Flavoured rice (I have totally forgotten what flavour, but it was probably chicken) mixed with sweetcorn, peas and carrots with some lettuce, cucumber and hotdogs with bread on the side was for dinner.  I also just had a chicken and mushroom PotNoodle and a bit of a Galaxy chocolate bar whilst watching a drama. :')

Hubby is working late tonight so I had spicy ramen with roasted vegetables.   Ate it while watching Miss Culinary on Netflix. (Thai drama)

got out to two groceries earlier yay

grazing on some bought treats. so far gluten + egg + dairy free lemon cookie was yummy! going to try a pomegranate water kefir with rice milk chocolate crunch bar on the side. brown rice crackers with hummus. orange vanilla yogurt covered rice cakes with coconut water with pineapple to drink. a pink lady apple later. eating like a beast it seems with food in the house again oopsie

{*proud pose* had a store coupon for FREE $5 worth of apples. managed without weighing only 8 cents over to pay!}

edited to keep adding my graze fest Xp

Leftover domino's pizza for dinner... Yum?

I got jealous of Schmetterling's wonderful soups, so I thought I'll make one as well!

I used a tiny amount of beef stock, onions, carrots, winter squash, potatoes, the last batch of my father's wild mushrooms (he almost killed me, he wanted to roast them with pork chops, I hate pork so I consider it a save, lol), fresh ginger, garlic, 1 can of tomatoes concasse, cheap white wine, almond milk and olive oil. 

For flavouring, I used thyme, lemongrass, hot paprika flakes, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, bay leaves, mustard, and black pepper. 

The initial intention was to make it "French". I diced most ingredients, then I sautéed the onions, carrots, squash and mushrooms in the olive oil, quenched with the wine, then after the alcohol evaporated I added the potatoes, garlic, tomatoes, stock, lots of hot water, some almond milk and the aromatics. I brought to a boil, and then sealed the pot, lower the temperature and let it slow cook. 


At this time it's almost cooked, and I'm now in a quandary: 

Should I puree it to make a "French" velvet soup, per initial intention? Or should I feel sorry for the wonderful texture of the mushrooms, and serve it as is? Is there something in between possible??

@Estelll why not ladle out 2 or 4 cups to puree? problem solved. have your soup and puree it too. a woman is entitled to change her mind ;) you could probably fish out some mushrooms for garnish

<<Should I puree it to make a "French" velvet soup, per initial intention? Or should I feel sorry for the wonderful texture of the mushrooms, and serve it as is? Is there something in between possible?? >>

@Estelll I agree with @eightocci, puree part or all of the soup except for those beautiful wild mushrooms. I would definitely use them for a  tasty garnish so that everyone can enjoy their flavor and texture. Please let us know how it turns out. It sounds delightful!  :)

Thanks @eightocci and @Schmetterling!! 

I eventually fished out all the mushrooms & finally chopped them and keep them on the side (it's a wonder how they kept most of their unique flavour after more than an hour of boiling, that's wild mushrooms for you!). 

I pureed most of the soup (that turnout out an extremely hard task cause my blender suddenly decided to die out on me!), sieve it out, bring it to boil with some fresh butter (yeah, I know, that's cheating) and extra almond milk, for it to turn out a beautiful light velvety consistency & dark orange colour! I tasted some myself & it's delightful indeed! 

I plan to serve it tomorrow to our family Sunday meal, with the garnish of the mushrooms, some grated cheese, toasted bread/rusk and chopped green onion.

@Estelll hopefully everything refrigerates well and family can enjoy your labor of love :)

from what i understand you could use cashew milk for a buttery creamy swap in. my bad experience was accidentally buying sweetened! *facepalm*

 eightocci:
from what i understand you could use cashew milk for a buttery creamy swap in.

Thanks for the suggestion!! I'll certainly look it up next time I go grocery shopping! Though I think that's not available here. 

I generally try to avoid milk, milk cream, and butter, but I cheat every now and then. I don't like to use processed, factory made stuff like margarines and seed oils, so I'll only use either virgin olive oil for cooking (our own production), or a limited amount of pure butter when I absolutely need that consistency (it's fattening & not good for the arteries, but if used in moderation, it's still better than processed fats) - or a combination of both in some cases, like when making cookies! 

As of milk, I absolutely adore the taste of almond milk (I always buy the unsweetened variety, of a certain, local brand that has at least 4% almonds & nothing nasty in the ingredient list!), maybe I'll try making my own one day!! (Here's a recipe I want to try!)

I made cashew cream once. It’s not bad. You soak raw, unsalted cashews overnight and then blend the heck out of them the next day. It makes a smooth, nutty “cream” you can drizzle on creamy soups.

I’ve found when I use the blender I can make cream of almost anything without milk products.   I had a cheaper blender that I tried using with one of my soups and the mechanism below the pitcher melted! Haven’t had that problem with our new one and I’ve made a lot of “cream” of carrot, butternut squash, and cauliflower soups and it works when I want “refried” black beans.  Definitely worth the money. :)

@Estelll your soup sounds delicious. I bet it will be a hit tomorrow.  :)

perhaps in another lifetime i can become an adventurous cook. a shame i have to read labels so closely. how long have foods not been just one ingredient anyway? took time to even find coconut milk cans without sulfite/ate(?) currently in a dairy free (or limited) phase. got cheddar meltable slices of vegan cheese. might make concoction sunday like mac n cheeze but chicken, brown rice with several slices added near end. deciding between garlic and or cumin in case bland. had one slice cheddar earlier with apple and it somewhat tastes and smells like butter. why do apples and cheese go together anyway??

{rambly jen should go to bed. my apologies ha}

 eightocci:
why do apples and cheese go together anyway

I also find that strong tasting and salty cheeses go excellent together with something very sweet (and also make a great accompaniment to wine, but that's another story, let's not endorse alcohol* for now XD ), for example a favourite treat/snack is almonds and graviera cheese smeared with honey. Also, hearty cheeses with dates. Or salted olives with apples/pears. But maybe it's just my taste buds?! 


*But if we are to endorse alcohol, try hard bread or rusk dipped in dry red wine, together with dried figs!! Apart from the great taste, this snack is thought to be good for women during their period.

concoction today was brown rice, chicken, cumin, garlic with non dairy cheddar with coconut water with mango to drink. a couple spoonfuls left even though it was a large portion. hard to stop from eating :)

Everyone seems so adventurous! I’ve been lurking for awhile but thought I’d join in...we had a chicken and leek risotto tonight with fresh bread and a salad. Left the mushrooms out because the kids (5 and 3) won’t eat them, discovered halfway through we were out of chicken stock, baby went ballistic so had to hold her and cook one handed.... it was a good time :D 

End result was pretty tasty but of course the kids didn’t eat more than a bite :D