Family meals together

Marcus arrived on December 4th, and it has been pretty hectic.  We finally put up the Christmas tree on Monday night.  I had to beg off of church choir rehearsal that night, and I'm supposed to play flute this Sunday!  I still can't find the music I am supposed to play.  I have no idea where it is.  I'm going to try to look under the piano.  I didn't go to choir because I had to go to the bank's atm at short notice.  This time of year always bites financially.

Anyhow, we've enjoyed some truly singular vegan meals lately.  First of all, I've veganized the Irish Soda Bread recipe from Recipes for a Small Planet.  This is easily done, with applesauce in place of the egg, molasses in place of honey, and soured soy milk in place of buttermilk or yogurt.  I may eventually try this recipe with soy yogurt just to see if it works.  I've made this bread the last two nights and Marcus seems to like it okay.  It's a bit too crusty for the kids, but I intend to make it again and again! 

Sunday, I made Leek and Bean Cassoulet from Veganomicon.  There was enough left over to freeze for two or three days worth of lunches.  Monday night, I made vegan chili using TVP for the first time.  That stuff definitely gives a meaty texture to vegetarian dishes.  I will definitely use it again.  Last night, I made Roman Rice and Beans from Diet for a Small Planet, something I've made time and again, because it's easy and it's vegan without the parmesan.  Marcus, Amy, Chris and Brian all like it.  Somehow, I made it with green peppers last week, and Amy just raved about it.  Last night's rendition contained orange and yellow peppers but it was still VERY good.

Interestingly enough, I much prefer cooking at home now to going out.  Marcus and I are still going out for my birthday Sunday night, but to tell the truth, if he decided to make me a good dinner at home, that would work just as well.  The kids are making brunch for Sunday  noon.  Alison is coming up and she and Amy will probably cook the brunch, though I suspect I will probably take part also.

I think Saturday, I will try making the Almost All-American Seitan Pot Pie from Veganomicon.  That is really good, and I think Marcus would like it.  Yes, I want to make food my husband enjoys.

Pumpkin Pancakes

I got this recipe from Veg Web, but when I went back there and did a search, I couldn't find it.  Soooooooooo...

Here's the recipe:

Meatout Mondays Recipe of the Week: Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So, we figured, why not have breakfast at every meal! Topped off with melty vegan butter and a warm drizzle of maple syrup or agave, these fluffy wonders will have you craving breakfast morning, noon, and night. We won't say anything if you want to stay in your jammies all day long.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups vanilla dairy-free milk
15 oz. can pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp. praline or vanilla extract
maple syrup (optional)
pralines, chopped (optional)

Directions:
1. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together non-dairy milk, pumpkin, brown sugar, canola oil, and extract.
3. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix.
4. Brush nonstick skillet with canola oil (or spray) and heat over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking.
5. Pour about 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto the hot skillet and cook on each side for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until undersides are golden brown. Serve with syrup and chopped pralines.

Recipe courtesy of VegWeb.com.

For this veganized recipe and thousands more, visit:
http://vegweb.com/recipes/pumpkin-pancakes-1

Evidently, I got it all wrong - this recipe came in my e-mail from Meatout Monday- so here's the link so you can find it on teh interwebs:

Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes 

This recipe makes a lot of pancakes, so you're going to want to save some for later.  I made them first on Saturday, but am just posting about them now.  YUM.

One thing - spread the batter out in the frying pan, because otherwise they will take forever to cook.  If you spread the batter out, they will still be fluffy, but they will also not take quite so long to get done.  Pure maple syrup and soy free Earth Balance completes the picture.  (Sorry, no photos, I was in too much of a hurry to eat them!) 

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.