Sunday taco lunch.

On the left, Refried beans and on the right, chipotle lentils. I just cooked some brown lentils up, drained them and then cooked them with onions, peppers, chipotle taco seasoning and tomato paste. Yummy!

All dressed taco topped with lettuce, fresh tomatoes, Daiya cheddar, fresh salsa, Tofutti sour cream and Cholula hot sauce. 

Poirot and burritos.

Got off early so I came home and made rice, cheesy beans, sautéed chipotle tofu and corn salsa to make burritos. Then I plopped myself in front of the tv to watch Poirot. This is the life!

Sauteed tofu with onions and lots of dry spices like chipotle powder, smoked paprika, granulated garlic, mesquite, cumin, salt pepper... and a dash of Bragg's Liquid Aminos.

Burrito bar. From L to R; Corn salsa, cheesy beans (refried beans with some vegan cheese mixed in), sauteed tofu, red rice (just rice cooked with onion, garlic, water and a can of El Pato tomato sauce).

Yum. 

Chipotle Tabasco is soooo good.

Monsieur Poirot using his little grey cells.

15 Minute BBQ Beans on Toast.

Here's a good weeknight meal idea. Saute a small chopped onion, 1/2 a chopped green bell pepper and garlic in oil until soft. Then add some cumin, chili powder, salt, a can of white beans (drained and rinsed), 1 cup of tomato sauce, a couple tablespoons of bbq sauce, a teaspoon of sugar, a squirt of mustard and a spoonful of white vinegar and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve on buttered toast. You're welcome!

Eggplant Bean Stew Burgers!

I had a brainwave at work while eating leftover stew for lunch (pictured above). It had such great flavors of cumin and fennel that I thought it would taste good mashed up as a burger. As soon as I got home, I got to work.

I had about 3 cups of stew leftover which had gotten nice and thick in the fridge overnight. I put it into a big bowl and mashed it up real well. Then I added about 1/2 cup of ground almonds and sunflower seeds that I whizzed up real quick in the blender. Then about 2 cups of whole wheat bread crumbs, a handful of oats and some spices (chipotle chili powder, mesquite and more cumin, salt, pepper). I shaped them into patties and baked in a 375 F oven for 30 minutes, flipping halfway.

I served them with a topping of harissa mayo (just Vegenaise mixed with harissa, which is a Moroccan chili sauce), grilled onions and mushrooms. YUMMY!

Aubergine Fennel and Bean Stew, Kale Salad.

This is the Aubergine (eggplant) Fennel Bean Stew from The Happy Pear cookbook. I adapted mine a bit. Used kidney beans instead of black beans and I had no pumpkin so I used yellow potatoes instead, otherwise the recipe flavors were the same. I love when eggplants get all silky in a stew like this! I loved the fennel, cumin and cardamom flavors.

Served with whole wheat pita.

Mmm.

More kale salad in a tahini based dressing with chickpeas.

Enchilada Casserole & Date-Raisin Muffins.

My go to enchilada casserole. I normally use quinoa but goddamn, is quinoa getting expensive or what? I used couscous instead today. Came out great! Pretty much just sauteed onions, celery, peppers and garlic with herbs and spices (cumin, oregano, chili powder, cayenne), then added a can of diced tomatoes, 1 can of black beans, chopped zucchini and asparagus. After the veggies were tender, I added cooked couscous (1/2 cup dry) and mixed it all together. Then I layered the mixture with flour tortillas and tomato sauce in a baking dish, then topped with more tomato sauce, Daiya cheese and vegenaise. I used El Pato tomato sauce which is spicy. Then I baked it at 350 F for 45 minutes.

Topped with guacamole and fresh salsa.

Date and Raisin muffins. The raisins are in there somewhere. The dates are in the puree. I used this no sugar, fruit sweeteened muffin recipe. I chickened out and added a little bit of sugar to the batter. I also added a handful of 10 grain cereal, a bit of blackstrap molasses and sultanas. I'm still on the lookout for a vegan sticky bran muffin recipe. I wanted something like that today but didn't have any bran lying around.

Healthy Bean Dip.

Not watching the game but I got dip! This is a healthier version of layered dip. We got refried beans, olives, red bell pepper, tomato, avocado, pickled jalapenos, scallions and vegan mayo mixed with lime juice. So yummy!

Overcast Chili.

The heatwave we've been having in L.A. finally broke and we are now feeling a bit cooler. This weekend has been a bit overcast at times and it made me want to make something hearty and comforting. A chili was in order. I used my fave recipe from Vegan Planet, East Coast chili. I tried out Gardein's brand of veggie ground which was excellent. So glad I have this brand to turn to after Morningstar Farms changed most of their vegan offerings into vegetarian which annoyed me. I loved the texture of this veggie ground. The chili was hearty and meaty without the meat!

Grocery shopping, Pantry items and Leek & Cheese Toastie & Agave Roasted Cherry Tomatoes.

My 99 cents store finds today. Lots of canned beans and a few produce items.

Nayonaise whipped for 99 cents! This stuff is good. Tastes like Miracle Whip. I don't know if it's a popular flavor. They may be discontinuing it.

A well stocked pantry is serious business.

I also stopped at Cost Plus World Market and bought more pantry items. Martini onions, a couple of Moroccan items, capers, HP Sauce, Curry ketchup, crackers and rich tea biscuits...I love it when you only need one thing but end up buying a bunch of other stuff. Recreational food shopping FTW.

Fentiman's cola is so good!

After unpacking all of my purchases, I proceeded to make the Leek and Cheese Toastie from River Cottage Veg cookbook. I subbed Daiya for the cheese and almond milk for the cream. It turned out perfect. It's very rich. The combination of sweet leeks and cheese on the toasted bread made a very satisfying lunch.

