Saturday, August 2, 2008

beans beans beans beans beans, etc

Small surprise to see corn up there in the first photo again, huh? I have this thing about blogging about food in true chronological order, though. And this week of legume-happy kicked off with the Vcon Creole Stuffed Peppers which were really nice, by the way. We had them with the Messy Rice and some steamed kale with liquid smoke slashed on for fun, and it was nom nom nom.

See, we've been eating like this because P is taking a break from soy and sugar, so it's been a lot of soaking beans from the pretty little jars that line the counter. And about time! It's been bugging me lately that we haven't been eating beans, cause they're pretty much my favourite food ever - like, "what's for dinner?" .... duh duh duh..... "Beans!"

So we made the Vcon Jamaican Yuca Shepherd's Pie. ZOMG. You need to try this! It's so so good, familiar and yet not, really wonderful.

And we had it with a pureed mango-lime dressing, cause I've been experimenting with "pureed-stuff-on-salad" (it's been going well). Note the gimpy radish rosette, as I was apparently channelling some fifties housewife during the 10 free minutes that the casserole needed to cook.

Oh yeah, and I take back everything I said about posting in order, because mentioning pureed dressings reminded me of what I had for *lunch* that day - SusanV's tofu omelette, which was spooky spot-on, and possibly even better than an egg omelette since it had that beautiful savoury-mousse kind of thing going on. And I got to use tabasco and tarragon in an omelette, which takes me back a few years, I can say that. Anyway... it was full of onions, mushrooms, zucchini and tomato and it was the lunchiest lunch I'd lunched on in forever - HIGHLY recommended.

And it came with salad. Weird salad! But weird-good. There were all these carrot tops in the crisper, so I pureed up a carrot with some ginger and soy sauce as per this recipe (minus the mustard), because why not, right? It didn't make a dressing so much as a piquante veggie condiment, but it did the job, I liked it.

Then the next day for dinner I headed to the kitchen with the intention of opening myself a tin of tomato soup - tres gourmet, je sais - mais! Somehow between thawing out peas and shuffling through jars of cumin seeds I skipped right over the soup idea and made a freestyle aloo gobi that was so spot on, I am seriously proud of this one. Especially cos I don't think I've even had aloo gobi before, but I double checked on a few recipes, and mine was virtually identical to the authentic-looking ones. Wee! Also served with that plum chutney I made a while ago, which mellowed and turned pretty wonderful in the fridge. I could get to like this curry + chutney business! It's like an excuse to eat spicy jam with dinner.

Leftover kidney beans? Meet new life as kidney cutlets with oats and worcestershire and a heckuva lot of green peppercorns. I had these on a chapati wrap with mango and lettuce and red pepper and chipotle mayo and it was SO good, reminded me of childhood/meatloaf. Except better.

Drunken baking.................... upside down black sesame plum cake, and oat/banana/chocolate loaf. Both made without refined sugar. And to my tongue...... the less said about them the better, eek. :p

And bean-week ends with the easiest most bestest use for beans ever - load up a humungous salad on top of leftover legumes and munch away on pure goodness. Topping it with fresh mint, dates, toasted almonds and avocado doesn't hurt a salad either. I had this again today for lunch, actually, could be my new favourite food. Anyway...

That's the week! We're making pasta tonight, I have no idea what kind, but that's kind of cool since we don't make it very often. Oh yeah, and I opened the abalone-flavoured wheat gluten - it tastes like cat food and comes dripping in oil - YUCKKKKKK. So yeah, experiment fail, but still interesting. Til next post! (my 100th, actually)

Oh, and I almost forgot! I tried a chinese saucer peach last week, too! I was like "oh, it's a gimmick, it must be - a peach that won't roll off the counter, of course." But you know what? It tastes like honey and flowers and is very very nice and completely different from a regular peach. Experiment success!

25 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Such GORGEOUS eats!!

Katy said...

I love blogs that show me recipes that I've completely missed in cookbooks (such as every single vcon recipe in this post!) I have so many things I want to cook!

And I love seeing all your drunken cooking! :)

Anardana said...

Beans rule! Cool post!

Alicia said...

Well, reading this post I've realized I have to improvise a bit more, and stop eating the same thing every day of the week! You are SO inspiring!

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

beautiful stuff!

Anonymous said...

Oh my god, those kidney bean cutlets are awesome, I love how you shaped them!!

Liz said...

Where do I start? Everything looks SO good! The salads, the beans, the kidney bean cutlets, the omelet. You've been cooking up some awesome stuff!

Anonymous said...

You've put me to shame, with this incredible vegan feast spread out before my hungry eyes. I am the proud owner of Vcon, yet I've not made any of the dishes you have shown us here, for shame! and I must try that omelette too. Man, I'm hungry. Must...cook....good...food.

Ruby Red said...

Yay for beans! It's killing me that I refrained from buying tofu this week, but like you I decided this week would be a bean week. And lentils too.

I find your drunken baking so amusing! I have never thought of such a concept until you mentioned it one time before in a post.

That omelette looks awesome. And your use-up-the-beans salad looks so refreshing and nummy!

sarchan said...

Kidney-shaped kidney cutlets = adorableness!

(Also, thanks for the weblog award.)

VeganCowGirl said...

Liz,
Three cheers for drunk baking!
The kidney bean patties look amazing, I think I might give them a whirl after my success with the no-recipe bean burgers I made the other night. I like the mexican sound of yours - and they look perfectly ready for a magazine layout!

Anonymous said...

your food is totally inspiring me today! i am sitting at a coffeeshop eating a vegan muffin and drinking cold press, and now i've lost my appetite for them. i want your food instead!

KP said...

Ooh, that tofu omelette looks delicious! And so do your salads! And the kidney bean cutlets are way cute!

:)

Anonymous said...

Everything looks so tasty, especially the omelet! I've got to get around to making that.

Theresa said...

I love how the kidney bean cutlets are shaped like kidneys :)

urban vegan said...

It all looks lovely,in whatever order you post it! So many great recipes, so little time.

...barbara... said...

what a perfect time to find you....
doing a detox which is beanerific....
i am currently melting as i boil away chick peas in this lovely korean heat....but it will be worth the sacrifice...
kidney bean cutlets....amazing....puns kill me...so punny food...10x better...
:)

tofufreak said...

BEANS!!! haha. i love the kidney cutlets sooo soooo much! they are super cute!


also, are the saucer peaches the same as doughnut peaches? i saw some peaches that looked similar in a typical grocery store and now i'm wondering after seeing your pic of the saucer peach. thanks!

Jes said...

Yucca shepherd's pie?! I have to make it. Like right now. Or maybe when it's cooler outside. But really, what a delicious idea! Yucca was one of my favorite parts of the Peru!

aTxVegn said...

Your kidney cutlets are just brilliantly done! And that salad, I would definitely eat that everyday.

Did you eat the carrot tops and if so, did you like them?

T said...

I've been dying to try that yuca pie- so summery and tropical and calling out for mango-laced deserts... yum!

Vegan_Noodle said...

Your kidne cutlets are absolutely adorable.

Erin said...

Wow, the shepherd's pie and omelette look particularly good. And I love that the kidney bean patties are kidney bean shaped! All the salads are lovely too.

Anonymous said...
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Jenn said...

You know, peaches actually originated in China... I bet they have a lot more types of peaches than we ever see here!

I just made peach chutney last night - posted two recipe variations on my blog. If you can get 5# of peaches cheap, try it.