Bianca Phillips's Blog, page 47

Dumplins, Protein Pancakes, & Blackeyed Pea Stew

On Monday, Imagine Vegan Cafe posted their daily special on Instagram — Vegan Chicken & Dumplins!!! — and I just had to have some. This Southern girl loooooooves some dumplins, and I was excited to try theirs. They were what I'd call "Cracker Barrel style" with more of a thick gravy. The dumplins were plump with bits of vegan chicken. So good! 

Complement Protein Powder had been out of stock for most of January due to a watermelon seed shortage (part of the protein in that powder comes from watermelon seeds), so I'd been using a stevia-sweetened powder that I wasn't crazy about for all of January. Luckily, Complement is back in stock, and I'm back to adding it into oats, pancakes, muffins, you name it. It's unsweetened, so you can really add it to anything! Yesterday, I made my Gluten-Free Protein Pancakes (recipe here!) with some leftover Tofu Sausage.

Look at the little rainbow light catcher reflection on my plate!!

Here's a bowl of Protein Oats with Complement. Lately, I've been topping my oat bowls with coconut yogurt from Coconut Collaborative. It's the thickest, creamiest vegan yogurt I've had! Reminds me of Greek yogurt. The oats have cashew butter, coffee (!!!!), chia seeds, and maple.

And finally, here's a warming bowl of the most amazing stew I've had in awhile! I made this Blackeyed Pea & Collard Stew with Smoky Tahini from the No Meat Athlete Cookbook last night, and IT IS SO GOOD. The stew itself has peas, collards, barley, carrot, celery, and tomato, and it's great. But the smoky tahini sauce really makes it shine. It has liquid smoke, tahini, nooch, and sriracha, and I could drink it. 

Imbolc Eats!

Yesterday (Feb. 2) was Imbolc, the cross-quarter day that celebrates the return of Spring. It's the halfway point between Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, so we're more than halfway done with winter. YAY! I hate winter, especially during Covid when we can't gather inside places. Patio season cannot get here fast enough.

Traditionally, Imbolc is celebrated with dairy products, because back in the day, people who lived off the land didn't have a lot of fresh veggie options in the middle of winter. So dairy and root veggies were common, as well as seeds, which symbolize fertility (and we're celebrating the return of the Earth's fertility!). I always celebrate with vegan dairy instead. 

This year, I combined vegan cheese and root veggies to make this Broccoli-Cheese Baked Potato. The sauce has a vegan bechamel base (with oatmilk, flour, and Miyoko butter), and then you melt vegan cheddar shreds in the sauce. It was so good and perfect on a cold winter night (the temps dropped to 25 in Memphis last night!!!). 

For dessert, I made a Vegan Cookies & Cream Milkshake!

I combined No Bull Vanilla Bean oatmilk ice cream with Chobani oatmilk and a Newman-O in the Vitamix and pulsed so there would be some cookie crumbs. Then I topped it with vegan Reddi Whip and vegan sprinkles. It'd been so long since I'd had a milkshake! I need to make these more often.

Happy Almost Spring!

No Meat Bolognese Two Ways + GGB Bowls & More!

I know it seems like No Meat Athlete is the only thing I talk about, but I REALLY just love this brand so much. I've been on a mission to make every single dish in the No Meat Athlete Cookbook since it came out a few years ago, and I've made a lot of progress with that goal. But I'm still working my way through the recipes! This week, I made the Lentil-Mushroom No Meat Bolognese and served it over whole wheat pasta. This whole foods-based sauce has brown lentils, cremini mushrooms, and canned diced tomatoes. It's really simple and makes a ton for freezing leftovers.

The cookbook suggests serving atop pasta, over polenta, or over oats for breakfast. I haven't done the oats thing yet (I will!), but I had some over polenta for lunch today. 

One of my favorite meals is a simple Grain/Green/Bean Bowl using whatever I have on-hand. I typically go with rice or quinoa, kale or collards, and chickpeas or white beans. But last Thursday, I subbed a sliced Field Roast sausage for the beans! I used quinoa, kale, and some roasted kohlrabi from my CSA. For the sauce, I made tahini-miso dressing from Soul in the Raw (an online cooking course I'm taking! More on that soon!).

