Melissa's Vegan Blog

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

2012-01-29T11:55:00.011-05:00

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.

New Cookbook!

2012-01-22T14:44:00.003-05:00

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??

Poorly Lit Food

2012-01-08T16:09:00.003-05:00

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.

Six Years on the Sixth!

2012-01-07T16:58:00.002-05:00

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

2012-01-07T14:20:00.001-05:00

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

Happy New Year Pt 2 !

2011-12-31T17:01:00.008-05:00

Food pictures continued!

We are going to a friend's house tonight to celebrate New Year's, so I'm bringing some goodies.

Cappuccino Cupcakes with Espresso Pastry Creme- Vegan Cupcakes
I'm saving mine for tonight, but the creme and the batter were yummy so I think these will be great! There's creme inside the cupcake too :)

Cheesecake Strawberries
Ah yeah, that's right! I came across a blog with the recipe for these when I was on StumbleUpon.com, and had to make them! The only thing I had to change to veganize them was to use Tofutti cream cheese. It's cream cheese filling inside the strawberry, then dipped in graham crumbs. Soooo good! (And only about 20 calories a piece!)

I got a blender from my paternal grandparents so I made a delicious fruit and veggie smoothie this morning: Mango-cranberry with arugula and apple juice (from Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food)

Spinach Mushroom calzones- Vegan Italiano
This was dinner last night. Not the greatest picture, but I wanted to eat it! It was kind of a pain stuffing in the spinach, mushrooms, and onions into the little rectangles, but worth it.

My maternal grandparents got me an ice cream maker for Christmas!!! I'm soooo excited to make soy-free vegan ice cream. My first batch was vanilla (from The Vegan Scoop), made with a combo of oat milk and coconut creamer. I had it with vanilla pound cake from Veganomicon. It tastes so good, and better than store bought. I think I'll reduce the sugar amount next time as even I found it a tad too sweet.

Gnocchi with ground round and veggies
This is a kinda made up recipe because I didn't have any pasta sauce. Ground round with diced tomatoes, carrots, garlic, onions, basil and oregano.

Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread- from thepastryaffair.com

Make this! I also discovered this on Stumble and immediately after showing Billy the pictures he was on his way to the store to buy yeast! It's balls of bread dough dipped in garlic butter and then piled together in a bundt pan. When it's done baking, you pull apart the pieces to eat. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. Tasty dipped in marinara.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T16:38:00.008-05:00

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday. Ours was busy, with lots of traveling, but fabulous none the less.

Here's the food I've made in the last few weeks, in random order.

Roasted garlic and tomato rice soup-Veganomicon
YUM

Braised "chicken", kale and brussel sprouts- Veganomicon

Delicious, quick and easy. I used PC meatless chicken instead of making seitan.

Pasta with arugula and sundried tomatoes- Vegan Italiano
Another simple pasta dish from VI....never goes wrong.

Vegetable Pizza- Vegan Italiano
This has tons of veggies: asparagus, zucchini, tomato, onion. And instead of tomato sauce its garlic olive oil as a base. I topped it with some Daiya mozzarella. Mmmmmmm.

Minestrone- Vegan Slow Cooker
I left the pasta in a little long at the end, so it ended being more of a pasta dish with soupy sauce, but it was fantastic. Billy devoured this.

I've been knitting like a fool since October to make my family some knitted Christmas gifts. Now that I can finally show them, here they are!

Mom-in-law's argyle lace hat
I loved that I got to make my own buttons!

Mom's cable lap blanket
Super quick and easy but it ended up being smaller than I hoped. When I make this again, I'll add a fifth panel and knit it all in one piece rather than seaming four panels together.

Sister's Firefly Shawl-
I was a bit skeptical of this but it looks awesome on my stylish sister!

Brother's Extra Warm Man Scarf
Meant as a hug every time he puts it on :)

And to use up some scrap yarn, I knitted two snoods for our dogs on those cold winter walks ;) (Also known as the hat of humiliation)

"Nothing will turn a man's home into a castle more quickly and effectively than a dachshund."

2011-12-10T19:55:00.006-05:00

From Queen Victoria herself!
We love the breed so much. So much so that...

We got a second dog! We adopted Kali from the Canadian Dachshund Rescue last weekend. She's a six year old black and tan dachshund. She weighs the same as Dill but is much skinnier (very bony). Her owner died, which is how she ended up with the CDR. She is just the sweetest dog ever! Dill and her had a rough start on Saturday, as Dill was very possessive of her belongings (including us!), but a week later they're sleeping in the same bed and following each other around with no aggression. Hopefully they will be fast friends soon! The CDR has offered us support the entire time and I highly recommend them if you are thinking of getting a wiener dog...rescue is so much better than buying from a breeder (we've done both).

On to the food!

I love the urge to cook comforting foods that comes with winter. It's kind of like a middle finger to the cold! Yes, it may be cold, but I'm inside enjoying a delicious meal :)

"Stuffed Shells"- 125 Best Vegan Recipes
These are meant to be stuffed pasta shells, but Billy was the shopper last weekend and didn't get the right size. So I just mixed the pasta with the stuffing and sauce. Its ground round and breadcrumbs with seasonings. Simple and tasty.

Scalloped Potatoes-Vive le Vegan
These are pretty good. Potatoes and onions topped with a soymilk sauce that includes miso and nutmeg.

Ice Cream Sandwiches
For the ice cream I used chocolate peanut butter soy ice cream, and for the cookies, I used the chocolate chocolate chip cookies from Veganomicon. Yum!

Winter Foods

2011-12-04T18:47:00.002-05:00

We put up our Christmas tree last weekend! Tis the season. The Christmas spirit has hit me sooner this year (maybe because I finished my shopping before the stores got crazy). Here are my favourite handmade crafts on the tree

Santa

Mrs. Claus

Winter Harvest Soup-Vive le Vegan
This soup is so comforting. It's a great winter soup. Mellow and savoury, and it tastes better every day. Its got beans, sweet potatoes, rutabega, bok choy and lots of herbs.

French Onion Soup-Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food
Was it worth smelling like onions for two days to make this soup? YES! The picture isn't good, its next day leftovers, but I was too excited to eat the soup when it was ready to stop and take a picture. A yummy onion broth topped with french baguette and Daiya mozzerella. Mmmmmmmm.....

Tempeh Chili-La Dolce Vegan
This is a simple and hearty chili. I used leftovers with potatoes, and also made chili fries.

A letter

2011-11-30T18:46:00.003-05:00

Dear Calgary Film Festival,
Thank you for lumping me in the same category as sexual deviants, hippies and weirdos.

That is all.

Signed,
Someone who will not be going to Calgary anytime soon...

Winter is coming...

2011-11-21T17:47:00.005-05:00

and with winter, comes the urge to cook! I cooked a lot last week and this weekend. In no particular order...

This is my new adorable cookie jar. Billy said if I got a cookie jar, I would have to fill it. So....

I made cookies! In the top left, it's the chocolate chip cookies from Vive le Vegan. These came out a bit differently, because I had to sub out some maple syrup for agave. But still tasty. In the top right, we've got the chocolate raspberry cookies from Veganomicon (a household favourite), and front and centre, we have chocolate chip cookies from Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.

Artichoke Marinara and Spaghetti- Vegan Italiano
Most of the meals I made come from this cookbook. That's because the food always comes out delicious, and the ingredients are simple and easy to find at the local grocery store. I have to be in a special and rare mood to drive to the health store these days!

Apples poached in red wine- Vegan Italiano
Very simple to make. There's a touch of cinnamon in these that makes it extra yummy.

Gnocchi with Sundried Tomato and Almond Pesto- Vegan Italiano
Yum!

Chocolate Strudel-Vegan Italiano
Holy cow people! I found vegan puff pastry at the grocery store! :) This is the first thing I made with it. Chocolate and almonds mixed with icing sugar, surrounded by a puffy, flakey crust. Billy must prepare to be puff pastried in the upcoming weeks.

Meatloaf, smashed potatoes and garlic green beans- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods
Comfort food at its best. The meatloaf firmed up well the next day. The smashed potatoes are super easy (I don't believe in peeling my potatoes, so it was nice to see a recipe of the same mindset). I also threw in a spoonful of horseradish. The garlic green beans are AMAZING! They're steamed and then sauteed with onions and garlic and slivered almonds.... I also made sage gravy to top it all off.

Cauliflower soup- Vegan Italiano
I love soups.... This soup is so simple, and by blending the cauliflower after cooking, it really gives the soup some creaminess, without the use of soymilk or cream. I'm adding this one to my regulars. And Billy says its good but its still cauliflower and therefore refuses to eat it (we all hold on to some childish behaviours lol). More for me!

Lemon Cranberry Poppy Seed muffins- La Dolce Vegan

I like the addition of dried cranberries to this classic combo. Yes, those are Disney princess muffin cups!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T19:43:00.002-04:00

I was so excited for my first time handing out candy to trick or treaters (we've always been in apartment buildings before). We got about 50 kids, which is great for our little neighbourhood. I had fun carving pumpkins too. Not pictured, I also did a vampire pumpkin.

I roasted the pumpkin seeds with salt...mmmmmm.

We put Dill upstairs and blocked the stairs with a baby gate so that she wouldn't be barking and scaring the little ones that came. For some reason she is afraid of the baby gate, and wouldn't go near it. This picture shows the closest she would get to it to look at me down the stairs, hahaha.

Birthday...

2011-10-26T21:08:00.004-04:00

Our beautiful puppy turned 2 today :) Apparently, they're puppies until 2, so maybe we will see some more mellow behaviour now...or not.
On a whim (and I am prepared to accept jabs about how we did this for a dog), we bought a dog "birthday cake" at PetSmart. It's totally vegan and we thought it would be cute. Also, we didn't give her the whole thing!

You know its good when it gets carried over to the dog bed...

In knitting news, here's a picture of the finished bolero. I haven't washed it yet, so I'm hoping it will block a bit and that the ribbing will settle down a bit more nicely. Other than that, I'm quite pleased with the results, although it did stretch out a lot from being worn one day (it is cotton after all).

I've also completed a different project and begun a new one, but these shall remain top secret as they are Christmas gifts :)

Craft Night!

2011-10-26T20:50:00.004-04:00

I had a few of my favourite girls in the world over last Friday for a Halloween craft night. There were some challenges (although I picked the simplest crafts from Martha Stewarts website....we decided she has robots to make them for her), but we ended up with a few cute things.

Halloween candles...

Paper Hangups...

And food!

Caroline's vegan chocolate pie (delicious)

the Perfect Sunday

2011-10-16T12:15:00.006-04:00

To me, there's lots of different "perfect days" out there. But Sunday is special. That's me time. I was awoken this morning to the smell of cinnamon rolls, because Billy was holding up a cup of "cinnamon pastry" coffee to my nose, along with a plate of cinnamon toast. Mmmmm. Then we caught up on some DVR'ed shows and brought the dog for a walk in the park, while taking in all the beautiful fall colours.

The rest of the day will be spent alternating between knitting and cooking/baking to fill the house with pleasant smells. And who knows, I may even throw a puzzle in the mix.

Here's what I've made so far:

Pumpkin Cake- Sinfully Vegan

This is a lovely spiced cake. On its own its satisfying but nothing spectacular. Topped with the whipped pumpkin topping however, puts it over the edge. The sweetener in this recipe is maple syrup (lots of it). It also has applesauce, whole wheat flour and flax powder in it, so its pretty healthy for a dessert :)

Chicken Soup- Skinny Bitch in the Kitch

Yummy! Apparently this is Billy's NEW favourite chicken soup. It has PC's meatless chicken chunks, veggies, and rice. I subbed the rice for pasta. It's a tad salty for my taste, so I will cut that down next time, but other than that, it's delicious!

Spicy Pumpkin Soup-Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods

There is a lot of pureed pumpkin floating around our household due to Thanksgiving and the season. I'm trying to find different ways to use it (this week was pumpkin chocolate chip muffins). This soup is very spicy, but kind of bland. It only has pumpkin, milk, veggie broth, maple syrup and dried chili flakes in it. Maybe I'll like it more with crackers. However, I also find it hard when an ingredient transitions from "dessert" to "dinner". I think its also why I don't like coconut milk in savoury dishes.

Knitting Update:
I finally finished my brown cotton lacey bolero that I've been working on since June (I frequently hibernated this project when I got to a tough step :P). I just need to sew up the arm seams and weave in loose ends, then I will show it off here :)

Happy Sunday!

Nooooooooooooooooo!

2011-10-09T12:25:00.003-04:00

My first time ever hosting Thanksgiving and I forget my &%!$ camera in my classroom! Bah! So we will have to settle with a list of all the food I'm making :(

-chocolate truffles (The Vegan Table): so yummy and simple!
-spinach dip (125 Best Vegan Recipes): always a winner. Note: this recipe is best made with Vegenaise (there are no other comparisons)
-tofu roast (homemade tofurkey, La Dolce Vegan)
-mashed potatoes (mine will have horseradish in them)
-mushroom gravy
-pumpkin cheesecake (Sinfully Vegan)
-green beans in garlic butter sauce (Vegan Table)
-holiday cranberry sauce (Veganomicon)
-stuffing (boxed)
-pumpkin and apple pie

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians...may it be delicious and cruelty free ;)

Whoops

2011-10-01T13:32:00.004-04:00

Two months since I posted...yikes. Buying the house, fixing it up and moving in was a huge drain, not to mention kicking off a new school year! I've been cooking a bit but not bothering to take pictures. Til now!

