we used butternut squash, zucchini, yellow squash, corn, bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, and red leaf lettuce. We used a new green chili corn tortilla we had sampled recently at our farmers market and they added just the right zest that we were hoping for. When we're at a loss for a meal or 2, we'll just grab a bunch of complimentary veggies and make these delicious tacos.

Spinach Couscous with BBQ Tofu

I'd been having a craving for couscous and this recipe from Vegetarian Times appeared in my inbox. It was really easy to make, steam the spinach, make the couscous, saute the baked tofu in some bbq sauce and put it all together! Was quite tasty and satisfying.

Shepherd's Pie with Potato Topping

This is the second time we've made this dinner from The Big Book of Vegetarian by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley and it was still really yummy. Chock full of fresh veggies like corn, carrots, peas and onions with veggie crumbles and then a mashed potato topping. It yields quite a lot of food and I had leftovers for lunch for a couple of days after, which is always good. A nice hearty dish.

Slow Cooked Ziti Casserole

This casserole from Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson was tasty but not worth the calories for the serving size. Especially compared to some of the lower calorie dishes we've been making. It wasn't bad, just didn't feel satisfied for the caloric intake. Was easy to make; just softened up the onion and garlic and put them in the slow cooker with crushed tomatoes, veggie crumbles, red wine, basil, salt, pepper, ziti, and parsley. Added a small amount of freshly grated parmesan after it was cooked and viola! Nice flavor, but probably won't make it again in the near future since we're trying to lose weight and eat lighter meals.

Oaxaca Tacos with Black Bean Stew

Words can't even describe how flavorful and satisfying this meal is. The black bean stew is so complex in its flavors due to the various seasonings that goes into it. And the potato/cheese mixture is delightful with the smoked mozzarella. This came from the Cafe Flora Cookbook by Catherine Geier with Carol Brown and was just as delicious as we remembered from making it before. We haven't made the stew on its own yet, but most likely will as it is so darn yummy!

Slow Spanish Rice and Beans

Another great recipe from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson. When we sat down to eat it, it tasted a bit bland and we were quite confused until I realized that I was worried I over-salted the dish last time I made it when in actuality, it brought out all the flavors. We salted it a bit and ta-da, the yummy goodness we remembered appeared. This will be one of our slow cooker staples for sure. I've noted to use more salt in the cookbook to avoid the confusion again in the future!

Sweet and Sour Tofu with Vegetables

A great easy to make stand-by at our house from The Compassionate Cook. The sweet and sour sauce has such a nice flavor and all the great veggies (bell pepper, onion, carrot and celery) mix together nicely. A good, low calorie flavorful dish we both enjoy. This is one of the recipes we've probably repeated the most as it's pretty easy to throw together.

Jewelled Vegetable Rice with Crispy Fried Egg

Another one of our recent favorites. As you can tell, I didn't get this egg quite as crispy as the last time we made this. It has such a wonderful flavor and keeps so nicely for leftovers. Again, this came from The Wok Bible, by Sunil Vijayakar, Becky Johnson & Jenni Fleetwood.

Almost Irish Stew

One of our new found favorites. This version ended up a little mushier than the previous one we made but was still quite flavorful. I'm not sure if I stirred it too often or what to make it mushier so next time I will let it be and not mess with it so much. This came from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson. I really like the heartiness that the kale provides.

Honey Lace Cookies

These cookies were really yummy! We got the recipe out of Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookies magazine from 2005. The ingredients were minimal; butter, brown sugar, honey, flour and a pinch of salt. My lady did a wonderful job on these. She had never made cookies quite like these. We ended up eating them all! Granted they were light, but still! So yummy! A nice way to finish off our Thanksgiving meal.

Harvest Pot Pie

This was the main dish for our Thanksgiving dinner and was the featured recipe in the November/December issue of Vegetarian Times magazine. We had great success with their Thanksgiving recipe last year. It was good. We didn't have the right size bowl for the puff pastry to sit on top correctly, but that's ok since it was flavorful. The veggie mixture consisted of onion, celery, garlic, thyme, white wine, butternut squash, red potatoes, green beans and corn. Was pretty tasty. It's kind of hard to tell in the picture but the puff pastry crust had cut-outs of hearts and other things on it. We looked for a small leaf cookie cutter but were unable to find one easily. We also had some boxed stuffing that I'd been wanting to make for some time (sage and onion) and it was so very disappointing. I am now on the hunt for a good vegetarian stuffing recipe we can make at home rather than using a boxed one. We enjoyed some wine with our candlelight dinner for two; all in all, a nice meal.

