Finally...

I'm not going to pretend that I have a great excuse for not blogging over the past week or so. Granted, Marzie did make off with my memory card reader, but I replaced it several days ago. I just have not blogged because... I have enjoyed not feeling like it was my responsibility to blog. I've been hanging out with friends, going for long walks and enjoying the gorgeous autumn that we're having, cooking when I felt like it, and enjoying every minute of it.


See what I mean about the gorgeous autumn?

That's not to say I'm quitting this blog. I enjoy it too much. But when blogging goes from being a hobby to a full-time job, it loses its appeal. Maybe some of you have had this experience before. So, you may see less of me around the blogosphere, but I'm not going to disappear. I promise!


Starting off with some Seitan O'Greatness. This batch didn't last very long--it was too tasty! I made the Mostarella Cheeze from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook to go with it, because I ran out of agar and didn't feel like trying to hunt some more down. The cheeze was okay. It was better heated up with refried beans and salsa... yum.


On my last visit to R. Thomas, I tried their Hearty Breakfast Stew and loved it so much that I wished I had the recipe. Well, since I didn't, I decided to make one up. This soup was like a "souped-up" potato chowder (hee hee), and it was so good that I decided to share the recipe with all of you. It's not just like the soup at the restaurant, but it's darn close and maybe tastier. I've posted the recipe at the end.


This post by Don't Get Mad, Get Vegan! came back to me one day when I wanted to make a pie and could not decide what kind I should attempt. I'm glad I tried the Key Lime Teasecake; it was delicious, and I felt much less guilty knowing that it was made of millet and sweetened with maple syrup. I only wish the key lime flavor had been a little stronger...


I loved DGMGV's kiwi topping so much that I copied her! Of course, original credit for the recipe goes to Jo Ann Stepaniak.


The credit for this blackened tempeh goes to Eat Air. It spent a day marinating in the refrigerator, and then it was a snap to blacken it on the stove for dinner after work. Sautéed kale and potatoes accompanied this meal, and it was all delicious.

I guess tomorrow's Thanksgiving. To tell you the truth, I had kind of forgotten about it this year. You see, we're not really celebrating in the traditional way this time--we're going to Disney World with my sister and her fiancé instead! But I wish each of you a wonderful, safe, and compassionate holiday. Until we meet again...

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Potato Quinoa Chowdah

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 large carrot, diced small
3 cups water
6-7 small potatoes, cut into bite-size chunks (about 2 pounds) - Peeling is optional
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1 teaspoon paprika
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 cup quinoa
1 to 1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup kale, chopped
Cooking spray
3/4 teaspoon salt
Kelp granules and/or nori strips, for garnish

Heat the oil in a large soup pot and sauté the onion until it starts to brown. Add the garlic and carrots and cook for another 2-3 minutes. It's okay if the veggies try to stick to the pot a little. Add the water and scrape the bottom of the pot to get all the little bits of veggies off the bottom. Add the potatoes and spices and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the potatoes are pretty tender. Add the quinoa and cook for another 15 minutes, until the quinoa is done. The soup will get pretty thick at this point.

Spray another pan with cooking spray, and sauté the chopped kale just enough to take the bitterness off. Set aside.

In batches, purée about half the soup, then return it to the pot over low heat and add the milk, corn, and kale. Heat slowly, until the corn is done and the soup is hot all the way through. Add the salt. Serve, garnishing each bowl with kelp granules and nori strips, if desired. Makes about 6-8 servings.

Mmm, mmm...

Several of you asked about my aloo matar recipe from my recent post. It's a recipe that I came up with after reading about Indian cooking and glancing over a few different aloo matar recipes. I've posted my recipe on this blog before; here's the link to it!

In the past week or so I have found a new vigor for cooking and baking, and this post is the product of firing up the gas range with the windows open, the scent of autumn wafting in to energize me, and a freshly stocked pantry after a massive shopping trip.


Salad with marinated grilled tempeh, chunks of avocado, and a freshly made vinaigrette... one of my favorite light meals, especially if the tempeh is still warm from the pan.

