update

i should've posted something a while ago. and then more and more time passes, and now it's 6 or 7 months since i last posted! well in case you haven't guessed (is anyone still checking this blog?), i'm not blogging anymore. i used to love it, but not anymore. i think it changed from what it used to be and so i just don't enjoy it anymore. plus it's really time consuming, and i'd just rather do other stuff with my time. i've loved being a part of the food blogger world though! and i'm still checking out other people's blogs though, and i'm sure i will continue to (i just don't comment nearly as often). i'm also pregnant (due in april), so have been focusing a lot of my free time on preparing for that. :)

if you want to contact me you can always email me at emdrecipes @ gmail . com

no bake peanut butter chocolate crispy bars

oh dear it's been a while since i've updated! probably because i pretty much never go on the computer at home anymore. i used to spend a ton of time on the computer so it's a weird shift i guess. i've become super obsessed with reading.

well i've always been a reader, but while i was in school i felt guilty for reading so would rarely read anything. but since i finished school last summer, got my ereader and discovered good reads, i have been devouring books like no other!

i read before work, on my breaks at work, after work, while in the car driving to the grocery store (with my husband driving of course, though i'd be lying if i told you that i've never thought about reading while being stuck in traffic on the highway coming home from work), and pretty much anywhere i can. i've read around 100 books in the last 9 months. (though i've also stopped watching as much tv as it gets in the way of my reading time!!)

now that the weather in vancouver is finally starting to feel like summer, i have to remind myself to put my ereader down and go out for a walk or hike.

i suppose these are a healthier rice crisp style bar (and are vegan), but when you can't stop eating them like me then they become less healthy?? i think ate most of the pan myself. i love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate and crunchiness from the rice crisps. this is a great summer treat because you don't have to turn on the oven and you eat them cold!

if these sound good, you might also like:
chocolate coconut snowballs
cocoa nibbles
peanut butter squares with milk chocolate and oats
marshmallow crunch brownie bars

no bake peanut butter chocolate crispy bars
adapted from oh she glows

makes 16 squares

1/2 cup all natural peanut butter
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup sifted cocoa powder
3 cups crisp rice cereal
1/2 cup non-dairy chocolate chips

fudge topping
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1 tsp coconut oil
1 cup all-natural peanut butter

prepare an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

in a pot on the stove over low-medium heat, whisk together the brown rice syrup, vanilla, almond milk and cocoa powder. stir and heat until mixed and smooth.

put the rice crisps in a large bowl, and pour the brown rice syrup mixture over top. quickly stir together, then add the 1/2 cup chocolate chips. spread the mixture in the prepared pan. smooth and press down. put it in the freezer for at least 10 minutes.

make the fudge topping next. melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil in the microwave for 30 seconds. remove and stir. if not melted, microwave for another 15-30 seconds. remove and stir until smooth, then add in the peanut butter. stir until smooth.

remove the pan from the ferezer and pour the fudge over top, spreading evenly. put the pan in the refrigerator or freezer to firm up (about 45 minutes in the freezer or longer in the refrigerator). cut into squares.

three-flavour pancit

i want to try and post recipes that i've recently made so they're fresh in my mind, but i was looking over my backlog of food photos and came across this noodle dish. and i couldn't not share it.

i love all types of asian food but as a vegetarian, there aren't always a lot of options when i go out to eat them, or i don't know the food well enough to know how to ask for a vegetarian version. and i don't really know how to cook much asian food at home (unless i happily stumble across a recipe like this).

finding a good asian (thai, chinese, japanese, filipino, anything really) dish that i can make at home is like hitting the jackpot for me! so if you have any good homemade vegetarian asian dishes please please share the recipes.

anyway so pancit is a filipino noodle dish. i've seen it before but never tried it because it always has meat, but not today my fellow non-meat eating friends!! this one has tofu, red bell pepper, green onions, peas, cilantro, lemon, sesame oil and soy sauce. it's supposed to have tofu, tempeh and seitan. but tempeh and i still have a shaky relationship and i also wanted to simplify the recipe.

in conclusion, this was delicious.

