Pensacola pizza and Italian tomato sauce

The other day while we were picking up some things after I got done with work I was super ready to go home when Peter said that we had to swing by the hospital to pick something up for his mom.  I was suspicious because 1) It was like 7:30 at night 2) He kept coming up with random details which didn't make for a very convincing lie.

After driving in what I was pretty sure was the opposite direction from the hospital, we pulled up to Ozone pizza! I was on a surprise date! Yay! I had always wanted to go there and apparently it is a Pensacola hotspot.  Also I've really been missing pizza.  Nothing can fill the void that Panda Pizza left in my soul... nothing.

It had all of my favorite toppings! Including vegan cheese.  As soon as I ordered it though, I thought to myself "Oh gawd I hope it's not Daiya."  Unluckily for me, it was Daiya.  Daiya is good for many things, but unfortunately pizza is not one of them.  So I learned my lesson there and I can't wait to go back and get a cheese-less pizza.... this time probably with thin crust also.  But it was so fun!

We haven't been on a date in forever and Ozone was so cool.  I'm not used to restaurants that have decorations that aren't pictures of the owners' family or a framed apron or something.  Ozone had these cool paintings on the wall that you could buy.  There was one with Mae West that I loved but I forgot to take a picture of it because I am a terrible blogger.

While on the subject of Italian food... I started thinking about the amazing pasta sauces that I got back home.  Jarred pasta sauces are great and convenient and I love them, but there's something so fresh and simple about Italian tomato sauce.  I tried a bunch of random recipes but nothing tasted right.  I would try to recreate it and add spices and garlic and it was never right.

I wrote to my parents and asked them to send me a sauce recipe from one of my mom's Italian cookbooks.  Once I got the recipe, I saw why I could never recreate it.  That's because there is like nothing in it.  Tomatoes, onions, white wine and salt.  That's it.  The Italians had it so right!

The recipe for this sauce came from the cookbook made by Miss Vera.  If you lived in Naples for a decent amount of time, you or someone you know probably went to one of Miss Vera's cooking classes.  I genuinely enjoyed mine! She has someone that cleans up your mess and where else can I drink wine with my mother at 10 in the morning?

Her recipe called for fresh tomatoes put through a food mill.  But I don't have one of those so I adapted it.  I decided to put it on here to give everyone missing Italian food an little piece of home.  One batch makes about eight cups of it so I plan on using it as pizza sauce and in lasagna and pasta.  There are a lot of carbs in my future.

Speaking of carbs.  My working out has been going really well! Except for the running.  I am just not a runner.  I hate running.  About a minute into all of my runs my chest gets tight and I just can't breathe.  So I started doing HIIT in addition to the toning workouts and yoga.  It's only been a month and I don't really SEE results, but I can feel myself getting stronger.

Anyways! Here's the recipe! Enjoy!

Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce
1 onion - diced
6 oz can of tomato paste
6 oz of water
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of white wine
28 oz can of diced tomatoes
56 oz container of strained tomatoes

1. Sautee the onion in the olive oil in a pot.
2. Add the wine and continue to sautee until the wine has evaporated.

This is the strained tomatoes that I used! They were so good! Use them if you can find them

 3. Add the tomato products and water and salt to taste.

4. Let simmer to two to three hours.

ENJOY! I was going to post a pic of the finished product on my pasta, but I used spelt pasta and it looked kind of gross even though it tasted so great.  I'm going to make my own pizza though and use it as the sauce and I think it's going to be amazinggg.

Garden progress and Bruschetta

So despite having no job and no car (I have inquired about both though), I have been up to a lot lately.  I planted my garden, made my own laundry detergent, got a new iPhone 6, cooked a few new dishes and even made up one of my own.

Peter has been busy beautifying the outside and has done hours of yard work.  Just tearing down stuff and bagging leaves and cutting hedges.  Everything looks really nice.  All of that below was overgrown with vines and leaves and you couldn't even tell that there was brick there.

I'm thinking about planting something in the corner, but I'm not sure what to put there because that area gets little to no sun.  I'll figure it out though.  I made my own laundry detergent out of Borax, Washing Soda, Baking Soda 2 bars of soap and essential oils from THIS "recipe" that I found on Pinterest.  When you do the math, it ends up costing only 2 cents a load of laundry.  The recipe makes a HUGE amount.  If I were to do this again, which I probably will, I would add more essential oil because my clothes come out clean, but they don't smell like anything.  I guess that's not a huge deal but I like it when my clothes smell good.

Also, I finally got around to filling in my raised garden bed.  I seriously think that using an old bookcase as a raised garden bed is the best idea ever.  It is perfect for the lazy or carpentry-challenged gardener! All you have to do is reinforce it if it's a little bit wobbly and you are good to go!  I feel like it my responsibility to inform everyone in the world about this so I'm going to pin this on Pinterest.  There isn't really a "how to", you just rip off the back and the shelves and put it on the ground.

