TGIF!!!!!!

Hello there.  How are you?  It is Friday.  Yippee!  I have been busy baking cupcakes for upcoming parties.  I also am excited to say that  a recipe from Two Vegan Boys is featured in the current issue of Meatout Mondays.

In other news, we are a winner winner tofu dinner.  No really.  Happy Herbivore had a question one day that said, “Do you tofu?”  I mentioned that we especially liked to make and eat tofu jerky.  Our suggestion along with another was chosen.  We won a Nasoya tofu gift pack.  Insert Snoopy dance here.  By the way, have you checked out Happy Herbivore lately?  Tomorrow starts the 30 WHOLE Days Challenge. A challenge in which you only eat whole, unprocessed foods for the next 30 days.   

Tofu Jerky    

1/3c tamari
2T liquid smoke
2t onion powder
1t garlic powder
2t maple syrup or sugar
1 pkg firm tofu, sliced very thin.

Combine all the ingredients, marinate overnite. Lay tofu slices in a single layer in a dehydrator. Dehydrate until desired consistency or bake in the over at lowest setting, 200F for 5-6 hous. *For a grown-up jerky, add coarse black pepper or cajun seasoning.  Easy, tasty, and healthy snack for kids and adults.  Enjoy!

Last night I made a quick and tasty meal using the last of our CSA veggies.  I made sauteed beets and greens with white beans and broccoli over a bed of couscous topped with a ginger orange sauce.  And balsalmic baked tofu on the side. It was a lite and refreshing meal.  The greens used were from the beets and some arugula from our CSA. 

Last night I made a treat for the guys in my life.  Strawberry cupcakes.  Heavenly!

Well I am about to leave to go pick up our weekly CSA.  I can’t wait to see what lovely vegetables are in store for us this week.

Hope you have a lovely weekend.

peas and love….
Krys and the boys

Garden love…..

In March I mentioned we started a garden.  We dug up the earth and started two beds.  One for tomatoes and basil.  The other for greens.  I love gardening. I always have.  It is something I shared with my grandfather.  He was  a great man.  Our two little gardens are moving along nicely.  The tomatoes are up to 4 feet tall and still growing and the basil has become huge.  I love how a tiny plant can grow so much.  Our greens garden has produced some lovely veggies for our meals.   It is turning warmer here, so some of the greens have bolted and been replaced.  Our greens garden has two types of lettuce, kale, dill, cilantro, sugar pumpkins, spaghetti squash, swiss chard, beets, eggplant, cucumbers, garlic chives, garlic, broccoli, three types of hot peppers, sweet peppers, and artichokes.  In the back of both gardens we planted skyscraper and mammoth sunflower seeds and they have sprouted.  I can’t wait until they bloom.  Earlier this week, we dug up a third bed for the boys to enjoy.  We are planting yellow squash, zucchini squash, watermelon, and cantaloupe.  I planted seeds for the squash and melons a few weeks ago and they have sprouted and are ready to go into the ground.  I am very pleased with our little gardens and the lovely veggies we have been eating.  I have started a page called 2010 Garden Harvest.  I am making a list of all the veggies we harvest and at the end of the year, I am going to total up how much we saved growing our own vegetables instead of buying from the store.  Homegrown organic is much cheaper than store-bought organic.

Broccoli growing in the garden. I  can’t wait to pick it.

Our tomato and basil garden.

Our mixed vegetable garden.

All this garden love and the CSA we recently started that we share with a friend has got me excited about a project/challenge I am starting on Monday.  Check back Monday for all of the exciting details.  It will be fun.

Last night we had take away from a local vegetarian/vegan Mexican restaurant.  The best part about this meal was the fact it was free.   Tuesday was a terrible day around here.  No sleep for me, two sick little guys.  Ugh.  Well, we were sitting down for dinner and the doorbell rang.  Our lovely friends had delivered dinner to us.  It was so very thoughtful.  Since we had already eaten, I saved it for last night.  They brought us tofu and sunflower seed tamales, black beans, rice and a spinach salad.  I made a cannellini bean and mint salad to accompany the meal as well.  Such goodness.

Mint and bean salad recipe from a cookbook we are reviewing. Fresh mint from the herb garden is perfection.

Well I am off to put the two little guys down for a nap.  They still have the sniffles. 

