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.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
My camera is holding cupcakes hostage!
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!
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!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Seitan Filet
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.
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.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Another faux fish
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
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Weekend Cookery
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!
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!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Spaghetti Squash challenge.
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.
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.
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