challenges to the new 90-day challenge!

okay, it's day 3 of the 90-day "make everything homemade" challenge that i set up for myself. here is what i've noticed will be challenging so far:

1. there are still a couple of pre-made things in the house. so i guess i've resolved to finish them before i make the same thing homemade. example: bread mix--i just bought a bread maker (to assist in the making of gluten-free bread, and also handy for this challenge). but about 3 weeks ago i bought a bread mix from whole foods, expecting that i would make it before my challenge kicked in. i never had time to make it, but decided that i would use it as the inauguration batch for my bread maker, rather than letting it sit for 90 days and buying the ingredients to make bread from scratch.

2. i don't have complete buy-in. my husband is apparently bent on thwarting me when he can. we went grocery shopping and he bought yoghurt and sorbet--both are things on the list that should be made homemade. next week, i won't let him go off on his own at the store!

3. my friend trinity asked me about quickie meals. my solution: on sunday, i am cooking up a big batch of something and eating it for the whole week for lunch. so this week i am making sweet and sour tofu. i will package the veggies, tofu and sauce in one tupperware and the rice in another and just scoop out lunch portions every morning until it's done. for quickie dinners, we often make big stuff at the beginning of the week and then eat the leftovers later in the week. we will continue to do the same. so eating only homemade stuff doesn't dis-clude leftovers. (THANK GOODNESS!)

4. snacks are proving to be a problem. still thinking about this one... i bought some blue corn tortilla chips for lunches and snacks this week--i wouldn't be able to make these homemade anyway, but i struggled to think of other things for snacks that aren't pre-packaged junk food. i can make fruit-nut mixes, of course, but does anyone have other suggestions?

otherwise, we're off to a good start. on new year's day, we went to our neighbor's house for dinner and they made a beautiful home-cooked meal of roasted tomato and mushroom soup, white beans and chard, and a fennel and radicchio salad. for dessert, we had chocolate tofu mousse with jellied fruit on top. yesterday, lee and i had the leftover cinnamon rolls for breakfast, along with picking at some leftovers for lunch. then for dinner, we had a wonderful baked pasta dish. here is the amended recipe (how i'll make it next time, because the sauce was a little too runny):

smoked salmon baked fusilli

6 oz. brown rice fusilli
4 oz. wild smoked salmon
1 tbsp butter
2 celery stalks, diced
4 scallions, sliced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 cup plain, unsweetened rice milk
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tsp dried dill
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 cup frozen peas
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp gluten free breadcrumbs or cornflake crumbs

1. preheat oven to 425.
2. cook pasta according to package directions, leaving a little under done. drain, rinse and toss into bowl with chopped up smoked salmon.
3. saute onions, scallions, and celery in butter. season with pepper and dill. add rice milk, broth, and frozen peas. bring to a boil. scoop some of the liquid back into a measuring cup. add cornstarch and mix well. pour back into pan. bring to a boil to thicken.
4. once thickened as desired (add more cornstarch if you like it thicker), pour over pasta and salmon in the bowl. toss well.
5. place in buttered 8x8 baking dish. mix together parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. coat top of dish evenly. bake for 20 minutes or until brown on top and bubbly.

it was very delicious and smelled divine baking. if you don't like fish, smoked tofu or tempeh would do the trick just as nicely. i can't wait for the leftovers!