VeganMoFo: Veggie Lasagna and German Chocolate Cake

I don't make lasagnas often. I usually save them for either a special occasion, holiday or when I'm really craving one. I was really craving one today so I made this lovely thing this morning. It's got cashew ricotta, broccoli, spinach and mushrooms. I also sprinkled almond/miso/nutritional yeast mixture on top. It was perfect.


I had two pieces already!


Today is husband's birthday and he requested german chocolate cake. I've used this recipe before. Comes out moist and delicious every time. I can eat the coconut/pecan topping on it's own it's so good.


Recipe here.

VeganMoFo: Survey! Survey!

Yanked this from Mo's blog.


What is one food you thought you’d miss when you went vegan, but don’t?
Cheese. I used to love it but now I can live without it. There are some good vegan substitutes now. When I feel the need, I get some Daiya or Follow Your Heart vegan cheese for pizzas and lasagnas, etc.

What is a food or dish you wouldn’t touch as a child, but enjoy now?
Eggplant big time. I used to not like it at all. But when I went veggie, I found so many ways to make it interesting. My undying love for middle eastern food has rewarded me with some beautiful eggplant dishes.

What vegan dish or food you feel like you “should” like, but don’t?
Seitan. I've made it a few times and I liked it ok. There are times I hated it. I just can't get over the sometimes rubbery-ness of it. I don't mind eating it at restaurants if they can make it well. Otherwise I don't bother.

What dish are you “famous” for making or bringing to gatherings?
My spinach artichoke dip.

Do you have any self-imposed food rules (like no food touching on the plate or no nuts in sweets)?
No not really.

What’s one food or dish you tend to eat too much of when you have it in your home?
Sweets! I can sit there and think about a cake and then go in the kitchen have it ready in 30 minutes flat whenever I feel like and that is a dangerous thing.

What ingredient or food do you prefer to make yourself despite it being widely available prepackaged?
Cookies and Cakes. I know there are vegan desserts out there but I'd rather make them myself. Also homemade salsa and refried beans are the best.

What ingredient or food is worth spending the extra money to get “the good stuff”?
Vegenaise which is the best vegan mayo out there. It's not that expensive though.

Are you much of a snacker? What are your favorite snacks?
Yeah I like snacks. I splurge on plain potato chips every now and then.

What are your favorite vegan pizza toppings?
Mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, garlic, olives, onions.

What is your favorite vegetable? Fruit?
Potato. Cantaloupe.

What is the best salad dressing?
I like to whip up a quick one of olive oil, dijon mustard, garlic, red wine vinegar/or balsamic, salt and pepper.

What is your favorite thing to put on toasted bread?
Heinz beans! Earth Balance margarine. Fruit jam especially fig or blueberry.

What kind of soup do you most often turn to on a chilly day or when you aren’t feeling your best?
Lately it has been Manestra, a greek orzo and tomato soup. It's so good and easy to make.

What is your favorite cupcake flavor? Frosting flavor?
chocolate with vanilla frosting.

What is your favorite kind of cookie?
Molasses.

What is your most-loved “weeknight meal”?
Some kind of macaroni pasta with roasted vegetables or potatoes on the side.

What is one dish or food you enjoy, but can’t get anyone else in your household to eat?
LENTILS!

How long, in total, do you spend in the kitchen on an average day?
An hour maybe.

VeganMoFo: Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you all are having a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones. Had a wonderful dinner with my husband, parents and brother today. I spent most of the day cooking up some great food. I wish I had taken more pictures but I was so busy!


This is a shot of Susan V's vegan green bean casserole. I absolutely love this. I don't miss the ones I had as a girl, you know the one with canned green beans and cream of mushroom soup! This one uses fresh green beans and a made from scratch creamy mushroom base, without the dairy!


Whoa baby that's a loaded plate of food! Let's start on the left and go clockwise: Tofurky roast slices covered in "giblet" gravy, cranberry and mandarin sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes and orange herb gravy, green bean casserole, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts, dijon glazed carrots. It was all DELICIOUS. I'm happy that as a vegan, I'm not missing any comfort foods that I remember from Thanksgivings past. I've pretty much covered all the bases.


