Birthday Treats for a Birthday Girl

Birthdays are a wonderful reason to celebrate with delicious food...especially if you are a foodie, like me! My 22nd bday was a few days ago, so here's a few treats with which I was blessed on my special day!!

Even though it was my birthday, I did do a little cooking. One, because I love to cook, and two, because I really wanted biscuits and gravy on my special morning for breakfast...and there was no one else around who could make them like I like them! Anyway, I made up some whole wheat biscuits and herbed tofu sausage gravy (still working on this recipe! I'll put it up after it's perfected.) for my mother and myself. It was a great morning!

For my birthday lunch, my mom took me to one of our favorite restaurants in Kansas City, and the world, Eden Alley! I had my favorite menu item: the Sweet Potato Burrito! It is a big flour tortilla stuffed with roasted rosemary sweet potatoes, homemade hummus, and brown rice, topped with fruit salsa and served on a bed of organic baby greens. This is such a refreshing meal on a warm summer day!

My mom had the Falafel Platter, which is their homemade baked falafel patties with brown rice, homemade hummus, and warm local pita bread! She loved this dish, and I loved the bite I snuck from her plate!For dessert, we split a piece of their Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Icing and Candied Walnuts...I love carrot cake so much!! This was delish!We also split some of their homemade vegan ice cream! You can't have your birthday cake without ice cream! We got the Coconut-Chocolate Chip Ice Cream and it was mind-blowing! I love the creaminess of the ice cream interspersed with crunchy bits of frozen chocolate chips!!
For my birthday dinner, my dad and his family took me to Waldo Pizza in Kansas City. I adore this place! They are one of the few pizza joints that carry vegan mozzarella and they have tons of veggie toppings! They even have a special vegan menu. So sweet.

For my pie, I got vegan mozzarella, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, and roasted red peppers. This was amaaaazing! Sweet and salty and savory and wonderful.
Aaaaaand they even had vegan cupcakes! My dad and I both got the Cappuccino Cupcakes. I have to say that this was one of the BEST cupcakes I've ever eaten....and that's been a lot of cupcakes! He thought it was amazing, too! It was just sooooo moist and rich yet light and had the most intense cappuccino flavor! I want one now just thinking about it!

While I was visiting my family in KC for my birthday, I also had to hit up the all-vegan restaurant, Cafe Seed! This place has food that would make anyone want to go vegan!

My mom and I each had our respective favorites: I had the Chik'n Sandwich on a Biscuit (which IS what I will eat in Heaven everyday.), served with an awesome side salad... And my mom got the Veggie Burger on a sprouted wheat bun, served with awesome homemade thick-cut fries. This burger has caramelized onions on it, folks! These people are NOT playing around!!

And, since it was my special week, my mom even surprised me with some sorbet! This is the Pomegranate-Blood Orange Sorbet made my Archer Farms, one of the Target gourmet store brands. OMG this sorbet tastes like a push-pop from my childhood!!! And it is beautiful! Tastes really good topped with some frozen berries, too! Aaaaah, summer is here!!

Finals Week Foods!

Today marks my last day in college. I can't believe it! Now I am officially a grown-up...ok, maybe that's not entirely true. BUT, I am a dietitian now and I am not under the authority of the University of Missouri any longer! I can live with that. Here's some things I made and/or ate during this last crazy busy week of finals, and a few things from last weekend that I haven't had time to post!

From a potluck last weekend:

Steamed Red Seitan, a tester from Terry's Vegan Latina CookbookEmpanadas, which were filled with the above seitan and lots of other goodies, also a tester for Terry! These were freakin' amazing!! Everyone at the potluck adored them, of course.

Right outta the oven:Getting ready to go party:From Mothers' Day Brunch last Sunday, at the lovely Eden Alley:

I had the Vegan Breakfast, which consisted of crusted and pan-seared local tofu, potatoes with caramelized onion, a coconut whole wheat biscuit, and a healthy smothering of local mushroom-hemp gravy! I was in brunch heaven!!!

