Vegan Dance if you want to.

Gardein Crispy Tenders

2012-01-29T11:40:00.000-08:00

If you're on Facebook you can hardly miss someone posting the the photos of the mysterious pink mechanically separated meat. If you want all the fun without all the grossness, check out Gardein's Crispy tenders. It's been awhile since I've had an actual McNugget, but these make a pretty good substitute. Mmm bbq sauce...

I'm working my way through trying all the Gardein varieties. I've found them frequently at regular grocery stores, but you can find them at Whole Foods as well. There are some varieties in the fridge section and some in the freezer. Also may randomly appear in the fresh fruit and veggie section.

Westchester Vegan Eat-Up at Haven in Pleasantville

2012-01-15T11:14:00.000-08:00

Awesome blogger JL Goes Vegan hosted our local Veg*an Eat-Up meet-up event at Haven in Pleasantville, NY. Vegan friendly American cuisine focusing on fresh, organic, market driven foods. There are several vegan dishes on the menu at all times so between the Ninja and I we ordered them all.

First up was butternut squash soup

Then a nice mixed greens salad (I confess this photo is JL's)

Crispy chickpea fries with a spiced black cherry cream. This sauce was delicious.

Chef made cauliflower broccoli squash ravioli just for our vegan group. The Ninja really enjoyed this and didn't really miss the non-vegan item he wanted to order...

I had the soba noodles with white bean meatballs.

Dessert was a super delish dairy free chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. Yum!

JL got a pic of the whole group.

Totally fun night meeting new people and eating awesome vegan food.

Cheers!

New Year's Rancheros

2012-01-01T09:14:00.000-08:00

Resolutions schmesolutions. Blog worthy or no, I'm bringing in 2012 with an old classic. Scramble rancheros. Tortillas, a little salsa, a little tofu, and voila breakfast of campeones. Fresh salsa makes it super awesome, and I just wouldn't be me if there wasn't a little chipotle vegenaise on the side.

Happy New Year's ya'll.

Super easy meaty weeknight ziti

2011-11-29T16:01:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I wonder why anyone bothers writing pasta recipes since it's so easy just to throw stuff in that you've got in the cupboard, freezer, and fridge. Here's an easy weeknight pasta recipe anyway.

Beefy 'shroomy ziti - serves one with enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow

1/4 bag/box pasta or whatever you've got open in the cabinet

1 totally freezer burned vegan veggie burger

Hand full of frozen mushrooms covered in frost that you saved from the summer farmer's market/CSA

Any remaining wine from wine glass from the day before when you fell asleep watching TV

Sprinkle italian herbs/garlic

2-3 big dashes of Tobasco

Any remaining Ragu or similarly jarred spaghetti sauce you find near the back of the fridge

Cook pasta. Saute everything else together in pan and add pasta when done, then let cook another 5 minutes to absorb the sauce.

Seriously and I wonder why I neglect the blog. Clearly I need to cook more interesting stuff. Me thinks it's time to make some vegan cupcakes...look out!

Mofo 15 - Sexy Vegetables! - Daikon Radish

2011-10-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

I picked up this well hung daikon radish at the Farmer's Market in Lewes this morning.

Daikon food porn...

The daikon was quite a bargain at $3. It took up half the back seat. I'll make something Japanese with it tomorrow.

The Lewes Farmer's Market. Nestled in the wooded grounds of the Historical Society in downtown.

Now I'm headed to my High School reunion like Zach & Miri and Romy & Michele with a little Grosse Point Blank.

Candle Cafe at home (or work) Seitan Piccata!

2011-10-11T17:49:00.000-07:00

I was grabbing a few vegan Kashi frozen meals for the office when I spied a familiar logo at the bottom of the Whole Foods freezer. Can this be? It's Candle Cafe's seitan piccata in frozen form!

I made it for lunch today. I don't have a microwave at home, but they're pretty darn handy at work. Five minutes later, I enjoyed my haute cuisine at my desk.

Sure it's no substitute for the lovely ambiance of Candle Cafe or Candle 79, but as far as freezer food goes this was DELICIOUS! At only 210 calories, this is some serious lean cuisine. I think they're usually about $6, but they were 2 for $9 with $1 off each coupon, so I got a super deal going on here.

Mofo 3 - OMG the awesome juicer is the funnest invention ever!!

2011-10-03T20:20:00.000-07:00

Sure it's a little messy, but it's so freakin' fun! I almost feel bad for the vegetables as I smash them to their doom. If you have the means and want to make your own juice, definitely spring for the uber fancy model. It's easy to clean you can make a whole lot before it needs to be cleaned out. You don't even have to cut the vegetables up that much.

Left is super green with kale, spinach, celery, apple, parsley, lemon. Middle is carrot, apple pear. Right is all beet. I'll probably mix them together, but they're so pretty alone!

Vegan MoFo day 2 - Juicer inspired by the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead"

2011-10-02T09:11:00.000-07:00

The vegan month of food blogging has arrived! This is my 4th year participating and I've got a few things going on.

First off I bought a juicer yesterday. I haven't gotten the thing out of the box yet, but I'm getting ready to give it a whirl. Just because I like to go all out on my gadgets, it's the super awesome one. The good ones range from $100-$500.

Here's the why and I'll follow up with the how it's going and what I'm making.

A. I don't fit into my pants. I got a new job with an awesome driving commute. The downside is that I don't walk anymore as part of my commute. I also miss the awesome fruit carts outside my downtown office where I would get fresh fruit and vegetable juices everyday.

B. My husband (a.k.a. the ninja) has been watching what seems like every streaming video documentary on Netflix. On his own he stumbled on the man-movie Sick, Fat, and Nearly Dead and decided he wanted to add more nutrients to his diet. Knowing he's not going to power down several plates of vegetables each day he figures he'd be more likely drink the vegetables. The ninja still insists he's not going to be vegan and doesn't want to look like Moby (sorry Moby) but after watching Joe Cross (the guy in the movie) and Phil (and the trucker guy he meets) get healthy, the ninja is motivated to make some healthy lifestyle changes. He doesn't need to or want to actually lose weight, he just wants to get more nutrition.

Sick, Fat, and Nearly Dead - I'm watching it on streaming netflix now.

Yesterday I headed into the city to get my hair cut and stopped at a juice cart in Union Square for some veggie juices. If you're in NYC, definitely look for the fruit carts. You can get veggie juices, smoothies, and fruit bowls for less than $5. It's the best bargain in town. I was running a few errands, so I ended up going back two more times before heading home. I was surprised that after only having 3 large vegetable juices, by 4pm I wasn't totally starving. I had a snack, then brought the ninja to Andy's Pure Food in Rye.

We had a Green Monster and an Iron Maiden. He didn't like the Iron Maiden, I think because it had cilantro in it. I thought was good. He liked the first few sips of the Green Monster, but then thought it had too much cucumber and tasted like pickles. He drank about half. He wants to make his own blend to find something he likes. I think he's just got more taste bud adjusting to do than me, so we'll experiment.

Now off to Chef Central to pick out a juicer. Everyone seems to recommend the Breville juicers which come in a range of prices. After deliberating we went for the more power, easier to clean, and more metal parts option of the top of the line model. It's pricey, but I use my accounting skills to amortize the costs. If I use it everyday for just over a year, that's only $1 per day. Then it's free for the rest of it's existence! And I won't need to buy new pants.

I picked up my CSA veggies this morning, and I've got really fresh beets, kale, apples, peppers, and carrots. So I'm off to experiment!

Stay tuned...

Sweet Treat Chocolate Truffles - Vegan Unplugged

2011-08-28T15:31:00.000-07:00

You didn't think they'd forget dessert in the apocalypse didya? Vegan Unplugged has 9 easy peasy desserts to cheer up your palate in any emergency. These yummy truffles are ready in a flash and are full of chocolatey peanutty goodness. I ended up rolling them in coconut for no other reason than I found a package of coconut when I went digging for the chocolate chips. These ingredients need to go in the 5 day meal box!

These confections benefit from some light refrigeration, but if that's not available I assure you they are super yummy at summer room temperature (says an anonymous party who slurped a few down before waiting for them to chill!)

Pasta with Creamy Pumpkin Walnut Sauce - Vegan Unplugged

2011-08-28T14:21:00.000-07:00

Yet another great Vegan Unplugged meal that I would make any day! Pasta with Creamy Pumpkin Walnut Sauce is a neat twist on the normal tomato based pasta sauces. Sage and pumpkin pair together perfectly and the toasted walnuts give it some protein and crunch.

Another hit! So easy and delicious!

White Beans and Greens Soup - Vegan Unplugged

2011-08-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

Sure you can buy soup already in a can, but homemade soup made from stuff that was originally canned puts you in control of the flavors! This white bean and greens soup from Vegan Unplugged is comforting and delicious. I didn't have any cool shaped tiny pasta, so I used orzo. This is a meal in a bowl that is perfect hurricane fare. I'm gonna need a second helping.

It didn't need them, but I added potatoes just because I'm fascinated by potatoes that come in a can. Just a note on canned spinach. It's really important to taste it and rinse it before dumping it in any dishes. Even if you lose some in the colander, it's better to make sure there's no dirt in it. Nothing ruins a bite full of delicious soup like biting into grit. I rinsed well and mine is A-OK.

This is a photo from the courtyard of my complex. Yeah I know we're not supposed to go outside, but this was done in total safety. I don't think I get to call this the eye of the storm, since it's now a Tropical Storm it's just the center, but we got some blue sky and a glimpse of the sun a little while ago. We're just getting sporadic high wind and intermittent heavy rain now as the storm moves out.

We never lost power despite my Vegan Unplugged preparations, but lots of people in CT and NJ are cooking over candles. There's also flooding in low lying areas. I'm near the top of a big hill that leads to the Hudson so I'm safe and snug indoors.

Mom was not hit by the Tornado in Lewes, DE even though it was only about a mile away. I don't think anyone was hurt and sorry for whoever's house got demolished. Mom lost power in the late evening, but got it back by this morning.

Best of luck to everyone dealing with the effects. Be safe and let me know if I can bring you some soup!

Last Resort Lasagna - Vegan Unplugged

2011-08-27T17:55:00.000-07:00

This is one of the easiest lasagnas I've ever made. Vegan Unplugged rocks it again. I cooked the lasagna noodles with the fuel efficient boil-and-let-them-sit method. Then layered them with some cheater (Ragu) sauce and a delicious tofu and white bean seasoned "ricotta", and topped with a little nooch.

I'm finding that the best way to do this is to cook on low for about 20 minutes, then let it sit for a bit (while I took a shower before the major rains really started), then reheat again on low for another 10 minutes. I found after the first 20 minutes, the sides were boiling while it was still cool on the top center, and letting it sit in the cast iron pan with the heat off did the trick.

Mom lost power in Delaware, so I'm figuring at some point I will too and will need these easy pantry recipes. No need to wait for disaster, though, this is a perfect everyday recipe. The ninja was impressed with the balance of flavors and knew it wasn't real cheese, it just looked like cheese, but liked it anyway. He's going to share with a neighbor who's girlfriend evacuated with the cats and left him to guard their basement apartment from flood and mayhem. Sharing vegan food is the way to go!

Nicoise Salad - Vegan Unplugged

2011-08-27T11:40:00.000-07:00

I'm really digging Vegan Unplugged. For lunch I had the Nicoise Salad. There's no cooking involved, so this can be assembled super quick. The salad is a light summer lunch which is good since it's still really hot and humid despite getting the beginnings of the Hurricane Irene rains. No lettuce needed and the tiny white beans give it nice body and are quite filling. The basil vinaigrette dressing is so easy you'll wonder why people ever buy salad dressing.

Don't fear that if we lose power I'l have eaten my entire stash box; I've got plenty of reserves. Armed with the five day meal box and Vegan Unplugged, I'm feeling really prepared for the upcoming ridiculous weather.

Be safe.

Layered Tortilla Skillet - Vegan Unplugged

2011-08-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

I'm going to keep plugging Vegan Unplugged! We haven't lost power or anything, but I really wanted to try out the Layered Tortilla Skillet. I think you can find shelf stable tortillas that you can probably keep in a box for a few months, but I got some relatively fresh ones that won't last that long, so I figured this would be a good one to try. It's kind of like a Mexican lasagna that you can make on the stovetop. I have a gas stove, so I can still light it if the power goes out. I also have an indoor propane gas burner I can use in case of Armageddon.

I made a few adjustments since I had some fresh veggies. I used green salsa which turned out to be too spicy for the ninja so he'll have to survive on PB&J and ramen noodles. I was pretty hungry and only ate about 1/4 of it, so it really could serve 4. I also had bigger tortillas than called for so each tortilla was a layer.

Here's my modified version:

1 TSB olive oil
1/2 vidalia onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 sm can diced green chilies

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp taco seasoning

2 cans pinto beans
1 24 oz jar green salsa (divided 1 cup + 2 cups)
5 medium soft taco sized flour tortillas

In large skillet or dutch oven, saute onions, pepper, and green chilies. Then add chili powder and taco seasoning and cook until fragrant.

In a medium bowl, mash up the pinto beans, then add the cooked onion pepper mixture and mix in 2 cups of the salsa. Add remaining 1 cup salsa back to the pan and lay a tortilla on top. Cover tortilla with bean mixture and continue to layer remaining ingredients. Cook on low heat for about 15 minutes. I ended up cooking it too long and burned the bottom a bit, but it's still delicious.

Layered Tortilla in a 3qt Le Creuset enameled cast iron dutch oven

Slice into quarters with a sharp knife and serve in a shallow bowl.

Yummy layers of beans and chilies

Vegan Unplugged

2011-08-26T14:58:00.000-07:00

I'm a fan of a good survival guide. Vegan Unplugged (updated version of Apocalypse Chow) is a great practical how-to for getting by in comfort (well for your belly at least) if you find yourself without power for a few days.

Of course I should have made my 5 day survival kit when I when I bought the book, but there's nothing like the drama of a little hurricane to blow some wind in your sails. Yup, I was one of the crazy people who went grocery shopping today. Except I had a plan: The Vegan Unplugged 5 day meal box shopping guide. No need to wait for disaster. Get your vegan survival kit ready.

I'm now ready for Comforting Corn Chowder, Kitchen-Sink Capellini, White Beans & Greens Soup, Black Bean Chili, Nicoise Salad, Curry in a Hurry, Texas Twister Caviar, Five-Minute Couscous Salad, Layered Tortilla Skillet, and a whole bunch of other fast and easy recipes to get me through any crisis.

Creamy cheezy summer mac & veg

2011-08-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

This is one of those dishes that evolved as I was making it. I wasn't trying to make mac & cheese, but here it is. Pretty darn tasty, too.

Summer Veg Mac & Cheese

Elbow macaroni

Olive oil

Garlic

Summer squash

Red cherry tomatoes (quartered)

Orange cherry tomatoes (quartered)

Peppers (banana peppers and some long not spicy ones)

Basil

Salt

Nutritional yeast

Tofu Ricotta:

Tofu

Lemon juice

Basil

Salt

The sauce:

In a large saute pan, saute garlic in oil, add squash, cherry tomatoes, peppers, and cook until the squash is softened. Add the basil and salt to taste.

