Vegan Superbowl II (and the best cupcakes EVER made)

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Geaux Saints!!!

That was a great game and we had some good food, beer and cupcakes!!! We had the standard food: Chips, dip, hummus, trail mix, and chili (I used smart start breakfast sausage in my typical veggie and bean chili. People seemed to like this-just crumble the sausage and crisp it up nicely in a saute pan and add to chili at last minute). The picture below doesn't show one of our treats because frankly by the time they came out of the oven, anyone who cared about taking a picture (me) was two beers and a lot of potato chips in the hole!

Sweet Potato and Spinach Quesadillas:
Makes 18 pieces
2 medium sweet potatoes roasted at 350 for 45min until mushy
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp salt
3 cups baby spinach
1 chipotle pepper in adobo or 2 tsp chipotle hot sauce

Peel sweet potatoes when cool and place flesh in food processor with spices and chipotle. Meanwhile sautee spinach in 1tsp EVOO and crushed garlic until just wilted. Process until smooth. Remove mixture to a bowl and fold in half a can of black beans. Spread filling on half of a tortilla (you can get all different colors/flavors) and fold in half. This should fill 6 tortillas. Spray baking sheet with canola or olive oil spray and bake these for 5-7 min on each side. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes. Slice with a pizza cutter into three pieces and serve with guacamole. The smokey sweetness is great with the cold tangy-ness of the guacamole!

For dessert we had the yogurt pineapple cake from Eat Drink and Be Vegan which was very good with fruit and soy whip cream (this stuff tastes just like Redi-whip so I didn't get any complaints!) and I made some special cupcake pictured below. It is a known fact that I could eat peanut butter and banana sandwiches all day but don't (I can't keep peanut butter in the house anymore because I really will eat a jar every 3 days) so this is my all out tribute to peanut butter plus chocolate. How could anyone NOT like these????

Banana Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cupcake with Peanut Butter Chocolate Mouse Frosting:

Cake:
1 Box Duncan Hines chocolate fudge cake or chocolate devil's food
1/2 cup vanilla soy yogurt
2 ripe bananas (brown almost black)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/3 cup water
Ener-g egg replacer equal to one egg mixed into water
1/2-3/4 cup vegan semi sweet or dark chips
Combine ingredients and bake according to package directions (16-18 minutes)

Frosting: This frosting comes from a peanut butter pie recipe HERE. It is damn good as pie or layered in a martini glass with any of the following: banana slices, chocolate sauce, peanut butter, crushed cookies, and topped with soy whip cream for a fancy looking trifle OR eaten straight out of the Tupperware you put the leftovers in (whatever!)

1 12 oz container firm silken tofu (yes it sounds like a contradiction but it is real I got mine at Whole Foods)
1 cup creamy peanut butter (I use the real stuff and always pour off the initial layer of oil before stirring. I like Trader Joe's organic creamy)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup vegan semi sweet chocolate melted

In food processor process tofu and maple syrup until smooth. Add peanut butter and bleand again, completely scraping down the sides of the bowl until everything is smoothly combined. Then add melted chocolate and process until uniformly creamy and delicious. This makes more than enough to frost the 18 cupcakes I made but weirdly it disappeared by Monday night!

Here's a picture of the peanut butter filling in a pir crust with crushed chocolate covered pretzels. I think it would be prettier topped with soy whip cream and chopped chocolate. I'll make one and update soon =)

Vegan Brunch

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By oldest and bestest was in town this week from L.A. and I thought a ladies brunch would be a great way to celebrate seeing her. It was a great morning with old friends just drinking coffee and soy hot chocolate while the snow came down outside!
Fruit and yogurt parfait-layer vanilla soy yogurt, strawberries, granola, yogurt, slivered almonds and drizzle of agave syrup
Fruit Salad
Salad with pears, walnuts, and cranberries. dressing here.
Sausage-Saute pieces of field roast apple and sage sausage and serve with mustard
Crescent rolls with jam
Roast potatoes with vegetables-Saute onions, peppers, zucchini and broccoli in pan while you roast small potatoes in oven. Mix together and bake before serving. You could also add field roast sausages to this mixture.
Pumpkin pancakes-Pancake recipe here. Substitute pumpkin pie filling for the apple sauce in this recipe. We actually ran out of soy milk and used some soy eggnog as well. The spices in the nog worked out really well.
Bagel Sandwiches-Mini whole wheat bagels, spread with hummus and layered with vegetables

Thanksgiving!

