Vegan Jerk Chicken! Black Bean Bowl! Avo Toast!

Last Saturday, I went on a long bike ride that took me all over town. I started with a trip to the Cooper-Young Farmers Market, where I picked up one of Lulu's Baked Carrot Cake Muffins with Cashew Cream & Wine-Macerated Blackberries. Yes, it was as magical as it sounds. Perfect bike riding fuel!

From there, I rode back home to put up the hamburger buns I'd picked up from Lulu's. Then I biked downtown to the Big River Crossing bike/ped bridge that goes over the Mississippi River and into Arkansas. I'd planned to ride around Arkansas for a bit and head back, but the Arkansas side was closed off due to river flooding. So I turned around and headed back into Tennessee! 

Then I biked back to Cooper-Young to meet Megan and Pam for lunch at Imagine Vegan Cafe. I was famished by then, and everything sounded good. But I finally settled on the Jerk Chicken Sandwich (hoagie bun with sauteed vegan chicken, pineapple, and creamy jerk sauce). I had broccoli & vegan cheese on the side.

My all-time favorite cookbook is The No Meat Athlete Cookbook. It's the one book that I rely on more than any other. I'm slowly trying to cook my way through the whole book. Earlier this week, I made the Black Bean Pineapple Bowl with Roasted Veggies. This has a base of roasted sweet potatoes, topped with roasted pineapple, bell pepper, and onion, lime-spiced black beans, avocado-lime dressing, pepitas, and plantain chips. The chips were from a bag (Sprouts brand), but this would be especially good with some homemade fried plantains.

Speaking of No Meat Athlete, I also listen to their podcast every week. And host Matt Frazier often talks about his quick, kid-friendly go-to meal of Refried Bean Tostadas. I had some leftover refried beans that needed using, so I looked to see if his recipe was online. It was! I used this simple recipe to make these crispy baked tostadas stuffed with beans, vegan cheese, salsa, and onion, topped with tomato, lettuce, salsa, and avocado-lime dressing. On the side, I had some Spanish brown rice that I made.

And finally, here's some Avocado Toast! With local heirloom tomato from the CY Farmers Market and red onion. 

Hope y'all have a perfect 4th of July! I'll be taking the day of blogging to grill out and light fireworks with my friend Greg!