One of the best things about May is that the local farmer’s markets open back up and sell their fresh produce. I much prefer getting my fruits and veggies from local growers for a few reasons:

1. it’s cheaper than at the supermarket,
2. it’s fresher (usually),
3. and you know the money is going directly to the farmers.

So, last week I tried one about ten minutes from my house that I hadn’t been to before and picked up, among other things, a Texas Colossal Onion. This thing is a beast—probably the size of three large onions combined. And though it was too big for any standard baggie, it was worth getting for the uniqueness alone. It doesn’t hurt that it tastes good, too. :)

Faux Filling

Los Angeles has vegetarian Vietnamese restaurants sprouting up quite a bit, apparently. Though meat is a staple in the Vietnamese diet, the vegetarian offerings at most restaurants are quite good. As far as I know, though, in the Vietnamese-populated Northern VA area, there’s only one vegetarian (vegan, actually) Buddhist-run restaurant over in Eden (formerly Little Saigon) in Falls Church, VA. I haven’t eaten there yet, but hope to this summer.

PETAs unethical treatments

The author here may have some points, but is something like this worthy of printing in the Chicago Sun-Times? It looks like it was written for a middle school writing assignment the morning it was due.

I’m happy to report that the Curry Chickpea recipe from Simply Vegan worked out well. Nice and easy and it managed to fulfill another requirement: it made my house smell good. :) When I’ve been cooking garlic or curry, the smell in the house is almost as good as the food. In any event, the curried chickpeas tasted good over some plain white rice and there’s enough left for lunch tomorrow.

On a lesser note, I made micro-kale (a side dish from Lorna Sass’ book—basically tender kale topped with olive oil and freshly-squeezed lemon juice)… the result was just too much: too much kale, too much lemon juice… but it was edible, just probably not worth making again.

While at the store, I also picked up some scallion hummus… I’m on a definite pita-with-hummus kick as of late and I have two cucumbers to eat before they go bad.

I recently picked up a copy of Simply Vegan on Half.com (it was nearly perfect condition, too!). While the recipes don’t look nearly as unique and appetizing as the ones in Lorna Sass’ book (still my favorite, so far), I am looking forward to trying out some of the quick, easy, vegan recipes. I think I may give the curried chickpeas a shot this evening.

One of my new favorite lunches has become a pita with cucumber, onion, and Athenos brand Roasted Garlic Hummus. Mmmm…

Last night I tried out a recipe for Saffron Rice from Moosewood Cooks at Home. I think this one is bound to be a new favorite.

You start with Saffron, the world’s most expensive herb (it can run $36/oz., though mine cost $8/.1 oz.). You crumble a pinch of it in a small bowl and add three tablespoons of boiling water. While that sits for a few minutes, you boil orzo in three quarts of water until it’s tender (about 8 minutes). You then drain the orzo and mix it with a half cup of parmesan cheese (I used the soy-based parmesan substitute and it worked well) and the Saffron water. Top it with a little salt and freshly grated pepper and you’re good.

It’s a super simple meal, and I liked trying out this new ingredient. I have a feeling this is one recipe that has a lot of potential for experimentation.

Here’s a picture of the end result.