It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

so it should taste like Christmas too, right?

If you haven't made the Gingerbread Waffles from Vegan Brunch, now is the time. This was my second time making them but the first time I didn't let my ginger thaw out and they turned out okay but not nearly as awesome as they did this time. I was planning to have everything ready when my niece came over for dinner but I wasn't quite done when she came through the door. She took in a big whiff and told me how good it smelled in the house, but quickly backpedaled to say that she didn't want waffles for dinner...until she saw sausages cooking in a pan on the stove.

Since I wasn't done cooking and she wasn't sure of what she wanted to eat I told her she could have some leftover mac and cheese and a hot dog (one of her fave combos). After she tried the tester waffle, she decided she wanted some after all, so after her hot dog and mac she had a waffle and a sausage. She was still hungry so she asked if she could have another waffle/sausage plate. I hesistated for a moment because I still hadn't had my dinner and because I was afraid she'd stuff herself and feel sick later. Before I could answer her about her second waffle, she said, "or what? pie?". I couldn't stop laughing, but let her have a second helping of breakfast for dinner instead of dessert. She didn't feel so great after eating all that yummy food so hopefully she's learned a lesson.

If you decide to make these, double the recipe if it's for more than two people, or if you like a lot of leftover waffles. I forgot to do that and was kind of bummed that I only had three left for the next day. I warmed them up in the toaster oven so they could get a little bit crispy, and I honestly think they taste a little better the second (or third!) day.

Oodles of Noodles

I've been trying more new recipes lately and I love it. My cookbooks had been suffering from neglect and there are still some foods/ingredients I've yet to try. Of course the list is much shorter than it was in my pregan days where I ate almost no vegetables at all. Ginger is my new favorite ingredient to work with. I am disappointed that it took me so long to get over any unfounded fears/biases and just start peeling it already. I've made three recipes with it in the last few weeks and it gets better each time.

Last night I made the Ginger Bok Choy & Soba from Appetite for Reduction. Oddly enough, I've never cooked bok choy and I haven't used soba in years. There was a soba dish I used to make that was quite good, but one night after dinner my niece got sick and that was the end of that. I'm certain it had nothing to do with the food, but after that happened, it took a lot of the appeal away.

I wanted to use the soba I found during my cupboard clean out and really got lucky with this recipe. Per usual, I took way longer with prep than I should have. I was only cooking for myself so there was no need to hurry. Next time I will add the soba in a little at a time since it was a challenge to get everything mixed up properly. I would also like to try using three bunches of baby bok choy instead of one regular sized, and throw in some tofu as well. I am glad this book is getting a workout, and now it is my turn, since I had a few refills on that bowl last night!