The Most Epic Pantry Challenge Ever

I've blogged about pantry challenges before, but I've never actually described the rules for one of these. Basically, there comes a point where every foodie / enthusiastic home cook / bargain hunter collects enough items that it starts to become ridiculous. I am slightly guilty of this.

For one, I love Big Lots, and with Big Lots, many of the items you see on the shelves are a one-time-only, first-come-first-serve thing. If you see a really good deal, you pretty much have to snag it up because it probably won't be there later. Although I don't usually buy multiples of the same item to put back for later, I do sometimes, and that would explain the large amount of organic canned tomatoes I have.

Another way the pantry pileup occurs is when you love to cook, especially when it comes to authentic ethnic cooking. I have a large rack of spices. They range from smoked paprika to berbere to Chinese 5-spice to white pepper. I also have a lot of flavored vinegars, Asian cooking essentials (tamarind paste, gochujang paste, toasted sesame oil...), various flours (oh, gluten-free baking, you have really taken over my pantry!), and many different species of legumes. Yes. I said species. Lol. Also, I did to buy the occasional ingredient to make that one recipe and then I just never get around to doing it...

So, every once in awhile when I start to run out of room, I do a "pantry challenge". It basically consists of me using up as many of the ingredients in my pantry as I can, while only buying produce and the basics (tea, almond milk, etc.) at the grocery store. It typically lasts for a full month and it mostly involves me getting around to cooking all those recipes I had previously picked out and bought the ingredients for.

This pantry challenge, however, is different. That is because this is going to be my most epic challenge yet. I need to pretty much use and/or consolidate every single ingredient in my pantry, fridge, and freezer. How long will this challenge last? Well, probably about 2 1/2 months. And why such a hardcore deletion of my personal ingredient stockpile?

Because I'm moving to Georgia.

I mean, a little challenge is good for when you have a few too many cans of black beans, but when you're expected to pack up your entire kitchen and move it across multiple state lines, everything must go! So for serious this time, expect lots of ethic dishes, bean dishes, and gluten-free baking because I have a LOT of cooking to do (luckily, it's pretty much one of my favorite things, lol).

The non-vegan stuff isn't mine... but everything else is!

Of course, as I look at it now, it's not really that much stuff to use up in it's entirety...

You might be wondering (or you might not be, who knows), why the Midwest Vegan would pack up her kitchen and her person and move to the South. Well, it's because I've decided that I need a Ph.D., and the plant biology department at the University of Georgia agrees with me! Although, I'm going to be studying fungi more than plants. Truth be told, I am a girl who loves her fungus, and not just the delicious, eatin' kind either! Not only am I glad to be going to school to get an advanced degree (I've been working really hard the last couple of years with that goal in mind), I am super stoked to move to a city where there are lots of other people like me. I honestly don't fit in here. People here just don't understand why I care about recycling, or why I eat organic produce, or for that matter, why I enjoy taking a good run or dip in the pool. There is no music scene (well, in my taste.. well, actually, yeah, there's no music scene), no places that show indie flicks, no health food stores, no yoga lessons... There is nothing here in this town even remotely interesting, so instead of being like so many others I know and just "settling for" this place, I'm actually leaving it. I've found somewhere else I'd rather call home, at least for awhile.  

And since I'm pretty excited and I can hardly contain myself at the prospect of leaving this dirty little river town, I'm going to make my boyfriend take a picture of me flipping off one of the various Pony Express statues around town.

Nah. I'm just joking... Though, I will for sure take a picture of some corn. Just to be ridiculous. Then I will put it on my fridge next to the photo of me flipping off the Pony Express to remind me of what Missouri is like. I'm dramatic like that.

Let the cooking begin!

Bowls of Goodness

As you all know, I am quite a fan of the hot-breakfast-in-a-bowl. Of course, as much as I love my oatmeal (I'm missing it right now! I'll explain why in my next post.) sometimes, other grains are just as good. My grandma recently gave me a bag of Gluten-Free Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal from Bob's Red Mill. It's made from whole grain brown rice, corn, sorghum, and buckwheat. By itself it's a little boring, so I thought I would jazz it up a little:

The directions on the package make four servings, so I had to devise a way to make this a single serving. Especially since (and I've noticed this with most cereals that contain coarse ground corn), the amount of water you use quickly evaporates after about 2-3 minutes and the cereal is not yet done yet. I know, I know, I suppose I could just use more water, but I was more interested in making a creamy porridge. So, to remedy this situation, I added unsweetened almond milk at the point where most of the water is gone and continued to cook it until the cereal was done. Perfect! Then, to add some flavor, I added either chocolate chips (gluten-free) or carob chips (not gluten-free), cinnamon, a touch of almond butter, and some protein powder (because that's how I roll) and topped it with flax seeds and nuts. The result is a super-satisfying hot cereal that keeps me going until lunchtime! I can't really think of a name for this, since it's just a breakfast thing I put together, so how about...

