Easy Vegan Pasta Salad

This is an easy, weeknight meal. I also served corn on the cob that night because corn was on sale so we had this a more of a side dish I suppose. I also had it for lunch the next 2 days. If made 4-5 servings as a side dish, probably 2-3 servings as a dinner.

What You Need:

• 2 cups of dried pasta. Most shapes will work for this, I use noodles made of durum semolina because they are vegan and cheep. 
• 1/4- 1/2 cup of vegan mayonnaise. I would recommend Earth Indian (green lid) or homemade mayo because they are good and most vegan mayonnaise is gross. Very gross. 
• 1 small carrot, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Motivated Morning Chocolate Protein Mocha Shake

For mornings when you need some protein and a kick of caffeine. Also good for warm, humid days when the idea of drinking a hot coffee is off putting. Makes about 2.5 cups.

What you need:

• 1 1/2 cups Soy Milk
• 1 scoop of Plant-based Protein Powder
• 1 1/2 tsp Cocoa Powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp Vanilla Jello Pudding Mix Powder (this is the secret ingredient, there is no gelatin in the powder)
• 2 tsp Instant Coffee
• 2 tsp Sugar
• 6-10 Ice Cubes

Potato and Cauliflower Curry Made Easy

There are a lot of recipes out there for potato and cauliflower curry as it is a pretty common dish in Indian restaurants. Most of these recipes seem to involve a lot of steps and separate sauce involving blending things and that is just too much work for me. If I have to use the blender, I will have to clean the blender and I am just too lazy for the extra work. I like curries where you just dump everything in a pot. That is what this is. Makes enough for 2 large portions. My son is not a fan of spicy food yet but I bet this would feed 2 adults and a kid.

What you need:

• oil
• onion, chopped
• potato, peeled and chopped
• 1-2 cups cauliflower, chopped
• water
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp of cayenne powder
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 2 tsp garam masala
• salt to taste (1/2 tsp was not quite enough)

Easy and Delicious Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

No small talk today, my 3 year old kept me up all night so I am exhausted. I thought we were past this phase. I guess not. So pancakes, my son and husband both love these. The pictures are a little blurry, the lighting was not great last night. 

What you need:

• banana
• 1 cup of flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 cup of soy milk
• 1 tbsp oil for in the pancake and more for frying
• a squirt of lemon juice (the secret weapon for making stuff fluffy)
• 1/4 cup of chocolate chips

An Adventure in Drunken Cooking: The Vegan "Chicken" Wrap

It was early evening and the little one had fallen asleep early. This gave my husband and I a rare opportunity to spend time together alone. I am a light weight so after 2 drinks on the deck I was in the bag and I still had not made supper. Opps. Oh well, convenience food to the rescue. Here is a wrap recipe that is easy enough for a drunk me to make.

P.S. I don't recommend cooking drunk as you risk cutting yourself. Do unwise things at your own risk :)

What you need:

• wraps
• 3 vegan chicken strips per wrap
• chopped up kale
• Lima beans (optional but awesome. Any beans would work)
• Vegan mayo

Simple and Delicious Vegan Matcha Latte

Matcha powder is not easy to come by. It is pretty rare and very expensive but I got lucky at the Chinese grocery store across the street and found a bag for $5. I doubt it is "authentic" but it tastes good so I don't care. A milk frother is required for this recipe.

What you need:

• a scoop of matcha powder
• 1/4 cup of water
• sugar or whatever you like to sweeten your tea, to taste
• vanilla soy milk- about 1 cup.

What to do:

1. Put the scoop of matcha powder into a mug with the water and mix with the frother. 

2. Add the sweetener you like. I would use as much as you typically like in tea. I used about 1 tsp but I like things sweet. Mix with the frother. 

3. Put soy milk in a microwavable mug and nuke for 2 minutes. You could heat it in a sauce pan on the stove if you don't have a microwave

4. Add half the hot milk to the matcha. Froth the remaining milk so there is lots of foam than add it to the matcha too. 

5. Give the whole thing a gentle mix and enjoy.

Quick and Easy, Vegan BBQ Tofu on Kale Salad

This is a great weekday meal. It was super fast, I had everything on hand and it incorporates a lot of kale which is just so good for you. I find it difficult to get enough greens, especially raw greens, but this is a great way to eat a whole bunch. The BBQ tofu idea is not my own, I saw it on Health.Happy.Life. I just used store bough BBQ sauce to make it easier.


Salad

• a bunch of kale, de-ribbed, ripped into small pieces and washed
• 2 carrots- shredded with a vegetable peeler
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 ts salt
• 1/2 lemon

Mix the kale with the salt and lemon juice. Squish it in well with your hands. This is an important step as it really breaks down the kale fibers making it less chewy and more enjoyable to eat raw. Mix in carrot and pepper. 

Tofu

• extra firm tofu
• BBQ sauce

Prepare as directed here. Allow to cool a few minutes before adding to salad. Serve on top of the salad and enjoy.