Vegan Caesar Salad

My lovely friend Robin happens to also have the cookbook Veganomicon. So, one day while I was lounging in her kitchen watching her clean (Hey, I offered to help.), she was pointing out recipes that she'd tried that she thought I would like. I was telling her about a scrumptious vegan Caesar salad that I'd gotten from the Vegan Van when it had been on the Auraria campus, and she told me that Veganomicon had a great recipe for Caesar salad. I pulled out my copy and and tried the recipe and it was FABULOUS! I've made it a couple of times already. I have a feeling it'll be my go-to recipe for my sack school lunches. Now, I was in a hurry the first time I made it, so I didn't actually follow the instructions very well. Oops. I liked the result so well that I am always going to make it that way though. I did not make the croutons. For the dressing, I just threw everything in the Blend-Tec and blended to my heart's content (Afterward I read how the almonds were supposed to just be pulsed and then mixed in with the dressing. Whatever! I like it blended!). I also left out the salt. I did not chill the dressing either - I was way too impatient for that. I just chopped up two heads of romaine lettuce, put some dressing on it, and mixed it up! There is enough dressing for a salad of about 15 people - just so you know! Worked out great for me because I buy the huge bags of romaine from Costco, and I ate the salad happily for three days. I put ground salt and nooch on top of the salad (I thought the nooch sent the delicious salad completely over the top in delectableness!) and served sliced pepperoncini with it. I don't know if pepperoncini are normally served with Caesar salad, but they were wonderful with it. This recipe got a definite thumbs up from me and my husband (My oldest daughter thought it was awesome, too. The other kids ate it, but they were quite as thrilled as we were.). I will be recommending this recipe and making it a lot. Try it - it's delicious!

Here is a picture from one of my salad lunches with some hummus, falafel, and John's Tahini Dressing (from May All Be Fed).

Here is the first time we had it with a fruit salad. So good!

What do vegans eat?

I think it's always pretty funny when people ask me in an incredulous voice, "What do you EAT?" They think that if you don't eat meat and especially if you don't eat dairy that you must eat very boring foods. I think it's funny because I've never met an omnivore who eats nearly the variety of food that we eat. Actually, most of the time, people haven't ever tried or sometimes even heard of many of the foods we eat. So, it makes me giggle. I've been taking pictures of our meals (shocking, I know! LOL) randomly, so that I could post pictures of what vegans eat! Here's a few:

Oat patties with marinara sauce, roasted veggies (carrots, potatoes, beets, parsnips, sweet potatoes with herbs, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), and chili


"Haystacks" Chili, tortilla chips, spinach, tomatoes, salsa, "cheese," avocados


Bean burgers, beet greens, chips and guacamole, cucumbers, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots, and raw onion "bread"


These are sandwiches I made with a gf flat bread I found at Vitamin Cottage. Inside of the bread I put hummus, avocado, cucumbers, pickles, spinach, tomatoes, sprouts, and seasoned tofu.



Roasted asparagus (love springtime asparagus! I try to make it at least once a week during the early spring because it has such a short season.), beet greens, mashed potatoes, gf garlic bread with marinara sauce


Roasted asparagus, sauteed spinach, kiwi, oat patties with marinara sauce


Mac and "cheese," tomatoes, fruit salad (bananas, oranges, kiwi, raisins, and coconut with orange/mango juice and almond extract)


Tonight's dinner: sauteed spinach, mashed potatoes, roasted green beans with nooch, BBQ tofu, onions, and peppers (green, red, and orange), and fruit (bananas, kiwi, oranges, and plums).


Since I am in school and not able to blog as frequently as I would like, I think I'm going to do more of these posts! Well, that and it is fun. :)

Southwestern Black Bean and Corn Chowder

My eight year old daughter and I made Southwestern Black Bean and Corn Chowder from Vegan on the Cheap last night. I am going to put this recipe in the win category even though most of my kids didn't eat it. That was my fault! I accidentally bought the hot chiles instead of the mild ones, and then I thought, "Well, it's just a little can in a big pot of soup!" Oops. I LOVED it! It was too spicy for most of the kids. My twelve year old was with me. My husband thought it was okay, but he's not a fan of soup. Put all those ingredients on a plate without the broth, and he'd love it. He grew up not liking soup, and so he thinks he doesn't like soup. Just one of his quirks! LOL. I love him anyway! This recipe is easy, healthy, and quick. I love it, and I wouldn't definitely recommend it!

I also made oat sausage patties (forgot the veg broth powder though - they were still okay, just a little more bland than usual) and roasted root vegetables. The root veggies didn't quite get done, but I still enjoyed them.

Almost Instant Chickpea Tomato Soup

My eight year old daughter and I made Almost Instant Chickpea Tomato Soup out of Vegan on the Cheap tonight. This one is definitely ho-hum at best. I'm not sure if I want to play with this one or not. I mean it was super easy and healthy which are big plusses, but no one really had much interest in it. I think the soymilk in it was a bad idea, and I actually like soymilk. Blending some cashews and water might give it a better flavor. It also needs more spices, and I thought that using fire roasted tomatoes might give it a better flavor. I don't know. So far, I have really enjoyed this book, so I kind of hate to give one of the recipes a bad review, but I just can't get around it tonight. Tonight's recipe was a flop. If I play with the recipe, I'll definitely post the results. I don't have a picture because I got a new phone that is not set up yet, and I was too lazy to go upstairs and unplug my husband's to use! Sad, but true. :)

Peanutty Pumpkin Stew

I'm posting my first mediocre recipe review from Vegan on the Cheap. I made the Peanutty Pumpkin Stew the other night for everyone. I have to say that it was pretty tasty. It was a bit bland for my taste, but my family gobbled it up. I think I will sneak in a few more spices the next time I make it. It is packed with super healthy ingredients, so it will definitely be on the table again. The part that wasn't so great was that the cooking times were WAY, WAY off. That was very frustrating. It took a very long time to cook. I think the next time I make it, I will try it in the slow cooker. I do have a picture, but my phone is shattered at the moment, so I'll have to post it later. My recommendation for this recipe is to plan ahead. The cooking time is WRONG, but the recipe makes a very nice soup. I'll post again after I make it in the slow cooker.

Bean Burgers

Tonight my kiddos and I made this recipe: Bean Burgers. I have to say that while it wasn't bad, it wasn't all that good. I had double the amount of oats, and they still didn't set up well. It just wasn't a very good recipe. It was good enough though, that I want to play with it. Today's food:

Breakfast: granola with soymilk
Lunch: Clean out the fridge day! leftover Thai, adzuki beans with butternut squash, hummus/salsa with rice crackers and snap peas
Snack: Clif Builder Bar
Dinner: Bean burger patties with mixed greens, salsa and nooch, grape tomatoes, apple slices, and some snikiddy "fries"

Day 13

Today was another weird day because I had a choir retreat all day and then an evening out with my husband. So, no new recipes for today, but here's the food for today.
Breakfast: two strips of tempeh bacon, fruit, and OJ
Lunch: BBQ tofu, peppers and mushrooms, tortilla chips, fruit, and veggies
Dinner: Thai food that I can't remember the name of and fried tofu