Cook macaroni according to package directions and when done scoop the noodles into the pan reserving some of the pasta liquid. Mix in the pasta and add some pasta water and a big heap of nutritional yeast and mix together.

Whiz together tofu (I used silken) and some lemon juice, basil, and salt. Turn off heat on pasta and add tofu ricotta mixture.

Gooseberries!

2011-08-07T12:18:00.000-07:00

It seems almost a shame to make jam with these lovely gooseberries. They are delicious just plain like a blueberry or grape. Not too sweet and they have a really nice pop as you bite on 'em.

The gooseberry comes nestled in its own papery wrapper like a tomatillo.

Summer is for hot dogs

2011-08-05T15:42:00.000-07:00

I've had a few veggie dogs in my time. Some pretty good, some not so good. This time 'round I gave the Tofurky franks a try.

Good texture and nice flavor. Can you tell it's a veggie dog? Yes. Do you care? Not really, especially if you slather it in mustard, vidalia onions, and a little veggie chili.

Stuffed Cabbage - who knew it tasted so good?

2011-07-31T11:39:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm guilty of getting cabbage from the CSA and then letting it sit in my fridge until I need the space for something else, then I throw the cabbage away. Truly sad, I know.

This time I was determined to make good use of it. So I stuffed it with every leftover I could find in the fridge and made one tasty pocket of goodness. It's good on it's own, but I like to slather anything in sauce, so I made a tahini-miso sauce to accompany it.

I borrowed a vegetarian cookbook Mediterranean Harvest from my mom that had a stuffed cabbage recipe, but I didn't make anything resembling the recipe in the book. The tip on preparing the cabbage, plus a method from somewhere on the internet gave me the courage to tackle this.

I made a bunch and keep forgetting to take a photo as it's plated. Here's one right out of the fridge. It doesn't look like much on it's own, but is surprisingly filling and delicious.

Preparing the cabbage:

Bring a large pot to boil. Core the cabbage so it almost looks like a little cabbage hat. (Save the core for broth.) Once the water is boiling, add 1 tsp salt, turn off the heat, and (carefully) plunk in the cabbage head and cover. Leave about 20 minutes. Fish out the hot cabbage head and place in a large bowl and filled with cold water. Just leave the cabbage hanging out in the water until you're ready with your filling. I saved the pot of water and put in a bunch of other veggie trimmings for broth. Sometimes cabbage isn't recommended when making broth, but I thought it turned out really nice and isn't particularly cabbagey.

Prepare the filling:
I used wild rice, sauteed mushrooms, a brown rice blend, grilled veggies - eggplant, peppers, squash, zucchini, onions, leeks. This was all leftover stuff that went well together so I mixed it up.

Now fill the cabbages:

Take off one leaf and place on a cutting board with what would be the top facing toward you and the bottom stemmy part away from you. I should have taken a photo. The back end will curl up a bit and this is where you want to put the filling. I used about 1/2 cup per leaf. Then you fold like a burrito and put seamside down in a pan. I cooked mine on the stove in an enameled cast iron pot (I love Le Creuset.) When you've filled the pot with cabbage pockets, take about 1/2 cup of the cabbage water (or broth if you've already thrown in some other veggies) and add 1 TBS tomato paste. Pour this over the cabbage and then simmer for about 20 minutes covered. I had more cabbage pockets than the pan would hold, so I stuck a few in the freezer that I'll cook later.

Like I said, my filling started out good, so I didn't really need a sauce, I just wanted one.

Miso tahini sauce

Blend together:
1/4 cup tahini
2 TBS miso
2 TBS lemon juice
1/4 cup water
Pinch salt

I've got some posts to catch up on and I came across this photo from an excursion to Whole Foods (conveniently located near my new job):

And I accuse my mother of hoarding...Actually most of this has been used up by now. I remember the vegan ravioli in the middle was really good!

Summer is for cold noodles

2011-07-30T11:37:00.000-07:00

Part of the reason I enjoy coming to the beach to visit my mom is raiding her cupboards. I do also enjoy yelling at her that she has too much stuff and that I'm going to sign her up for Hoarders if she doesn't look out. Clean Sweep sounded fun. Hoarders she doesn't like. Then I take the stuff I like that I know she won't use before it expires and we're all happy.

It's hot and humid in Delaware in the summer which is why someone had the foresight to put a beach in walking distance. We'll hit the ocean later, but right now the house (climate controlled with a bunch of random fans) is a steam bath. Good for the skin, I'm sure, but it doesn't inspire me to want to make a hot meal.

So here's some summer udon noodles with a cold Asian peanut sauce. I used fairly even amounts of all the ingredients, but you can adjust in any combination based on what you like or have on hand.

Summer udon noodles with cold peanut sauce Serves 4 normal or 2 hungry people.

1 package of udon or other stringy noodles (the udon was 9 oz.)
2 small zucchini grated
2 small yellow squash grated
2 small carrots grated (a big handful of baby carrots works, too)

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar*
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth)

Boil water for noodles.

Optional: I used the strainer that goes in the pasta pot to blanch the veggies. You can leave them raw if you like, but I wanted them to kind of melt in with the sauce. I put the strainer in the pasta water pot with the veggies for about 2 minutes then took it out and ran them under cold water to stop the cooking and chill. Don't drain the pasta water, you need this to cook the noodles. I suppose you could always just start to cook the noodles then add the veggies for the last two minutes and drain the whole thing, but I only just thought of that now.

Cook noodles according to package directions (mine took 4 minutes) then drain and rinse with cold water.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and peanut butter.

Mix the veggies and pasta into the sauce. Let it sit for about 5 minutes and taste for seasonings. You can eat it right away or stick it in the fridge to get even more chilled. The sauce will absorb more sauce the more you let it sit.

Serve in a shallow bowl or plate with chopsticks for slurping or a fork and spoon for twirling.

*Seasoned rice vinegar is the stuff you add to rice to make sushi rice. It's just rice vinegar with added salt and sugar. If you only have rice vinegar in your arsenal, that's fine, too, but you may consider adding a little mirin or sugar if it needs a little something when you taste for seasonings.

Summer Hummus with Zatar

2011-07-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

I made the vcon hummus version with cauliflower and added some extra lemon juice and tahini. I used canned chickpeas, but I warmed them up before blending and added a bit of hot water which made it extra creamy. Sprinkled with a little Zatar on top and served with cucumber spears it's a refreshingly light and satisfying summer snack.

Twisted Puttanesca

2011-05-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

Torcetti pasta is already a little twisted spiral of a pasta, but takes on a whole other dimension when added to this twist on puttanesca sauce.

Inspired by my last jar of 2010 CSA tomatoes and 1/2 a package of local (from Poughkeepsie, NY) "My Brother Bobby's Salsa" that I got at Whole Foods, I whipped up a twisted version of hooker pasta. This salty sensation is the perfect antidote to a well earned mild hangover.

Twisted Puttanesca

1/2 lb tubular or well structured pasta such as torcetti or penne or heck, spaghetti

2-4 cloves garlic

1 TBS olive oil

1 big jar whole tomatoes

1/2 cup fresh salsa

1/2 cup cooked black beans

2 TBS capers

10 pitted black olives (I used kalamata) - that cherry pitter comes in handy...

1/4 cup red wine

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Sautee garlic in oil in a sauce pan. Add tomatoes and break them up a bit, add salsa, beans, capers, olives, and wine. Simmer until heated through and pasta is done. Add cooked pasta and toss to coat.

I don't add any additional salt or sugar to the sauce because the tomatoes were already salted, I salted the pasta cooking water, and the olives and capers are salty enough. The beans weren't technically salted, but I cook them with kombu so they are tasty enough on their own as well.

Spring veggies - Ramps & asparagus

2011-05-04T18:10:00.000-07:00

Determined to eat some actual vegetables, I stopped into Whole Foods on my way home from work. I was a little unsure what to do with the ramps, so I roasted the bottom oniony part and sauteed the greens with some red swiss chard.Roasting with the bits of ramp are asparagus, fennel, green beans, and a portabella schroom.I also roasted a few blue potatoes and made a cashew, lemon, yogurt, tahini, miso sauce.
Yum!

Cheesesteak Gyro

2011-05-03T16:21:00.000-07:00

OK, so scratch that New Year's resolution where I blog about things other than tofu rancheros and vegan cheesesteaks. The cheesesteak is what I'm havin' for dinner and I felt the need to chime in with a post.

It's my usual cheesesteak technique, but with naan/pita bread (seriously, it's both.) I can't always find the Tofutti cheesesteak slices, but when I do I make sure to grab them. The cheese is Daiya mozzerella and there's onion, pepperoncini, Vegenaise & sriracha. I forgot the oregano, but that's usually on there, too.

It's not unusual for me to be behind the curve on good TV, so I've been catching up on Bones. It's streaming on Netflix. Yay!

Even better, Bones star Emily Deschanel is a vegan superstar.

I won 2nd Place at Veggie Conquest 6! Kale battle

2011-03-20T17:41:00.000-07:00

I really should be cleaning up the giant mess I made in the kitchen, but instead I feel like gloating about my silver medal performance at Veggie Conquest 6. Veggie Conquest is a NYC based vegan cooking competition based on a theme ingredient and takes place every few months. This is the 5th event I've participated in.

The theme ingredient for VC6 was kale. The secret ingredient is unveiled the week before the competition to both the tasters and the chefs.

Now mind you, when I'm drowning in kale in the summer, I can think of lots of things to do with it. For this challenge, I was trying to come up with ways to highlight the greens. It wasn't easy. Usually I'm sneaking kale into something, or just eating it steamed with some miso-tahini sauce. Not really award winning stuff.

So what I pulled off was a Tuscan Kale flat bread topped with a kale tomato sauce (tomatoes were the ones I canned last summer from my CSA,) gourmet mushrooms, roasted leeks, and crispy kale. I made a kale slaw from the red & green stems with some red pepper. And because I like to dip my crusts in stuff, I made a miso-tahini-kale hummus sauce that was really just the sauce I like to put on kale blended up with kale in it. The judges pronounced it bitter and unnecessary, but it was a pretty green color and made a good dip. The kale was raw in it, so it was admittedly a little vegetabley.

Here's my 90 taster portions. Bite sized pieces with the slaw and hummus.

Now for the round-up...

These kale Croquettes were lovely and the sauce on top was delicious.

Next up were kale quiches that had a wonderful tofu cream sauce. The shallots were a nice complement.

Then the first place winner with kale rice cakes.

Next up, third place winner with Kale summer rolls.

And from a guy who had never had kale before, we had a mushroom and kale bisque.

Finally, I got to yammer on about how I put three different kinds of kale and all their parts into this dish. Big thanks to my chef friend Jamie for suggesting the use of color (not that you can tell from the green plate - the judges had the more colorful fiesta ware.) The kale slaw was a really pretty purple, red, and green. I liked my ironic kale garnish which the judges picked up and ate with the slaw.

Prizes are cool...

I got a herbal soap and salt scrub from Chrissannthemum Herbs & Well Being, a gift certificate to Integral Yoga, Organic Ville French Dressing, and Cinnamon Vanilla ice cream from Raw IceCream Company. Good think the ninja claims to be allergic to cinnamon..mine all mine....

Darn good freezer pizza - Tofurky Pepperoni Pizza

2011-03-06T07:52:00.000-08:00

Now, I'm not going to tell you this rivals a pizzeria pizza, but it's vegan and it came from the freezer.

For a frozen pizza, the Tofurky Pepperoni is quite tasty. Not a microwave pizza, but 12 minutes in a 420 degree oven and you've got yourself a nice lunch for a rainy Sunday.

It's got a whole wheat crust that doesn't taste like whole wheat. The Daiya cheese is noticeable, but it's not overly cheesy. It's definitely meaty, though. No lack of Tofurky pepperoni chunks. It's not sliced like "normal" pepperoni, but in chunky bits. Very satisfying. The pepperoni is on the spicy side so no need to dump on any hot sauce which is my usual tactic for less flavorful pizza.

If you want to venture out into the real world for some non-frozen vegan pizza, there are an increasing number of options across the US. Check out this link for the ones that made the short list and vote for the Best Vegan Pizza.

Can't decide on Mexican or Pasta? Have both...

2011-02-20T16:41:00.000-08:00

There was a pasta dish on the cover of Vegetarian Times in 1997 that featured black beans and cilantro with pasta. I've long since purged the magazine, but I was trying to get something similar. Here's my faked version:
Beany burrito pasta - 2 servings

4 oz angel hair pasta (approx 1/4 package)

1 tsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1 TSP chopped green chilies

3/4 cup (about 1/2 can) red kidney beans

1 cup tomatoes chopped with juice

2 TBS fresh cilantro chopped

Squeeze of fresh lime juice

Boil water for pasta and cook according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, saute garlic and chilies in oil. Add beans and crush a bit. Add tomatoes and juice and simmer a few minutes. Add pasta and stir until coated. Serve and top with fresh cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

I did find a link to the original recipe for Southwest Pasta Pg 45 Aug 1997 Vegetarian Times

Month of bean cutlet - Sundried Tomato and Porcini Mushroom

2011-01-29T18:53:00.000-08:00

More bean cutlets. January is now officially the month of the bean cutlet. The one on the left is sun dried tomato and the one on the right is porcini mushroom. OK, I agree they look the same, but both have a nice subtle taste of their signature ingredient

Sun dried tomato cutlet

1 cup cooked white navy beans

1 cup rehydrated sun dried tomatoes soaked in 1 cup boiling water

1 tsp salt

1 TBS Italian seasoning

1 tsp dried basil

2 TBS olive oil

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 cup vital wheat gluten

Porcini Mushroom Cutlet

1 cup cooked white navy beans

1 cup rehydrated porcini soaked in 1 cup boiling water

1 tsp salt

1 TBS Parisian bonnes herbes seasoning

2 TBS olive oil

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 cup vital wheat gluten

Blend the beans with mushroom or sun dried tomatoes salt, seasoning, olive oil. Mix together with bread crumbs and vital wheat gluten and kneed for few minutes. Split into 4 pieces and form into flat cutlets. Fry in 1 TBS oil for 5 minutes per side.

More experiments in bean cutlets...Black Eyed Peas and Mazoh

2011-01-12T17:04:00.001-08:00

Yup, it's yet another variation of the vcon chickpea cutlets. This time it's black-eyed peas and mazoh. Red swiss chard with lemon tahini miso sauce, mashed potatoes, and skulking in the back of the photo is a portabello mushroom with Penzey's Chicago Steak Seasoning. Black-eyed pea and mazoh cutlets

1 cup cooked black-eyed peas

1/4 cup water

2 TBS soy sauce

2 TBS olive oil

1 TBS Herbes de Provence

1 tsp hot paprika

1/2 cup vital wheat gluten

1/2 cup mazoh meal

Blend together the beans, water, soy sauce, olive oil, herbs, and paprika.

