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. 

Let's Catch Up: November - January

Hi there! It's been quite a while since I've posted about my weekly eats. As we all know, life happens. Near the middle of last Fall, school became out of control and lots of other things got in the way of me blogging. But because I will never not be cooking, I still kept perfect track of all of the recipes that I tried! I have planned for two catch up posts spanning last November up until the end of this May. I will be sharing 3-4 recipes that were my favorites from each month. I hope that you all are doing well and I can't wait to begin blogging more regularly now that I HAVE GRADUATED! Sorry, still a little excited about that :) 

November

I've had this crazy heirloom bean and acorn squash chili recipe saved for years, but I finally tried it out! I call it crazy because it involves things I would never think to put together like beer, herbes de Provence, jalapeno and acorn squash. The combination is probably the most delicious chili I've ever tasted! I used GF beer and it worked just fine. I also finally made Kara's turmeric chili corn muffins and they went perfectly with the chili. Next time I think I'll use a little less chili flakes, but the vegan butter helped to cut the heat down and also made them extra tasty!

For Thanksgiving last year, I made this grain-free maple bourbon pecan tart. This was also a perfect excuse to finally buy that tart pan with a removable bottom! The tart came out wonderfully and it reminded me a lot of Kentucky bourbon pie, minus the chocolate. It would be perfect with some vegan ice cream on top!

Quesadillas are not a regular meal for me, but when I saw these Italian ones in Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen, I knew I had to make them! Instead of cheese there is a wonderful, cheezy white bean spread alongside avocado, fresh parsley, and lots of sundried tomatoes. These made great dinners but were also quick enough to fry up for lunch in between classes. I'm sure a marinara would also make a great dipping sauce for these!

December

I absolutely love making different types of curries, and this is my first time making a Jamaican style one! This recipe from Bryant Terry's latest book was incredibly flavorful, complex, yet simple to pull together. I loved the addition of mustard greens, which I rarely cook with, but I definitely did after this recipe! They have a slight bitterness to them which really worked in this spicy, peanutty curry. I served mine with jasmine rice and cilantro for a complete meal.

Sometimes there's nothing quite like coming home to a big bowl of pasta. This pasta de Los Angeles definitely hit the spot and I'm still drooling over it months later! It's a simple Mexican twist on pasta but it's packed with nutrition from black beans, spinach, tomatoes, and avocado. Luckily it comes together quickly which makes it perfect for weeknights!

Last Christmas, I finally made homemade gifts for everyone, in addition to a few purchased ones. One of my favorite things that I made was this apple cinnamon bourbon. Sadly, I didn't get to drink much of it since I gifted it to many people, but what I did have was so flavorful, spicy, and perfect for winter! I can only imagine how wonderful this would be in a hot toddy!

January

I've had my eye on these black-eyed pea cakes with collards for quite some time now, so I decided to make them with my mom for a traditional New Year's Eve dinner! These cakes were so delicious and crispy, especially with some Franks on top! I loved using black-eyed peas in a new way for this holiday. The collards were also delicious, but when are they not?

Listen up: here's your new favorite weeknight dinner and it's called tortilla soup. I always shied away from this recipe because I thought it would be boring, but oh how wrong I was. This is a dead simple soup that comes together in a flash and packs a ton of flavor. Do not skip the tortilla chips or cilantro, trust me. I'm also positive that without the tortilla chips, you could also freeze this for later dinners!

I usually just top my morning eggs with kimchi or throw it into ramen, but I love using it in different ways for dinner as well. This warm kimchi sesame rice bowl with broccoli was amazing! The spicy broccoli pairs wonderfully with the umami flavors of the dressed wild rice and probiotic-packed kimchi. As always, I paired this with my go-to sesame baked tofu recipe from Isa's latest book, but you could also use steamed edamame or eggs! I used my favorite Japanese miso horseradish kimchi.

Les Bouchées Quotidiennes

I'm not sure why, but when I get new kitchen appliances, it usually takes me a few months to use them. I received a lovely waffle iron for Christmas, but I didn't use it until this past weekend! I don't think I've ever had homemade waffles before (not from a restaurant), so these were a real treat. I had a few recipes picked out, but I settled on this one because the ingredients are very basic for a GF vegan recipe. 

