Super Bowl & Urban Vegan Tester #15

Happy Monday, amigos y amigas. Did you watch the Super Bowl last night? I don't really follow football, but somehow I always end up watching the Super Bowl.  There's always the $3 million dollar commercials to keep me entertained...What did those of you not from Michigan think of the Eminem Chrysler ad? It made me proud of my hometown! What was your favorite commercial? Were you cheering for a certain team to win? Did you even watch the game?

Of course the Super Bowl means beer...or in Tony's case, homemade picklebacks...

And, perhaps most importantly, the Super Bowl means food. My contributions this year included: Shamefully Simple Chickpea Chili, an Urban Vegan tester recipe that is so easy and fast, yet tastes like it has been cooking for a couple of hours. Salsa verde gives it quite a kick.

I also fixed some vegan Rotel queso...

And guac...

I feel silly posting a guac recipe because it's so basic and everyone has their own taste, but here is mine.

Super Bowl...of Guacamole
2 avocados
2 Tbsp. cilantro, minced
2 Tbsp. red onion, minced
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
Mash together in a bowl and serve with tortilla chips.

Today I'm just trying to get the energy to face the week. Tony is working a lot of overtime which means long days for me and the kiddos. And of course we're supposed to get more snow tonight!

Hope YOU have a great week, see you tomorrow!

Diner Food, Breakfast Food

My Super Bowl goodies are chillin on the counter, waiting to be eaten tonight. So now that I have some free time, I thought I would clear off my camera.

Friday night, we ate at the Eveready Diner. If there is one thing folks in this neck of the woods can't get enough of, it is diner food. I always get the veggie burger and sweet potato fries.

Tony had to work all day on Saturday, so I made "breakfast for dinner" for the kids and me. We had a yummy tofu scramble with spinach, roasted potatoes, and pancakes. This worked out well because Tony was able to make himself a burrito with the leftover tofu and potatoes when he got home, and Jackson had the rest of the pancakes for breakfast this morning.

This was the first time I made a scramble using my Tofu Xpress. It makes such a difference in the texture, I just loved it. I think I'll be eating a lot more scrambles from now on.

 Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Cookbook Challenge - Pad Thai

Last night I did another PPK Cookbook Challenge recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance -- Brooklyn Pad Thai! In grad school, my friend Beth and I would go to this Thai restaurant that had the most excellent pad thai. I haven't had really decent Thai food since. Maybe I need to go to Brooklyn. Or maybe just make it myself from now on. This is why we refer to VwaV as "the cookbook that can do no wrong" around here. This stuff is seriously awesome.

It's all coming together...

Sauced and ready to be devoured...



The recipe sounds complicated because you have to make the individual servings. I think that's why I never tackled it before. But it all comes together so fast that it's not a big deal. The recipe makes a lot! I cut it in half and we still had leftovers. I would've liked a little more sauce, so I think next time I will cut the noodle amount down, but make the regular amount of sauce.

Cookbook Challenge - Mango-Ginger Tofu

This week, the PPK Cookbook Challenge checks in with Vegan with a Vengeance. I was so excited when I got this cookbook a few years ago. I was vegetarian, not yet vegan, but I already owned the Sarah Kramer books and VwaV seemed to be along the same lines...a cookbook that would be funny and interesting to read, while also full of quality recipes.

Tony and I soon came to refer to VwaV as "the cookbook that can do no wrong" because we ate one awesome meal after another from it. Amazingly, there are still a few recipes that I had not gotten around to...until now.

First off, Mango-Ginger Tofu.

I love the presentation of this dish. Once I plated it, I was like "ooh, this is gonna be good" and couldn't wait to eat it. The taste lives up to the appearance, too. I loved the contrast between the sweetness of mango and the heat of jalapeno. I am not sure why I never made this in the past, but I know we'll be eating it again soon.

Urban Vegan Tester #14 - Stuffed Portabellos

Tonight we had Milled-Stuffed Mushrooms with Aioli, from the Urban Vegan's upcoming book. Roasted portabello mushrooms are filled with a flavorful millet pilaf, and drizzled with garlicky aioli. The prep was a snap, since I made the millet and the aioli earlier in the day. Tony and I enjoyed the combination of flavors, while Jackson liked the pilaf on its own.

