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Long Time No Post

2010-07-18T10:46:00.002-05:00

I know, I know- it's been too long. The end of the school year and this summer have been crazy (getting ready to fill out college applications in the fall!) so I really haven't been cooking or baking a whole lot. Plus, it's been a super hot summer (90 degrees most days) so spending time in the kitchen, unfortunately, doesn't sound too fun. Most of my meals have consisted of cereal, smoothies, fresh juices, or raw veggies and hummus, not that I'm complaining- I'm just eating whatever I feel like. I'll try to document a few of my more memorable meals later, but for now it's all about the cake!

A friend of mine was throwing a surprise party for another friend of ours and asked me to make a vegan gluten-free cake, so of course I was more than happy to do so :) I made a triple batch of the gluten free chocolate cupcake recipe from VCTOTW for two 8'' pans and a double batch of the fluffy vegan buttercream. The cake was by far my best yet. The cakes rose beautifully and were moist, but sturdy, the crumb coat stayed put, and I was able to frost the cake fairly smoothly. I wanted to do a few more decorations, but ran out of time and frosting. Not a big deal, though, because everyone loved the cake. I hadn't baked a cake in so long (probably because I don't want cakes hanging around my house all summer long) and this reminded me how much I love to bake and decorate cakes.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summers! While I probably won't be posting regularly, I will try to post again at least once or twice before the summer is over.

NYC

2010-02-20T20:01:00.007-06:00

I'm going to keep this as short as possible since I'm exhausted and should be working on my US research paper. My mom, sister, and I went to NYC (the first time for all of us) over President's Day weekend and had a blast!!! It was pretty chilly (warmer than Chicago, though), but the city was so exciting and we were never bored. The food there is pretty awesome, too.

We didn't get up early enough to take the ferry over to Elis Island, but at least we got to see the Statue of Liberty from a distance.

We stayed in Times Square, which was cool during the day, but breath-taking at night. I slept surprisingly well with all of the honking outside our hotel room.

Friday night, we explored Times Square and one store that amazed me was this HUGE Toys R Us that was three stories and had a ferris wheel inside of it! I may be 17, but I still got super excited :)

I would have loved to see Central Park during the summer, but it was still pretty in the winter. Grey, but pretty. We, of course, had to see Strawberry Fields.

Saturday was my favorite day of the trip. After a long day of shopping all over Soho, we stopped by Candle Cafe on the way home so I could pick up dinner to eat before we all went out to a restaurant by our hotel where my mother and sister ate. I got the Ginger Miso Stir-Fry with a side of sauteed veggies with tahini sauce. While I couldn't get a good picture of my meal, the food was delicious and satisfying since I was exhausted from shopping! However, I must say that dessert was even better than dinner. One place I had to go to in NYC was Lula's Sweet Apothecary. I got a two scoop sundae (my first sundae in years) with coffee and chocolate fudge swirl ice cream and rainbow sprinkles. It was amazing and I would go back to NYC just for this ice cream. Gosh, it was good. My mom was so cute and loved the way the store looked and took tons of pictures of it.

Sunday, we saw the Lion King on Broadway, which was awesome even though my family and I saw it a few years ago in Chicago. We then went to a wonderful dinner at Blossom. Since they had a prix fix menu for Valentine's day, I wasn't able to try anything from their regular menu, but the meal was still delicious. For my appetizer I ordered the chestnut soup which was fantastic and I had to stop myself from finishing the huge bowl of it to save room for dinner. My entree was the pistachio-dusted tofu and I fell in love with it! There was some flavor in the sauce that was so great, I'm not sure what it was, but it was delicious. We each ordered a different dessert and, unfortunately, none of them were very good. Nothing was bad, but just disappointing.

This was such an amazing trip and I'm so thankful that I was able to visit NYC because I've been waiting to for a long time. Now I can't wait to go back!

2010!!

2010-01-01T13:56:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year, everyone! For me, this marks the official end to the holiday season and I'm glad to say that I survived and enjoyed it all! Christmas was great- got a ton of new clothes and CD's. We just had a small group of family members over and had a nice, quiet evening. For dinner, I made some ratatouille (loosely based off the same recipe used in this post) and a pumpkin swirl cheesecake for dessert (based off the recipe from Fat Free Vegan, but I used 1 1/2 times the ingredients for the filling, and less tofu and more vegan cream cheese) topped with candied pecans and it was a hit! My sis especially loved the cheesecake and the two of use finished it off in about three days :)

Hope 2010 is a great year for everyone and brings even more joy than 2009!

Belated Thanksgiving Post

2009-12-01T21:30:00.002-06:00

I feel like Thanksgiving sort of snuck up on me this year, but that was no problem since I didn't have to cook anything for my dinner! I knew I wanted to order a vegan carryout dinner from the Chicago Diner and went with the raw meal since it was gluten-free, as well.

It was so much food!! In the little carryout tray (I think it's so cute) was a raw nut loaf, shiitake gravy, mashed cauliflower, some sort of wild rice salad, cranberry relish, and a sweet potato salad with pineapple and goji berries. I brought this meal along with the raw cheesecake (not sure about the flavor but it appeared to be chocolate and cinnamon) and left the corn soup and salad for lunch the next day. The meal itself was pretty good. The cauliflower and loaf were a little heavy on the garlic for my taste, but still enjoyable. The sweet potato salad was great- not very traditional, but good. It goes without saying that the cheesecake was great (it always is), but I've gotta say that my favorite part of the meal was the corn soup that I had for lunch the next day! It was full of fresh, sweet corn kernels, onion, bell pepper, and cilantro. Gosh, it was good. I hope they offer this soup at the restaurant throughout the year because I can't wait to have it again!

I hope every had a great holiday (or weekend if you didn't celebrate Thanksgiving). Mine was definitely interesting, but my weekend was fabulous (I had to pry myself from my room to go shopping as I read 4 books over the weekend totaling about 2200 pages, which is huge for me since I never read!) I only have 3 weeks of school until Winter Break (yay!!) and 4 weeks worth of class until finals (ugh...), so I'll be having a bunch of time off school in the next couple months to make some interesting meals to share with you all!

I Made it to 17 :)

2009-11-15T12:00:00.006-06:00

As I mentioned in my Halloween post, November 1st was a special day for me (not just because it's World Vegan Day)- my 17th birthday! I'm sorry it took me so long to post this, but life has been so hectic (in a good way) and still is, so I'll keep this post short.

To celebrate my birthday, my family and I went out to dinner at the Chicago Diner, which was enjoyable as always, but the real treat was waiting for me at home :)

My parents had ordered a birthday cake along with some cupcakes from Bleeding Heart Bakery! The cupcakes were 3 chocolate with chocolate frosting, 3 chocolate with vanilla frosting, 3 chocolate with peanut butter frosting (all vegan), and 3 red velvet (non-vegan). My family snacked on those throughout the day, but I really couldn't wait to try my birthday cake after dinner: a curry cake with chocolate ganache (my mom picked it out knowing that I love to try "weird" things). I know, it sounds sooooooo bizarre, but it was actually delicious! My mom and I both agreed that the first bite was a little weird since most people don't expect to taste curry when they eat a cake, but the more we ate, the more we loved it! The ganache was the perfect frosting for this cake and I couldn't help but go back for a second slice :)

I got some great gifts (clothes, tights, makeup- the usual), but one that was extremely special was my dad's gift to me: a juicer! I mentioned that I wanted one back in the summer, but they are so expensive that I didn't bring it up again because I never expected to get one. Well, my dad spent some time reading reviews and got me a really great juicer! I wanted to try it out right away, so I just made my first juice with some stuff around the house: grapefruit, ginger, oranges, and apples. It mad a TON of juice (I saved some for later) and was so refreshing. The juicer itself is really easy to clean and does a great job of getting every last bit of juice out.

I feel like my birthday gets better and better every year and I'm so thankful that my family made it so special :)

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T20:18:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a very happy Halloween. My day has been great so far (Halloween being my favorite holiday and all), but I really can't wait until tomorrow! (you'll see why later....)

Once again, enjoy your holiday!

Enchiladas and Pudding- Both with Chocolate?

2009-10-18T19:45:00.004-05:00

My latest culinary adventure all began when I went out to dinner with my parents to a local Mexican restaurant. While I enjoyed some jicama slices with guacamole and my mom ate her pumpkin tamales, my dad's dinner was something that I didn't expect him to order. He told me that his favorite dish at that restaurant is enchiladas with mole sauce and I immediately wanted to make my own vegan mole sauce to try it. After all, if my dad likes it, it couldn't be that bad, right? I remembered bookmarking the mole sauce recipe in Vcon when I first got the book, so the next day I looked at the recipe, went to the store to pick up anything I needed, and set out to make enchiladas with mole sauce! The enchiladas were a variation on my basic recipe- corn tortillas filled with beans (pinto beans in this case), corn, diced bell peppers, carrots, onions, zucchini, and spices. What made these enchiladas special was, of course, the sauce. Let me just say it: I am officially in love with this mole sauce! My dad tried some and liked it so much (which is the "seal of approval" since he is a mole fan) that he asked me to make some (non-vegan) cheese enchiladas for him with the extra sauce for dinner. When I make enchiladas for the rest of my family, I will probably have to use the traditional red sauce since only my dad and I like mole, but there's no doubt that I will make some special enchiladas for my father and I.

I have been a chocolate pudding addict lately! I have been making a batch of this recipe (reducing the coffee to 1/2 t.) every week for the past two months or so. Imagine my excitement when I found the new Soyatoo rice whip at my local Whole Foods. I couldn't help but buy it to enjoy with my pudding! Though it is very pricey, I prefer the rice whip to the original soy whip. It doesn't taste beany like the soy whip does and tastes so authentic- like a mixture of Cool Whip and dairy whipped cream. Another bonus is that this doesn't melt as quickly as the soy version. I'll be buying this now instead of the Soyatoo soy whip, but it will have to remain a rare purchase since it's so gosh darn expensive.

Kombucha- Totally Bizarre but Awesome

2009-09-22T16:57:00.002-05:00

Last month I finally gave unto my curiosity and bought a Trilogy (ginger, raspberry and lemon) Kombucha tea at Whole Foods. When I first opened the bottle, it fizzed everywhere (as the cashier warned me)! After that, some of the slimy goops of the bacteria that causes the fermentation floated to the top so, bracing myself, I slurped them up. It was so cool, they just melted in my mouth! The drink itself tasted strongly of ginger, probably more so than I would have liked, so it definitely resembled a slightly vinegar-y ginger ale. My mom tried some and said it tastes like wine, which I know nothing of, so maybe it does. Either way, I have been wanting to try so many more flavors of Kombucha tea, but I'm so stingy that I have a hard time paying $3.50 for one- sad, I know.

Anyways, fast forward to today when I see this giveaway on the Confessions of a Sham blog- perfect! If you are at all curious about Kombucha tea, go ahead and enter to give it a try- you won't be disappointed.

All Breakfast, All the Time!

2009-09-12T19:53:00.007-05:00

Breakfast is by far my favorite meal of the day (maybe even beating out dessert) and I'm disappointed that I haven't posted about it more on this blog! I guess first thing in the morning I just want to eat and forget to photograph anything. However, I've had a few breakfasts over the past month or so that I think are post-worthy, so here they are:

I was feeling a little fed up with the lack of variety of gluten-free, vegan cereal available, so I decided to make my own! I started with this recipe for Nutty Bran Flakes, but made a few changes. I used rice bran, substituted brown rice flour for the whole wheat flour, used maple syrup instead of sugar, hemp milk instead of dairy milk, and added a pinch of xanthan gum. Though rolling out the dough and baking it until it was super crispy was a little time consuming (not much, though), this cereal turned out wonderfully and I have already made this again several times with some variations. Once I experiment a little more, I might just share some of those variations....

The Fronch Toast recipe from Vcon has been one that I've had my eye on since I bought the book almost two years ago, and I'm ashamed that it took me this long to try it. I used this gluten-free bread since it's slightly sweet and I thought it'd be sturdy enough to hold up soaking in the french toast batter, but I think it may have been a little too dense. The batter didn't really get absorbed by the bread, but the Fronch Toast was still delicious. I will definitely make this again with some homemade gluten-free bread (I've been searching for the perfect recipe and trying a few out, but that's another post!).

I believe this trend may have been started by Heather of Heather Eats Almond Butter, but forgive me if I'm mistaken. Either way, I'm loving my oats in a nut butter jar! I go through nut butter so quickly that I get to enjoy this about once every 3 weeks or so, and it's such a treat. The one you see above is gluten-free oats cooked with water and hemp milk. I then stirred in some flaxseeds, mashed banana, and maple syrup. Served in an almost empty PB jar and topped with sliced bananas, this is such a hearty, creamy, and nutty breakfast!

Another new way I've tried oatmeal is as oatgurt (once again, thanks to Heather). I just blended gluten-free oats with a tiny bit of water, poured them into a bowl, covered it with a towel, and let it ferment for about 24 hrs, stirring often (I didn't want it too tart). I've tried this oatgurt both warm and cold (as you see above with soymilk, apples, cinnamon, pecans and pumpkin butter) and I much prefer it warm because the tanginess mellows out a little bit once the oatgurt is heated. However, my oatgurt didn't absorb any flavors I added to it like regular yogurt does. I think this is a nice change from regular oatmeal, but I just don't see myself making this too often. I think I was expecting it to either be just like oatmeal or just like yogurt, and it wasn't quite either, so maybe it's just that my expectations were off. That being said, I do suggest that you try oatgurt at some point because it's so darn good for you and the sourdough-tasting crust that forms on top alone is worth making this for!

Finally! No more mush for food!

2009-08-09T10:02:00.003-05:00

I'm so sorry it's been almost a month since my last post! I had my impacted wisdom teeth taken out a few weeks ago and it's taken me awhile to fully recover. For the first few days, my jaw was so stiff that it was hard for me to even fit a spoon in my mouth and I could barely get out of bed. Thankfully, I'm all better now and back to eating real food!

One dish I managed to whip up when I found the energy was a noodle-less lasagna. To do so, I sliced some zucchini about 1/4 inch thick, coated them in olive oil, salt and pepper, and roasted them until cooked through. There's no real recipe, but the lasagna itself consisted of layers of marinara sauce (I just used a 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes that I added some dried oregano and basil to), zucchini slices, and cashew ricotta from Vcon (seriously addicting stuff- I can't wait to make it again!). I sprinkled some Parma! on before baking, which made a really nice, nutty crust. While this lasagna didn't set up as nicely as one with noodles might have since the zucchini didn't absorb the liquid from the sauce, the flavor of this dish was great and the leftovers got even getter. I even tried freezing the last few servings and they were still delicious. This was definitely a nice change for the summer from a carb-heavy lasagna and I can't wait to find new dishes to make using the cashew ricotta.

In other news, I bought some of the new Larabars that everyone has been blogging/talking about and hope to review them in a future post (that is, if I can manage to take any pictures of them before a gobble 'em up!)

PB for Every Meal

2009-07-10T21:09:00.003-05:00

(yes, I did already take a bite out of the pancake in the background!)

I've been going through more peanut butter than ever lately (apple slices topped with PB has become a very common lunch for me) and I've managed to find a way to work it into almost every meal of the day. Starting with breakfast, I made some GF apple buckwheat pancakes that I topped with some melty, gooey peanut butter and a tiny drizzle of maple syrup. The pancakes were alright, but not great- I'd prefer them to be fluffier. I definitely need to work on the recipe before I share it. I loved how the peanut butter melted on top of them, though. And maple syrup is always necessary in my book, so the concept of this breakfast was great, I just need to work on the pancakes themselves.

This meal was a TOTAL success! For dinner, I whipped up my adaptation of a recipe for Spicy Peanut Spinach I received in an email from the VegNews Recipe Club and it couldn't have been easier. After devouring half of it over some brown rice (even though it serves 4), I packed up the rest for my mom to take to work with her the next day for lunch. Around noon, I got a call from her telling me how much she loved it! In fact, my mom is going to go pick up some more spinach from the store this weekend so I can make it again next week. Since I adapted the recipe a bit and am just soooo happy with this dish, I'll share the recipe:

(Sort of) Spicy Peanut Spinach:

1 T. oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
4 c. baby spinach/regular spinach, chopped
1/4 c. salted peanut butter
1/4 c .peanut, chopped

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat and add the onion, salt, and red pepper flakes. Saute until soft, about 5 min. Stir in tomatoes and spinach and cook until wilted. Stir in peanut butter and cook another 1-2 min. Serve over rice and top with peanuts.

The same day that I gave the peanut spinach to my mom for her lunch, I also sent some mini gluten-free chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate peanut butter frosting (that's a mouthful!) with her to share with her co-workers. Needless to say, they were a hit! I used the chocolate gluten-freedom cupcake recipe, subbing Bob's Red Mill GF All-Purpose mix for the quinoa flower, and the peanut butter frosting recipe (both from VCTOTW), subbing Peanut Butter & Co. White Chocolate Wonderful for the regular peanut butter and omitting the vanilla extract. I think my new baking obsession is mini cupcakes and muffins. They are bite-sized and great for snacking!

Happy Fourth!

2009-07-04T09:26:00.003-05:00

I just want to wish you all a happy Fourth of July! It feels like summer just started- it's so weird to think that it's already the fourth. I know that my blogging has been far too infrequent since the beginning of summer, but I've got some exciting meals planned and I can't wait to post those ASAP.

Enjoy your holiday and I'll post again soon!

Raw "Cleanse" Day

2009-06-17T15:41:00.012-05:00

I feel like I've been eating too many carbs and fatty foods and haven't been getting enough fresh fruit and vegetables lately with the stress from finals and all (I'm finally done and found out my grades! I did better than I thought, so that's a huge relief), so I decided on Monday that I would try my best to eat just fresh fruits and veggies for the day. I then figured I might as well make it a raw day, but try not include any nut based dishes since I eat enough nuts as it is.

I had ordered some kelp noodles from Amazon last week (need to up the iodine for medical reasons) and received a small free packet of chia seeds along with it, but I sorta forgot about it until Monday so I decided to use it in my breakfast. As light as this was, my breakfast left me satisfied without feeling weighed down- it was great! I just blended some frozen sliced peaches that I thawed overnight, a super ripe and juicy mango, and a peeled orange in my blender. I then mixed in the chia seeds, let the mixture sit for about 15 min, and topped it with sliced strawberries. This was so delicious thanks to the super sweet fruit that I used and I couldn't stop myself from spooning it into my mouth.

Lunch was inspired by this post on Another One Bites the Crust and it was by far my favorite meal all day. I love spring rolls, so the idea of making them with sliced cucumber as the wrapper appealed to me immediately. I filled mine with buttery avocado slices, grated carrot, sliced scallions, and shredded romaine lettuce. I then topped them with some black sesame seeds and dipped them in a simple sauce made from Bragg Liquid Aminos and red pepper flakes. I also snacked on a sliced apple sprinkled with cinnamon. This is one of those meals where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I knew that the rolls would taste good, but I was just blown away by the flavor of them! They tasted like the freshest veggie sushi ever and could not have been easier. I'm actually running to the store tomorrow to get the ingredients to make more of these rolls :)

Dinner was...not so great. I've never had gazpacho before, but the idea of it always appealed to me so I decided to try it. I didn't follow a specific recipe, but more of a blend of several. The flavor was pretty good, but after a few bites the texture became very unappealing to me and I ended up eating a bowl of fruit topped with ground flax seeds and half a Larabar. I think I might have had the proportions of veggies wrong because I feel like there was too much onion and cucumber. I won't give up on gazpacho just yet, but it'll be awhile before I try making it again.

Dessert was some homemade pineaple mango sorbet with a secret ingredient- fresh coconut milk! I felt like adding another layer of flavor to this sorbet in the form of coconut milk, but since canned was out of the question, I bought a young Thai coconut, cracked it open (I used the method show in this video), blended the meat and water, and strained it to make fresh coconut milk! While I've never been a fan of things with a strong coconut taste, I learned that fresh coconut is a totally different story. I'm now in LOVE with fresh coconut meat and want to go buy another one just to eat for breakfast! The flavor is not traditionally "coconutty," but just floral and tropical- it reminded me and my mom of the Bahamas. To make the sorbet, I just blended the coconut milk with 3-4 cups of chopped fruit and some raw agave nectar in the blender, chilled it, and churned it in my ice cream machine. The coconut milk didn't make the sorbet as creamy as I would have hoped, but it gave it such a great tropical aftertaste and I'm so glad I used it.

Overall, my raw "cleanse" day was a success and a great way to introduce myself to raw foods because I definitelty want to include more raw meals in my diet throughout the summer. I think I'll continue to do one day every month or so of completely raw foods that aren't nut-based because I felt great the next day. The only problem seemed to be that I didn't eat enough early in the day, so by about 3:00 I was craving carbs like crazy and felt really tired (I acually took a brief nap, which I rarely do), so I'll keep that in mind next time. I can't wait to try more raw recipes and I hope to eat at least one raw meal every week.

Swirlz- My Life Saver

2009-06-13T10:15:00.008-05:00

After seeing Vegan Nurse's post about a cupcake from Swirlz she found at Whole Foods, I was intrigued immediately. While there are several places in my area where I can get vegan baked goods and gluten-free baked goods, I have yet to find somewhere where I can find a cake that is gluten-free AND vegan. That is, until now. I asked my dad (since he works in the city) if he had ever heard of Swirlz and it turns out that it's only two blocks from where he works and he runs right by it everyday, so I just mentioned to him that they have vegan, gluten-free cupcakes (one flavor each day) and that I might drive down there sometime during the summer. Well, fast-froward to the next day when I came home from school. I walked into my dad's office, said "hello," and began heading toward the kitchen to put my backpack away, when my dad told me that he had a surprise for me in the kitchen. I looked in and saw on the counter....

