Blog Report Card

I always loved seeing E for excellent on my report card when I was in elementary school... and now as an adult, it still feels great!! Holler over at Tinned Tomatoes (who is very deserving of this award for her mouthwatering creations) has bestowed upon me an Excellent Blog Award. I am so honored, my first blog award :-) I was so touched that she thought of me with the many amazing blogs that are out there! And of course, this makes me only want to try harder to improve my blog for all my readers (I'm really hoping I'll get a new header soon). I think this also means that I get to pass this award on to five more bloggers of my choice, which will be tough to do, since I love so many. I need just a bit more time to think about it, so expect that next week!

I have been immersed in ED&BV lately, and dinner on Tuesday was no exception. I made the blackened tofu with a side of roasted green beans and smashed sweet potatoes (added coconut milk anda agave nectar). Dreena meant it when she said blackened! John was very impressed and said it reminded him of the spices on blackened red fish. But no fish had to suffocate for this meal :-)
Also on Tuesday night I made a batch of homemade truffles for some special friends. Ever since Emilie's inspiring truffle post, I have wanted to try my hand at these. I used a combination of coconut milk and hazelnut liquor for my liquids. Half I rolled in cocoa powder and the other half in chopped hazelnuts. So simple to make! The centers of the truffles are so creamy... I hope they travel well because I had to send them in the mail!
I'm out for the next few days. Off to sunny Colorado for some skiing with friends. I can't wait to see my first snow this year! I love returning to Colorado, reminds me of my college days in Fort Collins and Boulder. I am also really excited to try Watercourse Foods, Denver's premiere vegetarian restaurant. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Snap Krackle Pop !

Vegan Rice Krispie Treats!! I have made one previous attempt since going vegan to make these childhood treats, but was pretty unsuccessful... the result was dry and tasteless. So I turned to a recipe I knew I could trust, the Nicer Krispies Treats from ED&BV. In addition to the gooeyness of the treat itself, these are filled with pistachios, white and dark chocolate chips, pistachios, and coconut. Perfect for a pick-me-up after planning vegan outreach events with Society of PEACE here in Houston (I shared these with our planning committee).

And here's a simple dinner consisting of gnocchi with sauteed mushrooms and garlic and earth balance over a bed of pureed roasted sweet potatoes with garlic. Kind of an overkill on the potatoes, the components are better kept separate I think. But it was an experiment, plus I was trying to get rid of my plethora of potatoes.
I made my first green smoothie! Well, the color is actually kind of bleh. I used two kale leaves, in addition to my standard favorite smoothie ingredients (banana, strawberries, mango, peanut butter, flax meal, and soy milk). Afterwards I felt so proud of myself for getting some greens in my tummy before noon! I think I may try spinach next, the flavor is milder so maybe I can add more and make the color a bit more pleasing to the eye.
Okay, time to go do dishes...

Cozy Night

Finally, we've had a cold snap! The low tonight will be a chilly 56 degrees. Time to break out the chili! John and I have both been feeling a bit under the weather (him more than I), so we stayed in this evening, layered on the blankets and ate while watching a movie. Sometimes I do just need to veg a little bit...

This is the Sweet Potato Red Lentil Chili from ED&BV. Not your typical chili, but I loved the spice combinations (cinnamon and nutmeg in chili....genius!). I used a can of fire roasted tomatoes and didn't puree them as the recipe directed, I like my chili nice and chunky. I also substituted frozen corn for celery (I always sub something for celery). This made me feel all cozy and warm inside.

Okay, that's enough for a Friday night. Tomorrow we are attending a Vegan Thanksgiving Feast here in Houston. Can't wait!

Feeling a Bit Peckish?

First of all I would just like to say that it's not even 7am on a Saturday and I'm blogging about food .... now if that isn't love for VeganMoFo, I don't know what is.

Last night my folks came over for tea (i.e. dinner), and there was a theme! Just a year ago, my parents returned to the States from living in Chester, England for four years. I thought I would give them a vegan version of some traditional English favorites (or at least what I thought was English). My dad dressed for the occasion...



