Weekly Eats Twelve (3/28 - 4/3)

Holiday Eats: Grilled Salmon, Vegan Pasta Salad, Deviled Eggs, and Southern Potato Salad

This is what I ate for a (late) Easter dinner - marinaded/grilled salmon, my mom's classic Southern potato salad, her deviled eggs, pasta salad, and roasted romanesco (green cauliflower). I wanted to try a new pasta salad recipe since my mom doesn't like mayo, even if it's vegan mayo, so I used this recipe which uses a silken tofu mayo dressing plus dried dill. I must say, I wasn't really a fan of the silken mayo dressing. I thought it was a little bland overall, but then again I could've tweaked it be otherwise, but discovering my oven is broken kind of distracted me.

Dinner: Favorite Lentil Soup

I'm sure you might be wondering why there are so few posts this week...and it's due to the fact that I was nursing an infected canker sore and had difficulty chewing for most of that time. Luckily this lentil soup did the trick, which I had an easier time eating after a day or so on meds. I loved the combination of different herbs in this recipe. Instead of dried tarragon, I used dried rosemary, ground marjoram, and basil. I will definitely be making this again - especially next time we need a get well soon soup.

Dinner: Classic Sauteed Tofu, Steamed Kale + Slow-Cooker Garlic Chive Mashed Potatoes

As mentioned above, my oven currently does not work, which breaks my heart. Luckily I am moving into a place with new appliances soon (yay!) so I won't have to wait that much longer. I made these mashed potatoes in the slow cooker when I could still barely chew, and they are probably one of the best mashed potato recipes I've had! The potatoes cook for less than three hours in the slow cooker, then you mash with almond milk and serve! They went perfectly with the tofu and kale. We marinated the tofu extra long (over an hour) and then sauteed 5-6 mins/side in some leftover marinade, adding more after flipping, instead of baking it. This might be our new go to "basic" tofu recipe. The flavor was wonderful, especially with a little lemon pepper on top. I'd like to try this with Bragg's Amino Acids next time, which Isa calls for in her recipe that originally comes from this book, but I never have it on hand.

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

It's finally Fall break! Woo-hoo! I also realized that I haven't done a meal post in over a month, so that was my first order of business for Fall break! A month or so ago, I won a copy of Salad Samurai, which I had been looking forward to reading ever since I heard about it. I will definitely do a full review of it once classes are over, but for now, these are the first recipes I've made from it. I made my own salad with the That 70s Tofu recipe (roasted in tamari, apple cider vinegar, etc.) and the Upstate dressing. The Upstate dressing is supposed to be a healthier and gluten-free version of Annie's Woodstock dressing, which I loved when I was younger. Both recipes were incredibly flavorful and easy to make! I also love that she splits up the recipes by season...but I will save the rest of my lovey-dovey feelings for Salad Samurai when I do a full review! 

Typically when we think of "sweet and sour" we think of a stir-fried dish, or even sauce that comes with spring rolls. This sweet and sour brown rice salad from Isa Does It is possibly my new favorite sweet and sour recipe! I did make a couple of changes: I used steamed edamame instead of azuki beans and I used sprouted green peas instead of mung beans. I think next time I will probably leave the sprouts out, because I've come to realize that I am not a huge fans of sprouted beans. Besides that, this salad is tangy, zesty, crunchy, and super flavorful! Don't skip the fresh mint or cilantro! This would be a great lunch to pack for any day of the week as well.

Near the end of summer, I was walking through the grocery store, and I realized that I almost forgot to make minestrone this summer. I quickly looked up the ingredients to my favorite recipe from Shutterbean, and cooked up a huge pot of it that very night. I have tried many different variations on minestrone, but I always come back to this one. I am convinced that the combination of curry powder and red wine vinegar is what makes this particular minestrone incredible and habit-forming. Summer produce is still lingering at markets, however, so make this minestrone before it's too late!

Here's an easy dinner that I pulled together with out a recipe. Warmed GF tortillas (I use Trader Joe's) spread with vegan refried beans, some Mexican spiced tofu scramble that I made, plus fresh tomatoes, avocado, and chipotle lime hot sauce. It doesn't get much better than this! 

