Vegan MoFo: K is for Kiwi Salsa

I love having people over for dinner because they always want to help out in the kitchen. And, it usually ends up that they make a significant portion of the meal! I think it is brilliant. So tonight's guest chefs: friends (that I happen to work with) Kat and Frud.

Frud made the kiwi salsa. Strangely enough, we put a small portion of an extremely hot jalapeño pepper in, but the salsa did not have any spice to it. It was a bit bland except for the sweet burst of pomegranate seeds. Next time, I will add a splash of hot sauce instead of the jalapeño pepper to ensure a bit of heat.
Here is the recipe. I would like to make it again and experiment with the flavors. I love the concept of it.

Here are the chefs, hard at work.

Vegan MoFo: J is for Jelly Donut Cupcake

I had such high hopes for this recipe, but I was sadly disappointed. First, as you can see in the picture, my jelly did not "sink to the center" of the cupcakes. Second, I was not impressed with the flavor of strawberry jelly I bought. And third, although the cupcake was really delicious, I just didn't taste jelly donut.

At any rate, here is the recipe.

My lovely husband did comment that even my worst cupcake is delicious. :-)

Here is a picture before they were baked.

Vegan MoFo: I is for Imam Baildi

I googled "foods that start with i" and found something called Imam Baildi. It is eggplant, fried, then stuffed with tomatoes, onions, and garlic and baked. Sold.

Here is the recipe I followed.

I also made Jasmine Rice from this fantastic recipe.

Vegan MoFo: H is for Hash

John and I like the show Weeds and this season Nancy has been making hash although a much different variety than the Spicy Sweet Potato Hash I made for breakfast today! I also made Pan Seared Breakfast Mushrooms.

Both recipes are from Vegan Planet. For the hash, besides the sweet potatoes there is onion, red pepper, burger crumbles (seasoned with chili powder and crushed garlic), cayenne, and salt and pepper. Very simple but both sweet and spicy.

The mushrooms are pan fried with a tablespoon of each, olive oil, soy sauce and agave. I was very unsure of them while they were cooking. The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of sweetener. One is plenty for my taste. Although I won't make them again, they were a nice compliment to the hash.

Vegan MoFo: G is for Gas Station Pies

I have always loved the idea of this recipe! It is a vegan (and actually good!) version of Hostess Fruit Pies. 

 

 The recipe is in the cookbook The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes. It calls for apples but I chose to used mixed berries instead. The crust was so delicate and buttery, but not at all greasy. I did not have a brush to apply the glazing so I ended up using the back of a spoon. Not as smooth and pretty, but these pies were eaten so quickly, no one noticed! Heaven.

Vegan MoFo: F is for Fattoush

Fattoush is to the Lebanese what Panzanella is to the Italians.

Plus, it was an excuse to make homemade pita bread! Here is the recipe I followed. Very easy, less expensive, and such a fresh flavor. I thought I couldn't top homemade flour tortillas, but these pitas have now stepped into the number one spot of "make it yourself" fantasticness.

I found the salad recipe in Vegan Planet. The dressing is a simple combo of garlic, tahini, lemon juice, salt and cayenne.

For the veggies: zucchini (recipe calls for cucumber but I am highly allergic), tomatoes, yellow pepper, red onion, lettuce.

And the extras: chickpeas, fresh parsley and mint, and kalamata olives.

I chopped up 2 of the pitas for the salad and we ate 4 plain! I think I will make hummus this week for the 2 leftover.

Vegan MoFo: E is for Empanadas

Wow, I can't believe how far behind on my goal I have slipped. But, I have nutritious and delicious plans for the week to catch me up...starting with Black Bean and Banana Empanadas.

Here is the crust recipe that I used. It was easy to prepare and sat in the fridge while I made the filling.



For the filling, I followed this recipe. I didn't have ground coriander so I ground a sprinkle of fennel seeds instead. I know it is a completely different flavor, but it worked. Also, I really wanted to use my new and super cute mortar and pestle. I found it in Hamburg. I also added half a cup of thawed spinach which we really enjoyed.

And, a little avocado salad on the side consisting of chopped avocado, tomato, salt, and a splash of lemon juice.

I have wanted one of these since my trip to Thailand where we used it to make curry paste. :-)

Vegan MoFo: D is for Devil's Food Cupcakes

 Today is John's birthday so I used my letter d to make him birthday cupcakes. I followed this recipe but did not make the filling part. I made cream cheese frosting from this recipe.

We are leaving tomorrow for Hamburg, Germany to spend a long weekend shopping and relaxing with friends and then we will see Jamie Lidell perform Monday night! So, I will have to pick back up with my alphabet postings when I return.

Vegan MoFo: C is for Cauliflower and Caramelized Onion Casserole

This recipe popped up on my blog roll a few days ago and I knew it was perfect for day three: C. It is from a blog called Easy as (Vegan) Pie. I made a basic crust instead of using puff pastry. The crust consisted of flour, vegan butter, salt, and water.

I was feeling very lazy and have a headache so I ran the cauliflower through the food processor instead of taking the time to chop it. I still roasted the tiny pieces and think it was a fantastic move. The flavor was still there but the texture was completely different. The cauliflower blended more with the tofu mixture than I think it would have if it was in bigger chunks.

I also used flavored tofu: one package olive, one package vegetable. And finally, no cheese substitute. I just sprinkled paprika on top before baking. So many wonderful flavors in this casserole!

I also made a salad that consisted of lettuce, kalamata olives,  sun dried tomatoes, veggie chicken nuggets, pumpkin seeds, and for the dressing, a splash of the olive oil that the sun dried tomatoes were soaking in and a splash of balsamic vinegar.

