Vodka Soaked Vegan

Vegan Detroit - Zoo with a side of Kona

2012-01-08T10:20:00.000-05:00

It was a beautiful day here in the Detroit area so Goods and I headed off to the Zoo....who doesn't love a little snow monkey once in a while....

Detroit Zoo is ever improving...and they don't Monkey around when they make an improvement- concessions added a STARBUCKS! Can you say Soy Latte Please???

See I included a photo to show that I am not ~~lion~~....I mean lying. But speaking of lions, Detroit Zoo renovated the Lion Exhibit- it is now HUGE...now they have loads of room to roam around....but as any cat tends to do, they prefer to just lounge around anyway...

They remind you of Ginger, don't they?

Goods bought a souvenir for Ginger since she was not allowed to venture with us to the zoo...just a little treat for her with a side of catnip

And now a treat for me at Kona Grill....sans the catnip

Rock Coconut Mojito

Seriously - it was the BEST cocktail ever...and as a garnish they used a Rock Sugar Candy Swizzle Stick...pretty & yummy!! It was a mojito made with coconut rum and pineapple- it was most delicious. Pineapple, coconut, mint and booze - perfection in a glass.

This was my first time visiting Kona Grill, Goods has been there before. As always before visiting a new establishment I do my research - being a good vegan as I am. So I go exploring on their website....and what do I find... A VEGAN MENU - just for little ol' me!!!

So we started off with edename - no photo needed for that snack. May I add they were salted to perfection.

Since it was happy hour and apps were 1/2 off - Goods & I shared a veggie roll, which was most excellent too....see.

Then after a bit...it was time to order MORE FOOD - my entree. Pan-Asian Noodles....totally delightful.

I substituted rice noodles for the udon noodles then it was mixed with fried tofu and mixed vegetables, in spicy black bean garlic sauce. The portion was huge, so I got to enjoy it the next day too.

So some of you may be appalled the I, the vodka soaked vegan, go to zoos. I love zoos. It isn't like the they take animals out of their environment from running free to being on display. Zoos allow animals to live who would normally not survive in the wild.

How about these lions? How about these bears? How about these polar bears? I see a theme here...people are stupid....okay maybe not you and I.

So....Ginger and I would like to wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year!

Meowy Christmas

2011-12-24T12:49:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas....Meet Ginger our new kitty! She says HOHOHO!

I will be back! Holy cow it's been a while...but I am making a New Year's resolution not to ignore you!
Enjoy!

A Birdie told me about this Canary Melon

2011-07-29T07:30:00.001-04:00

So, now that I am employed, I have spending a teeny tiny bit more of money on food....new food that is. I'm on a mission to try new stuff that I haven't had before...as long as it is still in a reasonable price range.
So with that....I present you with a Canary Melon...okay I presented it to myself.

It really doesn't look like a cantelope....it's just because the photographer sucks....

It looks more on the lines of a honeydew....but yet again the sucky photographer sucks with the flash....

Really ~~I was trying to hurry~~ the photographer was trying to hurray because of the fruit fly infestation in the house. Anyone else have this problem and how do you solve this...being vegan and all??? Share please.

Anyway...back to melon review. OMG it is so sweet. Almost too sweet for my tastes. Reminds me of honeydew on sugar steroids. Yes it is tasty...but just too sweet for me, because you see, I am so sweet to begin with- adding that much extra sugar is a bit much.
That is my review and I'm sticking to it.

Stuffed Apricots

2011-07-27T07:30:00.003-04:00

It's been hot- did you notice? So we were invited to a picnic and I wanted to bring something light, cool and DIFFERENT. I searched and came up with these puppies - Pistachio Stuffed Apricots. They were easy peasey and to boot -- I got to use one of my 3 cool deviled egg plates that have been in the cabinet for over 5 years!

A closer look.....

Even closer look....

They were delicious! Perfect seasonal appetizer...which I will most generously share my version with you!

Stuffed Apricots - Vegan of course

9 - Apricots - cut in half and dee-pitted
(mine came out very easily and clean too!)

4 oz of Tofutti Cream Cheese (1/2 container)

approx 1/2.c chopped pistachios

Vanilla to taste (approx 1/2 tsp for me)

Mix a 1/4 c. of pistachios & vanilla into the room temp cream cheese.

Scoop a scoop of mixture into each apricot half.

Top the top with some extra chopped pistachios.

Done - see how easy peasey!

Enjoy!...and I will be back....

I flew the nest and so did the birdies

2011-07-26T11:41:00.001-04:00

I know...you thought I flew the nest....but I'm back...

Now to finish the baby birdie saga....they still slept

They still squawked...

They still wanted fed....

A tight fit...wouldn't you say.
And then they departed....and left a messy nest that I can't use on our Christmas tree this year.

Can they please use birdie diapers??? Goods and I still see the little rascals in our yard...because we grow big worms in our yard!

Day 7 - Babies didn't drown...

2011-05-26T20:58:00.000-04:00

but they don't fit anymore....and Dee is kissing Anne's birdie butt, but isn't that normal..

Seriously they are going to bust the sides of the nest out - and that nest was pegged to go into our Christmas tree this year!

I love my ~~birdies~~...huge birdies.

Day 6...then we built an ark

2011-05-25T21:55:00.001-04:00

Seriously...the rain won't stop..WAIT lucky for you it stopped for a nano second that I could take a canoe through our yard to take a photo of the babies with our waterproof camera...Seriously.
Rain obviously makes babie robins grow.....

But lookie...the babies grew lips and feathers in the rain!!! And holy cow....EYES!! Lookie how beadie they are!

This is what I had to go thru to get to the birdies to take a picture for you guys...WELCOME!

Our pond it to the left....see Skully the orange koi? then the little tree that the nest is in is to the right....here a better view

Yeah- really 3 feet off the ground in the little pine tree!
Here is another view of our swampiness...

More rain tomorrow...along with, hopefully Day 6 of babie birds.....
Ahoy matie!

Day 5

2011-05-24T17:52:00.000-04:00

Bigger and still BLUE, wonder if they are smurf birdies.

The Birdie, we will call her Anne, with it's mouth open (Anne) has a big chuck of worm in it, which she is having trouble eating, but yet she can sleep like that. Anne what talent you have.

Day 4

2011-05-23T20:00:00.000-04:00

I am thinking they are blue birds instead of babie Robins....but Momma says no.

Glad to see that Anne is finally behaving.

Day 1, 2 & 3 in the life of babie birdies.

2011-05-22T10:37:00.003-04:00

So here are days 1-3 of the babie birds lives....if you squirrel thru them really fast, they will look like a video...go ahead a try!
Day 1

I named the one face down...DEE..I named the one next to her...ANNE because, if you can see, Anne

pushed DEE down...Just saying....and I think it's appropriate to name the birdie with it's mouth wide open- on the right, begging for ~~a beer~~ for wormies - Lynn.

Day 2
Are they not adorable...one little fuzzy wuzzy bunch.

Day 3 - Today.
Look how much they grew!! And Lynn is still begging for ~~beer~~ wormies! And Anne is smothering Dee, not sure what Dee ever did to Anne...I think Anne just is jealous of Dee's prettiness. Anne you are just as pretty! Remember that!

Time to fly!! Enjoy!

location location location...

2011-05-22T10:25:00.000-04:00

This is where the robin nest is...about 3 FEET OFF THE GROUND!! What was momma & dadda thinking?

Well they were thinking that , 3 feet off the ground in the garden area would be an excellent location for Dee to keep a photo journal of their babies' beginnings! They are so cool like that. Gotta go hand till the garden now since we can't use a rota-tiller because it would disturb the babies.

In honor of the eagle web cam...

2011-05-05T20:15:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the suckiness of the photos it was getting dusk...promise new ones soon because I am starting.....ROBIN WEB CAM VIA PHOTOS!!! and Mommy Robin not so happy about it.....

But this WEB CAM PHOTO EXTRAVANZA is in honor of the eagle web came my homies are addicted too....linky here.

Blue is beautiful isnt' it??? reminds me of my dear friend SKYY.

Update soon...so busy with WORK, yes you read right, and school and well a teeny tiny bit of sleepy.

Cheers. And get your list ready for names for the blue egg babies!!

Vegan Beef Burgundy

2011-03-17T14:38:00.000-04:00

My Culinary Class at school had been really focusing on sauces.....so I ran with it. I made, and I have no idea why....a vegan version of Beef Burgundy - and I'm glad I did!

It looked like a mess...but it didn't taste messy...

Even when I tried to make it look plate pretty.....it looked messy.

I ate it with tofu noodles, Goods ate his with regular pasta noodles. It was yummy but really saucey - even Goods thought it was too saucey and he is like a "Sauce King"....I'm a plain Jane myself, I don't like to cover my food up with sauce....serve mine naked please.

Here is my Beef Burgundy recipe I conjured up....

- What you need -

1 package of Fake Beef Tips

3 Tbs. of Flour

1 C. sliced Onion (I 1/2 mooned shaped mine)

1 C. or more sliced Red & Green Pepper

6 cloves of garlic - sliced/minced

2 C. Red Wine

2 Tbs. Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tbs. Soy Sauce

2 Tbs. Tomato Paste

1 C. "Beef" Stock

1/2 tsp dried Marjoram

1/2 tsp dried Thyme

1/2 tsp Hungarian Paprika

Black Pepper (to taste)

Salt (to taste)

- First -

I browned up some Fake Cow and coated the fake cow with 3 Tbs. of flour.

Remove from pan & set aside.

(feel free to just set the pan aside if you don't mind washing a bunch of pans afterwards)

- Next -

Saute the garlic, onions & peppers until desired tenderness

- Then -

Add the wine, vinegar, soy sauce, tomato paste & bring to a nice bubble.

Then add the "beef" stock (I used faux beef bullion cube mixed with water)

Bring to a bubble again. All this is pretty much done over medium heat.

- And Finally -

Reintroduce the "beef" tips coated with flour.

(ie put them back into the pan)

Stir the mixture until it thickens, at this point though you might want to turn the heat down a bit.

Tah-Dah - You are done.

Serve with noodles.

And what else did I serve with this....a simple but delicious - vodka on the rocks with a lemon twist....

I know, I'm getting all fancy dancy on you....A TWIST!! I am gaining even more knowledge about booze in my beverage class. I will share with you how to easily peel a whole lemon in one fell swoop. The secret is....before you try and peel the lemon, you let it sit in hot water for 15-20 minutes before the peeling begins. After the soaking, cut off both ends and then slit it from one end to the other. Then you can just easily peel the rind off in one piece. It's like magic.

And like magic - I'm disappearing...byes for now.

Gluten Free Pancakes by Joe...

2011-03-07T09:42:00.000-05:00

.....and that would be Trader Joe's!

I already love their gluten free vegan waffles so I just had to have a box of these babies.
And what did I think????
I give them a 8.5 out of 10! Why only 8.5 out of 10???? so glad you asked...

They are not Bob's Red Mill gluten free pancakes which are 10 out of 10 for me!--- but then again, Trader Joe's are conveniently pre-made, frozen and all you have to do is pop these babies into the toaster.
One pancake had an accident in the toaster and fell to the bottom....might be better off doing them in the toaster oven.
They are a teeny tiny bit gooey in the middle, but the outside is a little crispy which I dig....the gooey, not so much. Especially since I do not eat them with syrup nor a fork....it's like pancake toast for me :-)
They took 3 times toasting on the frozen cycle in the toaster. Not a big deal unless you were starving like I was.

