Today is very special! It's the day I'm posting my first non-cooking tutorial on the lizz delicious blog! Yay! I've been wanting to branch out into other types of posts for some time now. When I saw these lamp work beads in the store last month I knew they would be the star of my first "vegan crafts" post.

But did you notice something else in the picture? Why, what a fancy little plate! Hee hee! That's actually a glass plate I bought at Goodwill decoupaged with scrapbooking paper and attached to a cup colored with frosted paint (see below). I made a couple decopauged plates a couple months ago for the blog but haven't had a reason to showcase them yet. Ta-da! What do you think? I even dressed up the photos with a different, frillier font for the watermark.

Anyway, I have to tell you that I am in no way a professional crafter. This is, in fact, the first piece of jewelry I've made where using pliers and multiple jump rings was necessary. It's entirely possible that someone else has a better tutorial for something like this out there, but you know what? I love this necklace and I hope that it inspires you to go out and make your first lamp work bead necklace, too.

In order to make this necklace (or one like it) you will need the following supplies.

• Round and long nose pliers (not pictured), for bending your eye pins
• Seven eye pins
• One lobster clasp
• Five small opaque beads in corresponding colors (I used brown)
• One flat acrylic bead that matches your glass ones
• A 24+ inch chain (similar to the one pictured)
• A "side cutter" or wire cutter for trimming eye pins and trimming your chain
• Your strand of lamp work beads (I used 2 pea shaped beads, 2 "orange" shaped beads, and 2 carrot shaped beads from mine, plus the small clear beads that went between them on the strand)
• Seven small clear beads (if your lamp work bead strand does not include them)
• Twelve jump rings

See the image below for a visual representation of the needed tools and equipment (except picture the right kinds of pliers. Lol!). This is really just a showing of what I used. It is actually up to you what you choose. I found this strand of lamp work beads at Joann Fabrics (same with the artichoke and eggplant ones shown below), but you can use whatever ones you can find. They also had ones with cupcakes, pizza, citrus, and more. I picked up the right kinds of jewelry pliers at Michael's for $10. It has five types of pliers and a ruler. Handy!

Start by assembling your first carrot. I placed the first one on an eye pin by itself, leafy greens toward the eye. Hold the open end with your long nose pliers, then shape a loop to close the pin using your round nose pliers. Trim the excess with your cutters.

On your second carrot, slide a clear bead on first, your carrot, leafy greens toward the eye, and then another clear bead. Close using the same method. For the little decorative bit between the two carrots, place a clear bead, your flat acrylic bead, and a tiny brown bead on the eye pin. Close.

Use the same method on the oranges using a brown bead, the orange, and another brown bead making sure you make a nice loop on the end of the pin so as to attach your chain to it. Make two. For the peas, do the same, but use a clear bead, pea shaped bead, and another bead. Close with a nice loop, too! See the example above.

To assemble, take approximately 8 rings from one end of your chain. You can either open the rungs on your chain and separate them or you can trim them off, which I found was quicker and easier. Then find the middle of the original chain. Use your fingers or ordinary pliers to open a jump ring. Slide it through the ring in the middle of your chain, add your first carrot and the bit of chain you just trimmed, and close the ring. Put your second carrot on a jump ring and attach it to the end of the chain you just added to the necklace. Put the acrylic bead trio on a jump ring and attach it to the small chain two links below the first carrot. You're done with your carrots!

Use the same process to add one "orange" on each side of the necklace, between 8 and 10 rungs from the middle of the necklace and the peas 6 to 8 rungs after each "orange." Determine how long you want the necklace and use the same process to add your lobster clasp.

And you're done! I hope that made enough sense, everyone! If you're confused, it's best to just examine the pictures, especially the one below. I'll be making the artichoke and eggplant necklace differently, so be on the look out for my next tutorial. Maybe I'll make a video for it... Hmm!

