This little piggy ate tofu…

Things are starting to get a little crazy around here, with just a few days left in Florida. I am so looking forward to being home! It feels like we have been gone forever! I am not going to know what to do with myself in a fully stocked kitchen. I promise I will never again complain about my lack of counter space or my crummy knives (even though I really want some new ones, Santa? Are you listening? 🙂 ) I actually fell asleep last night running through all the things I can’t wait to make when I get back! We have been packing and cleaning for most of the day so far today, and I don’t see that pattern changing until we are on the road.

Yesterday I went to Publix (a local grocery store that I am going to miss dearly) to pick up snacky things for the trip.  A huge package of okra caught my eye, and I had to have it.

Roasting vegetables is bar none, my favorite way to cook them. It really does not matter what you have on hand, bell peppers, squash, egg plant, onions, or okra they transform in the oven.  High heat, a bit of salt and pepper and a splash of olive oil is all you need to be able to highlight the natural sweetness of most vegetables. Serve it over brown rice or quinoa, and you have a meal.

This is how things work in my house. At around 7:30, Liam wakes up. Mommy drinks her tea and screws around on the computer for 10 miniutes or so, while Liam watches Wonder Pets with a cup of milk and his blanket. When that is over, I go empty the dishwasher and start breakfast. Liam follows mommy and makes this face at me constantly while I am in the kitchen, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks… He is my little baby bird, following me around and peeping for crumbs of avocado or tomato.

Our lunch today was nothing spectacular, just another hummus pizza and a cold beet salad, but these peaches were extrodinary. I love love love fresh produce. The only thing that makes me sad, is I know they are about at the end of their season 😦 . We split this one, I wish I had bought more of them 😦

More than peanut butter, more than veggie dogs, more than sautéed mushrooms or avocados, Liam loves tofu. It is seriously the most perfect toddler food ever. Beyond easy to fix, good hot or cold, can be flavored or prepared a million different ways, all depending on the time and ingredients you have on hand, and it is not a messy food.  One of the easiest and most common way for us to fix it is in a simple soup, with very little broth for him. When I am tired, or just don’t have much time for a five star lunch I just get a block of tofu, press it out a bit in some paper towel, cut it in to little cubes, put some soy sauce and vegetable stock in a sauce pan and let it all simmer a bit.  Now, obviously this is not anything special, just a quick easy way to fix it that Liam loves.  He will eat half of a block just like that. Throw in some steamed carrots, or beets, a couple pieces of fruit, and you have a great little meal. 🙂 Even omni mommys and daddys should look into the versatility of tofu, strictly as a good source of protein that you don’t have to worry about the little one choking on, not to mention a healthy finger food.

Dinner tonight is a once a week type meal. I generaly make this right before I go to the grocery store, just to get rid of the waning veggies in the fridge.  The vegetables always change, and sometimes I use different juices. Lime, orange and pineapple juice are all fantastic in this recipe.

Quick and easy stir fry

1 block firm or extra firm tofu, pressed and cut into squares.

1 celery stalk sliced

1/2 medium onion sliced in to strips

1/2 red bell pepper diced

1/2 a pint of mushrooms sliced

1/4 cup frozen peas

1 or 2 carrots sliced

1 stalk broccoli

Sauce

1/4 c soy sauce

1/4 c water*

1T corn starch

2 T agave

2 garlic cloves very finly minced or pressed

1 inch grated ginger

2 t lime juice

1t crushed red pepper flakes

*you can use less water and more juice if you use pineapple or orange juice.