In a medium bowl mix together bean mixture, wheat gluten, and mazoh. Knead a few minutes. Break into 4 pieces. Flatten out into cutlets and fry in a little canola oil for about 5 minutes a side until golden brown.

Snow Day! Warm up with a vegan hot toddy.

2011-01-12T12:50:00.000-08:00

Technically the office was open today, but I really needed a snow day. Justifiable since I couldn't actually get out of my apartment until someone came by to shovel the snow from my blocked doorway.

Anyway in between cleaning out the pantry and reading some Chelsea Handler, I thought this scene (me in my PJs on the couch with the ipad) would be a whole lot more sophisticated if it included a nice hot beverage.

The unopened bottle of kahlua I found at the back of the pantry was a bonus. When choosing your boozing for your vegan hot toddy, you can always check out barnivore for the latest in what's vegan and what's not.

Vegan mocha with Soyatoo

1 cup vanilla soy milk

2 TBS Dutch cocoa

1 cup brewed coffee

2 TBS Kahlua

Vegan whip cream

In a medium saucepan, mix cocoa with soymilk and heat, but do not boil. Add a generous splash of kahlua to a large coffee mug, add brewed coffee halfway, fill to within 1/2 inch with hot cocoa, then top with whip cream. Yum.

Black bean & black olive cutlet

2011-01-01T10:43:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! So far I'm making good on my resolution to blog more which means I'll have to make stuff other than tofurky cheesesteaks and tofu rancheros to keep you interested. Experimental cooking also helps with 2 other resolutions of eating better and taking my lunches to work. We'll see how long this lasts...

This black bean and black olive cutlet is a modified version of the vcon chickpea cutlet inspired by the black olive seitan at Sacred Chow in NYC. Both the black beans and olives are surprisingly subtle flavors in the finished cutlet.

I wanted to make something with black eyed peas for new years, but I only had dried and although they're soaking now, I wanted some cutlets sooner rather than later. Can of black beans to the rescue. It's still beans and vegans need fried hangover food, too. I went to Phish at Madison Square Garden last night, not that I need an excuse to be hungover on New Years Day.

I used kalamata olives, that had pits in them. Luckily I had this handy cherry pitter that made popping the pits out a snap. If you're ever in a cooking gadgets store and debate the cherry pitter, just throw it in the cart, then store it at home in the gadget drawer with the can opener. You'll use it more than you think.

Black Bean & Black Olive Cutlets

1 cup cooked or canned black beans

1/3 cup chopped black olives (about 12)

1/4 tsp basil

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp dried chives (optional - I get them from Penzys and use them all the time)

1 tsp parsley

1 TBS soy sauce

2 TBS olive oil

1/4 cup vegetable broth or water

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup vital wheat gluten.

Canola oil for frying

Blend together the beans, olives, herbs, soy sauce, olive oil and broth. Add to medium bowl. Add bread crumbs and gluten and mix together until combined. Then knead in the bowl for a few minutes. Ball it together, then divide into 4 pieces. Flatten the pieces out with your hands to make cutlets. Fry until browned and crispy, about 5 minutes each side.

The cutlets are well seasoned, so you don't need a sauce for this unless, you just like things saucy. For a main dish serve with mashed potatoes and greens or as a sandwich with a little sriracha vegenaise. Also delicious pulled apart and eaten with your fingers, straight off the cooling rack.

Happy New Year!

Great pate, mom, but I gotta motor if I wanna be ready for that party tonight...

2010-12-05T17:40:00.000-08:00

Things I've never made before: pate, chestnuts, and lentils. Here they are all fancied up together into a rockin' appetizer. It's the chestnut-lentil pate from the Veganomicon. Couldn't be easier and is really quite sophisticated and yummy. Bring this to your next holiday soiree.

The best vegan pate I've had is faux-gras made by Ella, the Regal Vegan. She brought this to the Our Hen House launch party and I kinda sorta camped out by it after I helped set up the raffle prizes. What? I was hungry and it really is that good.

Vegan cookbooks, lip balm, rescue chocolates, cloth diapers, and River made my recipe!

2010-12-01T19:05:00.000-08:00

So I came home to not one, but 2 new vegan cookbooks. Amazon pre-order is the way to go when you want to give yourself a gift you'll forget about by the time you get it.

Just in time for the holidays Isa's new book Appetite for Reduction offers a whole bunch of easy recipes that are easy on the waistline. Jerk asparagus, eggplant dengaku, buffalo tempeh oh my!

In Color me Vegan Colleen Patrick-Goudreau invites you to eat the rainbow of the fruit and veggie world. Red-Beet Burgers; Orange-Carrot Fries; Yellow-Cashew Cheese; Green-Avacado Pudding; Blue-Blueberry Ketchup and more!

Yes, you really do need a new cookbook or 2...

Now for some vegan lip balm from my lip stuff.

Brea is vegan and most of the lip balms can be made vegan even though the normal formula uses beeswax. Mmm Candy Cane...

I also popped by a meet up event in NYC tonight for Rescue Chocolates

Sara makes the most awesome vegan chocolates and proceeds go to animal rescue organizations.

If you've got rugrats and are interested in cloth diapering, my friend Patti (who is also a serious scrabble opponent) has a blog called The Clothspring and she's got a giveaway going on for some flannel diapers. Check it or pass it along to someone with rugrats.

And last but not least, the ever awesome River of wing-it vegan made my eggplant ballz from the last veggie conquest. It's on her MoFo after-post.

Ciao!

Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes

2010-11-14T10:36:00.000-08:00

This is adapted from my high school boyfriend's mom's recipe for Tasty Kakes - Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes.

I wasn't sure how to handle the 4 eggs it called for, so I hadn't attempted to veganize it before. I used 1/2 ground flax seed and 1/2 tofu for the eggs, and soy milk instead of milk. The cake part should be spongy but firm and almost chewy, so this combo seems to have worked out OK.

Here's the original recipe that's a little worse for the wear. I love handwritten shared recipe cards.

My vegan baking arsenal.

Vegan Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes

2 TBS ground flax seeds

6 TBS water

1/2 cup tofu

1 TBS shortening or vegetable oil

1 cup soymilk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup peanut butter

12 oz vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a rimmed cookie sheet or jellyroll pan. I lined mine with a silpat and canola oil spray and flour. (At this point you should also make sure you've got some room in the fridge to put the sheet pan in to cool.)

Blend together the flax seeds, water, tofu, and oil and set aside.

Mix together the soymilk, vinegar, and vanilla and set aside.

In a large bowl combine sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Add the soymilk mixture and blend until incorporated. Add the flax/tofu mixture and blend again scraping down the sides to combine.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread out to the edges. The batter will form a thin layer over the entire pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. When done, a toothpick will come out clean and the top will feel spongy; don't let the sides get browned.

Spread a thin layer of peanut butter over the hot cake. I don't actually measure the peanut butter, but I used just over 1/2 a 16 oz. jar to cover the top.

Put cake in fridge until peanut butter has set and firmed up. About an hour or so.

Melt the chocolate chips and pour over the cake. Put back in fridge until chocolate has set. About another hour or so.

Cut into 2 inch squares. Enjoy with a nice big glass of chocolate soymilk. Yum.

Seitan Piccata with collard greens and chive mashed potatoes

2010-11-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

Vegan meat and potatoes doesn't get better than this.

Seitan from the Yellow Rose Recipes and piccata from the Candle Cafe Cookbook. My summer CSA is over, so I'm using up the last of the hardier veggies. The collard greens got a bit frozen in the fridge, but turned out good. I stripped off the tough stems and chopped them up, then sauteed them in garlic and veggie broth with a bit of liquid smoke. The potatoes are mashed with earth balance and soy milk and dried chives.

Triple Truffled Orzo Mac-n-Blue Scheese

2010-11-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

Opulence. I has it. Oh, the sweet and smoky aroma of truffles. Real truffles are a luxury that can blow through an entire weeks grocery budget for one small piece, but using truffle oil and truffle salt amps up the flavor without breaking the bank.

Decadent yet super easy, this orzo mac-n-cheese is takes about 15 minutes to make. I'm sure it would make a great side dish, but I had this for dinner.

There's a store in Grand Central called O & Co that has a great selection of truffle products and their olive oil and balsamic vinegars are a staple in my kitchen as well. I used a few chopped summer truffles in olive oil mixed with some chopped up blue scheese and a little tofutti cream cheese. I cooked and drained the orzo, then dumped it over the scheese and truffle mixture and mixed it around so it got a little melty. Then I added a little black truffle oil and some truffle salt.

So good and so easy. One day, I'll have to get my hands on some fresh truffles. Until then, I'll get my fix from the truffle oil and truffle salt.

Totally Vegan Philly Cheese Steak

2010-10-30T16:58:00.000-07:00

There is a technique when it comes to philly cheese steak making. I've been making them a long time and this works for all fillings.

You can make it with packaged vegan deli slices (the picture on the box is not what you're looking for in a cheese steak - see above for a real cheezy steak)or home-made seitan; daiya cheddar or nooch sauce; vegenaise or tofu mayo, but at the end of the day, it's all about how you pull it all together. Here's my tried & true vegan cheese steak that never fails to cure my greasy meaty craving.

Start with a flat skillet and a little canola oil on medium heat. Add about 1/2 onion sliced in thin half moons.

Saute the onions until they are translucent, then shake on some oregano or italian seasoning.

Saute a little more until almost browned. Then spread the onion out around the pan and lay on 5-6 philly style deli slices (or thinly sliced seiatn.) Let brown a minute, then flip them over bringing most of the onions to the top as well. Then with 2 spatulas, rip the slices into bite sized pieces and heat through.

Pile the chopped faux meatiness into a strip down the middle of the pan and top with cheese (Tofutti American).

Toast a sub roll (or baguette or onion sub roll-yum) until just warmed, and spread on any condiments, I like vegenaise and ketchup and sometimes a little sriracha hot sauce on it. Then place the toasted roll over the pile in the pan.

Let sit a minute as the cheese melts to the bread.

Now here's how to get it out of the pan intact. Place a piece of foil over the roll and hold the foil and sandwich in place with one hand and using the other hand, flip the pan over so now you're holding the foil and the whole sandwich in your hand. It will be hot, so you may need a potholder over the foil if you've left it on the pan too long. Also have a plate ready to plunk the sandwich down on.

Slice in half and enjoy. If you like mushrooms and/or peppers on your steak add them when you saute the onions. You can also make a pizza steak, by spreading pizza sauce on the bread (toast it with the bread to warm) and using a mozzarella style cheese.

World Vegetarian Day and Our Hen House launch party

2010-10-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday for World Vegetarian Day, I managed to convince a few co-workers to order vegan dim sum from Buddha Bodai in Chinatown (NYC). It was kind of last minute and the skeptics stuck to the spring rolls and fried dumplings. So I ordered a bunch of other stuff to share like eggplant with black bean sauce, watercress dumplings, "shrimp" rice rolls, fried oysters (mushrooms) and sticky rice wrapped in bamboo. I think the variety worked out pretty well, and most people liked what they tried. The vegan cheesecake was super awesome.

Then after work I walked up to Moo Shoes for the Our Hen House launch party.

"Our Hen House is a central clearinghouse for all kinds of ideas on how individuals can make change for animals. With a blog, podcast, and video page, we identify opportunities, report on successful activists and enterprises, and brainstorm ideas ranging from the brilliant (if we do say so ourselves) to the farfetched."

So check our Our Hen House for all goings on in animal advocacy. Jasmin filmed Veggie Conquest 4 (Potato battle) for Our Hen House which I participated in. You can see my stellar communication skillz here.

So back to the launch party...I thought it started at 7, but it really began at 8, so I ended up volunteering to help set up. Marlene (aka Isa's Mom) and I helped organize the raffle prizes. Too bad we didn't win any of them, but there was a ton of cool vegan swag! The raffle included vegan pottery, a whole slew of books and cookbooks, gorgeous vegan jewelry, gift certificates to vegan stores and restaurants, and original artwork from Dan Piraro.

I did pick up a cool Our Hen House tote bag and some rescue chocolates. I'm giving away the tote and any of the chocolate I manage to keep from the Ninja, so pop in a comment for a chance to win.

Saving the bounty of summer with home canning (that's really in a jar.)

2010-09-19T10:01:00.000-07:00

Just in case you're wondering...25lbs of tomatoes is a whole lotta tomatoes. I got this copier paper sized box of plum tomatoes from my CSA, Rexcroft Farms, which held the most perfectly ripe unblemished tomatoes I'd ever seen. Not a bad one in the bunch. So how to save this little slice of summer? Home canning is the key. Yup, just like grandma used to make.You really just need a big 'ole pot and some tongs, but I picked up this canning set which included all the gadgets that made it really easy. I'll bet you can find one at a yard sale. My mom swears there's one in the garage somewhere. You also need mason jars with lids and I recommend a basic canning book if you've never done it before. It's easy, but kind of a lot of work. I know I can just buy a can of tomatoes for a couple of bucks, but I'm really proud that I did it myself. Peeling and coring the tomatoes took the most effort, but I think it's gonna be worth it. Put the tomatoes in the jars, add a little lemon juice, basil, and salt then process in boiling water for about an hour and voila, home made canned tomatoes. The 25 lb box made 12 quarts of tomatoes.Aren't they pretty? It's hard not to want to open them up right now, but I'll be glad in January that I saved them now.

I won 2nd place at Veggie Conquest 5!

2010-08-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

Oh heck yeah. The judges liked me. They really like me! The secret ingredient for Veggie Conquest 5 was basil and I threw down with an entree of some Basil Eggplant Ballz. Most everything came from the farmer's market or my CSA and was organic. Pretty meaty for a bunch of vegetables.

I made two sauces. A roasted red pepper basil sauce and a creamy walnut pesto. I enlisted the help of the Ninja* in deciding on the sauce. He liked the pesto, but I had just spent all this time roasting peppers over the totally safe open flame of my gas burner. I tried mixing them together, but it was a weird light brownish color and didn't really do either sauce justice. So in the end I served it with both sauces. I think that worked out.

I totally forgot to get a photo earlier, so this is from the taster judging table and had been sitting around for awhile. I swear it tasted super awesome.

Basil Eggplant Ballz

1 large or 2 small eggplant sliced lengthwise and roasted on a grill or in the oven at 400 degrees

2TBS olive oil
1 handful of washed basil leaves (no stems)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 cup water or broth

1 cup vital wheat gluten
1 cup bread crumbs (I like whole wheat panko)

Oil for frying

Blend roasted eggplant with olive oil, basil, salt, dried basil, Italian seasoning, and water. You can leave it chunky and it will be eggplantier or really smooth and it is meatballier. Those are real words.

Transfer the blended mixture into a medium mixing bowl and taste for seasonings. Add wheat gluten flour and bread crumbs. Mix it with your hands until it comes together then knead for a minute or so in the bowl. It may be really squishy at first, but you'll start to feel the gluten strands coming together as you knead.

In a cast iron skillet heat up a 1/2 inch of canola oil. Scoop out about a teaspoon for mini balls or tablespoon for bigger balls. Roll into a ball and pan fry on all sides until golden brown. Transfer to the oven to keep them warm.

