Baked Beans & Kale

Hi everyone! Today's Vegan MoFo theme is Complimentary colors – For instance, Red & Green, Purple & Yellow, Blue & Orange. I chose to go with red & green, so tonight I made baked red kidney beans with kale.

Here's Cringer being a loaf kitty on the bed...

Peace. :)

French Fries, Veggies, and a Smart Dog

Hello on the 10th day of the Vegan Month of Food! Tonight's dinner features two dollar store food items (French fries and mixed vegetables) as part of my dollar store vegan theme, along with a smart dog (extra from the picnic) on a piece of bread “bun” (extra from what I bought for the French toast), and the staples of ketchup, mustard, and salt.

Super simple meal to put together, and while it wasn't anything too exciting, it was still good for a dinner that came out of the freezer. 

Lunch was leftover black beans from yesterday, with more brown rice from the dollar store.

Buttons and Leela have been their usual funny selves. Leela tried to wake us up early this morning; she focused on Zach first, and when he burrowed under the blankets, Leela turned to me and ended up curling up at my side, purring and purring... Until Buttons tried to jump up onto the bed... In the exact spot where Leela was... and then thought better of it halfway through the jump. 

Leela is still trying to figure out if she wants anything to do with her scratching mat.

And Buttons has been loafin' it up ever since I posted the first “loaf kitties” photos.

Peace. :)

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. :)