Vegan Stuffed Shells

My sister Sarah Lee invited Mark and I over for dinner earlier this month to share her new recipe for Vegan Stuffed Shells. I love how she has always been interested in making her recipes vegan-friendly and delicious! I’m going to make this recipe for lunch today, yum! Check out her recipe below:

Vegan Stuffed Shells, by Chef Sarah Lee

Ingredients: Filling
Hard Tofu, drained
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup fresh parsley
3 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/3 cup olive oil

Directions:
Boil Jumbo Shells as directed. In a large bowl add a splash of olive oil and pinch of salt to the drained shells. Mix and set shells aside to cool. Combine filling ingredients in food processor, adding the olive oil last as you pulse. Spread your favorite marinara sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Fill the cooled shells with the tofu mixture and place in baking dish. Pour additional marinara sauce over shells and bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees to warm, look for the edges to start bubbling. Optional: Serve with a fresh salad, or add sautéed mushrooms to the marinara. Enjoy!

I’ve got so much to work on this week – photographs from my Mom’s wedding, a set of Birthday Photo Booth pictures, projects around the house, and helping Mark finalize a new short documentary film. Looking forward to sharing that all with you soon!

xo angie

Motherhood

My Mom with her adorable daughter (me!)

My Grandmother Soledad with my Mom

My Grandmother Petra with my Dad

My sister Nadia with her son Dylan

My sister Sarah with her daughter Lillian

My sister-in-law Roberta with her son Jackson

My friend Frances with her sons Vonnegut and Reuben

Nadia, Sarah, Roberta, and Frances, thank you so much for bringing your children into my life. They have brought me so much joy and I’m so grateful to have such wonderful Moms as my sisters and friends. I also want to send love to my Mother-in-Law Vilma. It means a lot to me to be part of the Walley Family and I loved spending time with you today. Lots of love also to my Grandmothers Soledad and Petra, and all my aunt’s, cousins, and friends who have raised little ones. Thank you to all the women in my life who have been such amazing examples of motherhood.

xo angie

A Letter to My Mom on Mother’s Day

Dear Mom,
Thank you for being the sweet, generous, caring person that you are. You’ve always been there for Mark and I and supported our freelance filmmaking dreams. I never imagined saying these words to you, but you make the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen. I love you more than words can say. It hasn’t been easy letting you go, but I know that you’ll always be there when I need you. I’ll always be here for you too. Congratulations, I wish you and Neil the very best on your Wedding Day tomorrow and as your start your lives together.

Happy Mother’s Day!

xo angie

p.s. Special thanks to my wonderful hubby for taking this portrait of my Mom in her beautiful dress!

Veganized It! Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Vegan Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ah, finally time for a new sweet recipe. I’ve been really enjoying these yummy Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies since Frances and the boys baked them during our visit last week, meaning I’ve baked this recipe twice since then and eaten nearly all of the resulting cookies. This post is my second installment of my series Veganized It!, a series inspired by a collection of recipes on my Veganize This Pinterest board I’m veganizing for the hubby and I to enjoy. This isn’t just for us though! I hope you will enjoy vegan versions of these recipes as well! (Thanks again to Cara from Chickpea Magazine for the Pinterest board inspiration!)

Now for today’s recipe:
Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies from the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
View the original recipe here

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookie Batter

Thanks to my sister Sarah for the new cookie scoop!

All ready for the oven!

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup agave
1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 cup unbleached white whole wheat flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 cup finely shredded zucchini
1 cup vegan chocolate chips (Enjoy Life Brand)

Directions:
Combine wet ingredients in a large bowl or mixer. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl and slowly blend into the wet mixture. Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips last, mix well. Drop by spoonful (or 1 inch cookie scoop) onto prepared baking sheet and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350° for 10 to 15 minutes.

Out of the oven and ready to eat!

Yummy goodness!

Enough to share, if you’re so inclined…

They are perfect little mouthfuls of deliciousness. In my second batch I left out the nutmeg, which I thought was a little strong. Feel free to play with the recipe and share your results with me! Thanks to Frances and the boys for baking these for us when we visited, they are a wonderful addition to my recipe box!

xo angie

Local Review: Pho Saigon Vietnamese & Chinese Cuisine

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The hubby and I enjoyed a dinner date with my sister Sarah and her husband Travis at Pho Saigon recently. We had visited for lunch with Sarah before and were impressed with the how affordable and vegetarian-friendly the menu was. The owner even told us that they could make the pho broth vegetarian, and anything on the menu could be made with tofu. That’s one way to get me coming back!

Pho Saigon’s Vegetable Spring Rolls

Pho Saigon’s Vegetable Pho with Tofu

Pho Saigon’s Sautéed Mixed Vegetable with Tofu

Pho Saigon’s Tofu Bánh mì Sub-Sandwich (no mayo)

Pho Saigon’s Basil Eggplant with Tofu

All the food was hot and fresh, and had wonderful flavors. I really love their Bánh mì Sub-Sandwiches and Eggplant and Vegetables dish. I recommend you try Pho Saigon’s Vietnamese cuisine for lunch or dinner!

Pho Saigon Vietnamese & Chinese Cuisine
10918 Wurzbach Road, Suite 131 San Antonio, Texas
Hours of Operation:
Monday – Thursday: 11am – 9pm
Friday – Saturday: 11am – 9:30pm
Closed Sunday

xo angie

Cinco de Mayo!

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My hubby Mark and our brother-in-law Travis had planned to get together this weekend to play music. My sister Sarah and I decided to make the most out of their plans by also having a little Cinco de Mayo celebration.

Las Hermanas Bonitas tienen un buen idea…

Tio Mark y Lillian

Eugene y mi hermana Nadia

Dylan con Tía Angie!

La Familia Peligroso!

Que linda!

Las bandidas!

Travis y Lillian

¿Quién es este?

Un beso!

I think this was one of the best Photo Booths we’ve had! It was fun setting up the fiesta backdrop, gathering props, and editing the images in Photoshop. The rest of the celebration went pretty well too.

Cinco de Mayo Dinner Table Decorations

Cinco de Mayo Dinner – Spanish Rice, Borracho Beans, Beefless Carne Guisada, with tortillas

Margarita Inspired Vegan Cupcakes

Cinco de Mayo Leftovers Lunch

Despite our hispanic heritage, my family has never celebrated Cinco de Mayo. Growing up we had big family gatherings for Birthdays, Easter, and Christmas with tons of cousins running around as Tejano music blasted. Our Cinco de Mayo party was similar. Instead we kept it small, the kids have grown up and had their own kids, and Mark provided the Tejano Music Mix. My sister Sarah made vegan-friendly spanish rice, borracho beans, and margarita inspired cupcakes, Mark made Carne Guisada with Gardein beefless tips, and my sister Nadia made fresh guacamole and fruit salad. So much delicious food, Mark even cooked up some of the leftovers for lunch today! Time to get back to work!

xo angie