Peanut Butter Smoothie

Monday, November 21, 2016 - Lunch
Peanut Butter Smoothie (Recipe from Mayim's Vegan Table by Mayim Bialik)

This smoothie was pretty good. It was my second attempt at this recipe, this time without the optional spinach (see earlier post). It was much better this way. The only change I might make, if I were to try it again, would be to add a little extra almond milk to thin the consistency; it was a little thick, but still tasty and filling.

Pumpkin Curry

Sunday, October 23, 2016 - Dinner
Pumpkin Curry  (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This pumpkin curry was delicious, and perfect for a cool fall day.  I made it a little spicier than the recipe suggested, and it was nice and hot with a hint of sweetness.  The only thing that made it a little weird was the texture of the coconut - at first, I thought that the lentils were undercooked, but it was just pieces of coconut.  Perhaps next time I could blend the coconut before adding it to the curry sauce.  This curry dish was tasty and satisfying, and it made 10 servings, so I have plenty of leftovers for lunches!  

African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew

Saturday, September 3, 2016 - Dinner
African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

I've been wanting to make this recipe for a while, so as soon as my local farm had fresh sweet potatoes, I jumped at the chance to cook up this stew.  I was not disappointed.  The stew smelled delicious while it was cooking, and it tasted fantastic.

It reminded me a little of the Saffron-spiked Moroccan Stew, but while that was sweet and spicy, this one was a hearty stew with a strong peanut flavor and a hint of sweetness.

I served the stew over couscous, per the cookbook's recommendation, and added some texture and made this meal even more filling and satisfying.

Warm Spinach Salad

Monday, August 22, 2016 - Dinner
Warm Spinach Salad (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This salad was delicious!  It was quick and easy to make.  The recipe name is a bit of a misnomer: the spinach is cold, with warm balsamic dressing poured on top.  The dressing only took a few minutes to cook on the stove, while the pecans toasted in the toaster oven.  I don't normally like raw red onions, but when they absorbed the warm dressing, their texture and flavor turned out great.  I have a lot of leftover dressing (the recipe made 6 servings), so I'm planning to try it cold as well as reheated.  It might also be good as a marinade.

Peanut Butter Smoothie

Monday, August 22, 2016
Peanut Butter Smoothie (Recipe from Mayim's Vegan Table by Mayim Bialik)

I did not like this smoothie at all.  It was very thick, strong on the peanut butter / banana flavor, and the (optional) spinach did not go well with the other flavors, in my opinion.  I may try it again some other time - without the spinach - but there were other smoothies from this cookbook that were much, much better.

Cornmeal-Crusted Tempeh with Orange Ginger Sauce

Sunday, August 22, 2016 - Dinner
Cornmeal-Crusted Tempeh with Orange Ginger Sauce (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This dish turned out well - the tempeh was tender with a crunchy cornmeal crust, and the sauce was really good.  This was probably my most successful attempt at breading something - it came out perfectly.  It was a bit messy to make, and it took a little while, but it was worth it.  

The flavors in the sauce didn't seem like they would all go together (oranges, onions, capers, garlic, ginger), but the sauce turned out to be very good.  I had a lot left over, which would probably taste good on some frozen chik'n nuggets to make orange ginger "chicken."

"Chicken" Parmigiana

Saturday, August 13, 2016 - Lunch
Skillet "Chicken" Parmigiana (Recipe from Betty Crocker Easy Everyday Vegetarian)

This is a recipe I started making over 10 years ago.  Like many of the other recipes from this cookbook, it's a simple combination of mostly store-bought ingredients.  I used Boca brand vegan breaded "chicken" patties.  I melted some lactose-free (but non-vegan) cheese on one of the two patties.  This recipe could easily be made vegan without cheese, or using vegan cheese.  This is a quick recipe that is easy to make, filling, and tastes good.

Boston Baked Beans

Sunday, August 7, 2016 - Dinner
Boston Baked Beans (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

These beans were delicious!  They tasted as good as (or better than) canned, name-brand beans.  They were pretty simple to make, with only a few ingredients to mix together and bake.  It could be even faster with canned navy beans, instead of starting from dry beans.

The photos didn't come out as well as I would have liked.  Originally, I was planning to make the baked beans for a meal with corn on the cob and green beans.  The summer feast would have made for a better photo than the beans alone, with a little more color.

