more brown rice split pea burgers, Tasha's fire roasted red pepper smoky black bean soup with chili lime croutons, & many more pantry challenge eatz.

helloooooooooooooooooo! we're over a week into our pantry challenge & going strong. we've still got TONS of foods to work through, but we're making a dent. w00t! here's what we've been enjoying with what we have on hand this week...

sunday night we made Tasha's (of the gloriously awesome site The Voracious Vegan) most magnificent and super stellar fire roasted red pepper smoky black bean soup with chili lime croutons. i've been wanting to make Tasha's soup since she posted it a few weeks ago, but i had been holding off because we didn't have any black beans on hand. i couldn't stand the wait so we used cooked kidney beans in order to keep with our pantry challenge and i'm sooooo glad we made this soup - it's so good it's ridiculous! hands down - amazing. Tasha, my friend - you are too good & your soup made us most happyfaced. thank you! (the changes made: our croutons were gluten-free, subbed in kidney beans for black beans, and roasted our own tomatoes instead of using canned.)

a little b for d (brown for dinner breakfast for dinner) monday night - complete with Isa's gluten-free buckwheat pancakes, Bianca's damn delicious tempeh bacon (a tester recipe for her upcoming southern style cookbook that is gonna rock your socks!), and spicy hash browns (made with the last of our csa potatoes). yummers, 'fo sho.

i snagged the last of the basil that we were growing and made pesto a few weeks ago (we now have a glass jar full of raw pesto cubes in the freezer. superhappyface.), so we enjoyed some pesto covered brown rice pasta & salads (using some old gluten-free bread ends that we'd saved in the freezer for garlicky croutons) wednesday night for dinner.


and now onto the pantry challenge split pea brown rice burgers..... what we loved the most about these burgers was that the mushrooms & carrots used in 'em were from the veggie tray from my company's christmas party. we ended up staying really late while chatting it up with everyone & they sent the leftover veggies home with us. we used some of the celery from the tray in Tasha's soup & we cut up 'n froze the other half for later; the cucumbers and cherry tomatoes made for tasty snacks, and we froze the leftover bell peppers from the tray, too. hooray for no food waste!

ingredients:
1 cup cooked split peas
1 cup of cooked brown rice
3 large leaves of swiss chard, chopped well (kale, collards, or other tasty greens)
2 small carrots, chopped
1 small yellow onion, diced
10 (or more) button mushrooms, sliced & chopped
3 large cloves o' garlic, crushed & minced
a few pinches of sea salt & pepper
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp water
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp safflower oil

what you'll need:
- large skillet
- large mixing bowl
- food processor
- olive oil cooking spray

what'cha gotta do:
heat the skillet to medium & saute the onions, mushrooms, 'n carrots in the safflower oil until the onions begin to soften up. add in the garlic & chard and saute until the greens wilt a little & the garlic is fragrant. add in the garlic powder & a little sea salt 'n pepper - then transfer it all to the mixing bowl. toss the cooked brown rice & cooked split peas in the food processor with the 2 tbsp of water & give it a few whirls around. place the whizzed peas 'n rice in the large bowl with the sauteed veggies, toss in the cornmeal & nutritional yeast - and combine well (adjusting the seasonings to your taste). if the mix is a bit too dry, add in a little more water - if it's too wet add in a little more cornmeal (or gluten-free bread crumbs, crushed gluten-free crackers, etc.). form patties to your heart's delight & heat up a little olive oil cooking spray in the skillet over medium heat. saute the burgers until they're a little brown on both sides, remove from the skillet, & enjoy! (these bake up great, too - 350 degrees for about 20 minutes - just flip 'em over half way through the cooking time and you'll be good to go. yay!)

uno mas: with the remainder of the mushrooms from the veggie tray i sauteed 'em up for a tasty gluten-free mushroom reuben that was topped with some forgotten about kraut & the last of some cheeze that was about to expire. :)

pantry challenges = the best!

happy friday, everyone!

yum yum yum

happy december, hello, & hiya! we’re hoping everyone had a wonderful & relaxing holiday filled with lots of family, friends, good food, laughter, hugs, and happyfaces. :)

it’s been a bit since our last post, and we’d thought we’d share our thanksgiving eats and a few others with you as well. it’s been so much fun seeing what everyone enjoyed over the holiday and i’ve been drooling over all the pictures of such deliciousnesses. mmmmmmmm!