Roasted Tomato Soup with Garlic

Another five ingredient soup from the November/December issue of Vegetarian Times magazine. I have to say it was really bland. It consisted of olive oil, garlic, fire-roasted tomatoes, vegetable broth and basil. I don't think we'd make it again unless we figured out a way to add some flavor by experimenting with some seasonings. Oh well, everything we make can't be a hit unfortunately!

Stracciatella Soup (Italian Egg Drop Soup)

This soup came out of the November/December issue of Vegetarian Times magazine. It was really yummy. It was reminiscent of a chicken noodle soup actually. It's much more pasta-y then it should be as I added about twice the amount since the original amount was hardly noticeable. Oh well, it was still good. We will probably make it again since it was really easy and only contained five ingredients; vegetable broth, pasta, egg, parmesan and spinach. Just won't use extra pasta next time!

Slow Spanish Rice and Beans

Another great dish from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson. Prep was minimal, just softened up the onion, garlic and bell pepper prior to adding to the slow cooker and then cooking the rice closer to when the bean mixture was ready. It had a great taste. The recipe said it serves 4 but we probably got closer to 6-7 servings from it. It kept really good and as with some dishes, I liked the leftovers better than the fresh meal. It was firmer. Not to say it was runny out of the cooker, just a little different after being refrigerated. We'll definitely make this again. I really like using our slow cooker and so far we've had great success with it.

Corn Omelet with Smoked Mozzarella and Basil

This omelet was fantastic. It came from Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison's Kitchen by Deborah Madison (obviously). It was very easy to make. It consisted of fresh corn & basil, 2 eggs, smoked mozzarella and salt & pepper. One of the more decadent things we've made lately. We used butter which you could also really taste. Lately when I've made us eggs I use a bit of oil rather than butter. It was a heavier meal, that's for sure, but so satisfying and filling it was definitely worth it. We shall make this again. Plus now that I know I can make a good flat omelet, I can play with the ingredients and come up with other concoctions.

Tofu and Bean Sprout Soup

Our second dish from The Wok Bible by Sunil Vijayakar, Becky Johnson and Jenni Fleetwood. This soup reminded me a little bit of the Vegetarian Hot Pot which we like so much. I did make a note not to use as much lime juice next time as it overpowered the overall flavor for me. It called for the juice of one small lime; I think half a lime will be sufficient. I think I added a bit more chopped peanuts than needed per bowl but I didn't want to waste the ones I chopped (not realizing I was only making 2 bowls not 4 and wasn't sure about putting the nuts in the leftover containers). Other than that, it was very yummy. The sprouts added a nice crunchy texture to the noodles. At first I thought the mixture of fresh herbs (mint, cilantro and basil) sounded odd, but they complimented each other quite nice. I even went so far as the slice some green onion and red bell pepper for garnish which gave it a great splash of color as you can see. A good soup that we will make again; prep was pretty easy.

Harvest Chili

This recipe came from somewhere online but is said to be inspired by The Vegan Family Cookbook by Brian P. McCarthy. It was quite a hearty chili with both black and pinto beans, butternut squash, bell pepper, carrot, onion, green chiles, and crushed tomatoes. The color was quite appealing with all the orange & yellow fall vegetables in it. The only spices were fresh garlic, cumin, chili powder and salt. I enjoyed the leftovers quite a bit the following day; seemed to have thickened up a bit and the flavors melded together more completely. The recipe called for squash or pumpkin so it can be versatile as well. Not one of our favorite chilis we've made, but it was still pretty good.

Jewelled Vegetable Rice with Crispy Fried Egg

This was the first recipe we made out of our newest cookbook, The Wok Bible, by Sunil Vijayakar, Becky Johnson & Jenni Fleetwood. The book was discounted and I couldn't pass it up. It has a bunch of great looking recipes (and images galore). Being as how I love cooking with my wok, this book will be heavily used. This meal has more calories that what we've been making but it was well worth it. You have to treat yourself every now & then, right? It's basically a different version of fried rice. The vegetables used were: fresh corn, red shallots, a red chili pepper, carrots, green beans, and a bell pepper. It called for green Thai curry paste which gave it a unique flavor unlike most fried rices I've had. Having the crispy fried on egg on top of the dish was nice too. We had leftovers without the egg and they were just as yummy. We'll be making this again when we want to splurge a little.