You can see from the picture that I have kale, spinach, basil and tomatoes growing.  I bought all of those plants because I wanted something to take care of.  But what you can't see are the onions, garlic, arugula, carrots and green peas.

The carrots and green peas poked out of the soil today and I think I got more excited about that than I have about anything in a very long time.  Look at them! Aren't they cute?!

If I was to ever describe a plant as "adorable" this would be it 

Eeeee they're so cute and small

I put the tomato in the ground two days ago and it's already grown a pretty decent amount.  I am a proud plant-mother.

In other news, I came up with a recipe for bruschetta.  If anyone knew me in Naples, my favorite pizzeria that isn't Da Michele's or Di Matteo's is Panda Pizza.  It is a 2 minute walk from my house and I've been eating there for years.  The only thing that they do better than pizza (in my opinion) is bruschetta.  I compare every bruschetta that I have to Panda's bruschetta.  There are a few that come close, like Cerbero's or Old Friends and there are some that taste like garbage... I'm looking at you Fratelli la Bufala.

I always say that I'm going to try and come up with something similar, but I never actually have.  This is my attempt and it was pretty darn good.  It wasn't the same as Panda.  But let's be honest, nothing will be the same as Panda.  Their bruschetta has a zing to it, that I have determined to be white vinegar.  

Bruschetta alla Pomodoro 

A few tomatoes - diced (I used 5 plum tomatoes)

A loaf of crusty bread cut into slices about 1 inch thick (I prefer sourdough)

a bunch of fresh basil finely chopped (I used the plant from my garden... so fancy) 

1 clove of garlic, halved

1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano

EVOO

3 tablespoons white vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Mix the tomatoes, vinegar, basil, about a table spoon of olive oil and salt and pepper in a bowl.  Let the mixture marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours, stirring occasionally.  I know this isn't how you make traditional bruschetta but it's worth it! Trust me.

When you're ready to serve, toast the bread on both sides.  Rub the clove of garlic on the side that you will be putting the tomato mixture on, then drizzle with olive oil.  Spoon the tomatoes on with a slotted spoon and you're done!  I like to splash a little bit of balsamic vinegar on it.

very sharp and new knife!

Peter did this. So fancy.

I can't wait until I have my own tomatoes to make it with! Enjoy!

Ciao ciao
xo Katelyn

Balsamic Tofu Burgers and Gardening

I feel like it's finally fall here in Penacola.  The air has a coolness to it, and it isn't so humid that every inhale feels like you're drinking a glass of water.  I have a recipe for this week!  Most days, I just make up meals but I never take pictures or write down the ingredients, so I can't post about it.

It's been so long since I posted something that I actually made up, so I figured I should be proactive and document my cooking experience.  I made my own veggie burgers last week, and I saw a pin for a tofu burger on Pinterest, so I thought, Why not?  Here's what I came up with...

Balsamic Tofu Burgers
1 block of firm tofu
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon of ketchup
1 teaspoon honey
Squirt of barbecue sauce
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon basil
salt and pepper to taste.

Press your tofu to get the water out.  I use the Tofu EZPress.  A really good investment if you eat a lot of tofu! See it on Amazon HERE.  Cut your tofu into desired burger size and shape.  I used one block and made four burgers.

Mix together everything else in a bowl. Pour it on your tofu and let the tofu marinate in the refrigerator for at least two or three hours. I flipped them over in the marinade halfway through.

Cook them! They're best on the grill but I just pan-fried them the other day.  Super easy.  Three or four minutes each side.

Should have used a grill pan but I don't have one

Keep in mind that my measurements are just recommendations.  I literally just threw in random amounts of random stuff until I came up with something that I liked.  I think some rosemary would be good in there too.

Also keep in mind that these are TOFU BURGERS.  Tofu gets a bad reputation for being plain, but marinating it helps.  But it all comes down to them being made out of tofu.  So I add a bunch of toppings.  I usually make my burger like this (in order from bottom to top): whole wheat bun, baby spinach, tofu burger, smear of barbecue sauce, some vegetables, ketchup, whole wheat bun.  My favorite topping is a mixture of sauteed onions and mushrooms.  Here's the recipe for how I make them!

Sauteed Mushrooms and Onions
1/2 a white or yellow onion
2 garlic cloves
Five good sized white mushrooms
Tablespoon of olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Splash of white wine
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat up a saucepan.  Add the olive oil and the garlic.  Once the garlic is fragrant, add the onions and then a little while after add the mushrooms.  Add the white wine and the balsamic and let it cook on medium heat until the majority of the moisture has evaporated.  Then eat it alone or put it on something.  Whatevs you want.

mmmmmm

Moving on... I've decided to make a garden and I've become kind of obsessed with the idea of having a raised garden bed.  If you follow me on Pinterest, you can see my garden board here.  I'm pretty sure that half of my pins are just links to raised garden beds.  Peter and I went through a phase where we were going to make one from random wood in the backyard, then where we were going to buy the wood from Home Depot and then finally we were like, let's just buy one.  Turns out those things are like $100.  After I had resigned myself to the fact that I was either not going to have a raised garden bed or I was going to have to make it myself, the neighborhood had a yard sale.

