Tag Archives: vegan planet

Oops, i did it again, again. Sexay nom nom nom….

Ahhhhhh. Do you hear that? It’s the sound of I, the midwest vaygun, having a peaceful morning in my jammies, drinking chai and thinking about food. not school, not money, just food. it’s amazing. I dropped out of school last week to put the focus back on the things that really matter in life, and i couldn’t be happier. We have alot of cathcing up to do, blog and I. so here’s the shake down: Thanksgiving was rad! I made Todd X’s vegan pecan pie! and it was heavenly. I also made my own version of seitan roulade, with mixed results (i will tackle this another day). and i had the BEST green bean casserole of my life, thanks to my sis becca. the majority of the pics are from a shitty camera phone so i left most of them out.

Also, i became re-acquainted with The HardTimes Cafe, why did i forget about thee for so long!? the entire menu is vegan/vegetarian with a huge mexican section, and probably the best biscuits and gravy i’ve had in awhile. They are open super late too, so now i know where the after bar sugar fix is coming from:)

And before i forget, the Triple Rock now has vegan cupcakes from Miel Y Leche! so good!

here’s what i’ve been up to food-wise since my last visit, so enjoy!

todd x's vegan pecan pie- unbaked

* this was hands down the BEST version of pecan pie i’ve ever had. you can find the recipe at the PPK blogs, or at getsconed! jus give ‘er a google!

african sweet potato and peanut stew from vegan planet

african sweet potato and peanut stew from vegan planet

chickpea noodle soup-with stars! from veganomicon

vegan almond feta! from the vegetarian times, thanks becca!

chickpea cutlets! i make em by the dozen! from veganomicon

thanksgiving take 5! cutlets, mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy and stuffing!

creamy tomato soup from fresh from the vegetarian slow cooker

vegan grilled cheeze FTW

and now an ode to the most important meal of the day:

CUPCAKES!

chocolate raspberry from the wedge

black forest from the wedge

cookies and cream cupcake from VCTOTW

vegan peanut butter cupcake from Meil Y Leche @ the triple rock

i missed you, Sexay Nom Nom Nom part….

i feel like i haven’t written in over a week-sad! i suppose school does eat up most of my time, and general married stuff too, so hopefully i can find a way to blog telepathically. i really feel that life would be pretty damn awesome if i could! anyways, the weather has been uncharacteristically warm these past few days; today is supposed to be 63 or so, and i wish i had the proper supplies to grill! oh well. here’s a run down of whats been going on in my kitchen the past few weeks, and hopefully i can give you 2 recipes:)

missed you!

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mini vegan thanksgiving!

chickpea cutlets (a main staple in this house) from the veganomicon, and bryant terry’s citrus collard greens, and spiced mashed potatoes from the november addition of the vegetarian times. super, duper, yummy.

banana oatmeal pancakes!banana oatmeal pancakes from vegan planet, i didn’t have all purpose flour so i used 1 cup whole wheat and whatever the other half was (lol) i substituted oat flour. i also skipped the naner slices (warm mushy banana= ick) and added a generous amount of fresh ground nutmeg and cinnamon!

lolthis is how i feel some days:)

press that tofu!

sweetnsourtofu

sweet and sour tifu from vegan yum yum

sweet and sour tofu from the yegan yum yum blog! it lived up to its name, and i most definitely suggest going the broccoli almond route!the first pic is the tofu being pressed under every heavy condiment/canned good i had! ha!

african peanut soup from vegweb.comeasy west african peanut soup from vegweb.com

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=10092.0

i added 1 extra cup of soymilk, 1 extra carrot, and cooked it in a crock pot for 8 hours on low. before serving i pureed the soup w/an immersion blender, and added the scallions last. sriracha was a tasty addition!

pasta bake, aka deconstructed veggie lasagna!Deconstructed Pasta aka Lasagna for lazy people

serves 6-8

1 lb rigatoni, rhombi, or another fun shaped pasta

2 zucchini, halved and sliced

8 oz button mushrooms, or crimini, quartered

1 medium red onion, 1/2 inch dice

1 bell pepper, 1/2 inch dice

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 package firm tofu

2 tbs nutritional yeast

1 tbs cashew butter

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 tsp each: parsley, thyme, basil
1 28oz can diced tomatoes

1/2 can (3 tbs) tomato paste

heat the oven to 350

this recipe is quite large, i needed to use my dutch oven to fit it all! if you don’t have a dutch oven, make only half, or find a really big lasagna pan:)

in your dutch oven, (or big frying pan) combine the onions and some olive oil and begin to saute over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. add the garlic, bell pepper, and the zuchini. cook until the veggie have softened up and begin to brown and set aside. meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil for the pasta and make the tofu ricotta. cook the pasta until 3/4 of the way done. for the tofu, combine the nutritional yeast, cashew butter, and tofu in a food processor. blend until smooth and grainy.

