Yummy Bread Sticks with Olive Oil

My husband always craves breadsticks. Anything that resembles bread. Recently we went to this restaurant called Pizza Fusion (great vegan pizza) and had some great breadsticks (more like little loafs of bread) that was paired with a oil and vinegar mixture. So I decided to make some breadsticks with pizza dough. We were both utterly amazed by how easy and yummy they turned out.

Get a package of pre-made pizza dough (you can definitely make your own if you're ambitious enough), separate and roll dough into balls about 2.5 inches in diameter. Sprinkle some dried oregano and salt on surface. Drizzle some olive oil on top and place on cookie sheet. Preheat oven (if you're using a toaster oven, which was what I used, you can save energy and don't need to preheat.) Bake at 400 degrees in oven for about 7 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for a minute and serve with more olive oil/balsamic vinegar or marinara sauce.

Polenta with Portobello Mushroom

I never knew what polenta was until I saw it on Food Network recently. I always thought it had milk or animal products in it but it's just boiled cornmeal. I realized they sell polenta almost everywhere and it's super easy to make. If you're tired of making regular pasta, I highly suggesting trying polenta. All you have to do is slice the "tube" of polenta about half an inch thick, heat some olive oil in a pan and fry the polenta until both sides are golden. Add some warm tomato sauce on it. Easy-peasy.

If you're interested in making portobello mushroom, I whipped together a simple marinade consisting of half part balsamic vinegar and half part olive oil. Dip the mushrooms (top and bottom) in the marinade and place a hot pan. As it sizzles, I spooned more marinade onto the mushrooms, making sure you flip the 'shrooms to prevent it from being burnt. Should take about a minute or two for it to be soft. You can just stick a fork in it to see if it's soft enough for your taste preference.

Real Food Daily

Real Food Daily is among the top of our vegan restaurant list. We read about this place from VegNews magazine a while ago and decided to pay it a visit while visiting family in the LA area. Unfortunately for us, there are only two locations and both are in Los Angeles: one in Santa Monica and the other in Hollywood. It has rather cozy seating but who's to complain if their food is delish!?

RFD has a regular menu, a monthly and a weekly rotating menu with new dishes. For the month of May, their special was Two Hot Oaxacan Tamales made with two seared tofu and vegetables tamales, spicy mole sauce, anasazi beans and spicy cole slaw with toasted pepitas.

In addition, we ordered the Pizza You Can Eat-za. If you were to order this, I would suggest you erase all your preconception of what a typical pizza should be like. Perhaps it was the cornmeal crust that made it taste more like flat quiche, but it was tasty, nonetheless.

As part of their weekly menu, we ordered the cleverly named, My Hands Are Thai. A dish of spicy glazed king mushroom, noodles, cabbage, avocado, snow peas, cilantro mint, basil, peanuts with spicy thai dressing. Great for a warm close-to-summer day.

Real Food Daily is definitely a place to try, vegan or not. I would eat here everyday if I could, simply because their menu changes. It definitely has an eclectic following of hip LA peeps but flip-flop wearing San Diegans won't feel out of place.

"Egg" Muffin

It has been three years since I've had an Egg McMuffin at McDonald's. The Number-One-Egg-McMuffin Combo used to be a Saturday morning staple with my dad. When I became vegetarian, I had one without the Canadian bacon. Maybe it was the salt, or the chewy warm goodness, Egg McMuffins were once my favorite. I decided to make a vegan version of this after I came across a pack of Yves Canadian Bacon at the market. And it was DELISH without the guilt.

This Egg Muffin doesn't need a real recipe. It's just a toasted English Muffin with a slice of Follow Your Heart cheddar. I used a little oil to fried the Yves Canadian Bacon and a thick slice of firm tofu until browned. My suggestion is to thinly slice the cheddar to ensure it melts. My cheese was definitely too thick in the picture but delightful nonetheless.

Spicy Miso Garlic Bok Choy

Spicy Miso Garlic Bok Choy, a great companion to any rice dish.

