Thai/Indonesian Cooking Class: Indonesian Stew, Indonesian Tempeh and Vegetables (and Cashew Chip Meltaway cookies)

It's hard to believe that another six-week session of cooking classes is over. I always have a special surprise for my students as we start the last class, and today was no exception in their enjoying it (I can't reveal it here!).

Tonight's menu was inspired by Thai and Indonesian cuisines. The Indonesian Stew always comes out great, made with a homemade curry paste, vegetables, and pasta (or thin rice noodles). Indonesian Tempeh and Vegetables is also always tasty with sauteed tempeh in (reduced fat, organic) coconut milk. Tomato (with Ume plum vinegar) and cucumber salads are always refreshing, and Thai Jasmine rice provides a good base for the meal. We had ground cashew - wheat germ - whole wheat - brown rice syrup - based cookies with vegan chocolate chips - very good!

This is going to be my last homemade meal till Sunday or Monday. I'm flying out tomorrow morning to photograph an engagement session out-of-state and returning in time to attend the Triangle Jewish Film Festival on Sunday; I'm guessing that we'll eat out in between films. By the way, Full Frame, the country's largest documentary film festival, begins next Thursday, with films from 10a till past midnight; I'm reasonably sure that I won't be cooking then.

Vegan Chipotle Sausage with Asparagus and Crookneck Squash, Buttercream Potatoes

We had tried spicy Mexican Chipotle sausage by the Field Roast Grain Meat Company some time ago and found it too spicy, but decided to try it again. I'm glad that we did; we liked it in a simple saute that I made with asparagus and yellow crookneck squash.

I started with quartering the sausage on-end, then cut it into sixths lengthwise. I let it start sauteeing for perhaps 4-5 minutes, then added the asparagus, which I had cut into fourths or fifths, and half of a large squash, cut into long chunks. I let it cook for another 3-4 minutes till the squash and asparagus was slightly browned, then served.

I found Buttercream potatoes in the store on Monday. The claim is that they are tastier than other fingerling potatoes, and can be boiled, steamed or baked. I decided to saute these potatoes today, quartered, and added thick strips of a shallot and fresh rosemary needles after 10 minutes or so, when the potatoes were browning. I served a few minutes later, after adding a little salt; the potatoes were good, and I look forward to trying them baked.

Baby Artichokes on Rice Noodles, Corn-off-the-Cob, Leftover Greek Dishes

I had about ten baby artichokes to use, and was looking forward to sauteeing, steaming, or cooking them in vegan broth. I chose the latter, similarly to what I did in June 2006:

I started [a cup of] ... vegetable broth going (it's easy to make broth, but I usually start with a Rapunzel brand organic bouillon cube) and added [about half of an onion, diced into 1/4" or slightly larger cubes] ... and fresh herbs [rosemary - maybe 2 tablespoons of needles] from my garden. I prepared the baby artichokes as I did last time, by pulling off the outer leaves till I got to tighter and lighter colored ones, then I cut the top third or so off as well as the bottom, and quartered the heart. I put the quarters immediately into a bowl with a little lime juice to slow down browning [this time I just dabbed lime juice on the cut edges]. When the quarters were all ready, I put them into the simmering broth, cut side down (though I later thought maybe the thicker side needing more cooking may better be cooked face down - maybe I'll try that next time) [it wasn't an issue this time, as the quarters were mostly immersed in the liquid]. There was enough broth in my pan to not quite cover the hearts. I reduced the heat and simmered, covered, for about 20 minutes till the hearts were tender.

I mixed in a little salt and served the artichokes over rice noodles that I had quickly cooked in boiling water. I sprinkled a little paprika on top and served the broth to my wife, who enjoys drinking these nutritious liquids.

I had leftover Greek salad, hummus, and baba ganouj from last Thursday's class, and served that, along with a local company's (The Accidental Baker) roasted garlic flatbread. I also roasted three ears of corn over my gas range's flame, stripped the kernels, and served them, mixed with fresh lime juice, Earth Balance margarine, and salt (a standard of ours).

Vegetable Masala Burger, Curried Broccoli, Poha

I was again tight on time today; I interviewed a bright high school student applying to my alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, at a nearby bookstore. After we were done, I couldn't resist browsing some photography books, and it was after 9p by the time I got home. My wife has a Sanskrit class on Mondays, and I wanted to have dinner ready as close to 10p when she'd return - already a late dinner.

When I came home, I found that my wife had whipped together a poha flattened rice snack to tide her over; there was enough left to make a nice side dish and dictate an Indian meal.

