Vegan MoFo - Day 30

Wow. This is it! 30 days (minus a few here and there...I'm a mom of three and was out of town!) of hempy foods...never thought I'd be able to blog about so many!

Smoothies, dips, bread, cookies, seitan...the possibilities are endless! 

Today I have an ultra hempy post. First up is dinner - Chloe Coscarelli's Avocado Pesto Pasta. Being nutfree here, and free of many other foods that are allergens to my son, pesto is normally off-limits due to pine nuts. But swap in hemp seeds and you not only have a safe dinner, but also a much healthier one too! Blended with an immersion blender with avocados, garlic, olive oil, basil and my touch, a big handful of spinach, and they are magically transformed into creamy deliciousness. After mixing with hot pasta, I topped with sundried tomatoes.

Next up is a healthy and yummy energy bar. I love this recipe because the combos are endless because it's based in ratios - you can read about it here: http://www.nomeatathlete.com/homemade-energy-bar-recipe/

Here's my combo:

• 1-pound can of beans - black beans
• ½ cup binder - chia/water
• ¼ cup sweetener - agave
• ¼ cup soft sweet fruit - applesauce 
• 1 teaspoon of extract (optional) - vanilla
• 1 teaspoon of dry spice (optional) - cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 1.5 cups of oats
• 1 cup dry base ingredient - hemp pro 70/ some cocoa
• 1 cup stir-ins - choc chips/coconut/hemp seeds

I then topped the baked and cooked bars with 1 1/2 times the recipe of frosting from Dreena Burton's B-raw-nies. I could just make it and eat it out of the mini food processor. Thick and fudgey!

Vegan MoFo - Day 15

I'm tired.

I have a 4-month-old who is now waking in the night more than ever, so forgive me for this short post.

I'm even too tired to really cook anything.

Enter my version of fast food! From nothing to done in 15 minutes :)

Fast Pasta

1 375g box pasta (I like fusilli - hemp seeds stick well!)

2 tbsp olive oil

4 shallots, chopped

1 can artichoke hearts in water, drained

1 28oz can diced tomatoes, drained

1 19oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp dried oregano

3/4 cup hemp seeds

Add pasta to pot with boiling water. Cook to package directions. Meanwhile, heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and cook 2 minutes. Add artichokes, tomatoes, chickpeas and seasonings. Bring to a boil then lower heat to a simmer and cook until pasta is cooked. Drain pasta then add to sauce and mix. Turn off hear and add hemp seeds and serve...easy! I like mine with a little balsamic vinegar.

Vegan MoFo - Day 11

I totally missed Day 10 :( 

Anyways, on to Day 11! This is my fave fast food! Wonder Pasta! Everything cooks in one pot in less than 15 minutes!

I modify the original recipe by adding piles of baby spinach to the mix, then, once cooked, I toss in a can of rinsed beans and top with...hempseeds!

http://www.apronstringsblog.com/one-pot-wonder-tomato-basil-pasta-recipe/?fb_source=pubv1

Vegan MoFo - Day 3

Not only are hempseeds great to sprinkle in oatmeal and on any salad for an extra protein boost, but they are a wonderful nut substitute for those with allergies. 

For instance, I adore Dreena Burton's Umami Almond, Quinoa and Sundried Tomato Burgers. Clearly, the name alone makes it a no-no for those with nut allergies. But swap the almonds for an equal amount of hempseeds and - Ta-da! - great allergy-friendly burgers, or meatballs, or crumbled into ground round.

These are GF and also soy-free (using coconut aminos) and so darn easy. I always keep tubs of cooked quinoa in my freezer so that I can make these quickly. I usually do a double batch and freeze half in a tub so that I'm good to go. Its so good and versatile that I vow to never make another mushy vegan bean burger again!

This time I made the mix into meatballs and topped my pasta with them. Yum! Omnivores give rave reviews!

http://plantpoweredkitchen.com/umami-almond-quinoa-burgers/

I served it alongside a fennel salad - this was much second time eating fennel and I loved how fresh and crisp this salad was. I'm annoyed that I only discovered it at the end of summer. Of course, I mixed in some hempseeds!

http://m.foodnetwork.com/recipes/22582

 P.S. Any tips to bring my blog from 2006 to 2013 would be totally helpful :)

Countdown to VegFest is on! Plus Some Grub...

