Miscellaneous grub

This was inspired by Zoa talking about Bryanna Clark Grogan's Authentic Chinese Cuisine cookbook recently to make Dan Dan noodles.  Turns out we didn't have many of things one would need to make this recipe, so I skipped to the chow mein recipe a few pages down.  Much simpler for a lazy person like me.

 I added tofu and homemade seitan because someone once told me protein is important for satiety (the recipe in the book is just veggies; also, this photo was taken before I added the noodles. It was a good shot for me and I gotta take what I can get).

A few days later I managed to get my act together and take a picture of something I've been making quite a bit of lately: the bean-oat patties from Melomeals.  I have been having these for breakfast, actually, on top of a kale salad.  This version, though, was a little different and I recommend the approach. If you have some beans that are highly seasoned already (e.g., for chili; in the present case, I used leftover lentils from the Veganomicon's Snobby Joe's), use them instead of plain beans for EVEN MORE NOMS!!!!

Here there are in a pita with our Halloween decor.

And here's a sneaky boy, trying to steal some people food. He will actually eat almost anything if you let him. 

Chickpeapalooza

So after my last wretched-looking bean bucket post, I figured I should try to redeem myself a little bit with some slightly nicer-looking food.

I don't know if it's been noticeable or not, but my "reanimated" (spooky-sounding, for Halloween!) blog coincides with me trying to eat healthier.  I've been doing so since last spring, when I noticed that the dress I'd bought for a friend's upcoming wedding was alarmingly snug. Winter is hard on your ol' pal Stacy. I tend to sit inside and eat and drink, and boy could you tell by last spring.  Anyhow, I decided to basically eliminate refined carbs from my diet and cut out most processed foods, and one thing I started doing was to cook a batch of beans of up every week to have on hand for salads etc.

This is what I did with this week's bean batch, which was chickpeas.  First up, we have chickpeas in pesto, grilled raddichio, and polenta:

Next, a perennial favorite, the chickpea piccata recipe from Appetite for Reduction, served on top of caulipots and wilted arugula, just like Isa says:

Roasted Brussels sprouts on the side, just like *I* said!!

Just noticed we may get SNOW soon. Ugh. Can I maintain my new, healthier eating habits once the ice weasels are upon us? Stay tuned......I hear there'll be a witch going around with some Turkish Delight.

Bean bucket and nut cheeze (least appetizing blog post title ever)

I had to laugh at how horrible these lentils looked in this old bucket that my tofu comes in.  I'm passin' the laffs on to you!

Actually, these tasted great and were kind of an experiment inspired by this new cookbook I bought: the Vegan Slow Cooker. I haven't actually made anything out of the book (yet) but the Indian recipes sounded so good that I was inspired to throw a bunch of things (lentils, pintos, potatoes, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, and a dal mahkani spice blend I bought) into my slow cooker one day before heading off to work. Came home to deliciousness.  I also made a pumpkin curry but forgot to take a picture of it.  Anyhow, I am hoping to try an actual recipe from this book soon and will share it when I do so.

Nut "cheeze" update: in my last post I grappled with my overwhelming agita stemming from needing to take a dip/spread to an omni gathering.  I ended up taking this red pepper cheeze and it was enjoyed by all (despite my husband giving it to the host and announcing "Hey everyone, it's a vegan nut spread!" People still ate it). Next I want to make a version using beer. 

More socializing. Meh.

I haven't yet responded to everyone's nice comments to my last post, but I have a potluck emergency question for you guys.  We're going to yet another one, and I am charged with bringing a dip. Some other creep already called hummus (never take a vegan's go-to, dammit), and I'm debating between these two options: red pepper "cheeze" or black pepper "cheeze" Any of you badasses ever made one of these? Got another stand-by I should consider? I'm half tempted to bring my hummus anyhow. Another "never" is not to try to go head-to-head with vegan on hummus because we will hand your ass to you. Pardon my Fronch.

Tofu quiche and tater haters

Tonight's dinner was this tofu quiche recipe from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen: http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2008/03/asparagus-and-mushroom-quiche-with.html

Since asparagus is not in season and broccoli is, I used broccoli. 

