Post Birthday Post

So yesterday was my birthday!  Ok, it wasn't really all that exciting...got in some good walking and a good workout session.  Made myself a cake and we went out to Houston's for lunch.  I got the veggie burger sans bun and sans cheese.  It's REALLY good!  And I got a side of wilted spinach sans oil and cheese....topped my burger with it.  Good stuff! Unfortunately, they don't offer soymilk for coffee or any vegan dessert, so I had to wait until I made my cake :)

It's the Simplest Rich Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting from Sweet Utopia.  You can see my review of the book here. The cake was really good. I used whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose, and I cut down the oil to 1/3 cup instead of 1/2 cup.  I also used almond milk instead of soymilk.  It was a tad dry, but still very chocolatey and tasty!  I added some coffee to the frosting for a mocha flavor, since I always have some sort of coffee frosting on my birthday cake.  Didn't have raspberry jam to put in the middle this time, so I just used the frosting, which was barely enough!

After dinner, I opened up the fridge and found a birthday card under my cake, along with some birthday beer from S.  Thank you :)

Saturday's market: brown rice, shiitake mushrooms, zucchini, cucumbers, turnips, mustard greens, tomatoes, sprouts, arugula/mizuna mix, peaches, eggplants, jalapenos, okra, and sweet potatoes.

I thought I'd get in an order from Pangea as well, before work starts (in a week!), so I'd be here when UPS arrived.  Here are the goods:

(Primal Strips, Liz Lovely Cookies, Sweet and Sara mini marshmallows, Dr Cow cheese (incl. the new KALE flavor!), Teese (gotta make some calzones), MimicCreme, and the new Dr McDougall's Asian entrees.)

We'll be in Atlanta soon.....and I'm hoping to stop into Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe just north of Atlanta!  If you guys have suggestions for vegan/raw places to eat......let me know and post them on that post please.

And if you have NYC suggestions, please post them there too......I'm surprised nobody's posted anything yet! I know a lot of you have been to NYC and have places you love to eat. But please don't post them here. I want them all in one place, so I know where to find it.

Other stuff I've been eating:

Sweet Potato Lentil Chili:

Raw zucchini noodles with "peanut" sauce:

French Fries (cut up potatoes, put on parchment paper-no oil, sprinkle with Creole Seasoning or other favorite seasoning, put in oven for 25 minutes, turn over, bake for another 15 minutes-on 400 degrees):

More recipes coming soon: Black Bean Polenta Bake and Black Bean Dip (yes, I cooked a ton of black beans).

Upcoming post: special vegan care package swap post!!

Eat smart,
T.

Barley "Risotto" with Kale & Tomatoes

Ok, since I have the time, why not have two posts in one day??  And since this recipe is almost a week old by now....I thought I better post it already!

Tanya's Barley "Risotto" with Kale & Tomatoes:


1 cup hulled barley (rinsed)
3 cups broth (or water w/bouillion)
1 large tomato, chopped
1 cup packed kale
3 slices Teese mozzarella
garlic powder, black pepper


Put barley and liquid in a pot and bring to boil.  Turn to low, cover, and simmer about 1-1 1/4 hours.  Hulled barley takes longer to cook than pearl barley....keep this in mind if you're going to use pearl instead.  When the water is absorbed, mix in tomatoes, kale, and spices.  Let heat through for a few minutes, then mix in the Teese well until it's melted. Serve! 

Easy, no?

I recently read that hulled barley is better for you than pearl barley.....as in, it still has it's outer layer, or bran? I guess pearl barley is more like white rice and hulled is like brown? Is that right?  Anyway, it still tastes good, but it does take a lot longer to cook. But so does brown rice, etc....

Other things I've been eating:

Broccoli & Carrot salad with balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, & salt:

Pizza Potatoes (baked potatoes with Teese mozz & my red sauce: strained tomatoes, oregano, tomato paste, & salt):

Roasted asparagus with salt & pepper (roasted 15 min and added lemon juice when done):

That's it for today......

