Thankfully...

...I've made something to post! The past couple of weeks have been kind of hectic and I've made nothing worth posting. The good thing is that I've been getting aquainted with the gym in my office. The bad thing is that we've been eating a lot of boring food lately.

Since M and I are going our separate ways for the holiday, we thought it would be nice if we did a pre-Thanksgiving feast. I toyed with the idea of a Tofurkey, but they're kind of pricey and well...I've heard some mixed reviews. I decided that since we won't be home, we should just use up what we have in the fridge/pantry and make something wonderful out of what we had.

The Menu

Stuffed Tofu
I used the idea from Susan's post and just stuffed with a different filling and used a different marinade. I think the only thing that remained the same was the tofu and method of preparation.

I marinated my tofu with a little water, a spoonful of Vegebase some thyme, garlic bay leaves and a little sesame oil.

Quinoa Stuffing
I love quinoa. I like it better than rice even, so I thought it would be great as stuffing. Here's what went into mine.

4 cloves garlic, minced
4-6 scallions, snipped
3 ribs celery, finely chopped
2-3 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 cups veggie broth (I used water mixed with Vegebase)
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 cup quinoa

Saute veggies until they start to soften slightly (about 5-7 minutes). Add broth and quinoa and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer until most liquid is evaporated.

Cranberry Sauce
Easier than easy, here's how I make mine.

1 cup fresh cranberries
1 cup orange juice
1/4-1/5 cup sugar

Set it to boil and then reduce to low. Let it cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and it starts to look like jelly. :) It took mine about an hour... Keep it covered for maximum effect.

Roasted Broccolini
I had a pound of broccolini in the fridge that might have been wasted had I not made use of it! All I did was wash it, trim the ends and throw it into a foil pouch and into a 350 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes. It took the same about of time as baking the tofu with the stuffing, coincidentally enough...

Lemon Garlic Broccoli
We had some leftover steamed broccoli, so I just quickly sauted in a pan with a little Earth Balance, some fresh lemon (I used the juice from one small lemon), garlic and dried Italian seasoning. Yum!

Herb & Garlic Beer (cider, actually) Rolls
This was a mix that I have had forever. No really. I am almost positive I got it at the Duty Free Shop the last time I went to Canada on the way home and I was trying to use up the rest of my Canadian currency so I bought random things there. I love the Duty Free shop...they sell the most random things there (mostly maple syrup, tshirts and alcohol, but still). I decided that the mix should be used, so I mixed the dry stuff with some Magner's (I had no beer, only cider) and baked it in a muffin tin instead of a loaf pan. I'm really not much for white flour, but I knew these would find a place in M's heart (he ate two with dinner). The cider with the herbs and the garlic made a great combo.

And here it is all plated!




I'll be doing a lot of cooking for the holiday, so stay tuned! :)

Pad Thai leads to padded thighs...

...or so my jeans tell me! I made Pad Thai from Vegan with a Vengeance tonight. I didn't make it for me to eat because I'm trying to be good and eat in a manner that would make Dr. Fuhrman proud (and/or help me shed pounds, either way it's a win-win, right?). I made it for M as he is totally enamoured with this recipe, and because it makes a ton of food, he can have it for lunches and dinners and what have you over the next several days.

Ugh, this is too good not to eat! I tweaked the recipe a small bit, using sesame oil instead of peanut oil, leaving out the cilantro, and using cashews instead of peanuts as I didn't have any, but it still came out wonderful! I really should work on adding an ingredient or two that I don't like so I wouldn't crave this and dream about grabbing it out of the fridge everytime I walk by...



Yes, it's hard to be strong when you know that there is a hefty bowl full of that goodness hiding behind your orange juice and carrots. Actually, I think I put it behind a big bunch of kale. Kale will save me, right?

So while M is feasting on that lovely load of carbs, oil, and soy sauce (oh, it's wonderful!) this is what I'm eating...



Tempeh Sausage Gravy (from VwaV of course) with pureed cauliflower (I meant it to be a mash, but it had other ideas) and grilled asparagus.

