The curry incident.

Yesterday my friend bought a beautiful cauliflower for me and I wanted to make 'Pav Bhaji', a spicy mashed vegetable curry that is eaten with buttered rolls. I was very excited to make it and I got some rolls and a nice large potato, green beans and peas for it. This morning I got to work. Everything was working out as I stirred away at my curry, marveling at the wonderful smells and delighting in how perfect it was looking. It was only until after I finished cooking and putting away the pav bhaji masala spice mixture when I noticed the bugs. Yes, there were BUGS crawling around in my spices! And no doubt dead ones floating around in the curry. I didn't even look, I just couldn't even think about eating it so I regretfully tipped the whole pot into the trash bin. I hate wasting food so I was a little upset. To make myself feel better I drove to Trader Joe's and picked up a ready made curry.


I got the Choley which was one of the only vegan ones they had. They had Pav Bhaji but it had butter in it. :(


But no matter, I enjoyed the Choley very very much. It was really spicy and perfect with my rolls that I grilled with Earth Balance margarine.

Soup for the week and plans for the weekend.

You see this? This is approximately 8 cups of soup that I will be eating all week. It's the sephardic red lentil soup recipe from Olive Trees and Honey that I just absolutely love love love. I don't know if 8 cups of this is enough for the rest of the week to be honest!

Yesterday I had a day off and my two younger cousins visited me. We made a day of tea sandwiches, tea, cookies, chips and a Doctor Who marathon! Sorry, no pictures!

This saturday is my dad's 65th birthday party and I'm planning to make the following for my family: spanakopita (recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance), potato salad (Veganomicon's Prospect Park recipe), hummus and a three bean salad (kidney, white and fava). I'm also making Isa's cookies again because everyone loved them last time. All these treats shall keep my mind occupied until the weekend. I love to cook!

I Made Baklava! And a Sandwich! And Kabob!

I love baklava. I never thought I'd be able to make it myself. It just seem so complicated, all the layers of gooey, juicy, walnut-ty sweetness. I used a recipe from a cookbook called "Tables of Lebanon" and just went for it. I had to switch out the butter for Earth Balance margarine which was no big deal. I sprinkled the top with chopped almonds as I did not have pistachios. It came out pretty.


One of these delicious pieces goes a long way. It's ridiculously sweet! I may have to share these with friends.


Bonus sandwich. My lunch today.


Bonus broiled tofu and veg (squash, onion, green pepper) kabob. My dinner. I seasoned the tofu and veggies with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and a kabob seasoning blend (granulated onion, garlic, sumac, parsley, salt, pepper, tumeric and other spices). I served them with hummus and bulgur relish with lots of chopped tomato and onion.

Vegan Sandwich!

So I spent all day in downtown serving jury duty and boy was it boring! I brought a book and my ipod to keep me busy but I pretty much lost interest in my book and instead plugged in the ipod and closed my eyes to doze on and off for about 8 hours. I dreamt of food. In particular sandwiches. I have no idea why. My memory went way back to high school where I used to buy turkey/swiss on a french roll from the snack cart everyday. I missed that sandwich and that sandwich is what occupied my thoughts all day. I was determined to have it for dinner tonight while I watched Dodger baseball on tv. As soon as I was let free from jury service (wee!), I stopped by the store to get all the ingredients I needed. This sandwich is quite different from my high school sandwich but was much much better.


What's all in there? Tofurkey slices, lettuce, tomato, red onions, russian style pickles, pepperoncini, vegan mayo, mustard, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper on a fresh baguette. It was AMAZING. I don't like to eat a whole lot of fake meats but this was just too good to pass up. I was so into it that I finished it all in a half Dodger inning.


For the love of all things pickly.

Dee Da Doo Day...

I'm bored. I know I should be getting to bed early (have to wake up at 6am for jury duty tomorrow!) but I don't feel sleepy. I've been going through old food pictures I took before I started this blog. Some of the yummy dishes I made I almost forgot about! I'd like to share them here with you.


This is Eggplant and Chickpea Kibbeh that I got from a book called "Vegan Planet". This was really good. It has bulgur, tomatoes, eggplant and chickpeas of course. I made a lemony garlic sauce to go with it along with roasted asparagus and boiled potatoes. i have to make this again soon.


Pineapple Tofu. So so awesome. I like to fry up tofu cubes after dipping them in cornstarch and then drowning them in a pineapple sauce. The recipe for the sauce is here.


Oven Herb Roasted Tomato Pasta. Now this looks very plain and almost boring but wow, does it taste good. The recipe is from "The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen".


How did I forget about these Grilled Yuca Tortillas??? Recipe is from Veganomicon. These are so gorgeous. It's mashed up yuca with lime, jalapenos and corn. I've made this a few times with fresh guacamole.


Cashew Coconut Curry Casserole. Wow, I remember this. It was soo rich and so delicious. Recipe is here. It's one of those throw in a baking dish and bake kind of recipes.


Szechuan Noodles. Easy and cheap and yummy. Recipe here.


Sexy Lowfat Vanilla Cupcakes from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World". This book rocks.

Ok now, off to bed. Good night!

Hummus-Baba Ganouj Sandwich?

Last night I broiled two small japanese eggplants in hopes of making baba ganouj. Well, those two puny eggplants didn't produce enough pulp so I added a handful or two of chickpeas and made a mixture of two spreads: hummus-baba ganouj! Not authentic in any way but it sure was delicious. I made a sandwich for today with whole wheat pita, cucumbers, russian style pickles, onions and tomato. So so fresh and delicious.

Meze: Hummus, Bazargan and Za'atar in olive oil

This is the perfect kind of meal for a hot (not quite summer) night. No need for turning on the stove. I prepared the hummus and bazargan (Syrian bulgur relish) this morning so they were ready to eat when I came home from work. I topped the relish and za'atar dip with fresh tomato and onions. I had whole wheat pita and sesame crackers for dipping. The bazargan is a recipe from 'Olive Trees and Honey'. It is a bulgur relish that is flavored with olive oil, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, cumin, tomato and cayenne. There are chopped walnuts in it and fresh cilantro (didn't have parsley) as well.


My salad from lunch. Just green leaf, red peppers, walnuts with an olive oil/lemon juice dressing