Thursday, March 21, 2013

(977) huis clos

Well, spring break went by way too quickly (no surprise there!) and there was a lot of food involved, obviously. Thankfully, there are only six more weeks of school after tomorrow, including exam weeks, so that's something to look forward to! Over spring break, I didn't do much homework (big surprise!) but I did do an incredible amount of food prep! I made black beans, chickpeas and brown rice (all in the slow-cooker!) and froze them. For every pound of black beans and chickpeas (est. $2.30 in bulk) I got 6-7 cups of beans. I cooked 2 cups of brown rice (est. $1.40 in bulk) and ended up with amount 6 or so cups. This is a huge money and time saver! I will be doing this from now on. Maybe I'll do a bulk prep post in the near future.

One of my stand by smoothies: almond milk, flaxmeal, agave nectar, kale, pear and spinach.

I was stuck again with an eggplant I needed to use. I decided to make this colorful eggplant puttanesca with capers, bell peppers, olives, tomatoes, and lots of Italian herbs. I served it with vegan buttered polenta and a big glass of red wine! It was definitely a hit. I ate it again with pasta and nutritional yeast and it was delicious! //chickpea magazine

It's always unusual to have someone cook for me these days. I am usually in the kitchen at least every night, but luckily my friend offered to cook dinner for us one night! Pictured here: kale cooked with quinoa and red pepper flakes; arugula avocado salad with a vegan lime tarragon vinaigrette; vegan apple sage sausages. These sausages were absolutely amazing! I would love to have them on hand for breakfast and they are so easy to make! The sausage recipe comes from The Vegan Slow-Cooker Book, which I highly recommend for any vegan (especially students!). //vegan slow-cooker book

Simple yet amazing quinoa black bean burgers with a smoky avocado spread, red onion + oven thyme fries with ketchup. With only three main ingredients in the burgers, they come together in practically no time! I loved the smoky avocado spread too. This is certainly my favorite veggie burger so far (though these were killer too). I also don't understand the concept of buying frozen oven fries. It takes seconds to slice potatoes, toss them with oil and whatever seasonings you want, and bake them. And truth be told...they taste a hell of a lot better and don't have nasty ingredients! //what's cooking good looking

It has been my experience, so far, that I burn curry. The first pot of potato curry I ever made was burnt to hell. I immediately went to the store, put it in a bigger pot, and made a perfect curry. This curry is from a recipe book that uses little to no oil in all recipes, so of course I burnt it a little. Lucky for me, this was the best curry I've had in my entire life. It doesn't ask for much: bok choy, bell pepper, tofu and onions. The flavor is delicate yet powerful enough to make your nose run, in the best way possible. There are also rice noodles involved so, duh, this is the best curry in the world. I will be making this again and again! //appetite for reduction

I didn't mention this above, but I managed to escape to the beach for a few days! It was definitely not long enough and I am already itching to return. I did get this amazing vegan philly tempeh "cheezesteak" on GF bread. I am already looking into recreating it in the near future...

Vegan and GF carrot cake cupcakes!

One thing I've learned recently is that being tired or slightly broke isn't an excuse I can give myself for eating unhealthy foods. All it takes is one thing: planning ahead! I kid you not. People ask me all the time how I have time to cook all of this food and how I can afford it. I have recently started to take a more minimalist approach to cooking, which is saving me a ton of money. Before we went to the beach, I planned out foods for us to take so we wouldn't be snacking on carbs all day. We did "eat out" a few times, but nothing that wasn't healthy and nothing incredibly extravagant!

Anyways, I planned this meal above to eat the night we got in at 10:30 PM. The drive wasn't bad but we were both exhausted and starving. I cut up romaine into bowls, topped with crushed corn chips, topped with homemade (warmed) black beans, salsa, then a big heap of spicy cilantro hummus. This was so so satisfying after a long drive and very nutritious (and cheap)! I would love to do another post soon about planning ahead + saving money.

