Trick or Treat?

No tricks here, boys and girls! These pumpkin donuts are 100% delicious. The recipe comes from another blogger: VeganDad. Click on his link to view his blog and his awesome vegan recipes!

Vegan Enchilada Pie

I found the original recipe for this enchilada pie in a Seventeen Magazine many, many, many (I am not kidding) years ago and have been enjoying it ever since. It is so yummy that the thought of adding meat to it never occurred to me.

I modified it to make it vegan by replacing the dairy cheese with Daiya which tastes and melts like dairy cheese!

This recipe can be modified in so many ways to your liking. Meat it up with ground beef or down the fat by not frying the tortillas.

Ingredients:

One package of 12 corn tortillas

2 cans of beans, drained and rinsed

1 can of corn, drained

1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes

1/2 a diced onion

1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 fresh hot pepper (chili, habanero), chopped without the seeds

Spices as desired, such as cumin

1 package of Daiya pepperjack shreds

Corn oil

To make your filling: saute your onion, garlic and hot pepper in a couple of tablespoons of corn oil. Add desired spices and cook until onions are soft. Add diced tomatoes, beans, and corn and cook until heated through. Bam! Done!

Cover the bottom of a small frying pan with corn oil and heat on medium heat. Using tongs carefully fry the tortillas one at a time for a few seconds on each side. The oil should be hot enough that it will sizzle and the tortilla will puff up, but not burn. Drain on paper towels, placing additional towels in between the tortillas and put aside. Lower the fat content in this dish by slightly moistening the tortillas with water, wrapping them in foil and placing them in a warm oven instead of frying.

Assemble your pie in a baking dish that measures approximately 12" x 12" by placing a small amount of sauce on the bottom of the dish. Take each tortilla and dunk each side in the filling. Place four tortillas on the bottom, slightly overlapping edges. Spoon the filling on top of tortillas and sprinkle with a couple handfuls of Daiya. Repeat for the next layer. Place your last four tortillas on top and spoon a small amount of the filling on top and the rest of the Daiya. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until the edges of the tortillas turn golden brown and crispy.

Mexican Baked Tofu Pizza

People tend to shy away when they hear the word tofu or bean curd. Curd reminds me of the nursery rhyme about Little Miss Muffet. I did not know what she was eating back then, nor did I desire to find out, and it took me a while to get on the tofu kick. I am also very aware of the big debate over the benefit and detriment of soy in the diet. Here is my stance, and only my stance, take it or leave it: I believe that moderate amounts of organic non-genetically modified soy products are safe and healthy for me! If you do not care to partake in soy, do not. Easy as that!

Baked Tofu

1 package organic non GMO extra firm tofu,

3 tsps Ener-G egg replacer

4 tbs warm water

1/2 cup vegan whole wheat bread crumbs (try Whole Foods)

Garlic powder

Italian seasoning

Paprika

Salt

Pepper

Drain your tofu and cut into 1/2 inch slices. In a small bowl mix your egg replacer and the warm water until there are no lumps. I aded a small sprinkling of paprika for color to the "egg" mixture. Place your bread crumbs in a flat dish, add the seasonings desired and mix. Take each slice of tofu and dip it in the "egg" mixture and dredge in bread crumb mix until all sides are coated with bread crumbs. Repeat with all of the tofu.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a heat proof baking rack in a cookie sheet and cover with parchment paper. Place tofu slices on parchment paper and bake for approximately 20 minutes on each side, flipping once until edges of the tofu are golden brown.

The baked tofu takes on the flavor of the spices used. Experiment with different flavors such as curry or cajun spices. The tofu should be stored in the fridge or frozen.

My pizza consisted of a corn tortilla spread with vegetarian refried beans, and sprinkled with baked tofu pieces, fresh tomato, jalapeno slices, corn, red onion and black olives.

Roasted Confetti Potatoes

I found this cute bag of tricolor potatoes in the market the other day and instantly thought: Roasted potatoes!

Take your potatoes and wash them thoroughly. Cut larger ones into bite size pieces and toss with EVOO, salt and pepper. Herbs such as rosemary or italian seasoning can be added as well. Place on a very lightly greased cookie sheet in a 375 degree oven and bake for approximately 20-30 minutes until fork tender. Done!

Rabe and Chick Peas!

