Back from market and other giveaways

Here's today's foodstuffs: Ponchatoula Strawberries, grapefruits, navel oranges, baby Shiitakes, Cajun Brown Jasmine rice, Oak Leaf lettuce, Asian mixed greens, white turnips, collard greens, curly kale, salad mix, and hydroponic tomatoes.

Yay for Louisiana strawberry season!!

Here are some links to giveaways you might be interested in:

Bodum French Press giveaway on CookingForAVeganLover's blog.

Naturally Nutty giveaway on LoveVeggiesAndYoga's blog.

Artisana Coconut Butter giveaway on ChocolateCoveredKatie's blog.

And I forgot to mention I got some great stuff in a couple of giveaways a while back.  I took pictures of the loot, but seem to have lost them :(  I got a great Theo dark chocolate bar from Lindsay at CookingForAVeganLover blog. And I then got a great package on another giveaway from Noelle of OperaSingerInTheKitchen blog. There was Lavazza coffee, agave nectar, Larabars, and Newman's Own mints. Delicious and thank you guys!!

And I just got my very first issue of Purely Delicious magazine....can't wait to start reading it!

Eat smart,
T.

Tempeh Cakes, Raw Oats and Indian Curry!

First I'll start with my raw breakfast, since I've recently gotten a couple of books on raw food.  I thought I'd try my oat groats raw for the first time.  I got the Almond Cinnamon Oatmeal recipe from Ani Phyo's Cookbook Ani's Raw Food Kitchen.  Since I normally use whole oat groats (I cook them in my rice cooker, thanks to my brother for that tip), I already had them in my kitchen to soak.  Anyway, I soaked them overnight and made the oats this morning in my food processor.  It's really good!  I didn't even need to top it with agave or anything, since there are dates already in the oats.  I made a normal batch for my week of breakfasts...

The other day I made Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes from her book Vegan Brunch.  I bought a couple of packages of tempeh on our way home from FL last week...can't find them in my normal grocery store.  These were quite good...I think they tasted like crab cakes (I haven't had one in years, so I'm not sure if I remember them correctly). I left out the oil (of course) and I used Apple Cider Vinegar instead of red wine vinegar.  I also didn't have any fresh peppers, so I used one roasted red pepper from a jar.  I also used some Furikake (seaweed, sesame seeds, salt) instead of the Nori, since I had some on hand, and I used whole wheat breadcrumbs instead of panko.  Last thing: I left out the capers (bleh) from the sauce. I'll definitely make these again and you should too!

And now for my Indian Curry I made for lunch today, seeing as how our local Indian restaurant decided yesterday they weren't going to serve off the menu (pfft).  How can a restaurant do that? Randomly.  We've been there so many times for lunch and they've ALWAYS served us off the menu, even though most people go there for the buffet. Guess we won't be going back there again.

Tanya's Indian Curry:

1/2 yellow or white onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 tomato, cut into small wedges
1/2 head cauliflower, broken into smallish florets
1 head of broccoli, broken into smallish florets (you can use part of the stem too)
1 tsp black mustard seeds (you can toast them first, covered, before adding them, if you want)
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2-2/3 cup crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
3 tsp arrowroot (mixed with 3 tsp water)
3 tsp hot curry powder
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp garam masala
salt, red pepper flakes to taste


Saute the onion in 1/4 cup water until soft.  Add the celery and saute another 2 minutes.  Add the cauliflower & broccoli and another 1/2 cup water.  Cover and steam for about 5 minutes.  Add the tomato, curry powder, red pepper flakes, and turmeric.  Cover and cook about 3 minutes. Then add the tomato sauce (or crushed/pureed tomatoes), garam masala, and almond milk.  Stir and cook about 2 minutes.  Add the arrowroot and bring to boil.  Stir and add salt to taste.  Serve over whole grains (rice, barley, etc.)

Oh, one last thing.  Remember that Sunflower Seed Falafel??  Well, I used it as a spread.  I made a delicious sandwich out of it, on sprouted grain bread, with tomato slices and mizuna. You should try it like that.

Until next time....
Eat smart,
T.

A trip to FL/Disney with food pics

And so I begin this story by saying....this trip sucked!  Yup.....let me explain.

(I promise there are pictures further down)

We left on Sunday morning, around 4:45 am (my husband likes to leave on the early side for a long drive).  I think we stopped at a Cracker Barrel for breakfast....we both got oatmeal.  We stopped at a Ruby Tuesday for lunch.  I got the veggie burger mini (no cheese, no bun) and the salad bar. Did I hear that the veggie burgers there are no longer vegan??  Because it was pretty good....and much better than their old veggie burger.