Roasted Red Pepper Basil sauce

4 red peppers
1 big handful fresh basil leaves
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic smashed

Roast red peppers carefully over the flame of a gas burner, in the oven, or on a grill. When the skin is charred, wrap in a paper towel and place in a plastic bag for about 15 minutes. The skin will peel right off. Cut off the top and pull out the seeds.

Blend roasted peppers with basil, salt, and garlic. Taste for seasonings.

Creamy walnut pesto

1 big handful fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup walnuts
1 cup silken tofu
2 TBS lemon juice
1 tsp salt

Blend everything together until smooth. Serve meatballs in the red pepper sauce and top with pesto sauce.

Now for the rest of the Veggie Conquest chefs...

First place went to my buddy Cathy who has twice hooked me up with some wine at the Veggie Conquest.

Thanks Cathy and your dish was super awesome. This rockin' mezze plate featured some basil falafel. Everything was perfectly cooked and the flavors were well matched. Totally yum.

Third place was an eggplant rollatini with a coconut sauce. There are 2 ways to go with basil. Italian and Thai and this one rocked them both.

Honorable mentions: Father daughter team made a terrific spaghetti and seitan dish. The seitan had a perfect chewiness and the chef said he both boiled it, then baked it. Whatever he did it rocked.

I love sticky rice and this dish was perfectly cooked and seasoned. The bamboo wrapper is how it's cooked. Inside is the sweet sticky rice concoction.

There was a whole lot goin' on in this dish. Lentils, tarot, I think a pear, and some fig. Really interesting blend of textures.

Everyone rocked and it was another jamin' Veggie Conquest. With tunes from Lil Ray and MCing by the Discerning Brute Joshua Katcher. Thanks to the organizer Jessica for another great event.

* The Ninja (aka my husband) has expressed that he wishes to be known henceforth as "the secret ingredient" - I really need a secret code name...

Hummus tip from the Vegetarian Times

2010-08-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

I've made a lot of hummus in my day. Starting with a recipe from the original Moosewood Cookbook and moderating and using other recipes from there. I've used a regular blender, the vita-mix, a food processor, and a mini chopper. So it never tastes exactly the same, but it's always pretty good.
This month's Vegetarian Times features an article on Hummus Perfection. I've kind of gathered that starting with dried chickpeas usually comes out better than using canned, but even then sometimes it's better than others. The trick is to blend the chickpeas when they are STILL WARM. Who knew it was so simple. It does seem to make a difference. The hummus was super creamy and lush. I let it come down to room temp, topped it with some Zatar and enjoyed with some cucumber slices.

I began subscribing to Vegetarian Times again when I became vegan 2 years ago. There's a really subtle shift to vegan recipes. You'll still find recipes with an egg or two, Parmesan cheese or yogurt, but without coming right out and saying it, I'm noticing lots more recipes, articles, and even the ads are vegan.

Today's Hummus

1/3 cup tahini
2 TBS olive oil
1 cup chickpeas drained (mine were previously soaked, cooked, frozen, thawed, then warmed by pouring boiling water over them and letting them sit for 10 min)
2 TBS lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup water

In the mini-food processor add all ingredients in order and process until smooth. Let come to room temperature or chill in the fridge.

Eggplant-Potato Moussaka from Veganomicon

2010-07-25T07:59:00.000-07:00

I started off planning to make some veggie lasagna so I went hunting for the pine nut cream recipe in the Veganomicon. The pine nut cream actually goes with the Eggplant-Potato Moussaka, so I switched gears and decided to make moussaka. As instructed, I tried reading the recipe aloud three times and clicking my heels, but following the recipe was almost as easy.

I'd already roasted eggplant, zucchini, onions, and garlic, so this was even easier to make than lasagna. I just roasted the potato layer, simmered the sauce, and blended the pine nut cream. Layer it all together and pop in the oven.

The pine nut cream gets a little crusty on top and really seals the deal on this dish. Totally easy and delicious.

Grilled veggie panini with Daiya mozzarella

2010-07-18T10:59:00.000-07:00

Oh the trendy panini, how I love thee. I got way too many veggies going on from the CSA with loads of zucchini, squash, and eggplant and I need to start getting creative on ways to use them. Daiya cheese melts so well and really rounds out the panini experience.

I have the older version of this cuisinart panini grill that I like, but from the Amazon comments it looks like this updated one is even better.

Off to watch more Avatar, the last Airbender...gotta love cartoons where the main character doesn't eat meat! I haven't seen the movie yet.
Don't miss this giveaway Vegan Crunk Bianca is giving away soap nuts on her blog.

Also remember to renew your Veg News subscription. This month's 10th anniversary issue features a gorgeous Peter Max cover, but only on the subscriber issue. It also has the 10 top vegan blogs, articles by Joshua Katcher and his sister Joelle, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, Terry Hope Romero, Robin Robertson, Hannah Kaminsky, Dynise Balcavage and more. It also showcases the top veggie cities where of course New York Rules!!! There's Vegan Drinks, Veggie Prom, Veggie Pride Parade, Lula's Sweet Apothecary, Moo Shoes and 42 vegan restaurants! Go NYC!

Steamed Red Seitan from Viva Vegan and more

2010-07-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

It's yet another rice bowl of Mexcellence. This one is topped with steamed red seitan from Viva Vegan. The sauce is tofutti better than sour cream mixed with aji panca.The aji panca is not too spicy, but has a really nice red peppery bite that is more bitter (in a good way) than a red bell pepper.

Now for the seitan...if you haven't made steamed seitan yet, what are you waiting for? If you haven't gotten a chance to pick up Viva Vegan yet (yes, you really do need another vegan cookbook, it's Terry Hope Romero awesomeness...) just google "steamed seitan" or check out the PPK post On Sausage and Community. Steaming seitan is slightly easier than boiling it (honestly, I've never bothered baking seitan) and it has a nice finished texture. Because you wrap each steak up in aluminum foil, it keeps it's shape as it expands when steaming. Also I think it breaks apart a little better if you want to make crumbles out of it. I made these a few days ago when it was a little cooler, and I think they are even better after chilling in the fridge. Lemon lime aid is a summer must. Limes were 12 for $2 at the store, so I had to get them even without a plan for them. The lemons were organic, so I grabbed that bag, too, though I don't think they were as cheap. Instead of letting them linger and go bad in the fridge, I juiced them and kept the juice for other things. Here's the freegan part...instead of tossing the peels after juicing, plunk them in a large pitcher, cover with water, and pop in the fridge. By the time the water is cold, it's infused with all the juice you didn't quite get out of them and the oils from the rinds. You can add a little sweetener if you like, but I dig it straight up. Cool and refreshing.

Fast and easy pickles.

My CSA has been providing me with way more cucumbers than I know what to do with. My mom used to can pickles, but I wasn't really into making that much effort on a hot day to preserve them. So I pulled out Vegan Deli by Joanne Stepaniak and found an easy Garlic Dill Pickles recipe. You just slice the cukes, pack them in a jar with seasonings, garlic, dill, peppercorns, mustard seeds, and bay leaves. Boil some water with salt, then pour over the cukes. Ball makes plastic lids that fit their jars and also fit lots of other jars from other commercial products. Classico spaghetti sauce and Zukay salsa are 2 jars that I know the lids fit. Yeah, I know plastic is evil, but it's easier than messing with the metal 2 part canning lids and you're going to reuse them forever.

Oh and in other exciting vegan blogger news...River is back at Wing-It Vegan and Halloweegan is on!

Rockin' the rice bowl

2010-07-11T10:24:00.000-07:00

Burrito schmurrito, all you need is rice bowl. Mexcellent rice, pinto beans, avocado, salsa, and tofu sour cream with a splash of lime.The secret to eating more grains and rice really is a fancy rice cooker. I don't have a microwave at home, so not only does it cook perfect rice every time, it also reheats beautifully in a snap. The secret to amazing Mexcellent rice is sofrito. Sofrito is a mix of onions and peppers that adds the perfect seasoning to any Latin American cooking. Most people have their own special way to make it (mine originated from Daisy cooks,) but it's basic components are onions and peppers. I don't cook it first, (Terry's recipe in Viva Vegan calls for cooking the sofrito) but it usually ends up cooking anyway in the final recipe. I generally use a sweet vidalia or maui onion so it's less overpoweringly oniony if I leave it raw for guacamole or something. My new addition to the sofrito this time is aji peppers. I haven't been able to find them fresh, so I finally broke down and got the jarred ones. My local grocery store has a pretty good selection of Latin American items. The aji peppers are about the same spiciness of a jalapeno, but a little bigger and with a different flavor.

Sofrito

1 vidalia onion
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
2 aji peppers
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch culantro (recao)

Chop all ingredients really fine or throw into a food processor. I do mine in batches in a mini food processor and mix them together. Keeps a few days in the fridge, or forever in the freezer. I save sofrito frozen in 1/2 cup portions in ziplock snack bags.

Mexcellent Rice

1 cup long grain rice
1 1/2 cup water
1 cup sofrito
1/4 cup green salad olives
2 TBS capers
1 good pinch saffron (optional, but makes the rice yellow)

Mix all ingredients together and press the on button on the rice cooker, or cook on stovetop according to rice directions.

I also made some monkey bread. This came from a mix that happened to be vegan (yay!) but it's pretty easy to find a vegan version. Essentially you could use any quick bread recipe and just take balls of the dough, dunk in sugar, and pop into a pan. Top with a sugar and melted earth balance mixture then bake at 375 for 30 minutes, and voila, monkey bread. I have a ton of zucchini, so maybe I'll try out a zucchini monkey break later this week. I'm all for sneaking vegetables in unusual places...

Woodstock Farm Sanctuary and The Garden Cafe

2010-06-29T18:17:00.000-07:00

Here's some photos of the animals at the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. Loads of fun. We took the tour and walked around and took way too many pictures of the critters...

The educational information is available, but not too "in your face" because the animals really speak for themselves. In the case of the roosters, quite literally. The farm is very interactive and totally kid friendly. Everyone liked to be petted and the pig particularly likes the belly rub, though he couldn't really be bothered to wake up or anything. It was really hot out so most of the pigs were hanging out in the mud pond...

We headed into Woodstock for some dinner after the farm to the Garden Cafe. You can't miss it, it's right behind the drum circle. In case you're wondering, Woodstock is chock full of hippies like it's 1969...

At the Garden Cafe,I had a lovely asparagus tart, but I wolfed it down before I took a photo. We got the blinis which were an Indian spiced something over the little pancakes.

And the rockin' black bean quesadillas.

The Garden Cafe is a great vegan place to eat in Woodstock. You can sit outside, but we opted for the air conditioning which turned out to be the right move because just as we were leaving, the skies opened up for a downpour. I think the drum circle was still going...

SLT Seitan Lettuce & Tomato

2010-06-27T08:50:00.001-07:00

Headed to the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary this afternoon, so I packed a picnic. SLT, seitan lettuce and tomato sammiches. Seitan from last night (Yellow Rose Recipes) and some farm fresh lettuce and tomatoes from my CSA share. I split the cutlets again to make them thinner and dredged is some flour and Penzeys pork chop seasoning and panfried. I added a little of the piccata sauce to the sammiches as well. Now I'm getting hungry...

Seitan Piccata

2010-06-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

Seitan Piccata is what to serve to non-vegans to showcase a classic dish that isn't missing the meat. Rich and savory doesn't even begin to cover it.

The seitan is from the Yellow Rose Recipes by Joanna Vaught and the piccata sauce is from The Candle Cafe Cookbook. Lightly fry the seitan and serve with the lemony capery winey piccata sauce. The sides are quinoa and broccoli with miso-tahini. I just can't get enough of the miso-tahini.

Joanna had a previous recipe on her website for seitan cutlets that I used all the time, but she replaced it with the recipe from the book. I couldn't find the old one and the new one from the book worked just as well. The broth was super rich and delicious.

The last time we went to Candle 79, the Ninja got the seitan piccata and asked me why I never cook this for him. So I whipped it up tonight and he said this is his favorite vegan dish. I'll have to make it more often. I will cook for praise.

Summer salad with peas tomatoes and "bacon"

2010-06-24T20:37:00.000-07:00

This is a veganized version of something my mom used to make that I loved. It's a really simple, creamy summer salad with fresh peas, tomatoes, and "bacon." It doesn't really look like much, but something about bacon and tomato and fresh garden peas just goes together. The peas and tomatoes were from this weeks CSA. The "bacon", I picked up in a health food store. I also added a dollop of vegan sour cream. I used the Follow Your Heart one, which I think tastes a more like a thick yogurt than sour cream, but whatever, it's pretty good. You could also use some Tofutti Sour Supreme or Vegenaise.

Also in the CSA was a TON of broccoli, I used some here as a side dish smothered in miso tahini sauce. The "meat" is some Gardein with mushroom gravy. It's on top of a pile of Quinoa.

Red Amaranth and Quinoa with Miso Tahini Sauce

2010-06-14T19:19:00.000-07:00

Do not fear the weird vegetables...Red Amaranth. I'm pretty sure I've had amaranth the grain in cereal at some point, but I didn't even know it was a leafy green until it was part of this week's CSA share.

I plucked off the leaves off the stems and sauteed them in some olive oil and garlic. Then I served them over quinoa with a simple miso tahini sauce. Turned out pretty good. The leaves are tender and have a nice mild flavor.

Miso Tahini Sauce
1 TBS miso
2 TBS tahini
1 TBS lemon juice (I know it should be fresh, but in a pinch Minute Maid concentrate will do)
1 TBS olive oil
A good pinch of salt
1/4 cup water
1 tsp dried parsley

Blend together to make a thin sauce. Spoon over greens and quinoa.

Black-eyed Pea and Quinoa Croquettes with Mushroom Sauce

2010-06-13T20:42:00.000-07:00

I made the black-eyed pea and quinoa croquettes with mushroom sauce from Vegan with a Vengeance.

OK, so I was hungry and forgot to snap a photo of my plate before I ate which if you'll use your imagination was really pretty with the croquettes and a side of bright green garlicky kale. So here's a photo of the two we were too full to eat. They kind of look like the mini mashed potato Devil's Towers from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but whatever, they were DELICIOUS. Also in my rush to get food out before tonight's premiere of True Blood, I totally forgot to add the nooch and soymilk to the sauce. What I did do was add a little liquid smoke and kombu when I cooked the black eyed peas. Black eyed peas have a lot of flavor for a bean. I should cook them more often. For dessert I whipped up some strawberries with cream cheese topping and fig balsamic vinegar. The cream cheese topping is powdered sugar mixed into some tofutti cream cheese, so it's kind of like a cheater cheesecake. The fig balsamic vinegar is just awesome. I usually choose one or the other to top berries, but both seemed like a pretty good idea, too. Yum.

Hooray for the CSA!