I'm also hosting Thanksgiving next weekend, so there will lots of pictures from that.

Cupcakes!
Just basic chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting and various sprinkles. These were made for a BBQ night that we had at our place in August to celebrate the end of the mixed league baseball season.

Cheezy cream of broccoli soup- Skinny Bitch in the Kitch

As the weather gets colder, I turn to soups to comfort me. This is a very yummy soup with daiya cheese in it. I was expecting a more orange soup but the daiya doesn't melt all the way into the soup. It's nice and thick though. Skinny Bitch gets a bad rap for having lots of "junky" recipes that use lots of vegan cheese and meats. But every once in a while I get a craving for those kinds of foods, so I like it!

Attention readers: any recommendations for great crowd-pleasing vegan Thanksgiving recipes?

Cooking in the heat...

2011-08-01T17:20:00.003-04:00

Vegetable Risotto- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods

Fruit Cobbler- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food

Broccoli Bake-Mom

It doesn't look very pretty, but it's delicious! Steamed broccoli topped with a thick mushroom sauce, crumbled Ritz crackers and Daiya Cheddar.

Watermelon Sorbet

Huevos Rancheros- Garden of Vegan
One of my favourite breakfast items. Tortilla, refried beans, scrambled tofu and cheese, baked to yumminess!

Wolffie's Fiesta Macaroni Salad- La Dolce Vegan

Another favourite, and as I discovered this weekend, a crowd pleaser.

Easy Peasy

2011-07-13T18:04:00.003-04:00

Dinners this month will be focused around cleaning out the cupboards and using up some staples and canned goods. So with that in mind, I made a super quick and easy meal yesterday that was also very tasty. Chili macaroni (a la Hamburger Helper style, sorta). Canned black beans, canned diced tomatoes, macaroni, soymilk, and some seasonings (oregano, chili powder, garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper...). All simmered for 20 minutes. It hit the spot! No recipe, I just winged it and tasted for seasoning.

Latest Knitting Project: Cotton Bolero

This took a little while to get off the ground as I was reading the chart wrong, but I think I've got it for now. I'm liking the lacy look so far.

So, as elated as I am that we are soon moving into our first home....make that first house, as my home is always where my family is, even if it's not in a house, I've been lamenting the fact that I will no longer be a 5 minute walk away from our town's beautiful lakeside public park. But, Billy and I just did a quick tour of our new neighbourhood and we are two minutes away from an awesome, huge park (minus the lake). There's a playground, a tennis court, an arena (which is great in the summer for running around with the dog), and a closed 1 km cycling path, along with a few other features. So I'm feeling pretty good!

A Treat

2011-07-10T14:59:00.002-04:00

Our closing date for the new house isn't until August 3rd, and we probably won't move in right away, but we've already starting packing, dejunking, donating and all the other activities that come with a move. We literally have no weekends free after this one (full of plans), so we need to work fast! I thought I'd make us a treat and take a break for breakfast today.

French Toast- The Vegan Table
I used one of the variations and made French toast "sandwiches" with banana slices. These were made with a day old baguette sliced up. With the banana and a touch of vegan whipped cream, these were heavenly! Then back to work...

Crazy...

2011-07-08T19:07:00.002-04:00

Poutine:
Fried, mushroom gravy and Daiya "mozzarella". It was really good!

Linguine with Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce and Bruschetta
A simple meal when we're short on time.

These last two weeks have felt like two years. Billy and I officially bought our first house today! More details to come...

2011-07-01T06:28:00.000-04:00

We are pretty busy right now with traveling and some things going on. Stay tuned....

Happy Stuff

2011-06-12T10:45:00.004-04:00

It's been a long and exhausting two weeks at school, as my students write their provincial tests. One day this week, I'd had enough and needed to visit a few of my happy places to make everything OK again! So I took a trip to the library for some books from my book bucket list, and did some retail therapy at the local yarn store....

These are all vegan yarns (gotta love the warm weather yarns that come out!). I got 5 skeins of Butterfly Mercerized Cotton (brown), two skeins of Berroco Comfort DK (nylon, acrylic) in red, two skeins of Classic Elite Yarns Firefly (viscose and linen) in gray, two skeins of Rowan lenpur linen (green), and a skein of Kertzer On Your Toes Bamboo, a mix of bamboo viscose and nylon in purple (hello, socks!). I cannot disclose all of the projects I have in mind for some of these yarns, as they are part of my Christmas knit list. But the brown cotton is all mine and I hope to make a bolero with it.

Two of my animals getting along this morning...they look so guilty.

Junk Food

2011-06-06T17:34:00.002-04:00

The following is a few weeks of stuff, I don't eat this stuff every night! We like to do one "junky" meal a week as a treat, like pizza, or mac and cheese, etc...

Mac and cheese....so rich and filling!

Pizza with daiya cheese and vegan pepperoni

Chicken Nachos:
Corn tortilla chips with Daiya mozzarella and cheddar and chopped up PC "chicken".

My local health store started carrying Sol Cuisine's veggie breakfast patties. These taste a lot like sausage patties! So I had to make breakfast sandwiches last weekend to try them out. A tofu egg with cheese and sausage. Mmmm, it hit the spot!

Dill's tongue captured in action!

Also, here's the Prospect Park Potato Salad I brought when we went camping...

Camping-vegan style

2011-05-28T20:39:00.004-04:00

Hubby and I went camping with a big group of friends on May long. What a blast! And I wanted to have fantastical food and meals with me, rather than relying on veggie dogs and burgers (although they came along for the ride too...). With a little planning and prepping, it is definitely possible to eat like kings while camping!

Not pictured, I grilled up a seitan steak from Veganize this, with BBQ sauce. I served it with couscous and pea salad from La Dolce Vegan and Prospect Park Potato Salad from Veganomicon. Chilled salads like that are perfect for camping, since you don't have to worry about warming them up, and they're very satisfying.

Also, I prepped everything I needed to make tofu scramble, so all I did to do in the morning was saute it on the propane stove. Mmmm it was sooooo good, served with a banana nut muffin (La Dolce Vegan).

I also had Yves chicken burgers and soy hot dogs, which hit the spot roasted on the fire. Throw in lots of fresh veggies and fruit (prewashed and chopped), and I did not feel deprived at all.

Breakfast on the last day was this delicious grilled bacon tempeh in a TLT sandwich. Oh god, it was good.

Also, last week my staff had a potluck salad lunch. I contributed potato salad from La Dolce Vegan. Yes, those are grapes, and they're actually quite nice in potato salad!

Wolffie's B'nanner bars! From La Dolce Vegan...I love these cakey bars. They've got a buttercream frosting on them.

The Dog

2011-05-20T17:53:00.003-04:00

Note: this post is not meant to debate whether or not your pet should be on a vegan diet. I am well aware that dogs are omnivores, but healthy, nutritionally balanced vegetarian pet food is available. It is an informational post to help inform others and maybe give them a helping start if they choose to do so.

After watching a video (which I may or may not post in the future), I have decided to switch my dog to a vegetarian diet. Most dog food is made from leftovers from slaughterhouses. Picture them scraping up the leftovers and hauling them into a truck....not what I want to feed my dog. Anyways, I've made the decision not to *buy* any meat products for my dog, but I will not make a huge deal out of other people feeding her meat products if it happens (although she's not supposed to get scraps:P)

So far, we've got her eating Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Vegetarian Dog Kibble. Vegetarian dog kibble is easily available as many dogs have meat sensitivities. Dill really likes it, and as a treat I pour some olive oil over it every few days.

Also, once a week or so, she's given a can of Holistic Ble nd canned dog food, the fruits and veggies flavour. Dill eats this up in two minutes flat. She adores it.

And from How It All Vegan, I made her the bad breath doggy biscuits. I get the same reaction out of Dill when I give her one of these as if I just gave her a milk bone. I only had gingerbread men cutouts, but I'm going to look for bone shaped ones.

So far, Dill has lost her little winter tummy and has tons of energy (as usual).

Picture Heavy!

2011-05-13T17:20:00.005-04:00

I haven't posted all week so I've got lots of pictures! In no particular order, because I don't feel like moving all of them around, here it is...
Bean Pizza Pocket- Vegan Italiano
Pizza pockets filled with navy beans, basil, salt and pepper and pizza sauce. I also threw in some Daiya cheese I had kicking around. These are quick, easy and yummy!

Garden Wraps-Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods
This was lunch this week. Whole wheat flax tortillas with a dijon mayo spread (with nutritional yeast and parsley too), and filled with green leaf lettuce, tomato and broccoli sprouts. I loved it!

Sunday was BBQ night. I did a steak and potato dinner and it was phenomenal.

Loaded baked potato: Earth Balance margarine, Tofutti sour cream, Daiya cheddar.

I picked up these weiner dog corn holders last weekend....I couldn't resist!

Grilled seitan steak with garlic rosemary sauce and mushrooms- Veganize This!
This steak is so good! I love the texture of the seitan (meaty) and it grills up really well on the BBQ. It's topped with a rosemary garlic white sauce and cremini mushrooms. It was a bit salty, but I'll just leave out the seasoning rub next time.

Here's the "steak" before being grilled.

I made these lemon and rosemary potatoes for Billy on the grill since he doesn't really go for baked potatoes.

We split a bottle of home-brewed black cherry wine courtesy of the in-laws. Best wine I've ever had!

Poached Pears in Amaretto-Vegan Italiano

And for a light dessert, poached pears in a sweet Amaretto syrup. Delicious! Cinnamon and cloves make this really special. Billy's favourite fruit combined with his favourite liqueur.

And, since I was cooking so much Italian, I wanted one of my favourite appetizers from when I was in Italy (and the easiest). Bread dipped in extra virgin olive oil, with a splash of balsamic vinaigrette.

Happy Cooking!

Endings and Beginnings

2011-05-07T18:42:00.003-04:00

Here's my latest finished object, a block pattern sofa pillow. One side is all green, the other is stripes of green and grey. It matches my cabled throw, my couch and my walls :) I just used our old pillows, which didn't match anything in the living room anymore.

And my latest project, bamboo socks. This is Dye-Version bamboo fingering yarn (100% bamboo). I bought this skein of yarn without a project in mind, but I loved the colours (it's name is Jewel). When I check Ravelry's pattern database I found that this yarn is used primarily for shawls. I didn't want a shawl so I decided to make socks since I like variegated yarn, but not as a large clothing item (not my style). I think my feet deserved to be pampered with a little bit of beautifully coloured bamboo...don't you??

Early Mother's Day

2011-05-05T21:12:00.003-04:00

We sent our Mother's Day gift for my mom-in-law this week and it got there early. So I can post this because I know she opened it :P Can't blame her, I wouldn't wait if I got a big box in the mail, that's for sure!
One of the gifts was these knitted gardening gloves by Debbie Bliss (pattern in The Knitter's Year). They're made of Debbie Bliss' Ecobaby 100% organic cotton. Love this yarn, squishy and soft... And the colour, sage, is really cute too. These would be great for pruning, tying up, watering in the morning when the sun hasn't had time to warm everything up, or like Billy's mom said, wrapping your hands around a cup of tea in the morning.

In other gardening news, I'm thinking the chance of freezing has passed now and I can start planting soon!

Carb-o-licious

2011-05-04T20:36:00.002-04:00

Potato Tortino-Vegan Italiano
Potatoes layered with caramelized onions, veggie broth and bread crumbs. A nice, comforting casserole, served with salad.

Fusilli with lentil sauce-Vegan Italiano

I love this cookbook! Pasta tossed with a delicious sauce made of broth, spinach, lentils, tomatoes, carrots and onions. Rosemary and thyme tie it all together.

Surprise!

2011-04-25T22:29:00.003-04:00

I just came back from a surprise birthday dinner for my dear friend Caroline. We ate at Respect is Burning and wow, it was good. The owner came over when he heard I was vegan and offered to make me a pasta dish off the menu with tons of yummy stuff. I told him no capers, no olives, please and have at 'er! I was not disappointed. I don't like to take food pictures at swanky restaurants, but it was fusilli with mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, greens, and lots of flavour!

My friend Erica, the baker extraordinaire, made delicious vegan cupcakes for everyone (since Caroline is also vegan). OMG They were sooooooo good. Dense chocolate cupcakes topped with a sweet raspberry icing. I love going out and getting so much delicious food. It just tastes better when you don't have to do it yourself.

I brought Billy home a cupcake since it was a girls only dinner and managed to snap a quick picture before he ate it.

Happy Birthday Caroline! xoxo

300!!

2011-04-24T22:43:00.003-04:00

No, not the half-naked kind of 300....it's my 300th blog post! And yay, I have dessert to show as a celebration. Things just work out for me that way :P

Billy and I went to visit the in-laws this weekend for Easter. As usual, I had a plate piled high with yummy, cruelty-free food (which I ate too quickly to take a picture of). I had Tofurky and gravy, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies, buns, and stuffing. Delicious....also, we stayed a night at my brother in law's new apartment, and him and his fabulous girlfriend made us a yummy mexican pasta. Gotta love being spoiled (and not cooking every once in a while).

Dessert was a low fat chocolate bundt cake with cherry filling and "whipped" topping. My MIL found a tofu based "whipped cream" recipe. While it wasn't the same consistency as cool whip, it was actually really good and added a little decadence to the cake, which was similar to a black forest cake.

