Beet Box

Iced Americano and a vegan double chocolate doughnut.  Go there now.

And now they're serving sammiches for lunch.  First up for me will be the Banh Mi but frankly they all look delicious.  'Tis a good time to be a vegan in Denver.

Scrambled tofu

There was a time that those two words would send me scampering for the hills.  Even after going vegan, I was still very wary of tofu.  I think I had a bad experience one time trying to make a BBQ tofu sandwich.  That said, I still can't recall where and when I had my first serving of scrambled tofu, but I quickly became a convert.

In my pre-vegan days, I used to have a hard time eating eggs for breakfast.  Something about the consistency just made my stomach turn.  Oddly, though, I LOVED eggs for lunch or dinner.  Anyway, I'm pleased that I don't have that issue with scrambled tofu.  The only problem I've had is that I can't find a good recipe.  Or, I guess I should say that I haven't been able to make scrambled tofu at home that I like as much as what I can get at City 'O City or Sputnik.

Lo and behold, I found a recipe in My Beef With Meat that piqued my interest.  The Bouldin Creek Spicy Scramble.  Spicy and flavorful.  Jalapeno, Serrano, curry powder, nutritional yeast.  Really delicious.

Spicy scramble served up with a side of refried beans

 

 

The only caveat with this recipe is that you have to press the tofu to get out as much water as possible or the scramble will be gummy.  I haven't perfected this yet but it's even delicious in its gumminess.  It also makes a great filling for burritos.

 

I can't find a version of this recipe online yet and I am too lazy on this summer Sunday morning to type it up, do yourself a favor and get this book from the library, buy it or whatever you need to do so you can try this recipe.  While it won't supplant a trip to my favorite vegan breakfast/brunch haunts, I'm happy to have a decent option at the ready for home consumption. 

Garden is planted

Late as usual.  And it's 95 and windy today, not optimal conditions for newly planted herbs and veggies.

I think I overshot a bit on cauliflower and beets and I'm not sure how that happened, other than I was wandering around City Floral yesterday in a haze for some reason.  Uhhhh, what is it that I like to eat again?  I have some room to add a few more items, basil and more tomatoes are always on the list but I should try something else, maybe onions or carrots.  Or peppers.  And I'm going to try growing cilantro AGAIN.  For whatever reason, I cannot keep that stuff alive.

Looking forward to good eats in a coupla months.

Black bean burgers

It's going to be a busy week, so I made a batch of Happy Herbivore's Quick and Easy Black Bean Burgers. I cooked up some black beans in the crock pot today, so fresh black beans were at the ready.

Ready for the oven:

And out of the oven, nearly the same!  Not to mention that they look like cookies, which made me wish they were cookies.  But when I'm hungry for lunch, I will be glad to have one of these instead of a cookie.  Okay, I'll wish I had one of these AND a cookie.

These babies are cooling their jets in the fridge until later this week.  Knowing they are there makes me happy.  They are a little delicate, so be careful when flipping them over.

Recipe:

Ingredients

• 15 ounces black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• ⅓ cup instant oats

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper and set aside. In a mixing bowl, mash black beans with a fork until mostly pureed but still some half beans and bean parts are left. Stir in condiments and spices until well combined. Then mix in oats. Divide into 4 equal portions and shape into thin patties. Bake for 7 minutes, carefully flip over and bake for another 7 minutes, or until crusty on the outside. Slap into a bun with extra condiments and eat!

Pizza night

Big stick pepperoni, mushrooms, black olives, jalapeno and Daiya mozz.

All I can say is...yum.  Pizza #2 for dinner tomorrow night.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I know, odd that I would feature some type of Mexican food on this blog.  But, hey, if the occasion calls for it...

I saw what looked like a good recipe online this week and decided to be festive for the holiday.  A real stretch for me, for sure.

So, these are Baked Vegan Gluten-free Chicken Kale Pasilla Pepper Enchiladas from Noshtopia.

I had a little bit of trouble with the tortillas, in that they didn't want to hold together.  Had I warmed them in a cast iron pan with some olive oil, I'm sure they would have been fine, but I wasn't in the mood for the extra effort or the additional oil.  I did open a new bag of tortillas and those held together better.  Needless to say, they didn't plate very well.  But, cover 'em with some vegan sour cream, black olives, and green onions and no one will be the wiser.

I also doubled the recipe to make the full pan of enchilada goodness.  Needless to say, they were delicious.  Recipe here.

Mexican Bean Soup with Chipotle Avocado Cream

This is yet another bean soup, a type of recipe that I seem to be quite attracted to.  What can I say, I like Mexican spices, they are easy to put together, and are hearty and satisfying.  What's not to like? 

This one puts an added twist to the tried-and-true with the addition of Chipotle Avocado Cream.

 

 



Instead of thinking about gazpacho or at least a lighter soup, Mother Nature has had other ideas of late.  This soup was enjoyed last night as yet another late-season snowfall arrived in Denver.  I swear, if I hear someone say "But we need the moisture" one more time, my head may explode.  Yeah, I know, we ALL know, but we're past the need to state the obvious.  Shut up and let me eat my soup.

Recipe here.  The only comments on this or modifications are that if you like ANY spice at all to the soup, definitely add the jalapeno.  I used a whole jalapeno and it wasn't spicy at all.  Next time, I'll leave in the seeds to add extra zip.  And, same goes for the avocado cream--if you want discernible heat, add double the amount or more of chipotle Tabasco (I bought a bottle for this recipe and I'm bummed I have missed out on this stuff for so long!).  That said, the Chipotle Avocado Cream is a keeper, and I can think of any number of tasty applications for its future use.