This is something I have wanted to do for quite some time now--vegan beef stew. My mom is an excellent cook, and has always been one who rarely follows a recipe; she just has a knack for tossing things together to make a meal that's amazingly simple and flavorful and comforting. I used to love my mom's beef stew, and finally I got up the nerve to try and veganize it. I'm so glad I did--it's just so good!


I'll post the recipe at the end. I made it with TVP, and I would also like to try it with seitan sometime (especially since seitan doesn't have the "taint" that TVP carries when it comes to health--though I'm not too concerned about it, since I only use TVP once in a blue moon anyway). We enjoyed it on top of corn bread--Kris's corn bread, from DTV, as a matter of fact. I can be picky about my corn bread, being from the South and all that, but this recipe left me happy. I will admit that I made a couple of modifications, such as reducing the sugar and replacing the applesauce with plain soy yogurt. You see, I'm not used to sweet corn bread. I'm not opposed to making it that way sometime, but I wanted my stew to taste as much like my mom's as possible.

Next, a fabulous new recipe from Dreena--her Tamari-Roasted Chickpeas from her new cookbook, Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan! No, I have not gotten her cookbook yet. I decided to wait until it hits our local vegan shop(pe) because I would just feel a little better buying it from them. But when I saw that Dreena had posted this freebie, I was all over it.


They came out of the oven looking golden and delicious, and Bob and I finished them off in no time. We did set some aside for salads:


They're so flavorful, and delightfully firm, almost crunchy. And a snap to make. Roasted chickpeas are destined to become a household staple, at least around here.

And of course, I did a little baking. I love pumpkin in every form that it can take, so I was really excited to make Kris's Pumpkin Zig Zag Loaf from DTV.



You can see the ribbon of cinnamon-sugar that runs through this loaf, giving it a special touch. Yet another wonderful baked treat from Kris's book--though it did take quite a bit longer in my oven than the recipe suggested. I have to tell you that in making this treat, I used the last of my cinnamon! This marks a first for me--never in my life have I run out of cinnamon. What is the world coming to?

Ah, well. Have a lovely week, my friends!

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Beef Stew Like My Momma Used to Make (Sort Of)


This makes enough for 6-8 servings--leftovers! Woo-hoo!

2 cups TVP chunks (stew-beef style)
2 cups veggie broth
2 tablespoons Bragg's Liquid Aminos or tamari
3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1-2 tablespoons oil
1/2-1 teaspoon black pepper
Several tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
3 1/2 cups water (or more, as needed)
1/2 cup Bragg's or tamari
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Several dashes liquid smoke
5 large carrots, chopped
4 medium red potatoes, chopped
2 cups frozen green peas
3 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour mixed with 3 tablespoons cold water
Salt and pepper, to taste

Bring the veggie broth to a boil, then pour it over the TVP chunks. Add the 2 tablespoons Bragg's and stir through. Let sit for 10 minutes, stirring around occasionally to ensure that it can all absorb the liquid. Strain the reconstituted TVP chunks, reserving any extra liquid.

Place the garlic and the oil in a large stock pot, and heat gently. Sauté the garlic for several minutes, then add the TVP. Sprinkle with the pepper and whole wheat pastry flour, adding just enough flour to coat the TVP well. Cook for about two minutes, then add the reserved liquid to the pot to deglaze. Let simmer a moment more, then add the water, Bragg's, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, carrots, and potatoes. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the veggies are soft but not mushy.

Add the frozen peas, and return to a boil. Whisk the flour and water together, and once the stew is simmering again, add the flour mixture. Cook for a minute or two until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over corn bread.

Southern comforts, and some new discoveries

Welcome 2007!

I don't really make new year's resolutions; if I think I need to make a change in my life, I try to introduce it instantly, rather than waiting for a "new beginning." But there is something to be said for starting a new year--it's a natural time to just evaluate things and to "put the right foot forward," so to speak. I've been thinking a little about some of my daily habits, and decided that I want to be even more of a "health nut" than I have ever been (and I have always been pretty nutty about it). I also hope to spend more time reading and writing for pleasure, more time outside... less time on the internet. I hope it won't cut TOO much into my blogging time--there are plenty of other things I do online that are a complete waste of time, whereas blogging has been a very positive thing for me. Still, I may scale back just a little bit. Don't be surprised, anyway.

