Surprise! Healthy Veggie Muffins

What a crazy few months it has been! I've been training for a half marathon (which is this Sunday!), I turned 35, we celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary, we finally upgraded our living room and bedroom furniture and work has been super duper busy.

All of this hasn't left a ton of time for cooking, but I have managed to have a few kitchen adventures since my last blog post.

One of the fun things I tried to make was veggie muffins. I got the idea from the recipe book that came with the juicer I bought (and since returned.) It was a sucky juicer that shot most of the fruit and veggies straight through. So, they had several recipes for what to do with the pulp.

In Loving Memory of Lady Gwenivere

When I was a little girl we had a huge German Sheppard named Duke. My sister and I would feed him mud pies and he'd bark if the neighborhood kids got too close to our yard. He and our siamese cat Boots And Socks were the only pets we had growing up. We begged my mom over the years, she but never gave in.

Curled up on a couch pillow with her summer puppy cut.

In hindsight I don't blame her, but at the time it seemed so unfair! So I vowed to get a dog as soon as I moved out on my own.

It didn't take long. My first roommate, Nikki, had rescued a lost pekingese and grew very attached by the time she found it's owners. So she was on a mission to find one of her very own. When she found a litter of puppies for sale, I went with her -- just to look! But as soon as I saw those tiny little fluff balls I was in love.

Nikki picked up a little black one, handed her to me and said, "This one's yours."

Kitchen Therapy + Tomatopalooza = Bruchetta and Salsa

It's been a rough few days at Casa de Cagaanan. We have a sick doggie who's getting up there in her years - 15! Over the last week and a half we've made multiple trips to the vet, cleaned up lots of messes and finally invested in one of those pet spot carpet cleaners...

We're crossing our fingers that she will come out of this okay, but in the meantime there's a lot of wait-and-seeing going on.

Last night, after Lady Gwenivere was all taken care of, I decided to finally do something with that giant bowl of tomatoes on my counter, instead of sitting around feeling helpless.

Rice Queen Makes Vegan Orange Chicken

During the college years, Laura and I used to always go to Rice King and order the same thing. I'd order broccoli and beef and she'd get orange chicken and we'd share.

I still love broccoli, but the beef ... not so much.

The orange chicken came with big chunks of bell pepper and carrot. So, when I looked in the fridge tonight and saw those two veggies, I could almost taste our old Rice King favorite.

I decided to try and make it with tempeh instead of chicken. I found a recipe online and changed it up based on what I had on hand and it was pretty scrumptious.

Here's how I did it:

Sushi-Inspired Rolls And Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

I know I say this all the time, but this week I have been trying really hard to get back on track! I've been tracking my points and my workouts and trying to balance it all out. And, so far so good!

Yesterday at dinner time, I needed to make something light but filling. I had picked up some wasabi and pea flavored hummus at the Little Italy Farmers Market that I wanted to use, so I came up with these veggie-filled sushi-inspired collared green rolls. It was the perfect light dinner.

Here's how I did it:

Copy Cat Dinner: Gnocchi with Chunky Vegetable Sauce

It's been a while since I've been excited about something I've cooked - heck, it's been a while since I've cooked!

Life has been hectic lately! But tonight I finally took the time to make dinner and it helped that I knew exactly what I wanted to make. I was inspired by a meal made by my coworker (and friend) Michelle and her husband Dana.

They scored a box of CSA produce from our boss, who was going on vacation and she shared the photo of the pasta they made with lots of the veggies. It looked amazing and I had to copy them since I had all the same veggies in my fridge - waiting to be eaten.

Southwestern Quinoa Salad

The other day we went to a bbq at my sister's house and, of course, I brought lots of veggies to throw on the grill. It was a beautiful sight. Someone even grabbed my phone while I was busy making salad and took a picture so I'd have it for my blog - thanks guys!

