Happy Tofurkey Day!

Check out this Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake I am making.  Stole it from a wonderful vegan, Megan: http://www.downhomevegan.com/2011/10/chocolate-cheese.html

I'm also making pumpkin pie.  This is a long time favorite of mine and I have yet to make it really, really great as a vegan.  Maybe this time will be the charm?!?

Lastly, I made oatmeal raisin cookies...

I may post pictures later.  This baking session got interrupted by Murray, the sick doggie.  Feel better, Murray!

Mashed Potato Pizza and Beer Cake

A vegan's delight.  To try to make a non-vegan, meat loving, omnivore think twice (even for a brief moment) about a vegan diet.  This got eaten by three non-vegans, one of whom is my roommate and she's probably 70% vegan.  At home, she's 90% vegan at home.

Tonight, I attempted to make a vegan version of Pizza Luce's Baked Potato Pizza.  I declined using the broccoli, and was not quite sure on the recipe due to the fact that I have not eaten this pizza since I went vegan.   Anyway, my roommate talked me into using whole wheat flour...that was the first mistake.  Overall, I gave this pizza a Vegan Gal rating of 3. It could have been much better with an improved crust.

The beer cake, coming from the woman who hates beer, is not good.  I give this a Vegan Gal rating of 1. Don't make this cake.  I got this idea on a wild hair.  Not again.

Try my chocolate fudge cake with raspberry sauce.  Now, I give this a Vegan Gal rating of 8.  This is a bad picture.

Shepherd's Pie and Chocolate Cake

Traditional Vegan Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients

• Mashed potato layer:
• 5 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons vegan cream cheese
• 2 teaspoons salt
•  
• Bottom layer:
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 clove garlic, minced, or more to taste
• 1 pinch ground black pepper to taste
• Some sort of meat substitute (I used two cups of TVP)
•  
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Daiya

Directions

1. Place the potatoes in a pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn the heat to medium-low, and boil the potatoes until tender, about 25 minutes; drain.
2. Stir the vegan mayonnaise, soy milk, olive oil, vegan cream cheese, and salt into the potatoes, and mash with a potato masher until smooth and fluffy. Set the potatoes aside.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and spray a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
4. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the onion, carrots, celery, frozen peas, and tomato until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the Italian seasoning, garlic, and pepper.
5. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and crumble the vegetarian ground beef substitute into the skillet with the vegetables. Cook and stir, breaking up the meat substitute, until the mixture is hot, about 5 minutes.
6. Spread the TVP mixture into the bottom of the baking dish, and top with the mashed potatoes, smoothing them into an even layer. Sprinkle the potatoes with the shredded cheese.
7. Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is melted and slightly browned and the casserole is hot, about 20-25 minutes.

Here's a pic before going into the oven.  I give this a Vegan Gal rating of 6 (my roommate says it needs a rating of at least 7).  Add mushroom gravy for more flavor and down home style.

Chocolate cake with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting

Cake Ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp distilled white or apple cider vinegar

Mix the dry ingredients first and then add the wet.  You can even prepare this in the pan you bake it in to save dishes! Bake in an 8x8 pan at 350 for about 30 minutes.  

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting (from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's) The Joy of Vegan Baking

This cake is divine.  Vegan girl rating of 7.5!  This cake is so good that non-vegans will rave about it!

Enchiladas, Vegan Style

Vegan Enchiladas with Spanish Rice

I give this a vegan gal rating of 8!  It was wonderful!

Enchiladas

One box Fantastic Foods vegan taco filling or other protein filler such as soy crumbles, etc.
One can enchilada sauce
One can of black beans, drained and rinsed
One case of diced tomatoes
2-3 cups of corn
2 teaspoons cumin
Tortillas
green onions
Daiya cheddar or pepper jack cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the cooked taco filling with the beans, corn, cumin, tomatoes and half of the can of enchilada sauce.  Divide mixture into tortillas.  Add Daiya on top, wrap and place into a greased baking dish.  Repeat this step until the mixture is gone.  Cover tortillas with the rest of the enchilada sauce, Daiya and top with chopped green onions.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Spanish rice makes a great side dish!

