Weekly Eats Four (2/1 - 2/7)

Dinner: Miso-Curry Roasted Squash, Tofu, and Potatoes over Rice

Some of my favorite winter meals consist of a tasty marinade/sauce, some cooked grains, and a huge baking tray of roasted things. This delicious meal is a great example of this! I have made a riff on this recipe, which comes from Super Natural Every Day, but you can try a still amazing take on it using harissa and miso. The best part of this meal is that it will last for days, and can be eaten with many different things. It pairs wonderfully with simple brown rice, but the addition of diced avocado and some hot sauce are also great! I can see a fried egg going well with this as well.

Afternoon Pick Me Up: Encha Ceremonial Grade Matcha 

I picked up one of these single-serve matcha packets from Vida Pour Tea here in Greensboro, and finally made a little matcha latte this weekend! I mixed it with steamed coconut milk, raw sugar, and a little peppermint syrup - it was delicious! I've never had real matcha before - definitely not the stuff you get at most coffee shops, this is the real deal. I am now seriously considering investing in a large amount of matcha, plus a whisk, spoon, and bowl. Curious to know how matcha makes you feel compared to other forms of caffeine? Here is a great resource!

Snack: Banana-Nut Muffins

We purchased some discounted bananas from the store last week - 8-9 for less than $2! I used some of them for smoothies, but the rest I decided to use for these muffins. This recipe comes from Isa Does It and took no time at all to make. I don't usually make muffins since they can take more time/effort than I like to put into my work snacks, but I will definitely be making these again! The ingredient list is short, minimal prep, and the payoff is amazing. I used walnuts for the nuts and subbed part of them with chocolate chips!

Dinner: Pasta with Raw Tomato-Garlic Sauce

I had some tomatoes in the fridge, so I decided to make an easy dinner with a raw tomato sauce. I just chopped up two tomatoes, minced 1-2 cloves of garlic, and added a heavy glug of olive oil along with Italian herbs, dried basil, salt, and pepper. Fresh basil is amazing in this if you have it. I recommend letting the sauce marinate for 1-2 hours, or at least 30 minutes if that's all you have. Top your pasta with the sauce and enjoy! I'm sure it would also be wonderful cold the next day.

Super Bowl Dinner: Black Bean Quinoa Soup

We were trying to find the perfect chili for Super Bowl Sunday, when I saw this recipe in the latest version of Vegan with a Vengeance. It has ingredients similar to chili, but a slightly different flavor, plus it took less than 30 minutes to cook! I don't use quinoa often because of the price, but it really made this soup delicious. We topped our bowls with crushed corn chips and diced avocado, and hot sauce would also be great with it. Since Super Bowl is over - this would be a perfect idea for any weeknight as well!

Super Bowl Appetizer: Sriracha Cauliflower Bites with Peanut Sauce

I've been dying to make cauliflower wings for some time now, but settled for these amazing sriracha cauliflower bites from the Thug Kitchen book! They take no time at all to make, plus the flavor is incredible - just spicy enough, yet not overpowering. I was hesitant about pairing this with a peanut sauce, but it turned out to be the perfect sauce for these! I would love to make these for a party since they do well with toothpicks and are fast to prep!

Overview: I definitely could've cooked more this week, but happy over all! I went to the gym 5 times last week too, which I am very proud of! This week I'd like to cook more, although we will be at the beach this weekend. That being said, I am hoping to not eat out since we will be out of town.

Ideas for the upcoming week: butternut buffalo mac and cheese with tofu bacon; apple pie granola bars; Alton Brown fish tacos

Les Bouchées Quotidiennes

One of my favorite dishes I've recipe tested so far: pasta e fagioli "stew" (original recipes calls for groats!).

