Tofu-Potato Pate; Black-Eyed Pea & Barley Soup

The top picture is of a tofu-potato pate that I made over the holidays.  It is savory and so very good on crackers or toast.

The next one is what we had for dinner tonight, Black-Eyed Pea & Barley Soup. 

 We make bean soup here often.  Just throw beans, water, diced onion and garlic, veggie bouillon, carrots, celery, peeled and diced turnip, kale, or whatever you have around into a pot.  I use my pressure cooker.  Then turn on, get to pressure, cook for 30 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

Bean Dip Holiday Wreath

This is a bean dip wreath that I made for the holidays.  I got the idea from the McDougall Forums online.  It is just bean dip with broccoli florets and grape tomatoes stuck in it.  The original had a bow cut from red bell pepper, but mine did not turn out very nicely....

Baked Squash

These went into my oven a little while ago.  I am baking them, then I will cut them open, scoop out the insides, puree the pulp in my VitaMix, and make either pies or soup.  Yum!  There is a blue pumpkin, a pie pumpkin, and a butternut squash.

I used to cut squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and cook face down in a dish with maybe 1/4" of water.  My friend, moonwatcher, suggested a different way when I was preparing a Red Kuri squash a while back.  Now I just put a few cuts in each squash or pumpkin, turn the oven on to 350F, and bake until tender.  Then it is simple to cut and prepare.  moonwatcher wrote a wonderful post about it at Plant Based Slow Motion Miracle.

Hash Browns and Mushrooms

Yesterday was a beautiful day!  The weather was cool, instead of the 90+ degrees that we have been having, and everybody was in a happy mood.  I decided to make hash browns for breakfast, so the picture is of shredded red potatoes cooked in a hot, nonstick pan, with sliced button and portabella mushrooms.  So good!

Fruit and Veggies

I have been snacking on too many high-calorie foods the past couple of weeks, so today I took fresh raspberries and baby carrots to work with me.  They made a great addition to my lunch, which was cold bean soup.

Eggplant Stew With Many Mushrooms

I made this meal a couple of days ago.  It is eggplant stew, which is wonderful, with three kinds of mushrooms in it:  oyster, shiitake, and crimini.  I have to be honest, it was horrible!  I stewed the mushrooms seperately with garlic first, then added them to the stew.  It was like chewing on your nose or something gross.  I have always thought I was a person who LOVED mushrooms, but that changed with this meal.  Blech!

Red Potato and Beets

Sometimes, simpler is better.