30 Day Detox: days 18-23

Wow, I’ve been bad at keeping this thing up to date. Such is life once school begins again.

Day 18

Before I went to the gym I had a handful of raisins. When I got back I had a smoothie with protein powder, flax, psyllium husk, frozen berries, and soy milk. Later for a snack I had a peach.

For lunch I had a salad with mixed greens, lemon tofu, and balsamic vinaigrette. I also had 2 nectarines.

That night for dinner, I had the Moroccan Tagine with Spring Vegetables from Vegan with a Vengeance (in keeping up with the PPK Cookbook Challenge). This was sooooo good…even my veggie hating husband liked it. I served it on top of quinoa.

Day 19

For breakfast I had another smoothie with frozen berries, protein powder, flax, psyllium husk, and soy milk. I also had a peach.

That day for lunch I had a very similar salad as Day 18 greens, lemon tofu, and balsamic vinaigrette. I also had 2 nectarines. Later on for a snack I had some kale chips.

For supper that night I made the mango summer rolls from Vegan with a Vengeance. I gotta say, this recipe didn’t really do it for me. I have issues with fruit in savoury dishes. I thought I would try these to branch out, especially since we’re in the middle of a heat wave and these didn’t require me to do much cooking. Anyway, a lot of other folk on the internet seem to love these so I think it’s just me and my weird fruit issues.

Day 20

I was out of things to make smoothies with, so after the gym I had protein powder mixed with water, as well as a bowl of oat bran with agave and cinnamon. This was okay, but I missed my morning fruit.

For lunch I had a salad with spinach, romaine, radish, quinoa, tofu, and balsamic vinaigrette, as well as an orange. Later on for a snack I had two peaches and some cucumber.

It was still so hot that night that I didn’t have it in me to cook…I had some refried beans cold out of the can mixed with salsa. That’s right, I ate cold beans out of a can. And I liked it.

Day 21

I was still out of smoothie making materials, so for breakfast I had a tofu scramble loaded with veggies (onion, carrot, broccoli, mushrooms, and spinach) as well as an orange.

For lunch I had a salad with romaine, radish, broccoli, carrot, snap peas, chickpeas, and balsamic vinaigrette, and another orange.

For supper that night I made the braised cauliflower with three seed sauce from Vegan with a Vengeance. This was surprisingly really good. I always passed by it when flipping through the cookbook without giving it a second thought. The only reason I made it is that I had a head of cauliflower to use up ASAP. I also made a chickpea soup, based on the punk rock chickpea gravy recipe.
Day 22

Before I went to the gym I had a banana. When I got back I had a smoothie with protein powder, flax, psyllium husk, soy milk, and frozen fruit. Later on I had a nectarine.

For lunch I had leftover chickpea soup and braised cauliflower. I usually don’t have a problem with leftovers, but I did not care for the cauliflower the next day at all…I couldn’t finish it.

That night for supper I made the corn chowder from Vegan with a Vengeance. This certainly wasn’t photogenic so I won’t make you look at a picture of ugly soup. This was alright, but I think it could use some tweaking. It was a tad too sweet for me, I think next time I would omit the maple syrup.

Day 23

I went for a really long bike ride in the morning. When I got back I had a banana and some protein powder mixed with soy milk.

Later for lunch I made myself a salad with greens, sauteed asparagus, roasted tomatoes, tofu basil ricotta, and olives. I also had a peach.

That afternoon I had some cherries and a nectarine for a snack. For supper I made the Ethiopian Seitan and Peppers from Vegan with a Vengeance…but subbing tofu for the seitan. This was alright…I honestly don’t think I would make it again. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t the most flavourful thing ever either. Perhaps it’s better with the seitan. I also had a pear and some more cherries.

Well only one more week to go for the detox!

Next week’s cookbook challenge is Vegan Brunch.

Trying out Vegan Brunch

My copy of Vegan Brunch arrived last Friday and I was so excited to spend the night curled up with my newest cookbook. I’ve been playing around with a few dishes all weekend. First I made the basic scrambled tempeh. I stuck fairly close to the recipe with the exceptions of uing kale as the green and omitting the oil:

I also made a batch of the chorizo sausages. I didn’t have any pinto beans on hand so I used some kidney beans I had in the freezer. I also used water instead of veggie broth (I was out) and omitted the oil. They turned out SO good! Here is one that the bf cooked on the bbq for me, along with grilled asparagus and a potato piled with pickled peppers (mmm!):

The next day I wanted to use more of the delicious sausages so I made the sausage and collards and sausage dish, but I used kale instead as that is what I had. Once again I omitted the oil, but other than that I stuck pretty close to the recipe. I love kale and I love these sausages so naturally I loved the two together.

