Seared Tofu with Mashed Potatoes and Swiss Chard

This week, I bought a beautiful head of organic green swiss chard and baby red potatoes and couldn't wait to make dinner using these ingredients. As you can see above, nothing beats a dinner made with fresh ingredients from the farmer's market.

Zojirushi Rice Cooker

Neuro Fuzzy Zojirushi

For dinner tonight, I trusted my rice cooker to help me prepare a meal in no time. Did it do the job? Why yes indeed, it did. In twenty minutes (quick cooking option), I had perfect, fluffy white rice.

I can't just have plain white rice for dinner, therefore, I made sweet and sour vegetables. The ingredients for this dish included mushrooms, snowpeas, tomatoes, vegan chicken, pineapple, onions and garlic. If you want to make the dish spicy, just add a little siracha and you're all set.

Kappa Maki

For dinner tonight, I made two cucumber rolls (Kappamaki). The rolls were served with low-sodium tamari and seaweed salad.

Melon and Cherries

Fresh fruit for the week!

Summer Vegetable CousCous Recipe

Summer Vegetable Whole Wheat CousCous with Vegan Chicken

Whole Wheat CousCous (1 cup)
Crimini mushrooms
Zucchini
Grape Tomatoes
Pinenuts (lightly toasted)
Vegan Chicken I used this brand (http://www.vegieworld...)
Fresh Parsley

Seasoning:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Nutritional Yeast
Garlic Powder
Dried Parsley
Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper

1) Bring 1 and 1/2 cups of water to a boil (drizzle in a little olive oil and sprinkle a pinch of salt). Add 1 cup of dried couscous and stir until water comes to another boil. Turn off the heat, remove the pot to another burner and cover with a lid. Let the couscous sit for 5-7 minutes. (See this post)

2) Meanwhile, chop all of the ingredients

3) Next, add olive oil to another pan and saute mushrooms first, then add zucchini. Once the zucchini is cooked, add the grape tomatoes, pinenuts, vegan chicken, and fresh parsley.

3) Fluff the couscous with a fork. Add the seasonings to the couscous, then fold into the veggie mixture. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!!

On a different note, need new ideas for making salad? Then check out this article I just came across by Mark Bittman (NY Times) titled 101 Simple Salads for the Season (mostly vegan).

NYC Vegan EatupTown Picnic Potluck

This afternoon, I went to a wonderful picnic potluck at St. Nicholas Park here in NY. After a long ride on the subway, it was time to EAT!!!

The great vegan feast! (Clockwise from the bottom: broccoli/cauliflower/cabbage slaw, Multi-grain tortilla chips and homemade guacamole (Thanks Betty!), orzo/beans/rice, summer vegetable whole wheat couscous with vegan chicken (I made this one), green lentil salad, fresh berries (blackberries, strawberry and blueberries), chocolate cake, tofu/broccoli with pasta, quinoa with apples, tomato salad, mint tea, ginger/carrot and sesame noodles, medjool dates,black bean salad, blueberry/radicchio/romaine/peas and onions, haricot vert with chickpeas and fresh oranges.

All of the attendees brought a vegan dish (enough to share for at least 8 people). Undecided on what to bring, I searched through my vegan cookbook collection for inspiration. I finally settled on making a summer vegetable couscous.

Summer Vegetable Whole Wheat CousCous with Vegan Chicken

More pics...
Carrot ginger sesame noodles

Tomato bean salad
More pics...

And more...

Broccoli Slaw

My plate: Green Salad, ginger sesame noodles, tofu broccoli pasta, bean salad, and guacamole with chips.

Everyone was asked to bring their own reusable plate, utensil, and cup. Therefore, I brought my laptop lunch container, which was perfect for the potluck!

Leftovers that I brought home.

Great food, great people, and lots of fun. Next post...the recipe for my Summer Veggie CousCous:)

Lastly, at the picnic, I found out about a great opportunity to participate in a cooking competition called the Veggie Conquest Challenge.

To participate in the Veggie Conquest Challenge #1 click here. I think I'm going to try it:)

Lula's Sweet Apothecary

Brownie Sundae from Lula's Sweet Apothecary

Lula's is an all vegan ice cream parlor. Located in the East Village, this place serves up frozen confections that will make you swoon. With a difficult decision to make (since there are so many wonderful flavors) in choosing what to order, I finally settled on the brownie sundae with peanut butter chocolate fudge and maple nut ice cream. The sundae was topped with caramel, chocolate chips, coconut whipped cream and a cherry. Ahhhh, what a nice treat. I just love NY.

Go Max Go's Twilight Bar

While at Lula's Sweet Apothecary and couldn't help but buy a Go Max Bar. All flavors were available including the Jokerz, Maholo, Twilight, and Buccaneer. As you can read on the label, the following are listed; dairy-free, vegan, no trans fats, no hydrogenated oils, no cholesterol, and no artificial flavors. I opted for the Twilight Bar, which is very similar to a Milky Way Bar, but vegan (caramel, chocolatey nougat, rice-milk chocolatey coating). After taking one bite into this chocolatey goodness, I was very happy with my selection. Can't wait to try the others soon.

Here's an inside look...

Lula's Sweet Apothecary

516 East 6th St. (Between Avenues A & B)

New York, NY. 10009

Website: http://www.lulassweetapothecary.com/

Omega Juicer and the Liqueteria

After doing a lot of research about the different kinds of juicers, I finally settled on the Omega Juicer. This masticating-style juicer extracts essential vitamins and nutrients from whole fruits, leafy greens and much more. Lately, I've been making a lot of green juice (romaine, kale, parsley, cucumber, ginger, and apple). See the making of the juice below.

Ingredients for green juice...

After the carrots...

After the greens.

I didn't take a photo of the finished product, but take a look at Liqueteria's All Greens Juice and that's basically what the outcome looked like.

Liquiteria is a place that sells organic juices, smoothies, soups, sandwiches and snacks. I recently bought these three juices; The Killer, Immune Rocket Booster, and All Greens. I would have to say that The Killer was the best of the three, followed by All Greens, then the Immune Rocket Booster.

After buying these three bottles and trying the different combination of ingredients, next time, I'll opt to go to the farmer's market, buy the fresh organic ingredients, and make the juice at home with my Omega Juicer:)

Liquiteria

170 2nd Ave at 11 St.

New York, NY. 10003

212-359-0300

Website: http://www.liquiteria.com

Summertime Meal

I've been eating a lot of salad, smoothies and fruit the last few days. Here is a photo of my lunch from yesterday; a berry smoothie, melon and a simple garden salad.

Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these cookies for work last week and they were a hit! The recipe is by Dreena Burton, the author of Eat Drink and Be Vegan, Everday Vegan and Vive Le Vegan. Click here for the recipe. Trust me, these were delicious:)

Souen Part II

During lunch hours, you can choose any combination of three items from Souen's lunch menu for $7.50. They also have soup and sandwich specials for $8.00. I opted for the former and ordered the sushi roll (avocado, carrots, lettuce and cucumber), a leafy green salad with a sesame vinaigrette, and tofu in a ginger soy sauce. When it comes to lunch specials, many restaurants serve the food all on one plate. However, at Souen, each component was served separately. My leafy salad was delivered first. Next, came my sushi roll, then tofu. I felt like I had a three course meal for only $7.50. With such great deals, I'll be sure to return very soon.