I am on a broccoli rabe kick this week and I decided to make mine into a main dish with the splendid addition of chick peas. Seriously, I add chick peas to my dishes like other people add salt to theirs.

I started out by blanching the rabe, which consisted of dunking the rabe into boiling water for 30- 60 seconds and then immersing it in ice cold water for another 30 seconds. Set the rabe aside. Blanching helps the rabe to maintain its vibrant green color. In a large frying pan lightly covered in EVOO, I sauteed garlic, onions, red pepper flakes, and kalamata olives. Once the garlic and onion were well cooked, I added in the rabe and tossed it lightly. The final addition was, of course, a can of chick peas that had been drained and rinsed. Cannellini beans work as well! Salt and pepper as desired.

Can be eaten alone or on a hot steamy bed of brown rice.

A-Maize-ing Corn Muffins!

Yes, I know that I am a CORN-ball!

The recipe for these mini corn muffins were adapted by yours truly from the cornbread recipe on the package of Bob's Red Mill cornmeal.

1 cup corn meal

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1-4 tbsp sugar (optional depending how sweet you want your muffins to be)

1 tbsp agave syrup (my idea!)

1/2 tsp salt

4 tsp baking powder

1 cup milk (I use soy)

1 egg ( I use Ener-G egg replacer)

1/4 cup butter (I use Earth Balance vegan sticks)

1/4 cup corn oil (optional)

Mix dry ingredients and add wet ingredients mixing until all are incorporated. Do not to over mix. Bake in buttered mini muffin pans for 20 minutes. This recipe made 24 mini muffins and 4 regular size muffins. Regular muffins baked for about 25 minutes. I used the toothpick test to determine doneness (tooth pick placed in center of muffin comes clean)

Vegan Eye "Candy"

I love vegetables!!! But I won't eat them if they are mushy, flavorless and colorless! One great way to have spectacular tasting and looking veggies is to roast them in the oven. Simply toss with a little EVOO, salt & pepper and roast on a cookie sheet in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

Spicy Three Bean Salad, OLE!

Spicy Three Bean Salad

3 cans of beans drained and rinsed. Any kind: black, kidney, pinto, chick peas...or two cans beans and one of corn

1/2 a medium red onion, diced

5-6 scallions, chopped

A handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup of EVOO (extra virgen olive oil)

1/8 cup of red wine vinegar

The juice of one lime

Salt & pepper to taste

As many drops of tabasco or cholula hot sauce as you wish.

This is a staple in my house that I usually make once a week. It can be eaten cold as a snack with chips or as a main dish warmed up on rice. I vary the beans, depending on what I have in my pantry and sometimes I use corn. Please note the amounts of oil and vinegar are approximate. I have to admit that unless I am baking I don't really pay too much attention to exact measurements.

"I love you, Rabe!"

Broccoli Rabe sauteed in EVOO with cannellini beans, garlic & lemon zest served over a bed of brown rice. The rice was cooked in vegetable stock with red peppers, onions & portbella mushrooms!

Veggie Brown Rice

In a large (3-5 qt) stock pot sauté in a few a small amount of EVOO until soft:

1/2 a red onion, chopped

1/2 a red bell pepper, chopped

1 cup baby portabella mushrooms, chopped

Add 4 cups of vegetable stock & 1 tsp of salt and bring to a boil.

Add two cups brown rice, stir once and simmer on medium heat until the liquid starts to evaporate and you can begin to see the rice grains sticking out of the water. Lower the heat to the lowest setting and cover the pot. Do not stir the rice again while it is cooking or it will stick. Cook until all the fluid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Test the rice for doneness. Brown rice can take a bit longer to cook than white rice. If the fluid is all absorbed but the rice is not cooked enough, just add a little more stock to the pan.

Broccoli Rabe with Cannellini Beans

Rinse the rabe and chop off the ends. Coarsely chop rabe and place into large saute pan. Add 1-2 cups water, cover and bring to boil. When water boils and rabe wilts add salt. Lower heat to medium and simmer for exactly 7 minutes. Drain excess water and set aside. Add EVOO to the pan and saute a couple of cloves of garlic until soft. Add in some crushed red pepper flakes, one can of cannellini beans(drained and rinsed), the rabe, salt & pepper. Toss Rabe until coated and served with a little bit of lemon zest on top.

