Tahini Lime Cookies

The recipe is from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. I was really happy that John asked for these because I don't think I would have picked them myself. The flavor of Tahiti is not one I associate with delicious, moist cookies. But this is exactly what it produced! They are a very sophisticated cookie and the black sesame seeds give them the daring first impression they deserve.

Here is a link to a recipe posted by another blogger. I did NOT follow her substitutions and the first unqualified them as vegan. She replaced 1/4 cup of the sugar with honey. The recipe calls for 3/4 cup sugar, no honey! She also added a portion of whole wheat flour (that could be good...)and left out 2 Tbsp cornstarch. The other addition that is not in the original recipe is baking soda. Otherwise, the recipe is accurate.

I got this lime zester from Sur La Table in Portland, OR. I really like it! It captures the zest as it is taken from the fruit.

Burnt Broccoli and Tomato Omelets

My second attempt at vegan omelets and this time they tasted and looked much better! This recipe, from Vegan Brunch, produced a less mushy, tougher, more egg-like texture. The taste also mimicked eggs more closely because of the kala namak. By itself, kala namak is very sulfuric tasting and smelling. Much too strong to eat alone. But mixed in with the batter, it definitely reminded both John and I of what cooking with eggs was like! We both sprinkled an additional amount on the finished omelet before eating.

I absolutely loved this faux omelet and thought it would be fun to serve to non-vegans. This is always the debate because we do not have an other vegan friends. John disagreed claiming it was far to different from an original omelet to win the affection of a non-vegan. I say, it is healthier than an egg, less devastating to the environment that an egg, and tastes really good. How can a person not be satisfied. John's reply, "It isn't a real omelet." Fine.

I think the key to this omelet recipe is the turmeric for color, chickpea flour for texture, and kala namak and nutritional yeast for flavor.

We stuffed ours with Burnt Broccoli and tomato, which is exactly what it sounds like. Chopped broccoli and tomato is sauteed in olive oil at high enough heat to crisp it up. We also added a sprinkle of Cheshire Sheese.



The whole process was a bit time consuming but I think that had to do with it being our first time and making smaller omelets because of our difficulties with flipping. Bigger omelets will speed it up in the future.

Fettuccine with Basil-Pea Cream and Fresh Tomato and Basil Salad

John and I made fettuccine last night. It was the first time using my "new" pasta roller. John surprised me by ordering it on ebay after the last pasta roller I bought had to be returned. I was less than thrilled to see that it was powder blue and from the 1940's and, well, just old! But, it did roll out pretty fettuccine.



I followed this recipe for the pasta. I have made pasta from this recipe many times and it has always been a success.



The sauce is from Vegan Italiano. I am not a huge fan of peas but John loves them and this really did make a lovely sauce for the fresh fettuccine.



On the side, a Fresh Tomato and Basil Salad also from Vegan Italiano. I made a much smaller batch than the recipe suggested which consisted of 2 tomatoes sliced, 1 small garlic clove diced, 6 basil leaves chopped, salt, pepper, and 1 Tbsp olive oil all mixed together.

Vegan Staples Stock-up

I found so many goodies today while out exploring Vienna. My happiest find, Kala Namak, or Black Salt. It is a pink colored salt, making it difficult to ask for by name in German but we found an excellent Indian Grocery Store that had it along with all this other fun stuff. Starting at the top left, working clock-wise we purchased: black lentil beans, turmeric, peanut butter, coconut oil, canned jack fruit (Not my idea!! John decided he absolutely had to have this!), limes, black sesame seeds (for an upcoming cookie recipe!), kala namak salt, Semolina flour, and finally, Chickpea flour.

Some of these can be found at the regular grocery store, like limes, but this place had such great prices!!!

The fuss over kala namak is for an omelet that I am going to make tomorrow for breakfast. The recipe is in Vegan Brunch. Apparently, this salt has a very sulfuric smell/taste and therefore mimics the taste of eggs. We will see! And my hope is for a much prettier omelet than last time! Fingers crossed.

Vegan Brunch Takes Over My Kitchen!!!

I decided today would be the first day to have a "Brunch Event" as Isa says it should be in the cookbook Vegan Brunch.

In reality, I prepared enough food for guests, which would typically be included in an event. But, as it turned out, it was just John and I! Someday we will live somewhere with friends and have brunch blowouts!