We ended up with lots of leftover corn. So the next day, I decided to make a southwestern quinoa salad. It was really easy and delicious! Here's how I did it:

Summer Side Dishes

My friend Shannon is awesome! Not only is she one of the sweetest, prettiest and funniest people I know, she is an amazing graphic designer - she designed our wedding invitations!

And she's tough! She She picked up and moved herself from San Diego to Tuscon a few years ago - all by herself! And just when I thought she couldn't get any cooler - she surprised me by making one of my recipes!!

A Sandwich Even I Could Love

After a long day at work, I wasn't feeling like a very creative cook ... until I looked in the fridge and remembered the big bag of yellow squash from my CSA box!

We also had a bag of wheat hamburger buns. So I decided to grill the squash and make a sandwich. It may not sound that exciting, but I can't get over how good it turned out! And I'm not usually a big fan of sandwiches.

Fresh and Delicious MarinaRAW

It's been a few weeks since I've tried any new raw recipes, or even tried to eat raw. I just kind of lost interest with all the effort.

But tonight was the perfect night for a raw meal. It was still pretty warm when I got home and I'm trying to eat lighter after an over-indulgent weekend.

I had a bunch of roma tomatoes and some seaweed noodles so I decided to try and make a raw marinara. There are two different recipes in my raw book, so I made up my own based on the ingredients I had and what sounded good.

I've tried to make cooked marinara with fresh tomatoes in the past and failed. But I think the secret is the addition of sun-dried tomatoes. It adds the depth of flavor you'd get from canned tomato paste - without the BPAs (the resin in the cans that gets broken down by the acidity of the tomatoes).

So, here's how I did it:

Why I Shouldn't Be Allowed in the Kitchen

I don't think I'm necessarily a clumsy person, but for some reason I'm always doing dumb stuff in the kitchen. And since I've been spending a lot more time in there, my list of recent mishaps is long!

Very Vegan Vegas Vacation

This week we packed up the dog and headed off to Pat's parents' condo in Las Vegas. We got there on Wednesday afternoon, stepped out of the car and our faces almost melted off. It was 111 degrees!

Thank goodness for the condo's air conditioning, the pool and cold beer.

We both took the week off from work, but a big project kept me working every day. So, I didn't have much time to look for places to eat. I was so excited when Pat surprised me on Wednesday night by finding a vegan/vegetarian restaurant in the area. He's such a good sport!

Cauliflower is the New Chickpea

My raw eating efforts have been few and far between lately, but I'm still trying to eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible and I've still been experimenting in the kitchen to keep myself entertained!

In fact, I made up a new hummus recipe and it was really good! And, it just happens to be raw... :)

I got the idea from the raw zucchini hummus. I had bought a whole head of
cauliflower because I wanted to try and make the raw mock mashed potato recipe, but then I
decided that sounded kind of gross. So, I decided to try and find a more creative way to use it.

Yummy Spicy 'Peanut' Raw Noodle Dish

Not only did my dear friend Kate get me started on this raw journey, by lending me her raw diet book, she also gave me tons of helpful tips. One of them was to get some kelp noodles - stat!

I found them at Jimbos a few weeks ago and first tried them with pesto. When Kate said they were kind of crunchy, I wasn't sure what she meant until I tasted them. It was great to have noodles that weren't zucchini and didn't taste like part of a salad. But, the crunchiness was kind of weird.

This time, I tried them with a spicy "peanut" sauce, which was a perfect combo! I also soaked the noodles in warm water for about 10 minutes and I think that softened them up a little. This is one of my favorite raw dishes so far!

Living the Raw-ish, Vegan-ish Life

Over the past few weeks I've been trying to find some balance with my new way of eating. I've managed to do another few days in a row of eating all raw, but that's as far as I've been able to go so far.

But otherwise, I've still been eating vegan - except for a few times lately where I broke down and ate some cheese. I've had to lighten up about that a little. Once was at a work event where the only non-meat option was a veggie sandwich with goat cheese spread all over the veggies. The other time was a veggie burger I ordered and started eating when I realized it had cheese in the patty. Oh well, I've come to the conclusion that a little cheese here and there isn't going to kill me! Though I do want to try and avoid it as much as I can. 

