Chocolate-Zucchini Muffins...

Yesterday, Paisley made vegan chocolate-zucchini muffins.  

The recipe was from The Happy Herbivore.  

They were delicious.  

She was a little bit skeptical about a recipe that did not have chocolate chips but quickly decided cocoa powder works quite nicely.  We all loved them and will be made again and again.

Date Night - Vegan Style...

I have made this several times and Stephen always loves it so I paired it with a glass of Guardian Cellars 2011 Angel white wine.
It was a wonderful pairing if I do say so myself.
I also loved how some of the photos came out so I am sharing this recipe again.  If you have not made the Linguine with Roasted Asparagus Almond Pesto yet, you really should give it a try.

Apple Skin vs. Cancer Video...

I for one will be going to the store to buy some apples.  I will then proceed to thoroughly wash them and then I will be eating said apple with the skin on.

If you have 2:43 minutes please watch the video titled 

Apple Skin: Peeling Back Cancer 

from NutritionFacts.org.

Father's Day Dinner...

 For Father's Day I started with an appetizer of Athenos Traditional hummus served with carrot sticks, celery sticks, red bell pepper sticks, Stacy's pita chips and I don't know the brand but vegetable chips.

For dinner I served Lemon Basil Pasta from the Everyday Happy Herbivore cookbook.  It is pretty, yummy and refreshing on a warm day.  It is also incredibly easy to make and always tastes good.  I served the capers on the side since not everyone is a fan.  I also served roasted garlic bread.

For dessert I served Apple Crisp Muffins from the Happy Herbivore cookbook. Alway a hit.

Happy Father's Day to all you dads.  

And a special Happy Father's Day to my dad, 

my husband, my father-in-law, and my step-dad.

Paige's Veggie Stir Fry...

Last night I made up a yummy recipe on the fly.

I started by making some Jasmin rice.

While that was cooking I sautéed a yellow onion in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and three times that amount of toasted sesame oil over medium-low heat so it did not cook to fast.  I make 4-5 slices so that I am left with rings that are still in layers.  This makes it easier to flip over and to make sure they are all cooked equally.

While the rice and onion cooked I started grilling my zucchini slices on both sides.

While the zucchini grilled I started cleaning and cutting my broccoli and put it in a steamer pot to start steaming.  I prefer my broccoli to be just a little bit crisp so I steam it on high heat and just when the lit starts to make noise I check it and it is usually done then.

After flipping my zucchini and onions over I start peeling, cleaning and chopping my carrots and cleaning and chopping my celery.  I make sure not to chop them to thin or they will be to limp for the finished product.  I then clean my asparagus and chop then ends off and discard them.  I then cut the asparagus into thirds.  Place the carrots, celery and asparagus in a bowl to be used a bit later.

Once the zucchini are grilled on both sides I pull them and cut them into quarters.  Once the onions are translucent I pull them and cut them into small pieces.  I then dump the onions, zucchini, carrots, celery and asparagus in the pan the cooked the onions in.  I added a bit more toasted sesame oil, a dollop of Hoisin sauce and gave it a stir and cooked over medium-low heat.  Once the broccoli is done add it to the rest of the veggies and stir.  I cook until the asparagus is perfect.  Then I added a 1/4 cup soy sauce and stir again.

To plate/bowl, I scoop some rice into my dish, then using tongs I add the veggies.

This would also be good with some pan fried tofu to add some protein.  I think I will try that next time.

Stephen, Paisley and I all loved this meal.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Meatless by Martha Stewart...

A friend of mine discovered my blog today and sent me an email recommending a cookbook by Martha Stewart called "Meatless: more than 200 of the very best vegetarian recipes".  I had not heard of it before her email but I looked it up on Amazon.com and purchased it so don't be surprised if you see some new posts from this cookbook.

Have you used this cookbook before?  If so, what were your favorite recipes from it?

Curried Quinoa Salad...

Tonight I am making Curried Quinoa Salad from the Everyday Happy Herbivore cookbook.  I have made this salad before but tonight I am going to tweak it a little bit by adding lettuce to the spinach.  This salad is visually beautiful and tastes soooo good too. 

This recipe is not at all spicy ("no stars" as Paisley calls it when she orders food at Thai or Chinese restaurants) but it is full of flavor.  

I always start by prepping my food so as I cook all the ingredients are pre-measured and/or chopped so everything goes smoothly and you don't have any surprises like being out of an ingredient.
Below are chopped mango, cucumber, celery and the raisins.

 This is the quinoa that was cooked in my homemade vegetable broth, yellow curry powder and paprika.

And this is the finished product.  It has spinach, lettuce, vanilla almond yogurt, mango, cucumber, celery and raisins.

Post a comment...

I have received feedback that posting a comment is not easy to figure out so I tested it.  Here is a quick and easy way to comment on your favorite posts:

1. At the bottom of each post, under the dashed line, is an orange "No Comments:" or "1 Comments:" button.  Click on the word "Comments".
2. Type your message in the box provided.
3. Just under your message is a "Comment as:" with a drop down box.  Choose the "Name/URL" option.  This will only show the name you type in so it allows for privacy.  If you just want to type your first name that is just fine or you can type in your full name it is completely up to you.  Leave the URL box empty.  Then click the "continue" button.
4. Then click on the "Publish" button and you are done.

I will responde to your comments so please keep them coming and I apologize for Blogger not being clearer.  If you are still having difficulties you can email me at theveganpaige@gmail.com.

Happy commenting!

Chicken Video...

