Man, I’ve been slacking on the MOFO thing this past weekend. I worked all weekend, plus I didn’t feel very well, so I was never really in the mood to blog. But something exciting did happen! I got my copy of Julie Hasson’s Vegan Diner in the mail that I had won off the Cadry’s Kitchen blog. It’s a beautiful cookbook, and all the recipes look delicious (see below!). I also bought Carribean Vegan from Amazon and an waiting for that book to arrive.

One day this weekend I found myself really craving a nice, big salad. This is what I threw together:

Mixed greens, quinoa cooked with turmeric, zucchini, noochy tofu “croutons”, red onion, and red sauerkraut with a maple mustard balsamic dressing (not pictured). It was very filling. Tofu croutons are easy; it’s just baked tofu that’s been marinating in nooch and extra virgin olive oil and baked for 20+ minutes. I love quinoa in a salad because it is such a filling and healthy component.

For lunch today, I immediately decided to make something out of Vegan Diner. I settled on the smoky potato scramble from the breakfast section.

Unfortunately, I started cooking first and checked my pantry second. Turns out I was completely out of paprika, and that’s what was supposed to add the smoky quality to this scramble. No worries though. I added hickory smoked sea salt and there was that same hint of smokiness. I also love potatoes and tofu together in the same dish – it’s something I’ve done a few times and it’s a nice way to make a tofu scramble heartier. I’ve also baked tofu and potatoes together as a side with a marinade, and it comes out nicely.

On an unrelated note, here’s a nice picture I took earlier.

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There is a fascinating article at the New York Times website about the Nautilus and how the jewelry and accessory trade may be making these creatures go extinct.

I’m wondering: what are your favorite quick salad dressings? For the first picture above, I mixed olive oil with stone-ground mustard, balsamic vinegar, and a drop of maple syrup.