Don't Trust a Ho

Today dragged by.  Don't days always feel like that when you really spend the ENTIRE day procrastinating?  I woke up late, I waited for my husband to call..he didn't, so I got to the gym super late, today was weights and running, so I was there forever, and then I bought Shirataki noodles at the grocery store, and they weren't in the system, so I was there for way longer than I wanted to be, and then I was busy eating a box of Peanut Butter Puffins.  They're really good and I'll probably never buy them again because I ate the whole box.  If you have self restraint around things peanut butter, I highly recommend them.

Anyway, on to the food.  I had a tofu scramble for breakfast, the first time I've put nutritional yeast in it.  It didn't really change the taste that much, so I'll probably keep on doing it since its so damn good for you.  It was pretty much the same as my standard, but I did put the last of my spinach in it and used peppers instead of scallions.  

Dinner was for my family tonight.  I usually end up making dinner on Wednesdays.  I mentioned a few days ago that I got Vegan Fire and Spice by Robin Robertson out of the library a few days ago.  I just haven't had time to make anything out of it, and figured this was a good time.  Then I remembered that my mom doesn't like anything remotely spicy and my brother's tolerance is just slightly higher than hers.  Ooookay.  Well I picked a recipe that only had one chili pepper (I think it goes up to three), and then I completely changed it.  So much so, that the recipe deserves posting.  

The recipe it evolved from was called Red Beans and Rice Casserole.  So, let's call this a: 

Two Bean Quinoa Casserole.

     

The picture is lame because I thought I was going to have more leftover my my family ate almost all of it.  

Anyway, it goes like this: 

1 tbps olive oil

1 cup onion, chopped

1/2 cup red pepper, chopped

1 poblano pepper, chopped

3 cups cooked quinoa

3/4 cup chickpeas

3/4 cup black-eyed peas (leftover from the Black-Eyed Pea and Quinoa Croquettes)

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

6.15 oz Mori-Nu Silken Tofu (half a package)

2 tbsp unsweetened soymilk

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat Oven to 375.  

2. Heat oil in a large skillet, add both peppers and onion, toss to coat, cover, let cook for 5 minutes.

3.  Add ingredients Mori-Nu through paprika to blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  

4.  Add tofu mixture, beans, tomatoes, quinoa, peppers, and onion to a large bowl, and mix until everything is coated.  Season to taste.  

5.  Put the mixture in a 2 1/2 quart baking dish, cover with foil, at bake for 25 minutes. 

5.  Take off foil, sprinkle with chili powder and cilantro (or parsley if you're a cilatro hater, its just to look pretty).  Return to oven for 5 minutes.  Serve.  

Serves 4.  

Nutrition Information:  364.4 Calories;  7.8g Total Fat;  0.8g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  61.9g Carbohydrates;  10.0g Fiber;  13.1g Protein.

My family really liked it, the tofu mixture made it so creamy and moist.  It was also my family's first experience with black-eyed peas.  About halfway through dinner, they started debating what kind of beans were in it, and the resulting conversation went something like this:

Brother:  "Black-eyed peas look weird"

Mom:  "Ooooooh...so that's why they're called black-eyed peas!  They have little black spots"

Me:  "Hahaha, you didn't notice when we had them last week?"

Brother:  "Don't trust a ho" 

Everyone:  "... ... ... " 

What?  Yeah, apparently, it made him think of The Black Eyed Peas, the band, and...that's what came out.  He's fun (that sounds sarcastic, but its not).  

We also had roasted cauliflower and carrots, sprinkled with salt, pepper, and cinnamon.  Excuse the ugly picture.    

  

Today's Cooking Song:  Norwegian Wood - The Beatles (my favorite Beatles' song, if you were wondering).  

I also wanted to add that, my day was so screwed up from waking up so late and getting back from the gym so late, that the entire box of cereal actually worked into my calories for the day.  Sheesh.  

Getting Figgy

 I spent most of today working on a big project I have to present to my professor in a one on one meeting Thursday.  I also have class from 4:30 to 10:15 on Tuesday nights, so it was a busy day.  

I packed myself dinner, which was red lentils, brown rice, coconut milk, lemongrass, curry powder, etc.  I cooked up some kale too.  It was okay, something was missing though.  I'll have to try it again.  

Packed and ready for class!

Nutrition Information:  366.3 Calories;  5.7g Total Fat;  3.2g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  64.5g Carbohydrates;  17.6g Fiber;  19.6g Protein

When I got to class, my teacher's kid was sick, so she only kept us for about 10 minutes.  Uh, hello?  I have class at 7:30 too, what am I going to do for 3 hours??  Answer:  Go Home.  I did stop at the natural food store that is by school.  I got some fun stuff!  

