Tofu Scramble

Ahhh tofu scramble, my favorite breakfast of all time. And always so easy to make. Especially on a lazy Sunday.

Tofu Scramble
– 1 15oz block of extra firm tofu, drained
– 1/2 of a jumbo sweet onion, diced
– 2 garlic cloves, minced
– 1/2 jalapeño, minced
– 8 mini heirloom tomatoes, halved
– handful of fresh spinach
– 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
– lime juice to taste
– cayenne, black pepper & salt to taste
– 2 tbsp olive oil

I usually start out by caramelizing the onions first. I then add the garlic and jalapeño and sauté for a couple more minutes. Then I add the tofu, spices, lime and vinegar. Just before everything is done, I add the tomatoes and spinach.

On the side I sautéed sweet potatoes and some fakin bacon!

Avocado & Tomatillo Salsa

Avocado & Tomatillo Salsa
– 4 tomatillos
– 2 avocados
– 1/2 jalapeño
– 2 tbsp fresh cilantro

Blend together in a blender or food processor. Makes about 2 cups of dip!

Zucchini & Corn Tacos

So I don’t know about you guys, but it’s 115 degrees out where I live. Summer is here full force for me. I had no idea what I was going to make for dinner tonight until my friend Alissa (who now lives in Connecticut) texted me and asked me to post this recipe for the sole purpose of her having it so she could make it on her own. And it dawned on me that I literally forgot about this dish and I haven’t made it in years. So crazy because it used to be a staple of mine during the summers.

These tacos are seriously so easy and so good! They don’t take much to make and the simplicity of them is amazing. I served it with a side of my Avocado & Tomatillo Salsa. Guacamole or any other salsa would work as well.

Zucchini & Corn Tacos– 1 cup of fresh corn kernels
– 1 zucchini, chopped
– 1/2 jumbo sweet onion, chopped
– 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
– 1 tomato, chopped
– 1/2 jalapeño chopped
– juice of half a lime
– couple tablespoons of fresh cilantro
– lime to taste
– salt to taste
– 6-8 small yellow corn tortillas
– 3 tbsp olive oil, divided

First, cook the corn in 1 tbsp of oil until starting to brown. Set aside. In the same pan, use the rest of the oil and add onions. Allow to caramelize. Add zucchini, garlic, jalapeño. Cook for about 10 minutes until everything is soft. Lastly, add tomatoes and cilantro and cook for a few more minutes. I like to sprinkle some lime juice and salt at the end. Serve over warm tortillas with your choice of salsa/dip.Normally, I make this for a larger group of people but tonight was just for two. You can easily add or take away whatever you need for this recipe. Seriously so tasty and simple and perfect for summer! Enjoy.

Sweet Potato & Lentil Stirfry

I’m on a sweet potato & lentil kick, can you tell? Really I just had a bunch of both leftover so I decided to use it up.

Sweet Potato & Lentil Stirfry
Ingredients
– 1 cup of lentils
– 1 1/2 cups of water
– 1/2 large sweet potato, diced
– 1 onion sliced
– 1 garlic cloves, minced
– 1 tbsp coconut oil
– dash of cinnamon
– cayenne, paprika, salt
– juice of 1 lemon
– handful of fresh spinach

Boil lentils in water. In a separate pan, put coconut oil in with onions, garlic and sweet potato on medium low heat. Let caramelize. Add lentils with water. Add spices and lemon juice. Add spinach last. I served this over lemon & olive cous cous. Tasty & wholesome lunch!

Vegan Pesto

Vegan Pesto

So this is a very loose recipe. It changes for me every time I do it. But it’s good every time! I love using it for pizzas and pasta.

– 1/4 cup of walnuts
– 1/4 sun-dried tomatoes
– handful of spinach
– 8-10 basil leaves
– 2 tbsp olive oil

Blend it all in a blender or food processor and serve!

Greek Inspired Pizza with Homemade Pesto

Greek Inspired Pizza

Had a hankering for olives so decided to go with a Greek-esque pizza.

– I cheated and used a store bought pizza dough for this one
– Pesto
– handful of spinach
– handful of heirloom tomatoes, quartered
– 1/2 cup feta cheese
– 1/2 cup sliced black olives Follow package directions for pizza dough. Layer with pesto, spinach, tomatoes, feta and olives.

Quickie Salad

So I’ve really been slacking with posting lately. I babysat on Friday and made myself this quick salad to get me through the day.
– Spinach
– mini heirloom tomatoes
– fresh mozzarella
– sliced almonds
– dried cranberries
– tbsp balsamic vinegar
– tbsp olive oil
– salt & black pepper

One Lovely Blog Award

One Lovely Blog Award
So I have only been running this blog for a couple weeks now. And I’ve already been honored with an award from the wonderful Poppy! It truly means a lot to me because I am so new to the blogging world! Poppy has so many awesome cruelty-free recipes ranging from sweets to savory and more! I definitely am dying to try her recipes for Vegan Apple Almond Pancakes and Vegan Mega Fudgey Brownies.

