Here is a dinner from "30 Minute Meals." It ran on the Food Network a few days ago and is on their website. Believe it or not, it is vegan without any adjustments needed! It is a noodle dish with a sauce made of hoisin and chili garlic paste. On the side is a tofu yakitori (tofu and scallions roasted in teriyaki sauce and grill seasoning), a super cucumber salad, and a veggie stirfry. The noodles were just okay - mostly because I just don't love the chile garlic paste. Somehow it tastes like it has some kind of chemical preservative in it. I remember eating something that looked just like it in a Thai restaurant many years ago. I was addicted to the stuff - could eat it by the spoonful even though it was so hot it made my face sweat! It must have been made from fresh chilis - I have never been able to duplicate it. Anyway, the tofu was pretty good. The recipe called for mushrooms, but mine were spoiled so I used the tofu. The scallions were awesome with this treatment. I used salt free grill seasoning because of the teriyaki, and I could taste caraway and coriander in it. Yum! The cucumber salad was really good, too. It had lime, rice vinegar, agave (subbed for the honey in the recipe), canola and toasted sesame oils, and toasted sesame seeds. A simple dressing, but I think the lime juice made it really stand out from other cucumber salads. The veggie stirfry just had ginger and garlic as seasoning, but was really tasty with the red onion and edamame. Overall, a delicious and quick meal!

The Breakfast Queen

In our house, the Carnivore is the king of breakfast. Whenever we have guests, he manages to pull off a multi-course breakfast, serving everything hot and at the same time. This comes from his days as a cook at a kosher restaurant. And he does make the prettiest and best tasting omelettes ever. Of course the breakfasts are not vegan, or even vegetarian, so I thought I'd take a shot at it myself this weekend.

I woke up thinking of the orange scones from VWAV. I had made them once before, and have been craving them ever since. I started out intending to make a half recipe, so I wouldn't be eating most of the dozen by myself. When the dough didn't feel right, I realized that I had not halved the oil along with everything else, so I was forced to make the whole recipe! So sad. I add chocolate chips to make them extra special. Aren't they beautiful?

While I was waiting for them to bake, I started browsing through VWAV and discovered the breakfast chorizo. By now I was starving so I thought I might as well whip up a huge breakfast. I made the chorizo (using tofu instead of TVP) and fried potatoes to go with my scones. I have never had real chorizo to compare to, but this version was yummy in its own right.

Well, although of course no one would eat the tofu but me, everyone enjoyed the scones and potatoes. So now I enjoy the title of Breakfast Queen! (Brought some scones over to my neighbors so I wouldn't eat them all myself.)

Crunchy Sweet and Sour Salad

Here is an awesome salad, courtesy of Krys at Two Vegan Boys. I used different veggies in mine, but the dressing is straight from the recipe and it is fabulous. I used cabbage, carrots, beets and baby bok choy as the veggies. I have never had raw beets before - they are a little "earthy" on their own, but were really good mixed with the other veggies and the strong dressing. And they look so pretty! If you are serving to guests, toss the dressing with the cabbage first to marinate a while, then lay out the other veggies separately and toss at the last minute, because everything turns pink! Also, I had never had bok choy raw, but a friend made it once in a salad with lots of nuts and toasted ramen noodles and a sweet dressing, and that was also really good, so I thought I'd try it here. Another good way to eat those dark leafies!

The Joys of Summer

There are certain foods I always associate with summer, mostly ones prepared the way my mom did. Tomatoes, of course, in a sandwich with mayonnaise, and in a salad that my mom made. She cut them in chunks, added salt, pepper, red wine vinegar, and dried oregano. That's it - no oil! The juice from the tomatos would release as it sat. My brother and I would drink it after all the tomatoes were gone. Corn on the cob, with lots of butter and salt. Cucumbers and onions in sour cream. Potato salad, made with melted bacon grease (!) and mayo, celery, salt & pepper (no onion, please). And stewed zucchini, cut in big chunks and cooked with tomatoes and Italian seasonings (again, no oil). This was even good cold the next day, sprinkled with grated Romano (can you tell we were big into the dairy?)