...a gluten-free, vegan double chocolate chip cupcake form Swirlz! Actually, he got me two and I ate both of them that night :) The cake itself was pretty good, a little dry, but it had a nice chocolate flavor. The real star here was the fudgey frosting. OH MY GOODNESS! This is the kind of frosting I've been missing and have yet to be able to make since going vegan. It's fudgey, chocolatey, and creamy- yum! The size of the cupcake was also really nice- a little bit bigger than the ones I make at home but not so big that the frosting to cake ratio is thrown off. My dad also brought home a box with two of the (nonvegan) gluten-free cupcakes for my mom and some of the "regular" cupcakes for the rest of my family and everyone loved them, so I think I'll be able to enjoy my cupcakes a little more often :)

Asian Flavor

2009-06-07T13:38:00.010-05:00

I'm not sure why, but I've seemed to be craving Asian dishes for the past few weeks, which is fine by me because it means I've been eating tons of fresh veggies! Even though the weather here hasn't been great lately, we have had a few summery days and I decided to take them as an opportunity to make some refreshing SUSHI! I used to practically live off of sushi in my pre-veg*n days, but now that I've finally learned how to make my own vegan sushi, I plan on eating it all the time this summer! This time around, I used brown rice and finally conquered the inside-out roll (rice on the outside) and it surprisingly wasn't anymore difficult to make than regular sushi. I made two different rolls last week, as you see above, and I was really happy with these flavor combinations. The roll in the front contained just some simple sliced avocado (makes everything 10x better) and carrots and the one in back had some cucumber and roasted sweet potato and both rolls were fantastic (even though I think I preferred the one with avocado just because it's so darn creamy).

This dish came out of my need to use up some cabbage in the fridge and it ended up being so great that I've made it at least 3 times in the past month! For the tofu, I marinaded it in a mix of wheat-free tamari, sesame oil, and five-spice and let it sit for a few hours before pan-frying it in a little bit of oil. As good as the tofu was, the cabbage stir fry was the real star on this plate and it couldn't have been easier, so I decided to post the (approximate) recipe:

Cabbage Stir-Fry:

1 large head cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1-2 scallions, chopped
2 T. oil
2 t. agave nectar
1/4 c. tamari (or other soy sauce)
1 1/2 T. sesame oil
2 T. rice vinegar

Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Sautee bell pepper and carrot for 1-2 min. Add cabbage and scallions and sautee another 4 min, or just until cabbage softens slightly. Add the other ingredients and cook for about 1 more min. and serve immediately. Serves 4-6 (depending on how much you love your veggies)

I've actually made this dish a few times before, but never got around to posting about it until now for some reason. The Cashew Ginger Tofu from ED&BV is so easy and the cashew sauce after it thickens in the oven is amazing! I used tempeh this time instead of tofu since it's all I had on hand, but it's just as good with tempeh (if not better) because it absorbs the sauce beautifully. I served this dish with some steamed cauliflower and asparagus that I sauteed in some soy sauce and sesame oil (my mom's recipe- it's great!).

Finals start Tuesday and by the end of the week my summer vacation will have officially begun!! One great perk of summer is more time to cook/bake new things and more time to share them all with you!

New Foods Challenge Accepted!

2009-05-25T16:00:00.008-05:00

Katie of Chocolate-Covered Katie announced a new contest a few weeks ago and I've finally gotten around to posting about my results. The challenge was to try either a new product, fruit, vegetable, or whatever and I think this was such a great idea since I often find myself in food ruts. While I have a lengthy list of more foods I want to try, the contest ends June 1st, so I'll post about these for now:

I was beyond excited to see the new Living Harvest Tempt hemp milk ice cream at my local Whole Foods and grabbed a pint. I was only able to find the vanilla bean, mint chip, and chocolate fudge flavors at the store, so I chose mint chip. OH MY GOODNESS!! This is fantastic! I love this ice cream because it's gluten-free, not soy-based, not terribly high in fat/sugar, and doesn't have any aftertaste like soy ice cream can have. Also, the little chocolate flakes just melt in your mouth and remind me of the mint chip ice cream of my childhood. This product is pretty rich, but I can't stop eating it and I think I'll have to have a pint in my freezer at all times.

As I went to the checkout line at Whole Foods with my hemp milk ice cream, I noticed a basket full of every flavor of Justin's almond/peanut butter squeeze packs. I've always wanted to try these after reading about them so much on other blogs, so I grabbed one pack of the classic peanut butter and one pack of the maple almond butter. The peanut butter was pretty good- nothing too special, but that's what I expected. What I was really excited to try was the maple almond butter, so I squeezed out as much as possible onto some apple slices. While this certainly is some special almond butter, I wasn't blown away. Don't get me wrong- I think this was delicious and was so glad to try it, but I tend to prefer raw almond butter so the flavor of the roasted almonds was a little overpowering for me. My favorite part of this product, though, is the convenience! I'll probably keep a few packs of the peanut butter on hand because they'll be great for traveling and school lunches (even though I only have 2 weeks left!).

Thanks so much Katie for this fun challenge! I'm already planning my next trip to the store to cross a few new foods off my list :)

Crepes Two Ways and Another Surprise in the Mail

2009-05-17T11:23:00.003-05:00

I have no idea why it took me so long, but I finally got around to making the crepes from Vcon. They were so easy to make gluten-free by substituting some millet flour and xanthan gum for the wheat flour. I made the savory version of the batter and made 4 crepes, but then added some agave nectar to the 2nd half of the batter and made another 5 crepes. I froze them all so now I have a bunch of crepes for any type of meal whenever I want! But of course I couldn't wait very long to try them out, so I made the Potato Mushroom Blintzes (also from Vcon) and topped them with some Vegan Gourmet Sour Cream, natural apple sauce, and fresh thyme leaves. While the crepes themselves were great, I wasn't a huge fan of the potato mushroom filling. I think there just wasn't a whole lot of flavor, plus I'm not a fan of the whole "carb wrapped in a carb" kind of meal. Oh well, they can't all be winners.

Even though my first vegan crepe adventure was savory, I think the real way to eat crepes is for a sweet breakfast. This morning, I just warmed up two of my defrosted sweetened crepes and filled them with some Wildwood plain soy yogurt (my Whole Foods started carrying it and it's great! I like being able to control the sweetness), lemon zest, grapefruit zest, agave nectar, and chopped blackberries. Topped my crepes with a drizzle of more agave nectar and some whole blackberries. Now this is how crepes should be eaten!! This was one excellent, light, and special breakfast. The crepes taste exactly how I remember nonvegan crepes tasting and they were simple to make.

And the last cookbook of my Amazon preorder arrived Friday afternoon! I immediately flipped through my new copy of Vegan Brunch and tagged a bunch of recipes I want to try soon. The layout of this book is fantastic and it has some delicious-looking pictures. I think I've gotta hold off now on buying any more cookbooks- I have too many things I want to try in a bunch of them that I don't know where to start!

You've Got Mail

2009-05-07T19:51:00.003-05:00

If you remember, a few weeks ago I announced my search for vegan butterscotch chips and Annieeggplant from the PPK boards was kind enough to help me out. We had a fun little "mini-swap" with each other. In return for these two bags of butterscotch chips, I sent her some Ricemellow and natural, vegan soap bars. I've been trying to perfect my gluten-free oatmeal cookie recipe before I make some with these precious chips, but I have sampled a few (hence the opened bag in the back of the photo) and they are delicious! Of course, they do taste artificial and all, but what do you expect?

I was completely shocked yesterday when I received another package from Annieeggplant in the mail yesterday! The package included a letter in which Annie told me that she thought that her package to me was "lame" (her words, not mine) compared tot he one I sent her, so she sent me some good from an Indian market and chocolate bars. While this was completely unnecessary, I appreciate it none the less and can't wait to try some of this stuff. In her package, Anne sent me two boxes of some sort of vegan "jell-o" mix (one mango and one cherry), cardamom powder, black sesame seeds, some kind of crunchy nut candy, a small jar of asofetida, a Ritter Sport marzipan bar (my dad always gets these for me- love 'em!), and a raspberry dark chocolate bar.

Today, the surprises kept on coming! As I mentioned in my last post, I preordered the new Babycakes cookbook a few weeks ago, and it arrived today! I've been spending my night reading this book and planning what recipes I'm going to try first. Even if you eat dairy, eggs, or gluten, I suggest you buy this book because it looks amazing. The pictures are gorgeous and the layout is wonderful. I'll report back on some recipes later :)

Just to let you all know, I have been photographing some of my more impressive meals and once I have enough, I'll post about them. So please don't think I've forgotten about you all- you'll get a good food post soon!

Sweet Snackin'

2009-04-17T14:42:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, I pre-ordered the new BabyCakes cookbook, so you bet when I saw this recipe for blueberry muffins on the Food Network website by Erin McKenna of BabyCakes Bakery, I just had to try it. The only changes I made were substituting 1/2 c. of the GF All-Purpose flour with millet flour and using only 1/2 t. of cinnamon. I got so excited watching these bake becasue the tops puffed up a little bit (some even had nice muffin tops!) and got really golden. The muffins tasted great- not too sweet and the agave nectar really added a nice caramel-y flavor. However, only the tops and bottoms of the muffins held together- the middles just crumbled as soon as I started eating one! My family and I agreed that more xanthan gum (maybe another 1/2 t.?) needed to be used, but other than that this was one good muffins recipe! I'm now even more excited for the arrival of my cookbook in a few weeks.

I used up all of my organic peanut butter from Costco last week and my dad wasn't going again for awhile, so I had to get some from the grocery store in the meantime. Unfrotunately, the only natural peanut butter at the store I was at was Smucker's, so I grabbed that. I tried a little and realized how, compared to the organic peanut butter I had been eating for months, this kind just didn't taste like peanuts. To use some of it up, I made some trail mix bars based on the recipe on the lid of the peanut butter jar and they turned out pretty well! The only ingredient that needed to be veganized was the honey and since I made a few other changes, I'll share the recipe:

Peanut Butter Trail Mix Bars:

1 1/2 c. puffed rice cereal
1 1/2 c. oats (I used GF oats)
1/2 c. raisins
1/4 c. dried cherries/cranberries
1/4 c. sunflower seeds
2 T. pecans, chopped
1/4 c. seeded pumpkin seeds (I left these out since I didn't have any on hand)
1/2 c. brown rice syrup/agave nectar (I used a mix of both)
3 T. sugar
1 c. all-natural peanut butter
1/2 t. vanilla extract

Grease a 9x9 pan. Mix together the puffed rice, oats, dried fruits, nuts, and seeds in a large bowl. In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the brown rice syrup/agave nectar with the sugar until it boils. Boil for one minute. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla and stir until combined. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well. Press into the grease pan and let cool. Makes 12-16 bars.

A Big Ol' Bowl of VEGGIES!

2009-04-01T19:30:00.000-05:00

The ratatouille from Gluten-Free Vegan is sooooo delicious and filling, yet I just can't get enough! My mom loves it as well, so I've been making as much of it as I can to freeze for later, but it never lasts too long. It's full of eggplant, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, onions, chickpeas, zucchinis, and fresh basil from my herb garden! I just made some simple soft polenta with salt, pepper, and nooch to go with the ratatouille and it was really good. However, I think I'll made some pan-fried polenta next time I serve it because I think the contrast in textures will be better.

Any of you remember my family's new holiday I mentioned a year ago? Well, "Spring Day" actually happened the first Sunday of this Spring (March 22) this year! I didn't get any pictures of the food but you aren't missing much- the food wasn't that exciting to look at, but it was good! I made the Chopped Salad from Sublime's cookbook again, and my family had burgers and quesadillas while I had a veggie burger and filled my quesadilla with refried beans. For dessert, I ran to the store and got some soy ice cream for my mom and me, dairy ice cream for my family, and a bunch of sundae toppings for a sundae bar! Also, my mom was so sweet and surprised us all that morning with a "Spring Day basket" (instead of an Easter basket) filled with candy, including some vegan candy from Trader Joe's! Even though I have no pictures, I just thought I'd let you all know that we officially do have a new holiday to celebrate in our family :)

Speaking of my herb garden, here's a picture of it all grown-up:

Random Catch-Up Meals

2009-03-16T17:07:00.006-05:00

I know that I haven't been the world's best blogger lately, but I hope you guys understand- there just aren't enough hours in a day! I may not have been blogging regularly, but I have been cooking quite a bit, so I thought I'd share some of the highlights of my meals from the past few weeks.

Using this recipe for the seemingly famous General Tao's Tofu, I was able to recreate the taste of the Chinese take-out food that I used to love so much. I used reduced sodium wheat-free tamari for the soy sauce, reduced the sugar by a tad, and added some steamed broccoli and red bell peppers and served it all over brown rice, so I know that this dish was much healthier than any Chinese take-out I could ever find. While the sauce in this dish was amazing, my favorite part was the super crispy tofu because, despite being fried in oil, it was still so light and not the least bit greasy! I'm definitely planning on making this tofu for my family sometime- I know they'll go crazy for it.

What started out as some accidentally overcooked tofu one night turned into one of my new favorite sandwiches. I had marinaded some thinly sliced, pressed tofu in a mixture of tamari, maple syrup, ketchup, liquid smoke, onion powder, and water and baked it for a long time (about 30-40 min) at a low temperature, flipping every 15 minutes or so. The tofu wasn't becoming as crispy as I wanted, so I broiled it for about 10 min on each side, but then forgot about it for a few minutes! When I came back, I saw that the tofu was very well-done, but I decided to try it anyways. It turned out to be DELICIOUS! My brother loved it as well, so I ended up splitting it with him. I then realized that the tofu had a great texture for sandwiches and tasted a tiny bit like bacon, so my newest version of a "BLT" was created! The smokey tofu was really nice with the cool lettuce, tomato, and Veganaise. It would have been better with an avocado, but whatever- there's no way I'm gonna complain about this sandwich! Lately, I've had a big batch of baked tofu slices on hand every week so I can have a sandwich anytime I want.

As you know, I couldn't wait to try a recipe from my Sublime cookbook when I returned from Florida, so when I felt like planning some lighter meals this week I turned to the "salads" chapter of the book. The Sublime Chopped Salad seemed simple and light and I definitely made the right choice with this recipe! The salad and dressing are both simple and took no more than 10 minutes to put together. All I had to do was toss together some chickpeas, chopped tomato, bell pepper, cucumber, scallions, red onion, and kalamata olives in a dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh oregano, salt and pepper and viola! Lay it all on top of some romaine lettuce and I had a perfect light dinner. My mom fell in LOVE with this salad and I think you'll see a return of it very soon....

This is from last month, but I just had to finally share it- a slice of Lemon Blackberry Raw Cheesecake that I brought home from the Chicago Diner one day after lunch with my brother. I've had their raw cheesecake several times, but this slice blew my mind and it's totally my favorite flavor. The filling and crust together tasted kinda like a Lemon Larabar, only better! And, of course, the fact that it was gluten-free only made it that much better :)

Alright- now I need help from some of you guys! If anyone knows of any sources online from which I could buy come vegan butterscotch chips, or maybe has access to some in their area and would be interested in a mini-swap, I would appreciate it very much if you could let me know. My mom has also been diagnosed with a few food allergies/intolerance, with the major ones being dairy, eggs, and gluten. She's been taking it a little rougher than I did and I just want to help her out a bit. Her biggest weakness is cookies and she hasn't been able to find any gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free cookies yet that she's really thrilled with, so that's where I'm stepping in. She told me that her favorite cookies are oatmeal scotchies so I'm taking on the mission of making us some gluten-free, vegan oatmeal scotchies, but the chips are pretty darn hard to find (as I expected). Any help at all would be greatly appreciated!

Less than 2 weeks until Spring Break! I'll have an entire week to cook and bake some great food to share with all of you.

Breakfast Sweets

2009-03-09T13:27:00.005-05:00

I actually made these quite awhile ago as they were my first successful gluten-free baking project, but I just never got a round to posting them. I was so happy to find this recipe for Cinnamon Apple Muffins because I had some buckwheat flour to use up and my family and I could always use some apple muffins. They turned out beautifully with awesome muffin tops and perfectly sweet and cinnamon-y. After making one batch of these muffins, I made another half batch the next day (I was running out of applesauce!) and froze them to snack on for awhile and they taste just as great frozen and thawed.

I finally got around to making a big batch of granola using the recipe from The Gluten Free Vegan. The only changes I made were using puffed millet instead of the puffed rice and dried cherries and raisins instead of dates since that's what I had on hand and I couldn't believe how incredibly addicting this was! I find myself snacking on it more than eating it for breakfast, but either way it's delicious!

I've been using Katie of Chocolate-Covered Katie's recipe for oatmeal raisin pudding for awhile now whenever I make oatmeal and I finally got around to blogging about it. I used Bob's Red Mill's Gluten-Free Oats, hemp milk instead of soymilk, agave nectar and stevia as the sweeteners, and added dried cherries. This recipe is awesome- by cooking the oatmeal a second time with the added liquid, it becomes so super creamy and really is better than any rice pudding I've ever made. If you want one of the easiest and most delicious oatmeal breakfasts ever, make this recipe!!

A Chocolate-Covered Giveaway!

2009-02-26T16:48:00.003-06:00

In case you haven't heard yet, Katie of Chocolate-Covered Katie (she switched to Wordpress- how exciting!) is having a SUPER awesome giveaway with the prize being an entire case of Jocalat Bars! Go here to learn more and good luck to all who enter :)

Sublime!

2009-02-22T16:50:00.010-06:00

I didn't take many pictures during my vacation last weekend because it was just so relaxing that I didn't bother with it a whole lot. Overall, this trip to Ft. Lauderdale much more enjoyable than last year- my cousins and aunt came along with us and they're always fun, the weather was wonderful, and I got to try a new completely vegan restaurant: Sublime!! Our first night in Florida, my mom and I decided to go to Sublime for dinner while everyone else went to a seafood restaurant that my mom doesn't like very much. The pictures you see above is of the van parked next to us which I thought was so cool because the ARFF (Animal Rights Foundation of Florida) is the owner's animal rights organization and 100% of Sublime's profits go towards it, which I think is freaking unbelievable. I had brought my camera to take pictures of our meal, but the lighting was just too dark so I didn't bother. But one thing I can promise you is that our meal was AMAZING. Honestly, my experience and meal at Sublime was probably the best I've ever had. For an appetizer, we started out with the Eggplant Rollatini and it blew my mind! The ricotta filling was so creamy and I thought it tasted very "cheesy." For our entrees, my mom ordered the Enchiladas and I had the Sublime Loaf (which was even gluten-free and made with water chesnuts, lentils, and rice), which came with mashed potatoes and asparagus. My dish was great- the slices of the loaf were crispy on the outside and had the occassional crunch from the pieces of water chesnuts. Th gravy that was served with it totally made the dish and I couldn't have imagined it being any better. My mom loved her enchiladas and we both quickly cleaned out plates. I was totally ready for dessert and, while my mom would have loved to order dessert as well, she stuck with just come coffee since she's been trying to reduce her sugar intake. After a difficult decision, I chose the Key Lime Cheesecake (also gluten-free!) and I definitely made the right choice. While it didn't have much of a key lime flavor, the cheesecake itself was sooooooooooo unbelievably creamy yet light and airy. The nut crust added a nice almost caramelly flavor and I can say with all certainty that it was better than any cheesecake I've ever had (yes- even better that the Chicago Diner *gasp*)! I left stuffed, but was so happy I finally got to eat at this restaurant!

Sunday night was our last night in Florida, so my dad told me that I could order something to go from Sublime for dinner to try it one last time before having to wait a whole year before coming back. My aunt had tried the leftovers I rought home from our first visit to Sublime, so she wanted to order something as well (though I was unable to get pictures of her meal). She ordered the dish I had the first time, the Sublime Loaf, and was super impressed by it as well. I tried the Tuscan Quiche which was filled with the same type of ricotta filling as the eggplant appetizer from my first visit so it was, of course, delicious. While the quiche was great, I think I preferred the loaf because it was just so amazing. I had asked for the Key Lime Cheesecake one again, but the hostess informed me that they only had some of their strawberry cheesecake from the Valentine's Day dinner the night before, but I was happy to try it! The strawberry version was just as delicious as the original key lime cheesecake and it was great to try both.

When my dad came home from picking up my carry out order from Sublime, he surprised me with something that my mom and I did not see while we were at the restaurant- Sublime's cookbook! I've been having fun looking through it this week and marking all the recipes I want to try and, let's just say that you'll be seeing quite a few of these dishes soon!

