I STARTED THIS BLOG TO DOCUMENT MY ADVENTURES IN VEG LIVIN' AND SHOW THAT IT'S NOT HARD TO AVOID ANIMAL PRODUCTS AND LIVE A CRUELTY-FREE LIFE. I HOPE YOU FIND SOMETHING GREAT WHILE YOU'RE HERE!As Napoleon’s Grandma would say…”Just make yourself a dang quesadilla!!”….so I did.
Filed under: Meals + Recipes, Product Reviews | Tags: coconut, recipe, thai, tofu, vegnews
Serves 6
What You Need:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, quartered and thinly sliced
4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
3 cups water
1 medium green or red bell pepper, cut into narrow strips
1-1/2 cups frozen green beans
1/2 teaspoon red or green curry paste
1 tablespoon natural granulated sugar
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 stalks lemongrass
One 13.5-ounce can light coconut milk
2 tablespoons natural peanut butter
Salt to taste
What You Do:
1. In a soup pot over medium-low heat, heat the oil. Add onion and sauté until translucent. Add garlic and continue to sauté until both are golden. Add sweet potatoes and water. Bring to a rapid simmer, then lower the heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are about half done.
2. Add bell pepper, green beans, curry paste, sugar, and ginger. Cut each lemongrass stalk into 3 or 4 pieces, and bruise by making long cuts throughout with a sharp knife. Stir into the soup pot. Simmer stew for 10 minutes longer.
3. Stir in the coconut milk, peanut butter, and salt. Return to a simmer, then cook over very low heat for another 10 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender and the flavors are well integrated. Remove lemongrass pieces. Taste to adjust seasonings, and serve at once.
Filed under: Meals + Recipes | Tags: baking, brownie, chocolate, cookies, vegan
I call these vegan double chocolate chip cookies ‘brownie cookies’ because they are seriously soft and chewy! I made these from a PPK recipe below that I slightly tweaked to make a bit healthier. Let me tell you, these are some tasty cookies! They don’t taste like they are missing a thing. Go on, make some for yourself!
Brownie Cookies: ps- Be careful not to overbake them, they may seem like they aren’t done after 10 minutes but they are!
Equipment:
Baking Sheet, Blender, 2 large bowls, mixing spatula, cookie sheets
Ingredients
3/4 cup canola oil (I used half the oil and substituted applesauce for the rest)
2 cups sugar ( I used half the sugar and added in a tablespoon or two of agave nectar)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon whole flax seeds (I used one teaspoon of ground flax seeds)
1/2 cup soymilk
2 cups all purp flour
3/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F.
•Stir together flax and soymilk in a measuring cup.
•In a large bowl sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
•In a separate large bowl cream together oil and sugar. Add the flax seed/soy milk mixture and mix well. Add the vanilla.
•Fold in the dry ingredients in batches. When it starts to get too stiff to mix with a spatula, use your hands until a nice stiff dough forms. Add the chocolate chips and mix with your hands again.
•Roll dough into 1 inch balls and flatten into a disc that’s about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about an inch apart.
•Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes, then set them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Variations: For chocolate chocolate chip cherry cookies, replace 1 teaspoon of the vanilla with almond extract, and replace 1/2 the chocolate chips with dried cherries. For frosted cookies, simply spread some frosting of your choice on them when they are all cooled off!
Filed under: Meals + Recipes | Tags: broccoli, cheesecake, chocolate, cranberries, pecan pie, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, Thanksgiving, tofurkey, truffles, vegan
So as promised, here are the recipes from our Thanksgiving meal. And PS- They might be vegan but I never said they were healthy! 😛
Broccoli Casserole:
- 1 bag of frozen broccoli
- 1.5- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- Nacho “Cheese” sauce recipe here. I used almost the entire pot of “cheese”.
- 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 small red bell pepper chopped
Prepare the “cheese” sauce, the rice, and cook the broccoli. In a frying pan, saute the onion and bell pepper. Combine all ingredients in a casserole dish and bake at 350º for 30 minutes.
Sweet Potato Surprise:
- 1 large canned yams, drained
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar (I used agave nectar here)
- 3 eggs beaten ( I used Ener-G Egg Replacer. You can get a box at Whole Foods)
- 4 Tablespoons Earth Balance, melt (for topping)
- 4 Tablespoons Earth Balance, melt (for yams)
- 1 cup corn flakes
- 1 cup crushed pecans
Mix the melted 4 Tbsp. EB with corn flakes and pecans in a bowl and set aside. Mash the yams then add all other ingredients (sugars, Egg Replacer, EB) to yams and mix well. Pour yams mixture into baking dish. Top with the corn flake mixture and bake at 350º for 20-25 minutes.
Tofurkey Roast:
- 1 Tofurkey Roast (with stuffing and gravy)
- prepared baste (EVOO, sage, soy sauce) according to box (I double this)
- 1 bag of golden potatoes (or your favorite potatoes)
- 4 or 5 carrots, chopped
- 2 onions, quartered
- any other herbs you like. I used parsley and thyme in addition to the sage.
