Vegan Meatballs inspired by Antoinette

I had an amazing morning. I woke up, Joelle came over to hang out and we went to Whole Foods. I honestly wish my side of town had a cheaper vegan friendly grocery store, but for now when I HAVE to get something there I will. Today I was going because I was out of Nutritional Yeast and Vegenaise. When we approached the front door I see a sign that said a vegan chef was going to be there from 11 am-2 pm in the store and she would be cooking for customers.

I WAS SO EXCITED! But, I didn't have my camera with me. That I hated myself for. I had no idea she was going to be there though so I shouldn't be so hard on myself. Her name is Antoinette Stanton and she owns a vegan catering business here in Las Vegas. Aside from Vegan and Vegetarian cooking she also conducts Vegan/Vegetarian food preperation for Whole Foods, Williams Sonoma (as well as many other places) , workshops, demonstrations and lectures about the benefits of a vegan lifestyle. I have to say, this lady was THE BEST! Great personality, funny, and very real.

Today she was making Super Bowl food. Now, I'm not a sport lover so I couldn't care less about the Super Bowl (no offense to sports lovers) BUT, if what she served today was at a Super Bowl party I'd totally be there. She made meatballs with ground beef style Gimme Lean. I'm not a big mock meat person but I watched her make these and ate some. They were incredible. I didn't get a recipe from her, but she did tell me what she used and it was extremely simple. She also made a blackberry sauce to smother them in.

I really wanted to try to make some of these on my own to see how they would come out. They didn't come out as good as hers but I swear It was the best dinner I've had all month. I made them based on what I had available. Antoinette had me beat, I must admit.

-1 Pkg Ground Beef Style Gimme Lean (14 oz, I believe)
-1 cup breadcrumbs
-1 cup minced cilantro
-1 stalk minced green onion
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1 roma tomato (or equivalent of) minced as small as you can get it
-1 tbsp nutritional yeast
-2-3 tbsp water
-olive oil for frying

Empty package of gimme lean into a large bowl and add ingredients except the water. Mix together well. It's best if you just use your hands, the mixture will be thick. Add water 1 tbsp at a time until you reach the right consistency you want to work with. make sure the mixture is firm enough to hold it's shape but soft enough so it cooks properly.

Heat your pan, add a small amount of olive oil, roll your balls and throw them in to cook. Smaller sized meatballs cook better and have a nicer texture on the inside.

Thank you Antoinette. It was so very nice to have met you and talk to you. It was also nice to finally have met another vegan that is African American!

YAY! I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE!!!

A Morning at Red Rock.

I always wanted to see the Red Rock Canyon. It's about a 30 minute drive from my house. I have been living here 3 and 1/2 years and I finally went today! Landry (the bestest) and I went early this morning. We climbed the rocks and hiked and took tons of pictures. It really was amazing. Here are a few of my favorite shots:

It really was a fun morning. And when I got home I made myself breakfast! Very quick and easy breakfast wrap that contained:

-Few strips of pattered and fried garlic tofu
-2 hash brown patties
-avocado slices
-salt and pepper to taste

This was probably the best day I've had since my vacation to CA. I am told we're going again in like a month or so. I'll be ready!!!

It's been a while...

It is been way too long since I last blogged. For that, I apologize. At this moment I do not have any recipes for you but I do have pictures of a few things I've been eating lately.

For new years this year I spent it in California with my good friend, and fellow vegan, Andrew. Many many good times. While I was there he took me to a Japanese joint that was absolutely awesome called Kabuki. It really was adorable. When you look at the menu there is a tiny broccoli florette next to all the vegetarian options. I didn't take any pictures during my trip which makes me a bad person. BUT! I do have to thank Andrew because I hadn't had great sushi like that since becoming Vegan. Ever since I have been on a make sushi/go have it for lunch kick. If I could afford it I would go out for sushi every day! Since I am not able to do so, I make my own at home.

Teriyaki Tofu Rolls

I made these while watching a good ol' Cowboy Bebop Marathon. Pretty good rolling skills, right? All I had was nori, sesame seeds, rice and tofu I marinated in teriyaki sauce, water, green onions and pepper.

I ate the first roll and one just didn't seem enough. SO! I made another. They came out much uglier, but even tastier because I threw the green onions from the teriyaki marinade on the roll.

Tofu/Polenta Stacks

Yea... these were pretty much amazing. I cooked up a few slices of Wild Wood Tofu (super firm... Best tofu I have ever had in my entire life...) with some teriyaki sauce and a very small amount of margarine. For the polenta and tomatoes I used a small amount of margarine, nutritional yeast, salt and soymilk. this was extremely tasty. I was very happy I put this one together. I didn't really put a recipe together for this one but you can pretty much just throw it together fairly easily.

Hopefully I will be able to stay on top of my blogging. But!!! This is my last year of college so I will be working a lot on projects and doing a lot of filming. I will do my best.

A Bundt Cake and a Few "Cheesy" Things...

Lemon Coconut Bundt Cake from VEGANOMICON
(I made a lemon icing for the cake... it was so amazing)

If there was only 1 way to bond with Joelle, cooking would be it. Luckily we have more than that BUT we do like to cook together. The nonstop laughter, the threatening that comes from one of us when the other wont stop eating the damn cookie dough, the "let's just drink the coconut mixture, we don't need to add flour, we don't need to make the cake!" You name it, it's amazing.

I really wanted to make this cake so naturally I asked her to come make it with me. But I was going to make this with a loaf pan. (I had wanted a bundt pan, just hadn't gotten one yet.) So, she bought me a bundt pan and we were able to make this cake the way it is suppose to be made. not only the best tasting cake ever, but in a presentation that shows of it's wonderful...ness.

Thanks Joey.

"Cheesy" Fettuccine w/ Kale

I liked this. It wasn't overpowering in flavor and it had KALE! (We all know how I loves my kale!)

1 package fettuccine
1 recipe Queso (without extra spices) from VeganExplosion
Chopped kale (about 2 handfuls worth)

Cook your fettuccine. While you wait for your noodles, cook your chopped kale in a pan with a few tbsp of water or vegetable broth. I usually use a tbsp of olive oil and let it coat the kale then I add 1 tbsp of water or broth. When kale is soft, turn off heat

Finally, make your "cheese" sauce. (queso)

Add all of your goodness together and there you have it. This recipe can be very versatile so feel free to add all kinds of whatnots to make it just how you like it.

OR...

...instead of fettuccine you can cook 1 and 1/2 lbs of potatoes and have:

"CHEESY" KALETATOES!!!!!