09 March 2006

A Disaster Twice Over + Treats

I am starting this post with this horrible disaster. It was Tuesday night and it was quiet all through the house. Ray had gone back to the Music Building around 8pm to practice for his piano, bassoon and trumpet "midterms", let alone writing papers, and playing/practicing his own upright bass. I don't miss school in that way. I should have made some dinner before that, as we were both hungry, but I am stubborn and decided to prepare a meal that I thought would only take about 10 minutes while he was gone so we could eat after. Well, he didn't get home until after 10:30 and I was expecting him around 10pm. Because of that, I timed everything wrong and... well, let me back up...

I have been thinking about this recipe from the Spring 2005 issue of Veggie Life Magazine. It is a recipe called Soba Noodles with Green Soybeans and Spicy Tahini Sauce. Sounds good, right? But, does the above look good to you? Not me, it looks too mushy and creamy. I'll tell you why...

While you are cooking the noodles (5 minutes), you are supposed to prepare and heat the sauce. This also only takes five minutes, so I figured all in all, this meal would take about 10 minutes total, barely any chopping, mess, etc. Boy was I wrong! It was just about 10pm and I thought Ray would be home pretty soon so I started on the sauce. It heated up and I lowered it to barely any heat so it could sit and wait. Well, time and time went on and I had to finally turn off the pot of boiling water because Ray was no where in sight and these noodles take only five minutes. I didn't want them cold. The water was turned off the heat and the sauce in the saucepan sat for a long time... It got clumpy. Then it got whiter. Then it reminded me of puke. Then it reminded me of dairy. Ugh. This was gonna suck.

Ray got home and I decided to toss the sauce. I figured that it would be a waste if I served it as-is because it really didn't look good. It was a waste no matter what. Plus, there wasn't too much, as I cut down the recipe (it served 4). So, like a typical American, I tossed the food down the drain and started over (guiltily). Started the noodles (again), re-did the sauce, and finally served it. It didn't smell that good. I should have known. So I added a bit more tamari to it. The noodles were too mushy, the sauce was basically inedible (aka, tasted like complete shit) and I was soo mad/upset/frustrated/hungry/guilty of wasting (again). I wasn't even going to save this for a hungry dog (well, maybe...if there was one around). I threw a mini-fit, hastily stomped to the kitchen and tossed it away. I decided to have the remaining 1/2 of the sourdough bread and make up a meal as fast as possible.

Ray's meal: peanut butter and blueberry spread on Sourdough. With Kettle Chips. Ray said, "I've never had pb & j on sourdough before." That's when I realized that I fucked up, again! Eew, that had to have been bad, plus with salt/pepper chips? Ugh. He still ate it.

Leslie's meal (while moping): 2 corners of Sourdough bread with Earth Balance. What the $^#@ kind of meal is this? I had ice cream right after and that made it a meal. My junk-vegan-meal.

Here's the ingredients if you feel like being brave (I cannot give exact recipe, see website if available)...
veggie stock, tahini, soy sauce, brown rice vinegar, ginger root, sugar (I used agave), cayenne, soba noodles, edamame, carrots, green onions (I omitted), sesame seeds (I used Gamashio which consists of sesame seeds, sea salt, sea veggies, dulse, nori and kombu).
Attempt this recipe with caution and a back-up meal.

Onwards we go...
Yep, more treats. I decided that it was time to stop just throwing everything I had in the pantry into a bowl and calling it treats. I have nothing with this, I am just tired of it, as I have been making pretty much the same treats here and there for a few months now. I sort-of changed it up. I decided that I would love to cookie-cutter treats, but that probably would have been weird and too difficult. Instead, I put treats in mini muffin and muffin pans. I figured I'd use the pans in some way since I'm not baking (for now). They are nice and convienent and I don't have to worry about cutting and making a mess each time. Plus, the mini ones are about 2-3 bites, and the larger ones are about 10 bites.

These treats consist of: peanut butter, brown rice syrup, agave nectar, brown rice puffs, barley sweetened chocolate chips, vanilla extract, cinnamon, cashews and a dash of sea salt. Most or all items are organic.

I mixed as usual, Pam'ed a muffin tin and pressed firmly into the pan. These were nice and sweet and simple. More simple than my standard treats, anyway. Take a closer look...


