Weekend eating.

Another visit to El Arco Iris in Highland Park.

Potato tacos, no cheese.

Donut Friend!!! Top two are Custard Front Drive. Bottom left Panda Berry and bottom right Nutellavision (this one was not vegan for my husband).

C&O Cucina: penne arrabiatta. Yum.

Homemade dessert: whole wheat pancakes layered with berry compote and coco whip. My sweet tooth is outa control! I am 19 weeks pregnant (surprise!) so I must watch my sugar intake!!!

El Arco Iris, Galco's Grocery and Donut Friend

Went to Highland Park to get Mexican food, sodas and donuts, in that order! El Arco Iris has been there since the 60's I think!

Vegan burrito on the menu filled with rice, beans, calabacitas and guacamole topped with red sauce (sauce was my request.)

Galco's sells a gigantic assortment of retro sodas and also beers and wines. Fab selection!

Donut Friend has mostly vegan donuts in the most exciting flavor combos.

Top: Nutellavision (not vegan- for hubby), Strawberry So Far, S'Morrissey

Bottom: Cinnamineral, Custard Front Drive, Bacon 182

Enchilada Chili Casserole.

For the filling, I made a pinto bean and sweet potato chili with zucchini and peppers. I let it thicken up before making this casserole. I layered corn tortillas with the filling, red chili sauce, enchilada sauce, Daiya cheddar and topped with more sauce, blobs of Vegenaise, more Daiya and olives.

Also made a side of mexican rice. Yummy!

Tacomiendo burrito, fried rice and CAKE!

A gigantic veggie burrito from Tacomiendo. It was filled with loads of grilled veggies, black beans, rice and avocado. I order it without cheese and sour cream. I enjoyed this the other night while watching a few episodes of Ozzie and Harriet on dvd.

So I was in the mood for fried rice the other day. I sauteed some veggies and tofu in peanut oil.

Added cooked rice, soy sauce, ketchup and black pepper.

And made a scrummy bowl of fried rice that I like to top with Sriracha, scallions and a squeeze of lime juice. I made this two days in a row.

Cake craving! I used the two ingredient method: 1 can pure pumpkin + 1 box cake mix. I used yellow cake mix today. Caramelized apples made it all even more delicious.

"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!

Cantalini's Express veggie sandwich and Black Bean Tortilla.

Yesterday, we headed out to a nearby take-out italian place called Cantalini's Express. They make a great roasted vegetable sandwich that had eggplant, zucchini, red bell peppers, mushroom and asparagus. I added the Daiya vegan cheese and got it all melty. So yum!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! This was my delicious black beans that were simmered with onions, tomato, chili powder and cumin on top of a toasted flour tortilla with lettuce, guacamole, hot sauce, lime and Tofutti sour cream. I have a ton of leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

Potato Tacos.

Delicious potato tacos all fried and lovely.

Chilaquiles Casserole and Coffee-Cinnamon Tea Cake

I was craving mexican food this week and waited patiently to make this today. It's loosely based off this recipe. I made my own red sauce (recipe below), added an extra can of black beans, substituted chopped spinach for zucchini and used Daiya vegan cheddar. It turned out really yummy and satisfied my craving.

Red Sauce for Chilaquiles Casserole

Soak 5-6 dried chili peppers in hot tap water for about 20 minutes. I used a combination of anaheim and pasilla.

In a blender combine these ingredients and puree until smooth:
1 14oz. can diced tomatoes
soaked chili peppers and about 1 cup of the soaking liquid (you may add more if sauce is too thick)
2 cloves garlic
small handful of cilantro
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
salt to taste
pinch of sugar


Yum.


I also made a cake today. I used kittee's vanilla cake recipe but used brewed coffee for the liquid part of the batter instead of water. I also added a bit of cinnamon. The coffee flavor didn't come out as much. If I had coffee extract or espresso powder, it would have been better but still this is very good, especially with tea.

Potato & Kale Enchiladas

My friend Cynthia and her mom are wonderful cooks and today I got a recipe to make mole for enchiladas. The mole sauce is very simple to make with dried new mexico and pasilla chiles. Instead of baking the enchiladas in the oven, the tortillas are coated in the sauce, filled with cooked potatoes and kale and then pan fried in a little bit of oil to give a slightly crisp exterior. These are delicious!

Mole recipe from Cynthia's mom:

Ingredients:

Dried New Mexico chiles - about 5 or 6, remove seeds
Dried Pasilla - 1 or 2, remove seeds
1 garlic clove
small handful of cilantro
pinch of dried oregano
salt to taste

-Soak chiles in hot water until soft. (While these are soaking you can make your filling. I just boiled 2 large potatoes and mashed them with sauteed kale and onions and seasoned with salt and pepper.)
-After chiles are softened, blend all mole sauce ingredients together in the blender. (I added most of the water that they were soaking in to help them blend better into a nice thick sauce.)
-Pass mixture through a sieve into a pan.
-Simmer sauce with a little bit of oil for about 10 minutes.

To make enchiladas:

8 corn tortillas, softened in the microwave for about 20 seconds (or you can do this in a dry pan over heat)
olive oil

-Heat a little bit of olive oil in a pan. Dip one tortilla into the mole sauce and coat both sides. Place dipped tortilla on a plate and fill with about 2 TB of potato/kale mixture. Close up tortilla and place into the pan and brown on both sides. Do this with the remaining tortillas until you've used up the filling.


You can see the nice crust it forms from pan frying. Yummy!

Mexican Feast.

Check out this fabulous feast! Chile con "carne" made with tvp chunks simmered in a roasted tomatillo, guajillo and arbol chile, onion, garlic, tomato sauce. And mexican rice and refried beans (with daiya) and tomatillo and avocado salsa! Who says vegans can't have yummy mexican food?


