cookbook challenge, weeks 11& 12

A little behind again! But
since Ryan stayed home
with a stomach virus today,
I can finally catch up...

Black Beans with Garlic and Cumin is even easier
if you cheat like I did and
use canned beans. This is
certainly simple and tasty as is, but in the future it would make a great filling for enchiladas, burritos, etc. Nothing with lots of garlic and onions can be bad, right?!

We've been getting heaps
of cucumbers from the
farm lately, so I tried
this bare bones recipe
for Cucumber Salad. I
really hesitate to even
refer to this one as a recipe
it's so basic, but that's
okay, it was a way to use
up some cucumbers.

And so was this Cucumber
and Yogurt Salad. I had a
WholeSoy plain unsweetened
yogurt that was perfect for
this. Yogurt, mint, pepper...
refreshing!

And I've been combing the
discount racks at the back
of the supermarket for cheap produce lately to save money...

This Sauteed Zucchini
served to remind me that
sometimes it really is
best to keep things simple.
I didn't have any fresh basil
left in the fridge, so I used
dried, and it was still just
delicious.

I scored a big package of
slightly sprouting red
potatoes too, and used
them to make Oven-Fried
Potatoes. Nothing unusual
about this recipe at all, but
the suggestion to sprinkle
them with cider vinegar at
the end reminded me of my
days visiting Baltimore as a teenager. Boardwalk Fries introduced me to the concept of fries and vinegar, which is quite amazing in my opinion.

Up until this week, I'd
really only made one
recipe so far from Tomato
Blessings and Radish
Teachings that I didn't
care for, which I think is
pretty good considering
how many I've made.
However, these New Flaky
Biscuits fall into the "will
never bother with again"
category. But to be fair, I substituted a stick of cold Earth Balance for the butter, and one servings of prepared egg replacer powder for the egg. I was already hesitant to make these with the suggested whole wheat flour, but regardless, they didn't rise and they were really dry. Though AJ called them cookies, so I guess they weren't that bad. Topped with raspberry jam, or white bean hummus & cherry tomato halves, they were edible at least.

To go

There
are
many
occasions
that
require
larger
methods
of food
transport
than
a bento
box or
lunch
bag.

My
husband's
40th
birthday for example, required cupcakes to be moved in good condition, since he insisted on scheduling work that sunday. I love my Wilton cupcake carrier, and it's really cool because the insert flips for 24 mini cupcakes, or is removable for a sheet cake.

One cannot live on
cupcakes alone--or
maybe they can, and
I'd volunteer to try if
I ever lose the rest of
the baby weight--so
I brought along some
pasta salad and pbj
sandwiches.

A few days later I was in for an even bigger challenge-- one of my sisters was coming to visit and had recently gone gluten-free (among other restrictions, including no garlic)!

I needed to pack up a tasty
vegan meal for 3 adults &
4 children to be eaten at
grandma's house.

These roasted lemon
potatoes were garlic-free.

Next, some rice noodles
with bok choy and red
pepper with a mango
ginger sauce and bbq
tempeh.

Not shown, a 4 bean
salad.

Grandma's favourite food
is green beans, so I cooked
up the week's green and
purple beans from the farm
and created this salad...
she likes things rather
simple and also doesn't
like garlic.

Green Bean & Tomato Salad

2 quarts string beans,
steamed or boiled
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1/2 cup pitted kalamata
olives
1 red onion, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 T. lemon juice
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
a few T. of fresh herbs (optional) such as thyme or marjoram

Cook green beans until just tender. Run under cold water in a collander or place in a large bowl of ice water.
Cut up tomatoes. (I chose a red tomato and a yellow tomato for contrast.)
Slice the onion. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onion until softened and add lemon juice and wine.
Place green beans, tomatoes & olives in a large serving bowl or platter. Pour sauteed onions over green beans and toss gently. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.

I also tried out the gluten-
free cupcake recipe from
VCTOTW for the first time.
Pretty good, very easy to
make, though still sort of
grainy or muffiny. I may
spend the big bucks next
time I make these and use
almond flour. The corn flour
in these made them taste like corn muffins instead of cupcakes.
Everyone enjoyed them, though they're definitely more crumbly in the hands of a 3 year old!













And Maia has racked up another month...cruising the kitchen at grandma's house at 13 months.