The Cheese Lover's 30-Day Cleanse, Week 3 & 4

Vegan Curry Soup at Higgins Restaurant

Eliminating foods from your everyday diet is easy at home because YOU control what's in the dish.  Out in the "real world," where cooks do not know the difference between a vegan and vegetarian - they just think "coo-coo", it is difficult to "have it your way."  On a recent trip to California, at my go-to coffee shop chain that starts with a "S" and ends with a "k", I ordered a vanilla rooibos tea, soy latte.  They had to remake it twice.  Another time in San Francisco, we ordered a veggie pizza with red sauce, no cheese, it came with a sprinkling of cheese, that they tried to convince us were herbs, "listen honey you may not know what that dusty thing that you call parmesan tastes like, but it's not herbs..." they had to remake & redeliver - of course we risked having more than just a sprinkling of fake cheese, but it's the principle!  I was at a sporting event at a major arena in Portland, and the only vegan friendly food was fried sweet potatoes (they were really good by the way).  Although it may not be a "vegan-friendly" world yet, there are some sympathizers, such as Higgins Restaurant in Portland, Greg Higgins, owner and chef, always puts vegetarian/vegan items on his menu (his wife is vegetarian) and Naomi Pomeroy at Beast (known for snout to tail cooking), has vegetarian menu night.  BUT being a foodie, I understand the flip side as well... David Chang of Momofuku, NYC - hates vegetarians and vegans at HIS restaurants, he claims, he makes a certain style of food (he uses lots of pork products - one of my favorite edibles) and if you go to his restaurant, you should be there to eat his food, he doesn't allow substitutions,  additions or photos  (a vegan food blogger's worst nightmare).  And... as it should be, but it can be frustrating during a 30-day cleanse!

I am even more obsessed with cooking at home and making mindful decisions about eating.  

Spiced Squash Soup:

Roast a small butternut squash (you don't have to have a machete), cut into quarters, I had 1/2 of another squash so I decided to roast as well (it's the round one). I like to drizzle some olive oil and salt and pepper, bake at 400 until done about 20-30 minutes - check for doneness with a bamboo skewer or fork.

Take the flesh off the peel, and add to a pot with veg broth - bring to a simmer, using an immersion blender or regular blender, puree add more liquid as needed to make it the consistency that you like, add cumin, coriander, curry and ginger powder (add small amounts of each, until you get the flavor you like), add salt and pepper.  Serve with some nuts on top, I had pepitas, but pumpkin seeds would work.

I cut the butternut squash into quarters and
also used a squash in my CSA basket

The sweetness from the roasted squashes
mixed well with the spices

Mushroom red sauce with Zucchini ribbons :

Clean and slice mushrooms (I like cremini for this, but you could use any or combo), saute in olive oil on med-high for about 3 minutes, turning them as they brown, add minced garlic - cook for about a minute, add any red tomato sauce you have to cover mushrooms, add a small amount of pepper flakes (optional), let simmer.  Wash and dry 2 small zucchinis and using a mandoline slicer or a veg peeler, peel zucchini into long ribbons, saute zucchini in olive oil for 1 minute on med-high heat, add salt pepper, and parsley.  Put a pool of sauce on the bottom of the bowl and using a tong, top sauce with a twirl of zucchini and a drizzle of olive oil.

 

Spicy Lentil & Kale Soup:

1 cup of lentils (I used what I had in my pantry - beige, it takes less time to cook - if you go out to buy, get the green french lentils, they hold up best but takes a little longer to cook).  Rinse the dried lentils under cool water.  Bring 3 cups of water to boil, add lentils and simmer, check for done-ness after 20-30 minutes.  Dice  1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 garlic clove (add after the other veg are cooked or it may burn) - saute with olive oil on med-high heat, turn the heat down after the veg cook a little bit - 3 minutes, add salt and pepper.  Add veg broth or water (to cover by 1 inch, chopped), chopped kale, 1 bay leaf, 1 can of tomatoes, cooked lentils and I added 1 diced chipotle chili (optional), simmer until all the flavors mix about 20 minutes.  Serve with a drizzle of olive oil.

Rinse dried lentils and remove any debris

Lentils absorb a lot of water,
so be sure to start with plenty

Remove the stem and cut kale to bit size pieces

Make enough to share with friends

Snappy Simple Sandy

This one is sort of a cheat, because there's no cooking involved.  I had some yummy red pepper hummus from my friend Joe (Trader Joe's that is) and bread from my friend Dave (Dave's Killer Bread), so making this sandy is a snap.

Spread hummus (any type you like) on a slice of bread (any type you like) and layer veggies (again whatever you have and like).  Here's my sandwich:

From bottom to top:  Dave's killer good seed bread, red pepper hummus,
arugula, red onions, sliced kalamata olives, cucumbers

Although I've added wheat (week 3) and dairy (week 4) back into my diet, I don't have the urge to eat a block of cheese or butter on white bread.  I can see adding them as supporting flavors rather than the main character.