Snape's Stuffed Toadstools

"Even your slimy gits will love this yummy treat!",  winkingly promises the recipe for Snape's Stuffed Toadstools   Well, we had no slimy gits about to try this out on (the Malfoys of the world are not invited to our Harry Potter Movie Marathon, thank you very much!), but the Hufflepuff sisters certainly enjoyed this tasty treat.

We modified it, of course, using vegan breakfast sausage, vegan Parmesan cheese, with a little olive oil in the pan.  The stuffing mix was really, really good!  We were so happy with it.  Yum!  The mushrooms themselves could have been a bit better--I don't really like EarthBalance with baked mushrooms (sometimes there really is no substitute for butter; I remember some wonderful baked mushrooms we used to make, with delicious melted butter filling the caps-- it was my grandpa's favorite!) but I think next time we would just use a bit more olive oil and maybe a bit of lemon to be sure they are fully coated before we put in the stuffing.

All in all, though, a winner!  Who knew Snape was such a good cook?  Then again, he is used to following (and improving upon) recipes from making all those potions, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised ;->

 

Indian Spiced Peas with Tofu

OMG!!!  Tyler made me an awesome themed dinner tonight.  What a happy treat to come home and enjoy a house smelling of Indian spices.  

He said the main dish was really a thrown-together recipe, as our cupboards are pretty bare. He did one of those "I have X, Y and Z ingredients on hand" recipe searches online and came up with this winner from the Whole Foods website, Indian Spiced Peas with Tofu.

It's served here with the masala dosa from Trader Joe's (soo yummy for an occasional treat!)

Variations Tyler made to the recipe, thanks to our limited stock on hand:
half the onion 
half the peas
tomato sauce instead of the "diced tomatoes with sauce" and veggie broth (with a few grape tomatoes cut up and tossed in)


I really loved this so much that I would probably make it the "Tyler way" next time vs. the regular recipe.  If you like Indian food, do give it a try. He said it was surprisingly
quick and easy to make, too :-)  


Mmm, I'm looking forward to the left-overs for lunch tomorrow!

Disney World Deliciousness

I haven't posted for awhile since I was off enjoying Disney World last week.  I really can't say enough good things about the strides Disney is making to provide vegan guests with good food.  While custom-made vegan food might be expected at the more expensive restaurants, we were treated with a warm welcome and eager-to-please attitude even at the counter-service restaurants.  If vegan fare isn't already on the menu, the chefs will come out to speak with us about our dietary needs (including allergy needs, in my mom's case, gluten-free) and prepare something special for us.  It was wonderful!

As ever, my favorite meal was at Boma Restaurant at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.  We had perhaps the sweetest chef in the universe, Chef Brian, who not only walked us through the buffet and tirelessly pointed out what we could enjoy vs. had to stay away from, but he also prepared us special desserts and even made me a few vegan versions of some of the side dishes from the buffet, with quite possibly the most delicious broccoli I have ever tasted: 

I loved the couscous so much, I rather shamelessly asked if there was any more to be had as it was so delicious I could eat it as my dessert.  I think Chef Brian was totally tickled by that and pleased to bring me more.  It wish I could figure out how to recreate it.  It was a sweet couscous with pistachios and almond slivers, and golden raisins.  

I told Chef Brian I would be posting photos of my wonderful meal and sharing them with my vegan friends online.  Thank you, Chef Brian! ;-)

One thing I do wish Disney will incorporate in the future is more vegan desserts.  Of course, it was probably a good thing for my waistline that I had to avoid pretty much any dessert fare in the parks, but part of vacation is splurging a little.  Thank goodness the famous Babycakes bakery from NYC recently opened in Downtown Disney.  Oh  my gosh, I was sooo happy to look at a bakery display and know I could choose anything I wanted!!! :-D  Babycakes is vegan and gluten-free, so my mom was also thrilled.  If you ever find yourself near a Babycakes, GO and enjoy!!! ;->