Someone asked about the PURE bar on the Vegan Bodybuilding and Fitness forums a week or two ago, and I had never heard of them...then I saw them today on the very bottom shelf!  I also got some flax tempeh (my favorite) and some Israeli couscous.  The Z sweet is erythritol, a sugar alcohol.  If anyone would like to read more about it, you can here.  I got Soya Kaas "cream cheese", because the Tofutti at this store is still partially hydrogenated, and I don't feel good about that.  The brown rice snaps are black sesame..they look cool, although they are a little salty for me!  

The best part about skipping my second class though, was that I had the time to make the Fig Date Bread from Joy of Vegan Baking.  I have been wanting to make this for a couple of weeks now, slowly gathering the ingredients every few shopping trips.  

    

I kept the flash on for the second picture, because I just couldn't get a good shot without the flash that showed how chunky and moist it is.  

Oh, did I mention I made it gluten free?  Yeah, I changed a few things.  I used the 1/2 brown rice flour, 1/2 buckwheat flour mix again.  I like this.  You can taste the buckwheat, but I think its a good hearty taste, so it works.  I subbed half the sugar with the erythritol and the other half was beet sugar.  Also, for the fat option (she suggests either vegan margarine or canola oil), I used Smart Balance Light.  I made a half loaf (we have little loaf pans).  

Regardless, for one serving (8 for me, 16 for a whole loaf): 

Nutrition Information:  179.9 Calories;  6.3g Total Fat;  0.8g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  218.8mg Sodium;  30.4g Carbohydrates;  3.8g FIber;  3.3g Protein.

This bread is so delicious!  Nice and moist, lots of chunks, just really yummy.  If you have the book, I highly suggest trying it!  

Oh!  Also, I added Xantham Gum, about 0.5tsp to the dry mix.  Seems to have worked perfectly!

------

Edit Alert!  

I tried one of the PURE bars that I bought earlier, and I am totally in love.  I had the Cherry Cashew bar, and it was totally delicious.  

Nutrition Information:  200 Calories;  9g Total Fat;  1g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  5mg Sodium;  26g Carbohydrates;  4g Fiber;  6g Protein

It is a raw bar, similar to the Larabar and the others that I have tried, although it has more ingredients.  In this particular one there is:  Organic Dates, Organic Cherries, Organic Walnuts, Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Almonds, Organic Cashews, and Organic Brown Rice Protein.  Although this has sweetener in it, while Larabar is just dates and nuts, and sometimes other fruit, this bar has less sugar and more protein than most other raw bars.  This is by far my favorite raw vegan bar as of yet!  

Okay, now I'm really done :)      

My People's Food

First, thanks to the well wished from everyone.  I did hear from my husband today, so I'm feeling better in that sense.  

If you can't tell from my profile picture, my family is completely Italian.  My mom's side is from northern Italy, my dad's side is from Sicily.  I grew up eating a lot of pasta :)  This is why, when I make Indian, Thai, Japanese, etc., it almost invariably comes from a recipe.  I just don't have the expertise yet, I'm still learning.  

Anyway, I wanted to make polenta today.  I actually had completely different intentions for it, but ended up going Italian with it.  Nothing makes me happier than when a.) my house smells like my grandmother's house, or b.)  something I make tastes like my grandmother's food.  

I made a Layered Polenta, which wasn't difficult, but also took up more time than I happened to have today.  The recipe is enough (overflowing, haha) for 2 - 7oz ramekins (I like ramekins!).    

If you've never had polenta this way, its pretty easy.  It's really just a matter of making the polenta, cutting it, and then layering it like lasagna.  

Polenta

1 cup instant polenta

2 cups water

salt

1/3 cup cashews, ground

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

2 tsbp unsweetened soymilk

few pinches of nutmeg

1/2 tbsp basil

salt and pepper to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 350

2.  Boil the water, then add the polenta mixing constantly.  It should be done in less than a minute.  If you wanted a softer polenta you would be using more water, and it would take longer to cook.  When cooked, add everything else on under the polenta list, and mix it really really well (it may take some elbow grease).  

3.  Spray a pan with cooking spray, then lay down a piece of waxed paper.  Spread polenta mixture over, and bake for 15 minutes.  *note*  I cooked it in a square pan, because I planned on making less, then changed my mind, but it was already prepared.   It would absolutely work better if you used  baking sheet and spread it out to about 1/4-1/2 inch thick*

4.  When finished baking, cut into whatever shape will fit into whatever container you are using.    

Tofu Ricotta

4.1oz  soft tofu (1/3 package of Mori-Nu)

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried parsely 

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup spinach, steamed

salt and pepper to taste

1.  Put it all into a bowl, mash the tofu well with a fork, and mix it all together.  Yummy!  You can get away with less oil, but I would recommend using some oil.  

