Thursday, February 14, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day! (food is the way to a heart)

For these chickpea tacos, I started out making my newest addiction 'Tamari-Roasted Chickpeas' from eat, drink, and be vegan. As ususal, with coconut oil and lime juice. This recipe is memorized.

Next, the shells received avocado, tomato, and black olives. I didn't even use salsa. The flavor of the garbanzos carried these taco all the way.





I thought making sugar cookies would be a fun thing to do in the afternoon, but feeling slightly lazy, I busted out a
Cherrybrook Kitchen sugar cookie mix.

I've tried most of their products, and each time I've been very pleased, this is no exception. I'm still impressed at the idea of having vegan convenience.



Italian Basil is the first official harvest from the Aerogardens we won in PeTA's Cooking with Kid's Contest. (I'm still glowing)











Just enough to make '
White Bean Hummus with Fresh Thyme & Basil' from eat, drink & be vegan. Imo, Dreena is pretty much the queen of dip, nibblers, spreads, & appetizers...

And this was a yummy dip, although Art said it was too strong for kissing. Just eat up, then go brush.





I'll tell more about the
AeroGardens in another post, but here's a sneek peek at what's "growing on" around here: mint, Italian basil, dill, thyme, parsley, purple basil, chives, and 3 cherry tomatoes.

It's great having some fresh greens to eat in the dead of winter. The girls are completely fascinated with the quickly growing plants.



Last week, Art bought me these pretty roses --- before Valentine's day, and before I made these cookies. Just because. What a sweetie!

I made 'Oatmeal Raisin Cookies' again from The Joy of Vegan Baking. I used whole wheat pastry flour and subbed semi-sweet chips for the raisins. These cookies were great, and more on the healthy side. How do I love this cookbook, let me count the ways......

15 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

happy belated Valentine's Day, Vicki!! looks like you certainly celebrated it in the most delicious way possible :0)

julie hasson said...

What a lovely way to celebrate Valentine's Day. Everything looks delicious Vicki!

I love seeing the pics of your lovely green herbs. How fun for you guys to have in the middle of winter.

Aurelie said...

Happy Valentine's Day (a little late, but hey, better late than never! :)) Oooh, fresh basil! The aerogarden looks super neat, what a great prize. I've never heard of Cherrybrook before, the cookies turned out nicely for something from a box. Also, the Joy of Vegan Baking cookies look delish!

moi + toi PHOTOGRAPHIE said...

I havent had tacos in a while, that is a good idea.

I would love to grow my own herbs, living in an apartment i need to think of something creative to do to keep them in the sun and so forth.

HAPPY V DAY!

aTxVegn said...

I'm so glad you enjoyed Valentine's Day. The pink roses are beautiful!

Chickpea tacos sound like a nice change from pintos or black beans. And your aerogarden is working like magic - the basil looks wonderful!

MeloMeals said...

Those tacos look and sound amazing! What a great idea, to use the roasted chickpeas..

I can't wait to hear more about your aerogarden experience... I've been interested in the concept.. but have been hesitant to purchase one.

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Happy Valentine's Day to you and your beautiful family :o)

Amey said...

what a yummy post. mmm. I love seeing all those herbs growing... I can't believe how gorgeously perfect your basil looks!! How cool to be eating fresh, home-grown basil in mid-February. Right on!

Theresa said...

What a lovely way to spend valentine's day! And how sweet of Art to get flowers *before* it was expected!

Catherine Weber said...

Those cookies look amazing . . . I, too, have fallen for The Joy of Vegan Baking! I want to keep baking until I make every recipe in the book . . . but I'm only one person and can only eat so many cookies and treats!! :) Patience . . . I did make the ginger muffins and raspberry oat bars this weekend, though!

Happy belated Valentine's Day!

Tanya Kristine said...

i'll be interested in seeing that basil plant in a month. that's a great idea! i need one of those...oh and grow some of your veggies upside down like tomatoes, peppers, cukes...works SO much better than a garden.

Anonymous said...

Chickpea tacos-what a great idea! I'll have to try that. Art is such a sweetie...those roses are beautiful
I can't wait for more posts on that garden-awesome!

Glad to hear you had a good V-day :]

The Little Mama said...

Yum!
And happy belated Valentine's Day!

Carrie™ said...

That Aero Garden is the greatest thing! Next to Art of course. Pink roses are so beautiful! I was lucky enough to test that hummus recipe for Dreena and we loved it. All you have to do is make sure you both eat some, then let the kissing begin! Great idea with the chickpeas in the tacos.

Anonymous said...

yum those looks good.

about your question: the burger testing book is from here
http://justthefood.blogspot.com