Eat smart,
T.

WHO DAT! and Vegan Burger Week.

Ok, first of all, I have to say GEAUX SAINTS!!  Off to the Superbowl....

Now that I got that off my chest, I can move on to the food portion of this post.

Today's Burger: Tanya's BBQ Black Bean Burger:


1 cup cooked brown rice
1 15 oz can of black beans
1 small carrot, sliced
~4 oz white button mushrooms (1/2 small container), sliced
1/4-1/2 yellow onion, sliced
a handful of kale
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs (seasoned, if you want...I seasoned my own)
1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
Creole seasoning (for the cayenne)
salt, pepper, onion powder


Put the rice in a food processor and process until it looks like millet.  Small, but not totally pureed (like the picture).  Put it aside in a medium mixing bowl.  Put the beans in the food processor and do the same.  You want it a little chunky still. Add that to the rice and mix.  

In a saute pan, put about 1/4 cup water and set it on medium heat.  Add the carrot, garlic, onion, and mushrooms.  Cover with a lid, so the carrots cook faster.  When they're almost soft, add the kale and recover.  Cook until the kale is wilted and bright green.  Let it cool for a few minutes, then put the vegetables in the food processor and puree until it's mostly smooth.  A few chunks are ok (I like to see my vegetables!).  Add the vegetables to the rice and bean mixture.  Add in the breadcrumbs. Mix well.  Add the rest of the seasonings until it's flavored the way you want.  Put the mix in the fridge for about 20 minutes. Shape into patties.  Spray a pan or skillet and cook the patties for about 5-7 minutes each side on medium heat.  Serve with BBQ sauce, and on a bun if you wish.  Makes about 6 burgers.  

I made the lunchboxbunch BBQ sauce and it's really tasty! I left out the liquid smoke, because I didn't have any and I halved the oil.  It didn't turn out very thick, so maybe I could've added a bit more arrowroot.  But the flavor is really great.

For the NOT meatloaf version, click here.

I served my burgers last night with a side of homemade baked french fries:

Take 1 med red potato for each person.  Slice them about 1/4" thick.  Then take each slice and cut those the long way.  You know, cut them to look like french fries :)  Spray a cookie sheet.  Lay the potatoes down and sprinkle with salt and paprika (maybe garlic).  Bake on 375 for about 30 minutes, turning them over after 15 minutes.  


Today for lunch (leftovers), I served my burgers on sprouted grain bread, with crispy kale on the side.  So good.

Look for my Mediterranean Burger later this week!


There's a new dessert ball in my life: Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls.  Yup, they taste like mint chocolate chip ice cream.  I used to LOVE Breyer's Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.....oh how I miss it.  But now I can just eat these and taste the deliciousness.

Quick recipe: 3/4 cup raw cashew pieces, 4-5 pitted dates, handful of chocolate chips, & a splash of peppermint extract.  Process with a little water until the right consistency.  Shape into balls (makes about 6) and put in the fridge.  Thanks again, CCK! She's the founder of these babies. Click the link to get more of her great fudge baby recipes.

Oh, and I found the ultimate food processor: Cuisinart Elite Collection 14-cup Food Processor.  Yup, it's amazing (and also very expensive).  Comes with 3 different sized bowls, which is so helpful.  I will be saving up.

And finally, another giveaway (nope, it's not mine...maybe one day): An Opera Singer in the Kitchen is giving away some great stuff, including coffee, agave nectar, and Larabars.  Check her out!

I can't forget the market on Saturday (almost didn't include it): satsumas, oranges, grapefruit, kale, mustard greens, collard greens, cabbage, broccoli, brown rice, coffee(locally roasted, for charity), tomatoes, turnips, and white button mushrooms.

Yesterday, I made some tasty turnip slaw with the fresh turnips from the market.  Check out the recipe.

