Saturday, June 28, 2008

Odds and Crazy Ends

So me and my wonderful friend decided we were going to have a night to chill out, enjoy a few drinks, and laugh our selves to tears. We had a great night relaxing and talking, then decided to crash. Which actually turned into more giggling and laughing more than I have in I don't know how long. We dozed off and I awoke with the sudden urge to bake. I know, I am insane. Five O'clock in the morning, haven't had but about twenty minutes of sleep and i'm ready to bake? WTF? When the mood strikes, it strikes. So I made the Sunny Blueberry Corn muffins from the V'con. The next time I make these, I think I will add slightly more sugar than this time. But they were still really good. The book reccomended serving warm, but I enjoyed them much more when they had cooled off.
Before we decided to crash, we had the best time hanging out and chilling, and eating. I looked around my kitchen and started laughing, seeing that somehow we had ended up with a mixed nationality snack menu. We had Asian, Mexican, and Italian. I had my first taste of incredibly tasty sushi, which she supplied. And I had made queso, stuffed olives, and the black bean dip which is pictured above. I kind of threw things in the dip that I knew go well with black beans, mixed them in the food processor and topped them with jalapeno's, fresh bell pepper, red onion, and tomatoes. Turned out pretty well I thought.

Friday, June 27, 2008

V.L.T's and Fried Green Tomatoes


So my non-vegan(as of now) husband, has fallen head over heels in love with the Lightlife Smart Bacon, which works for me as the product is vegan friendly. He booted me out of the kitchen for the evening and fixed me V.L.T's. Along with one of my all-time favorite fried foods, fried green tomatoes. YUM!! I was in heaven with the vegan ranch to dip the tomatoes in. He decided to try the tomatoes in melted butter rather than the usual eggs. Next time he's going to try soy milk, for a slight variation.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Cici's

Okay, so I had one of those lazy days, where I just didn't feel like cooking then cleaning up. Upon researching and asking management, I found that Cici's pizza crust is vegan. So we took a trip to try it out. I began with a salad, which I topped with the incredible Organic Ville non-dairy, vegan ranch. Now, having once been a HUGE ranch addict, I was incredibly skeptical of trying this product. My taste buds screamed at me for not trying this sooner. It needs a little extra pepper in my opinion, but it was so nice to have ranch back in my life.

I always love the lengthy drama that ensues upon informing someone that you want all veggies no cheese. Twice he asked me "Just cheese no veggies?", and twice I had to correct him. Once it finally arrived it was worth the wait, by no means not the best pizza I have ever had. But it was good. It was also rather entertaining trying to explain to the non-vegan family members what I could order at Cici's. Finally I just told them to screw the explanation and see what I ordered. All in all it was a quick meal and not bad on the checkbook.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Fried Tofu, Surprisingly Delicious

So I know the plate presentation looks like shit, but this meal was really good. I have been trying forever to find a way to cook tofu that non-vegans would eat. I followed the recipe posted on VegWeb.com and would definately reccomend kicking up the spice and flavoring. But it was still really good, I think what made it really great texture wise was freezing the tofu pre-using it. It had a really chicken like texture to it. Pictured next to the tofu on the bottom of the plate is the mustard sauce from V'con, which is incredibly tasty. I simply roasted the veggies(potatoes, squash, onions, eggplant and tomatoes.) and steamed some Bok Choy with a ginger/sesame/mustard sauce. That's it for today. My husband fixed me a dinner of vegan BLT's and fried green tomatoes. Maybe if I can hold my hunger off for a few seconds, I will post pics of this delightfulness.

Sunday, June 22, 2008



Hello all, I thought I would post several of my past vegan goodies at one time, so that I can start to get caught up with my newer recipes.

Pictured directly above are several variations on recipes from VctotW. The ones pictured with the white icing are the basic golden cupcakes with some slight variations. Upon some advice from the friend mentioned in the earlier post, who makes some of the best mouthgasms you can ever have with her decadent cakes and cookies, I tried some experimentation. Rather than souring the milk with apple cider vingera, I used lemon juice, as well as adding some more lemon juice to the mix. I also added some fresh lemon zest into the batter itself. Once they baked, there still was not enough zing to the cakes for my taste, so I brushed some lemon extract across the top as they were cooling. I myself am not a fan of overly sweet desserts, so I opted to follow the Lime Buttercream Icing recipe as opposed to icing with lemon. I added more juice and zest than the recipe called for and they turned out incredibly delicious. The second batch were the Chocolate Agave sweetened cupcakes from VctotW, with the Peanut Buttercream Icing. My only complaint was that my damn icing bag broke in the midst of icing and I had to resort to a spatula. I tested both of these recipes on non-vegans, who could not believe that they were vegan. Yay!!!

