Puttanesca Tofu Scramble

Sooo if you are new to tofu, or think that it's not your thing... think again. This is absolutely delicious, and incidentally it looks actually very much like scrambled eggs so YAY for a great substitute for breakfast. I first found this recipe in one of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's books... I think maybe Vegan with a Vengeance? Either way, the recipe is available on her website: NOM! 

Whip this up with a side of toast, fruit salad and a big, big cup of coffee. Hallelujah! 

The Best Buff Tofu Wings

I've been using this recipe for ages but I wanted to give it the lime light for a second for two reasons:

One, it was one of the first recipes that I tried way back when that made me realize how possible and enjoyable it would be to be vegan.

Two, recently, it was the catalyst to some hardcore bullying that I received that rather took me off guard.

First off, if anyone is interested in having their minds blown and is digging some buffalo sauce: Here ya go. Now mind you, this recipe is in no way a healthy example of a vegan diet but damn, does it hit the spot! If you need some greasy, hot wing goodness - this is your jam.

Look at this majestic pile of battered and fried, hot sauced deliciousness. I cannot even begin to describe how much this satisfied my craving. This recipe is definitely a keeper for life. 

Here I made a salad out of cabbage, carrots, the Toffalo wings and, if I had had time I would have made some sort of mock bleu cheese dressing. Instead I just put a wee dab of Veganaise for a dip and called it a day. It was really great! I'd love to revisit this and make this buff salad fancier in the future. 

Joni Mari is a vegan goddess and I have loved all the recipes created by her that I've made. If you're new to veganism and/or just want some decadent, delish vegan noms - please check out her blog at http://www.justthefood.com/

Remember! Cheekans are for snuggling, not snacking! UNTIL NEXT TIME, MY VEGERINOS! 

Liven' on the Veg

So by the way, if you're ever vacationing in Long Beach Island, NJ, they have the most amazing vegan restaurant right there. In fact, it's the only vegan restaurant on the island- good thing it's so good! 

It's called Living on the Veg which I have to say, being an Aerosmith fan, I totally dig the name! 

It's located on 2613 Long Beach Blvd in Beach Haven.  

It's kind of small, not much seating (especially if it's raining, then you might just want to get it to go). The menu is absolutely impressive however, they have fresh smoothies, fresh pressed juices, wraps, burritos, blue plate specials, salads, sammies, and other hearty entries to satisfy that raging appetite you'll have worked up after laying on the beach all day! 

The menu was a long board above the cash register so I did my best to take a picture of it in two parts... 

My mouth is watering reading over the menu again, I wish I had a place like this in Pittsburgh!!

 

Daily specials..

This sounded so delicious!! I wanted to get it, alas we went around lunchtime, no worries though I had tons and tons to pick from still! I wanted to eat it all!

Also- I would like to point out that any restaurant sporting Bragg's as a condiment is immediately a four star place to eat in my book. 

After much deliberation, Mike and I decided on the Smooth Operator smoothie to split. It was so fruity and sweet and the soy milk added gave it a delicious creaminess, we were sucking this down in minutes!

I ordered the Buffalo Caesar wrap which was in a word, divine. I have dreams about this dish sometimes. The tofu soaked up all the delicious hot sauce and the caesar dressing on it was just perfect. That, mixed with crunchy, fresh romaine lettuce this wrap was perfection in itself. 

And don't even get me started on the potato salad.... I'm broken-hearted that I can't have that everyday. I don't know what they use for dressing on it, but it is literately of the gods. I have half a mind to call them and beg them for the recipe. 

Mikey got the Southwest burrito with a side of coleslaw.  I really dug the coleslaw also but I think he liked my potato salad better, it just had that extra zing of flavor. 

The seitan was very flavorful and cut into bite size pieces so that it was evenly distributed throughout the burrito, and the rice on it was delicious. I took a bite or two but it was so spicy, I couldn't take anymore. Mike, who could eat a jalapeno whole without blinking an eye, thought it was perfect. I liked that it also had black beans in it- love me some beans. 

Take out items, I still kick myself for not grabbing a pint of that amazing potato salad. Sorry for the crappy photo, I was in a hurry.. boo! 

So if you're into healthy food, vegetarian/vegan food, or heck just freaken' good food and you're in the LBI area- you have to stop by Living on the Veg or you will forever regret it and I will put a voodoo hex on you. Don't think that I wont, I actually have a voodoo doll.. 

Foodie's Dream Saturday Part 2

After the expo, we headed over to the Strip District and walked outside and viewed all the outdoor markets/vendors. I bought some dates and prunes from an italian grocer- love me some fiber!

We spent maybe 30-45 minutes doing that before the men headed down to the area and we headed to an outdoor beerfest in the strip (I totally forget the name of it, oh well).  They had East End Brewing Co beer there so I was all set! That is, until they ran out- boo!!

I also had some egg rolls and a veggie dog from the Franktuary truck- saurkraut & mustard = perfection. I snarfed it down too fast and forgot to take a pic- oopsie!