Who is super pumped for VegFest on May 1st? Me! Me! Me! It's been almost a month since my Cupcake Party and I can't WAIT for the day that I can enter my creation. When they indicated that a preliminary round would not be necessary, I was so happy...not just because I felt that there weren't hundreds of competitors, but also because 6:30pm (the slated time of the potluck where said round would take place) is the equivalent of hell in this house. It would have been disaster. Anyways, I was so smug until I got an e-mail from the organizers indicating that there would be a preliminary round after all the day of the contest! Yikes! Must remain positive...I just am trying to write a big long post about my trials and tribulations with the major mystery ingredient of my cuppie...although I fear that come May 2nd I'll forget everything...

Similar to this post - I haven't had a chance to get on the PC and when I do to write up a post, I look at the pics and for the life of me, cannot remember what stuff is. Like this - I stared and stared and FINALLY realized it's one of my new fave dishes! From 1000 Vegan Recipes by Robin Robertson Chinese Noodles with Black Bean Sauce. I think that's the title and am too far away from the cookbook right now. I toss in some edamame for added protein. So yummy! I added tri-colour chopped peppers since I have them for Ash to add like 'sprinkles' (likely due to my recent cupcake obsession).



This next treat was a mild disappointment...I came across one of Isa's blogposts from eons ago about a Raw Cheezecake. For forever, I have tried to mimic a childhood recipe from a kid's Better Home and Gardens cookbook - something like Be My Valentine Pie. It was made with gross Jello and soft ice cream in a cookie crumb shell. I liked it as a kid, and have tried re-creating it with vegan Jello and ice cream, but with no such luck. Reading the ingredients I was hopeful. But the darn thing just didn't set - I had read through the comments and it seemed like it either turned out great or not, and I so hoped I would be in the success group :( I even omitted adding water to combat my fear! But alas, it was a soggy mess. I had to keep it in the freezer. I will definitely try this again during strawberry picking season as the berries will be more plentiful then and I won't feel so badly for using up a ton of expensive raw cashews on top of it.



But this recipe of Isa's was a hit! Pasta De Los Angeles or something like that...with the black beans and cilantro and salsa-like sauce, it reminded me of the sweet potato and black bean enchiladas from Vegan Planet but just with pasta instead. Yum!



Always looking for snack stuff, I was drawn to a recipe on my PC Toasted O's cereal box for Honey Butter Crunch. Now the name alone is totally not suitable for vegans but it's pretty easy to make subs:

1/2 cup melted Earth Balance
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 cups toasted o's
1 bag plain microwave popcorn, popped
1 cup almonds

Mix wet ingredients. Add dry and stir. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes.

Not sure if I should have reduced the agave a little or upped the oven temp or cook longer, but this stuff was soggy but good. I don't think I'll make it again since you have to wait way too long for your snack. I prefer popping corn, then pouring melted coconut oil and chocolate chips on top and enjoying right then and there. Maybe I'll just add some almonds for a healthy boost to make me feel better!

Hail Seitan!

So I started off all GF-y. I felt especially inspired one day and decided to make Chef Chloe's Avocado Pesto Pasta. I had my little helper, Ashley, all pumped as she held all of the ingredients. So then I went to cut into a nice soft avocado. Surprise! All rotten :( Those damn avocados are so unreliable - they either never soften, or go from unripe to rotten and skip being all nice and creamy. Anyways, I was slightly bitter but went on and subbed some tofu to add the silky texture. Then, I had some frozen basil cubes - I went to add them in and noticed they were all dried up and gross. So in went some dried basil! I didn't have pinenuts so I subbed with ground almonds. I have to say that with all of my substitutions, it wasn't the most awesome dinner. Ah well. I took this pic:




Ash, my little budding photographer 3-year-old, now takes pics of her food just like mom - we just need to work on the food styling:



I did however redeem myself with Isa's Upside Down Shepherd's Pie from Appetite for Reduction. Rather stupidly, I got all ready to bake this puppy, until I re-read the recipe about four times, then saw the title and realized that I didn't have to bake this up - I nearly did a jig since I didn't feel like baking it up and having to wait eons to eat dinner (the small things in life these days make me so happy!). I had three full portions (thereby not really serving as a real 'reduction' recipe unfortunately - I have no self control), and even Ash gobbled this up. It was so freakin' good!



