African Peanut Soup, and We're All Busy!

Date: 02/14/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: African Peanut Soup, Coleslaw and Delicious Rolls

We have all been very busy for the last few weeks so our meal sharing has been dialed back a bit.  Rachel is taking some time to focus on some other projects so we'll hopefully be welcoming her back in a few months.  We'll miss her yummy meals in the meantime, though!

On Monday, Jen delivered a superior soup -- an African peanut soup, with coleslaw and these extremely delicious rolls which I later found out were from Trader Joes.  Perfect tasty, light and nourishing dinner.

Lima Bean and Edamame Soup, Macaroni and Cheese

 Date: 01/31/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: Creamy Lima Bean and Edamame Soup, Whole Wheat Mac and Cheese, Green Salad

Jen C. does it again -- an extremely good meal!  The soup was divine, I wished there were more leftovers!! The mac and cheese was flavorful and somehow Jen magically got the pasta the perfect texture.  I also love a simple green salad on the side.  A lovely meal!

Kale Wraps with Pineapple Salsa, Root Vegetables, Broiled Blackened Tofu

Root veggies, in all of their roasted glory.

Kale rolls- not much to look at but most delicious topped with the non-pictured pineapple salsa.

Kale roll filling- I added tumeric because I love curcuminoids.

 Date: 01/27/2011
Cook:  Jen G.
Menu: Kale Wraps Stuffed with Chickpeas and Rice, Topped with Pineapple Salsa; Balsamic Roasted Veggies; Broiled Blacked Tofu (and cake)

I read Vegetarian Times and always enjoy the inspiration that comes from a new issue (though not every recipe is vegan, many are...and others very easy to veganize).  I saw a recipe for these kale rolls and wanted to try them out-- it was the pineapple salsa that intrigued me.  I don't even usually care for pineapple but something about these spoke to me!  The salsa is an easy to throw together combo of pineapple, cilantro (the recipe said you could also use mint, which I thought would also be good), hot and bell peppers and lime juice.  This lent a really bright flavor to the plain kale and the straightforward chick pea/rice stuffing. 

The roasted veggies were based on a recipe from The Garden of Vegan, though I added some garlic and next time would throw more balsamic vinegar into the mix.

The Broiled Blackened Tofu was probably the biggest surprise -- fast and really good.  I am not a big broiler so this recipe found me stretching outside of my comfort zone a bit, and with happy results.  The recipe is (surprise) from Appetite for Reduction and I used in large part a pre-mixed, pre-bought Cajun spice mix and added some of the other ingredients for the coating.  Very easy and really tasty.

The night before our meal group night, I had been talking about cake cake cake big yellow cake.  My partner and I had gone to a party the previous weekend and noticed there a very big, very non-vegan multi-layed yellow cake with chocolate frosting...my favorite.  We decided we'd make a vegan version, but it didn't play out quite as moist and multi-layered as we'd intended.  In fact, he described it as "basically bread, only sweeter."  Undaunted, we frosted the hell out of it and I ate a lot of it, but also included sizeable hunks in the mealgroup bags.  The frosting is what saved the day - if you ever need a fabulous chocolate frosting, I do highly recommend the one found in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.

The broiler, IN ACTION!!!!!

I heart a good spice mix for dredging!

Special Treat: Thai Tuesday!

So savory and delicious!

Black sesame seeds and limes make brown rice extra special

I love cooking for Meal Group. Past the usual practicalities - that it saves money and time, it is also a great opportunity to stretch your culinary wings.  My husband isn't terribly adventurous when it comes to food, but every now and again, a girl likes to try something different.  Especially if the girl is South Asian, and big fan of sugar and spice (the "all things nice" is debatable).

I went to an Asian market and got creative, because I know my lovely foodie friends always appreciate my efforts, and aren't afraid to try some of the more exotic offerings.  So I grabbed oyster mushrooms, Thai basil, tofu, limes and baby bok choy and went to town. The dish is very fragrant, and I was able to make it pretty close to the way our local Thai place does, just with a lot less oil.  The key was having the wonderful Thai basil and although I didn't remember to get kaffir lime leaves, substituting a little lime zest did the trick nicely.  I fried the tofu separately in soy sauce, garlic, and a little brown sugar until it was nice and brown and then added it to the oyster mushrooms, red pepper, scallions, ginger, and baby bok choy.  Once they cooked down a little, I added the Thai basil et voila!

I made plain brown basmati, and added some sesame seed oil, lime juice and black sesame seeds (from our trip to Corrado's) to jazz it up a bit.  I had so much fun making this and was really excited to share it with the Meal Group!

Tamale Pie

Date: 01/24/2011

Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: Tamale Pie


I picked this meal up on the coldest night we have had yet and Jen C. seemed frazzled.  "Sorry," she said as she handed me our bag, "it didn't turn out well."

SAY WHAT?  It was deeeeelicious!!  Even my normally picky kid gobbled it up and asked for seconds.  We put hot salsa on it and served with a salad.  I don't know what kind of crazy high standards Jen C. has, but Jen!  Yum!

Quinoa, Beans, Sauces, Bread

Date: 01/20/2011 Cook:  Jen G. Menu:  Garbanzo Beans, Quinoa, Broccoli and Cauliflower with Roasted Garlic, Pumpkin Seed Spinach and Sundried Tomato and Olive Sauces; Bread             You know those days when its really cold out and you are running around?  I had one of those on Thursday.  We have been trapping some of our local feral cats to be neutered/spayed, given basic vet care and then returned once its safe for them to placed back outside, so vet visits bookended my own appointments, plus the weather forecast said it was going to snow, so we were trying to get everything ready for the animals.  Before Meal Group that is the kind of day that would send us into a local restaurant to grab a quick meal to be eaten fast, rather than enjoyed, so we could get back into our warm home.   But instead, thanks to Meal Group, dinnner came to us. Jenn G's food was perfect.  A make your own bowl of quinoa, chickpeas and a brocolli/cauliflower mix with three delicious sauces:  Spinach pumpkinseed pesto, olive tapenade and a roasted garlic sauce.  And along with that bounty, she had left us lovely fresh bread and two cute mini muffins.    The minute we saw it, we tore into it and it was perfect:  a healthy dinner, with lots of protein, almost no fat and a ton of flavor.  What more could anyone want to close the book on a very busy day?  We devoured it happily and settled in to watch TV.    Thank you Jenn, for saving the day again!

Curry and Brown Rice

Date: 01/19/2011

Cook:  Rachel
Menu: Cauliflower Red Lentil Curry and Brown Rice with Mustard Seeds; Chutney

Rachel has an incredible way with curries.  Each time I eat one of her curry dishes, I think that it is the best one that she has made yet, but this time it might be the truth.  I am extremely partial to cauliflower and lentils, so there was already a predisposition for me to love this...but...YUM!  I'm also not certain how she always ends up with perfect rice all of the time, but she does!