Soup!

I made of of my favorite meals tonight- veggie soup. Its so easy too, just saute onions and carrots then add water or veggie stock and your favorite veggies and let it cook for forever! Mine had potatoes, canned tomatoes, kidney beans, cabbage and barley. Yum!!! Be sure to wait until almost the end to add the cabbage or else it can get bitter. I also had this super yummeh bread I got from QFC on their little managers special thing so it was only $1.50. It was like sour dough with roasted garlic in it- yummmmm.

Chocolate Pudding Ice Cream

The other day we decided to try to make instant chocolate pudding using soy milk, but it didn't set up very well. =( So we dumped it in the ice cream maker and let it run for a bit. Ended up with super rich slightly melty ice cream type stuff. Yum.

Yesterday I needed some yummy food and didn't have a lot of time, so I invented a new super yummy thing! I sauted a small onion until soft, then added a can of cannellini beans, a handful of spinach and a diced roma tomato and cooked until it was all warm. Some salt, pepper and a bit of nutritional yeast were all the seasonings it needed. YUM!

Yummeh

So I ended up feeling not so well all last night and thus didn't eat anything and ended up starving all day! After getting home much later than normal, I wanted something fast, simple and normal. Enter taco salad! Just torn up romaine lettuce, warmed refried black beans, yellow pepper, tomato, salsa and homemade guac. Yum yum.

Eww

So a few weeks ago I bought this new thing at QFC called Shirataki. It's noodles made out of tofu. There was one kind that was shaped like fettuccine and one, that I got that was like spaghetti. The directions said to parboil it before using it to reduce the smell- which was a gross combination of seafood and some sort of house building material- drywall caulk maybe? Anyways, the smell should have been my first warning that these noodles were not going to be tasty. I stir fried some onion and carrot bits and mixed with the parboiled noodles and some teriyaki sauce. And EW. The noodles just had the weirdest texture to them- almost like too al dente pasta- but almost like crunchy at the same time. Just really disgusting. I think I only managed to eat like 3 bites and had to throw the rest away. Now I must find something really really normal to have for dinner. Maybe some toast.

Blueberry Pancakes

People today were talking about blueberry pancakes, and it sounded soooo good, I just had to make some. Even if a stupid little 10 ounce bag of frozen blueberries was $5. Oh well. I used the recipe in Vegan With a Vengeance- I think I like that recipe better than the one in the Compassionate Cook, which used to be my favorite. I didn't follow the recipe of course, cause I'm me. It called for 2 tblspoons of maple syrup, which I don't have any of, except for my pretty leaf that I don't want to use, so I just used a little bit of sugar. Next time I think I will let the berries defrost a little before I put them in because I like it when the whole cake turns blue with the juice. I also had little heart shaped pattys of lightlife gimmie lean sausage stuffs. It was the first time I tried it, pretty tasty. I think I like it better than the Gardenburger sausages- and you can shape it into whatever shape you want. Next time i think I will do stars.

Peppermint Brownies

So last night I decided a good way to continue to procrastinate on my homework was to invent a new recipe. I've really been craving some sort of peppermint chocolate thing, and brownies sounded tasty last night. I found a recipe online for regular brownies, and decided to try to modify it to make yummehness. So they ended up tasting really good, but the texture needs a little work. Here's how I made them if anyone wants to try them.

Peppermint Brownies

2/3 cup white flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup chocolate soymilk
½ cup oil
½ teaspoon vegetable oil
1/3 cup crushed candy canes (about 3 large ones)- I used a coffee grinder to crush them. Be sure to only let it run for a few seconds or you'll end up with peppermint dust.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Oil a 8x8 pan
Mix dry ingredients except candy canes in a medium mixing bowl. Add soymilk and oil and mix until well combined. Mix in about half of the crushed candy canes. Press into pan, sprinkle rest of candy canes evenly across the top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.

So I baked them for like 30 min and thought they were done- but after I pulled them out and let them cool a little, they were still REALLY gooey. Like wouldn't hold their shape gooey, not yummy fudgey gooey. I put them back in the oven for another 10 minutes, and they firmed up a little bit but are still pretty gooey. I think next time I need to add less oil or more flour or something.

It was fun while grinding up the candy canes because when you take the lid off the coffee grinder, peppermint dust goes everywhere and ends up in your mouth. Shannon named it peppermint crack.

Fajitas in a bowl!

I bought a whole big bag of onions at the grocery store cause it was cheaper. But now some of them are starting to go bad already, so I wanted to use a bunch of them up. So it was fajitas for dinner. I didn't have any taco shells, so I just had it with brown rice. Yum. Just onion, yellow pepper in a pan, and seasoned with soy sauce, lemon juice, cumin and chili powder. And guacamole. Yummy and spicy.

Blah

So, as much as I love icky, rainy weather, I'm really starting to want it to be spring soon. Actually, I'd prefer to just skip right over spring and into summer. And watermelon, peaches, berries and all those other super yummy fruits that just aren't the same during the winter. And being able to go to the beach without wearing 7 layers of clothing.

So I felt cold and blah today and just wanted something easy for dinner. So I just slices up two small onions and sauted them in a sauce pan until they were golden, then added water, veggie broth powder, rice and lentils and let that cook until most of the water was absorbed. Then I added a few handfuls of fresh spinach and cooked until the spinach wilted. Salt and pepper were the only seasonings. It turned out super yummy, like it always does. This is one of my favorite things to make, cause the only real work involved is slicing a few onions, and then it just sits on the stove.

