HALP, PLZ!

Some of you may know, but for those of you who don't, I live in what may possibly be the least vegan-friendly metropolitan area. Ever. The closest health food store is about a 30 minute drive from my apartment and the selection is kind of limited. For the past year and a half, I've been avidly searching for miso in any grocery store I go to and it simply is not there. I've looked in the international food section and nothin'. Someone tell me where you typically find miso in your town with a staggering population of 30,000. Plz?

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

The only thing richer than chocolate chip pancakes for brunch are the damn Waltons. (Go ahead, slap your knee. We both know you want to.) Dripping with Earth Balance and and maple syrup, these are heart attack waiting to happen. A delicious heart attack.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes:
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 tbs Splenda (yes, I am yet another slave to the Splenda con)
1 cup soy or rice milk
2 tbs canola oil
substitute for one egg (I use Ener-G)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup chocolate chips (or more)

Heat a large pan on medium-low heat before mixing ingredients. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl and wet in a separate medium bowl. Combine mixtures. Add your chips until well combined. I find it is best to use a ladle to spoon your batter in to the pan to get the perfect measurements for a pancake. Also, I discovered that it far better to have someone to share these pancakes. Pancakes are obviously the kind of food that requires company.

Vegan MoFo Post 4: Hodge Podge

I feel like one big failure this month. It's already the 29th of October and I've only watched 27 horror movies (I will post the final count, I know you're just dying) and only posted 4 Vegan MoFo entries. What can I say? It was a mildly hectic month.



Ah, fall. Finally, it's cold enough outside that I voluntarily seek refuge from the cold in a sweltering kitchen. Generally speaking, I think posting chili recipes is utterly pointless so I'm not gonna! I made this with the essential baking dish of cornbread. Cornbread on crack, that is.



This conrbread recipe was the one found in La Dolce Vegan and I was not very happy with it. While the outer texture was very nice, it was still gooey in the middle and it was a little bland.



All this meal made me crave was some pad thai. Just your standard seitan stir fry served atop some rice noodles. Complete with brocoli, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and makeshift teriyake sauce.



I imagine Isa Chandra Moskowitz had envisioned greater things for her Mac Daddy recipe, but that is all irrelevant now. I present: TVP Helper!



The face of instant-one-pot-meal joy. That's right, I'm putting this stuff in boxes and packets and slappin' this face on it to make a killing. Our slogan: Remember when you were 5 years old at the dinner table denying that mass of macaroni and and mysterious creamy sauce with bits of crumbly brown matter swimming in it that mom would force upon you? We forkin' do!

Vegan MoFo Post 3: Trip to Columbus

For my upcoming birthday, my mother decided to take me to Columbus for a day of vegan bakeries and thrift store shopping. We even stocked up on obscure kitchen goods at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. The first restaurant we went to was Dragonfly. We made it in time for the brunch special which included the buffet, (about five or six options of plates of cold stuff), and one entree. This was really expensive and the tab was about $45 for my mom and I just to eat there.

The second place we went to was Pattycake Bakery. Oh. My. GAWD. I only spent about $15 there but I should've stocked up on vegan baked goods. The cool thing about this particular bakery is that you can order stuff off the website. My mother, who I hail as a baking jedi, was seriously impressed with this place. 'Nuff said. On with pictures of the nomz!

Black Bean Salad, Sesame and Collard Pasta Salad, and Cashew Rice Salad

Mixed Greens Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing



Concord Grape Pancakes

Sundried Tomato and Cauliflower Omelet

Whoopie Pies, a delicacy

Cookies, more Whoopie Pies, Spelt Fudge Brownies..



Lovely Lemon Cupcakes


sdkjfhdshjkshgkj. Cheese Cake.

Vegan MoFo Post 2: A Tale of Two Pastas

Kale and Walnut Pesto

This was the first time I've ever had/prepared/cooked homemade pesto. It certainly won't be the last. Pine nuts are too expensive and generally I only keep dried basil in the kitchen. Here is the product of one cheap vegan.