Sauce

1/2 can whole tomatoes with juice (I had these leftover, you could use something fresher)

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsbp water

salt and pepper to taste

1.  Coat a pan with cooking spray, add onion, then garlic, saute over medium heat until softened. 

2.  Add vinegar and water to pan, toss with onion and garlic, then add tomato "juice", and whole tomatoes, ripped into little pieces.  

3.  Cook as you see fit.  

Assembly

Just put it all together!  Like I said above, its layered like lasagna.  

I did:

thin layer of sauce

polenta

sauce

ricotta

sauce

polenta

that cute little dollop of ricotta on top

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. 

Nutrition Information:  416.9 Calories;  21.0g Fat;  3.6g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  215.0mg Sodium;  46.6g Carbohydrates;  7.6g Fiber;  16.5g Protein

Phew.  That is kind of how I feel right now.  I'm getting kind of anxious/stressed out, which means it is finally time to start all this work I have.  Having deadlines kind of depressed me because I have a hard time getting stuff done unless I feel some kind of anxiety.  But then once I do feel that anxiety, I get upset with myself for waiting so long.  Its stupid, really, but....well now its time to get it all done.  

Good luck to everyone else who is dealing with finals week, Holiday shopping (the shirt I ordered for my brother came today...they sent me a girls' medium), and fighting with people on the internet (wait, is that just me? probably). 

Chai and Cookies

Today was annoying.  That's really the only way I can put it.  I did get a run in this morning, 4 miles...4 FREEZING miles.  My legs were bright red when I got home, and I was wearing two pairs of pants.  

After I work out, no matter if I am running, biking, lifting, or yoga-ing, I have a combination of carbs and protein.  Since I was so cold today I wanted something besides my normal orange juice and protein powder.  So I brewed up some chai tea, melted a banana, and blended that with my protein powder.  It was especially delicious with some soy whip and cinnamon on top. 

Post Workout Chai 

The nutrition information for this depends largely on the type of protein powder you use.  Mine is a half rice-half gemma (pea) protein custom mix from True Protein, sweetened with stevia.  

With that, the nutrition information was:

Nutrition Information:  214.6 Calories;  1.5g Total Fat;  0.4g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  4.9g Sodium;  27.4g Carbohydrates;  3.8g Fiber;  24.6g Protein

For what I guess was lunch, I had some rice noodles with a really simple peanut sauce.  It was about 1 tbsp Peanut Butter, about 1/4 cup hot water, a few splashes of lemon juice, Bragg's, and rice wine vinegar, and some crushed red pepper flakes.  Nothing special, although it was good.  

Nutrition Information:  366.4 Calories;  9.1g Total Fat;  1.8g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  331.5mg Sodium;  62.8g Carbohydrates;  9.5g Fiber;  13.5g Protein

Like I said, today was annoying.  I missed my husband's phone call for the second day in a row, I haven't talked to him in awhile, and my family was just all getting on each others' nerves.  So, I had to get out of the house.  I really wanted to make cookies...specifically Dreena's Chocolate Mint Melties, so I went to the grocery store.  They didn't have spelt flour.  In efforts to keep things gluten free, I did get some brown rice flour and buckwheat flour.  While they tasted delicious, I think I should have added some Xantham Gum or something, because they were sort of an ooey gooey mess.  Okay, I shouldn't say mess, they were just so soft that it was difficult to get them from the baking sheet to the cooling rack.  Once they cooled they did stay together though.  They are nice and chewy, very minty, and I used pretty coarse sea salt, so I thought that gave them a nice saltiness here and there.  

I found the recipe online too, if you're interested:  Chocolate Mint Melties  

Dreena's recipe says it makes 11-14 large cookies.  I feel like you could make them regular cookie size though, just watch the baking time.  They do look pretty though.  For fun, I'll give you the comparison of making 11 vs 14.  

Serves 14 

Nutrition Information:  162.8 Calories;  8.2g Total Fat;  2.9g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  124.8mg Sodium;  20.8g Carbohydrates;  2.4g Fiber;  2.3g Protein

Serves 11

Nutrition Information:  207.2 Calories;  10.4g Total Fat;  3.7g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  158.9g Sodium;  26.5g Carbphydrates;  3.1g Fiber;  2.9g Protein

Honestly, I'm just glad today is over at this point.  I hate days like that, but its true.  I have so so so much to do this week, a take home essay final due Tuesday, a huge project due on Thursday that I have yet to start, and I feel like Christmas has completely snuck up on me this year.  

