A Good Sandwich.

As you know from past blog posts, I love sandwiches. Sometimes you get lazy and home made sandwiches can be pretty boring but when you put a little effort into it with different breads and good ingredients, they are delicious. Last night I made this sandwich for dinner on russian rye. It has avocado, red bell pepper, cucumber, vegan cashew based cheese (that I made a while ago), sprouts, tomato and vegenaise. I squeezed some lemon and sprinkled salt and pepper. My brother and I shared it. So good!

Cocoa-date truffles, Coffee cooler and Raw "pasta".

I made these last night after coming back from the store with a giant container of deglet noor dates for $5. I processed them in the blender with walnuts, cocoa powder, coconut, vanilla and a pinch of salt. They make very good snacks for your sweet tooth.

Coffee cooler made with coffee, almond milk, chocolate syrup, dates and ice.

I made some sun-dried tomato marinara from Ani Phyo's book and served it on top of thinly sliced zucchini. (I don't have a spiralizer.)

Fresh tomato, sun-dried tomato, olive oil, lemon, garlic, salt and herbs make a very flavorful sauce. The zucchini sliced this way makes me think of Thai papaya salad. I might try that next.

Raw Vegan Wraps.

Healthy wraps for lunch today made with collard greens and zucchini slices as wrappers and two different nut spreads and an assortment of fresh veggies. The spread on the left is the black pepper cashew cheeze (cashews, lemon juice, miso, water, black pepper) from Ani Phyo's raw book. I added yellow miso for some saltiness. The one on the right is the Sun-dried tomato pâté from "You Won't Believe It's Vegan". I didn't have enough sun-dried tomatoes so it's not as red in color but it's got good stuff in it: almonds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, olive oil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice and black olives.

Spinach, Tofu and Potato Curry

I followed the "Chard and New Potato Curry" recipe in the River Cottage Veg cookbook. I substituted spinach and used regular russets and added a bit of cubed tofu. And also instead of yogurt I substituted almond milk. I kept all the spices: garlic, ginger, garam masala, mustard seeds, turmeric etc the same. Delicious!

Simmering away.

This curry goes well with rice, couscous, quinoa or chapati.

Indoor Grilling and Vegan Cheese Making.

Hi folks! I'm back with pure happiness. I love to grill veggies. I usually grill outside on our tiny charcoal bbq but I decided to opt out due to laziness of setting it all up. I have one of those large grill pans that you set on the burners on your stove. Worked just fine except you don't get that charred taste that comes with charcoal grilling. It's ok. I was happy anyway.

Not too bad eh? I grilled some portobellos mushrooms, zucchini, peppers, red onions and cherry tomatoes.

I made some vegan cheese to enjoy with crackers and also to put in sandwiches. I used the Colby cheez recipe from The Ultimate Uncheese cookbook. It's made from cashews, roasted red peppers (I used some ajvar instead), nutritional yeast, tahini, lemon and spices and seasonings. I made the 'cheddar' variation which adds miso paste. It's tasty.

Slices nice too.

This sandwich was ridiculous. I smeared some Vegenaise and garlic spread on russian rye and layered on the cheddar, portobello mushroom and veggies and seared the sandwich on both sides over medium heat. So good!

It's a lovely and relaxing Saturday. Nibbles to nosh!

We love to nosh on delicious spreads that go well with baguettes and crackers. They are especially nice on weekends because we are relaxed and unhurried and martinis are usually on the menu as well.

First up, we have really amazing hummus and garlic spread from Fresh n Nova that find at Whole Foods. So far this is the best packaged hummus for me. I don't know why it's so hard to find good packaged hummus! Below is the garlic spread which is very much like the famous garlic spread at local middle eastern restaurant Zankou Chicken. So garlicky and amazing.

My husband is a runner (I'm more like a "kind-of" runner!) so he was excited to get this book which has both meat and veggie recipes. The vegan recipes are clearly marked which I like. It's a gorgeous book with tempting recipes.

Pretty photos too and clear, concise recipes.

Here is the chickpea spread. I made it pretty much how it was written except I added the juice of a small lemon. It needed some brightness. I also chilled it a bit instead of serving it hot. It's really good!

And a quick olive tapenade made with chopped black and green olives, red onion, white onion, garlic, red wine vinegar and olive oil.

All together now. Let me tell you, it's all scrumptious and vegan! My husband loved it so much he wants it all again tomorrow!