we (dan, julie (our pooch), and i) spent thanksgiving dan with dan’s family. the night before we cooked up a storm so that we wouldn’t have take up too much space in the kitchen the day of while all the hustle’n and bustle’n was go’n on. for our meal we enjoyed cornmeal crusted tempeh smothered with chickpea gravy (we simply added in a cup of lightly smashed chickpeas to our easy gravy recipe), dan’s fabulous garlicky smashed potatoes, roasted asparagus ‘n green beans, a suuuuuper scrumptious warm bean salad with herbs dan’s mom cooked up for us to enjoy, and salad with balsamic vinaigrette. yum!

for dessert we made isa’s chewy chocolate chocolate chip cookies, whipped coconut cream to go on top of the strawberries dan's momma bought, & chocolate pudding pie (from vwav) in Jes’ perfect gluten-free crust (which by the way, rocks the most socks!). it was all so deeeelicious! dan’s mom even picked up some vegan chocolate oatmeal cookies for dan to enjoy as well. his family is so accommodating and open-minded towards our vegan lifestyle – it’s the best!

the bean salad dan’s momma whipped up made for the tastiest of leftovers saturday morning (breakfast friday morning was pudding pie!). i sauteed up some tofu ‘n collards and stacked them high on a slice of gluten-free bread, topping it all with the bean salad. delish!


these were some uber tasty collard-azuki bean-brown rice burgers we whipped up sometime in the past few weeks. i must admit i forgot what we put in 'em, but when we make them again you better believe we'll let you know what they've got going on. they were most excellent, and absolutely perfect alongside some cheezy broccoli and tater tots. yay!


last night was pizza night (in order to use up some follow your heart cheeze a friend had passed along to us. it was nearing expiration and we didn’t want to go to waste – instead we wanted it in our bellies!).

here’s a fun little raw breakfast i've been enjoying lately: a granny smith apple with raisins, shredded carrots, raw walnuts, and a little “raw” agave nectar. easy & yummy. huzzah!


last night’s dinner had to be a quick one (as dan was off to join up with his bandmates for a recording session) - so we made tacos! i have a taco salad & dan enjoyed his fix’ns (homemade spicy soyrizo, Jennifer's traditional refried beans, tomatoes, spinach, homemade vegan ranch dressing, cabbage, and sauteed peppers 'n onions) in the taco shells that were needing to be used up since they’ve been hanging out in a our pantry for a while.

Liz, of the ever-so awesome Food Snobbery is my Hobbery, is starting up her own pantry challenge, and since i spent waaaaaay to much on groceries last month as well – we’re going to work through all the yummies in our pantry this month. thanks, Liz! i noticed that many of our staples have been hanging around for a while and it’s time to put ‘em all to good use, avoid food waste, and make lots of yummies with what we’ve got. yay!

and the yumminesses keep on come'n...

hiya, hiya!

we wanted to pop in, say hello (and hiya!), and share what deliciousnesses we’re been enjoying for the past week or so. last week was a bit busy: saturday i had my half marathon (my friend emily & i ran it together - not only did we rock our run, but we had an amazing time, too!), dan's busy kicking ass 'n taking names on his way to become a volunteer firefighter, and this week’s a bit busy, too (although i did have some time for a scary movie with some friends last night. w00t!). it's already friday?! huzzah!

last friday night we whipped up a comforting shepherd’s pie to enjoy on one chilly & rainy evening. JoLynn, of the ever-so awesome Dreamin' It Vegan, created the most scrumptious looking cruelty free shepherd’s pie a few weeks ago and since then, a serious craving had been sneaking up on me. mmmmmmm! we used JoLynn’s pie for inspiration; here’s what we did…

ingredients:
1 cup cooked white beans
1 cup unsweetened plain almond milk
2 tbsp brown rice flour
½ tsp miso
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp poultry seasoning
½ tsp sea salt, divided
½ small bunch of broccoli, chopped small
2 small carrots
1 large yellow onion, finely diced & divided
a handful of green beans, chopped into bite sized pieces
¼ cup nutritional yeast
4 small potatoes, diced (we used yukon golds from our csa & left the skins on)
a few splashed of unsweetened plain almond milk
1 tbsp margarine (we used earth balance)
2 tbsp dried parsley

what you’ll need:
- 2 large saucepans + 1 lid
- loaf/bread pan
- olive oil cooking spray
- large mixing bowl