But the real test will be Goods - sometimes he can be finicky. But for me, I would buy them again!

Oh and by the way...they are only $2.99 a box - a very decent price for a gluten free product - GO JOE! Or do I mean this Joe.....

If you look closely you will see smileyman riding on Joe's finger....but Smileyman is a whole blog all by his self.....

Vegan Cookbooks I can't live without.....

2011-03-03T10:06:00.020-05:00

I Love to cook....I know like that is a shocker....dah...look at the blog....never the less the fact that I will be graduating with a degree in food next semester.
ANYWAY.....sometimes I create recipes as I cook....just ask Goods that one! But other times I go to my cookbook library for inspiration or a recipe or 2.

And today I would like to share with you my favs.....

My first MUST HAVE is Vegan Vittles! MUST MUST MUST....I must it so much that I have 2 editions of it....the newer edition had a few new recipes in it and I just couldn't live with myself if I didn't have it!

Why??? you ask - why I think it's a must? It has recipes for staples that you need, especially if you are a vegan newbie. It has mock meats, mock cheese, and recipes that show you how to substitute foods. It rocks. I have a few of her other books too, but this is my #1 used cookbook....the older version too. I know, I needed the new shiny one, and I always use my old tattered & stained one....and I love ugly puppies too.

On to the next.......

The 30 Minute Vegan...super easy, super good recipes - I just heart it....

This is just one book of YUM! The recipes are not too tasking. I love the layout- grouping recipes that go together as a meal. YUM YUM YUM

And by BFF Isa.... All her books Rock......

I have a special place in my hear for Vegan with a Vengeance because this was my first Vegan cookbook I bought.

Fun recipes and a great read too.....

Then you must have her VEGANOMIC....it's like an encyclopedia of vegan recipes. Tons & tons of recipes presented in her humorous way.....

So my last "cookbook" is not exactly vegan....nor does my copy look all fancy dancy like this because of the abuse it takes...but the old ~~Blue Ball Boo~~k Ball Blue Book.

I love Jammin' , Cannin' and Freezin'........so this "cookbook" is a must for me. I'll be jammin' some strawberries this weekend. Homemade jam is so much better the store stuff....and A LOT cheaper. One of my classes is "cost control" this semester so I think I'll do a little recipe cost comparison with homemade vs store bought....sounds like a blast to me! I'll share the results at a later date....

So there you have it.....My favs - - - what are your favs?????

Veganlious Martini

2011-02-23T10:00:00.000-05:00

Happy 50th Birthday Goods!!

Goods turned 50 this year...he is now exactly 50 years and 10 days old....I'm a little late on the birthday post. BUT I HAVE AN EXCUSE....I was busy using my knowledge I have obtained in my beverage class - BIRTHDAY MARTINIS.....with a little side of fish.

This is how the class instructor taught us how to make these puppies....You can be only 14 steps away from your own PERFECT MARTINI.

Take you glass -
Put a couple drops of vermouth in it.
Add some ice
Swirl the ice & droplets of vermouth around. (try not to make a mess)
Set glass aside.
Take a stainless steel mixing glass & fill with ice
Add 3 oz of your favorite vodka (Skyy for me please)
Swirl it around to make the vodka super duper cold
Take your glass - dump out the ice (into a sink - that would be tidy of you)
Strain the vodka into the glass
Stab some olives with a plastic sword
Garnish accordingly
Take picture of perfect martini
Drink and Enjoy

Here is some drinking trivia ...you know the jigger...not that I am a fan of it - why do you need to measure you booze after all????

Okay- trivia question....
What do you call the small side of the jigger??
The 1.5 oz is actually called the jigger.
The other side is usually a mear 1 oz (why even bother???)
.
.

Answer...Ready??
.
.
A pony!

So I guess if I would have bought Goods a Jigger for his birthday - he would have gotten a PONY TOO! What kid doesn't want a pony for his birthday??

What I did get him was a new flavor vodka (we are on a flavored vodka kick right now...and a mission to quit adding Diet Coke to our vodka....because as you know, Diet Coke is bad for you)

Three Olives Pomegranate Vodka....an excellent choice may I say.

'Tis done with this post....geez louise - 2 post in one week....
I spoil you so!

Super Vegan Appetizers

2011-02-22T09:48:00.000-05:00

Well the Super Bowl was not so super for me...but our snacks were! Allow me to share with you...first off.....

Pizza Dip! Before...

After.....

I served with tortilla chips to maintain a gluten free status...but this would be excellent with some soft and gooshie breadsticks....just saying.

The recipe is linked above....I of course veganized it by the following:
Ingredients:
- 1 8oz Tofutti cream cheese, softened
- 1 14oz jar of pizza sauce
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
- 1/2 cup black olives, chopped
- 5 ounces VEGAN pepperoni, finely chopped***
- 2 cups shredded Vegan mozzarella cheese

***I make my own pepperoni....but you can use the store bought kind. My pepperoni goes as follows:
I use the spices from the Fat Free Vegan Blog here then I use the gluten "dough" from Vegan Vittles the Seiten Salami, Pepperoni, & Pastrami Recipe. You might be able to find the recipe on line but I'm not about to be illegal and post her recipe....I value my freedom and my clean criminal record.
But you ask...Why do you use a combo of the two recipes....well I will be happy to answer that...I like the spiciness of FFV, and the VV "meat" seems to be moister after baking it.

On to one of my creations....BEAN CIGARS!

VEGAN! GLUTEN FREE! And YUMMY!

Served with homemade salsa and canned jalapenos!

So all you need to create these BEAN CIGARS yourself is....

- corn tortillas

- a can of refried beans

- jalapenos - sliced

- seasonings: cumin & chili pepper

- vegan cheese

First- toast the corn tortillas lightly- you just want them cooked enough to make the rollable... here is an action shot.....I do them on my gas burners.....

But be very very careful NOT to burn or set them on fire....Not that I've ever done that before.

Next gently spread a layer of refried beans on the tortilla - okay, I usually just slap it on the tortilla. Add a few slices of jalapenos...

I do usually preseason the beans with some cumin & chili powder....for kicks and giggles.
Add some cheese to the middle of the tortilla (middle is best for less melty mess when cooking).

Then start at one end and roll them to look like this.....

Dust them with a little cumin & chili powder....I might have used some garlic too - be wild- be creative.

Bake them at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes....you want them with just a tinge of toastiness going on.

Then a repeat favorite....roasted garlic toasties....I talked about them before but they are worth mentioning again.

All you do is.....

Take some roasted garlic and mix it into a container of toffuti cream cheese
Slice some baguette bread and lightly butter one side.
Put the butter side of the bread onto a prepared cookie sheet.
Spread the garlic cream cheese mixture on each one.
Top with some vegan mozzarella cheese.
And Sprinkle with some green stuff - truly...I'm not sure what that is....I'm thinking maybe parsley? The crazy sh*t I do...
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 ish minutes.

So easy and yummy - Goods requested these...so of course I abided!

So it was sad that the Steelers lost but at least we made it to the Super Bowl - ENJOY!

Tempeh Served on a VEGAN TABLE

2011-02-07T09:44:00.000-05:00

Or I guess I should say Tempeh from The Vegan Table.....

I love this cookbook. Actually someone bought me it, along with 2 other great ones The Kind Life and 30 Minute Vegan . My friends bought me copies along with ones they bought for themselves. Sadly, I don't think they have made anything out of them (& it's been over a year) - but I have- They are pretty much my go to books when I'm looking for something easy and good!....and here is one of the recipes from The Vegan Table....Cornmeal-Crusted Tempeh with Orange Ginger Sauce.

The tempeh in the photo is smothered in the sauce....but trust me - it was the yummiest tempeh - I totally dug it without the sauce the next day....right from the fridge. But I am a total tempeh freak....love love love it. I served it with baked sweet potatoes and Goods grilled some asparagus. Wish I could share the recipe with you but since I did have Business Law last semester (acing it BTW) I don't want to take my chances and get thrown in the slammer. But I suggest you go buy this book, you won't be sorry!!

Now you ask....How are classes going this semester? What are you taking??? Well...if you can tell from the above photo - I am learning to do plate presentation - stack the food- build it vertically. I am in Culinary Techniques, which involves a kitchen lab where we learn and make different foods. Yes, it is a bit of a struggle for me since it is not a vegan class, but my chef instructor and my classmates are very respective of my vegan ways....and curious too! So all is good...except for the chicken breast I had to butterfly last Friday - I had gloves on for obvious reasons, but I haven't touch chicken in over 11 years - but I manned up and did it.

So.....some of my posts will be of food we prepared in kitchen lab....but I will veganize it - sounds fun huh?

Another class I have is Beverage Service....seriously??? I get a grade and credit for learning about and making cocktails??? A "I died and went to heaven" moment. But I'll post more on that class later - I will spread the knowledge!

So winter....I can't stand winter....so we are going to play a game. How many animals do you see in the photo? Please note how well I train my squirrels....synchronize squirrels...but there is a hawk in the photo too....

So now onto the much needed....LIQUID SUNSHINE...

I couldn't decide what photo to use so you got both. These little puppies are Oprah's Lemon Drop Martinis, not that I am a fan of Oprah....but I am a fan of these. I put some food coloring in the sugar for some extra prettiness.

And if you can't beat winter....join it....well good for them.

I just included this because I thought it was pretty.....it's down at the lake (Lake St. Clair) in our subdivision. But right after I took the photo, that little boy fell and smacked his face on the ice- guess you can say winter was beating him. (He was okay- little drama, but boys can be like that)

Cheers!

I am the last to know.....

2011-01-27T10:17:00.001-05:00

I have a story....a sad sad story.

Last weekend I was making a huge arsh vat of chili. Everyone, including animal eating people love my chili....sorry...the recipe is a secret, and that would be mainly because I wing it each time. Anyway....back to my story. So I have all the ingredients in the vat, the last thing to add was the "fake burger". I get my packages of Morning Star Farms Crumbles out....seeeeee

When I was taking the packages out of the freezer, I laid them with the backside upon the counter to ...and what do I see - "Contains: MILK & EGGS" WTF???
I was flippin mad! I've been buying Morning Star for years....never thinking I had to RECHECK the ingredients! Yes, they use to be VEGAN...then they changed the formula in 2009!

So just a warning if anyone out there didn't know there was a change...they are a bunch of weiners!! I will be buying Boca from now on. I use to buy which ever one was on sale.

But now Goods has a big honkin' vat of chili all to himself, thank goodness it freezes just dandy.

Family Game Night Featuring.......... Vegan Jello Shots

2011-01-10T12:04:00.002-05:00

I love to play games....Goods, not so much. But you add some Vodka to a game...Goods is good to go! My BFF plays games too...and lookie what she got me for Christmas.....

That is right ladies and gents.....Shots and Ladders! She knows me so well!! But look at the shot glasses that come with it.... each player picks a glass....

Potentially confusing, don't you think- especially after you had a few?? The colors are so similar with the pattern being the same. We, BFF & myself, played it safe and picked the glasses with only 2 colors on it.

So you ask....what did you use as shots???? VEGAN JELLO SHOTS of course! (recipe to follow)

So here we are...trying to figure out the directions. Please note that we had backup booze too along with our vegan jello shots.

