French Toast

Hello on the 6th day of the Vegan Month of Food! This morning I used a recipe from the “breakfast” section of Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food. 

The first piece of French toast I made fell apart when I flipped it... whoops... but the five remaining pieces stayed intact, and it all turned out nicely.  

French Toast (soy milk, chickpea flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, canola oil, bread*)
*I used Rudi's Ancient Grain bread

 
This was my first time using chickpea flour, and the story behind searching for it at the grocery store was rather funny. So, I know that chickpeas are garbanzo beans. I've known this for some time now. But Zach's goofy voices tend to distract me and also make me forget things, apparently. When I find him at the flours, scouring the names, he points out the one labeled “garbanzo bean flour,” saying in a funny/creepy/throaty/garbly voice, “Gaaaarrrr-BAAAAHHHHN-zo beans!” I bust up laughing and join him in scanning every single type of flour, searching for the one labeled “chickpea flour” and finding everything but that. I'm just about to say (or maybe I actually did say) “Forget it; I'll just use regular flour,” when suddenly, my brain reminds me that “helloooooooo, garbanzo beans are chickpeas... therefore, the garbanzo bean flour IS chickpea flour!” Bahahaha!

All in all, the French toast was quick and easy to prepare, as well as being delicious and making the house smell quite lovely and warm! I'll definitely use this recipe again!

Served with blueberry syrup and strawberries.

Lunch today utilized the leftover back-to-basics black beans from Wednesday in a burrito, served with tortilla chips and salsa. 

And then I headed out to the shelter to volunteer and visit with my cat friends. Yay!

Back at home, I heated up some of the leftover classic cornbread and down-home chili for dinner. 

All in all, a nice end to my cookbook week and the first week of Vegan MoFo. Tomorrow begins my dollar store vegan theme; hope to see you then! 

Buttons, claiming the cat bed I'd set out for Leela by my desk.

Leela, diligently practicing her “loaf kitty” pose.

Peace. :)

Classic Cornbread and Down-Home Chili

Hello on the 5th day of the Vegan Month of Food! Tonight's dinner features two recipes from Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food. 

I was excited about making the cornbread, and it was super simple to prepare. 

Classic Cornbread (canola oil, cornmeal, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, white vinegar, soy milk)

I think I maybe should have left it in the oven a bit longer than the recipe said, though. I'll remember to do that next time. Regardless, it turned out nicely, and it was quite tasty partnered with the chili.

Down-Home Chili (canned kidney beans and pinto beans, drained and rinsed; diced tomatoes; water; cumin; paprika; chili powder; oregano; salt; pepper; onion powder; garlic powder; cayenne pepper; allspice)

I was a bit nervous with how many spices were going into the chili, but I diligently measured out each one (the only one I used less of was the chili powder because it just seemed like a lot more compared to the rest). After stirring everything together, I started to feel more optimistic, and sure enough, once the chili was done simmering, it smelled so good! By my first spoonful of chili, I knew this recipe was a success; it was quite flavorful without being too spicy. I was so glad tonight's dinner turned out well after last night's disappointing recipe. I'll be sure to use these two recipes again; they are definitely quick and easy, tasty and filling, with plenty of leftovers that I will enjoy over the next few days.

Speaking of leftovers, here was my leftovers lunch (smashed potatoes, garlic green beans, agave-glazed carrots).

Right now I'm at the “N” blogs in the blog roll, chugging right along... I've been finding so many new fun blogs; tomorrow I hope to put together a short list of some of the blogs and themes that have caught my attention. Also, tomorrow is the final day of my cookbook week, so stay tuned for that. Sunday will be the start of my dollar store vegan theme.

To close tonight's post, here are Buttons and Leela being “loaf kitties” to imitate the cornbread.

Peace. :)

Quick Veggie Casserole

Hello on the 4th day of the Vegan Month of Food! For dinner tonight, I decided to try a recipe from the “main courses” section of Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food.

But the story of this casserole requires some foreshadowing and silly sarcasm... 

*rewinds to breakfast* 

*rewinds a tad bit further to include the cuteness that preceded it*

Leela, perched up on the kitchen table this morning.

She eventually climbed down and sat at the bench, being a polite little kitty, while Zach and I ate breakfast. 

I started telling Zach about the dish I planned to make for Vegan MoFo today, and he asked, “What's in it?” I responded, “Vegetables and couscous.” Zach then made the jump to the phrase “vegetable coup” and started reciting various lines from the satirical “Carrot Juice is Murder” by the Arrogant Worms. I laughed, but it made me wonder... The vegetables would never rebel against me, would they? No, surely they wouldn't! I finished my breakfast and forgot all about it... Until I sat down to eat my dinner... (Dun dun dun...)

Quick Veggie Casserole (canola oil; frozen mixed vegetables – carrots, corn, peas, green beans, and baby lima beans*; couscous; vegetable stock; chopped white onion; shredded vegan mozzarella; salt; pepper)
*these weren't called for in the recipe, but they happened to be in the bag of frozen veggies I had

What drew me to try this recipe was how simple it looked, both ingredient- and process-wise. It ended up being super easy to make... Almost too easy, I thought as it baked in the oven... The first bite of couscous I tried was really good... But in the next bite, I got some onions, which really didn't get cooked at all, just heated up, and I am not a fan of uncooked onions, so as I ate, I started picking out the onions... And then I realized that the other vegetables tasted rather plain... I feel like this recipe, if I do ever try it again, will definitely require some modifications (for example, sauté the onions instead of just throwing them in the mix uncooked & add some of that garlic that I've used in the other dishes). 