A week and a half ago, I tried Trader Joe's Vegetable Masala Burger and really liked it. I was fairly sure that my wife would also like it (I was proven correct - I think she liked it even more than I do!), and knew it would be fast. I quickly cooked the burgers in a little bit of oil and served it on some seeded grain bread, lightly toasted, with ketchup, lettuce, and a thin slice of raw onion.

I also briefly sauteed broccoli. As it just barely started having light brown spots, I added 1/4 teaspoon or so of cumin seeds (and a little bit of jalapeno pepper?), and let them just brown over about half a minute or so, then I added about a quarter cup of water and a few pinches of turmeric and salt. I let it simmer for 3-5 minutes till the water was absorbed.

Red Chili Tamale (prepared), Potatoes with Peppers

We were busy much of the day removing items from an attic in preparation for some home renovations. Before we knew it, it was after 9p and we were also low on groceries. My wife headed out to get some fresh items for the morning, while I prepared dinner with what I had.

There is a new company, 3 Hot Tamales, run by two vegetarian sisters and their Mom, that sells tamales packaged in threes and frozen. I had a box of their Burger Style Red Chili tamales, and prepared them just by steaming them in my vegetable steamer for about 22-25 minutes. (Only one is shown on the plate, but we split the third tamale and finished that up, too!) Of course, tamales are eaten after removing the corn husk; it was quite tasty! I look forward to trying their other vegan flavor, Black Bean and Chipotle Pepper (I often avoid beans as they sometimes upset my stomach, but I'll take a chance!).

I also sauteed a russet potato, cut into large 3/4" or so chunks. After giving it 10 minutes or so to start to brown, I added half a red onion, diced into maybe 1/4" pieces. I was waiting for my wife with bell peppers, and finally a few minutes later ended up adding about 1/4 of a jalapeno pepper, cut into thin slices. She then made it home, and I quickly added about 1/5 of a red bell pepper, cut into small, thick slices, and just let it cook for three final minutes or so. Easter dinner was good!

Yesterday, we had a very nice vegetarian society potluck dinner at the home of a member who offers vegan cooking classes in her home. She always makes great desserts for her potlucks! Everything was vegan and everything was good - though there was perhaps not enough main courses and a lot of very good desserts (perhaps 4 cakes, some cupcakes, and a pie or two, as I recall). I made a tasty dish by sauteeing seitan, Brussels sprouts, and onion, adding rosemary for the last few minutes, then mixing it in with mixed brown and wild rice.

We ended up going out to eat on Friday. When I woke up, I heard that former President Clinton would be speaking in our area; my wife and I went - check out the pictures that I took. By the time we left the venue, it was only an hour or so before the weekly film that that state art museum shows, so we stopped at Udupi South Indian vegetarian restaurant and had a quick meal of dosas (filled crepes) and pakoras.

Greek Cooking Class: Spanakopita, Greek Salad, Baba Ganouj, Hummus, Couscous (and Chocolate Baklava)

It's hard to believe that my 6-week cooking class is almost over! In tonight's penultimate session, we made Greek and Mediterranean dishes. One team made tasty spanakopita with fresh spinach, a flavored pesto tofu, Sunergia Soyfoods' organic vegan "feta cheese", onions, spices, and filo dough - it was flaky and quite good. The other team made chocolate baklava (not shown here) - very nice!

One team made very good "green hummus" (by mixing in parsley to the tahini, chickpeas, garlic, etc.) and the other roasted an eggplant to make baba ganouj. We had couscous and a delicious Greek salad with cabbage, olives (oil-cured and a Greek mix of mainly Kalamata), bell peppers, and other vegetables, plus lime juice and olive oil.

Tempeh Cubes with Baby Bok Choy and Red Mustard Greens, Leftover Spaghetti Squash with Vegan Sausage and Pesto

I had some baby bok choy and red mustard greens (maybe 3 leaves) to use up. I cut half a container of tempeh into large maybe 1/2" cubes (I normally cut tempeh thin to make it nice and crispy when sauteed, but wanted today to have a chunkier texture with softer taste) and started sauteeing for about 4-5 minutes till it started turning brown, then I added a little bit, maybe 1/5, of an onion chopped into large 1/2" cubes. I let it cook for another few minutes.

