Cookbook Challenge 2: The Great Valley Adventure

Dudes.  A weird thing happened on my way to the store.  Not really, but my laptop broke (and is still broken) so it's been hell trying to blog.  I have about 5 weeks of cooking to show you.  I hope you're ready for this one.

First up, week 3 was Urban Vegan.  I tried a few new things from this book and loved most of them.  I really like the layout of the book.  Every recipe seems to be on a single page, which is something I like in a cookbook.  I also love that the steps aren't incredibly difficult to follow.

fettucine alfredo

THOUGHTS
1. Fettucine Alfredo: Absolutely amazing.  I loved this.  It was one of the simplest alfredos I've ever made.  Plus, I love that it wasn't super thick or heavy.  I threw in some sundried tomatoes and fresh basil before topping with homemade parm.  Damn good food.
2. Chickpea Paprikash: This really doesn't photograph well, but it was so creamy and delicious that none of that matters.  I have never had or even heard of paprikash until fairly recently.  I was super freaked about using so much paprika, but it really went well with the dish.  Plus, I love how smooth the yogurt made everything.
3. Lemon Poppyseed Tempeh: I really felt like a dish like this could have used exact measurements.  I used 4 lemons fresh from our tree, but I guess they were super juicy because all I tasted was lemon.  There wasn't enough of a rounded flavor for me.  However, I would try this again to make sure it wasn't user error on my part.

Havana beans and rice and pan-fried plantains

4. Confetti Quinoa: This was another dish I didn't really like.  It was too moist for me even after cooking for an extra 10 minutes or so.
5. Havana Beans and Rice: Absolutely lovely.  It makes a ridiculous amount of food, too!  Plus it is really simple.
6. Pan-Fried Plantains: I had never seen sweet plantains fried this way.  The sugar gave them a nice crunch.  Went super well paired with the rice and beans.

potato and tempeh sausage pizza

Week 4 was a cookbook near and dear to my heart, Vegan with a Vengeance.  This was the first vegan cookbook that got me excited about food.  It taught me how to cook, and really sparked a passion for food that I never had growing up.

sweet potato crepes w/ cilantro-tamarind sauce

THOUGHTS
1. Fresh Mango Summer Rolls: My first time ever rolling out fresh spring rolls.  Truth be told, Era is the one that reaches for fresh spring rolls.  I always get that deep fried ish, but these were SO GOOD.  Really fantastic.  I can't wait until mango season because I'm stuffing those biznootches with some Ataulfos, yo.
2. Potato and Tempeh Sausage Pizza: This was a recipe I've been checking out for years, but I never have fresh fennel in the house.  So glad I finally made it.  Love the way potatoes taste on pizza!

fresh mango summer rolls

3. Horseradish-and-Coriander-Crusted Tofu: This was a little spicy and a lot awesome!  It was really reminiscent of fish when dipped in the tartar sauce.  I hate fresh mint so I just substituted green onions.
4. Wasabi Mashed Potatoes: These were so damn good.  Super creamy and the wasabi really gave it a great kick.  Era was visibly surprised when he took a bite because I forgot to tell him about the wasabi.  Haha.

horseradish-and-coriander-crusted tofu

wasabi mashed potatoes

5. Sweet Potato Crepes w/ Cilantro-Tamarind Sauce: I always stared longingly at this recipe in the past.  There are so many ingredients that I never felt I had the time to make it.  However, everything comes together super fast and I was left with a wonderfully spiced filling, chewy crepe, and the bomb ass sauce.  The sauce is creamy, tangy and a little bit bright.  I loved this dish so hard.

butternut squash lasagna

I skipped a lot of weeks because I didn't have some books, but I jumped back in with week 9, Yellow Rose Recipes.  I had heard so many great things about this book over the years and finally purchased it back in December.  Gotta show that Texas love!

lemon tahini dressing

THOUGHTS
1. Tofu Scramble: This was super quick and easy.  Plus, I'm totally in love with the seasoning mix.  Anything that tastes of cumin has a place in my heart.
2. Lemon Tahini Dressing: So simple SO GOOD.  I made this and ate bowls for at least three days using this sauce.  Every bowl I had was absolutely amazing.  If I kept a supply of this and the goddess dressing from AFR, I'd never leave my house again.
3. Butternut Squash Lasagna: Super good and really filling.  I could easily see playing around with this and doing some add ons.  I was thinking how wonderful it would be with sausage and crushed red pepper flakes.

portobello feijoada, savory orange rice, and braised Brazilian shredded kale

Week 10 was Viva Vegan, my favorite cookbook ever!  I just love how every time I go back, I find something new and delicious that I've never had before.  I made a lot of stuff prior to and during this week, so I'll only leave my thoughts on the newly tried recipes.

