German Stollen (Veganized!)

My husband was lucky enough to have a wonderful German grandfather who was a professional baker.  Needless to say, it would be pretty impossible for us to recreate his magic in the kitchen, but I really wanted to make a stollen for Tyler this year (since it had been part of his Christmas tradition growing up) and one of my friends with German in-laws was kind enough to send me an authentic recipe by Dr. Oetker vthat she had (thank you, Jeannette!!!)

 

We followed the recipe, getting out one of the small scales my husband had used for his physics course, setting it to grams, and weighing the ingredients ;-)    To veganize it, we simply used Earth Balance instead of the butter.  We used soy milk. Instead of the egg, we used 1 TBSP ground flax and 3 TBSP water.  The other substitution we made was to soak the raisins in apple juice instead of rum, as we do not have rum on hand and didn't want to buy some just for this recipe.  Also, we had no candied lemon peel.

We were really delighted with how it turned out!  I thought the dough was really soft and buttery, too much so, so I added a bit of flour so that it held together better but otherwise it mixed up beautifully with the measurements given and we thought it tasted wonderful.  Tyler said it was close to what his grandfather's tasted like (wow!) and we even took up a few pieces to the in-laws when we went for a visit after Christmas and my father-in-law was very impressed and said he also thought it was close to what his dad used to make. Hooray!  I think we will try to  make this a Christmas tradition.

*~*~*Christmas Cookies*~*~*

Christmas Cookie Palooza

My sister and I made Christmas cookies over the weekend, listening to Christmas music and had a wonderful time making some sweet holiday treats we could actually eat (having to pass up all those amazing dessert tables at the work parties I've been going to had me feeling a bit Bah! Humbug and this definitely helped me feel happy and Christmas-y again!)  I was especially delighted to find this blog explaining how to "veganize" traditional Christmas cookie recipes.  It's fairly easy, such as substituting Earth Balance for butter or soy milk for cow's milk.  One suggestion for egg substitution was to use 1/4 cup of soy yogurt for one egg. I had never tried this but it worked well in our recipe.  I am not sure how to veganize certain recipes that require the eggs to be whipped, but perhaps I could find out...

Anyway, the cookie dough was surprisingly disgusting (Earth Balance doesn't taste nearly as good as butter in cookie dough!) but the finished products exceeded our expectations and truly tasted like Christmas cookies!  Woo hoo! :-D

Mexican Wedding Cakes (I have also heard these referred to as Russian Tea Cakes)

Here is a traditional recipe from Joy of Baking.  This was an easy sub. of Earth Balance for the regular butter and we used walnuts for the nuts.  These were sooo delicious.  They practically poof! apart and melt in your mouth.

Raspberry Oatmeal Squares (these were my husband's favorite!)

This is another recipe we "veganized" from the Joy of Baking.  In this case, I subbed the 1/4 cup soy yogurt for the one egg and used Earth Balance instead of the butter.  They turned out really yummy and weren't overly sweet (I cut the sugar a bit) with a gorgeous raspberry flavor.


Pecan Bars

Yummy!!!!  I've always had a fondness for pecan pie, but hadn't had it in ages.  This recipe brings back all those fond memories.  And, best of all, this recipe is already vegan!  It's from a blog I would like to follow, Megatarian.  The only thing I changed from the recipe is that I added an extra 1/4 cup flour to the base because it seemed way too gooey.  Also, I used brown rice syrup instead of corn syrup since I have kind of a "thing" against corn syrup.  They turned out sooo delicious!  The crust was a bit flaky, but they tasted great.

Annie and I hope to make more Christmas Cookies and/or other holiday desserts in the days leading up to Christmas and I'll be sure to post the results.


Happy Holidays! :->

Vegan Thanksgiving!!!

Before I get any tardier, I have to post about our awesome Vegan Thanksgiving!!!  I am so happy because this year my parents and sister are also pursuing a plant-based diet, so everything I put on the Thanksgiving table (and everything they brought for pot-luck) was vegan.  Not only was it nice knowing that we provided a cruelty-free meal, but it was fun to be able to eat everything :->

Here are some pictures from the feast.  I don't have time to collect all the recipes right now, but will try to add them later.

Tyler's amazing green beans -- delish!  A bit of spiciness with red pepper flakes.


My mom's "meatloaf", which had a wonderfully nutty and mushroomy flavor

Savory Stuffing (my favorite Thanksgiving dish!  Recipe is in my Nov 2010 blog archive)

Candied Yams with Vegan Marshmallows (mmm! I LOVED this recipe!!!)

Dessertapalooza!  :->  Chocolate pudding pie, apple cobbler, and two kinds of pumpkin pie (including one with gluten-free crust for my mom).  My recipe can be found in the November 2010 archives.

 

Tofu Burgers from "Peaceful Palate"

Mmm!  Forget those store-bought veggie burgers that look like frozen cow patties; instead, try a delicious homemade tofu-based burger from the Peaceful Palate cookbook.  Peaceful Palate was one of the first vegan cookbooks I bought and it remains an outstanding source for tasty and easy-to-make vegan meals, side dishes, and baked goods.  

