Ooh-La-La Lasagna...

Tonight I made Chloe Coscarelli's "Ooh-La-La Lasagna" from her Chloe's Kitchen cookbook.  All I have to say is Ooh-La-La was right.  I loved it.  We had guests who said it was good as well.  I will be honest, I was a bit concerned making a no cheese lasagna just sounds wrong.  She has you make a "Garden Ricotta" that is very good and I forgot all about the missing cheese.  My other concern was I am not a fan of cooked spinach and this has a lot of spinach in it...I really liked it.  I kind of forgot about what I was eating and devoured it.  The best part is that usually after eating lasagna you have a pasta hangover and are Thanksgiving dinner full and uncomfortable.  This was very good and no pasta hangover.  I am completely satisfied without feeling over full.  This is a dish you can make for company or just a family meal.  I will make this again.

Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry Sauce...

Yesterday I made Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry Sauce from a recipe from Chloe Coscarelli's new cookbook Chloe's Vegan Desserts (go buy this cookbook it is fabulous).  We had guests for dinner and it was unanimous that these tasted great.  They are so pretty and simple to make but be sure you give yourself enough time to let different parts set up.

This is going to be one of my go to desserts for the holidays.

Fettuccine Alfredo...

Tonight I made Fettuccine Alfredo from a recipe I found in Chloe's Kitchen cookbook.  It was really good.  I am still amazed that the only ingredients I used were fettuccine noodles, olive oil, onion, garlic, cashews, water, lemon juice, salt, pepper and fresh parsley (for garnish).  And all that can make a vegan cream sauce.  It looks right, it tastes right, I am a believer.

Jalapeño Cornbread Poppers with Whipped Maple Butter...

Tonight I make Jalapeño Cornbread Poppers with Whipped Maple Butter from a recipe I found in Chloe's Kitchen cookbook.

They are easy and quick to make (about 10 minutes, if that).

They are fun and yummy.  They will make a great game day snack or quick appetizer.  I used mild jalapeños so they would be too spicy for Paisley but they are "zero stars" as Paisley would say so next time I will use hot jalapeños.

Artichoke-Walnut Pesto Crostini & Penne alla Vodka...

Tonight was a complete meal from Chloe's Kitchen cookbook.  And let me begin by saying I have a new favorite vegan meal!

The Artichoke-Walnut Pesto Crostini could have been a meal all by itself.  They are just simply addicting.  They are so quick and easy to make (about 10 minutes).  Tons of flavors or as Stephen likes to say "a party in his mouth".

The Penne alla Vodka was supposed to be served with Chloe's "Best Garlic Bread In The World" but I really wanted to try the Artichoke-Walnut Pesto Crostini so I chose to try that one instead.

Again, this was easy and fairly quick (about 40 minutes) but a lot of that time is waiting and stirring occasionally so it didn't feel like 40 minutes.  This is restaurant quality vodka sauce, I was really surprised how good it came out.

This entire meal is definitely one you will want to make for your guests.  Give them a try and let me know what you think of each of them.

Chloe's "Best-Ever Baked Macaroni & Cheese" (not so much)...

Today for lunch I tried Chloe's Kitchen cookbook recipe for 

"Best-Ever Baked Macaroni and Cheese".  I am sad to say none of us liked it.  We ended up throwing it away.

Hey, they can't all be winners.

Cheesy Broccoli Soup in Sourdough Bread Bowls...

Today I pulled out a cookbook I recently purchased called Chloe's Kitchen by Chloe Coscarelli.  I found a recipe for Cheesy Broccoli Soup in Sourdough Bread Bowls and gave it a try.  The recipe was easy and quick (about 40 minutes).  All three of us liked it and I will be making it again.  I love the sourdough bread bowl and will use that with other soups.  I've had it before at restaurants but never remember to do it at home and if you have the cookbook you will learn the trick so the soup doesn't leak out.

Chloe also has a great website with lots of vegan recipes so be sure to check out chefchloe.com too. 

Creamy Potato Soup...

Today I made Creamy Potato Soup in my slow cooker.  I topped it with a little cheddar cheese, Tofutti sour cream and fresh cracked pepper.

I used my cookbook The Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Hester.  Below is a recipe that is close but not exactly the same as the cookbook recipe I used today.  The recipe below is from Kathy Hester's website called healthyslowcooking.com.

Slow Cooker Cream-less Potato Soup - 4 servings

This recipe can easily be multiplied.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 6 – 8 hours

• 4 Russet Potatoes (you can use waxy ones, but the soup texture will be a little different) 
• 2 cups veggie broth (or 2 cups of water with 1 Tb Better Than Bouillon No chicken base) *make sure the broth/base you are using is gluten-free if you are allergic 
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• 1 spring fresh rosemary, whole (remove stem before serving) 
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or unsweetened soy or rice milk) 
• pepper 

The night before: Peel the potatoes and cut into medium-sized cubes. Mince the garlic.