The mini slow-cooker is a great appliance. It allows you to cook food while you're gone, but it doesn't give you a ton of leftovers that would take weeks to eat. What pairs best with a mini slow-cooker? A book from one of my favorite vegan (and local!) authors which is Vegan slow-cooking for just 1 or 2. This recipe is sloppy black-eyed peas, which also has millet and spinach in it, which I put on toast with hot sauce. I also made some balsamic roasted green beans to eat on the side. Both recipes were great, and the sloppy black-eyed peas were also great over potatoes! I would definitely like to use my mini slow-cooker more this winter.

I love lentil soup, and I am always looking for new variations! This is a lentil soup with cumin and coriander, which you can easily adjust to whatever you have in your fridge. For example, I used yellow squash, only one or two small potatoes, and frozen spinach. This is technically a pressure cooker recipe, but to make it on the stove I just brought everything minus the spinach and lemon to boil, and simmered for an hour or so. After that, I added the lemon, spinach, and more spices. This makes a TON of soup, but I'm sure you could freeze some for the coming colder months! I did love how easy this soup was to make and that it required no oil! 

This is definitely one of my new favorite versatile recipes: tomato rice from Food52, which I veganized and made with short-grain brown rice. It was easy to put together, super flavorful, and you could eat it in so many different ways! The first night I had it, I pan-seared some carrots and broccoli in a nutritional yeast sauce to go with it. The following day, I ate it with some soft-boiled eggs and nutritional yeast. If you're vegan, this would be lovely with some pan-seared chickpeas and greens! I would also like to see how this rice holds up in a burrito with black beans and greens. The possibilities are endless! 

Procrastibaking (noun) - When you have so much work that you don't want to do, so you bake something instead. I am occasionally guilty of procrastibaking, and this was one of those occasions. I blame the fact that there was leftover pumpkin puree in my fridge, just begging to be turned into muffins every time I looked at it. This is my standby recipe for gluten and dairy-free pumpkin chocolate chip muffins; and yes, I always make them with chocolate chips! There's a local bakery near me that makes the BEST, gigantic, fluffy pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, but they are full of things that I cannot eat. BUT, these are seriously amazing and you will not want to share them. Hooray for fall baking (and for procrastibaking too)!

Breakfast from this week: almond butter toast and a vegan vanilla chai smoothie. So good!

Did you know that GF orzo exists? That's right, and it's incredibly delicious! I discovered that I had some in my pantry from a random Walmart trip (which rarely happens) and I decided to use it for tempeh orzilla, originally from Isa Does It. I don't even know where to start with this recipe because it's so good and has a lot of flavor going on. The tempeh sausage crumbles taste almost identical to regular Italian sausage because of the fennel seed and coriander (which is a great thing). After the orzo is done cooking, it's mixed with a nutritional yeast, white wine and rosemary sauce, along with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and sauteed thinly sliced red onions. Are you drooling yet? This might be one of my new favorite pasta dishes ever, and it was so easy to make! Isa might want to consider re-naming her book Isa always Does it because her recipes are the bomb!

Les Bouchées Quotidiennes

It's so odd to make this post because the first few recipes are from before school started back! That's why there's been a long "pause" in between posts around here lately. My schedule is kind of odd this year, with more than a few night classes, so I'm still trying to get my grip on meal prepping/cooking/doing dishes. Anyways, here is a Thai basil fried rice I made a few weeks ago for breakfast. I basically sauteed some cooked rice with Thai basil, GF soy sauce, sesame oil + rice vinegar. I also used eggs, so it's not vegan, but you could easily substitute crumbled tofu! And don't forget tons of sriracha on top! I can post a full recipe if anyone is interested.

This is the first time I've used avocado in pasta, and it was surprisingly delicious! The pesto is super easy to make, flavorful, and maybe one of the best pasta dishes I've ever had. The only thing to be aware of is that because avocados brown easily, the leftovers are only good for maybe a day afterwards (but I stopped caring and just ate all of it anyways). As Angela suggests, I topped mine with lemon zest, black pepper, extra basil and served it with some cherry tomatoes.

