Wasn’t the moon this morning gorgeous? Even though I was running slightly late for work, I still had to step out in the backyard in the cold and dark to try and snap it with my macro lens and got some okay shots.
But my night time photography skills still need a lot of work. :-)
Work has been just crazy still, so crazy that I haven’t been able to take a day off to make an Apple Hill trip yet – bummer! I love visiting Apple Hill in the fall, the scenery, pumpkins, apples, gourmet foods, and wineries are amazing. But going on a weekend can be totally insane. So I try to get a work day off to go each year and I’m not sure it’s gonna happen this year. :-( My sweet hubby surprised me with a cute fall gift basket when I got home today loaded with goodies I would have stocked up at on the trip – apple butter, pumpkin butter, pumpkin beer, apple cider, a pumpkin, and this adorable fall light strand that flashes.
Perfect to decorate my cube with tomorrow. :-)
Because this week has still been so busy, I’ve been trying to stick with simpler dinners and one of my favorite combos is cooking quinoa and textured vegetable protein together. They take about the same cooking time and water ratio making an easy vegan source for protein, fiber, and good carbs. It’s also my favorite pre-run dinner combo for being lighter on my stomach and fast digesting, not weighing me down. I have enough weighing me down this week! Last night I cooked quinoa and TVP in a fresh marinara sauce whipped up in the Vita-Mix.
I simmered 1/2 cup of quinoa and 1/2 cup of textured vegetable protein in 2 cups of water for about 15 minutes before pouring in the marinara sauce and cooking for another 10 minutes.
While I chopped up some brussels sprouts to saute in a little Earth Balance, salt, and pepper.
Just until they picked up a little char.
Perfect to serve with the steaming quinoa mixture.
A pretty light and simple dinner. The quinoa mixture made about 4 servings, great leftovers to freeze for emergency lunches or dinners at work.
Tonight I continued my laziness with two more products from a recent Trader Joe’s shopping bender.
Organic broccoli, pre-chopped of course, and organic tempeh. I just chopped the tempeh into cubes, tossed with a little olive oil and oven roasted at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
While a mini kitchen shark circled in case I dropped a tempeh chunk or two, turns out she’s a huge tempeh fan.
While baking, I threw together a new cheesy hemp seed sauce that was actually a success, a wonderfully thick and rich cheesy, curry sauce.
Hempy Chessy Sauce
- 1/2 cup shelled hemp seeds
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. curry powder
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
Place all ingredients into a high speed blender and blend to a smooth and creamy texture. Then enjoy! Makes about a cup of thick, rich, and tasty glop.
The sauce is very thick requiring it be scooped out from around the blade which I liked, perfect for dipping. But you might want to add a little more water if you want to drizzle it over dishes.
Again, another simple and fast dinner, but this one with my new fall centerpiece. :-)
Baked tempeh chunks are delicious, the texture reminds me of a heartier version of tater tots with crispy edges and a softer, nutty center and very fun for dipping.
I love the tater tot comparison…that sounds fabulous!
And the Hempy Chessy Sauce dip looks perfect. YUM!
Great work on the ‘tater tempeh’ and the dip :)
Yum, this all looks terrific. Its interesting to me that TVP is easy to digest for you, I can do tempeh and tofu but no way TVP!
Sorry to hear work isn’t slowing down for you, same deal here….it just never ends!
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Interesting on TVP for you, tofu and beans tend to be a problem for me.
Sorry about your work too, no fun feeling like we can’t get a break. :-)
I don’t like the taste/texture of most soy foods, but well-made tempeh is so yummy! Love the cheesy sauce!
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Thanks on the sauce and so true on tempeh, I’ve been going through about 2 packages a week lately!
Yum. I had some awesome bbq tempeh in the dining hall yesterday…it’s so sad that I think eating at the dining hall is a treat.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
The dining hall sounds pretty nice if they had BBQ tempeh, I’d enjoy that!
Looks good! I’ve been seeing cheeze sauce recipes right and left these days! I accidentally picked up a bitter batch of Brewers Yeast instead of Nutritional, so my dreams of cheeze sauces is on hold. Any ideas of what to do with Brewer’s yeast besides hiding it in smoothies?
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Brewer’s yeast is awesome on popcorn with a little olive oil and seasoned salt.
LOVE your photos (as usual!) I also marveled at the man in the moon this morning as the dogs frolicked beneath its shine.
Gonna try the cheesy hemp sauce. I could think of a thing or two that would marry beautifully with. Happy Fall to you! :-)