The second meal pictured was easy to prepare, so long as you don't mind chopping veggies. It was Dreena's lemon pepper tofu recipe from her blog. And while it was good, I think I will try freezing the tofu before preparing to have a chewier texture to it. I served it with fresh sliced tomatoes, cooked squash, baked eggplant and a baked potato decked out with Tofutti sour cream and vegan margarine. I know it's not exactly the most elegantly laid out or planned menu, but it was good.

And finally, last but not least, are the oh-so-good Tofu Pups made by Lightlife foods. I was never a big hot dog eater before I went vegan, because I knew what they were made of. But every now and then I would have a craving for one. These taste so good. They have the true taste of hot dogs, but without all the nasty ingredients. I was craving one so bad that I did not realize I had run out of onions and had no dill relish in the house until after I had already cooked these bad boys. So I opted for diced jalepenos and tons of mustard. I HIGHLY recommend these to anyone. My non-vegan husband tried them the following night and enjoyed them as well. I will try to keep updating my pre-blogging meals so that I can catch up and show my recent meals.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Yummy Vegan Taco Night!!



I promise I am working on the pics!! On to the yumminess. Mexican food is, quite literally my favorite food. Since going Vegan I have been missing Rotel dip desperately. I really never thought I would have anything that tasty and creamy and spicy again.

I begin searching Vegan websites to find recipes and read reviews. On VegWeb.com I discovered a nutritional yeast queso sauce. I decided to experiment when my good friend Steph(Who is an extrodinary cake maker and a fellow Vegan. Hey! Us Vegans must stick together.) so when we decided to chill out one night I thought what a great chance to try this recipe. Both of us agreed it was really good, and quite close to Rotel, though not exactly the same. The recipe is posted on VegWeb.com but I reccomend adding some extra paprika and chili powder to give it an extra kick.

The following day, having so much queso left over. I decided to experiment with some tempeh and black bean tacos. WOW!!!! I was in heaven. I have been craving tacos for almost as long as Rotel, and these satisfied my craving so much more than anything Taco Bell could ever make. I don't remeber where I found the recipe, but I changed up most of it. The tacos consisted of:

1 package of Tempeh

1 can of black beans with 1/4 cup of liquid reserved

1 bell pepper

1 onion

1 clove of minced garlic

1 1/2 Tsp of Cumin

Pinch of salt

Chili powder to taste

2 TBS. of olive oil

Begin by dicing the onion and garlic and sauteeing on medium heat for about 3-4 minutes to flavor the oil. Depending on how crispy you like your peppers, you can add them now or later. Crumble the tempeh in with the onions and garlic and add your seasonings. Cook until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 12-15 minutes depending on your stove. Once the tempeh is done, drain the black beans, and add the black beans with reserved 1/4 cup of liquid and cook till beans are heated and serve. I served mine with the remaining queso dip, Tofutti sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, and black olives. I like this recipe for the easiness, quickness and the ability to alter the spices to specific tastes.

Friday, June 20, 2008














Okay, so before I start posting pics and recipes, I thought I should explain a couple of things. I am not the best photographer at some times, due to shaky hands. So I apologize for not so great photos.








I generally prepare meals for a sufferer of Crohn's Disease, and it is a rare and great day when I discover a Vegan recipe or pre-purchased food item that he not only can digest, but actually likes! He still enjoys his seafood, which makes life incredibly interesting, most especially when it comes to cooking. That being said I am going to start with some things that pickier eaters MIGHT enjoy. (I get tired of finding recipes implying that they would fool meat-eaters, and doing no such thing!!!)






So I shall begin with pictured above are: Herb Scalloped Potatoes from Veganomicon(LOVE that cookbook.). This recipe went over really well and tasted incredible due I think to the nooch. I would suggest seasoning the layers as you go, rather than seasoning only the top. I think it would add more flavor. Pictured beside the potatoes is a mix/matched meal that was a last minute, "I have no clue what to cook", evening. It consisted of steamed brussel sprouts with a little vegan margarine and black pepper, black-eyed peas seasoned with Braggs and pepper, and a very easy italian rice recipe that I made up as I went. It basically consisted of: Jasmine rice, crushed tomatoes, onions, minced garlic fresh parsley, basil, and oregano. I will get to specific measurments of recipes, but I literally threw this together. Enjoy

Thursday, June 19, 2008

New to Blogging

Welcome to the Vegan Grindhouse, and be prepared for all sorts of insanity. I have been a vegetarian for a year and a half and a vegan for 5 months and three days, yes I keep count. as of this posting. I like to play with my food, after all those years of my mother telling me not too, as well as blow bubbles in my soy milk. I try to break all the boundries of cooking and I almost always screw up if I follow a recipe to the letter.

I hope to share all of my weird concoctions, and not so weird concotions through photos and occasionally recipes. Though knowing me, it will probably be reversed. I will be posting some food porn shortly. I have a weakness in every food category and am looking forward to the challenge of veganizing recipes.