Happy Halloween!!!!

Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted. Honestly, my daily visit to other blogs has also been slacking what with all the food issues I've had of late.

Even looking at pics of food has been suddenly stricken from the list of Things I Love To Do. Not only have certain foods been less than desireable, the actual act of preparing foods (usually, one of my MOST favorite things to do in the day) has become seriously tiresome. when I have found the energy or desire to cook something I haven't been taking pictures of it, just glad I had something I was willing to choke down. well, there was this...VWaV Fritatta, anyone? I always opt for a sun dried tomato and zucchini version.

and roasted tamari pepitas, those have been a great snack.

oh, and i'm glad I could virtually live on pan-seared oatmeal because as least it's good for me!

otherwise it's fruit, easy veggie patties, and shells 'n chreese with peas galore!

what could be the culprit? I'm sure you're wondering. Well, today, on my most favorite day of the year (i tell ya, i love this day more than giftmas!) we got to take a peek at just what's draining me of my typical time in the kitchen...or should I say who.... Yup, this is our 12 week ultrasound of the little goblin I've been growing. I've been bursting at the seams to say something here but wanted to wait til now to do so. While the nausea is a bit better than it was, I'm finding great comfort in comfort foods that I've made and blogged about numerous times before or convenience foods that go from freezer or box to my oven or stove then my plate.

so much for turning this blog into a whirlwind of amazing healthy vegan pregnancy meals for expectant moms! ;) while I hope that my new copy of Veganomicon (which I've already tagged in a ton of places the recipes I just can't wait to try) will revamp my blog soon, I think I'll be blogging only when the energy (or appetite!) strikes me for a bit. Tho, with chompers like we're seeing on this kid.... there's bound to be a LOT more vegan fare for the blogging in our future! ;)

Until then, have a safe and happy Halloween!

My Kinda Easy Dinner

A How To:

After a breakfast of Wheatabix (I've only just discovered these, yum!) with dried cranberries, dried blueberries, and soy milk, chop some garlic and saute in olive oil.

Open a 28 oz. can of organic crushed tomatoes and toss them in with that fragrant garlic (mmmm, garlic in the morning).

Add tomato paste, oregano, basil, sea salt, black pepper, and sugar to taste. Allow to simmer on med heat while you clean up the kitchen.

Stir and cover sauce, lower the heat, and go about your business for the day, making a stop over now and then to stir the sauce and appreciate the aroma.

At lunch time, enjoy leftover Spicoli Burgers on a homemade roll with a flax oil and balsamic slurry for dipping.

Some time later in the afternoon, succumb to the dreaming you've been doing from too many trips to the ppk where all the amazing vegan folks are porning their vegan prowess, and make these. oh yeah, they are insanely good! You can find the recipe here. I used spelt flour and MAN, they're magically delicious! oh...don't forget to ice 'em!Eat not one but two of those cinnamon buns and realize that dinner will be later than you'd originally planned. No matter, the sauce just gets better and better as the day wears on.

Finally when the tummy starts growlin and those cinnamon rolls are long digested, toss two pkgs of Boca Crumbles into the sauce, stir, cover, and jack up the heat just a touch. Boil water for pasta (we enjoyed whole wheat angel hair) and toss whatever veggies you have (we had zuke and 'shrooms) under the broiler with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt, pepper, and garlic. Viola! Easy dinner is served and satisfying. So filling, in fact, we're pretty glad we had dessert first! ;)

Dude, Spicoli Burgers Are, Like, Toootally Awesome!

Yup, got Dreena's newest amazing book, Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan and couldn't wait to try something from it. Her tasty concoctions couldn't come at a better time, what with all the aversions I've had to the same ol' same ol' as of late.

While I wanted to go crazy with baking, I have no maple syrup in the house, so I jumped to something savory for dinner. Spicoli Burgers are easy to whip up, use hemp seed (one of my favorite food items), and taste great! Actually, they've become my new fave burger of all time. They're even better leftover! (I tried leftover ones with a slurry of flax oil and balsamic vinegar as she suggests.....LOVE IT!)

I also was lacking the fresh red pepper for the burgers but omitted them and opted to use jarred ones I had in the pantry to make a fast roasted red pepper mayo (inspired by Veg. Times a few months back). With a side of organic fries this was a really tasty meal. I only wish I'd been a little less excited about it and remembered to roast my green beans to balance out my dinner!

Dude, you guys must, like, totally try these rad burgers, like, immediately!

Mmmmmmmmmuffins!

Not the healthiest muffins, but soooo good. I'm thinking next time I'll sub out agave for the sugar and use part unbleached flour and part some other flour. Even trade out the oil for applesauce. That oughta do it!

For now, here's what I threw together

Mmmmmm Morning Muffins
makes 12

2 c. unbleached flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. Florida Crystals
2 med. bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c. canola oil
3/4 c. soy milk
1 tsp. vinegar
raspberry All Fruit
1/8 c. ground walnuts
1-2 T raw sugar
walnuts (for putting on top)

350 oven.
mix vinegar with soy milk to 'sour'. set aside.
in a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.
mash bananas well and add vanilla, then add to dry ingredients. now add sugar, oil, and soured milk. stir until just mixed.
line muffin tins with paper cups.
fill each cup with one T batter
gently spoon in about a teaspoon of All Fruit in the center.
top with another heaping T of batter.
combine raw sugar and ground walnuts in small bowl.
sprinkle mixture atop each muffin and place walnut in center.
Bake for 35 min or until knife comes out clean.
remove from tin immediately and allow to cool entirely on rack.
Try to let them cool all the way before digging in. I found that not doing so meant that the liners stuck to the muffin and the All Fruit inside was steamin hot! Best to let cool on a rack entirely before enjoying their yummy goodness.