Jess's Tasty Gluten-Free Chocolate-Almond Porridge?

I mostly just love the word "porridge".

Ingredients:
1/4 c. Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal (what a mouthful!)
3/4 c. water
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
dash of salt
1/2 c. unsweetened almond milk
1 Tb. gluten-free chocolate chips
1/2 Tb. almond butter
2 Tb. chocolate protein powder (I use Lifetime Life's Basics Plant Protein)
2-4 drops vanilla stevia, optional
1 tsp. sliced almonds, for garnish
1/2 tsp. golden or regular flax, for garnish

1. In a small saucepan (real small), bring the water and salt to a bowl. Stir in the Hot Cereal, and reduce heat to medium (or medium-low, you want a nice, slow simmer). Cook for 2-3 minutes or until most of the water is gone. Be careful not to burn the cereal!

2. Stir in the almond milk, cinnamon, chocolate chips, and almond butter, turn up heat to medium-high until it comes to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and allow the cereal to cook for another 7-8 minutes. Stir well to make sure all the almond butter and chips are melted. Add a little more almond milk if it's too thick for you liking.

3. Remove from heat and stir in the protein powder and stevia, if using. Garnish with the sliced almonds and flax and enjoy!

This was actually the last of my Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal, so I'll be moving on to some brown rice farina next, and we all know how much I love my farina!

I have also been cooking from The 30-Minute Vegan's Taste of the East. It's a really good cookbook and the food is divided up into sections: Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Thai, and Fusion. Although I've really been digging the recipes from the Chinese section, I just had to make this Black Rice Pudding from the Thai section:

This particular rice pudding has a chewy texture and a hint of nutty flavor from the black rice. It's made creamy with coconut milk and sweetened with agave and brown sugar. When I made this, I used only about 2/3 the amount of the sugar, just because I wanted something I could also eat for breakfast. And, although I didn't add the optional mirin (no thanks!), I did put in a good amount of cinnamon. To finish it off, I added some unsweetened coconut chips and granola pieces for texture. The crunchy granola bits really added a something-something to it that I liked.

In total, I've only made about three recipes from this particular cookbook, but I really enjoyed them! I can't wait to cook more! Next up, I'll be making the Cantonese Lemon Tofu. I've got my wok (the one I got this past Christmas) completely seasoned and ready to go!

And finally, I've got a pretty big announcement in my next post and it will involve the most epic pantry challenge ever. Stay tuned!

Chimichurri Baked Tofu and Confetti Rice Salad

I ordered a copy of Terry Hope Romero's Vive Vegan as soon as it came out. Unfortunately, I haven't really been able to cook with it until recently. I am a huge fan of Latin American cuisine and luckily, I live in a place where I can get authentic ingredients relatively easily. Eventually, I plan on tackling the more complex recipes, such as the empanadas, tamales, and various seitan-based dishes, but for now I'm sticking to the fairly basic ones. 

My local Hy-Vee finally got in some flat-leaved parsley the other day. For the longest time, they only seemed to have the curly-leaved parsley. After doing some research (because I can't let any question go unanswered), I discovered that curly parsley is available year-round while flat-leaf parsley tends to be seasonal. Generally, flat-leaf is used for cooking while curly is demoted to garnish duty. And seriously, you can taste why. Curly parsley is gross.

 

Curly and unpleasant on the top, flat-leaved and tasty on the bottom.

So, anywho. The minute I saw the flat-leaved parsley on sale, I grabbed a bunch. I had had the Chimichurri Baked Tofu recipe from Vive Vegan on my mind for a long time. And since I already had everything else the recipe called for, I knew it would be a snap to make. And it was! Provided you have a food processor, of course. Basically, chimichurri is an Argentinian sauce made of parsley, vinegar, onions, garlic, and oil. Kind of like a parsley pesto, but without any nuts. As per the recipe's suggestion, I made the sauce a day in advance of using it to allow the flavors to meld. Then I baked some tofu, putting the sauce on it about halfway through the baking time. Then I served it with some sautéed petite green beans. It was awesome!

