...variety is the spice of life
"When baking, follow directions. When cooking, go by your own taste." -Laiko Bahrs
Soooo, I like how the plan for this weekend was to make sure I finished my campaign project and working on my collage for my psychologist. But what did I do instead? Spent endless hours looking through different vegan communities and sites looking for various recipes, products, etc etc. I'm addicted to my computer again, it's horrible. Tomorrow I really need to crack down though - my government paper is due on Tuesday.
Anyways, since I was locked away in my room all day I didn't have much to eat before dinner. =| For breakfast I had organic blueberry waffles with pure maple syrup (so good!) and like half a thing of Silk blueberry soy yogurt. Then I basically grazed on a few small handfuls of dried cranberries until dinner. Bad, I know. So I wanted to make sure that I got lots of protein and stuff with my dinner.. but I was too lazy to go through the trouble of finding a recipe and measuring stuff, blah blah. So I decided to finally just throw stuff together to make my own concoction! :P And I must say, I was very proud. SO yummy. I was also craving something spicy, and I hadn't had Mexican food in FOREVER.. so you can guess what I made. Mexican! Although.. the American idea of "Mexican" food is extremely misguided, a fact often reiterated by my high school's Spanish teacher.
I'm going to try to replicate my "recipe" as best I can. But I didn't measure, well.. anything. Also, I really need to learn how to plate stuff better and take better pictures. None of my pictures ever do my food justice. =( ..Don't judge a book by its cover??
Fiesta Stir Fry [?]
You can substitute the veggies for whatever you have lying around. Also, since I didn't really measure anything, make sure you take into account your own preferences on spiciness and everything; my estimates are just that: estimates.
Brown rice
Olive oil
~1/4 package lite firm tofu, drained and cubed
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled & cubed
5-10 baby carrots, chopped
1/2 cucumber, peeled & chopped
1 can organic black beans
Lots of salsa (medium)
1/8 tsp or so Mexican style chili powder
Unsweetened soy milk
A handful of raw pine nuts
A pinch or two of unbleached flour
Tabasco sauce (optional)
Directions:
**For the rice- Prepare the rice according to package directions while you gather and prepare the rest of the ingredients. Mine took about 45 minutes. Once the rice is done, remove from heat and set aside.
1) Pour some olive oil into a medium frying pan so that food will not stick. Add in the onions and garlic and sauté on medium-high heat until onions become translucent.
2) Add the celery, potatoes, carrots, cucumber, beans, and tofu. Mix together with the onions and garlic.
3) After a few minutes, pour in some salsa - enough to cover most of the ingredients, but you don't want to add so much that it becomes stew-like.
4) Add in some chili powder, mix well.
5) Pour a little soy milk onto the mixture (somewhere between 1/2 to 1 cup, depending on how much veggies you used) and cover. Simmer for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
6) Add in the pine nuts. Stir.
7) Continue to simmer for another minute or so, and then add a pinch or two of unbleached flour to thicken the liquids.
8) Continue cooking and mixing until the potatoes are tender. Remove from heat.
9) Once the dish has cooled a little, serve the mixture over brown rice.
10) Enjoy =] (If you're like me and like things a little bit spicier, try drizzling some Tabasco sauce over the meal before eating!)
I realize that was horribly written. Oh well. I'm still feeling a bit hungry though... it's been a while since dinner. But I hate eating late at night, so I think I might just go to bed. I'm suddenly extremely tired. =X Night!
Soooo, I like how the plan for this weekend was to make sure I finished my campaign project and working on my collage for my psychologist. But what did I do instead? Spent endless hours looking through different vegan communities and sites looking for various recipes, products, etc etc. I'm addicted to my computer again, it's horrible. Tomorrow I really need to crack down though - my government paper is due on Tuesday.
Anyways, since I was locked away in my room all day I didn't have much to eat before dinner. =| For breakfast I had organic blueberry waffles with pure maple syrup (so good!) and like half a thing of Silk blueberry soy yogurt. Then I basically grazed on a few small handfuls of dried cranberries until dinner. Bad, I know. So I wanted to make sure that I got lots of protein and stuff with my dinner.. but I was too lazy to go through the trouble of finding a recipe and measuring stuff, blah blah. So I decided to finally just throw stuff together to make my own concoction! :P And I must say, I was very proud. SO yummy. I was also craving something spicy, and I hadn't had Mexican food in FOREVER.. so you can guess what I made. Mexican! Although.. the American idea of "Mexican" food is extremely misguided, a fact often reiterated by my high school's Spanish teacher.
I'm going to try to replicate my "recipe" as best I can. But I didn't measure, well.. anything. Also, I really need to learn how to plate stuff better and take better pictures. None of my pictures ever do my food justice. =( ..Don't judge a book by its cover??
Fiesta Stir Fry [?]
You can substitute the veggies for whatever you have lying around. Also, since I didn't really measure anything, make sure you take into account your own preferences on spiciness and everything; my estimates are just that: estimates.
Brown rice
Olive oil
~1/4 package lite firm tofu, drained and cubed
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled & cubed
5-10 baby carrots, chopped
1/2 cucumber, peeled & chopped
1 can organic black beans
Lots of salsa (medium)
1/8 tsp or so Mexican style chili powder
Unsweetened soy milk
A handful of raw pine nuts
A pinch or two of unbleached flour
Tabasco sauce (optional)
Directions:
**For the rice- Prepare the rice according to package directions while you gather and prepare the rest of the ingredients. Mine took about 45 minutes. Once the rice is done, remove from heat and set aside.
1) Pour some olive oil into a medium frying pan so that food will not stick. Add in the onions and garlic and sauté on medium-high heat until onions become translucent.
2) Add the celery, potatoes, carrots, cucumber, beans, and tofu. Mix together with the onions and garlic.
3) After a few minutes, pour in some salsa - enough to cover most of the ingredients, but you don't want to add so much that it becomes stew-like.
4) Add in some chili powder, mix well.
5) Pour a little soy milk onto the mixture (somewhere between 1/2 to 1 cup, depending on how much veggies you used) and cover. Simmer for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
6) Add in the pine nuts. Stir.
7) Continue to simmer for another minute or so, and then add a pinch or two of unbleached flour to thicken the liquids.
8) Continue cooking and mixing until the potatoes are tender. Remove from heat.
9) Once the dish has cooled a little, serve the mixture over brown rice.
10) Enjoy =] (If you're like me and like things a little bit spicier, try drizzling some Tabasco sauce over the meal before eating!)
I realize that was horribly written. Oh well. I'm still feeling a bit hungry though... it's been a while since dinner. But I hate eating late at night, so I think I might just go to bed. I'm suddenly extremely tired. =X Night!