Kale Walnut Pesto:
1 large bunch of kale
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped rather finely
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (you could use soy Parmesan)
salt and pepper to taste

Note: I wanted my pesto to be greener after adding the nutritional yeast, so I added a couple handfuls of spinach, as well.

Seriously, do I need to give instructions for how to prepare a pesto sauce? Blend, god damn it. Then serve over 2 cups of pastaof your choice. I chose brown rice rotini.

Artichoke Chik'n Penne

This was beautiful. I could probably eat this multiple times a week for the rest of my life and not be bored with it or dwell on the repercussions of my carb consumption. Noms.

Artichoke Chik'n Penne:
2 cups penne pasta
1 8 oz jar artichoke hearts
2-3 cloves garlic
1 package Light Life chik'n strips
2 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs basil
salt and pepper to taste

Drain the artichoke hearts and saute the garlic in the juice from the jar. when garlic starts to brown add artichokes and lemon juice. Saute for about 5 minutes then add remaining ingredients. Serve over pasta. Add a few dollops of Earth Balance to your pasta so the noodles aren't so dry.

Vegan MoFo: Post 1

We've been eating good in this ol' efficiency apartment o' mine. I issued a verbal memo to my coworkers that if they have any cravings this month whatsoever for a baked good of any kind to let me know. This is the product of said memo:

German Chocolate Cupcakes- sheer decadence

A coworker of mine recently began eatin' veg'n and requested that I make some cupcakes. I was pleased when my coworker admitted to making his 'o' face while licking the wrapper. Cupcakes never really receive a higher rating than that.

Plate Lickin' TVP Lasagna

Alright, alright. I was going to try to wait until my actual birthday to have my favorite dish ever: classic spinach lasagna, but 1) tofu ricotta and 2) tofu fuckin' ricotta. Also, 3) this merely presents the opportunity for someone to take me out to dinner for my birthday and allows me to sit on my ass for an entire day. I used the tofu ricotta recipe from How It All Vegan! truly a staple in this kitchen. I made a layer that had sauteed cherry tomatoes, TVP, and mushrooms. Nomz!

Banana Walnut Muffins

So I'm sure you're not supposed to cook with two week old bananas, but I did any way. And, guess what? It was forkin' delicious. I used a go-to recipe for banana nut bread on VegWeb and instead of throwing it in a loaf pan, I threw it in a muffin pan. These were great for mornings when I have class and function for a solid 5 hours merely on coffee and cigarettes, with maybe the occasional bag of Fritos. Perfect on the go breakfast and totally nutritious.

Lentil Couscous Curry

At a glance, it would appear that someone has relieved there bowels atop my plate of dry coucous. Meanies! Well, fret not interweb fewd junkies; it's curried red lentils. This recipe was retrieved from VegWeb and is a very flexible recipe. However, it's not a very photogenic one. I used carrots and a green bell pepper in mine. I should've mad emore curry sauce because my couscous was a little dry.

Homemade Falafel Pitas with Tzatziki Sauce

What a horribly nutritious meal. Falafel balls made from scratch? Tzatziki sauce made with cucumbers grown from my man's mother's garden? I told you, we eat good.

Vegan MoFo is Upon Us!

.. and, I am damn excited. October is the ideal month for me for the following reasons: 1) an entire month dedicated to the delicacy that is vegan fewd nomz, 2) my birfday is this month, and 3) HALLOWEEEEEEEEEEEEEN. This means that I have thirty one days to cram as many horror movies into one month as humanly possible. From 80's horror to 90's, from 70's exploitation to Universal Monsters, from Japanese horror to.. You get the idea. I admit, I've cheated and already gotten a head start on my horror movie intake. What can I say?

I haven't posted a lot of late and not due to lack of cooking. If you haven't noticed it's late September which means I've been back in school for almost a month. And, it's kind of kicking my ass. Also, when I've been cooking, it's been evening time meals where I'm trying to relax. Taking pictures of my food has been the last thing on my mind when a big plate of tastiness is sitting in front of me. Anyway, without further ado, here is what I've been cooking up.
















