Last but not least... dessert!

What's Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie?! Well, Vegansgiving dare not disappoint!

So here's the thing. I suck at making pie crusts. I don't know why. I have a bevy of culinary skills in my repetoire. Pie crust making just isn't one of them. Bagels? check. Donuts? Check. Cakes and cupcakes? Check. Sugar cookie cut-outs? yep, that too. I've tried a few times, and they come out fine, but it's always a hassle, and not worth all the effort. I'll keep working on it, but for dinners that involve a lot of other dishes, I'll just stick with the pre-made crust of the vegan variety. I used Immaculate Baking Co.'s crusts, which I found at The Bin, and they worked out well, and tasted good too. Especially with a pumpkin pie, who cares about the crust? It's all about the filling.

I could have drank this filling.

I found this recipe on the VegetarianTimes website, and it had a lot of rave reviews, so I thought I'd trust the VT folks on this one. It is also tofu-free, which is cool. No fermented beans in MY pie, dammit! Okay, so I don't really have anything against tofu, but yanno, soy is in a LOT of stuff, and I think too much of any one thing is no good, so if I can avoid using soy sometimes, I take that opportunity. Oh, and some of the reviews said this one was better than ones they had made with tofu.... but it's TOTALLY about the health thing too, guys!

We also made an awesome apple pie with a gingerbread crust courtesy of Isa Chandra Moskowitz, and pumpkin donuts, but we gobbled those up before we had a chance to document their greatness in digital history. We'll just *have* to make them again... such a chore to eat spicy gooey goodness!

Pumpkin Pie
2 cups canned pumpkin or homemade pumpkin puree
1 cup soymilk or rice milk
3/4 cup sugar (I used turbinado)
1/4 cup cornstarch (I used arrowroot)
1/2 T. molasses
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground or fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground allspice

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix all the ingredients until nice and smooth. Pour into prepared crust, and bake 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to 350 degrees. Continue baking until filling is set, about 50 minutes. Set on a wire rack to cool completely, and refrigerate overnight before serving.

Enjoy!

When we were kids, my sisters and I would traditionally eat cranberry sauce (the deliciously gelatinous canned variety), and then drink milk directly afterwards. If you've ever done this, you know the torture that ensues. I don't know what happens when those two things combine in your mouth, but it is downright wretched. I'm pretty sure it was one of the things that got Guantanamo shut down. Check out this sweet picture of me enduring the ritual way back when...



and, just to answer the question I know you ALL have.. no, I wasn't a full time model in high school. I know, it's shocking. ha!

Fortunately for me and my sisters, Thanksgiving this year didn't include canned cranberry sauce or milk, so the tradition had to finally come to an end. Our cranberry sauce is Joe's special dish each year, and it's deeelicious. Fresh cranberries, orange juice, and a spice sack (no, not THAT kind of sac. pervs.) It's super simple, and you can make it a day or two ahead of time.. in fact, I suggest you do for better flavor kapow-ness!

Cranberry Sauce
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup water
2 1/2 whole cloves
2 1/2 whole allspice berries
1 1/2 cinnamon sticks
1 cup sugar

Place fresh cranberries and water and OJ in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Wrap cloves, allspice berries and cinnamon sticks in a spice bag (like cheesecloth). Place the bag in the water with cranberries. Cook until cranberries begin to burst, about 10 minutes. Stir in sugar and reduce heat to low. Continue cooking 5 minutes, or until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Discard spice bag. Chill in the refrig 8 hours, or overnight.

I think the 2 biggest hits of the savory side of Thanksgiving were the potatoes, both came out so great, and I was so glad. I think the potatoes are a huge part of the meal, and I've always kind of been obsessed with getting them exactly right. I think I've tried a new regular mashed recipe every year, and while they've been tasty in the past, they've been loaded with milk and butter and cheeses, twice baked, had bread crumbs on top, etc. This recipe from Real Food Daily is vegantastic, and there's no butter! I freaking love that.

The other potato dish is a sweet potato mashed with bananas, and a brown sugar and pecan crumble on top. It's one we've been making for a few years, some years more successful than others. I think it was last year that I let myself be confused by the orange colored "yams" vs. the yellowish "sweet potatoes" at the store. I mean, wtf? I have googled this, heard explanations on the Food Network, and it still confuses me. Why are all sweet potato recipes made with the orangey colored veggies, but yet those are labeled as yams? Sigh. I digress. I skipped the name calling this year, and just bought the orange guys, because I knew that's what I needed, even though they weren't called "sweet potatoes." I made sure they were good and roasted, and I think that made all the difference. They were supremely sweet and smooth.

So let's break 'em down. I'll start with the garlicky mash from Real Food Daily. After dinner my sister commented on how much she liked them, but was sad because they must have been so bad for her, calorie wise. I was so pleased to tell her that they only additives to the dish was garlic, soymilk, S&P.



Garlicky Mash Potatoes

3 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 1/4 cups plain soymilk
2 T olive oil
1 tsp. sea salt
fresh ground pepper to taste

Combine the potatoes and the garlic in a large saucepan, and add enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover, and boil over medium-low heat for 18 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Drain, then return the potatoes and garlic to the saucepan and mash until smooth. Mix in the soymilk, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

As much as I tried to force my oldest sister to try these sweet potatoes, I couldn't get her to do it. She has never liked sweet potatoes, and I have to agree. I'm not bananas about them in their traditional form. I love this recipe, and I love sweet potato fries, but I just don't like to eat them like I would a traditional baked potato. Everyone was raving about them, and I threatened to withhold dessert until she took a bite, but we let it slide... this year. :) Plus, that just meant more leftovers for Joe and I! can't complain about that.

