WIAW #33 & Roasted Golden Beet & Citrus Salad

   Hi Friends!

   Welcome to another edition of WIAW. This post was actually all set to go for last Wednesday but because I'm so brilliant I totally forgot to schedule the post Tuesday night. And Wednesday was a bit of a write off because I had a late night at work. So, I didn't even really look at a computer. That being said, the only thing the same about this post is the food pictures. It's funny when I reread some of my past posts that I've started but never finished, I can never manage to put myself back in the same frame of mind or mood that I was in when I started writing it. Does that ever happen to you guys? So, I scrapped the post, kept the photos and added a recipe. Enjoy!

Let's get started with the food...

First things first: Water! Not pictured, but you know the drill... water + lemon = a happy Vesna in the morning; Coffee! You can't see inside the mug but it's always organic and always black... I don't mess around. Breakfast: Another Strawberry Mango Smoothie... I'm obsessed! Snack: 1/2 a Grapefruit... this was quite possibly the size of my head and super juicy! After I was done eating the wedges I totally squeezed all the juices into my mouth. I know, I'm so lady-like... Lunch: Way later I had a simple Open-faced Sandwich on sprouted grain bread with, tomatoes, lettuce, sprouts, dijon mustard and a bit of hummus. Dinner: A Giant Salad with sweet potatoes, lettuce, peppers, cucumbers, sprouts and a citrus vinaigrette. Yum! Snack: I had a gorgeous bowl of organic cherries before heading off to bed. Oh man were these good and the perfect thing for my sweet tooth!

So, I promised you a recipe...

This salad was the bomb-diggity (do people say that anymore?) but it almost didn't happen. Thank goodness I decided to root around in my veggie crisper or I wouldn't have found the golden beets that I had bought the previous week. Hooray for small miracles!

Onto the recipe...

Roasted Golden Beet & Citrus Salad
Serves 1 as a meal
OR
Serves 2 as a side salad

Ingredients:

Salad:
2 medium golden beets, tops and bottoms trimmed
1/2 grapefruit, sectioned, juices reserved
1/2 - 1 small head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
1/4 small red onion, chopped
handful parsley, finely chopped
small handful alfalfa sprouts

Vinaigrette:
(feel free to double, triple, or even quadruple 
this recipe. I only made enough for the salad)
1 tbsp grapefruit juice
1-2 tsp white balsamic vinegar
1-2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1-2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp agave nectar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 415F. Wash the beets and trim the tops and bottoms but don't peel. Wrap them together in foil and place them directly in the center oven rack or on a shallow baking pan. Bake for about an hour or until fork tender. When the beets are ready, remove them from the oven and allow to cool before handling them. Once cooled, carefully peel the skin and slice them into wedges. Layer the romaine, beets, grapefruit, onion, sprouts and parsley on a plate. In a small bowl whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients and drizzle on top of the salad. Serve with a fork and a smile.

Happy Middle-of-the-Week Day!
Love,
Ves xx

And of course, I can't forget a photo of this little trouble maker!

Vegan MoFo #10: The Ultimate Vegan Cheese Sauce!

Hi Friends!

I have an amazing Cheese Sauce recipe to share with you today.  Let me tell you that I have tried so many different "cheese sauce" recipes and none have come close to this one.  It's thick, creamy, and oh so yummy.  I've adapted this recipe from one that I found on the interweb.  I was so intrigued with the use of potatoes and carrots that I had to investigate but, the rest of the recipe seemed a little too plain for my taste so I jazzed it up a bit.  The result was nothing short of amazing.

Remember, there is no actual cheese in this sauce so don't expect it to taste exactly like cheese.  But, do expect to add this to everything you eat!  You may even find yourself licking the blender.  Don't worry, you're not alone.

Ultimate Vegan Cheeze Sauce
Ingredients
2 cups peeled, boiled, and mashed potatoes (I used 3 medium potatoes)
1 cup peeled, chopped, and boiled carrots (I used 3 medium-large peeled carrots cut in 1 inch pieces)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/3 cup vegetable stock (water will work, too)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Herbamare
1/2 - 1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp mustard
1 tbsp Sriracha (optional, but adds amazing flavor)

Directions:
Boil your potatoes and carrots until they are fork tender, measure them in their mashed form (that step is more important for the potatoes than it is for the carrots) and add them to your blender.
Place the rest of your ingredients in your blender and process until smooth.  You may have to scrape down your blender a couple of times.
You can serve this immediately or store it in an air tight container in the fridge until you are ready to use it.  The sauce can be reheated on the stove or in a microwave.  Just  make sure you stir it really well.