Tony got off work early due to Snowtorious B.I.G., and will be off most of tomorrow. So, after dinner, a little celebration was in order. Nothing says SNOW DAY like beer and brownies, right? My favorite brownie recipe can be found here. Mama Pea's brownies are low-fat, yet wonderfully dense and chocolatey.

And now it's time for me and the couch to get re-acquainted. I think we'll be spending a lot of time together over the next couple of days.

Urban Vegan Testers #12-13

Today I have two more tester dishes to whet your appetite for the Urban Vegan's upcoming cookbook. Both of these recipes were hits with my entire family.

Pasta with Red Peppers and Basil - penne pasta, sauteed red bell pepper, plenty of garlic and basil, sprinkled with toasted pine nuts. Even though there's no sauce, with such a variety of flavors in every bite, you really don't miss it.

Brazilian Pastels - kind of like a mini-empanada, the pastel is an adorable Brazilian street food that can be stuffed with a variety of fillings. These contain vegan beef crumbles, and make a fabulous snack when dipped in hot sauce. I'm guessing they wouldn't mind taking a dip in vegan queso, either.

And for the 30-Day Challenge...#12 - bullet your whole day. Well, it's supposed to snow all day today and tomorrow, so I already got my errands done. This isn't gonna be very exciting. But here goes.

• Get woken up by Jackson who has been sleeping in our bed since 4 a.m.
• Fix breakfast for me and Jackson (oats for me, granola bar and apple for him)
• Give Olivia her bottle while Jackson watches Dora
• Take Monster out for his walk (with much protesting on his part, since it's snowing)
• Tony leaves to shovel out his car and go to work
• Write this! Ha
• Shower and get the kids clean and dressed
• Play with the kids
• Do any prep work that I need to do for dinner
• Fix lunch
• Eat lunch with Jackson, give Olivia her lunch
• Clean
• Cuddle the babies until they go to sleep
• 30 min. walk on treadmill while reading my Kindle
• 20 min. yoga
• Play on the internets until the kids wake up
• Play with the kids
• Find out when Tony is coming home, watch TV or start dinner
• Dinner
• Walk Monster
• Entertain the kids until they get tired
• Watch a movie or some mindless TV (last night was Get Him To The Greek, tonight it's a trashy extravaganza -- Gossip Girl, 19 Kids and Counting, and SAG Awards Fashion Police)
• Sleep!

What are you doing today? Whatever it is, have a great day!

Rockin da Pasta

On Saturday, we wrapped up the babies and headed over to New Paltz to eat at our favorite local restaurant, Rock da Pasta. How can you not love a vegan-friendly (and also gluten-free-friendly, if you're into that) pasta place whose name pays tribute to one of the greatest bands ever? I've written about this restaurant before.  I generally don't care about dining at Italian restaurants because I feel like, "It's just pasta...I can make this ate home." But Rock Da Pasta does amazing things with pasta.

We started with the Pot Stickers, stuffed with edamame and tamarind and served with a ginger-scallion-chili glaze. See what I mean about the creativity? They vanished in seconds.

I also ordered some hot tea since I was freezing, and I liked the cute little individual teapot so much that I had to take a pic.

For my entree, I had the Pesto Palooza -- angel hair pasta, artichoke hearts, avocado, and seasoned tofu, dressed with cilantro pesto and balsamic reduction. Now, normally I am the slow eater in the group who always takes home leftovers, but not today. This disappeared almost as fast as the won tons. Oh. My. God. So good.

Tony is partial to his Love Diablo, a spicy sausage rotini that he orders every time. He says next time he will order a veg dish so we can share. Aw.

We were also going to buy some incense at the hippie shop down the block, but sadly, it had gone out of business. I guess our $20 every three months wasn't keeping them afloat. Now I'll have to settle for ordering my incense online. (Do you like incense? I am pretty much always burning either incense or candles. I love pinon incense. It smells like a campfire.) At least we got an awesome meal out of our trip!

For today's 30 Day Challenge question...

#13 - Somewhere I'd like to move or visit.

Well, I've made no secret of the fact that I miss living in Austin. I'd move back there tomorrow if it was up to me. Maybe some day. I also love San Francisco, but it feels like you need a lot of money to raise a family there.

I've been fortunate to travel a lot, but I can always think of new places that I would love to visit. Hawaii, Paris, Barcelona, and Tokyo are at the top of my list. I'd also like to make return visits to Vancouver, London and Rome!

Vacation slideshows may be boring to some, but I love hearing about others' trips. Where have your travels taken you?  Where do you want to go?