Vegan Mofo 2014 Day 4: Virtual Vegan Linky Party Walnut, Chickpea & Chicken Salad

Salad full of pleasing ingredients.

Almost three years vegan and I'm still getting that dreadful "where do you get your protein?" question. It's annoying. However, I manage to answer without eye rolling and hissy fitting. Sometimes.
Well, to Virtual Vegan Linky Party and 4th Vegan Mofo day, I bring this yummy versatile salad. It  has ample protein in four major ingredients. A whole can of chickpeas contain 21 grams, one serving of Beyond Meat's Grilled Chicken has 19 grams, handful of walnuts has 7, and nutritional yeast has 8 grams. Not to mention spinach adds a bit too.
Two servings, enough to please both Popeye and Olive Oil, slightly smashed chickpeas provides great background to Beyond Meat's amazing pea protein chicken. I think any of their strips would do. They are on sale for $4.49 at Whole Foods plus an $1 off coupons are featured in latest coupon book. Yay! Savory, crunchy-tastic walnuts bring on texture and nutritional yeast add that spazzy cheesy taste. Of course, I then added Treeline nut cheese and nom nom nom.....

Walnut Chickpea & Chicken Salad Ingredients and Preparation

15 oz chickpeas, 
1 cup spinach
6 Beyond Meat Chicken strips, diced
2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/4 cup red onion
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup walnuts

Mash chickpeas. Not all of them. Just some.
Toss in spinach, Beyond Meat chicken strips, nutritional yeast, red onion, garlic salt, and black pepper. 
Add walnuts and toss again.

Championship salad.

Where's my protein? Here on this plate. Thank you.

Time to stick a fork into this meal.

Topped with a dollop of Treeline nut cheese. Amazing stuff. Next mofo post.

Vegan Mofo Day 3: The TST Sandwich: Tofu, Spinach, Tempeh

Move over BLT- TST is taking over!

Welcome to my Vegan Mofo Day 3! I may be days behind, but nothing is going to stop me from 30 posts. Not even school! Oh, here's the official blogroll. Cannot wait to catch up with everyone this weekend! Yessss!!!!!
A few months ago, on lunch break, I went into nearest health food restaurant and tentatively ordered a cold tofu sandwich. Mind you, after some bad tofu "egg" salad experiences, I wasn't exactly gung ho on the idea. But it was the cheapest vegan sandwich option on the menu at $5. In the end, sandwich had been soooo amazing. They topped with with lettuce, tomato, onion, and pumpkin seeds. Delicious myriad of flavors y'all. Just good. I've been obsessed with tofu as "cold cuts." It's so much cheaper than most fake meats. With salt, black pepper, and whatever else is on hand, it is simple efficiency for lunch on the go too! I have a full schedule this fall semester and a quick meal is a must.
Now a TST is a lot like a BLT sans the bacon. Spinach is a great alternative to lettuce. Popeye loves it and so do I. Fried tempeh (bacon element) is prepared in coconut oil spray. I'm sure you all have heard the devastating news about Trader Joe's organic coconut oil. The demand is so high that it's taking a long log while to reach store shelves. Hoping it won't be forever. I need for more than cooking.
Lastly, cold tofu married to garlic salt, curry powder, and lemon pepper centers spinach and tempeh. Add tomato slices to make this a TTST. 

The TST Sandwich: Tofu, Spinach, Tempeh Ingredients And Preparation

4 slices, bread of choice
Treeline Garlic Cashew Cream (yummy review coming up!)
extra firm tofu slices
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
coconut oil spray
tempeh (seasoned with 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon paprika)
spinach
other fixings like red onion, avocado, tomato, etc

Get tofu as dry as possible. If you have a tofu press, I'm officially envious.
Rub garlic salt, curry powder, and lemon pepper onto tofu. Sit aside.
Coconut oil pan and toss in seasoned tempeh strips. Cook each side for about 5 minutes.
Layer bottom of bread with spinach and top another with Treeline Garlic Cashew Cream.
Top spinach with tofu, three slices of tempeh, and bread.

