Saturday, June 28, 2008
Odds and Crazy Ends
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
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Cici's
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Fried Tofu, Surprisingly Delicious
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
Thursday, June 19, 2008
New to Blogging
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.