Crazy Good Home Made Lasagna!

Ultimate Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions, chopped (2 cups)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)
• 10-oz. bag fresh baby spinach
• 2 14-oz. pkgs. firm tofu, drained
• 1 8-oz. pkg. vegan cream cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
  
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 pound of mushrooms
• black olives, sliced

LASAGNA

• One jar of your favorite pasta sauce
• 12 lasagna noodles
• Soy sausage crumbles, broken apart
• 1 bag Daiya shredded mozzarella cheese

1. To make Filling: Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onions and garlic in oil 4 to 5 minutes, or until golden. Add spinach, and cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until wilted. Transfer spinach mixture to bowl of food processor. Add tofu, cream cheese, basil, and nutritional yeast, and purée until mixture is thick and smooth. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
2. I cooked the mushrooms with the soy crumbles.  You can do this however you wish. Mix together the tofu mixture with the soy crumbles and mushrooms.  Set aside.
3. Spread one-quarter of the sauce on bottom of 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Cover with 4 or 5 noodles, then half of filling, and ladle on another one-quarter of sauce. Repeat layer of noodles and remaining Filling. Spread sauce evenly over top, and top with sauce and sprinkle with shredded cheese.
4. Cover lasagna with foil, and bake 30 minutes, or until bubbling hot. Uncover, and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, or until noodles are tender and topping is melted. I add the black olives right at the end for fun. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  The Daiya can get kind of greasy on top, but it still tastes so good!

Rice Crispy Bars with Dandies

Ingredients:

3 tbls. vegan margarine
One package (10 oz.) of Dandies Vegan Marshmallows
1/2 peanut butter (optional)
6 cups vegan (and preferably organic and non-GMO) crispy rice cereal

Melt the butter over low heat.  Add the Dandies and melt those as well.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the peanut butter.  Then add the cereal and mix really well.  Press the mixture into a greased pan and allow it to cool.  Then enjoy!

Vegan Tator Tot Hotdish

This is an old favorite.  I used to complain when my mom made this...ungrateful.  Anyway, I had an urge to make this old school comfort food.  I give it a vegan gal rating of 6.


White sauce:

• 2 cups soy milk
• 3 T. vegan margarine
• 2 T. flour
• salt and pepper to taste

Casserole:

• One 16-ounce bags of frozen veggies, I used mixed beans, peas, corn and carrots
• One bag of tater tots, use only enough to cover the top of the casserole
• 1/2 package of soy crumbles
• 1 bag of Daiya® cheddar cheese
• 4 dollops of vegan margarine

1. Over medium-low heat, mix the flour and margarine. When light brown and bubbly, remove from heat and add soy milk slowly while whisking. Take your time, make sure it’s thoroughly whisked and not lumpy.
2. Return sauce to medium heat and cook until the sauce thickens. Use a wire whisk constantly as sauce thickens.
3. Once thickened to coat a spoon, remove from heat and add salt and pepper to taste.
4. In a 9 x 12 inch casserole, mix the frozen veggies, crumbles, Daiya and white sauce.
5. Scatter the dollops of Earth Balance on top.
6. Top with 1 layer of tater tots, side-by-side, end-to-end.
7. Bake for 1 hour at 375° F.

Fudge from The Joy of Vegan baking cookbook by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
The peanut butter sent it over the top!  I give it a vegan gal rating of 5!  You better have the unsweetened almond milk to go with it because this stuff is rich.

Happy Vegan Eating everyone!

Black Bean Burgers

Ingredients:

• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 can black beans, well drained
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs or 2 pieces of vegan bread, crumbled
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• salt and pepper to taste
• oil for frying

Preparation:

Sautee the onions till soft, about 3-5 minutes.  
In a large bowl, mash the beans until almost smooth. Add sauteed onions and the rest of the ingredients, except the oil, adding the flour a few tablespoons at a time to combine well. Mixture will be thick.

Form bean mixture into patties, approximately ½ inch thick and fry patties in a small amount of oil until slightly firm. Make veggie burgers and enjoy!  Vegan Gal rating of 5.5!

Vegan Cookies 'n' Cream Cupcakes

1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup raw sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 coarsely chopped vegan chocolate sandwich cookies, like Newman’s Own - use a food processor to "chop" these
6 vegan chocolate sandwich cookies halved for garnish

1. Preheat over to 350˚F. Line a muffin pan with 12 paper or foil muffin liners. I got when I made this batch.
2. In a large bowl combine the soy milk and vinegar and allow it to sit for a few minutes until the milk curdles. Once curdled, add the sugar, oil and vanilla extract and beat with a hand mixer until foamy.
3. In a separate bowl whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients slowly to the wet ingredients while mixing with a hand mixer until well combined. Fold in coarsely chopped oreos with a spatula.
4. Fill cupcake liners halfway with batter. Bake for 18–20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a cooling rack before icing. Garnish each cupcake with a halved cookie.


Vegan Gal Rating of 5.5



Triple Berry Rhubarb Crisp

This is yummy!  I have made it before, but this is a slightly different twist.  Rhubarb, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.  Top it with a oat / brown sugar mixture and this is a great, sweet snack or dessert.  Add some vegan vanilla ice cream and you create a little bit of heaven.

Pizza and Pasta

Vegan homemade pizza - Vegan Gal rating of 7

Next time there WILL be homemade crust!

"Meatballs"

Vegan Gal rating of 7.5 with Spaghetti and Marinara

1 package Gimme Lean (Sausage or "Beef" Flavor)
 6 oz vegan burger crumbles
 1/2 cup cracker crumbs (I used panko bread crumbs)
 1/2 tsp onion powder
 1/2 tsp garlic powder
 1/2 tsp dried oregano
 1/4 tsp basil
 1/4 tsp salt
 dash of pepper
 2 Tbsp olive oil
 additional vegetable oil for cooking

Combine all ingredients with your hands or a mixer. Form into any size balls you like. Brown on all sides in oil. Continue heating until hot throughout.  Pair them with marinara sauce, noodles, vegan BBQ sauce (watch out for honey!) or on a hoagie for a sub sandwich with black olives!

Father's Day Fun with Food

I made sloppy joes and brownies today.  I give the burgers a Vegan Gal rating of 6.5.  I paired them with Kettle Brand Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper chips.  All that's missing is a pickle on the side!

 As for the brownies, I give them a Vegan Gal rating of 8.5!  Thanks to my friend Heidi for the brownie recipe!

I'll post a picture of the brownies later...unless they all get eaten first!

Lemon Vanilla Cookies with Raspberry Preserves

Check these out.  They are sort of like fancy shortbread cookies that you buy for $3 a pop.  I give them a Vegan Gal rating of 7.5!

    1 1/2 cups + 2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1 cup raw sugar
    1/2 cup canola oil
    1/4 cup liquid sweetener (agave or maple syrup is best)
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
    3 tablespoons nondairy milk (I used vanilla almond milk, yum)
    1 medium lemon, zested
    1/4 to 1/3 cup blueberry, raspberry or strawberry preserves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium to large bowl, combine all the flour, baking soda and salt. Whisk to get everything incorporated nicely. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil and sugar until thoroughly mixed. Stir in  liquid sweetener, vanilla and lemon extracts, nondairy milk and lemon zest.

2. Mix these ingredients together, then slowly shift/stir in the dry ingredients. Use your hands to get a dough to form. Avoid overworking the dough. Next take small portions of the dough and roll into walnut sized balls.

3. Gently press cookie between your palms and fingers to form little disks. Push a small dimple in the center and add 1/2 teaspoon or so of blueberry preserves.

4. Place on prepared cookie sheets and bake for 10 until the edges turn a faint golden brown. Allow a few minutes for cookies to cool before removing from sheet pan, then transfer to wire cooling rack and allow to completely cool.

I have been having a lot of breakfast for dinner lately!

Have you ever seen that episode of Scrubs where Turk begs Carla to make him breakfast for dinner or "brinner"?  You should check it out if you have not seen it...hilarious!

So, anyway, I made drop biscuits and tofu scramble.

The biscuits did not turn out quite like I had hoped but they are still darn good.  I give them a Vegan Gal rating of 7!  The recipe called for a non-dairy butter such as Earth Balance.  I used Willow Run but I bet they would have turned out more golden brown had I used the Earth Balance.  I added some canola oil to make them rise a bit more.  They are yummy with jam on them or imitation honey.

Then, I made tofu scramble.  With just the seasonings, I gave it a Vegan Gal rating of 4...but once I added the Daiya Cheddar cheese and the tomatoes, I increased the rating to 7!

Tomorrow I will plan to eat the tofu scramble on a tortilla with daiya, lettuce, tomato and possibly tofutti sour cream for a "Sunshine" taco.  You could also make a frittata or other similar "egg bake" recipe with this.  It would be great with green onions, garlic, mushrooms, tomato, etc.  Yummy!

This is what I used:
http://www.fantasticworldfoods.com/products/productdetail.aspx?s=073825122707:Tofu+Scrambler+-+2.7++++++++OZ.

Nutritional Yeast French Toast & Vegan Pie

Check out this amazing french toast.  I give it a Vegan Gal rating of 8 because it is REALLY good!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond or soy milk
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• bread (preferably crusty bread to avoid soggy french toast)
• oil or margarine for frying

Preparation:

Whisk together all the dry ingredients before adding the almond milk.  Whisk this really well and let stand for a bit while you get the bread and pan ready. Whisk again and then dip each slice of bread into the mixture, coating each side well. Fry on a lightly oiled griddle or skillet until each side is golden brown. You may have to fry it longer than you're used to if you've never made this vegan before. 

This is one of those food that you're non-vegan friends will love and could never guess is vegan!  I just wish I had some vegan sausage to go with it!

For a less sugary meal, skip the maple syrup and eat this with fresh fruit, applesauce, organic powdered sugar or nuts instead.

Also, this evening I made rhubarb strawberry pie.  Very yummy! I give it a Vegan Gal rating of 6.  It is still very tart and sweet.  I recommend adding some warm almond milk or vegan ice cream to cut the tart.

I am hoping to invest in a decent camera so that I can take photos of my veg creations with more than just my cell phone camera.

Happy Compassion Filled Eating!

Tofu Loaf

Check out this tofu loaf:

    1 medium onion, chopped
    1 cup rolled oats
    1 cup panko bread crumbs
    14 oz tofu, mashed (and drained really well)
    6oz protein crumbles
    1/2 cup chopped parsley
    1/3 cup soy sauce
    1/3 cup ketchup
    2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
    1/4 teaspoon black pepper
    1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove of garlic (depending on your preference)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 F
2) Mix all ingredients together
3) Press the mixture into a teflon loaf pan
4) Bake for one hour
5) Let cool about 15-20 minutes before trying to remove from pan
6) Slice and enjoy!

I added a bit of tomato paste on the top of the loaf before baking, you could try ketchup as well.  Also, if I make this again, I would experiment with the flavors a bit more.

It is a bit crumbly but good.  I give it a Vegan Gal rating of 6.

Cookies and cakes and carrots, oh my!

Tonight's menu:

Hot fudge cake - Vegan Gal Rating 5
I got this recipe from the back of Dr. Barnard's book: Breaking the Food Seduction.  Yummy book and yummy recipe.  I love Dr. Barnard for promoting the vegan diet to eradicate you diabetes and other health ailments.

