Quinoa Pesto-Asparagus -Tomato Salad

I've come up with this idea when my sister had a pesto noodle salad in Amsterdam. As good as my idea was I chose a rather bad day to make the salad — I had too little pine nuts, used too little garlic and the tomatoes tasted like nothing.



But I'll definitely make this again! This time with the perfect pesto and sundried tomatoes! This is exactly the flavor it was lacking.

Grilled Veggie Bagels, Sundried Tomato Zucchini Mix & Linguine with Pesto

Half the fun is getting there... even if it means you have to sit between bikes!



Amsterdam was so much fun! I went with my best friend, the one I made all the PB birthday treats for. He gets along perfectly well with my sister so we explored the city together and enjoyed lovely hours at Cafés & Bars and the Vondelpark of course, where I also spent my birthday lying in the sun!



Ha ha, loved it!



The parrots were there, too! I woke up, looked out of the window and was like "See, the parrots came to greet you!" "Huh, PARROTS???" Ha ha =p



I also experienced Queensday for the first time. Lovely, great weather, great music! Like a small Loveparade ;)



I did not eat out a lot though, because I had to watch my money. I got this Avocado & Tomato Bagel the first day we got there which was 4.40 or something and very tasty!





I spent lots of money at Albert Heijn, basically living on the typical soft toast-like bread that I spread with a tomato pasta sauce, ready-to-eat salad mixes and fresh tomatoes. Oh, and not to forget the tasty ontbijtkoek!

I was more than happy to come home and find a wrapped Veganomicon upon my birthday gifts =D
I was looking at the recipes and pictures going "Ohhh, I craved something like that all week!" at basically each and everything that contained veggies =p

So as much as I missed preparing my own meals I now miss my sister a whole lot and would happily go a week without vegetables again if it meant I could see her again.
Oh well, I'll see her in two months hopefully!



So after my craving for veggies and the rediscovered love for healthy bagels I finally used my grill pan I got at IKEA and it works so well, I can say I'm in love!

The grilled veggies: eet smakelig!!!



I marinated a sliced zucchini, asparagus, scallions, a can white beans, a jar roasted bell pepper and fresh mushrooms (for le boyfriend) in a Tbsp. olive oil, 3 or 4 cloves of minced garlic and lots of rosemary (fresh aswell as dried) and thyme.

With an everything bagel.



My whole-wheat sunflower seed bagel.





Het waar lekker!

Then I made this a few days ago. I don't know what I should call this. Stir-Fry? Side dish? Anyway, it was good ;)



Long grain white rice, wild rice and some special red rice which I can't remember the name of.
I used 1 zucchini, 1/2 cup asparagus and 1 cup sundried tomatoes cut into small pieces. I mixed the vegetables with 2 Tbsp. tomato paste and 3 heaping Tbsp. of a spicy sundried tomato-walnut paste I had bought, along with black olives marinated in garlic on top. This was pretty spicy! I liked the taste, but my stomach isn't used to even the slightest heat so I didn't feel too well after eating it. I gave the rest to my parents and they both liked it very much, it being spicy in particular! Seeing people happily eating my food and complimenting me always makes me wish I had my own vegan Café/Bistro =) Someday... he he!

After buying fresh basil again I finished off the whole plant in one sitting because I craved pesto. I bought whole wheat linguine because I was really in the mood for pasta.
As for the preparation... I had VwaV, HiaV and a vegetarian cookbook lying open looking at the recipes and in the end didn't follow one.



I used 3 1/2 cups basil, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 Tbsp. pine nuts and 3 Tbsp. grated almonds (estimated, I just tipped them into my blender from the bag) and about 1/3 cup water and a little salt.

Then I mixed under some zucchini sautéed in garlic and topped it off with fresh tomatoes!



This was exactly what I had needed! Pesto never fails to make my day when it's homemade. So much better than the jarred stuff!
The boyfriend ate it too. And you know what? He didn't say anything about the noodles. He HATES (better yet fears for a to me unknown reason) anything whole-wheat like so many people do. Just another proof that What the eye does not see, the heart does not grieve over. Hope the translater gave me the right saying here =p

It's good to be back! Hope everyone's doing good!

Chili Con Vegetales & a simple sandwich

Like many people I have trouble sticking to a recipe. I can't help it, when my eye catches something lying around in my kitchen that appeals to me, I throw it in. Most of the time this is not particularly a bad thing though.

I kind of followed the Chili recipe from HIAV. I used kidney beans instead of black beans and also threw in a few cherry tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, some Pesto Rosso, many many spices(a hint too much chili powder) and a tiny bit soy sauce.



Before going to bed I made myself a simple sandwich. A toasted whole-wheat bread roll with a thin layer of my homemade Onion Cream Cheese(I added some garlic and more pepper), followed by a thin layer of mustard and topped with fresh salad, orange bell pepper and tomato slices sprinkled with fresh black pepper. Sometimes it's the simplest things that are the best.



I went grocery shopping last night and bought regular Tofu along with silken Tofu. I really want to try Scrambled Tofu, because everyone around the blogsphere seems to love it. And either I will give the Tofu sour cream another try or bake something really fancy with the silken Tofu. We'll see!
And I bought chickpeas because I'm dying to try out the roasted tomato hummus recipe. That on a sandwich... I imagine this must be simply delicious!

Raspberry Apple Pear Pancakes & Spaghetti with Pesto Rosso marinated vegetables and crumbled Tofu

Yesterday, as I was looking though my kitchen repertoire, the pears and apples laughed at me and so here we go again with some more delicious filling Pancakes.



Ingredients
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsp. apple saue
1 cup soy milk
2 Tbsp. Agave syrup
1 apple, diced
1 pear, diced
1/2 cup raspberries





But even after this fruity snack, I didn't feel satisfied and craved something hearty so I threw together a bunch of stuff. And I know I said I didn't like Tofu too much, but I bought some a few days ago and I was very pleased this time.

Spaghetti with Pesto Rosso marinated vegetables and crumbled Tofu



Ingredients
Spaghetti (for 1-2 servings)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup brussel sprouts
1/2 zucchini, sliced
1 cup cauliflower
1 cup broccoli
1/2 cup bell pepper
1 cup spinach
1/2-1 cup Tofu, crumbled
2 Tbsp. Pesto Rosso
thyme, basil, rosemary, chili, oregano, salt, pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1-2 Tbsp. soy sauce
pine, pumpkin and sunflower seeds (optional)

1. cook the pasta
2. cut brussel sprouts in half, cut the bell pepper, broccoli, cauliflower and zucchini
2. in a sauce pan heat up olive oil, add onions, stirr on medium heat until golden
3. add garlic
4. add vegetables, season with desired spices to taste, cover up and cook on low for about 15 min.
5. when pasta is done, add the spinach (I used frozen spinach)
6. in a bowl, crumble Tofu and add 2 Tbsp. Pesto Rosso, mix well
7. add 1/2 of the Tofu mixture to the vegetables cooking, mixing well
8. add the rest of the marinated Tofu to the Spaghetti, mix well
9. when vegetables are done, add balsamic vinegar and soy sauce
10. add vegetables to the Spaghetti, stir well and serve with sunflower, pine and pumpkin seeds

I'm eating the left-overs as I am writing this. It's good, but it's definitely missing some red ingredients(red bell pepper, tomato...). But that's only because I didn't have anything else left here.

Anyway, the most exciting thing: How It All Vegan and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World arrived yesterday!!!
I'll definitely make something today, but there are sooo many many great recipes in there. Picking one is going to be tough!