Action shot....see, we put the jello in our shot glass...we are classy like that.

An amazing feat...we all lined up on one row.....

Now, this wasn't just a drinking game....there were squares that if you landed on them you had a choice between "truth or dare" ....BFF Boy landing on sans square and took the dare...

Well I thought it was funny and really that is all that counts.
After one game of Shots & Ladders...we are responsible like that...we moved on with the game Operation. We took the opportunity to incorporate the rest of the jello shots into this game. If you got "buzzed" by the game....you had to get "buzzed" by a shot.

Goods in action....

And then shockingly...we were able to still play around of "HI-HOO-Cherrios"

Fun time had by all! We did all drink & eat responsibly. So....what you have been waiting for...the Vegan Jello Shot recipe so you can run out and make them tonight....
First...I used this jello...in orange flavor and cherry

Vegan Jello Shots

1 Package of Vegan Jello

1 Cup of Boiling Water

1 Cup of Booze of Choice (room temp)

Put powdered jello in bowl or measuring cup. Add Boiling water & room temp booze- and stir stir stir. I already had little 2 oz dixie cups on hand (because I use to make jello shots galore- pre vegan)

It sets up pretty quickly too, so after the jello dissolves, don't pussy foot around getting the jello poured into your containers.

You ask what booze did I use???? For the orange, I used peach schnapps - which was the group favorite. I had it laying around for years and wanted to get rid of it. The cherry - Skyy Vodka...yummy.

And for those who are cringing because I used plastic dixie cup containers....I saved what I could, saved all the lids, washed them for future use. But you wonder how I got them all dried??? This is genius I say....I put them in a delectable net bag you use in your washing machine...threw it into the dryer on air- and waa-laaa... dry.

I did have food - like my favorite nacho cheese dip and a roasted garlic cream cheese toasted on baguettes. [easy recipe: roast garlic, add to cream cheese, spread on little toasty breads and pop into toaster oven till melty- oh, I think I sprinkled son Diaya mozzarella cheese on top of each too, but again not difficult]

Well I start classes again this afternoon---I'll be doing some interesting post with my cooking class that I have to touch meat and stuff....ick.

I've been College Binge Drinking....

2010-12-10T07:26:00.001-05:00

Not really....been colleging though. I have 5 finals starting this afternoon running till Weds. night...Then I will be back will some exciting posts--okay with some posts, posts in one hand, cocktail in the other.

See you on the other side....matie....

Halloween 2010, no we normally don't dress like this.

Halloween Treats...Popcorn & Freeze Pops. My treat is on the left side!

Hallows-eve...

2010-10-30T11:45:00.001-04:00

And who said you aren't suppose to play with sharp objects when you have having cocktails...SEE MOM NO BLOOD.....

But there may be blood on the football field tonight - Penn State vs Michigan...Guess who I'm for. I already got boo-ed today at the market for wearing my Penn State Gear. My parents paid a lot of money for me to wear PSU gear with pride. Michigan people can be sooo mean.

Here is a bloody shot of last years costumes....Zombie bride & groom - Goods killed me on my wedding day because of my little boyfriend who you can barely see in the bottom right corner.

More pics to come of this years festivities....until then......boooooooooooo

2 weeks then BOOOOO

2010-10-17T17:09:00.000-04:00

Be SCARED!!!

And Fluffy wants nothing to do with fake kitty...she turns her back to Fake Kitty....and to Fluffy's defense...it is a bad fake kitty....

People Suck...

2010-10-16T17:33:00.001-04:00

...not you of course, just some.
but now I really really can't forgive Michael Vick...

I show Goods this Link and then he precedes to ask me why I do this to myself (shockingly I was crying as I showed him)...but really the question is- how can ANYONE do this to an innocent animal- seriously???? I've been asking God to help me try and forgive Michael Vick, he did his time in jail, blah blah blah, but God hasn't given me the strength to do it....so I'm going to take that as a sign that I'm fine despising him and cheering on the Eagles to lose. I did tell Goods that if Vick would turn Vegan, I would seriously consider taking the Eagles back as one of my favorite teams. I say that is fair. How do you feel, my vegan friends...do you and can you forgive Vick?
Vick is a dick, but I'm Googy for Oogy.
And with that, my cocktail is empty. cheers

Gluten Free Vegan Broccoli Quiche

2010-10-10T09:09:00.000-04:00

...and it was totally kickass. Sorry for the language, but it had to be said.
Looky how pretty and kickass it looks....

The recipe for the "guts" was from Isa (we are on 1st name basis) "Vegan Brunch" Cookbook, but you can find the recipe HERE on her website. Now, as usual, I did not follow the recipe to the TEE- I didn't want a pastry crust, so I got the BRILLIANT idea to make a potato crust. So I boiled a couple of potatoes and made thick mashed potatoes.......

See..... you can see the thickness it should be.

You may ask yourself- why does it have a yellowish color to it???
Well the secret ingredient is......NOOCH! yes, add some NOOCH.(nutritional yeast for the newbies)
Guess it's no so much a secret anymore.....
I smashed it into a lightly sprayed-pie pan, smashed up the sides and smashed it to the bottom

Then I baked it, uncovered @ 350 degrees until lightly brown....

(approx 37 minutes- give or take)

I baked it in the toaster oven -
worked out perfect....didn't heat up the house.
Then I put the guts into the potato crust, pretty much followed the directions from here...until the last 13 minutes of the baking times.
And this is what it looked like..........

SO what did I do during the last 13 minutes of the baking???? I added DAIYA cheddar cheese and grape tomatoes from our garden. Daiya cheese is my new crack...not that I ever had old crack. I didn't think I missed cheese until I had this melty gooey goodness in my mouth.

(NOTE: I boiled 2 russet potatoes to make the mashed potatoes, I ended only using 1/2 of the mixture so I threw the other 1/2 into the freezer and used to make another crust a couple of weeks later - it was perfect)

Sorry about this post layout - I think the new blogger layout is on crack. I don't have time to make it all pretty....so please live with it until I have a moment between my homework, studying and of course drinking to figure it out.

But....go make this right now....It's totally kickass.

24 more days...then BOO!

2010-10-07T11:09:00.000-04:00

I HAVE to get busy decorating...I should already have it done by now! But busy as a bee for school. This was a gift from my non-vegan sister & bro-in-law. Cool isn't it. And this one won't rot all over our floor....so it's a GIRL pumpkin.

Back to the books.....boobye!

28 days till Boo-Day

2010-10-03T12:05:00.001-04:00

This is the first decoration I put out this year....well really it's the only one so far, unless you count a pumpkin. We picked this spooky guy up last time we were in Altoona, PA visiting my parental units. I think my Grandma made it. I guess if I moved the candles that I have in front of it...you could see the whole thing....but in my defense...I took this photo when I was having a few vodkas last night so I'm pretty much impressed I even got the ghost in the frame.

Rock on. Or as I like to say it - on the rocks.

Halloween Countdown #1

2010-10-02T12:01:00.010-04:00

Yeap - it's that time again.....Goods favorite time of the year - the time to scare the neighborhood kiddies. So....only 29 more days to Boo-Day. I am going to feature some of out halloween cheer with you this year. First off....THE PUMPKIN. Well it didn't make it to it's 3rd Halloween....look at the guts spewing out onto the floor...

It was a sad day...and a stinky one too. It was so close to celebrating with us his 3rd halloween...but it just couldn't hang on. So you ask me how I know it was a BOY pumpkin....well ask yourself...would a GIRL make a mess all over my kitchen floor??? No, I think not.

So you are wondering where this halloween feature is that I talked about....well here it is...Fluffy is modeling it for you....She's shy...well really she was afraid of the flash...and me. Hey, her Daddy held her while I put it on...bad Daddy. Here is a closer look.

Oh - and yes I made it....I can be crafty at times...oh and it's reversible....just in case the eyes bug you.

I didn't really make it for Fluffy...I'm making a couple for some doggies that come to visit on their walks. I love them...

So...I know you all have been wondering why I didn't have my Lily Lou as the model...

It's still sooooo hard to talk about it, she was the love of my life (sorry Goods) and we had to send her to kitty heaven with Guido. As I sit here typing I'm bawling...I miss her with every piece of my being........ we sent her to heaven July 12th...the suckiest day of my life.

She was 15 1/2 years young...

Lily Lou...you were the best Kitty in the whole wide world...you were my best friend.

Now - I must go drown my sorrows with some vodka....yes, and Lily would have approved.

Guess what these are.....

2010-10-01T11:54:00.003-04:00

....yeah, go ahead and guess......

Affordable Gluten Free Pretzels - and they are EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!

Oh how I missed you pretzels- Your crunchy goodness that didn't taste like cardboard (like other Gluten Free Pretzels do)

I am high as a kite! Well...that might be from the vodka...but I am sooooo happy Snyder's of Hanover made these pretzels for me! Guess they have been out for a while - Since April, but sometimes I am known to be slow. Better slow then never.

And to BOOT- I paid only $2.39 for the 8 oz bag of crunchy goodness! And for the other boot- they are vegan!

Have a fantastic weekend! Cheers

Colossal Accident!

2010-09-27T04:50:00.001-04:00

So one day I was going to the store (KROGERS)- asked Goods if he wanted anything....he responded back - HE ACTUALLY LISTEN TO ME THIS TIME - AMAZING...back to the story...so his response was..."just a single desserty-breakfast thingy" And this is what I came back with....

Why such a big thingy??? Because....IT WAS VEGAN! No, not gluten free...BUT VEGAN and only $3.99. It was one thingy but it was HUGE - 12 inches in diameter - thin but that allowed it to be less gluten! I'm not a big sweet eater- but when I do eat sweets like they them gaggy sweet and NO chocolate please.

I read the ingredients 3 times before I bought it. No animal laden products in it! Not exactly good for you- very very processed ingredients and a few chemicals thrown in there for flavor - but VEGAN! Goods cut it up and threw a lot of it in the freezer. A couple bites of it is all you need to get your fill of VEGAN gaggy sugary goodness. It was actually totally kick ass too.

So I thought I would start posting things that were accidentally vegan- because I am soooo cool that way.

Yummy yummy bacon....

2010-09-24T09:43:00.000-04:00

of course...tempeh bacon for VLTs - Veganbacon Lettuce & Tomato....

Just look at that tomato (the lettuce didn't make it to the sandwich yet! It has been a glorious year for our tomotoes - HOT & HUMID making extremely yummy and plentiful!!.

I am soooo proud of Goods! He has made the switch to tempeh bacon from the dead animal version...and he says he doesn't miss it with the "facon" I make...this is what I do....

[actually initially I used Vegan Vittles recipe for bacon but I changed to my liking - well OUR liking now!!]

Facon Tempeh Bacon.

1 package of tempeh sliced width wise very thin (like 1/8" or so)

Spray a 9 x 11 baking pan and arrange tempeh (soon to be bacon)

in a single layer

mix together in a small bowl:

1/3 c. water

1/3 c. tamari

3 Tbs of dark brown sugar

2 tsp liquid smoke

1/2 tsp garlic granules

Pour liquid mixture over tempeh - coating every single peice

Now this is where I get crazy-

I take seasoning and sprinkle all over the top of the tempeh (soon to be bacon)

such as:

MORE garlic of course

onion granules

paprika

cayenne

fresh ground pepper

and what ever gives me kicks and giggles.