if this sounds good, you might also like:
lime peanut noodles with seitan, kale, and carrots
udon noodles with peanut sauce and seitan
kung pao noodles with peanuts and wok fried vegetables
vegetarian pho

three-flavour pancit
adapted from vegan planet

serves 4

8 ounces bean thread noodles
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 package extra-firm tofu, cut into 1/2" dice
1/2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
3 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro
lemon wedges

cook the bean thread noodles according to package directions. drain and toss with sesame oil. (i hate when noodles are too long so i cut them up with scissors after they were cooked.)

heat a large wok over medium heat. add the tofu and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. remove the tofu from the wok.

add the canola oil to the wok, and increase heat to medium-high. add ginger, bell pepper, and green onions, and cook for about 3 minutes. add the peas and tofu. add the soy sauce and stir. add the noodles and cook until hot, about 5 minutes.

serve hot garnished with cilantro and lemon wedges. add more sesame oil and soy sauce to taste if desired.

eat your books giveaway winner

the winner of the eat your books giveaway is MamaStephF! (determined using random.org) congratulations! :)

bhutanese pineapple rice & red thai tofu

as i mentioned in my last post, i'm back to blogging! i really enjoyed my blog break. it was weird though because i had no idea what to look at on the internet. who knew there were other things out there aside from food blogs?! i had time for pinterest which i know has been around forever! i didn't have to take photos of everything i made (though i did often take photos for instagram, which is so much less stressful and i love the fun filters). i didn't worry about making sure i made new recipes so i'd have more to blog about (though i ended up making tons of new recipes anyway). i had so much free time!!

i don't want to give up so much of my free time again for blogging so i likely won't blog as often. but i'm going to try and blog about things i've made right after making them, rather than months later. that way it will be fresher in my mind and i'll be more excited to share them with you guys.

also, i hate writing with proper capitalization. so i'm not going to anymore! such a rebel.

okay i'll shutup about all that and talk about the food now. i love fried rice and fried noodles. i rarely use a recipe for fried rice but this one is different than what i usually do with the thai curry paste and pineapple. i don't usually like fruit in my meals but i did enjoy the pineapple for a change. and i was skeptical that only 2 teaspoons of curry paste would be enough but it was. the tofu was also amazing, super flavourful. both the rice and tofu have basically the same flavouring ingredients (thai curry paste, soy sauce, agave, garlic, ginger, onions/shallots).

both these recipes were delicious and highly recommended! one of my favourite meals we've had recently. and two of the best recipes that i've tried from appetite for reduction.

make sure you guys enter the giveaway for eat your books!

if this sounds good, you might also like:
greek basmati rice
fried rice with scallions, edamame and tofu
buddha's delight with tofu, broccoli and water chestnuts
soy-mirin tofu with snow peas and peanut sauce

bhutanese pineapple rice
adapted from appetite for reduction

serves 4

1 cup dry brown rice, prepared as per package directions
2 tsp thai red curry paste
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp agave
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp minced ginger
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro, chopped
1 1/2 cups pineapple, 1/2" dice

if you haven't prepared the rice yet, do that first. the easiest would be to make the rice the day before so you don't have to wait for it.

in a small bowl, whisk together curry paste, water, soy sauce and agave. set aside.

heat a wok over medium heat, and add the oil. once hot, saute the onion, garlic and ginger for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. stir in the cilantro and cook until cilantro is wilted. add in the rice and curry mixture. stir and cook for a few minutes, until rice is warmed. add the pineapple and stir for another minute.

red thai tofu
adapted from appetite for reduction

serves 4

1 block extra firm tofu, cubed
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 cup shallots, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 tbsp thai red curry paste
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp low sodium soy suace
1 tbsp agave
15 fresh basil leaves

heat a skillet over medium heat. add the tofu and dry fry (without oil) for about 10 minutes, stirring every once in a while to ensure all sides are browned. remove the tofu from the pan.

meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the curry paste, water, soy sauce and agave.

add the olive oil to the pan. once heated, add the bell pepper, shallots, garlic and ginger. saute for about 5 minutes. add the tofu and the curry mixture. stir and cook for another 5 minutes. add the basil and stir until wilted.

Eat Your Books GIVEAWAY!!

Hello! I'm back! Thanks for the e-mails and comments you guys sent in regards to my blog break post. :) I've been loving instagram and I'm so happy some blog people have found me on there. (If you have instagram, my username is eatmedelicious.)

