Variations on other's themes

A note about faux cheese:

Jim and I really enjoyed the cheese that I made the other day and we're still munching through it. But just so my previous comments weren't misleading, it's very good, but it's certainly not cow's cheese. And I don't mean that to sound like cow's cheese would taste better, because Jim is convinced that this is better than any cheese he ever ate before. So if you decide to make it, don't expect that you're going to take a bite and exclaim "Gouda!" Just think of it as a yummy thing to enjoy with crackers and accept it for what it is. Oh, and the flavor really deepens overnight, so if you're going to try it with guests, make it the day before.

Anyway... I wanted to whip up a big batch of something warm the other night that I could just put into containers for us to eat at work. I decided to try Leslie's Lentil Chickpea Soup.


Of course, I can never leave well enough alone and I tweaked it. I only had half of the amount of red lentils that were called for, so I used a mixture of red and green. I also only used 2 carrots and added a cubed potato, because I just love potato in my soups. And I didn't have any veggie stock, so I used just water. It was a very thick and hearty meal and reheating it the next day thickened it even more, much like a stew. It's very, very good and because it uses ingredients that we have around most of the time, I have a feeling this will become a cold weather staple for us. I was able to make it in about 15 minutes with my pressure cooker. Next time I'm going to make some quinoa to serve it over.

I had really been craving something super chocolatey, so I paged through Vive Le Vegan! and came across Dreena's Double Chocolate Almond Explosion Cookies.


Perfect! I subbed macadamia nuts for the almonds, replaced half of the maple syrup measurement with agave (because it's so sweet) and made up the difference with a splash of almond milk. Yum! We both loved them, but I'm normally more of the chocolate hound, so I didn't expect Jim to like them that much, but he loved them. And they made the perfect amount, 1 dozen, rather than the 2 dozen I normally would have baked, that we would have eaten ourselves sick on.

On a sad note, Moussa doesn't appear to be doing well. I've been thinking that she's getting old for a little while now, but I think we're nearing the end. She has been a wonderful little family member and is a very sweet little soul. Please send a good thought her way.