Preview Post: Cannelloni

Zucchini Cannelloni stuffed with Almond Feta, Spinach and Walnut Pesto and Artichoke Hearts on a Bed of Sun-Dried Tomato Marinara:

Today was much more busy than normal because of my birthday. I will give you all the details tomorrow.

Dan and talked about whether to eat out but in the end we opted to come home for dinner. I made us a big salad for the first course. Our entrée was zucchini cannelloni stuffed with almond feta, spinach pesto, and artichokes and served them on a bed of sun-dried tomato marinara. This idea came from Dan’s dinner at 105 degrees. I wanted to make something similar but healthier. Don’t get me wrong this dish has plenty of fat, just a lot less than the restaurant version based on the recipe in the cookbook Dan brought home. I thought you all might want a preview of what I will be posting tomorrow. It was ridiculously easy and will be more of a method than I recipe.  I took pictures of the intermediate steps. I think you will enjoy it.

Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes. It was very sweet of all of you. For now I am going to spend some time with my hubby before he has to go back to work tomorrow.  Talk to you tomorrow.

Cooking Today - Preview

Today I spent a good part of the day cooking with my friend Sue. We made three more dishes from Ad Hoc at Home, but made them both vegan and healthy. Today’s menu was simpler than our last outing. Here is what we made:

• Kale and Mushroom Soup

• Green Bean, Potato, Radish, Fig and Walnut Salad

• Seitan Roast Stuffed with Fennel and Fig

We started cooking at about noon and were finished at 4pm. During this time there was lots of chatting, tea drinking, and of course lunch. We even found time for a little lounging in the family room. It was a very enjoyable day. However driving home through downtown at rush hour, not so enjoyable.

I will be posting the three recipes on the other blog over the next few days.

For now I am off to make myself a big mug of green tea and to give some quality attention to the felines. Nicco does not like to be left alone all day and is being more bratty than usual.  Good thing that cat is cute and generally very loving, because he is not well behaved.

Don't forget you are running out of time to submit recipes for the Healthy Cooking Challenge.

Preview: Vegan Panna Cotta

Currently I am working on a healthy vegan version of a vanilla bean panna cotta. It expect it will take a few attempts to achieve the correct texture. I have included a picture of my first attempt. As soon as I am happy with the consistency I will be posting the recipe along with the very tasty strawberry, agave and citrus vodka accompaniment.