Creamy Tomato Pasta for Fall

I think I'm starting to feel a bit better today, and it helped that it was quite Fall-like today.  I even have the kitchen window open!  Feels good.

I had work today, but what I made was so easy, I don't even think it counts as cooking :)

"Creamy" Tomato Pasta adapted from Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta from the VeganYumYum cookbook

6-10 ounces whole wheat pasta (I used a  mix of shells and rotini)


Sauce:
1 - 1 1/2 cups crushed canned tomatoes ( I needed my fresh tomatoes, so I used leftover crushed)
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp tomato paste
1-3 tbsp red wine

salt, pepper, garlic, fresh basil

Throw the 1st 5 sauce ingredients into a food processor (the original recipe uses a blender, but I don't have one) and process until creamy and thick.  Boil pasta.  While pasta is cooking, put sauce into a pan and heat.  Add salt, pepper and garlic to taste.  Add the wine. Simmer.  When past is cooked, drain it and add it to the pan with the sauce.  Toss and add fresh basil.  Yay, done!


It was really good.  I'm not sure if it would've been even creamier using a blender???  I've never used cashews in cooking before...gives it a nice texture and flavor.  I left out the oil from the original recipe (trying to follow McDougall's no oil rule when I can).  Of course he doesn't like nuts either....oh well.

Anyway, this was a great recipe for an easy quick dinner after work, so you should try it.

Time to go relax now.
Eat smart,
T.

Catching up over the weekend

Sorry I haven't been able to post.  Haven't felt up to it.  Couldn't sleep last night either...waking up every 45 minutes coughing.  I think I feel a little better today.  We'll see when nighttime rolls around.  That seems to be when it's at its worst.

Ok, on to the food then.  On Saturday night, I made my Potato Salad Oregano, but added raw fresh white turnips I'd gotten at the farmer's market.  I just cubed about 4 medium to large white turnips and put them in.  I don't think my husband was really into it. (I guess that's why there's so much left...more for me!)  It grew on me.  It was different.  I thought about cooking the turnips first, but decided I wanted the extra crunch instead.  I might consider cooking the turnips next time, but I liked it this way.  You can try whatever you want....let me know if you cook yours first.

Next: the Monk Bowl.  I'm really excited about this.  I found the idea on the Hungry Vegan's Blog.  She wrote an interesting article on Dr. McDougall.  So interesting, I went out and bought one of his program books and a cookbook of his.  She mentions this Monk Bowl, which you can find here.  There are a ton of different variations.  I decided to make one last night.  I made the Monk Bowl with the Asian-Ginger Sauce.  I used a mix of red and brown rice and steamed: green beans, carrots, broccoli, golden zucchini & yellow squash.  Different vegetables steam at different times, so add accordingly. Also added the lima beans I had just cooked that morning (I just put them on top of the other vegetables in the pot for the last couple of minutes of cooking).  I left out the tofu.  I have to say, it was SO good!!  I'm excited to try all the other variations too.

It was so good, we're having it again tonight (leftover rice and sauce).  I just have to steam up some vegetables.  I just started reading his book, and there are some things I don't agree with (there's always going to be something), but that's ok.  I like a lot of his ideas.  Basically, he tries to avoid all added fats (well, there's going to be some fat in your food, which is ok), meaning no oil!  That's probably the hardest thing to avoid, if you cook a lot.  He also doesn't like nuts....not sure why, except that they are high in fat.  But I'm sticking with my almond milk (especially since I just bought a case of it online!).  He uses rice and soy milk.  All of his recipes are vegan.  I still like my cheese once in a while and some yogurt too.  He concentrates on complex carbohydrates (seems to be the opposite of the Atkins diet).  Anyway, we'll see how it goes.

Now I have to go make dinner....easy, just have to steam the veggies (my husband hates that word).  VEGGIES!  hehehe.......

Back to work tomorrow.  Hopefully I'll be able to post something in the next few days.
Eat smart,
T.

Today's Farmer's Market

Ok, so even though I barely slept last night, due to a sudden sore throat, I got up today to go to the farmer's market.  I really thought the sore throat was caused by the Candied Sweet Potatoes of last night.......hmmm....too much sugar????  Could that be?  Anyway, it's still sore, but not nearly as bad as last night.

