I’m playing catch up on all these dinners!!
I can’t recall if I mentioned it on the blog or not but I’m eating more dairy and gluten these days. You probably noticed that with all the pizza photos from the summer (although to be honest, I mighhtttttt like the simple mills almond crusts more than my home made dough).
Because my gut remains so unpredictable (despite my best efforts), I have decided to stop stressing myself out about it and just accept that some days it will hurt and I will be bloated and it will not be fun. I really hate those days, but if I just accept them as a part of my life, rather than constantly CONSTANTLY work on tweaking my diet to avoid any pain, maybe I will be able to enjoy life and be more in the present. I have not mastered this by any means, so don’t go thinking I’m super mindful and/or zen with my GI issues. But not eating certain things is no longer working, so I might as well eat what I want. And if I reduce my anxiety in the meantime, then that’s a bonus perk!
So this layered veggie mozzarella bake was the perfect thing to do with heaps of eggplant and squash.
I just kept layering different things, brushing with olive oil after each veggie and then intermittently adding cheese.
Never a bad strategy, right?
To serve with it, I made quinoa and prosciutto wrapped asparagus.
The kids were so-so on it. They liked the cheesy parts, but the ratio was definitely veg heavy…leaning in the eggplant direction. I had most of the leftovers myself, although some of it did make it’s way into a quinoa chili.
We did manage to eat over half of the 9×13 dish that night though, so that is still saying something.
Perhaps next time I will add in a layer of tomatoes or some kind of creamy sauce to make it more like a casserole.
Whenever I make the Thai quinoa salad from RFCFES I double it so that I have enough for some lunches that week too.
The kids never seem to notice all the herbs I put in either. I never know how they are going to react to mega basil and cilantro in their food, but maybe I’m being unnecessarily cautious because – aside from pesto – it hasn’t been an issue thus far.
Another night, another recipe from RFCFES.
This was my first time making the cauliflower tabbouleh and it was SO GOOOOOOOD.
100% my new favorite recipe from the cookbook.
I put this girl to work, picking the tomatoes from the garden and then slicing them up for the salad.
I never thought to roast the cauli before pulsing it in the food processor (with the herbs) to make a grain-like consistency but it worked beautifully and added lots of extra flavor. The kids actually loved it too, herbs and all! And so, once again, we were all fighting over the remainder for second helpings and there were zero leftovers.
I will be making this again asap.
BTW the feta I used for the tabbouleh was this Bella Capra by Sierra Nevada cheese company and it is amazing. I have been exclusively buying Meredith Dairy goat and sheep cheese for the past several months, because it’s basically the best stuff on the planet, but they were sold out last time I went shopping so I got this feta instead. It is so fantastic – and bonus – it’s cheaper!
I made a big salad for me and the kids one night that Kyle was out of town with said feta.
It also had mixed greens, arugula, wheatberries, tomatoes, and zucchini. You know I try to squeeze squash/cucumber/pickled things into any and every meal whenever he is gone 😛
I used a mandolin to slice the raw zucchini super thin before marinating it in an apple cider vinaigrette for an hour or so before assembling the rest of the salad. I never cooked it at all so it was slightly crispy, but the dressing had softened it and broke it down a bit. It was a great addition.
I topped it in almonds too.
Final meat to share for the week was (leftover) sautéed tofu and tempeh with (another) broccoli and cashew stir fry. I know, I know. I just had broccoli and cashews last week. And sautéed tofu and tempeh. It was so good though! And since Kyle was still out of town I didn’t care about repeating the same thing. Not that he’s picky, but I am lazy and so if it aint broke…why not just repeat it?
Instead of serving it with rice, I pulsed the broccoli stalk in the food processor until it was a grain-like texture. I was such a fan of doing that with the cauli, I decided to do it again with it’s green brassica cousin.
So then I fried it all in coconut oil and tamari until it was cooked through and then scooped it alongside the leftover tempeh and tofu. Winner winner vegan dinner!
I have missed your post and was happy to have new food ideas. You inspire me to be creative in the kitchen and to enjoy the process of cooking. Thanks