So today was a pretty good day. So was yesterday. I don't get two days off in a row all that much (though it does happen). I started working on a few cake trays/platters that I'm not sure what I'm going to do with, but I'm having fun making them and that's what's important. You may have seen the initial stages picture up on my Instagram feed. They will both say "Peace, Love, Vegan" on the bottom tier in an inked (tattoo-like) style. Fun stuff!

Last night I attempted to make something called a Buddha Bowl. My inspiration is a dish by the same name made by a favorite restaurant of mine called the Steeping Room. But the concept isn't new and it has been used by many restaurants and chefs before.

As far as I can deduce, the concept is one meal of three components served in one bowl (typically a grain, vegetable, and sauce). It seems as if the inspiration comes from the meals monks in some Buddhist monasteries often eat. I have one and two sources to back this up!

In any case, the Buddha Bowl at the Steeping Room comes with a green, the grain of the day, and baked tofu or chicken (pff!) and your choice of delicious sauce (I highly recommend the peanut). So that is how I decided to make it. 

I went with kale, which I have never made at home. Bitter things aren't something I'm fond of, but kale is super good for you and I'm trying to be better about eating more healthily. I have never baked tofu before, either! After some searching on the Internet, this is how I went about making my Buddha Bowl.

This recipe is adapted from the one found on The Kitchn. It is very salty! If you would like to tone down the sodium, see my notes below.

INGREDIENTS
1 14- or 16-ounce package extra firm tofu
1/4 cup soy sauce (or 1/8 for less saltiness)
1/4 cup vegetable oil (or vegetable broth, maybe?)

DIRECTIONS
Press your tofu to get the water out of it. Slice into 8 pieces. Mix soy sauce and oil (or broth) in an 8x8 inch pan. Marinate the tofu in the pan. Flip after 15 minutes and marinate for 15 minutes more. Temporarily remove the tofu and drain the excess marinade from the pan. Wipe the outside with a towel if any marinade drips down the side. Return tofu to the pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, flipping the pieces halfway.

Makes 4 servings of 2 slices each.

I've had good kale and bad kale. Even though I'm great at making most things from scratch, I didn't want to risk this one. True story, when looking for a recipe online, I typed "kale that doesn't suck" into Google and found this one. I adapted this recipe from the one made by Grit & Glimmer. They are right; it does not suck.

INGREDIENTS
1 bunch of kale, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup vegetable stock
Freshly ground salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a large pot on medium heat and add the garlic. Cook until it begins to yellow. Add the broth and kale. Crank your salt and pepper grinders over the mixture a few times and stir. Let cook for about ten minutes and test for flavor and texture. The kale will turn bright green and shiny when cooked thoroughly. Add more salt and pepper to your taste. Let the kale cook on low to medium heat until the liquid at the bottom of the pan has evaporated. It shouldn't take too long!

Makes 3-4 servings.

Serve with a side of white, brown, or medley rice. Last night we had a wild and brown rice medley. Just cook it according to its instructions. Red rice is great, too! Other options include quinoa and soba noodles. Use a deep dish plate or wide mouth bowl. Drizzle with your desired sauce. We got a peanut sauce from the store. It's nowhere near as good as the one at the Steeping Room, but it's still pretty good. Enjoy!

While this meal was a definite success, I think I'll be making more versions of the Buddha Bowl in the future. It's easy, healthy, and the possibilities are nearly endless. If you've made a similar dish, I would love to hear about what you came up with!

Thanks for reading!

So I'm not really surprised that I didn't win the PPK's Chopped Vegan competition (after all, I didn't read the rules thoroughly- y'know, that part about you making an entree and not a dessert) but whatevs. I made two really tasty dishes that I'll be making again, for sure. BUT! In celebration of my LOSING, here's another tasty recipe.

I've been holding this one in the queue for awhile now; I just haven't had a great opportunity to post it. I haven't made a lot of tofu dishes from scratch, but I'm beginning to experiment with them after having such success with things like tofu scramble. I whipped this up in April and enjoyed it a lot.

