A Bundt Cake and a Few "Cheesy" Things...

Lemon Coconut Bundt Cake from VEGANOMICON
(I made a lemon icing for the cake... it was so amazing)

If there was only 1 way to bond with Joelle, cooking would be it. Luckily we have more than that BUT we do like to cook together. The nonstop laughter, the threatening that comes from one of us when the other wont stop eating the damn cookie dough, the "let's just drink the coconut mixture, we don't need to add flour, we don't need to make the cake!" You name it, it's amazing.

I really wanted to make this cake so naturally I asked her to come make it with me. But I was going to make this with a loaf pan. (I had wanted a bundt pan, just hadn't gotten one yet.) So, she bought me a bundt pan and we were able to make this cake the way it is suppose to be made. not only the best tasting cake ever, but in a presentation that shows of it's wonderful...ness.

Thanks Joey.

"Cheesy" Fettuccine w/ Kale

I liked this. It wasn't overpowering in flavor and it had KALE! (We all know how I loves my kale!)

1 package fettuccine
1 recipe Queso (without extra spices) from VeganExplosion
Chopped kale (about 2 handfuls worth)

Cook your fettuccine. While you wait for your noodles, cook your chopped kale in a pan with a few tbsp of water or vegetable broth. I usually use a tbsp of olive oil and let it coat the kale then I add 1 tbsp of water or broth. When kale is soft, turn off heat

Finally, make your "cheese" sauce. (queso)

Add all of your goodness together and there you have it. This recipe can be very versatile so feel free to add all kinds of whatnots to make it just how you like it.

OR...

...instead of fettuccine you can cook 1 and 1/2 lbs of potatoes and have:

"CHEESY" KALETATOES!!!!!

Scrambled Tofu

Front: Scrambled Tofu, Behind: Salsa Variation

When I first became an herbivore I decided to try tofu. My mom ate it all the time when I was growing up but I never liked it. She also use to eat it by the scoop right out of the container and that really grossed me out as a kid. At first when I started cooking it I didn't like it but I later realized that I wasn't making it properly and that is why it was so tasteless. I have learned to love tofu like most vegan and vegetarians. GO TOFU!!!!!

Simple Scrambled Tofu

1 container extra firm tofu (crumbled)
1-2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1-2 teaspoons salt
1 tbsp olive oil
few cloves of garlic OR garlic powder
3 stalks green onion chopped
OPTIONAL: few scoops of your favorite salsa


Heat a medium sized skillet to med heat. If using fresh garlic you ant to use 1tbsp olive oil and cook your garlic first. If not add your tofu directly to an non oiled pan. Cook the tofu on medium to medium high heat and stir once every 30 seconds or so. The thing is you want your tofu to be drained of most of its wetness. Once the tofu is dry lower heat. add 1tbsp olive oil and mix thoroughly. Add nutritional yeast, salt, and the chopped green onion. Mix until all is blended. If adding optional salsa add last and mix well.

This tasted really good with my German Sunflower seed bread. If you want to add margarine instead of the olive oil feel free.

Sushi Part Deux

Fried Tofu and and Semi-Spicy Tempeh roll

I am fully aware that I have blogged about sushi making before. I love it. When I ate fish I couldn't get enough of it. Now that I am vegan I am finding out new ways to make it. I know this sounds strange to hear a vegan say but I don't have many vegetables in the house right now (waiting for pay day) so I decided to fry strips of tofu in a batter and panko crumbs to use inside the sushi. I also added Tempeh that I crumbled, cooked and spiced up! Then... I did something horrible. I rolled the entire sushi roll in batter and panky and friend that too. Honestly, I need to kick this frying thing I go through once a week.

I must say... these were the best rolls I have made yet. I don't think me explaining rolling sushi to you would be helpful. It's best to watch someone do it. So, like my first sushi post I am going to send you on over to the PPK EPISODE (episode 1) that helped me make these. They made different rolls than I did but experimenting is the most fun part!



Semi-Spicy Tempeh Roll

TO ALL OF MY FRIENDS IN VEGAS:

Sushi night at my house will be happening soon. Be prepared. It will be amazing. Lets get this planned!!!

