Food Overload

I've got to post more often if I'm going to cook so much! Make sure you scroll down to the last post for my spring roll recipe :) It's March Break tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to cleaning the house, doing some cooking, and hanging out with friends. Billy's trying to eat vegan during the week (weekday vegetarian), so I'm going out of my way to make hubby friendly foods to make it easy and fun for him. He's doing great!

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce-Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cookbook
Labour intensive! Maybe next time I'll wait for a weekend to make these, but they were rather fun. The mix of squash with butter and vegan parm is a nice filling and the sauce is light. The dough is hard to roll out in one piece so I cut them into smaller pieces and then rolled out the squares. The dough is the best part! Billy's not a huge fan of squash so I made him a different filling.


"Beef Ravioli"
This is just filled with Yves Italian Ground round, with sauteed garlic and some seasonings and topped with jarred tomato sauce. He loved it!


Cincinnati Style Chili Mac- Supermarket Vegan
I got a new cookbook! I already have Vegan Italiano by Donna Klein and love it, so I thought I'd try this one. The concept is that you can find all the ingredients at the grocery store with no specialty products needed (as in fake cheese, milk or soy products). There's a lot of things in there that will appeal to picky eaters and husbands :P. So our first dish from the book was this dish, which is really a quick chili mixed with macaroni and then baked. It was spicy! I'll cut down the spice a bit next time but this was filling and yummy. Billy made the baked beans and macaroni casserole too (no picture), and he enjoyed it.


Curried Udon Stir-Fry- Veganomicon
This is one of my favourite dishes from Veganomicon. It is so good! This is a dish that I made purely for my own enjoyment but Billy liked it too. I love those fat chewy udon noodles. It's stir fried veggies, PC meatless chicken (I used this instead of seitan), and a creamy curry sauce all mixed with udon noodles. Mmmmmm.


Lentil Tacos with Fresh Salsa- Skinny Bitch UEC
This was dinner tonight. Billy was worried about taco filling that didn't consist of some sort of "meat" replacement but he said these were delicious...and I concur! The lentils are blended into a kind of pate consistency and topped with fresh cherry tomato salsa and lettuce. The only change I would make would be to cook the green lentils a little less so they keep some of their crunchy texture. And some taco seasoning wouldn't hurt!


I visited the health store recently and saw this So Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk (like Greek yogurt...thick!). I find it sour, which I think is normal for that style, but I loved it blended up in my morning fruit smoothie! I'd also try it with some granola, fruit and a touch of agave for sweetness.


Butternut Mac and Cheese
I used the recipe here and really didn't change anything other than using soy milk and Daiya instead of milk and cheese. I also might have added some more milk to the cheese sauce. It was good! Super creamy. Next time I'm going to use my standard cheese sauce (from La Dolce Vegan) and just mix in the butternut squash, but the sauce from this recipe was good too. Billy didn't want to eat this as a meal since he doesn't love squash but he had a bite and said it was pretty good. Baby steps...


Blood Orange and Peppercorn Sorbet- Skinny Bitch UEC
Yep, black pepper in sorbet! Whole peppercorns are simmered with the juice, but are strained out before freezing. It's not really obvious in the taste, I think it just enhances the blood orange juice. This has a gorgeous colour and is really sweet! I'm still in love with my ice cream maker.


Spinach Feta Pizza
When I was younger and we went to the fair/exhibition in our old city, I always got a slice of spinach feta pizza and it was magical (back before my vegan days). I had a pang for it last Sunday, and we all know everything can be veganized (well, except meringue...sigh...). Garden of Vegan has an awesome tofu feta recipe, which is also awesome in pitas. So I made that, let it marinate, steamed up some spinach, and sprinkled it on my pizza before adding Daiya mozzarella. It hit the spot! The dough was made in the breadmaker my Gramma gave me...so good!


Black Bean Enchiladas- Skinny Bitch UEC
I cannot, for the life of me, find corn tortillas in my town, so I had to use small flour tortillas, but these were tasty! These got the husband stamp of approval too.


On the menu this week: leftover ravioli, skillet lasagna, chicken BBQ skewers with herb citrus sauce. and maybe some mac and cheese :)

Happy Cooking!

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

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

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


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



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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

Happy New Year Pt 2 !

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!

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."

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 is coming...

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!