I wanted to come back with something exciting, and I have something that I think is super duper awesome. have you guys heard of Eat Your Books? I'm completely in love with what they're doing. It's the perfect resource for cookbook hoarding organization loving people like myself.

What you do is add all your cookbooks to your "bookshelf" on their site. The recipes in the cookbooks (and magazines and some blogs) are indexed. So what this means is that you can search through your books for recipes that use specific ingredients. (You can also filter your search for things like course and ethnicity.) Meal planning simplified!

So many times I spend hours looking through my books for a recipe that uses a particular ingredient. Well now I can just search on Eat Your Books! Another cool thing is that it gets you using cookbooks you tend to forget about.

SO what I have for you guys is a giveaway for a free lifetime membership to Eat Your Books!!! How great is that. The membership is usually $25/year, which isn't that much. But FREE and LIFETIME?? Super exciting.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment telling me what your favourite cookbook is.

For extra entries into the giveaway, you can do any of the following. Please make sure to leave a separate comment telling me that you did so.
-like Eat Your Books on Facebook
-follow @EatYourBooks on Twitter
-retweet or repost a link to this giveaway

The giveaway closes June 17 @ 11:59pm PST.

**Giveaway is closed.**

Blog Break

I feel like taking a bit of a break from the blog world. I'm sure I'll be back, maybe in a few days or maybe not for weeks. No reason why really. I just got instagram though (yes I'm so behind on those social networking things) so you can add me on there if you want (my username is eatmedelicious).

Hope you all had a hoppy Easter!! :)

Oh also I've been on a bit of an organizational spree. I'm slowly working my way through our place and cleaning things up, decluttering, etc. I was going to save these photos until I'd done more but I'll just share them now. This is our pantry. It could probably be a bit better organized but I'm really happy with it and super happy to have everything off the floor. I still need some more containers. I finally found a big enough container for my all purpose flour (not pictured).

My next kitchen organizational tasks are my spice rack, to get more shelving for my cupboards, and more shelving for the pantry (on an unpictured wall).

Before

After

I like keeping things in these containers which I can easily pull out to find things. Top right has legumes and grains, top left has canned/bottled goods, next shelf is dried fruit and nuts and grains, below that are oils and vinegars.

Check out the cute apron my mom made me! Top shelf is snack food, then crackers and pasta, then baking stuff & plastic wrap, then flours/sugars in containers.

Easy Indian Mung Beans

I call this picture "I'm tired of cooking all day and just want to document the food in the quickest way possible". I bought a bag of mung beans a couple of years ago but rarely use them as I don't see them often called for in recipes. I'm trying to make more of an effort to use what I have in my pantry so went searching for a mung bean recipe.

I was not expecting to enjoy this dish. It seemed so simple and too bean-y. But it was actually really good! And I'd make it again. I might even buy more mung beans to make it again and that's saying something.

To make up for my mung bean photo, check out my cute nails!!! My friend did these for me.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Zucchini and Chickpea Pancakes
Lemon Curried Lentils and Potatoes
Dal Makhni
Pink Beans with a Cardamom-Yogurt Sauce

Easy Indian Mung Beans
Adapted from Radiant Health, Inner Wealth

Serves 4

1 cup dry mung beans
1 tbsp ginger, grated
1 tbsp coconut oil (or other oil)
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced
3 cups water
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp lemon juice

In a large pot, put the mung beans, ginger, coconut oil, cumin, coriander, jalapeno and water. Bring to a boil, cover and then simmer for 45-50 minutes (or until beans are tender). Once tender, take off the heat and stir in the sea salt and lemon juice.

Noodles, Pralines, Granola Bars, Stew, and Loaves

Any Real Housewives fans out there?? I can't wait for the Vancouver version which starts on Wednesday!

Here are some things I've made recently (and I used the term recently loosely haha) that I didn't think warranted their own blog posts but still wanted to mention.

Coconut Ginger Vegetables with Udon Noodles from ExtraVeganZa
I really like this cookbook and a lot of the recipes in it but this one was just okay. Now that I'm reading over the ingredient list I'm thinking that maybe there wasn't enough sauce or something as the components sound like something I would love - ginger, cumin, coconut milk, lime juice, cilantro, soy sauce. The noodles are mixed with cabbage, peas, kale and cashews. It sounds like it should be good right? So maybe it was just me. (The noodles turned purple/pink from the red cabbage.)