Last night for dinner I made the shiitake-dill fritatta…except I didn’t use shiitakes as I don’t care for the texture. So instead I used standard button mushrooms. If you like dill, you will LOVE this dish. It reminded me of dill pickle chips which were the one flavour I really liked. Can you get vegan dill pickle chips? I’ve never seen them, but then again I haven’t been looking too hard. Anyway, I digress. This fritatta was a wee bit crumbly, but it tasted so good I really didn’t care.

The book also has a section of sweeter dishes (pancakes, waffles, french toast, etc) as well as baked goods….there’s nothing I love more than warm carbs smothered in sweet maple syrup but I think I shall leave exploring that part of the book until after the wedding lest my dress not fit, seeing as how moderation of pancakes is not my strongest virtue.

Update with Misc. Foodstuffs

Wow…all winter I promised that April would bring more frequent updates. Apparently that was a giant lie. Honestly I am so tired out from that ridiculous semester that I haven’t been cooking much that is original. The good news is only one more year until I’m done and have my Ph.D……hopefully. In the meantime here is some of the stuff I’ve been eating.

Roasted cauliflower is one of my new favourite things. Why didn’t I know about this before? I spray my florets with cooking spray and sprinkle with garlic powder, nutritional yeast, and a bit of salt before roasting. Mmmm…tastes like popcorn.

Chickpea cutlets are an easy meal when I don’t want to have to think about what’s for dinner. I have the recipe memorized so it just requires me to mash some chickpeas and voila, an easy meal. Here are some cutlets with dijon mustard, a salad, roasted squash, and roasted asparagus.

Sunday mornings when I get back from the gym, my favourite thing to make is a big tofu scramble loaded with veggies. This one has leeks, broccoli, carrot, bell pepper, and mushrooms, and was served on a big bed of mixed greens.

World’s Most Complicated Hot Dog

Before I went vegan, one of my most beloved vegetarian “junk” foods were soy hotdogs with Cheez Whiz and hot pickled peppers. Yum. While I’ve had hotdogs since being vegan, certainly none of them were as good as I remembered my pregan hotdogs as being. Fast forward over a year. I suppose I just forgot about these Cheez Whiz monstrosities (I mean really, that stuff is just chemicals, yuck!). All of a sudden I started having intense cravings. I knew I had to come up with a vegan version.

I didn’t want to go to the store so I ended up making my own “hot dogs” using Julie Hasson’s sausage recipe. I didn’t have any buns, so I made my own using this recipe. This time I made them 100% whole wheat and they turned out really heavy and dense. So I don’t think I’d do that with that recipe again. But I’m sure I will eventually find a 100% bun recipe that I can live with. Anyway, on to the Cheez Whiz replacement – “Gee Whiz” from the Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook. I had this recipe on my “to make” list for months and months but had never gotten around to it. Here was the perfect occassion. While it tastes nothing like Cheez Whiz, it is really, really tasty (tastes more nutty then cheezy, but that’s fine with me).

So now on to the long awaited hot dog. Get a freshly baked bun with a homemade sausage, slather the bun with gee whiz, ketchup, hot mustard and relish, top with sauerkraut and LOTS of hot pickled peppers: the perfect hot dog. As you can imagine, this hot dog was several hours in the making. But totally worth it.

The next morning I made myself a tofu scramble loaded with veggies and mixed in a little gee whiz….mmmm!

And here is a picture of my kitty licking his chops watching me take a picture of my tofu scramble.

Food Network Friday: Musard Marinated “Pork Chops” with Caramelized Red Onions

It’s been a couple of weeks but today I found myself with time to participate in Tami’s Food Network Friday. This week I chose a Dave Lieberman recipe – mustard marinated pork chops with caramelized red onions. I love mustard and I love onions…so I figured this recipe would be right up my alley.

