Mexicali Tempeh Triangles and My First Food Porn!

Dinner last night was just as expected except that they no longer put meat on their dinner salads, so they didn't have to pick it off in front of us. That's progress in this little part of rural Ohio. On to more fun stuff!

Remember that yummy looking tempeh taco stuff from yesterday? Well, today it turned into Mexicali Tempeh Triangles with chipotle sour cream. I'll also serve it with guacamole tonight, but didn't make that for our preview taste. Otherwise by tonight it would have been yuckamole. I'm really happy with the way these turned out... and it may be my very first all-original recipe that is a success! I prebaked these, thinking I could just recrisp them. I'm not a phyllo expert, so I'm hoping that's right! What could I have done to get the centers darker?

Since the only tofu sour cream we had went into spinach dip for tonight, I opted for the Lowfat Bundt Cake from V'con. The batter is delicious and since it's so lowfat, it required glaze, of course. As if we aren't making up for the lowfat with every other dish for tonight.

The BBQ Seitan is set, the samosa stuffed baked potatoes (V'con) are filled and ready to bake, the mango salsa is good to go.... all I have left is to crisp the cups for the tofu salad (variation on Joni's), fill 'em and garnish them, make guacamole and throw everything together. I think we're in good shape. The omni guests are getting quite a dose of veganism tonight. Hopefully, I'll get pictures of everything for tomorrow.

We even managed to have grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. These had sliced tomatoes and mustard.

For the very last day of VeganMoFo, I'm leaving you with my first food porn publicly posted. These are the Cinnamon Rolls posted by RachelRayForever over at the PPK. Hmm....thinking I should make these again.

The Official Work Dinner Rant

Tonight is the Official Work Dinner. It's an annual event at this horrible steakhouse that is in the next town over. I won't get go into it much but here's a clue. Two years ago, when we were just vegetarian, we ordered spaghetti marinara. We made it clear we were vegetarian. This was by special arrangement because there is nothing meatless on their menu. Oh wait.. potatoes and garlic bread. Our salads came with meat slices on them. No problem... they took them off right there! No kidding. Rather than get myself really revved up for the fun of the evening, I'll talk about tomorrow.

Tomorrow night we're having a few friends over for wine. Here is the menu so far:
spinach dip in pumpernickel
tempeh taco bites (I'm making this up- my second time with phyllo dough!)
tofu salad in little cups
bbq seitan bites (Trying the V'con Cutlet recipe for these)
samosa stuffed potates (V'con)
veggies and sundried tomato hummus
some chocolate cake.


The cake is a big decision. I love Isa's Rich Chocolate Cake, but I'm thinking about trying Joni's or the new lowfat one in V'con.

Pictures on Saturday, but in the meantime, check out the spinach dip and the tempeh filling.

Good thing we have leftover lasagna from last night. It'll make a great predinner dinner.

Only 2 More VeganMoFo Days!

Geez, that month has really flown by. This was an experiment for me. I'd debated starting a blog and VeganMoFo was the trigger that made it happen. It's been a lot of fun and I plan to keep it up. I may not post on a daily basis, but we'll see.

Tonight's dinner was the Lasagna from Veganomicon. This is a great recipe! The roasted garlic marinara is insanely good. So good that I should have made more. My husband and I were both snitching out of the pot as if it were soup. The almesan was a little more lemony than I expected so I may leave it off next time. We served it with garlic mushrooms and broccoli.

We've been eating more pasta than normal lately. I don't know if it's because it gets dark so early or what.

It turns out that my husband's work dinner is tomorrow night. It was decided today. The good news is that I don't have to dread going for very long. The bad news is that it's a steakhouse. Other not so good news: I'm not sure what I have left to make for our predinner dinner. It's time to go shopping... but that's not happening until Friday. The good news: I always have seitan and tempeh in the freezer so something will work out.

Big Pot of Chili!

(excuse the flash... but it's chili weather!)

I had every intention of making the Seitanic Red and White Bean Jambalaya from V'con today. But the wind howling outside sounded more like "Chili..... chili... chili" and I gave in.