One of the girls that had lived here before me left behind an old book case and the shelves were falling off, so we took out the shelves.  Peter and I looked at each other like they do in the movies and I was like, "Wait.... this is a raised garden bed."  I felt like a genius.

Not sure where we are going to put it yet!

So now I have a few containers and a bed that needs to be filled.  I planted arugula, onions, garlic, peas, carrots and daffodils.  I have no idea how this is going to turn out.  I've never really tried that hard to grow something before so I'm excited.

Because I am a very impatient person, I needed the instant gratification that planting flowers provides.  I can't wait for the months while my seeds grow, I needed something to be proud of now.  So I made hanging planters.  By "made" I mean I bought the hanging things and picked out some flowers and put the flowers in the hanging things.  I put one on each side of the porch.  I'm kind of proud of them.  Also, in case you didn't know Lowe's has a military discount.  Sadly my ID expires on October 28th so I have to use it while I can.  

In other news, I have a few new books.  I'm 75% done with Ken Follett's Edge of Eternity which has 1,120 pages.  It's the finale of his Century trilogy and I'm kind of depressed that it's over.  It is an epic multi-generational historical fiction saga.  I know more about the characters in this book than I know about my own relatives.  Read more about it HERE. I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes historical fiction and European and American history.

I also have the two most recent Phillipa Gregory novels in her Cousin's War series that somehow I just missed that they came out!  This is the fault of the bookstore in Naples who stopped carrying books and magazines because their supplier went out of business.  I'm catching up slowly but surely.

That's all for now! If you have any gardening tips, suggestions for what I should plant or book suggestions, let me know!

xo Katelyn

First weeks in Pensacola

I was nervous to come to Pensacola.  If I had to think of a US city to live in that was completely different from any other experience that I have ever had, Pensacola would be it.  This isn't the first time I've lived on my own, but when I did it was in the city in Washington DC and then Alexandria, VA.  While Alexandria was similar to Pensacola in some ways, but it was different in more.  There was public transportation, "fast food" that chopped up salad to your satisfaction and there were 24-hour grocery stores.  Those are the only things I miss, other than my former roommate and her dog.

A lot of people have asked me how my move went.  It went great! Peter and his brother Michael picked me up from the airport even though Peter tried to fake me out and say he wasn't going to be there because he had class.  But he was and I knew he would be.  The next few days were kind of blur because of sleep deprivation and sheer joy that I had actually made it.

We went to dinner by the beach for Peter's birthday.

 I know that I unpacked all of my stuff and went grocery shopping like nobody's business.  I expected there to be more vegan options than there were but I'm not complaining! I got vegan cheese and alfalfa sprouts! Also I bought more bags of Gardein and Beyond Meat than I would like to admit.  Also, who knew that there were like 40 different Amy's frozen meals?? The commissary back in Naples only has like five.  I love frozen meals.  I know that they are not great for you because they are high in sodium but I've been trying to eat them in moderation.

Because I don't have a car or a job and I usually finish up my online course work within the first two or three days of the week all I've been doing lately is cooking dinner and keeping stuff clean (who would have thought?? me... clean).

One of my new roomies

The amount of fast food here astounds me.  There is a quarter-mile stretch of road here where there is a Waffle House at the start of it, a Denny's, a McDonalds, a PF Changs, a Hardees, a Taco Bell and then another Waffle House at the end of it.  The quarter-mile stretch is followed by countless more just like it.  I understand the need for a takeout meal.  People have jobs and families and not enough time.  Maybe it's because I've been out of the country for so long, but as an outsider looking in, this shouldn't be normal.

You can get 20 chicken McNuggets for $5.  You can get a full meal for $5 from Krystal Burger.  Meanwhile a head of organic broccoli is $4.  The company logos are propped up proudly so that people driving can see from far away but it just embarrasses me.  Strip malls have four different restaurants/fast food places to choose from so that you can stuff your face while you take a break from spending your money on useless shit you don't need.

It's really frustrating.  Everyone is HEAVY.  Not everyone is obese like when they depict Americans in political cartoons.  I understand the whole "health at every weight" and anti-fat shaming thing but honestly, it's not natural and the fact that it's become normal scares me.  I swear Peter and I were at the mall the other day and the line for Cinnabon consisted of five people that honestly should not have been eating Cinnabon.  It's your body you can do with it what you want and be cripplingly unhealthy but I pay taxes and it unnerves me that money that could be going to a cause that I'm passionate about is instead going to pay for the diabetes medication of someone who just loves Cinnabon so much that they can't stop.  When did people get so lazy that Cinnabon is an acceptable afternoon snack? Eat some carrots for God's sake.

