Refried Bean Tacos with Chipotle Corn Salsa

Made a big pot of refried beans today from scratch. They are unbelievable! I don't like to buy refried beans in a can anymore. I used the beans to make tacos with corn tortillas, Daiya vegan cheese and a chipotle corn salsa. I also added a spicy habanero hot sauce that set my mouth on fire!

Chipotle Corn Salsa

1 14oz. can golden corn (no sugar added), drained or use frozen thawed corn
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1/8 tsp. cayenne
juice of a small lime
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley or cilantro (I used dried parsley because that's all I had)

Mix all together and chill until ready to use.

Dogs, Beer and Baseball.

Watched a great game today (Dodgers vs. Tigers) while enjoying my dogs and beer. It got really nervewracking in the 9th but we pulled through! Go Blue! I made Lightlife Smart Dogs which are the same kind they use at Dodger stadium. All vegan and fat free to boot!


Washed it all down with a cold brew. Chili Beer is a spicy beer with a real chili inside! I love this beer though I've heard not many people like it. Guess it's an acquired taste.

Veggie Stirfry

Simple veggie stirfry with broccoli, red peppers, gai-lan, napa cabbage, carrots and baby corns. The stirfry sauce was a mixture of water, vegetarian mushroom stirfry sauce, korean bbq sauce, rice vinegar and a bit of cornstarch and sugar.

Lentil Massaman Curry

I had a chunk of Thai massaman curry paste in the freezer that I wanted to use up so I made this beautiful curry that has lentils, eggplant, potatoes, red bell peppers and peas. This is dinner tonight paired with Thai jasmine rice.

Pita Sandwich, Nectarine Cake and more Lake Cuomo Pasta

Made this simple sandwich for lunch today of which I could only eat half. Hummus, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and pickled turnips in a whole wheat pita.


We got fresh nectarines from my uncle's backyard so I made this nectarine cake. I just used a basic vanilla cake recipe and added about a cup of chopped nectarines to the batter. I also used spelt instead of all purpose flour.


I so enjoyed the Lake Cuomo pasta I made yesterday that I made it again, this time making the full recipe.


I used broccoli instead of zucchini this time. This will be lunch for most of the week.

Weekend Cooking: Bruschetta, Dijon Potato Salad and Lake Cuomo Pasta

We're going to be enjoying a picnic al fresco later on this evening so I got some fresh baguettes and made this beautiful bruschetta with cherry tomatoes, roasted red peppers and fresh basil.


And what's a picnic without potato salad? I made this dijon potato salad that has dill, capers, pickles and pepperoncini in a dijon/olive oil/lemon/vegenaise based dressing.


Say hello to my cute 2.5 qt. dutch oven! I picked up this baby at Cost Plus World Market last night for a good deal and was very eager to make something in it! I decided on this Lake Cuomo Pasta recipe but halved it and instead of ricotta cheese I made a mixture of crumbled tofu mixed with italian herbs, garlic, red pepper flakes and a touch of miso paste.


So I layered everything in there: pasta, juice from tomatoes plus water, olive oil, salt/pepper, tomatoes/basil, veggies, tofu ricotta and more veggies. It went into the oven for an hour.


And out of the oven! A half recipe really makes a small batch so next time I should add a little more of everything.


I mixed the pasta before serving to get all the ingredients to blend together.


Ta da! This was so good. It was kind of like lasagna, creamy and rich. I loved it! Can't wait to make more!

Banana Molasses Bread

Look what I made last night! I would have taken a photo of the whole loaf but a lot of it is gone already! I based it off of this recipe. I didn't have Sucanat so I used regular unrefined sugar and added some blackstrap molasses for color. I also used spelt flour and omitted the chocolate chips. It came out so moist and amazing. This will be my go-to banana bread from now on.