Monday Mornings

It hasn't been easy getting back into the post-winter break, 6:30 a.m. wake-up routine. You can really see the mix of sleepiness and disbelief on our faces. It can't possibly already be time to get up?!

I've gotten tired of oats so I have been switching up my breakfast. Banana and whole wheat toast with peanut butter.

For a post-workout and yoga snack, an old favorite makes a return. Averie's peanut butter chocolate chip protein balls, made with Garden of Life RAW vanilla protein.

Trying to perk up and stay warm with some spicy Indian food, we had lunch at Tarka. I love Tarka, it's like Indian fast food. You order at the counter and it's ready in minutes, but it's so good! I had the kofta malai this time.

Garlic naan on the side.

I only ordered "medium spicy", but it was almost too hot for my taste. I should never deviate from "mild." I was glad to have a mango lemonade to sip on.

How's your Monday going?

Orange Everywhere

It is that time of year when I am buying a lot of things that are orange.

Sure, there's the occasional rainbow-colored, yet still seasonally appropriate item, such as the autumn collection of Method hand soaps: kelly moss, white cranberry, and rice milk mallow.

But mostly, orange, and pumpkin-related.

We've also tried the candy corn M&Ms, which I preferred, being a white chocolate fan.

And, we also tried the caramel apple Oreo's, but these pumpkin spice ones are amazing.

Pumpkin tres leches cake from HEB, so good.

Pumpkin pie spice peanut butter! This was sold out the first time I searched for it at Target. Of course I went back.

My breakfast this week: oats with almond milk, maca, pumpkin pie PB, cacao nibs, and a touch of maple syrup.

HEB is having an Italian promotion this week and they have all kinds of oddly-shaped pastas on sale. I picked up some armoniche (harmonica-shaped) and a jar of alla norma sauce. Stir in some green olives and we have dinner!

Olivia totally gets the orange theme.

She keeps asking how many days till Halloween. I think we need a countdown calendar.

More Oh She Glows

As promised, many more attempts from the Oh She Glows cookbook. First, Perfect Kale Chips. They really were perfect! Jackson and Olivia gobbled them up. To be honest, I only ever tried making kale chips in the oven once before, and I burned them. But setting up the dehydrator (and washing it afterwards!) is a process. I find oven-baking much simpler, as long as I make sure to keep an eye on them so they don't burn.

Soul-Soothing African Peanut Stew. Not a lot of peanut flavor, compared to similar recipes I've made, but a good hearty weeknight soup.

Broccoli, Cashew Cheese & Quinoa Burritos. Warm, cheesy comfort food that comes with a nostalgia factor (that is, if you grew up eating broccoli rice casseroles). The filling reheats well, so this was my lunch several days in a row.

Quick & Easy Chana Masala. Now this won't have the depth of flavor of a long-simmered tomato sauce, but when you crave Indian spices on a weeknight, it comes together so easily. I picked up some naan bread at the store and called it dinner.

Bonus, non-Oh She Glows meal! Since we moved, we now live within five minutes of Austin's only raw food cafe, called Premier Raw. I had to try it out, so I called in a lunch order: two Quantum Sliders with a side of caraway slaw, a Veggie Supreme juice with carrot, celery, beet, kale and ginger, and two coconut-pecan truffles for dessert. It was all delicious! I'd never eaten a raw "burger" before. The burger had a different consistency from the buns which, although raw, were soft and bread-like. The truffles were moist and cakey. Apparently you can get a lot of variation in your raw food textures if you know what you're doing! Jackson ate one of the sliders and Olivia had a truffle, so they are fans of raw cuisine, as well. I was surprised how full I felt after my meal. Raw food definitely satisfies. I think we'll become regular customers. 

It's been a lovely, rainy summer! You will never hear me complain about rain and cooler temps. I love being able to drink hot tea in July!

And the kids are happy to bring out the blankets and cuddle up with their babies.

Paleteria La Selva

After spending the morning at the playground, the kids and I cooled down with some sweet treats from Paleteria La Selva, a little Mexican-style ice cream parlor. They have over 30 flavors of paletas, or popsicles. There was every fruit flavor you can think of -- guava, papaya, grape, etc. -- and even some savory flavors, like cucumber-chili. We tried the strawberry, Mexican vanilla, and chocolate flavors.

