Chickpea Tagine with carrots

Now that Em is back, so am I :)
I have been cooking regularly, but just been lazy to write about it.



I made this dish a few weeks ago when it was colder. Although the Tagine looks solid in the photo, it can be made into a stew or served over a grain.
I subscribe to Vegetarian Times regularly. I read each magazine I get, pull out recipes that I want to try and file them away. I never really get back to them. Now, I subscribe to the weekly recipe from Vegetarian Times. When I see a recipe online, I save it and make it. I am sure if I went back to my file of ripped out Vegetarian Times recipes, I would find the one I decided to try. I wonder what it is about the online version of recipes that makes it easier for me to try. It is the same thing with blogs. I am more likely to try a recipe from a blog than a cookbook. I bought a couple of vegan cookbooks because I read a recipe I really enjoyed on a blog. Since that first week, though, I have not really gone back to the cookbooks. Any suggestions to reduce this over-reliance on the internet? I love reading the cookbooks and the magazine - it just does not translate to action.
With that story, this Chickpea Tagine with Carrots also came to me through an email. Changes I made -
1. Dried cranberries instead of currants
2. Agave nectar instead of honey
3. No yogurt
4. Added vegan sausage pieces towards the end of the boiling
5. Added dry roasted peanuts at the end
6. And you probably already know this - Cilantro instead of parsley. I am such a huge fan of cilantro and don't really like the taste of parsley..

And I served it over brown rice. It was a really good, hearty meal!!

"Meat"balls, Zucchini Bread, Charred Tomato Soup

Finally have some time to catch up on my blogging. I have not been cooking quite as much as I would like but here are some things I have tried recently:



Spaghetti and Meatballs I have made these a few times. I use Gimme Lean sausage, raw cashews instead of walnuts and skip the part about adding garlic powder and black pepper while they are cooking. I seem to burn them each time but they still taste fine. They are family friendly and my husband has requested them several times so I guess they have become part of our rotation.



Benz Zucchini Bread This is very yummy and cooks very nicely. I always halve the recipe since I do not need two loaves. The changes I make are: only using 1/2 cup sugar and less oil than requested, left out raisins and nuts because then my kids would never eat it. On one attempt, I tried to use half whole wheat pastry flour and used applesauce/sweet potato baby food (since I still have a bunch collecting dust in the cabinet) instead of the oil but it was terrible and I threw most of it away :(


Charred Tomato Soup I was watching Alex's Day Off on the Food Network one morning (not sure why since I really dislike Alex on Chopped) and she made this soup which looked easy enough. I did not have any vermouth so I just used white vinegar and it added a nice kick. Balsamic would have worked too. My husband made this on his own a few weeks later so I guess he enjoyed it. I just used the immersion blender and left a few chunks the first time but honestly I preferred it almost completely smooth so that is how the second batch was made.