like to be vegan

http://aurorastrong.org//plus/av.php Hi!

http://mtvernonapts.com/product-details/product-with-vertical-tabs-2/file_url.ppt Do you think it is impossible to order vegan enchiladas at a Mexican restaurant?

Me, too 🙂

Let’s just stick to the chips/salsa/guacamole/margaritas when out and…

MAKE ENCHILADAS AT HOME 🙂

Check out how mine turned out.

Sauce…

Filling…

Technique…

I made the sauce the day before to save time.  My filling was soyrizo, potatoes and salsa.

Hope yours turn out delicious! Mine did 🙂

Talk to you soon.

Tracey

Hello.

Do you ever cook with seitan? Did you know it is easy and kind of fun to make? Do you have any idea of what I am talking about 🙂

The recipe for making seitan is right on the bag of vital wheat gluten! Warning…it looks like you are making a pot of meat chunks 🙂 Crazy!

What do you do with a bunch of seitan? Make tacos! I found a great recipe for carne asada marinade on Pinterest. Non vegan blogs have great recipes…just need a little tweaking (like you know…no meat) 🙂

Marinated all day in a freezer bag.

Looks like meat, huh? Personally, I have no problem eating anything that looks like meat as long as it’s not meat. I get that some vegans think it is gross 🙂 Everyone is different 🙂

My husband’s plate…he thought they were delicious!

If at any point you think seitan sounds gross…get over it 😉

Hope you have a really great week 🙂

Tracey

Hi!

Hope everything is cruising along nicely in your life…

Your time is important…your next dinner is important…skip the ramble if needed 🙂

My daily vegan dilemma: I like to be vegan but (honesty here) I would love to be vegetarian. Sound like a vegan copout? It isn’t. My life will be 100% vegan one day.

Quesadillas. Cheesy quesadillas. Pizza. Cheesy pizza. Miss them 🙁

When I say I would love to be vegetarian it is not because I lack compassion. The dairy industry is disgusting. What I lack is self control. Put a piece of Impossible’s White Pizza in front of me and I will devour it.

Back to quesadillas. You might think I should just make one with vegan cheese? Tried that. The cheese melts but the taste was not the same. My attempts at vegan cheese quesadillas have always left me wanting a real one 🙁 Until tonight…

Avocado Quesadilla. No cheese. No vegan cheese. Only fried yumminess using fresh avocado, tomato, mild chili peppers, seasoning (cumin, garlic powder, smoked paprika). Fried in one tablespoon of Earth Balance Buttery Spread.

right before folding it in half and frying

used a whole avocado…it was small 😉

Vegan is the right choice. Self Control takes practice. Tonight might sound I like a eat cheese constantly…not true. Just sometimes I give in 🙂

Thanks for stopping by!
Tracey

Hi!

Let’s talk about cats.

Oahu has plenty of feral cats. To be honest I can’t tell the difference between a feral cat and a cat that is part of a human family. This beautiful kitty was sleeping on a fence while I was walking yesterday. Is she a pet? Is she feral?

Who cares. She is beautiful.

For some, feral cats represent a larger problem: they kill birds, your yard is their personal litter box, they carry germs. The list goes on and on. I have heard it all.

I only see one of God’s beautiful creatures.

Now let’s talk about dinner 🙂 It was great! Burger. Fries. Salad. Each recipe was easy to follow. Thank you vegan food bloggers! I would be lost without you 😉

Sophie and Nani thought I set the table for them 🙂 Don’t worry we shared a little!

A couple of things…

If you are interested in the feral cat population on Oahu here is the information provided by the Hawaii Humane Society – Feral Cats.

Looking for a great book? Have you read Homer’s Odyssey? I read it this weekend. I loved every single page!!! I recommend it 100%! Not a cat lover? You will still enjoy it (pretty sure you will anyway…).

Talk to you soon.
Tracey

December, chilly weather and soup.