I chose to try out the sauce on a Tofu 'Egg' Sandwich.  It was amazing!  I can't wait to smother this sauce onto a plate of vegan nachos!  Yum, yum!

TGIF and have a great weekend y'all!

Love,
Ves xx

Family Day!

   Hi Friends!

   It's Family Day here in Ontario which means my Monday was spent at home rather than at work!  I love holiday long weekends.  My sister and I spent the day together at my place watching old movies, chatting on Skype with our mom, painting our nails and eating yummy food.  It was a really fun day and a perfect way to spend Family Day, in my opinion.

Here's what Family Day looked like for me and my sis... oh, and Patchie, too!

Patchie was sunning herself all morning!  I couldn't get her away from the window (not that I tried!).

My sis and I grabbed a coffee on our way to my place and discovered that today is the first day of Roll up the Rim!  Woohoo! (I lost my first roll up... figures!)

My sister made a super delicious (and VERY garlicky) Guacamole.

Patchie trying to steal our Doritos.  Did you know that Sweet Chili Heat is vegan?  It sure is!

Dinner:  I made us "Egg 'n' Cheese" Sandwiches with tofu and my sister loved it.  (She hates tofu!)

We also had some girly fun painting our nails!

I think mine turned out pretty okay!

   I hope you guys had a great Family Day... or Islander Day as I'm told they call it in P.E.I.  Otherwise, I hope your Monday was about as awesome as mine was!

Love,

Ves xx

Have a Kind Long Weekend!

   It's the day before the Canada Day long weekend!  Some of you may have taken an extra day off work, starting your weekend early and to that I say, Luck You!  I'm off to work and hoping I don't melt in this heatwave that we're having.
   I thought I'd leave you with some 'kind' food ideas for your long weekend eats.  There's a little something for whatever you have planned.  Whether it's a BBQ cookout, cocktails by the pool, or a sweet tooth while watching the fireworks, I've got you covered.

Source

Start by enjoying some...

 Cheesy Layer Dip and 

 Sweet Potato Crisps while lounging by the pool sipping margaritas.

If it's BBQ fare that you're after try whipping up some...

  Beet Burgers, or...

 Bean Burgers along with...

 Coleslaw - vegan, of course - and

Vegan Caprese Salad.  Then wash it down with...

a Dreamy Dreamsicle Smoothie or,

a Chocolate Macashake.  Finish it all of with 

Chocolate Chip Cookies, of course (a side of [vegan]vanilla ice cream wouldn't hurt either!).

Have a safe and wonderful long weekend full of deliciously kind eats!

Love,
Ves xx

Childhood Favorites all Grown Up!

   What a busy weekend it's been.  And I can't believe that it's already JUNE.  How did that happen and where did the time go?  I've been helping my parents pack up their house all weekend and I have to say, it's a lot of work to pack up a whole house!  My mom and I made the best of it and pretty much laughed our you-know-what's off the entire weekend.  Needless to say, I'm exhausted and so are my parents, I'm sure. 
  When I got home Sunday night I was craving a grilled cheese sandwich.  Weird for me 'cause I hardly ever eat sandwich's these days but who am I to say no to a craving?  Ha.  I'm thinking the craving was there because I had spent the weekend going through a ton of childhood things.  Nothing says "kid's food" like a good grilled cheese! 

Onto the "recipe"...  ** (apologies for my awesome camera)

   I'm actually kidding, there really is no recipe to this.  I basically made this with what I had on hand, combined with the flavors that I love.
   I recently found Tofutti Cheese Slices at my local supermarket and grabbed a pack to satisfy my curiosity.  The cheese slices actually taste more like cream cheese rather than processed American slices.  I'm not a fan of these eaten cold and on their own, but when they were heated in a sandwich they definitely tasted better.  This cheese doesn't really melt but rather becomes a bit creamy.  I really liked the texture.  If you're looking for a super melty (is that a word?) grilled cheese, Daiya cheese is better for melting and so is this soy cheese that I buy from the Farmer's Market... not sure what it's called? <--- I'll add the name once I remember.  Ha! 

   I used fresh French Bread that my mother forced generously gave me to take home.  I spread some organic yellow mustard and organic Dijon on the inside and just a touch of Earth Balance on the outside of the bread.  Then I added tomato slices and cheese slices, a touch of oregano and cracked black pepper and it was ready for the grill!  I rounded out the meal with a cucumber, tomato salad.  I dressed it with a bit of lime, cracked black pepper and some nutritional yeast.  This meal was so yummy and definitely satisfied my craving for grilled cheese!

What's your favorite way to eat grilled cheese?

Love,

Ves xx