Vegan MoFo day 7

For today, we were to make a vegan dish inspired by a book or movie, etc.

I thought I'd be inspired by the only time I liked a movie or tv show better than a book. Because, lets face it, the book is always better. Except here.

Sorry to tell you, Piper Kerman, your book was poorly written and pretty terrible. But you, go, girl. You get mad revenues for the tv show, which is great.

Season 3 came out, and no spoiler alerts, because we like to take our time. One episode per night, if that.

But there's a scene where Chang makes fritters in the prison microwave using frito chips and peas.

Raise your hand if you're an OITNB watcher and you didn't want to try that.
Now put them down because you're a liar.

In this scene, Chang smashes up a bag of fritos (vegan!) Mixes in peas, and ends up with something that looks delicious. A brief scan of the web reveals multiple blog posts where people have tried to replicate her method. The consensus is that microwaving doesn't get you anything with an appealing texture. They all recommend pan frying the fritters. I do 2 only as an experiment, as I think frying fritos in even more oil has got to be gross.

I also microwave a couple, as she does in the show. These get the best look, but end up being mushy inside.

And I bake a few, which initially looks like a great idea, but then they all fall apart when I go to flip them.

Sigh. I resort to then making Orange is the new black bean nachos. With black beans, vegan crumbles, shredded romaine lettuce, daiya cheddar,  sliced jalapeño and some salsa atop a bed of tortilia chips.

Vegan MoFo day 6

Today's challenge in Vegan MoFo was to re-create a restaurant meal.

My goal yesterday was to make a lovely Buddha Bowl. My favorite restaurant Buddha  Bowl I ate a number of years ago when visiting my dear friend Kimmy in NYC. She was performing with a belly dance troupe in Grenwich village and I took myself to dinner when she was rehearsing before the show.

While wandering around, I found a cute little restaurant that had a communal table. The bowl I ordered and ate there was served in a wooden bowl, and was brown rice, tofu, red cabbage, greens, and other root vegetables. The next two times I visited my friend, I looked and looked for this restaurant. I never found it again....

So, today I went down to our rental house that is currently on the market to paint. I got a little frustrated due to an alarm issue, and the fact I left some necessities at home. On my way home, I deviated from my original plan and I stopped at our favorite Chinese takeout where they have a number of vegan items on the menu. I picked up some vegan General Tsos Tofu with broccoli, and at the liquor store next door, a bottle of Malbec.

So I guess I recreated a restaurant meal by buying a restaurant meal?

Now, do you want to hear about my alarm issue? One of our previous tenants installed an alarm system. I left the doors open while I was painting to air it out, and the system kept beeping. So. I went to the wall panel to try to turn off the beeps, and somehow that activated and armed the system. The next time I opened the door, sirens started wailing. Holy crap. 

So I called the alarm cimpany and told them about my situation. They said they couldn't/wouldn't disarm it or reset it or even tell me how because I wasn't the account holder (the tenant). They also said they wouldn't send a technician unless I opened an account with them for the property. Bah.

Giving up on getting any help from them, I pulled the system from the wall, and started pulling wires from the unit. It stopped before the cops showed up!

Vegan MoFo day 5

For day 5 of Vegan MoFo, we are to share the best sandwich ever.  The sandwich I will share with you here could have also been my post for breakfast or for quick and easy.

How do I know this is the best sandwich ever? Easy,  I have eaten it TWO TIMES TODAY.

Yup. I planned to have it for lunch today, and something else for dinner. But it was so delicious, I ate it all before I took any pictures! Oh! So sad!

Today I went on my long run. I did a little over 11 miles, and when I got home, I was tired and hungry. This is my favorite post-run meal.

This sandwich, a little yoga, some netflix binge watching, and a nap are my post run glories!

I first got the idea for this sandwich from a Vegan Zombie take on a Strong Hearts breakfast. Over the years, I have modified this recipe to be my own. I call it my tofu breakfast sandwich. The two most important ingredients are a nooch encrusted tofu and a tortilia.