I made the zucchini last night, and wanted to add some dumplings to it. I used Bryanna's Featherlight Dumplings from the "(Almost) No Fat Cookbook." They were indeed light, but more like biscuits than what I would consider dumplings - smooth and silky, not floury like a biscuit. Does anyone have a good dumpling recipe? As you can see, the dumplings cooked up giant size and took over the pot. Still, they were good, especially alongside some yummy baked tofu (just the tofu part, not the olives, bay leaves, etc)! Now, if only I could sub out something for the bacon grease in the potato salad!



And yet one more joy of summer........

Vacation Food

Hi, all. I was away visiting a friend for the past 5 days. We had such a great time - I have known her since 1st grade and she moved to North Carolina a few years back. I miss her terribly, but we visit back and forth frequently. That's how you know what a good friend is!

When I came home, I was treated to this sign made by my girls:

My husband picked me up at the airport and when I opened the door they all started screaming (in a good way). The people on the sidewalk were all laughing. It was a nice homecoming!

My friend is a foodie like me, although not vegan (she is a former vegetarian but converted back to meat when she got married). Anyway, we had loads of fun planning stuff we could all eat. We enjoyed this tomatillo salsa from Rick Bayless (roasted tomatillos, jalapenos, cilantro, chopped onion). It is delicious and I make it every time I go there. They can get authentic corn tortilla chips in their supermarket, while we can only get Tostitos and other fake stuff in my town!

I was thrilled to see prepared (washed and chopped) raw collard greens in their store. I hate dealing with those bunches of huge leaves I get at home! I made this collard green and corn dumpling dish that I love. My friends have lived in the south for 3 years and never had collards! The look on her husband's face as he tried them was priceless. I guess they are an acquired taste, as are most bitter greens. However, I was gratified when another friend, raised in South Carolina, came into the kitchen as I was cooking and said it smelled just like when her momma made collards (probably why she wouldn't even try them!) Oh, well, this Yankee loves her some collards!

Seafood!

Who says seafood has to be of the animal variety, anyway? I like to add sea veggies to my chickpea salad. They are so full of minerals and good taste. We are fortunate to have a sushi chef in our local grocery store, so avocado rolls are always available. Also, for a quick miso soup, I simmer wakame or kombu in water for 10-15 minutes, add white miso, and garnishes (finely grated carrot, chopped scallions, tiny cubes of soft tofu). My 8 year old loves this, too, and it is perfect for upset tummies.

Speaking of upset tummies, how does a vegan get food poisoning, anyway? This has some really unpleasant symptoms, of which I will spare you the details. Fortunately it was only me and not the kids or hubby that got it. I suspect it was takeout from our new Thai place, as it's the only thing that I alone ate. Sad, because I was so happy to have some good Thai available finally! It sure tasted good - maybe I should give them another chance.

Here is a "seafood" knockoff from the Horizons cookbook - "Atlantic Tofu Gratin." This was delicious and I served it with Root Veggie Mash from the same book. Here they are after roasting (beets, parsnip, sweet potatoes & carrots). And then mashed......also great and so pretty!

Comfort Food

When I was little, a cold rainy day meant tomato soup and tuna salad sandwiches (on buttered toast, of course). While tuna is long gone from my diet, the memory of that lovely combo lives on.......

Although that famous can of soup is vegan, it also contains high fructose corn syrup and other nasties I try to avoid. Enter Cream of Tomato & Basil Soup from La Dolce Vegan. I was skeptical that this simple combination of ingredients would taste like soup rather than just like a can of tomatoes, but I was surprised at how good it was.

I really like chickpea sandwich spreads, and the Tuna Free Sandwich Filling from Vegan Planet fit the bill in this case. It has blanched almonds in it, which add a nice touch to the texture. Perfect for a rainy day (even if the cold is generated by an air conditioner)!