Cilantro Mashed Potatoes, Jalapeno Gravy, and Seitan Sausage

Tonight's dinner was awesome.  And I can say this without bragging, because I didn't do a single thing.  My wonderful husband, whose culinary repertoire to this point consisted of grilled cheese and english muffin pizzas, decided to make dinner for me tonight.  I teach until 10 pm, so by the time I get home I am totally exhausted and starving and not feeling like making dinner.  But!  Tonight!  I didn't have to do a thing but sit on the couch and play with our daughter while P was cooking up a storm.  I wasn't even allowed in the kitchen!

He made cilantro mashed potatoes with a white jalapeno gravy that was spicy and creamy and delicious.  He also made a mixture of chard, corn, jalapenos, onions, garlic, plus some tomato-coriander seitan sausages I made last week.  The mixture was cooked up with a base made from jalapenos and cilantro; it was pretty spicy, but the sweetness of the corn really balanced it out.  All of the vegetables are either from our CSA or the farmers' market, and the whole thing was delicious!  I was amazed by how fantastic everything tasted and how well it worked together -- and extra-thrilled that I didn't have to do a damn thing!

P had his in layers -- corn tortilla, potatoes, gravy, and the sausage mixture on top.  I made myself a taco, with a pile of mashed potatoes and gravy on the side.  We both had seconds . . . and I might've had thirds if there'd been anything left.  

He says he intends to cook like this once a week from now on.  I am totally excited -- and will be sure to post P's contributions to our seasons of Karen.

Vegan Omelette with Jalapenos, Potatoes, & Pepper Jack 'Cheese'

I am closing in on the perfect vegan omelette. I swear. I'm not quite there yet, but it is slow and steady progress from the last attempt at a vegan omelette. Last time, the outcome was a little too fluffy; this time, not quite fluffy enough. The taste is there -- the kala namak and chickpea flour combination are definitely where it's at! --, but the texture needs to be just right.

It's getting close though; so close I can almost taste it! I am definitely going to make another attempt this week, so hopefully I'll have an actual factual recipe to post soon instead of being a tease with only pictures.


Pretty though, isn't it? It's stuffed with home fried potatoes, a red jalepeno, a green jalepeno, and pepper jack style almond cheese. The home fries were cooked with garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and a little sea salt; the cayenne pepper gave them a nice little kick! The red jalepeno was nice and sweet, with just a hint of spice to it; the green jalepeno lacked that sweetness but was a bit hotter than the red, giving a different layer of heat to the overall flavor. Finally, the almond cheese bound all of the filling together and gave the oozy cheesiness that I look for in an omelette. Totally delicious.


(Full disclosure: I probably wouldn't have posted another recipeless post about the vegan omelette, but I am compensating for the fact that I forgot to take a picture of a meal I wanted to post earlier this week! The missing meal was a lime basil pesto -- yummy pesto goodness with a hint of citrus! -- over rotini. If we get more basil at the CSA this week, I will try again! Pinky swear!)