Tofu frittatas are pretty easy to experiment with! If you're not fond of artichokes (gasp!) but still want to try this recipe out, substitute another vegetable in its place. Sauteed broccoli sounds delish as does a mixture of peppers and zucchini. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

But here's the recipe for Easy Vegan Artichoke Frittata:

INGREDIENTS
1 14-ounce package extra firm tofu, pressed to remove water
1/3 cup raw, unsalted cashews
2 chopped tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes
1 12-14 ounce jar marinated artichokes, chopped coarsely
1/8 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/3 cup cheddar Daiya vegan cheese shreds

DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Press your tofu using a pressing gadget or using a traditional technique. Crumble it into tiny pieces and place in a large mixing bowl, except for about 1/3 of a cup; add that to a food processor with the cashews and grind until smooth or cheese like. Combine with the crumbled tofu and remaining ingredients and mix well.

Oil a 9 inch square or circular pan. Spoon the frittata into the pan and smooth into the edges and on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until slightly browned on top.

Serve with homemade breakfast potatoes or your favorite frozen variety! And maybe a nice piece of toast!

Makes 4-6 servings.

Good morning!

It's time to announce the winners of my Eat & Run book giveaway! As a quick recap, Scott Jurek is an "ultrarunner" who has won many marathons and has also achieved acclaim for his marathon running skills. This lovely book gives you access to Jurek's life, including his childhood, as he discovers running and maintains a vegan diet.

These copies were provided by Hougton-Mifflin Harcourt. Each book also includes a nice insert featuring an interview with Jurek and a list of stops along his book tour.

All right, so I used Random.org to pick two numbers between one and five. The first number pulled was 2 and the second was 4 so that means our winners are Carolyn L and Jamie P. Yay! I will be contacting you in regard to getting your book.

Thank you, everyone, who entered. I'll be having another giveaway in July, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Have a great day!

To compete or not compete, that was indeed the question.

When I saw Isa Chandra Moskowitz post a challenge on the Post Punk Kitchen Facebook page on Friday inspired by the TV show Chopped, my first reaction was, "it's too bad I won't have time to enter a recipe!" It only took me a moment, however, to change my mind completely. I love Chopped, I love the PPK, and I love this game my fiance so adorably calls "food blog." It would have been silly for me to have sat this one out. And I'm so glad I did it!

Just like in the show, Isa gave her competitors four ingredients with which to make a dish (or two... maybe). Those ingredients were blackberries, fresh mint, bittersweet chocolate, and canned blackeyed peas. An interesting combination, to say the least. A panel of judges will be choosing a winner on Tuesday who will receive some radical prizes. Read all of the rules here.

I had honestly no experience with blackeyed peas whatsoever. But my favorite thing to do with beans of any kind is to make burgers! So true to my form, that's what I did.

After making a special trip to the grocery store this morning, I had all of my ingredients and was ready to go. I started with my dessert, which was easy enough, but my heart nearly sank when I opened my can of blackeyed peas to find that the majority of it was brine. The one can provided me with approximately one cup of legumes. I thought for sure that it wouldn't work, but things ended up weaving themselves together just fine. See?

So let's get to my recipes!

This is a thick, flavorful dip that's super easy to make. When I saw that blackberries were on the list, I knew that I wanted to make a dip for them. It's my favorite way to eat berries of any kind. I'm kind of a "purist" when it comes to fruit. I like it as whole as possible, uncooked, and fresh.

INGREDIENTS
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 tablespoons vegan butter
1/2 cup small vegan marshmallows
1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
Blackberries (strawberries would also be real nice!)

DIRECTIONS
Add all ingredients to a medium sized microwave safe bowl. Cook for three minutes. Stir well to ensure that the marshmallows and chocolate have completely melted. You may need to return them to the 'wave and stir again. When you've reached an even consistency, transfer to a serving bowl and refrigerate. Let warm on the counter for a few minutes before serving. It gets really thick so you'll have to use a spoon! You can use a fork, fork a berry, and dip into the fudge, too.

