vegan-y

i know, i know, i have been seriously neglecting the blog of late. but it's not my fault, blame suzanne collins... the author of the hunger games. i read the trilogy in 8 days... yes, i am a nerd... so that took up most of my spare time... it's like it took over my life actually.

i promise to still revisit the valentines day of deliverance (ha!). and i've had some recent adventures discovering little gems around the city, providing a plethora of products i didn't realize we could get our hands on here in halifax... stay tuned.

there was also an unexpected catering this week. got the order on tuesday afternoon to cater thursday at noon... but i got it done! here's the vegan option of roasted garlic hummus, bibb lettuce, cucumbers, roasted red peppers, pickled red onions and carrots on the seed bread from the la have bakery.

yummers. i was really impressed with the bread too - i've been looking for something totally chock full of seeds and finally stumbled across this one. it's going to be my new 'go-to.'

there's actually a fair bit of vegan going on around here this week. the new main course this week is a vegan curry with basmati rice & quinoa. the curry itself has a ton of ingredients: garlic, ginger, potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots, cauliflower, red pepper, green beans, zucchini, spinach, chickpeas & tofu... i may have gotten a little carried away. it's super spiced but not super spicy.

small $10 large $20

then there are the vegan salads. i'm going to keep them exactly the same as last week - i sold out!

4-bean: sprouted beans & lentils, green beans, red pepper, celery, red onion, dill, parsley, dijon.

quinoa: artichokes, asparagus, arugula, lemon & garlic.

wild rice: roasted sweet potato, walnuts, cranberries, sunflower seeds, herbs, maple dressing.

and they'll look like this:

i also made a new batch of hearty chicken stew - not vegan at all! with maple & ewe farm chicken, potatoes, turnips, parsnips, carrots, brussels sprouts, peas & herbs. the last batch was a pretty hot commodity so i'll keep this one in the rotation for a spell.

which leaves the baking - today's mission. i will most definitely be baking another batch of the banana-chocolate chip cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. it didn't take long last saturday until this was my last one.

i'll make a double batch today so i'm not baking until the wee hours tomorrow, post-market.

there will also be the usual red velvets, chocolates, vanillas (might actually be coconut...) and carrots. they look like a veritable cupcake army once they're all baked & lined up on cooling racks.

this week the snickers will be back to normal. i also have two flavours of cheesecake - gluten-free, lemon, blueberry, gingersnap and the tried & true mint oreo. tarts will be passionfruit and butter. cookies will be the usual, and macaroons will be macaroons.

this week i also defrosted my freezer at the market & inventoried all the stuff i had crammed in there. i was actually a little surprised with how much stuff i had jam-packed in that trusty thing. i have lots of chicken, leek, broccoli & bacon pies, vegetarian lasagnas, vegetable pot pies, lobster mac & cheese, and fish cakes & baked beans. but i'm running low on shepherd's pies, beef bourguignon, chicken curry, asparagus strata, chicken & stuffing pies and creamy british seafood pies... which i guess is a good thing. hopefully i can run out of a few things this weekend so my blackboard reads a little less like a novel & a little more like a menu.

okee dokee, the kitchen beckons.

a demain.

ps: i won't have meringue tarts on sunday so make sure to get yer fix tomorrow.