Daring Bakers..my 1st!

I've decided to join the fun that is the Daring Bakers! I however wasn't excited to see that my first challenge would be....



Coconut Cream "Eclairs"

Eclairs! I've never liked them. I've never eaten a vegan one let alone ever seen a vegan one. But I decided this would be a fun challenge. Like most things in my life I waited until the very last few day of the challenge. But I lucked out. Sorta.


I've decided to join the fun that is the Daring Bakers! I however wasn't excited to see that my first challenge would be Eclairs. I've never liked them. I've never eaten one let alone ever see a vegan one. But I decided this would be a fun challenge.



I used this recipe for the pate a choux but upped the amount of baking powder to I think 1/2 or 1 full teaspoon (eek. i can't find my notes on it). The pastry cream is the vegan pastry cream from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World with Coconut extract added because who doesn't like coconut.

The delicious chocolate ganache was just chocolate chips with a bit of soy milk melted to perfection.



One unfortunate thing about making them into eclairs was the misplacement of my pastry bag. I tried to do the old use a big ziplock bag trick but that ended up in total disaster. So I shaped my blobs of pate a choux into cream puff size instead.

I was nervous when I took them out of the oven because they didn't brown as much as I thought they would and I didn't think they would brown much at all at the same time. I also wasn't sure what the inside would look like when I cut them open. Would there be the hollow inside of this particular pastry? YES there would be, sorta! I was so happily surprised and thankful because I wouldn't have had another opportunity to make them again. One slight mishap was that the bottom of the pastry was a little undercooked and heavy. So the recipe needs some working on.



Thankfully when all put together..choux, coconut pastry cream, choux, ganache, dried coconut..it tasted and looked fantastic. I actually liked it! I've never liked an eclair. I even brought them over to a friends house and they seemed to go over well. I'm so happy that my first Daring Bakers challenge went well.



P.S. TODAY WAS RENO'S 1ST BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! SHE WAS BORN 1 YEAR AGO TODAY AT 11:32 A.M. AFTER BEING FORCED A.K.A. INDUCED TO COME OUT BECAUSE SHE WAS TWO WHOLE WEEKS LATE AND SHOWING NO SIGNS OF COMING OUT ON HER OWN. WE THREW A BIG PARTY FOR HER TODAY. SHE HAD A BLAST AND CHARMED EVERYONE. PICS TO COME. WAIT TIL YOU SEE THE DECORATIONS I MADE FOR HER VEGAN CUPCAKES!

VwaV week continued..

This is what my copy of Vegan with a Vengeance looks like. The cover was falling off for quite sometime then Reno got a hold of it and helped remove the top cover completely. Such a sweet child. I actually found her EATING a book this morning. To continue with VwaV week...



Raspberry Chocolate Chip Blondies

Out of the oven. These were good! At first I thought the blondie part was just O.K. but after letting it sit for a bit and trying it again later in the day I fell in love. What a great recipe. It's also super easy to make. I had them in the oven before 9am on a day Reno decided to sleep in a bit. I love baking first thing in the morning it reminds me of my vegan pastry chef days where I would get up at 5 am to catch a train to NYC and bake cakes, brownies, cupcakes, bars, etc..etc..all day for the restaurants I worked at. I hope I get to do all that again one day for my own bakery or restaurant.




Raspberry Chocolate Chip Blondie

This one was waiting to dive down into my belly and dive it did.



Fresh Corn Fritters

I'm sure you are thinking that I must have gone crazy again like the whole Pesto Picture/Black Bean Post from a few ago. I haven't. My next recipe to try was the Fresh Corn Fritters from the book. I've always wanted to make them and now I had the chance. Except that the fritters didn't want to fritter. It was a glop of batter that didn't want to set or be flipped so it just turned into a sorta scramble. While making it I was curious as to why the recipe didn't have any flour in it. I thought of adding some myself but didn't. Later on in the evening I looked at the recipe again to figure out what I did wrong and saw that flour was indeed suppose to be in the mix. I just completely missed it. That doesn't happen often but it did.

Even with that mishap the taste of the "fritter" was amazing. I probably ate 1/2 of it while waiting for the other part of dinner to finish cooking which was veggies, rice and beans topped in salsa with the fresh corn fritter. Very delicious. I had sister Nicole and friend Rachele over and they both agreed that it was really good.