I let marinate for 3 cocktails....or in real time - do as long as you please, but for at least 1 hour.

Spray lightly, after marinating is complete, with oil or Pam like substance.

Then throw into the oven @350 degrees

Bake until all the liquid is dried up and now THE BACON is lightly toasty (ie - don't burn it).

Baking time is usually - like 1 cocktail - or in real time 20-30 minutes.

And there you have it - Slap the bacon onto a sandwich with some Veganaise and enjoy. I usually make a VLT salad for myself, but Goods gorges himself on 3-4 sandwiches! Oh how does he make room for more cocktails.

Until next time- Cheers

Affordable Gluten Free Cereal!

2010-08-06T13:31:00.002-04:00

.....And about freakin time.

Bought this 2 lb 8 oz box at Costco for $ 6.79! Along with a 12 pack box of soymilk for $ 11.49!!! Gluten Free breakfast forever for under 20 bucks! The cereal is package in 2 bags - one corn and one rice. I might even get wild and mix the two!! Thank you General Mills!

OH BUT LOOK AT THIS RECIPE ON THEIR SITE......Fruit Sushi....OY - GROSS!

2010-07-23T10:39:00.003-04:00

Well a lot has happened since the last time I have posted....something I really not ready to chat about yet - BUT.....I do want to chat about a couple of recipes I've tried out on Goods....and both worthy of a post!

Oven baked vegan, of course, ONION RINGS! from Post Punk Kitchen

The recipe calls for store bought whole wheat bread crumbs...and for the life of me, I just couldn't find them in ANY store in Michigan. In fact I couldn't find breadcrumbs without dairy and egg in the - WTF???? oh...so I made my own...and they turned out dandy! They were light and crispy....and actually not hard to make at all!! We ate them with cocktail sauce and tarter sauce.

Our garden is over flowing with cucumbers. We've given them to neighbors and friends, I eat at least a cuke a day and I used them to make this....from a vegetarian time email I received....

White Gazpacho (Recipe here)

This was totally awesome perfect for a hot summer day - cukes, toasted almonds, GRAPES, and arugula - to name just a few ingredients. But one problems...I still have cucumbers coming out the kazoo.

And to end with a funny....I took this photo through our kitchen door......

Get your pretty little heads out of the gutter....the gray "baby" squirrel was grooming the other one - just like monkeys do.

Today Goods and I are celebrating our 1st Wedding Anniversary today - and look we've lasted...because the first 13 years of being together didn't count. We are going great restaurant tonight Mon Jin Lau. They have tons of vegan options- and they make pretty garsh darn good cocktails too.

I'll be back real soon....I have one more week of classes and then starting Thursday - I'll be off for THREE WHOLE WEEKS!!! except for my prereading I'll be doing for my fall classes - because I'm a geek that way.

Have a lovely weekend! Stay cool!

No I haven't been horsing around

2010-07-06T08:45:00.009-04:00

....I have just been busy.

Still packing my bookbag and going to school. Right now I am taking an Elements of Art class which I am very much enjoying. We are not actually doing actual art, but are learning how to interpert and appreciate different artists and styles. The painting above is on that I recently did for my neice's first communion- she loves loves loves horses.

For my art class last week, we visited some gallaries in Detroit. The one that I totally dug was an exhibit called "Monsters" at Work • Detroit, at 3663 Woodward Ave, Detroit. The only downside of the exhibit was that it associated with the University of Michigan, and being the true Penn State fan & alumni that I am....I felt little uneasy loving the exhibit so much. Oh well....what I won't do for an A. If you are in the area, I would highly recommend going to the gallery. It's FREE, and free parking on the street...and if you see the crazy dude that was following me - give him my well wishes :)

SO....WHERE IS THE FOOD? Well between Winter semester ending and my first summer class I had, Goods and I went camping. I will be posting a VEGAN GOES CAMPING post soon....really....I promise.

To hold you over (till a foodie post).....

2010-03-21T16:20:00.004-04:00

have a cocktail....a Pink Cadillac to be exact....
I made these yesterday - extremely yummy but we only had one each because they are sweet.

Pink Cadillac

1.5 ounces of Skyy Vodka

3/4 ounce of Chambord

1/4 ounce of Anise flavor liquor (sambuca will work)

1 once of Sweet & Sour Syrup**

1 ounce of Soy Creamer.

Put all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake the hell out of it.

Pour and enjoy!

**Sweet & Sour Syrup recipe

1/2 c. simple syrup

3/4 c fresh lime juice

3/4 c. fresh lemon juice

mix together and use or store in fridge

Well today is my last day of spring break...back to classes tomorrow to kick some ass.

I will see YOU soon!

Hi - I'm Dee, and this is Good-Dees

2010-03-19T08:35:00.011-04:00

So what excuse do you want to hear first??? I think the truth is the best.....I'm still the busiest laid off vegan....yes I'm still happily unemployed.

It's been months I know, and I've missed every single one of you....but....

Once upon a time, before right before Thanksgiving our computer blew up....and it sucked...it sucked for a couple of weeks until our new baby appeared.

So then there was Christmas, New Years, and other stuff that got in the way of my blogging....like I'm back in college working on my second degree....more on that later. Then there was winter to deal with....more suckiness. We tried to deal with it as best we could....we went to Snowfest in Frankenmuth....see how cold we are....

Totally fake smiles.

Pretty COLD things though....

So I was inspired to create this....
Goods and I also did some fun Detroit stuff - if you EVER get to Detroit you just have to go featherbowling - Goods in action.....
We did loads of other things too....Watched the Derby Girls in Action, went to the Dirty Show again, hung with friends....but what Goods said I did more was study. As stated previously - I'm back in college - I'm striving to become valedictorian of Macomb Community College. I'm a book worm, I'm officially a geek - and I totally love it. I have enrolled in the restaurant management program - it blends well with that petroleum and natural gas engineering degree I have from Penn State - doesn't it???

I have been cooking a tad....so foodie posts will be happening. Something else that has happened was a new addition to the Goods family......Lookie how cute!
I am sad to say that CHARLIE does not reside at our house but lives at Goods' daughter's abode. But Charlie does come to visit and totally ignores Lily which is such a disappointment for me. Oh well, I'll just taunt her myself.

I'll be back really really soon....it's not a promise it is a threat!

Vegan Creamy Potato Soup - plus another one...

2009-11-11T09:27:00.006-05:00

Here is a pot of Potato Soup I whipped up for Goods.... Not that I don't like potato soup...I do, but this was a chance that I could make a soup for myself that I knew Goods wouldn't be gaga over....Spinach / Quinoa soup....

The recipe was adapted from a volume of Vegetarian Times - I wasn't gaga over it...so I'm not sharing my version of it. I love spinach, I love love quinoa but I thought it all got lost in the soupiness. Since quinoa, to me, is a delicate grain...it kind of got lost. Next time I will just make a dish of quinoa & spinach and leave out the broth.

BUTTT the good news is...I will share the Vegan Creamy Potato Soup with you all!

Sauteed in a little olive oil the following:

5 gloves of minced garlic

1 sliced leek

1 stalk chopped celery

1 finely chopped carrot

1 finely chopped jalapeno (w/out seeds)

1/4 c. chopped red pepper

1/4 c. chopped green pepper

After sauteing the above until tender - add

3 c. of veggie broth

2 c. water

1/4 c. chopped parsley

6 cups of potatoes - cubed

Over medium to medium low heat, cook until potatoes to desired tenderness.

Right before serving - Add 1/2 c. of soymilk and heat thoroughly.

Enjoy with your favorite bread (or for me gluten free bread)

Baked Lemon Tofu

2009-11-06T07:58:00.008-05:00

Well....this isn't what I was initially going for - this baked lemon tofu - but look how extremely yummy it looks! My initial intentions were to make a mock version of lemon chicken...but I was too busy to make sieten (and this time I mean busy, not lazy) and I really wanted to try the red potatoes I bought at the farmer's market last weekend and I just didn't think lemony sauce would go with potatoes- you need more of a grain dish for that so I created a LEMON TOFU BAKE - Easy Peasy- Here is the recipe.....

1 block fir or extra firm tofu - pressed well and slice in 8 pieces
Mix together marinate:
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
2 Tbs. Dijon Mustard
2 Tbs. Tamari
3 Tbs. Lemon Juice - fresh
1 tsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Lemon Zest
1 tsp dried Basil (I used home-dried Thia)
1 tsp dried Thyme
2 minced Cloves of Garlic
Fresh ground Pepper to taste

Pour marinate over tofu - in shallow baking dish. Marinate for AT LEAST an hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees -
You can use the same baking dish if you chose, or transfer in lightly sprayed baking dish and
bake tofu for 25-30 minutes until brownish...flip halfway thru

Served with some smashed potatoes - GET THIS- I gave Goods the option of "mashed potatoes" or "smashed potatoes" - and he said..."hummm... I'll go with mashed because they are chunkier" - dahhhhhhh - I have so much to teach him...I corrected him, on this common knowledge tidbit and told him "smashed potatoes" are chunkier. So we had Smashed potatoes (w/ roasted garlic, green onion and nooch), broccoli and Goods had leftover grilled mushrooms....ewwwhhh. All the flavors blended perfectly too!

I just ate some of the leftover tofu for breakfast (cold too) and it was even better today! The lemon isn't overwhelming either - it would be perfect in a sandwich wrap.

Enjoy!

Vegan White "Chicken" Chili

2009-10-26T12:48:00.009-04:00

I guess with the fall weather setting in, my cooking mod has switched to a batch of weekly soup...but this week it was getting even more chilly out and so of course I made CHILI!

White "Chicken" Chili that is....

A closer lookie...

Goods and I embarked on this creation together...and it was souper (tee-hee) yummy! This is what we did....

6 cloves of minced garlic

6 cups of veggie broth (I always have Bryanna's premade on hand)

1 Tbs. of Olive Oil

2 Tbs. fresh chopped parsley (fresh because it's still growing in my garden)

Simmer all that together, in a large stock pot for 15-20 minutes

(you can adjust the garlic accordingly but with halloween right around the corner- we need the extra protection from the vampires)

Then add to the

1 can of green chilies (4 oz approx)
(I think next time I will add 2 cans)

2 tsp cumin

3 tsp chili pepper

1 tsp dried cilantro

1/2 tsp pepper

1 large carrot diced

1 medium onion diced

1-2 stocks of celery diced

1/2 c of red pepper diced

1/2 c green pepper diced

1 can of can cannellini beans (drained)

Now, after those ingredients were added - I took my emulsion blender and zapped the soup a few times to make the mixture a little thicker. The chili will cook down, so this step is totally up to you.

Now after the zapping we added more beans:

1 more can of cannellini beans (drained)

1 can of great northern beans

(Note: bean cans were approx 16 oz each)

So we let that simmer for about 1- 1 1/2 hours

Then we added...(well by this point I was solo-chef) 2 packages of vegan chicken (chopped) - like Morning Star or as I used, Trader Joe brand.

Let simmer for about an another hour.

Then right before serving add - 1/3 c. of vegan sour cream (Toffuti for me)

We very much enjoyed this- we took it to a gathering we were invited to and all enjoyed it...even though it was a meat eating group.

Enjoy!

Halloween Ball

2009-10-25T12:43:00.003-04:00

No, my costume is not done yet and it's only 6 days until Halloween - but I am happy to say that I finished my mosaic halloween spider gazing ball in time!

