Veggiegirl Health Counseling

Update Complete!

2011-02-08T20:54:00.000-05:00

Veggiegirl.com has been updated and is live!! This blog is moving over there, so be sure update your Google Reader. You can even sign up to receive blog updates by email now! All of the blog archives from this site have moved over too! Please visit and let me know what you think of the revamped site. Also, if you have this blog linked on your website, please change the link, as nothing new will be posted over here.

To pique your interest, here's a picture of a chocolate peanut butter pie that I will be posting in a few days. Yes, those are chocolate covered pretzels on top. It's the perfect Valentine's Day dessert!

And as extra incentive, I will be giving away an autographed copy of Melliser Elliot's The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life next week!

Cookbook Project Week 5: Appetite for Reduction

2011-02-03T10:00:00.004-05:00

The update to Veggiegirl.com is coming along swimmingly, so things will be pretty quiet over there on this blog while I'm working on the new one. I will be sure to let you know when the new blog is in place. In the meantime, back to my cookbook project...

This week's cookbook is Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. This book was just published a few months ago. I really didn't need another cookbook, but the Decemberists made it buy it. Actually, it was getting good reviews and some of the recipes looked really yummy so I bought it. The book is full of nutritional info and the recipes include lots of veggies, especially greens, so it gets a big thumbs up from me. The dishes are really delicious too - they're not what you would expect from "diet food". Just like with other cookbooks in my project, I was able to get two meals from most dishes, so Dennis and I were able to have leftovers for lunch from most of these meals.

My one teeny tiny complaint about the book is that recipes start on right hand pages and continue onto the back of the page. I use a covered recipe stand, which makes flipping pages while I'm cooking difficult. As a designer myself, I know that it's good practice to start something a right hand page, because people look at pages on the right first. But for a cookbook it's not very practical. I love my recipe stand because it keeps my books from getting covered in my dinner and it spares counter space in my tiny kitchen, but I wasn't always able to use it while cooking with this book.

Forty Clove Chickpeas and Broccoli was one of the recipes that made me want to buy this book. This was super duper easy to make and really tasty. I doubled the recipe so I'd have some leftover for lunch the next day because I knew we'd each eat more a "serving" size.

Chickpea Piccata was actually the clincher for me when considering buying this book. It's served with Caulipots (mashed cauliflower and potatoes) and arugula. It was really delicious.

Upside Down Shepherd's Pie is also served with Caulipots, so I made a double batch. This was really nice and warming - the perfect dish for winter!

Isa posted the recipe for this Tempeh Helper on her blog about a year or so ago, so I've made this recipe a few times already and I really love it. The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of broth powder and two cups of water. In the past I've skipped the powder and water and just used liquid broth, but this time I followed the directions and used a powder. I wasn't crazy about the flavor of it, so this dish wasn't as good as it was in the past. It's still a favorite of mine though!

I love tacos, so I really wanted to try Zucchini, Black Bean and Olive Tacos. These had a really nice flavor. The recipe made eight tacos, but they weren't filling, so Dennis and I actually had four each for dinner!

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Color Me Vegan Part 2

2011-01-28T10:00:00.069-05:00

I've made even more recipes from Color Me Vegan! Since I'm an organized, planner-in-advance type person, I'm really enjoying my cookbook project. I know what I'm going to make for dinner when I get home in the evening and I have all of the ingredients waiting in my fridge. These recipes all make several servings, and I've been putting the leftovers in containers right away so that Dennis and I can just grab lunch to take to work in the morning. Some recipes even made enough leftovers that I didn't have to cook dinner every night. (I'm talking about you, Manicotti!) I've also been making sure our breakfasts have been taken care of in advance too. A little bit of planning means less work for me in the long run, and I love it! We're saving money too, since we haven't had to get take out for lunch.

I made Raspberry Lemon Muffins so we would have breakfast for a few days. My friend Jen made these for our brunch potluck a few weeks ago and they were really good. I used gluten-free flour instead of wheat flour, and the muffins came out a little weird, but they were still pretty tasty.

I made Hot Tamale Pie because it was cold and the name called to me. This was really easy and really good!

I really loved the cornbread topping on this. I added extra nutritional yeast to make it cheesy.

I love garlic and I also love greens, so Garlickly Greens with Pasta seemed like a natural choice for me. I actually used more garlic than the recipe called for. I also added cannellini beans for flavor and for some extra protein.

I wasn't sure if I would like Sweet Potato Tacos but I was intrigued, so I made them. And I'm glad I did because I loved them! Since color is the theme of the week, I used blue corn taco shells. I served this dish with spicy rice and beans.

When we ran out of muffins, I made blackberry breakfast bars. And to make it interesting, I used both blackberries and blueberries. This photo looks a little boring, since it's pretty much just a brownish, squarish blob, but these bars were really good! Next time I make these I'm doubling the recipe! There seemed to be an error in the recipe though. The instructions say to bake the bottom layer until the berries are bubbly and then it tells you to add the berries and top layer and bake for 20 more minutes. Hmmm... the berries are supposed to get bubbly before they're cooked? I went with my instincts and didn't cook the berries with the bottom layer, which is what I think you're supposed to do.

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Cookbook Project Week 4: Color Me Vegan

2011-01-26T10:00:00.040-05:00

This week's cookbook is Color Me Vegan by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. I think the color theme is a really great idea since a vegetable's color comes from it's nutrients. The recipes in the book are divided by color and there's a multicolor chapter in the back. I like the clean page layout and the interesting facts that are sprinkled throughout the book. I've made so many dishes from Color Me Vegan that I've decided to split the blog post up into two parts.

I started out with Cashew Cheese. I don't think I let it cook long enough to thicken, because it was pretty thin. It was still really tasty.

I made the Cashew Cheese, because I wanted to make Swiss Chard Pie, and the recipe called for it. This pie is actually more of a frittata, and it was really really good. This would be a perfect dish for a brunch.

And since the theme of the week is color, I made roasted butternut squash to serve with the Swiss Chard Pie. Look at that gorgeous orange!

There was a lot of leftover cheese sauce, so I poured it over some roasted broccoli. This was really good and reminded me of the broccoli in cheese sauce I loved when I was little. That was a powdered cheese sauce mix poured over frozen broccoli, while this is fresh broccoli with cashew cheese, so this is much, much healthier!

I wanted to make stuffed shells, but I couldn't find large pasta shells anywhere. I could find manicotti, however, and since stuffed shells and manicotti are basically the same thing, I bought them instead. This recipe makes enough filling to feed a small village manicotti and/or stuffed shells for a week. I spent what felt like hours standing in the kitchen stuffing those little pasta tubes. The next time I make this I'm definitely cutting the recipe in half.

I sprinkled the manicotti with Daiya Cheese and served it with the broccoli. It was amazing! Since I had enough leftovers to last several days, the prep work was worth it.

There will be more Color Me Vegan food photos coming soon!

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Update on the Update

2011-01-24T10:00:00.004-05:00

So I had given myself the deadline of the end of January to have Veggiegirl.com updated, but since that's just a week away, I don't think it's going to happen. The update is still in the works, it's just moving slower than I would have liked. Things like cooking dinner, doing laundry and obsessively watching Mad Men dvds from Netflix have gotten in the way. Plus Dennis and I are doing all of the work ourselves and we don't know quite what we're doing. I'm now hoping the website will be done by the middle of February. Should I give myself Valentine's Day as my goal date?

And on the cookbook front, Color Me Vegan will be this week's book of choice! I may have ordered a couple new cookbooks too. Believe it not, they were added to my Amazon cart for the free shipping. See, I was ordering the new Decemberists CD, and and I needed to buy something else to get free shipping, so I decided to get Appetite for Reduction, since I've been hearing so many good things about it. And that still didn't bring me up to the requisite $25! After looking around, I decided to also get Vegan on the Cheap. So I blame the Decemberists for stuffing my already full bookcase with even more cookbooks. It all made sense at the time. And if you're wondering why I still buy CDs instead of downloading from iTunes, there are two reasons: I like having something physical after spending money - $10 for files on my computer doesn't do it for me; and that "buy album" button on iTunes can be dangerous - I've been over zealous with it in the past, resulting in minor freakouts when the receipt lands in my inbox days later.

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Quick Fix Vegetarian

2011-01-21T10:00:00.010-05:00

Operation Cook Book is in full swing! This week I cooked several dishes from Robin Robertson's Quick Fix Vegetarian. What I really like about this book is that it's full of creative flavorful recipes that all take half an hour or less to make - proof that quick vegan dishes don't have to be bland or boring. Despite the name, the dishes are all egg and dairy free. I also like the clean page layout of one recipe per page. I really hate when recipes run into each other on a page! My one complaint is that I think the dishes don't have enough veggies. That's a simple fix though - just add more veggies!

Polenta and Pinto Bean Pie. This recipe is super easy to make and really tasty. It's basically pre-cooked polenta, a jar of salsa mixed with a can of pinto beans, tortilla chips and cheese, all baked together. I added sautéed peppers and onions to mix.

Spicy Coconut Rice Noodles with Tofu and Cilantro. I added red peppers and snow peas to this dish to make it a complete meal. Yum!

Tempeh with Coconut Peanut Sauce. By now, I think my love of peanut sauce is well known, and because of it, this was my favorite dish that I made from Quick Fix Vegetarian. I made a peanuty kale dish from this month's issue of Vegetarian Times to go with it. When Dennis had the leftovers for lunch the next day, a few coworkers followed their noses to his office and asked what the amazing smell was!

