Quick pasta bake.

I was heating up marinara sauce to have with pasta but I was in the mood for lasagna so I made a quick ricotta out of half a block of tofu they was in the fridge and some lemon, garlic, olive oil and Italian herbs. I also had Trader Joe’s vegan mozzarella. I added kale to the boiling pasta water at the end. This was yummy!

Vegan scones.

I made scones today! I have never made a vegan recipe that was good. These are great! I used this recipe and used 2 tsp of baking powder for every cup of plain flour: https://lovingitvegan.com/must-try-vegan-scones-jam-whipped-cream/

Served with vegan butter, jam, coconut cream and finger sandwiches (tofu egg salad). And hot tea of course!

“Chicken” noodle soup.

I had another wheel of almond cheese in my fridge. Made a great snack.

The chicken noodle soup from Veganomicon is one of my faves. The white miso I use is key. It’s so flavorful! I added leftover vegan turkey and macaroni.

Merry Merry foods!

Christmas Eve with our friends was great. First off my epic cheese plate with two kinds of cheese: almond cheese crusted with dill and black pepper, cashew “Camembosh” recipe from the Bosh boys. Also olive tapenade, zhoug (spicy cilantro sauce) and chutney.

We baked some delicious retro cookies made vegan: peanut blossoms, maple memory and coconut cherry drops.

Dinner was simple and yummy. Trader Joe’s roast with all the fixings.

Christmas Day we had a breakfast spread with broccoli quiche, sausage pastry puffs made with Beyond Sausage, and more cheese/crackers and cookies. Happy Holidays!!!

Channa masala and chutney

Lunch was delicious! I made a pot of Channa masala and served it with a big blob of Stonewall Kitchen Major Grey chutney.

My Channa masala recipe:

Ingredients: 

2 TB oil

1/2 onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 big teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste 

1 pickled jalapeño, minced

1 tsp each of cumin, turmeric, coriander 

2 tsp Garam masala

1/2 tsp red chili

1 potato, peeled and diced into cubes

1 - 14oz. can tomato sauce

1 - 14oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 

1/2 cup frozen peas

Water

Salt to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a medium pot on medium high heat. Add onions, garlic, ginger paste and jalapeño and stir for a few minutes until onion soften a little. Add the spices and a splash of water and stir to 

incorporate. Then add tomato sauce, potato and chickpeas. Add about a cup of water and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Partially cover and lower heat to simmer for 15 minutes. Add more water  if too thick. Add peas and season with salt. Cover and simmer for 10 more minutes.

Chili burrito

I made a vat of chili just so I could make a giant chili, rice, cheese and sour cream burrito. All vegan. And the “meat” in the chili are Trader Joe’s meatless meatballs all ground up. Worked out great!

Chocolate Pretzels

Chocolate buttons melted on a baking sheet and a pretzel smashed into it with sprinkles and then set in the fridge. Yum. Idea from @frances_quinn on Instagram.

Cauliflower shawarma and chickpea quinoa.

This was delicious!!! Recipe from Vegan Food & Living November issue. I’m so excited for lunch! Recipe in photos. I made a substitution: instead of avocado in the sauce, I used plain almond yogurt. (I miss plain soy yogurt so much!) 

Gingerbread cookies.

Me and the boy made gingerbread cookies today. We used the recipe from Superfun Times. Worked great!