Les Bouchées Quotidiennes

I'm not sure why, but when I get new kitchen appliances, it usually takes me a few months to use them. I received a lovely waffle iron for Christmas, but I didn't use it until this past weekend! I don't think I've ever had homemade waffles before (not from a restaurant), so these were a real treat. I had a few recipes picked out, but I settled on this one because the ingredients are very basic for a GF vegan recipe. 

As you can see, they turned out great! The best part is that they really don't take very long to make, which is always a plus for breakfast. These turned out super fluffy and delicious, but didn't reheat so well the next day. For serving (shown in the first picture) I made some cinnamon rum fried bananas and maple syrup. 

We went to Clayton this past weekend and our dinners were filled with delicious vegetables and herbs from the garden! These are farmer's market vegetables to be roasted on trays with fresh herbs (oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary), smashed garlic cloves, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and some pepperoncinis (and their juices). So delicious! 

After having to kick out one of my "go to" places for a decent meal, I've been searching around for somewhere that won't kill me when I don't feel like cooking. I happened to find not one, but two places last week in the same day. This delicious tuna steak Niçoise is from Liberty Oak, which is downtown. They were very careful to prepare my food properly and I was fine afterwards. This same day, I also went to Fuji Sushi where I tried ikura for the first time. I would normally never want to try roe, but I am hooked. It makes a great substitute for soy sauce too, since almost every sushi place in Greensboro doesn't have GF soy sauce. I also tried yellowtail, which was alright. I was feeling pretty adventurous, I guess you could say! For Memorial Day, my family grilled some salmon and tuna steaks, so I think I'm "fished out" for a while, but I definitely want to start cooking it more. And maybe make some ikura topped deviled eggs while I'm at it...

I love recipes that have different variations on it, like miso soup or this: mejadra or mujaddara (depending on how you spell it). The best part about mujaddara? It's a fast, simple, and delicious meal that is satisfying on any night. I have made the second linked recipe, which is a lot more simple but topped with a spiced yogurt. This one is chock full of crunchy coriander seeds, allspice and cinnamon, and other warm spices. Squeeze lemon juice on top with extra fried onions, and you're good to go. This definitely would've been better with some vegan yogurt, but it was still satisfying (and it makes a TON of food). I actually used the onion part of the recipe from the second one since it's not deep fried, but use whichever one you want!

It's smoothie season! Especially when I have fresh herbs and local produce on a regular basis. Smoothies are a great lunch option when you're busy or not feeling so great. This recipe has: strawberries (local), basil (from the garden), frozen banana, kale (local), peanut butter, hemp seeds, lemon juice, and almond milk.  It may sound like an odd combination but it was actually really good. Hopefully I'll be posting more smoothies around here now!