Enough with that. On to the food...

The title of my post refers in part to new year's dinner, which was one of the most comforting and "traditional" southern meals I've had in a long time (you have to understand--I was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia). At first I thought about making a vegan version of hoppin' john, which is traditional new year's day fare here in the South. I don't know if it's just a southern thing, but for those of you who may not know what it is, usually hoppin' john is a dish of black-eyed peas and rice, seasoned with all kinds of stuff that I don't eat anymore and served on January 1 to bring "good luck." Well, since I don't really buy into the notion of luck, I was not really concerned about sticking to the tradition. What I really wanted was a good pot of black beans, served with cornbread instead of rice.

What is more traditional than beans and cornbread? Well, beans and cornbread and collard greens, of course! Yum, yum, yum... and healthy too (if you can resist the temptation to go overboard on the cornbread, that is).


For the beans, I started with 2 pounds of black beans and plenty of water in my crock pot. I chopped and added:
2 small yellow onions
1 green bell pepper
3 stalks celery
4 large garlic cloves

For spices I added:
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Several dashes chili flakes
1 tablespoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
3-4 bay leaves
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
Several dashes liquid smoke

Then it just cooked on high for about 5-6 hours.

For the collard greens, I started with a little bit of olive oil and about 3 garlic cloves in a sauté pan. When they were tender and aromatic, I added the chopped greens and stir-fried them on meduim for several minutes. When they were starting to get tender, I added a splash of cider vinegar to the pan, and some salt and pepper, and I put the lid on and let them steam on low heat until they were soft.

I used the PPK recipe for the cornbread, adding a bit more baking powder because a couple of the comments said the cornbread was a little dense. This cornbread has an excellent flavor, but I found it to be a little dry. Not a problem, though--it's still tasty and crumbled up with the beans and collard greens, the dryness was not an issue. We enjoyed this meal, and we will enjoy the beans many, many more times, as my six-quart crock pot was absolutely filled by the time they were all cooked up.

New year's breakfast was VWaV Pumpkin Waffles. Several bloggers had mentioned their plans for making waffles on January 1, and it made me think about how I have not had waffles in quite a while. We ate them with syrup and Soyatoo! whipped topping. A decadent breakfast, but I felt somewhat better since I used whole wheat pastry flour in place of the all purpose flour in the waffle recipe.



After breakfast, I made myself a latte with our new espresso machine that our families got us for Christmas. I added a bit of ground cinnamon to the coffee in the brew basket, and I stirred in just a little bit of sugar to make a cinnamon latte. I have not gotten used to the steaming mechanism yet--it works a bit differently from our old machine, and I cannot seem to get the perfect amount of foam. Some things just take practice. Doesn't affect the flavor, though--my latte really hit the spot.




This is one new discovery: Kai-lan, also called Chinese broccoli or Chinese kale. Bob found it at our local Asian market--which, I am embarrassed to admit, I have just recently discovered after living here in Athens for four and a half years. But it was very inexpensive, about a dollar a pound, so we picked up a good amount of it. I didn't really know what to do with it, but I came home and looked it up on Wikipedia, where I learned that a popular way to prepare kai-lan is to stir-fry it with garlic and ginger. We tried that today with lunch:


The taste is similar to broccoli, but slightly more bitter. The fresh ginger was a good balance to the bitterness of the kai-lan, and we both thought this simple stir fry was delicious. I'm sure it would be very tasty mixed with some sweeter vegetables too, such as carrots or snow peas. This vegetable is supposed to be very high in iron and calcium. We have much more, so I am going to keep trying it out in different ways.