Vegan MoFo: B is for Bagel Sandwiches

I have always wanted to make the bagels from Vegan Brunch but never found the perfect excuse...until today! I didn't worry too much about the shape because I was so nervous about the dough. But, they came out so good and tasted exactly like bagels! I was worried they would just taste like round rolls of bread with a hole in the middle. Fortunately, that was not the case.

I roasted some tomato flavored tofu and added lettuce, fresh tomato, and dijon mustard to make bagel sandwiches. 

I also made some pumpkin, quinoa and veggie soup. I followed this recipe from the Fat Free Vegan blog. I did not add the lentils though. For the veggies, I included the fresh version of the following: carrot, celery, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, spinach, and green onions.

Vegan MoFo: A is for Apple-Peanut Butter-Caramel Bars

My peanut butter mixture did not "drizzle" the way the recipe describes that it should. But seriously, who cares! These bars are fantastic.

Saffron Risotto with Roasted Brussels Sprouts

A is also for Arborio rice! I made risotto tonight which is so much easier than I ever imagine it could be. A diced onion is sauteed in olive oil until translucent. Add 1/2 cup arborio rice, 1/4 cup dry white wine, a pinch of saffron, a dash of salt and pepper and 1/2 cup veggie broth. Stir and cook until the broth is absorbed and add additional 1/2 cup increments of broth, stir until absorbed, totaling 2 cups.

I also roasted a batch of brussels sprouts. They are washed, the stem is cut off and they are chopped in half. In a casserole dish, add a splash of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and roast until crispy. This is our absolute, no questions asked, favorite vegetable.

Mini Broccoli Quiches

We had brunch this weekend with our friends Hannes and Joy. They made fantastic Blueberry and Banana pancakes from the cookbook How it all Vegan and served fresh fruit. We made spicy roasted potatoes and broccoli quiche.

I do not have a pie dish so I made the quiche in a square casserole dish. It was fine, but more shallow than it would normally be. Therefore, I had a lot of leftover broccoli/tofu mixture. So, this morning I made mini quiches.

Pumpkin and Wild Mushroom Lasagna

The original recipe, from Vegan Planet, calls for butternut squash, not pumpkin. But, because it is Halloween and I was able to find pumpkin and not squash, I thought it would be a very creative and delicious swap. It was!

Here is the recipe. The tofu that I used had basil in it and I left out the vegan mozzarella completely. I used 2 cups of fresh, white mushrooms and 1 cup of a re-hydrated blend of wild mushrooms.

It seemed that there was too much of the tofu blend when I was assembling the dish, but after it baked I was not disappointed. We dug in before it had sufficient time to cool so the pieces didn't come out so beautifully!

November is Vegan Month of Food

I am going to participate in this fun project called Vegan MoFo: Vegan Month of Food. For the entire month of November, my goal is to make something new for each letter of the alphabet (this idea was stolen from the Vicki Vegan blog site! Thanks Vicki!)

So, stay tuned for 26 new and hopefully fabulous recipes, beginning tomorrow!

And, check out the website behind this fantastic concept here.

Chilean Corn and Un-Turkey Chowder

Holidays are my favorite excuse to make elaborate, often expensive, and always gourmet meals that take days to plan and prepare. So, with Thanksgiving only 26 days away, I have already begun the search for the perfect meal!

When I was growing up, holidays were a big deal in my family. We would gather, eat the traditional foods, play games, eat more, and basically spend the day together catching up. Because John and I live so far away from both our families and rarely make the trip back during any of these peak days, friends are crucial to the plan. This year: Hannes and Joy!!!

Anyway, I found this recipe while re-reading the Vegetarian Times Nov/Dec2008 issue. The timing was just right because Joy wanted to make a batch of baked seitan (from this recipe!!!) and seitan was the perfect "un-turkey" for the chowder. Additionally, an important lesson was learned: Gluten flour is NOT the same as Vital Wheat Gluten and will NOT make seitan!

I ran out of veggie broth but substituted water with a few herbs sprinkled in. I used dried thyme instead of fresh and added a carrot and spinach but left out the avocado and cilantro.

The chowder was very hearty and creamy and rich. The flavor of lime was strong, in a good way!

Tofu Tikka Masala with Red Rice

During one of my latest trips to the Asian Market, I found a jar of Tikka paste and set my sights on Tikka Masala! Tikka means chunks of; masala means a mixture of spices.


There is a speedy recipe on the jar that calls for 500 grams of chicken, but tofu was the perfect vegan substitute. The tofu is marinated in the following for 2 hours: 4 TBSP Tikka paste, 1 TBSP soy yogurt, 2 TBSP vegan butter.

After marinating, pour the tofu and sauce into a pan, add veggies and cook to the desired vegetable consistency.

While I was in Thailand in August of this year, my absolute favorite Thai meal was served with red rice. I was extremely excited to find red rice in Denmark.

Breakfast Burritos

We ran into friends, Joy and Hannes today. Vegetarian, fans of Portland, stellar taste in music...all around our kind of people! The topic of brunch came up and made me so hungry for something brunch-like, such as breakfast burritos.

Actually, more like tacos. But, our intention was to make burritos! We didn't realize how tiny our tortillas were when we were rolling them out and cooking them but when it came time to fill them, it became very obvious! We also spent very little time worrying about making them perfect circles. Because this recipe is so fantastic, it has been easy to stick to my guns and not buy tortillas.

The burrito buffet included: roasted potatoes; tofu (pressed, then sauteed in olive oil and sprinkled with sesame parm); roasted veggies: carrots, red pepper, zucchini, red onion, and mushrooms; sauteed spinach and garlic (which I mixed with the roasted veggies after it was finished cooking); black beans mixed with salsa; fresh tomatoes and Sheese Mexican Style spread (great on tacos or other things with various flavors but too strong to eat on its own or as a dip).