On to the produce of the day: white sweet potatoes (NOT making the candied version this time), green bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, black apples, yellow squash,  popcorn rice, shiitake mushrooms, muscadine grapes, satsumas, green beans, and yes, MORE okra.

So now it's time for your suggestions......I think the okra is one of those vegetables that's gonna keep on comin'. What do I do with it now???  I need new suggestions.  I'm overloaded!  Can't keep up.

Tonight's dinner: probably potato/turnip salad (along with leftover veg. sushi from lunch).  My stomach wasn't so good today either.  Man, I hope I'm not coming down with something major......gonna go have some seltzer with lemon now.  Good for my throat too.

If I'm up to it, I'll post about dinner later.
Eat smart,
T.

Tempeh and Sweet Potatoes

First I want to say I'm sorry for not posting anything the past 2 days.  I've been pretty busy with work and finally had some time tonight.  Might even have some time this weekend.....after checking out this week's farmer's market!

So the first recipe I did was a new one.  It's from  the Vegan YumYum cookbook: Candied Lime Sweet Potatoes. For my taste, it was a bit too sweet.  I even cut down the amount of sugar a little.  Next time, I'll cut it way down.  It was like eating candy....but maybe it's supposed to be???  I've gotta say, I'm not a huge sweet potato fan.   I think I've only ever made one recipe from them.  Some sweet potato salad, which was actually really good.  I'll have to find that recipe somewhere again if we get more sweet potatoes from the market.

I feel like I need to brush the candy off my teeth now....it's still lurking.  Also, I made it in a nonstick baking pan. Wonder if that was a bad idea.  The whole bottom is black from the caramelization of sugar.  Think it'll come off???  It's soaking, so hopefully.

Second recipe I made was Tempeh Barbecue from the Kripalu Cookbook.  Excellent recipe!  I've made this one a few times before.  The taste varies a bit, depending on the kind/brand of molasses you use.  Some are stronger than others.  I added green pepper this time, because I still had plenty and we're getting more at the market tomorrow. And I use crushed tomatoes instead of tomato sauce.  If you've got tempeh and mushrooms on hand, you HAVE to try this recipe!

Wow, that's it I guess.  We've got leftover tempeh for tomorrow, yay!  Was thinking of making a potato/turnip salad for lunch tomorrow, since we still have more turnips from the market.  We'll see.

Have a good Friday night!
Eat smart,
T.

Food for a Stormy Day

Yes, I made the stuffed pattypan squash again.  But, I decided to try some fried okra on the side.  Was pretty good, needed perhaps a bit more salt in the breading.

Tanya's Fried Okra:


7-8 large okra, sliced about 1/2 inch thick
3/4 cup or so of yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
creole seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil

Sprinkle a lot of salt over the okra, then cover with cold water and let sit for an hour.  (I read about this somewhere on the internet...not exactly sure what it does).  Then drain the okra.  Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a pan.  Add okra to the dry ingredients, mix well.  Put okra in pan and fry about 8 minutes, before starting to flip them over.  Mix it up every couple of minutes.  You want to get it nice and brown on all sides.


Now don't forget, my amounts aren't totally exact.....hahaha......because I never write them down.  So I'm just thinking back to when I made it....."hmmmm, how much did I use??".  


And for my pre-dinner snack: Guacamole!

Tanya's Guacamole:


1 large Florida avocado, peeled and pitted
juice of 1 key lime
1/2 large tomato, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp ground cumin
cilantro, salt, pepper


Mash up the avocado.  You can leave some of it chunky if you want.  Add the lime juice and mix.  Then add the tomato, onion, and spices. Done!


(The Florida avocados tend to have fewer calories than the California ones)


And so that's the end of my post.  Tomorrow's a busy work day, not sure I'll get to any recipes.  Probably will have leftover veg. bake from yesterday.  And I didn't have to make lunch today because food magically appeared at work today, yay!  AND there was a veg. option, double yay!  Usually we can't eat it, because it all has meat in it.

So take care and come back soon!
Eat smart,
T.

