Weekly Eats Five (2/8 - 2/14)

Dinner: Buffalo Butternut Mac with Tofu Bacon

One of my favorite things about cooking with vegetables is being able to use them in many different ways. I had some butternut squash leftover from the previous week, so I set out on a search on how to use it up. So I decided to roast it with onions to make this incredible buffalo mac with tofu bacon! I'm all for vegan mac that doesn't involve soaking cashews or long ingredient lists, so this was perfect. The tofu bacon was a delicious addition as well, which didn't take time at all! This recipe lasted me quite a few days, and I even had some leftovers for the beach as well!

Dinner: Spicy Fish Taco Bowls with Cilantro-Lime Slaw + Singapore Sauce

When does something become a tradition? Can you simply name it that, or should you do it a few times before it really holds that meaning? In any case, we repeated this from last year's Valentines trip: 1) the beach 2) fish from the local market 3) put off making dinner until as late as possible and neither one of you really want to do anything but you do anyways. These three things combine for a magical, cozy Valentines dinner at the condo. We spent the day frolicking around a nice shopping center where we tried out a brewery restaurant and a wonderful sushi spot (we highly recommend both!). After watching a movie, we whipped together this super quick fish taco bowl, and doused it in Singapore sauce that we got from the sushi place. These bowls were filling, insanely flavorful, and the best ending to such a great day. And every time I cook fish, I always ask myself why I don't more often. So this is something I'd like to work on! It was also lovely to have some quinoa, which I don't eat nearly as often as I used to.

Fuel: Tea Pigs Matcha + Apple Drink

I have been on a somewhat random, crazy matcha/green tea kick lately, so it has been most of what I've been drinking lately. I picked up this cute little juice box of matcha/apple juice for the trip home. It was delicious, definitely gave me a boost, plus the willpower to drive over 3 hours and not go crazy. Hooray! I'd love to order some of their loose teas as well.

Fuel: Ito En Sencha Shot

(See above for green-tea-mania explanatory note) This stuff is a kick in the pants if you really need it. I should probably keep a case of these in the fridge at all time, you know, just in case (but really because they are so good). This would be a perfect pre-work out boost or I'm-too-sleepy-to-function drink, but I sadly had to pair it with the one above to even stay focused on the drive home. I'm not a fan of long trips, but lots of caffeine helped in more ways than one!

Breakfast: Smoked Salmon Avocado Smash Toast/Bagel

Another beach trip "tradition" is this easy, protein-packed breakfast that I make at least once while we are away. First I toast either two slices of GF bread or a GF bagel (their everything bagels are tops for this). Then I smash one avocado with juice of 1/2 a lemon, a little lemon pepper, sweet Hungarian paprika, cumin, and salt. Taste for seasoning and acidity. Spread generously onto each piece of bread/bagel. Instead of smoked salmon, I buy nova bits by the pound from the Fresh Market (tip: its cheaper and doesn't taste any different) - you only need a little over 1/4pd for this. Tear into bite sized pieces and place on top. Sprinkle with lemon pepper and devour! It will keep you full for hours and it's the best damn thing you'll have for breakfast.

Les Bouchées Quotidiennes

I'm not sure how it's taken me this long to stuff a vegetable. If I remember correctly, I've never made stuffed vegetables. How strange is that? Well this taco tempeh stuffed zucchini was a great place to start and it was incredible! It has everything I love about tacos without the corn tortilla shells, which is great because GF tortillas don't taste that great. The best part is that you can eat the zucchini boat too! This makes a great meal paired with cilantro lime rice, which I make by just adding some salt, vegan butter, lime juice & minced cilantro to cooked rice.

Afraid of making spring rolls? Too hot outside to cook? Check out my recipe for fresh herb & tofu spring rolls!

These are both recipes for my recipe testing position so I'll be brief, but it was delicious! This is an oven baked tempeh sandwich with avocado, tomato & vegan mayo along with Mexican tomato soup. These were both super tasty and easy to make, plus I was able to freeze leftover tomato soup (always a plus)!

Mac & cheese is my #1 comfort food, which is funny considering I almost never ate it before I was diagnosed. But now I love it, and like everything else, I love different variations on it! This is a simple spicy vegan mac & cheese with NO cashews or blending of any kind, which automatically makes it a winner in my book! It also uses pantry items only, so you can be sure that you probably always have ingredients to make this on hand! I added some cooked green peas for color but I'm sure any vegetables would be great (especially broccoli).

This is a recipe I wrote down sometime last year, but never got around to making it. But last week, these cumin chickpea fritters with parsley chutney were calling my name. They take a little more effort than most fritters because of the amount of prep, but they are totally worth it. I love toasted cumin seeds, and paired with this vibrant and zesty parsley chutney, it's a true match made in heaven. I will also say that you should at least try this chutney recipe. It's quick and goes well on everything. I put leftover chutney on some grilled salmon from the Fourth and it was amazing! The flavor is so bright and fresh that it would probably also do well on eggs, cooked potatoes, or stirred into rice with some vegan butter.

There's always a big salad planned when we visit Mike's parents! This has a bunch of ingredients but it's basically lots of lettuce, garden vegetables and peppers, fresh chopped herbs and some balsamic vinegar. We also threw in some chopped sprite melon, which was actually a very nice addition!

This is why I really have to stop buying sorbet and ice cream: this cantaloupe sorbet only has TWO ingredients. That's right, just cantaloupe and vegan organic cane sugar. Not to mention all you do is chop the melon, blend it with sugar, then pop it in your ice cream maker, and that's that! I'm on day three of it being in the freezer and it still tastes great. If you're feeling boozy: scoop some of this sorbet into a bowl and mix in a shot of Campari. Trust me.

