These are like Snickers.
I follow the Vegan Snickers recipe, but only mostly, because I just use whatever the ingredients I have in the house, so they are a bit different every time.
But whether they are Snickers or not doesn’t really matter, because these were delicious!!
The ingredients are relatively “health”, but they are still dangerous because once I start eating I have a hard time stopping!
I did eat burgers before I started the plant-based diet, but it was never my favorite.
Actually when I really think about it, most of the time I did eat a burger was at some kind of gathering with family or friends, which means it was usually not my choice.
Even now I typically prefer patties that are made of vegetables, but once in a while I do have craving for a meaty burger (and my husband does enjoy it very much).
So we buy pre-made plant-based burgers once in a while.
A good thing is that more and more companies are making them.
Currently we are trying out different ones and see which we like the best.
We have tried Aldi’s Soy Protein Burger, Beyond Burger, and Gardein’s “Ultimade Plant-Based Burger”.
I did not care for the Aldi’s at all.
Its texture seemed weird to me (I do like their veggie and lentil burgers, but they don’t do much if you have craving for a meaty burger).
I do like Beyond Burger, and I feel comfortable ordering a burger from a vendor/restaurant if they tell me that’s what they use.
I have cooked the Gardein’s for my husband, and I do not like its smell while it’s being cooked.
I never tasted it myself, but my husband says it’s good.
Today we tried Dr. Prager’s Perfect Burger for the first time.
It cooked beautifully, and we both liked it very much.
The taste, texture, and smell were great, and it definitely satisfied our craving for a burger.
My husband made a burger with a bun and everything, but I was in the mood for rice, so I made a cheeseburger rice bowl.
This time the burger was pre-made, but the ketchup and the cheese were homamde.
Growing up, I ate a lot of noodles.
Any types of noodles, from ramen, to yakisoba, to spaghetti, to Soba.
When I was 8, I was making noodle dishes myself on weekends.
So it’s so natural to me that I cook noodles for lunch still.
Several of my favorite toppings.
Natto, scallion, fried onion, grated radish, Nori roasted seaweed, and a vegan egg.
I like to use radish instead of Daikon, which is typically used, because of its beautiful color.
I like my Soba sometimes cold and other times hot.
Today I was in the mood for hot Dashi soup.
It’s been a while since last time I made English muffins, and I felt it was time to make some again.
I’m getting used to dealing with sourdough now, but it is still a bit tricky when it comes to timing.
This time I ended up having to get up at 5:00 a.m. to finish these.
No complaints thought.
They turned out delicious!
Beautiful nooks and crannies.
Today’s breakfast.
Freshly baked sourdough English muffin, toasted and buttered, scrambled turmeric tofu, sesame kale salad with blueberries, and grapes.
So good!!
My mother was a wonderful cook and baker, but more than anything she was an adventurous one.
She loved trying new recipes, and I think it came from her general attitude toward life, that she loved (and loves) to learn new things.
When I was little, cheesecake was not well known in Japan.
It was not something you could buy at cake shops or bakeries, and few people knew about it.
Yet, my mother was baking cheesecake at home!
Interestingly, my mother’s cheesecake contained processed cheese, not cream cheese.
Soon, cheesecake did become extremely popular, and everyone began making it at home.
I did try various types of cheesecake, mostly made with cream cheese, but my mother’s cheesecake continued to be one of my favorites.
I do bake cheesecake myself, and usually I use cream cheese (until I started the plant-based diet), but yesterday this idea of using a different type of cheese came to me.
I happened to have homemade vegan cheddar, and I thought it would be fun to use it.
I wasn’t completely sure about this.
Not about not using cream cheese, but that the “cheese” I was going to use is plant-based and not dairy.
But it turned out really good!
(This is not my mother’s recipe.)
It was nice and moist, and I found the unique cheddar flavor wonderful.
Oden is one of my comfort foods, and I enjoy it particularly in winter.
I like my Oden simply with mustard, but this time I decided to make sweet dark miso glaze, which was great for this.
Seriously, this vegan egg is awesome!
I have one trusted recipe for many of my favorite foods, but for some reason my quest for the perfect banana bread continues.
It’s not that I have been unhappy with the banana bread I’ve made so far.
It’s rather that I feel like I can make a better version every time I make some change.
One thing I can say is that I’ve been liking more and more the non-sweetener version, using only the natural sweetness from the bananas.
This sourdough version turned out really good, and this may be my favorite so far.
Because of the lack of oversweetness, this is absolutely perfect for breakfast.
When I have all the cool vegetables, but I can’t think of any particular dish you can make to showcase them, I like to use them for Bento.
It’s always fun to open the mini Furoshiki (cloth wrapper).
It brings some excitement (even when I know what’s inside!).
I didn’t have to make any major cooking for this.
Most of the things were already pre-cooked and stored in the fridge.
Today’s breakfast: Shokupan toast, vegan omelet, homemade vegan bacon, grapes, and sauteed kale, mushrooms, and peppers, vegan.
I enjoy baking different types of bread, but I always come back to this, something I grew up eating on the regular basis.
I’m not on the gluten-free diet, but this movement has made many including myself realize that you can make so many things without gluten (flour).
I still stick to flour when the gluten version tastes better, but I’ve also discovered dishes that I actually like better gluten-free!
Okonomiyaki is a great example.
I always thought flour was a must ingredient, but then I started experimenting with other ingredients, and I now like the non-flour version.
I’ve made Okonomiyaki mainly with tofu and chickpea flour, but this time I decided to add some oatmeal.
The addition of oatmeal was such a hit!
It added the unique texture, and I really enjoyed it.
For the batter I used…
Tofu, chickpea flour, oatmeal, water, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, cumin, turmeric, onion powder.
This time I added cabbage, garlic flower, scallion, mushrooms.
It was covered with Okonomiyaki sauce and served with hummus-like paste, fried onion, and fresh scallion.
This was so delicious!!
This is probably my favorite Okonomiyaki I’ve ever made.
Who knew I find the vegan and gluten-free version better than the real thing!
