I did more cooking today. Make spicy chili beans for tomorrow and some frozen fruit dessert, also for tomorrow. I also cooked up some garlic mashed potatoes and some homemade mushroom onion gravy. They both turned out pretty tasty.



I also made some chocolate chip cookies. They came out great. Tomorrow I'm going to try a breakfast couscous recipe. Then for lunch I'm going to the Bay Leaf Restaurant. My friend was there yesterday and said it was great. I've also read reviews of it by Jess at Get Sconed. Can't wait to try it.

Barbara

New places to shop

I've found some good deals at new places recently. One of our Dollar Tree stores added a freezer section. Now the items they have vary a great deal, but for a dollar I've gotten cheese raviolis and potato pierogies. Each package has been enough for a meal for myself and my partner.

Right next door to the Dollar Tree a store called Save-A-Lot recently opened. I checked out their corporate website and they are a 'limited selection' store. They don't have ten different sizes and varieties of diced tomatoes for instance. They also don't carry many brand name foods, but mostly private label. They say these are from major companies, just without the expensive brand name.

They sell canned vegetables for .25 a can. I've tried several varieties and they have all been good. I actually like their tomato sauce and pastes better (less sugar in them). Their shredded cheese is a better value than Wal-Marts. I'v also gotten good deals on hash browns. And they carry a brand of frozen hamburgers, called Holten, which I used to buy when I lived in Arkansas but hadn't found here. They are very tasty and cheap at Save-a-lot.

Barbara

Food adventures

I've been baking and cooking like crazy lately. Yesterday I made an old favorite and a twist on something I've made before.

First up is Vegan with a Vengeance's Chickpea Broccoli casserole. Simple, but tasty.


Then I tried a recipe from the Post Punk Kitchen forum, Baked Seitan. It came out well, but I'm not fond of the flavorings and neither is my partner. My rule when trying new recipes is to follow it exactly (or as best I can) then change it next time. I'll be fiddling with flavors next time.



Barbara

Doing it yourself

I have a recipe in my favorite cookbook, Vegan with a Vengeance : Over 150 Delicious, Cheap, Animal-Free Recipes That Rock that I want to try.

The problem was it called for chickpea flour and I couldn't find any. So I went to the bulk foods at Fred Meyer's, picked up a pound of dried chickpeas ($1.19 /pound) and brought them home. Tossed them into my Waring Pro blender and in about a minute, I have chickpea flour.

I am wondering if I can leave it out (it's in a tupperware container) or if I need to refrigerate it. If anyone knows, please leave a comment. Thanks!!

Barbara