Veganize Me!

Really Late Midweek Munchies

2006-05-07T12:33:00.000-05:00

Midweek Munchies: What Amy is contributing for the week

strawberries
raisins
dried apples
currants
bananas
soy sauce
coconut milk
unsweetened coconut
raw almonds
raw cashews
organic sesame seed/date syrup candy bar

I have bunches of frozen veggies in the freezer that need to be used up. I'm moving soon, so I'm not buying much for groceries as I'm trying to use up what I've got on hand.

Links to other Midweek Munchies
(If you participate, leave your link in the comments and I'll post it below; or, you can post in the comments)

Click here for the Midweek Munchies code
Click here for Harmonia's blog

Trackbacks, pings, and comment links are accepted and encouraged!
Technorati Tag: Midweek Munchies

A special thanks to Running2Ks and Rift for all of their help with coding, graphics, and encouragement for this project.

PURPOSE of Midweek Munchies: Put together by a small group of Veg Women, we hope to spread the word about healthy vegetarianism while obtaining idea starters for meals, recipes, learn about new products, and meet other female veg*n bloggers. Visiting and commenting on other participants lists are encouraged but not required. Have fun and Go Veg!

Jicama

2006-05-03T22:00:00.000-05:00

I know I promised I'd post about thie jicama but, unfortuantly, the picture is really blurry and look awful. SO I will just tell ya what I did.
I made a "Crunch Salad" The idea is from The Passionate Vegetarian. I love this cookbook. It is HUGE and has soooo many recipes in it. And many of the non vegan recipes have vegan variations with them which is great. Everything I have tried from this book has turned out awesome.
My Crunch Salad had shredded cabbage, carrots, jicama and a sweet red wine vinegar red dressing. It was an interesting twist on coleslaw, I guess.

Barley and Toasted Pecan Salad

2006-04-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

This is the second dish I made to use up some of my barley. I cooked the barley in vegetable broth and tossed it with sauteed carrots and broccoli. I let it cool then topped it with toasted pecans and rice wine vinegar. This was very good! I am looking forward to trying out more grain based salads this summer.

Midweek Muchies

2006-04-26T17:40:00.000-05:00

Midweek Munchies: What Amy is contributing for the week

Squash
Zucchini
Green Pepper
Cucumber
Jicama
2 Roma Tomatoes
Coleslaw Mix
Bananas
Garlic
Tofu
Wheat Pasta
Oatmeal
Unsweetened Banana Chips
Frozen Raspberries
Frozen Spinach
Frozen Cauliflower
Monterrey Jack Vegan Gourmet

I was planning on getting zucchini and squash too, but my store was out! Can you believe that!? The squash part of the produce section was just empty. Maybe I'll go back for it in a few days.

Links to other Midweek Munchies
(If you participate, leave your link in the comments and I'll post it below; or, you can post in the comments)

Click here for the Midweek Munchies code
Click here for Harmonia's blog

Trackbacks, pings, and comment links are accepted and encouraged!
Technorati Tag: Midweek Munchies

A special thanks to Running2Ks and Rift for all of their help with coding, graphics, and encouragement for this project.

Garlic Stuffed Tofu and Maple-Mustard Potatoes and Beans

2006-04-23T17:39:00.000-05:00

I got the idea for the tofu from tofu666 at The Post Punk Kitchen Forums. I marinated my tofu in soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, and some Italian spices overnight. I pan fried the tofu then cut a small slit in it and filled it up with roasted garlic paste. I then baked it for 15 minutes.

The Maple-Mustard Potato and Beans recipe is from Vegan with a Vengeance. It is my new favorite recipe in this book. Try it-you'll like it!

Harvest Ratatoullie over Whole Wheat Penne

2006-04-18T18:31:00.000-05:00

I made this veggie-ful pasta as part of a challenge at the PPK Forums. I love how beautiful all the colors look together, and it doesn't taste half bad either!