Today, I started by tossing my tofu in a mixture of nutritional yeast and flax seed meal. I make this sandwich so often that I keep a mixture of this combination in my fridge at all times.

Then I put them in my cast iron skillet with a tiny bit of coconut oil, and two tempeh bacon slices.

Today I also added some daiya cheddar shreds and some baked sweet potato. I generally bake a sweet potato or two every time I turn on my oven, I use them in everything. I've also been known to add greens, both steamed and raw, avocado, or zucchini. I love to drizzle a bit of hot sauce over top.

Vegan MoFo day 4

Today, I want to share with you a weird food combination that I love.

But first, let me tell you about my day. Sigh, Thursdays are exhausting. I drafted an overload of classes this semester, and also have choir practice. So I have to get up super early to work out, and I have all three meals either on the go or at work. I actually got home a little early tonight, but I am pooped. It will take me a few days to get back into the swing of the semester.

Anyway, I love adding in fruit to my entrée dishes. Especially at this time of year, when fruits are so fresh and juicy! I have two dishes to share with you.

The first is a dinner recipe from The Vegan Zombie. A citrus baked tofu.

I baked the tofu in a marinade of orange juice and tamari. Then finished it off in a skillet.

I also made some couscous, and broccolini.

The second dish I want to share with you is a Happy Herbivore recipe for a peach and white bean quesidilia. 

I love quesidilias!! I eat quesidilias, but never get through a loaf of bread.

Just a simple mash of beans, tahini, basil, and pink salt. Then an addition of peach slices and romaine lettuce.

Plan September 7-13

Monday
BBT & yoga
Make / eat some thing inspired by a book or film.
Blueberry beginning smoothie 365
Orange is the new black bean burrito
Eggless salad sandwich (HHVK)

Tuesday
BBT & yoga
Reach out! Make a new vegan friend & tell us about it.
Blueberry banana builder smoothie 365
Eggless salad sandwich
Coconut chickpea curry (HH)

Wednesday
Run 5
Yoga
Most retro recipe.
Blueberry brainiac smoothie 365
Coconut chickpea curry
Creamy Cashew Potpie (HHVK)

Thursday
BBT & yoga
Something blue.
Blue chia paradise  smoothie 365
Creamy cashew pot pie
Protein shake

Friday
Run 12
Yoga
Focus on a nutrient
Quiet bluebird smoothie 365
Slow-cooker enchiladas (HH)

Saturday
Yoga
Tell us about your favourite cookbook!
Raw green smoothie 
Corn & black bean cakes  (HH)
TBD

Sunday
Yoga
It’s kitchen tour time!
Raw green smoothie
Thai Peanut Pizzas (HH)
Sushi

HH- Happy herbivore
HHVK- Happy healthy vegan kitchen
365- 365 vegan smoothies

Vegan MoFo day 3

For the third day of Vegan MoFo,  I share with you a quick and easy meal.
This meal isn't necessarily quick to cook, but it is quickly assembled, and the perfect kind of meal for the start of a busy semester.

Today was the first day of fall semester classes. I have drafted a heavy load this term, and will need to start pre-prepping meals and packing lunches.

For these baked potatoes, I used my automatic timer setting on my oven to get them cooking while I was at work.   I washed the potatoes the night before, then this morning, I set my oven to come on at 3pm at 300 degrees. I vary how long I cook my potatoes. If I can cook them all day (generally in the winter when I don't mind the oven being on all day, I cook them for 5-6 hours at 200 degrees.

I love some vegan products to top my potatoes. I have steamed veggies (for convenience,  I buy pre-washed and chopped veggies that I can steam in the bag), maple tempeh bacon, tofutti sour cream, daiya cheddar cheese, and earth balance butter.

While I prepped my potato, I also made up my lunch for tomorrow. In addition, when I baked my potatoes, I also baked two sweet potatoes that I will use in other recipes this week. I also steamed all the veggies so that I can eat them on Friday!

Vegan MoFo day 2

For today's MoFo, we were asked to veganize a meal from our childhood.