I give in to chili a lot in the fall and winter. I've tried tons of recipes and made up lots of recipes. The one from today includes beer. I cook with wine a lot, but hardly ever with beer. I'm broadening my horizons with alcohol. We're having it with the Skillet Cornbread from V'con that I haven't made yet.

We're also having the Caramelized Apple Cupcakes (that name isn't quite right, is it?) from V'con without frosting, just dusted with powder sugar. I thought I had soy milk powder but couldn't find it. Amazingly, I got 12 cupcakes out of it! This is doubly amazing because I don't usually get the number the recipe suggests and I kept snitching the batter.

Here is a version of the Roasted Chickpeas-- these are pretty damn good! Even better than I hoped. I used 2 cans of chickpeas, 1 Tbsp oil, 2 Tbsp Tamari and 1 Tbsp lemon juice, salt and pepper. They were roasted at 400 for about a 1/2 hour. I didn't really pay attention to the time.

Big Pot of Chili
This makes a ton. You're warned.

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 red peppers, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped small
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 # seitan, cubed
28 oz can plum tomatoes (cut them in the can with the knife a few times)
15 oz can fire roasted tomatoes with chilis
1 can black beans, drained
1 can red kidney beans, drained
3/4 cup beer
1/2 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 Tbsp chili powder (ancho)
1/2 Tbsp chili powder (chipotle)
1 Tbsp cumin
1/2 adobo with sauce
1 Tbsp molasses
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 boullion cube
4-6 cups broth (however much you need)
salt and pepper

Follow your usual chili routine. Heat the pot, saute the vegetables, add the seitan and spices, cook a bit, deglaze, then add everything else. Let it simmer and taunt you with it's smell.

Tomorrow: Lasagna!

The Last One to the Party

Here I am! The thing is, I'm not even stylishly late. I'm a whole- book- behind late. But the results are worth waiting for. We finally had the Seitan Portobello Stroganoff from VwaV. I think that 1/2 the vegetarian population has already made this recipe and probably 3/4 of the vegan population (I'm only counting people with internet access though) and I kind of feel like I'm in that Twilight Zone when the guy thinks he is the last person on earth, starts to commit suicide, then the phone rings.

Make it before it's too late...

Soy Curls.....Surpise!

On the way home from yesterday's misadventure (that actually turned out ok, but not quite how we wanted) we stopped at the Mustard Seed Natural Foods (the Solon store) to deliver some soap. When we're there, we always have to look around and see what's new and different... yesterday we found soy curls in bulk! You can bet I scooped them up. Literally. Yay, a treasure!

After googling for recipes, here's what I came up with: (this is where I demonstrate my google technique).

Butler, the company who makes them, offers some recipes here.
None of those really sounded too tempting though.

Don't Get Mad, Get Vegan made this recipe, but it has coconut milk. Ewww. It also has green curry paste and I don't.

Uncle Don's has a few recipes that sound pretty good.. and he thinks they are a great survival food. I'll keep that in mind.

Utopian Kitchen has a BBQ idea that sounds tasty, but didn't involve enough interaction.

Jess at Get Sconed has a yummy looking nacho pic with soy curls, but I wasn't in the mood for that.

I came really, really close to making this Bryanna recipe for Vegan Beef and Asparagus Stir Fry, ( I even went to the store to buy the asparagus!), but then decided to wing it.

I read up on the info over at Julie's and put on my thinking cap. She suggests squeezing as much liquid out after rehydrating and marinating, by the way. Here is the Soy Curl Surprise. It's got Italian goodness ingredients; the foods that can't go wrong. Capers, black olives, white wine, sundried tomatoes, red peppers, mushrooms and spices.


Would I use these again? Yeah, probably. They're pretty good, but every once in a while I got a hint of a cerealy kind of taste. Not sure how else to describe it. They seem like they should be in a 1970's casserole. I think I should have seasoned them more strongly. I tasted one after rehydrating it and browning it in seasoned flour and it made me think of fried clams. Scary!

You know, I'll definitely try these again...I just remembered that somebody's blog mentioned a delicious sounding chicken salad recipe using them. Now I just have to find it again.

They will never replace the place in my heart reserved for seitan.