The menu included the following:

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (from Vegan Brunch)


I made the batter the night before to save time this morning. They were very sticky and I think it has to do with the over processing of the gluten?! Maybe. Anyway, next time I will make them the morning of to get a less gummy-like muffin.

Red Flannel Hash (from Vegan Brunch)


Potatoes, beets, onion, salt, and pepper. Sauteed, then baked. Amazing!

Scrambled Tofu (from Vegan Dad blog)



A great recipe for scrambled tofu that will stand alone. It doesn't need veggies or anything else to make it taste terrific. Just wholesome, delicious tofu!

Fresh Fruit (from the Market down the street)

Asparagus Quiche with Tomatoes and Tarragon

Most of the time, I make a recipe, love it or hate it, and never make it again! John has mentioned to me in the past that I should look back and re-make things that we really enjoyed. This quiche would fall into that category. It does take a few hours to put together but it is not time spent constantly focused, instead quite a bit of cooking and cooling time. If time is an issue though, a prepared pie crust and bread crumbs would help.



For the pie crust, I followed a recipe from Vegan Brunch. I was not crazy about it though. It was crumbly and "dusty" tasting. I will, in the future, follow the originally posted crust recipe. As for the bread crumbs, I made a batch of crackers and processed them to crumbs. They add such a fresh flavor.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles

My second selection from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar! I had to substitute the maple syrup for agave syrup. I made a Mexican Chocolate pudding for Thanksgiving and these have that same theme, a bit of heat and a lot of chocolate sweetness. I also substituted the cayenne for Mexican chili spice (that is what I bought for the pudding!) It worked out very nicely. The heat started to build a few minutes after finishing a cookie. Here is the recipe.

Baked Risotto with Spring Vegetables

My first recipe from Vegan Italiano and it was fantastic. John loves risotto but it can be time consuming. This baked version was very fast and simple.

I used a cast iron pan so I could take it from the stove top and put it directly into the oven. Preheat 425 degrees. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil and cook a diced onion until soft. Add 3 crushed garlic cloves and 1 cup arborio rice. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup white wine and cook until completely absorbed. Add 3 1/2 cups veggie broth, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp lemon pepper seasoning, and bring to boil. Cover and bake for 45-50 minutes.
While this is baking, saute any veggies you would like to add when the baking is completed. I used white asparagus, broccoli, peas, mushrooms, green pepper, and scallions.

The flavor and consistency was delicious and the texture was creamy and had an almost-cheesy-like flavor.

Lentil Salad

I have posted this recipe on my blog previously, but decided to post it again because it is SO GOOD! I made it for lunch today and ate nearly the entire thing!

Tortellini with Red Wine sauce and Chopped Chick'n Salad

My second attempt at tortellini and it went much faster this time. I followed this recipe for the pasta and rolled it out by hand. The whole process took exactly one hour. I stuffed it with tofu ricotta (leftover from the last time I made tortellini, stored in the freezer, thawed and it worked out great!)The sauce is from a previous post and taken from a VegNews article. On the side, a chopped salad consisting of bib lettuce, mushrooms, beets, chick'n nuggets, all brutally diced and doused in a Balsamic Vinaigrette. The dressing was made with 3 Tbsp olive oil, 1 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper. A nice meal for sitting in front of the TV and watching more Olympics!

Rocky Road Cookies

A picture of this cookie is on the cover and numerous pages in the cookbook Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, so I figured they must be good! Also, when I asked John to pick a cookie he wanted me to bake first, he said, "The one on the cover." I was worried I had done something wrong because it mentions in the recipe how wet the dough will be but I did not think mine was much different from any other cookie dough I have made. They turned out really delicious, very sweet, and the almonds add an excellent crunch. I pressed a few extra almonds on top before baking the cookies. They are very soft, rich and have a brownie-like flavor/texture.

4 New Cookbooks

I took a trip back to the US for the past month. A complication with my visa forced me to leave, but it was so fun to see friends and family and I picked up 4 new vegan cookbooks! My mother-in-law bought me Vegan Italiano. John in 100% Italian and has already requested the risotto recipe! I got a used copy of Vegan Brunch from Amazon.com for a steal of a price. Isa Chandra Moskowitz is the author of the excellent Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and the new Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar is now mine! John has already requested I make the cookies on the cover. And finally, I bought The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes in an effort to cheer myself up one day while in limbo with the visa situation and browsing a bookstore. It all worked out and I am back home in Austria, ready to cook and blog again!

