Fearlessly Vegan; Recipes & Menus without fear!

Blog Recipe Cooking Challenge - day 4, week 3

2009-11-28T19:02:00.002-05:00

Tonight I made French Lentil and Portabella Stew from FatFree Vegan. The only changes I made were the omission the celery as I was out and put in 1/2 a bell pepper since it needed to be used up and substituting Beluga Lentils for the French. This was fan freaking tastic! Tasty, hearty, rich and thick. The lentils held up nicely and the veggies cooked down perfectly. Overall I quite enjoyed this dish. It was not super photogenic but that is typically a perk, not a requirement of my food! hah

Even my lentil hating husband liked this stew! This was such a great find. I hope to make this pretty regularly this winter.

Blog Recipe Cooking Challenge - day 3, week 3

2009-11-27T15:34:00.004-05:00

More from VegWeb's Blog Recipe Cooking Challenge! Fat Free Vegan is our blog for week 3 and it couldn't be a better one. I love love love so many of her recipes. I make the seitan ribz and scallopine regularly so I challenged myself to make something different.

Yesterday for Thanksgiving I made the Double-Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake.

I followed the recipe exactly and love the results. Its light, airy and so flavorful. Somehow my bottom layer of cheesecakey goodness did not mound up but flowed up the sides of the pie as the top was added. Interesting and perfect so you get some with every bite! I plan on making this pie again.

Blog Recipe Cooking Challenge - day 2, week 2

2009-11-16T21:09:00.002-05:00

Another recipe from Vegan Dad for the VegWeb Blog Recipe Cooking Challenge.

Tonight was Pasta Primavera or as he termed it "Clean out the Fridge Pasta".

I tried my best to make the recipe exactly as listed but had just a few minor alterations. First my pasta was egg free noodles since that was all I had in the cupboard. Second I added in some seitan leftover from last night just to use it up some. And finally I added a bit of herbs and spices because this was for two adults, no kids! Into the pot went thyme and smoked paprika just to round out the flavors.

I thought it was very good. Light tasting, creamy and hearty belly full. I quite enjoyed it and shall be making variations of it in the future.

Mine was quite not as photogenic as Vegan Dad's though so you must forgive me.

Blog Recipe Cooking Challenge

2009-11-15T20:19:00.003-05:00

On VegWeb there is a lovely recipe challenge. Each week there is a blog being featured to create a recipe or several from. Unfortunately I missed the first week that featured the PPK. This week though, I did one recipe with a plan to do two more from Vegan Dad!

Today's dinner was Mini Irish Pies.

There were a few substitutions since I did not have chickpeas, beer or corriander on hand. Instead I used seitan, veggie broth with a touch of scotch and left out the herb. As you can see, they turned out fabulous!

Here is some of the prep work, including the pie crust:

Filling:

Potato topped pies ready to be baked:

I also made some lovely chocolate chip cookies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar! The recipe was followed exactly but I only baked 8 total, so I wouldn't gorge on them. These are soft, moist, lightly chewy but so very very good. I am excited to bake up the rest of these delights sometime very very soon.

VegWeb Gift Exchange - Sending!

2009-10-20T14:56:00.004-04:00

Last week I finally shipped out my package for the Halloween Gift Exchange at VegWeb.

I included so much stuff but only have pictures of the homemade goodies. I did include a lot of my favorite things: PB&Co Maple Peanut Butter, Ghiradelli Chocolate squares, Ola Granola, Halloween towels, cookie cutters and napkins, a can of young green Jackfruit and a Lush Bath Bar. I did also include a shockingly cheap find of whole agar (for under $2 at the Asian grocer)!

I fretted over this apron for too long! But I think it turned out well. The recipients favorite colors were the basis of my fabric choices.

Also included were scones, Lemon Zinger Cookies, brownies, Rice Crispy Squares, and vanilla cupcakes with mini chocolate chips.

Scones full of berries! Cranberries, currants, pomegranate seeds, raspberries and bing cherries. Lovely dried mix I found at Trader Joe's.

Summer trip - Meal 2 at Millennium

2009-09-23T08:52:00.005-04:00

So after a day of exploring San Francisco we scheduled dinner at none other than Millennium!

We ordered the Taste of Millennium and shared each dish as it came out. Angel and I both had our own favorites, but honestly, it was all beyond delicious.

We started off with two lovely salads. Both were so good. Angel liked the croutons on the second and I liked the crispy veggies and spiced nuts on the first.
Their dip of the day was a black bean and spice. It reminded me of cinnamon or garam masala. It did not last long as once the bread was gone, we scooped the dip out with our forks.
Course #2 - black bean torte. My personal favorite.
Fried Oyster Mushrooms - Good stuff there!

Their appetizer of the night was a lovely bean dip with a garlic sauce that was the most fantastic dish Angel had ever had. She wanted a whole vat full of this and for the kid who is not a fan of beans, thats saying something remarkable!
Entrees! Stuffed squash with a lovely fried squash blossom. Very good.
A tamale is hidden under all that garnish I believe.
Even their palate cleanser was delicious. Ginger Peach and so creamy!

Another batch of entrees! This was a lovely roulade that Angel didnt share more than a single bite with me.

I know this was fantastic but the name of it escapes me. This was similar in flavor base to the black bean torte appetizer. The sauce underneath was divine.

Dessert was amazing but honestly we barely had any room for much. Luckily it was all mini sized!

My favorite of everything on this plate? The lone lemon poppy seed cookie hiding under a single blueberry. So crisp, buttery and flavorful! This makes me so hungry.

Summer trip - Meal 1 at Herbivore

2009-09-18T14:26:00.005-04:00

In June my daughter and I went on a trip. We started in California in the small mountain town I grew up in. After a wonderful week with my Mom & Dad we then drove the three plus hours to San Francisco.

Our first dining experience? Herbivore for Sunday brunch!

We started by trying out their donuts. They were good. Sweet, delicate but cakey. I am not a cakey kind of donuts girl. Overall though, they were good.

We also ordered the veggie scramble with mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes. Oh so very very very good. I loved this beyond measure. The potatoes were divine, the tofu was fantastic and the bread delicious.
We also ordered French Toast with one slice of wheat and one of sourdough. Both fantastic. Angel preferred the Wheat but honestly both were amazing. Both tasted slightly of caramel in their lightly crisp battered state.
Finally the strawberry shake. This was like strawberries made into cotton candy form and then into a drink. Light frothy and oh so tasty.
This was just our first meal in San Francisco! More pictures to come.

Belated Birthday Cake

2009-09-17T09:38:00.003-04:00

Sometimes you just have to make your own birthday cake. I did this but found no enthusiasm to take my two layers and cut them in four, fill them with vanilla pudding and frost the whole thing. Instead I went deconstructed last night.

The cake is of course Sexy Low Fat Lemon, topped with fresh strawberries and Soya Too Whip. The cake is tangy, the berries sweet and the whip a creamy hint of vanilla. Lovely and light way to end an evening.

VegWeb Gift Exchange

2009-09-16T09:34:00.003-04:00

Every once in a while the amazing community over at VegWeb.com run a gift exchange. This time I received an excellent package from the awesome Humboldt Honey.

Included:
1 large Klean Kanteen water bottle - in black of course!
1 loaf of Glazed Lemon Bread
1 jar of homemade Carrot Cake Jam
1 jar of homemade Blueberry Jam
1 Chico Bag - black reusable grocery bag
1 jar of homemade Pickled Garlic
1 knitted Hot Pad
3 comb in hair dyes
1 pan scraper
1 faux egg frother (who cares if it says its for coffee!)
1 skull travel pack of tissues
1 string of stone beads
1 bag of Enjoy Life Chocolate Mini Chips

Now who wouldnt be tickled to have a box appear on their doorstep full of such wonderful love, thought and vegan goodies? I know I was thrilled beyond measure.

This also raises the bar for my gift to my person. I have been working on craft projects but need to step it up a notch I believe. I will post pictures of the items once my recipient receives the package.

Strange dinner combinations

2009-09-15T09:52:00.004-04:00

Sometimes you just want certain dishes or flavors for dinner, despite the fact that they in no way shape or form flow together. It happens, I understand. Last night I made a lovely dill potato salad with a large bunch of fresh dill from my local farmers market and fingerling potatoes. It was lovely and slightly paired with the Bahama Rice burgers though they were the Spicy Jamaican flavor, topped with wilted arugula, onions, mushrooms and tomatoes. From the oven I pulled out lovely slightly roasted asparagus and zucchini under a good handful of garlic.

But I spent most of my time making zucchini fritters. They kind of look like tentacle monsters or sea urchins really more than pretty patties of green goodness. I simply shredded two of my huge home grown zucchinis, added salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder as well as enough flour to absorb all the liquid the shreds were leaking. After letting this rest for at least an hour I started frying them in about an inch of oil. They are crispy on the outside with a soft and delicately flavored center.

I also attempted a riff on a lovely recipe Angel and I had at Millennium on our trip to San Francisco this summer. I battered oyster mushrooms in a lovely beer, flour, rice vinegar, crumbled nori, salt, pepper and garlic batter. These were fried after I was done with the zucchini urchins. Let me tell you, while I hate oyster mushrooms, these were fantastic. Meaty to the tooth, crunchy, flavorful and addictive. I have leftovers but honestly I dont know if those will be as good as the bites we ate last night hot.

I promise to try to share some of my food photos from our trip soon! Oddly enough, I took pictures mostly of food. haha Imagine that!

Open minded Omni's for dinner!

2009-09-14T11:23:00.005-04:00

I recently had some friends come over for dinner that were very open minded omni's who assured me that vegan food was fine for them all. So by the fourth reassurance that they ate meatless frequently I put together a menu for seven; myself, my friends C & M and the guests of honor B & K with their two teenagers.

Because its my favorite cuisine I went with Mexican food. When they arrived my table already had veggies, dip, salsa, chips, and sangria on it.

White Sangria
Ingredients:
1 bottle of white wine
1 can 7 up or other lemon lime soda
1 cup Orange Juice
1 peach
2 plums
1 pink Lady apple
1 orange

Mix the beverages in a large pitcher. Peal the orange and cut out premiums. Cut these in half or smaller if you have a large orange or sections. Squeeze the left over pulp over the pitcher for all the juice you can get out of it. Dice up the fruit and add to the mixture. Chill and serve in wine glasses but with small forks so one can nibble on the tipsy fruit at their leisure.

I then put together enchiladas with some quickly fried lime and cilantro marinated tofu, lime & chili sauted veggies and tomatilo sauce. Once these came out of the oven I served them with cilantro lime black beans, salsa rice and avocado salad.

For the enchiladas I simply diced tofu the night before and marinated it in the zest and juice of 2 limes and a handful of cilantro. In the afternoon I removed the tofu from the liquid and shallow fried it to make it crispy before draining and setting aside. Then I sauted up huge amounts of onions, celery, carrots, zucchini, bell peppers, jalapenos, broccoli and cauliflower. Sprinkling each batch in the pan with lime juice and chili powder. Then I mixed everything together, rolled it in corn tortillas and slathered it all with green enchilada sauce and baked for 45 minutes at 350.

The black beans were simply one (large) can of beans, drained and rinsed before being tossed in a pan with the juice of two limes and a handful of cilantro leaves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper once its warmed up and serve. So simple yet delicious.

Salsa rice is best made by cooking the short grain rice in veggie stock until done. Then add in salsa and cover for 5 minutes to warm the later up. You can use spicy or mild, saucy or pico as your salsa of choice. Just be sure you love the salsa you are putting on top because if you dont, the result will not be quite to your liking. I typically do the 1 cup dry rice fully cooked and add 1 cup of a deli salsa that straddles the line between pico de gallo and jarred salsa.

The avocado salad is a Ina Gartner recipe available at the Food Network web site. Its always a hit. Trust me! Make it. Make it now.

I did also whip up some guacamole at the last minute but the salad kind of impresses everyone more. All in all, it was a great hit!

For dessert there was plenty of chocolate chip cookies but mostly people were stuffed. I do wish I had taken pictures. Next time they come over, its Italian!

Some tastey photots!

2009-06-13T15:21:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago I felt like making Indian food. So to Manjula's Kitchen I went for veggie inspiration.

This is homemade seitan smothered in Tandoori sauce and shallow fried, rice with peas and caramelized onions and spicy bhindi. Very delish!

Today I made a lovely salad for a BBQ that everyone bailed on. But I get to eat the whole salad so its a win for me! below is the picture I took while testing out the spices in the dressing.
The somen noodles are spun into bird's nests, the diced red bell pepper, cucumber and shredded carrot added and the sauce drizzled on top. I did end up adding some siracha to the sauce and black sesame seeds instead of cashews. But the whole thing is fantastic. Check out the recipe on VegWeb!

I also have two more salads for the failed BBQ but have yet to take pictures of them. Maybe when we eat them for dinner. Just a basic veganaise Pasta Salad and an Avocado Salad with beans, tomatoes and lots of lime. So yummy!

Below are some gardening pictures!

We dug up the plants along the garage that covered half the walkway and windows and made it into a garden! The trellis is to allow the plants places to climb on without unsightly tomato cages.
Yes, that is a stone skull out in front. Im strange. I know and accept this!

My garden, full of tomato plants, string beans, bell peppers and one lonely jalapeno plant. Since this is New England I hope to get veggies around September. hahaha

Potluck!

2009-04-18T22:07:00.001-04:00

More cake and bagels!

2009-04-17T12:40:00.003-04:00

This is my take on a marbled cake. Alternating layers of chocolate cake and vanilla cake with fluffy buttercream frosting and chocolate ganache. I do have to admit though, I put it together too quickly and it kind of got a bit mushy. I think next time I will let the cake set for a day rather than an hour.

You can see in the slice below how things kind of smooshed into themselves. Not quite a lovely layer of light fluffy cake. But still, very darn tasty!

I also tried my hand at bagels. They were fantastic! Next time I will have to try adding a flavor or seed to the dough. Either garlic bagels or poppy seed sound great to me.

Cake!

2009-04-11T10:50:00.002-04:00

Lemon cake with lemon buttercream frosting layers alternating with blackberry preserves. Drenched with a lemon glaze and topped with fresh blackberries. Delish!

Superbowl Foodz

2009-02-11T17:57:00.003-05:00

This is what I served at our superbowl party!

BBQ Jackfruit served on rolls.

Tempeh Wingz
These were kind of a riff off of Vegan Dad's Perfect Tempeh Burger recipe. Only I steamed the tempeh in veg broth & sage, mashed it with pinto beans and added more VWG. Oh and lots of hot sauce! Messy, but they held together great and tasted pretty darn good. Makes me kind of wonder if they are even close but I never had real "wings" before so I have no clue.

Veggies & various dips & chips

Cupcakes in 2 flavors! Margarita and Vanilla w/ Chocolate chips and chocolate frosting. Sorry but you only get the naked views. By the time they were frosted, I was too tipsy to remember pics.

Holiday fun!

2008-12-15T19:09:00.001-05:00

The holidays are rapidly approaching and honestly, I have been too busy to post! But I will share some pictures of the last 15 days.
Our live Christmas tree is a 7 foot tall potted Norway Spruce.

We did get a pretty wreath that will eventually need to be composted but the tree is going to be planted in the back yard with our past five years worth of trees. I must admit, this is our biggest one yet! Though I think year #2 tree might have grown taller than this one is now. One of the perks of buying a loved one's home when they move is if you planted things in their back yard, they are once again yours! Whee.

Also tonight I received an envelope that made me squeal like an excited cheerleader. Something I do not even vaguely resemble.

My package from the VegWeb Secret Santa Exchange! This awesome collection came from Saskia in Southern California. She included an awesome black gift bag, a great note on spooky Emily stationary, five beautiful beads that I plan to make into a fab bracelet or necklace tonight, six lemon zinger cookies that are out of this world AND an annual subscription to VegNews! How unbelievably awesome is that?!

I already ate one of the cookies. It was everything a lemon cookie should be. Soft yet firm enough to hold up to being mailed, tangy yet sweet enough to prevent a pucker and perfectly chewy with a slightly crunchy exterior. Wow, if I had not been actively making dinner for LB, these would have been my main course! As it is, I am trying to distract myself from them by making this post! Sooo good!!!

Thank you Saskia! I do agree, we have loads in common. And I love my gift and will enjoy it all year. You rock!

I slack!

2008-12-01T22:06:00.000-05:00

But look, food!
Bean and Teese Nachos! Soooooo good!
Bacon Spaghetti and oven roasted garlic brussel sprouts!

Cilantro Lime Tofu with black beans!

Cranberry Pear Tart!