My friend Kelly suggested that I send a dozen of these wonderful vegan cookies to Jennette Turner from Natural Foods Education.  Ha!  I was really disappointed to read her article in the Wedge's June / July newsletter.  I was further disappointed when many of my friends and I advocated with the Wedge editor to request the article be removed and a correction be posted with information stating the real facts and benefits of a vegan diet.  I was later sent this response from the editor:

"An apology was up, with the word "correction." However, word ran round the community that "vegan bullies" were causing "censorship" at the Wedge. Not a good precedent. What do we do when we get pressured to take down the response? We'll go forward with a free exchange of ideas. Ginny will have a great article next issue. The wording about her article is from her - I asked her how she wanted it characterized, which I should have done before responding to you. I am very sorry this article was so upsetting to some of our members."

I guess I'm a vegan bully now.   My intention of getting involved was not to be a bully but to let the Wedge know thta I was highly disappointed. Moving on...

Chocolate chip cookies - Vegan Gal Rating 9

Even the Golden Retriever thinks so! 

Oh and my roommate made carrots.  I think she did a really good job!

Vegan Gal rating on carrots -- 6.5

Vegan Yummy Yum Yum

I attended the Vegan Iron Chef event at the Animal Rights Coalition yesterday.  It got me inspired to cook today, even though it's a beautiful day outside. 

So, I made goulash!

I give it a Vegan Gal rating of 7.  It is great paired with some daiya and crusty bread.

Here's the recipe:

1 lb vegan macaroni, cooked 8 min., drained
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 rib celery, diced small

1/2 cup corn

1/2 package of vegan protein source (soy crumbles, tofu, etc.)
3 to 5 - 12oz. can tomato sauce (depending on taste)
1 12oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1 c shredded daiya cheddar cheese (optional)


Place the macaroni in boiling water and boil( 8 minutes), then drain.
Sautee vegetables in olive oil until tender, then combine all ingredients into casserole dish, mix together well, and bake in pre-heated oven at 350* for 40-50 minutes.  If you're going to add the cheese, do that towards the end.

This is a great vegan comfort food dish!



My current favorite tune.  Check it out!

I found out that rhubarb is tart!

Check out my raspberry rhubarb crisp.  Boy this stuff is tart and sweet!  It tingles my jaw.  I gave it a Vegan Gal rating of 4 until I added Tofutti vanilla ice cream on top...that took the rating to 6! 

I attempted to make some tofu whipped topping which I have not tried yet but it seems to be less than par.  I'll keep everyone posted.  UPDATE: The tofu whipped cream was not that good.  If anyone has any suggestions on how to improve it, I'm all ears.  I will definitely be making crisp again, maybe with apples, blueberries or strawberries next time.

Celebrating Memorial Day with Lemon Bars

In this post I have decided to implement a rating system, called the Vegan Gal Score.  This is for my own Type A personality purposes.  Please note that the Vegan Gal rating system is on a scale of 1 to 10.

I decided to try some new things yesterday.  I made "I Can't Believe It's Not Egg" Salad and traditional lemon bars.  For the salad, I was hoping to use tempeh as the main ingredient but after reading some comments posted by others, I decided to go with the traditional tofu.  I am interested consuming more fermented soy in my diet, so I will try tempeh in the future, although I've read that it takes a bit more added flavors to cut the tempeh taste.  More on the whole fermented soy debate at a later time.

So the eggless salad is great!  The green onions, relish, vegenaise and mustard really make this recipe.  Top it off with sprouts, tomato and a vegan croissant or toasted bread and you have a terrific meal!  Vegan Gal rating: 6.5

For the Lemon Bars, this was the first time I've ever made them vegan. Yummy!  Vegan gal rating: 8...maybe even an 8.5!

Welcome!

Greetings!

I've decided to create a blog to discuss all things wonderful: vegan food, chihuahuas, living compassionately and so on. So, come by, check out the blog and hopefully we'll learn something from one another!

This evening I made Tofutti Cream Cheese Brownies with the help of my roommate.  They look yummy!