Cheezy Noodles with "Chicken" and Broccoli

The combo of vegan chicken nuggets and broccoli on the pizza a few nights ago was so good I started to crave it again today. We have quite a few leftovers in a tiny fridge so I couldn't convince myself to make anything too extravagant. So, I settled on noodles with cheezy sauce, steamed broccoli and baked, then chopped up vegan chicken nuggets. It reminded me of something a mom would make in an attempt to get her kids to eat broccoli. Fortunately, we love broccoli!

Banana Spice Cookies

I remember making these a long time ago, way before I became a vegan. I was searching for a recipe for bananas that were getting really ripe and had deja vu finding this recipe again! Vegan butter and eggs are the only needed substitutes for the cookies. You can frost them, if you want them to be sweeter, but they have a fantastic flavor by themselves. They are like little bites of soft, slightly fluffier/doughy-er banana bread.

Soup, Chopped Salad, and Granny's Hurry-up Dinner Rolls

The soup is left over Not-Chick’n Noodle Soup with a half cup of cooked white beans added.

John reminded me last week that we haven't made chopped salad for so long. I think since we lived in Florida! The method is really easy, just chop everything up into little bits. It doesn't seem like it would make that big of a difference, but it really does! The flavors mesh together in such interesting ways. Here is a before with the lettuce.



And an after!



I also added kalamata olives, sunflower seeds (they are already small enough, no chopping needed!), and a cooked beet. The dressing is the leftover marinade from the Marinated Italian tofu I made for my 2 year vegan anniversary a few days ago. There wasn't enough for another block of tofu, but plenty to dress a salad!

My favorite part of the meal, I have to admit a lot because of the fun name, was the rolls. I just googled dinner rolls and this recipe had so many positive comments. They were fast and easy, included simple ingredients, and yes, I added the butter to the top before baking!

Blueberry Banana Shake

I have to stop making these every night. Although they are a good source of fruit, they are also high in sugar :-( But, as a farewell to the shakes for now, I made a final one with 1 cup blueberries, 2 bananas, 1 scoop vanilla soycream, 6 icecubes, and 1 cup Ricemilk. It was fantastic!

Spinach Lasagna

This should really be called "Leftover's Lasagna" because it is made up almost entirely of leftovers. The first layer is leftover beanballs and tomato sauce, ran through a food processor for a few pulses. The second layer is leftover alfredo sauce with a block of pressed tofu, and a bag of spinach that was sauteed in 3 garlic cloves and a tablespoon of butter, mixed together and ran through the food processor until a ricotta like texture. The third layer is whole wheat, organic lasagna noodles, boiled for about 5 minutes. I was able to repeat this for three layers. The topping is leftover bread crumbs (made from a batch of homemade crackers, then ran through the food processor until crumbs) mixed with a few sprinkles of Cheshire style Sheese, and oregano.

Not-”Chicken” Noodle Soup

I made lasagna earlier today for dinner tonight but had 2 extra cooked lasagna noodles. I chopped them up and made this Not-”Chicken” Noodle Soup. It turned out really flavorful and I can imagine it will be even better tomorrow after the flavors settle. I didn't have celery or turmeric and did not worry about trying to substitute anything.

Lush Fresh (and Vegan) Handmade Cosmetics

I first fell in love with Lush Cosmetics when I lived in Portland, OR. I was excited beyond words to learn that they have a Lush here in Vienna also! They sell all sorts of fun bath and body products, lotions, lip gloss, bath bombs, shampoo and conditioner, and on and on. Many of their products are vegan and labeled such with either the word Vegan on the sign or a green dot. This information is very good to know before going in.

The company also has such an environmentally conscious business plan. They use very little packaging, everything you buy goes into a thin paper bag that identifies itself as recycled and compost-able. They do not test on animals at all, instead they test on themselves! Their mission statement, located on their shopping bag (if you decide to take one!) also clarifies their use of the words "fresh" and "organic" as "beyond marketing." Here are a few statistics from their facebook page.
100% Vegetarian
74% Vegan
66% Unpreserved
58% Unpackaged



So, I picked up a shower bomb (you drop it on the floor of a hot shower and it fizzes up and creates an amazing aroma)called "Sex in the Shower" and a Sugar Scrub bar with an herbal scent.

Strawberry Banana Shakes

I have become addicted to these! They are just like milkshakes minus the funk of dairy. So, tonight was officially movie, pizza, and Strawberry Banana shake night.