Speaking of broc, this is so dumb but I can't stop laughing at it: broc_obama

Linking back to the FFVK site and seeing the photos of this recipe, I am humbled by how wretched my version looks in comparison but it was still delicious. I have to confess that the name of that blog was such a turn-off for me.  Although every recipe I've made from it has been awesome, it took me quite some time to get past the "fat free" moniker.  Then again, this blog's name is a completely obscure reference to a sadly short-lived tv show, so I should probably shut my piehole. 

Sweet potato fries on the side (obvs). They are great tossed with lime juice and a little agave! 

On an unrelated note, did you guys hear about this? I hate the USDA and now they are going after my best friend, potatoes!!! 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/26/usda-potatoes-school-lunch_n_980903.html

I realize that French fries and tater tots are not health food, but maybe they could go after, say, the ground-up slaughterhouse-reject mystery meat served in school cafeterias first.  Just a thought.

Quinoa for the ungrateful

Am I the only vegan who is unnerved by potlucks? I always feel like I have to "represent" and if there's anything less than lavish praise, I think I've let down the cause.  Anyhow, I took this to a party last night, and it was reasonably well-received, although no one threw down their chicken meatballs and swore fealty to veganism on the spot.  In retrospect, maybe the combination of quinoa, tofu, and kale was just too much for these people (a conservative group of eaters).  I think it's delicious, and spent much of the evening huddled in the corner over this wholesome, tasty food heap.

Here's a link to the recipe, if you'd like to give it a shot. http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/heathers-quinoa-recipe.html

How do you handle these kinds of situations?

Belated Thanksgiving Post

Our internerds is still not working properly (it took me 7 minutes to upload this stupid photo of our Thanksgiving dinner). I don't understand what kind of problem makes the connection sometimes almost normal, and sometimes ridiculously slow.  It's like we have a clog in our internet pipe or something.  Supposedly a crew is going to do something to the outside line today that will fix it.

Anyhow, this is what we had for (Canadian) Thanksgiving. It still feels really weird to me to celebrate Thanksgiving before Halloween (!!!) so I didn't pull out all the stops or anything.  We had caulipots and chickpea gravy (from Appetite for Reduction), roasted Brussels sprouts, and a lentil loaf based on this non-recipe: Magical Loaf Studio.  I topped it with a catsup/maple syrup glaze, and it was pretty delicious.
Too bad that blogger (the Vegan Lunch Box blogger, that is) isn't vegan anymore.  That always makes me sad, like when I find a bunch of used vegan cookbooks at the thrift store (which is fun for me, but it always makes me think someone hung up their vegan hat).

It is too harm (click on photo to make sense of this post's title)!!

Our internet connection has been ridiculously slow and spotty the past few days, precluding the lengthy post I had imagineered, but let me get the word out on this one: if anyone ever tries to convince you that fermented tofu is a good idea, run in the opposite direction. I have never smelled anything worse in my life, and I had a part-time job in an autopsy lab in my youth. Four scented candles later and my husband may still divorce me (and I wouldn't blame him).

Kale: It's what's for breakfast

I wanted to share with you two breakfasts that only a vegan could love. First up, savory oatmeal.  I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so I like to have a savory option but cooking up a tofu scramble is not practical on a workday. Hence, savory oatmeal = oats, nooch, salt, nutmeg, kale, and chickpeas. Believe me, it is actually pretty delicious.

This is a variation from a VegWeb recipe. It's kale dressed with mashed avocado, flax seed oil, Bragg's, and nooch.  Added chickpeas for protein and sriracha for noms.  

Can you tell we have a lot of kale in our garden? I love it!!!

Finally, this is the roasted broccoli + chickpeas + garlic recipe from Appetite for Reduction, served atop the caulipots (mashed potatoes and cauliflower, also from AFR).  I recommend this cookbook highly. Everything I have made from it is great, except for the Mac and Trees recipe which is heinous and will make you want to resume eating hamburgers (But don't. Really.).

Red or green?

I wish I had signed up for vegan mofo but I missed the boat. Perhaps I will "shadow" the event independently. Anyhoo, tonight's offering was a bean and squash burrito with homemade everything, including tortillas, and red and green chile sauces.  If you ever go to the Land of Enchantment (the Very Great State of New Mexico) and order some New Mexican food, you may be asked "Red or green?" meaning do you want green chile or red? I love both, and you can answer "Xmas!!!" if you are like me, and get both!  FYI, northern New Mexico is remarkably vegan-friendly.

PS you can see a cat hair in this plate if you look closely.