Texas-Style Tofu Taco Filling

VegCookBook Club The Vegan Slow Cooker:

 

I marinated the tofu in lime juice and garlic the night before then mixed it with the rest of the ingredients the next morning. It smelled yummy cooking all day. Kathy's recipe suggested using hard corn taco shells but I used soft tortillas. I can see why she suggested the hard corn ones-these little tacos needed some crunch. The filling could have been a little spicier but it didn't stop me from eating two of them! I piled Daiya cheddar shreds, tomato, green onions, cilantro, shredded spinach and picante sauce on top and dug in. If I make these again I'll add some crunchy veggies or use hard corn tortillas.  

Before folding and eating!

Southern-Style Green Beans

Finishing up the month of September with a few more from The Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Hester. October's cookbook is Chloe's Kitchen. Can't wait to try out some of her recipes! Join in the fun here at the VegCookBook Club.  My local Sprouts market is getting more and more organic vegetables and they had these lovely green beans.

I like my green beans either roasted or cooked really well. I don't like crunchy beans. These need to cook at least 2 hours to get rid of that bitter green crunchiness.  Anyway, this recipe has liquid smoke and cajun seasoning in it. Mmm mmm~ they tasted just like my grandma used to make (of course she used bacon in hers). Who needs the bacon? The liquid smoke and cajun spice makes these pig free and delicious! My hubby really liked them. He was eating them with his fingers out of the slow cooker. Now I have two ways to cook green beans-roast and slow cook!

Tapioca Pudding for Two

Dessert! VegCookBook Club. The Vegan Slow Cooker:

Definitely adding this one to my 'make again' list! I love tapioca and haven't had any since going vegan. I put mine in the small slow cooker in the morning and then it was chilled and ready to eat after dinner. I sprinkled some nutmeg on top-yum! My hubby and I finished it off; well it did only make enough for two, right?! Next time I might try a different kind of milk-maybe rice or almond instead of soy to give it a whiter appearance and less soy taste.

Sweet Potato and Chard Dal

More recipes from this month's cookbook for the VegCookBook Club. The Vegan Slow Cooker~

 

I love Swiss Chard; this is an easy way to get those greens! I had two slow cookers going today. Dessert in the 1 1/2 qt. size and dinner in the larger one.

 

I served my Sweet Potato and Chard Dal over brown rice. I had some brussels sprouts I needed to cook so I made my favorite b.r. recipe from La Dolce Vegan ~ "Dijon Mustard Brussels Sprouts" . The dal  had a great creamy texture but I like mine a little spicier so I added some sriracha sauce on top.

Cowgirl Cookies

 

Oh yes~a full cookie jar!

 

I have been trying to use up some of my baking supplies and I had one cup of vegan white chocolate chips left. This recipe is an excellent way to use them up! The main recipe in the cookbook is "Cowboy Cookies" using chocolate chips and pecans. This is the variation recipe using white chocolate chips, dried cranberries and walnuts. It either makes 2 dozen large cookies or what I prefer, 4 dozen smaller cookies.

Chorizo and Sweet Potato Enchilada Casserole

Made my first recipe out of The Vegan Slow Cooker tonight. It's this month's cookbook chosen by the vegcookbookclub.

 

 

 

I cooked my casserole for 2 hours on high and it was done. Then I just had to add some Daiya cheddar shreds on top. I turned the slow cooker on warm and let the cheddar melt.

 

 

I served the casserole with some leftover spanish rice I had made the night before and some fresh, cool green salad. The casserole was rather spicy because of the soyrizo and the enchilada sauce I used. I added some vegan sour cream on top to cool things off a little bit after I took the pic. I like spicy food but my poor hubby might have trouble with this one! I think this will taste even better tomorrow.

Cherry Almond Cookies

Cleaning out the fridge again and found some dried cherries and slivered almonds. Oops, I had just the recipe to use them up. Cherry Almond Cookies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero. Love the recipes in this little book!

These taste just like cherry cobbler in a cookie!

Sarah's Chili-con-Bulgur~pg. 163

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

I forgot how good this chili is! It makes a large quantity so we've got leftovers for another meal.

 

The bulgur adds alot of meaty bulk to the chili. One note-next time I make this I won't add the 1/4 tsp. salt. It's salty enough with the vegetable stock and the 1/4 cup of tamari. I served the chili with the best cornbread in the world~Wolffie's 'Buttermilk' Cornbread from La Dolce Vegan.