Stir-Fried Tofu and Vegetable Teriyaki. I loooove teriyaki sauce, and this dish was quite delicious.

Udon Noodles with Bok Choy and Creamy Tahini Sauce. This recipe called for baby bok choy, which I couldn't find, so I used the regular sized variety. I added red peppers and shittake mushrooms for some color and because I wanted a few more veggies in the dish. The tahini sauce was so good that I'm sure I'll be using it again on other dishes!

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Whole Foods Vegan Mousse Parfaits

2011-01-19T10:00:00.014-05:00

Not that I really need to eat dessert, but while at Whole Foods a few days ago, I found myself standing in front of the dessert case looking for more Candle Cafe mini tarts. To my disappointment, there were none to be found, but I was quite surprised to find vegan mousse parfaits in about 5 or 6 different flavors. Of course, I had to try one! I got a chocolate parfait and Dennis got a raspberry one. They were quiet tasty and the chocolate one was so rich that I couldn't finish it!

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Three Sisters and Curly's Vegetarian Lunch

2011-01-17T09:30:00.000-05:00

Dennis is difficult to shop for, so I usually buy theater tickets for his birthday. This year, I bought tickets for Three Sisters at the Classic Stage Company. It's a really great theater because it's small and there is no stage - the play takes place in the center of the floor and the audience sits in seats along the walls. We had front row seats, so we felt like we right in the action. And Peter Sarsgaard whacked me in the knees with his coat!

After the play, we went to Curly's Vegetarian Lunch, which is two blocks away from the theater. Years ago we used to frequent Veg City Diner on 14th Street and 6th Avenue, but sadly it's now gone. Curly's is owned by the same people and has similar diner food items on their menu, but it's much, much smaller that Veg City Diner. I counted the tables, and I seems like the restaurant seats 20! We've only eaten there once before - about 5 years ago when it first opened. I'm not sure if the food has changed, or if my taste buds have, but I will admit that it wasn't as good as I remember. I'm not saying it's bad, but I couldn't help but compare it to Red Bamboo, which has similar food that's much tastier. I would eat there again though!

We started with buffalo wings.

I wanted to faux tuna melt, but they were out of the faux tuna, so the waitress recommended this sandwich. I'm not even sure what it was called! It had baked tofu, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes and Daiya cheese. And I had curly fries on the side!

Dennis had a Philly cheesesteak and curly fries.

Curly's has Vegan Treats cakes, and I just couldn't pass up a slice of Peanut Butter Bomb cake. I could only eat half and had to get the rest wrapped up to go.

Dennis had a slice of coconut lime cake.

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Vegan Brunch

2011-01-14T09:45:00.000-05:00

I mentioned last week that I want to pick a cookbook each week and try three recipes from it. Well, I've had a head start on my goal! Not only did try three recipes from Party Vegan, I also made a few things from Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. I love this book and have made many delicious things from it in the past.

It was cold out, and I was craving hot tea and warm muffins, so I flipped through Vegan Brunch to see if there were any recipes that I could make with the ingredients on hand. Coffee Chip Muffins seemed to fit the bill! I swapped out the wheat flour for spelt flour. They were super quick and easy to make, and they were absolutely delicious!! These muffins totally hit the spot!

And because those muffins were so good, I also made Zucchini Spelt muffins. The recipe calls for 2 cups of shredded zucchini, but once I had my zucchini all shredded, I had three cups. I made a batch and a half and made 12 mini muffins as well as 12 regular sized muffins.

I made a Puttanesca Scramble for dinner (or should I say brinner?) a few days ago. I added nutritional yeast and a little Daiya mozzarella to it because I was in the mood for something cheesy. This was a really good twist on the tofu scramble. The olives and tomatoes gave this dish so much flavor.

I also made Potato Spinach Squares. Potatoes and spinach go so well together! This is the same recipe I made for the brunch potluck on Sunday.

The scramble and squares were perfect together. I had meant to make this meal for Dennis's birthday brunch, but it didn't happen. I'm glad I was finally able to make it, because it was delicious!

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Candle Cafe Mini Tarts

2011-01-13T10:00:00.005-05:00

Apparently I missed the email that said Whole Foods was going to be carrying Candle Cafe desserts, so I jumped up and down with joy and surprise when I found these little tartlets a few days ago. I was so excited that I bought one of each flavor. And no, I did not run home and gorge myself on sweets. Dennis and I slowly ate our way through these over the course of a few days. I found that half a tart was a decent sized portion, and only eating half meant I had some leftover the next day!

Dennis loves fruity desserts so this raspberry linzer tart was perfect for him. He loved it!

I'm more of a chocoholic, so I went straight for the chocolate mousse tart. This was incredibly rich and creamy. Amazing!

We split this chocolate peanut butter tart. Who doesn't love peanut butter and chocolate together? Yummy!

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Party Vegan

2011-01-12T10:00:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned last week, Dennis gave me Vegan Party by Robin Robertson for Christmas. And as I also mentioned last week, I'm going to try to make three recipes a week from a different cookbook every week. Last week I made a few things from Vegan Party:

First I made Confetti Corn Muffins. I didn't need to wait for a party to make these! I made them just because I was in the mood for a muffin. They have chili peppers, bell pepper and corn in them, which is what makes them "confetti" muffins. They were really tasty!

I had friends over and made Chickpea Artichoke Bites with Rosemary Aioli. These were a HUGE hit. They didn't last very long!

I also made Potato Skins for my friends. These went even faster than the Chickpea Bites! I mixed together Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream with chives, onion powder and garlic powder and served it with the Potato Skins. Can you say "Yummy"?

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Brunch Potluck

2011-01-11T10:00:00.001-05:00

On Sunday, Montclair Vegans had a brunch potluck at my friend Rachel's house. Brunch potlucks are a lot of fun because people get really creative with the food they cook. And everyone's food was always really amazing! A few people came in after I took pictures, so I don't even have a record of just how much food there was! This was a meal of epic proportions.

I made potato spinach squares. There weren't any left at the end of the day! The recipe is from Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

Jessica made tofu scramble.

Rachel made build your own tofu rancherous fixin's.

Caren made mini pumpkin muffins.

Eileen also made tofu scramble.

Lori made a 7 layer dip.

Amanda made muffins.

Beth made potato and veggie sausage hash.

Stephanie made tofu another scramble.

Jenna made crepes.

Jen C made carrot cake pancakes.

Karen made tofu scramble with greens and sweet potatoes.

Jen G made mini muffins.

Deana made polenta frittata.

Venkat made a bean dish.

Irina made roasted squash.

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It's Not Too Late!

2011-01-10T10:00:00.001-05:00

It's not too late to sign up for my New Year's Resolution Group Program! The program starts this Wednesday, so contact me today to sign up and ensure your spot.

In this program you will learn how to develop a new relationship with food and your body for the rest of your life. I will support you while you work through emotional blocks in your personal relationship with food, as well as provide you with practical tips to optimize your health. You will benefit from the group setting by getting extra support from other members.

In This Program You Will:

• Set and accomplish goals

• Understand and reduce cravings

• Increase energy

• Feel better in your body

• Learn how to effectively deal with stress

• Improve your overall well being

The Program Includes:

• One 90-minute session every other week for six months (12 sessions in total)

• A one-on-one health consultation with me

• Handouts that cover the meeting’s topics

• On-line group support

• Email support with Dianne between sessions

The group will meet every other Wednesday evening, beginning January 12, from 7:00 to 8:30. The group will meet in my home in Montclair, NJ. The address will be sent to you after enrollment.

The cost of this group program is just $600! That's just $50 a session! (Individual programs can cost as much as $200 a session, so this is great deal!) Contact me today to sign up!

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Vegan Celebrations

2011-01-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

For Christmas, my friend Vanessa bought me Vegan Celebrations by Alicia C Simpson. The book is has sections with different occasions and menus for each. Some are appetizers, some are desserts, some are full meals. The recipes looked so good that I didn't want to wait for a special occasion to start making them. I went through and marked off the dishes that appealed to me the most, went shopping for ingredients and started cooking!

Tempeh Cakes with Spicy Remoulade. I think this is technically an appetizer, but I made it as a dinner dish with quinoa and kale. These were soooo good!

Huevos Rancheros. Every once in a while Dennis tells me how good the huevos rancheros he had at the now defunct VegCity Diner in NYC years ago were, so when I saw this recipe in the book, I knew I had to make it for him. He loved it!

Rosemary Chive Biscuits. I used spelt flour instead of of wheat and, and I also made drop biscuits instead of rolling them out, which the recipe suggests. They were delicious.

Broccoli Frittata. The frittatas I've made in the past use firm tofu, but this one uses silken, which gives it a more delicate texture.

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A Very Foodie Christmas

2011-01-06T10:00:00.063-05:00

My friends and family all know that I love to spend time in the kitchen, so I received a lot of really nice foodie-type gifts for Christmas. Here they are:

These are the gifts I received from my coworkers. Vanessa gave me Vegan Celebrations and a nice snack dish. Liz gave me a cute tea towel and a cake plate. Kelly gave me the newest David Sedaris book, which has nothing to do with food, but it's something I really wanted!

I'm not sure who had me in the Secret Santa gift exchange at work, but whoever it was, he or she knows that I like to cook! I got a nice oil and vinegar set.

Dennis got me a much-desired TofuXpress! I've wanted one of these for a while. I can see why so many people love them! It presses the water out of tofu in record time. I've used it for tofu several times already, and I've also used it to squeeze water out of thawed frozen spinach.

