raw spaghetti and vegan meatball

It sure looks like spaghetti and meatballs! However, it tastes like squash and nuts. Not that that is a bad thing, but in this case looks are certainly deceptive. I suppose when I look at a plate of spaghetti I expect it to be hot and with a deep tomato flavor.

The recipe I used for this meal came out of Raw Made Easy by Jennifer Cornbleet. The spaghetti sauce called for 1 tomato and 1/2 c of sun-dried tomatoes. Although my mind said 'that's too much,' my hand still added it. I love sun-tomatoes but they dominate! The proportion of fresh v. sun was out of whack. So I remade the sauce, but I was running out of steam, getting tired.

The 'not meatballs' were once again made using nuts and well, ...they tasted like nuts.

I need to stop using raw cookbooks. I need to stop replicating cooked food because I am expecting one thing and another is delivered.

This is getting frustrating. I wind up making two meals on Mondays because the raw is under-appreciated by the kids and it is getting exhausting.

Next week I'm going back to the raw basics. Salad. Maybe an easy soup, and a cracker. Back to the raw-ing board.

Cost Breakdown:

squash: $1

walnuts: $1

tomato and sun-tomato: $2

basil, parsley, lemon: $1

Total to make 2 servings:

$5.00

quesadilla

I realize how important consistent posting is - having learned this not only from my son who makes YouTube videos of unabridged anime, but also from my own experiences of times when I could hardly wait to see the next food being posted on a particular blog. Not that I am trying to elevate Weekly Vegan Menu to any undeserving status; I am merely sympathising.

This past week has been challenging. After a year of living in our current home, having moved across the country, I am beginning to (maybe) foresee us staying here for a while.

Over the past month I have come to embrace our present location and the need to put things in order - sort of a 'summer cleaning.' I have organized, scrubbed and cleansed all possible surfaces. I have culled unwanted or unneeded items. In other words, I have readied my home as best as I can for the coming year.

In addition to all the hard work and exhaustive effort, over the weekend practically the whole family came down with a cold. What is worse  - I did, too. There is not many things worse than the caregiver to also get sick. Plain old sick. 

I am not someone who is intense about keeping my family germ-free. I feel it is important to expose ourselves to germs to allow our immune system a chance to fight off the invaders and learn from it. Our bodies cannot form antibodies without having previous knowledge of the bugs to fight off. BUT, I am not a doctor, so this is all my opinion and not to be taken any other way. **Disclaimer.

Anyway, we got sick and I didn't blog because we just ate whatever we got our hands on, including take-out. 

I am happy to report that a few days was enough for me. Having a strong immune system does not mean you do not ever get sick - it could (see Disclaimer above) mean you get better faster. I attribute that to our lifestyle and diet. 

Since the kids are not in any mood to cook - which I am sure is also due to the idea of it still being summer and they are still out of school - I will be messing around in the kitchen on their cooking days this week.

Because I love to support vegan chefs, and since Viva Vegan! by Terry Hope Romero has just come out (please use my link to Amazon through Vegan.com so Erik gets the commission), I have dedicated most of the menu this week to recipes from that cookbook. They sound enticing and simple enough to prepare. I love Latin food and it is great that someone has created and organized Latin recipes into one convenient format. Now I can at least stop searching and veganizing this ethnic cuisine!

Today's lunch (not from Viva Vegan!) was a simple quesadilla with a fresh tomato salsa. It was excellent!

Cost Breakdown:
tortillas: $3
pepper and mushroom: $3
tomato: $1
lime and onion: $1
Daiya: $.50
Total to make 4 servings:
$8.50