In the morning: Throw everything but the almond milk into your slow cooker and cook for 6 – 8 hours on low. If the potatoes aren’t covered by the broth add more.

Taste to see if you need to adjust seasonings. You may need to add a little salt if your bouillon/broth is not salted. Add almond milk and purée with an immersion blender. You can also use a blender, but make sure not to fill it all the way or you’ll have a hot mess on your hands!

Serve topped with fresh herbs.

Tortilla Soup...

Today I made Tortilla Soup from a cookbook called The Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Hester.  I edited her recipe by not adding cilantro (because I don't like cilantro in anything) and I did not add the chicken-flavored seitan.  Below is Kathy's recipe without the seitan but the rest is the same (my notes are in red).  I added a little cheddar cheese and Tofutti sour cream on top of the soup and served it with a lime wedge.  I ended up adding a splash of my favorite hot salsa to my bowl of soup to give it a little bit of spicy heat but that is up to you.

Slow Cooker Meatless Tortilla Soup

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 8 hours

• 1 Tb olive oil 
• 1 medium onions, minced 
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• 28 oz. organic tomatoes (diced, crushed, or whole) 
• 1/4 cup tomato paste 
• 4 cups filtered water 
• 1 tsp pepper 
• 1/2 lime, juiced 
• 1 Tb cilantro, chopped - **I did not add this 
• 1 tsp cumin 
• 1/2 tsp chili powder 
• 1/2 avocado, chopped 
• 1/4 cup tequila - **I used Petron Silver (my favorite tequila) 

The night before: Chop onions and mince the garlic. How easy is that for prep work? Optional: Saute in olive oil then store in fridge until tomorrow.

In the morning: Add everything but the avocado and tequila. Cook on low for 6 – 8 hours. About a half hour or so before serving, stir in lime juice, tequila, and adjust . Puree with an immersion blender.

Chop avocado and toss with extra lime juice and a little chili powder.

Serve topped with fresh cilantro (or no cilantro in my case), avocado, and strips of *baked tortilla strips or *crushed chips.

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

Are you still eating eggs?...

As you know, since becoming vegan I have only insisted that two items do not come into our home:

1. Eggs of any kind.
2. Fowl (chicken, turkey, duck, etc.)

If you are still eating eggs, please watch this video from NutritionFacts.org called "Eggs vs. Cigarettes".

Taco Soup Bites...

The other day I saw a recipe for stuffed eggless wonton wrappers and thought if I could find them it would be fun to stuff them with my taco soup recipe.

We went to Uwagimaya and they carry four different eggless wonton wrappers.  The ingredients were in English so I was able to see which were vegan and which were not.  

Here is a photo of the one I bought.

The next morning I made my Taco Soup.  

That evening I strained some and put it into a small bowl to use as the insides of my Taco Soup Bites.  Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil cooking spray.

 Spoon a small amount into the center of the eggless wonton.

Fold two sides together, just slightly overlapping.  I filled a small bowl with water and placed it next to my taco soup bowl to dip my finger in.  I found that if I dipped my finger into water and dripped one drop of water on top of the overlapped wonton it held together perfectly without making it too wet.

 I then folded up the bottom corner of the eggless wonton and dropped a drop of water on that corner.

And finally did the same process to the last corner.

 Once your eggless wonton looks like a little package you spray it with olive oil cooking spray.

Once you have a tray full, pop it into a preheated oven of 425 degrees and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the edges start to brown up nicely (we prefer ours on the crisper side).

I served mine with salsa and Tofutti sour cream.

Sooooo yummy and fun too.

There are so many fillings you could do so expect to see this again with different fillings.  With Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner I am already thinking of Holiday Bite ideas.

Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich...

Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

I received an email from a blog I subscribe to called the

Chef In You.  It is not a vegan blog but they have some vegan recipes.  I really liked the sounds of the her grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich for breakfast.  I did not use butter on the bread and I cooked mine in my panini machine.  The bread had lovely grill marks without the butter so don't use it, it is not necessary.  The key is go light on the peanut butter but make sure you use it on both pieces of bread and slice your banana as thin as possible.  It is a great breakfast and was fun to make.  If you don't have a panini machine you can grill it in a pan just as you would a grilled cheese sandwich 

(but this was yummier and more fun).

Chinese Chickpea Salad...