Dennis also bought me a nice shiny new food processor!! This will see lots of use in the very near future! Our previous food processor was very, very old and leaked when the contents where really wet.

Dennis also gave me Quick Fix Vegetarian and Party Vegan, both by Robin Robertson. As you can see, I immediately started marking the pages of things I want to make.

My friend Jessica gave me Clean Start by Terry Walters. I'm excited about cooking from this because I loved her first book Clean Food.

My friend Irina gave me this super cool clock! I love it! Of course, it has absolutely nothing to do with food, but I hung it in my kitchen, so I'm including it the "foodie" gift category.

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Feeling Crafty

2011-01-05T10:00:00.001-05:00

In addition to cooking and baking a lot, I like to make things. My friends like to call me The Vegan Martha Stewart, but I like to call Martha Stewart the omnivorous Veggiegirl. I tend to totally immerse myself in a new craft, buy lots of supplies, and then get completely bored of it and throw everything in my office closet. In November I cleaned out that closet (it took half a day!) and found remnants of past crafts. Among other things, there were pounds of paper, tons of tiles, yards of ribbon, skeins of yarn, and loads of unfinished wooden pieces to craft onto.

I'm not a big fan of Christmas shopping at the mall, and I don't really like buying people useless presents that they'll cram into the back of a closet and forget about. But I do like thoughtful, homemade gifts. So I spread all of my supplies out, assessed the situation, and decided it was time to start making Christmas gifts. I went through everything and decided what to make and whom to give it to. I mainly made mosaics, but I also threw a few paper-crafted items in to the mix for a little variety. I was able to make most of the presents I gave this year, and I didn't spend much money! Now that everyone has received their gifts, I can show you what I made.

A few years ago I made mosaic trays for our parents. This year I decided to make them matching mirrors. This is the mirror I made for Dennis's mom and step-dad.

Here's the mirror I made for my dad and step-mother.

I made this mirror for my Aunt Cathy.

I made this frame for my friend Elizabeth. A few years ago I made her a little trinket box, and this matches it.

I made this frame as a "just in case" present, and decided to keep it for myself!

A tray I made for my friend Jessica.

Another tray I made for my friend Irina. This is the first time I made a mosaic with little marbly-pebbly things, and I think it worked well. I want to make one of these for myself now!

Trinket box for my friend Jill.

I made two of these paper-crafted frames with photos of us in our Halloween costumes and gave them to my dad and Dennis's mom.

I made this paper-crafted frame for Dennis. Apparently I started to work on it years ago and threw it into the closet. Finishing it wasn't difficult and didn't take much time. This is a picture of us eating at Veggie Heaven, so I used part of their menu and added replica Chinese coins.

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Need Help with Your New Year's Resolution?

2011-01-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

Did you over indulge this holiday season? Is your New Year's resolution to lose weight? Eat healthier? Manage stress? Treat yourself better? Did you know that resolutions usually die out before Valentine's Day? I can give you the support you need to stick with your resolution all year long! I have both group and individual programs, so you can choose the one that's best for you.

New Year's Resolution 12 Month Group Program – $600
This is a group version of the Six Month Comprehensive Program. This program integrates nutrition and self care to make sure both body and soul are nourished. In this program you will set goals for the new year and receive both personal and group support to help you achieve them.

• Twelve 90-Minute Sessions – $50 per session
• Sessions take place every two weeks, beginning Wednesday, January 12th
• Program includes: group online support between sessions, individual email support between sessions and handouts.

Six Month Comprehensive Individual Program – $900
This is a life changing program that integrates nutrition and self care to ensure that body, mind are spirit are all nourished. In this program you will set and accomplish goals, explore new foods, understand and reduce your cravings, increase your energy, feel better in your body, learn to reduce stress, improve personal relationships and more.

• Twelve 45-Minute Sessions – $75 per session
• Sessions take place every two weeks
• Program includes: notes emailed after each session, email support between each session, handouts and food or personal care samples.

Three Month Condensed Individual Program – $510
This program covers nutrition and food. In this program you discover which foods are right for you, understand and reduce your cravings, increase your energy and feel better in your body.

• Six 45-Minute Sessions – $85 per session
• Sessions take place every two weeks
• Program includes: notes emailed after each session, email support between each session, handouts and food samples.

One Month Tune Up Individual – $200
This program is for people who are already healthy but want to make sure they are taking optimum care of themselves. The program will include detailed recommendations based on the topics you want to discuss.

• Two 45-Minute Sessions – $100 per session
• Sessions take place every two weeks.
• Program includes: notes emailed after each session, email support between each session, handouts and food or personal care samples.

Group program takes place in Montclair, NJ. Individual programs take place either in person in Montclair, NJ or over the phone, depending on your location and schedule.
Prices reflect January discount and are good through January 31, 2011.

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New Year's Eve Munchie Potluck

2011-01-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

I had a few friends over for New Year's Eve, and we made it a mini potluck. Everyone made snack foods, and everything was absolutely delicious!

I made chickpea artichoke bites and stuffed potato skins. Both recipes are from Party Vegan and both were a huge hit!

Rachel made the most delicious mini quiches with Bacon Cheezly.

Jen C and Prairie made tasty quesadillas.

Rachel also made mocha chip oatmeal cookies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.

Jen G made yummy fresh guacamole.

Vann and Joyce made black bean dip. It was so good that it was dipped into before I could take a picture of it!

I hope your New Year's Eve was just as tasty as mine!

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Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T12:47:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year, everyone! I started 2011 out with a broccoli frittata and rosemary chive biscuits, both from Vegan Celebrations. The recipes were in the Mother's Day section, but They seemed like good New Year's food to me.

Instead of making a resolution, I've set a few goals for myself this year. My website, VeggieGirl.com hasn't been updated in quite a while, so I'm going to completely revamp it, and move this blog over there. I will also be combining VeggieGirl with my health counseling website. Being an organized person, I'm looking forward to having all of my websites in one place.

I'm also planning on hitting the books more this year. My cookbooks that is! I have about 65 cookbooks, and I don't use all of them. When a new book comes out, I HAVE to have it. So I get it, flip through it and put it on the bookcase with the rest of my collection. So what I'd like to do this year is pick a book each week and make three things from it. I think three is a good number because that still allows me days to make recipes I've seen in magazines as well as a day or two to eat out.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2011!

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Kung Pao Veggies and Tofu

2010-12-31T10:00:00.056-05:00

I made this recipe from Andrew Weil a few months ago. I really liked it, but I forgot about it somehow. I was looking through my food photos on Facebook a few days ago and saw the picture I took of it. I was reminded of how delicious it was, so I ran into the kitchen to make it again. I changed the recipe to suit the contents of my fridge. If you don't have all of the ingredients, you can adjust accordingly.

Kung Pao Vegetables and Tofu

Ingredients:

1 container of tofu, drained and cut into small pieces

1 bunch of broccoli, cut into small pieces

1 cup red onion, chopped

1 cup crimini mushrooms, chopped

1 cup unsalted peanuts

4 tablespoons peanut oil

1 teaspoon garlic chili paste

Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine)

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions:

Stir the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

Cook the tofu pieces in two tablespoons of peanut oil on high heat. Flip occasionally and cook until they are golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside.

In the same pan, heat the remaining oil and add the onions. Cook for about 5 minutes, until they are translucent. Add the broccoli, mushrooms and peanuts and cook for a few more minutes. Then add the garlic chili paste, tofu and sauce. Stir continuously until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Serve with brown rice or rice noodles.

This dish is so delicious that you will completely forget how good for you it is. Broccoli, mushrooms and onions all contain powerful anti-cancer properties. Tofu is known to fight high cholesterol and heart disease, and peanuts are known to prevent hypertension.

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Snowday Stew

2010-12-30T09:45:00.000-05:00

In case you didn't hear the news, had a big snowstorm here on the east coast Sunday into Monday. We had lots of food in the house, so I wasn't one of those crazy people who ran out to the store to buy soy milk and bread. I didn't have any plans for meals though, so I took inventory of the fridge and decided to make eggplant and peanut stew. Like I said yesterday, I'm a huge fan of spicy peanut sauce, so I've made this dish a few times since my original post. I didn't have all of the ingredients called for in the recipe, so I improvised. Never be afraid to improvise if you don't have all of the ingredients a recipe calls for. It's pretty impossible to "break" something like this. Here's what I did:

Eggplant Peanut Stew
Ingredients:
2 tablespoon peanut oil
1 cup red onion, diced

Small piece of fresh ginger, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 large eggplant, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 bag frozen okra
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup coconut oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
sea salt
cayenne pepper
red pepper flakes
dried basil

Directions:
In a large pot over medium heat, saute the onions, garlic and ginger in 1 tablespoon of peanut oil for a few minutes, until the onion turns translucent. Add the eggplant and tomatoes and cook for about 5 more minutes. While that's cooking fry the okra on high in the other tablespoon of oil until the okra slime dissipates. Add the okra to the pot along with the broth, coconut milk, peanut butter and maple syrup. Add a pinch of salt, a little basil and the cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Let simmer for about 15 minutes, until the eggplant is soft. Enjoy!

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Pad Thai

2010-12-29T10:00:00.002-05:00

Pad Thai is a favorite of mine. You could really cover just about anything with spicy peanut sauce and I would gobble it down, but the mixed veggies and rice noodles in this dish are what make it really delicious.

