Tuesday is Tasty - Veggie Style

Sometimes, our favorite meals are completely vegetarian. They are so delicious! Sunday, we had a super late dinner with meetings and such, and we were blasted hungry for something that didn't have sugar.

Dinner - Vegetarian Style

Assorted Roasted Vegetables

Cilantro Rice

Fresh Goods

Dollop of Sour Cream

1.  Roast some vegetables with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Our vegetables on hand were potatoes, green pepper, carrot, onion, and garlic. 

2.  Make leftover rice into cilantro rice. Saute some garlic in olive oil, add rice and cilantro. If desired, add something to spice up the rice. Squeeze lime over when ready to serve.

3.  Chop up avocado and tomatoes. Technically these are fruit but so good and delicious! Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then squeeze lime  over.

I'm so sorry I didn't take a picture of the final product. It was so delicious and we were so hungry! It definitely helped balance out the cupcakes we had earlier.

Apple Dapple Cake

Sean also calls this Apple Bread. It isn't too sweet, and has a nice flavor and texture. I actually have never followed these directions completely, but here they are.

APPLE DAPPLE CAKE - courtesy of America's Test Kitchen Cookbook
Serves 12

We prefer the tart taste of Granny Smith apples here, but Golden Delicious or Cortland apples may be substituted.

CAKE

3 cups (15 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups (14 ounces) granulated sugar
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 Granny Smith apples peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 cup (4 ounces) walnuts, toasted and chopped (I have actually never had walnuts on hand when making this cake)

BROWN SUGAR GLAZE

1/2 cup packed (3 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons milk

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 16-cup tube pan. (A bunt pan works, as well as two large bread pans).

2. FOR THE CAKE: Whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla together with an electric mixer on medium speed until thick and glossy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly beat in the flour mixture, in 3 additions, until just incorporated. Stir in the apples and nuts.

3. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Wipe any drops of batter off the sides of the pan and gently tap the pan on the counter to settle the batter. Bake the cake until a wooden skewer inserted int he center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 50 to 60 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

4. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a small knife around the edge of the cake to loosen, then flip it out onto a wire rack. Turn the cake right side up and let cool completely, about 2 hours.

5. FOR THE GLAZE: Boil all the ingredients together in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until thick and syrupy, 1 to 2 minutes. Drizzle the thick glaze over the top and sides of the cake. Let glaze set, about 25 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Ever since we knew we would be moving, grocery shopping became less of a priority. The more food we had, the more we would have to either use up, move, or give away; not something we were keen on.

There was a lot of eating out that happened...and eating random things in the cupboards for meals. Once the moving day actually happened, there were several meals that consisted wholly of snack foods. We were sure thankful we had to buy fast food as seldom as we did.

Then, once we finally made the move into our Moab place, there was a problem with ants. Lots of ants. They loved the bathroom and kitchen (Sean's two favorite places as well). That meant zero motivation for me to unload any boxes for those rooms. Consequently, we did not get any new groceries either.

Just a few days ago we finally had a breakthrough! With some lovely ant traps, the little buggers have not been seen for a few days. The kitchen is now a functioning part of the house again. There is fresh food in the refrigerator (happy!). During our first meal after moving into the kitchen, Sean mentioned, "It was nice having a real meal again..."

The kitchen is open! Meals do not consist of snack food and carbs! The world we have created in Moab is a little better! Victory!!!

On a side note, I am actually doing ironing today...