4th of July Food.

A very simple and understated menu: Broiled veggies and mushrooms, baked potato and salad with strawberry/jalapeno/balsamic vinaigrette. I marinated the veggies in a garlic/olive oil/vinegar marinade and broiled them on a skewer. I also made the "Backyard BBQ Sauce" from Veganomicon. I brushed some sauce on the veggies while they were broiling. It was the perfect sauce: tangy, sweet and smoky. This was a perfect meal for today which left lots of room for...(wait for it)...deep fried donuts!


I made these because they remind me of childhood. When I was little, my mom and aunts used to fry up pieces of dough for us kids and we just loved them. They didn't add any sugar or anything but these little nuggets of plain deep fried dough were so good. They were golden and crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside. I remember thinking they must have made their own special dough for this but found out it was actually Pillsbury Crescent refrigerated dough! It's not in the least bit healthy but I decided to go for it and make some today. (the dough is vegan by the way!) I made some plain like I remember and some of the donuts sweet by dipping them in cinnamon and sugar. The sweet ones tasted like churros!


And you have to have a cocktail to enjoy with all of this food. This is seltzer water, sour cherry syrup and vodka!

Jamie Oliver's "Pukkola" Muesli + Enchilada Style Burritos Again!

No need to cook this delicious breakfast! I got this muesli recipe from Jamie Oliver's cookbook "The Naked Chef Takes Off" and I adapted it to be vegan by subbing rice milk for the cow's milk. It only required stirring up the dry ingredients (oats, bran, dried fruit, nuts) the night before, portioning out a bowl, adding grated apple, rice milk and storing in the fridge. Next day I added more rice milk, some banana, cinnamon and I had myself a nutritious breakfast. Try it, you'll like it. Today it worked very well for me because after a long dog walk in the sun, I wanted a cool breakfast, not a hot one. The recipe happens to be posted online here. (I didn't have dates so I used both dark and sultana raisins in mine!)


I enjoyed my breakfast on the patio in the backyard. Was wonderful...


Buster relaxing after a long walk.



I was craving a burrito and lately when it comes to burritos, I've been turning to this "enchilada style" quinoa/bean/veg burrito every time! I do change up the veg or beans depending what's on hand. Today I had spinach and pinto beans. These always come out good. I'm much happier to use quinoa instead of rice as it has a better nutritional content. It's got protein, fiber, iron AND calcium! The topping I used today was tomato sauce flavored with chipotle chili powder and a vegenaise/lime juice drizzle on top. I really like the creaminess of it which reminds me of sour cream. Recipe for burritos here. Feel free to change up the veggies or use a different style of bean.


Here's the filling of quinoa, pintos, spinach and tomatoes. I used canned tomatoes that I accidentally forgot to drain the juice from so this was a little more wet than normal. But still very good.


Oh yeah.

Lentil & Vegetable Soup, Salad.

Lentil and vegetable soup. Recipe is based on the 'Lentil and Escarole Soup' recipe from The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen cookbook but I made a few changes. I added a splash of red wine, a tsp. of red miso paste and used kale instead of escarole. It was very warm and hearty. This is my soup o' the week. I made a lot. To change things up, I mix in about 1/2 cup cooked rice to the bowl. It's even more filling that way.


Yummy salad with green leaf, spinach, carrots, cucumber, sliced apples, walnuts and a tahini based dressing.

Chips n Dip.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Mine was wonderful and I'm so sad it's coming to an end! So many activities the past few days. Thursday night I went out to dinner with my husband to Pomodoro Ristorante in Westwood. I didn't take any pictures of the food but everything I had was delicious. I had a green salad with balsamic and olive oil, fresh fresh bread with more olive oil for dipping and my main was spaghetti pomodoro (fresh tomato, basil, garlic and olive oil). It was all so filling. Friday, my cousins came over to visit and we had tea and sandwiches (again no pics!) but I stuck to the usual tofu salad sandwiches and pb &j with hot hot tea. Saturday I went to a Dodger game with my husband and gorged on veggie dogs (yes, Dodger Stadium carries vegan dogs only on certain levels.) while cheering on my ballclub (they lost, boo.). This morning we went on a beautiful hike in Temescal Canyon and had a yummy picnic afterwards of fresh sandwiches on seeded baguette (sorry no pics!). After our hike, we came home to relax, watch the ballgame with lots of dips and chips. I made the one you see in this post. It's refried beans mixed with the other night's chili, topped with fresh tomato, chopped onions, bell peppers and pepperoncini. Then drizzled with vegenaise mixed with chili powder and lime juice and fresh salsa. Was so good!

Fruity Oatmeal and Asian Salad.

Breakfast: Yummy oatmeal (cooked with water and rice milk) with fresh bananas, nectarines, poppyseeds, cinnamon and a drizzle of agave syrup.


Lunch: Asian salad made with napa cabbage, baby spinach, onions, carrots, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and sliced toasted almonds. Dressing is white miso, cider vinegar, sesame oil, water, sesame seeds and a drop of agave syrup.

Hello There, Taco Salad.

This. Was. Good. Leftover chili on a bed of green leaf lettuce, carrots, green bell peppers, tomatoes and topped with onions, crispy homemade tortilla chips and vegan ranch. Yuuuuuummmmmm! Looking at this now makes me want to make another one.

Chili Dogs! + Bonus Sparky Pic.

There are days when I crave good old comfort foods like soups, stews, casseroles and chili. Today was that day. I almost made a Thai noodle dish but decided to give in to the craving and also use up some hot dog buns I have along with a package of Smart Dog veggie hot dogs. Chili dogs were what I had in mind. I based my chili off of the "East Coast Chili" in Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet but added some stuff, namely green pepper, jalapeno, carrots, cumin, a bit of bbq sauce and omitted the veggie burger crumbles. Great tasting chili on hot dogs bring me back to my childhood in the summer when my cousins and I sat around a table at lunch time stuffing our faces and not talking (my aunt who babysat us never allowed talking at the table). Good times!


I should post more photos of my animals here as they are one of the reasons why I'm veggie. Here's Sparky hanging out outside his cage. He was strangely attracted to these framed tarot cards hanging on our bedroom wall. He's ready to read your fortune! Isn't he just a beauty?