First I cubed a block of drained tofu, and I cooked it in a little peanut oil, soy sauce and rice wine vinegar until it was crispy on all sides. I removed it from the pan and set it aside. Then I added a little more peanut oil to the pan and sautéed shittake mushrooms, broccoli, a chopped bell pepper and snow peas. I added some dried spicy Thai peppers mainly to add a little flavor to the vegetables - they're too hot to eat! After they veggies were tender, I added chopped bok choy and returned the tofu to the pan and let it all cook together for another minute or two. I then added peanut sauce and mung bean sprouts and stirred everything together until it was heated throughout. I served the dish over rice noodles and topped it with chopped peanuts and scallions.

This dish is so versatile that you can use any veggies you like. The spicy peanut sauce will work with just about any vegetable, and it has such a great flavor that you don't need to use anything else to season the veggies.

Spicy Peanut Sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 cup natural smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons tamari sauce or Braggs Liquid Aminos
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil or peanut oil
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (less if you're sensitive to spicy foods, more if you like your food really spicy)
1 cup coconut milk

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in a food processor or blender. Easy peasy!

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Dinner in Denville

2010-12-28T10:00:00.001-05:00

For Dennis's birthday last week, we went to Veggie Heaven in Denville. Yes, there is a Veggie Heaven two miles from us, but dinner at Veggie Heaven has been a birthday tradition since before the Montclair restaurant opened. And the Denville location has different items on the menu, so it was nice to try some new dishes. The people there are really sweet, and they know that we always eat there for Dennis's birthday, so they had a gift waiting for him. We loved our dinner, and as we left, we made a vow to eat there more often.

Japanese pan fried dumplings.

Crispy chicken wraps with spicy sauce

Roast pork spring rolls and drumsticks

Gold cup chicken

Empire veggie chicken steak

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New Year's Resolution Group Program

2010-12-27T10:00:00.088-05:00

Is your New Year's resolution to lose weight? Eat healthier? Take better care of yourself? Did you know that New Year's resolutions tend to last just a few weeks? Sometimes all we need is a little assistance to keep us on track. My New Year's Resolution Group Program will give you the support you need to keep your resolution going all year long!

In This Program You Will:

• Set and accomplish goals

• Understand and reduce cravings

• Increase energy

• Feel better in your body

• Learn how to effectively deal with stress

• Improve your overall well being

The Program Includes:

• One 90-minute session every other week for six months (12 sessions in total)

• A one-on-one health consultation with me

• Handouts that cover the meeting’s topics

• On-line group support

• Email support with Dianne between sessions

The group will meet every other Wednesday evening, beginning January 12, from 7:00 to 8:30. The group will meet in my home in Montclair, NJ. The address will be sent to you after enrollment.

The cost of this group program is just $600! That's just $50 a session! (Individual programs can cost as much as $200 a session, so this is great deal!) Contact me today to sign up!

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A Very Vegan Christmas

2010-12-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

This year for Christmas, we had our friends Jen, Rachel and Brett over for a mini potluck. I love having potluck style holidays because it takes the pressure off of one person having to make lots of food, and we get to try things we might not normally make for our selves. It was a wonderful day, full of good food, amazing friends, great conversation and delicious food!

Dennis and I started out the day with a super yummy zucchini mushroom frittata.

Before our guests arrived, I popped a fire onto the tellie...

and set the table.

For pre-dinner snacking, I made spinach artichoke dip. I found this recipe simply by Googling "vegan spinach artichoke dip". I was quite pleased with the results - this dip is delicious!

We also had some gluten-free pretzel sticks and a veggie mix. Isn't the dish cute? My friend Vanessa gave it to me for Christmas.

Field Roast en cruet, cranberry sauce and Tofurky gravy

Maple roasted brussels sprouts with slivered almonds

Roasted green beans and carrots

Stuffed portobello mushrooms

Purple and white potatoes

Asparagus with hollandaise sauce

My very full plate!

I made a key lime cheesecake for dessert. Key lime is one of Dennis's favorite things, so this was mainly made as a birthday cake for him. The strawberry sauce got messy, but it was delicious! The cake plate was a Christmas gift from my friend Liz.

My dessert plate! We also had Clementines with chocolate sauce and lemon cookies, courtesy of Veggie Heaven.

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Birthday Brunch

2010-12-24T11:23:00.000-05:00

Today is Dennis's birthday! I know what you're thinking, and yes, it does suck to be born on Christmas Eve. It also kind of sucks to the partner of someone born on Christmas Eve, because people born on Christmas Eve tend to hate both their birthday and Christmas. Dennis and I have created our own birthday and Christmas traditions, and he has slightly warmed to both occasions. For his birthday, I always make a big brunchy breakfast, we go to the movies, and then we have dinner at Veggie Heaven. The people at Veggie Heaven have grown accustomed to our tradition, and they usually have a gift waiting for him when we arrive.

This year my plan was to make Puttanesca Scramble and Potato Spinach Squares from Vegan Brunch. I woke up early to start cooking so that breakfast would be ready when he got up. I starting prepping ingredients and was ready to start cooking when I realized that we didn't have any potatoes. No potatoes! And I really didn't feel like running out to the store with bedhead in my pajamas to get some. What to do, what to do? I ended up making the puttanesca tofu scramble anyway, and I dumbed the frozen spinach that I had defrosted for the squares into it. I also added some nutritional yeast and a little lemon juice, and I melted a little Daiya over the top of it all when I was done. Dennis said the smell of the food woke him up. He had no idea what I had planned for breakfast, so he wasn't disappointed that it wasn't what I had planned. He really, really liked it, and when I told him about the mess-up, he said my mess-ups are always delicious.

And speaking of mess-ups, instead of making a cake, I decided to make Dennis birthday cookies. My friend Deana brought cookies that I knew would be perfect for Dennis to my cookie swap so I asked her for the recipe. I either used the wrong shortening or let the cookies sit out too long before putting them in the oven (or both), because they came out as a big flat mess. I was able to salvage a few bits that resembled cookies from the disaster, and miraculously, they tasted really good.

So the moral of today's story is that even when you mess up a dish or don't have the correct ingredients, just use what you have and make something anyway. Don't be afraid to get into the kitchen and experiment!

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Happy Holidays!

2010-12-24T10:56:00.000-05:00

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Tostada Potato

2010-12-23T10:00:00.035-05:00

I would like to use Christmas as my excuse for not posting very often this week, but I like to do things in advance, so my Christmas chores have all been done for well over a week. The truth is that I've been depressed about the loss of my sweet little Schroeder and I haven't been cooking very much. We've been getting lots of takeout and watching too much tv. (I'll let you in on a little secret here - being a person who does things in advance, I do a lot of my blog posting ahead of time, so the posts about the cookie swap, tempeh piccata and curry were all done last weekend before Schroeder passed away.) But someone said something about baked potatoes on a show we were watched a few days ago, and Dennis and I immediately started craving potatoes. There's just something so warm and comforting about them. It was time to go into the kitchen and cook something.

Of course, I couldn't make just a plain ol' baked potato. I had to load it with stuff. Once I was done cooking it, I realized it was a tostada of sorts, but on a potato instead of a tortilla. A potada, if you will. First the potatoes were baked. While it was baking, I chopped red and green bell peppers, mushrooms and onions and sautéed them until everything was soft. Once the potatoes were baked, I cut them open and put a little Earth Balance on them. I topped them with the veggie mixture and Daiya cheese, and put them in the oven to let the cheese melt. I then topped dolloped on vegan sour cream and diced avocado. This was amazingly delicious, warm and comforting and it was very, very filling. I couldn't finish the whole thing!

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Quick Curry

2010-12-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

Curry is perfect winter weather food. It's warming and hearty and easy to make. This is from the 101 Cookbooks recipe that I make everyone once in a while. The recipe calls for cauliflower, but strangely Whole Foods didn't have any when I went shopping, so I substituted broccoli. the really great thing about recipes like this is that you can swap out ingredients and not have to worry about "breaking" the dish. I also swapped out the curry powder for curry paste. Here's what I did:

Ingredients:
1 cup whole coconut milk
2 teaspoons red curry paste (use more or less to taste)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 large red onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup vegetable broth
1/2 block of tofu, drained and diced
1 cup green beans, cut into 1 or 2-inch segments
1 bunch broccoli, cut into tiny florets
1/2 cup cashews
1 tablespoon peanut oil

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large sauce pan, and cook the onion until it's soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes. Add the tofu, green beans, broccoli and cashews and cook for a few minutes, until broccoli turns bright green. Add the coconut milk, curry paste and vegetable broth and stir until the curry paste is thoroughly mixed in. Let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve with brown rice.

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Tempeh Piccata

2010-12-16T10:00:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, my friend Jenna was talking about the chickpea cutlets piccata that she had made, and I realized that I have never had anything piccata. So it was time to piccata something! Instead of chickpea cutlets, I opted to make tempeh. I Googled "tempeh piccata" and the first thing that came up was a recipe from Vegetarian Times, so I used it. It was easy to make and extremely delicious. It left me wondering "how have I lived without piccata for so long?" I served it with quinoa and kale to make the meal super delicious and nutritious.

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Holiday Cookie Swap

2010-12-15T10:00:00.007-05:00

On Sunday I had a holiday cookie swap with Montclair Vegans. Sarah Gross joined us and brought lots of Rescue Chocolate for us to purchase for Christmas gifts. It was so much fun!!

I made candy cane chocolate chip cookies from The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur.

Elsa made gingerbread cookies with white chocolate.

Christine made mocha chip oatmeal cookies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.

Emily is new the group and decided to join us an hour before the cookie swap, so she stopped at Whole Foods and picked up some Uncle Eddies cookies.

Jenna made delicious chocolate chip sunflower seed cookies.

Deana made sesame seed thumbprint cookies. These are perfect "Dennis cookies".

Jen C and Prairie made maple sandwich cookies.

Lori just moved in to her apartment and her kitchen isn't set up yet, so she picked cookies up at Whole Foods.

Jen G made chocolate raspberry cookies.

Amanda made two kinds of macaroons.

Sarah brought lots of Rescue Chocolate!

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Goodbye Schroeder

2010-12-14T11:24:00.000-05:00

I spoke too soon yesterday when I said my little Schroeder was doing pretty well. He took a turn for the worse and we had to say goodbye to him this morning. Schroeder had been with me since he was just two months old and we had a really special bond. He loved belly rubs more than any other cat I've know, he gave kisses and nuzzles on demand and he was an excellent snuggler. He was the best cat ever and he will always be greatly missed. Thank you to everyone who has been sending well wishes and kind thoughts. It's greatly appreciated.

As a tiny two pound kitten, Schroeder loved sitting on top of this scratching post.

Schroeder with his best friend Lucy

Schroeder and Lucy at Christmas time in their favorite spots on the sofa

Schroeder and baby Archie

Schroeder keeping a safe distance from kittens Archie and Clementine

Schroeder and I in 2008

Happy Birthday Schroeder!

2010-12-13T07:45:00.000-05:00

Today I'm going to break from my regular talk about food and nutrition to talk about my other love: cats. I have three cats right now - Archie, Clementine and Schroeder. Archie and Clementine are twins and are still babies at a year and half years old. Schroeder is 13, and today is his birthday! Actually, I'm not really sure when his birthday is, but I adopted him on February 13th 1998, and they told me he was 8 weeks, old, so I've always considered December 13th to be his birthday.

I adopted Schroeder to keep my cat Lucy company, because she had just lost her brother Linus, who died of a rare cancer called hemangiocarcoma. Lucy seemed lost without her brother, and she needed a companion. She was not at all happy with me when I brought tiny Schroeder home, and she even smacked him around a little bit, but she soon warmed to him and the two were inseparable for 11 years.

A few weeks after Linus passed away, his foster mom called me and said that there were two litters of kittens at the shelter where she volunteered. She told me to go take a look at them to see if I wanted one. If I did, I could take it home or ask them to hold it for me. If I didn't want one of them, she told me to tell them what kind of kitten I wanted, and they'd let me know when one arrived. I really didn't expect to go home with a kitten that day, but I went to take a look at them. Each litter had four kittens, and one of the litters was really feral and wasn't ready to be adopted. The other litter was very cute and playful and ready to find homes. I took each one of their carrier and held them many times. Each time I took out the tiny orange tabby, he put his head on my shoulder and went to sleep. A shelter volunteer said "I think that one just chose you," and I knew I had to take him home with right then. He was was the teeny tiniest little fluff ball when I adopted him, and at just 2 pounds he was runt of his litter. I originally called him Peanut because he was so small, but then changed his name to Schroeder, because in Peanuts, Lucy loves Schroeder, and I wanted my Lucy to love my Schroeder too.

Schroeder's has been the sweetest little snugglebug since kittenhood. He's always been really sweet and easy going, and he never minded when Lucy would give him a knock on the head - he would just scamper off the other way. As a kitten, he loved lap sitting, and would often climb my legs while I was standing, because he didn't understand that laps went away when people stood. He's always loved legs too, and usually sleeps on mine, no matter where I am. Schroeder and I have a special bond, and he always knows when I'm feeling blue and in need of a snuggle.

Schroeder's had a rough two years, but he's a strong little kitty. Sadly, in January 2009 Lucy passed away. It was obvious that Schroeder missed her and was in need of company, but I wasn't ready to bring another cat home yet. In July of 2009 we found a large lump on his paw, which turned out to be a cancer of the cartilage. His leg had to be removed in order to keep the cancer from from spreading. Shortly after his surgery, we adopted Archie and Clementine to keep him company. He gets cranky around them and sometimes growls, but he also often snuggles with them and grooms them, so I know he's happy to have the company. Sadly, Schroeder was diagnosed with cancer again last month. He has hemangioscarcoma, the same rare cancer that Linus had. The prognosis is not known, because this disease is rarely seen in cats. He started chemotherapy a few weeks ago and is doing pretty well. He's definitely more tired and has less energy than usual, but he's keeping his appetite up and still rolling over for belly rubs. On Saturday we momentarily lost him somewhere in the house, only to find him hanging out on Dennis's dresser. There are so many people out in cyber space who have been wishing Schroeder well, and I want to thank everyone, because I truly appreciate it. And a special thank you to team Honey Bear from The Distance Healing Network who have been sending Reiki to Schroeder.

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Spinach Mushroom Lasagna

2010-12-08T10:00:00.001-05:00

I've had a hankering for lasagna for a few weeks now, so I finally headed into the kitchen and set about making one. I had a few recipes, but in the end, I just threw a bunch of stuff together and did my own thing. The ricotta recipe is based on the cashew ricotta recipe in Veganomicon.

Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

1 package of no-cook lasagna noodles (I used rice pasta)

28 ounce can of tomato sauce (or you can make your own, of course)

5 ounce container of spinach

10 ounce package of mushrooms, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

14 ounce package of firm tofu

1/2 cup raw cashews

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons vegetable broth

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup Daiya cheese (or more, to your liking)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Sauté the spinach in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Set aside.

In a food processor, blend together the cashews, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, broth and nutritional yeast. Crumble the tofu and add it to the food processor. Blend until the mixture is thick and looks like ricotta cheese. Add more vegetable broth if the mixture is too thick. Add the cooked spinach and pulse until it's mixed in.

Sauté the onion in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil until translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook until they're soft.

Spoon a quarter of the tomato sauce over the bottom of a casserole dish. Layer a third of the noodles over the sauce. Spoon another quarter of the tomato sauce over the noodles, followed by half the ricotta and half of the mushrooms. Cover with a third of the noodles. Then spread another quarter of the tomato sauce over the noodles, followed by the rest of the ricotta and mushrooms. Cover with the rest of the noodles and spread the rest of the sauce over the top. Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle the Daiya cheese over the top. Bake for another 15 minutes. Enjoy! This tastes even better reheated the next day!

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Breakfast Sandwich

2010-12-07T10:00:00.001-05:00

Okay, as a holistic health counselor I'm going to tell you that this isn't really the ideal meal to start your day out with. It's full of processed foods and gluten. But as a person who occasionally craves something a little greasy and needs a little bit of comfort food from time to time, I will tell you that this is a really delicious breakfast. I've made it for house guests - vegans and omnivores alike love it.

Here's how to make it: Drain a package of tofu. I usually wrap it in a kitchen towel the night before and leave it in the fridge, and it's ready to use in the morning. Thinly slice the tofu and then marinade in a little bit of olive oil, Braggs Liquid Aminos and apple cider vinegar for a few minutes. Then fry until crispy on both sides. While that's cooking, heat up a few slices of vegan "bacon". I use Lightlife Smart Bacon. For the cheese, you can either melt a little cheese on the tofu while it's cooking, or you can toast your bagel and melt the cheese over it in the toaster oven. I spread a little bit of Earth Balance on both halves of the bagel, then add two slices of "bacon" and two slabs of tofu to each bagel. And then, eat and enjoy!

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Tempeh Fricassee

2010-12-06T10:00:00.031-05:00

As I mentioned last week, I grew up eating things out of boxes, bags and cans. I never at anything with any kind of exotic sounding name like scallopini, marsala, piccata or fricassee. Until recently, I didn't even know what dishes with those names were. Fortunately, veganizing those meals is very easy.

I saw a recipe for Tempeh Fricassee and it looked so good that I wanted to try it, even though I didn't know what fricassee meant. It turns out it's a catch-all term used for a stew. It's usually made with meat that's been stewed in gravy. This recipe uses tempeh, mushrooms and leeks. The recipe calls for celery leaves and herbs to be tied together, added to the stew and later removed, but I skipped that step and used dried herbs instead. I also altered the recipe slightly by adding a little cornstarch to thicken the stew. This was really, really delicious, and it was a nice warming meal for a cold evening.

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Skillet Macaroni with Broccoli, Mushrooms and Cheese

2010-12-02T10:00:00.004-05:00

Well's Vegetarian Thanksgiving interactive recipe post from the New York Times was making the rounds on Facebook last week, and the skillet mac and cheese caught my eye because I really love mushrooms, broccoli and cheese together. I didn't have an oven safe skillet, but there were a few recipes I wanted to try that called for one, so Dennis bought me one. Most girls like their guys to buy them expensive jewelry and things, but I prefer kitchen stuff!

As soon as I got my hands on that skillet, I ran to the kitchen and set about veganizing the recipe. It was pretty good and I'll definitely make it again. Next time I will probably add more nutritional yeast and a little less milk, but here's what I did when I made it the first time:

Ingredients

4 ounces Daiya cheddar (about half a bag)
2 ounces Daiya mozzarella (about a quarter of a bag)
1 tablespoon Earth Balance
1 small yellow onion, chopped
6 ounces cremini or white button mushrooms, sliced
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour (I used Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten-free flour)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 cups unsweetened, unflavored non-dairy milk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons dried tarragon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces small pasta shells, cooked and drained according to the package instructions (I used rice pasta)
4 cups small broccoli florets, cooked in boiling water for 1 minute (broccoli can be added to the pasta during the last minute of cooking, then drained with the pasta in a colander)

Preparation
1. Mix the cheeses in a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. Melt the Earth Balance in a large, high-sided, oven-safe skillet. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid and it comes to a simmer, and then reduces by about two-thirds, about 5 minutes.
4. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables in the skillet. Stir well to coat.
5. Whisk in the milk in a steady, thin stream until creamy. Then whisk in the nutritional yeast, mustard, tarragon, salt and pepper. Continue whisking until the mixture starts to bubble and the liquid thickens, about 3 minutes.
6. Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the cooked pasta and broccoli.

