Thursday, December 31, 2009

The Last Supper(s)

As I type, there are only four more hours left in 2009, which means I'm just a day away from kicking off my 26-day Adventure Cleanse Tune-up (ACT). It's a no sugar, no alcohol, no gluten, no caffeine, raw til dinnertime cleanse (I'll give ya'll all the details in my next post) from the Crazy Sexy Life website.

Until then, I'm enjoying the last un-ACT friendly meals I can. This week, I tweaked my recipe for Creamy Tofu "Chicken" & Pasta Casserole:

This is another recipe for my cookbook, and it certainly doesn't look as appetizing here as it really is. The tofu is marinated overnight in my vegan chicken marinade, and that makes the whole dish taste like it's laced with a creamy chicken sauce. It also contains my homemade cream of mushroom soup, tomatoes, bell pepper, celery, and other yummies. True comfort food.

On the side, I enjoyed some Steamed Cauliflower with Bacon Salt and Creamy Cheddar Teese Sauce:

I can't have processed foods on the cleanse, so this is my last taste of Teese for the next 26 days. Boo! And if ya'll haven't heard about bacon salt, I'd suggest you look for it at your local grocer. I found mine at Kroger, and it makes everything taste like bacon. But it's vegan (at least, the hickory flavor is)!

I also made the Tamarind Tofu Cabbage Bowl from the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook recently:

So, so good! Fried tofu, cabbage, and brown rice are mixed with tangy-sweet homemade tamarind reduction. It's the first dish I've made from Lauren Ulm's amazing full-color book. My awesome friend Lindsay bought it for me for my birthday, but I've been so busy reviewing books that I haven't made anything from it until now. And the dish is ALMOST cleanse-friendly. The only thing holding it back is the sugar in the tamarind sauce. Oh well ... I can make it again in February.

On a non-food note, some of ya'll asked to see the punk rock prom dress my BFF Sheridan made me for Xmas. Here ya go:

Cute, huh? She found this old dress in a thrift store and laced it up the back with purple ribbon (can't see that in the picture, but it looks great ... like a corset). And she added the big purple bow for fun.

Happy New Year, ya'll! I'm off to hear my favorite aristo-crunk rappers Lord T & Eloise and watch the guitar drop on Beale Street!

19 comments:

Happy Older Hippie Woman! said...

First of all - you are freakin' gorgeous in the little number!!
The "other dishes" don't compare to you, but they do look absolutely dee-lish! Thanks for this wonderful final post of 2009 - May 2010 be incredible for you.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Dani said...

That meal looks yummy, especially the cauliflower. I've always loved the stuff.
What a cute dress!! I love it.

Have a happy and safe new year! I'm off to check out that website, lord knows I could use a cleanse. Please post more details when you get a chance!

chocolate-covered Katie said...

I'm running off to a party, but I couldn't help but take time out to tell you how cute you are!!!
Happy New Year, Miss Bianca!

vegan.in.brighton said...

Happy New Year! I love that prom dress it's super awesome. I can't wait to get a hold of your cookbook, cream of mushroom soup? Creamy tofu ''chicken'' pasta casserole? Yes please!

Jenn said...

Happy New Year! I love your dress and bacon salt!

Anonymous said...

That dress is so cute! You look very pretty in it. That cauliflower sounds yummy. I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for bacon salt now that I know it's vegan. I never would have guessed that.

Good luck with the ACT cleanse and Happy new year!

Anonymous said...

i've heard of bacon salt but haven't seen it anywhere, sounds cool! happy new year!

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

Happy New Year! Your new dress is rockin'! What an amazingly creative gift.

I'm cleansing, too, for the entire month of January. :)

Anonymous said...

Good luck! Can't wait for updates on the awesome cleanse!

ZippyZu said...

Happy new year! I'm looking forward to the cleanse updates!

Millie said...

I love the food and the dress is spectacular...love it!

http://nuestracena-vegancuisine.blogspot.com

Lauren said...

omg that dress is so cute on you!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Mihl said...

I want some of that cauliflower! Happy new year and good luck with the cleanse!

VeganCowGirl said...

Happy New year! Good luck with the ACT - can't wait to read all about it!

jessy said...

oh my goodness, Bianca - i really really love the punk rock prom dress! man, that's so awesome!

i'm digging your bowl o' fu, the creamy pasta, and the teesed cauliflower with bacon salt (which i need to find PRONTO!)! yum! i can't wait to read your ACT cleanse posts and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

susan said...

One year I had the flu and no coffee for three days...and the biggest headache I have ever had...one sip of coffee and I was "cured"...how does the plan (if it does) deal with caffeine withdrawal?

Michal said...

I love that dress its so cute! I love all of the food dishes, they look amazing as usual. :)

Hope your enjoying the new year!

Theresa said...

Happy 2010, and I can't wait to hear about your cleanse...

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

I LOVE the dress! The food looks yummy as well.