Vegan?

It's true. I have been a total slacker lately when it comes to this food blog. That's what happens when you have no time and no money. My apologies, honestly I don't think I even know what I have been doing the past week or so. 

Bean Stew
(pretty straight forward - a bunch of beans)

At the beginning of this summer I went vegan for probably a month and a half (it might have been two). I felt great, it was something new and adventurous - but I will straight up admit it, that was a hard thing to do. Not so much at home, because I really don't keep any dairy or eggs in the house, but going out to eat with friends was so ridiculous. There really aren't very many places that cater to that lifestyle, which is kind of unfortunate. I don't know what exactly convinced me to go back to my old habits of eating seafood and some dairy on occasion, but I did, and lately I have definitely felt the difference. So today is the day that I give veganism another shot. The hardest thing to give up is seafood, it's so unique and delicious and I know it has great health benefits to it. Frankly, when I gave up cheese and eggs before I stopped craving them - so that may not be as difficult.

My first (second try) Veganism post will be about a vegan creamy sauce. I used to like creamy sauces, but eventually they all made me feel gross, so fattening and heavy. I was craving something along those lines today but fought temptation and decided to create something on my own. Don't hate me guys, but I definitely didn't measure ANYTHING to make this... I mean it's a sauce - pour some shit in a pan, mix it around and taste it until it's what you like.  

Creamy Vegan Sauce

• Tahini
• white miso paste (whisk in lukewarm water)
• nutritional yeast
• soy sauce (only a little bit)
• Rice wine vinegar (also only a little bit)
• Pepper
• Siracha 

The last two were for some additional flavor.

Mix in the miso paste with water first. Then add tahini and then the rest of the ingredients. You can make this sauce either hot or cold, this time I just kept stirring it all together in a sautee pan with the heat on low. I cooked the noodles according to directions, got rid of the water and then added the noodles to the sauce. To make this dish even more crazy I added some capers and mixed in some cilantro pesto I made a few days before.

Cilantro Pesto

• 1 cup cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1 garlic clove
• olive oil to taste (and thickness)
• A squeeze or two of SIRACHA!

Delicious. This was an excellent dish that I definitely want to make again. Especially the tahini cream sauce. It's hard to explain but it has a creamy consistency with a slightly nutty taste. The soy sauce and rice vinegar bring it all together and the siracha gives it that tiny little kick. p

So there we go. On to being a vegan for awhile. I just got a crock pot too... I wonder what kind of creations I can do with that! Stay Tuned! 

Oh and by the way... if you haven't heard about this or seen it on all of my social media platforms - Please vote for my proposal for SXSW  Just give me a thumbs up. Thanks! xoxo