So, on the raw front, I've made a few more fun things - chips and two different kinds of hummus.

Falling Off the Raw Diet Wagon

After getting back from San Francisco last week, I was ready to get back on track with my raw diet.

I started on Tuesday and made it all the way to Saturday when I broke down at a birthday party and had a few beers, a veggie taco and some buneulos. Then on Sunday, I kept the party going with more cooked food and champagne at brunch, and finished the weekend off with a giant bean burrito from Santana's.

And last night, after eating raw all day, I broke down at the Padre game and had wine and a whole bunch of cooked stuff...

This raw thing is harder than I thought it would be!

Running, Eating and Drinking Our Way Across San Francisco

Just got back from the Bay to Breakers 12K (7.46 mile) run in San Francisco. I haven't eaten so much, drank so heavily or laughed so hard in a long time.

This was my first ever travel run and I hadn't been to SF in years, so I was super excited and ready to make a fun weekend out of it!

Mini Raw Challenge, Bay to Breakers Bound

I've been waiting for the right time to kick off my week-long raw food challenge and fun stuff just keeps getting in the way. But I got really excited about it, so I decided to do a 3-day challenge.

Kate and I had planned to go to Vegan Beer night at Sea Rocket Bistro in South Park, so I ate raw from Monday to Thursday night.

On Thursday I felt amazing! I had tons of energy, my mind was clearer, my clothes were fitting looser. It was great!

Running, Wine Tasting, Boxing and Cooking - One Busy Mother's Day Weekend!

This was a wonderful weekend of wine, food and celebrating my moms.

It started yesterday with a 7.5-mile run. Kate, Ciela and I are preparing to run Bay to Breakers next weekend - a 15K in San Francisco.

Next was a trip to the mountains with my mom and sister. We didn't actually make it up to Julian, but we had lots of fun on the way.

Heading up Highway 67, we decided to stop at the Schwaesdall Winery in Ramona. If you haven't been there, it has a cute little tasting room and a patio overlooking the vineyard.

My First Raw Meal...Or..How to Eat Two Zuchinnis and a Bunch of Kale in One Sitting

If you missed my last post, I'm thinking about going raw.

Well, maybe not totally and forever, but I'd at least like to give it a try. I've been doing a lot of reading about it and health benefits seem amazing.

I'm not sure long I could do it for, but I'm thinking about starting with a week-long challenge.

For now, I've been experimenting with a few raw dishes. My first attempt was fettuccine pesto and a kale salad. The fettuccine is actually zucchini, but the pesto was pretty close to the traditional sauce - just veganized (and a little lighter). I added some chopped asparagus to bulk it up, but you'd never know.

They were both actually pretty good for first tries!

I got the ideas for the zucchini pasta and the kale salad here: http://www.learnrawfood.com/ and the pesto here: http://yeahthatveganshit.blogspot.com/.

Here's how I did it:

A Seed Sprouted, An Idea Planted

This weekend my friend Kate lent me the book "Living on Live Food." I've never thought about going "raw," but figured it might have some good vegan recipes.

Before the recipe section of the book, the author explains all of the benefits of going raw - weight loss, glowing skin, shiny hair, feeling younger, healing yourself of pain and disease... who doesn't want all that?

A few pages in I started thinking seriously about giving it a try. Then I realized how hard that would be to do every day. Eating vegan has been challenging at times. Do I really want to make life more challenging? Hmmm, not really... But, I do want to feel my best!

Mr. Jones And Me ... Make Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus

If you haven't guessed from my cheesy blog title, my 90s music marathon continues. I was still humming Live songs yesterday morning so I created a Live-inspired Pandora station to listen to at work. I couldn't believe how good it was. I was hearing old Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots, and one of my all-time favorites - Counting Crows. August and Everything After was another one of those albums I listened to over and over and over and over...