Hope you each have a lovely day.

peas and love….
Krys and the boys

My three guys on a hike.

Seasonal Soup…..

Yesterday was a crazy day around here.  Both boys were feeling a bit under the weather.  Especially our little bear Adam.  Poor fellow had to have a nebulizer treatment which he was none to pleased about and a visit to the doctor.  He had slept poorly the night before waking up literally every hour.  The doctor gave him some cold medication and thankfully he slept well last night.  He was miserable yesterday with a fever and cough.

When we are feeling a bit ill or just exhausted as I was due to my little guy being sick.  Soup seems to be the best meal to make.  It is Spring here, so the weather is not hot yet.  Thanks to our CSA and garden I created a seasonal soup.  It was very tasty, simpe to make and perfect for two exhausted parents and a our under the weather guys.  I made a roasted vegetable and fennel soup and served it with a small salad.  It was so tasty.  If you have never roasted fennel, you should.  The smell of it roasting is heavenly.   Every vegetable is this soup is seasonal, organic and came from our garden or CSA.  I love it!

A simple little salad to accompany our soup.  We used lettuce from our garden.

Roasted Vegetable and Fennel Soup

fennel (1 bulb)

1lb carrots, sliced into big chunks

1lb broccoli, cut into big chunks

1 onion, chopped into chunks

2 cloves garlic

olive oil

1t salt

1/2t coarse black pepper

6c vegetable broth

Preheat oven to 425F.  Lightly grease a small baking dish.  Cut fennel into pieces, bulb and stems.  Drizzle with olive oil, stirring to coat.  Bake for 20 minutes or until soft.  Set aside.  Lightly grease a 9X13″ baking dish.  Place the other vegetables into dish.  Drizzle with olive oil, stirring to coat.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, until veggies are tender.  Place fennel and all the vegetables into a stockpot.  Add salt, pepper and broth.  Bring to a boil.  Turn down to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes on a low simmer, stirring occasionally.  Transfer soup to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.  Transfer back to stockpot.  Cook another 5 minutes.  Ladle the soup into bowls.  Serve with a crusty bread and small salad.  Enjoy.

Monday night I made African rolls.  It is a favorite recipe in our home.  It is whole wheat tortillas filled with brown rice, roasted tofu strips, mashed sweet potatoes, steamed kale, and topped with a spicy cilantro sauce.  We gave the boys a rice bowl with the tofu strips, brown rice, and sweet potatoes, lightly seasoned with sea salt.  The cilantro sauce is much to spicy for their taste. 

Well I am off to eat some breakfast and water the garden.  Check back tomorrow for garden progress pictures.

Hope everyone has a lovely day.

peas and love….

Krys and the boys

Weekend update…..

How was your weekend?  Ours was quiet.  Boogie was feeling a bit under the weather and still is.  Poor guy.  So, we are taking it easy today.  Josh is working in the garden and little bear Adam and I are going to run errands. 

Thursday evening I served a Mexican baked tofu to the co-op with blazing pinto beans, tortillas and guacamole.  It was tasty. I really liked the beans, they had  a spicy kick to them.  We are taking a break in the co-op for the month of May. I have several obligations that I have to take care of.  We will start back up again in June.  Still look for awesome food we will be cooking here at Two Vegan Boys blog. 

Friday I was really excited to pick up my first ever CSA box.  As some of you know we have a garden and I thought a CSA would be a nice addition to what vegetables we have  not planted in our garden.  The farm that we have our CSA through is local, only 7 miles from our home and is organic.  I love that the vegetables are picked fresh and delivered in the same day.  As well as being seasonal.  I decided to split the CSA with a good friend.  So we get a ton of organic veggies for only $15 a week.  After seeing my half of the box, there is no way I could have purchased that many vegetables for $15.  I am looking forward to this week’s box.

Our CSA share.

Friday I spent all day baking for a friend.  Her daughter turned a year old. So, I made  a butterfly cake and cupcakes. 

The picture does not show the colors accurately.  The butterfly was lavender, pink, light teal, and yellow.

I made a dozen cupcakes with candy butterflies.

I also made a dozen cupcakes to form a caterpillar.  Once again the camera did not show the colors properly.  The colors were lavender, pink, yellow, and light teal.

