What I Ate Wednesday

Hello fine people! I hope you're doing swell. I have a fun, slightly different post for you this week, just because I like to change things up every now and then. In lieu of a normal "What I Love Wednesday" post, I thought I'd bring you into my kitchen a little more and share what I ate today instead, with a little help from Instagram.

Thus, "What I Ate Wednesday" is born. This isn't necessarily a new feature on the blog; I just thought I'd try something different. If you hate it, you can tell me. It's okay. I won't get mad.

For breakfast, I had:

• one "everything" bagel slathered with some vegan "cream cheese" (garlic and chive flavored)
• a small bowl of coconut milk, half a banana, and a handful of raspberries smashed together
• the other half of my banana, all by its lonesome
• a cup of coffee, of course (with coconut milk creamer)

For lunch, I enjoyed:

• a grilled PB&J (Have you tried this?! It's amazing!)
• some grapes
• a handful of carrots
• a little Thai Coconut Curry hummus

It was my day off, so naturally I had Starbucks. Teehee. It was a delicious soy vanilla latte.

And unfortunately, my phone decided not to save the picture I took of dinner, and by the time I realized the photo was gone, I had already scarfed down all of it. However, I will share this lovely photo from Heidi's blog, because it just so happens that this is what I had! Mmm, Baked Farro Pasta.

So there you have it! My eats for the day. It was kind of fun to document, honestly. Maybe I'll do it again sometime...

Tofu "Alfredo"

Many people have a hard time adopting healthier eating habits because they're not the only ones living in their house. I've heard plenty of people say it's too hard to eat healthy or "diet" when their spouse/kids/parents don't want to eat the same foods. I completely understand! When I decided to give up meat last August, my hubby was very adamantly against going meat-less from day one. Fortunately, I stuck to my guns and haven't cheated at all, but I found it was harder to do so when I cut out dairy and eggs from my diet as well. 

Starting out, it was pretty easy just to grill him a chicken breast while I had some tofu or tempeh instead. The harder part was when I began having to add cheese to his side of the pizza, but leave it off of mine. I don't know why it took me so long, but I finally figured out that it's okay to make more than one meal! Now, instead of being picky about his meat touching my side of the pizza, I just make my own, so I can eat as much of it as I want and not have to worry about accidentally ending up with any of the ingredients I don't eat.

Making two different meals for dinner every night did take some getting used to, but not much! If you decide to try it out (and I highly recommend you do, if it's been holding you back), don't be intimidated by the idea of cooking twice as much as usual. Once you get the multi-tasking down, it really only takes a few extra minutes, and in the end, everyone is happy!

I do have just a few suggestions for you if you decide not to let other peoples' eating habits in your house deter you from your own goals:

• Meat obviously takes longer to cook than veggie proteins, so start cooking it sooner. I usually start the meat a good 20 minutes before anything else.
• Make good use of your downtime by prepping any vegetables that need to be chopped and getting out all of your ingredients. I try to get these tasks done while water is boiling, the skillet is heating up, oven is preheating, or meat is cooking.
• It will probably take a few tries, but try timing it so everything, roughly, gets done around the same time. That way, you don't have to worry about food getting cold, or having one person's plate done and ready to go while the others are still cooking.
• You don't have to make two completely separate meals every day. If you're making grilled chicken and salad for someone else, just grill some tempeh and serve it with your own salad (minus the cheese, with veg-friendly dressing, etc.) instead of trying to find a specifically veg*n recipe to follow. You're essentially eating the same meal, just with a few variations.

All of this brings me to the recipe I want to share with you today! This is one of the dinner staples in our house; I make it all the time, because it's so easy and delicious. The non-vegan version is Chicken Alfredo -- chicken, green peppers, and onions sauteed, then added to some penne pasta and alfredo sauce. That is what I make for my hubby while I fix up this vegan version for myself. It's not technically an alfredo sauce, hence why that part of the name is in quotations, but it's the sauce I make every time we have this. It's a wonderfully easy weeknight meal and a great alternative to an already-yummy dish. I even think it might taste better the next day as leftovers!

Tofu "Alfredo"

{vegan}

makes 2 servings

• 3/4 C unsweetened almond milk
• 1/3 C raw cashews
• 1/4 C nutritional yeast
• 3 Tbs low-sodium Tamari or soy sauce
• 2 Tbs Earth Balance margarine
• 1 Tbs lemon juice
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• pinch of nutmeg
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 block of extra-firm tofu, drained, pressed, and diced
• 2 Tbs vegetable oil
• 1/2 C green pepper, diced
• 1/2 C yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 lb. whole wheat penne pasta

1. Boil a pot of salted water. Meanwhile, dice the onion, pepper, and tofu. Set aside. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat.

2. Prepare the sauce: pulse the cashews in a food processor for about 10 seconds. Combine them in a medium bowl with the almond milk, yeast, and Tamari or soy sauce. Add lemon juice, mustard, paprika, nutmeg, and garlic. Stir to combine. Set aside.

3. Add pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Once the oil is hot, add onion, pepper, and tofu. Sautee until the vegetables are soft and the tofu is golden brown. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. When the pasta is done, drain and return it to the pot. Add the margarine and stir until it's melted. Pour the sauce in and toss to coat. Add the vegetables and mix. Sprinkle with some more pepper, if desired. Serve hot!

Nutrition Facts (per serving): 841 calories; 37g fat; 0mg cholesterol; 1129mg sodium; 110g carbs; 19.1g dietary fiber; 5g sugar; 40g protein; 78mg vitamin A; 39mg vitamin C; 508mg calcium; 8.2mg iron

Vegan Kale Pesto

School is ending! Today is the last day of classes for my entire undergraduate career. So weird. Next Sunday, I will officially have a Bachelor's degree! Therefore, my roommate and I are busy packing up our apartment, so I'm having to get creative with meals these last few days. I might have made cookies in a cup...

