Vegan Meal Plan Monday – Potato Madness

Thanks for all your great meal plan suggestions last week.  I’ve passed them along to my sister, and I’m sure that other readers were thankful, too!

I’m not sure why, but I almost never, ever make mashed potatoes.  I guess we don’t really do a lot of startches other than pasta, but this week is indeed an exception as Guppy has been practically begging for them of late.

My child really does beg for vegetables.  In public.  Sunday as we were slowly walking through the outdoor market she suddenly pulled me over to a stand of fresh broccoli and looked up at me, pleading, “Oh please Mumma please can’t we get some broccoli? Pleeeeeze?” The vendor was giggling all over himself as I purchased the coveted greens which Guppy carried around the market like a bouquet.

Since we’ll be making mashed potatoes you can bet your boots I’ll be making a lot of them, because mashed potatoes means potato bread, and also the Samosa Quesdadillas  that  Trina posted not too long ago.  Potato madness kids, watch out – it’s catching!

Monday : Chickpea patties with steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes, and for dessert left-over rhubarb crisp.

Tuesday : Your Vegan Mom’s Samosa Quesadilla and for dessert, Vegan Rhubarb Cake based on one of my Great Grandmother Mary’s recipes. If it works out I promise I’ll share.  I’m so excited about the rhubarb!

Wednesday : Pups in a blanket inspired by Vegan Lunch Box, with saucisses by Celine. I’ll also be making cupcakes, but I still haven’t decided which ones.  Aparna and I were Tweeting the other day and decided to make cupcakes together. But apart. You know, since she’s in India and I’m in France and all. I need some inspiration…any suggestions? They will be for Guppy and friends (and me, duh).

Thursday : Hummous & Friends In A Bowl. This Celine and Joni test recipe was on the plan last week, but I didn’t get to make it.

PB&J Muffins, so amazing good, test recipe for Celine & Joni.

Friday : Eggplant Parmigiana, another test recipe, and Potato Rosemary Bread from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. This is another one of those wonderful breads made accessible by master baker Peter Reinhart.

Looking for more Vegan Meal Plan inspiration? Go visit Your Vegan Mom and for GF vegan goodness visit In My Box. Please share you links if you post a Vegan Meal Plan so I can add you, too!

Something’s (Tofu) Fishy With The July Daring Cooks Challenge!

This month’s challenge was chosen by Sketchy of Sketchy’s Kitchen. Sketchy has a real passion for molecular cuisine (MC), and July’s recipe was chosen to share this interest in MC with all of us! I think this was a wonderful initiative and a lovely introduction to MC – thank you, Sketchy!

Unfortunately, I think to successfully complete this month’s challenge owning a dehydrator was de rigeur. The challenge, “Skate, traditional flavours powdered” by Grant Achatz, found in the Alinea cookbook, uses “flavour powders” made from dehydrated ingredients such as banana chips, parsley or red onion to accent and add dimension to poached fish, or fish substitute. While Sketchy did suggest alternate methods for drying – such as using the microwave or traditional oven – I found they just didn’t work for me. I did give these alternate methods a shot, but my attempts were met with frustration and failure.

This, however, doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy this challenge, on the contrary! Thanks to some chatting on the forums, I was reminded of one of my favourite faux-fish recipes, the Tofu Fish Sticks from one of my favourite cookbooks, Vegan Lunchbox. If you haven’t a copy of Vegan Lunchbox, don’t fret! The recipe is available here at Schmooed Food, the author’s blog where she features recipes from her fabulous book. One of my favourites from her site is the recipe for Vegan Twinkies. I’ve only made it once, but oh-my, talk about a heavenly childhood flashback!

So after a few failed attempts at dehydrating onion and parsley in my microwave (oh scaldy-stinkies), I just opted to honor the spirit of the challenge and go with what worked for me! I tried to make a powder out of some nori sheets, but I didn’t get a nice, fine, powder – it was more like hunks of ugly confetti. I did just add the nori to the Tofu-fish fingers breading, so there was no waste. I also used a mixture of sea vegetables rather than just the kelp flakes called for in the original recipe. I feel it adds even more variety. In the end, I just used some dried parsley flakes to decorate our plates, and that was just fine!

We don’t eat alot of tofu – maybe 2 or 3 times a month – not because I’m afraid of the “fu” for any reason (because there is no reason to fear the fu, unless you have an allergy), but it’s a processed food, and as with all processed foods we tend to go lightly on them. Because I so rarely purchase tofu, I forget about some of our favourites, such as these tofu fingers. It’s been nearly a year since I last made these, which is too long if you ask me! If you’re ever in a pinch and need to make something quick, easy and healthy for kids (and adults, ahem), this is a great option.

I’d like to once again thank Sketchy of Sketchy’s Kitchen for hosting our challenge, and I enthusiastically recommend Vegan Lunchbox, weather or not you eat a boxed lunch! Lunchbox has many innovative, mostly healthy options that are adult and kid friendly, and it’s a sound addition to any cookbook library. Do you like to play with your food? Visit The Daring Kitchen for wonderful food articles, sexy food p*rn and lovely portraits of the Daring Cooks and Bakers.