Last time I participated in Food Network Friday I made Guy Fieri’s Cuban pork chops using Bryanna Clark Grogan’s recipe for pork cutlets. I had some extra cutlets in my freezer and decided to use them up. These were just okay. I had no complaints about eating them, but I probably wouldn’t make them again. Maybe I’m just not a fan of the “pork” flavoured broth that these cutlets were originally cooked in. I liked the marinade and would probably use that again on tofu, I think it would be yummy. Excuse the crummy photo.

Mustard Marinated “Pork Chops” with Caramelized Red Onions: (Adapted from Dave Lieberman)

• 2 of Bryanna Clark Grogan’s pork cutlets (I used recipe in Nonna’s Italian Kitchen, the recipe has been posted online here)
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. dijon mustard
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

For the onions:

• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1/2 large red onion, sliced
• 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. agave nectar
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Toss the cutlets with the olive oil, dijon, salt, pepper, thyme and garlic powder. Marinate in the fridge 1 hour up to overnight.

2. Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in skillet over medium ehat. Add onion and cook for 5 min. or so. Drizzle with balsamic and agave. Continue to cook until onions are caramelized (this should take 15 min. or so).

3. Meanwhile, heat skillet over medium heat. Add “chops” and brown on each side. To serve: Top chops with onions. I served mine on a bed of baby spinach but do as you will.

Portuguese Kale Soup…vegan style

A friend at a cooking forum mentioned that she was making Portuguese kale soup. Being a kale lover, I was intrigued and asked for the recipe. The original had sausage (linguica or chorizo), so I made a batch of this vegan style (and fat free!) and it was fabulous.

Portuguese Kale Soup

• 1 large white onion, diced
• 5 of Julie Hasson’s sausages (I omit the olive oil from mine and they’re fine…I also tend to make mine spicier…whatever floats your boat)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 gallon water
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 cup potatoes, diced large
• 1/2 lb. kale, chopped roughly
• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tsp. red pepper flakes (adjust to suit your desired level of spiciness)
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute onion in water (or veggie broth) for 5 min. Add garlic and sausage and potatoes and continue to saute another 5 min. Add 1/2 gallon water (I don’t like my soups very watery, add more if you prefer). Add in kale, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper. Simmer approximately 2 hours. Add in kidney beans and adjust seasonings. Serve.

I made mine quite spicy. I really liked the hearty rustic feel of this soup. It was so tasty that I even had leftovers for brunch this morning. Yum.

Food Network Friday: Cuban “Pork” Chops & Sofrito Mashed Potatoes

This week I actually had time to participate in Food Network Fridays where vegan bloggers take a dish from Food Network and veganize it. My dish is from Guy Fieri’s “Guy’s Big Bite.” I was working at home one day and saw Guy make a dish that I thought would be perfect: Cuban pork chops with mojo and sofrito mashed potatoes. And not only did I veganize it, I made it virtually fat free.Cuban “Pork” Chops with Mojo (Adapted from Guy’s Big Bite)

• 2 of Bryanna Clark Grogan’s pork cutlets (I used recipe in Nonna’s Italian Kitchen, the recipe has been posted online here)
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. orange juice (divided)
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. lime juice (divided)
• 2 tbsp. vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp. black pepper
• 1 tbsp. kosher salt
• 3/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tbsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tbsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tbsp. dried oregano
• cooking spray
• 3 tbsp. chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. white wine
• chopped tomato, for garnish (optional)

1. In a resealable plastic bag, combine 1/2 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup lime juice, and vinegar. Add “pork” cutlets and let it sit and marinate for about 1 hour in refrigerator.

2. In a small bowl, combine all dried spices. Pat the cutlets dry with a paper towel and rub with the dry spice mixture.

3. Spray skillet with cooking spray. Place the cutlets in the pan and sear on 1 side until brown. Flip over and turn the heat down to medium-low. Add onion and saute for 2 minutes. Then add the garlic and continue to cook until garlic begins to brown. Pour in the remaining 2 tbsp orange juice, 2 tbsp lime juice, and white wine. Simmer until the liquid is slightly reduced.

4. Remove the cutlets from pan and put on a warm plate. Continue to reduce juices in pan by half. Pour over the cutlets and serve immediately. Garnish with tomato, if using.

Honestly I wasn’t that impressed with this dish. The cutlets themselves were great, but I found the orange and lime juices way too overpowering. I think it would have been better if I hadn’t of poured the sauce over the cutlets. The only change I would make would be to add some more spice, maybe some red pepper flakes.

However, I really enjoyed the mashed potatoes. I would definitely make these again. The original had butter and cream. I used reduced fat soy milk and I still found them super creamy.

