Tester Hummus and Homemade Ice Cream

Let me just say that I love summer food!! I am not as much in the mood for cooking or baking because of the heat, but I am learning to appreciate the simple and healthy meals that require little preparation on hot summer nights!

A great example of this is hummus! Have it with some pita, on a salad or sandwich, or even as a veggie dip for a no-cook meal. This is Black-Eyed Pea Hummus, and it is a tester recipe for Bianca's Cookin' Crunk cookbook. The black-eyed peas instead of garbs give it such a unique flavor and it is sooooo tasty! Very creamy and thick, too. Here, it is served with some slices of ciabatta bread from the local Uprise Bakery!! mmmm....bread....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?? Vegan S'mores Ice Cream (makes about 1 qt)
2 cups soymilk
1 cup soy creamer (I used MimiCreme)
1/2 cup organic sugar
2 Tbs arrowroot powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 cups graham cracker pieces
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup vegan marshmallow fluff

In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of the soymilk with the arrowroot. Set aside.
In a saucepan over medium heat, mix together the rest of the soymilk, soy creamer and sugar. Bring just to a boil, stirring often. Remove from heat immediately. Add in the arrowroot slurry and whisk well until liquid begins to thicken. Stir in the vanilla and sea salt. Allow this mixture to cool to room temperature.
Freeze soymilk mixture according to ice cream maker manufacturer's directions, adding in the graham crackers, chocolate chips, and marshmallow fluff during the last 5 minutes. Freeze or serve immediately!

In other news, Steven just returned from a trip to New York...and he brought me my first vegan doughnuts!! I hadn't had a doughnut in about 4 years, so the two he brought me were Heaven-sent! These were the Nutrilicious brand-- probably not as good as freshly-baked, but they did the trick for sure.

There was a vanilla doughnut with a carob glaze....
And a chocolate doughnut with chocolate-vanilla swirl frosting! These were both divine, but this one was my favorite of the two! It went very well with a big mug of coffee!

Seitan Piccata. omg.

I have discovered a new love: Seitan Piccata!!! Ever since visiting Candle 79 when I was in New York this past spring, and falling in love with this dish, I have wanted to make it!! I am so glad I finally put it in my meal schedule for this week! The sauce on the seitan is just so tangy and salty and lemony and capery and fantastic. PLUS I used my homemade seitan, and this is the best batch I have ever made. Double yum bonus! I seriously could not believe how flippin easy this savory meal was to put together. It only took 30 minutes! I recommend serving the piccata with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed greens, like I did...

Seitan Piccata with White Wine and Caper Sauce (serves 4)

4 seitan cutlets

1/4 cup whole wheat flour for dredging

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup diced shallots

1/2 cup diced onions

2 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup capers, drained

1 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup vegetable broth

2 Tbs flour

4 Tbs vegan margarine

1 cup chopped parsley

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Dredge the seitan cutlets in the whole wheat flour, shaking off any excess. In a saute pan, heat 2 Tbs olive oil over high heat and brown the cutlets until crisp and golden, about 30 seconds per side. Place the cutlets on a plate while you prepare the sauce.

Heat the remaining olive oil in the same pan over medium heat. Add the shallots, onion, garlic, and capers, and saute. Stir and cook until softened, about 1 to2 minutes. Add the wine and cook until reduced by halt. Whisk in the lemon juice, and allow to reduce a little more. Add the veggie broth and the flour, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce four about a minute. Whisk in the margarine, parsley, slat, and pepper;, Pour over the seitan and serve immediately.

(From the Candle Cafe Cookbook)

D. Lish!

Veg and the City

Woooowie I haven't posted such a long time! I feel like such a bad blogger!! I know, there are now excuses, but my explanation is pretty good: I was in New York!

Steve spoke at a math conference (yay nerds!) at CUNY in Manhattan, so I figured I would tag along and eat and explore and lust after one of my favorite places in the world!!!

If you have ever been to NYC, then you probably know that it is magical and wonderful and it will consume your thoughts...if you haven't been there, then GO NOW!!

The best part was, of course, all the vegan food EVERYWHERE!!! I was lucky to have to walk a lot, or they probably would have had to roll me back to Missouri :)

So, heeeeere we goooooo!

Dinner on night 1 was at Candle 79...very upscale, delicious, worth the price for sure!!

I had the famous Seitan Piccatta. lemon caper sauce=heaven.

Steve had the Moroccan Chickpea Cakes with spring vegetables

For dessert, Steve had the Strawberry-Rhubarb crumb pie with dulce de leche soy ice cream and caramel sauce. springtastic

My dessert was the fudge brownie sundae, with a scoop of french vanilla soy ice cream, strawberries, bananas, pecans, hot fudge, and caramel sauce. good good this was rich and crraaaazzzy good!

The next night, we went to Angelica Kitchen for dinner. I am not sure how we got so lucky to find all these amazing vegan eateries, but I will not complain!! I had the special entree of the night, which was miso glazed tempeh with an arugula salad, steamed green beans, and a rice pilaf filled with cabbage, carrots, etc., then a side of balsamic-glazed beets. so many good veggies prepared so many different ways....

Steve had the menu favorite Ole Man Seitan.... a fat burrito filled with rice, seasoned seitan, vegetables, and topped with a mole enchilada sauce and cilantro sour "cream." Chipotle can seriously suck it.

My dessert was the Caramel-Pecan blondie with maple whipped cream and caramel sauce...this was unlike any blondie I've ever had!!

Steve's dessert was the Strawberry-Rhubarb Parfait...we seemed to notice a trend of strawberry-rhubarb desserts for the specials...yay seasonal produce!

The next day.... Lunch at Gobo, downtown...

An awesome appetizer of the Yam and Yucca fries, complete with

a sweet chili dipping sauce...this place had beautiful presentation!

My entree was the smoked Beijing-style seitan with a teriyaki sauce, coconut rice, pickled papaya salad, and steamed kale. The seasonings and texture of the seitan blew my mind....

Steve had the sweet and sour sesame protein with steamed broccoli, brown rice pilaf, and pickled shredded papaya (we were allll about that papaya baby!!)

That night for dinner...Sacred Chow. Little place, big portions, amazing food.

We both had big sandwiches for dinner...mine was the black olive roasted seitan sandwich, with melted vegan cheddar, lettuce, and a dijon vinaigrette...very unique and sooooo savory. one of the best sammies ever!!

Steve opted for the classic "meat"ball sub with spicy marinara and melted vegan mozzarella...this could have passed for it's omni alternative for sure! yuuuum

We were stuffed, but decided to gorge ourselves (haha) on some chocolatey goodness for dessert.... I had the chocolate cake, which was two layers of their homemade chocolate brownies, with strawberry filling, chocolate frosting, and chocolate-covered pralined nuts. insanely good!!!

Steve had the brownie sundae...probably due to jealousy of the one I had at Candle 79 :) This was an enormous brownie topped with vanilla soy ice cream, hot fudge, and chocolate sprinkles...fit for a king!

Yet another day of fine food in NYC...

Lunch was at Cafe Blossom and it was absolutely perfect. I had the rosemary walnut crusted seitan cutlets, topped with a garlic cream sauce, with a side of cauliflower puree with cranberry chutney and lemon-garlic sauteed spinach. this was so frickin good...and it reminded me very much of chicken-fried chicken. i'm just saying.

Steve had an amazing and filling sandwich: Southern-Style seitan with chipotle ailoi, caramelized onions, avocado, and greens. on foccaccia. with sweet potato fries. done.

And for our last NY dinner, we went the famous and fabulous Candle Cafe. What a way to end a trip! I had one of their daily specials: the Jamaican Jerk Tofu wrap...I really want to copy this recipe!! A tortilla filled with saffron rice, kidney beans, sweet potatoes, caramelized onions, steamed greens, and jerk-marinated tofu...with a side of spicy jerk sauce and a salad with pineapple, onions, and greens. this was sooooo yum and I think I could duplicate it...it won't be as good, of course :)

Steve had the chili-lime tofu...piled on top of quinoa, avocado, and tooooooooonnnnss of steamed greens, with mango salsa, and a cumin vinaigrette. this was a homerun. so many flavors that went so well together. now i know why this place is famous!

Sadly, our last day...

We only had time for breakfast before going to the airport, but it was something to remember!!

We went to Atlas Cafe....not all-veg, but over half the menu was specifically labeled as "Vegan" yay! We both had the vegan pancakes with bananas and blueberries, with walnuts and maple syrup. a perfect sendoff. we even sat outside, hence the shadowy picture...neither of us wanted to leave that perfect setting!!

No breakfast is complete without a beautiful soy latte...this one was from the hip and cozy Think coffee house. they, too, had lots of vegan fare, including sandwiches, tofu cream cheese for bagels, and baked goods like brownies (that were also gluten-free) so cool!

My favorite place of all was Babycakes. the vegan bakery. that's right, i said vegan bakery. i went there...three times. or four...who's counting :) i had my first ever vegan cinnamon roll here...and a shot of chocolate frosting---now that's how I party!!! mmmmmm................................

To make this trip even better, Steve and I hit up the MOMA, and I even found Moo Shoes...a vegan shoe store! I couldn't believe it....I could buy anything in the store, guilt-free...except for that whole "money" thing, i mean...

I did do more than eat, I promise! Ok, but not too much more :)

So, I am looking very much forward to my next adventure to New York and many more delicous eats in such a wonderful city!!