Sometimes You Just Need A Little Comfort Food

This week seems like it has been dragging.  We were on a cruise this past weekend until Monday so I didn't work that day, but somehow my 4 day week seems like it has been 14 days.  Then of course being out of town, I have yet to go grocery shopping so it has been pretty bare in our fridge this week.  We've been piecing together meals with what we have, due completely to my lack of motivation to go to the store.  Today all I wanted to eat was something comforting.  Soup to me always does the trick.  Never mind that it was 85 degrees out today, I was determined to make a yummy soup out of stuff I already had in my cabinets.


In my pre-plant based days I loved this boxed roasted red pepper and tomato soup from Trader Joe's.  We probably ate it 3 nights a week.  Unfortunately it contains milk in it so it is no longer a staple in my household.  I got the idea this afternoon to make my own, I have roasted red peppers and I have canned tomatoes so why not?  You can of course make your own peppers and tomatoes but who wants to do that after being at work for 9 hours...not me.


I did want something yummy to top the soup with and decided to make my own croutons.  Of course we are out of bread, so I did stop in the French Market on my way to the train and picked up some whole grain sourdough bread and some fresh basil (because I can).  The bread is great b/c it has like 3 ingredients, flour, water & salt or something ridiculously easy like that.  


So I just started throwing together things I had and stumbled upon a hit with us. Dan even thought it was the Trader Joe's soup!  And for very few calories, you get big flavor and a filling soup, not to mention that it's so pretty.  


Vegan Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup with Pesto Croutons

1/2 yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
1 jar roasted red peppers, drained
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 cup vegetable broth (and a little extra for sautéing)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
6 ounces silken tofu
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp oregano
dash of red pepper flakes
pesto croutons(recipe below)


In a medium sized pot over medium heat, add onions, garlic, bay leaf, and a splash of veggie broth.  Sauté until onions become translucent.  Add in the remaining ingredients (except croutons and tofu) and simmer for 10 minutes.  


Remove the bay leaf and add the tofu.  With a hand blender or a real blender, puree the soup until it has a smooth consistency.  Taste the soup for seasoning and add additional salt and pepper to taste.  Garnish with croutons, fresh basil and green onions.  




Pesto Croutons
2-3 slices bread, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup veggie broth
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)


Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  In a food processor combine garlic, basil, broth, salt and nutritional yeast until completely combined.  Toss the pesto with the bread pieces until they are coated.  Place on a baking pan covered in parchment paper.  Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes, turning every so often until the croutons are crispy.  You can also do this in a toaster oven if you like.  


VeHere's what they look like before getting toasted, you will need to stop yourself from just eating them as is...

This dinner was exactly what we needed this week!  What kinds of foods do you find comforting when the work week is seeming a bit too long?

Veggie Maki Salad

So I've posted before about my making easy sushi-esque stuff at home (see here).  When I did that it was more like an appetizer, not going to be a whole meal unless you ate a dozen of them.  SO I thought about how to bulk it up and make it into a real meal.  So why not add some lettuce to it.  This came together in a snap and with the oil free wasabi ginger dressing on top it was perfection!  Definitely a keeper in our house.  


I added the vegetables I had on hand, but this really would be good with whatever you enjoy in your vegetarian sushi or what you have in your fridge, sauteed mushrooms or asparagus would be really good her as well.  Add some cubes of baked tofu as well.

Veggie Maki Salad with Wasabi Ginger Dressing - serves 2


1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1 romaine lettuce heart, chopped
1/2 cup shelled edamame
1/2 carrot shredded
1/2 cucumber, julienned (cut into thin strips)
1/2 avocado, diced
2 stalks of green onions, chopped
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 sheet nori or any seaweed snack
Wasabi Ginger Dressing (recipe below)


Arrange chopped romaine on a plate.  Top with remaining ingredients or any vegetables you like.  Drizzle on dressing and enjoy!  We like things pretty spicy in this house so we added a little chili sauce to ours but that is completely optional.


Wasabi Ginger Dressing


1 tsp wasabi powder
2 tbsp hot water
3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 clove minced garlic
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 tsp powdered ginger (you can also use fresh ginger root juice but I had no ginger on hand)


Combine wasabi powder and hot water until dissolved in a small container with a lid. Add in remaining ingredients, pop on the lid and shake to your hearts content.  Taste dressing for spice.  Add more wasabi for spicer, add more water if too spicy for you until you reach your desired level.

What The Fork Do You Eat?! - part 1

Every time I mention to someone that I eat a plant-based diet, or vegan, I typically get a perplexed look followed by several uncomfortable seconds of silence.  90% of the time the next thing out of their mouth is “So what do you eat?”.  Apparently by not eating dairy, meat and other animal products there is not much left..right?  WRONG!

I decided to blend my love of food, my love of photography and my quest to make people realize that I eat far more then lettuce into this blog.  Now I do post a lot of recipes here but I also eat all of these!  Look for the weekly installment of What The Fork Do You Eat?! of things I eat that I don't always blog about.  A lot of this is eating out for lunch, etc.  Goes to show that there are vegan options at many fine establishments.  Also, let's me show off my new art project above...spent some time in the produce department in search of foods I can make look like vegetables...here's another favorite:

Okay..onto the reason for this post.

Last week I was in Vegas for work, so yeah, not posting the stuff I ate there....we are going to forget that week ever happened.  So this is some highlights from the week before.  Enjoy!

Jamba Juice oatmeal for breakfast one morning.  They make it with soy milk so it's 100% plant based.  You can get it with bananas, berries, apples, plain or just brown sugar like I have here.  Got the brown sugar in a small moment of weakness...hey it happens.

Hit up the juice place in the French Market before work one day.  Was feeling a scratchy throat so got a cold fighter.  Contains grapefruit, orange, lemon, apple, and ginger.  Yum!

I totally have a weakness when it comes to sandwiches.  I love them.  Since there are 5 potbelly's within walking distance of my office (you think I exaggerate?) it's hard to resist. There isn't anything specifically vegan there, but I love to get their pizza sandwich, hold the cheese and pepperoni, double the mushrooms.  Add some lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle and italian seasoning and it is a yummy lunch that isn't all that bad for you at around 300 calories...my problem is I always get baked chip...bad Jody!

It seems like more and more places are having vegan options.  Soprafinna in the city is one of them to start offering such options.  I tried the panini with roasted red pepper hummus, basil dressing, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, roasted tomatoes and lettuce.  It was delicious!  They also have a portabella sandwich, which is good but this is better!

This is to prove that I still do cook.  I was using up some veggies we had in the fridge and sauteed up some yellow squash, tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic and a little hot sauce.  Put it on a flatbread with 1/4 of an avocado.  It was a quick and delicious meal.  Had some veggies that wouldn't fit in the flat bread so they made a great side dish.

Lastly I made a batch of my Veggie Chili on top of some quinoa and topped with an avocado.  Made enough to have several lunches with this in the days to come.

So there you have it!  A blend of some homemade and some eating out.  Stay tuned for more adventures in plant-based eating!