Day 125 - Caraway-Parsley-Carrot Dip, Broc Mac Daddy, and Tea-Poached Pears in Chocolate Sauce

The "kids" are over again! (i.e. Alysha, David, and Trey)

Caraway-Parsley-Carrot Dip

Thank god I made this, because I was running so late with my Broc Mac Daddy and the kids were starving, so this went fast! David thought it was hummusy, which it is vaguely in texture and appearance, but flavor-wise, not at all. In fact, flavor-wise, it's somewhat blank. Carroty, yes, but the caraway and parsley don't do much to bring it alive.

Before starting this project, I tried the curried version of this recipe, and it was a lot more flavorful. I look forward to making that again....

SFO: 10


Broc Mac Daddy

This is my second Mac Daddy, the first one being the "original recipe." Now I'm moving on to the variations. 

I have to say, this one was a lot better than the first, which is not to say the first was bad, but the big difference is the vegetable broth! The first time, I used Trader Joe's Low Sodium Veggie Broth, which has a strong flavor with a big tomato presence, and it really affected the color and flavor of the dish. This time, I used Whole Foods Vegetable Broth, which has a much lighter flavor and color, and the results were one million times improved.

The broccoli was a nice addition, didn't make or break, but it did give us the illusion we weren't being super naughty. 

But wait, we weren't being super naughty. The naughtiest thing about this dish is that it's mostly pasta. And it's salty. Otherwise, it's a lot of nutritional yeast, and some tofu. Comfort food that won't harden your arteries! Yay!!

SFO: 7
We all really liked this, but I can see how this might be upsetting for a closed-minded omnivore.


Tea-Poached Pears in Chocolate Sauce

I+T are really funny. They make exactly the right joke about this dish, i.e. it feels like you should have a butler to serve it. It is more lah-di-dah than most of the recipes in here. Plus it involves tea, which is so British, i.e. butlery.

I think there's a mistake here in the ingredients: "8 ounces chocolate, chopped (1/2 cup or so)"

These two numbers, 8 ounces, and 1/2 cup, are so far off that one has to be wrong. I sided with the 8 ounces, and I ended up with a chocolate sauce that had a proper consistency, however it did obliterate any tea flavor.

In fact, we were hard-pressed to find any tea flavor at all, even in the pears.

That said, it's a very pretty dessert, and it's delicious. Some of us licked our plates clean. (see picture)

Others of us licked our plates and then ate all the leftover sauce out of the saucepan with a spoon. (no picture to protect the binge eater who may or may not also be the writer of this blog)

SFO: 10