I'm already looking forward to next February when we'll get a chance to go back to Ft. Lauderdale, meaning that I'll be able to return to Sublime :)

A Sweet Delivery

2009-02-17T20:01:00.004-06:00

As I mentioned in my last post, my family and I took a quick trip to Florida for President's Day weekend and I will post all about my trip later. For now, I wanted to share an awesome surprise I got in the mail last week- a Peppermint Ritter Sport Bar from Ricki of Diets, Dessert, and Dogs! She had held a contest a few weeks ago and I was one of the lucky winners of this bar. This package unfortunately arrived minutes before we had to leave for the airport, but it was on my mind the entire trip and I was sure to enjoy it the night we got back. I am sure gonna be sad when this chocolare bar is gone since the company changed the formula so they will no longer be vegan because it is sooooo delicious! It tastes just like a peppermint patty, only the chocolate is less waxy and much creamier. Yummy! Thank you so much Ricki and I'm definitely enjoying my prize. I'll be back later with a post all about Ft. Lauderdale :)

Hearty, Warm (Frozen?) Veggie Chili

2009-02-04T17:04:00.006-06:00

My mom was so sweet and mad this delicious vegetable chili for dinner on Xmas Eve and I've been able to keep enjoying it since then because I froze the leftovers. This chili is so full of black-eyed peas, black beans, chickpeas, zucchini, squash, carrots, and other veggies that I get soooo full after eating a bowl of it, but I just can't stop myself from finishing the whole thing! And, as you know, no bowl of chili is complete without...

...Super moist and sweet cornbread! I used my ol' standby recipe, which is the Skillet Cornbread from Vcon, but made it gluten-free and baked it in muffin tins. I made a double batch to freeze these as well so I always will have some cornbread for my chili. I've been restocking my stash of frozen meals and veggie burgers lately since those have been getting me by throughout the week, so I'll try to feature those in a future post. Speaking of that, I may not be able to post for a few week because next weekend, my family and I are going to Ft. Lauderdale once again to visit my grandparents. I'll probably be living off a bunch of rice cakes and Larabars, but I'll hopefully have a few culinary adventures to share when I return!

Among the Chaos, a Celebration

2009-01-25T09:25:00.004-06:00

Last week, I was a mad woman due to stress from my first semester finals. I'm still pretty anxious since our grades have not been sent home yet, but I can relax a little but more thanks to a nice three day weekend :) My last test, as well as my mother's birthday, was Friday and instead of coming home and sleeping, I got to do something much more stimulating. I went and got my mom some flowers and cards from the rest of the family and then the real work began- her birthday cake! I let my mom pick the type of cake she wanted (she immediately responded with the same answer as last year- carrot cake!) and also sketched a few ideas for the design of the cake and she chose the following:

The cake itself was a recipe I sort of made up as I went along, combining the recipes from both VCTOTW and VWAV, and it is filled with and covered in the cream cheese frosting from VCTOTW. The borders and basket weave pattern on the side are piped with a cream cheese buttercream recipe that I just threw together because I needed more frosting, but I didn't have enough vegan cream cheese left. The cream cheese buttercream worked out really well because it had the tangy taste from a little bit of cream cheese, but the added Earth Balance and shortening made it fluffier and stiffer- perfect for decorating a cake! I decided to make the carrots out of marzipan since I've been curious about working with it for a while and it was great. Since I used small amounts of marzipan for each color needed for the carrots, it didn't take too much work to work in the color and I love how versatile it is! You will definitely be seeing more marzipan decorations coming from my kitchen.

I thought the cake came out pretty well, but the real test was what my mom thought. After dinner, my mom announced that she was ready for cake so I brought it up into the kitchen and, let me just tell you, her reaction was priceless! My mom thought the cake was gorgeous and exclaimed "You have to open a bakery, honey! Hurry, I want a picture of it!" Haha- I guess she liked it then! Everyone in my family loved how the cake tasted as well, which is the most impoartant thing. I did not make this cake gluten-free because I wanted to be absolutely sure my mom would love it, so I want to tinker around with my recipe a bit more to make it gluten-free before sharing it.

And, of course, I could not forget the beloved inside shot:

Gluten-Free Bread Review (and a Bonus Herb Garden Shot!)

2009-01-20T18:06:00.005-06:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, when diagnosed with my food sensitivities, my doctor recommended gluten-free bread from Rose's Wheat-Free Bakery in Evanston. Rose's is such a great little bakery- they have cookies, cakes, and other treats, some of which are vegan. The day I went, they had some vegan banana bread which I almost snatched up, but I decided to just stick with some sandwich bread for this visit (but there's always next time!) They offer many different types of bread and one vegan variety which I stocked up on- the Seeded Sandwich Bread. My mom and I took home four loaves and only had them pre-slice one since we were planning on freezing the others (though slicing before freezing actually might be a better idea now that I think about it...). I must admit, when I first tried this bread, I was a little put off. It had a slight beany aftertaste which I was not expecting and the texture was like a cross between a quick bread and sandwich bread, though I suppose that's what's expected without gluten.

However, the more I ate this bread, the more I grew to like it and found the texture actually very enjoyable. Also, I found that toasting the slices before using them virtually eliminated any beany taste, which made my PB&J (or SB&J- sunflowerseed butter and jelly) sandwiched much more enjoyable. The sandwich you see above uses bread from my second loaf of bread which I sliced myself into thinner slices than they did at Rose's. I think the thinner slices work a lot better in sandwiches since I can taste the filling more than the bread that way, but the bread did get really crumbly and some slices' corners fell off. Until I can get myself a bread slicer (my mom said we used to have one! But she gave it away...), I think I'll probably let Rose's slice my loaves of bread, but who knows? What I do know is that I am very happy with this bread and am so greatful that I have such a great gluten-free, vegan-friendly bakery in my area.

And here's my little pride and joy! My herb garden from Xmas has been growing like crazy and I think I'm only a few weeks away from awesome fresh herbs. As you can see, the basil is really floursihing, but I expected this after seeing how much my little brother's basil plant grew suring the summer. The dill has been causing me problems, though. It didn't sprout after almost three weeks (they should all sproufn in two weeks or less), so I put in the new dill plant from the second set of herb containers that I got. Hopefully this plant will eventually sprout because I really like dill. I guess you'll just have to stayed tuned to find out!

Southwestern Spice

2009-01-11T16:00:00.000-06:00

I can't even begin to explain how flavorful this meal was! The Black Beans with Chipotle Sauce and Southwestern Corn Pudding are both from Vcon and were delicious. The chipotle sauce certainly had a kick, but I love my spicy food! The corn pudding was a really refreshing but hearty accompaniment. The only change I would make would be to replace half of the coconut milk with another nondairy milk because I think the floral flavor of the coconut was a little distracting for me. Also, I will wait to make this again until the summer when I can use fresh sweet corn because I think it will just make it pop even more. Despite these dishes being so wonderful, my favorite part of the meal was my nutritional yeast-roasted broccoli. This has been my favorite was of making broccoli for awhile now and it's fabulous! I just coat some chopped broccoli with olive oil, sea salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, and red pepper flakes and roast it for about 20-30 minutes at 400 degrees (F), stirring every 10 minutes. The broccoli tops get crispy and the nutritional yeast gets toasted and tastes beyond amazing. This meal was definitely a winner in my opinion :)

I haven't had a lot of time to cook much, but I made time this week to make some black bean and vegetable enchiladas for my family. Not in any way photogenic (what enchiladas ever are?), these make up for their appearance in their taste. I used the enchilada sauce from the Potato and Kale Enchiladas from Vcon but made up the filling myself. I figured that my family would probably like this meal, but I was shocked my how much they loved it! My dad's been trying to eat lighter and healthier lately, and he said he was really glad with how delicious and filling the enchiladas were- he's even mentioned several times this week how much he liked them. In his own words: "Add this one to the list!" (I actually do keep a list of meals my family enjoys- haha). Using corn tortillas made this meal a simple one to make gluten-free. Oh, a quick side note before I post this recipe- my parents noticed how stressed I was having to avoid so many foods or take 4-5 pills a day, so after talking with my doctor, I am going to focus just on avoiding gluten. I will also avoid the other foods I am sensitive to as much as possible at home, but if I choose to have some tofu or peanut butter, no big deal. I've found it really easy to eat gluten-free at home, but I still will treat myself if I go out to eat to some vegan cake or maybe a dish with seitan in it and just take a digestive enzyme pill then. Whew- sorry for such a long "quick note." Now, onto the recipe!

Black Bean and Vegetable Enchiladas:

1 T oil.
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 small zucchini, diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 c. fresh or frozen and thawed corn
2 small red potatoes, chopped and boiled until tender
2 (15 oz.) cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 t. cumin
1 T. lime juice
1 1/2 t. salt
your favorite enchilada sauce
18 small corn tortillas
Nacho FYH cheese (I used this and it was actually very good!) or cheddar Teese, shredded (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (F) and grease a 9x13 pan (I also had to use an additional 9x9 pan to fit all of the enchiladas). Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute the onion, zucchini, and bell pepper until soft. Add corn, potatoes, and black beans and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients until heated through and let cool slightly before filling your enchiladas. Microwave the tortillas until softened. Pour about 1/3 of the sauce in the bottom of the greased pan and place a tortilla in the pan. Coat on both sides with the sauce and spoon in some filling. Roll up the tortillas and place in pan seam side down. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and top with the remaining sauce and shredded vegan cheese, if using. Bake covered for 25 minutes then uncover and bake for another 15 minutes. You may want to broil the enchiladas for a few minutes at the end to melt the vegan cheese. Serves 6-8.

The Holidays Have Ended

2008-12-26T20:00:00.003-06:00

Every year I always feel so relieved when the holidays are over, but this year it never felt like the holidays! Maybe I was just too distracted with some other things to think about the winter holidays- who knows? I did, however, manage to quickly plan and throw together a meal and dessert to bring to my grandparents' house for Xmas.

First, let's start with Christmas Eve. I wasn't planning on making any cookies for Santa, but I decided that I might as well just for the heck of being festive. I tried the Glutton-Be-Gone Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies from ED&BV and did my best to make them completely free of any of my food sensitivities. I used the amaranth flour option, substituted the sugar with agave nectar, and used Enjoy Life brand vegan chocolate chips (which, unfortunately, do contain evaporated cane juice which I am sensitive to but I don't think I'll find any chocolate chips without it, so I went with it and gave myself a break). The cookies turned out really well, but I think subbing agave nectar for the sugar made the cookies a little thinner and caramel-y tasting than they otherwise would be, but it grew on me and I quickly began loving these cookies! I plan on going to the store this week to fine some all natural beet sugar so I can make these cookies again to see if there's a difference.

I didn't really ask for anything year, so I wasn't expecting much come Xmas morning, but I was pleasantly surprised. I got a bunch of small gifts (a t-shirt, some yoga equipment, tea, candles) but two gifts were really special this year. The first was a new cookbook to help a little more with my new diet- Gluten-Free Vegan. A lot of the recipes sound delicious and, while some do use rice or soy, they can easily be adjusted and I can't wait to get cooking! My main gift this year was especially exciting because my dad picked it out himself and has been talking about it for a few weeks now- an AeroGarden indoor herb garden! I set it up immediately and will be growing oregano, basil, mint, thyme, dill, and chives. Expect regular updates throughout the next few months about the growth of my herbs!

Alright, the real highlight of this post- the meal! I had planned making some sort of stuffed squash like many of you had suggested, but when I came across this recipe for a gluten-free, soy-free, vegan nut roast on Diet, Dessert and Dogs, I knew that I had to try it out (don't worry, I have stuffed squash planned as one of meals within the next week or two, so you will read all about that later)! I changed only a few things: I left out the garlic, replaced Brazil nuts with walnuts, omitted the oats, used gluten-free bread from Rose's Wheat-Free Bakery in Evanton for the bread slices (the bread will be featured in another post), used vegetable broth instead of wine, and baked the roast in muffin tins so I could have some individual nut roasts. I don't know how these ingredients came together to be so delicious, but they did! I am in love with this recipe and am so happy I have extra mini roasts to freeze! I can imagine that these would make an awesome "meatloaf" topped with some agave-sweetened ketchup......yum! I topped it with a garlic-free, gluten-free version of the gravy I had at Thanksgiving from the Chicago Diner cookbook. I brought some beets, parsnips, sweet potatoes, and sliced onions roasted with thyme and rosemary for everyone to enjoy along with my own cranberry sauce (using the recipe from ED&BV- this recipe is great! I love how it's sweetened with maple syrup). Everything was so good that I had this exact meal again for dinner tonight (which is actually the picture you see above since I didn't bring my camera to my grandparents' house). I'm also happy to report that this meal contained none of my food sensitivities, so I didn't have to take a digestive enzyme- yay! I purposely did this since I knew I'd have to take a pill before the dessert I had planned (and it was worth it!):

A classic chocolate tofu mousse pie with my own little twist- I added some peppermint extract and topped it with some Soyatoo whipped soy cream and crushed candy canes. My gosh, was this awesome! I was nervous about using the boxed Soyatoo for the first time, but after adding about 1/4 t. xanthan gum to stabilize it along with some confectioner's sugar, vanilla extract, and a splash of peppermint, it tasted great! I put it in the fridge for 24 hrs. before piping it onto the pie to make it a little stiffer and it worked really well. This pie was super rich but really lovely- not overly sweet and neither the chocolate nor peppermint overpowered each other. Only about 3 out of the 12 people at dinner had dessert (what's up with that? It's the holidays, people!), but those who did were sure to try my pie and loved it :) My dad did mention, however, that he would prefer this pie without the peppermint flavor which is fine since that's what the original basic recipe is for, so you can bet I'll be making this again!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and I am wishing you a happy new year- my gosh, it's almost 2009 already! Pretty soon the 90's will be almost 20 years ago- ah!!

My Latest Favorites and Some Obstacles

2008-12-16T20:09:00.001-06:00

Lately, breaded tofu has been my new favorite method of cooking tofu. All it takes is a simple dip in a mixture of oil, soy sauce, and maple syrup and a dredge in some breadcrumbs, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, and any other spices and into the oven it goes! I've also tried making these into little tofu nuggets and everytime I make them, my little brother and sister grab them off my plate (I'm so happy that they have all been more open to trying certain vegan proteins- it makes making dinner for them a lot more enjoyable)! Last week I finally got around to trying a dish in VWAV that I overlooked for far too long- the Maple Mustard Glazed Potatoes and String beans (I added some parsnips and carrots as well). YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMY! I just made this because I had everything on hand and wanted a warm meal, but this may be my new favorite way to roast vegetables. I think I might even bring this to my grandmother's house for Xmas dinner!

I finally had a free afternoon this past weekend and decided to take advantage of it and bake. But what to make? Hm....I didn't want anything super sweet or decadent because I was going out for dinner with a friend that night and knew there'd be lots of cake involved, so I considered muffins. As I thought of different types of muffins to make, I remember I had this recipe for breakfast cookies saved onto my computer from the Food Network. Perfect! These would be a nice, healthy breakfast and fun to make. The recipe was easy to veganize as I only had to sub EB for butter and a flax "egg" for the egg. I also used maple syrup as the only sweetener, canned pumpkin instead of the carrot baby food and added about 3 T. more, used oat bran instead of bran flakes, and added 1/4 c. nondairy milk. Despite all of these changes, the cookies were a hit and I'm sad that they're all gone. But they're so easy I can always make a bunch more :)

Alright, some news (I seem to have a lot of that lately, don't I?): I have recently found out that I have multiple food allergies including (these are off the top of my head): wheat, gluten, rice, oat, barley, almonds, peanuts, sugar cane, dairy and eggs (not that those matter much to me!) lentils, bananas, pineapple, garlic, soy, lettuce (how does that even happen?), and a few other things that I can't seem to remember right now. While I do not experience any obvious physical symptoms from these foods, these allergies may be causing some problems I've been dealing with for awhile now. So, over the next 2 months I have to weed out all of these foods from my diet, starting with the grains and gluten. Now, I still will be able to eat some of these foods if I take a digestive enzyme before each meal because I am allergic to so many commonly used foods that they will be difficult to avoid. I plan on not worrying about my allergies and just taking the enzyme when I eat out, but I really want to try to avoid these foods at home. So you can expect a lot for creative meals and my own versions of some recipes! Just wanted to let you know why I haven't been doing a whole lot of cooknig recently, but once I get to the store next week I will be cooking and baking up a storm! One of my first missions- gluten-free breakfast cookies :)

Oh, and I have a question for some of you- what are you planning on making for your holiday meal this year? My family and I are going to my grandma's house for Xmas and, while I have dessert already planned, I'm at a loss for what to make for my meal!

No Food, but Some Exciting News!

2008-12-09T18:18:00.002-06:00

I promise I'll be back with some actual food in my next post as soon as possible, but I just wanted to let everyone know about the contest being held by Eating Bender. You could win a Vita-mix! Now, if you're anything like me than this seems like the greatest thing ever and I encourage you all to enter this contest if you're as excited as I am!

Oh- if you do mention that I referred you, it would be greatly appreciated :) Good luck to everyone that does decide to enter this contest!

The Feast

2008-12-01T09:00:00.005-06:00

Sorry it's a little late, but these last few days after the holiday have been hectic! Anyways, let's rewind to Thursday. For my cousin and I (she's a vegetarian), I made some basic mashed potatoes with Earth Balance, soymilk, salt, and pepper. I also cooked a Field Roast Celebration Roast instead of a Tofurkey which I made last year and wasn't crazy about. I really wanted to make some sort of homemade loaf with some stuffing, but since I had school Wednesday and had to all my cooking that night, I wasn't able to do that. However, the Celebration Roast was actually really good for something packaged and my cousin and I both enjoyed it. To top it all off, I whipped up a half batch of the gravy in the Chicago Diner Cookbook, but added some sliced shallots and miso. The gravy was probably the best part of our dinner- it tasted just like traditional gravy, but the miso gave it a nice twist. Another one of my cousins and my mother tried a bit of the gravy and were incredibly impressed. For everyone to enjoy, I made the Pear and Endive Salad with Maple Pecans from Vcon (I added some dried cranberries) and this was another hit! The big shocker of my night was when my "meat and potatoes" grandpa who has probably never had a meatless meal in his life complimented me several times on the salad and asked to take some home! I definitely did not expect that from him.

For dessert I made Ani Phyo's Raw Apple Pie because I knew how much my cousin loved the raw food we ate at a demo at Whole Foods this summer. I decided not to be concerned with making a dessert I thought everyone in my family would love since my aunt was bringing some pies and hers always get eaten first. Imagine my surprise when my pie was the first one to be cut and one of my aunts even told me that my pie is the best! I guess I really don't need to worry so much about impressing people with healthy, vegan food- it's so good they'll love it no matter what :) Also, this pie is an outstanding breakfast the next day (not that I have been eating it everyday for breakfast for the past three days....)

PS- One year ago today, I started this blog. I am so happy I made this decision because it has connected me to so many other amazing bloggers and I just want to let you know how much I appreciate each and every one of you!

Happy (Save a) Turkey Day!

2008-11-27T10:00:00.001-06:00

Even though it is no secret that this is not one of my favorite holidays, I do hope that everyone is enjoying their day whether spending it alone or with their family and friends. In honor of the giving spirit of the holiday season, I have decided to participate in the Pay It Forward Challenge after seeing it on Walking the Vegan Line's blog. Here's how it works:

The rules are simple: I will send the first three people to leave a comment on this post a handmade gift within the next 365 days (that’s my kind of time frame!)

The catch is that you have to have a blog and be willing to do the same thing....

Because Thanksgiving is unfortunately known as a horrible holiday for turkeys, I felt that I should do something extra special and adopted two turkeys from Farm Sanctuary. Please meet Apollo and Faye:

Knowing that I am helping these two turkeys made me feel so amazing and I hope some of you decide to participate in this as well because it is so rewarding.

Once again, enjoy your holiday! (don't worry- I will post about my Thanksgiving dinner later this week)

Soup Season is Upon Us

2008-11-15T07:36:00.002-06:00

The Chickpea Noodle Soup from Vcon is something that I have had bookmarked since the summer, but I just couldn't bring myself to make soup in 70 degree weather. However, with the sudden burst of winter weather we have been experiencing, I thought that this soup would make an awesome dinner for my family. When I was making this I was kind of nervous because I kept tasting it and it seemed like there was just something missing, but I knew that Vcon had never steered me wrong so I kept my cool. After I added the miso, this soup suddenly became magical. Whatever I felt like it was missing earlier was there now and it tasted like one of the best "chicken" noodle soups I've ever had!My family loved it too, so much so that there were no leftovers to freeze like I had originally planned! Not that that bothers me too much- this soup is so easy to make that I can make an extra batch to freeze anytime!

The Perfect Way to Celebrate

2008-11-02T07:06:00.012-06:00

Many of you guessed correctly that yesterday indeed was World Vegan Day and my (16th) birthday!I was pretty excited when I learned last year that they were on the same day- I suppose veganism is just my destiny :) My birthday was fabulous and I really wasn't expecting very many gifts since I told my parents that there wasn't anything I really wanted, but they were so sweet and went WAY above and beyond my expectations!

I actually was given this the night before my birthday (Halloween) from my family so I would have my own vegan candy to enjoy while they ate their Halloween candy. It's a gift basket from Pangea Vegan Store filled with: VeganSweets Chocolate Spread (tastes like hot fudge), VeganSweets Belgian Chocolates, Whizzers speckled eggs and chocolate soccer balls, a Mint Coconut Crispy Cat candy bar, a fudge brownie, a Tropical Source Mint Crunch bar, an almond chocolate bar, and an almond chocolate truffle bar. Talk about a chocolate overload!!! I told my family that I would be more than okay with it if they helped me out with finishing all of this candy because I know I will never be able to.

