Quicky Night Meal - Inspired By Taco Bell

Sometimes you want Taco Bell but you know you want just a bit more oomph to your meal. That is why I started making these Double Decker tacos at home. I think the DD taco lead to the Crunchwrap. Anyway you have a flour tortilla ontop of a crunchy corn tortilla. I  never had one so I am not sure how they were made.
My version uses refried vegan beans as glue to hold the tortillas together. The inside is stuffed with veggie crumbles, lettuce, Daiya shreds and hot sauce. These were so good that I made them two nights in a row. I think I might just make them again tonight!

I Love Tutti Frutti!

The heat is on - literally one can step outside their front door in the Central Valley and turn into a pile of goo. When you need to cool off seriously head over to a Tutti Frutti - you know how much I love the vegan soy frozen yogurt by now.
Over the weekend I tried the Stockton location (5756 Pacific Ave # 12) - previously I had only been to the East Bay locations. The Stockton location was super clean and had a large assortment of toppings including loads of fresh fruit (seriously when we arrived someone was filling up the strawberries from a huge bucket), whole Oreo cookies and a lot of Asian toppings like boba pearls and lychee fruit (I did not try any because I wanted all the berries!). My cup was under $4 and so worth the price!
I wish Modesto would get a Tutti Frutti - until then when I am out of town I will be grabbing Tutti Frutti whenever I see one pop up! From the kawaii smiling fruit people that grace the store on posters to the fresh fruit toppings I love walking into a location and feeling happy. Thanks Tutti Frutti for the soy option - if only more frozen yogurt places offered vegan options vegans would be a lot happier - especially on hot summer days!

Soy Curl & Chickpea Stew

 

Lately this has to be my go to comfort food meal. A big plate of Soy Curl + chickpea stew simmered with Mexican spices and served with red rice on the side.  The recipe is a modified version of the one on Low Fat Vegan and my version will be in my next zine.

The cold weather has made me feel sluggish, tired and not want to do much besides curl up in bed and read. I need a tropical climate to survive! At least with warm stews and lots of tea and coffee I am motivated to get out of bed and get things done! How are you staying warm? Any recipes warming you from the inside out?

Pumpkin O's - My New Fave Cereal

 

I found Pumpkin O's cereal at Trader Joe's last night, when I saw that they were labeled vegan I snatched up a box. So far today I have had two bowls! The remind me of a cross between Apple Jack (cinnamon flavor) and Fruit Loops (fruity tang) and I love 'em. They are a limited product so you know I have to buy a few boxes to hold me over. If you need me I will be watching American Horror Story munching on cereal!

[Vegan Mofo] 5 Ingredient Meals - Tacos!!!!

This week I bring you 5 recipes using 5 ingredients from the food section of Target!  My initial plan was to group food items together by recipe and get pictures but after people started looking at me funny in the store I just gave up and snapped photos in the wild. I may just try to do the grouping later on this week instead of a Friday night!

Processed food police you may just want to lock me up now. These meals for the most part are healthy, fast and super tasty. That being said most items are bagged and boxed. Don't shoot me, don't judge me, just eat and be happy!

We have been on a Taco kick lately, Tacos like 3 times a week or more! So here is a simple taco recipe that takes about 15 minutes to get done and plate!

5 ingredient stars: 1/2 bag of Beyond Beef Crumbles, 4-5 (depending on size) Mission tortillas, 1 can of Amy's refried beans, big pinch of chili powder, 1/2 cup of salsa (Herdez or Mi Casa are both good).


Use a bit of oil (oil is a 'not counted' ingredient) heated on medium in a frying pan. Add crumbles and chili powder, Cook for a few minutes. Warm up your black beans. Add salsa to crumbles, stir and place tortillas on top of the mixture to warm up/soften. Remove tortillias, spread a layer of beans on each tortliia and then spoon in crumble-salsa mixture and eat! Simple and fast.

[Vegan Mofo] Snack On This - Chips & Salsa

 

Nothing beats some fresh salsa and salty chips - bring in a cocktail (something minty or fruity for me!) or a beer (if you are like Matt) and party time has started! Every Friday is nacho night here and our go to brand is the Simply Balanced chips. We like the white corn chips and go for those every time! The new rolled flax are really good with a nutty hint from the chia seeds but the shape does not work for nachos, they need a hummus or guac option.

