Week 1 meals

Just thought I would talk about the meals I have made this week and how they're turning out.

First up, bean tacos. So easy, insanely so. Refried beans mixed with a bit of water and heated. Taco shells, and salad. I had some tortillas that I heated as well so we could have both hard and soft. As it turned out, the tacos were barely touched. Apparently we like the burrito style here. They were so good. I needed cheese on mine though, so not a vegan meal. Kid approved!

Cauliflower potato and chickpea curry. This one was just okay, nothing special, but very vegan. Just a simple curry that I served with rice. I wouldn't bother again, I've made other better vegan curries in the past.

Fattoush salad. This was ahhhmayyyzing. Vegan? Check! Easy? Check! Delicious? Check! Fattoush salad has such a zing to it because you sit it in a lemony sumac dressing for 30 minutes before serving which gives it a real zest. The crunchy toasted pita croutons add a nice contrast. I served this with more toasted pitas and homemade hommus on the side. The homemade hommus was just the best thing I have ever tasted. I'll never buy it again. So simple to whip up, too.

Thai green vegetable curry. Pre vegetarian days I had always loved a chicken thai green curry with capsicum and snow peas. I cheat with one of those supermarket packet sauces, so I did the same, just leaving out the meat and adding a few more green veggies. I also use coconut cream rather than coconut milk for extra creaminess. Sadly, this was average. Again served with rice and vegan, but it just lacked oomph. I think it had too much cream, not enough curry kick and was a little bland. It could easily be improved with some fiddling about though.

Vegie burgers. Oh man these were the best thing! I finally found a recipe that firstly held together well - so many other vego burger recipes crumble and fall apart before cooking. These held fast and strong. They'd stand up to the BBQ even. Secondly, they cooked up well. They crisped, they held color and they looked like real burgers. Impressive!!! And taste? oh man. These were sooo good. Not vegan, they had both cheddar and feta cheese through them, but that really made them. Divine. Will make again I'm sure. Kid semi-approved (not a feta fan)!

Vegetarian lasagna. I was so skeptical of this before making it. I thought firstly, no way is this amount of vegetables going to be enough to make a decent lasagna. Then i thought hmm, marscapone cheese, I dunno about that... But, once I assembled it, it looked pretty bloody good! And it tasted divine. Garlicky, cream cheesey, pasta and veg. It'd be good with any pasta, wouldn't have to be lasagne I reckon.

Green pea and chickpea salad. This one is a regular at our place. Vegan and tasty as hell it's very simple. Green beans cooked and blanched, mixed with chickpeas and a sesame/sake sauce. I use sherry in place of sake which works fine. I love the taste of sesame and the sauce is lick your plate good. For realz. Kid approved!

So a mixed week, but lots of new successes which is always a good thing. Next week stay tuned to hear about these babies -

Chickpea, marinated vegetable and feta salad
Leek, potato and feta puff pastry pizzas
Gratin dauphinoise w wild mushys and salad (vegan)
Chilli sans carne   (vegan)
Asparagus, broccoli and cheese pasta
Vegetable and peanut salad   (vegan)
Spiced onion naan with lentil salad   (vegan)

Omnomnom!