Jollof Rice, a Vegan Omelet, and a Flashback Burger

Here are a few things I've been eating lately! I picked up this jar of curry Royal Red Stew, the sauce used to make African jollof rice, at the Cash Saver.

So I made some Jollof Rice with white rice, homemade seitan, spinach, peas, and that curry tomato sauce. So good!

Here's a recent scramble. This was the Sunshine Scramble from Plant You, which has a lot of tomatoes and spinach. Plus some sourdough with Marmite on the side.

Another breakfast: I recently bought the Speros Pepita Egg, which was next to the Just Egg on the shelf at Sprouts. It made a tasty omelet. It's not as fluffy and egg-like as Just Egg, but the main ingredient is pepita seeds, so it felt slightly less processed.

And finally, here's a blast from the past! I got some Boca Burgers recently for old time's sake and because they were on sale. And my friend at Tofutti had sent me some American cheese slices, which I haven't seen sold in stores here since my early vegan days. This tasted like nostalgia, and I loved it.

Also, my dad has a little tip for making Boca Burgers taste better. Thaw and marinate the patties in soy sauce, vegan Worcestershire, Liquid Smoke, and hot sauce before pan-frying. It's very good!

Some Stuff I Ate When the World Was Normal

Hey, remember last week? When we could still move about freely and high-five people with reckless abandon? It seems like a million years ago. Back then, when I was still working at work (and not at home), I picked up an Evergreen Sandwich from Curb Market in Crosstown Concourse. This has smoked tofu, avocado, hummus, and veggies on locally baked bread, and it's really just perfect. Side of corn salad.

Here's one of my all-time favorite breakfasts — Cottage Tofu on Vegemite Toast. I made cottage cheese with crumbled tofu and a little Vegenaise and served atop toast with Vegemite (which is way better than Marmite).

Since I've been trapped at home, I've been trying to eat SUUUPER healthy. It's so easy to live on junk food in times like this, so I'm trying to do the opposite. Plus, I'm running a self-supported 50K this weekend (my race was postponed), so I need to fuel properly. I'll update y'all on the "race" next week. Here's a bowl of Caribbean Coconut Collards & Sweet Potato from The No Meat Athlete Cookbook.

And finally, here's my first "working from home" lunch this week. On Monday for lunch, I had a Burrito Bowl with brown rice, kale, pintos, Daiya cheese, salsa, and homemade yogurt. I made the yogurt in my Instant Pot!

Masala Burger! Tofu Cottage Cheese! And More!

This past Tuesday night, my friend Pam let me be her date to see Hamilton at the Orpheum!!! OMG y'all, IT WAS SO GOOD. Seriously lived up to all hype. I can't stop listening to the soundtrack. Before the show, I needed to scarf down something quick, so I made a Trader Joe's Masala Burger with Ginger-Mango Chutney (also from TJ's) and Air-Fried Curry Fries (served with curry ketchup).

One of my all-time fave breakfasts is Tofu Cottage Cheese & Vegemite on Toast. My recipe for tofu cottage cheese is in my cookbook, Cookin' Crunk, but I didn't have the vegan yogurt on-hand when I made it this week, so I just made this batch with vegan mayo. It's still very good with the salty Vegemite. This works great with Marmite too, but Vegemite is my fave (Susan in Australia will be proud!).

Here's a Smoked Tofu Stir-fry I made with some smoked tofu (from my dad), broccoli, and zucchini over brown rice.

And here's last night's dinner, enjoyed outside on an unseasonably cool summer night, while reading Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons by Bryan Powell. My dinner was Whole Wheat Pasta with Cashew Alfredo, Spinach, & Veggie Balls. The sauce was from a jar (by Victoria Vegan), and the balls were from IKEA.

Beltane Frittata, Stuffed Zucchini, & More!

Gosh y'all. I haven't posted a random "stuff I ate" post since before my Florida trip in mid-April! So I have a lot of pics to share, but I'll break them into multiple posts because ain't nobody got time for that.

Here's an Asparagus Tofu Frittata I made for Beltane (May 1). It's a traditional spring festival, and asparagus is in-season so this seemed like the perfect meal. I used the swiss chard frittata recipe in Vegan Brunch but subbed asparagus. Easy peasy.

On the side, I made a spring-y salad with green peas, edamame, sunflower seeds, mixed baby greens, bell pepper, and tahini dressing. Served with green olive-kalamata bread from the Sprouts bakery.

And leftover frittata for breakfast! With toasted whole wheat pita and hummus, plus a bowl of fresh strawberries and mango.

