Tasty Tester Roundup

I had a few days off this week, so I recipe tested my butt off!

First, the sweet stuff from Carla's Vegan Bakesale testing:

Rich Brownies...the egg replacer is pureed raw cashews! So decadent and genius! Gently spiced with hints of cinnamon and ancho chili powder. So nice! Malva Bundt Cake...a super moist, sweet, and comforting apricot bundt cake! It even got an Apricot Jam Glaze for extra sweet and stickiness!

Pineapple Mango Mint Upside Down Cake...something sunny and flavorful to make watching LOST even MORE enjoyable!! Mint and pineapple? Yes, yes, and yes!!!

Now for some savory stuff from Melisser's upcoming The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life!

Chipotle Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes....spicy, smoky, and just all around amazing!! Perfectly paired with some homemade veggie burgers. Also, holla for the great local sweet potatoes!

And then there's Austrian Potato Salad! How can you not loooooove potato salad?! I even got these yummy local new potatoes and chives for it! Similar to a German potato salad, served warm with tons of onions and dill pickles in it. Mayo free too! Potatoes are the bomb, and so is Melliser!

Super Awesome Brunch and Belated Excitement...

First the belated excitement part: 5 posts ago was my 200th post! I didn't even realize it! That's a whole lotta blogging and even more cooking...I'm pretty proud if I do say so myself :) Thanks for reading and salivating with me 200 times!! haha

Now for the brunch! The supper club this past Saturday was hopping, and not just because of the arrival of springtime weather...but mostly because of Vegan Monte Cristo Sandwiches!! You can find my recipe here! I added some of my Creole Mayo to the sandwiches, and served some organic blackberry jam on the side for spreading and dipping. It was perfect. Also different this time, I made homemade seitan "ham" and used Teese mozzarella cheeze! I had never used Teese before and it so totally melts you guys!! Delightful! Now if they only carried it around here so I didn't have to order it online. sigh.
Anyhoo, I made the sandwiches with locally-made Farm to Market bread, and served them with a side of Rosemary-Roasted Sweet Potatoes. So good!!Then there were the scones...Orange Thyme Scones, that is! I just love citrus in breakfast-y baked goods. I mean, it just makes sense!! I'll give you my recipe, because you seriously deserve to eat these for breakfast tomorrow. So good with Earth Balance and some jam....mmmmmm..... Orange Thyme Scones (makes 12 big scones)
5 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup dried thyme leaves
1 Tbs sea salt
2 Tbs baking powder
1 1/2 Tbs baking soda
1 cup sugar (I used evaporated cane juice)

1/2 cup vegan margarine
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening

Zest and juice of 1 medium orange
1/2 Tbs vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 cups soymilk

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients, flour through sugar. Cut in the margarine and shortening using a pastry cutter or sturdy fork, to get a crumbly texture.
Make a well in the center of the mixture.
Pour in the zest and juice, extracts, and soymilk into the well. Stir until just combined; be careful not to overmix the dough.
Turn out dough onto a floured surface and form into 2 separate circles. Cut each circle into 6 pieces. Set scones at least 1/2" apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until firmed and golden brown on top. Let sit for 10 minutes on the baking sheet to rest, and then transfer scones to a cooling rack. Serve topped with Orange Glaze (below).

Orange Glaze
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (depending on how thick you like your glaze)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp orange extract (optional)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the orange zest, juice, extracts, and powdered sugar until completely smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.