Texas Pralines from The Pastry Queen
I think this is the only thing I've made from this cookbook so far. Lots of yummy sounding things I want to try though. I made these for my mom for Christmas as she's talked about these "pecan pralines" that she likes. I wasn't sure exactly what she meant - sugared nuts? Caramelly nuts? Well I thought I'd just try this recipe out. I'm not sure what traditional pralines are like, but these were mostly soft caramel with a bit of nuts. I think my main problem with these was that I don't love the vanilla I have and found it really overpowering. And while I love caramel, I think there should be more nuts for that amount of caramel.

Pumpkin Chocolate Granola Bars from The Pastry Affair
Admittedly I don't like granola bars. They're too sweet and I usually don't like dried fruit. But these had pumpkin in them! And I do like pumpkin. So I had to try them. And I figured if I didn't like them, E would eat them as they have chocolate chips in them. Not surprisingly, I wasn't a big fan of these. E thought they were okay. I modified the recipe a bit - 1/2 cup pumpkin puree total (instead of pumpkin + applesauce), cloves instead of nutmeg, more vanilla, more dried cranberries, less chocolate chips and pecans instead of almonds.

Portobello Feijoada (Brazilian Black Bean Stew with Portobello Mushrooms) + Savoury Orange Rice, Brazilian Style from Viva Vegan!
I know that Janet really enjoyed this stew, but unfortunately it wasn't my favourite. I didn't change the flavours (ex. liquid smoke, thyme, cumin), but I did omit the TVP (never liked it) and used twice as much mushrooms. But do remember that I'm not a bean lover so you may enjoy this as Janet did. The savoury orange rice which was suggested to go along with it was alright but probably not something I'd make again.

Maple Pumpkin Spice Bread from Vegetarian Times
I'm completely addicted to the maple syrup from Costco and always hope baked goods will taste more maple-y without using maple extract. But this loaf did not taste very strongly of maple. The spices were really strong - maybe a bit too strong. Overall the loaf was pretty good but there are better pumpkin loaf/muffin recipes out there and I've posted some I enjoy.

Sticky Toffee Pudding Cheesecake

I briefly mentionined this cheesecake a while ago, and now am finally posting it! I made it for Christmas dinner's dessert and everyone, including myself, loved it. (And so you can see why it all looks a mess as I was more concerned with just serving it to everyone versus it being beautiful. Though it is still beautiful to me.)

There's a graham cracker crust which goes up the sides of the cheesecake, a layer of cheesecake, a layer of toffee sauce, a layer of sticky toffee pudding cake, topped by another layer of toffee sauce, broiled and THEN topped with more toffee sauce. Delicious delicious. It's a great special event dessert and though it takes a bit of time to make, it's not difficult.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Cheesecake Pops
Lemon Cheesecake
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Brown Sugar Apple Cheesecake

Sticky Toffee Pudding Cheesecake
Slightly adapted from Willow Bird Baking who used Food Network’s pudding recipe

Makes 12 servings

Cheesecake
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs

Sticky Toffee Pudding
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup pitted dates, finely chopped
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Toffee Sauce
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup packed light brown sugar

Make the cheesecake: Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9" springform pan. In a bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs and butter, making sure to moisten all the crumbs. Using a flat-sided glass, press into a thin layer covering the bottom and sides of your cheesecake pan. The crumbs should come up the side of the pan 2.5 inches. Bake the crust for 6 minutes and let it cool as you make your cheesecake filling.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium-high speed until well blended. Beat in the flour. Beat in the vanilla until well incorporated. (Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.) Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between each addition. Pour the filling into your crust.

Bake until the top is lightly browned, puffed and cracked around the edges, and the center moves only very slightly when the pan is lightly shaken (about 40 minutes). Check while baking periodically and put a pie shield (or strips of foil) around the top of your pan to protect the crust edges if they’re getting too dark. (If you do this, make sure the shield/foil doesn't touch the cheesecake.) Let cheesecake cool at room temperature for at least 3 hours, then put in the fridge to chill overnight or for 8 hours.