MEANWHILE ... In other news.
I made my first veggie burgers ever.  After being a vegetarian for 11 years and then switching to vega, you would have thought that I would have done this sooner.  Nope.  They always intimidated me.

I chose a super easy one from Pinterest of course.  Emphasis on the "super easy".  I didn't even have to grate the zucchini because I used my Vegetti, which makes noodles out of vegetables.  Get your own HERE.  It's literally one of the best purchases I've ever made.

Check these out!

Get the recipe for the veggie burgers HERE.  They were so easy to make and have fun flavors.  They have peanut butter, cilantro, oats, chickpeas and red onions in them.  I can't believe that I have been spending so much money on the frozen ones when I could have been making them all this time! We also made sweet potato fries, which Peter cut because I hate cutting sweet potatoes.

Check out that concentration.

Last but not least, I chopped up an avocado, a few tomatoes and a cucumber and doused them in balsamic vinegar and olive oil and called it a salad.  Not a bad dinner!  I've been making a lot of stir fries because they're fun but I really need a wok.  I can't believe I don't have one.  If someone doesn't give me one for my birthday then I'll just get one for myself I guess haha.

I miss Naples a little bit though.  Mostly I miss the food and the lack of driving rules but I also miss all of the CULTURE.  I don't think that's the right word that I'm looking for, or maybe it's just been used in that way that it has another meaning.  I miss walking by castles that are hundreds of years old and occasionally driving over cobblestone.  Before I left, Mandy, Erika and I had a marathon four hour lunch at la Regina Margherita right in front of the Egg castle downtown.  It's weird how we sat there for three and a half hours and no one cared.  Certainly not something you can do here.

I miss this view.  

Long story short, I love Pensacola and I'm settling in nicely!  I miss Naples a little bit, but I feel like even if someone hated living in Naples passionately, they would still miss it a teeeeeeny bit if they left.

Well that's all for now!
More soon!

xo Katelyn

My past two weeks

Wow! So I haven't blogged in a while! I've thought about it nearly every day, but I haven't had time to just sit down and write without being rude to other people.  I haven't been up to much, just doing a lot of dog sitting and house sitting, working and babysitting.  Sometimes I'm like, "Why am I so tired? I don't do anything!" and then I think about how I actually do have a lot of stuff going on.

This last week, I house/dog sat for my friend Tasha and her husband Jason while they did a whirlwind tour of Italy.  I got the pleasure of taking care of their two dogs, Amy and Penny.  It was nice because she lives close to where I work and I had a house and a kitchen all to myself! I made a bunch of stuff! I did stuffed peppers, mac and cheese with eggplant and caramelized onions, pasta with vegan sausage, seitan and my favorite/easiest recipe that I've changed so much that I don't even remember the original recipe.

Amy and Penny

Roasted Balsamic Green Beans and Mushrooms

1 lb of green beans
8 oz of mushrooms
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 F.  Wash the green beans and trim the ends and place in a gallon Zip-lock bag.  Make sure the mushrooms are clean and free of dirt and then slice those and put in the same bag.

Place all of the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together,  and then pour into the Zip-lock bag.  Shake it up and let it marinate for a bit, at least 30 mins.  Then dump it on a baking sheet and let it roast for about 30 minutes!

 So easy and so good.  The mushrooms are my favorite part. 

I served that as a side with The Minimalist Baker's Caramelized Onion Mac and Cheese (recipe here) which was phenomenal.  I never realized how much I liked caramelized onions and that you could make a cheese sauce out of eggplants! Like whaaaaaaat? Who came up with that? I added a little white wine when I was caramelizing the onions but other than that I followed the recipe exactly.  I was going to post a picture of it but I didn't get any good ones.  There's one on my Instagram. 

Next, I made a far more photogenic food... quinoa stuffed peppers.  I used THIS recipe.  I seasoned the the vegetables like nobody's business and I added baby spinach to the mix.  I steamed the peppers a little bit too long so they were kind of floppy but it was overall a success.

I accidentally deleted like all of the pictures of them on my phone, so I had to copy this one from my instagram.

One day I'm going to get a nice camera so that my food actually looks appetizing.  The peppers were so good and they didn't take a very long time and they're so darn cute!

In other news, it is my favorite time... World Cup time.  I am not even a huge sports fan, but you know what I am a fan of? Winning.  You know what else I'm a fan of? America.  I'm also an Italy fan because duh I live here and you can't live here and not cheer for Italy, that is just dangerous and irresponsible.  Someone will hit you with their car.

