I threw together some leftovers last night but am.running low on veggies. I sauteed some onion.in.a little.olive oil and then added some sliced mushrooms, corn, and sliced cabbage. I seasoned it with sea salt, pepper and herbs de Provence. It was delicious!

I am trying to use up the stuff in my fridge as I finish out the month and ready my kitchen for a new menu. I.whipped up.a delightful potpie and was thrilled with the results. I sauteed some chopped onions in a tad of olive oil and then added some chopped seitan (baked seitan) and chunks of mushroom. Yummy!When that mixture was nicely browned I added some petite peas and heated through. Then I made a basic white sauce with began butter, flour and soy milk and then added some no-beef bullion, some thyme, and some cracked pepper and a splash of began Worcestershire. I mixed the sauce into the get mix and poured it into a glass bowl and.topped it with some leftover pie dough. Baked it for about 15 min.


Like I mentioned I am on a mission to use up the contents of my fridge so today I threw together a pasta dish. First I sauteed onion and garlic in some olive oil until tender. I then added some vegan pepper, some corn, and frozen broccoli (thawed). I sprinkled the mix with Italian seasoning and sea salt. I squeezed a lemon over some cooked mini penne and added the pasta to The veg. Next I sprinkled the mixture with the zest from that lemon. After serving up the pasta in.bowls, I sprinkled each dish with olive oil, crushed red pepper, and toasted pine nuts. Fabulous!

I have been enjoying some of the recipes from Urban Vegan recently. I really like how the author uses soy flour as her egg substitute. In most recipes, it works great. These Chocolate Waffles were very yummy - not too sweet and very moist and flavorful!

This Three Bean Loaf turned out really yummy. It wasn't really like meatloaf but I didn't expect it to be so that was ok. It was hearty, flavorful, virtually fat-free and cheap to make. For leftovers yesterday, I crumbled a slice of the loaf into a tortilla, squirted some ketchup on top and layered a few jalepenos on it and voila - a delicious wrap!! Yum!



Three Bean Loaf (adapted from Vegan on the Cheap)
1 T olive oil
1 onion chopped
1 carrot chopped
1 celery rib chopped
4 minced garlic cloves
1 ½ cups each black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas
½ cup ketchup
2 T soy sauce
½ t each pepper and salt
1 cup dry bread crumbs
½ cup oats
½ cup vital wheat gluten
1 T dried parsley
2 T spicy brown mustard
1 T brown sugar
2 t apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 9 in loaf pan with cooking spray. In a large skillet, heat oil. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Cook until softened. Remove from heat and set aside. Place beans in a large bowl and mash, leaving some beans whole for texture. Add onion mixture. Stir in ¼ cup ketchup, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Add bread crumbs, oats, flour and parsley and mix well. Spread into pan and smooth the top. IN a small bowl, combine remaining ketchup, mustard, sugar and vinegar and mix well. Spread over loaf. Bake until firm about 50-60 min. Let sit 10 min before slicing.


I was able to redeem the leftover "wings" I made last week - thankfully. One night I made Seitan Parmesan by slicing up the leftover "wings" thinly, dipping them in soy milk and then dredging them in bread crumbs mixed with salt, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and pepper and pan-frying them until browned. I then sprinkled a little Daiya mozzarella over them and baked them for a few minutes to melt the cheese. I serve them with pasta and marinara sauce.

Along with that meal, I made a broccoli/cauliflower casserole that was quite tasty and braised cabbage which also turned out nicely.

To redeem some of the remaining "wings" I used the same method of slicing and pan-frying but served them on a bun with mayo, cabbage mixed with a little mayo and mustard and a tad of honey (I know, honey isn't vegan! Part of my "almost vegan" side!), some crispy diced black forest bacon (see previous post). Pretty yummy sandwich.

And finally, I used the last of the "wings" to make a wrap - a tortilla wrapped around the sliced "wings", along with some cabbage mixed with my homemade dill dressing (previous post), and drizzled with leftover wing sauce from the original meal. Again, quite tasty! I am so glad I didn't end up having to throw those dreadful "wings" away!! They were great cooked differently!

Braised Cabbage
4 wedges of cabbage
4 T vegan butter or canola oil
1 t each garlic powder, crushed red pepper, paprika
1 1/2 t sea salt
1 t cracked pepper

Heat oil or butter in large skillet. Sprinkle spices over melted butter/oil. Place cabbage wedges in skillet and cook on first side until just starting to lightly brown. Flip wedges and cook on opposite side until lightly browned. Add 2 T water to pan and allow to steam cabbage for 2 min. Don't overcook.

