Alfredo with Spinach and Tempeh

3 Jan

I had an amazing Christmas this year; I spent plenty of time with my family and received some amazing gifts. I was given two vegan cookbooks, one by Vegan Yum Yum and the other by Post Punk Kitchen, Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. I’ve already thumbed through both books and I’m looking forward to trying recipes out of each of them. One of my favorite things about new cookbooks is the countless number of times I can flip through them and find something new.

I’ve eyed this recipe on the website several times and seeing it again in book form really made me crave it. I used a little less oil and tahini than the recipe called for, to reduce the calories, and added vegetables and tempeh. The alfredo ended up thick and flavorful and the tempeh was crunchy and crisp. The sauce was pretty quick to whip up-I soaked the cashews beforehand to make it easier on my food processor, but it’s not necessary. I still had trouble getting it completely smooth, but we’ll chalk that up to impatience.

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Potluck Pasta Salad

23 Dec

I previously posted a recipe for brownie pumpkin pie that I took to a potluck at school. We decided to have another Christmas themed potluck that unfortunately fell on the day of snow storm Draco. Besides the ridiculousness of a blizzard with a name, class wasn’t cancelled for the storm, so I still prepared a dish to pass. Only two other people came to school, so I have been eating this pasta salad every day for four days.

I didn’t intentionally plan for this to be Christmas colored, it just happened to be the only thing I could make in a large enough quantity for 12 people. I’ve been making this recipe for years after having it at a New Year’s Eve party. Originally,  I used to season the pasta with McCormick Salad Supreme, but now that I’m vegan I use a combination of other seasonings to recreate the taste. The vegetables can be substituted with others; I’d like to use orange tomatoes, peppers, and carrots for Halloween.

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Apple Crisp

16 Dec

If I had to choose between pie and cake, I would usually pick pie. Unless there’s cheesecake involved, then the question isn’t even fair. However, making a pie takes time, patience, and a rolling pin. I only have one of those and it’s stored high enough above my sink that I can’t reach it unless I really need it.

Crisps and crumbles are an easy alternative. If anyone happens to know the difference between the two, I’d be happy to hear it. I accidentally bought a few bruised apples, so I thought making a crisp would be a good way to use them. This recipe makes about 9 large servings, but you can double it to fit a 9×13 pan.

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Spicy Thai Noodles

14 Dec

I love spicy foods almost as much as I love sushi. I pinned this recipe about two weeks ago on Pinterest and I have already made it twice this week. The first time it was too spicy, but I really think I nailed it the second time around. I made a few changes, including adding ginger and more vegetables, but feel free to make your own substitutions.

Or, see my updated recipe here!!

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Quinoa with Black Beans and Corn

13 Dec

I think quinoa is one of the greatest words in the English language. It can be used as a question “Would you like some keeen-wahh?”, a declaration “I bought keenwah!”, or statement of sorrow “We’re out of keenwah…” Quinoa is ridiculously adorable-it starts out as a tiny seed and puffs itself up into a little ring when you cook it. It’s a great source of protein and vitamins for a hungry vegan, and is as easy to cook as rice. Seriously, if you haven’t tried this stuff, you’re missing out. Get off this website and go buy some. Now.

A friend of mine mentioned quinoa recently, reminding me of a lonely box sitting in the bottom of my pantry.  I scoured Allrecipes (read:searched for 23 seconds) for a recipe that would fit with what I had on hand. I found this recipe for quinoa and black beans that I altered slightly. It would be great as a side dish or wrapped up in tortilla, but it worked easily as well as an entree.

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Roasted Red Peppers

12 Dec

I took a short trip to the local Country Market today and found a pack of 4 red peppers for $1.19. They weren’t the most beautiful looking peppers, but their wrinkles wouldn’t matter after they were roasted. I didn’t want to let them wait much longer, so I roasted them and stored them in olive oil. I’m sure I’ll be glad later in the week when I can put them to use on a pizza or in lasagna.

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Thanksgiving Pizza

8 Dec

Last night, Ken and I held our Second Annual Second Thanksgiving, which is completely unofficial and occurs at random. Usually there’s an abundance of post-thanksgiving products in stores and we take the opportunity to have our own, personal thanksgiving. This year we tried the new Gardein Holiday roast on both of our Thanksgivings. The second time around I drizzled extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top, which gave it more flavor and moisture. We also had onion flowers (will be doing a post on that soon), mashed potatoes with almond milk and Earth Balance, and cranberry sauce.

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The only thing better than Thanksgiving dinner to me is…pizza!! So why not use the leftovers to make a pizza?

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Vegan Nacho Cheese

2 Dec

Sundays during football season mean one thing to me-nachos!

I can remember going to freezing November football games in high school and ordering nachos at the food stand. Back then (and probably still now, knowing my high school) the cheese came out of a machine, already warm and thick and spicy. After walking all the way back to the stands, the cheese-coated chips were limp and easy to shovel into your mouth with partially frozen fingers.

This recipe brings me back to that and has slowly become my favorite recipe for nacho cheese. We were out of a Daiya one weekend and I decided to wing it with a traditional vegan cheese sauce. I wasn’t disappointed-it’s the same cheesy taste with more spreadability.

This would be really great with salsa mixed in or on top of enchiladas. Leave a comment below if you have any different ways you would use this!

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Tomato and Basil Bruschetta

29 Nov

Before I created this blog, I was posting photos of my meals on Facebook regularly. I’ve been going through my old photos to remember what I was making several months ago, which sometimes inspires new ideas for me. Yesterday, it inspired me to make tortellini.

I found this bruschetta that I made over the summer several times and I thought I’d share the standard recipe I use. My basil plant was growing and it was a great use of the fresh summer tomatoes-sometimes I added roasted red pepper, roasted garlic, or heirloom tomatoes.

Feel free to make any of the suggested modifications from above or any based on your own tastes. I like to use an 18 year aged balsamic from Galena Garlic Company that I picked up about a year ago when I visited my parents. I highly recommend it-it’s amazing on tomatoes, avocados, plain bread, or even on it’s own.

Ingredients:

  • 4-5 medium ripe plum tomatoes
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp salt and black pepper

Directions:

1. Chop tomatoes, removing most seeds. Mince garlic. Tear the basil into small pieces. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and let flavors combine for 1-2 hours. Serve on toasted bread or with warm pita on the back porch on a nice summer day.

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Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Tortellini

28 Nov

About a year before I met my fiance, Ken, I was well acquainted with a snapping turtle named Tortellini. She was eventually re-released into the wild, but I still think of her often. We now have three other turtles in our lives, including one baby who keeps getting bigger and bigger. Meet Tusk:

I’ve practiced making homemade ravioli a few times in the past (see below) but I have yet to venture into the world of other filled pastas.

I had plenty of time today, so I decided to attempt tortellini. I followed the basic recipe at Vegan Dad for the dough and the ricotta. I cheated and used a jarred sauce-Newman’s Own is my favorite premade pasta sauce.

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