Moving Spells Death For Food and Food Photos

October 15, 2008 at 2:15 am (Food, Recipes, Reviews)
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If anyone of you wondered where I ran off to recently, I was in the midst of moving! I recently was lucky enough to move from my god forsaken crap-hole of a rental house to a much nicer area of Denver. I am happy to announce that I can actually go a day without hearing wall-shaking music blasted from all my neighbors! (And when I say ALL, I mean that literally, on all sides neighbors would play music like they wished to share their terrible taste in music with the world, regardless of time of day.) So, since moving is absolute hell in and of itself, I did not take any food photos….either from lack of energy or lack of memory. Also, needless to say, moving does not always produce the best meals the days surrounding the actual move.

But I am happy to say I now I have some food to share with everyone. No new recipes from me personally but NEW for you to try if you haven’t already! I would like to thank my good friend Sara from The Innocent Primate for letting me use her own blog photos, since I didn’t have a chance to take photos of my own creations using her recipes! Thanks Sara!

Red Beans and Rice

*Side Note: My plate arrangement is never this nice lol.* A quick and filling meal from The Innocent Primate! I love this meal, and I especially love the leftovers for breakfast!!! It gives me more energy till lunch than cereal or oatmeal does. I think beans should be welcomed into the breakfast menu more often! Yes, the most exciting part of this meal for me is the leftovers for breakfast, but don’t let that fool you. The dinner meal is excellent as well! I love how you can choose to make burritos with this, or just make your own “mini” burritos with pieces of a tortilla….however you do it, it spells a filled belly and good good good!

Changes I made: no hot sauce (but Sara didn’t use it either actually), doubled or so the garlic (I always do that, I LOVE garlic), and doubled all the spices….apparently this meal brings out the spicy side of me since I usually am a self-proclaimed spice wimp (as others will support). So good, so easy, so making myself hungry for it again. Dammit! I wish I had some for breakfast!

Butternut Squash and Potato Soup

Yet another recipe from Sara at The Innocent Primate! So simple…so delicious…so making it again! Until making this soup I had never eaten butternut squash (at least not to my recollection). Surprisingly it tastes quite a bit like sweet potatoes, at least to Matt and I. I was a little concerned with the whole “squash” aspect since Matt has a huge aversion to anything involving squash! But happy to report that this soup even won Matt over. Needless to say this soup WILL be made time and time again…I’m in love with how easy it is…and for it be equally delicious is just down right dinner heaven!

The only changes I made were: I did not roast the garlic in the oven since I didn’t have actual cloves, only pre-minced on hand. I actually only used salt, pepper and garlic in the soup since I was doing it by memory and it did not miss a beat! I did leave about a 1/5 of the potatoes as they were as to give the soup some extra chunkiness. It was absolutely delicious, like I already said a thousand times….seriously, make this soup. You will NOT be sorry. The only thing I was sorry about was that it didn’t make enough! But that is only because we are big eaters ;) .

Veggie Fried Rice

There is a trend….I get most of my new recipes from Sara and Jo these days, but I can’t help it…we have similar tastes in food! I have in fact tried other new recipes, but I will get to them eventually! This recipe is actually Jo’s recipe, not Sara’s. I usually throw together my own variation of fried rice but I wanted to try an actual recipe for once. This did not disappoint. I pretty much followed it to a T, except I omitted the hot pepper because I did not have one…and well, I’m a spice wimp as previously mentioned. I also used olive oil instead of canola and used brown sugar instead of agave (I also added more but I don’t know how much more, only because I am not as big on soy sauce taste as others). If you are looking for a fried rice recipe, give this a try!

Spinach Frittata

Okay, enough Sara and Jo already! They don’t need any more free press! ;) Just kidding, no doubt there will be another recipe of theirs to come in the near future. But this recipe is from the author of My Sweet Vegan (which is an excellent dessert book), Hannah at the Bittersweet blog. I believe this recipe is from before she published her book (but don’t quote me as I don’t know the exact publishing date of My Sweet Vegan!). Judging by the few comments, I gather this is in the beginning of her blogging days since now she gets dozens daily! If you are looking for a new was to prepare a tofu breakfast dish, this is worthy of a try. I haven’t tried a tofu omelet or anything of that nature before (I’ve stuck to scrambles), so I don’t know how it compares to others.

