Fairies and Beards

Jackson is growing up so fast.

Olivia is slightly obsessed with the Tinkerbell fairies.

Breakfast...Pumpkin Snackles from Plant-Powered Families. Cooking with pumpkin in August, sure, why not? It doesn't only have to be a fall thing. These went quickly.

Summertime lunch...smoked paprika hummus, veggies and crackers. Come and get it.

Dinner...Lasagna Verde from Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen, with tons of fresh basil from the garden. I omitted the vegan shredded cheese, and it was fine without. Great in fact. The sauteed tofu plus the cashew ricotta make such a rich filling, and of course, I always love pesto.

Dental Assistants

I rarely eat fruit for breakfast except in smoothie form, but I've been loving raspberries lately.

Jackson and Olivia had a dental cleaning this afternoon. I immediately loved the new hygienist when she asked if they wanted to put on some gloves and give her a hand.

They each took their turns with "Mr. Thirsty" the air-sucker. It was a fun and successful visit. Still zero cavities for either one.

For dinner I made my favorite lasagna, the one from Appetite for Reduction. 

So full of goodness - cauliflower, spinach, tofu ricotta, and lots of tomato basil sauce!

Sweet Berry Farm Fall Festival

This past weekend we drove out to Sweet Berry Farm in Marble Falls to spend the afternoon at the pumpkin patch.

We had to walk under several arbors to get from the parking lot to the farm. Looking up, I noticed huge gourds hanging above my head. I didn't know they grew that way! Pretty cool.

It was a warm day and there was little shade, so I immediately sought out some relief from the heat in the form of pumpkin ice cream.

Jackson and Olivia first wanted to climb on the firetruck that was on site for just that reason. Kids were clambering all over it.

Next up, the jumping pillow. Olivia couldn't quite find her legs.

Obligatory pumpkin pics.

We bought some small pumpkins for the kids to paint.

The funny thing is, we set the pumpkins outside when we got home, and that evening it rained, and washed all the paint off. So they got to be pumpkin artists all over again. Double the painting fun!

A small petting zoo (as in, goats only) occupied the lone shady spot. Jackson and Olivia offered goat feed, but I think these goats were already satiated. They kind of turned up their noses.

Goat bridge! Watch out for trolls...

Finally, we took a hayride. Jackson kept exclaiming, "We're really having fun now!" so I think he enjoyed this part most of all.

When we got home, I baked a vegan lasagna I had prepared that morning. I used cashew ricotta (Veganomicon recipe) and spinach for the filling, with Costco marinara. I love their marinara! On top I sprinkled a mixture of ground almonds and nutritional yeast.

For dessert, we nibbled on some quick breads that I made. Pumpkin-cranberry and apple-walnut-raisin (both from 1000 Vegan Recipes).  The apple bread is my favorite and tastes so good with a smear of apple butter.

Are there any fall festivals in your area that you attend?

Summer Vacay So Far

I haven't loved the past couple of summers in Austin. By May, the temps were already in the 100's. This year is milder, thank goodness. And we are embracing summer. We have lemonade, we have sunscreen, we have pool noodles. We are set.

One evening I made a spinach-mushroom lasagna worth turning on the oven for.

I've noticed quite a few new vegan parmesan substitutes lately. I make my own, it's super easy.

We also tried the jackfruit carnitas tacos from Vegan Eats World. I didn't love the sweetness of the carnitas marinade, but I'm open to using jackfruit as a meat substitute. Just have to find the right flavors for it. I like how light it is; you don't feel stuffed afterwards.

One evening I tried a Pinterest recipe -- Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter. We all adore asparagus, and Jackson and Olivia loved the buttery-sweet sauce coating the pasta.

Raspberry cornmeal pancakes from Garden of Vegan. I'm on a big Sarah Kramer kick lately, giving some love to the first vegan cookbooks I ever owned.

Also from GoV, Aloo Chana, and Indian potato and vegetable soup. I love making soups on hot days because I don't need to turn on the oven and cleanup is so simple -- just one pot! That means more time to relax on the patio in the evening, with a book and a cold lemonade or Lone Star, before the mosquitos come out and try to eat me up!

Recipe Roundup

Here's a roundup of recipes I've made in the past couple weeks, that I haven't included in other posts.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup from Vegan with a Vengeance. Made with leftover roasted squash that I froze a couple months ago. 

Emily's Mexican Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa and Black Beans. I subbed chickpeas for the black beans. Soooo good. I almost could not stop eating.

Hawaiian Sweet-and-Sour Vegetables over Rice, from The Tropical Vegan Kitchen.

To use up leftover pineapple, this was my take on Hawaiian burgers -- MorningStar Farms Asian veggie patties, pineapple rings, and chipotle Veganaise. Served with a side of sweet potato fries.

Veggie enchilada's from La Margarita. Reliably tasty Tex-Mex.

A friend made this Crockpot Spinach Lasagna for a potluck and I had to have the recipe. She omitted the sausage from the original recipe and of course I did, too. I'm going to use my slow cooker more and more as the weather heats up. Not having to turn on the oven on a hot Texas evening sounds good to me!

To use up the remnants from a bag of tortilla chips, I made Appetite for Reduction Tortilla Soup.

Finally, Slow Cooker Sloppy Lentils from Rooted Vegan. See what I mean about using the slow cooker more? This is the BEST vegan sloppy joe recipe I've tried. I am partial to the recipe in How It All Vegan, but I think this may be slightly better. And I know it's easier! If you haven't checked out Rooted Vegan (it's kinda new), definitely do! I've pinned many recipes to try.

So what should I make next week?

Appetite for Awesome Food

After the "holiday indulgence" (i.e. constantly stuffing food in my face) of November and December, January is a time to scale it down a bit. But, I refuse to exist on iceberg lettuce and yogurt. Here a couple of this week's dinners, both from Appetite for Reduction.

Classic Black Bean & Veggie Chili. This is my new go-to chili recipe. The flavor is spot-on and I love that it contains way more vegetables than your standard chili. Hello, corn, carrots, green pepper and zucchini! Get in my tummy now. As I'm allergic to black beans, I substituted chickpeas. The Fresh Corn & Scallion Cornbread was a perfect accompaniment.

Lasagna with Roasted Cauliflower & Spinach. Again, amazing flavor. Making your own sauce instead of using store-bought makes all the difference, and it takes only a few seconds to stir garlic and spices into a can of crushed tomatoes.

 

The spinach goes in raw, absorbs the sauce while the lasagna cooks, and turns all velvety and yum.

Blackberries are certainly light and healthy, as well as being cheap this time of year. Which makes a certain little girl very happy!

Spinach Lasagna

So I'm still revisiting How It All Vegan this week...I think it's a crime that I've only made this spinach lasagna once before. It definitely must become part of the regular rotation. This is my idea of a Sunday dinner, something that takes a little more preparation but the result, in terms of presentation and taste, is worth it. I made the red sauce early in the day, and while it was simmering, I pureed the tofu ricotta. Before dinner, all I had to do was cook the noodles, assemble the lasagna and stick it in the oven.





I don’t care for vegan cheese (even Daiya!) so I topped my lasagna with a “parmesan” mixture that I make for salads, pizza, etc.

"Parmesan" shakey-shake
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp. salt
Combine all in a food processor and pulverize until it resembles shaker parmesan cheese.

I loved all the different veggies in every bite: the spinach of course, and also the mushrooms, carrots and onions in the sauce. Jackson happily ate a big piece, which sort of surprised me. He does enjoy his spinach (I craved it all the time when pregnant with him!), but I can't remember the last time I saw him willingly eat a carrot. That's another reason to make this lasagna more than once every few years!