My mom had the Falafel and Tofu, which was a bed of organic brown rice topped with a homemade falafel patty, crusted and pan-seared tofu, and a topping of roasted red pepper coulis! She let me try it, of course, and it was divine!

My grandmother had the Raw Stuffed Avocado Salad, a huge bed of organic greens and other veggies, with an entire avocado on top, stuffed with a raw hummus and cucumber mixture, and topped with flaxseeds, drizzled with their homemade mustard seed dressing. This was so refreshing and summery!

My new peanut butter obsession: Vanilla Cranberry Peanut Butter! This creamy, sweet concoction is only sold at Target stores, as it is from their Archer Farms line. This is so perfect in the morning on toast with a big glass of soymilk! It reminds me a lot of the PB&Co White Chocolate Wonderful, as it has the same sweetness and vanilla flavors, but the cranberries just add that little something extra. Also, this PB is not quite as thick, which makes it perfect for spreading on bagels, toast, fingers, etc.Check out the little bits o' cranberries!!

And, my new pride and joy cookie recipe: Oatmeal Macadamia Nut Butterscotch Chip Cookies!! I made these for our big LOST season finale (super awesome, but super sad it's over for so long) watching party. I love how sweet and buttery these babies are! I used the butterscotch chips the lovely Bianca of Vegan Crunk sent me...they are too addictive!Oatmeal-Macadamia Nut-Butterscotch Chip Cookies (makes about 20-2 inch cookies)

1/2 cup vegan margarine, such as EB

1/2 cup organic sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Ener-G egg replacer for 2 egg-equivalents

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 Tbs baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 cup butterscotch chips

1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped roughly

2 Tbs soymilk

Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract and egg replacer, until creamy and well-combined. Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir just until mixed, making sure to not over-stir. Add the soymilk to make the dough more flexible, then fold in the oats, nuts, and chips. Stir until fully incorporated, but not over-mixing, as this will create a tough cookie. Scoop out approximately 2 Tbs of dough at a time to make the cookies. Roll the dough into a ball in your hands to make a smooth sphere, then place on the sheet pan. Press down the cookie to flatten out to about a 2 inch diameter, as these will not spread much at all. Repeat until dough is gone, which will produce about 20 cookies ( if you don't eat any dough!). Bake for about 8-10 minutes, until cookies are golden brown on the edges and still a tad soft in the middle. After removing from oven, let sit on sheet pan for about 1-2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to prevent too much after-baking. Serve warm with a big glass of soymilk and don't forget to share with friends!

I still can't believe I am done with school!! I ordered Isa's Vegan Brunch on Amazon for my graduation present to myself...it should arrive in the next few days!! I am so pumped!!

Kansas City + Lawrence Eats!

I really can't believe it has been two weeks since I posted! I would apologize, chalking it up to my laziness, but actually I have a legitimate reason! I am staying in Kansas City for a month-long internship at the Harvesters Food Bank, in the nutrition department...which is in combination with my other schoolwork, so I have been a busy bee with little time to cook or blog. Luckily, I have had a chill weekend so far, and now I can finally catch up! hooray!

This weekend I went to Lawrence, KS (where KU is) to visit my wonderful friend Anna. She showed me around, which means we went to all the good places to get vegan food! Lawrence is a really cool town, and there seems to be a lot of appreciation there for good food...that's how I judge a place, I guess! :)

For my first day, we went to lunch at the Nice Cafe, which is located downtown in a natural foods market called the Casbah. This is some of the best and cheapest food ever!! They specialize in homemade patties, which are another word for empandadas. They are really healthy, too, as they are baked instead of fried and made with whole wheat flour! YES!

