hurrah for cozy dinners at the dinner table!

when is the last time you ate at a table in your home? for paul and i, it was last night! after what seems like months! and we vow to do it way more often. but a big push to actually sit down for dinner is to make a dinner worth sitting down for (rather than a quick rice and veg that we sit on the couch with), which last night was roasted butternut squash, raw chili, ginger garlic coleslaw, edamame quinoa and kombucha (grapefruit sage is my absolute favourite!) with jodie and janna!

the butternut squash was inspired by a recipe i saw in alive magazine but as usual for me and recipes, i didn't quite follow it. what i did was bake the butternut squash and then blend it with about 2 tablespooons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of earth balance and 2 tablespoons of dijon and a palm-full of fresh sage and a pinch of sea salt and a small nub of ginger. then i baked it at 400 F for about 30 minutes and then i broiled it at a bit higher to brown a bit of the top because i hadn't added anything (like cheese, like the recipe had suggested). it was smooth like baby food and i liked having it mixed with the other dishes, like janna's yummy quinoa, for texture purposes. it was also nice for a "sweet" change from my garlic-heavy chili and slaw.
the chili is my ever-faithful matthew kenney one (his everyday raw book is worth buying just for that recipe, i swear!) and i had made a raw caesar-ish dressing earlier that day that we used like a sour cream on top (delicious! it was a blend of cashews and water and lemon juice and ACV and sage and dulse and tahini and olive oil and braggs) and the slaw was inspired heavily by ani phyo's chinese chickenless salad (page 161 of raw food essentials, another great book to have around). i did a blend of braggs and ACV and garlic and ginger and olive oil and tahini and maple syrup. paul told me today when he pulled out the leftovers that it really needed some nuts on top which i agreed and the original recipe had called for that.
having time off right now affords me the luxury to relax and take time to make food and i hope this experience influences my working days as well so that i get into the habit of coming home from work and sitting down at the table for dinner after making more inspiring meals with paul. ^_^

happy thanksgiving!

yesterday, after collecting walnuts in my parents' backyard, we sat down for yummy veggie-heavy dinner with the family.
i made matthew kenney's recipe for raw chili (a sure-fire hit, regardless of traditional "thanksgiving" tastes, that didn't disappoint!) and my mom made sure to have lots of steamed veggies and mashed potatoes and she made a cream sauce using almond milk, rice flour and earth balance. yay!

picnic and a movie!

on tuesday, i went to see labyrinth for the first time (surprising, i know!) in stanley park and a bunch of us gathered for a picnic beforehand.
tony found blackberries, janna brought daiya cheese wedges (jack + jalapeno garlic havarti) with mary's crackers and a potato salad, dali brought sesame crackers and hummus, mel and mig brought zucchini brownies (babycakes-inspired), lisa brought her gluten-free brownies, phil brought gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, kip brought a $37 "whole paycheque" salad and i brought a matthew kenny "potato" salad-inspired salad.

i was craving potato salad (which made it incredibly amazing that janna made one!) and i was wanting to try another recipe from everyday raw, so i checked out page 84's "potato salad". though, in my attempt to not go grocery shopping to make sure my fridge was empty of produce before leaving the next day for a few days, i adjusted things a fair bit!

my salad is in the bottom left corner of the picnic spread ^_^

i got that massive avocado (organic!) for $2 at whole paycheque. amazing right? extra amazing is it was perfectly ripe. so i used it for this recipe!

movie picnic salad:

1 mashed big avocado
1.75 cucumbers, diced (i saved 1/4 of one for my smoothie later)
1 diced red pepper
2 sliced and halved radishes
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
a couple bunches of basil and oregano, finely sliced

mixed with a blend of:

2 tablespoons tahini
1/4 teaspoon (or more?) cumin
1 tablespoon (or more?) apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons (or more?) fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon braggs
1/4 teaspoon maple syrup
pinch sea salt
pinch chili powder

i definitely have to try matthew kenney's actual version of potato salad sometime, with jicama and green olives and celery. but this one worked for me. maybe if i did this particular version again, i would add garlic to add a bit more dimension. but really, avocado and cumin and cucumber make everything amazing!!!

everyday raw chili success!

twice in the last 5 days, i have broke into my copy of matthew kenney's everyday raw and made his raw chili. after many ani phyo delicious chilis (most recently, but also here, and here). it's been fun to find another yummy chili that is easy to make, uses "normal" ingredients and has universal appeal.

reading the reviews on amazon, there is a "not for the beginner" and a "meh" as some responses. i can slightly relate, i suppose, as some of the recipes in this book have a few too many steps, ie using (one recipe) with (other recipe) and then make ("this" recipe) for on top. i need to try more recipes from everyday raw before i can entirely disagree with the discouraging reviews, but the chili recipe on page 78 is a definite win! super easy ingredients to have on hand and it turned out beautifully!

first sampling of the chili was at lisa's birthday potluck on saturday - the first potluck i have been at in awhile that had non-vegan dishes present. gasp! it was nice that this chili fit in easily as i don't think it looks super granola-vegan-ish or much unlike a "real" chili.

i love trying new recipes for potlucks. they always seem to turn out amazing and then i also get to try other people's food creations! so much fun!

 and now, tonight, at my parents' place, we super enjoyed our delicious chili outside:

my mom cleared off the outside chairs so we could all enjoy the remaining sun of the day sans spiders. thanks mom! ^_^ 

i love that you don't even notice it's "raw". my parents said it tasted like chili and they both really enjoyed it. yay! i tried to explain why i soaked and sprouted the raw almonds but i'm not so good with such details. i figured it was the best way to make the almonds "alive" again. just like it wouldn't be so helpful to eat seeds you want to grow vegetables from and you wait until they have sprouted into plants, you soak the raw nut to make it into something nutritionally dense and easily digested. is that accurate? anyone?