Pic a Day - 6/26 to 7/2

Mon. June 26, burst mode to catch a lightning bolt

Tues. June 27, Jelelah and BoBo out for a drive

Wed. June 28, the Pino trail has probably been my favorite so far

Thurs. June 29, weird bathroom stall convo...

Fri. June 30, cooking a vegan sausage and bean soup

Sat. July 1, walking the Rinconada Canyon trail at Petroglyph Nat'l Monument

Sun. July 2, hammock haven

Pic a Day - 4/4 to 4/10

Mon. Apr 4, no, I am not starting a lentil-chips store in my bedroom

Tues. Apr 5, STOP

Wed. Apr 6, Maria and Mikey <3

Thurs. Apr 7, lovin' my quinoa

Fri. Apr 8, the bleak dimension

Sat. Apr 9, reading a graphic novel (this is actual homework)

Sun. Apr 10, National Siblings Day (my mom and her bro)

Pic a Day - 12/21 to 12/27

Mon. Dec 21, quinoa and a black bean burger for a Meatless Monday brunch

Tues. Dec 22

Wed. Dec 23, creamy broccoli soup (from Single-Serving Vegan!)

Thurs. Dec 24, this book only caught my interest when I went for the audio version

Fri. Dec 25, Mom with her Amazon CDs, Ravi with his Watchmen book, and Dad with his shot glass beakers

Sat. Dec 26, to the movies

Sun. Dec 27, "what's taking you so long?"

Single-Serving Vegan: Avocado-Spinach Panini

Ingredients:
1/2 avocado, diced
anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 cup spinach
1/2 tomato, sliced
2 slices of ciabatta bread, or a sliced ciabatta roll
1 clove of garlic, minced (optional)
olive oil

Directions:
Spray/brush bread with olive oil; layer avocado, tomato, spinach, and garlic on bread; if desired, spray with olive oil again. Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium heat; put sandwich in, weighing it down by placing another pan on top, either weighted with cans or applying pressure yourself (we used a cast iron skillet; those things are pretty heavy). Cook for 1-2 minutes. Flip; cook for another 1-2 minutes on low to no heat. Serve.

I'll tell you - this is darn good for a vegan sandwich.

This is adapted from a Vegetarian Times recipe, which you can check out here: http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/avocado-spinach-panini/ 

Single-Serving Vegan: Crisped Potatoes

Ingredients:
2-3 small/medium potatoes
olive oil
salt
pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Scrub or peel potatoes. Slice into less than 1/8 inch thick slivers or utilize mandolin slicer. Arrange slices on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Spray with olive oil. [If you don't have an olive oil sprayer, put potato slices in a colander/strainer, toss with olive oil, then arrange on parchment-paper-lined baking sheet.] Season with salt and pepper. Put in oven for 25-30 minutes. To crisp them better, remove potatoes on the edges that have already browned and rearrange slices while cooking until they are crisp enough to your liking.

Single-Serving Vegan: Zucchini-Rice Salad

Ingredients:
1/2 zucchini, diced
1 1/3 cups cooked white/brown rice
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
3 to 5 chopped kalamata/black olives
1 teaspoon chopped red/white onion
dressing

• 1 tsp balsamic
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Directions:

In a large serving bowl, combine rice, zucchini, pepper, olives, onion, and dressing. Mix well. (This says to refrigerate at least one hour before eating, but I just ate it room temperature instead, so, your call.) 

Single-Serving Vegan: Creamy Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
sprinkle of ground nutmeg
1 cup veggie broth
1 cup water
1/6 cup rolled oats
1 broccoli crown, cut
salt
pepper

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion; cook until soft (about 5 minutes). Add a pinch of ground nutmeg; cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Stir in garlic (if used), veggie broth, water, oats, and broccoli. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until broccoli is tender (10-15 minutes), stirring occasionally. Blend soup. Add more salt and pepper, if desired.

Serving Suggestion:
This soup is great to dip saltines or bread into. You may also drink the soup to avoid getting as many floret bits in your teeth.

Single-Serving Vegan: Garlic Green Beans

Ingredients:
a handful of green beans (Literally a handful. I went to the produce section and just picked out several legumes of my liking, so there is no limit to how much or little you can use.)
1 clove of garlic
olive oil
salt
pepper

Directions:
Rinse and cut the green beans (first the ends, and if you want you can cut the beans into segments of relatively equal and short length). Set a pot on the stove, half-full with water, and bring to a boil. Add green beans to water and watch for when they turn a brighter shade of green. Drain the green beans and set aside.
Smash and mince the garlic. Drizzle some olive oil into a non-stick pan (put on medium heat). Add garlic. Saute garlic until sizzling, then add green beans, still sauteing. Drizzle more olive oil, and add salt and pepper to your liking.