Oaxaca Tacos with Black Bean Stew

I have been on the hunt for a potato taco recipe and finally got one in my newest cookbook, Cafe Flora Cookbook by Catherine Geier with Carol Brown. These were really good. The filling was a mix of mashed potato, smoked mozzarella, cheddar and red bell pepper. Such a nice flavor to them. They were baked to melt the cheese and make the tortillas a bit brown & crispy. The black bean stew was very flavorful and we will probably make it again without the tacos (although we'll be making the whole dinner again for sure). The stew consisted of black beans, corn, cilantro, cumin seeds, chili powder, garlic, red pepper flakes, brown sugar and oregano ~ it smelled so good while cooking and the taste didn't disappoint. All in all, a fantastic, flavorful dish which made the new cookbook definitely worth buying. The prep was pretty easy too.

Eggplant Rollatini with Tomato Basil Sauce

This recipe came off the internet, I belive in one of my vegetarian recipe groups I'm in or it may also have come from Weight Watchers. It was a really yummy dish. However, I have not used our oven much yet since we moved and it cooks at a much higher temperature than it says so I lost about half of the eggplant slices, which was ok as there was still enough for dinner, just not any leftovers. Next time we make this I will make the eggplant slices thicker ~ when I was cutting them, I kept thinking that they needed to be thin enough to roll up; not keeping in mind that they soften and shrink when you bake them. Oh well, live and learn is Luinda's motto. All in all, it was really yummy and my lady and I both enjoyed them and will make it again. The sauce was made from scratch using canned crushed tomatoes and herbs; came out quite good if I do say so myself. A good low-cal dinner even with the small amount of cheese.

Vegetarian Hot Pot

We have had this dish before and it was still yummy. As you can see from the previous post, it looked, and tasted, a little different than the last time we made it. Still very yummy and something we will make again. A nice hearty, not too heavy soup.

Golden Pepper and Yellow Tomato Soup

This delicious and appealing soup is from Deborah Madison's book Local Flavors. We had purchased all the ingredients at the farmers market with the intent to make the soup for a harvest celebration with our circle sisters. That unfortunately fell through, or has yet again, been postponed. My lovely wife and I went ahead and made the soup and it was great. The yellow tomatoes were a pain to peel but other than that, it was really enjoyable. The color of the tomatoes and peppers were really visually appealing. We didn't have smoked Spanish paprika, but I added a splash of liquid smoke to keep the smoky undertones. This is the first time we've used opal basil and I really liked it. Although I love basil in general, so that's not surprising. Notice how lovely the color blends in with our fall decor, thanks to my lady.

Almost Irish Stew

This was such a flavorful dish and made the house smell so good! That's a perk of using the slow cooker. The recipe is from the book Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson. Even though only a relatively small amount of potatoes were used, it was rather robust. The kale was put in about 10 minutes before serving and added such a nice chewy green-ness to the dish. It said to cook for 6 to 8 hours; we had to have at it a little after 6 hours. We'll definitely make it again.


Update 10/3/6 ~ got a comment asking for the recipe, so...here it is!

Almost Irish Stew
With the slow cooker doing all the work, you will have time to make a loaf of soda bread to accompany this “almost Irish” stew. Chunks of seitan may be substituted for the beans for a “meatier” alternative.

Slower Cooker Size: 4 to 6 quart
Cook Time: 6 to 8 hours
Setting: Low
Serves: 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 ½ cups baby carrots, halved lengthwise
6 very small white potatoes, halved or quartered
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ cups slow-cooked or one 15.5 ounce can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
¼ cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons tamari or other soy sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 large kale leaves or other dark leafy greens, chopped, cooked in simmering water to cover until tender, and drained.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
Transfer the onions to a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Add the carrots, potatoes, garlic, beans, stock, bay leaf, wine, tamari, and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours.
About 10 minutes before serving, stir in the cooked kale. Serve hot.

