Winter Park 10k

Chris and I had a great time running the Winter Park 10k together!
Last year I ran by myself but running with a partner is alway more fun. I should mention though that we were the VERY last two people to start the race since we woke up late and barely made it over the time-chip mat before they broke it down. Our timer was actually a few minutes off because Chris has to swipe my chip before I was even there! I was illegally parking the car. Oops!

I eat what everyone eats - Cola Floats!

I loved Coke Floats when I was younger. Not Root Beer - Coke!

Don't you love how the coke stays so cold with the ice cream and the ice creams gets inside the carbonation and that foam gets all frosty!

Sigh, I loved them.

I was craving on the other day.
So I made one!

Kale Salad with Sesame Sriracha Dressing

One day every other week I get an organic produce delivery from Orlando Organics. It comes right to my door and it's the best day ever. Today I used a lot of my delivery to make this delicious salad.

Kale Salad with Sesame Sriracha Dressing.

Look at how beautiful that looks. It's crunchy, sweet, spicy, tangy, sweet... pretty much perfect!
I wish I could let all of you taste this dressing so you could understand how amazing it tastes.

Falafel Pie

I love this blog... The Vegan Stoner.
I'm not a stoner myself, but I am a vegan. They illustrate their recipes! It's a really super fun take on recipes. They are adorable illustrations. You can find other illustrated recipes here, even non-vegan ones!

I made falafel pie the other night based on the vegan stoner's recipe.
BEST idea ever!

Tempeh and Grilled Zucchini Tacos

Tacos are the best.

At my house, a taco is anything delicious stuffed into a tortilla. The only rule is a tortilla. The debate occurs over the kind of tortilla...

Corn or Flour?

Me, I'm a corn tortillas all the way kinda gal. Chris, He's a die hard flour tortillas only boy. We're working on our marital differences.

Normally, because I'm a loving wife who often (always) forces her husband to eat vegan, we get flour tortillas as a compromise over the whole animal product situation. This week... I splurged. CORN baby!

Tempeh is my newest thing. Seitan is delicious and I'm obviously a giant tofu lover but tempeh is great. It's more dense than other meat alternatives. It comes in rice, soy, flax, barley and millet, the options! It holds up well in cooking, it doesn't break apart like the others can.

Fettuccine with Asparagus and Tomatoes

Pasta dishes are always a little cliche for me to blog about.
I'm not afraid of carbs, but pasta feels undervalued, overrated, and normally... overcooked!
I've gotten into this brand though and I like the taste of this pasta. It's organic whole wheat with flax. It has a nutty flavor with a nice chewy-ness. I've had their penne shape and spaghetti shape before, all winners for me.

Pasta can also feel cliche because it's fairly simple to explain, but here we go!
...

Decided...

Random things I've decided this week:

 Tofu is best cooked in a cast iron skillet. It doesn't stick. It's great. 

Broccoli Noodle Soup with Ginger and Sesame

The other day I went to one of favorite restaurants in Orlando, the Drunken Monkey. The had a soup called "Beef" & Broccoli. It was amazing. Noodles, ginger, seitan, broccoli, soy sauce... I was inspired!

Guacamole

How do you make your guacamole?
Everyone has a special thing they add or don't add.

Chick-un Pot Pie

I wanted to make something easy.
Creative can be easy. Vegan can be easy.
Chickun Pot Pie is easy. It's really easy with a frozen pie crust, frozen veggies, and pre-baked tofu.

Stuffed Peppers

My favorite thing about this dish is how colorful it is to look at.

Second favorite thing is that it used up random bits of produce left in my fridge after previous recipes.

I hate wasting food. 

I had some leftover corn and poblano peppers. Plus I had this cool Textured Vegetable Protein based "Hamburger" crumbles.  Stuffed peppers are delicious and perfect for using up random bits of leftover veggies! 

Beets!

Beets are so delicious.
I like the golden ones just fine, but the jewel toned red ones... swoon!


I've come to recognize that beautiful food goes down much easier than unattractive food.

I saw online a little trick to roasting beets, so of course I tried it. A bunch of Organic Beets was $2.50 from Freshfields Farm today.

My bunch had 5 beets in it, plus the greens. I had heard that the greens were good for eating. I ripped off a leaf and stuffed it in my mouth. Not too bad... kind of bitter in a good way.

Texi-Mexi Kale Salad

Mom remembers the 90s when they were afraid of Avocado and fats in general really.

I feel like guacamole still makes her uncomfortable.

I thought I'd hide some avocado in a salad dressing to trick her! Assemble the salad right before serving since the avocado turns colors when it sits out. Not pretty colors really.

