Another Vegan Yum Yum

I'm learning that part of being vegan is to always think ahead about your meals and to make sure you have wise choices around for snacks if you get hungry. I'm never good about preparing in advance.  This week I didn't bring a lunch with me and I was hungry.   I stopped in a small store in Oakland and look what delicious option there was on the deli shelf.  This may only be available in the Bay Area because it looks like they're made in Oakland.  I can't find anything about them on-line to share with you.

Trader Joe's Vegan Mango Blueberry Bran Muffins

These would be much better with a little butter slathered over the top but I resisted.  Once again, I took a picture of this product after I ate it so, all you get is the label.

Vegan Lasagna

Today I put together some of the ingredients that were leftover from the weekend into a vegan lasagna.  I used the red pepper dip for the "tomato sauce".  I had leftover grilled vegetables for the filling.

This was my first time using tofu in place of the Ricotta.
In a blender:
Firm tofu
Almond Milk
Basil
Sugar
Garlic salt & real garlic 2 heads

When it bakes it tastes just like Ricotta.  I will never have to buy Ricotta again since this was hella good.  If someone handed me a plate of this dish and said it was Ricotta I would not ask questions.  I didn't feel I was missing a thing.

The lasagna still needed 20 minutes to bake after this photograph was taken.  I wanted the basil on top to still look pretty.  Sorry my Pyrex is looking a little funky..

Plumber came today

I had to have the plumber come and clean out my pipes.  Is this part of the deal with being vegan?

Corn and Avacado Salsa

I'm getting to be one of those crazy people on Facebook that photographs their every meal?  This was my Memorial Day serious grub down dish over the weekend.

The HAVE'A CORN CHIPS are terrific and complimented this dip very well.  I didn't follow Mark Bittman's recipe perfectly as I don't have a food processor.  I like my dip chunky.

20 Day Vegan Anniversary

As of tomorrow, I will have been a vegan for 20 days.  I had a little mishap today so I'm not going to lie.  Someone in my house had some Lay's potato chips and onion dip made with sour cream.  I know, I should be aSHAMEd of myself.  Well, what can I say?...one day at a time.

I do feel better but I think it's too soon to decide if this is perfectly right for me.  I think I have been busy trying all the vegan products, recipes and yum yum's that I have not slowed down enough for a real check of my mind body and spirit.

I was happy to find multiple Vegan Meetup.com groups in the Bay Area.  There are 728 members of the Berkeley meetup. Yes, I joined.  It will be nice to explore the vegan experience with other vegan's.

So far, I'm having fun exploring a new way of life.  I have roasted my first red bell peppers, created a quinoa dish that was to die for and found some great restaurants in my neck of the woods.

This week I will be trying from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

Crunchy Corn Guacamole pg 263

Jicama Salad with Pineapple and Mint pg 50

In addition,
I have some leftover grilled vegies and I'm going to attempt a vegan lasagna.  I have a recipe for tofu ricotta but I'm having trouble finding vegan lasagna noodles.

Have a great memorial day!

Great in a pinch

I seem to always forget to take a picture of something I'm eating until after I'm finished.  Oh well, here is the wrapper of California Suncakes.

These are pretty good in a pinch. I forget to have breakfast and I won't have lunch until 2:00.  These will be good to have in the car for just that situation.  This is the chocolate orange flavor but I think I like the apricot one shaped like a heart.

Grilled vegetables to perfection

I hope folks like this at the garden party.
Zucchini
Red Bell Pepper
Orange Bell Pepper
Yellow Bell Pepper
Red Onion

I almost forgot to take a picture of this Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie

It's so good, I started to gobble it down and then I remembered the camera.  I must not have another.  This is from Natures Express in Berkeley

Bay Area Vegan Listings-A Great Site

Bay Area Vegan is a great site to find Vegan restaurants and Vegetarian Restaurants that are Vegan Friendly.

Roasted Red Pepper Dip-This is off the hook

I'm making this for the garden party if I get it together.

Muhammara

4 Roasted red peppers
2/3 cup fine fresh bread crumbs
1/3 cup walnuts, toasted lightly and chopped fine
2 to 4 garlic cloves, minced and mashed to a paste with 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses*
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a food processor blend together the peppers, the bread crumbs, the walnuts, the garlic, the lemon
juice, the pomegranate molasses, the cumin, the red pepper flakes, and salt to taste until the mixture is
smooth and with the motor running add the oil gradually. Transfer the muhammara to a bowl and serve
it at room temperature with the pita triangles.

Top this with Sumac-Ground lemon peel, dried currants salt and pepper


Toasted pita triangles as an accompaniment

Ta-da...

Chick-Un Curry Wrap-Natures Express

Ok...I went back to Nature's Express (My new favorite vegan restaurant).  Here is a picture of my new favorite wrap.  I understand you can get this in a green leaf.  Nope, can't go there just yet..still need the tortilla.

Fresh Choice

I was at the mall tonight to find a garden party dress for this weekend.  It's a horrible process to go to the mall after a long day at work and try on clothes I will only wear once.  It's 8:00 at night and I'm in a mall.  What is a vegan gal to do?  Cinnabon?-No  Hot Dog on a Stick? -No Fish and Chips?-No

Ahhhhh Fresh Choice. (Only on the West Coast, not sure if there is a place like this elsewhere?)
Wow...what a wonderful selection of foods for vegetarians and vegans.

Check out this menu:
http://www.freshchoice.com/monthly-menu  Most of the prepared salads had no mayo, egg or cheese.

I had to walk by the pizza, and sweet desserts.  But interestingly enough I have not had that huge sugar desire that I normally feel.  So, I was able to walk by those things without too much upset.

