Comfort food

Today was a very cold day.  I took the dogs for a walk when the wind chill was 5 degrees.  It was so cold Jack crawled under a blanket on the couch. Cold days are great for comfort food, which is what I did for breakfast and dinner.

Breakfast was a Huevous Ranchero using tofu for the eggs.  It was served on a tostado with my salsa.  On the side were Garlic Kale Hash browns made from what the name implies, garlic, kale and potatoes.

For lunch I made a Chickpea Salad from chickpeas, red bell pepper, celery, apple, capers and parsley with a tahini based dressing.  I had a piece of my peasant bread on the side.

One of the best ways to keep the house warm without turning up the heat is to have something simmering on the stove for several hours.  I made 3 quarts of vegetable stock from veggie pieces that I keep in the freezer.  Whenever I am prepping vegetables, the ends or stalks or other pieces that we don't eat are stored in a plastic bag.  When I need stock, I empty the bag into a 5 qt. pan, add water, and simmer for several hours.  I strain the liquid into a large pitcher and have enough stock for a couple of weeks of soup and rice.  I also made a large batch of Sweet Potato Lentil Chili with onions, sunchokes, garlic, crushed tomatoes, sweet potatoes, lentils and black beans.  I roasted some tortillas sprinkled with garlic and onion powder as an accent.

What was nice about the meals was that I didn't miss meat or eggs at all.  Everything was warm, tasty and filling.