For breakfast, I have been munching on the Bakery-Style Berry Muffins from Isa's Vegan Brunch. These are perfectly sweet and fluffy and satisfying in the morning with a little schmear of Earth Balance and berry jam. This makes me want to try all the VB muffin recipes now!
No good vegan could go around tauting homemade goods without mentioning seitan! I love seitan made from scratch! It has such a wonderful flavor and is so easy. Most of my dinners this week have been centered around the Steamed White Seitan, a tester recipe for Terry's upcoming Vegan Latina cookbook. This seitan is supposed to be for chicken- and pork-type dishes, as it has a mild flavor and is spiked with delicious herbs and seasonings.
For the first meal in which I used the Steamed White Seitan, I made the Arroz con Seitan, another VL test recipe. This is Terry's veganized take on Arroz con Pollo, a very traditional Latina dish with chicken, rice, and veggies. It was delicious!! First the seitan is marinated and grilled...
Then combined with the rice, a delicious broth made with beer, and lots of veggies--including green olives, which I adore!! Very flavorful, hearty, and even nice on a hot summer evening with a side of juicy local tomato slices!
Then last night for dinner, I used the seitan for Chipotle Seitan and Potato Tacos, a VL test recipe as well. I love love love tacos, and these were amazing! I prepared these for my friend Sarah and myself, and we devoured every last bite. Perfect on a hot night, with all the heat from the chipotle peppers to make you sweat!I even made my own Soft Corn Tortillas for our tacos! This was my first time making homemade tortillas, and it was surprisingly easy! These were a Vegan Latina test recipe, of course! I think I will be making these all the time now!
These spicy, savory soft tacos are filled with a chipotle and beer marinated seitan that has been grilled, roasted then pan-fried sweet potatoes, shredded cabbage, the Pickled Red Onions (a VL test recipe I had leftover), and a Lime Yogurt Crema, which is Terry's spin on a sour cream-style sauce....lots of lime and cilantro and yum! I cannot stress enough how awesome these were and how excited everyone should be about the VL cookbook! woo!
And, of course, there's nothing like a homemade pie for dessert! My wonderful friend Cody had a birthday this week, and he requested a peanut butter pie instead of the traditional b-day cake. So I delivered! Celine at the Have Cake, Will Travel blog posed this PB & J Pie recipe not too long ago, and it caught my eye (and taste buds!). I made a homemade whole wheat pie crust and filled it with layers of peanut butter-based filling and raspberry jam. This was awesome! Peanut butter is good just about any way you throw it at me, but this was exceptional! It was even more perfect with some freshly-brewed coffee and lovely company!These spicy, savory soft tacos are filled with a chipotle and beer marinated seitan that has been grilled, roasted then pan-fried sweet potatoes, shredded cabbage, the Pickled Red Onions (a VL test recipe I had leftover), and a Lime Yogurt Crema, which is Terry's spin on a sour cream-style sauce....lots of lime and cilantro and yum! I cannot stress enough how awesome these were and how excited everyone should be about the VL cookbook! woo!
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For a condiment addition to the spread, I made the Pickled Red Onions test recipe! I love ALL things pickled and I love onions, so this was perfect for me! It is a quick pickling process, where the onions really just marinate overnight in a lime-infused brine....a cheater pickled onion is just as good as a regular pickled onion, folks! Since the recipe made a giant batch, I am still using these up by throwing them in/on just about everything I eat! so gooooood.
This past weekend was my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary (yay for them!) and we had a big family get-together, because that's what families do I suppose, so my mom and I made our popular family recipe for Scotcheroo Rice Krispie Treats! We veganized it and healthied it up, of course! These use peanut butter as the glue in the treats themselves, and the yummy topping is a mixture of chocolate chips and butterscotch chips (again, thanks to Bianca for those!). These treats were gone very quickly!!
Now for a few foods that weren't made for a party or anything, but should be celebrated themselves for being so tasty!!
Finally and best of all: Bagels from Vegan Brunch!! This was my first attempt at homemade bagels and it was a success! I used whole wheat pastry flour in mine and they turned out wonderfully! Instead of poppy or sesame seeds, I dusted the tops with coarse sea salt before the boiling and baking...mmmmmm....I have been eating these pretty much everyday for breakfast. Topped with peanut butter, jam, Tofutti cream cheese, vegan lox, or whatever strikes my fancy that morning. I think next I would like to make a bagel sandwich with them! Make these when you have a few extra hours on your hands: you won't regret it!!
Then, they all go in the oven for a little while to get the insides nice and cooked...
And then they are ready to be stuffed with all sorts of goodies!
Here they are, stuffed and ready to be eaten! Even better with a few dashes of hot sauce along the way!
I also love summer because that means I bust out my ice cream maker!! Pictured below is my S'mores Ice Cream! I made up this recipe using the tips on the A Vegan Ice Cream Paradise blog, and put my own twist on it! It turned out so well! Aren't s'mores the best??