Last Sunday, Paul and I ran the Stanky Creek 5K as part of the Memphis Runners Track Club Winter Off-Road Series. Before the run, I made the No Meat Athlete Buckwheat Pinole Chia Pancakes, which are great pre-run fuel. I wanted veggie sausage on the side, but I didn't have any. I did have frozen tofu though, so I googled and found a recipe to make tofu sausage. I tried to find it again to link it here, but I can't find it! Sorry, but it was pretty good. I also had a mimosa because it was Sunday. Champagne is good pre-run fuel, right?

And I'll close this post out with some classic Avocado Toast (with HOPE Jalapeno-Cilantro Hummus & nooch).

Focaccia Friday! Spinach Dip! Valentine's Chocolates!

Pizzeria Trasimeno in Crosstown Concourse has a deal where you can get two pizzas and a six-pack of Crosstown Brewing Co. beer (brewed on-site!!) for just $30. So Paul and I planned a date night at Trasimeno last Friday. I got my usual Pizza del Giardino, their vegan cheese-free pie that's loaded with veggies and balsamic reduction. This is usually piled high with arugula, but I always order mine with no arugula because arugula is yucky. 

Paul got a pepperoni pizza, so I'll spare you the meat pic. And we got Siren Blonde Ale for our six-pack. We had a few beers there and took the rest home for later. 

They've also just added a new Focaccia Fridays deal where you can add an order of four slices of focaccia to your order for just $1!! Of course, we did that too!

By the way, Trasimeno is not open for dine-in, but you can take your meal anywhere inside Concourse to enjoy. I don't feel comfortable with indoor dining at most places, but Concourse is a massive 14-story former Sears warehouse with massive ceilings and atria cut-outs that go all the way to the roof. This makes social distancing much easier than in a traditional restaurant space, so I feel okay about eating there.

Curb Market in Crosstown Concourse has started carrying Imagine Vegan Cafe's Spinach Artichoke Dip, so I grabbed some to a few days ago to have at home for snacks. I had some as part of my lunch on Friday, with LuLu's baguette for scooping.

And finally, a very special delivery arrived at my house on Saturday. My dad always picks me out some vegan Valentine's chocolates from Vegan Essentials, and this year, he selected Sjaak's Coconut Milk Truffles and a Sjaak's Almond Butter Heart! I've already gotten into the truffles, and they are so creamy and coconutty. I'm saving the almond butter heart for Valentine's Day. Thanks Papa Crunk!

Cheezy Chickpeas, Taco Tuesday, & Purple Soup!

Although I don't really subscribe to the Engine 2 way of eating (I eat a little oil, and I couldn't live without smoothies), I do subscribe to their newsletter! I like working occasional oil-free meals into my life because that helps me consume the oil I do eat in moderation. And let's be honest — Rip's kinda hot. Anyway, Rip recently shared a video with some recipes he eats in a typical day, and one of those was these Cheezy Chickpeas. 

You basically add nooch and a bit of whole wheat flour to some chickpeas, mash them, and cook it into a gravy, and then you serve over greens or broccoli and whole wheat pasta. It's really simple and really good! Here's the recipe and here's the video.
Here's a recent Tofu Stir-fry. Marinated, air-fried tofu with broccoli and mushrooms over brown rice. About as simple as it gets!

This past Tuesday, I got Taco Tuesday takeout from Global Café at Crosstown Concourse! They have the BEST Black Bean Tacos, and you get free chips and homemade salsa, plus a margarita for $2.95. And the margs are strong! It's such a great deal, and I'd do it every Tuesday if I could control myself around the chips. What you see here is about one-third of the chips. They give you a lot, and I can't stop eating them.

And finally, here's some purple soup! I made the Anja (Crown Chakra) Soup from Eat Feel Fresh. I've been working my way through all the chakra soups in this book, and this one was fantastic. It's made with purple sweet potatoes, onion, ginger, and coconut milk and then drizzled with toasted sesame oil.

Breakfast Fun & Schnitzel!