After a beer or two, or three, or four.. Mike wanted to head out to see some Improv shows.  We had an hour or two to kill before the shows started so we stopped at my ABSOLUTE MOST FAVORITE PLACE ON EARTH!!!! 

Can you guess? Sure you can!

Kaya 

I started the meal of right with one of their delicious Caribbean inspired beverages, this one's called the Lava Lover. It has Malibu rum, coconut milk, pineapple juice & grenadine in it and was super divine. 

Yucatan Bean Dip = heavenly 

Kaya chips!! 

Aren't they super pretty? Yum yum!

I totally forgot the dinner menu gives you three gigantic jerk tofu tacos and I immediately regretted getting an appetizer. But they were soo delicious I made my way through (for the most part). 

So yummy!! 

Mike got the Kaya burger and wow does this bad boy look amazing... A burger with pickles, bacon, tomatoes, avocado, chihuahua cheese, a sunny side up egg, and Kaya's secret sauce.  He really dug it. 

I was being super indulgent today clearly, and ordered another beverage for dessert, the Caipirinha, a mixture of muddled lime, sugar, and Cachaça. Apparently it's the national drink of Brazil? Who knows but it was fantastic! 

After a wonderful, hilarious show by The Lupones at the Steel City Improv Theater, I was super tired and wanted nothing more than my nice, cool bed with a fan blowing on me. I at least had the forethought to chug not one, but three glasses of water. Woohoo for avoiding hangovers!!!  

I was so stuffed and felt so piggish I'm hoping to show some restraint and modesty in my food for the next week. Oye vey! 

............Another commercial for Magic Mike came on and I think I went brain dead there for a minute or so. 

Cooookie Butter!

This is the most magnificent discovery of the century. 

If you've ever had those gingerbready Biscoff cookies commonly doled out as your "snack" on airplanes, you'll have an idea of what this tastes like. The texture is super unique, creamy like peanut butter but with crunchy bits of cookie throughout it. I could literately put this on anything. One thing I particularly like to do is make a big batch of oatmeal and put a dollop of this in it. 

And, on days when work is particularly crappy and long, I eat it right out of the jar with a spoon while watching True Blood and Ghost Whisperer. Weee! 

Extra bonus- the jar is indestructible- it fell off the top of my fridge right onto my rock-hard kitchen floor and not so much as a crack- the lid however did not survive the fall. 

Mikey went to the Childish Gambino concert so I'm home alone with the pooch who tends to ignore me when Mike's gone. Fine with me! 

I've been dealing with an upset belly since the beef incident, today I was good though- I had a tofu scramble for breakfast, a Clif bar for snack, and had some of my spinach/sweet potato/tofu mixture but had some tummy troubles so I wasn't all that hungry. I also snacked on some chocolate covered raisins. 

For dinner I had a Praeger's veggie burger sandwich with some stuffing and a pickle. I'm not doing so well on veggies today but good lord at this point I don't care. 

Ahhh... also True Blood was again.. a true dud. I need to just stop bothering to watch it. 

A Lunch in the Life of Lindsey

I don't know what it is about boys and breakfast, but they sure know their way around some eggs! Mike treated me to a delicious omelet this morning with cheese, salsa, and some turkey deli meat. I snarfed it down and relished every bite- the man makes a good omelet. 

For lunch, I had some oatmeal with vanilla soymilk, cinnamon, walnuts, and COOKIE BUTTER in it. Yes. I said cookie butter. I've never had something so fantastic in all my life- I'll be sure to talk about it in more detail at a later time. 

The rest of our day was spent napping, doing laundry, and me preparing foods for the work week. 

I also spent a major portion of the day snacking on this little gem found at your local Trader Joe's:

I had to chortle a bit that it says Trader Joe-San. I love how they name their ethnic foods cleverly. ex. Trader Jose for the Mexican foods..

For dinner I have a major confession to make. For the past month or so I have been trying really hard to stay predominantly meat-free/vegetarian. I've even avoided for the major part eggs and dairy products. But tonight, something got into me and I was really, really craving this Vietnamese steak sandwich that I have a recipe for from one of my Martha Stewart cookbooks. It's a marinated flank steak with a carrot-cilantro asian slaw on a hoagie bun. It's superb and I'm not going to lie it was outrageously delicious. 

I have never felt so sick in all my life, I feel like I had food poisoning. Nuff said. I'm back on the wagon. 

Here's my lunch (and breakfast) for tomorrow: 

Breakfast: tofu scramble (puttanesca style) 

Midmorning snack: Clif bar 

Lunch: hummus & veggies 

cooked spinach, roasted sweet potato, craisins, and baked tofu topped with Bragg's liquid amino acids and nutritional yeast. 

Dessert: 1 prune :) 

I've been in a tofu-y kinda mood- what can I say?  

I'm kind of nervous about tomorrow, a bunch of new units are opening in the hospital tomorrow and we weren't granted anymore FTE's for more staff. Shit's about to get real. Excuse my french.