Broccoli rabe is high in the antioxidant vitamins A and C, and also high in Folate, but can be very bitter to the taste. This recipe which is based on one that I found on the Food Network website works very well in limiting that bitterness, but am I throwing all the vitamins down the drain? I just found directions in which the rabe is prepared by blanching it and then shocking it (dunking in salted boiling water for a few seconds, then dipping in ice water) before it is added to the recipe. This method will probably retain more of the nutrients and is worth a try.

For more info on rabe go to the Whole Living website.

"She's FRESH, exciting..."

Don't feel like cooking sometimes? Me either! Tonight's din-din consisted of a salad in a wheat pita pocket with chick peas & pink beans. For "dessert" I made a thick smoothie with pineapple, watermelon, banana, strawberries and raspberries!

Pink Beans

Since October is Breast Cancer awareness month, I decided to make pink beans in my crock pot.

After soaking beans according to the directions on the bag, I placed them in my crock pot with one 28 oz can of diced tomatoes & one 32 oz box of vegetable stock.

In a separate pan I sauteed onions, green peppers, and garlic in EVOO until soft. Then added the this mixture to the crock pot and seasoned all with salt, pepper, & a dash of bay seasoning.

The beans were cooked on high for about 8 hours!

Game Food

Replace the sour cream in any of your favorite dips with non dairy sour cream such as Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream! No one will notice the difference and it is lactose and cholesterol free.

Spinach Veggie Dip

1 12 oz container Tofutti Better than Sour Cream

1 box frozen chopped spinach (defrosted and excess liquid squeezed out)

One packet of dry vegetable soup mix

1 8oz can of water chestnuts chopped

4-5 scallions chopped

Mix all ingredients and serve on a hearty cracker.

Roasted Veggie Calzone

With flavorful food that looks like this, anyone could enjoy the vegan lifestyle.

When I go to a friends house I don't expect them to cook vegan for me, so I always bring vegan and non-vegan options. I made cheesy meatball calzones for the omnivores and these yummy veggie calzones for me, but I forgot to tell anyone they were vegan. They ate them, all of them!

For me it's not a matter of what food am I missing or longing for. I try to make meals that are satisfying because they taste wonderful and are visually appealing. I do not need any thing else!

Healthy, delicious, and no animals harmed equal a win-win for me! "Stop babbling, Ellie, and give them the recipe!"

Start with store bought pizza dough of your choosing, or make your own. I find the dough easier to work with if I let it sit at room temperature while I prepare the fillings. For the filling I roasted in a 375 degree oven: asparagus, red pepper, red onion, and zucchini which had been tossed in a little EVOO, salt and pepper. The vegetables have to cook down fairly well or your calzone dough will be soggy and break. Roast about 30 minutes until the veggies are tender. On a flour covered board, roll or use your hands to stretch the dough out to make a 12" by 16" rectangle, approximately. The dough has to be thick enough to hold your filling but not so thick that you end up with a very thick crust. Trial and error, folks. Add your filling (I added some chick peas for protein to my veggie mix) on one half and fold over the edges. You can wet the edges to make a tighter seal or just pinch them. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes until your calzone is golden brown. Cool slightly, slice, and enjoy!

"How Sweet it is to be in love with you"

Seriously, these little chocolate mocha gems are a chocoholic's dream! These moist chocolate cakes are soaked in espresso coffee, piped with rich chocolate "butter cream" frosting and adorned with espresso flavored sugar crystal!

If I am only going to indulge in sweets once in a while, I want them to be spectacular! They have to be moist and flavorful otherwise, I am not going to waste my time, effort or calories. These cupcakes fit the bill in taste and texture and do not contain any animal products. Love it!

The cupcake & frosting recipes come from my new absolute favorite book by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

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Boom, Chick-a, Boom-Boom!

You might think the chick pea, one of the oldest cultivated legumes going back 7500 years , was named for its chicken shape. Actually, this protein packed bean comes from the latin, Cicer, as in Marcus Tullius Cicero. According to Wikipedia "Romans often chose down-to-earth personal surnames: the famous family names of Fabius, Lentulus, and Piso come from the Latin names of beans, lentils, and peas."

Here's a simple chick pea salad that can be eaten in many ways such as as a side dish or in a wrap with veggies.

This is one of those throw together, trust your taste buds and don't measure recipes, but I'll give you some measurements to start with.