In school kids got picked on for the generic brands/in store brands that parents packed in their lunch boxes. That should be a thing of the past with Target rolling out organic options at a great price. The prices and quality are hard to beat! Chips this week are on sale 2 for $5 - yup I bought a few bags for lunches and nacho night!

 

We are pretty lucky that our neighbor cans her own garden fresh salsa and hooks us up. If we happen to run out and want a fresh option Casa Sanchez is really good. The ingredients are fresh and simple, no weird things that require an app to translate. Based in Northern CA the salsa tastes fresh and is great in nachos and I love it for chili!  

Grab a tub of salsa and a bag of chips and have a party tonight even if you are just lounging on the couch!

Vegan Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

 

Lately I cannot get enough peanut butter - my go to is PB2. I eat it throughout the day.  Recently my friend sent me a copy of  Blossom's Mayim's Vegan Table I went strait for the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie. I made it on a Friday night for the weekend. All day Saturday I dreamed of that pie. Once home, I sliced an organic banana and sliced the pie and we went to town on it! So good, so tasty and so easy. I even shared it with my neighbor who raved about it.  You can buy all the ingredients (which amount to 4 unless you include bananas) at Target for about $8. The pie crust I bought (Keebler - accidentally vegan) made 8 pieces of pie making it an affordable treat.  

I believe this weekend calls for me to make another one.

Paw-sta For Mar - Wednesday Memories

I would always joke that Mar was a cat version of Mario (Meowrio) Batali. Mar loved Italian food, from pasta to pizza – he would go crazy for it. One of his favorite things to eat was Daiya cheeze. Every Wednesday when I made a batch of vegan stove top macaroni and cheeze he would get excited. When he smelled anything he liked he would wait near Matt’s office door meowing to be let in since I bring food into Matt’s room so he can unwind after work on the computer.

Once I pre made a pasta bake and Mar smelled the noodles baking and ran to Matt’s door, not realizing daddy would not be home in hours. He was pretty bummed out.

Pizza – it had to be Daiya cheeze a bit of sauce and crust for him to be happy. Occasionally he would eat the Trader Joe’s brand but the Daiya made him purr the most.

Mar was not really one for sweets, he occasionally nibbled a baked good like a muffin but when it came to doughnuts – well you better be prepared to share and by share I mean he demanded most of your doughnut. His fave was the vanilla glazed vegan doughnuts from Whole Foods.

We discovered Mar’s doughnut addiction one night early in Matt and mines relationship. Matt’s mom sent home a doughnut, Matt put it on the coffee table of the apartment, we went to go get into our comfy clothes, came back to find Mar with the bag on the ground and ripped open, eating away furiously on his catch!

That was not the first time Mar “hunted” the second apartment we lived in was on the first floor. One night Mar ran out as I took out the trash. I called him for an hour, searching for him. When I got back, I found he pawed open the screen door and had someone’s foil wrapped ribs on the ground. I had to pull him off the food…

Within the first few months of living in our new house Mar was playing in the backyard. I went to get something to drink, came back and found Mar hunched over something. I was worried it was a bird, I screamed for Matt to get it away. Turns out it was a hot dog, I do not know where he found it but he was pretty pissed when we took it away from him.

Mar was not all meat and vegan cheeze. He loved avocados – I would make a smashed up piece of avocado for him calling it guaca-mary. He also had a crazy love for sweet potatoes. He loved sweet potato baby food, fries and baked with a bit of coconut oil! I would sometimes bake him little sweet potato bites for a snack.

Some of these food memories are my most favorite of Mar. I love sharing them and making people laugh. Enjoy the recipe for pasta bake below.

Paw-sta Bake

(reprint from TSAHG #5)

1 jar of MARinara sauce

1 package of penne pasta (you can omit about a handful – if your pasta overflows the pan!)

1 package of vegan Mozzarella cheeze

olive oil for baking dish

Preheat oven to 350. Cook your pasta according to package instructions. Drain. In same pot, mix pasta, pasta sauce and cheeze together. Dump into a oiled 8X8 baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes, uncover bake for 5 more minutes then turn on the broiler and broil for a few minutes to get cheeze gooey! Take the pan out of the oven and let it sit for a few minutes.

If your broiler is still on why not make a loaf of garlic bread while your pasta sets? You have a winning meal there!