2010-06-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

My CSA finally started today and boy am I gonna be eatin' my greens. For a vegetarian, I don't normally eat enough vegetables, but with today's CSA bounty, I'm kick-started to veg-out for the summer.Kale, kohlrabi, purslane, lettuce, hydroponic tomatoes, red amaranth. The fruit share is strawberries. Extras are white and crimini mushrooms. I lucked out and got the last of the crimini.Lunch is a big salad with lettuce, purslane, grated kohlrabi, grated carrot, dried squash seeds from last year's CSA, quinoa, and a mustard vinaigrette.

Mustard vinaigrette

2 TBS good whole grain mustard (check the label, some mustards contain eggs)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 TBS good balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried herbs or dressing mix (I used Penzey's Green Goddess)

Whisk together and add a little water to thin if necessary. I don't usually add salt because the mustard is salty, or sugar because the balsamic I use is sweet. Taste for seasonings, though and add a little salt or agave nectar if it needs it. Another salad dressing trick is to blend in a tomato. Yum.

I'll be cooking all day because I'm determined to make my lunches for work all week out of my veggies. I'm also making the Black-eyed Pea and Quinoa Croquettes with Mushroom Sauce from Vegan with a Vengence tonight for the True Blood Season 3 premiere, so check back later for the croquettes and lunches.

Cheers!

Hobos Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

2010-06-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

Usually when I come home to the beach, I trek to the pizza joints of my youth and am happy to have a cheese-less pizza and some beach fries. My facebook friends already saw the chips, salsa, guac, and margarita shot from Tijuana Taxi on Monday. Those are generally my type of options.

Now enter Hobos, a restaurant that is actually interested in catering to vegans and welcomes the challenge of a dietary restriction. The menu is a bit changing, but there are tons of apps and entrees that are normally vegan and even more than can be made vegan with a little tweak. They've got Daiya cheese and the chef makes her own cashew cream. Woo-hoo!

It was restaurant week (uh, yeah, freakin' restaurant week in Rehoboth!), so we were looking over the extensive options and I asked if there were any vegan desserts (because what's the point of getting the prix-fixe if there isn't a dessert.) The server had me at vegan cupcake, but there were several other vegan dessert options as well. Once he determined that I was indeed vegan, next thing I knew the chef came out to chat and let me know the what's what of the menu. You know how I'm a sucker for Daiya, so I got both the appetizer and entree with the Daiya. I was so tempted by the seitan, but I'll have to go again for it.
The Tamale was INSANE! SO good. The chef even came back out to assure me it was vegan sour cream. Mom had the artichoke soup. I tried a bite (with a fork) and it was chilled, refreshing, and quite substantial. The Ninja had the eggplant artichoke dip which was super delicious. I should know because I ate about half of it myself. Chile Rellenos is one of my favorite dishes that I miss dearly. This version includes Daiya with butternut squash (and I think sweet potato, but I can't remember.) The chef had mentioned that she thought the Daiya was overkill, but I could definitely taste it and I think it made it even better. Vegan chocolate cupcake. It was warm and gooey. I was totally full by the time I got to this, but I devoured it anyway.

So glad mom suggested Hobos and I will definitely be back again. Hobos is on the second block (from the beach) of Baltimore Avenue in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Chillin' Cauliflower Soup

2010-06-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

This chilled cauliflower soup is both light and satisfying. Perfect for lunch on a warm sunny day. Chillin' Cauliflower Soup

1 TBS Olive oil
1 Onion
1 Leek
1 head cauliflower
3 red potatos
Salt
Pepper
Parsley
Sage
Rosemary
Thyme
4 Cups vegetable broth or water*

In a large pot heat olive oil and add chopped onion and chopped leek and saute until softened. Add chopped cauliflower, chopped potatoes (you can leave the skin on,) herbs-use about 1 heaping TBS fresh or 1 tsp dried of each-and add broth or water to cover. Simmer until potatoes are done. Blend with immersion blender until smooth. Let it chill in the fridge a few hours or overnight.

*If you have the time, you can make broth just from the ingredients you are already using. In the large pot put in the stems from the cauliflower, the green and tough outer parts of the leeks, the skin and outer layers of the onion, and the potato peel. Add enough water to cover. Let it come to a boil then simmer for about a half hour. Drain and use the broth for the soup.

Veggie Pride Parade NYC

2010-05-16T11:05:00.001-07:00

I was up bright and early this sunny Sunday morning to head into NYC for the 3rd annual Veggie Pride Parade. I met up with the NYC Vegan Eatup group at Sacred Chow in the West Village for some awesome bunchy goodness.

Big thanks to Sacred Chow for opening an hour early to feed us before the parade. I got the biscuits and gravy which was quite tasty. I forgot to snap a photo. It was a biscuit topped with tofu scramble, greens, and gravy. I ate off the greens and tofu then got an extra side of gravy to drench he biscuits in. Yummy.

Photo of the eat-up group outside of Sacred Chow.

Then we walked over to the parade staging area. Lots of fun folks out and decked out in their veggie best. Demetrius of NYC Vegan Eat-up and David (aka Veggie Prom King) of Farm Sanctuary.
I walked with the Veggie Conquest group. I really dig the aprons. Here's Jessica posing with the carrot and pea Veggie Parade mascots.

The parade finished at the North end of Union Square park where there was a stage and lots of tables set up for the various veggie groups.

It was a great day to be out and about in New York. Come join the fun next year!

Loaded baked potato perogis- Veggie Conquest 4

2010-04-25T17:42:00.000-07:00

The theme ingredient for the 4th Veggie Conquest was potatoes. I threw down with a whole mess 'o loaded baked potato perogies. Vegan update of a comfort food classic. The perogis are stuffed with baked russet potatoes (with the skins), tempeh bacon, broccoli, leeks, daiya cheddar cheese, and tofutti better than sour cream. They are topped with tofutti sour cream and chives; and shallots sauteed in Earth Balance. I couldn't find fresh chives anywhere, so there's a little parsley for garnish.Veggie conquest is always really fun and the food is always amazing. Following the tasting, we had a buffet dinner of dishes made by the volunteers featuring Match Meats. One of which was a beefy noodle casserole that was quite like school cafeteria beef-a-roni, in a good way. Match Meats gave all the guests a sample to take home, so lets see what I can do with some vegan ground pork! I forgot to grab a menu, so here are the other veggie conquest entries with descriptions as I remember them:

First place was a nori potato salad. Nice Asian inspired flavorsSecond place and the taster's choice was these sweet potato cigars made with filo dough and a sweet sauce. This one was a great balance of sweet and savory.

Third place went to this lovely sweet potato and corn soup. Great smoky and spicy hint of chipotle.

Honorable mentions were my perogis, and these:Gluten Free samosas. Good Indian spices. Served in little radicchio cups. These potato bites had a really interesting tamarind sauce and I love cilantro.

All in all another totally fun vegan event. Here's the recipe for the perogi. The ninja powered down quite a few, so this dish is officially omni-approved

Loaded baked potato perogis - makes about 50

Potato mixture:
2 russet potatoes baked skin on
1 head steamed broccoli
1 leek trimmed, chopped, and cooked
1 recipe tempeh bacon crumbles
1/2 tub vegan sour cream
1 8 oz package daiya cheddar cheese

Remove the peel from the potatoes and chop into small pieces. Mash potato insides with the sour cream and add all other ingredients. Mix it together well, so that every 1 tsp bite will get all ingredients.

Tempeh bacon crumbles:
1 8oz. package tempeh
1 tsp liquid smoke
2 TBS vinegar
2 TBS soy sauce
2 TBS canola oil
Optional Hickory Bacon Salt or Penzeys pork chop seasoning

Crumble tempeh into a sealable container and add liquid smoke, vinegar and soy sauce (you don't really have to measure.) Let marinate a few hours to overnight. Heat canola oil in skillet, add marinated crumbles and cook until browned and crispy. Add some bacon salt or pork chop seasoning if it needs a little extra bacony kick.

Perogi dough:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup mashed potato
1/2 cup vegan sour cream
1/2 cup water

Mix together to form a smooth ball. Add extra flour as needed so dough is not sticky. Refrigerate for 1/2 hour (up to overnight.)

Break off about an eighth of the dough and roll out thin. I used a pasta roller to number 5. Cut into circles with a drinking glass or pastry cutter. I used 2 1/2 inch diameter mason jar so they were about two-bite sized. Brush with soy milk (OK, I had a little dish and I just dunked one side in.) Fill with 1 tsp filling and fold in half sealing the edges.

Boil for about 2 minutes. Drain and saute in Earth Balance and canola oil until crispy. I found that with just Earth Balance they stuck to the bottom of the pan, so I added a little canola oil and that helped.

For garninsh: Saute a few diced shallots. Add chives to vegan sour cream.

Serve hot and top the perogis with the sauteed shallots and the sour cream and chives.

Nachos!

2010-04-19T17:35:00.000-07:00

No really, cheezy melty stringy nachos. I picked up some Daiya at the Whole Foods in Union Square. Check out the Daiya website for a location near you or the online stores selling it. It's in real packaging now and word is they're rolling it out at Whole Foods around the country.

Daiya is definitely different than other non-dairy cheeses. It tastes good, melts well, and when melted has the same stringy texture and mouthfeel as real cheese. I find it to be kind of buttery tasting. Yum. I think I'm going to go make some more.

Awesome vegan Sunday - 2 events in Westchester NY!

2010-04-18T17:35:00.001-07:00

Well I made it off the couch and out to TWO vegan events here in Westchester, NY this afternoon. As much as I love the vegan events in NYC, sometimes it's nice to stay close to home.

This morning I went to a vegan brunch hosted by Doreen and the Vegetarian Social Network of Westchester at Rain Water Grill in Hastings, NY. A mere 12 minutes from my house.

Although the Rain Water Grill is regularly vegetarian friendly, they made a special vegan brunch for our group with appetizers and entrees.

We all shared appetizers of fried risotto balls with marinara; vegetable flat bread pizzas with cannellini beans, leeks, and black olives; and egg rolls with eggplant, squash, onion, and carrots with a delicious soy cilantro vinaigrette. I got the fried avocado and the mango salsa was lovely. Everyone else was nice enough to let me stick my camera in their food and get a sample as well. You know, for the blog...Tofu scramble. This was really nice on the toast.
Stuffed portabella mushroom. I didn't actually try it, but it looked yummy.And the hit of the day were the blueberry pancakes. Someone was cool enough to order a second helping which we all shared. The manager said even though it's not on the menu they would be able to whip these babies up for brunch anytime and even offered to send someone out to the store if they needed the soy milk for them. That's some vegan love.We had about 12 people in all. Great group of people and a fun brunch event.

Now, I could have just gone home and vegged out with some nice Jonny Lee Miller period pieces (Emma and Mansfield Park or perhaps Byron in case you're wondering...)

but instead I ventured out to the store to pick up some provisions for a pot luck dish for an evening with Farm Sanctuary Campaigns Coordinator David Benzaquen which was kind of with The Westchester Vegan & Vegetarian Meetup Group, though it wasn't an official meet-up.

I successfully procured the fixins' for perhaps the easiest pot luck dish known to man. Four layer Mexican dip.
The Mexican dip is the one near the front of the photo. When I was 23 and vegetarian, this was what I brought when I needed to bring a dish somewhere. I usually make it with vegan cream cheese and vegetarian chili, but this time I used vegan sour cream and refried beans. It's very flexible to substitutions and always awesome.

Mexican Dip
1 package Tofutti sour cream
1 can vegetarian chili or refried beans
1 container of salsa ( I used the fresh kind from the fridge section, but jarred is OK, too)
3/4 block follow your heart cheddar or enough vegan cheese to cover the top

Layer the ingredients in a pie plate in the order listed.

I usually pop in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes, but this heated up really well in the microwave in about 8 minutes. The cheese got melty without getting dried out.

Trista made a giant pot of chili with Quorn. (This would have been awesome in the Mexican dip.)Trista's mom made this amazing noodle dish with those clear noodles used in Jap Chae. I don't remember the name, but this was lovely.Megan made an amazing lasagna.

Here's everyone hanging out enjoying the food and chit-chatting...And just when I thought I couldn't possibly eat anything else, I just HAD to have one of these fantastic chocolate chip cookies. Trista used EnerG which for some reason I never try and they were chocolate chip perfection.

David gave a nice presentation on what the Farm Sanctuary is all about and this sparked some lively discussions with the few non-vegans in the group.

Thanks so much to Trista and her family for hosting this event (8 minutes from my house.) It was beaucoup fun and hopefully we'll have more events here in Westchester so I won't always have to schlep into the city on a weekend for a vegan fix.

Today I also found out the secret ingredient for the Veggie Conquest next Sunday is potatoes. It has to be an appetizer and I'm trying to think of things I could serve to 80 people that would warm up easily in those catering foil trays with the sterno. One of the guest judges is Alexandra Jamieson who famously slimmed down her hubby Morgan Spurlock after he ate nothing but McDonald's for 30 days in the documentary Supersize Me. Wish me luck. I'm gonna need it.

Sushi to go

2010-03-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

I feel just like Molly Ringwald in the breakfast club when I eat sushi to go. I got stuck working late and had a good half hour to kill while waiting for my train, so since I was already starving, I went looking for a snack.

There are lots of places in Grand Central to get vegan grub and my latest find is Masa Japanese. They've got a couple of good vegetable sushi boxes. Today I got the "Track 5" which includes inari, a cucumber ume roll, a pickled vegetable roll, and a gourd roll. I also picked up some yaki tofu. Pretty darn tasty for fast food. I also discovered that I can blog from my iphone. So I can enjoy my exotic dinner on the train while blogging and listening to Air Supply. Now if I could figure out how to upload Photos to the blog from my phone then I'd really be in business. Thanks for keeping company on my ride home. Sayonara!

Eggplant parmesan

2010-03-29T18:17:00.000-07:00

Eh, I've made it before and I'll make it again. I know it's not in season, but the eggplants at the store looked pretty good for who knows where they came from. Anyways, I'll remember that when I'm drowning in fresh local eggplant in the summer.The secret to a good eggplant parm is the frying. This time I did bother to salt, sit, and rinse, but honestly I've never noticed a difference. I find that instead of breadcrumbs, just a nice flour coating makes for a perfectly crispy eggplant. I also used the Tofutti mozzarella.

Eggplant parm

Eggplant:

1 Eggplant sliced lengthwise about 1/4 inch thick

1/4 cup flour (or more if needed)

1/4 cup soy milk (or more if needed)

Canola oil

Sauce:

2 TBS olive oil

2-10 cloves of garlic

1 big can crushed tomatoes

1 tsp salt

2 TBS sugar

1 TBS Italian seasoning

(a bunch of fresh basil if you've got it)

Soy cheese

Start with the sauce. Heat olive oil and saute garlic. Add tomatoes, salt, sugar, and seasoning. If adding basil chop up all the leaves and add it. Let simmer while you fry the eggplant.

Heat oil in a cash iron skillet until a droplet of water sizzles. You don't want it too hot or it'll burn before it's cooked. Dip eggplant slices in soy milk, then coat in flour. Cook two at a time for about 10 minutes one side, then 5 on the other. Drain on a cooling rack.

To assemble the ensemble...