Make both of these VwaV recipes right away if you've never before.

bag o' taters

Potato Pancakes (again)

We got back yesterday from a long weekend at my parents in South Jersey. Since they are going to be in Cyprus for 2 weeks my mom gave us a bunch of food that they won't be using some of which included a big bag of red skinned potatoes and some huge ass onions. I was mega tired yesterday so I figured we would just order out and worry about cooking the next day. That was when I realized that my mom gave me everything I needed, veg wise, to make these. So I did. Peter was decadent and ate his with organic apple-apricot sauce. I was gross and ate them with a huge blob of cold organic ketchup!



3 Protein Chili

One very hot day the other day I was sweating and sticky hot so I decided it was a good day to make chili. I must have been cookoo or somthing but it was one of the best chili's I've made in a long time. I used 3 different types of protein: seitan cutlet chopped up, black beans and cashews. My chili's always have cashews in them.



Raspberry Chocolate Chip Blondies

It's Vegan with a Vengeance week over on the ppk forums. I had a VwaV week a year or so ago and made a few dishes I've never done so it's fun to revisit this book and make a few more recipes I've been hankering to make. The first thing I made was the Raspberry Chocolate Chip Blondies. I made them at 8:30 in the morning today so the finished product will be saved for my next post. Here they are before making their way into the oven.

Stay tuned to see what else I make from VwaV!

The Vegan 100

I like when things like this pop up when I'm away from home and in the bowels of Southern New Jersey for the weekend.

The talented Hannah of the blog Bittersweet and My Sweet Vegan fame posted the following list of 100 vegan things us vegans should eat at some point in our wonderful lives.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it:

1) Copy this list into your own blog, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
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 (why haven't I made these yet!)
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 (pomegranate!)
19. Gyoza
20. Vanilla ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries (i don't like fresh berries too much...what?)
23. Ceviche
24. Rice and beans
25. Knish
26. Raw scotch bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Caviar
29. Baklava (i have a good recipe i need to find)
30. Pate
31. Wasabi peas
32. Chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Mango lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float (i hate root beer)
36. Mulled cider
37. Scones with buttery spread and jam
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Fast food french fries
41. Raw Brownies ( i use to make them for work)
42. Fresh Garbanzo Beans
43. Dahl
44. Homemade Soymilk
45. Wine from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Stroopwafle
47. Samosas
48. Vegetable Sushi
49. Glazed doughnut
50. Seaweed (i've had it and will never again)
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 (these will be in my next Food Fight order)
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 (SOMEONE NEEDS TO SEND ME SOME OF THESES!)
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

So I have about 6 items that I will not try for whatever reasons and about 33 or 35 items I have yet to try. Not bad out of a list of 100.

I'm going to add some of my own items that I think everyone should try:
(vegan versions of course)

*chocolate coconut pudding
*scallion pancakes
*biscuits and gravy
*Scottish meat pies
*butternut-leek-rosemary dumplings

Very green post

Basil-Miso Pesto Rigatoni

So here is the pesto porn that I posted a few post ago where I was talking about Rice + Beans by mistake. I purchased a basil plant that I named Henry at the farmers market 1 month or so ago and it had tripled in size! Since my sister was coming over and the herb was taking up the entire window I decided to prune it a bit and make a big thing of pesto which she and I equally love. I almost always serve pesto with long pasta but decided to use rigatoni this time and was very happy with how it came out. I wasn't sure if the pesto would cover the ins and outs of a tube pasta like rigatoni. I'm very happy to say that they both did their jobs very well. I'm also happy to report that Henry the Basil plant can probably produce at least 2 more rounds of pesto plus some extra uses in tomato sauces!



WW Pasta, Zucchini, Broccoli + Stringbeans (for Reno)

I made this for Reno the other day. Most of it was thrown on the floor. She also pretended to be tired which she does when she doesn't want to eat what's in front of her. Some actually made it into her mouth and then was spit out. A very small amount made it into her stomach. She wasn't too into it. I was, so I ate some it. It was all really boring and steamed no flavor at all so I don't blame her. The next day I sauteed some more of it in olive oil which helped her eat a teeny bit more than she did the day before. Figuring out what a baby wants to eat has become a full time job for me. Sometimes it's fun. Sometimes not so fun. I'm contemplating starting another blog to document what she eats from day to day. Peter doesn't want her to be vegan. I don't want her to be omni so we've gone in between both and she will be raised vegetarian (for now.) When she can make her own decisions she will be allowed to eat whatever she wants within limits..no burger king or shit like that. It should all be interesting.