Pizza Moda - Berkeley, CA

Matt and I (especially me!) were craving pizza! As many know - a good pizza makes both of us happy. After doing a bit of searching I came across Pizza Moda and it fit the bill and then some. I was looking for a cozy place with a good amount of seating, a few vegan pizza options plus a salad and good feedback.

Pizza Moda has a private parking lot! Yes!!! No driving around for a half hour trying to find a place to park, then walking five blocks to find the restaurant is booked for two hours. Upon arriving the atmosphere is nice, vintage Italian movie posters on the wall, spacious seating, a warm cozy fire, a clean bathroom.
Service is prompt, we were seated right next to the fire, I got nice and toasty. We were served olives and wine glasses of water. We settled on the vegan kale Caesar and the Calabrian Chili pizza with vegan cheeze (Daiya) and vegan sausage.

The kale salad came out first and it was awesome! The dressing was creamy, the kale was soft and all the flavors balanced it out well. The crunchy topping was yeasty and cheezey. I told myself to save it to go with the pizza - I could not stop grabbing bites of it though!

Shortly after the pizza came out. We dug in right away. The crust was good - even though we both like a thicker crust - we liked this one. It held it's shape and did not get soggy or fall apart.  The chili added a nice kick to the pizza (I even added red pepper flakes because I like it hot). The toppings were nice - the perfect amount.

The staff checked on us numerous times, refilled our water glasses and were super nice. We had the option of two types of vegan cake at the end but passed, we had to get over to Whole Foods to do shopping. We will be going back for sure! Maybe this weekend! 

Secret Aardvark Habanero Hot Sauce - Perfect Heat - Perfect Treat

I recently bought a bottle of Secret Aardvark Habanero Hot Sauce and have been using it a lot since I got my order in. It has a nice hot taste that kicks in after you take a bite, but the first second or two you are met with a sweetness that adds to the kick at the end. I love hot sauce, some just do not cut it, this does though, nice heat with a nice flavor.

I have been going salad crzy lately. If  you follow me on Instagram (missmuffcake) you will see my love for salads! On Thurday it was corn/wheat tortillas baked into bowl shapes piled with romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, avocado, chili-lime marinated tofu, garbanzo beans (because I had them on hand), a bit of left over Daiya, and habanero ranch dressing. Everything was great but the spicy ranch stood out and it is a cinch to make! Check out my recipe below!

Easy Habanero Ranch

1/2 up of vegan mayo

a squeeze of fresh lime juice

a big plop of  Secret Aardvark sauce

a pinch of dill

a crack of black pepper and pink sea salt

a tiny pinch of onion powder
a tiny pinch of garlic powder

In a small mason jar mix everything together until blended. You can use it right away or let it chill in the fridge to set up and have the flavors come together more.It is yummy!

East Bay Vegan Sweets

Some yummy treats were had in Berkeley last weekend besides the cupcakes from the RPSC event.

We finally made it to Cinnaholic before meeting up with friends at Saturn Cafe to score a cinnamon roll. We just went for fast and picked a already made brownie chunk combo. The treat was made within ten minutes and was perfectly warm in my hands, I wanted to dig in right then but was saving the treat till we were on our way home later in the night.
The cinnamon roll was super good even after sitting in the car for a few hours. My favorite part was the frosting - I can see why people do frosting shots of this stuff! Next time I am going to get seperate rolls for Matt and I - that way I can go crazy with flavors and he can play it safe!

After dinner we decided to go grab a cup of coffee, as we rounded the corner everyone stopped at Cakes and Purls window, Matt was like "they have vegan stuff"...I ran in, plunked down $3 for a vegan banana cream cupcake and took a card to go. The shop was cute, the owner/person behind the counter was nice and it had me thinking I really need to get out my knitting needles!
The cupcake got a lil squished by the next day, but it was still tasty. I liked the cake part, Mar did too. Nice real banana flavor and moist. I am not a frosting person (unless it is like a cinnamon roll drizzle or something cream cheeze based) so my "meh" on the frosting is not important, but Matt said it was good.

Birthday Celebration Food, Friends & Fun

I turned 34 last Friday! Yay right! Matt spoiled me, Mar feels better (we are still trying to balance his numbers) and we got to spend time on Saturday in the lovely East Bay.

First up we shared some taquitos at Flacos, I ordered a side salad, Matt had the refried beans. I love the taste of the fried corn shell the best. I am always the fool forgetting how hot the hot sauce really is...