The drive home was not a pleasant one for Dill (or my mom's car). She ate something and has been sick since last night. She puked no less than 10 times in the car :(

A big thank you to those that read this blog. Here's to 300 more!

Orange ch'kn

2011-04-18T20:10:00.002-04:00

From Quick and Easy Comfort Foods, this orange chicken is really good! Neither orange nor containing much orange flavour, it's still satisfying (only 1/4 cup oj in the recipe). And finally, Billy can have some OJ since I told him hands off til I made this :) I served it with arborio rice and some mixed veggies. Very filling. Instead of using tofu or seitan, like the recipe said, I used PC meatless chicken and some Yves turkey I had in the freezer.

WIPs: Works in Progress

2011-04-17T19:36:00.002-04:00

I recently finished a zigzag pillow cover and now I'm knitting another one (from the same pattern book). This is using Bernat Super Value Solids (100% acrylic) in Forest Green. It is using up the leftover yarn from the sofa blanket I made earlier this year. So while I may hate my couch, I will love the super comfy blanket and two matching pillow covers! This one is easier to knit than the zigzag pattern as it's a bit more repetitive and intuitive, so I don't have to check the pattern every minute.

I'm always searching out new vegan knitting blogs to find out about the best non-animal fibers out there. I've recently added some of my favourites to my blogroll. Anyways, I thought I would say a little about the yarns I use for my projects for anyone else searching for this information.
My latest work in progress, garden gloves, is made using Debbie Bliss Ecobaby 100% fairtrade organic cotton (in sage). I found it to be very splitty at first, while casting on, but once the project got under way it improved drastically. It's nice and squishy and I love the colour! It's softer than some other cottons I've used. I got it at my local yarn store for 7.95 a skein (50g).

The glove is a simple stockinette stitch, with ribbing for the wrist. There will be individual fingers for the gloves, without fingertips.

New cookbook!

2011-04-13T18:09:00.005-04:00

I bought myself a new cookbook, which is one of my favourite ways to treat myself! I got Veganize This!. It's gotten some poor reviews for being complicated, time consuming and requiring substitutions. But I like to have all kinds of recipes on hand ranging in the spectrum from super easy to super fancy. I made two recipes from it this week. The titles are really long and seem to list every ingredient in them, but don't let that scare you away!

Vegan Escargots à la bourguignonne en croûte vegan brioche with café de Paris butter (woo what a mouthful!)- Veganize This!

This is a Sunday kind of recipe, the kind where you need a whole day to be able to lazily make this. First, you have to make the brioche. I was a bit too hasty and didn`t let it rise enough because my loaf wasn`t as big as it`s supposed to be. BUT, it's delicious!! Then you shape the brioche into little cups, top it with mushroom that's been cooked in a seasoned broth with veggies, and then top it with the cafe de Paris butter. I will be reducing the mustard in the butter sauce next time, but other than that...delicious! I only had escargots a few times when I was around 12 or so, so I don't remember them other than being chewy, so I think these fit the bill. I couldn't get morels, so I used shiitakes.

Cumin and Avocado Oil-Rubbed Portobello Tortas with Pico de Gallo and Basil-White Peppercorn Mayo- Veganize This

Again, don't be put off by the title. In real life, this is a portabello "burger" with mayo and pico on a bun. And it's scrumptious!! I couldn't find tortas, so I bought kaiser rolls which is what the book suggests as a sub. Also, it's supposed to be a dragon fruit pico, but mine rotted before I could make this (what a waster). Also, it's supposed to be purple basil in the mayo. But I did what I could. I love everything about this recipe: the flaky kaiser, the creamy mayo where basil is centre stage, the fresh pico, the savoury and grilled portobello and the crunchy romaine to top it off. I highly recommend this recipe. Also, it didn't take much time (and would take even less if you pre-made the condiments).

I love when I can use my grill pan :) And, I was really excited to use avocado oil, since that's new for me.

Dill and Mushroom Frittata- Vegan Brunch

I totally bought the wrong tofu for this recipe (too soft), so it didn't keep the pie shape it's supposed to when it comes out of the oven. So mine is more of a scramble/omelette. But still very tasty. How great is fresh dill??

Finished Object
A pointy elf baby hat, how cute! I made this with my leftover organic cotton. Did you know that cotton farmers have a very high rate of cancer?? I'll never complain about the cost of organic again!

And lastly, our fur baby family, all getting along, because they're unconscious I guess ;)

WANT

2011-04-09T18:55:00.003-04:00

http://www.herbivoreclothing.com/products/Cow-Hugger-gray-tote-bag.html

I maybe have to make some internet orders soon. This picture reminds me of a picture book my dad once got me about children that visit a farm. I have warm memories of that book :)

Pesto Gnocchi

2011-04-09T13:39:00.003-04:00

Potato Gnocchi with Ligurian Pesto and Peas- Vegan Italiano
This cookbook has never disappointed. The recipes are pretty basic and the recipes are so pure and easy, that you can't go wrong. None of the recipes call for tofu or non-dairy milks, or "cheese". It's traditional Italian fare (so not the bastardized North American version) using fresh ingredients, from the regular grocery store.

Lunch today was no different. It's gnocchi tossed with peas and Ligurian (a region of Italy) pesto. So good! Billy had a bite and said "hey, that's actually really good", like he was expecting it not to be :P He's never had gnocchi or much pesto for that matter, so it was a good first experience!

The pesto has fresh basil and parsley, pine nuts, salt and olive oil. I added a bit of vegan parm too. I bought a huge bag/bouquet of basil at the market today. Honestly, you could bring me that instead of flowers and I would be happy. It's such a great smell!

Knitting
I finally finished a cushion cover I've been knitting off and on since December. I got bored and kind of ignored it for a while, but I'm pleased with the end result. My couch pillows are old and the colour doesn't go with our living room anymore so I thought this would be a cheap fixer-upper. The yarn is the same yarn used in the blanket I made a while back (also pictured).

6 away

2011-04-06T17:27:00.004-04:00

After this post, I'm 6 posts away from 300! What am I going to do...probably let it pass by quietly since I am horrible at planning ahead.

This week's kind of a non-grocery week so we're making whatever we've got.

Veggie Bake- Looneyspoons
Pretty much like a pot pie but with bread crumbs sprinkled on top instead of a crust. It's okay, nothing special.

Random Pasta
Spaghetti mixed with tomato sauce, spinach and TVP, as well as a bit of salsa. Quite good.

I had to go to the grocery store for some margarine, and I found some great vegan stuff they didn't have before, so I'll be doing a product review soon. Also, they now carry Daiya! Woo hoo!

Knitting Update

2011-04-02T08:59:00.004-04:00

I got a Michael's gift card from my brother and sister in law for my birthday. So I splurged and bought two skeins of organic cotton, which was 11$ a skein. So worth it! It is so soft and I love the earthy colour. I made a soft basket with it, which is currently holding more yarn! I have almost a whole skein left (as seen in the picture), and I've already cast on with it to make a cute pointy elf hat for a baby.

Also, I just finished these fingerless mitts using the leftover yarn from my socks. I made them the bigger size, because I have big hands, but even then, they are loose. I'm a loose knitter and need to remember that! These are finished just in time, while the weather is warming up and my winter mitts are becoming a bit warm.

I finished those baby socks I showed a while back. Still working on that darn pillow cover. I also finished a baby bonnet but don't have pictures yet.

The local yarn store has started stocking summer yarns, which means more cottons, viscose, linen, bamboo, and less wool. So I will be stocking up and hopefully starting some more projects.

Happy Knitting!

Saturday morning...a cuppa tea and blogging :)

2011-04-02T08:37:00.004-04:00

Happy Saturday! The sun is out and the air smells like the promise of spring! This has been a rough and tiring week so the cooking kind of slacked, and we had a birthday dinner for Billy but I managed to make some things...

Mac and Cheeze- QAEVCF
Dinner last night. I love this mac and cheese. I love that it doesn't use non dairy milk or cheese to make it so creamy and delicious. Cashews and macadamia nuts do that. And carrots give it it's lovely yellow hue.

Pizza Pockets
Billy wanted to make ham and cheese pockets again. This time we tried it with pizza dough instead of croissant dough, and he added pizza sauce. They were yummy! But we will stick to croissant dough, its more flakey and less heavy. These have slices of Tofurkey deli slices and vegan cheese in them.

Lemon cashew stuffed crepes- Vegan Brunch
I made these on Sunday morning. You need quite a bit of time. The cashews need to be soaked overnight, you have to make the creamy cashew stuffing, the berry sauce, and the crepe batter has to sit for an hour. That being said, it is SO worth it!! Like the book says, this is almost like eating cheesecake for breakfast! The cashew filling is like a sweet ricotta, and it gets better if you let it sit in the fridge a bit and absorb all that lemon flavour. Mmmmmmmmm. If you've got Vegan Brunch, make this! I chose to make blueberry sauce because I felt it would go really well with the lemon flavour.

Billy's BBQ meal of the week
Billy had the idea to BBQ some "chicken" and make wraps with it. He is awesome on the BBQ and it's nice to let him do some of the cooking ;). After he BBQ'ed this PC meatless chicken, I chopped it up and mixed it with a bit of vegan mayo and some A1 BBQ sauce. Topped with lettuce and tomato and wrapped up in a flour tortilla, it really hit the spot!

Curried chickpeas and rice

This is one of my favourite simple meals to make. The cookbook Garden of Vegan has a good recipe for it with onions, garlic, etc But I was even too lazy and tired to chop up onions and garlic. So I just sauteed the chickpeas in a bit of margarine with curry powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. I served it over brown rice. It could've done with some green veggies too. I love chickpeas! Next time someone asks you where you get your protein, shove a bowl of this in their face!

Blahhhh

2011-03-23T21:39:00.004-04:00

Ugh, it's the first week back from March break, and I feel like a zombie...I cannot get back into the groove of things, plus I've got a dumb assignment due tomorrow. Anyways, Sunday was nice and sunny and in an effort to feel like I actually did something during my time off I decided to bake some stuff.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins- The Vegan Lunchbox

So yummy! I made jumbo and regular sizes since I had lots of leftover pumpkin puree.

Wolffie's B'naner Bars- La Dolce Vegan
Billy wanted banana bread, but for all of my go-to recipes, I was missing a key ingredient, so I made these instead. These taste just like banana bread but with more of a soft, cakey texture. Billy was kind enough to leave me ONE piece of the eight that the recipe made for my lunch on Monday :P

Stuffed Peppers-Looneyspoons
These were wonderful! I can't post the recipe as mine because the recipe was vegan on its own (except I used vegan Worcestershire sauce). We added a bit of ground round in with the rice and black beans. These are nicely spiced.

2011-03-16T19:31:00.004-04:00

Dinner last night...

Lemon Rosemary Roasted Potatoes- Vive le Vegan

YUM

Pizza Burgers- Skinny Bitch in the Kitch

A veggie burger topped with vegan cheese, warm pizza sauce and "peperoni", as well as some slivered fresh basil. Sooooo good! The grilling was courtesy of hubby.

Mint chocolate chip ice box cookies- Vegan Cookies...

These are interesting. They have flakes of fresh green mint in them. They're crunchy but not hard.

Before:

After:

Pumpkin Bran Muffins- Vegan Brunch

Going through my cookbooks while we were meal planning for this week, I was reading out the names of some muffin recipes for Billy so he could decide what kind we'd have. I was prepared for chocolate or raspberry or some deliciousness. But he stopped me at pumpkin bran! Fine by me :) These are really nice and have a nice flavour from cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. The recipe calls for wheat bran flakes, not the kind of bran that's in the cereal.

I got a gift card to Michael's from my brother in law and his wife for my birthday so I decided to go spend it up today. I bought myself two skeins of 100% organically grown cotton, worsted. I've never really seen thicker yarns of cotton. I would never have bought these myself at 12$ a skein, so I figured it was a good way to use the giftcard to spoil myself a bit :) I think I may use it to make some soft storage baskets. The colour is Walnut.

There should be some more baked goods this week eventually....plans for banana bread and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins (if I can get off Netflix long enough!)

Listen up picky eaters: "If one is forever cautious, can one remain a human being?"

2011-03-14T22:29:00.003-04:00

Food for thought....

The quest for hubby-friendly meals continues!

American Chop Soy- 125 Best Vegan Recipes
aka American Chop Suey, or Macaroni and Beef, or American Goulash

This is a simple and yummy meal that comes together quickly. I subbed green pepper for mushrooms to satisfy certain picky eaters in the household. This recipe is listed under the kid-friendly recipes section ;). The lighting in this picture makes me ache for summer time.

Chipotle Veggie Bean Burrito-Vive le Vegan
Not actually chipotle, because I used smoked tabasco instead, but still delicious. A bunch of spices cooked with green pepper, onion, tomatoes and black beans. Billy ate 3. I topped mine with tomatoes and cheese, as the recipe recommends, but you can also put the cheese inside and eat it by hand. An avocado sauce was served on the side.

This is our friend's new puppy Hank, a Cairn terrier. How can you resist that face??

Perfect Timing

2011-03-12T20:38:00.006-05:00

Yesterday, I awoke on my first day of March Break with a cold. And it's only worse today. Nice timing! :( So there was no cooking today, only lots of sleeping, knitting and drinking ginger ale and now tea. So since I have no food updates, here's an update on my latest knitting projects.

