Popcorn Tofu Caesar Salad

I'm always looking for new ways to jazz up my salads, and when I saw this recipe for Tofu Popcorn Chick'n from The Vedge, I remembered an old favorite dish of mine with crispy chicken on top of a fresh caesar salad. I decided a vegan version of this meal would taste just as good (better!), and set about making it for an easy weeknight dinner.

Popcorn Tofu Caesar Salad
serves 2-3

1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
1 C broccoli, chopped
1 recipe Tofu Popcorn Chick'n from the Vedge

optional: vegan bacon bits


Caesar Dressing
2 Tbsp cashew butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp dijon mustard
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
2 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 C water
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Add all ingredients for dressing to a food processor and mix until well blended.

Chop the broccoli and steam until softened.
Place chopped lettuce, broccoli, and bacon bits into a bowl. Top with the dressing and toss to coat.
Top with the prepared tofu popcorn chick'n pieces and serve.

The flavor of the Popcorn Tofu Chick'n is amazing! They are tasty all on their own, but I really enjoyed them paired with this Caesar salad for a more complete meal. I'll definitely be making this recipe again. It was great as leftovers too.

We were snowed in this past weekend, and I finally had the opportunity to spend some good quality time in the kitchen, which I've been missing lately. Looking forward to sharing some fun recipes with you all soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Check these cookies out! I am dubbing these the "everything" cookies, since they have every delicious ingredient that could go into a cookie in them - peanut butter, oatmeal and chocolate chips. I already know these chewy cookies are going to become my new favorites.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from the bankrupt vegan
makes 2 dozen cookies

1 1/4 C flour
4 tsp ground flaxseed
1 C oats
1 C brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 C canola oil
1/2 C agave
3/4 C peanut butter
1 C vegan chocolate chunks


Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix the oil, agave, vanilla, and brown sugar together. Add the peanut butter and combine. Add in the rest of the ingredients and stir well.
Scoop the cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes until just crisp around the edges. Let cool and enjoy!

What else would you add to these "everything" cookies to make them even more epic?

Thanks for stopping by!

Berry Quinoa Spinach Salad with Maple Vinagrette

We've been getting tons of snow here in Colorado recently, and I've decided that even though I know it's great for our dry summers, I'm totally over it. I have started listening to reggae music and pretending I'm on a tropical vacation. The other day for lunch I was craving something fresh and summery. I had all these berries in my fridge, and so this salad was born.

Berry Quinoa Spinach Salad
Fresh baby spinach
cooked quinoa
edamame
corn kernals
stawberries, or other berry of your choice

Maple Vinagrette Dressing
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
squeeze of lemon juice


This is more of a "salad idea" than a real recipe - so feel free to mix in whatever you'd like! I started with a bed of baby spianch, and topped with it cooked quinoa mixed with edamame and corn, and then some sliced berries. To make the vinagrette, whisk together all the ingredients and chill until ready to serve.

Any one else ready for spring to arrive?

Thanks for stopping by!

Friday Flashback

I spent a day hanging out in Boulder this week, and found some great things! My friend and I went to lunch at the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse. They have a whole menu with seemingly endless tea options, and even bring you a little timer for your table to know when your tea has steeped enough. Their menu is an international blend of dishes, of which several can be requested vegan. Above is my tea choice and the Tibetan Kong Po with tofu. The inside of this building is so cool with painted ceilings and hand carved wood - definitely check it out if you're in the area. We then wandered around Pearl Street and I scored some vegan lip scrub and balm from Lush, and found a very delicious vegan cupcake at Tee and Cakes.

Another day we had a delicious lunch at Linger in Denver. Pictured are the Butternut Squash Papusas and the Pad Thai - amazing! Below are some mini bundts we made that were supposed to be vanilla and chocolate marble. They didn't come out perfectly, but they still tasted good! The bottom right is the Superfood Salad and the Curry Split Pea soup from Mod Market.

Have a great weekend!

Carrot Cranberry Muffins

This week marks both my one year anniversary of eating vegan and of creating this blog! I want to thank each and every one of you for reading along and continuing to inspire me to come up with new recipes. I started this blog the same week I became vegan because I had a hunch that it would keep me motivated and help to connect with others - and boy, was I right! I'm so grateful for the people I've met in the past year, and I'm looking forward to sharing and cooking along with even more friends in the next year.

As I was thinking about what special recipe I could make to celebrate this occasion, I thought back to my first recipe I ever posted - Carrot Cranberry Muffins. I realized that my one camera phone photo didn't do these tasty muffins justice at all, so I decided I would whip up another batch!

Carrot Cranberry Muffins
2 C flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 C sugar
1/2 C canola oil
1/4 C applesauce
1 C finely grated carrots (approx 2 medium)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 C dried cranberries


Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, applesauce, and vanilla until combined. Mix in the grated carrots.

Stir in the dry ingredients until combined. Fold in the cranberries.
Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the muffins are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Well, these muffins are just as good as I remembered and were a great way to reflect back on a full year of vegan food fun. I feel like I've learned so much, and am looking forward to lots more cooking and baking, of course!

Thank you for reading, commenting, following me on facebook, twitter and instagram, and all the support over the last year for Vegan Fling. You all rock!

Thanks for stopping by!