Roadtrip aka Akron or Bust

Picture this. It's Saturday and we've got big plans. Big Plans. There is a new restaurant that opened in NE Ohio. Guess where we're headed. There's the map.

As we follow along the map, we drive by Lake Erie which is about 2 minutes from our house. Not so beautiful today, but check it out anyway.



Obviously, we're going out to eat (bet you could have guessed that) so we need cash. First stop, the ATM.Now we drive, drive, drive. Arrive at our destination....


Only to see a paper sign on the door that says "Open at 5:00 Today". I took a pic of it, but I'm not used to the light levels and it didn't come out. Neither did the permanent sign that said "Serving from 11 AM - 1o PM". But trust me, both signs exist.

Another group was trying to go, too, so we talked with them for a minute then headed back to the car where we saw this cool sculpture sign. I already warned you about my light issues, so just squint a little. It'll look better.



Then we started our drive home trying to think of where to eat besides PF Chang's. We ended up at Vue and had some pasta. We'd met the wine manager before and he told us they could do anything. Of course, he wasn't there but we were happy adapting from the menu and it all worked out.

We made it to Akron and will definitely make the trip again.

Two morals to this story:
Call before you go and people will put anything on a sign!

Bake, Don't Shop!

It's been a fun, lazy day. We slept in and had Caesar Salad for lunch. It almost made me wonder why I ever make breakfast, except that I love breakfast food, too. Besides that, I made a couple of batches of tester cookies. The ones to the left are the Crispy Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. If this was my recipe, I'd call them Homestyle Oatmeal Cookies. They are as comfy as a blanket and a fire in the fireplace, with a book in your hands, some great music in the background. Oh wait, that was really my afternoon. No wonder I want to change the name.

Before I made those Homestyle Oatmeal Cookies, I made the Mini Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies. These are buttery, yummy and light as air. Just phenomenal! Both of these recipes are testers for Autumn Vegan and Garrick.

Next up: dinner. We're trying the Baja Tacos from Veganomicon. My lime crema dressing tastes sweet. So sweet that I double checked that I had used plain yogurt rather than vanilla. I've got a feeling it will all come together great. The marinade is hard to resist and I don't even like beer!

Geez, after all my hard work reading by the fire today, I'll have to recuperate by watching a movie and having a glass of wine after dinner. I feel so lucky to be home rather than out in the middle of the shopping throngs.

Hope you're having a wonderful day after Thanksgiving!

Short Post with Pictures

Today's post is mostly going to be pictures. I'd love to chat more but you know, it's Thanksgiving!

Last night's dinner: Pasta Puttanesca with Italian Baked Tofu. Quick and easy dinner! I made the sauce up as I went along and it exceeded my expectations, which is always good!


Here's what we're taking for Thanksgiving. Normally, nobody touches our food. They look at it skeptically. I'm guessing they're going to be reaching for these potatoes though. These will dominate their buttery, milky mashed potatoes. This meal went together in about 45 minutes, no kidding. I almost tried to cram in making a batch of cookies but made breakfast instead. I did the apple pie and spinach dip yesterday. The top pic is roasted carrots and some bbq seitan.


Only 9 more days of VeganMoFo! That's flown by.

I Like Caffeine!

Fasten your seat belt, this post is going to race all over the place. Yeah, I've had some caffeine today. It's good stuff. So here goes!

I'm having a mini contest. It's going to be really mini, because I think only about 3 people occasionally check this blog. But I'm glad for those 3 and your chances are tremendous! Hey, there is even going to be a prize. As long as you live the U.S. that is. I don't mean to make rules (I hate rules), but I'd rather ship in the U.S. I'm no fun, I know. But I'm starting to think that maybe rules aren't so bad when I'm the one making them.

Are you ready? Here is it.... up top. What is that little gizmo with the moon? Put your guess (um, I mean answer) in the comments. The first person to get it right gets a prize. Hint: it is used in the kitchen.

Last night's dinner was this yummy Thai Basil Seitan with rice noodles. I love rice noodles. They don't really feel like I'm eating pasta so they have a special place in my heart. This turned out great with just enough heat. I'm not a wuss either, so there.

