I just wanted to make a post to let everyone know that I haven't abandoned this blog! I've just been sick with a head cold over the past week+, and I haven't been cooking anything interesting because I've been so tired and haven't been able to taste much anyway.
This has been a good learning experience, though. Here are some things I learned in one short week:
1. Dustin IS capable of cooking things on his own... good things!
2. I'm more dedicated to the vegan thing than I thought I'd be at this point. I thought the transition would take much longer.
3. Vegan food doesn't need to be complicated. When I was sick, I made easy stuff like chili and awesome tacos out of soft corn tortillas, beans, leftover homemade salsa, and Daiya cheese!
Dustin and I are starting the Couch to 5k program as soon as we're both done being sick. (Hopefully on Wednesday!) I'm trying to work up the courage to do some "before" photos, but I may not post them right away.
I promise I'll make a substantial update soon! (Hopefully tonight!)
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Leftover Chili Burritos!
We had a lazy dinner tonight made from leftover chili + extra beans and seasonings. I melted cheddar Daiya on top, wrapped them up, then topped them with homemade salsa (very chunky because, like I said, I was lazy!) with lime. I also attempted to rip off that orange ranchy sauce that Mad Mex uses on top of their burritos. I used Veganaise and Tapatio hot sauce and it was good, but next time I think I will add some chili powder or cumin or something as well. The tortillas are habanaro lime from Trader Joe's.
Now Taking Requests!
Now that I am more comfortable with vegan ingredients, I want to start coming up with more of my own recipes and posting them for you to try. So far, I only have a few on deck: chili (sooo close to being perfected,) brownies, meatloaf and mac and cheese. I'm really, really excited about the last two!
So what do YOU want to see me veganize? And don't say bacon, you jerks, because eggplant + liquid smoke is the closest thing you're gonna get in my chemical-free kitchen!
Please leave your requests below, not on facebook! You don't have to sign up for anything to comment as long as you have a lj/google/AIM/etc. name!
So what do YOU want to see me veganize? And don't say bacon, you jerks, because eggplant + liquid smoke is the closest thing you're gonna get in my chemical-free kitchen!
Please leave your requests below, not on facebook! You don't have to sign up for anything to comment as long as you have a lj/google/AIM/etc. name!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Brownies and Better Photos!
Okay, so I admit that I don't know the first thing about photography. I always used my iPhone camera because it was always around and it was so easy to upload photos. However, the app I was using (Blogspot) has been making my photos look totally crappy and blurry randomly (see the chili post.) So I decided to bust out the Ott-Lite that Dustin's mom got me for xmas one year and my newish digital camera that I never use to take photos of the chocolate chip brownies that Dustin and I made tonight. I think I did a decent job for my first one:
I'm not posting the brownie recipe yet, because even though they were good, I think I can still improve them. If you have any suggestions for how to improve my photos, please leave a comment!
I'm not posting the brownie recipe yet, because even though they were good, I think I can still improve them. If you have any suggestions for how to improve my photos, please leave a comment!
Alicia's "Nothing to Say but 'mmm'" Alfredo!
My friend and fellow foodie/weight loss buddy Alicia over at Beyond Willpower is my hero for the week (at least.) Why? Because she came up with this recipe for vegan alfredo, with which I am in looove! I was hesitant to try it, because I'm not a big fan of regular alfredo... let alone a variation that's made with silken tofu. Right? WRONG!
I made it for dinner last night and again tonight, because I couldn't stop thinking about it. I haven't missed very many foods since going vegan, but the creamy texture of cheese sauce is something that I thought I'd be mourning the loss of for a very long time.
I modified it slightly by adding 1 cup of chopped fresh spinach and halving the sauce recipe (that was more than enough for 2 cups (dry) of pasta!) I also let it simmer on the stovetop for about 3 minutes to wilt the spinach, and that really thickened the sauce nicely! (I think I may have used a little less milk tonight to make the sauce even thicker!)
Go here for the recipe!
I made it for dinner last night and again tonight, because I couldn't stop thinking about it. I haven't missed very many foods since going vegan, but the creamy texture of cheese sauce is something that I thought I'd be mourning the loss of for a very long time.
I modified it slightly by adding 1 cup of chopped fresh spinach and halving the sauce recipe (that was more than enough for 2 cups (dry) of pasta!) I also let it simmer on the stovetop for about 3 minutes to wilt the spinach, and that really thickened the sauce nicely! (I think I may have used a little less milk tonight to make the sauce even thicker!)
Go here for the recipe!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Seitan Lunchmeat?!