I use mini loaf pans, but you can do this in any sized baking pan. Put down a layer of sauce to coat the bottom of the pan. Add Eggplant slice, top with sauce, then cheese, then repeat. Bake in the oven until the cheese is melty.

I like the mini loaf pans, because I can just heat up one serving in the toaster oven and voila, yummy Italian goodness.

Garden blend vegan burrito at Chipotle in Chelsea, NYC

2010-03-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

Check out the Chipotle in Chelsea, NYC for a garden blend vegan burrito. The garden blend is vegan plant protein (I hear it's gardein) marinated in adobo sauce and grilled. It's a little on the spicy side, but in a good way. I recommend splurging for the guacamole to cool down the heat. This is the only location in NYC that's carrying the garden blend. There's a Chipotle across the street from my office, but I went out of my way to check out this burrito and I'm glad I did.
I like the way the store blends in with the rest of the block. Chelsea is a neighborhhod in NYC. Blossom is a few blocks away.

Mmmm. Fake chickeny goodness. The seasonings are really nice. Although I appreciate the usual vegan burrito at Chipotle, the garden blend gives you something to really bite into. I didn't test it out on any omnivores, but I don't think they'd be able to tell it's fake meat.
Currently this is the only location in NYC carrying the garden blend. There are a couple of Chipotles in Chelsea, so just to be clear. The Chipotle NYC location with the garden blend is 149 8^th Avenue between 17^th and 18^th streets. Apparently there's a location in DC serving it as well. I sent Chipotle a note to let them know how awesome it is to carry this and I hope they include it at all locations soon!

Gardein Parm - and who knew Tofutti cheese was good?

2010-03-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

OK, I didn't realize I miss cheese singles. You know the ones individually wrapped in plastic. I picked up some Gardein tuscan breasts and wanted a little cheesy topping, but the store I was in didn't have much in the way of fake cheese options. So I took a chance and picked up some Tofutti Mozzarella slices. The tofutti slices are good just plain, but melted really nicely over the gardein in the oven.The sauce that the tuscan breasts come in is just OK. I needed sauce to serve with spaghetti anyway, so I made a really quick marinara consisting of a big can of crushed tomatoes, 1 tsp salt and 2 Tbs sugar. I added a few good shakes of italian seasoning, and just heated up.

I added a dash of black truffle oil just because it's awesome, and had a good hunk of garlic bread on the side. Yummmm.

Not your mom-mom's Mac & Cheese

2010-03-07T17:10:00.000-08:00

It's a good thing I can't watch the Oscars (thanks ABC and Cablevision) because I'm studying for a test tomorrow. It's insurance and I keep falling asleep when I try to read it. Anyways here's to diversions like blogging and cooking....

Last week I stopped in the bodega in my building for a snack and bought some Ritz crackers but when I tried to spread on some tofutti cream cheese they all totally fell apart. I was crushed. So I was trying to think about what to do with a bunch of ritz cracker crumbs. A quick internet search including ritz and vegan lead me to Lindy Loo at Yeah, That "Vegan" Shit and a lovely recipe for Mac & Cheese topped with Ritz. I followed the recipe, but I still don't see why you need to make the white sauce and cheeze sauce separately. Anyway, it was still easy and I only had half a box of elbow macaroni, so I only used 1/2 the cheese sauce and the extra pan came in handy for mixing.

The verdict? This is some super awesome mac & cheese. Too bad I don't have any stewed tomatoes or it would be just like grandma used to make. Well, not my grandma, but everyone else's mom-mom I knew growing up in Delaware.

Candle 79 NYC Restaurant Review

2010-03-06T15:35:00.001-08:00

I'm only going to say it once, then I'm going to let it go. When you make a reservation at Candle 79, ask for a table by the window or a booth. If it's busy or last minute, then sure, the section upstairs in the back is OK, I mean it's still the same awesome food, but the ambiance can be a little underwhelming. This is the second time I've had a reservation and got stuck at the crappy table. Our waitress was awesome, and gave us dessert on the house, so that made it better. Especially since it was amazing vegan cannoli, but I'll get to that later.

Here's the (sorry, flash) photos. Cocktails, wine, apps, dinner, dessert, tea and espresso. I got the specials and the ninja got the most normal stuff on the menu. He loved it.Mmm cocktails...They both have sake. The one on the left has spiced something, and the one on the right is the French 79 and has champagne. The point of cocktails is that you don't remember what's in them. Yummy.

Eh, here it is off the menu...

The Lexington: orange-ginger spiced sake, port reduction, champagne, lemon, agave
French 79: sake, apricot nectar, lemon, black currant, agave, champagne float

With the cocktails we got a little jalapeno cornbread. Now for the apps, I got the special which was an artichoke risotto. This was really nice. Creamy and full of flavor. The chips in top are zucchini. The Ninja had the mushroom ravioli. This was really lovely. The little bits on top were kind of bacony and the sauce was rich and creamy. In fact when he asked me if I wanted to try it he said, "oh, you can't have this, it's got cream in it," and I said "um, duh, we're at a vegan restaurant, I can eat ANYTHING!" Yay!

Menu description:

BUTTERNUT SQUASH & WILD MUSHROOM-SPINACH RAVIOLI: cashew ricotta, garlic cashew cream, tomato sauce, truffle oil, sautéed broccoli rabe, crispy capers

The wine was a Chilean malbec/cab. Nice. Ah the seitan piccata. Signature dish. The seitan was perfect. Nice density, lightly fried to perfection. I've made this dish from the Candle Cafe cookbook and I really liked it. Now that the ninja knows he likes it, I'll have to try it again. Usually he turns his nose up at my fake meaty things, but he's been talking about how much he liked this all week. At the restaurant he even turned around and recommended it to the people at the table next to us who were having trouble deciding. I think that's a big thumbs up.

Menu description:
SEITAN PICCATA: creamed spinach, grilled potato cake, oyster mushrooms, lemon-caper sauce I got the seitan special, which was beautifully fried seitan with a portabella mushroom and roasted vegetables in a mild chipotle sauce. This was also really good. There were two pieces of seitan and I couldn't quite finish both but I still almost took the last little piece home it was so good. Holy cannoli, batman. I do miss cannoli. Not with this around. This was fantastic. The ice cream was coconut chocolate chip.
CANNOLI: vanilla cream filling, vanilla chocolate chip ice cream, chocolate drizzle

Kudos to the ninja for being a good sport. Especially since this turned out to be his birthday dinner and all. So Candle 79 is a safe bet if you visit NYC and want to take your omni friends out to dinner to show them the true excellence of vegan food.

Going the distance...Cake!

2010-02-28T16:06:00.000-08:00

I made a banana bunt cake. 'Cuz that's what I do when I've got really ripe bananas. It's going the distance. Well, the distance from here to work tomorrow. When I make a cake, I make extra little ones in silicone cups so I can have my cake and eat it too.I also made some garden fresh pizzas while I was watching Olympic hockey. The sauce was from the garden. Last summer's garden. Late in the summer I finally borrowed my mom's dehydrator and saved a few pieces of summer. Just what I needed in this wintry weather. The tomatoes were from mom's garden and the eggplant and peppers from my CSA. On the left is some dried tomatoes and on the right cubed and dried eggplant. The tomatoes were in slices, so I cut them up with some kitchen scissors. OK, so the shitake mushrooms weren't from the garden, but next year I'll have to dry some 'schrooms. Red and green bell peppers on the right.This is the sauce on the pizza dough. I added follow your heart Mozzarella because that's the best vegan cheese available in the stores near me. I do enjoy tease and daiya. I ran out of cheese, so I made a roll out of the extra dough. It's trying to sneak into the photo.

Cake:
Banana Bundt Cake

The wet stuff:
1 cup canola oil
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 cup soft tofu
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp orange extract

The dry stuff:
4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 tsp baking powder

The banana stuff:
2 cups smashed ripe banana (about 4)
1 cup strong coffee

Preheat oven to 350 and grease bundt pan.

In a medium bowl (or this cool sifter thingy,) mix all the dry stuff together.

In a separate bowl, mix the mashed banana and coffee together.

In a large bowl, beat the oil and sugar until most of the sugar has dissolved. Add tofu and blend thoroughly. Add extracts.

Alternately mix in 1/3 dry mix, then 1/3 banana, and repeat until all incorporated, but don't over-mix.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in pan 10 min, then turn out onto cooling rack.

Once cool, you can eat as is, or make a quick glaze.

Quick glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 TBS soy milk

Blend together with an electric mixer and drizzle over cooled cake.

He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich...*

2010-02-27T12:10:00.000-08:00

Now for some weird Britishish food. Vegemite, Marmite, and Bovril. Honestly, I can't really taste the difference between Vegemite and Marmite, but both are full of b12 goodness. The Bovril is the drink version. It's kind of like Marmite bullion. Surprisingly tasty. Gluten-free toast with "mite." Vegemite on the left; Marmite on the right. The consistency is a little different, and I'm sure there's some subtle taste difference, but I can't tell them apart. It may look like chocolate nutella or something, but I assure you this salty, yeasty topping does not resemble chocolate in taste. The Bread is Ener G gluten free, dairy free bread. It has a shelf life of about 6 months. I would have used it earlier, but I was kind of fascinated to see how long it would last. The special packaging is the "preservative" and you don't have to keep it in the freezer like other gluten free breads I've seen. The packaging got puffier the longer it sat around. For gluten-free bread, this isn't half bad. It tastes a little healthy, but otherwise is good. Here's some snowy photos of my neighborhood.Big tree that decided to lose a few branches in my yard.This is the footbridge I take on my walk to the train. It's much scarier at night when you think the Headless Horseman might be galloping up behind you. I live in Sleepy Hollow, so don't think that couldn't happen. OK, Headless Horseman aside, here's some actual danger. Just past the bridge there was a downed tree fallen on a power line completely blocking the road for anyone downhill from it. I just kind of walked around it to get home. The snow was pretty, but knocked out my cable for a couple of days. Cable is back on now, so I've got to go catch up on some Buffy I DVRed.
Buffy is on Logo -they're at the beginning of season 3. Apparently it's on MTV also. Buffy season 8 volume 6 comic is out next month. Even if comics aren't your medium of choice, if you're a Buffy fan, I highly recommend checking them out. It starts where the show ends. My mom is reading them now.*For anyone who didn't live through the 80's, the title "He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich" is part of the lyrics to "Down Under" by Men at Work. I had no idea what a Vegemite sandwich was until many years later. I once named our corporate volleyball team "Vegemite Slamwich." It won an award.

PIF gift of awesomeness. Truffles and marmalade and jewelry, oh my!

2010-02-24T19:12:00.000-08:00

Vegan blogger friends rock. Amanda of Gemusings sent me a super amazing array of homemade gifts. Chocolate truffles filled various flavors from hazelnut to mint (yes, I ate them all) in a cute decorated wooden box. Orange ginger marmalade which I slathered heavily on some toast. Wicked yummy, I could have eaten it with a spoon. A handmade origami gift box and a very pretty beaded necklace. Oh, and an oh so cute photo of Squirrelly.

Thanks Amanda!

Easy Tofu Rancheros

2010-02-15T09:12:00.000-08:00

Mmm Mexcellent. I like a good savory breakfast/brunch item. These tofu rancheros fit the bill nicely.

Tofu Rancheros for one

1 TBS corn oil (or annatto oil for a nice mexicany color)
2 TBS onion
1 green chili (I used canned)
1/4 block tofu (the bridge tofu pressed overnight in the super awesome tofu Xpress*)
1 tsp adobo seasoning
1/4 tsp black salt
1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 cup salsa (I used Zukay mild salsa viva)

2 corn tortillas

In a small skillet (cast iron if you've got it), saute onion and chili in a little corn oil until softened. Add the adobo seasoning. Add broken up pieces of tofu and add black salt and turmeric. Cook about 5 minutes until tofu is warmed. While tofu is cooking toast 2 corn tortillas to get warm and just a little crispy. Move tofu mixture to one side of the pan and add salsa to the other. Heat salsa for 2-3 minutes to warm and reduce any excess liquid.

Place warmed tortillas on a plate and top with tofu mixture, then pour on heated salsa. Enjoy with a little chipotle vegenaise (1/2 canned chipotle chopped and mixed with 2 TBS Vegenaise) or tofutti sour cream.

Enjoy!

*Just so you know, I don't get awesome free stuff from any of the vendors I'm pimping on my blog. It's just an honest appraisal of the products I've found, purchased, and use. I obviously like cooking gadgets and I grocery shop as a hobby. If anyone wants to send me some free stuff to review I'm all for it.

I did get some POM juice last year, and I noted that they sent it to me. And Frito Lay sent me a coupon, but that's because I sent them a message that I was really happy they made vegan Doritos. I don't think they're reading my vegan blog.

Weird Japanese food - "Pickled Eggplant ith Mustard Paste" and the tofu Xpress

2010-02-14T14:34:00.000-08:00

I picked up some "Pickled Eggplant ith Mustard Paste" in the prepared food section of my local Japanese market Nijya. Yeah, I know it's "with" but the packaging said "ith" and I think typos in food translations are funny. Not that I could begin to say this in Japanese...there's a ka ra shi in there but the rest of it, I have no idea. A quick google search tells me that karashi is the mustard and the dish is called karashinasu, but anyway, this pickled eggplant in mustard sauce is decidedly weird. However, weird didn't stop me from eating it. For some reason I was in the mood for mustard. There was plenty of sauce, so it gave that burning sinus sensation similar to a wasabi high. Although it looks like its probably meant to be one of those cold side dish items, I threw it on top of some sushi rice to cut the mustard. I'm also pressing some tofu in my new Tofu Xpress. This gadget is totally cool. It helps to have good tofu. This is the bridge tofu which I adore and is made in Connecticut.
The photo is right after I put the tofu in. It'll be about half the size in about an hour and more like a quarter the size if I leave it overnight. Then I just break it up and add it to a little peanut oil in a small cast iron skillet, add a dash or so of soy sauce, and some hot chili oil. Sometimes I add a little sake to the pan to deglaze if the little tofu bits starts to stick to the bottom. Serve over hot sushi rice.

The tofu express may seem like an indulgence when you can just pile stuff on top of tofu to squeeze out the water for free. But..if you've ever had a cast iron skillet come crashing down unexpectedly off your tower-of-heavy-objects-style free tofu press, you'll be glad all you have to do it turn the little knob on this little spring loaded gadget. It fits in the fridge easily so you can leave over night or all day to have pressed tofu ready when you want it.

Perfect cup of cocoa

2010-02-10T19:34:00.000-08:00

What goes with snow? Cocoa!

Who needs prepackaged cocoa mix when it's so easy to make a super rich chocolaty cup of cocoa from a few standard baking ingredients.

1. Take out your favorite mug and fill it with milk (soy, almond, whatever you've got.)

2. Take out a saucepan and turn heat to med-low.

3. Take a heaping spoonful of unsweetened cocoa powder and add it to the pan.

4. Pour a small amount of the milk from the mug and whisk it together with the cocoa powder adding a little at a time until it is dissolved, then add the rest of the milk.

5. Add about a teaspoon of sugar to taste. You don't need too much sugar; you'll get more chocolate flavor if it's less sweet.