OK 74 degrees might not be chilly but it is December and I did make soup 😉

Spicy Lemon Ginger Soup sounds great doesn’t it? If you love soup and want something a little different…try it 🙂

You will not be disappointed. I promise.

My favorite new quote about Christmas:

He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. Roy L. Smith.

I have no idea who Roy Smith is but I loved the quote 🙂

That is it for tonight. This soup was too good to not share right away!!!

Tracey

Thanksgiving menus do not include soup – at least in my house 🙂

Times are changing. Tastes are changing. Thanksgiving is changing.

Collecting lots of holiday recipes on Pinterest. Decided to try the butternut squash soup early. So easy and the ingredients include curry (I used 2t) and an apple 🙂

I am always so thankful when a recipe tastes as great as the blog pictures!  I am talking about the pictures on hungryhealthygirl 😉 not mine!   Her pictures are beautiful.  Really the taste is just so good!  I prefer a thicker soup so I blended it just a little but you can adjust to whatever thickness you like.

All around great fun with this recipe that smells and tastes like the holidays!

Butternut Squash Soup will be served on Thanksgiving!

Hope you have a really nice week 🙂

Tracey

Hi!

Hope you had an enjoyable weekend 🙂

Skip down to the picture and recipe suggestion if you are not interested in my ramblings tonight. No offense will be taken…because how would I know anyway 🙂

Going vegan is a way for me to be – at peace, a kinder person, compassionate.

I have friends that love animals, save animals, foster animals, advocate for animals and they eat meat. Does this make them less peaceful, kind, compassionate? No.

I read lots of books/blogs/tweets about animal abuse because (for me) knowing leads to knowing better.

I am not a perfect vegan 🙂 I will not return a veggie taco plate if they forget I asked for no cheese. I will eat a vegetarian meal that was made specifically for me by someone who doesn’t know the difference between vegetarian and vegan. Lots of times I drink non-vegan wine 🙂

Not sure if this makes me a chegan??? Whatever 🙂

Thinking of what to make for Meatless Monday?

Today a recipe for a “one pot thai peanut pasta” was posted on veganfoody. My favorite vegan food blog!

My husband and I both loved it. Two helpings each! The freshness, creaminess, flavor…basically everything about this meal was delicious 🙂

Talk to you soon.
Tracey

Hey.

Looking for a new kind of burger?  How about making the Best d*m! vegan burger ever???

This recipe lives up to the name!!!

I am so thankful there are so many talented vegan chefs willing to share their recipes!

My husband said they were easy to grill. He also grilled the corn (wrapped the corn in foil with vegan butter and a little sprinkle of cayenne pepper).

I know going vegan isn’t on everyone’s to-do list but try these burgers anyway 🙂  Six out six of us tonight loved them!  My husband let the boys (my son’s friends) know that no animals were harmed in the making of tonight’s dinner 🙂  He will make such a great vegan one day…haha 🙂

Loving animals makes so much more sense when I don’t eat them.

Hope you have a great week.

Tracey

So excited to share my dinner tonight…

Homemade tapenade mixed with pasta. (I used two full cans of black and green olives).

I mixed some vegan butter with the hot pasta and added the tapenade.

I think this might be my new favorite spread on bread 🙂

So last week my husband actually said that he could “probably” go vegan! I will let you know if it ever happens 🙂

That’s it for tonight…hope you have a great week!

Tracey

Hello.

Onion rings. Enough said 🙂

Have you ever made them from scratch? I wanted to try. I googled ‘baked vegan onion rings’. Lots of articles/recipes/blogs popped up. I picked the one with the best blog name – The Graceful Kitchen. How sweet is that name?

OK let’s get right to the rings…Baked Vegan Beer Battered Onion Rings. I served them with my favorite condiment Curry Ketchup. I have talked about this ketchup before but it is worth mentioning again. And again. It is that good!

drooling girls haha

Definitely a keeper recipe!!!

No rambling tonight…lucky you!

Talk to you soon.

Tracey