Today I made Mediterranean Olive Bread from 'The Joy of Vegan Baking '. I've been eying this recipe for a while, and since I've never made anything Mediterranean before, I was excited for a new challenge. The recipe calls for two ingredients I have never cooked with:
1. Sun dried tomatoes.
Since I had some fresh tomatoes on hand, I seized the opportunity to make my very own oven -dried tomatoes. :) I cut them up, removed the juice and seeds, and placed them on a baking sheet with some salt sprinkled on top. They were in the oven for about 2.5 hours, at a really low temperature, just to dehydrate them. I wish I made more, because they actually came out pretty good.
2. Olives
My whole life, I hated olives with a passion. I would pick them off of pizzas, pastas, and anything else I would find them on. However, very recently, I decided to be more open-minded towards olives, and I have to say that the taste has grown on me. I might even go so far as to say that I actually like them. It's so fascinating how becoming vegan has given me a whole new appreciation for certain foods, and how my diet has become a lot more diversified. So last week, I went out and bought my very first can of olives. This is a big step for me! I can literally feel myself evolving. ha~
Anyway, back to the bread recipe. I only used half the measurements because I was scared I would mess things up. So the loaf is very small and flat! Oh, and I also added some raisins, just for a little sweetness, since there's no sugar in the recipe. I wasn't sure what this would taste like, but I think it's pretty good. This savory bread seems more like something you would eat with an actual bigger meal, rather than just a snack.
Anyhoo. I still have a lot of leftover olives, and I don't know what to do with them. Maybe I'll try making pizza and use the olives for the topping? :)