To prove it more….heehee….
Last night I came home from work wanting to be in the kitchen. I started out by making this…
Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Pecan Streusel from VwaV. Vegan Dad has blogged about it before too here.
I then packaged some pieces up for our lovely coworkers.
The rest for us!!
I then made Blakened Tofu from ED&BV. We had it with roasted sweet potatoes that I roasted in the oven for an hour….sooo tasty and couscous.
I still do cook too!!! To prove it…
Not that you were doubting me or anything! haha
Sweet Potato and Pecan Tamales (purchased from Whole Foods) with quick homemade chili and a side salad.
Homemade Soup and Sandwich. I put this together for lunch. The soup is just veggie stock with a bunch of veggies from the freezer and fresh cabbage….lots of it….yum! The sandwich had sweet potato puree on it with tempeh bacon, yellow pepper, and lettuce.
Lentil Spaghetti Sauce over pasta with a yummy salad. You know this is a favorite of mine!!
Cabbage and Lima Bean Fried Rice
Another favorite of mine…an Ezekial sprouted grain tortilla with grilled tofu, baked beans, and vegan mayo….all wrapped up. Awesome!
Whole wheat penne pasta with pesto, grilled potatoes & onions. This is what I call our Scotland dish because we ALWAYS had pesto pasta in Scotland. I think it’s a good hearty food that’s really great when it’s cold outside. It just makes you feel good!
Random pics
My recent favorite breakfast (that I even had today too) is Nature’s Path organic flax waffles (2 of them) smothered with almond butter and manuka honey and then layered with slices of yummy ripe bananas. This breakfast makes me feel on top of the world!! It doesn’t get much better than this. 
This was an interesting breakfast creation. So I really wanted CCV’s Banana Bread Blender Cereal, but I didn’t have any frozen bananas. Therefore I had to improvise. I used frozen strawberries instead. I was really wanting the cold, creamy cereal that I usually get when I make this. The strawberries gave me that, but it wasn’t as yummy. I think strawberries are more water based, so my cereal ended up tasting a bit bland and watery. The banana usually makes it creamy and rich tasting too. It was ok though. It wasn’t bad enough for me to throw away and make something else, but I don’t think I’ll make it again.
Roly Poly ultimate veggie sandwich that I got to-go. Once home I added some grilled tofu and liberal amounts of yellow mustard and vegan mayo. This is our usual Saturday lunch. Yum!!
Eric came to school for lunch, and instead of him bringing lunch to me, I packed us a picnic. We had sandwiches made with the cranberry and stuffing Tofurkey slices. This is the first time we’ve tried it. I thought they were great!! Like the package recommends, I put cream cheese, cranberry sauce, and lettuce on the bread with it. It tasted like the holidays!
This was a very hearty lunch that kept me satisfied all the way to dinner. I put a serving of brown rice in the bowl and then poured the soup on top. The avocado piece on top was a lovely complement. A favorite lunch dessert of mine is endangered species chocolate.
Recent dinners…
I’ve enjoyed making dinner, as I usually do, but it’s been extra fun with the changing of the seasons. I like the fall foods….it means cooking with pumpkin and squash and making more hearty, heavy, hot meals. 
Baked Beans and Dogs (The McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook, p. 116). We had this with sausage cut up on top (grilled on George Foreman) and green beans.
Vegan Sweet Potato and Pecan Tamales with Amy’s Chili. I bought the tamales from Whole Foods in the refrigeration section (by the breads). The chili comes from the can (low sodium). Big salad on the side drizzled in balsamic vinegar.
Roasted Red Kuri Squash with Gnocchi (from Eat, Drink, & Be Vegan, p. 141). This sauce is just amazing over the store bought vegan gnocchi I got. I could eat it by itself, and I did that too! I also ate it later in the week with other things, as you will see. Here I had a small salad and broccoli.
Tofu and Okra Stir-fry with Teriyaki and Hot Sauce. Throwing together a stir-fry is one of the most fun and delicious dinners to make and eat. It can be so satisfying and healthy too! This one was made up of tofu, okra, lima beans, carrots, tomatoes, and onions. With a side of hearty long-grain brown rice, this was awesome! I was feeling in a chopstick kind of mood (since that’s what I usually use when I get a stir-fry at Genghis). I managed to use the chopsticks until the last little bit. Then I switched to a fork so I could eat every little last bit.