Homemade Vegan Meal at Friends

My friend made me a vegan meal last night.  I love living in California because when you tell folks that you're vegan before coming over for dinner, they don't despair, they just whip up this fantastic feast after a hard day at work.  Lucky me.

It's hard to see but it consists of a lentil stew (tasted even better with Bragg's, must buy this soon), Cucumber and Tomato Salad with black sesame seeds and sesame oil.  Asparagus with a little olive oil.  Rice and Pepitas to give it all a little more crunch.


Very yummy and nourishing after a hard day at work.

Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad-Wow, this is a crowd pleaser

This was the first time I ever made Quinoa.  The grain itself does not overwhelm me but when you put together all the ingredients it's a taste explosion.  You get sweet from the sweet potato, the crunch from the Pepitas, the citrus from the lime, the kick from the cayenne, and it's super "de-lish-us"

I made the recipie but decided to take Mark Bittman's suggestion to give it a little more guts and go South West with this dish.  The only ingredient I could not find was Avocado.  They looked terrible in the store so I didn't get it.  It would have made this dish over the top.

Oh yes, I bought sweet potatoes and they were white.  They were still sweet but they were white.  Not sure how that happened?

Now I have to figure out how to use my camera so you can really see this picture.

Curried Brussel Sprouts with Coconut-Yummy!

I think anything is pretty good when Coconut is drenched over it.  


When I decided to make this dish I went through my spice cabinet.  Oops, I guess the only spices I have used in a while have been salt and pepper.  Most of my spices had gone bad in 2005.  So, off to the store to get fresh spices.


This was the first time I ever worked with Mustard seeds.  I think the pan was too hot because I had mustard seed pops all over my kitchen. It burned the mustard seed so I had to start all over again.  


This was served to my friend Evan and he enjoyed it over brown rice flavored with Miso.

Lemony Lentils-Pretty Terrible but transformed into great vegan burgers

I'm so not into this.  I didn't like the way the Lentil smelled while cooking with the the Bay Leaves.  Maybe if I tried tangerine instead of lemons?  I think these bad boys are going to turn into lentil burgers this week.  


How do you create a binder without an egg?  Here it is, I love the internet.

Vegan Lentil Burgers

Submitted by: DENIBREITENBACH


A tasty burger patty that's high in fiber and folate and easy to prepare. Serve on a whole wheat bun with your favorite toppings.

Number of Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked lentils
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1-1/2 cups carrots, finely grated
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1-1/2 cups uncooked oatmeal
1 tsp season salt
1 small onion, finely grated

I didn't have any Oatmeal or carrots so I added a vegan Teriyaki and a little whole wheat flour.  I thought the lemon/teriyaki would be a nice mix.


The transformation:  I liked it enough to make a few more patties and threw them in the freezer for a later time I'm wanting a vegan burger.

What's The Plan?

While eating vegan, I'm going to try to actually cook two new Vegan dishes per week from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman.  In the first part of his book he says that you can choose any of the dishes and it can be served at any meal.  So, I will choose a variation of things every week.


This week


Lemony Lentil Salad pg 75 (I'm choosing this first because I'm put off my lentils and I need to give it a try)


also


Brussels Sprouts in Coconut Milk pg 274

also.
I have some Sweet Potatoes so I will try a dish with Quinoa...

My New Favorite Restaurant

I did a little research about where to eat in Northern California now that I'm Vegan and all.  In the first week of my quest, I found myself at Natures Express  two times.

I'm excited that it's close to a few of my clients. If I have not been good about bringing my lunch I will end up here.  

This place is Delicious (pronounced) D-LISH-US (with lot's of saliva surrounding your tonge as you say it!!)

First things I tried with my clients:

Classic Rewind $5.25 Lentil patty, romaine, tomatoes, onions, pickles, NE  vegan mayo, mustard, and  ketchup 
Curried Chik-un  Wrap $6.75 A salad of orange curry Chik-un with apples,walnuts, raisins,celery,grapes (seasonally),mixed greens and cabbage slaw
Air Baked Fries $1.95Classic potato wedges or sweet potato fries
Grilled Mac n’ Cheeze $4.75Rich, creamy, and cheeseless, topped with walnut parm
Back to Your Roots $4.95 Beet, carrot, celery, apple, ginger, lemon

I didn't take any pictures but you get the feel for it from the pictures on their site.  


Oh yes, I tried an excellent Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie.  Going to try to forget them...

Why Start Being a Vegan Now?

Well, nothing else has worked to date.  I gave up steak about 20 years ago.  My neighbors got some chickens and it put me off to eat chicken while looking at a a chicken.    So, I gave up chicken about 5 years ago and I called myself a vegetarian.   That was easy but I was still eating, eggs, and fish which did not really feel right. Also, my idea of being a vegetarian was to eat some fruits and vegetables on occasion but my primary food choice (if I'm being totally honest with you) was bread and cheese. 

I was on my way to see a dietitian to discuss my diet and my uncle called.  He tells me he has been a vegan for a year and has never felt better.  He rattles off some dishes and tells me I should try them.  He followed this up with an e-mail with a list of things he likes to eat on a regular basis.  So, for a week I have been a vegan following his food guidelines.    As a gift, he sent, How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman.  This beautiful bright green book arrived and I feel compelled to actually read it and try this thing out.

I think vegan is a great idea so far because I never really felt right giving up all other living creatures while still eating fish.  I also like the idea of giving up milk cheese and other types of milk products.  I think I will eat less bread if I have less cheese to smear on it.  We shall see.  

I want to reduce the amount of sugar I consume too-for health reasons.

So, all this to say that I'm on a journey to turn over a new leafy green vegetable, put some Hummus on it and see what happens.