***The pictures seen on this post were taken by my friend Michael Ryce. They're so good, right?!?! Thanks MJ!!

Southwest Sweet Potato Corn Cakes with Chipotle-Baked Black Beans

Yesterday's installment of my weekly vegan brunch at my house was full of flavor and full of fun! I made some Southwest-inspired food, for a little spice to warm us up from in the inside out...because it is really flippin cold here in Kansas City!!!
Everyone seemed to really enjoy the food, and I thought it was pretty good, too! So I'll share my recipes with you...really easy and tasty, a great combination!!!
Southwest Sweet Potato-Corn Cakes
with Chipotle-Baked Black Beans and Avocado-Cumin Aioli(serves 8-10)
For the Black Beans:
1 lb dried black beans, soaked overnight in cool water
1- 4 oz. can tomato paste
1 3 or 4 oz. can chipotles in adobo sauce, diced
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tbs hot sauce of choice
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs vegan Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp chipotle powder or chili powder

In a large pot filled with water, cook black beans for 1 hour, until tender. Drain and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the tomato paste, chipotles with their sauce, molasses, vinegar, hot sauce, garlic, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, and chipotle powder. Stir until well combined. Add the cooked black beans to the prepared sauce and stir to coat completely. Pour beans into a 9x13 baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, stirring halfway through. While the beans bake, prepare the Sweet Potato Cakes (below).

For the Sweet Potato Cakes
3 lbs sweet potatoes, diced:
2 cups corn kernels
2 cups masa harina
1/2 cup unsweetened soymilk
1/4 cup olive oil or melted margarine
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs baking powder
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp Adobo seasoning
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp onion powder

Preheat oven to 350 F. Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook sweet potatoes for 10-12 minutes, until cooked throughout and fork-tender. Drain and return to the pot. Mash well, a few chunks remaining is fine.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the masa harina, baking powder, and spices. Stir to mix well. Fold in the corn and garlic, and then stir to coat with dry ingredients. Add in the mashed sweet potatoes, soymilk, and oil or margarine. Mix together ingredients until completely combined.
Heat a griddle or skillet or medium-high heat. When pan is hot, lightly oil to prevent cakes from sticking. Scoop 1/4 cup of the sweet potato batter and place onto the hot pan. Spread the batter out to approximately 3-4 inches in diameter, 3" if you want a thicker cake and 4" if you want thinner. Allow to cook for 5 minutes and then flip and cook the other side for 5 more minutes, until both sides are browned and the cakes have become firm. Place cooked cakes onto a baking sheet and let finish cooking in preheated oven for 1o minutes, which will allow them to become firm and cooked completely. Remove and serve immediately, topped with Chipotle-Baked Black Beans and Avocado-Cumin Aioli.

For the Avocado-Cumin Aioli:
2 ripe avocados
4 cloves garlic, minced
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
1/4 cup soymilk
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp salt

In a blender or food processor, combine all of the ingredients and blend until completely smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use; this is even better if made a day in advance.

And, to finish of such a wonderful meal, there had to be a wonderful dessert: Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa and Terry!! These are some of my favorite cupcakes in that cookbook!! I double the amount of Cinnamon Buttercream, because I'm a frosting kind of girl, and I use whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose, because I'm also a whole grains kind of girl! I love these soooo much....and everyone else did, too!!
Here's a few pics of people enjoying some tasty food on a lovely, cold Saturday afternoon! Thanks to everyone who braved the weather for vegan food and supporting sustainability!!

I can't wait til next Saturday!!

A Christmas Preview Meal!

This past Saturday, at my weekly vegan brunch at my place, I decided to spread a little holiday cheer and make a pre-Christmas dinner for everybody! It was fabulous, and I think it did the trick to get everyone in the Christmas-y mood!

It was very similar to my Thanksgiving meal, actually, but with a few changes...
Homemade Seitan Roast with Apple-Sage Stuffing
Agave-Glazed Sweet Potatoes
Vegan Green Bean Casserole
Golden Onion Gravy
Candied Ginger Cranberry Sauce

It was truly a feast! And a celebration of local foods...the sweet potatoes, apples, and garlic were all locally-grown! And btdubs, I have been meaning to post my recipe for the Homemade Seitan Roast, but I lost the paper I wrote it on! Bummer! I'll keep looking for it and give it out as soon as I find it! Wish me luck :)The true stars were, of course, the pies for dessert!
We had Pecan Pie, recipe from the Vegan Feast Kitchen blog! With local pecans! Yeah! And Pumpkin Pie, using my recipe from the Thanksgiving post a while ago. Pumpkin Pie just screams holidays to me! And I used local pumpkins, that I pureed myself and everything. Oh, a you already probably know that is all homemade crust. Duh.

