Tempeh Helper

Yesterday I was sad to learn that Trish Keenan, the singer for one of my favorite bands, Broadcast, has passed away. I loved her style and voice. Their music always put me in a happy mood, and now listening to them won't be the same. Here is one of their videos. RIP.

Since I was so bummed out, lunch was an afterthought. But, Jackson needs to eat, so I made roasted garlic hummus with steamed kale, in a pita.

For dinner I made another Appetite for Reduction creation for the PPK Cookbook Challenge. I told Tony I was making Tempeh Helper and he asked "What flavor?" I looked at him blankly, unaware that Hamburger Helper comes in flavors. I guess this is cheesy flavor. In this picture the cheese sauce appears to be glowing, but that's just because it was dark out and I had to use the flash. In reality it looked really good.

It was quick to make, and of course it tasted great.  Pasta covered in cheese sauce, who wouldn't like that? I am not always in love with tempeh, but I enjoyed it in this instance.

Jackson is really into stirring lately. Here he is browning the tempeh.  I like Olivia's expression in the background.  I guess she was excited about the Tempeh Helper -- it surprised me how much she ate!

Are you doing anything fun this weekend? Tony has a 3-day weekend, but I'm not sure yet if we are doing anything. I feel like being outdoors, but I think it's going to be too cold to take the babies outside for very long. I'm sure I'll come up with something. Have a great weekend!

Quinoa Puttanesca

As part of the PPK's Cookbook Challenge, I made another Appetite for Reduction recipe for lunch: Quinoa Puttanesca.  As I got the ingredients ready, I exclaimed what a genius idea it is. I mean, puttanesca sauce is like the most flavorful sauce in existence, with its kalamata olives, capers, and red pepper flakes. Therefore it is the perfect sauce to dump all over a bland bowl of quinoa and transform it into something great.  The recipe says four servings, but for us, it was two. It was that good.

 For dinner, we saw the return of Kale Pizza with Garlic Sauce.  This time, I subbed sliced zucchini for the potato. I sauteed the zucchini right along with the mushrooms and layered it on the pizza with plenty of steamed kale on top. The kale gets so nice and crispy in the oven.

Did you see that the zodiac signs have changed? I was a Sagittarius, and the traits of the centaur archer seemed to fit me pretty well.  Apparently I'm now an Ophiuchus. I don't even know how to pronounce that. And the only information I can find on the snake wrestler's traits (snake wrestler, seriously)...is that we should pursue medical professions.
Do you have a new zodiac sign? Do you care either way?

Banana-Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

Today, I awoke to this...

What sounds good on a snowy day when you don't really want to get out of your pajamas? How about some Banana Chocolate-Chip Bread Pudding?



Jackson helped prepare the bread, while Olivia supervised from her crib (I roll it into the kitchen so she can hang out and be safe).



It was the perfect warm, gooey treat to nibble on while we watched the snow fall.



For dinner, another Veganomicon recipe, the French dip sandwiches. We loved these when I made them a few weeks ago and they were just as good the second time around.

Urban Vegan Tester #8 - Fajitas

This month, Tony is working his weird training schedule again, which means he sometimes gets home at 3 p.m. ready for a big meal because he's been up since 4 a.m. with no lunch break.  So I look for meals that I can make for him and then easily reheat when I get hungry later. The Urban Vegan's Fajitas fit this requirement perfectly.  Chunks of seitan, sweet red bell pepper, and caramelized onion on a warm tortilla -- this is just what Tony needs after a long shift spent on his feet. 

It was also just what I needed last night, after attending my first yoga class in over a year! I'm sore today, but it's a good soreness -- letting me know I used muscles that hadn't been worked out in awhile.

We got a foot of snow overnight and lots more coming down, so I'm not going anywhere today, just trying to entertain these kids the best I can while cooped up inside. Have a great Wednesday, guys!

Cookbook Challenge - Baked Onion Rings

Hola, how was your weekend? On Saturday, I did a little retail therapy and ate some Mexican food. Yesterday I just did stuff around the house. I was in kind of a blah mood until I learned some news -- there is a yoga studio opening right by my house! This cheered me up immensely. I used to go to yoga regularly when I lived in Austin, and I was pretty upset when we moved to New York and I learned that there were no studios in this area. I've tried practicing at home, but my son always wants to climb all over me and it is the opposite of relaxing! So I'm super excited to check this place out soon. The exercise and stress relief benefits of yoga are great, and I'm also looking forward to having some "me time" a couple times a week, which I don't really have right now.

This week, the PPK Cookbook Challenge begins! I posted the schedule the other day. This week, it's Appetite for Reduction.

I don't own this cookbook yet (I ordered it because I keep hearing good things, but it hasn't arrived yet), but I found a recipe online for OMG Oven Baked Onion Rings. They were easy. I used to be afraid to bread things, fearing a big mess. But you really only need to remember one rule -- keep one hand dry at all times.  It worked for my New Years Eve jalapeno poppers, and it worked for these onion rings.

Tony thought the onion rings were perfect for snacking on while enjoying some football playoffs. I could care less about football, but I ate my share as well!

I'm afraid this dipping sauce doesn't fit with the low-calorie philosophy of Appetite for Reduction, but it does pair nicely with the baked rings.

Awesome Onion Ring Sauce
1/2 cup vegan sour cream
2 Tbsp. ketchup
2 tsp. prepared horseradish
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
Stir all ingredients together in a small bowl, serve with onion rings.

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.

Technologically Challenged

I'm back -- hopefully my camera issues are on their way to being worked out. This week I learned that my nearly 10-year-old digital camera was not compatible with my new computer. The solution: buy an item called a card reader. It snowed all day yesterday and I didn't feel like taking the babies out on the icy roads to track down this item.  But the weather was much better today, so now I have my card reader (as well as a new printer, because my old one was also incompatible.)

Now, instead of loading the pics directly from the camera, I take the memory card out of the camera, insert it in the card reader, and load them from there. I lost several pics while figuring it out, but I think I know what my error was, so hopefully I won't lose anymore. I'm annoyed that technology becomes obsolete so quickly. My printer was only five years old and worked just fine and my camera, although ancient, is also in good condition, so why spend more money on new stuff?  But at least the card reader was only $15...a lot cheaper than buying a new camera, which was my other option.

Anyway, after making the necessary technology purchases, I decided I needed some retail therapy --buying something I wanted rather than something I needed! So we headed to the nearest Lush store at the mall over in Danbury.

Now, if you know anything about Lush, you are probably thinking, "This girl is complaining about spending money but she can afford Lush?" Their products are a wee bit pricey.  And no, I can't normally afford them. Years ago, I could.  But in a single-income family, fancy bath products are not in the budget. Fortunately, my rad brother gave me a gift card for Christmas!

Jackson didn't leave the mall empty-handed, either.

What I wouldn't give for a Lush bath bomb of that size...

We stopped to eat at the Desert Moon Grille.  They are sort of a healthy Tex-Mex place, really casual, you order at the counter and help yourself to chips and salsa.

Two kinds of salsa -- the green was hot and had a vinegary aftertaste; the red tasted like it had sugar added to it.  I didn't really care for either one, but Tony liked the green.

I had the fajita soft tacos with tofu.  They tasted really fresh and were not heavy at all, the way some Tex-Mex can be.

It's making me really happy to be able to load up pictures again.

How is your weekend going? Doing anything fun?