nothing new

it's been a slow food week.  well actually two weeks.  that doesn't mean that it hasn't been enjoyable.  i've been preparing things that have already been blogged about, like chickpea cutlets and black bean burgers on the grill.  hopefully i'll find some time soon to find some new recipes to try out, but for now, here's some pictures of some great stir-frys that i haven't shown yet.

ginger soy stir-fry with jasmine rice and hand-rolled veggie spring rolls.

soy and teriyaki stir-fry with jasmine rice and sweet and sour tempeh.

simple tofu

even before i was vegetarian, joe and i learned that cooking tofu isn't necessarily easy.  in fact, our first attempt was quite gross.  in order to start enjoying tofu, vegan with a vengeance has a recipe that is sure to work.

pressing the tofu takes out some of its moisture, improving its texture a bit.  to do so, place your slices of tofu between kitchen towels or paper towels and set some flat heavy things on it (i do a 9x13 pyrex loaded with anything with some heft).  press it for a while...an hour is great but 20-30 minutes will surely do the trick.  then proceed with your recipe making.  you could even press the tofu the previous day to save time when cooking.

try your baked tofu alongside some potatoes and a salad, or have it cold on a sandwich piled with veggies.  for breakfast, i warmed some up for a tofu mcmuffin with spinach.

ethiopian night

wash your hands in the rose petal water.

grab some injera.

dig into some ethiopian food.

(disclaimer: it helps if you've got people like juan, laura, joe, and karis manning/womanning the kitchens, so maybe you should locate them before you try to enjoy this delicious food.)

breakfast (for dinner)

sunday night's dinner was a cooking frenzy that started the week off right with a well rounded meal. joe, dave, and i enjoyed a tofu scramble, hash browns, and van's blueberry waffles.

my recipe card for a tofu scramble seems to be missing right now (joe just whips it up from memory), but if i locate it, i'll be sure to post it. we just used hash browns from d&w and got the van's organic waffles there too.

tofu scramble: tofu, onions, garlic, red pepper, spinach, nutritional yeast, spices (and possibly some tricks up joe's sleeve)

now that it's spring, i've started composting again (thanks to dave's monitoring of my organic waste situation). i'm not sure that i'm doing it properly - i'm just collecting my produce waste in a small corner of the yard. maybe nothing will come of it. any tips on composting?

springtime hobo dinners

after a 2.5 hour bike tour of grand rapids, one of the better ways to spend an evening is around the fire pit. we threw together some veggies in foil to take care of our hunger and take advantage of the spring weather.

joe points out the urban community farm on the way home from downtown.

the veggies take the heat in their little pouches.

potatoes, carrots, corn, peas, asparagus, jalapeno, red pepper, onion
the secret ingredients? some toasted sesame oil and just a tiny splash of braggs

andrew, dave, and joe dig in, "veggie hobo" style.

black bean burgers (and cookies!)

you may wonder if i ever get sick of burgers, but it's not possible. there are too many kinds...lentil, boca, portobello, black bean. plus they're a great excuse to stop and pick up some french fries.  and for dessert, you ask? cookie monsters, of course. a little rice dream and chocolate syrup on a homemade cookie, and you're all set.

my notes on the burger recipe: it took about 3/4 of a cup of bread crumbs to take up enough of the moisture to make the burgers feasible.  also, i think i bought the wrong stuff for the chili sauce...i came home with a 4 oz can of green chilies (that worked fine).  for each burger, i scooped up 1/3 cup of the mixture, so i will probably get 6-7 burgers out of a batch, rather than 4. finally, i didn't find them spicy. your palate might be different, but i wouldn't be too afraid of the spices in there.