Oh, did this feel GOOD! I’ve mentioned in the past (Sundays with JL, or obsessed new vegan in the kitchen) that I love to cook big over the weekend. I like to cook a few dishes and get my veggies washed and prepped for the week. I’m far more likely to eat well if I have something healthy and delish to take to work and to reheat after work. A crazy (fun) summer of travel and busy-ness got in the way of this very important ritual.
I didn’t think I could manage it this weekend, either. Saturday I was up early to get in my last race-pace long(ish) run (3 weeks ‘til my last half-marathon of the year!) and then had to be at work by 9:30 for an open house. From there I did manage to get to the grocer before attending to a few more appointments. Home by 6:30 Saturday night and I was beat.
Sunday I woke up at 4:30 a.m. and by 6:00 was on my way up-county to volunteer for the Toughman half-iron distance triathlon. I got home around 2:00, took a hot bath and felt drained and disappointed that I wouldn’t be cooking this weekend. In fact, I tweeted it out (follow me on Twitter!) When I saw that tweet, I realized I needed a swift kick in the a**, which I promptly gave myself. I went into the kitchen and got busy:
- I made a big batch of red lentils in the rice cooker
- I pulled out the Tofu Xpress and pressed a block of extra firm tofu
- I washed kale and collard greens, tossed them in the salad spinner and stored them in air-tight containers in the refrigerator
- I prepped a tofu marinade (recipe forthcoming as I’m marinating the tofu for 24-hours and I think it’s going to be goooooooooood)
- Cooked up a batch of spelt noodles
- Made a batch of brown rice in the rice cooker
- Washed and chopped some celery for easy snacking
- Diced eggplant and marinated it for 3 hours.
And then I got inspired about how to enjoy the epplant!
RECIPE: JL’s Eggplant & Noodles Serves 1
- 2 Japanese eggplant (Thanks to Jacqueline and Douglas’ garden!), diced
- Clove of garlic
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 1 T olive oil
- 2 T coconut vinegar
- Dash of sea salt
- Spelt noodles
- Cooked red lentils
- 2T Tofutti sour cream
- More sea salt
- Dash of cayenne pepper
In a large mixing bowl add diced eggplant, garlic, onion, olive oil, coconut vinegar and sea salt. Mix and place in air-tight container to marinate for 2 hours (or more)
Cook spelt noodles and lentils, separately, however you choose.
Stir-fry the eggplant in olive oil and sea salt until the eggplant is browned. Add a dash of cayenne pepper as the eggplant finishes.
Meanwhile, mix 1 cup of cooked spelt noodles with 1/2 cup of cooked red lentils and tofutti sour cream (coating the noodles) and place in a serving dish. Spoon 1 cup of eggplant/marinade over the noodles and serve.
My refrigerator is stocked with fresh veggies and yummy dishes to reheat this week!
What did you cook this weekend?