Thanksgiving tomorrow! Here's what I'm making and taking:

Spinach Dip- I thought this recipe was from VegWeb but I'm not checking 37 pages of recipes to link it for you when approximately 1/2 the vegetarian population is panicking over what they are serving tomorrow. The server there is crawling...give it some caffeine, the wonder drug! If anyone wants the recipe, I'll be glad to post it but it appears I neglected to credit the person who submitted it. What a bisque move. I'm sorry whoever you are and I really like your recipe. It's the one that uses salsa.

BBQ Seitan - made from Bryanna's Beefy Pot Roast, then slathered in sauce.

Roasted Potatoes and Carrots- not together, but next to each other. They're going to share the same casserole dish. And for dessert....

This Apple Pie! I used the crust recipe hannahbananna posted at the PPK and credited to Ina Garten. I had to add a lot of extra water, but this rolled out like a dream. I even had enough extra to make that cool free form tart on the side. It's a little preview of tomorrow that I get to have tonight.

Check out that angle! For just a second the earth gave a big axis wobble and I happened to be taking a picture while I was a little off kilter. Anyway, you saw it here first... and if you watch your nightly news, I bet they don't even mention it. It's a conspiracy, I tell you. But you felt it, too, right?

Our Thanksgiving dinner is going to be that easy, can you believe it? With reheating at someone else's house, I decided to go as a stress-free as possible. I'll make up for it another night. I'm already looking forward to it.

Trina, thanks a lot for your kind words on my last post. It means a lot and I wish you were here so I could share that tart with you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

House of Blues Dinner (not advised)

We went to the House of Blues last night for dinner because we were going to show a there and take advantage of that whole "eat in the restaurant- get in early" thing that they do. We're old and we're like that. We even got seats at the show. And sat in them all comfy like while the youngsters went wild. Those days are long gone for us.

But about the food. I had called ahead and was told that we could order anything on their menu that is vegetarian and they could easily make it vegan by just not using the cheese.

Mmmmmkay. Not sounding hopeful.

Get there and we warn our waitress. She seems ok with it and even offers the info that they have "some vegans" (which actually sounded more like 'aliens' from where I was sitting) and she would ask them, too.

Sounding better.

She comes back and has spoken with "Chef". I'm guessing that at this point the "vegans" on staff had retreated to their own planet out of fear. I suddenly want to go there. But "Chef" has some Boca Burgers in the freezer for the artists and could always cook one of those.

In other words, if we don't want Boca Burgers (mmmm.. I'm thinking yummy meaty grill) and we don't, we're on our own with the menu.

I opted for a pasta dish that had 2 kinds of seafood (minus the seafoods and parmesan) with added spinach. Wow. "Chef" really went out of his comfort zone on that one. Jim got a flatbread, minus all cheese and added spinach, too. It would have been nice if they had added garlic or any kind of seasoning to either of our dishes, but I guess "Chef" was too busy with the other 2 tables to give much attention to our food. That's ok, we could eat it. But I'd be embarrassed to serve that food to anyone.

The good news is that World Inferno Friendship Society (one of my nephew's favorite bands- it was for his birthday) was really good and we had those comfy seats.

So since all I've done is talk, that's a pic of a roast I made a while ago. I thought about making it for Thanksgiving, but I'm not. We're going simple with BBQ seitan, oven roasted carrots and potatoes, all ready to pop in the oven when we get to my sister's. See, I'm trying not to be the difficult one. Really, I am.

Tomorrow's post should be better.

We can hope, right?

Here is the Cookie Recipe

Apricot Fold Overs (makes about 3-4 dozen in this 1/2 recipe format)

4 oz cream cheese (Tofutti!)
4 oz EB
1 cup flour
Filling

Mix above ingredients except filling. It will look like small peas then suddenly form a dough. Shape into 2 disks, wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight. (A couple of hours worked fine for me).

Roll out very thin and cut into squares. Use a fancy wheel cutter if you have one. Put small amount of filling in center. Dampen opposite corners with wet fingers and pinch together. I try to seal them well and kind of tuck the end under the cookie when I place it on the sheet to stop them from popping open.