So we got to Kissimmee and checked into our hotel.  I had pricelined it and got a bid accepted after about 15 tries.  I should've taken a hint.  I got the price I wanted, but the hotel (which looks great on the website), was really old and huge (720 rooms) and a big maze.  I mean, we had to drive to the closest parking lot to our room/building after we checked in.  Then to find our way back out to the lobby was another quest.  But, I digress.  The room was so old, the doors could barely open and close.  We actually had to kick it in to get it open and then slam it shut.  (I guess this accounts for the noisy door slamming all night).  I had called to see if we could get a king room, as opposed to the double beds and they said they didn't have any more.  However, I went to the reservations online, and it was going to let me book a king room, so I don't know what the deal was.  I guess they just don't want to give priceliners anything they didn't pay for.  That night, we were tired from driving 12 hours....we walked over to the hotel restaurant to see what they had.  It was closed!!!  We asked in the lobby, and they said the restaurant is only open for breakfast......the website says otherwise.  Lame.  So we walked onto the main drag (192) and checked out the restaurants.  I forgot it was Valentine's day (well not really), and the places were totally crowded with really long waits.  AND....they didn't have much for us to eat, except for the place with sushi.  But when we went in and asked, they said they weren't doing sushi that night, because they had a Valentine's special instead!  Boooo.....

So we got in the car and started driving.  As it turns out, we found an Uno Chicago Grill wihout a wait...and we were expecting the worst, from previous experience (several years old).  They were very friendly and sat us right away.  The menus actually had food on there we could eat!  There was a nice Vegetarian Moroccan Curried Rice and Lentil Soup (very tasty)...my husband got that.  I ordered whole wheat penne with tomato sauce (I was surprised they had whole wheat!). This was a treat, because I don't eat that much pasta anymore. They did have another vegetarian soup on the menu as well as pizza made with a 5-grain crust (whole wheat, flax, oat bran).   They also offer a veggie burger (I checked out the ingredients and they have egg whites in them) and a vegetable-feta wrap (you could get it without feta probably). Anyway, you can check out their nutrition labels here.  And to top it off, they had some great beer on tap!

That was day one.  Now, day two.

I brought oatmeal, cereal, almond milk and a little creamer.  I put the oats into the bowl and brought it downstairs, looking for the microwave the hotel told me they had in the lobby.  Apparently, it's in the diner, and you can only use it when the diner's open.  Smart.  Well, the diner was almost open, so the lady inside let me in to use the microwave.  Grrrr.....I also bought myself a coffee there....$3 for a small!  Went back to the room and ate my cereal and coffee....the oatmeal was for my husband.

We arrived at Epcot Center (yes, the hotel had free shuttles and free parking...the only 2 good things).  We stood in line with our tickets.....and when we finally arrived at the ticket taker, it didn't accept our tickets. What??? We came all that way and the tickets didn't work?  Well, as it turns out, we brought the wrong tickets...yup, our own fault.  Not sure why we saved tickets that were used.  Apparently, our tickets with 2 days left on them were still sitting in our safe at home.  STOP LAUGHING.  We didn't think it was funny....at the time.  So then we had to go and stand in yet another line, just to buy tickets.  We couldn't very well leave, since we'd paid for the hotel and we were already at the parks!  So there went a few hundred dollars extra we weren't planning on.  And they weren't even parkhopper tickets, so we had to do one park only each day.

Anyway, Epcot was good. We always like the world showcase.  Let's get to the food, shall we??  Based on the recommendations online, we went to Morocco for lunch.  We got the vegetarian plate, although the cashier at first told me I couldn't have it (as a vegan), but then said she'd go get the chef.  Eventually, he came out (after about 6 minutes of waiting) and said he could make one vegan for me.  So that worked out.  Here's my veggie plate:

Ther was hummus, salad, tabouli, couscous and olives (which I gave to my husband, because I hate them). It was really good and filling.

We went to Mexico to make reservations for dinner.  In the afternoon, we stopped for a beer at the UK.  Great taps. I got a Bass and my husband got a Guinness.  Sooooo good.

