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!

Spotlight on the Side and BBQ Wars

Very rarely does the side dish get the spotlight. Today is your day to shine!! Without further adieu, here is the Green Bean and Corn salsa from vegetarian times (a few issues back).

This was an very tasty side dish indeed. I used frozen sweet white corn instead of fresh, used about 1/4 of the red onion called for, doubled the cilantro, and added a touch of olive oil for flavor. Next time I may add more jalapeno for an extra kick, but otherwise, this was just about perfect.

On the side, let's say, was grilled bbq seitan ribz, finally! I decided to have my own little bbq sauce war, since I always seem to be trying to find the perfect bbq sauce, not too sweet, just the right about of heat, and a nice smoky flavor. True to my heritage (yes, as much as I'd sometimes like to deny my Texas heritage, sometimes it makes me proud) , I tried out two rival Texas brands, one from Fredricksburg and another from neighboring Austin (a woman-owned company, roar!).

The winner? For me, it was a bit of a toss up. John's favorite was the Austin's own, he thought the peach pecan was too sweet and tasted too much like worchestire sauce. But I thought it was a little spicier, which I liked. I think next time we may go for the Austin's Own chipotle bbq sauce. And just so they don't feel left out, here's a photo of the ribz pre-grill. I made a double match for the war, so I'm still eating leftovers two days later!! Nothing wrong with that....

Dinner for Dad

Since my mom is traveling in Spain for the next few weeks, this evening John and I headed out to west Houston to have dinner with my dad. He'd been eating lots of brown rice, black beans, and Boca burgers this week, so I figure I'd change it up a bit for him. On the menu was:

Roasted carrots with rosemary and sage from my new Vegan Italiano cookbook( a birthday gift for John, so I can try and cook him more "authentic" Italian) and fresh green beans with leftover cashew sauce.


Fusilli pasta with sun-dried tomato pesto and lemon-herbed tofu (both from the Everyday Dish DVD)



And finally for dessert chocolate chip oatmeal cookies from the Candle Cafe cookbook.



The whole meal was a hit, and John claims that all around it's one of the best meals I've fixed (he always says that though...). And for a meal for company, not only was it delicious, but also quick and easy! The pesto I made a day early, and the rest took almost no preparation. One note about the cookies, I ended up added almost 3/4 c. extra flour! The dough was really runny, not sure why. They had a strange texture as a result, but still delicious. Not too sweet, but lots of yummy chocolate chip goodness. I was especially proud of the carrots since both my dad and John are not fans of cooked carrots, but they both gobbled them up with numerous compliments. This was also one of the first time's my dad has had tofu, and he asked me to pass along the recipe to my mom for future use! And what could be better than a pesto made with sun-dried tomatoes? I loved the nutty crunch from the toasted almonds and pinenuts. A successful dinner, plus we enjoyed good wine and conversation.

In other weekend cooking, I made(and froze) a bunch of Sneaky Girlfriend's Tomato Sauce, a modified version of the Sneaky Momma's Tomato Sauce from Vegan Lunch Box. I add mushrooms, zucchini, Boca burger crumbles, red wine, and black beans (yes, beans!). Perfect for a quick dinner when I don't feel like cooking.

I also made Coconut Chai Breakfast Cake from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen since we were going over to a coworker's house this morning to help take down a dead tree (that was a lot of work, and John did most of it!). It was a nice treat to have. Very dense but sweet at the same time. I added pecans which I thought were a yummy addition. Here's the piece I snuck on Saturday night after baking it just to "test" it out.