They are sooo delicious!  I could eat them plain--the seasonings are just so savory.  It's very hearty, with bread crumbs and quick-cook oats mixed with crumbled firm tofu.  But the patties go really well with all the usual burger condiments.  The patties are a bit delicate so you may find a few pieces fall off when you eat your burger, but you'll just be glad to nab them up and eat them with your fingers :->

Vegan Brownies

If you are looking for a healthy vegan recipe, stop reading now!

If you want a delicious vegan brownie recipe that has zero redeeming nutritional value but tastes really good, this is the recipe for you.  

I needed something that would taste very similar to "real" brownies to have on hand when my in-laws arrived last week since my father-in-law is used to really decadent desserts (his father was a German baker!) but I didn't have time after work to make a really elaborate cake before their arrival.  The brownies really did the trick.  I was surprised that I didn't find any vegan brownie recipes in the cookbooks I had on hand, so I did a Google search and came up with the well-reviewed recipe on Allrecipes.com.  The result was tasty and very easy to make.  I cringed at the amount of sugar and oil in there, but for a splurge it was worth it.

The result is a bit more crumbly than regular brownies (I wouldn't recommend it as finger food) but tastes delicious.  I even melted some vegan marshmallows over mine.  Yum!

Pumpkin Pasties

 Presenting, courtesy of Dumbledore's Army, and our kitchen, Pumpkin Pasties:

Mmmm!  Sweet, pumpkin goodness.  I loved this treat!  Definitely the best "Harry Potter" recipe we've made so far.  My sister and I found the pumpkin pasties so delightful, we plan to make them for the rest of the Harry Potter movie evenings left in our marathon.  The crust is just wonderful, perfectly flaky and with a delicate, slightly sweet texture that is hugely satisfying.  The filling is also sumptuous, not quite like pumpkin pie, with a bit of a nuttier flavor (given the cashews).  If anything I would have liked more filling ratio to the crust, so we may experiment and make the pasties bigger next time.  Highly recommended, not just for Harry Potter fans, but anyone looking for a sweet treat perfect for Thanksgiving month.

Cooking with Coconut Milk (Pad Thai and Pineapple Fried Rice)

I decided to try Nava Atlas' Vegan Express again (thank goodness for library copies) and, while it's still not my favorite vegan cookbook since it does use quite a bit of convenience foods (or, at least, condiments) vs. cooking purely from scratch, I must say that I really did need the "Express" part last week so I was appreciative of the recipes.  

I started with the Pad Thai since I loved pad thai at restaurants but haven't found a vegan version anywhere.  I was a little repulsed by the ingredients list for the sauce (lite coconut milk, sugar, lime juice, soy sauce and ketchup!!!) but it tasted surprisingly similar to "real" pad thai (though not nearly as good; I'm sure a very good vegan version is out there, but it wouldn't take under thirty minutes to prepare!) though my husband remarked it tasted a bit like soda.  When I asked him to clarify what sort of soda, he was unable to do so.  Perhaps he's had a coconut-ketchup soda at some point in his life!? Haha.  Still, he did enjoy the recipe and went back for seconds, so I guess soda-pad-thai is a good thing ;-)  Oh, and I did not have peanuts on hand but the dish really needs the peanut flavor to seem authentic so I just mushed in a bit of peanut butter and it was delish!

Since I still had half a can of coconut milk left over, I tried the pineapple stir-fried rice the following evening.  It was tasty, but even better as left-overs the next day as the flavors had a chance to mingle overnight.  (Picture is dark as I snapped this at night and couldn't get the shadow out, sorry.)

I think both recipes would take on a bit of tofu nicely.  Since there is usually egg in the pad thai, it would be a familiar consistency and it would be nice to add more protein to these for main dishes.

Hagrid's Rock Cakes (with a few modifications)

Much as I love Hagrid, he is known for his big heart, not his expertise in the kitchen.  So when it came time to choose a yummy culinary compliment to enjoy with the HP DVD last night, we decided on a modified version of Hagrid's Rock Cakes.  You can find the recipe for Hagrid's (not horrible) Rock Cakes at the nom!nom!nom! blog, which has several other yummy looking recipes, too.

I  have to say the batter was really yummy! ;-p   I'm not so sure I loved the finished product; it was tasty enough, but wasn't sweet enough to really be a dessert and it had a bit too much baking soda flavor.  Admittedly, I cut the sugar in half which is usually plenty sweet for me but maybe in this case I should have gone the whole shebang.  Also, I completely blanked and forgot to have my sister bring over her supply of vegan chocolate chips, so we did without those and just used orange-flavored cranberries and chopped walnuts.  Not sure I'll repeat the recipe but, like a visit to Hagrid's, it was unusual, generally pleasant, and definitely fun for a change ;-) 

Vegan MoFo

October is Vegan Month of Food (Vegan MoFo) and, while I don't have the dedication to write a vegan food related post every week day as suggested, I did want to post this great link to the Vegan MoFo  site because it's really inspiring! :-)

Also, if you  haven't yet, please check out my friend Lee's gorgeous blog, Plenty Sweet Enough because she is being wonderfully faithful with the Vegan MoFo and her recipes look mouth-watering!