I cut leaves of a baby bok choy into halves and hand stripped leaves from the stems of three or four leaves of red mustard greens. I coarsely hand cut the mustard greens into roughly 2-inch squares. As the tempeh got medium brown, I added the baby bok choy and mustard. I let the greens cook down for about two minutes, then added a tablespoon or so of soy sauce and half a teaspoon or so of dried tarragon. It was good and was a filling dinner, combined with Saturday's leftover Spaghetti Squash with Vegan Sausage and Pesto.

Sauteed Artichoke Hearts over Red Pepper Tapenade Tortilla, Indian Style Edamame, Garlic and Herb Creamy "Sheese" on English Muffin

As I described last October (and a number of other times starting in May 2006), I enjoy sauteeing baby artichokes; unlike a fully grown one, most of the baby artichoke is edible. As described before, I prepared about ten artichokes, quartering them after removing the base and tops and outer leaves and dabbing lemon on the cut edges.

I then started sauteeing a little bit, maybe 1/5, of an onion cut into small, thin strips maybe 1/4" x 3/4". Just a minute or so later, I added the quartered baby artichokes. I let it saute, stirring occasionally, for about 7-9 minutes, letting the artichokes soften and brown a bit. I then added maybe 2 teaspoons of rosemary and 1/4 teaspoon of oregano (spring is coming to my garden and oregano is starting to return from its winter slumber!), as well as a little salt, and let it all cook for another few minutes. I cut one corn tortilla into half, spread a little Meditalia brand red pepper tapenade on top of it, and served the artichokes atop that.

I also made some edamame (soybeans) and tried preparing them in an Indian style. I get the edamame frozen and just need to put them in boiling water for less than 5 minutes. I did that, but removed them from the water after about 2 or 3 minutes so they were edible but not mushy. I drained them and started sauteeing another fifth or so of medium (maybe 1/4") chopped onion. As the onion started to become clear, I added the drained edamame and continued cooking over medium heat, stirring occasionally. About two or three minutes later, I added maybe 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds and a pinch or two of turmeric, as well as a few pinces of salt. I served the edamame a minute or so later.

I also had some Scottish garlic and herb vegan creamy "Sheese" spread - "Sheese" is the best vegan cheese that I can find. I served a toasted English muffin half with some; my wife avoids tofu, which is part of this product, so her muffin had olive oil. It was a good dinner - and about half of the baby artichokes that I purchased on Sunday are still left for perhaps a steamed presentation later this week!

Wilted Red Mustard Greens with French Fingerling Potatoes and Seitan, Apulian Whole Wheat Tarallini

At Trader Joe's yesterday, I had found a large package of baby artichokes at a great price, and was planning tonight and one other night soon to prepare them. But after I was done gardening today, my wife had limited time before her Sanskrit class, so I had to get busy and put a decent meal on the table in about a half hour.

I have rarely cooked with mustard, but picked up some organic red mustard greens yesterday. I took a handful of organic French fingerling potatoes and put them in boiling water, simmering them for about 10 minutes till they were barely cooked.

When the potatoes were cool enough to work with, I split them in half lengthwise, and also halved widthwise a few longer potatoes. I set them, cut side down, into a pan to saute in olive oil that had been heated over medium heat. A few minutes later, I added a little bit of coarsely chopped onion (perhaps a fifth of an onion; I actually wanted to use garlic, but found that I'm out of it), maintaining the potato cut-side down. A minute or so later, I added about a quarter containter of seitan, also coarsely chopped, as well as large chunks of a poblano pepper. I stirred periodically, not flipping the potatoes, for a minute or two; once I saw that the potato bottoms were lightly browning, I flipped them and cooked for another 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, with my hands, I stripped off the ribs of three leaves of mustard, washed and air dried the leaves, then ripped each leaf roughly into thirds. When the sauteeing step above was done, I added the leaves and a few pinches of salt, then loosely covered the pan and let the greens wilt and cook down a bit just for a minute and a half or two. I added a few pinches of dill weed and mixed everything one last time, then served.

As I described this past October, Tarallini are "rounded bread sticks from the southern part of Italy including Apulia in the southeast" and are tasty to eat as part of a meal or as a pretzel-like snack. I purchased the whole wheat variety and served it with tonight's meal; again, they were quite tasty, as were the ones with fennel seeds. It was a fast but good meal.

Lemon Hummus and Sprouts Sandwich, Sicilian Caponata, Corn-off-the-Cob

Tonight's was a fairly simple but remarkably fast dinner. I worked in the garden till right around sunset. We were low on many groceries, so went out to shop. It was getting late and my wife was hungry, so I needed to get dinner on the table fast - I did so in about a half hour!