Speaking of trying new things, Bob and I recently purchased a package of Vegan Gourmet Monterey Jack cheese alternative--the first fake cheese we have ever bought. At first I was surprised by the texture, reminding myself that it is not cheese and I can't expect it to be exactly like cheese. After getting over that initial reaction, I have been quite impressed with this product. It was very good on a simple Boca burger with some sprouts and Dijon mustard--and it even melted in the toaster oven. It's not cheese, for sure, and I doubt it would ever fool anyone. But it's a really great substitute. Not something we plan to make a habit out of, but once in a while it can't hurt.

It's days until school starts back--my last semester!! What will I do with myself until then? I have a few plans. But I'll leave that alone for now. Peace and happiness to all of you!

Miscellany

Happy December! After a lapse back into warm, humid weather, it has finally started to feel wintry again here in Georgia. It is supposed to drop down to 26 degrees tonight--by far our coldest temperature yet this season.

I have been making quite a bit of food ever since I got over my headache spell late last week, and much of it has been inspired either by the cold weather or the holidays. Let's see, there was another batch of sloppy lentils--we seriously make this about 2 or 3 times a month, and that is significant since we each get about 3 meals out of it each time we make it. But it's so warm and healthy and tasty that I see it remaining a staple in our kitchen!

The next thing, perhaps not so healthy. I did a veg blog search on vegan nog, and I found this recipe. I only made half the recipe this time, since it was the first go round. It's a really good recipe. I like it because it is thicker than the commercial vegan nog that we have tried (Vitasoy Holly Nog), but not so thick that it feels like drinking raw eggs (yuck!!!). I didn't have the cardamom so I left it out this time. Very tasty--give it a try!

The whole time I was sick, I was dying for a bowl of soup, but was too tired to go grocery shopping (and our on-hand ingredients got very sparse after Thanksgiving...). Even though I felt much better this weekend, I still had soup on my mind--in particular, soup I had seen on Leslie's blog (though I got the impression that it has been adapted and adapted and adapted). Well, I took the recipe and adapted it again, so I'll share my version with you.



Ever-Evolving Gypsy Soup (Laura's Version)

1 cup dried pinto beans
1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas
1/2 butternut squash, diced
1-2 yellow onions, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 bouillon cube
Several dashes tamari
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1/4-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8-1/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves
Sea salt
Ground black pepper

After the beans have been rinsed, soaked for 8 hours, and drained, put them on to boil in a very large pot. In the meantime, chop the vegetables and sauté in the olive oil. Once they have cooked 10-15 minutes (the onions are getting translucent), add them to the pot with the beans. Add the spices and seasonings and simmer, covered, for about 30 more minutes or until the beans are very tender.

I changed the vegetables based on what I had on hand that needed to be used up. I kept the same spices (changing the proportions here and there) because, as Leslie mentioned, many of the spices really are known for their healthful qualities. Note: This made a ton of soup. I froze about 3 portions, and there are about 5 portions left in the refrigerator (this is after me eating a bowl last night and another today for lunch). Next time I'm sick I'll pull this out of the freezer!

I had a friend over to make lunch with me on Friday afternoon, and we made this nice stir-fry full of broccoli, carrots, garlic, onion, and edamame. The tofu I had frozen, re-thawed, and drained, and I marinated it in tamari and agave nectar while we went shopping for the veggies. I sautéed the tofu in peanut oil, then took it off the heat and sautéed the veggies in peanut oil. When they were tender, I added the tofu back to the pan and tossed it all together. Served on top of whole wheat noodles (should have gotten soba noodles while we were grocery shopping, but I forgot all about it). I tossed just a little bit of soy sauce on mine, and it was really tasty. I loved the way the tofu soaked up the sweetness of the agave nectar. Bob had the leftovers, and he was very impressed with them (which flattered me, since he had just gotten done eating our leftovers from P. F. Chang, the best Chinese food I've had in a long time).



Here, a quick potato stir-fry that Bob and I call hash browns, though it's really better than hash browns because we slice the potatoes thicker so they don't get mushy. This one has a purple potato thrown in, which made for beautiful color; also, mushrooms and onions.




The last thing I have for you is this: Last Monday my father-in-law had a birthday, and I wanted to make him a cake. But we had been sick all weekend and all day Monday, so I didn't get to.