Heat a wok to med high heat and add 2 T olive, or coconut oil. Add tofu and gently sauté until all sides are golden brown. While the tofu is cooking whisk together all ingredients for the sauce and set aside. When the tofu is done, remove from the pan and add veggies according to cook time (onions, carrots, celery…) and cook each a few minutes before adding the next. When the veg is almost done, add the tofu back into the pan and pour on the sauce. Allow to set a moment or two (cornstarch needs to come to a boil to properly thicken), and then carefully stir to coat. (Tofu can be a little fragile, and can go from blocks to scrambled very quickly)

That’s all for today! I hope you are all having a fantastic week so far, looking forward to seeing lots of you very soon!! ❤

all’s well that ends well

Some days just don’t start out too great. Liam and mommy were both quite sleepy and pouty today. After I ate the left overs from dinner for lunch we went swimming for an hour or so, while Matt was helping a friend move. When Liam and I came back for a snack he was seriously following me around the kitchen like this.

 

 

So I decided that I needed one of these 😀

 

I made Liam peanut butter quinoa, which wound up being way more tasty than I had expected, I will probably be eating that for breakfast tomorrow 🙂 This was my snack featuring two of my all time favorite foods, avocados, and cold beets.

 

This is one giant wasa cracker, topped with half an avocado, a drizzle of olive oil, splash of hot sauce, salt & pepper.  I used up the rest of a vinaigrette I had made on the beets. Tasty! Since Liam took a total of 1 hour (about) worth of naps today, and basically whined the rest of the time lol, I was super ready to get out of the house. I had seen the sign for a resturant called The Mellow Mushroom, and came across it again while looking up vegetarian resturants in the city. Since Sundays are my cheat day, I felt that pizza was in order 😀

 

 

Everything at this restaurant was crazy fresh, and very tasty. The bruscetta has a fantastic balsamic reduction that I could have eaten with a spoon. I orderd the Mega veggie, which has an entire produce isle on it! It even had tofu! This was the first pizza I have ever seen that had tofu on it.

 

This was the single best pizza I have ever had. The crust is phenominal, and the toppings are deeper than it seems. Liam Matt and I each ate a piece and there is one more for me to have for lunch tomorrow ! ./dance around 😀

 

more beer!

Kyle got the cesar pizza, he did not seem to be too impressed but Matt said it was good. ( I didn’t try because there is chicken somewhere underneath the romaine 🙂 )

Matt got the Italian Hoagie, and said it was really good too.

Liam had his very first taste of diet soda today too >.<  ( I was running out of things to distract him with before the pizza got there) It was only like a teaspoon, but surprise surprise! he liked it lol…

 

That was pretty much it for today, I am wiped out and ummm… did any one else see true blood? If they do what the seem like they are going to do, I will have no more reason to watch that show! ❤ Night!

Weirdest dinner ever.

Today has been FANTASTIC! We started out kind of late because Liam, by some miracle, picked up that mom and dad wanted to sleep in a little so we didn’t get up and around until 8:30, which is freaking unheard of in our house. I made breakfast burritos (no pictures, I was sleepy). Liam took a nap, and Matt and I watched a bit of tv and got ready to go. We went down to Pier Park for lunch, Matt got a burger from 5 guys burger and fries, and I got a seaweed salad and avocado sushi. Liam took turns eating bites of nori and avocado, and bites of bun or French fries lol. I am going to get better about toting my camera around with me, especially when we go out to eat. Epic fail on my part 🙂

Our little outing did have a destination other than food. My hair has not been cut in over a year, at least not more than a slight trim. It was, lets just say, unruly.

Only picture I could find where you could see my hair and it was not in a pony tail.

I have been thinking about cutting it for sooo long, and finally sucked it up and had 7 inches cut off! The cut is not exactly what I had in mind, but the stylist talked me out of a stacked bob. I really love it,  but may still do something a bit more drastic shortly.

I am seeing chocolate brown in my future ❤

After tidying up the house and a couple episodes of Star Trek tos, it was time to make dinner. I love reading Susan’s blog Fat free Vegan, even though I am not a vegan, and I think plant fats (in moderation) are not just good, they’re great! (said in a Tony the tiger voice, rawr.) But recently I came accross this recipie and it sounded so weird I just HAD to try it. Once again there was a fair ammount of forewarning, and even a back up dinner plan that I could whip up on the fly if Matt made his, “really…?” face.

