Posts Tagged ‘tofu’

A day in the life: day 1

Monday, October 12th, 2009

veganmofo-iii

Before I grovel at your collective feet for forgiveness, please accept this picture of a cupcake I made last week as a peace offering. A token of good will, if you will. Or even if you won’t.

Lemon Glazed Cupper

Lemon Glazed Cupper - tangy.

I ate exactly one of those cupcakes. The rest were kindly disposed of (devoured) by The Brit.

Okay, so, I basically sucked at the whole posting every day thing last week. That’s mostly because I don’t think any of the food I’ve been making lately has been particularly interesting (except for the tester recipes, obvs). You see, recently I started logging everything I eat into a food journal. I’m on a quest to become healthier, and hopefully lose a little (lot) of my excess weight in the process. So, while I spend a lot of my day thinking about food, and planning food, and even eating food, I’m afraid it will bore the ever-loving shit out of people if I blog about it, too. Most of it is not what you might call culinarily adventurous.

This week though, I have a plan. I plan to not give a flying toss whether anyone deems my food interesting, and just blog it anyway. Every. Boring. Detail. Get ready people! This might be moderately tolerable!

Breakfast this morning was a smoothie. I love smoothies, but it’s starting to get too cool for them. Soon they’ll have to relinquish their spot among favorite breakfast items to something more befitting cold weather, like oatmeal. Until then though, I’m still enjoying the occasional smoothie when the mood strikes. My favorite combo of late has been strawberries, banana, soy milk (Silk Light) and a tablespoon of Dark Chocolate Dreams.

It wasn't blurry in real life.

It wasn't blurry in real life.

A day just isn’t complete without a nice cuppa tea. Of course, if that’s true, I’ve had a lot of incomplete days lately. I’m pretty low on tea right now, but I’m making do with what I have. I actually had two cups today, but they both looked exactly the same so use your imagination, kay?

Lady Grey, if you must know.

Lady Grey, if you must know.

Lunch was sandwiches (that’s right, plural! Two sandwiches!). They consisted of some leftover whole wheat buns that need using up, Yves Meatless Salami, Vegenaise and yellow mustard. On the side I had my first ever Honeycrisp apple. It was gigantic and amazing and perfect and I wanted to marry it but I ate it instead (there’s a dirty joke in there somewhere, but I’ll leave that up to you).

With, of course, the ubiquitous big glass of water.

With, of course, the ubiquitous big glass of water.

Snack time! Homemade hummus with celery. I’m not usually a big celery eater but I had some leftover and figured I might as well eat it. Don’t you hate that you have to buy a whole mess o’celery when you only need a couple of stalks? Yeah, me too.

Hummus loves anything crunchy. Even celery.

Hummus loves anything crunchy. Even celery.

Finally, for dinner, I made a modified version of my Tamarind Orange Tofu. I served it up with some long grain brown rice, steamed carrots and peas. Deeelish!

I got lazy cutting the tofu into little pieces. What?

I got lazy cutting the tofu into little pieces. What?

And since I’m obsessed with nutritional stats, I’ll inflict them on you! You’re welcome! Hey, just count yourself lucky that I decided not to post nutrition for every meal like I was temped to do.

The percentages listed with fat, carbs and protein indicate what percent of total calories came from each. The percentages listed with everything else indicate what percentage of the Recommended Daily Allowance they equal. Saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium should be below 100%. The vitamins, minerals and fiber should meet or exceed 100%.

Daily total:

  • Calories: 1455

  • Carbs: 234g (60%)
  • Fat: 37.9g (22%)
  • Protein: 70g (18%)

  • Saturated Fat: 4.4g (27%)
  • Cholesterol: 0mg (0%)
  • Sodium: 1759mg (76%)

  • Fiber: 42g (251%)
  • Vitamin A: 2286µg (327%)
  • Vitamin C: 134mg (178%)
  • Calcium: 1159mg (116%)
  • Iron: 20.4mg (113%)

MoFo’in it up

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

veganmofo-iii

It’s the first day of Vegan MoFo, and I’m making it in just under the wire. I promise I won’t procrastinate like this the rest of the month, if you promise not to actually hold me to that.

