Let us wrap

After an overnight fast in preparation for an annual physical exam (my first in 16 years), I'm hungry. Time to go to Yakima Fresh Market for a $20 splurge on fruit and veges.

I look over my loot as I unpack it and consider what I'm hungry for. Quinoa with this stuff? I start cooking 1/2 c. quinoa with 2 c. water and set the timer for 10 minutes.

I wash, slice, and chop leaf basil and the vegetables - cabbage, tomato, onion, red pepper - and grate the carrots and ginger. Into a bowl they go!

Meanwhile, I spot a package of sprouted grains and beans in the cupboard. They only need 5 minutes of cooking and a 10-15 minute "rest." When the timer beeps, I measure 1/3 cup of grains and break 5 stalks of asparagus into the pot. Lid on. The timer gets reset for 5 minutes.

The timer dings. I turn off the gas heat to let the quinoa, bean, and grain mixture settle for 10 minutes. Might as well tidy the kitchen. Knives go back on their magnetic strip, dishes in the DW. There's time to halve and remove the stems from two big romaine lettuce leaves ... and make a cup of tea, too.

Combining the grains and chopped vegetables makes a beautiful arrangement beside the lettuce. I sprinkle on thick soy sauce for flavor ... and plate the food. (See the large tablespoon in the photo for perspective.)

I'm ready to wrap and eat! Half the salad makes 4 substantial lettuce rolls. I'll save the rest of the mix for supper.

Rating: 4.5
Taste: nice combination of bitter (lettuce, asparagus, and cabbage) with savory and sweet (basil, ginger, quinoa, carrots).
Calories: 350-400? for all 4 rolls. Bulky calories!
Time to prepare: 15 min.
Tea: Trader Joe's Well-Rested teabag (sadly). Nice spearmint smell to clear the nose between bites.
Beauty: 4.5 Tighter rolls might be prettier. The color is fabulous and the sizes and textures vary.
Improvements? Perhaps add smashed fresh walnuts and chopped fresh apricot, or - Chinese mustard or wasabi peas, blueberries, and pine nuts. Maybe tonight!

Lovely fingerlings with raisins

W brings home some fingerling potatoes. The bag boasts a pesto recipe that has cheese. No no. I'm vegan, remember? I build the potatoes in salted water for 14 minutes after slicing the biggest ones in half lengthwise.

Meanwhile, I combine a tsp. of olive oil, a few dices of onion, and a knife-tip of minced garlic in a saucepan. The fragrance starts to fill the room as they saute... about 5 minutes on medium until the onion is translucent.

I've got some carrots, oranges, and raisins from a previous meal, so I add that to the onion mix and warm it for about 3 minutes.

I love my old Chinese strainer, that makes it easy to fish out potatoes when they're cooked. The steam rises off the hot potatoes.

Put everything together, stir, and serve. (No special plate today, just an everyday Royal Doulton Designs Parquet.)

The purple, red, and yellow potato skins burst open with every bite. The orange peel adds a hint of bitter along with tart and sour. The raisins and carrots add sweetness. Garlic, oranges, potatoes, onions. Who knew?

Rating: 4/5.
Taste: sweet, hearty, savory without being heavy.
Time to prepare: 15 minutes
Calories: 400 or less. The potatoes: 125; oil and onion, 175, carrots, oranges, raisins, maybe 100
Tea: black

Simply lunch

There's not much to say. Fantastic Italian pasta (Costco; 3 c. cooked), vausage (Field Roast Italian eggplant vegan sausage), one al dente carrot and one roma tomato chopped and simmered in one can Amy's Golden Lentil soup. Lunch. One serving all gone.

The rest will be supper. YAY.

Rating: 4/5. Delicious. Plain good food in 15 minutes.
Taste: Savory and robust fall flavors, with a bite of spice from the vegan sausage
Calories: 450 each (makes 2 big servings)
Tea: Second infusion of this morning's Chocolate Chai

Lunch: corn and (vegan) sausage soup

I'm hungry. I head to the kitchen to see what's around.

Open the fridge. There's the Field Roast sausage left after I used the rest of the bundle a few days ago. Turn on the burner to medium. Slice the "meat"-ish into the pan. No fat needed.

What else sounds good? The carrot pulp from this morning's juice? Sure. Wonder if I have a can of creamed corn - could make some soup with that?

Nope, there's just a can of corn kernels. Fine. Open the can partway, drain the water. Open the can all the way and dump it atop the sausage. Don't forget a sprinkle of dehydrated onions.

Add a few spices. I'm smelling the air... mixed salt of course, smoked paprika, ground black pepper, dried thyme.

Out to the conservatory, where I have a bunch of veges cooling. Potato? Great. Dice it and toss it in with the corn. Stir occasionally. No liquid added yet.

Green onion? Sure, tear the tops off a bunch and chop them on the cutting board. Basil leaves? Chop up three stems, and ooooh... I see parsley so I grab a few stems and chop them as well, but let them sit until the last minute.

I add about 1 cup of water from the hot tap to the pot. It boils immediately. Turn down the heat to medium low and leave the room for 10 minutes.

Choose a pretty bowl... the soup must be done by now! Put it in the plate and sprinkle with the fresh herbs. Stir. Oh, YUM. What a great lunch!!!

Made about 3 servings.
Approx calories: 350 each.
Rating: 4/5. 
Taste: spicy, hearty, good blend of crisp, soft, and chewable. I'd make it again.
Tea: Darjeeling, black.