Good. Very good actually. But it's not Pad Thai!



Oh well, time to go cuddle a puppy!

Bananas: Scourge of my childhood, passion of my maturity...

Little Nikki did not like bananas. Little Nikki didn't like much of anything.

One day, Nikki grew up and her taste buds changed. Suddenly all sorts of food that she did not like before started tasting wonderful. It was like magic!

Nikki met Mr. Banana one day on her way to make a smoothie.

Mr. Banana said, "You should take me with you because I love smoothies!"

"But, while I think you're beautiful, I really don't like bananas."

"Just give me a try, just this once. If it doesn't work out, we'll never have to see each other again!"

So Nikki took Mr. Banana and added him to her smoothie. Sure enough, the end result was a symphony in her mouth. She loved it so much that Mr. Banana became a regular in her smoothies and soon thereafter he became her egg replacer of choice for baking.

Nikki quickly became a little too obsessed and accumulated two dozen bananas. "How am I going to eat ALL of these?" she wondered out loud. Suddenly it hit her!

Banana Bread!

And with all of those bananas there were enough for not one, not two, but three whole loaves!

Banana Chocolate Chimp Bread (courtesy of Sticky Fingers Bakery as published in VegNews in their Oct 06 issue)



1/3 cup margarine
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 medium ripe mashed bananas
1/2 cup soy or rice milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Cream margarine and sugar, mix in flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add bananas, soymilk and vanilla. Mix until batter is moist and sticky. Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into greased loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes or until top is brown (or passes toothpick test).

This recipe is great. It is very easily adapted to any filling you might want to substitute for the chocolate chips, and is good on its own too. I happened to make one with the chocolate chips, one with pineapple chunks, coconut and sunflower seeds (a tropical banana bread!) and a plain one with a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg and quince butter for added spice.

Getting Autumnal on the Charles (River)

Saturday



Sam: I wanna go outside!

Me: [groan]

Sam: Please?



Me: Ugh

Sam: I could just lift up my...

Me: Okay already!

Sam: I like our pumpkin!



Me: Move it, buster.

Sam: My shadow is so cool, it looks like another dog!



Me: You're so cute! Let's cross the street!






Sam: Let's go on the river path!

[runs and pulls at full grey speed]




Sam: Oh look, there's my favorite log to sniff!





Me: Oooh, do you see how pretty the river looks?












Sam: Yeah, this is great...but I want to go exploring!

Me: You're the boss!









Sam: HEY! Watch your step!

Me: What? Why? Ahhhhh!




Me: What is that??!?!?

Sam: It's just a caterpillar.

Me: My, what a big fuzzy thing...

Sam: Oh look!

Me: What now?



Me: I think the wind must have knocked it over or something.

Sam: Can we go back home now?

Me: Sure, let's take the stairs to the street.






Sam: [sigh] I don't like the asphalt walk home.




Me: Look on the bright side...your shadow is back...



Sam: Yes! Oh look, our pumpkin has a friend!



Me: Looks like it! I think someone deserves a treat!

Sam: I'm good with that.





This excursion was brought to you courtesy of:



My brandspanking new digital camera which I have named Betty. :)

Viva Las Vegas!

Hey everyone! Sorry for not posting...between being sick and having serious illness befall friends and family members, I haven't been able to do much!

I do have a post all lined up though, I promise.

Looks like I'll be rockin' out in Las Vegas for Thanksgiving. Does anyone have any good restaurant suggestions for Sin City?

Saturday Veggie Saturday

Last Saturday I shunned all other activity in order to devote my afternoon to the Boston Vegetarian Festival. I'd been excited about this event for weeks, so finally when the day came I could hardly contain myself! M and I had fun trying to find a parking spot (the lot with free parking was a good walk away, we were just trying to get something closer) and discovered all wonderful hidden slices of Roxbury and Mission Hill.

