Weekly Eats Six (2/15 - 2/21)

Dinner: Singapore Noodles

I love anything to do with noodles - whether it be Italian, Thai, Japanese, or other cuisine - or just plain noodles with vegan butter and salt. However, there's a special place in my heart for Asian noodle dishes, especially those that I haven't tried yet. I had never heard of Singapore noodles until I read this post and I knew I had to try them! The combination of tamari and curry powder is amazing, plus that "sauce" is maybe my new favorite glaze for tofu and it only has a few ingredients! Instead of baking the tofu and pan-glazing it, I pressed, cubed, and fried my tofu in coconut oil in a large skillet (the same one I used for the whole dish) until lightly browned on all sides - about 10 minutes. Then I added the sauce and let cook for 3-4 minutes until glazed. I did this while my rice noodles soaked in hot water, so when both of those things were done, I could start the rest!

Snacks: Apple Pie Granola Bars

These are the first "true" granola bars (i.e. not raw/no bake) I have tried to make. These only took a few minutes to come together, and baked for only half an hour, but apparently I'm not that great at making granola bars. These had a perfect apple pie flavor, complete with plenty of cinnamon and a hint of sugar, but most of them fell apart. Of course I still ate them, but I'd like to have nice, neat little bars to pack up for trips. I think my mistakes were a) not measuring my melted coconut oil properly b) not pressing down my bars firmly (I would use a thin, metal spatula) c) not letting them cool completely before cutting into bars. I am about to try a different granola bar recipe that instructs you to let cool, then refrigerate before cutting, so we will see if those cut more easily. 

Dinner: Crunchy Black Bean Tacos

I've had my eye on these beautifully golden, crunchy tacos for a while now. We really enjoy Mexican food, so of course we had to try making these at home. The result: why have I never shallow-fried tacos?! There's nothing really to this recipe - just mashing some homemade beans with onion and cilantro, frying and pressing tortillas to make crispy little shells, then smothering it all in salsa and hot sauce - but they just taste so much better then regular tacos. I'd love to try these with different fillings, and will certainly report back our results. The recipe says it serves four, but we happily ate all of them in one sitting. Next thing to try will be making our own tortillas!

Dinner/Lunch: Chickpea Lentil Salad with Shallot White Wine Vinaigrette

This has been on my to-make list for a bit now, and I finally decided I needed a healthy little boost for dinner. Plus who doesn't love a recipe that takes literally no time to make? The dressing was exceptional - especially with a little lemon juice and extra freshly ground pepper. I subbed black olives for kalamata for expense purposes, and used romaine instead of baby greens because I prefer a crunchier green sometimes. This would be perfect with a soft cooked egg or cooked salmon as well, to make it a protein triple threat! Plus lentils in salads is the best, and I just love cooking them on the stove because they release a smell that is very reminiscent of jasmine tea. 

Ideas for the upcoming week: use up leftover produce; Old Bay cauliflower chickpea burgers; garlic-curry fries; toasted coconut almond granola bars; creamy tahini chopped salad; use up snow peas