At Trader Joe's tonight, I picked up some Sicilian Caponata and was able to simply serve it out of the bottle with no additional preparation. (Caponata is an eggplant-based appetizer; it sometimes contains anchovies, but this one was vegan.) I roasted some corn over the open flame of my gas range, stripped the kernels, and mixed in Earth Balance margarine, fresh lime juice, salt, and red chili powder. I also lightly toasted some whole wheat sour dough bread and served it with (purchased) lemon hummus and home-grown mung bean sprouts. Along with the heirloom tomato slices, radish, and lettuces, it was a simple but tasty and filling meal!

Spaghetti Squash with Vegan Sausage and Pesto, Chard with Summer Squash and Broccoli

I had an interest in cooking a spaghetti squash and also wanted to use up some chard. I patterned the two dishes against similar dishes that I had prepared before.

I made the spaghetti squash similarly to how I had it made last February, but I sauteed a Field Roast Grain Meat Company apple-sage artisanal vegan sausage, sliced into thin pieces along with a little bit (less than a fifth) of a yellow onion, coarsely chopped. I let it cook till the sausage was browned, then added a dozen or so pine nuts, and cooked just a minute or so till the nuts barely started browning. I removed from the heat and mixed in a little over two teaspoons of homemade pesto sauce (using up all that I had left - I'll have to buy some vegan pesto soon).

Once the spaghetti squash was done, I mixed the sausage-onion-pesto into it and served. For the chard, I made something similar to the rainbow chard that I had made in June 2006, but I used crookneck squash and broccoli near the end, instead of the bell pepper that I had used before.

By the way, after dinner my wife and I screened three more films that will be shown at Full Frame - Lakshmi and Me about a filmmaker in India who documents the life of her maid;
Daughters of Wisdom, a peek into the lives of nuns at a Tibetan monastery; and Holding Fast, a short visual essay about a Tibetan refugee camp in Darjeeling, India. I can't wait for the Festival!

12-inch-12-am Carrot with Trader Joe's Vegetable Masala Burger and Potatoes O'Brien

It was a late dinner tonight; it's a long but interesting story that I will share below. I ended up eating around midnight and wanted to put something together quickly. My wife had eaten on her own, so I was just cooking for myself.

I recently purchased from Trader Joe's a non-soy Vegetable Masala Burger that includes vegetables and Indian spices. I was looking forward to trying this and still need to make it for my wife to try. I simply heated each side for about 4-5 minutes on low-medium heat with a little bit of oil. I served it on a toasted English Muffin. I also cooked for about 10 minutes some prepared frozen Potatoes O'Brien. And I served this all with perhaps the largest carrot I've ever seen, measuring over twelve inches! The burger was reasonably good. When I serve it for my wife, I'll try to add something other than just ketchup and tomato to make it a bit more interesting.

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Earlier, I was a math and computer science judge in the annual NC Student Academy of Science, which I've enjoyed serving as for a number of years now. I get to read sometimes surprisingly advanced papers by motivated middle school and high school students and hear their presentations, then make positive suggestions. For example, one paper today was about a statistical hypothesis about easily measuring a dolphin's appendage to help in predicting susceptibility to temperature disturbances, one was about a neural network created to recognize letters and shapes, and one was about encryption algorithms.

They were supposed to provide us with boxed dinners, but mine turned out not to be vegan. I had enough time to stop at home and have some soy yogurt and toast before leaving with my wife to see a very interesting 1925 documentary, Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life about the Bakhtiari tribe in modern-day Iran and their migrations (what an amazingly rugged people!).

When we came back, my wife was ready for bed but I was excited because I had today picked up nine screeners for films to be shown at the upcoming Full Frame Documentary Festival (I'm the film reviewer for Saathee, a magazine that targets the S. Asian population of the Southeast U.S.), and convinced her to stay up for two short films. (We saw Salim Baba about a 55-year old man in Kolkata who takes a portable film viewer out on a cart to entertain with, and Jay Rosenblatt's Beginning Filmmaking about his trying to teach his 4-year-old daughter how to make a film.) Hence my late dinner!

Indian Cooking Class: Green Pea Pilaf, Curried Mushrooms, Bhindi (okra), Palak Tamatar, Tomato Salad (and mango shake, chai, and chocolate tofu pie)

Time sure flies - tonight was the fourth of six classes of my cooking course. We made an Indian meal today, and several people felt that this was our best meal yet. I think my students agreed with my suggestion that (North) Indian restaurants are typically over-spiced and that they preferred their own cooking with subtle yet complex spice flavors (a number of spices used, but in small quantities and in such a way that they complement each other) over what they typically get at restaurants.