Ingredients:
1 (16 oz) bag fresh Cranberries
3/4 cup Sugar
1 cup Red Wine
2-3 cups sliced Pears - I used Seckle!
1/2 cup fresh squeezed Orange Juice
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 orange
1/2 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ground ginger.
1/2 cup water
2-4 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions:
Simmer everything but the water and cornstarch for 30 minutes over medium low, until the cranberries all pop and cook down some. Stir the water and cornstarch mixture together, use more starch if the pot seems thin, less if its already pretty thick. Pour into a pie crust or your favorite cookie mix. Personally I made a Lemon Tea Cake cookie crust in the tart pans and it was perfect! Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

The filling is tart, sharp and very richly bodied. The crust gives a great hint of sweet while not overshadowing the star inside it. I served mine topped with a dallop of Soya Too whip. Was perfect, though I think next time I will try to have some vanilla soy ice cream on hand!

Pomegranates?

2008-11-05T15:37:00.000-05:00

I have three huge pomegranates sitting on my kitchen counter. Just what the heck should I do with them?!

Dinner pictures, just to break up my Food Fest review!

2008-11-04T07:19:00.000-05:00

Last night's dinner. Stuffed peppers!

I simply made up a pot of rice, sauted up an onion, gimme lean sausage and garlic. I mixed the two together with a can of diced tomatoes, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, and Mexican oregano. I did pour on some tomato sauce over the top. Into the halved peppers and a 350 degree oven they went for 30 minutes. I think they could have been cooked an entire hour but it was 8pm and I was hungry!

And look, I even found time to make breakfast burritos in a week supply!

Hash browns, onion, garlic, gimme lean sausage, tofu cubes, red bell pepper, tumeric, black salt powder, and scallions. All ready to go into a tortilla and my belly!

Boston Vegetarian Food Festival 2008 - part 1

2008-11-03T10:49:00.001-05:00

Boston Veg Fest was amazing!
Just look at those smiling VegWebers! There were four green shirts in attendance Saturday. Unfortunately I did not make some for JW501 or CeltKat. They need one though! Plus I messed up the order and put VegWeb on the back instead of the front. These things happen.

But enough shameless VW'ing. Onto the tofu of the matter!

GreenT, her fiancée M and I left my house at the horrifically early hour of 6:45 AM and headed for Boston. Our drive was super fast and we were at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center by 9:15, so we drove past in search of camera batteries. Once back we found a great parking place and enjoyed the warm fall air on the way to the center. The crowd was pretty impressive compared to last year's trickle of people.

Once inside the swell of people grew, so much so that the whole entrance area to the exhibitors was filled up before the doors opened at 10. Soon though the door opened and people swarmed into the space, scooping up samples and chatting with fellow like minded people.

Personally, I was kind of disappointed to see that yet again some exhibitors were still in the process of setting up or not even in attendance yet, but I guess that is how these things go. Once inside the doors I hit Cafe Indigo on the right for a perfect mouthful of carrot cake and to buy one of their seitan loaves. The cake was extraordinary and I was happy the loaf was frozen. From there, after pilfering another bite of cake, I wandered down checking out the tables. I wanted to subscribe to VegNews but their table was packed to I walked on. Hannah Kaminsky was free of people so far so I slid up and shamelessly asked for her autograph on my cookbook that I had dragged with me. She was very gracious and did not seem as nervous as she claims to be! Plus those cute felt foods were darn adorable!

Moving on I tried out some Primal Strips. The mesquite lime was tasty but something about the texture just weirds me out slightly so I never buy them. I guess I am old school and still have a deep love for the insanely chewy and almost tough Tofurky Jerky. The crowds were pretty thick and I avoided the really busy tables, knowing I wanted to see the first speaker at 10:45. So when I saw Mah Wah's table was relatively sparsely populated I scrambled over. Their veggie meats are so amazing, check them out at vegieworld.com. I picked up almost $20 worth of faux meats from them, including a ham, spicy gong bao chicken, sweet & sour citrus spare ribs and more!

After this meat glut, I moved onto the Teese booth. Not only did they have adorable one pound cheezes for sale, they had nachos. Let me say that again.. NACHOS. Oh my goodness. I purchased one each of the cheddar and nacho flavor and my very own paper tray of chips to slather cheeze onto. I must say, Teese is absolutely amazing. I have enjoyed the Moz flavor at home several times, but the nacho was beyond great in my opinion. I will be ordering more of it soon!

From there I tried out some Bombay Potatoes from Tasty Bite. They were fantastic! The next booth I fought for space with was Soya Too. They had cartons of their Soy Whip as give aways. Oh my goodness! How awesome is that? I grabbed one for me and one for greenT and snatched up the coupon they had out. I cannot wait to whip up some creamy goodness. I am thinking of using it as cake frosting in a berry and chocolate layer cake.

Next I waited for the Galaxy foods guy to make a quesadillia with the vegan slices. It was good. I just wish my grocery store carried it! Onward I went to a booth selling plates of food. I bought bits of fried goodness and staggered under the weight of my backpack up to the speakers hall. Nibbling on my food I awaited the beginning of the talks. Luckily I finished up my wantons, dumplings, spring roll and drumstick before Sarah Kramer came on. Mainly because I wanted to video the whole thing. And I did. The two segments will hopefully be added or linked here soon!

As you can tell it was a jam packed day, and the time was only 10:45 am! This day went on till 11pm when we left Boston for home. But the rest of the event and post event fun is another post! Stay tuned for more.

Belated pr0n - My Halloween offering

2008-10-31T07:30:00.001-04:00

The cupcakes were a hit with the kids at work who came in trick or treating. Especially the one girl allergic to eggs! I got a pic as soon as I could, unfortunately no monster hands were in the shot. hahah

Halloween Party Prep

2008-10-29T23:03:00.000-04:00

So tonight I made Chik Pot Pie with a biscuit crust. It was delish. Very lightly seasoned, slightly herbed but basically good hearty and plentiful food.
Ok, so it looks disgusting and I should have added cornstarch to it before baking but it tasted divine. I basically just diced veggies, tossed them in a pan, sauted them and then simmered in a cup or so of water until tender. Then I moved everything to a casserole dish, topped with biscuits and baked for 15 minutes. Deelish!

Next I spent time making mini cupcakes for the kids that will come into my work tomorrow. I hope to have more pics after that fun but for now, here is a nudie shot! Wooo baby, work it!

Vacation eats

2008-10-29T09:47:00.000-04:00

Alas, I return from vacation with no pictures of food. Why you wonder? Because I did not get the opportunity to eat fabulous vegan food. Instead I ate a lot of potatoes, drank a lot of pear ale and walked my feet darn near off.

Some stand out nibbles were the Fried Mushrooms (on a stick) at the Texas Renaissance faire and the Spicy Korean Tofu & Veggies from Pei Wei. The things that sucked royally? The Kings Feast at the faire was great amusement but crappy food for a vegan. I ate grapes, a few marinated veggies, a quarter of a head of iceberg lettuce and roasted potatoes. So not worth the price of admission for me. And the second sucky place? Hooters. We went there, I took a look at the menu, had only water to drink and got up to leave before everyone else's food arrived. I drove over to Pei Wei for said awesome Spicy Korean dish.

Foolishly I did not bring sandwiches on the plane with me, so I was pretty hungry through that, though I did have some nibbles like grapes and pretzels. The flight home was worse because we had to run to make our connection. Ok, so I just walked as quick as possible and relied on LB to tell the gate attendants I was on my way. Even that made my knee hurt fiercely. Sometimes I wonder about my choice to not let the orthopedic specialist remove the screws he put in my tibia to realign my knee because they hurt!

Other than that, no other food stands out. I know you can eat vegan fare in Texas, I just did not have much opportunity to do so. Its hard when you are moving in a group with three omnivores. Though my friend M got her own mushrooms on a stick and loved them!

Hopefully there will be posts tomorrow with pictures of food. I hope to make mini cupcakes for the trick or treaters coming to the office tomorrow. And possibly peanut butter cannon balls if I have time!

Vacation time!

2008-10-23T20:55:00.000-04:00

Well all, I am leaving tomorrow on a long weekend vacation to Houston Texas. Well, thats where we arrive via plane, then its a short 30 minute drive north to the Texas Renaissance Faire! Yay!

I will be taking loads of pictures and hopefully will have some food to eat. Personally, I planned ahead and have made smart bacon strips for nibbling, carrots, celery, hummus and salsa packets (unopened!) and bags of chips. Lets all cross our fingers that they dont mind me bringing all this on the plane as carry on. hahah

Expect many multiple posts when I get back!

Mofo Survey

2008-10-22T13:23:00.004-04:00

I found this great survey on Where's the Revolution but it originally came from Get Sconed! I just happened to read the first one, first today. hahah

My answers! Wheee

What was the most recent tea you drank?

I am not a tea (or coffee) drinker but the last cup I did have was Earl Gray.

What vegan forms do you post/lurk on? If so, what is your username? Spill!

VegWeb mainly. Though I have been known to lurk on the Post Punk Kitchen

You have to have tofu for dinner, and it has be an Italian dish. What comes to mind first?

Herb crusted baked tofu served over crispy polenta wedges and a lovely roasted veggie mix of eggplant, tomato, bell pepper and zucchini with lots of basil and garlic.

How many vegan blogs do you read on an average day?

Ten on average during the week. I use the Google Reader and just click on the new posts.

Besides your own, what is the most recent one you’ve read?

Where's the Revolution by Bazu - its where I found the survey!

If you could hang out with a vegan blogger that you haven’t met, who would it be, and what would you do?

I think I would like to hang out with Tracy from A Veg*n for Dinner simply because she is so hilariously witty.

If you had to base your dinners for a week around one of the holy trilogy – tofu, seitan or tempeh, which would it be?

Seitan.

If you had to use one in a fight, which would it be?

Probably tempeh. I would smear those weird black lines of goo on my adversary and it would skeeve them out!

Name 3 meals you’d realistically make with that tough protein of choice!

Tempeh sausage crumbles from Vegan With a Vengeance made into breakfast burritos. Tempeh meatloaf riff off of Vegan Dad's Perfect Tempeh Burger, served with garlic mashed potatoes and mushroom green beans. Fried herb crusted tempeh triangles with a huge batch of roasted veggies.

What’s a recipe in vegan blogland that you’ve been eyeing?

I have so many I dont know if there is enough room on the web for me to note them all. I do want to make Vegan Dad's seitan lunchmeat soon.

Do you own any clothing with vegan messages/brands on them?

I own one Herbivore black crossed swords shirt.
I am now the proud owner of a lovely Herbivore shirt as noted in the last post!
I think I have more but honestly my t-shirt favorites are all bought from my favorite web comics. My most recent one says Xibalba is for Lovers. *snicker*

Have you made your pilgrimage to the 'vegan mecca' yet? (Portland, duh)

No but I recently learned my sister is only a few hours away from there! Next time we travel across country to see here I will plan a day (or three) trip.

What age did you first go vegan? Did it stick?

I went vegan at 29, starting as a L/O veg and trying to cook two weeks L/O and two weeks vegan alternating. I had a particularly bad dairy reaction and gave it up!

What is the worst vegan meal you’ve had? Who cooked it?

There are so many that make me just roll my eyes but typically I have pretty good luck. I think my unhappiest meals are from chains like Applebee's and TGIFridays where I get to eat salad or oily bland pasta.

What made you decide to blog?

Amusingly enough we are coming up on my very first blogiversary. I had so much fun at the 2007 Boston Vegetarian Food Fest, and no one cared in my real life, that I started a blog just to get it out.

What are three of your favorite meals to make?

My favorites change with the seasons but I will try to be fair here.

Bacon Spaghetti
Chickpea cutlets with mashed potatoes, peas, gravy and garlic bread
Some variation of Rice & Beans

What dish would you bring to a vegan Thanksgiving-themed potluck?

Bryanna Clark Grogan's Soy Seitan Turky stuffed with my home made stuffing.

Where is your favorite vegan meal at a restaurant? How many times have you ordered it?

Anything from Candle Cafe

What do you think the best chain to dine as a vegan is?

P.F. Chang’s is yummy. I have eaten there twice. But honestly, I typically dont eat at chains as I find small local restaurants to be better in either accommodating me or providing options.

My kitchen needs a………

Immersion blender! I have just about every other gadget under the sun but no immersion blender. *sigh*

This vegetable is not allowed in my kitchen…..!

Sweet Potato or Yam. I have intestinal issues with them. :(

What's for dinner tonight?

If only I knew! I was thinking of making Cabbage soup or veggie pot pie but cant decide!

I won a T-shirt!

2008-10-22T10:54:00.001-04:00

(Note: The photo above is from the blog I won it from! That lovely model looks nothing like me, unfortunately for me.)

Squeee!

I actually just got this today in the mail. I won it on the SmartFitter blog which is a very cool place. Not only can you see beautiful vegan food porn but you can also read about fitness, diet, economics, and even growing your own mushrooms!

Now this shirt is beautiful. So soft and with a tight smooth weave. The construction is very very good for a tee shirt. It is the Sustainable Edition brand by American Apparel. The light natural color pairs well with the vibrant green design.

I cannot wait to wear this shirt!

What to cook?!

2008-10-21T10:02:00.001-04:00

Do you ever go to a farm stand or grocery store or farmers market and grab up everything that looks good? I did that on Sunday. I visited a farm stand very close to my house, a lovely Indian Market and my local grocery store. My haul? Huge and undetermined about what to make. Any ideas please feel free to drop me a comment!

Veggies:
1 large sweet Onion (used 1/3rd)
3 Shallots
1 Red Bell Pepper (used 1/4th)
1 Green Bell Pepper (used 1/4th)
1 Zucchini (used half)
1 Yellow Squash (used half)
Bag full of spinach
Bag full of thin long carrots
1 bulb Garlic
1 huge head Cabbage
2 lb red Potatoes

Indian Staples:
5lb Basmatti Rice
1lb Moong Dal
1lb Chick Peas, dried
1lb frozen Roti

Grocery Store Staples:
Celery
Asparagus
10oz sliced Crimini Mushrooms (used!)
10oz sliced White Mushrooms
MSF Chick'n Seitan strips, frozen
Flour Tortillas
Salsa
Refried Beans
13 Bean dried mix from Bob's Red Mill
Canned Green Beans
Frozen Cauliflower
Boca Chik Patties (used!)
Brown Rice Pasta spirals

I have plenty of other various staples in the house so feel free to incorporate other typical things in your suggestions. I also have one pumpkin and a huge butternut squash from last week.

What I have made so far was a lovely Chik Catchetorie riff over wide egg free noodles. Used 1/3 of an onion, 2 ribs of celery, 3 thin carrots, two chunks of bell pepper, half a zucchini, half a yellow squash, two big cloves of garlic, two sun dried tomatoes soaked in red wine, 10 oz crimini mushrooms, 10 oz diced tomatoes and a tablespoon tomato paste. So tasty!

Now I cannot decide if I want a chik pot pie, cabbage soup, Dal or something totally different. I know I would like to take some time tonight and make breakfast burritos for the rest of this week and next, but that wont really take much away from the list as the items are basically all pantry and fridge staples aside from the tortillas and salsa. But other than that, my mind wont make itself up. Help!

Boston Vegetarian Food Festival

2008-10-21T09:58:00.001-04:00

Thats right! Its almost that time again. The trek to Boston takes me three hours but I plan on doing just that November 1st. Hopefully KissMeKate is joining me for some of the ride and the day of good food, excellent speakers and an awesome vegan time.

In the New England area? I highly suggest you check it out! Click here for more info.

VeganMoFo - Rice & Beans

2008-10-17T22:02:00.000-04:00

Ok, so maybe its not exciting but it was delish. Even my husband, who dislikes the bland mushy idea of rice and beans liked this. Luckily I was pretty smart and added my spices with a measuring spoon. This was a clean out the freezer type of meal as I am almost totally out of fresh veggies. Darn my own laziness in not going to the store this week. But it makes for a good eating cheap and tasty dish. The recipe is as follows!

1T Vegetable Oil
1/2 Onion, diced
1/2t Cumin
1/2t Oregano (Mexican)
1t Chili Powder (Mild)
1t Garlic Powder
Salt & Pepper
1/2c Bell Pepper, diced
1/2c Corn, fresh or frozen
1-2c Soy sausage, either homemade or store bought
15oz Small Red beans, drained
3 Sun Dried Tomatoes
1.2c Rice, white long grain variety
3c Water, divided
8oz Tomato sauce

Soak the dried tomatoes in 1 cup of the water. Saute the onion in the oil on medium heat for 3 minutes. Add in the spices and cook for 2 minutes. Add in the veggies, beans and soysage. Heat through. Add 2 cups of the water and rice to the pot. Dice the tomato and add it and the soaking water to the pot. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 25 minutes. Stir well and pour on the tomato sauce. Let sit covered for a minute or two before serving.