The idea of this mix is kind of odd.. sweet potatoes and bananas? But you roast them both, and it's just really sweet and yummy. dessert-like, even.

Oh, and if you want to save on calories with a potato recipe, this isn't it. Choose the former.

Sweet Potato Mashed with Bananas
Tyler Florence

5 sweet potatoes, roasted (took me about 1.5 to roast)
4 bananas, unpeeled, roasted (about 10-15 minutes)
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup honey

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and roast your sweet potatoes. Add the bananas the last 10-15 minutes of roasting. They should be very soft. When cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes and scoop out the flesh into a large bowl. Add the bananas. Add 1/2 cup butter and the honey to the mixture and whip with a wooden spoon until smooth. Spread into a pan (9x13ish is good).

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, and pecans. Add the remaining 1/2 cup butter to create a crumble using your hands, forks, or pastry blender. Spread this crumble over your potatoes and bake, 20 minutes.

You can make the potato mixture ahead of time and just keep it refrigerated. Then just make the crumble before you bake it, and bake a little longer - about 40 - 45 minutes, or until heated through.

Enjoy!

It's been so long since my last post, but have no fear! I have a vegan extravaganza coming your way in the form of Thanksgiving. Please contain your excitement. Thanksgiving has been a tradition for the hubs and I for the last 5 years, and it's something we really love to do. Joe's not into other holidays... like, not even birthdays (yeah, I know. total bummer.), so this is a holiday we can get into, especially since we both love to cook.

This year was a bit of an experiment since it was the first year I have been eating as a vegan. We decided to have a turkey for the omnivores, which I was kind of having heebie jeebies over, but we just made sure we bought a happy organic, free-range, raised on an Ohio farm, turkey, and that appeased my squeamishness about the whole thing. So there was the turkey, and then all the sides were vegan. For a couple weeks leading up to the big day, we were doing some taste testing. My hope was that we could find a turkey substitute to present to everyone, and ideally they would poo over it, and next year we could forego the turkey. ha! It didn't quite happen. We made a couple good faux turkey dishes, but I'm not sure they could replace the deep-seated love for the holiday bird. We'll keep working on it.

In the hustle and bustle of dinnertime, we didn't get as many pics as I would have liked, but Joe managed to capture the highlights.

The full menu... drum roll please...

Apple + Cinnamon + Toastie = snuggly deliciousness. Oh, and it's gluten-free! Bonus!


This is my first recipe from the Babycakes cookbook. Are you familiar? Babycakes is a famous bakery in NYC that is vegan, gluten-free, and mostly sugar-free. Their cupcakes are award-winning, and the author, Erin, has been on Martha Stewart's show. I think that's pretty cool for a vegan chef! I just love when any vegan chef gets some press and makes veganism so people-friendly! We're not scary! Just... restrictive ;)


I checked the cookbook out from the library first, and had one of those moments where I just wanted to make every last recipe in there, and got so excited and immediately set out to find all the ingredients. I even ordered coconut flour online, which I've never done before... errr, ordered food online, not ordered online. geesh! How old do you think I am? (shut it.) Anyways, when I went to buy the book for myself, I read the reviews, and they were just awful! It seemed like everyone had total failure when they made the recipes, felt the ingredients were too pricey, and basically felt like the whole thing was a big sham and waste. I was so worried to buy it! I had only made the apple cinnamon toasteriffic, so what if I just got lucky? In the end, I decided that all those people must suck, and I'm fab, so I bought it, and I have yet to be disappointed.


Welllll, that's not entirely true... In the library edition, the banana bread called for 6 bananas. Now, at the time I thought this seemed exorbitant, but alas, this is slightly different baking since it's gluten-free and all that, so I trusted the recipe. That, in fact, was a mistake. It was a hot mess. Literally. I took it out when I thought it was done and when I flipped it out of the pan it was a big blob of half-cooked smushy nanner bread. I looked on the website, and it turns out this happened to others, and they corrected the error. They apparently were under the impression that we'd be cooking with bananas from the land of Oz, farmed for minature people. In my newer edition book that I purchased, this has since been amended to 1 1/2 cups of banana. I remade the bread before our Asheville trip, and it came out lovely and tasty. All is forgiven, Babycakes!

This is a super bread, kind of dessert-y, and extra awesome when it's served warm.

Apple Cinnamon Toastie

1 cup garbanzo-fava bean flour
1 1/4 cups raw sugar
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup arrowroot
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. xantham gum
1 tsp. salt
2 T. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup applesauce
2 T. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups hot water
1 cup roasted apples

Preheat to 325. Lightly grease a 7 x4 x3-inch loaf pan with coconut oil.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, 1 cup of the evaporated cane juice sugar, the potato starch, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, xanthum gum, salt, and 1 T of the cinnamon. Add the oil, applesauce, vanilla and 1 cup of the hot water to the dry ingredients. Stir until the batter is smooth, then fold in the roasted apples. Transfer 1/4 cup of the batter to a small bowl, and add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1 T. of cinnamon, 1/4 cup hot water. Stir until creamy.

Pour the apple batter into the prepared loaf pan. Carefully drizzle the batter from the small bowl down the center of the loaf. Use a spoon to swirl the topping into the loaf pan, moving the spoon up and down. Sprinkle the top of the loaf with evaporated cane juice sugar.

Bake the toastie on the center rack for 25 minutes, remove from the oven, and brush the top with a generous amount of coconut oil. Return to the oven and bake another 15 minutes, until crunchy and toothpick comes out clean.