Leftovers Night. Have these at your house? I love leftovers!! I know it’s a personal thing. Eric doesn’t like leftovers at all. So when he’s not going to be around for dinner, I indulge in all the extra stuff left in our fridge. I had the Red Kuri Squash Sauce, baked beans, green beans, and broccoli. The squash and bean combo was awesome. I ate those two together. Yum!
Sammies
I don’t know if it’s the change to cooler weather or what, but I have been craving sandwiches allllll week!!! This was a special holiday sandwich…homemade whole wheat bagel lightly toasted, apple slices, pan-grilled tofu, and cranberry sauce. Sweet and delish!
Another craving I’ve been having is soup and sandwiches together! The perfect fall and winter combination. I especially enjoy dipping the corner of my sandwich in the hot soup and then taking a bite. Here I had some veggie soup (this was actually a gift…a packaged soup from Williams and Sonoma that I just added my own vegan broth to). Sandwich is made on yummy Whole Foods sourdough. One slice is spread with mayo, the other with fresh avocado. After a sprinkling of pepper, I sliced up a yellow heirloom tomato, some red onion, and layered on some Lightlife fakin tempeh strips. I love this sandwich!! This lunch rocked.
More soup one night….with slices of sourdough and earth balance.
Eric wanted soup and a sandwich. I made him a sourdough one with tempeh strips, apple slices, and cranberry sauce. He seriously woofed it down, so it must have been great!
Although this guy isn’t a traditional sandwich, I thought it still fits into this category of my craving bread with junk inside. This was a lunch I made last week made with an Ezekiel whole grain pita, Whole Foods hummus, green leaf lettuce, garam masala potatoes I had left over, and white wave baked tofu. LOVED THIS!! Carrots, hot tea, and a couple of squares of dark chocolate round out the meal.
Happy Saturday!!!
My lovely morning started with this wonderful bowl of breakfast blender cereal (thanks CCV, again) and a hot cup of lemon ginger yogi tea. I put two kids of cereal in the blender to make a cup of it (Uncle Sam’s wheat flakes and Barbara’s Ultima high fiber cereal), a cup of almond vanilla milk, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and a half of a frozen banana. I left out the walnuts this time and instead had a spoonful of almond butter right out of the jar.
After musing through the newspaper and various blogs, I got on my yoga clothes and did a few chores. Then it was off to my wonderful Saturday morning yoga class. I love doing yoga on weekend mornings, a time I don’t get to practice at during the weekday. After yoga I was quite hungry. I had already thought ahead about what I would prepare for lunch. On a toasted Ezekial seasame bun, I spread mustard and vegan mayo, layered red onions, lettuce, and sprouts, and topped it all off with 3 slices of pan-grilled tofu sprayed with a bit of Bragg’s. YUM!!! On the side I had a wee bit of Garden of Eatin’ Multi-grain everything tortilla chips and some salsa verde.
It just wouldn’t be right to not have a wee bit of dessert too!!! I couldn’t decide between dairy-free ice cream or vegan pudding, so I put both right in the bowl with a couple of Mi-Del vanilla snaps. My belly is so happy right about now! I hope you have yourself a VERY lovely Saturday!!!
Saturday night we got dinner out at Fadi’s Mediterranean Grill. It is an awesome place to eat for vegans, vegetarians, and the others. heehee They offer a buffet of hummus dips, an array of salads and vegetables, as well as freshly made pita breads. You can also get made-to-order falafel with tahini sauce. Yum! I LOVE the portion sizes, which insure I always have enough to take home for leftovers. In fact, I actually ate my leftovers this time for breakfast on Sunday morning. It was fabulous! The first plate on the left (the massive one) is mine. Then is a picture of falafel that Eric order, and that he so sweetly shared with me. Lastly, Eric’s plate. I definitely recommend Fadi’s if you are in Dallas or Houston (I don’t think they are in any other cities).
REALLY Yummy and REALLY Quick Dinners this week!!!
This was my last single dinner before Eric got back home. I just threw together a salad with vegan thousand island dressing, and a pasta dish consisting of whole wheat fusilli, Amy’s marinara, okra, a few frozen vegan meatballs, and sprinkled with vegan Parmesan cheese. It was great and hit the spot! I love how simple, quick, and easy (yet satisfying and healthy) pasta can be.