Walking (will be a year old next Sunday!!!)

Reno has been walking for about 2 weeks now. She's been taking a few steps here and there for about 1 month but now it's full on walking. Hardly anymore crawling. It's very exciting and also weird to have her all of a sudden just walk over to you.

Tofu Tuesday a Dinner Party a la Mode!

oops!! Peter just asked why I had a picture of Pesto but was writing about Rice and Beans in yesterdays post. It is now fixed with a proper picture. I'll post about the pesto another time.



Tofu + Seitan Marsala w. Stringbeans + Pine nut's

I had my lovely friends Dave and Michelle over for dinner the other night. I had NO IDEA what to make for them especially after I had a few ideas and then asked if either of them liked mustard or capers. Turned out neither of them did so I had to scratch those ideas. Think, think, think, think.....Marsala. I knew Dave like mushrooms and I'm pretty sure I've seen him order Marsala at restaurants. Michele I'm not too sure about since I haven't eaten with her that much. It turned out I made the right decision.

The Marsala is based on the recipe from Joanna's book Yellow Rose Recipes. I suggest you all through a party and make it. It was very easy and very delicious. I used tofu and seitan because I figured if someone didn't like tofu they might like seitan and vice versa. I ended up serving it over pasta. I wanted to serve the Marsala over mashed potatoes but I was short on ingredients. Namely potatoes.



A BIG serving bowl of Marsala



Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

I finally caved and purchased My Sweet Vegan. What a beautiful book. This was the first recipe I've tried from it. I figured it would be the perfect ending to my dinner party especially since it was so easy to make and I was able to make it the day before. I especially liked how easy the dough was to roll out for the crust. I can't wait to try more of these recipes.



Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie a la Mode

Warmed in the oven and topped off with Purely Decadents Coconut Milk Ice Cream Vanilla Bean!!! I was so happy to finally see these coconut milk based ice creams at my Whole Foods. Whenever I make ice cream at home it's always coconut milk based. It's nice to be able to buy some now without having to set up my machine, which is something I really should do before the summer is over.

Farmers Market Haul

The Haul

I am in love with our local Farmers Market. Every Saturday (most of them) we are trying to get to the Walnut Street Farmers Market in Montclair. I'm always blown away by the selection of delicious and local fruits and veggies. They even have an organic stand that has some of the most delicious broccoli and kale I've ever tasted. Last week I grabbed a few big handfuls of string beans and 2 of the largest jalapenos I've ever seen and was shocked when the woman told me it was $1.25. It really can't get better than that! Especially since I LOVE string beans!!

Our latest haul:

carrots
kale
broccoli
jalapenos
red pepper
zucchini (they were the best I've ever eaten)
string beans
peaches
sugar plums

2 recents..

BBQ Baked Seitan w. Sauteed Potatoes + Broccoli w. Garlic

The seitan = super easy. Slice, douse in your favorite BBQ Sauce and bake in the oven until nice and sticky. Its one of those dishes that would do well if you accidentally forgot about it for about 20 + minutes or so. I just love sticky BBQ.

The real star of that dinner though was the side dish. I originally was going to cook 2 separate sides: potatoes and then broccoli w. garlic. While the potatoes were sauteing I decided that I didn't want to use another pot so I tossed the broccoli and garlic in with them. It turned into taste heaven. So stupidly simple and so delicious. Ms. Reno even enjoyed the leftovers the next day for lunch. She is definitely wasn't swapped at the hospital if she is a lover of potatoes.



Rice + Beans

They are so happy together, rice and beans. To us they are the perfect food. I got super huge jalapenos at the local farmers market for super crazy cheap and all I could think about was rice and beans. Its become quite the dinner staple for us recently like it has at times in the past. 2-3 times a week. I use to add a weekly "special guest star" to each week's worth of rice and beans like raw diced zucchini, cherry tomatoes, carrots..etc. It was fun and it made it different each time. I might have to start thinking of new "guests" for me beans.

Stupid Olympics and business trips and mini vacations and....

Sauteed Seitan and Portobello Wrap w. Chipotle Mayo

So I've been M.I.A. for a bit. Peters went away for business so I went to my parents with Reno for a few days so I wasn't spending my b-day alone (yikes! I'm 32!!) By the time we returned the Olympics started and that has been taking up most of my pm time especially since it's Swimming time and as a ex-competitive swimmer I can't get enough of watching other people swim. I just want to dive into the pool with them.