I've been trying to figure out pantry meals that I can make easily, since school is coming back soon. These Cajun chickpea cakes with smoky Cajun mayo are a great option for any weeknight. There isn't a lot of prep time and I pretty much always have the ingredients for them on hand, minus chickpeas. I even made the homemade poultry seasoning to give it even more flavor (totally worth it). The result is an incredibly flavorful, spicy cake that has a lovely, creamy sauce on top. I highly recommend these. Sometimes I forget how great of a source Happy Herbivore is for healthy, quick meals! This originally comes from her second book.

Les Bouchées Quotidiennes

This is maybe my favorite vegan mac + cheeze recipe that is SO easy and delicious. We added steamed mustard greens for sustenance. This is the second time I've made this recipe.

I had some pretty bad allergies for most of this week, so I whipped up some AMAZING coconut chana saag from Isa Does It. I can honestly say I've never made a bad recipe from her before, and this is possibly the best Indian food I've ever made. The fennel seeds give a nice anise flavor to the dish, and jasmine rice and cilantro are essential for this meal to be complete. It's also fairly easy for a weeknight Indian dish!

I posted my favorite recipe for miso ramen soup this week, that always makes me feel better! I'm convinced the combo of miso, raw garlic and ginger cured me.

My favorite gluten-free beer is finally out! It has a short season of only a couple of months, but it's so good. It's made with strawberries, sorghum and buckwheat honey.

 I was in Raleigh all weekend, so I made some vegan burgers from the Oh She Glows cookbook. I couldn't find the recipe from the book online, but this is the recipe she made before publishing her book and they're pretty similar. They're made from black beans, sunflower seeds, flax, GF breadcrumbs, carrots and more! They're a little time consuming because of the long ingredient list, but they're delicious, healthy and full of flavor! Veggie burgers are great for traveling because all you have to do is heat it up, add toppings, and eat with a side! My friend Piper made us a delicious saute with Farmers market zucchini, onions, bell peppers, carrots and Greek oregano. 

 So Piper made some amazing "braised" red cabbage this weekend with smashed garlic. And being the weirdo I am, I had this for breakfast with some pan-sauteed quinoa and an egg. I made this recipe again as soon as I got home again, so maybe I will post it if any of you are interested! I'm always looking for easy ways to use up leftover red cabbage. 

I was in Raleigh for Piper's bridal shower this weekend, so I made one of my favorite desserts: pink lemonade bars! They are GF/dairy-free but no one could tell :) And they're perfect for the warm weather.

Les Bouchées Quotidiennes

When I made fajitas a week or so ago, Mike claimed that we don't eat Mexican food enough, and I must agree. So now I'm trying to incorporate it into our weekly meal plan a little more often. Last week we made these sriracha sweet potato black bean tacos with homemade guacamole. Mike had never had sweet potatoes with black beans, which is always amazing! The sriracha marinade is a little sweet, which gives the sweet potatoes a great flavor. These were definitely a favorite for both of us!

Mike was away this weekend, which almost always equals mac and cheeze. This weekend I was out of cashews however, so I had to do some quick searching for a vegan recipe without cashews. I stumbled upon this baked mac with peas that is made with coconut milk, GF flour, and other delicious things. I put them in individual baking dishes topped with GF panko, which made them even tastier! The crazy part is Mike actually ate this, even though it had nutritional yeast in it (note: this is unheard of for him). 

I've been falling behind on making us salads lately, so I made us gigantic bowls with Cajun roasted broccoli, carrots, cucumber, chickpeas, iceberg lettuce (underneath everything), fried polenta rounds and vegan ranch hummus. I was going to follow the original recipe, but it was a little too involved/salt-heavy for me. The hummus is a great topping for this or any other salad, and it really does taste like ranch! It also makes a great dip for carrots, cucumber, and chips. 

I felt guilty about not making us a St.Patricks day meal, so we celebrated (more than a week late). We had garlic roasted cabbage, garlicky pepper tofu and salt n vinegar kale mashed potatoes. This is a little more involved than most of my weeknight meals, but I guess the craving really hit! This tofu recipe is awesome because it requires no marinading and it has a lot of flavor (especially with hot sauce!). The roasted cabbage was amazing and had to be put up before we both ate all of it. Oh and the mashed potatoes were obviously my favorite. They weren't hard to make and the flavor is awesome. Next time I will definitely put them under the broiler, as the recipe says. 

For roasted cabbage: preheat oven to 400. Slice cabbage into 1/2" "steaks" or wedges (good luck because mine didn't stay intact). Spray a large baking tray or two with non-stick oil. Place cabbage pieces on top. Smash 3 garlic cloves and rub each cabbage piece with garlic (I kept the garlic in the pan to roast with the cabbage). Brush each piece of cabbage with olive oil. Roast 30 minutes, flip, brush with a little more oil, and roast 30 minutes more until starting to brown. Smaller pieces may brown more quickly, so be sure to remove them first. Roasted cabbage is also incredible with hot sauce (like everything else).

Sometimes cooking in the middle of being really busy is actually very rewarding. It lets me shut my brain off and not think about the 500 things I need to do. Last night's distraction consisted of this lovely French lentil soup with fresh fennel, kale and chipotle "yogurt" (I used vegan mayo instead). This soup was super easy to make and you definitely can't skip the mayo because it gives it a lot of flavor. I love French (de puy) lentils because of their shape and when they cook, it smells like tea!...okay, am I the only person who thinks this? Maybe I'm nuts. Anyways, this is a great easy soup for any weeknight!