Jewl Of The Lotus

the sound that strengthens compassion in all enlightened beings. om mani padme hum.

 

Curry Lentil, Pepper, and Bacon Seitan Soup

I kind of went crazy with the soups this week… Mostly because my throat’s been a bit sore for the last few days. This one actually didn’t help too much with that due to the spice from the curry and jalapeƱo! Oops :) Improv Score: 4/5 Curry Lentil, Pepper, and Bacon Seitan Soup 1...

 

White Bean, Kale, and Italian Seitan Sausage Soup

Here’s another great improv meal for you! Again, I’d recommend loosely following the recipe, but substituting ingredients as necessary. For example, if I’d had an entire onion – I’d have just used that, but instead I only had half of one, so I supplemented with a shallot and lots of garlic! Improv Score: 4.5/5...

 

Tempeh Bacon and Apple Curry Stirfry

I improvised a meal last night and it turned out pretty well, so I decided to share it here with all of you. Try it out and let me know what you think! Of course, you should try improvising too – if you find yourself without the exact ingredients! Note: Measurements and instructions are...

 

Cuisine Theme Week No. 12: Moroccan

Cooking at the Kasbah Moroccan week is over and, overall, it was very successful! Most of the dishes I chose to cook were stews, not sure if that’s because those are the dishes I just happened to pick out, or because that is what the majority of Moroccan entries are. The only non-soup/stew that...

 

Cuisine Theme Week No. 11: Cuban

Memories of aCuban Kitchen Whew! Cuban “Week” ran a little longer than expected… it lasted a little over 2 weeks actually. A busy month slowed things down… and it turns out plantains take a long while to fully ripen. But it’s all over now, and was good for the most part. Not my favorite...

 

Cuisine Theme Week No. 10: Greek

The Complete Bookof Greek Cooking Man, this month’s cuisine week was pretty hard to keep going – more on that in my next blog post – but everything ended up really excellent. The recipes were all pretty basic, using a lot of fresh and flavorful ingredients. It was the perfect refreshing cuisine for the...

 

Cuisine Theme Week No. 9: Ethiopian

Ethiopian CookbookA Beginner’s Guide This year’s cuisine weeks are half way over, but still going strong! This month’s theme was Ethiopian, a cuisine I’ve never even tried until now, and that turned out pretty tasty. A lot of the dishes are hearty and very stew-like. Many of these stews are supposed to be served...

 

Cuisine Theme Week No. 8: Jamaican

Lucinda’s AuthenticJamaican Kitchen Cuisine Week for the month of May officially ended last night with a stellar BBQ, certainly the highlight of Jamaican Week! Overall, I was somewhat disappointed with Jamaican Week. I was expecting much bolder flavors and vibrant dishes, but maybe the lack of those has more to do with my choice...

 

Cuisine Theme Week No. 7: Indian

My Indian Kitchen It’s that time again – another Cuisine Week in the can! This month’s cuisine was Indian – which I haven’t had too often in the past – but what I have had was really good. In practice, this week had it’s highs and lows. A few of the dishes were absolutely...

 

Cuisine Theme Week No. 6: Irish

My Irish Cookbok Of course, with March being the month of St. Patrick’s Day, I felt it only proper to dedicate this month’s Cuisine Week to the Irish. There is a rumor in my family that one of our ancestors was Irish – I haven’t found that ancestor yet – but perhaps they, whoever...

 

Cuisine Theme Week No. 5: French

Well, February’s Cuisine Week was scheduled for last week, but due to sickness I decided to push it back a week. That was a great decision because as it turns out, every main course out of Mastering the Art of French Cooking takes about three hours to make, so I needed to be at...

 

Cuisine Theme Week No. 4: Vietnamese

It’s 2012!! Wow, did 2011 go by fast!? A big part of what made it such a good and fast year for me was my journey into the world of real cooking. Prior to April, we didn’t stray too far from the norm – Foreman burgers, frozen bagged dinners, pizza, quesodillas – things that...

 

Wow, 2011 Was Pretty Awesome

I can’t believe 2011 is over… seriously… I can’t. Fastest. Year. Ever. 2011 was phenomenal. Insane. Exhilarating. Awesome. Joyful. Busy. Just all around generally incredible. Probably my favorite year in my <27 years of existence. Here’s just a few reasons why: Marriage – Best day of my life. We did it!! And it was...

 

Cuisine Theme Week No. 3: Mexican

During a visit to the in-laws over Thanksgiving weekend, I had a chance to peruse their sizable collection of cookbooks and picked up Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless. And so it was decided – Cuisine Theme Week No. 3 would be Mexican! Mexican week was a huge success – just as successful as Middle...

 

Cuisine Theme Week No. 2: Italian

Following the success of Middle Eastern week, I decided to try the theme week again – this time it was Italian! While Italian week didn’t turn out quite as phenomenally as Middle Eastern week, it was still pretty tasty. I think part of the problem with Italian week was the cookbook I used. It...

 

Cuisine Theme Week No. 1: Middle Eastern

Last week I decided to try something different – a whole week of cooking dinners from the same international cuisine. Since I had a Middle Eastern cookbook on lend that I hadn’t yet gotten into – Middle Eastern it was! All in all, Middle Eastern week was wonderfully successful! One dish might have even...