Harvest Ratatoullie

1 c. cubed eggplant
1/4 t. salt
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 medium zucchini, quartered then sliced
1/2 medium squash, quartered then sliced
1 T. minced fresh parsley
1 t. minced fresh oregano
1 t. minced fresh basil
1/8 t. fresh ground black pepper
Hot cooked pasta
1 medium tomato, chopped

Place eggplant in a colander and toss with salt. Set in sink and let weep for 30 minutes.
Heat a large skillet. Add the oil then stir fry the garlic, onion, and green pepper for 3 minutes. Add eggplant, zucchini, and squash and stir fry 6 more minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.
Stir in the parsley, oregano, basil and pepper.
Serve over pasta and topped with tomato.

And for desert I had this yummy sundae.

It was Butter Pecan Soy Dream, hot fudge sauce, and chopped pecans. Sooo good!

Curried Barley and Lentils

2006-04-15T20:43:00.000-05:00

Today I decided it was time to use up some of my lentils and barley. I searched out recipes that used both of them. I ended up kind of combining 2 recipes and adding my own twists based on what I had on hand. It came out really good!

My Curried Barley and Lentils

2 t. olive oil
1/2 c. onion, diced
1/3 c. green bell pepper, diced
2 t. curry powder
1 1/2 c. barley, cooked (about 1/3 c. dry, I think)
1 c. lentils, cooked (about 1/2 c. dry)
1 carrot, shredded
1/4 c. frozen spinach, thawed
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Saute onion, pepper, and curry powder until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in barley, lentils, carrots, and spinach. Heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Midweek Munchies

2006-04-13T14:15:00.000-05:00

Midweek Munchies: What Amy is contributing for the week

Roma Tomatoes
Green Beans
Green Pepper
Parsley
Frozen Peas and Carrots
Rice Vinegar
Soymilk
Vanilla Soy yogurt
Butter Pecan Soy Dream (it was on sale!)
Macaroni and Chreese (I meant to grab whole wheat. Oops)
Vital Wheat Gluten
Nutritional Yeast
Vegetable Broth Powder
Unsweetened Banana Chips
Pretzels
Sesame Seeds

I was planning on getting zucchini and squash too, but my store was out! Can you believe that!? The squash part of the produce section was just empty. Maybe I'll go back for it in a few days.

Links to other Midweek Munchies
(If you participate, leave your link in the comments and I'll post it below; or, you can post in the comments)

Click here for the Midweek Munchies code
Click here for Harmonia's blog

Trackbacks, pings, and comment links are accepted and encouraged!
Technorati Tag: Midweek Munchies

A special thanks to Running2Ks and Rift for all of their help with coding, graphics, and encouragement for this project.

Thai Meal

2006-04-10T19:40:00.000-05:00

Spicy Peanut Noodles, Thai Cucumber Salad, and Thai Iced Tea

My peanut sauce is made with peanut butter (duh), soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. I used a bag of mixed frozen veggies, for cheapness mostly, but it did also make things a bit easier. My mix had carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and bell peppers. I also added onions and some tofu that I marinated in soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic and ginger. This turned out pretty good, but next time I thing I'll add some more spice to it!

The cucumber salad is this recipe. It was good, but nothing too special. I will continue my quest to find a good thai side dish. Thai-ish spring rolls would be good, but I figure I've got noodles, do I really need more carbs? I may just have to go for it next time though.

The iced tea is from How It All Vegan. I just followed the Quick Thai Tea for Two recipe (halved it though) and added ice.

Midweek Munchies

2006-04-05T22:36:00.000-05:00

I did not have to buy much this week. I eat at work a lot (its free) and have a very full freezer and pantry. I'm working on using up all that stuffs. So that said, here's what I DID get this week:

Midweek Munchies: What Amy is contributing for the week

basil
ginger
Peanut Chews
oatmeal

Links to other Midweek Munchies
(If you participate, leave your link in the comments and I'll post it below; or, you can post in the comments)

Click here for the Midweek Munchies code
Click here for Harmonia's blog

Trackbacks, pings, and comment links are accepted and encouraged!
Technorati Tag: Midweek Munchies

A special thanks to Running2Ks and Rift for all of their help with coding, graphics, and encouragement for this project.