Let the toastie stand in the pan for 20 minutes, then invert the cake onto a board. Turn right-side up and cut and serve warm.

Roasted Apples:
1/2 lb. granny smith apples, peeled, cored and diced into 1-inch cubes
1/2 lb. pink lady apples ( I just used all granny I think)
1 T. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/4 lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 325. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. In a medium bowl, toss together the apples, cinnamon, agave, and lemon juice. Spread the mixture over the prepared sheet. Bake the apples on the center rack for 35 minutes, rotating the sheet after 20. The apples will be soft. Let the apples stand for 30 minutes, or until completely cool.

Enjoy!

Last week the hubs and I hopped in the car to drive south to Asheville, NC for a few days of fall foliage and funtastic food. While we were about a week early for the loverly colors of the season, the city totally delivered on the food. kudos, AVL!

When we arrived, we checked into the most adorable Bed and Breakfast, The Lion & the Rose, and decided our first destination would be the place I had been dreaming about since we planned our vacation... Barley's Taproom & Pizzeria!


What's so special about this place, you ask? They have soy cheese pizza on their menu! ON their menu! Not like you have to ask and they do it special, or I have to order a regular pie without the cheese and then sprinkle my own fake cheese on it. Nope, none of that. I ordered it up, and it came piping hot and gooey. It was fantastic. Joe and I decided to pretend we were training for a marathon and ordered a large pizza that would have been better suited for twice as many people, but you can never be sad about pizza leftovers! We chose the whole wheat crust that was really tasty - firm outside, chewy inside (just how I like my men... wait, what?) with fresh spinach. yum. check it out:









Now, no trip to a vegan foodie wonderland would be complete without dessert! Sadly, I didn't take any pictures. rar! We took a coconut cream tart home with us from Laughing Seed, and it was really amazing. I plan on scouring the veg-web for a similar recipe, and then I'll share MY version. The other dessert we picked up was on our way out of town. We picked up a couple cupcakes from a bookstore/coffee shop, made by Take the Cake! I chose the vegan vanilla with chocolate frosting, and it was fan-freaking-tastic. I felt like Stephanie Plum with my own personal birthday cake. It was delicious. It was swoony. It was something I shouldn't have eaten in the car because I almost drove us off the road. ha!

So I know what you're thinking.. you're like, "Hey, you stayed at a B&B! What about the breakfast?" Well, this was awesome. The Lion & the Rose happily accepted my dietary restrictions and served me up a special vegan brekkie each morning, and each one was really delish! I will say my favorite was the cornmeal and soymilk waffles with sauteed apples and pomegranate syrup. Yup, you read that right. I would have taken pictures, but we ate breakfast with the other vacationers, and I do have some moments of social paranoia where I don't want to be perceived as weird as I *really* am.

All in all, the trip was a lot of fun, and it was refreshing to have so many uncompromising food choices in the city. It was a great reminder how awesome it is be vegan, and how freaking delicious it can be. It's also so great to see such a thriving city with such a big vegetarian and organic population... if only more cities could be like this!

and if only more pups could be like this! Check out Joe and Cedric, the resident pooch at the B&B.

oh, and freaking delish sweet potato fries. word!


When I decided I was going to post this recipe this week, I realized I haven't told you guys about my new vegan goddess! outrageous! If you're an avid Food Network viewer like I am, you might even know who I'm talking about. She was a winner on Cupcake Wars. If you haven't seen this show, let me recap it for you. It's a cupcake competition where 4 cupcake makers compete for 3 cupcake eating judges, and they give the cupcake competitors little cupcake challenges to compete to see who has the best cupcake. They all say "cupcake" about a bajillion times. I love watching this show, but you pretty much want to banish the word from your vocabulary by the end of the hour. When they do the contestant interviews, and he/she is saying what they are going to make, they always say it with the word "cupcake" like, in case we didn't know. For example: "I'm going to be making a red velvet cupcake with a cream cheese frosting, a lemon cupcake with buttercream icing, and a chocolate cupcake with strawberry icing." I know you're making a cupcake!! sheesh. Now, whenever cupcakes come up in conversation with Joe and I, I go on a tangent coming up with as many cupcake flavors as I can, listing them off like I'm a contestant. He loves it. (not really.)

ANYWAYS. You should watch the show. It's fun. So my new vegan goddess won on her episode, and she's just the cutest little thing ever! Her name is Chloe Coscarelli. Check out her site! She has great recipes on there, and um, well... she's adorable. This burger and fries recipe is actually on her site, and it's freaking delicious. I couldn't believe how closely it resembled a regular burger, but it is even better because it has guacamole (sweet, sweet guacamole), and this unique sun-dried tomato and mango sauce. It's without a doubt one of my favorite dishes I've made, and really good for you! yay!

Black Bean Burgers
1/4 cup olive oil
1 yellow onion, small dice
1 14-ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small carrot, finely diced or shredded
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp. sea salt
1/4 bunch cilantro
1/4 cup water
1 T. chili powder (to taste to your spicy level)

In a large skillet, saute onions in 2 T of the olive oil over medium heat until tender and slightly carmelized, about 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, use a large spoon to mash together beans, carrots, cornmeal, breadcrumbs, chili powder, salt, cilantro, water, and the carmelized onions. If mixture is too dry to hold together, add more water 1 T at a time.

Using your hands, form your burgers to the size of your buns (regular or mini).

In a large non-stick skillet, heat 2 T of olive oil over med-high heat and fry patties. Let each patty get browned and slightly crisp on each side (about 3 minutes on each side).