So although sautéed green beans weren't the most authentic accompaniment to this Argentinian-style tofu, it sure was delicious! The recipe uses an entire package of tofu (cut into eight sections), so once the green beans were gone, I served the last of the tofu with my Confetti Rice Salad.

My Confetti Rice Salad makes a refreshing side dish. It's basically a mix of fresh chopped veggies, beans, and cooked rice in a very light vinaigrette. I see these sort of salads around here often at dinners and potlucks. Usually though, they're done up Midwestern style with lots of heavy oil dressing and cubes of Velveeta (ick. I know right? Even before I gave up dairy, I wouldn't touch Velveeta. That stuff shouldn't count as food!). But anyway, like I said, this recipe is light and refreshing and is awesome with quinoa instead of the rice (just use the same amount of the dry grain, and cook according to directions on the package. This also makes the recipe come together a lot quicker). You can also leave out the beans and add avocado (1/2 of a ripe one, cubed), or leave both in and eat it as a main dish.

Confetti Rice Salad:
1/2 c. dry brown basmati rice or quinoa, cooked according to package directions
2/3 c. frozen corn, thawed, and squeezed to get excess water out
1/2 c. canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 a red bell pepper, diced
1/2 an English cucumber, diced
1 Roma tomato, chopped
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
1/4 c. Pickled Red Onions from Vive Vegan or regular green or red onions, chopped
1/2 Tb. oil (I used walnut, my fave)
1/2 Tb. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. salt, or more to taste
1 lime, cut into wedges

1. After the rice/quinoa has completely cooked, drain it if necessary, and set it aside so it can cool.

2. Once the grain has cooled, toss it with the corn, black beans, bell pepper, cucumber, tomato, cilantro, and onions. Drizzle it with the oil and vinegar, and the chili powder, cumin, and salt, and toss everything until the salad is well-combined.

3. Serve it as a side dish, with a little bit of squeezed fresh lime. Enjoy!

Actually, I've been cooking out of quite a few of my vegan cookbooks. I finally have the time to make recipes that require more of my attention now that I've graduated and switched to days. Among the books I've been cooking from (other than Vive Vegan) are 30 Minute Vegan's Taste of the East, Blissful Bites, and Vegan With a Vengeance (an oldie but a goodie!). Stay tuned!

A Girl Went Down to Georgia...

... and was lookin' for a vegan meal.

Sorry. I couldn't resist! Anywho, last week I had the pleasure of visiting Athens, Georgia. I'm applying for graduate school there (at the University of Georgia) and they flew me down for a two days of tours and interviews. The trip wore me out, but I love it down there. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything works out, though I won't find out for sure if I'm accepted until the end of February / beginning of March. It was quite an experience. It was the first time I had flown by myself (and I had only flown once before), and I flew into the Atlanta airport which was pretty big, but once I get the hang of it, it was actually fairly easy to get around. They also have LOTS of food there. I ate a big plate of collard greens and hot sauce there. And it was awesome. So yeah...

Athens! Athens is a very vegetarian-friendly place (the majority of restaurants carry vegetarian items on their menus) and it's also pretty accomodating of vegans. It actually blew my mind how veg-friendly this place was, because in my hometown most people haven't even met a vegetarian (and they definitely don't know what a vegan is... or how to even pronounce the word "vegan"). I ate a lot of good food, both at restaurants and at the student/faculty potlucks. They have quite a few vegetarians in the plant biology department (of course!) and many items were naturally vegan. I didn't bring along my camera because to be honest, I don't have the balls to take pictures of my food in public. Also, I was surrounded by graduate students and recuits, and I really wanted to make a good impression. So, I supplemented this blog post with pictures of the restaurants themselves, lol.

One of the days, I ate at Cali n' Tito's, which is an authentic Cuban restaurant that is very popular with the students from UGA. Apparently, you can pay $2 or something and BYOB and drink on the patio tables with your meal. College students that have just turned 21 seem to find that awesome.

 Source - this isn't my photo. Click here for the source.



