Vegan Mofo V Day 4- "You Don't Spell It Son, You Eat it!"

 I made my very first quiche today. It's "Red Chard Tofu Quiche" from an issue of VegNews. I am really starting to fall in love with chard. I think this is the third time I've used it ever, but it's the second time in two weeks. You definitely haven't seen the last of it! If you want the recipe, let me know because I didn't see it on their website.
 
I thought I would save myself some time and make the crust the night before. I'm so glad I did that because I still ended up taking a lot of time to make this. Anyone else could have done it in less time, but I am known for taking forever and with new recipes/techniques I can take even longer. I've never made crust from scratch so without any reference point, I was freaking out. I think I rolled the crust too thin so then I patted all the excess back into the pan after I was done. I think this is what I get for cheating on Isa/Terry and not making one of their pies or quiches first. They give the clearest (and funniest) directions so my food always comes out awesome even though I am learning as I go along. Check back in a few months to see my improved skills. Vegan Pie In The Sky comes out in a few weeks, perfect for when it is cool enough to use the oven more often.

Making the filling was a lot easier. There were only a few ingredients and not too many seasonings. I think next time I might add some paprika and a few other things to give it a bit more of the flavors I like, but it is good like this too. I've never had quiche in my pregan days, but I will say this is a million times better than the Spinach Pie I used to make with Bisquik when I first turned veg 11 years ago! While I was cooking the veggies for the quiche I also made some VB Diner Home Fries to go with it. They were an afterthought so there is no bell pepper but they are still a great compliment to the quiche. Next time I will make some fancier lemony herb potatoes!

p.s. Could you tell that I traced a heart into the quiche? I can barely see it but that's also because I know what I'm looking for.

blame it on the rain

Our weekly forecast included three days of scattered showers, time to make soup! I've been trying to make the most of my pantry (again) so this Lemon Lentil Chickpea Soup was a perfect fit. I only had to get zucchini and onion but I decided to add some carrots as well. I'm not sure if the carrots will "go" but it was worth a try.

It started raining right when my soup came to a boil. I ran outside like a fool to get Penny and crate her in the garage. The last few times I have done this it stopped raining by the time I got her settled and came back into the house. Scattered showers are annoying but it's better than no showers at all I suppose. Let's see how many May flowers they bring. I have already noticed tons more birds and bees this year.

This was my second time making the recipe which I first found in an old issue of VegNews. It is also featured in Eat, Drink & Be Vegan by Dreena Burton. I will have to do a closer read but I think the only difference between the recipe in the magazine and the recipe in the book is the vn version calls for red onion. I could not find my copy of the magazine so I looked for it on the vn site and missed it the first time. I did find it later when I did not use as many words in the search. Maybe next I will find my magazine copy, and better yet, I will get my own copy of the book!

p.s. It is not the most photogenic soup, but it tastes lovely, I promise.