More on Convience Food... The Shame

Yep, I whore it out convenience food style sometimes... Here's some more on that! 

I suck at baking, for the record, but premade cake mixes I can do, thankfully. Here I used some premade cake mix and frosting (Seems vegan enough ingredient-wise for me) to make some delicious "Fall Inspired" cupcakes. I did have to leave off the sprinkles that came with the frosting as they are made out of Confectioners Glaze, a fancy word for Bug Secretion :) I subbed the eggs for Ener-G egg replacer eggs and that was my only change! 

I also buy this prepackaged Archer Farms Spinach Dip Mix at Target, good stuff! Just make your dip out of the vegan versions of mayo and sour cream... Awesome with crackers, pita chips, veggies, toasted bread, you name it!

I love pizza! Daiya (Vegan cheese) is growing on me only when it comes to lightly added to pizza. This pizza had green bells, spinach, onions, Daiya, and jalapeno, served up with a slathering of my Vegan Ranch. I bake my pizza at 400F and broil for a little towards the end (Takes less than 10), I always seem to forget about the damn thing and burn it a smidge so watch carefully when broiling!

Lastly, I have a huge package of thin Japanese soup noodles still needing to be using up. These noodles cook in minutes in boiling water. Here I added the cold noodles to garlic, crushed red chilies, SBL (Smart Balance Light), dried parsley, salt and pepper. Easy peasy and pretty good (I added too much crushed red chilies here).  

Peace, Love, Vegan <3

The Post-A-Thon... Massive Unload Part 4

The Vegan Mouse's Mini Wet Burritos:

These Mini Wet Burritos, or rather enchiladas in my opinion, are the bomb, seriously peoples! They even take the cake over VegWeb's Cheesy Bean and Cheese Enchiladas, and believe me, that means a lot! My love for this easy casserole probably comes from the fact that it incorporates quinoa, which I love, and I without a doubt almost always have every ingredient on hand... Go make these asap!

I had enough of the filling mixture leftover to fill some additional corn tortillas and was able to use up some homemade enchilada sauce I has laying around and just made some extra drizzle (The smaller batch with the greenish sauce and corn tortillas). I love how the drizzle turns from light pink to and orange "cheesy" looking color once it bakes in the oven, brilliant!

Peace, Love, Vegan <3

Part 3 of the Post-A-Thon... Cookies, Wontons, Viva Vegan, and Soup

Robek's now has not only vegan smoothies but vegan cookies, check em out! I couldn't contain myself and bought 2 flavors: Oatmeal and Pumpkin... yummmmmm :)

I also made some vegan cream cheese wontons since I had some wonton wrappers to use up... This was the first time I made these puppies without my deep fryer (It was gross so I just threw the damn thing out) and they turned out spectacular :)

Viva Vegan cooking was in the rotation again so I tried a new recipe, Arroz con Seitan, and this is definitely a new favorite from the book!

I also made a tried and true favorite from the book, Mojo Oven-Roasted Seitan and Cilantro-Lime Rice, perfection...

I also made some Tomato Quinoa Soup from my friends blog and thought it turned out alright, it was kind of bland, so I added more tomato flavor in the form of tomato paste... It definitely thickened up as leftovers and I thought it could use some spice as well... Definitely edible but nothing to get wet over...

VegWeb's Grilled Avocado Sammie's... I slather one side with vegan mayo and the other with vegan cream cheese :)

My Sweet & Spicy Fried Rice... Always a easy peasy meal when I need food fast!

My first attempt at Portobello Burgers turned out tasty... I marinated these in garlic salt, pepper, olive oil, Braggs, and balsamic vinegar and baked at 400F for 35ish minutes, flipping halfway... I wanted to try the recipe out of Vegan Table for these but the damn cookbook vanished!

Peace, Love, Vegan <3

Today I made quite a few things...

First off was a practically weekly double batch of Viva Vegan's Yellow Garlic Rice, I added some minced onion to the rice as well that needed to be used up

I also roasted some brussels sprouts at 450F for about 20 minutes in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Yummmmm brussles :)

Carrots were next up for roasting. I roasted them at 425F for about 20 minutes in some olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and rosemary... I thought they were too lemony so I coated them with a little pure maple syrup and they were divine.

Fajitas were up next using Trader Joe's "Beef Strips", bell pepper, onion, and some taco seasoning.

Next up was Trader Joe's Soyrizo that I added to some nuked and pan fried potatoes and thinly sliced onions for a burrito or taco filling later in the week.

I made some random Asian-y stirfry that came alright... Just crumbled tofu, Chinese 5 spice (Don't think I enjoy this flavor), Braggs, edamame, spinach, chili paste, and green onions... I ended up using this to stuff wontons since it wasn't that fantastical LOL.