This was creamy, mild but with an excellent savory flavor. The only crunch to it was the corn as my bell peppers were the frozen kind and are soft when reheated. The delicate oregano adds a nice green note to the overall flavor. I was drinking a very mild table red with dinner that almost completely overpowered the subtle tastes. So I recommend waiting till after you are done to partake.

I did not get a picture, trust me its not very pretty. But it tastes divine.

Vegan Mofo - Recent Eating Out part 2

2008-10-15T09:08:00.000-04:00

If yesterday's post was the bad eating out, this one should be described as the good kind. Perfection, decadence, and yes, a bit of gluttony. Now, I did not take my camera with me. Mainly because the destination that I was there for stated plainly that no electronic devices, backpacks or sealed envelopes would be allowed. Of course when I got there and 90% of the people had said items, one even going so far as to have their cell phone ring while in line and talk for five minutes. But such is life for us rule followers. Plus the whole trip was work related so I could do no less than behave.

All that aside, it did give me an excellent excuse to wander from 53rd Street to 79th and visit Candle 79. Now, the last time I had to pick up visa's for work I visited there, so I felt it was totally appropriate to do so this trip as well. I wandered over at 11:30 am only to realize they did not open till noon. I was sad and paced up and down the block for a bit.

But once they were open I scurried inside and claimed a table by the open window. The concept of a vegan restaurant makes me giddy. The decisions on what to eat are difficult when you can pick anything. I wavered several times and debated their daily specials quite a bit. Finally my choices were made and I indulged.

I started with a chocolate shake. This was not thick or rich but it was lovely nonetheless. It had an icy float of creamy goodness on the top under a sprinkling of tiny chocolate chips. The Enjoy Life brand if I do not miss my guess. There was also chocolate syrup decorating the inside of the glass that swirled around nicely adding to the flavor. Needless to say, it was good. I might have made it thicker or richer had I been at home, but this would satisfy everyone on the chocolate spectrum.

Next I ordered a starter. The guacamole timbale. I was not quite sure what to expect though it could not be bad with a description like it had. The large plate came out and I was thrilled. The most obvious was the homemade tortilla strips that were crisp without being greasy or heavy. There was a tower of delight under them layered with refried black beans, caramelized onions, a light jicama pico de gallo and topped with a lush guacamole. There was a decadent sauce made from chipotle drizzled under all this that was smoky and divine. The beans were a lovely mellow base for the more flavorful onions and salsa while the guac lavishly spread its creamy touch everywhere. The crisp chips were a delight and I soon abandoned all efforts to eat politely and dug my fork in deep. I used the last few strips of tortilla to scrape up every last bit. My plate almost looked like I had licked it clean.

The waitress was impressed and even gave me a 'good job' on the appetizer before setting down my entree. The Fall Harvest Paella was everything I hoped it would be. The tower of rice and veggies was warm, flavorful and prefect on a blustery day. The seitan sausage was chewy enough to be noticed but not tough or difficult. It added a good tooth appeal to the meal. The rice was perfectly cooked, tender and delicate with no clumps or dried out pieces. Veggies diced finely were thick in the tomato mix; diced zucchini, delicately slivered onion and crisp fresh corn kernels. There were some sauces underneath the rice that were tasty as well, one was very avocado tasting while the others were peppery. This was a perfect meal despite my fear that it would be too small of a portion. I felt well and truly satiated after finishing.

That did not stop me from ordering dessert of course. The need for vegan goodness cannot stop simply because of a full tummy! Again I ordered a towering dish, this time the Caramelized Apple Phyllo Tower. Luckily the waitress gave me time, upon my request, to sit back and enjoy the day before bringing it out.

This dessert was a very interesting combination of tart berry sauce, rich and creamy topping, crisp and light phyllo and in my opinion the hidden ice cream at the center of the tower. The ice cream was so rich, lush and flavorful I wanted a quart of it to take with me. It had a subtle cinnamon flavor and a light apple taste to it, neither overpowering the other or the delicate creamy base. My goal is to someday eat more of this lush goodness or make my own. Preferably the former because if I learn how to make my own, no one will ever hear from me again as I will probably drowned in the stuff.

All in all, while the day was long, trying and full of waiting, it was made wonderful by the lunch provided by Candle 79. While their prices are a bit higher than what I am used to it is so worth it.

Vegan Mofo - Recent Eating Out part 1

2008-10-14T11:43:00.000-04:00

I have no pictures for this post. Sorry!

My husband and I went to a wedding for his golf partner (and best friend)'s oldest daughter. It was a lovely drive to Simsbury with the fall colors starting to wash the landscape in orange, red and yellow. The reception was at a lovely location, right near a river and heavily wooded. The building was beautiful and very new apparently and they set it up very elegantly. Of course the bride looked lovely as did the attendees but you all do not care much about that, so lets get down to the good stuff... the food!

The reception started at noon and they had a lovely hor dorves spread set out. I started with a flute of Mimosa and waited patiently for my turn up to the table. It turns out they did have good things but by the time I got there the pickings were slim. I enjoyed cantelope, watermelon, carrots, yellow bell pepper and one celery stick. Everything else was quite contaminated either by the placement, who puts grapes on TOP of cheese, or by the guests scooping the dip out and dripping on the veggies.

No worries though, I did get enough in my belly to make walking after all those mimosa's possible.

Once it was time to sit down at our table I was very disappointed. The salad plat was already at the table and each one was adorned with a skewer of poor little shrimps stabbed through the belly and onto a half of a lemon. My husband took it off my plate for me before I sat down. He is such a considerate man sometime! Of course I refused to touch the salad after it had been that close to the shellfish. Who knows how many times they had fallen over and lay in the greens. Instead I ate a whole wheat onion roll and a half, after sharing with LB.

When dinner arrived I was optimistic. It could have been our hosts assuring me that they had planned a vegetarian option or all the champagne. Of course I asked the coordinator for a plate with no animal products, including dairy. One waitress tried to bring me out a plate with mashed potatoes while she was there. Oddly enough their "Of course our vegetarian plates are vegan." comment died a quick death when I asked how they made the potatoes. After that they brought me out a plate and my optimism faltered.

Now picture a very large, very shallow bowl with an inch or two rim in a crisp white ceramic. Inside this huge plate was a stack of vegetables and a drizzle of balsamic sauce with a sprig of rosemary just to look festive. At the top of the stack was a small portobella mushroom that had been roasted or grilled, it was very flavorful but small. Under that was a slice of red bell pepper, about the same diameter as the mushroom, maybe 2 inches. Under that was some not very carmelized onions, again about the same size as the bell pepper slice. Under that layer was some zucchini, three half slices that were possibly a quarter of an inch before roasting. After that was a round of cooked spinach. Of course there was the sauce drizzled about and one tiny sweet pepper looking decorative.

Mind you while this was very tasty, everyone around me had three peices of flesh plus more mashed potatoes than I had veggies. When I finished my 'meal' I was starving. Luckily the mother of the bride convinced them to bring me out another plate but it was even less than the first as it was missing the spinach and the sauce. Needless to say I was disappointed. I continued to drink my calories, since I had nothing else available.

Dessert time found them cutting the cake and serving up crepes. Neither of which I could eat. So instead I smoked an organic cigar with my hubby and we danced outside. Once the reception was over we headed to the hotel where Angel had hung out all day, enjoying their never ending hot water and her books.

She and I ran to Subway and got sandwiches and chips. Mine was gone in a matter of moments I was so hungry. I should have gotten the 12 inch just because! After that I wandered downstairs to the after party, enjoyed the company and a few more drinks. The restaurant and bar did have food so I ordered some. The bruschetta was tasty but the bread was so thick and stale that it was almost impossible to eat. If it had been half the size in width it would have been perfect. Then I ordered their stir fry. It came an hour later with veggies, rice pasta and a very odd sauce. I did not enjoy it but I ate all I could, mostly picking out the veggies and swirlling up the naked noodles around the edges.

All in all, I did not quite enjoy myself. Sunday we drove Angel to the airport and hung out waiting for her plane. My lunch? half a bag of rice crackers.

Not a very healthy weekend. I have more eating out to share but this tragedy of dining deserves its own post. I will give you a hint though, Monday I had to travel into the city for work. So I indulged in lunch a Candle 79!

VeganMoFo - Tamales from the Potluck

2008-10-10T21:10:00.000-04:00

For the potluck I made a batch of tamales. The corn husks came all the way from California with my Mom, when she visited two years ago. Nice to know they store well, isn't it? I made 3/4ths of the batch with refried beans and black beans spiced up with garlic, onion, chili powder and a pinch of smoked paprika. The rest I mixed Field Roast Chipotle Sausage with a bit of the leftover bean mix.

The plain ones were delish. Creamy insides, smooth taste and perfect smothered in guacamole. The Field Roast ones were a bit too spicy for my taste and then they upset my stomach. For whatever reason those products always do that, so its not surprising.

I gave all the spicy ones away to KMK, BP and VHZ at the end of the potluck to take home with them. I still have over a dozen small sized bean ones in my fridge. Sometime next week, its tamale night!

Potluck Pictures - round four 'the big finale'

2008-10-09T07:23:00.001-04:00

The fabulous potluck sleepover extravaganza was wrapped up by playing board games in our jammies till 2pm, eating ice cream and pie for lunch and snacking on lunch leftover veggies and dips.

VHZ and KMK made a great team for Scrabble. Which we played with modified rules, if you could spell a VegWebber's name, you got a double word score!

The winning team though, was Camilus and Baypuppy. Look at them, so studious!

Pictionary was awesome, and we ate dessert... I mean lunch, during it too!
I tried to get out of having to draw Ronald McDonald as it was morally against veganism, but it was such an easy win.
My lunch was pumpkin pie, Mocha Almond Fudge & Snickerdoodle ice cream by So Delicous covered in Soya Too Whip we made the day before. mmmm This bowl was either BP's or Angel's which had pumpkin pie, Chocolate Brownie Almond ice cream, Soya Too Whip, Smuckers Marshmallow Topping and chocolate sauce.
Our lunch feast is a bit of slim pickings overall, but we still had leftovers!
We did finish the games with a round of Simpson's Clue. It was Marge in the Simpson's House with the necklace by the way!

Just look at that fiesty BP!

We did see KMK off after the fun with a bag full of food, prizes and cigar boxes. Empty mind you! My hubby wont part with the contents but I am willing to part with the boxes easily. After that everyone packed up and we took our last field trip to Barns & Noble and the local kitchy store The Christmas Tree Shop. It was a huge amount of fun and I was so happy people came over and had a great time. Thanks for coming everyone!

Potluck Pictures - round three "the morning after"

2008-10-06T20:08:00.000-04:00

We all slept in until about 8:30am after our potluck pajama party. In the morning we sat around kind of groggy and our bellies still not quite up to eating MORE food. But we persevered for vegans everywhere and headed to the kitchen. Behold our accomplishments!

This is the Nutritionist Soy Milk Maker I got over a year (or two) ago through my local Freecycle group. This was its first batch ever made by me though. Let me just say, I wish I had the instruction booklet! It is not a good batch. I will try again and add oats or rice to the soy beans in the brewing process and sugar afterward!

Next is our lovely tofu for the Tofu McVegans I promised VHZ. They were made with two blocks of The Bridge tofu, which is a local Connecticut company! One cup of Apple Cider Vinegar, half a cup of oil and a tablespoon of Black Salt Powder finished them off. I let it soak for about thirty minutes before baking over an hour at 350. I flipped them several times to get them all golden and crispy. Luckily this was done the day before so that they just needed a quick reheat.

No vegan fast food breakfast would be complete without hash browns and bacon, so VHZ and Cam made some! Yay.

This was my breakfast sandwich, complete with Tofutti cheese slice, LightLife bologna, Smart Bacon, Tofu and hash browns wedged between a Stop & Shop Multigrain Light english muffin. Delish!

Here is Cam enjoying his, which I think he buttered the muffin and added two different meats and cheeses! How indulgent we vegans get in a pack.

There are more potluck pictures to come, so stay tuned.

Potluck Pictures - round two

2008-10-06T07:17:00.001-04:00

For those of you not in the know, we had a VegWeb potluck at my house this past weekend! Four steadfast friends trekked in as far away as Albany to come visit, eat and have a great time. My not tiny sized kitchen felt very small with five adults working in it. Here are more pictures!

KissMeKate and VegHeadZealia watch on as dinner preparations start.

Baypuppy and Camilus putting Mac & Cheeze in the oven. mmmm bread crumb topping!

We decided then to have a fancy schmancy dinner party type of dinner since it was just us. I love bringing out the good china for fun things!

KMK folded the napkins! So awesome.

Sitting around the table, ready to dig in!
The food! Going clockwise from the top is: sauted Kale, teriyaki meatballs, lentil bake, mac & cheese and my own bacon spaghetti. Everything was so delish and it is such a treat to be around people cooking great vegan food.
This is what was left once we did as much damage as we could. Luckily leftovers did fit in my fridge and people got to take portions home!

First though, we had a field trip to my local Trader Joe's before we started on cooking dinner. We picked up everything from dried Dragonfruit to trail mix to frozen asperagus to toothpaste! What a fun trip. We also hit the local Stop & Shop grocery store for smoothie makings but once in the store we got distracted and only bought sundae toppings like Smuckers Marshmallow Sauce!

After we ate that feast pictured above, we sat in the den and played Scattegories. It is funny how everyone got different foods but when we had to think up people or places there were duplicates. We also voted that Hulk Hogan is NOT considered a hero. This party was a pajama party with everyone staying overnight for two days of fun and food so we all got in our jammies and stayed up till 2am goofing off and laughing hysterically.

Sunday morning fun will have to wait till next post though!

Potluck Pictures - first batch

2008-10-04T14:42:00.002-04:00

Just a few minor notes and changes to this post to update it some. Saturday morning I got up, cleaned my house within an inch of its life except the outside edges of the stairs apparently. (Long story!) All in preparation for a potluck! Yay!

I made a double batch of Cheezy Quackers with garlic, salt & pepper. These are always so good!
Look at that lovely dough.

Luckily I now have the counter space to roll these addictive crackers out onto.

Little leaves all cut out and awaiting the oven.

My new cookie cutter set. Probably will only be used for crackers though. Cookies are too much like work to cut out. hahah!

The final bowl full. Seriously, this is all a double batch, three large pans worth, made. We demolished these pretty quick. I suggest making a triple batch if you like them as much as I do.

The lunch spread! Left to right: Condiment container with marinated mushrooms, kalmata olives, salsa, guacamole and chickpea dip. Tortilla chips are in the bowl below it with Olive Tapenade right beside it. A quartet of hummus stands strong with the quackers. Veggies ranging from bell peppers, snow peas, green beans, radishes, carrots and celery block the vegan ranch, creamy Sheese, sliced Teese and Cheddar w/ Chives Sheese from escaping the garlic bread and pitas.

A hungry Baypuppy digs into the hummus. nom nom nom

Camilus did some dishes!
And we had a vegan cheese test of meltability. Teese on garlic bread, firm Sheese in a whole wheat pita and soft Sheese in the tiny pita spaceship shape. I did not eat any of these hot from the oven but I must say, the creamy Sheese probably is my favorite to dip things into. The firm kind was strangly resistant to any mingling with other foods. It exuded oils but would not spread or blend. The Teese was of course, excellent.

I think Cam thought the same way about my cheese favorites because here he is eating the tiny pita stuffed with creamy Sheese and looking delieriously happy!

Day 2 - but we ate leftovers!

2008-10-02T08:40:00.001-04:00

Oh me oh my! We had leftovers tonight. Things that by now are not super photogenic. Luckily I have older photos from September.

First up is the previously mentioned seared smoked tofu atop a bed of grains with lemon pepper broccoli. Very good and simple to make.

Next up I made myself breakfast burritos. I pan fried up some onion, shredded potato, bell pepper, faux sausage crumbles and salsa verde. These were great but the best part was that I put them in the freezer to eat at a later date and they turned out so wonderful. Easy to heat up in the microwave on the way out the door or as a brunch snack on the weekday. Since it was not a lot of work I hope to do this more often for an excellent train ride handheld breakfast.

mmmm salsa verde!

VeganMoFo Day 1

2008-10-01T09:37:00.000-04:00

To make up for my long silence I present to you my lunches, times four! In September I bought a Laptop Lunchbox to bring my own healthy lunch with me to work.

My first lunch was full of V'Con's Chickpea Cutlets, rice pilaf, veggies, apple slices, salad dressing in the tiny container and a bag of dark chocolate covered blueberries. Was good!

