The GGA Project -- Day #58 "Sabor de España"

I am getting pretty tired of all the things I normally eat.  There are days when I just can't think of anything at all that sounds interesting.  Sometimes I think this has a lot to do with my being vegetarian.  It really cuts out a whoooooollle lot of the options.  And it's not that I'm eager to take on eating meat again, just to have more options, but sometimes I just get bored with all the foods I know.


The other day, out to dinner with my folks, I saw paella on the menu.  I didn't order it because it was chock full of bunches of meat and seafood (which, by the way, I do consider meat).  But it was really good to see it there as an option because I'd forgotten the dish even existed!


Today's New Activity: Making Vegetarian Paella


This is just about all you need:

I found a recipe that sounded appealing and then tweaked it just a little by adding a few more spices (cumin & paprika, as well as sesame seeds), and skipping the peas and eggplant (just because I didn't have them).


The recipe was easy enough, but still time consuming because of multiple steps.  There were simpler, stove top recipes, but the roasting of the veggies seemed like an important step in the interest of flavor, especially given the dearth of spices in the original recipe.

I just love beautiful food.  Peppers (I used one red, one orange, and one Anaheim) are always an easy way to bring brilliant color and flavor to a recipe.

After the rice is cooked on the stove top and the veggies are lightly browned at the edges, you combine it all and bake again for 15 minutes.


And you get this:

I definitely felt the dish could have used more spices.  I might add jalapeños next time, and I'll definitely add the peas, and possibly cauliflower too.  I didn't have as much garlic as the recipe called for, so putting the right amount of that in next time should help, too.


All in all, this had great potential as an addition to my tiny food repertoire.  Added bonus: one recipe makes 8 servings, so there is plenty left for easy work lunches.


Recipe score!