sunshine and the zoo

[cassidyrose]

I just got home from spending four hours plus at the zoo with S. It was a beautiful day and I so glad we spent it outside. We had a good time and he walked the whole trip today--no stroller. He somewhat surprised me by eating the raw red onions on his bean burger before he ate the burger, but he is funny like that. We rode the train and he rode the car ride a couple of times and he was very happy with it all. We saw one of my sister's friends and former co-workers there and said hello--that was nice.

ptor had a phone screen for one job earlier today and he is now on an in-person interview for another. They are both in SF which kind of sucks, but we are beyond being that picky. We are hoping something comes through and soon.

Not too much else going on here. Just hammering away at house clean-up/organization. I have containers for all my assorted flours (bread, wheat, all purpose, pastry, gluten, chickpea, light rye, dark rye and semolina) and I am finally getting all my baking supplies duly sorted. I am on day seven of the great sourdough starter experiment and it is, well, festery, which seems appropriate. I am unreasonably excited about it.

I made chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon the other night and we really liked them. They are being added to the list of things to make and freeze for lunches and dinners. I am also quite pleased with their recipe for black bean burgers. I also finally figured out how to modify their lemon-roasted potatoes recipe so that the damned potatoes would could and crisp. I parboiled them then broiled the fuckers. That did the trick. So, so good.

We have starts to put in the garden but we need to break up the ground first. Lots to do in the yard.

Now I need to figure out dinner for tonight. I am feeling less than enthusiastic. But I have asparagus AND artichokes, so life is good.

Comments

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

Here are books I love to read and use periodically along with my reasons for not-as-frequent usage:

--Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (http://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Cooking-Everyone-Deborah-Madison/dp/0767927478/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238719692&sr=1-1) by Deboarh Madison of Green's . This is a great book. I love reading Deborah Madison's books. Some of the dishes I had made from this book are outstanding and some are just OK. This is a HUGE book and is a good resource. However, sometimes Madison's recipes are a touch overcomplicated for me (and I love to cook) and the time involved to prepare them is daunting. Some of the ingredient lists are really long and there are multiple stages of prep, such as making several separate sauces and such, which results in frustration for me and I imagine others, especially when I have experienced "eh" results more than once. I have also found that Madison's recipes in terms of timing and proportion to not be the more reliable. She goes heavy on the dairy as well, so I have to substitute and it is not always the ideal for me. BUT, this book has the best buttermilk pancake recipe I have ever had.

--The Savory Way (http://www.amazon.com/Savory-Way-Deborah-Madison/dp/0767901665/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238720438&sr=1-1) by Deborah Madison. See comments above about her other book. Some gems in here and I enjoy reading it, but I have had to modify the gems to get them to work. A lot of egg and cheese dishes that are mostly useless to me, though.

--American Whole-Food Cookbook (http://www.amazon.com/Goldbecks-American-Whole-food-Cookbook-Goldbeck/dp/0452260264/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238720764&sr=1-1) by Niki and Dave Goldbeck. This is an oldie but a goodie. It is serious old-school vegetarian cuisine and was my first vegetarian cookbook, given to me by my mother (it was hers). There are some absolutely delicious dishes in here, but many rely heavily on dairy and I just don't that much dairy anymore (S. and Peter do, but it is added to their meals--the stuff I cook for dinners typically doesn't have dairy as a focal point). The split-pea soup recipe in here is perfection and there are many other hits, including the quiche recipes. I still use it and enjoy it, but it is not in heavy rotation due to its smallish selection of vegan recipes. Oh, I always make enchilada sauce from a recipe in here and it's great.

--The New Vegetarian Epicure (http://www.amazon.com/New-Vegetarian-Epicure-Menus-recipes/dp/0679765883/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top) by Anna Thomas. Love reading this book. There are some true gems in here as well (garlic-cumin rice and potato leek soup come to mind). However, some of the recipes are a touch overcomplicated for day-to-day use which is why it is not in super-heavy rotation here. I also need to try more recipes from it before I can give it a final verdict. Oh, I dislike how the book is organized (seasons and meals, rather than my type of dish)--it just doesn't work for me.

Hope that helps!