My second lunch was my own take on a BLT with Lightlife's Smart Bacon standing in for poor dead pig. And honestly, who doesn't put Avocado on their BLTs? This was a dip-tastic lunch with ketchup in the kitty and elephant containers to plunge the tater tots into. A container of grapes rounded it all out nicely.
Next I made my very own Cornish pastry from the Vegan Lunch Box cookbook. These were so very very good! The pie crust was easy to make, the filling was delish and it traveled very well. No wonder hand held stuffed pasties have been around for centuries!
And finally I have a picture of a lovely bunch of broccoli! Ok it is really leftovers from my excellent dinner of Smoked Tofu with Lemon Pepper Broccoli over Mixed Grains

Let me know that store bought plantain chips do NOT hold a candle to homemade fresh ones. Now if only I could make these myself all thin and crisplike.

I hope to keep posting all month. I am throwing a potluck at my home this weekend for several VegWeb friends. Expect lots of yummy food posts from that as soon as I catch up on all my September backlog, which consists of 3 more food photos. Doh!

And we are back!

2008-09-30T21:13:00.001-04:00

My apologies for the long silence. Things have been busy busy busy! Thursday I should get a big thumbs up from my doctor which will make my life so much better as well.

For now I wanted to get a jump start on VeganMoFo! I did not officially sign up because you all know how darn flaky I am.

Tonight I got home at 7pm after my commute home and a quick trip to the Asian grocer. I threw together a quick but tasty meal supplied by Trader Joes. Yesterday I picked up some teriyaki tofu and a frozen mix of rice and veggies. I simply pan seared the cut tofu, removed it from the pan and then warmed up the mix. It was from the fridge to the table in 15 minutes and was very good. I do wish I had snatched up the adorable baby bok choy I found at the grocer to add to it. Instead I made due with frozen green peas.

It makes me wonder if it is possible to make something like this and freeze it up for later reheating, or if it would be a huge amount of work. Something to think about. But for now, I leave you with this very beautiful picture of dinner!

Medical downtime

2008-08-30T09:46:00.000-04:00

On Thursday, August 28th I had a Laproscopic Supercervical Hysterectomy. I will probably not be cooking or blogging much until I recover a bit more.

Sorry for the lack of posts!

Just as a recap though, my discretionary eating went on quite well and I think I will do my best to continue to eat seconds only when hungry and to cut sweets down further in my life. Thanks Chile Chews for the great challenge. I wish I could have posted more about my experience.

I had intended to post more!

2008-08-26T10:28:00.001-04:00

Honest, I did.

And tonight I turned on my home computer and got the blue CHKDSK screen of death, indicating that my hard drive was toast. LB has plans to try to resurrect it tonight but until then it makes my computer centric life difficult. No surfing (work blocked) web comics, no playing EQ2 and not being able to upload photos.

I have all of last week's lunches, Monday through Wednesday, on film. As well as dinner last night and today's lunch. Until I can get them here I will share my recipe from last night's dinner. It was a complete improvisation.

Smoked Tofu with Lemon Pepper Broccoli over Mixed Grains

2 cups Water
1 Knor Vegetarian Vegetable Bullion Cube
1/2 cup Brown Rice (10 minute 'instant' version)
1/4 cup Amaranth
1/4 cup Quinoa, Inca Red - rinsed
1 package SoyBoy Smoked Tofu
2 tsp Vegetable Oil
1/2 - 1 cup water
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice, concentrate
1 tsp Lemon Pepper no salt seasoning
2 cups Broccoli florets
2 Tbsp Earth Balance
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:
Bring the 2 cups of water to a boil with the bullion cube to dissolve. Rinse the quinoa and add it and the rice and amaranth to the boiling broth. Cover and cook on low for 20 minutes.

In a large skillet, with a lid, bring the oil to medium heat. Slice to tofu horizontally to make 4 pieces out of the two and then diagonally. Place these in the heated pan and sear both sides. Add the lemon juice to the pan and shake to get all the tofu in the bubbling sauce. This will brown up the bottom of the pan but don't worry, the extra water deglazes it in a moment.
Add half a cup of water to deglaze the pan. Quickly add in the spice and broccoli and cover with a lid. Allow to steam for 3 to 5 minutes to your preferred doneness. Add in the Earth Balance, salt and pepper and cover for another minute.

Plate the grains and mound the tofu and broccoli on top.

This was fantastic. Smoky hints making the tofu taste slightly like bacon. The sharp hint of lemon simply enhanced the flavor of the broccoli and the grains were a smooth yet chewy texture with a mild background flavor. I need to find a local source of smoked tofu or make my own because I hope this recipe is on the menu frequently!

The Wonderful Weekend

2008-08-18T09:33:00.000-04:00

Our weekends in August and September are taken up by our attendance at the New York Renaissance Faire as I have probably mentioned. I wanted to journal my eating for the weekend in one post real quick.

Saturday morning we got up leisurely and gathered our necessary items. Breakfast for me was leftover General Tso's Tofu, rice and the last spring roll. Unfortunately this set my tummy to nauseous and made for a difficult morning. I did run out to the bank and grabbed a Blue Raspberry Icee to soothe my tummy. Don't ask me why, but it works for me!

I had packed the cooler with water bottles, two PB & Co Dark Chocolate Dreams and Strawberry spread sandwiches, a bowl of chickpea salad, as well as the last of my crudities just so I could have something to nibble on should the need arise.

I drove to the hour plus way into New York and we grabbed a room at the new Hampton Inn in Harriman. Lovely hotel that has only been open 10 days! We garbed up and headed to Faire. I think the rest of the afternoon was full of booze but no food. I might have gotten an order of Spicy Fries but I just simply don't recall! I was drinking Mead and occasionally some Hardcore Apple Cider.

We staggered back (except for LB who drove us) to the hotel and got changed for dinner. TGI Friday's really had three options for vegans that I have eaten: Bruscetta Pasta with mushrooms subbed for the chicken, large garden salad with vinegar and steamed broccoli. My pasta was good but then at that point I was ready to gnaw on the table! I did sip on a Lynchburg Strawberry Lemonade but while it was fantastic in flavor I just couldn't drink any more. Finally we went back and slept the sleep of the heavily intoxicated.

Breakfast was bright and early at the hotel lounge from their complimentary spread. I had a packet of Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal, a sesame bagel with peanut butter and jelly and a tiny cup of apple juice.

I was not that full unfortunately and ate one of my sandwiches a few hours later as we walked into the faire. I stuck to water for the most part on Sunday just because I knew I would have to be the driver on the way home. In the Friends of Faire garden I nibbled on crackers with hummus, pretzel chips and a peach.

Stupidly I let myself get overheated and was sitting in the shade nibbling grapes, crackers, one stick each of carrot and celery, and some spicy fries. After that it was lots of water and hiding from the evil day star.

The drive home was brutal as I was nauseous again and way too hot. Dinner ended up being very late leftover chickpea cutlets with steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes.

The weekend turned out to be great overall. I did not over eat, though from listing it here it sounds like I did. Trust me, the amount of food in the servings are small or shared. The drinking was probably excessive calorie wise but I have high hopes for hitting the gym 4 days this week, just as I did last week!

Lets see though about my discretionary eating challenge. . . I needed to cut sweets back 50% and I definitely did that. Seconds only when hungry is a big obstacle for me but I think this weekend I went hungry more often than overfull. And even though I did imbibe a lot of mead I don't really count that against my 100% Veg as I still eat honey. Maybe that makes me not a vegan but I feel the only perfect vegan is a dead vegan. My veg line in the sand includes booze of any type or make except dairy.

I am not sure if I will continue to food log on a daily basis. It's been fun but I am sure no one really cares about what I ate all week. haha I hope to have some pictures next post of my first laptop lunch!

Friday Foodstuffs!

2008-08-15T10:07:00.001-04:00

Once again my repetitive nature hits!

Again a breakfast sandwich of whole wheat bread, chickpea cutlet, LightLife Bologna slices, Soyblu slices and tomato filled me up for hours! The flavor combination is so perfect, the mild cutlet pairs beautifully next to the juicy tomato and sharp soy cheese flavor. The textures work well too as the bologna gives such a great soft chewy mouth feel. I think this sandwich is more filling than the version with the Boca chik patty.

Lunch was leftovers of Bacon Spaghetti and the last of the watermelon. Crudities and hummus made for a lovely afternoon snack.

Dinner was out at a Mexican Restaurant near our old condo. We nibbled on chips and salsa while sipping margaritas. Well, I tried very hard to only eat a few of the chips and had one strawberry marg! My dinner was a lovely Veggie Fajitas spread that I ate with some of the chips, the hot salsa and a fork. So yummy to scoop up carrot, mushroom, broccoli and a zucchini slice with a chip dotted with refried beans, rice and salsa. Occasionally I even got some guacamole on that pile. So good.

It is always interesting to me to frequent the same restaurants. Some days their service is great others mediocre, some days their food is passable but others, like our experience on Friday, the food is phenomenal. We both left full, happy and raving about the goodness.

Also I received my Laptop Lunchbox in the mail yesterday. I am so excited to give it a try. I hope to do some cooking early Saturday so that Monday morning packing just needs a few minutes. My train reading book has been Vegan Lunch Box for the past week. The first few recipes I want to try are the Samosas and the Cornish Pastry.

Thursday Consumption

2008-08-14T08:45:00.001-04:00

I am worked from home Thursday so my meals were a bit different from my normal routine, but not completely!

Breakfast was a lovely sandwich of whole wheat bread, a thin chickpea cutlet, three LightLife Bologna slices, two tomato slices, and two thin slices of Soyblu Cheese. Very good and filling.

I was able to run out for lunch and picked up General Tso's Tofu from an awesome Chinese place. I only ate half the order and one spring roll. Though I did have a can of 7-Up.

Since I did work from home my meals were all rather late and I had a small helping of last night's leftovers for dinner at 8pm. Romaine lettuce, quinoa salad and a chickpea cutlet went great as I watched Sweeny Todd on On Demand. I loved the costuming and the dark story. So great.

I didn't get my work out in but I hope to grab a quick one on Friday!

Wednesday Bites

2008-08-13T12:47:00.003-04:00

Today I broke out of my pattern! I had a Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter and Strawberry jam sandwich for breakfast. I did need a pre-gym snack of a small bowl of Kashi Heart to Heart cerial with soy milk. It kept me going but as I was changing and heading back to my desk my tummy was grumbling loudly.

Lunch is a bowl of leftover Bacon Spaghetti, carrots, celery and green beans in hummus. After yesterday's debacle I decided to skip getting anything from the cafeteria. I did splurge and eat 3 Oreos.

At 5pm I nibbled on some pretzel chips and had a sprite as my tummy was very unhappy. I think all the crudities were a bit much. Ok fine, it was the cookies! Happy?

Dinner was an awesome salad of Quinoa, raw corn kernels, pimento, avocado and tomato in a lime and chili dressing. I did top it with a baked chickpea cutlet strip, just because cutlets are that awesome.

The cutlets in all their glory!

The salad in its zippy goodness:
I mixed lime juice, crushed red pepper, chili powder, olive oil, salt and a bit of pepper for the dressing. It was tangy with that citrus bite but a slow heat in your mouth afterwards. The quinoa was lovely but still hot so it made the avocados disappear unfortunately. But it all tasted divine. The crisp romaine was a lovely crunch with the softer salad and chewy cutlet bites.

I am going to make this again. Possibly with shelled edamame and cold quinoa.

Tuesday Nibbles

2008-08-12T13:15:00.002-04:00

It appears my diet is quite repetitive. Quite.

Breakfast was a sandwich of whole wheat bread around a Boca Chik Patty and three slices of LightLife Bologna with a small squirt of ketchup for fun. I ate this on the train today and pulled off all of the crust.

Snack time once again was roasted nuts and rice crackers. I just love the wasabi peas and spicy chili crescents!

Lunch brought nothing new as I finished up the last homemade burrito that I had frozen last week. Tortilla, brown rice, beans, LightLife Taco Meat and hot sauce. I did raid the cafeteria for some salsa that added a bit of spicy heat to my otherwise mundane lunch.

I had a huge array of options for snack time, mushroom barley soup (another cafeteria score), cut watermelon, celery, carrots, green beans and hummus. I was not quite sure which would win over my tummy at 3:30.

Amusingly enough I was not in the office at 3:30 as I was out helping a coworker with a project. I had sampled some of the soup earlier and it hurt my stomach so that was out. Instead at 4:50 I enjoyed a small bowl of cut watermelon. So cool, crisp and juicy. Perfect for the afternoon munchy attack!

Dinner was a favorite standby that has not been made in a month at least. Bacon Spaghetti but made with a nutritional yeast cheesy sauce thickened with unsweetened soy milk and Tofutti Cream Cheese. Its full of mushrooms, small slices of soft LightLife Smart Bacon, and thin angelhair pasta. So good. Our veggie side was sauted kale. Probably not quite a perfect match but delish in its own right.

So my quest to cut back on prepackaged items is a flop so far. But I will continue to try to cut back while keeping up with my discretionary eating.

Monday Eats

2008-08-12T09:20:00.000-04:00

I was thinking I would keep a food log here in hopes that the guilt will keep me honest on the discretionary eating challenge. So without further ado, and a severe lack of pictures, let me blather on!

Breakfast was a sandwich with two slices of whole wheat bread nestled around a Boca Chik patty, two slices of LightLife Bologna and slice of Tofutti American Cheeze. This got eaten while awaiting the train amidst the throng of commuters. I know they were jealous.

I had a 10:30am snack of roasted peanuts, cashews, almonds and rice crackers. I wanted something to give me some energy to survive my first work out in several months. The gym was lovely like I knew it would be and I spent a good half hour on the bike pedaling happily. I did do a few arm reps on lats, biceps and triceps but not too much as I do not want to induce week long soreness.

Lunch was a lovely homemade burrito with brown rice, beans and hot sauce. I also indulged in a strawberry fruit cup from the cafeteria.

Snack time came around at 3:30pm and I ate hummus, carrots, celery and a few pretzel chips. I think working out at noon kept me awake and motivated in the afternoon which is always a welcome change.

Dinner happened quite late as I had to go to the grocery store for foods for the week. When you get home at 7:30 all you want is something fast and filling. Enter in another Boca Chik Patty, steamed broccoli and smashed cauliflower.

I have not quite gotten away from prepackaged foods just yet. But I hope to make some chickpea cutlets tonight after work for my morning sandwiches. If I wasn't eating them at or on the train I would so love to layer slices of tomato and avocado on them. Oh yeah, delish!

Cross your fingers for me! I am hoping that this becomes a habit over all rather than just a month long challenge. We full figured vegans get almost as many rude comments as the super skinny ones.

Meals for the week

2008-08-08T12:31:00.000-04:00

This week has not been my best. I have been sick as can be, exceedingly tired and quite uninspired. I did manage to make a few dinners though my camera is MIA after a weekend at the New York Renaissance Faire.

Sunday we had a lovely dinner out at a local Japanese restaurant, Ichiro. I enjoyed my favorites, spicy veg miso soup, vegetable gyoza and avocado sushi. So good. Monday was burrito night with Lightlife Taco meat, kidney beans, spicy brown rice, salsa and shredded teese. It was good but I was not quite in the mood to eat.

Tuesday I schlepped down to the kitchen in my jammies for a leftover burrito and a bowl of So Delicious Neopolatine Ice Cream. This was the only night I ate dessert so this is a huge improvement over the five nights last week!

Wednesday Tofurky sausages sauted with potato, peppers and onions. Very yummy and served with a side of green beans. Thursday was Seitan Noodle Soup, with leeks and ditali noodles. It so hit the spot. I felt so much better I caved and had two bowls when I shouldn't have.

I think I have done the great with the discretionary eating challenge. I have only caved twice so far this week in over eating and eating sweets. My goal is to continue this weekend with only eating when hungry and cutting down on sweets. Tonight we are eating out with friends and going to the Faire again this weekend. My weekend eating is always light as there is almost nothing I can eat so that wont be a big problem. I do plan on making some seitan to take with and some crudities.

Falafel

2008-07-30T07:05:00.001-04:00

Monday I made falafel. I have to admit that it started out as a packaged mix from Fantastic foods but I added a few spices to give it a kick. I baked it in the oven rather than frying to cut back on the fats. Unfortunately this also dried it out considerably. So rather than fling my hockey puck like patties across the dining room I improvised.

Enter the Sour Supreme mixed with diced cucumber, dill and garlic. It was cool, tangy and a perfect accompaniment to the patties. I plan on enjoying these delish leftovers wrapped up in pita or tortillas for the week. Yum yum.

Pictures of my new kitchen

2008-07-23T09:54:00.000-04:00

Life has been insanely busy since late June. I wanted to share some pictures of our new kitchen though. We are all moved in and almost all the boxes are emptied, just one room left to unpack really.

This is my new kitchen. The space is nice but I am still settling in.

