I Still Love Food

It seems my posts lately center around our current and future family. Which is good and right, but I'm here to let you know that I still love food and I still love to cook.

So, here are a few meals I've made lately that I highly recommend! They are all from the same food blog, Cookie and Kate. They are also all vegetarian/vegan which doesn't thrill my husband at first, but then he tastes it and doesn't seem to miss the meat. :)

First up: Quick Vegan Chana Masala

Photos from cookieandkate.com

This meal is quick and tasty. When I was making it I was a bit skeptical. I felt like it was too simple and quite frankly, didn't look super appetizing when all was said and done. It exceeded my expectations! I really enjoyed it and so did Devin (who doesn't love Indian food or chunks of tomatoes).

Tips: If you don't know what garam masala is, it's a blend of spices that some grocery stores carry in the spice isle. I couldn't find it at Kroger where I usually shop, but found it at Meijer. Also, I didn't have a serrano pepper on hand so left that part out and it turned out just fine.

Secondly: West African Peanut Soup

The name of this soup is a bit misleading. It's just as 'tomatoey' as it is 'peanuty'. We loved it! This was my first time using collard greens. I really like what they add to this soup and it got me thinking of other soups they'd be good in. Mine didn't turn out as thick as it seems it should have been, but was still really good.

Tips: I recommended pouring it over a little rice. And don't leave out the garnishes! We topped ours with green onions, chopped cashews or peanuts, cilantro, and sriarcha. Also, maybe my grocery sells exceptionally large bunches of collard greens, but I thought adding the whole bunch was a little much.

And finally: Thai Peanut Sauce over Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Rice

This was definitely my favorite of the three! I could eat this everyday, I think. Perfect peanut sauce over roasted sweet potatoes and red peppers and lots of good garnish. I actually served this as a side to the peanut soup when some friends were over for dinner. I was worried the meal was lacking in meat and overkill with the peanut theme, but they actually went quite nicely and everyone seemed to really like the meal (it's a good sign when people ask for the recipe).

Tips: I followed this recipe to the T except for replacing tamari with soy sauce.