Food I Made Then Ate + A New Zine

Chichi beans + basmati rice. I adapted this recipe from  Staten Italy: Nothin' but the Best Italian-American Classics, from Our Block to Yours (by the pizza cuz guys). I served it with leftover naan.

 

Southern-ish bowl: basmati rice topped with pan grilled spiced tofu, collard greens and black eyed peas. Hefty amounts of hot sauce included! I love collard greens - simply made with olive oil, lemon juice, pepper flakes. It is so comforting!

Not the best photo but whatever! Fried veggie dogs with ketchup, mustard and sauerkraut from the neighbor (the best ever!) on naan - because we love Trader Joe's naan. Fries with ketchup round out the meal.

I released the newest issue of The Stay at Home Girlfriend - #16 over the weekend, please check it out! It is full of cats, vegan recipes, music, mental health/self care, beer tastings and more!

[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!

[Vegan MOFO] Target Tuesday - Coco-Peanut Sauce With Tofu

 

Target carries vegan basics like tofu, rice, beans, frozen veggies, non-dairy milks, seasonings/spices and meat alternatives. Throwing a meal together can be a snap if you just step outside the box and look around.

When buying a new vegan cookbook or looking at blogs online I am often disappointed if the recipes call for special hard to find ingredients that have me order them online or try to locate them in a specialty market that I may not have in town. So when I come across a recipe that I can make from simple to find ingredients I bookmark it and get to work on dreaming up a meal around it.

The Garlic Broccoli with Coco-Peanut Sauce from Plant Based on a Budget is a meal that is easy to put together from the aisles of Target, affordable and easy to make. Bonus it is super yummy!

The only things I changed from the recipe was using organic maple syrup instead of brown sugar, garlic powder for garlic (no fresh garlic at Target), I added a squeeze of Sriracha and I added some extra firm tofu triangles to the mix. Bagged broccoli again came into play and I used basmati rice. This meal is something I will make again. Creamy peanuty taste with a hint of kick (I might add more Sriracha next time), afordable and a thumbs up from Matt. 

Long Weekend Fun - Cooking, Baking & Reading

Long weekends are meant to sleep in, catch up on stuff and relax. I did that plus some tea sipping, reading, baking and cooking.

Since Chipotle introduced sofritas I go once a week! I love a nice salad with sofritas, black beans, fresh salsa and guac! Also our mall just opened a Teavana - so I had to get my blueberry tea fix! Matt got my free Izzy at Chipotle - I love text coupons!

We were supposed to BBQ on Sunday but after inspecting our grill and with the wind kicking in we decided not to. After buying ingredients for potato salad, I was craving it! I was sent a copy of Grills Gone Vegan by Tamasin Noyes to review and was looking forward to grilling but I did make the Tangy Dijon Sauce and served it warm over potatoes for a warm potato salad - soooo good! I served it with pan fried BBQ tofu, garlic cheeze bread and watermelon. Good!

Monday we slept in a little too much. After having breakfast at lunch time and trying to get my routine in order (yoga, tea, house work, lunch) I decided to make cookies with a jar of Speculoos spread Matt bought for me at Target. I am still adjusting the recipe - the cookies work well with tea though!

Dinner was a generic East-Feast. I made date-raisin chutney from the first Candle Cafe cookbook (I made some subs, like cinnamon for ginger because the two stores I went to had no ginger to be found). I served it over simple stove top yellow rice, so tasty - comfort food! I made the Mediterranean tofu marinade from Vegan Eats World by Terry Hope Romero (subbing apple cider vinegar for white wine, and pan steaming the tofu instead of baking it). Also from the book I made Roasted Broccoli with Sage and loved it! I want more of it now!

Since Saturday I have been wrapped up in Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. If you like young adult books go get it now! It is really good, I have to force myself to put it down and do things like feed Mar, wash laundry and shower! I have more books in the YA genre that I picked up from the library to go through...First some tea though!

Chipotle Sofritas & Tofu Tacos

After doing a walk through of the local Earth Day celebration as we chatted up some people/friends and I held a snake we headed out to Chipotle to try the new sofritas tofu concoction on the menu. I used to love me some Chipotle but I always felt shy (and I am not a shy person!) about asking them to wipe down the line and change their gloves due to contamination issues. I put my anxiety behind me and we ordered some food!

I got a salad bowl (minus the dressing of course! it is not vegan FYI) and had the corn salsa and fresh tomato salsa all up in the mix!

Matt got a burrito bowl with a flour tortilla on the side! He asked for extra tomato salsa and brown rice.

Verdict: it is good! The taste of the sofritas is something like a cross between a tofu scramble and soyrizo. Nice kick and texture. I hope this option stays around. A few years ago Chipotle tried out another vegan meat sub and it was very limited in release and did not stay long. I did not get to try it, but even if I could - it was Gardein so chances are I was allergic.
I know some people are complaining about not getting guacamole for free now on the veg burrito, this whole argument is dumb and kinda makes me mad. People stop being cheap, or simply do not eat out at places if you only can complain. If you are getting the tofu you are getting the good stuff, not some unknown GMO block  but Hodo tofu from Oakland. I heard on the news that the development for the sofritas took awhile to perfect and I hope it does stay around - another option.

