How Not to Pie

Strawberries kinda took over the last post, so here are some of the other meals I (we) had last week.

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OK, OKAYYYY I will post more than vegan Winter salads 😛

Legit had no plans for dinner and found everything I needed for this in the freezer or pantry. INCLUDING the avocado…

Which I thawed and made into guacamole because the color was looking mighty suspect before I added in salsa. The kids would have given it major side eye. And for the record, I’m not sure I can fully endorse the use of frozen and then thawed avocado for guacamole. The only reason they were frozen in the first place was because I got a ton on sale at some point (years ago, no doubt) and then they all ripened at once so I started using them in smoothies. And then I thought, maybe they’d be good blended into a smoothie from a frozen state. I was a fan. My blender was not. Moral of the story, if you are going to freeze avo, against my aforementioned recommendation, at the very least, cut them into small pieces and separate them so they don’t all freeze together in a massive block.

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Don’t hold your breath, but we may finally be approaching the end of the bag of corn tortillas. We bought the 200 pack from Costco for-eh-ver ago (for some crazy amount like $2) and it remains the most economical purchase of my entire existence. You just keep them in the freezer and chip off a few whenever you need them. It’s brilliant. Maybe I’ll have my parents buy us another 200 with their Costco membership once we are actually back at ground zero.

The base of the tacos was brown rice and pinto beans, FYI. Not exactly a gourmet dinner, but sometimes you just need to get the job done. Also, if you throw enough guacamole at something it’s going to taste fine. But seriously, cilantro counted as the veggie with this meal, soooooo…that’s what we were working with.

I promised I’d take a photo of this smoked salmon the next time I got it, so here it is. Trader Joe’s wild smoked sockeye salmon with cracked peppercorns, mustard seed and lemon. It’s fantastic.

My friends are on a vegan kick and it’s super fun for me to watch. It all started when they read How Not to Die and decided to adopt a more plant based diet. I have not read it, but I have gathered is similar to The China Study and other various documentaries (Forks over Knives, etc) which offer scientific, evidence based studies to back up the vegan diet. They are both in health care, too, so we have been talking about meal plans a lot lately. It’s so fun. Then I saw this cookbook at the library! Obviously I had to get it!

I have to say, I have been pleasantly surprised by the recipes! It’s not just a collection of your basic vegan 101 options…there are unique salads and interesting flavor combos.

This dressing alone (ginger sesame orange) may have convinced me to buy the cookbook! It looks like a lot of ingredients, but I actually had every single item on hand already!

I doubled the recipe (because we eat like monsters) and added pepitas too (because I need a crunch in my salad), but otherwise it was perfect.

I would give it a 10 out of 10 for flavor. Plus it’s not something I’d come up with on my own. So as you can see, I’m a big fan.

Sadly I had to return it before I could try more (the book was on hold! go veganism!!), but I took photos of some of the pages and will hopefully check it out again soon.

Remember when I told you I wouldn’t show you any more of this salad…I’m such a liar.

NOMNOMNOM.

PS my sweet and spicy tea is almost gone and I can’t find it anymore!!!! Why does this happen!?!? I rationed myself to one cup per day and it was soooo hard. I think I may need to amazon prime a case to my doorstep while Kyle’s out of town. Not that he’d care much, but I might get the side eye if a pallet of tea suddenly appeared in our pantry.

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I made a vegan Caesar dressing loosely based off of an old recipe of mine, but this time I used all cashews. I also doubled everything except for the water to make it extra thick. And added a few capers for that briny flavor (shhh…don’t tell Kyle). It was awesome.

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The kids had pasta with theirs (with my vegan vodka sauce) but all I wanted was a heaping pile of salad.

I topped it with crushed kale chips that I didn’t love on their own (don’t bother with the chipotle flavor of alive & radiant brand). It added the crunch factor that croutons would otherwise offer.

This is a terribly lit photo of a gluten free scone thing covered in a coconut chocolate shell, which almost didn’t exist because of how fast it went into my pie hole. I brought it home from San Diego and somehow it was hidden in the freezer, but obviously it got annihilated as soon as I noticed it behind the block of avocado.

Hellloooooo greens! This was the last CSA week of the quarter, but I already re-subscribed so once the students are back from Spring break it’ll be another 11 weeks of farm fresh produce.

We got a few collards leaves so I decided to make them into wraps.

I have seen a few tutorials on how to do it, and it really is as easy as can be!

You cut out the stem, pile on the stuffing (I made a Thai basil beef), and then fold in the sides and roll. Like a burrito.

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And then I made a sunflower dipping sauce with tamari, ginger, sesame oil, and enough water to thin it out.

Kyle was out of town so it was fine that we only had enough for a few each. And wouldn’t you know it, the kids LOVED it. They ate it messily and happily. I hope our future CSA hauls have collards, because I want to make these wraps again!

This was an extremely random dessert plate, with some of the dark chocolate mac nuts from Hawaii, white chocolate pretzels (stolen from a kids’ birthday party – don’t judge me), crumbs from an oatmeal cookie that I didn’t photograph, and candied ginger. I know, random. But it was all really good, to be honest.

I’ve been trying to track down sunchokes again since I first got them in my imperfect produce delivery way back when.

I roasted them the same exact way as before – swimming in olive oil and fresh rosemary with salt aplenty. Deeeeelish.

Another thing we keep getting from our CSA is fresh corn kernels, which the kids lurve.

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Pop, pop, pop.

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This is what I did with that leftover chicken.

Made into salad with mayo, dijonnaise, and celery, which I scooped up with crackers (didn’t end up needing the plantain chips).

I also had these Rhythm Superfoods honey mustard kale chips, which are currently in a tight race with the original flavor (by the same brand) for the number one spot in my heart.

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What the birthday girl wants, the birthday girl gets…

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P-P-P-PIZZA face.

And a chocolate cupcake with pink frosting and sprinkles for dessert.

And if you think she is taking her crown off anytime soon you don’t know this girl at all.

The cupcakes were just for the kiddos, though, because the weekend before my mom brought over the gift of all gifts.

CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE

It was all Kyle wanted for his birthday, and since my mom is a m a z i n g she delivered.

Tragically, Kyle left town the next day, so we didn’t even get to slice into it until he returned a few days later. Do you know what kind of torture that was for me???? Opening the fridge with that in my face every day over and over and over, knowing I couldn’t touch it??? TORTURE.

An even more shocking move on my part?? I had a single slice and let Kyle have THE ENTIRE REST of the pie. All to himself. I hardly recognized myself. THAT, my friends, is how much I love this man.

I’ve been able to survive juuuust fine with the sweets we have already 😛