~Signs of Spring~

Seeeee.....a sign of SPRING!
No, the above photo isn't from Fall, we actually still have 2 pumpkins left from Halloween, as Lily poses with the 7 month old pumpkins.

Here's a real sign of Spring.....

And another, the Green Heron's are nesting....

Thank goodness they pick the Detroit Zoo to nest at, not our neighborhood....they've visited our yard before, eyeing up our fish in our pond- don't they realize they are my PETS??? Here's a closer look at the beasts....

And yet another sign of Spring- Goods doing Spring clean-up in the pond....and yes the water was FREEZING.

Then Goods got to rest on our new double chaise lounge at the tiki hut patio.

Goods, if you are reading this, make a note to take off the canvas cover off the roof.

And it was a beautiful Saturday, weather wise, so we immediately think of PICNIC FOOD!

Planned menu of:

Fake Chicken Patty Sandwich

Baked Beans

Corn on the Cob

It was a long day of yardwork so I went and checked the freezer- shoot, no Boca Chicken Patties, so I did have to make my own after all. Well, they really weren't my own, I borrowed the recipe from Vegan Dad- I used his Chicken Wing recipe and made my own patties...lookie...

I baked them in the oven as you do the wings, then Goods threw them on the grill for a bit. They were excellent. I think next time I will just dip them once in the breading instead of twice, that you do for the wings-they were a tad bready, and really crunchy...but I liked that! When I was forming the patties, one of them thought about falling apart, but I just pinched it back together. Here is my plate, I'm bunless...

My condiments are on the side, one of which is Bubbie's Pickles - they are the bomb! The corn was from Kroger's and it was great- very sweet and tender- soaked in their husk and done on the grill. I have bought it a few times lately, and it's been great every time.

The baked beans, well they cooked all afternoon in the crockpot - I can't tell you my secret recipe, well one, because I don't want to, and the other reason is because I wing it each time I make them.

Since I was talking about beans....I made a Gluten Free Chocolate Cake - out of Black Eye Peas....Are peas considered a beans??? Well close enough...

I've been trying to cut out as much gluten in my diet as possible and I've been testing some "different" recipes and this was one of them- It was like Puddin' cake. It should have been called "Protein Packed Puddin' Cake". The recipe was from Bittersweet Blog - link for recipe ***here*** (and she has much prettier photos of the cake too). Next time I'm going to bake it in a 8" x 8" pan and see how that turns out...just because the cake was so thick. The cake wasn't too sweet, which I prefer....you know, because I'm sweet enough.

And just for fun....a photo of a new addition to the Detroit Zoo-

He was saying to me - "Hey were is my piece of Protein Packed Puddin' Cake" - yes, I think he was.

All food rated 5 out of 5 forks.

Spicey Cakey

Sorry about the poopy pick, but at least I smoothed out the fork prints before I took the photo.....

This cake reminds me when I was little and my parents would treat us with this awesome spice cake bar from a local grocery store - I thought that was the bomb but....this is the best spice cake! Really, it's so moist- I've made it numerous times - but to warn you...the icing recipe needs to be halved. I do usually make the full recipe and freeze the unused portion....but if you use the whole amount, the recipe would be called cream cheese icing with a hint of spicy cake.

Directly off of Cookie Madness website: (with my notes in brown)

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar - I used dark brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp vinegar
5 Tbsp oil
1 cup warm water
1/2 c raisins

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
5 tablespoons margarine,
softened8 ounces vegan cream cheese softened
1/8 teaspoon butter extract - didn't use
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray an 8 inch square pan with cooking spray.
Mix all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl (except for raisins). Make 3 wells, add vanilla to one, vinegar to one and oil to one…pour the warm water over all and add raisins, stir only until combined…don’t over mix. (sorry but I didn't make the 3 wells, I just dump the stuff in all at once) Pour into pan and bake for 30 minutes or until done.

Let cool completely, then prepare frosting.
In a mixing bowl, beat together margarine and vegan cream cheese. Beat in butter extract and vanilla. Stir in sugar. Beat until fluffy. Spread over cooled cake.

EAT & ENJOY! Definitely 5 out of 5 forks!

Quick-A-Dee-Quick

It was like a eating at fast food restaurant (gag) last night. We whipped up this meal in no time (excluding the sweet potato that was baked in the oven)

Along with the Sweet Potato we had~

**Vegan Dad's Maple BBQ Tofu**

&

**Dijon-Dill Brussel Sprouts**

The Maple BBQ Tofu~ Awesome. Recipe here - directing you to his site. My changes: I only had garlic chili sauce, so that is what we used. Used the brown sugar (dark) as he suggested. Also added some chopped green onion with the tofu as it was cooking.

The Brussel Sprouts~ I was skeptical - DILL & BRUSSEL SPOUTS?? Well the reviews were good from the Allrecipe website so I went for it, and I'm I glad I did!! Outstanding! Here's a closer look.....

The original recipe is here, but I made enough changes that I think I'm allowed to share it with you.

