Speedy raw foodie

One day in my office, I was joking with my assistant about an idea I thought was particularly brilliant. To reinforce the point and highlight my perception of my own genius, and in a complete mish-mosh of grammar, I uttered the phrase "to excellent my awesomeness".

It makes no sense, and is really quite cocky and self-centred - however, in this particular blog entry it applies....

I always joke that being a vegetarian requires a bit more creativity than meat-eating, because a head of broccoli doesn't just jump out at you as a dinner the way a chicken breast does or a steak. You usually have to work at "something" to make it into dinner.

Except yesterday!!!

I turned a pot on, added 1 1/2 cups of water, salted the water and brought it to a boil. Added one cup of whole wheat couscous, and stared at the crown of broccoli I bought. And it actually inspired me to make it into dinner!!! I took a sharp paring knife, and sliced off the florets into little bite sized bunches, and dropped them into the pot. By the time I was done this (20 seconds?) the couscous had absorbed the water, and was nicely steaming the broccoli - just barely, and enough to turn it a brilliant emerald green!

I minced a clove of garlic, handed Bill the microplane to zest and juice the lemon and melted 1 tbsp of coconut oil in the microwave. We tossed everything together, sliced some beautiful Essex County cherry tomatoes into the bowls and ate!

It literally took about 2 minutes to prep and was absolutely delicious! Because the broccoli wasn't "cooked" it had a beautiful crunch, tasted great with the lemon-garlic-coconut, and was a nice colour contrast with the bright red tomato.

I know Alicia's kids would love this - as would the little broccoli-loving 2 year olds, Avery and Abby - as would my friend Renee (who could not look any more gorgeous at 6 months pregnant), as would my hopefully newest mom friend Carolyn - who will have absolutely NO time for long recipies for the next 3 months.

It doesn't even need an ingredient list! It's just a title!!!! Lemon Garlic Broccoli Couscous with Coconut Oil and Cherry Tomatoes

This recipie was a total success in every field - taste, cost, speed and nutrition.

And I mention it on the blog just to excellent my awesomeness

;)

The Pesto Taste Test

I love "payday". Some people probably splurge on shoes, or clothes, or electronics on the days they get paid, but I splurge on food:) (if you read regularly, you are not surprised by this...)

So yesterday I bought five versions of our favourite prepared pesto. Tradizionale, Medeterraneo, Azteca, Provenzale and Thai. We got a prepared pizza crust and some vegan mozzarella, and divided the pizza into five sections - each with a different pesto.

(p.s. the taste test was Harrison's idea, as he didn't realize there were FIVE versions of the prepared pesto that I usually get when I need a "fast food" night. He loves the flavours and would put pesto on everything...)

(p.p.s. yes, Pesto is my version of "fast food")

We baked them off on my new pizza stone and all three of us tested each one.

While I love my own pesto because I can eliminate the cheese and add lemon and dijon, I can live with the quick versions in a pinch.

Try a taste test with your kids - it is a great excuse to have them think about what they like, how slightly similar tastes can evoke a preference, and how to read an ingredient label. We have actually done this a lot at our house - with everything from soup to oatmeal.

The verdict?

Bill loved the azteca version, with jalapenos, parsley and smoked paprika.

Harrison - ever the classicist - loved the traditional version.

Me? Hands down, the Thai version was incredible - with peanuts, thai basil and chiles.

Classic Vegan Pesto:
Fresh bunch of Basil Leaves (no need to discard the stems, since they are being blended into a puree)
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
Zest of 1 organic lemon
Juice of the same lemon (strain out the pits)
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts

Toss the ingredients into a magic bullet or blender and puree until smooth.

It will take longer to write this...

than it did to make dinner. Tonight, Harrison wanted to buy a box of prepared "Indian Butter Chicken". He did put forth an excuse for why he should be "allowed" to eat chicken ("their brain activity is already over because they're dead") and I didn't want to fight him, so I agreed. He's trying to heat it up right now, and I'm making him read the instructions - secretly racing the blog writing.

I bought a prepared jar of butter chicken sauce (there are vegan versions available)(he just got the box open) and dumped a can of chickpeas, which you should thoroughly rinse under running water to avoid digestion issues, a cut up "Gardein breast" (which tastes just like chicken, especially with a strong sauce), and some frozen cauliflower florets in a pot. (he has the box open and hit the 5 minute button on the microwave). As it was simmering on low - medium heat, I peeled a potato and cubed it, added it to the pot and added about 1/4 cup of water.

The mixture simmered for about a 25 minutes, but I was out of the kitchen in less time than it took for Harrison's "meal" to thaw.

Fast Forward a half hour - even though Harrison's meal was "ready" in 5 minutes, it had about eight tiny pieces of chicken and some white basmati rice - what I consider to be virtually no nutrition at all.

My indian stew was hearty, with soft cubes of potatoes, sturdy chickpeas, and chicken-y pieces of vegetable protein. It had lots of fibre, lots of flavour, had no fat at all, and no cholesterol.

When asked which he preferred, Harrison said that my sauce was a bit too thin, so if I could make it thicker, mine was better.

That was a five minute experiment worth trying.