Foodie Friday: I'm writing this with my pinkies extended

It's Foodie Friday! Foodie Friday is my weekly feature that gives you a window into my kitchen. I love to cook, I love to eat, I love to read cookbooks, and I love to inspire people to give vegan food a chance. Thus, Foodie Friday was whipped up and baked to perfection.

As part of my Christmas gift, my dad and stepmom sent me a box of gourmet food goodies from igourmet.com. I knew right away that I would save many of their interesting selections, like vegetarian caviar, for an occasion when I could share them with someone who could appreciate them with me. So, now that my sister is here, we're eating like vegan royalty, and not only do I have someone to eat with me, I also have someone to cook with me. (Verdict on the caviar: the sturgeon flavor is a touch too fishy for me, but the spicy chili variety is sublime.)

Tonight we decided to use the preserved lemons. I had never used preserved lemons before, so I fired up the FoodNetwork.com search engine and picked out two recipes that called for them: Pine Nut and Preserved Lemon Couscous (in which we also used another part of the gift, whole wheat couscous) and Roasted Zucchini with Preserved Lemon and Oregano. I added a Gardein Chick'n Scallopini to round out the plate. It was a light, lemony, and satisfying meal.


For dessert, my sister selected pastry-wrapped bananas foster from Party Vegan. I'll be honest, I probably never would have made this on my own, but now that I know how delicious bananas foster is, I'll certainly be making it again. The brown sugar and rum glaze added a decidedly adult flavor, and some nondairy vanilla ice cream gave just the right amount of creaminess.


Mmmm, I should have visitors every week.