Breakfast Fail

Sometimes a meal just does not work out. On Sunday, the Tofu Benny from Vegan Brunch was such a meal. Exhibit A, the "English muffins." Do those look like muffins to you? Yeah, they didn't rise at all. I'm not sure why because my yeast was brand new. I don't think my house is warm enough? I seem to have better luck with baking when I let my yeast dough rise in a warm oven.

Exhibit B, the Hollandaise sauce. Or, the goopy yellow mess. Like that toy slime that comes in plastic eggs. We just couldn't.

The tofu turned out fine and we rescued it to use on sandwiches. Everything else went into the trash. Sometimes I shouldn't try to do a big production in the morning. Jackson understands, Sunday mornings are for staying in pajamas until noon and playing.

Olivia thinks Sunday mornings are for being a goofball, but then, for Olivia, life is for being a goofball.

I think I redeemed myself with dinner, Hoisin Glazed Tofu and Bok Choy from One-Dish Vegan.

Recent Eats

This morning, Jackson informed Olivia that they were going to explore Antarctica, to look for polar bears. They dressed themselves accordingly.

Here are a few recent dinners that kept my explorers' tummies full and warm.

Tomato Garlic Soup, found on Pinterest. The more garlic, the better, as far as I'm concerned. Tasty, but I would omit the oil next time. I don't like to see oil floating on the surface of my soup broth.

Broccoli Quiche from Vegan Brunch. The cherry tomatoes make it very Martha. Plus, they taste delicious when they roast in the oven.

Tastes even better the next day at room temperature.

One day I cooked dried chickpeas in my slow cooker, rather than using canned. They tasted fine, but I didn't care for the skins, which came off, and bore an unappealing resemblance to little pieces of skin. Do you guys have any tips for this situation? I ended up rinsing the chickpeas handful by handful to get the skins off, but maybe there's an easier way.

I made some of the chickpeas into hummus, which I ate with roasted butternut squash. I tossed the squash in olive oil and chocolate-infused balsamic vinegar before roasting, for a little extra sweetness. I also took a chance and left the skin on. (I'm so daring! Ha!) I knew you could leave the skin on, yet I always dutifully peeled my squash, fearing a tough, chewy skin. Actually, skin-on is fantastic! It wasn't tough, and it had a concentrated "squashy" flavor.

Finally, Via 313 Detroit-style pizza. I tried their vegan pizza for the first time. They use Follow Your Heart cheese, not Daiya, which makes me happy. However, the cheese distribution was sparse, as you can see below. My pizza was, like, half unadorned crust. When you order a pizza with real cheese, it goes all the way to the edges, so I'm not sure what was happening. At least the crust is really awesome. 

A successful expedition, at least sartorially speaking.

Recent Eats

Just a rundown of some recent tasty dinners, before I forget where I got 'em from.

Stir-fry with hoisin-marinated tofu, broccoli, carrots and green beans, served over brown rice. All my favorite veg in one stir-fry...if only I'd thought to add Brussels sprouts!

Creamy Florentine Soup from The 30-Minute Vegan's Taste of Europe -- chock full of vibrant green spinach, and so delicious.

Scrambled Tortillas from Vegan Brunch. We loved the sauce, but the tofu and tortillas were mushy. Tony described a similar (non-vegan) baked dish he'd had, where the tortillas were layered on top so they had a chance to crisp up. I might try it like that some time.

Tofu Baked in an Olive, Grape and Herbed Marinade served over Creamy Polenta, from Let Them Eat Vegan. Isn't is gorgeous? The roasted grapes make it seem fancy. 

BLAT's with Light Life Smart Bacon, Veganaise, avocado, tomato and lettuce, on Kaiser rolls. My love affair with this sandwich never ends.

Veggie Pot Pie from La Dolce Vegan. An old favorite, not much to look at, but I love the buttery crust.

My little pioneers enjoying a sunny afternoon.

Brunchkins

Jackson and Olivia decided to begin their day early, rising before 7 a.m.  So I put them to work helping me make a big breakfast.