On the day of my birthday, it was time for more gifts! I was given two adorable t-shirts, some Alba shampoo, conditioner, body cream, and body wash, a cute striped scarf (not pictured), a turning cake stand (not pictured), a grapefruit-scented candle (not pictured), and a gift card to both Pangea Vegan Store and LUSH. Some friends of mine stopped by later that night and surprised me with a recycled notebook, some pomegranate goji berry red tea (it's a little joke between my friend and I because I always mention how I love tea and she always talks about how she hates it), and a slice of Chocolate peanut Butter Cake from Blind Faith Cafe.

All I wanted to do that day was go out to dinner with my family (and what better way to celebrate World Vegan Day as well?). I originally wanted to go to the Chicago Diner, but instead my Dad suggested we try Lake Side Cafe because it's closer and can seat more people (I had no idea why this was important if it would only be my family....). On our way there, my mom surprised me by telling me that she was going to pick up some other friends of mine to go out to dinner with us (then I understood why we need a place that could easily seat more people)! As always, I didn't bring my camera to dinner because I was so caught up in being around people I care about and having a good time that I didn't even want to bother with that. But I can tell you that I ordered the Vegan Gyros and apple cider to drink, and both were outstanding! I ate the leftovers of my gyro for lunch today and it still tasted amazing. For dessert, there was yet another surprise! The waitress brought out a huge chocolate birthday cake with a candle on it (the candle played the tune of "Happy Birthday" when it was lit, so I heard it before it came to the table and caught on). We were all so stuffed that we only had half slices of cake, but if I hadn't been so full I could have had a few more slices for sure. The cake was moist and the frosting was super chocolatey and fluffy, yet not at all too sweet. We brought the rest of the cake home, so I'm looking forward to a slice of that tonight :) Thankfully, everyone in my family and both of my friends really enjoyed their food and, most importantly, we all enjoyed each other's company and had a fun dinner.

As you can tell, between the two different chocolate cakes and the basket of chocolate candies, I am overwhelmed with the amount of chocolate I have in my house right now and I'm not sure how I'm going to even attempt to finish some of it. Oh well, trying is the fun part :) I really wasn't expecting much in the way of a birthday celebration this year, but it was by far my best birthday ever thanks to my awesome family.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T10:00:00.004-05:00

What a better way to celebrate the holiday than with a Jack-O-Lantern! But this isn't just any Jack-O-Lantern, it's one made from the PPK's Pumpkin Pie Brownies, of course. I hope everyone has a fun (and safe) Halloween!

Oh, I almost forgot! What's Halloween without costumes, right? I think I'm going to dress up in my usual "witch" costume (really just me dressed in jeans, a corset, and wearing a witch hat, but it counts, right?). What is everyone else dressing up as?

P.S.- Tomorrow is also a special day for two reasons. I'm curious to see if any of you can guess both reasons why.....

Only 5 Days to go!

2008-10-26T09:30:00.010-05:00

... till Halloween, that is! There's no hiding that it's my favorite holiday, so I'm pretty darn excited. Anyways, onto what I've been eating lately. I've been able to try out a few new recipes from Vcon and VCTOTW and, thankfully, they've all been outstanding. I tried out the Spicy Tempeh and Broccoli Rabe Rotelle (subbing broccoli for the broccoli rabe since I love broccoli so much) for dinner one night and I'm in love with it! The best part of this dish without a doubt was the spicy tempeh. It was so juicy and flavorful and if you haven't already, you have to make it! I will for sure make this dish again but, since it did take quite a bit of time, I know I will at least be making the tempeh on its own very regularly.

I was also able to make the Tofu Florentine from Vcon and it's another winner! The broiled tofu itself didn't quite "wow" me, but set atop a crispy english muffin, sauteed spinach, and smothered in Cheezy Sauce, it all tasted delicious. I have some Cheezy Sauce left over so I can't wait to see what else I can do with it (I'm thinking in a tofu scramble burrito, maybe? yum.....)

My mom had some women over from her work Friday night for a party and I was on cupcake duty. My mom chose the Chai Latte cupcakes and the Maple Cupcakes with Sugared Walnuts from VCTOTW to fit in with the autumn theme of her party. She even went out and bought a cupcake stand to display them all (and you can see in the picture that some were already taken off and eaten before I was able to get a picture!). Everyone loved both varieties, but I think the Chai Latte cupcakes needed either a glaze or frosting on top because most people chose the Maple ones because of the frosting. Either way, everything was a hit! Also, as a side note- the sugared walnuts that go along with the Maple cupcakes are the best things ever. I had about half of them left over after making the cupcakes and my sister and I ate all of them because we just couldn't stop snacking on them.

The Fruits of My Labor

2008-10-14T20:09:00.006-05:00

Here it is: my home-grown butternut squash! While I only got two squashes from my plant (I suspect some critters were snacking on the blossoms...), it was worth it because I was so proud of the little guys! I went back and forth decided what to make with my two precious squashes until I finally came to a conclusion:

I, of course, had to try the Butternut Squash Soup from VWAV! I will admit that I would have been perfectly happy ending the recipe after the squash was roasted and found myself snacking on it as it cooled far too much, but I was sooo happy with the final product and remembered how much I love squash-based soups. My family loved it as well and so did many of my dad's coworkers who were lucky enough to have this for lunch the next day (I sent off the leftovers with my dad to work). I can't wait to make this soup again and maybe some sort of variation? I'm sad that I will have to used store bought squash, but I have a feeling it will still be amazing.

Quick, Convinient, and Oh So Yummy

2008-10-04T07:26:00.009-05:00

My favorite healthy, super easy, and quick meal will always be a big ol' plate of hummus and veggies- this time I added in some Tamari Roasted Chickpeas from Ed&BV for extra protein and, well, just because I'm addicted to them. Oh! And I even made my own hummus this time using the recipe from Vcon. I've always wanted to make my own hummus but never felt I could until a few months ago when I finally got a food processor and now I see how much I was missing out on. This hummus turned out great and I have been fighting my mom for it since she's been eating it non-stop!

I can already tell this meal will become another addiction of mine for while. The Miso Bulgar Pilaf from Bittersweet is truley delicious. The only change I made was substituting the peas for edamame because I don't like peas and I figured that edamame would go pretty well with the flavor of this pilaf. Everything about this dish worked and I still have a hard time believing a recipe with such simple ingredients resulted in something with such a complex flavor. Also, my mom has decided this week to try eating much less meat from now on for health reasons. While she is not a vegetarian, I'm so proud of her for this decision because every little bit counts no matter what the motives. And, now I have to make this dish a lot more becuase she loves it as well and it's a greta meatless meal for her to have around the house when she isn't sure what else to eat. In fact, I think my whole family will love this pilaf, so I might just make it this week as an official "family dinner"...hm....we'll see....

On a side note- happy Vegan Mofo, everyone! While I myself am not participating (but I hope to at some point in the future) due to lack of time, I'm so glad to see so many great blogs participating and I love reading all of the blog posts everyday.

1 Year Anniversary

2008-09-27T09:12:00.004-05:00

One year ago today, I made one of the best decisions of my life. Actually, I had made the decision to become a vegan a few months before then, but it took until September 27 for me to finally bring it up to my parents and have them agree (I was so surprised since they had constantly told me that it would be way too extreme) to accept my transition to veganism so I consider today my one year vegan-niversary. While I did nothing exciting to celebrate and didn't eat anything blog-worthy today, it was still a special day for me because I know that I proved to everyone that my veganism is not a "phase" that I'll get over- it's a new lifestyle and something that has made me feel so much better about myself and my decisions and has cause me to have a more complete outlook on life. Here's to another great year to look forward to!

Power Cookies!

2008-09-24T16:41:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago, a new smoothie place opened up near my house. My family had been awaiting the opening of Robek's Juice, so we all ran over the opening day. While none of the smoothies appear vegan (which is fine by me since I love Jamba Juice), I noticed that they sell a variety of Luna Bars as well as their "Power Cookies" and "Power Muffins" (which are named so because they have about 7-8 grams of both protein and fiber). Imagine my surprise when I just happened to notice this:

The cookies are vegan (and even labeled as so)!!!! I could not believe my eyes! I actually did my little "happy dance" right there in the store, even though my parents thought I was crazy. While the muffins contain eggs, the cookies are completely vegan, and actually pretty darn good for you as far as cookies go. The ingredients list is: unbleached wheat flour, raw sugar, non-hydrogenated soy margarine, dairy-free chocolate chips (for the chocolate chip flavor), wheat gluten, water, isolated soy protein, pure vanilla extract, baking soda, salt. Not too shabby!

But the real question is- how does it taste? I bought both the chocolate chip cookie as well as the oatmeal raisin to test this. Right out of the package the cookies are a bit bland and too chewy. However, after being microwaved for about 15 seconds, the cookies became soft, the flavor is much better, and the chocolate in the chocolate chip gooey becomes melty and perfect. With a tell glass of ice cold soymilk these cookies are a nice treat. I usually turn to Luna Bars or soy yogurt for a healthy dessert option, but now I've added these cookies to the rotation! Robek's also carries a peanut butter and lemon poppyseed flavor of their Power Cookies and I haven't gotten around to trying them yet, but you can bet I will soon!

Breaking Even More Breakfast Rules

2008-09-13T07:34:00.006-05:00

First eating pancakes without syrup, and now this! I am usually a firm believer in sweet rather than savory breakfasts, but my new favorite breakfast is the Vegan Omelette for One from Fatfree Vegan. The batter itself is simple to make and I find it convenient to make 2-4 servings of the batter at a time so I can just grab it out of the fridge and make an omelette any morning! I stuffed the one you see above with some roasted bell peppers and onion, baby spinach sauteed in olive oil and garlic, and some sliced Teese (see? I told you it'd be popping up in my future cooking every once in while, I still have some left!). OH. MY. GOODNESS. This combination of fillings was amazing in the omelette because they all complimented each other so well- the garlicky spinach, the sweet onions and pepper, and of course, the melty tangy Teese. The omelette itself is obviously delicious. It lends its own flavor to the dish so it's not just about the fillings, but every component. Also, I think the fluffy, creamy texture of the omelette may not fool an omni, but that's only because it's so much better than that of egg omelettes!

I have one word to describe the Pad Thai from VWAV- perfect. Honestly, this pad thai is sooo good and my family loved it when I made it for dinner last week. The picture you see above is actually of some of the leftovers that I packed for a school lunch because my family started grabbing for the pad thai as soon as it hit the table and I couldn't get a picture fast enough! The rice noodle reheated pretty well the next day, but after that I think most leftover noodles become too gummy- not that that was a problem in my house, though, because the leftovers only lasted one day. Another dinner that I'll be making again for my family!

Just a lil side note here: School started last week for me and the work load is already overwhelming. I will probably not be able to post every single week due to lack of time, as well as lack of time to cook any decent food (one of my dinners last week was a can of refried beans and an apple- no joke. It was really delicious, though)! But don't worry, as soon as I have a few good pictures of some interesting meals I've made, I'll blog all about them. I'm still going to aim for one post a week, but I just wanted to let everyone know that it may not be possible all of the time. Thanks for understanding!

The Last Berries of the Season

2008-09-07T10:29:00.003-05:00

To make sure that I make the most of the final days of summer I stocked up on some of the last delicious berries from my farmers market. I was so glad to buy some raspberries because I already knew what I wanted to make with them!. The first recipe I tried was Ruby Red Vegan's Quinoa Porridge. I actually changed it up a bit, but only a little- I promise! I used vanilla soymilk instead of chocolate since I didn't have any chocolate soymilk (sad....I know...) and walnuts instead of hazelnuts because hazelnuts are pretty hard to find around here, but this porridge was still fabulous! I would probably half this recipe next time I make it because I was soooo full after finishing my bowl, but I just couldn't put my spoon down! The cinnamon and nutmeg make this dish very comforting and I think it will still be great with frozen berries in the Fall. In fact, I know I definitely will be making this a lot more throughout the colder months because it will do a great job of warming me up first thing in the morning.

I had planned on making the Raspberry Chocolate Chip Blondies from VWAV all summer but just seemed to never get around to it until now, which is such a shame because they were a huge hit with my family. I made these Wednesday afternoon and was planning on photographing the blondies after they had been cut up Thursday morning so the lighting would be better, but I woke up to find that every single one had already been eaten! I think my sister was the big culprit here (she claims to have had only four or five, but I'm pretty sure I saw her sneak a few more that night...), but that's fine with me- I'm just happy my family loved these because an entire pan of blondies for me to eat in our house could be really dangerous! So while I'm sad to say goodbye to the tons of sweet, fresh berries that are readily available in the summer, I'm now ready for Fall and all of the great produce it has to offer (I've been starting to crave pumpkin lately!).

All Good Things Must Come to an End....

2008-09-01T12:56:00.008-05:00

Flipping through my copy of VWAV, I noticed that the recipe for Mango Summer Rolls had been bookmarked the entire summer! While the season is coming to an end (and school is beginning next week! Boohoo.....even though we normally start a few weeks earlier so I can't complain) the weather here is still very reminiscent of the hot summer months and I knew that these refreshing summer rolls would be a welcome meal in my home. The assembly of these was a little tricky at first, but after a few I had the technique down and they came together rather quickly. My family and I loved these and the dipping sauce that went along with the rolls (though I did change it a bit- I added some red pepper flakes and substituted 1/4 c. peanut butter for the chopped peanuts since I prefer more of a peanut butter based sauce) and my only regret is making them so late in the summer.... However, I then remembered that there is more of an autumn-inspired spring roll recipe in Vcon so now I have the perfect dish to use up the leftover rice paper wrappers- goodie!

I've been enjoying more of my parfaits with my new-found love, Whole Soy & Co. yogurt. The one pictures above features the strawberry variety of yogurt, strawberries, blueberries, sliced bananas, and my own homemade granola. I've been making this granola several times a week because my mom and I have used it almost every morning! It's super delicious and versatile and, while I prefer sunflower seeds and walnuts in my granola, you can add (or omit) any types of nuts/seeds you like. Dried fruit also make an awesome addition to this granola, especially raisins and dried apricots because of the warm flavor from the apple juice and cinnamon.

Crunchy Cluster Granola Recipe:

2 c. rolled oats
1/4 c. sunflower seeds
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
3 T. maple syrup
1/4 c. apple juice
pinch salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. freshly ground nutmeg

Mix together all ingredients in a bowl and spread onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.

Oh! I almost forgot- Happy Labor Day, everyone! Tomorrow, it's back to work.....

Worth the Wait

2008-08-27T11:29:00.009-05:00

Yes, I have finally defrosted my pound of Teese (which I had actually bought in the spring, but froze for a later use) and made some delicious dishes with it! Though I'm sure you've heard it before from many other bloggers, let me tell you that Teese is the best vegan cheese I've ever had by far- it's so melty and tangy that I have to resist topping everything I make with it.

The first thing I made with my Teese was a panini full of fresh summer vegetables. I sauteed some onion, chopped artichoke hearts, and slices of yellow squash just enough to cook them through. I even made my first homemade roasted red bell pepper for this panini! I don't know why I haven't roasted bell peppers before- they're so easy and way more delicious that the jarred ones. Anyways, back to the sandwich. I layered all of the veggies and some sliced Teese on one slice of bread and topped them with some fresh basil that my brother and I are growing in our garden, and then slathered the other slice of bread with a garlicky sweet mustard sauce I made earlier (no real recipe- just some spicy brown mustard, Veganaise, agave nectar, and roasted garlic). Thanks to my panini press, this sandwich turned out perfectly crisp and all of the layers really blended together, with the fresh basil and sweet bell peppers still standing out more than the others. Everything tasted so fresh and wonderful and the Teese added that extra melted goodness that made this panini special. I can't wait to think of how many other types of paninis I can whip up now!

The next dish I decided Teese would be perfect for was the Bean and Corn Tortilla Lasagna with Avocado from ED&BV (I was inspired by Dreena Burton's post on her blog featuring this dish.) While mine didn't turn out quite so photogenic, it certainly was everything I hoped it'd be and more! While I was curious about the avocado layer being baked into the lasagna, I was making this for my family and I knew that warm avocado may be too different for them so I just made some guacamole to top the lasagna instead. I'm officially addicted to this dish- the spices were perfect and the crunchy tortilla chips on top created such a contrast in texture. Of course, the Teese really shined through here because of the tangy flavor and my parents couldn't even tell it was vegan cheese on top (which is always a good thing since vegan cheeses have such a bad reputation). The portion of this lasagna are HUGE, but not too filling, and my only complaint was that I didn't have more leftover! My mom and I were starving and both went back for seconds (and maybe thirds....)- hey, I told you this was addictive. And, yes, I did serve this with more corn on the side, but I had just gotten home from work and was feeling lazy so I think it's okay!

Finally, I made some refried beans, green bell pepper, and Teese quesadillas on a whole grain tortilla with a big ol' dollop of peach mango salsa on the side. Yum! While I find cheeseless quesadillas perfectly satisfying, these ooey gooey ones were quite a treat. The Teese melted really quickly and got a little too melted because it oozed out the sides of the quesadillas when I cut then, but I didn't mind and just licked it all off! Believe it or not, I still have about half a pound of my Teese left so expect to see it reappearing in some more meals I'll be making :)

Sobriety Cake and the Vegan's Hundred

2008-08-22T18:37:00.007-05:00

My family celebrated my dad's 21st sobriety anniversary this Thursday so I, of course, offered to make a cake! Being the simple guy he is, my dad chose a chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream (I used the recipes from VCTOTW) but that was fine with me since I got to decorate it. I posted this thread on the PPK boards to help me think of decorating ideas and got some great advice. While I would have loved to make a wagon-shaped cake or one looking like a stack of AA chips, I really wanted to make a rectangular cake for some reason and I was a little crunched for time, so I went with a basic design and wrote "Yay! Good Job, Daddy!" (using Alton brown's recipe for writing chocolate) on it. I was pretty happy the cake turned out and, even though the writing was crooked and the I cut the layers were unevenly, it was great practice for me. Not to mention, it tasted great and my dad was so thankful for it. Just doing my job as a daughter to make him happy :)

This week, BitterSweet posted her vegan version of the Omnivore's Hundred on her blog so I took on the challenge and will pass it on to you. Here are the rules:

1) Copy this list into your own blog, including these instructions.

2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten. (I will only bold items that I've eaten the vegan versions of)

3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. (I'm just going to put them in italics since the crossing out font thing is not working right....)

4) Post a comment here once you’ve finished and link your post back to this one.
5) Pass it on!

1. Natto
2. Green Smoothie
3. Tofu Scramble
4. Haggis
5. Mangosteen
6. Creme brulee
7. Fondue
8. Marmite/Vegemite
9. Borscht
10. Baba Ghanoush
11. Nachos
12. Authentic soba noodles
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo Gobi
15. Taco from a street cart
16. Boba Tea
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (all alcohol items will be in italics since I plan on never drinking)
19. Gyoza
20. Vanilla ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Ceviche
24. Rice and beans
25. Kniche
26. Raw scotch bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de Leche
28. Caviar
29. Baklava
30. Pate
31. Wasabi peas
32. Chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Mango lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Mulled cider
37. Scones with buttery spread and jam
38. Vodka Jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Fast food french fries
41. Raw brownies
42. Fresh Garnazo Beans
43. Dahl
44. Homemade Soymilk
45. Wine from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Stroopwaffle
47. Samosas
48. Vegetable Sushi
49. Glazed doughnut
50. Seaweed
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Tofurkey
54. Sheese
55. Cotton candy
56. Gnocchi
57. Piña colada
58. Birch Beer
59. Scrapple
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Soy Curls
63. Chickpea Cutlets
64. Curry
65. Durian
66. Homemade Sausages
67. Churros, elephant ears, or funnel cake
68. Smoked tofu
69. Fried plantain
70. Mochi
71. Gazpacho
72. Warm chocolate chip cookies
73. Absinthe
74. Corn on the cob
75. Whipped Cream, straight from the can
76. Pomegranate
77. Fauxstess Cupcake
78. Mashed potatoes with gravy
79. Jerky
80. Croissants
81. French onion soup
82. Savory crepes
83. Tings
84. A meal at Candle 79
85. Moussaka
86. Sprouted grains or seeds
87. Macaroni and “cheese”
88. Flowers
89. Matzoh Ball Soup
90. White Chocolate
91. Seitan
92. Kimchi
93. Butterscotch Chips
94. Yellow watermelon
95. Chili with Chocolate
96. Bagel and Tofutti
97. Potato Milk
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Raw cookie dough

Now it's your turn!

Yogurt Showdown

2008-08-16T15:19:00.007-05:00

With so many new vegan products popping up everyday, it seems like there are always new things to try! For awhile now the only vegan yogurt I've had easy access to was Silk soy yogurt, but it's always had too much of a soy taste to me and I'm often put off by the grey-ish tint to all of their yogurts.... so I was happy to recently find some other brands in my local grocery store and have been trying them in the hopes of finding a brand that I like better. Onto the yogurts:

The first yogurt I tried was Turtle Mountain's new So Delicious soy yogurt. I bought the blueberry, cinnamon roll, and vanilla (pictured above) flavors to try and decided to start with the vanilla for breakfast since I had been waiting to try another new (at least to me) product as well- Honest Foods Granola Planks.

I was on the lookout for these granola planks every since reading Vegan_Noodle's review of them on her blog, Walking the Vegan Line. I have only tried the blueberry vanilla variety, but they are delicious! They crumble easily into yogurt or nondairy milk for a quick breakfast or snack and are not too sweet at all- they are actually a little salty which tastes awesome with the nuts and dried fruits that these bars are full of.