Can't have Thanksgiving dinner without dessert! This is Bryanna's pumpkin pie with a delectable maple sweetened cashew cream. FIVE STARS. I loved this spicy custardy pie. Looking forward to leftovers!

VeganMoFo: Puff Pastry Calzones and Coconut Cake

This weekend was great. Got to see a good friend from long ago yesterday, went out to a movie with husband today (we saw an excellent documentary called Marwencol) AND I got to make some delicious food.


These calzones were a cinch. I had puff pastry in my freezer that needed to be used as well as 1/2 a tube of Gimme Lean vegan sausage. I cooked it up with onions, garlic, mushrooms, spinach and olives and seasoned with fennel, sage, italian herbs, crushed red pepper and filled puff pastry with the mixture along with Daiya vegan cheese. So freaking good!


Vegans can get excited about vegan cheese again, thanks to Daiya. Melty and gooey. It worked so well in these calzones.


Yesterday I thought to myself "I want coconut cake". I went into the kitchen and 30 minutes later, I had a beautiful snow white frosted cake with delicious coconut flavor! I need to make this more often and maybe do it in layers next time with some kind of lemon filling. Cake recipe here.

VeganMoFo: Double Carb Dinner.

Hello! It's Friday! I'm so happy it's the weekend. We usually go out on Friday nights but tonight we decided to stay in and make dinner. I made the Miso Macaroni from The Veggie Lovers Cookbook. It has this unusual sauce made from miso, broccoli, veggie broth, onions and other stuff. It's very simple and tasty. I also made roasted potatoes wedges for some extra carbs yay!

VeganMoFo: Lazy Weeknight Dinners.

My husband got me a pizza for dinner tonight. It was great because I really didn't feel like cooking tonight. Mushroom, onions, no cheese please. I added some homemade pesto that I had hanging out in my freezer. Was yummy.


This was last night's lazy dinner. Leftover lentil-chickpea fritters, lebanese rice pilaf and sauteed kale with balsamic dressing.

VeganMoFo: Tofutti Cheese Quesadilla, Cilantro Basil Pesto Spaghetti

A quick quesadilla I made this morning with Tofutti American style vegan cheese. If I had a superior vegan cheese like Daiya or Follow Your Heart, I would have used those because they melt much better. But this did just fine for my breakfast.


1 bunch of cilantro + a handful of fresh basil + slivered almonds + garlic + olive oil + lemon juice makes a great pesto. I tossed it with thin spaghetti and added a smattering of olives. Very quick, easy and tasty weeknight pasta dinner.

VeganMoFo: Orzo and Veggie Soup

I'm sorry guys, I've been so lazy! I was hoping that when MoFo came around, I'd be making these elaborate menus, cooking them early in the mornings before work and taking lovely shots of them in the natural light of day. It seems that weekends are my only time to get into it. I've been so wiped out every day from work that all I want to do is come home, throw a bunch of stuff in a pot and call it dinner. That's pretty much what I did tonight. Luckily this soup was absolutely delicious. I'll share the recipe with you. It's quick and easy, perfect for a weeknight meal.

Orzo and Veggie Soup

3 TB olive oil
1 tsp. oregano
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 rib celery, sliced
1 14oz. can diced tomatoes or whole (just chop them up first)
1 TB tomato paste
4 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 cup mixed frozen vegetables (I used a mix of carrots, green bean, lima beans, corn and peas)
1/2 cup orzo

Heat olive oil in a soup pot over medium high. Saute garlic, onion, celery and oregano until soft. Add diced tomatoes (with juice), tomato paste, water, salt and pepper, sugar and frozen vegetables. Bring to a boil, add orzo then reduce heat to medium. Simmer until pasta is tender about 10 minutes..

Welcome to VeganMoFo!

Hiya! Today is the first day of VeganMoFo! What is VeganMoFo? It's short for Vegan Month Of Food and this whole month a bunch of food bloggers including myself will be posting like crazy all the beauteous deliciousness of vegan cuisine. There are something like 500-ish bloggers participating in this which is just fantastic. This year will be my 3rd year of joining in the celebration. Hope you enjoy! Check out the blogroll for a complete list of MoFo-ers!