I'm cooking my way through the e-books from the No Meat Athlete Health & Fitness Bundle that I purchased on Black Friday, and last week, I made a couple things from the Bruce's Roots Fall/Winter Anti-inflammatory Recipes book. These Sweet Potato Hash Browns are amazing and so simple to make with my food processor! I loved the avocado on top. 

I also made the Pressure Cooker Chocolate Steel Cut Oats from the book. I love any excuse to use my Instant Pot for anything besides rice (my primary use for it). These steel cut oats have cocoa, maple, and canned coconut milk. I've been a little burned out on rolled oats lately, but I'm not tired of steel cut yet!

Last Saturday, I picked up this Black Sesame Kimchi Bun from LuLu's at the Cooper-Young Farmers Market. The tangy sourdough and kimchi were a perfect complement to the toasted sesame seeds. I had this breakfast on the drive to TO Fuller State Park, where I walked a couple miles. My tailbone was still injured from my previous weekend's 25K, so I traded my planned 10-mile run for a two-mile walk. But it's finally better, and I'm running again.

I also got a LuLu's Chocolate Chunk Cookie, which I enjoyed in the car after my walk.

And here's recent lunch plate. I made the Vegan Schnitzel from Evolving Vegan awhile back, and I froze a few patties for quick lunches. Last week, I thawed one out and whipped up this quick vegan schnitzel sauce (with dill and nooch!). On the side, I had some Air-Fried Potatoes and the rest of my Pop-a-roos Collard Greens.

Incogmeato + Shiro Wat(ish) + Salads!

When I was grocery shopping last week, I had Beyond Burgers on my list, but Kroger was fresh out. The only super-meaty plant-based burgers they had were the Morningstar Farms Incogmeato Burgers, which I hadn't tried yet. So I got those! I finally made one on Sunday night, and it tasted very much like Beyond. I probably couldn't tell the difference in a blind taste test. Really good!

Last night, I made a recipe that's been on my list forever! The Chickpea "Polenta" Stew from The No Meat Athlete Cookbook is inspired by Ethiopian shiro wat, which is one of my favorite wats. It's made with chickpea flour (not actual polenta), tomatoes, and onion, and it's traditionally blended into a creamy stew. But this recipe makes a chunky version. I've been enjoying it over brown rice with sauteed garlic chard on the side. Would be better with injera bread though!

On Sunday morning, I made a Breakfast Sandwich with the last of my BE-Hive seitan bacon. This has bacon, tofu egg, and avocado on sprouted grain.

Here's a salad I had for lunch on Sunday! I haven't been eating many salads lately since we're in kapha season (according to Ayurveda), but there was lettuce in my CSA. This has white beans, nooch, carrots, celery, green olives, dried cranberries, red onion, and a homemade miso tahini dressing.

Speaking of salads, here's another one I had recently (guess that part about not eating salads isn't really true). This is the Fried Chicken Salad from Imagine Vegan Cafe. They bread their own vegan chicken, and they made the vegan honey mustard dressing in house. It's great for when you want something kinda healthy and kinda not healthy. 

BLT for Breakfast! Pinole Pancakes!

BLTs aren't just for lunch. Serve bacon, lettuce, and tomato on a bagel, and you've got yourself a breakfast sandwich. That's what I did with this whole wheat Dave's Bagel stuffed with BE-Hive seitan bacon, tomato, and lettuce, plus some Violife cream cheese, which makes a great stand-in for mayo on a breakfast sammy.

Last Sunday, Paul and I ran the Memphis Runners Track Club Winter Off Road Series 3K at Shelby Farms. I ran a 25K trail race the day before, and my legs were trashed. So I figured some magic pancakes might help. These Buckwheat Pinole & Chia Pancakes are from the No Meat Athlete book (not the cookbook but the nutrition book), and they're inspired by the Tarahumara runners from Mexico who eat pinole and chia before their long runs. 

My run that afternoon went okay, but I also had some tailbone pain from falling on my butt in the 25K so that hurt. 

Here's a very quick weekday lunch of Bird's Eye Steamed Edamame Black Rice with some added tofu (that I seasoned with turmeric). The rice blend is a simple steam-in-the-bag meal. It has a mango sauce mixed in, and it's really yummy!