More Pizza

2006-04-04T10:27:00.000-05:00

I used my leftover crust from the last time I made pizza. I froze half the dough. I got it out of the freezer and thawed it in the fridge overnight. I then kneaded it for a few minutes and let it sit for an hour before rolling it out. It worked out really well!

I used the same sauce again-tomato paste sprinkled with basil and oregano. This time I also sprinkled some nutritional yeast on.

As you can see, I elected to make two smaller pizzas. I couldn't decide on toppings, so I just made 2 pizzas! One is topped with TVP sausage, potatoes, onion and garlic. The other one I topped with mushrooms, olives, sundried tomato, onion, bell peppers, and garlic.

My "I'm Sick" Lunch

2006-03-31T10:21:00.000-06:00

I was sick the other day, so this is what I made for myself to help me feel better. I had miso soup, an orange, toast, and green tea.

Miso Soup (adapted from La Dolce Vegan)
2 c. water
2 t. vegetable broth powder
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 T. miso
1/4 c. tofu, cubed
1 small carrot, grated
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 button mushroom, diced
2 T. frozen spinach

In a small sauce pan on high heat, bring the water and vegetable broth powder to a boil. Reduce the heat and add the garlic; simmer for 8 minutes. Then fish out the ginger and turn the heat off. In a small bowl mix the miso with 3 T. of the stock. Stir until miso is smooth. Add the miso, tofu, and veggies to the stock. Cover and let it sit for 5 minutes. Serves 1.

Don't boil your miso-that destroys the health benefits.

Midweek Munchies!

2006-03-30T13:37:00.000-06:00

Midweek Munchies: What Amy is contributing for the week

Big bag of Red Delicious apples
2 bananas
1 lb. carrots
2 cucumbers
raisins
dates
pumpkin
almonds
frozen mixed veggies
rice milk
2 lb. tofu

Links to other Midweek Munchies
(If you participate, leave your link in the comments and I'll post it below; or, you can post in the comments)

Click here for the Midweek Munchies code
Click here for Harmonia’s blog

Trackbacks, pings, and comment links are accepted and encouraged!

View More Midweek Munchies Participants

Cupcakes!

2006-03-28T09:12:00.000-06:00

I've been helping test cupcakes for Isa and Terry. They're writing an all vegan cupcake book!
Here's what I've tested so far:

Cappuccino Cupcakes with Espresso Creme
These are coffee flavored cupcakes with just a hint of cinnamon. They are filled with a light coffee/espresso flavored creme. I also used some of the leftover filling to decorate the top. And, just to make it look pretty, I sprinkled it with powdered sugar and put a lovely chocolate covered espresso bean on top of the cream.
They were very yummy and coffee-y, so these are definitly a coffee lovers cupcake!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes
I was just testing the frosting for these. Most of the recipes were cupcake and frosting all together, but this one was just the frosting. I decided to pair it up with the Isa and Terry's basic vanilla cupcake. Just to make it more fancy, I piped in some grape jelly. The frosting is a peanut buttercream. Its very light and fluffy. I decorated these cupcakes with crushed up peanuts.
I absolutely love peanut butter and this frosting is my favorite thing that I've tested so far. Everybody that I've shared my cupcakes with has said that this is their favorite too. Gotta love peanut butter frosting! They could have used more jelly though. It was my first time filling cupcakes, so I was just guessing at what I was doing. Couldn't see how much was in there until I cut it open.

Chocolate Mint Cupcakes
These are chocolate cupcakes with a bit of mintyness to them. They are first iced with a mint frosting. The cupcakes just have a bit of mint, but the frosting is very minty. Its where the cupcakes get all their yummyness. It is then topped with a chocolate ganache to balance out the mintyness.
Some of my testers thought these were too minty, but I thought they were just right!

Midweek Munchies

2006-03-23T10:33:00.000-06:00

Stuff for making cupcakes! I'm helping test for Isa and Terry's upcoming cookbook. Pictures to come later.