Cali n' Tito's, also had a variety of vegetarian options. They had your standard fare such as tacos and burritos, but they also had empanadas, tamales, and other things I can't quite remember. As you know, I'm quite the tamale girl, so that's what I got, but it was a tough decision between them and the empanadas. They had a veggie tamale (no cheese) filled with corn, potatoes, and onions that even came wrapped in a banana leaf. However, looking back it may not have been vegan depending on what they used in the masa dough. I'll admit I stumbled a little with that one. I've just ate vegan ones for so long that I forgot they existed any other way!

The yucca fries, however, were vegan. And awesome. It was the first time I had yucca (or cassava) and it was just like I imagined it, only fluffier. They were like a potato, only way better. I also tried fried sweet plantain and it was good. Much better than any fried plantain I've tried to make!

I also had the awesome experience of eating at The Grit, a vegetarian-only restaurant with plenty of vegan options. A long, long time ago, I was reading an issue of Vegetarian Times. In this particular article, they had gone and rated the best regional restaurants. For the South, The Grit was rated the best in the region. I remember thinking that it seemed like a real tasty place to eat, but I was sure I wouldn't ever get the chance to eat there.

Until I did.

Four years later.

Weird how that happens!

Source - This isn't my photo. Click here for the source.

The Grit has a retro diner feel to it, which I liked. The also have a lot of rotating specials along with a small standard menu. There is a little bit of everything there, so if you have a group of people and they all want something different, this would be the place to go. For example, one of my hosts got a fancy grilled cheese (just veg), while the other got a quesadilla (just veg), while I got the noodle bowl special of the day (vegan). They also have certain nights of the week where they serve ethnic meals. For instance, this past Thursday was Indian night, so they had an appetizer, main dish, soup, and one or two other items to choose from.

So yeah, speaking of the noodle bowl of the day, the night that I went it happened to be tofu and veggies in a spicy basil sauce with rice noodles, which was exactly what I was craving. There was plenty of tofu, although a little lacking in the veggies, and the sauce was tasty. I would have paid a little more attention to what I was eating, but after a hanging out in a plane, an airport, and a shuttle the majority of my day, the nuanced flavors of my dish were the last thing on my mind. I was just ready for some tofu! 

The only caveat: I didn't find the servers very friendly. It's possible they were just having an off-night, which happens, but I sure hope they aren't like that all the time! But in general, I would like to go back and give the other menu items a try. They have a vegan seitan gyro that's got my name on it!

Anywho, Athens is a awesome place (they also have Thai and Indian places I have yet to try, as well as an Indian and Chinese grocery) and I truly hope that I'll get the opportunity to move down there. If not, then I guess I'd just like to visit again!

Mesir Wat

So, I finally hunted down some berbere (you know, through the wild and raucous aisles that are known as Amazon) and I'm now able to make myself some "Ethiopian" food. It's probably not authentic at all, but it has a sort of taste that I'm looking for. Or maybe it is kind of authentic. I'm not really sure. Anywho, this is my recipe for Mesir Wat, which is a lentil stew. I added berbere to this so it's probably more like kik wat... but with lentils. I have no idea. This is why I need a copy of Papa Tofu Loves Ethiopian Food.

To round out this meal, I served it with sautéed spinach (no collards on hand, otherwise I would have tried my hand at Ye'abesha Gomen. I love me some greens) and leftover potatoes that I cut up and sautéed in some coconut oil. Good idea, by the way!

I used red lentils, which normally cook pretty quickly, but I wanted to get this stew nice and thick so I simmered it about an hour. Just FYI. Oh, and most recipes for mesir wat contain a fair amount of oil. What you do is simmer the onion and the spices in the oil before you ever add the lentils. I might try that next time, but for now I just sautéed the onions and spices in about one tablespoon of oil.

Mesir Wat:
1 c. split red lentils, rinsed
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Tb. neutral-flavored oil
1/2 Tb. coconut oil
1 Tb. berbere
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. hot paprika 
4 c. water
1/2 tsp. sea salt

1. In a large saucepan, sauté the onions and garlic in the oil over medium heat until soft and golden, about 10-12 minutes. You want to cook it a little slower than usual.

2. Add the berbere, cumin, and paprika and let it cook another 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add the lentils and the water. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, about 45-1 hour. I used medium-low. You want to cook it until it's nice and thick, without a lot of extra water.

