Kyle and I made a resolution this year to sit down to a real dinner together every Sunday night. It may be hard on the weekends that I work, but we will do our best.
Family dinner #1 – roasted broccoli, quinoa and barley, Field Roast smoked tomato loaf.
I put 1 cup dry quinoa and 1 cup dry barley in the rice cooker before we headed out to play tennis together.
I left it on the “keep warm” setting until it was time for dinner.
Then I fluffed it up before serving.
The broccoli and Field Roast were super simple to make. Roasting isn’t rocket science after all.
It may seem odd that the broccoli is in a biohazard specimen bag.
Well, it’s because I took leftover veggies home from last week’s work party. And the only thing I had on hand to transport them was a lab bag. I took these photos before Kyle saw them because otherwise he would have been totally grossed out.
As an aside, the bag was actually the perfect shake ‘n bake tool – I just poured in the olive oil, sealed it up, and shook things ‘til the broccoli was covered in oil.
Easy peasy.
As for the Field Roast…
Well, I didn’t know what to expect with this one. I’d only tried their sausages before (which Kyle and I both loved).
The ingredients and nutritional stats for the Smoked Tomato Quarter Loaf are similar to their other vegan grain “meat” products, with vital wheat gluten (aka seitan) as the main ingredient, offering 27 g protein per serving.
When I sliced it, I was surprised because most of the other roasts have some kind of stuffing inside, but this one was the same consistency all the way through. It was really pink and reminded me of cured salami or something. [I don’t know what I’m talking about, I’ve been out of the meat market forever]
Either way, it did not look appetizing.
Still, I sliced it into 9 slabs (about 1 cm thick) and added it to the sprayed baking sheet with the broccoli and roasted them in the oven for 20 minutes on 350.
It could have used another 10 minutes to get a nice char (I love when roasted veggies are blackened), but I was really hungry.
The Field Roast got nice and crispy on the outside.
I mixed everything together after taking the photo, and while I enjoyed the smoky tomato flavor, it was a bit dry and very salty. I probably wouldn’t buy it again, not because I didn’t enjoy it, but because it was pricey and if I’m going to go the faux meat route, I’m going to choose one I really really like.
How often do you sit down to a family meal?
are you preparing for a full-on family dinner…elise kyle +1…? hahaha 😉
Well it’s just me myself and I in Chicago! But I try to get lunch or dinner with my brother and his wife once a week!
cant two people be a family?
Lol on the broccoli bag! Interesting on the Field Roast, I’ve tried their spicy sausage before and it was really spicy even for me. I’m not a fan of overly salty vegan “meat”, but this might be worth s try for my hubby.
We try to have dinner together most nights, we’re lucky our work schedules allow for that.
We eat as a family every night, usually… my partner is really into making dinner an occasion which is nice. We are lucky that work schedules aren’t an issue with my job being at home 🙂
Love the specimen bag shake and bake, awesome!
We eat dinner together probably 75% of the time…it’s our bonding time!
I love my veggies with a char on them too!
Good to know you can cook quinoa in the rice cooker. I’ve been wondering about that. 🙂
Two people can be a family, a pair, a set, best friends for life, common laws, lovers, or friends with long-term benefits. Whatever you want.
BTW- M and I refer to ourselves as “uncommon laws” 🙂
haha – i like it.
funny story – a while ago kyle and i were coming back from europe and when we were re-entering the states the immigration people asked how we were related/knew each other. kyle said “we’re roommates” and i was like “ummmm, what?!? we are engaged!” the united states marshall was so uncomfortable. it was hilarious. i still tease him about referring to me as his roommate rather than his fiance.
The broccoli bag story is funny! What a clever way to shake-and-bake!
My mum’s St. Nicholas Day present for me arrived in a chemotherapy medication package. She and my dad work in the medical field as well. Therefore mum uses boxes intended for blood test materials when mailing small stuff all the time.
roasted broccoli=greatest thing ever.