Back on the web!

Well, after an unplanned lack of internet service, here I am again!
I've missed out on the cookbook challenges that have been going on, but I'm hoping I can jump right back into it. This week's cookbook is American Vegan Kitchen, which looks great! It seems to be full of classic comfort and diner style foods. I will pick out a few recipes and hopefully get cookin' this week...

To tide you over here are some pizza pictures! I'm using the 1000 Vegan Recipes basic pizza dough recipe, which I really like.

I saw some close-to-expiring Daiya on sale so I caved and bought one bag. The boyfriend loves it so.

This pizza is his, it's a BBQ seitan with onions and Daiya.

You know I snuck a bite ;)

My pizza ( I just wasn't in the mood for Daiya) had truffle oil, mushrooms, basil, onion and some leftover tofu ricotta.

Yummmmmmy!


Hmmm, now I want pizza again!

Thai Tofu, "Cheese-steak", Breakfast Wraps

Continuing on the cookbook challenge theme...tonight I made another recipe from Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

RED THAI TOFU




What I liked:
It was quick with no extra steps. I like recipes that do not require pre-marinating the tofu. Also, it was fairly pantry friendly.

What I disliked:
I'm not sure what to say, I didn't absolutely love it. It seemed to be lacking something, but I don't know what. Maybe depth of flavor? I'm not sure. It could have something to do with the fact that I didn't have all of the red pepper it called for, I suppose. It could have also been that I didn't like the brand of curry paste I used. It was okay, but if I was served this in a restaurant I would be disappointed.

What I substituted:
I realized I didn't have a whole red bell pepper when I was already done frying the tofu, so I used what I had (about 1/4 cup) and added some mushrooms.
I also substituted a home made sugar syrup for the agave.

Recipe notes:
After frying the tofu with a small amount of non-stick spray and removing it from the pan the recipe says to add the shallots, garlic, ginger and bell pepper to the oil. I didn't have any oil in my pan at all and I checked the recipe to make sure I wasn't supposed to be adding some, haha. I just added about a tsp of oil.

My man's opinion:
He thought it was good, but not great. He said there was a little too much ginger for his taste. He ate it though.

Would I make it again?
I probably would if I was low on produce because it is quite pantry friendly, except I would tweak it a little. I tried my hardest to stay true to the recipe this first time so I could review it.
Also, I might try a different red curry paste when this one runs out (Thai Kitchen).

I made the SANCTUARY DRESSING recipe also, but I made a measuring mistake on that one, whoops!
I halved it (due to how much silken tofu I had) and accidentally used the full amount of garlic powder. I know that recipe will be good next time I make it. It was so creamy! I used it up though. Here's a salad with it:


*******

I've made a few other things in the last couple of days that definitely fall into the "cheap" category.

First up is poor man's version of the CHEESE-STEAK SANDWICH! A man's wich!






This is just a toasted hoagie roll with homemade seitan, grilled peppers and onion topped with a homemade cheezy sauce.
(Try something like this: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=7057.0 for the sauce. )

Simple, cheap and possibly quick if you already have seitan in the fridge!
*******

Not sure what to have for breakfast? Got 20 minutes? Breakfast wraps are here to wipe your tears away!
Tofu scramble wrapped in a tortilla, so easy! I love it because I can make the tofu and veggies and from there change the spices and sauces for my boyfriend and me. (we like different things sometimes!)

His has a mexican vibe goin' on...tofu scramble, veggies, salsa, 'queso' with chili powder, jalepenos.


Mine has curry powder, extra veggies and the watered down queso with peanut butter added for a sauce (sounds weird, but it's good!)



Yep, still eating pretty good on a budget! Tomorrow I plan to make more recipes from Appetite for Reduction...yum yum yum.

I'm not really hungry, but I wanna eat that cheesesteak again...

"Whole lotta bakin' goin' on!"

I will be out of town for a few days, so I made a ton of food for my partner to eat. Mostly I did this so he doesn't have to spend money on eating out ;)

I decided a pan of veggie filled lasagna was in order. (sorry for the poor pictures, at night my camera gives everything a nice seventies glow)




No recipe here... just cooked lasagna noodles, tomato sauce spiked with extra garlic, tofu ricotta from Veganomicon, sauteed veggies (spinach, onion, zucchini, broccoli, green peppers) and topped with some nutritional yeast.

I made more blueberry muffins (same as the ones in the last post!)


I used this vegweb recipe (www.vegweb.com) :

Very Simple Blueberry Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup nondairy milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin pan (optional).
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in nondairy milk and oil.
Fold in blueberries. Pour into baking cups and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Makes: about 8 muffins

I generally use water instead of milk and they still come out yummy.

Next I made a couple of breakfast burritos:


Pinto beans, tofu scramble, avocado, salsa, homemade cheezy sauce.

For dinners I also made a huge batch of fried rice and sesame broccoli:


Cashew fried rice with seitan and tofu 'egg', broccoli with sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds.

Since I'm visiting my parents for the holidays but not staying for xmas celebrations, I will be bringing a little gift for their table: pumpkin walnut bread with dried cran-cherries


I got the recipe from here:
http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/11/vegan-pumpkin-walnut-bread/

It's easy, yummy and very pantry friendly too!

And some seitan sandwiches for lunches:

These have seitan seasoned with steak sauce, grilled onion, vegan mayo and dijon horseradish mustard.

Phew!

Off to the Olympic Peninsula tomorrow bright and early, hopefully I will find some decent food!

Mofo 12- BRUNCH!

OMELETS! I make the Vegan Brunch recipe at least 3 times a month, they are so good! I don't find them difficult or time-consuming at all. I throw my potatoes in the oven to roast and start flipping! I even cook the filling usually in the same pan. Here's a cooking action shot!


And here is my BF's finished brekkie plate:

He nearly always wants the same mexi-style omelet. This one has seitan, red peppers, onion, daiya, salsa, sour cream and jalapenos.



For me, omelets mean mushrooms! My BF absolutely HATES mushrooms (heathen!!!!)for some odd reason, so I always make us seperate omelet fillings.
Here's mine, it has mushrooms, onion, kale and since there was only enough Daiya for his omelet, I went with some horseradish dijon mustard...and it was good!!! I also put the last few potatoes inside cause I ate most of them while waiting for my omelet to cook.

Come to mama....mmmm...the carnage!

This stuff is amazing!


Now for coffee and digestion.(Yes I ate brunch at 2 in the afternoon...what?!)