I can't quit this granola (minus the orange juice). I've been snacking on it all week, even though I made a batch for my Dad (originally). If you've never tried making your own granola, the time is now! Store-bought GF granola without refined sugars, dairy-based fats, etc. is expensive and really not worth the money. A while ago, I bought a case of GF rolled oats, so I am never out of them and I never have an excuse to not make my own granola/oatmeal. The flavors of this granola are vibrant with orange zest, crunchy with nuts and large coconut flakes, and sweet with raisins (subbed in for currants).

Another recipe I tested: almond butter cocoa! My favorite part was using the leftover cocoa to make a "vegan Frosty" with a frozen banana.

Every year in July, since I was a kid, we get blueberries from a farm somewhere in Kernersville. They are the best blueberries around and I can't wait for them every summer. I felt lazy on the prospect of making a pie, so I made this super easy blueberry coconut crumble for breakfast this weekend. It was so simple, delicious, and tasted just like blueberry pie. And I'm sure it would be even better with some vegan vanilla ice cream!

I'm finding myself using leftovers in more creative/useful ways lately. Mike had some leftover crushed tomatoes from a can, so I made a very "improvised" version of shakshuka. I used fresh garden banana peppers as the base, crushed tomatoes with basil, eggs, and the herbs sprinkled on top are thyme, oregano and rosemary. It was a hearty, delicious breakfast!

So I started a new job last week, which is very exciting, and I'm having a great time working. One of my goals after everything was finalized was to make homemade snacks for work each week. I keep kicking myself for buying store-bought hummus, because it just never tastes as good as homemade. I hate buying larabars too because they're a waste of money. So these were my snacks from week 1: the easiest chipotle hummus recipe, chopped cucumbers, carrots and celery, and hard-boiled eggs. I will definitely be making this hummus recipe again!

There is nothing quite like having an easy stir-fry for dinner. This one has cabbage, red bell pepper, tofu, ginger, and a few more delicious things to make a delicious weeknight meal. I added Thai basil on top, because it goes well with any stir-fry, and served it with quinoa. I really loved how the ginger and garlic cooked with the red cabbage, along with the soy sauce. And of course, don't forget the sriracha!

Work snacks week 2: garam masala hummus and 3-ingredient energy bites. I made these last night in about 10 minutes, so all I have to do today is chop some vegetables. The hummus came together beautifully, and I love the gradients of the toasted sesame seeds on top! Garam masala is probably one of my favorite spices, so I loved using it in this hummus. I was also feeling a little lazy and didn't want to purchase dates just to make fake larabars. So I settled for the 3-ingredient energy bites instead, which only have: coconut, peanuts and vegan chocolate chips. They took less than 5 minutes to make and they are delicious!

Les Bouchées Quotidiennes

I'm starting a new segment on Infinite Zest called "Les Bouchées Quotidiennes", which means "Daily Bites". Instead of posting monthly round-ups, I'll be posting little bits of what I eat each week. If there's anything else you guys would like to see on here, please let me know! I don't do many recipes during the year because I can't find the time but hopefully I will this summer!

 I've been trying to eat salads every week, even though it's winter. I went back to one of my favorites, a blood orange kale salad and created a new one with this clementine-wasabi ginger dressing. I love eating winter fruit in salads, and especially when avocado is involved. Do you have a favorite winter salad?

I'm going to sound like such a dork, but this was a huge thing for me. I finally finally made spring rolls. If people are telling you they take forever and fall apart: they're wrong. They are so easy and the only time consuming part is cutting up all the fillings. These spring rolls come from this recipe and have homemade wasabi hummus, grapefruit segments, avocado, green onions and carrots. I've actually come up with about 15 different spring rolls ideas, so expect me to post them this summer! 

I made these insane nachos from Isa Does It with an amazing vegan queso blanco made from cashews. Yes, you read that right. Cashew queso. And it was ridiculously good. I had it for dinner two nights in a row, and for lunch in between that. If you haven't bought her book yet, you really really should.  

This baked oatmeal, which comes from this book, is so so good. It tastes a little like banana pudding, which I miss eating so much. This is perfect for a winter morning. 