You can find bok choy in most produce aisles. They're kind of tiny, so grab two of them since they wilt like spinach.

Miso paste is the same kind you use in miso soup. Specialty/ethnic grocery stores like Whole Foods or Henry's should carry them and will be in the refrigerated aisle. They come in bags or tubs and varieties such as red, yellow, white. I use yellow miso for its mellow flavor.

Spicy Miso Garlic Bok Choy

2 bunches of bok choy, chopped
2 cloves of garlic (more if you want a more "garlicky" flavor)
3 Tbsp miso paste
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
Dash of chili powder






Heat up pan with vegetable oil. Add garlic until slightly browned. Stir in bok choy and miso paste. Continue stirring until bok choy will begins to wilt and miso paste look more like a sauce. Add chili powder.

Chinese "Chicken" Salad

Summer's coming and nothing beats a nice, refreshing salad for lunch or dinner. Here's a spin on the traditional Chinese Chicken Salad.

Chinese "Chicken" Salad

2 hearts of romaine, chopped
Vegan "Chicken" strips (I got mine at Trader Joe's)
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1/8 cup green onions, chopped
1 can of mandarin oranges, drained
A few sprigs of cilantro, chopped
1/8 cup of slivered almonds, toasted
Fresh ground pepper

Chop up the romaine lettuce and place in large bowl. Add chicken strips, bean sprouts, green onions, mandarin oranges and cilantro. Add dressing to taste. When ready to serve, sprinkle with slivered almonds and fresh group pepper.

Chinese Salad Dressing

3 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp rice vinegar
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp red pepper flakes

Stir together and add to salad.

Trader Joe's Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's hard to keep these a secret any longer. I absolutely have to share these with you.

Trader Joe's Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. Delicious and only $3.99.

 They taste like the TJ's version of Uncle Eddie's cookies but definitely less expensive. 

Give them a try!

Tempeh Potato Burritos with Guacamole

Tonight's dinner was potato burritos. A while back, the principal of the school I taught at made these delicious burritos of potatoes and tomatoes for the staff. I decided to make my own version of them.

Put diced onions in a pan of heated olive oil
Sautee for about 3 minutes or until clear
Mix in potatoes and tempeh until slightly brown

(You can buy tempeh at Trader Joe's or other health food stores)

Stir in diced tomatoes and cover

Decrease heat and stir occasionally for 10 minutes or until potatoes are soft

 Scoop filling in warm tortillas

Tempeh Potato Burritos
3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 tempeh patty
Half of a red onion, diced
6 large flour tortilla
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Guacamole
3 avocados
3 tbsp cilandro, diced
3 tbsp red onion, diced
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
Salt to taste

Ribbon Cutting

My husband and I have been meat-free for three years now. In an attempt to be a good domestic partner, I would volunteer to make dinner. My special talent was ruining everything I made. I burned chicken breasts in a George Foreman Grill. My eggs would still have eggshells in them. My chocolate cakes became brownies. Then, I had an epiphany: veggies don’t need to be fully-cooked to be safely consumed! What an idea!

Since I was still the main chef in the relationship and my husband (then, boyfriend) still ate meat, I cooked my yummy portion of vegetarian meal and threw in some bland chicken strips on the side (heated up in the microwave) for him. A month later, on Earth Day, after bingeing at a Brazilian all-you-can-eat meat buffet, he gave up meat. We both agree we felt healthier, lighter and had more energy.

A few months later I became vegan. I cut out dairy cold turkey. I admit there were times I’ve fallen off the wagon but for the most part, I had the intention to remain dairy-free. After going through an entire pregnancy with our daughter as a vegan, we decided once solids were introduced, we would become a vegan family. This blog will not only document our journey but also serve as a resource for anyone interested in becoming vegan, incorporating more meat and dairy-free meals in their day or even raising a vegan family. I am excited to share this part of our lives with you and hope you can find some of the presented ideas useful!