Bake on parchment lined sheets at 375 til lightly browned. I think this was about 10 minutes, but I can't remember. Just watch them. When cooled, you can sprinkle with confectioner's sugar or have them straight.

For the filling, you can make your own by using dried apricots, chopped. Cook them with a small amount of water for a while, adding whatever sweetener you like to taste. Cool, then food processor it.

Or you can cheat and buy the filling like I did.

I hope you like them as much as we do!

Nothing Much, Only My Very Favorite Cookies!

When I was young, these were special occasion cookies because they're kind of a pain in the butt to make. They're also a running joke in my family. At Christmas, I used to make a quadruple batch of these and always call my mom asking her to tell me again why I make these cookies. They're not hard, just time-consuming with all the roll, fill, fold, seal steps. But in the end they're always worth it.

This is the first time I have successfully veganized a cookie recipe and when I made them this weekend, I could almost hear my mom telling me not to overfill them like she always used to tell me when we'd bake them together. She's right. When you do you get little overcooked bits of filling (I always use apricot). She is generally right about cookie baking, except when she adds nuts or coconut to perfectly good cookies.

(Adding those just seems like gratuitous sex in a movie, or is it just me? Oh wait, I don't mind gratuitous sex in movies. But I'm not a fan of nuts and coconut. Never mind.)

So, this post isn't about much.... only my very favorite cookies.

I like them so much, here are a couple more pictures of them. They are melt-in-your-mouth yummy goodness.

Yves Canadian Bacon: the Experiment

We tried that Yves Canadian Bacon yesterday and I tried to approach it with an open mind. I tried really hard to like it and I managed to gag a piece down with breakfast. I had to eat it really fast and in super big pieces and think happy thoughts while I did it. But because I was feeling so open minded and optimistic (read gullible), I figured there had to be a good way to use it.. and got an idea for today's dinner.

Don't ever be optimistic about Yves Canadian Bacon. Trust me. It smells like melting plastic. Don't even try to pretend you haven't melted plastic on the stove by accident before... when you leave a nonstick spoon in a cast iron pan. I can't be the only one to have done that. You know the smell.

Not only does it smell, it feels a little slimy, like a slug. Then if you look at it, I imagine it looks like Spam. I really don't know what Spam looks like, but it sounds about right to me. All compressed and disgusting. You can kind of see it in the layers up top, but it's hiding. As it should. Yuck.

The big idea was a roasted portobello mushroom (V'con) stacked with a slice of that bad bacon, some chicken seitan (DEOTS) all nestled on a bed of sauted spinach and topped with cheese sauce (V'con). It was a really great dinner once I picked off the Canadian Bacon.

The verdict: never again.

Even if my husband did kinda like it. He's out of luck.

If Iron Chef Were Vegan

Ok, so I'm totally dreaming here and I know it. So what? What if there really could be a Vegan Iron Chef show? Last time we watched the secret ingredient was swordfish. I use the word 'watched' very loosely. How much can you actually watch without feeling like you're going to hurl. It's too bad because sometimes those Food Channel techniques are totally adaptable.

Would they battle it out in a luxuriously equipped kitchen with every gadget imaginable (and some that look like weapons) or in a closet sized kitchen that doubles as a changing room? The kind where you can wash your hands, reach in the fridge and turn off the stove timer all at once? Who would the chefs be for the first episode?

If only the show really could be vegan.

It got me thinking.. about the chefs that could be on it..and the secret ingredients. Tomatillos? Persimmons? Yuba? Fennel root? How about some love/hate foods like cilantro? Olives? It could get really interesting. What would you pick for a secret ingredient?

Our dinner includes two of those potential secret ingredients which is obviously why they are on my mind. And probably still on my hands, too. It was my first time using fresh tomatillos, and I had no idea that they would be sticky under the paper. I've never cooked with pumpkin seeds either. Those went into the sauce for the Chile Cornmeal Crusted Tofu from V'con. It was crazy yummy!

Lunch was a bowl of leftover chili cin carne mole from VwaV. Breakfast up top (also from VwaV) is Fronch Toast with a side of Yves Canadian Bacon. I'm not big on meat analogs so this was a real risk. Well, not that big a risk, it's not like I'm jumping out of a plane or anything, but still a risk. It was actually ok. I've got an idea how to use it in something tomorrow with the chicken seitan from Don't Eat off the Sidewalk.