I got the following for cupcakes:
margarine
shortening
powdered sugar
chocolate covered espresso beans
soft tofu
vanilla soy yogurt
mint extract

More about Midweek Munchies!

Mini Banana Bread

2006-03-19T22:36:00.000-06:00

Isn't it cute!? I found a recipe for a mini loaf of banana bread. Its just four servings, which is awesome for me as I am just baking for myself. So I veganized/healthified the recipe and it turned out GREAT. I can't wait to try a bunch of variations of the recipe. Banana Nut Bread, Banana Chocolate Chip Bread, Banana Peanut Butter Bread, Banana Date Bread, Banana Oatmeal Bread. . .(I fear I'm starting to sound like Bubba Gump! hehe) Here's my recipe:

Mini Loaf Banana Bread

3 T. applesauce
3 T. sugar
1/4 t. vanilla
1/3 c. wheat flour
1/3 c. all purpose flour
1/4 t. soda
1/8 t. salt
1/4 t. cinnamon
2 bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 325°. Coat a 5 3/4-in. x 3-in. x 2-in. loaf ban with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, mix applesauce, sugar and vanilla. Combine the flours, soda, salt and cinnamon; add to creamed mixture alternately with bananas.
Transfer to prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan and finish cooling on a wire rack.

Midweek Munchies

2006-03-17T21:43:00.001-06:00


Midweek Munchies: What Amy is contributing for the week

Not much!  lol!  I went out a couple times this week and ate at work a few times, so I have lots left over from last week.  What I will contribute is a few things I got at the Asian Grocery store:

Cheap tofu (waaay cheaper there than the regular store or the health food store!)
Agar Powder (only place I've been able to find it!)
  


Click here for the Midweek Munchies code
Click here for Harmonia’s blog


Trackbacks, pings, and comment links are accepted and encouraged!

View More Midweek Munchies Participants



Pizza!
2006-03-14T21:45:00.000-06:00

I was quite happy with how this pizza turned out!  It looks good and tastes even better!
I used the pizza crust recipe from Passionate Vegetarian.  I used 1/2 wheat flour, 1/2 white flour.  I still have some dough leftover which I froze.  I plan to make calzones next week.
I topped my pizza with roasted garlic, spinach and mushrooms.  Up until recently, I have hated mushrooms!  They are still not my favorite thing, but I'm trying to learn to like them more as so many vegan recipes (not to mention all the vegan options at restaurants!) rely on mushrooms.  I have learned to like them raw and sometimes like them cooked.  My dad told me that you want to cook them very little-they overcook easy.  So I think maybe that was my problem before.  Who knows?  At any rate, I liked them on this pizza!
I used my new favorite soy cheese on this pizza: Vegan Gourmet!  I've heard that its the best and have been wanting to try it forever, but could never find it.  A while back I went to a different health food store than usual and they had it!  I drizzled it with a bit of olive oil before baking, because I'd heard that helps it brown up nicely.  Looks like that trick worked!
My roomate makes really good and simple pizza sauce.  I stole her idea for this pizza.  She spreads tomato paste on the pizza crust then sprinkles it with oragano, basil and a bit of garlic powder.  She then tops the pizza.  I like doing it this way for 3 reasons: (1) you don't dirty a bowl to mix the sauce in-less dishes!  (2) its thicker so you don't get any sauce dripping/oozing out and burning your fingers and (3) it tastes good!


Yum-O Chili
2006-03-12T16:33:00.000-06:00

 I admit it.  I love Rachael Ray-even though I won't eat much of what she cooks!  When I saw her make this chili recipe, I knew I had to try it.  It was really good and easy!  Its just your basic vegetarian chili . . . for the most part.  What makes this chili different is the refried beans!  Yep, you heard me right.  Refried beans!  They are used to thicken the chili.  How smart is that!?  I definitly recommend that you try this recipe.  Serve it with cornbread.  Yum-o, as Rachael would say!


