A Note about the Recipes

After redesigning the blog and reading older posts, I have to admit that the ones that talk about recipes are boring.

I had good intentions when I started this blog. I wanted to write more. I wanted to write about important, life-changing events. I wanted to catalog my thirty-day experiments and take notes. I wanted to motivate others to make changes in their lives, too.

Unfortunately, I’ve never been a very good cheerleader. (My career ended in sixth grade.) I am excited about all the new veggie recipes I’ve been making, but I can’t get inspired enough to write about them without yawning. So, farewell to the freelindy cooking school. If I come across something really fabulous, I’ll put a nice little link at the bottom of a post. Otherwise, I think I’ll focus on the other things that inspire me, like dead writers and empty beaches!

p.s. The stuffed zucchini recipe was really gross. Go for the curried chick peas and dahl instead.

Adventures in Vegicipes (a.k.a. vegetarian recipes)

I think there is a direct correlation between how much I post and how much I cook. That’s odd, because up until a year ago, the only cooking I did involved a package of Kraft mac-n-cheese or a frozen entree. There is also a strange relationship between the amount of prepared food in the fridge and how clean the house is. The house is usually cleaner if I’ve cooked and written a blog post…

Anyway, today I experimented with tofu. (Please, refrain from jumping up and down while reading. I know, I know, you’re ecstatic!) My first experience with the soy curd was about ten years ago. I wasn’t a fan then, but I’m going to try a little harder this time around. I purchased two packages of the refrigerated, firm organic sort of tofu. (It was surprisingly inexpensive!) I did have to ask a someone where the tofu could be found. It was in the refrigerated organic section right next to the portabello mushrooms. One package was labeled “spicy” the other “plain.” I opted to go with the spicy.

I drained it, and let it marinate in some olive oil and a bit of balsamic vinegar for a while. I haven’t yet found a site that’s really dedicated to giving a step-by-step tutorial in the basics of tofu. I will post the link when I find one! After it had marinated for thirty minutes or so, I fried it, and served it in a sun-dried tomato wrap with fresh beefsteak tomatoes, lettuce and a cream-cheese-dill spread. I’ve come to believe that fresh dill absolutely does not agree with my stomach. We’ll leave it at that.

The tofu itself wouldn’t win any prizes at the state fair for tastiest meat-like substance. On the whole, it wasn’t too bad. When I eat the leftovers, I will forgo the dill spread. I might also serve the rest with the curried chick peas & dahl that’s been simmering on the stove tonight. I plan to serve it over basmati rice, with a stuffed zucchini. The curry is really fabulous and fairly easy to make (the hardest part was figuring out what dahl was!) Here’s a link to the wiki about dahl. I used a bag of plain lentils. I’m still not quite certain if that’s what I was supposed to use, but it turned out nicely!

Tomorrow I have big plans for vegetarian picnic caviar from the Vegetarian Times magazine. I’ll also post on how all the dishes from tonight went over with the family. D finally has a day off, and we get to have our first full-family veggie meal!

Until then, happy eating!