Today is also World Vegan Day and to celebrate I made red chile burritos! The red chile sauce is made from dried ancho and new mexico peppers that were rehydrated in water, then pureed and simmered with cumin, oregano and salt to make this lusty brick-red sauce.


These were the fillings for the burritos: tex mex couscous and refried beans. Recipe for couscous below.

Tex Mex Couscous

3 roma tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 jalapeno
1 TB olive oil
2 TB lime juice
salt to taste

1 cup water
1 cup couscous
1 cup chopped spinach, optional

Blend tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, jalapeno, olive oil, lime juice and salt until fairly smooth, it's ok to have a few chunks. Set aside. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan, add couscous, stir and cover for 10 minutes. Fluff with fork and add blended sauce and toss. You may add chopped spinach at this point.

VeganMoFo: Happy Halloween!

Yes, I know Halloween is tomorrow but this is probably going to be my last food post for VeganMoFo. I'm impressed with myself. I made 25 posts this month which is 5 shy of last year's but not bad at all. Considering I've been busy with my new job as well as running my jewelry business part time at home and trying to find time in the mornings to make my meals, it all went swimmingly. I had a great time reading everyone's blogs this MoFo. It is always inspiring. Let's keep this celebration of vegan food going! I'll leave you with a Hallow's Eve treat: mini donut cakes dunked in a powdered sugar glaze and adorned with festive sprinkles. What's better than a sugary sweet treat on Halloween? Recipe to be found here.

VeganMoFo: Homestyle Lentil Pie

It's getting nice and fall-like around here. Last night I wore warm socks and a sweatshirt to bed. Time for comfort fall food! I had this pie in mind because I just stocked my pantry with HP Sauce which is the secret ingredient in this dish. I adapted this recipe and change a few things. I used 1/2 cup green lentils to 2 cups water, a can of drained diced tomatoes and extra HP Sauce. I also had to cook the lentils a lot longer, more like 20-25 minutes or so and I had to add a little water here and there when it got too dry. Once the lentils were soft and slightly mushy which is how I like it, that's when I decided it was ready to pour into a casserole and topped with mashed potato.

NOTE: IF you can't find HP Sauce, Pickapeppa sauce is a good stand in and is available at major grocery chains like Vons.


Here's the filling before being covered with potato.


Here it is out of the oven.


I had a bit for lunch. Delicious!

VeganMoFo: Healthy Nourishing Soup!

This delicious yellow split pea, butternut squash and carrot soup was adapted from the 'Moroccan Pumpkin Soup' recipe from Olive Trees and Honey. It's beautifully spiced with cinnamon, cumin, allspice and turmeric. My husband has decided to "eat healthy" all week so no more delivery pizzas, fast food burgers, frozen pizzas and mac n cheese from a box (yuck!) and more healthy options like this soup. This will be dinner tonight with a nice salad and garlic bread.

VeganMoFo: Za'atar Pizza

I've never had an authentic Lebanese pizza but this was definitely inspired by photos and recipes I saw online. I had a Trader Joe's pizza crust in the freezer that I used as a stand in for homemade pizza dough. I am not skilled in anything that has to do with yeast so I've been relying on TJ's for my pizza dough for quite some time. I mixed some za'atar with olive oil and spread it on the dough, added baby spinach, mushrooms, chopped tomato and onions. After baking for about 10-15 minutes, it puffed up and got all brown and golden and beautiful. I topped it with more fresh tomato and onions. So so perfect!


A slice served with rocket salad that was simply dressed with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Rocket (aka arugula) goes so well with pizza I've learned.


And one must not forget tea in bed on the weekend! My friend brought back tea from Malaysia. It's Cameronian Gold Blend and it's sooooo good. Smooth and beautifully golden colored. I absolutely love it. I enjoyed this with more pizza and apple turnovers that my dad got for me from Ralph's (they are vegan but not healthy!).

VeganMoFo: Roast 'Em!

Roasted butternut squash, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, carrots, onions, red and yellow peppers, mushrooms, zucchini.

I bought a ton of produce earlier this week that I needed to use. I always get paranoid that they'll go bad in my fridge so I try to find ways to use them up as quick as possible. This is a great way to use a variety of vegetables in one dish. I've made this recipe before and it was delicious. The rosemary and thyme makes the house smell like Thanksgiving!