Finally, since I may as well post something personal that is vegan food related, I absolutely fell in love with the Spiced Chai  Soy Latte at the local coffee shop.  I think it's going to be my guilty pleasure for autumn ;-)  I'm really happy because, while I love Chai, a lot of mixes give me headaches but this one did not.  Cruelty free for the animals and for my head, woo hoo! ;-p

Mustardy Portobello Mushroom Pasta

Here's my attempt at the Mustardy Portobello Mushroom Pasta from the awesome No-Meat Athlete blog.  You can find the recipe here.

I think mine looks a bit like some sort of weird collection of sea creatures, but it tasted pretty good.  We didn't have any dry white wine, so I used marsala cooking wine instead (which I love!) and it was tasty.  We also didn't have pine nuts but otherwise I followed the recipe and, while not my favorite dish in the world, it was easy to prepare, fairly quick, and a nice change of pace from our usual tomato-based pasta recipes. 

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

One of my husband's co-workers was kind enough to send home a fat zucchini and it languished on the counter for days while I was too busy and uncreative to make anything with it.  Finally, the other night, I decided I couldn't let it go to waste and, to appease a sweet tooth, I made zucchini bread.  You will have to take my word for it because I baked it right before bed and so popped it in the fridge, then next morning divided it up for Tyler and me to take for work snacks and thus there is no photo.

Here is the recipe 

There is too much oil to be really good-for-you, but it was sure tasty.  I wanted to try a recipe that used applesauce, but we didn't have any. I did cut the sugar and omitted the chocolate chips.  The cocoa powder and cinnamon gave it a lovely flavor!  I enjoyed that "twist" on zucchini bread (which I don't think I've made since I turned vegan) and this is definitely a recipe I'll return to (and maybe modify a bit for the oil content) next time I find myself with an almost-done-for zucchini on my hands :-)

Chana Masala

Here's my attempt at the Chana Masala recipe from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Post Punk Vegan Kitchen (which is a great blog, by the way!)

Her dish looks wayyyy better than mine, richer and more vibrant.  Granted, I was using up some less-than-stellar tomatoes and didn't have enough cilantro for garnish.  I enjoyed this dish, though the overall result was a bit more bland than I anticipated.  Probably because our Indian spices are several years (too) old.  (I really need to invest in more, they're just spendy!) I did get to use the sample of coconut oil my mom had sent over some time ago and it was very tasty in this dish and a pleasure to use.  I even got a dab on my finger and then decided to put it on as some lip balm ;-p

Anyway, do try out the recipe if you enjoy Indian food.  This really was surprisingly uncomplicated to make and yields lots of left-overs.

 


 

Vegan Butterbeer in my own Hufflepuff House ;-)

My sister and I watched the first Harry Potter movie over Labor Day weekend and wanted to celebrate the occasion by trying one of the recipes from the HP books.  Butterbeer comes up so often we couldn't resist, even though it was a bit tricky finding a vegan version. 

Ultimately, we decided to go with this recipe because it called for the least obscure / costly ingredients (I didn't want to spring for some butterscotch extract, for example!) although we looked quite foolish wandering around the beer aisle looking for a "flavorful dark beer"; we don't drink so I'm pretty clueless about that sort of thing.  Anyway, we picked one that looked promising (Fat Tire from Fort Collins, CO if anyone out there is a fan, haha!), got home, and set to boiling out the alcohol.

We halved the recipe, used almond milk instead of soy, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly.  (I don't even want to know how much fat and sugar was in that cupful!)  Anyway, the result was definitely.... interesting!  Warm, autumn-y spices, tangy, with sweet undertones and a funky kick (probably the taste of the beer we aren't used to, alcohol or not!)   On the one hand, I'm not sure I exactly liked it, but yet I found it extremely fascinating!  Ultimately, though, it was just a bit "much" so we left our glasses mostly full, scooped out the rest of the soy ice cream, and poured a bit of the butterbeer over it for flavoring ;-)  I think next time we will try one of the cream soda based recipes; this one just wasn't "butterscotchy" enough for what I always imagined butterbeer to taste like. 

Still, it was quite fun :-)  I think we might try pumpkin pasties for the next film!

Cilantro Ginger Tempeh Toss

Mmmm!  The Cilantro Ginger Tempeh Toss from How it All Vegan reminds me a bit of tasty Thai food with the creamy coconut-ginger sauce over healthy veggies and sticky rice.  The tempeh adds some good protein, too. I absolutely loved this dish!  My husband was so-so about it, but he likes his Thai food spicy and I made this without the hot red peppers (I was chicken!) so it was not very spicy.  I might try adding a bit of cayenne pepper next time to see if I can bump up the spiciness for him while still being able to tolerate it myself.  Best of all, left-overs were absolutely scruptuous the next day so, if hubby never warms up to the dish, I can just make up a batch at the beginning of the week and have it for lunch at work all week long ;-)

Happy Anniversary

August is my "anniversary month"; it was one year ago that I decided to "go vegan" and I made my first cooking challenge post on August 29th, 2010.  It's been a great year! :-)   Thanks to my (non-vegan) husband for being super supportive and cheerfully eating the vegan dishes I've cooked all year, and to my veg*n friends for cheering me on and answering my many questions.