Just typing about this is getting me pumped for my real Christmas dinner coming up in two days!! Woo hoo!

Super Southern Sides!

This testing thing just gets better every week!! For Vegan Crunk Bianca's cookbook tester recipes this week, I was lucky enough to try out two different Southern-style side dishes: Mashed Sweet Taters and Mess 'o Greens with Turnips!

Sweet potatoes are in my top 5 favorite foods of all time, so I OF COURSE loved this sweet, spiced version! I served the Mashed Sweet Taters with another tester recipe, Country Fried Tempeh with Gravy, and some Sauteed Cabbage and Onions. My belly was very happy after this meal!
And greens are just so good any way you cook 'em, so this smoky, salty, and sweet version that is spiked with tender turnips made the meal a joy to eat! The Mess o' Greens with Turnips went perfectly with BBQ Baked Tofu (made with Annie's Smoky Maple BBQ Sauce, cuz I was lazy), and some of my own Mashed Sweet Potatoes. Ahhhhhh....greeeennnssss....I can already tell both of these recipes will be in heavy rotation on my plate!

Bianca's Back and a Recipe from My Grandma!

I have lots of yummy things to share, so I hope you're ready!

First off, the lovely Bianca of the Vegan Crunk blog is, as you know, working on her upcoming cookbook, Cookin' Crunk. After some issues with her computer situation, her new tester recipes are up...and they are delicious!

The first recipe on the list is.....Sweet Potato Bread! This is by far the best quick bread I have ever made or eaten!! And I have eaten my fair share of quick breads. It is so dense and moist, with a perfect balance of sweet potato and spice flavors...it is also healthier than most because it is made with very little oil and is made entirely with whole wheat flour! Yes, I even had some for breakfast...slathered with Earth Balance, of course. Sweet Potato Bread, in the pan.

Sweet Potato Bread, sliced and ready to be devoured.

The other recipe for this week was her Granny's Squash Casserole. This is a creamy yellow squash and rice casserole, made with a gravy sauce. It's texture and flavors are really comforting, and it smells just like a creamy casserole I would see at any of my family gatherings! I think I could fool some folks with this one. Anyway, the chewy texture of the brown rice with the soft baked squash is awesome. This makes an awesome side dish with some Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu and Roasted Brussels Sprouts, which is how I rolled with it. I highly recommend!!Granny's Creamy Squash Casserole

Now, a good foodage picture with no recipe...I'm still perfecting it! Last night for dinner, I made Vegan Monte Cristo Sandwiches!!! I loved these in my pre-vegan days, and I even had a veg version at the amazing Chicago Diner, which I also loved. It was high time that I tried making some myself! Well, these turned out so goooooood! I just put some veggie ham with some Follow Your Heart monterey jack cheeze and creole mustard between some whole grain bread that I French-toasted. I had to put them in the oven for a bit to melt the cheeze, but whatever. Then I served it up with some organic black cherry jam, and a side of Cajun-roasted potatoes. Brunch for dinner is the best. Period!
And now, for a veganized version of one of my grandma's recipes: Italian Sausage Ragout. This seems so simple, yet it is so wonderful. I crave this often and have just now decided to give it a shot. It turned out really savory and flavourful!! Perfect with some steamed broccoli....and some sorbet or vegan ice cream for dessert! Unfortunately, I cut my thumb pretty severely (4 stitches worth, thank you!) while chopping the veggies for this dinner, so be careful!! BTW, this copycat version got my grandma's seal of approval! Bonus!