Until next time,
Eat smart,
T.

Pumpkin Cookies, Cabbage, and Toasty Potatoes

It's been busy around here.  Lots of work and lots of cold weather.  Yes it was 28 degrees this morning!  Brrrrr......it's cold.....for here.  It makes it harder to get things done.  I just want to stay inside and stay asleep, under the covers.  Is that so wrong??

Anyway, I thought I should post something.  I did make a couple of things.  I was just too lazy to blog about it.  So here they are:

I finally got my copy of 1,000 Vegan Recipes by Robin Robertson! So I made my first recipe out of it: German-Style Kool-Sla.  It's REALLY good.  I left out the oil and added some water instead.  As it turns out, it sure did make a lot of liquid, so I probably could've left out any added water as well. I cut down the sugar by about a third.  I think I could've cut it down even more.  It had a nice sweet and sour flavor, definitely worth making again.

It was a cold and wintery night (although there was no snow in sight) and I wanted some hot roasted potatoes.  So that's just what I did!  I added some green peppers and onions.  It was like having breakfast potatoes! They all went in the oven for about 30 minutes, with a little salt, pepper, and paprika.

Yesterday I made the most amazing Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies! You HAVE to try them. They're from HaveCakeWillTravel's blog.  Here are the changes I made:

I left out the shortening, and added that amount of water.
I used 1 cup of demerara sugar (I could've cut it down even more...they're VERY sweet)
I used 3/4 cup chocolate chips, but there were WAY too many.
I didn't cover them with plastic wrap (I didn't have any), I just laid them out on parchment paper on a cookie sheet in the fridge for about 1 1/2 hours.
They needed to bake for about 4-5 extra minutes.

They are DELICIOUS!! (I even parted with some and brought them to work today...they didn't take long to disappear.)

Well, that does it for today's post.  It's still cold, and I may not blog again until Sunday or so.  We'll see how it goes, and if I get to the market tomorrow.  They say tomorrow's "box" will be the biggest one yet, so I really should go....and there's cauliflower to be had! I must!

PS-I forgot I made a tasty bean dip: 1 cup black beans, 1/2 cup chickpeas, 1 tsp tahini, juice of 1 lemon (or more if you like it really lemony), and some salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Put it all in the food processor!

Eat smart,
T.

Latkes and Applesauce!

Ok, so I'm a little late on the latkes.....don't hate me.  I was trying to find the right combination, based on my online research.  And they pretty darn good!  A hint mushy inside, because I think I still need to get the exact cooking right.  I don't deep fry, so they take longer to cook.  Perhaps a much lower cooking temperature?

So here's my latke recipe. It made about 9 small/medium latkes.

Tanya's Latkes:

3 medium red potatoes
1 small sweet potato
1/4 cup grated onion
salt, pepper, any other spices you want (chives or paprika would work well)
EnerG Egg replacer (equivalent of one egg), mixed with the correct amount of water
2 tsp whole wheat flour

Grate the potatoes and then make sure you dry them well, with paper towels.  Put in a bowl and add the onions and spices.  Add the Egg replacer(pre-mixed with water) and the flour and mix well. Heat a pan on medium heat.  Spray with oil.  When hot, add large spoonfuls of the potato mix and flatten with a spatula.  I covered mine, so the steam would help cook them faster.  You may need to lower the heat if they are browining on the outside, but not cooking on the inside.  Takes a bit of skill, and I still need to perfect mine!
When done, put them on paper towels to blot off extra oil. Serve with applesauce.

I got a good recipe for Cranberry Applesauce from the Clean Food cookbook.  It was a bit watery, so I think next time I'd use a bit less liquid.....or more apples! I used Gala apples.....they didn't seem to be the most flavorful. If you know of a really good cooking apple for this, let me know.


