More Recent Eats (hits & misses)

'Corn Muffins' with blueberries from The Joy of Vegan Baking. I used flaxseed instead of Ener-G egg replacer and vanilla flavored soy milk. The recipe doesn't specify, but I think I shouldn't have drained the can of corn, as the mixture was quite thick making the muffins dense. I liked them well enough, but the girls didn't.
Does anyone else listen to Colleen's podcast, Compassionate Cooks? They are super informative & interesting.



That chocolate craving hit us, so I endorsed a batch of 'Bitchtastic Brownies' because the recipe was printed in VegNews (#60) and also because "Skinny Bitch" is in my purse for reading on the go. This picture depicts the best part of our brownies -- scraping down the bowl and licking the spatula. Did I make a mistake? Was that a recipe misprint? The batter seemed runny with 3/4 cup silken tofu plus oil, and only a 1/3 cup flour. Whatever the reason, our brownies resembled gooey fudge, which Liv enjoyed with a spoon until I said "No more."

I love cooking with my crock-pot, so naturally, I was most excited to come across this page of recipes from VegCooking. I followed this recipe exactly for the 'Crock-Pot Chili' adding the optional veggie burger crumbles (Morning Star).
Verdict? Let's just say that If I were going to a chili cook-off tomorrow, this is what I'd making tonight! With a couple minor adjustments like more red pepper flakes, and Art requested sauteed seitan on top next time.



Here's the finishing touches for another recipe from this month's VegNews (#60) 'Irish Soda Bread' by Robin Robertson. This was a quick bread to make from scratch and delicious, too.

Perfect for soaking up chili.







The bread was served warm with a slather of Earth Balance, alongside the chili, topped with a dollop of vegan sour cream, parsley from my AeroGarden, and a ring of steamed kale.

We enjoyed this meal very much! The girls wouldn't touch this meal with a ten-foot pole, but I have high hopes!





Scanning the freezer reminded me that we still had lots of fresh-frozen cherries from last summer. I spotted a blueberry cobbler recipe in The Joy of Vegan Baking, subbed in my cherries, and before you know it, we were eating 'Cherry Cobbler' like it was July.







Taking the skin off garlic is one of Liv's favorite ways to help in the kitchen. This one gave us an extra lesson on how things grow... For example, did you know dinosaurs are the same color as garlic shoots?!








Finally, I couldn't resist making 'White Bean and Kale Soup' which won "Best Soup" in Vegetarian Times', March '08 issue. It was flavorful with yams, great Northern beans, kale, & curry powder -- though it called for smoked paprika, which I can not find anywhere in town. Suppose smoked paprika has penetrated the Idaho state border? Questionable. I should probably just take Julie's advice and visit Penzey's.

Recent Eats

'Potato Chips' are classic. These are a healthier version and take only a little time to prepare.

You'll need 2 baking potatoes, 2 tablespoon olive oil, sea salt & freshly ground pepper, 1 tsp. chopped fresh parsley (from our AeroGarden)
Preheat oven to 400*. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Slice potatoes 1/8 inch thick and toss with oil to coat. Season with salt & pepper. Bake until crisp and browned. Transfer to coffee filters and top with fresh herbs and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately.

Recently a friend asked me "What do vegetarians eat on St. Patrick's Day?"
Hmmm, I've never really thought about that, and didn't have an answer until receiving the March '08 issue of Vegetarian Times. I counted all the recipes, and of 37, 17 are vegan. This is one of those, featuring seitan (I used White Wave), stout beer (Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale), butternut squash (organic), edamame, and fresh thyme (Aerogarden). Yume!



'Updated Irish Stew ' plated up with steamed collared greens, an Idaho potato (with chives from Aerogarden) and Earth Balance, and sliced baby orange bell pepper.

This was good enough to become a new tradition as I've never actually had Irish stew.







I was skeptical of 'Carrot-Pineapple Sunshine Muffins' from Veganomicon from the get-go, and only made them because I was out of stuff for the other muffins. The description says, "These muffins don't rise very high, preferring to have a flat, crisp top instead."

Ahhh ha! I'd found a dud recipe from Isa. Everybody knows the muffin top is the best.



But Liv really wanted to make breakfast muffins and was the prime motivator for our kitchen adventure. We found out she's quite talented at straining pineapple juice.
Art snagged a muffin while they were cooling. "What're these?" And after much munching and "mmmmm-ing" He proclaimed that these were the very best thing I've made since Chocolate Mint Melties (eat, drink, & be vegan). So glad I gave these a try, you should too! :)

Ice Castles & Croquettes

To cool off the kids this summer, make 'Ice Castles'.

The night before just put water in several different sized containers, and freeze.

The next day, pop out the ice, and begin stacking and arranging to build an ice kingdom.

A pair of gloves will come in handy!




"For me? A giant ice sculpure water dish! Rrufff"

So yeah, ice castles even help keep a good dog like Jolie cool.









Once the ice starts melting a bit, it'll fuse together -- so it'd be possible to make The leaning Tower of Pisa.

A friend of mine suggested we try putting food coloring in our next batch. Cool idea. :o)








I couldn't resist making another recipe from the April '07 Vegetarian Times. 'Spinach-Basil Spread' is Julie Hasson's recipe and it's perfect for outdoor munching. It's a snap to whip up with only 6 ingredients (& would have been even easier with a food processor!), and nice to have in the fridge for anytime nibbling.





'Almond-Crusted Quinoa and Celery Root Croquettes' is from Vegan Planet (pg. 226) The original recipe calls for walnuts and millet, but this combination worked out well for me. I'm not into frying food, but really enjoyed these little nuggets. The quinoa gave it a nutty flavor, and I adore the subtle taste of celery root.





I might have to freeze the rest of my birthday cake, we just can't finish it. Is it possible for cake to be too rich?

We leave for California in a few hours, and will be there a couple weeks. (I'm seriously procrastinating all that needs to be done right now!) I anticipate lots of adventure, seeing family & friends, eating at fabulous restaurants, and shopping -- including for a new food processor. I'm sure there'll be times when I can post and visit you along the way & I look forward to that! XOXO

Feliz Cinco de Mayo

May 5 provides the perfect opportunity to splurge on some avocados and make a batch of 'Guacamole'. Lime is my key ingredient. And I also like to use elephant garlic, which is noted for its gigantic size and mild, delicate flavor. To that, I added finely chopped onions, tomato, fresh cilantro, sea salt & white pepper. Leave the pit in the middle and that'll help prevent discoloration. Garnish with lime & fresh cilantro. Toast some flour tortillas in the oven to dip it up!


This is a bowl of 'Lentil Soup with Avocado' which is Irma Paz-Bernstein's recipe (she was recently a featured chef in newspapers). It's a tomato base soup with onion, garlic, lentils, and zesty spices including Sriracha. I garnished it with a dollop of Tofutti, fresh cilantro, and half an avocado sliced. It was yummy having some avocado in each bite, and the "cream cheese" added a nice creamy-ness. Left-over tortilla chips from the earlier snack came in handy.


The recipe for 'Vanilla Pound Cake with Lime Glaze' came from the April '07 issue of Vegetarian Times. There's silken tofu inside, which creates a moist and lightly sweetened cake. It would please company, and fresh berries would be a nice compliment.

Mi cumpleanos es cinco dias despues Cinco de Mayo! Art wants to bake my cake (he he!) And, he's taking me shopping for a new food processor! *cheers* I'd love to hear your food processor shopping tips. What kind do you have? Love it? or Hate it?

Mini Meatless "Meatloaf" Sandwiches

What to do with left-over French bread rolls? Make mini meatloafs, of course! I remembered this post at Vegan Eats & Treats, and I had a copy of April's vegetarian times. When I realized the recipe was Julie's, I knew I was down because I really enjoy her 'cooking show', which is posted on her new blog.

Vegan Meatloaf. It sounds like an oxymoron, <----- looks like this, and tastes delicious.



Mini 'Meatless "Meatloaf" Sandwiches', on 'Easy French bread' rolls, with organic ketchup.
Watermelen balls & strawberry; beside Yukon Gold potatoes mashed with Silk and Earth Balance, on Kale ruffles.

Pick up a magazine for the recipe, but don't let the title fool you, the majority of the recipes inside are vegan, including 4 "Lickety-Split lunches" from Julie Hasson.