Grandma's Italian "Sausage" Ragout

Grandma's Italian "Sausage" Ragout (serves 4)

1. 4 Vegan Italian Sausage links, sliced into 1/2" pieces
2. 1 large yellow onion, diced
3. 1 green bell pepper, diced
4. 2 cloves garlic, minced
5. 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced thinly
6. 1 can diced tomatoes, drained (I used the kind already seasoned with Italian spices)
7. 1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
8. 1/2 tsp salt
9. 1/2 tsp black pepper
10. 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
11. 1 Tbs Italian seasoning
12. 1/2 lb whole wheat linguine, uncooked

In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, pour the onions into the pan. Saute for 5 minutes, until softened and translucent. Add the green pepper, mushrooms, and garlic to the pan and saute for 5 more minutes on medium heat to soften. Add in the sliced sausages, tomatoes, Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper. Stir until well combined and cover. Turn to medium-low heat and allow to simmer while you make the pasta, about 20 minutes. Make the pasta according to the package directions, making sure you only cook the linguine to al dente. Add the salt and pepper, using more or less to taste, to the ragout mixture, along with 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water. Stir well and serve immediately over the cooked pasta!

Seriously, try this dish. The Italian Sausages just give the sauce a little something extra, maybe it's love, I don't know. Oh, and I used the Field Roast brand Italian Sausages for mine, but the Tofurkey brand or even homemade sausages would rock, too!

Hey, what are you all doing/cooking/baking for Valentine's Day? I need ideas to steal!

Tester Chili and Sweet Potato Butter

Being a tester for Bianca's (Vegan Crunk) upcoming cookbook has gotten me really excited to cook recently! With only two dishes down, and I can already tell this is going to be a wonderful testing process and an even better final cookbook!
The first tester recipe this week: Chipotle Chickpea Chili! This is one hearty chili...packed full of beans, chipotle peppers, and a few other surprise ingredients...and it is really delicious! It was just perfect on a cold night like tonight! I served it with sauteed greens and some of my homemade whole wheat biscuits. And yes, that is my homemade sweet potato butter slathered on those little biscuits!
Since I'm not able to give you the chili recipe (I can keep a secret!), I will give you my recipe for sweet potato butter! It's made in the crock pot, but you could use a pressure cooker if you have that instead. Here's a picture of the little cubes going into the beautiful red crock pot:
Sweet Potato Butter (makes about 3 cups)
1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 qt water
1 Tbs cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs maple syrup or agave nectar
juice of 1 lemon

In a medium or large crock pot, place the water, diced sweet potatoes, and sugar. Turn on to high and allow to cook for at least 8 hours, or until the sweet potatoes are very well cooked and the water has almost completely reduced. Add the spices, salt, maple syrup, and lemon juice to the cooked sweet potatoes. Stir and cover again. Allow to cook for 2 more hours on high. Turn off heat and allow to cool. Pour mixture into food processor or blender and puree until smooth...an immersion blender would work here too! Put into jars and refrigerate.
**If there seems to be extra water in the crock pot after cooking the sweet potatoes, drain a bit off before adding the spices, etc.**

The cold weather of winter has made me crave more rib-sticking and homestyle foods. Some examples from this past week:

Oven-"Fried" Zucchini

(based on my oven-"fried" okra recipe)

Hot Sauce-Glazed Tempeh (from Veganomicon) with

Maple Dijon Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Broccoli

--I will have the potato recipe soon...it's my WIP Wednesday dish!--

More tester recipes and homestyle cooking to come!

Thanksgiving Wrap-Up!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving...I thank you for saving a turkey, and probably lots of other creatures, too! :) My holiday was wonderful! What's not to love?! Lots of food, friends and family, no school, playing board games, and even more food! That's my kind of break!

For breakfast on Thanksgiving morning, I made Pumpkin-Cranberry Scones from Veganomicon:

They were a little softer and cakier than I typically like my scones (just like the book said they would be!), but they were delicious! I love that it calls for fresh instead of dried cranberries...it just adds that little extra zing that I love! Plus I got to use some of the local farmer's market pumpkin that I pureed myself! DIY bonus!