These delightful fritter-like burger patties are flavorful and filling and so easy to make. The blackeyed peas provided a full-bodied flavor and I was very pleased with what they brought to the mix. I expect that other types of beans would work well, too, like chickpeas or black beans. I'll definitely be making these guys again.

INGREDIENTS
1 medium shallot, finely diced
1/2 of a jalepeno, seeds removed and finely diced
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels, partially thawed
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup canned blackeyed peas, drained (or a whole can, if you're lucky enough to get one! Ha!)
1 14-ounce can petite diced tomatoes in garlic and oil, drained
1/4 cup fresh curly parsley, minced
1 teaspoon fresh spearmint, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon potato starch
3/4 cups chickpea flour
1/4 cup shredded vegan cheddar cheese (optional)
Oil for frying

DIRECTIONS
In a nonstick pot or pan, heat the olive oil. Saute the shallot, jalepeno, and corn until thoroughly cooked, approximately five minutes or so. Remove from heat.

Using the S-blade in your food processor, pulse the blackeyed peas until they reach a uniform consistency. Just a few times is all you need.

Transfer beans and saute mix to a large bowl and add all remaining ingredients except flour and cheese. Mix well, add flour 1/4 cup at a time until the batter is thick but not runny. It doesn't have to be dry to the touch and you will get it sticking to your fingers if you touch it. Add cheese and stir to combine.

Warm a small amount of oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Add dollops of batter to the pan and shape into rounds with a wooden spoon as you do. Cook two at a time, three minutes on each side, adding oil to the pan as you add new batter.

Let stand on paper towels before serving to absorb some of the oil.

Makes 6 patties.

I'm so glad I participated! It was a lot of hard work but I really enjoyed myself. And check out all of the other wonderful entries other people have posted. There are nearly 100 entries and the deadline isn't until tomorrow. Wow!

I have to admit, though, I'm not sure my entry is going to qualify considering it's more like two dishes as opposed to an entree with side or condiment like most other entries where the ingredients aren't used in one recipe. 

I guess one of the points is to stretch your culinary muscles. I used to be what most people considered a "food wimp" before I became vegetarian. Heck, including the mint in my burger patty was something I almost, almost didn't do. But I'm glad I did it! It added a bit of depth and most assuredly added complexity to it, overall.

This is a great contest and I'm just thrilled to be somewhat involved. I'm off to bookmark a few of the other entries and I can't wait for Chopped Vegan #2!

Thanks for reading!

The vegan community has been humming with excitement over Scott Jurek's new book Eat & Run which chronicles his life as a competitive runner while also living on a vegan diet. He won the Western States Endurance Run 7 years in a row. His other credits include winning the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon twice, the Spartathlon three times, and he set a new American record by running 165.7 miles in 24 hours. Wow!

Jurek's inspiring story is all laid out in his book. Take a look at the trailer.

Pretty neat, huh? Like all good authors, Jurek is on tour promoting his book. He'll be in Austin at Book People on Monday. If I end up being able to go, you'll see me there. It sounds like a really great meetup involving a 5k fun run between 6 and 7 at Luke's Locker prior to the signing. The signing itself will take place at Book People at 7 (directions!). The venue has an awesome writeup of what they're going to do, which you can find here. Book People is an awesome venue and I've been there several times just to shop but also for other events (like wizard rock concerts!). I hope to see you there for the event, and apologize if I can't make it!

If you ARE interested in going, you should know, however, that in order to get your copy of Eat & Run signed, you will have to buy it at Book People. Just an fyi, everyone.

But the lovely people at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt have given me two copies of Scott Jurek's Eat & Run to give away to YOU! If you would like to win a copy, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post ensuring that you use a valid email address when you login. Don't worry, your contact information will remain between me and you and I won't sign you up for any mailing lists I promise!