Although throwing together a curry was tempting, I decided to attempt the Tempeh Shepardess Pie from Veganomicon (what are people using as acronyms for this book? it's exhausting typing that out every time). My parents have never had tempeh, but I have introduced them to seitan and tofu with great success, so I figured it was time and they were ready. I followed the alternate suggestion and used sweet potatoes for the topping instead of regular potatoes, a good move I thought. The meal came together fairly easily (I cooked the potatoes the night before to save time). Everyone agreed that this was definitely a huge step up from traditional Shepard's pie. This made a ton of food! Three of us had two helpings and there is still enough leftover for a meal for four. On the side I served some roasted brussels sprouts (I decided that these were sort of an English thing, my dad confirmed that they are pretty popular over there, what instinct!), a green salad, and a fruit salad made of two varieties of apples and the remaining red Bartlett pears.



For dessert, I took a huge leap of faith. You always hear mixed things about bread pudding, lots of people seem to hate it. But I wanted to keep with my theme. So again, I entrusted our meal with Veganomicon, and made the chocolate banana bread pudding. Thursday night I cut up the bread into chunks to let them get stale. At this point I questioned my judgement of choosing whole wheat bread, would it be sweet enough? I was very worried. But, lo and behold after soaking up the soymilk mixture and adding a bunch of ripe bananas and chocolate chips, this turned out so much better than I imagined. I think I may even go sneak some now for breakfast :-) A dallop of Soyatoo whipped soy topping in the bread pudding-filled ramekins finished it off.

During dinner we talked about some English traditions and sayings. In trying to find a clever title for my post, my dad mentioned that in southern England, when people are hungry, they say they're "feeling peckish". By the end of the meal, we were peckish no more.

I'm sure you're wondering why I'm up so early (or maybe not). We are headed up to the Renaissance Fair with some friends today and I'm bringing a breakfast treat that has involved some serious labor. More on that later. Enjoy your Saturday!

Too Many Things in the Oven!

Last night was my first serious cooking since returning to Houston on Monday. Here's a peak at our crowded plate:



After seeing a sneak peak of some recipes for the upcoming Veganomicon on the ppk, I knew I had to try one out. And luckily, I had some tempeh in the fridge, so I made the Hot Sauce Glazed Tempeh. I used chipotle hot sauce, since I love that smoky flavor. And in my rush of trying to keep track of all the other things going on, I forgot to add lemon juice to the marinade, but it all turned out fine. Since I don't have a grill pan, I went with the broiling option. Alongside the tempeh (and the other things that took up space in my oven) was roasted brussels sprouts, roasted sweet potatoes and red pepper (seasoned with cumin, coriander, and garlic), and pan-fried polenta topped with roasted grape tomatoes. A delicious meal that even our omnivorous friend devoured!

While I was busy with the oven, we had pita chips and store-bought hummus to munch on (I know, very lazy of me). But I had to take a photo of my new chip and dip platter, a wedding gift from my grandparents!



For dessert we had leftover wedding cake (marble cake with the best chocolate frosting ever). I froze about half of it and the rest we're (meaning mostly me, John likes to be healthy but I can't resist) trying to eat. Maybe I'll freeze a little more.

Still working on getting wedding photos together. I'll post those sometime over the weekend.

Wedding Food!

So I figured I would start out with wedding food, beginning with, of course, the cake!! As I've mentioned before, Hippie Chick Bakery designed, baked, and delivered my wedding cake. I absolutely loved the colors, I didn't want just a plain white wedding cake. The vegan buttercream frosting was sweet and creamy, I could eat it by itself, and I'm not even a frosting fan!



To let our guests know what flavors of cake were available, I made a sign out of the tons of leftover paper we had from programs, napkin rings, etc. And of course I had to highlight that the cake was vegan! It is so hard to choose a favorite flavor. We haven't even tried the marble yet (It's in the fridge waiting to be cut, one quarter to the freezer for our anniversary and the rest we'll try and eat!). But both the pumpkin and the chocolate were amazing ....



Now moving on to dinner (we actually ate this first :-) There were plenty of hors d'ouevres to start with, but I didn't get pictures (at least yet). Veggie sushi, spring rolls, falafel, and samosas. The caterer (Celebrations Gourmet) was even nice enough to bring trays over while we were taking pictures! But on to the main course, here was my dinner plate (one photo I actually did snap myself).



The plate consists of a wild mushroom strudel made with shitake, crimini, and oyster mushrooms sauteed with leeks and Madeira wine rolled in phyllo pastry. This dish got rave reviews from many of our guests.



On the side we had roasted asparagus



And roasted sweet potatoes (a bit blurry)



I went back for seconds of the strudel. I even told the caterer that I'd leave it on my plate awhile and not to take it away, that I'd be back for it. Of course I had good intentions, but I was so busy I never made it back! So instead, they packed us a lunch for the next day and also gave all the leftovers to John's family. They'll be eating this stuff for days!

