Amazing Sandwich.

I have Mary McCartney's book FOOD to thank for this taste combination in a sandwich: hummus, avocado, lemon juice, chili jam (or sweet chili sauce if you can't find chili jam) and salad greens (spinach in this case) on seeded bread. Amazing flavor!

Once a year lasagna!

I only make this once a year and I have no idea why! It's so delicious! This one has almond-tofu ricotta, spinach, peppers, mushrooms, onions, Follow Your Heart vegan cheese and tomato herb sauce.

I have to say that Follow your Heart cheese is better than Daiya for something like this. It melts without getting goopy like Daiya and it's milder in taste which works.

Recipe:

2 TB olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp. chopped garlic
1 container cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 bag of baby spinach
1 jar of marinara sauce (Whole Foods tomato herb)
1 recipe of almond tofu ricotta (see recipe below)
12 lasagna noodles
1 bag of Vegan Follow Your Heart mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta as per directions. Add a little oil to the boiling water so pasta doesn't stick together. When finished cooking, drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, saute onion, garlic, peppers and mushrooms in olive oil in a pot. Season with salt and pepper. Add spinach and saute briefly until it wilts just a little bit. (Another option is to add the spinach raw while you are layering the lasagna.)
Coat a lasagna pan with some red sauce. Layer 4 noodles, half of the ricotta, then one half of the veggies, a little cheese and a little sauce, continue layering the same way until you end up with noodles. Pour the remaining sauce over and top it with the cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350F for 1 hour.

Almond Tofu ricotta (adapted from the cashew ricotta from Veganomicon):
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 TB olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 container of firm tofu, drained
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp italian herb blend (or just dried basil)
Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor until creamy.

Mushrooms on toast, TV dinner and Homemade energy bars!

One of my favorite snacks and comfort foods. Saucy mushrooms and tomatoes on toast. Recipe by Mary McCartney.

Gardein "meatloaf", mash, gravy and peas. Vegan tv dinner! Thumbs up on the Gardein meatloaf by the way. Easy to prepare. I would rather make my own though with beans, grains and vegetables. It wouldn't have all that processed stuff that meat analogues have.

I found a recipe for diy energy bars in Runner's World magazine. Here is my version made with oats, peanut butter, dried fruits, chocolate chips and hemp powder.

Based on the Marronthon bars recipe in Runner's World Magazine.
Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats (toasted in the oven first)
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 cup dried fruits chopped (apricots, cranberries etc)
1/4 cup hemp protein powder (Trader Joe's vanilla flavor)
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup plus 2 TB of chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup agave syrup, 1/3 cup brown sugar (next time I will cut back to a smaller amount of agave and leave out the sugar)

Method: Mix the toasted oats, fruit, nuts, powder, seeds and chocolate chips in a large bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the agave, peanut butter and sugar until just boiling and the pb is melted. Take off heat and add to oat mixture. Stir until everything is combined. Spread into a prepared pan that was sprayed with oil. Flatten with wet hands and refrigerate for 4 hours. Cut into bars. Keep in fridge wrapped in foil.

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!

Bangers & Mash and Inari Sushi!

Tofurky "Chicken Apple" sausage is pretty good. I like it with HP sauce. The gravy is St. Huberts.

Homemade inari sushi. My fave. I get the fried tofu pouches from Mitsua Market.

Served with salad, kimchee and curry croquette.

Cupcakes, Creme de Menthe Parfait and Lunch.

Vanilla cupcakes with shop bought vanilla frosting and sprinkles. My sweet tooth is outta control this weekend.

Sweetness is my weakness.

I had to try this idea from Midcentury Menu blog. It's a creme de menthe parfait! Vanilla soy ice cream and a healthy drizzle of creme de menthe. I didn't have any whipped cream to top it off so I added extra cherries. If you like mint flavored ice cream, you will love this.

Lunch seems to always go this way on Sundays. My husband and I were eating while watching the Dodger game.

My plate.

Mac & "Cheese" & Sauteed Zucchini and Mushrooms

Well this was certainly delicious! I made the Veg News mac today and it was so good. The sauce is so velvety and creamy. The Veg News "cheese" sauce is basically tender vegetables (shallot, carrot and potato) that are blended with cashews, margarine and flavorings like garlic, mustard etc. I made my sauce with onions, potato, carrot and red bell peppers. Came out more orange in color because of the peppers. I added a side of simple sauteed zucchini and mushrooms in garlic.

Simple Labor Day Food.

Didn't want to work too hard it being Labor Day and all. I simply grilled a Tofurky Andouille sausage and small potatoes and mushrooms on my trusty cast iron grill pan then made a quick arugula salad. I also made a frozen mango daquiri (not pictured). So delicious!