what’cha gotta do:
place diced potatoes in one of the large saucepans & cover them with water. boil the potatoes until they’re tender (about 10-14 minutes), drain, and set aside. while the potatoes are cooking you can start on the veggies: spray the other saucepan with a little olive oil cooking spray, saute the carrots & onions on medium heat for 8 minutes. toss in the broccoli, green beans, and ¼ tsp sea salt. cover with lid & cook for 3 minutes. remove lid & toss in the brown rice flour. saute for another minute then add in 1 cup of almond milk. stir until it begins to thicken up a good bit, then add the miso, white beans, black pepper, and poultry seasoning to the saucepan. adjust seasonings to taste & set aside. get back to your taters: place the cooked potatoes in the large mixing bowl and smash ‘em up well, adding a few splashes of almond milk, ¼ tsp sea salt (more if you like), and the margarine. keep on smashing until they’re to the consistency you love the most. all together now: spray the bread pan with a little olive oil cooking spray, place the gravy-veggie mixture along the bottom of the pan, then top the gravy-veggie goodness with the nutritional yeast & parsley (just sprinkle it on there). top everything with the smashed potatoes & bake it all in the oven on 350 degrees (no need to preheat) for about 30 minutes. allow to cool for 5-10 minutes & enjoy!


last week our copy of The Kind Diet arrived & we got to cooking! sunday night we had the nabeyaki udon for dinner – it was soooo super delicious! downright outstanding, fo 'sho! dan had udon noodles in his bowl & i had buckwheat to keep it gluten-free. wow – it was gloriously good!

leftover nabeyaki udon veggies for a quick stir-fry - spiced up with a little sriracha –

and a tasty little lunch i made myself the other day of delicata squash, adzuki beans, brown rice, roasted zucchini & carrots. yum!

earlier this week we made the moroccan couscous with saffron, but substituted millet for the couscous to keep it gluten-free. awesomesauce!

some of the leftover roasted veggies from the saffron dish made for one rock’n stir-fry (we tossed in some red lentils, spinach, & mushrooms to round it out a bit). hooooooooray!

oh yes – and we sponsored bubbles this year. yay! if you haven't thought about adopting a turkey - you totally should! it's such a wonderful tradition, and one that will make both you & the turkeys most happyfaced!

the happiest of fridays to you all, and may your weekends rock some serious socks!

i almost forgot - homemade radish umeboshi pickles from The Kind Diet. tangy. salty. awesome. w00t!

csa: potatoes, spinach, onions, swiss chard, broccoli

some deeeelicious tester recipes, csa loot, and mas yummies.

so far this week we've chowing down on some darn deeeeeeeeeeelicious eatz.

we're super lucky recipe testers for Bianca of Vegan Crunk - she's creating a southern-style cookbook that's sure to rock some serious socks! (every recipe we've tested so far is absolutely stellar!) the other evening we enjoyed her bbq tempeh & carrot sandwich (made with her tangy 'n ever-so amazing memphis-style barbecue sauce & topped with her awesome poppy seed coleslaw). we were in heaven! one of my favorites as an omni was this pulled pork sammie from a local richmond bbq spot (i know, i know!), & Bianca's bbq tempeh & carrot sammie was better than any pulled pork i remember! dan & i fought over the left-overs today, too. ah ha ha!

we also tested out Bianca's gloriously good sweet 'n' sour bean balls. the sauce was the perfect balance of sweet 'n sour, the bean balls were so very tasty & held together well - they were just so awesome! we paired the bean balls with peas, roasted brussels, and some wee little csa potatoes. i see a lot of peas over at Sal's fantastical blog, Alien On Toast, and thought they'd go well with the bean balls - and they did!

we grabbed some veggie awesomeness from our csa this past saturday (we ran out of money in our csa account a few weeks ago, but our csa is giving us 20% off until the end of the season on all they have to offer. squeeeeeeeeeeeee!): butternut squash, another tasty kabocha squash, japanese eggplants, tomatoes, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, golden apples, red 'n green cabbage, broccoli, rainbow chard, and salad mix. superw00t!

saturday after the market i was feeling mighty inspired by Cyn's beans & chards - so i whipped up something similar - a pinto bean & rainbow chard bowl with a little roasted pumpkin, brussels, nooch, and millet. this was absolutely yum! thanks, Cyn!


p.s. if you haven't tried Hannah's easy as pumpkin pie shake yet, you should. it's the best & perfectly sweet 'n pumpkiny! (we made ours with a little pumpkin we picked up at our csa a few weeks ago.)

csa: onions, carrots, swiss chard, potatoes, pumpkin,
local: tempeh, garlic

post-mofo eatz.

after a nice little break from all the mofo fun & madness we're back with some yummies to share!

this past saturday i scored a few most awesome veggies 'n goodies from our csa & the farmer's market: some of the season's last tomatoes, broccoli, eggplants, yukon gold potatoes, kabocha squash (japanese pumpkin), bell pepper, tasty virginia apples (i think they were ginger golds, but don't quote me on it), the most fantastical thing ever - peach rosemary jam, green beans, spinach, & salad mix.