They made a rice pilaf, curried mushrooms, bhindi (okra-tomato-onion), palak-tamatar (spinach-tomato), and my grandfather's favorite spiced tomato salad with cumin and "black" salt (actually pink in color). My Mom sent some of her stuffed freshly made parathas (thin flat breads), which were very good. We had some chai made with vanilla hemp milk and (again, using hemp milk) mango shakes. We also had an American dessert that they made, a chocolate tofu pie. All enjoyed the meal!

Portabello Stack with Grilled Seitan and Squash, Andhra Veg Pulao

My annual Professional Photographers of NC convention ended mid-day today. Yesterday at the banquet, they had a good meal for me of mounded white rice and various vegetables in a red pepper sauce.

On my way home, I stopped at an Indian grocery store to get some groceries for tomorrow's cooking class. I don't usually use convenience foods, but picked up from that store Priya brand Andra Veg Pulao.

Tomorrow, we'll be making a North Indian pilaf; this one, cooked and in a foil bag, and simply needing to be put into boiling water for 5 minutes, is a medium-hot dish from the Southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Its ingredients are rice (20%), peas, rice bran oil, carrot, potato, onion, tomato, coconut, vegetable oil, gren chili, ginger, garlic, salt, cashew (we only found a half cashew!), coriander leaf, mint leaf, clove, cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamom, anistar, mace, and turmeric. I prepared it as a side dish with dinner tonight and we found that we really liked it!

For the main dish, I started sauteeing a portabello mushroom cap. A few minutes later, I put in thinly sliced seitan, a thick (maybe 1/4") slice of red onion, and a fresh rosemary stalk. Keeping in mind that I'm cooking twice these quantities (one stack for my wife, and one for me), I was running out of space in my pan so removed the mushroom a few minutes later and added a few slices of summer squash, cut into 1/4" thick slices. When the squash was browned somewhat and the seitan nicely browned and a bit crispy, I added the mushroom back in to be nice and hot, then served as a stack, piercing it with the rosemary. Yum!

Medallion Ligurian Croxetti Pasta with Pesto, served with Baby Bok Choy-Tempeh-Red Pepper Tapenade

I've been having long but very interesting days at the photo convention, ducking out today to teach a new photography workshop. We had dinner with my parents , who live around the corner, this weekend; my Mom kindly offered to prepare dinner both days. On Saturday, she had an Indian meal with rice, dhal, and okra. Yesterday, she made the best pizza that she has made in a long time - it was excellent! (When I was a young child in Ohio, we used to live in a home where a wonderful Italian woman "became" my loving grandma, and she taught my Mom to make great pizza!)

Today I got home by 6:30p; my wife had to leave by 8p for a Sanskrit class, so I got busy making dinner. I found that she had bought some baby bok choy yesterday, so made a simple saute with three baby bok choys, cut lengthwise into thirds; about 1/5 of a yellow and 1/4 of a red onion, chopped; and about half of a package of tempeh, sliced into thin rectangles. The tempeh went in for about 4-5 minutes till it was lightly brown, then I added the onion and, a few minutes later, the baby bok choy. As the baby bok choy cooked a bit, I added a little Meditalia brand red pepper tapenade and a few pinches of salt, then served.

As I did last September, I prepared some Costa dei Rosmarini brand croxetti pasta. As I described in the September blog posting, this is a disc-shaped pasta that originated "in the Middle Ages in Liguria (northwestern Italy near France) when high-class families would show off their coats of arms, even imprinting them on their pasta. The dimensionality of the imprinting helps the pasta hold light sauces reasonably well." Since my homemade pesto seems to be a recent trend, I topped the pasta with some.

Tomorrow, we have a banquet (I'll dress up in a tuxedo!) at the conference. The conference ends on Wednesday.

Kale with Eggplant, Potatoes O'Brien

Tonight, I made a fairly simple meal. I sauteed two small thin eggplants that I had cut into 1/4" slices, along with a quarter red onion and a medium shallot, both cut into thick long slices, perhaps 1/4" x 3/4". When the eggplant started turning lightly brown and the onions were lightly carmelizing, I added a half cup of water, a cube of vegan bouillon, a little salt, and kale. I had first prepared the kale by washing then cutting, stem and all, across every inch of length. I brought this to a boil then covered and simmered over low heat for 6-8 minutes. I removed the cover and cooked a few more minutes; the little water remaining (less than a quarter cup) I poured and served for my wife, who enjoys drinking these nutritious potions.