I've still been cooking though. Most of it just easy favorites but some of it new like the wrap above. I can't tell you how good the seitan was with sauteed portobello's and onions and lots of garlic. Holy Goodness! I wish I was eating it right this very second. I'm in fact eating a Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie!!! More on that in a later post after I serve it to people.



Biscuits and Gravy

I'm not southern at all. I have no southern roots, nothing. But I love me some biscuits and gravy. I love them so. Both recipes are from the book Yellow Rose Recipes the biscuits are on page 17 Buttermilk Biscuits and the gravy is on page 83 Almond Milk Gravy. I didn't have any almond milk so I just used soy instead. I usually don't use store bought meaty things but purchased some Gimme Lean Sausage for the gravy. It's not bad stuff. I don't think I could eat it plain without a sauce but it's nice to know it's available if I need it in a pinch.

so nice to be home...

BBQ Seitan Medallion w. Roasted Beets

Everytime I serve beets I tell Peter or whomever I am feeding them too to remember that they ate beets the next day when they go to the bathroom. But guess what? I never remember and I alway's fear that I'm dying or that my crazy kidney infection has returned. So dumb.

So remember that you ate beets!!

I made seitan cutlets the other day. Normal size ones not just the one giant one. The giant one is good for slicing and dicing. The normal size ones make for a much nicer presentation. What is above couldn't be simplier. It is my new go to food for lunch when I have extra cutlets soaking in the fridge.

Dip the moist seitan into panko (not much will stick but that is ok).
Pan sear on both sides for a minute or two.
Pour some BBQ sauce on top of the seitan and place in the oven 400 degrees for about 10 minutes. (i just put the pan I've seared them in in the oven.)
Eat.

So satisfying.



Crab Reno (almost 11 months!!!!)



While sitting on the beach last week I noticed a crab crabbing along on the beach that looked a lot like my daughter. It turned out to be my daughter. She loved the beach and the ocean water. More of that to come in another post.

Ocean Grove

Jenna + Peter (not really)

So that ain't us. But it could be! You never know! I'd give you all nightmares if I put a pic of myself in a bathing suit.

We are leaving, at some point, today for Ocean Grove, New Jersey. It's a little over an hour away but Traffic.com is telling us it's going to take 2 1/2 hours. So we are just hanging out until it says otherwise. Lucky for us we also live right next to the Parkway so we just have to look out our window to see what the traffic conditions are like.

We will be back next friday. Earlier if Weather.com has it's way. Thunder storms are scheduled for the ENTIRE WEEK!

Have a great week everyone!!

What the....?

Mustard-Tamari Glazed Seitan w. Asparagus and Simple Potato Pancakes

Really..what the fuck?? I had made such a commitment to myself that I was going to post everyday up until our beach vacation this Saturday and I've failed. Summer has gotten to me and Reno has gotten to me. She is needing my undivided attention lately and is only happy if I'm laying on all of our couch cushions on the floor watching her stand and raising our arms over head going "TA DAAAA...TA DAAA...TA DAAAAAAA!" She is "napping" in her play yard rignt now. By "napping" I mean laying down, singing to one of her toys. She will fall off soon and then it's off to the land of many dirty dishes for me. While I have these few precious seconds....




...I've still been obsessed with mustard and seitan. I took the rest of the GIANT cutlet from a post or two below and sliced it in odd shapes, to make it look more appetizing, plus I like odd more then even and can even get a little OCD about it. Enough into this glimpse of my crazyness..I sauteed the seitan w. garlic and then added the asparagus towards the end. I like my aparagus crisp once it starts getting too soft I'm turned off. At the end of cooking I made a mixture of whole grain dijon mustard w. tamari and a little bit of olive oil and poured it over the seitan/asparagus mixture and stirred until everything was completely coated. The result was delicious!! The texture of the seitan was perfect and meaty and complemented the sauce perfectly. Asparagus and mustard are a perfect combination as well.



Simple Potato Pancakes

Before I decided to make the seitan for this dinner all I was really planning on making were Potato Pancakes. I love them. Peter loves them even more that I do. I usually add all different types of stuff to my pancakes but decided to kept them very simple (and thick.) I also HAND GRATED these suckers! Now that's love and you can taste it!

