Weeks' Worth of Food

A couple of things before I launch into a much overdue blog post...I have decided to go back to my vegetarian ways and am at about 80% vegan to boot. I would like to keep it that way, vegan at home and vegetarian the rest of the time. So, really that's just one thing as opposed to the promised "couple of things".

Now....I haven't posted in about 500 years, I know. Life has gotten very much in the way what with ice storms and power outages and the Superbowl right next door to my apartment. But I have not stopped cooking up a storm and taking less than professional quality food pictures for you to either salivate over or gag over, depending on how appetizing any particular picture appears.

The highlight was a pretty near perfect vegan dinner I made Sunday night in honor of Valentine's Day for my parents and sister. Thank you, Terry Hope Romero and Viva Vegan for this amazing meal of Creamy Corn Crusted Tempeh Pot Pie (my favorite, favorite, favorite thing in the world, as evidenced by my last blog post), Refried Beans (yes, from scratch), and some tomato and onion ensalada which I have to admit was less than stellar, but I did learn a new trick - putting raw onions in an ice bath to reduce their bitterness - from making the salad.

So, now...for your viewing pleasure....approximately one month's worth of food photographs....


January 23 - Homemade Hummus and Homemade Flour Tortilla Chips


January 25 - Tortilla Veggie Pizza


January 29 - Broccoli Alfredo (with homemade Alfredo sauce)


January 30 - Boring Not-So-Homemade Nachoes


February 11 - Tempeh Helper


February 12 - Broccoli & Seitan with some BBQ Sauce stuff AND mashed sweet & russet potatoes


February 13 - Perfectly Amazing Valentine's Vegan Meal

Vegan Yumminess and Stuff

I haven't cooked since Monday, so have been subsisting on leftovers. Tomorrow is payday, so the cupboard (and my wallet) are bare. Therefore, I'm thinking tonight it's homemade hummus and oven fries. That's a healthy combo, right?

Monday night, I made the BEST meal ever.
Creamy Corn Crusted Tempeh Pot Pie from Terry Hope Romero's
Viva Vegan. OMG...it was so good I could have eaten the whole thing in one sitting. Fortunately, I didn't. The picture doesn't do it justice.

My favourite meal of this whole year! So far...

This Week

I made Corn & Potato Chowder on Saturday and that was the last thing I've cooked since my last post. I've been eating leftovers and yesterday was monthly dining out day.

I only had one whole bell pepper and two scallions in the fridge by the time I got around to making the chowder, so I threw in a leftover leek from something else to compensate. All in all, pretty good if I do say so myself.

Corn and Potato Chowder

Chipotle Bean Burritos

I made Chipotle Bean Burritos from Cooking Light's website on Monday. Tonight I'm making a Corn and Potato Chowder. The burritos were good the first night, but leftovers are already tiresome. Too bad I'm stuck with them for the next couple of nights since I don't like waste. I'm premaking the soup tonight because I won't be home tomorrow night.

Here's a lovely photograph. I'm still mastering the art of food photography, so hope it doesn't look too gross.

Chipotle Bean Burritos

Broccoli Beef Stir-Fry

Last night was Broccoli Beef Stir-Fry. I acquired this recipe from WeightWatchers.com, but since it's a subscriber recipe, the link will probably only work for other subscribers.

Overall it was pretty good. I threw it together with some egg noodles and didn't think there was quite enough sauciness to accomodate any kind of pasta or grain, because I like my...well...saucy.

Tonight...well, I don't yet have a plan for tonight. I'm about to hit the grocery store and try to get stuff together for the next three meals. I know one of them will definitely involve some tempeh and/or seitan that I have sitting in my fridge.

In the pan, pre-noodles



Tossed with some egg noodles

The Weekend

I haven't done any cooking since Thursday night. Friday was leftovers and I went to my parents' house yesterday where I ate hot dogs and cole slaw for dinner. All processed foods, but it was better than going to McDonalds, in my opinion. Next time I'll just have to plan to be better prepared.

Next Sunday is my niece's baptism and we're dining out afterwards, so that will have to be my meal for the month. The following Sunday is my grandfather's 91st birthday, so I am hoping we're eating a meal at my grandparents' and not going out, otherwise I will have to skip the first part of it.

Tonight I'm making broccoli beef stir-fry. This is a Weight Watchers recipe. I'm pretty excited about it. I bought some egg noodles to cook and throw together with it.

My goal this week is to rein it back in. While I have been staying away from fast food, my portions are not under control like they should be and I'm consuming more "points plus" than I should be. Thus, I'm not really seeing any weight loss. I'm going to track each day and plan ahead the day before. Additionally, I'm going to try very hard to start transitioning back to vegetarian as much as possible and cut out meat for now. I'd very much like to move back to completely vegan as it just felt healthier and better for the universe in general.

I've also decided I'm going to create a 2011 personal cookbook with all the recipes I've used along with my own notes about each item. What I would change, improve upon, etc. I think that will be a fun little project. Because anyone who knows me knows I don't already have enough projects going on. :)

Meanwhile...for your viewing pleasure, some food photographs from this week! (I have yet to master food photography)



Baked Falafel from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Appetite For Reduction



Chicken Salad Sandwich Wrap that I threw together



Cooking the Innards for Biscuit Topped Chicken Potpie



Biscuit-Topped Chicken Potpie in the Pan




...and served up!

More Scratchy Food

I just ate leftovers yesterday, so no new meals yet...

Tonight is chicken pot pie from a Cooking Light recipe and Saturday I'm trying some broccoli beef stir-fry with a recipe I found on Weight Watchers. I actually shopped for both tonight so I won't have to go to the store again until at least Sunday!

Apparently my plan to go back to vegan isn't working just yet. Next week I'm going to cut out a few choice items, but for now, it's carnivore all the way.