So I've been looking and looking for a good seitan recipe. After several failed attempts at boiling and baking, I found this recipe on Vegan Dad's blog His instructions included wrapping the dough in foil and steaming and THEN baking, which I thought could be the key. I (more like he) was right! This made a HUGE loaf of seitan that will be amazing for things like BBQ melts and cheesesteaks!
First, I had to figure out what I was going to use to steam it since I don't have a steamer insert. I went with this colander, which actually fit into my biggest pot very nicely! Then I put the pot lid on top, and I suddenly had a free steamer! I will be using this to steam other things in the future!
After an hour of that, I put the log on a (sorry ass) pan and baked for another hour.
When it came out, it had grown to almost twice the size of the dough loaf, and the foil pressed on it, which I think made it more dense and meaty. The bottom was browned and crispy, and it was just plain amazing. If you need a good seitan recipe for sandwiches, this is definitely the one. Now I just have to figure out how to slice it thinly without cutting myself (deli slicer?) Thanks, Vegan Dad!
UPDATE!!!
Dustin was able to slice it pretty thinly!
We made paninis with homemade bbq sauce, daiya and caramelized red onion!
(I apologize for the crappy quality of my photos lately, but there's an issue with the Blogger app that they're hopefully going to resolve soon!)
First, I had to figure out what I was going to use to steam it since I don't have a steamer insert. I went with this colander, which actually fit into my biggest pot very nicely! Then I put the pot lid on top, and I suddenly had a free steamer! I will be using this to steam other things in the future!
After an hour of that, I put the log on a (sorry ass) pan and baked for another hour.
When it came out, it had grown to almost twice the size of the dough loaf, and the foil pressed on it, which I think made it more dense and meaty. The bottom was browned and crispy, and it was just plain amazing. If you need a good seitan recipe for sandwiches, this is definitely the one. Now I just have to figure out how to slice it thinly without cutting myself (deli slicer?) Thanks, Vegan Dad!
UPDATE!!!
Dustin was able to slice it pretty thinly!
We made paninis with homemade bbq sauce, daiya and caramelized red onion!
(I apologize for the crappy quality of my photos lately, but there's an issue with the Blogger app that they're hopefully going to resolve soon!)
Two New Goals
Now that I have the vegan thing down as far as cooking goes, I am going to start working these things in this week:
1. Setting a calorie limit each day.
This is how I've lost weight in the past, and it's really the only way to go. If I'm not paying attention, unlimited calories seem to enter my piehole! I'll be using sparkpeople.com to track what I eat.
2. Shop frugally!
This is a tough one, because vegan stuff can be daunting and it's easier to buy expensive packed foods like Tofurky. However, my recent (post forthcoming!) foray into veggie lunchmeat making was a HUGE success. Seriously, Dustin slapped my hands because I kept sawing pieces off of the still-hot loaf. Anyway, we want to buy a new car soon AND I have to start saving to pay for my grad school classes in the fall. (My employer provides tuition reimbursement, but I will have to front the money until after the class when the reimburse me, because some of the "pre-admission" courses I have to take aren't covered by federal loans since they're not part of a specific track for a degree. Pain in the ass!) This will involve a lot of experiments like one Dustin did yesterday where he made bread in the bread machine with all-purpose flour ($1.99 a bag) instead of bread flour ($5 a bag.) It was perfect! I'm using an app for my iPhone (I think it's just called "Groceries") to organize my shopping list before we go shopping so I don't end up with a bunch of crap that I don't need!
1. Setting a calorie limit each day.
This is how I've lost weight in the past, and it's really the only way to go. If I'm not paying attention, unlimited calories seem to enter my piehole! I'll be using sparkpeople.com to track what I eat.
2. Shop frugally!
This is a tough one, because vegan stuff can be daunting and it's easier to buy expensive packed foods like Tofurky. However, my recent (post forthcoming!) foray into veggie lunchmeat making was a HUGE success. Seriously, Dustin slapped my hands because I kept sawing pieces off of the still-hot loaf. Anyway, we want to buy a new car soon AND I have to start saving to pay for my grad school classes in the fall. (My employer provides tuition reimbursement, but I will have to front the money until after the class when the reimburse me, because some of the "pre-admission" courses I have to take aren't covered by federal loans since they're not part of a specific track for a degree. Pain in the ass!) This will involve a lot of experiments like one Dustin did yesterday where he made bread in the bread machine with all-purpose flour ($1.99 a bag) instead of bread flour ($5 a bag.) It was perfect! I'm using an app for my iPhone (I think it's just called "Groceries") to organize my shopping list before we go shopping so I don't end up with a bunch of crap that I don't need!
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