Indian, Mexican, Asian, and American!

No theme today, just a roundup of some yummy foods I've eaten recently!

Indian-Spiced Lentils with Spinach and Rhubarb from Vegetarian Times, served over some brown basmati rice. I had such high hopes for this dish, but I was a little underwhelmed. You would think that a dish with rhubarb, raisins, and ginger would be exploding with flavor, but I thought this was rather bland. I think it needed some lemon juice. I also would add the raisins later in the cooking process so they maintain some of their sweetness. My hubby really liked it, though.

Clockwise, from top: Hearts of Palm and Jicama Salad from Southern Living magazine; Mexican Millet from Veganomicon; and frozen roasted corn from Trader Joe's. This plate was a pleasing melange of textures, flavors, and temperature (cold salad; hot millet; warm corn). Yumbles.

Spring Vegetable Stew with Soft Polenta from Vegetarian Times. You can't see the polenta because it's buried underneath the veggies, but trust me, it's there. I've made this recipe before and loved it, but this time I had to make a bunch of substitutions - frozen leeks instead of fresh leeks; zucchini instead of yellow squash; yellow pepper instead of mushrooms; and canned whole tomatoes instead of chopped tomatoes. It definitely tastes better when you make it according to the recipe! I also think it needs way more salt, IMHO. Still, it's pretty tasty and nutritious.

Clockwise, from top: homemade coleslaw (I tried to replicate the awesome spicy coleslaw from Sweet Tomatoes, but I missed the mark); Marinated Asian Tofu from Veganomicon; frozen broccoli; and millet. Yup, I love me some millet!

Forty-Clove Chickpeas & Broccoli from Appetite for Reduction. Mushy, garlicky goodness!

Masala Baked Tempeh from Appetite for Reduction and Purple Kale Salad with Creamy Apricot Ginger Dressing from Choosing Raw. I loved the contrast of the spicy, crusty tempeh and the soft, sweet kale salad. Great combination!

Another favorite from Choosing Raw, the Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce. This dish is a hit in my family! The creamy bean-and-mashed-sweet-potato filling rocks my socks and I love the slightly spicy tomatillo sauce. A little melted Daiya Pepperjack cheese on top doesn't hurt, either :)

Have a wonderful day!

Hearts of Palm and Jicama Salad

Sometimes, you find a great recipe where you least expect it. Two winters ago, I was in Florida visiting my parents for a week. My mom subscribes to Southern Living magazine and she noted a recipe in the February 2010 issue that she thought I might enjoy. For whatever reason, I always figured Southern Living would be full of recipes like Southern-Fried Chicken and Deep-Fried Donuts. I didn't think it would have anything remotely vegan, but sure enough, the recipe she'd noted was vegan, and it sounded really good, too - Hearts of Palm and Jicama Salad. It featured avocado, yellow pepper, jicama, and hearts of palm, something I'd heard of but never actually tried. I thought it would make a light and refreshing dinner salad, so we went off to the market and got what we needed. The salad was easy to prepare, and it was just perfect on a balmy night.

I've been in a main-dish-salad mood lately, so I dug out the recipe and made it again last night. I added a can of navy beans to bump up the protein and served it over baby spinach to make it a bit more filling.

I guess I was really hungry last night, because I was halfway through my meal when I realized I hadn't taken a photo of my plate. Oops!

Hearts of palm are pretty yummy! I can see myself adding them to more salads in the future....