We added 2 bananas, 8 strawberries, a few scoops of soy vanilla ice cream, 6 ice cubes, and a cup and a half of rice milk. YUM!

Broccoli Chicken Alfredo Pizza

I had a ton of alfredo sauce left over from our gnocchi dinner and it is Friday night, so I thought it would be fun to rent movies, eat pizza, and make more milkshakes!

The pizza was not difficult. I made the dough early in the afternoon so it had time to rise and then sit in the refrigerator for a few hours. The recipe says to let it sit overnight but I did not have that kind of time! I only used half the dough for one large pizza.

When the dough was rolled out, I spread garlic butter over the entire surface. This garlic butter consisted of 4 garlic cloves sauteed in a few tablespoons of vegan margarine. Then, a layer of alfredo sauce, the broccoli and sliced chicken nuggets all lightly mixed together. Then a small additional layer of alfredo sauce mixed around and a sprinkle of fresh ground pepper.

Breakfast Burritos

Not having made breakfast burritos since we moved from Eugene, OR, it was finally time! I mushed up a block of tofu with a fork and added leftover garlic cream sauce (Saute several garlic cloves in olive oil. Next, whisk in soy milk, salt, veggie broth, and nutritional yeast. Finally, arrowroot to thicken it up), heated it on the stove for a few minutes and it was the absolute perfect egg substitute! It was creamy, rich, warm and soft, plus cholesterol free! I also sauteed some veggies: carrots, yellow peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, onion, and spinach.



I made a batch of Garlic Fries and heated my new favorite soy-sausage up to go in the burritos. We added an avocado to the top before wrapping them up and devoured every last bit!

Spaghetti and Beanballs

Definitely a "comfort food" night but it was needed! I have been taking classes to learn German for the last few weeks and my brain is tired!!!

The recipe is from Veganomicon and came together pretty quickly. I used a past recipe for the sauce. It is from VegNews and is awesome.

The ingredients for the sauce are:
1/4 cup olive oil, 1 medium yellow onion minced, 5 garlic cloves minced, 1/2 tsp dried fennel seed, 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning, 1 28oz can diced tomatoes, 2 15oz cans tomato sauce, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/2 cup red wine, 1/2 cup fresh basil chopped, 1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped.
Directions:
In a large sauce pan over high heat, add olive oil. Saute onion and garlic until onions are translucent. Add fennel seed, Italian seasoning, and stir for one minute. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, pepper, and wine. Reduce heat to low and stir in basil and parsley. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, for about an hour.

While the sauce is cooking, prepare the beanballs. There is the option of baking or frying. I baked. I also have yet to find wheat gluten so I used whole wheat flour.



For the pasta, I found a whole wheat spaghetti that cooked fast, wasn't mushy, and wasn't stiff or dry. Sorry, can't remember the brand.

We had a tossed green salad on the side dressed with Pomegranate and Maple Glazed Beets and homemade Rosemary crackers.

Thai Stirfry with Thai Tofu and Jasmine Rice

This is one of John's favorite meals, a great way to get tons of veggies, and extremely easy. Unfortunately, I completely finished preparing the sauce before realizing my coconut milk had gone sour. I ended up having to throw it away, make 2 trips the grocery store (also ran out of curry powder!), and eat a very late dinner. But still a nutritiously filling meal with lots of leftovers to make packing lunch for John simple.

The sauce consists of 2-3 diced garlic cloves, an inch-long diced piece of fresh ginger, and a large onion diced. This is all cooked down in a wok or large pan. After the onions are soft and translucent, pour in a can of coconut milk, a Tbsp lemon juice, a teaspoon rapadura (or brown sugar), and 2 tsp curry powder. When this is warm and bubbly, you can add any veggies you want and cook them to your desired consistency. We like crunch veggies, so we cook it for no more than a few minutes.

It goes very well over Jasmine rice and this is a great recipe but takes about 40 minutes so get it cooking first!

I also baked Thai flavored tofu to go along with the stirfry.

Chickpea-Quinoa Pilaf with Seitan in Wine Sauce

I had chickpeas in the freezer, leftover from something, and needed to clear out the space. I am also re-evaluating my diet to ensure I am getting enough calcium, iron, and zinc. Those are the three I have always had to be more observant of. So far, so good!