My friend Cynthia came over and taught me how to make all of this. This was my first time using tvp chunks. The texture was very similar to chicken (I think!) and the sauce just made it so mouthwateringly delicious.

Chile Con "Carne"

A dozen tomatillos, husked and cleaned and halved
1-2 dried guajillo chiles
3-4 dried chile de arbol
1 can diced tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups tvp chunks, rehydrated in boiling water and drained

Roast tomatillos in a 400 degree oven until soft and charred a bit.
Roast dried chiles either in a pan over heat or over an open flame with tongs.
Puree tomatillos and dried chiles in a blender. Add one can diced tomatoes and blend.
Heat olive oil in a pan and saute onion and garlic until soft. Add tvp and cook for a few minutes. Season with salt, pepper and cumin. Add puree to the pan and let simmer until heated through. Adjust seasonings to your taste.



Tomatillo and Avocado salsa.

Recipe for salsa

3-4 tomatillos, husked, cleaned and chopped
1/2 jalapeno, seeded
cilantro, as much as you want
pinch of cumin
avocado chunks
a little bit of onion

Puree everything in a blender. Add salt to taste.


Awesome salad with romaine, avocado and a roasted tomato, red onion, dijon dressing.

Salad dressing recipe

1 large tomato, cut into wedges
1/4 red onion, chopped
1-2 tsp dijon mustard
a couple TB of olive oil
1 avocado, cut into chunks
salt and pepper

Roast tomatoes and red onions in a 400 degree oven until soft. Meanwhile whisk dijon and olive oil in a large bowl until combined. Add roasted tomatoes and onions and mash with the dijon and olive oil to create a smooth dressing. Add avocado and combine with dressing. You can mash up some of the avocado if you like. Season with salt and pepper. Add romaine lettuce to the bowl and toss everything together. All these recipes I got from Cynthia.

Potato Tacos and Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

My co-worker Cynthia passed down a recipe for potato tacos that her mom makes. I was very eager to try it. It's very simple. You just boil some potatoes until tender, mash them and add finely chopped onions. Season with salt. This is your filling. I wanted my onion cooked so I sauteed them before I added them to the mashed potato mixture. Fill corn tortillas with the potato mixture and pan fry in oil on both sides until crispy and browned.


She also gave me instructions for simple roasted tomatillo salsa. Take about 8 tomatillos, husked and cleaned. Cut them in half, along with 1/2 an onion, a couple of serrano or jalapeno peppers and a few cloves of garlic. Roast everything on a grill pan over medium high heat that has been lined with foil. Char on both sides and then cover/wrap everything with the foil while they cook over heat. Once the tomatillos are charred and soft, place everything in a blender and pulse to desired consistency. Thin with water if needed. Season with salt and pepper.


Mid bite. I also put some tomato salsa and guacamole in them. YUMMY.

Vegan Ceviche.

Not long ago, our friend Eddie made us vegan posole. Well this week we were treated to this absolutely delicious vegan ceviche! I topped it with homemade salsa, Tofutti Sour Supreme and hot sauce. This was so freaking good!!! Thank you Eddie!

Vegan Posole.

Lucky me! I got to enjoy this delicious, hearty bowl of veggie posole which was made for us by Eddie, a friend of my husband. This beautiful soup made with hominy and meaty soy chunks was topped with fresh shredded cabbage, chopped onions, jalapenos, fresh homemade salsa and lime juice. We enjoyed this very much. Thanks Eddie!

Veggie Tortilla Soup

Yummy tortilla soup with a sprinkling of fried corn tortillas and Daiya vegan cheese. This was really good!

Veggie Tortilla Soup

2 TB olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small zucchini or other summer squash, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 14oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup corn, frozen, fresh or canned
1 14oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp. low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

topping:
corn tortillas, cut into strips and fried in canola or grapeseed oil
lime wedges
Daiya cheese shreds

Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, carrot, red bell pepper, zucchini and celery until semi soft. Add drained tomatoes and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer. Add corn, kidney beans and seasonings. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes until all vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I like to drizzle a little olive oil in at the end for a little more richness. Serve in bowl and top with fried tortilla chips and Daiya cheese.

Chilaquiles Casserole

I was so impressed with the chilaquiles that I made the other day, I wanted to do it again but this time make much more of it. Because I like food in casserole form, I decided to try it that way and bulk it up with more tortilla chips, more sauce and corn kernels. It was so delicious and something that would be an easy weeknight meal. I know that I used a lot of canned stuff here so please feel free to use fresh ingredients if available. I needed dinner quick on the table tonight and I didn't have any fresh produce so I had to resort to my pantry.


We were such in a rush to eat that I forgot to take a photo when it came out of the oven! So here it is after being dug into several times. It doesn't look that bad actually.

Chilaquiles Casserole

2 TB olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 28oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1 15oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15oz. can sweet corn, drained and rinsed
tortilla chips
2 cups vegan cheese (I used the cheddar style Daiya vegan cheese)

1. Saute onions, garlic and green pepper in olive oil until soft.
2. Add tomatoes and spices. Bring to a boil and then simmer on Low for about 10-15 minutes.
3. Spray a medium baking dish with oil. Spread a small amount of tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish. Spread a layer of tortilla chips. Add half the beans and half the corn evenly over the chips. Ladle half the sauce and sprinkle half of the cheese. Repeat with another layer of chips-beans-corn-tomato sauce. Save the other half of the cheese for the end.
4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.
5. Remove foil, turn oven up to 400 degrees F. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top, return to oven and bake uncovered for 5 more minutes or until cheese melts.
6. Serve with avocado chunks and a dollop of Vegenaise or vegan sour cream.