Here's happy Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle enjoying some tea (with almond milk instead of cream, of course)  and reflecting on all the yummy vegan meals she's seen in the kitchen over the year:

Ambrosia Salad from "How it All Vegan"

After my husband's long a difficult work week away from home, I wanted to make him a special treat.  As I thumbed through How it All Vegan, newly brought home from the library, I was surprised and elated to find a recipe for Ambrosia Salad.  My husband loves ambrosia salad but I doubted we would ever make it given my vegan restrictions and his intolerance for dairy.  Well, this recipe turned out beautifully!  Hubby missed the marshmallows (I know there are some vegan ones out there, but not at our stores) but otherwise he thought it tasted good if not quite like the ambrosia salads he was used to.  I told him that's because it didn't have artificial flavorings and Red FC&C 6, etc. on the ingredients list ;-)  I really couldn't tell you what traditional ambrosia salad tastes like, so I thought this was delicious and I couldn't have asked for more.  Alas, we were a little limited in the fruit on hand, but I'd love to make this again after a trip to the farmer's market!  Here is a quick and rather unappetizing pic I snapped before it was all gobbled up:

Mac n' Yeast... er, Cheese

Last weekend, we enjoyed a visit with friends.  One of them had heard rave reviews about the heavenly flavor (and low-cal benefits) of nutritional yeast sprinkled on popcorn.  The review came from a reliable cooking magazine and he was eager to try it.  Alas, he had tried it a few days before our visit and the results did not meet his expectations.  Knowing I'm a vegan, he very kindly passed along the jar of nutritional yeast to me.  We joked with him and his wife about making "Mac n' Yeast" since vegans often use nutritional yeast to make substitute cheese sauce.  Here, then, is my attempt at vegan "Mac n' Yeast"  ;-)

The recipe is Best Vegan Mac n Cheese in the World... Seriously from VegWeb.  Several other reviewers agreed with the boastful title. but I'm not sure I was completely amazed.  Still, the dish did fascinate me; it wasn't exactly tasty, but it wasn't exactly unpleasant.  It has a very unusual taste, a heavy and deep flavor that I'm not sure I really enjoyed and that seems very different from my (fond) memories of cheese. 

I do have to say that I did not use the small amount of silken tofu when I made the recipe as I thought I had some and didn't!  I don't think the tofu would have really altered the flavor, but it might have made it a tad creamier.  To compensate, I added some Tofutti to the finished product and it did enhance both creaminess and flavor.  I also cut back on the garlic powder and salt as other reviewers suggested.  After I snapped the picture and started chowing down, my sister (who was over for dinner) suggested adding peas to help offset the strong taste and that did help.  

This is my second attempt with nutritional yeast (I tried it some time ago and wasn't a fan then but chalked it up to being new to veganism and vegan cooking).  I'm not sure I'm a fan yet, though I will definitely try a few more recipes to use up the jar from our friend and perhaps I'll alight on just the right one.  If any of you have a favorite nutritional yeast recipe (esp. one that tastes most like "real" cheese), please let me know!

"Happy Birthday" with Carrot Cake

My husband requested carrot cake for his birthday.  Happily, I had recently checked out How it All Vegan from the library and they had a delicious looking recipe.  (I had previously planned to try the one from Peaceful Palate but it required too much time and I was in a pinch to get it made after work before a big family dinner on Friday night.)  I'm happy to say it turned out great and met the birthday boy's expectations! ;-)  Alas, I forgot to snap a picture in all the hub-bub, but it looked marvelous, all golden and lovely, and like a proper carrot cake!  In addition to the basic recipe, I added raisins and chopped walnuts as I've seen those featured in other carrot cake recipes and know he likes them.  I was surprised at the differences in the amount of shredded carrot in the recipes; the How it All Vegan recipe called for only half a cup, whereas the Peaceful Palate wanted two cups!  I might have to try a few more recipes out of curiosity down the road but the one we made was a definite success!

As for the frosting, I modified one of the traditional cream cheese frosting recipes substituting Tofutti and Earth Balance for the cream cheese and butter, respectively.  I didn't think it tasted *quite* as good as the "real stuff" and had a slightly odd aftertaste but it was still pretty good. I've seen some other recipes recommended, such as one that uses tofu, so I will definitely try some of those and see if I can find one that fits my tastebuds better since real cream cheese frosting was always one of my favorites!

Vegan Pancakes

In the mood for pancake breakfasts, I tried two different recipes over the weekend.

First, an online recipe that I modified slightly.  They actually had a good consistency and a nice flavor, slightly sweet.  If eating them plain, there was a tiny bit of the baking powder flavor but it was fine with toppings/syrup.  Here is the recipe:

Vegan Pancakes
1 cup flour (I used half wheat, half all-purpose)
1/2 TBSP agave nectar
1 TBSP* baking powder 
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup almond milk 
1 TBSP vegetable oil


Mix until batter is smooth and well-blended, pour into small circles on hot pan and cook until golden brown and done all the way through.

*yes, that is a tablespoon; not teaspoon the original recipe called for two tablespoons. Bleh!

All in all, I was impressed with these.  They tasted pretty much like "regular" (non-vegan) pancakes; they were a bit thick, which was perhaps owing to using the almond milk vs. soy milk.