Some finished projects:

Tomato pincushion

Star crossed beret/slouchy hat

Unfinished projects:

Cushion cover. I just finished the first side today (it took me nearly three months to do, only because I get bored with it easily. But the zigzags are cute). Hopefully it won't be another three months for the other side!

1 of 2 baby socks. For a former coworker. Gender unknown, so I chose a variegated yarn with neutral-ish colours. This yarn is supposed to give a fair isle effect, which I didn't see much. But it did self-stripe which I think is really cool and way easier than doing actual stripes!

I'm also working on glove #1 of a pair of seed stitch fingerless gloves, but I'm not far enough in to merit taking pictures yet.

Sick tea: loose leaf chamomile citron combined with PC's tropical green tea. I can't taste it but it feels good...

Double Team Dinner

2011-03-08T21:45:00.004-05:00

I chose meals for the week that I knew Billy would like and eat (so no mushrooms, zucchini, potatoes, excessive onion, or any other "weird" veggies). We also planned to cook them together. So since we had made a "date" to make this stirfry together last night...it was so much easier to get motivated to get in the kitchen, rather than just vegging because I was tired and didn't want to cook. It was a lot of fun! Billy took care of all the chopping, and I whisked the stir fry sauce together and covered the sauteeing and rice making. Dinner was made and served within 30 minutes.

"The Way We Stir" Chicken Stir Fry- Looneyspoons

PC meatless chicken, snow peas, red pepper and green onions sauteed in a ginger peanut butter sauce and served over brown rice. Healthful, quick and delicious.

2011-03-07T18:04:00.002-05:00

Stuff in random order:

My latest knitting project. This was supposed to be a slouch hat, but it was a b*itch to make, so I shortened it to a regular hat. 100% mercerized cotton.

Dinner last night:
Billy BBQed and made me a double stacked veggie burger with a perfectly melted vegan cheese slice in the middle :)

East Coast Coffee Cake- Vegan Brunch
I did the jam swirl option and it is tasty!

Egg MacGuffin- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods
Billy asked for seconds...success!

Here's a photo of what the tofu "egg" patties look like while they're cooking up.

Sunday mornings....does it get any better than that? Rolled out of a bed and the first thing I did was make myself a cup of masala chai. Mmmmmmm

1 month into my new job, I'm cooking again!

2011-03-05T20:28:00.002-05:00

I am trying to make more meals that both me and the hubby can enjoy together, since we have a lot of fun cooking together, and its nice to eat the same thing every once in a while. So we chose a few recipes to make this week that hopefully I can show you soon. Of course, I also picked a recipe just for me!

Ham and Cheese Puff Pockets
I got the idea for these from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, although I didn't use the same dough to make them. I just used Pillsbury dough (I don't have time to achieve that kind of flakiness, although I know a few girls who do...ha!) I just wrapped the dough around some chopped Tofurkey deli slices and vegan cheese slices. So yummy! Billy ate it too so it's not just PMS food as the book states :P

Potato and Leek Soup- The Vegan Table

A very simple soup, and it's completely blended. I persuaded hubby to try some (he doesn't like potatoes or onions) and he liked it! I guess because there's no chunks of the offending foods. So while it was intended to be a "Melissa only" meal, he ended up sharing it with me :)

Caesar Salad- The Vegan Table
This was made to go along with the delicious soup. It's not my favourite of the vegan Caesars floating around out there, but it is good and I would make it again. It's simple to make. The dressing is tofu based. I didn't make the homemade croutons though, as I have a big bag of store bought ones to use up.

More to come!

"What's left in the cupboard?" Food

2011-03-05T20:16:00.006-05:00

I spent what little grocery budget we had left for the month on birthday food last weekend, so this week's meals were limited to what we already had in house. I think I did a pretty good job!

Breakfast for Dinner, Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Pancake mix, with added in chocolate chips and made with half milk and half water, as I didn't have enough soy milk. Luckily, I always stock pure maple syrup, so these were delicious!

Cheap and Easy Spanish Rice
This was created because I had rice and a jar of salsa and wanted to eat them together. Very simple, and I added in TVP for some protein. Billy liked this, so it was a bonus!

1 cup rice (I used arborio)
2 cups water
3/4-1 cup salsa
1 cup TVP, prepared
margarine
1 clove garlic, minced

On medium heat, saute the garlic and rice in butter for 1-2 minutes. Add water and salsa and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is cooked. Stir in prepared TVP, and fluff with a fork. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Veggies and Dip
I had a bunch of prepared veggies left over from the party, so I whipped up the Thousand Island Dressing from Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food to dip them in. So yummy!

Chili and Cornbread-
Amazingly, I was able to make this chili from 125 Best Vegan Recipes with only what I had stocked (proving the importance of a well stocked pantry!). I changed up the beans based on what I had, so there's white kidney beans, black eyed peas, and kidney beans. I also made corn bread from QAEVCF. While I don't particularly love eating corn bread as a side, I love crumbling it right into the chili.

So those were my pantry adventures for the week. Next, the seemingly decadent meals I make after having done groceries today! :P

Birthday Party

2011-02-27T15:40:00.003-05:00

I had a birthday gathering last night for myself and my friend Max, since our birthdays are very close. I didn't go all out this time and put out my standard spread, but I did make some things....

Cupcakes- Vanilla and Chocolate

My favourite drink of the moment- a pomegranate martini
1 1/2 oz. pomegranate liqueur
cranberry juice and a splash of sprite

At first I felt guilty for not cooking and baking as much as I usually do for my friends, and just going with store bought snacks, but people didn't eat much, so I'm glad I didn't waste my whole day!
We ended the night at my favourite dance bar.....so much fun!

Happy February!

2011-02-01T17:36:00.002-05:00

Happy February! I come bearing a gift....a recipe :)

Whatever's on Hand Black Bean Tortilla Soup

We made this tonight based on other soups we have, using what little was on hand. Grocery time!

1 onion, chopped
1.5 Tbsp olive oil
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups vegetable stock
small can of diced seasoned tomatoes
19 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp oregano, dried
1/2 tsp salt or to taste

tortilla chips, however much you want with your soup!

In a pot on medium heat, saute the onions until translucent. Add the celery and garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add the stock, tomatoes, beans, spices and herbs and salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. With an immersion blender, blend half or all of the soup carefully. Serve with crushed tortilla chips. (Even better with some guac, but we did not have any avocados).

2-4 servings.

Lots of stuff...

2011-01-17T17:47:00.003-05:00

I don't have much food for you, but I do have a random assortment of stuff so that I feel better about not posting!

Dill and Zeppelin hiding out in the closet together from the *evil vacuum monster*! (Thanks mom for the awesome vacuum!) At least I know what to do when I need some alone time from the fur babies :P

Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup - Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods

I love coming home from work to a meal waiting for you. This soup was really easy to prep and of course easy to cook and it's quite tasty. FULL of veggies.

Presenting my first knit sock! I'm currently on the second one. I just turned the heel and picked up stitches for the gusset, so it shouldn't be too much longer...

Here's a simple and delicious chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting (from VCTOTW). Part of our Pizza and Cupcake Friday last week!

I just found out I got a job I applied for. I am continuing my quest to learn how to cook, clean and work full time, but I can't make any promises about regular posts just yet...

Have a good week :)

Food, Glorious Food

2011-01-04T15:34:00.002-05:00

Blueberry Muffins- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods

When Billy eats something I make in sets of two or three, I know it's a good recipe! These are nice and moist and really let the blueberries shine.

Potato Salad- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods

Yum! All for me, since Billy doesn't do potatoes.

I've got some other meals planned, but lucky me, I've come down with a cold or strep or something, so I don't know how much cooking I'll be doing.

2010-12-28T22:27:00.006-05:00

Well, we are home from a wonderful time with our families. I haven't done groceries or planned meals yet, but here's some pictures of some knitting projects I've wrapped up in the last few months. These were not taken with my new camera, so they're not excellent quality.

Cable throw

Mini Santa hats for hand painted ornaments

Checkerboard mittens

Matching Checkerboard Cowl

Striped Scarf (finished but currently being blocked so I don't have an updated picture yet)

Linen Stitch Bookmark

I just started an easy hat for winter and in the new year, I will be learning how to knit socks!

Out with the old, in with the new...

2010-12-26T09:44:00.002-05:00

I got a new kick-butt camera for Christmas......thank you Mom-in-law!! So I will be posting some pictures very soon. Once I get to the grocery store and get creative in the kitchen...

Thank you for your patience :)

Also, I'll update everyone on my latest knitting adventures!

2010-11-29T12:36:00.002-05:00

So not only does my camera suck, the cord to transfer pictures to the computer is broken...so hold on until Christmas and then I will be posting fabulous pictures of food.

Lunch today:

Shefu tofu bites, and carrots, broccoli and green beans, stir-fried in President's Choice Ginger Soy stir fry sauce. Served on brown rice.

Shefu is so awesome, but I can't find it here, I picked it up on a weekend trip to Toronto. Anyone know how to replicate the great texture and taste?

Update on Knitting

2010-11-03T15:00:00.003-04:00

Hi strangers! I haven't been taking many pictures of food lately, or cooking anything terribly exciting. But I have been working a lot, which makes it okay. Just thought I'd post a quick update on my current projects!

I started a simple garter stitch (knit every row) scarf on the plane to Halifax over Thanksgiving weekend. It's quite boring but it's mindless enough for watching TV and for doing during my prep time while I supply teach. I am using up the last of this forest green yarn, which was the first yarn I ever bought.

Hubby and I were invited to a birthday party in Ottawa, and it left me only a week and a bit to make something up. Thankfully I knew a pattern that the birthday girl had admired, so that, along with finding out her favourite colours, I was able to knit up this scarf quickly for her. I think she liked it! The photo doesn't do it justice.

And, with the leftover yarn from above scarf, I have started some mittens. These are knit flat and then seamed together. I should've found a pattern that was knit in the round to challenge me a bit, but I already had the right size needles on hand :P

As for food, we have been having more sit down meals together, but they're easy things like "Chicken fingers", or A-1 "burgers" that DH makes on the BBQ. Once I've got my new camera I will be more motivated!

New food and a recipe as promised

2010-10-18T21:09:00.005-04:00

Arborio Rice with Roasted Peppers, Basil and Pine Nuts- The Vegan Table

I cooked this tonite, after already having cooked something for dinner, because I was still in the mood to cook, and I didn't know if that would last through the week...so now I have leftovers. I ended up eating this as my dinner anyways. The arborio is so creamy, and the fresh herbs combined with crunchy (and expensive!) pine nuts is fabulous. It comes together really quickly too.

Pasta and Beans On-hand Soup- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods

A simple soup with chickpeas and broken up noodles, it hits the spot! I blended the soup a bit with an immersion blender to make it come together a bit better. Hubby likes!

I've got lemon bars setting in the fridge, I will get to those later this week.

As promised, here is the manicotti recipe I made last weekend.

"Meat" Manicotti

1 box manicotti

1 pkg Ground Round or approx. 1 lb TVP (prepared) *I used TVP to keep it soy-free
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup bread crumbs
1 tbsp italian seasoning
1/2 lb. "mozza cheese" (I used daiya)
salt and pepper
egg replacer for two eggs
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (if dry add more)

Method:
Saute "meat", onion and garlic then add next 6 ingredients. Mix thoroughly.
Cook the box of manicotti according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water.
Stuff with filling (I used a piping bag to fill the tubes!).
Place shells in single layer in greased lasagna dish. Pour 2 cups of sauce over the tubes (I also mixed in some Tofutti cream cheese I had into the sauce). Top with more cheese if desired. Cover and bake for 25-35 minutes at 375 or til hot. Remove cover for the last 10 to 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Knitting

I've been working on a blanket for the living room that features cables and seed stitch. It's knit in 5 panels or "scarves" and then seamed together...which I'm not thinking about right now...I hate seaming!

This project is going on hold for a while, as I'm working on a last minute gift for a friend.

The baby blanket I showed before is now finished and wrapped up, waiting for the shower on Saturday...I love it!

Delurk yourselves! :)

2010-10-17T17:24:00.003-04:00

Whoops...our Thanksgiving dinner of stuffed manicotti and brownies was so delicious, we ate it all too quickly before I remembered to take pictures! I will post the recipe soon though. I'm quite proud of it, as Billy ate most of the recipe including leftovers, and it's a task to try and get him to eat leftovers.

Here's an apricot loaf I made from How It All Vegan, in an effort to make recipes from some of my more neglected cookbooks. I'm not a huge fan of dried apricots, but I was gifted with a large bag of them and wanted to try them out before just tossing them. The bread itself is quite lovely, with apricot juice but next time I would drastically reduce the amount of dried fruit or substitute for one I like. If you love dried apricots, this bread is for you!

And finally, if you have been stopping by, I'm asking that you leave a comment, even just to say hi. Why? Because I'd like to say hello, and stop by your blog if you have one! Plus, it makes a girl feel good to see some comments after her hard work...ok, not hard, but still :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-10-11T15:32:00.006-04:00

So despite the fact that my "good" camera died, and the only one I have takes horrible pictures...I've decided I'll keep blogging with the pictures it takes. This blog keeps me motivated to cook good meals and to try new things.

So, hubby and I were in Nova Scotia this weekend for his brother's wedding, and I didn't do any groceries before leaving, so our Thanksgiving dinner is made with things that were on hand...more on that later. Aside from giving thanks tonight, we'll also be celebrating the fact that DH got a job that starts tomorrow. I won't go into details, but it's in his field that he went to school for. We'll all very excited. I'll post our cruelty-free Thanksgiving dinner later.