I saw them in concert once too - in the late 90s. We actually got to go backstage and meet them thanks to my good friend Nikki's outgoing (and now famous soap star) cousin, Adrienne Frantz. I still remember awkwardly mumbling something to Adam Duritz about being his biggest fan and that was about all I could get out. I was so starstruck!

Anyhow, as soon as I got home from work last night, I dug up that old CD and put it on while I tried out a few new hummus recipes.

Old Tunes, New Veggie - Good Times!

This morning on my way to hot yoga I heard "All Over You" by the band Live. Not familiar with that song? Not surprised since I'm the only Live fan I know. But it's really good! The whole album is awesome! I used to listen to the "Throwing Copper" tape while cruising around in my Hyundai Excel in the late 90s. Good times!

As soon as I got home from work tonight, I busted out the CD and put it on while I danced around the kitchen, singing my head off and making dinner. Pat thinks I'm insane, but I had a blast.

My First Vegan Holiday - Easter Eats

I'm not gonna lie - it took a lot of work, but I survived my first vegan holiday! I even managed to stuff myself silly - like usual.

We had a beautiful brunch at my Aunt Rosie's house and I was excited to serve up my vegan dishes next to the brown sugar bacon and eggy french toast casserole. As planned, I made a millet salad and a tofu scramble. I also made my first batch of vegan cupcakes!

I had started off really prepared, but after some procrastinating and an unexpectedly long church service I was left baking last night until 1:30 a.m. and up at 7 this morning to finish.

Mill What? 'Blackeyes Beans?' Prickly Huh?

Easter brunch has always been one of my favorite meals. My whole extended family gets together for a feast. There's always a ham, some kind of yummy egg dish, a scrumptious french toast casserole (that I look forward to all year) and lots of desserts. There are also some veggies dishes, salads, and don't forget the mimosas! But it's the non-vegan dishes that are on my mind as I think about how this meal is going to go down this year.

It's only been about two and a half months since I decided to cut out meat and dairy and I want to give it a fair shot before I start sneaking bites of ham or justifying cake just because it's shaped like a bunny and my mom's been making it for as long as I can remember.

So, I've decided to bring a few vegan dishes to show my family how delicious a vegan diet can be (and to make sure there is something there I can eat!) I'm thinking of making a tofu scramble and some kind of grain and veggie salad (inspired by this one). A dessert would be fun too, but we'll see if I have time for all of that.

I'm confident I can whip up the tofu scramble pretty easily, but wanted to do a little experimenting on the salad. So, today I made a millet and black eyed peas salad with basil and prickly pears. It sounds totally weird, but it turned out really delicious!

Delicious, Guilt-Free Desserts

To me, the best things in life include dessert! I have to have it almost every night. And it has to be good.

When I was just watching calories, I always made sure to have lots of low-cal treats on hand - things like Skinny Cow ice cream bars or Weight Watchers cakes. I figured they were better than the full fat versions, but I knew they were still full of sugar and empty calories.

With the new vegan diet, I've been trying my hardest to do it in the healthiest way possible. To me that means less sugar and processed food. And though I haven't managed to cut all the store bought vegan treats (like Tofutti Cuties and Newman's Own sandwich cookies), I've been trying to keep them to a minimum.

So, I was super excited to learn about a new healthy dessert to add to my repertoire - vegan soft serve. I learned about it here.  I was a little skeptical, but it's amazing! It has the exact texture of soft serve ice cream. And you can top it with any of your favorite ice cream toppings to make it taste even more like the real thing.

Eating Out's Getting More Pho-n!

I haven't had the best luck eating out since I went vegan. Most restaurants don't have a single vegan option. Sometimes there is one thing that I can order with substitutions.

Even things you think would be safe are suspect. Veggie burgers with cheese in the patty and salad dressings with egg whipped in "to hold it together." Really? Whisk faster... :)

It's been okay because I have so many veggies to use from the CSA and I've been cooking so much that I can't really justify going out to eat much anyway.

