~ cold weather cravings ~

In the summer I crave cucumbers, pasta salad, and mint ice cream.  In the fall I crave pumpkin-y things, halloween candy, and hot tea.  And when it barely hits 50 degrees all day, I crave hot, HOT soup and fruit.  A lot of fruit.

I've just discovered how awesome fresh pomegranate is and now nothing else will do!

And in this case, the soup in question is called Everything Soup (because I made it when I was in a bad mood and just grabbed everything from the vegetable drawer and dumped it in).  Green peas, onions, broccoli, carrots, tofu, pasta, some salt, lots of black pepper, cumin, and soy sauce.  First saute all the vegetables, then add the rest of the ingredients, about 4 cups of water, and let it simmer until the vegetables are soft enough.

Tonight for dinner it's butter beans, roasted vegetables, and a salad.  If the only physical activity I get this winter is going for a run every two weeks and speed walking around campus to avoid the cold, at least I know I'll be eating healthy.  (never mind the fact that I have a box of donuts on my counter right now)

xoxo,

Eliza

~ town hopping ~

Today my mama and I did one of my favorite things: town hopping!  And by town hopping, I mean driving to little towns in Florida and Georgia, looking through antique stores, eating, shopping, buying peaches and butter beans, photographing abandoned buildings, getting creeped out by the abandoned buildings, eating cinnamon buns, and shopping for books.

{the Thomasville farmer's market - best in the state!}

{I picked up a collection of Truman Capote's short stories from the bookstore}

{such an amazing old building.  I'll definitely be coming back to photograph this one in better light!}

Not a bad way to spend my day off!

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