Thursday, May 3, 2007

Mostly repeats

We ate yummy stuff yesterday -- some tried and trues! The Spring rain showers got me in the mood to stay inside and cook. I love days like that.

We started off with 'Wolffie's Banana Blueberry Muffins' from La Dolce Vegan! (pg. 274) I've made these before, but this time I left out the ginger & only did 1 tbsp. molasses, and the girls liked them much better this time.



When I'm inside on a chilly day, I like to have the aroma & promise of soup on the stove. I was in the mood again for 'Earthy Lentil Soup' from Vive le Vegan! (pg 75) but that's a little difficult when you're out of lentils! (bummer!) Fortunately, I noticed that I had almost everything for the soup on the previous page, 'Chipotle Corn Black Bean Soup' I only had one can of black beans, so I used that along with red beans. I also didn't have an avocado for the garnish, so I topped mine with a scoop of Tofutti 'Better Than Cream Cheese', sliced green onion, and fresh cilantro from my herb barrel, & a lime wedge. This soup is fabulous!
Only Organic Herb Barrel:

Starting at 11 o'clock you see the cilantro, an unknown spice, fernleaf dill, English thyme, rosemary, sweet basil, and in the middle is marjoram.


I enjoy going outside to clip fresh herbs for a recipe -- it's very satisfying on many levels to eat what you grow.


I've made both 'My Sauce' and the 'Cornmeal-coated Polenta Fries' before, and they are a big snacking hit at our home. The fry recipe is from a feature Dreena wrote for VegNews (#52), and my sauce goes like this:

Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
Mandarin Oranges (drained and mashed)
Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
Smile-y face optional! :o)

13 comments:

scottishvegan said...

The flowers in the muffin photos make them look even more delicious! Did you plan for the wrappers to match the flowers?! I love your sauce with the smiley face…how cute! I would love a little herb garden, but I am not a very good gardener. Not that I have a garden anyway… :)

aTxVegn said...

I haven't made muffins in so long and yours look so yummy! So does the bean soup - it sounds spicy and refreshing. Your garden is just beautiful. I'm so jealous because I absolutely cannot grow anything!

KleoPatra said...

Your herb barrel is so cute. How cool to use fresh herbs that you grow yourself...

Love those beautiful muffins, Vicki. Less molasses, i can understand the better taste. Bananas and blueberries together again... i love that combo, especially in a muffin.

i like what you did with what you had on hand for the soup. You are so innovative, Vicki. Well done. Looks really really good!

Thanks for the smiley face in the sauce for those polenta fries. So cute! :o)

vko said...

The muffins & polenta look yummy!
And you herb barrel is beautiful and it must smell amazing as well as delicious.

Anonymous said...

cool post! i love so much The flowers in the muffin photos, why kind of flower are this?

the food looks very good.

Shananigans said...

I must make myself an herb barrel! Smiley faces make everything cuter, and probably more delicious :)

laura k said...

Fun post! I really love your mini-herb garden. I grow basil--that's all I have room for--but it's wonderful to clip it from my own windowsill! All the recipes sound great, and I say the smilet face is not optional! :)

Emmy said...

The herb garden looks great. Love the smiley face you made in the sauce. So cute.

Sheree' said...

I just finished re-potting tomatoes that we started from seeds. My basil started growing and just disappeard. Just died and is gone. I have a little dill shoot sprouting up, but the chives, parsley, and basil just did not come up. Do you have any suggestions? Your barrel looks wonderful. I love fresh herbs and we use alot of parsley and basil, but it is so expensive. I so need to get them to grow.

Teresa said...

I've been on a big muffin kick lately, and those muffins look great. I love blueberries, but I can't imagine molasses in them, so I can see why you left it out. Oh yes I love the aroma of Dreena's Lentil soup. I haven't made the chipotle one- I guess I should try that one next.

Oh man do I want to grow herbs. Most of my friends think that I'm like an old grandma because I'm into things like herbs and gardening. I think that they're just secretly jealous. Your variety of herbs is fabulous.

That happy face on the sauce is too cute- I bet the girls liked that one.

-Teresa

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

Your sauce is adorable, and so is your new photo!

Aurelie said...

Oooh, muffins! Everything looks great!

Vicki's Vegan Vice said...

hi scottishvegan: you noticed! i don't *always* match muffin liners with flowers blooming in the yard. :o)

hi johanna: those are tulips. and it occurs to me that since they need to freeze, they'd be scarce in Puerto Rico. For a treat, you could put them in the fridge to force them and then have pretty flowers...

hi veg-a-nut: sorry i can't trouble-shoot for you. my big tip is to buy plants that are already established, water them, and cross your fingers. :o)

thanks for your comments, everybody -- it's awesome to see you.

xoxo