Zesty Broccoli and Cauliflower Casserole (Taste of Home – Low Fat Country Cooking)
1 lb each frozen cauliflower and broccoli
½ cup vegan mayo
3 T grated onion
1 T horseradish
¼ t pepper
½ cup bread crumbs
1 T canola oil
3/4 t each garlic powder, sea salt and Italian seasoning
½ t paprika

Thaw veggies. Add remaining ingredients except oil, bread crumbs and spices. Stir to coat all veggies. Mix breadcrumbs, oil and spices and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 for 20 min.

Smoky Southwestern Shepherds Pie...Asian Soup with Dumplings

This was a pretty yummy dish - pretty spicy but good. Braed loved the beans despite the spice (wow!). I had it as leftovers yesterday and ate it with some tortilla chips which added a nice crunch.



Smoky Southwest Sweet Potato Shepherds Pie (adapted from Vegan on the Cheap)
3sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2chipotle chiles in adobo
2T water
2T vegan butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1 T olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
3 carrots peeled and chopped
3 cups cooked black beans
1 ½ cups corn
1 ½ cups salsa
½ t cumin

Steam sweet potatoes until tender. In a blender, puree chiles and water until smooth. Mash potatoes with half of chipotle mixture, butter, salt and pepper. Set aside. In skillet, heat oil, and add the onion, carrots and cook until soft. Stir in remaining ingredients and spread in a 9x13 pan coated with cooking spray. Spread mashed potatoes over the bean mixture. Bake at 350 for about 30 min or until heated through.


I haven't had much success with yummy Asian soup recipes. This one was probably the best I have made. It wasn't fabulous but it was good. I made some dumplings to add to it but they are optional and not called for in the original recipe. They didn't add a whole lot to the overall flavor of the soup.

Asian Noodle Soup (adapted from Vegan on the Cheap)
8 oz cooked linguini or spaghetti
1 T canola oil
2 minced garlic cloves
2 t grated fresh ginger
2 T hoisin sauce
5cups veg broth
2T rice vinegar
1 T sriracha sauce
3green onions chopped
½ cup chopped cilantro

In a large pot, heat oil and add the garlic and ginger until golden. Stir in hoisin, and soy sauce. Add broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 min. Stir in noodles, green onion, vinegar, and sriracha. Simmer 5 more minutes.

Ultimate Vegan Tostadas...Vegan Hot Wings

We had friends visiting this weekend and I wanted to come up with a yummy but not-too-weird meal to serve our non-vegan guests. I decided on making tostadas. I used Morgan's Beans recipe (my adapted version) and then made Creamy Mexican Slaw, Guacamole, Corn Salsa, and Fresh Tomato Salsa. I sprayed corn tortillas with cooking spray and broiled them until crispy for the tostada shells. We piled the beans, slaw and salsas on the shells for a messy but delicious meal! They were delish and our friends loved them too, although they were a bit sad I didn't try something whacky like tofu or seitan! Next time I will :-)

Modified Version of Morgan's Pintos (LittleHouseofVeggies)
1 16 oz bag dried pintos
5 cups of water
2 T minced dried onion
2 t garlic powder
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 tsp dried coriander
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic salt
1 t sea salt
pinch of pepper

To Make: Add all ingredients in a crock pot. Make sure that you have enough water that your beans are covered by a few inches. Cook on low about 10 hours (you can just let it cook all day), or on high for about 5-6 hours.

Corn Salsa
2 cups corn
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 T minced jalepenos (I didn't have fresh so used bottled)
2 t lime juice
2 t minced dried onions
1/2 t coarse sea salt
Mix all ingredients and let sit 5-10 min to meld flavors.

Fresh Tomato Salsa
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 T minced jalepenos (I didn't have fresh so used bottled)
2 t lime juice
2 t minced dried onions
1/2 t coarse sea salt
Mix all ingredients and let sit 5-10 min to meld flavors.

Creamy Mexican Slaw
3 cups sliced cabbage
1/2 cup vegan mayo (I used homemade tofu mayo)
1/2 cup green tomatillo salsa
Mix all ingredients and let sit 5-10 min to meld flavors.

