loaf of veggie awesomeness. and spring rolls!

Thank you all for your get well wishes.  I am not really feeling much better, but today I am resigned to being sick.  Yesterday it hit me like a sack of bricks.  But Michael took good care of me (and is now kind of sick, himself).  I went to work anyway, which was a huge mistake because I hate my job enough when I don't feel like I'm about to fall apart...  That and my boss likes to say things like, 'If you ate some meat, you'd feel better' and 'You need a cheeseburger!  That'll set ya straight!' which makes me more annoyed than anything else on this earth.  I have a crappy immune system because I had mono when I was 18 and now I just catch things.  Apparently, veganism hasn't helped it out much yet.  Oh well.  Anyway...on to the food.

This loaf was waaaaay better than my last loaf.  I'm not even going to link to that last one.  That's how much better this loaf is.  

yeah...i used flash in that picture

I based it off this recipe from VegWeb, but changed it around to make it even better.  Instead of cilantro and the curry powder, I added a bunch of dried sage and thyme and I used 2 cups of brown basmati rice (cooked) instead of 1 cup of regular.  Also, when I sauteed the veggies, I added in a big handful of spinach leaves and a bunch of fresh basil.  Oh!  And I also added a stalk of celery, diced.  And I added more like 1/4 cup nutritional yeast instead of 1 tablespoon.  I really didn't change it that much...  It ended up so savory and so yummy.  I surprised myself, even.

better than any meatloaf in this world

I roasted a head of garlic, which got added to mashed potatoes.  I added a couple cloves to those green beans (canned by my mom!) too.  Michael made up a packet of accidentally vegan turkey gravy.  All in all, it was a damn good dinner.

and we finished the leftovers for lunch today, oh yes.

Then yesterday I got sick.  Boo.  Michael surprised me at lunch by making a potato and onion soup.  I'm not totally sure what was in it...but here's a basic idea:  red potatoes, red onions, liquid smoke, garlic, earth balance...flour...and now I've run out of ideas.  Whatever was in it, it was really good.  I'm not a HUGE potato soup fan, and I was impressed by this one.  The onions made it perfect.

michael put bacos on his

I had planned for spring rolls, but was honestly unable to help with them at all.  Luckily, Michael stepped up and made them for me.  I did make some coconut beans (black beans, black eyed peas, coconut milk, scallions, garlic, cayenne, and cumin) which were topped with avocado and mango.  The spring rolls contained green cabbage, carrots, scallions, and ginger tossed in some hoisin sauce.  We didn't realize that you're supposed to maybe saute your filling first because we thought that the steaming of the rolls would soften everything up.  The result was a tad crunchy for both of us, but I still thought they tasted totally awesome.

asian and carribean mix...it's a wonderful thing

Michael said he liked my beans better than the spring rolls, but I think he's just being a little overly critical of his own cooking.  Which I can totally understand because I do that too, sometimes.  We also whipped up a sauce each.  Mine is peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger, rice wine, and cayenne; Michael's is chili garlic sriracha and soy sauce.  My sauce was a little too thick...  but they were both really yummy.  I liked mixing them together.

All in all, besides being sick, I've had a couple of really good food days.  I wanted to end out vegan mofo with a bang, but...  I'm not sure that my energy level is up to it right now.  We are slacking a bit on dinner tonight, I think (but it'll still be good...just good sick kid food).  And then Friday is Halloween (by the way, I still have no idea what to go as.... any ideas for me? keep in mind that i'm poor).

But this is my 27th (26 about food) post this month, so I feel pretty damned good about that.