Make Sticky Toffee Pudding: In the meantime, grease a 9-inch round cake pan. Place a parchment paper round in it to line the bottom.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. In a separate small bowl, mix the dates, boiling water, and baking soda. Set this aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Gradually add in the flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Gently fold in the date mixture with a spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the pudding is set up and firm, about 35 minutes (jiggle the pan and watch the middle). Let the pudding cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before inverting it onto a parchment paper lined plate. If you are going to assemble the cake right away, after cooling put the cake in the freezer to firm up, otherwise put it in the fridge overnight (covered with plastic wrap).

Make the Toffee Sauce: In a small saucepan, combine the butter, heavy cream and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Turn the heat down to medium low, and boil gently for about 8 minutes, or until the mixture is thickened.

Assemble the cake: Preheat the broiler. Spoon about 1/3 cup of toffee sauce onto the surface of your cheesecake to serve as a “glue” and gently place your sticky toffee pudding layer on top, pressing to adhere. Top this layer with about 1/3 cup of the toffee sauce and spread this around evenly on top. Place the cake under the broiler until the topping is bubbly, about 1 minute (keep a close watch and rotate for even bubbling if necessary). Carefully remove the sides of the springform pan. Serve slices with extra toffee sauce, and whipped cream or ice cream (if desired).

Patrick's Salad

I know this salad totally doesn't look like much, and you can't even really tell what's in there (romaine lettuce, red bell pepper, snow peas, toasted almonds) but it's SO good. The first time my mom made it I didn't like it that much but now it's my favourite salad and she makes it all the time. The dressing has olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime juice, soy sauce, garlic, parsley, onion and sugar. There's more oil in there (1/2 cup) than I'd usually have in a dressing but it's just so good that I don't want to try and change it.

When recipes say to toast nuts, I often don't do it. But for this salad, I think the toasted nuts make it extra delicious so don't skip that step!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Weekend Glow Kale Salad
Everyday Chickpea-Quinoa Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Potato Salad Nicoise
Wheat Berry Salad with Zucchini and Mozzarella

Patrick's Salad
Adapted from The Rest of the Best and More, Volume 2 (The Best of Bridge)

Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red or white wine vinegar
Juice of half a small lime
2 tsp soy sauce
1 large garlic clove
Salt & pepper to taste
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp minced red onion
3 1/2 tbsp sugar

Salad
1 head of romaine lettuce, washed and torn into bite-size pieces
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 package snow peas, chopped
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Add all the dressing ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth and well mixed.

Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss with the dressing before serving.

Turkish Carrots and Lentils

Look at my beautiful Staub! We received this as a wedding gift and I was so happy and it was so precious to me that it took me forever to use it.

I like the idea of this dish because it has 1 lb of carrots and carrots don't get the spotlight too often (and I love them). I also love that it's lentil based, as lentils are much better than beans (to me anyway).

And while I did enjoy this dish, I also admit that it lacked some flavour. A bit of spices could really help here. Maybe some smoked paprika and thyme? (I have no idea if that would taste good I was just googling Turkish spices and those 2 sounded good to me! I also have some sumac from my visit to Turkey last year and have yet to use it.)

I'm off to Trader Joe's today!!!! So excited.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Lemon Curried Lentils and Potatoes
Dal Makhni
Spice Market Sweet Potato and Lentil Packets
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Turkish Carrots and Lentils
Adapted from Cooking Light Way to Cook Vegetarian

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 tsp chili pepper flakes
1 lb carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups water
1 cup uncooked dried green lentils
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook for 10 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add tomato paste and chili pepper flakes, stir for 30 seconds. Add the carrots and 1/4 tsp salt and cook for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat.

In a separate large pot, bring 3 cups water and the lentils to a boil. Cover, reduced heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover and increase heat to medium-high, and stir in onion/carrot mixture. Cook for 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Stir in remaining 1/4 tsp salt and ground black pepper.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

I had some leftover buttermilk - though now I have no idea what it was for, maybe the pralines I made my mom - and we were going away for a few days so I went to search for a quick and easy buttermilk recipe. I love biscuits and love when I can make biscuits and don't have to roll out any dough!

These are super quick to put together as you just whisk the dry, whisk the wet, stir together and drop onto a cookie sheet. I went with all whole wheat flour and was a bit scared as to whether they'd be too dry but they turned out really well and E was in love with them.

