~ pho to go ~

yes I know, it's pronounced 'fuh', but for the sake of humor, don't spoil it for me.

Lately I've been in a bit of a food rut.  Some variation of eggs and toast for breakfast, some variation of vegetables and a tortilla for lunch, and some variation of tofu, sweet potato, and salad for dinner.  Now not to say these are particularly bad meals to have every day, but some weeks just need a bit of spicing up.  So the day before yesterday, in an effort to be different, I went to Pho7 and discovered my undying love of Pho.  Bean sprouts, lime, tons of sriracha.  It's perfect for a cold day (or any day).

OH MY GOD.  It's SO good.

Besides the tall, handsome British guy conveniently living next door to me, and the perfect shade of red lipstick, Pho is the one thing that's been missing from my life.

It turns out, branching out every once in a while isn't all that bad.  Just like how wearing something other than black and white stripes isn't terrible and watching something other than Friends isn't always disappointing (but let's face it...it usually is).

xoxo,
Eliza

~ dinner with friends ~

Starting the New Year sick was hardly what I had in mind, but unfortunately my immune system had other plans.  Therefor, I've spent my few remaining days of vacation in bed with a bx of kleenex by my side.

Now.  When one is in such a predicament, there are two options: wallow in self pity and hatred of your sinuses, or wallow in self pity and hatred of your sinuses while eating spicy food and watching Friends on Netflix.  Though one is obviously superior because, honestly, who doesn't like to feel miserable and be grumpy, food always wins over no food.

Super Curry-y Curry:

1 can of cannellini beans,

1 large sweet potato (microwaved and cubed),

a handful of frozen green peas,

a half an onion,

a few tablespoons of diced tomatoes,

lots of curry powder, some cumin, some salt, and cayenne pepper to taste

First saute the onions in a little olive oil.  Add the beans and diced tomatoes and let it simmer for a few minutes.  Then add the green peas, sweet potatoes, and spices.  Cook for roughly ten minutes and serve over rice with some sauteed garlic spinach.  If you currently cannot taste anything, add LOTS of cayenne pepper and hope for the best.

Cabbage Spring Rolls with Sweet Potato Fries and Peanut Sauce:

Rolls: saute the following in a large pan with a little olive oil, then boil the outer leaves of a cabbage, and roll the filling up in the leaves.

two carrots, shredded,

thinly sliced broccoli,

half an onion, thinly sliced,

a handful of bean sprouts

four pieces of tofu, cubed and marinated in soy sauce, garlic, lemon juice, and a lot of black pepper

red pepper, thinly sliced

shredded green cabbage,

a little soy sauce and a pinch of cayenne pepper,

Sweet potato fries: peel two sweet potatoes, slice as thin as you like, lightly coat in olive oil, salt, and a lot of pepper.  Bake at 400 degrees on a piece of tin foil until crispy.

Peanut sauce: mix two tablespoons of peanut butter, two tablespoons of soy sauce, one tablespoon of honey, one clove of garlic, cayenne pepper, and a bit of lemon juice.

Tonight, since I'm still feeling pretty crappy and can't taste anything, I had black beans and rice with green olives and balsamic vinegar followed by hot tea with lemon and honey.  Now it's strawberry popsicles and Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Oh and just in case you didn't know, Ross kisses Rachael.

xoxo,

Eliza

~ the good days ~

During the holidays (which I consider to be from thanksgiving to new year's eve) the days may be short, but I try to make them as fun as possible.  On friday I finished the semester with a very, very easy final exam, following three very, very difficult ones, and decided to celebrate with lunch in town and a visit to the Victorian Christmas in Thomasville...

After seeing this Humans of New York photo, I went back inside and put on a hat:

"I'm the lead designer for Stetson hats. I've never met someone as crazy about hats as me. My goal in life is for everyone to understand that there is a hat out there for them. I'm not even selling hats. I'm selling romance."

Next time you go to the Bread and Roses Kitchen, make sure you get the tofu bahn mi.  SO good.

Downtown Thomasville is even prettier at night.

What a great start to the winter holiday!

xoxo,

Eliza

~ living vegan 03 ~

If you've had a conversation with me in the past week, chances are my love for a good tofu bahn mi was mentioned one or nine times.  I'm serious when I say that if I could marry a sandwich this one would be it.  

