vegan yum yum

I don't cook much. I can't blame this entirely on my hectic schedule. I lack culinary inspiration.

Last night was date night. Instead of going out to eat, I suddenly decided that it was very important for me to go and buy a cookbook. Tim said I was being dramatic, but I really did (do) think a new cookbook will "solve all our cooking problems!" (It's not too often that Tim gets a chance to call me dramatic, so I, of course had to tell him that he was being dramatic for calling me dramatic. And he (I) was.)

Barnes and Noble has a whole row of vegan/vegetarian cookbooks. And I chose Vegan Yum Yum. This was almost completely due to the fact that EVERY single recipe in this book has a picture. A color picture. It is a true fact that I rarely have the gumption to try a new recipe if there is no picture to accompany it. I like to know what I am getting myself into. And I'm a really visual person. The other thing Vegan Yum Yum had going for it was that all the recipes use fairly normal ingredients. If cooking involves a special trip to the store, I probably won't do it.

Now, before you start picturing me presenting Vegan Yum Yum to Timmy and begin to feel sorry for him, you should know that he is on board with the whole vegan thing. I'm totally not making him eat this way.

After giving Tim several delicious sounding (and looking!) dinner choices, he ended up deciding to try the Creamy Basil Tomato Pasta and Chickpea Artichoke Salad.

Well, Creamy Basil Tomato Pasta was a pretty fabulous success. Cashews are the secret vegan ingredient - they make fresh tomatoes and parsley into a creamy sauce! And let's face it, anything tastes good on whole wheat cavatappi noodles. Yum yum.

Chickpea Artichoke Salad tastes just like it sounds. Delicious. Roasted chickpeas and artichokes mixed with toasted almonds and lemon juice. Yum yum! Tim loved it. (Artichokes remind him of chicken, he says with a tear in his eye. Yup, he is totally on board with the whole vegan thing.)

 

And I can't decide what the funniest part of our date night was. Either A) When I accidentally dumped a can of chickpeas into the strainer, over Tim's head, covering him in chickpea juice (he was cleaning up the floor after I spilled water all over), or B) When I accidentally dumped a huge pile of black peppercorns onto a super hot burner, causing them to erupt into little piles of flames (I just stood there yelling "OH DEAR!" until Timmy saved the day). I'm dangerous in the kitchen.

And at the end of the ordeal, Timmy did all the dishes, wiped down all the counters, and said, "Babe, I just ate a completely vegan meal." To which I said, "Yes, and how do you feel about that?" He said, "I love it."

And by that, he meant, "I love you."

And I love him. (Don't let him fool you, he's doing this vegan thing for me.)