The second recipe is from the new Good Housekeeping Simple Vegan cookbook.  This is the only recipe I actually tried making, despite having the book out from the library for a month, which tells you how (not!) inspired I was by the cookbook.  I think it might be a good option for people who are a bit afraid of going vegan, or think it's all for "hippie" people and are uncomfortable with a title like Vegan with a Vengeance.  It would probably be a great gift for that reluctant mom who is nervous about her grown child embracing a diet with no meat ("but how will you get any protein, my dear!?") as she could see that, oh, yes, the folks at Good Housekeeping tested these recipes and include some helpful little blurbs on vegan nutrition and perhaps her child really will survive and perhaps she might even try one of the recipes herself.  However, I found it just a bit too glossy (as in superficial, not just the photographs) and lacking the depth in both scope and creativity that many other vegan cookbooks (such as those by Isa Chandra Moskowitz) possess.

As for Good Housekeeping "triple-tested" (as they proudly proclaim) pancakes, I was intrigued with the inclusion of quick-cooking oats in the recipe.  I love the oat bread I've been baking but was disappointed with the pancakes.  They simply weren't flavorful enough on their own (perhaps because there is no sugar in the recipe) and they were a bit dense (only 1 tsp of baking soda here and the oats made it heavier, I think).  Still, they were tasty enough when topped with some raspberry jam ;-)

Back at last... and making a very easy lunch

Since my husband and I returned from vacation last week, I admit I haven't been ultra inspired to try out new recipes in the kitchen.  Even though we did make some of our breakfasts and dinners in our little vacation-rental kitchen to save money, I admit it was super nice not having to cook every single meal especially since we found some great vegan restaurants and grocery stores.  I'm finding my culinary interests rallying a bit now, but thought I'd better post something before a month passes without blogging a single thing.

Enter my favorite new quick lunch!  I'm sure the recipe is nothing very unique or creative but since I "made it up" I'll call it

Kathryn's Hummus Wrap

take 1 flour tortilla or lavash wrap*

spread with hummus**

add lettuce

sliced kalamata olives

diced red onion

roll up and chow down ;-)

* love the California lavash brand, which I've found at Whole Foods

**I admit I have not tried making my own hummus yet (tisk-tisk) but it's on my to-do list.  I like the Trader Joe's Eggplant Hummus for this wrap as it tastes a lot like babbaganoush but doesn't cost as much!

Here's a picture of my super fast and easy lunch, before I rolled it up.

Orange-Glazed Tempeh from "Color Me Vegan"

I'm always excited when a new vegan cookbook shows up at the library.  This time it was Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's Color Me Vegan.  I wasn't sure, at first, how well I liked the set-up of the book. It's basically like eight mini-cookbooks in one because each chapter features a color (red, orange, yellow, green, blue/purple, white/tan, black/brown and rainbow) and each chapter features starters, sides, soups, main dishes, desserts, and beverages made of foods with that color.  So, if I was in the mood for a dessert, I'd have to look through each separate color section vs. just one dessert section as in most cookbooks.  However, once I got the hang of it, it wasn't too annoying and I do like the idea of breaking the foods down into colors because it really made me see what colors I tend to eat and which ones I rarely eat.

I had some tempeh languishing in the fridge, so decided to make the Orange-Glazed Tempeh recipe.  The glaze is really yummy, with the orange juice and maple syrup giving it a nice tangy-sweetness and the soy sauce and rice vinegar giving it a bit of Asian flare.  Though I was initially suspicious of serving it over cooked kale, as the recipe suggested, I tried it and it was quite tasty!  I also have to give a shout-out to the Lightlife brand of tempeh as it includes not just the soybeans but also some rice so it's not quite as strong in flavor and also doesn't pack quite as much soy punch in one serving (I try not to eat too much soy).

Here's the result.  Yum! :-)  Happy to share it for the Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge over at my friend Lee's Vegaloca blog.

Dark and Fabulous (Vegan) Chocolate Pudding

My favorite treat these days is "Dark and Fabulous Chocolate Pudding"  It's a perfect sweet treat now that summer is here and I'm no longer craving baked goods (or interested in heating up the oven!)

My recipe is modified from the one found here at VeganWeb which looked WAY too sweet for my taste but still provided the foundation for what is, I think, the best homemade pudding I've ever created, vegan or otherwise.

Here is my recipe:
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups almond milk
1/4 cup agave 
1 TBSP vanilla extract


Mix dry ingredients, add milk and stir until smoth.
Cook over medium heat until boiling and thick, stirring continuously so it doesn't burn.
Cool to room temp, stirring occasionally while still hot.


Mmm, mmm!  My first attempt had a few lumps but I got better my second batch.  Stirring constantly and getting out the lumps is the most "difficult" part of this recipe (really, it's such an easy recipe!); well, okay, maybe the hardest part is waiting for it to cool since ;-)  

I'm very happy to submit this to the Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge at the fabulous Vegaloca blog!

Black Bean Tempeh Stir Fry

Last week, I discovered the charming No Meat Athlete blog and quickly set to perusing the recipes.  Exhausted from very busy days at work, I decided not to tackle anything too elaborate; the Black Bean Tempeh Stir Fry looked easy enough yet also something different from our usual dishes so I gave it a try.

