(819) and a comet rips the sky

I am finally on fall break! It may only be two days but I could really use them to catch up and to get ready for the rest of the semester to get knocked out. As noted on the previous post, I am trying to eat more tofu/tempeh/mushrooms/healthier and I can't honestly remember the last time I ate meat. I will surely enjoy these two free days and hopefully can make some food in advance like vegetable stock, homemade bouillon, tea-scented tofu, smoothie cups and more. We'll see!

I ate the leftover tofu from these AMAZING tofu breakfast tacos for breakfast like scrambled eggs with vegan buttered toast. Absolutely amazing! I found this easier to digest and more flavorful then regular scrambled eggs. 

Finally tried Heidi's kale and coconut salad from her last cookbook. I think I slightly burnt the coconut and kale, so it wasn't as good as I thought it could be. I ate it with brown rice, a scrambled egg, and sriracha. It was definitely interesting flavor-wise, but the leftovers didn't hold up so well. I am glad to know that kale, coconut, and sriracha go well together! 

Trying to make breakfast more versatile: steamed kale, buttered brown rice and Irish breakfast tea. 

Also made another flawless recipe from Sara's book: smoky red lentil soup topped with fresh cilantro and served with corn chips. It was so easy to prep, cook, and make in less than an hour. I made it early in the morning and had it ready for lunch, dinner, and froze the leftovers. The simplicity of pureed soups will almost always win me over. This is my third time cooking with lentils and this one went better than the other tries! Red lentils seem to cook up quicker/easier anyhow. I recommend you all pick up Sara's book immediately!

Halloween bounty from my mother. Starburst for Trick-or-Treaters are almost all gone. 

I'm completely over store-bought hummus. I considered buying some to make sandwiches, but then looked at what ingredients I had and made a cilantro-lime hummus. Recipe to be posted below! 

Me drinking in front my apartment on a lovely fall day. 

Hummus, avocado and tomato sandwich with baby carrots. I am on a HUGE baby carrot kick since they are on sale right now. This has also become probably my favorite sandwich. Never fails to taste amazing, especially with extra avocado. It's so healthy and filling too. 

Finally ventured out to one of the last days of the South Elm Urban Farmer's Market where I scored fresh field peas and sweet potatoes for about $2.50. Can't really beat that and the vendor's artwork was awesome too. 

I am trying to do more homemade things, and more importantly, all vegan things. I am slowly slipping into a full-on vegan diet. I think the only thing holding me back is that cutting eggs out completely from my diet, which don't bother me, will start to bother me if I avoid them. Anyways, this homemade vegan mac + cheese was everything I expected, and more. The sauce is made from sweet potatoes, white beans or cauliflower, and nooch with a bunch of spices/almond milk thrown it. It was absolutely amazing! I feel great knowing all the vegetables that are tucked into this sauce, even though I felt reluctant to eat it with out greens, so I wilted some chard to eat alongside it. I seriously recommend this and hope that my leftover sauce freezes well!

First night of fall break success: homemade mac + cheese, pumpkin hard cider and a GF vegan pumpkin cupcake topped with cream cheese frosting and crystallized ginger. Finished off with a horror film: "Slither". 

Cilantro Lime Hummus

-1.5 C chickpeas

-1/4 C olive oil

-1-2 garlic cloves

-large handful of fresh cilantro

-2 T tahini

-large pinch of salt

-large pinch of cumin

-cayenne

-paprika

-juice of two limes

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-Process until smooth and enjoy!