Soba-briety!

Sorry, I couldn't resist the silly title, but this post has nothing to do with sobriety. It does, however, have everything to do with soba noodles!

I'm attempting a bit of a pantry purge. I'm a total food hoarder. My pantry is straight outta TLC's Hoarding: Buried Alive. Well, it's not really that bad. More like a stockpile room on Extreme Couponing. Yea, I watch way too much TLC. Anyway, I'm focusing on using up staple ingredients for a few weeks, only buying the ingredients I need to use those pantry staples in recipes.

I've had a half-package of soba noodles floating around the noodle/carb shelf for some time. When I saw the Ginger Bok Choy with Soba in Appetite for Reduction, I knew it was the perfect chance to use up those noodles:

This simple, low-cal recipe is made with sauteed bok choy, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, and onion. I dry-fried some tofu, low-fat Isa-style to boost the protein (okay, really it had nothing to do with the protein ... I just like tofu in everything!). Simple, wholesome, delicious.

When it comes to food hoarding, my weaknesses are noodles and nut butters. I have jars and jars of flavored hazelnut, almond, peanut, and other butters, as well as loads of Ramen, spaghetti, and various shaped pastas.

What pantry items do you hoard?

She Sells Sanctuary Salad

Okay, first things first. The winner of the Speed Vegan cookbook giveaway is Lacey of Lacey Loves Food! Congrats, Lacey! She was lucky random number 18!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled post:
For a food addict like myself, a delicious meal serves as sanctuary. Food is safe place where all the troubles in the world melt away, at least until my plate is licked clean (and yes, I have been known to lick a plate). Maybe that's not the healthiest attitude to have toward food, but it's the one I've got and I've learned to live with it. When I'm not eating, I'm thinking about my next meal or reading a food blog or perusing a cookbook. Yes, I live to eat.

And nothing says "sanctuary" like great big ole dinner salad topped with all sorts of veggies, baked tofu, and vegan ranch dressing. Naturally, I had to make Isa's Sanctuary Salad from Appetite for Reduction:

This was the first recipe that caught my eye when browsing the salad chapter. It's got all kinds of goodness — romaine, herbed roasted cauliflower, eggplant bacon, baked tofu, carrots, radishes, sprouts, and a homemade vegan ranch made with silk tofu, Vegenaise, and spices.

Let's talk more about that eggplant bacon. OMG. This is from another recipe in Isa's book. It's smoky and crispy, and it's freakin' eggplant. By the way, I learned the hard way that eggplant is way out of season. I looked at three stores before I found one and then paid $5 for it. Yes, $5 for one eggplant. But I really, really wanted to make eggplant bacon.

What's your food attitude? Do you live to eat? Or just eat to live?

Pie Meets Stew

The weather in Memphis is all crazy right now. One day, it's 70 degrees, and hours later, the temps have fallen into the 50s. We've had tornado warnings and crazy storms. Spring is definitely on its way in, but there's still a chill in the air and that's a perfect excuse to make stew. Okay, honestly, I don't really need an excuse to make stew, but it sounded like a nice blog post set-up.

Anyway, when perusing my copy of Appetite for Reduction, the Veggie Pot Pie Stew grabbed my attention:

I think it was the addition of yellow split peas (the corn-lookin' bits in this bowl) that made me do a double-take. Also, who doesn't love pot pie filling? This chunky stew is just like the inside of a pot pie, sans the pie part.

In the book, Isa suggests serving the stew with her Sweet Potato Drop Biscuits:

I've always rolled and cut my biscuits, mainly because I've had one bad experience with dry drop biscuits. But I took a chance on these, and I'm glad I did. The mashed sweet taters make for a ridiculously-moist, melt-in-your-mouth biscuit free of shortening and butter! Well, there is a little oil, but these biscuits are still far lower in calories than what I'm used to. Only Isa can make low-cal taste this good.

On another note, the Farm's Book Publishing Company is hosting cookbook giveaways on their website throughout the month of March. Titles include Speed Vegan, The Natural Vegan Kitchen, Vegan In 30 Days, The 4-Ingredient Vegan, Becoming Vegan, and Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness. Click here to enter.

What "winter food" will you miss the most when spring finally arrives?

Appetite for Tempeh and Taters

My BFF Sheridan gave me Isa's new Appetite for Reduction book for Christmas. But since I got soooo many new cookbooks this holiday, I'm just now getting around to this one. I immediately loved the concept as soon as I heard about it — delicious low-fat recipes concocted with a little Isa magic. Can't go wrong there.

I have a massive to-make list from the book, but for some reason, this Red Wine & Kalamata Olive Tempeh called to me first. I love that whole umami flavor profile, and this savory, salty tempeh totally has that goin' on:

The tempeh is marinated in a mixture of red wine, kalamata olives, and herbs, and then it's pan-fried in the marinade. I love cooking with red wine because you must drink a glass as you cook. A little for the tempeh, a little for me.

In the book, Isa suggests serving the tempeh with her lower-cal version of mashed potatoes — Caulipots. I made the garlic-herb variety:

They may look like ordinary mashed taters, but there's about half a head of cauliflower mushed in there. You can't really even taste it though. The cauliflower adds nutrition and bulk to the taters with less starch and calories. I probably should have made gravy too, but I didn't. And honestly, the caulipots were just fine on their own.

Also peeking in the background are my Granny's homemade rape greens, thawed from the freezer and seasoned with hot sauce and lots of greens seasoning salt.

Have any of you made anything from Appetite for Reduction yet? If so, what?