The deadline for entries will be June 25th, so you have 10 days within which to enter starting now.

If you're not in Austinite, Jurek will be making appearances in San Diego, Minneapolis, East Lansing, Grand Rapids, Seattle, and Denver later in the month. If you're an athlete, a vegan, or just someone who needs a little inspiration, you should definitely take the opportunity to attend one of these events. Be sure to visit Jurek's official website for more information about his life and his book.

Have a great day!

Today is my 30th birthday. I took the day off from work. When I was ready for the day, Chris made me "Pumpkin French Toast" from the book Vegan Brunch. It was, unsurprisingly, delicious. I ate one and a half pieces and haven't needed to eat since then! Very filling. I checked in with my mom on the phone after that. She isn't feeling very well and it made me feel good to (hopefully) bring some light to her day. Then we did presents (there will be photos on Facebook) and went to Barnes & Noble to spend my newly acquired gift card. It's time for dinner. Again, Chris is making it for me. Vegan tamales from the grocery store with Spanish rice on the side. Yum. She ordered a vegan carrot cake from Whole Foods for dessert.

I thought I should spend the time I'm using to wait for dinner to share with you the places we went to eat at while we were in California. We made dinner for and with family several times while we were there, which was very refreshing. Our feasts included a family recipe for lentil soup, grandma's stuffed artichokes, and impromptu pasta with garlic and broccoli. I got a recipe from Chris's Aunt Vana that I'll be sharing with you later this summer for berries marinated in a sugary, liquory sauce.

Because we ate at so many places, I'm just going to do a run through of each restaurant, share a picture of our dishes, and go over their menu options for those of you with more time to spend there. So, here goes.

We really liked this place and ate here twice while in Monterey. They have several locations, cafeteria and sit down style depending on location. For a list of their locations, visit their website here. It seems like they're going through both restaurant and website remodeling, but they have great food and we highly recommend them. Their menu says they have  more vegan options than we found at the restaurant, so be sure to ask about the ingredients of each dish prior to ordering to be sure they didn't use butter or yogurt in what you're ordering.

We were delightfully surprised to find that the locally owned Three Twins ice cream has vegan flavors at their scoop shops and in take away pints. The ice cream is made in Petaluma and they have four locations in northern California. We went to the one in San Rafael.

I believe the flavor we tried was a rice milk version of their "Mocha Difference." It was like eating a frappuccino. Lovely. I consulted their website to double check and they do not list all of their vegan options, which are currently only available at scoop shops. According to the website, they "try" to have at least one sorbet and one rice milk based flavor at each shop.

The price was reasonable and they did have pints to take away of the kind that we had. I was excited to see the brand show up in the freezer at Whole Foods after we got back from vacation, but the company does not package its vegan options for distribution at this time. Boo.

The deYoung Museum had a lot of vegan options when we visited, including a Moroccan style cous cous. They also had Ooba fizzy hibiscus drink which I adore! We ate at the Choke Coach at Pezzini Farms after the Artichoke Festival on May 20th. They're French fried artichoke hearts are totally vegan and delicious. When we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, they made us fabulous roasted vegetable sandwiches when we told them about our dietary restrictions. They were filled with asparagus and slathered in an olive spread. We picked up a few things from the Whole Foods in Novato that we don't have back home, including some spicy gluten-free vegan burgers made by Wildwood, So Delicious almond milk ice cream (Austin seems to be coconut milk only these days), and Chai Cola which is FANTASTIC. But all of these items are highly recommended.

It was a very tasty trip. As mentioned in my Artichoke Festival post, I anticipate recommending we do the same thing all over again next year. Hee hee! Only time will tell.

I've been swooning over this minor decadence throughout my social networking outlets; on Facebook, and Twitter, and Instagram (where my followers have already had a sneak peak). But now it's time to share with you my very first original vegan ice cream recipe.