Dee's Nutty Dilly Dijon Brussel Sprouts

What you need:
Brussel Sprouts - 1 pkg
6-8 Cloves of Garlic (keep nice size pieces)
Vegan Butter
1/2 c TOASTED Walnut pieces

3 Tbs. Melted Vegan Butter
2 tsp. Dijon Mustard
2 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 - 1 tsp. Dried Dill Weed
Pepper to taste

Brussel Sprouts cleaned and halved. I'm sorry I don't have an amount, at my store they sell them in prepackage containers - like they do mushrooms. Steam Brussel Spouts (w/ garlic gloves) until desired tenderness. Drain water off. Add approx 1 Tbs. of vegan butter, and brown those puppies up. After browned, put into serving dish. Now, melt 3 Tbs. vegan butter to pour on the brussel sprouts, and toss with the mustard, lemon juice, dill weed, pepper and toasted walnuts. Now now you are ready for your tastebuds to explode!

Quick, Easy and Delish! (oh and GOODS HELPED!!!)

This dinner was definitely 5 out of 5 forks
(I'm brining back my old ranking system)

This Stuff is the Dee-Shizzzz...

Rich and creamy and delish!
But is it really VEGAN with "Live Cultures" in it???
Kind of creeped me out as I ate it.

Twilight- Dinner & a Movie....

With the release of the TWILIGHT movie on DVD, I thought it was time we had another "theme night" dinner - So Dinner & THE movie it was. So, what do you serve at a vampire inspired dinner?????

Well of course you start out with Bloody Marys....

In the Bloodies I had celery spear, but also homemade pickled green bean, carrot strip and asparagus. Goods' SIL gave us the asparagus, and I made the others (always on hand in case we have a Bloody Mary). Recipe to follow at end of post for the pickling of the veggies, but here is a photo of the almost empty jar....

For pre-dinner food- homemade red pepper hummus served with organic veggies....hummus recipe from "Vive le Vegan"

Then the dinner menu was:

*Black Pepper Stake Tips
*Mushroom Raviolis w/ Garlic Bechemel/White Sauce
*and Chickpea flat bread w/ another attempt of a Garlic Spread.

We found these, on our shopping trip to Whole Foods...

They were totally awesome....you would swear you were eating "the real thing" which kind of freaked me out. The sauce was great...a little tiny bit sweet side, but oniony and peppery.

I took one of many the chickpea flatbreads I made previously here, out of the freezer. This time I made a NEW garlic spread...to keep the vampires away of course..

The spread is suppose to be a lot fluffier (compared to what we get at a local Mediterranean restaurant). I think if I had THIS, I could get the consistency I am looking for. I'll be working on this recipe, so no post yet.

I really want a Vita-Mix, but for those who don't know, the economy isn't the best, especially in MICHIGAN, where I am...but I really NEED one of these...foofoo cocktail season is coming up too. I guess it's always good to have dreams.....

On to the "mushroom" ravioli. If you have read the TWLIGHT Book, or have seen the movie, you know that Bella ordered mushroom ravioli when she and Edward were at a restaurant. So that is why it was on our Dinner & a Movie Menu. I'm not a big fan of mushrooms, so I put minimal amount it the stuffing mixture.

So for the ravioli stuffing I mixed:

sauteed chopped portabella mushrooms

sauteed shallots
sauteed minced garlic
cooked chopped spinach (fresh)
mooshed up extra firm silken tofu
vegan Parmesan cheese
vegan mozzarella cheese shredded
dried italian seasoning

I don't have amounts because I winged it. We then (Goods helped) put a scoop of the stuffing on a wonton wrapper, wet the outside edge of the wrapper with water and placed another wrapper on top. Pressed and sealed. (also did some trimming)

After completion, we boiled them in water for maybe 5 minutes- until they floated to the top. The batch looked like this....
Served with a Garlicky Bechamel Sauce:

Sauce Recipe:
4 cloves chopped garlic

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup vegan milk
salt & pepper

Saute the garlic & butter in a saucepan over medium heat for a few minutes. Add flour and stir until mixture is well blended. Gradually stir in "milk". Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce begins to boil and thickens. Simmer, stirring frequently, over very low heat for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

And the final product..... The verdict...Loved them, except for the fact the wrappers had EGG IN THEM. I can't believe I didn't check the package before I bought them....that is so unlike me. I did eat two of them, guilt ridden with every bite, but the deed was done. I will definitely make them again with VEGAN wrappers, once I find them....they are out there I've heard. Goods really liked them too, he had them again as leftovers with spaghetti sauce, which he preferred. Now don't think they are like REAL raviolis, the wrapper makes the raviolis really light, unlike the noodle dough. Oh, and they don't store well- leftovers was like on big blog of ravioli.

The movie was enjoyed by both of us. Of course the book was better but I will be looking forward to the next movie.

And now for the Pickled Green Bean Recipe- amounts depend on how many you do, I don't actually do the canning process on them, they are just put in the refrigerator until ready.

The juice:
Boil together a mixture of

1/2 water & 1/2 vinegar

In jar put:

whole cloves of garlic

1-2 tsp kosher salt. (2 tsp for qrt size jar)

Cleaned whole green beans
Carrot spears

Pour "the juice" in jar to cover veggies.

Add a sprig or two of the whole dill (big flower part)

Refridge for at least a couple of weeks until pickled.