White Bean Sauce over Angel Hair Pasta

While I was at my parents' house for Rosh Hashanah, one of the local weekend news shows had a cooking segment where they made this chicken and feta cheese dish served over angel hair pasta. I recently bought some soy feta and had been wondering what to do with it. I never had real feta, so I really had no idea. I decided to make a vegan version of their dish. Instead of chicken, I used cannellini beans. First, I sauteed quite a bit of garlic in some olive oil, then I added a can of drained cannellini beans and a can of diced tomatoes (that way I can get affordable organic tomatoes....and my dicing skills with tomatoes are not exactly up to par). After that cooked for a few minutes, I added some dried basil and red pepper flakes. I really really really wanted to use fresh basil, but for the life of me I could not find any. Where do you get fresh basil if you don't have a garden? Next I crumbled in the soy feta and let it cook for a few minutes more. Served over angel hair pasta, this was a nice change from marinara sauce.

This was the soy feta:

Veggie Burgers and Fries

Veggie burgers and baked Cajun french fries, both from Vegan With a Vengeance. An all-American sort of meal. Well, all-American with a twist, anyway. I always add some chickpea flour to the veggie burger mix to help it hold together better, and normally I bake them. Today I pan-fried them like the recipe instructs, though. Actually, this is the first time I pan-fried them. They are more delicate this way, but very good.

West Indian Red Beans with Coconut Rice

This is another recipe from the Moosewood Restaurant's Simple Suppers. The recipe said to use either red pepper flakes or a chile. We had a habanero to use, so decided to be a little daring. The dish wasn't nearly as spicy as we feared, but we really liked it. The tomatoes and onions were a nice touch.

And Another Thing I Don't Have To Miss Out On....

Soy cheese pizza with mushrooms, green peppers, and garlic. The crust is the same recipe I used to make foccacia. I heart that recipe.

Who Ever Said Vegans Have To Miss Out?

Yes, that's right; I'm vegan and I can still make challah. Technically it's called water challah, since there's no egg in it. But it's still yummy.

Hot and Sour Stir-Fry with Five Spice Tofu

The recipe comes from The Moosewood Restaurant's Simple Suppers. It was very easy to make. For some protein, I added baked Chinese five spice tofu (I didn't add the spice--it was one of the Nasoya ones that came that way). I added a bit more red chili paste than the recipe called for because I love spicy food. I'll definitely make this again. I love when recipes say they are simple and actually are (but are tasty, too!).

Jalapeno Poppers

My boyfriend's coworker grows peppers, but doesn't eat them. More for us! The filling is made with Tofutti cream cheese (the non-hydrogenated kind), mozzarella-flavored soy cheese, and Bac-Uns. Next time I think I'll add some garlic. I'd also like to find a recipe for baking them--I try to avoid frying things when possible.