Moroccan Chickpea Patties

Ya gotta love when cleaning out your fridge yields something as scrumptious as Vive's Moroccan Chickpea Patties.
This is, hands down, my most favorite way to enjoy them, in salad form. I just plate a bed of salad greens (in this case, spinach), some cucumber, place the patties on top, drop on a few extra chickpeas, and drizzle with Vive's recommended Ginger Sauce (on p. 49).

I didn't even get words of praise from the Cap'n (I've made these before), so much as this look on his face after the first bite of total flavor euphoria. These are a real hit.

I didn't have time to chill the mixture in the 'fridge before creating patties and these babies like to fall apart. My secrets in keeping them in tact (mostly, anyway, there's always one that bites the dust) are as follows:

1. Using a 1/3 c. measuring cup really does help give the perfect amount per patty.

2. make patty of that size in your hands and then hold in one hand, pat breadcrumb/sesame seed mixture into each side rather than trying to place in the breadcrumbs/seeds and pick back up. that never works for me.

3. I use a large-ish plug-in griddle for patties (best thing ever for this!) like this. I let them brown at about a 350 setting for 7-9 min and then use two spatulas to make sure they're retaining their shape, pushing in the sides a bit before caaaarefully turning them over (you want to only turn these babies once, if you can help it). once flipped, I use the two spatula technique again to push in around the edges to compact the patty a bit more and keep them from falling apart when it's time to caaaarefully lift them off and onto your plate.

Hummmmmmmmmus

Yup, the ol' vegan standby.This is Dreena's Creamy Hummus from Vive. Would you believe that, before now, I'd never made hummus before? Well, correction. I did attempt to make it once upon a time with some internet recipe and my trusty food processor. In that endeavor I remember the skins of the chickpeas never seemed to get processed really well. The flavor was eh, the texture all wrong. But this? This is soooooo very good.

Thanks to Dreena's combo of ingredients (tho I admit it took me just short of forever to get my hands on some toasted sesame oil rather than plain ol sesame oil...biiiig difference) and my favorite kitchen appliance, this*, I now have hummus that I enjoy more than any other. It's flavorful and light and oh so very creamy. I've had it just like you see above for lunch every couple of days using up whatever veggies look like they wanna volunteer. Cucumber, organic carrots, and warmed whole wheat pita is easily my favorite combo tho, and I now sprinkle a healthy dose of paprika on top before enjoying.

I'm looking forward to adding different ingredients to this now sure to be staple at our house.

*In coveting this item for just short of forever I managed to swipe it via Amazon.com for only $29.99 when they had a sale. keep your eye on that, folks. it's worth every penny of full price, but who doesn't love a bargain that good? ;) Thanks to Susan for the tip!

How NOT to Lose Ten Pounds in a Hurry...

1. Break out VWaV and make these with the oranges ya bought that are just this side of not entirely sweet enough. 2. Go to have one for breakfast day two and realize that there are four staring back at you on the plate. Yeah, Isa's recipe makes 12...and the Cap'n wasn't even home to try them!

3. On day three, even after this lil' vermin has torn thru the bag they're in (don't let her cute 'lookit me all snuggly in the warm laundry' thing she's got goin on fool ya. this lil girl will fight you for your food every time) and licked the glaze off of two of them, devour the last two with a cup o' tea for breakfast.

4. A few days later, put off your workout and make these puppies on a whim.
5. Eat one (or two!) with every meal until they're gone.

I know someone who's gonna have to run a lot harder in the coming weeks.

I'd been wanting to make the scones forever as they were always my favorite treat before going vegan. These are honestly better than any I'd ever had before. Just a little bit lighter and less dry than most and the flavor is subtle but still perfectly orange-y.

This time, I made the cookies from here with walnuts, chocolate chips, and about a quarter cup of raisins this time making them extra chewy and good. As these use oats and whole wheat flour as their base they're not the worst cookies you could make but that cup of sugar is something I should surely work on replacing with something else.

We currently have two very ripe bananas just crying out to be made into banana bread or a creamy pudding but with my current wave of unhealthy treats I'm wanting something healthier. Any suggestions? Gimme your healthiest banana bread recipe even and maybe I'll just run with that!

For Lack of Anything Else to Post.....Breakfast!

Until I can get any recent pictures off of my camera (don't ask!) I figured I'd share here some of my favorite things to feast on in the morning as breakfast can be a vegan's most challenging endeavor in the kitchen. I mean, I love me some scrambled tofu but you can only have so much of it, right? I've pretty much posted all of these before. I'll be back with some new stuff soon. Promise!
VWaV's Revolutionary Omelet sans sauce (tho that roasted red pepper sauce is aMAZing) but with fresh avocado. I love making this omelet and then having leftovers for breakfast for days.


Sweet Potato Latkes with warm cinnamon apples

Fried Seitan O' Greatness slices with a side of grits and millet toast

Lifestream's Hemp Waffles with organic maple syrup, walnuts, and bananas (their Flax Seed Waffle is pretty amazing as well). I love the ease of these, and they're healthy, bonus!

VWaV's Sausage Tempeh Crumbles with FYH cheeze, herbed roasted potatoes, fresh avocado, & fresh mango (this is easily a favorite of mine)

And speaking of the Fauxsage Crumbles, throwing them in some vegan gravy on top of biscuits with a side of fresh fruit? this is another I can't get enough of in the morning. Mmmmmm.

If ya think making vegan biscuits is great (I highly recommend the versions in How It All Vegan and the tip to just mix then spoon into muffin tins rather than try and roll out and cut a biscuit dough. These come out puffy and light and perfect every time and for biscuits? That's sayin somethin!)....VWaV's Fronch toast (made here with whole wheat french bread and served with organic strawberries, bananas, and maple syrup) is simply divine.

But my all time favorite is still the recipe I figured out after weekend brunching at one of my favorite restaurants. If I've said it once, I've said it a MILLION times....

Pan Seared Oatmeal. Quite possibly the most amazing and satisfying (not to mention healthy!) vegan breakfast of all time. Here's how....

Perfect Pan Seared Oatmeal

Make a Day Ahead:
Prepare one cup steel cut oats according to package directions. (MUST use steel cut and not quick cooking/rolled oats)
After removing from heat, add 1-2 T maple syrup and a bit of soy milk to make it creamier but you won't need much. You want to keep it thick.
Place in small plastic containers. (I keep my EB/Smart Balance containers for this. One cup dry will fill about two and a half tubs).
Allow to cool to room temperature in sealed containers before putting in fridge.

The Day of You'll need:
banana, sliced
dried cranberries
raisins
walnuts, chopped
balsamic vinegar glaze*
vegan margarine

Remove top from tub and dump out oatmeal. It will be one solid mass having conformed to the shape of the tub. Slice into disks about 3/4 inch thick. work quickly and carefully as it will want to turn to mush the longer it sits out of the refrigerator.

Heat margarine over medium heat in skillet. Place disc(s) of oatmeal in pan and pan sear for 4-5 min per side until golden brown and remove.

Drizzle glaze (in fancy design of your making ;) onto plate and place disc(s) on top of it. Top with walnuts, cranberries, raisins, banana and a quick drizzle of agave nectar.

Enjoy...then come back and thank me for gifting you this most amazing breakfast treat. Everyone I've fed it to is just blown away by how good this is. Thank you, 43rd Street Deli for the inspiration!

*make sure you're using a balsamic vinegar glaze. if you cannot find one you can make one by bringing regular balsamic vinegar to a boil and then until reduced down to a syrup...tho i warn you, you're entire kitchen and possibly your whole house will be overwhelmed with the smell of the acidic liquid. it's not very mild on the nose, so try and get your hands on a ready made glaze if you can.

Creamy Creole Pasta

Usually, I'm a slave to my cookbooks and recipes swiped from other bloggers. I like it, actually...as a year into it I'm still learning all things vegan. But sometimes? I'm genius...all on my own. Behold, the amazing creation I threw together after a looooong and grueling day that called for pasta, the only thing that would satiate us for dinnerCreamy Creole Pasta
serves 4

1/2 bag Soy Curls
2 carrots, thickly cut
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 zucchini, halved and thickly cut
10 white mushrooms, thickly sliced
1/4 c. sun dried tomatoes, chopped (I used the kind packed in oil)
1/3 c. steamed asparagus, chopped (had some leftover, thought 'why not?!')
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. Creole Seasoning (I'm a fan of Tony Chachere's) plus more for seasoning
2 T nutritional yeast
1 T cornstarch
2 c. soy milk
2 T vegan margarine
6 or 7 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped (or 1 tsp. dried, but fresh is best!)
black pepper to taste

*rehydrate soy curls for 10 min in warm water then squeeze dry. toss with 2 tsp. creole seasoning and set aside.
*Whisk together soy milk, nutritional yeast, and cornstarch, and set aside. i think i added about 1/2 to 1 tsp. more seasoning here also but that was just to kick it up a bit after tasting the soy curls after browning, but we'll get to that.
* heat large skillet over med to med hi heat and melt 1 T marg. add onion and garlic, saute for a min or so, add carrot, saute a few minutes more, then add zucchini and mushrooms. saute a bit more until everything is crisp tender and then remove from pan and set aside. I may have sprinkled some more creole seasoning just to barely cover the veggies here as the one I use is not too hot. be sure to taste things as you go so you don't overdo the heat.
*heat remaining 1 T marg. in pan and add soy curls and sun dried tomatoes and saute til browned. *add milk mixture, veggies, and basil to pan and bring to boil, stirring. sauce should thicken up right away.
*remove from heat and serve over bed of pasta, dusted with more nutritional yeast, if ya like!

This was so perfect, I even blew myself away! I had been craving something like the Cajun Alfredo with Veggies that I used to get from Harry's back in my vegetarian days. This? Soooo much better. I don't think I'd change a single thing. We were especially bad tonight and enjoyed some white linguine over the usual whole wheat brand we love.

That leftover asparagus was from this tasty lunch.I finally finished up the TVP in the pantry and made more Vegan Vittles Better Burgers dressed with tomato, Vegannaise, and Nutritional Yeast Mustard (YUM!) on a potato roll (I know, I know,I said no more but I lied! ;), some steamed asparagus with a touch of avocado oil and a quick potato salad (lil' yukons, a couple green onions, minced, some finely minced vidalia, Vegannaise, Dijon Mustard, salt, and pepper. easy!)