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People can't imagine what I eat on this meat-heavy holiday. There are lot's of things I can think of and this year I made corn bread stuffing with apples, celery, carrots, onions and apple sage field roast sausage. Below is the yummy and healthy meal we had at my aunt's house. She of course had a free-range organic turkey but she also made me eggplant Parmesan-vegan style! She baked slices of eggplant that she dredged with plain soy milk and then dipped in plain breadcrumbs. She then sauteed mushrooms and garlic and layered them on top of the eggplant. We made a spicy sauce with onions, hot red pepper, garlic and capers and tomatoes and baked it until heated through. She also served super tasty brown bread with smart balance, steamed green beans, acorn squash puree, roasted baby potatoes with pearl onions! I made cranberry orange sauce which was great with the squash and on the brown bread. Everything was healthy and delicious! We of course had apple pie (made with Pillsbury crusts that are vegan) and a strawberry rhubarb crumble!

Asian Entertaining

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Thai Fresh Rolls
Rice paper wrappers
cucumber seeded and in matchsticks
red pepper
shredded carrot
sliced jicama
mint leaves
optional or other additions
cilantro
alfalfa or bean sprouts
pea shoots
avocado
tofu

Fill a low dish or pan that a rice paper wrap will fit in with hot tap water. Place wrapper in hot water for 20 seconds until soft. Place on a clean dish towel to soak up water and fill with a little of each veggie. Wrap and place in fridge until ready to serve. I topped mine with wasabi flavored sesame seeds.
This is really more of a technique than a recipe. Thai rolls often have shrimp and lots of veggies in them and are dipped in peanut or sweet chile sauce. Use your imagination and creat lots of different kinds!
Sesame Noodles
1 red pepper sliced into matchsticks
1/2 cup sliced jicama
1 cup shredded cabbage or cole slaw mix
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1-2 scallions sliced
1 TBS fresh ginger
1/4 cup peanut sauce
2 TBS soy sauce
2 TBS rice vinegar
1 TBS toasted sesame oil
8 oz noodles (I used Thai rice noodles but whole wheat spaghetti or a vegan asian noodle would work. The rice noodles actually got a little hard the next day so I think I will use a different noodle next time)

Combine all liquids and oils in a bowl, add ginger and stir. Add vegetables and toss to coat while you cook noodles. Drain noodles and toss with veggies. Let marinate for an hour and eat cold. This recipe was adapted from cook yourself thin a tv show on lifetime. You can make the dressing with peanut butter but I had some peanut sauce already in the fridge. Here is the original recipe.
Mooshoo Vegetable Rolls
Traditional mooshoo vegetables have eggs and shredded cabbages in them but these have the addition of shitake mushrooms and no egg. Rather than making wraps with traditional pancakes I wrapped them in wonton wrappers so they are easier to eat at a party.
1-2 cups shredded cabbage white and red
1 cup shredded carrots
10-15 shitake mushrooms sliced
1 Teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 scallions sliced
1 TBS low sodium soy sauce
clove crushed garlic
1 Teaspoon fresh ginger
1 teaspoon hoisen sauce
6-8 wonton wrappers

Pre-heat oven to 350. Saute mushrooms in oil, add ginger and garlic and cook for a minute. Add soy sauce, and hoisen sauce as well as cabbage and carrots. Cook until slightly wilted about 5 minutes. Add scallion and let mixture cool for 10-15 minutes. Wrap 2-3 TBS of mixture in wrappers and place on a spraed cookie sheet. Line up rolls and spray the tops with cooking spray so they crisp up but aren't greasy. Serve with extra hoisin sauce for dipping
Pomegranate Mojito
Muddle 4-5 mint leaves at the bottom of a tall glass. Squueze and drop in half a lime. Add one shot clear rum. Fill glass rest of the way with Trader Joe's sparkling pomegranate juice or use a combination of sparkling water and juice.

Vegan Tappas

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I've talked about my friend Sarah before, she's the one with the awesome guacamole that I never have the patience to make. Sarah moved to Chicago about a year ago and I really miss cooking with her, but she came into town last month and I knew we should throw an awesome party!
Grapefruit Confetti Salad
Use a food processor to grate two raw peeled beets, and three large carrots (or just but the pre-grated carrots like I did). Supreme one large grapefruit and reserve the juice in a bowl and set sections aside. Add 1TBS EVOO to grapefruit juice as well as 1tsp cumin and chopped cilantro. Whisk together and pour over the shredded vegetables. Let sit for a couple hours and then scoop veggies into endive leaves. Place a grapefruit section on top of each one.
Zucchini Fritters and Red Pepper Aioli
Rinse off that food processor and grate two white potatoes, 1 large zucchini, 1 small sweet onion. Place mixture in bowl and coat lightly with cornstarch (a little less than a 1/4 cup), salt and pepper liberally. About 20 min before you want to serve add about 1/4 cup water and 1/4 flour to make a pste/dough consistency. Scoop a couple of TBS of mixture into a hot skillet with evoo. Fry about 4 at a time and drain on a paper bag or paper towels.
Serve with Red Pepper Aioli:
2 Roasted red peppers (from a jar or do it yourself)
1 Clove garlic
3 TBS fresh parsley
1-2 TBS vegan mayonnaise (optional-I've tried it both ways and both are good)
Green Olive Crostini
Combine 1 cup pitted green olives (not in a jar), 1 clove garlic, a large handful of parseley, 1-2 TBS EVOO, and zest of one lemon. Pulse in a food processor and spread on slices of baguette. Bake for 15 min in a 350 oven. Top with half a cherry tomato and serve.
Sweet Potato Quesadillas
These were the hit of that party from what I heard so make A LOT! This recipe was enough for 27 pieces and I'm sure if I had give my friends more they would have eaten them. Bake 3 LARGE sweet potatoes or four regular ones in the oven for 1 hour until they are tender. Peel off skin, and put in food processor ith 1/4 cup cilantro and 2 chipotle peppers in adobo. Blend until smooth and fold in 1 can black beans. Spread mixture on 1 half of a flour tortilla and fold over. Place on a baking sheet sprayed with non stick spray and bake at 350 for 15 min flipping halfway through. Cut each tortilla into 3 pieces and serve with guacamole.
Chocolate Truffles
10oz dark chocolate chopped finely (we used the food processor)
3/4 cup coconut milk (not light)
2 TBS cointreau or vanilla depending on which truffle you want to make

Heat coconut milk until very hot but not boiling. Pour milk over chocolate in a glass or stainless bowl. Stir in the extract or liquor and then let chocolate set and cool in fridge. Scoop with a melon baller then roll into balls with hand. Then roll in topping of your choice. We made a double batch and made three kinds of truffles.

Vanilla rolled in toasted chopped almonds
Vanilla rolled in coconut
Cointreau rolled in cocoa

The party was a great success and we all enjoyed seeing Sarah. She also took these great photos! Thanks Sarah and we miss you!

Happy Valentines Day!

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The day before Valentine's Day we had some people over to watch a scary movie because it was Friday the 13th.

We made chocolate covered caramel corn, vegan raspberry brownies, and had kettle corn to snack on, but we needed a really great cocktail to keep everyone happy during the scary movie!
Strawberry Mojito:
Muddle frozen or fresh strawberries with 3 or 4 mint leaves in the bottom of a glass
Pour in one shot white rum
Top with sparkling berry lemonade (from Trader Joe's)
You can use any lemonade but the one from TJ's is pink and has a nice berry and lemon flavor.

After a great night with friends and getting scared out of our minds watching The Descent, we woke up hungry. This was an easy breakfast to make the next morning that showed Tom how much I love him!
Peanut Butter Banana Quesadillas:
2 Whole Wheat tortillas
natural creamy or chunky peanut butter
1 banana cut into rounds
handful semi-sweet chocolate chips

Spray skillet with non-stick spray and heat to medium. Spread 1/2 of each tortilla with peanut butter, lay on 1/2 of the banana slices and sprinkle 1/2 of the chocolate chips on each. Fold each tortilla in half and warm in skillet outside is soft and inside melty. Cut with pizza cutter.

I also cut some Trader Joe's vegan banana waffles into heart shapes with a cookie cutter!

Vegan Superbowl

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Ah Superbowl Sunday. Time for Americans to gather together and pretend they care about a game they don't understand in order to drink and eat in excess. I refuse to allow being vegan to keep me from my beer and snack food so I had a bunch of people over (who don't care about football) and fed them junk food they didn't expect with vegan eating.

Menu:
-Supremely Spicy Sabra Hummus with pita chips and veggies
-Chips and salsa, guacamole, and pineapple salsa (pulse fresh pineapple, red onion, jalepeno, lime juice, and cilantro in food processor)
-Layered Dip (Layer Amy's re-fried beans, black beans, guacamole and salsa. Top with scallions and cilantro. Scoop and enjoy with tortilla chips!)
-Chili Bar with toppings (olives, scallions, bacos, hot sauce, jalapenos)
-"Pigs" in a blanket (wrap tofu pups or any vegan hot dog or sausage with Pillsbury crescent dough)
I try to eat healthy but woohoo! Bacos and crescent dough are vegan?! That is crazy! (now I will immediately forget that so I can go back to brown rice and veggies). Use this menu whenever you want to pig out and are drinking beer (and then go to the gym).

