VeganMoFo 2009!!!

Starting TODAY... for the entire month of October, vegan bloggers from all over the world will be writing about vegan food as much as they can to tell people how delicious vegan food is and it's so worth it to talk about!!!

I didn't sign up to participate in this awesomeness but I thought I would like to experiment eating and cooking vegan food in October to see how much I like it!

And...of course, I'll try to blog as much as I can:)
Oh! So exciting!!!!

More about MoFo go to here

Green Smoothie Day 4

This morning, I was so happy that I had all the ingredients the recipe called for. I loved it MORE with the fresh taste of the coconut water. I was feeling so energetic at work!...YAY!

This baby makes my green smoothie tastes...Mmmmmm GOOD!!!

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Mango

I made this Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Mango from home to share with friends at work. I found the recipe from The Vegan Mouse's Blog . I used a cup of celery diced instead of scallions and extra virgin olive oil instead of grapeseed oil. I didn't have red bell pepper so I skipped it.

To be honest with you... this was my first time trying Quinoa and I thought I liked it but the taste of this salad was kinda brand to me, I had to season it with more salt & pepper. However, I was so glad that everyone at work enjoyed it very much. I heard someone said "The flavor was so fresh and bright"!...YUM!!!

Pasta Dinner

Tonight, we had pasta with mushroom and garlic sauce (Barilla brand), cooked with lots of love by Easy Veggie Dad,... so tasty! I put a LOT of sweet basil (from my garden) in my plate after I took the above pic.

I'm so grateful that easy and yummy meal like this one doesn't need any meat in it!!

Green Smoothie Day 2 And Day 3

Just a short post today :)...... to let you know that I am still drinking Green Smoothie in the morning and I am still LOVING it!!!


I forgot to tell you that the recipe I shared with you from the last post makes 2 servings. The book said "You may either make the full recipe, and save half for later (store in fridge and use within 24 hours), or make half the recipe". Oops!!! I have been drinking the whole thing 3 days in a row!!! And I was still hungry later on....What is wrong in my tummy????

Green Smoothie Day 2

Yesterday, I ran out of mango chunks so I subbed with frozen blueberries. The color of smoothie came out pretty yucky but I still slurped it up as fast as the day before. The taste was a little bit weird but not that bad. I think I like it with mangoes better.

Green Smoothie Day 3

This morning, I filled up this Tupperware with my green smoothie (still 2 servings..haha!!) to enjoy at work. I bought frozen mango chunks from Trader Joe's last night (24 oz for $2.49). I really love the idea of using frozen fruits. It is so quick and easy....the best part is that I don't have to worry about cleaning up!!!

It was so wonderful starting my day with this healthy and yummy breakfast!!!

Green Smoothie And Sushi Dinner!!

I am definitely determined to drink "Green Smoothie" every morning starting TODAY! Please wish me luck with this!!!



.....So I picked up a bunch of fresh kale at the grocery store as planned. I had my CLEAN book ready in the kitchen so I was good to go!



The recipe called for: 1 1/2 cups of almond milk, 1/2 cup of coconut water, 2 leaves kale or Swiss chard, coarsely chopped, 1/4 avocado, 1/2 cup mango chunks, and 1/2 cup of ice.



As EASY as I am, I just poured 2 cups of almond milk into the blender and skipped the coconut water because I didn't have it. I used half avocado just because I like it so much and frozen mango chunks (I skipped the ice because I don't like it too cold). Oh, I didn't add any agave syrup though, I put it in the pic because I was at first freaking out by the warning of my husband that I was not gonna like the taste of the raw kale in this smoothie because of the bitter taste. Good thing, I tasted it before I put in the syrup!!!

You know WHY???

Because I L O V E it so very much (without the sweetener), I drank it all up with my big straw out of the blender within no time. Mmmmm, so great and refreshing!!! :)

Our Sushi Dinner on Friday Night!

We have had Sushi Rolls for dinner on Friday night 3 weeks in a row because I wanted to use up all the Sushi ingredients and my family was so okay with that as we all love Sushi. A little more work for me though, I have to make 3 different fillings for each of us. The above picture was my pan-fried tofu and veggie rolls, so yummy! I ate them right from the cutting board because I was too tired to put them in a nice plate, he he he!!! :)

This plate was for my husband, with imitation crab meat and veggies. For my son, Nathan just likes it with imitation crab meat only (No pic). To be honest with you, I don't mind eating crab meat but I thought tofu was a better choice for me. My tummy was so happy that Friday night. YUM!!!

Do you think it's too boring to eat Sushi Rolls every Friday night???

Easy Fruity Soy Smoothie!!!

I started my Friday morning with this easy fruity soy smoothie. I actually used mango but I called it "Fruity" just because it sounds better, ha...ha..ha!!! :)


By the way, you can use any kind of fruit you prefer. For me, whatever I have in my fridge, it will do!

In blender, combine about a cup and a half of vanilla soy milk, 1/2 cup of mango chunks, 1/2 avocado, 2 Tbsp of agave syrup, and 1/2 cup of ice (if desired). Blend together until smooth and creamyyyyyy. Mmmmm!

What a perfect breakfast!!!

I loved my mango smoothie so much so I made another one for lunch, this time I used about 5 dates instead of agave syrup because I love dates and I have a LOT of them (3 lbs for $5.99 at Costco).

This amazing CLEAN book by Dr. Alejandro Junger is the reason why I'm craving smoothie. I bought this book at Magpie a couple weeks ago because I'm interested in the clean program. Before I finished reading it, I couldn't wait to have a peek at the clean recipes in the last chapter of the book. I found easy and healthy recipes especially for smoothies. I really wanted to make green smoothie from his recipe but I didn't have kale or Swiss chard today so I have to wait until my next grocery shopping trip.

Who is Magpie???

Magpie is a lovely gift shop, located in downtown Manhattan Beach where I have enjoyed working for over 10 years. Magpie will have a website very soon, so if you are interested in getting news from Magpie, you can send your email address to magpiecollection@verizon.net.

Last but not least, I have good news from Magpie for anyone who was born in September and October that you can enjoy 20% off your purchases during one visit at Magpie by the end of November'09 (Furniture & sale items excluded). Simply show us proof of your birth date.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone! :)

Easy Veggie Pumpkin Pie

Let me introduce you to my pumpkin who survived from the heat of recent summer in my garden. I was so happy when I first saw this baby but I didn't know what to do with it.

????????

So I left it in the fridge for about a month. My poor baby!!!

Meanwhile, I was doing research on pumpkin recipes from cookbooks and websites. It was so amazing how much I learned about pumpkins. These orange veggies are so good for us all which I will talk more about them later in another post.

After a long discussion with my dearest son, I decided to make "Pumpkin Pie" because that is the only thing Nathan would eat made out of pumpkins!!!

Easy Veggie Pumpkin Pie

I ended up using an easy recipe from a box of sugar based on what I have on hand!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of pumpkin pulp puree

2/3 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 8-inch frozen ready made pie crust

Note: The recipe also called for a pinch of cloves but I didn't have it.

1) Preheat oven to 325 F.

2) In a large mixing bowl, combine and thoroughly mix all the ingredients.
3) Pour the pumpkin mixture into the unbaked pie shell.

4) Bake at 325 F for about 1 hour or until pumpkin mixture is set or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. (I baked mine for 65 minutes).

5) Serve with whipped cream (if desired).

And... here is a beautiful piece of my delicious pumpkin pie. I am so proud of myself that I finally cooked this precious pumpkin. The most important thing is that my family loved it and enjoyed it very much!!!