Les Bouchées Quotidiennes

Let me just say that the past week has been crazy. And this is a light way of putting it. Since we had three snow days and couldn't go anywhere, all of my huge assignments have been pushed together instead of being spread apart. So that's fun. Also being snowed in for that long was fun, but got old after a day two. Luckily, we went out on Valentines day to get dinner, which for us consisted of our favorite snacks and sparkling wines. Hopefully things will get back to normal after next week, but as of right now things are very hectic. But despite the craziness, we've still been eating well!

So this is the best vegan mac and cheeze EVER. Plus it doesn't have nutritional yeast, which means I can convince Mike to eat it. The recipe is very simple and it ends up tasting like pizza, so I don't know what you're waiting for: go make it! If you're wondering what the green stuff is: I cut a large head of broccoli into florets and tossed with the juice of 1 lemon, a good sprinkle of garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Roast for 20-25 mins at 400 degrees until slightly charred and tender. 

I must be crazy, because I made this cold noodle salad with grapefruit and avocado on our second snow day. Despite the outside conditions, it was incredibly refreshing, filling, and it made us dream about warmer weather. The dressing is made of sriracha, grapefruit juice, and other delicious components. The components take a little time, but it's definitely worth it. I think this salad would be great in late spring too. 

This was my first time having a soft-boiled egg and I loved it! I am hooked. They take so little time and effort, but they're so delicious. Especially with paired with Deb's shallot-cream-spinach mix and Dijon mustard. To make this dairy-free, I used almond milk instead of cream and Earth Balance instead of butter. It sounds like a long process, but it actually took less than 10 minutes!

There is nothing better than a big bowl of homemade soup (and garlic bread...and wine) when it's snowing outside. I made this delicious Italian soup with baby potatoes, fresh kale and homemade pinto beans. The blend of rosemary, fennel, oregano and thyme really sticks out here to make a lovely combination. It also comes together in about 30 minutes, so I highly recommend it for whenever the next super cold night is! 

When you think of potato salad, do you think of yellow mushy junk packed in a plastic container at the grocery store? Well, think again. This potato salad with lentils, pickles and quick-pickled shallots is incredible. Although Deb titles it as a "warm" salad, we both enjoyed it cold with some warm garlic bread. This would be an outstanding salad to take on a Spring picnic (can you tell I am SO ready for Spring?!). 

I think I need to stop saying "This is the best --- ever!" because about a month later, I will trump myself. Well anyways, these tacos could be described as the best ones yet. I know the combination sounds strange: baked curry tofu, a raw avocado tahini kale slaw, and pintos? What?! But trust me, the flavors work together in such an awesome way that you will be going back for seconds, or even thirds! I also had to stop myself from eating the entire bowl of kale slaw because holy moly it was delicious.

For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you might remember that I had to purchase a very large butternut squash that probably weighed close to 7 pounds or more. So we have been trying to eat the entire thing this week in several different ways. The first way was Deb's warm salad with butternut squash and chickpeas, slathered in a tahini dressing. The flavors here were truly delicious, especially the allspice roasted squash. This is an easy, quick dinner that is great with rice for lunch the next day or a light salad. Next week I will share the other ways that we used our gigantic squash!

I finally, finally made Sara's falafel with pistachios, fresh mint, and cilantro. Okay so I apparently really love weird food combinations. But in reality you don't taste the mint that much because it works so well with the other flavors. I will definitely be making this again when it gets cooler because it is SO good. The tomato salsa is delicious too. If you still haven't attempted homemade falafel, you will be amazed at how easy and satisfying it is. I was so bummed when I went GF that I had to skip Greek food. But once I made Sara's other falafel (made with quinoa!), I was no longer sad. So get to it!