[Okay, so it wasn't like a cute sightseeing expedition, it was more trying to find good places to either A. turn around or B. get back on to main roads]

Boston is a quaint city.

[Quaint being a nice way of saying something akin to 'pain in the tuchus']

We walked in and...WHOA! It was great. It was marvelous! I walked in and thought, are there this many vegetarians (or vegetarian friendy) in and around Boston? I couldn't believe it! I was thoroughly amazed. I mean, I feel like we are so gastronomically underrepresented in this area... I can count the number of strictly veg eateries on one hand (correct me if I'm wrong folks!), while the area boasts hundreds of steakhouses. Perhaps I exaggerate a little...

It was thoroughly packed when we arrived, and the first booth we went to was Grey 2K. The people there were so nice, and M pulled out his phone and showed off pictures of Sam to the people working the booth and to interested passers by. We spent some time trying to convince a nice couple to adopt a grey as well. This is always common for us...I think when we adopted Sam we also took on the role of 'greyhound ambassadors'.

After our improptu PDA assisted "Why You Should Get a Greyhound Now" presentation, we went off in search of food. I had promised M that I would get him a nice plate of Indian food as I knew that Cafe of India was supposed to be there. Sure enough they were, and he got a plate with pakoras and samosas. Cafe of India has some significance for us as a couple because we actually had our first date there four years ago!

I know, it's cute. :) I actually remember what I ordered that night, isn't that sweet?

Anyway, back to the fest. Tons of really cool products (food) to try! Here are some of the highlights.

Cheezly

This is by far the best vegan cheese ever. I can't WAIT until this is sold in the states. It is so rich and creamy and get this...it MELTS!



Trader Joe's

TJs had such a dynamic crew manning their booth! They were passing out samples of two of their creamy soups, Butternut Apple and Veggie Medley Bisque which were both really yummy. Not only did they give out little sample cups, but also the full size aseptic packages! Free! Yeah! Unfortunately they do have honey in them, but I will keep them around.



Turtle Mountain/Pure Decadent

This was my favorite freebie of them all. Turtle Mountain (maker of So Delicious Dairy Free Frozen Dessert) was giving away samples and coupon books. You could either get a soy ice cream bar, or a soy ice cream cup. I got a cup of the Peanut Butter Zig Zag, which was rich chocolate ice cream with peanut butter swirls. Yes, Belinda, heaven is a place on earth, and then it was in my cup. So good...and the coupons will help me to score more soon! :)



Mambo Sprouts gave out these great goodie bags filled with all sorts of stuff (lotions, coupons, chocolate crisps, beauty samples, luna bars, chocolate dairy milk, etc). We each got one and have been going through them slowly, M receiving the non-vegan items.



There was this great booth run by a family fortunate enough to have both a chef and a nutritionist in the group. I wish my family could be so fortunate! Their business is called Nutri Ahaar and they run it out of their homes. Their website url comes up with nothing, so I can't link to them. They make trail mixes and dried fruit treats and they also made some sort of saffron drink powder to mix with milk. I was assured that the saffron mix did well in non dairy milks, but I decided to pass. I got an assortment of their dried fruit treats, which reminded me of truffles! One treat was made with almonds and figs, another with apricot and nuts, and the last with figs, cocoa and sesame! Yum!




MartinOrganics had a great spread and was selling all kinds of great vegan cookies and some vegan cereals. We bought a ginger cookie that I tell you was a large ginger snap! Crispy and sweet and wonderful! The Silveira cereal which we tried is amazing. VERY sweet, and NO sugar. I was amazed!



I've always been addicted to pickles. It's a crazy addiction, and perhaps the toughest thing about keeping to a semi Fuhrman happy diet is staying away from all things salty, like my beloved. I threw caution to the wind and stopped by the Real Pickles booth with the idea in mind only to try them. Of course I walked away with a huge jar and a super cute t-shirt (as if I really needed to broadcast the pickle love!). These are so good and so different as they are naturally fermented and raw. So no vinegar! Very very good. Their products include all sorts of pickled treats, not just cucumbers! Check them out if you like those little ambassadors of brine as much as me!