Pop-a-roos, the popcorn shop at Crosstown Concourse, has started offering lunch specials, and they've added vegetarian greens! I stopped by one day last and got some for lunch. They're served with cornbread, but I assumed that was made with eggs and butter, so I asked to leave that off. If you try them, be sure to ask for the veg ones because they also have greens with meat.

I enjoyed some of those greens along with some sauteed chard, chickpeas, quinoa, and avocado on a Grain/Green/Bean Bowl. Topped with lots of hot sauce!

Cauliflower Forever! And Some Other Meals!

Y'all, I really love cauliflower. It's so versatile. You can roast it, steam it, saute it, mash it, steak it, or even rice it. When I first saw Julia Murray of Hooked on Plants post this Roasted Cauliflower with Curry Tahini Sauce, I knew I had to make it. The recipe is in her e-book, which is my current obsession. You just roast a whole-ass cauliflower topped with the tastiest curry tahini sauce. 

I served mine with quinoa and some sauteed chard (another veg fave of the moment). Here's a shot fresh out of the oven. The sauce bakes into the cauliflower, and it's so freakin' good. Then, you drizzle even more sauce over it to serve. I could bathe in that sauce.

I had some leftover cauliflower, so I had that in a bowl with quinoa, chickpeas, and the rest of that sauce. Yum yum.

I've been eating protein oats after my runs all fall and winter because it's too cold out for smoothies. I used to enjoy smoothies all year, but now that I try to follow an Ayurvedic lifestyle, I'm trying to eat more seasonally for my dosha (vata-pitta). But oats get so boring sometimes, so one day last week when I couldn't stomach another bowl of oats, I made some easy Tofu Scramble with spinach and toast. No need to add post-run protein powder since tofu is already high-protein.

And here's a quick meal from Saturday night. I was so tired after my 25K trail race on Saturday, so we kept dinner simple with Boca Chicken Sandwiches and Air-fried Fries. Paul like his sandwiches plain (ketchup only), but I had vegan gouda, vegan mayo, lettuce, tomato, and pickles on mine!

Vegan Pho + Quesadillas + Raw Girls Treats

HAPPY INAUGURATION DAY!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited and relieved! Okay, I know you're here for the food ...

A couple Saturday nights ago, Paul and I were planning to pick up some vegan pho from Pho Binh. I'd been thinking about it all week, and on my 17 mile run that morning, the thought of vegan pho kept me going. But when we tried to call and place an order that evening, we realized they were still closed for COVID. Apparently, the restaurant's matriarch was hospitalized with COVID, so they're closed until she recovers. Our thoughts are with them! We love the Pho Binh family!

Since Pho Binh is the only place in Midtown I know of that has vegan pho, we had two options: 1) eat something else or 2) make our own pho. We opted for #2! I went to the Viet Hoa grocery store and purchased some vegan pho broth base, fried tofu, rice noodles, bean sprouts, cilantro, and jalapenos and got to work. This Vegan Tofu Pho was fantastic! It wasn't quite as amazing as Pho Binh's pho but damn close. 

When we order Pho Binh, we always get their Tofu Spring Rolls from the app menu. So we had to make some of those too. I had rice paper wrappers in the pantry, but I picked up some vermacelli and satay sauce at the Viet Hoa. It's so nice living down the street from a Vietnamese grocery. My roll wrapping skills aren't great, but they tasted good. We stuffed these with rice noodles, fried tofu, and lettuce. We don't like Thai basil, so we left that out.

One of my favorite easy meals is a Vegan Quesadilla! I made this one with mashed black beans, a slice of vegan gouda, lettuce, tomato, and lots of guacamole salsa.

On Takeout Thursday last week, I treated myself to some Raw Girls. Earlier that day, I learned that my March 50K goal race has been postponed for the third time (THANKS COVID), so I was pretty bummed. I considered getting some greasy takeout and wine, but I'm trying to not eat my feelings. So I'll save that decadent stuff for a celebratory meal. Instead, I got this healthy Vegan Curry Dahl and a Merry Fabulous Juice (beet-orange-pineapple).

The Raw Girls soups come in quart-sized bags and contain enough for two meals, so I had a serving as a soup with a vegan grilled cheese one night, and the next night, I had the curry over some jasmine rice.