Now that school is almost over (Final is tomorrow Night), I should finally start having time to actually cook for myself again (who knew that writing would take up ALL of my time?). That is, cooking real - somewhat complicated food. The TVP sloppy joes and tacos are great - but not really a balanced meal.
So here are some recipes I'm hoping to try out in the next several weeks.
Veggie Chili
I've had lots of veggie chili's and my all-time favorite is a black-bean and quinoa chili that ran in Vegetarian times many years ago. But I thought I'd branch out and try this one as it has cabbage in it and I'm having my annual love affair with cabbage.
Red Lentil and Tofu Curry
I've been wanting to do more with lentils - they're very versatile and yummy and truly I love curry anything. I'm also trying to get more comfortable with tofu. I'm pretty limited in what I do with it so this seems like a good dish all around.
Shwrbat'adas Filasteeniya (Palestinian Lentil Soup)
Another lentil recipe - it is very simple and looks like it would be a great quick light meal.
Roasted Delicata Squash and Cauliflower with Curry Sauce
I recently discovered that Cauliflower is FANTASTIC with curry (did I mention how much I love curry?). I've never had delicata squash (that I know of) but have been seeing it mentioned in a lot of recipes. It has an edible skin which is nice because peeling squashes is hard dangerous work.
Aloo Plak
This is an Indian spinach and potato dish. I recently had some pre-packaged that I got from an Indian store and thought it was yummy (tho' a bit spicey for me) and thought it would be great to make some at a spice level that was more comfortable for my wussy western palate.
Butternut Squash & Potato Gnocchi
I love gnocchi - the only reason I don't eat more of it is that I have a hard time finding sauces that I like to go with it. I think this version with the squash will be slightly sweet so would probably be great plain with a little margarine and vegan Parmesan and maybe some sauteed kale or spinach.
So yeah all these are vegan. I think I'm moving more and more towards veganism - not out of major moral concerns - but for health. I FEEL better physically (and mentally) when I stay away from animal products. But for now this is only at home - I'm never going to expect people to cook special for me (since so many already do so for my allergies)and I'm sure I will indulge on occasion when out at restaurants. So my 2007 goal is to have a robust vegan recipe repertoire for home meals - so that I don't fall back on crappy fast food when I'm stressed and running short on time.