Another TVP chunk teriyaki stirfry was made with the rest of the asparagus I had around added. This is good stuffed in wontons or on top of rice.

Today's Quick Meals: Sweet & Spicy Fried Rice and Taco Soup

Tonight I made a pretty much weekly batch of Taco Soup to provide myself with a few meals and to sell the rest to coworkers. This is a foul proof recipe, I've never had any complaints... I served it with the usual dollop of Tofutti Sour Cream and added some green onions (Cilantro would have been better).

I also had some random veggies leftover from making sushi as well as a bunch of Baked Teriyaki Tofu and a batch of scold stick rice from my rice cooker so I decided on another tried and true recipe: Sweet & Spicy Fried Rice. The rice included about a cup of frozen mixed veggies, grated carrots, pickled daikon, spicy daikon, green onions, and Baked Teriyaki Tofu... I served it up with some roasted, seasoned seaweed slices.

VWAV and some other stuffsssss

I have a deep love for easy teriyaki peasy tofu stirfys... To coat or not to coat my tofu with cornstarch is always the question... Coat is usually, pretty much always the winner! I have been making my own teriyaki sauce lately, basically just a mixture of garlic, ginger, Bragg's (or soy sauce), brown sugar, pepper, and maybe some sesame oil. I have also been adding crushed red pepper flakes to give the dish some spice. And I found this jar of garlic ginger paste at the Persian market that makes things so much easier to throw together.

My first teriyaki tofu stirfry was coated tofu with some carrots, collard greens, broccoli, asparagus, and onions for the veggies... Fail proof as usual.

 The second teriyaki tofu stirfry was coated as well and as always, delicious! For the veggies I used the carrots, onions, edamame, and asparagus.

 I made my weekly batch of fat free refried beans, this was my little dipping setup served with tortilla chips :)

I made a super delicious cherry banana smoothie, made with 1 non frozen banana, 2 big handfuls of frozen cherries and a cup of vanilla soy milk... Fantastical!

I made a double batch of VWAV's Chickpea Cutlets cause of all the hype they come with, along with VWAV's Mushroom Gravy and some of my homemade mashed potatoes that I seasoned with garlic and dried parsley... The Cutlets were a total fail for me, I baked them and they seemed undercooked so I left them in the oven for longer, forgot about them and they turned out hard as a brick so I threw them away... This pick shows the underdone Cutlet. The Gravy was awesome though!

Lastly, I made VWAV's tried and true Stuffed Peppers which I have pretty much mastered. I always use 5 peppers instead of 4 and when I'm selling them to coworkers, I cut them in half for easier tupperware packing. I mix in the cilantro now and probably double the amount instead of using it as a garnish. Legit as always.

Peace, Love, and Veganess <3

Tofu Tofu & Ummmmm Tofu

I've been pretty busy, lazy, and poor lately so I've been making tofu dishes quite often. Here are some pics of some recent easy peasy dishes I've made...

Tofu Scramble with Corn, Avocados, Cherry Tomatoes, Parsley, and Viva Vegan's Sofrito (Slow cooked green bell pepper, onion, and garlic)

Teriyaki Tofu Stirfry with Cauliflower and Green Onions

Deep Fried Jerk Tofu with Onions, Bell Peppers, Carrots, Corn, and Deep Fried Sweet Potatoes

Vegan MOFO: Barbecue Brussels Sprouts

VegWeb's Barbecue Brussels Sprouts really hit the spot. It may sound bizarre but I'm a big fan of brussels dipped in barbecue so having them roasted in barbecue was really delicious and quick. I left out the garlic this time as I just did this recipe from memory.

Vegan MOFO: Smokey Refired Beans

 Oh my God peoples! I just made THE MOST AMAZING REFRIED BEANS and I would like to share them with you!
Smokey Refried Beans:
- 1 pound dried pinto beans, soaked overnight, then rinsed
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 to 1.5 teaspoons sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke

Directions:
- Place all ingredients (except for liquid smoke) into a big pot and cover with about 1.5 inches of water.
- Bring everything to a boil, then cover and everything simmer for 2 hours.
- Drain your beans in a metal colander and pick out the bay leaves.
- Place your cooked bean and onion mixture into a food processor along with the liquid smoke and let it do its magic for a minute or two until nice and creamy.
- Taste and see if additional salt is needed and don't ruin your beans by over-salting them!

See you don't need oil or lard to make creamy refried beans, just use a food processor!