Mango Sauce
1 mango, peeled and cut
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, whole or sliced
1 garlic clove
1 T. vinegar (apple cider, but any kind will do)
1/8 tsp. sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. ta-da!

Guacamole
3 ripe Haas avocados, halved, pitted, and peeled
1/2 lime, juiced
1/4 cup salsa fresca
sea salt and black pepper to taste

In a large bowl, mash together the avocado and lime juice, then fold in the salsa fresca. Season with S&P.

Enjoy!

You heard that right. Vegan peanut butter cups. You might as well just get a shopping list together now, because trust me, you want to make these.

This was actually one of the first recipes I made, and have made them a few times since. While they are vegan, they still have sugar and butter in them, but y'know, it's a sweet treat, so it's cool. Plus, they're very rich, so you feel satisfied after 1. I think I tried to eat a second one once and had to find a happy place afterwards. Let me tell you though.. if you're trying out this vegan thing, these will get you through a crisis moment when you're trying to eat your feelings and freaking lentils just won't do it. They've saved me a couple times, and reminded me that not eating animals does not equal not eating delicious sweetness.

This recipe comes from the lovely Alicia (or Ci-ci, if you will, and I will.) and her The Kind Diet book.

Peanut Butter Cups

1/2 cup Earth Balance butter
3/4 cup crunchy (or smooth) peanut butter (preferably unsweetened and unsalted)
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (look for a naturally sweetened kind and low in sugar)
1/4 cup sugar (I use raw sugar, and this works well)
1 cup non-dairy chocolate chips or carob chips (the non-dairy variety taste more milk chocolatey, and the carob is more of a dark chocolate taste)
1/4 cup soy, rice, or nut milk (I like to use almond milk)


Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in PB, graham cracker crumbs, and sugar, and mix well. Remove from heat, and evenly distribute to your 12 cups - about 2 T./cup.

Combine chocolate and milk in a saucepan over low heat or in a pyrex (my preferred method) and melt that up in the microwave. Evenly distribute this delicious choclately mixture over your cups.

Chill in the fridge for at least an hour or until set. If you can't wait that long, then they'll just be a bit gooey in your hands, but hey, who cares?

Enjoy!

On more than one occasion, I've had a head shaken at me when I divulge my culinary adventures. Usually it's the homemade dish that elicits this reaction - homemade donuts (pumpkin to be exact. they are so. good. I'll put that recipe up in a month or so), pretzels, peanut butter cups (don't worry, I plan on these being my next post. they are even better than the donuts). Basically, anytime I make a junk food at home. I never really ate fast food, and now that I'm vegan, it's ridiculously hard to eat out period. You just never know.. is there egg in this? milk? unicorn tears? you get the picture. Plus, I always liked what Michael Pollan said about junk food: “Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.” It's a lovely rule of thumb.. and tastier too.



In a separate, large mixing bowl, mix together the all the other ingredients, including the remaining 2 T. of sugar. Add the yeast mixture and knead for a good 10 minutes. The dough should be neither dry nor wet but nicely tacky (kinda like that sweet sweater you wore at Christmas).

Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap. Let sit for an hour or so. It won't rise much but it should be nicely springy.

Reduce your boiling water to a gentle simmer, and add a couple bagels. Simmer for one minute, flip, and simmer another minute. Remove the bagels with a slotted spoon, and place them on a baking sheet covered in parchment. Now is the time to add any topping to them that you'd like - sesame or poppy seeds, cinnamon-sugar, etc.

Bake the bagels for 18-20 minutes , until nice and amber brown. Remove and let sit for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

yep. It's as tasty as it sounds.

One thing I could never really enjoy when I was a non-vegan was a good sammy. I was never a real meat eater, and I'm admittedly picky, so I just couldn't get down with the lusciously stacked sandwiches I would admire. I found this recipe in Real Food Daily, and I was pumped to try it. I was pumped even though I shy away from a "pesto," and to be honest, I shy away from "sun-dried tomatoes." Look, I don't have a reason for these things, okay?!


If I have any one bad thing to say about this dish, it's the texture, but that is kind of a given since it's tofu. I'm a weirdo when it comes to texture, so the softness of the tofu was a little cringe-worthy for me, but the crusty ciabatta bread combated that. I def recommend serving this on a nice bread that you like - ciabatta is my fave.

You'll need to marinate the tofu for at least 4 hours so plan ahead - this lack of reading has burned me on more than one occasion. Oh, reading. such a hassle!

this is the original recipe - Joe and I cut ours in half.
Grilled Herb Tofu
2 (12 oz.) containers water-packed extra-firm tofu
1/2 cup evoo
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup tamari
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup minced garlic
2 T chopped fresh dill
1 T fresh ground pepper

Drain the tofu and save the containers. Halve each piece horizontally, and pat dry with the paper towels. Cover a large baking sheet with more dry paper towels. Place the tofu in a single layer on the baking sheet and let drain for 2 hours, changing the towels after 1 hour.

Whisk up your marinade, and pour some into your saved tofu containers. Place 1 tofu slice, top with marinade, layer another slice, etc. with the remaining tofu and marinade. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.

Prepare a medium-hot grill or pan or skillet if need be. Grill the tofu, brushing with the marinade from your containers, for 4 minutes on each side, or until the tofu is heated through. OR, you can bake your tofu at 400 degrees for 10 minutes on each side.

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
2 cups water
1 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
3/4 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup nuts (okay, it calls for pine nuts, but I'm pretty sure we used almonds)
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1/3 cup

Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan and add the tomatoes, cover, and set aside for 30 minutes. Drain the tomatoes, reserving the soaking liquid. Combine the tomatoes, basil, nuts, garlic, salt, and pepper in a food processor (or blender) and blend until the tomatoes and basil are minced. With the machine still running, slowly add your oil. Blend in about 3 T of the reserved soaking liquid to form a thick and creamy spread.

Add the toppings you'd like - sauteed red onions and greens are what the book suggests. Serve warm :)

When I was a kid... I would have been about 11 or 12... my family and I vacationed at the Outer Banks in North Carolina. It was also around this time that I fancied myself as being from about 7 different countries/regions of the world. I was a New Yorker, a Puerto Rican, a southerner, a Brit, and my personal favorite, an Australian. (I once convinced a man doing work on our home that I was, indeed, from Melbourne. It's still a source of pride and accomplishment.) So one night on vacation we all go out to dinner to this seafood buffet place. Now, remember when I said I hated mushrooms? Seafood takes this dislike to another level. Just the thought of it activates my gag reflex. That texture.. it's enough to put me in a cold sweat, and I wasn't not alone in my dislike for seafood. My mom and my sister weren't too keen on the googly-eyed entrees either.

This past weekend the hubs and I headed up to Morris Run, PA to visit my lovely older sister and her family. If you're wondering, "Where is Morris Run?" you're not alone. It's about an hour and a half south of Ithaca, NY. y'know, like all those "Ithaca is gorges" bumper stickers? Oh, and I think there's some Ivy League school there.. pish posh! What you should actually be associating Ithaca, NY with is the swoon-worthy establishment loved by Veggies everywhere - Moosewood Restaurant! woo woo!


I felt like I was at some celebrity restaurant! I told people about it before the trip looking to incite jealousy and envy. I fussed about what to wear.... will there be a red carpet? paparazzi? Gaga? Ok, so I didn't really think those things, but I was super stoked, and I love my sissy dearly for taking me there.

Dear Mango,

Let's be together forever. And not just in the spring and summer, but like, all year round. Let's throw macrobiotics to the wind and spend all the seasons in tasty bliss!

Love,
Ann

Oh, mango. I heart you so. I love you even more when I can pair you with rice noodles and dip you in sauce.. wait, did that just get weird?

Summer roll time! I've been holding on to this recipe for a while now, but with all the obnoxious "I'm not even moving but my boobs are sweating" heat, something is telling me summer is in full swing, and it's time to share. This is a super easy recipe, and there's no cooking required, and it tastes best chilled, and it has rice noodles and fruit and cilantro and... are you convinced yet?

Fresh Mango Summer Rolls
from Isa Chandra Moskowitz

1 mango, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
1 cup bean sprouts or seedless cucumber, sliced into matchsticks
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
4 oz very thin rice noodles
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, finely chopped
20 rice paper wrappers

Cook up your noodles: Boil a medium-sized pot of water. Turn off the heat and add the noodles. Let them soak for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the noodles and run under cold water.

Have a pie pan or large wide bowl filled with hot water (like tap water) and a clean counter space or cutting board. Place the rice paper wrappers, 2 at a time, into the water until they are flexible (about 30 seconds). Carefully remove from the water and lay flat on your clean surface. In the lower two-thirds of the roll, place a tablespoon of noodles and sprinkle on some nuts. On top of that place 5 or 6 mango strips, then add your bean sprouts (6 or 7), and finally 3 or 4 cilantro leaves. Fold the left and right sides of your wrapper over the filling, then take the bottom of the wrapper and begin rolling. Keep these wrapped and chilled until serving.

Thai Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 garlic clove, minced
3 T. roasted peanuts, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. sugar


Enjoy!

Why "kinda" do you ask? Well, technically a succotash is a mixture of lima beans and corn, and I didn't have lima beans, so I used edamame instead. I bought a package of frozen ones, and they come in individually packaged servings, which is awwesome because you don't have to worry about your little beans getting frostbit while they await your next dish!

This recipe is actually a combination of 2 recipes put together. That's right. 2! 2! 2 recipes in 1! You can thank me later. This dish was simple, really tasty, and oh-so-fresh. So perfect for summer, and it's pretty too! I think it'd be perfect for a get together. We ate it warm, but I don't see why you couldn't eat it cold. I think it'd still be tasty.

The bed of orzo is the first recipe. It actually called for Arborio rice, which I thought was in the pantry, but it wasn't, so we improvised. I would have preferred to have the rice for the grain factor, but it's not like orzo is giant rotini or something. I'll post the original below though.

Oh! and these are both from the lovely Alicia.

Hot Rice with Cold Lemon, Basil, and Tomato
1 cup Arborio rice
2 T. evoo
3 T. lemon juice
3 pinches fine sea salt
2 pinches fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup (or however much your little heart desires) fresh chopped tomato
2 T. chopped fresh basil

Cook up your rice (or orzo. hey, *I'm* not judging you!) and place it in a mixing bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix well, add the tomatoes, and sprinkle with basil. Toss to combine.

Yeah, it's that simple.

Summertime Succotash
1 T. Earth Balance butter
1 tsp. olive oil
1 cup diced red onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (10-oz) package baby lima beans (or edamame) - thawed, if frozen
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
2 T. chopped fresh basil
1 T. white or red balsamic (I used red.)

Heat the butter and oil together in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add the onion and saute until the onion begins to brown - about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook a minute longer.

Stir in the beans, and saute 5 minutes. Add the corn and tomatoes, and saute 1 minute longer or until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in your herbs and balsamic.

