Tempeh Bacon

Once upon a time, we went to a magical land called Los Angeles, and there we had some magical vegan bacon at Real Food Daily. Ever since then, I have been trying to recreate that yummy non-piggy-ness! 

This was my latest attempt at tempeh bacon.

 I don't have the The Real Food Daily Cookbook: Really Fresh, Really Good, Really Vegetarian, but I think I should work on getting it, cuz I'm just not there yet in terms of taste. 

I used my special measuring spoons to get the amounts just right.

Here's the bacon cooking in my new stainless cookware I grabbed on the cheap at a garage sale (yay!) The bacon came out ok, but wasn't amazing or bacony. Any tips? 

The mediocrity didn't stop use from enjoying some BLTs on sprouted grain bread!

Lasagna!

Yup, just like Garfield, we love our lasagna around here! My favorite recipe is in How It All Vegan. I use it as a basic guide and work with whatever ingredients I have. 

This batch included spinach and mushrooms, homemade marinara from the freezer, whole wheat noodles, and silken tofu for the cheezy factor. Now we don't have the good sense enough to let food cool before we inhale sometimes, so here is a nice hot melty pic. I'm sure given the proper cooling time, I could get a decent square cut and photographed, but hey, it's lasagna! 

To balance out the pasta factor, we also had a nice salad. 

And just for kicks, here are some of my people...I love 'em!

Blog Love

I am in blog love! Life According To Angel is the perfect mix of food, style, health, and more.Check out her lovely blog, and check out my version of this yummy "Best Salad Ever" recipe she posted!

You can see the recipe in it's original form here, and my version is as follows.

The Best Salad Ever- Pixiepine Version

Salad Ingredients: serves 2

2 cups mixed greens and baby spinach, chopped roma tomatoes
1 cup warm quinoa
1 avocado
1/2 cup of cucumber
2 tablespoon sunflower seeds 

vegan tuna sub/tempeh/smoked tofu/whatever else sounds good!

Dressing Ingredients: serves 2

1 teaspoon tahini

1 juice from a lemon

a splash of olive oil

a dash of honey

sprinkles of onion powder, garlic powder, and chardonnay smoked salt 

Cook and cool quinoa. Combine all ingredients, then toss with dressing. Top with sunflower seeds.


This was deeeelicious and filling. My honey took 
a look and was concerned at all the bits and bobs in there, but polished off three helpings once he tasted it- tested and approved!


We rounded the meal out with homemade baba ganoush (using homemade tahini!) and some sprouted grain tortillas. Stellar!















And even though it's almost summer, I enjoyed a few glasses of this fun spiced wine while I repainted an old bookshelf...relaxation, yay! The wine is from Leelanau Cellars and is suggested for summer sangria too..mmmm!

Happy day, all!

Made Myself A Dang Quesadilla...

Fear not, weary vegans! I know it gets tough, having to pre-make, special order, and carry weird condiments around with you. 

Try this awesomely easy meal when you need a break: quesadillas!

This is simply tortillas cooked in a pan with this super-yum Compassion Over Killing Cheezy Garbanzo Spread. Extra healthy when you use sprouted grain tortillas! So easy, so good!!!

And in other news...here's what I'm working on...

Daily (almost!) workouts for the last 2 months and counting! Muscles rock!

All the cool girls...

Some of my hero ladies...

From Danielasea.com

Caption: 

"My friend Christopher, Bitch and me in the mirror of a parking garage on our way to hear Tammy Rae Carland speak"

JD and Johanna from Le Tigre

Photo by Cass Bird

Hip Mountain Mama Review: Applejack Hat!

Up today is my latest Hip Mountain Mama review: The Applejack Hat!

My lovely mannequin, Ethel Mermaid, is modeling today, as she is feeling more photogenic than me!

This cotton hat is so cute, and has a little elastic at the back to ensure that it's a flattering fit for anyone. It's reversible in earthy tones of purple, blue, and beige. The cotton fabric makes it great for all seasons of the year and I love the wide brim for spending time out in the sun.

The bonus is a little zip pouch inside! This is super handy for stashing cash, keys, whatever...when you are on the go and don't want to tote a bag. 

 
 This easy-to-wear hat is must- for festival goers, bike riders, light travelers, and everyone! Check out this and all HMM's great sustainable and fun accessories!

Till next time!

More Light Food

The healthy light meals continue. Here's some homemade chickpea/roasted red pepper dip I made. I also added liquid smoke, nutritional yeast, and garlic cloves.

Some simple sauteed zucchini and squash with Smokey Miso Tofu as prepared here at Vegan Yum Yum. It was super tasty! I'd love to get a super crisp texture on the tofu, and then it would be about the perfect dish.

Crispy summer food! (And cookies!)

 Welcome to the crispy summer food edition of Pixiepine Blog. It's already getting hot in Louisiana, and light cool food is a must! First up, homemade hummus from my favorite recipe (in The Vegetarian Mother and Baby Book: Completely Revised and Updated) with cucumbers.



Next, this yummy orzo pasta salad from The Mayo Clinic Williams-Sonoma Cookbook: Simple Solutions for Eating Well. It was delicious and really reminded me of one of our favorite dishes at Angeli in New Orleans.

 And just for good measure, cookies! I haven't made cookies in a long time, and boy were these good. They are vegan peanut butter cookies with just a hint of cinnamon and vanilla. Deeelicious!!

Tuna-rific!

Here's an old fave, this time on wheat tortillas with some dulse flakes. I read this interesting post on Kimberly Snyder's blog and have been incorporating sea veggies into more meals lately. 

Yum!

A few highlights...

It's a busy time of year for indie record store owners/counselors/ cool ladies extraordinaire! I've been doing well just to sleep, exercise, and eat something fairly healthy!

Here are some high points!

Yummy wasabi mix:

Delicious stir fry with a healthy sauce from the The Mayo Clinic Williams-Sonoma Cookbook: Simple Solutions for Eating Well.

Cheers!

A Pretty For Me :)

I love winning a prize! It can be tiny or huge, no matter. Just the excitement of an unexpected treat is amazing! I was delighted to receive a message letting me know I've won this pretty bird mobile from Red or Gray Art hosted by Susannah at An Art Nest.  Check out these lovely sites for all sorts of artsy pretty goodness :)

Vegan Alfredo!

Today's post is on a delicious, filling, and healthy recipe adapted from Vegan Planet.



I started with the alfredo recipe in VP and doctored it up  to suit our tastes. I am finding that as I use less salt in recipes (zero to 1/2 the amount called for), there is a need to use more tasty spices and herbs. This alfredo, an almond/tofu/non-dairy milk based sauce, called for nutmeg, salt, and cayenne. I lowered the salt, upped the nutmeg and cayenne, and added some garlic powder, onion powder, and Liquid Smoke. I also added an extra bit of the white miso called for in the recipe.

We ate whole grain pasta and broccoli with the sauce, plus a big spinach salad. So good!!