Other potato pancake/latke recipes:

from Clean Food: Sweet Potato and Parsnip Pancakes
from Cooking For a Vegan Lover's blog: Potato Latkes
from Vegan Food; More than Tofu and Sprouts: Sweet and White Potato Latkes


If you know of any other vegan/gluten free/vegetarian recipes for latkes online, let me know and I'll post them here.

And on another note, I got an amazing package from my sister today! She sent her homemade Cran-Apple Butter, Blueberry Jam, Cran-Nagoon Jelly and some other cute stuff. Nope, I didn't know what it was either.....so I had to look it up.  A Nagoon is a sort of berry, and these are from Alaska, which is where my sister lives! So thank you Lizzy!!

That's all for now...but I'm on vacation as of today, so there will be more posts in the upcoming weeks!!

Eat smart,
T.

Samosa Mashed Potato Pancakes and Cookie Dough Babies!

Wow, it's been a busy week....and there's more where that came from.  So I probably won't be blogging again until next week.

Today I made my first recipe from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Vegan Brunch, even though I have so many tagged in there to make....too many recipes, too little time!  It was the Samosa Mashed Potato Pancakes and they were really good.  I've got plenty leftover to easily shape into patties and "fry" up over the next few days.  I used red potatoes, instead of the Yukon Gold, and the only oil I used was spray oil, to fry them.  I only had black mustard seeds, so I used those instead of the yellow, and I had leftover grated carrots that I used instead of chopped.  And of course, I used whole wheat flour for the tiny bit it called for.  It could've used more salt, but only because I didn't serve it with any sauce.....perhaps it would go nicely with a cucumber raita. You can visit her blog here.

Remember I told you to go to Chocolate-Covered Katie's blog???  I finally tried to make some of her raw "babies", as in, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Babies! Let me start by saying I made a mistake, and bought chopped dates, instead of the whole soft ones, but that's all they had in the store.  I emailed her right away about my mistake, and I was surprised at how quickly she responded (thank you, Katie).  I, however, fixed my little error, by adding a little water.  They were delicious!!  Unfortunately, these have nuts, which aren't really on my diet at the moment, but as long as I don't eat too many, I'll be ok. You HAVE to try them! I'll be testing out her different variations soon.

Until next time....don't eat too many of those amazing raw sweet snacks!
Eat smart,
T.

Post Thanksgiving market

Well, two of my markets were closed today, so I had to go the other one. It was ok, but I didn't get very much. My stash this week: kale, louisiana strawberries, tomatoes, 7-grain bread.

Yay, kale.  I love it.  And it goes great in my monk bowls (which we're having again tonight).  The folks at Voodough bakery won't be at this market anymore....I bought one of her breads.  I used to buy her orange cranberry whole wheat scones, which were absolutely amazing!  But, alas, she didn't have any today.  Best of luck to them...

First of the season Louisiana Strawberries!!!  Wow.  And they're sooo good.  Can't wait for the rest of the season....I think the Spring is strawberry season here.  The tomatoes were a bit green and hard, but that's ok.  I roast them anyway....and I don't think we're going to get tomatoes for too much longer down here....sigh...what will I do when they're out of season??

On to a great snack recipe! Microwave potato chips! Yup, so easy and so tasty.  You can get the recipe from the FatFreeVeganKitchen, along with a few other snacks that I haven't tried yet. Enjoy.

Eat smart,
T.

Oven baked chips and Dal

My first attempt at baking my own potato chips: 6 out of 10.  Hmmmm, perhaps next time I'll be more successful.  I tried sweet potatoes first.  They tasted great!  But maybe they were too thick?  They'd start to burn in the oven, but they weren't crispy yet.  I'd take them out, add salt, and eat them anyway....a bit soft.  Still flavorful though.  Next, 1 single red potato.  Closer!  Should have sliced them even thinner.  I even got a mandoline slicer finally, just for this!  So they were tasty, but a bit soft.  Next time: slice thinner.

