Potato and Kale Enchiladas with Roasted Chile Sauce

For those of you who are not vegan I will tell you about two of the many people who made my transition to veganism a lot easier. Those two people are Terry Romero and Isa Moskowitz. These two lovely ladies are the writers of my favorite cookbooks. Today, I made yet another amazing recipe from their book VEGANOMICON. Here's today's story:






Joelle came over today! I am not even kidding when I say that I haven't seen her in about 3 months. 3 MONTHS!!!!!! We don't live very far from each other, (roughly a 10 minute drive... I know, pathetic) we just both have severely busy schedules. Today was the day that we set aside all else and planned to hang out. It was so good to see her, not only because she is one of the most amazing people in my life, but because she LOVES TO COOK WITH ME! So, we went grocery shopping. I brought my VEGANOMICON with me because I was still unsure of what I wanted to make. I decided on the Enchiladas! So! We shopped, we bought, we made. I must say... these were some of the most amazing enchiladas I've ever had.



I have had a lot of good food, but these really made my day/week/month. I am also very lucky to have good friends to share it with. I took some of these to the set of REEL MEN, a weekly video podcast starring Dean Pizzoferrato, Langley West and Edwin Colon Jr. They are good friends of mine and asked me to guest star on the show today. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! I got to sit in with them, talk about movies and got really good feedback on my food from the guys. I think Edwin described them as "Fucking delicious." Langley, a fellow vegan, was quite happy with them as well. Dean seemed a little iffy at first, but also complimented. It feels goo to hear nice things about a dish you prepared. It must have taken us 2 hours to get everything prepared but it was worth it!!! I probably wouldn't have been able to make these without you Joelle! There are 2 left and I want to eat them but I am saving them for my roommate. Thank you to Joelle, Dean, Langley and Edwin. It was a good day.

Click here for the recipe!!!!!

Click here for REEL MEN!!!!

Smoooooooooooooooooothies...

Vegas is unbelievably hot in the summer. I hate to hear people complain about heat in their city because I can always compare their heat to Vegas heat. When it hits 116 and the air is as dry as sand it can make you extremely grouchy. The only thing you can do is try to stay indoors and keep yourself cooled down. A good way to avoid evil hot summer days is to make yourself a smoothie. I honestly could live off of these during the summer. My best friend/roommate has been on a smoothie kick lately so I get to enjoy these regularly now! They are fast and super easy to make!!!

What I used:
-Frozen Pineapple -Frozen Strawberries
-Soy milk -Vanilla Soy Ice Cream

I could make these daily and not get bored. Just switch up the fruit, maybe use sorbet instead of ice cream, add in flavors... create something to tantalize the taste buds and take the edge off the extremely hot day.




At least we are reaching the end of summer. Until the weather cools down I'm just going to keep myself loaded with these.

Want a SMOOTHIE?!?!?

Whole Wheat Pasta with Vegetables and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

I really do love Hummus. It is probably one of my favorite things to eat. I also am very good at food concoction. I don't know why it comes so easily, it just does. So, with that in mind, I give you my new favorite dish. Roasted Red Pepper Hummus + Vegetables + Whole Wheat Pasta = DELIGHTFUL!!!

I went to Fresh and Easy the other day and picked up all of the ingredients needed for my pasta dish. I can't post an exact recipe because I worked so fast on it I don't really remember the exacts of what I put into it. But I'll go over what I can remember!!!!!

First I chopped up 1 zucchini, a few Roma tomatoes, green onion and mushroom and threw them into a pot with about a tablespoon of canola oil. (I'm all out of olive oil, how lame is that?) I added about a half cup of vegetable broth to the mixture and added some seasonings. Then I let that cook until the zucchini was cooked but not falling apart. I wanted my vegetbles firm enough to stand out in the pasta.

Then I took my already boiled whole wheat pasta and added the mixture to the pasta making sure to get as much of the mixture out of the pan as possible. (Leave no goodness behind!)

Then... the best part!!! I added about 4 heaping tablespoons of Roasted Red Pepper Hummus! OH YEAH! And here Is my final result:





I really did enjoy this one. I loved it so much that I had my portion, then took the rest to work to share with 2 co-workers. I got an amazing reaction from my very good and not vegan friend JOEY! Thank you Darlin' Joey!

Click on his picture to visit Joey's fanTAStic blog!

Chickpea Salad Sandwiches! ! ! (Oh yeah, baby!)

