Merry Christmas!

We give gifts of zucchini bread to family and friends every year.  This year is no exception.

Here is the recipe we used this year:

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup applesauce
1 cup vegetable oil
2¼ cups sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325ºF.

Combine all applesauce, vegetable oil, sugar and vanilla until creamy.  In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients, whisking together until well combined.  Then, combine dry with wet, adding zucchini and walnuts until all is well mixed.

Divide batter between two well-greased and floured loaf pans.  Put in preheated oven and bake for 1 hour.  Check for doneness with a butter knife in the center of each loaf.  Bake another 10 minutes if needed.   Enjoy!

We had some for breakfast this morning and it was delicious.  It's very moist and can be toasted if you like.  We're using our Kitchenaid mixer that Marcus gave me for Christmas last year.  It is very sturdy and can mix double and even triple batches.  We're having a lot of fun with it.

Belated Birthday post

I almost forgot to post something about my birthday.  It was a wonderful day.  Amy gave me a little book, a copy of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, which is a favorite of mine.  Marcus gave me a Le Creuset baking dish - very very nice.  I will definitely use this!
Amy made a feast of Spaghetti For Peanuts (veganized, from Diet For A Small Planet) and roasted Brussels sprouts.  She also made a veganized Red Velvet cake.  YUM!  We had some really good eating today.

Later, Marcus took me out to dinner and we went to Tito's Diner.  I had their hummus and a veggie burger and sweet potato fries.  YUM.

All in all, it was a very fun birthday!

Twice baked potatoes

I used to make my own recipe for these back in my pregan days.  I used copious amounts of sour cream, but pretty much they were like the video in the link below:

Twice Baked Potatoes - Food Wishes

Anyhow, I think I can veganize them as follows:

Bake several russet potatoes at 400ºF for an hour.

Placing them lengthwise, cut about 1/3 of the skin off, and scrape out the the potato from the skin.  Save the cut part, and put it inside the hollowed out larger part.

Mix together the baked potato, some Earth Balance spread, some green onions, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper.  When mixed well, add some Daiya cheddar shreds and some vegan sour cream. (The original recipe calls for butter, cheddar cheese and heavy cream)  Mix all this together very well, until it is creamy.  Fill the potato husks so they are heaping with potato filling.

Bake the filled potatoes at 400ºF for 20-30 minutes to brown them.

Eat and enjoy!

Work out

Getting the other half of the equation going now.  Rode the lifecycle at level 2 for 20+ minutes.  I want to work back up to 25, then 30.  Watched BBC America all the while.  Only thing I don't like - advertisements.  But you take the good with the not-so-good.  Still a good beginning to working out again.

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.

By Request

Tonight, for the second night this week, we're having Roman Rice and Beans.  I made this with green pepper for the first time the other night, and Amy & Brian loved it!  They requested I make it again tonight, so I acquiesced.  I made sure I used the amounts of spices called for in the recipe (Diet For A Small Planet). AND I made sure I chopped the tomatoes almost in a dice, since Amy usually does not like tomatoes.  With bread, of course.  Frances Moore Lappé suggests serving with a salad, but this is enough food and veggies without the salad.  This is also one of the DFASP recipes that doesn't have to be veganized, because it's vegan already (if you leave out the parmesan). Viva homecooked meals!

Veganomicon black bean burgers with a twist

Instead of ketchup or tomato paste, I added BBQ sauce (vegan as far as I know, but not really entirely sure - it sure tastes good)  to the black bean burger recipe from Veganomicon.  So far, so good.  With sweet potato fries.  Brian & I will have a good lunch.  No meals out today.  Too many crazy people out there on the road and elsewhere this Black Friday.

Update: General Tso's tofu at China Delight for dinner.  Oh well...

An almost all-vegan Thanksgiving

First of all, this morning I made chickpea scramble for breakfast.

Recipe:  1 can chickpeas, buzzed in food processor (I think next time I will just mash them with a fork and see if that works just as well)
             1 TBSP olive oil in pan for cooking
             1 small onion, chopped
             1 clove garlic, smashed
             1 tsp cumin
             1 TBSP soy sauce
             1 TBSP nutritional yeast

Heat up oil, then sautée onions and garlic in oil.  Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until a little crusty around the edges.  Enjoy!

Yesterday, everything on the Thanksgiving table was vegan except for the green bean casserole.  We made vegan gado-gado, with steamed broccoli and carrots, and roasted broccoli and Brussels sprouts.  We also made mashed sweet potatoes - next time we will make sure we don't cook them until closer to the time we eat, because they were a little cold.  The stuffing was a no-go, so we won't do that again, or I will try to find a recipe instead of winging it.  We all enjoyed each other's company.  It was all four kids - Alison, Chris, Brian and Amy, Alison's husband Shane and me.  Oh, and gluten-free squash pancakes and gluten-free noodles.  Because Shane has celiac disease.  I was glad we had food he could eat and enjoy.  The pancake batter made even better waffles.  So I may just make waffles with it when I do it.  We loaded up all kinds of stuff and took it to my mom's.  We did miss her, but she likes the traditional Thanksgiving food, so I don't think she would have liked what we made.

But we had a good time.  I am so grateful I have wonderful kids and a wonderful son-in-law.

Black Bean Burgers

We made the Black Bean Burgers recipe from Veganomicon, the Roasted Brussels Sprouts from Vegan With A Vengeance and mashed potatoes with a secret ingredient - grated onions.  All in all, a delicious meal!  Thanks to Amy for your help and your idea for the onions in the mashed potatoes.

update - those black bean burgers are GOOD

The end and the beginning

Well, a few days ago, the 2012 Vegan Month of Food came to an end.  I really enjoyed blogging about all the different things I was making.  In a way, I wish EVERY month was a Vegan Month of Food.  I'll continue blogging about the new recipes I'm trying and talking about those that become favorites.

On another note: I start a new job November 19.  I am excited, but a little scared.  It's going to be a promotion, and hopefully a new challenge.  I have some worries, which I won't detail here, but I am praying about this, and people at my church are praying for me.  I guess mostly I'm worried about a change since I've had my current job since 2008.  I should be used to a change every three or four years since I was in the Navy and moved around pretty much at that interval (except for San Diego, which I loved and stayed for 7 years).

I had my annual mammogram this morning.  Hopefully everything will be okay.  Fingers crossed.

Tonight is Band Together to Fight Hunger.  I will have to remember to bring a canned good or two so I can get in to watch the bands perform.

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!) 

Chai Spice Snickerdoodles

Chai Spice Snickerdoodles

I made the substitution of ¼ cup applesauce for ¼ cup (half the original amount) of oil, and these cookies came out very chewy.  Delicious.  Also, in the spices on top, I didn't have any cardamom, so I used ½ tsp of allspice instead.

Cheater Chili

This recipe comes from The Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Hester.  Really simple.  I didn't use black beans because I'm all out; instead I used extra pintos.  Didn't have any kidney beans either, so I used cannelloni beans.  And Texas Pete hot sauce instead of Tabasco.  But, other than those substitutions, I made the recipe as is.  On high, it's 11:13 now; the chili should be done before 3:30 PM if the power doesn't go out before then.  I guess we'll see what Ms. Sandy is going to do.

Sweet potato and black bean stew with quinoa

I made up this recipe, because I didn't have all the ingredients for any of the recipes I looked up that involved sweet potatoes and black beans. 

First, I cooked a boatload of quinoa in my rice cooker.  Turned out pretty good, though I guess I needed to rinse the quinoa a little better.

Second, I diced and roasted two large sweet potatoes.  This was almost too much, except for the brazen sweet potato lover (me). 

In my soup/stew pot, I sautéed a diced onion and added a can of black beans (drained) and a can of diced tomatoes (with juice).  I seasoned it with a TBSP of chili powder and a tsp of cumin, as well as a dash of garlic powder.  TASTY!

I combined all these things and VOILA!  Pretty good for an improvised recipe.

The kids liked it better once they added some Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce.

Public Service Announcement

It's not just Frankenstorm - we also have to worry about the Zombie Apocalypse.  Leave it to the zombies to decide to have their apocalypse during the worst storm in ages.  Beware, everyone!

PPK saves the day

Roasted Butternut Alfredo

The minute I first saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it.  I love me some butternut squash and in my pregan days, I adored a good alfredo sauce.  Add to that, that Isa Chandra Moskowitz can do no wrong in the kitchen, and I am convinced.  So tonight, I'm making her Roasted Butternut Alfredo with pasta for dinner.  I think we have some salad, but I'm not convinced we need it.

Update:  left out the wine, and I think I put too much nooch (nutritional yeast) in the sauce.  And too much miso.  I don't like the way it smells.

Update 2:  It tastes pretty good.  So I think I will try making it again, and maybe cut back on the nooch and the miso.

Meals out

I have been eating too many French fries and too many orders of General Tso's Tofu.   I like the latter best with lots of broccoli.  But I hope to eat at home all this weekend.

Hummus

Amy borrowed a book from the library entitled Sam Stern's Get Cooking,  She wants to have more say in what we cook, since I do not like going out for dinner anywhere near as much as I used to.  Mr. Stern's hummus recipe is in the back of the book, on page 140 under the heading Essential Extras.  Now, anyone who has been vegan for a while knows that one always needs a good go-to hummus recipe.  What else are you going to dip all those raw veggies into?

We did sub a teaspoon of white vinegar for the lemon juice, but other than that we followed the recipe.  We both tasted it before we put it in the fridge to chill.  I think it probably has a bit too much garlic for my taste, but it does have a nice 'kick' to it, that makes it more than just bland old chickpeas ground up.  Amy also, kind of by accident, added dill to it, so it has something extra that makes it even better.

We'll update later on how it tastes once it has chilled for a few hours or so.

Update:  We had the hummus for an after-dinner something (not sure what you call that, second course, perhaps?).  It was nicely chilled and we ate it dipping toasted whole wheat pita chips in it.  VERY GOOD.  

A fungus among us

I had vegetable lo mein for lunch and it contained several whole mushrooms- shaped like a tiny Christmas tree -not sure what they are called.  I LOVE mushrooms. 
Why a post about mushrooms? Well, my kids all hate them.  Amy especially dislikes them because they are a fungus.  I can't seem to find a way to get them to eat them.  And that goes for chopped up as well as sliced.

One week later, or more, I still have a box of fresh mushrooms in the fridge.  I might eat them with a salad this afternoon.  Waiting for Hurricane Sandy to hit.

Crockpot Black Bean Stew

Brian has a chorus concert tonight, and we very much need dinner to be ready by 5.  Hopefully, that will be the case.  The thing is, the crockpot recipes in the cookbooks cook in under 8 hours.  I have anywhere from 10-13 hours before we eat dinner, so I need something with a longer, not shorter cooking time.

 Soooooo....
This is one I made up all by myself.  Pretty much.  I cut up carrots, celery, and potatoes and put them in the crockpot.  Then I emptied a bag of dried black turtle beans into the pot.  I added ½ tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp cumin and 1 TBSP chili powder to the mix.  My greatest fear with this is that I may have added too many dried beans and not have enough water to cook them completely.  The pot is chock full to the brim.