Bah.  Maybe I am in such a bad mood because I don't have any cooking song today.  Music usually makes me feel better.  

Do Not Disturb Us - Gluten Free Day 5

A little bit of background, my husband is in the Army, currently in Iraq.  He's been there for awhile.  Anyway, while he was home for R&R (2 weeks) this summer I broke my toe at a friend's wedding, and was out for quite awhile.  I really dislike the Army medical system, I am still having issues with the civilian ER bills, and the Army doctor I saw (over a month later), swears it wasn't broken.  What?  I saw the X-ray in the ER, it was broken in two places!  My point is, I wasn't able to run or lift weights for awhile (I probably could have done some upper body stuff, but I wasn't feeling it).  Now I've been back at the gym for over 3 months and I am finally feeling the muscles in my legs come back.  It is making me so happy, I can't even tell you!  I have a really warped body image sometimes, but I've been feeling pretty awesome lately.  

On to the food?  Okay, there's a lot!   

First, I had mini ramekin quiche for breakfast.  It was based off of Susan's Mini Quiche recipe, which I have made before, as muffins, like she suggests.  I just used bell peppers and onion instead of what she puts in it, because that is what needed to be used up.  Specifically, 1/2 an onion and 3/4 of a red bell pepper.  I threw 1/4 cup of rice in the bottom of 4 - 7oz ramekins, and then filled with the quiche filling, then baked at 375 for 45 minutes.  

Nutrition Information:  156.1 Calories;  4.0g Total Fat;  0.6g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  378.1 mg Sodium; 21.6g Carbohydrates;  3.8g Fiber;  10.0g Protein

I had two last night and two this morning, with broccoli both times.

I made cookies today...they were terribly disappointing.  So disappointing that I actually threw them away.  I guess there is a reason there aren't too many gluten free vegan cookies recipes.  I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Mix, and the aftertaste was just...bad.  Very disappointing because initially they tasted fantastic.  

Oh well, right?    

Dinner tonight was the last VWaV recipe I had bought ingredients for.  I promise, no more for awhile.  A copy of Vegan Fire and Spice came into the library for me a few days ago, so I am hoping to cook up some stuff from there.

Tonight we had the Black-eyed Pea and Quinoa Croquettes with Mushroom Sauce.    

They came out fine.  They're really cute, actually.  I just don't think I liked the very strong thyme taste in them.  If I were to make them again, I'd use a different spice.  The mushroom sauce was TO DIE FOR though.  Seriously, it was awesome.  If I were unrefined I would have licked the plate.  Meaning, I did lick the plate.  

To serve 3

Nutrition Information (for croquettes only):  225.1 Calories;  7.0g Total Fat;  0.7g Saturated Fat;  0..0mg Cholesterol;  585.3mg Sodium;  34.3g Carbohydrates;  9.5g Fiber;  6.9g Protein

(excuse the ugly container)

To serve 6 

Nutrition Information (for sauce only):  72.4 Calories;  0.6g Total Fat;  0.1g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  1056.1mg Sodium;  9.9g Carbohydrates;  2.2g Fiber;  4.5g Protein

One significant change in the gravy was that I didn't use any oil, just cooking spray.  I'm not worried about getting too much fat, it just seems unnecessary to sautee everything in oil, plus it spits at me.  I'd rather eat my fat...as you will see in a second.     

Dessert today was one of my absolute favorites, no-cook Dark Chocolate Mousse.  And yes, it is as good as it sounds.  I mean...if you think it sounds freaking awesome, then it is as good as it sounds.  

4 servings 

Nutrition Information:  146.8 Calories;  9.8g Total Fat;  3.3g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  26.2mg Sodium;  23.0g Carbohydrates;  6.5g Fiber;  3.0g Protein 

My understanding is that this recipe came from somewhere and has been passed around various places.  I changed the ratios a little though, so I figured I will post it anyway.  But I did get the recipe here.    

1 avocado

1/2 cup cocoa powder  

1/4 cup agave or maple syrup

2 tsp coconut oil (although I hear this is optional)

3 tsp granulated sugar (I used beet sugar, because I'm still trying to avoid unnatural sugar)

2 tsp water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp soy sauce/Bragg's

Directions?  Put everything in a food processor and whiz it all together.  I do it in steps, first the avocado and oil, then add everything but the cocoa, then everything.  But, that is because all I have is a little magic bullet and making this is a pain in the ass with it.  If you had a nice big food processor bowl, it would be delicious, and would be fast enough that you wouldn't have to eat it before you even put the ingredients away.  Or maybe not :)  If you can possibly wait long enough, you might want to chill it a little, but I have never gotten to that point. 

