Miso Soup, my way.

I never really got into having Miso soup until I started making it myself. I played around with a bunch of different recipes. Some I liked, some I didn't. Eventually I found what I liked. I like cubes of super firm tofu and tempeh in my miso. This was perfect when it was really gloomy here in Vegas last week.

-4 Cups Water
-3-4 tbsp Miso Paste
-1 sheet Nori (cut into small squares)
-1/2 block Super Firm Tofu (I used Wild Wood brand)
-1/2 block Tempeh
-2-3 cloves fresh garlic or 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
-1 stalk green onion (optional)

Bring the water to boil and add miso paste. Allow the paste to fully dissolve into the water. When broth is ready add tofu, garlic, tempeh and nori. allow to simmer on medium heat for about 10 minutes to allow tofu and tempeh to soak up the flavors of the broth. Add optional green inion last after you turn off the soup.

LOVE!!!

-Lee

No school= time to cook.

This school quarter is coming to an end. I have 1 more day of classes to take and then I don't have classes for 3 weeks. Oh, I am so excited! 3 weeks!!! No homework, I can work on revision of a short screenplay that I'll be producing later this year, I can watch movies and cook and relax. This past week has been pretty calm. I've been able to cook a few things:
Tortillas filled with tofu, kale, tomato and fresh garlic:

These were pretty tasty if I do say so myself. I honestly haven't had kale in months and when I first went vegan I lived off it!

Closer shot:

Strawberry BBQ Tempeh:

This is a recipe I'm working on. A strawberry bbq sauce. This was really good, but I'm not yet ready to reveal the recipe. I have time off of school so I'll be working on this. When I'm done I will surely post it!

Three Bean Salad:

-1 15 oz can White Beans

-1 15 oz can Kidney Beans

-1 15 oz can Pinto Beans

-1 rib of celery, minced

-2 tbsp onion, minced

-1-2 bulb fresh garlic, minced

-1/2 cup minced cilantro

-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

-1 tbsp agave nectar (any liquid sweetener should do, though.)

-1/2 tsp thyme

Drain and rinse your beans and place them into a bowl that has a lid. Mince all of your other ingredients that need to be and place them in the bowl. Add your vinegar, sweetener and thyme and mix well. make sure your ingredients are evenly spread out across all of the beans. Refrigerate overnight and allow flavors to blend.

And last, but most definitely not least, my favorite brand of store bought hummus. Sabra brand Red Pepper Hummus. I was use to buying this for 5 dollars a container. 5 DOLLARS!!! That's a lot when you buy it fairly often. BUT!!! I received a tip that another store has it for HALF of that price. They did, so now I don't feel as financially guilty when I buy this.

MmMmMm... look at that swirl of goodness... *sigh*

A few things I've eaten recently.

Ladies and Gents, I have an announcement! Las Vegas has a VEGAN DONUT SHOP!!! Of all the things to have a donut shop? I don't want to sound like a complainer but it just seems odd to me. However, I hadn't had a donut in YEARS, so I decided to give it a try. Magda came over and we headed to Ronald's Donuts. It's really cool. There are 3 rows of donuts in the case and the top 2 rows are 100% vegan. I played Eenie Meenie and picked a dozen because I have plenty of people to share with. I'm not going to lie, I ate like 4 of them.

Here we have homemade trail mix. I had a bunch of different bags of snacks in the cupboard so I tossed them together. Old fashion rolled oats, raisins, peanuts, shaved coconut, chopped pistachios (very small amount. I only see a piece of one in this picture) and ground flax seed. One day last week I ended up pouring some soy milk over it because I was out of cereal. Worked out very well.

Strawberry sorbet. It has been gettin much hotter out lately and I usually try to have as many cold, healthy treats as possible.

Another falafel trip. Paymon's is where it's at! Here we have the hummus:

The warm, fluffy, delicious pita bread that comes with it:

And, YES, another falafel. Yes it is an addiction. No, i will not give it up!

I had made a gigantic pot of red beans about a month ago and froze a good portion of it. i forgot it was in the freezer! So, since I have been a little on the broke side lately I pulled it out and defrosted it. 'll be able to have this for dinner for a few days. No complaints either because they are SO GOOD! It is always best to use dry beans and cook them yourself. They always come out better.

And because I am my mother's child... I sometimes add ketchup to my red beans. Sounds strange? Try it. She has done this for as long as I can remember.

A salad for lunch. From the bottom up: Shredded (longwise) zucchini, Super Firm tofu, Organic Flax Tempeh, sesame seeds. The dressing I used was a mixture of Rice Vinegar, Agave Nectar, salt and coriander.

Tomato/Basil Tofu. Amazing snack.

1/2 block tofu
2-3 nicely sized, fresh basil leaves
1/2 - 1 full Roma tomato (depends on how much tomato you want.)
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt

Crumble the tofu, then chop up your fresh basil. Add the rest to the bowl and let mixture sit in the fridge for about 20 minutes so the flavors blend. Serve on whatever you like!

Finally tried out a new restaurant.

New to me at least. I had heard about this place from a few vegan/vegetarian people that I have come across here in Vegas. Long Life Vegetarian is the name. Joelle and I went there for lunch today. We didn't realize it until we got there but it is a mostly vegetarian Chinese restaurant with a lot of vegan options. I was so excited. They aren't technically a fully vegetarian restaurant though because they do serve fish. That was a bummer, but they had plenty of options for us.

My order: Mango Tofu

Crispy fried tofu smothered in a tangy but sweet mango sauce served with a side of white rice. This was good. And they give you a pretty good sized plate! Half of it went home with me. I thought the taste was awesome. But then I tried...

Joelle's Order: Tofu and Eggplant in a garlic sauce

I nearly lost my shiznit when I tasted this one. It was absolutely incredible. I would love to have this one the next time we go. I will definitely go back here.