They were so good. Can't wait to go back and sample the other varieties.

When we got home, we made some food to take to a friend who just had a baby. I made the Almost-Instant Chickpea Tomato Soup from Vegan on the Cheap...

...and the Peanut "Better" Cookies from Vive le Vegan. I "had" to eat one of the cookies to make sure they turned out okay, and honestly, these are the best peanut butter cookies I've ever had! They have a wonderful chewy texture and they look adorably retro, with their little fork tine indentations.

Finally, we made an exciting purchase at Home Depot -- a new grill! Tony is so proud of his new baby. It is half charcoal and half gas. I know we will get a lot of use out of it.

Father's Day

Jackson and Olivia got up early this morning and helped me make a special breakfast for their daddy. At Tony's request, we made peanut butter and banana stuffed French toast, with tempeh bacon.

This was something we ate for breakfast while on vacation in San Diego a couple years ago at a restaurant called Cafe 222. It's funny -- when we were planning our trip, we talked to a few different friends who'd been to San Diego, and they all told us to go eat breakfast at Cafe 222 and have the peanut butter banana stuffed French toast. So I guess it's pretty popular. It was definitely memorable.

That was our first vacation as parents. It was also Tony's very first Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, Tony! I'm so grateful for all you do to give these babies the best childhood and make them feel unconditionally loved.

Guatita (Potato Peanut Stew)

So, I recently discovered that I love soy curls in tacos, but what else could I use them in? I was leafing through Viva Vegan and came across a recipe for guatita, a creamy potato-peanut stew that is popular in Ecuador and Chile. Since I'm trying to cut down on my prep and cleanup time in the kitchen, this one-pot meal sounded appealing. When I saw that one if the ingredients was soy curls, I was sold. 

I served it over rice, garnished with hot sauce, cilantro, and pickled red onions, which I had left over from my Valentine's feast.  We all loved it. Jackson liked the soy curls most of all. The stew is hearty but not heavy, with complex flavor. Even if you're not a peanut butter fanatic like me, I would still recommend it. The peanut butter blends seamlessly with the other flavors; it's not the first thing you notice.

How was your weekend? We did a little early spring cleaning and got rid of a bunch of stuff we don't need on Craigslist. We had beautiful weather here on Friday, sunny and in the 60's. I took the babies out for a long walk in their double stroller. It felt so good to get outside! Of course today we're expecting six inches of snow, but it is only February so I'll take the occasional nice day.

Urban Vegan Tester # 7 - Buckeyes

Here's my latest tester recipe from the Urban Vegan. Buckeye candies got their name because they resemble the nut of the buckeye tree.  Since you don't have to bake these chocolate and peanut butter confections, they are a breeze to make. The hardest part is waiting for the chocolate coating to set before you pop one in your mouth.

New Jersey, Eggs Benny, A Chocolate Revelation

Vegan MoFo Week 3 begins!

On Saturday we spent the day visiting friends over in New Jersey. I love my kiddos but it was nice to hang out with other grown-ups (for a change!) and we all had a lot of fun.  Since the weather was unusually warm, we took the kids to the park for awhile.  Olivia loves to be out in the fresh air.

I baked Mama Pea's peanut butter cookie dough balls to take with us.

If you like super rich, dense peanut butter cookies, you must give these a try! I used mini chocolate chips because that's what they had at the health food store that was vegan...I had a total airhead moment when I realized that most chocolate chips are not vegan! Yes, it only just occurred to me that they call it "milk" chocolate for a reason. Dunno why I didn't make that connection before.  

Sunday morning I made the Eggs Benny from Vegan Brunch, with homemade English muffins. The Hollandaise sauce is awesome.  I was dipping my home fries in it, I didn't want to waste a drop!

Have a good week, guys!