Well, that was the end of the gluten free trial. Kyson will soon be seeing an allergist, so I'm hoping I'll get more clarification as to whether my avoiding gluten is doing any good or harm. For now, I'm just too hungry still nursing every two hours that I can't take it! That and I tried making a GF pizza dough that even the smell had me gagging. I caved and made my usual recipe. But the real turning point came after making Vegan Dad's Veggie Lunch Meat. Good lord - somehow I missed the whole Seitan O' Greatness craze a few years back but I'm glad I found this - I will never go back to paying $3.49 for a package of Tofurky slices again when this makes up tons! It sliced so well. Ash said it was delicious! I'm going to try making one with maple syrup next time to punch up the sweetness.

Vegan Yum Yum...Continued

 

Oh how I love quick dinners! A variation on the Hurry Up Alfredo, the Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta is divine! Again, using my batch of already ground cashews, I blend up the ingredients (and two whole tomatoes just to watch them puree in all it's goodness!). I also don't bother to heat the sauce, shaving off another 5 minutes from the already quick recipe. I just dump it into the hot noodles. Although it doesn't give the sauce a chance to burn off the couple of tbsp of wine, I always hope that it will cause the kids to sleep through the night! Of course it doesn't work.

This time I put it on some Eden Artichoke Pasta Ribbons I picked up from Rainbow Foods. They reminded me of thick egg noodles, so it's been awhile since I've enjoyed a texture like this! I'll be sure to pick up some more since I'm getting a little bored with the whole spaghetti/linguine/macaroni we seem to serve up too frequently.

Vegan Yum Yum...So Good...

I briefly wrote about VYY before, but man, I love this cookbook. I like how clear the instructions are - I need that, my attention span is horrific lately and I find myself re-reading parts of a recipe numerous times since I can't retain anything. The pics are also so nice too.

Anyways, the recipes are what its all about! Here are two faves that I make on a regular basis:

Hurry Up Alfredo - I'm sure every vegan blogger has written about this one. Easy, and awesome! I grind up lots of cashews and keep a bag in the freezer. I then scoop out a necessary amount and use my immersion blender to make the sauce to dump on hot noodles and often include some broccoli or peas (thrown into the last few minutes with the pasta in the pot). I had found in the past that I need to grind the nuts on their own to begin with - trying to grind them with soy milk only resulted in a gritty sauce. I must have a crappy blender or something.


Using a similar sauce, Broccoli Bake (exact title escapes me) - I love how this uses the stalks! The broccoli florets and stalks are ground up with mushrooms - all things Ash will never eat on their own - and mixed with a variation of the alfredo sauce and orzo! So tasty! If only I could find whole wheat orzo. Then again, I haven't spent all that much time looking for it :)


So my few minutes of free time these days are being occupied with thoughts of how I could possibly win the VegFest cupcake contest held during the event on May 1 at the Glebe Community Centre. I'm consumed! I know I have a slim chance, but I've thought of three original cupcakes that could stand a chance (that is, as long as no real professional chefs enter!). I secretly hope that not too many people enter as there may be a preliminary round taking place during a time that is just evil for my little family. I'd have to show up with two over-tired children to this round during 'dinner' (also known as 'chaos time before bed' in our house) and I don't think that would bode well for my chances! I'll be sure to post about a cupcake party I'm hosting for friends and family to help me narrow down the selection. Of course, I won't be able to reveal all too much since I worry that my fierce competition could be reading! ;)

Fall Food and New Cookbooks

Summer is over so it's time to get serious in the kitchen again. And I got a new cookbook - Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry. EVERYTHING in this book sounds delicious to me and I love how he pairs each item with a soundtrack. So of course I had to try some things out.

