i have a serious brain disease. please bring me a cat.
Now I know I’ve made Polenta with Lemony Asparagus and Chickpeas before, but I guess I didn’t blog about it. It’s an awesome Spring dish. I used the stove top method for the polenta, used a little oil to fry up the onions and roasted the asparagus rather than steaming it. Polenta isn’t as hard as people make it out to be. It’s pretty forgiving.
I realize I’m the last vegan in the world to try the Chickpea Cutlets in Veganomicon. But I’m a Chickpea Cutlet virgin no more. From all the hype on the intarwebs, I sort of expected nothing short of a multiple orgasm upon tasting these things. Eh, not so much. I mean, they’re good. And I’ll make them again. They’re similar in texture to these Ultimate Veggie Burgers which I like to keep around in the freezer. The mustard sauce did take the cutlets up a notch, that’s for sure. So I’d make that too if you planning on eating as a cutlet rather than on a bun.
Wow, the Puréed Spicy Sweet Potato & Peanut Stew with Chickpeas from Dreen Burton’s Eat, Drink & Be Vegan is so tasty! Sweet, spicy and just a hint of peanut to it. The chickpeas I used were some dark colored dried ones I picked up at the Indian grocery. When cooked up they seem to hold their shape really well without being hard at all. Kind of lentil-like that way. The recipe makes a ton, so I froze a bucket and have still been eating off of it this week. I love it when healthy tastes great! Also, if you’re watching pennies, this is pretty cheap to make.
I totally forgot to take a picture of this on a plate, so you’ll just have to live with it in a plastic bucket ready to go off to work. On the left is the Israeli Couscous with Pistachios and Apricots from Veganomicon. I’d never made the giant Israeli couscous before. It’s definitely more toothsome. And the flavor of this was wonderful. The Lemony Chickpeas came from this recipe but I probably used about half the olive oil. Also, the chickpeas I used were from a batch I had slowcooked and were extra soft. They ended up basically breaking down in this dish. Not very attractive visually, but they ate up just fine. Also I tossed in about a cup of frozen spinach to green it up a little. I think the flavors were even more intense after it sat overnight. Yummy!
Oh, and completely unrelated but while watching the news I saw why John McCain is done. Or heard I should say. His theme music in Iowa is Europe’s The Final Countdown. ‘Nuff said.