Ingredients:

• 1 Avocado
• 3 ears of Corn cut off the cob
• 1/2 of a Red Onion
• 1 Poblano Pepper
• 1 Red Pepper
• 1 Tomato
• 1 bunch of Kale
• Lime Juice
• Salt
• Cilantro
• Garlic Powder

Cut the onion into a small dice and soak in cold water.

Mash up your avocado and add lime juice. Whisk in seasonings. You can use a food processor if you want.

Wash and cut your kale into small chiffonade pieces.

Add your dressing into your kale and massage the dressing into the leaves. Let the kale reduce in size 1/3.

Spicy Black Bean and Sweet Potato Wrap with Queso Cheeze

My mom is forever telling people I'm a good chef, to which I remind her I'm only a cook, and that she has literally only tasted my cooking twice. She is a good mom though and insists that she knows I'm a good cook even with only two tastes.

We were going to go out to dinner, but we switched plans last minute and she came over for dinner instead!

I love having people to dinner and I love my mom so it's a perfect situation.

I planned my whole Menu:

Chips and Salsa

Chipotle Black Bean and Sweet Potato Wraps with Queso Cheeze

Kale Salad with Avocado, Corn, Tomato, Red Onion, Red Pepper, Poblano Pepper and Lime Juice.

plus a tiny Raw Chocolate Tart with Raspberries

I thought this might be a good vegan dinner for a totally non-vegan. The fiber in the black beans and sweet potato is super filling so even a meat eater will be full! The massaged kale salad can be something green and out of the ordinary. The raw tart had gone well last time, maybe you remember, so I thought she would like it.

Chipotle Black Beans:

You know those cans of Chipotles in Adobo Sauce in the ethic foods isle? Take one of those and mix it with one can of rinsed black beans. I mix mine in a plastic bag. Marinade for an hour or so and then pick out the peppers and rinse the beans. They are quite spicy so rinse until they are less spicy. Perhaps you like spicy things, then don't rinse and let your mouth burn. You're choice.

Sweet Potato:

I like cut mine into a large steak-fry shape and roast with just a little oil so they get soft but still hold their shape. They're easy to put into wraps in that shape.

Cheeze Sauce:

This is my ultimate cheeze sauce that I love more than cheese itself.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Earth Balance Vegan Margarine
• 1/3 cup Flour
• 1 Tbsp Red Miso
• 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
• 1 Tbsp Tahini
• 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• 3 Tbsp Tamari or Soy Sauce
• 1 1/4 Soy or Almond Milk
• 1/2 Cup Nutritional Yeast

Whisk together margarine and flour and cook the roux over medium heat. Add the miso, tomato paste, tahini, lemon juice, and tamari. Whisk it together until it forms a redish paste. Slowly whisk in the milk and then stir in the yeast. Let the whole thing come to a simmer to thicken up.

Now, that's the base. For mexi themed dishes like nachos I like to add cumin and chili powder. For broccoli and cheeze I sometimes add parsley or garlic powder. For my mom's visit I added garlic powder to help the spicy beans be a little more mild.

Let's wrap it all up!

Sweet potato first, black beans second, and few tbsp of cheezy sauce on top. Roll it up tight! Place in a shallow dish or baking sheet to toast it up in the oven.

More on my Mum and our Kale Salad next time...

Happy Eating!

Brown Bag Lunch

What do you all pack for lunches?

Lunches are my hardest thing because they have to sit so long and be delicious at a variety of temperatures.

This pasta salad is a good one for me. I like it cold or warm. It's raw veggies mixed with chilled pasta and any dressing I'm feeling at the moment. It's flexible, I like that.

This sandwich with tempeh was delicious but I ate it right away. I like eating toasted bread and warm tempeh with cold vegetables. I don't like it as much if it sits at room temp.

This is a lazy microwaved frozen meal.

Have you seen these Bento Boxes? I got one thinking it would help me pack lunches but it's so small it's really more like a snack box, which is still good! I packed a delicious assortment of snacks inside of it but it couldn't fit enough food for my whole lunch.

I ask you all these questions and I'd really be very happy to have a comment. I'm not only talking to myself. :)

Roasted Vegetable No Cheese Pizza

I'm incredibly blessed that there is a local bakery near me that makes vegan bread. It's called the Old Hearth Bread Co.

I bought their pizza crusts this weekend at the farmer's market. They are so cute! Little 4" pizza crusts; ingredients: Unbleached Flour, Water, Sea Salt, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and Malt. The size is perfect for personal pizzas. I will probably try them when we have non-vegans over for dinner so they can have cheese and I don't have too.