Place over the rice and enjoy!

So this is a really upsetting story, but I wanted to share it to raise awareness about how awful some farms can be that are producing mass amounts of product. I'm just so glad I don't lend support to the terrible treatment of cows and chickens and other farm animals. (And, of course, I don't mean the happy, free-range farms, though I am super happy to not be eating them either.) I just find it so disturbing to support the driving consumption that facilitates acts like this.

I'm so glad these people have been arrested, but so disgusted that this is even an issue. Poor little cows. Things like this are all the motivation I need to keep being vegan, and for non-vegans, I hope it's motivation to seek out organic, free-range products.

http://www.wkyc.com/news/state/ohio/news_article.aspx?storyid=136794&catid=23

Pretty much the only actual cooking part required: Bring the beans to a boil over high heat, skimming off the foam. Lower the heat to low, cover, and simmer gently for about an hour. Stir occasionally. The beans should be tender, but not falling apart when you poke at them.

2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and cut into bite-size pieces
1 c. yellow corn kernals
6 stalks celery, cut into bite-size pieces
3 tomatoes cut into cubes


1/4 c. lime juice
2 T. brown rice syrup
1 T. ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 c. evoo
1 c. lightly packed fresh cilantro


Mix everything in a bowl except for the tomatoes and avocados. Add the vinaigrette to coat. Heap some Chop over some romaine lettuce, if desired, and sprinkle with the tomatoes and avocados, and some crispy tort strips (I just crunched up some chips).


and for your entertainment.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzzu3z21b0s

Let's talk about granola. For years I would declare at each grocery store visit, "I'm going to make my own granola!" I never did. Now, I can't live without it. This granola is Alicia's, and I love it. a lot. a whole lot. a "look, I know it's just granola, but I love it" a lot. Why? It is so simple, and so good for you, and so filling. I eat it as cereal or just as a snack. It's sweet but not too sweet. It's just a great recipe. It also makes the house smell freaking cozy.

This recipe is nice and easy and can be improvised. I pretty much stick to it because I like it, but I always add more raisins or dried cranberries.. sometimes I throw in slivered almonds. You can add what you like or what you have on hand.

Oh, and it makes a bunch. It makes about 2 quarts.

6 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup maple sugar (or raw if that's what you have)
3/4 cup wheat germ (I get wheat germ that has cinnamon and flaxseed, and I get it at Giant Eagle)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup nuts, sesame or sunflower seeds
1 cup chopped raisins (or dried cranberries)
1/2 cup safflower oil
1/3 cup brown rice syrup (or maple syrup)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Spread the oats on a rimmed baking pan, and bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, add the sugar, wheat germ, coconut, nuts, raisins, and seeds. Stir to mix well. Add the oats and mix some more. Add the oil, syrup, and vanilla extract. Mix until everything is well moistened.

Spread half the mixture on your baking pan, and bake for 10 minutes, stirring after 5. You could just do 2 pans at once, but I always just do 1 at a time. No reason why really.

Store in an airtight container, and try not to gobble it all up in one day.

Forkin' A, man! This is like the coolest food thing to hit the Cleve since Melt (who has vegan cheese now, btw!). So Joe went to EarthFest at the zoo on Sunday (I know, mom, you're SO proud), and talked to the folks at Fresh Fork Market. So this is the scoop: 70 farmers, all within 75 miles of Cleveland, supply packages of food (meat, dairy, produce) for 22 weeks. You can either sign up to receive all 22 weeks, or you can just order month-to-month, or just sporadically choose to order. Then, there are 6 pick-up locations for you to conveniently pick up your booty each week.

On the site, they have samples of what they delivered last year, and they look really tasty, and well worth the money. While the traditional packages include meat and dairy, you can request vegetarian or vegan packages, which is cool. A small package looks something like this:

1 lb sweet cherries
½ lb of mixed kale (Black Italian Tuscan and Red Russian Kale)
1 yellow zucchini
1 green zucchini
1 bunch garlic scapes
1 lb fresh spinach pasta (linguini noodle)
4 oz chevre (goat cheese)
1 dozen free range eggs
½ gallon organic milk
1 head winter density lettuce

and, if you sign up for all 22 weeks, it comes out to be about $25 a week. At first I thought this sounded steep, but while I was at the store last night, I realized it's pretty much on target, and probably even more for the money when you consider most of the items in the package are organic and local. Plus, I'd much rather give my money to local farmers than Giant Eagle (sorry, Big Bird).

So Joe and I plan on partaking in this, and I'm really pumped about it. Pretty sure it'll feel like Christmas every week that we pick up our package, and I think it'll be super fun to come up with dinners with what we receive. Plus, I'm just really excited to support this effort and local growers.

I know not everyone is in the Cleveland area, but if you are, check it out, and maybe try out a package or two this year :)

http://www.freshforkmarket.com/

I love a brothy soup. Well, actually, I just love soup in general, but now that the weather is on the up, a brothy soup with crisp veggies is right on the money. I found this recipe in Alicia's Kind Diet book, and at the time, I didn't have all the ingredients so Joe and I improvised a smidge. I have her original recipe below minus the part where instead of broth, she soaks mushrooms in water, and that is the brothy part. Confession time. Mushrooms and me don't mix. Like, at all. I can't even handle the smell of them without wanting to curl up in the fetal position and go to my happy place. I have tried them more than once, but even recalling those memories now gives me a shiver and a belly quake. So needless to say, I skipped the whole mushroom soaking process, and opted for just a nice, vegan-friendly veggie broth. Plus, it's quicker.