I forgot to say thanks to the people who shared some of their things they were grateful/happy about last week - it made me happy to read!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Squirrelly Scones
Peppered Pear and Goat Cheese Scones
Three Seed Biscuits
Baking Powder Biscuits

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
Adapted from Pink Parsley who adapted from Cook's Illustrated

makes 9-10 biscuits

2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup cold buttermilk
8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 475F.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter and buttermilk, stirring until small clumps are formed.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and use a rubber spatula to stir, until they are just incorporated, and the batter starts to pull away from the sides.

Use a large cookie scoop (or a greased 1/4-cup measuring cup) to scoop out the dough and drop on an ungreased baking sheet, spacing the biscuits about 1 1/2 inches apart. Each biscuit should be about 2 inches in diameter and 1 inch high.

Bake until the tops are crisp and golden-brown, 12-14 minutes.

Sweet Chili Lime Tofu

I was hoping to get all our meals cooked for the week today, and bake some cookies to use up the vegan shortening in my fridge. But then I sliced my thumb this morning while chopping onions and didn't have any bandaids. After the sliced thumb I decided to just stick to the essentials, cooking for the week. Not baking gave me time to watch Grey's Anatomy and read, so it all worked out in the end!

I didn't make this tofu today but it was one of the delicious things I've made recently. It's kind of similar to Matthew's Delicious Tofu (one of my favourite tofu recipes) but a little different as it has lime juice and mint. Basically pan fried tofu with a sweet-sour-spicy-salty-sticky sauce. I imagine it would be good with tempeh too, if you're not scared of it like I am.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Tofu and Broccolini in Peanut Sauce
Broccoli Cashew Teriyaki Tofu Stir Fry
Sweet and Spicy Cashew Tofu
Lemon Miso Tofu and Eggplant

Sweet Chili Lime Tofu
Adapted from Vegan Yum Yum

Serves 4 (with vegetables and a grain)

1 package of extra firm tofu
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 3/4 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 zest of a lime
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1/4 tsp salt
4 mint leaves, chiffonade

Prepare the sauce by whisking together all ingredients except the tofu.

Drain the tofu and cut it into small triangles. Heat a dry frying pan over medium heat. Spread the tofu out into a single layer, and cook for about 5 minutes. Flip and cook for another 5 minutes.

Turn the heat up to medium-high. Add the prepared sauce and stir to coat the tofu. The sauce should be bubbling. Turn off the heat, and serve.

Bread Stuffing Casserole

Stuffing is one of my favourite things, so it's silly that I only eat it at Christmas and Thanksgiving. I've decided to change that so I recently tried out these 2 recipes.

(Geez what a difference night time and day time photos make!!)

This "bread stuffing casserole" was amaaaazing. It's my perfect stuffing. I love the flavours, love the herbs, it's moist but not too wet. It has parsley, marjoram, sage, thyme, rosemary and black pepper. That perfect combination of herbs is mixed together with delicious onions, walnuts, mushrooms, celery and cranberries. And bread of course. SO good.

This stuffing from ExtraVeganZa has red onion, celery, savory, mushrooms, olives, soy sauce, walnuts and kabocha squash. It was good and I'd eat it again but I didn't love it like I loved the other stuffing. Maybe the herbs weren't quite right and I think I just prefer the traditional stuffing ingredients, as much as I love kabocha squash and olives.

Here's Abby while I'm cleaning out our pantry. (Photos to come soon!) This is the container I kept sugar in and was cleaning out to use for other things (do not need that much white sugar in my house). Anytime I'd empty a container on the floor she'd be in it immediately. She is the owner of all boxes and bags.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Vegan Pot Roast and Gravy
Autumn Panzanella
Red and White Cauliflower Bake
Chuck's Favourite Mac and Cheese

Bread Stuffing Casserole
Adapted from Vegan Vittles

Serves 4

4 cups whole grain bread cubes (I used 5 pieces of whole wheat bread)
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup boiling vegetable broth
2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, mix together the parsley, nutritional yeast flakes, salt, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, and pepper. Add the bread cubes and toss to evenly distribute. Add the walnuts, onions, mushrooms, celery, and dried cranberries, and toss well.

In a separate bowl, mix together the vegetable broth, soy sauce and olive oil. Pour this mixture over the bread cubes and toss thoroughly to mix. Transfer to a 2 quart casserole dish, cover and bake for 35-45 minutes. (I baked mine for 45 but just watch yours and if it seems like it's getting too dry you can take it out earlier.)