Anyway, I found this pilaf recipe in Veganomicon. I always thought of pilaf as having rice in it. Good to know that is not the case because I tire of rice easily. I didn't have coriander seeds, so instead used oregano. I also didn't have tomato paste (or the desire to buy a can of it only to use 1 Tbsp!) so I used ketchup. It worked just fine!

We also had seitan cooked in a white wine sauce. It consisted of a sauteed onion, and then a mixture of veggie broth, white wine, dijon mustard, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper.

Broccoli slightly sauteed in a bit of olive oil was perfect on the side and I also sprinkled ground flax seed on top of my quinoa.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Marinated Italian Tofu

Today is a big day for me!!!! 2 years ago today, I decided to become a vegan. I feel like I have accomplished so many things in these two years that support my decision. I have also been able to spread information and gain support and understanding from people that otherwise wouldn't have been able to define the word vegan!

Along with learning to prepare nutritious vegan meals, I managed to have a vegan menu option at my wedding, including dessert, move to a different country, survive travel through 4 countries, and more states and cities than I care to count all while keeping myself full and happy!

So, to celebrate I made a simple but flavorful meal for John and I.

After the failed attempt at pumpkin gnocchi, John requested I try with sweet potatoes. They did not turn out as soft as the first batch with white potatoes, but were so much better than the pumpkin! I think I figured it out though, a flour issue. If I remember correctly, the first batch was made with a super fine, white flour. The next two attempts, I used a heavier, more wheat-y flour. I will have to give gnocchi a fourth try with that fine, white flour again and test my theory. Here is the recipe.



I made an alfredo sauce to go with the gnocchi. I have made it before, it is cashew based, super creamy, and wonderful to pour on top of pretty much anything! This is good because it makes a lot!

We also had Italian Marinated tofu from Veganomicon and green beans. The recipe for the green beans is so simple but hands-down our favorite. Blanch the green beans, then marinate in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Serve room temp.

Peanut Butter Banana Milkshakes

I wanted to make something delicious but slightly nutritious for the 2 year vegan anniversary dinner dessert. I initially thought to make cupcakes because they are my favorite! But, decided to go a different route when I found peanut butter at the grocery store! Peanut butter is just not a big deal to people around here. They have no idea what they are missing out on.

I followed this recipe and besides the clean up of the blender, it was a snap.

Individual Heart-Shaped Apple Galettes

After the semi-disappointment of the Pumpkin Gnochhi, I was so happy I had a fantastic dessert made! I made these really cute, individual heart-shaped, apple pie like, crusty, tart and sweet pies. The recipe made 6 so I will be eating the leftover with Peach Green Tea for breakfast/lunch/dinner, basically anytime for a few days!

The crust directions appeared a tad complicated at first but after following the recipe carefully I see that it isn't really that difficult. This blog does a nice job of explaining the process but the ingredients listed here are a little different. The original recipe calls for 2 cups of all purpose flour and no xanthan gum. The blog gives a great alternative to make the crust gluten free though. Instead of coconut oil (although I love this substitution!) I used vegan margarine.

When the dough was prepared, cut into 6 hearts, sides folded and scored, 1-2 teaspoons of apricot preserves were spread inside the heart, topped with apple slices and sprinkled with cinnamon and brown sugar. They baked at 425 for about 25 minutes. We ate ours with Soy Vanilla Ice Cream! So, so good!

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Garlic Cream Sauce

We had a co-worker of John's over for dinner. I love dinner parties!!! John requested I make Gnocchi again. We decided that a flavored Gnocchi would be fun so I picked pumpkin. I found this recipe that looked very easy and followed it exactly. Unfortunately, the Gnocchi came out very hard, no matter how long we boiled them. I am not sure if pumpkin Gnocchi are simply not as soft as potato Gnocchi or if I somehow messed up the recipe/ingredients. Needless to say, I won't make this particular recipe again and this was not the star attraction of the meal!

The garlic cream sauce was really good. I put a bit too much raw garlic on the Gnocchi so the cream sauce was overpowered. But by itself, it was great. I have made it before, it is extremely simple.



For sides, I made roasted Brussels Sprouts, Maple and Pomegranate Glazed Beets, and Seared Artichoke Hearts. I have previously made all of these recipes so I felt great about them turning out. John thought the Brussels were a bit too "vinegar-y" meaning I added to much balsamic vinegar. Everything else came together! I left the pomegranate seeds off the beets. The artichoke hearts were from a can, sliced in half and marinated in lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper for a few hours. They are then cooked in a non-stick pan until seared then flipped and seared on the other side.