Yum!  My husband and I both loved this dish.  (And it turned out to be rather photogenic, too--yay!)  I'm a huge fan of kale but haven't incorporated it into any dishes (I always eat it as a by-itself side) and I thought it went really well in this dish.  I found a tasty brand of tempeh that includes wild rice with the soybeans and that made a much more delicate flavor that soaked in the flavors of the black bean sauce nicely.  I did not attempt to make my own black bean sauce (though I might try it in the future since I really try not to buy store-bought anymore) and used the Lee Kum Kee brand which was quite tasty.  I did not use the red bell pepper, and instead of sugar snap peas I used regular sweet peas from the freezer and it still tasted delicious.  Also, I used regular vegetable oil since we didn't have peanut oil.  I'm sure using all the ingredients would make the dish even better but we loved our modified version.

This will definitely be one of my go-to recipes in the future and I'm delighted to include it for this week's edition of the Vegaloca Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge.

You can find the recipe here (toward the bottom of the post).

Appetite for Reduction's Roasted Vegetable Pasta

Mmmm!  For Mother's Day, my mom wanted a pasta dish with veggies so I decided to continue my obsession with Appetite for Reduction and try the Pasta with Roasted Vegetables.  I hadn't done a roast veggie dish before but this one turned out quite tasty. I especially loved the cherry tomatoes bursting open and the crispy-tender tips of the asparagus! ;-)  The herbs are pretty basic and I would probably play around with them next time, but the balsamic vinegar added at the end (after pasta and veggies are combined) is a really nice touch and ties the flavors together.  One variation: my mom is gluten-intolerant so we used some Lundberg brand penne rice pasta (I've found it's one of the better rice pastas) instead of the fusilli as the recipe suggests.  It provided a nice anchor for a happy Mother's Day dinner. 

 

(I snapped this super fast as the guests were arriving!)  Definitely a dish I'd recommend and one I'm happy to include for the Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge over at my friend Lee's blog, Vegaloca.

A BIG "Appetite" -- Pea Soup, OMG Onion Rings, Herb-Baked Cauliflower

I felt super-inspired by the new Appetite for Reduction cookbook and decided to try three dishes in one evening.  Not that they all really "go" together, but I had fun and they ended up tasting great.  All are worthy to share for this week's Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge over at the fabulous Vegaloca blog.

For the main dish, I made the Pea Soup.  It's got a wonderful flavor with paprika (I didn't have any smoked paprika so used regular) and ended up much more red than the usual green color.  I really enjoyed it with the carrots (who needs ham!?) and my husband also liked it.  Will definitely make again.  Super easy and left-overs are delish'!

Next, the Herb-Baked Cauliflower and Breadcrumbs.  These are very tasty!  I loved the herb combination but wished that the herb-breadcrumb mixture stuck better.

Finally, just for me, the OMG Onion Rings.  And, OMG, they were so tasty I ate them all myself (good thing the recipe is from a low-fat cookbook; and good thing my husband doesn't like onion rings!!!)  Again, I wanted the breading to stick better.  I'm not sure if it was the type of breadcrumbs I used (the only kind I could find without offensive ingredients were panko-style; they still tasted great but perhaps another kind would do better with this recipe)?  In any case, yummy and I made another batch later in the week. 

With three winning dishes, I was loathe to return "Appetite for Reduction" to the library.  So, I splurged and bought my own copy (very reasonably priced at 41% off at Amazon right now.)  A very valuable addition to my cookbook shelf :-)

"Appetite for Reduction": Jerk Asparagus

I'm having a great time with Isa Chandra Moskowtiz's new Appetite for Reduction cookbook.  Though I wasn't looking for a specifically low-fat cookbook, I'm always trying to be healthy and I enjoy Moskowitz's other book, Veganomicon so I thought I'd give this a go.  It's full of delicious recipes, including a good variety of various ethnic dishes, and most take less than half an hour to prepare and many consist of ingredients most of us already have in our kitchens or that are easily available at the local grocery store (vs. specialty stores).  

The very first recipe I tried was the Jerk Asparagus.  I'm not sure this was the most immediately appealing, but I had some asparagus languishing around the fridge on the night I brought this back from the library and I planned to cook it up anyway so I thought I'd try this twist.  I really wouldn't have thought of ingredients like cinnamon to add to asparagus but my husband and I both enjoyed the "jerk" flavorings and it's something I would make again if I'm in the mood for something different.  (My old favorite asparagus recipe has Parmesan cheese so I can't have it anymore, anyway!  The picture didn't turn out as badly as most of my green vegetable photography attempts, so I thought this would be a perfect entry for this week's Vegaloca Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge.

Newest Hedgehog in the Kitchen

Thanks to my sister Annie for this cute new addition to my Hedgehog Kitchen family!  :-)

Babka (Polish Easter Bread)

Happy Easter!  I was so happy to find a vegan Easter treat and even more delighted when it turned out beautifully.  Even my dad (usually very picky and wary of anything "unusual" on his plate) thought the Babka (Easter Bread recipe of Polish origin) was tasty.  I actually think "cake" is a more suitable term than "bread" because it is very sweet and cake-like in consistency.  I even cut the sugar in the cake by about half and it was still quite sweet (especially with the frosting).  Definitely delicious for a holiday treat, but if I were to make it on a more frequent basis I would cut the sugar even more.  I did not include the raisins or lemon rind in the recipe but I loved the flavor with the almond extract (I used almond milk rather than soy milk, which also probably helped) and the lemony flavor in the icing.  For the egg substitute, I used the oil-water-baking powder mix (if you click to the "Egg Replacer" link on the  recipe, it takes you to a variety of options).  In any case, this is certainly a recipe worthy of inclusion in the Vegaloca Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge.