For the Italy vs. England game, Peter, my sister and I and a few other friends went down to the port in Pozzuoli and watched the game in an Irish pub.  There were some Englishmen there too, it was pretty fun.  After every shot on the goal and basically just consistently throughout the game there were horns honking and people yelling.  Thank gawd Italy won or who knows what the atmosphere would have been like.  I was in Rome when Italy lost to Spain for the Confederations Cup and it was just a bad time.

Pozzuoli after the game, I tried to get the fireworks but I just missed them

 However, I am first and foremost a fan of Team USA and I watched them win last night against Ghana!  Tim Howard is a god.  I feel like they kind of played like crap but we got it done when we needed to.  Also I feel terrible for Jozy Altidore but it is what it is. 

Also... I am expecting like eight packages in the mail!  I still haven't gotten my dress for Peter's sister's wedding and I'm kind of freaking out.  I tracked it and it's been in New Jersey for like three weeks.  Get it together New Jersey.  I don't want to get another one because I am already emotionally attached to this one and I know it will look so good on me. 

Woo hooooo mail!

 I did get one package yesterday though and it's from probably my favorite online retailer-- Sephora.  I got the new contour kit form Make Up For Ever and I like it so far, but the highlighting powder isn't light enough for me so that's laaaaaame.  I have another highlighter in my room somewhere but I have no clue where.  I got my favorite mascara ever, Benefit's They're Real.  I get the small tube because I don't use it that often.  And then I got a bunch of samples which is my favorite.  I like the Glamglow eye treatment, this is like the third time I chose it as my sample haha. 

I'm taking two college classes now trying to get my GPA up to make up for the years that I blew off so I'm about to go do a bunch of homework.  Kill me.

Ciao ciao - Katelyn

Pad Thai Grilled Tofu/Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day from Wine and Vegan Cheese! Today my mother got the wonderful gift of my sister coming home from college to spend the summer here.  I mean, she already has me living at home as a 22 year old and she does all of my laundry, so I feel like I am just the gift that keeps on giving.  Just in case that isn't enough, I also got her this cute little chicken pitcher from Deruta, Italy.   

My family (aka actually my Dad) also got her a swing because our old one was a little decrepit and she likes to sit outside in the sun and read.  I really wish that my mother would give me the Mother's Day gift of telling me where my bottle of Pinot Grigio is because I need it.  (update: there is no wine left, she drank it all)

New swing!

 The weather has finally been nice for more than 3 days at a time!  I have the next three days off and I am looking forward to sitting in the sun in my bathing suit and reading The Fall of Giants by Kenneth Follett.  His books are addicting.  I already preordered the third book in the trilogy and I am so psyched, even if it doesn't come out for a few months.

The only place I want to be until I leave Naples

In other news, tonight my family is grilling.  I never eat dinner with them but Tara is back and it's Mother's Day so I though, why not?  They're grilling steaks or ribs or something.  I scoured Pinterest for a good grilled tofu recipe because I have a few blocks in my fridge and I've never done it before.  I was feeling wild, so I whipped up this tofu! It's inspiration was Pad Thai!

Pad Thai Inspired Grilled Peanut Butter/Lime Tofu

1 block of tofu
1/2 cup of lime juice (the original recipe says use fresh, but I'm not made of limes so I used store bought)
1/3 cup of agave nectar
1/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce
2 heaping tablespoons of smooth peanut butter (I had to use chunky because it was all that I had)
3 tablespoons Sriracha (I think I ended up adding more)
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro (set aside)

Press your tofu.  I use the tofu EZPress but you can always just use paper towels.  Cut it into strips and lay it in a tupperware container or baking dish so it is all laying flat in one layer.

Mix together all of the ingredients.  Pour the sauce over the tofu and cover.  Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least four hours.  I put some cilantro on top.
 
When you're ready to grill, take it out and put it on an oiled grill.  Ten minutes each side!  Make sure you watch it though just in case because I'm sure times will vary.  Serve hot and pour the rest of the sauce over it if you'd like! Garnish with the cilantro!

The tofu ready to marinate!

This was really tasty.  Grilling the tofu gives it a smoky flavor but because it's marinated in lime juice, it also tastes really smoky.  It's sweet because of the agave but it's salty because of the soy sauce.  Overall this was a really great dish.  

Unfortunately there was a miscommunication in the kitchen and my mother threw away my leftover sauce so I couldn't eat the finished product with it, but honestly, it didn't even need it because it was that flavorful!  

 I sat in the sun for a few hours in my bathing suit, and I just examined my body and I am still the exact same shade of porcelain as I was before.  I'm determined to at least get a little tan before the summer is over.  

Overall, a really great day off! 

ciao ciao! -Katelyn

Recipe Thursdays - Not actually spicy Peanut Butter Tofu

I hate eating peanuts.  Roasted, honey roasted, plain, I am just burned out on peanuts.  Not. A. Fan.  However, I am a fan of things that have peanuts in them.  Like pad thai and peanut butter and recently the peanut butter and chocolate Pro Bar.

