Monday, October 12, 2015

Six Month Review

You know, I've still been taking pictures of my food, but posting on this blog has definitely gone by the wayside.  So in an attempt to catch up, I will post a quick review of the past six months of food.  June-October.

Here we go.  Try to keep up and enjoy!

Swiss Chard rolls

Enchiladas

Pasta with farm fresh veggies

Vegan pizza at St. Joseph Pizza in Michigan


Salad; probably straight from the farm stand

This zucchini noodle salad was amazing!

Burrito with fresh homemade salsa

Tomato salad on toast and white bean relish

Favorite summer snack=tomato toast

Another pasta and farm fresh vegetables (a super easy delish meal)

Thought I'd try this out and it's not bad!

Toddler food.

Farm stand loot

Vegan nachos with homemade cashew cheeze

Sweet and sour tofu with soba noodles and bok choy

Yep, pasta again.

Birthday nachos at Native Foods

Another favorite late summer snack... yummmm

Toddler meal

Frozen vegan Daiya pizza

Vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!  AMAZING.


Sunday, May 31, 2015

Broth Bowl


There are these new broth bowls at Panera that are really good.  So a while back, we decided to try and recreate them.  We used that box of Miso broth from Trader Joes and some soba noodles and then just threw in a bunch of veggies and lots of sriracha.

SO GOOD.  I want to eat this every day.

And also, Will made it, so even better.

Love of Salad


Just had to post a picture of this amazing salad with ingredients all from the local farms around my house!  (Except the mushrooms.)

See previous post about my love of eating local produce. 

Roasted Veggies with Carrot Greens Pesto


This is true local eating right here. Everything in this dish is from my weekly CSA box from Garden of Eden Organic Farm, and that's the way I like it.

By the way, we've been eating MOSTLY local organic produce ever since I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, and I love it.  I have found three great farms under five miles from my house, and that is where I get all my produce now!  It's great, and the food tastes so much better!  I would love to grow my own food too, of which I'm attempting to do this summer, but that's a story for another time...

Anyway, back to this dish:

I roasted the carrots and radishes and made a pesto out of the carrot top greens and basil.  When the veggies came out of the oven, I mixed them with the pesto. So yum!  The only ingredients not from the box are the garlic and olive oil, salt and pepper.

Spring Pasta (Pasta Primavera)


Here is my version of Pasta Primavera.  The great thing about this dish is that you can modify it for whatever vegetables you have in your kitchen at the time.

This time, I had golden beets, red chard, green beans and onions.  I mixed it all together with some olive oil and sauteed garlic and made a salad for the side.

Also, Pasta Primavera is super quick and easy to make!  This just so happens to be the food theme in this household, in case you haven't noticed.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Local Farm to Table Meal



I found this amazing little family farm in my town, with a farm stand open every Thursday and Friday.  I love going there and getting whatever the freshly harvested food is for that day.

For this meal, all items are from Coupleberry Farms -- baby artichokes, bok choy, and zucchini (which I made into zucchini noodles).  I roasted the artichokes and sauteed the bok choy.

I love eating local, fresh food!  It's so good for you and the environment, and it tastes so much better than store-bought produce!

Native Nachos


One of my friends sent me a text about how she made vegan nachos for lunch.  Instantly I was craving nachos.  And the best nachos in the world are at Native Foods, so that is where I went.
Nom, Nom, Nom... I need to learn this vegan cheese recipe.

Vegan Pizza


Obviously I don't have a lot time to update this blog, which means I hardly have time to cook yummy veggiegoodness meals anymore.

Pizza has become a weekly staple in our house because it is super easy, quick, and satisfying on all levels.  Usually we use this pita bread things and it takes about ten minutes to bake in the oven until the Daiya vegan cheese is all nice and melty.

Favorite toppings most definitely include:
Olives
Mushrooms
Peppers
Onions

Sometimes I'll throw in some sundried tomatoes or artichoke hearts too!  

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Toddler Food Fail


I was so proud of myself for this toddler supper.  Oh I thought I was so hip and cool.  I knew I was taking a risk though -- this is all completely new food to Little R, but she's a pretty good eater so I thought it would be a hit.