I should not have been so worried! Everything I have made from her site has been phenomenal! I couldn’t keep my spoon out of the pan while it was cooking. Matt had made a run for a few things from the store, one of which was cilantro for the dish, and I was literally pacing the floor anxious for him to get home so we could eat. I was so excited!

This is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good. LOVE. THIS. FOOD.

African Pineapple and peanut stew. (taken from Fat Free Vegan who took it from Mooswood Resturant cooks at home )

1 large onion chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used coconut)
1 bunch kale or Swiss chard (4 cups sliced and ribs removed)
2 cups undrained canned crushed pineapple (20-ounce can)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
salt to taste
crushed skinless peanuts
chopped scallions

In a large pot, or deep skillet with a lid, sweat out the onions for 5 – 6 minutes, add garlic cook for an additional minute. Add pineapple and juice and let simmer for 3 – 4 minutes.  Shove as much kale into the skillet as you can fit, cover and let steam untill it has started to wilt a bit. Stir it up and add more. This sauce can cover A LOT of kale so don’t be afraid. After the leaves are just tender add in hot sauce, peanut butter and cilantro. Stir until well mixed, serve over brown rice, top with crushed peanuts and chopped scallions.

It seriously tastes like you might be eating something bad for you, but this made 4 good sized servings, wich means that each has just 1/8 of a cup of peanut butter (or about 180 calories). So a super filling (realy) meal including rice that is just about 350 or so calories? Not too shabby!

Matt and his buddies have gone out for the evening, and I have a date with a God of war, and a bottle of wine ❤  Have a great night folks!

buh bai sugar!

So it has been 2 weeks with out white refined sugar, white bread or diet soda. How has it been? Um AMAZING! I feel like I have gotten my taste buds back. A month ago, my sweet tooth was taking on a mind of it’s own. I found Newman O’s and since the ingredients are organic,  and I can pronounce all of them, I allowed myself more than I normally would have (like 5 at a time). There was more than one treat a day, (like after every meal) and my coffee could not be too sweet. One day last week (can’t remember when exactly) I was kind of craving a cookie. Matt sugested that Liam and I share one, so I split it and ate my half. Guess what! IT WAS TOO SWEET!. One half of a cookie is all I need!

Sunday is my cheat day and I made pancakes for every one and had a few my self but I did not feel the need to drown them in syrup like I usually do. I did not even feel guilty for the pancakes I ate, because, since I made them I know exactly what went in them 🙂 When I get back home, we will still have pancake Sunday, but I will keep a batch of whole wheat and agave ones for myself in the freezer ❤

I can’t figure out if I became desensitized to sweets because I was eating more of them, or if I was eating more because I was drinking diet soda. Turns out they are both right. I heard of this study done by Purdue University that shows mice fed the artificial sweetener continued trying to achieve the caloric high that is supposed to accompany sweet treats. So,  diet drinks work against you two fold, you can eat more sweet things because your taste buds are so unbelievably deadened to sweet, and you feel the physical need for something sweet.

White bread? Just don’t eat it. All of it’s nutritional value has been bleached off of it, it has more yeast and sugar than any other type of bread (stops you up yo.), and is less filling than a good whole wheat or multi grain bread so you tend to eat more.

An unexpected benefit of the changes in my diet? I have lost another 5 lbs! Only 6 more to go! (dances around)

Mkay done with my rant for the day! So what does one eat who consumes no meat, white bread or sugar? Um all this!

Grilled tofu, with charred bell peppers and zucchini

Mixed greens with cucumbers, chickpeas, lentils, goat cheese and a citrus balsamic vinaigrette.

This is one of my newer and more successful creations. Kind of reminds me of chinese hot and sour soup. If you can boil water, you can make this soup. I really need to start measuring stuff so I am not just guessing.

