eating: cooking in

Eating out is expensive.  And not super-healthy, although we tend to skip fast food and those sorts of meals for things like tofu subs or paella.  But in the end, we need to cook in and and eat in much more than we currently do.  The beau was the first one to say that out loud, but I'd been thinking it myself.  And so I've been trying to pull new recipes into my repertoire.  You know - the kind of things that become second nature to you and can be thrown together relatively quickly on a week day.  And is filling enough that you don't feel badly that you've just fed your boyfriend a salad or a bowl of soup or cold cereal.

Vegan Yum Yum:  Creamy Sweet Potato Bake from the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook.  Whole wheat pasta, cubes of sweet potato, and chopped kale, all baked up in a yummy alfredo sauce.  Definite comfort food.

Vegan Cooking for One:  Creamy Pasta with Mushrooms and Walnuts.  Okay, I used wild (not button) mushrooms and pecans, but the concept was the same as the cookbook - sauteed nuts, mushrooms, onions, and garlic in a white sauce made of cornstarch and almond milk.  Over whole wheat spaghetti.  Quick and easy and adaptable to whatever veggies reside in the fridge.

The Vegan Table:  Tofu Filet with Cornmeal Crust and Tartar Sauce.  This got mixed reviews from our panel of judges.  We were less than impressed with the cornmeal crust; the beau suggested panko breading next time.  Definitely need to perfect this because I've not done breaded tofu before and it seems like a pretty versatile skill to have in my cooking armory.  The tartar sauce was pretty good (Vegenaise, chopped pickles and capers, parsley) but the cocktail sauce was even better.  Served with 'roasted' (aka almost burnt) broccoli florets and a slice of sourdough toast.

More cooking to come...and more successes (and failures) to share.