Simple and Thick Potato Pancakes

makes: I have no idea

2 large red skinned potatoes
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tea salt
fresh black pepper to taste

*grate the potatoes with a box grater into a bowl and drain most of the liquid when finished. (if I grate these is a processor I don't drain because they become nice and moist...with a box grater they seem to become way more liquidy)

*add to potatoes the thinly sliced onions and minced garlic and combine. Then add the flour. If the potatoes are still really moist after adding the flour keep adding a few tablespoons more of the flour at a time until the mixture holds together nicely.

*add salt and pepper.

*pour enough canola oil into the biggest pan ya got until it covers the bottom of the pan. When oil is heated I take a big spoon and scoop up a pile of potatoes and gently drop them into the oil. Don't press them flat at this point. When the bottom is golden brown after 3-4 minutes flip the pancakes with a spatula and then press them flat and cook another 3-4 minutes or until golden brown.

*remove the pancakes from the pan and place on a plate or baking sheet tray lined with paper towels or a brown paper bag to soak up some of the oil and sprinkle with salt. Keep them in a warm oven while you cook the rest of the potato pancakes.

*Serve with cold applesauce (room temperature just won't do) or tofu sour cream.

That's one BIG cutlet ya got there!

Mustard-Tamari "Crusted" Seitan w. Sweet Potato Chips and String Beans

Before I get to the BIG cutlet let me show you what I made with 1/2 of it. I was thinking about how much I like mustand and how much I like seitan so I decided to combine the two. Earlier in the day I made a GIANT cutlet instead of making separate ones. The only reason for that is that I didn't feel like wrestling with 4-6 pieces of gluten that didn't want to stretch. I only wanted to wrestle with 1 piece of gluten that didn't want to stretch. When it was time for dinner I was trying to think of a way to combine the mustard I so love with it and came up with a crust. The thing is though I went about "crusting" the seitan completely wrong and I knew it before I even started and just continued to do it anyway.

Friends of our came over just to shoot the shit with us while I was making dinner. It was around 8:30 at night and I didn't want to set up my 3 bowl make even a bigger mess method. I just decided to add all of the crust ingredients together into one bowl with the seitan and mix. Now while I'm doing this I know that the crust WILL NOT STICK! but I do it anyway it's fun to be rebellious and it was a moment of madness. Needless to say I was correct in my crazy thinking and it didn't stick at all. When it came time to cook it I just threw it all in the pan together and sauteed it. Some stuck (because I forced it to). Most of it didn't. It was still damn delicious and I was eating the rest of the "crust" out of the pan after our friends left around 11.

Crust ingredients: panko, whole grain mustard, tamari, olive oil. I will be adding additional ingredients to the crust the next time I make it and I will crust it properly. Bad me. Bad bad me.

Sweet Potato Chips are thinly sliced and tossed in olive oil and salt and baked in the oven on parchment paper.

Stringbeans are blanched in water.


BIG Seitan Cutlet

Ahhhhhhhh the cutlet! I think this is now my new favorite way of making seitan. One GIANT cutlet simmered in the over (i always write over instead of oven.) with broth made from one of those broth cubes. I never use those unless if I'm making this seitan. I've made it before with both homemade broth and store bought broth and it's just not the same. It must be made with broth cubes. Not any ol' broth cube at that...Rapunzel Vegan Vegetable Bouillon w. Sea Salt is the only way to go. I don't know what it is about it but it just makes the seitan taste perfect.

The cutlet recipe by the way is from the mighty Veganomicon.

It was bound to happen..

Doesn't Deserve A Title Curry

I pride myself on knowing how to cook. I also know that I cook well, most of the time. Even when I don't cook well the food is still passable. That dish up there was not passable. The son of a bitch didn't even want to photograph well. Jerk! At least give me something you no good for nothing curry!

I really wanted curry. So I made a curry. I use to make curries all the time. For some reason this one didn't want to taste good. I did all my usual tricks to make it passable but nothing worked. Was it the almonds that I used instead of the cashews that I usually use but wanted to save for another dish? Was it that I didn't put tomatoes in the curry this time? Curry powder old? Did I forget a secret ingredient? What was it? Maybe the red pepper was bad? I'll never know and I guess that's OK. Cooking a bad meal has made my brain wake up again and I've been thinking about food nonstop ever since and have come up with some new ideas for some new recipes. That makes me excited. The fact that this curry is still in my fridge doesn't make me excited. Peter says he will eat it...NEWS FOR HIM..if he doesn't take it to work on Monday it is in the TRASH!