Meal one, for lunch, was at my family's house, where I made all of the food for Steve, my mom, and myself (everyone else had to fend for themselves!! vegan power). I made the following:
--Tofurkey Roast with Mushroom Gravy
--Chili-Maple Glazed Sweet Potaotes and Chestnuts
--Garlic-Roasted Brussel Sprouts
--Double Cranberry Chutney (from Veg Times)
--Uprise Bakery Cranberry Pecan Rolls with my homemade Apple Butter
Yeah, we were STUFFED! I think Tofurkey roasts are my favorite thing about this holiday!!

And I made two desserts:

Pumpkin "Cheezecake" (again with my own pumpkin puree!)

Pecan Pie...with a homemade crust! Both from the Vegan Feast Kitchen Blog!

Thanksgiving two was for dinner at Steven's family's house....

We just did leftovers for the side dishes, but had a Celebration Roast by Field Roast...since we demolished the Tofurkey Roast at lunch! This was our first time trying the Celebration Roast, and I must say that it was great! I liked the butternut squash in the roast, and the spices were tasty. However, I must give my honest opinion that Tofurkey's is better overall...especially in texuture, but I for sure like the wild rice stuffing and the general flavors better, too. But both are delicious and WAAAAY better than cruelty turkeys!!

All in all, a wonderful day! I ate too much and had a bad cold....but I had a lot of fun, too!!

Cooking for One...

Well I will be cooking for just myself for the next few days, because Steven is away on a camping/climbing trip to Alabama. I feel like I almost forgot how to cook for only one person, since I am always cooking for two! I have still managed to eat well, though :) Here's a few things that I have enjoyed over the past few days...yay alone time! Homemade Seitan Brats with Leeks and Apples,

Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Rosemary Sweet Potatoes

BBQ Tofu (Veganomicon), Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Sauteed Kale
My Perfect Meal: Quinoa, Tofu, Sweet Potatoes, Kale, and

Tahini-Miso Sauce (Veganomicon)

Earlier this week, a bunch of my friends, all of whom happen to be roommates with Steven, had birthdays...Since they all live in the same house, I made them all one batch of cupcakes to share. With the recent COLD weather I wanted something "warm"feeling, so I made the Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes from VCTOTW. I whipped up a Cocoa-Cinnamon Buttercream to top them off...and they also got a little kiss of powdered sugar!

These cupcakes are soooooo good! I absolutely love the combination of chocolate, cinnamon, and cayenne....it makes you feel all warm and happy inside. The coconut milk and cornmeal make them have an awesome texture, too! Make these! I might go so far as to say they trump an actual mug of hot chocolate...but maybe I would just like to enjoy them together :)

Even though I am appreciating this alone time, I think I am ready to cook for two again!

Tasty TVP Loaf and Homemade Granola

I have been cooking more and more lately (I am actually waiting to take cupcakes out of the oven right now!), but I haven't been doing a good job of keeping up with my blogging because school is so crazy right now....so here is a catch-up of the past week or so: Homemade Granola with coconut, dried pineapple, raisins, and sunflower seeds!

Kung Pao Seitan, from the Whole Foods Cookbook, with Steamed Brown Rice

I also whipped up a faux "meat"loaf the other night, which we have had as leftovers a few times. I didn't go off of any recipe, so I was kinda just throwing stuff in there....and it turned out amazing! Some of the ingredients included: TVP, brown rice, breadcrumbs, carrots, celery, local bell peppers, onion, garlic, sage, thyme, tomato paste, olive oil, tamari, parsley. There's more, I'm sure. Anyway, I spread some organic ketchup on top before baking for that mom-made feel.

Crazy TVP Loaf with Rosemary-Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Sauteed Chard

Crazy TVP Loaf, Garlic-Mashed Potatoes, Leek and Local Zucchini Saute

Has anyone else already planned their Thanksgiving dinners? I have been thinking about mine for a long while now...too long, probably...so here's a few hints:

--Tofurkey, cuz I'm kind of lazy

--roasted sweet potatoes

--my homemade apple butter on something

--brussel sprouts

--a pie and a cheezecake

--probably lots more!!

What are you thinking of cooking up for Save-the-Turkeys Day??