Pasta with Fresh No-Cook Tomato Sauce

This was very fresh & clean tasting. Yet another recipe I downloaded from some un-recalled source but it's by Cait Johnson, inspired by The Tomato Festival Cookbook, by Lawrence Davis-Hollander. There is an absolute abundance of tomatos at our farmers market so I have been on the prowl for recipes to feature them in. We used both beefsteak and heirloom varieties (as you can tell by the beautiful striations in the image). The only other ingredients were basil, garlic, olive oil, a small amount of walnuts, and of course, the pasta. I'd like to make it again with an even larger variety of tomatos before they're gone for the season.

Summer Veggie Tacos

These tacos were outstanding. They were so flavorful and satisfying, words can't describe. I downloaded the recipe from somewhere I can't recall; it credits inspiration by The Rancho de Chimayo Cookbook, by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison. The basic is this: grab a bunch of in season summer veggies (we used an ear of corn, zucchini, bell pepper, onion, green onion, jalapeno, cilantro, tomato) and cook them, or not, accordingly. I sauted up the peppers, zucchini & onion together, cooked the corn and used the rest cold. We used Amy's beans (the green chile one is yummy) and some premade shells. We elected to add cheese. All in all, they were really good and you can use any variety of veggies you want! We will be having them again in the near future

Spicy Fried Tofu with Basil

Although the dish is called Spicy Fried Tofu with Basil, tonight's version was without basil due to an oversight on my part during the last farmers market visit. However, the dish was still flavorful. The green beans add a nice splash of color against the tofu. I think the beans could have been sauted a bit longer as they were a bit crisper than we prefer. The recipe was taken from the January 1999 issue of Vegetarian Times magazine. It was not overly spicy, but it did have a bit of a kick to it, which was nice. I'd like to make it again with basil; I bet the contrast it provides with the pepper is lovely.

Quick salad with Simple Summer Dressing

Tonight we had a nice easy salad with Simple Summer Dressing from the book Witch in the Kitchen by Cait Johnson. The dressing is a breeze to whip up and although simple, the flavor is quite wonderful. By the time I had put together the salad, my lady had the dressing ready.

Sweet and Sour Tofu with Vegetables

We made this dish again and it was still very tasty. My lovely lady and I started Weight Watchers this past weekend and this delicious dish is very low points. I think the one we made this evening was a bit different, as I don't remember having celery the last time we made it. There was enought to satisfy us and for us both to have leftovers to take to work.

White Chip Brownies

My lady made us some delicious brownies from scratch. Her first from scratch brownie venture and they turned out fabulous! Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures for some reason, but we'll probably make them again. She got the recipe from her mother's Hershey's cookbook we photocopied; except we used Scharfenberger cocoa (yummy!) instead of Hershey's, although we did use Hershey's white chocolate chips.

Tomato Cucumber Salad with Mint

This salad was very tasty. My lady found the recipe at Allrecipes.com. It has such a nice flavor to it, especially the fresh mint. Prep took a little bit only in that the cucumbers need to marinate in the dressing for about an hour. We will be making this more during this summer I'm sure. We ate it as a meal; but it would probably be better as a side dish next time around. Would also be a great thing to bring to potlucks, etc. as well.

A Big Tomato Sandwich

This was a great sandwich, and just what the title implies ~ a big ole sandwich! We got the recipe from the cookbook Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets by Deborah Madison. It's a really great book. The sandwich was yummy. It was on a loaf of ciabatta bread and had tomatoes, bell pepper & mozzarella on it plus a tasty herb vinaigrette we whipped up. The loaf of bread we got wasn't as round as would have been ideal; it was more oblong, but it still worked out ok. I sliced the top off, took out some of the bread, put the dressing on and then added the items. The leftovers kept pretty good; just the bottom bread got a little soggy from the dressing, but not bad at all. I'm sure we'll have this again. Especially with all the nice big tomatoes and peppers that are available at our Farmers Market right now.

Soba Noodles with Sesame Seeds

This was an extremely simple dish to make and it tasted pretty darn good! The recipe is from the book Forever Summer by Nigella Lawson. The only actual cooking was of the noodles and the toasting of the sesame seeds; the rest was just a quick sauce and some scallions. Another great cold noodle dish. The only gripe I have with the cold noodle dishes is that they're not nearly as good as leftovers after refrigeration.