There we are, beers in hand :)

Finally at dinner, we went to Mexico.  I asked if they had anything vegetarian and the waitress brought out the "vegetarian menu" which I thought was hilarious, but thoughtful.  Here's what it looked like:

Yup, two items on the menu.  So we said, we'll take one of everything! :)  I got the Plato Vegetariano and my husband got the salad.  I ordered mine with corn tortillas instead of the flour tortillas.  Here they are:

Mine was actually amazing!  The flavors were excellent.  You can't see it, but there are black beans and corn tortillas underneath the vegetables.  I'd go back and eat that next time.  The salad was good too. And of course it wouldn't be dinner (for my husband) without wine:

I always love the setting inside Mexico.

That night back at the hotel (and every night) was really noisy.  We barely slept...did I forget to say that my husband got a flu too?  Yup....started on the drive over.  So on top of that, people were slamming doors, the hotel was vacuuming at midnight...etc.....awful.

Next day: Magic Kingdom.

Why oh why did we choose to go to MK?  Sooooo crowded.  And by noon, we were done and were just sitting around.  But, we did go eat lunch at the Columbia Harbour House, from recommendations I'd come across online.  I got the veggie chili and it came with chips.  I spotted some little containers of unsweetened applesauce and asked the guy if I could have one of those instead, but he just gave it to me! How nice.  My husband got the Lighthouse Sandwich and without the broccoli slaw, is vegan I believe.  He got it whole though....since he's not vegan.  I did taste it and it was really good.  My chili was really good too, not watery at all, like it may look in the picture.  And there was plenty of food to fill us up.

I also found the Tofutti ice cream at the Ice Cream Parlour (they have Rice Dream as well, but not in chocolate).  This was hilarious...as soon as I asked for it, they yelled back "ALLERGY!!!!" as loud as they could.  It's quite an event there, LOL.  It took about 6 minutes or so of waiting after we paid, but we got it.  And it sure was tasty :)

We tried to go into Guest Relations to make some sort of reservation at Ohana at the Polynesian.....no luck.  Totally booked.  So we decided to take a chance and just show up at the Polynesian (I'd never seen it) and just have a look around at least.  We got to the Ohana counter and the guy said they'd been booked for 2 weeks already! Like there's any way I could've planned that far in advance.  Guess we weren't going to taste any of famous Chef TJ's vegan food afterall.  We put our names in next door at the Kona Cafe and went to the bar for a beer.  We both got Hawaiian beers. Mine was a lager and my husband got a Pale Ale.  Both were excellent.

Oh but before that, I walked over to the Kona coffee area (where they were supposed to have great coffee), but they said they were closed until 5 pm (they must have a period before dinner when they close to switch over to a sushi bar).  Weird.  Anyway, I went back later to ask if they had soy creamer and the answer was no.  Boooo.....

We sat down for dinner and saw that the cucumber roll could be veganized. Now let me start by saying.....I'm scared to know what would not have been vegan in a cucumber roll? The rice? The nori?  The cucumber???? Eeek.  Anyway, my husband ordered that.  I got the Pan-Asian Noodles which the waitress said could be veganized.  I asked for it with just the vegetables....it came out with tofu in it....oh well. I gave most of the tofu to my husband :) But it was still very good.

Hmmmm, is that it?  So the next day, we had originally planned to continue down to Miami to visit friends, but my husband was too sick.  So we drove home on Wednesday....all day.  We stopped at a Cracker Barrel for lunch and I got a baked potato with nothing on it (but I forget they salt the outside of it....a lot!) and some sourdough toast with their natural apple butter.  It was really good actually.  For dinner, we stopped at Ruby Tuesday and yes, I got a plain baked potato and the salad bar.  And like I mentioned previously, my husband was kind enough to stop at this great health food store in Mobile, AL on the way home, even though he was sick.  

Oh wait, I have to say I got a good cup of coffee after searching the whole park.  At the American Adventure in the World Showcase at Epcot......they actually had soy milk!!! It was a pretty good. None of the other coffee stands had it...not Italy, not Morocco, etc.  And, people kept mentioning these "Divvies" cookies, but I asked everywhere and nobody had any....so I'm not sure where they were hiding.

Wow....that was long.....sorry about that.  I had to get all that off my chest.  Done. But I hope it helps someone who's looking for decent food when in Kissimmee/Disney.  I never got to eat in my favorite place: Sweet Tomatoes. Sniff....maybe next time.

Thanks for taking the time to read all that (or skimming, or scrolling down to the pictures).

Eat smart,

T.

Tomato Chickpea Soup and Raw Cauliflower Salad

So yesterday I made two recipes, neither of which were my own, but both were delicious.

