No End To The Craziness

It's been crazy around here the last few weeks.  I've heard an expression before that goes something like 'I meet myself coming and going', and that is definitely how I've been feeling.  During the last few weeks, I'm ashamed to admit I've eaten more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches than I can shake a stick at.  Luckily, last month I stocked up on peanut butter and got a couple of really good organic fruit spreads from bionature.   At least my PB&J's aren't the sugar filled variety I ate when I was a kid.  The Hickory Smoked flavored Tofurky and I have also become very close, to say the least.  :)

While I'm being honest, the reason for so many sandwiches lately is really due to lack of planning on my part.  When I'm not so busy, I can usually wing it most of the time and be fine, but when my schedule is hectic, I find  I need a plan.  If I'm walking in the door late, exhausted, with nothing planned for dinner, and I don't feel like going out to eat, my options are delivery (which means eating even later), trying to figure out what to make (not happening) or something easy like a sandwich (jackpot!).  I'm starting to use my slow cooker a little more for these busy days, and I'm trying to plan a little better.  I'm really hoping things will get back to normal soon though, or at least a little closer to normal.  :)

Here are a few things I did manage to squeak out recently:

Baked tofu over rice with mixed vegetables.  I topped this with a little sriracha.  The tofu was dry rubbed, before baking, with the Peruvian BBQ seasoning I got in my August vegan food swap.  The rub on the tofu was amazing.  I can't wait to make this again.

Vegan Linda was talking about making homemade tomato soup last month, and ever since reading about it I had been in the mood for tomato soup.  Her's had fresh tomatoes from her garden (I'm envious).  Mine more closely resembled the recipe in Vegan Diner.  I used canned organic crushed tomatoes with basil, garlic, fresh basil, organic vegetable broth, and cashews.  I took some leftovers to my daughter's house for lunch one day (and remembered to take a picture, I forgot to take one at home).  I had it with whole grain toast topped with vegan cream cheese and homemade vegan pesto.  My granddaughter Lexi loved it!  Lexi is still pretty young, and her r's aren't always real defined, depending on what word she is saying.  It was so cute to here her ask twice for "mo soup please".  She ate 3 bowls!  :)

Nothing elaborate here.  Gardein Crispy Chik'n Patty, Alexia Sweet Potato Puffs, Seapoint Farms Eat Your Greens Veggie Blend, cheesy quinoa, and honeydew.  I just mixed a little vegan cheese into the warm cooked quinoa to get the cheesy quinoa.

I steamed some Trader Joe's Vegetable Gyoza and made this Soy Ginger Dipping Sauce from Alton Brown.

Gardein Mandarin Orange Crispy Chik'n finished off the meal.  I love this stuff!  :)  I served broccoli with this.

A day where I actually sort of planned and made lentils in the slow cooker.  I made the Honey Lentils out of Make It Fast, Cook It Slow and subbed agave for the honey (I used a little less than called for).  I forgot to plan for the rice, so I made couscous (gotta love how fast couscous can be done and on the table).  I had the Eat Your Greens Veggie Blend with this meal too.  This meal was a protein powerhouse.  :)  A heads up, Make It Fast, Cook It Slow is not a vegan or vegetarian cookbook.  It does have some nice sounding recipes that are vegan, and some that could easily be veganized.  The author is also gluten free.  It's worth checking out from your local library if you're interested in using the slow cooker.  She also has a lot of recipes posted on her blog.

August Vegan Food Swap

Last month, I signed up for a Vegan Food Swap that is hosted by Cat from The Verdant Life.  I had been reading about bloggers doing these swaps for awhile now, so I was super excited to find one I could join.  August was my first month participating and it was a lot of fun.  I sent goodies to Steffi from Don't Fear The Vegan (I love the name of her blog, every time I see it I can't help but think of Don't Fear The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult), and I received goodies from a non blogger named Jannifer from Texas.  One of the really neat things about this vegan food swap is that you don't have to be a blogger to join.

Jannifer is lucky, she lives in the hometown of Whole Foods.  Since we don't have one nearby, it was awesome to receive goodies specific to them.  I love, love, love berries, and mixed berry to me means extra yumminess, so I was immediately excited to see the Mixed Berry Conserve.  As a matter of fact, the morning after I opened my food swap package, I put a little conserve on top of my oatmeal for breakfast.

That same night I mixed a little in with some frozen berries, and made a delicious sauce to top my Almond Dream ice cream.  Amazing!

Mexican night was in store (sorry no pictures) with the yummy Herdez Salsa she sent, along with the Whole Foods Organic Taco Seasoning.  She also sent me some Whole Foods Organic Peruvian Barbecue Seasoning which I haven't tried yet (I've just been so busy), but I am planning on using it soon.  I've been thinking it'd be really good on some baked tofu.

The Sahale Soledad Snacks she sent me had a nice blend of salty, spicy, and sweet.  It has almonds,  apple, flax seeds, dates, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper.  I dug into these almost as soon as I opened my box.  :)

She also sent me some Wizard's Vegan Worcestershire Sauce, which I'm eager to try.  I usually use Annie's brand, since it's easy for me to get where I live.  I don't know if there is much difference in taste, but Jannifer said she would be curious to hear what I think.  I will have to post after I try it.  I don't know if any of you have tried both.

Lastly, I got two individual squeeze packets of raw cashew butters from Artisana.  One was the Acai Berry and one was the Berry AntiOxidant.  I have got to see if I can find these someplace local.

Thanks again Jannifer!