Easy Vegetable Bake

I think I took the easy way out tonight to try and use up some of the vegetables in the fridge.  I made an "everything-but-the-kitchen-sink" casserole.

Tanya's Easy Veggie Bake:


Saute: chopped onions, celery, and mushrooms.
Put in bowl: sliced yellow squash, golden zucchini, large tomato (in wedges), 1 green bell pepper, and anything else you need to use up.
Add the sauteed vegetables to the bowl with other veg. 
Add garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, basil
Put in a 9x13 baking pan.  
Spoon some canned diced tomatoes all over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  
Sprinkle mozzarella (or Daiya Mozzarella) on top and bake for another 5 minutes.
Done!


So easy.  I need to work harder this week.....more interesting recipes.  It's not easy when you have to work.
Oh, and I have to say it paired very nicely with the Riesling we had leftover from last night!

Still have a list of recipes I want to make, including brownies and no bake chocolate peanut butter something or other....the list goes on.

Good night folks, until tomorrow.
Eat smart,
T.

Gorditas for lunch!

I've wanted to make these ever since I saw them on another blog.  The original recipe is from the Nitty Gritty Vegan.  I followed the recipe exactly for the gorditas.  For the filling, I sort of adjusted it to whatever I had in the fridge!

I didn't deep fry them....just fried 'em in a little spray oil in a saute pan.  I still have 4 gordita balls on hand to make again in a day or 2.  Hope they don't dry out.

Tanya's Gordita Filling:

1/2 yellow onion, chopped
3/4 cup chopped golden zucchini
3/4 cup diced canned tomatoes (or fresh)
cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp olive oil

Heat the oil in a pan.  Add onions and cook for several minutes until soft.  Add zucchini and cook another 5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and the spices.  Let cook for another 5 minutes or so.  Ready to fill the gorditas!  I ended up eating most of it with a fork though.  Some of mine were too thin to cut well.  Next time I'll shape them better!

These were so delicious!  Thank you, Nitty Gritty Vegan!  And I was able to use up a bit more of my golden zucchini, although I still have plenty left.

Back to work tomorrow.....hope I can get a little blogging in this week.

Eat smart,
T.

Golden Zucchini Bread

So I'm sitting here eating a slice of this golden zucchini bread with a glass of Riesling.  I wonder if there's a good beer that would go with it??  Any suggestions? Hmmmm, maybe I should start a beer and food pairing blog.

I got this recipe from the Hungry Vegan blog.  It's really good.  I changed a couple of things around.  I used 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of whole spelt flour.  I also used 1/2 cup of agave nectar instead of 1/3 cup maple syrup.  However, it's not very sweet, which is ok.  But perhaps next time I'll add a bit more agave.  Now I can have jam on it to add sweetness!  Or have a Riesling with it, like I'm doing now.  I only used 1/2 of one of my golden zucchinis!!! (or is zucchini already plural??)  The zucchinis are so big, that 1 cup was only a half of one.  Now whatever shall I do with the other 1 1/2 golden zucchinis?  I should've made a double batch.  Actually, I think I spotted a recipe for zucchini spelt muffins somewhere......let me go flip through my cookbooks again (I do this every day).

And I guess that's it.  Had my Potato Salad Oregano for lunch.....was tasty.
I'm going to go back to eating my zucchini bread and drinking my wine, so goodnight for now!

Eat smart,
T.

Tempeh and potatoes

Sorry for such a late dinner post.  Just got back from having a Sam Adams Seasonal...mmmm....

So we had tempeh for dinner, with a side of vegetables, including potatoes, local corn, local lima beans, and onions.

I based this tempeh recipe on the one I found on the Swellvegan blog. If you scroll down, you'll find Balsamic Tempeh.  I couldn't find fresh kale or anything at my store, so I had to use canned greens.  I used spinach and mustard greens.  I'm sure it would have been so much better with fresh kale.  I love the stuff.  So sad that the store didn't have any.  I didn't serve it with rice.  Instead, I made a side dish of potatoes to go with it. Perhaps next time I'll make it exactly as the recipe says!

