Kitchen Harmony

A challenge for me in the kitchen is keeping my four and two year old girls occupied while I cook. I enjoy cooking with them, but sometimes that isn't what they want to do, and I become distracted trying to entertain or play referee. Countless times I've burned something, forgotten how many cups I've already added, skipped a crucial step, or even abandoned the recipe altogether.

Today, I came up with a simple solution. I gave each girl a large cookie sheet, a bowl of pinto beans, along with several cups and utensils. They were little chemists -- measuring, sifting, & pouring. They enjoyed this more than I can express. Even better, there was no cost involved, and the clean-up was minimal. We were all in the kitchen together doing what we enjoyed, it was beautiful. I can't believe I didn't think of this idea before!


I've been itching to try the 'Seitan O' Greatness' after seeing it on all your blogs. I didn't have Worcestershire sauce, so I subbed Kitchen Bouquet and was pleased with that. I also pictured my little jar of organic tomato paste, because it's so handy to just take out a tablespoon, cap it, and store in the fridge. No longer will I buy it in cans. I took Crystal's tip and made four little logs instead, and liked how that worked out, but only cook for 60 minutes if you go this route. I wasn't pleased with the spice combo, but think baking seitan is the way to go.

This is better than Andersen's split pea soup, which is a quick stand-by meal for the girls.

Vicki's Split Pea Soup
2 cups split peas
10 cups boiling water
2 cups baby carrots, cut in circles
1 tsp. sea salt
1 clove elephant garlic, crushed & finely chopped
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1.5 Tbsp. tamari

Here's How:

Boil the split peas with salt for about 30 minutes, until they are soft and begin to break down.

While the split peas boil, sautee the onion & garlic in the vegetable oil until translucent.

Add the onion, garlic, carrots, & tamari to the soft split peas and cook until the soup is creamy.




Soup needs bread. So I whipped up some 'Easy French Bread' from La Dolce Vegan! I've made this before, but wanted to try individual rolls. Here it is divided among muffin tins just before popping in the oven with black sesame seeds on top.







Can you smell these? They were superb warm with Earth Balance. This is the only recipe you need for dinner rolls.









With the girls still sifting the pinto beans, I even had time to make dessert! This is a new cookbook for me. I've seen Emmy blog about it, and at Food Fight they say it's the best vegan cookbook of all time.

I made 'Oatmeal Cookies' following the recipe exactly, only I cut it in half because 5 dozen cookies seems a bit excessive! lol! Half-ing the recipe yielded 15 cookies for me. These are the kind that you need to use your hands to form and squish them down, because they don't flatten themselves. They are simple, timeless, and delicious!