B-A-N-A-N-A-S

How does that song go? "The shit is bananas B-A-N-A-N-A-S!"

Reno thinks bananas are the shit! She put this one to a slow death the other night. Some got in her mouth. Some was plastered all over her body, clothes and face. The rest was on her chair. Oh yeah. Some was also in her hair. At least she didn't throw it on the floor.

She also thinks Avocado Sandwiches are the shit.

PRO BAR

PROBAR

The lovely people at PROBAR contacted me awhile ago asking if I wanted to try out some of there new products. Never to turn down free food I said "YES!" Peter was pretty excited as well when the package came.

We received 5 bars. Not included in the picture is the Maple Pecan bar. We ate that one right away before I even thought of taking a picture. It turned out that the Maple Pecan was my favorite of the bunch. My least favorite, and I new it would be before even trying it, was the Kettle Corn. There is just something about the name Kettle Corn that turned me off. It just wasn't for me. For the other flavors they were all equally good. They were very filling and very high in fat. Even though they are meant to be a whole food meal replacement bar I'm thankful Peter was all too happy to split each one with me.

I would buy these if I came across them in the store. I'm sorta wishing I had a Cocoa Pistachio one right now.

Lunch..

Chipotle Split Pea Soup (Tester) w. Sunday Salad

This was our lunch on Sunday and it was perfect. Joanna has giving us testers another great recipe to try out for her. The soup was slightly spicy and split pea tasty. Best of all is that there is basically no fat used at all and you wouldn't know it unless someone told you. That type of cooking makes me happy.



Sunday Salad w. Garlic-Lemon Vinaigrette


This is called Sunday Salad pretty much because I made it on Sunday. It was nice using non bagged salad for once with baby spinach, which was bagged. Some blanched string beans and chopping red bell pepper thrown on top and then drizzled in a garlic and lemon vinaigrette which I created while the soup above was cooking. For me this was a very satisfying meal.

Lost and Found: Tempeh

BBQ Tempeh w. Sauteed Mixed Vegetables

A lot like Tofu, up until recently, you never really see Tempeh on my blog. It is one of those proteins that I purchase quite a bit that gets lost, has his picture put on a box of soymilk and is then eventually found in the back of my fridge..but it's too late by then. He's gone and there is nothing that can be done. To me this is very funny because when I first became a vegetarian waaaaay back when, tempeh is what I tried, liked and ate quite a bit. How I lost this love a fare with the fermented product is beyond me. A few weeks ago I purchased another 2 packs of tempeh! What? I decided I will not let him see yet another fridge death and cook him up.

I first need to admit that I've never made my own BBQ sauce. This time is no different. That tempeh up there is marinated and baked in a store bought jar sauce who's name escapes me. It isn't anything special but it's still good. I'd like to make my own sauce but when the mood strikes I don't have any ingredients on hand and don't want to go to the store to buy them.

The tempeh was first steamed for about 10 minutes. Then placed in a square glass baking dish and covered with the BBQ sauce and marinated for about 30 minutes before being put in a 400 degree oven until it became all sticky and gooey flipping once or twice. The tempeh was succulent and sweet and I couldn't stop eating it. I have a few pieces leftover and am wishing that I had a ciabatta roll and some coleslaw to make a yummy sandwich.

The veggies were just sauteed with oil and WHOLE CLOVES of garlic! That was nice.

Pizza aint a swirl no more..it's a roll.

So Improved Pizza Roll

So this is my exciting post. I realize it might just be exciting to me. After a Street Fighter II Pizza Party in May I found myself with a leftover piece of dough and made a Swirl out of it. It was fun and delicious. The problem was that the dough inside the swirl didn't bake as much as I wanted/needed it too. I didn't have a problem with it since I'm a rawish dough lover but to share it with people I needed to do something else. Thats when I got to thinking about Cinnamon Rolls. The process of making and rolling these up are pretty much the same.

This time I used a multigrain dough that I purchase from Whole Foods. I love making my own dough but with Reno it's hard to do during the week (and even weekends). I rolled the dough into a large rectangle. Spread on a really thick cashew ricotta and then topped it all of a mix of sauteed veg: broccoli, peppers, onions, garlic, zucchini, thyme. Rolled it up and sliced it about 2 inches thick. These are then carefully moved onto a parchement lined baking sheet (dusted with cornmeal) cut side up not touching one another. You have to shape them a bit if they get all wonky while transferring but wonky can also add some charm to these rolls.