Anyways, back to the yogurt! The So Delicious vanilla soy yogurt was very good and creamy (though it did require some stirring to get it that way) and was great mixed with a crumbled granola plank and fresh blueberries. However I found it way too sweet for first thing in the morning, or even an afternoon snack. I then tried the blueberry and cinnamon roll flavors, but as dessert with some Soyatoo on top and that's what these yogurts are perfect for! I will definitely continue to buy So Delicious soy yogurts and am looking forward to trying the other flavors, but I will save them for a healthy dessert.

Turtle Mountain's newest products are their new line of coconut milk yogurts. While I am surely NOT a coconut lover, I couldn't suppress my curiosity about this yogurt and bought a cup of the passionate mango flavor. The texture of this yogurt was a little creamier than the soy variety and I could not detect any coconut taste, which is a good thing for me! My only problem with this yogurt was that the passion fruit and mango flavors made it a little too sour for my liking, but I have not tried the other flavors and look forward to doing so to see if those are less tart. Like the previous yogurt, I thought this one would also be better suited for dessert rather than breakfast because it was still too sweet, even through the tartness.

Now I know that the Whole Soy & Co. line of yogurts are not new, but I've never tried them before so I guess they are to me. These were on sale at the store when I went, so I sure stocked up! There were so many flavors to try, but I stuck with my three favorites: peach, strawberry, and vanilla. I tried the peach one day for a quick snack and I was amazed to find that it is even creamier than the So Delicious coconut yogurt! The sweetness was perfect and I knew immediately that it would be perfect for breakfast. I had the strawberry flavor (even better than the peach!) with some more crumbled granola planks the next morning, but then I got thinking and realized what I needed to make next with my new favorite yogurt.....

....a parfait! I layered some vanilla Whole Soy & Co. yogurt with homemade granola (for another post, I have a few recipes to share!) fresh peaches, blackberries, and raspberries. Wow- that is all I can say! This was truly the kind of breakfast parfait that I have been dreaming of and I was finally able to make it thanks to this new yogurt I've found! Of all of the new varieties of yogurt I tried, Whole Soy &Co. was the clear winner for me because it's not too sweet and is perfect for breakfast, but I will definitely still keep my fridge stocked with several So Delicious soy and coconut yogurts to enjoy after dinner for a sweet treat! So really, they are all winners (I know....how cheesy....)

Black Bean Burgers and...Pancakes Without Syrup?!

2008-08-11T19:13:00.006-05:00

In preparation for the upcoming school year (yikes!), I've been making and freezing all sorts of veggie burgers like a madman! You'll see more of those in an upcoming post, but I just had to blog about the black bean burger recipe in Vcon! It's unlike any other bean burger I've ever had, most likely due to the chewy texture from the addition of vital wheat gluten. The spices are very good, though I would probably add more heat and cumin next time just to balance it all out and nothing tops these burgers better than some crisp lettuce, sliced tomatoes and onion, and a big ol' dollop of guacamole! As you can see in the picture above, I served this along side some Raw Collard Greens, a recipe I got from a raw foods (un)cooking demo I went to last month. I'll post about that and the recipes we were given some other time once I've made a few more myself, but these collard greens are great! The shredded collard greens and kale are massaged with some salt so they wilt a little bit and it makes them taste fresh and delicious without being bitter.

One awesome breakfast I enjoyed this week was the Polenta Pancakes from ED&BV. I realized that I had a few tubs of prepared polenta I bought from Trader Joe's that needed to be up because I felt bad that they were just sitting there all alone in my cupboard, so I remembered this recipe and decided to try it. Yum, yum, yum! This breakfast will be a regular of mine because it's so easy to prepare and so so so good! The cinnamon sugar coating on the sliced polenta caramelizes when they are cooked on the griddle, so no syrup is needed for this treat (and trust me, I'm a strong believer that pancakes must be topped with some sort of syrup- always). Instead of Dreena's suggestion of making banana "sandwiches" with these pancakes, I just served some sliced banana sprinkled with cinnamon on top and it was perfect! I can also imagine that these would be delicious topped with a blueberry syrup.......I'll just have to try it and see.

Quickie Cookies

2008-08-05T23:35:00.002-05:00

Just a quickie post here since I'm not feeling too well (nothing major, I'll be fine by tomorrow), but these Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies from VWAV cookies so good they can hold you over until the next one! I was in the mood for cookies one day and I didn't have many of the ingredients in some other recipes I was looking at, but I guess that was a blessing in disguise because it caused me to try this recipe and boy, were they good! I filled half of the batch with apricot jelly and the other half with blackberry preserves to use up some of the many jars of jelly we had in the fridge and both flavors were delicious and really complimented the chocolatey almond cookie dough. My only complaint is that the dough got really messy and difficult to work with when I was rollign it into balls, so I think I may try flouring my hands next time instead of wetting them. If any of you have tried this recipe and have any tricks to working with this dough, please let me know! Well, that's all I have for now, but I already have a few more goodies planned for the next post :)

Out and About on Michigan Avenue

2008-08-01T17:09:00.015-05:00

I'm back from my short stay in Chicago, and it's great to be able to finally be home for more than a day at a time! This trip was really fun because, while my mom had to do work for her business during the day, my younger sister and I were free to roam around and explore the area. Oh, and did I mention that we were staying right on Michigan Avenue? Talk about a perfect location!

The view from our hotel room was absolutely breathtaking- we were able to look out and see the Water Tower, which is beautiful during the daytime, but is even more fascinating lit up at night.

While walking around, my sister and I noticed these really cool statues made by students from various colleges in Chicago. They were all so unique and I loved admiring the diversity of the designs.

No trip to Michigan Avenue would be complete without a stop at Water Tower Place. While I'm not much of a shopper, I did manage to find one store that really caught my eye:

As my sister dragged me into LUSH, I doubted that I would buy anything since most cosmetic stores contain products full of non-vegan ingredients. However, after reading a few signs I practically jumped up and fell on top of my sister when I realized that many of the products were labeled as vegan and that this was the LUSH that I had heard of! I had such a heard time deciding what to buy but ended up purchasing a Nutts Massage Bar which smells like warm, nutty chocolate and melts right into your skin. Knowing my reaction to discovering how many vegan products this store carries, you can imagine my excitement when my sister told me that there is a LUSH store in our local mall!

As I sat in the John Hancock Observatory sipping my Jamba Juice, I realized how truly massive this building is!

(I apologize for the poor lighting in these pictures. The hotel had really odd lighting that would produce areas of extreme brightness while the rest of the room was too dark for pictures)

I was very excited to learn while planning this trip that Karyn's Cooked is only a few blocks from where we were staying, so I decided to drag my sister over there to pick up lunch to bring back to our hotel (their takeout orders are much quicker than the service at the restaurant). I chose the Jerk Tofu Sandwich this time and a slice of the Chocolate Silk Pie for dessert. The sandwich was great and perfectly seasoned- I LOVE spicy food so this was right up my alley, but it still wasn't too spicy and my mouth was cooled down after a few bites of coleslaw. I'm glad the sandwich was so filling because I was able to save half for dinner later that night after going out with my mom and sister to a restaurant of their choice where I enjoyed a plate of steamed asparagus and sauteed spinach. The pie was the perfect way to end the evening and my sister (Miss "I hate vegan food") snuck a bite and was begging me the entire time I ate it for me to save some for her because she loved it so much! That was probably a good thing because the whipped cream topping on the pie is sooooo good, but sooooo rich and I would have hurt myself if I ate the entire slice!

That night, I walked with my family to Borders so my sister could buy a magazine and as I was just browsing, I found an issue of VegNews! I haven't been able to find this in any bookstores or newsstands near me (I don't know why...maybe I wasn't looking hard enough?), so I grabbed it immediately and read it the next morning over breakfast:

Since I had to wait for my sister to wake up before going anywhere the next morning, my mom surprised me by ordering a fruit plate from room service and leaving it for me to enjoy when I woke up. All of the fruit was amazingly fresh and sweet and this plate was the perfect, refreshing breakfast after a heavy meal the night before!

Alright- now that my summer traveling is done for now, I'll be able to get back into the kitchen and post some home cooked meals on this blog since it seems to be lacking as of lately!

Wisconsin Trip

2008-07-29T13:43:00.009-05:00

As you can tell, I've returned from my family trip to Wisconsin! It was a wonderful, quick road trip and we were able to visit my mom's side of the family who we rarely see because they do live so far away. Our first stop was Madison where, after a quick bite at Noodles & Co., we met up with my older cousin who is student at University of Madison and he was so glad to show us around.

We only saw a very small portion of the university campus since we were doing so much walking that day, but the part that we saw was gorgeous! I believe that this is a picture of the outside of the dean's office.

There actually was a statue of Humpty Dumpty in downtown Madison! My cousin (right), sister (middle), and I (left) were so excited to pose with it!

I'm not sure which lake this is since the city is an isthmus and has two similarly named lakes on each side, but the water in both lakes was beautiful and perfectly calm.

This picture doesn't even show how huge the Madison Capitol really is. The inside of the building is equally as stunning as the outside and it was great to be able to see it from the view of our hotel room.

Thankfully, we arrived in Madison on Saturday in time to see the farmer's market, which was less than a block from our hotel. My older cousin (a chef) felt right at home here and I loved seeing all of the fresh produce the city had to offer. I even saw a man carrying a VegNews bag at one of the stands! Too bad I couldn't get a picture of him quick enough...

Our dinner that night was really exciting. My cousin used to work at a seafood restaurant called Ocean Grill when he first moved to this town, so he planned on taking us there. My mom reminded him last week that I may have a trouble finding something to eat at a seafood restaurant, but he told me not to worry because he knows the head chef and would ask him to make me a special vegan dish- yay! The chef didn't tell me or my cousin what my dish would be until we arrived at dinner, so I was looking forward to this dinner all day and I'm glad to say that I was very impressed! My dish consisted of grilled tofu with a sesame ginger sauce served over a salad of pickled vegetables (I'm not exactly sure which vegetables- maybe some cucumber and fennel?) with sliced apples and dried cranberries and topped with micro greens. Not only was the presentation gorgeous (the chef even decorated the plate with edible flowers!), but it tasted great and this chef obviously knows how to cook tofu- he pressed it and everything! I never thought I'd be saying that, as a vegan, I really enjoyed eating at a seafood restaurant!

Mint chocolate chip and strawberry soy ice cream from The Chocolate Shoppe on State St. (right by our hotel!) was the perfect dessert to enjoy the night, especially since it was still about 70 degrees after sunset. It was so hot out that my ice cream started melting within minutes! The ice cream was smooth and creamy and, while both delicious, the strawberry was my favorite because it had big chunks of strawberries throughout the ice cream.

The next morning while my cousin, brother, and sister were still sleeping, my mom and I woke up nice and early to walk a few miles to breakfast at Mother Fool's Coffeehouse, where all of the baked goods are vegan. My mom chose a small cappuccino for her morning dose of caffeine along with a mixed berry bar, while I got a blueberry muffin. My muffin was nice and crumbly, but still moist, and not too sweet for first thing in the morning. I also tried my mom's bar and it was great as well and I think my mom agreed since she ate every last bite!

That afternoon, we all said goodbye to my older cousin and packed into the car for another long drive to Winneconne to visit my aunt and uncle. My grandparents own the house across the street from my aunt and uncle's house, so we stayed there for our stay. The house is right on the lake and it was wonderful to be able to relax looking out into the lake (not that I could stay outside for too long- it was so hot during our stay!).

My aunt has an amazing garden in her yard, so I was in heaven eating and cooking with all of the fresh produce! My aunt roasted some of her peppers and tomatoes with a little olive oil and salt and brought them to dinner one night and they were so good! I also used her vegetables to make a few salads, like the corn salad above which had corn, cherry tomatoes, green bell pepper, salsa, olive oil, lime juice, salt and garlic chives. I had never heard of garlic chives before seeing them in the garden, but they are so cool! Garlic chives are long plants than look like a really large blade of grass, but they smell and taste just like garlic!

So, that's what I was up to these past few days! It was great seeing Madison for the first time and visiting my family but I'm happy to be home, especially after all of that driving and traffic. I'm actually leaving again Thursday to stay with my sister and mom in the city (it's funny how "the city" automatically refers to Chicago in the suburbs) for two days while my mom has some business thing during the day. We'll be staying right on Michigan Ave., so I'm hoping to grab lunch one day at Karyn's Cooked. We'll just have to see how my plans go and I'll be back soon!

Homemade BBQ Seitan and TOSTADAS!

2008-07-25T13:11:00.003-05:00

The cold, crunchy coleslaw atop the hot, sweet, saucy BBQ seitan makes this sandwich from Vcon a real winner! Because I had made the seitan and Backyard BBQ Sauce ahead of time this meal came together very quickly, which was good because the smell of the BBQ sauce had my mouth watering. Unfortunately, it started raining when I was making this sandwich, so the "summer BBQ" feeling was sort of ruined. But that really doesn't matter since it was so good! I'll just be sure to make sure it's nice and sunny next time I make this.

The only thing close to a tostada I've ever had was some sort of Mexican pizza I remember eating a lot as a kid, but after seeing a few posts featuring tostadas on the PPK boards a few weeks ago, I couldn't wait to make some! I baked some all natural blue corn tortillas that I found at the store and topped them with Amy's Refried Beans with Green Chiles, chopped lettuce and tomato, guacamole, FYH sour cream (this stuff is great! I've never tried Tofutti's sour cream, but I don't think I'll need to know that I have this!), and some chopped scallions. What a perfect lunch- I can't believe I haven't discovered how delicious tostadas are before now!

P.S.- I won't be able to post for a few days because I'm leaving for Wisconsin tomorrow. My cousin has been staying with my family for a few weeks now, so we decided to drive her home and make a road trip out of it! My family and I will be staying in Madison for (only :( ) a day because I've always wanted to go there and my cousin's older brother goes to school there so we can visit him as well. I've already got a few places I want to eat at picked out, so I'll try to squeeze them all in the short time I'll be in Madison and take lots of pictures! From there we'll be going to Winneconne, which is in the Oshkosh area, and we'll spend a few nights at my cousin's house. There aren't any vegan-friendly restaurants in that area, unfortunately, but I'll be fine since I'll have my cousin's kitchen there so I can cook some meals. I'll be home Tuesday, so I hope to post about my trip as soon as I can!

Tempeh Mango Salad and Sunny Muffins

2008-07-21T22:10:00.004-05:00

The Curried Tempeh Mango Salad from VWAV sure does make the perfect summer lunch! This salad is truly excellent and I have been eating it nonstop. I had imagined that it would be a strange combination of flavors and that it would taste strongly of curry, but it doesn't at all and every flavor comes through equally and in harmony with one another. In a sandwich or wraooed a whole grain tortilla, this salad is the perfect meal after my yoga class!

Another great summer recipe is the Sunny Corn Blueberry Muffins (also from VWAV- I've been going back to this cookbook a lot to try so many of the recipes that I haven't gotten to yet!). They got the "thumbs up" from my family, even my picky sister! I had to freeze a few so I would be able to try one since my sister ate about five in one day and I was afraid that they would be gone too soon! I only wish that I had made these with blueberries from the farmer's market since the blueberries I got from the store weren't very sweet or flavorful and I can only imagine how delicious these muffins would be with great berries!

A Surprise Inside

2008-07-16T00:52:00.003-05:00

On the outside it may appear to be an ordinary pretzel, but take a look inside and you will see that it really is....

....a pizza-stuffed pretzel!

It's difficult to see in the picture, but these pretzels are stuffed with pizza sauce and basil tofu ricotta (both from VWAV) which used some of the fresh basil my brother is growing in our garden. I veganized Alton Brown's recipe for the pretzel dough since Alton Brown has never steered me wrong, but I changed the procedures up a bit. After letting the dough rise, I rolled it out into a long rectangle and cut it into 8 strips and then rolled out each strip until it was about 2 ft. long and 3 in. wide. I put the pizza sauce in a plastic bag and cut a very small hole in the corner and then did the same with the ricotta mixture in a separate bag so piping the two fillings would be much easier. I piped a line of each mixture along the pretzel strips, folded the dough over the sauce and ricotta, sealed it, folded the rope into a pretzel shape, and then proceed with the rest of the recipe! All these need is some extra pizza sauce on the side for dipping and you have the perfect pretzel! Sure, making these was really time consuming and got kinda messy, but it was really fun and the end result was great. I actually only got to try half of a pretzel because my family had eaten them all by the next day! Yep, these are a winner :)

How I Messed up Cobbler

2008-07-11T18:19:00.005-05:00

Alright...so I didn't ruin it as much as I could have, but I definitely messed up the Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler from Everyday Dish. Everything was going well; the fruit filling was super easy to make, the sweet biscuit topping was simple, and the cobbler had already been in the oven for about 6 minutes when I looked in and realized that the biscuits weren't spreading at all. Hm.....that was odd. Then I realized it- there was no leavening in the recipe! I knew that this couldn't be correct, so I double-checked the ingredients list and, sure enough, the biscuit dough was supposed to have 2 t. baking soda added. I couldn't believed that I missed that step in the directions, so I reread the recipe and it turns out that, while baking soda is in the ingredient list, there is no mention of it in the instructions! Actually, the recipe posted on The Urban Housewife does mention when to add the baking soda, but the Everyday Dish recipe does not.

So now I had a decision to make: do I let the cobbler continue baking and hope that the biscuits turn out okay? Or do I try to salvage any of the topping that I can, scoop it off of the fruit filling, mix in the baking soda, and then dollop it back onto the cobbler? Well....I chose the second option. Thankfully, the dough wasn't very cooked when I decided to scrape it off, so the baking soda mixed in easily. However, some of the strawberry rhubarb mixture stuck to the biscuits and was mixed into the dough, making the topping get random black spots from the fruit sugars caramelizing as the cobbler baked. Also, I'm sure the topping is not as flaky and tender as it is supposed to be due to the extra mixing.

So how did it taste? While not the most attractive cobbler (at all....), it was really good. Good, that is, until I bit into a giant clump of baking soda- ewwwwwwwww. Because the baking soda wasn't mixed in well, some clumps were still in the topping and made it taste really salty (who knew that baking soda tastes like salt?). My mom also noticed this and we came to the conclusion that this cobbler was just not meant to be, but then my mom mentioned, "Why waste all of this delicious fruit in the filling? Save it and we'll eat it over vanilla ice cream!" And that's why I love my mom- always there to save the day :) While I'm upset that I messed up this cobbler because I know that it is a good recipe that I just screwed up, I'm glad that I was able to save the filling so my family and I can still enjoy part of this recipe.

Greek and Curry (seperately, I assure you...)

2008-07-08T12:44:00.006-05:00

I knew that making the Spanakopita from VWAV for my family could be a little risky because I remember my mother making the non-vegan version of this dish when I was little and I knew that this would have to live up to her recipe. This got mixed reviews from my family- my mom and I thought that it was pretty good, my sister wasn't fond of the filling but loved the crunchy phyllo on the outside, my dad wasn't crazy about the dish altogether but ate it anyway without much complaining, and my little brother refused to even touch the spanakopita. Oh well...I kinda saw this coming, but at least I tried! I'm sure that these would have been a much bigger hit in my house if my family really liked Greek food, but I think my mom is the only big Greek food fan in my household. I can't say that I will be making this dish again any time in the near future, but I can say that this recipe is really good and tasted exactly like I remember the traditional spanakopita tasting.

My brother was away to camp for a week (his longest time away from home!) and returned last week, so to spend some time with him and sort of welcome him home I took him to downtown Evanston for the day. We had a great time walking around, doing some shopping (my brother decided to take some pictures of some places that we went to, but I can't seem to get them onto my computer...) and, of course, eating. I took my brother to some pizza place and I decided to try Wild Tree Cafe down the street for lunch. I can't believe that I've been to Evanston so many times and hadn't tried this place until now- I love it! Wild Tree Cafe is a great, casual spot that uses local ingredients and they have a different soup everyday that is always vegan, so even though it was over 80 degrees out, I got their Thai red lentil soup (I can't remember the exact name- it was something really cute). The soup had a really nice and mellow curry flavor and was filled with lentils and potatoes- it was so delicious! My little brother insisted that I take a picture of him with my cup of soup, so here he is!

Treats From WF

2008-07-03T13:58:00.005-05:00

Now I know that many people have issues with Whole Foods for several different reasons and while I would much rather support smaller, more local businesses, Whole Foods is a great place to go when I need certain things that I can't find at other stores. Also, every once in awhile I just don't feel like cooking or don't have much at home to work with and love heading over to Whole Foods to grab a quick lunch because it is one of the only grocery stores in my area that offers vegan prepared food options. I usually head over to the salad bar right away, but last week I decided to see what else WF had to offer. There were quite a few vegan dishes that looked good (tofu noodles bowls, spring rolls, roasted vegetables), but the Vegan Curry Chicken Salad really caught my eye. I only bought a small container of it since I had never tried it before, but I sure wish I bought more! This salad uses Gardein Chicken, which I had heard of but never tried before, and it was delicious! The texture and taste weren't "real" enough to make me worry or be disgusted, but it was firm enough to hold up in the curry sauce. The raisins and creamy dressing lent a nice sweetness to this dish, but it wasn't at all too sweet. I know that I won't be able to resist buying more of this every time I go to Whole Foods.