My kitties Gryphin (gray & white) and Baby (black and white) got in on the picture because they are such attention needy felines. As for the kitchen, I am still struggling with becoming comfortable with the fridge. I am not a fan of side by sides but these appliances all came with the house so I need to at least get along with them. The stove is awesome, lovely flat cook top. The counters are large enough that I have trouble deciding which side to chop on. I love the fact that now all my canisters of flour, vital wheat gluten, nooch, egg replacer, sugar, and date sugar can sit right out all beautiful on the counter.

I hope I have some recipes and pictures to share from this kitchen soon!

Improvisation

2008-06-24T10:13:00.000-04:00

This past week I have improvised several meals in an effort to use up whats in the fridge and make new and interesting meals. Unfortunately I still do not have a working camera and that is not likely to change anytime in the next few weeks due to the move. Speaking of the move, this week is it. We are packing up tomorrow, cleaning and moving small things Thursday and Friday and Saturday its truck time with heavy stuff. Cross your fingers that i find space for all my gadgets and goods!

Onto the food. First I made an interestingly spicy rice dish.

Soyrizo, black beans, onion, garlic and diced green chili's all sauted in a pan. Served over rice with corn. Was very good and filling with just a bit of heat from the Soyrizo. It was exceptional slathered with Better than Sour Cream, field greens and eaten with chips!

Next I was hungry for kale.

Sauted onion, garlic, diced kale with splashes of water if it got too dry. I looked at the pot and decided to make it a bit more filling so I added a can of lentils that were rinsed very very well. After that I diced two tomatoes and added them. This was served with mashed potatoes and smoked paprika cauliflower. It was fabulous. Hearty, thick and satisfy with just a light tang of tomato. I did add Herbs de Provance to the mix for a bit of an earthy flavor.

My husband liked it and even went out of his way to mention that he thought it was very good. He was quite shocked when I told him it had lentils as he thinks he hates lentils. This is one dish I highly recommend!

Banana Cupcakes

2008-06-13T14:05:00.000-04:00

Last night after a lovely and five alarm spicy meal of homemade Chana Masala and Mushroom Curry I made cupcakes.

Banana cupcakes with chocolate chips in the cake. Peanut Buttercream Frosting with banana, white chocolate and a hint of Frangelica.

The cakes turned out lovely, slightly dense and lightly banana flavored. The chips add a rich sweet burst to every bite. The frosting is thick and frothy, mounded on top with a delicate peanut flavor and just a hint of banana. It melts on your tongue without being overly sweet or overly sticky. The peanut butter was from Peanut Butter & Co and is their White Chocolate Wonderful product. Yummy but I think I prefer the Dark Chocolate Dream just a bit better.

Overall this is a rich, decadent and subtly flavored dessert that I created based on the Banana Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I think I would definitely make these again, perhaps with peanut butter in the batter next time!

My daughter cooked!

2008-06-09T10:43:00.000-04:00

Last Friday I asked Angel what she wanted for dinner early in the morning, before I left for work. In her cranky, sleepy teenage drawl she replied "Spaghetti". So I picked up all the fixings after work and we cooked!

She diced onion, mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash and tomatoes. Plus she sauted them quite well, though she stirs things a bit much for my taste, but thats all practice! We did cheat and use a jar of sauce but she added herbs of her choice, basil, oregano and lots of garlic! The pasta turned out just fine even if I insisted on being the one to drain it.

I was pretty proud of here and I could tell, she was proud of herself!

Its funny but my mom started teaching me how to cook when I was very young. And I tried to encourage Angel to learn, but this time, I think it made an impression. How often do you get to encourage a 15 year old to cook an entire dinner?! And they do so happily? That was the best part.

Earlier in the week we tossed dinner together and did some baking for a Relay for Life bake sale at my work. First we made dinner, I made Chickpea Mushroom Noodle Casserole and she made roasted cauliflower. She picked out the spices for the cauliflower and enjoyed sprinkling on salt, pepper, garlic and 1 teaspoon Spanish Smoked Paprika. At the end of 30 minutes the cauliflower was fantastic. Sharp, pungent and a perfect veggie to serve alongside the casserole. It had the lovely hint of smoke and the faint bite of heat.

After dinner we baked up mini loaves of Banana Bread, Mini Chocolate Mousse Pies and Orange Creamcicle cupcakes. Angel did make chocolate soup that was supposed to be a boxed brownie mix, but measuring seemed to elude her. Unfortunately that had to do down the drain. But everything else was lovely. The bake sale raised over $500 from everyone's contributions! Plus I got to eat some VCTOTW Cookies & Cream Cupcakes made by a coworker! YUMMY.

This week's menu is far from complete but so far we have a large salad planned for tonight, to beat the 90+ heat. Stirfry using the leftover veggies from the salad on Tuesday and Wednesday I plan on making some delish Indian food; Mushroom Curry and then my awesome Chickpea recipe. After that, who knows!

As the move draws closer and closer my condo gets more and more boxed up and I fear cooking will become challenging. Luckily its just across town and I should be able to move the kitchen as is almost without much strife and hopefully in one day.

Still no pics, but an update at least!

2008-05-27T16:07:00.000-04:00

My camera is being obstinate. Still no pictures will be released and had I paid cash for this beast I would be livid. Unfortunately, or fortunately for it, this little gem was a Golf Outing prize my hubby, LB, brought home. Now I simply need to find my OTHER camera. But that is complicated by the fact that in a month we are moving. Just across town into a lovely house but things are a bit, messy and jumbled right now to say the least.

What have I been cooking in the past three weeks? Repeats. Cupcakes that my oven failed on. And just this weekend... BBQ Jackfruit.

For the long weekend we invited our friends over and turned on the grill. I made this excellent recipe from Vegangelical for vegan pulled pork. I followed the recipe almost exactly and let it simmer in a crock pot for six hours. It was spicy (my change there!) and delicious! I served it up with grilled eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, portabellas and red peppers. I also made a foil packet of fresh green beans and garlic that turned out awesome. Slap a chibatta roll, charred in husk corn on the cob and a baked potato and this meal was phenomenal! Smokey, soft delicate flavors paired well with garlic and the zing of chipotle. I ate the leftovers on Monday.

There are many things I want to be cooking but right now everything is so busy with packing, my daughter's birthday and summer visit, and gearing up for the upcoming weekends full of day trips to the New York Renaissance Faire. This doesn't mean I will stop blogging, but my sporadic posts may continue.

Next time though, I just may share with you my mother's secret fruit dip spread, veganized of course.

My camera is holding cupcakes hostage!

2008-05-07T16:13:00.000-04:00

Last week I made cupcakes. Four dozen cupcakes to be exact. Two batches of Mexican Hot Chocolate and two of Mucho Margarita. I brought one dozen of each batch into work for a Relay for Life bake sale and needless to say, they went over quite well.

I snapped pictures of my awesome Sunshine burger lunch, cupcakes and probably more. But last night, after a Tuesday night marathon cooking session, my camera decided to hold the pics hostage! It wont even turn itself on, even plugged into the computer. I can only hope that removing the memory stick will either help or work in my other camera. *sigh*

The chocolate cupcakes were tasty. The hint of spice was like a scent memory with each bite invoking a head tilt and a vague look of "this tastes like something...". I could not find almond meal so mine were grainy as I walked the fine line of ground almonds and almond butter.

Margarita cupcakes are always a big hit. Everyone loves them and lime is such a great flavor that even virgin cuppers and frosting would be tasty. Though honestly, I think at my work the idea of booze in baked goods is awesome.

I took the rest of the cupcakes to the awesome people who participate in Beer Train Friday. Yup, my commute home on Fridays has people partying it up. They bring beer and last weekend in celebration of the then upcoming Cinco de Mayo they made margaritas on the train. So I traded a cupcake for a glass and snacked on chips and some of the hottest salsa I had ever tried.

Last weekend I had some yummy food like General Tso's Tofu, Channa Masala, and even some sushi and spicy veg miso soup. All from very accommodating restaurants in my area of Connecticut. Monday was leftover taco's from a nacho night last week.

Last night though, I cooked such an incredible plate of food that I really mourn the lack of pictures to share the goodness. I made a double batch of modified Chickpea Cutlets. My only modification is to use an awesome seasoning blend mix for the veg broth and twice the amount of chickpeas called for. These got baked in the oven with my roasting fingerling parsley potatoes and I added in some broccoli and cauliflower in another roasting pan. I even made a sliced mushroom sauce with onions, garlic and baby bellas.

After all that, I found time to whip up some chickpea salad to nosh on with veggies for a snack and do the dishes! I was so darn proud of myself. So proud that it may just be leftover night tonight even though my plan was ribz and rice.

Hopefully there will be pics next post, but for now I have more cupcakes to contemplate!

Seitan Filet

2008-04-29T21:31:00.003-04:00

I was inspired by Tracy of A Veg*n for Dinner. She quite recently posted a recipe on her blog for Seitan Filet Mignon.

Since I had darn near everything the recipe called for with a few minor creative substitutions and a quick supermarket search for vegan Worchestershire sauce, I attempted it. I did replace that sneaky anchovy sauce with a lovely UK brand called HP Sauce that used tomato instead of fish and dates instead of High Fructose Corn Syrup. I also used Penzey's vegetable base instead of 'beef' broth.

I went fancy and served this with slow sauted mushroom slices, roasted herbed fingerling potatoes and steamed broccoli.

I did find it a tich too salty for my tastes, but that could have been the salt in my veggie base and overly salty soy sauce. The seitan was tender, juicy and went quite well with the mushrooms. Even LB thought it was quite good. I have to admit though, it was a lot of work and not my favorite texture of seitan. Perhaps this is doable with a less labor intensive moist bake method. Something to experiment with!

Overall? Dinner was a rousing success! Thank you so very much Tracy.

Another faux fish

2008-04-28T19:49:00.004-04:00

From the secret test kitchen recipes of Quintess! A baked tofish recipe. This was really yummy as the sandwich but I think I liked these tofu slices best over a plate of rice.

Last week recap

2008-04-28T07:40:00.003-04:00

Last week was quiet. LB returned from his five day golf trip on Monday and enjoyed a lovely dinner of Bacon Spaghetti. Of course I inevitably burn the bread so our garlic toast was a bit less than I expected, and a lot more blackened.

Tuesday I made a cheezy sauce and we ate Nachos! Lovely corn tortilla chips surrounding a mound of black beans, refried beans, lettuce, tomato, avocado and of course delish and spicy nacho cheeze. This was so good, I took the leftovers to work and ate them for lunch the next day. Though this is not the most healthy of meals I need to make this again, simply because it is so tasty.

Wednesday was a simple meal that I mostly just opened things for. Onion sauted with mushrooms and garlic, covered in a lovely jar of Portabello Merlot spaghetti sauce, served over Boca chik patties and a bit of pasta. Those pictures were simply not very pretty though I did remember to take them!

The rest of the week was awash of leftovers, baking and eating out. We had Mexican food both Friday and Saturday and it was phenomenal! From sizzling veggie fajitas to savory black beans and rice served beside tostadas.

Dinner last night was simple yet so delicious. Fried potato slices and onions with Tofurky Keibalsa Sausage and peppers. Savory, hearty and hubby and I finished the entire meal happily.

Earlier last week I made cupcakes from VCTOTW. Banana cupcakes with Peanut Buttercream frosting and Chocolate Stout cupcakes. Everyone I shared these with loved them, personally I only licked some frosting from my fingers and the beater so I figured I had eaten enough! This week it Margarita cupcakes to celebrate the upcoming Cinco de Mayo celebration.

Luckily a recent purchase will help out greatly. Check out my Cupcake Courier.

This holds 3 dozen cupcakes or muffins securely and easily with four locking latches. It is a bit bulky but honestly I dont think anything else holds this many securely. The space between layers leaves room for puffy muffin tops or a bit of frosting, though honestly, I prefer to bring my frosting in a bag and ice things up as I serve. People love to see adorably sweet mini cakes go from naked to lush tall creations of sugary goodness on their plate. Of course this also allows me to dole out as much or as little (silly dieting people!) as people want.

I hope to bring my camera on the next cupcake excursion but for now, my memories and people's thanks for the goodies shall have to suffice.

Weekend Cookery

2008-04-22T07:34:00.003-04:00

Saturday's Lunch Chickpea Salad with veggie dippers.

Sunday's Dinner Beer Battered Tofish w/ batter fried potato and onion. Another of Quintess' excellent recipes. She even included a mayo and tartar sauce recipes!

Spaghetti Squash challenge.

2008-04-20T12:59:00.000-04:00

Happy Herbivore Food Blog: HH Contest! Free COOKIES!

The contest is what to do with a spaghetti squash. I actually have this same problem every single darn time I buy one of the lovely veggies. So here I sit, contemplating, what am I in the mood for that showcases the delicate flavor and texture of those sweet yellow strands.

First I would roast the two halves on a baking dish with some lovely olive oil, under each half that is face down though, a bulb of garlic should be placed. Slice off the top part and remove as much paper as possible while keeping the integrity of the bulb intact. Roast it for about an hour I would say, at least. Though I typically buy the GIANT squashes. haha

About 30 minutes into that hour toss in some veggies to roast on a separate olive oil drizzled sheet as well. Like some diced zucchini, yellow squash, red bell pepper, portabello mushrooms and onion in that 350 oven. Probably about 1/2c to 1c of each.

Once everything is out of the oven carefully remove the strands of squash and line an oiled baking dish with the squash and toss in the oven for 10 minutes while you prep the next step. Toss the veggies in a heat proof bowl and season with oregano, basil, rosemary, salt & pepper. In a blender puree a block of extra firm silken tofu with a tablespoon of mustard, lemon juice and 1/2c nutritional yeast. Fold the tofu into the veggies, pour into the casserole dish of squash and bake 30 minutes.

This is kind of a quiche, though I expect the tofu will ooze into the squash and make it lovely. It would probably go great with a drizzle of balsamic on it after plating.

Yup, thats what I would do. Now I have to find a spaghetti squash! Thanks HH for the inspiration.

Potato Leek Soup with Caramelized Shallots

2008-04-13T18:55:00.002-04:00

Another Quintess Test Recipe. Lovely, elegant and I need another bowl. YUMMY!

Let me just say that helping test upcoming cookbook recipes is a lot of work especially because I am such a slapdash cook but it does yield some yummy dinners! Imagine, me measuring even salt and diced potatoes! My tiny flower bowls are getting quite a lot of use as measured spice cups. Fun and exciting but I dont know that I am cut out to be a secret tester, I have a hard time not divulging the recipe!

Mexican Fiesta Rice and Perfect Pinto Beans

2008-04-13T11:50:00.004-04:00

More secret test recipes for VegWeb's own Quintess' upcoming cookbook. Last night I finally got around to testing out two recipes; Mexican Fiesta Rice and Perfect Pinto Beans.

The rice, though due to my own forgetfulness I had to do a substitution, was amazing. Flavorful, mild and zippy with a hint of lime. The beans, as promised, were perfect. Their natural flavor shown through and the instructions had everything dead on to make a perfect bean without that bursting that occasionally happens.

I ate this whole bowl quite happily and am looking forward to leftovers today! It was absolutely perfect when all mixed together.

This morning I also made another recipe by Quintess; Lemon Poppyseed Muffins. Now my hubby eats two mini lemon poppy muffins for breakfast every day. He was heartbroken to learn his favorite muffins, made by Stop & Shop's bakery, had been discontinued. He is right now tasting two of these muffins with his coffee as he plays World of Warcraft.

Chickpea Salad

2008-04-12T15:26:00.003-04:00

Lunch today was simple and light, just right for the first truly beautiful and warm New England day.

Chickpea Salad on a Chibatta roll with cauliflower and whole grain chips. Sparkling Grapefruit Izze was to wash it all down.

Now this sandwich spread is so easy, light and yet full of nutrition and taste. I wish I had measured this but alas I was also making another recipe for a mixed bean salad and just sort of boshed things together as I went.

Roughly this is one can of chickpeas (drained, rinsed and then mashed), minced onion, diced celery, veganaise, dill relish, tiny splash of apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, Hungarian Paprika, dill seed, dry mustard and salt. Once this is all together I placed a healthy scoop on a fresh roll and put a handful of baby spinach on top. So yummy. Though the spread does kind of gush out if you put too much on, so dont do that! Not that I know this for a fact or anything. *cough*

Alternatively you could put this in a tortilla, in a lettuce wrap, on salad, as a dip for crudities, on chips or even just eaten with your fingers. I mean spoon, with a spoon!

Now I have to go get another sammich. nom nom nom

Moong Dal

2008-04-09T09:28:00.002-04:00

This Moong Dal was lovely. The split mung beans had a bit more of a chewy, fibery texture than I am used to in dal's but it was good. The tomato topping on the other hand, was phenomenal. Seriously the best thing to put on any Indian dish, I am thinking.