I'll keep you posted.

Maybe if I got to pick the secret ingredient I'd pick asparagus. That would kick asparagus, right?

1 Bad, 3 Good (with Cookies)

Remember that survey? Where it asked about your biggest cooking failure? In spite of serious competition for failures, the Gluten Roast I made for Thanksgiving one year wins the award. I think it was a VT recipe back in the late 80's and I've searched the net to find it for your entertainment pleasure, but it must have been such an embarrassment that they paid for it to disappear. For good reason. Trust me.

The "Roast" was made of raw gluten and stuffed with a traditional style stuffing before rolling it up and tying it in twine. Yeah, I bought kitchen twine for it because I desperately wanted it to be a success. First problem: the seitan (excuse me, "Gluten") wouldn't roll out. No matter how much I pulled, pushed and swore, it ended up about 6 X 8 and 2 inches thick. Sounding yummy, isn't it? Easy to fill and roll, right? Wrong. So I wrassled it into shape, tied it with twine and popped it in a casserole pan. Dump broth over it, make a foil tent, bake a couple of hours and I should be good to go. If I remember right (and it's so traumatic that I may not) it baked a couple of hours. When it came out of the oven, it looked pretty good. We pack up the car to head to my sister's and it even smells pretty good. I thought that I had triumphed in the face of gluten danger.

If it ended here, Thanksgiving would have worked out. But no. We had to cut and try to eat it in front of the omni family. Cutting it was like cutting rubber, eating it was even worse. It resembled a basketball and probably would have bounced. My brother was relentless about it and mentions it every Thanksgiving, or even just whenever I see him. I knew that I was thinking ahead when I was about 2 and threw a toy into his chin, causing him to get stitches.

I wish I could find that recipe and see how bad it is or if it was something I did. Probably a combination. We'll be having seitan this year, but I'm not sure how I'll prepare it. I hope I don't have to punch my brother out.

Just to prove I really can cook....sometimes....

Check out today's breakfast: Blueberry Corn Pancakes from Veganomicon.

Last night's dinner was this great tester dish from One Chubby Vegan called Pasta a la Things. Yummy and mushroomy, with fresh herbs and lemon. And she knows how to use garlic. No vampires coming near us. Or any people, for that matter. Good thing we're reclusive.


Up top are cookies. I like to start with cookies. Everything is better with cookies. Those are Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies from Autumn Vegan and Garrick. Have I mentioned how much I love them? Not a single one of their recipes has disappointed me yet. Check out the perfect ooohy gooeyness of those chips.

Tonight's dinner is going to be my favorite chili ever, the Chili sin Carne Mole from VwaV. I can hardly wait. In the meantime, I'm off to have some cookies.

No Theme Thursday

Here's our front porch, all dressed up to showcase the brussel sprouts on the stalk we got at the grocery store. So exciting! Watch for the brussel sprouts to reappear later in this post. But dessert first, right?

These are the Nanaimo Bars.... and the recipe calls for nuts. Any one how knows me, knows that I am a long time nut hater. But I've been trying and actually enjoying some of them lately. Like in the Caesar Salad dressing from Veganomion and in a few other recipes. I'm working on it. Well, in this recipe, the nuts are ground and completely disappear and you're left with these incredibly rich, delicious and elegant bars. I made a batch to take to our nephew's birthday yesterday and everyone enjoyed them. Their previous exposure to vegan cookies were the Bakery Style Chocolate Chip cookies which were also well-received.

Fun fact: Nanaimo Bars may have originated in Canada when a housewife in the 1950's created and submitted a recipe for a magazine contest. Or maybe not. Supposedly something similar existed in NYC in the 30's under a different name: "New York Slices". Or maybe not. There are also references to something similar back in the 1800's. But no matter what the origin, I wiki'ed that so you didn't have to do it yourself.

My sister is rather unpleasant about the whole vegan thing and really pisses me off. She made Baked Alaska for his birthday cake and informed me that she only made a small one because we weren't eating it. Guess she wasn't counting the fact that she'd made TWO and put one in the freezer and the one that she served would have worked for 12 people. Geez, I'm so sorry to put her out. I can hardly wait for Thanksgiving with them. Anyway....