I would definitely make these again -- they were fantastic.

Mexican Tofu-Rice Skillet

Saturday, August 7, 2016 - Lunch
Mexican Tofu-Rice Skillet (Recipe from Betty Crocker Easy Everyday Vegetarian)

This is a dish I've been making for over 10 years, from the very first vegetarian cookbook I ever owned.  This dish is tasty and filling, and though you don't usually think of tofu in Mexican or other Hispanic dishes, it is a great combination.  The recipe makes 4+ servings, so there are always leftovers for lunches during the week.

Most of the recipes I've made for the blog are completely "from scratch," using only fresh ingredients and whole foods.  This Betty Crocker cookbook lives up to its name, as the "easy" recipes tend to be quick, simple dishes which often use store-bought, pre-packaged ingredients.  For example, this recipe calls for canned tomatoes with chili peppers and a packaged spanish rice mix.  This makes the recipe quick and easy, but it can also add a lot of salt and processed ingredients, so I don't use this cookbook as often as did a few years ago.  There are still a few favorite dishes - like this one - that I make fairly regularly.

Falafel Burgers

Saturday, July 23, 2016 - Lunch
Falafel Burgers (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

These chickpea and parsley burgers were tasty.  I have made them before, and I usually cook them in a skillet with a little oil.  This time, I baked them in the oven according to the recipe directions.  I modified the recipe slightly, to use less onion and slightly less garlic than suggested.  I also added water to the mixture to help form it into burger patties - otherwise they would have been too dry.  Even so, they crumbled during baking and when I tried to flip them part way through the baking time.  The crumbly burgers were a little messy on a bun, but actually worked well in pita sandwiches, because they spread out in the pockets and allowed more room for veggies without ripping the bread.  

The recipe had an accompanying recipe for vegan tzatziki sauce (a cucumber / sesame yogurt sauce), but the store only had vanilla soy yogurt, instead of plain, and it might have been weird with the sweetness of vanilla.  I'd like to try making the sauce eventually.

Chickpea Salad

Saturday, June 25, 2016 - Lunch
Better-Than-Tuna Salad (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This salad was fantastic.  It didn't taste anything like tuna (which is perfectly fine with me), although the texture of the mashed chickpeas was similar to shredded tuna.  The recipe said that the salad could be made with whole chickpeas instead, but it recommended mashing them for texture and to help it hold together better for sandwiches.  The next time I make this, I might skip the effort of mashing the chickpeas and use them whole, because I ate much of the salad by itself (instead of on sandwiches), and I could easily make pita-pocket sandwich to hold the salad.

The salad had a few ingredients that I'm not used to seeing in a tuna salad - like carrots, red bell peppers, and walnuts - in addition to the more traditional celery.  I plan to make this salad again - it would be great for summer cookouts!

Smokin' BBQ Tofu

Saturday, June 18, 2016 - Lunch
Smokin' BBQ Tofu (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This was a great post-run lunch on a hot summer day.  The recipe called for the tofu to be pan-fried, with a little oil, then baked with a thick covering of sweet and spicy barbecue sauce.  The tofu was crispy and fluffy, tasty and filling.  I used store-bought barbecue sauce, but I'd like to try the recommended recipe from this cookbook.  I will definitely make this recipe again - it was simple and delicious!

Tofu Benedict with Chipotle Cream

Sunday, June 5, 2016 - Lunch
Tofu Benedict with Chipotle Cream (Recipe from Vegan Cooking for Carnivores by Roberto Martin)

I've never had eggs benedict, so I don't know how it compares, but I enjoyed this tofu benedict recipe.  Instead of hollandaise sauce, the patties were topped with chipotle cream, a vegan chipotle mayo sauce.  I made a couple slight modifications to the recipe from the cookbook - I omitted the red bell peppers in the patties, since I didn't have any in the house, and I used english muffins instead of bread for the base.  The dish turned out well.  The tofu patties tasted good, and crumbled easily like scrambled eggs.  The flavor was good, and the charred tomatoes complemented the spices and herbs in the tofu patties.