Citrus Collards with Raisins Redux from VSK paired with Cumin-Lime Tofu from the VegNews Recipe Club (cumin swapped out with chipotle chili powder). The collards were divine and I will use this method for cooking collards all the time. The tofu was zesty and delicious and since it was baked in the oven it was really easy. I used chipotle because I'm not a big cumin fan.



BBQ Tempeh with Straightforward Coleslaw. I would recommend using only 1/4 cup tamari and 1/2 cup water vs the 3/4 cup tamari as written as the tempeh was salty for me. I suspected it might be and only used 1/2 cup tamari but after tasting it I would dilute further. Other than that the sauce reduced in the pan while baking and gave the tempeh great BBQ flavour. This is a super recipe for introducing someone to tempeh. I boiled the tempeh cake before covering with the sauce and baking. I made a mistake with the coleslaw - I should have used the food processor for shredding the cabbage instead of a knife. Other than that, the dressing was mild yet tasty. It was a perfect compliment to the spicy BBQ sauce.



I really like how Bryant Terry makes his sauces and dressings in the blender. It makes for short work and quick cleanup.

Butternut Squash-Bartlett Pear Soup with Chilled Citrus Broccoli Salad. The squash soup was so smooth with the addition of coconut milk and a touch of sweetness from the pears. It was a perfect fall soup. The dressing was tangy on the broccoli which led to a large portion on my plate, good for getting my calcium and iron.



After making Alfredo Stroganoff earlier in the week (which was delicious), I used the leftover alfredo sauce with a dollop of tomato paste and made Pasta with Rose Sauce, something that I haven't had since going vegan. This sauce is simply the best vegan white sauce ever and I'm happy to have an old favourite back in my easy meal repertoire.



I'm so excited about the soon-to-be-released-in-Canada Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. In fact, my wonderful sister and family gifted me a copy for my birthday! I made the Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles from the teaser recipe on the PPK website. I've had WAY too many today, they are that good.



I'm going to have to amp up my running mileage so I can test out the rest of the cookies when the book comes.

Dinners and Desserts

Now I know why I don't post often - Blogger isn't all that user-friendly when you are in a time crunch!!! I apologize for any typos but I have lots yet to get done with the little one takes her short nap!

Chana Masala from The Vegan Table. OK...

Pad Thai also from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. It was good, but I found the instructions to be a little cryptic. Of the recipes I've made so far, it seems like I would 'add a little oil' and it doesn't specify how high to have the heat on for several dishes. I only borrowed the book from the library so I'm not too disappointed. I didn't find any of the recipes to be all that original. Not trying to be a hater, but I found the same thing with the author's previous cookbook.

OMG - the Pot Roast from Vegan Lunch Box was to die for. I will be making it at both Thanksgiving and Xmas this year. I added cut up new potatoes to the carrots and really didn't think either would be cooked by the time this was done but surprisingly they were! I'll try to eat this up in one sitting since my leftovers seemed to revert to a raw state...it was weird. But with hungry vegans around the festive table I'm sure I won't have any issues with having it all eaten up!

What to do with almost rotting peaches? If you are also feeling lazy like I was, you can make a country torte! I made Bryanna Clark Grogan's Low Fat Pastry, cut up 3 cups of peaches and added 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tbsp flour, nutmeg, 1 tbsp lemon juice and dumped it in the middle of the rolled out pastry. I folded up the sides, topped with sliced almonds and baked at 375 for 35 minutes.

Peach Bundt Cake - I subbed 1/2 pkg silken tofu for the eggs. A little dense, but around here, dessert is dessert and we ate it up!


Grilled Pineapple with my fave Pound Cake from Vcon with soy ice cream. I marinated the pineapple with water, sucanat and cinnamon, then reduced the marinade with a little Earth Balance to make a sauce. So good! I bought another pineapple today to grill up!

Assorted Recipes

Wow, I think I've been storing up some pics again. I shouldn't do that since I forget what I made (I caught myself staring closely at some of the pics, wracking my brain trying to remember what it was - especially when some of the ingredients are nearly indecipherable!). My brain hurts from all of this thinking that I can't even think of an exciting title for this post.