so far this week we've been doing a tasty job of using up the csa loot. sunday night was lentil soup & buckwheat-teff rolls for our soup 'n bread night (i'm still working on the roll recipe, but i'll fo 'sho post it when i've got it where i want it) - it was mucho yum! monday night we used up some green beans, broccoli, store-bought asparagus and local tofu and made mel's sweet 'n sour tofu (our favorite sweet 'n sour sauce recipe. hands down.). tuesday night i forgot to take a picture of our mac 'n cheeze with broccoli and peas (it didn't look the prettiest, but it did taste mighty mmmmmmmmm), and this evening was roasted kabocha squash over millet with pepitas & garlicky roasted asparagus - of course it was all sprinkled with a little nooch for extra deliciousness (and b12)!

there are at least a million rock'n recipes for lentil soup - but we thought we'd share with you how ours went down sunday night. :)


ingredients:
1 1/2 cups dried green lentils, rinsed until the water runs clear
1 small bunch 'o kale, well chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 decent sized carrots, peeled & chopped
4 small potatoes, diced (we leave the skin on & used yukon golds from the csa)
3 big 'ol cloves of garlic, minced
7 cups veggie stock**
2 tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp sea salt (less if you like)
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp marmite/vegemite/promite (optional, but awesome)
1 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp olive oil (or use a little olive oil cooking spray)

**we've been saving all our veggies scraps and putting them into a container in the freezer to make veggie stock with when we've gathered enough scraps. (homemade veggie stock = super cheap & super awesome!)

what you'll need:
- large pot + lid
- blender (optional)

what'cha gotta do:
heat 1 tsp olive oil in the large pot on medium heat. saute onions & carrots until the onion begins to soften. add minced garlic, marmite, & all the spices. saute for another 2 minutes. add the lentils & veggie stock. bring the soup to a boil, cover with lid, and simmer for about 15 minutes. uncover the pot, toss in the potatoes & kale - simmer it all until the potatoes & lentils are both tender. transfer half the soup in your blender (if you like) & give it a whirl - return the blended soup to the pot. give it a stir, top with a little nooch, & enjoy! easy peasy!

csa: kale, carrots, onions, potatoes, green beans, squash, broccoli
local: tofu, garlic

happy almost-friday! squeeeeeeeeeee!

helping out creates happyfaces!

hiya, hiya!

we wanted to give everyone a heads up on ways you can help out some fellow bloggers - both Kris & Katie are looking for some support so we're spreading the word. :)

Kris of NOM! NOM! NOM! is looking for recipes for a cause. a good friend of hers is collecting recipes for a cookbook that a close friend of her family is putting together - they’ll be adding the recipes to a cookbook that will be sold & all the proceeds will help their friend Becky in her battle with stage 4 breast cancer. we know you guys rock some fantastically awesome eatz & if you want to donate a recipe click here for mucho mas details.

Katie of Chocolate-Covered Katie is reaching out and finding more great ways to support her favorite charities. she’ll be donating all the money foodbuzz gives her each time someone views her blog pages to the charities closest to her heart. Katie’s holding a page view charity drive – so get on over to Chocolate-Covered Katie get more details, start clicking, and spread the word!

please help both Kris & Katie if you can!

happy halloween! (& a goodbye to veganmofo 2009.)

happy halloween, everyone! we're superhappyfaced about halloween fun & a bit sadfaced about the end of veganmofo, but next year will be just as gloriously fun - so it's all good! we're pretty darn happyfaced we were able to post every day for mofo again this year - although a little break will be kinda nice, too! ;)

all we've got for ya this evening are a few pictures of a few of our favs. those eatz that we took pictures of but kinda forgot about - including last night's "we're hang'n out at home on the couch" friday night pizzas. w00t!

first off - tots. words cannot express the love dan & i share for tater tots. mmmmmmm!

next up - our 10 year anniverary eatz: katie's tempeh wingz (so freak'n delicious and one of our absolute favorites) & a dr. cow aged cashew cheese 'n cracker plate (glutenous & gluten-free crackers).



moving right along to our friday night yummies....whole wheat pizza for dan & gluten-free for myself. complete with homemade tomato-basil-roasted red pepper-sundried tomato marinara, spinach, red onions, olives, hot peppers, bell peppers, a little sriracha, and portobello mushrooms. awesomesauce!

and roasted pumpkin - because pumpkin rocks socks! :)

csa: pumpkin, spinach, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, green beans, broccoli.