I found this recipe on VeganDad's blog and was excited to give it a try. They smelled good and looked good and the flavor was even pretty tasty...but they were seriously the most revolting meal I have made as a vegan! They were even worse than the first vegan meatloaf I made that was terrible! The consistency of them was so awful - it was like eating raw chicken - ahhhhhh! I managed to stomach one and then just about gagged every time I thought about them. Oh well, I guess all cooks have to have meals like this sometimes! And I just had to post them - I don't know why. Just because I was amazed at how terrible they were :-) Not posting this recipe! I am going to try and salvage the remaining "wings" by slicing and pan-frying them like I would with boiled seitan. Perhaps they can be redeemed by wrapping them up in a tortilla with hot sauce and vegan ranch or something. I am hoping because I hate to waste food!

Vegan Eggs Benedict...Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos

I must admit that one of the things I miss most about the vegan lifestyle is eggs for breakfast. One of my past favorites was eggs benedict. I decided to try a vegan version of it yesterday with the ingredients I had. Next time I would serve it on English muffins but I didn't have any. I also cooked the "bacon" too long so it was a bit too crispy (which we joked about throughout breakfast because it was almost too crunchy to chew!! LOL). I have been looking for black salt as well - an ingredient touted for it's flavor-enhancing properties and egg-like taste when used in recipes. I am still looking. This would have been a perfect recipe to try it in. Nevertheless, this breakfast was actually pretty yummy and reminiscent of eggs benedict. I didn't use a recipe so I will give a little run-down of what I did to give the general idea.

Vegan Eggs Benedict

*I first sliced several pieces of the Black Forest Bacon (see previous blog post) I made a couple weeks ago. I heated a couple teaspoons of oil in a skillet and cooked the bacon until crispy (note: be careful not to make it too crispy :-) ). Place on paper towels and set aside when done.
*Next I sliced a few pieces of drained and pressed extra firm tofu. Then I heated a couple teaspoons of oil in a skillet and pan-fried the tofu until golden on each side. I doused each slice with cracked pepper and some sea salt.
*I made a hollandaise sauce out of about 1/4 cup Veganaise, 2 t lemon juice, and 1 t mustard. I heated this and stirred to combine.
*I assembled the benedict by layering the tofu and bacon and topping with hollandaise and a sprinkle of paprika.


I have been meaning to try this recipe for a while - it was passed along to me by my mom who got it from my uncle! I modified it a bit and it was fabulous! My husband was a bit skeptical by the combintion of ingredients but thoroughly enjoyed it. This is a sure make-again recipe!!


Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos
2 sweet potatoes, diced and steamed until tender
3/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 black pepper
2 cups cooked black beans
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup corn
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 TB lime juice

Combine all ingredients except lime juice and cilantro in a saucepan and heat through. Add lime and cilantro and stir until combined.

For serving:
Heated tortillas
Guacamole

Place spoonful of burrito filling on warm tortilla and top with guacamole.

Happy Birthday Braedon!

We had a wonderful celebration of our youngest son's 2nd Bday yesterday! We enjoyed yummy sub-style seitan sandwiches, chips, veggies and a yummola triple berry pie for dessert. The weather turned out to be gorgeous so we enjoyed hours of outdoor play too. Such a blessed day!


No-Sugar-Added Triple Berry Pie
3 cups mixed frozen berries (without added sugar)
1 can frozen 100% juice concentrate (I like a tart pie so I use cranberry juice but any will work)
cornstarch
Single pie crust

Heat berries and juice concentrate in a large saucepan untili thawed and juicy. Take a few spoonfuls of the liquid and mix with cornstarch in a bowl (I never measure this - sorry). Slowly pour into the berry mixture until desired thickness is reached. I made mine pretty thick yesterday because it always seems to end up too runny. It was perfect! Pour mixture into prepared pie crust (not baked pie crust). Heat oven to 400. Bake 20-25 min or until crust is golden.

Coconut Curry Rice...Vegan BLT Burgers

I made Samosa Pie again a couple nights ago and decided to try a new recipe to go along with it - Coconut Curry Rice. Actually both recipes are from Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson (definitely a cookbook I want to buy!). The Samosa Pie was even better this time and the rice was delish. Both have veggies in them so I didn't make sides of veg. We topped off the meal with homemade Peach Apple Chutney I made and canned last summer. Yum!

I have been in search for a yummy homemade veg burger that actually resembles a burger (mainly for my fam as I don't mind vegan burgers that don't really taste like a burger!). Braed really enjoyed these as did my hubby - much to my happiness! I enjoyed them a lot too! Keith wasn't all that fond of them but ate part of one! I found this recipe on Justthefood blog by Celine Steen. I didn't use the avocado this time. Still very yum. I was totally impressed! Loaded them up with Veganaise, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato, and pickles. Definitely a make-again!

Homemade Vegan Yogurt!