Now, I don't regularly post recipes for sweets. Despite my extra prominent sweet tooth, I try not to indulge too much and the best way to do that is to neither buy indulgences nor concoct them at home. But I've set up a few goals for the lizz delicious blog for the summer inspired by my most popular posts thus far. And if you guys like sweets, I can't deny you them completely!

It's already in the mid-90s here in Texas (off and on, anyway) and I nearly always think about ice cream when it's hot outside. I make my own vegan frozen desserts at home. My mom gave me a Cuisinart ice cream maker for my birthday last year and I've used it many, many times. When I started thinking about summer and Texas and things I could share with you, it occurred to me that I haven't had sherbet since going vegan back in 1998. It's true! And I thought that a shame. Sherbet's fantastic! It's light but sweet and still creamy. And, try as I might, I couldn't find a recipe online that seemed like it would work for me. Most were too complicated, requiring more time in the kitchen than I particularly wanted. I mean, I'm already going out of my way to freeze my ice cream canister core, making an ice cream mix on the stove, waiting for it to cool, and then letting my ice cream machine do its thing for 20 minutes or so, and then waiting even more; why also burden myself with extra steps? So, after thinking about my options, I dove in and came up with this recipe.

I love it; it's sweet, tart, fruity, and creamy all at the same time. It does freeze a bit solid after a full 24 hours, so definitely let it sit for 5-10 minutes before scraping out your bowlful. I do recommend using an ice cream maker for this. A lot of people say you can try freezing the mix in a container and stirring it every 1-2 hours, though my attempts at that were always unsuccessful. The process I use for mine is usually running the machine for 20 minutes, moving the ice cream to an airtight container, and then allowing it to freeze completely (around 2 hours) before serving. 

INGREDIENTS
2 cups soymilk 
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
2/3-3/4 cups evaporated cane juice or sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups cherry juice (I used Cheribundi)
1 tablespoon amaretto liquor (I prefer Amaretto di Amore)

DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, whisk the arrowroot powder with 1/2 cup of the soymilk. I very often use arrowroot powder in place of eggs. It is virtually flavorless and gives baked goods and frozen things a smooth consistency. 

In a medium saucepan, heat the soymilk, lemon juice, and sugar over medium-high heat until it begins to boil, stirring frequently. When the mixture starts to boil, ensure that the sugar is dissolved, and then add the cherry juice and arrowroot powder mixture and stir. Let cool for a few moments before adding the amaretto, otherwise the alcohol may burn off from the heat. Whisk all of the ingredients well. 

Let chill in your refrigerator for 2 hours or in your freezer for 1. Whisk once more to break up any chunks formed during cooling prior to sending it through your ice cream maker. Follow the instructions on the machine and enjoy!

Makes approximately 1 quart.

NOTE: A bowl of this vegan cherry sherbet tastes great topped with chocolate chunks, vegan marshmallows, or a little grenadine syrup!

As usual, please let me know what you think of this recipe! Pin it and share it! Thanks for reading! <3

I'm starting to think I have this reputation at work for being some kind of food nerd. No, seriously. I mean it. When the Avengers movie came out, some of my co-workers, after the initial questions of "Did you see it?" and "Wasn't it awesome?" were over with, proceeded to ask me "Did you like the part at the end? And what is shawarma anyway?"

So, yes, "shawarma" is a Middle Eastern fast food usually involving alternating layers of meat and fat on a spit that's seasoned as its cooked, rotisserie style. I don't cook a lot of Middle Eastern food and I sure as heck had never heard of shawarma prior to seeing the Avengers. I did, however, look it up as soon as the movie was over and was, of course, more than ready to inform my coworkers of the delight it was sure to be should they try to find some place in Austin that serves it.

Meanwhile, back in veganland, I was determined to make some semblance of shawarma that Chris and I could eat. Somewhere on the interwebs, I found this website called Shawarma Recipe which is devoted to bringing the flavors of authentic shawarma to the comfort of your very own kitchen. 