But first, I have to report on Veg Fest. It was great! I honestly couldn't believe how many people were there! It was insane! Crazy that there are that many vegetarians/vegans/interested folks in Ottawa. I only wish the attendance would have encouraged Whole Foods to open here! We didn't stay too long, since the little one was a little crusty with all of the people around. I had hoped to order from one table with a bunch of different things, but as soon as it was my turn in line most of the options were already gone and it would be another 10 minutes (an eternity with a screaming child!) for their replacements to show up. My plans for a cupcake were nixed too. Ah well. There's always next year! If any of the organizers are reading, I hope that the circle of tables in the middle makes rows next year so that some of the space can be used better...especially when I'm sure more people will make it out!

Now back to the food...in my attempt to make faster meals to get dinner on the table at our most harried time of the day, I turned again to Nava Atlas' Vegan Express. Sweet and White Potato Salad with Mixed Greens. Not bad, but weird having cooked potatoes in it!

From Vegan Express yet again, White Pizza with Sweet Potato and Carmelized Onions. World's ugliest pizza, but tasted good. I had a hard time getting the sweet potatoes cooked well enough. It was a little too much work for me.

A winner from VT - Warm Potato Sald Primavera (May/June 2009). So yummy and a little unique! I love how the pesto was so thick.

From VT again, Thai Red Curry with Green Beans and Eggplant (April 2009). Omigod. I'm not a Thai food fan, but I loved how quick it was and how this tasted! Even without the curry sauce! I added Pete's Szechuan Tofu to this, which added lots of heat! I have to make this again, and it also encouraged me to try more recipes with a coconut milk base - such an easy and yummy way to make a creamy and filling texture!

From Vegan a Go-Go, some brown rice-lentil casserole (I forget the name, and I already returned the book to the library). I thought Ash would like it, but nope. I made it into patties the next night with some added breadcrumbs.

Some kind of stroganoff? I don't even remember making this! Must have been the day after a rough night or something. I'll guess that it's from the same cookbook as the last recipe.

From Skinny B*tch in the Kitch, Penne with Butternut Squash, Sage Pesto and Almonds. Delicious! Yet another winner from this little cookbook.

I'm loving my weekly recipe from Veg News. I'd been saving a tube of polenta just for this! Polenta Fries - very quick, different and yummy!

ps - Blogger is being irritating with the spacing and we got a new camera where I couldn't find the macro button :)

Back to VT Again...

This week's meal plan included a few recipes from the July/August 2008 issue of VT. First, I tried the Thai Basil Curry Vegetables. Not sure if I should have even referenced the ‘Thai’ part, since I left out the Thai green chile paste – it sounded too spicy for this girl and I didn’t feel like buying a bottle for one tablespoon worth just for it to sit in my fridge unused until I throw it out (this is always the case for me for hoisin sauce and taco sauce). Anyways, back to the recipe...it was great! I was pleasantly surprised how quickly it all came together. For added protein, I added some Yves Chick’n Tenders, but I think chickpeas would have been great too (I needed more than the 2g of protein identified in the recipe).

I then made Chinese Broccoli with Black Bean Sauce and Garlic (no photo...ate it too quickly!). Even though I mentioned that I wouldn’t purchase a sauce just for a recipe’s tablespoon-worth, I bought this sauce since I planned on adding more than the 1 ½ tablespoons worth plus I have the intention of using the rest of the sauce with tofu or a stir fry in the future. After making this recipe, I learned that Black Bean Sauce is VERY salty. I poured it into this recipe thinking that my addition of cubed firm tofu would soak it up. I think I drank 10 glasses of water after eating this. The salty leftovers made a nice wrap filling along with some tomatoes (to help dilute the salt!).

Next, I made Fresh Tomato Farfalle – the recipe called for 2 lb of tomatoes, and since Kyle only picked up 2 tomatoes, it was obvious that I had to hit up the grocery store for more to do this recipe up right. I did consider forgetting the ‘Fresh’ part of the recipe and instead using canned diced tomatoes. It would have been WAAAYY easier. It tasted OK, but instead inspired me to create a guacamole-style pasta.

