Mexican Fiesta

Tonight I made Hot Tamale Vegetable Pie from Vegan Planet. The recipe called for frozen corn, but I'm not a big fan of corn (unless it's on the cob!), so I substituted pinto beans. It turned out to be a good choice, because it turned out pretty good. Please excuse the pictures, I didn't realize that my flash was turned off.




After consuming some fresh fruit margaritas at one of my favorite local vegan places, I was inspired to create my own. Here's my recipe for 2 amazing margaritas:
-1.5 pints of frozen strawberries
-Juice from 2 large oranges
-Juice from 2 limes
-Agave nectar (I put in maybe a Tablespoon?)
-Tequila
I blended everything together. I didn't have any ice because I don't use it, but the frozen strawberries made it work well. If you'd like to add more ice, feel free. Just add stuff in to taste...you can't go wrong with fresh fruit!

I will never use a Margarita mix again.

Asian Inspired Hodgepodge

Tonight was a bit crazy. The idea was to make lettuce wraps and dumplings. The lettuce wrap filling recipe was from Vegan Planet, but I changed it around a bit and ended up adding half of a pack of tofu and cooking the stuff. The flavors were quite good, and the red leaf lettuce worked perfectly for the wraps.

When I attempted to make the dumplings, I realized that the wonton wrappers had egg in them. I didn't have time to make them from scratch, so I improvised. I combined a leek (I love leeks!), garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, and the other half of the tofu. I blended it enough to make it chunky but not pureed. The mixture was soft, so I added some wheat flour to try and hold it together. I made little patties and pan-fried them in a little bit of peanut oil. Served with a soy sauce and rice wine vinegar mixture, these things tasted good. I like cooking on the fly, it really tests your skills in the kitchen!


For dessert: a raspberry chocolate layer cake from Veganomicon. This cake is so freaking good.

Comfort Food

You may have noticed the trend of comfort foods appearing in my blog. Tonight I decided to make the Chile and Cornmeal Crusted Tofu from Veganomicon. I like making this using frozen and thawed tofu. It really gives it a nice texture. On the side...a tasty blend of dino kale and standard curly kale (this stuff seems to be turning into a staple in my house) cooked with some vegetable bullion and water. I also made some mashed potatoes with plain soymilk, Earth Balance, and S&P. Simple but a great way to have potatoes.

Stuff Yourself Like an Omnivore

I came across this on YouTube, and it gave me a chuckle:



Our corporate yoga class was moved to today due to a scheduling conflict, so that was a nice lunchtime break. I must say that I was quite sore from yesterday! It's hard to do some of those moves with sore muscles, but that means it's working, right?

Running Yoga

Today was my first yoga class as the instructor. I didn't really prepare, but I had an idea as to what I would do. Everybody seemed pretty satisfied, and they want to start doing a Friday class as well. So I'll be leading yoga Monday and Friday mornings, and then attending the company sponsored yoga class on Wednesdays. I'm really happy about this, because I love the idea of getting yoga in 3 days a week.

Went for a run after work. I was a bit fatigued today so it wasn't my best, but the scenery was beautiful around the trail. I haven't run there since last fall, but now that it's no longer getting dark at 4:30 I'm happy to add this location back into my rotation.

Yellow Thai Curry

This recipe came from the farmer's market where the vegetables used in it were purchased.

1/2 stalk slice lemongrass
1-2 chiles
2 shallots (or 1 small onion)
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 Tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 Tbsp brown sugar
zest of 1 lime
1 Tbsp lime juice
Olive oil

Everything gets blended into a paste, then added to a pan with a can of coconut milk. You can add whatever veggies you want, I put in asparagus, bok choy, cauliflower, and zucchini. I then added some silken tofu, and cooked until the vegetables were done. Served with brown basmati rice.

Swimming in Homestyle Goodness

Went for the first swim of the year. I don't think I've swam since September, so I'm definitely out of shape! It felt good to get back in the water again. I'd like to try to go a few days a week until I can build my endurance back up again.

When I got home, it was time to prepare my feast. The menu tonight:

-Chicken-fried Seitan cutlets: These easy to prepare cutlets are amazing. I was intimidated by the thought of making Seitan, but this forgiving recipe turned out great!
-Mashed Golden Potatoes: Typical mashed potatoes (skins on!). Added plain soymilk, Earth Balance, and some pepper. A nice and creamy base for the gravy.
-Punk Rock Chickpea Gravy from VWAV: Everything I make from Isa is always terrific. Don't let the huge list of ingredients scare you, this is not hard to throw together at all.
-Dinosaur Kale and Mustard Greens: I love greens. I was recently turned onto Dino Kale. This type of kale is less bitter than typical kale, and has a sweeter, nuttier taste. I think mustard greens are one of my favorite types of greens. I just steamed the both of these together in vegetable stock, and added a bit of lemon juice at the end. Some people put fancy sauces on theirs, but I'm very much a purist when it comes to my greens!

I wish I knew how to take better pictures, because the images below do not even do this dinner justice!


Close-up of the non-chicken awesomeness: