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

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

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

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"

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??

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."

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”

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.

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

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...

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"

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!

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...

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

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

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!

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!

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....

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!