I had the Jerk Tofu Patty and the Jamaican Slaw, both rocked my face clean off!! I got the sweet dipping sauce, and I was in heaven.The Jerk Tofu Patty, Jamaican Slaw, and Sweet Dipping Sauce

Crappy inside shot of the Jerk Tofu Patty...

And for dessert, I got a yummy cookie by Ancient Grains, a bakery in Lawrence! They make the best GF cookies I have ever had. I had the choc-choc chip for lunch and the even better oatmeal raisin variety for dinner.Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookie

Anna and her bf, Dan, got the Jamaican Rice and Peas with Jerk Tofu on top, and that sauce on top is the spicy dipping sauce...made with yams! whoa! This was also delicious.Jamaican Rice and Peas, with Jerk Tofu and Spicy Dipping Sauce

And here's the cuties, smooching at Nice Cafe.

For dinner, we hit up Local Burger. This place has every kind of burger you could imagine, all from local sources! They have an awesome vegan Veggie Burger, made with quinoa, so I knew I had to try it. I got it topped with avocado...duh...and got a side of their Progressive Potatoes (aka awesome fries). I was in greasy-vegan food-heaven!Veggie Burger with Avocado on Wheat Bun, with Progressive Potatoes

Then this morning for breakfast, we went to Wheatfields Bakery. This didn't have many vegan options, unfortunately, but they did have bagels...which I love! I got a BIG poppy seed bagel with a schmear of natural peanut butter, a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Sometimes you have to get creative. Oh, and they had amazing coffee! score!

Poppy Seed Bagel with Peanut Butter, Honey, and Cinnamon

That was pretty much my weekend in Lawrence...and it was great! We even got to ride bikes and play outside yesterday because it was soooo beautiful! I am blessed.

Ok, now I will tell you about some of the good stuff I've been eating in Kansas City. Believe it or not, KC has its very own all-vegan restaurant, Cafe Seed. The owner/chef even used to work with Isa Moskowitz back when they both lived in Brooklyn! So, you know this lady can cook! One of my favorite things to do is to get breakfast here...especially because they have the best biscuits I've ever eaten. ever. But, last time we went there, they were all out!! NOO! So, we had to "settle" (haha) with other amazing stuff...Belgian Waffle with Fresh Fruit Topping and Veg Sausage Links

Pancakes with Fresh Fruit Topping and Veg Sausage with "Cheese"

My other favorite place to eat in KC is Eden Alley, which is all vegetarian and mostly vegan. It has been around for over 12 years, and it is so wonderful! I think this food could turn anyone to being an herbivore. I especially like their desserts...

Two Berry-More Cake with Fresh Berry Frosting

Raw Apple-Cinnamon Pie with Coconut Crust...Steven's fav.

KC also has some great coffee shops. One of my favorites is Broadway Cafe, which has great everything and even has some vegan sandwiches and pumpkin bread. wow. The other neat place is the Filling Station, which uses Broadway's coffee for their roaster. They make killer soy lattes...Soy Latte from The Filling Station

And lots of people who work there are vegan, so they have some vegan sandwiches/wraps and almost always have a vegan dessert, usually some kind of fruit pie. This particular day, they had a triple berry! More like triple awesome!

Triple Berry Pie

I have only been doing a little cooking since I have been so busy, but here's a recipe I have been working on: Apple-Sage Seitan Sausages...bursting with fresh sage and apples and spices and deliciousness. They aren't quite perfect yet, but they will get there soon! Apple Sage Sausages with Roasted Potatoes and Garlic Brussel SproutsThe inside of a beautiful sausage

And, yes, since I am staying in Kansas City for a bit, and I missing my Steven VERY MUCH! Here we are, being ridiculous and sweet at Cafe Seed.... awww. Last weekend I did get to see him for our one year anniversary, though. Pics to come on those meals!

Whew, that was a long post! I hope you're hungry now!

