Substantial Mix-n-Match Salad
Mango (Passion-less) Sorbet
Mushy Peas
Post-Race Protein Shake
Sticky Rice with Mango
Chocolate-Dipped Things
Baked Polenta Fries
Easy Apple Tarts
Orange-Soy Seitan Tenders with Polish Pimped Mashed Potatoes & red kale
Shamefully Simple Chickpea Chili
Chocolate Popcorn w/cashews
Chocolate Popcorn w/cashews & Abi
Sesame Seed Cookies
Baked Apples
Pimped Mashed Potatoes - Polish Mash
Peppermint Bark
15-Minute Ice Cream Pie (Coconut & Mango)
Marinating Seitan Kabobs
Smoky Yogurt Dipping Sauce
Seitan Kabobs with Smoky Yogurt Dipping Sauce
Baked Agave Tofu
Balsamic-Baked Beans
Latkes
Tostones
Smoky Zucchini Bean Dip
Chocolate-Covered Cherries
Mega-Israeli Salad
Balsamic-Baked Beans
This is the first photo taken with my new photo box I got for Christmas. I'm so excited that I can now take food photos at night!!
Starting at 12 and going clock-wise:
1. Steamed collard greens with fresh lemon
2. Black Eyed Peas cooked in the Crockpot with sweet onion, garlic, and serrano pepper
3. Vegan Orange Chicken in tangy orange sauce with fresh oranges
4. Mashed potatoes
Garnished with boiled gold beets and a cherry tomato.
SPIDER CRACKERS
Ritz Crackers with peanut butter inside to hold the 8 pretzel legs. Use a small dab of peanut butter to attach the raisin eyes.
Tailor these to your kids preferences. Another healthy variation is almond butter, cranberries, and Ritz whole wheat crackers.
My kids love making and eating these. A perfect October after school snack!
APPLE DUMPLINGS
1. Core and peel apples, leave an inch of the lower unpeeled.
2. Divide a pie crust for each apple and place the apple on top.
3. Fill the core with a small mixture of raisins, cranberries, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
4. Press and seal the pastry around the apple. Put a dollop of coconut oil on the top.
5. Bake the dumplings @ 375* for about 15 minutes while making the basting sauce.
6. Bring 2 tablespoons Earth Balance, 3/4 C. apple juice, 3/4 C. water, 1/2 C. sugar, & 1/8 tsp. cinnamon to a boil in a small sauce pan. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
7. Baste the dumplings with the sauce and pour the rest in the pan and continue to bake about 30 minutes until they are tender. Continue to baste the dumplings about every 15 minutes.
Roasted pumpkin seeds are always a treat this time of year! I hope you are enjoying a healthy Halloween season!!
Is your vegan food really vegan? They tested 17 LA area vegan restaurants for non-vegan ingredients. Read to find out why seven of them failed miserably.
We were hungry and couldn't face cooking in Art's LA closet-of-a-kitchen. Plus the girls were with grandparents, so we were free to eat experimentally. Our options were limited since it was late on a Monday. Taking all this into consideration, we cut across the San Fernando Valley to Follow Your Heart Cafe, a mostly organic veg eatery that's open 7 days a week until 9. I was excited to eat at this vegetarian landmark and slather vegenaise on everything!
There's my Italian Salad (marinated artichoke hearts, garbanzo beans, red onion, black olives, tomatoes, pepperoncinis, on a bed of organic greens)
and Art's Caesar Salad (vegetarian version of the classic with organic Romaine lettuce, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, croutons, with garlic bread)
Both salads were delicious and devoured.
"finally!" There's Art's Reuben (thinly sliced wheatmeat, natural swiss cheese, sauerkraut, mustard and vegenaise on oversized rye bread)
Mine is a Club (triple decker with wholewheat bread, turkey-style wheatmeat, vegetarian bacon bits, tomato, lettuce, vegenaise, and I added avocado)
each had carrots piled high and was delicious. But Art's would have been better had it not sat in the window for so darn long. duh!
Here's a photo of my sandwich sitting lonely on the table waiting for the other. We waited and waited, and our waiter was no where to be seen, and no one else received our wondering glance. I watched the sandwich sit under the heat lamp...
Never fear, the service won't keep us away, and perhaps it'd be better next time? Though Art chalks it up to classic vegan service. Is there something to this? Have you gotten apathetic service at veg restaurants?
The girls and I met Karen for lunch at the Veggie Grill on Campus Drive. This place rocked my taste buds and is 100% animal-free! I have a fantasy that this restaurant replaces every single McDonalds on Earth. Imagine that.
Karen ordered The V-Burger (grilled steak burger) for now and The Stack (grilled veggie sandwich) for later at work. I got the Grillin' Chickin' (with cilantro pesto, avocado & other veggies on a wheat bun). Quinoa is a treat in the salads and you must get Sweetheart Fries.
I can't resist vegan cookbooks, so I was eager to check this place. The store is tucked in the back corner of a San Diego shopping center - similar to the way the books are crammed in the store. Stacks and piles of (mostly) cookbooks everywhere! I like scavenger hunts and found an abundant vegetarian section, but not one vegan book. With all the clutter, I asked. She said there's a HUGE demand for vegan cookbooks and she can not keep them in stock. Disappointing. A Moosewood and Newman's Own Organics Guide was the best I could do.
Vicious Dogs. It's a meathouse with killer vegan hotdogs! Willie understands and cooks it separately with pride. I've raved about this place a time or two before, and I mean it, if you are anywhere near North Hollywood and crave a delicious, no fuss, inexpensive vegan meal, you must give this a try. Really, do yourself a favor.
You see fries, a plain with ketchup for Abi, and my new favorite. A #4 "Chicago Style" featuring tomatoes, onion, peppers, pickle, & green relish. What a treat! So fresh & zesty!
I savored a shopping spree at Whole Foods while in California. I miss them and Trader Joe's dearly since moving to Idaho, but I digress. These are the things that caught my eye: I'd buy both food bars again (Organic Fiber Bar & Raw*Revolution) which are vegan and raw. Nature's Path Hemp Plus Granola is completely addicting. O.N.E. coconut water is rich in potassium & good in smoothies, but I'll stick to bananas. We went ga-ga over the eco-planet cookies. And I look forward to raw chocolate adventures with the cacao beans.
and look! I won a BIG jar of Vitamineral Green from Kristen's Raw, who drinks it daily, says: "Many ways... in a fruit smoothie is great, or add a teaspoon to a green juice. If you're not used to it... start small with a teaspoon in whatever you put it in. I'm at a tablespoon serving now, but I worked my way up to it. Sometimes I just chug it down fast with some water or orange juice - it's very green, but so good for you! It's easily hidden in smoothies though :)"
Next up is a Follow Your Heart restaurant review.
I updated my FB status with, "Vicki asks What to do with all this broccoli?" Getting responses like a YouTube of Dana Carvey's "Chopping Broccoli", or the "Love Food Hate Waste" link with recipes to use it up. Or, a PPK recipe Theresa suggested "Classic Broccoli Quiche" which you see. It was OK. I think it'd be righteous sandwich spread, or burrito filling - being complimented by other ingredients. If nothing else, go learn potluck faux pas & eves drop on the fall-out of one potluck party gone bad.
This is the pie shell I used for the quiche. It was delicious and convenient. No wonder Wholly Wholesome was named "Best Pie Crust" in the November 2008 issue of Real Simple Magazine.
Green because they are organic, animal-free pie shells. They are available in Traditional, Whole Wheat & Spelt, as well as Graham & Chocolate Pie. No kneed to roll the dough.
My Costco broccoli bag continued...
VICKI'S BROCCOLI POTATO SOUP
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
3 lb yukon gold potatoes, chopped
6 cups boiling water
2 tbsp "Better Than Bouillon" vegetable base
4-5 cups fresh broccoli, cooked & drained
sea salt, fresh ground pepper & nutritional yeast
1. In a soup pot saute onion & garlic in oil. Add potatoes, water and veg base. Cover, bring to boil and then reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
2. Clean & remove broccoli stems and steam. Once cooked add to soup.
3. In a food processor puree the soup and return to stock pot. Season with salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast.
If you're lucky, you'll have Sweet & Saras on hand for dessert! Seriously.
Have you heard of Cono Sur?
You can feel even nicer drinking this wine because it's green. They are the first winery in the world to obtain CarbonNeutral delivery status, which means that CO2 emissions from the shipping has been measured and balanced to net zero through Greenhouse Gas Emissions reductions projects. They also grow organic grapes, and ride bicycles. Bet they recycle & compost too. And the wine doesn't suck either!
TUSCAN BRAISED BEANS
COCONUT-LIME BARS
LUNCH MUFFINS