Only 12 more days to Halloween.....

2009-10-19T14:33:00.001-04:00

Corn in the Oven

2009-10-16T12:13:00.004-04:00

I LOVE CORN! I love raw, cooked or frozen. I know I'm odd, but I like frozen food - fruit, veggies, french fries to name a few....but now back to the corn. We have the BEST corn here in Michigan- and the best corn we found around can be purchased at Northern Farm Market located in Timbuktu - well if feels like that anyway...but it's sooooo worth it.

I accidentally found the PERFECT way to cook corn on the cob....IN THE OVEN & STILL DRESSED with it's husks on. What I do is soak the corn for 24 hours, wrap each ear in foil and throw it into the oven at 350 degrees for an hour. Comes out PERFECT with out a burnt mark on it (unlike when Goods does it on the grill- but that isn't because of his cooking techniques, but this corn is soooo sweet, I think the sugar from it tends to burn as the corn cooks with the irregular heat from the grill) If you don't have time to soak it, I've been known to just add a Tablespoon of water in the foil while before I seal the foil tight.

In the heat of the summer, I would not heat up the oven to do this but it's great for cooler days.

Have a great weekend!!!

Halloween Count-Down

2009-10-13T10:49:00.008-04:00

Halloween is only 17 quick days away....where...where...where...Lily is looking around for it??? Boo...Rats - there it is...and Lily is not amused.

I will be featuring some Halloween decor throughout this Halloween countdown. Goods, and now I am too, are huge into Halloween.....so be prepared to be scared! Kind of like last night's dinner....but I'll save that for another post.

Creamy Vegan Broccoli Soup

2009-10-13T10:01:00.004-04:00

Yeap, it's getting flippin cold here in Michigan, and what do you do when it gets cold....make some soup. I saw this beautiful bunch of broccoli at the farmers market that I just had to have, even though I was going out of town in a few days and I had to use it before I left....so Broccoli Soup it was!This is what I did....

Saute the below items, until tender, in 2 Tbs of Earth Balance:

3 garlic cloves minced

1/2 c. heaping cup of chopped onion

1 carrot - diced

1 stalk celery - chopped

1/3 c. red pepper - chopped

1/3 c. green pepper - chopped

Add to the above when done:

1.5 c. veggie broth

4 c. chopped broccoli

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp dried basil (I used Thai basil)

1/2 tsp salt (1 used 1 tsp and found it to be too much)

1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

Pepper to taste

Let the whole kit and kab-boodle simmer for about 20 mins. until broccoli is tender/soft.

Now add - 1/2 c. of vegan sour cream

1 c. of soy milk

I then took my emulsion blender and blended the soup a little. We like ours chunky, so I just zipped it a tad. Heat the soup thoroughly - and then enjoy!

Goods suggested maybe some potatoes in it next time.....I might just be wild enough to do it too! Stay tuned for some Halloween fun and until then.....Stay warm!!

Beyond Awesome Apple Coffee Cake

2009-09-29T08:17:00.004-04:00

I can't believe how awesome this coffee cake is- I'm not a big sweet eater, one because of gluten usually involved, two, I'm not into it- guess I'm just sweet enough that I don't need any extra sweetness. Ha.
Anyway - what makes this so awesome???? The cake part, melts in your mouth- it's silky smooth - and it has just the right amount of apples. Make it, really, I dare you.....
Veganised from this recipe from foodnetwork - the original recipe was for a 9 X 13 pan- but I made an 8 X 8 pan of these puppies. If you choose the larger batch - just double the below amounts-

4 Tbs Earth Balance Vegan Butter
3/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 EnerG Egg Replacer
1 cup unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Toffuti sour cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup peeled, cored and chopped apple (I used Honey Crisps)

Crumble Topping:
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons Earth Balance vegan butter, softened

Brown Sugar Glaze:
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoons water

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish with "butter".
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat.

In a separate bowl or on a piece of parchment, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. (I cheated here, I just put the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisked it up a bit) Add to the wet ingredients, alternating with the sour cream and vanilla.

Fold in the apples. Pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading out to the edges.
To make the topping, in a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter, and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the cake and bake until golden brown and set, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.
To make the glaze, in a bowl, combine the sugar, vanilla, and water and mix until smooth. Drizzle the cake with the glaze and let harden slightly. Serve warm.

The only thing I would change next time - chunk the apples bigger - oh and maybe another change - MAKE THE BIG BATCH!

Flower of the week Sept 28, 2009

2009-09-28T18:10:00.002-04:00

It's our HALLOWEEN IRIS! It's a reblooming iris that not only blooms in the spring but also graces us with it's beauty for Halloween! Does anyone know it's name???? Hopefully my Uncle, who gave me the iris, will be able to ID after he receives the photo I just sent him. I'll let you know!

Vegan Cheese

2009-09-25T13:23:00.004-04:00

I know, I've been lacking in my food posts...and what really sucks about this food post is, well, I have no photos...if you want to see photos of this cheese I'm going to HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU MAKE - go here - Noveleats....pretty huh? Along with this being pretty damn good cheese! Now, of course, I didn't follow the recipe to the "T" - more like I followed it like "Dee" because I like my food over the top flavorful - So these are my amounts I used for this vegan cheese:

1/4 cup (mounded cup) nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unbleached flour
1/2 heaping teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 heaping teaspoon dried yellow mustard powder
1/2 heaping teaspoon of onion powder
1/4 teaspoon of paprika
fresh ground pepper to taste
1 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoon vegan butter

Then I followed her instructions:
First, mix the dry ingredients together in a medium sized saucepan.

Mixing dry ingredients together for vegan cheese
Add the water and mix well, then add the vegan butter.

Mixing the water with the dry ingredients
Put the pan on the stove, and turn on the heat to medium to medium-high and whisk continuously. As soon as you start to notice it getting thick (and it gets thick pretty fast), you may want to switch to a spoon to stir. Turn off the heat soon thereafter.

I served this on steamed broccoli with a baked potato- awesome. This is the best cheese sauce recipe I've come across...and I've made many. And what is really cool about this sauce is that it doesn't get all lumpy when it's cold- it's smooth as a babies bottom, when you take the leftovers out of the fridge.

Thank you Novaleats for posting this vegan cheese recipe - it will be a staple in our house!
5 out of 5 forks!

Pumpkin Update....

2009-09-23T06:00:00.003-04:00

The white pumpkin from halloween 2008 IS going to make it to see it's SECOND Halloween....See.....

With Lily eating her non-vegan kitty food to celebrate.

Let's do a poll.....who feeds their pets that normally eat animal product, vegan pet-food???

I don't, one, because I couldn't change their diet at their ages, two, I feel that cats & dogs are "made to" eat animals....anyone agree??? or do you disagree????

Oh - and to my Goods - happy 2 month anniversary! Maybe I should bake him a pumpkin pie???

Fun time had by all.....

2009-09-21T11:29:00.021-04:00

Normally- Goods and I are too busy to jet here and there on the weekend - you know - like to ACTUALLY relax and enjoy the weekend??? Well this weekend we squeezed a couple of fun Michigan things in between projects.

Guess where we went Saturday????? The Michigan Renaissance Festival - Yes we dress because we are cool like that!! Goods was a pirate (the theme for the weekend) I was his gypsy girl.

Go figure I took a picture of The PUB. And here is a pic of the Good-Men.....

Men in tights - love it. I didn't take any pictures of the food I did eat there....they don't have much of a selections for vegans. I did have a famous dill pickle, a order of crisscross fries, that were undercooked, and then a bag of overpriced Kettle Korn...my favorite!

I did take a photo of one of our favorite acts at the renn fest....if you ever get a chance to go - this is a must - they are hilarious! Great improving! They are The Bocca Show...

Then on Sunday we hit the streets of Ferndale, Michigan for....

Funky Ferndale Art Fair & DIY Street Fair.

It was a lot of fun...next time we go we will be allowing more time to people watch.

Ferndale is a cool town....they have some great eatery there. They have one of my favorite health food store there....and a newly founded (by me) this place.....

Where I was able to purchase and consume THIS-
It's been over 3 years since I have actually bought a milkshake or even icecream out. This brought me massive amounts of excitement and glee.
Here is Goods enjoying our shared, Peanutbutter, Chocolate & Banana milkshake.....

And to boot - it was great! Here is a link to AJ's - we will be going back to check out what else they have to offer.

....so a fun weekend had by all in the Goods' household.

Flower of the Week - Sept 21, 2009

2009-09-21T10:38:00.002-04:00

Swamp Milkweed - the Monarch Butterflies only lay their eggs on the milkweed plant.....
...and the Swallowtail Butterflies love it too!

Almost Free Grape Jelly....

2009-09-14T20:31:00.029-04:00

Goods & I live 8 houses from Lake St Clair, in Michigan...look at the beautiful view just a short skip and hop away. Our subdivision has a huge park running the whole width of the sub, along the lake. This is one of the paths to the lake.....Specifically, look to the right of the photo....what do you see????

Confused???? How about a closer look.....

See - FREE GRAPES! And what do you think the busiest laid off vegan is going to do with them?????? Yeap - I made grape jelly. I am a virgin grape jelly maker, so what better opportunity was there to make grape jelly with FREE GRAPES???? Well there was none - so here we go!

First of course, I washed the grapes. I wash all my veggies and fruit with a tad of Method Dish Detergent.

So I got my Ball Blue Canning Book out - I really didn't care for their "grape prep" instructions so I decided to do a little web browsing and I came up with using my juicer instead of the suggested "mash the grapes with your feet" method (not really but you get the gist). I set up outside so I wouldn't make a mess in the kitchen- yeah right, like that didn't happen later in the process. Here is my set up - Lily is all ready.....

A closer look WITHOUT Lily......

Here is what the remnants look like after they went thru the juicer....Closer look.......

Do you see what I see???? I see a lot of waste - so I put the pulp thru again....and got extra juice. Can't waste free grapes right???

A side note - doing this outside was perfect - the grape seeds could fly around where they pleased - not that it pleased Lily, one actually hit her.

Goods & I picked 6 lbs of grapes. That equaled 14 cups of usable purple grapes. The 14 cups of grapes juiced into 6 cups of grape juice - free grape juice that is....and all I needed was 5 cups of juice for the recipe in Ball Blue book.

In the Ball Blue book instructions, it stated to do some sort of straining with cheese cloth. Well I was out of cheese cloth (because we are addicted to this cheese) - so I used a fine colander strainer. Well that wasn't going to do it for me. The straining part was to take the "fibers" out of the jelly....since I wasn't too concerned about how purrtee the jelly was - I just skipped the straining.

The Ball Blue instructions also said to let the juice stand for 12-24 hours to prevent formation of tartrate crystals in the jelly. Guess what??? I didn't care - I don't know what tartrate crystals are and anyway - I always had a thing for crystals...really any sparkly thing - oh, so I skipped the "juice standing" part. I know REBEL!

So - I mixed 5 cups of grape juice with 1 package of powdered pectin...boil over high heat... SEEEE.....

After it came to a boil - add 6 cups of sugar (bargain sugar at that) - stir until dissolved...looks a little more purpley now....

Return to rolling boil....and boil hard 1 minute stirring constantly. (A side note: make sure you use a big enough pot! Otherwise you have a sticky mess to clean up on your stove....learn by my mistakes please). Skim any foam off if necessary. So then I did the boil-water canning method. 10 mins for pints / 5 mins for half pints.