But sometimes it's nice to let someone else do the cooking and cleaning for a change! So I'm especially grateful when I find a restaurant with a delicious vegan meal.

A Tale of Two Stir Frys

Last night I made stir fry and it was really disappointing. I think I may have burnt the garlic and used too many greens. It was bitter and mushy and just plain yucky.

So, I don't know what possessed me to make stir fry again tonight...except for maybe a chance for redemption? And maybe the fact that it was pretty warm and I didn't want to turn on the oven. And maybe it had something to do with wanting to use up some more of the veggies in my fridge... Ok - I had lots of reasons.

Lazy, Munchy Crafty Sunday



 You know you've lucked out when you like your co-workers enough to spend time with them outside of work!

The tradition of Crafty Sunday started a few years ago when my boss, Geeta, (an amazing potter) offered to teach us all how to make mosaics. She had a bunch of pottery she considered flawed (although the rest of us couldn't see flaws) and she let us smash it up and use it to make our mosaics.

I decorated a flower pot (see pic below) and loved every minute of it. I was hooked and decided I would make mosaics for everyone I knew for Christmas that year.

Family Brunch: Mochi and Mimosas

I got to hang out with my family yesterday at my sister's house. We didn't really have plans except to spend some quality time together ... and make waffles. My sister just got a waffle maker so we were excited to try it out.

The instructions were a little vague, but we managed to figure it out with a little trial and error.

My mom and sis went for the regular buttermilk variety and I had found a recipe for mochi waffles in The Kind Diet book. We also made crispy hashbrowns with garlic and baked asparagus (with more garlic - we LOVE garlic!) And, of course, we enjoyed some mimosas... :)

Costa Rica House Hunters and Kale Chips!

Last night Pat's sister Corinne came over to visit. She's leaving next week for a trip to Costa Rica. And strangely enough, last night was Costa Rica night on one of Pat's favorite shows, House Hunters International.

She'd told me a couple times about kale chips. She's a Weight Watcher too, and she heard about it from other members at a meeting. We were looking at recipes for something else online and we accidentally came across a video showing how to make them. So we decided to give it a try.

I had two different bunches from the CSA and we used them both. It took less time for us to make our kale chips than it did for the couple from Oklahoma to find their dream house in Jaco, Costa Rica.

Crazy Weight Loss "Tea"

Does this look like tea to you? Not me!

I've been working a little harder at losing weight lately. (Darn holiday treat weight won't come off!) For a while I was just focusing on figuring out what to eat on my new vegan diet. Now, I'm paying more attention to how much to eat.

Alicia Silverstone's Kind Diet was one of the things that inspired me to try and go vegan. She says that just by eating vegan, you'll automatically lose weight - not true.

But she also has different levels to her diet. I'm beyond the "Flirt" phase - just trying more vegan foods. I'm not quite to the "Super Hero" level - all whole grains, veggies and legumes and very little fun stuff like vegan sour cream and french fries. So, I guess I am well into the "Vegan" phase, taking baby steps toward Super Hero.

Spaghetti Squash - The New Noodles

Ok, so I know people have been using spaghetti squash in place of pasta for years, but I always thought it sounded kind of, um, gross. Or at least really bland...But I tried it and it wasn't!

I was inspired to try it when this adorable older couple at my last Weight Watchers meeting were going on and on about how great it was. That's one of my favorite things about WW - getting food ideas from other people.

Crunchy, Yummy Homemade Granola Bars

I've been reading lots of labels lately - looking for snacks without dairy (and tons of sugar) and they're hard to find. I even discovered that my favorite Kashi bars have whey protein powder - boooo!

I've wanted to make granola bars ever since I saw Alton Brown make them on "Good Eats." He made it look pretty easy - and it was! I used his recipe with a few substitutions and they came out crunchy, yummy and delicious.

It's Cold - Make Soup!

Making this soup will warm up your house, your belly and your soul (believe it or not). And all the nutritious veggies and hearty beans will fill you up and make you feel great. Make a big pot and eat it all week!