I made numerous changes, but all of them relate to the amount of spices. I at least doubled each spice, and I tripled the nutritional yeast (I did this because based on scramble recipes I use way more N. yeast than most people do to make my scrambles). Some of you may be shocked to hear this, but I think this needed more of an edge, like the addition of red chili flakes or something spicy. I think it would be awesome with pieces of vegan sausage too! But it really is a good dish!

Well eventually I will have photos actually taken by me to share with everyone, until then I will be relying on other blogs’ charity! Anyone reading this really should give any one of these recipes a try, they are all very good!

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Trying New Things

September 8, 2008 at 3:01 am (Food, Recipes, Reviews)
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Well I’ve decided that I am going to try at least one (preferably two) new recipes per week. I have become rather bored with our usual meals (even though we do vary greatly week to week, I just want to throw more things into the mix). So I’ve begun compiling lists of main meals, sides, drinks and desserts that I want to try at one point or another. I began this about two weeks ago so I have some things to share! Unfortunately, not all the recipes I tried were a success. Maybe I should clarify. The recipes were all a success in that they came out as they should, but not a success in flavors. But I do want to point out that I am a picky eater, so if something that I said did not taste all that great, don’t just take my word for it! Everything I am about to share is EDIBLE, my taste buds just prefer some over others ;)  . Are there desserts? Well of course! How could I not make a dessert? Jeez!

Black Bean Burgers

I begin the food tour with black bean burgers. But not just any ol’ black bean burgers, these are my pal Sara’s, over at Innocent Primate, black bean burgers. I followed the recipe for the most part, but I did add garlic to the mix. I LOVE garlic and think it adds to most dishes. I did use about 3 cups beans, half the bread crumbs and of course, for my spice intolerance–only about 1/2 a jalapeño pepper. Unfortunately, I only have a photo of the burgers BEFORE they were grilled. I was extremely hungry so I just began eating once everything was done. So just picture my previous burger dinner with the black bean burger instead :) . These were sooo good and I recommend them to everyone!

Sara's Black Bean Burgers

Sara's Black Bean Burgers

Peach Ginger Tempeh and Chickpeas
 
This recipe was from VeganDad. Matt wanted to try this (and he actually made it!) because he and I really like peaches, tempeh (Matt more so) and chickpeas. We don’t particularly care for ginger, at least not in larger quantities, so we left that out of the recipe. We did not particularly enjoy this meal, it was not bad but Matt wasn’t so pleased. I would have it again, but I honestly think I’d prefer to just eat the peaches as is than to include it in this meal. Matt and I felt it should be sweeter and just have some greater flavor to it overall. I think leaving the ginger out was a good call, because I probably would not have liked it as much with the ginger. We served ours over rice. I’d say with some tweaking, Matt might actually like this one more. Give it a try, you might actually enjoy it.
VeganDad's Peaches, Ginger, Tempeh & Chickpeas

VeganDad's Peaches, Ginger, Tempeh & Chickpeas

Zucchini Sticks

Matt hates zucchini. I decided I would try to convince him that the vegetable wasn’t all that bad. Well, turns out this recipe did nothing more than think he was right all along. Unfortunately, the recipe produced bland zucchini sticks. I recommend adding much more salt to the recipe, and/or figuring out a way to put salt directly on the zucchini. That sounds simpler than it is, since you dip the zucchini into vegan milk before breading. I would say if you are going to try this: increase the nutritional yeast, AT LEAST triple the salt, and add other spices you like into the breading. Some additions could be: more garlic than suggested, basil, oregano, onion powder etc.. I’m still trying to find a recipe that will convince Matt to want to eat his zucchini, any suggestions?

