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If you’re new to my blog, you may want to read this for info on what ‘My Way’ posts are all about. 🙂 *
— I changed the view on my blog template. It no longer scrolls forever. It will show several posts, then opt to show older posts. This will make it easier to see the footer (where you can search by category or topic). If the footer is not immediately apparent, click on the arrow at the bottom right of the screen. I also added a tag cloud. For any new readers (hi! 🙂  ), I will just restate that the blog menu is hidden. It can be unveiled by clicking the 3 lines in the top right-hand corner of the screen. I am going to try adding a few more pic links to these ‘My Way’ posts, so they may be a bit longer.
— Some
Adventures in Food to catch you up on….I tried a few of the recipes from my
Healthy Work Lunches post. Going with a SW theme, I made use of corn, chickpeas, and black beans for 2 meals: Chunky Corn & Black Bean Falafel and Vegetarian Tortilla Soup (both from the blog post with 29 recipes). I love the joke on the falafel post: What did the sick chickpea say to the doctor? I falafel, lol! For the falafel, I pretty much stuck to the prescribed recipe and used my
homemade non-fat yogurt (whey drained) for a dipping sauce. I did give them a
Misto of oil, but the recipe indicates they will bake up crunchy without it. I let them cook a little longer than the allotted time. I took a few for lunch, and they were quite delish without reheating them.
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I found the Tortilla Soup recipe with several others under the Moroccan Soup with Kale and Chickpeas (check the
link from the 29 recipes post). I replaced the chiles with chipotle in adobo (I had it on hand), chickpeas for hominy, used a combo of tomato paste and fresh tomatoes (blanched & shocked, skin removed), and added corn. I will have to grab some hominy the next time I see it — yums! This recipe gave me an opportunity to try making queso fresco with skim milk. It’s not as rich as a whole milk version, but I am enjoying it (and my body can tolerate it). I followed the guidelines from my
Thrifty Ideas for Home Cheese Making post. I’ve only had tortilla soups with cheddar in the past. I made
corn tortillas last weekend in my batch cooking, so I just pulled them out of the freezer, sliced them up, then baked them off. For an on-the-go meal, I layered the toppings in a canning jar. I’m weird and do not like my food to touch before it’s supposed to, lol, so I put parchment paper between the layers:
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Also from the link with 29 recipes, I made some chocolate-orange energy bites:
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These were more like a sweet treat for me, versus something to give me energy. I took cues from the recipes for Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Energy Bites and the Chocolate Tahini Oat Bites. If I remember correctly, this is what I put in them: Oats (toasted whole & ground), ground flax, ground chia, powdered chocolate,
toasted coconut, cooked sweet potato puree, raisins (chopped & pureed), chopped candied orange peel (still have some left from Christmas!), orange zest, vanilla extract, some kind of sweetener, and salt. I coated a few with ground almonds. This was slightly random, and I was just trying things out. I blended the sweet potato with some of the raisins, the vanilla, and powdered chocolate, then combined it with the dry ingredients. The sweet potato puree tasted just like chocolate pudding. I do not care for chocolate pudding, but it was fab with the rest of the mix. I love the combo of chocolate with orange. Next time, I would like to try a chocolate-nut/seed butter concoction. I am thinking the Spicy Carrot & Hummus Sandwich from that link is next!
From the link with 90 work recipes, I made the easy & delish Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps with Capers and Tomatoes (with a homemade Italian-style dressing) and the Chicken & Rice Salad with Ginger-Sesame Dressing (subbing tinned salmon for chicken). I would like to keep a bottle of the Ginger-Sesame in the fridge. I altered it a bit by making a blended sauce with: whole lime (instead of just the juice),
Sriracha, mustard, a touch of maple, and replaced some of the olive oil with water. I can see putting this on all sorts of things!
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I made a few gingerbread Hamantaschen using the
Purim recipe from last week. It was not vegan, as I replaced the coconut oil with egg yolks and some of the maple with honey. I used orange zest vs. lemon and just added gingerbread flavors (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, molasses). I took a shortcut and rolled the dough into a log. I popped it in the freezer, then just sliced it into rounds the next day. I was concerned about the fillings leaking out, so I pinched them up a bit more than usual. So, the shapes were kind of “meh” to me, but I did what I could. Fillings were pomegranate-chia seeds & sweet
non-fat yogurt cheese. Great with a vanilla rooibos chai I had:
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Thinking ahead for St. Patrick’s, I also baked another batch of whole wheat muffins. I made them green for the occasion, and they were
not attractive at all. But, they satisfied my craving for a savory bit of bread. I took a pic, but it was very dark. I will try to post a pic if I make another batch. I made them using the same method as the
Toasted Sesame Mango-Mandarin, using
buttermilk for milk, avocado for oil, steamed kale and parsley (pureed), chopped scallions, and topped with pepitas. I wanted to use spinach at first, but only had kale. They were yummy, but you have to be the kind of person who really likes greens. They hit the spot for me.
— Enough about food (for a few seconds, anyway 😉  )! So, after cooking all that up, it’s time to run the dishwasher 🙂  . I rarely run the dishwasher, but my mom said it should be run every so often. I’m not sure if that’s just a myth??? I had a commercial rinse agent (from my mom’s friend), and the last of it is gone. I thought I could probably just use vinegar (it seems vinegar, baking soda, and salt have host of uses), but I found this important post:
Natural Dishwasher Rinse Aid. You
can indeed use vinegar, but this link gives a little warning about how to do it properly (without ruining the dishwasher parts).
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Take care, & I’ll see you next time!
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