julie’s kind kitchen

Why hello!

So, I must tell you…I have been slacking when it comes to taking pictures of food lately. I just don’t have the motivation I used to (maybe that’s what over 2 years of blogging has done to me?). Anyway, here are a few yummy pics for you.

The first is a totally tomato-y tofu scramble. Tofu scramble isn’t my favorite thing ever, but I do enjoy it now and again. When preparing a scramble, I cube my tofu rather than smooshing it. I don’t like the mouth feel of smooshy scramble. Cubed is the way to be!

Next is the artichoke dip from the Everyday Dish blog, recipe courtesy of Brian Igarta. HOLY CRAP! Go make this now. It is the best ‘choke dip ever, vegan or otherwise. The part I love best about this dip? It has no tofu! It has no Vegenaise! It has no Tofutti product of any kind! Lovely, versatile cashews give this dip a creamy, dreamy texture.

Pictureless dishes I have made lately include Catherine’s version of sloppy lentils and ED&BV Spelt Crepes with Celestial Cream. Matt devoured those sloppy lentils on ww buns (he had two sammiches)! I really wanted to love this dish, but I think I am still traumatized by the millions of sloppy joes my mom fed me as a kid. You must give Catherine’s recipe a try, though. Just take a peek at the comments for the ETL contest.

I made ED&BV Spelt Crepes with Celestial Cream on Momma’s Day for my mom and grandmother. They loved them!! Of course so did my grandpa, my little brother and myself! I actually did try taking a pic of my granny eating the crepes, but something weird was up with the camera and the pic didn’t take. So just picture this being eaten by a sweet old lady. :]

So…Eat to Live… Well, I guess technically I failed the plan miserably. I just couldn’t take the restrictions. Or maybe it was my mind knowing that I was on a “diet?” Either way, a lot of good has come from my ETL research. I have been inspired to concentrate more on whole foods in my diet and less on processed stuff in boxes. I also am exercising more (walks outside and swimming). I believe this is the happy medium for me. Thank you for all of your support! I promise that those ETL friendly recipes won’t go to waste.

Finally, since I have proclaimed this The Summer of Julie (more on that in a later blog post), I will spend even more time in the kitchen. In addition to making our old standbys and new recipes, I want to embark on some cooking “projects”. I am talking lots of from scratch stuff that takes a little more time in the kitch then I am used to.

These are my ideas so far:

Homemade bread

Homemade cornbread

Homemade burger buns

Homemade veggie stock

Making tons of beans from dried and freezing them

Granola (ED&BV?)

Suggestions??

I finally am the proud owner of a copy of Everyday Dish!! I used to be a Food Network addict (when we had a tv), so this dvd is a dream come true for me.

First, let me start off by saying that these women are spectacular! Not only are they good cooks, but they are über cute (was I the only one that noticed that Julie Hasson could be a super model??), charismatic and fun to watch.

Next, there are so may quality recipes presented on this dvd, I think it’s worth well over the asking price. Seriously! Not only do you get the recipes, but you get a step by step video demonstration! Some of those recipes I would never think of making with the recipe alone (Chicken Cutlets), but with the demo they seems doable.

*UPDATED WITH PICS*

I brought my Mom some of Julie’s Deli Soup (with variations) on Saturday because she just got back from a hospital stay for intestinal problems. She loved the gesture and the soup. Also, my 8 year old brother had a huge bowl and said, “This is homemade? It’s sooooo good!!” I couldn’t believe it! He’s a super picky eater.

Here’s my bowl of soup (hey, I wanted to try it too!!) with added tofu.

Next I made the “Chicken” Cutlets, Bryanna’s recipe. OH MY! These were soooo good. I can’t praise these enough. Make these now. I had them Art Style.

Lastly, since I felt so bad about Matt not getting to eat the yuminess that is the “Chicken” Cutlets, I made something soy-free for him, Dreena’s Chickpea Sensation Patties. I had to try these right out of the pan and yuummmmy. I’ll have to sneak a few for myself :] Matt has yet to try them, so I’ll report back on that later…

I’ve decided to create a new blog. No more Sweet & Sour Life. I am a different person and surely a different, more experienced (I hope) cook.

Here’s a few things I’ve made since we last talked:

homemade gnocchi with lower fat pesto and garlic knots

The gnocchi recipe is from Vegan with a Vengeance and the garlic knots recipe is from The Damn Tasty Vegan Baking Guide. The pesto is a recipe from yellowroserecipes blog. Everything was good, but the standout was the pesto. Soooo good and low fat too?! Matt doesn’t usually go for pesto because it’s “too strong” but he enjoyed this pesto very much.

oatmeal drizzles and brownie bites

The brownie bites are a modified version of a raspberry chocolate cookie to appear in Veganomican when it comes out. They alone are worth getting the book. Trust me! The oatmeal drizzles are another one from The Damn Tasty Vegan Baking Guide. They were fabulous!! Matt and I ate SO many.

crispy sweet and sour seitan

This is a lolo recipe. I am sure you are all familiar to her blog Vegan Yum Yum. This was a great recipe…and the sauce…OH the sauce….yum.

crepes with bluberry sauce and frosting

The crepe recipe is from Bryanna Clark-Grogan. It is posted on The Everyday Dish website. I’ve never made crepes before and yummmm, they were good. I would like to find another recipe, though, only because Matt is allergic to soy

no queso quesadillas

Last, but certainly not least, these queso-less quesadillas are from http://pakupaku.info/. I love this website and of course the recipe was an A+. I opted to leave out the corn though. Maybe I’ll add it in next time. Also, they are on my favorite tortillas from Ezekiel 4:9.

Lastly, this fabulous (brand new) Mat & Nat purse is still for sale.

Happy 4th of July and Canada Day!