You can't tell, but this is a veggie burger in a pita. I had some No Meat Athlete lentil-walnut burgers leftover after my marathon meal plan, so I froze them for quick weeknight meals like this. Served with roasted potatoes made in the air fryer. Curry ketchup on the side.

A quick week day breakfast of Tofu Scramble & Vegemite Toast. I had some frozen tofu that I scrambled with turmeric and soy sauce, served atop sprouted grain toast spread with Vegemite (it's better than Marmite! I said it, and I meant it!).

And finally, here's a meal from the cafe at Crosstown Arts that I ate forever ago! Maybe I've even shared it in a past "stuff I ate" post, but I can't remember. So here it is! Stuffed Zucchini with Braised Cabbage, Sizzled Kale, and Vegan Ranch. This was the daily vegetable plate that day, and damn, it was great. The sizzled kale is basically deep-fried kale, which is seriously the best way to eat it.

More Stuff I Ate

I'm back with more random meals. I'm still obsessed with the No Meat Athlete Cookbook, so I made the Breakfast Tofu (one of my faves) to serve over toast with hummus. And sriracha, of course!

I also had some one morning with toast and jam, plus toast with Vegemite (which I think I like better than Marmite because it's more spreadable).

I made the Avocado-Lime Dressing from the No Meat Athlete Cookbook one day last week to top this big ole salad with black beans, corn, homemade kraut, pickled onions (also from the book), romaine, and carrots.

And here's yet another NMA cookbook recipe — I made the Zucchini Parm (only with summer squash instead since that's what I had in my CSA) and served it over whole wheat pasta with marinara and Tofurky Italian Brats. YUM!!!

And a few meals NOT from the NMA Cookbook! Here's a FitQuick Pizza Waffle made into Avo Toast. So I guess that makes it Pizza Protein Avocado Waffle Toast?! With cherry tomatoes (from the CSA) and pickled onions (well, those are from the NMA Cookbook). Also Trader Joe's Everything But the Bagel seasoning!

Finally, here's a quick meal from the freezer. I had some Soup Beans frozen from a few weeks ago, and I served them with some Jalapeno Cornbread from Cookin' Crunk (that I made and froze a few months ago). Topped with the world's best homemade chow chow that my mama bought from some lady in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

More Stuff I Ate

It's time for round two! Here is another round-up of yummy things I ate over the last couple weeks.

We'll start with this gorgeous Vegan Egg & Sausage Omelette from Tuesday morning. I prepared Follow Your Heart Vegan Egg with an emulsion blender and then cooked it up until firm, flipped, and stuffed with Morningstar Farms vegan sausage, Daiya vegan cheddar, mushrooms, bell pepper, and baby spinach. Served with toast spread with Marmite and Earth Balance.

Today's lunch was a Vegan Curried Chicken Salad Wrap with Sriracha Lentil Chips. For the chicken salad, I chopped about six Beyond Meat chicken strips and mixed with a tablespoon of vegan mayo, scallions, half a shredded carrot, and a quarter of a minced bell pepper. I also added some baby spinach to the wrap.

One of my go-to breakfasts this week has been Vegan Yogurt Parfaits. This one has Ripple vanilla protein yogurt with strawberries and pistachio-mulberry granola.

Another breakfast this week — Baked White Sweet Potatoes with Raw Almond Butter & Dried Cranberries. This was good, but the almond butter was a little too dry for the starchy potato. I had another one this morning with tahini instead, and that worked better.

This is not pretty, but it was tasty. Green Lentil Protein Pasta with Marinara and Miyoko's Smoked Vegan Mozz (would have looked better if I'd melted it) and Steamed Kale. Post-spinning class protein! Spinning is one of the few activities I can do right now with my fractured foot, so I'm taking a lot of classes.

And finally — last night's dinner from Imagine Vegan Cafe. I got a Veggie Plate with Mac & Cheese, Collard Greens, Baked Beans, and Summer Corn Salad (a new menu item with corn, mayo, and bell peppers — really good!).

Stuff I Ate: Breakfast Edition

Here's some stuff I've been eating for breakfast lately!

I've been getting a little bored with having FitQuick protein waffles all the time, so I've gone back to some old FitQuick recipes that I first heard about on the now-defunct Rise & Resist podcast. One was for a FitQuick coffee cake, and I used that to make a Raspberry Chocolate FitQuick Coffee Cake. Yummy way to get 22 grams of post-run protein! Here's the recipe.