In other eating adventures before the wedding, we tried the Boston Hot Dog Company while in Salem. I of course had the Veggie Dog which was made of tofu I believe. The guy running the place was quite a character.



I give it an okay review. Not something I would really eat again, but at least I tried it!



And finally, dinner in Salem at Fresh Taste of Asia where I had the sesame tofu. Also tried their Idaho Maki roll, deep fried sweet potato sushi. It was delicious and even converted my not-so-crazy about sushi sister.



More wedding photos to come!

Comfort Food

This week has been all about comfort food. That and easy food. Monday night I got semi-creative and just threw together a dish, something I rarely do since I like the control of using a recipe (must work on that). So I took some tempeh and broccoli that were sitting in the fridge and probably would have gone bad otherwise. I steamed them together then topped it with leftover coconut curry sauce from the manicotti dish (last post). The result was actually a pretty yummy dish, certainly easy to make. Plus it was a good tempeh comeback. We haven't really given tempeh a fair shot, so I'm go to try and mix it in more often.


After a few nights of eating out on the run, I needed something refreshing and filling. So I went with a slightly odd combination, but that's what I felt like. First off is one of my favorite salads, summer fruit with spinach. The fruit includes strawberries, blueberries, and mango (I used a champagne mango, fancy sounding, huh?). Along with the spinach I toss in plenty of toasted almonds and pistachios. The dressing I use is about equal parts oilve oil and flax oil, along with some white wine vinegar and agave nectar with a healthy dose of poppy seeds. The result is a refreshingly sweet salad with a nutty crunch that you will love! I made my own version of this after tasting something similar at a local restaurant here in Houston, Ruggles. Of course, their version comes with bacon. Please explain to me why you would ruin such a lovely salad with bacon?!?



On the side I had one of my favorites, mashed sweet potatoes with cashew butter, maple syrup and cinnamon. I'm sure I've posted these before, but they are like heaven to me....


Last night after meeting some friends out for drinks, we came pretty buzzed (okay, that was mostly just me), always a fun time cooking dinner in that state of mind. The day before at the grocery store, there must have been a mistake, because I got fresh morel mushrooms for $5.99/pound. How crazy is that! So we sauteed them in some Smart Balance. Along with the mushrooms we had Quinoa with Tofu and Asparagus from the recipes at Whole Foods website. This dish has so many wonderful flavors that blend together; lemon, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic. Plus the asparagus was perfectly cooked and tofu and quinoa added the perfect texture.



And finally for the ultimate comfort food, chocolate pudding. Triple chocolate pudding to be exact thanks to Julie Hasson from the Everyday Dish DVD. This was by far the richest, smoothest homemade pudding I've ever had. I topped it with some golden raspberries I saw at the grocery store, which I've never seen before. They are apparently a naturally occurring variant of red raspberries, but their yellow color is inherited through a single recessive gene. They were delicious, very similar to a red raspberry. Try some if you can find them because they have a short season and limited availability! But certainly try the pudding....

A Vegan Dish

Last night I took a break from wedding planning (thanks to everyone for your congrats!) and got back to making a mess in the kitchen. I wanted to fix something special to showcase my new dishes (more on those in a minute!). So I got my inspiration from Eat Air - A Vegan Food Log and made Chris's recently posted Sweet Potato Stuffed Shells with Coconut Curry Sauce. I couldn't find shells at the grocery store, so I made this with manicotti instead and I also didn't have fresh sage for the sauce, used half-fat coconut milk, and added extra walnuts. This turned out so wonderfully and would be great to serve to company. The sweet- and creami-ness of the potatoes with the kick of the curry and crunch of the walnuts was perfect. On the side we had steamed broccoli and some of the most amazing raspberries I've ever tasted. A relaxing, filling dinner was just what I needed to wind down my brain....

Did you notice my new "vegan" dishes? I just got them this week and they are so much fun! I found them at etsy.com in the Vegan Dish shop. Jeanette was wonderful and her pottery is handmade and beautifully crafted. Plus, it's made for vegans, by a vegan! I will love proudly displaying my vegan food on/in these unique dishes. I have also purchased from several other etsy sellers including McFarland Designs (amazing vegan jewelry), Cards and Jewelry by Michele (beautiful original artwork featuring animals), Mindy Kuen (fun and funky headwraps). Check out their shops! Some etsy sellers also donate a portion of their earnings to various animal charities. I will post some of my other finds later!