I was not raised in a veg household, but I became a vegetarian at the age of 10. At that point, I started to do most of my own cooking. Before that, I honestly donxt remember that many family meals. My dad traveled quite a bit for work, and my mom worked at night. The only meals I remember with any sort of clarity were the chicken curry, jamazetti, and hamburger gravy.

The hamburger gravy was the first recipe I recreated with vegetarian ingredients on my own. I used fake meat crumbles, and felt pretty proud of myself. This went on to become a favorite comfort food in my adult household. My daughter used to request it all the time.

When I made the shift to veganism, this recipe was an easy transition. As I became a better cook, and started learning more about food and wholezfood ingredients, this recipe has evolved.

Here it is in its current incarnation.  A vegan tempeh gravy over polenta and wilted arugula.

Ingredients:
1 tube polenta, sliced into 1/4" rounds
2 cups arugula
1 package tempeh, sliced into 1" chunks
1 T tamari
1/4 c flour
1/2 - 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
Black pepper

In a skillet, steam tempeh with a little water. Add tamari. Break up chunks with a potato masher.
When it is soft, add flour and milk to make gravy. Add pepper to taste.
In second skillet, use a little bit of oil to fry up polenta rounds. After they are done, wilt the arugula.

On plates, place polenta, top with arugula then gravy. I also added a little dill for flavor and color.
Serves 3.

I have found that I became a decent cook when I was vegetarian, but now, as a vegan, I feel like I am a very good cook. Have any of you found that?

Otherwise, the semester starts today! So my lovely summer freetime is gone. Sigh. No more long runs every day. My puppies will miss me during the day!

Plan Dec 1-7

Thanksgiving was a hoot- and I can't believe that the end of the semester, and the Christmas holidays are just a few weeks away. We went out to Nebraska for the weekend to visit my folks, brothers and family. My niece, Kateri was born on Monday, and I got to visit her in the hospital on Wednesday, and spend a good bit of time baby-holding over the weekend, which is always lovely. (Here's me, baby Kateri, and niece Niki! Thanks, Grandma for sharing your pictures!)

 

Thanksgiving dinner was a vegan feast that couldn't be beat- seitan, kale, brussels sprouts, potatoes and cranberries. Rachel and Mia were awesome choppers, and Jess made accidentally vegan pies, so life was good.

 

 I also ran each day, and practiced some awesome yoga moves with Mia, my SIL Rachel, and my cool niece Niki!

 

 

Now I guess it's back to real life for a couple of weeks. I have to finish out this semester, keep writing my dissertation, (my mentor sent back my Chapter 3 with all sorts of red pen markings.... sigh),  keep running- I'm a week into the Runner's world winter run streak where I run at least a mile a day every day from Thanksgiving to New Years... I started a little early, so today marked day 7, and I logged over 15 miles last week.

Tomorrow being December 1 means that I will start a new yoga challenge, one that Miss Mia has agreed to try with me.  She doesn't hate yoga as much as she claims she used to. This is a big step from the girl who once said "Mom, making yoga sound like an emergency isn't going to make me like it." We are doing the #DecemburrBasics Instagram yoga challenge. This may be trickier than I suspected because my tablet is BROKEN.  Sigh. Yep, the charging port is busted, but fortunately it is under warranty. It just means I will be tablet-less for a bit, and feel a little disconnected from the world. Mostly it means I can't instagram and can't tweet, and can't facebook in bed. But those of you who do those things know how important that stuff is.

I also am going to give the "Say it Sweat it Get it" week-long challenge a try- it's a week of mantra based exercises that Kris Carr recommended (she's the Crazy Sexy Juice lady). I'll let you know....

