Sunday, January 29, 2012

Plant a radish, get a radish, never any doubt. That's why I love vegetables, you know what they're about!

Gah! Food overload! When I get in the groove like this, I really need to update more often. My days are filled with yummy, nutritious, healthy whole foods, and I'm loving it. Let's get to it...

Scottish Broth-The Vegan Table
"Broth" in Scotland actually means stew...go figure. This is a delicious soup, and very easy to make. You throw all the ingredients in a pot (after soaking the barley, red lentils and green split peas) and simmer until done. I love barley!


Creole Stuffed Pepper and Messy Rice- Veganomicon
I've made stuffed peppers a handful of times in the last 12 months, and every time they are different. Gotta love variety. I left out the jalapeno so I don't know how "creole" these are anymore, but they're filling and the bean mixture is tasty. The messy rice is made with crushed coriander seeds (lemony!) and jasmine rice.



Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream- The Vegan Scoop
The only downside to this e-book cookbook so far is that I can't write my recipe notes in it! This ice cream is so good! I added the green food colouring just to make it more like store-bought ice cream :) I made this using all soy-based milk and creamer. Next time, I will experiment with coconut and almond milk.


Chili- The Vegan Slow Cooker
I added another cup of tomato sauce when I got home, since it dried out a bit. Billy and I loved this chili, and it was great as Sloppy Joe filling too.


Breakfast Bake- Skinny Bitch
My first recipe from my new cook book, Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Guide. I sauteed the potato, onion and tempeh bacon filling yesterday, and just popped it in the oven this morning for a delicious and filling breakfast. I also had a side of fresh fruit salad from the Vegan Table (no picture).


Chicken Gnocchi Soup- a modified recipe
The only thing I love more than a good vegan cookbook is veganizing recipes on my own! One night I felt like having gnocchi, but didn't want the typical gnocchi and pasta sauce. So I went on my allrecipes app and searched for recipes with gnocchi. I found a recipe for a creamy chicken and gnocchi soup. So I subbed out the cream and chicken with vegan subsitutes, and OH MY GOD, this is my new favourite soup. I'll post the recipe one of these days!


Chicken Salad- Skinny Bitch in the Kitch
A vegan mayo-based chicken salad, served on greens. I used PC's meatless chicken. Yum!


No-Chicken Noodle Soup- Vegan Slow Cooker
This didn't have much broth left by the time I got home, but it was a very simple and tasty "chicken" soup for dinner.


Pizza- The Vegan Lunch Box
I've been using the pizza dough recipe from Vegan Lunch Box the last few Sundays, because you can mix it up and then stick it in the fridge until you're ready to use it...which fits perfectly into our lazy Sundays. Plus, we make individual sized pizzas for portion control, and they're cute! This one had soy pepperoni, green peppers and Daiya mozzarella.


Applesauce Muffins- How It All Vegan
These are very midly flavoured, with applesauce and cinnamon, but they are so fluffly and light.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

New Cookbook!

I used a gift card to get a new cookbook yesterday! I got Skinny Bitch- Ultimate Everyday Cookbook by Kim Barnouin. I already have their first Skinny Bitch book and Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, so I thought I would try this one out. The recipes sound great and the pictures look good enough to eat.


Does anyone have any recommendations on what I should try first??

Sunday, January 08, 2012

Poorly Lit Food

This week off before I go back to work has been awesome!! I've done lots of cooking, walking, and general activities that make me happy. I've also done a little knitting, but nothing major since I'm experiencing a bit of burnout after the Christmas knitting season!

This is a just a scarf made with Firefly yarn. I generally am over scarves but I only had two balls of this beautiful yarn and don't wear shawls. The lace pattern in intricate enough to keep me interested though.


Before I get into the food, I apologize for the poorly lit/dim photos. I hate the lack of natural light due to winter and most of my food is made in the evenings. I will try to do better!

Linguine with roasted peppers, tomatoes and garlic- Vegan Italiano
Green peppers, garlic, diced tomatoes are roasted with olive oil and seasonings to make this delicious sauce. Then half of it is blended to make more of a sauce consistency. It was easy prep and came together quickly. I seriously love this cookbook for no-fail, healthy Italian cuisine!


Baked Risotto with Veggies- Vegan Italiano

So good! The rice was cooked in the oven, and the steamed veggies were added in afterwards. It sure beats stirring for forty minutes! It has asparagus, peas and carrots, but the veggies could change based on what you have. I plan on making the risotto again, without all the veggies, as a side dish that Billy will eat :P


Three Bean Soup- Vegan Italiano

I seriously love soup...who doesn't? This soup has carrots, onions, celery, cabbage, pastina (mini baby pasta), and a mixture of beans. It hit the spot and was very comforting as a winter lunch. Beans are so delicious...


Breakfast Quesadilla- Garden of Vegan
I took advantage of my time off to make yummy breakfasts in the mornings. This is one of my go-to favourites. Sabroso scrambled tofu, with refried beans, and Daiya cheese baked in a tortilla. I topped it with mashed avocado too.


I thawed puff pastry before New Year's, thinking that I'd make a yummy savory appetizer for the party I went to...but I ended up nixing that thought due to lack of ingredients. However, once puff pastry is thawed, it should be used....so I followed the recipe on the box to make seriously unhealthy Cheese Twists. I was a good girl and only had one at a time with my soup for lunch, but it was hard! I rolled out the puff pastry, brushed it with roasted garlic olive oil, then sprinkled on Daiya cheese, vegan parmesan, salt, pepper and basil and squished it into the dough. Then I cut strips and twisted them before placing them on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Then you bake and devour!! Billy loved these too. I think I'll try it with Pillsbury pizza dough or crescent rolls next time, as they are marginally better than puff pastry.


Chocolate Ice Cream- The Vegan Scoop

My second batch of homemade ice cream. I like this more than the vanilla I made. I reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup from 3/4 cup and it was much better...not so cloyingly sweet. This has cocoa and melted chocolate chips, it's very rich. I made it with soymilk this time, just to see how it would taste, and so I'll have something to compare my oatmilk/almond milk/coconut ice creams to in the future.

Saturday, January 07, 2012

Six Years on the Sixth!

I missed my six year blogging anniversary on January 6. I can't believe it's been that long! I've had some sparse years in my archives, but I always come back :). Here's a link to my first ever post! For all you food bloggers out there....don't you love reading through your archives and remembering all the yummy things you've made?? I love the reminders I get to remake awesome recipes.

Sh*t Vegans Say

Sorry in advance for the swear Grampa ;). These videos cracked me up....so true!