Our Beach Vacation

You may remember a few weeks ago we took our first vacation in several years. We arrived in Galveston late on a Sunday afternoon. We went to the beach as fast as we could. We were pleased to see a clean beach with few people.



We spent all the next day at the beach. I can’t tell you how great it was to be out of the rain we had been dealing with at home. Here, no clouds, nothing but sunshine.

As we are not ones to just sit on a beach towel all day, Chase and I spent all our time riding the waves on boogie boards. We must have ridden in a hundred times, and each ride was a thrill. We waded out…

…. waited for a good wave….

….then rode it in….

… and waited to do it all over again. I am always happy at the beach. I’m sure my face never looks like this in my office.

Taking a break.

The seawall.

We went downtown each night for dinner and strolling, sightseeing, and shopping. Sunday night in Galveston is not the same as it is in Austin. Most places were closed and we only managed salads and so-so veggie burgers for dinner. We noticed a Mediterranean restaurant and checked it out for the next night. It turned out to be great. I wish this picture had turned out better, because Chase’s Falafel Salad was excellent. It was a nice tossed salad with halved falafel patties drizzled with hummus surrounding it, and spicy salsa mounded in the middle. I gotta make my own version of this.

I was having serious broccoli cravings, but made do with this yummy fried cauliflower and tahini sauce.

We also got a veggie kabob platter.

The next night we scored at a Chinese buffet – plenty of steamed broccoli and other veggies, steamed rice, salads, fruits, and even veggie sushi.

One evening downtown we happened upon this giant chess match.

We spent one afternoon at Moody Gardens in the Tropical Rain Forest Pyramid. The grounds are beautiful. Here we are at the entrance.

Here’s Liz looking lovely in a tropical setting.

Many of the birds and small animals are free roaming inside the pyramid. Crystal, I waited and waited for two sloths to come down from the tree tops so I could a get a picture for you, but you know how slow they are! I did get a shot of a shy lemur. I love his big round eyes on his little round head.

Two turtles on a log.

A pair of parrots, one waving to Chase!

We were fortunate to enjoy a full moon while in Galveston, so walks on the beach at night were amazing – a time of reflection, meditation, soothing, and appreciation.

A No Cook Sunday Dinner & Birthday Cupcakes

Sunday was the first time we reached our normal high temp of 100 degrees. Inspired by Urban Vegan, Megan, DGMGV, and Vegan Noodle (sorry if I’ve left anyone out) we made a Sushi and Summer Roll Sunday dinner. We used half sheets of nori for the sushi and they were difficult not to overstuff. Chase made most of it. He got creative and rolled up some baked tofu along with red pepper, daikon, and cucumber.



I tried to be creative with the summer rolls. We filled the rolls with leafy greens, broccoli slaw, cilantro, mango, avocado, onion chives, and baked tofu. I wanted a couple of rolls without tofu for myself. To distinguish the rolls, I rolled the filling without tofu halfway, then added the chives, more cilantro, and the tofu (or not) so you could clearly see which roll was which.

I also made a yummy salad with spinach, mung bean sprouts, radish, oranges, mango, craisins, and peanuts. The fruit was so juicy I only needed a little dressing, so I mixed up 1 tablespoon each of soy sauce, maple syrup, and cider vinegar, and just a teaspoon of sesame oil.

I even changed up the broccoli and added a miso dressing using a recipe from The Saucy Vegetarian.

What a nice, light, and refreshing meal. Here’s a plate…..

… and the table.

I have been anxious to make Green Bean Swirl Bread ever since I saw it on Dr. Stonielove’s blog. The green paste is verrrry sticky and a little difficult to work with, but this is a delicious, slightly sweet bread. My top separated - that's never happened before - but we just overlooked that.

Isn’t it pretty (pretending the top is fine)? I’m envisioning a version with cherries in it for Christmas. I toasted slices of the bread and added fresh fruits and NadaMoo vanilla for our dessert. The bread is really nice toasted.

Yesterday was my mom’s birthday. She requested VWAV Lemon Gem Cupcakes. I reminded my nonvegan mother that she was asking for vegan treats, and she assured me those were her favorites. Yay! We like cake and not so much the frosting. Here’s what I hastily baked Monday night.

They were the best batch I’ve ever made. The cake was so soft and lemony. Last night we went out to eat at my mom’s favorite seafood restaurant. She called ahead and was assured the chef could prepare two vegan entrees. On most occasions, Chase and I have been very well accommodated. But last night we were shocked when the waitress told us the chef could make us baked potatoes without butter. I almost said, Well I would hate for him to go to any trouble. But we made out okay. We ordered broccoli without hollandaise, sugar snap peas in sesame garlic sauce, and soba noodles without crab on top. Nothing was picture worthy, except the decoration on my mom’s dessert.