Eating seasonal means lots of brussels sprouts. This quick stir-fry with tempeh did the trick! 

I made an omelette without dairy, gluten, or eggs. Are you amazed?! These averaged about 15g of protein per omelette and they are VERY filling. I stuffed mine with tomatoes and spinach, then topped with avocado and hot sauce. It's easier than it sounds, I promise! 

Still on the Oatgasm blog train, and this garam masla oatmeal did not disappoint. I tried the sweet version with clementines, pecans, a little extra maple syrup and extra garam masala. The garam masala leaves a pleasant heat in your throat that is great for the weather.

(633) noboru wataya the cat

school is almost over! I take my last exams tomorrow, then I have about two weeks until summer classes start. that means wine, films, reading & baking!

it's been in the 90s this past week or so and it's sweltering to say the very least. I had to bear the heat to make granola from super natural everyday studded with lots of orange zest, coconut, currants and walnuts. now that I've survived the heat of oven + 90 degree weather, I now have a huge ziplock bag of granola to eat with rice milk all week!

I went back to Heidi's other book, which was the first cookbook I ever received, to make this spring minestrone. it's a perfect light soup for spring (even though it's hot!) and tastes even better with fresh lemon juice and pepper. you could also make it asian (edamame + toasted sesame oil) or italian inspired (basil and lemon zest)

this was absolutely delicious, easy, and not a crazy amount of ingredients. the veggie + egg tower of power consists of caramelized red onions, roasted sweet potatoes + cherry tomatoes with wilted spinach and egg on top. how easy could that be? it was so satisfying to eat something so simple (especially when there's wine involved!)

a southern classic made vegan: black-eyed peas, garlicky sauteed russian red kale, and mashed vegan purple fingerling potatoes. I loved how southern it was with out bacon, ham, or even chicken!

just made this vinegary, crunchy lentil salad with a side of hard-boiled egg, buttered toast and delicious red wine from Shelton Homes Vineyard in NC. may have a little too much of the latter but still awesome! cold lentil salads on a hot day = win!

(603) fluff your rice with a fork

When you discover a new favorite recipe that you know you'll make again and again:

I've been craving these brown rice sesame balls from Heidi and they are just as good as they look. I made enough balls to take for lunch at school and left the rest in a bowl to eat for lunch (as below). They kind of fell apart a bit after being out of the fridge but they were still awesome with sriracha (as everything really is). 

I took the leftover rice mixture and mixed in some diced avocado, sriracha, and soy sauce. It was out of this world and I felt so good knowing that I was the one who cooked the rice (which is a rare/nerve-wracking occasion). I really recommend this recipe though. It was so simple and you can do so many things with it!

another new favorite smoothie from Joy: 1/2 pear diced, 1 heaping C chopped kale, 1 heaping C chopped spinach, 1 T honey, 1.5 C cold rice/almond milk, 1 frozen banana

so we finally made a recipe from Joy's book: zucchini and potato pancakes! I was really surprised at how much less flour these had compared to other vegetable pancakes. Not only should you just go buy this book, but then you should make these pancakes. They're perfect with ketchup and paprika. 


also, my new obsession is white balsamic vinegar. it's sweet, mild, and makes a perfect salad with olive oil.


Breakfast
- pineapple protein popsicles
- breakfast tacos with kale chimichurri sauce
- quinoa + beet pancakes

Savory
- vegan stuffed shells with tofu ricotta
- four way deviled eggs
- grilled cheese with grilled carrots + pesto
- easy fish recipes
- vegetarian cassoulet
- beet chips & kale chips
- roasted beet salad with candied walnuts
- pear spinach + walnut salad
- whole beet soup with lentils + cumin
- radish pea salad with lemon oregano vinaigrette

Sweet
- almond coffee cake
- baked apple pie egg rolls
- jim lahey's chocolate chip cookies