Meal Planning

I didn't end up making the new recipes last week, so I'm doing them this week.  I have to plan more strategically than before though because Sim now has after school activities that go right up until 5pm two nights per week, so I have to make really quick or fully prepared in advance meals those days, which typically means leftover soup and an easy sandwich (e.g., Garden Pretzel, Vegetarian Reubens).  I also have to pick up ingredients for Sameer's cherry chip birthday cake from the store.  Here is what I'm making this week:

Sloppy Jacks (from Michael Greger's How Not to Die Cookbook, pg. 91) and Sesame Purple Cabbage & Carrot Slaw (from the same cookbook, pg. 76)

Vegan Mac 'n Cheese and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
I made the vegan cheese sauce yesterday (I have enough small changes in my recipe from the original that I ought to post it), so this will be one of my quick and easy meals.
Yellow Rice & Black Beans with Broccoli (from the How Not to Die Cookbook, pg. 152)

Leftover Soup and DIY Sandwiches

Homemade Pizza and Green Salad
Sim and Sameer still eat cheese on their individual homemade pizzas, but I made a really fantastic vegan one for myself last time.  I used the whole wheat pizza crust recipe, cooked down 8 oz. of sliced cremini mushrooms and a thinly sliced shallot in a couple tablespoons of Bragg's liquid aminos, and made the roasted garlic from The How Not to Die Cookbook for the base and the nutty parmesan from the same cookbook for the topping.  I used raw almonds and pine nuts as the nuts because that's what I had on hand, and that topping was fantastic.  I built the pizza this way:  roll out crust as thin as possible without tearing it (I use my hands as a rolling pin doesn't work as well with pizza dough), spread a few cloves of the roasted garlic on it in place of a sauce (I wanted to do a "white pizza" style without all the oil and cheese, and while I can't say this was remotely the same thing, it turned out delicious), cover with all the cooked mushrooms and sliced shallot, then cover with a couple fistfuls of fresh baby arugula.  Sprinkle nutty parmesan evenly across the top.  I had expected it to be somewhat bland from lack of salt, but the liquid aminos apparently contributed plenty of saltiness.  Next time I might use less.  This pizza would also be good with halved grape tomatoes or thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes and maybe even a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.  I made the ranch dressing from The How Not to Die Cookbook too for the salad, and it was fantastic.  It's very vinegary, so I end up using less than I would otherwise, which is also a good thing health-wise.  I'm just going to do a repeat of that whole meal.  

Cherry Chip Cake with Frosting