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!