Yesterday, we went over to their house, and I made him a cake then. I wanted to do a rum cake, but recipes are hard to find. I ended up using the Chocolate-Rum Pudding Cake recipe from VWaV (p. 221), and it was very good. Quite decadent and quite rich, I have to admit, but very good. It seemed to be well-received all around. Yay!



Sorry for the bad pictures, but I didn't want to make a scene out of photographing the cake while I was over there. I know it looks like a pile of dirt in the picture above, but it really does taste better than it looks. I love the sauce it makes while it's baking. We had it while it was still warm... with So Delicious vanilla ice cream. Yum.

That's all for now. Have a nice week (I know I will--tomorrow's my last day of classes for the semester)! I will see you soon!

Cookin' up excitement

I had a wicked exam last night, but now I feel like my semester may as well be over. Hooray! Thanks for all your kind words and thoughts. I guess I probably did alright...

Though I had to stay away from Blogger this week, that didn't stop me from cooking. So I do have some things to share with you. And I can't WAIT to get caught up on reading all your blogs this weekend--I've been peeking at them here and there, and I can see that everyone has been up to some great things.

Here is thing #1 that I made: Fudgy Brownies from Vive! (p. 128). Let me tell you, these things are very fudgy and rich! They didn't last long around here, I'm afraid. I've never had a better brownie in all my life. Honestly. I have a weakness for chocolate, and I swear... This was chocolate heaven.



Speaking of chocolate, have you ever tried this? We've tried several different flavors now, and so far I liked the cookie avalanche one the best. But when I tasted this... wow. I'm amazed. I didn't know something could taste so much like chocolate. This stuff is the best.


On Sunday we went to a friend's house to cook dinner together. She's a vegetarian (well, she still eats fish every now and then, but otherwise...) and very intrigued by vegan cooking and baking. It's nice when your friends are willing and even eager to take a leap like that for you. Anyway, we made a simple stir-fry with green beans and mushrooms and tofu, and it was served on top of soba noodles. It was 100% organic. She made a teriyaki sauce to go with it; I'll provide you the recipe (which she found on allrecipes.com), though we all agreed that it was too salty and just not exactly right. Next time we will try a different recipe.

Teriyaki Sauce

2/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sherry
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 clove garlic, minced

Combine all ingredients and heat until thickened.

I made another variation of my banana ice cream earlier this week (this was before we bought the chocolate obsession), and I liked it particularly so I thought I would share.


It's just one frozen banana, a small spoonful of cocoa powder (maybe 2 teaspoons), about four drops of agave nectar, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. I processed it all with just enough vanilla soy milk so that it would come together. Yummm...

Finally, we made our usual version of Leslie's sloppy lentils for dinner on Tuesday night. This recipe has become a staple of ours, so I tried to write down our approximate recipe so that we don't have to re-invent it every time. Though I have to give Leslie credit for inspiring me with this and getting me hooked.

Sloppy Lentils (Leslie-style)

1 1/2 cups red lentils, rinsed
1 bunch kale, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed & minced
1 14-ounce can tomato sauce
Crushed basil
Crushed red pepper
Tamari, Worcestershire sauce (with no fishies, of course), & liquid smoke, as needed

And then, you know, just throw it all into the same pot and let it cook until the lentils are soft and the kale is tender and until it has enough flavor to make you happy.


We've been lax on making bread lately, but I found a loaf of rosemary focaccia bread in the freezer that I had made recently, so we had that with the lentils. Though it's better with a nice, crusty whole wheat bread. Sadly, after three servings apiece, the lentils were gone. Next time we'll really have to make a double batch; they never last as long as I think they will.

Apart from that, we've been unthawing chili and stuff like that from the freezer to eat this week. And I've been eating a lot of edamame. I really love that stuff.

Today, there's going to be a lot of cooking going on at my little apartment. But I can't tell you about it--not yet. It's a secret. I will show you tomorrow, after it's all over and been a great success, what it is that I'm cooking up around here today. All I can say is, I'm super excited.