This would be Baked Beans and Dogs (from The McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook, p. 116). I essentially got the baked bean recipe from the cookbook, and then you top it with whatever vegan dogs you like. I bought the Light Life breakfast sausages and grilled then in a pan. Paired with a generous portion of crisp green beans, you’ve got a delicious and complete weeknight (or anytime) meal! Eric LOVED this! I can tell this is going in to the make it again and again file. Kids would love this!
Pesto Pasta Night!! When we lived in Scotland (and were non-vegan), we used to always make pesto pasta. It was really popular there. Since then, I haven’t been able to find vegan pesto in a jar. I’ve made it several times from scratch, which isn’t hard, but there’s something nice and convenient and delicious about the jarred pesto…call me crazy. At Whole Foods last week, I found vegan jarred pesto!! So here it is… I mixed the pesto with whole wheat angel hair pasta and added in fresh asparagus and onions that I had sauteed in a pan. On the side we had a simple, fresh salad with the new vegan caesar salad dressing I purchased.
If you cant tell I’m loving The McDougall Quick & Easy Cokbook, well I am!!! It’s true to the title, everything in it is so quick, easy, and not only that….I love how fresh and healthy all the recipes are. They have minimal ingredients too. On another school night when I didn’t have a ton of time to make dinner, I whipped up some Moo-Shu Wraps on p. 188. These were delish!! I bought raw, homemade white tortillas for this where you just cook them by heating them on both sides in a pan over medium heat. They taste totally homemade! I usually stray away from white flour, preferring the taste and health benefits of whole wheat and other grains, but I thought these would be great for the moo-shu wraps and would be a bit of a change from what we usually have. Variety is a good thing! Inside is cabbage, mushrooms, orange bell pepper, green onions, carrots, garlic, soy sauce, and tofu. I had some teriyaki sauce I bought to serve over the top. (The recipe suggests plum sauce, but I couldn’t find any at the store.) Eric put the teriyaki on his tacos, but it was plenty flavorful for me without the additional sauce. Very tasty!
Are you sick of seeing pictures of my Sunshine burgers yet?! heehee I know…I LOVE them!!! I can’t help it. This was a perfect Saturday afternoon salad toped off with a southwest Sunshine patty and drizzled with vegan caesar dressing.
I’m trying to get more into the smoothie making business. This was a simple blueberry, banana, Silk light vanilla soymilk, and ice smoothie. It was awesome though! I’ve been introduced to the world of frozen fruit.
Gorgeous Sunday
I woke up eager to make a lovely little breakfast. Making didn’t consist of really anything. I decided on my new granola cereal! First off though, while my tea was heating up, I ate a banana with about a tablespoon of raw almond butter. SOOO good! I love banana and nut butter…it’s a perfect combo. (Notice the banana peel and almond butter jar. ha!) I’ve had the Optimum Rebound banana flax almond match green tea cereal before. It’s wonderful. It was delish with light silk vanilla soymilk. I’m satisfied!
For lunch I decided to make a wrap in an Ezekiel sprouted grain tortilla. It was comprised of vegan mayo, pan-grilled tofu (with some Braggs), beans, red onion, heirloom tomato, avocado, and fresh black pepper. Perfect lunch! It stayed with me forever too. I didn’t have a snack between lunch and dinner, which almost never happens.
I whipped up a stir-fry over brown basmati rice for dinner. I pan-sauteed carrots, okra, onion, and tofu (I double sauteed this to get it crispier), and then added about a tablespoon of nutritional yeast at the end. I also added some Braggs (substitute for soy sauce) when I was cooking the veggies.
I made a trip this afternoon to Roy’s Natural Market . They have a few things I can’t find anywhere else. For example, this lovely product below. It’s an instant coffee substitute. I love to have coffee after dinner, and I used to drink instant decaf. When I went to the McDougall Celebrity Chef Weekend in California, I was introduced to this product. I guess decaf coffee still has some caffeine in it, so they really recommend that if you are going to drink it on a daily basis, to go for something like this. This is made 100% from barley. Once I add my stevia and soy creamer, it tastes lovely.
I’m 29 now!!! :)
My birthday breakfast was FABulous!! I had leftover scrambled tofu with a frozen bagel (Agnes’ very very homemade bagels) topped with almond butter and jelly. I don’t normally eat this much food in the morning, but it was so lovely and delicious. It was the perfect start to my special day…..especially because…look at the cute card Eric left out for me. The wrapped present underneath it was a dark chocolate bar. Yum!