Chris is over the soy cheezes so I skipped cheeze all together this time. I was inspired by Amy's Roasted Vegetable No Cheese Pizza so I made a copycat with my newly found crusts!

Chocolate Pancakes with Peanut Butter Syrup

This week has been hard. Being a “vegan” sometimes makes me feel ostracized. I’m the strange one. It’s important that I remind myself that I haven’t had some medical symptoms at all since my switch and I used to experience them 1-2 a month. It’s important I think about a world outside of my community, a world where rainforests are being destroyed and animals are separated from families they otherwise would live with in the wild.

It isn’t that I want to be preachy, it’s that I remind myself. It’s so easy to forget, isn’t it? It’s easy to forget about family and friends that live outside of town, come on, of course it’s easy to forget about injustices happening worlds away.

This blog helps me remember that I’m doing this for a reason beyond myself and I want to connect with the world.

What are you doing in your life that’s for a world beyond yourself? How is it going? Do you ever feel discouraged? Maybe we could chat :) Now back on to the recipe goodness!

I made Chris and I Sunday brunch this week because it was raining when we woke up but then magically before we even sat down to eat; it was sunny. I love mornings like that!

Menu:

Coffee

Chocolate Pancakes, served with Peanut Butter Syrup

I saw something online about chocolate pancakes and peanut butter syrup that stopped me in my tracks! I thought, How genius is that person!? I set out to make my own.

I loved Chocolate Covered Katie’s Strawberry Shortcake pancakes so much I thought I’d use her recipe as a base. Some people like flat thin and wide pancakes while other people thick smaller denser pancakes. I’m the latter. If you’re the first then you probably won’t like these.

Chocolate Covered Pancake Ingredients:

2/3 cup Unbleached All Purpose Flour*

1/4 cup Rolled Oats*

1/4 tsp Salt

1 tsp ground Vanilla*

2 Tbsp Sugar*

2 Tbsp Coconut Oil*

1/2 cup Cocoa Powder

4/6 tsp Baking Powder

2/3 cup Non-Dairy Milk (Soy, Almond, Coconut)

Mix the ingredients together, but not too much. It’ll be big and fluffy.

Then scoop about 1/4 cup into a heated pam sprayed non-stick skillet and cook lightly on both sides. It's a little difficult to know when it's done since it won't "brown" since chocolate is already brown. I paid attention to the texture.

Peanut Butter Syrup Ingredients:

1/4 cup Creamy Salted Peanut Butter*

1/4 cup Raw Agave Nectar*

Splash of Coconut Milk

Use the measurements as a base, don't stick to them too tightly on the syrup. Just whisk it all together and microwave it in 30 second intervals until it looks thick and syrupy.

Happy Eating!

I eat what everyone eats - Candybars

I like candy bars... Occasionally :)

This one is chocolate and carmel, and totally vegan. It says it right on the package.

Delicious soft chocolate made with rice milk. Sigh. I wish I was still eating this candy bar.

See, it looks just like a "regular" candy bar.

Last bite.

Happy Eating!

I eat what everyone eats - Breakfast

Breakfast doesn't have to be eggs and bacon. I love eating vegan breakfasts.

Here are some of my favorite breakfasts:

Pancakes! This one is a strawberry shortcake pancake from Chocolate Covered Katie. It has coconut oil in it instead of less healthy oils. Pancakes are amazing.

Smoothies! This is a smoothie I made with frozen berries, soy yogurt, and coconut milk. You can totally skip the animal dairy in a smoothie and even added sugars!

Bagels! Oh man I love bagels. This sprouted wheat bagel has 10g of protein in it and only .5g of fat. Skipping the oversized cheese bagel can still be fulfilling. I liked adding tomato and spouts for extra flavor.

I am a total breakfast fanatic, It's really important to start your metabolism and day off in the morning. Maybe try a vegan breakfast one day this week?!

Happy Eating!

I eat what everyone eats - Pizza

I eat Pizza.

and I love it.

I decided to try to prove that I eat the same things as omnivores.

Silly. but true.

Ingredients:

Whole Foods prepared whole wheat crust.

Muir Glen italian herb tomato sauce.

Daiya mozzarella cheeze.

Tofurkey italian sausage.

Red Pepper.

Spinach.

You make a vegan pizza the same way as you make non-vegan pizza. It's not scary. 400 degrees in the oven. Heat it up until it's gooey and delicious. Eat it while it's still hot and then shout, "ooof that's hot!"

What do you eat that's not vegan that you wouldn't want to give up?

Happy Eating!