Then add half of the mixed cheeses and give it a quick mix.

7. Preheat the broiler after setting the rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat source. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the ingredients in the skillet. Set the skillet on the rack and broil until the cheese melts, about five minutes. (If your skillet has a plastic or wooden handle, make sure it sticks outside the oven, out from under the broiler, so the handle doesn’t melt.)
Yield: Makes four servings.

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Back to Sprig and Vine

2010-12-01T10:00:00.003-05:00

Last week I went back to Sprig and Vine in New Hope PA. Dennis and I had dinner with our friends Deana, Jessica and Greg. The food there is so amazing - I just wish it wasn't an hour away! Dennis and I drove down early and walked around Lambertville and New Hope a little. It's a cute area, so it's totally worth the drive.

We ordered appetizers, but we dug in as soon as the plates hit the table and forgot to take pictures of them.

Dennis and Jessica both ordered the tempeh

Deana ordered the polenta

Greg had the tofu

I had the African ground nut stew

For dessert, Jessica and Greg split a piece of chocolate mousse pie

Deana and I split a peanut butter and jelly French toast. Dennis had his own plate of it too.

I'm hoping to back down to New Hope again soon for lunch! And I also think I'll be planning a Montclair Vegans trip there in the spring.

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More Recipe Testing

2010-11-30T10:00:00.002-05:00

I've tried out the remaining recipes on the list of things that I'm testing for Robin Robertson's upcoming book. They've all been super tasty so I know it's going to be a great book! Here's what I've made:

Zucchini Frittata

Vegetable Fritters

Freeburgers

Provencal Stuffed Mushrooms

Sloppy Portobellos

Sadly, today is the last day of Vegan Month of Food. I do hope you continue to visit my blog. Sometime in January this blog will be moving over to my website Veggiegirl.com. Veggiegirl has been up and running for about 8 years now and it's past due for a revamp!

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Tempeh Scallopini

2010-11-29T10:00:00.002-05:00

Growing up, my diet wasn't very varied. I my meals were usually things that came out of bags, boxes and cans. Dinners were usually tacos, hamburgers and fries, chicken cutlets with Rice-A-Roni, spaghetti, macaroni and cheese or pizza. The only fresh vegetables I remember eating was iceberg lettuce, which was always smothered in French dressing. I was still living at home when I went vegetarian, and I pretty much had to teach myself how to cook so I wouldn't starve. So when I was younger I never had any kind of adventurous or "exotic" food and when I was older, I never cooked any kind of meat. I certainly never ate or cooked anything scallopini. I didn't even know what kind of food is usually made scallopini, so I had to look it up. (It's usually chicken.) But none the less, tempeh scallopini looked really appealing to me.

This recipe is from the Candle Cafe cookbook. It was given to me for my birthday in June and I haven't made anything out of it yet, so it was time to try something. The recipe calls for two blocks of tempeh, which was too much for just Dennis and I, so I only used one block but I cut the pieces smaller than the recipe said. I still made the amount of mushrooms and shallots, because I wanted dinner to be veggie heavy. The tempeh was cut up and then baked in a marinade for half an hour. The shallots and mushrooms were sautéed together and then set aside. After the temepeh was baked, it was dredged in flour (I used brown rice flour) and then fried in the leftover marinade. Then the mushrooms are cooked again in a red wine and lemon juice and served over the temeph. I served the dish with a side of sautéed kale. This dinner was really, really good and I know I'll make it again. It's quite a huge change from the food I grew up on, and now I know that I like scallopini!

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What a Vegan Thanksgiving Looks Like

2010-11-26T11:57:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned yesterday, years ago I dumped the Thanksgiving thing with my omnivorous family and I now have a big vegan potluck with my friends. The day is filled with food and fun and it's something I look forward to every year. I was looking back at old photos, and years ago we had a small dinner of mashed potatoes, tofu turkey (from Veggie Heaven), stuffing, stuffed mushrooms and roasted veggies, with cobbler, pie and cupcakes for desserts. I have no idea how it turned into the huge food fest it is now, but I'm not complaining. We always have leftovers for days afterward, so the tastes of Thanksgiving linger on through the weekend. What am I thankful for? Amazing friends who are great cooks!

It started innocently enough with hummus and veggies.

The calm before the storm.

The menu board is missing quite a few dishes. There just wasn't enough room!

The spread.

I made roasted potatoes.

Jessica and Greg brought mac and cheese.

Rachel and Brett brought a Field Roast.

Keith made stuffing.

My first time making cranberry sauce.

Rachel and Brett made sweet potatoes.

And they also made green beans.

I made maple glazed roasted brussels sprouts.

Vann and Joyce made a lasagna.

"Turkeys" from Veggie Heaven.

I made stuffed mushrooms.

Photos of rescued turkeys are the only birds on this table!

Dessert time!

Jessica made pumpkin pie

Keith made fruit cobbler.

Joyce's black rice pudding.

Rachel made lemon pumpkin cheesecake.

I made chocolate pecan dream pie.

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Time to Give Thanks

2010-11-25T09:00:00.022-05:00

Thanksgiving is tough day for vegans. It's a day that traditional revolves around a cooked dead bird, and unfortunately most families have a difficult time with the idea of breaking tradition. Traditions tend to revolve around food, and trying to part from them often causes problems and family turmoil. I can't even stand the smell of a cooked turkey let alone the sight of one so I don't join my omnivorous family on Thanksgiving anymore. My friends and I have all broken the turkey-dinner-with-family-tradition and we started our own vegan-pot-luck-with-friends tradition. It's a lot of fun and it's something I look forward to every year.

Thanksgiving wasn't always a day of eating one's self into a food induced coma. It's believed that the first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 between the colonists and the Wamponoag Indians. The early settlers were dying of starvation and the Native Americans showed them how to work the land. After the first corn harvest, the settlers had a celebratory feast with the natives to thank them. It is not believed that turkey was eaten, but we will never know for sure. But what we do know for sure is that the first Thanksgiving was a celebration of the harvest a grain. Yes, it was all about plant food.

Days of thanksgiving became a tradition for the early settlers, and in later years, many states adopted an annual Thanksgiving holiday. In 1827 magazine editor and writer Sarah Josepha Hale launched a campaign to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday. She wrote many stories romanticizing Thanksgiving. Many Thanksgiving "traditions" such as eating turkey and cranberry sauce actually came from Ms. Hale's stories, not from history. So I think that since most of our traditions are made up, we have the right to change them and make our own! So gather with your friends, cook what you really want to eat today and create your own traditions. If you want to honor the original spirit of Thanksgiving, take some time to reflex and be thankful for everything you hold dear.

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Stuffed Portobellos

2010-11-24T10:00:00.015-05:00

This is a Thanksgiving Recipe from Chef Chloe's blog. The photo isn't quite as pretty as hers, but that's okay because it was super delicious. I didn't have cooked rice and I didn't really have the time to cook some up, so I made quinoa instead. And I didn't have a can of lentils and didn't feel like cooking any, so I used a can of black beans instead. I didn't really matter that I made substitutions because it still tasted really good. This is the type of recipe that can't really be "broken". You can make substitutions and it will still taste good. These mushrooms were really filling and they make a great main course.

I had thought about making these for tomorrow's Thanksgiving potluck feast with my friends, but there will be 9 of us, and that's a lot of portobellos! Instead I'm going to make stuffed criminis. If you still don't know what to make for Thanksgiving tomorrow, I highly recommend these - vegans and omnivores alike will love them!

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Mushroom Spinach Stuffing

2010-11-23T10:00:00.004-05:00

I'm not sure if it's it's the anticipation of Thanksgiving or the need for a little comfort food, but I decided to make a little pre-Thanksgiving dinner with stuffed portobellos, maple glazed brussels sprouts and spinach mushrooms stuffing. In retrospect, I probably didn't need both stuffed mushrooms and mushroom stuffing at the same meal, but what's done is done and what has been eaten cannot be uneaten.

The stuffing recipe is based on a recipe from the Vegan Good Things blog. I say "based on", because I didn't measure anything and I had a box of pre-made stuffing cubes. I sautéed a chopped onion, some garlic, a few celery stalks lots of different kinds of mushrooms and a contain of spinach together and then I dumped it all on top of the stuffing mix along with vegetable broth and then stirred it all together. I think I cooked it for about 45 minutes on 400. It was quite tasty and contained just the right amount of comfort!

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The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life

2010-11-22T10:00:00.009-05:00

Instead of talking about food today, I want to tell you about the super awesome new book The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life by Melisser Elliot. Melisser was here in NJ yesterday and I got to spend some time hanging out with her.

I love this book! There's really nothing else like it out there. It's chock full of info on veganism, nutrition, crafts, shopping and cooking, as well as section with recipes. There are tons of profiles on successful vegan women too. It's almost gift giving season, and I highly recommend giving The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life to the vegan girl in your life!

