Stewed Tofu and Miso Gravy & Roasted Chickpeas

I'm back from Orlando and it was a fantastic conference. Everyone was very enthusiastic and the weather was gorgeous. I had a couple folks from the American Cancer Society speak about cancer prevention and ways we can help in the community. I was so impressed with our hosts at the University of Central Florida. They helped me get everything on track and keep it on track. I'm so appreciative!

Onto the food...

Yes, you've seen this picture before! We made Stewed Tofu and Miso Gravy again from the VwaV cookbook and I forgot to take a picture, so I used one from an old post. It looks the same anyway, so that works. We did a couple different things this time, like using mini portabello mushrooms instead of cremini and used a russet potato instead of the mini fingerlings. Ryan liked it better than last time while I thought it was extremely similar to last time.

I'm still surprised at how tasty this dish is. I never thought I'd like tofu that wasn't crisped up, but I was wrong!

Something I've been meaning to try for awhile, but hadn't gotten around to it is Cheezy Roasted Chickpeas from the Vegan Lunchbox cookbook. I think I cooked them a bit too long (I was very concerned they'd be too chewy instead of crunchy). These were a great snack right out of the oven.

We also brought some to lunch the next day, but they were too soggy for me. Ryan thought they were fine and would bring them again. I'm going to stick to "fresh from the oven" from now on.

We made vegan brownies awhile ago and I just came across the picture which reminded me to make them again. I'm thinking they were Dreena's and boy were they good! Seriously, brownies in general rock. Yum!

Walleye with Pecan Fried Rice & Pumpkin Trifle

I figure I'll do one more post before I head off to Orlando for the weekend. I wish I was going for vacation, but it's for my volunteer job. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but I sit on the Board of Directors for a national not-for-profit service organization. I am the Program Director and in charge of planning and running leadership conferences throughout the United States. It's fun, but it's also a lot of work. It's rewarding to meet the college students and alumni who are making an impact out in the world and help them develop their leadership skills. It's also a great forum to share ideas of service work that can be done from city to city. This has been the best conference I've planned so far and it helps that the University of Central Florida has wonderful customer service!

Enough talk; onto the eating!

Ryan and I made some breaded walleye with Pecan Fried Rice (from Vive le Vegan) and some Honey Almond Whole Wheat bread.

Everything was awesome! We breaded the walleye with panko and baked it, so it wasn't greasy. The bread was hearty with a touch of sweetness. The fried rice rocked. It was so nutty and tasty. It went perfectly with the walleye. Next time I make the rice, I'll decrease the oil as it was a bit oily.



I went a little crazy buying canned pumpkin last year, so we have like 4 cans in our cupboard. I guess I thought I'd have it on hand in case I was called on to make a pumpkin pie. Yeah, no one called. So, I used it to make this pumpkin trifle. It's a gingerbread cake layered with whipped cream and a pumpkin pie mixture. It was a great dessert and would probably be better served during the holiday season, but on well.

If anyone has a great use for my excess canned pumpkin, please let me know!

Roasted Poblano and Butternut Squash Soup

Happy St. Patrick's Day all! We celebrated by taking my nephew to the Children's Museum in the morning and then waiting in the neverending line at Cossetta's for pizza. Since we were in St. Paul for the day, we got to see many interesting costumes and it was very cute when Antonio (who is 3 1/2) would ask if it was their real hair every time he saw a big green fluffy wig.

Speaking of green things, I thought it would be a long time until I roasted a poblano pepper again after roasting 60 of them for our work cooking class. Luckily, I only needed to roast one and it was very simple to handle. I pureed that along with some cooked butternut squash to make this soup.

The soup had the right amount of spice and I garnished it with leeks since we were out of green onions. Perfect for crunch!

Roasted Mushrooms & Soba Noodles

I'm so glad Ryan was able to step up in his blogging duties and take over the other day. He helps a lot in the kitchen, but all of his computer time is either spent studying or working, so blogging is the last thing on his mind.

At the recent Food & Wine Show, I had a chance to pick up a signed copy of Melissa Clark's recent book, The Skinny: How to Fit into Your Little Black Dress Forever. I saw her in Food & Wine magazine and have made a couple of her recipes - Guinness Glazed Halibut and Carrots AND Buckwheat Salad with Parsley Oil. Her style of eating is to keep it simple and loaded with veggies. The main piece of advice she gives is to eat 7-9 servings of fruits and you'll find yourself feeling full enough to not snack on other unnecessary items.

I haven't made it entirely through the book, but of course I skipped right to the recipes section and started cooking. Roasted Mushrooms and Soba Noodles are almost brainless to make and it is so good! We used 1 1/2 large portobello mushrooms and buckwheat soba noodles. It was dressed simply with green onions, sesame oil and sesame seeds. YUM!

I forgot to take a picture while it was on the plate, so don't mind the plastic container in the picture below :)

Three-Bean Tomato Curry Soup

Hello again Blogger world from Ryan! I have been absent from posting, but not from eating and cooking. Crystal has been masterminding the recipe selection as usual and had recently picked out Roasted Tomato Bean Stew from Vive le Vegan, which my mom recently made. You may notice the post title is different from the recipe chosen...hmmm what happened?

I had just finished working on some schoolwork and was totally in the mood to make dinner. I gave Crystal the night off from cooking. She mentioned from the living room that the recipe was on the counter along with some of the ingredients.

I looked at the open cookbook, glanced at some of the ingredients Crystal had taken out, and began to make the Three-Bean Curry Tomato Soup on the opposing page. Nice one! I thought it was slightly odd that Crystal took out a couple of differing ingredients than what the recipe called for. Crystal also found it slightly odd that I asked where the cardamom and curry paste were currently being kept. Neither of us had lights going off in our head indicating trouble, so the cook progressed.

This curry soup had celery, onion, carrot, mustard seed, curry paste, ginger, fennel, cardamom, cinnamon, tomatoes, chickpeas, adzuki beans, red lentils, veggie stock, and a little honey.

Anyways, I guess we had the ingredients for both. I really enjoyed this soup and it did not have an overpowering curry taste. Needless to say, in the future, look for a post on Roasted Tomato Bean Stew...;)