Sandwiches on demand.

Served with a side of Traer Joe's delicious 100% Carrot Juice. Mmmmhmmm!

Tofu is far from bland despite the naysayers.

Vegan Mofo 2014 Day 2: Baked Panko Topped Cauliflower Mac

Mac n cheese is a classic favorite, but there are no pasta elbows here.

Hello vegan mofos! Welcome to day two!  This is bound to be one of several Taste The Nom Nom mac n cheeses debuting today. There's an upcoming review on a certain brand sweeping the nation. Hint: Those whose childhood thrived on Kraft's blue box tradition will know what I'm talking about.
Now Cauliflower "Macaroni" is definitely becoming one of my fast favorites. Sometimes I am out of macaroni. It happens. Heck, I'm out of pasta all the time. Frozen cauliflower proves to be more than capable to stand in. Creamy, firm consistency without wheat holds up to cheesy flavors provided by Daiya Mozzarella and nutritional yeast. The topping is unbelievably delicious thanks to Ian's well seasoned Italian herb breadcrumbs.
For a more delectable, heartier crunch add chopped walnuts before baking. Mmmmhmmmmm!

Baked Cauliflower Mac Ingredients And Preparation

1 cup cauliflower florets
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup almond milk
1/4 cup Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds
3 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup Ian's Italian Herb Panko Breadcrumbs
3 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/4 teaspoon paprika
pinch of salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease desired baking pan or mini pans.
Combine cooked cauliflower with olive oil, almond milk, Daiya, nutritional yeast, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper.
Mix breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast, paprika, sat, and pepper in a separate bowl.

Pour cauliflower into pans (or pan) and top with breadcrumb mixture.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Voila.

Ready to eat-- straight out of the dish!

Happy Vegan Mofo 2014 Day 1: Chocolate Almond Granola Peanut Butter Banana Milkshake

Someone's happy about Vegan Mofo kick off.

Happy September y'all! Let's get this Vegan Mofo party started right eh?
My blog theme is Taste The Nom Nom- thirty days of delicious treasures: homemade, eating out, and otherwise. I'm well prepared and excited to make tongue buds overjoy with animal free delight!
In this delectable thick milkshake, frozen banana plays the "ice cream" part. I used Cascadian Farms' irresistible always sold out Dark Chocolate Almond Granola. Trader Joe's Chocolate Almond Granola (revisiting Vegan Mofo and blog's current top post here) is a good substitute too. Or one could always make their own. Of course, my favorite chocolate laced peanut butter crack makes appearance amping up chocolate + peanut butter flavor. Bananas and chocolate and peanut butter equals massive win. Perfect simple treat for breakfast or dessert. Just take a spoon or glass straw along sweet blissful ride.
Be sure to check out all of the other participants of Vegan Mofo and prepare yourself to be bookmarking sites every single day. There's a lot of interesting themes this year! :)

Chocolate Almond Granola Dark Chocolate Dreams Banana Milkshake Ingredients and Preparation

1 banana, ripened and cold
2 tablespoon Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter
1 cup vanilla almond milk
1/3 cup Cascadian Farms Dark Chocolate Almond Granola
ice cubes

Place all ingredients in a blender- chopping, grinding, and pureeing to satisfaction.
Pour into a 12 ounce glass.
Sprinkle top with extra granola.

My fancy bow tied date is eager for a Taste of Nom Nom!

 

Ultimate Coconut & Chocolate Chip Gluten Free Pancakes With Creamy Roasted Walnut Butter

Coconut and chocolate chip deliciousness covered by the most amazing homemade nut butter.