First, I made a Raw Cauliflower Salad with Orange Vinaigrette.  I came across it on a raw food blog.  You should really check it out! The only thing I did differently, was I left out the asparagus (I didn't have any), I used the purple raisins instead of the golden (didn't have any of those either), and I replaced the oil in the dressing with water.  It was a perfect recipe for yesterday's weather, which was around 70 degrees.  A perfect summer salad, if there ever was one :)

To go with the salad, I made VeganYumYum's Spicy Tomato Chickpea Soup.  I don't have a blender, so blending it wasn't an option.  I did however puree the chickpeas in my little food processor before putting them into the pan.  I also used crushed tomatoes instead of diced. Tossed in a bit extra turmeric...it's good for you! And once again, I  left out the oil....didn't need it.  I saute everything in water these days.  It was quite nice and spicy.....thumbs up.

And I also just wanted to say...I LOVE KALE AND BROCCOLI!!! I really do.  I think I'm addicted to them now.  I buy it up at the farmer's market, but I always run out in a couple of days (kale)....I'm almost out of it now and should've gone to the market (yup, they're open on Tuesday afternoons now too) to get some.  Too tired.  They haven't had any broccoli in a while, so I buy that at the supermarket, but we eat it practically every day.  Is there such a thing as overdosing on green stuff????  Jeez, I hope our blood doesn't just run out of us if we get cut, LOL!

Next post will be that FL trip post (Disney)....coming soon.  I've got the pictures all ready to go :)

Eat smart,
T.

Market Goods and a couple of easy recipes

Wow, I'm getting more and more behind in my blogging....I know I still have to post about our Disney trip.  I promise I will this week.

At least we got back to our market this week (we missed last week, since we were out of town).  Here's the stuff: baby spinach, red mustard greens, oranges, green onions, cauliflower, brown rice, cabbage, hydroponic tomatoes, parsley, Hakurei turnips, baby carrots, mizuna, green curly kale,  and red russian kale.

I found a great recipe for chocolate chia pudding, based on a bunch of different recipes online.  I bought the chia seeds (after reading all about them on other blogs) and thought it was time to use them.  It was really good....a bit crunchy and not too sweet.  It took about 40 minutes total, between the stirring and waiting for the chia seeds to plump up. Check out Love Veggies and Yoga's blog for the recipe.

I needed a snack last night, and so I made up a really great small salad with miso dressing.  Here's what was in the salad: mizuna, green onions, celery, carrots, parsley, and curly kale.

Tanya's Miso Salad Dressing:


2 tbsp miso paste, white
1/3 cup water
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp agave nectar


Mix with whisk.  I used half on my small salad, so you can double or triple the recipe for larger salads or more servings.

Here's another Quick and Easy Taco recipe:

2 corn tortillas (or however many tacos you want)
1/2 cup refried beans
1/2 cup cooked brown rice or barley (I had a mix of sweet rice and barley)
1/2 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, grated or chopped
chili powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper
salsa


Mash the beans and rice together, set aside.  Heat 1/4 cup water in saute pan and add the onions, celery, and carrots.  Cook until soft.  Add the spices to taste, then add the bean/rice mixture and mix together well. Cook until heated through.  Heat the tortillas and spoon the mixture onto them.  Top with salsa.


New this week: Recommended Blog of the Week! I will try to recommend one blog each week that I find really interesting and hopefully you will too.

Today's Blogger of the Week: Love Veggies and Yoga

Until next time....
Eat smart,
T.

Quick Tacos

Broccoli Bake and the Goods

Several days ago, I made VeganYumYum's Creamy Broccoli Mushroom Bake and it was absolutely amazing! I will definitely make it again and again.  I used arrowroot powder instead of corn starch and I left out the oil.  I had some leftover mini spelt shells, so I used those instead of orzo.  I was a bit worried when I put it into the 8x8 pan.  It was quite liquidy(not a real word, I know) and really soaked up the breadcrumbs when I put them on top.  But when I took it out of the oven, it had solidified and the breadcrumbs on top gave it a nice crunch.  So it really did come out great :)

On our way back from Florida yesterday (more on that awful trip later), my husband was nice enough to let me stop at a big health food store in Mobile, AL (Virginia's Health Foods), even though he was sick....poor guy.  I tried to make it quick....you know, quick for me....at a health food store :)

The goods: bulk oat groats, bulk raw sunflower seeds, bulk raw cashews, Artisana Coconut Butter, raw almond butter, Primal Strips, sprouted grain pasta, large agave nectar, chia seeds, quinoa, millet, and Arame. Forgot to add the tempeh to the picture.....can't find it here, so I bought two packages!