I yielded - 3 pints and 2 half pints ( 4 pints total - my middle name is Einstein)

No, the jelly isn't clear, no the jelly isn't bright purple like you buy from the store....it isn't going to win a blue ribbon at the state fair for it's looks....but the taste, well as Goods put it..."it taste like grape jelly"! SCORE!

As Goods tasted more of it...the more he appreciated it. He really like the "natural" sweetness of it...yeah, real sugar instead of the high fructose corn syrup that store bought jelly has in it.

I'm going to make more, next time I'm going to purchase some real concord grapes and do a "half free/half bought" grape mixture...I want to see if it makes the jelly more grapey...not that it really needs it.

Finally, in conclusion - store bought grape jelly is for the birds. But the real test, as Goods put it "we will see how it taste in a peanut butter samwich"....stay tuned.

Flower of the week Sept 14th, 2009

2009-09-14T14:49:00.002-04:00

Well not technically a flower - Porcelain Vine.... It does get tiny white flower on in it in the spring - the bees LOVE IT. They get drunk on it- really. Then these berry berry purrty berries come out late summer - the birds love them - not all the birds - but some- especially the cat bird.

Watermelon & Booze....

2009-09-13T11:33:00.009-04:00

...two of my favorite things - blended together to make Watermelon Slushies.... The bread, off to the lower left is banana bread I whipped up for and sent to my Dad for his birthday- he doesn't even know it's vegan & I'm not telling him.

But here is Goods enjoy the Watermelon Slushie-

How cool of Goods to wear a shirt that matches the drink!

This is just such a refreshing cocktail - from Vegetarian Times - here it is:

4 Cups of seedless watermelon cubed

1/2 Cup of Vodka (Skyy for me please)

1/4 Cup lime juice

1/4 Cup powdered sugar

1. Place watermelon cubes in shallow baking dish. Freeze 4 hours, or until solid.

2. Blend frozen watermelon cubes, vodka, lime juice & sugar until smooth.

**Now it states that it makes 4 servings - yeah maybe for elves, it really makes 2 servings for the Goods' family.

Now here is Lily attacking my ugly watermelon color cloggy shoes - yes they are gawd awful ugly - but they are great to wear in the kitchen, for my back, while standing on the tile floor.

And just a note on these shoes - I DID NOT BUY THEM MYSELF - they were a "THOUGHTFUL" gift from a friend- I don't let anyone see me in them - guess I'm a closet ugly clog wearer.

Well enjoy the rest of the weekend!!! Cheers!

Lemon Zucchini Cookies - and Vegan too!

2009-09-01T10:02:00.004-04:00

This recipe couldn't wait until I composed my zucchini post I'm planning to do - so here it is- Lemon Zucchini Cookies - sorry for the crappy photo - the cookies sure weren't crappy!
I think these are my new favorite cookies - cookies are not normally in my diet - the gluten issue- but these - I definitely indulged in them! They are moist and lemony- perfection in a cookie blob....Here is MY recipe.....

Beat together:

1/2 c. Earth Balance "Butter"- Soften

1/4 c. Spectrum Shortening

1/2 c. white sugar

Add in and beat:

1 egg replacer - EnerG (1.5 tsp per 2 Tbs. H2O)

1/2 tsp lemon extract

1 tsp grate lemon peel

In separate bowl- mix up the dry ingredients-

2 c. unbleached flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp. cinnimon

Mix dry ingredients with the "butter mixture".

After combined add:

1 c. grated zucchini

1 c. chopped walnuts

With 2 tsp. cookie scoop- mound the dough on GREASED baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Now onto the glaze -

Mix together:

1 c. powder sugar

1/4 tsp. lemon extract

1.5 Tbs. lemon juice (add a little extra if neccessary)

While cookies are cooling (still warm) spread the glaze onto the cookies.

These are just the bomb - a lemon bomb - no, a lemon drop - yeah serve these cookies with a lemon drop, you know, like a chaser!

Oh- and these puppies freeze great! So add this recipe to your - 101 things to do with a zucchini!

Flower of the Week - Aug 31st, 2009

2009-08-31T11:10:00.005-04:00

A late summer fav of mine - TOAD LILY!

Not to be confused with this TOAD....

(okay- that is our pond frog...but close enough)

Nor be you confused with this Lily......

And as you can see, Lily is NOT happy with even the THOUGHT of being confused with a Toad Lily.

The BEST Vegan Chocolate Cookies

2009-08-27T12:34:00.006-04:00

I did it....I, the busiest laid off vegan has tweaked the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe- just look...... What makes the best you ask???? These puppies don't get hard after a couple of days, they are just sweet enough and the chips themselves get all gooey - they are perfect, well at least in the Goods household. Here is my tweaked recipe from the tollhouse site..........

2 1/4 cup unbleached flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 c Earth Balance "Butter"

1/2 Spectrum Shortening

1/2 c. of white sugar

3/4 c. of light brown sugar

2 "eggs" using Ener-G egg replacer

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. of Kroger Organic Chocolate Chips

Beat the butter, shortening and sugars together. Add in the eggs and vanilla, beat some more. Combine in another bowl, the dry ingredients- whisk together. This is my lazy way of sifting- don't judge, it works just fine. Mix the dry stuff into the wet stuff. Add the chips. I used a 2 tbs. cookie scoop to put the dough onto a cookie sheet - don't grease it - just a naked cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 9-11 mins. Enjoy with a glass of cold soymilk, or better yet, a vodka and diet coke...again, don't judge me :-)

Enjoy!

Flower of the week Aug 24th, 2009

2009-08-24T06:00:00.000-04:00

Loves Lie Bleeding with a Swallow Tail Butterfly on the side...... Not only do the butterflies like them, the birdies love to eat the seeds in the fall.

Laid Off Vegan Saves Money....

2009-08-23T08:29:00.003-04:00

Since I am still happily laid-off, I'm going to feature ways that I pinch pennies. Since I bake a lot, do some canning and I'm cheap - I bought this bag of sugar- VEGAN- at Costco...

25 pounds of sugar for $ 9.99 - that is a mere $.3996 a pound! I put the it in a recycled plastic kitty litter container- all sealed and safe. And YES, I cleaned the container very thoroughly before I put the bag in there. If you need to borrow a cup of sugar - I'm your man, come see me! I'll let you know when I run out.....

Cheesy Curry Cauliflower Popcorn

2009-08-18T06:00:00.002-04:00

Just look at this yumminess!
Well, it's hard to see the yumminess....but it was! Oh, and easy peasy!
I used:

Approx 1 head of cauliflower- broken into pieces

1-2 tbs of veggie oil (I think it was more like 1- I drizzled)

curry powder

garlic powder

paprika

teeny tiny bit of salt

dried hot peppers flakes

3-4 tbs of nutritional yeast.

I mixed it all up in a plastic baggy** until well coated...the seasonings amonts are to taste. Baked at 400 convection oven/425 reg. oven for 10 minutes, then flip the cauliflower and bake for another 10 minutes until the golden goodness shines thru.

Before the baking....

Closer looksee....

DONE!

This would be awesome served with a baked potato. 5 out of 5 forks for this little dish!

**Okay, now the plastic baggy - I don't want to hear yammering about how I dirtied a perfectly good plastic baggy with oil and other goo....I have a secret to share- you can actually wash baggies in your washing machine - and if one escapes and winds up in your dryer - well that is okay too - they will survive without causing any damage to the equipment, your clothes or damage the bag itself. I know....I'm genius material.

Flower of the week- Aug 17th, 2009

2009-08-17T12:28:00.004-04:00

Coneflowers! Like everyone knows those - but I really wanted to feature my feather friend... A closer look-

It doesn't matter how many zillions of finches come to our yard, I will never trier of them...not only are they beautiful to look at, they sing beautifully too.

....Introducing - Mr & Mrs Goods

2009-08-13T10:04:00.002-04:00

Yes, you heard it right- after being together almost 13 years, 3 weeks ago today - Goods and I got married.....

oops, wrong photo....

It was a surprise ceremony at our home, in our yard. Goods' children didn't even know it was happening until they arrived, supposedly for a family photo shoot - SURPRISE, no photo shoot, but a wedding. They, along the minister, were the only ones in attendance - oy, did we hear about it later from other family and friends, but Goods and I wanted a private, quiet ceremony - it was perfect.

When we were composing our vows, we had times we both had to stop because our emotions were getting us to, well, CRY. We both thought we would be a total mess through out the ceremony - WRONG, we were two giggly butts!

Goods Jr (Goods son) was our photographer....

I'll spare you all the details of the elaborate lie we created to get them here, dressed according with matching colors and having Goods Jr. bring his fancy camera- but I will sum it up in the phrase "evil evil step-mommy". 15 minutes after the ceremony it poured down rain - just like it was doing an hour before the ceremony. That day was so rainy, but the rain broke for about an hour and a half, just for when our ceremony was planned! Everything was perfect! Our minister did a fantastic job, she was my former yoga instructor, and just such a wonderful person- and for those who are wondering - YES IT WAS LEGAL- she is also an ordained minister.

Now on to the Vegan food I had....

Everything was vegan, except for some cheese and some chocolate cover pretzels (that my Mom bought for Goods and we are desperately trying to pawn them onto anyone that comes to visit- not that they aren't any good, they say they are excellent, we just don't eat that kind of stuff)

Anyway - some of the highlights were-

mini quiches - similar to these (subbed spinach for the fungus)

Almond Feta Cheese**

Cranberry Appetizer Spread

Veggie Pizza - similar to this, but all vegan.

Tempeh Stuffed Potato Skins

And the there was the vegan wedding cake!

This was a combination of a few recipes....

The cake is Lemonialla Cake - I split the batter into 2- 8 inch round pans and 1- 4 1/2" springform pan - so there was 3 layers.

The icing was just the basic buttercream icing - vegan of course:

1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. Earth Balance "butter"
3 1/2 c. powder sugar sifted

1.5 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. soymilk

Beat the shortening & butter until fluffy. Beat in the powder sugar, gradually. Add the vanilla & soymilk slowly. Beat until really fluffy.

Between the 8" round layers I put a Vegan Lemon Curd- Bryanna's. I halved the recipe...it made plenty. I did have to use 3 Tbs. of cornstarch to make it thick enough.

Then I assembled it and made it pretty with fresh flowers....well I thought it was pretty- and the bride is always right- right???

I must confess, or really- I'm going to share some secret tips with you. I made the cake - then I froze it - and took it out when I was ready to frost it. Yes, I frost it frozen and that prevented any crummies from the cake from getting into the icing. Worked perfect. I also made the cake again for a dinner we had for Goods' side of the family when we announced to them our marriage. SURPRISE! Oh, but the second time around I cut in half the 4 1/2" layer before I froze it, and when assembling it, I put a layer of the lemon curd in between.

SOOOOOO...there you have it, I'm back and I'm married to the most wonderful man and we shall live happily ever after......

Then we took a few days and went here-

and had a total blast.

I'll have some more food porn soon...but until then- Mrs. Goods is signing off.

Flower of the week- Aug 10th

2009-08-10T10:46:00.004-04:00

I carried out my threat - I'M BACK. So here are some Gerber Daisies to get things started....also, it's a hint of what I've been busy with...you know, being the busiest laid of vegan and all.....

