Days of Leftovers Begins

After I got back from Soergel's, and then Giant Eagle to pick up what I knew was cheaper, I worked out for an hour and a half (Sunday is my longest day) so got a late start to cooking.

I started by roasting veggies to make a double batch of vegetable broth in the slow cooker.

Then, lunchtime: the first of many meals from leftovers. But it was delicious. I had Spinach Linguine with Cilantro-Basil Pesto and Artichokes, a chickpea cutlet, and kale chips.

On to cooking. I had some broccoli stalks and thought I'd use them in a soup. I'd make a vegan "Cream" of Asparagus soup before, where pureed basmati rice makes it creamy, and thought it was really good. The recipe said broccoli could be substituted for the asparagus. I've never tasted a broccoli stalk and stupidly thought it would work the same as the florets. Uh, it doesn't. The soup was so bland, and then made worse by the ton of herbs and spices I desperately threw in when it was done, that I threw it away. The horror! Seeing it all wash down the drain and all that waste was hard to take. Good thing it wasn't more than an onion, oil, a buillion cube, and 1/3 cup basmati rice that got sacrified. For what it's worth...Next I made the Sour Cilantro Cream from Veganomicon. Very good! I had it for dinner over the Potato and Kale Enchiladas with Roasted Chile Sauce, which I baked a little more in the toaster oven. It was so much better than last night! It got a little crispy, and the Sour Cilantro Cream on it was awesome. I also used some for salad dressing (shown here on a salad of greens and pepitas), but it wasn't great. I have another day or so of eating the enchiladas, so I'm glad I made the Sour Cilantro Cream. I like adding some new things to leftover dishes--makes them more fun.