Tanya's Potato Corn dish:

1 small yellow onion, chopped
2-3 cooked small red potatoes, cubed
~1/2 cup cooked lima beans
2 ears of corn (1 white, 1 yellow)
4-5 stalks of asparagus,cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tbsp olive oil
cajun seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic


Cut the kernels off the corn cobs.  Put oil in pan.  Add corn kernels.  Cook until browned, stirring every minute or so.  Set aside.  Use same pan, add more oil if needed.  Add onions.  Cook until translucent.  Add potatoes and let brown a bit.  Add asparagus.  You may need to add a couple of tablespoons of water and cover to let the asparagus cook for a bit.  Add lima beans and corn.  Add seasonings to taste.  Cook a few minutes longer.

Enjoy!  I just kind of mixed all sorts of things......on the spot experiment.  I had to use the last 2 ears of corn from last week's farmer's market.  Also had to use the cooked lima beans I had from a day or 2 ago.  Again, I boiled a bunch of potatoes this morning, just to have on hand.  Still have some left.  Maybe I'll make my Potato Salad Oregano again!

Well, I think it's time to try one of those fancy chocolate truffles my friend  gave me for my birthday!

Until tomorrow....
Eat smart,
T.

The Goods, They Are Here

Ok, we're back from the farmer's market!  Here's what we got in today's share:

cucumbers, golden zucchini, pattypan squash, creole tomatoes, green bell peppers, muscadine grapes, black apples, lima beans, white turnips, white button mushrooms, satsumas, sweet potatoes, and okra.

I'm definitely going to make stuffed pattypan again.  I think I'll make a little jam out of the purple grapes, which are smaller and sweeter than the green ones.  Haven't tasted the black apples yet....they're not really black, go figure.  Hmmmm, sweet potatoes...not a big fan.  BUT, I did make a sweet potato salad once that was absolutely delicious.  Can I do that with 2 sweet potatoes??  Maybe I should add regular potatoes to make up the difference...?  Ok, we're overflowing with okra here.  I just don't know what to do.  I think I'll try some fried okra, breaded with cornmeal this time.  We still have some left over from last week!  Golden zucchini: I'm going to make zucchini bread out of it. Mushroom risotto coming up this week too, I think.  More turnip slaw?  Hmmmm, I'll do some more research about those turnips.

That's it for now.  I have to go figure out what I'm going to make for dinner now!

Eat smart,
T.

Turnip Slaw!

I'd searched and searched the internet for something interesting to make with the little white turnips I got from the market last week.  I found a nice recipe and adjusted it for my taste.  I only had about 8 small turnips, so I had to add some other things.

Tanya's Turnip Slaw, adapted from Baby Turnip Slaw from A Good Appetite blog.

8 small white turnips
1 cup shredded cabbage/slaw mix
1/2 cup broccoli slaw mix or any other shredded vegetable (carrots,etc.)
2 Tb Vegenaise
1-2 tsp cider vinegar
2 tsp spicy brown mustard
salt/pepper


Cut the turnips like slaw (as in the picture above).  Put in bowl with the other shredded vegetables.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Mix.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

This was a pretty simple recipe, but I had no energy to do more.  This weekend I will pick up my share from the market again and will hopefully come up with some nice recipes too! But for today....I still have to work, and I'm so tired.

I think I saw a sneak peak for next week's vegetables: muscadines (could I make wine???), black apples (never heard of those), and more sasquash (as my husband calls it), okra, etc.....I'll let you know!

So for now, get some sleep (that is, I need sleep...after work tonight). And tune in tomorrow for the market vegetable list!

Eat smart,
T.

Nothin' New

Sorry folks, nothing new here today.  Had work all day, came home and made my Lima Bean Chili.  And since I already posted about that, there was no point in talking about it again.  Although I did add some celery, okra, and yellow squash this time.  Oh, and I served it over whole wheat noodles instead of brown rice.

Thinking of something to do with the little white turnips we got at last week's market.  Maybe turnip slaw?? And maybe some sort of succotash with the leftover lima beans and fresh corn?  I wonder if I can just mix them together cold, rather than cooking it on the stove, since the lima beans are already cooked (I did that tonight). Hmmmmm.....any thoughts?

Well if you think of something, let me know!

