Let's Catch Up: February - April

February

For our first beach trip this year, we decided to opt for going to the fish market rather than eating fish at a restaurant. My favorite fish market in North Myrtle Beach is definitely Mr. Fish Market and I highly recommend it! Both times that we've been, the seafood has been well priced, delicious, and easy to cook. This is GF beer battered fish and chips with the best habanero spiced seafood dipping sauce. These fish and chips were perfect, although our chips turned a little too brown and our second batch of fish fell apart. We added Old Bay, Italian herbs, and paprika to the beer batter. I think I have decided that I am not a fan of deep frying, and would prefer to cook fish in a different way from now on.

What better way to celebrate snow days than with chocolate chip buckwheat waffles? I always look forward to making decadent breakfasts when it snows, so these were perfect for a lazy day of reading and no class! These waffles were super quick and easy to make, but if you're cooking for more than 1 person, be sure to double this recipe. These would be lovely topped with whipped coconut cream, strawberries, or simply powdered sugar and maple syrup.

The invention of one-pot stir-fries, noodles, and other dishes is a truly wonderful thing. It's as simple as throwing things in a pot, turning it to a boil, and letting it cook until everything is soft. One-pot meals are my favorite meals for weekdays or when I'm simply not feeling up to cooking, but when I also can't justify going out. These one-pot Thai stir-fry noodles fit the bill and are so easy to make, you'll be amazed at how delicious they are! The short ingredient list also makes it a pantry and budget friendly meal. Next time I'd like to add some chopped sesame tofu!

March

This past semester, I did a research project on Senegal, which I have always been interested in since my first French professor was from there. After learning briefly about their food and popular crops, I remembered this recipe for Senegalese red lentil soup in one of my favorite cookbooks: One Dish Vegan. This belly warming soup was absolutely perfect for cold winter days, especially when topped with sriracha and chopped peanuts. I think cooked rice would also be a great addition. I love making connections between my global interests and cuisine! This is why I love international cuisine cookbooks because it is a great way to learn more about a culture through their food.

I almost always have a package of soy chorizo in my freezer as a "just in case" ingredient. Why? Because you can do so much with soy chorizo! You can make burgers, enchiladas, tofu scramble, etc. This time, I decided to go with a soyrizo sweet potato hash served over rice with chipotle Cholula hot sauce and lime. This recipe comes together quickly but is hearty enough to tide you over for more than a few days! I'm sure these would also make some amazing tacos or a lovely breakfast if you added tofu scramble/eggs. Have you ever tried soy chorizo?

When I used to eat at Mexican restaurants as a kid, fajitas were my favorite things to order. I loved the blackened, spiced peppers and onions, and piling them onto tortillas with a bunch of toppings was the best part. I would even insist upon assembling them for my entire family! Now that Mexican restaurants are pretty much off limits to me, I love making fajitas at home. I've tried oven-roasted fajitas before, but these quick black bean fajitas are possibly my new favorite! They come together in a flash and were seriously the most delicious fajitas! Making your own fajita seasoning blend is so worth it too. We added sliced mushrooms to the fajitas and topped them with sliced cabbage, guacamole, lime and our favorite hot sauces!

April

I have always daydreamed about baking a huge, fluffy angel food cake, but I always thought it was too difficult or impossible to make gluten-free. Wrong! You totally can make it GF and even dairy-free as well. I was shocked at how easy this recipe is. I will say that yes, separating and beating all of those egg whites to stiff peaks takes a little time, but it is well worth the effort. I didn't have a batch of Sarah's GF baking blend at hand, so I adjusted it to fit this recipe: 1/2 C brown rice flour, 1/4 C tapioca starch, 2 TBS sorghum flour, 2 TBS cornstarch and 1/2 tsp xanthan gum. I topped my cake with a little vegan whipped cream and these brandied strawberries!

Now that the weather is warmer, I have been craving colder items like this salmon macaroni salad. This is a great dish to make the night before so that it can chill overnight in the fridge for meals the following day. I used Frank's red hot sauce in this dish, which paired perfectly with the onions, shallots, dill and salmon. Feel free to use vegan mayo or whatever you prefer!

After a few failed attempts, I pretty much gave up on the idea of creating a perfect brownie. But when I found this recipe for tofu chocolate brownies, I knew I had to try them, and I was not disappointed. These are the BEST brownies I've ever tasted and they were so simple to make. The best part? Because they're made with silken tofu, they even have protein in them. These brownies are chewy, fudgy, with a nice kick of cinnamon in every bite. I highly recommend making these and I'm positive that if you brought them to a party, they'd be gone in 5 minutes. Need I say more?

Let me introduce you to your new favorite breakfast: the ramlet. The ramlet consists of an omelet made with ramen seasoning, from the little packet that comes with your noodles. If you ever make a stir-fry or soup recipe that doesn't require your ramen seasoning, hang on to it for this omelet! I topped mine with a little sriracha and it was perfect. Also, you don't have to stuff your omelet with scrambled eggs, but you can if you have a little more time! I know what you're thinking: isn't ramen incredibly sodium-laden and unhealthy? Yes, some are, but they also make vegan, GF and low-sodium ramen. My favorite brand is from Lotus Foods, which I can find at Whole Foods. 

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!