On to HappyHerbivore's Red Lentil Dal.  I got this recipe from one of her e-cookbooks (look it up on my last post!).  Had some really good flavors in there.  It turned out a bit watery, more like a soup.  And that's ok.  I think perhaps next time I'll serve it over something......cooked potatoes or brown rice? Something to soak up the extra liquid.  I did have to cook it a bit longer than 15 minutes....maybe an extra 15 minutes or so, just to cook the lentils.  But I definitely give it a thumbs up for flavor!

Had my leftover vegan lasagna for lunch and will have a Monk Bowl for dinner (have leftover rice and sauce from last night's monk bowl!).

You know what's a great snack?  Cooked potato with some simple canned tomato sauce on it and a sprinkling of nutritional yeast!  Yum.

Eat smart,
T.

Mashed Turnips & Potatoes

So this post is really bland.......mostly because the picture looks bland and boring.  Better next time :)

I decided to make more mashed up stuff for lunch today.  I still had a bunch of turnips leftover from the market, so I mixed them into my mashed potatoes.

Tanya's Mashed Turnips & Potatoes:

3 medium turnips, peeled and cut into large cubes
3 medium red potatoes, cut into large cubes
1/4 cup almond milk, unsweetened
salt, pepper, garlic


Put the turnips and potatoes into a pot and cover with water.  Boil until tender.  The turnips will be a little bit harder than the potatoes, but that's ok.  Or.....leave them to boil longer until they're really soft (but your potatoes will disintegrate!....just a warning).  When cooked, drain and then put into a bowl.  Mash up with a potato masher or fork.  Add the almond milk and spices to taste.  Done!  I put a little canned diced tomatoes on top of mine.....

But since the picture of the food wasn't very exciting, I thought I'd add a couple pictures from a local brewpub (Abita) for color!  Who's drooling now???

Eat smart,
T.

A McDougall Day

I used the "Monk Bowl" idea for lunch today.  I cooked some brown rice in the rice cooker and steamed veggies on the stove.  For the sauce, I made the Shiitake Mushroom Sauce from The New McDougall Cookbook.  The only I did differently, was I used fresh Shiitakes, because I had a ton from last week's market! It made a lot of sauce, so now I have a ton leftover....which is good, because I also have a lot of leftover rice. And by the way, I used a flat leaf type of kale in the vegetables.  It was grown on the property at the Saturday market!

For dinner, I basically made my Cauliflower a la Lemon recipe, but I added some potatoes, because I didn't have a ton of broccoli and thought they would go nicely with the lemon flavor. However, I left off the couscous for this meal, since we had potatoes in there. And I didn't add oil, just a little spray on the pan first.

Tomorrow's market day!  I'm excited, are you?? (Is it wrong to look forward to Market Saturday every week?)

Eat smart,
T.

Roots!!

First let me say, I got my stash via UPS last night!!  My 5 lbs of oat groats, quinoa, israeli couscous, nutritional yeast (never used it before), almond flour, and chipotle powder (although they seem to like a different spelling).

On to dinner: Roasted Root Vegetables.  I made this a lot last year, when we lived in cold, cold Cincinnati.  It's really easy.  It's from the Local Bounty Cookbook.  This time, however, there were no leeks or parsnips to be found, so I left those out.  I had lots of turnips and sweet potatoes from the market though, so I used those.  And I used a yellow onion (I guess, instead of the leek).  And well, this time around, I left out the oil......well just sprayed a tiny bit on the pan, and a very tiny spray on top of the veggies before they went in the oven.  I highly recommend this recipe for a cold Fall/Wintery evening!

No blogging tomorrow probably....I work all day.  Definitely by Friday though.....ohhhh, I still have Shiitake mushrooms...I forgot!  Hmmmm.....something to think about.  And mustard greens.....what do those go well with?   They're kind of bitter....I guess I'll just steam them and serve them over rice or barley.

Ok then.....have a good evening!
Eat smart,
T.