As this is a cookbook test recipe I cannot divulge the secrets contained in that picture. Just let me assure you, it is awesome!

More Sweet & Sara review

2008-04-08T16:56:00.002-04:00

This afternoon I am indulging in some more of my Sweet & Sara goodies. I whipped up a simple soy milk hot chocolate, made with Ghiradelli Premium Hot Cocoa, and topped it with two quartered marshmallow meltaways.

The cocoa is slightly above comfortable sipping level, temperature wise. So I am slurping just a little bit of air in with the hot liquid. My first sip had a small cube of mallow dancing on my lip briefly with its silky soft side. Thus the second sip I braved the heat and sucked in a warmed bite. Its flavor is delicate and almost completely hidden in the rich hazelnut chocolate but its there. Surrounded by a creamy shell that does melt upon your tongue as quickly as you try to keep the flavor there to savor it. The texture is perfect, slightly firm but silky smooth with just a slight sticky thrown in to keep it held together.

While I sip this cup of sheer euphoria I noticed that they do seem to expand slightly in the liquid. Which is great as I wish I had dropped more in there!

I almost want to cry over this warm cup of mellow sugary goodness. With spring arriving my chance, and desire, to drink hot chocolate wanes. Where oh where were you oh beautiful vegan meltaways five months ago?! Weatherman, bring on the rain and gloom of April showers! I need to enjoy these to their fullest!

I jumped on the band waggon!

2008-04-07T16:07:00.005-04:00

The Sweet & Sara band waggon that is! My trip to Whole Foods today netted me the last S'more Pie in original flavor and one small tub of vanilla marshmallows. I nibbled on the pie after my late lunch and groaned in ecstasy at the rich chocolate topping, the sweet graham cookie and gooey marshmallow center. These are pretty substantial in size, I could only eat half, and so rich and delicious. Definitely worth the price I paid for it. I have half left in the fridge and now I simply hope no one here spies it and scarfs it down before me. Should I have licked it in an obvious manner? haha

Other things I got today: Vitamins by VegLife and Floradix Iron & Herbs, white lentils, split mung beans, whole wheat pastry flour, brown basmati rice and yes, my favorite LightLife Balgona. mmm soy!

On my way back to work, since this was my lunch break, I stopped in at Penzeys Spices. All I can really say is WOW. I had six jars in my hands before I even scoped out half the store. Needless to say, I bought about a dozen spices, mostly things I was looking for. My haul? From memory as its all safely out in the car: cumin seeds, arrowroot, Mexican Oregano, brown mustard seeds, sumac, Veggie soup base, and ginger. I know I am forgetting some but the pics will clear up what else I procured tonight.

I do have more shopping to do tonight to round out my weekly menu. Maybe I will get home in time to take a reasonable pic of it that isn't super dark. Cross your fingers!

The whole haul:

Just the spices:

Pictures from the long silences

2008-03-30T21:34:00.006-04:00

Here I sit, after a good long absence, thinking I would wow my minuscule fan base with two dozen pics of everything I have made. Wouldn't you guess, I took a whole 4 notable pics all month. *sigh*

So let me apologize and say, this will happen again. But I hope to have a much better photo spread next time! ;)

Arroz con Seitan made with mild chik'n flavored seitan of greatness.

My Sweet Vegan French toast with a blood orange slice or two. Good stuff!

Peach muffin. So good, was moist, light and gooey. Perfect lightly warmed.

Chickpea's over Basmatti rice. This recipe is from my awesome coworker friend Andal. She makes this recipe for her family regularly and shared the secret with me. Personally, I think its awesome with cauliflower mingling its mild flavor amongst the savory Garam Masala, coriander and cumin. I will share the recipe at a later time when I make it from it exactly as she wrote it or I note my changes. I love Indian food.

Today I did go to an awesome vegan Potluck. It was so good. I am still stuffed beyond full from the huge array of awesome eats; appetizers, salad w/homemade dressing, casserole, pizza and of course more desserts than the table could hold. Yum!

Seitan Snausage and two homemade cheezes! Very yummy.

This awesome confetti salad was A-MAZING! I must get the recipe and make it frequently.

Caesar salad dressing over yummy romaine. That dressing was unbelievably good and superb on pizza!

A lovely garlicky bean dip with a zip of lime in it. So yummy.

Requisite spinach dip and crudities. So good though. Those raw green beans were fabulous, just like the dip!

Artichoke spinach dip! With pita chips!

mmmm Pizza!

Tortilla Casserole.

And finally, dessert! Sexy Low Fat Lemon cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream, Green Tea cupcakes w/ green tea icing, Soy Delicious Ice Creams and Chocolate Mousse.

Teaser

2008-02-23T08:25:00.007-05:00

There is an exchange currently in process on the veg*n board so I spent most of yesterday afternoon / evening cooking goodies to share with my Vegantine. I am not posting any recipes just the names of what I made.

Chickpea Nibbles:

Chocolate Covered Strawberries, Peanut Butter Cannonballs, Naked Sexy Low Fat Lemon Cupcake:

Cheezy Quakers though mine were made into flower and butterfly shapes:

And two more, last night's dinner of braised kale with onions and garlic, V'con's Cheezy Sauce covered potatoes and Boca Chick Patties.

Of course I had a helper this morning in taking pictures. Everyone, meet Gryphin. Who was trying to see if he could swipe my socks off the chair. Too bad mommy was watching!

Mostly Homemade

2008-02-22T10:34:00.003-05:00

Ok, maybe it should be somewhat homemade. I wanted to try out this lovely frozen package of ravioli that proudly proclaimed VEGAN on the front cover. This is my combination of veggies and a tich of Boca burger crumbles with the ravioli's under a light dusting of vegan parm. It wasnt bad on a whole but the texture of the ravioli filling was not to my liking. Nor was the flavor combination. But I tried it out!

Next I made a stir fry. Mind you, I eat a lot, and I do mean a LOT, of stir fry at the work cafeteria. But I wanted to whip one up with my favorite veggies instead of a small limited array. This included onions, carrots, bell peppers, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, water chestnuts, snow peas and bean sprouts. I also did a brief fry on the tofu before I got to the serious veggie cooking. A tich of chili oil and some black bean paste and it turned out delish. I topped mine with green onions and tomato slices. So good, I had two plates.

We are trying to eat healthy here now that the winter pudge has become noticeable. So many of our meals have now included raw baby carrots and spinach as a side. It is nice, filling and easy to keep around. Thats all for the last week. Today I have several things in the works but that is for another post!

One romantic meal!

2008-02-14T20:39:00.003-05:00

LB decided the menu for tonights dinner. Bacon Spaghetti, steamed broccoli, cauliflower and garlic bread.

I made mini chocolate crumb mousse bites for dessert. Yummy but slightly crumbly crust.

Hope everyone is enjoying their day of love.

The night before Valentines

2008-02-13T21:48:00.005-05:00

I find myself huffing powdered sugar.

Not intentionally of course!

*cough*

Lets see some lovely foods to distract you from that statement.

Dinner was a mild version of Seitan o'Greatness. Seasoned with Nooch, mushroom powder, garlic and a tiny bit of thyme. This was simmered in a mushroom, onion and garlic mixture and that then received a touch of veggie bullion, water, unsweetened soymilk and cornstarch. Served atop green beans and mashed potatoes it was unbelievable. Like eating Green Bean Casserole with hearty bits of goodness in it and creamy potato.

Next I made goodies for a bake sale at work. Banana Bonanza Bread! Times two. This is the batch I made tonight. Though I made a batch last night and already took it into work.

Sexy Lemony Cupcakes from VCTOTW of course - the naked version! oh my!

The topped version with Lemony Buttercream frosting and a sprinkle of red sugar to get you in the mood! LB and I split this little number and his only complaint? He only got half. hahaha I love that man!

I also made mini chocolate mouse bites. Twelve full cupcake sized made with an awesome chocolate avocado mix and twelve mini full of tofu chocolate and maple mix. I plan to top these with cookies, strawberries and hand them out to my pals at work. Hopefully I will get a pic up tomorrow upon their completion as they are chilling currently!

Thats all folks. I am going to go fall into a powdered sugar coma for 12 hours now! Be safe and always wear your face mask when making a frosting double batch.

Tomorrow do something nice for those you love, even if that list only contains yourself and a kitty.

xoox
~Cali

Dressed Up Eggplant

2008-02-05T20:30:00.000-05:00

Tonight I made a lovely eggplant recipe from VegWeb. Dressed Up Eggplant is a time and somewhat labor intensive recipe but it rewards you with a delicious dinner and hopefully lunch the next day.

Below is the VCTOTW chocolate cake with ganache and cream cheese frosting. It was rich and delish.

The Roasted Garlic Cauliflower soup. I did warn you that it was not overly photogenic. But it was yummy.

And finally. I could not resist Peach Muffins!
I used the recipe posted by VeganYumYum's very own Lolo on the first. The challenge was to see if spelt or wheat was better. Honestly, I have never used spelt flour before. But tonight I picked up a bag and used 1cup Spelt and 1cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour. I think I did use too many peaches as I had enough batter for 12 regular muffins and 12 mini muffins.

They are slightly crumbly but taste divine. Even my hubby who dislikes peaches ate the one on the right. I found these light, delicately flavored and just slightly tangy from the peaches. Thank you so much Lolo!

Playing catch up

2008-02-05T10:20:00.000-05:00

I wish I could say things have been exciting and so busy that I have simply not had time to blog. Unfortunately, that is not quite true. What did happen? We came down with super icky colds. Let me just recap what has been cooking.

Several weeks ago my best friend had a birthday! Yay! I made her a chocolate cake. Not just any old cake but two batches of VCTOTW basic chocolate cupcakes, put in a 9" round pan with parchment lining the bottom. One had chocolate chips and the other was just basic with a dash of cinnamon. I then made the Chocolate Ganache and let it set up in the freezer in one of the pans. A double batch of Cream Cheese frosting and the whole thing weighed 10 pounds! I will upload the pic of the slice I got soon as I find my camera connection cord.

It was the night of the cake delivery that people started dropping like over ripe fruit from the tree. C was violently ill all night and the next morning the birthday girl M was just as sick. We stayed away but my hubby LB got it anyways. I came down with it this past weekend.

We have been eating simple and easy foods. Rice, soup, blueberry cobbler. I went so far as to make burritos one night. They turned out lovely but were pretty basic. We had a nice breakfast on Saturday of Peach Pancakes. Surely I am forgetting something, but right now I cannot remember much of the past week.

There is no time this week for being sick though. We have an awesome event to attend on Friday. For which I have to plan, prepare, package and drag along food for me. Not a problem but my fridge needs cleaning and I do not feel like it. Also I fear the hotel we are staying at does not have a min fridge or microwave in the room. So now I am limited even more. The good news is that I still have 5 peaches to use up tonight some hopefully you will hear more from me tomorrow, with pictures!

Soup!

2008-01-29T11:05:00.000-05:00

Last night I made Roasted Garlic and Cauliflower soup based on the version by Vegan Dad. Let me just preface this by saying I have never, ever in all my years cooking, made a creamy pureed soup. It just seemed odd to me for whatever reason. Thus any errors and the very unphotogenic soup is my fault!

I modified the recipe slightly to go with what I had on hand.

1head cauliflower
2bulbs garlic
1 sm onion, diced
1 celery heart, diced
2c Canellini beans, cooked
3c Unsweetened Soy milk
1/2c Nutritional Yeast
1c veggie broth
Salt
Pepper
Oil

Now, I roasted the garlic in the oven with the tops lopped off and oil drizzled on them. The cauliflower also got a bit of oil and into the 450 oven it went for 15 min with the garlic. Next time, I will plan this ahead of time and roast it all for 30 minutes at 400.

I sauted the onion and celery until the cauliflower was ready. Then added the beans and cauliflower. The garlic was a bit of a pain to pull from the bulb but I got it all into the pot finally. Then I started the transfer process. One third went into my VitaMix blender and got mixed up on level 6 for about 30 seconds before being poured (and scooped) into a bowl. The next third did the same thing and finally the last portion. I cleaned out the blender with the remainder of the soy milk (1/2c) and nutritional yeast.

After tasting I added the 1c veggie broth and seasonings.

Now, I have in the past over blended things in the VitaMix. I was trying so very hard not to do that to this lovely soup that I fear I left it too chunky. It was akin to smashed cauliflower or as my hubby put it, gruel. Not very appetizing to look at. All the pics turned out to be a bowl of white glop. Thus you must use your imagination today. Or simply look into a bowl of cream of wheat.

The most amazing thing about this recipe though? It was very easy, very forgiving and so very filling. I did not expect to be satisfied with the texture as a main course. And despite my not blending it to a smooth liquid I was highly pleased. This soup is quite a tummy filler despite its looks in the bowl. I will be enjoying the leftovers quite a bit and have plans to make this again!

Thanks again Vegan Dad, you are quite an inspiration!

Baking with fruit!

2008-01-24T06:35:00.000-05:00

A very nice friend from work gave me an awesome thank you gift. Three pounds of fresh fruit. The blueberries were amazingly yummy and the two pounds of strawberries just as good.

First up, a recipe from the Joy of Vegan Baking! Blueberry Cobbler. Yum

Just look how it turned out. Here it is all warm, bubbly and sweet. So good. We scarfed it down before dinner on Sunday. What good is making a warm dessert if you have to eat it cold?!

Next when I got into work on Tuesday morning they were going to throw out 6 very brown bananas that has sat in the pantry all the long weekend. This just screamed for banana bread with a little bit of finely diced walnuts.

Those strawberries got eaten straight from the carton but last night I knew I needed to use the last half up. I modified the banana bread and made Strawberry Bread!

This bread is chewier than the banana version and flatter, possibly due to the smaller amount of fruit used. But it is delicious. Lightly sweet and with that delicate berry flavor permeating the dense crumb. I cannot wait to toast some and slather it with Earth Balance margarine.

These two breads I started baking after 9pm last night. Someday I will find motivation to bake before bedtime!

Removing the boring from rice & beans!

2008-01-23T09:31:00.000-05:00

I am a big fan of being lazy. Plus I am a devout penny pincher. These two traits sometimes clash making me confused enough to wander the produce section for hours aimlessly. Usually the lazy wins but I am always much happier with the thrifty snatches victory from the lax grasp.

One thing that I am always pleased with is dried beans. These perfect gems packed with protein always make me smile. What could be better than spending under a dollar for a two pound bag that will make more meals than I need in a week?! Paired with rice its a recipe for success.

Of course some people, who shall remain nameless *cough*husband*cough*, find rice and beans boring, uninteresting and just blah. How this is possible is beyond me, but so often I mention Rice & Beans as a meal option and he inevitably picks anything else on the list. *sigh* Thus you all must listen to my lovely essay on the perfection that is legumes and grain pairings!

First off, start dried!
One bag of dried beans is cheap and oh so easy to prepare. Bring that sucker home, pour it into a colander and rinse them. Be sure you pick out any that look bad or even little stones. No one wants to bite into that!

Next bosh them into a pot with twice as much water and aromatics of your choice. Garlic, quartered onion, herbs, spices, or kombu. Just remember this important thing: NO SALT! Adding salt will make the beans tough and they will never soak or cook to a lovely softness.

Let this pot sit on the counter for 4 to 8 hours. I have even let mine sit 20 but just make sure it all smells good when you do return to it.

Drain the beans and remove any aromatics. Boiling things like kombu just turns things sticky and clumpy. So they have served their purpose and its time for them to go into the compost or into your broth bag in the freezer. (Thats another topic to be touched on at a later date!)

Now that you have soaked beans you are ready to move on to cooking them!

Plop those soaked but drained legumes into the same pot that I know you rinsed out already. Add in twice as much water as beans and move to the stove. I like to pressure cook my beans to make things fast because I am lazy, but you can cook them the long way in a regular pot on the stove. Simply bring them to a boil, lower the temp from high to medium and keep at a very high simmer until done. Check them by scooping a bean out and squishing it with a fork. Eat the squished bean to test the texture to your desired tooth.

One quick hint if you will pressure cook, preheat two burners. One on high and one on slightly above low, the perfect temp is 2.5 on my stove. Once you seal your pot and its to pressure move it to the lower burner for the timed amount. Read your recipe book that came with your pressure cooker for the correct time! I always find myself playing musical burners as I rarely cook just one thing at a time.

Once your beans are done drain them off and they are ready for anything. Freeze them in bags for quick additions to meals. Toss them in a soup. Puree them into hummus. Bake them in a casserole! Sprinkle them on your salad. The options are endless.

If you now add these glorious legumes to rice this makes a fabulous meal. Some ideas!