My kiddos love yogurt and when I found a recipe for it in the Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions, I was thrilled and had to try it! I think it turned out surprisingly well. I would eliminate the sugar next time. It was too sweet in my opinion and I usually add jam to plain yogurt for my kids. A certain make-again. Didn't take a pic. Will try to remember to!

Sorta Yogurt (adapted from Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions)
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
2 T lemon juice
2 T cornstarch
pinch of salt

Combine milk and lemon juice. Let sit for 2 min. Add milk and remaining ingredients to blender. Blend 1 min. Pour into saucepan. Heat on medium for 1 min. Return to blender for 1 min. Return to saucepan and heat 1 min. Return to blender for 1 min. Return to pan and heat 1 min. Pour into container and cool in fridge to thicken.

Tofu Bulgogi, Veggies with Tangy Mustard Sauce...Spinach Bean Soup and Crescent Rolls

I have been meaning to try my Bulgogi recipe with tofu and finally got around to doing so. Sadly, my fridge is doing bad things and freezing my food - grrr. So, I put my tofu in my press and then our family got sick and I was hardly cooking. In the meantime, my tofu froze (which I suppose could be a good thing because it didn't go bad sitting in my fridge!) and the consistency was dreadfully spongy. I know a lot of people say freezing it gives it a lovely chewy texture. I must disagree! This dish was edible but not very good. The tofu was just weird. I think if it had been fresh it would have been yummy. The Bulgogi was much better made with seitan (for that recipe, simply do a search on my blog and you will find it). I did make some yummy veggies to the side. I made a tangy mustard sauce to go on top of the veggies. Next time I would cut the sugar in half (I have done that modification below - original recipe calls for 1 T sugar). Hubby loved these veggies!

Tangy Mustard Sauce for Veggies (adapted from Taste of Home magazine)
3 T vegan butter
1/2 T brown sugar
1 T spicy brown mustard
1/4 t salt
Heat all ingredients in a small saucepan. Drizzle over cooked veggies.

Made this soup on Sunday and had high hopes for it - unfortunately, it was only ok. It just wasn't overly flavorful. Not bad but wouldn't make it again unless I doctored it up and not sure what I would doctor it with?! I made crescent rolls with this meal and they turned out so perfectly that I had to take a picture of them :-) I modified the recipe this time and cut back on the sugar. They were delish!

Spinach Bean Soup (modified from Light and Tasty Magazine)
1 chopped onion
3 garlic cloves minced
1 T oil
1 3/4 cups water
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 cups faux chicken broth
1 t dried oregano
1/2 t sugar
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
2 cups frozen spinach
2 cups cooked white beans
1 1/2 cups cooked small pasta (like small shells)
2 t hot sauce

Heat oil in Dutch oven. Add onion and garlic and cook until tender. Add water, broth, tomato sauce and spices. Stir. Add spinach, beans and pasta and heat through. Serve.

Crescent Rolls (adapted from www.grouprecipes.com)

4 1/2 t active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water (105 degrees)
1/4 cup sugar
1 ts salt
2 T ground flax seed mixed with 4 T water
1/2 cup canola oil
4 cups unbleached flour
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Stir in the sugar, salt, egg substitute, butter and half of the flour into the yeast mixture.
Add the remaining flour blending until smooth. Scrape the dough from the sides of the bowl and cover with a cloth dampened in warm water. (The cloth should feel wet, but not be so wet that water drips onto the dough.) Let rise in a warm place (85 degrees F.), until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Divide the dough in half, rolling each half into a 12-inch circle 1/4 inch thick. Roll up each wedge beginning at the largest end. Place, point side down, on a greased baking sheet. Curve to form crescents. Cover and let rise until double, 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are a rich golden brown.

Sick!

Our household has been sick this week so I have done hardly any cooking and certainly haven't had the chance to get to blogging. We are such a healthy family normally but we got hit hard by a stomach flu and have struggled to recover. Actually Braedon has had the hardest time; Keith and I recovered much faster and Frank never got sick thankfully! Braed ended up at urgent care on an IV on Tues - soooo sad. Needless to say, I am so ready to be back to cooking and normalcy around here. Hope to have some new recipes to post very soon!

Herbed Tofu Cakes

I forgot to take a picture of these! So, I took a picture from the Better Homes and Gardens I found the recipe in - I decided a pic of a pic was better than no pic at all :-) These were very yummy - served them with sticky rice and veggies! The recipe calls for making a cucumber mango salsa to put on top but I don't like mangos and my hubby doesn't like cucumbers so I didn't make it!

