What's for Dinner?

What a beautiful day, we had some "outside time" today. It was almost like spring in February. I even had a tank top on for a short time today, a very short time, but I did feel some warmth outside. Did a little yard cleanup and got some bulbs planted and enjoyed being outside. I planted some Ranunculus and Tigridia. Looks like the daffodils are showing their faces too. Pretty soon,there will be many colors popping up everywhere in my yard.

Last weekend I didn't get our salad made until Monday night. Even though there were plenty of healthy choices for my lunch, I did miss the raw vegetables. I couldn't wait to get home from work and make our salad Monday night.

What's in it this week?

Swiss Chard
Beets and beet greens
leeks
collard greens
chopped fennel bulb
onion sprouts
grated carrots
broccoli
avocado
roasted pumpkin seeds
dried cranberries
the juice from an orange
and a dash of balsamic vinegar and
a dash of garlic/chili flax oil

I also got to wondering if we get enough whole grains. So this weekend I sauteed some red onions with some dill, sea salt, ground pepper, coriander, and some crushed basil. Then I added some fresh broccoli and caulflower flowerettswith a diced red bell pepper. I sauteed them just until they were tender, but still crisp. Then I added some steamed whole grain brown rice. When I fluffed the rice, I added a little garlic chili flax oil. Then tossed it all together.

My beans this week are cooked with leeks and potatoes. I used the 13 bean mixture from the bulk foods. I soaked them for a few hours, seasoned them with salt, pepper, garlic, lavender, and ground dried basil. I diced the potatoes very small so that some of them dissolved creating a creamy consistency. Combined with the red lentils and peas in the bean mixture, it made a nice creamy bean soup. My beans may look the same to some of you week after week, but they are different. I think I have managed to go about six weeks at least without repeating a bean recipe. I might have done baked beans twice, but used different beans each time.

 

All of the above make a complete meal in themselves. But, if I do decide to bring home some fish or make another entree, they all make a nice sidedish.

Then I made a nice surprise this week, Vegan Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies. These could almost qualify as an energy bar; Whole Wheat Pastry flour, barley flour, sweetened with dark Agavi syrup and bananas. I toasted the walnuts myself so I know they don't have any added salt or sugar. No animal products so no cholesterol in these cookies.

Why did I make so many cookies? I am thinking I should drop by Vernie's and meet some new friends. I post my weekly menu on another forum and the members like to get together to meet once a month. I think I will check it out. Homemade cookies are always  add to a welcome greeting especially when meeting new friends.

Thought I'd share something I found in the backyard today. The groundhogs and their counterparts around the country predicted six more weeks of winter. But the new life popping up all over my yard tells me spring is coming.