This was my second illness soup: Asian Mushroom Noodle Soup. It was inspired by a recipe I found in one of my mom's many low-carb cookbooks. One thing I will never submit to is this low-carb craze we find ourselves in. Carbs 'til death! The recipe in the book called for pork, so I subbed seitan. This recipe is really basic and really anyone could make it on the fly. It incorporated cabbage, carrots, button mushrooms, and wheat spaghetti noodles. (Soba noodles would've been MUCH better, though.) This was a really healthy meal and even the sodium content was very mild.















Remember that tempeh stew I made like, a post ago? The left over tempeh was used to make these: Tempeh burritos. I didn't do anything special. I steamed tempeh with some soy sauce and then topped it with some homemade peach mango salsa. Does anything sound more elegant than 'peach mango salsa'? I think not.
















This hearty red lentil pasta sauce is one of my favorites that I've made recently. Next time, though, I'd rather make it with a different pasta, one that holds sauce a bit better. This is a great alternative to those fatty fake meat grounds that you usually throw in your pasta sauce to make spaghetti.















About a year ago, I couldn't stand the taste of tahini. I would avoid making homemade hummus just to avoid it. I found it impossible to cook with and even more impossible to scarf down. Tahini is definitely an acquired taste, but once you do acquire it, you're hooked. Using tahini in sauces and such is all about combining it with the proper amount of water. Tahini has a very potent nutty flavor and needs water to counteract it and tone it down. I love love love this recipe for soba noodles with tahini sauce! This was my first time cooking soba noodles and I couldn't stop snacking on them while I waited for the rest of my meal to finish cooking. Such an awesome flavor. A note: I think next time I make an alfredo sauce I will mix equal parts tahinia and water to the garlic, soy milk, margarine mixture. Tahini with the right amount of water has a bit of a cheesy quality that is absolutely delicious.

Tempeh Stew

This past week has been utterly horrid due to the fact that I seemed to have caught that cold that's been going around. It's been awful. Sore throat. Sniffles. Hacking cough. The works. Regular customers at my place of employment have even been teasing me and claiming that I have Swine Flu. Jerks. :( So, in an attempt to remedy my illness, I decided to be a little old-fashioned and whip up some hearty soup. And, it was hearty in deed. This soup is very low maintenance and since you cook the tempeh with the broth, you don't have to steam it beforehand. Could this have been more simple? Negative.

Tempeh Stew for the Sickly

1 cup red lentils
2 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 veggie bouillon cube
1 can chickpeas
2 medium tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
8 oz. tempeh

In a large pot, hydrate lentils with water through bay leaf on medium heat. Add more water if lentils start to stick. This is soup, after all. Add remaining ingredients, save the tempeh. Before the chickpeas are fully cooked, add tempeh and cover. When tempeh is desired texture, remove from heat and serve.

Tofu Spinach Alfredo

This was thrown together in a bit of a hurry. I used my go- to alfredo recipe that I modified a bit for this recipe and Brianna Clark Grogan's Breast of Tofu recipe that can be found on Everyday Dish. I would've preferred to have used penne, but being that I'm a broke college student, I had to use what was on hand.

Alfredo Sauce
1 cup soy milk
3 tsp chickpea flour
2 tsp all purpose flour
1 tbs nutritional yeast
2 tbs Earth Balance
dash of cayenne
salt and pepper to taste

Bring soy milk to a boil and flour to a boil while whisking constantly. Lower heat and add remainder of ingredients. Continue to whisk until desired consistency achieved. Could this be any easier?

Some Not-So-Recent Fewd Endeavors.

The concept for this dish derived from a certain sous- chef of mine screaming, "This is FRY AND BREAD EVERYTHING NIGHT." It totally was. Totally. I used the Breast of Tofu recipe from Everyday Dish but instead breaded it with garbanzo flour. This gave it such an awesome flavor. I opted to bake the tofu this time around, but I have to say, frying it is definitely the more successful method. The breaded zucchini was a bit of an experiment. It was also breaded with garbanzo flour. I used Ener-G egg replacer in the coating the breading process.
