Vile recipe alert...Chilled Tofu Salad with Ginger, Green Onions, Asparagus and Sesame. Well, there are no surprises as to what’s in this salad, but lemme tell you, do not make it. Yes, it was my prettiest pic yet and yes, it looked like something from a fancy restaurant, but it was disgusting. I have no idea what I was thinking eating plain silken tofu. I much prefer it pureed in a sweet dessert.

VT - June!

So I’m back to making some meal plans again – thank goodness! I’ve been looking at some of the time-friendly recipes from issues of VT. I first tried some recipes from the June 2008 issue. I tried the Spring Orzo Salad and was totally delighted. It was easy! I did make some substitutions, of course. For added protein, I used edamame instead of the frozen peas. Delish!

I then made the Golden Bowl, which was essentially a stir fry. I was surprised that this was voted as one of the favourite reader recipes from some veg restaurant, but whatever. I found it quite bland (which certainly says something, as I don’t like anything remotely spicy!).

The best recipe from this issue was the vegan Mac and Cheese. I was seeking some comfort food, and oh my god, I found it! Now, I do have to say that it doesn’t taste like mac n’ cheese, which is why I like it. I never liked the taste of cheese so I don’t often seek out anything trying to mimic the taste. But something was telling me to try this recipe. Am I ever glad I did! It was so easy, the sauce was mild, and the leftovers were even good! I made it gluten free by using brown rice pasta too.

Finally, I wanted to offer a little public service announcement. They look nice, but do not make the Roasted Bananas. Two weeks later, I still want to mini-vomit. See, I thought that I would have these delicious crispy bananas in a caramel sauce. Instead, despite following the recipe to a “T” (OK, close to a “T”, I used cinnamon instead of allspice), I ended up with soggy, stringy bananas in a sickeningly sweet sauce. I didn’t help that Kyle split the results between the two of us when the recipe was to serve EIGHT! Regardless, one little banana half was enough to know that this was not good. Ugh...

New Stuff!

So much for relying on the other sister to draft some posts! Kidding - we were both mentioning how we've made mostly tried-and-true recipes lately, so nothing too postworthy.

But I did have a creative burst of energy, and tried some goodies (please note that titles are not exact, as I'm nowhere near Vcon right now and taking advantage of some free time while the little one sleeps):


First up - Low Fat Banana Bread from Vcon. Delish! I think I used 3 large bananas, so it was pretty gooey. I also added some walnuts and chocolate chips. Yum!


Next - a creation I made on my own. Cooked up some onion and garlic, added some roasted cubes of sweet potatoes, Yves Chick'n Tenders and veggie broth to serve with pasta.


Finally, after trying quinoa a decade ago and finding it bitter, I thought I'd try it again. Am I ever glad I did! No idea what recipe I had tried before that made it taste so gross, but Vcon's Quinoa Salad with Black Beans (again, title might be wrong), was soooo good. I used red onion instead of scallions. I think it will be a good summer staple...I think I made it now with the million pounds of snow we have here in an attempt to bring on summer :(

Tasty Noodles

I love pasta. And I love Veganomicon. Hence, it was easy to go through the pasta section of the cookbook and find some yummy things to make!

First up - Pasta Della California - delicious! I used rotini instead of a flatter noodle since I somehow forgot to pick some up at the store (that's been happening alot lately!).

Next, as mentioned in my last post, I had to try the Baked Ziti with Caramelized Onions and Sage Breadcrumbs, as Tracy had tempted me. Omigod - this is definitely one of my new comfort foods! I can't get over how good it tasted. I served it with a simple spinach salad with dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds and sliced almonds. This dish would be ideal to take to a potluck, due to it's large size and mass appeal in terms of texture. Since I made a huge 9x13" pan worth, and didn't want to tire of it, I decided to store several individual portions in the freezer. I can't wait to reheat them in the coming weeks! Note again, I used the suggested alternative penne, since this time, I was too lazy to look for ziti at the grocery store.