And now... saving the best for last... ta da!

These are my ULTIMATE special treats. They are a take-off (aka, my own revised recipe) of one I found in Vegetarian Times magazine a while back. I first made these around Xmas time, and I made them so much (treats for home, gifts, desserts, etc) that I decided to stop making them around the time I started this blog. So, this is for sure worth the wait because they are awesome, filling, nutritious and raw. They are also fast and easy to make.

Ingredients: rolled oats, coconut, pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds), raisins, raw sunflower seeds, cinnamon, fresh ground almond butter, brown rice syrup, barley malt syrup, vanilla.
Method: mix dry ingredients, stir. Then mix in wet ingredients, stir. Grind up a bit of oats with your desired "seed" and use as a coating. The mixture should be dough-like. Fill a small bowl with water. Wet your hands and roll 1-inch balls. Roll them in the coating mixture. Place on a tray. Place all of them in the freezer for 20 minutes and then store, air-tight, in the fridge. Simple and delicious!


The above is my special container for only these bites. I have a typed-out ingredient list attached to the lid for guests as well as times for when I bring these to work.

I highly suggest trying these.

11 comments:

Susan Voisin said...

I'll take your word on the noodle dish and skip it. But the treat balls look great! Do you have a name for them?

Eat Peace Please said...

Susan, I call them raw-organic-almond-oat-balls, but Ray keeps telling me to stop offering people "balls". I get it. That's why I said "bites" in the post, but they would just be ALmond Oat Balls. They're fabulous!

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

Leslie, I'd love to see proportions for ingredients on this. I recently got back into mojo bars, which seem too similar for me to resist this recipe and not have to pay for the bars (which I only bought because they were on sale). : )

The tahini dish looks like it has promise, but I have to say, tahini sauce on dishes other than falafel haven't appealed to me. I had a creamy tahini pasta dish once that was good the first few bites..and then eh.

Julie said...

Sorry about your kitchen disasters...I've a a few (tons!) of those myself.

Those last treats look great! (That is so funny that Ray says not to call them balls!)

Yesterday, I made a double batch of Dreena's Oat Bars and added chocolate chips, walnuts and prunes. The prunes were on sale at Sunflower and added a yummy sweet taste. I will be gone from Saturday until Tuesday in Yuma (at my Grandma's house, so I needed some "snacky" things to take w/ me.

When I get back I will definetely be making those raw balls (haha! Pass that one on to Ray! :))

Which reminds me, I told my Grandparents I would make them a meal at thier house, and I'm thinking vegan enchiladas..know any good recipes?

Eat Peace Please said...

Julie... I emailed you.

Jess... I've had a mojo once when it was on sale. It was good, but these are better. Which proportions do you want? Both?

Yeah, tahini in anything but tahini sauce for falafel is absolute CRAP. The photo in the magazine does not show it creamy at all that's why I thought it would be somewhat light and more liquidy, not thick and pukey.

Rivkeh said...

Oh my gosh - this post was hilarious. (I just found you through a comment you left on the Vegan Lunch Box page.) I loved the part about what you ended up eating at the end of it all. Haven't we all had nights like that??? My husband and I still laugh about this one bizarre veggie casserole I made...it's better left forgotten. Ugh.

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Flo @ Yielded Heart said...

I had a similar experience with tahini last week. It was Napa cabbage salad with mandarin oranges and it was so gross!

I've been thinking about noodles and edamame today and thought about thinning my hummus for sauce. But, now that I've read your post, I'm not too sure.

The "balls" look so darn good! I'd have to make those, since picking from the screen is not an option. I guess we could use some pointers from you on this- to avoid a "disaster".

This is one of my favorite posts here!

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

the balls!!!! indeed

Dreena said...

Those raw treat balls look delicious! Sorry for the rest of your day, but at least you have those yummy treats to make up for all of the chaos! :) I need to make these!

Guinnah said...

I'm sorry to laugh at your misfortune with the noodle recipe - but haven't we all had that sinking feeling halfway through a recipe? Sometimes it can be rescued and sometimes, well... The good part is I have two dogs who will eat anything and since I cook all their food for them they are used to "people" food. They would have thought those noodles were a great treat!