Szechuan Cabbage, Spinach and Mushrooms

Delicious szechuan cabbage recipe from The Complete Vegan Kitchen cookbook. Served over brown rice with Sriracha hot sauce drizzled on top.

Soup, Salad, Sandwich and a Coffee Cake.

You guys probably know that I don't go for fancy recipes with too many ingredients or time consuming methods that keep me in the kitchen too long. I really enjoy simple food that's not fussy and requires a minimal amount of time, maybe an hour tops. As long as it's good food, I'm happy. Here are a few things I made this past week.

This is a pureed soup I've been making almost every week. It always includes a base of either red lentils or mung beans, some kind of green vegetable (spinach, kale, broccoli, zucchini), onions, carrots, a tomato, sometimes a sweet potato if I have it, and a vegetable broth, miso paste, and spices, usually hot curry powder and cumin. Boil it all up and then blend the heck out of it. Here it is drizzled with flax oil and lemon juice. So good!

A delicious salad of spinach, dino kale, red peppers, red onion, pecans, almonds, cranberries and dressed with lemon vinaigrette.

Reuben sandwich made with Yves veggie bologna, Daiya cheddar, tomato, wine kraut and homemade russian dressing on whole grain bread.

Yummeh.

This is the East Coast Coffee Cake recipe from Vegan Brunch cookbook. I made the version where you mix in jam. I mixed in cranberry sauce.

My 6th Vegan Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving internet! As you can see, I had a good one. Spent it with my parents, husband, brother and his girlfriend. We ate lots and had very good wine. I was lazy this year and only took a photo of my plate but if you were to look back at my older Thanksgiving posts, there are better pics of pretty much the same foods. On the plate: Tofurky roast with orange herb gravy and cranberry sauce, Susan V's green bean casserole, Brian McCarthy's herb stuffing, mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy, dijon glazed carrots, roasted butternut squash and roasted brussels sprouts.

Giving thanks to my family, friends- old and new, and for everything I have and for everything that I have learned along the way. Looking forward to growing and moving forward in my life, with the support of all the people I love. Have a great holiday!

Long time no blog...here's a soup recipe.

Trying to get back into blogging. Things have been kind of dull around here. No sweet puppy to come home to anymore. I haven't been motivated to do much more than go to work, come home, shower and make very simple dinners that don't require much effort, ingredients or time. These past couple of weeks I've been focusing on soup because throwing things into one pot and walking away while dinner cooks itself is so appealing right now. I've been inspired by the soups on Fran's Ayurvedic blog. The one I made tonight is just a variation of what I've been doing the past two weeks. Whatever veggies I have on hand goes into the pot. It always turns out tasty.

Pureed Veggie and Lentil Soup With Pumpkin

1/4 to 1/2 cup mung dal (split mung beans)
2-3 cups chopped kale leaves
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp yellow mild curry powder
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 cup pureed pure pumpkin from a can (ingredients should be just: pumpkin)
salt and pepper to taste

Put lentils and vegetables, (except pumpkin) in a pot. Add water to cover about 1" above the vegetables. Bring to a boil. Add spices/seasonings, stir and lower heat to medium and cover. Cook until all vegetables are tender and lentils are mushy. Blend half of the soup and pour back into the pot while simmering on low. Add the pureed pumpkin and stir well to incorporate. This will thicken up the soup. Simmer until heated through. Adjust spices and salt/pepper as needed. Serve with a drizzle of tahini and a squeeze of lemon.

I miss you Buster.

A week ago today, my family and I took Buster on his last car ride to the vet and in a small exam room we said goodbye and "I Love You" for perhaps the millionth time to our dear baby. I never talked about it much on my blog, but Buster had been sick for quite some time. The cancer had pretty much spread throughout his body in the past few months and in the past two or three weeks, we had been noticing a decline. The last days of his life, he was definitely not his bouncy and energetic self and we could see that he was just tired of it all. It was then we made the decision to not let him suffer any longer. He still had his dignity in the end. We love him and miss him so much. The photo above was taken on his last day. Still the most beautiful dog I've ever seen!

Rest in Peace Buster Brown. 2001-2012.

PS. It's because of you Buster that I'm vegan.

Mushroom Risotto

Made mushroom risotto tonight and it was FAB! Thanks to my cousin Wendy for helping me stir (and stir, and stir and stir....). I used the recipe here. I veganized it of course and changed a few things around. My substitutions:
Veggie broth instead of chicken broth
4-5 TB of olive oil instead of 3
Cremini mushrooms, 1 carton (instead of white mushrooms/portobello combo)
1 small onion, chopped instead of shallots
red wine instead of white
2 TB Earth Balance margarine instead of butter

The risotto was so creamy and rich. I served it with a spinach/arugula salad with cranberries, walnuts and poppyseed dressing.

Chinese "Chicken" Salad.

Made with romaine, red/yellow bell pepper, celery, carrots, red onion, cilantro, chow mein noodles and Gardein chipotle lime crispy fingers!

Tossed with creamy sesame dressing.