--fresh rutabaga, gently boiled to soften, with fresh shredded spinach on top
--zucchini noodles, gently boiled to soften, with turmeric and cumin to add flavor (I see the downfall here)
--purple corn tortillas with a homemade garbanzo bean spread (garbanzos, lemon, olive oil)
--garbanzo beans

This is what Little R did:  she went around the plate placing one of each of the items in her mouth, making a face, and promptly spitting it out/scraping her tongue with her fingers. Okay, I get it!  You really do not like this food!  (I'm thinking the turmeric and cumin were too much.)

Even the beans and spinach were spit out, and she normally eats those things no problem!

Luckily I had a back-up plate of tri-color quinoa pasta waiting.  Never fails. I also spread coconut peanut butter on the rest of the tortilla and she of course gobbled that right down with a hefty glass (sippy cup) of almond milk.  I sneakily added the spinach shreds to her bowl of applesauce mixed with chia.  And there we go. 

Steamed Chard and Roasted Potatoes



Look at this bright, colorful meal!  How excited am I?!  The cover of this month's Martha Stewart magazine shows an amazing dish of rainbow chard and carrots, so I have been craving this for weeks.  I don't know why it took so long for me to make it. 

I cut the green leafy part from the stems of the chard and steamed them separately.  Covered them with a fresh lemon-garlic vinaigrette.

Meanwhile the colorful potatoes and carrots roasted for 30 minutes with some onion.  Best meal all week.  And surprisingly hearty and filling!  Even though Will did say "This would be awesome with some steak!" he was happily satisfied with just the veggies.

Here's the link to Martha Stewart's version:

Click here!

swiss-chard-stem-rainbow-206-d111786.jpg


Native Foods for lunch


It was an extremely stressful week and I had to take the morning off for a doctor's appointment, which are never fun, so I decided to treat myself to Native Foods for lunch.  I didn't even bother looking at the menu because I knew I wanted my favorite -- the Soul Bowl.

It's a big bowl of rice and beans, topped with steamed veggies and two skewers of the Southern Fried Native vegan chicken.  But seriously the best part is the barbeque sauce and ranch dressing.  Oh yum.  I always ask for extra.  Oh, and I had $10 off, so I added a chocolate brownie, which, yes I started eating before my lunch even came.  


Vegan Snacky Stuff

f

Just a casual spread on a Saturday afternoon with friends.

--Carrot and celery sticks
--Two types of crackers
--Two types of hummus
--Chips and Salsa



Spinach Artichoke Casserole


A couple weeks ago, I actually sat down with my cookbooks and searched for some recipes to try.  The idea was to find recipes that I could prepare on Sunday and have ready for the whole week.  My vegan casserole cookbook seemed like a good place to start!

This one was described like a spinach-artichoke dip, but with instructions to mix in pasta and bake.  Everything about it was great!  And it lasted through one dinner and several lunches!  Perfect.

Toddler Food


Little R is a pretty good eater and she loved this meal!

--Farro
--Red lentils
--Tri-color pasta with cooked carrots and sweet potatoes, mixed with quinoa and spinach
--Pears

Bake Potatoes



I'll be honest, I used to think baked potatoes were the most boring thing in the world to eat ever.  There were probably a good number of years (we're talking double-digits here) where I refused to eat anything potato, except french fries.  Gotta love my fries.  If there's nothing vegan to eat, there's always fries.  But that's a whole other story.

Back to baked potatoes.  This has become one of my favorite meals and is a monthly, if not weekly, staple meal in our house.  Other than the hour of baking in the oven, it's super easy and quick.  I just have to remember to put them in the oven early enough.

This baked potato meal included steamed broccoli, Cowboy Caviar, and Tofutti Sour Cream.  Freshly ground salt and pepper and Dijon mustard

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Dessert


This is amazing.  That's it.  Just amazing.  Thank you Trader Joe's for making dessert wonderful for me.

Taco night


When the toddler is yelling, and everyone is hungry, and you still have your computer out trying to work, this is a quick and easy midweek meal.  Tacos!

I heated up some soy burger, and refried beans.  I sauteed some broccoli and carrot slaw from Trader Joe's and opened a jar of Cowboy Caviar.  

The end.

Alfredo Sauce



This is one of those meals that is not a gourmet masterpiece, but is still delicious.  I just opened a jar of Victoria's Vegan Alfredo sauce and basically poured it over some linguini noodles and broccoli.  It's like I'm the quintessential working mom who comes home and opens a few jars of food or something for dinner, you know what I mean?  Hey, we are trying to eat our meals at the same as little R now, and since she eats supper at 5:00, that doesn't give me much time between finishing up work, preparing her vegan toddler food, and trying to figure out something for us to eat.