My post today is brief, mostly because I’m tired (I just got home). Nonetheless, this is Vegan Month of FOOD, so let’s get to the goods, shall we?

Last night I made another tester for Isa’s upcoming weight loss cookbook (expect a lot more posts about testers for this book in the coming month). Probably one of my favorite meals to date - once the book comes out and you make it, you’ll see why. Easy and full of flavor, it was worth the time I spent tracking down the delicata squashes, which seemed to be impossible to find for a while. I was actually about to settle for butternut yesterday, stopped to buy one at a store I don’t usually shop at on the way home from the gym, and what do I find? Delicatas! How fortuitous.

Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin Mustard Tofu

Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin Mustard Tofu

If just reading “Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin Mustard Tofu” doesn’t make you drool, then you’re either a robot, or dead.

Unfried Fried Rice

Unfried Fried Rice

You read that right. Fried rice, that isn’t fried. Impossibly good.

5 Spice Delicata Squash

5 Spice Delicata Squash

Oh yes, the elusive delicata. Roasted to perfection with Chinese 5 spice and maple syrup.

Are you drooling yet, robot zombies?

I’m still here

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

No worries, I’m still here. A little slow getting back into the swing of things, but here nonetheless. I had to have some (very minor) surgery, so I’m a little sore and it’s hard for me to cook. I’ve managed to whip up a couple of things though! Yes, that’s right, time for yet more testers from Isa’s upcoming weight loss cookbook.

First up, a spicy and amazing dish:

Curry Laksa

Curry Laksa

So, so good. I would be tempted to go make another batch of it, if I didn’t have a few more servings of this deliciousness to fill the void:

Cauliflower Pesto Soup

Cauliflower Pesto Soup

So simple, but packs a ton of flavor. You won’t believe the nutritional stats on that rich and creamy bowl of yum, either.

That’s all I’ve got for now, but I promise not to stay away too long.

A few new testers

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

I’ve been very lucky to be a tester for some awesome cookbooks. I tested for Kelly and Garrick’s Vegan Cookie Book (which I think is still going to be released eventually!), I’m still testing for Tami’s American Vegan Kitchen (wrapping up very soon!), and I’m also a tester for Bianca’s Southern Vegan Cookbook.

Well, you can add another book to that list. I’m now a tester for Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s latest project - a vegan weight loss cookbook! I can’t tell you how excited I am about this (and how much I NEED it). Here’s a sampling of the many (many!) recipes I’ve made so far:

Red Lentil and Root Veggie Dal

Red Lentil and Root Veggie Dal

Caribbean Curry Black Eyed Peas With Plantains

Caribbean Curry Black Eyed Peas With Plantains

Jerk Asparagus

Jerk Asparagus

Mushroom and Cannellini Paprikas with Scarlet Barley

Mushroom and Cannellini Paprikas with Scarlet Barley

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Toasted Cumin Seeds

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Toasted Cumin Seeds

Summer Lovin' Curried Corn & Veggie Chowder

Summer Lovin' Curried Corn & Veggie Chowder

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with Grilled Tofu & Peanut Mint Gremolata

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with Grilled Tofu & Peanut Mint Gremolata

I only wish I’d taken pictures of everything I’ve made, but trust me, there will be plenty more soon enough!

Mediterranean brunch

Monday, May 4th, 2009

I love the weekends. Saturdays are perfect for sleeping in, making a big lazy brunch and avoiding the world.

Of course, just because you’re avoiding the world, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the flavors of it. Tami’s recipe for Mediterranean Scramble is perfect for waking your taste buds up on those sleepy days. If you hadn’t guessed it yet, this is another tester for her cookbook.

mmmm

Bright, bold and flavorful.

One can’t live on tofu scramble alone, though. I’ve gotta have something starchy with mine, and Tami’s Homefries #1 fit the bill nicely. These decadent fries are the perfect compliment to the light, clean flavors of the scramble.

decadent

Rich and delicious.

All in all, the perfect meal to fuel a day of doing as little as possible.