I'm A MoFo Burnout.

Man, am I the only one who has a little Vegan MoFo burnout?? I mean, I really loved the excitement it brought and the push to be more creative in cooking and blogging, but it made me a little bit exhausted, too! I have been cooking a lot, though...just not totally psyched on blogging about it much. Also, I feel a little out of new ideas from the recent surge of creativity, so I have been making a lot of old standards...they are still delicious and beautiful, though!

This weekend we had our traditional Sunday breakfast at the wonderful Cafe Berlin...this is a must to make my week run smoothly! It is pretty much the only time Steven and I go out to eat, so this is a really special treat to be served and relax for a whole meal! Tofu-Veggie Scramble with Roasted Potatoes and Whole Wheat Toast

One of my favorites!!!

Like I said, I have been making a lot of things that I have made before...it looks like it's time for me to delve into some of my dusty cookbooks and find some new ideas! Here are some dinners from this week, about which I have been to busy to blog!

Tofu "Crab" Cakes with Vegan Tartar Sauce, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, and Crunchy Coleslaw

Indonesian Tempeh Stew with Broccoli (from Student's Go Vegan Cookbook), and Coriander Brown Rice

Pumpkin Pancakes with Toasted Walnuts, Sweet Potato Homefries, and Tempeh Bacon
(yes! Brinner is the greatest!)

I am now leafing through Veganomicon...if I can't get ideas from there, I can't get them anywhere!! :)

Vegan MoFo Day #22: My Meme Survey!

Heeeeey MoFo!

This is the first survey I've ever done, so I am pretty excited! I got this from Jes at Get Sconed!, so you know it's a quality meme! After you read it, you should complete it and blog about it yourself! Then, I guess it would be a youyou :)
1. What was the most recent tea you drank? Yogi Tahitian Vanilla Hazelnut. with agave nectar and a splash silk creamer. zomg.
2. What vegan forms do you post/lurk on? If so, what is your username? Spill! the ppk….my username is peace by pastries
3. You have to have tofu for dinner, and it has to be an Italian dish. What comes to mind first? spaghetti with tofu “meat”balls, and some vegan parm!
4. How many vegan blogs do you read on an average day? too many, 15 to 20, but there are about 10 that I read religiously, sometimes I will even read up to 30. yikes.
5. Besides your own, what is the most recent one you’ve read? yeah, that vegan “shit”
6. If you could hang out with a vegan blogger that you haven’t met, who would it be, and what would you do? I would want to hang out with isa and jess, because they are awesome and both live in Portland, so I could get both at once, and I would go on a bike ride with them then bake lots of goodies
7. If you had to base your dinners for a week around one of the holy trilogy – tofu, seitan or tempeh, which would it be? seitan!
8. If you had to use one in a fight, which would it be? tempeh, especially since it is rock-solid when frozen
9. Name 3 meals you’d realistically make with that tough protein of choice! 1. cornmeal-crusted tempeh from Candle Café Cookbook 2. tempeh reubens 3. tempeh bacon with blueberry pancakes (brinner! yay!)
10. What’s a recipe in vegan blogland that you’ve been eyeing? peanut butter cinnamon rolls from bjorkedoff. I dream about them.
11. Do you own any clothing with vegan messages/brands on them? I have some vegan Macbeth shoes I got at mooshoes in nyc, but they don’t say “vegan” or anything
12. Have you made your pilgrimage to the 'vegan mecca' yet? (Portland, duh) no! but I would give my left nut to go there right now! if I had one.
13. What age did you first go vegan? Did it stick? 19. heck yes!
14.What is the worst vegan meal you’ve had? Who cooked it? I honestly don’t know if I’ve had a “bad” meal, but I did make a curry one time that came out really bitter. but it was still edible.
15. What made you decide to blog? reading other people’s blogs incessantly and wanting to show people that it is possible to be vegan in the Midwest!
16.What are three of your favorite meals to make? 1. bbq seitan with cornbread and greens 2. vegan crab cakes 3. breakfast for dinner, particularly pancakes and “sausage”
17. What dish would you bring to a vegan Thanksgiving-themed potluck? pumpkin pie and rosemary-roasted sweet potatoes
18. Where is your favorite vegan meal at a restaurant? How many times have you ordered it? seitan piccatta from candle 79, but I have only ordered it once.
19. What do you think the best chain to dine as a vegan is? probably p.f. Chang's. I don’t go to chains really, so I am the wrong girl to ask
20. My kitchen needs a……… kitchenaid stand mixer. or just more space!!!!
21. This vegetable is not allowed in my kitchen…..! all vegetables are allowed! my least favorite is cucumbers though. weird.
22. What's for dinner tonight? quinoa with baked tofu, sweet potatoes, kale, and miso- tahini sauce. my perfect meal.

