Notes from Week One's Menu

Sunday's menu I labeled "comfort food."  My mother, who typically used to feed us a salad with every meal, once in a while fed us what I now call the "Starchy Trifecta" of pinto beans, cornbread, and fried potatoes.  I'm sure it hearkens back to her Southern roots.  I remember my grandma using up her leftover cornbread by crumbling it in a glass, dicing onion, and pouring either milk or buttermilk in the glass and drinking/eating it like a soup.  I've never been a milk lover so that was never an option for me.  Rarely did I make the pintos with hamhocks like my family always did, and since becoming vegan, I make my own version of the cornbread without eggs or milk.  That said, it's still a favorite for me and reminds me of my childhood!  I've started adding something raw and fresh (like sliced tomatoes) so I don't feel so guilty when I eat it!  I prefer to make the pintos from scratch--they taste better and have fewer additives.

For those of you unfortunate enough to have never tried huaraches, the name comes from the Spanish meaning "shoe," because the cornmeal is shaped like shoes made and worn in Mexico.  So I recommend that if you need to Google a recipe, try the phrase "eat huarache."  And just an advance warning--I will often refer you to "Chef Chloe" (Coscarelli), because she is my favorite vegan recipe creator on the Net.  And I love adding food from all over the world in my cooking, from Asian to Mexican, European to the Middle East.  I'm always looking for new flavor combinations and trying to find ways to create good tastes with plant-based products only.

Finally, just a look at last week's bruschetta suggestion:

My mouth is watering just looking at it!  Yum.  Happy eating!