Spicy shroom soup

2 cups Vegetable stock

1/2 cup (about) soy sauce

1/4 block of tofu cut into small cubes

1/2 onion

lots of mushrooms

1 inch grated or finly minced fresh ginger

1 garlic clove

1 tbsp agave

1/2 a lime

pepper and sriracha

In a medium sauce pan, add 2 tsp vegetable stock and onions. Sweat out onions until mostly translucent, add mushrooms and cook until they are starting to soften. Add garlic and ginger, sauté about 1 minute. Add remaining stock, soy sauce and agave, let simmer a few minutes. Add tofu and the lime juice.  Top with a few drizzles of sriracha or red pepper flakes. I like mine with extra lime too 😀

I can’t wait to get back home! I miss my family, my puppy, and my kitchen! Dear food processor, blender and Kitchen Aide, mommy’s coming home soon! I see chickpea nuggets and crazy amounts of smoothies in my future ❤

Trying something new.

I have been feeling very … off lately. I can blame it entirely on the fact that my back has begun hurting pretty bad almost every day, but I think it has more to do with what I have been eating. White bread, diet soda, coffee and sugar.

Usually, I am a big multi grain or whole wheat girl, but lately I just have not cared all that much. Now that does not mean that I am indulging in wonder bread but if you see my previous post, the little carb monsters have made their way back into my life.  Bread has become almost a requirement at not just one or two but almost every meal, and some times for snacks (peanut butter and onion sandwich any one?)

The other big one is sugar. At home, before this crazy summer started, I would go through a 1 pound bag of sugar once every 3 or 4 months, and that is only if I was baking something. We used honey, agave and maple syrup for just about everything else that needed a little sweetness.  Now, I have used 3, 1 pound bags since I have been here. Granted I have made pancakes, and Liam’s cake, but a lot of it has gone in my coffee, the dressings I make, sauces for stir fry’s etc…

Coffee and diet soda are things that I had eliminated from my diet and they have made their way back in my life winding their delicious cafinated fingers around my brain when I wake up. I used to revel in tea, almost never got headaches, and had more energy. Lately, if I don’t have coffee as soon as I wake up a headache is most certainly on its way. I just hate the feeling that I NEED something.  Soda has more to do with sugar than the caffeine part I think. I used to take a sip of it and all but spit it out, or maybe dilute it with water. It just tasted soooo sickly sweet. The other day I found I drank an entire diet coke like it was nothing. I know that sounds like no big deal, but just the juxtaposition of  how I was and how I am was striking.

So, after quite a bit of research, I have decided I am not going to have any more of those things, (except on my birthday I ❤ Cake!)  Today is the third day and I am not gonna lie, the no coffee thing is killing me. I have already had 3 cups of green tea >.<  I know that the headaches will be gone in a few days and hopefully I will be back to my old self soon!

The other big change is I can finally say that I am a proper vegetarian. No fish. Yeay! It has taken me almost a year but I can finally let sushi go. I simply can not justify killing one animal for my dinner and keeping another as a pet. The hypocrisy of it is dizzying.

With all the new rules I have I am no longer going to count my calories. Baiscly anything I can eat, I can eat as much as I want. 😀 I am sure you all think I have lost it completely, but I just am trying to listen to my body and heart to find out what makes me the best wife, mommy, friend, Sonia I can be.

These are some of the pages I have found about cutting sugar out or reducing your intake.

Long term health risks of sugar, and how to live without it.

http://zenhabits.net/beat-the-sugar-habit-3-steps-to-cut-sweets-mostly-out-of-your-life/

What happens to your body when you drink a coke.

http://blisstree.com/feel/what-happens-to-your-body-if-you-drink-a-coke-right-now/

What sugar does to your brain.

http://olsonnd.com/what-sugar-does-to-your-brain/

Mmmm…. bagels….