This is a Weirdwich. No other possible name. It's chickeny seitan, leftover reuben marinade (yesterday's lunch) and portobellos all cooked and tossed with a bit of nayonnaise and some spices. It tasted better than it sounds, but was really weird.



And that Salt and Pepper Tofu that was inadvertently left out of Veganomicon. I've made it before, but my husband would like it if I made it every day. Not happening. It's good enough to eat that often, with so many new recipes popping up all the time, who wants boundaries?



I resorted to another standby this week, too: BBQ seitan. One of my old favorites... here it is paired with a new favorite, the Mac Daddy in it's unadulterated form. Yummy.

After rereading this post, it's kinda a No Theme Thursday.

In Support of the Writers Guild...

I'm cutting back on the text.

Ok, not really. My allegiance is to VeganMoFo, not the Writers Guild. But the truth of the matter is that my last posts seem very wordy, so I'm cutting straight to the pictures.

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies




Snickerdoodles




Peanut Butter Thumbprints



Soft Oatmeal Raisin Cookies




Cinnamon Roll Cookies

These are all testers from Autumn Vegan and Garrick and you won't believe how good they are!

I'm editing this to add that I'm actually posting this on Wednesday, the 14th, in spite of what my blog says. I'm having issues with the time zone and date stamping options. Obviously.

Chipotle Seitan: Dish 1 and Dish 2

Two great dishes made using that chipotle seitan recipe from Don't Eat off the Sidewalk! Baking seitan in foil was a first for me and I liked the results. This recipe is quicker and easier than the ingredient list makes it look.

Chipotle Seitan Pasta with Tequila

1 red onion, diced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, diced finely
1/2 recipe (1 tube) chipotle seitan
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 - 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp thyme
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup tequila
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
juice from 1/2 lime
1/2 cup corn
1 15 oz can fire roasted tomatoes (or crushed, whatever)
1 Tbsp nooch
salt and pepper

3/4 box small penne, cooked (or the pasta you happen to have on hand)
3/4 cup pasta water (or so)
toppers as desired (see below)

You can probably figure this out.. it's a typical pasta saucy recipe so I'm going to keep it kinda brief. Really, this is the kind of dish you can make in your sleep. Saute the veggies in oil, add the seitan chunks, after a few minutes, add the garlic and other spices. Deglaze with the booze. Add the tomatoes, corn, nooch, balsamic and lime juice. Let cook a while then toss with pasta and some pasta water. Always do those spices to taste, of course.

We topped this with a dab of tofutti sour cream, some scallions, chopped tomatoes.. and this is the essential topper: some crunched up chips. They give it a really cool textural boost.

Now.. these are amazing! It makes 2 huge quesadillas. Serve them with lettuce, avocado salad, a little sour cream... yummy! Again, up the spices if you like it hot. I'm thinking it will make great party food.

Chipotle Seitan Quesadillas

1 Tbsp oil
1/2 onion, diced small
1/4 recipe chipotle seitan, shredded or cut thinly
1 red pepper, cut in thin strips
1/2 jalapeno or more, diced small
bag 'o baby spinach (it's green and I'm feeling Irish while I type this Mexican recipe)
1/3 cup corn or so
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
juice from 1/2 a lime
1/3 c. shredded carrots
soy cheese, optional, just a little bit
tortillas

Grill seitan a little in the oil, add the onions, peppers then the seasonings and garlic. Cook a little, add the spinach and carrots. Cook until the spinach wilts then add the rest of the ingredients and cook a little bit longer. Spray the outside of the tortillas and place 2 of them spray side down on a cookie sheet. Divide the ingredients between the two, sprinkle with cheese if you're using it. Then top with the other sprayed tortillas (sprayed side out). Press down a little and bake at 425 until browned.

This post is made possible by the delicious chipotle seitan recipe in Don't Eat off the Sidewalk #2. I can't rave about it enough. So I'm plugging it again. Get it while you can! Thanks so much for the seitan recipe, Katie!