Mock Duck! And Foods From the Weekend

Tonight, Steve and I were adventurous and tried a new product that we found at our local Asian market, Chong's...Vegan Mock Duck! I had heard about this before, but was hesitant because I typically don't eat canned foods, and it sounded really bizarre, but I figured I should give it a shot!

The mock duck is made out of wheat gluten and seasonings, and it tastes slightly sweet and salty. It was actually really good! I liked the chewy texture (which freaked me out at first...look at the fake duck skin-looking piece! weeeeird, man!) and it had a lot of protein to keep me satisfied! I roasted it in the juices that were in the can along with it...and I served it with some Natto Chutney I bought at Clover's Natural Market:

To make a whole Asian-themed meal, I served the roasted mock duck with vegetable fried rice (loaded with local veggies and organic brown rice!) and sesame-glazed local green beans. This meal truly hit the spot, with the perfect balance of fresh from the veggies and savory from the sesame and mock duck! yuuuuuuum!!For lunch the other day, I used the Smoked Tofu from Tree of Life to make a TLT sandwich...a perfect way to celebrate local tomatoes while I still can! I of course spread it liberally with Vegenaise to make it a perfect sandwich!
This weekend, Steve and I visited my family in Kansas City. Lucky for us, one of my all-time favorite restaurants...which happens to be vegetarian...is in KC: Eden Alley! This wonderful restaurant is located on the Plaza, and focuses on healthy foods made from as many local and organic ingredients as possible. They also have an awesome selection of raw, soy-free, and gluten-free foods to meet everyones' needs! Eden Alley has really creative and eclectic menu items, and clearly labels which items are vegan or can be made vegan! That always makes me appreciate a restaurant more!! If you are ever in Kansas City, check this place out!!!
My mom had the corn fritters, which were topped with a smoky black bean sauce and a smoky chipotle aioli. Of course, she let me have a bite, and they were great! A southern feel and wonderful flavors made this so tasty...I want to learn how to make some like these!Steve had the sweet potato burrito, one of our favorite menu items! It is a big flour tortilla stuffed with hummus, brown rice, and roasted sweet potatoes, then topped with fruit salsa on a bed of greens. This is crazy good!!
I had the spinach-mushroom loaf with a side of roasted sweet potatoes...it was getting chilly out, so this seriously hit the spot!! For dessert, my mom ordered the vegan creme brulee! I had to try it, of course, and it was really nice...not too sweet or anything! And now I can cross that off my vegan 100 list :)
Steve and I both had the "Pollack cake," which was a coconut vanilla cake with chocolate chips, drizzled with vanilla and chocolate frosting. This was sooooo moist from the coconut and the frosting was so creamy and good! wow.

Sunday was my grandma's 69th birthday, and my family asked me to make the meal for her birthday dinner...I was honored! For the older crowd, I picked comfort food, with a healthy twist! They really liked it all, so I was pleased...

To start off the meal, I served a loaf of the 5 Olive Bread from Whole Foods: And we also had a nice green salad with sunflower seeds as an appetizer: For the main meal, I made garlic mashed potatoes (no gravy, sorry!!), olive oil-roasted green beans, and Chickpea Cutlets from Veganomicon...the ultimate in faux meats, I think! Everything turned out just wonderfully and we were all very satisfied:
But there was still room for dessert, of course! What would a birthday be without cake, I always say!! I wanted something simple, yet rich...with chocolate for my grandma! I made the Decadent Almond Cake from Hanna's My Sweet Vegan. oh lordy. make this cake for your next birthday. or any party really. or Monday. just make it! the almond flavor is soooo wonderful and it so moist and has a great mouth-feel. I made the ganache out of carob instead of chocolate, so I could force my family to be adventurous...and I loooooove carob!
I served the cake with Purely Decadent's Pomegranate Chip ice cream. No one would ever guess that this was not "real" ice cream, I swear! The fruity flavor was perfect and it went so well with the richness of the almond cake! A match made in heaven!The cake and ice cream together, the way it always ought to be!