Heart-Healthiest Chocolate Chip Cookies in the World

Here's one chocolate chip recipe that sure toots its own horn.  The heart-healthiest in the world!?  Really?  Well, I am no global chocolate chip cookie expert (though I'd kind of love the job of going around the world sampling different recipes!) but these seem pretty darn healthy. With only three tablespoons of canola oil and 1/2 cup brown sugar (the recipe calls for more but we halved the recipe and it was plenty sweet), plus lots of "good fat" from the walnuts and copious amounts of oats (oat flour and rolled oats), I would have to agree.  It's also really delicious!  And gluten-free!  Hooray, hooray!  These were a big hit with my gluten-intolerant mom when my sister and I made them as a treat for her.  Our picture doesn't quite capture the oooey-gooey goodness like the one in the book (Vegetarian Times: Everything Vegan) but they were definitely delicious.  I'd never made walnut butter before, but it was very easy with my mom's fancy kitchen gadgets (my own little cheap-o food processor didn't do quite as well) and this is one recipe I'd definitely make again.  Thanks to my co-chef Annie for her help and taking the photo!  Here's the recipe so give it a try.

Mixed Vegetable Masala

I'm so happy my friend Lee is back and happily cooking and posting away at her fabulous blog Vegaloca.  I always enjoy the inspiration of her Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge to get in the kitchen and try something new.

This week, I made the Mixed Vegetable Masala from Vegetarian Times' Everything Vegan. My husband and I really enjoyed it!  Though the dish tastes delightfully "exotic" the vegetables are nothing particularly expensive or difficult to obtain (diced tomatoes, onion, yellow bell pepper, boiling potatoes, carrots, cauliflower) and it was nice to finally put my jar of garam masala to use.  I like this recipe because it has a bit of kick (from the cayenne pepper and chili powder) but also sweetness thanks to the garam masala and coconut milk.  This only uses 1/2 cup of light coconut milk so it's not as fattening as many such dishes.  I enjoyed the first batch so much that I made a second one later in the week to use up the rest of our can of coconut milk.  Mmm, mmm!  Makes great left-overs, too.

 

Delicious and Georgeous Vegan Pancakes!

My husband surprised me by making pancakes for breakfast.  What a sweetie!  He used the recipe from Veganomicon but we only use almond milk (no soy milk) and the batter seemed way too liquid-y so he added an extra 1/2 C of flour.  We thought it turned out great and had a very pleasant consistency; perhaps a bit more chewy than "regular" pancakes but still very good and extremely tasty. He also added some pumpkin pie spice mix with added cinnamon and nutmeg. Mmm, lucky  me!

Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts and Dried Cranberries

I've been enjoying new recipes courtesy of the new Vegetarian Times cookbook Everything Vegan.  I'll post more recipes in the coming weeks but I've been meaning to take a break from the splurge-tastic baked goods of recent posts and thought there was no better way than with today's dish, featuring that ultimate good-for-you (and ultra-polarizing) veggie: the Brussels sprout!  

Now, if I'm being honest, this is still a slightly sweet dish as it has cranberries and agave nectar.  But, pitting 1 TBSP of agave nectar to 1.5 LBS of superhero Brussels sprouts, I think the sprouts and their green-veggie punch make nutrition come out the winner.   (Also, I think I will cut that down to 1/2 TBSP next time; I just didn't want to mess with the recipe the first time out.)

I've never prepared Brussels sprouts before.  The only other time I can remember having them was at a local grocery chain that made some yummy (non-vegan *sigh*) Brussels sprouts dish. I don't think my parents like this veggie as my mom  never fed them to us at home.  So, I was a little nervous how this would turn out.  I must say I was very impressed with the flavor of this dish.  Also, it's very pretty and surprisingly easy to make (and I made it per the recipe but omitted the walnut oil at the end as we don't have any).  Alas, it wasn't enough to tempt my husband, who is an avowed Hater of the Sprouts, but that just means I have some tasty left-overs for work tomorrow.   

ETA:  Here's the link to the recipe online: Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts and Dried Cranberries from Vegetarian Times

Flying Apron's Dark Chocolate Cake

Even though I'm using this for  my entry in this week's Vegaloca Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge, I really made it as a surprise treat for my gluten-intolerant mom.  She loves chocolate and really misses good cakes and desserts since most of the gluten-free she's found packaged isn't that good and the local gluten-free bakery has gone down in quality and up in price!  So, I really, really had my fingers crossed hoping this Dark Chocolate Cake from Flying Apron's Gluten-Free Vegan Baking would turn out well for her.

And, it did!!!

I really don't have to much say because I didn't make any changes to the recipe and it turned out beautifully!  If you could have seen the look in my mom's eyes when she tasted it...!  Worth a thousand words ;-)   She said it's the best gluten-free cake she's ever had (and this is covering about five years!) so I think that is sufficient praise.  Meanwhile, my sister also loved it and my husband thinks it's better than the regular (flour) chocolate cake I've made.  I also give it a big thumbs up.  And, it's very easy to make!  Hooray, hooray--happy, happy day!

