Tag: spinach

A little break

VeganMofo always burns me out on posting. Afterwards it’s a relief to eat without having to take pictures of it. Emblogination will resume shortly though. Sunday we got back from 6 days in NYC. So much to write about. There was gluttony. And lots of walking. The latter definitely did not cancel out the former. Urg.

So this week, I’m trying to detox. I’m having smoothies for breakfast. Lunch Monday was a package of R. Thomas wrap slices. Monday night I made raw pecan paté that I’ve been eating on red bell pepper wedges. We also had a spinach salad for dinner with that and baked tofu. Lunch Tuesday was leftover salad and red pepper paté wedges. And a pear. And some peanut butter crackers (hey, how’d those get in there?) Then last night I had butternut squash, corn and leftover tofu over rice noodles with Bragg’s, gomashio and flax oil. You’ll notice there are no cupcakes, donuts, ice cream, etc. in there. I might die. Although I will admit that Monday I ate a couple of tiny dick pops I found in my purse from the bachelorette party. Mmmm….tiny chocolate dicks.

spinach_salad_tofu_pate

Pasta in cheezy sauce

Dinner in a flash seems to be a recurring theme around here. If it’s not so flashy that I’m having someone else cook it, it’s often something that takes little fiddling. Bonus if it’s something that I can keep around for a quick meal without worrying about it going bad.

Enter the easy vegan cheese sauce mix. Your Vegan Mom posted the recipe a while back and ever since I first whipped it up I try to keep some around. I always keep frozen peas and pasta of some sort in the house. And I always have soy milk. So half a cup of the mix, plus one cup of milk equals sauce. If you’re feeling fancy, add soy curls, tofu, chopped up seitan log, whatever. Here instead of the peas, we had spinach on the side and I tossed in some tofu leftovers I had. Really you can just dump whatever you like in it. I only wish I had a vitamix to get the mix more powdery. I think the sauce would come out smoother.

Sushi Sushi!

Look, we’re eating out again! I do miss cooking but there’s just been too much other stuff going on lately. That’ll get worse before it gets better. And then I’ll be doing more cooking than ever before. I’m sure I’ll bitch about that too.

Kevin and I hadn’t been to RuSan’s for sushi in a while. Sure, I know that if you’re a fish-eating sushi snob, RuSan’s isn’t all that great. But as a vegan, it’s fantastic! I love ordering lots of different small things and putting together a meal that fits your tastes and appetite.

I started off with potato yakitori.

And then had three different sushi rolls:

I don’t think I’d had the Kaiware Daikon (radish sprout)  Maki before. Tasted very cleansing. I can see getting it every once in a while.

Tempura Spinach Maki. See, you can justify eating something fried when it’s spinach, right? Right?

I get the Avocado Maki almost every time.

Others that are in my rotation: teriyaki zucchini maki, tempura tofu maki, tempura banana maki, inari nigiri, and some others I am forgetting. See, lots of vegan options!

Tempeh Wingz

How did I go this long before making the Tempeh Wingz out of the first issue of the Don’t Eat Off the Sidewalk cookzine? Maybe it’s because I never ate chicken wings. Ew. Or maybe it’s because I still find tempeh to be a little odd, even though I like it every time I make it. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter now because these were a big hit! Messy to make and tasty to eat. Crunchy like they’re fried, but they’re not! Of course, the Earth Balance in the sauce might make up for the lack of frying. But I’m going to ignore that. Here they are in all their glory, sharing a plate with lemon roasted fingerling potatoes and a little pile of spinach.

Cajun Tofu & Jackfruit “Carnitas”

I’m usually too lazy to cook something that involves this many pots & pans. So it should be considered a treat. This is the Cajun Tofu from Yellow Rose Recipes. It’s actually baked, not fried, so it’s good for you and shit. The potatoes are your basic red & purple potatoes, chopped up, tossed with olive oil, salt & pepper and roasted til they’re done. The spinach is just sautéed with garlic, onions, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Also in olive oil. And look, there’s one of those sourdough biscuits! By the way, the leftover tofu on one of the biscuits made an amazing little sammich.

 

cajun tofu potatoes spinach biscuit

I saw this recipe for Jackfruit “Carnitas” Tacos a while back and knew I’d eventually get around to trying it. I was right! I ate them with sautéed mustard greens, taking advantage of the opportunity of Kevin being out of town to enjoy some bitter greens. I’m post the recipe of what I did because it deviates a bit from the one linked to above. The spice amounts are approximate as I just eyeballed it and starting tossing stuff in there. I felt like it was a little acidic, so a vegan cheese or sour cream might be especially nice. I just “suffered” with avocado. 

jackfruit carnitas tacos

Jackfruit “Carnitas” Tacos

  • 2 20 cans young green jackfruit in brine rinsed and drained
  • 1 7oz can mexican green sauce
  • 1 11oz can whole tomatillos drained
  • ½ large onion chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon chile powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • ½ teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
  • 18-24 small corn tortillas
  • 2 avocados

Drain & rinse the jackfruit throughly. With your hands, press the moisture out of each piece & add it to the crock pot.

Toss all of the spices in the crockpot with the jackfruit. Stir around until jackfruit is coated.

Add onion and garlic to the pot. Dump in green sauce. Add tomatillos squeezing between your fingers to bust up as you add them. Stir everything around.

Cook for 7-9 hours on low. Before serving, smash jackfruit with a spoon. It’ll shred into stringy pieces. No need to be thorough, just want to smack the chunks down a bit.

Dry fry tortillas in a cast iron or other heavy pan until they get some brown spots on each side. Spoon some jackfruit “carnitas” into a tortilla all soft taco like, squeeze a little lime juice on top, toss on a few pieces of avocado and then add whatever it is you like to add to tacos.