It's very exciting....I love health food stores! Is that so wrong? I guess it's a good thing I didn't spend all day in there, or I would've emptied out our bank account :)

Perhaps I'll wait until tomorrow to blog about our disaster of a trip....something to look forward to.

Eat smart,
T.

Greens and Sweet Rice

Sorry about the lack of posting lately.  We've been busy and out of town.  I'm back now with a few days off still until I go back to work (Mardi Gras vacation), so I've got some time to catch up.  I'll probably create more than one post today.

So back to Alicia Silverstone's "The Kind Diet".  I had some sweet brown rice that I'd gotten at the Asian market nearby, so the Barley with Sweet Rice and Corn sounded perfect.  The combination of barley with the rice was delicious.  (I still need to buy/make Gomashio) I served this with my Collards and Cabbage.

Tanya's Collards and Cabbage:


1 huge bunch collard greens, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
2 cups shredded green cabbage
2 tbsp rice cooking wine/mirin
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
soy sauce
sesame seeds
ginger
salt


Saute the onion in a little water until soft.  Add the garlic and stir/cook for another minute. Add the collards. Cover and cook for about 2 minutes.  Add the cabbage. Cover and cook another minute.  Add soy sauce to taste and the rice wine.  Add spices to taste. Serve over cooked grains.


I made my own pizza again a few days ago.  I finally bought a pizza crisper(pan) and that did the trick for keeping a really crispy crust all over.  I also pricked the crust all over with a fork, before pre-baking it for 5 minutes or so in the oven.  It was soooo good, and crunchy, yay! You can find my original pizza recipe here.

Enjoy!  I'm out of vegetables (what???), because we were out of town and the next farmer's market isn't until Saturday......sigh.....I did break down and buy some broccoli at the store today.

Hope you all had a good Mardi Gras!
Eat smart,
T.

SUPERBOWL SUNDAY FOOD!!!

Ok, so we're excited because the Saints won.....GEAUX SAINTS!!!!!  What a game....phew......and the crowds were insane here in NOLA.  What a crazy night....

Anyway, I made some food for our game watching: Chili, party mix, and my marzipan balls. Along with some raw turnips and red peppers to snack on.

I actually cooked my own kidney beans that morning. Yes, I'm proud of myself. Is that sad??  I usually buy canned beans, so I was impressed with myself.  (Shhhh....I still used one can of beans in the chili)

Tanya's Bean Chili:

3-4 cups cooked kidney beans
1 can mixed beans (pinto & Great Northern, although most other beans are fine)
2 10-oz cans original Rotel tomatoes
1 cup crushed/pureed tomatoes
1 15-oz can corn (I used Fiesta corn)
1 onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 pint white button mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tsp chipotle powder (or to taste)
3 tsp chili powder (ok, I kind of just pour it on...so I'm not sure of the measurement)
onion powder, salt, pepper
fresh cilantro

Put 1/4 cup water in a large soup pot/stock pot.  Add the onions and celery.  Saute until soft.  Add the garlic and stir. Let cook for a minute. Add the mushrooms and peppers.  Saute for another 5 minutes or so.  You may have to keep adding water (1/4 cup at a time) so it doesn't stick to the pot.  Add the cumin seeds and stir.  Add in the all the tomatoes and beans. Then add the spices and stir.  Let cook on medium heat for a few minutes.  Taste and season as needed.  Add the tomato paste and mix well. Add in some chopped cilantro if using. Turn down the heat and let simmer for 15 minutes or so...or longer if you want it a bit thicker.  Serve over brown rice, garnished with fresh cilantro.

My own tip for next time: add more crushed tomatoes and more cocoa (go ahead, try it).

I made some awesome party mix for snacking during the game, because well.......isn't that normal game food?? I guess I don't really know because I don't normally watch games :)  You can find the Party Mix here. It's a great mix of sweet and salty!

And for dessert, I made my Marzipan Balls, covered in chocolate of course.  They were eaten quickly.
Of course we can't forget the beer.  Our friend, Josh, brought some Sierra Nevada Kellerweis and it was so good.  Also had a Schlafly Coffee Stout: good stuff.

Wow ok....it's been quite a week with this big win and all.  New Orleans is just really crazy right now, between the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras!

Eat smart,
T.

Chipotle BBQ Tofu and Quick Tacos

I'm doing this in 2 blog posts today, so stay with me.