3. Before serving, stir in 1/2 tsp. sea salt (or to taste). Enjoy!

This will make four small-ish servings at around 206 calories, 4.5 g. fat, and 11.7 grams protein. The small serving is good if you have some sautéed greens and a starch (like potatoes, millet, or injeera to go with it). Otherwise, I'd go ahead and serve up two!

Anywho, next week I'm flying down to Athens, Georgia and I hear there are some very good vegetarian/vegan places down there. Athens is nothing like the town I currently live in. They have hummus places and brunch places and coffee places and Indian and Thai places (and that's just the food!). I'll have to let you all know what I try out. Have a great afternoon!

Golden Bowl: Take Two

I've had a hankering for cabbage lately, but I'm not really in the mood for anything spicy or Asian. I thought about the kind of food that I would like to eat and that turned out to be "comfort food". Many people's definition includes such items as macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, chili, etc., but I've never been a mac n' cheese eater (not even before I went vegan), and I don't really care too much for pasta-heavy dishes. For me, comfort food means a return to the ingredients and flavors I'm most familiar with. The ones I grew up eating: onions, celery, mushrooms, carrots, beans, rice, potatoes...

So needless to say, I've been eating quite a few of these Golden Bowls. This version here is a winter-version of my other Golden Bowl recipe which features summer squash. It has all the items I want, regular ol' vegetables, a little salt and nutritional yeast for flavor, and tofu for protein. Also, the veggies are a little beyond crisp-tender with just the right about of bite to them without being soggy.

This recipe will serve two as a main dish when served with a cooked grain. Of course, I often just pile the whole skillet into a tupperware container and take it to work with me. It's super easy to make and it comes together in a flash.

Golden Bowl II (or, Attack of the Late Winter Vegetables):
1/2 a carton of extra-firm tofu, pressed and drained 15 minutes, cut into small cubes
2 c. green cabbage, cored and shredded
1 c. celery, sliced on a bias (about 3 stalks)
2/3 c. sliced white button mushrooms (about 4-5)
1 large carrot, sliced
1/2 a red bell pepper, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 green onions, white and green parts, chopped
2 Tb. nutritional yeast
Bragg's liquid aminos and/or salt

1. In a large skillet sprayed with some nonstick, saute the tofu cubes over medium-high heat until golden, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally with a spatula. Once golden, sprinkle the cubes with some Bragg's liquid aminos (as desired) and set aside. Before cooking the veggies, you may need to wipe out the skillet.

2. Respray the skillet with some nonstick, add all the veggies and saute for five minutes. Add the tofu cubes back to the skillet and continue cooking the veggies another 2-3 minutes, or until the cabbage is mostly soft with just a little bit of crunch.

3. Turn off the heat and toss the veggies/tofu with the nutritional yeast plus some more Bragg's/salt to taste. Enjoy!

I love my golden bowls!

This particular version has: 384 calories, 15 grams of fat, 17 grams of fiber, 34 grams of protein, your entire RDA of Vitamin A and Vitamin C, plus a third of your daily iron and calcium. If you eat the whole thing by itself. Which I do. Every time. So good. Although I'm not gonna lie, I gotta take one of those Beano meltaways before I do. Darn cruciferous vegetables...

                                                                                           Noochy goodness.

I've also been juicing more, just like I said I would! I got a new juicer (one of them Breville juice fountains, though not the super-expensive ones) and gave my old Juiceman, Jr. (which worked really well actually!) to my parents who still juice quite a bit (I'm so proud!). Amber recently shared a juice recipe on her blog, Almost Vegan and it's a pretty famous one that's been making the rounds for quite a while. And for good reason. It's delicious!

It's a basic mix of kale, celery, cucumber, green apple. lemon, and ginger. It's addiciting and I feel so vibrant after drinking it. In fact, I drank it at 7 pm and actually rolled around in bed all night because I was so wired! I couldn't sleep at all. I just had way too much energy! I'm real excited to begin starting my mornings with one of these because they make me feel great.

I have a lot of good recipes to share with you all. More healthy comfort food for sure. I made vegan reubens last night and they were awesome (and I followed that up with a reuben salad today!). I also have a recipe for mocha chip muffins (probably gluten-free, though I know for sure I'll be doing some GF baking), sun-dried tomato pesto, and I'll be trying my hand at doing some Ethiopian cooking in my own kitchen. I'm seriously craving some Blue Nile right about now. Have a great night!

