Hummus Pods & Main Street Vegan Academy Cookbook

A little teaser to start things off today!  But I can't tease you for long...so...here's what you are looking at...

These are new-to-me and I have to say I fell in LOVE with them at first bite!  They are Hummus Pods!  I found them on one of my recent road trips.  I hope they become more readily available because I want to stock up on them!  They are YUMMY as-is and on their own but you know me...I need to make dips and sauces for stuff, too, so I did!  I used homemade leftover Vegan Sriracha Aioli.

And speaking of recents...here is another recent cookbook I added to my collection!  I can't wait to dive in!  I randomly opened the book today and immediately wanted to try the Pistachio Mustard!  OMG!  I need to try it and ASAP!

This is a short post today but I have a lot going on - good - but busy - and I hope to share more of that with you SOON!

In the meantime...have you seen or tried these Hummus Pods yet?  Do you have the new Main Street Vegan Academy Cookbook?  If so - what are your fave recipes or at least ones that intrigue you!?

Sorta-Sonora Dip

I was searching different dips I could make with the few ingredients I had on hand and came up with this.  It's sorta of like Sonora Dip - not that I really knew what Sonora Dip was - but I combined elements from at least 3 different recipes and then, of course, gave it a few more sprinkles of originality along the way.  End result was YUMMY!

Sorta-Sonora Dip

1 C Cashews

3 Tomatoes

1 T Minced Garlic

1 t Smoked Paprika (or more to taste)

Pink Himalayan Sea Salt to taste

Sriracha Sauce to taste

Endless Vegan Bowls!

I've really been into Bowls lately!  It's a whole meal!  I literally throw whatever I have on hand and create something different each time and toss it in a bowl!

First up...Kale, Chickpeas, Onion, Garlic, Red Bell Peppers, Hemp Seeds, Turmeric, Spices, Vegan Sour Cream, Sriracha!  There may or may not be carrots in there, too!  I can't remember.  This was the first one I did of many when I first picked up a HUGE bag of chopped Kale.

If you mix the Sour Cream and Sriracha into everything else it made a nice sauce, too!

I did something VERY similar YET quite different with this next one.

This one has carrots, kale, corn, red bell pepper, garlic, spices, tofu, turmeric, and vegan samosas!

Yes...THOSE Veggie Samosas!  The ones I got at the Dollar Tree!  I'm LOVING them...the best way to do them is to pan fry.  I usually use Grapeseed Oil.

Last night I did another bowl but didn't take a photo but have come to the conclusion that DH doesn't like the smell of Flax Oil...it was the oil I used last night in that bowl.  I'm trying to UP my Omega's while trying to combat this pain I'm having.

When in doubt...make some kind of chickpea spread.

My idea was to have sandwiches but let's just say this didn't make it to the bread.  It was somewhere in between vegan egg salad and vegan tuna fish.  I know that sounds weird but I added dulse and it made it a little fishy (just a hint) and the rest of it had the texture moreso of egg salad.  I've done vegan egg salads using chickpeas before and might have to try and do a more true vegan tuna fish soon.

I have more foody type things to blog about but I am going to save them for tomorrow' MWM (MidWeek Munchies!)

Vegan MoFo ~ Lunch on the Go!

Happy Saturday!  Today's Vegan MoFo 'starter' is Lunch on the Go!  Well, I do PLENTY of these because I'm often on the go during the week for work!  Usually I will have a sandwich, pita pocket, wrap, salad, or veggies/nuts/seeds/fruits to munch on.  Another thing I have done many times is any kind of veggie with various flavors of hummus!  

Here you will see the last hummus I made at home and ate...Shriracha Hummus!

Here's the recipe:

2 C Chickpeas

1/2 t Cumin

1 Mini Red Bell Pepper

2 Cloves Garlic

2 T Tahini

1 T Lemon Juice

1 T Shriracha

Water if needed

Cayenne Pepper, Pink Himalayan Sea Salt to taste

Top with more Shriracha to taste

I eat a lot of salads.  For Lunches and Dinner.  Sometimes because it's all the restaurants offer that is vegan and sometimes its by choice because I really do love them regardless!  What makes a great salad is 'eating the rainbow' but also a good dressing!  I make a lot of my own.  I'm sure we all do!  Here's on that I made with carrots as the base a while back.

Because I have been making a lot of these Vegan MoFo posts based on what I have on hand in my pantry and cupboards I wanted to share with you this extremely simple, fun, and flavorful tip/trick I came up with the other night!  Now that I know just how much I LOVE this I will be making it often so I have some on hand at all times!

I introduce to you...Pine Nut Parmesan!  

I've done other vegan parm's before but this one 'takes the cake'!  Here's what I did...

1 C Pine Nuts (Ground in a coffee or spice grinder)

3 T Nutritional Yeast

1/2 t Garlic Powder

1/2 t Black Sea Salt

That's IT and it really IS that AMAZING!

In case you were wondering what to do with this yummy sprinkle...here's an idea...

1 Small Sweet Onion

1 Small to Medium Zucchini

pan fried and topped with the Pine Nut Parm!  YUMMO! 

It's Gettin' a Little Cheesy Around Here...

I'm still trying to catch up on blog posts - especially the foods and recipes I have been tinkering with.  I figured I would combine two of them in this first post of today.  There will be multiple posts today...be sure to check back! 

In this first photo you will see what looks to be Mac & Cheese.  Welllll...sorta-kinda...but better!  I used Brown Rice Pasta Shells and did a Sriracha Cheese Sauce and here's how I did it...

1 C Cashews
1 C Water
1/2 C Nutritional Yeast
1 T Lemon Juice
1 T Sriracha Sauce
1 tea Paprika
1 tea Onion Powder
1 tea Garlic Powder
Sprinkle Chili Garlic Sea Salt
Sprinkle Turmeric Extract
Sprinkle GoL Raw Meal Protein

I've been on a Grits kick for a few weeks now since I smuggled in some Earth Balance and Nutritional Yeast to a local eating establishment and threw my additions into the plan grits they served me.  So I have been working on different flavors of Grits at home and here's another one I really enjoyed!  Of course you have the grits but then you mix in...

1/4 C (or more) Nutritional Yeast
2 T (or more) Earth Balance
1 tea Garlic Powder
1/2 tea (or less) Garlic Chili Sea Salt
Sprinkle GoL's Wheatgrass

What do you think of these creations?  What kind of flavored Grits do you think I should try next?