Next to ramen noodles, casseroles are the ultimate comfort food for me. Not to mention this dish had rice, broccoli, garlic, and an awesome cheeze sauce consisting primarily of tahini and nutritional yeast. Where else could I have found such nomz other than It Ain't Meat, Babe. I was surprised the sauce was as flavorful as it was because it is thinned with water. I found a way to sneak garbanzo flour in this dish, too! Primarily for thickening the sauce. This was really quick and easy. I recommend it as a quick drunken meal or a side dish.

Hello Fellow Fewd Junkies!

I haven't posted in a while because I've been doing absolutely no cooking. I've been in central California visiting my father and younger siblings. My meals at the house have been limited to spinach salads and boca burgers. Nothing too inventive. I did however encounter a few food gems when my family and I journeyed to Santa Cruz this past weekend.

The first was at Falafel House. The staff was surprsingly helpful and the food was delicious. While my family was off dining at a local burger place downtown, I wandered off to find more vegan friendly nomz and this is where I ended up. I ordered your standard falafel pita with a side of pita chips. If you do find yourself at Falafel House, be sure to order the vegan tahini sauce, which is friggin' godly. The default tahini sauce they give you has dairy in it.

The next place that floored me was Badass Coffee Company. It's establishments like this that make me ashamed to be employed at Starbucks. Their coffee selection is limited to Kona, but that was perfectly fine with me. They had soy options and even their white mocha syrup was vegan. As if that weren't enough to win me over, they offered vegan options in the pastry case! I ordered some vegan chocolate cake which was rich and dense and moist and pretty much everything that chocolate cake should be. They also had oat bars that were on par with Clif bars. The staff was very friendly and helpful here as well. It made me a little sad that they were located in the more commercial section of downtown Santa Cruz.

EDIT: A few hours after this post, my father was kind enough to take me to Davis to eat at a restaurant I'd been eyeballing for a while via the interwebz. We ate at Delta of Venus. While this isn't a vegetarian or vegan restaurant, it has both options available. My father was able to eat a turkey sammie and I had a curried tofu salad sammie. The tofu salad was alright considering that I find soy mayo positively disgusting. I also got a homemade chocolate chip bran muffin that was later enjoyed with a glass of soy milk for dessert. This restaurant had a nice little atmoshpere despite all of the pretentious art fags that littered the lawn. Davis is a quaint little college town and Delta of Venus definitely reflected that.

Falafel Pitas with Homemade Hummus

Talk about a chickpea overload. This meal contained an obscene amount of protein and was positively delicious. My only criticism: I would've baked these. Either my bum efficiency apartment stove is well, a bum efficiency apartment stove or these just don't gt cooked through the center when they're fried. Also, due to my hormonal stove top's incosistent tempurature, they got mildly deep fried and a little burnt on the outside.

While I've made my fair share of homemade hummus, I've NEVER made falafel from scratch. I'm not sure how authentic this recipe is, but it certainly did the trick. This meal was ideal because it allowed me the opportunity to sneak onions into EVERYTHING. Seriously. I can't stress enough how perfect this recipe would have been if I would've I'd only baked it.

Baked Mac 'n Cheez

Super Ultra Comfort Fewd Nomz achieved! This took less than 45 minutes to prepare and cook and was so wonderful. It was even enjoyed by a cheese-addicted friend of mine. Win. I used my Supa Simple Mac Sauce and two cups of macaroni. For the topping I sprinkled a handful of Panko breadcrumbs and about a teaspoon of both paprika and pepper. Also, if you have taste buds are even remotely similar to moi, you'll throw in an onion. Just for good measure.