So the other improvisation was that I didn't have any fresh ginger on hand, so I used about a quarter tsp. of ground ginger, which seemed to work fine. And then, as always, I just used the veg I had in the fridge. I think we ended up with carrots, snap peas, daikon, and scallions. I love a recipe that lets me use up the produce in the fridge. love it.

Sauce:
2-4 tsp. shoyu
3-4 T. water or broth
5-8 drops ginger juice (grate some ginger and squeeze the juice out of it like you're Macho Man Randy Savage)
1/2 tsp. lemon juice or rice vinegar

Veggies:
1 carrot, cut into bite-size pieces
1 stalk broccoli, bite-sized
1 handful bean sprouts
2-3 napa cabbage leaves or collards, chopped
4-6 dandelion greens, chopped
leaves of some bok choy, chopped

1 (8 oz) package udon noodles
1" piece of kombu

1 can of low-sodium veggie broth

Cook noodles according to package directions. Strain, and rinse under cool water to stop them from cooking anymore. Set aside.

Meanwhile, Bring broth to a boil w/ 2-3 cups of water. Add the kombu and lower to a simmer.

Have all the veggies ready to go on your cutting board or a plate next to the stove. Add the veggies, starting with the carrots, and anything else that would take longer. Most of the veggies shouldn't take longer than a couple of minutes. You want them fresh and light with some crunch, and not mushy.

I added the sauce directly to the broth and veggie mixture, but you could just put it on the side. I figured it was all going to the same place, so I just threw it in.

Serve by placing your noodles in a bowl and ladling your broth and veggie mixture over top. Eat with chopsticks to impress your friends.

Enjoy!

One of the things I was most sad about leaving behind by becoming a vegan were my stuffed shells. I regularly made this awesome recipe from the cookbook Cook Yourself Thin and I was honestly bummed about not being able to make it, or any other ricotta filled dish again. Then, like a little gift from vegan heaven, came a recipe from Skinny Bitch In the Kitch for Tofu Ricotta. I don't know if I was as much surprised to find a recipe for vegan ricotta as much as I was surprised at how similar it really did taste to the real thing. Joe and I have learned you can pretty much make anything out of tofu and brown rice.

I served this recipe to my family last weekend, all of whom are non-vegans, and they all loved it. It's a great one to share with people, and after they are pooing themselves over it, reveal that it has.. gasp! TOFU!

So this is kind of a long recipe, but it can be broken up into its parts to be used for other things. The sauce and basic recipe is from Cook Yourself Thin, which is an awesome book for non-veganers, and the ricotta comes from Skinny Bitch.

Tomato Sauce

1 (28 oz) can peeled plum tomatoes in juice
1 (14 oz) can peeled plum tomatoes in juice
2 tsp. olive oil
3/4 c. roughly chopped red onion
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
sea salt
1/4 tsp. dried basil (or fresh if you have it)
pepper

Pour the tomatoes in a bowl and mash with your hands or pulse in a food processor to chop. I personally just cook all the sauce and use my immersion blender at the end. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over med-low heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Cover, reduce heat to very low and cook until vegetables are softened (about 5 minutes). Add the tomatoes with juice, basil, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer gently about 20-25 minutes, until thickened. Season with 1/8 tsp. pepper, but season to taste. I often add some oregano too. Ta-da! Homemade pasta sauce!

While your sauce is simmering away, cook your jumbo pasta shells - 1 box (should be like 12 oz) until they are al dente or about 7 minutes. Drain in a colander, and immediately transfer to an oiled (or cooking sprayed) baking sheet. Spread them out in a single layer so they don't get all stuck to each other later.

Tofu Ricotta
14-16 oz. extra firm tofu (I package of tofu)
1-2 cloves of garlic
2 T. evoo
1 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 tsp. sea salt

Super easy! Throw all the ingredients into a food processor (or blender would work too I'm sure). When you add the tofu, crumble it up into pieces. Pulse the ingredients until everything is well incorporated, and you reach a good ricotta-like consistency.

Put your ricotta into a bowl, and add whatever you'd like to stuff your shells with. I like to use about a cup of vegan mozzarella cheese, and about a quarter cup for vegan parmesan cheese. I also saute up a zucchini cut into half moon slices, and a shallot chopped thin (just a few minutes in a pan with oil until the zucchini just had a bit of crunch left). You can use whatever you like. In the past, I have done carrots and daikon, spinach, etc.

Time to assemble! Pour a nice layer of your sauce into the bottom of a 13x9 pan, and one by one, fill up each shell with about a tablespoon or so of filling. Place each shell face down into the pan, and keep going until you're done. I always seem to have about 4 or 5 shells left that don't fit into the pan, so I make another little container and stick it in the freezer. Top the shells with your remaining sauce, and some more (vegan) cheese*.

*a note on vegan cheese.. I only know of one brand, Follow Your Heart, that does not include casein in their cheese. It's tasty, but I think it only comes in a block, so you'd have to grate it. Casein is an additive found in dairy that, basically, makes you feel good. The full name is casein morphin. like morphine. ya dig? So, it's better to get a cheese substitute without it, but alas. vegan cheese is still better than regular 'ol cheese, so get what you can.

Bake for 25-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven, covered in foil. Enjoy!

If you're anything like me, I love a good mexican fiesta night at home. It always hits the spot, and it's always quick and easy. Here's another recipe to add to your taco night repertoire. This comes from Real Food Daily which is my new favorite cookbook. Everything looks so yummy! This is the only recipe I've made from there thus far, but I was very pleased.