So after rummaging through their posts, I picked one to try out using tofu instead of meat. This is the recipe I came up with, adapted from theirs. I have never fried tofu in yogurt before and I was very pleased with the results. If you prefer, feel free to add more of each of the spices. The dish was flavorful, but not spicy in the least. I expect you could get away with doubling both the turmeric and cumin... If you make it, let me know what you think. I'll be experimenting with more of the Shawarma Recipe website's other recipes in the future.

INGREDIENTS
1 14-ounce package extra firm tofu, pressed
1 6-ounce package plain soy yogurt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Oil, for frying
Pita pockets, shredded lettuce, chopping onion, and diced tomato
Hummus
Chips (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Press the water from the tofu using a tofu press or your favorite method. Cut the brick of tofu in half through the middle and then into strips. You can make them whatever size you prefer, but frying them on each side will take time, so it's best if their on the bigger side as opposed to bite side.

In a bowl, combine spices and mix well. Add yogurt and stir until thoroughly combined. Add tofu and gently roll the slices in the yogurt mixture to cover each side. Let sit for at least one hour to absorb the flavors of the marinade.

Warm the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the tofu, making sure all sides have some yogurty goodness on them. Cook for 3 minutes on each side, or until browned and slightly crisped to your liking.

Assemble pita pockets with the veggies and  1-2 of the cooked tofu strips per pocket. Add hummus, if desired, and serve extra hummus and chips on the side.

Makes approximately 6 pockets.

NOTE: You may notice a difference in the quality of my photos. I am attempting to use my cell phone camera to take pictures because my SLR is having a HUGE ISSUE with light streaks and I can't figure out how to compensate for it. I would repair it, but I think it's in my best interest to just buy a new camera. So, bear with me as I save my pennies...

Not of all our dads are vegan (I know mine isn't) but even vegans buy Father's Day presents. Much like my Last Minute Gift Ideas for Mother's Day Gift post, this one is devoted to providing you with some vegan-friendly gift ideas great for herbivore dads or otherwise.

My dad loves beer. If your dad loves beer, too, you can consider a variety of options that are beer-related. And beer is vegan! Woo hoo!

• The Beer of the Month Club - For $37.50 per month, your dad will be sent 12 bottles of craft beer, three different kinds per month. Their current promotion includes 3 additional gifts. And you can even order a specific number of months, not all 12.
  
• Brewhouse Gift Certificates - House beer, craft beer, and co-op beers are growing in popularity. My dad loves going to a tavern that has its own beer on tap. A website called Pub Quest can help you find one in your hometown.
  
• Beer Soap - Many Etsy crafters make soap with beer, including HomeBrewedSoap. They're currently running a promotion where you can get 3 bars for $19.50 with 5 scents to choose from. They assure you that you (or your dad) will not smell like beer, but their beer-based soaps come in scents (like Earth, Cracklin' Campfire, and Adventure) that are great for guys.
  

I've also been getting my dad quirky gifts since I was in elementary school. Here are some fine websites and retailers that have a lot of handmade, fair trade, and/or unique gifts your dad might like.

• Ten Thousand Villages - A fair trade marketplace, Ten Thousand Villages has a page devoted to Father's Day Gifts. I found a few things that are especially neat, like an eyeglasses holder, "World Peace Sign," and picture frame made from a bicycle chain.
  
• World Market - This is one of my favorite stores! It's very earthy and has a lot of seasonal items all the time. I got my Father's Day gifts here last year. This year, it seems like they have some decent man cave stuff. They also have a page devoted to the holiday. These tie shaped bottle openers are pretty cool, as is this game called "Beer Smarts." They have many more products, like hot sauces and other gourmet foods, in store.

But the best ideas will always come from you; after all, you know your dad better than I do. Feel free to let me know if you find some other vegan-friendly gifts for Father's Day. I would love to hear your suggestions!

Happy Father's Day!