So, what did tofu do to you exactly?

Some people think vegans live on salad and tofu. This is not true. I live on kettle corn, whole wheat toast and juices and Tomas eats a diet of 100% vegan sausages in ketchup.

Sometimes, when we feel bad about this, we eat a salad and call it even.

Tofu was marinated in white wine, garlic, tamari and pepper and pan fried with olive oil. Salad includes baby spinach, carrots, red onion and cucumber and is topped with agave-mustard dressing.

BBQ Tempeh Rice Bowl

I can't really give you much info on the cooking methods or ingredients, because Tomas made it, but I can tell you it was delicious. Brown rice topped with kale braised with chili and garlic, BBQ tempeh chunks, carmelized onions, sliced avocado with sesame seeds.

Perogies

Yukon gold potato-dill perogies served on a mound of perfectly caramelized onions. These were far and away the best perogies I've ever had, and I've had a quite a few. This recipe is in Vegan Brunch, my newest favoritest cookbook of all time. Tomas made them for me, so I'm not sure exactly how time-intensive they are, but from his exhausted state when I came home to find these cute little guys, I would assume they're a good bit of work. But the recipe make a LOT and they're all you'll want to eat anyway, so I say they're well worth it!

Mushroom, onion and red wine tarts

Mom got me cute little tart pans; I thew together these babies to put 'em to use. Ingredients: (filling) mushrooms, onions, garlic, red wine, olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, red chile flakes, rosemary, oregano, thyme, (crust) whole wheat pastry flour, water, canola oil, salt. A little bit of bacon-flavored Cheezly is grated on top.

Vegan philly cheesesteak!

Tomas made the basic seitan from Veganomicon a few weeks ago, and when I put the leftovers into the fridge, right next to the Cheezly vegan cheeses I had given Tomas for x-mas, a cartoon light bulb brightened over my head: vegan philly cheeseteaks! Sorry the photo is a bit wonky from being taken at night/while I was starving and impatiently looking at a really delicious sandwich. We just toasted some regular sub type bread in the oven and sautéed mushrooms, green bell peppers and onions with salt, olive oil and red pepper flakes. The seitan was re-heated in a separate pan so it could get a little crunchy. For the sauce I made a roux of flour and canola oil, then added shredded nacho and white cheddar Cheezly, and added a little bit of garlic and onion powders, dijon, lemon juice and tomato paste. Totally irredeemable junk food—but totally delicious and fun dish to veganize since it seems just so improbable.

A word on Cheezly; this is the best commercial vegan cheese I have tried, but it is tricky to get in the U.S. Everyone seems to be out of it lately, I hope we can get it again soon!