Veganomicon: Chickpea Cutlets

Yum!!!

'Nuff Said.

Curse of "I don't remember how I made this!!!"

I'm sure it's happened to everyone. You make something amazing and can't remember exactly how you made it. I have a few examples of this very tragedy. First up:

Broccoli Potato Soup

I've been sick this week and I just wanted something to warm me up and make me feel better. What better way to do that than have soup! Well, this soup came out amazing. Sucky part is I don't remember half of what I used to make it. I remember potatoes, broccoli, water... yea that's it. I wish I could remember because I would sure love to have that again.

Colcannon

This is another one that is amazing that I have NO IDEA how I made it. I remember purple cabbage and kale mixed with potatoes, but I didn't write down what I used like most times. I am upset about this one too because it came out so GREAT!!! It was my first time making colcannon and I rocked it.

What a tragedy these 2 were! Luckily I only really have those 2. I also apologize for not posting as much during VeganMoFo. I stay pretty busy and it's hard to stay on top of the things I do that bring me great joy, for I am too busy working on the things that make me tired (school, work... blah) Hopefully I will be able to shell out a few greats before the month is up. Thanks for following guys!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

It took me a while to find just the right Chocolate chip cookie recipe. I tried a few recipes from cookbooks that I bought and I honestly have to say... they were POO compared to this one! I should have known that I should have just turned to the one and only Isa Moskowitz for the perfect cookie recipes. I mean COME ON!!!

This recipe came from her amazing cookbook VEGAN WITH A VENGEANCE. They are great!

Chorizo breakfast potatoes

These were so easy it was insane! I actually had never eaten soyrizo (soy chorizo) before. Even back when I was a meat eater I never had chorizo. I wasn't sure what to expect with soyrizo, but if Kim (The Vegan Mouse) liked to cook with it I was sure it would taste great. I opened the package and gave it a little taste and sure enough... it was amazing!

1 Large potato of choice. ( I used a red potato.)

2 cups of chopped kale
1 cup of cilantro leaves (no stems)
1 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tsp water
dash of salt
dash of garlic powder
1 soy chorizo link

First boil your potatoes. While they are cooking chop up your kale and prepare your cilantro. (I took the stems off but if you don't like to that's fine, just chop them up well) In a pan, cook your kale with 1 tbsp olive oil and add a few tsp of water to soften them up. when the kale wilts add the cilantro and mix well. When potatoes are finishes mash them, but not fully. A few mashes should do fine. Chunky potatoes rock. add the kale mixture and mix together well.

In a small separate pan take a dash of olive oil and cut open your chorizo link and add it to the pan mix it around until its evenly heated and add it to your potatoes.Ad your salt and garlic powder for taste. (not too much, don't overpower the wonderful chorizo's flavors!) Mix well and there you have it!

I had some of these today and I was very grateful that I took the chance on chorizo.

VeganMoFo, 2008

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Fried Tofu

This was pretty easy. I cut strips of garlic tofu steak and dipped them into the leftover batter from the fried seitan I made. I also cut these up and put them on a salad.

Look to my post for Seitan for the battering recipe.

To add a little more flavor to this, sprinkle your favorite seasonings on your tofu before battering.

Fried Seitan Salad w/ Noochy Salad Dressing

Unfortunately I am NOT the creator of this Seitan recipe. I got it from an AWESOME blog called Vegan Yum Yum. You should all check it out! (recipe here) I did not make her exact salad, I will one day though because hers looks incredible. Lolo is the SHIT!

HI LOLO!!!

Honestly, her blog is beautiful, she has amazing pictures and she is kind of my inspiration when it comes to her blog. I plan on taking much better pictures of my dishes and hopefully creating as nice a blog as she has. Swing by and give her blog a look-see!!!

OH! And as for my Noochy Salad Dressing... I am still working out the recipe to make it just right. As soon as I do that, I will post... I SWEAR!

Avocado Spread on Focaccia

I apologize to all of you that are following this blog and are let down that it's been probably a week and a half since I posted anything. Last week was finals week at school and I didn't do as much cooking. I'll make it up to you all.

