Vegan MoFo Day 4: Cool as a Cucumber

That's my girl. Nothing like chilling out after an arduous HEB shopping trip, with cucumber slices on your eyes.

Dinner was Broccoli Almond Sweet and Sour Tofu from Vegan Yum Yum. Subbed pecans for the almonds and I think it was even better that way. I love the texture of the tofu in this recipe. Like real Chinese restaurant tofu.

For dessert, No Mallow Rice Krispie Treats from Vegan Chocolate. A recipe so good, we made it again within the week. Jackson requested no chocolate (!?) so I subbed Lieber's butterscotch chips. 

A Day's Eats

Watermelon for breakfast.

Eat Your Greens Detox Soup from The Oh She Glows Cookbook for lunch. I was curious about the unusual combination of flavors in this soup...broccoli, kale, mushrooms, and seaweed? Of course it all came together perfectly. Can't stop, won't stop with this awesome cookbook.

Afternoon snack: No Mallow Rice Krispie Treats from Fran Costigan's Vegan Chocolate. Agar powder and guar gum act as the "glue" for these marshmallow-free bars. Jackson and Olivia loved helping make these.

Dinner was Spicy Tomato, Peanut & Kale Pasta from La Dolce Vegan. Always delightful.

Jackson and his Power Ranger army.

Library Love

One of the perks of our new home is our wonderful community library, just five minutes away. We hang out there at least once a week, always stopping to greet Ms. Frog on our way in.

The children's section is completely separate from the rest of the library, which means Jackson and Olivia can play and talk with no shushing. There is plenty of seating and it is such a cozy, welcoming environment.

For dinner I made the Enlightened Miso Power Bowl from The Oh She Glows Cookbook. The citrusy dressing imparted such great flavor to this healthy bowl of quinoa, edamame, sweet potato, carrots and scallions.

We also enjoyed homemade PB&J ice cream courtesy of the Vegan Chocolate cookbook. I didn't have all the ingredients on hand to make the fudge topping, so I just sprinkled it with chocolate chips and roasted peanuts. No one complained!

Cooking from The Oh She Glows Cookbook

One more day of catch-up posting before I get to recapping our Detroit trip! Today was "take your kid to work day" at Tony's office. The minimum age was five, so Olivia will be able to go next year. Today, though, it was just the boys, heading out bright and early (note the sleepy expressions!)

While Jackson learned what Daddy does all day, Olivia and I headed to the Blanton museum for their "Cats and Dogs" exhibit.

Human-sized cat toys, ha!

Monster's tongue is always out, so apparently he is friendly. Or, his tongue is just too big for his mouth.

Olivia got to make her own art, as well.

Here are some recent eats, on the light side since we really indulged on our vacation. Breakfast smoothie with cherries, banana, kale, coconut milk, raw chocolate protein powder, maca, chlorella, almond extract and stevia. Topped with hemp granola.

I'd never tried snow pea shoots, so they were an impulse purchase.

I threw them on a salad for extra vitamins. The pasta is Luxurious Tomato-Basil Pasta from The Oh She Glows Cookbook. I looooove this cookbook, and I've been getting a lot of use out of it, as you'll see.

The first recipe I made from Angela's book was Salt and Vinegar Roasted Chickpeas. The chickpeas really do absorb the salt and vinegar flavor. Olivia loved them and begged me to make another batch.

The Perfected Chickpea Salad Sandwich was another winner. A nice quick lunch on whole wheat bread with snow pea shoots.

Cream of Tomato Soup with Roasted Italian Chickpea Croutons was amazing. The tomato soup tasted just like Campbell's only creamier, and without that metallic "soup from a can" taste. The savory, crunchy chickpeas melted into the soup and added extra flavor. Who needs crackers?

I'll probably have more photos of stuff I made from this cookbook next week, because I can't put it down. 

Finally, I want to say thanks to Gail of Hungry Vegan! I was the winner of her Vegan Chocolate giveaway. Me and my sweet tooth are so excited to use this gorgeous hardcover cookbook by Fran Costigan. It's pristine and beautiful now, but I predict it will soon be covered in flour and chocolate fingerprints!