Bagels are quite possibly the most wonderful use of carbohydrates known to man. However, a truly fantastic bagel is hard to come by and there are a ridiculous amount of average and sub par ones out there to sort through.  To me there is only one type of bagel worth buying and that is an everything. But they can be so sneaky! You look at it, see all the poppy seeds, bits of onion and garlic and sunflowerseeds, then you get it home, open it up and find out its just a fancy package for a plain bagel 😦 such disappointment. This is what I was faced with the last time we went shopping. The looked like they had such potential! But, alas 😦 boring plain. Oh well, just need more stuff on it then.

I think I have said before that while we are here we are lucky enough to be getting fresh eggs from a friends parents farm! I love scrambled eggs, I just hate the idea of the chickens in their hell hole cells… But yeay! Guiltless eggs! I bought some Morning Star sausages, having read about how close to sausage tasting they were, and couldn’t get the idea of a breakfast bagel out of my head. Normally, I don’t bother with veggie pattie anything unless I make it, but having so few kitchen utensils takes it’s tole, and I am not interested in trying to Macgyver  my way in to some seitan while I am here.  Aaaany way….  LOVE THESE SAUSAGES! They fooled Matt. I made him take a bite (he was playing modern warfare and is used to me shoving food in his face without warning)

“Wait, what is this I’m eating?”

Me “Saussage!”

Matt “what, like tofu sausage?”

so cute 🙂

I have made these a few times, but I know now that I have to only have half of one in front of me or I will eat it all.  I actualy went and woke Matt up to come finish the other half of the above bagel because I kept ninjaing bites….

This one had goat cheese mmmm!

This is what my counter looks like after we go grocery shopping… I’m not even going to show you the fridge!

While we were in Canada, since we didn’t get in to cooking much, and because basically every meal consisted of meat something or other, I bought lots of like 3 bean or chickpea salads from the grocery store deli. They were so yummy and I was really feeling something on the lighter side today, so I decided to attempt a recreation.

Turned out pretty good I think!

Chicpea Salad

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 small zuchini diced

1/2 onion diced

1/4 c cucumber diced

6 or 7 grape tomatoes quartered

parsley

dressing

3 T balsamic vinager

2 T olive oil

1/4 t red pepper flakes

1/4 t oregano

1/4 t dijon mustard

1 t agave or sugar

2 T lemon juice

salt and  pepper

In a medium sized bowl combine all the vegetables and peas.  Place all the ingredients for the dressing in a small jar with a lid and shake. Toss salad in dressing and let rest a few hours. (I was starving so I didnt wait but have since gone back for seconds and it is way better)  Top with goat cheese.

Liam is awake! ❤ Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Yes, I am alive and we are still eating

Sooooo, it’s been a minute since I’ve written anything. Not that I did not have things to write about, but running all over the place and getting used to living in a new house in a new city takes a bit of adjustment. The apartment we are staying in for a few months is  fully furnished, but still lacking some of the cooking luxuries ; more than 2 coffee cups, knives that don’t generally have a problem cutting a tomato with out smooshing it flat ; so I have had to become even more resourceful 🙂 No ironing board ? No problem! you have a towel and a table don’t you? What’s that you say? No iron? Hmmmm an empty hot pot should work just fine 🙂

I think I can count on one hand the times I have fixed meat since we have gotten here. I have made Matt burgers, shishka bobbs twice and chicken once. Other than that our meals are quite frequently a variation of this guy.

It is basically just a salad, in a skillet….. Yummier that way 😀 This one had, lets see… 1/2 of an onion, 6 big baby bella mushrooms, 1/4 bell pepper, 1/4 pint of grape tomatoes, 1/2 a head of broccoflour, as much spinach as I could fit in the skillet and some goat cheese. Sometimes I will put salsa, or quinoa, or lentils, just what ever is in the fridge.  I have even been known to make one of these for breakfast and put a couple eggs in for good measure. Love breakfast. See below 😀