Pasta with Broccoli, Pecans, Lemon and Feta

Excuse the terribly lit photo, and see it's tasty potential. This is a pasta dish I discovered a long time ago and have been making ever since. And I don't re-make a ton of recipes. I just love the combination of lemon, toasted pecans and feta. Add in the broccoli, leeks, and pasta and it's one of my favourite meals.

I'm trying to infuse more positivity into my life, so throughout the day I add to a note file on my phone things that make me happy or that I'm grateful for. I've tried the thing of writing down 5 things at the end of the day, but so far I like doing it all throughout the day because it keeps me constantly searching for something positive instead of dwelling on negative things.

Some things on my list so far are seeing farm animals during the day, snow capped mountains, non squeaking windshield wipers, Abby's (my cat) floppy sleepy body, having a husband who's willing to eat anything I make, and getting home when it's still sunny out. What are some good things in your day so far?

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Roasted Vegetable Tomato Sauce on Penne
Quick Vegan Tomato Basil Cream Pasta
Pasta with French Lentils and Kale
Red and White Tortellini

Pasta with Broccoli, Pecans, Lemon and Feta
Adapted from Entertaining for a Veggie Planet

Note: I edited the olive oil. The original recipe has 1/4 cup, but I usually use less like 2 tbsp.

Serves 4 to 5

1 bunch broccoli, stems and crown, cut into 1 inch pieces
3/4 lb whole wheat pasta
2 tbsp olive oil
1 leek, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced crosswise and washed well
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Blanch the broccoli for 1 minute. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking water.

In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the leek until translucent, 7 to 9 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Add the broccoli and red pepper flakes and heat through.

Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon rind, juice and pecans. Season with salt and pepper. Add the sauce and feta to the hot pasta and cooking water, toss to coat well.

Hummus, Smoothie and Soup

Here are some reviews of a few things I've made recently...

Jalapeno Cheddar Hummus from Eat, Live, Run
This hummus was okay but I was disappointed that I didn't taste the cheddar or jalapeno enough. The original recipe uses 1 jalapeno pepper, and I used 1/2 cup chopped pickled jalapeno so next time I'd use 3/4 to 1 cup and maybe add some of the liquid from the jar. I also used 2 tbsp olive oil and twice as much cheese (pureeing half into the hummus and stirring in the other half grated). I would recommend omitting the cumin because it overpowers the jalapeno and cheddar. (By the way I'm insanely addicted to pickled jalapenos right now.)

Pumpkin Gingerbread Smoothie from Oh She Glows
I followed the recipe exactly and it was yummy! I'd definitely recommend making it.

African Yam Stew from Vegan Yum Yum
I thought it was a brilliant idea to double the amount of spices - it was not. It was way too strong. So I can't really say how good this soup is or isn't. I liked the mix of vegetables though - onion, sweet potato, kale, carrots, and tomatoes. There are also raisins and peanut butter in there!

Latin Shredded Seitan

E really liked this seitan dish, which is saying a lot because he's not a huge fan of meat substitutes (though lucky for me he will eat them happily enough). I liked it too, but not as much as him. It's a great way to flavour up some seitan - with garlic, onion, bell pepper, cumin, wine and tomatoes.

If you have Viva Vegan!, please comment and let me know which dishes from it you loved or didn't like. I've only made a few things from it (like these empanadas) but want to make more.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Shredded Seitan and Mushroom Empanadas with Raisins and Olives
Udon Noodles with Peanut Sauce and Seitan
Baked Seitan
Seitan Black Bean Corn Burgers

Latin Shredded Seitan
Adapted from Viva Vegan!

Serves 4 (with rice and another vegetable)

1/2 recipe (two loaves) Steamed Red Seitan
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into thin strips
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup red wine
3 roma tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground blac pepper

Slice the seitan as thinly as you can, then stack a few slices together at a time and chop the seitan into thin slivers.

In a large pan over medium heat, add the olive oil and garlic. Cook until the garlic sizzles, about 30 seconds. Add the onion and bell pepper, stirring occasionally, and cooking until the onion is soft and translucent, about 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the cumin, cook for 1 minute. Stir in the wine and tomato. Stir in the seitan, coating the seitan with the sauce. Simmer for 12 to 14 minutes. The seitan should look juicy, so if starts to look dry, add more wine or tomato. Season with salt and pepper.