 

Inspired by Chipotle I made  crumbled tofu tacos on Monday night for dinner. One block of the high protein extra firm stuff, crumbled and sauteed with a diced red bell pepper and one packet of taco seasoning prepared as directed from the package. I added salsa from the neighbor's garden, hand smashed guacamole and a side of rice! Not the same but a nice meal that was easy to make and not to pricey!

Eats Of The Week

Almond milk cappuccino from Timeless Roasters in Oakland.

 

Salad for lunch at Golden Lotus - random lunch since it was not our first option in Oakland. 

 

Dosa at Udupi  in Berkeley for dinner, I loved the coconut chutney but the service needed improvement.

Avo-Toast (Crazy Sexy Kitchen  - gift from a friend) with red pepper flakes on Judy's Breadstick bread - omg so good!

Taco night Tuesday, tempeh tacos from the I love Cooking With Trader  Joe's Vegetarian cookbook (my fave cookbook lately!). I topped them with avocado and Daiya shreds. Served with red rice and chili and lime spiked jicama.

What have you been eating?

This Weeks Eats: Tex Mex & Peach Tofu

The Tex-Mex plate:

Chili lime rubbed tofu (Appetite For Reduction), black beans in a simple sauce (2 cans of rinsed & drained black beans, a dash of Mexican spice blend and a couple of shakes of hot sauce), red rice with lemon and salsa on the beans! Tasty, spicy but not crazy so and comforting!

East meets East sweet & savory plate:

Smoky peach  tofu (from Cooking With Trader Joe's Vegetarian - I love this book!), coconut water lime basmati rice (cook white basmati, replacing 1/2 of the cooking water with coconut water, juice of a lime and slices of lime floating on top (pick 'em out after cooking). I served pakoras from Trader Joe's on the side baked in the oven and toped with the sauce. Sweet and savory, comforting and tropical!

I love tofu, it is comforting and pretty cheap. I go for the super firm pressed stuff. That way no roll of paper towels goes down the drain and no extra prep. You can just use one paper towel to dry it off and cut and get busy with your dish. 

Rice is another cheap staple. I go for basmati, it has a texture and nuttiness that I enjoy. I buy my rice from Trader Joe's or go for something in the natural foods section. I check over my rice carefully because pantry moths are known to go for it in stores, especially in the bulk area. Icky right?

 

Beer Battered Tofu Tacos & Moco Loco

I was inspired by a Dean boy to beer batter something...Well, I modified the recipe, no fish (duh), extra seasoning and I made the meal a taco meal! Beer battered tacos with Sriracha slaw (Matt is warming up to the slaw!)...

 

I wish the beer batter stuck a bit more, but it was really tasty, fluffy and puffy batter! So puffy that some of my tofu looked like Twinkies at one point! Served with red rice and fresh off the tree lemons! 

  

By now you know I watch a lot of cooking shows. I always get inspired by non-vegan food to recreate it and make it vegan and easy. Moco Loco was one such dish that screamed to be made vegan. 

I made these black bean burgers with a slight spice modification, served it over organic basmati with a packet of vegan golden gravy mix...If I had planned a week or so in advanced I would have maybe bought and added a Vegg Egg on top to make it a true Hawaiian classic...Matt called  this meal interesting, I thought it was good and was way easy to put together after the gym!

BBQ Tempeh Tacos With Sriracha Slaw

 

We like tacos, we like BBQ and I was craving the texture of tempeh (am I the only one who finds comfort in the texture of food?) so the BBQ tempeh taco with Sriracha slaw was born! Served with red rice and lemon and you are good to go. 

I just pan fried the tempeh (cut into long fingers) in olive oil till browned. Added some BBQ sauce to coat, turned the heat down low, covered the pan and steamed the slices in the pan for about 10-15 minutes. The slaw is pretty basic: broccoli slaw mix, a dollop of  Vegenaise, a hefty squirt of Sriracha and a drizzle of lemon juice. Everything was served up in warm corn tortillas.

[Day 2] Mexican Food & Matt's Mama's Rice Recipe

I love Mexican food - going out to eat at Mexican places is rather hard. Everything from beans to guacamole can be off limits due to animal ingredients. Here is a list of things to look out for if you happen to go out and eat at a Mexican restaurant!

chips: these can be fried in lard.
beans:can contain lard or pork bits.
tortillas can contain lard or l-cysteine.
rice: this can be cooked with chicken broth.
gucamole: can often be stretched by using sour cream.
"vegetarian" options: there is a local chain that has a veg section - problem is everything has lard in it, I guess because they feel there is not actual meat in it that it is vegetarian by default.

My boyfriend's mom has a dinner time staple - rice. Sometimes it is called red rice or Spanish rice...we just call it rice. Don't mind the cell phone picture - it is tasty!



1 cup of white rice
1 tablespoon of olive oil (canola oil can work too)
1 and a 1/2 cups of tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
lemons (optional)

Place rice in a pan (with a lid) and add oil, fry rice for a few minutes on medium heat, till the rice gives off a scent and is slightly browned. Turn heat to low and add liquid, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes - till all the liquid is absorbed.
You can cut up lemons and add a squeeze of lemon juice to the rice like my boyfriend likes to do! Enjoy!