It is not secret that I have a (LARGE) sweet tooth, so it should be no surprise that another reason why I like WF is the dessert case. I'm usually pretty good about not buying tons of desserts every time I go there, but this time I couldn't help myself and bought two treats. The first was a parfait with moist vanilla cake crumbs, a silken tofu mixture, and fresh berries. This desserts is actually really special to me because, back when I first became a vegetarian, my dad bought this for my birthday since I didn't want a cake. I was shocked to see that this was vegan back then and this parfait was one of the first things that sparked my interest in veganism. I used to buy it all the time, but haven't been able to find it at WF until recently, so I was so glad that they finally had it! The cake crumbs and berries make up a lot of the sweetness of this parfait because the tofu mixture isn't very sweet and you can definitely tell it's tofu, but I really like that and I'm not sure why (I think I have an issue with overly sweet things and this is a nice change of pace).

The second and more decadent dessert that I found was a Blueberry Cheesecake from the Chicago Diner. As always, the cheesecake mixture and crust were fabulous! The blueberry topping was not quite what I was expecting- the blueberry topping on cheesecakes that I'm used to is more of a loose sauce thickened with cornstarch. The Chicago Diner's topping, however, seemed to be thickened with agar and was more jelly-like. The flavor was still great, though, and it was an excellent summer treat!

Super Melty Pizza (and no, I did not use Teese!)

2008-07-01T15:44:00.007-05:00

I have mentioned before that I have never loved cheese, even before going vegan. However, everyone craves pizza once in awhile, right? I really enjoy a pizza with a nice crispy, chewy crust piled high with vegetables, but "cheese" pizza is the ultimate comfort food for me. Wait...I take that back- "cheese" pizza with veggie pepperoni and sliced green peppers and onions is the best! I thought about using the pound of Teese that I have in my freezer, but I realized that I also had some Follow Your Heart Mozzarella that needed to be used up, so I decided that I'll save the Teese for something really special. I have used FYH cheese in the past and found that grating it really doesn't help it melt at all, so I decided to freeze half of the package, let it thaw overnight, sliced it super thin, and then placed it over other toppings. After about 12 minutes in the oven at 475 degrees, I broiled it for another 3-4 minutes, and I was amazed! I pulled out my pizza to find that this:

...had become this:

Wow! I would have never believed that this pizza wasn't topped with (nasty) dairy cheese upon looking at it! The FYH Mozzarella still did have a "soy" taste to it, but only slightly, and I didn't mind at all with all of the other toppings on the pizza as well.

Feeling the need for a quick meal that is much healthier than cheese pizza, I searched through my copy of ED&BV, and the Sweet and Sour Chipotle Tempeh with Sweet Potatoes caught my eye. I thankfully had all of the ingredients on hand, so all I had to do was mix together the sauce, toss it with the other ingredients and wait an hour for it all to bake while I steamed some brown rice. The sauce became super thick, sweet and tangy and the chopped cashews on top were an excellent touch. Yet another winner from this cookbook!

Oh the Possibilities....

2008-06-26T13:12:00.004-05:00

I have always loved sushi. I was that seven year old kid who everyone thought was weird because I loved more "exotic" flavors than the other kids. I was amazed by how sushi could be filled with anything and almost always taste great. However, lately most of the sushi I have been eating has consisted of cucumber, avocado, and/or carrots since the non-fish/egg options in sushi restaurants around here are pretty limited. Not that I'm complaining though- I think a meal of some vegetable rolls and a bowl of edamame is extremely satisfying and convenient for when we go out to eat as a family. But.....sometimes I would rather have some variety in my sushi, which is why I was so excited to see the recipe for Spicy Tempeh Rolls in Vcon! I added some scallion slices and cucumber (I would have loved to add some avocado, but I used my last one the previous day...) to my roll and it was perfect! I also made a simple roll filled with mashed sweet potato mixed with a little pit of wasabi powder and these two rolls together created a wonderful and super satisfying meal! I'm actually very surprised how well these rolls turned out because I didn't have a bamboo mat to roll them up. My mom mentioned that she read somewhere that a brown paper bag with the sides cut so it can be unfolded and flattened out works well to roll sushi, and she was right! I'm hoping to practice my sushi skills a lot more throughout this summer and, hopefully, I'll eventually be able to make an inside-out roll!

While not as impressive as sushi, this dish was delicious as well. My grandparents hosted a graduation party last weekend for my cousin who graduated high school this year, so my entire family went over for dinner. I knew that there would be absolutely no vegan options, so I offered to bring a dish that was vegan but that everyone would enjoy. My aunt requested that I bring a quinoa salad since she loves quinoa but doesn't know what to do with it. Any sort of grain salad is such a fun dish to make, in my opinion, because of how versatile a dish it is; you can just throw stuff in and taste as you go until you have something you're happy with, and that's exactly what I did. I don't have an actual recipe for this salad right now since I sort of scribbled some ideas as I went and didn't measure too much, but I'm sure I'll make this again and I'll remember to actually measure the ingredients that I use. Basically, I mixed together some quinoa, chopped scallions and red bell pepper, dried cranberries, and Tamari-Roasted Chickpeas from ED&BV (I have been obsessed with these lately!). I tossed it all together with a dressing of soy sauce, olive oil, dijon mustard, agave nectar, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and hot sauce. I let this sit overnight and a few hours before dinner, and then added some chopped basil and mint and toasted almonds. Everyone loved this dish and when I went back for seconds I was surprised to find that nothing was left!

Do You Know the Muffin Man?

2008-06-22T10:45:00.003-05:00

Am I the only person who feels compelled to sing that song whenever I eat a muffin? Okay, maybe I am..... Anyways, I've been in the mood to bake (and eat!) muffins all week, so that's what I've been doing!

I had not planned on making the Carrot Raisin Muffins from VWAV, but after realizing that I have not tried any of the muffin recipes from that book *gasp*, I rushed to find what ingredients I had on hand, so these sounded perfect! They were pretty good; I loved the golden, crispy top to these muffins, but I think I would change a few things next time I make them. While the raisins added a wonderful burst of flavor and sweetness to these, I still think they were a little bland so next time I will use brown sugar instead of white, increase the amount of sugar from 1/4 c. to 1/3 c., and add a touch more cinnamon. I can't believe I went this long without trying any of the muffins from VWAV (I think I just forgot they were in there...)!

My mom and I had to make a stop at Whole Foods this week to grab something, and while I was there I couldn't resist buying a muffin from the Chicago Diner. They had several varieties, but I really wanted a bran muffin, so I bought a Bran Date Nut Muffin. While eating it, I noticed that there was some flavor that was just...."off." About half way through the muffin I realized what it was: I remembered that I hate the flavor of dates. Haha- I guess I should have gotten a different type of muffin then.... Still wanting to satisfy my craving for a delicious bran muffin, I decided to make even more muffins the following day.

I adapted this recipe from VegWeb to make the BEST bran muffins EVER!! I actually used blueberries in only half of the batter (bottom photo) and raisins in the other half (top photo) because I didn't have a lot of blueberries left, plus the fact that I love raisin bran muffins. Both varieties turned out wonderfully moist and delicious and I honestly can't say which one I like more. The rest of my family loved these as well, because they were all gone by the next morning! As you can see from the picture, these muffins had a little trouble rising, so I think I'm going to play around with the leavening in hopes of making these have the beloved muffins tops.

In addition to all of the muffins that you see above, I have also been playing around with some muffins recipes that I have created, so I'll hopefully perfect those soon (not in three months, like my last muffin recipe) and be able to share them with you guys!

Cupcakes, Quinoa Salad, and a Meme!

2008-06-17T13:21:00.007-05:00

I've mentioned many times that I make cupcakes for the women who my mother works with, and they requested some more last week! I asked my mom if I should make the Boston Cream Cupcakes or the Cappuccino Cupcakes with Espresso Creme (both from VCTOTW), and she immediately said she wants the Boston Cream Cupcakes (Boston Cream Pie is one of her favorite desserts)! While I had some issues with the filling being too loose and tasting a little bit like tofu, everything worked out once the cupcakes were assembled! My dad and I both had one when he came home that night after I packed half of them for my mom to take to work the next morning, and after my dad took one bite he said, "You saved four more cupcakes for us, right? Well, I'm going to go eat the rest now!" Haha- I guess he liked them! While he did not actually eat all four of them that night, they were finished within the next day or two. I'd really love to adapt the filling a bit and make this recipe into a full-fledged Boston Cream Pie (cake)!

I have had the recipe for the Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Mango from Vcon bookmarked for a few months now, but I knew it would have to wait for awhile before I could actually find some good mangoes around here in the summer. You can imagine how thrilled I was to buy my first mangoes of the season last Saturday! I resisted eating them right away, and rushed home to make this salad. YUM! I love the flavors of this and it's the perfect summer salad and super healthy, too! I also packed some with me for dinner while my family and I went to a Kenny Loggins concert (my parents love him, while my sister and I kept escaping to walk around the food court and lawn area) for Father's Day at Ravinia, an outdoor theater in our area. My sister tried some of my salad while I was eating it and actually really liked it and she requested that I make this for dinner sometime! As if I needed another reason to make this again! Oh, just an interesting little side note: while at the concert on Sunday, my family went to to buy their dinners at the food court area and right next to the check out I noticed that they sold a small case of meals from the local Whole Foods, so I got curious and checked what they had. I almost fainted when I saw that they were selling vegan chocolate mousse! I snatched some up, of course, for dessert that night and was super excited because I would never have expected to find it there!

And, because I ate a cupcake (obviously) and would love a pig as a companion animal (two categories Vegan Noodle listed to be tagged), here's the meme I filled out from Walking the Vegan Line:

What were you doing five years ago? I just finished the fourth grade (wow! that's a long time ago) and...... was at summer camp? I don't even remember

What are five things on your to-do list today?
1. buy a graduation card for my cousin
2. test out a few muffin recipes
3. charge my cell phone (it's sitting right next to me, I just always forget it when I go downstairs....)
4. attempt to walk my dogs (this is will not go over well- trust me)
5. plan something to bring to a family gathering for dinner

What are five snacks you enjoy?
1. hummus with veggies and pita bread
2. cereal
3. peanut butter on sliced apples/bananas/toast
4. fruits and vegetables
5. dry roasted soy nuts

What are five things you would do if you were a millionare?
1. go on a vacation across the country eating at every vegan restaurant I've ever wanted to go to
2. donate to various charities/organizations
3. buy a car
4. buy a bunch of baking supplies
5. put the rest in the bank for when I really need it (yes, I'm boring)

What are your 5 bad habits?
1. throwing my clothes into my very unorganized drawers
2. forgetting to put away the dishes while they dry
3. losing bobby pins
4. washing my hands excessively
5. over thinking things

Where are five places you have lived?
1. Wilmette, IL
2. Lake Forst, IL
(that's it...)

What are five jobs you've had?
(I'm just going to skip this section since I haven't even had 5 jobs, just babysitting and tutoring since no one will hire a 15 year old around here :( )

Five people I tag:
(in keeping with the pattern from both Shellyfish and Vegan Noodle) I tag you if you....
1. love scary movies
2. have never had surgery
3. currently have your fingernails painted
4. love sweet potatoes
5. can roll your tongue

I've Been Using A LOT of Soy Sauce Lately...

2008-06-13T18:52:00.009-05:00

Believe it or not, I went through an entire bottle of soy sauce this week! It was worth it though because I was able to make some delicious seitan, potsticker filling and dipping sauce, and teriyaki stir fry.

While these potstickers were a lot of work, they sure were worth it! I used this recipe for the dough and made up my own seitan filling and dipping sauce recipe (below) based on a few I've seen. Everything about this recipe is quick and easy except for rolling out the pieces of dough for the wrappers- that was just tedious. However, I made a double batch, so I'm sure it would have been a lot quicker if I made only 12 potstickers. My family really loved these as well and they kept raving about how they didn't miss the meat at all! My dad mentioned that I should "add this recipe to 'the list'." (he's referring to the imaginary list of meals that he would like me to make again) Yay! My little picky brother tried one of these after much coaxing, and he approved as well! This really surprised me considering that the rest of his dinner consisted of plain white rice and soy sauce- yeah, he's that picky. I think my family and I really have a thing for dumplings- first the empanadas, now potstickers. Hm.....

Potsticker Filling:

1 T. vegetable oil
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 t. grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb. seitan (I used the recipe from Vcon), chopped into small cubes
1 T. soy sauce
1/2 t. sesame oil
1/2 T. rice wine vinegar
1 T. cornstarch mixed with 2 T. water

In a skillet over medium high heat, heat the vegetable oil. Add the garlic, ginger and scallions and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add the seitan, soy sauce, sesame oil, and vinegar. Cook for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes, then add the cornstarch slurry and cool before filling potstickers. Makes enough for 24 potstickers.

Dipping Sauce:

1/4 c. soy sauce
1 t. sesame oil
1/8 t. dried ground ginger
1/2 t. Asian chile oil (if you can find it, if not just omit)
1 T. rice wine vinegar
1/4 t. crushed red pepper

Mix all the ingredients and serve.

For dinner tonight, I decided to make the Teriyaki Broccoli Cashew Stir-Fry from my new ED&BV. This could not have been any simpler! The only prep work I had to do was marinate the tofu, make the sauce, and chop the vegetables- soooooo easy! And this recipe is definitely a keeper! The tofu got so crispy and golden while the vegetables remained crisp and the cashews were such a pleasant surprise. I loved the teriyaki sauce so much that I think I'm going to make a big batch of it to keep on hand to use in some more quick meals. I sure am loving this cookbook!

Pistachio-Crusted Tofu and Some So-So Muffins

2008-06-07T19:09:00.005-05:00

Go make the Pistachio-Crusted Tofu from the Fatfree Vegan blog! You heard me- go! I just finished this for dinner and I am in love. Mmm.....the crunchy, salty, creamy crust on the tofu matches perfectly with the sweet and sour sauce. Throw in a side of steamed broccoli and you have one great meal! Ever since I read this recipe on the Fatfree Vegan blog, I knew it sounded wonderful, but I wasn't expecting to love it so much. There are so many different layers of flavor to this simple dish from the pistachios, maple syrup, mustard, and apricot preserves. Pardon me gushing over this recipe, but it seemed to be just what I was craving tonight.

Now, onto some muffins that are not exactly perfect- the Almond Quinoa Muffins from Vcon. I really love the idea of adding quinoa to these muffins since it added a pleasant, but not too noticeable, texture. Unfortunately, I think that the rest of the muffin was lacking. They just were not sweet or flavorful enough, which is a shame since I wanted to freeze these to always have on hand, but instead I tried to finish these off as quickly as possible. However, I think there is still hope! I will eventually get around to trying this recipe again except I will add more agave nectar, cinnamon, and dried fruit. I also think some cranberries could be really nice in here instead of the apricots...hm..... So, for now, all hope is not lost! I just think I'll experiment with some other muffins before returning to these.

PS- I just was scanning my blog and realized how much I hate my plates.... I gotta find some more neutral ones for photo-taking.

ED&BV!!!!

2008-06-02T18:59:00.008-05:00

On Saturday I received a nice little surprise in the mail- two copies of Eat, Drink & Be Vegan by Dreena Burton! And before you begin wondering- no, I was not just sent these randomly. I had won them last week from a contest Dreena was holding on her blog! I'm so glad to have won because I have wanted this cookbook for months now and the recipes from it that Dreena features on her blog always make my mouth water- so thank you so much, Dreena! The second copy is for me to give to someone to help them incorporate more vegan meals into their lives. I have a few family members and friends in mind, so I'll update this post to let you know once I make my final decision!

Update: After my cousin spent a few weeks at our house this summer and taking her to a raw foods demo, she has decided to become a vegetarian! I am so proud of her and we're already planning on making a delicious vegan meal for us this Thanksgiving when we see each other again. To assist her in this transition, I've decided to give her my extra copy of ED&BV because I know that she will love these recipes and, while she may not make them fully vegan at first, I hope it helps her explore vegetarianism and veganism even more.

After reading through the entire book front to back and bookmarking the hell out of it, I figured it was time to break in my new cookbook! So, with finals starting this week (tomorrow- eek!), I figured that the "Nicer Krispie Treats" (such an adorable name) would be a great recipe to start with.

Well these bars certainly did give me a great first impression of ED&BV! Since I used the Enjoy Life brand of chocolate chips, which are mini, they melted a little too much in the mixture, but that's ok- it's just a little more chocolatey! I actually had to take a few of these treats and hide them because I didn't think that they would last throughout this week; my family and I are gobbling them up (especially my dad as they are the perfect little snack after his long bike rides)! I am so glad that school is almost over so I can spend some more time trying out some new recipes from this book.

Empanadas- so good they get their own song!

2008-05-29T18:38:00.013-05:00

I've never had an empanada before but after making them last night, the recipe from Vcon has made me realize the error of my ways. Instead of 12 regular-sized ones, I made 24 mini empanadas just because I think it's cute :) I was a little nervous about making these since my dad was putting a lot of pressure on me! Once he found out that I was making empanadas this week he made sure to remind me everyday that (and I quote) "these better not suck 'cause I'm looking forward to some empanadas!" He even started singing his "Empanada Song" (basically him just singing the word "empanada" to any random tune in his head- haha.)

The filling from the recipe sounded delicious, but I wasn't sure if my siblings and father would really like it, so I only made half of the filling from th book for twelve empanadas and filled the other twelve with half a package of sauteed Soyrizo (I've never tried this product before since I tend to not eat any fake meats, but this is good!). The empanada on the left is one with the Soyrizo filling and the one on the right is stuffed with the Vcon Acorn Squash and Black Bean filling. I really can't decide which one I like better. The Soyrizo is nice and spicy and has a really "authentic" texture and flavor, while the squash filling is refreshing yet comforting and has the perfect combination of sweet and salty! And even though I thought my family would like the Soyrizo filling more, they thought it was a tie as well! My mom thought they were so great that she begged to take some to work with her today to share with some of the other women there (they loved them, by the way)! Hm......maybe my family is slowly beginning to prefer meatless dishes...? Well, maybe that's a little extreme for now, but I'm working on it! Oh, one last note about this recipe- the crust is AMAZING! With every bite, the flaky and crunchiness blew my mind. Wow.... too bad all 24 of these have already disappeared. Guess I'll just have to make them again really soon!

Some Simple Sammiches

2008-05-22T16:47:00.003-05:00

In my opinion, sandwiches are perfect for every meal; they're satisfying, healthful (usually- depends on my mood), and quick, not to mention that the possibilities are endless. Here are two of my new favorite sandwiches at the moment:

I'll admit it- I loved BLT's when I was younger. After become a vegetarian several years ago, I craved bacon for awhile, but that quickly went away. Now, as a vegan, I don't even crave bacon. However, the Tempeh Bacon from VWAV has become a staple in my house, and this got me thinking, "Hm.....I wonder what this would taste like on a sandwich... OH MY GOODNESS- TLT'S!!" So A Tempeh Lettuce and Tomato sandwich is exactly what I made last weekend after getting some Veganaise (this stuff works wonders, really- and I don't even like mayonnaise!) from the store. I stepped it up a bit by adding some fresh, buttery avocado, making this sandwich a TLTA. Geez, so many acronyms! Anyways, whatever you call it, this sandwich is good. I think this Tempeh Bacon is wonderful just eaten straight up, but it really shines on sandwiches with lots of crisp lettuce and firm, ripe tomato slices.

I don't know why it took me so long to get the idea to make falafels for my family for dinner since I love them, my dad loves them, and my mom loves them (my brother is far too picky to try these and my sister pretends to be all "I hate vegan/health food"...ugh). Oh wait- I remember now.... I was too lazy since I didn't have a food processor, but I have one now!! I used the recipe from VWAV and just sort of improvised the tahini sauce by mixing random amounts of tahini, warm water, lemon juice, garlic, and salt. The only thing I would do differently with these falafels is making them round instead of flat and deep frying them. My dad says that he would really like the classic round shape and more crispiness. Other than that, these were wonderful! We all scarfed down our sandwiches and my mom wants this to be a regular meal in our house since it's a nice, light summer meal (which she loves after a day of work). I'm not complaining- I am a falafel-lover!

More of the Magical Grain...and Freebies!

2008-05-18T13:41:00.003-05:00

When I first saw the recipe for Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Sweet Potato on the PPK boards, I knew I had to make it as soon as possible! Though my photo did not look quite as pretty as the one on the PPK boards, the dish is so damn good that it makes up for it! I normally am not a fan of cilantro at all, but I think that it really works well with this salad and I didn't mind the cilantro-iness (new word? haha- it sounds too weird to be a word). Yep, it's official- quinoa is my new favorite grain. Ever since I first tried it a few months ago, I have fallen in love! I have no idea how I survived my first few months of veganism without this grain.

These cookies were sort of a surprise to me. I ordered an Alternative Baking Company cookie from Vegan Essentials about two weeks ago, and I was blown away! So much so that I went as far as sending a comment to the company on the ABC website saying how great these cookies were. Well, what do you know that within a few days I received a reply to my email from ABC saying that they would send me some free cookies- YAY!!! Now I really love this company. Anyways, the three cookies you see above are the ones that I received in the mail a few days ago. The one on the far left is a Peanut Butter Cookie, the middle is Lemon Poppyseed, and on the right is Chocolate Chip. They are sooo gooooood. As for my favorite....hm......it's probably a tie between the peanut butter and chocolate chip- but they are all wonderful!