So....go ahead and guess what the flowers were for.
See you very soon!

Dee is MIA

2009-07-11T12:03:00.010-04:00

I swear I am the busiest, laid off vegan in the world. I've been MIA because a zillion reasons, obviously- or I wouldn't be the busiest laid off vegan in the world. So....where have I been? First it was a trip to my parents' in Altoona, PA for a long 4th of July weekend....see how thrilled Goods was....

That great pic of Goods was taken while we were at the Delgrosso's Fireworks - a tiny clip of the fantastic display is downloaded on my Flicker Account. The display was almost 30 minutes long and, as I said before, FANTASTIC. I recorded the whole show but I have know idea how I could download the whole thing since it's almost 500mb - so you will just have to take my word for it...or go next year to see them. BTW, the sauce they make is kick ass and now some of it is VEGAN. I think my friend "J" Delgrosso made sure I had a selection of vegan sauce to choose from - and get this....it's organic. I'll review the product once I use it- hint hint "J" I'm still waiting for my samples.

So what else has been occupying my time??? Well I'm working on & trying to pull of the biggest surprise that will occur in a couple of weeks. So, of course since it's a surprise, I can't tell you....YET....so that has helped to make me the busiest laid off vegan.

BUT I have cooked, like once....I finally broke down and bought VEGAN BRUNCH...and the first thing I made from it, well the only thing I made from it.....BEER-BATTERED TOFU. I know, not the healthiest thing in the world...but it was sooooo yummy.
It, the recipe, made a ton of batter so I also threw in some onion rings - what do you thing we were going to have a salad with the fried tofu???? Okay, we did that too, but if you are going to be bad, you might as well be really bad....

And the great news about the beer-battered tofu - IT FREEZES AND HEATS UP JUST DANDY! It' made a lot, and there was NO WAY our bodies, which are our temples, could handle eating all that fried-goodness, even over a weeks time - so I experimented with a piece in the freezer & took it out and popped it into the toaster oven and it worked!

Okay, you ask, what is else on my slate that is making me the busiest laid off vegan??? Well after the biggest surprise I'm ever going to pull off, Goods and I are taking a long weekend to google into each other eyes, and be all lovey dovey. Well maybe not so much but we are going away.

Then the next weekend that we get back we are on our city's garden tour. We will have some last minute things to do, like wash all the dead fish flies and spiderwebs off the house and pull a few weeds that snuck in while we were away. So that is also another reason why I am the busiest laid off vegan...projects, projects and more projects.

So watch for me back, after the first of August, for at least food posts....I might sneak a couple of other short posts in before that....but don't hold your breath on that.

I leave you with my most adorable kitty, who loves, loves water and has found that there is water in the pond - so she is partaking of it. Don't worry, she didn't drink that much - just enough until I got the camera to take the pics.....

Flower of the week- June 22, 2009

2009-06-22T20:05:00.007-04:00

This weeks flower of the week - I present.....LILY!Not really, Lily is far from being in the posey family
....so how about a WATER LILY....

and how about a land LILY.....

So-DEE-licious Coconut Milk

2009-06-16T09:25:00.004-04:00

I know- yet another post that isn't related to the Belmont Stake's theme dinner - but I promise, it's to rain for the next few days- I'll do it then - but till then this is my new addiction....I found this at our local grocery store, it's by TURTLE MOUNTAIN- the cost was $3.59 for a half gallon...and worth every penny. I love it on cereal, poured over fruit, or in smoothies. it has 50% of your daily requirement of B12 IN JUST ONE CUP - which equals 90 cals. Also 30 % of your required Vitamin D. Trust me - try it you'll like it!

And someone else in our family has a new addiction too....Fluffy (real name Saphire, but come on, she is really Fluffy) I was having some popcorn with nooch on it and for some reason I thought about mixing some nooch and water for Lily (humm, think it was the cocktails that were thinking for me). Well, Lily started to lick it up, then was chased away by Fluffy to finish up the treat...Look at the fluffy addict-

They didn't barf it up, and Fluffy had the treat a second time a couple of days later, so I'm assuming all is good giving kitties nooch. If you know differently, please let Fluffy know, there is no way I'm breaking that news to her!

Till next time!

Flower of the week- June 15th, 2009

2009-06-15T08:31:00.007-04:00

And it's a mystery flower..... I don't remember where the ID tag is to tell you the name of it, but I love this plant. The leafage is pretty all season, and the flower reminds me of Queen Anne's Lace - here is a closer looksee....

...and a bonus to this plant, it has given be 2 volunteers that I have planted else where in our gardens.

For kicks and giggles, I'm throwing in a bonus photo of a yellow finch that was getting ready to take a bath in our stream.

Ain't it tweet????? Have a great Monday!

Grilled Cabbage

2009-06-10T11:20:00.003-04:00

I really do have a Belmont Stakes post as promised....I just have to have some time to compose it...you know, laid off people DON'T HAVE TIME! Geez, how did I ever work and have a clean house????

Well until I get to that post, here is a very yummy grilled cabbage post. My mom is notorious for sending envelopes with clippings of recipes, coupons and household tidbits. Uhmmmm, confession, I usually throw them away - one, most of the recipes have 3 or 4 non vegan ingredients in them and I'm just not interested in veganizing them....but this one - caught my eye. Sorry, I have no source of the recipe, except for it was clipped from somewhere by my Mom. But here it is....

Grilled Cabbage

1 medium head cabbage (about 1.5 lbs)
1/3 c butter, softened
¼ c chopped onion
½ tsp garlic salt
¼ tsp pepper

1. Cut cabbage into eight wedges; place on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 24” x 12”). Spread cut sides with butter. Sprinkle with onion, garlic salt and pepper.
2. Fold foil around cabbage and seal tightly. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 20 minutes or until tender. Open foil carefully to allow steam to escape.

I followed the above recipe loosely –
1. I used just standard foil, since I was out of heavy duty, and it worked just fine.
2. I sliced the onion, and put it between the wedges.
3. I didn’t measure the butter, I just slapped it on the cabbage from the tub (I use Earth Balance, a non-dairy butter)
4. I used garlic POWDER liberally- I don’t normally add salt to my food, and we love garlic, so for us, more the better.
5. I added some other spices, like dried parsley and paprika, but I’m wild like that.
6. Next time, and there will be a next time, I will put whole cloves of garlic, or slices in the mix.
Other then that, I followed the recipe to the “T”

BEFORE PHOTO......
AFTER PHOTO.....

This was soooo good, so buttery and sweet. (I love organic cabbage, I think it has such a nice milder flavor then the chemical injected stuff too)

Can't wait to make it for people that don't like cabbage - this will win them over! I actually had to send back a copy of the recipe to my Mom so she can make it.

5 out of 5 forkers for this one!!

And no horsing around, I will really get to the Belmont Stakes post- what a hoot it was!

Flower of the week - June 8th, 2009

2009-06-08T10:46:00.006-04:00

Well technically, it's not a flower, but it's a beautiful bush- Rainbow Leucothoe- shade loving evergreen.A closer look of the striking new growth of pink, creamy yellow and coppery tones, stand out against the mottled green and whiter mature leaves. Produces white dropping flowers.

Enjoy your MONDAY!

Simple, Boring and Dee-lious

2009-06-04T10:32:00.013-04:00

I haven't been blogging- maybe because I haven't been really cooking anything exciting - BUT THAT WILL CHANGE THIS WEEKEND. We are having a themed event Saturday and of course I will share all the deets next week - but until then- here is the most exciting thing I cooked last weekend...Sad, but yummy.
At the top, you have- okay, we had....stuffed red pepper. To the left WE had, grill potato(es), and then grilled yellow squash. Goods had marinated grilled mushrooms too, but I wouldn't let them touch MY plate.

So the dinner all started with some surprise bargains at Kroger. I bought Goods some baby portabella mushrooms that were marked half off - $ 1.39 / 8 oz. Then a couple of weeks ago I ran into this bargain!!

Half price baby! I bought 2 and stuck them into the freezer.

So I made some stuffed peppers using the above faux meat. I mixed in some chopped onion and green pepper, and stuffed the mixture into halves of red pepper. I also stuffed a non-so-baby portabella mushroom that I found in the package, for Goods of course.....

I still had some "meat" stuffing leftover so I baked that separately in it's on tiny baking dish. Look how cutesy it is.....

I actually just came across that little munchkin dish when I was sorting through items to put out in my yard sale - to say the least, that little munchkin dish was staying with me!

Then the potatoes were simple....I halved them, and gasp, I cooked them in the microwave. Note: THIS IS NOT THE NORM FOR ME! I can't stand the microwave, but we were having waterline clogging issues with the washer and, well, priorities, thus we were poisoned with the mircrowaves. After the waves were done blasting the potatoes, I doused the potatoes with olive oil, and tons of spices - garlic powder, rosemary, onion powder, parsley, paprika....who knows what else.

Then an action photo of Goods cooking....

Everything, except the peppers and the munchkin dish (oven baked), were thrown on the grill for cooking....here you can see the mushrooms (gag)

I don't remember what I did to the squash...but everyone knows how to do grilled squash.

See, boring.... nothing special, but it was yummy.

Next food post, I promise, will be much more exciting!

Have a great weekend!

Flower of the Week - June 1,2009

2009-06-01T09:32:00.001-04:00

They are popping up all over - Monster Poppies!

Recycling Food

2009-05-30T07:44:00.013-04:00

Since I've been laid off, I've been more conscious of not wasting food...I know, I should have been doing that all along- hey, better late then never.

Here we have a photo of nothing being recycled- At the top of the plate we have fresh asparagus, from the garden, just sauteed in a little olive oil with red pepper-oh and of course garlic. The bottom left I made meatloaf - this recipe is from Vegan Vittles- Better Burger recipe on page 106. I kick it up a notch and add some finely chopped walnuts, chopped onion and peppers - form it into a loaf and bake- it's lovely every time. The potatoes are Vegan Yum Yum's Potato Salad with Herbed Dijon Vinaigrette and were they ever yum yum. I didn't have the fresh parsley so my garden grown, but dehydrated parsley had to do.

So now onto the recycling the food....
What I do with the leftover meatloaf....no pic, sorry, but I crumble it up and use it in spaghetti sauce. When we had it this time I used jarred sauce - Muir Glenn. I found a pack of three jars for like $5 at Costco, so I buy that all the time. This time I doctored it up with some roasted red pepper and sauteed onion and loads of garlic...you know to keep the vampires away.

I've been trying to use stuff up in our pantry that I've bought in the past on the fly, because they looked interesting- here is one of them...

OH- what can I do with that? I have you in suspense huh? Well I made this mess-What kind of mess is that you ask?? Well it's a recycled mess! The stuffing is Vegan Yum Yum's mustardy potatoes, fried up with leftover veggies from the fridge - broccoli, spinach, peppers, onions. Topped that with the Bengal Lentil's....here's a nutter photo minus the white goop that is on it in the above photo.....

What is the white goop you ask??? Well it is a previous batch of botched up Buffalo Mostarella Cheese from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook - my batch ultimately failed, it didn't solidify...it was more of a sauce- definitely yummy though....so we've been as a sauce as we desired- Freezes great- so no waste!

And they wrap you ask???? It's not what I tried to make before that failed....It's just simple garbanzo bean wrap recipe.....