Despite having a pimple the size of Texas, the first day of MFA candidacy was great yesterday. I had seminar. I usually am kind of meh on the early morning talk talk talk, but this sounds like it'll be quite a winner. Syllabus contains great amount of diverse reading material (Adrian Piper, Virginia Woolf, Bell Hooks, and Freud oh my!), plus essay writing assignments! (yes I love writing papers!), and avid film watching. In fact, we viewed a Charles and Ray Ames (glorious chair makers) short piece on conversation. Plus our teacher is an artist/gallery owner who wears converse sneakers and denim- very cool and sparkly (except he wasn't sparkly). My last two seminar teachers were awesome too. Except we still must do something about this meeting at 8:30 AM. Hot chocolates will have to give energetic life and sustenance. And pancakes. One must cannot exclude pancakes from morning bliss.
For Vegan Linky Potluck 9, I bring an old classic introduced on my Facebook page. Yet to be blogged until now. You know how you have something up your sleeve and just get around to pulling out that wild card? Well, this is it. I have had these pancakes backburned far too long. Clearing up post drafts to make way for Vegan Mofo which starts this coming Meatless Monday!
To chocolate coconut fanatics these are created solely in your honor. Mixed with gluten free pancake batter (the cheat sheet way!), coconut oil and coconut flakes provide flavor and texture to otherwise chocolate chip madness. No maple syrup required when an ample amount of irresistible homemade walnut butter tops and smothers crisp, golden goodness.

Ultimate Coconut & Chocolate Chip Gluten Free Pancakes Ingredients and Preparation

coconut oil for pan frying
1 cup Maple Grove Farms Pancake/Waffle Mix
1 cup So Delicious Original Organic Coconut Milk
1/3 cup tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut flakes
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup Enjoy Life Foods Miniature Chocolate Chips
pinch of cinnamon
Creamy Roasted Walnut Butter

Heat skillet with coconut oil.
Mix pancake mix, coconut milk, coconut oil, coconut flakes, and vanilla together.
Fold in chocolate chips and cinnamon.
Pour in about 1/4 cup of batter into skillet and cover.
Flip over once little bubbles form and edges are firm- about five minutes.
Repeat. Time should be shortened upon each pancake interval.

Crafted pancakes topped with Creamy Roasted Walnut Butter- no maple syrup required!

Served alongside a mug of hot tea.

The Official Vegan Mofo Press Release & Cheesy Brussels Sprouts Breakfast Grits

Optional walnuts add crunchy texture to overall creaminess of rich dish.

If you haven't signed up for this year's Vegan Mofo now is the time to hop to it! Here's the official press release edited for my blog purposes:

Vegan Mofo 2014.

August 23, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

VeganMoFo VIII: Vegan Month of Food, with hundreds of bloggers from around the world participating!  

The 8th Annual Vegan Month of Food (aka VeganMoFo) is ready to take the internet by storm! Starting September 1, 2014, several hundred bloggers and instagrammers from all around the globe will pledge to post about vegan food at least five days a week for the whole month of September. The most dedicated participants try to blog all 30 days. Food writers, bloggers, and home cooks will write about what they eat and what they cook, all with the intention of showing off the wide and delicious world of vegan food. Some participants use VeganMoFo as a motivation to tackle massive culinary projects, some choose a different theme for each day of the week, and still others take on the challenge of daily posts from the seat-of-their-pants!

This year, for the first time, VeganMoFo will be actively including the participation of the vibrant vegan community on Instagram – with the hashtag #veganmofo2014. If ever you have wondered about what vegans are eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner – you will be amazed at the variety of meals and foods. There will be everything from summer produce, family dinners, green smoothies, mountains of cookies, waffles, and goji berries!

Local blogger Janyce Denise Glasper of AfroVeganChick is one of the blogs participating this year. She first began AfroVeganChick blog in 2012 which focuses on home cooked comfort food recipes, local restaurant reviews, beauty D.I.Y., natural hair progression, and much more.

An alphabetized list of all participating blogs and Instagram accounts will be posted online at the Vegan MoFo Headquarters International (http://www.veganmofo.com). There you will also find information about generating an RSS feed to help you keep track of all the food writing. Vegan MoFo can also be followed on Twitter.com @veganmofo.

