costa rica

arenal volcano

our very own porch/diorama

family eating breakfast.
beans & rice, fried plantains, potatoes, fresh fruit

enjoying some cacique sours in the hot pool


manuel antonio

dinner at la hacienda

coconut milk curry

pasta with basil, pine nuts, and sundried tomatoes

salsipuedes

peter, owen, mom, dad, anne, grandma, meenum, joe, and dirk waiting for lunch
they have no idea it's going to be their best lunch ever

what a chalupa!

evening view from the salsipuedes deck

imperial on the beach - pura vida!

minestrone

pesto

when the basil was bountiful at the market, we picked up a bunch to make vegan pesto. we had plenty of basil for two batches and froze most of it. mom recommended that we use an ice cube tray, which has worked out perfectly. the only trouble is, we're using it up way too fast. our stock will never last us until next summer.

vegan pesto
· 1 1/2 cups fresh basil
· 1/3 cup olive oil
· 1/2 cup each pine nuts & walnuts
· 5 cloves garlic
· 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
· 3/4 teaspoon salt
· 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

preparation
combine all ingredients in a food processor until nuts are ground. pesto should still have texture and not be completely smooth. too easy!

this dinner was two veganomicon recipes on one plate. chickpea quinoa pilaf with broiled tofu. the tofu was quite simple, but very good.


the next day, the left over tofu showed up as cold sandwiches for lunch.

i have nothing witty to say about this right now. i'm being pressed to post, so there is no humor to be had. maybe i can find a funnier food in my photo library.

banana muffins

i had some bananas that over ripened very quickly, so i took the opportunity to try out the lower fat banana bread recipe in veganomicon. to save time, i made muffins instead. needless to say, they were perfectly delicious.

onions and radishes

i post this just to show that i am being a good photo student and doing my homework, even at the farmer's market.  i had to quick snap this one because it's crowded in small tunnel that is the fulton market.

tots and veggies

if there can be any advantages to a cool summer, one might be that you can cook non-summer foods if you feel like it.  who would normally want their oven on for 60 minutes in a no a/c apartment in july?  maybe people in the southern hemisphere.

one of the most exciting parts of this tater tot casserole was the cream of mushroom soup that is made in the process.  it got us thinking of ideas for holiday cooking to easily veganize some classics.