Open minded Omni's for dinner!

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!

I slack!

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!

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

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!

VeganMoFo - Tamales from the Potluck

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!

Improvisation

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!

Last week recap

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.

Mexican Fiesta Rice and Perfect Pinto Beans

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.

Pictures from the long silences

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.

Tortilla Soup

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!

Recipe Reviews: Gumbo & Pie

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!