Saturday I made a giant salad for dinner thanks to our CSA. I also made a mustard vinagrette to accompany it.  Such goodness. The salad had roasted kohlrabi, lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, mushrooms, sunflower seeds, apple, avocado, and sliced shallot. It was so good.  And for dessert, organic strawberries.

Here is a recipe for a tasty mustard vinagrette I made for the salad. 

Mustard Vinagrette

1/4c balsalmic vinegar

1/2c olive oil

2T spicy mustard

1T maple syrup

1/2t garlic powder

1/4t salt

1/2t coarse black pepper

Combine all the ingredients and pour over a salad.

Yesterday I made  a simple greens and beans dish for lunch using one bunch of mustard greens from our garden and some carrots from our CSA box.  It was so tasty.  I will definitely make it again.  The recipe did not have much spices in it due to the fact that fresh mustard greens have a powerful horseradish punch to them.   Very tasty.

Simple Beans and Greens

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
olive oil
2 large carrots, sliced
1 bunch mustard greens, chopped
1/2t salt or to taste
1t coarse black pepper
1 can navy beans rinsed & drained or 1 1/2c cooked navy beans
1/8-1/4c water or broth

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add carrot, salt, pepper, and mustard greens. Saute on medium heat. If mix becomes to dry, add a little water or broth. Once the mustard greens are wilted, stir in the navy beans. Gently saute over medium-low heat until the beans are heated through. The carrots should stay crunchy. Do not overcook or the carrots will be soggy. Serve over brown rice and enjoy

For dinner last night I made “chicken” and dumplins.  It made a ton and was great for a nice hearty meal.  I added chickpeas, corn, some flatleaf parsely from our CSA to the mix as well.

Since we are taking a break from the dinner co-op for a month, I am reinstating Meal Plan Monday.  Here is our meal plan for the week.

Monday-African Rolls, using kale and cilantro from our garden.

Tuesday-Roasted carrot and fennel soup with bread, using fennel and carrots from our CSA.

Wednesday-Cannellini salad with mint and lemon baked tofu, using mint from our garden.

Thursday-Orange Ginger Beets and Greens with couscous, using beets and greens from our CSA.

Friday-Ziti with Italian “sausage” and garlic bread.

Saturday-leftovers

Well I am off to run some errands.  Hope you have a lovely Monday.

peas and love….
Krys and the boys

Food this week….

Monday our co-op meal was white beans with greens and brown rice.  We were also brought some homemade raisin bran muffins.  The boys scrarfed those down in no time.  The meal was tasty.  One thing I forgot to mention about this dinner co-op is the fact that all the ladies that cook, have gardens, so we get fresh veggies from the gardens added to our meals.  How awesome is that? 

Tuesday we were delivered seitan fajitas.  Yum!  We love fajitas around here.  They were served with refried beans and guacamole.

Last night we were served a meal similar to Monday night’s dinner.  It was tasty too.  It was a mix of brown and white beans sauteed with greens from the garden, brown rice and roasted carrots and potatoes.  Little bear Adam loved the whole meal.  Arthur opted for the potato/carrot mix and the rice.

I am posting a picture of a smoothie.  I know some of you may be thinking, “what’s so special about a smoothie?”  Well in Arthur’s case, it is a big deal.  Out of our two little guys he is our pickier of the two.  Adam is the bottomless pit.  He will eat and try anything.  Arthur, not so much.  His favorite line when he sees something new is “That’s not my favorite.”  So, during the week, I will make him a smoothie every other day to make sure he gets his daily serving of vegetables.  Yesterday I made him a smoothie with a serving of swiss chard, a serving of sweet peas, a serving of carrots, a handful of strawberries thrown in, a banana, a splash of orange juice and some soygurt.  He loved it.  So much that he drank the whole blender’s worth.  He called it a “Incredible Hulk” smoothie because it was green.  Yay for getting kids to eat their veggies even if you do have to be sneaky.

Last night I  made cupcakes for Josh to take to work.  When I was sitting at the table decorating them, Adam was in his high chair.  His eyes got big and he kept saying “cupcake” in his baby voice. It was so cute.  It is really funny, because Adam has only a few words in his vocabulary.  But a majority of the words are food related.  You can tell he really likes to eat. 

Well I am off to do some baking this morning.  Hope you each have a lovely Thursday.