Speaking of t-shirts, there were so many being sold there it wasn't funny! I wanted to get one of the super cute Herbivore shirts but they were a bit pricey. Then again, most of the shirts were pretty pricey! I did find one that I had to have! Little Vegan Monsters was selling these great "Choo-choo-choose Vegan" shirts printed on American Apparel t-shirts (yay!) and I absolutely had to have one. They were all super nice at their table and have a cookbook coming out soon! Oh, and the guy who sold me my shirt had some of the most beautiful tattoo artistry done on his arms. I was totally taken aback as it was just that breath taking. Anyhoo, here's what my cool new shirt looked like on!



In other wardrobe related news, No Sweat was selling their wares at a table and there were some serious discounts to be had! I really wanted a new scarf (scarves are a total obsession for me) and they were all selling for ten bucks a piece. I went through the selection carefully and chose the funkiest one they had.



I was trying to avoid buying any and all cookbooks with the exception of VCTOW, but they sold out WAAAAAYYY before I got to the table, but one of the other book tables was selling things for half price and they had a few of Bryanna Clark Grogan's books for sale, which I have never had the good fortune of coming across offline. I love BCG-all of her recipes come out wonderfully for me! So I got The Almost No Fat Holiday Cookbook

because I had heard some good things about it, but primarily because it had this recipe:


Growing up in a French Canadian-American family, this is a staple food around the holidays! Of course, its not something that a vegetarian could ever think about, but I'm hoping that Bryanna's recipe helps to fill that void!

Also on the book front, I stopped by Dr. Fuhrman's table and picked up a copy of Eat to Live for my mom. I chatted with him for a bit and he signed my book. Nice man but he looked totally out of it.

Who could blame him? I'm tired just writing about it!

I'm not feeling the love...

Yes, it was love. There was music and poetry. Goodness, you remember the poetry!

It all seemed so perfect. Now I've had the rug pulled out from under me much like your formulaic Lifetime movie complete with smudged mascara.

Folks, I'm left with a dilemma. Now, in the past I know that I have been responsible for contributing to the untimely (well, it was timely) demise of my fresh produce. I would forget about it, or I would feel a little too lazy to prepare a particular item, or take out just seemed more fun... I own up to my faults as a lackadaisical ...

I guess I should stop beating around the bush. I'm thinking about kicking my new passionate love, Boston Organics, to the proverbial curb. I know they send me great things every week. I know that I look forward to Thursdays as if it were a holiday. But... First there were the weeks of the nearly rancid oranges. Fine, I put them on our do not send list. Cool. Then, half of our delivery that we received just before Columbus Day weekend (Thursday mind you, Thursday!) was rotten by mid Monday afternoon. Now I'm not talking getting mushy or slightly unseemly, I'm talking something that causes one to scream out, "Oh dear God!" when happening upon it in the fridge. Let's just say that gloves were involved. I think my last straw was Sunday night when I wanted to whip up two things: 1) Veggie Burgers from VwaV and 2) Lentil Soup. We received a beautiful bunch of small carrots in our Thursday delivery, so I thought that I could use them up between the two recipes and the snacking that I would have to be doing during the cooking process. I pulled out the carrots and went to peel one when I noticed they were limp. Limp is a fairly relative term...but I really don't know how to describe that they felt like FINGERS. Call me crazy, but I think carrots are supposed to be on the hard/crunchy side. It wasn't like I left anything lying around for very long (3 days people!) and everything was refrigerated immediately upon delivery. So what gives?

I feel like it's an unhealthy relationship. I sit and I struggle internally and think that it's just a rut and that they'll make it up to me. Then I think that it's somehow my own fault and that I'm not doing something right. Ugh. I really should call and complain. I feel bad about that because I really support the idea and philosophy of Boston Organics. I don't get it...I've never had produce with such an embarrasingly short shelf life, either conventional or organic.

Am I crazy? Am I wrong? Are there actually types of carrots out there that should feel limp and fleshy like fingers?