in a medium bowl, combine the can of tomatoes, tomato paste, seasonings, and salt and pepper to taste.

to assemble:

to whatever jumbo pan you choose, put down 1/2 the tomato sauce, follow with 1/2 the noodles, 1/2 the veggies, and half the cheese. finish with the rest of the veggies, the rest of the noodles, the tofu, and then the sauce. sprinkle with pine nuts. cover and bake until bubbly, about 25-30 minutes. this won’t stay layered as you serve it, but that ok:)

feel free to up the sauce ratio if you like.

noodlebake

a big ol' pile of pasta!

Sexay Nom Nom Nom part 2!

hey folks! been having a busy week and haven’t had the time to post so heres more sexay snackin pics and an easy all day pasta sauce recipe from yours truly!

the first recipe was tweaked from vegan planet by robin robertson

i took the indian spiced quinoa from the grain section and stuffed it into 2 small squashes that were par-baked at 450 for 20 minutes to caramelize and then baked again at 350 to heat through. i par-baked the squash and made the quinoa the night before so that dinner would be ready on tuesday in a snap!

acornsquash.1acorn2

the next recipe i made was the white bean cassoulet from the veganomicon. i forgot the peas so it wasn’t as sweet as it could have been, but its still delish! its like pot pie crossed with dumpling soup thanks to a thick beany stew topped with biscuits. i cant get the recipe to fit into a skillet so i’ve always made it in the dutch oven.

cassoulet

best smells ever!

best smells ever!

cassoulet.3

and last but not least: all day pasta sauce! its brainless, thick, rich and gives you time to do whatever it is you do while it bubbles away. i heart crock pots!

all day pasta sauce

serves 4-6

2, 28oz cans crushed tomatoes

1 small onion, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 small shallot, minced

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 c balsamic vinegar

1 tsp agave nectar

in a large skillet, saute the onion in a few tablespoons olive oil until softened, add the garlic and shallot and continue to cook until color starts to build.sprinkle in the dried herbs to soften.sauce2 add in the vinegar to deglaze, and continue to cook for a minute or so until the vinegar gets thick and clings to the onions. pour into a crock pot and add everything else. set on high (6 hours) or put on low if you wont be home for 8 hours. serve as you’d like! i used mine for my hubbys 30th birthday dinner: classic spaghetti and veggie balls! it’s his yearly tradition.sauce1sauce2sauce3i suppose the sauce got drowned out in this pic, but i swear it delicious!!!!

super.simple.dinner.

after carb-loading over the last few days i wanted something a little lighter for dinner that could also be quickly prepared before we went to my hubby’s night (bump city) at the caterpillar lounge. we picked a recipe from vegan planet; rosemary lemon potatoes with black olives and sun dried tomatoes, and i also marinated and roasted some gigantic portobello mushrooms that i sliced at the end and placed on top to round it out nicely. the mushrooms and marinade also make a great base for sandwiches, skewers or even diced onto a pizza.

marinated roasted portobello mushrooms

serves 4

4 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed (about 2 lbs)

1/4 c olive oil

2 tbs balsamic vinegar

1 tsp braggs liquid aminos (or soy sauce-1/2 tsp)

1 heaping tsp herbs de provence (a blend of rosemary, fennel, savory, thyme, basil, tarragon, dill, oregano, lavender, chervil and marjoram)

1 tbs lemon juice

pinch of salt

pepper to taste

marinade

marinade

wipe your mushroom caps clean, prick gently all over with a fork and place in a shallow dish. whisk all of the other ingredients together and pour over the mushrooms. there will be just enough marinade to coat the mushrooms, but that’s what you want. let this soak in for a half an hour while you prepare your potatoes or whatever side dish you choose.

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crank your oven to 500 and place the caps on a cookie sheet that you’ve dedicated to roasting (because in my experience, it wrecks the finish, so only ruin one) and pop in. flip after ten minutes and roast for another 5-20 depending on how dense and charred you like them. i go for about 20 total. let rest for a minute, slice up and serve, or eat as is.

rosemary lemon potatoes from vegan planet

rosemary lemon potatoes from vegan planet

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Tomato Basil Lasagna Spirals

dinner tonight came from one of my favorite cookbooks, Vegan Planet, by robin robertson. i think the book is my favorite because its huge, the ingredients are easily accessible, and it extremely diverse in styles and cultures.

tomato basil lasagna spirals

tomato basil lasagna spirals

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i really liked the texture rolling created, you got a much higher noodle/filling to sauce ratio and i want to start adapting some of my own lasagna recipes to be made this way. yum!