Prettttty happy to be at the beach :)

Limoncello Lemon Drop // Salted Karmel Martini

More planning was involved here! Tofu scramble is obviously one of the best things on the planet, so I wanted to make some at the beach. But there are so many spices involved in my favorite recipe...solution: I packed all of the spices in a baggie before we left. That way we only brought: tofu, the spice bag, and other little fixins' for the scramble. This particular recipe was chosen because it's easy and it uses no oil, which means I didn't have to bring any! //happy herbivore

Amazing blackberry/pineapple wine slushie (yes, slushie) that I had at Broadway.

I have really been craving Chipotle lately, but am trying not to eat out too much. I settled on making some burrito bowls at home with this amazing chili-lime rubbed tofu! This recipe is so damn easy and delicious! I could see crumbling it and frying it lightly like chorizo, or leaving it as is in tacos/burrito bowls. //appetite for reduction

The final product of burrito bowl night:

Chili lime rubbed tofu, homemade guacamole (avocado, lime juice, salt, cumin, garlic powder, red onion + red pepper flakes), homemade pico de gallo (tomatoes, lime juice, salt, cilantro + red onion), homemade vegan queso (almond milk, nooch, onion/garlic powder, brown rice flour, salsa, cumin, paprika + chili powder), homemade brown rice + fajita vegetables (green peppers, onions, oil, cumin, salt + chili powder)

It sounds like a lot, and it kinda is, but everything came together easily and quickly!

Thursday, March 14, 2013

(970) le tombeau des lucioles

These past few weeks have been crazy! I have so many food photos to share, but really haven't had the time. I'm finally on spring break, which has done nothing but stressed me out a bit more haha. Thankfully there are only seven more weeks of school left. 

I have been wanting to make edamame hummus for such a long time, and after having the Trader Joes brand, I had to remake it. It takes a little longer to puree the edamame beans, but the flavors are perfectly complimented with garlic and coriander. If you're looking for a twist on the usual hummus, this is perfect and has a ton of protein! //oh she glows

Another thing I've been meaning to make for a long time are dark chocolate peanut butter cups. I have a slight problem with the Justin's packaged brand, so I had to remake them. These were cheaper, delicious, and surprisingly easy to make! This recipe used almond butter and dark chocolate, which work perfectly together. The layering of the chocolate and peanut butter gets a little tedious, but it's worth it! //sprouted kitchen

Blood orange, peach and pear sangria.

I have been cooking mostly from Happy Herbivore recipes, just because they're cheap, simple, and nutritious. This vegan alfredo sauce was perfect for a night when I didnt feel like cooking, but wanted something healthy. With 35g of protein per serving, you will definitely feel full after this (especially with protein from brown rice pasta)! It also took 10 minutes to make with cooking the pasta. //happy herbivore

I've been making a lot of salads here lately and this vegan Caesar salad dressing was amazing! I ate it for days with NC sprouts, lettuce, tomato and carrots. Because it's made from silken tofu and nutritional yeast, it also has about 3g protein per tablespoon! //everyday happy herbivore

I made vegan french toast last week for breakfast one weekday morning and it was easy/delicious! I was very surprised at how similar it tasted to regular french toast with out using any eggs! Surprisingly enough, chickpea flour and almond milk with vanilla extract produced the same flavor! //happy herbivore

Perfectly baked thyme oven fries

After finishing off my vegan caesar salad dressing, I made one of my favorites: homemade balsamic vinaigrette from Isa's amazing book. It's so easy to make and has protein from the cashews! I will be making that dressing over and over again. It went great with a salad of sprouts, avocado, cucumber, tomato + romaine. //appetite for reduction

I have been wanting to also make a vegan frittata for quite some time, since there are so many easy recipes for them that don't involve cast iron pans. I made this incredibly easy frittata from Happy Herbivore with old bay, black beans, and red pepper. I doused it in a ton of hot sauce and ate it with some really delicious thyme oven fries! //everyday happy herbivore

Blood orange gin and tonics: 
Put ice cubes in the bottom of a glass. Top with a shot of gin (I used Tanqueray). Top with 1/2 C freshly squeezed blood orange juice and tonic water. Stir and enjoy!