Tofu Ricotta Stuffed Shells

This was completely fantastic. I used the recipe found in How it all Vegan! for my tofu ricotta and kind of free-styled everything else. This recipe calls for about 16 shells. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. I opted to throw some soy mozzarella slices on top. NOMZ! I advise you do this after your shells have finished baking otherwise they will pretty much just disintegrate. This made 2 large servings. (4 small servings)

Tomato Sauce

1/2 lb mushrooms, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
water, add as needed in tablespoons
1 small yellow onion, minced
1 large tomato, diced
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
2 tbs tomato paste
1-2 tsp oregano
3 tsp basil
salt and pepper to taste

In a large sauce pan, on medium-high heat, stir in mushrooms, onions, and garlic with a tablespoon of water and cook until mushrooms are tender. Add tomatoes and another tablespoon of water if needed. Allow the tomatoes to dissolve a bit and add the spices, then add paste and sauce. Continue to add water if necessary in tablespoon increments. Reduce heat and cover until ready to serve over pasta.

How it all Vegan! Tofu Ricotta

1 lb medium tofu
1/4 cup soy milk
1 tsp oregano
3 tsp basil
1 tsp salt
2 tbs lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups spinach, chopped


In a blender or food processor, blend all ingredients other than the spinach. Blend until the mixture achieves a consistency like cottage cheese. Add water if needed. Stir in spinach and set aside until ready for use.

On the Grill

This past weekend I went up to my mother's. The prime objective every time I visit her is to make use of both her awesome kitchen and her even more awesome garden. The menu: grilled tofu, grilled squash, roasted sweet potatoes with red onions, grilled portabellos, and bread. The tofu was marinated with soy sauce, olive oil, a hefty amount of minced garlic, and fresh thyme and lemon basil picked from her garden. The squash was marinated in a simple garlic, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar mixture. The potatoes were roasted with red onions and cilantro, also fresh from my mom's garden. And, finally, the mushrooms were coated with olive oil and garlic. Simple, but oh, so satisfying.

And, for dessert, I made my favorite banana nut bread recipe and sprinkled chocolate chips atop the batter. Leave it to me to figure out a way to add chocolate to EVERYTHING.

Bean Burritos with Spanish Rice

Hai frandz. Long time no post. I haven't been doing a lot of cooking lately mainly due to the fact that I have been in the process of moving/settling into a new apartment. On with the fewdz.

I developed a love/hate relationship with these burritos. I loved them because they were forking delicious and simple to make. I hated them because I stuffed my face so hard that it made drinking later that night miserable and damn near impossible. :(

These burritos were completely improvised which means the measurements aren't exact, but rough estimates. I initially intended on making black bean burritos, but after realizing I had failed to buy a can of black beans during my most recent Kroger excursion, I resorted to that pound of pintos I had sitting in the back of my cabinet. Still. So. Good.

Bean Burritos with Spanish Rice

Ingredients:
1 lb pinto beans
6 cups water (for hydrating beans)
1 green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1-2 tbs paprika, cayenne, ground cumin
tortillas of your choosing
salt, pepper, and cilantro to taste

If you are planning on making these burritos, I recommend preparing beans the night before. In a medium saucepan, boil the water and add the beans. Let boil uncovered for about 30 minutes. Add garlic and spices. Reduce heat and cover. Let beans cook for another hour. I prefer to let them sit over night in the refrigerator so they build up the right consistency. After they have sat, add the bell pepper. What you do next with them is entirely your choosing. You can either mash them with a potato masher for refried beans or you can add about another 1/2 cup water and reheat them on the stove top.

For the rice:

Ingredients:
2 cups basmati rice
1 6 oz. can of tomato paste
1 tsp turmeric, or a thread of saffron if you're fancy like that
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin, plus more for the rice
black pepper to taste

Prepare basmati rice as directed on packaging, (usually 4 cups of water to 2 cups of rice with 1-2 tbs of Earth Balance, plus 1 tsp cumin.) After you uncover the rice when it is nice and fluffy, turn of heat but leave saucepan on burner. Add spices first because the tomato paste makes it more difficult to work with and incorporate the spices well. Enjoy!

Shepard's Pie

This was my first time cooking/eating shepard's pie, vegan or otherwise. I had no idea what I was missing out on. It is simply the perfect comfort food. In preparation for this meal, I had skimmed through various shepard's pie recipes on the interwebz. This recipe is an adaptation of on I found on VegWeb and from It Ain't Meat Babe. Enjoy!