Sofrito Mashed Potatoes (Adapted from Guy’s Big Bite)

• 2 lbs potaoes (Guy recommends Yukon gold)
• 1/4 c. chopped red onion
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 3 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 3 ounces tomato sauce
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup soymilk
• Salt and pepper to taste
• fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)

1.Fill a large pot with water and potatoes and bring to boil. Cook until tender.

2. Meanwhile, heat skillet. Saute onions and pepper in water (or veggie broth) for 3 mins. Add the garlic and cook until it begins to brown. Lower the heat and add tomato paste and stir for 3 to 5 minutes. Deglaze with white wine and reduce by half.

3. Add tomato sauce and bring to simmer for 5 minutes. Then stir in soy milk and set aside, covered to keep warm.

4. When potatoes are tender, drain and mash, slowly adding the sofrito mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with cilantro.

Vegan MoFo: Chicken Parmesan…without the chicken or the parmesan

Recently I checked out Nonna’s Italian Kitchen from the public library. This book is so overwhelming…there are so many recipes and variations on said recipes crammed into this little book. Everytime I flip through it I swear I find something new. Anyhoo, for some reason or another I was really curious about the various types of cutlets in the book. I settled on trying the chicken cutlets first. So basically you make the seitan dough, divide into cutlets, and then bake in a broth. I probably should have taken a picture of the finished cutlets, but I didn’t. Oops.

So then I was faced with the decision of what to do with these wonderful cutlets. I was flipping through the book and saw a variation on a recipe for a veal parmesan. Which led me to think of chicken parmesan. I didn’t follow Bryanna’s recipe at all for the parmesan part, but it still turned out great. I dredged each cutlet in flour, then briefly fried them in a wee bit of oil. I made a sauce from a can of tomato sauce, garlic, onion, herbs, and red wine. Then I whipped up a batch of melty pizza cheese. To assemble, I put some sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish, put the chicken in, topped with the rest of the sauce, and then poured the cheese over top. I threw it in the oven for about 25 minutes at 350 F, then broiled the top for a bit.

Here it is right out of the oven…look at that awesome “cheese” sauce:

I had leftover basmati rice, so that’s what I served it over. It’s not the prettiest picture in the world, but trust me, it was delicious:

Next time I make this (and yes, there will be a next time) I’ll try and be more exact and actually write out a proper recipe.

Vegan MoFo: Miscellaneous Foodstuffs

Alright, so I am using the bf’s precious new laptop right now. I wouldn’t bank on this happening very often though, he is ridiculously protective of it. Anyhoo, I did upload a few pictures, although they are edited in Paint…hence they do not look their best. But I figure I get points for at least updating without a computer.

First up, way last Friday the bf and I were tuning into the U.S. election debates (hey, it’s more interesting than our election going on right now in Canada). So we needed debate snacks. Enter hummus with homemade pita chips. I went a bit overboard with the paprika as you can see, but we still liked it. The pita chips are a bit overdone because, well, I forgot about them in the oven truth be told.

I’ve made Vegan Dad’s chickenless wings twice this past week…we’re both in love with them. Sadly we are now out of hot sauce and panko breadcrumbs, so our next feeding will have to wait awhile. We just eat them like nuggets though, instead of using the sticks to make them more “wing-like.” The omni bf has declared these the best faux meat I have ever made and he doesn’t see how a fake chicken wing could get any better. Why shucks.

Anyhoo, I did check up on my computer today and apparently they just ordered in the new screen today (thank goodness for warranty!). Now it all comes down to whether or not the parts are in stock, which they didn’t know. Sigh….

Chickenless Wings

Tonight I made Vegan Dad’s chickenless wings. They were pretty tasty – even the chicken wing connoisseur boyfriend could appreciate them. I didn’t have panko bread crumbs so I just used regular bread crumbs and I thought they were awesome. The recipe calls for dipping them in the breading twice and I really think the thickness of the breading layer perfect.

Next time I think I would make a few changes just to suit our tastes. I would axe the sticks and just make them into nuggets. The sticks are fun and a cute presentation idea though. I would also make them smaller and adjust the cooking time accordingly. Lastly I think I would make them more of a wet wing style by tossing them in a sauce right after cooking. Or so the wing connoisseur says. But all in all we really enjoyed them and look forward to tweaking the recipe.