Fun With Food, Zines and Cats

Fried open faced tacos inspired by a recipe in the April 2015 Food Network Magazine (The Big Breakfast Issue). Tortillas are fried in Earth Balance, sprinkled with cumin, topped with refried beans and Daiya then covered to melt. Top it off with salsa, soy sour cream and hot sauce. Everything has to be served with Matt's Mamas red rice and lemons from the neighbor as you know!

Post gym stir fry with mixed veggies, extra firm tofu in a red curry paste + soy sauce mix I made up on the spot. Simple stir fry dishes are perfect on gym nights to help with a hungry stomach and a flash to prep. I also find them helpful to use up pantry items sitting around.

A soy iced coffee and Banana Curl Vegan Girl zine. The zine is a must have for those looking for easy and accessible vegan recipes (the best kind!) and a handy FAQ suitable for helping the new vegans & vegan curious out with ingredient replacements. You can also check out Banana Curl on her blog.

A few weeks back we walked into Pet's Mart on adoption day to make a Mar's Memorial Birthday donation. We came across a beast of a fluffy cat and decided to bring him home. We named him Mortis and so far Mady and him are doing well together. So if my zines and blogging have been lagging blame fluffy cats and naps - they go together!

[Vegan Mofo] Pantry Essentials - Hot Sauce

It is not a secret - I love, I mean really love hot sauce. My sauce arsenal ranges from 3 - 6 different varieties at any given time. My go to are always the same though: Sriracha, Frank's and Cholula. Target stocks all of them in various sizes perfect for my needs. I like them for all different reasons and usually will mix a few together depending on dish. Hot sauce is a staple part in my diet and a pantry staple for sure!

Sriracha - Ohhhhh how I love theeeeee flavor booster with a rooster perched on your label! I love Sriracha so much that I have a bottle of it tattooed on my leg and the staff at my fave Thai restaurant look on in amazement as I add more and more to my dish. Sriracha makes a boring dish explode! Have you ever bought a crappy container of hummus on a whim? Don't toss it out - Sriracha it up! I love mixing a squirt in with my veggie crumbles when we have Nacho Night Friday to add heat and an extra wow factor. Sriracha on fries or tots - hell ya! So many Sriracha-bilities for every taste bud out there!

Frank's - my nachos would not be complete without Frank's Original. When The Laziest Vegan posted about using Frank's on a Mexican dish way back when, I thought that it was crazy and sacrilegious. After trying it I wanted to add him to the food saint-hood order! It is magical! I also love it on my mac & cheeze to bring some sweet heat to the mix. Soy curls would not be complete without Frank's - a saucy amount of Frank's, a splash of Sriracha and a smidgen of Earth Balance - off the yum factor chart!


Cholula - makes an appearance on tacos. It is not in my daily arsenal but since I discovered it 6 or so years ago at a resturant I always keep a bottle around. I stick to the original and it sticks to any Mexican inspired dish nicely.

Do you love hot sauce as much I do? What are your favorites when it comes to turning up the heat?

[Vegan Mofo] Pantry Essentials - Rice & Beans

 

This week I am going to be sharing some pantry essentials one should keep handy for quick no brainer meals. Having these things in the house keeps food funk at a low and possible fast meals at your fingertips.

You cannot get any more basic than rice and beans. A world staple, rice and beans show up in cultures from all around the world in some form. Often seen as peasant food rice and beans can save a broke person's meal budget and make things more complete. 

Keeping a few varieties of canned (or in this case boxed) beans around allows for things like nachos, tacos, crunchy snacks, veggie burgers and more to happen in a snap. I am a fan of black beans and pinto beans because I dig on Mexican food. I do love garbanzo beans though I do not use them as much. Put them in soup to add a hearty protein punch, make hummus or bake them and make garbanzo crunchies! Target has many organic and low sodium bean options. If you cannot find low sodium rinse your beans before use to get rid of salt if you are not a fan of the stuff or need to watch your intake.

My go to rice is always basmati - I use it in it's plain form to cuddle a stir fry dish or with tomato sauce and olive oil to create Matt's mama's red rice. Basmati has a warm nutty smell and taste that I totally dig. You may prefer brown rice or wild rice - Target has a lot of rice options. Keeping rice around is a sure fire way to add starch to a dish in an affordable way.

Tonight my meal is actually going to consist of both rice and beans. It is taco night and the pair will star in leading roles in my dinner production. If you have a fave way to incorporate these staples into your meals let me know!