A Medley of Eats

So... I've been eating a lot of simple things for lunch/dinner lately, but they are hearty and comforting and that's what winter food is all about:

 

1. Roasted Vegetables with Kale

I simply roasted some cauliflower, sweet potatoes, garlic, onions, and baby Yukon Gold potatoes with a little olive oil and salt. I boiled some chopped kale for a couple minutes, then drained it and put it on the baking sheet with the veggies the last five minutes of cooking to crisp up a little. 

2. Grain and Veggie Salads

This one here is a packaged salad blend + romaine + baby spinach topped with cooked brown rice, steamed butternut squash, hemp seeds, and raspberry vinaigrette. A very tasty combination. I've also been drinking this Dark Chocolate Mate I found from the Republic of Tea (in the corner of the photo). I love yerba mate and this chocolate-flavored variety is no exception! It has as much caffeine in it as a really strong espresso (100 mg) so I generally limit myself to one cup before work. It gives a good boost!

3. Various Miso Soups

I've been loving the miso lately. For this particular soup I sautéed together some onion, shiitake mushrooms, and thinly sliced carrot. I also boiled some edamame and tossed it with some walnut and toasted sesame oil. At work, I combined together the sautéed veggies, the edamame, some leftover grain (red quinoa in this case), and water. After heating it up I added a tablespoon of white miso, some Bragg's, and baby spinach and stirred until the spinach was wilted. It made a real quick and easy lunch at work. I've been making lots of variations on this combination too (sautéed veggies + greens + edamame/tofu + miso).

4. Happy Herbivore's Chickpea Tacos

What an easy, tasty idea! The only thing I did differently was use one tablespoon of my jarred taco mix instead of all the spices she had listed (my mix has the same ingredients). I also used mashed avocado to help keep the beans in place in the taco. I then topped it with pickled onions from Viva Vegan (which really brought it together!) and romaine. Definitely a tasty lunch.

5. Nut Butter-Stuffed Dates

I don't have a picture of this one, but lots of other bloggers do! I had always seen almond butter stuffed dates but I was pretty "meh" about it. Sure, I like almond butter and I love me some medjools, but I doubted the combination as being anything special. 

At least, until I made my own almond butter stuffed dates! Alone, those two foods are tasty, but when you combine them, they are amazing! They complement each other perfectly, especially if you have those big, soft medjool dates.

Big Lots Find-O-The Month:

 Source

I found Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Lara Bars at my Big Lots this month! And not as individual bars, either. They are being sold in a five-pack box for $2.80 (that's $0.56 a bar!!!). So if you have a Big Lots near you, check it out and you just might find yourself a box (or two or three!). I also found some Arrowhead Mills no salt almond butter there for $2.50 and that was what set me off on my date-stuffing marathon. 

Luckily, if I move to Georgia, the city I would live in also has a Big Lots. I don't know what I would do without that place! Lol.

Chickpea-Vegetable Miso Breakfast Soup

Inspired by my latest edition of Whole Living magazine, I decided to try something a little different for breakfast and I made a veggie-heavy miso soup. I know that miso for breakfast is popular in Japan (or so I'm told), but had never tried it out for myself. So, this recipe is pretty much the one from Whole Living, but I pared down the recipe to just make one serving, not four, and I reduced both the cooking time and the overall fat content.

This soup didn't take very long to make, which is good, because it is breakfast after all. I know that when I wake up I'm cranky, need coffee, and have grumblings in my tummy, so breakfast must be a fairly quick ordeal. I woke up on my day off, so I had a little extra time to spare to make this gem of a veggie soup. It took me about 25 minutes, which I wouldn't exactly consider quick (for breakfast anyway), so to speed up the process I would chop everything up the night before and have it in a container ready-to-go. I've made this recipe about three times already (that's how you know it's tasty!) and I also started sautéing the broccoli with the celery and onions which shaves off another five minutes or so. Instead of coffee though, I drank some hot lemon water with this.

The coffee came later, lol.
                           

Miso-Vegetable Soup For One:
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 Tb. yellow onion, minced (1/8 an onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
half a carrot, chopped
1/2 c. broccoli florets, chopped
1/4 c. chickpeas (rinsed if from a can)
1/4 c. vegetable broth (can use water instead, but I always have an open container around)
1 c. water
1/2 Tb. white miso
Sea salt, to taste

1. In a small saucepan sprayed with nonstick, sauté the celery, onion, garlic, carrot, and broccoli for about 5 minutes, or until softened. 

