20 Minute Paella

I haven't had paella since I was about eight years old. My dad's mother is from Spain and it was a common meal when I dined at her home. I'd been craving it for a while, but when Tybrus and I made the holy pilgrimage to our favorite Asian market and found saffron for wickedly cheap, I decided making it was essential. I used couscous because I was impatient.

20 Minute Paella

1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
2 tsp turmeric (or saffron if ya' got it)
2 tsp paprika
1 cup peas
1 cup couscous
1 cup vegetable broth
1 15 oz can artichoke hearts
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan on medium heat, saute the onion and garlic until onions become translucent. Add bell pepper and saute for another 5 minutes. Add spices, tomatoes, peas, couscous, and broth and reduce heat to low. Before covering arrange artichoke hearts in a visually pleasing way. Let paella cook for 5 minutes and drizzle with lemon juice.

Vegan MoFo: Post 1

We've been eating good in this ol' efficiency apartment o' mine. I issued a verbal memo to my coworkers that if they have any cravings this month whatsoever for a baked good of any kind to let me know. This is the product of said memo:

German Chocolate Cupcakes- sheer decadence

A coworker of mine recently began eatin' veg'n and requested that I make some cupcakes. I was pleased when my coworker admitted to making his 'o' face while licking the wrapper. Cupcakes never really receive a higher rating than that.

Plate Lickin' TVP Lasagna

Alright, alright. I was going to try to wait until my actual birthday to have my favorite dish ever: classic spinach lasagna, but 1) tofu ricotta and 2) tofu fuckin' ricotta. Also, 3) this merely presents the opportunity for someone to take me out to dinner for my birthday and allows me to sit on my ass for an entire day. I used the tofu ricotta recipe from How It All Vegan! truly a staple in this kitchen. I made a layer that had sauteed cherry tomatoes, TVP, and mushrooms. Nomz!

Banana Walnut Muffins

So I'm sure you're not supposed to cook with two week old bananas, but I did any way. And, guess what? It was forkin' delicious. I used a go-to recipe for banana nut bread on VegWeb and instead of throwing it in a loaf pan, I threw it in a muffin pan. These were great for mornings when I have class and function for a solid 5 hours merely on coffee and cigarettes, with maybe the occasional bag of Fritos. Perfect on the go breakfast and totally nutritious.

Lentil Couscous Curry

At a glance, it would appear that someone has relieved there bowels atop my plate of dry coucous. Meanies! Well, fret not interweb fewd junkies; it's curried red lentils. This recipe was retrieved from VegWeb and is a very flexible recipe. However, it's not a very photogenic one. I used carrots and a green bell pepper in mine. I should've mad emore curry sauce because my couscous was a little dry.

Homemade Falafel Pitas with Tzatziki Sauce

What a horribly nutritious meal. Falafel balls made from scratch? Tzatziki sauce made with cucumbers grown from my man's mother's garden? I told you, we eat good.

A Resolution

After recently breaking a button on my absolute favorite pair of pants, I have sworn to begin eating healthier. Unfortunately, half of these cooking endeavors don't reflect that-in the slightest. I haven't been doing a whole lot of cooking of late. Dave and I had Happy Dragon the other night and have primarily been living off of ramen noodles. I plan for that to change, as well. Less talk, more post.

welfare biscuits and gravy.

I refer to these as "welfare biscuits and gravy" due to the fact that I made the biscuits using friggin' Bisquick because I'm intensely lazy. The sausage, or as we like to call it in the ol' Steffie-Quinonez household 'soysage', is Smart Grounds and that white gravy is literally the easiest gravy one could ever hope to make. You brown 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, add 1 cup soy milk, whisk vigorously, and salt and pepper to your heart's content. I add lots of onion powder, too. Simple and comforting. I also made some hash brown patties for Dave, but the picture was too low quality. They were little round, brown blurs. Tasty, round, brown blurs.

wonderfully simple banana nut bread

This recipe is really basic. I highly recommend adding some raisins or chocolate chips to the mix. A healthy amount of cinnamon could only help, as well. I've found that banana bread is always better the day after you make it-after it's sat out for a night while wrapped in foil and moistened to day-old bliss. Yum!

Finally, my attempt to eat a bit healthier. I've been wanting to experiment with various tempeh recipes, mainly, though, because I can't stand tofu. I know, it's a ridiculous thing to say because it takes on the flavor of whatever it's cooked with yadda yadda.. But, I think it's the texture more than anything else. I love using tofu to add texture to things like pies and potato soup, but eating it as itself is just.. bland.

This dinner not only marked the beginning of my new diet but was also mine and Dave's first encounter with couscous. Friggin' YUM!

am I the only one who thinks curries are so photogenic?

steamed sprouts, roasted pine nut couscous, and creamy curried tempeh.