Wine party book club

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I have 3 friends who are some of the smartest, coolest women I know and in an effort to get to see them more, despite our busy schedules, I started book club. Now you should know that this is really more of a wine and food club and part of my plan to feed people delicious vegan food. I am not a very fast reader and would rather cook, go out or shop than read on a typical day so I, of course, finished the book the day of and spent the rest of the day prepping the italian themed party. This actually ended up serving as a light meal for four people.

Spinach salad
Dressing:
2 TBS EVOO
1.2 TBS dijon mustar
1/2 TBS agave syrup
splash of blasamic vinegar
lots of black pepper

This dressing is sweet with a slight tang and should be thick enough to coat the leaves nicely. Add candied walnuts or pecans and dried cranberries.

Stuffed mushrooms
These were made the same way as in this post: Italian Entertaining
although I used red wine instead of white.

Polenta and eggplant rounds with balsamic onions and tomatoes
I haven't worked with much polenta but I was interested in it when I saw organic polenta at Trader Joe's. It comes in a tube which makes slicing it in rounds easy. I sliced pieces about 1/4in thick and toasted them up in a non stick skillet. I then took slices of salted eggplant and pan fried them. For the sauce I caramelized one onion in EVOO for about 30min on low heat. I then added 1TBS of balsamic vinegar and 4TBS of diced canned tomatoes and let cook down about 15min. Place polenta rounds on baking sheet top with fried eggplant and about a TBS of sauce. Place in oven for 5 min before serving. For extra flavor and a contrast to the sweet onions add an oil cured black olive to the top or on just some in case people don't like olives (crazy).

Roasted garlic and white bean dip with crostini and veggies
While the mushrooms were baking I roasted a whole head of garlic. To do this, cut off the top of the garlic head, create a pouch of tin foil and place garlic inside with a drizzle of EVOO before closing up the pouch. After 45 min in a 350 oven, remove from pouch and squeeze out roasted garlic into the food processor. Add one can of cannellini beans, 2 TBS EVOO, and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with crostini (brush slices of bread with EVOO and toast for 10min in oven) and raw veggie sticks.

Olive crostini
Blend kalmata olives, basil, EVOO and fresh garlic in a food processor. Spread slices of bread with kalmata olive pesto and bake in 350 oven for 10min. So yummy with wine!

Italian Entertaining

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Spinach and Eggplant Lasagna
This lasagna is time consuming but well worth it. It is a crowd pleaser and in Tom's opinion "The best fake-out meal" thanks to the delicious tofu "ricotta".

Tofu Ricotta (adapted from "Skinny Bitch in the Kitch"):
One package of firm tofu
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons EVOO
4 or 5 leaves fresh basil
salt and pepper
1/2 package of defrosted frozen spinach (this is my edition and really makes it yummy)*

Blend ingredients in a blender or food processor until it is grainy in texture and a beautiful bright green. Refrigerate and save for later.

Eggplant:
Take one Italian eggplant and slice in 1/4 inch slices. Lay out on paper towels and sprinkle both sides lightly with salt. This will remove some of the bitterness by drawing out the bitter liquid inside the eggplant as well as season them. Let these sit for 30minutes to an hour to give off their liquid. Warm EVOO in a skillet and pan fry the eggplant untill light brown and nice and soft. This makes the eggplant smooth and delicious.

While the eggplant is salting (not a word) prep your sauce and boil a package of whole weat lagagna noodles. I made a sauce with onions, garlic, capers, kalmata olives, crushed red pepper and crushed tomatoes and fresh basil, but you can use a jar sauce if you're lazy (I'm judging you).

Layer the lasagna in a baking dish as follows:
a ladle of sauce on the bottom
noodles to cover
ricotta
fried eggplant
sauce (I like a lot)

Continue untill you have about 3 layers and end with noodles and a bit of sauce on top. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes with foil on top and then uncover for the last 15-20min. Let cool about 20min until you cut and serve.

Prep time: 60min
Cook Time: 60min and 20min cool time

Spinach Stuffed Mushroom
This is adapted from my grandmother's recipe that uses a lot of parmesian cheese. These are just as good and with the added benefit of spinach.

