Mixed Berry Pie

We are off to a BBQ today and I have a ton of berries left over from my trip to the Farmer's Market last Wednesday. I have had this recipe for a long time and although it only calls for blueberries, I am also adding strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries. It looks mouthwatering! I am also taking Creamy Vanilla Organic So Delicious to scoop on top! I made a few substitutions to the original recipe. Instead of salad oil, I used Safflower and instead of cornstarch, I used arrowroot.

Marinated "Chicken"

Another product from "It's All Good" and very versatile. This "chicken-like" protein marinates well in anything. I let it sit for a few hours in a mixture of garlic, ginger, olive oil, lemon juice, rice wine vinegar, and garlic chile sauce. While this was marinating, I also let a can of artichokes marinated in a mixture of olive oil and lemon juice, salt and pepper. The chicken was baked in the oven and the artichokes were cooked in a skillet on the stove. When the artichokes were finished cooking, I tossed the spinach in same skillet and allowed it to absorb some of the same flavor.

Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff

I have made mushroom stroganoff in the past. Although I have no recollection of ever eating "real" stroganoff (beef?), this is a fantastic tasting meal. It was a different recipe from the one I followed last time, but I wanted to try this new one because of the vegan sour cream. It turned out very rich and creamy. I enjoyed it over rice versus noodles because, as I try to empty out our cupboards for our upcoming move, I realize we have a ton of rice! One the side is tofu that has been marinated in Gyoza sauce and garlic and baked in the oven at 350 for about 25 minutes. The only thing missing....greens! I need to find a farmers market asap!

Mini Fruit Pizzas

We have a dinner party tonight and John signed us up to bring dessert. Of course, my first thought was cupcakes! But, there is a fantastic farmer's market on Wednesdays a block away from our apartment and the berries looked fantastic. (I also bought cherries and plums.) I decided to take a break (just a short break!) from cupcakes. I have made fruit pizza in the past, but one large. This time, I thought it would be cute to make little mini pizzas. The crust is a vegan sugar cookie recipe that is so delicious! The "sauce" is a mixture of 8 oz. vegan cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and 2 teaspoons vanilla. I chose raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, and kiwi for the toppings. Yummie!

Tofu Stir Fry

My friend Miriam was the lucky recipient of a friend's interesting collection of kitchen staples when he moved back to China. Lucky for me, she invited me over to create a meal using some of these ingredients. We were able to come up with a really delicious combination that included veggies and tofu stir fried and served over Chinese Black Rice.
We started with olive oil, some sort of hot, peppery oil (I will have to ask her more specifically what it was), diced ginger and garlic, and half a red onion. When the onion was translucent, we added 4 chopped green onions, a chopped carrot, and a few handfuls of dried mushrooms that had soaked in water and were chopped. I think they were shitake, maybe. After this cooked for a few minutes, we pour the thickest soy sauce I have ever seen over everything and stirred it together. It was dark soy sauce and was almost like a syrup. We tossed in cubed tofu and let it absorb some of the flavor. Meanwhile, we boiled water and cooked the Chinese Black Rice. It turns the water a purple-ish color while cooking and is so beautiful! The flavor was subtle, yet delicious but I think I would like to add a little rice wine vinegar next time for a sweet flavor. It was a good meal, and great company!

Lasagna Casserole

Based on random ingredients hanging out in my fridge and cupboards, this recipe came together really quickly. I started with garlic and half a diced onion sauteeing in olive oil. I added a package of Smart Ground burger crumbles. Next, a jar of Rising Moon Organics Garlic and Chantrelle Mushroom Pasta Sauce and a handful of freshly chopped cilantro. I let this simmer while I boiled the pasta. It was the mini lasagna style. Natural Value makes an organic version. When the pasta was finished boiling, I started with a layer of the pasta sauce, then a layer of the pasta, and finally a layer of Tofutti Soy Mozzarella Flavored Slices broken up into thirds. It took about 3 slices to make a complete layer. I repeated this and ended with a layer of the sauce. I then sprinkled a mixture of Panko Whole Wheat bread crumbs mixed with a bit of vegan butter, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, and dried basil. After it was all put together, I let it sit for a while, waiting for John to come home from work. When we were ready to eat, I baked it for about 30 minutes on 350, long enough for the cheese to melt into a nice and gooey layer.

The Most Amazing Potato Salad

The title does not lie! I googled "vegan potato salad" and this was the second recipe option. I picked it because it did not have vegan mayonnaise in it. I do like Vegenaise on sandwiches and in dips but not as a main ingredient. Next time, I will double the tahini. It was perfectly creamy as soon as I finished but a few hours later, it wasn't as creamy!

Cookies and Burgers

We are heading to a BBQ today and, along with the potato salad, I made my favorite chocolate chip cookies. The potato salad seemed light and full of herbs, not calories, so I justified the treat! We are also taking Vegan burgers from Boca that grill nicely and some Vegan mozzarella cheese to melt (curl upward) on top. Should be tastey!

"It's All Good"

I am not a huge fan of processed foods but I really like this line of fake meats. The "Santa Fe Good Stuff" is basically a chicken-like substitute stuffed with beans and corn and a red sauce. Good flavor and heats up in under 2 minutes! The pasta is mixed with onion and garlic sauteed with olive oil and a handful of spinach and chopped fresh basil, salt and pepper. I added a bit of vegan butter toward the end to give it a rich, creamy taste.

Baby Broccoli

My latest veggie addiction is baby broccoli. Last night we paired it with Rigatoni with Red Pepper, Pine Nuts, and Bread Crumbs. I have made this pasta recipe in the past but used pine nuts instead of almonds this time. The baby broccoli was washed, the ends were trimmed and it was cooked on the stove with a bit of olive oil and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. My acupuncturist told me when eaten raw, it can prevent heartburn. Not so much though with red pepper flakes!

Olive Tapenade

I ate this entire bowl in a day and a half along with an entire loaf of Olive Ciabbatta bread!!! I had never been a fan of olives until we went to a friend's house for a BBQ and someone brought a container of olives. John basically forced me to eat one and I have been addicted ever since. Last time I was at Whole Foods, I went a bit crazy at the olive bar. I filled up one of their largest container with black, green, and kalamata olives. I added these olives to the food processor with about a third cup of sun dried tomatoes in oil, 5 cloves of garlic, a bunch of basil leaves, and a sprinkle of vegan sesame parmesan cheese. I pulsed this about 5 times and it was absolutely heaven.

Mexican Millet, Chile Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu and Pesto Hummus

This was my first attempt at millet and I loved it! It is very delicious, light, slightly crunchy, and much more appetizing and less filling than rice. The recipe came from the Veganomicon Cookbook, easily becoming one of my favorites. The tofu is Chile Cornmeal-Crusted also from the same cookbook. I did not use the Old Bay Seasoning (the recipe in the cookbook also does not call for it). The hummus was what brought the meal together though! It seems like an unlikely match to the flavors of the other items in the meal but it actually was perfect with the tofu. I added to the food processor a can of garbanzo beans, a large bunch of basil, lots of olive oil and the surprise ingredient, Gyoza dipping sauce. The recipe that I started to follow but quickly strayed from called for soy sauce of which I did not have. I decided to give the Gyoza sauce a try and it was delicious. I didn't have to add any salt or additional seasonings to the mix.
The circular "rock like" item on the plate was my attempt at cheddar dill scones. One I will not be trying again any time soon!!!