Buddha's Delight with Tofu, Broccoli and Water Chestnuts

Okay it was weird to not share any recipes with you guys! So maybe I should just post a roundup of meals every week and highlight my favourite recipe or something. This was my favourite of the bunch (served in my favourite bowl which I rarely ever use because it is easily damaged by metal utensils).

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Soy-Mirin Tofu with Snow Peas and Peanut Sauce
Maple-Miso Glazed Tofu with Broccoli and Butternut Squash
Tamarind Tofu Cabbage Bowl
Asparagus and Chickpea Stir-Fry with Hoisin Sauce

Buddha's Delight with Tofu, Broccoli and Water Chestnuts
Adapted from Cooking Light Way to Cook Vegetarian

Serves 4

3 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 pkg extra firm tofu, 1" cubes
5 1/2 cups broccoli, chopped (florets and stems)
1 1/2 cups carrot, 1/4" diagonally sliced
1 tbsp canola oil
1 1/2 cups green onions, sliced
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups snow peas, trimmed
14 oz can whole baby corn, drained
8 oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 tbsp cornstarch
3/4 cup brown rice, cooked (about 2 cups cooked)
1/2 cup cashews

1. In a shallow dish, combine soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar and sugar. Toss the tofu in and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. When ready to use, drain the tofu and reserve the marinade.

2. Heat canola oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add tofu and stir fry for 5 minutes, until lightly browned on all sides. Add in green onions, ginger and garlic - stir fry for 30 seconds. Add in broccoli and carrots - stir fry for 1 minute. Add in snow peas, corn and water chestnuts - stir fry for 1 minute. Whisk together broth and cornstarch. Add cornstarch mixture and reserved marinade to the wok; bring to a boil. Cook 2 1/2 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Serve over rice with cashews.

Lasagna, Soups, Curry and Stir Fry

I love blogging and being part of the food blog world, but it can be really time consuming (as we all know). With my long commute (90 km one way) and my commitment to doing a beginning runner's program 4 days a week, I just don't want to spend my free time on the weekend stressing out about blog related things.

But I do still want to post about the things I've made. I'm just going to keep it simpler, and not post recipes. This will also help get through my huge backlog! Alright, so here we go!

Gluten Free Vegan Lasagna - which is originally from Appetite for Reduction. The photos posted by clean green simple made me want to make it asap! I really enjoyed it and plan to try out the original version as well with lasagna noodles. It has cauliflower ricotta, mushrooms, olives, spinach, tomato sauce, and zucchini/eggplant "noodles". I highly recommend checking out her photos - she took a picture at each layering step.

In a Hurry Curry from The Two-Week Wellness Solution. This dish is insanely easy to make, tasty, filling and has both a lot of vegetables and a good variety of them. Tomatoes, broccoli (or cauliflower), spinach and chickpeas in a simple coconut curry broth. I've made this many times. Such a great weeknight meal. Though I'm starting to get sick of my curry powder so was thinking about trying this dish out with Thai curry paste instead.

Sweet Pepper Coconut Corn Chowder from ExtraVeganZa. I love this cookbook and enjoyed this soup. But then anything with coconut milk is automatically delicious to me. Usually I don't like brothy soups - I prefer them thicker and pureed. But this one was nice with leek, carrots, jalapeno, chickpeas, bell peppers and corn. E didn't like the whole chickpeas.

Black Bean Soup with Jalapeno-Lime Creme from The Real Food Daily Cookbook. The soup itself was okay though I wouldn't make it again. The jalapeno-lime creme was SO good! Creamy spicy limey yum. Does anyone else have this cookbook? I haven't made a ton from it so would love any suggestions for what things I should try.

Buddha's Delight with Tofu, Broccoli and Water Chestnuts from Cooking Light Way to Cook Vegetarian. When I was flipping through this cookbook, this dish caught my eye but it seemed too simple to be good. We decided to make it anyway and both really enjoyed it. I love the mix of vegetables - broccoli, carrot, green onions, snow peas, whole baby corn (!!! favourite), and water chestnuts (!!! other favourite). There was also cashews (love cashews in Asian dishes) and tofu. And there actually was a flavour. Would defintely make this again.