Zucchini Sticks

Zucchini Sticks

 
Whole Wheat NYer Bagels
 
I love bagels. Maybe it is an East coast addiction, but I love the little guys. My favorite has always been cinnamon-raisin bagels. Well, I recently came across Happy Herbivore’s whole wheat bagel recipe and decided to try it. BTW, Happy Herbivore is also where I got the zucchini stick recipe from. Since I am essentially at the point where if something isn’t organic I won’t eat it, making my own bagels seemed like the logical solution to getting organic vegan bagels. I’m sure there are some out there somewhere, if I cared to look, but this way is cheaper and I can add whatever I want! I must note that the recipe states 1 1/2 tsp yeast, when a red star packet actually includes 2 1/4 tsp yeast. I used about 1/4 cup less flour due to my addition of 1/2 cup raisins and 1 tsp cinnamon. I would definitely recommend upping the cinnamon to at least 2 tsp if anyone decides to make these bagels in cinnamon-raisin as I did. They were very good and I plan on making them again and trying different toppings! My favorite way to eat a bagel is with strawberry jam. I hate cream cheese, and always have (vegan or not) and I keep it far away from my bagels! I know, it’s definitely not what you would expect from someone from Philadelphia!
Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

Isa & Chandra’s Graham Crackers

Yes, this graham cracker recipe comes from the same individuals behind Vegan with a Vengeance and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. Unfortunately, I don’t feel like these graham crackers are going to take over the world any time soon! It might just be the fact that I am not a huge fan of molasses. However, I do feel as though these graham crackers need a serious sugar boost and molasses balance. I am going to try to recreate these crackers with agave nectar and perhaps additional sugar (or agave just being the main sugar). They weren’t bad, and my dogs certainly liked them (even though I didn’t let them have much because of the sugar), but my sweet tooth just was not satisfied! I know you are supposed to use them for smores, thus making them sweeter, but I prefer eating them alone since I don’t make smores all that often! You know how graham crackers usually have that immediate sweet flavor develop into a deeper flavor consisting of molasses? Well, this just consisted of molasses.  

Graham Crackers

Graham Crackers

I’ll be sure to have more about my escapades involving trying a couple new recipes per week! Lets hope they all turn out great or else I may lose my excitement for the task!

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Dinner:Impossible

August 22, 2008 at 3:07 am (Food, Recipes, Reviews)
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Anyone who watches a bit of Food Network knows what I’m referring to: a popular show on FN that challenges a chef to make some huge and lavish meal in 8 hours or less. Of course, I’m not I’m not a big fan of Food Network simply because it is so meat-oriented, but sometimes you get a vegetarian gem here and there. I think vegetarian is the best you get though….everything just has to have cheese, it seems to be a rule. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a vegan show on there? Don’t think it will happen eh? Yeah, me either!

My very own Dinner:Impossible was not mine at all actually, it was Matt’s. You see, he isn’t the most agile when it comes to navigating the kitchen terrain. I try my best to help him out, but sometimes he just manages to do the unimaginable to even the simplest dish. But what can you expect from someone who didn’t grow up cooking? Well, that is what I tell myself anyway ;)

Matt’s Dinner:Impossible was to create the recipe on VeganDad for Rotini With Creamy Basil Tomato Sauce. We both love pasta and are always trying to find new sauces etc. to use with it. Since this meal seemed rather simple and delicious, I suggested that Matt try to make it. After much refusal, he eventually gave in and made it. What were the results you ask? Excellent!! Not only did he not mess it up, it was really good! As I wandered into the kitchen due to the nice aroma filling the house, he uttered: “I think I actually may not have screwed this one up.” I dare say he was right! ;) Did the planets align? Was someone not manning the voodoo doll like they usually are? Did his hands become magical awesome vegan dinner making hands for but a few minutes? I do not know….but I do know that if you are looking for a new way to have pasta, you should give this a try!