The rules for accepting the award:

Thank the blogger who nominated you.
Link the post to their page.

State 7 random facts about yourself.

Nominate those that you feel are deserving of this award.

Okay and now to the part where I’m supposed to talk to myself or something.

7 Random facts:
1. I have 16 tattoos, including my entire back and my entire left arm.
2. I have a dog named Princess Leia.
3. My favorite number is 16.
4. I have one sister, and then 6 half siblings.
5. I don’t like mushrooms but I’ll eat them anyway.
6. I live with three of my best friends and I cook for them all the time.
7. Every Sunday, I do the New York Times crossword puzzle with my friends. It’s been a ritual for years.

And now for my nominations. Mind you, I don’t follow that many blogs! I just started and am still finding my way around the site. A lot of blogs found me first and I looked around after Poppy gave me this award and I took a peep at her nominations and so forth. So I only have a few! Hopefully in the future, I’ll have more.

1. Don’t Switch Off the Light
2. A Lot on Your Plate
3. Darth Vegan

And there it is guys! I’ve been slacking with my posts lately so I’ll post stuff now.

Vegan Mac n Cheese

So I went to Yardhouse for a friends birthday lunch and the girl next to me ordered Mac n cheese. And I couldn’t help but think about eating Mac n cheese for the rest of lunch and then the rest of my drive home. It was ridiculous.

I knew I didn’t have any cheese at home. I stopped buying dairy for my home a long time ago (unless of course someone else bought it or I was making something specific.) I never just have it on-hand. I knew I had nutritional yeast at home so I decided to tackle it. Mac n cheese must be the bane of vegan existence because its one of those things that we strive to perfect and there’s just no real substitute.

I’m not gonna lie, this mac n cheese isn’t your traditional Kraft mac n cheese by any means. But it is creamy and it is cheesy and it is tasty. That’s what counts right?

Vegan Mac n Cheese
– 1.5 cups of cooked pasta (I used shells because that’s what I had)
– 1/4 cup earth balance spread
– 1/2 of a small onion, chopped finely
– 3 cloves of garlic, minced
– 1/4 cup all purpose flour
– 1 cup almond milk
– juice of half a lemon
– 1 tbsp sweet & hot mustard (or Dijon)
– 1 tbsp vegenaise
– cayenne & paprika to taste
– 4 tbsp water (adjust as needed)
– handful of fresh spinach
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

While the pasta is bowling, add the earth balance to a small pot until melted. Add onions and sauté for a couple minutes. Next add garlic and flour. Whisk in almond milk, nutritional yeast, lemon, mustard, vegenaise and spices. Keep over medium low heat. Sauce will thicken, add water as needed.

Toss cooked pasta with sauce and fresh spinach. Layer with bread crumbs. Drizzle with extra cayenne and paprika, if desired, and olive oil. Cook for 10 minutes or until bread crumbs are browned. I served mine with a little bit of sriracha buuuut I like everything spicy.

Roasted Veggies and Tofu Over Quinoa & Spinach

Are you ever just hungry but have no idea what to eat? That’s been me so often lately, haven’t been going with set entrees or themes. Recently, I’ve just sort of been throwing things together and that’s been doin it for me.

I took a nap after I got off work. I was hungry before I went to sleep but didn’t want to eat and sleep so I waited until after. I was so hungry when I woke up but had no real inspiration. I opened my fridge and just sort of started pulling things out. And then sprung tonight’s dinner.

Roasted Veggies and Tofu Over Quinoa & Spinach
Roasted Veggies
– 1 russet potato, cut in half and then sliced thinly
– 1/2 of an onion chopped
– 1 zucchini, sliced
– 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
– 3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
– 2 tbsp olive oil
– salt, black pepper, cayenne, paprika

Of course you can use any variety of veggies you want, this is just what I happened to have in my fridge.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Throw all the veggies in a pan with oil and seasoning. Cook in oven for 30 minutes. I tossed mine with lemon juice when they came out of the oven.

Tofu over Spinach & Quinoa
First, make the quinoa according to package instructions. When done, I added 2 tbsp of chopped olives (that I had left over from a few days ago) and 1/2 a cup of raw cashews.

In a separate pan,
– 1 tbsp of coconut oil
– 1/2 block of tofu, cut in half and then into triangles
– salt, black pepper, cayenne, paprika (I use this combo a lot, can you tell?)
Keep the pan fairly hot and cool until crispy on both sides.

Dressing
– 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
– 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
– 1 garlic clove, minced
– juice of a half of a lemon

On a plate, lay down some fresh spinach. Top it with the quinoa mixture, the tofu and fresh tomatoes. Drizzle with the dressing. I always add extra lemon juice but I’m obsessed with lemons so that’s up to you!