Spring Rolls and Carving Pumpkins

Hi all, I hope you had a fun and spooky Halloween! And if you're a new reader who has happened upon my little blog thanks to Vegan MoFo, welcome! Since my blog is a youngin' and this is my first year participating, I don't have much of a theme, other than my everyday theme of showing you the vegan food I cook for myself, my husband Tony, and our two little ones, Jackson and Olivia. I hope you'll enjoy what I've got to say and I look forward to checking out your blogs, too, if I'm not already following them!

Now for the food...on Devil's Night, the night before Halloween, we wanted a quick dinner so we would have enough time to carve pumpkins before the kids got tired. Since I had some leftover peanut baked tofu and peanut sauce, I decided to make tofu veggie spring rolls.

I use these rice paper wrappers that you can buy at Asian markets or sometimes at the supermarket.



I thought the veggies and tofu looked pretty, all chopped up and ready to roll.



To make a spring roll, fill a pie plate with cold water. Take one wrapper and soak it in the water for about a minute. You want it to be flexible but not soggy. Remove the wrapper from the water and lay it out on a clean, flat surface. Lay down a few pieces of tofu, then a little bit of each kind of veggie. Fold the ends in, then roll up. The wetness of the wrapper helps it stick together and stay rolled. Then move on to soaking the next wrapper and rolling it.



We had fun carving our pumpkins. Jackson did NOT want to reach inside the pumpkin and pull out the guts, he insisted it was "yucky yucky!"



Olivia was more interested in how the pumpkin tasted than how it looked.



Tony's pumpkin had a little too much to drink.



And I was going for a scary dragon but I think I ended up with a laughing dragon!

Tofu and Broccoli with Peanut Sauce

I love a good peanut sauce, and this one doubles as a marinade for baked tofu. It's also delicious with rice noodles or spring rolls.

1 14-oz. pkg. firm tofu, cut into 10 slices and pressed
4 cups broccoli florets
1 cup rice (1 cup uncooked)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
2 tsp. sriracha chile sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced

While your tofu slices are being pressed, combine the water, peanut butter, brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, chile sauce and garlic in a microwave-safe cup or bowl. Microwave the sauce for about a minute and a half, until the peanut butter is melted. Whisk the sauce until thoroughly combined.

Place the tofu slices in a large ziploc bag and pour the peanut sauce over them. Marinate in the fridge for at least one hour, or longer.

Move the tofu slices to a parchment-lined baking sheet, reserving the marinade. Bake the tofu slices for 45 minutes at 425 degrees F, flipping halfway through.

Steam the broccoli until tender (about 5 minutes) and boil the rice according to package directions.

To serve, microwave the peanut sauce for 30 seconds to reheat. Mound some rice on your plate, scoop some broccoli over it, and lay two or three tofu slices on top. Drizzle with reserved peanut sauce.



Olivia wishes she could eat that instead of mushy peas.  Grow some teeth, baby girl, then we'll talk!



Happy Halloween, have a spooooky weekend, and I'll see y'all on Monday for Vegan MoFo!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oats

I know many of my fellow vegan bloggers love their oats and can really dress them up! But I admit, I'm usually a strict consumer of milk and cereal in the morning. My cereal shelf rivals Seinfeld's. However, my poor jaw isn't up to the task of crunching down a bowl of granola yet, so today I turned to oats. I was inspired by Katie and Averie's concoctions to make a hedonistic little breakfast of my own.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oats
Combine 1/2 cup oats, 1 cup water and a pinch of salt in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 2 minutes. While it's hot, stir in 1 Tbsp. peanut butter. Top with soymilk and a sprinkling of chocolate chips. Add a few drops of stevia to reach desired sweetness.



I used Peanut Butter & Co.'s White Chocolate Wonderful, which I guess technically made it Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Oats.



This peanut butter was a treat I picked up at Whole Foods. When I lived in Austin, I had a Whole Foods right down the street and it totally spoiled me. Now the nearest one is over an hour away. We make the drive every couple of months, and when we get there, I'm like a kid in a toy store! I'm pretty disciplined in my weekly grocery shopping -- my mom taught me at a young age to make a weekly menu, make your grocery list from the menu, and stick to it -- and going to Whole Foods or Trader Joes is an indulgence for me. Once this jar is gone, it's back to regular peanut butter, and that's fine. What are some foods that you consider special treats?