Chocolate-Walnut Loaf~pg. 240

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

I started off this morning making a late breakfast of Freedom French Toast from LDV topped with applesauce and maple syrup~mmm mmm.

 

Then it was off on a bike ride. It feels great easing back into being active again after my back surgery. I then decided to make this decadent chocolatey loaf. It is moist and yummy and is on my "make again" list.

 

 

After baking this delicious loaf it was time for a swim at my brother and sister-in-law's house. They live just around the corner from me. We had a great time with our 'water therapy'; it's a nice, safe environment to float around and talk about life!

 

By the time I got home and visited with my mom who lives across the street I realized it was too late for lunch (good excuse) so I had a slice of chocolate-walnut loaf. So it's on to making dinner now!

Cousin Natasha's Everything But the Kitchen Sink Vegetable Curry~pg. 143

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

Still trying to finish up a few dishes from my La Dolce Vegan Challenge which I started a little over a year ago. I've made this recipe before and my hubby thought it was a little too spicy; so I adjusted the curry powder and cayenne just for him. Of course, then I had to add a little sriracha sauce to mine! Now I've found a new cookbook challenge: VegCookBookClub They choose a vegan cookbook to cook out of for a month. Since I have about 50 vegan cookbooks I thought this should work. :) This month the club chose The Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Hester. I admit I went out and bought a 2 qt. and 4 qt. slow cooker since I only had a large 6 qt. Most of her recipes are cooked in a 4 qt. There are no set recipes to cook, you just choose some and then post a pic and comment. It's nice to read the reviews of some of the recipes everyone tries. So that's next on my list. Just got to get to the grocery store so I can make my first slow cooker recipe!

Curry simmering on the stove~smells delicious! This recipe is great because just like the title says you can throw everything but the kitchen sink in it. I subbed out the red pepper for a green and the zucchini for a large yellow summer squash. Can't wait to try some more variations.

 

 

Served my curry over some couscous!

The Battle of the Vegan Ranch Dressings

Just got Cookin' Crunk by Bianca Phillips from Vegan Crunk in the mail! My hubby is at the football game and I'm just sitting around watching random movies on TV. I was craving some veggies and ranch dip so I thought I'd try out her recipe for vegan ranch.

 

I followed the recipe for making it a thicker dip and not the dressing by leaving out the soy milk and vinegar. It should have said decrease the salt also because 1/4 tsp. salt is way too much for the dip. Duh, I should have figured that out for myself but didn't.  I added a tsp. of vanilla coconut creamer to sweeten it a little. Sorry, this ranch recipe lost. The winner so far is Veganize This! Ranch Dressing .

Roasted Holiday Vegetables~pg. 194

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

Don't wait for a holiday to try these roasted veggies~they're too good to wait! The molasses and cinnamon makes these smell great while cooking.

Served my roasted veggies with my favorite  Kale Salad (I added some yellow sweet mini peppers in the salad this time) and Morning Star Farms Hickory BBQ Riblets. I like to keep some convenience foods in the freezer to help me round out a meal or just when I don't feel like cooking!

Siue's Chocolate Chocolate Brownie "Cheesecake"~pg. 243

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

I was craving something sweet and chocolatey so I thought I'd make one of the desserts I hadn't tried yet from the LDV challenge. I had all the ingredients so it was easy to whip up and bake.

Unfortunately this is not a dessert I could serve to guests. I baked it for the required time and chilled it in the fridge but it still had a thick, puddingy, chewy texture. I had to scoop it out with a spoon to eat it. Even though the consistency wasn't good, I still ate it! It was sweet and chocolatey but not the 'cheesecake' I was looking for. Wolffie's Pumpkin Tofu 'Cheesecake' on page 244 is much better. Of course this morning I have a sugar hangover and headache~ugh!

Red Lentil Pasta~pg. 137

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

Great dinner tonight~loved this recipe and so easy! I substituted the cashews for toasted pine nuts. Yum. I served the sauce over spelt udon noodles. I love soba and udon noodles and I haven't been able to find any vegan noodles in any of the four grocery stores I checked. So I finally got online at https://www.edenfoods.com/ and ordered a sampler pack of different types of udon and soba noodles and one big package of 100% buckwheat soba noodles. I love using those in Sarah's recipe for Seaweed Soup (LDV pg. 104). That's for lunch today using the leftover noodles!