I found THIS recipe on Pinterest (of course, where else?) from Kalyn's Kitchen and I knew I had to make it.  Usually I just browse through and pin stuff, but with this one, I knew I had to make it because 1) it looked ridiculously easy 2) peanut butter 3) soy sauce 4) tofu.

I tweaked it a little bit to fit my own tastes/also I didn't have all of the ingredients I needed.  Enjoy!  I made if a few days ago, and I really cannot wait to make it again!

Vegan Asian Peanut Butter Tofu
Tofu: 
1 block of extra firm tofu sliced into diagonal pieces
1 tablespoon of peanut oil
3 cloves of garlic sliced
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Sauce:
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
3 tablespoons of rice vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable stock
2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter (the recipe stressed to use natural peanut butter but all I had was jif.  Sorry I'm not sorry haha.)
1 tablespoon agave nectar
2 tablespoons of Sriracha or rooster sauce

Press your tofu to get rid of all of the excess water.  For a while I was pretty ghetto and I would just wrap my tofu in paper towels and place it in between two plates with some books on top.  Now I have my Tofu EZPress that I got from Amazon and it saves me a lot of time and paper towels.  I highly recommend it!!

Mix together all of the sauce ingredients!  Put in as much Sriracha as you would like!  I surprised myself and kept adding the rooster sauce until I was satisfied with the spiciness.  It took me a while to work up to medium salsa so this was not expected.  

Heat up a pan.  Throw the oil in there, then let it heat up a bit.  Then throw that garlic in there.  Let the garlic stay in the pan until it smells really strong.  Then take it out and set aside or throw away.  I personally set it aside to reuse in my next recipe because I felt bad throwing it away.

Now put the tofu in the oil. Cook until it is lightly browned on each side.  Then put the pan on low heat and add the sauce.  Cook until the tofu is coated and the sauce is getting a little thick.

Place the tofu on a plate and pour the sauce over it.  Garnish with green onions if you have them! I didn't think I had any but apparently my family has tons in the garden! I didn't find this out until after I ate it though.  Sooooo not cool.

When I was making this, my mother was cooking sausage for my dad right next to me.  Seeing my nice tofu cooking in this light, plant based sauce next to the sausage, which had gone from red to purple (how does that even happen??!) cooking in basically a mixture of water and its own fat was really interesting.  My mom was like, "Oh well I'd eat healthier if it wasn't for your father liking this food."  She also said, "We come from a different generation."  Not sure why being from a different generation is an excuse to eat junk and animal fat, but that's their prerogative.

ewwwwwwwwwwww

 I'm actually really glad that growing up my mother didn't let me eat sugary stuff and provided me with balanced meals before I was able to feed myself and was moderately supportive of my decision to become a vegetarian at the age of 12.  I just wish there was something that I could do that would help my family let go of what I can only assume is an emotional attachment to fake food.  There's some type of chicken product in the freezer right now called "Wyngz".  What? No. Stop.  Right now.  That's not a real word and those are not real things. 

I have a few non-recipe blog posts in the works except I haven't really materialized them yet.  I'm working on it! Haven't been doing much except working and being lame because Peter is in Barcelona but he comes back today yay! Doing spring cleaning today and I cleared out so much stuff that I don't need anymore! 

I'm going to bring it to our community flea market in a few weeks.  That's one of the biggest things I miss about being in the states (other than the number one which is obviously Target), when everyone can just get together and sell stuff in their yard.  In the community here, people either live in apartments on base or out in the Italian economy so it's basically impossible. 

I've been trying to get into some new music because I feel like I have been listening to the same stuff over and over again for the past few weeks.  I can't stop listening to Hozier.  I've been doing a lot of pet sitting and here are two of my new favorite little furry friends, Bella and Daisy.  Their cuddle game is on point. 

Ciao ciao! - x Katelyn

Recipe Thursdays - Breakfast Burrito

I try to eat relatively healthy.  I include very little processed foods and frozen meals in my diet.  What I've noticed about my eating habits is that if I eat a healthy breakfast, I'm on track for basically the rest of the day.  If I start my day out with a wrap or a salad, I'm good to go for a few hours.  However, if I start my day off with ten handfuls of pretzels during my drive to work, then I'm in trouble.   

As I was browsing Pinterest one day, I came across a recipe that advertised itself as "The Best Breakfast Burrito in Town" and I was intrigued.  I put it on my "To make" list.  What really sealed the deal for me was that you can freeze them for a few months, you just have to take them out of the freezer the night before you want to make it.  I had a few days off so I decided to make them!  Also I thought it was time for me to make something not from my Isa Does It cookbook.  You can read the recipe that I used HERE but I'm including the way that I made it below.  

