Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Wheat and Potatoes, et al

Here's what's been on our menu of late!

Fronch Toast with Leftover Scramble and Potatoes


I can't remember if I've made the Fronch Toast from VwaV before, but I was happy with the results. The garbanzo bean flour gives it that weird metallic eggy taste that's missing from most vegan french toast recipes. But the biggest plus of this recipe? It totally didn't stick while cooking. Bitchin'.

Fried Tempeh with Almond Sauce, with Assorted Salads
So I had defrosted tempeh on Monday without a definite idea of what I planned to do with it. I finally decided on some fried tempeh and some kind of peanut-type sauce. So while I fried up the tempeh in peanut oil, I found a recipe for peanut sauce in Vegan Planet. It was AWESOME! Oh, but I subbed almond butter for the peanut, just to see what it would be like (plus, the toddler could eat it without me worrying). I served this over leftover diced baked potatoes (remind me never to buy a 5 lb bag of potatoes ever again - we just don't eat them fast enough!). On the side is Quinoa Black Bean Salad and a basic green salad with balsamic maple vinaigrette that I made up on the fly. A satisfying meal all around, and I definitely need to copy that sauce recipe before I return that cookbook to the library!

Leftovers Extraordinaire
Do you love to transform leftovers into something totally new? Me too. So this is some leftover quinoa with steamed broccoli and peas and some AWESOME smoked cubed tofu (Soy Boy, I think?) with leftover almond (peanut) sauce. Soooooo good! I'm going to have to buy stock in that tofu, it is outrageous, and so easy to deal with - it's ready to eat out of the package. The toddler is also a huge fan, so yay protein. I had this for dinner last night and lunch today, it was THAT good.

Slow Cooker Seitan Pot Roast


It's been a Robin Robertson kind of week here, what with this meal and the awesome peanut sauce recipe from Vegan Planet! Ok, that picture above of the whole deal IN the crockpot looks a little scary (brains!?!), so here's what the plated version was like:


Much less brain-y. It was soooo good! God, there is nothing like having that warm, secure feeling of knowing that dinner will be ready just by lifting the lid of the crockpot! This took about 7-10 minutes to prepare this morning before Chad left for work, and then voila! It was ready when he got home. This was sorely needed today, because none of us are sleeping well since Silas has a cough and was coughing ALL. NIGHT. LONG. At about 15 minute intervals, so you'd *just* fall asleep and then COUGH! HACK HACK! COUUUUUGH!

But I digress. (It's the sleep deprivation). This was an awesome, hearty meal. I will definitely be making this again. It was my first try at seitan in the crock, and I'm really glad it worked out, because seriously, what could be easier? I think next time I'll try to make the seitan dough more "roast-y," this time I made it kind of flat to cover the veggies so it was kind of thin and disc-shaped. Just an aesthetic thang.

Random Baking
Oh, and I did make some cookies that didn't last long enough for photos - 2 batches of Dreena's Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies. I think I could eat a batch a day, seriously. I made one with regular chips and one with carob, so the dudes could partake. Chad was very impressed. The carob was actually really good, very malty, not chalky at all. Although now he is wondering if he has a carob allergy because he was getting the fluttery allergy feeling after eating them. ARGH! This chocolate lover can't win. :/

11 comments:

J said...

Great meals! Yes, I love turning leftovers into a totally new meal, that is the best!

You DO like those cookies! :P My youngest son asks me to bake cookies at least once a day!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

I DO love turning leftovers into something new! I just love leftovers in general-- it's so great to be able to have a delicious meal without lifting a finger!

Woah, the pot roast looks gorgeous beyond gorgeous.

Jen said...

That pot roast looks great! I'll have to get some of that smoked tofu for Luka, my little tofu monster. I hope you get some sleep soon and everyone is feeling better!

Vegan_Noodle said...

I still haven't gotten around to making Fronch toast, which is a shame because I even have chickpea flour in my cupboard!
That almond sauce sounds so good. I need to find that recipe in my vegan planet.
And wow, that roast sounds so easy!! I don't have a crockpot but I'm thinking I will eventually need to invest in one.
Almost glad you didn't show the cookies, it would make me want one too badly right now.

That Raw Vegan Girl said...

Just wanted to let you know I am enjoying your blog. Yum:)

Anonymous said...

I just had to stop by to see how your slow cooker seitan pot roast turned out -- looks great! Glad it worked out for you!

carrie said...

Wow, is that the Robin Robertson who just commented here?

Wish I could come over for pot roast, my family hates pot roast both the meat and non meat versions. I really like it though.

Chessa said...

Jenny: those cookies are like crack, seriously!

Chocolatechoveredvegan: thanks for the roast compliment! I have very little confidence in my ability to photograph, so this was really nice! :D

Jen: Definitely try the smoked tofu! I haven't seen it around too many places, I found it at the Good Food Company in Troy (Maple and Livernois) - which I know is a major haul for you. Hopefully somewhere in your neighborhood has it, because it is the awesome!

Vegan_Noodle - I know, I had chickpea flour in my cupboard for MONTHS before I broke into it! I think it was to make the Masala Roasted Brussels Sprouts from Vcon. But it's great for French Toast, too!

Steph: Thanks!!! It's so nice to know who's out there reading. :D

Robin_Robertson: Thanks so much for stopping by, and for an awesome, easy recipe!

Carrie: I know, I feel famous by association!! You are welcome to come over any time for pot roast. And cookies. What, it can't be too far, you're in Iowa, right? Michigan's just a stone's throw. ;)

carrie said...

Actually I'm in Indiana, so it's not terribly far.

How on earth did you get in touch with Robin Robertson? I LOVE her!!

Chessa said...

Carrie: I knew it was an "I" state! Sorry, I'm such a dork.

I commented on Robin Robertson's blog, Vegan Planet, on the entry about the pot roast. I felt a little scared to do it at first, but I had noticed that she was really awesome about responding to other commenters in the comments sections, so I was like "what the heck." It's so nice when "famous" people are actually approachable and supportive!

And I love her, too. Especially the Meat and Potatoes Cookbook. I don't own Vegan Planet, but I've been happy with it so far!

Susan Chipley said...

Note to self: Make fronch toast and Dreena's cookies SOON!