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia (My first time seeing the Atlantic since I was a baby)

Meals before the trip were kept simple, this is a mac and cheese casserole with mozza daiya cheese and bread crumbs. Mmmmmm.

My friend and I get together every Sunday to cook some vegan food together. Last week it was jalapeno poppers (recipe follows) and stuffed mushrooms using the same filling from the poppers. I also tried a mushroom poppers recipe from The Vegan Table:

I added leftover bread crumbs on top for some crunch. These are quite nice, I would make them for parties.

Recipe for Jalapeno Poppers: (makes 32 servings, 1 serving is half a jalapeno)

1.5 containers Tofutti cream cheese, softened
1 cup cheddar cheese *used daiya, shredded
1 tablespoon simulated bacon bits
16 jalapenos, seeded and halved
1 cup non-dairy milk of your choice
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup dry bread crumbs
oil for frying (we used canola)

1. In a bowl, mix the cream cheese with the cheese and bacon bits. Spoon mixture into jalapeno halves.
2. Put the milk and flour into separate bowls. Dip the stuffed jalapenos into the milk and then the flour, coating well. Allow the peppers to dry 5-10 minutes.
3. Dip the jalapenos in the milk and then roll them in the breadcrumbs. Let them dry again, and then repeat to ensure the jalapenos are well covered.
4. Heat the oil in a pan (enough for the poppers to deep fry, at least 4 inches). When oil is hot enough, deep fry the jalapeno poppers in batches for 2-3 minutes or until they are golden brown. Drain on paper towel. Serve hot.

These are certainly not healthy, but they're great for when you start craving junk foods you used to have!

Mindful Knitting

2010-09-27T10:46:00.005-04:00

While I was sitting in a coffee shop yesterday, alone, and working on the baby blanket that I'm knitting for a friend...I thought about the idea that our emotions and thoughts might be passed into the knitting and passed on to the recipient. What do you think?

Usually when working on this project, I'm chatting with friends at work, or watching TV, but every once in a while I think about the baby girl that will be (hopefully) wrapped in this blanket, and I wish good things for her and her mama and their future together.

My emotions at the coffee place yesterday were not so peaceful. They were...let's say turbulent. I was a half hour into being stood up by some friends that said they would meet me there, and I was alone in a busy shop. I was kind of seething about it, as it was a meeting for the book club I've been requested to run...and the last few meetings have been less than populated. I was ready to cancel book club. I stopped and reflected on the fact that I'd just knit three angry rows into the blanket, and wondered if that vibe could be passed on. I know it might be crazy, but I then resolved to not think about the issue anymore, at least not while I was knitting the blanket.

There is a book called Mindful Knitting by Tara Jon Manning which "aims to help knitters become more meditative in their knitting practice by making them mindful of forming each stitch and passing positive emotions into the work as they knit."

I don't need to read this book to know that knitting can be a form of meditation, but I will definitely try to be more mindful in my knitting...just in case!

Why, camera, why?

2010-09-23T10:53:00.002-04:00

Well, dear readers....I think it's my camera's time to pass on. It takes one picture then freezes up and won't load them on to the computer. I have a backup camera but it takes horrid pictures. This blog is the only thing that keeps me cooking right now, because I love that I'm back to regular updates. A new camera is on my Christmas list but that's a long way away... Well, hopefully it will fix itself!

Anyways, I went shopping at Value Village the other day to see what I would find. Answer: A lot of cute clothes for teaching, an ice cream maker, and a few paintings!

Turns out the ice cream maker is missing the handle/blade but I'm going to test it out. If it doesn't work with my makeshift blade/handle, I will try to return it. If not, I will donate it back. It was only 7 dollars! I've got some mint chocolate chip ice cream mix cooling, waiting to be put into the frozen chamber...Can't wait!

I've been working 10-12 hour days the last couple of days, so not much cooking is going on!

Fashion Show

2010-09-19T14:35:00.005-04:00

No new food just yet. I'm still eating leftovers. My pistachio rosewater cupcakes went over very well at work, so I think they're a go for the baby shower next month. Tonight is the start of our girls' fall/winter cooking and knitting night, so I should have some pics soon from that.

In other news, I have finally finished (wow, its really hard to type while a dog is licking your fingers!), Dill's dog sweater. I bought this yarn because I loved the colour combo of brown and blue, but realized I wouldn't really want to wear it myself...so a doggy sweater made sense, especially since dog clothes in pet stores don't really fit dachshunds properly, and cold weather is upon us. I should've made the end of the turtleneck looser, but I think it will stretch and look more natural with wear.

The pattern is from the Stitch n' Bitch book. There's a matching human sweater, but I'm not going there!

Tofish

2010-09-16T14:04:00.004-04:00

Cornmeal Crusted Tofu Fillets with Tartar Sauce - The Vegan Table
(and Horseradish Mashed Potatoes)
These fillets fried up beautifully, but as I dredged and prepped, I thought to myself...this tofu isn't marinaded or anything, it's just dredged in coating and dijon , will it be flavourful enough? The answer, my friends, is no. However, it is crispy, and topped with the vegenaise tartar sauce it's quite nice. Next time I will marinate my tofu using instructions from this blog post at "Meet the Shannons", which calls for marinading with miso soup and Worcestershire. I'm disappointed that you can't really taste much of the flavour in the coating which has lots of herbs and spices, and salt....

The potatoes are derived from an online recipe which I had to veganize, and they are quite nice. I've long wanted to try them, as I love horseradish.

Horseradish Mashed Potatoes

2.5 lbs (half a bag) Yukon gold potatoes, cubed (I don't peel, but feel free)
3/4 cup (175 mL) hot oat milk
1/4 cup (50 mL) Earth Balance margarine
4 tsp (18 mL) prepared horseradish
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper
1 pinch nutmeg

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cover and cook the potatoes for 15 minutes or until tender; drain and return to the pot. I originally did 20 minutes and my potatoes were mildly overcooked.

With a potato masher, mash together the hot milk, margarine, horseradish, salt, pepper and nutmeg with the potatoes.

Pistachio Rosewater Cupcakes- VCTOTW

I've had a bottle of rosewater in my pantry for some time now, and I've finally gotten to use it. I wanted to test these out for a baby shower I'm throwing next month, as they sound so delicate and fancy. These cupcakes are super light, so I feel that the icing is a bit heavy. In fact, after I peeled my wrapper off, it was top heavy and kept tipping. A light glaze might be in order here. Just pretty....so pretty. Anyways, the smell of the rosewater brought back a childhood memory. When we lived in Quebec, we had wild roses or something like that in our yard. And I "made" rosewater by putting a bunch of petals in a bucket with water. I thought I'd be making perfume....didn't turn out that way, but it smelled nice! So that was my random childhood fact of the day!

I had to shell pistachios to make these, and as it turns out, Dill loves pistachios! She was staring at me the entire time, tucked under my elbow hoping I'd drop one for her. Here she is doing "shake" to get a pistachio... (p.s. it took 3 months of casual daily training for her to pick up shake...sigh)

Knitting

The quest continues to finish Dill's dog sweater, which meant I had to learn how to knit with double pointed needles.

Much swearing and muttering to myself later, I finally was working it out. I was presented with a cup of tea by my hubby....which I think was done to try and get me to stop sounding like a crazy person. Billy said he didn't think knitters were generally the type to swear. Au contraire, love, au contraire. :)

Here it is so far, in all it's blurred fabulousness, all that's left now is for me to knit on the cowl neck.

Baking ups and downs, and more knitting!

2010-09-15T13:37:00.004-04:00

Peanut Butter Fudge Pie- The Uncheese Cookbook

This is from one of my neglected cookbooks. The filling is delicious, the crust is not so good. Undercooked, yet I cooked it longer than the recipe called for. So we're just scraping the mousse filling off the crust. Next time I'll make it crustless, or on a graham cracker kind of crust. It's kind of like pudding.

Chocolate Chip Cookies- VCTOTCJ

Again...Billy wanted more of these cookies. I told him he's hampering my blogging style by wanting the same cookies all the time, but who am I to say no to a husband who loves my cookies? Incidentally, I got called a harlot for licking some cookie dough off my fingers and the bowl when I could've, and I quote, "Gotten out the spatula and scraped together enough for another cookie". This was followed by me eating more dough in front of him and laughing.

Knitting
I've finished knitting and sewing together the top and bottom parts of the dog sweater for Dill. I hate having to sew pieces together, but if you want to knit more than scarves, it's a package deal. I still have to knit in the leg bands and the cowl neck, but I did a test fitting to make sure it actually fit.

To add in the leg bands and the neck, I have to pick up stitches, and knit in the round on 3 double pointed needles. This is a new and scary technique for me so I did a test run with some old yarn I have in my stash. I love trying out new things!

This is the finished test run. I made some mistakes, but I've watched some youtube videos and I think I'm good to go. Wish me luck!

An Awesome Breakfast

2010-09-14T09:17:00.004-04:00

Tofu No-Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise Sauce- The Vegan Table

My first recipe attempt from The Vegan Table. This was actually easier to coordinate than I thought between all the layers and the sauce making. And it's delicious!! It would be easier to make if it was a slab of tofu, since the scrambled tofu falls off....but nevertheless it's perfectly seasoned. I would eat just the scrambled tofu from this recipe too. I had some difficulty with the sauce and it's thickening, and then there was too much lemon juice, but I managed to tweak it a bit to make it good.

I feel like I've been neglecting most of my cookbooks in favour of a select few books. I can't let them feel that way so I've decided to make my way through all of my books and make a few things from each.

Spinach Artichoke Dip- How It All Vegan

This is pretty good served with tortilla chips. I'd like it to be a bit creamier and more of a dip consistency, but it's a start.

Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato and Apple Soup- How It All Vegan

I wanted to make a fall-ey soup, and felt daring, thus the apple....but it just didn't float my boat. Maybe because I used Granny Smiths and it made the soup a bit sour...I don't know. Plus it was the consistency of baby food. The picture doesn't show it well but the colour was beautiful. Also, too much pepper. When will I learn to do it to taste and not blindly follow the recipe?!?

I was going to have a baking day in the kitchen but I feel a killer headache coming on...

Life's Like an Hourglass, Glued to the Table

2010-09-13T09:24:00.003-04:00

Chocolate Chip Cookies- VCIYCJ

Billy requested chocolate chip cookies and lots of them so I made the cookies from this book since they make almost two dozen. And it helps that they're yummy. I had one after dinner last night and they are soft and chewy. Perfect!

We went out to dinner last night. We tried a new place called The Hourglass. They are mostly gluten-free, and when I looked up their menu online before making a reservation I was pleased to see a pasta dish called Very Vegan. It's gluten free penne with olive oil or marinara sauce, spinach, roasted red pepper, roasted garlic, red onion & mushrooms. I had mine with marinara. It was good. Nothing superb, but once I added some s&p it was pretty tasty. It was just nice to order straight off the menu without having to make substitutions. No pictures, it was too fancy to whip out the camera!

Knitting: Finished Objects (FO's)

As promised, here are some pictures of some of the projects I've completed so far.

Technicolor Cell Phone Cozy (Pattern from Stitch n' Bitch)

This was my first attempt at knitting stripes, and I'm quite pleased with the end result. The button is a little worse for wear but that's only because I use it so much! This is knit in Bernat Cotton.

Garter and Lace Wrap ( Coats & Clark #J27-0001, Red Heart Knitting Made Easy)

I completed this a couple of months back and it has served me well at camp and at bonfires on chilly nights. I knit it in Red Heart Supersaver Black Acrylic. It was mostly done for me to practice purling and yarn overs.

On our way to the Hourglass...

It's Grocery Day, so I should have some new and exciting recipes to share with you soon!

Just another lazy Sunday...

2010-09-12T14:05:00.003-04:00

Just the way I like it!

For a while, we were on a green smoothie kick....why not? Delicious fruit and veggie smoothies that gave us almost our whole day's servings of fruits and veggies in one glass. But then I slacked on the groceries and we stopped for a bit. But Billy requested them again and bought the necessary supplies. You really do notice the difference from drinking these.

Raspberry Mango Green Smoothie

Makes 2 servings

3-4 handfuls of baby spinach
1 cup frozen mango
1 cup frozen raspberries
2 cups pear nectar
drizzle of agave (check smoothie without it first, it's probably sweet enough already)

Blend for a couple of minutes and enjoy!

I don't think I'll have any food pics til tomorrow or later, we're going out for dinner tonight!

The sun is out, I'm off for a walk with the hubby and the puppy.

Weiner in a blanket....and pizza

2010-09-11T09:56:00.003-04:00

When Dill's trying to sleep and the camera comes out, she deliberately makes it hard to take a good picture! Such disdain from a ten pound being.

I'm half way done my "Big Bad Baby Blanket", I just need to finish by October 23rd in time for the shower. I should be done much sooner, because I'm itching to start new projects!! This is knit in Vanna's Choice Acrylic Yarn (Linen). Sudbury does not have a specialized shop for knitters that I can find, so that limits me to what Michael's, Zeller's or Wal Mart is selling.

Cheeseburger Pizza: La Dolce Vegan

I've made this before. It may sound bizarre, but it's delicious. Pizza with tomato sauce, pickles and onion, ground round, cheese and mustard (yep!). Don't knock it til you try it! I used soy ground round rather than TVP as a treat.