And this is pretty good, I do admit.

 

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Toddler Food



What do we have for supper tonight?  Polenta with peas and broccoli, pinto beans, avocado, and PB & J bread. 

Roasted Veggies



A super easy mid-week meal is roasted veggies on top of creamy polenta. 

Toddler Food

Breakfast is served!  (We call it Brekky.)

Pasta and Cheesy Sauce



We all know I love me some vegan Mac and Cheese!  This one was is creamy and delicious and made with a cashew sauce.  Yum.  Recipe coming soon.

Toddler Food

Pinto beans and pasta in a cashew cheesey sauce, AKA Chili Mac.

Also, mandarin slices and raisins.



Potato Curry



Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Stuffed Shells



For some reason I had time to make a double batch of this old-time classic fave.  Maybe it was because Will was out of town and Little R went to bed early, so I felt like I had eons of time that night.

As I've mentioned before, I've been making stuffed shells since I was in college.  It's kind of like my signature dish.  And to toot my own horn, my stuffed shells are pretty darn good.

I mostly don't follow a recipe, but if I do, I follow the Skinny B recipe, because as we all know, I love that book.

I made a double batch, because I wanted some for the next night for us and also some to take to my brother and sister-in-law who are new parents and could probably use a meal that they don't have to cook.

When Will and I enjoyed our batch the next night, I have to admit we ate more than half the entire casserole dish!  There was barely enough left-over for lunch the next day!  I think I need to make this again soon because it is so good.

From the Skinny B cookbook:

Tofu "Ricotta"

14-16 oz extra firm tofu, crumbled
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

In a food processor, combine the tofu, garlic, olive oil, oregano, and salt and pulse to puree.  Use immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Stuffed Shells with Red Sauce

3 quarts water
8 ounces whole wheat or brown rice jumbo pasta shells
1 tablespoon refined coconut oil
1/2 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups Tofu "Ricotta"
1 (10-oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (I used fresh kale)
2 tablespoons vegan Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons whole wheat bread crumbs (I left these out)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups red sauce (I used organic marinara sauce from Trader Joes.)

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook shells according to package

Meanwhile, heat the coconut oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 4 to 6 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, 1 minute.  Transfer the onion mixture to a large bowl and mix in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, along with the Tofu Ricotta, spinach (or kale), cheese bread crumbs and pepper.

Spread about 1 cup of red sauce on the bottom of the 13 x 9-inch pan.  Stuff each shell with about 2 tablespoons of the Tofu Ricotta mixture, arranging the stuffed shells on top of the sauce.  Top each shell with a dollop of the remaining sauce. Cover the dish with foil and bake for about 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbling.

Monday, January 19, 2015

Toddler Food



In another edition of Toddler Food, we have the following veggie goodness for Little R.

--White sweet potatoes
--Great Northern beans
--Yams (sweet potatoes?)
-- Sweet potato/spinach balls rolled in quinoa

Corn Soup



Bored during some meetings last week, I started looking for some more soup recipes for national soup month.  I found this one on www.theglutenfreevegan.com. It was super easy to make and tasted like tortilla soup (so observed by Will.)  I couldn't find any cans or creamed corn at Sprouts, so I just used frozen corn, and it was delicious.  Here is the recipe from The Gluten Free Vegan.

 
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 jalapeno, minced (seeds removed if you require a milder heat level)
  • 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
  • 2 10oz cans creamed corn
  • 1½ cups plain unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 14oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • ½ cup frozen corn kernels
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon onion powder
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 4 stalks green onion, chopped
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 ripe avocado, sliced (optional)
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
  2. Saute diced onion, garlic and jalapeno until they begin to soften - about 5 minutes.
  3. Add in diced tomatoes, creamed corn, black beans, almond milk and seasonings. Bring to a simmer and let simmer for about 15 minutes.
  4. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
  5. Add in chopped green onion and cilantro and garnish with avocado, if using.
  6. Serve immediately.

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Toddler Food -- Supper

Here is a typical supper meal for little R.


--Sweet potato quinoa balls, also consisting of peas, spinach, silken tofu, nutritional yeast and ground chia.
--Avocado
--Vegetable shell pasta (ingredients include beets, spinach, and carrot!)



I love that she went for the avocado first.