I also went back and found the instructions for a FitQuick mug cake that I also heard about on that podcast. It's super-simple. You just cook the FitQuick batter in a mug in the microwave. This is an Orange Dream Bar FitQuick Mug Cake with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting. Here's that recipe! Also, can we talk about how gigantic these blackberries are??

I finally bought some more Marmite so I could make one of my fave breakfasts — Marmite Cottage Cheese Toast. I made the Tofu Cottage Cheese recipe from Cookin' Crunk, but basically, it's just plain, crumbled tofu with plain, unsweetened vegan yogurt and a little vegan mayo.

I've also been eating lots of Dave's Bagels! I'll never get tired of bagels. These are his Italian Herb Bagels, one half with vegan cream cheese and the other with hummus. Both have Trader Joe's Everything But the Bagel Seasoning.

And finally, here's a fun breakfast that I picked up at Crosstown Concourse one morning after my weightlifting class at the YMCA. It's the We Got the Beet Juice from Juice Bar and the Avocado Toast from French Truck Coffee. I got everything to go and ate it at home while I got ready for work.

V is for Vegan

Sometimes a cookbook is so beautiful that you just want to read it from front to back, just so you can admire every page of glossy, full-color food porn, perfectly placed type, and expert layout and design. Oh, and then maybe, when you're done admiring the book as a work of art, you might want to cook from it, too. But only if you're careful not to get splashes of olive oil and sprinkles of smoked paprika on the pages.

That's how I feel about V is for Vegan, the new hardcover cookbook by British underground supper club pioneer (and blogger at MsMarmiteLover) Kerstin Rodgers. It's as much work of art as it is cookbook. The book features a unique zine-style layout and a punk rock aesthetic. The recipes range from simple dishes, like a watermelon-veggie stir-fry or a homemade miso soup, to complex, gourmet meals that are equally impressive and intimidating. Think Artichoke, Potato, Spinach & Tofu B'stilla with Poppy Seeds and Rose Petals (b'stilla is described as "an exotic filled pastry pie" and is created with phyllo pastry). And some pages feature magazine-style photo spreads with various easy ideas for spreads and dips, ramen noodle hacks, or things to spread on toast.

As a toast lover, I was immediately drawn to the 13 Things on Toast spread. Just look at this gorgeous layout!

Of course, I had to try a few of these ideas first! I actually shared a picture of the first toast I tried — Marmite, Tahini, & Alfalfa Sprouts — in my St. Pat's Day post last Thursday. But here it is again. I went with a big chunk of whole-wheat bread (from the Whole Foods Bakery), and it's topped with creamy tahini, salty Marmite, and sprouts. The yeasty Marmite is such a good marriage with the tahini! 

I tried the Dark Chocolate Spread with Hazelnuts on Saturday morning before my long run. For this, I used the Endangered Species Cocoa Spread, chopped hazelnuts, and chunky sea salt. I would never have thought to add the sea salt on my own, but it really stepped this toast up a notch. Perfectly gourmet!

Today was the Vernal (or Spring) Equinox! Also known as Ostara. And on this day, it's common to eat eggs as symbols of the Earth's fertility. But since eggs are out of the question for me, I typically make some sort of vegan "eggy" dish to celebrate. I settled on the Scrambled Tofu on Truffled Sourdough Bruschetta. It looks like this would also be from the toast page, but it's actually listed in the breakfast chapter (though I had it for dinner!). 

This was unlike most tofu scrambles I've made in that it didn't really mimic eggs, and it was made with silken rather than firm tofu. But it was delicious nonetheless! The tofu was cooked on high for quite a while with mushrooms, scallions, and herbs until all the water cooked out of the tofu. Then, it was served on toast that was spread with garlic and truffle oil. Anything with truffle oil is alright by me. I actually added a little black salt at the end just to make it eggier, but it would also be good without that.

On the side, I made another one of the simple recipes from the book — Roast Potatoes in Coconut Oil. This is just what it sounds like! Potatoes are roasted in coconut oil. And she offers several flavor variations. I went with the Italian variation, which meant adding one can of tomatoes and some herbs. So amazing! I used expeller pressed oil, which has a heavy coconut flavor, and I really loved how that paired with the Yukon potatoes.

Here's my Spring Equinox celebration plate! The kale was just steamed and tossed with soy sauce and vinegar (not a recipe from the book).

