Food

Running Around

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Good Morning Bloggies!

I know summer is (almost) finally here because I have been running around like a crazy person the past few days.  It’s a good run around though! The Hubz and I finally got our memberships at the YMCA and are looking forward to taking advantage of everything it has to offer.  Yesterday we both ran on the treadmill (even though it was beautiful out- fail) and this morning despite my desire to go to the gym early I chose to snuggle under the blankets with the Hubz and kitty instead; guess I’ll be heading there after work!

After the gym yesterday we came home and I made “pizzas” on sprouted grain tortillas and topped them with lots of garlic, portobello mushrooms, chilies, tomatoes, and dates.  Yes DATES! Such a good combination with everything, you should really try it on your next pizza.

After dinner we walked down to our garden plot and planted some red Russian & lacinato kale, astro arugula and cosmic purple carrots.  We are still discussing what other veggies we want to grow – what do you think we should grow? What are you growing in your garden this year?

After planting we headed home but first we stopped to watch the beautiful sunset over the lake- so pretty!

Today is going to be another busy day with work, meeting up with a girl-friend, gym, health coaching work, blogging and gardening tonight! To help fuel us through the day I made a batch of Isa’s Banana Flapjacks and topped with coconut, berries and maple syrup- DELICIOUS!

A Difficult Mistake To Make Again

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Yesterday morning I had my heart set on making this recipe .  I had all the ingredients for the mole sauce and prepared it in the morning so I would only have to worry about making the tamales when I arrived home after work.  Well I spent the rest of the day thinking about the fact that I wasn’t in love with the mole sauce and also how it seemed silly to try to make something when corn isn’t in season and frozen corn for the tamales just didn’t seem like it would be as good. So, I scrapped it which put me in another dilemma- How can I use this sauce?

I decided to make enchiladas and I picked up the fixings for them which was the easy part.  Now to the hard part making this raw mole sauce into a mole enchilada sauce that tasted good.  I started by heating the mole sauce with vegetable broth to thin it out, however this did not improve the taste- it just was like spicy, nutty, chocolate soup.  Then I got the idea to add more chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, ume plum vinegar, tomato sauce and a number of other things I can’t remember until it tasted good.

I made a filling of refried beans, mushrooms and spinach which I then rolled up and placed in a baking dish.  I topped with the mole enchilada sauce and a dusting of nutritional yeast and placed in the oven to bake for 20 minutes uncovered.  Once it came out of the oven I topped with a drizzle of smoky paprika cheeze sauce (based off this recipe) and a little avocado.

Well they look good right? Now the test was to see if they actually tasted as good as they look. The verdict: they were really amazing, however due to all the playing around to make the sauce taste good it is going to be difficult to recreate this dish that turned out amazing by mistake. Oh well, I think I have enough knowledge on how to recreate it and I hope to try it again- but this time I will write everything down so you can try it too!

For dessert we tried one of the sample cookies sent to me from Enjoy Life Foods; they sent the Snickerdoodle, Double Chocolate Brownie and Lively Lemon to test out for them. Last night we tried the Snickerdoodle, overall the Hubz and I thought that they were okay. They were nice and soft but we both felt that they were super sugary tasting and the texture was almost like eating brown sugar (we just aren’t sugar lovers).  I am hoping that the other two flavors are better.

It’s Burning Up In Here

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This afternoon was spent menu planning for the next few weeks.  I know you are probably thinking weeks??? is she crazy?! Yes I am a little crazy but that’s besides the point.  Next week is the kick of of my Vegan Cookbook Club which means I will be trying out recipes from Veganomicon, our first book.  I also am still working on recipes for my upcoming e-book, the blog and a third e-book so I had major menu planning that needed to be done.

Benefits of menu planning:

  • Savings- By planning meals ahead of time you can save money because you are less apt to do spontaneous dining out.  Also when you plan ahead you can make a list of what you need and can avoid making spontaneous purchases.
  • Healthier- When you eat at home you can have control over your portion sizes, amount of salt and fat and  you know the quality of your ingredients.

On the menu tonight was Bangers & Mash with a caramelized onion gravy…..however Bangers & Mash turned into Mash.

Then it happened-I went to remove the sheet pan from the oven that had my vegan sausages and my oven mitt betrayed me causing me to drop the pan into the oven spilling everything into the bottom of my oven leaving me with a few carrots and three burned fingers.

I ran immediately to a sink to run my hands under cold water which helped for a minute but then resulted in me running around the house in search of the first aid kit for sting relief napkins.

The Hubz took over the kitchen and replaces the sausage with a 1/2 a veggie burger each. Crisis averted. Now I sit on the couch with ice on my fingers. Oh the risks of cooking!

Oats In A Jar, Oats In A Jar, I love me some Oats In A Jar

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This morning was wonderful because there were Oats In A Jar (OIAJ) aka the best breakfast ever! My husband and I actually have an “Oats in a Jar” song which I can’t help but sing (slightly off key) while I make my oats in a jar because its just that exciting; its not every morning that you get to have OIAJ.

This is where it all starts- a almost empty nut butter jar- this morning it was a Peanut Butter Jar

Other items in this mornings mix: cooked rolled oats (1/2 cup rolled oats + 1 cup water; bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until cooked 5-7 minutes), defrosted frozen mixed berries, chia seeds, and a little crunchy granola topping.

Nothing goes better with OIAJ than a nice mug of coffee and an excuse to use my new french press.

My parents got me this little french press for Christmas and it is perfect for those mornings when the Hubz or I are alone and want one cup of coffee instead of making a large french press. Curious on how to use a french press? Check out my how to post here.

Are you a french press, electric coffee maker or instant person? I am a french press person at our house, if we are out I will buy drip coffee but we don’t have an electric coffee maker at home.  I really find that a french press makes the best cup of coffee but that’s just me.

Chocolate Bock Gingerbread Cupcakes

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To me it really doesn’t seem like Christmas without gingerbread.  We usually make gingerbread cookies or gingersnaps, which I know isn’t the same as gingerbread but we like ginger something at Christmas.  This year I decided to make cupcakes but not just any cupcakes these ones have beer in them, Chocolate Bock to be exact.  The Chocolate Bock is a dark beer that is slightly sweet.

Makes 18 cupcakes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup vegan margarine (Earth Balance)
  • 1 cup raw sugar
  • 3 “eggs” (I used Egg Replacer)
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cloves
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 cup molasses
  • 1 cup Chocolate Bock or other dark beer (stout or dark bock would work best)

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 12 cupcake pan and a 6 cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
  2. In a stand mixer or large bowl with an electric beater, cream together the margarine and raw sugar.  Beat in the “eggs” until combined.
  3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg.
  4. In a another medium bowl combine the molasses and beer and stir to dissolve.
  5. Add the dry ingredients and beer mixture alternately to the margarine mixture, beating after the addition of each.
  6. Fill the cupcake liners until about 3/4 full and bake for 20-22 minutes until lightly browned and when a tooth pick is inserted it comes out clean.
  7. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then remove and continue to cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, frost with vanilla frosting or glaze with my orange spice glaze (recipe below).

Orange Spice Glaze

Ingredients:

  • 1 box of lite silken tofu (I used mori-nu)
  • zest and juice of 1 medium orange
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp ginger
  • 1.5 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

  1. Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.

Thanksgiving Vegan Style

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The Hubz and I were lucky to be invited to a wonderful vegan Thanksgiving potluck on Saturday night at some (hopefully) new friends home.  We were a little nervous at first since we didn’t know anyone and I am a bit shy (yes me) when I first meet people but it ended up being a really wonderful experience.  Everyone was super friendly and we felt completely welcomed.  For the potluck I made my Thanksgiving Tart with a few twist- I actually made the crust and I added mushrooms to the mix. I had leftover crust so I made a rustic tart with roasted pear, apples and cranberries as well.

Along with my Thanksgiving Tart we had stuffed tomatoes, whipped sweet potatoes, shredded Brussels sprouts with candied pecans, stuffing, mushroom gravy and rolls- everything was really delicious.  For dessert we had cupcakes, pumpkin cheezecake, cranberry apple crisp and my rustic tart- I split a little bit of everything except the cupcake (which I am sure were delicious). I’m looking forward to the next potluck!

Table of Goodies

Heather's Plate

Payton's Plate

Payton's Dessert Plate

How are you celebrating Thanksgiving this year? What will you be making?