After taking anitbiotics for so long, it finally caught up with me and I stuck to "bland foods" for about a week. This chickpea, cabbage + rice soup from Isa Does It was absolutely perfect! This soup is incredibly cheap and easy to make, plus it's super nourishing! I can't wait to make it in the fall/winter this year. Instead of the dill, I made a "boquet garni" of fresh oregano, thyme, and rosemary which added a lovely fragrance to the soup.

I was really craving caprese, so I made a vegan version up! I basically made a balsamic reduction, which I briefly marinated the tofu in (next time I will add fresh oregano) and cut the same width as the tomatoes, then sandwiched them in between each other along with a large basil leaf. It satisfied my craving and was a delicious summertime dinner!

One of my favorite things to do is to take a couple of components from a recipe, and improvise the rest. This was my first "back to school" meal: I got the garlic-tahini sauce and garlicky millet/rice from this recipe. Instead of the suggested vegetables, I seared some local summer squash and cooked edamame with some garlic. This bowl was absolutely delicious! I also loved having millet/jasmine rice together instead of my usual plain brown rice or plain jasmine rice. I also used this sauce on some eggs with pico de gallo, which was also tasty! This is one of my favorite bowl meals ever and it was so simple!

From One Dish Vegan: pasta with chickpeas, spinach and raisins served with GF/DF multi-grain ciabatta rolls. If you've never tried raisins in savory dishes before, it adds a lovely, subtle sweetness to dishes. I loved this recipe because the fennel seeds pairs with the garlic and raisins wonderfully! Also those ciabatta rolls are ridiculously delicious (not homemade).

Work snacks: cut up celery, cucumber + carrots with homemade sun-dried tomato hummus. This was my first time making sun-dried tomato hummus and it was wonderful! I definitely need to start using sun-dried tomatoes more.

Lentils are definitely a staple in my diet because they're cheap, quick to make, and super versatile. I try to get mine from Trader Joe's because they're about $2/less a bag (brown and red). For French lentils, I get Harris Teeter organics for about $2 as well on sale. Anyways, you can do anything with lentils: soups, salads, tacos, "meat"balls, pasta, etc. The list goes on! Here's one of my favorite ways: lentil taco meat from Happy Herbivore Abroad. These were a great, quick meal for any night of the week! We topped ours with chopped lettuce, hot sauce and pico de gallo. I also used the leftover lentils the next day to make a taco salad with crushed taco chips and other salad fixings (also with chipotle lime hot sauce).

I probably sound like a broken record when I start sentences with "I can't believe I don't make this type of dish more often"...but I really can't believe I don't make cold noodle salads more often! This is the spicy cucumber and edamame soba salad from One Dish Vegan. This wasn't quite as spicy as I wanted it to be, so I used extra chili garlic sauce at the end. Noodle salads are great for packed lunches, especially when they're beautiful and green like this one! 

This is my first Ethiopian dish: Atakilt Wat or Ethiopian cabbage, potatoes and carrots. I loved this meal because of the mix of warm spices like cardamom and cinnamon, alongside cumin and turmeric to create a beautifully golden-hued dish. Cabbage and potatoes, as well as carrots, are typically cheap vegetables too, so it makes a great budget meal as well. I served mine with cooked brown rice from the slow cooker and LOTS of sriracha. I'm probably breaking some food codes there, but trust me, it's wonderful. 

Here's a great time saver for classes: making slow-cooker oatmeal overnight so you don't have to make breakfast in the morning! This one has vanilla, spices and almond milk. I also added cranberries and pecans when I served it. I'm starting to realize I'm not a huge fan of steel cut oats, but I know there are plenty of slow-cooker recipes with regular oats as well. This also made enough for breakfast for 3-4 days!

Les Bouchées Quotidiennes

Let me say this: I have hated pickles most of my life. Just the thought of them was enough to make me sick. But now, if I can find just the right kind, I love them. I guess I can chalk this up to my latest love affair with briny, fermented foods. While these pickles are a little expensive, they're well worth it if you can splurge on accoutrements for burgers (or snacking). They also make whiskey sour, extra spicy, and IPA brined pickles. Unlike pickles, I've loved mustard for as long as I can remember. Now that I'm older, I prefer spicier, brinier mustard varieties. Lusty monk is made in Asheville, so it's local, and there are tons of whole mustard seeds in just one jar. So be prepared to feel the burn! I can't wait to put both of these jars on everything. Last night I had leftover veggie burgers with pickles and mustard, and it was heavenly.

