Compensating for Lack of Food Goodliness

Had I started this blog 7-8 years ago, I think that I'd be writing more about food. Specifically, I'd be describing my wild recipe experiments, sharing their successes (and whoppin' failures) and posting snazzy photos of the results. I was cooking for two back then, and one of us was an omni who loved to eat, so I was hell-bent on concocting delicious recipes that kept him contentedly meat-free. These days I have less of an inclination to play in the kitchen, but I can live vicariously through fellow bloggers who have the time, talent, creativity (and willing additional diners) to be able to work their cooking mojo like crazy. Here are a few things that got my attention this week:

My friend Melissa (who, incidentally, really needs to write a cookbook now) has been posting up a storm on her newish blog The Papaya Chronicles. Last Sunday, she shared a recipe for Roasted Veggie Couscous. I love how she provides meal-time context along with her recipes, as well as suggestions for variations that could be just as yummy as the original recipe, itself.

The folks over at Hungry Hungry Veganos posted a recipe a few days ago for a Fabulous Falafel Gyro w/ Titillating Tahini Sauce that's had me craving falafel (one of my favourite things in the world) all week.

If you lean towards liking your eats quite spicy and are curious about East African cuisine, Claire at Chez Cayenne posted a recipe yesterday for Zanzibar Beans in Coconut Sauce that looks as scrumptious as I'll bet it tastes.

Now off I go to distract myself from my hunger pangs by perusing some of my favourite non-food-related blogs... at least until I can get home and cook!

ETA: I hope to highlight my favourite food bloggers' vegan recipes a couple of times a month. If you have such a happeningblog featuring mouth-watering vegan concoctions and you'd like to do a link exchange, please do drop me a line so that I can stay on top of whatever creations you've been offering up to the interwebs.

A Maritimer's vegan take on Egyptian cuisine

A couple of years ago, I spent some time testing, tweaking and sometimes (when needed) veganizing some Egyptian recipes I found across the internet. In some cases, I took 2-3 or more similar recipes and sort of merged them according to my taste buds. The experiment culminated in a scrumptious feast that left even a really fickle omni friend delighted (and stuffed). Here are a couple of the recipes; I'll have to dig out the others over the weekend.

Orange & Olive Salad with Cumin

What you need:

8 oranges, peeled and with the white pith removed, sliced (or in segments)
3/4 cup good quality black olives*, cut in half and pitted
1 red onion, sliced very thinly
juice of one medium-sized lemon
1/2-1 tsp ground cumin (to taste)
a pinch of cayenne (or more to taste)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbs olive oil

What you do:

Toss together the oranges, olives, onion. Mix together the lemon juice, cumin, cayenne and crushed garlic and then mix into oil. Toss with the rest of the ingredients, salt and pepper to taste, chill (you don't really have to, but I did and liked that the ingredients had a longer chance to marinate) and serve. Serves 6.

* Don't skimp on the olives by getting those canned rubbery things.


Couscous with Currants and Cumin

What you need:

1 cup water
1 cup couscous
1/2 cup currants (or raisins)
2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs fresh ginger, finely grated
1 tsp cumin seed, toasted
the grated zest from one orange
1 Tbs fresh cilantro, finely chopped
salt
hot chili flakes

What you do:

In a saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in the couscous and currants. Cover and remove from heat to let stand for around 5 minutes. During this time, heat the olive oil in large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic and ginger. Sauté 3 minutes or until tender and then add the cumin seeds. Sauté an additional minute. Fluff the couscous and currants with a fork, then stir in the onion mix, the zest and the cilantro. Add salt and hot chili flakes to taste. Serves 3-4.