Best Week Ever?!

What a week it has been so far...and it's not even over!! Just for a quick recap: I passed all of my pre-internship exams this week, Obama was inaugurated, and season 5 of LOST premiered tonight! For three hours! I can only pay tribute to all the awesome events with yummy vegan food...

First, the end of Bush and the beginning of Obama! I am so excited!!!! I used the toppers from the Bake and Destroy blog, like the ones I used for election night cupcakes, to commemorate our lunchtime sandwiches (Obamawich?) as the inauguration was occurring. Yeah, I am pretty cheesy like that...but don't they look cute!
I also got to utilize some of the Tex Mex food Steven brought me from his Texas trip last month! Yay! I made a Pinto Bean Mole, with the jarred mole sauce he bought, onions, garlic, corn, bell peppers, local zucchini, green beans, pinto beans, tomatillos, Mexican chili powder, and lime juice. It was soooo good! I have never had mole from a jar before, so this was a cool thing to try. It got thicker than I expected, mostly because of the peanuts and cocoa, but it was still tasty. I prefer the homemade stuff, but it's hard to argue with a souvenir and a time-saver! I served it up with some homemade guacamole from the avocados, cumin-lime millet, and fresh lime wedges! I only wish I had some rice milk horchata to wash it all down!

Another plus this week was that I perfected my Creamy Creole Sauce! I am excited about this, because I really like this creamy texture and spicy flavor with dishes like the Cornmeal Crusted Tofu from Veganomicon, with my faux "crab" cakes, and even on sandwiches and veggies. I will give you the recipe, as I am feeling generous! :)

Creamy Creole Sauce (makes about 2 cups)

1 cup spicy brown or dijon mustard

1/2 cup vegan mayo

juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp maple syrup or agave nectar

1 Tbs Louisiana-style hot sauce, like Frank's

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 pinch cayenne pepper, to taste

In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients together until well combined. Pour into a sealable container and refrigerate until ready to use. Will keep for about 1 week in the fridge, but it won't stay un-eaten that long!

Now for the sweet stuff: LOST Cupcakes!! I, again, got some cutie patootie cupcake toppers from Natalie's Bake and Destroy Blog. I love these things! It really makes cupcakes taste better, if that is possible. We got a huge bag of crystallized ginger this week at the store, so I decided to make the Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemony Frosting from VCTOTW!! I hadn't made these before and I am not sure why! They are so moist from all the molasses and so flavorful and delicious! I love the little accent of a crystallized ginger piece!

Oh, and how awesome was LOST??? I will just nerd out for a second and tell how flippin pumped I am for the fifth season!! Is anyone with me on this? Maybe I am just excited for having more LOST-watching parties so I can bake and be with good friends. Maybe.

Here's all twelve different toppers, happy and together pre-premiere:

Andouille "Sausages" and Texas Loot!

In yesterday's gumbo post, I promised I would give the recipe for the vegan andouille "sausages" today...and here it is! If you are familiar with creole- or cajun-styles of cooking (which are different btw!) then you probably know a bit about this type of sausage. It is both spicy and smoky, a good Southern combination that is hard to beat! This can be used in the gumbo I posted or in jambalaya, stew, or even on a bun with your favorite toppings! They use the super-popular steam-in-foil method, so most of you will be pros at putting these together! Enjoy!

Vegan Andouille Sausages (makes 4)
1 cup + 1 Tbs vital wheat gluten
1 Tbs nutritional yeast
1 Tbs soy flour
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbs paprika
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 cup + 1 Tbs cold water

In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients, including the garlic, and mix well. Add in the wet ingredients and stir until just combined, being careful to not over mix. Heat a pot of water to boiling. While heating the water, cut 4 pieces of aluminum foil, each measuring about 10 by 10 inches. Place about ½ cup “sausage” dough, or about 1/4 of the dough, in the middle of a square of foil and form into a sausage-like shape. Roll the aluminum foil around the dough and twist the ends to close. This will create an aluminum casing for the sausages to be steamed in. Repeat until you have 4 sausages and have used all of the dough. Place the wrapped sausages in a steamer basket and set over the pot of boiling water. Steam for 35 minutes, covered. Remove from steamer basket and allow to set for 15 minutes before serving.

Now onto the goods that Steven brought me back from his Texas trip!! He was quite close to the Mexico border, so he had access to markets and shops that had lots of Mexican and Tex-Mex foods not available here in Missouri! The only thing not pictured is some homemade tortilla chips from a Mexican market and a HUGE papaya half...it was too big to fit in the picture I think! Clockwise, from the left: 2 Quinces, 2 Limes, 2 different kinds of Mole Sauce, a package of "Hot and Spicy" Pineapple Slices, 2 avocados, 2 different kinds of chili powder, 2 Kiwi, and 2 Tomatillos! How lucky am I??