Here's my evidence of #22:

I am convinced that this is THE perfect meal: quinoa, roasted sweet potatoes, sauteed kale, tofu (cooked with bragg's and nooch), drizzled with miso-tahini sauce. I can't imagine anything better!!

Oh, and for lunch, I came up with an awesome way to use the leftover brats I made yesterday: Bratwiches!! I sliced up the brats and put them on toasted rye bread with spicy mustard, dill relish, and all the fixings...genius! I was out of kraut, but I would definitely slap some of that on there next time! yay fermented foods :)

yeah, the picture sucks, but it tasted awesome!!

and, yes, you MUST vote on November 4th! Obama or bust :)

Vegan MoFo Day #21: I Love Apples!

I ate a lot of apples today, I must confess! After all, it is fall and apples are in season, and I still have dozens and dozens left from when we went apple-picking weeks ago! I am trying to use them up before they go bad, so I have been trying to feature them in many of my meals, desserts, and snacks.

For dinner, they were a sweet addition to my Braised Red Cabbage with Apples and Onions. I paired those with Rosemary-Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Homemade Bratwursts (which I based on Julie Hasson's Spicy Italian Sausage recipe)...loaded with organic sauerkraut, obviously!! This meal was perfect!!! It featured lots of wonderful, local fall produce, economical homemade sausages, and an homage to my love for all things German. I will definitely make this meal again soon! It's so colorful and pretty!!

Dessert also featured apples! I made Apple-Cherry cobbler bars, a modification of the Apple-Date Bars that I bake at work for Main Squeeze. These have lots of cinnamon, cardamom, maple syrup, and apples, so eating them makes you all warm and happy...especially when paired with a nice chai tea! And they are wheat-free, so those who are sensitive can enjoy them, too!!

Apple-Cherry Cobbler Bars

These make a great treat to eat while reading vegan mofo blogs!!

Breakfast was also amazing, but it did not involve apples. darn. But, I did make something new and wonderful: Vegan Bagels and Lox! A while ago, I was thinking about how to make this awesome breakfast item vegan-style. Then, lo and behold, I was flipping through cookbooks at the bookstore, and saw a recipe for vegan lox in Vegan Vittles. I didn't use that recipe, but I got the idea from that recipe to use roasted red peppers as the smoked "salmon." This was awesome to wake up to...you mofos should fo sho try this!

Vegan Bagels and Lox (serves 2)

2 sprouted grain bagels

4 Tbs Tofutti vegan cream "cheese"

2 roasted red peppers, sliced into strips

2 Tbs capers

1 tsp olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

pinch of salt

1 tsp kelp powder

1/4 cup hijiki

1 cup water

1 tsp dill weed or 2 Tbs fresh dill

To make the lox (do this the night before): Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, water, kelp, hijiki, and salt in a small bowl and mix well. Place the sliced red peppers in this marinade and refrigerate overnight. In the morning: split and toast the bagels. Spread each bagel half with 1 Tbs cream "cheese." Lay strips of marinated peppers on the bagels. Place capers over the peppers, and sprinkle each bagel half with dill. Serve immediately.

This is breakfast at its best!! (But it makes me miss New York so badly!)