I'm tired, so I'm going to tune out now.....thanks for reading.

Eat smart,
T.

Happy Birthday to me!

Ok, the title sounded kind of pompous, no?  Sorry. Well you see, every time my birthday rolls around, I always end up making myself a birthday cake.  So here's this year's version.....kind of an experimental version that turned out pretty well, even with whole wheat flour!

Tanya's 2009 Chocolate Raspberry Coffee Birthday Cake:
(inspired by Rich Chocolate Cake in Vegetarian Cooking & Vegetable Classics by Denny & Ingram)

Almost 1 cup of whole wheat flour, plus a couple of Tbsp of high gluten white flour (to fill the cup)
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
~7 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup agave nectar
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp baking powder
~1/2 small jar of raspberry jam/preserves

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  You can add a little more agave if you want it sweeter.  For me, the jam and frosting made it sweet enough.  Pour into an 8 or 9 inch round cake pan and bake about 40-45 minutes at 300 degrees.  Let cool on rack.  When cool, slice in half to make 2 layers.  Spread the jam on the bottom layer.  Put the other half on top, and frost.


Frosting:
~3 cups organic powdered sugar
~3 tbsp instant coffee granules, plus a little water

Mix the coffee and water together to dissolve.  Put sugar in a bowl, add the coffee mixture.  If too thick, add a little more water.  If too thin, add more sugar.  You want it firm, but mixable (if that's a word).

Not too many ingredients.....very simple.  The outcome?  Well, it's not fluffy like a regular white flour, eggy, buttery cake.  A little more dry and with the agave nectar it wasn't very sweet.  That's ok, because the jam and the frosting are quite sweet and make up for it.  Again, you can adjust the ingredients to your liking too!  That's what I did.  Maybe next time I try this recipe, I'll replace something else.  Who knows??

And my husband bought me Sunflowers (my favorite)!!  He gave them to me at the stroke of midnight last night! :)

Anyway, sorry no blog post yesterday.  Too busy.  And I went back to work today (on my birthday nonetheless) so only the cake today.  Tomorrow is busy too....I'll see what I can do!  Stay tuned.

Happy cake eating!
Eat smart,
T.

Roasted broccoli & cauliflower a la lemon

Hey everyone!

For tonight's meal, I roasted broccoli and cauliflower and served it with Israeli couscous.  This is a recent discovery of mine, and I love it!  It's really easy too, once you've broken up the broccoli and cauliflower. I suppose you can always buy the packaged florets, but it's fresher to do it yourself. But some of us have more time than others....so do what you have to do. Here's my oh-so-lemony recipe!

Tanya's Roasted Broccoliflower a la Lemon w/Israeli Couscous:

Broccoli and cauliflower, broken into florets (enough to fill a roasting pan)
1-2 lemons
1 cup Israeli (pearl) couscous
olive oil
spices: salt,pepper, lemon-pepper (if you have it), garlic powder
2 cups water


For roasting:
Put all broccoli and cauliflower in a bowl.  Add about 1-2 tbsp olive oil,salt, black pepper, lemon-pepper (I use Mrs. Dash), and some garlic powder.  Add juice of 1/2 lemon.  Mix well and let sit a few minutes.  Put in a greased roasting pan, spread out evenly.  Put in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.  After 15 minutes, mix them up so more sides can get that "ever so slightly burnt" look.  Once out of the oven, add the juice of 1/2 lemon and mix it up in the pan before serving.

For couscous:
Put 1 tbsp olive oil in a pot.  Add couscous and heat, toasting them nicely.  Once toasted, add juice of 1 lemon, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil.  Once boiling, turn the heat way down and let simmer, covered (or mostly covered) for ~15 minutes or so....however long it takes for the water to be absorbed.  In some cases, you may need to add a bit more water, if couscous is not fully cooked.

I love lemon, so I always add extra once it's on my plate!


And that's it for today, folks.  I don't know what's on the agenda for this week....haven't thought that far ahead.  But I do know I have lots of vegetables from the market this weekend, so I'll have to think of something.  Still wondering about that golden zucchini.....

