Chunky Vegan Vodka Sauce

This is exciting. You should make this and eat it.   You should not tell people (non-vegan people) that it's vegan until after they're wow-ing about it.  

I was apprehensive about trying to do a non-dairy cream sauce.  I'm trying to expand my repertoire of vegan recipes, not because I'll ever go cheese-free, but because you never know who you're going to end up cooking for.  Actually, I do know, one of the friends I cook for (used to cook more for, got lazy, I suck) is vegetarian and dairy free, and frankly, eggs aren't exciting enough to me to call her anything but vegan.  So I like to try different things and see if we can get by without milk.  But this dish isn't about getting by, this dish rocks and I don't see a reason to make dairy cream sauce again.  

Anyhow, back to my apprehension.  1.  I like cheese and stuff and 2.  I tried to use the cashew cream a couple of days ago and it's was disgusting.  I mean like, spit-it-out-and-try-to-forget-it-ever-happened disgusting.  But maybe that's because I tried to use it raw in a cold sauce, in lieu of sour cream, because this time, again, fantastic. 

Thyme and Onion Wheat Crackers

Crackers have been a hot topic at my house lately.  My favorite whole wheat cracker seems to have been discontinued, and I've seen a variety of recipes in the past few months, but I barely bake, and I certainly don't make crackers - right?  Well, it turns out they're fairly easy to make.

I like a cracker that is robust enough to be eaten independently, but not so much that it might clash with my hummus or the ridiculous feta-spinach spread I've been into lately, or whatever other application I might want to use it for.  This cracker does that.   I also want a cracker to be made of real food - this cracker does that too.

It's based on a number of recipes that have floated by lately, plus enough savory flavor to stand on its own, with some extra wholesome mixed in.    

Black Bean and Chicken Egg Rolls

This is, apparently, the only pose I can imagine for the egg rolls -I used it last week too. 

A week ago I made Red Cabbage Egg Rolls, and I had about half* the wrappers left over, so here's what happened with that. These are much like some Southwestern Egg Rolls we've had in chain restaurants, but made of food and baked.

Spaghetti Squash with Prosciutto, Sundried Tomatoes, Feta and Peas

I had this peas and prosciutto thing stuck in my head, and I had this spaghetti squash, and I was like, damnit, I have to go and buy prosciutto.

That's weird because I've never bought prosciutto and because until recently I wouldn't have eaten it.  I've discussed before my very important theory that bacon is not meat, but a seasoning.  That in mind, knowing that bacon doesn't count, I don't eat much pork.  I'll try a piece of it, maybe, if that's what you're eating and you say it's awesome, but it's not my thing.   I half-believe it's because I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood, but I have no issues with shrimp* or cheeseburgers, so that's no excuse.   I used prosciutto at the one cooking class Sous Chef Brian and I attended six months ago, and had it with figs on a pizza about three months ago, and that's the comprehensive history of me and prosciutto.   So I don't know what drove me out to get it, but it felt important.

So that's how this dish happened.

Housekeeping - let's have a conversation.

The word "housekeeping" reminds me of school.  High school, college, grad school... I feel like there was always a point when the instructor told us it was time for some "housekeeping" and then we'd hear either where the bathrooms were, or that there was a change to the syllabus or that the talking in the back row had to stop.  Sorry, that was me.

Thursdays are days of housekeeping for me, usually.  Sous Chef Brian isn't around and dinner is going to be super-late (not regular-late) and maybe, early in the week I cooked a lot and the dishes got out of hand and it's time to face it.   Remember that thick, sweet, black sauce from the Asian Stewsion?  It's stuck to everything I own.  So I finish up the dishes and scrub what needs scrubbed and clean out the fridge and restock and take stock.  What needs to be eaten?  What do I need to buy this weekend?  What scraps will I pull together for tonight's (eventual) meal?  I'm big on saving leftovers for lunches, but not big on defrosting them for dinner.  I'll make something.