Now, because this is a very very messy sandwich, I suggest that you don't take it work, or eat it while wearing white pants, or try to eat it in the car.  But then again, white pants can be washed, a car can be vacuumed, and your coworkers would probably appreciate this amazing sandwich gracing their break room. So screw it.  Take this sandwich everywhere.  Here's the recipe!

Adapted from Marin Mama Cooks

Pickled veggies:

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1 large carrot,

1/4 to 1/2 of a red onion

Boil vinegar, water, and sugar on a medium heat until sugar dissolves.  Set the mixture in a bowl and in the fridge to cool while slicing vegetables.  Grate the carrot, and thinly slice the red onion and add to the mixture.  Set aside for a minimum of thirty minutes for very strong flavor, but if you're in a time crunch (or just impatient, like me) ten minutes will do just fine.

Sriracha Mayo:

(sounds gross but is SO GOOD)

6 tablespoons mayonnaise (or veganaise for a completely vegan version) 

2 tablespoons sriracha 

2 teaspoons lime juice

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

Mix together in a bowl and set aside.  You can add more sriracha is you're braver than me.

Tofu:

1 package extra firm tofu

1 clove garlic,

1/4 cup lemon juice

You won't use all of the package on one bahn mi, but if you become a bahn mi addict you'll want to keep your fridge stocked with tofu.  Start by draining the tofu, cutting about four thin slivers, cutting them into triangles, pressing them with a paper towel to get rid of all the tofu juice (ew), then marinate them in a little lemon juice and some garlic.  Get a frying pan hot and then fry the tofu in a little light olive oil until each piece is crispy, brown, and appears edible.

Now, take out a loaf of French bread (softer is better in this case) and slice an extra large piece.  Cut the piece all most in half, but leave it not cut all the way (like a Publix sub).  Spread your sriracha mayonnaise on both sides, then put in half of the tofu, then I like to add a little straight sriracha to make myself feel daring, then add the pickled veggies (after draining off the vinegar), drizzle some more sriracha mayo, and finally, add some fresh cucumber slices.  

You can also add jalapeños and cilantro but I hate both of those food items and choose to leave them off.  

*cilantro added only for the purpose of creating a pretty photo*

Now grab several napkins, a glass of ice water, inform your loved ones not to disturb you for fifteen minutes, and dig in! 

xoxo,

Eliza

~ weekend happenings ~

This weekend the Florida weather lived up to the whole "April showers" thing.  It drizzled ALL DAY on Saturday, but we grabbed the umbrellas and forged ahead with our plans anyway!

Saturday afternoon we went to the wildlife festival at Wakulla Springs to view the exhibits, listen to good music, and tour the beautiful lodge.

{Gap jeans, Gap shoes, target coat, target bag, RL shirt via Goodwill, vintage silk flower}

My hair inspiration:

After going to the festival, we stopped by a thrift store and I found two AMAZING vintage coats.

{1950s coat heaven}

On Sunday, we went to an art festival downtown.  It wasn't raining but it was pretty cloudy and gloomy.  We still had a great time!

I finished the day with matzo pizza and studying for my Anthropology final.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  And for those of us with finals this week and next, just remember that summer is right around the corner.  We can do it!

xoxo,

Eliza

~ living vegan 02 ~

So here it is!  The first recipe in my Living Vegan series...

Tofu, Peas, and Roasted Vegetables

This simple recipe could be a lunch or dinner and it's my favorite quick meal.  Got vegetables?  Got tofu?  Got an oven?  You're pretty much set!

Some vegan cooking basics:

Tofu is one of those things that soaks up any flavor that you marinate it in.  I like to use low sodium soy sauce, garlic, and black pepper, but try anything you like!  Tofu is a good experimental food.

01. Start by preparing the roasted vegetables and preheating the oven to 350 or 375, depending on how hot your oven gets.  I used potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots, but you can really use any vegetable that doesn't fall apart when roasted.  Beets, carrots, any kind of potato, brussel sprouts, and asparagus work really well.  

02. cut the vegetables into equally sized chunks, throw them into a good sized roasting pan (large enough so that the veggies aren't crowded), drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on them, add some black pepper, and toss until they're well coated.  