Chinese Chickpea Salad

Before I became vegan I used to make a Chinese Chicken Salad that my family loved.  I have had a few requests for the salad so I "veganized" it and used baked chickpeas instead of chicken.  It was very good.  I would recommend marinating the chickpeas for a full 30 minutes before baking them so they have more flavor. Below is the recipe.  Give it a try and tell me what you think.

Chinese Chickpea Salad

Salad Ingredients:

1 medium green cabbage, chopped

3 Tbsp. onion powder

1 small-medium pkg. slivered almonds

4 Tbsp. sesame seeds

4 pkg. Top Ramon noodles teriyaki flavor, crushed

4 carrots, chopped

6 stalks of celery, chopped

5 stalks of broccoli, cut into bit size pieces

1 cup of sugar snap peas, chopped

Chickpeas:

1 15oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

¼ cup soy sauce

2 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil

1 Tbsp. peanut oil

Dressing:

4 flavor packets from Top Ramen

2 Tbsp. sugar

½ cup cornola oil

½ cup toasted sesame oil

½ cup rice vinegar

1 tsp. pepper

½ cup soy sauce

Mix chickpeas with soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, and peanut oil; place in gallon size Ziploc bag and seal with all air removed.  Lay flat so you have a single layer of chickpeas so they all marinate evenly for a full 30 minutes.  Heat oven to 400 F.  Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with non-stick cooking oil.  Place chickpeas on tray, discard extra marinade, bake for 20-25 minutes, until outside is crunchy.

While the chickpeas cook; mix all the salad ingredients and toss well. 

Blend dressing ingredients; mix well.  Keep separate. 

Top salad with warm chickpeas and serve with dressing on the side. 

Store salad and dressing in refrigerator.

Serves 10-12 as a meal.

Recipe by The Vegan Paige

Kung Pao Chickpea Tacos...

Yesterday I was thinking about a recipe I used to make and love for Kung Pao Chicken Tacos.  I have zero craving for chicken but I thought about how I could make this recipe vegan.  Here is what I came up with:

• 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 5 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce, divided
• dash of cornstarch
• 1 1/2 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp dark sesame oil
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste)
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 3 Tbsp coarsely chopped dry-roasted peanuts
• 3/4 cup diagonally sliced celery (about 2 stalks)
• 9 (6 inch) flour tortillas
• 1/3 cup sliced green onions (for Stephen)
• 1/2 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• Jasmine rice

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.  
2. In a bowl, mix chickpeas and 3 Tbsp soy sauce.  Marinate at room temperature until oven has heated.  
3. Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with non-stick cooking oil.  Place chickpeas on tray, discard extra marinade, bake 20-25 minutes, until outside is crunchy.
4. Make a batch of Jasmine rice, follow bags cooking instructions.
5. In a small pan, combine cornstarch, remaining 2 Tbsp soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, vinegar, and chile paste.  Stir with a whisk until smooth.  Heat on medium until slightly thick, stir in garlic, peanuts, celery.  Remove from heat and add baked chickpeas. 
6. Warm tortillas in microwave, about 30 seconds.
7. Divide chickpea mixture evenly among tortillas.  Top each taco with rice, green onions and bell pepper strips.  Serve with lime wedges.

Recipe by The Vegan Paige

We thought they turned out great.  We all really enjoyed them. My "no star" girl said they were not too spicy, she said she would give them one-two stars on the spicy scale.  

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

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies...

 Paisley found a recipe online for vegan zucchini chocolate chip cookies.  They are so yummy.  She decided that they needed to be cooked a bit longer then the recipe called for and I agree.  

Thank you Paisley, they were delicious!

Taco Soup Enchiladas...

Tonight (7/6/13) I made my own creation out of a couple of old favorites.  Before I was vegan I made chicken enchiladas with a homemade verde sauce that was amazing.  Paisley has been requesting my enchiladas but I don't allow chicken or eggs in our house so I have been stumped.  This morning I made a fresh batch of my Vegan Taco Soup.  Then I started making my homemade verde sauce.  Then it came to me, why don't I stuff the tortillas with a mixture of refried beans, tofutti sour cream and my vegan taco soup.  I did sprinkle the top with medium cheddar cheese, I know "bad vegan", and voila.  They were sooooo good.  

These are my new signature enchiladas.

Peanut Butter Granola Bars for breakfast...

This morning I made Peanut Butter Granola Bars for breakfast.  I used a recipe from the Everyday Happy Herbivore cookbook (pg. 22-23).  The recipe is for Granola Bars but it has a variation recipe with peanut butter so I tried the variation for fun.

This recipe is quick, easy and only seven ingredients (including the peanut butter) that most everyone will have on hand.

All three of us really liked them.  

Give them a try for yourself and let me know what you think.

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.