As you may (or may not) know I LOVE BREAKFAST.  When we were little sometimes my dad would fix us a bowl of white rice with milk and sugar, sounds weird but is supper yummy. I had some brown rice left over one morning and was like … well what the hell. So I diced up a mango, topped it with the rice, some coconut milk and regular milk. Looooooooooooooooooove this! I am always sad when all of my mangos are gone for the week. I like them so much more now that I have learned (finally) how to properly cut one up with out losing interest in it by the time I am done.  It used to be that the mango rivlad the kiwi for my least favorite fruit, due to the effort+time = fruit yield equation. But now, the kiwi stands alone 😀

Lunch today, Avocado rubans with goat cheese. Same thing as here, but with goat cheese … obviously >.< These are WAAAAAAAY better! Crazy Sonia not eating cheese… sheer madness.

I really have not taken very many pictures of our eats so far, mostly because they have been relatively unremarkable and the light here is weird so my pictures don’t look as good as they used to. Not enough windows in the kitchen and too much fluorescent light ( hate ) However, I am going to do better even if I have to take the food outside >.<

To all my friends and family in Oklahoma, Canada and everywhere else ❤ I miss you all and love you!

Pizza, pasta and playing

I have not been feeling terribly inspired lately with all of the insurance, fixing the roof, and trip planning stuff that has been going on lately. However, I did feel like trying something I have been thinking about for a while now, an attempt at a deep dish pizza. I usually just roll my dough out to cover poor cookie sheet so it is more like a thin crust. Now, I absolutely adore thin crust pizza, but I was really craving that crispy, almost fried texture of a good pan pizza.

I preheated the oven to 425 while I made my dough. I splurged and used half bread flour and half whole wheat. Once I had the dough mixing, I grabbed my cast iron skillet, put a couple tablespoons of olive oil in it and rubbed a garlic clove into the pan. Then, put it in the oven to heat up. I kneaded some rosemary into the dough, stretched it out and put it in the super hot skillet ( I was scared of burning my hand of, but I managed this time without incident lol). I topped it with my pizza sauce, spinach, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers and basil. It baked around 20 minutes and it was perfectly done!

The pan is so well seasoned that my pizza just fell out! I was all ready to pry it out, so this was a pleasant surprise.

I seriously wonder why I used to spend so much on delivery or frozen pizzas. With Fleischmanns Pizza Crust yeast it is beyond easy and takes 20 minutes to make and 20 minutes (or less depending on your crust) to cook. Plus, you control everything about it, so you know that it is (relatively) good for you hehe 😀

Yesterday we were very busy playing most of the day. Bubbles are awesome, just in case you were wondering 🙂 So a quick dinner was in order. Behold the awesomeness of freezer food lol.  I thawed out my last two seitan sausages and made a quick penne dish.

Not that fancy, but very very good. I finally used the rest  of my basil from the summer rolls the other day lol. I was hesitant to let Liam eat these sausages when I first made them because they are a bit spicy, but he destroys them. I guess he is like his mom and dad with an affinity for spicy stuff 😀

After dinner I turned on the sprinkler in the backyard for Rupert. Since I had mowed that afternoon during Liam’s nap, it was super grassy but that is part of the fun!

Errands and a Star Trek TNG marathon today on Syfy sooo yeah lol I will be “busy” Have a great day!

Lessons learned

As some of you may know, I absolutely adore summer rolls. Next to sushi, this is the one other thing I could eat every day for the rest of my life and quite possibly never get tired of. Some times though I feel like there is WAY too much vermicelli going on in them. Yesterday I saw Heather’s post about Katie’s summer rolls, and knew a trip to Super Cao Nguyen was in order. I love that place so much. I bought 2 packages of rice wrappers, 2 cucumbers, a giant thing of mint, a huge package of Chinese basil, 1 kabbocha, and 3 bamboo plants for my elephant pot for 12 dollars. Love lol. Anyway… during Liam’s nap I assembled and ate the majority of these outside with a glass of pinot grigio and Harry Potter.

My wrapping skillz need serious help.

These two were a bit more photogenic, I saved them for part of my dinner.