Enjoy the last of your weekend!
Eat smart,
T.
                                                                            

Zucchini Cakes with Yogurt Sauce

Nope, no recipe today, folks.  But I'll give you the cookbook I found it in.  I'm just trying to "play it safe" and not have to deal with copyrights.


I used the 2 zucchinis (hmmmm, that doesn't sound right.....like raviolis or spaghettis) I got from last week's farmer's market.  Yay!  Just takes some shredding and draining, breadcrumbs, egg, and a special spice.  My picture isn't nearly as appetizing as the one in the cookbook, but oh well.


The recipe: Zucchini Cakes with Minted Yogurt Sauce from Reader's Digest's "the Vegetarian cookbook"


Wow, short blog post tonight.  I'm all out.  But I'll have good stuff comin' your way this week, since I've got no shortage of fresh vegetables in my fridge now.  


Question of the day: Do I use golden zucchini the same way I'd use regular green zucchini???


Eat smart,
T.

My favorite veg-friendly restaurants

Just got back from the market and the bookstore, where I picked up some great cookbooks AND vegetables!  Here's what was in our produce "box" this week:

tomatoes, white turnips, pattypan squash (my husband calls it sasquash), white button mushrooms, white and yellow corn, cucumbers, brown rice, key limes, satsumas, apples, okra, green peppers, lima beans, yellow squash AND golden zucchini

That's quite a boxful.  Will have to be extra creative this week, although I go back to work on Tuesday, so I may not be able to cook something new everyday.  That's ok, I can always resort to my trusty ol' roasted vegetables.

On to this afternoon's post: my favorite veg-friendly restaurants.

We've traveled a lot over the years and we've lived in a lot of different states.  So I will try to list some places we've really enjoyed eating, where it wasn't a problem to find something vegetarian/vegan:

The Tomato Head (Knoxville, TN)  good local beers on tap too, and amazing vegan cupcakes!
Veg-O-Rama (Knoxville, TN) 100% vegetarian with several vegan options & local beer on tap :)
Sunspot (Knoxville, TN)  also has a good selection of beer  
Caravan of Dreams (NYC)
Mana (NYC)  LOVE this place
Candle 79 (NYC)  NOT cheap.
Taj Mahal (Springdale/Cincinnati, OH)  no website, sorry! Buffet and large menu.
Melt Eclectic Deli (Cincinnati, OH)
Emanu East African (Cincinnati, OH) Excellent vegetarian/vegan combo dish!
The Green Goddess (New Orleans, LA) nice outdoor seating
Boba House (Greensboro, NC)
Rosetta's Kitchen (Asheville, NC)
The Zenith (Pittsburgh, PA)  walk thru an antique store...cafe is in the back
The Dubliner (Downtown St. Louis, MO)  great pub with great beer selection and some veg. entrees!
Sunrise Cafe (Yellow Springs, OH)  not far from Dayton.....great little town to visit!
Sunflower Cafe (Fairhope, AL) Delicious vegan food available and a great health food store next door.
Cafe Bamboo (New Orleans, LA) 100% vegetarian (mostly vegan), great desserts! Outdoor seating.
Cafe Evolution (Florence/Northampton, MA) 100% vegan. Delicious. Awesome desserts.
Alchemy Juice Bar (Hartford, CT) Mostly raw. Nicest people. Try Live Veggie Wrap & Live Chai!
Myra's Dionysus (Cincinnati, OH) Mostly veg with lots of vegan options. Tons of soups. All delicious!
Freshside Amherst (Amherst, MA) AMAZING Asian fare. Very creative rolls, lots of vegan food :)
Bela Vegetarian (Northampton, MA) 100% vegetarian with lots of vegan options and great specials.
Green Vegetarian Cuisine (San Antonio, TX) Excellent food & ambience. Lots of vegan options, friendly.
Loving Hut (Houston, TX) 100% vegan, Asian themed food, great spring rolls, bright and clean.
Field of Greens (Houston, TX) Mostly vegetarian/vegan/macrobiotic. "Fish" Taco Platter good and dessert!
Borboleta Cafe/Ambrosia (Austin, TX) Raw/Vegan, small menu, but delicious food, great local coffee too.
Beets Living Foods Cafe (Austin, TX) Raw/Vegan, huge menu, very friendly, great food & pretty food, modern bright place, free parking in garage
Mothers Cafe (Austin, TX) Vegetarian with lots of vegan options, delicious, huge portions, great dessert and ambience
Daily Juice Cafe (Austin, TX) Raw/Vegan, good menu, options for large or small portions, great smoothies

