Fun with Food

Since receiving the Veganomicon for Christmas, I've been on a cooking-new-things spree. I'm really enjoying this cookbook, not only because it full of detailed instructions for hundreds of wonderful things to do to vegetables, but also for the ideas that simply browsing through the pages gives me. I don't really like to follow recipes all that much (and Tim will tell you that I don't often follow them), but I love reading cookbooks and taking the ideas from them to make my own thing.




That said, I have actually been following recipes from the Veganomicon, mostly to prove a point about vegan food--that it can be tasty (and if it's not then it's not my fault because I didn't follow the recipe!). This is a point that, sadly, I myself am not entirely convinced of, so this has been a test for me as well. So far the Veganomicon has mostly come through, I think. The first thing I made was a triple batch of Simple Seitan, which I then used in the Seitan Pot-Pie that I mentioned in the previous entry. That one didn't work out too well mostly because I didn't follow the recipe and cover the pie plate with foil in the oven. It was dry and hard as a result. However, since there were a lot of leftovers I added water and then covered to reheat in the oven and it was marvellous! This Pot-pie was also one of my first attempts at cooking with alcohol--red wine courtesy of Anne! It was great. Vodka Penne here we come!




I have since made a few other dinners and lots of muffins from the book (because Istra loves to make muffins). My favourite muffins were the Carrot Pineapple Sunrise muffins, which were a lot like Morning-Glories. Once again, I did not follow the recipe, but my substitution of Craisins for plain old raisins is one I will definitely do again. I was actually thinking of using this muffin recipe to make a cake for Emeth's birthday. Speaking of Emeth's birthday: does anyone wish to wager on whether the boy will be walking by then? He started toddling around with Istra's walker-toy this week and also standing without holding onto anything for 15-second stretches. He also pretty much refuses to eat pureed baby food and has a fit if I don't give him whatever we're having for dinner; so Emeth has tested many of these recipes as well. He approves.




Today I was inspired by the Veganomicon to create something new: Mushroom Tofu stuffed Peppers with Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans. I'd never made stuffed peppers before and was feeling quite adventurous after not cooking for a while (since we've all been sick) and it turned out quite nicely; though next time I'll cook everything a bit longer to get that almost-burnt crispiness on the potatoes and a bit more colour on the peppers. It seems our oven requires a longer cooking time for most things.

Apologies for the rambling nature of this entry. I've been thinking of starting a food blog but I decided to inflict this on my family instead.