Avocado Spread on Italian Focaccia

Joelle came over last weekend and we decided to make these. It is really quick and easy.

Avocado Spread:
1 ripe avocado
3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
bit of each: fresh minced garlic (or powder), salt, pepper
few dashes of rice vinegar
1 small tomato sliced thin, thick, whatever
your bread of choice

Mix all of the ingredients except the tomato together in a small bowl. Apply your spread to your bread and add those lovely tomatoes on top of the avocado-y goodness. If you are using the focaccia, you can spread a little vegan margarine on each half and place them face down in a skillet to crisp it up a little. That's how I did mine. Soft outside and crispy center. MmMmMmMmMmMm!!!

A Simple dinner for myself

BBQ Tofu Steak, Green beans and Kaletatoes

I was going to post this last night after dinner but I posted a lot yesterday so I figured I'd wait a day. This is just a post to show you my quick bbq tofu and favorite new thing to eat... KALETATOES!!! Kaletatoes is my new word for kale mixed with mashed potatoes. It is really amazing. I think I am addicted to kale now. I've had 3 recipes on this blog involving kale. I can't help it, it's just the greatest! AND!!! It's good for you!

The money shot!

Kaletatoes:

-1 bunch of Kale chopped as fine as you can get it
-2 lbs of potatoes peeled, cut into cubes and cooked the way you like them, then mashed
-2 or 3 cloves minced garlic (how ever much garlic you want actually)
-1/4 cup vegetable broth
-1tbsp olive oil
-your favorite seasoning to make it taste the way YOU want it to
-some vegan margarine

Use a deep pot to cook your kale. It seems like it'd be a lot BUT it shrinks in the pot just like spinach or greens. Add the olive oil and garlic to the pot and cook the garlic stirring constantly on medium/low heat until they start to lightly brown. Then toss in your chopped kale and mix it all together with the vegetable broth. Let the kale cook, stirring occasionally. When the kale is soft and ready you can add it to the mashed potatoes and mix well. Add any seasonings you may want to personalize your kaletatoes. Also, you may want 1 tbsp of vegan margarine and a little bit more vegetable broth to get it mixing smoothly.

There you have it! your very own Kaletatoes!

NACHOS!!!!!!! *girly squeal*

Who doesn't like nachos?!?!? I freaking LOVE them!!! These are especially special. They contain my new favorite food... Queso from Vegan Explosion. Even my very not vegan roommate ate these happily. (Thanks Neener!) I think I ate WAY too much of this, but I couldn't help myself. They are so good.

What you'll need:
-1 can of vegetarian refried beans (lard-less por favor!)
-1 recipe of Queso
-chopped tomatoes
-guacamole (I store bought mine this time)
-2 tbsp vegan margarine
-small amount of chopped onion (optional if you don't like onion)
-plain tortilla rounds (don't get flavored and rob this recipe of its greatness!)
-litte bit of salt and pepper

FIRST: PREPARE YOUR QUESO!!! Make sure you follow directions carefully. After you remove the queso from the heat and are done with it, set it aside.



THEN: Place your beans into a medium sauce put and cook them in medium heat with 2 tbsp of vegan margarine. Stir occasionally, lower heat after mixed well and very soft.




NOW: Chop up your tomato and mix a small amount of onion and salt and pepper with it. Only a little salt IF ANY, there will be plenty of flavor coming from the Queso!



AND FINALLY, THE ASSEMBLY!

What I like to do is take each chip and layer each chip with beans, then tomato, then guacamole, then pour a little Queso over the top of each little mound. That way they are easier to eat and they also present better. No wasted goodness on the bottom of your plate!

Falafel

So, I was at work and Zach was talking about an amazing falafel he had. Here's how the rest of that conversation that conversation went:

ME: (calling back to him as I'm leaving the music department) Hmm.. I've never had a falafel.
ZACH: GET BACK HERE!! What did you just say?!
ME: (walking back over to him) I've never had a falafel?
ZACH: (angry silence) You're a vegetarian and you've never eaten a falafel?!?!

I explained to him that it's not that I WOULDN'T eat a falafel, I've just never had one. Then, this followed:

ME: Hmm.. I'll have to try that.
ZACH: You better!!!!!!!

(Right: Falafal mixture + water)

So, seeing as that conversation was one of many I've had with him that stuck out in my mind, I decided to have myself a falafel! SO!!! I went to the Whole Foods by my house and while I was there I picked up some falafel mix. When I got home I was really eager to make it.

WHAT YOU NEED:
-Falafel mix
-water
-diced tomatoes
-chopped lettuce (I used red leaf lettuce)
-tahini mixture (this is optional and there should be a recipe for that on the box)
-your favorite kind of pita bread

The easiest part about store bought falafel mix is that all you have to do is add water! Any fool could do that! And since my mama didn't raise no fool... you get the point. I enjoy easy foods because I have little time to spend on cooking. I also was kinda iffy about having to fry them. I haven't had hardly any fried food in about 5 months so I was afraid it would hit my stomach wrong. BUT!, everything turned out ok!

I chopped up some tomatoes, lettuce and mixed together a Tahini sauce. I'm not big on tahini but it actually goes well with the falafel! I assembled them onto a whole wheat pita and BOOM! MY FIRST FALAFEL EVER!!!!!(eating and making one.) And, it tasted pretty darn good if I do say so myself.

I probably won't have these very often because they are fried. These will be more like a reward dinner or something.

The up close view:

QUESO?!?!?!?

When I made my transition to veganism I knew it was going to be a challenge to give up cheese. Cheese is naturally addictive because of what is used to make it and I knew I was in for it. It took 2 months for me to actually see or smell it and not want to eat it. There are some people that NEVER get over that. I got lucky I guess, but there are still some times where I want something that is close to a cheesy flavor. I was going through online vegan cooking websites that I have saved as bookmarks and found something that I forgot about. VEGAN EXPLOSION.

I remembered seeing that they had a recipe for QUESO. From what the site claimed, it was extremely close to a cheesy flavor. I've had "cheesy" things before and let me tell you... some didn't taste too great. Well... this recipe really impressed me!

It is not my recipe and I don't want to try to pass it off as my own recipe. It came from HERE if you are interested in how it is made. I am also new to using Nutritional Yeast, and so far so good!

I was really happy with it. I have actually wanted something like this for my Tacos I love to make so much. This will make a nice addition to them!

I love you all!!!!!

You guys are awesome. I'm saying this to the many people in my life that have been there for me and supported me through my transition to living a vegan lifestyle. I actually thought it would be a challenge but it really hasn't been. How could it be when you have:
-Friends coming over to make vegan meals with you
-Friends shopping for produce with you
-People bringing you vegan meals they've made
-People giving me ideas for good eats
-Being a part of 2 online forums of vegans who give advice/cooking tips/health tips

AND!!!!!

-Having non-vegan and vegan friends anxious to get a hold on some of my animal-free creations.

You're all amazing. Thank you for being there for me and keeping the vegan jokes to a minimum.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes... WHOO!!

Baking is so much fun. The weather has been kind of nicer here at night so it's not such a scary thing to turn on the oven after the sun goes down. The air was nice and cool last night so I decided to take advantage and bake up some goodness!!! Last night I baked a batch of Peanut butter cupcakes. They were so good. I got the recipe from Yet another Isa and Terry Cookbook called VEGAN CUPCAKES TAKE OVER THE WORLD. This isn't my first time making these, it's my third time. For those of you who know me, I am a peanut butter fanatic. These just made my life a little more peanut buttery!


Let me tell you, the first time I made these my cupcakes sank. I was so upset! I couldn't figure out what I did wrong. Come to find out my oven is all wonkyass and doesn't heat properly unless you wait longer than like 30 minutes! We now have an oven thermometer because if it's craziness. I watched that oven thermometer like my life depended on it! I didn't want that thing ruining my PB Goodness! Isa says that the first 15 minute of baking cupcakes is the most important time, so DO NOT OPEN THAT OVEN! My oven is older and doesn't have a glass window so I was paranoid! I wanted to know what was going on in there. To be on the safe side I waited 20 minutes before I even peeked. When I opened the oven they were beautiful! I was so happy!

