Oh hey. I’m just gonna be chillin’ at Vida Vegan Con (VVC) this weekend, no bigs. No, but seriously it is bigs!! Vegan blogging super stars everywhere! I don’t plan on blogging “live” for the rest of our trip, but stay tuned for VVC/Portland/Seattle blog posts in the near future.
A few vegangrams of some of the vegan swag I got today:
I had leftover guacamole from my nacho-tempeh-bacon-guac sandwiches and I knew if I didn’t eat it all quickly, it would start turning blackish in color despite my attempts to keep it from air.
Guacamole that has turned darker due to oxidation is not inedible but let’s face it, bright green guacamole is way more appetizing. So why not disguise it?
I got this idea from Epicurean Vegan who mixed mashed avocados with rice and beans. I didn’t have rice so instead I mixed my leftover guacamole with a cooked combo of white and dark quinoa. Then I stirred in left over diced tomatoes with green chilis (from a can) and some salt and pepper to taste.
Then, I topped it with some black beans, sour cream and green onions. Since the guacamole was already made and full of flavor, this dish could not have been simpler. This kept in the fridge for several days and the guacamole kept on looking awesomely appetizing due to its quinoa disguise!
PS. Portland, I’ll see you in a few days for VVC!
I have a cold. It’s full blown-sies. An end of school year gift from my students I’m sure. When I’m under the weather, I don’t feel like doing anything in the kitchen. Solution: get someone else to do the cooking.
Neal made me this brunch of tofu scramble, fried “ham”, english muffins and strawberries.
And one night we went to Harmony, a veg Chinese restaurant.
Pickled carrots and cabbage, served at the beginning of each meal here. Neal doesn’t like it so I eat it all.
Wonton Soup- we always order this when we eat here.
Salt and Pepper “Squid”- new menu item, second time we’ve gotten it.
Szechuan style green beans- we order this every time we’re here.
Orange “beef”- don’t order this as often, but it was tasty!
I’ve been taking vitamin C, drinking a lot of tea and smoothies, and sucking on Ricola’s non-stop. I sure hope I am feeling back to my old self soon. I’m tired of the stuffed up nose and the Darth Vader-like mouth breathing.
These baked shells are packed full of creamy, cheesy, herby butternut squash goodness in every bite. This dish is easy to throw together and easy to customize.
First I preheated the oven to 450 degrees. Then I sliced a whole butternut squash down the middle and de-seeded it. Wash the outside of the butternut squash and nuke it for 3 minutes to make cutting easier.
I roasted the butternut squash for about 45 minutes (until tender). While it was roasting I prepared the macaroni shells, the big kind used for stuffing. I just followed the directions on the package.
After the butternut squash got all tender and delicious, I scraped both sides all out into a bowl. I then mixed in 1/2 cup of pre-made cashew cheese (recipe below), a handful of chopped basil and chives and salt and pepper to taste. You don’t have to use basil or chives, get crazy and try different herbs, use more, use less…don’t use any at all. I used what happened to be in the fridge. You also don’t have to use butternut squash, try pumpkin like I did here.
Then I stuffed ‘dem shells and placed them in a baking pan. The amount of filling I made stuffed about 12-14 shells. I poured some store-bought marinara sauce over it and baked it at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes.
And then I stuffed them stuffed shells into my mouth. These were so flippin’ delicious. It’s really the cashew cheese that brings this dish to that next creamy delicious level. The recipe (below) for the cashew cheese is based on Tal Ronnen’s but without having to prepare it for days because I don’t use probiotics.
Throw everything in food processor or high speed blender and blend until smooth. Stick it in the fridge and use in meals like above or as a veggie dip or cracker spread.
I’ve been on a real chocolate kick since like, um, I don’t know…forever! Thank goodness there are clever recipes out there that include chocolate disguised in a breakfast-y like package. Here are two that I made recently.
Marbled Banana Bread from Post Punk Kitchen. This looks real fancy but was so simple to make!
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins. These were the perfect portable breakfast sweets.
There’s a part of my brain that knows these sweet dessert-y foods should not be the meal I start my day off with. But then there’s another LOUDER part of my brain that is saying “Get in mah belly!”
This weekend we went on a short hike in Arabia Mountain. We walked along two trails. The first was “Forest Hill” and it was, well, forest-y.
We went past Arabia Lake. Nikko (our girl pup) was feeling adventurous and ended up falling in the lake. Poor girl. She was ok. I didn’t get a picture of her falling in…what kind of mother do you think I am??
After we passed the lake, we took “Mile Rock” trail back to the nature center. This part of the trail is all rock. Although Arabia Mountain is called a mountain, it’s actually a granite monadnock. This just means it’s an isolated and exposed rock hill. 
Granite used to be quarried here so there are still big chunks lying about.
The entire time it threatened to rain on us.
But we made it back to the car dry.
When we got home, I made us a couple of smoothies with mango, peaches, tangerines, strawberries and pineapples.
And the dogs, who are city dogs through and through, recouped from being out in nature.
Hey vegan potluckers! We are thrilled to be participating in the third virtual vegan potluck!
One of my favorite dishes is the classic potato salad. But Neal won’t go near it because most versions have vegan mayo in them and he detests mayo. Even if the potato salad is mayo-less, he won’t go near it because he associates it with mayo. Challenge accepted! 
This potato salad is a twist on the classic version. Instead of russet and/or red potatoes, I used sweet potatoes.
And instead of the classic mayo, onions and pickle relish mixture, I used Mexican inspired ingredients like dried Ancho chili, cilantro, lime juice, harissa (technically, this ingredient is Moroccan)
and black beans.
The tangy sauce is cashew based and comes out nice and creamy but not in a mayo kind of way. 
Ingredients (approximates)
Directions
This salad is great warm or cold, by itself or inside a tortilla! If you want it more spicy, add more ancho chili. It is super tasty and best of all, it passes the Neal test. Finally. A potato salad that he will eat!
Still hungry? There are more good vegan eats in the Virtual Vegan Potluck. Click the button below to see the dish before mine by Farmer’s Market Vegan.
Click this button to see the dish after mine by The Vegan Gypsy.
Or if you’re just joining in, click below to start from the beginning with our gracious host, Vegan Bloggers Unite.