Vegan Lentil Breakfast Burritos

2 tablespoons coconut oil, divided

1 cup of crumbled seitan

1 small onion, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper,chopped

1 pound package (16 oz.) lentils

2-1/2 cups water

1 teaspoon salt for the lentils

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced (I used button)

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

1/2 cup vegan cheese

your favorite salsa

however many soft tortillas you need

Directions:  Put the lentils and the teaspoon of salt in a large saucepan.  Add the water to cover the top of the lentils.  Bring to a boil and cover the pot.  Turn down to medium low heat.  Cook 25 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and the lentils are tender.  I added a splash of soy sauce.  Taste to see if the texture is done but not mushy.  Set lentils aside.

 

Anyone who ever ate Dinosaur Egg oatmeal will recognize this bowl

Heat the oil in a skillet to medium high heat.  Brown the seitan on all sides. Set aside.

Add your onion and bell pepper to the pan.  If the pan is dry add a little bit more oil.  Saute until the onion is translucent and the peppers and onions are turning a bit brown.  Remove from the pan and set aside.  Add the sliced mushrooms to the same skillet and saute for about 15-20 minutes.

Now place a little bit of everything in a tortilla until you have enough to fill up a burrito.  You should google, "how to fold burritos" because I'm terrible at it and will not be able to help you in this.  If it is possible, i actually got worse with each burrito. 

Heat each burrito in the microwave for 15-20 seconds.

Serve immediately. 

To serve after freezing:

Put in the refrigerator the day before serving.

Unwrap from the plastic wrap.

Heat in the microwave for 15-20 seconds and then flip over. Heat 15-20 more seconds. 

Edit: Okay so after actually "serving after freezing" I have realized that 15-20 seconds isn't going to cut it. I do 30 each side!

 

My tower of burritos

Reasons I like this recipe: 1) I really like the flavor that coconut oil adds to the food.  2) Although it's a little time consuming to make, I ended up making 15 burritos so I'd say it was worth it!  3) they keep really well in the freezer.

What I would do differently: 1) I would season the lentils with some southwestern seasoning because I think they were a liiiittle too plain.  Also, let's be honest, lentils taste like dirt. I know the flavor is described as "earthy" but we all know it is actually "dirt-y".  2) I would add more vegetables, maybe some chopped carrots.  3) I think I would add some avocado or guacamole.  

If you are like some people I know (not me even though I'm working on it) and like to make your meals in advance, then this would be a really great addition to anyone's food prep day.

ps. Here's a bonus pic of my super cute dog Cleo.  She's almost 15, deaf and blind but she's still pretty spry and gives cats a run for their money.  

I love this face. 

ciao ciao -Katelyn

Recipe Thursdays (On a Sunday again) - HUMMUS

My blender is my best friend

 At potlucks or parties you can usually find the meat eaters happily munching away on some buffalo chicken dip or maybe some seven layer dip with ground beef. When I was a vegetarian with no cares in the world, I remember eating a dip that I'm pretty sure was basically just three different kinds of cheese mixed with mayonnaise. It was delicious but I probably consumed a day's worth of calories in ten minutes. Now my options are more limited. 

I was up late the other night and wanted a snack and I wasn't too tired so I decided to try to make some hummus. It was a solid decision on my part. The best thing about hummus in my opinion is that it's so easy to personalize. I don't think I will ever stop being obsessed with sun dried tomatoes so I threw some in my blender with the chickpea mixture and I had sundried tomato hummus! You can sub anything for the tomatoes. You like olives? Throw some Kalamatas in there! Add some extra garlic or some more lemon! You can even switch the chickpeas with some edamame for edamame hummus. 

I brought it to work and made basically everyone I know try it and it was loved by all. So here's the recipe and whip up your own.  I like to serve it with pretzel chips or the "Food should taste good" olive chips! 

"Whatever you want" Hummus  

1 can of chickpeas
1/4 cup tahini
1 clove of garlic
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoon olive oil (you might need to add a little more to achieve the consistency you want
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup whatever you want 

Add all of your ingredients together into the blender and blend until you get hummus.  Done.  

In the picture to the left you can see that for my "whatever you want" I used Italian oil-packed sundried tomatoes and a few sprigs of cilantro because why not? I also used 2 cloves of garlic because I really like garlic.

There's just something that makes me feel really accomplished about making my own hummus.  It's like, I used to spend about ten dollars a week on hummus and now I probably spend half of that and I MADE IT.  Granted, it was very very easy to make.  But still, I made it.  Go me.  You too can have this sense of accomplishment if you make your own hummus.  I highly reccomend it.  

I live overseas and do a lot of my shopping at our military commissary and the selection of vegan foods is very very VERY limited. As far as I can tell the only avenue to get them to stock more things that are vegan-friendly is to put in request forms, which I have done. I just want some tempeh mannnn. I'm dying here.  If you can think of anything else I should request, put it in the comments!  I already asked for Daiya products and tempeh.  We JUST got Earth Balance buttery sticks so props to the commissary for that. 

