One Hour Bread (if it looks like bread, tastes like bread, then. . . )

This bread recipe works. That's all I have to say on the matter of this loaf. Whether or not you believe truly worthy bread can only be had through a "looong fermentation/resting" period, or from hundred year old sourdough starter, sometimes a girl's gotta have bread. And now, not tomorrow. (I'll be a cast out by the "bread heads" for saying this, but I've yet to have a sourdough starter loaf of bread knock my socks off.) Anyhow, if you feel daring--oh, and pressed for time (and who isn't?)--you will not be sorry you waited til four in the afternoon to decide dinner would be enhanced "if only" you had a fresh loaf of bread you could serve. And here it is. One. Hour. Bread.

Most of the time, I'd classify myself as a "skeptic". This is a family trait. Non trusting. Or better yet, to borrow a phrase, "trust but verify". As skeptics, we get the daily local newspaper in this house--The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, for anyone interested. The for real paper--the one we'd be able to read were the world to suddenly not have internet. (Shudder the thought.)

Vegan Quinoa Tacos with Black Beans, Corn and Guacamole (the veggie plot is ready. . . tomatoes beckon, asparagus not so much)

I blame this meal on Hillary. And the media. If I see her one more time ordering "that" food, I swear. Were there moments when I was ready to cave-in, get the car and go forth in dark sunglasses to my favorite lunch spot? Absolutely. But cooler heads prevailed and my own food pantry beckoned, and here's what we had instead. (Let's hope the media can spend the next year and a half focusing on something more relevant than Hillary's attire and sunglasses at a "refueling" stop from her campaign bus.) 

Don't. Get. Me. Started. 

This dinner came together in a snap and was only a two-pan clean-up. I love quinoa. Maybe even more than rice. (I've been known to combine the two!) I've been cooking a lot more lately with grains. Or at least trying to incorporate more of them into our dinners. I would typically go with lentils in my vegan taco dinner--but this proved a very worthy dinner entree. The next day, we had them for lunch--cold. No re-heating necessary. Really good. Tons of protein, fiber and iron. Skip to the bottom for the recipe.

Vegan Eggplant Almond Enchiladas from Moosewood (a puppy drama moment involving chocolate...gaahhhh!)

I swear, if it weren't for the Moosewood cookbooks in my collection, some nights, there'd be no dinner. I mean that literally. When the pull of kitchen apathy strikes, or major puppy trials--I find inspiration in their recipes. These eggplant almond enchiladas have earned a place in our dinner rotation (when I can find a "decent" eggplant in the middle of the country, in the middle of winter/early spring!). Say what you will of the combo eggplant/almonds--it works and it works deliciously. I'll tell you up front, there are a few pots and pans needed to bring this delicacy to the table in all its glory--small price to pay to do this right. You'll make your own enchilada sauce (which is no more than cumin/garlic enhanced diced tomatoes), then there's the toasting of the almonds, and the eggplant filling--which from a "throw together" standpoint is really not that big a deal, I mean you're already in the kitchen, right. Make it worth while and bring your cooking self out.