Squirrel’s Vegan Kitchen

I have been very busy lately, and it makes me sad to look back at the last few posts and see them span a few months. About a month ago I started a new job, at a credit union doing work similar to what I was doing in AZ, so between that and working on the book (and it’s accompanying website) I’ve been swamped and not cooking very much at all. We’ve been throwing together random meals and eating boring stuff, but things are starting to settle down a bit and I’m looking forward to some new kitchen adventures.

Trader Joe’s started carrying some frozen vegan fried rice. Fried rice without eggs is so hard to come by, so we had to try it.

I stir fried up some extra firm tofu with toasted sesame oil and some soy sauce and added in some fresh broccoli. The mix was good, but a bit greasy for my taste. Jim loved it and we’ll probably buy it to keep in the freezer (since we now have one that works!) for when we’re in a pinch.

Coconut lemongrass curry simmer sauce from a jar, another TJs find. I got part way into it before realizing that I didn’t have any garbanzo beans, so I used pinto instead, along with potatoes and carrots. I really like the lemongrass flavor in this sauce. Served over brown basmati rice.

The Trader Joe’s I shop at has a little fresh produce and herb market attached to it, which is very convenient if you’re at all familiar with TJ’s lackluster produce selection. Well, I walked in there a week ago to find ripe, single, organic bananas were 10/$1! What a steal! Our usual 5-6 bunch costs about $2.50. We’ve been spending a lot of money on bananas too, now with our banana ice cream habit. I quickly became the crazy banana lady and walked out of there with 30 bananas! I got them home, peeled them and popped them in the freezer. We’re now fully stocked for ice cream making… at least for a little while.