2. Add the chickpeas, vegetable broth, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes (you may have to simmer a little longer if you want your broccoli to be completely soft. I'm indifferent). Remove from heat.

3. Mix the miso with 1/2 Tb. cool water until blended, then stir into the soup. Add salt to taste, then serve!

This breakfast really is a nice change of pace, and I'm sure it will fit on everyone's diet/detox plan for this new year we've stumbled into. This meal will set you back only 1 gram of fat and 147 calories. Not only that, but you will gain 7 grams of protein, all your Vitamin A for the day, more than 3/4 your daily Vitamin C, and 8 grams of fiber. That doesn't even include the goodness you get from miso!

To make this gluten-free, simply be sure that you use GF miso (some contain barley) and GF vegetable broth (most organic kinds are). 

I don't really have any New Year's Resolutions other than to continue to eat healthy and stay active. Although, I would really like to juice more, so I'm going to work on that. Oh, and maybe one of these days I'll mess around with my camera long enough to figure out how to remove the date from each one of my photos...

Anywho, I feel like this year will be kind of epic compared to the steady last couple of years I've had, so I guess we'll see how it all turns out!

Whole Foods Salad: Take One

Like a majority of others, I am completely obsessed with Whole Foods' salad bar. It doesn't matter what I put on my creation, it will always taste good. As long as they have some of my favorite items: marinated gigante beans (delicious!), toasted pumpkin seeds, and shredded raw veggies of some sort, I am a happy camper.

Unfortunately, I live almost an hour and a half from the nearest Whole Foods, so if I wind up going there it becomes quite an excursion. It always take a few hours, involves a giant shopping list, and of course, eating an amazing salad at the salad bar and drinking a kombucha from the tap.

After eating wicked amounts of sugar over the holidays, I have been mega-craving salads, beans, and other healthy foods. And since I'd much rather be feeling like my usual vibrant and healthy self than a sluggish mess of brain fog, I decided to go ahead and start afresh with my diet. Why wait until the New Year to start over if I can do it today and feel great now?

So, due to the fact that I yearn for some crisp, clean vegetables and whole grains and beans, I did my best to recreate my favorite Whole Foods salad:

Basically, it's a layered salad made up of the following:
2 c. mixed salad greens and baby spinach
1 c. chopped romaine lettuce
1/2 c. steamed squash (delicata this time around, 10 min. to steam)
1/2 c. butter beans, rinsed and patted dry
1/4 c. cooked quinoa or brown rice
A heaping 1/8 c. raw beets, shredded
1/8 c. raw zucchini, shredded
1/8 c. raw carrots, shredded
1/8 c. daikon, shredded
2 Tb. low-fat raspberry vinaigrette
2 Tb. chopped green onion
1 tsp. shelled hemp seeds

The major difference between my homemade salad and the Whole Foods one is that I usually add a little bit of baked tofu and use pumpkin seeds instead of hemp on the WF one. Also, at Whole Foods I use the Follow Your Heart Oil-Free Tamari-Miso dressing. It is amazing! I will buy some the next time I down there.

Also, you might be thinking, "raw beets?? raw zucchini?? daikon??". These raw shredded veggies are a great addition to your salad. You don't really notice the flavor because they're shredded up so fine but they add lots of nutrition. Daikon tastes like a sweeter, milder radish when raw, and I like it a lot, but you could also leave it out. I just shred a good amount at once that way I have plenty on hand for awhile.

As for delicata squash, some people really like it, but I wasn't very impressed. I don't really like the skin on it (which is edible), so if I ever cook it again, I'll leave off the skin. However, that seems like a lot of work and I really love butternut (what can I say?) so I'll probably stick to steamed butternut for my salads. Although, I do have a carnival squash I have yet to roast and I'd still like to try a kabocha sometime this winter, if I can find one. 

Overall, this is a mega tasty salad. I will eat it until I run out of raspberry vinaigrette, then I will switch things up a bit!

Almond Joy Cake!

Alright! I baked a cake! I love baking those things! I wanted a cake for my graduation party, and since it was MY party and MY cake I make it the way I wanted. With coconut. Ha ha!