And that's that. I hope you all have a great Friday and a marvelous weekend. I'll bee seeing you on your blogs soon, I promise! Peace!

Cajun food and a question

I am a graduate assistant in the accounting school here at UGA, and the professor I worked for last year is a Louisiana man. I remember him telling me once that when Hurricane Katrina hit, and many students at Louisiana universities were relocated to UGA, that he and his wife had a group of those transfer over one night and cooked red beans and rice and talked about home with them. I thought that was awesome. I love the New Orleans area (though I've only been once, and that was on a disaster relief mission trip after the hurricane hit)--I'm not really sure why. Maybe the French influence, maybe the profound sense of belonging that people from there seem to have... maybe partly because A Streetcar Named Desire, which was an excellent play, was set there. Anyway, one thing is for sure--I love the food.

I tell this story because, one day after grading exams with my professor, it occurred to me that I had never really had "authentic" red beans and rice, and that if I wanted to know how to make them with a true Louisiana flair, he would be the perfect person to talk to about it. So I asked him how he makes his red beans and rice.

He gave me a dissertation! Whew! And though he usually uses meats to flavor his beans, he knew that I "like to keep a vegetarian palate" and shaped his recommendation around that. Anyway, here are my red beans and rice, inspired by my professor, Dr. Harvey.



1 pound small red beans
1 tablespoon boullion
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
Several dashes of hot sauce
2-3 bay leaves
2 small onions
1 green bell pepper
5-6 stalks celery
2-3 cloves garlic
Salt
About 6-7 cups of water

Dice the veggies very finely. Throw everything into a pot and let it simmer for several hours (or throw everything into a crockpot and let it cook all day long). Once the beans are very tender, remove several scoops of them and purée them to make a paste. (Or just put them in a bowl and mash the heck out of them, like I did.) Stir them back into the pot. Serve with brown rice and fresh parsley.

The first time I made them, I cooked them on the stove and pre-soaked the beans. This time, though, I decided to press my rarely used crockpot into service. I started them at about 9:00 this morning and let them cook until about 7:00 tonight. I forgot how easy crockpot cooking was--you don't have to pre-soak the beans, you don't have to worry about anything boiling over, or having a hot stove to work around. You don't even have to stay home with it while it cooks!

This was just excellent. Very much on the spicy side, I have to say, but excellent. Bob said it wasn't too spicy for him, so there's my seal of approval.

This time I made my own seasoning blend to use, which I found on the web. I combined:

3 T. black pepper
2 T. garlic powder
1 t. onion powder
1 t. nutmeg
2 T. dried parsley
4 T. cayenne pepper
2 T. chili powder

Well, now I've rambled enough about red beans and rice. I wanted to ask a question to all the vegans out there. How do you feel about honey consumption? I know that many vegans think, of course a vegan shouldn't eat honey--it's an animal product. But there are many vegans also who don't think twice about consuming honey. I have never felt extremely convicted about honey, I guess. I use honey substitutes when I cook and I feel good about that, but my general rule when buying cereal or granola bars or whatever it may be, has been that if honey is the only ingredient that keeps it from being vegan, and it doesn't contain large amounts of honey, then I'll probably still use it. I just feel like I would be hypocritical if I refused to eat honey when I don't feel that strongly about it, just on the principle that "it's not vegan."

The Vegan Outreach website linked to this article about honey. I guess it pretty much sums up the way I feel about honey... But I was wondering what other vegans think.

Bob and I are going to visit my family this weekend, for the first time since we went veg. Yikes! Any well-wishes would be greatly appreciated--I'm not sure about how it's going to go over. And tonight, there is a concert event here in Athens called "20/20 Vision: Changing the Power at the Pump." Its purpose is to raise awareness about global warming, and several environmentally minded politicians will be there to speak. I'm really excited about it. And... Bob's band is headlining at the event! In fact, I should probably leave for that now...

Happy November!

Birthday cake, squash, and more

Here is that birthday cake I made for my sister's 20th birthday. It was supposed to be a spice cake, but I omitted all the spices because she and her boyfriend have very plain tastes. :( It tasted so good and I could just imagine it with all the allspice, cinnamon, etc. Oh well, it will give me an excuse to make it again.