The other day I made a great recipe from the FatFreeVeganKitchen: Chipotle Barbecued Tofu.  I don't make tofu very often, but this recipe looked delicious and it sure was!  I threw some vegetables in the pan to bake with the tofu and served it with brown rice (which I sprinkled lemon pepper on).  I used only 1 package of tofu for the recipe, but still made the whole amount of sauce....mmmmmm.....and I didn't have actual chipotle chilies, so I used my chipotle powder.  This was really a great sauce for the tofu....I'll make it again for sure :)

Today I worked until 12:30 or so, and didn't have much time to make a lunch when we got home, but I was starving.  I defrosted a couple of corn tortillas and created some tacos. Take a look:

Tanya's Quick Tacos:

2 corn tortillas, warmed
1/4 cup cooked red beans (kidney)
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 tomato, chopped
~2 tb chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp chipotle powder (or chili powder, if you don't have the chipotle)
1 tsp garlic powder (1/2 tsp for tomato mixture, 1/2 tsp for bean/rice mixture)
salt & pepper


Heat up the rice and beans together.  (I put them in the microwave for a minute) Mash them up well.  Add the chipotle powder and 1/2 tsp garlic powder.  Mix well and sprinkle a little salt and pepper to taste.  Mix.  Spread the mixture onto the 2 tortillas evenly down the middle.  In a small bowl, add the tomatoes and cilantro and mix.  Add the 1/2 tsp garlic and salt & pepper to taste.  Top the bean/rice mixture with the tomatoes.  Eat!


This is a great recipe when you're in a hurry and you have leftover cooked rice and beans in the fridge.


I bought some Vegan Gourmet Cheddar vegan "cheese" at the store the other day.  It's ok.  It says it melts right on the front, but I've been unsuccessful so far.  It didn't melt on my hot chili and it didn't melt when I mixed it into rice in the microwave.....does anyone have any suggestions for that?


Stay tuned for my next post: SUPERBOWL!!!

Eat smart,
T.

Quick Tacos

Today's Stash and cake in a cup!

First let's start with today's farmer's market.  Got a lot of good stuff, especially greens...yay greens!   But I was sad they had no meyer lemons this week, boooohooo.  I use a ton of lemons for dressing, or just squeezed onto rice.  Here's the loot: lacinato kale, curly kale, mustard greens, collard greens, baby spinach (is there such a thing as eating too many greens??), grapefruit, oranges, white button mushrooms, hydroponic tomatoes, purple top turnips, green onions, cilantro, brown rice, mizuna, and baby carrots.


And we stopped in at the local grocery store, Breaux Mart (you better not be making fun of the name...), while we were in NOLA this afternoon and look at what I got:

Exciting, no?  Why can't I find this stuff in my really local grocery store? Anyway, I got pretty excited at the store.  Oh, I forgot to include a picture of the frozen vegan burrito I found.  It was pretty low calorie and lowfat too (there were several other vegetarian burritos, but only one that was vegan).  I don't usually buy the prepared foods much anymore, but I thought this would be a nice treat in a hurry.

Last night I got a chocolate craving, and I found a recipe for Chocolate Cake in 5 Minutes.  Yup, you got it.  Chocolate cake right out of your cup!  I did adjust the recipe however, to make it vegan.  It didn't rise a ton, and I did it in a bowl, because I wasn't sure what would happen, hehehe.  I thought it might explode in the microwave.  But nope.  It was really good and not too sweet.  Here's my version:

Chocolate Cake in a Cup:
(adapted from Chocolate Cake in 5 Minutes)

4 tbsp whole wheat flour
3 tbsp agave nectar
2 tbsp unsw. cocoa powder
1 "EnerG" egg (the equivalent of one egg)
3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
3 tbsp water 


Mix the first 3 ingredients in a mug or bowl (microwaveable).  Add the "EnerG" egg and mix well.  Then add the almond milk and water.  Mix it up really well so it's not lumpy.  Microwave on High for 3 minutes.  You might want to keep an eye on it your first time, just to make sure it doesn't overflow or anything like that.  Wait until it stops rising (mine didn't rise much) and let it cool for a few minutes.  It's not too sweet, so you might want to up the agave, or sugar, or put some frosting on it, if you like really sweet cake.


I will actually be watching the Superbowl tomorrow, due to the fact that I live in New Orleans.  It's a first for the Saints, so I feel I should be loyal :)  Although in general, I'm not a sports fan.  I think I'm going to make some vegan chili for the event, since we do have someone coming over to watch (this of course will be on my small 20" computer screen, since we don't own a TV).

Eat smart and Geaux Saints!
T.