Use my recipe as a starting point and customize with whatever you have in the fridge. That's what I did with this one: http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/soup-kidney-bean-avacado.html

I like my soup spicy, but you can make it much milder if that's what makes you happy. You can chop all your veggies fresh or you can used canned or frozen ones to make it easier. I chopped up all the veggies, and even the beans, and then cooked the crap out of it to give it a stewier consistency.

Flowers and Recycling Make Me Happy

Today I took the day off and Pat and I went to the Carlsbad Flower Fields. It was my first time and I thought it was pretty cool!

If you want to go this year, go soon - it's only open for eight more weeks. And I think next weekend or the following will be the best because there were tons of buds just about to bloom.

Check out some pics:

Great Weekend: Basketball, Chili and 500 Page Views!



I love it when Pat has a Saturday off - even if we don't do anything. It's just so nice to have him around. This last Saturday was one of those days!

So after we ran some errands, Pat settled in to watch the Aztecs game and I decided to make some chili. Luckily our living room and kitchen are open to each other so we can still spend time together while I cook. This is even more important since I've been spending so much time in there!

I had soaked my dried beans overnight and they were ready to go - so I looked up a few vegan chili recipes for guidance and made up my own based on what CSA veggies I needed to use and what other fun stuff I had on hand.

On the Road Again...Chicken and Waffles, Anyone?

My view of Atlanta from the hotel.

I did some more traveling this week.

Destination: Atlanta. Known more for southern fried chicken than vegan cuisine. So this was another opportunity to put my new lifestyle to the test.

The verdict: I didn't starve, but it wasn't the healthiest couple days.

I attended a conference and was in a hotel for most of the time. Getting in late Tuesday, I opted for room service: a big salad, a plate of steamed veggies (and french fries).

Getting Back on Track



I'll be eating more of this...

A lot of vegan books and blogs say that once you cut out meat and dairy, you instantly lose weight, without counting calories...

Not the case for me.

I feel great - more energy, better moods, improved um... digestion :) All-around better.

But I haven't lost any weight. In fact, over the last few weeks, I've gained a few pounds. Maybe it had something to do with that batch of vegan chocolate chip cookies I polished off or the vegan butter I've been slathering all over my toast or the generous amount of olive oil in everything I cook or the extra carbs I've been shoveling in... hmmm... maybe...


Running Red Lights For Squash!



The enchilada filling - up close!



As we walked out to our cars after work today, my best friend Laura and I chatted about what to make for dinner. I got ridiculously excited when I remembered the butternut squash I had in the fridge.

She laughed at me and we joked that I was going to speed and run all the red lights just to get home and start cooking.

We may have been joking, but I was really excited about that squash - sad, I know... As soon as I got home, I started looking up recipes and found the perfect thing - enchiladas (one of my all-time favorite meals!

I had tortillas and a big can of enchilada sauce in the cupboard, so I went to work chopping and sauting and steaming and baking and making a big ole mess. I am having so much darn fun with this I can't believe it - cooking has become my new hobby!

I was inspired by this recipe: http://www.savorynest.com/2011/02/black-bean-brown-rice-roasted-butternut.html, but as I usually do, I tweaked it to fit what I had on hand.

Beans, Greens and Butternut Squash Enchiladas

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 roasted butternut squash
1/2 bunch green onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch red chard? (or some kind of reddish green from my CSA box) Chopped
1 bunch beet tops chopped
I can black beans

4 Whole wheat tortillas
1 large can green chile enchilada sauce
1/2 cups shredded cheddar daiya cheese

First I put the squash in the oven to bake (If I was to do it over, I think I would peel it first, cube it and then roast it). But this time, I just cut in half and put in a baking dish face down with a little water.

I let that cook for about 45 minutes while I made a delicious salad for tonight's dinner and prepared the other ingredients.

I filled up the rice cooker - way more than I needed so I could use it for other things this week.

Can't wait to taste 'em!