My two cutie pies playing in the tub together.

peas and love…..

Krys and the boys

Cupcake love…..

Who doesn’t love a cupcake?  Everyone I know does and my two little guys are no different.  This post is dedicated to a cute baby who loves cupcakes.   He turned 18 months old this past Saturday.  Where has the time gone?  If you are having  a bad day or know someone who is, just read this post.  You are guaranteed to smile.

And my favorite picture.  “Yay for cupcakes.”

Needless to say, after all of this cupcake fun, he needed a bath.  Happy 1/2 birthday little bear.  We love you!

Weekend update

How was your weekend?  Ours was pleasant.  Josh did not have to work Saturday, so that is always nice.  I will start with the food.  Thursday night I cooked a Southern style mustard greens and blackeyed peas dish for our co-op.  It was quite tasty.  It was a new recipe I created and it was served with some sweet cornbread.  Two great things about this meal, the mustard greens were from our garden and the cost of the meal to feed 10 people was $12.  Terrific.

Friday night was pizza night.  The boys had their usual cheeze pizza.  I made a sauteed mushroom and garlic pizza with a vegan Italian sausage for me and Josh.  I used a vegan rice cheeze.  It was okay.  I don’t think I will use it again.  It hardly melted and we were not blown away by the taste.  Other than the cheeze being just “okay”, the pizza was great.

Saturday we went to a local natural and organic garden center called the Natural Gardener.  It is so awesome.  It has lovely plants and beautiful gardens.  We had a picnic in the teepee and the boys played in the field while enjoying the goats, chickens and donkeys. 

Adam was quite fond of the Buddha statue.

Me and my sweet boys on the swing.

The teepee where we had our picnic.

Speaking of gardens, our gardens are coming along quite nice.  Some of the greens are starting to bolt (flower and go to seed).  So we will start planting our Summer veggies.  The tomato plants are going crazy.  They are getting big and starting to flower.  That means very soon we will have fresh tomatoes.  Yippee!  The basil is also growing well.  I love pesto and am so glad to have access to organic fresh basil.  The basil in the store is so expensive it is ridiculous.  And the sunflower seeds the boys and I planted are getting bigger by the day.  I can’t wait until they bloom.  We planted skyscraper sunflowers as well as mammoth sunflowers.  Which means super big sunflowers will be smiling over our garden.

Recently I was sent a new cookbook to review.  I will reveal the name of the book in a week or two after I try some more recipes.  Last night I made a sandwich recipe from the book.  Most of you are thinking, “A sandwich?  Big deal.”  Well this sandwich was a big deal.  It was one of the best sandwiches I have ever tasted.  It was perfect.  It was an open-faced grilled eggplant and seitan sandwich.  Wow!  Words cannot express how awesome this sandwich tasted.

Well, I am off to do the ugly chore called laundry.  Ugh.  Hope you each have a lovely evening.

peas and love…

Krys and the boys

Dining with the co-op…

This week our co-op meals have been great as usual.  Monday we were delivered potato/soyrizo enchiladas with a jicama mango salad.  Yum!  I had never tried jicama and it was good.  I will definitely try to make something creative with a jicama if they are on sale at the grocery store.

Tuesday night we had garlic baked tofu with baked polenta and sauteed mushroom and asparagus.  Baked polenta is so good.  It has definitely become a favorite around here.  The boys loved the tofu as well and my little bear Adam was eating the mushrooms.  He was not very fond of the asparagus.  He decided to drop it on the floor for Zeke.  My silly little man.

Last night’s co-op meal was soup and salad.  The salad was a meal in itself.  Full of everything under the sun:  quinoa, lettuce, apples, red bell pepper, chickpeas, cucumbers, red onion, tofu, avocado, you name it.  It was served with a roasted red pepper tomato soup.  Such goodness.

Tonite I am serving a mustard green blackeyed pea dish to the co-op.  I am very pleased that the mustard greens came from our garden.  The dish is a new recipe.  It is served with brown rice and some cornbread I made.  