Mommy's Cake (probably my new favorite)

2008-05-13T19:40:00.006-05:00

For Mother's Day, I made my mom a list of about 5-6 desserts (including the oh-so-famous tofu chocolate pie, the pink lemonade tartlets and peach melba cake from My Sweet Vegan, and Papa Tofu's Strawberry Pie, along with others) and let her choose which one she would like for her special day. Well, after much deliberation (she said that they all sound wonderful and hopes that I make all of them very soon, and of course I will!) my mom chose a- drum roll, please-.............strawberry lemon cake!!

For the cake itself, I made a double batch of the lemon variation of the basic golden cupcakes recipe in VCTOTW and baked them in 9'' round pans for about 30 minutes. I leveled off the layers and cut them in half very carefully (this was my first time trying this!). I had made the strawberry filling the night before using this recipe to let it chill properly and it was the perfect consistency! I was terrified it may be too runny and ooze out the sides- but no problem here.

Before assembling the cake I whipped up a double batch of the fluffy vegan buttercream recipe from VCTOTW, set about 1/4 of it to the side for later, and threw in some yellow food coloring, lemon extract and lemon zest into the remaining frosting. I filled the layers with the strawberry filling and topped it all off with buttercream (I did a crumb coat to be safe) . I mixed the remaining strawberry mix and some red food coloring into the reserved frosting and piped it on top and finished it off with some fresh strawberries. As you can see, the strawberry frosting was a little too loose to pipe my piping needs some work, but I was pleased with it! My mom thought it looked gorgeous from the outside, but I think it was even more beautiful on the inside:

Since we went out for sushi for dinner that night (my dad's idea so my mom would not need to cook, but I know that he just loves his sushi- hehe) with my aunt and cousins who live close to the particular restaurant we went to, I just brought the cake along with us and we drove back to my aunt's house to eat it. I'd say it was a hit! There weren't many of us and over half the cake was eaten! My family and I can't get over how perfectly the filling and cake work. My dad was so silly in how he was analyzing my cake. According to him, "the strawberries don't overpower the lemon and there is not too much frosting....nice...." Haha- I think he's got it right!

To All You Moms Out There....

2008-05-11T14:09:00.002-05:00

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

I hope everyone- mother or not- is having a great mother's day. I made my mom a cake today, but I've been rushing around to get everything perfect for her today, so I'll post about later this week. See you then and enjoy your day!

Some Surpirsingly Pleasant (meaning GREAT) Food

2008-05-08T20:09:00.004-05:00

I have been waiting to try the Corn Chowder from VWAV since winter but held out until summer (okay, so it's still spring, but I'm impatient!) to make it with some fresh, sweet corn. And boy, was it worth it! My family loved it and was super impressed by how creamy it was. I had never had corn chowder, vegan or not, before trying this recipe so I was not sure what to expect. I was worried that it would not be salty enough, or that the rosemary and thyme might make the flavor a little off. Well, now I love corn chowder! All my doubts were completely unnecessary and I may even have a new favorite way to eat corn. Even though it's a hot soup, this recipe is perfect for summer and I'll be making it often within the coming months!

*Just a side note for those who do make this chowder- make sure it is no longer steaming before you blend it if you are using a blender! I know that many of you already know this and I did as well, but I sort of disregarded it. I had been able to puree fairly warm liquids before in my blender before without any problems- but this was a different story! The chowder went EVERYWHERE!! My hair, shirt, pants, floor, blender, and kitchen counter were covered int the stuff! I'm sure if I had taken a picture of the mess it would have been rather amusing, but I was way too pissed off to think of it then. It was easy to clean up, but be sure you don't make the same foolish mistake!

To go along with my first experience with corn chowder, I also made biscuits for the first time! I used this recipe because flaky biscuits are definitely the way to go when it comes to dipping in soups, stews, or chili! These were super flaky and could not have been easier- I have no clue why I was so intimidated by making biscuits before. As the recipe mentions, the trick to getting lots of flaky layers is to fold the dough in half, roll it out, fold it in half, roll it out, etc. several times (I probably ended up doing it 5-6 times). My family has been requesting that I make these again because they taste way better than canned biscuits (I shudder thinking about those nasty things- so gross....) and don't require too much extra work. Below is a picture of my delicious, soft biscuit slathered in melted earth balance- soooooo goooood.

I also finally got around to trying the Chickpea Quinoa Pilaf from Vcon that everyone has been raving about. I didn't think the recipe seemed very interesting or flavorful when I read it, but decided I'd go with it anyways. I mean, not that many people can be wrong, right? RIGHT! Though it may not be the least bit photogenic, this pilaf is surprisingly full of spice and flavor. I was gobbling it up before I could wait for it to cool and all four servings were eaten within about a day and a half of making this!

The Muffins that Took 3 Months to Make

2008-05-03T18:38:00.004-05:00

You may remember these muffins that I posted awhile ago but didn't have a final recipe for. Well, the recipe has been finalized! I know...it's taken a long time, but I was delayed for awhile due to typical life stuff getting in the way. I finally set aside some time to dedicate just to baking these muffins and figured out what proportions of certain ingredients work the best. I'm very satisfied with the final product and, while I could go on tinkering it forever to perfect it even more, I think that'd a be a little tiring. So here it is- the recipe for my Berry Almond Crunch Muffins!

Berry Almond Crunch Muffins:

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 t. salt
2 t. baking powder
1 Ener-G "egg"
1 c. vanilla soymilk
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 t. almond extract
1/3 c. chopped almonds
3/4 c. blueberries, fresh or frozen
3/4 c. canned pitted tart cherries, drained but not rinsed

Topping:
2 T. sliced almonds
1 T. sugar
3 T. flour
1 T. vegan margarine

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and lightly grease your muffin tins. Sift together the dry ingredients in a large bowl, reserving 1 T. of flour for later. In a separate bowl, mix the soymilk, oil, "egg" and almond extract. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix just until combined (do not over mix!). The batter will look very thick, but don't panic! Combine the blueberries, cherries, almonds, and reserved flour in a bowl and coat the berries and almonds with the flour so they will not sink in the muffin batter. Fold the berries and almonds into the batter. The reserved liquid from the cherries should thin the batter out slightly, but it'll still be thick. Using an ice cream scoop, fill the muffins tins about 3/4 full. In a small bowl, mix the topping ingredients until crumbly (the best way to do this is with your hands!). Top the muffins with the topping and bake for 20-22 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Blind Faith Cafe Baked Goods (and they sure were good!)

2008-04-30T20:09:00.003-05:00

Since I didn't have school for three day last week due to junior testing and my mom and I were home alone and getting bored after a few days, we went to Blind faith Cafe in Evanston for lunch on Friday. I love Blind Faith Cafe because, since I live in the suburbs, it's closer to me than other vegetarian/vegan restaurants and my mom is usually more willing to go here. Our lunch was great- my mom had a Mexican egg and vegetable scramble with a side of fresh tortillas and black beans. She loved it and, while I cannot have my input on how the eggs were, I know the black beans and tortillas were excellent because I had the seitan fajitas (which were very good), which also came with those sides, when I went to Blind Faith Cafe for lunch last year with my grandmother. This time around I opted for the Macrobiotic Plate which came with a shitload of food! It started off with a large bowl of miso soup, which was nice but the tofu pieces were a little big for my preference. The main dish consisted of two HUGE piles of brown rice topped with a shiitake gravy, some butternut squash puree, steamed kale, beans (I think pinto beans...?), a small dish of some sort of yummy lemon sauce, and a side of sea vegetable salad- see what I mean when I say it was a lot of food?! All of it was delicious- I ate a lot, but I didn't leave unpleasantly stuffed and felt like I had just eaten a super healthy meal (and I did!). The kale was a little disappointing, though, just because I prefer my greens cooked a little more. My favorite part of the dish was probably the lemon sauce it came with; I poured it all over the rice, beans and squash. The flavor was very clean simple but not one-dimensional at all.

Okay, so no pictures of lunch (my rule- I wanted to spend a nice lunch with my mom and hate fussing with pictures when trying to enjoy the company) but, as you can see above, I brought home two desserts from the bakery side of the restaurant and got pictures of those before they rapidly were gobbled up! The bakery is probably my favorite part of the restaurant because about 70% of all the baked goods and prepared foods are vegan and clearly labeled (I think they recently started labeling things more clearly within the past few months- I love it!) Okay anyways, back to my desserts. The top one is a Cappuccino Brownie and OH MY GOODNESS, was it sinful! The brownie itself was a perfect blend of fudgey and cakey and was studded with bug chunks of walnuts and chocolate chips. The brownie was then topped with a layer of cappuccino creme and then a layer of chocolate ganache! This was one of the best brownies I've ever had! The second treat I brought home was a small Maple Spice Cake which didn't take very maple-y, but the spices were spot on; neither the cinnamon nor nutmeg were overpowering at all. The cake may have been a bit dry, but the smooth, creamy, vanilla frosting balanced this out. I would have loved to get a slice of their famous Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake to get a picture for all of you, but I was in the mood for something different so that's for next time!

Haha- every time I do a post about my trip to a restaurant, I intend on making it a quick post. It never does seem to work out that way, does it?

Dad's Birthday

2008-04-27T13:32:00.003-05:00

Now I know you're probably expecting a nice, pretty birthday cake because of the title post, right? Well, my dad's never one to be hung up on tradition, so he asked me to make him red velvet cupcakes instead! His birthday was on Friday, but he had something to do that night with my brother, so we really celebrated on Saturday night. My aunt, uncle and their children came over along with one of my dad's friends and his kids for a barbecue, but the weather wasn't great so we sort of spent most of the evening inside....oh well, that's spring weather for ya! The only vegan dish for dinner was a fruit salad, so I just whipped up some black beans and quinoa myself (I forgot to take a picture of my plate, though). For the birthday desert, I made two dozen of the Crimson Velveteen Cupcakes from VCTOTW and frosted one half with the vegan cream cheese frosting (also from VCTOTW, of course!), which is what you see above. The other half was frosted with a non-vegan cream cheese frosting (meaning no picture since they're not vegan) since I know how much my dad loves one particular recipe, and he was the birthday boy after all! The cupcakes are super moist and the flavor is perfect. I'll admit, I wasn't sure how they would turn out because I had never worked with chocolate extract before, but I definitely suggest trying to find this ingredient when making these cupcakes- it makes them perfectly chocolaty! While the adults preferred the non-vegan frosting, the vegan frosting went over really well with the little kids and my little brother actually ate two cupcakes last night and had another one this morning- I think they past the test! Oh- and of course, my dad was very pleased with his birthday cake(s).

Just to throw in some more food I've been making, I finally tried the Penna Vodka from Vcon. My family liked it a lot, and I did as well, but I'm not sure it was worth the effort. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious- the spices were great and the sauce was just smooth enough from the almonds. I guess I just don't really miss vodka sauce as much as I thought I did. If you do want vodka sauce for your pasta, I suggest you try this recipe. Personally, I think I'll only be making this again if I want to make a fancier sauce.

Earth Day

2008-04-22T18:37:00.005-05:00

Well, to start- happy Earth Day everyone! As much as I love the idea behind a holiday dedicated to respecting one's planet, I find it a little ridiculous. Our planet, the source of all which keeps us alive, certainly deserves more attention than one day's worth. I do applaud the media for attempting to promote "greenness" more than in the past, but I don't think enough changes are being made. Celebrities are becoming spokespeople for "going green," but I don't think even this is encouraging others to start caring about the environment. I admit that my family is not always the most environmentally-friendly we can be, but I'm always aware of my decisions and make a conscious effort to do the best I can. Oh gosh, I sound so terribly negative! Okay, it's a holiday- time to be positive!

Though I have no idea what it has to do with Earth Day (well, I suppose a vegan diet is environmentally-friendly everyday, so it works!), I made the Pomegranate BBQ Tofu from VWAV along with some sauteed kale (olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic, crushed red pepper- perfecto!) for a nice, healthy dinner. This is definitely one of my new favorite tofu recipes! The sauce is sweet, slightly tangy, but the flavor is so smooth and complex. My mom tasted the sauce and was so shocked by how great it was! She convinced my sister (who constantly insults veganism, even though she likes a lot of food that I have made) and her friend to try some of the sauce and I convinced them to try it along with the tofu- they loved it too! The recipe for the sauce makes A LOT- I probably could have even tripled the tofu. But I just kept the leftover sauce and will be putting it on everything. This may sound odd, but I tried some sun-dried tomatoes (not the marinated kind) dipped in the BBQ sauce tonight and I already know that I will snacking on that all day tomorrow. I don't think I will ever buy bottled barbecue sauce ever again- this recipe inspired me to make my own and keep some on hand all the time! And it just so happens there are the Apricot and Backyard BBQ Sauce recipes in Vcon. I'll be trying those soon, but I'm still enjoying the Pomegranate BBQ Sauce for now!

I've Almost Got It.....

2008-04-19T15:27:00.003-05:00

....recreating the tofu scramble from the Chicago Diner, that is. I realized that the trick is to mix up the tofu, soy sauce and tahini until it forms almost a paste. I even added a little water to the mixture to do this and it ended up working WAY better than my previous attempts. Also, you have to just let it chill out for a few minutes while cooking in your skillet/ griddle to get the outside browned. It actually would have been perfect if I was better at flipping stuff with spatulas....it got all crispy on the outside and smooth and creamy on the inside. So overall, I'm pleased with how I did! I know I'll probably never be able to make this scramble as well as it is at the Diner since they do everything so magically, but that's alright. To go with the scramble, I made grilled zucchini and asparagus, along with cornbread muffins (also from the Chicago Diner cookbook, of course!) and froze the remaining 11 muffins (ha! I love making an entire batch of something just for one freaking muffin). These muffins are pretty crappy, though. They're very dry and flavorless- I think they really need some maple syrup added to the mix or something...... I have no idea why though, since the muffins at the restaurant were very good actually. Hm.......I'm clueless. Oh well, I really want to try the skillet cornbread from Vcon, so that will definitely be the recipe I go with next time!

Just a Chickpea Kinda Day

2008-04-13T14:08:00.005-05:00

This lunch has been one of my favorites lately because it's so simple, refreshing, and surprisingly filling, not to mention outstandingly delicious! I just grill up some pita bread, asparagus and zucchini on my panini press (that's right- it's also a grill!) and serve it along with some baby carrots and a big dollop of red pepper hummus. I've been rather obsessed with red pepper hummus lately- it's a nice change for the class (but still equally yummy) garlic or plain hummus.

To add on to all of the chickpea-y goodness, I also reheated a chickpea stew I made a few months ago and froze the leftovers since it made so much! I actually adapted a recipe from Rachael Ray to make this. That's right, I actually found one of her recipes that doesn't involve tons of meat and cheese! I remember I was sick in bed and incredibly bored one day waaaaaaay back in the fall and began watching the Rachael Ray show (you can imagine how bored I was!). I guess I picked the right day to watch it though, because she was making a vegetarian stew! It seemed pretty good and was actually vegan! I actually recommend making this stew a week or so before you plan on actually serving it, because the leftovers that I froze, defrosted, and reheated had a much better texture and flavor then when I originally had made it. So, here's my version of Rachael Ray's Curried Winter Vegetable Stoup:

3 T. olive oil
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
2 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced into about one-inch chunks
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 1/2 c. vegetable stock
3-4 T. curry paste, hot or mild depending on your preference
1/2 c. mango chutney
3 15 oz. cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 28 oz. can fire-roasted tomatoes

Heat oil in a large pot over medium. Add the cauliflower and potatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the red bell pepper, onion, garlic, salt and pepper, adding a little more oil if necessary the mixture seems dry. Continue to cook for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 2 1/2 c. stock and bring up to a simmer. While the stoup is coming up to a simmer, combine 1 cup of the stock with the curry paste and the mango chutney in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Add the curry mixture to the pot along with the chickpeas and tomatoes. Season with some salt and pepper, bring the mixture up to a bubble and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes and veggies are nice and tender and the flavors have melded together. Serve with pita bread or pita chips.

A Right to be Snobby

2008-04-08T18:13:00.006-05:00

(I apologize in advance for the awful artificial lighting....)

What you see above is the recipe that made me KNOW I had to get the cookbook, Veganomicon. I first made the Snobby Joe's from Vcon before the book came out and the recipe was posted on The PPK website. Wow- I was blown away! The chili powder, maple syrup, mustard- everything! Snobby Joe's are so amazing that I believe they are completed justified in being complete snobs. I don't even think they should be in the same category as "Sloppy Joe's." Hell, they kick Sloppy Joe's ass! The flavors in this recipe are so much more complex and satisfying, not to mention how insanely healthy these are (lentils and all other legumes are truly amazing)! I have made them several times since I first made them (especially since I got the book and no longer felt like I was "cheating" by using the recipe) and decided to make this recipe again tonight. In case you didn't know, the leftovers freeze wonderfully. I'm able to get six or seven extra portions to freeze just from about 15-20 minutes cooking- I love it! I know the recipe suggests serving these open-faced, but I can't help it. I love nothing more than a nice, soft, and rather sloppy filling in between a lightly toasted and crunchy bun. Paired with some broiled asparagus and steamed broccoli (not pictured), this meal was immensely satisfying and FILLING. But not at all in the way-too-rich-I'm-going-to-explode way; it's more of the full-of-awesome-fiber-and-protein-man-I'm-healthy kind of full.

Before you jump to conclusions, I DID NOT already give into temptation and make a batch of cupcakes. Well.... I did, but not for me! My mother works at a store where her jewelry is sold (my mother designs and makes jewelry) several days a week and has mentioned to the other women she works with that I'm a vegan and love to bake. Well, one of the women loves baking but has not really been introduced to vegan cooking/baking and another woman she works with is not a veg*n, but eats out at vegetarian and vegan restaurants very often and is not "scared" of it at all. So....out of the blue I got a call on Saturday from my mom asking if I was planning on baking anything that day. She explained that the two women at work have been asking to try something that I've baked and would appreciate it if I could make something to bring over to the store. I could never pass up an opportunity to make cupcakes for people who actually requested that they be vegan! I whipped out VCTOTW and, seeing that I had some Newman-O's, decided to make some Cookies and Creme cupcakes! I didn't try one before packing them up and driving them over to my mom's work, but I did allow my dad, brother, sister (along with some of her friends) to split two cupcakes that I left behind for them (since I'm sure 10 cupcakes would be more than enough for three women!) and tried a small bite- but that small bite was plenty for me! The cupcakes are super moist and bring out the chocolate cookies in the frosting even more. Yummy! Now wait, this isn't even the best part! Well, on the way home from dropping the cupcakes off, the older women who works with my mother (who bakes a lot but doesn't know much about veganism) called me and told me how much she loved them and how surprised she was, and even asked all about the recipe and where it was from. When my mom came home she told me that the women called Borders right after getting off the phone with me, asked if they had a copy of VCTOTW, and went and bought it! I feel so wonderful that I was able to help introduce someone to veganism and make their first experience positive! See- vegan cupcakes really are taking over the world!

And This Was Gonna be a Short Post....

2008-04-02T20:33:00.007-05:00

My mom usually is in charge of Sunday dinners since she likes to cook a pretty big dinner for our family on this day (I have no idea why, she just started this a few years ago...) so I'm usually left with a weekday to cook dinner. Well, a couple weeks ago, this changed! I really wanted to make the the Eggplant and Spinach Rollatini for my family since I thought they would like, as well as for myself because I have never had eggplant. Now, don't think I've been scared to try it or anything. It's just that my mom never cooks with it and I've usually only seen it in Eggplant Parmesan at restaurants (definitely not vegan!). I figured I should make this on Sunday since it took about 2 hours for me to make, and I wouldn't have enough time to make this dish after school. I'd say it was worth the time, though! The fried eggplant got soooo flavorful and crispy and the tofu ricotta was the perfect match for this. Unfortunately, I chose to leave out the spinach since it tends to scare away my dad and brother (I'm going to try and change that one day. Any ideas how?) My mom and I loved this, but my dad forgot to tell me that he hates eggplant. Like, he can't even get a bite down because of the texture. So he didn't really like this but said it was not at all due to the recipe, just his personal tastes. My sister and brother wouldn't touch this , but I expected that- they're not big on trying "new" foods. I would definitely make this again, but probably only a half batch for my family since I ate almost all of the leftovers, and I really don't want to know how fattening this dish was! (I used about half of a LARGE bottle of olive oil to fry the eggplant! eek!)

Last week's dinner was definitely a little more daring for my family of omni's- Chickpea Broccoli Casserole from VWAV. I was especially nervous since it was described as "bland," which will not due in my household. I added some extra spices (garlic, lemon juice, oregano, and basil) just to be sure that this would be flavorful. Oh, and I topped it with some breadcrumbs to add a little more texture. Um....well......my family didn't really like this. My mom said it was just "okay, but I wouldn't eat it again" and my dad and I thought the dish had potential, but needed quite a bit of work. It was just so.....chickpea-y. I like chickpeas (a lot, actually), but it was just too much. Maybe I'll experiment with this one day, maybe not.

