Breakfast Tofu + No Meat Athlete cookbook GIVEAWAY

This might be called Breakfast Tofu but it is good for any meal of the day. A cumin-infused spice rub makes these quite flavourful and baking allowed the flavours to permeate the tofu. Serve, as is, as a slab of tofu with a side of vegetables, or use it as a filling for your next sandwich. I preferred the latter, but honestly, you could have caught me snacking from the pile in the fridge as well.

Creamy Spinach Florentine Casserole

This dish is a favourite in our house. I first made it when I was pregnant, when I was craving all things cheezy and carby, and it was so good we continue to make it routinely.

I have only taken photographs once, and it was when I mistakenly added twice the amount of noodles, so it wasn’t as saucy. I recommend the full amount of sauce though. This is a saucy dish and the sauce is LOVELY. Creamy, yet not heavy.

Miso Fried Rice with Baby Bok Choy and Tofu

I don’t know if other moms can relate but I am constantly running out of space on my phone and google account. I remember when I first opened my gmail account and it was meant to never run out of space. Yeah, um, not for parents.

Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t like I am taking tons of photos of my baby. I just happen to take a quick flurry of photos at one time, because much like a cat you can’t control, I never really know what kind of expression will be captured with each photo. Come to think of it, I have plenty of photos of my baby sleeping, since I like to share them with Rob as a form of my small accomplishments for the day. Getting the baby to sleep is never an easy feat. He does not nap very well.

For a while, we had some longer sleeps at night, which I could count on one hand. Provided I get some sleep, the continual feeding every 2-3 hours doesn’t bother me as much. It just means I keep trying to get him to sleep every 2-3 hours, too.

Chocolate Candy Cane Pots de Creme

It might not surprise you, but Rob and I do not have plans for New Year’s Eve. Last year, when I pregnant and super tired, we stayed up as late as I could muster, but these days, I am still sleep deprived and it is not worth staying up all to midnight when my baby will be waking me up a couple hours later. 

Early Bird Scrambled Tofu + Protein Ninja cookbook GIVEAWAY

Tofu scrambles. We’ve made them plenty of times – dillicious, chili masala, curried dill, tahini chickpea, and mighty migas. And then there was the Revolutionary Savoury Egg Mix just waiting for a tofu scramble. They are all good but we make dillicious the most often, since we love it so. However, I have to tell you. We’ve found the chickpea scramble that rules them all. The BEST tofu scramble is right here. And it is deliciously doused in nutritional yeast and also sneaks in chickpeas.

Sassy Sesame Tofu with Sweet Potato, Carrots and Sugar Snap Peas & Vegan Under Pressure GIVEAWAY

I have had my Instant Pot almost one year and it wasn’t until I stumbled upon Jill Nussinow‘s Vegan Under Pressure that it really clicked. I knew it didn’t have to only be rice and beans, but I finally took the leap to other meals with the cookbook. Quick and easy orange-scented beet salad, maple mustard brussels sprouts, potato salad, and this delicious Sassy Sesame Tofu. There are so many more recipes I still want to try: Lemon Cashew Cheesecake! (in a pressure cooker!) Red Lentil, Sweet Potato Hemp Burgers!

Smoky Tofu Sandwiches

Wow, it is incredible what a bit of sleep can do for you.

The good news is that Baby P is now home from the NICU but he has grown up enough such that his previous 3 hour around the clock feeding schedule didn’t come home with him. It was closer to every 2 hours when we were discharged home and let me tell you, when feeding can take 30-45 minutes and followed by a 20 minute pumping session, this doesn’t leave a lot of time before the cycle resumes once again.

Turkish-Style Spinach with Creamy Tofu Ricotta + Peace & Parsnips cookbook GIVEAWAY

Want to know what I would consider a lot of spinach? 2 pounds.

It can take me a week to finish a clamshell of baby spinach but I I figured 2 bunches of regular spinach would be 2 lbs. After prepping and removing the stems from both bunches, I barely had a pound of spinach.

Still eager to make this dish, I added our emergency package of frozen spinach (the convenience of it being de-stemmed was not lost on me) and while I still didn’t have enough spinach for the recipe, it was certainly plenty of spinach!

Maple-Sriracha Tofu with Roasted Red Peppers & Creamy Grits

One of my favourite and easiest vegetables to freeze are red bell peppers. Last year, we bought a huge bucket of red peppers at the Farmer’s Market and I diligently cut, cored and seeded them before popping them in the deep freezer. Many months later and we are still chomping through them. I purposely baked a bunch of them here.

Even though Lick Your Plate is not a vegan cookbook (you can see my review here), I was intrigued by some of the simple fish recipes. Swapping tofu would be very, very easy and would also benefit from flavourful marinades. While this was a bit more involved than most of my tofu recipes, the marinade and glaze were both excellent.

Grilled Miso Tofu & Veggie Kebabs + Lick Your Plate cookbook GIVEAWAY

Happy long weekend, folks! Unlike Rob’s annual rainy prediction, I think we might luck out with sun all weekend long. Fire up your grills, plant your gardens, and start enjoying the summer. 🙂

Cold Sesame Cucumber Noodles and Love and Lemons Cookbook GIVEAWAY

Some unfortunate circumstances have forced me to take it easy. Rest, all day rest, is not something that comes naturally to me. However, yesterday the sun was bright, the air was warm, the birds were chirping and the chipmunks and squirrels ran around my backyard. The barking dog scaring the squirrel was not so peaceful, but it was an excellent environment for relaxing.

My garden has been filled with a few plants courtesy of my mom – red rhubarb, chives and garlic chives but I am still antsy to fill it up with more. I think it would be fun to work with perennials all in one garden, so asparagus will fit right in.

Greek Quinoa Salad with Tofu Feta

Rob and I went to New York City (and Brooklyn) last week. When we left Toronto, it was snowing and cold (definitely felt like winter). We were happy to drive a bit further south for even a minor relief. After a week of walking all over Manhattan, we returned to even warmer temperatures in Toronto! Our friend’s toddler was playing in a kiddie pool, it was that warm and summer-like.

Easy Vegan Lasagna

What can I say, but I have been gravitating to homely, comforting dishes over the past few weeks. Casseroles have been coming out of my oven like no tomorrow and this has been one of my favourites. Not only because it tastes great (not sure why, but the tofu-hummus-cauliflower concoction tastes like ricotta cheese) but also because it is fairly easy. Of course, oven-ready noodles and store-bought hummus and marinara sauce make this nearly a dump and cook, fool-proof recipe.

Mighty Migas + Taco Cleanse GIVEAWAY!

 

If you are trying to pick a January cleanse, I finally found one I fully endorse: The Taco Cleanse. Created and then executed by Wes Allison, Stephanie Bogdanich, Molly R. Frisinger, and Jessica Morris, The Taco Cleanse celebrates delicious vegan tacos and is anything but a deprivation diet.

Instead, you are instructed how to eat a taco for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You are acquainted with the newest superfoods (corn tortillas AND flour tortillas!) and learn how to integrate them into delicious meals.

Vegan Butter Chickpeas

Before I was vegan, the only Indian food I liked was butter chicken. Then I met Rob and we explored lots of great, naturally vegan curries. While we have veganized some of Rob’s favourite curries (see this Vegan Khao Soi), I never even thought to veganize butter chicken.

Until of course, I spotted a healthier version that was mostly vegan, except for that chicken.