Let me show you how to make my favorite sandwich. What you'll need:

- 1 can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
- 2 Celery Stalks (chopped however you want)
- Vegenaise
- salt n pepper (or whatever seasonings YOU want to use. It's all about YOU, baby!)
- 1/4 of a small white onion (chopped, you can use whatever onion you like or no onion at all.)
- fork (if you have a food processor then feel free to use it, but make sure your beans are kinda chunky and not smooth.)

Now, the pictures!!!

First take your chopped onion and chopped celery and combine them together











Then take your smashed up chickpeas (RIGHT) and combine them with your celery and onion mix. It should look similar to this (BELOW):














Now, take your Vegenaise and add about 1 tablespoon. Mix it into your salad mix until it is even. Add more but only add it in small amounts so you don't over do it





Now add salt and pepper or whatever seasonings you choose to your mixture. You can use whatever bread you like, I've has it on many kinds but my favorite is Tandoori Nan.

This is what mine looks like:

It really is a great tasting and healthy sandwich. I always feel good after having one of these. Even if you aren't vegan you can make the same sandwich with mayo. It's better with Vegenaise though. I hope that one of you out there decides to give it a try. it makes a good lunch to take with you. Let me know if you make it. OR!!! You could just come over and I'll make it for you. *wink*

Check this out!!!

I got Landry to eat Sweet n Sour Tofu! He gobbled it up!!!

SUSHI!?!?!?!?!?!?

When I went herbivore early this year I wondered how hard it would be to stop eating sushi. Sushi was a way to bond with my friends. We'd have a few sushi nights a month, you wouldn't believe how many people would show up. BUT!!! Thankfully, I enjoy Vegan sushi rolls even more because...

- I get to make them myself.

- Its just fun. Even if they look horrible.

- They come out frakin' BEAUTIFUL if you put plenty of effort into it and who doesn't want their food to be presentable?

- The challenge creates a great bonding experience with friends.

It was a challenge actually. I decided to make these after watching the first episode of The Post Punk Kitchen, a public access vegan cooking show hosted by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. WATCH THE EPISODE!!!!! I invited my good friend Joelle over to help out. She was one of my sushi buddies so it just made sense to get her in on it. So after I watched the process 3 times in a row to ensure that I wouldn't screw everything up, we began making this wonderful lunch. It's funny because it actually took both of us to roll one so that we got all of the "sushi perfection" right. Needless to say, they came out looking quite pretty and tasted just as good as they looked! We decided on the Spicy Tempeh Rolls and then we made avocado/cucumber rolls with green onion and FYH vegan cheese. I can't wait to make these again.

Vegan Tacos Night

Life = Hectic. Chaotic. A Mess. One of my favorite things to do when I have down time or while I am suppose to be doing something but end up procrastinating is cook. I love to cook. I love to cook for people. I love to get feedback on my cooking. It's just fun. It's also a good way to show people that a Vegan lifestyle doesn't mean you have to give u everything you're use to in order to survive. If anything I am living better now than every before. I'm healthier than before, I'm happier than before, my weight has gone down, my energy has gone up. It is an amazing feeling. It is also a great way to help the environment and save lives. NOW... ON TO THE FOOD!!!



My lovely friend Magda decided to come over and we were going to have dinner together. She isn't vegan like I am but loves to eat healthy. She is very open to try ANY and EVERYthing I make. That night we decided on TACOS... VEGAN STYLE!!!

Ingredients:

-1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
-1 can of whole kernel corn (drained, rinsed if needed)
-half a small onion (chopped)
-minced garlic
-cooked rice ( brown rice is healthier, I used white)
-1 package of taco seasoning containing no animal products (they are out there, took me a few minutes of searching but I did come across a few.)
-corn or flour tortillas (I think most tortillas are technically vegan but be sure to read the package anyway.)
-tomatoes (optional)
-avocado (optional but makes it so amazing!
-1 tbsp olive oil

First, heat up a medium pot/pan/whatever you want to cook in and add 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the chopped onion and cook until it is about halfway translucent. Next add the garlic. cook the garlic with the onions for a few minutes. Next, add the black beans, corn, and however much water the recipe calls for. (I think its like 1 cup or so) Than add the taco seasonings and cook until you reach your desired consistency. Be careful not to overcook because then the sauce gets clumpy and the beans may get squishy/not stay whole.


Now, Assemble your tacos as you wish and enjoy!!! I know I do!!!


Thank you to Magda K for joining me for tacos and a movie. When are we doing it again?!?!?!


Me... cutting an onion...