Ying Yang Salad with Peanut-Sesame Dressing

We've had 2 crop shares so far and I really need to get those pics uploaded to my computer and report all the great greens we've been eating. Yum! Until then, here's another dish we made while on blogging hiatus.

Yet another success from Real Food Daily. Ths is a salad of napa and red cabbage with ginger baked tofu tossed in peanut-sesame dressing. I was a bit nervous with this dish because Ryan is not a fan of cabbage. However, I was happily surprised that Ryan loved it! I would love to try this recipe out on my sister. She loves the bok choy salad I make and I feel that this is kinda a twist on it. We'll see if she'll venture into tofu-land.

I'm excited for this weekend. Ryan scored us tickets to Orchestra Hall and we're going to see Pink Martini on Saturday night. Not that I know much about them, but from what I've heard, I'm all ears! Other than that, I plan on resting a lot. I came down with a stupid cold that is draining all my energy.

Tempeh Loaf with Miso Gravy & Mashed Parsnips

Ok, so this didn't turn out very loaf-like! It turned out more like a tempeh hash dish, but was still great. It is made of tempeh, miso, veggies and herbs.

We also made Miso Gravy. The miso really made the gravy tasty and it was served over mashed parsnips and potatoes. It was another one of those really involved meals, but very worth it as it's a "feel-good" meal. Everything is from the Real Food Daily cookbook. We love this cookbook, but it takes a bit of work to put the dishes together. As with anything, after awhile, we get the hang of it and things come together much more quickly.

Barley Pilaf with Carrots and Snap Peas and Tofu *with recipe!*

Hello, hello. We have returned from Vegas and had a ton of fun. We went 7 years ago and never really thought we'd visit again. Not that Vegas isn't great, it's just that there are so many other places in this world that we want to visit too. However, when faced with a decision of where to go on vacation and not wanting to spend a lot of money or time, we decided to go to Vegas again. It was a great decision.

We stayed at the Monte Carlo, which has a fantastic pool. We laid out and swam for a couple hours each morning. We met up with a friend of ours who is living down there this summer and got to do some drinking and dancing. We also went to a show, Le Reve, at the Wynn, which was an amazing display of the strength and beauty of the human body. Our schedules are so out of whack as we were staying up until 4am every night, then sleeping 4 hours and doing it all again the next day. Trust me, we're usually in bed by 10:30pm and up at 7am. I need my sleep, so I was amazed that we made it through!

We're excited to be making some healthy foods again. Here is some more backlog from when I was MIA from blogging:

*updated*

I found the recipe! It was originally from Cooking Light, but didn't include carrots or tofu.

Here you go:

Barley Pilaf with Carrots and Sugar Snap Peas

(4 servings)

1 tsp olive oil
1/3 c. finely chopped celery
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
1 1/3 c. vegetable broth
2/3 c. uncooked quick-cooking barley
½ c. sugar snap peas
6 tbsp julienned carrots
1/8 tsp black pepper

1/2 lb. baked tofu

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add celery and onion; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Add broth, bring to a boil. Stir in barley; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until tender.

Stir in peas, carrots, tofu and black pepper; remove from heat. Cover and let stand 5 minutes.

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I cannot remember where I found this recipe, nor can I find the recipe at this moment. We first made it as a barley pilaf with some veggies. It turned out so-so. However, after we added some baked tofu, it made it a different dish as I felt there was now more substance in it. Perfect for a summer salad or a lunch. The pilaf was topped with toasted pine nuts.

Sunflower Lentil Loaf with Miso Curry Potatoes

This is my absolute favorite loaf. I baked it in a bread pan instead of a pie pan so it would more closely resemble the traditional meatloaf, which I haven't had in years. I loved how it turned out and was fantasic for leftovers. Although we didn't make sandwiches with it this time, it would work well for lunches the next day. This loaf included lentils, sunflower seeds, onions, oats, and celery.

I also threw together some Miso Curry Potatoes. It truly reminded me of the Shake 'n Bake potatoes mixes circa 1999, but so much fresher!

Vegetable Barbecue Sandwiches

Veggie BBQ sandwiches are a great way for kids or teens to eat veggies. I'm excited to try this one out on my nephew sometime soon. These sandwiches are from Very Vegetarian and include garlic, peppers, zucchini, mushrooms and onions, but there are many other veggies out there that would fit right in too.

We also made a poppy seed coleslaw using broccoli slaw. It added a great crunch to compliment the cooked veggies.

Roasted Salmon with Molasses and Chile Carrots

This salmon and carrots dish was amazingly simple. I pulled it from The Skinny's recipe section and was very happy with how it turned out. The carrots were very deceiving as they were baked with molasses, but spiced up with some cayenne.

Yummy Food

Hello! It's about time for me to get caught up with posting about all the great food we have been eating. I'm not really sure where to start and to be honest, I don't remember the "stories" that go along with all the food. I do know it was all in the past couple months. Below are a few items from my time away from blogging and I'll continue to play catch up this week.


This week should be pretty exciting as crop share season starts up again on Tuesday and we go to Vegas on Wednesday. Yay for 100+ degree heat! We are splitting a full share with Ryan's parents and again getting our share from Loon Organics. Can't wait!

Caesar Salad with Blackened Tempeh

Tempeh caesar salad is one of my favorite ways to use tempeh. This is from Real Food Daily and it really goes together nicely, but is somewhat time consuming. I made the croutons, dressing, and marinated the tempeh a few days early. Everything kept extremely well and is a great way to break up a complicated meal. This can be eaten as a salad or put into a tortilla for a wrap at lunch.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Of course I had to try another batch of cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. The Basic Chocolate Cupcakes were great, but I wasn't too hot on the Chocolate Buttercream frosting. I thought it was much too sugary for me. Next time I'll try the Chocolate Mousse Topping.

Chow Fun with Hot and Smoky Tofu

This recipe is from Very Vegetarian and includes baked tofu. I used Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen's recipe, which rocked! We didn't have broccoli, but it was still chock full of mushrooms, carrots, peppers and onions.