I stopped by Lush in Emeryville - spent way to much money. Looked around some other stores and stocked up on nonperishable items at Whole Foods in Oakland. Then off to Berkeley to enjoy friends, pizza and cake!

Saturday was International Vegan Pizza day so to celebrate that and my birthday you know pizza was on the menu! Gigi and Larry invited us over for Zachary's deep dish pizza but when we got there Gigi announced she was making a pesto pizza while we waited for Zachary's to be finished. Larry busted out a salad and we munched away.  Pictured above is a slice of Zachary's and Larry's yummy salad! Perfect combo!

So if the good could not get any better Gigi busted out a sugar free - vegan - peanut butter - chocolate cake that was to die for! Served with some Rice Dream it was super heavenly! Gigi has mad baking skills - check out her Etsy shop Veganville for some classic treats with a twist!

Thank you Gigi and Larry for making me feel special! You really made my day! Thank you to Matthew my wonderful boyfriend who took me up to the East Bay and did not even flinch when he looked at the $14 bottle of vegan sauce I wanted - paid with a smile.

We will be back in a few weeks lovely East Bay to celebrate some movie night fun staring Matt's work....Oh and Lush - try not to drain my wallet this time around! :)

Let's Get Jammy With It

 

Lately I have been on a jam kick!  I make a batch every week and serve it up pretty much daily. It is easy, tasty and does not require a degree in canning.

Easy Chia Berry Jam

1 package of frozen berries of your choice (I like mixed berries or strawberries, make sure you buy organic when it comes to berries because berries are sprayed heavily)

about a tablespoon of water or a bit more

a squeeze of fresh lemon juice 

a hefty squeeze of maple syrup or agave

2 tablespoons of chia seeds

In a small saucepan place berries, maple syrup/agave, water and lemon juice and set the heat to a low medium heat. Stir and cover. Check back in about five minutes. Take the back of a fork and see if the berries are becoming unfrozen by squishing some against the pot. Mix in any juice you got out. Cover with the lid and cook for another five minutes. Squish more berries, by this time you can get most of them broken down into a nice mushy texture, keep breaking down any large clumps.Take the mix off of the heat and mix in chia seeds. Let cool for a few minutes, place in a clean jar (I use recycled food jars that have been cleaned). Refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the jam set up and enjoy. You have about two cup of yummy jam at your call! Eat it up - it will keep for a week in the fridge!

No need for pectin in this recipe, chia seeds act like a powerhouse binder. You get a chunky seedy jam that is not full of sugary crap and is super fresh and tasty. I serve it up over oatmeal. The above photo was for Matt's birthday breakfast. Oatmeal, strawberry chia jam, a sliced banana, maple syrup and Hemp Hearts. Yummy! 

You can use fresh berries, it will be less cooking time. I find frozen berries are cheaper and fresher than what I find at the market sometimes.Trader Joe's has an excellent price on frozen organic berries!Shop around, try your farmer's market and the store, see what is fresh and on sale!

Gardein Products I Can Eat

For the longest time I was a Gardein outsider. People raved about the companies products but since all the products I saw in stores contained quinoa and amaranth I could not eat them due to severe allergies to both ingredients. Matt has been eating the tenders for lunch and I asked him if he wanted to try the mandarin orange bits and started reading the ingredients and saw they did not contain the ancient grain blend! I was so happy!

 

I tossed these with some steamed broccoli and served it over basmati rice. The dish was yummy but I wish the sauce packet was bigger. Next time I will serve it with a side sauce or something. Maybe add some Brags and chili sauce to the pan. I checked the ingredients of the Trader Joe's version and they contain quinoa and amaranth - to bad!

Another product I found to be OK for me to eat is the fresh beefless burgers Last night Matt grilled them for us. At first I thought they smelled like Boca burgers and I am not a huge fan of Boca burgers, not to mention one of my fave vegan burgers in a restaurant switched over to a Boca patty and I had it the previous night. However the texture of the Gardein patty remained moist with a touch of olive oil and smelled great. We served the burgers on a whole wheat bun, topped with melted cheddar Daiya, jalapenos and fresh organic avocado. To make the meal complete we ate them with crispy tots! Yummy! We plan on grilling the burgers again tonight and serving the patties with mac n cheeze - a fave childhood meal of mine!

So yay I get to eat a few tasty Gardein products now!