Snip the ends off of the Tofurkey’s casing, peel back the plastic wrapper and discard. Set Tofurkey in a large baking pan and surround with the vegetables. Prepare baste and pour all over Tofurkey and veggies. Sprinkle any additional herbs over it all. Cover with tinfoil and cook for 1 hour at 350º. When done cooking, let cool and slice to reveal the yummy stuffing! This roast kit also comes with gravy which you just heat on the stovetop.
Organic Cranberries:
- 1 can organic cranberries
Get them at Whole Foods, open can, dump in container, let chill in fridge and enjoy with your meal!
Pecan Pie Truffles: courtesy of Hannah Kaminsky and VegNews
- 2.5 cups pecans, toasted and finely chopped
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 7 ounces dark chocolate
In a medium bowl, stir together the pecans, graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and salt until well combined. Add the maple syrup, bourbon, and vanilla, stirring thoroughly. Use your hands to make sure the mixture becomes fully incorporated.
Form the mixture into walnut sized balls, then place on a sheet pan and freeze for 2 hours.
In the top of a double boiler or in a medium stainless-steel bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water, melt chocolate. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. Dip the frozen balls into the melted chocolate, then place onto prepared baking sheet. Let sit for 15 minutes or until firm. Truffles should be stored at room temperature in an airtight container.
The Double-Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe is here
There ya have it!
I always look forward to Thanksgiving!! I love cooking and I love taking my family’s tried and true recipes and vegan-izing them! For the past two years I’ve made this exact spread. Since we only eat it once a year we don’t mind repeating it because the meal is so darn good. We just switch out the desserts, ha! I bought myself a great new camera (Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS) so I’ve been having fun taking shots of all the beautiful food. I promise to post recipes soon. In the meantime, you can view my food pics on my flickr page.
Filed under: Meals + Recipes, Product Reviews | Tags: muffins, pumpkin, trader joe's
Happy November!! Think pumpkins are just for Halloween? Think again! I absolutely love the smell of pumpkin and spice and to prolong the spirit of Fall and usher in the month of Thanksgiving I made some delicious pumpkin muffins. To make these quick and easy muffins I purchased a box of Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Bread and Muffin Mix and a can of their Organic Pumpkin. Instead of eggs I used Ener-G Egg Replacer and Canola Oil for the oil. I only used half the oil that was called for on the box’s recipe since I added in the organic pumpkin. I also felt that it made them somewhat healthier ;). I added walnut bits before I popped them in the oven coz’ I loves me some crunch!
Final Thoughts? Yummy, moist, pumpkin-spiced muffins that went amazingly well with a hot cup of coffee or tea. Easy Peasy!
I love pumpkin and I love Trader Joe’s!
Got this recipe from Real Simple magazine. It was very easy to make! Be warned, it is spicy but deeeeelish! I served mine with an arugula salad with artichokes, tomatoes, and kalamata olives.
Ingredients
- 1 cup white basmati rice
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 eggplant (about 1 pound), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
- 1/2 cup fresh basil
Directions
- In a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, combine rice, 1 1/2 cups water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Stir once, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 18 minutes. (Do not lift the lid or stir!) Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes; fluff with a fork before serving.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, eggplant, curry powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until the eggplant is tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas and cook just until heated through, about 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in the basil. Serve over the rice.
I wanted to share some photos of the Vegan Sushi we made last night. I haven’t made my own sushi in ages and I have been missing out! They were SO GOOD. I’ll explain more after each photo, check it out below:
These are the ‘fixin’s’ we used for our rolls. The plate above features cucumber, carrots, green onion, avocado, Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese, wasabi, tempeh strips, and tempeh with spicy vegan mayo mix. I got the recipe for the spicy tempeh ‘mayo’ mix from Veganomicon and the tempeh marinade recipe from the Real Food Daily Cookbook. Both versions of the tempeh are super easy to make and soooo good in these rolls!
Taaadaaah, sushi! Sorry there are no rolling of sushi process pics. We needed both hands to successfully work with the sticky rice! But there are some great videos online of how to roll sushi if you are so inclined.
We enjoyed our sushi with edamame.
We also made a sumi salad, which I highly recommend.
Cesar approved.
Yep, that’s right…Alfreda. Straight outta’ Vegan with a Vengeance this delicious cream sauce alternative delivers on taste and flavor. While it might not be an exact stand-in for the cream based white sauce, this dairy-free version doesn’t fail to satisfy! Toasted pine nuts are blended with onions, garlic, soy sauce, chili powder, salt and pepper, mustard, nutritional yeast and olive oil to create this pasta topper. I like to pan fry some of Trader Joe’s marinated baked tofu to add to the pasta. Top with any vegetable of your choice, I like broccoli, green peas, or asparagus, and you’ve got a meal! It might not look like the alfredo sauce you’re used to, but give it a try…you won’t be disappointed.
Here’s the recipe.
Because sometimes you want a cold dish! This is a yummy adaptation of a recipe from Real Food Daily called the Yin and Yang salad with Peanut-Sesame Dressing. I basically tossed this salad with soba noodles and tofu and refrigerated it for a while. It’s a fresh and very satisfying dish with tons of flavor and is pretty healthy to boot!
TofuZilla 