In January, I'm going to be revamping my Veggiegirl website and this blog will be moving over there. Once we're all "moved in", I will be raffling off an autographed copy of The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life to one lucky winner. Stay tuned for details!

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The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life

2010-11-20T10:00:00.018-05:00

Hey all you New Jersey Vegans out there! In case you haven't heard, I wanted to you know that Melisser Elliot will be in Montclair tomorrow signing her new book The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life. Autographed books make great Christmas gifts! Please come out and show Melisser how cool NJ vegans are!

Sunday, November 21 · 1:00pm - 3:00pm

Go Lightly Ecostore

4 So. Fullerton Ave.

Montclair, NJ

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Vegan Thanksgiving: Mashed Potatoes

2010-11-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've actually only made mashed potatoes one other time in my life. Unless you count those boxes of instant potato flakes. Just like everything else I've written about this week, I never really liked mashed potatoes. Unless they were covered in gravy and butter, of course. It always seemed a little like eating paste. Maybe I didn't like them because growing up they were always made with those boxes of processed potato flakes, and that stuff is rather paste like. Anyway, as you can tell by previous posts this week, my tastes have changed a great deal since I was young and I do like mashed potatoes now. I didn't realize just how much my taste buds have changed until I did this week's posts. It's funny how that happens, but once you start eating whole, unprocessed foods you can really appreciate how things taste.

The first time I made mashed potatoes from actually potatoes it was with a kit from Trader Joe's. I can't remember what was in the kit other than potatoes. (Really, what could have been in it? Herbs? Garlic? All you really need is potatoes.) Mashed potatoes are super easy to make, so I really don't know why I never made them. Simply cut potatoes up into little cubes, place in a pot, cover with water and boil for about 15 minutes, until they are fork tender. Then just mash them up with non-dairy milk, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. I also used some Earth Balance and garlic powder.

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Vegan Thanksgiving: Stuffing

2010-11-18T11:45:00.000-05:00

Just like most of the other dishes I like to make on Thanksgiving, stuffing is something I never liked growing up. It always came from a box and had added sausage. Dennis didn't think he liked stuffing either, but I made it for our first Thanksgiving together and added things like mushrooms and onions, and we both really liked it. It's super easy to make. Just sauté together some veggies, mix them with cubed bread or stuffing mix and broth, add some spices and then bake for about half an hour. You can add cooked rice, veggie sausage, cranberries, raisins and nuts - whatever you like really. The ingredients are just a matter of personal taste, but if you like bread, you'll like stuffing.

For this dish, I used prepared cornbread stuffing, onions, mushrooms and tempeh (in place of sausage) and pecans to half of the mix, since Dennis doesn't like them. It was quite tasty and I think I'll make it again in the upcoming weeks and experiment with different ingredients.

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Vegan Thanksgiving: Mashed Acorn Squash

2010-11-17T10:00:00.023-05:00

A few years ago I would have no idea what to do with a squash. A coworker told me how good roasted squash is. She bought me a delicata squash and told me to just cut it in half and roast it. I was so intimidated by this new food that I never made it and the squash went bad sitting in my kitchen. Something clicked in me though, and not long after that I went and bought another squash, took it home and roasted it. I've been hooked ever since! It's so easy, versatile and delicious - I can't believe I was afraid of it!

This is my own creation, and I'm really sure where I came up with the idea. It's a super easy to make dish. I cut an acorn squash in half and scraped out the seeds. (Just about any winter squash will work.) I placed the pieces cut side down in a baking dish filed with a little water and roasted in the oven for about 45 minutes at 375 degrees. I also roasted a few garlic cloves by sprinkling them with olive oil, wrapping them in foil and placing then placing them in the oven. Once it was cooked, I scraped all of the squash out of the skin and placed in a bowl. I added the roasted garlic cloves some olive oil and salt and pepper and mashed it all together with a potato masher. Mmm, mmm, good!

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Vegan Thanksgiving: Stuffed Mushrooms

2010-11-16T10:00:00.021-05:00

I'm often asked what vegans eat for Thanksgiving and my answer is always "food". Thanksgiving does not have to be about a dead turkey. There are so many wonderful "side dishes" that a vegan can eat like royalty on this holiday. And I use the term "side dishes"with hesitation, because it usually refers to the food that sits next to the meat on the plate. Since vegetables and grains are just as important - if not more so - than protein, I think all dishes deserve equal attention.

Just like brussels sprouts, I used to really dislike mushrooms. I think it's because the only ones that were ever brought into my house while I was growing up were the canned variety. Canned mushrooms are gross. But I really, really love mushrooms now and I make them all the time.

Stuffed mushrooms are super easy to make. I'm not sure what goes into the non-vegan variety, but I think it's sausage. (Or is it crab meat?) But meat is not needed to make a stuffed mushroom. I simply use the mushroom stems! This recipe is my own creation, and I've never, ever measured any of the ingredients or written anything down. I'll do my best to tell you how to make it. Just adjust the ingredients to your liking.

Start with about 16 large mushrooms. The larger the better, because they will shrink when cooked. Clean them and remove the stems. Chop the stems up into tiny pieces and sauté them together with a few cloves of minced garlic until everything is soft and fragrant. Add breadcrumbs to the mixture, mixing in a a little olive oil if it's too dry. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stuff the mushrooms with the mixture and bake in the oven at 375 for 20 - 30 minutes, until they're tender. These area always a hit at gatherings!

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Vegan Thanksgiving: Brussels Sprouts

2010-11-15T10:00:00.006-05:00

My friend Jenna and I were supposed to teach a vegan Thanksgiving cooking class yesterday, but unfortunately we had to cancel it. My cat Schroeder hasn't been feeling well lately, and the vet just discovered a tumor in his intestines. The stress of having a sick cat and preparing for a class at the same time is too much for me, and I didn't think it would be a good idea to have 15 people in my house with a sick kitty.

Schroeder had surgery on Wednesday. The vet was supposed to remove the tumor, but he found that it's in a bad spot it would be too risky to remove. Schroeder's been recovering from the surgery and he rested all weekend. Hopefully we'll get biopsy results tonight and find out if there's anything we can do for him. I'll be sure to post updates.

Before we found out about the tumor, I had been preparing for the cooking class and I had bought a lot of the groceries needed in order to test the recipes one last time before showing other people how to make them. So I decided to make it all for dinner over the weekend. Since it's almost Thanksgiving, I thought I'd share the dishes with you this week.

Let's start with brussels sprouts. I used to totally hate brussels sprouts. My mom used to buy frozen ones and microwave them with butter. Blech. But Dennis likes them, so years ago I decided to give them a try and find a way to cook them that we would both like. Over the years my taste buds have changed, and I really like them now. My favorite way to make them is to roast them with olive oil, salt and pepper. I really love the crispy edges. Chef Chloe recently did a blog post with vegan Thanksgiving recipes, and she has a recipe for maple roasted brussels sprouts that looked really good. It's starts out pretty much the same way I make roasted sprouts, but maple syrup is added towards the end of roasting. I used almonds instead of hazelnuts, because hazelnuts make my mouth itch. The end result was really, really tasty, and I think I'm going to make this dish for my friends on Thanksgiving.

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Recipe Testing for Robin Robertson

2010-11-12T10:00:00.005-05:00

I'm testing recipes for Robin Robertson's new cookbook! I'm so excited about it! I don't know what it will be called or when it will come out, but I've seen the list of recipes, so I know it's going to be a good book. I have ten recipes that I will be testing and I've made half so far. I can't say much about them, but I can show you pictures of what I made and tell you that they were delicious!

Spicy Peanut-Hoisin Noodles with Tofu and Broccoli

Coconut Curry Chickpeas and Cauliflower

Roasted Ratatouille

Tempeh with Mellow Mustard Sauce

Mac and Cheezeburger Bake

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Tofu Teriyaki

2010-11-11T10:00:00.006-05:00

When I was little my parents and I lived in South Jersey, and my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents lived in North Jersey. To my young brain I thought we lived days and days away from them, but now I realize it's only about an hour and a half drive. We rarely went out to eat back then, but whenever my Poppop came down to visit, he always took us out to a restaurant called Charlie's Other Brother. I loved when he visited, and I looked forward to going out to eat. I always ordered a Shirley Temple and teriyaki chicken, which I loved.

Quite often our memories can be sparked by food. Last week my friend Jenna posted a recipe for tofu teriyaki on her blog Good Good Things, and it mad me think happy childhood thoughts of eating out with my Poppop. I ran out and bought teriyaki sauce and tofu so I could give it a try. Jenna served her tofu with broccoli, green beans and rice noodles, but I made mine with broccoli, mushrooms and brown rice. This meal was delicious, and did not disappoint. The only thing that was missing was the Shirley Temple!

I just checked, and Charlie's Other Brother is still there! They no longer have teriyaki chicken on the menu. (They now have teriyaki steak instead.) There is absolutely nothing vegan on the menu, so I can't imagine a situation where I'd ever eat there again, but I will always have fond memories of going there when I was little.

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Scrambled Tofu

2010-11-10T09:35:00.000-05:00

I went vegetarian in 1992. Back then there weren't very many packaged vegetarian products on the market. There weren't very many vegetarian cookbooks out there either. I got most of my recipes from the Peta Cookbook Please Don't Eat the Animals and Vegetarian Times. I used to buy Green Giant veggie burgers - which tasted a little bit like the box they came in - because they were the only veggie burgers I could find at the grocery store. As a vegetarian I ate lots of cheese and eggs, so in 2001 when I went vegan I had to learn how to cook all over again, and I began trying new foods and recipes. As more people went vegan, lots of good cookbooks were published, and more and more vegan processed foods hit the market. I tried them all, and my diet went from things like veggies, beans and rice to highly processed mock meats and fake cheese. My meals could have been mistaken for those of an omnivore, if one didn't see the package the foods came in. As I learned more about nutrition, I went back to eating more whole foods and I now reserve processed foods for rare occasions.

