See? I Have Been Cooking...

Looking back on my posts from the last few weeks, there has been very little vegan noodle-made food! That comes along with being out of town and just being generally busy (like everyone else isn't and you're still cooking fabulous dishes, puts me to shame...) and not cooking anything too spectacular. But I thought some of these were definitely blog-worthy. Let's see if you agree.

Here is the spinach tarragon "quiche" from V-con. It was different from other vegan quiches that I've tried because it's not made with tofu, but navy beans and walnuts and asparagus. I subbed dill for all of the tarragon, just because I needed to use it up. We both really enjoyed this dish, plus I thought it was kind of pretty. Oh, and I was really proud that I made the crust on my own, usually I just cheat and use the frozen ones.


A side and up-close shot of a slice. I served this with a simple spinach salad topped with pine nuts and grape tomatoes (and I think avocado, but I don't see it in the pic and I've since forgotten). I think next time I would top it with some balsamic glace to finish it.

The Sunday before last, my family came over for brunch since my brother was in town for a bachelor party (impressive that he made it to our place on time!). My mom was awesome enough to make cinnamon rolls from JOVB. Yum yum yum. This is the one I saved for the next morning when I was up in Calgary.

My contribution was another V-con recipe, the blue flannel hash, fitting since my latest obsession has been with blue/purple potatoes (I have a bag in the pantry, any suggestions on what I use them for next?). And of course you can never get enough tempeh.

And finally, for dessert, the lower fat deep chocolate bundt cake from V-con. It really was some seriously deep chocolate, thanks to the coffee I'm thinking. My first bundt cake ever too. I was so glad to have a piece of this on the plane ride (and shhhh, for breakfast)


I was recently tagged by LizzyQ to tell all you readers five things about myself. So, here you go...
1. I have never owned a pet (excluding inheriting my best friend's two hamsters when she moved to Singapore). But I would like to someday if we live in a place with an actual yard. I'm thinking I'm a dog person, mainly because I'm allergic to cats.
2. I am eligible to run for president in 2016. I figured this out when I was about twelve.
3. I have never eaten a fast food hamburger. As a kid I thought they were disgusting.
4. I have been married 169 days / 4063 hours / 243803 minutes / 14628214 no 15 no 16 seconds
5. Okay, what a spinoff.... I was going to write here that this year is my ten year high school reunion and instead of going to my own, I'm gonna crash (with her permission) my friend's in Las Vegas (she's the one who went to Singapore, so they're meeting back in the US). BUT out of curiosity I google my high school, and what do you know, they are actually getting together. Now I'm wondering, should I go??

Alright, I'm supposed to tag five people but I'm sleepy, so consider yourself tagged if you are reading this!

Waffles Wasting Away a Sunday

It's a dreary day in Houston, TX .... one of those that makes you want to just sleep all day, cuddled up with a fuzzy blanket. But it was back to work instead. Sunday went fast, we had a group of friends come over for brunch, and by the time it was over it was 3pm! Both John and I agree that this is the downside of brunch, it pretty much blows your whole day. But I think it was worth it considering what we got to eat. I made banana nut waffles from V-con (using half whole wheat flour) and topped them with blueberry maple sauce (Vive Le Vegan), macerated strawberries, and celestial cream (ED&BV). Oh I am so glad we had a few leftover, it made getting up for work this morning much easier (although it made getting out the door pretty tough). Alongside we had a tofu scramble using the spice mixture from Yellow Rose Recipes. This has been one of my favorite tofu scrambles yet (and like all good vegans, I've made many) And let me just say that I love Joanna's tribute to Texas as well as her kind words about the Lone Star State in her introduction! She grew up in Houston too, wonder if we ever crossed paths? Back to the scramble... I added red pepper, jalapeno, spinach, and tomatoes, topped with salsa and guacamole. Some vegan sausage (I love Gardenburger's) and a massive fruit salad rounded out the meal.

Saturday I spent the day working on a craft project with my mom and taking my second of four cake decorating classes (more on that in a later post). To fuel our bodies for optimal performance, my mom put together a healthy lunch featuring, yes, a Martha Stewart recipe. This is the quinoa pie with butternut squash. Beautiful presentation isn't it?
This was very tasty, the sage was subtle and the butternut squash gave the dish a rich feeling. And even though the recipe included 18 sage leaves (!) it wasn't overwhelming at all. I think my dad also discovered that, to his surprise, he enjoys butternut squash. The only recipe modification to make it vegan was leaving out the parmesan cheese (which may have binded the pie a little better, but wasn't a big flavor component I would think).
Okay, time to put on some comfy yoga pants and my favorite hoodie and make some dinner....