VeganMoFo is a grassroots event that evolved from an international community of vegans who love to cook, and are passionate about sharing their love of vegan food with the rest of the world. First organized by famed vegan chef and cookbook author Isa Chandra Moskowitz (theppk.com), VeganMoFo has been gathering more and more enthusiasts each year. Anyone interested in food should definitely go online and check it out. And be prepared for a growling stomach! 

Whew! Did you get all that? Isn't it exciting????! My 30 day theme is Taste The Nom Nom- which will feature all kinds of mouth watering salads, entrees, desserts, appetizers, and perhaps some wonderful Philly/NYC pit stops along the way. I cannot wait!
As for today, just packing remainder of boxes and gearing up for Monday moving. Along with moving comes clearing out the refrigerator/freezer- eating all perishable foods ASAP.
There is nothing like waking up in the afternoon craving breakfast. I'm not a morning person, but that doesn't mean one skips out on most important first meal of the day.  So here is another delicious cheesy plate. This time polenta is creamed to epic proportions with Brussels sprouts and Daiya cheddar added to the mix.
I love Brussels sprouts. Adore them immensely. Delicious rounded small "cabbages" are steamed and smashed into oblivion, a perfect companion to creamed polenta. Daiya's cheddar just melts right in. Every bite is comforting indulgence. See. I'm all ready for Vegan Mofo already!

Cheesy Brussels Sprouts Breakfast Grits Ingredients and Preparation

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 Trader Joe's 16 oz organic polenta, diced
1 cup cooked Brussels sprouts, mashed
1/4 cup almond milk
1/2 cup Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

In a heated skillet, stir garlic and coconut oil together.
Add polenta, using spoon to mix and mash cubes into smaller and smaller pieces for about 6-7 minutes.
Cover with lid.
Combine Brussels sprouts, almond milk, Daiya, and spices with polenta. Let this warm for another 4-5 minutes. 

Stir once again and turn off heat.

Plate and top with crushed walnuts and extra black pepper.

Served with a side of strawberry banana peanut butter smoothie. Heaven.

Snickerdoodles!

Sweet cinnamon-y snickerdoodles make great gifts.

I said "goodbye" to someone special tonight. Sayonara isn't easiest task, but it happens when moving onto next phase of life. I always say this in an appreciative, endearing manner- for this is someone I've known practically forever. Although there are millions of words found in dictionaries and thesauruses, kind gestures speak tons. Plus I adore baking treats for people, sharing such pleasantries. Thanks to Making Thyme For Health, I found best way to spread joyous affection- fresh from the oven snickerdoodles!
Once again, the yellow rubber duck ribbon comes out to play pretty to gift presentation. Yay!
For today's 8th Virtual Vegan Linky Party, I am happy to introduce the veganization of my favorite cookies in the whole wide world! And no- it's not chocolate chip or double chocolate chip fudge surprisingly enough. Although chocolate anything sounds epically amazing- nothing pleases me more than a fresh from the oven snickerdoodle. Some believe they're simple sugar cookies disguised in cinnamon spice. Oh no. No. They're a lot more than that. Cream of tartar alone gives snickerdoodles that distinctively unique flavor. Moist, chewy, soft with a little delicate crunch thanks to minute dough balls rolled and then baked in exterior cinnamon-sugar mixture.
With this list of ten ingredients- one isn't excluded. That's love. Makes pleasant desserts even sweeter.

Snickerdoodles Ingredients and Preparation

1 1/2 cup flour (my cookies are brown due to whole wheat flour usage)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon date syrup (or vanilla)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup almond milk

1/8 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar, and sugar.
Mix in date syrup (or vanilla), coconut oil, and almond milk.
Stir evenly and refrigerate for a couple of hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
Scoop out 1 tablespoon cookie dough balls, coating them in cinnamon sugar mixture.
Place them inches apart on greased baking sheet.
Bake for 10-13 minutes.

Added just a smidgeon more of cinnamon to cooled cookies.

I love reusing old jars and containers. This Natural Delights Medjool Dates is no exception. Perfectly suited to house snickerdoodle bliss.

The best presents are homemade.

Close up of yellow ribbons and happy rubber ducks meant to brighten spirits.