Loaded Shepard's Pie
5 russet potatoes
1/2 red onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, sliced or shredded
1 bunch of kale, chopped
4 oz. mushrooms, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
2 tsp basil
1 cup Morning Star crumbles or TVP
3/4 soy milk
1tsp cornstarch
1 tsp flour
1 tbs nutritional yeast
salt and pepper, to taste

Wash, peel, and boil potatoes, as you normally would mashed potatoes. While potatoes are boiling, saute onion and garlic in some olive oil on medium high heat until translucent. Add remaining vegetables and bay leaf. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Alow vegetables to wilt a bit. Add soy crumbles and remaining spices and cover. When crumbles are soft, add soy milk, conrstarch, yeast, and flour. Mix well and allow to boil. Prepare an 8 x 8 baking dish. Spoon vegetable filling into dish and flaten. Do the same with potatos. Sprinkle some oregano and thyme on top. Broil for 4 minutes. Stuff face.

Molasses Cookies

This is probably the most successful cookie recipe I've ever encountered. I've had my fair share of crumbly and dry vegan cookies, but these were just perfect. My only criticism would be the amount of canola oil, but I'll gladly compromise my weight for an exceptional cookie. These remind me a great deal of the molasses chew cookies the Starbucks I work at had about a year ago. These were also great comfort food after going to see Sam Saimi's new movie, Drag Me to Hell. Accredited with molasses cookie overload upon returning home: unspeakable acts committed against a kitten. WTF Raimi? I thought we were pals..

Black Bean Soup

I got this recipe from Show Me Vegan. This soup made me realize that I desperately need to organize my spice cabinet. While searching hurriedly for the cumin, I accidentally grabbed curry powder and added a heaping teaspoon of it. FML. This ended up not hurting the recipe, surprisingly. I also didn't have chipotle, so I couldn't call it smoky. Still so awesome.

bleh.

I haven't been in the mood to cook AT ALL lately. I've been living on a steady diet of Amy's burritos and ramen noodles; I'm not particularly proud of this. But, good news. I did make a trip to the grocery store today to load up on a lot of produce. More good news, my mom finished planting her garden today which means I shall have fresh basil, red peppers, cucumbers, and squash viddy viddy soon!

Since my last post, I've made another General Tao tofu plate, served over rice this time, and some VWAV mashed potatoes with punk rock chickpea gravy. Comfort food, glorious comfort food! I chopped up some kale and mashed it in with the potatoes, too. I also had to spell out k-a-l-e for the cashier at the grocery store so he could ring me up. Oh, Huntington and its inhabitants.

General Tao's Tofu

There was probably nothing healthy about this meal. It's only nutritionally redeeming quality was probably the steamed broccoli. As far as taste goes, I'd like to say: Daaaaaaaaaaaaayummmmm. I'm sure everyone has tried Vegweb's General Toa's tofu without complaint. I'd never tried frying tofu coated in cornstarch before, but it's now one of if not my favorite tofu recipes. I tinkered with the recipe a bit and used the sauce to coat the noodles as opposed to the tofu. Instead of minced ginger, I used powder which made the onion/garlic saute a tad sticky. This was fine because instead of veg stock, I had to use bouillon cubes and 1 1/2 cups of water. Other than that, I stuck to the recipe exactly, and it was nomz. Now, go! Make this tofu!

French Toast

Aside from breakfast casseroles, french toast was no doubt my favorite brunch food growing up. It's safe to say that I hadn't had french toast since I became vegan until I tried this recipe. It was really easy and didn't disappoint. I used Ezekiel bread for this recipe, which was great because the bread comes frozen. After it thaws, it's kind of tough, which is the preferred texture for vegan french toast. Here's the recipe for the french toast. I cut the recipe in half since I was only cooking for two, and I used half vanilla soy milk and half regular. It was still really sweet.

Savory Potato Bake

This recipe was kind of a fluke. It was originally intended to be a cheezy potato casserole. I tinkered with the recipe a bit and this is what happened. And, it was so, so good.

