VeganMoFo – Snacks

Remember the locally made Innocent Chocolate I purchased awhile back?

I finally remembered it during a recent chocolate craving and opened it up. I paid $4 for the tiny package. Inside were two individually wrapped ½-inch by 2-inch pieces of mint chocolate. Here’s one $2 piece.

And here’s the piece with the end bitten off.

Doesn’t it look awesome? It was not! It tasted bad, like off and rancid. I can’t understand why. The ingredients are coconut oil, agave syrup, cocoa powder, soy lecithin, banana, almonds, mint oil, and love. Maybe they left the love out of my package.


Have you tried Oohmega Bars?

They are vegan, gluten free, organic, and all natural. I got cherry pie flavor. I haven’t tried it yet, but it too is made with love so I’m a little skeptical. (Is love the trendy new ingredient?)

I’m sorry (not really) to tease you with another of Ricki’s test recipes, but how fabulous do these fruity rice krispie treats look!!!!

They are dangerously good, so Chase got to take home a big batch. He says they are amazing.

Until tomorrow….

VeganMoFo – Sunday Cooking

Every Sunday I prepare my daily lunch salads to take to work for the week. I just use bagged lettuce mixes, then the night before I need them, I add dressing and a bean topping. (I usually make a big pot of homemade pintos or lentils first thing Sunday morning – missed doing that today, though.) I have 2 salad bowls to carry to work, so I fill one 3 times and dump them into bags, then I’m set for the week.

It would cost $10 to eat a salad downtown. I figure I spend $15 making my own for the entire week. That was boring, but for anyone wondering how to cut back on expenses, taking your lunch to work is a HUGE savings.


In trying to make room in my refrigerator, the biggest space taker was a giant bunch of chard and a bunch of spinach. So I put them all in my giant wok and it was filled to over the top.

After a few minutes of steaming….

Amazing. A small bowl of cooked greens takes up so much less space!

Chase is moving again, so I planned on him coming to dinner, but wasn’t really hopeful. He’s also sick, and I figured he wouldn’t even be hungry. Nonetheless, I marinated some tofu I wanted to grill for him, using the VWAV Asian marinade.

And I made an awesome Asian Pesto to go with it.

This recipe is inspired by one I found on Ming Tsai’s website. It’s really tasty and should be great with the grilled tofu.

Asian Pesto

Makes about 1-1/2 cups

Ingredients:
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 t. sucanat
2 t. fresh minced ginger
½ cup roasted peanuts
zest of one lime
¼ cup EVOO
½ cup packed fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
¼ cup packed fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
1 cup packed fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 T. tamari
up to ¼ cup more EVOO or water
S&P to taste

Directions:
Put the jalapeno, garlic, sucanat, ginger, peanuts, zest, and EVOO in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the basil, mint, cilantro, and tamari and blend again until smooth. Slowly drizzle in more oil or water until desired consistency is reached. Taste and add S&P to taste.


For myself, and in keeping with the Asian theme, I made an Adzuki Bean Salad. It turned out really good and I bet it will be even tastier tomorrow. If you like adzuki beans, I think you will really like this salad.

Adzuki Bean Salad

Ingredients:
Salad:
1 can adzuki beans, drained and rinsed
¼ cup white wine
¼ cup water
2 t. fresh minced ginger
2 cloves minced garlic
1 zucchini, chopped
2 small radishes, thinly sliced
1 green onion, thinly sliced
sesame seeds to garnish

Dressing:
1 t. toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons tamari
1 t. rice vinegar
pinch of sucanat
pinch of kosher salt
½ t. wasabi powder

Directions:
Put the bean, wine, water, ginger, and garlic in a small pot and simmer for about 5 minutes. Drain and let cool.

While beans are cooling, make the dressing by mixing all ingredients in a small bowl.

Put the beans, zucchini, radish, and onion in a bowl and toss. Stir in dressing. Garnish with sesame seeds. Chill until ready to serve.


Chase stopped by to see me and pick up some things for his apartment, but didn’t stay for dinner. And I was right, he wasn’t hungry. I gave him some money in case he felt like eating later, and I gave him the almond cookies and another treat (to post later) to take with him. We are planning on grilling Tuesday. I took the tofu out of the marinade for fear it would fall apart by the time we grill it, and then saved the marinade in a jar. Is that what you would have done?

Time to make tomorrow’s lunch and pack my gym bag, and visit as many of your blogs as I can.

VeganMoFo – Day 18!

It’s been a busy day and tonight we have a big home football game. ESPN is here and the weather is beautiful!

Today was my CSA pickup day, and in my box I got a huge bunch of greens, arugula (my fave!), sweet peppers, hot peppers, onions, okra (blech – gave it to my neighbor), eggplant (which I also don’t like but will try to disguise is something), garlic, yellow tomatoes, and radishes.

Naturally with all this fresh produce, my overflow fridge went out a few days ago. I know people have been doing the “what’s in your freezer” game, so I thought I would show you how stuffed my fridge is. Here’s the top half:

And the drawers.

I hope Chase comes for dinner tomorrow night. Did you notice the big bowl of Black Bean Salad? I told you it gets requested for every get-together.

I made an arugula salad for lunch and tried to eat up the rest of my grape tomatoes from the last CSA box.

Then I made a test recipe for Ricki, her Almond Cookies. These are so amazing and turned out really nice.

Some people (who, me?) have to have chocolate in their treats, so I put a little chocolate frosting on about half of them.

I’m not going to eat all the chocolate ones, I promise.

VeganMoFo – Halloween Recipes

I’ve not missed a day of posting this month! I don’t have much of anything new, so I thought I would repost some Halloween recipes from two years ago. (See the whole post here.)

Black Bean Soup

Chase reminded me recently that this was one of the best soups I ever made. If it ever gets cool here, I will make it for him again.

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:
1 pound dried black beans
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced thin
2 bell peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons Spicy Montreal Seasoning
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons oregano
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Bragg's
1 teaspoon pimenton (smoked paprika)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons cocoa powder

Directions:
Soak the beans (overnight or quick method), then rinse and put in a large soup pot with the onion. Add 9 cups of water. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for an hour.

Add the remaining ingredients, except the cocoa powder, and cook for another 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

Remove the bay leaf. Use an immersion blender and puree about half the beans (or more if you prefer). Add the cocoa powder, adjust seasonings, and add water, if necessary, to get the desired consistency. Cook another 15 minutes.

Pipe on sour cream webs by piping circles, then pulling with toothpick.


Ghostados (ghost shaped tostados)


Cut out corn tortillas with a ghost shaped cookie cutter. Lightly brush the tortillas with oil, season, then bake for about 15 minutes.


Pumpkin Roll Cake with Chocolate Filling


Pumpkin Roll Cake with Chocolate Filling

Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon allspice
1 cup pumpkin puree
equivalent of 3 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 x 15 baking sheet.

In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, and spices. Add in the pumpkin puree, egg replacer, and lemon juice, and mix well. Spread the batter evenly into the pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Place a damp kitchen towel on a flat surface and sprinkle it liberally with powdered sugar. Turn the cake onto the towel. Beginning with the short side, roll the cake up with the towel. Place on a cooling rack for 20 minutes.

Prepare filling:
1 box silken firm tofu
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon canola oil
dash salt

Place all filling ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

When the cake has cooled, unroll it and spread the filling on it. (You will have some left over. Refrigerate it and have pudding later!) Immediately re-roll, without the towel, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Place it seam side down on a platter and refrigerate until ready to serve.

The cake is super moist and would also be great with something other than a chocolate filling (but I was going for orange and black). Use a white filling for your Thanksgiving dessert!

VeganMoFo – Pumpkin, Millet, and Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

I made mini muffins to take to an office breakfast potluck today. I used a recipe that I posted about a year ago, and thankfully, the muffins were a big hit. Many people went out of their way to compliment them, one person thought they looked too perfect to be homemade, and three people asked for the recipe. One lady that asked for the recipe also asked me about my diet, which I happily explained. I even offered to prepare any vegan recipe she would like to try but was afraid to attempt to cook.


The original recipe makes 12 regular size muffins. I made 3 dozen minis and added a powdered sugar glaze and used Enjoy Life mini chips for the office.

Pumpkin Millet, and Chocolate Chip Muffins

(not gluten free)

The toasted millet adds a nutty yet fat free crunch, like candy sprinkles.

Ingredients:

½ cup millet

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

1/4 t. ground cloves

1 cup sour milk

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup sucanat

1 t. vanilla

½ cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line or spray a 12-cup muffin pan.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add millet and toast, stirring occasionally, until millet is golden brown and begins to pop, about 3 minutes. (The millet will not pop out of the skillet like other grains or seeds tend to do.) Remove from heat and let cool.

Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a medium bowl. Combine the rest of the ingredients, except chocolate chips, in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Add millet to the flour mixture, then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Fill muffin cups and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

(Mini muffins bake for about 14 minutes.)

VeganMoFo – Bizarre/Not Bizarre

Did you watch the Andrew Zimmerman show last night? After nearly hurling during the first segment, including watching him and his guest happily consume various piglet parts and all manner of insects, I can only say how dare he declare fresh foods from the ground bizarre! I was pleased to see on Ani Phyo’s segment that she offered raw versions of familiar foods such as burgers and lasagna. And although Mr. Z didn’t like them as much as he liked the disgusting omni fare, he DID like them, so yea! I didn’t watch any more of the show.

Now, for something deliciously vegan.

Do you love cabbage? Me too! Do you love mushrooms? Me too! I often make this simple stirfry of cabbage, mushrooms, and onions from a recipe similar to the one I found here at Fatfree Vegan Recipes. I brown my onions and mushrooms in broth, then add in sliced cabbage and steam for about 5 minutes. I don’t bother to thicken with cornstarch. Last night I topped my stirfry with Isa’s awesome Fresh Tomato Dressing.

Do you need a treat? Here’s another of Ricki’s recipes I made awhile back. It’s not a tester, though, so you can find the Banana Oat Bars recipe here. They don’t really need frosting. They are fantastic plain - and plain fantastic!

I’m making mini muffins tonight to take to the office tomorrow for a breakfast potluck – will hopefully post them tomorrow.

A Programming Note for Tonight

VeganMoFo (from the office)

I just got this in my inbox and thought it might be of interest to some of you.

Special Announcement: Chef Ani Phyo is on the Travel Channel Tonight

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Hello, Everyone,

Normally I don't send out announcements like this in the middle of the week, but chef Ani Phyo (www.aniphyo.com) who was our featured chef last month, will be appearing on Andrew Zimmerman's Bizarre Foods: Los Angeles edition tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Ani is a great chef, so take the time to check her out! Also, please contact the Travel Channel (http://www.travelchannel.com/) and thank them for featuring a vegan chef! There will be a live chat on the website with the producers after the show airs, so that's a great venue to let them know your appreciation.

Sincerely,

Jason Wyrick
Executive Chef
The Vegan Culinary Experience


At first I was upset that a vegan chef is on bizarre foods, but really it's just amusing.

This worked out nicely. I am running out of daily post material!

VeganMoFo – Sunday Pasta Dinner

I think it’s been a month since I made a Sunday dinner. I decided on pasta, but it wasn’t very Italian. Here’s a quick rundown of what I did:

Gluten free noodles, which I am now able to get from my neighborhood market.

Celine’s Creamy Pumpkin Almond Sauce - it's soooo yummy!

Roasted veggies for the pasta – peppers, onions, tomatoes, squash, carrots, and broccoli, most of them from the farmers market.

All served up on the table – mmmmm, so so good, especially with Celine’s fantastic sauce!

On the side we had Pear Pecan Salad (from the ppk challenge). Thanks for all the nice comments on that post!

And Roasted Brussels Sprouts that I served with the last of the Jezebel Sauce.

Here’s my pretty plate.

For our treat I made another test recipe for Ricki. Here are her fabulous Cinnamon Buns, waiting to be pulled apart and happily devoured, which they were.

Finally, I must thank Usha of Veg Inspirations for bestowing me with the Rockin’ Girl Blogger Award! Thank you, Usha! (btw, she also awarded Ricki) Now go check out Usha’s blog and her recent post for some fantastic looking rice crackers!

VeganMoFo – Pear Nut Challenge

This weekend’s MoFo Iron Chef challenge was to create a recipe using pears and nuts. This was a no-brainer for a salad lover like me. I hope you don’t mind another salad recipe.

Mixed Greens Salad with Cinnamon Spiced Pears and Pecans

To make the spiced pears and pecans, put 1 cup water, ¼ cup sucanat, and 2 teaspoons cinnamon into a small pot. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer about 5 minutes, until thickened and syrupy. While the syrup is simmering, slice one pear thinly and put into a small glass casserole. Add in some pecan halves. (I estimated one pear and about 15 pecan halves for 4 people.) When syrup is ready, pour over pears and pecans and refrigerate for about an hour or until chilled.

When ready to serve, plate some greens, add the pears and pecans, and use the extra syrup for dressing.

Easy, elegant, delicious.

VeganMoFo – Game Day!

Fortunately this post is fun to write since my ‘Horns knocked off the No. 1 team today! I brought a few snacks for our small watch party.

My Black Bean Salad is always requested and as many times as I’ve posted pictures of it, I’ve never written out the recipe. It’s always a hit. Fresh tomatoes and a good avocado are a must. I vary it occasionally, but here’s the basic recipe.

Black Bean Salad
Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen corn
4 green onions, sliced thin, white and green parts
1 fresh jalapeno, minced
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1 large fresh tomato, diced
1 avocado, diced
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of 2 key limes or 1 medium lime
1 t. agave nectar
2 T. Italian style salad dressing
1 clove garlic, crushed
¼ t. spicy seasoning blend (I use McCormick’s Spicy Montreal; you could sub red chili flakes)
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Mix everything in a large bowl. Chill until ready to serve, at least one hour. Serve as a salad, as a salad topper, or with tortilla chips.


I made another test recipe for Ricki. This is her delicious Breakfast Loaf that I sliced very thinly and cut into a Longhorn shape to give to my mom. It was for good luck and it worked!

VeganMoFo – Picadillo

We eat a lot of Mexican food here. Earlier this week I saw a recipe in Eating Well for Apple Turkey Picadillo. The only thing I liked about the recipe was the apple. Since it is apple season, I decided to come up with my own vegan and more authentic version. Don’t let the ingredients scare you. It’s delicious. You can use it as a filling in peppers or eat it as a stew along with some brown rice.

Quick Picadillo with Apples

Ingredients:

½ cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (15 oz.) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 t. cumin
1 t. Mexican oregano
½ t. salt
½ t. black pepper
½ t. crushed red pepper
¼ t. allspice
2 T. cider vinegar
1 medium green apple, cored and chopped
1 can (10 oz.) diced tomatoes with green chilies
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup slivered almonds

Directions:

Saute the onions and garlic in broth or oil until soft. Stir in beans, spices, and vinegar and mix well. Stir in the apple, tomatoes, and raisins. Simmer over medium heat until the liquid has reduced. Serve garnished with almonds.

The tomatoes I used had some pretty hot Hatch chilies in them. I made myself a cool cucumber and tomato salad, topped with some pink ginger finishing salt, to go with the spicy Picadillo.

In Austin, Picadillo is always made with raisins and almonds. If you enjoy another version, I would love to see your recipe!

VeganMoFo – Quick and Spicy

Our local food editor (hi, Addie!) blogged today about her CSA box, which, not surprisingly, sounded just like mine. She put together a quick dish using squash and jalapenos, and made a complete dinner by adding rice and beans and “leftover enchiladas.” I decided to do something similar.

I sautéd squash, onions, a purple sweet pepper, and one small red and one small green jalapeno from my CSA box. I didn’t have leftover enchiladas, so I decided to try one of these tamales I bought recently made by White Mountain Foods, a local company that makes excellent tofu products. Their newest addition is tamales – these are vegan.



White Mountain products are available throughout Texas and also in Colorado and California. The tamale is excellent. They keep in the freezer and you just microwave or steam them for one minute. I also got myself some black beans, which aren’t local, unless you count the fact that they came from my local grocer. So here’s my dinner plate.

I also did a taste test of my jalapenos. I had read somewhere that “scarred” peppers are hotter than smooth peppers. For example, the pepper on the right in this picture would be hotter.

The red jalapeno I used tonight was scarred and the green one was not. Sadly, the test was inconclusive because neither of the peppers was hot ;)