It hasn't been on the forefront of my mind, but just being totally honest - vegan cooking sometimes scares the bejesus out of me. I love love love vegan baking, most of the substitutes are "normal" (for what I like to bake anyway, there are more exotics) but when it comes to cooking, to attain proper consistencies, texture etc. has been a little frightening, the extent of my vegan cooking has been steaming veggies and eating it sans sauce over pasta.
But, fears aside i'm taking on the monster that is vegan cooking this week. I found a really good, as in TONS of recipes, cook book that is based off the documentary Forks Over Knives and i'm going to give it a try. I have a fancy printer now so I went a little recipe crazy this week trying out their sample recipes before I actually commit and buy the book.
Gary goes back to work this week so I start my new position as housewife where my three main priorities are: go to the gym, clean the house, cook healthy food. It's a hard life, let me tell you. I am actually trying my best to pack nutritious lunches and plan healthy dinners as well as establish a cleaning routine with my time. I think Gary thinks cleaning elves show up at night while he's sleeping and all I do is lay around and surf the web all day ;) I wish I had cleaning elves, our new house is huge.
It was my birthday Friday so i've been a little lax about food lately, everyone is entitled to a birthday...week right? Anyway, the last of the birthday apple pie is going out the door today and the rest of the ice cream in the freezer....well that can stay but it will demand some pretty tough self control on my part. I love ice cream :( Of course our new neighborhood is frequented by an ice cream truck every afternoon. Who thinks of these torture devices?!
I haven't really been around much since we moved, we haven't set up my computer yet for a multitude of reasons. One, I don't have a desk anymore (I had a built in at the old place) and two, my computer isn't wireless capable and the thought of running a cable across the entire length of my house is a bit annoying. Gary seems to think I should hold out and get a new computer later in the year since mine was rather outdated anyway. Oh well, I haven't updated my iPod in quite some time either which is turning out to be a little annoying. Speaking of iPod...mine is on the road to death. Just last week I was commenting that I was happy it has endured such a rough life with no major incident but now it's been fighting me, turns off at random, slow moving, LONG pauses between songs when streaming Pandora, sometimes it refuses to turn off? Anyway let's just hope it holds out a while longer.
So to close up I suppose i'll leave you with one of the recipes i'm trying this week, i'm pretty excited about it. This is the picture from their website, Forksoverknives.com
Pasta Primavera
12 ounces quinoa penne
3 cups broccoli, chopped
2 cups carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
1 cup red bell pepper, diced
1½ tablespoon garlic granules
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
½ cup raw cashews
1 cup almond milk
½ cup oat flour
1 cup green peas
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons dried basil or 2 tablespoons fresh
2 teaspoons dried oregano or 2 tablespoons fresh
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
Instructions:
In a medium pot, bring water to a boil. Then add the pasta and cook according to the direc-
tions on the box. When the pasta is slightly al dente, remove from heat, drain, and set aside.
While pasta cooks, in a large sauté pan, sweat (see chef’s note below) the broccoli, carrots,
onion, red pepper, and garlic on medium heat for 10 minutes. Keep them covered and stir occasionally. Then stir in the vegetable broth and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Grind the cashews in a spice grinder to form a cashew powder. A coffee grinder or blender
would also work. Either way, make sure the appliance is completely dry.
Stir in the soy milk, oat flour and cashew powder. Make sure to stir occasionally to prevent
the oats from clumping together. Add the peas, black pepper, and dried herbs. Simmer for 10
minutes, continuing to stir occasionally, until the oats and cashews create a creamy sauce.
Mix in the pasta and tomatoes. Best served right away. Also delicious chilled as a pasta salad.
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