Mom and Amy do it!

We are having a fabulous ISA CHANDRA MONTH OF FOOD!!!

Saturday, I made the Roasted Red Pepper Mac and Cheese.  Tonight, we made Creamy Potato and Leek Soup AND Roasted Vegetable Romesco Sandwiches.  Man, this stuff tastes so good that it HAS to be fattening just thinking about it.  (Actually not so much, though cashews and almonds make appearances, and I used almond milk in the soup instead of water)  Amy loved the sandwiches, and amazingly enough, there is enough sauce that all we need are veggies and rolls to have this again tomorrow night.  I even have enough soup to take to work, if need be.  For breakfast, I made Chickpea Scramble and roasted potatoes which were delicious.

The BEST Pumpkin Muffins

Vegan With A Vengeance rides again.  That has to be one of the best cookbooks I've ever owned.  It's worth the price just for the pancakes and The Best Pumpkin Muffins (which are in the oven cooking NOW).  Anytime the kids will scarf down something, I end up making it all the time.  And I've also taken the pumpkin muffins to work and shared them with co-workers.  They're better than anything you get at a café, vegan or otherwise.  I will have to make a second pot of coffee just to enjoy with these muffins.

I did have to toss out an old can of pumpkin.  There was green fuzzy stuff growing on the side.  So I opened a new can.  Yes, in a family kitchen, you do find some science experiments in the fridge.  We had just put off using the rest of the pumpkin for forever.  Not this time.  I think I will make some Super Moist Pumpkin Bread later on.

Now for a shameless plug:  You can find a lot of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's recipes on The Post Punk Kitchen website.  However, if you're like me, and you realize the woman is a genius with recipes, you're going to want to buy ALL of her cookbooks. (I don't have them all yet, but I'm getting there.)  I have learned so much from the PPK, I can't even begin to tell.  I think, in a way, cooking and especially baking, is all about proportions of ingredients.  ICM gets it right pretty much every time.  I have yet to make one of her recipes that doesn't work, even if I don't adhere perfectly to everything in it.  As she says in Appetite For Reduction, there are no weird ingredients or strange concoctions; just good food.

Sunday Lunch

I woke up late yesterday, and didn't have time for breakfast.  I was out the door and off to church.  But when I got home, I made up for this oversight, and made the pancakes from Vegan With A Vengeance.  So far, I don't think Isa Chandra Moskowitz has EVER come up with a bad recipe.  Every time I make these pancakes, they are perfect (unless I leave them on too long and they burn, but that's my fault).  I only use pure maple syrup, because life is too short to use corn syrup instead of the real deal.  Aunt Jemima can just forget it.  Log Cabin, eat your heart out.

I think what makes these pancakes so good, at least partly, is the touch of cinnamon.  I do have to be honest, though, I ended up burping cinnamon all day!  And yes, I ate the entire batch.  YUM.  Pure maple syrup and Earth Balance, with a glass of cranberry juice to drink.  What's not to like?

Breakfast and Brunch

I made this chickpea scramble recipe for breakfast this AM.  It was quite good, though I probably should not have omitted the olive oil.  I'm going to use the leftover mix to make beanburgers for brunch.  And we're going to bake some fries as well.  YUM.

Update:  Well, the polls are in - from all 3 of the other people at lunch, Brian, Amy and Gina, and they all agree- these bean burgers taste like Taco Bell!  I think that must be a compliment so I'll take it that way.  I know it was cheaper than Taco Bell, for sure.  Here's something of a recipe:

Chickpea-Cannelloni Bean Burgers
yield 6-8 burgers

½ cup chickpeas, mashed
1 can cannelloni beans, mashed with liquid included
2 TBSP nutritional yeast (or 'nooch' for short)
¼ - ½ cup light whole wheat flour (or as needed)
2 TBSP garbanzo flour (or as needed)
one small onion, finely diced
2 tsp cumin or to taste
2 tsp chili powder or to taste
1 tsp salt or to taste (I wouldn't exceed 1½ tsp)
pepper to taste

Mash all beans together.  Make sure to include the liquid in the canned beans.  If not using canned beans, you are going to want to add about ¼-½ cup water, a little bit at a time.  Combine all above ingredients.  Add additional water or flour, to get a thick batter-type consistence.  If it's too mushy, add flour.  If it's too dry, add a bit of water.  Pancake batter consistency is too thin; aim for more of a bread batter consistency.

Coat a frying pan with non-stick canola oil spray.  Form 2-3" flat patties.  Brown on both sides, keep warm by stacking on a plate.

Enjoy with ketchup, mustard, chili sauce, bbq sauce, whatever you like.