Then I diced and sauteed the garlic, greens stems (I'm using everything these days!) and green onions. After a few minutes, I threw in the greens and beet tops and let them wilt down. Then came the beans, the squash and the rice and voila - the enchilada filling was ready.

I heated my tortillas to soften, poured some sauce into the bottom of a huge baking dish and started assembly. Since I only had four tortillas, I stuffed them full and pressed them down so they could be covered in the sauce that I poured over top. I sprinkled the cheese on top and baked at 375 for about 30 minutes.

They look pretty good, but you'll have to wait to hear how they taste...

It's not even Halloween... :)

Oh, I also roasted the butternut seeds - just like you would with pumpkin seeds. Like, I said, I'm using everything!

And, having the time of my life! :)

New Cookie Baking Technique?



Lady Gwenivere, my cooking buddy



Last night I decided to warm up the house with the oven. My friend Kate had sent me a recipe for vegan chocolate chip cookies that I wanted to try, but xanthum gum is not an ingredient I usually keep on hand. I'm not even sure what it is...

So, after a quick web search, I found a simple recipe on Vegweb.com that I could make with what I did have in the cupboard.

 The only thing that sounded different from regular chocolate chip cookies was it said to put them in the oven for five minutes and then flip and cook for five more minutes. Different, but okay fine - whatever you gotta do.

I figured maybe that was the only way they could cook evenly without eggs and butter. 

The flipped cookies... :)



So, after five minutes, I tried to flip the half-baked cookies over, and as they slipped and smooshed all over the cookie sheet and the melted chocolate smeared all over the spatula, I started to think maybe I was doing something wrong.

 

I looked at the recipe again. It said, "Bake for five minutes and then flip and rotate the sheets."
  

Oh - flip the sheets, not the cookies... Oops!

So, half of the cookies ended up looking pretty funky, but they were all yummy!





Super crunchy and delicious!



Stale sourdough = salad star
I also endeavored to make my first batch of croutons. I had a loaf of fresh sourdough wheat bread from Whole Foods that turned into a brick in the fridge.

So, I chopped it up, drizzled it with olive oil and minced garlic, and baked it in the oven. It was super easy and they turned out fantastic - better than anything you could buy in the store!

Next time your bread gets stale, give it a try!


Have you ever misread a recipe? Make me feel better and share your story below!

Angiebertos #5 - One Soyrizo Burrito To Go

 

Not exactly like Adalbertos #5, but delicious in its own way!

So far, I've done all my blogging late at night - after the dishes are washed, email is checked and I'm done catching up on American Idol... :) But I just made a breakfast so delicious, I couldn't wait to share it!

One of my guilty pleasures was chorizo. I have no idea what's in it - never wanted to because I'm sure it's gross. But I loved to splurge on it when out to breakfast at Mexican restaurants. Obviously, I'm not eating chorizo as part my new vegan lifestyle, but I found the next best thing... Soyrizo!

Ok, I know it sounds weird, but it's actually super similar in flavor and texture to the real thing. And it's much healthier. So, even if you aren't vegan, but trying to watch your calories, try it!



You could also make this with eggs instead of tofu and bell peppers instead of greens. Go wild! Here's what I did with it - super simple.

Soyrizo Breakfast Burrito

1/4 onion diced
3 cloves garlic diced
1 bunch kale (or some sort of green from my CSA box)
1/2 pkg Soyrizo
1 pkg extra firm tofu
1 whole wheat tortilla
1/4 cup shredded Daiya cheddar "cheese"
1 dallop (love that word!) vegan sour cream
1/4 avocado

Saute the onion, garlic and greens until soft. Throw in the tofu and soyrizo and mix together. Cook about 5 minutes until its cooked through.

Warm your tortilla, layer your ingredients, roll up and enjoy!

This would also be delicious (and still vegan) with a side of fried potatoes or with the potatoes mixed in!

What's your favorite weekend breakfast? Post it below!

And check out the new poll question!