It goes on and on...

the Vcon porn. Here's more.

The often-mentioned chickpea cutlets. I much preferred the texture when the chickpeas were mashed in the food processor vs. the stand mixer. I made them twice and fried them both times. These are great when you don't know what to make for dinner and you know you have a can of chickpeas in the pantry. These were topped with the Sweet Vidalia Onion Sauce.



Since I love samosas I had to try the Samosa-Stuffed Baked Potatoes. I liked the Indian flavours. Very filling.



Chickpeas make a reappearance in Chickpeas Romesco. They would be good with greens added, so I need to remember to do that next time.



Caesar Salad. I'm more of a vinegrette dressing type, but this was really good. You'd never know it was vegan. Good if you want to keep the vampires away. I'm guessing it's fairly low fat too.



I'm a HUGE hot-and-sour soup fan. I have a recipe of my own that I typically use, so I wanted to try this to compare. I found it pretty hot and not as sour as I like it, but I liked the inclusion of napa. I'll have to make mine again soon and post the recipe.



I made the Rustic Beans and Mushrooms in the suggested casserole format. I screwed something up. I think the problem was that I added 2 cups less water to the beans than I was supposed to. I had to add a lot of veggie stock to the beans to make them moist before baking, but it turned out yummy in the end.



Princess has been on a mushroom kick, so I paired her two favs - mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy. She loved it, but I think I loved it more. For me, mashed potatoes and gravy are the ultimate comfort food.



Finally, I have read so much about mrsbadmouth's Tempeh Wingz. They are stupendous amazing. I had been leary of tempeh in the past, but both these and Hot-Sauce Glazed Tempeh have completely changed my opinion of the moldy soybean cake.



Coming soon - Christmas baking!

Heaven on Earth

Omigod - Isa's Chocolate Smlove Pie is to die for. I can't really say much else because it was just that darn good, as it was devoured at a family housewarming party tonight. Fortunately, Tracy and I managed to serve ourselves and our immediate family before the other vultures came along! I think most of the non-vegans who ate the pie were on too much of a chocolate high to notice or care that tofu was a main ingredient.

I was nervous about how long the recipe was in length, but happily surprised that it didn't really take much effort at all to make. I used a whole package of water-packed silken tofu that weighed more than the pound called for in the recipe, so I skipped adding the liqueur/soymilk option for the filling. It turned out great. I'm also glad that I read somewhere on the PPK to make extra maple-candied pecans - what a great little snack to have leftover!

Honestly though, anyone who hasn't already made this should really do so immediately! I can't believe I had stored this recipe in the back of my mind for as long as I did!

Woo Hoo!

With the Ottawa Senators having clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup finals, I can now divert my attention from biting my nails to cooking - for about a week.

A couple of weeks ago, Kyle mentioned how he had ordered General Tao's chicken from a local Chinese take-out. After telling me how it tasted pretty bad, I recalled how I'd seen many on the PPK rave about a version of General Tao's tofu. I found the recipe, and made an attempt to make homemade take-out that would compete with Kyle's former meal.

And compete it did! I thought it was weird to use 3/4 cup of cornstarch to coat the tofu, and was a little worried that I wasn't frying it in enough oil (the tofu had globs of gellied cornstarch for the first 8 minutes), but they turned out great. We added 1/2 of each red and yellow peppers, but next time, we both agreed to double the sauce. There just wasn't much to coat the noodles, and I don't think it had anything to do with me mistakingly adding only 4 teaspoons of sugar instead of the whopping 4 tablespoons the recipe called for.


For dessert, I thought I'd try to do something different, yet still summery. Kyle and I have gotten into the habit of snacking on soy ice cream, and with bikini season nearly here, I was seeking an alternative. I thought I'd whip up my own creation. I can't say that I will make this again. I puréed 3 mangoes, 1 box of silken tofu, 1/2 cup sugar, the rind of one lime and the juice of half a lime. I let it sit in the fridge, but it didn't turn out as mousse-like or as mango-ey as I had hoped. After Kyle ate his share, he decided to have his usual Peanut Butter Zig-Zag soy ice cream.

Gingerbread Mania!

Only four more baking days before Christmas!

First up, Chewy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies from the PPK. They were super, and for a healthier version, I would use nuts instead of chips next time. They were that chewy.



And then four dozen (I lost count) Gingerbread cookies made from Bryanna Clark Grogran's Gingerbread recipe. Delicious!



For a glaze I used icing sugar and 1/2 soy creamer, 1/2 water.

I liked the star-snowflake pattern:



And here are Pete and I captured in an oven-baked moment. Ah, gingerbread love.



Peace on Earth, everyone.