I promise that next week the recipe will actually be on a Thursday! My time management skills are not so hot but I'm working on it! I have the next three days off of work to get some stuff done!

YUM!

 Here's a bonus pic of a wrap I made.  Low carb tortilla, hummus, seitan, baby spinach, red bell pepper and balsamic vinegar.  I sprinkled on some chia seeds too.  Too delicious.  I can't even describe in words how tasty this was. 

ciao ciao! - Katelyn

Recipe Thursdays (on a Sunday)- Anatomy of a Quality Salad w/ Cashew Feta Cheese

I'm sorry I haven't posted as often.  I've been working forty hours a week to pay for my car damage so I haven't written as much as I'd like.  But yesterday and today a few people mentioned to me in passing that they liked to read my blog and I was soooo flattered so I decided to finish up this piece and set it free on the internet.  Enjoy! 

One night I had a liiiiittle too much wine and Amazon one-click purchased a 5 lb bag of cashews.  I have since cancelled my Prime membership (may it rest in peace) because it turns out that my parents have one and that it is $80!! Whoops. 

Anyways, so I have a LOT of cashews.  I decided to find a few recipes in my Isa Does It cookbook that will utilize them! 

Did I mention I have a lot of cashews?

I love love love love feta cheese.  I used to put it on everything.  Wraps, salads, pizzas, frozen meals, it tasted perfect on everything.  It was salty and creamy and I missed it.  A few months ago I wouldn't even consider making a salad without a decent amount of feta on top.  I gradually weaned myself off of it and I compensated by adding more balsamic vinegar and a lot of fresh pepper and salt and some lemon juice. 

Going through my Isa Does It by the great Isa Moskowitz I saw what I had been waiting for.  I listed the recipe that's in the book (with a few tweaks to fit my personal tastes) below. 

Next up, I'm going to make a tofu feta but right now this has been working great for me!  I added an additional tablespoon of red wine vinegar and a splash of balsamic vinegar because I loooove vinegar and I adjusted it from 1/8 of a teaspoon of salt to 1/2 of a teaspoon because I accidentally put that much in last time around and it tasted gooood! 




Cashew Feta
1 cup cashews
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
splash of balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste

Directions:  Put the cashews in a saucepan with a decent amount of water, bring to a boil and then cover and boil for 30 mins.  Drain the cashews and put them in a bowl and then mash them up so they look like crumbled feta.  Add all of the other ingredients and stir.  Let it sit in the fridge overnight and in the morning you have cashew feta!

A delicious, delicious salad from the past

 In Isa Does It, she pairs the cashew feta with a quintessential Greek salad but you can really go anywhere with this.  I usually end up putting it in a wrap but my absolute favorite thing to eat this with would be my salad.  I average about one salad a day.  I love salad.  I would eat a salad for all three meals if I had the time/could. 

I regard salad construction as an art and I am an artist. You are so lucky that I am here to teach you how to make a good salad.

How To Make A Salad by Katelyn O'Brien

1) Choose your green. I will not touch iceberg lettuce with a stick. I don't like it I don't even consider it a vegetable. When making a Katelyn salad you should probably not use iceberg lettuce. I stick with baby spinach or rucola. They're both very flavorful and compliment the flavors of the things I like to throw on a salad. 

2) Choose your bean. I like to add some protein in my salad because when I eat a salad, it's the whole meal. I alternate between canned black beans and canned chickpeas but I've used kidney beans before. For some more protein you can throw some quinoa in there. 

3) Choose your FRESH veggies. Chop up whatever you have on hand! I usually end up with bell peppers, avocado and broccoli. 

4) Choose your CANNED veggies. I have gotten myself addicted to sun dried tomatoes packed in oil. I put them in wraps and on sandwiches and they taste so good in salads. I almost always use Kalamata olives too. 

5) Choose your crunch. Walnuts on salads are my favorite but I went through a sunflower seed phase. 

6) Choose your extras. I like to sprinkle on some chia seeds for some more nutrition and a few twists of freshly ground pepper. I will also include some chopped up seitan or tofu! 

7) Dress that salad up. Choose your dressing of choice!! I usually stick with balsamic vinegar mixed with some larrupin sauce. Yummmm. My mouth is watering so hard right now. 

Now go make your salads my students.   Also I got the Veganomicon cookbook in the mail a few days ago and I am SO. PSYCHED.

Nothing is really new in my life.  Peter and I took another trip downtown and just walked around and enjoyed the beautiful weather.  Here are some pics!

oh hey Peter

The Egg Castle

Vesuvio

Sunset oooOOOOoooo how romantic

Ciao ciao! - Katelyn