One large can of chick peas drained

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

The juice of one lemon

3-4 large basil leaves, chopped

A small sprig of parsley (optional), chopped

Evoo, a large drizzle, maybe 1/4 cup

Salt & Pepper to taste

For the non-vegans: a generous sprinkle of shredded parmigianno reggiano

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Done! The longer it sits, the more the flavors marry, so I like to make it at least a couple of hours or even a day before I plan to serve it.

Yo Quiero Taco Bell...NOT!

I have never met a taco that I did not like and "taco night" is a frequent occurrence in my home.

My vegan taco is a corn tortilla that is lightly sprayed with EVOO, wrapped in a paper towel and nuked for 20-30 seconds to warm. Frying the tortillas in corn oil for a few seconds on each side and draining on paper towels works too!

Fillings include: avocado, fresh tomato salsa, lettuce, olives, red onions, and soy "crumbles" (sauteed with onion, red pepper and garlic). I have also used black beans instead of the soy.

Let them eat cake!

This is a variation on a Blueberry -Chocolate Cake from one of my new favorite blogs: FatFreeVegan Kitchen. My variation is made with strawberries instead of blueberries and has the addition of a chocolate ganache on top.

The recipe replaces the fat content with crushed flax seeds making the texture a little rubbery and would probably taste best served warm.

Want fries with that?

This is my idea of fast food: A Dr. Praeger's california veggie burger (in the freezer section next to the Boca burgers) on a slice of my homemade wheat bread topped with tomato, red onion, lettuce and a dash of hot sauce. My "fries" are chunks of butternut squash that I roasted last night with a little bit of olive oil. Who says being vegan takes a lot of time and effort?

Where have you BEAN all my life?

Nothing says fall to me more than a hearty soup or stew made in the crock pot!

This is a bean & barley vegetable soup made with a 16 oz bag of Trader Joe's "17 Bean & Barley Mix."

Soak the beans over night or quick soak according to the directions on the bag. Rinse the beans thoroughly and set aside. Meanwhile, saute a diced mix of celery (3-4 stalks), carrots (a cup), and onion (about half a large, red or white) in a little EVOO. Add salt, pepper, and dried Italian seasoning. Add a large chopped clove of garlic and cook until the vegetables start to soften up.

In a large crock pot, pour a 32 oz container of your favorite stock (I used vegetable) and a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes. Add the rinsed beans and cooked veggies. I also added one raw sliced zucchini squash. Add a couple of bay leaves for flavoring which you will pick out at the end. Do not eat the bay leaves!

Cook on high for at least 6 hours or low for 10 hours. Check the doneness of your beans! When the beans are done cooked pasta can be added to your soup, if desired.

Serve with crusty bread!

An Apple a Day...

What will I make with this lovely apple hand picked for me in Massachusetts by my daughter?

Nothing! It is perfect snack just the way it is. I love to go local farm stands and buy my produce fresh from the source. Whenever possible of course!

I Knead you, like the flour needs the...

If you check the labels, you'll discover that most breads are made without eggs or milk, making them vegan without being labeled that way.

This is a very easy wheat bread made with whole wheat flour, white bread flour, yeast, molasses, oil, soy milk & salt. The molasses gives it a deep rich brown color and a distinct, almost pungent, flavor. It rose easily, producing two loaves with crisp outsides and soft insides. I expected the bread to be dense, but it actually came out very light and airy instead.

Click on the link below for the recipe!

Easy Vegan Wheat Bread

Made with L.O.V.E. and a little soy!

Let me introduce you to the tiramisu cupcakes I made today for the guys in my husband's band. I started with a moist vanilla cupcake soaked in espresso coffee, filled with absolutely scrumptious finger licking good cream cheese frosting (made with soy cream cheese of course) and dusted with a cinnamon cocoa mix and mini semi-sweet chocolate chips.

My friend and vegan "mentor," Ana, introduced me to these delightful treats and the cookbook that the recipe comes from. "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero.

Johnny Cakes are Vegan!!!

Johnny cakes from the Scituate Art Festival!!!

White corn meal, salt, and hot water is mixed and formed into small flat cakes and grilled on a cast iron grill.

"Danger, Will Robinson!"

This morning I awoke with my throat very swollen which makes it very difficult to swallow and BREATHE!

This, Mr. Watson, tells me that I'm having a delayed allergic reaction to something I've eaten and now it's time to play detective and figure out what.

