Monday, January 19, 2009

Food as Art, a Sweet Treat and a Sleeping Pup.

Made my dinner ahead of time today so I wouldn't have to bother later. I took the 'Baked Aubergine (Eggplant) and Mushroom Stack' recipe from the You Are What You Eat cookbook and improvised a little. It was supposed to have fennel and red onions but I didn't have them so I used yellow onions and added grape tomatoes in place of the fennel. And I think I did good because the addition of the tomatoes makes for beautiful looking food. I was entranced by the colors as I snapped some photos. Here are my favorite shots. (By the way, I haven't tasted this yet. It does smell very nice though...lots of garlic in this.)


Sitting on some fresh arugula for more color. View number 1 of the stack.


View number 2 which I think works better aesthetically for me...


Two stacks surrounded by a lush arugula forest.

I'm still enjoying my new Breville blender and have been making a fresh smoothie every morning. I've discovered a sweet smoothie that I like to prepare when I'm craving dessert. It contains: 1 cup ice, 1 cup soymilk, 1 frozen banana, 4-5 dates, 1 tsp cocoa powder and 1 tsp vanilla extract. It's delicious.



And a bonus puppy shot. This was Buster this morning, unable to get out of bed to face the day. I even pulled the shades open and he still didn't get up!

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9 comments:

  1. aTxVegnJanuary 19, 2009 at 8:03 PM

    Stacked food always looks so pretty and your dish is no exception! I'm sure it tasted wonderful too.

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  2. DawnJanuary 19, 2009 at 8:30 PM

    This is another one I've wanted to try. It's pretty. I hope you enjoy it.

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  3. Jen TreehuggerJanuary 19, 2009 at 11:39 PM

    Mmmm that looks so yummy!
    It's funny you call it arugula - that's the name in Spanish!! In England we call that Rocket!
    Funny huh!!
    Nice photos anyway - the contrast of the green and red is beautiful!
    And Buster is very cute - trying to hide there.

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  4. LovlieJanuary 20, 2009 at 4:02 AM

    That looks wonderful! I like arranging food, it makes it takes better! And I so much love cherry tomatoes! And yes I also know that leaf by Rocket! They're my favourite salad leaves!

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  5. kmouseJanuary 20, 2009 at 7:40 AM

    aTxVegn,
    I think I want to make stacked food all the time now. It just looks so elegant and was very fun to eat.

    Dawn,
    It was so delicious on top of a lightly dressed spinach salad.

    Jeni,
    Do they call it arugula in spanish? Didn't know that! Same as in italian. Here it is marketed by both names on the packaging "Wild Arugula/Rocket Salad".

    Lovlie,
    I agree about it tasting better because of the looks! And rocket is becoming my favorite salad leaf too. I like to eat it mixed with spinach leaves.

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  6. AnonymousJanuary 20, 2009 at 1:21 PM

    When I want a sweet smoothie I do banana, chocolate soymilk, spoon of peanut butter!!!

    Aw Buster looks so cozy.

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  7. AnonymousJanuary 20, 2009 at 2:33 PM

    There's a bunch of frozen bananas in our freezer you've just inspired me to use!

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  8. AnonymousJanuary 20, 2009 at 10:02 PM

    What gorgeous photos! I love eggplant and stacked food always looks good on photos.

    Cute dog :) My cats sleep through the day, sometimes I have to go up and check that they're still alive, they're so quite and never move.

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  9. LeAnneJanuary 21, 2009 at 12:22 AM

    that looks so fresh and healthy. I'd give anything for a taste of that right now.

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