There are far more complex recipes in this book as well. But I like to keep things simple (and I'm a little lazy sometimes), so I steered away from those. But dishes such as Beet Pelmeni with Herb & Walnut Filling (like little raviolis made with — gasp! — homemade pasta), Lettuce Cups with "Ceviche" & Sweet Potato (the ceviche is made with hearts of palm), or Wilted Day Lilies with Mustard Greens (who knew you could eat lilies?!) would certainly be impressive for guests. 

Thankfully, the book offers enough easier, more pedestrian dishes for lazy cooks like me! And even if I'll never make the Orange Flower Water, Cardamom, & Coconut Rice Pudding, a girl can dream.

St. Patrick's Day Fun!!

I love, love, love holidays. All holidays. Big and small. And I tend to celebrate them all in some way. But St. Patrick's Day is, by far, one of my faves — Irish stuff (we've got a wee bit of Irish in our family), drinking, the color green. I go big on St. Paddy's Day.

As per tradition, I started the morning with a green smoothie after my quick speed-work run. This year, I went with a Mint Carob Chip Shamrock Smoothie — frozen banana, almond milk, baby spinach, fresh mint, vanilla & mint extracts, natural Vega One protein powder, and carob chips. Oh, and some homemade coconut whipped cream on top just because.

It's also tradition to spike my coffee on St. Pat's, even on work days! For the past few years, I've made the Vegan Irish Cream from Vegan Food Gifts (Jameson Irish whiskey, vegan creamer, coffee, sugar, and cocoa powder). I added a generous pour to my coffee this morning.

I bought this cute green beer dog treat (and this not-so-green teddy bear) at the vet last week. I treated the pups this morning so they could celebrate too!

I typically go to a lunchtime yoga class on Thursdays, and when I do, I have a hearty snack at my desk beforehand. Today, that was Toast with Marmite, Tahini, and Sprouts (cause they're green). More on this combo later. It's from a cookbook — V is for Vegan — that I'll be reviewing soon.

After yoga, I went back to work and heated up a bowl of the Irish Stew with Seitan & Potatoes from Appetite for Reduction. I make this recipe for St. Pat's every couple years, and I skipped last year, so it was time! Made a big batch last night so I could have it for lunch today. It's such a hearty, satisfying stew of homemade seitan, potatoes, carrots, and green beans in a base of stout beer and flour-thickened veggie broth. And yes, I served it in a green bowl because I'm a dork.

My friend Misti and I planned to do our first pub run tonight, so after work, I ate a very light dinner. I made a Veggie Wrap with Trader Joe's Muhammara (walnut-red pepper spread), black beans, white carrots, baby spinach, and kalamata olives on Trader Joe's whole wheat lavash bread. But I only ate half of it because I didn't want to be full before our run. Please note that this was stuffed with green spinach! Because green.

The pub run started at 6 p.m. at Breakaway Running, Midtown's running shop in Overton Square. Misti made us the cutest tulle tutus!!!

There were about 200 people there! I'm a slow, slow runner, and I planned to stay at the back of the pack. But Misti is much faster, and once we got going, I decided to keep pace with her. It was rough, but I made it to our first pub stop — Hammer & Ale — without dying. I had a Yazoo Daddy-O Pilsner there.

After our first beer, it was time to run to stop #2 — Memphis Made Brewing Co. Running after one beer is ideal. You feel much lighter and swifter on your feet. It didn't even feel like an effort. Here we are at Memphis Made. I went with their Pork Chop Stout (horrible name, delicious beer).

After that beer, running became a BREEZE. Seriously, we barely even felt like we exerted any effort in our run to stop #3 — Slider Inn. It was a few blocks away, but it felt like it was just next door. But after that heavy porter at Memphis Made, I needed something light. Misti did too. So we ordered PBRs. Classic.

By the time we arrived at Slider, we'd worked up quite an appetite. So we ordered some sliders and fries. Misti eats meat, so we did the mix 'n' match plate. She got a meat slider. I got the Vegan Triple B (beets, black beans, and brown rice), and we split a Nuts 'n' Berries (PB & strawberry jam) in half. Also, fries because we earned those.

After dinner, it was time for the last stop on the pub run — Zebra Lounge. It's a swanky piano bar near the running store. And by the time we made it there from Slider, we were pooped. But for the record, the run there was fabulous. We teamed up with a guy we found running by himself, and we had some great conversation on the way. Beer and running are pretty much perfect together. Once at Zebra, we ordered one last round — for me, a Suzy B Prohibition, and for Misti, a Miller Lite. 

Whew! Good times! We decided that running on beer is basically the best thing ever, and we're considering joining the local hash house harriers group! At the least, we plan to attempt the beer mile.