Thai Vegetable Green Curry
Eureka! I finally got this post out. Last week was rough. A roof leak caused water damage to the ceilings in our bedroom, dining room and kitchen. They weren’t big leaks – about 1 square foot each. I didn’t think the repair would be a big deal – just scrape off the bad plaster, patch it, prime it, paint it, done. Less than a day’s work. But oh … Read More...
Kidney Bean Arugula Salad with Carrots Walnuts Parsley & Feta
My hopes for the end of winter have been dashed again. I awoke to howling northern winds, wind chills below freezing, and a chance of snow tonight. Aargh!! Will this never end? Despite the near record lows, I decided to just ignore it. It has to go away at some point. And I want to start cooking warm weather foods. This salad is one of the … Read More...
Yogurt Cucumber Soup with Fresh Dill & Walnuts
This is a summer soup my husband grew up on. He made it for me years ago and I’ve been hooked ever since. It’s meant to be eaten on really hot days. I know I’m way ahead of myself in that department, but I’m encouraged at the prospect of the thermometer going above 70 this weekend. Keeping fingers crossed! With only 5 ingredients (sans water, salt … Read More...
Spring Quinoa & Edamame Salad with Meyer Lemon Dressing
I visited my aunt recently and she made this delicious salad. It’s lightly flavored and very delicate. She went the extra mile and toasted the quinoa before cooking it. It adds a lovely depth of flavor. If you decide to toast the quinoa, beware that it starts popping out of the pan like popcorn, so have a lid or splatter guard on hand. This is one … Read More...
Seitan Fajitas with Creamy Avocado Sauce
The first time I had these was at a restaurant called Blind Faith Café. I had just started a journey to improve my health and was going on a macrobiotic diet (see this post). I probably would have quit shortly after beginning if it wasn’t for Blind Faith as I didn’t know how to cook and wasn’t familiar with the ingredients. Most of the food on their … Read More...
Curried Vegetable Dal over Cilantro Lime Rice
I have a culinary confession to make – I never had curry until my late 20s. How is that possible? I guess I’ll chalk that up to living in small Midwestern towns. In Chicago, my husband and I had a couple of friends who were from Malaysia originally and basically grew up on curry. During the weekends, we would take turns cooking. When it was their … Read More...
No-Egg Salad Sandwich with Arugula & Sun-dried Tomato
Even though it seems like summer will never get here (we had snow again last weekend), I’m ready to switch from heavy winter foods to some summer favorites. And one of my favorite summer sandwiches is egg salad. I’ve eaten a lot (loads) of egg salad in my life. But now that I’m limiting, and trying to eliminate, my egg consumption, I need a … Read More...
Vegan Ragu alla Bolognese with Zucchini Pasta
Fancy name, huh? I thought it sounded good. But considering that a traditional Bolognese sauce has ground beef, pancetta or bacon, and heavy cream, mine doesn’t appear to be a Bolognese at all. But since I kept the red wine, carrot and celery, I decided this was generally in the same family, be it a second cousin, twice removed. I wanted to keep … Read More...
Hawaiian Banana Pancakes with Macadamia Nuts & Maple Syrup
It’s funny what you remember from your childhood – memories that pop up out of nowhere. Whatever the reason, one of my favorites was those Sunday morning breakfasts where we all pitched in to make Hawaiian pancakes. It started with my parents’ friends who retired in Hawaii, Captain Carl and Twila. We called him Captain Carl because of his big … Read More...
St. Patrick’s Day Recovery Breakfast Drink
Let’s be honest. You know you’re going to need this. Who me? Over-indulge? I don’t have any plans to go out on St. Patrick’s Day. Then again, since it falls on Monday this year, is anybody really going to wait until then? I live in Chicago. Besides Ireland itself, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find any place that can get its Green on … Read More...