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Posts from the ‘Vegan (or vegan option)’ Category

Aug 19

7 Comments

Campsite rice and beans

July 2013 update – looking specifically for backpacking meal ideas? Check out this post for a few trail-appropriate recipes and meal plans. 

A few people have asked for more information about how we’re eating when we’re traveling, specifically when we’re camping. We just finished camping for seven nights in a row, and after one night in a hotel in Calgary are camping for the next four, which means quite a bit of campstove cooking and mobile kitchen setups. Cooking while camping can be a daunting task, but so far we’ve found great ways to nourish our hard-hiking, long-driving days.

rice_beans

I actually like cooking outside quite a bit, and nothing tastes quite so good as a meal around a campfire. Some of the meals I list below may seem pretty ordinary or low-brow, but I can tell you that even the simplest of things tastes amazingly good after a long day of hiking or driving. Sometime soon I’m going to put together a longer, more detailed guide to camp cooking, but for now I just thought I’d share how we’ve been feeding ourselves lately, along with a super-simple, super-healthy, flavor-packed dinner that’s great for camping or at home. Read more

Jul 30

Summer blended gazpacho

Summer in Oregon isn’t exactly the summer I’m used to. I grew up in the rainy, humid, sweltering summers of the Midwest, then spent most of the last decade’s summers in the dry, oven-like heat of inland Southern California. I’m not used to these overcast mornings and cool evenings, where dinner the backyard is more comfortable with sleeves. But don’t take this as a complaint – I’d take chilly over sweaty any day, and am always more comfortable in a sweatshirt than in shorts.

I just say this to point out that gazpacho isn’t quite as necessary here as it is in the sort of summer that keeps you out of the kitchen at all costs – but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t perfect for a post-travel light summer meal, and that I didn’t happily eat it in the backyard with a sweatshirt on.

gazpacho1 Read more

May 24

7 Comments

Big changes (and some tasty pasta with cauliflower)

Are you ready for some Very Big Exciting News? (If not, there’s a recipe for a pretty awesome pasta dish with cauliflower, parsley, capers, and lemon below, so you can just head right on down to the bottom.)

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Also, I did a really good job of picking an entirely white recipe to pair with what’s actually a pretty exciting announcement. Way to go, me.  Read more

Apr 25

Chipotle chilaquiles (a tasty exercise in fridge diving)

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Fridge diving (aka “kitchen scrounging”) should not be underestimated as a handy skill, particularly for an everyday or last-minute dinner.  It can take a bit of creativity, flexibility, and technical skill to put together something delicious from what you happen to find around your kitchen, but often to very good results!  Maybe you find a head of cauliflower beginning to live out its last days in the back of your refrigerator, a stale butt of a baguette, and half a bag of pasta. (Penne with roasted cauliflower and garlicky bread crumbs, anyone?) Or maybe it’s an open can of coconut milk. A few spoonfuls of leftover salsa. Unidentifiable grains scooped out from the bulk bin at the grocery store. Read more

Feb 9

3 Comments

Bowen Appétit basic vinaigrette

Salad_vinaigrette

I’ve never been a big salad person – I rarely order them at restaurants, and we rarely (very rarely) eat one as a main dish at home (exceptions: add some roasted chicken and some lovely fresh croutons, and I’ll be there). I don’t entirely know why this is; I guess I’ve always just found salads kind of boring, or maybe I’m just not that excited by cold and crunchy things. I guess I’m more of a warm and/or soft sort of person.

(That might be in the running for the best sentence on this site.)  Read more

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