VeganMoFo: Hominy and Bean Burger Wrap

Yes. Another revamp recipe where I take leftovers and turn them into a new dish. I had soo much leftover posole stew that turned really thick overnight in the fridge. I used half of it, drained off the liquid and mashed it with chickpeas that I had in the fridge and added chopped onions, cilantro, masa flour, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. I shaped them into patties, sprinkled a little masa flour over them and baked them in the oven for about a half hour, flipping halfway. I had the idea to make wraps because I had whole wheat flour tortillas and ripe avocados. They were so good! I spiked some vegan mayo with lime juice and hot sauce to complete the wrap, along with fresh lettuce and tomato.

VeganMoFo: Posole Stew with Squash, Collards and Pinto Beans

I just got this really interesting book called 'The Power of Ancient Foods' and along with recipes, it tours the regions of the world and discusses the various foods of ancient civilizations and how the nutrients and healing properties in these foods kept ancient peoples free from diseases and conditions which affect us today. It's not new that beans, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables are the keys to a healthy life but unfortunately the majority of the world today relies on cheap convenience foods and chemical laden "frankenstein" foods that don't offer any nutritional benefits.

So anyway, I just got through reading about the ancient foods of South America, Central America, Mexico and Southwestern United States. Some of the foods discussed: peppers, chiles, corn, beans, quinoa, amaranth, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, avocados, cocoa, pumpkins and squashes. What a delicious variety of foods! I was inspired by one of the recipes for "Posole and Winter Squash Stew with Red Chile". What luck that I happened to have a can of hominy in my pantry. I had some beautiful zucchini so I decided to use those instead of the butternut squash. I also added peppers, jalapenos, pinto beans and collard greens. The stew is flavored with onions, cumin, oregano, garlic and New Mexico chili powder. I'll be having this for dinner tonight after work with a side of hot whole wheat flour tortillas. I tasted a bit and it's fantastic, a bit spicy and full of powerful foods!

Recipe

2 TB olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 a red bell pepper, chopped
1 TB jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 large zucchini, diced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1 TB New Mexico chili powder
1 28oz. can hominy, drained and rinsed (You can cut this in half if you want!)
1 8oz. can tomato sauce
pinch of sugar
3 cups water
1 14oz. can pinto beans
2 leaves of collard greens, chopped
chopped cilantro
juice of 1/2 a lime

Saute oil, onion, garlic, red bell pepper, jalapeno and zucchini in a soup pot over medium heat until it starts to brown. Lower heat and add the cumin, oregano, chili powder and some salt and pepper. Stir around a bit and then add the tomato sauce, hominy, collards, sugar, beans and 3 cups of water. Simmer until veggies are tender about 20 minutes. Add more water if stew is too thick. Taste for salt. Garnish with cilantro and lime juice.

VeganMoFo: Stuffed Acorn Squash with Quinoa and Cranberries

This is quite fall festive is it not? I originally intended to make these last night but our power went out due to the rain so we ran out and grabbed burritos instead. I have time before work so I decided to make these this morning and just reheat for dinner. To make the stuffing, I used leftover cooked quinoa and sauteed celery, onions, garlic, fresh chopped rosemary, thyme and dried cranberries. They were baked in the oven for about an hour at 350F. I haven't tried them yet but do they smell delicious!



Edited to add:
Dinner was great! Husband liked the stuffed squash to my surprise. I served them with salad and garlic toasts.

VeganMoFo: Mondays Ugh. And Breakfast in Bed.

Had such a nice weekend that went by way too fast. Dodgers playoffs on Saturday was amazing. We swept the Cards so onward to the National League Championship Series! I also didn't sleep well last night so I'm not feeling it today. Coffee, coffee, coffee! That was my morning. After a couple cups I thought maybe I should eat something too. I had half a block of tofu in the fridge so I scrambled it up with onions and made a sandwich on toast. When I used to be omni, I made them with scrambled eggs. This version is just as tasty with the advantage of no cholestorol. Yay. Happy Monday everyone, hope it speeds by.