Tofu Egg Salad

Sunday, May 22, 2016 - Lunch
Tofu Egg Salad (Recipe from Vegan Cooking for Carnivores by Roberto Martin)

I've never really loved egg salad, so I was not sure what I would think about this recipe, but I was pleasantly surprised.  It tasted very similar to egg salad, in my opinion, and although I don't think I'll eat much of the leftovers, I enjoyed my sandwich.  My husband was skeptical of the substitution of tofu for eggs, but he liked it, and said it reminded him of the sandwiches his family would eat as a picnic lunch on vacations when he was a kid.  Today was a great day for a summer meal, and I think this recipe would be fitting for a summer picnic or barbecue.  

Outrageous Granola

Saturday, April 23, 2016
Outrageous Granola (Recipe from Mayim's Vegan Table by Mayim Bialik)

This granola turned out perfectly. It was crunchy and delicious, and relatively simple to make. I made the granola on Saturday afternoon to eat for breakfast on Sunday. It smelled delicious as it was baking, filling the whole house with the scent of toasted oats, nuts, and maple.

I sampled some of the granola on Saturday evening, and saved the rest for later. It was great by itself, and it made a fantastic cereal - topped with almond milk - for Sunday morning breakfast.  It would also be good on top of yogurt.

This recipe is a new favorite, and it would be easy to modify the types of nuts and dried fruit to try different flavor combinations.  

Homemade Tofu Scramble

Sunday, February 28, 2016 - Lunch
Homemade Tofu Scramble (my recipe)

I threw this together with the ingredients I had available in the fridge.  The dish was filling, and it tasted really good.  It was a great post-run meal.

Ingredients:
1 brick extra-firm tofu
Half a large yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Anaheim or other mild chili pepper, diced
Half a red bell pepper, diced
Paprika (~2 tsp?)
Nutritional yeast flakes (~1 tsp?)
Salt and black pepper
1/4 cup fresh chopped Italian parsley
Tabasco sauce (Smoked Chipotle flavor or regular)

Press tofu between towels to remove moisture.  Crumble tofu into pieces in a bowl.
Saute onion, garlic, and peppers in a small amount of water in a large skillet.
When peppers are softened and onions are translucent, add tofu and spices.  Cook 5-10 minutes, then add parsley and Tabasco and cook a couple more minutes.

Southwestern Tofu Burgers

Saturday, February 13, 2016 - Dinner
Southwestern Tofu Burgers (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

These burgers were fantastic.  The recipe was one of the easiest homemade burger recipes I've tried.  The only hassle was having to freeze then thaw the tofu in advance, but it was worth it for the texture and consistency that it yielded.  These burgers were easy to form into patties, stayed together while cooking, and didn't crumble while eating.  They tasted great too - the mixture of tofu, peppers, corn, and spices was tasty, and a dollop of salsa on top was the finishing touch.

Quinoa and Corn Medley

Sunday, Februray 7, 2016 - Lunch
Quinoa and Corn Medley (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This recipe was quick and easy -- it took less than 45 minutes, including prep time to chop all the vegetables and herbs.  The finished product was filling and tasted great, and since the recipe made 6 large servings, there are plenty of leftovers for lunch this week.  I really liked the mixture of Latin and Mediterranean flavors: the quinoa, corn, lemon, and parsley complemented one another well.  This is one of my new favorite quinoa recipes!

Masoor Dal (red lentils)

Sunday, January 31, 2016 - Lunch

Masoor Dal (red lentils) - Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

This is a quick and easy curry that can be made even more spicy by simply adding extra cayenne pepper.

I only made a half batch (4-5 servings instead of 8-10), because I made several dishes as part of a big Indian feast for lunch.

Served with: basmati rice, Chana Masala (curried chickpeas), and Naan (leavened North Indian bread)

Chana Masala (Curried Chickpeas)

Sunday, January 31, 2016 - Lunch

Chana Masala (Curried Chickpeas) - Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

This is one of my favorite recipes from this cookbook.  Chana Masala is a mild chickpea curry - the perfect mixture of savory and spicy, with a hint of sweetness.   It was delicious and satisfying.  I only made a half batch (4-5 servings instead of 8-10), because I made several dishes as part of a big Indian feast for lunch.  It was tasty and filling, and there are plenty of leftovers for the rest of the week.

Served with: basmati rice, Masoor Dal (red lentil curry), and Naan (leavened North Indian bread)