This cake had two layers of moist vanilla-almond cake, a dark chocolate-coconut-almond filling, and a fluffy dark chocolate frosting. It was then garnished with sliced almonds.

 CAKE. VEGAN LAYER CAKE. I win.

So actually, I suppose it's a Mounds cake... with almonds... but eh. I think Almond Joy has more name recognition. Lol. For the chocolate, I used Enjoy Life brand (which is gluten-free, nut-free, and dairy-free. Also, it's affordable). I think that it is a milder chocolate, so it's good for people who don't have as much love for the dark stuff. It also comes in the bag as mini chips so it's fairly easy to measure out and melt.

Almond Joy Cake:
For the cake:
3 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. turbinado sugar
1/4 c. canola oil
1/4 c. coconut oil (warmed to liquid, then measured)
2 Tb. no-sugar-added applesauce
1 1/2 c. unsweetened almond milk
1/2 Tb. rice vinegar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. pure almond extract

For the frosting/filling:
2 c. vegan chocolate chips (12 oz., which is one full bag plus part of another)
1/2 c. plain coconut creamer (or soy creamer)
2 sticks Earth Balance, softened
2 c. powdered sugar (make sure there are no lumps, sift if you have to)

1 c. sweetened, flaked coconut
1/3 c. sliced almonds, plus additional almonds to decorate the top of the cake

FOR THE CAKE:
Preheat oven to 350F, and prepare two 8" rounds by covering the bottom and sides with parchment paper, using a spritz of nonstick to help them adhere to the pan. Spray the bottom of each round with some more nonstick.

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, canola oil, coconut oil, applesauce, almond milk, vinegar, vanilla and almond extracts until completely combined.
3. Beat in half the flour on low speed.
4. Stir in last half the flour until combined.
5. Pour half the batter into each of the cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top springs back when touched and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans about 5 minutes, then let them finish cooling on a wire rack.

FOR THE FROSTING:
1. Combine the chocolate and the coconut creamer in a bowl and heat in the microwave until the chocolate is melted. Stir it every 30 seconds or so until it is completely smooth. Remove it from the microwave and allow it to cool about 15 minutes.
2. Beat together the softened Earth Balance and powdered sugar until it's nice and fluffy, then add the melted chocolate.
3. Beat in the melted chocolate and whip the frosting together about five minutes, so that it is well combined. Set aside.

*It's IMPORTANT that the chocolate has cooled (until it's lukewarm to touch), otherwise it will melt the butter!!*

FOR THE COCONUT-ALMOND FILLING:
1. Remove about 1/3 the prepared frosting and place it into a small bowl.
2. Add in the flaked coconut and sliced almonds and mix completely. Set aside.

TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:
1. Remove the parchment paper and place it onto the platter/cake tray that you plan on serving it on.
2. Place one layer right side up, and cover the top of it with the coconut-almond filling.
3. Place the second layer UPSIDE DOWN so that the flat part is on top. This will give you a nice, smooth surface to decorate. You may need to cut off part of the top of the second layer so that the cake will be level (if you want).
4. Use the rest of the frosting to completely cover the sides and the top of the cake. It helps if you have a flat spatula to smooth it out with. I would frost the cake as soon as the cake is cool enough to handle frosting. Otherwise, it might harden. 

Makes a good breakfast...

Garnish with sliced almonds and flaked coconut! Also, I think that you should leave this cake at room temperature. It tends to harden up if left in the fridge. I also liked to eat my slices nuked in the microwave for about 10 seconds so that the chocolate got slightly melty.

This cake got a thumbs up from all who tried it... even those who didn't care too much for coconut!

Also, it is official. Now that I have eaten cake, I am a university graduate! I'll have an interesting announcement regarding that in February or so, and it may just change the direction my blog is headed... literally... like, the Midwest Vegan will probably be moving to Georgia this summer!

ANYWHO, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! My boyfriend got me a wok, a bamboo steamer, and the Happy Herbivore cookbook (he knows me so well!). Which is good, because I've really wanted to make steamed dumpling for forever. Also, I make a lot of stir-fry and the regular ol' skillet just ain't cutting it. And last but not least, I make some awesome vegan cinnamon rolls for Christmas for my family (who loved them!) and I shall post the recipe before New Year. After all, something-something New Year's resolutions something something, am I right?

(So yes, lots of healthy stuff coming from me in a couple of days!).