Delicious Results…

Caulipots with Baked Tofu

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pillows

Tempeh Helper

Cinnamon Raisin Waffles

Well I don’t have much to say right now but I am still cooking and meandering my way through my own vegan journey. I am continuing to practice my food photography skills, although lately I have forgotten to take a picture because the food looks so good and gets eaten before I can even think of the camera! I’m sharing both food and knowledge with others and enjoying my new cookbook purchase, Appetite for Reduction. Everything I’ve cooked from it, I’ve loved! We also got a waffle maker, so I’ve been playing around with vegan waffles with delicious results.

What’s cooking??

Even though I haven’t been posting much I have been doing some cooking.  I was going to do a lot of cooking for New Years but we decided to go out for dinner to Founding Farmers in DC. They have a vegan menu now so I could order something and feel confident that it was actually vegan.  When we got home I made chocolate covered strawberries and we sipped champagne until midnight. It was a lovely night.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Tonight for dinner I made sweet potato chili in the crockpot and then topped it with daiya cheddar, vegan sour cream and scallions. YUM.

chili with the works

So I’ve been busy…

What’s new right? Everyone is busy and now it’s New Year’s Eve and I’m thinking of goals for 2011. One is, of course, to blog more. I’m trying not to think of them as resolutions this year because that tends to be a lot of pressure, just goals.  Along with blogging, I want to continue on my path to a compassionate and healthy lifestyle, learn to play the piano and really live each day.

New Years is very special to me because it’s also my wedding anniversary. This year marks our 4th year as husband and wife. So cheers…to making dreams come true, living each day and another year with my wonderful husband!

Pumpkin Bread

I don’t know why we only eat Pumpkin flavored things around the holidays. It is an insanely delicious food that can be made both savory and sweet.  It’s low in calories and provides  Vitamin C, Beta Carotene, and fiber.  Now my bread isn’t exactly low in calories as I did use about a 1/4 of oil per loaf and sprinkled them with dark chocolate. Yum.  That said they have no cholesterol and a healthy dose of ground flax seed. Did I mention…Yum.

Pumpkin Loaves

Still Warm…

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Thanksgiving Leftovers

As a result of my wanting to cook a feast for just the two of us, I ended up with some leftovers.  So for lunch today we had the usual “Thanksgiving Sandwich” and then for dinner we had Mashed Potato Quesadilla’s. Both were totally delicious. What’s everyone else doing with leftovers? Any good ideas out there? I still have a lot of stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy….

Vegan Thanksgiving and Book Club Brunch

I did it! Two things really…I hosted a Vegan Brunch and made an awesome vegan Thanksgiving meal.  I completely forgot to take pictures of the brunch, probably because I was hosting…but here’s the menu; Mimosas, breakfast burritos, soy yogurt and granola, fresh fruit, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and herb roasted potatoes.  Those attending were not vegan or even vegetarian so I was pretty nervous about how the food would be received, but everyone cleaned their plates!

And then there’s Thanksgiving! This was the first Thanksgiving that it was just the hubs and I. We are really trying to save money and aren’t traveling to Vermont (and family) for the holidays.  Despite the fact that it would only be the two of us, I really wanted to prepare a full thanksgiving feast. With the help of Mimi Clark’s cooking classes and a very understanding husband, I crafted a delicious meal.  We decided on the Field Roast Hazelnut Cranberry Roast and it was amazing! Just the right texture and flavor. I even pulled off a vegan pumpkin pie, thanks to Robin Robertson and her new book Party Vegan! Aside from the missing dead bird, it was pretty traditional meal. Check out the photos below!

Maple Cupcakes

Since cupcakes are all the rage these days I decided I needed to try my hand at some vegan cupcakes. Chef Chloe even won in a food network challenge of cupcake wars with a vegan cupcake! I purchased Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and started with the Maple cupcakes recipe. I topped them with a vanilla buttercream frosting and chopped pecans. Two of my co-workers had birthdays over the weekend so they’ll be the taste testers tomorrow! My husband was happy to try one and willing to eat another so I guess they weren’t too bad.  Not your typical vanilla or chocolate cupcake, something a little different.