Midweek Munchies
2006-03-10T09:43:00.000-06:00

Here's my contribution to Midweek Munchies!
This week I got:
lettuce
mushrooms
celery (although you can't really see it)
sweet potatoes
bananas
apples
oranges
lemon
unsweetened dried bananas
soy milk
tvp (I accidently covered it up.  You can't see it at all!  lol!)
black beans
Smart Deli pastrami
vegetarian vegetable soup
lentil soup
tomato sauce
peas
nutritional yeast
Minute Rice brown rice
Whole Fruit popsicle type bars
Annie's Organics Chocolate Bunny Grahams (Sooo good!)


Unsweetened Banana Chips!
2006-03-07T21:50:00.000-06:00

I went to the health food store today and found these.  They were super cheap-the bag was like 60 cents.  And bonus: unsweetened!  I, personally, like them better than the regular/sugary dried bananas.  They are healthy, yummy and cheap-just the way I like my food.  2 thumbs up!


Accidently Vegan Scotcheroos!
2006-03-06T20:34:00.000-06:00
Before I went vegan, I bought some chocolate chips and butterscotch chips to make scotcheroos.  And, being as cheap as I am, I bought off brands.  So, the other day, I saw these half bags of baking chips in my cupboard and decided to make scotcheroos.  I figured they wouldn't be vegan, but I wasn't going to throw away stuff because its not vegan.  What good does that do for the suffering animals?  Anyways, out of curiousity, I checked the ingredients.  Both the chocolate chips and the butterscotch chips were vegan!!!  Morel of the story: check the ingredients on off brand stuffs!
And here are my lovely (and yummy!) scotcheroos:


Wanna know how I made them!?  Of course you do!

Scotcheroos
1/2 c. corn syrup
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. peanut butter
3 c. Rice Krispies
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. butterscotch chips

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar and corn syrup.  Bring to a rolling boil.  Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter.  Once the peanut butter is melted and mixed in well, stir in the Rice Krispies.
Press the mixture in a greased 9x9 pan.
Melt the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips together in the microwave.  Have the microwave on 50-60% power and stir every minute.  You don't want to burn the chocolate!  Once it is all nicely melted and combine, spread over the bars.
Chill until firm.  This will take about 15 minutes.


Chickpea Almond Stir "Fry" and TVP Spring Rolls
2006-03-01T23:09:00.000-06:00

So, this isn't really a stir fry, because its not fried. . .and its not really spring rolls because its baked.  I'm starting my blog off with a bunch of fake stuff!  lol!
It may not look that great in the picture (picture didn't turn out too great!), but it was really tasty.  Here's what I did:

Chickpa Almond Stir "Fry"

1 1/2 c. water
3 t. veggie broth powder
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 c. broccoli, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 can chickpeas
1 c. peas
1/2 c. almonds
Cooked Brown Rice

Heat the water, veggie broth powder and soy sauce in a large fry pan until boiling.  Add broccoli, carrots, onion and garlic.  Simmer until broccoli is soft, but not mushy.  Add chickpeas, peas, and almonds.  Simmer 2-3 more minutes.  Serve over rice.

TVP Spring Rolls
3/4 c. textured vegetable protein
3/4 c. water
1 T. soy sauce
2 carrots, shredded
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 T. olive oil
Spring Roll Wrappers

Preheat oven to 400°.
Boil water.  Pour over tvp.  Mix in soy sauce; let sit 30 minutes.  Saute tvp, carrots and onion in olive oil 2-3 minutes or until veggies are soft.
Get ready to roll your spring rolls.  Have your wrappers thawed and covered with a wet towel.  Have a small bowl of water, your filling and a greased baking sheet nearby.  Lay a wrapper in front of you so that it looks like a diamond.  Use your finger or a brush to wet the edges.  Place 2 tablespoons of filling (or less if you have small wrappers.  Mine were quite large.) directly in front of the tip of the diamond, far enough back so that you can roll the tip of the wrapper over it.  Roll the wrapper over the filling, pulling it towards you so its tight.  Fold in the sides.  Roll it up and use a bit of water to hold it shut.  Set on baking sheet, seam side down.  Roll the rest of your spring rolls.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.