That's it for the family birthdays until next year.

Very Veggie Enchiladas, Rice, and Beans with Spinach

Hi, everyone! I missed being away. We had a fantastic beach vacation, but I did return home with a wicked ear infection so I’ve been a little slow getting back into the swing of things. I had to go to my GP, whom I hadn’t seen in so long my file was in storage. I totally can’t hear out of my right ear, and it is very frustrating. I’ve got pills and drops and am patiently waiting for my hearing to return. Anyway, I hope to get a few pictures together soon so I can share a bit of our vacation with you.

Per Chase’s special request, Sunday dinner was a Tex Mex meal. The entrée we made is what we lovingly refer to as “Spa-chiladas” as the recipe is adapted from my Lake Austin Spa cookbook, Fresh. I finely chopped zucchini, cauliflower, yellow potatoes, red bell pepper, onions, and added in a little corn. I hope this doesn’t get to be an obsession with me, but I prepared over a dozen different vegetables again in this meal. Anyway, here’s the filling.



While I prepped the sides, Chase and Liz steamed the tortillas and beautifully rolled up a dozen enchiladas for our dinner and a dozen for them to take home and eat later.

The sauce is made simply from reduced tomato juice, onions, garlic, adobo paste, a bit of brown sugar, and spices. I poured it over the enchiladas and then baked them.

When the enchiladas are hot out of the oven, you top them with a lightly dressed salad of shredded lettuce, slaw, radishes, cilantro, and green onions.

Chef Conlan says you will never go back to regular enchiladas once you eat them this way. They are truly our favorite.

Of course we had to start with homemade chips and guacamole – you know we love Alton Brown’s recipe.

For our sides we had the requisite rice and beans. I used slightly adapted recipes from Rick Bayless’ Mexico One Plate at a Time. I made it easy on myself and selected recipes that were best made a day ahead.

Arroz Rojo, which I made into Arroz Rojo con Serranos y Cilantro. I added in the frozen peas before reheating the rice.

Frijoles Enchipotlados con Espinacas, which is Chipotle Beans with Spinach. This is a fantastic recipe, which actually calls for the addition of masa dumplings for a stew. I will definitely make this again in the winter for a hearty black bean stew dinner. I brought the already prepared beans to a simmer before dinner, then added in a bag of baby spinach. The spinach is a wonderful addition – I highly recommend it.

I also made Melty Cheese Sauce from LDV – not bad, but not necessary either. Here’s our table.

Here’s my plate – there’s always room for broccoli!

Have you counted a dozen veggies yet? Now we can add 4 fruits. Chase also requested a warm apple pie in a crispy phyllo crust. I blind baked the phyllo in a pie pan, then added in caramelized cinnamon apple slices. In keeping with the Tex Mex theme, I also made a fruit “salsa” of blueberries, strawberries, and mangos to go with it.

A nice slice.

A couple of personal items: On Saturday I took my four favorite kitchen knives to the Knife Sharpist, the only professional knife sharpener in town. $3.50 apiece, while you wait, money well spent - I’m so happy.

Veggie Girl – thanks for naming me a Rockin’ Girl Blogger! You rock too!

Crystal – I will email you my mustard recipe.


The beach is so much nicer than my office …. *sigh*

And We're Off!

Just a quick post before we head out for the beach. Saturday we celebrated my dad’s birthday. I brought food gifts. I baked him a very nonvegan chocolate birthday cake, his favorite with lots of butter, eggs, and buttermilk. I also made another of his favorites, deviled eggs. The vegan treats I made him are blackbean salad, which you’ve seen a bazillion times, his mom’s recipe for French Dressing (not much to see from the picture, but it’s deliciously sweet) and spicy mustard.

Since my dad was grilling burgers, I made Sunflower Lentil Pie (using carrots instead of the hated celery) and Tahini Mustard Sauce for me and Chase to eat. It was great! I also took a bag of broccoli took micro-steam and some sautéed veggies that needed to not go to waste. My dad also grilled us a wonderful assortment of veggies that included Brussels sprouts and potatoes. They were way better than what I brought!

My sweet wonderful mom bought me and Chase Oatscreme and 2 huge vegan espresso brownies from Dhaba Joy. Yummeeee!

I also made a loaf of veggie bread for my friend that’s keeping Smokey while we’re gone. It kind of sunk on top, so I’m hoping it tastes better than it looks.

Here’s our hotel food – lunch and snacks. I hope I have room for suitcases!

Wishing us all warmth and sunshine!