We only made a few changes to the original recipe. One thing we did change was that we kept the amount of tofu called for the same, but halved everything else. For all those leery of tofu, fear not! You cannot taste or recognize any iota of tofu due to all the blending. All the tofu does is make the sauce creamier, hence why we left it the same amount, even when we halved the original recipe. We also used mushroom pasta sauce, which added an additional level of flavor that I greatly enjoyed. We also tried this with a regular (just marinara) pasta sauce and the taste was not as strong or appealing. It was still good, just not as great. So I recommend using your favorite pasta sauce if you try this. We also used LightLife vegan sausage and just cut it into small bite-size pieces. Also, as you can see from the picture, we used bowtie pasta not rotini. I really don’t think it makes a bit of difference, it all tastes great! Also, the recipe doesn’t specify the number it should feed, but I found that half the recipe was nearly a perfect amount for Matt and I. So if you are feeding 4, keep the recipe the same. Feeding 1? Quarter the recipe! And so on and so on.

Creamy Pasta Sauce & Bowtie Pasta

Creamy Pasta Sauce & Bowtie Pasta

Good job Matt! Now we just need to find another awesome meal that you can always be in charge of ;)

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Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream Review!

August 7, 2008 at 6:00 am (Recipes, Reviews)
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Yet again, I come to you speaking of lovely desserts from Sara at the Innocent Primate blog. This one is a WINNER! I’m not actually a fan of strawberry ice cream, before veganism and now. Perhaps I just don’t like the fact that fruit, a.k.a something healthy, is invading my good ol’ fashioned bad for you ice cream! Leave my ice cream alooooone!!! Okay, freak out aside, this strawberry ice cream was delicious! If you enjoy fruit in your ice cream, then you just MUST try her Strawberry Fields Forever ice cream (even a little nifty title huh). Hell, even if you are on the fence about fruit and ice cream, I demand you try this! I pulled out the demand card! ;)

**Waiting patiently to try ice cream**

**Waiting patiently to try ice cream**

 

Woo hoo! It is complete and ready for me to consume.

Woo hoo! It is complete and ready for me to consume.

The only change I made to Sara’s recipe was to use light coconut milk. I only had organic lite coconut milk available and refused to drive to the store just for full-fat coconut milk! The lite coconut milk did not seem to hinder the taste or creaminess of the ice cream. This came out super smooth, creamy and just luscious. I can only imagine how creamy it would be with full-fat coconut milk. Is it possible that it could be creamier? I dare not even contemplate such a thing! This was already much creamier than soymilk-based ice creams you buy and/or make. Although, I haven’t tried Purely Decadent’s new line of coconut ice creams. After this experience they in fact may need to be tried………oh yeah.
 
I’m not usually one to share, but when they are furry balls of love I can’t resist. My two boys LOVED the ice cream as well, and wanted way more than the spoonful I was willing to dish out. After all, they shouldn’t have too much sugar….they’re hyper enough already ;) .
A doggy ice cream party!

A doggy ice cream party!

Don’t be fooled by their tame appearance. This mutual sharing of the spoon soon broke down when Bruiser decided all the ice cream should be HIS and only his. Turns out Bruiser shares as well as I do ;) .

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Watermelon Sorbet Review

August 1, 2008 at 4:06 pm (Recipes, Reviews)
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Holy Crap it’s August! Well we all know that means oppressive heat and cravings for something cool (like ice creams and sorbets). So I have the perfect remedy for those cravings: Innocent Primate’s Watermelon Sorbet. Since there is a stick to your clothes-sweat without moving-oh god why isn’t it winter yet-heat advisory in effect here I found this to be the perfect time to share my review! I personally tried this recipe about a week ago when I had a watermelon that I had purchased and kept forgetting to eat. I HATE when good produce goes bad (vegetable delinquents are the worst, aren’t they? ;) ) so I knew I needed to use the watermelon in SOMETHING. That is where Sara a.k.a. Innocent Primate came to the rescue.

I followed her recipe for the T except I did not have the alcohol she recommended,  Amaretto. The alcohol keeps the sorbet from freezing into a hard rock of watermelon goodness that you have to wait to be able to eat (although in this heat that may only take a few minutes). The only alcohol in the house was vodka, Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Anisette. By no means are we large drinkers, we only happened to have vodka because we THOUGHT we wanted some mixed drinks for New Year’s (turns out we really didn’t); Mike’s Hard Lemonade was for a party but we ended up bringing beer to instead; Anisette is for making Christmas cookies. So needless to say we won’t be entering any AA programs any time soon ;) . The obvious choice for alcohol was vodka, since it has a neutral taste (and according to Russians keeps you young…or maybe you just think that after you drink so much of it!!).