I probably sound like a broken record by now, but I am seriously loving red cabbage with Asian flavors. This recipe comes from Isa Does It and it consists of a sesame Asian slaw, quinoa, edamame and sesame broiled tofu. Alright, maybe I'm a little obsessed with this combo lately. I added some cooked quinoa for extra protein, which worked great here. I'm definitely going to double the ginger miso dressing next time because it's so delicious! I can't wait to try red cabbage in different ways this summer.

I used to LOVE getting black bean nachos at Mexican restaurants. Honestly, I sometimes wish I could go to a Mexican restaurant for a big plate of nachos, guacamole, and maybe a margarita. Sadly, this isn't possible for me, but these vegan breakfast nachos definitely make it a little easier! These are topped with roasted potatoes, black beans, scrambled tofu, chopped tomatoes, guacamole, cilantro, and chili lime cholula. I wanted to make the queso but I am out of miso paste right now. These nachos are incredible, which is an understatement, and they would be perfect for a Friday night in! We ate ours with a mix of Kraken, lime and hot ginger ale to make for a perfect meal.

Now that is sort of "officially" summer, I've been craving fresh basil like crazy! I finally bought a little "pre-planted" basil pot to grow in my windowsill. I used it on Friday to make this creamy vegan garlic lover's pasta with tomatoes and GF pasta. I love that this pasta doesn't use soaked cashews, but it's still super creamy and quick to make! I didn't roast my tomatoes in order to make this dish a little quicker, and it was still delicious. 

This isn't food related, but I just had to share: my first knitted scarf! I've been working on it on and off for almost a year, but I finally finished it the other day! It's made from about 1 and a half standard balls of purple yarn. This is the first thing I've ever knitted, so I'm pretty proud of myself! I can't wait to try other projects this summer. It's hard for me to knit during the school year, but hopefully I can find more time this coming semester!

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

We went to the beach last weekend, so I packed us some chicky tuna salad sandwiches from Isa Does It. These were so easy to make, filling and delicious! And they honestly did taste like tuna/chicken salad to me, although the base is made from chickpeas and sunflower seeds. I will definitely be making these again!

If you haven't been to Fiction Kitchen in Raleigh yet, you must go! This is the third time I've been there and it was incredible (as always)! I went with a lighter entree this time and I was not disappointed. I ordered these nori rolls with raw beets, ginger sauce, raw sesame kale salad and sashimi tofu. I could eat an entire plate of this tofu because it's sooo good. 

The Saint Forgot: Gin, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, Campari, fresh lemon, graepfruit and lavender bitters. This was certainly one of the best cocktails I've ever had. We also tried The Edison (fennel syrup, gin, lemon, orange, dry vermouth) and The Covington flip (Cruzan 9 spiced rum, sweet potato syrup, local egg, lemon, black walnut bitters). I've never had a flip before (usually made with raw pasteurized eggs) but it was incredible!

View from our condo!

I rarely get cravings for tomato soup, but this spicy chickpea tomato soup really hit the spot! The spices seem complex, but they really come together in the end for a wonderfully spiced soup. And it's easy enough to make on a weeknight! I served this with GF bread slathered with roasted garlic hummus, paprika and nutritional yeast.

The salad of the week was this chopped power salad with baked tofu and a miso-almond dressing. This made for a very satisfying and health dinner for a busy night! I loved the dressing, but I will probably double it next time. The baked tofu is also delicious, so don't skip out on it. I love eating red cabbage but I always have a hard time figuring out what to do with all of it!

Raw blueberry cheesecake from Whole Foods

While "rice and beans" is a traditionally Mexican dish, this Italian variation is possibly my new favorite way to eat rice and beans! It takes less than 30 minutes and the flavors are incredible. I added a few cloves of thinly sliced garlic for extra flavor, since there wasn't any included in the recipe. The lemon zest seems like an odd choice, but it adds so much flavor to the overall dish! I also used kale instead of spinach.