To leave you with a smile for the weekend, this was my first time soaking and cooking beans.  I usually just used canned, but the only black eyed peas at my store that were canned, were also spiced.  My family hates stuff left out on the counter, so the explanation for them also explains the title for this post...

Hey at least I amuse myself, right?  

Today's Cooking Songs:  Christmas Music.  Lots and lots of Christmas Music (not my choice, although I do love it)  My favorite Christmas Music is the Charlie Brown Christmas CD.  

 

The VWaV Obsession Continues - Gluten Free Day 4

So, I don't know if it is a coincidence or not, but I noticed this morning that my skin has been a lot better.  I never had bad skin when I was younger, but since becoming vegan I've noticed a difference (in a bad way).  Possibly cutting out the gluten is helping? We'll see.

Today for lunch I made more from Vegan With A Vengeance, the Chickpea and Spinach curry, a really nice, mild, tomato based curry.  This was so very good.  Yum.  I topped it with some cashews.  It probably would have been even better if I had the mustard seeds that the recipes called for.  

Isa claims this is for 6 to 8 people, although I don't see how that is possible.  I calculated the nutrition facts for 6, and ate third of it (I halved the recipe), and I could definitely have eaten more, I doubt it would serve 8, unless it was just a side dish.

Nutrition Facts:  294.5 Calories;  9.6g Total Fat;  1.2g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  911.9mg Sodium;  44.2g Carbohydrates;  9.9g Fiber;  10.7g Protein

My brother came home from school right after this finished cooking, and said it smelled awesome...but then, most curry does, right?  

Today's Cooking Song:  Time Won't Let Me Go - The Bravery (they have some stuff on the radio, but the whole CD is pretty good)

I hope everyone else in blog land is having a good day.  I am about to pack my snacks and leave for my class tonight (dates and soynuts, if anyone was wondering).  I like Thursdays because I get to stop at the natural food store that is near school on the way home!    

Hey! I Won Something! - Gluten Free Day 3

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I made some stuffing to take part in Hannah's barley stuffing challenge.  

Lucky for me, I was the only one who decided to actually MAKE a barley stuffing, so guess what?  I won!  Yay!!  You have the privilege of viewing the recipe right here!  ABC Stuffing.  

Hehe.  Seriously though, I was super excited because not do I get the pleasure of winning, but I also get the pleasure of recieving a wonderful gift from Hannah in the mail yesterday!!

If you can't tell, it is a copy of the Everyday Dish cooking DVD with Julie Hasson, Dreena Burton, and Bryanna Clark Grogan!  Thank you so much Hannah, I really do appreciate it!  Not only because I get to watch a vegan cooking show on my own TV, but because it is chock full of recipes!  I am something of a cookbook hoarder, I love them.  

Obviously though, this is not in book form.  Just as I was prepared to sit down and watch this with pencil and paper in hand, I noticed a little note on the CD that said "Print Recipes from DVD-ROM drive".  Print?  Awesome!  

So because I'm really cool, I totally didn't format them all, print them out, and make my own little cookbook with them.  

Oh wait, I did.  

The first thing on my list is Dreena's Mint Melties.  Definitely.  I don't have any of these ladies' books, so this is really cool.  Thanks again Hannah!  

Now, I admit I have been on a little Vegan with A Vengeance kick lately.  I have ingredients for two other recipes all ready for tomorrow and Friday too.  Today we had Stewed Tofu and Potatoes in Miso Gravy.  

Nutrition Information:  386.1 Calories;  12.9g Total Fat;  1.7g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  874.5mg Sodium;  37.2g Carbohydrates;  5.1g Fiber;  16.1g Protein 

This was good, homey and warm.  My mom said it was the perfect meal you'd like to have on a snowy day.  I almost completely followed the recipe as given (for once), although I used barley miso instead of chickpea...I've never seen chickpea miso.  I also added kale.  

Anyone have any super awesome onion tricks?  Its usually not so bad, but I was literally in tears between the shallots and one very very large onion! 

I had a fabulous day at the gym today.  I started a new workout routine, I'm doing a body split for the first time in over two years, my routines are usually full body.  Today was chest day, then a 3 mile run.  It went really well, I'm feeling really good about it, which was great because I didn't love the last plan I did.     

Big thanks again to Hannah!