Served with tortilla chips and salsa.

Even though I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped I would, I'm going to be positive and say, hey, at least I cooked another cookbook recipe!

Also, for my lunch today, I finally finished up the Labor Day picnic food. I had the last Boca soy patty atop some lettuce, then topped off the patty with the remaining baked beans, which made it much tastier (the Boca vegan burger is pretty plain on its own). In addition to the last of the potato salad and corn, I also had a big handful of cherry tomatoes from my parents' garden. The tomatoes were absolutely delicious and made me feel rather nostalgic for my summers growing up, standing in the garden, hemmed in by various plants, picking cherry tomatoes for a snack, the garden so full and green and calm around me...

I've reached the letter “J” in the blog roll, making progress! Another cool way to go through the blogs is to try out randomofo (when you're done checking out the blog it gives you, just click “refresh” for a new one). It's really neat!

To close tonight's post, Buttons would like to offer you some of her cuteness since Leela stole the spotlight at the beginning. Last night, Buttons hopped up and wiggled her way under the comforter on top of the couch. For a while, it was just a back paw and the tip of her tail sticking out as she hung out in her burrow.

Later, she shifted so she could peek out.

Peace. :)

Agave-Glazed Carrots and Back-to-Basics Black Beans

Hello on the 3rd day of the Vegan Month of Food! Tonight I made two side dish recipes from Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food by Alicia C. Simpson. 

Served with the last of my leftover rice.

The agave-glazed carrots were nice and sweet, softened but still with enough of a crunch to them. This was my first time using agave, so yay for that! (I used a bit less agave & orange juice than the recipe called for.)

Agave-Glazed Carrots (carrots, agave nectar, cinnamon, canola oil, orange juice)

The black beans were good, but I noticed in my first bite an overpowering amount of pepper. The recipe called for what I thought would be way too much pepper for my liking, but instead of trusting my instincts like I did with the carrot recipe, I followed this one's measurements exactly. Next time for the pepper, I'll just do the whole “season-to-taste” bit instead. Even so, it was still good, and I enjoyed my added white onion. My main motivation with that was “let's see if I can use some of this up,” and it worked out nicely.

Back-to-Basics Black Beans (minced garlic cloves, chopped white onion*, canola oil, canned black beans, salt, pepper, water)
*my addition

Overall, another good meal, and now I know what changes to make next time.

 
More leftovers for lunch:

Boca chik'n patty on a Schär bun (lettuce, tomato, mustard, ketchup), corn, baked beans, potato salad

Over at the blog roll, I managed to make it to the blogs beginning with “F,” so slowly but surely I'll get to them all. There's so many fun themes and I've already begun bookmarking recipes to try later.

Buttons and Leela have been good today; here they are from earlier, guarding the hallway:

Peace. :)

Garlic Green Beans, Smashed Potatoes, and Spicy Corn

Hello on the 2nd day of the Vegan Month of Food! Today's post features three simple side dishes from Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food by Alicia C. Simpson. 

Leela is currently pinning me in at the computer as I type this (while I was away from the computer, she laid down against my chair, which was mostly pushed in, and I didn't have the heart to move her, so I strategically maneuvered myself into my seat but it's a tight fit). 

I started cooking dinner early because I knew I'd take longer following cookbook recipes, and Buttons followed me to the kitchen, thinking she'd be getting an early dinner. No such luck. So she hopped up onto the bench and kept me company while I cooked. 

The three recipes that I chose were all very simple (hence me choosing them), and I halved the recipes because it said they made 4 servings, but to make three different dishes at once, let's just say I'm not that great at multitasking in the kitchen and there's a reason why I usually do one-pot meals... Between all the chopping, measuring, and cooking, it ended up taking over an hour, but everything turned out well. (A more coordinated person could get this done in half an hour, lol.) 

Garlic Green Beans (white onion, olive oil, minced garlic cloves, green beans, sliced almonds, pepper, salt)

Smashed Potatoes (2 medium red potatoes, soy milk, salt, pepper)

Spicy Corn (frozen corn, diced green bell pepper, diced red onion, crushed red pepper flakes, vegetable stock)

All in all, this meal turned out great!

 
The smashed potatoes were nice and creamy, the garlic green beans were good, and the spicy corn was definitely spicy (I'm such a weakling when it comes to spice). With just the crushed red pepper flakes being so spicy, I'm worried for later in the week; I plan to make chili from this cookbook, and that recipe calls for a LOT of spices...

Oh, and for lunch today, I had more leftovers: A vegan Morningstar burger (roasted garlic and quinoa, I liked this one a bit better on the Schär bun), corn on the cob, rice, and beans. I was stuffed; this was a much bigger lunch than I normally have, but I have a lot of leftovers to get through! 

Today I went through the alphabetical blog roll and reached the blogs starting with “B,” so I still have a long way to go. But I've seen some great posts so far, and several blogs that are new to me, so my Vegan MoFo is off to a great start! 

Closing update: Buttons has joined the blogging party!

Peace. :)