Vegan MOFO: Grilled Teriyaki Tofu and Garbanzo Bean Salad Sandwich Spread

Today was a pretty awesome day food-wise but not so much cooking-wise. For breakfast I had a Vanilla Soy Protein Odwalla, I love these things! Also, since it is that time of year, you can get the Pumkin Soy Protein Odwalla which I always look forward to and have been know to hoard it whenever I see it! For lunch, I got to eat lunch from my favorite Thai restaurant, Thai Garden in Foothill Ranch, and ordered my favorite dish, Spicy Basil with Tofu and I finished the whole thing. Dinner will be something light if I even get hungry, most likely a Rainbow Salad.

I did make a few things tonight though, Teriyaki Tofu and Garbanzo Bean Salad Sandwich Spread... Both staples around here!

Teaching Newbies How To Cook Tofu And Make Other Vegan Goodies

I often here people saying, "Oh vegan sounds so hard. I don't know how to cook. What can I eat that isn't meat?" and it goes on and on and on... I always offer up a friendly, "Well come over to my house anytime and I will show you how to cook a few things." This past weekend a coworker came over to do just that. She has really made an awesome effort to eat mostly vegan but always eats such boring stuff and ends up complaining about it (plain spinach, lazy salads, etc). This weekend I showed her how to make Chickpea Salad Sandwich Spread, Viva Vegan's Red Seitan (A recipe not for a beginner but since I was making some anyways I wanted her to watch), and some cornstarch coated, fried, teriyaki tofu with creole seasoned steamed veggies on the side.

The teriyaki tofu was drained, pressed, and cubed and shaken around in a bag with about 1/4 cup of cornstarch. I then fried the tofu until golden and added some thick teriyaki sauce and green onions. Turned out perfect as usual! To go with the tofu, I cut up some of the random veggies she brought over: broccoli, celery, and cabbage. I put a little water in the pan and added the broccoli and celery first, then covered the pan with a lid. Within a few minutes the broccoli looked tender and I added the cabbage and a little more water and mixed everything around with a generous amount of creole seasoning until the cabbage was cooked. Perfect!

Rainbow Salad

I love salad people! I eat it almost everyday drenched in Vegan Ranch. I always make a bunch at a time (Think 3 heads of romaine) and put it in a gallon sized ziploc so I can have a quick and amazing salad with only 1 days worth of chopping!

Here's my salad for this week: Romaine, Red Bell Pepper, Green Onions, Black Olives, Purple Cabbage, Carrots, Corn, Edamame, Black Beans (I add these day of so they don't get gross), and Grilled Teriyaki Tofu... Delish! I also really like peas in my salad but was sadly out.

Creole Roasted Carrots

I love carrots, especially roasted and if you didn't know already, my favorite seasoning in the whole wide world is Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning!

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 375F
- Get as many handfuls of baby carrots that you feel like eating and put them into a glass baking dish
- Spray the carrots with a bunch of cooking spray and season the carrots generously with creole and shake everything around a bit
- Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, turning the carrots halfway.

Taco Style Seitan and Creamy Refried Beans

Tonight I wanted a quick and easy dinner and had a big batch of Refried Beans sitting in the fridge. I needed something "Mexican-y" to go along with the beans so Taco Style Seitan was the plan.

Taco Style Seitan:

- 4 cups seitan cut into small chunks, (I used 2 loaves of Red Seitan from Viva Vegan)
- 2 small or 1 large bell pepper, cut into small chunks
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, cut into small chunks
- 6 crimini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
- A drizzle of olive oil for frying

Directions:
- Fry up the seitan chunks in oil over medium high heat until they blacken a bit.
- Add the bell peppers and onions and fry for a few more minutes until they soften to your liking (I prefer mine not to be overly cooked).
- Add the criminis, taco seasoning, and water. Cook until the criminis begin to soften.
- Add the cilantro and stir everything around to get it coated evenly.

Creamy Refried Beans:

- 1 pound dried pinto beans, soaked overnight, then rinsed
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 to 1.5 teaspoons sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- A few jalapenos, chopped (optional)

- 1 onion, chopped

Directions:

- Place all ingredients into a big pot and cover with about 1.5 inches of water.
- Bring everything to a boil, then cover and everything simmer for 2 hours.
- Drain your beans in a metal colander and pick out the bay leaves.
- Place your cooked bean and onion mixture into a food processor and let it do its magic for a minute or two.
- Taste and see if additional salt is needed and don't ruin your beans by over-salting them!

See you don't need oil or lard to make creamy refried beans, just use a food processor!

Veganomicon's "A Hummus Recipe"

 I halved Veganomicon's "A Hummus Recipe" and it was just the right amount, geese a whole recipe would seriously make a boatload! This hummus is flavored with lemon juice, garlic, cumin, s & p, and sprinkled with some Hungarian paprika. Delish and extra coolness points for homemade hummus!