Lots today

I have quite a list of comments for today.  First, a couple of weeks ago I talked about grocery shopping and price comparisons.  I specifically talked about vital wheat gluten, at the time I thought Superstore was the cheapest, until I was at Safeway.  Well last week I was in Planet Organic (one of my favourite natural food stores) and found it for $8.69 a full $2.30 cheaper then Superstore.  It was a shock to me, as I always thought specialty food stores would be more expensive.  So word to the wise, even though they advertise cheap food prices, when it comes to the natural food section, please shop around, as they are not the cheapest. 


We experimented with the juicer this weekend.  We tried pear juice and it was a hit with everyone.  I do have a older not very well made juicer and it left behind ALOT of pulp, this is why I wanted a newer one.  The new juicer did a fabulous job of juicing all the fruit, out of 6 pears I had maybe half a pear in pulp.  Fantastic!  When I did the grocery shopping this weekend, I stocked up on oranges, apples and a pineapple.  We will do a bit of testing this week, I am hoping to get a leaf or two of spinach into one test.  Will have to be something green that we are juicing so the picky son won't notice.  Hehehehe. 


And finally to let you know about the "vegetarian" dinner I was served at my husband's company christmas party.  The first course was a salad with a side of potato based something which clearly had bacon in it, pass, but the salad was good.  The second course was a mushroom soup in a broth base, I have never had a mushroom soup in anything but a cream base.  This was very, very good and I am going to be doing some searching on the internet for a recipe today.  Then we had a sorbet to cleanse the palate.  Our main course was a baby carrot and two asparagus spears on top of mashed potatoes and then some sort of eggplant thingy in a pastry shell.  Absolutely no taste, no spice, no herbs, no flavour whatsoever.  It was very disappointing, I tried three bites to see if it got better, but no such luck!  I was hoping for a risotto, pasta, lasagna, something with flavour, sadly no.



Yesterday I was able to carve out a bit of time to do some cooking for the week.  I found two soup recipes in my "1000 Vegetarian Recipes" by Carol Gelles.  One was a Lentil Cauliflower Soup and then a Creamy French Lentil Soup, both sounded yummy.  When I cook, I sort of follow a recipe, so this time I did a combination of the two.  The combo soup turned out great and I was able to freeze two meals worth.  The second thing I tried to make was seitan, I got the recipe from http://www.theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/index.php?RecipeID=112.  It looked very easy, so away I went.  This was my first time making seitan and I had never tasted it before, so I am not sure how I did.  My version didn't quite look like the pictures I had seen, as for the flavour, it was good.  I fried a couple of pieces for dinner that night and had it with mushroom gravy, rice and carrots. 


So far this week I have planned:

• Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
• Pizza night
• Soup/Stew night with some good french bread (it's cold outside, good hearty soup)
• Seitan and mushroom Stroganoff

Again, not in any particular order.  Have a great day, stay warm and safe.

What's up for this week...maybe

Well here we are, another week. Time is going by so fast and it's almost Christmas. I wanted to write today about grocery shopping. I hate grocery shopping; we are a one income family now, so I have had to really pay attention to what I buy, how much and if we really eat it. I have done a lot of trimming in that department and now that I am vegetarian our meat purchases are significantly down. I do serve vegetarian dishes to the family about 3 times a week, and then the husband complains that he needs his meat.

I try to comparison shop, but sometimes going to one grocery store is more convenient then going to three to get a deal on bananas, but it must be done. A couple of things I have noticed is that Superstore, which everyone thinks is quite cheap, is not always the case. I add vital wheat gluten to my bread, at Superstore, Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten is $10.99, Safeway $9.99. Yes a $1.00, but when on a budget that makes a difference. I also don't mind spending more on my produce if I know it's going to last. I have found that Superstore produce does not last. Safeway and Sobey's produce lasts longer and is better quality. Numerous times I have bought produce at Superstore (the last thing grapes) only to have them go bad in a couple of days, maybe, maybe last a week. I also find their dairy even with an expiry date, doesn't always last as long.

One thing Superstore does have is a great natural food section and vegetarian choices. I have found numerous great vegetarian foods with their Blue Label product. They carry great tofu choices and I always buy their Blue Label Teriyaki Marinated Tofu, as well as it's the only place I can find deep fried tofu.


On the menu so far this week is, in no particular order as some nights when I plan on having one thing, if it's been a busy day I'll make something else that is quick and easy.

Mushroom Risotto with roasted vegetables

Pizza, this will probably be on Wednesday night as it's just the kids and I


Vegetable Lasagna, my new favourite dish, there are so many varieties.


I am also experimenting with some different home made breads. Will keep you updated on how they turn out. And waiting impatiently for my juicer.


Have a great day, any comments, suggestions or questions, fire away.