The Week Of Being Vegan - Day 4

So I haven't really been good at being vegan.. until today. I've been lazy and haven't really bothered to prepare a good meal. I've been the equivalent of someone who just eats mac'n'cheese - except since I cant do that, it's been veggies, fruit, and roti.

Today started out no different:
breakfast was a handful of sunflower seeds and a banana and a plum
Snacked on another plum, and a roti
had a bowl of cut up tomatoes and balsamic vinegar and a roti for lunch, then ate some almonds to tide myself over.. but dinner.. dinner is where I cleaned up my act!I decided that since i love risotto with saffron and peas and corn, instead of making it with chicken like I usually do, I'd do it with chickpeas! So - this juicy dish is onions, garlic, olive oil, chickpeas, petite pois, sweet corn and brown rice - with saffron and sumac!


I served myself a 1.5 fistful portion, and the equivalent in salad of mixed greens, tomatoes, yellow peppers and cucumber, with seeds and nuts and dried cranberries.

YUM!

And I made leftovers, so even if I'm lazy, it'll be healthy lazyness!

Food, glorious food!

The other day we had such a pretty dinner that I felt the need to photograph it..

Tenderloin steak, Caprese salad, Baked potato, all washed down with a lovely malbec wine.

The caprese salad (with a twist),
I had no bocconcini, so instead I sprinkled feta cheese.

I also baked some sugar cookies, which, although not much to look at, tasted delicious!

I modified the recipe just a tad by adding lemon rind and a little maple syrup. Then I made two different types of toppings, so we had plain, chocolate, and lemon & coconut.
Yummy!

Recipe: Chicken in red wine tomato sauce with lemon and garlic mashed potatos

I figure my first offering should be a recipe, so here's one that I sort of invented while being a madscientist in the kitchen (de rigour).


Ingredients: (serves 4)
-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or, if you prefer dark meat, substitute!)
-1 medium sized onion
-3 cloves of garlic (or less if you're not a fan of garlicky things)
-1 large tomato
-1 can of tomato paste
-1 bag of frozeb broccoli
-pureed basil (to taste, I usually use about 3-4 tablespoons)
-balsamic vinegar
-olive oil
-red wine (can be cheap!)
-4 large potatos
-margarine
-lemon juice
-parsley
-oregano
-salt, pepper to taste

Method:



1. Chop potatos into even cubes and set to boil while preparing the chicken.

2. Coat a medium sized pot with olive oil, and place on medium heat. Chop the onions and throw them in that pot- they should sizzle a little. Cook until clear.

3. Take 2 cloves of garlic, mince, and add to the onions, continuing to stir so they dont burn.

4. While the onions and garlic are cooking, be sure to occasionally stir the potatoes so they cook evenly.

5. Cut chicken breast into cubes if you'd like it to cook faster, if not, you can leave it whole- completely preferance based. Add it to the onions and garlic and continue stirring until chicken starts to brown.

6. As the chicken is cooking, add balsamic vinegar (to taste, I usually add about half a cup, because I like mine to have a tang to it). This will make the chicken juicy and tangy.

7.Continue cooking until chicken is almost fully browned on the outsides (not necessarily cooked through though!)

8. Chop the tomato and add it to the pot, continue stirring.

9. Add the can of tomato paste (and one can of water to match the proportion)

10. Stir well, until the tomato paste has dissolved with the water to create a sauce.

11. Add the basil puree. I love basil so I tend to add A LOT. I like to SEE it in the sauce.

12.Add oregano. Again, I add a lot. I'd say something like 2 tablespoons worth. Stir continuously.

13. Add the frozen broccoli, and stir so that it has a chance to defrost and be covered in the sauce. By now the chicken should be cooked the potatoes will be nearing done.

14. Take a fork and pierce one of the potatoes. If it slides right off the fork, then they're done. Drain and remove from heat.

15. Add about 2 tablespoons of butter, and begin to mash.

16. Add lemon juice - this depends on how 'lemony' you like your mash to be. I like it to be noticeable so I use about half a cup of lemon juice. It also makes the mash a little creamier/less dense.

17. Mince the last clove of garlic and add to the mash, continue mashing.
(in the meantime, check the chicken and stir occasionally to ensure the broccoli is cooking)

18. Add olive oil to the mash- this gives it a nice flavour and again, makes it creamier.

19. Finally, add parsley. Its great if you have it fresh- if not, go for the dried. It adds colour and tastes yummy.

20. Continue mashing to the consistancy you like. I like mine chunky (which is why I leave the skins on)

21. About 10 mins before serving time, drop in about a cup of red wine into the chicken and sauce. If you do it too soon, the wine evaporates and you miss out on the strong flavour- unless of course you dont want a strong wine flavour!

22. Make a well with the mashed potatos and place the chicken and sauce inside it when serving.

VOILA!

and the leftovers are great for work the next day!