I Had a Flame, But She Had a Fire

Cool points to those of you who get my title reference without using Senor Google!  Anyway.  Hello all!  I'm really trying to get back into the blogging spirit with summer just around the corner.  Remember when I told you that we left our bbq grill in Texas?  Well, we finally got one after a year and a half in the desert.  We've been grilling up a storm lately so there are plenty pics to come.

Quick Red Posole w/ Beans (pg. 136) garnished with Pickled Red Onions (pg. 43)

But first...I'm sure you've heard of a little cookbook by the name of Viva Vegan!  Trust me when I say that you need this in your life!  SO good.  I was fortunate enough to test for Terry, and the entire process really changed the way I viewed Latin cuisine.  I'm from South Texas, so I really thought I knew a lot about cooking some food...but this book really has a bunch of different cultures in it.  I felt like I was taking a trip to North, Central, or South America just reading a description of the food.

Yellow Rice w/ Garlic (pg. 96)

My favorite thing about testing was how inexpensive the ingredients were.  If you live in a Mexican-American neighborhood or have access to a Mexican grocer, a lot of this stuff will cost you less than a couple of bucks.  The most I paid for any single ingredient was probably 5 bucks...and the aji paste is still in my fridge.

Pupusas Stuffed w/ Black Beans and Plantains (pg. 162), Simple Latin Tomato Sauce (pg. 46), Swiss Chard w/ Raisins and Capers (pg. 123)

For people with special dietary needs, there are a lot of gluten free and soy free options.  I would also say that a huge majority of the food is based on whole foods.  I think almost every recipe that calls for prepackaged vegan cheese lists it as optional.  Plus, there is a huge condiment section that can really spice up your taco night!

Cashew Crema (pg. 51)

The dessert section is pretty epic for me.  As a San Antonian, I have dreamt about things like vegan churros and tres leches for years.  I can tell you that both of those recipes are worth the price of the book alone.  I'm pretty sure the day I first made the churros, that was all I consumed all day!  Haha.  There's also a drink section with some really badass alcoholic and non-alcoholic recipes.  Plus a shopping list and a bunch of menus! 

Coconut Tres Leches Cake (pg. 230)

I think the best possible thing I could say about Viva Vegan is that it completely makes me never want to go to a restaurant again.  Why go pay 10 bucks for a plate of food when I can make an entire meal for four?  Plus...super moist and delectable vegan tres leches!

I tested about 40 recipes, so I'll leave you with my personal favorites:

Annatto-Infused Oil (pg. 31) will change your life...and probably stain your chucks.

Chorizo Seitan Sausages (pg. 36) are amazing if you use half ancho and have chipotle for the chili powder.

So Good, So Green Dipping Sauce (pg. 43)

Cubano Vegano Sandwich (pg. 66)

Home-Style Refried Beans (pg. 86)

Yellow Rice w/ Garlic (pg. 96)

Latin Shredded Seitan (pg. 106)

Yuca w/ Cuban Garlic-Lime-Mojo Sauce (pg. 127)

Arroz Con Seitan (pg. 145)

Arepas (pg. 177)

Churros (pg. 223)

Coconut Tres Leches Cake (pg. 230)

Well, I have some marinating to do.  I'll be talking about Mexican hot dogs in my next entry because I was just introduced to them.  Weight loss is still going.  I didn't gain or lose any last month (because I just stopped working out), but this month I've lost a couple of pounds so far.  I'm hoping to push through by the end of the month and meet my next goal soon.  Happy Sunday all!

Pre Payday Meals

I don't know about you, but I've definitely had to get creative with the meals between paydays. I am an obsessive person when it comes to grocery lists. I have ingredients down to the exact number I need for the recipes I'd like to make. Sometimes we grab extras just because, but we mostly stick to the list.

A couple of weeks ago, I ran out of ingredients needed to test for Viva Vegan. It was a couple of days before we planned to shop, so I pieced together some things out of random ingredients I had leftover. Here's what I did. I had one poblano pepper, a bit of garlic, and some rice. I fashioned together this killer poblano rice. It was so good, but I knew it was missing something. My husband wanted peas, but I knew it was corn. I made it again a few days ago with the corn and that made the difference!

poblano rice with cashew crema (Viva Vegan tester) and avocado

Of course, rice just isn't complete without a little bean action. I swear I could live off of rice and beans. So, all I had to work with was about a cup of dried black beans, some garlic and an orange. I just recently discovered how fantastic black beans and orange taste together so I came up with these sun kissed black beans. The orange adds a subtle fruity flavor. The garlic, jalapeno, and cilantro pair well with it.

poblano rice, sun kissed black beans, and yuca with cuban mojo sauce (Viva Vegan tester)

I'm gonna post the recipe for the rice and beans soonish. My friend gets back from Indiana in a couple of weeks, so we'll discuss getting this show/vlog thing up hopefully some time in August. Until then all I can promise is that I'll post more frequently so I don't disappoint my mom. Sheesh. Hee hee.

So what's your favorite pre payday meal?

Airing of Grievances

I want to apologize for my absence. A piece of my laptop broke and I've been grudgingly using a Mac. I hope everybody had a glorious 4th! I made some bomb ass strawberry coladas, which is unheard of for me. I am not what one would call a mixologist. I have been known to completely ruin martinis and micheladas. Onto the good stuff...

While watching Food Network today, I felt this intense feeling. I was watching The Next Food Network Star and some show about tablescapes (you know the one) and feeling super bitter that FN does not take vegetarianism seriously. I'm about to get Kanye on y'all. FOOD NETWORK DOES NOT LIKE VEGETARIANS. Yeah. I said it.

If I have to watch another piece of asparagus get violated by a blanket of pork, I may just do an Excorcist style projectile vomit all over my television. The strange thing, y'all, is that Bobby Flay has the most vegan friendly show on there unless I'm missing something. Hear me out. He often has substantial vegetable sides that are completely vegan or easily veganizable. Also his marinades are often vegan. Plus, he never disrespects the vegetables by slathering them in butter and covering them in cheese. I have nothing but mad crazy booty love for Bobby Flay. My love for this man is ridiculous.

Anyway. I had this idea. Stop me if this already exists...Vegan/Veg*n Food Network. An online recipe and cooking show database with vegetarian and vegan cooking shows. No meat for you! I'm kinda sick of being considered a niche market. It's insulting. People want to see vegetable recipes that don't involve bacon and salads that aren't slabs of meat garnished with greens. Amiright?! Somebody who isn't as big of an artistic flake as me should totally make this happen. If we can't have a show on a television network, we damn sure should make our own network!

Also, I'm totally going to start doing an online show. I have too many opinions and too much time on my hands not to make this happen now. It will probably start out more as a video blog and hopefully become more awesome. More on this later. For now, I leave you with a fiery passion to change America's mindset on veganism and some Viva Vegan by Terry Hope Romero testing photos.

quicker red posole garnished with pickled red onions, avocado and cilantro


yellow rice with garlic


black bean and plantain pupusas covered in simple latin tomato sauce, rainbow chard with capers and raisins, avocado


un-tres leches cake!!!

Not testers...just me cooking it up:

brownie topped with homemade caramel ice cream


bbq sauce and rice recipes I'm working on

jalapeno and cilantro hummus recipe that my friend gave me