Curried Cauliflower Frittata from Vegan Brunch. I could've diced the cauliflower more finely to make it more attractive, but it tasted great.

Home fries with fennel. Sauteed fennel is the bomb! It turns soft and sweet.

Finally, crepes filled with vegan Nutella and topped with bananas and powdered sugar. My tips for making crepes: don't be in a rush to flip them. They will let you know they're ready by coming loose from the bottom of the pan. Also, count on throwing away your first crepe. It's not gonna be pretty.

I used a recipe from The Vegg cookbook for the crepes. If you own this cookbook...the recipe made four crepes, and since the first one doesn't turn out, I recommend doubling the recipe if you're cooking for others besides yourself.

It's always a fun challenge to make crepes, and this was my first time using black salt, which adds an "eggy" flavor to vegan dishes. I found it at the Indian market. 

By the time my munchkins finished helping me, it was more of a brunch than a breakfast, but we were too busy stuffing our faces to worry about labels.

Activities and Crabcakes

Today Tony had a mandatory happy hour after work. That sounds like enforced fun, which is never a good thing, except that he's the head of the party committee, so he signed up for this responsibility. Also, the head of the party committee gets free drinks. Anyway, it was a longer-than-usual day for me and the kiddos, but we had plenty to do.

We started off the day with some bathtub art. I made "paints" by mixing baby shampoo, cornstarch, and food coloring.

Next, a trip to the bouncy house. Olivia became ensnared in the shark's jaws, but since she is a ninja ballerina, she was easily able to free herself.  

Jackson wasn't feeling the bouncy castles (or sharks) today. He was in a Bob the Builder kind of mood.

Afterwards, a trip to Target. Hulk smash!

Dinner was Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes from Vegan Brunch. An old favorite. Served with steamed kale with a tahini-lemon-garlic-smoked paprika dressing.

One great thing about an activity-filled day: the kids didn't protest bedtime at all!

Monkey in Motion

Today was parent observation day in Jackson's tumbling class. Normally, we sit out in the lobby and watch the class through a window. But every few months, they let the parents into the gym for the last 15 minutes of class to take pictures and let the kids show off what they've been learning.

This was the only picture I got of Jackson where he was sitting still.

Such a little monkey.

His balance has really improved.

The dismount, his favorite part.

He can do a somersault now. He's even taught Olivia to do it as well.

 

Here are some weeknight meals I've made to keep us all energized.

From 1000 Vegan Recipes, California Pasta Salad. How can you go wrong when kalamata olives, basil and avocados are involved?  I could possibly live on this stuff.

Also from 1000, Chickpea Kofta with Mango Chutney. Jarred mango chutney tends to taste, well, like it came from a jar. So I like Robin Robertson's idea of pureeing it with lime juice and cilantro to give it a shot of fresh flavor.

From Vegan Brunch, Curried Cauliflower Frittata. This was not bad, but we decided we prefer frittatas that have greens in them. I think it's a texture thing.

Hope you had a great day!

My Blog Name is No Joke

My goodness, we have been so busy lately. Today, Olivia and I accompanied Jackson's school on a field trip to a Christmas tree farm. It was so much fun, but this mama is wiped out! Truly, if the energy of a pack of three-year-olds could somehow be harnessed, we would never be dependent upon foreign oil again. I thought for sure J and O would take nice long naps this afternoon, but actually, twenty minutes in the car on the way home was enough to recharge their tiny batteries.

Some recent eats:

Vegan Brunch Pumpkin Pancakes.  Seen here with Jackson's pinecone turkey.

Appetite for Reduction Lotsa Veggie Lentil Soup.

Peas and Thank You Chewy Energy Bars.

Appetite for Reduction Catalan Couscous Salad with Pears and Romesco Dressing. Like a dummy, I forgot that I don't really like the mealy texture of couscous.  It had been so long since I'd eaten it. Next time I'll make this with a chewier grain like quinoa or bulgur. The dressing is amazing.

Appetite for Reduction Chipotle Lentil Burgers.

So good on a whole grain bagel with spinach, Veganaise, and dill pickles.

Gratuitious cute toddler shot. She will tire soon. I know she will.