Please take six minutes out of your day to watch this video from NutritionalFacts.org:  Avoiding Chicken to Avoid Bladder Infections.  It is about soooo much more then just bladder infections.  If you eat, cook or handle chicken you should see this video.  The first couple of minutes are specific to bladder infections but then they discuss and show a lot more.

To be clear, I am not trying to convert anyone to be vegan or even vegetarian.   I just want you to be healthy with whatever life style you chose.

Roasted Vegetable Pasta...

Tonight I made Roasted Vegetable Pasta again from The Kitchy Kitchen: Venture into vegan from Food For Thought with Claire Thomas. I have made this before and we loved it so I thought I would give it another try and it did not disappoint.

I tweaked the recipe so mine had a butternut squash, two potatoes, two yellow onions, olive oil, cherry tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil, balsamic vinegar and linguine pasta. You can add any other left over vegetables you have in the fridge. This recipe is quick and easy.

You preheat the over to 450 degrees. Slice the onions and place rings on lightly olive oiled baking sheet then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. On another baking sheet chop up butternut squash and potatoes into small chunks. I pop the squash and potatoes in a bowl add the olive oil and salt and pepper and mix well then place on baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, then flip onion rings, squash and potatoes so they cook evenly on both sided for another 20 minutes. Watch your onions, if they are cooking fast flip them early and you can remove them from the oven early to if you want to. That is why I don't add any squash or potatoes to that baking dish. Onions don't take as long to cook.

 While the vegetables bake I start the water for the pasta and start halving my cherry tomatoes, mincing my garlic clove, chiffonade my basil (which is a fancy way of saying cutting into ribbons).  I stack the basil leaves, then roll them up, then slice the roll which leaves the ribbons.  I also measure out the three tablespoons of balsamic vinegar so it is ready to go too.

 Once I flip my vegetables I put my pasta into the water.  Then I heat a large pan to med-high heat add a splash of olive oil and cook my tomatoes for about a minute, then I add my garlic for another minute or two, then I add my roasted vegetables and basil.  I turn off the heat and keep stirring so everything gets mixed up.  When the pasta is done, DO NOT DRAIN IT, you want to use your tongs to put the pasta into the large pan with the water dripping into the pan to help with the sauce.  Once you have all the wet pasta in the pan add the balsamic vinegar and stir it all together and here is what it looks like all done.  Yummy.

 I like to serve it with some bread but that is up to you.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Homemade Pizzas...

Last night we made homemade pizzas.

I made pizza dough from scratch.

I made pizza sauce from scratch using these amazing crushed tomatoes that a friend turned me on to.  They are so good that if you open the can and scoop a spoonful out they smell and taste like you just picked them from your garden and sliced them.  I took a photo of the can you see exactly what I used.  I actually have the cans shipped from NY to me, they are that good.  I thought my friend was nuts when he said he had canned tomatoes shipped to him but now I get it.  I found MyBrands.com has the best price and often has shipping rate specials. 

I included a great olive oil that is infused with garlic that I love.  I have been using the olive oil for years but thought I would suggest this to you as well.

To make the pizza sauce I mixed one can of crushed tomatoes, some garlic olive oil, four cloves of garlic minced, and some fresh chopped basil.  Simple and delicious. That is also how I start my spaghetti sauce too.

As much as I love that pizza sauce, I prefer a white sauce on my veggie pizza so I made this artichoke spread as my sauce.  The recipe is from a magazine I bought years ago called Pizza On The Grill.  I substituted the mayo with Veganaise but I did use real cheese.  It is an amazing pizza sauce but it is also an amazing dip with pita chips.  I could barely keep Stephen and Paisley out of it.  Okay, I could barely stay out of it too.

Paisley's take on a Margherita pizza.  

It has dough, pizza sauce, grilled zucchini, cherry tomates, fresh mozzarella cheese and sprinkled with fresh chopped basil.

Paige's Veggie Pizza

The first photo is of the raw pizza on the pizza stones in the oven.  The last photo shows both Stephen's and my pizza on the stones just to give you a size photo.  Each pizza is about 6-7 inches.

I have dough, artichoke spread, cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, grilled zucchini, cashews, and a few pieces of mozzarella cheese.

The pizzas were all cooked at 550 degrees, the stones heated in the oven as the oven heated up.  Each cooked for between 12-14 minutes.  We just watched them and carefully touched the crust to test.

Stephen's Carnivore Pizza.

He started with dough, pizza sauce, then mushrooms, black olives, artichoke hearts, grilled Italian sausage, mozzarella cheese, and sprinkled the top with a bit of freshly chopped basil.  He had pepperoni but he ran out of room.

Boca Chik'n Burger with Baked Fries...

Let me start by saying, yes you see cheddar cheese.  

The photo I took was of Stephen's.

My family has had both the Boca burgers and the Boca Chik'n and they definitely prefer the Boca Chik'n.  It makes a nice burger.  I bake them in the oven with a little Johnny's seasoning salt on them.

The fries are just potatoes cut into 16 pieces each, tossed with a little olive oil and sprinkled with a bit of salt, then baked for eight minutes, flipped over, then another eight minutes at 450 degrees.

Lemon Basil Pasta...

 Saturday we went to a potluck so I brought a dish I have made before called Lemon Basil Pasta from the Everyday Happy Herbivore cookbook.  It was a huge hit for a group of non-vegan/non-vegetarian people.  The lemon is always a surprise for people but it is so fresh and clean tasting.  Perfect for a hot summer day.  This dish is good hot or cold.  If you haven't tried it yet, make it soon.  You won't be disappointed.

Vegetable Fettucine...

Last Friday night I made vegetable fettucine.  It was very good.  The photo above is of Stephen's so it has a little bit of parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.  I love how it looks too, so colorful.