Crispy Orange Soy Curls

When nothing else seems palatable? Chinese Food!
Here is Chris's Tangerine Seitan but with a big ol' juicy navel orange and Soy Curls instead of seitan over brown rice. This recipe is soooo easy and fun to trade out tangerine for orange or lemon. Good stuff.

And speaking of good stuff, is there ever a bad time to make Dreena's Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies from Vive to make one feel better? I say nope! I add a 1/2 tsp of almond extract along with the vanilla for a super tasty version. Good thing that the recipe only makes 8-10 or my tummy'd be aching due to overindulgence for sure!

Sorry that pic stinks. That's what happens when you've waited for them to cool enough to eat them and you just can't wait any longer! (and by 'you', I mean me!)

Easy Comfort Foods

I've been experiencing some serious food aversions lately (more on that.....eventually), which has caused my time in the kitchen to become minimal. I've relied pretty heavily on things you've seen me make countless times....my comfort foods:

Biscuits and Fauxsage Tempeh GravyPizza (Publix pizza dough is vegan and wonderful, thank you ppk'er from FL who reminded me of this for when I'm feeling expecially lazy): marinara sauce, VWaV's tofu basil ricotta, mushrooms, and zucchini.
Road's End Shell's 'n Chreese with a side of my favorite green veggie of late, Roasted Green Beans!
and Pizza Toast with Seitanroni and FYH Mozarella on Millet BreadI've been eating a lot of Fruit and Silk yogurt and the occasional bagel with almond butter and blueberry All Fruit, but that's pretty much it.

Hopefully, I'll get this under control and be back soon with some fun new stuff worth digesting! ;)

The Best Dinners Are the Ones I Make Up

On the fly with whatever is in the 'fridge.Oven Roasted Herbed Tempeh with Zucchini and Sun Dried Tomato Creme Sauce over Linguine Whew! How's that for a name!

As this was on the fly there's no formal recipe but I'll try to wing it. It could use a little tweaking to be perfect but it's sure damn tasty as is!

For the Tempeh: 350 oven. Cube and steam 8 oz. tempeh. In a bowl, mix 2 heaping tablespoons nutritional yeast, 1/2 tsp. onion powder, 1 tablespoon oregano, 2 tsp. marjoram, 2 tsp. coriander, 1 tsp. sea salt, some cracked black pepper, and enough oil (i used grapeseed) to mix in and create a paste. whisk together. add tempeh and toss. put coated tempeh in oiled baking pan or sheet. cover and bake for ten min. remove foil and roast for another 15-25 min or until desired crispiness.

For Sauce: mix 1 1/2 c. soy milk, 2 T. nutritional yeast, few pinches coarse sea salt, 1 T cornstarch or arrowroot, and about 1/8 c. sun dried tomatoes packed in oil with blender (i used my handheld...and I'll spare you the details about my reaching for salt, the blender standing in the glass measuring cup and me knocking it over and spilling half my sauce EVERYWHERE!).

Cook pasta.

Heat 1 tsp. oil in skillet on med heat, add one chopped zucchini (and whatever you have, i only had zukes) and some sea salt, add about 2 T. sun dried tomatoes and saute until zuke is crisp tender. Add sauce and stir constantly, once it comes to a boil it will thicken. you can then turn to low or remove from heat. Plate your pasta, top with tempeh, and cover in sauce. bon appetit!

Edited to add: this was even better for lunch the next day, just store each component in the fridge separately (tempeh, veggies in sauce, pasta). I'm making it again tonight with more veggies. YUM!

Two More Reasons....

Celine of Have Cake Will Travel is my culinary heroine....Her Cheezy Quacker Crust is, hands down, the BEST crust imaginable for all savory pies, quiches, whatever savory thing you fancy filling your pie plate with! I didn't use the pastry flour cause I was out, just unbleached flour and opted for the added paprika.

I did make her Broccoli Fakin Quiche....but I messed it up two ways (and thus never took a picture). I used store-bought fake bacon bits (vegan) and I made it two days in advance and let it sit in the fridge before finally cooking it up for Sunday Brunch. The nasty store-bought Fakin Bits bloated over time and overpowered the whole thing with their chemically bacon-ness. Ew. But I think that it's totally something I'll make again either with her suggestions or subbing sun dried tomatoes for the Fakin altogether.

and then there's heaven for my sweet tooth...I was drooling over her Oreo Cookie Cookies when I was struck with genius of my own. Using her 'healthier recipe', I subbed Newman Ginger O's (my absolute favorite) for the Oreos, added about 2 heaping Tablespoons of chopped crystallized ginger, and went with more soy milk than using whiskey. They were a bit more cakey than I like my cookies (think the original version may be what I'm really after?) but they were scrumptious and devoured in record time all the same.

YUM!