To honor the end of spring break, my mom took my brother and I to the CHICAGO DINER for lunch!!! I loooooove this place, but I don't get to go often since my parents aren't big on driving all the way to the city for a meal, so you can imagine how happy I was when my mom finally agreed to take me there! My brother enjoyed the Diner last time we went in November for my birthday (wow, that's actually awhile ago), so he wanted to join us. Now, you know I have a rule about brining my camera to restaurants (basically, I don't do it. I just want to eat and enjoy the food and not worry about trying to get a good shot), but I did manage to get a picture of the desserts we brought home! But I'll get to those later. As for the lunch, both my brother and I were in the mood for brunch, so he got some vegan pancakes (he and my mom were very impressed by these!), non-vegan quesadillas, and a vanilla milkshake. I tried his milkshake, made with Temptation Vegan Ice Cream by the way, and it was soooooooooooo smooth and creamy. It tasted sort of like liquid frosting, but I promise it was way better than it sounds. I had their Tofu Scramble Delight which came with some brown rice and vegetables. Man, were those vegetables great! I don't know why I was so impressed but the kale and zucchini (maybe some other veggies, I don't remember) were garlicky and perfectly cooked. I was eager to try the tofu scramble at the Diner since it's one of the many things it is famous for. Also, I tried making it from their cookbook once and it just didn't turn out right, so I needed to taste it made the right way to know how to replicate it. Trust me, their tofu scramble really is worth trying! The tahini makes it really creamy and the sunflowers seeds add a great crunch. I think I figured out what I did wrong, so I'll be working on that..... Oh! I almost forgot my mom! She wasn't very hungry due to allergies (I know how she feels, they finally hit me this morning and my appetite is almost nonexistent), so she just got the Santa Fe Salad and had absolutely nothing to complain about. Okay- dessert time! I really wanted their special dessert of the week, a strawberry cake, but they were all out since we got there so late in the week... :( That's alright though, I love their Carrot Cake, so I just got that instead! My brother chose the Chocolate Chip Cheesecake since he said it looked really good, but I was skeptical about him liking it since he doesn't like cheesecake- at all! He actually didn't mind the first few bites of it, but then said it got way too sweet. I completely disagreed and happily finished it (I've gotten this many times from my local Whole foods, so I knew how much I loved it already)! But I'm glad my brother didn't completely disapprove of vegan cheesecake, because now I know he will at least try the next time I make one!

Okay- I have decided I am going to eat a little lighter for the next months or two. Of course I will indulge occasioanlly, but I've just been having way too much sugar lately. I just don't feel as great about my body as I did a few months ago, but don't have to make many changes. Just expect to see a lot more pictures of smoothies and light ice "cream" I'll be making this weekend for dessert instead of cake and bread pudding (mmmmm.......NO! I must resist....) as well as not a lot of fried food (*cough* fried eggplant *cough*). Good thing it's spring time, since that only means one thing- a lot more fresh fruits and vegetables!!!

Lots of Sugar

2008-03-28T14:34:00.006-05:00

I knew I would be taking the week I have off from school for spring break as an opportunity to bake A LOT. I just didn't expect to be eating soooooooo much sugar! There has been absolutely no shortage of vegan desserts in my house for the past few days and its truly disgusting, but I couldn't be happier.

I wanted to try the S'mores Cupcakes from VCTOTW ever since I got the book (last year!), but sort of forgot about them until last week when I needed to make a dessert to bring over to my aunt's house. We were going over for dinner and I knew my younger cousins would be there, so this was the perfect treat! I also got to use my cupcake carrier that I got for the holidays last December, which is so cool by the way! I never imagined being able to transport cupcakes without one of them getting smushed! Anyways, I used a combo of Annie's Homegrown Chocolate Chip Bunny Grahams and Health Valley Amaranth Graham Crackers for the cupcake batter and crumbs on top, which was nice since the chocolate chips in the bunny grahams added the tiniest bit of chocolate flavor to the cupcakes themselves. I also topped the cupcakes with the rich chocolate ganache from VCTOTW (I was worried the melty ganache would be to messy to transport these) and then the frosting. Also, I wanted these to taste a little more marshmallowy so I added about 1/4 c. of Ricemellow Creme to the buttercream and reduced the soymilk in the recipe to about 1-2 T. You can see in the first photo that one of the cupcakes in the corner (top right) is decorated a little differently. That one was my brothers first attempt ever at decorating with frosting! He was so proud of it and showed it off to my family for the entire night. When it was finally time for dessert, these went FAST. Seriously- within two minutes of setting these out on the dessert table, they were all gone! I can see why, though- they were perfectly chocolate, but still sweet and spicy from the cinnamon. If you have VCTOTW, go make these now! If you don't, go but the book! You'll totally understand why they're so great.

To add on to all of this chocolaty goodness, I made the Banana Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding from Vcon last night because I seem to have a constant bread pudding craving. I've mentioned before that I think bread pudding is an amazing culinary concoction, so that probably explains my love for it. So I made this and my dad was pretty excited since he loves bananas and anything chocolate, and I'm happy to say that this didn't disappoint! I used my hands to mix in the chocolate chips and bananas and was afraid that I may have mushed up the bread too much since it kinda turned into one mushy mess, but it actually made the bread pudding WAY better! Since the bread was really soaked and mushy, it made for a really creamy, flavorful pudding. And the melted chocolate chips didn't hurt either :)

The Bunny's Gonna be Mad.....

2008-03-23T19:47:00.008-05:00

Well, as I've mentioned before (at least I think so....), my family and I are the farthest thing from religious. The only reason that many typically religious holidays have been celebrated in our household is because they have been reasons for us to see our extended family, as well as because we were little kids and demanded as many holidays as possible. This explains why my family still celebrates Christmas, Hanukkah, etc., but Easter has never really been that big to my family. So my family decided that this year, we were done with it! Yep, that's right- Easter is OVER. We even decided on a new spring time holiday that we sort of made up (it's really not creative, though) that we're going to try to celebrate next year! But we'll have to wait and see if it actually happens before any of you hear about it. I, of course, still had to take this day as an opportunity to have some good food!

Sort of forgetting the whole brunch idea, I had cereal this morning for breakfast. Not to say that that was bad- I just continued to crave brunchy foods all day. So.... I cracked open my VWAV and Vcon to check out the many awesome brunch options. I wanted something simple, so I went with a nice Tofu Scramble and Tempeh Bacon (both from VWAV). I have been addicted to tofu scrambles lately. Seriously- I have a problem. I've made this recipe, along with many variations on it, at least every weekend lately. IT'S SO GOOD! It's also great topped with some salsa as you can see above! I've actually tried the Tempeh Bacon before, but I made the dreadful mistake of misreading apple cider as one of the ingredients for apple cider vinegar. Oh boy....that was bad. It was excellent this time though, since it was made correctly and all..... My dad was really interested when he saw me making it in the kitchen. he said it smelled just like bacon. The next step: get my dad to actually taste it! I know it's only a matter of time now before his curiosity gets the better of him. MUWAHAHAHA! (sorry, couldn't help myself..)

I made this rice pudding thinking it would be a nice, sunny, spring day today. I was so wrong. It's been snowy as hell for the past few days and the sun just started breaking through today. Great way to start spring, right? Guess that doesn't matter too much, though, 'cause I got rice pudding! I was super happy to find this recipe on the food network website (yes I do watch the food network- Alton Brown is my god) which uses soymilk, so I decided to give it a try. It was just okay. It wasn't as creamy as I was hoping, but it was still alright. Also, and my dad and I (we're the two rice pudding-eaters in the family) both agreed that it needed WAY more sugar, so I added probably an extra 1/2- cup. We also prefer our pudding chilled, so I let it sit in the refrigerator for a good 5-6 hours. It seemed to taste more flavorful and sweet when chilled, so I definitely recommend it if you like cold rice pudding. As you can see from the photo, I served it with a blueberry compote as suggested in the recipe, but I didn't really follow a particular recipe for the sauce- just threw some frozen blueberries, cornstarch, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan and let it cook for about 3 minutes. Then, I just threw it in the fridge to thicken slightly and cool down. If you are going to make this rice pudding, you really, really, really, really should make the sauce to go along with it. It was perfectly sweet and amazing! I've never thought of rice pudding and blueberries going together, but I guess you learn something new everyday (most days, at least :) )!

So, to those of you who do celebrate Easter- happy Easter! To the rest of you who are like myself and don't for whatever reason, then happy Spring holiday or non-holiday of your choice!

My Epiphany

2008-03-20T17:14:00.010-05:00

I have recently discovered the wonder of freshly baked bread. That's right- I made bread! I really have no clue why it took me so long to do this; I'm not intimidated by the idea of baking bread at all. I think I've just never really thought about it and never saw a reason for doing it. However, as my craving for paninis and sandwiches on nice, crusty bread grew more and more over the past few weeks, I knew just I had to have homemade bread. I decided to go with the recipe for No-Knead Bread from VeganYumYum since it was easy and I've heard nothing except damn good stuff about no-knead bread. I didn't realize how sticky this dough got though! I started panicking, but just kept with the recipe and, fortunately, it all worked out. The bread smelled AMAZING as it was baking and I got sooooo excited when I pulled it out of the oven- it was like my little baby! However, this baby grew up rather quickly, and went on to be the proud parent of some rather delicious meals....

Such as vegan french toast! I was looking so forward to trying the Fronch Toast recipe from VWAV, but I couldn't find chickpea flour anywhere! Ugh....... I'm still looking for it in hopes of trying this again when I make some more delicious bread (and you know I will), so I'll just keep my fingers crossed. However, I'm in less of a rush to find chickpea flour since the other recipe I used worked so well! It came out very authentic and it even gets that "eggy" crust when you flip it! I don't have an exact source for it (sorry!), as I just sort of looked at a few different recipes for ideas and added/adjusted a few things. So, now you get my own recipe:

Vegan French Toast:

1 c. vanilla soymilk
2 T. flour (I used whole wheat and it was great)
1 t. nutritional yeast
1 t. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
4-6 slices of bread, depending on the thickness of your slices (stale bread works well in this recipe)

Mix together all of the ingredients except the bread in a shallow dish. Soak the slices of bread on each side in the mixture for about 1-2 minutes. Cook on a lightly greased griddle set to medium-high heat only for about 3 minutes on each side. Serve with vegan margarine and maple syrup, fresh fruit, and/or any other toppings you can think of! Serves 4-6.

(No my hand is not giant, that is just half of the sandwich, so it looks very small)

And here's my bread's other fabulous creation! One of my favorite sandwiches ever because it's not overly complicated and makes a light, quick lunch. Now I know, you don't really need an official recipe for a sandwich, but I just love typing up recipes, so here you go again!

Mediterranean Tofu Sandwich:

2 slices of fresh, crusty bread
lettuce (I used romaine because I like the crispness, but use whatever you want)
1/2 small tomato, seeded and sliced
sliced onion
2 T. hummus
1/4 recipe Lemony Garlic Tofu (recipe below)

Okay, now this is pretty easy. Take one slice of your bread (with me so far?), lay down your tofu slices. Now top this with the lettuce, onion slices, and tomato. On the other slice of bread, spread the hummus. Now put this piece of bread on top of the other and you have yourself a sandwich!

Lemony Garlic Tofu:

2 T. tahini
3 T. lemon juice
1 T. soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. onion powder
1 t. dried basil (I prefer to use dried herbs for marinades)
2 t. agave nectar
2 T. olive oil
1 lb. tofu, drained and pressed

Mix all of the ingredients except the tofu in a small bowl for the marinade. Slice the tofu very thin and place the slices in the marinade. Let sit for at least a few hours, but the longer it marinates the better it will be. After the tofu has marinated, line a baking sheet with foil and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the tofu slices on a single layer on the baking sheet and bake for about 10-15 minutes. Then, flip the tofu. The edges may look like they are burning before the 10 minutes is up, but those parts are the best if you like the crispy bits like I do. If not, then flip the tofu a little bit early- no big deal. Bake for another 10 minutes and let cool. I think this tastes best chilled or at room temperature (or on sandwiches!). Serves about 4.

Now, we couldn't forget my paninis I had been wanting! Well... I kinda did. No- I didn't foget to make them! I just forgot, the pictures. Sorry.....but I can assure they were excellent! My family had a "panini night" for dinner using my panini press that I got a few months ago. My brother didn't have a panini and my father and sister had VERY unvegan paninis, so those aren't really worth mentioning. However, my mom also wanted a veggie panini since she has no problem with not eating meat, so I made our paninis with bake zucchini slices, roasted red pepper, grilled onion slices, and pesto. I also put some Galaxy vegan mozzarella slices on mine and my mom put some dairy cheese on hers. Let me tell you, we were both very happy with dinner that night! Too bad I didn't get pictures, but they weren't very photogenic anyways- haha.

P.S.- Today at about 3:00 I officially started my SPRING BREAK! My family never travels during spring break, so you all can expect me to post a little more often for the next week or so because I'll have a lot more free time to just hang out and (of course) make some yummy food!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2008-03-17T17:50:00.003-05:00

Happy St. Patrick's day, everyone! I hope you all have enjoyed this day to channel your inner leprechaun. I'm actually a little bit Irish (about 1/2, I think....), so I tend to get very festive on this day. I've also been quite a bitch about pinching people who didn't wear green today- hehe. I don't have any pictures of nice, green food because the holiday sort of popped up out of nowhere this year (not to mention that fact that this weekend was WAY busy!) So...no food for now, but I'll be sure to post some good stuff next time. Once again, enjoy the holiday!

Pizza and Caramel Pretzel Ice "Cream"

2008-03-15T16:44:00.006-05:00

I know, I said my next pizza would probably be a barbecue pizza, but I'm think that I might save that for when the weather feels more like summer (right now it's just beginning to feel like spring!). So instead, I made a classic pizza. I really really really wanted to make the Isa Pizza from VWAV, but I had no mushrooms, olives, or pesto- what the hell's up with that? So yeah, I was kinda pissed for awhile since I had the dough from VWAV made and my heart was really set on pizza, but I made the tofu ricotta (also from VWAV) anyways and made the pizza with what I had. It was very simple, but still so very good! I just think I should have added a little more salt to the tofu ricotta since my pizza sauce wasn't very salty and the pesto probably would have added a nice saltiness. I packed some of the leftover slices for lunch last week, and my friends were so impressed! I never really noticed until recently (or maybe I did and never thought about it enough...) how impressed omnivores can be of well-made vegan food. Granted, many are also kind of creeped out, but it's nice to see that not all are like that. Okay, so enough of the pizza- it's time for some sugar!

(yes, this is in a cup that I kept after getting gelato several years ago...)

Using the proportions and method of the ice "cream" recipe from Vegan Ice Cream Paradise, I changed a few things and made my own ice cream! I've been really into the whole sweet and salty combo lately, so I think that's what sparked the idea for this recipe. It is very sweet, but I think it's works rather nicely since there is more salt in this ice cream than most recipes. I also added crushed pretzels to add on to the saltiness and for added texture. Now, I know what you're thinking- pretzels won't stay crunchy if they're frozen, right? Well....yeah, you're right. But, honestly, I don't mind. It's still a nice texture and I kinda like how the soft pretzels bits melt in your mouth, as the ice cream does as well. If you wan't a little more crunch and maybe a new dimension of flavor, try adding some crushed, salted peanuts instead of the pretzels!

Caramel Pretzel Ice Cream:

3/4 c. soymilk (plain or vanilla)
2 1/4 c. soy creamer
2 T. arrowroot (or cornstarch)
2/3 c. sugar
3 T. vegan margarine
1 t. vanilla extract (omit if using vanilla soymilk)
1- 2 t. salt (depends on how salty you want it)
1/2 c. crushed pretzels

Mix 1/4 c. soymilk with the arrowroot or cornstarch and set aside. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the sugar. be sure to stir constantly! I left for maybe 30 seconds, and I ended up burning the sugar and having to wash my pan and start all over again. It's really not fun. Anyways, once the sugar is melted, add the margarine. It will probably bubble up. Slowly (this is important) add the remaining soymilk and soy creamer to the melted sugar. Now, this will definitely bubble up quite a bit, but just keep stirring. Add the salt and cornstarch at this point if you are using it and cook until slightly thickened. Add the vanilla and take the mixture off the heat. If you are using arrowroot, add it at this point and the mixture should thicken. Chill this for several hours and then freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions. After it is the texture of soft serve, stir in the pretzels and freeze until hardened.

Chickpea Cutlet Heaven

2008-03-09T19:32:00.004-05:00

I actually made a batch of the chickpea cutlets from Vcon over winter break and froze them all (what else is new?), but for some weird reason I haven't taken any pictures until now. Well, in case you haven't heard- these some major kick ass! Okay, maybe I'm over reacting, or maybe I'm not. Either way, I love these cutlets served with just some simple roasted or steamed vegetables and roasted or mashed potatoes. Being a lover of mustard, I of course had to try these with the mustard sauce from Vcon as well. The sauce is soooo easy and keeps in the fridge for awhile, not to mention it goes amazingly well with the cutlets! But I must say, if you go through the effort (not that they are that hard) of making the chickpea cutlets, be sure to save some for sandwiches. Oh man.... with some l fresh tomato and agave mustard (just mix agave nectar with mustard) on a whole wheat bun...YUM! Alright, so that's all I have for now, but I assure you that within the next week I will try to post a recipe or two!

(Unofficial) Thai Chick-Un Pizza

2008-03-04T17:35:00.003-06:00

Okay, I'll admit it. I unfortunately did not use the real recipe for this dish from ED&BV since I have unfortunately been unable to get the book yet. However, after seeing this post on Dreena Burton's blog, I knew I couldn't wait for the book and had to try to make her Thia Chick-un Pizza myself. It reminded me of the Thai Chicken Pizza that I loved in my omnivorous days from California Pizza Kitchen and had secretly longed for ever since I gave it up- but I no longer have to live without it!

I used the pizza dough recipe from VWAV and topped it with my recipe for peanut sauce from the Tofu Satay that I posted previously. I lightly crushed up one 15 oz. can of drained and rinsed chickpeas and spread those on top of the peanut sauce. That's it, that's all I had to improvise! After that, I just followed Dreena's instructions for all of the toppings, along with some shredded carrots that I put on at the same time that I sprinkled on the chopped scallions. The only things I left off of this pizza were the bean sprouts since the pizza tasted so great without them that I didn't think they would add anything to the pizza (plus, I think my bean sprouts went bad- nasty smell). Thank you, Dreena, for this recipe! I'm sure it would be even better with the sauce recipe from your book (though this recipe will definitely do for now!) While I can't wait to get ED&BV, I'm pretty damn pleased with the results of this pizza and LOVE the idea.

My next pizza mission: recreate another California Pizza Kitchen favorite from my childhood- hm....I think I'll keep the exact one a secret......

Chili and a Surprise

2008-02-28T19:45:00.005-06:00

As I have mentioned in the past, I make dinner for my family about once a week, not only to help out my mother with all the work she does around the house, but to incorporate more vegan meals into my family's lifestyle. It's gotten to the point where my dad suggests certain meals that he would like for me to try to veganize so he can enjoy it without it weighing him down to much while he works out (he's very much into running and biking so he's cutting back on some meat). I have made this chili casserole before and my family really liked it (my changes: I used 2 15 oz. cans of kidney beans and 2 15 oz. cans of black beans. I also left out the "burger" crumbles). However, the cornbread layer took soooo damn long to cook, so we ended up growing impatient and hungry and scraping off the raw part on the bottom. The chili itself was very good though, so I decided to make it again today. I only changed the recipe a tiny bit this time, I promise! I just added a small dash of cinnamon and about a teaspoon of vegan chocolate chips to add a depth of flavor. I know, it sounds weird, but you know those packets of chili spices they sell in the grocery store (why people buy them if they probably have all of the spices already, I do not know)? If you look you'll see they usually contain cocoa powder! I even managed to get my little brother to eat some of this. He's very odd....he only ate the kidney beans, not the black beans...hm..... Anyways, I also baked the cornbread layer on the side in a 9x9'' pan for about 35 minutes. It didn't taste awful, but it had a very strong metallic after taste. I think this was because I used organic corn meal, which I suspect reacted weirdly with the baking powder. Oh well- it still tasted good with some EB slathered all over it or crumbled in the chili (I did both....yum!). My dad ate TWO bowls of chili and said it tasted very hearty and "almost meaty." It always makes me so happy to see my family slowly accepting and liking more and more vegan food because it makes me more open to cook for them, as well as make me feel better about their health.

Okay, so this is what has made me especially happy today. After coming home from school today, I noticed a package on my kitchen counter addressed to me. Opening it up, I quickly realized what it was! Well, you see, I won a random drawing a few weeks ago and I had received my prize today from Vegan Noodle from Walking the Vegan Line. just look at how amazingly generous she was:

Wow! She was so sweet with these prizes. I got some adorable magnets (I though these were very clever when I finally realized that they spell out "vegan"!), two homemade vegan truffles, and one of the recipe booklets from the Society of PEACE potluck that she hosted, which includes recipes from ED&BV, several vegan blogs, VCTOTW, and other sources. WOW! The recipes in this booklet really excited me since I didn't have most of them. I plan on making the Nicer Krispies from ED&BV soo because I have been eying them since I saw them on her blog. Thank you sooo very much, Vegan Noodle! I really didn't expect all this and it was so very generous of you. It really perked me up after a long day.

And of course I can't forget about the truffles! Mmmmm....so rich and creamy. I am eating these as we speak- hehe. I love the flavor combination of chocolate and hazelnuts, but hazelnuts are so difficult to find around here, so my craving has finally been satisfied!