THOUGHTS
1. Portobello Feijoada: This dish was amazing!  Meaty, mushroomy, filling.  Words cannot express how good this stew is.  And it made a ridiculous amount of food.  We were eating leftovers for days.
2. Braised Brazilian Shredded Kale: Really easy.  Super delicious.  And a great option to make because Era hates raisins so I don't make the chard w/ capers and raisins often.

vanilla-coconut flan

3. Vanilla-Coconut Flan: Perfect!  Just like I remember during Spanish class in high school.  I am definitely going to try the cafe con leche one next.
4. Peruvian Seitan:  I didn't make the skewers, but I took Terry's burrito advice and made a burrito that rocked my pants off.  I made the refried black beans and yellow rice.  Then I added the seitan to the burrito along with lettuce, tomato, and guacamole.  Greatness.

creamy corn-filled empanadas

5. Creamy Corn-Filled Empanadas: I have never made empanadas before because I hate working with dough and they seem pretty time consuming.  These were so good, I just have to make some other ones from the book.  Served these with the Green Onion Salsa.

mom's morning casserole

Finally, this past week was Vegan Brunch.  I mean, this book totally sparked my love of brinner.  I was obsessed with Isa's pancakes since VWAV, but when you are throwing omelets and muffins and motherforking coffee cake my way...it's a miracle that I actually eat anything other than breakfast all day.  I didn't make nearly as much as I wanted to, but what I did make was gooood.

THOUGHTS
1. Mom's Morning Casserole: I have always skipped over this one because we never kept tempeh in the house until recently.  So I halved the recipe and got to it.  So much awesomeness.  I really wanted to eat this with a side of biscuits and gravy, but I forced myself to eat some steamed broccoli instead.  Delicious!
2. Basic Scrambled Tempeh: I made this with tofu because I didn't feel like going to Trader Joe's for tempeh. This was unbelievably simple (maybe 5 ingredients) and so good!  I love any time I get to use chard.
3. Fried Plantains: Easy and delicious.  I don't think you can ever go wrong with fried plantains.

basic scrambled tempeh tofu w/ fried plantains

Whew.  That's all for now.  I have so many blogs to read.  I'll do at least one more blog this week...maybe two.  Anybody else stoked that Spring has arrived?!

Bargain Shopping, Insanity, and MoFo

Fellow vegans, I am still on a bargain high from my weekend of grocery shopping.  I think most of y'all know that few things thrill me more than an extremely good deal  If you know where and when to shop, groceries on clearance are your bestest friend!

On Sunday night, Era and I headed over to Ralph's (a local grocery store).  Era saw this Modern Marvels about cheese and felt he needed some.  I figured I'd go along because they are the closest store in my area that has Daiya.  We don't normally shop there because the prices are pretty high.  But two glorious things happened this trip.  First, they finally are stocking Tofurky Pizzas!  We were so stoked that we bought all three flavors.  Then, we realized that they had a whole selection of vegan soy/seitan products on sale.  Italian sausages for $1.25, Yves deli turkey for 99 cents, and Tofu Pups for $1.25!  We bought four of each and froze most of them.  It was a treat for us because we don't really buy convenience foods normally.

Sabra hummus!

Yesterday I started Insanity again, after having to stop due to an injury.  This program is seriously no joke.  But I absolute adore the intensity.  So more food journaling should be coming.  I pretty much took the summer off from working out and doing food journals.  Fall is here so I definitely have renewed energy.  Take a look at yesterday's lunch:

sourdough bread, Italian sausages in marinara, VT cheddar cheeze, olive medley, hummus, grapes

Vegetarian Times cheddar cheeze

I really like the cheddar cheeze.  I think it absolutely shines paired with mustard (especially brown deli mustard).  I had it in a grilled cheeze today on sourdough.  Awesome sauce!

Kittee testers (washing greens for gumbo, King Cake)

Lately, I've been cooking a lot.  This is what I love about Fall.  It's cool enough to spend hours cooking.  Above is a mosaic of some Kittee testers.  Mostly King Cake, but there is a sink full of greens for a gumbo I ate yesterday.  Very good stuff!

Speaking of testers, I revisited one of my favorite cookbooks to test for: Viva Vegan.  I made the arroz con seitan last week for the Britney episode of Glee last week!  No theme.  I just wanted good food to go with possibly the best episode EVER!  Seriously...love the steamed white seitan so much!

arroz con seitan

I also delved into 500 Vegan Recipes.  I've made recipes here and there for this book, but I almost never have ingredients for food that isn't Mexican or Indian.  True story.  I did end up making the white pizza last week.  Really good!

white pizza

I feel like this is the longest entry of all time, but I did want to remind everybody that Vegan MoFo is just around the corner.  If you haven't already done it, please sign up here.  Also blog, tweet, and facebook it!  This is the 4th edition, and it is going to OWN!  I've been collecting ideas all year, and I hope to do some things that I've been excited about for a while.  I'm going to organize my ideas tonight.  What about you?  What ideas do you have for MoFo themes?

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