Savory Potato Bake

Ingredients:
5-6 medium russet potatoes
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
a few dollops of Earth Balance
salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 cup soy sauce

Preheat oven to 450. Wash and slice potatoes width-wise into coins. Prepare an 8x8 baking dish and put the first layer of potato slices. Put 2-3 dollops of EB on the first layer and ad 1/4 cup of the sauce and some of the onion slices. Repeat for the second layer. For the third layer, repeat and sprinkle peas. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 45 minutes.

Kale Chickpea Mash

I know I've mentioned about a hundred times, but a majority of my meals are based on what produce I have that is about to go bad. I just threw this together in a matter of minutes, and it was soooo good. I really need to do more meals like this, where I just improvise. I feel a bit silly posting this recipe because it's too easy.

Kale Chickpea Mash

Ingredients:
2 tbs EVOO
3 tbs minced garlic
1 bunch of kale
1 can garbanzo beans
2 tbs soy sauce
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp onion powder
salt to taste

Saute minced garlic in olive oil on medium-high heat until it turns golden brown, carefully as to not burn it. Add the kale and stir, preferably with tongs to coat the kale in the oil and garlic. (You may need to add a few tbs of water.) After the kale has wilted a bit, add the garbanzo beans and cook for about 4 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and stir. Begin mashing the chickpeas. I use a fork because I don't like them mashed too thoroughly; I still like some chunks. Garnish with some additional nutritional yeast and NOM.

Apple Cake

I spent this past weekend at my mom's, doing laundry and making use of her spacious kitchen. I'm always pretty envious of her kitchen and its appliances because I have the tiniest kitchen known to man. I have absolutely no counter top space; almost everything I prepare has to be done on my kitchen table. Did I mention my kitchen table isn't even a real kitchen table? It was a model dining set Dave inherited when he first moved out on his own. And, it's tiny. Really tiny.

Needless to say, when my mother asked me to bake for her, I seized the opportunity to cook in what I deem a 'real kitchen'. My baking endeavors were mainly brought on by the question: "What fruit do I have that's about to go bad?" Answers: apples and bananas. So, I made my mother my favorite recipe for banana bread, and now it's her favorite, too!

The second dessert I made, using the aforementioned apples was apple cake. We found this recipe scribbled inside the cover of one my great grandmothers old cook books. Being that my great grandmother is pretty critical when it comes to food and cooking, I was proud that I was able to veganize her recipe. It was was fan-freakin'-tastic. I'll post the recipe sometime in the near future, I just can't remember it off the top of my head.

Mac 'n Cheese recipe: new & improved

I think this is my official go-to recipe for vegan mac 'n cheese. I combined two recipes from La Dolce Vegan! (Notice how my bowl mac is sitting on the cook book.) I've had my share of problems with mac 'n cheese recipes: either the cheese recipe didn't make enough so it was dry, the sauce was too bland, or what have you. This made the perfect amount for two servings and was just cheesy enough without being overpowering. This is my first recipe I've ever posted on my blog, and it's simply my adaptation of someone else's recipe. I'm lame.

Supa Simple Mac Sauce:
3 tbsp Earth Balance
3 tbsp all purpose flour
salt 'n peppa, to taste
1 1/2 cups non dairy milk (preferably soy)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 cup soy cheese, optional

Melt EB. Leave on burner but remove melted EB from heat. Whisk salt, pepper and flour. Place back on burner and add soy milk. Allow to boil. Add nutritional yeast, mustard, and soy cheese if using, and whisk. Remove from heat immediately. Continue whisking until well incorporated. Serve over macaroni or other pasta of choice. Commence with noms.

Vegan Kitty Food

I just remembered that with my most recent Vegan Essentials order, I purchased some vegan cat food for my cat babies to try. When initially served, they seemed intrigued and were eager to try the food. But, that's only because they're complete fatties. I got them Evolution Cat Kibble, and they just weren't having it. I can't lie, I was kind of expecting that outcome, and I'm not going to force them to eat something that they don't like and simply refuse to eat. A pound of this stuff from Vegan Essentials is like, $4. Chances are your kitties are as spoiled as mine and won't really enjoy this.