Unemployment is capitalism's way of getting you to plant a garden.

2010-09-09T13:36:00.004-04:00

Damn...I just missed a few days of supply work next week by two hours :(...just had to go shopping.

I'm loving these leisurely mornings where I actually have time to cook in the morning if I want. I wanted to make something for breakfast, but ran into a few problems:
1) my cupboards are pretty bare
2) it was already 8 and I didn't want to have to bake something that would take an hour or so, plus cooling time
3) I didn't want pancakes or waffles

Picky or what? So I went on vegweb for some ideas, and found a recipe for biscuits and sausage gravy. But I didn't have the ingredients. However, it was enough inspiration.

Easy Breakfast Biscuits- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food

Biscuits and gravy! How have I never made this before? I had these straight out of the oven with a bit of margarine and topped with this simple gravy (since I had no mushrooms or miso to make any of the fancy gravies in my cookbooks). The only change I made to the gravy was to use broth instead of water.
Yumsters! Note the gravy boat in the background...I had never used it and wanted to :P

So, we live in an apartment with no yard, but we are blessed with a rather large balcony, which I have turned into my urban garden. My budget was pretty low this year, so I tried growing my flowers from seeds. Not all of them were a success. I planted my cosmos and morning glories and ended up buying pre-grown flowers for the rest. But I did use empty cat litter boxes as planters to save some money, so it all worked out.

Except, my cosmos took until September to bloom...and only one has flowered so far. So I will start earlier next year.

Cosmo (singular)

Morning Glory (I trellised my plants too late, so they did not thrive as well as they should have)

I forget the name of this one and I lost the slip with the info on it, please leave a comment if you know what it's called!

I love fall, but it saddens me that soon my flowers will come to an end...

La-yum-sagna

2010-09-08T15:47:00.003-04:00

School is back in session, and since I don't have a teaching contract for the year as of yet, I am back on the supply teacher list. Which means I won't be teaching for a while! None the less, I am getting my fall/regular working adult schedule back on track now that summer is over. That means waking up early, getting dressed and putting on my face before noon, tidying up around the house, knitting while watching my Food Network shows, walking the dog, etc...and let's not forget cooking! Plus, I work evenings at the restaurant.

Lunch yesterday was from Vegan Pandamonium here, rosemary-butter gnocchi. Simple and delicious, and it's always good times when I get to use the mortar and pestle my sister bought me a few years back.

I've been wanting to make a lasagna that both Billy and I will eat. I'm not too fussy, although when I think lasagna, I think mom's lasagna, meat and cheese and ricotta, etc. However, I do like veggie lasagnas too. As an aside,when I first stopped eating red meat but hadn't given up poultry yet, my wonderful mom would make me a mini turkey lasagna whenever she cooked lasagna for dinner. That's love!

Billy is a different story. He loves his mom's lasagna too, and that's where it ends. His ideal lasagna his meat, sauce and cheese. Done. No veggies, no ricotta, no cottage cheese, no tofu ricotta, etc. So, I made him one...that is also love :P

Except, I made the "Sneaky Mom's Tomato Sauce" from Vegan Lunch Box as the sauce. I guess I can call it the Sneaky Wifey's sauce too! It's a tomato sauce with loads of kale, carrots, onion, etc, but you blend it up so no one's the wiser.

This lasagna consists of lasagna noodles layered with the tomato sauce, smokey TVP, and Daiya cheese. And it is fantabulous! The only change I shall make will be to cut down the liquid smoke next time, as it's a bit overwhelming in this dish. Mmmmmmm, I was taking bites out of the pan!

Gotta run to work!

Cheesy

2010-09-06T22:45:00.004-04:00

OK, I took a little break...but I'm back! I haven't been cooking as much, but now that it's cooling down a bit, I'll be more in the mood... Mmmmm, fall soups and oven baked deliciousness!

So, I've been flying through my supply of daiya cheese rather quickly, and on not-so-fancy meals, but that's why I don't usually keep a supply of vegan cheese on hand. Because if I have it, I will cook it :P

Here's a simple and yummy cheese pizza using cheddar and mozzarella daiya cheese. I find it doesn't melt as much as I'd heard, but it still becomes stringy like real cheese. Very satisfying pizza.

My dad's 50th was in August, and I thought I'd make some cupcakes for his out-of-town party. Except I forgot that I'd be driving three hours in a hot car with no AC...and it was a hot day! I now have a new rule when it comes to cupcakes and travel: FOA (Frost On Arrival).

Brooklyn vs. Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes: Vegan Cupcakes Takes Over the World

I will definitely have to give these ones another try sometime. I didn't fill them with nearly enough pastry creme, but I couldn't really make the holes any bigger without breaking the cupcake either. BUT, they were still good. This picture is horrendous, as its of a cupcake that traveled to the party in the sun, and then returned the next day in the car, in the sun. But it was pretty at one point, I swear.

The Elvis Cupcake: VCTOTW

Banana cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. Aren't they gorgeous?!?! Well they didn't look like this when I got to the party. By the time I got there, it looked more like a glazed cupcake. But my fabulous daddy still tried one and said he loved the pb. :D

Ultimate Nachos: Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods

OMG YUM! First you pour a cheese sauce on the nachos, then you sprinkle more cheese on, then top with black beans, peppers, tomatoes, etc....and bake. These were topped with generous amounts of sour cream and salsa. I did not look very ladylike eating these, good thing I already snagged my man!

So, this blog is obviously usually about vegan food and cooking. But the line under my blog title does say "Vegan Food and Life", so I thought I'd include some other things here every once in a while. I've been knitting now for several months, and I think I will share some of my completed projects here and discuss the issues around vegan knitting a bit too. I've just started a dog coat for my dachshund, since they don't have typical dog bodies and nothing from the stores fit her properly.

"You have to risk it to get the biscuit"

2010-08-24T14:50:00.004-04:00

Food in no particular order...

Mock Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

I got these from Cuny Queen's blog (see above link). The only change I made was to use oatmeal milk instead of soy. And I used Daiya cheddar. Most people at work are sick of our buns since they eat them every shift. I've seen some people add caramel (yuck) and tomato sauce to jazz it up. But me, I can't eat them, so every once in a while, I want one! Which is why I googled a vegan version...and I'll never look back! These are so soft and delicious. And this version is actually a little more fancy than RL's, with the addition of garlic, parsley and rosemary in the bun itself. Red Lobster just uses Bisquick. Craving satisfied.... overly satisfied actually!

Apple Cake- Vegan Italiano

I haven't tried the cake yet, but I'll add an edit once I've had some. I was skeptical at first because the flour mixture in the cake has no liquid added to it, but the juices from the apples cook it into a juicy, squishy mess. It smells heavenly. A very simple recipe.

Lentil and pasta soup- Vegan Italiano

Om nom nom! I don't think the bowl left my chin area the entire time I was eating this soup. It's nothing spectacular in the world of lentil soup, but it's homey and hearty and so satisfying. I love this cookbook, it never fails and the ingredients are so simple! (No "milks" or "cheeses", tofu or tempeh)

Lunch the other day with Billy was a Lick's veggie burger grilled with Daiya cheddar, roasted carrots and potatoes, and dessert kebabs. The fruit is rolled in brown sugar then grilled til caramelized. Yum!

Coffee Chip Muffins- Vegan Brunch

I didn't hear the timer go off when these were ready, so they're a couple minutes overdone but they are really good. I love the subtle coffee flavour and the chocolate chips really complement it. I like that you use instant coffee, since I had some laying around, but I don't have a coffee maker.

It's nacho night tonight!!

As per my lower post, I got The Vegan Table from Billy, and would like some suggestions for recipes to start with. That means you, lurkers!!!

Does Anyone Have the Vegan Table??

2010-08-24T11:22:00.000-04:00

I got this cookbook as a gift. I'm wondering what I should try first. Any suggestions??

"The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it."

2010-08-23T10:10:00.003-04:00

We had a BBQ/balcony night on Saturday to celebrate our anniversary with friends. Other than the food pictured here we also BBQ'ed some burgers and hot dogs, rosemary potatoes, and corn. We didn't even have room to do dessert kebabs.

I also made my standard spinach dip which has been featured many times, and is always a crowd hit.

Banana Everything Cookies- VCIYCJ

These have banana, oatmeal and chocolate chips. I wasn't sure if they'd get eaten since they look more like healthy cookies....but all two dozen were gone within the first hour! I had half of one and found it very sweet and I also wanted to save room for yummy veggies so Billy got the rest. But definitely a win.

S'mores Cupcakes- VCTOTW

These took a bit longer than most other cupcakes, just because I had to make the graham crackers first...but so worth it. The cupcake is essentially the graham cracker, the icing the marshmallow, and then you top it with ganache or chocolate flakes. I decided to use up the rest of my summer supply of vegan marshmallows and added it to the buttercream icing...a s'more is not a s'more without marshmallow!!
They're very pretty, but all in all, they taste like carrot cake, so next time I'll just make carrot cupcakes :P and save myself the trouble. But I can see myself eating these every summer. Also, the batter is very liquidy (word?) and therefore they come out very soft, and they're messy. So maybe eat this one on a plate with a fork. Or go for the campfire experience and lick it off your fingers!!

Sunday was our 1 year anniversary, so we spent the day doing fabulous, fun things on a budget, haha. Dinner was BBQ since Billy wanted to help cook and he loves to grill. He had steak and I had gardein chicken with BBQ sauce. Sides were rosemary potatoes, dill carrots and corn, all done on the grill. We thawed our wedding cake and each had a slice for dessert.

On to year 2!

Breakfast this morning was leftover breakfast casserole and a new green smoothie: romaine, strawberry and banana. Yum!

Fruit salad smoothie- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods

“A good marriage is like a casserole, only those responsible for it really know what goes in it”

2010-08-19T13:31:00.004-04:00

Mom's Morning Casserole- Vegan Brunch

I made this for lunch today, as I never seem to get up early enough to make this for breakfast at a decent hour. While making this, I was reminded of Wolffie's breakfast casserole from La Dolce Vegan, although it's quite different. I think I prefer Wolffie's, but this one was still nice. It's layered with paprika potatoes, scrambled tofu, and tempeh, covered with a cheese sauce. Mmmm. Billy likes this one too!

Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods

Another green smoothie. Kale, pineapple, and strawberry. I love getting in my greens and fruit first thing in the morning. And its the only way that Billy consumes kale!

A-1 Veggie Burger and oven-baked fries-Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food

Veggie burgers basted with A-1 sauce, and topped with grilled peppers and onions, and fresh tomato. What a great lunch! For sides, oven baked fries and bbq'd mushrooms. The fries were so simple to prep and soooooo delicious! This meal was a combined effort. I prepped the fries and veggies, and Billy did the grilling.

Taco Salad- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods

OMG. Make this salad NOW. The taco bowls are so easy to make. The whole thing is. The salad consists of refried beans, taco seasoned TVP, salsa, lettuce, cheese and sour cream. We had these for lunch and weren't hungry again til 9 pm. So filling and delicious.

My wedding anniversary is this Sunday. The traditional gift for the first year is paper. Is there a new cookbook in my future?? :)

It tastes good like pepper, but crunchy like a bell.

2010-08-16T12:29:00.004-04:00

Ah, Homer...haha.

Billy and I planned our meals together this week to save on groceries, and also, it's nice to occasionally eat the same thing for dinner together!

He has always like stuffed peppers so I thought I'd try a new recipe.

Stuffed Pepper Boats- 125 Best Vegan Recipes

These are stuffed with rice, tomatoes, seasoning, sausage, mushroom, and onion and topped with cheese. The cheese should go on in the last few minutes under the broiler, rather than at the beginning, because it does not melt!

These are delicious...Billy wolfed his down, which translates into "success!".

Banan-o-rama Green Smoothie- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods

Billy doesn't eat a whole lot of greens, or fresh veggies for that matter...unless I plunk them down in front of him. So when he said he loved the spinach mango smoothie I made last week, and then proceeded to pick out TWO smoothies with kale in them....well, you couldn't get me to the grocery store fast enough!

This one has kale, frozen banana and tropical fruit and apple juice. It's so sweet that you don't mind the slight kale aftertaste. The other one had strawberries and pineapple and had a stronger kale flavouring. Also, it wasn't a pretty green colour, so I won't be showing it.

I love these smoothies when I sleep in. Something light and healthy to hold me over til lunch.

I just ordered some Daiya cheese for the first time, so I'm very excited to start cooking with it!

Cookies are made of "butter" and love

2010-08-15T13:44:00.004-04:00

Billy and I went to a bonfire at a friend's house last night, so I decided to make some baked goods for everyone.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies- Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

These are good. They are not the greatest oatmeal raisin cookies that I've ever made, but they're acceptable! There's a lot of oatmeal in them, and I think I prefer the kind with more cookie dough in it.

Vanilla and Chocolate Marble Cupcakes- Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

I wanted to try a new cupcake recipe, and I had everything I needed for these ones. They are so pretty! I made them with rice milk, which didn't curdle nearly as much as soy milk does, but they still turned out great. I was disappointed there was only enough batter for 8 cupcakes though. These didn't last long at the bonfire. I like how the almond flavour sneaks up on you if you're not expecting it. They were topped with buttercream icing.

Dinner is in the oven!

A waffle is like a pancake with a syrup trap...

2010-08-14T11:24:00.004-04:00

Lentil Rice Pilaf by Casbah

I have had this box of pilaf in my cupboard for some time now. I was saving it for when I didn't have anything else to make...and yesterday was that day. It has a very simple list of ingredients but is delicious. The seasoning is very nice. I also threw in some baby spinach at the end of the cooking time to add some greens. I plan on buying some more and keeping them on hand for days when I don't want to cook. One serving has 8 g of fiber and of protein!

Billy and I made our grocery list and meal plans for the upcoming week today, and afterwards, I was left with the urge to cook. So for breakfast, I made waffles.

Cornmeal Waffles with Blueberry Syrup- 125 Best Vegan Recipes

The cornmeal gives a really nice texture and I love how these are crispy. I had it with some leftover breakfast sausage.

Update: These waffles freeze really well. I wrapped them in wax paper and then foil, and froze them. To reheat them, I popped each quarter into the toaster for a few minutes. They stay nice and crispy!

I'm off to the kitchen to make some goodies for a bonfire tonite!

More from "Comfort Foods"

2010-08-12T11:04:00.003-04:00

I woke up this morning at 6:45 with Billy when he got up for work....highly unorthodox for me! I decided to use the time wisely and make us a delicious breakfast, courtesy of Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods. I have now cooked three meals in a row that Billy and I both ate! :P Good wifey much?!?

French Toast- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods

I made it with some cinnamon raisin bread we had, so it was even better.

Breakfast Sausage- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods

These are made with gluten flour and are very flavourful. I will use a bit less water next time to firm up the texture. These definitely need to be pan fried before serving, or else they're too mushy for "sausage".

Finished product:

Before frying:

Linguine with Marinara- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods

This was dinner last night. Very good and simple to make. I used TVP in the sauce which is optional but adds a little something.

Peanut Butter Blondies- Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

And this was dessert! Fantabulous...then again, anything with pb is! Next time, I will bake these for a few minutes longer, as they're very delicate and crumble easily.

250!

2010-08-11T13:55:00.002-04:00

This is post 250 for my blog! And it only took a couple of years to go from 200 to 250...slacker!

I don't have anything too exciting to celebrate but lunch today was fantastic.

The cookbook Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods makes meal suggestions to pair things together and I made a Japanese inspired meal.

Teriyaki Rice Bowl

Very simple and tasty. Jasmine rice with steamed carrots, broccoli and green beans, topped with a homemade teriyaki sauce and pan fried tofu cubes. Billy likes it too, so two thumbs up. Also, very filling, I think it makes 4 servings, not two like the book says.

Vegetable Tempura

I made this one as an afterthought, after we did groceries, so I didn't have shiitake mushrooms or green beans, but I used yam, broccoli and carrot..............so delicious. I adore tempura. And it's just like the one you order in a sushi restaurant.

We just got back from a 5 day trip to visit the in-laws, so there was not much cooking. I was pleasantly surprised to arrive and find that mom-in-law had made her delicious vegan chili for dinner......so good! The rest of the trip was mostly burgers, hot dogs, and pasta.

On a roll...

2010-08-05T14:01:00.004-04:00

I cooked two days in a row....wow...that's big right now haha.

I am in a serious vegan slump, so I forced myself to plan some meals and went out and bought the ingredients. Some of the meals I've made before....because I knew they were delicious and I knew it would get me in the kitchen! Like this mac n' cheese...

Mac n' Cheeze- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods

I've blogged about this before but I didn't have a picture. I've been a little bummed lately about having to cut down on my soy intake. After all, mac and soy cheese is one of my favourite comfort foods. Then I remembered this awesome recipe. There's no vegan cheese in it, soy or otherwise! The sauce is made using veggies and nuts. And it's fabulous. Even Billy loves it. I will still occasionally treat myself to my regular mac and cheese, but this recipe makes me and my thyroid happy :)

'Dilla- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods

This cookbook is awesome for getting me excited about veganism again. When I start to crave certain foods, I can use this book to make something comforting. That being said, the food is still healthy. This is a quesadilla without the queso. Very simple and good. Hummus, spinach, tomato and a tortilla...mmm mmm.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins- Vegan Brunch

We are going camping tomorrow with Billy's family and I wanted to bring muffins for breakfast and snacking. I also wanted to make something from this cookbook, and we love lemon poppy seed muffins, so it was meant to be. I haven't tried them yet, but they look good :)

Health Food

2010-08-04T14:31:00.003-04:00

Spinach Mango Smoothie- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods

Don't let the colour scare you...it's very good! Baby spinach, frozen mango and pear nectar blended up. A great way for me to quickly add more produce into my diet, which has been seriously lacking lately!

Seaweed Soup- La Dolce Vegan

I've blogged this one before here. I've recently discovered I have hypothyroidism, so I've cut down drastically on my soy intake, and I'm trying to consume more iodine (through seaweed and kelp, etc). Did you also know that rosemary is very good for your thyroid? Not only is this soup healthy, it's delicious.

Wedding

2010-08-04T14:21:00.003-04:00

As I approach my first wedding anniversary this month, I thought I'd share this blog post by my friend Caroline about our wedding. She was a bridesmaid, as well as our photographer. If you're ever in need of a photographer in the Sudbury region, I highly recommend her!

http://www.carolinephotography.ca/blog/?p=2089

Happy Sunday!

2010-07-04T15:33:00.006-04:00

Waffles with homemade blueberry freezer jam and maple syrup (with a cuppa Lady Gray):

Wolffie's bananer bars with vanilla icing (La Dolce Vegan):

I made these for our second book club meeting......so good! Four of us ate the whole 8x8 pan!

Vanilla cupcakes with vanilla icing and party sprinkles (VCTOTW):

I made these for my junior kindergarten class as an end of the year treat....two batches and one meltdown later (I put flour in with margarine instead of sugar the first time :P), they were a hit!

Pasta with a simple marinara and kale sauce:

Gotta love the farmer's market!

Book club cupcakes!

2010-05-16T20:14:00.002-04:00

Pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes with cinnamon icing- VCTOTW

I made these for a book club meeting today. They are moist and not too sweet, so the icing is a nice touch. Pumpkin and chocolate chips are an excellent combination!

Taking a break....

2010-05-09T20:53:00.001-04:00

I know I haven't posted in a while. Things are kind of busy with two jobs, a weekly French class, and an online course for teaching. I will be back though!

I'm back!

2010-03-23T13:52:00.004-04:00

I took a break from cooking. First, because Billy was out of town and I felt lazy and lived like a bachelor, and then when he was back we just wanted to hang out so I didn't want to be in the kitchen all night. Plus the weather has been so nice, we uncovered the BBQ, and that's Billy's domain :). But, I've done my groceries and I'm ready to jump back into it...

Vanilla ice cream cake with caramel sauce- Vive le Vegan

This is a vanilla cake layered with banana, caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. I left out the pecans so Billy would eat it too. Next time, I'll make the sauce with a darker sugar...but very good.

Chicken Cacciatore with pasta-Vegan Slow Cooker

This was easy to prepare. I just had to slice up some green pepper, onion and garlic, and mix it with marinara and seasonings. It cooked with the PC Meatless chicken in the slow cooker, and we just made some pasta in the evening. Very filling!

Caesar salad with sourdough garlic croutons- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Foods
I whipped this up quickly last night to go with the chicken cacciatore. The dressing is very easy. I only reduced the amount of capers, since I'm not a huge fan. The croutons are so yummy!

Brownies- Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar
Made at Billy's request for Fox's cartoon night....easily one of the best brownies I've ever made!Nice and chewy. Make them!

Friends are the vegan bacon bits in the salad bowl of life!

2010-03-05T08:18:00.004-05:00

My dreams have come true again and I finally have a vegan friend! She decided to try it out for a while, and borrowed some of my cookbooks, then bought some for herself. We've been getting together every Sunday to cook vegan meals together, along with a few other friends. This Sunday, we had our hands full with crab cakes and seitan potpie....

Almost All-American Seitan Potpie- Veganomicon
This was the girls' first time working with seitan and they were a little freaked out by the look and texture of it. The V'con recipe calls for it to be baked, which makes it chewier, but it turned out alright with the rest of the ingredients. My friends made the crust, which turned out so flaky and tender...better than I could've done I have to say. A very good meal!

Cinnamon Rolls- Vegan Brunch

I made these the same night, although my friend also brought the cinnamon pinwheels from V'con....so good! These cinnamon rolls were delicious! Also, they freeze well. Just warm them up for 30 seconds to soften them up. Mmmmmmmmm. Perfect breakfast on the way to work!

Tempeh Crab Cakes with Remoulade- Vegan Brunch
These were also part of our vegan cooking night. I am never successful with patties and this night was no different, although I can at least share the blame with two other people since it was a team effort. The patties had to be made very small in order to stick together, and most of them still fell apart while frying. However, they are delicious and we ate these up with remoulade very fast! So now I just have to figure out how to make them look nice too! They don't taste like crab, although there's nori in them, but they're good on their own. Excuse the fluorescent lit picture!

Random picture of Dill with Auntie Caroline!

Tex-Mex Burritos- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food

This was our weeknight meal. It was quick and easy, like the book says, which was perfect on a night when I had a homework deadline. Pinto beans, corn, avocado and lime, tomotoes, lettuce, salsa, cheese and sour cream. Yum! Nothing fancy, but it hits the spot.

Weeknight Meals and wedding food

2010-02-25T22:03:00.003-05:00

Baked Ziti- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food

True to the title, very easy to put together, and on the table in about 40 minutes. I used rotini instead. This has smokey TVP which gives it a great flavour.

Sloppy joes- Skinny Bitch in the Kitch
Another easy meal with TVP. On the table in about 30 minutes. I served these on whole wheat Kaiser rolls, with a side of chips and veggies.

A commentor asked for a picture of our wedding cupcakes. I baked about 150 chocolate cupcakes from VCTOTW and a good friend made the buttercream icing. I started baking about a month before the wedding (they freeze beautifully). We then had an icing party a couple of days before the wedding. You can't beat good friends. These were topped with a blue or brown chocolate candy. (Blue and brown were our colours). Our friend also made a vegan cake for us to cut into and serve to the head table. It was chocolate cinnamon with buttercream.

I didn't think to take pictures of the meal, but we went with a buffet and the hotel made lots of great vegan options like a pasta bake, rosemary potatoes, steamed veggies, rolls, salad, etc. So good and I was very pleased with the result.

A good night

2010-02-21T15:16:00.006-05:00

My 25th birthday party was last night. Yes, I threw a party for myself :P But really, I do it for an excuse to go all out and cook up a storm for my friends and family! Here we go...

Spinach Dip from 125 Best Vegan Recipes
I make this dip whenever I'm hosting an event, it is a crowd pleaser and never lasts long. As a life long spinach dip lover, you can't even tell it's vegan! Served in a pumpernickel bowl along with sourdough.

Citrus glitters and Mexican Chocolate Snickerdoodles from VCIYCJ
The citrus glitters are delicious...I used lemon, lime and orange zest. I decided to try the mexican snickerdoodles, since the blogging community seems to really like them. They are spicy! There's a 1/2 tsp of cayenne in the batter. It's an acquired taste. I didn't mind them, but some people didn't like the spice. These would also be good without the pepper. It's weird because they're still really sweet, then you taste the spice, and suddenly you want another bite!

Guacamole from Vegan Brunch

Very nice. Served simply with salsa and tortillas. I left out the raw red onion and cilantro, not a fan.

Ranch Dip with chips-internet recipe

A simple mayo/sour cream dip with garlic powder, onion powder, parsley and pepper. Also a crowd pleaser...no leftovers today :(

Gingerbread cupcakes with lemon buttercream from VCTOTW

I also made the basic chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream, which were a hit. As an aside, for our wedding this summer, we opted to serve cupcakes instead of sheetcake. I made all the cupcakes and used VCTOTW's chocolate recipe. People were fighting for seconds!

Billy requested the gingerbread cupcakes. The cupcake itself is not very sweet but the icing makes up for that. They're good but not my favourite flavour.

The rest is in this picture of the food table...

I put numbers on top of the items but it's hard to see:

1- a 6 layer nacho dip from Vegan Comfort Foods: refried beans, sour cream mixed with taco seasoning, guacamole, salsa, lettuce and green onions. This was a favourite too, it did not last long!

2- veggie platter with a vegan store bought white bean dip with grilled red peppers. It was ok, not everyone's favourite so I was quick to point out I didn't make it haha. Also, there were mini pitas served with it.

3- spinach dip, as above, in pumpernickel with bread served on the side

4- fruit platter with chocolate pudding dip

5- at the bottom, tsatziki sauce, made by a friend, apparently from V'con. Very good with pitas and pretzels!

6- guacamole served with salsa and tortilla chips

7- on the cupcake tower, chocolate cupcakes with buttercream. It's a mini cupcake tower so I couldn't load it up, and had to put the cupcakes out in batches

8- gingerbread cupcakes with lemon buttercream and crystallized ginger

9- citrus glitter cookies

NOT PICTURED- mexican chocolate snickerdoodles, the camera cut them off (top tier)

No emphasis was placed on this being good vegan food....it's just good food!!!

And my drink of choice last night, from Vegan Brunch...

Pink grapefruit mimosas

Yum! Grapefruit juice, pink champagne, and agave.

Tonight's dinner is a store bought flatbread with storebough bruschetta, so I will not be cooking today :P

IS ANYONE ELSE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH UPLOADING PHOTOS? They all come in at the top and it takes forever to arrange them :(

Heavy on the comfort foods

2010-02-18T19:57:00.008-05:00

Lots of food...my batteries were dead for a while so I have some catch up to do.

Cha Cha Chili-Skinny Bitch in the Kitch

I made this before heading out to my parent's camp for Valentine's weekend with the hubby. I was in a bit of a rush, so the beans were a little undercooked, but I simmered them some more once I got to camp. Chili=camp food. This is great with cheddar "cheese" and tortilla chips, or served on a baked potato. I couldn't get a good picture, but we all know what chili looks like. This one has rice, and I also added ground round at Billy's request.

Mac and cheeze, collard greens and oven fried spicy chicken-Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food

I had a southern themed meal last week. The oven fried spicy seitan chicken was way too dry, but the coating is still good. The collard greens were rubbery, which could be my fault. The real star of this meal was the mac and cheese. I admit, I had high expectations for mac and cheese out of a whole cookbook dedicated to comfort foods, so when I flipped to the recipe and saw that it did not use soymilk or cheese substitutes, but nuts, I was a little skeptical. But, wow, it's delicious. Billy ate all my leftovers...and if Billy likes it, it's good! I didn't get a picture, but the recipe is on the cover of the book. This recipe is worth buying the book to have it!

http://www.vegcomfortfood.com/

Spinach Cheeze tofu scramble and breakfast biscuits- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food

For breakfast this morning, I had easy breakfast biscuits and the spinach cheeze scramble. The biscuits are great, and once again, Billy is eating all of them. The tofu scramble has tons of flavour, and has nooch added in at the end of cooking, which gives it a good texture.

Tuno casserole, green salad and 1000 island dressing- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food

This tuno casserole was missing something. BUT, I will say that I was forced to use kelp flakes instead of dulse flakes, and its almost a sin to give a negative recipe review if you didn't follow the directions perfectly, so I'll have to give it another try. It has pasta, a white cheese sauce, peas, and chickpeas. I refried it today with a touch of ketchup (don't ask me why, I'm not usually a fan of it except with fries) and more salt and pepper, and it was much better. For a side...green salad with 1000 island dressing. The dressing is amazing!! I cannot keep this one in the fridge or I'll be in trouble!

Pear crisp for two- Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food

And lastly the pear crisp for two. Simple and very good! I like that it's baked in two small ramekins for individual servings. It made it easy to omit pecans in Billy's but top mine with a few.

Yay for slowcookers!

2010-02-11T12:02:00.002-05:00

Here is the wait-for-you stew from Vegan Comfort Food. It's made in the slow cooker, convenient! It's very basic: carrots, potatoes, celery, seitan, "beef" broth and some seasonings....but it's so good! True comfort food. I ruined the picture by putting crackers in, but it had a bit more broth than usual for a stew. I love recipes that use seitan where you just have to mix up the seitan and plop it in to cook with the rest of the ingredients. Mmmmmmm....

I bought a new belgian waffle maker with my PC points yesterday...I was tired of seeing yummy recipes that I couldn't make. Plus I'm getting Vegan Brunch soon, so I need to be ready!

To test it out, I made the banana walnut waffles from Veganomicon. These are good enough to eat on their own but I'm a maple freak! Although, you don't need as much as usual due to the sweetness of the bananas. Great way to use up ripe bananas too! I froze the leftovers for a quick breakfast during the work week.

Also, I remade the fettucine alfredo from Comfort Food, with regular unsweetened soy milk....so good!

I've got chik'n seitan simmering right now. Dinner is oven fried chicken, mac and cheese and collards.

Comfort Foods

2010-02-07T10:39:00.005-05:00

We've been on a bit of a banana bread kick lately...I try to make different kinds of baked goods with bananas, but Billy still always asks for banana bread. And why not, it's one of the greatest foods of all time! I like to change up which recipe I use for variation though. This time, I used the recipe from How It All Vegan. This loaf is so moist and sweet, and the chocolate chips don't hurt either! It has dates in it, which really give a soft texture.

From my new cookbook, Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar (I know, I know, everyone else already has it :P), I made the carrot raisin spice cookies. Keeping Billy in mind, I left out the walnuts and coconut (picky!), and they still turned out wonderfully. These are delicious, with a great chewy and soft texture. The lemon glaze drizzled on top adds some extra pizzazz.

Omelettes were made for Sunday mornings. I made the spinach omelette from Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food...and it was very comforting! My first omelette didn't come out too nicely but it still tasted good! These were a little oily, but only because I eyeballed the oil for frying...next time I will reduce it. I still love the tofu omelette from Garden of Vegan, but this one has more of an eggy texture. Yum!

Also from Comfort Food, I made the wait-for-you slowcooker stew. That's for lunch today so I'll post it later!

New Cookbooks!

2010-02-05T08:58:00.006-05:00

As much as I love my latest apartment, I have to say, it's really not the ideal lighting for food photography :(. Nevertheless, I won't let that keep me from blogging...I'm on a roll!

To keep my motivation for cooking up, I bought two new vegan cookbooks....every vegan's favourite thing in the world! Well, at least mine. I bought Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food and Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar...which I didn't even know existed until I saw it in the store...out of the loop or what?!?

Anyways, the recipes in Comfort Food sound delicious so I was eager to try them right away! For dinner yesterday, I made the alfredo sauce ( the book has two recipes for it) with linguine and the french onion soup. The creamer I used for the sauce was sweet which I didn't know, so the sauce was a bit off. Still ate it though, so it must be really good with non-sweetened creamer, or even soy milk. This was supposed to be topped with steamed broccoli, but I forgot to add that to my grocery list.

The french onion soup was more complicated than other recipes I've tried. That being said, it wasn't hard by any means, but required more cooking time and had more ingredients for the broth. This soup has caramelized onions, worcestershire sauce, red wine, vegetable stock, and thyme. And it's delicious! The extra time is worth it to get such a rich tasting broth. This soup is topped with a slice of toasted French baguette and mozzarella. Mmmmmmmmm....and Billy doesn't like onions, so I got it all to myself!

This morning, I made the Egg MacGuffins. The little egg patties are so cute! And they're very simple to make. My breakfast sandwich was on a whole wheat english muffin with the egg, tofutti cheese, and a slice of fake lunch meat, since sausage patties cannot be found around here anymore. I added a bit of vegenaise to give it some zip. These are great, and will become a part of my morning!

Also, here are the banana date scones from Veganomicon that I made...

Wanna see my weiner?

2010-02-02T22:38:00.005-05:00

My husband and I got a puppy just before Christmas. A miniature dachshund (weiner dog) named Dill (as in the pickle). She is rambunctious and beautiful...and lots of work!

Billy and I made the hearty bean soup from 125 Best Vegan Recipes before the weekend. I brought some with me to camp, and it was the perfect meal after snowmobiling! Black beans, navy beans, celery, carrots, tomatoes...mmmm. Not the best picture, my new apartment just doensn't get the same great lighting for food pictures like my old place.

Today, I made the peas and basil risotto from Vegan Italiano, as well as the Tuscan beans and tomatoes. The risotto is so creamy! I love the fresh basil in it. The beans are also very good. The book tends to use can sizes that aren't available here, like 15 oz cans of beans or tomatoes, so I decided to up the amount of beans and tomatoes, but didn't bother to up the quantity of garlic and sage, so these could be more flavourful.

I also made the banana date scones from Veganomicon today but did not have time to take a picture, so I will try to post it later. I will say that they are very healthful, and a good breakfast bread. No refined sugar, just dates and brown rice syrup.

Squash and Soup

2010-01-28T15:33:00.004-05:00

Well, that makes two posts this year! Yesterday, I made Spaghetti Squash Mexicana with Tropical Avocado Salsa Fresca, from Veganomicon. Billy likes this one, minus the salsa! The squash was still crunchy, which I don't know is normal, but it's pretty good. I like the occasional bite of fresh pineapple too!

Today, since I'm feeling a little under the weather, Billy made the delicious "chicken" and rice soup for the soul, from La Dolce Vegan. This is our go to soup, and I've blogged about it before. So easy to make! It only takes about 20 minutes, and then you have a delicious and nutritious soup to eat.

Oops...where did the time go?

2010-01-26T23:41:00.003-05:00

Wow...over a year since I posted. Let's go!

I haven't been good at taking pictures, so I only have a picture of this lemon coconut bundt cake from Veganomicon. It is so tasty! I brought it to my French class tonight, and everyone loved it. Coconut milk, shredded coconut, lemon juice and lemon zest all in one, what a great combination!

Plus it gives me a reason to use my bundt pan which I received as a wedding gift...

Some of the cake stuck to the pan, so I had to do some patch work!

I have been cooking with a few girlfriends on Sunday nights. This week we made the potato kale soup from V'con....comfort food at its best! We also made vegan caprese salad, stuffed zucchini, and chocolate zucchini cake.

I promise to try and be a better blogger!

Everyday food and an anniversary

2008-11-12T13:55:00.004-05:00

Where to start? Chronological order, I guess.

Last Sunday, Billy was supposed to have friends over to watch the football games. So I whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies (Vive le Vegan) and chocolate raspberry cookies (Veganomicon), two tried-and-true recipes. And Billy even whipped up a vegan ranch dip for his chips, which is really good. But of course, the guys never showed (hungover) so we were stuck with all this food. I didn't have any cookies but I know they're delicious.

Then, to use up some white wine sitting in my fridge, I made peaches with spiced white wine, from Vegan Italiano. The wine is simmered with sugar and cinnamon sticks and then tossed with fresh peach slices. I don't drink or like wine...but this dessert isn't too bad, since the peaches are good, and the cinnamon sugar syrup helps out a bit too ;)

For lunches, I prepared easy Mexican wraps from the Candle Cafe cookbook. Quinoa and black beans are wrapped up in a tortilla with citrus-cilantro-marinated grilled tofu and a tomato-avocado pasta. These are very filling, and a nice change from regular sandwiches.

And lastly, yesterday Billy and I celebrated our anniversary and decided to have a romantic dinner at home with some of our favourite foods. So the appetizer was bruschetta on a whole wheat baguette (not pictured) and dinner was La Dolce Vegan's amazing mac n' cheese recipe, with a twist. Billy stirred in about a tablespoon of cajun seasoning. SPICY! I don't care what anyone says, mac and cheese by candlelight is just as romantic as any other recipe :) The picture I have is of the leftovers so it doesn't show how deliciously creamy this recipe really is!

Dessert, requested by Billy, was carrot cake. So I tried a new recipe from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch for carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. This is originally supposed to be a two layer cake, but that comes out to about 800 calories per 1/12th of the cake....and that does not make a Skinny Bitch. So I made just one layer and half the icing recipe. This cake is fantabulous! It is so moist that it is fragile, and it could stand alone without any frosting. In fact, I found the icing to be a little too thick/sweet, and would prefer a lite glaze instead. But we both wolfed our pieces down with glee.

Another post, look at me go!

2008-11-08T15:21:00.006-05:00

I have lots of meals planned but first I have to finish off my leftovers. So far since my last post, I've been eating up the tempeh pie slowly.

I also adapted a recipe from Cooking for the Rushed, and made a "beef" enchilada casserole, which is basically like a "mexican" lasagna. I'm very pleased with the results. It's a cheesy beef mix with salsa and onion, layered in lasagna noodles and topped with more soy cheese. It is comfort food at it's best. I top it with a little more salsa and some Tofutti Sour Cream. Now these are leftovers I don't mind!

From Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, I made a breakfast sandwich. This consists of fried tofu, soy bacon, soy cheese (optional), tomato slices and some seasoning. It is delicious and very filling. It kept me satisfied right until lunch time. I served it with a side of the yummiest organic strawberries I've ever tasted.

More to come!

Veganomicon Feast

2008-10-31T12:17:00.005-04:00

I went on a cooking/baking spree one day to use up the groceries I had bought, before they went bad. It resulted in two entrees and two baked goods from Veganomicon.

First, pasta della california. It's linguine with a white wine garlic sauce, arugula, broccoli and avocado. The avocado is pretty good, since it's just added in at the end, although warming up leftovers is bit harder, since I don't feel like eating hot avocado. It's a good plate though, with just enough saltiness and spicyness.

Then I made the tempeh shepherdess pie. I had two packages of tempeh in the freezer, and this was a great way to use it up. The tempeh is simmered with a tamari mixture, then cooked with spices, peas and corn, and cremini mushrooms. Then you make a gravy sauce right in the whole mix! Top it with mashed potatoes and bake, and voila, you have dinner. I didn't have any soymilk left, so my potatoes are probably a little less creamy than desired, but it still tastes great. A very homey, comforting meal.

Then, to use up the pumpkin puree I had leftover from making a pie, I made pumpkin-cranberry scones. These are wonderfully spiced and not too sweet, but not bland either! It was my first time using fresh cranberries, and they provide a nice, tangy bite every once in a while. They're topped off with pumpkin seeds.

Also, I made chocolate hazelnut biscotti. There are so yummy. I love almond extract in chocolate things. I wish I had some soymilk around so I could dunk these in tea. I brought them, along with the scones, to work for everyone to try, and the biscotti was more popular, although I prefer the scones. Not to brag, but my baked goods are somewhat treasured at work now :) Once everyone hears I brought something in, it's a race to see who will get some. And no one cares that it's vegan.

Happy Halloween!