Flying Apron's Gluten-Free Maple Berry "Muffins"

I'm very excited the library has a copy of Flying Apron's Gluten-Free and Vegan Baking by Seattle bakery owner Jennifer Katzinger.  (Flying Apron is the name of the bakery.)   I try to vary my diet and not do wheat every day.  Also, my mom can't do gluten and I like to make her something yummy when I go visit sometimes but have had a challenge finding something to fit her gluten-free needs and my no-dairy, no-eggs now I'm going the vegan route. 

My first attempt/experiment with the book was just for me and my hubby, though, to see how it turns out.  While the book has gorgeous recipes and the success of the bakery speaks volumes for the quality of the food, I was still a little nervous baking with rice flour and garbanzo bean flour!  My only recommendation is that, if you are a spatula-licker, don't get too excited about this stuff.  It has a very funky aftertaste when it's uncooked. 

However, the final product is actually quite tasty and worthy for this week's entry in the Vegaloca Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge. I made the recipe precisely except that I only used half the maple syrup (there was no way I was going to use one full cup of maple syrup!!!  First, expensive.  Second, wayyyy too much sugar!   I figured if the recipe isn't tasty with half, I just won't make it again; turns out, it's fine with half).  

But, yes, that is a cake you see in the picture and not muffins.  I realized that we didn't get any muffin tins in our wedding gift bake set so I guess that I was thinking of my mom's set when I envisioned the muffins (shows you how much I make muffins, says Mrs. Married-Almost-Three-Years!) so I just made it as a cake and it turned out fine since it's pretty much the same ingredients as the maple cake in the book. 

I'm looking forward to trying another recipe this weekend when I go visit my parents!

Irish Soda Bread

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  

For this week's Vegaloca Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge, I'm submitting Irish Soda Bread!  I used the recipe from online blog Joy(ously Alive) Goes Vegan and really enjoyed it.  For me, it turned out better than the one in Vegan Planet, but perhaps only because I'm more proficient at it now.  (Be sure to read the "comments" below her recipe as other folks posted about their variations on the recipe.)

I used this exact recipe (with almond milk) minus the raisins (not a big fan) and caraway seeds (didn't have any).  The result was delicious if still a teensy bit underdone inside, even after baking it a little extra.  Again, this is probably my fault and not that of the recipe as I can see just by comparing the pictures that Joy's is much more "done" on top than mine was.  

In any case, it was still delicious and is a delightful bread to whip up when you're in a hurry and don't have time to wait around for yeast to rise. I'll definitely be making it again--maybe this Thursday for St. Patrick's Day! :-)

ETA:  March 17th  --  Made the recipe again, this time with raisins since that seems the traditional Irish way and I didn't want any leprechauns coming into my kitchen making mischief if I didn't honor the recipe ;-p  Okay, seriously, though the recipe turned out much better this time.  I made it with agave instead of sugar and it was very tasty and this time baked up nice and golden on top. 

Black Beans and Rice

For dinner tonight we made a black beans and rice recipe, loosely adapted from one we found on allrecipes.com.

We didn't have white rice and just used some of the brown rice we'd cooked ahead of time in the rice cooker (just used water to cook it with.)  We added the 2 cups of cooked rice to the sauteed onions and garlic.

My husband loves to improvise with spices, so in addition to the cumin and cayenne pepper he added a dash of black pepper and 1/2 tsp. thyme and a bit of salt.

We added to that 15 oz can of black beans.  Also, one 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes which some people suggested over on allrecipes.  (This is our "we didn't get to the grocery store today so are using up the dusty cans in the cupboard dish," haha!)

Simmered all that together for 15 minutes.  My  husband kept saying, "This is just a stripped-down version of jambalaya" (one of his favorite dishes, so I was expecting him to be disappointed in this one.)

The results...

 Not bad.  Not as good as his jambalaya, but still pretty tasty for whipping it together at the last minute.  We both felt like it needed something "more" with the flavors in terms of spices but it was still hearty and warm and spicy-sweet.  Thus, a worthy entry for this week's Vegan Cooking Challenge at Vegaloca.

Mjeddrah (Middle Eastern Lentils and Rice)

For this week's entry in Vegaloca's Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge, I continued exploring my fabulous Peaceful Palate cookbook.  This time, I went with the Mjeddrah (pronounced "mu-jed-rah"), a Middle Eastern lentil and rice dish.  The foundation is an oh-so-delicious mix of lentils, rice and onions cooked  until creamy.  It's supposed to be topped with a salad consisting of lettuce, tomatos, cucumber, avocado and green onions but, since I realized I did not have lettuce, I improvised with the remaining veggies:

All in all, I really enjoyed this dish and plan to make it again.  I had lots of left-over lentil-and-rice mix so I did try the dish later on with some newly purchased lettuce and it was very nice.  The dressing is an olive oil-and-lemon "vinaigrette" with paprika and dry mustard as the spices; I'm not a huge paprika fan so perhaps that prevented me from being wild about the dressing but it was still tasty.  I do think you need to make a lot more than what the recipe says, as 2 TBSP olive oil and 2 TBSP lemon juice really isn't much to go with the big pot of lentils-and-rice.  

Also, when I'd gone through all my fresh veg I still had some of the lentil-and-rice mix left and took it to work for lunch.  It was very tasty all on its own!  All in all, an easy, delicious and hearty meal with lots of room for versatility.