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Food Blog

Emily C. on Instagram: “Celebrating makeup Thanksgiving/birthdays/general winter holidays today with a nice vegetarian tapas menu, everything homemade…”

Tapas menu:

Main course:

Dessert (inspired by Briony’s vegan showstopper from GBBO!)

  • Chocolate hazelnut cake and ganache (I added instant coffee to both the cake and the icing)
  • Candied hazelnuts (subbed coconut oil for the butter & skipped cinnamon)

  • Raspberry preserves filling (storebought); fresh and freeze-dried raspberries to decorate

Emily C. on Instagram: “Celebrating makeup Thanksgiving/birthdays/general winter holidays today with a nice vegetarian tapas menu, everything homemade…”

Categories
Food Blog

Paella with artichokes and spicy tempeh crumbles

This dish did not turn out especially photogenic, but it was tasty.

Yet another Vegan Eats World inspiration… I followed the recipe pretty closely, aside from the pearl onions; I couldn’t find them organic (boyfriend is antsy about non-organic stuff) and… well, frankly, I am not a big fan. That texture isn’t my favorite. But I did do a quick baby kale braise (in white wine) to go on the side. It’s warm and inviting and tasty.

My favorite thing about a dish like this is that it works best with planning, meaning time spent on the mise-en-place. I LOVE putting together the mise. I don’t know why! It’s incredibly satisfying! I had a tray next to the stove with all the ingredients, prepped and ready to add to the pan as the recipe dictated. A bowl of minced yellow onion! Another of red and yellow bell pepper with a whole ton of minced garlic! A smaller dish with all the spices measured out! The rice, washed and drained and ready to add! Frozen peas, measured, and 1-quart container of vegetable broth just waiting to pour. Half of what they do on cooking shows is just make use of the mise-en-place someone else put together, as if ingredients just come ready to dump from perfectly sized clear glass bowls. THEY DO NOT!

And the prep is most satisfying! The pride I take in a well-diced onion is ridiculous. Yesterday I had perfectly tiny mango cubes for my salad and it filled me with joy I cannot express in words. So if you take nothing else away from this post, please: remember to take pride in your mise.