It's April Already?!

My mom and I have been discussing ways to save money, and for a while now we've been considering actually organizing a menu for the week and buying our groceries accordingly. Until now, we've always kept a general supply of foods and made a trip to the grocery store whenever we've needed something (the store's within walking distance).  But this way, if we get everything we need at once, we can make a trip to one of the less expensive supermarkets that are just a bit further away than our usual store and save some money (we actually saved $50+ on our most recent shopping trip). My town's farmers market opens next month too, so if I know ahead of time what veggies I need, I can get most of them there.

The other day I was looking through my copy of Veganomicon when I realized that, for a book I only just got at Christmas, I've cooked an awful lot of the recipes. And there hasn't been a single one I haven't liked. So I'm making it my goal to make everything in the entire cookbook, with the exception of some of the desserts and cookies. I'm not going to go full out Julie & Julia and cry while cooking and almost lose the people I love just because I have to finish the damn cookbook, but I hope to make everything eventually. I'm going to start posting more pictures of what I cook too and not just my own recipes. We'll see how this goes. 

For dinner I had bok choy with crispy shallots and roasted sesame seeds, marinated Asian tofu, and quinoa, plus a side salad with lots of veggies and a homemade Asian sesame dressing. And for lunch I had a vegetable sandwich that wasn't from a cookbook, but okay please just look at how beautiful that sandwich is.

Single-Serving Tempeh Bacon + BLT Directions

I know it's not in season or anything, but I've been eating BLTs on a daily basis lately, ever since I figured out how to make this "bacon". It was inspired by the recipe for tempeh bacon in Vegan With a Vengeance,  but I changed it a bit as I'm incredibly impatient person and don't ever want to wait for an hour while my tempeh is marinating. Also I cut it down to a single serving and changed a few ingredients. You can omit the maple syrup if you want, but it does add a nice flavor.

Single-Serving Tempeh Bacon

• 1.75 oz/50g tempeh (should be about 1/3 of a package), sliced into thin strips (1/4" or thinner)
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp Bragg's, soy sauce, or tamari
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ketchup
• 1/2 tsp maple syrup
• 2-3 drops of liquid smoke (be incredibly careful not to use too much!)

1) In a small bowl, combine apple cider vinegar, Bragg's, garlic, ketchup, maple syrup, and liquid smoke. Set aside.

2) Lightly grease a non-stick pan with oil or cooking spray. Place tempeh pieces in pan so they don't touch each other. 

3) Pour the liquid ingredients into the pan and heat over medium heat. When garlic begins to brown, flip tempeh pieces over to cook the other sides. Once both sides of the tempeh are a shade of brown, remove from heat and serve immediately.

Vegan BLT 

I think "recipes" for sandwiches are weird, especially for ones as simple as this. But I've seen BLT recipes in cookbooks before, so I guess recipes for them are commonly accepted. Basically, what you'll want to do, is toast two pieces of bread - I usually do this while my tempeh is cooking because I have what may be the world's slowest toaster. While your toast is toasting and tempeh is cooking, slice a few pieces of tomato, just to be ready. As soon as your toast is finished, apply a light layer of Vegenaise (or vegan mayo of choice, or margarine if you don't have any mayo) on the inside of both pieces. Add tomatoes, tempeh, and a handful of fresh spinach (you can use lettuce too, but I just love spinach). Close sandwich and eat.

Simple enough?