Herbed Tofu Cakes (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens)
1 16 oz package extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
2 large carrots shredded
2 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cloves minced garlic
1/3 cup flour
2 T soy sauce
2 T oil
In a large bowl, mash tofu. Add remaining ingredients except oil. Stir until well mixed. Heat oil in skillet. Pack tofu mixture into 1/4 cup metal measuring cup and then tap cup to release cake into skillet. Repeat with remaining tofu. Use spatula to press each cake down to flatten in skillet. Cook 3-4 min on each side until browned. Serve with dipping sauce.
Dipping sauce:
Stir together 4 T soy sauce, 2 T rice vinegar, and 1 t chili garlic sauce.

Rhubarb Muffins...Veganized Tomatillo "Chicken"...Vegan Black Forest Bacon...Linguini with Spinach, Artichoke and Red Lentil Sauce

Recipes to come I promise!
My mom gave me some rhubarb a while back and I used some in a recipe but had a little extra to freeze. I finally found a recipe that didn't call for much (as I only had a tad left)- these muffins were moist and yummy.

Rhubarb Muffins (adapted from Cooking for 2)
1/4 cup vegan butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
replacement for 1 egg (I used 2 T flax meal with 3 T water)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat bran
1/4 cup oat flour
1/2 t each baking powder, baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 cup vegan sour cream
3/4 cup chopped rhubarb

Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg replacement. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with sour cream. Fold in rhubarb. Divide batter among 12 muffin cups. Bake at 375 for 15-20 min.
Tomatillo Chicken has been a favorite crockpot meal in our family for several years. It was one of those recipes I knew I would miss as we veganized our lifestyle. I decided it was high time to veganize this delicious recipe so tried it out this week. It was quite yummy but next time I think I would add a little chicken broth as the original recipe depends on the chicken to produce some extra broth for the sauce. Turned out pretty close to the original. I used Gardein nuggets in place of the chicken and just cut them up and topped the rice and sauce with them so they didn't get soggy.

Veganized Tomatillo Chicken
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup salsa verde
2 cloves minced garlic
1 t cumin
1 t oregano
1 t salt
1 t pepper
1 T lemon juice
1/2 cup vegan sour cream
Hot cooked rice
1 package Gardein Crispy Tenders, baked and chopped
Combine all above ingredients except sour cream, rice and Gardein in crockpot and cook on low 4-6 hrs. Stir in the sour cream and heat through additional 5-10 min. Ladle sauce over rice and top with Gardein pieces.
I checked out the new cookbook by Celine Steen and Joni Newman "Vegan Substitutions" (or something like theat!) and love it. I had to try this Black Forest Bacon - it smelled delicious while it baked and it tasted very yummy! It is more reminiscent of honey baked ham in my opinion but it was very tasty. I made "bacon" sandwiches this morning. I baked and sliced some ciabatta, dabbed a bit of butter on the slices and topped the bread with a couple slices of the bacon. Very yummy indeed!



Black Forest Bacon (adapted from Complete Guide to Vegan Substitutions)
2 cups gluten
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 T garlic powder
1 T paprika
1 t ground pepper
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup veg broth
2 T liquid smoke

Combine wet ingredients. Combine dry ingredients. Mix wet with dry until dough forms. Form into a log. Spray large piece of foil with cooking spray. Place log on foil.

Glaze:
1/4 cup maple syrup
14 cup brown sugar
3 T cracked black pepper
2 T liquid smoke
2 t sea salt
Mix all ingredients. Pour 1/2 mixture over log. Tightly seal foil package. Bake at 350 for45 min. Remove from oven. Open packet and pour remaining sauce over log. Re-seal. Bake additional 10 min. Slice and heat or pan-fry in a bit of oil to make it crispy.

Bake

I found this recipe in a Whole Foods ad - it was kinda different but good. Probably wouldn't make it again but it was a nice change of pace. Very lemony.

Linguini with Spinach, Artichokes and Red Lentil Sauce (adapted from Whole Foods)
2 t mustard seeds
1 cup veg broth
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup dried red lentils
3 cloves minced garlic
6 T lemon juice
1/2 lb linguini, cooked according to package instructions
2 cups frozen spinach, thawed
1 14 oz can artichoke hearts

Heat mustard seeds in pot until they begin to pop - 2-3 min. Add broth, 1 cup water, onion, lentils and garlic. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until lentils are tender and falling apart, about 20 min. Remove from heat, add lemon juice and stir until lentils are falling part to make a sauce. Add spinach and artichokes to sauce and stir to heat. Ladle sauce over hot pasta and serve.