Anyway. After a week or so of lots of wine and eating pie on the floor of the kitchen out of the pan with my niece and nephew (someone had to show them how it was done), I'm feeling like some wholesome basic real food this week. My recipes are from the Thug Kitchen cookbook (TK), Happy Herbivore Abroad (HHA), and Happy Herbivore Holidays and Gatherings (HH/H&G). In addition, I have a choir concert this week on Thursday- if you're in La Plata, and want to hear me sing, come check us out at the college. On Sunday, Rob and I will be running the Christmastown 8k in Williamsburg, VA. We were signed up for it last year, but it got iced out. It looks like the weather will be good this year, though.

Monday

Run 2

TK Chickpeas & Dumplings

Tuesday

Run 1

Swim

TK Wedding Soup with White Bean Balls and Kale

Wednesday

Run 3

HHA Migas

Thursday

Run 1

Swim

Vega One Shake

Choir Concert

Friday

Run 4

Gardein Field Roast with Sweet Potato casserole (HH/H&G)

Saturday

Run 1

Out for Dinner with friends

Sunday

Christmastown 8k

Dinner TBD/Leftovers

Plan Nov 3- 9

I am feeling better this week. I was able to run 5 miles on Friday, which I think I needed spiritually more than anything else, if you know what I mean!

Monday
Walk Run
Smoothie
Vegan Chili
Out for dinner

Tuesday
Swimming
Tofu sandwich
Sweet Potato Quinoa
Asian Orange Tempeh

Wednesday
Walk Run
Smoothie
Asian Orange Tempeh
Crockpot Vegan Lasagna

Thursday
Swimming
Bhangra
Choir
Tofu sandwich
Crockpot Vegan Lasagna
Protien Vega One Shake

Friday
Walk
Long Run
Lunch Leftovers
Roasted Chickpea and Broccoli Burrito

Saturday &Sunday TBD

For Halloween this year, Rob and I were invited to one of my student's parties. We dressed up as Calvin & Hobbes, and had fun in the yard taking pictures in character before we went. Rob even did some yoga with me before hand, and stopped by the store in costume after the party, he's my favorite!

I finished out the #BackToBasicsYoga challenge in October, and in November, I am focusing on heart opening poses in my practice with the #healinghearts and #GetYourGratitudeOn yoga challenges. I love adding these to my daily practice because they allow and encourage me to learn about and focus on one or two positions a day. I feel I am becomming a better yoga practitioner through this practice.

Some of my favorite meals this week included a pumpkin falafel spinach salad, pumpkin noodles and kale, pumpkin bagels from Trader Joe's with vegan cream cheese, and, of course, our vegan chili last weekend!

I always give my friends books for All Hallows Read, and Rob surprised me this year by giving me The Woman in Black! I just started it, but am really enjoying it so far. We've also watched some scary movies this week in honor of Halloween: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (is it just me, or did young Jeff Goldblum look a lot like Ralph Macchio circa The Karate Kid? ) and The Awakening, a good ghost storywith mumbly british dialogue. 

Plan Oct 27-Nov 2

I'm hoping to be able to get back to exercising this week. The last two weeks have been a bit of a struggle with my headaches. I hope to be on the mend very shortly.

Monday
Walk
Fruit smoothie
Vegan autumn chilli
Creamy pumpkin sage pasta with kale

Tuesday
Swim
Yoga
Tofu sandwich
Pumpkin falafel salad
Autumn vegetable soup

Wednesday
Walk/run?
Fruit smoothie
Autumn vegetable soup
Vegan cashew chickun salad sandwich

Thursday
Swim
Bhangra
Choir
Tofu sandwich
Pumpkin falafel salad
Protien vega one shake

Friday
Walk/run
Pumpkin pie smoothie
Butternut quiona wrap
Pumpkin enchiladas

Saturday
Protien vega one shake
Walk for farm animals
Lunch with Cari & Paul!
Dinner TBD

Sunday
Pumpkin overnight oats
Butternut quinoa wrap
Tomato cobbler with rosemary biscuits

This last week included lots of yoga, and not much else. No running, swimming, singing, or dancing. Simple meals. Lots of sleep. By Saturday, I was feeling a little better, so Rob and I were able to have some adventures, but Sunday is a well deserved rest day.

Be well, my friends!