1 Package white mushrooms (you can use stuffing mushrooms but I wanted small ones)
1 shallot diced
2 cloves garlic
3 or 4 tablespoons white wine
1/2 cup while weat bread crumbs
1/2 package of defrosted frozen spinach*

Clean mushrooms by wiping with a damp paper towel. Remove the stems and reserve for later. Place mushroom caps on a baking sheet sprayed with pam and bake at 350 for 15 minutes to pre-cook them. They will give off some liquid which you should reserve. Set aside caps to cool.

Sautee diced stems and shallots in EVOO untill soft. Crush 2 cloves of garlic into the mixture. When it becomes fragrant add the white wine and mushroom liquid and cook down. Then add spinach. Turn off the heat and add bread crumbs and salt and pepper to taste. The mixture should be crumbly but wet enough that it sticks together. Use it and stuff into caps. Bake at 350 for 10 min or untill tops get crispy. Serve as an appetizer or side dish.

Prep time: 30min
Bake time: 10min

*To defrost spinach place in microwave safe bowl. Take spinach and place in clean dish towel and squeeze out water until spinach is drained.

September Entertaining Menu

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Cranberry Pear Salad
Our friends Joanna and Dan came over this weekend for my first entertaining experience since being a vegan. I decided to serve them a three course meal and started with this salad, which turned out to be something that I would eat any day of the week!
This salad is easy but so pretty so the key is getting really great ingredients. I used locally grown red leaf lettuce, organic frisee and red pears. Tear the lettuce and slice the pears as thin as you can. The dressing is a shallot vinaigrette of one part balsamic, two parts EVOO, one sliced shallot and a little agave syrup. The really special part of this salad are the toppings, and although they are simple and easy to find they really make it more impressive. Sprinkle sliced toasted almonds, dried unsweetened cranberries, and fried onion pieces from Trader Joe's. I had never had these before as my family never had this "green bean casserole" I've heard so much about, but they are totally delicious. RELAX about the calories and remember that you're entertaining and it is supposed to be indulgent and remember you're probably eating a small amount.

Lentil Soup
The next course I served was lentil soup. Below is the recipe for the soup and the garlic croutons on top!
2 Tbsp EVOO
1/2 a diced onion
2 Cloves Garlic
1Tsp cumin
1Tsp cayenne
3/4 cups green or brown lentils
1 cup of canned peelled tomatoes and their juice (about three of the tomatoes)
4 cups low sodium organic vegetable broth (I used Trader Joe's)
1/2 head escarole
Cilantro or parseley (optional)

Start by heating the EVOO and sauteeing the onion untill translucent. Add crushed garlic, cumin, cayenne, and brown lentils. Stir untill garlic is fragrant but not browning, then add liquid (tomatoes and broth). Bring to a boil and then turn down to simmer for about 40min. Then add the escarole to cook and finish with cilantro or parseley before serving.
This soup has a lot of room for variation and as long as you keep the ratio of 3/4 cup lentils to 5 cups liquid you could use whatever you like to flavor it. I was thinking next time I might use some leeks instead of onions or add some potato (sweet or otherwise) after adding the liquid. enjoy making the soup anyway you like!

Roasted Garlic Croutons
1/2-3/4 loaf french bread day old or fresh
4 cloves roasted garlic
1/4 cup EVOO
Tbsp Lemon juice
salt to taste

Roast garlic for about 30-45 minutes at 400 degrees or untill cloves are light brown, soft and yummy! Mix EVOO, lemon juice, and garlic into a paste using a fork. Toss to coat bread and lay in one layer on a baking sheet. Toast in oven for 10-15 minutes at 350 tossing every five minutes.

Three Berry Crisp
This dessert is adapted from a rasberry rhubarb crisp in What To Have For Dinner: The Best of Martha Stewart Living it can be done with almost any kind of fruit but I wanted to utilize the last of the summer berries.
3 Cups strawberries
1 pint rasberries
1 pint blackberries
1/3 cup evaporated organic cane sugar*
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Zest of one orange

1 cup all purpose white or whole wheat flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 Tsp cinnamon
8 Tbs unsalted butter substitute
1/2 cup rolled oats

Preheat oven to 350
Combine strawberries, zest, juice, cane sugar in a bowl. In another bowl combine flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Use your fingers to incorporate butter until large crumbs form. Add oats and combine. Pour the strawberry mixture into a baking dish, 1 and 1/2 quart is suggested, and scatter rasberries and blackberries on top. Add crumb mixture evenly and bake for 45 minutes until top is crisp and juices bublling. Let cool for 10minutes before serving with your favorite non-dairy ice cream.

*If using rhubarb or green apples, increase evaporated cane sugar to 2/3 cup