Maple Cupcakes

Yum

Shepherd’s Pie

Also for dinner I made Mimi Clark’s Sheperd’s Pie.  I didn’t have quite enough mashed potatoes to cover the top. I had some leftover potatoes and didn’t want to make more. Anyway – the filling started to bubble out the sides and looked a little funny but it tasted oh so good. The hubs took seconds which is the biggest compliment for me.

 

Roasted Garlic and Vegetable Soup

I love soup. Hot, steamy, and healthy soup. Everyone at my school seems to be sick. There was something like 6 teachers out yesterday and who knows how many kids.  So with the slightest hint of a sore throat and something a little “funny” with my stomach, I knew I needed a soup night.  A hearty nutritious vitamin and mineral packed soup. I didn’t have a recipe but I knew I had a ton of veggies in the fridge that needed to be used and a craving for some roasted garlic. Here’s what I came up with…

Roasted Garlic and Vegetable Soup

1 head of garlic – wrapped in tin foil and roasted with the veggies

2 large potatoes, one zucchini and half an onion – all diced and thrown on a cookie sheet with salt and pepper and a little olive oil. Roast until a fork goes in easy.

Finely chop and saute carrots, onion, and celery until soft. Add 4-6 cups of vegetable stock, chopped spinach, a can of your favorite bean, frozen corn and bring to a boil.  Add in spices of your choice – I used Italian seasoning. And simmer till the other veggies are done.

I had some cooked grains in the fridge so I threw those in too! Then I took the roasted veggies and dumped those in – as well as the entire head of roasted garlic!! Garlic has immune boosting qualities, right???

All I can say is YUM! I ate a gigantic bowl and have a feeling it’s going to taste even better tomorrow. Sorry it’s not exactly a “recipe.” I threw in what veggies/grains I had. I think the roasted veggies and garlic take more time but are worth the extra effort. The garlic gives a delicious flavor. Happy cooking – let me know if you whip up a batch of your own!

Roasted Garlic and Veggie Soup

Meatless Makeovers

This past Sunday I attended Mimi Clark’s cooking class called Meatless Makeovers.  See the class description here. As usual Mimi’s class was filled with delicious recipes, tons of samples and coupons.  She skillfully veganized Baked Ziti, Chicken Parmesan, Sweet and Sour Meatballs, Shepard’s Pie and more.   I intend to cook my way through the recipe packet in the next week or two. I’ll add photos to this post as I make them.  See the Baked Ziti below. The Ziti turned out pretty good….I think I’ll make a few tweaks next time I make it to suit our tastes, but overall a success!

Baked Ziti

We put a dent in it…

A heaping serving…yummmm

Where I’ve been…

Working. That’s the short answer. I have been totally swamped with teaching and grading. I’ve also taken on a second job of tutoring in an attempt to earn more money. So I haven’t been cooking as much as I’d like.  We’ve been eating quick, not so balanced meals. I’m trying to be better.

For starters we had house guests recently who are not vegan and one thing I did for breakfast was make a Oatmeal bar.  I made a big pot of basic oatmeal and then put that out with a variety of toppings. It was easy and everyone loved it!!

Oatmeal Bar

We love LOVE pizza in our house and my husband is not vegan.  So that can make things difficult on pizza night.  Here is a photo of a compromise that happened one night a few weeks ago. It just makes me smile because it’s yet another example of how my husband and I are so different! We are the “opposites attract” theory in practice. That’s pizza hummus as a base on mine. It’s AMAZING!!!

Pizza Hummus

Compromise pizza

Finally, it’s Halloween and I’ve been craving candy!! I happened to have some Sweet and Sara Marshmallows which I covered in vegan chocolate. Then I sprinkled some chopped pecans on top and the results were divine! I am having a hard time not eating them all…

Chocolate Covered Marshmallow candy