The last time I made these I was able to get all of my cashew ricotta into the roll. this time I wasn't. I wasn't sure what to do with the extra since I knew if I saved it for another use it wouldn't get used. After standing in the kitchen with the ricotta in one hand and a spatula in the other for a minute or two I decided to mix it into the tomato sauce I was making. After I mixed it in I though I made a big mistake. After I tasted it I knew it was the right thing to do. It made for a nice thick and creamy pink sauce and added an extra depth of flavor to the whole dish.

For a fancy presentation I poured the sauce into the bottom of the bowls and placed one Pizza Roll on top. One roll was enough for all of us especially with the extra ricotta in the sauce. I was very happy to have leftover rolls for lunch the next day.

So there is my exciting post. It's not rocket science but I was excited I made it better. This will be a great dinner to serve to guest.

Burgers, BBQ + Measurements (not mine! dirty!)

Butternut, Red Bean + Quinoa Burger w. Chipotle Aioli

This is a version of my most favorite veggie burger recipe of mine. I was out of a few things so I had to do with what I had. This is usually made with millet and has leeks and peppers in it as well. The original inspiration for this burger was from one of the weekly specials at my last job. I was craving it one day when I wasn't working and set out to make my own version since I wouldn't ask for the recipe. It's more fun experimenting I think. It's changed here and there over the past 2 years but I'm really happy with it and am going to set out getting proper ingredient measurements, since you can't write recipes without measurements! I'm really trying to get better at writing things down especially since I'm aiming for self publishing a book or zine at the end of the year.




Reno (basically 10 months)

With the craziness that is Reno I'm finding it hard to do, but it will happen. She is standing now, attacking the cats (one of them decided to attack her back yesterday.) I thought it was a good experience for her but she went right back to it this morning. She's eating big girl foods now (including the above veggie burger without the aioli, and avocado sandwiches.) It's all so crazy. Oh yeah and some of her babbles are curse words. At least they aren't ones that we say so we can be assured she is just babbling and not calling us horrible names or vodka.

More food...



Maple-Hoisen Grilled Seitan and Brooklyn Deli Macaroni Salad

I'm pretty sure I haven't posted about this before. I think it was one of my forgotten meals. If you've seen it already well then you get the pleasure of seeing it again.

We went to a friends house to see a friend who was visiting and had a BBQ. I brought along the V'Con macaroni salad above. Which I need to say now if you haven't made this yet you must make it now. I love it. I've always loved macaroni salads but never "deli" ones. I love this "deli" one -the peas! You will never see the peas.

Since I was the only non meat eater there I also marinated some Seitan in my Maple-Hoisin Marinade. This is a recipe that I'm actually writing the measurements down for and I am almost satisfied with it. One more go at it and I will post it.

p.s. I have a very exciting post planned for tomorrow. It's a newer version of something people got really excited about a month or so ago. I'm really excited about sharing it.

Breakfast and Cupcakes

Tofu Scramble + Sausage Breakfast Burrito

It's Tuesday so I have to bring you some Tofu goodness. I've become quite the tofu connoisseur over the past 2 months and it's not going to stop just yet. We were at my parents house this weekend with my sister and our friend Rachele. On Sunday we decided to have a nice breakfast. While the others dined on eggs and bacon Rachele and I dined on VwaV "inspired" Tofu Scramble with some sorta veggie style sausage. It was very good and hit the spot. My father even tried some after asking what is was and being told it was "fake eggs" or "feegs". I yelled out it was scrambled tofu. Don't call my shit fake. It's real people...real!!



Buckwheat Pancakes w. Bananas


Fathers Day breakfast for Peter. Yellow Rose Recipe's Buckwheat Pancakes. Peter's been asking for them for ages so he got em. My favorite thing about this recipe is that there is a mashed up banana in the batter. They were so good. Since I now have a big bag of the flour in my posession we will be eating these more often.



Chocolate Cupcakes w. Vanilla Buttercream

I'm on the phone with my sister. Another call is coming thru..it's Peter's Grandma. She asks if I can make dessert for the dinner she was hosting that night. I said "Yes." I call my sister back 25 minutes later and tell her that "I had to make cupcakes." She says "You made cupcakes?" "Yes." I said, "They will be out of the oven in 5 minutes." I then had to explain that I can't help it if I can whip out a batch of cupcakes in 15 minutes from scratch. It's just something I can do. It's something you can do to if you baked a lot.



So good. They were from VCTOTW.