As you can see, they turned out great! The best part is that they really don't take very long to make, which is always a plus for breakfast. These turned out super fluffy and delicious, but didn't reheat so well the next day. For serving (shown in the first picture) I made some cinnamon rum fried bananas and maple syrup. 

We went to Clayton this past weekend and our dinners were filled with delicious vegetables and herbs from the garden! These are farmer's market vegetables to be roasted on trays with fresh herbs (oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary), smashed garlic cloves, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and some pepperoncinis (and their juices). So delicious! 

After having to kick out one of my "go to" places for a decent meal, I've been searching around for somewhere that won't kill me when I don't feel like cooking. I happened to find not one, but two places last week in the same day. This delicious tuna steak Niçoise is from Liberty Oak, which is downtown. They were very careful to prepare my food properly and I was fine afterwards. This same day, I also went to Fuji Sushi where I tried ikura for the first time. I would normally never want to try roe, but I am hooked. It makes a great substitute for soy sauce too, since almost every sushi place in Greensboro doesn't have GF soy sauce. I also tried yellowtail, which was alright. I was feeling pretty adventurous, I guess you could say! For Memorial Day, my family grilled some salmon and tuna steaks, so I think I'm "fished out" for a while, but I definitely want to start cooking it more. And maybe make some ikura topped deviled eggs while I'm at it...

I love recipes that have different variations on it, like miso soup or this: mejadra or mujaddara (depending on how you spell it). The best part about mujaddara? It's a fast, simple, and delicious meal that is satisfying on any night. I have made the second linked recipe, which is a lot more simple but topped with a spiced yogurt. This one is chock full of crunchy coriander seeds, allspice and cinnamon, and other warm spices. Squeeze lemon juice on top with extra fried onions, and you're good to go. This definitely would've been better with some vegan yogurt, but it was still satisfying (and it makes a TON of food). I actually used the onion part of the recipe from the second one since it's not deep fried, but use whichever one you want!

It's smoothie season! Especially when I have fresh herbs and local produce on a regular basis. Smoothies are a great lunch option when you're busy or not feeling so great. This recipe has: strawberries (local), basil (from the garden), frozen banana, kale (local), peanut butter, hemp seeds, lemon juice, and almond milk.  It may sound like an odd combination but it was actually really good. Hopefully I'll be posting more smoothies around here now!

Black Bean Spaghetti + Garlicky Balsamic Peppers

School is back in session (ugh), so time is short in my little kitchen. I am trying to learn to throw together quick meals and not fall back into the easy habits of processed food. I am also trying my best to not go to the store for just one single thing. Pantry cooking rules! I promise, with a well-stocked one, you can do it too. Here's something I pulled together late last night that is packed with flavor and protein. Black bean spaghetti has a whopping 80g of protein for the entire bag. So next time someone asks you where you get your protein from and you're vegan, just shove a bag of that pasta in their face. Deal? :)

Black Bean Spaghetti & Garlicky Balsamic Peppers

• 1 bag of black bean spaghetti or regular GF pasta
• olive oil
• salt
• dried thyme, red pepper flakes + dried oregano
• 5-6 baby sweet peppers or 1-2 large bell peppers, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 C mushrooms, chopped (optional)
• 3-4 small tomatoes or 1/2 cherry tomatoes, sliced (do not de-seed)
• 2-4 garlic cloves, minced
• balsamic vinegar (note: I eyeballed the measurements for the vinegar, so they aren't accurate) 
• red wine vinegar (or red wine) 
• fresh basil

1. Bring a pot of water to boil for your pasta and cook according to package directions (note: black bean spaghetti cooks on simmer not boil). Heat a skillet over medium high, add about 1 T oil. Add mushrooms, peppers, a few pinches of dried thyme and a pinch of salt to help release water. Saute until almost softened, 3-4 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes and garlic. Cook 2-3 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add dried oregano and red pepper flakes, and more salt if desired. Stir and turn up to high.
3. Add about 2 T red wine vinegar to the pan and 1/4 C or more of balsamic vinegar. The fumes will be very "acidic" and could be unpleasant to the eyes, so be careful. Bring to a quick boil, then turn down to simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally 3-4 minutes, until the "sauce" has reduced in half. 
4. Plate your spaghetti and top with sauce. Add more red pepper flakes and fresh chiffonaded basil on top. Voila!