So What The Heck Do We Eat? -- Day 125, Hodgepodge

I have been cooking but it has become rather hard to keep up posting more often.  We always seem to have many things piling up onto the to-do lists.  "It's always something" has been such a cliche in our household now.  I didn't have time to come up with any new recipe.  Nor did I participate in any cooking contest like I planned.  I cooked from cookbooks and my recipe collection.  Alas!  'Tis life.  We ought to be grateful for what we have though.  My husband and I have begun our little "self-compliment" group, inspired by LaidOutInLavendar.  It is not easy at all.  Gosh, I never knew it could this hard to say a few nice things about ourselves without feeling weird or discouraged.  But we are trying.  It's much easier to compliment each other, but when it comes down to the self-compliment...  I guess we just don't know ourselves well enough.

Anyway, here comes the food porn, as usual.  The first thing is from VwaV, page 28, "Fronch" Toast.  It was great, but next time I will definitely add some cinnamon and nutmet to make it more traditional.

Fronch Toast

The second thing is Bryanna's Hunan Tofu.  I made this before, a long while ago that I can't even remember.  This time I didn't even fry the tofu beforehand because I wanted more of a soft and juicy texture.  It turned out even better than I remembered.  Surely a keeper!

Bryanna's Hunan Tofu

And I served the Hunan Tofu with Indian-Spiced Quinoa from Vegan Planet (page 229).  I skipped raisins because I generally don't like them in the savory dishes and used walnuts instead of pine nuts as I simply ran out.  It's the first recipe I have tried out of this vegan cookbook.  I loved the flavors and short preparation time.  I will definitely try some other recipes soon.

Hunan Tofu and Indian-Spiced Quinoa with Walnuts

Finally, a recipe from one of my favorite vegan cookbooks, Eat, Drink & Be Vegan - Monkey Minestrone (page 97).  I totally adored this soup, but my husband actually preferred my own minestrone.  How sweet!  I didn't use any corn, but added some potatoes and soy beans.  I think the soup was made more earthy and meaty this way.  I also added three tablespoons of tomato paste to make the soup thicker.

Monkey Minestrone