Speaking of the garden, it is doing great.  We did not do raised beds, just gardens in the ground.  Foruntately we have very rich soil.  The veggies love it.  I love being able to go into our backyard and pick fresh veggies.  The boys and I planted some seeds for our Summer garden earlier this week.  Well Arthur helped me plant them and Adam tried to dig them out of the dirt.  Silly boy.  We planted yellow squash seeds, zucchini, watermelon, cantaloupe, and okra.  Our tomato and basil garden is looking nice.  The tomatoes are blooming and the basil is getting bigger.   I can’t wait for fresh tomatoes.  Yum!

Today it is dark and looks like rain is coming our way.  The boys and I plan to stay in and take it easy.  Yesterday I was in the kitchen literally all day.  I did some baking for Josh’s co-workers and cooked for the co-op.  I was actually tired of bieng in the kitchen for once. 

Well, I am off to drink some tea.  Hope you have a lovely Thursday.

My two little guys in a box. 

peas and love….

Krys and the boys

Weekend update…..

We’re back.  We had a great time at the beach.  The weather was beautiful.  A bit windy, but nice.  It was the boys first time to camp.  Arthur was taken aback by the wind blowing our tent.  He was a little frightened, but once we explained what was happening he was okay.  We enjoyed cooking over a fire.  Eating tofu dogs and s’mores.  And walking on the beach. 

Sunrise on the beach.

My two little guys enjoying the water.

My three guys.

Arthur enjoying a s’more.

Hot dogs with saurkraut.  So good grilled.

Thursday evening while packing and prepping for our beach trip, I made an Indian tofu curry.  I also served it to our dinner co-op.  The curry was served over brown rice with sauteed greens on the side.  The dish was quite tasty.  We like it a lot.  I originally made it with seitan, but I think it is better with tofu.  One of my testers subbed chickpeas for the seitan.  That sounds delicious too.

Speaking of greens.  When we came home from the beach, we checked the garden.  Our greens are going crazy.  I harvested two bunches of collard greens and three bunches of swiss chard.  I found a methond online on how to freeze the greens to use at a later date.  Have I mentioned how much I love our little organic garden?  The broccoli is looking great and the tomatoes are blooming.  I think we will have a ton of tomatoes this Summer. I planted seeds in small containers and they have sprouted, so I will have to find a space for butternut squash, spaghetti squash and small pumpkins.  Yay!

Collards greens

Swiss chard

Well I am off to do my weekly baking and tend to the garden.  Hope you have a wonderful day.

peas and love….

Krys and the boys

Beach bound…..

We are headed to the beach early tomorrow morning.  We are so excited.  It will be the boys first camping trip as well.  We are camping at a beautiful national seashore and also going to a sand sculpture festival.  We are taking Zeke aka the Zekester.  He is such a good dog and he will have fun chasing the seagulls.  I am busy today making food for our trip.  We will be roasting tofu pups one tomorrow night to make hotdogs and portabellos and corn Saturday night for dinner.  And s’mores.  Oh how I love s’mores.  Since the invention of vegan marshmallows, s’mores have come back into our lives.  Hee hee. 

Here is a picture of one part of the beach at the seashore.   It is home to the Kemp Ridley sea turtles.  They lay eggs on a protected part of the beach and the hatchlings go out to sea.  I hope to one day be there when the hatchlings are walking on the sand to get in the water.  I know the boys would love it and it would help them learn about these beautiful creatures and why we need to protect them and their habitat.

 

(pictures from nps.gov site)

Here is a recipe for a simple and tasty pasta salad.  I made it to take to the beach.  So tasty.

Creamy Artichoke Heart Pasta Salad

1-12oz package pasta, cooked, drained and cooled

1-7.5oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and cut into bite-size pieces

1/3c sundried tomatoes, sliced

1t coarse black pepper

1/2c vegenaise

1/4t salt

5 fresh basil leaves, chopped

juice of half a lemon

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients.  Place in the fridge and chill. 

Last night for our co-op meal we were served a white bean Tuscan soup with garlic bread and baked apples for dessert.  It was very tasty and we were given a ton.  So much I put some in the freezer. Yay for leftovers!

I am posting a picture of  plate of kale.  Some of you might think this is strange, but really it is awesome.  This is two bunches of kale I harvested from our garden.  I sauteed it in a little olive oil and sprinkled it with sea salt.  It was perfect.  I love our little garden.

Well I am off to pack and get things ready for the beach.  I hope you each have a lovely weekend.  Look for pictures on Monday.

peas and love….
Krys and the boys