Also from the same cookbook, I made the Honey Roasted Cherry Tomatoes but instead of honey I used agave. Also very delicious on toast. The agave lends a very light sweetness.

Marinated Beans, Artichoke-Black Olive and Tomato Bruschetta and Eggless Chocolate Cake.

When you have a nice baguette or a box of water crackers or a package of pita bread or lavash, you must have lovely things to eat them with like hummus, vegan cheese (Daiya havarti jalapeno is my choice!) and the following two salads. I made a simple batch of marinated garbanzo and white beans. Two cans of beans get to marinated in lots of olive oil, garlic, a bit of chopped onion, white wine vinegar, parsley and italian herbs.

Next up, I made the Artichoke, black olive and tomato bruschetta from the Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen cookbook. This book is amazing. So many great ideas like this. I must remember to use this book more often.

For dessert, an eggless chocolate cake made with tofu. I don't normally make cakes with tofu in them but I had half a block of tofu hanging out in my fridge that I wanted to use up. I made a quick chocolate glaze/icing on the stove with cocoa powder, margarine, vanilla and powdered sugar. Sprinkles for color.

Gotta have ice cream with your cake! To be honest, I'm not a fan of tofu in vegan cakes. I get that it is trying to substitute for eggs but it really doesn't need tofu at all. The texture is more dense and "eggy" and not light and fluffy like the normal vegan cakes I make.

"Get Well Soon, Paul!" cupcakes and other weekend foods.

So the love of my life, Paul McCartney got ill the day after he arrived in Japan a little over a week ago. He was so ill that he canceled the entire asian leg of his tour. You can imagine how worried I've been! We need you to be well Macca! I forget that he is almost 72 years old. He is normally so bouncy and energetic that I can't fathom him ever being sick. And Paul hardly ever cancels shows so to hear that five shows were canceled was pretty alarming. I made some vanilla cupcakes today with chocolate icing to wish Paul a speedy recovery. So far his people have said that he is definitely recovering. I hope he gets lots of rest. I'm seeing him at Dodger Stadium this August so I am very excited.

I used kittee's moist vanilla cake recipe and a chocolate icing recipe from The Complete Vegan Kitchen cookbook. I used Ghirardelli chocolate in my icing. Yummy.

Keeping the McCartney theme, this is Mary McCartney's pan fried cheese, tomato and onion sandwich. I used Daiya vegan cheese for gooey meltiness.

Crockpot pinto beans from scratch. Just a bit of onion, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper and liquid smoke for seasoning.

Tostada with pico de gallo, avocado and hot sauce. So delicious!

A Bowl of Chili.

I was in the mood for a bowl of chili today even though it was almost 90 degrees out. It has pinto beans, soy chunks, onions, zucchini and carrots. It was delicious! I topped it with a dollop of Tofutti sour cream to extinguish some of the heat. I don't think it worked because I managed to burn my tongue!

Cheezy Enchilada Casserole & Lemon Loaf Cake

My love for casseroles will never die. Today I made an adapted version of Bob Barker's vegan enchilada casserole which you can find here. I forgot to top it with Fritos at the end, bah! But it's ok it was still amazing. I used black and pinto beans along with a package of veggie ground from Helen's Kitchen. I also added a lot of sauteed peppers and onions. And for the cheese, I used Pepper Jack Daiya vegan shreds.

So good with homemade guacamole.

And a dessert to celebrate the weekend: lemon scented vanilla cake with lemon icing. This cake recipe uses olive oil which I find makes cakes very very moist.

Vanilla Lemon Loaf Cake
1-1/2 cups flour
1 cup unrefined sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup almond milk
1/3 cup regular olive oil
1 TB grated lemon zest
1 TB cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a loaf pan with oil. Sift dry ingredients into a bowl. Add wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake about 30-35 minutes or until toothpick test comes out clean. Let it cool for 5-10 minutes. Poke holes in cake with a wooden skewer. Make icing and pour over cake.
Lemon Icing
1/2 to 1 cup powdered sugar
2-4 TB lemon juice
Mix until smooth and thick, but pourable. You may add more sugar or lemon juice until you get the right consistency.

Bean Tostada and a Grain Bowl.

Today's lunch was a delicious tostada that had refried black beans, corn, sauteed garlic kale and potatoes and avocado.

I also prepared a grain bowl for my lunch tomorrow. Quinoa, spinach, sauteed tofu, yellow tomatoes, sweet potato, cranberries and miso tahini dressing.

Another Casserole! (And A Salad too.)

This casserole making is getting out of hand! But since we are heading towards fall, don't you think comforting foods that bubble and bake away in a hot oven sound appealing? This "Chilaquiles Casserole" is based off of this recipe. I didn't use enchilada sauce, instead I used one can of tomato sauce mixed with one can of El Pato sauce. I also used Daiya pepper jack vegan cheese and added an extra can of beans to the filling. Mmm, mmm good. I love cheesy and saucy food. I'll have seconds, please!

This was my dinner last night. A giant bowl of salad with sauteed tofu and other good stuff. Tossed with sesame oil, lemon and soy sauce.

Daiya Wedge Quesadilla and Pasta E Fagioli.

I bought a product called "Daiya Wedge" today in the jack flavor. I've bought Daiya shreds before but never this. It's basically a compact wedge of Daiya that you can slice and use how you wish. It melts nicely. I made a gooey quesadilla with roasted red peppers.

This is the pasta e fagioli recipe from Urban Vegan cookbook. I pared down the recipe because I was cooking for one so I think my liquid to pasta/beans recipe was a little off. Normally I like it more soupy. But this was still excellent. I added sauteed onion, celery and carrots to mine. I topped it with Parmezano Sprinkles, which is a parmesan cheese substititue that contains cashews, miso paste, nutritional yeast, and salt.