See my post on Myra's, TomatoHead, & Veg-O-Rama here.
See my post on Alchemy Juice Bar here.
See my posts on Cafe Evolution here and here.
See my post on Freshside Amherst & Bela Vegetarian here.
See my post on the Houston & San Antonio restaurants here.
See my post on the Austin restaurants here.

That's all I can think of at the moment...make sure to stop by if you're in any of these areas!  I will add to this post as I think of more places, so come back every now and then for updates!

And now I must think about what to make for dinner....must use zucchini...the green ones!

Eat smart,
T.

Roasted vegetables with asparagus

I know, I know, I've already talked about roasted vegetables....blah...blah....blah...

BUT, today I added asparagus and white button mushrooms because I had to use up the mushrooms already (they'd been in the fridge a while) and asparagus was on sale! So that's my excuse. I also had to use up my tomatoes from last week's market (I'm sure I'll pick up more tomorrow). By the way, is it a stalk of asparagus or what? Does a "bunch" have several stalks?

And even though I still prefer my traditional roasted tomatoes, onions, and peppers, you can make it with pretty much anything! Next time I'll post my recipe for roasted cauliflower and broccoli a la lemon, with lemon israeli couscous. Good stuff.

It's gonna be a rainy weekend all around. So don't expect too much from me. We're still going to try and make it to the market tomorrow for our produce box (I think there may be more pattypan squash!!!!), you know....after we stop at Barnes and Nobles to pick up a few vegan cookbooks I've been drooling over. (no, I'm not vegan)

Ever since I had the most amazing vegan chocolate cupcake with peppermint frosting at The Tomato Head in Knoxville, TN, I've had cravings for vegan cupcakes. If you live anywhere near there, I highly recommend that place. The meal was perfect! With great local beer to go with it...on tap!

I can't get anything vegan here.....

Hmmm.....maybe tomorrow I'll make a list of my favorite veg-friendly restaurants from our travels!

Until then, happy eating.

Eat smart,

T.

Bhindi Masala or OKRA

Hello eaters,

And for the last post of the day, I'm sharing my recipe for Bhindi Masala, which is a combination of recipes really.....I've searched and searched and took a little from each. So I guess it's not really my own, but it's nobody else's either :)

Tanya's Bhindi Masala:

8-12 medium sized okra

1 tomato, chopped

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 large can of crushed or diced tomatoes

1 Tbl olive oil

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

small piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

salt/pepper

Following spices: coriander powder, chili powder, turmeric, black mustard seeds, garam masala, crushed red pepper flakes and cajun spices (if you want it spicier)

Heat oil in pan, add cumin seeds. Stir for a couple of minutes. Add onions and ginger. Cook for a few minutes, stirring. Add the 1 fresh tomato and stir. Add some of the spices, like chili powder, turmeric, mustard seeds and coriander. Stir and cook a few minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and the "spicy" spices. Cook another couple of minutes. Cut both ends of the okra, slice lengthwise, then cut in half across. Add to the pan. Make sure the okra is covered by the sauce. Let it cook for another 8-10 minutes or so. Add salt,pepper, and garam masala. Cook a couple more minutes and it's done. Don't let the okra get mushy...it's good when it's still firm and crunchy.

Last time, I sliced the okra like a cucumber, into small pieces. I think I prefer that. So it's up to you how to cut it. I also sauteed it first last time, letting it brown, then put it aside until the very end, then added it back into the pan. Again, adjust as you need to! It's all a matter of taste.

In these pictures, it's served with red rice.

Nobody solved the breakfast bowl challenge from earlier?? Hmmm....well the first picture is quick cooking oats (my husband's breakfast). The second picture is the cooked whole oat groats (my breakfast). Which one is more nutricious? MINE! :)

I'm going to tune out now.....thanks for listening.....or reading.

Eat smart,

T.