I had some organic frozen Potatoes O'Brien (cubed potatoes, bell pepper, and onion), and had them as a simple side dish, sauteeing them with a little bit of olive oil over medium-high heat in for maybe 10 minutes. I also served some salsa on dark miche bread.

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I was happy tonight to get an email from a friend, Sangeeta Kumar, who this month has started blogging on The Veg Lounge. I know her from the vegetarian world, but didn't realize that we share backgrounds in photography; I enjoyed seeing not just her lovely, beautifully presented blog, but also some of her portfolio of graphic design and photography.

Speaking of which, the next five days are going to be a challenge. I'm not an early person, but want to take advantage of an excellent annual Professional Photographers of NC convention - it will keep me busy through Wednesday with sessions starting as early as 7a.m. (!!) and events sometimes going well into the evening. And I have a brand new photography class that I have to hop out of the convention to teach on Monday afternoon. Don't have high expectations for my blog for a few days!

Mexican Cooking Class: Fajitas, Guacamole, Quinoa w/ Leeks, Cornbread, Potato Soup (and Dilip's Orangey Rice Pudding and Mango Flummery

What a tasty job my students did in tonight's cooking class! They made delicious fajitas out of seitan (wheat gluten), bell peppers, and onions, and enjoyed them with either New Mexican red chile or sprouted corn tortillas. There was excellent guacamole, good quinoa with leeks, and very good cornbread. They made delicious potato soup - one team blended their potatoes longer than the other, so I had a thick and a thin soup to pick from! Their orangey rice pudding was very tasty, as was their mango flummery made with fresh mangoes and quick-cooking tapioca.

Spinach-Tempeh-Pesto with Limed Corn

It hasn't been intentional, but pesto sauce has been in every meal since Sunday, as it was tonight! I made a dish that turned out surprisingly delicious. I sauteed about a third of a cake of tempeh, sliced into thin rectangles. As the tempeh started to brown, I added a half dozen stalks of green onion, cut into one-inch lengths. A minute or so later, I added a fresh spinach bunch after snipping off a little of the stem ends but otherwise whole. I cooked the spinach down for about 4-5 minutes, then mixed in pesto sauce. It was great!

I also made corn-off-the-cob from three ears or corn. I usually mix in Earth Balance margarine, salt, and lemon or lime juice. This time I substitute pure lime oil (just a few drops - it's strong!) for the lime/lemon juice.

Seasoned Edamame, Roasted Garlic Rustic Sourdough Bread with Pesto

We went out to see Notes on a Scandal, a film (which I didn't particularly enjoy) with Judi Dench and Kate Blanchett, in the series Sex, Love and Conflict: On the Ethics of Relationships, which included interesting discussion afterwards. It was late and I had to quickly get dinner on the table when we returned.

I simply brought to a boil some green shelled soybeans (edamame) and served it with some jerk seasoning and salt. I also took some roasted garlic rustic sourdough bread and toasted it, then topped it with homemade pesto sauce. I had dinner ready in under a half hour - and it was good!

Tempeh-Mushroom Saute, Leftover Brown Rice Pasta with Eggplant Fillets and added Pesto

We ate out both days of the weekend. Yesterday, we were enjoying hiking in good weather and ended up with some errands. It was around 8p and we still had grocery shopping to do, so at my wife's urging, we went out to eat. We went to Panzanella Restaurant in Carrboro where I so love their pesto pizza and which I always get. On Saturday, we went to see Jodhaa Akbar, about Akbar the Great who ruled India from 1556-1605 (we enjoyed the film!); enroute, we stopped at Udipi in Cary to enjoy some South Indian food (I had a spring masala dosa).

Tonight, I sauteed tempeh, mushrooms, and red onion. I served it with leftover pasta from last Wednesday, into which I mixed some homemade pesto. Dinner was good!

Leap Year Tempeh-Broccoli Stirfry, Leftover Panzanella, Bread with Pesto

I made a simple stir fry on this February 29th, and served it with leftover panzanella from yesterday, as well as an avocado half and bread with homemade pesto. The stir fry had large chunks of tempeh, red onion, red bell pepper, broccoli, and mixed mushrooms; I added a little soy sauce just before it was done.

By the way, I found a neat idea today in my blogging friend Romina's Vegan Eating for One blog. She describes pasta with chickpeas - what a neat idea! I would like to try this sometime soon. (Thanks, Romina!)