Sara's Watermelon Sorbet

Sara's Watermelon Sorbet

The result of the watermelon sorbet? Delicious! You cannot really taste the vodka, thankfully for me since I do not like it’s alcoholic nature. I imagine that a flavored liquor would greatly add to the taste of the sorbet, giving it another level of flavor. Since vodka is rather neutral, the taste of watermelon was very strong and refreshing. It is hard to describe, but each mouthful tastes 5 times stronger than an individual piece of watermelon! I have not tried the other variations of Sara’s sorbets, but I have no doubt that her Pineapple Sorbet is killer as well! Only odd thing is mine came out seemingly darker than hers, judging from the photos. I have no explanation for that!!

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Vegan Sugar Cookies That Turn On You

June 27, 2008 at 5:38 pm (Recipes, Reviews)
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Sugar Cookies

Since July is just around the corner its just about the time that you find yourself singing Jingle Bells for no rhyme or reason. Perhaps you think you’ve lost your mind but perhaps it is just that idea of “Christmas In July” floating around in your sub-conscious that comes out to play. Whether you have in fact gone insane or are simply celebrating a false holiday, it could get you craving treats of the real December holiday. Cookies, pies, cinnamon buns, fruit cake….ok well maybe not ALL treats of the holiday, but you crave nonetheless. So in this spirit I decided to try my hand at a new recipe of vegan sugar cookies. Usually I simply veganize my mother’s old recipe but this time I decided to try someone else’s sugar cookie recipe. Whether the recipe was a veganized version or vegan to begin with I do not know. Here is the recipe I borrowed from another blogger:

PERFECT VEGAN SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE (From John & Kristie )
This makes about 36 cookies. To view instructions follow link.

1 cup margarine 3 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder
2 whole egg replacements (Ener-G) 1/4 cup tofu cream cheese (Tofutti)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The recipe seemed simple enough and I didn’t have to even think about veganizing it (although veganization is not overly difficult its just nice not to have to do it!). I followed the instructions are per the website, however I had immediate problems. The dough was much too dry to allow for a cohesive dough so I knew it definitely would not be suitable for the necessary rolling out process sugar cookies require. I subsequently had to add about two tablespoons more water and approximately 1-2 tablespoons soymilk. Once it formed a relatively cohesive dough I placed it in the fridge as per instructed.

A couple hours later I took the dough out to soften and then rolled it on a floured surface. I used flower cutters (ok so not so Christmas in July-ish afterall) and then put them in the oven at 350 for about 13 minutes. I rotated them once to ensure even cooking (you never know with the oven I am forced to use, *sigh*). So I took out the cookies and let them cool on a wire rack as you can see in the above photo. However, within minutes time, the cookies went from firm but soft to nearly rock hard.

Now, I must mention that I live in Denver so I am over 5,000 feet which can cause incredible problems and dilemmas when cooking and/or baking and I always make necessary changes. But I would not have been surprised if the cookies had initially come out of the oven harder (due to higher evaporation rates at this elevation). But I suppose it is possible that moisture was drained from the cookies while cooling due to the elevation…..its happened before. However, the dough itself, before my corrections, was much too dry. This often does not occur at this elevation because the majority of the moisture is removed in baking not the mixing of a dough! Therefore I believe this recipe had its flaws from the get-go.

The dough itself (aside from moisture needs) was not quite as sweet as I am used to a sugar cookie dough being. Generally sugar cookie dough is a tad on the bland side but somewhat sweet. This dough needed sweetness and so did the final product (even though I did sprinkle them with sugar prior to baking). So between the moisture and sweetness needs of the dough and the final product becoming hard after a few minutes I would have to say this recipe needs work, at the very least at elevation. I would say it gets 3 stars out of 5.

 

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