So that explains the plastic utensils in this photo, in case you're wondering. As for the less-than-great picture quality, you can blame that on my phone. My camera (and its new 55-200mm lens my awesome hubby bought me for my birthday!) is sitting at home, and not here. So there you go. That being said, I really wanted to share this super easy recipe for Kale Pesto with you today. It's my lunch! And I might have gone back for seconds. Don't judge.

Vegan Kale Pesto

{vegan, sugar-free, gluten-free if using g-f pasta}

adapted from In Erika's Kitchen

Makes enough for 3 servings

• 2 - 3 C kale leaves, removed from stems and torn into small pieces
• 1/2 - 1 C other greens, like green leaf lettuce or spinach (optional)
• juice of 1/2 of a lemon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 C raw, unsalted cashews
• 1/3 C extra virgin olive oil

1. Add everything except the oil into your food processor. Pulse for about 10 seconds. If you have a small food processor, like I do, just add a little at a time, pulse, then add more until everything's minced and mixed.

2. Add oil through the feed tube, or take off the lid and slowly pour it in. Pulse until smooth. If you still have chunks of cashews, don't sweat it. It adds texture!

3. Add to a pot of drained, cooked pasta (I used whole wheat and spinach penne in the photo above) and stir until all the noodles are coated. Serve warm!

Nutrition Facts (per serving): 341 calories; 31.9g fat; 0mg cholesterol; 803mg sodium; 12g carbs; 2g dietary fiber; 1g sugar; 6g protein; 434mg vitamin A; 69mg vitamin C; 98mg calcium; 2.2mg iron

Brown Butter Pasta and Other Things

I'd say I've fallen behind on this whole "blogging" thing, but considering I've only posted once, I don't think that phrase really works here. Nevertheless, I apologize for not posting again until now.

That being said, I keep thinking of about ten thousand things to talk about on here, from the stray dog we found a couple days ago to my current composition project(s). Because I can't seem to make up my mind, you'll just have to bear with me as I barrel through several topics today. Woot!

1. We found a stray dog a couple of days ago! I had seen her last week, two doors down from us (an empty house right now), just sitting in the front yard. When I went over to see if she had a collar on, she took off. My husband saw her again a few days ago and was able to corner her against the house. We took her to the vet to see if she had a microchip (no such luck) and to get her some flea medication, since she was absolutely covered with fleas. She did have a collar on, but it was a cat collar that was way too small for her and didn't have any ID tags on it. We've been trying to find out if she has a home somewhere, but in the meantime, we've decided to call her Bailey. She's made herself at home and fits in quite nicely with our other three dogs. Plus, she's cute.

 

2. Yesterday was my husband's birthday -- the big 23! I decorated the house with Phineas and Ferb decor, complete with a "Happy Birthday!" banner, table cover, and all sorts of plates and napkins and such. (By the way, if you've never watched the show, do it. It's awesome.) I also made some homemade pizza and a Banana Whipped Cream Cake -- his favorite! He loved his presents, which consisted of a few books on dog agility and tricks, Eragon by Christopher Paolini (he had lost his copy years ago), and "Lego Star Wars" for the Wii. We also went and saw Cowboys and Aliens with a few of his buddies from the band. It was pretty good!

3. Back in February, I was hired by the Open Dream Ensemble, a performing arts group run by the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts in Winston-Salem, NC, to rewrite the songs for the first and last scenes in their 2011-12 show, as well as orchestrating the rest of the songs for the available instrumentation. The group combines math and science elements with acting, singing, and dancing, performing for schools all over North Carolina. It has definitely been an adventure working with the show's writers, and with so many limitations (available instruments, vocal ranges, pre-written lyrics), to create something new that seamlessly fits into the rest of the show. I've been reminded once again that collaboration is priceless! It's such a different beast than working on a project by yourself -- you have to be able to compromise and adapt to the different circumstances in each situation. So far, it's been a wonderful learning experience. I can't wait to see the finished product!

 

4. The Army Band my husband's in had what they call an "Organizational Day" last Friday. It's also commonly referred to as "mandatory fun," which is exactly what it is -- a recreational get-together with lots of food that everyone is required to attend, with or without family members. Because I like to think dessert is kind of my "thing," I signed up to bring Mini Cupcakes! I made AllRecipes' Red Velvet Cupcakes with Bakerella's Cream Cheese Frosting, Joy the Baker's Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, as well as Joy's Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with my own take on Bakerella's Easy Buttercream Frosting (with Vanilla Bean seeds)! Mmm, they were so good, and a huge hit. 

5. Finally, the whole reason I wanted to write a new post was because I wanted to share my experience with a new recipe I decided to try the other day: Brown Butter Pasta from Leite's Culinaria. I made a few changes here and there, mostly due to lack of ingredients, but the finished product was super tasty! I think I'll definitely try it again.

Here's the recipe:

Brown Butter Pasta
adapted from Leite's Culinaria

4 oz. fettuccine pasta
1/2 C (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan, to taste
Grated nutmeg, to taste

1. Cook the pasta in a large, salted pot of boiling water until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1/4 C of pasta water. Set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the eggs and cook, spooning butter over the top, until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny. Remove eggs from skillet and set aside.
3. Add pasta to the skillet and toss until hot, adding a little pasta water to keep it saucy. Season with salt and pepper.
4. To serve, top the pasta with the fried eggs and sprinkle with Parmesan and nutmeg. Enjoy!