During the week, I usually have smoothies or oatmeal for breakfast, but I weekends I really like to have something warm and comforting, and I usually make scrambled tofu. I love scrambled tofu because I can throw whatever is in the fridge in, and no matter what it is, I know the finished product will taste good. Sometimes I splurge and add vegan sausage or cheese. This time I used red bell pepper, onion, lots of mushrooms, nutritional yeast, soy bacon and Daiya cheese. This was the perfect meal to start out a lazy Sunday with!

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Ted Leo and the Cookies & Cream Cupcakes

2010-11-09T10:00:00.006-05:00

Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World changed my life. I did a lot of baking before I went vegan, but once I gave dairy and eggs nine years ago (I was vegetarian for 9 years before that), I wasn't sure how to make cookies and cakes anymore. There weren't any of the wonderful cookbooks that we have today back then. When Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World came out, I got copies from a few different people as gifts (and I kept them all), who no doubt wanted me to start baking again. I immediately ran to the kitchen and started mixing together sugar and flour. People were impressed with my little cakey creations and I immediately gained the title of "Cupcake Queen". Cupcakes are an excellent way to introduce people to vegan foods and show that we aren't all sitting around eating sprouts and drinking wheatgrass. (Not that I have a problem with sprouts and wheatgrass!)

Where I like to cook and bake, Dennis likes to make short films. His latest is called I Hear You and he's in the middle of post-production on it right now. Super cool vegan indie music legend Ted Leo makes a special guest appearance in the film, and as a thank you for being so super cool, I made him some cookies and cream cupcakes. Dennis said that Mr Leo loved them!

Here's the trailer for I Hear You. No word yet on when and where it will be shown, but I'll keep you posted.

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The V Note

2010-11-08T10:00:00.038-05:00

A new restaurant from the owners of Blossom opened in New York City recently called The V Note. Since I love the Blossom restaurants, I knew I had to get into the City immediately and try it. The menu is made up of all the best items from Blossom, Cafe Blossom and Cocoa V, with a few new dishes added to the mix.

I went to V Note on Saturday with my friend Jessica. We both ate way too much food and gave the restaurant two thumbs up! Jessica and I agreed that the Blossoms need to put out a cookbook, so we can give their creations a try at home!

We started out with a Pea Cake, which we split. I really love the chipotle aioli they serve it with.

Even though I've been avoiding wheat, I really wanted a sandwich. I gave in to temptation and had a BLT with sweet potato fries. The sandwich was made with tempeh bacon, breaded tofu, lettuce, tomato and chipotle aioli. In was on delicious ciabatta bread.

Jessica had the Bacon Cheeseburger. It consisted of a veggie burger, soy bacon, mushrooms, Daiya cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and aioli. She really loved it.

We fished the meal off with delicious chocolate fondue. It was served with fresh fruit and a few cookie bites. The chocolate was so rich that we couldn't finish it all, which is strange behavior for two chocoholics!

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Back to the Grocery Store

2010-11-05T10:00:00.003-04:00

I feel like I'm always at Whole Foods. Despite the fact that I come home with bags and bags of food, the fridge always seems empty. This time I went with a plan, so there are lots of tasty meals that I will be making in the days ahead. In the meantime though, I picked up dinner at the salad bar. Dennis had a meeting for the film he's working on (more on his film next week) and I didn't feel like cooking dinner for one. I filled a container with steamed and grilled veggies: kale, eggplant, sweet potatoes, broccoli, beets and cauliflower and then I added some tofu and a grain mixture. When I got home I drizzled a little olive oil and lemon juice over the whole thing. It was quite delicious, and look at how colorful it is. Remember - the nutrients in veggies are in their colors, so make sure you have lots of colors on your plate. Try to aim for 4 colors in each meal.

Coming up next week: recipe testing for Robin Robertson, Dennis's short film, cupcakes and Ted Leo, the V Note and more!

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The "I Didn't Have a Dinner Plan" Stir-Fry

2010-11-04T10:00:00.006-04:00

Despite the fact that I did finally go grocery shopping, I didn't have a plan for dinner. So I hit the fridge and pulled out a few things that I thought would go nicely together: asparagus, onion, mushrooms, tofu, kale and two hot peppers. I stir-fried them together in olive oil with a little Bragg's Liquid Aminos and rice vinegar and threw in a can of chickpeas. I also cooked up some quinoa to serve it all over. It was quite a nice impromptu dinner!

So where do I get my protein? From this dish!! Tofu, chickpeas and quinoa are all very high in protein. Even asparagus has a decent amount of protein! The average female needs 45 grams of protein and the average male needs 55 grams. Out of curiosity I tallied the protein amount in this meal, and it came to about 45 grams, so it contained all the protein I needed for a day! And of course, I also ate breakfast and lunch which also contained protein, so in one day I consumed a lot more protein than I need.

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Cashew Curry Casserole

2010-11-03T10:00:00.023-04:00

Although I'm not a curry newbie, curries are relatively new to my food world. I think I had my first one about 3 years ago or so. (Or maybe earlier, I can't remember.) I can't believe what I was missing out on all those years! Curries are now my favorite cold weather meals! And they are so much easier to make than I originally thought they would be. Just throw together some veggies in coconut milk with curry paste, and you're done!

This recipe is from The Urban Vegan, and it's one of my favorite curries. The recipe calls for broccoli, tomatoes, onion and chickpeas, and it suggests adding red pepper, mushrooms or summer squash. I added all three, so I had quite a lot of veggies. I doubled the sauce recipe, which is made with coconut milk, red curry paste and cashew butter. The sauce is poured over the veggies and then it's all baked in the oven. It's so good that this recipe alone is worth the cost of the book!

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Cauliflower Gratin

2010-11-02T10:00:00.001-04:00

A few months back Vegetarian Times had an article about cauliflower that was accompanied by lots of yummy look recipes. Unfortunately, the magazine arrived at my house around about the same time that the large insect living in my cauliflower showed up, so I didn't try any of the recipes. Now that I'm almost over my fear of cauliflower, I decided to revisit the issue and see what I could make. This Cauliflower Gratin dish looked really good, so I wanted to give it a try. It was super simple to make, and it was a nice light dish that wasn't too filling.

I bought pre-cut cauliflower and steamed it for a few minutes until it was tender. While it was steaming, I sautéed onion and then added canned chopped tomatoes and some capers. It's then layered together with feta (I used vegan Sunergia Soyfoods feta) in a casserole dish and placed under the broiler for a few minutes. While it was broiling I sautéed up some purple kale with a little garlic. Voila - dinner in less than half an hour!

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Vegan MoFo!

2010-11-01T10:00:00.030-04:00

Welcome to Vegan MoFo! Vegan MoFo stands for Vegan Month of Food and it's basically a month of blogging about food. So I'll pretty much be doing what I normally do when I blog!

This is one of those "what's in the fridge?" meals. I didn't have much in the house and I didn't feel like going to the grocery store. I had some carrots, acorn squash and parsnips that I cut up and mixed with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. I then roasted everything together with some garlic cloves on 400 degrees for about 45 minutes. I had a package of tempeh that I sliced into 6 pieces and marinaded in olive oil and Bragg's Liquid Aminos. I then panfried it until it was crispy on both sides. I also had some Swiss chard that sautéed and served on the side. This meal was perfect, but alas, it did totally empty out my fridge and I was forced to go shopping!

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Halloween Cupcakes

2010-10-29T10:00:00.007-04:00

Yes, Halloween is Sunday, but we're celebrating at work today. And yes, I do eat sugary cupcakes, but not very often. I don't like eating them often because I'm fully aware of the affect they have on me, but they're a nice treat from time to time.

I usually make cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, but I didn't have a lot of free time this week. Luckily, my friend Kelly came across this recipe for easy pumpkin spice cupcakes on the Real Simple website. I bought a box of Cherrybrook Kitchen yellow cake mix, added a can of pumpkin and half a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice and 20 minutes later I had cupcakes! I topped them with cream cheese frosting from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. Aren't they cute?

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Kung Pao Broccoli and Tofu

2010-10-28T10:00:00.004-04:00

Whenever I hear the words "Kung Pau", I think of Seinfeld and George Costanza. "George likes his chicken spicy!"

Well, Dennis likes his tofu spicy, so when I saw this recipe on Dr. Weil's blog, I knew it would be a good dinner choice. I had some broccoli and tofu in the fridge, but I didn't have scallions and I didn't feel like running out to get some. Water chestnuts are one the few plant-foods I really, really dislike, so I definitely didn't have of them in the house either. I did a little improvising and added onions and mushrooms, and adjusted the sauce recipe according to what I had in the cabinet. I served it over leftover black rice from the cauliflower cashew curry I made yesterday. It was really, really good and I'll definitely make it again.

Broccoli is a highly nutritious vegetable, and it contains high amounts of vitamins C and A as well as folic acid, iron and calcium. In fact cooked broccoli contains as much calcium as a 4 ounce glass of milk and calcium from broccoli is much easier for the body to absorb than calcium from milk is. The nutrients in broccoli are known to prevent cancer, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure as well as lower cholesterol. So make sure broccoli is a regular part of your diet!

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