I am not going to re-write her recipie for her sauce and marinade, but I did use different vegetables. Also, I did not use the fish sauce.

I used 2 cucumbers, 2 carrots, 1 red bell, mint, basil and peanuts.

For some reason, after all the sun and veggies, I was craving cake. So what do you do when you want cake? Make one! Google – vegan cake. Ta-da! This is by far the EASIEST recipe for cake I have ever seen, and beleive it or not, one of the better.

1 bowl chocolate cake

Cake

1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup cold water or brewed coffee

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons vinegar

Pre heat oven to 375

Grease a 9 inch cake pan and line with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl combine flour, coco powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Sift together with a fork until well combined. In a 2 cup measuring cup combine water or coffee, oil and vanilla. Stir into dry until well combined. Add vinegar (It will become white and fizzy) stir until just combined.

Place in greased pan and bake for 25-30 min. Mine was done right at 25.

So, things I have learned today.

Cao Nguyen is awesome.

Summer rolls are yummy and easy to make.

Regardless of how much you want the cake, or how good it smells, always, ALWAYS let it cool at least       10 minutes.

I know better than this but it smelled soooo good! Also, I was hungry… soooo 😦 Any who, no crying over um broken cake?

This was the rest of my dinner! 🙂 It almost looks like it is supposed to be like that! Magical chocolate sauce!

After all of that, and mowing the yard, (I heard we are supposed to get more crap-tastic weather tomorrow) I am seriously pooped ❤ Night all!

Ode to sloppy joes

You know those things from your child hood that, when you come across them later, your are transported back in time for a few blissful seconds? Reviling in sunburned shoulders and scraped knees, climbing trees and putting streamers on your bike handlebars. Yeah, well I had one of those moments last night! I came across Veganomicon’s recipe for snobby joes a little while ago and have been waiting for a good time to test them out. I was watching a friends son yesterday evening and couldn’t think of a better time to try them.

Mommy cooking … I desperately need more counter space 😦

Helping mommy!

One bite, and BAM!  five years old lol!  So freaking good I can’t even tell you. LOVE THESE THINGS.

I didn’t even want the celery, I just feel strange if I can’t see something green when I eat. I probably could have been a bit more creative with a side dish but … meh…

Snobby Joes from Veganomicon

1 cup uncooked lentils

4 cups water

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
1 green pepper, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons maple syrup ( I used agave)
1 tablespoon yellow mustard

4 to 6 kaiser rolls or sesame buns

Directions
Put the lentils in a small sauce pot and pour in 4 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until lentils are soft. Drain and set aside.

About 10 minutes before the lentils are done boiling, preheat a medium soup pot over medium heat. Saute the onion and pepper in the oil for about 7 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and saute a minute more.

Add the cooked lentils, the chili powder, oregano and salt and mix. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add the maple syrup and mustard and heat through.

Turn the heat off and let sit for about 10 minutes, so that the flavors can meld.

I did not even know how much I missed sloppy joes untill I ate these! So delicious! Liam ate at least one cup of it and had more today for lunch!

Being vegan for a few weeks has been awesome, although I know that this will not be something I will maintain forever. I like sushi way way way way way WAY  too much. I miss it. Also, to be propper vegan, you are not supposed to eat honey. Now, I don’t eat much honey but it is only because I like agave better ( honey is too sweet), but the reasoning behind abstaining from it isn’t something I totally agree with. Something along the lines of bees being exploited or some such thing. Here is my problem. I kill spiders. All spiders. There is no such thing as a “good spider” to me. Hate. Lets review. Spiders = evil. 🙂 So if I wage war on spiders why should I feel sorry for bees?

Even though I will eat fish, I doubt very seriously if I will ever be as big a dairy/egg girl as I used to be. I just don’t miss it. I prefer soy or almond milk, and I don’t miss cheese. (except for Brie with apples)

Anyway, enough ranting! Going to play Oblivion! ❤ Night!