Chorizo Spinach Sopes!

This Vegan Latina tester gig gets better with every recipe I make!! Today's test recipe from Terry Hope Romero's Vegan Latina tester forum is the Chorizo Spinach Sopes! They are plump, bowl-shaped cousins of corn tortillas filled with lots of Latina goodies...I managed to knock out a few other tester recipes to make this one! score! The filling consists of layers of: spinach sauteed with garlic and lime, Seitan Chorizo Sausages (a test recipe), shredded cabbage, red onions, Classic Roasted Tomatillo Salsa (another tester, for which I used some local tomatillos!), and some Vegan Chipotle Mayo (I had some of this leftover from the tortas a few days ago). Absolutely perfect! So many different flavors layered together in this amazing little shell and it all just works magically with each other! I think next time I will add some avocado, just to make it just that more perfect!! Ole!

Pizza Fusion and More Test Recipes

The Kansas City Star, our main newspaper, did a big story this week on a new KC restaurant, Pizza Fusion, in honor of Earth Day. If you haven't heard of Pizza Fusion, it is a pretty new pizza chain that is all over the country, and it is all organic/natural and has TONS of vegan options, including FYH mozzarella! They make everything out of recycled materials and even have hybrid delivery vehicles! I was pretty sure that I needed to try this place, so we went there for lunch today. And, it was delicious! The vegan items are even listed as such on the menu AND our waitress was vegan, so she could make some good recommendations! I was veeeeery happy!We started off with the Fusion Salad, with Goddess Dressing... I had the Farmer's Market Pizza on Multigrain Crust (portobellos, red onions, zucchini, artichoke hearts, basil, tomato sauce, FYH mozzarella).....I really, really enjoyed this pizza.My mom had the Bruschetta Pizza on Organic White Crust (tomatoes, basil, roasted garlic, balsamic vinegar, FYH mozarella)....definetely a classic!For dessert, we had the Organic Chocolate Brownie!!! This was vegan AND gluten-free, and by-far the BEST gluten-free baked good I have ever had!!! OMG they served it straight from the oven, sprinkled with cocoa powder and powdered sugar, and garnished with strawberries! It was so flippin' moist and delicious!

If one of these joints is near you, I highly recommend you give it a shot!

I also went to the KC farmer's market yesterday with my friends Sarah and Fatima, which was a blast! I love seeing how there gets to be more and more vendors and patrons of the market every week! I didn't get anything too exciting this week, but we did stop and eat lunch at Succotash, the diner that is in the City Market square! I love this place!!!

I got the Lemony Lima Bean Hummus Plate, which was served with fresh, locally-made French bread! Amaaaazing! They even garnished it with some succotash! I was in hummus heaven.

Also this week, I did some more testing for Terry's upcoming Vegan Latina cookbook! BTW this cookbook is going to blow everybody away with all of the creative recipes and fun flavors!

Mofongo, a fried plantain dish...

Mango and Jicama Chopped Salad...very light and refreshing
Mango and Jicama Chopped Salad, served with a new Soyrizo that I tried this week, made by Melissa's brand. The soyrizo was pretty good! Flavorful, spicy, chewy...I added some sauteed onions and green chiles to it for an extra kick.
Melissa's brand Soyrizo.... And, finally, the Cilantro-Lime Rice, which is my new favorite rice dish! It is so wonderfully limey and salty and cilantroy! It would be perfect with anything, really, but I served it with the Venezuelan Black Beans from Terry's tester recipes and some Chili-Sauteed Veggies (my own creation). YUM!

p.s. only three weeks until I graduate!! yay!

Hot Sauce Glazed Tempeh and Some Product Reviews!

I have been super busy and unable to consistently blog....but I have lots to talk about and a little time, so yay!

First up is the Hot Sauce Glazed Tempeh from Veganomicon! Good Lord this is so tasty! I love how savory and salty and spicy this is...I could not believe I hadn't made this before, especially with my affinity for hot sauce! I went home-style and served it with mashed potatoes (thanksgiving leftovers!) and garlic-sauteed greens...this was an awesome and comforting meal!!

I have also been trying lots of new products lately, from Clover's and Whole Foods...I love to go on food adventures :)

First is SOYRIZO! I freakin love this stufff! I have had a few other kinds of vegan chorizo before, and I loved it, so I had to give this a shot! It was a lot more flavorful and spicy than the other kinds I have had, but a little saltier, too. I served this up kind of mexican-style with veggies and such:Soyrizo!

Soyrizo with Local Peppers and Corn, Quinoa, and Avocado

Soyrizo with Tomatoes and Greens, Chili-Baked Polenta, and Pepitas

The next new item is Kozy Shack Soy Pudding! It was really nice to see a clearly vegan item it a common grocery store, in with all the other products!! And this is sooooooo tasty! It really reminds me of childhood...especially the yummy chocolate flavor!

Kozy Shack Chocolate Soy Pudding
....Topped with some Soyatoo Vegan Whipped Cream!

Then there's a holiday must: "Egg" Nog! I always buy the soy variety by Silk, but Clover's started carrying a Rice Dream soy nog, so I had to try it! I must say that the flavor is great and definitely tastes like the holidays. Yuuuummy spices and all that jazz! But, being rice milk, it is just not quite as thick as I would want a nog to be. And I like it thick! Steven says this is good on granola, though! mmmmm!! I would for sure recommend this if you aren't down with soy, though, cuz it is really tasty!
Rice Nog by Rice Dream! Glorious!

Craving Some Soul Food

Some things are just good for your soul. For example, my soul was absolutely ecstatic on Tuesday night when Barack Obama became our next president!!!! Perhaps it was due to his awesome-ness, his amazing staff's work, or my cooking?! I did make those lucky black-eyed peas, you know! I also made these Barack Obama Cupcakes!! As good as these were, I guess he deserved his win from his own merit....

These are the Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, topped with a Maple-Cinnamon Buttercream that I whipped up...and they are blessed with little Obama cupcake toppers, courtesy of Natalie at Bake and Destroy!! These were a perfect way to celebrate a victory! Oh, and the pumpkin puree used in these was some I made myself from a locally-grown pumpkin courtesy of the Columbia Farmer's Market and Steven! yay DIY! These not only tasted amazing, they were life-CHANGING! :)

Another thing that is good for your soul: SOLE food! This is a culinary ideology and, more recently, a trend where consumers are beginning to desire foods to eat/purchase that are: Sustainable, Organic, Local, and Ethical. I hope this is not just a hip trend for eaters, but that it becomes a way of life for people everywhere. Here are a few meals we had this week that were both in the area of soul foods and SOLE foods!

Seitan Chorizo-Stuffed Acorn Squash with Angelica Kitchen Cookbook's Cornbread

V-Con's Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu, Dirrrrrty Brown Rice, Roasted Root Veggies

BBQ Soycurls, Angelica Kitchen Cookbook's Cornbread, Garlic Barack-oli

(we had this on election night, I had to go there....)

This week has been so crazy, but I am so glad the election is over and I can think about other things! Thanks to everyone who worked for the Obama or their state/local campaigns! It really is important...I promise :)

Belated MoFos!!

I have been quite the lazy blogger for the past two days! My apologies...after I got back from my long week in Chicago, I was too lazy to cook (and I had no food in my fridge!), I was tired, and I really just wanted to hang out with Steven. Needless to say, I was less than motivated to cook or blog! I am now refreshed and ready to cook, though, starting with last night!
Yesterday was not only Halloween and the last day of Vegan MoFo, it was also me and Steven's nine month anniversary! yay! So, I had to make a really delicious dinner for us, and I wanted it to be something he loved a lot...but not more than me :)
I went with Homemade Bratwursts, inspired by Julie Hasson's recipe for Spicy Italian Sausages, served with Bubbie's Raw Sauerkraut on top, along with Braised Cabbage and Local Apples, and Rosemary-Roasted Sweet Potatoes. This meal was perfect! Warm and satisfying...perfect for a long night of Halloween fun! And there's even orange in the sweet potatoes! So clever.When I was in Chicago, I picked up something locally-made to make for Steven and myself, because I think it's really important to try local items wherever you go to appreciate the culture and tastes of the places you are visiting. When I saw this Upton's Naturals Chorizo-Style Seitan at Whole Foods, I knew that this is the item I had to bring home with me!! It seemed like a lot of the veg-friendly restaurants there in Chi-town had something featuring Seitan Chorizo on their menus, so I wanted to try using this tasty ingredient at home as well!

I wanted to use the chorizo in a Mexican/South American-inspired dish, so I made this:
Seitan Chorizo with onions, garlic, jalapenos, red peppers, hominy, greens, and avocado over quinoa....with lots of citrus, cumin, chipotle, and cayenne, this was really flavorful, and was a great way to celebrate the chorizo! I haven't had hominy in a long time, and I had forgotten how much I love it! yum!!

This precious little skull is made of chocolate (obviously) and was another cool thing I bought in Chicago! This was made by the gourmet chocolatier Vosges, who is famous for creating innovative and wonderful chocolate concoctions. This particular Hot Chile Chocolate Skull, in celebration of The Day of the Dead/Halloween, was made of solid dark chocolate, ancho chiles, chipotle chiles, cinnamon, and black sea salt...this skull was so warm and spicy and sweet and flavorful! This is probably the only time I will rave so much about eating a body part (unless they make more body parts out of chocolate)!

On some side notes:
Happy end of Vegan MoFo...I'm already looking forward to next year!
Happy belated Halloween
Please do whatever you can to support/volunteer for/encourage Barack and Joe over these next three days! We are so close...don't give up now, people!!