Upon arriving at school, my friend (and co-worker) Kristi had a Starbucks treat for me…a green tea soy latte. I had never had that drink before, but it was delish! It sounds a little odd, but I will definitely get it again. Another co-worker and friend, Pam, called a little impromtu party during our morning planning time. She had made vegan brownies!! She had gone to the special effort of going online to find the recipe, printing it off, shopping at Whole Foods, and then making them for me. She even brought them in on her special birthday plate. We all enjoyed an early morning sugar rush! Thanks Pam SO much! I really am still breathless at the thoughtfulness.
The day just kept getting better…Eric came up to school for lunch. He made us salads at the Whole Foods salad bar. It was the perfect lunch after consuming a big breakfast, a latte, and a brownie.
Lunch didn’t end there though. Eric had made cupcakes for my entire class!! From Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, he made Pineapple Right-Side-Up Cupcakes. He even brought 29 candles, which he lit (breaking every fire code rule at my school…that’s ok though…we didn’t set off any alarms…thank goodness). The kids loved it and him of course. I had one parent tell me the next day that her daughter came home saying, “Mrs. V’s amazing husband came to school today, and he REALLY likes her.” haha The mom was amused, and said she told her that yes, that’s how husbands are suppose to be. heehee It was very sweet indeed! He made them the night before after I had gone to bed. In the morning, he hid them in the fridge. You can see the “no peeking” sign below.
The one minor bummer of my birthday was that it was Meet the Teacher Night at my school, so I had to go back to work and speak for 30 minutes in front of about 40 parents. It’s not that it’s that bad, but I do get nervous. It ended up going great, and the parents were so sweet. When I phoned Eric on my way home, I was happy he had planned something at home for dinner. I was ready to relax!! This is the cute table he had set up on our patio. He’s so wonderful!!! He had made us wee salads, and gotten my favorite pizza from Campisi’s. It was a thin-crust pizza with red sauce, pineapple, tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, and garlic. It hit the spot FOR SURE! We also celebrated with a bottle of Iron Horse sparkling wine that we brought back from Sonoma.
I just have to share this with you. Eric’s birthday was at the beginning of August, and I blogged about what I made him. So for my birthday, Eric decided (since we said we were making each other things this year) to make me a ribbon of treats as well. It has homemade coupons on it. My favorite one being “off dinner duty for a week”. I do love to cook, but that will be a fun week!! It also has a couple of gift cards, like to Genghis Grill. Yum! Isn’t it cute?! He even painted the top wooden plate that says “Happy 29th Birthday Tara”.
That was a recap of my totally spoiled, special day. Thanks to everyone who called and made it that way! It was the perfect birthday filled with wonderful memories. I will hold on to this for a long time.
A Couple of Cool and NEW Dinners!!!
Black Bean Sloppy Joes from The McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook….so easy, yet so homemade. We both took it for lunch the next day as well with two slices of regular sliced wheat bread. This will definitely be a recipe I repeat OFTEN. For dinner we had it on Ezekiel sprouted grain buns (so hearty), with lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, mustard, ketchup, a big juicy pickle, and frozen peas and broccoli sprinkled with vegan cheese.
This night I made Isa’s famous Scrambled Tofu from Vegan with a Vengeance. (I make mine with zucchini and broccoli, instead of the mushrooms. Everything else I do the same though.) Instead of just having it with potatoes, avocado, and toast, like we normally do, this time I made it into a taco! I had Ezekiel sprouted grain tortillas (again, sooo hearty and yummy…so good for you). After loading up the scrambled tofu inside, I slathered on some salsa and topped it off with a couple of sliced of pan-grilled Lightlife tempeh bacon strips. Oh my goodness….best ever!! I took the leftovers for lunch a couple of days later. This scrambled tofu is great the next day or two! I ended up eating with a group of my kids in the classroom that day, and it was such a hoot to see how intrigued they were with my lunch. Some of the things they said… “Wow…I’ve never seen a tortilla like that.” “That definitely has a smell…I can smell the spices.” So, I gave them a little tofu 101. I had also brought a little container of green salsa. Some of them had never seen that before either. Glad I’m expanding their knowledge in the amazing world of food too!!