I am allergic to all nuts, sunflower and coconut. (Is that a nut?) The reactions vary from the instantaneous itchy mouth, swollen tongue and throat produced by sunflower products, to an asthmatic type of wheezing several hours later from nuts. The reaction can be very insidious ( I love that word) and not hit full force until after 3 or 4 days of eating the offending food. I have to think back this week and look at what I've eaten. I hope it's not the vegan chocolate chip cookies! WAH!!!!

I think eventually I will have to only eat things that I prepare myself with ingredients in their whole form, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes.

Today I will be very careful with what I consume. This morning I am having a smoothie consisting of fresh banana and frozen berries in my favorite Stewie glass. I try to always keep frozen organic berries in the freezer for these occasions!

Fall Foods!

I love the fall and the deep orange and red colors we see here in New England at this time of year. To me nothing represents fall eats more than butternut squash, to which I roasted and mashed together with a sauté of red pepper, onion & garlic. I thinned it out a little with vegetable stock and added a dash of salt & pepper. I guess I could have made it a tad more soupy with the addition of unsweetened soy milk, but left it as a thicker mash, instead.

Served with a pat of Earth Balance buttery spread, the mash can be served as a main dish or as a side dish.

Fungus among us!

I'm finding that many restaurants offer portabella mushrooms in one form or another. Tonight's entree consisted of a portabella panini with a side salad!

Did you know that a 3 ounce portabella cap has more potassium than a banana or an orange? These "meaty" fungi are also good sources of protein and fiber, but very low in calories and fat!

Vegan in public!

Can it be challenging to eat out when you're a vegan?

Nah! Just takes a little creativity and the assistance of your waitress & cook. Easier said than done, sometimes, I have to admit. Not because of the availability of vegan food options, but rather because of my mindset about not being difficult and fitting in with the rest of the dinner party. A friend said to me recently when she saw me eating something non-vegan, "So, you only eat vegan when it's convenient? Is that how it works?" I was definitely called on the carpet, the linoleum and the wood floor on that one. She was right. If I am making this choice to eat vegan for my health, then I have to commit to this choice and find ways to make it work for me all of the time.

With that being said, this was my veggie pizza sine (that's latin for "without") cheese from Dan's Place in West Greenwich, RI.

Even a steak house offers something vegan on the menu, such as a baked potato, plain. I like to douse that spud with salsa & eat it with a side salad for a light, but filling meal. Yum!

Science Experiment Dinner

If the photo looks like a pile of mush, it does so because it is a pile of mush! Well, actually on my plate is a version of vegan eggplant parm. I went out on a ledge with this one because I had never heard of some of the ingredients before and I had to go to Whole Foods just to find them.

It's a very healthy version of the dish because the eggplant is broiled initially, not fried, then baked with two sauces. A simple tomato sauce is made with onions, garlic & crushed tomatoes. The other sauce is a "cheese" concoction that is made in the blender. The broiled eggplant is layered with tomato sauce & cheese sauce in a casserole dish and baked for about 20 minutes.

I'm afraid to tell you what's in the cheese sauce! Tofu, nutritional yeast(a flavoring), tahini, soy milk...

The taste was actually quite good, despite the mushy texture. The cheese sauce, really tastes awesome and reminds me of a mornay sauce. I think next time, however, I'm going to experiment with using an egg substitute to coat the eggplant slices and then dredge them in whole wheat bread crumbs. I will FRY them!

Here's the link for the recipe. Just in case!

Vegan Eggplant Parm

Easy Breezy lunch

Is it hard to be a vegan? Nope, just different!

Am I starving or missing anything? The only thing I'm missing are my allergy symptoms, aches, pains & fatigue!

Lunch today was fresh tomato slices on onion foccacia (from Whole Foods) spread with red pepper hummus and topped with vegan mozzarella "cheese" and fresh basil.

Crunch-ewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sugar is crack, I know, I know! Someday, I might be what Alicia Silverstone calls a Super Vegan in her book "The Kind Diet" and avoid the stuff. I'm not there yet and I am not really sure if I will be there any time soon. Treats in moderation, I say!

These yummy cookies are some of the best cookies I've made, ever. Please note I did not say best of the vegan cookies! These rival some of the "regular" chocolate chip cookies I've had or baked! I brought them in to some of my peeps at work and they gave me the thumbs up! (They are my focus group. They just don't know it yet!)

Visit this link for the recipe:

Chewy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies