The good, the rad and the yummy.

Coming from someone that used to think chicken wings could be part of a balanced diet, this vegan thing is pretty darn fun. After stopping by the friendly neighborhood organic grocer, I realized that if you have the money, you can get some cool stuff! Sure, $8.99 for a tub of vegan ice cream seems a little steep, but can you really put a price on happiness? Plus, how often will I need to buy tubs of vegan margarine and Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese? Probably not that often. For $50, my fridge is now stacked with the basics required to concoct all the tasty food I can imagine. 

The Good
Once I got home, I flipped through the book to see what I wanted to try for dinner this time. The great thing about cookbooks with so many pictures is that it almost feels like you are in a restaurant, flipping through a menu with tons of choices. I decided to try a recipe for sweet lime chili tofu. From start to finish I was done in half an hour, and the steps in the book really helped to organize the timing of all the different parts of the dish to bring them together at the same time. This is what I came out with:

The tofu was so tasty, but the broccolini and quinoa, although cooked with some spices and lime, were a little bland. I will definitely try this one again, but next time I'll make double the sauce, so once it reduces in the pan I can drizzle it on all the other good stuff. I decided that this might be better if it sat in the fridge overnight and let all the flavours blend, so I put it aside and figured I would take it for lunch. For dinner, I went with some comfort food: Tacos.

The Rad
Refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, and the oh-so-necessary Franks Red Hot. There's something about the crunchy tacos and the gooey beans that just gets me every time. Perfect combo, and oh so simple. Thanks to it's under 10-minute prep time, this is a fave when I'm short on time, or just not in the mood to slave over a hot stove for an hour. That doesn't happen too often, though, especially in the winter. One thing I love about cooking in the cold weather is the way it steams up all the windows in my apartment. It just adds to the comforty-goodness of all the yummy food.

The Yummy
One of the many perks of living across the street from my bro is the fact that his wife bakes. Vegan style. Last night I had the honor of being the taste tester of such items as the basic (and mouth-watering) nut filled brownie and the elusive triple banana cupcake:  banana cupcake, slathered in banana cream icing with a tasty surprise of banana custard in the middle. 24 hours ago, if you you told me such a cupcake existed, I would've said you were crazy. Now, it's all I can think about. Think of the best cupcake you have ever tasted. Times that by about ten, and you may come close to this. She packed a few of the goodies for me to take home, and the two banana cupcakes didn't make it to see another day.

Well, all in all it was a pretty fun day for me yesterday. I'm really enjoying cooking, I love trying out all the new things, and I look forward to working with seitan, if I can ever find out where to get that stuff.

Until next time,

N