03.  While the oven is preheating, open up a package of firm tofu, drain out the liquid, and slice it into as many pieces as you like (for one person, I usually use two pieces).  Fold a few paper towels over the pieces of tofu and gently press down to squeeze the liquid out.  Now, get a bowl or plate and mix the marinade (no measurements here - just use common sense.  I always accidentally use too much, but save the excess for drizzling over the peas before you eat!), and place the pieces of tofu into it.  Once a few minutes have passed, flip the tofu over to coat the other side and then let them be until you're ready to cook them.

04.  If you are cooking beans or peas to go along with the meal, go ahead and get started on them now!  It's a general rule that store bought beans/peas take a shorter amount of time to cook than if they're homegrown or purchased from a farmer's market.  

05.  When the oven is preheated (and it most likely will be by now) go ahead and stick the roasting pan and veggies in.  I like to let them cook for 10-15 minutes, then toss them with a spatula so they can roast on the other side.

06.  When the roasted veggies are done or close to being done, heat up a pan on the stove (I like to start out on high heat and then turn it down to medium high), and add a bit of light olive oil (too much oil = slippery tofu).  When the pan is heated, place the tofu in it, let the pieces brown on one side and then flip them over.  

Et voila!  When you've fixed your place, take some of that tofu marinade and drizzle it over the peas/bean, and you have a perfect meal!

Try it out and let me know what you think!  And I'd love to hear how you marinate your tofu.

xoxo,

Eliza

~ living vegan ~

Here's the first post (hopefully one of many) on eating (mostly) vegan in the south!  You might think that's a pretty hard thing to do, and rightfully so, since much of a southern diet consists of mac and cheese, fried chicken, peas cooked with meat, buttermilk biscuits, etc., etc.  But trust me, it's possible.

Growing up vegetarian, I learned from an early age to check labels and ask about ingredients at restaurants.  But a dairy allergy took me by surprise (and royally pissed me off)!  So here I am, three years after completely cutting ALL dairy out of my diet, and I'm going to show you some of my favorite vegan recipes and dairy-free products.

Side note: if you too are going through diet reformation, don't think of yourself as a "picky eater" but rather a "thoughtful eater."  And feel free to correct anyone who mislabels you.

The basics: 

Vegan vs. dairy-free.  Let me clear some things up for you.  I am strictly meat and dairy free, but I sometimes call my self vegan since it's easier to ask for vegan options at restaurants and you're less likely to accidentally order something with dairy, as vegans don't eat any products that come from animals.  The only animal products in my diet are eggs from my hormone/antibiotic-free, organically fed, well-treated, happy chickens (they all have names, but that's another story for another day), and honey from my mom's very healthy and happy beehives.  If I'm eating out, I try my best to avoid eggs, since I don't know where they come from or how the chickens were treated.

Food groups:  Obviously dairy products and meat are subtracted from the list, but protein, soy-based "dairy" products, vegetables, fruits, and grains remain.

So here's a rundown of what I eat:

Protein: mostly consists of tofu, almonds, and lots and lots of beans (all kinds!)

"Dairy" products: Silk soymilk (plain - the vanilla is tasty but sweeter than I prefer for everyday use), soy-free Earth Balance (since I have a diet heavy on soy and soy is heavy on estrogen, I like to cut it out when not 100% necessary - there's no difference in taste as far as EB is concerned!), Silk soy creamer (great in tea and coffee), So Delicious dairy-free ice cream (AMAZING.)

Vegetables: I like em all but I'm particular to beets, carrots, sweet potatoes and regular potatoes (yes I know.  Technically potatoes aren't considered vegetables, but for the sake of simplicity they will be categorized as such on here), peppers, onions, broccoli, any kind of beans or peas, lettuce, tomatoes (unless they're raw or I will push them to the other end of the table and probably run out of the room), cucumbers, celery, corn, collard greens (what self-respecting Southern gal wouldn't list collard greens?!), and any kind of olive.

Fuits: Same with vegetables - give me any kind of fruit and I will eat it.  Apples, bananas, oranges, pears, strawberries, grapes, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, blueberries, peaches, etc, etc.

Grains: my main source of grain comes from homemade whole wheat bread, but I also eat whole wheat pasta, brown rice, oats, grits, and occasionally cornmeal.

So there it is!  My dietary rap sheet.  Next I'll be posting a few of my favorite breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert recipes.  Bon appetit!

{maybe Betty used butter instead of Earth Balance}

xoxo,
Eliza