Soup started the fire...

Soup. It's what's for dinner.



This is my version of chili. It's the simplest recipe in the world.

Easy Chili (Eat 2 Live friendly and wicked fast...watch out Ray Ray)

4 cloves garlic
4 scallions
1 15oz can black beans (no salt is preferable)
1 15oz can pinto or kidney beans
2 15 oz cans no salt added diced tomatoes (organic is best)
1 cup frozen corn (I suggest Trader Joe's Super Sweet Organic Corn or TJs Cut White Corn)
1 bunch broccoli florets (about 2 cups) or one bag frozen broccoli (I like the Trader Joes broccoli florets...both organic or conventional)
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons chili powder
cilantro (I use the frozen spice cubes from TJs)
1 teaspoon dried italian seasoning
cayenne pepper to taste
a few splashes of liquid smoke.

Steam fry the garlic/scallions & cumin seeds in a little bit of water until tender. Add tomatoes and beans and rest of spices. Add corn and broccoli and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for at least 20 minutes or so. Add liquid smoke within the last few minutes of cooking.

Oh, and the book the chili is resting on is pretty great. I got it at a company flea market thing we did to raise money for our in house charity. I got that and "Simply Vegan" for a buck a piece. One of my co-workers made sure to put aside the vegetarian books for me. Why anyone would want to get rid of them is beyond me...

Last week Emmy posted about this lovely vegetable soup she made. That post inspired me to use up my dying vegetables (spot a trend?)and make my own!



I don't have a recipe, but I'll tell you what I put in it...

1 bunch kale
2 zucchinis
3 or 4 carrots
mushrooms
1 can of no salt tomatoes
garlic
1 vegan bouillon cube (I use Rapunzel)
white bean puree (1 can of canneloni beans after a trip to the blender mixed with some water)
one bag of Trader Joe's Green Garbanzo Beans

Delicious! Totally not soup. It was definetely stew. And SO not stoup. I really don't like that expression. And soup tastes even more fantastic when eaten on a pile of books one has scored from a recent library sale.

My new issue of Vegetarian Times arrived today...and oddly enough, there was an entire section devoted to this very topic. There was a quick and simple recipe for 'Creamy Broccoli Soup' that I made but was not impressed. It wasn't really all that photo worthy either.

Moving on from the soup...

I went to go visit a friend from my hometown up north who just had twins at the end of last month. The boys are wonderful adorable bundles of giggles and poop, and I was so happy to meet them. I did make sure to make copious amounts of baked goods for the new family because I know that they have their hands full and food is ALWAYS welcome. I made them all vegan items, with the exception of some chocolate cookies that I made with regular sugar and some Reese's peanut butter chips. They *loved* everything, and it made me smile because they are both serious carnivores.

This is what I brought:

1 batch Chocolate Chip Scones (VwaV)
1 batch Awesome Chocolate Cookies (Vegweb)
1 batch Multi Grain Cookies (Back of canister)
1 batch Chocolate Chip Cookies (VwaV)



Awesome Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

3/4 cup margarine
1 cup unrefined sugar
1 egg equivalent
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 - 1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup any kind of vegan chips (peanut butter are awesome)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Mix margarine and vegan sugar until creamy. Add egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, blend flour, cocoa, soda, and baking powder. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and mix until everything is well blended. Stir in the chips. Form balls and smash them down a little bit on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 7-9 minutes until the tops are no longer gooey

Multigrain Cookies (from Country Choice Organics)

Beat:
1 c. butter or shortening (I used EB)
1 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
egg replacer for 2 eggs
1 T water
Combine:
2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
Blend: Flour mixture with butter mixture
Add:
1 1/2 c. quick multigrain mix (or oatmeal)
1t. grated orange peel
Drop: Slightly rounded teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheets
Bake: 10 - 12 minutes at 375° F.
Makes 3 1/2 dozen 3" cookies.

Phew! :) So now tell me...anyone in the area going to the BVF?