Plan Oct 20-27

Well, my week of no grocery shopping was a win and a loss. I saved some money, and cleaned out some of my pantry and freezer. Most of my meals turned out well, except for the couscous and soy curls, which tasted off, like cheap boxed food. The dogs liked it, though! I ended up cooking up a vegan burger, some frozen broccoli, and eating it over yellow grits. An odd mixture, like many of the things I ate this week. It was a good time to do it, though. Rob was out of town for much of the week, so I was living the bachelor life.

The bachelor life for me = a choice of being productive or binge watching old TV shows (I'm currently re-watching Twin Peaks. I missed the end of the series since I was living overseas when it was being aired, and AFN was behind on what it showed. The whole world knew JR was dead 6 months before we did.) and napping. This week I did all of the above. We don't watch normal TV in our house, but we do have Netflix, which allows us to watch what everyone else is watching- just a few years later.  Which is JUST FINE by us. But..... Don't talk to me about the Walking Dead. We're still on season 4. And don't you dare tell me how Lost ends, because we're still on season 3 of that...

But I also was productive. I got 2nd drafts of my Chapters 1 & 2 sent off to my mentor, and two more interviews scheduled. Once those are done this week, I can start evaluating my data and writing Chapters 3, 4 & 5. I cleaned the carpet in the living room, as well as Mia's living room area.  I've decided to re-claim it now that she is at college, and turn it into my yoga space so I don't get puppy bombed every time I try to do a floor pose. Her kitties may be equally obnoxious, but we will see. Anyway, I got the floor in there cleaned, and next I'll sort through the stuff on the desk and shelves, consolidating it so it has a peaceful zen-like feel back there. I also bathed the dogs, washed the towels and sheets, cleaned out the produce drawers, washed all of my spice jars... Huh, I feel I deserve another nap.

On another note, though, I wrangled with a headache most of the week. I don't know if it was because of the weird storms we had midweek, or if my body was going through raw plant food withdrawal... I see my neurologist this week, so we will hopefully get this sorted out.

This week, I'm back to my normal meal prep. I'll be cooking some meals from Lindsay Nixon's (the Happy Herbivore) getmealplans.com for dinner, and drinking some fruit smoothies for breakfasts. Monday's dinner is courtesy of my BOGO coupon I got from the Baltimore Running Festival this weekend.

Monday:

Run

Date night- Chipotle sofritos and Season 4 of The Walking Dead with my Love!

Tuesday:

Yoga

Spicy Sweet Potato Bowl with Avocado and Quinoa

Wednesday:

Run

Chick-un Salad Sandwich (for Annie) and Kale and Garlic Salad

Thursday:

Swim

Bhangra

Leftovers

Friday:

Run

Portobello Strip, sweet potato, broccoli bowl

Saturday:

Baltimore Vegan Soul Fest

Www.vegansoulfest.com

Sunday:

Yoga

Sweet Potato and Kale roll-ups

Oh, I developed this delicious recipe for a single serving of apple crisp! Check it out:

Slice up one apple (remove the core, first, but you can leave the peel!) The finer you slice it, the better it cooks. 

Put it and a sprinkling of raisins (oh, how I love raisins lately!) In a mug into the microwave for a minute, maybe a minute, twenty for a large apple.

Meanwhile, mix this in a bowl: 2 heaping TBSP flour, 2 heaping TBSP quick oats, 1 TBSP brown sugar, 1 tsp each cinnamon and ground ginger, and 2 TBSP earth balance butter. Mix, but keep in mind it wont look completely mixed.

Pour in the apples and raisins, and mix. Microwave for 1 minute, then stir again and let it cool a little. 

Meanwhile, make yourself a cup of tea.

Enjoy!

My friend, Cari, started running just a few months ago, and did her first 5k this weekend! I was so proud of her, and pleased to be part of the day! The Baltimore Running festival was well organized, with nice courses, nice swag, and nice runner amenities. 

They DID, however, make the 5k start time at an hour which should be unlawful! 7:20am! That meant I had to get up at 4am! It is DARK at Camden Yards in the 6am hour!