Long Grain White Rice and Black Beans; add in salsa after cooking to spice things up!
Basmatti Rice with Canellini Beans; flavor with basil and thyme for a light delicate flavor.
Jasmine Rice with Garbanzo Beans; mix in anything from balsamic vinegar to sage and rosemary.
White and Wild rice with pink kidney beans; creole seasoning makes it delicious.
Brown Rice and Soy Beans; sprinkle liberally with soy sauce and ginger!
Short Grain rice with pigeon peas; boil the water with saffron first for a delicate floral flavor.
And my favorite Long Grain White rice with a multi bean stew with onions and garlic!

The options are endless really. Combinations that may interest me may be of no interest to you. Make your own concoction! Do not be afraid to toss those cooked beans into the rice pot before it cooks and mingle the flavors. Just the perfect combination of cheap and lazy to make me one happy vegan!

Late night baking

2008-01-16T22:29:00.000-05:00

What do you do when chatting to your mother at 8pm? Well, I had the option of sitting on the couch or putzing in the kitchen. I ended up with banana bread and VCTOTW Basic Vanilla Cupcakes with chocolate chips. I just finished making some Cream Cheese Frosting that I bagged up and will frost the cuppers tomorrow at work. Since I am not keeping these things in the house to add to MY waistline!

So, breakfast? dessert? I gotcha covered!

Week of the Casserole

2008-01-14T19:28:00.000-05:00

When I planned my menu for the week I went with warm, quick and comforting. Hence we have almost an entire week full of casseroles. Tonights dinner is the ever wonderful Chickpea Mushroom Casserole. Its rich, creamy, satisfying and will become a staple in your line up. I promise!

I should have added some peas and carrots but this was fabulous just basic. I even saved time by sauteing the mushrooms on Sunday. It should be entirely possible to make the creamy mushroom chickpea roux and save it for another day when you are pressed for time. Now all I need to do is learn how to make my own fried onions and not burn my mouth as I scarf this down!

More Mexican food!

2008-01-13T20:26:00.000-05:00

I warned you. I really dig Mexican food. Its such a great cuisine.

Tonight I showed my hubby, LB, the list of this week's menu items and despite having eaten Chile Rellenos last night he picked our ever popular Tortilla casserole.

Now, this can be made with or without soy cheese. Even homemade vegan cheese would rock. Plus its easy to change the tastes from red tomato to green tomatillo easily. Just look at this recipe! So simple it only takes 15 minutes to prep and then 30 minutes in the oven.

Tortilla Casserole
Ingredients:

12 Corn Tortillas, cut into thirds
1 can Beans of choice
1 can Refried Beans
1 cup Corn, frozen or canned
2 cans Whole Green chilies
2 cans Enchilada Sauce
1cup Soy Cheese

Directions:
Open all the cans, drain & rinse things packed in water. Cut the tortillas into thirds. Layer in a 2 quart casserole dish 1/4th of the sauce, then 1/4 of the tortillas, 1/3 of the beans, 1/3 of the refried beans, 1/3 of the corn, 1/3 of the whole chilies and 1/4 of the cheese. Repeat, ending with the last of the tortillas, sauce then cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Now personally, I used black beans, green taco sauce and salsa verde. But it is just as good with kidney beans, red enchilada sauce and cheddar soy cheese.

Crepes ala Vegan Dad

2008-01-13T11:02:00.000-05:00

Thank you Vegan Dad! Your crepe post was such an inspiration that I went downstairs and made a batch of these delicious pastries immediately and at the entire thing. My taste buds thank you but my legs will curse you come Monday at the gym! It was worth it though.

For over 9 years I have lived without crepes. Crepes were a traditional holiday breakfast in my parents house. Once I moved out I made them a few times myself. I even had a pan sitting in my cupboards, in the original bag for over a decade.

In our house we did not stuff them with anything special nor slather them with jam and berries. We simply sprinkled powdered sugar and maple syrup on them and rolled them up. So thats what I did for my first taste of crepes in so many years. Of course I had to get all fancy and use Dark Agave instead of maple syrup but oh, this was heaven.

Thank you Vegan Dad. Thank you!

Chile Rellenos

2008-01-12T19:19:00.000-05:00

Let me just state, I love Mexican food. If you haven't noticed. Which given my few posts is probably hard to tell. But I do. It probably has something to do with being born and raised in California. My favorite way to make a lovely meal is to saute veggies in lime and chilies. Once you have flavorful veggies you can make anything from tacos to enchiladas to burritos to casseroles.

One thing I was missing was Chile Rellenos.

If you have never had these lovely entres you are missing out. Mild peppers are fire roasted and the skin removed. Then deseeded and stuffed full of cheese and fried in a corn meal breading.

Just look at these beauties!

Cali's Chile Rellenos
Ingredients:
4 Poblano Peppers
4 oz Soy Cheese - Jack or Mozerella
1/2c Soy Milk
2t Corn Starch
2T Chickpea flour
1c Corn Meal - for dredging
1T Adobo spice with cumin
1T Cilantro, dried
2t Chipoltle Chili Powder
Oil for frying

Directions:
Roast the clean whole peppers, flipping until all the skin is blackened. Place in a bag to steam for 20 minutes.

Mix together the soy milk, cornstarch and chickpea flour until well blended in a flat container. I used a pie tin.

Mix together the corn meal and spices in a different pie tin.

Remove the peppers from the bag and gently peel the thin tough blackened skin off each one. Make (or use a torn spot) a thin slit down the length of the pepper and across the top. Remove the seeds and stem gently. Stuff with cheese and other fillings of your choice and close up as much as possible. Place in the soy milk mixture and gently spoon the milk over the entire stuffed pepper. Gently place this soggy pepper in the corn meal and cover completely. Fry in the oil for 5 minutes per side.

Serve with rice and beans.

Honestly, I filled mine with leftover Lightlife Smart Ground that I had made tacos out of earlier in the week. So yummy!

Also earlier in the week was Seitan Ribz and twice baked potatoes. I just love the seitan recipe from Fat Free Vegan.

Promised Pictures and an appetizing array.

2008-01-03T22:14:00.000-05:00

At the end of December I was cooking and baking up a storm. Promises of pics were made. And yes, I will now provide said promised images of such goodness.

Our brunch from VWaV

Bread made into small savory loaves

Cinnamon Swirl Bread that made awesome Fronch Toast for Angel and I.

Banana Bonanza Bread. This was awesome in a large loaf form. I need to make it this way more often since I prefer it over the little loaves or muffins that I normally make (in an attempt at portion control).

Basic Chocolate Cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting. I would have prefered cream cheese but LB loved these.

Lasagna, sorry, leftovers was all I got a picture of. Man that was good stuff!

And now, some recent foods!

Breaded Tofu Fillets.
Marinate firm tofu in Malt Vinegar and Dulse powder with a splash of lemon for 15 minutes to 4 hours. Mix a batter of 50/50 beer to flour. Dip the slices in the batter and then into bread crumbs. I baked mine at 350 for 20 min each side but you could easily fry these fillets up nicely. Went well with some veganaise doctored with minced pickles, lemon, paprika and garlic.

Tonight's dinner was so awesome, I overate hugely. Just look at that plate. Ugh!

Chickpea Cutlets, that I actually measured the ingredients for! Yay! (Ok, so I only measured because I quadrupled the recipe, hush! At least this time I did measure.) Mashed potatoes, peas, brown mushroom gravy, garlic roasted brussel sprouts and a roll with Earth Balance.

So yummy, now I must fall into a chickpea induced coma... erm, sleep I mean!

Ubiquitous Holiday Post!

2007-12-26T10:27:00.000-05:00

First, Happy Holidays! May you be surrounded by who and what you love in good health and good cheer.

Now, onto food!

Which of course would be made better with pics but I have yet to purge all the pics from my camera and thus, we are without food pr0n. Sorry! I hope to be able to slap some in a bit later today. Honest!

Brunch. mmmm Last weekend I made brunch from Vegan With a Vengeance. Scrambled Tofu and Herb Roasted Potatoes. So darn good. The cookbook always returns an awesome finished product no matter which recipe I pick or how I mangle creating it.

Chickpea Cutlets. This is the third time I have made them and they just keep getting better. This time I used the VitaMix to smoosh up the chickpeas. It is a fine line between mash and hummus, but luckily I did not cross it! I also kneeded the dough for about 7 minutes. Ok fine, the KitchenAid mixer kneeded it as I did dishes but I supervised! Then into the oven they went. Oh so darn good. Chewy, crispy as I made them thin and so tasty. I would eat these ever day.

Quiche of which there will never be a pic of. Why? Because the two of us scarfed down the entire pan in one sitting. Christmas Eve dinner was so good, we had no leftovers. Which is saying something as I really do NOT know how to cook for only two people. First I started with a simple batch of Jasmine Rice simmered with a veg bullion cube. Next I sauted up half an onion, four cloves of garlic, one bunch of chard and 15oz mushrooms (10oz white button and half a 10oz container of Baby Bellas). My VitaMix then pureed up some Extra Firm Silken Tofu with olive oil, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, mustard and basil. The rice went into the bottom of a casserole dish (to which I should have slathered in Earth Balance but didn't), the tofu mixed into the mushrooms and it all went atop the rice. Bake for 45 min at 350. Oh so darn good.

Christmas morning dawned with me climbing out of bed before 9. *Sigh* The urge to bake and the inability to sleep combined to result in a plethora of products. I made Banana Bonanza Bread, one batch of yeast bread turned into a sweet loaf and a savory bunch of mini loaves, VCTOTW chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting, Gingerbread dough (which is still in my freezer! meep), lunch for LB of Mac & Cheese w/ MSF Veg Dogs & Peas, lunch for me of Tempeh smokey strips lettuce and veganaise on a mini loaf of savory bread, dinner of Lasagna in case friends came over, garlic bread, salad and warmed wine.

Of course despite all this, I have to make chocolate chip cookies for A when she arrives. Thankfully our friends did come over for some holiday cheer and I loaded them down as they left.

My Lasagna was basically just a toss together kind of thing. Tofu Riccota from Uncheese Cookbook, sauted mushrooms and spinach layered over a simple sauce of Fire Roasted tomatoes (canned but I blended them up a bit to make it saucy!). I did top it with some soy cheese at the end. So darn good but not a creamy lasagna. I think I may have to play with it a bit more and get it creamier. Perhaps an easy white sauce over the tofu. I do have leftovers of which I will have to take the pictures of, because we ate about 7pm and I was starving!

All in all? Lots of cooking. But as I have the rest of the year off, it doesn't seem like a bad thing. Happy holidays all!

Dumplings

2007-12-19T20:00:00.000-05:00

What is it about winter that makes you crave some warm, rich and flavorful soup? My ultimate comfort soup is Seitan 'n Dumplings. With not those puffy biscuits but warm slippery lumps of broth soaked goodness. My mother used to make dumplings on a 50/50 egg to flour ratio. I spent years as a vegan wondering how to replicate this. Luckily a friend from a now defunct message board came up with my salvation.

So without further drooling, here is the recipe for Krista's Soggy Dumplings!

2c Flour
1t Baking Powder
1t Salt
4t Earth Balance Margarine
1 1/2c Unsweetened Plain Soy Milk

Mix the dry ingredients together and cut in the Earth Balance. Gradually add soy milk until the flour is all absorbed. The dough is sticky, thick and not at all liquidy. Drop thin flat dumplings into boiling broth. Once they come to the surface you can dish up a bowl or let it simmer for 10-20 minutes.

I added these to a lovely onion, celery, carrot and leek soup. Unfortunately I had no seitan so I added a can of Navy beans. Made things creamy and focused all the attention on the sweet carrots and lovely dumplings. Man, I love those things.

Hopefully this picture isn't too washed out, unfortunately my monitor is!

mmmm Bread!

2007-12-12T22:40:00.001-05:00

I was inspired by A Veg*n for Dinner's bread post. Though I am not quite capable of winging it that much, I based it off of the Outrageously Easy Big Bread I have made in the past. I started at 7:30pm and made half a batch of bread. Below is my rather long loaf and some little animal friends. A Bear who will make a great sandwich tomorrow and a poor little bunny who did not even get to cool down. LB and I ate Mr. Bunny while he was still glistening with buttery goodness.

mmmm buttery (read: Earth Balance margarine) goodness!

And a close up of our favorite yeast friends! Don't they look delicious?

My first experience making a yeast bread was taught to me by my mother when I was about 12. She led our 4H cooking group and we made large sized teddy bears out of an entire batch of dough. They got raisins for eyes, nose and belly button. Since these guys are (were) so little, I did not do more than puncture the appropriate spots. Sorry little animal breads, I will find something suitable next time!

I also whipped up a batch of Fudge that is sitting in the fridge right now awaiting a proper consistency for me to cut it into chunks and devour it. Though I might bring some into work. Just to prove I can be nice. When I want to. I did make this with Silk Mocha Soy Milk. It sounded like a good idea at the time! Will let you know how it tastes, with pictures later.

My secret recipe

2007-12-10T21:07:00.000-05:00

So we all have that one recipe. Something woefully unhealthy, chalk full of things not normally kept in the house but so darn good you just have to indulge once in a while. Well, this is mine.

Now, you may be thinking; 'That doesn't look like much.' but you would be sadly mistaken. Its rich, creamy, savory, decadent and just damn good. This recipe came about four years ago. Each time I make it its slightly different because I am a chaotic cook who rarely measures and almost never writes anything down. My husband, who I call LB, always asks for this as his special request meal. When his mother makes the omni version of this, spaghetti carbonara, its full of bacon, egg, cheese and cream. Personally I have never had the omni version so I tried to extrapolate from the scent and look for a vegan version.

Vegan Bacon Spaghetti
Ingred:
2T Olive Oil
1/2 med Onion, Diced
2 boxes LiteLife Smart Bacon, separated and sliced into 1/2" strips (or Seitan bacon)
Garlic, Diced (5 cloves is my normal amount)
8oz Shitake Mushrooms, Chopped
8oz White Mushrooms, Chopped
10oz Baby Bella Mushrooms, Chopped
1c Water
1 Veg Bullion (Knor Veg)
Spices to taste: Thyme, Garlic, Pepper
Spaghetti or Angel Hair Pasta (2 large handfuls, broken in half)
4oz Vegan Mozzarella cheese
4oz Better Than Cream Cheese
2c Unsweetened Soy Milk, plain
1/4c Vegan Parm or Nutritional Yeast

Directions:
Saute onion and smart bacon in a large pot over medium heat until onions are translucent. Add garlic and saute 1 minute more. Add in 1/2c water to deglaze the pot and then add the mushrooms. Stir gently and as infrequently as possible because stirring breaks up the bacon.

Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the pasta to preferred done-ness. Drain the pasta in a colander and set aside.

Add the remaining 1/2c water to the mushroom mix along with the bullion and spices. Simmer on medium low for 5 min or until the cheese sauce is done.

In the pasta pot, bring 1/2c soy milk up to medium heat, add cubed soy cheese, cream cheese and parm. Stir well to incorporate. Gradually add the milk as the cheese melts and the sauce thickens. Once all the milk is incorporated, gently add in the mushroom bacon mixture and stir. Next add in the pasta and fold in gently.

Keep on a low temperature for five minutes for the sauce to set. Serve with garlic bread and a hearty appetite. This serves six. Sometimes.

I am completely sure that this could be all homemade. But it is so much work as it is already. It would be a two or three day job to make this without store bought vegan cheese or Smart Bacon. Doable, but I am way to lazy for that.

Now you have my secret recipe, be careful with it, its power should only be used for good.

Tortilla Soup

2007-12-10T20:35:00.000-05:00

Some times, you crave something warm, savory and just a bit tangy. That describes Tortilla soup perfectly. It is lush with flavors of tomatoes, peppers, beans and lime.

Then you top it with fried corn tortilla strips, avocado, green onions and lime. What more could you want? A second bowl full!

Tortilla Soup
Ingred:
2T Olive Oil
1/2 medium Onion, Diced or Minced
1/2c Celery, Diced (heart w/ leaves preferred)
1 Bell Pepper, Diced
1-3 Hot Peppers, seeded and diced
1 Lime, zest and juice
Garlic (5 cloves)
8c Water
2 Bullion Cubes (Knor Veg)
2c Beans; soaked dried cooked beans or rinsed canned
28oz Petite Diced tomatoes, canned with juice
1c Corn, frozen kernels

Optional toppings:
Cilantro
Corn Tortilla, julienned and fried
Avocado
Green Onion

Directions:
Saute the onion, celery, bell pepper and hot pepper in the oil till the onion is translucent. Add in garlic, lime zest and juice, saute making sure not allow the garlic to burn. Add in water, bullion, beans, corn and tomatoes. Add spices to taste; cilantro, garlic, salt, cumin, chili powder and pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes or more.