Snow day saturday

I actually had a weekend off for once in like a year, and most of my roomies weren't busy, so we just hung out and made muffins and did girly stuff to our hair.

I made the apple pie crumb cake (or whatever they are called) muffins from vegan with a vengeance. They were pretty darn yummy.

We also made yummy veggie burgers by mixing a can of black beans with bread crumbs, salsa, cilantro a roasted Anaheim pepper and seasonings. Yum! We put lettuce, tomato, salsa and homemade guacamole on them to complete. I forgot to take a picture of mine before I ate it, but I took one of my roomies cheesy version.

Yummy Cookies!

I wanted to make yummy cookies to take to my meeting today. Everyone always seems to like the snickerdoodles from this site, but I didn't want to open a whole thing of soymilk, so I just used some Silk Nog (only 0.99 right now!), and there wasn't much cinnamon left, so I just left it off- they still turned out super yummy. The whole bag I took was gone by the time the meeting was over. Yum.

It was icky and snowing today, so I wanted to make something warm and yummy for dinner. Some sort of pot pie sounded tasty, and like usual, I didn't bother with a recipe. Diced onion, red potatoes, carrot and frozen peas all went in a cute little pan I got from Ikea, then I made half a package of vegetarian gravy, thinned it out a bit and poured it over the top. For the crust I mixed flour, a pinch of salt, canola oil and water. I think I probably should have used a recipe for the crust, because it turned out doughy and chewy rather than flaky like I would have liked. The rest was pretty good, although I think next time I will cook the onion, carrots and potatoes on the stove before they go in the oven, since even after an hour they weren't done and the peas where dark and mushy. It was still super tasty though.

Pepper Seitan

Sometimes my made up recipes don't turn out as well as I would hope. I tried to make a vegan version of the pepper steak that my mom used to make. Of course I didn't even bother to look up a recipe for regular pepper steak, just cooked up some garlic, red pepper and slices of seitan. I added some cornstarch mixed with water, soy sauce and salt and pepper to try to make a sauce, but I ended up with a sticky gummy mess. Oh well, guess I learned.

No, it wasn't any tastier than it looks

Praise Seitan!

Ok, ok, I know its cliche (at least in the vegetarian world), but its so fun to tell people that you're cooking seitan for dinner. Its pretty easy to make, I don't usually follow a recipe, just mix vital wheat gluten with garlic powder, a little bit of soy sauce and enough water to make a dough. I knead it for a bit and let it sit and then tear it into pieces and throw it in boiling water until it floats. Once its done you can use it in anything. Pasta sauce, burritos, to replace chicken, beef, pretty much anything. Yummy. It also freezes really well, so you can make extra to save for later.

I <3 TJ's!

So I always come up with these yummy sorts of recipes, but then a few weeks later, I'm hungry for something for dinner, but I can never remember how I made stuff. So I decided to start writing them all down. Usually most of my stuff is made with really simple ingredients, cause well, thats what is cheap. I try to do a lot of my nonperishable shopping (canned beans, pasta, ect) at trader joes cause thats where it is the cheapest, but its also a pain to get to, so a lot of my produce comes from QFC, where it is unfortunately a lot more expensive.

Yay, more yummy food tonight. I went to Trader Joes (with a car!) on monday, so I still have a ton of yummy fresh produce left. Tonight I made food similar to last night, but with more of a spicy touch.

1 cup cooked cous cous

5 cloves garlic
1/2 small red pepper diced
1/3 cup diced white mushrooms
1/2 can black beans with liquid
1/4 diced tomato
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
pinch of salt, pepper

In a small type pan of your choice (I used a wok, but I'm sure a fry pan would work fine) cook the garlic until fragrant. Add the pepper and mushrooms and cook until soft. Add black beans and liquid. Cook until thick. Add tomatoes and season to taste.

I served this over cous cous, but I think it would be better over brown rice. Have to try that next time.

So many veggies!

Made up a yummy recipe for dinner tonight. Still needs a name though.

1 small or 1/2 medium red pepper, diced
6 white button mushrooms, chopped
10 grape tomatoes halved or 1/2 regular tomato diced
handful of spinach leaves
1 cup uncooked pasta
olive oil
2 teaspoons Earth Balance or olive oil
Spices: Red pepper flakes, salt, garlic powder, pepper

Start a pan of water boiling and add pasta. Cook according to package directions.

In a nonstick pan cook the red pepper and mushrooms in a little bit of olive oil until soft. Add tomato and cook until warm. Add earth balance and cook until melted. Add pasta and spinach, cook until spinach is wilted. Season to taste.

Serves:1

I also made a yummy cucumber tomato salad which I ate while the other food was cooking.

Cucumber tomato salad
2 Persian cucumbers sliced
10 grape tomatoes halved
Dressing:
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon dried dill
2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
water to desired thickness

Whisk first four ingredients of dressing together. Add water until just runny (about 1 tablespoon). Mix cucumber and tomatoes together and add dressing. I usually try to let it sit for a bit for the flavors to blend, but sometimes I am to hungry and just eat it right away.

Serves: 1-2