I found a recipe in a little pamphlet about going vegan that I found stuffed somewhere, and I modified it to pieces. I'll share with you what I did.

Cake:
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
(1 teaspoon allspice)
(1 teaspoon cinnamon)
(1/2 teaspoon ground cloves)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup applesauce (substituted for oil)
3/4 cup vanilla soymilk
1/4 cup water

Mix dry ingredients in one bowl and wet in another. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until thoroughly blended. Bake in prepared 8-inch cake pan for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Frosting:
1/4 cup soy margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons soymilk
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Melt margarine over low heat, add brown sugar and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the soymilk and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Gradually whisk in the powdered sugar. Spread on the cooled cake.

It was delicious. I even sent some home for my parents and they enjoyed it too. It's very moist and a little on the dense side, so I think you could get away with adding less oil/applesauce.

I had so much fun with my sister over the weekend! I really miss living with her and hanging out with her--she lives four hours from me now, and we only see each other a few times a year. In fact, I realized this weekend how much I miss my whole family. I have not been down to visit my parents since last Christmas (we had a little rift and weren't speaking for a while, and now we're still not on the best of terms). Bob and I decided to spend Thanksgiving up here this year, either with his family or just by ourselves. It will be the first Thanksgiving I've spent without my family, and it makes me really sad to think about it.

Anyway... This is a delicious and comforting lentil soup that I made last night for dinner. It was cold and rainy here last night (and still is today, in fact), so it felt so nice to curl up with a hot bowl of soup and a slice of homemade crusty bread. Very simple:

Bring to a boil:
1.5 pounds of brown lentils
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, minced
Oregano
Salt
Cayenne pepper
Bblack pepper
Worcestershire sauce
Liquid smoke

Cook for about 30-40 minutes, and then take it off the heat and squeeze in a bit of lemon juice and let it sit for a few minutes. There are plenty of leftovers--I had another bowl for lunch today.

When Earth Fare's organic winter squash is on sale for 0.99 per pound for a few days only, what do you do? You buy two butternut squash, two spaghetti squash, two acorn squash, and a sugar pumpkin! And then you make spaghetti.

If you've never seen a spaghetti squash before, look at this:


Once the squash has been roasted (about 45 minutes at 375 degrees), you can take a fork and pull the flesh into these beautiful strands. It tastes really nice just plain, but tonight Bob made a beautiful red sauce to serve with it.



The stuff on top is a "parmesan" that I saw a recipe for online. It was really simple:

Process together until crumbly:
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt

It doesn't taste much like parmesan really, but it's a whole lot cheaper than any vegan parmesan crumbles you can buy and really worked on top of the spaghetti.

One last thing: So many of you have blogged about it, that I had to do it too! So I ordered my copy of Nava Atlas' new veganized cookbook! I told myself no cookbooks until Christmas, but this was too good to pass up--two books for $13.50! I ordered them last Monday, and they arrived today! This time, really--no more cookbooks until at least Christmas! I'm so excited about trying out these wonderful soup recipes, but it will have to wait until after Thursday, after my exam.

I'm going to disappear again until Friday. But I hope you all have a good week--see you soon.

Hummus tweaking and south-of-the-border

Here's what I've been up to these days:

Saturday: I wanted hummus for dinner, but instead of making it the exact same way as I did last time, I decided to play around with the recipe a little bit. Here's what I came up with:


Spicy Hummus

1 can chickpeas
3-4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons chipotle paste
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Process until smooth and creamy.

Bob noticed the "kick" in the hummus that came from the chipotle paste; I wish it had been a little more pronounced and I may add more next time (if I can get away with it). Even so, I love the texture of this hummus--it's smooth and creamy. And maybe the best part is, since I left out the olive oil, this hummus tastes better and has a better texture after being refrigerated than hummus with olive oil in it (which seems to harden when refrigerated).