Serve topped with a lime slice, fried corn tortilla strips, green onion and avocado.

For whatever reason this soup slipped off my menus. That made me sad when I realized it. Its so tasty, so full bodied and so darn easy. The fried tortilla strips actually take longer to make than the actual soup chopping and sauteing. Well, mine do because I use very little oil and do them in batches. Plus I like to salt mine after I pull each batch from the oil. They are like a little special treat just to crumble into the soup and get a crunchy zippy bite.

Make this soup. Make it tonight!

A day for Giving Thanks

2007-11-26T14:46:00.001-05:00

Oh what a lovely four days off it was! Since it was just the three of us, I decided against cooking on Thursday. I mean honestly, who wants to rush a huge cooking spree the first day of a long weekend? Not me! I procrastinate too much.

So instead I staggered some of the chore... joy and served up a huge meal to family & friends (a whole five of us total) on Saturday. Wednesday after work, I shopped for food armed with my handy excel print out of all ingredients. Yes, I am an excel guru. I entered the entire menu, ingredients labeled and sorted before printing out my list. Now realize I was cooking for five. In my mind that number immediately changes to 10, possibly 15 depending on the dish! So my cart was pretty full and pricey but I did not let that stop me.

My awesome hubby, LB, carted all those bags up the stairs for me and I had the arduous task of stuffing the fridge to get everything in but still functional. I had chickpea cutlets to make for dinner! Which I did and they turned out awesome. I fried them for my first attempt and scarfed them down with rice and smashed cauliflower, neither of which I got a picture of.

Smashed Cauliflower
1 bag Cauliflower, frozen (half a large head fresh, florets)
1/4c Soy Cheese, mild white flavor, diced small
4oz Better than Cream Cheese
2T Vegan Parm or Nutritional Yeast
Garlic
Basil
Salt & Pepper

Steam the cauliflower until easily pierced with a fork but not mush. Strain and put back on the heat. Add in the cheeses & spices and allow to warm on a low heat until the cheese is melted. Mash with a potato masher. Serve this creamy cheesey goodness to friends & family.

Ok now that you have my super seekret Smashed Cauli recipe in hand, let me tell you more about my weekend. Thursday, I stayed in my jammies all day! I made Bryanna Clark Grogan's Soy & Seitan Turkey. I subbed black beans for the tofu and added in sage, thyme and rosemary in the dry ingredients. Since I am lazy I do not make two loaves, I make one... one big one.

The yummy cooked roast, cooling on a cutting board before being swaddled in foil and resting in the fridge till the big meal.

I also made bread for dressing & rolls. This dough was so awesome. Light, soft and a joy to kneed even if the recipe says you can do without. Doesn't it just look like fun?

So ended my Thursday. The kid drove me insane watching Buffy season 2 & 3 and we played EQ2 for the remainder of the evening!

Friday dawned cold and I did have to change out of my PJ's. Unfortunately we needed things despite it being Buy Nothing Day. A trip to the fabric store for pins got us yarn & fleece fabric for a blanket. A visit to the book store got Angel a book she had been bugging me for. On sale, which was nice! I then headed to the liquor store for Saturday booze & another trip to the grocery for lunch. Burgers & tater tots. mmmm Again no pics of lunch, I was too busy scarfing it down at 3pm to fiddle with the camera. Boca Vegan patties with portobello mushrooms, sauted onions and LiteLife Smart Bacon. I added lettuce tomato and avocado on my poppy seed hard roll and it was awesome.

I then spend time making two pies, one chocolate and one pumpkin. Since I am not a fan of pie crust I used vegan prepackaged graham and chocolate crumb crusts. Did you think I got a pic of either? Yeah, I thought not!

The rest of the evening was spent altering Angel's Winter Ball dress. We picked it up at Goodwill for $27 with the manufacturers tags still on it. I figured I could simply buy her something else if I ruined it! That damn thing took me all night to hem. *cries* My poor machine made 3 broken needles. But she was happy and we did not have to shop for another dress. Just do NOT get me started on the foundation garments or jewelery! *sobs*

Saturday dawned lovely though cold and I was up cooking at 9am! First were the appetizers. Cranberry Salsa, Artichoke dip, hummus and Ranch Dip; along with breads, chips, crudities and olives! Oh and do NOT forget Norm's Marinated Mushrooms! Chocolate Chip Cookies were made next and everything set out.

So the three of us noshed on a table full of goodies for a while before I resumed cooking. Should I mention the mimosa's I drank to get through this lovely day? No, I thought not. I plopped my SoySeiTurkey in the oven beside my homemade dressing (from homemade bread crumbs no less!), green bean casserole and rolls to reheat.

Now I would give you a recipe for the stuffing, but I simply improvised the entire thing. Did not measure any of the veggies I minced; onion, celery, carrot, or bell pepper, nor the Earth Balance, and water. I did use just one cube of Knor Veggie Bullion! haha All this I poured into a heaping bowl of cubed bread before folding it over gently. I prefer to see that it used to be cubed bread, not a great big mash of sticky dough. I then dotted the bottom of the pyrex dish with more Earth Balance before gently resting the dressing into it. Feeling like Paula D, I dotted the top with another tablespoon of EB. Sometimes you just have to!

Dressing aside I made the Green Bean Casserole pretty much the same way. Toss in mushrooms, saute, toss in EB, slop in soy milk until liquidy. Add in green beans and plop in the oven. I did link the recipe above that I vaguely followed! Its good stuff. I did top it with French's Fried Onions. Someday I must learn how to make my own crispy onion goodness. *drools*

Mashed potatoes & gravy were next and easiest to whip up. First thing though, I ruined my first round of mushrooms by putting them in the food processor. That batch simmered for an hour before I set it aside for something else, probably a chickpea casserole, and started new. The second attempt went beautifully and my mushroom gravy while chunky (from the big mushrooms) was delish! Again, mostly just 18oz mushrooms, herbs, garlic & veg stock.

I cook by feel and whim which does NOT lend itself to accurate recipe recounts. If something looks dry, I add more liquid. If it looks wet, I add more dry. It usually works. haha! But you came for the pr0n, not my sorry excuses! So here are the pictures of the table along with the full menu.

Appetizers:
	Cranberry Salsa w/ Wheat Thins & Pita Chips
	Hummus w/ Pita Bread
	Crudites of Carrot, Celery, Bell Pepper, Radish, Olives w/ Ranch Dip
	Marinated Mushrooms
	Artichoke Dip w/ sliced baguette

Dinner:
	Soy & Seitan Roast
	Dressing
	Garlic Mashed Potatoes
	Green Bean Casserole
	Kale w/ Onion & Smart Bacon
	Mushroom Gravy
	Cranberry Sauce
	Rolls

Dessert:
	Pumpkin Pie w/ Soya Too Whip
	Chocolate Mouse Pie
	Chocolate Chip Cookies
	Soy Ice Cream - Vanilla

Drinks:
	Sparkling Cider
	Seven Up
	White Wine

Yeah, thats a Mimosa at my plate. Luckily the kid drank the sparkling cider. heh Happy Thanksgiving all. I am thankful for my loving family, friends, happiness and health.

I am a slacker!

2007-11-12T10:07:00.000-05:00

Yes, its true. I slack. Why I thought I could keep a blog was beyond me. I procrastinate on cleaning the kitty litter for crying out loud!

Self recrimination aside, here is some food.

For Halloween I made cupcakes for the work kiddies that came around. If they did not want a mini cuppie they got to pick either a small thing of bubbles or a pencil. While kids were not totally impressed with my offerings, I got many grateful looks from parents toting bags already full of sugar, chemicals and fat.
Several people commented that they looked very professional, which made me beam with pride. One pastry bag and an 1M tip makes these little guys fabulous. I did get to feed my Hindu friend's kids as well as one little girl with severe nut / egg allergy. That little girl's mom got an earful on Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World as she listened in almost tearful gratitude. These little gems were the basic vanilla cupcakes with added chocolate chips and fluffy chocolate butter cream. (One of my coworkers exclaimed that I really needed to make these bigger! heh)

Next I tried out some recipes for Thanksgiving. While I did not get any pics of a failed seitan roulande, I did take pics of the lovely Cranberry Upside down cake. It was very tasty. Lemon cake paired well with the tart berries. Unfortunately I used the wrong pan and all my sugar base dribbled out, leaving very sharply tart topping all alone. I have plans to make this again but in a regular pan instead of a springform.

It looked lovely though!

Other things I have been cooking lately? Banana bread by the double batch. Cupcakes, Chickpea Mushroom Noodle Casserole, Snobby Joes, and seitan noodle soup. Good grief all this talking of food makes me insanely hungry and since I have already had a shake (Cocoa, Date Sugar, Frozen Blueberries, 1 Banana and soymilk) for breakfast as well as an apple and Golden Pea Butter for snack I am going to end here before I gnaw on a keyboard or something.

Hopefully I shall slack less. Yeah, don't hold your breath!

Recipe Reviews: Gumbo & Pie

2007-10-26T10:00:00.000-04:00

Since the awesome trip to Boston's Veg Food Fest netted me three cookbooks, I decided to plan this weeks menu around some of the new recipes I have in my hands.

First on Monday I opened my Little Vegan Monsters cookbook and decided the Mexican Pie sounded awesome. I followed the recipe as close as possible for me, which is never exactly. The recipe asked me to sauté about 12 ingredients including tofu. Rather than put it all together I added the oil, onions and tofu and let it sauté until the tofu was reasonably dry. Once it seemed slightly firm, about 15 minutes, I added everything else and sautéed more. The dough was lovely though I did diverge and use a wheat flour. Once everything was ready I assembled the 'pie'.

Needless to say that once I poured the entire filling into my largest casserole dish I did not have much room for the topping. Rather than simply use less topping I scooped half of the filling and put it in a separate casserole dish. I divided the topping equally and plopped it all in the oven as directed. This turned out satisfying, savory and tasting like tamales but without the work of stuffing corn husks! This hearty 'pie' had all the traditional (to me) Mexican flavors. Creamy Pinto beans, crisp corn kernels, sharply biting cilantro all married to a lush savory cornbread fit for a king. Next time my goal is to use the large casserole but make mini muffins from the excess topping.

Unfortunately my pictures were a horrible blurry mess and I did not want to disgrace this awesome recipe with poor pics, so you only have my word. I am not sure what I will try next but this cookbook is simple, easy to use and the first test pulled out a hearty B+ with a definite need to repeat this one.

On Thursday night I tried out Veganomicon's Smoky Pepper & Bean Gumbo shown above. This was amazing. Seriously smoky, savory and oh so filling. I followed the recipe exactly as directed and only had to leave two items out, as somehow my fridge was mysteriously out of beer! That was a tragedy.

The steps were simple, completely explained and even times given on how long to let the roux simmer and the onions & peppers sauté. I followed that exactly and it turned out beautiful. The flavors have that fire roasted flavor but the kidney beans impart a lush creamy mouth feel. Even the okra was perfect with its subtle green flavor and softness to the tooth. I did serve this with Jasmine rice dollop. It added a smooth base for the tomatoes and peppers to shine from.

I will be making this again and it rates an excited A for making me stuffed beyond belief with just that bowl. Winter is coming! Get your soup bowls ready!

Welcome to Fearlessly Vegan!

2007-10-23T10:48:00.001-04:00

Greetings and welcome!

I had all these great ideas fluttering about my head when I was setting up this blog. I planned on mentioning simple foods that were easy and delicious as well as some sample menus. Of course what really happened is that my mind immediately went blank the instant I started to create a post. Figures.

Since nothing comes to mind, here is my recount of the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival! The entire discussion can be found on VegWeb's Q&A.

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The Festival was awesome! In an attempt to be complete I tried to remember and take pictures in a journalistic manner, so all of you that could not attend still get a feel for the fun. So with that idea, here is my report!

At 6:35am I left my lovely little Connecticut town and began the 3 hour drive to Boston. Despite the early hour there were quite a few cars on the road but thankfully no accidents or inclement weather. I arrived at the site at 9:15am, just a wee bit early. So after finding a lovely parking spot, strolling up to the entrance and watching them hang the sign, I went inside. Much to my surprise, rather than making us wait while people finished setting up we were able to simply walk in at 9:50. This was great!

My first stop was the Herbivore table where I bought an awesome shirt. Next I tried some hummus from the good folks at Tribe. mmmm Pita & 40 spice hummus. Makes good breakfast food. A few tables down I spied Chef Colleen Patrick-Goudreau author of The Joy of Vegan Baking. After sampling one of her Chocolate chip (banana) mini muffins I got a signed & personalized copy of the cookbook. I am so looking forward to just about every recipe in the book. After this it gets a little blurry as I sample vegan treat after treat. I did buy a Little Vegan Monsters' cookbook. The sample of Lemon Poppyseed muffin and the picture of tamales sold me. I tried the seitan loaf from Cafe Indigo. Phenomenal! They are brilliant to have thought to add pureed cannellini beans to the mix. I am so going to try that but I do wonder if they ship. (Yes make 'nom nom nom' noises now!) I tried pancakes, muffins, rice mixtures, gladcorn, soup, and yes marinated mushrooms. Norm's Best mushrooms are an aphrodisiac. I bought two jars but one is already half eaten. I was completely serious when I asked if I could take Norm home. Man, those mushies are good.

Despite being full from samples I partook of a plate full of goodies the lovely Asian food table. Nom nom nom! I ate this lovely repast while awaiting the first speaker Chef Cathi DiCocco! The soups looked lovely and I learned very important things; to make broth use cold water, to cook veggies use hot. Brilliant information with the whys and hows explained. I lamented on my inability to try the Thai Sweet Potato Stew, but I asked what could be substituted for the pesky sweet potatoes and was told any yellow squash, like butternut, would work lovely! Yay!

After this I wandered around some more, shoveling sample after sample in my mouth. It was so exciting to not have to spaz about what I could and couldn't try. I bought my copy of Veganomicon and got a picture! I was so trilled and nervous that I hugged that book to my chest and took a step before Terry reminded me that it was $25! Doh! Feeling foolish I forked over the cash without relinquishing my book. I'm such a goober in front of such awesome people.
After that I took a minute to sit outside and enjoy the lovely 70 degree day. Veg*ns lined the building, walking in and out, talking about booths or samples or chortling over loot. Once I had caught my second wind I ventured back in and picked up some lovely fragrance free Arbonne body lotion after skirting the organic soaps table like a chicken. Now I wish I had the guts to go sniff them but then I did not want to risk a headache! After a sample or two of italian ices I slugged back another mushroom shot or two. Checking the time I realized that I had well over an hour to kill before the next talk was happening but my feets were tired. Looking at people's hands I decided a plate of soul food was in order. I stood in line and picked up a plate of rice, lentils, tofu salad and a veggie empanada. I took this upstairs to the speaker room and sat down on the last 10 minutes of the Why Animals Matter talk. Not quite the best time to be eating but Ms. Erin Williams made so many good points and had lovely slides. Very moving as I sat chowing down on vegan fare. The rice & lentils were good, but I was not fond of the tofu salad nor the empanada as they were cold and greasy (respectively).

By the time the talk ended I had finished and threw the plate away while sitting and enjoying not having a 15lb bag on my shoulder. Three cookbooks will do that to ya! Much to my surprise a green shirt rearranged chairs to have three free right in front of me. I laughed as I read the fuzzy black letters spelling out "Dinkfeet". Thats how I ran into the VegWeb crew! Yay! Dr. Michael Greger's talk was awesome. Funny, insightful and full of information. He told us to eat cocoa, date sugar, soymilk & berries every morning. Yay! He had the crowd laughing repeatedly, so much so that I decided to take video of his talk. Of course my batteries decided to put an end to that after 5 minutes. But soon as I figure out how to share it, there will be insightful video!

After that the VegWeb crew split up. I stayed to watch the next cooking demonstration where I learned something very important from Chef Colleen. "If you want to eat a healthy chocolate chip cookie, eat broccoli." *nods* She is wise! I ventured down stairs once more where I promptly found DinkFeet & CeltKat snatching up samples of organic tea. We stood and chatted for 30 plus minutes. We even saw oWalkerJillo & friend! It was nearing 5pm as we went our separate ways with hugs and promises to post of our Veg Fest experiences. I of course went and snatched up another mushroom shot and debated getting two more jars. I really should have.

The three hour drive home was not bad, except the torrential downpour near the MA/CT border but even that passed quickly. Honestly I was hyper from all the food, fun and experience. Even after three hours of driving I was able to go to a friends house till 11:30pm! Sharing my mushrooms and recounting tales of veggie goodness. All in all, it was an awesome experience. I hope to go next year as well and so should you!

The crowd was impressive! But my haul made it worthwhile!