6. Continue whisking a bit to whip in some air until it is hot and bubbly.

7. Pour hot cocoa back into your mug, and top with some marshmallows (I used the rest of the Dandies)

8. Relax, watch the weather channel, and hope for a snow day.

Of course if you embrace newfangled technology, you could do this easily in the microwave, too, but it won't get you as warm and toasty as standing over the stove whisking your perfect cocoa.

Enjoy!

Cupcakes for Haiti - Bake sale at Vegan Drinks NYC tonight

2010-01-28T04:23:00.001-08:00

Golden cupcakes and chocolate buttercream frosting from duh, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I'll be at Vegan Drinks in NYC tonight where we're having a bake sale to help the relief effort in Haiti.

Veganism is the new tastes like chicken

2010-01-20T17:28:00.000-08:00

Veganism is the new tastes like chicken was in the vanity card from an episode of the Big Bang Theory earlier this season. I still think it's funny...and totally appropriate for tonight's dinner.

I know there are two camps of vegans. The ones who are grossed out by the mere mention of fake meat and the others who wish everything tasted like bacon. I think you know what brand of vegan I am. So, if you're tired of eggplant Parmesan and want some chicken Parmesan that tastes like chicken parm I highly recommend trying some Gardein Tuscan breasts. No joke. Tastes like chicken. I assure you, no chickens were harmed in the making of this dinner.

I topped my Tuscan breast with some cheezly mozzarella that I had shredded and frozen for just such a needs-to-be-topped-with-cheese occasion. You can't really tell from the photo, but the cheezly isn't exactly "melted" but it is soft and melty. This was good since it stayed on top of the Tuscan breast and even got a little browned on top. The pasta is a nice dried Italian pasta. Worth the extra few bucks. Homemade sauce and the topping on the spaghetti is a mix of pine nuts and nutritional yeast. It's really quite yummy.

Freakin' awesome brunch at Counter NYC

2010-01-17T08:44:00.000-08:00

Had a lovely brunch at Counter in the East Village yesterday afternoon. This was the Mean Green Mary. Despite the dandelion greens and other good for you additions, I think I got a little tipsy.We shared the potato latkes. The condiment was a pear compote. Fried potatoes. So scrumptious.

This was the East Side Burger. Seitan and mushroom pate with some soy cheddar on top. Tasty, but kind of fell apart a bit when you took a bite. Eh, who cares, it's one of the better flavored veggie burgers I've had in the city.

Mmmmm biscuits with vegan sausage gravy. This was really yummy. Not too salty and just the perfect amount of sausage gravy. I'll get this again.

And what's brunch without a little dessert? This awesome brownie a la mode features a vanilla nut based ice cream. Yum!

Some new(ly discovered by me) vegan resources and cleaning out my closet

2010-01-16T05:55:00.000-08:00

I found Volentia through a facebook group and it's a whole networking site just for vegetarians. You can designate your vegetarian level, join the vegan group, and pimp your veggie blog . Yeah, I know yet another social networking site to keep up with, but hey it's ALL vegetarians, so it's pretty freakin' awesome.

Also there's vegblogs which searches for the latest in vegan blogs. You'll recognize some old blogosphere friends and maybe find some new ones.

The Pantry:

So the pantry isn't really a pantry, it's a closet next to the kitchen that holds all my tangible vegan resources so I can make chickpea cutlets, chocolate cupcakes, or anything other recipe from my stack of vegan cookbooks without having to make a trip the store.

In case there is ever some world catastrophe that leaves us all living like we're in The Road, you know where to come. Here's the pantry in piles on my living room floor. Hey, at least now it's organized. I'll be featuring some of these staples more this month. Now let's see, what to do with barley....

I'll also be at Vegan Drinks this month making cupcakes for Haiti.

The awesome panda hat

2010-01-13T18:13:00.000-08:00

You can't really see it in the photo, but this awesome vegan hat has HEADPHONES in the ear flaps. Guava makes a rockin hat. Check out her etsy site Late to the Revolution for more earphone hats and headbands.

Super easy banana french toast

2010-01-09T14:36:00.000-08:00

Mmmmm banana fronch toast (you have to say it in the voice of the mother from Better off Dead for that to be funny.) I picked up a baguette from Hot and Crusty on my way home from work (yes, I was working at my new job on a Saturday. These darn accountants and their year end closing schedules...) and the baguette was a little more crusty than hot. Perfect for French toast! Now I'm twice inspired by the vegan crunk for this recipe because I wanted to make her tester French toast, but I turns out I didn't have any tofu. So I had to figure out a way to make a nice thick batter for it. Then staring me in the face is one over-ripe banana in my kitchen. Perfect. Now here's the second crunk reference. Bianca has given up coffee for a cleanse, and well, I couldn't help putting a tablespoon or two of coffee in with the mashed banana. Coffee and banana just go together in baked things. Also there's no cinnamon because the Ninja would freak out if he even smells it, so I added some other spices that go with banana breakfast things.

Banana Fronch Toast
-for one really hungry person but normally would serve two

1 ripe banana
2 TBS strong black coffee
1/3 cup soymilk
pinch ground ginger
pinch ground allspice
a few good scrapes of fresh nutmeg
a pinch of black salt (to make it "eggy"- careful, too much will make it salty)

6 i-inch slices of a french baguette - day old is preferred

Heat a cast iron skillet with a nice coating of oil.
Mix batter together. Dunk in bread slices and flip to coat.
Place in skillet. Cook 3-4 minutes then flip and cook another 3 minutes.

Enjoy with some nice maple syrup. Mine came from Black River, NY.

Roasted butternut squash soup

2010-01-02T11:16:00.000-08:00

Once again, nothing warms up the house like a 400 degree oven. A pot of broth simmering on the stove can add some much needed humidity to the dry winter air as well. I made some practically freegan broth and roasted some veggies for a light and delightful pureed roasted butternut squash soup.
The roasted veggies are diced butternut squash, carrots, celery, leek, shallot, and garlic. Coated in olive oil and roasted in the oven. I like the small dice because it gets nice and crispy.
The broth is some sweet potato peels that have been frozen since thanksgiving and the rest is from the veggies I'm roasting. Some shallots that were fresh from the farmer's market last spring and their skins, the peelings from carrots, the tops and bottoms of the celery and leeks, and the peel from the butternut squash. I added some bay leaves and kombu.

Blend the roasted veggies together with the broth and voila, perfect roasted butternut squash soup. I topped it with a little paprika, but other than that I didn't add any herbs or seasonings (or salt) and it is wonderfully flavorful.

Black eyed peas and collard greens for the new year

2010-01-01T13:12:00.000-08:00

OK, this is no traditional recipe, but every year I come up with some excuse not to make black eyed peas on New Year's Day. This year I dug through the pantry and came up with both a can of black eyed peas and a can of collard greens. Sure fresh would be better, but hey sometimes you've got to improvise.
Here's my quick and easy black eyed peas and collard greens with brown rice.

1 cup brown rice
1/4 cup sofrito*

1 can black eyed peas drained and rinsed
1/2 can collard greens
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 Tbs vegan worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp hot sauce like tobasco

Cook brown rice according to package directions adding sofrito or onion.*

Heat black eyed peas and collard greens with liquid smoke, worcestershire sauce, and tobasco .

Make a pile of rice and serve with beans and greens on top.

Lots of luck for a happy new year!

*I use a fancy rice cooker which I love even more than my vita-mix. I know you can cook rice for free with a pot on the stove, but with the rice cooker all you do is put in rice and water and turn it on. It beeps when it's done. You can even leave it on for hours after it's done and the rice stays warm and perfect. I also don't have a microwave, so it warms up rice that's been in the fridge to perfection.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T08:24:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

My neighbors made this awesome vegan bundt cake for their new year's party. I'll have to to get the recipe. I'm eating it for breakfast...

Christmas Pizza

2009-12-25T16:45:00.000-08:00

Christmas pizza. Well it's red and green, right? Sauce and oregano. I got a new camera for Christmas, so hopefully I'll be creating some more artful photos in the future. Currently I'm practicing on the pizza. Light life pepperoni, canned mushrooms (yessss, canned mushrooms, they're awesome on pizza) and the breakfast sausage browned with some Penzeys Italian sausage seasoning and follow your heart mozzarella.

And since I'm obsessed with British period pieces, I might as well watch one about cooking. I'm watching the Duchess of Duke Street from 1976 starring Gemma Jones (the mother in Bridget Jones.)

Roasted vegetables and super cool Japanese rice

2009-12-23T15:28:00.000-08:00

Nothing warms up the house on a cold winter's day like a 400 degree oven. I roasted some beets and butternut squash. I like to peel and dice the veggies before roasting, so each piece gets coated and crispy.
Here's the rice mix. It's Kagayaki brand premium short 6 grain rice. I got it at the Japanese grocery on 41st in NYC. It's a mixture of black rice, hulless barley, red rice, purple barley, rye berries and short grain brown rice. Let me say, this rice blend will force you to chew your food! It's very hearty and filling and is quite flavorful even just plain.

Breakfast Sausage

2009-12-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is my first go at the seitan-in-foil sausage technique. The recipe is from Alicia Simpson's Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food. You know how I love the field roast and tofurky sausages, but this is so easy I might just have to start making my own more often. Not sure these will fool the ninja, but I'll have to try it out in something. They are decidedly breakfast sausage flavored, but would go well as an appetiser with mustard sauce. This is how I ate them for actual breakfast (it's 10AM) because I didn't have any tofu to make a scramble to go with them. Anyway they were really good this way. Eating with toothpicks is so sophisticated. I sliced the steamed sausages and then pan fried them in a little oil. The mustard sauce is just some whole grain mustard and vegenaise. Here's the sausages after they have steamed in foil.

This is a great technique. The finished seitan has a nice texture that isn't the sometimes rubbery of boiled seitan or dried out of baked seitan. Because you also know I love Penzeys, I'll have to try this with one of their sausage seasonings. The Italian and breakfast sausage seasonings are great. I use them in pasta sauce and in scrambles to get sausage flavor without the meat. Sausage is one of those great vegan items that is so much more about the seasoning than the meat that it's really satisfying veganized.

There are a lot of great recipes in Alicia's book that I'll have to try as well. Spicy buffalo bites, sweet potato waffles, "egg" macguffin, tahini coffee?!?, peach cobbler and tortilla soup are the ones I'm lookin' at right now. Alicia also has a bunch of product reviews on her blog vegan guinea pig. I really need to get me a tofu xpress.

As a side note I like Deathcab for Cutie and all, but seriously Pandora, does every other song need to be DCFC or the Postal Service? Really. OK, now they're playing Lost in the Supermarket by the Clash just to make me happy. I've got the roku which plays the streaming netflix on the TV and now hooks into pandora, too. So I've got Deathcab in surround sound. Awesome.

If you're wondering what I'm doing not at work making sausage, complaining about the otherwise awesome pandora, and blogging on a Tuesday morning, my last day at my old job was yesterday and I start a new job on Monday. OK, so the office buildings are across the street from each other in downtown NYC, but still change is good. I'm excited about the new job. Can't wait to sneak some vegan treats on the unsuspecting office workers.

Snow days are for vegan waffles and British period pieces

2009-12-05T14:19:00.000-08:00

It is indeed snowing in New York. Hiding out from work and armed with the roku remote, I have camped myself on the couch. I'm watching all the streaming netflix British period pieces that I haven't seen before.

Here are the Old-Fashioned Chelsea Waffles from Vegan Brunch. I like the bit of cornmeal in them. It adds a nice dimension. Topped with a little Earth Balance and some New York maple syrup. Yum. This is the only thing that got me off the couch all day.
Now on to the movies...

Starting with a 2009 version of Wuthering Heights that I quite enjoyed. Ah, the Bronte's. Not as light and fluffy as the Jane Austen collection. I always want to hate Heathcliff, but I never really do. I don't even hate Cathy in this one. This version retains the passion, but isn't quite as gritty as some of the other versions. I give it two thumbs up.

Next on to Under the Greenwood Tree. I've never read any Thomas Hardy and this was very cute. Love triumphs through the classes. Starring Keeley Hawes from MI-5. Actually you could do a whole period piece feature with the cast of "Spooks", but I'll save that for another day.

On to Where Angel's Fear to Tread. I've never read any E.M. Forester either, but you can bet the movie has got Helena Bonham Carter in it. So far it's good. There's always some twist though. I usually like the E.M. Forester shows better after I've seen them again. There's a newish Room with a View that I like a lot, too.

Back to the couch...Ciao!

Veggie Challenge III Cranberry Battle

2009-11-15T04:54:00.001-08:00

This veggie challenge secret ingredient is cranberries! Cranberries are featured in a dessert dish for this challenge.
Six challengers, all with unique and delicious creations, form the backbone of night of vegan cranberry dessert awesomeness. The discerning brute Joshua Katcher expertly emcees the event. A panel of three baking experts, Fran Costigan, Mattie Hagedorn, and Sharon Valencik judge the dishes on taste, appearance, and creativity.
Up first-and third place winner-is a double cranberry cinnamon oatmeal nut bar.Then an almond crusted chocolate cranberry mousse. Then comes my cran-velvet cake with cranberry buttercream frosting and a tart cranberry sauce. The drink is a cran-tini punch of cranberry twist vodka, orange liqueur, unsweetened cranberry juice, tangerine juice, and seltzer.Up next from Michael at heebnvegan is a Swedish-style Charoset. Michael did a funny Swedish Chef impersonation with his presentation. Bork, bork, bork! Then Mike of Simply Raw Recipes wows us with a raw cranbanapple parfait with an awesome raw cranberry juice drink. This is the second place winner. The plastic cups are made from corn and he recycles them in his compost. Up last bus definitely not least is the winning dish. This is a rice crepe with a cran-ginger sauce. Sweet and savory, this is a really unique dessert. The sweet prize is a tofu Xpress!My honorable mention prizes are some Chicago Soy Dairy marshmallows and some vegan mac & cheese from Cosmo's vegan shoppe. I can't wait to try these!

The non-competitive main courses were made by the volunteers and features Match Meats the latest in faux meat. My favorite of which was a sweet & sour "pork" dish. The lasagna was also lovely. It was nice to have some savory food after snacking on cake all day and then having dessert first!

Another fun evening full of vegan superstars.

Holiday Vegan Sample bags available now

2009-11-12T08:42:00.000-08:00

Check out the holiday sample bags! Each home made bag is stuffed with awesome handmade samples of vegan products. Order from Holistically Heather at Vegan Craft Samples. There is the normal bag for $25 and the small bag for $15. All profits go to the Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary. These make great holiday gifts!Here's my post from the first bag. I got the second one, too but didn't post. Lots of goodies including homemade soap, jewelry, play dough, cat toys (my mom's cats freaked out for them,) lip balm, magnets, buttons, and other stuff I can't remember right now.

Japanese comfort food and my awesome Halloween costume

2009-10-31T18:19:00.000-07:00

Stewed daikon radish in a sweet miso sauce with a side of inari wrapped sushi rice. The thick daikon really needs to cook for awhile (like 1-2 hours) to get soft throughout, but it's worth the wait. The texture is strangely like pineapple, but not stringy or sweet. The sauce is miso, sake, mirin and kombu dashi.

