Saturday, August 9, 2014

Les Bouchées Quotidiennes

My last meal before getting my wisdom teeth out is one of my go-to easy meals: jasmine rice steamed with spinach (stir it in after cooking until it wilts), cubed farmer's cucumbers, sliced avocado, two eggs over easy (with garlic and smoked paprika in the yolks) and miso horseradish kimchi. I would also usually add a good amount of sriracha on top, and any other vegetables I have on hand.


Here's everything I prepped before my wisdom teeth surgery because I knew that I wouldn't feel like cooking much afterwards: frozen blueberries (local and organic from the farm), bananas, and fresh frozen watermelon for smoothies; my favorite Greek-style coconut milk yogurts; homemade chocolate coconut ice creamGF vegan roasted red pepper "mac"; organic cinnamon apple sauce; golden potato soup with extra nooch, smoked paprika and blended until it was basically liquid; Moroccan lentil soup. I'll probably also make some mashed potatoes with this easy GF V country gravy too.

This watermelon frosty is probably the best thing ever for sore, tender gums. Just be sure to freeze some fresh watermelon before your surgery! Or, if you're just a normal person, add tequila and call it a daiquiri. Sadly I could not add booze this time, but I will next time!

One of the first things I cooked a few days after my procedure was mashed white beans with garlic, spinach + lemon. As you can see, I mashed mine until they were practically liquid. These were so delicious and easy to make that I ate the entire skillet in one sitting. I'd love to make these again with a side of rice or roasted potatoes. Also, it takes less than 10 minutes, so it's a great weeknight meal!

Anddd more soft food. Seeing a pattern here? I was sort of confused when my dental surgeon told me to start eating normal food the day after my surgery. My only advice is to slowly build up to eating normally. Don't eat a potato chip three days after. I did lots of chewing after my procedure and now, about a week and two days later, I can eat anything, but I am still being cautious. Anyways, this was a lovely tofu scramble with tomatoes and lots of spices (minus the spinach) and a baked potato with smoked paprika and vegan butter. I am sort of obsessed with smoked paprika because it makes everything taste like bacon! But this scramble is fast, delicious, and full of flavor.

Work smoothie: 3 frozen bananas, orange juice + matcha powder.

Recently, my blogger friend Kara gave me The Heart of the Plate in a giveaway. I read the book constantly after my procedure and was completely in love. This book is immaculate and incredibly creative. Almost every recipe is vegan, if not easily adapted to be vegan. I can't wait to cook my way through it, and I started with something mushy (obviously): golden lentils with soft, sweet onions. I've been eating these for days and I'm not sick of it yet. I served mine with brown rice, and later some chopped local tomatoes. It would be wonderful with a balsamic reduction and a fried egg, or even balsamic roasted tofu/chickpeas on top. I love this book because it gives you "Enhancements" for each recipe: things to add to make it different from the first time you made it, or to make it extra special. I can't wait to continue sharing things I make from this book! Thank you again Kara!

Have you heard of this new craze called banana ice cream? Well, you better get on it. I can't share this recipe because it's from the cookbook I'm testing for, but just google "banana ice cream" and you will get tons of results. It's easy, healthy, creamy, and tastes like ice cream! And: no ice cream maker required! I added sprinkles to mine, which was inspired by this recipe for cake batter banana ice cream

Another recipe from the cookbook I'm testing: an anti-inflammatory smoothie with blueberries, green tea and turmeric! 

I got tired of mushy things, eventually, so I settled on making these vegan sweet potato + spinach quiches to take to work this week. These are delicious! My mom was convinced that they contained eggs. They were also fairly easy to pull together and didn't require any crazy ingredients/prep. I can't wait to try the broccoli cheddar version too, but I will be subbing nutritional yeast for the Daiya cheddar. I'll share that photo when I do so!

Well, I was almost in the clear for having a great surgery and recovery. Yesterday I woke up with an infection in one of my extraction sites, which is all thanks to me. Kids: learn how to use your irrigation syringe properly. I used mine after I ate anything, but wasn't going deep enough. That leads to nasty, incredibly painful infections and more antibiotics. Hooray! Lesson learned. If you're really unsure, here's a great video that helped me do it the right way. After all the soup I ate post surgery, I'm still not tired of it (somehow), so I made Isa's alphabet soup with a few changes: I used this pasta, subbed in 2 tsp herbes de Provence in place of the thyme/tarragon, and I used frozen edamame in place of the frozen peas. This is legit alphabet soup. The real deal. It tastes a million times better than anything from a can. So go and make some! This is definitely my new go-to "feeling crappy" soup.