HOWEVER... I was NOT happy with the chocolate/peanut butter icing. It got all funky on me but it's okay! They tasted great, which was what I was going for. But Dag-Nammit, that icing better not crap out on me next time!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would love to share the recipe with you but I don't want to cheat Isa and Terry. I love them too much. BUT!!! If you want, you can come over and we can make these together! Or I'll come to you!!!

Visit the Post Punk Kitchen and search for other cupcake recipes!!!

Tomato, Kale and Garlic Tofu stuffed Pitas

Oh my goodness.

Oh My Gosh.

I think this was a true winner! Yesterday I spent a good chunk of the day making those wonderful Potato and Kale Enchiladas. I had some Kale left over but had no idea what to make with it. I am also running terribly low on food right about now, so when that happens I CONCOCT!!! It is one of my favorite ways to cook and that's when I tend to surprise myself. I took some of the little food I had left and came up with this wonderfully pita-licious lunch!

What I used:

1/2 block of Garlic/Black pepper Tofu Steak
1/4-1/2 tbsp ground cumin
4 chopped Roma tomatoes
2 handfuls of chopped Kale
1/4 cup vegetable broth
minced garlic
seasoned salt
1 tbsp olive oil
pita bread

(Like I said... I didn't have much.)

First, heat whatever pot you are going to cook in and add the olive oil. Now, take your minced garlic and add it to the pot and cook the garlic over medium/low heat. cook your garlic until it lightly starts to brown. When the garlic begins browning reduce the heat to low and add the kale. Stir the kale into the olive oil & garlic until the kale has wilted. Raise your heat back to a medium and add your vegetable broth, tomatoes, tofu, cumin and salt. Stir all of the contents together and continue to stir occasionally until the liquid has dissolved.
Now take your pita bread, yank that sucker open, fill it with this goodness and enjoy! I lightly toasted my pita bread because I like warm bread. It gave the pita a little more flexibility too so it didn't fall apart on me.




This is definitely going on my list of things to cook for the vegan dinner I will be throwing!

Potato and Kale Enchiladas with Roasted Chile Sauce

For those of you who are not vegan I will tell you about two of the many people who made my transition to veganism a lot easier. Those two people are Terry Romero and Isa Moskowitz. These two lovely ladies are the writers of my favorite cookbooks. Today, I made yet another amazing recipe from their book VEGANOMICON. Here's today's story:






Joelle came over today! I am not even kidding when I say that I haven't seen her in about 3 months. 3 MONTHS!!!!!! We don't live very far from each other, (roughly a 10 minute drive... I know, pathetic) we just both have severely busy schedules. Today was the day that we set aside all else and planned to hang out. It was so good to see her, not only because she is one of the most amazing people in my life, but because she LOVES TO COOK WITH ME! So, we went grocery shopping. I brought my VEGANOMICON with me because I was still unsure of what I wanted to make. I decided on the Enchiladas! So! We shopped, we bought, we made. I must say... these were some of the most amazing enchiladas I've ever had.



I have had a lot of good food, but these really made my day/week/month. I am also very lucky to have good friends to share it with. I took some of these to the set of REEL MEN, a weekly video podcast starring Dean Pizzoferrato, Langley West and Edwin Colon Jr. They are good friends of mine and asked me to guest star on the show today. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! I got to sit in with them, talk about movies and got really good feedback on my food from the guys. I think Edwin described them as "Fucking delicious." Langley, a fellow vegan, was quite happy with them as well. Dean seemed a little iffy at first, but also complimented. It feels goo to hear nice things about a dish you prepared. It must have taken us 2 hours to get everything prepared but it was worth it!!! I probably wouldn't have been able to make these without you Joelle! There are 2 left and I want to eat them but I am saving them for my roommate. Thank you to Joelle, Dean, Langley and Edwin. It was a good day.

Click here for the recipe!!!!!

Click here for REEL MEN!!!!