Sushi rice stuffed into inari wrappers which are thin fried tofu pockets. They are a bit sweet and pair well with the sour vinegar of the sushi rice. I'm a vegan post punk rocker chick. I really just wanted to wear tatoo sleeves, a purple wig, and the magnetic face stud. The Praise Seitan t-shirt was just a bonus.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Health food vs. Junk food

2009-10-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

This lovely rice bowl comes from The Pump Energy Food which has a bunch of locations in NYC. I'll post anything where you can get tofu as a regular option. The supercharged plate is brown rice with baked tofu, spinach, tomatoes, guacamole and a "cool green" sauce which is cucumber, mint, parsley, and lime sauce.Oh, yes and the Doritos. Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos are vegan and they sell them in the bodega in the basement of my building. Danger. These bad boys are really good.

Seitan buffalo fingers with blue cheese dressing

2009-10-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

Hot wings, vegan style.

The buffalo chicken fingers are from a tester recipe. I froze them and they reheated nicely in the toaster oven. Tami's awesome book American Vegan Kitchen will be out in February, but you can pre-order it now!

The blue cheese dip is some Blue Style Scheese mixed with veganaise. The hot sauce is Frank's Red Hot which is my favorite wing sauce. The celery is just to make it feel like I'm having something healthy.

Peanut butter and jelly oatmeal

2009-10-29T09:11:00.001-07:00

Here's another quickie...

I usually make oatmeal at work for breakfast with some rolled oats and raisins, but I ate all the raisins yesterday and forgot to bring more in. I did have some peanut butter left at the bottom of the jar and I had some Crofter's superfruit spread in the fridge. It's the Europe blend with black currants, pomegranates, morello cherries and red grapes.I tried to make the PB & jelly all in a yin and yang formation, because I thought it would look cool, but I gave up because I was hungry. I don't bother to microwave the oats. When I have it boils over into a big mess and I hate to wait around to stop and stir every 30 seconds. I don't like microwaves anyway. Even though it's not instant, just cover rolled oats in hot water and let it sit for a few minutes. By the time it's softened it's a good temperature to eat and you won't burn your tongue first thing in the morning.

Invasion of the Vegan Cookies!

2009-10-28T18:04:00.000-07:00

Isa & Terry's new book is almost here! I preordered from Amazon and got shipping notice that it should arrive by Saturday. Woo-hoo!

Vegan Marshmallows

2009-10-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

Vegan junk food rules. Sweet & Sara smores are awesome. This is the peanut butter flavor.I came across the sweet & sara marshmallows and smores in the grocery store near my work. Gotta support vegan companies when you see their products right? Perfect afternoon snack.

I also really like Suzanne's Specilaties ricemellow creme. You probably need to schlep to a health food store for this or grab it when you're shopping online. It's available from the usual vegan retailers, food fight, cosmos, and pangea. I'm sure ricemellow is great in frosting, fluffernutters, and rice crispy treats, but honestly, I ate most of it with a spoon. Don't worry, it wasn't all in one sitting or anything.

Green bean fries with ranch dressing

2009-10-26T05:20:00.000-07:00

I got some giant end of the season green beans from my CSA. So I oven fried them with a good bit of olive oil and ate them with a side of ranch dressing.
I mixed some Penzeys Buttermilk Ranch Dressing mix with some tofutti sour cream for the dip. Although the name says buttermilk, the mix ingredients are all vegan: salt, bell peppers, garlic, onion, sugar, black pepper, parsley, thyme, basil.

Woo-hoo, I made the MoFo round-up!

2009-10-21T10:56:00.001-07:00

Whew, I made the Tuesday MoFo round-up with my gnocchi and cilantro pesto. Rock on.

If you haven't been keeping up with Vegan MoFo HQ, now is the time to check in on it!

How else would you know about the vegan Doritos? Huzzah! I found them in the convenience store in my office building, but if you don't see them at a store near you, you can order them at Vegan Essentials.

or all the vegan Halloween candies?

Meatless Monday Gnocchi with cilantro pesto

2009-10-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

This dish just sort of happened. I wanted gnocchi, but I kind of wanted something Mexican and needed to use up some cooked pinto beans and some cilantro that was threatening to wilt. Voila gnocchi with cilantro pesto.

Prepackaged gnocchi (I'll save homemade gnocchi for anther time)

1TBS olive oil

1/2 cup quick sofrito
1 cup cooked pinto beans
1 cup cooked leafy greens
1 cup canned tomatoes with juice

Quick sofrito:
2 cloves garlic
1/2 onion
1/2 green pepper
1 small bunch cilantro

Topping:
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Boil water for gnocchi. Blend together almonds and nutritional yeast and set aside. Blend together sofrito ingredients. Add olive oil and 1/2 cup sofrito to pan and saute a few minutes to soften. Blend together pinto beans, greens (I used kale) and tomatoes. Add blended ingredients to saute pan with sofrito and heat thoroughly. Cook gnocchi and add to sauce pot to coat. Top with almond/nooch topping.

Slower Delaware style "chicken" and dumplings

2009-10-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

Today's dish was inspired by two other bloggers. Matt at My Veggie Kitchen created the ultimate chicken flavored broth. Jeni at Heathen Vegan had some stew with dumplings and was discussing what the British and Americans call dumplings vs. biscuits.

Inspiration hits.

Chicken and Dumpling dinners are the annual fundraiser of many a Delaware organization. My church had one, I think the other was the Lions Club or something. So this usually is made to serve a crowd in a church basement or a school cafeteria. What makes these dumplings special is that they are slippery dumplings. Another colorful name for this dish is "yardbird and slicks." Honestly the chicken was never my favorite part anyway, so I'm just making the broth and dumplings, but this would be great with some chicken style seitan thrown in. Really the best time to make this would be after you've made some chicken style seitan by using the cooking broth. I wanted this NOW, so I took the shortcut. I had to cut my mom's secret family recipe by 1/3 or I'll be eating this until Halloween, but this can easily be multiplied for a crowd.

"Chicken" and Slippery Dumplings

4 cups chicken flavored broth

1 cup all purpose flour (plus about 1/2 cup more for keeping dough from sticking)

1 tsp salt

2 rounded TBS shortening

1/3 cup warm water

Boil broth. I heated up last weeks freegan broth with some chickpeas, celery, carrot, and 1 TBS poultry seasoning and 1 TBS Herbes de Provence, then strained it before adding the dumplings. Add salt to taste.

Mix together flour and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in shortening. Add water a little at a time to form a dough ball. Break off 1/3 cup sized pieces and roll out paper thin with lots of flour to keep from sticking. Cut into small rectangles about 2 inches long and 1 inch wide. They don't have to be perfect, in fact a few trapezoids and squares make it interesting. Make sure each dumpling is well coated in flour. This helps thicken the broth as well.

Drop the dumplings in the hot broth and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Serve in shallow bowls. The dumplings stay rocket hot for awhile, so resist the temptation so start slurping them down right away.

Any leftovers will suck up lots of the broth so it won't be quite as gravyey, but I actually enjoy it the next day (or several days) as well. This is some serious rainy day comfort food!

Blossom NYC vegan meet up for Farm Sanctuary

2009-10-17T04:27:00.000-07:00

I tell people I write a vegan cooking blog. Vegan eating blog would be more accurate.

Last night I went to a NYC vegan eat-up event at Blossom to support the Farm Sanctuary. Both Blossom locations were donating 10% of each bill to the sanctuary.

Thanks to all the eat-uppers for snapping shots of their food. I really didn't eat all this...

Appetizers!I had the black-eyed pea cake. Crispy cake of yukon gold potatoes and black eyed peas, served with chipotle aioli. Yum! This might have been a special, I don't know what it's called, but I had a bite and it was tasty. The base was a light pastry and it was topped with mushrooms. Potato leek soup. Wish I got that! It was a cold and stormy night... Cape Cod Cakes. A blend of hiziki seaweed, tofu, potato, herbs and spices, served with a vegan tartar sauce. These are also super yummy, I had them the last time I was here.

Ravioli with Cashew Cream. Spinach, mushroom, and pine nut filling. This is good, too. There's not a whole lot in the filling, so it's a good appetizer size.

Entrees! Seitan Scaloppini. Seitan cutlets in a white wine, lemon and caper sauce, served with mashed potatoes and sautéed kale. This is one of Blossom's signature dishes. I got the Port Wine Seitan. Seitan cutlets pan-seared in a sauce of port wine and mushrooms, accompanied by creamy mashed potatoes, tempura onion and sautéed garlic spinach. This was the perfect warming comfort meal for a fall evening that felt like winter! Vegetable Mezze Plate. Our Chef’s preparation of fresh vegetables accompanied by spiced quinoa. You really can't beat piles of perfectly roasted vegetables.
Hickory basted tempeh. Looks good! A couple people got this and really enjoyed it.

Fun evening with excellent food and great company to support the farm animals.

Cheers!

Birthday Dinner at Dirt Candy NYC

2009-10-16T12:01:00.000-07:00

I had a lovely birthday dinner last night at Dirt Candy. It's vegetarian, but they'll make all the dishes vegan. They even ask if you're vegan when they seat you!

We started with the Jalapeno Hush Puppies with maple butter. YUM!

Kimchi Doughnuts with watermelon radishes, cilantro and wild arugula

Asparagus Paella with artichokes, morels, saffron tomato broth. The top of the rice was crispy like a rice crispies cake, and when you break it off and it goes snap crackle and pop in the broth!

The ninja had Onion Soup which had cheese, and Crispy Tofu and Broccolini with orange beurre blanc. Yes, the ninja actually chose tofu and he really liked it. The vegetables are great, but the sauces really shine.

Although the desserts at Dirt Candy looked good, there were people waiting for tables and it was super rainy and cold out, so we opted to walk down a few blocks to Lula's Sweet Apothecary.

I had the cookies & cream.

The ninja had the strawberry cheesecake on a sugar cone.

All in all a very good vegan b'day. Cheers!

Copycat gift cookies...

2009-10-11T06:38:00.000-07:00

So I'm off to visit my 84 year old first cousin once removed* and her 92 year old husband. What to bring for the oldies but goodies...hhmmm...this is tough...cookies! Yes, everyone likes cookies, so let's go with an everything cookie adapted from the recipe from the canister of walmart oatmeal. I was too lazy to look this up before making them, but here's the original everything cookie recipe. The everything cookie II

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup applesauce
2 TBS soy milk (not sure this is necessary, but I used it anyway)
2 tsp vanilla

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts (ground to a powder)
1 cup raisins
1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

In a separate large bowl mix together the oil, sugars, applesauce, soymilk, and vanilla. When well blended add the flour mixture and blend together. Add the oats, and mix, add the choc chips, walnuts, raisins, and cranberries, and mix together after each addition.

Drop by tablespoonfull onto ungreased cookie sheets. They don't spread much so leave about an inch of space. Bake 13-15 min. Let cook on cookie sheet for about a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.

I totally stole the tea box from Isa, but the ancient ones don't have the interwebs, so they'll think I'm a total genius that I invented this myself.

*Just in case anyone is wondering, my first cousin once removed is my mom's first cousin. The once removed is the generation skip. Her kids are my second cousins, etc.

Practically Freegan Vegetable Broth

2009-10-10T11:40:00.000-07:00

Here's one version of veggie broth I make on a regular basis. No, I'm not suggesting any dumpster diving. It's mainly comprised of vegetables you've got sitting around that haven't quite gone bad, but you aren't really going to use them in anything before they do go bad. Or the parts of veggies you would otherwise throw away. My theory is that if I'm not making broth once a week, I'm probably not eating enough vegetables.

Obviously, you can use the same perfectly good veggies to make broth. Then you can use the veggies in whatever soup you're making as well. When I use the freegan version, I really do use just the broth. I drain out all the veggies and toss them.

Onions/shallots-that 1/2 onion you stuck in the fridge and forgot about, or the one at the bottom of the root vegetable bin that has one bad spot, but the rest is good. Cut off and throw away the bad part. Save the skins and the end parts from onions you are using in the freezer.

Carrots-those limp ones hanging around the vegetable drawer or the half bag of baby carrots you keep meaning to take into work for a snack, but they've been in there awhile and don't look so appetising. With fresh, save the green tops and any peelings from carrots you're using in the freezer.

Celery-same as for carrots. Also when you buy celery get the whole stalk. It's usually even cheaper than the "hearts" or the cut up ones, and you just take the bottom 3 inches and throw it in the freezer with the other broth parts. From the farmer's market celery usually has a lot of leaves on top as well. Take care not to use too much celery in the broth unless you're making celery soup. It does tend to take over.

Leeks/scallion-save for broth most of the tops, and the very bottom and the first few layers of the "good" white part at the bottom.

Potatoes/sweet potatoes/squash-save the peels in the freezer for broth.

Corn cobs-save for broth

Broccoli/Cauliflower-save the leaves and the stems you don't really want to eat (you know you just want the tops with your dinner.)

Kale, collard greens, any other leafy greens- save the chunky stems

Mushrooms - save the stems or throw in a few dried mushrooms for a stronger mushroom flavor.

Herbs- parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, cilantro. Just keep in mind what kind of soup you plan to make. If you want a basic broth, leave out the herbs until you're actually making the soup.

There are a few items I don't use. I try to keep out seeds, so I don't use the cores of things like peppers. Also I skip the skins from eggplant which can make the broth bitter. Some recipes suggest not using cabbage or asparagus, but I've used both and the broth is still fine. They're just strong flavors. You can use apple peels, but the broth will be extra sweet.

Here's the vegetables straight from the freezer. Onion, carrot peelings, celery parts, the stems from turnip greens, some summer squash and the peel from a winter squash, and the greens from some leeks.

My two favorite additions for basic broth are kombu (seaweed) and bay leaves. The kombu magically makes the broth taste good without additional salt and the bay leaves give it nice rounded out flavor. Bay leaves you can get at any grocery store (or my mom's backyard) and you can find kombu in the Asian section of a well stocked grocery store. Kombu is fairly cheap, a $3 bag from the Asian store will last quite awhile.

Cut all the veggie parts into smallish pieces. Usually about bite sized is a good rule of thumb. I break corn cobs in half. Put it all in a big pot and cover with water. Add the kombu and bay leaves and let simmer about an hour. Drain and enjoy plain or in your favorite soup recipe. Freeze any amounts you don't plan to use within a week. Obviously, to thaw broth for use in recipes, just put it in a pan and heat it up.

All the simmering veggies.

Soy-tan dream cutlets from 1,000 Vegan Recipes

2009-10-07T17:55:00.000-07:00

Robin Robertson has a new giant book of vegan recipes. 1,000 Vegan Recipes to be exact.

Tonight I whipped up the soy-tan dream cutlets to add to my leftover mexcellent rice bowl. A mix of tofu and wheat gluten with a little spices, this is a super fast way to get some seitan into a weeknight meal. Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Fast, easy and delicious.