Sunday: The fellowship lunch was great! All the salsa I made was gone, except for one spoonful (which I took care of once we left). After that, we went out to the farm to see Bob's family, and we had a nice visit. We took some of Dori's bread to share, and it was a hit all around. And for dinner, Bob took me to The Grit! He had the falafel platter, which came with falafel fritters, pita points, lemon-tahini dressing, and assorted veggies. I ordered a teriyaki tofu and veggie wrap, with a cup of their roasted red pepper and mushroom soup. Everything was fantastic, as we expected. I particularly LOVED the soup--it was creamy, and the roasted red pepper flavor was not too strong (as it can be sometimes). When I came home I pulled out my cookbook--and behold, I have the recipe for the soup! Hooray! So when I make it, you will get to see pictures.

Yesterday: I came home for lunch and Bob had a friend over, and they were making guacamole. Awesome! Bloggers have been creating tacos and burritos lately, which have been making my mouth water. Well, here is our version of "burrito day":

Black beans, lettuce, mushrooms, guacamole, and salsa all piled inside a whole wheat tortilla. It was a perfect lunch! The guacamole has avocado, tomatoes, garlic, red onion, lime juice, salt, pepper, a bit of hot salsa, and a bit of silken tofu to make it creamier.

In keeping with the theme set by lunch, we made a nice black bean chili for dinner. Often I follow The Grit's recipe, which calls for bulgur. This time, I wanted to leave out the bulgur and instead add in some TVP. So we played around for a couple of hours and ended up with this recipe:

Black Bean Chili

2 pounds dried black beans, rinsed and soaked
2 smallish onions, chopped
2 smallish green bell peppers, chopped
3 jalapenos, minced
1/2 bunch of celery, diced
4 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon chili powder
2 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon oregano
4-5 shakes cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Simmer all this together with the lid on for about an hour. Then add:

1 can crushed tomatoes (or whole tomatoes, crushing them yourself--add the juice too)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 tablespoon chipotle paste
2 cups frozen corn

Let simmer for another 30-45 minutes. Making sure there is still a good amount of liquid in the pot, stir in 2 cups TVP granules. It will get very thick; if needed, add more water. Let it cook for another 15-20 minutes, keeping an eye on the liquid level. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for about an hour before serving.

It took a lot of playing around to get the spices just right, especially the heat. After 3 jalapeños and still no detectable heat, I finally just started throwing cayenne pepper in. After it all sat for an hour or so, though, the heat really began to come out. So this chili actually ended up being pretty spicy--but both of us were satisfied. And the result looks like this:


Lastly, I will just leave you all with a look at why I love fall... Yesterday morning was just amazing.

So happy fall!

Dal-ish

I needed a quick, light dinner tonight--got stuck in traffic on the way home and didn't feel like standing around in the kitchen half the night. So I remembered that red lentils cook up super quick. From start to finish this took me less than half an hour (no, I'm not a fan of Rachael Ray).

1/4 Vidalia onion, chopped
A heavy pinch of garlic powder (or a clove or two of fresh garlic, which would have been my preference)
1 cup red lentils
Water, to cover
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Kosher salt
Cayenne pepper (I used several good dashes)

Just sauté the onion with some garlic powder in a little bit of water, until tender and fragrant. Add the lentils and enough water to cover, then add spices/seasonings to taste. Let boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes until tender. Watch the water level, and adjust the flavors as necessary. This was not too spicy--just tingled the throat going down--and the ginger made it seem almost sweet even though it wasn't. My Indian spice mix is at home, which I would use for dal, but this had a similar flavor and was very satisfying nonetheless.



For dessert, I blended a frozen banana with a splash of soymilk and some cinnamon and nutmeg, for a very cool, ice cream-reminiscent treat. Sometime in the past month or so, I got this idea from someone else's blog, though for the life of me I cannot remember where. But I'm very grateful for it--it's so easy, and it satisfies my frozen dessert craving just like ice cream always has. So if this banana dessert was your creation, please step into the limelight--I want to give credit where it's deserved!

Update: So here's the source of my banana dessert, straight from fatfreevegan.com! I should have guessed that I got it from there!