I topped my soup with Tofutti sour cream and blue corn chips. Oh, and I did cut the recipe in half (recipe below is cut in half), and it still made quite a bit. It made.. about 5 big bowls.

2 tsp. canola oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 T. tamari (I used Shoyu)
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
4 c. vegetable stock
1/2 lb. tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/6 c. tomato paste
4 corn tortillas coarsely chopped
1/8 c. chopped cilantro

Heat the oil in a big stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add your spices plus tamari and saute 1 minute longer. Stir in the stock, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Cover and bring to a simmer over high heat. Decrease the heat to med-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add the tortillas and simmer 10 minutes longer, or until tortillas are tender and falling apart.

Using an immersion blender (if you have one), or a regular blender, blend the soup until smooth. If using a regular blender, you'll probably have to do a couple batches. Stir in the cilantro.

Garnish with Tofutti sour cream, avocado, pico de gallo, crunchy tortilla strips, etc., and enjoy!

So it's been just over a month now since I've been eating vegan, and I wanted to highlight some of the products that have been keeping a smile on my face, and lessening the grimaces when I smell pizza.. or look at cake.. or avoid.. oh, dare I say it.. Doritos! I still haven't come to terms with never eating my beloved crunchy snack ever again... never smelling the first cheesy waft when I open the bag (and yes, I hold my face close to the bag when opening it just for the puff of fried tortilla goodness. don't you judge me!) ha. ok. moving on.

I have come to love some really awesome products, and vegan or not, you should love them too.

Brown rice syrup. This is a sweetner derived from cooking brown rice with enzymes. The result is a syrup the consistency of honey, with an almost caramel like flavor. My favorite part is looking at the nutrition label: Ingredients: Brown rice. It's awesome. Plus, it's not very pricey like some other special products have proven to be. So far I have mostly used this for making granola (recipe to come soon). It adds a perfect amount of sweetness, and it's just lovely knowing you aren't eating sugar, but instead, a complex carbohydrate! cool, right? I know.

Daikon. A natural diuretic. enough said. ha! But really, this little root is great for you! Its flavor is really mild so I just chop it up and put it in most things that I make. "Daikon cleanses the blood, promotes energy circulation and increases the metabolic rate. Regular use of daikon helps prevent the common cold, flu and respiratory infections. Daikon treats hangovers, sore throats, colds and edema, and it helps cleanse the kidneys and decongest the lungs." (from satyacenter.com) In macrobiotics, they believe it melts internal body fat, and there is a drink you can make each day to promote this. If you google "daikon weight loss tea" you'll see a handful of recipes for this.

Earth Balance butter. yum. I used to use SmartBalance butter (same maker, btw), and it just didn't melt really and tasted like futter, but this EB butter really tastes like the real thing. It's been a really pleasant surprise.

Lentils. If you've read my previous posts, you know that I used to foster a fear and unwarranted dislike for lentils, but now I love them. They are so filling! Plus, they're little, so they are nice introductory bean to have a crush on. Oh, and double bonus, they don't take hours upon hours to cook (unlike YOU, black beans! yeah, you. you too pinto!). Anytime I'm making soup, I throw lentils in. On the nutritional front, 26% of a lentil is protein, and are one of the best veggie sources for iron.

Tofutti cream cheese. The label says it's "Better Than Cream Cheese." I agree. It is. If anything, it's just as good as. I was never a big cream cheese eater, but I like it on a bagel on occasion, and I am never one to turn down a piece of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (making vegan ones this week! woo woo!) There are also flavored versions, including Garlic & Herb. I know this because I bought it on accident, not knowing I should be checking the container for the word "plain." woops! I'm sure it'll be yummy though. Two thumbs, up, Tofutti! They also make a sour cream (good, but not as good as regular sour cream), and while I have not tried them myself (get with the program, someone other than Whole Foods!), I have heard good things about Tofutti Cuties, which are ice cream sandwiches.

That's all for now!

Love,
ann

So in order to be vegan, you have to essentially marry your tastebuds to rice and beans and all that good stuff. In order to remain BFFs and to not get annoyed when your rice or bean counterpart chews too loudly or eats the last blondie square, you have to keep things interesting. This recipe for fried rice really did that for me. It introduced me to some new flavors with the sesame oil and brown rice vinegar, and it's an excellent way to use up produce in the fridge. More importantly, it kept Mr. Rice off the couch for another night.

This comes from Alicia's "The Kind Diet," and the original recipe calls for lotus root rounds. Now, I have found lotus root rounds at an Asian food market, and I still shudder when I think about the experience. Let's just say I'm going to have to find a place that sells lotus root without the weird butcher guy in the back with the dirty apron or the hanging carcass in the front display. So given the.. umm.. adventure.. I did not have lotus root for this recipe, but just know, she calls for it. Oh, and I also threw in some sugar snap peas!

1-2 T dark sesame oil
1 tsp. finely chopped garlic
2 pinches of fine sea salt
1/4 c. thinly sliced daikon rounds
1/4 c. thinly sliced carrot
1 c. cooked short-grain brown rice
1/2 c. chopped bok choy or small broccoli florets
Shoyu to taste
Brown rice vinegar to taste
1/4 finely chopped scallions

Heat the oil in a large skillet (or wok if you have one) over md-high heat. Add the garlic and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, about 10 seconds. Add the daikon and another pinch of salt and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the carrots and cook for 2 minutes longer.

Add the rice to the skillet with 3 T. of water. Season the rice with your shoyu and vinegar, add the bok choy, and stir-fry 2-4 minutes - or until the rice is hot, and the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in the scallions last before serving.