Pics of various dishes I have made of late

Chickpeas, mushrooms, onions 

Thin pasta, yellow squash, mushrooms, kale, with a healthy dash of turmeric

Loaded baked potato with green onion, corn and black beans, Happy Herbivore Onion Rings, Brussels sprouts

Gardein beefless tips, sweet peas, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms

Vegan Tofu Parmesan with Daiya Vegan Mozzarella Cheese

Happy Herbivore's Enchilada Casserole

Black beans, thin pasta, green onions, mushrooms

Quinoa with homemade sauce, corn, tofu, spinach and zucchini

White Kidney Beans, quinoa, kale, yellow squash, tofu, mushrooms

Field Roast sausage, field greens, corn, quinoa, kidney beans

Al's Produce Stand

The waiting list for my small local CSA is a mile long. So when I want fresh and locally grown produce, I drive about 10 minutes from my house, along Alabama Highway 204 to Al's Produce stand.

  Al has lived in Alabama for a long time. In fact, he was born in a dog trot home that still exists behind the house where he now lives.  Today was the first time I ever met Al.  Most of the time there is no one at the stand.  Only a sign with instructions on how to weigh and pay for the produce you want.

The honor system. In rural Alabama it still works.  Until today I've selected what I want, weighed it and left the money in a tin can or a metal box.  I usually leave extra money because I think it is cool what he does and I want to reward him, and I figure at least once or twice someone has made off with some produce without paying.

So for 16 dollars today I got 5 pounds of red potatoes, 3 pounds of tomatoes, 2 huge cucumbers, a small basket of nectarines, a cantaloupe,  3 pounds of vidalia onions, and a pint of blackberry jam.

Quick stir-fry meal

So, I ran across some Gardein Beefless Tips at a Winn Dixie grocery store just south of where I live.

So this is a standard stir-fry with carrots, onions, Gardein beefless tips, mushrooms and broccoli.  I cook them starting in that order as well, harder food goes in the pan first, longer to soften up, while softer stuff goes in last!  I use a TINY bit of olive oil in the pan and sprinkle some Vegan Worcestershire sauce for flavor.   You can add rice or cous cous and another veggie, such as peas.  Takes 10 minutes with a little food prep and the cooking process.

Vitamix goodness: Potato Soup!

I love this recipe from the Vitamix site.  It takes maybe 10 minutes to make and the soup is thick and creamy and pure awesomeness.

Bacon Cheddar Potato Soup (Veganized)

Obviously, I used non-dairy milk, Daiya cheese and tempeh bacon, or in the case of this pic, I had some Tofurkey Italian sausage that I prepared.  Good Stuff!

 

Things Vegans need not worry about

Is this Tofu properly cooked to 165 degrees to kill animal bacteria?

Will I be harmed by the deadly animal bacteria in this block of Tofu?

Great Video

Awesome cook books!

If you are a Vegan, Vegetarian, or not, you should buy each of these cook books.  Appetite for Reduction is a Vegan cookbook that focuses on low-cal, low-fat recipes.  Good stuff.  Easy to follow instructions and tasty food that you will enjoy.

Color Me Vegan (anything by Colleen Patrick Goudreau) is an excellent recipe book.  What is so cool about it is that it takes the color of vegetables and explains why color is significant and how we can achieve nutritional balance by having a colorful plate!

The Happy Herbivore cookbook is new and easily the easiest cookbook to follow.  I have found no recipe with more than 8 steps. The ingredients are pretty common (I can find most at my local Wal Mart, THAT'S how common!) and like the other two, the food is great.

Not a great cook?  Me neither. I'm a southern guy who until last year only knew how to cook meat and potatoes.  If I can make the recipes in these excellent books, then YOU can!!  

(I linked each title to its amazon.com page for your purchasing convenience!)

Ok, so as a bonus, I also strongly recommend the first Vegan cookbook I ever owned, given to me by a dear friend.  The Vegan Table.