A Mediterranean Vegetable Feast

After another 3 inches of rain last week, which puts us now at 15 inches above normal, Sunday was miraculously warm and sunny. I only mention this because (a) I’m so sick of rain I could cry; and (b) it’s thunderstorming as I post. Now I don’t know if it’s because we were in an especially happy sunny mood, or because of the sheer volume and variety of food we prepared, but we all agreed that this past Sunday dinner was truly one of the best we had eaten in a long time. I had two refrigerators full of fresh veggies and this dinner featured at least a dozen different ones, grilled, roasted, and in salad form. Of course I forgot to take a picture of my roasted veggies, so I will just mention that they were mostly green beans, with mushrooms, yellow squash, calabaza squash, red bell pepper, and onions, and seasoned with oregano, garlic, paprika, etc., and our featured herb, rosemary.

I also made a cold Broccoli Salad (surprise) with carrots, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, black olives, cucumber, and green onions. I made a vinaigrette dressing with Italian style herbs, garlic, and a little red pepper flakes and mustard. This was spicy good. Oh, I think we’re already at a dozen veggies!




I was hoping for grilling weather because I had been dying to grill potatoes on rosemary skewers. I found some fresh but smallish sticks of rosemary and purple potatoes. I boiled the potatoes until pretty much done, then pierced them with bamboo skewers, and then threaded them onto the stripped rosemary stems.

Before they went on the grill, I wrapped the top leaves in foil and brushed them with leftover tofu marinade (see below), but the tops of the stems actually burned and fell off. It didn’t affect the flavor, only the presentation. The flavor was not overwhelming, but a wonderful infusion of the rosemary into the potatoes, and the skins get crispy. I definitely recommend you give this method a try.

I was also anxious to use my grill wok again, so I prepped asparagus, red bell pepper, and purple onions for it. I also recommend a grill wok - totally yummy and no veggies slipping through the grate!

In keeping with our Mediterranean theme, I made a Romesco Sauce for all the veggies. I used one fresh tomato and one roasted pepper, but I think next time it would be best to go either all fresh or all roasted. It also had almonds, jalapeno, garlic, fresh rosemary and parsley, so who could complain really?

Another superb sauce I made was Celine’s Creamy Pumpkin Almond Sauce. I added this to quinoa pasta and it was soooo perfect with all the crunchy veggies. The sauce is a little sweet on its own, and creamy rich and delicious with pasta. I can’t wait to test more of Celine’s recipes. They are all so wonderful!

Chase needs tofu, so I baked him some using VWAV Italian marinade. I used Marsala wine and lots of rosemary and it was fabulous, as are all of Isa’s recipes. (This marinade is what I brushed the potatoes with.)

Chase warmed his tofu on the grill before dinner and ate it with the pasta. Well I can’t eat tofu, so I needed something else for protein. I almost didn’t make this because, let’s face it, I’ve gone overboard again. But I’m glad I did because it was so good. I followed a recipe from Mediterranean Vegan for Chickpeas with Tahini Sauce, and added in fresh cooked spinach and sundried tomatoes. Yum, yum, yum! It was like an amazing chunky hummus.

I served the pasta and roasted veggies from the stovetop, and put everything else on the table. There are toasted pitas too, essential for dipping in the Romesco and pasta sauces and the chickpeas.

Here’s my plate. I was in vegetable heaven.

Yes I did make dessert. I had also been dying to make something with shredded filo dough. I had seen it before at my Mediterranean market, but it’s 15 miles away, so I just bought the regular stuff and shredded it myself. From my research, I determined that to make fancy things with it, you would use it as a wrapper, like for fish or potatoes, or make bowls using muffin tins, or what I decided on – nests. I formed the shreds into nests, then drizzled a little melted EB and vanilla over them. I think next time I will mix the dough with the melted butter and then form the nests, because the dough dries so fast and I was a slow nest builder.

So the dessert was to plate a nest…..

…. then add fresh peaches and strawberries, and top it with vanilla Rice Dream and almonds. OMG these were so good! Chase and Liz ate two!

I admit it – we are pigs on Sundays, but only on Sundays. We have such fun in the kitchen and at the grill together and that’s what it’s really all about. Plus Chase gets to take home all the leftovers.

Before I go I have to mention that I made Kris’s Oatmeal Drizzles from Damn Tasty. I had one hour to make a thank-you treat, and this was perfect. The cookies are so pretty and so yummy and easily do-able in an hour. They were a much appreciated gift.

I cooked like a crazy woman this weekend because for one thing, I’ve been eating fresh and simple throughout the week, and secondly, I finally get to take Chase with me on vacation! This Sunday we’re off to Galveston to enjoy hopefully rainfree time at the beach and new vegan restaurant fare. I’ll make the blog rounds and try to get in another post before we leave. Yay!