This afternoon, I am attending a Meditation Workshop at thestudiocooperative.com 

Meditation is something I've been trying lately, but would like to become a more mindful practitioner of.

Plan October 13-19

Good evening, friends!
Tonight I'm sitting down to a lovely butternut squash soup, inspired by Lindsay Nixon's upcoming Happy Herbivore Holiday book (I pre-ordered, and got a sneak peek this week!) For this warm and creamy autumn soup, I blended in some jalapeno peppers, so the soup was quite spicy! Yum!

Other exciting vegan cookbook news, I got my copy of the brand new Thug Kitchen cookbook this week! It looks great, I've really enjoyed reading this one. I'll give a few of these recipes a try next week. This week, though, my goal is to NOT go to the grocery! I've been trying lately to use some items I already have. With a couple of bags of veggies and some bananas in the freezer, I think I will be able to do it. We will see if the dogs notice the difference between those frozen veggies and fresh carrots!

Monday
Run
Pasta, field roast, & sauce

Tuesday
Swim
Yoga
Couscous, soy curls & veggies

Wednesday
Run
Sweet & sour (rice, mandarin gardein, pineapple, & mixed veggies)

Thursday
Swim
Bhangra
Vega one chai shake

Friday
Run
Earth Balance white cheddar and veggies

Saturday
Baltimore Running Festival
TBD

Sunday
Alfredo pasta plus with veggies and baked tofu

I've been working most of the day on my Chapter 2, it is slowly, slowly getting there... even though I have a busy week, I hope to get it done by Friday. At least, that's the deadline I've given myself.

Vegan MoFo Sonoma Salad for Mia

My girl visited me from college this past weekend, and I wanted to make one of her favorites for her to take back to her dorm. She loves Sonoma Salads (originally from a Happy Herbivore recipe). It is colorful and healthy, and easy to eat as a meal, or as a forkfull or two straight out of the fridge between classes.

First, I prep the tofu. I cube it, and simmer in a cup of vegan chicken broth on the stove for 20-30 minutes. After the tofu is infused with flavor, I pull it off the stove and let it cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, I chop. Celery, and two kinds of grapes (I like black & red seedless- just for color, but if you only had access to green, that would be fine, too.) About a cup -1.5 each. As you like.

Then I mix in a large spoonful of vegan mayo, and sprinkle in some dried dill, and stir all the ingredients together. I like serving this salad over a handful of spinach, or stuffed into a pita pocket.

Letting it sit over night really melds all the flavors together, so it is one of those neat dishes that is almost better as leftovers!

Mia and I each had a bowl for lunch, then she took the rest with her back to college!

Enjoy!

Vegan MoFo plan Sept 29 - Oct 5

And here we are, at the end of September!

The month of Vegan MoFo blog posts is nearly done. Part of me is relieved, because writing 30 posts in 30 days is tough work, but part of me is also a little sad that we won't have these daily monents any more.

This week is not near as hectic as last, whew!  But since it is October, I am starting to see my calendar fill up! This upcoming weekend we've got some fun adventures planned, and I am itching to visit a pumpkin farm/ corn maze/ apple orchard!

Monday

Run

Baked potatoes and spinach garlic tofu topping

Tuesday

Abs & arms

Yoga

Vegan fettucini alfredo

Wednesday

Run

TBD

Thursday

Abs & arms

Swim

Bhangra

Leftovers

Friday

Run

Out

Saturday

Mini vegan pot pies

Sunday

Sweet potato and olive pizza

This last week I tried a new frozen Daiya pizza, with multiple vegan cheeses and a gluten-free crust.

This kind of meal is good to have around for an impromptu pizza craving, although I always find that these pre-packaged things are higher in calories and not as healthy.

I like daiya cheeses, but more and more, I find I don't use vegan cheese substitutes as much. It is strange, because that is what I thought I would miss the most as a vegan.

In all honesty, though, I don't think I miss any non-vegan foods! I love what I eat!