1 cup of garbanzo bean flour

1 cup of water

your seasonings of choice- like I used
italian seasoning
garlic powder
garlic onion
ground pepper

Mix all together and let set for a half hour. To cook, lightly - and I mean lightly, spray a frying pan with oil (I found if you use too much the "pancake" will stick). Pour some batter into hot pan, flip with lightly brown...cook the other side (dahhhh). This is where it gets tricky - now flip the pan and make the "pancake" flip into the air and catch it on a plate...this is a crucial element in the recipe, the extra air gives it some extra fluffiness. I'm guessing people, that you figured out that I'm also giving you extra B.S. too, that last bit of instruction is totally optional- cool, but optional.

Now you ask....(you ask a lot of questions) "Do the wraps stay together when you pick it up to eat that mess????" Well technically, no, they fall apart after a couple of bites- but they look cool for the photo, and most importantly the whole concoction taste good together - SO USE YOUR FORKS PEOPLE!

All food was rated 5 out of 5 forks

Okay- enough questions from you'all today....I'm out.

Is it Rhu-berry or Blue-barb Crisp???

2009-05-27T10:19:00.011-04:00

Rhubarb crisp, fresh from the garden....well it doesn't look like much but it is soooo tasty. The really really (I mean really) crunchy topping is a recipe from my Grandma M. - the topping belongs with her apple crisp recipe but I thought I would borrow it for this concoction- and am I glad I did.
I got my rhubarb from here....our garden.
As you can see, HENRY had to get into the picture. Henry got demoted to the garden when he failed to keep the gray heron monster bird, away from our fish in our pond....So now our yard looks like Mission Impossible - JUST TRY MY FEATHER FRIEND TO SNACK ON OUR FISH! (BTW all our fishies are safe & accounted for!)

...oh, back to the recipe at hand.

What you need for topping:

1 c. white sugar

1 c. unbleached flour

1 tsp. baking powder

dash salt

1 egg replacer - prepared (Ener-G)

mix all the above together with fork~the mixture will be somewhat crumbly, but not all of it.

The Filling:

3 c. chopped rhubarb

1 c. blueberries

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 c. dark brown sugar

1 Tbs. flour

Mix all the filling ingredients together and put into greased baking dish.

Looks something like this:

The disperse evenly, the topping, on top of the filling mixture. Try and cover all of it. In preheated 350 degree oven, bake covered with foil for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 30 mins.

TAAHHH-DAHHH- it will look like this.

and out of the bowl....on top ice cream to boot!

It was totally delicious with homemade vegan vanilla ice cream....but it is delicious without it too.

......more to come in the near future...but for now - toodles.

Flower of the Week - May 25th, 2009

2009-05-27T07:25:00.009-04:00

I know, I'm a day late and a dollar short - heehee, because I'm laid off- oh, and really I'm 2 days late because, one Monday was a holiday then Tuesday, well, I was busy being laid off- okay, I had a couple of interviews...possibly more on that later (but I doubt it, real life isn't as fun as blogging!!), and later today- food porn post....but for now - flower porn....

We have tons of Columbine in our yard - reseeds like a maniac, but that is okay, they are so beautiful, and delicate like me......

Really I promise, a food post later on today which includes stuff I picked from our veggie garden!

Flower of the week, May 18th, 2009

2009-05-18T14:54:00.008-04:00

Love love love this plant.....Variegated Solomon's Seal....lookie how purrtteee....

I have it in a pretty shaded area...and it has spread nicely through the years.

I haven't posted in a while....I got laid off last Tuesday and I SOLOMONY swear, I've been busier then when I went to work 8-5 everyday. Goods said that I'm enjoying this lay off way too much :-) That I am. So I'll be doing special "Vegan on a Budget" post through my period of unemployment.....but for now- I must go ~~play~~ work in the yard.

Vegan Chicken Cacciatore

2009-05-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

I know- shocking, no fancy or smart ass title for this entry. Just a plain & simple for a not so plain & but simply delicious meal.

I've never had Chicken Cacciatore, vegan or un-vegan before. Not sure how I even came up with the idea of veganizing this dish- but I did know that I had to use this package of seitan before too long. Oops, I took the photo AFTER I cut it open.

Never had this stuff before - but it was very yummy, not to mention convenient!

So the recipe I was guided by to create the vegan version was from the foodnetwork.com site. It is right HERE. Now you will find my recipe, conveniently right below:

Ingredients:
1 package of seitan
1 c. soy milk
2 Tbs. flax meal
3/4 c. unbleached flour
1 tsp. (heaping) garlic
1 tsp. (heaping) parsley
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. pepper.
veggie oil (which on is up to you)
15 ish oz. can diced tomatoes
4 roasted red peppers-chopped (I used jarred)
1/3 c. sliced onion
1/4 c. green pepper chopped

1 Tbs. dried basil

6-8 cloves of garlic- sliced

red pepper flakes
1 c. white wine
thinly sliced lemon (I used only 3 whole slices)

First, combine soymilk and flax meal in small bowl and let sit for 5ish minutes.
Then combine flour, garlic, parsley, onion powder, paprika and pepper. (I don't use much salt, so that is your call if you want to add it)
Slice the seitan to thin - semi-bite size pieces.
Picture time.....

In a cast iron skillet heat some veggie oil up. Once it's hot fix the seitan.
Dip the seitan in the milk, then dredge it in flour. Then fry it in the skillet until crispy, then let drain on paper towel until ready to use. Repeat process until you are done.

Saucy time next-
In a pan w/ a touch of oil, cook onions & green peppers until tender. Then add the diced tomatoes (I drained off some of the juiciness), garlic slices, roasted red peppers, basil, pepper flakes and lemon slices. Let simmer for 20 minutes or so

Lookin' like this at this point....

A closer shot....

After the simmering - add the wine. The original recipe calls for fresh basil to be added- I didn't have any. That's a lie, I have some, but my basil plants are 6 inches tall, still in the little containers just waiting to be planted- but next time I will use fresh basil.

After mixing the wine in, I scooped out 1 cup of the mixture, put it in my emulsion blender cup and puree it...JUST 1 CUP OF IT. Then I put the emulsified part back into the pan and mixed it in. I also picked the lemon rinds, that all that was left of the lemon.

Now, I did not mix the fried seitan into the sauce - I didn't want the leftovers to be all soggy and gooey, so we just assembled the concoction on our plates

Goods had his on regular noodles.....and mine served on a bed of my favorite gluten free soy noodles.... This was totally awesome- Now, again I can't compare it to another cacciatore but I loved the mix of peppers, tomato and a hint of lemon. I really think fresh basil would add to it....so a message to my basil plants "grow babies grow"...but as we were eating, I did like the fact the the sauce was soaking into the coating on the seitan, so I might change things up a bit with adding some of the seitan into the sauce ahead of time.

Can I give it 6 out of 5 forks????

Flower of the Week- May 11th

2009-05-11T10:05:00.007-04:00

Our yard is smelly because we have tons of lilacs blooming now. Three different colors....only 2 featured here, the dark purple lilac, my favorite, isn't completely open yet....but here are 2 that are.

Our house is smelly to, I have a vase of them in the house, just waiting for Fluffy cat to chew on.

Talking about cats....here is a photo I took of the Catbird waiting patiently for the Oriole to be finished snacking....

The Catbird is one my my favorite birds. Last year we had a Catbird couple stay around all season, and it looks as long as I keep bribing them with grape jelly and oranges, they are going to stick around this year too.

Happy Mommy's Day

2009-05-10T06:00:00.000-04:00

And for my Mommy I made this dragon fly in ceramic class. Can't tell from the photo my the wings are Mother-of-Pearly...I just realized the Mother-of-Pearl and Mother's Day--HA, how appropriate is that???

Then since she LOVES oatmeal cookies, and she doesn't bake them for herself- I sent her a batch of Vegan ones...which she could care less that they are vegan.

I know everyone has made oatmeal cookies before, but I'll still post the recipe just in case some alien just landed on earth, and has never made them.

Oatmeal Cookies

adapted from the Quaker Oatmeal lid

1/2 cup of soften Earth Balance "butter"

1/2 cup of Spectrum Veg. Shortening

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar( I use dark brown)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 Eggs Replacer Mixture

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups Oats old fashioned, uncooked

1 cup raisins- presoaked in water

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat "butter" and sugars until creamy. Add egg replacer mixture and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Half way thru I squish the cookie mound down, with a fork. Bake 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown. Half way thru I squish the cookie mound down with a fork, to flatten. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.ABOUT 4 DOZEN

Happy Mommy's Day Y'all!

I'm sure even if you are not a Mother, you have

guided and enriched lives of young ones.

Muster-Dee Tempeh

2009-05-08T16:43:00.002-04:00

I've been in such a cooking rut. I'm getting to believe that Goods is a picky eater- as he puts it "I'll eat pretty much anything", which he will, but I also want him to enjoy what he is eating.

The other night I was in the mood for tempeh, thank goodness that isn't on his list of "texture foods" that "bother him"- So perusing some cookbooks I saw a recipe for "honey mustard crispy tempeh" (from the Bold Vegetarian, I think)- Since I don't do honey, I winged my own recipe borrowing a few of his listed ingredients. So with no further a do...here is what I did.....

Cut on package of tempeh in 5 pieces, then sliced each of those pieces in half (thickness wise) then I cut that piece in half (length wise) - wow, lets just show you a photo to clarify that mumbo jumbo I just wrote!
Then I put them on a plate and sprayed them with a touch of veggie oil. Sprinkled them with some powdered mustard, garlic powder, pepper, and onion powder. Did it to both sides. Then I fried them in a garlic olive oil blend that I still had in fridge, but you can use any kind of oil. Here it is frying...

After they browned (5 mins each side)- I put them on a paper towel lined plate then transferred to a serving dish. Wipe out the pan to make the sauce.

Then for the mustard sauce:

1 Tbs Veggie Soup Powder
1.5 Tbs. Yellow Mustard Powder

1 C. White Wine

2 Tabs. Maple Syrup

1-2 Tbs. Arrowroot Powder

Combine the first 2 powders and add a little water to make a paste. Pour the wine into the pan, and bring to boil. Add the paste, stir and simmer. Then add the arrowroot, enough to make it into a thicker sauce (you can add some of the hot liquid into the arrowroot before you add it into the pan to make sure it doesn't get lumpy.) Once you get it to the thickness you desire, remove from heat and add the maple syrup. Pour over tempeh. Lookie how pretty.....

I served with baked sweet potato and steamed broccoli. Was a very good combo, and aren't the colors pretty together???

Verdict:

Sauce - LOVED, maybe next time a little more maple syrup? Not necessary, but a thought.

Tempeh - The sauce differently complimented the tempeh. This tempeh, for some reason was strong, next time I will pre-boil the tempeh before preparing it. Also, I think some marination of the tempeh would be good. Maybe in the wine/mustard sauce mixture before it gets fried. I'll let you know when I figure it out. I must say the leftovers are awesome since the sauce covered the tempeh for a couple of days.

I'm giving this 4 out of 5 forks,
just because the tempeh was a tad strong, everything else was great.

The Birdies Returned & Brought Cookies....

2009-05-05T05:55:00.002-04:00

Finally I have been assured, by the birds, that Spring is definitely here. THE ORIOLES RETURNED SATURDAY MORNING! See......

We were all set for them:

Organic Oranges - CHECK

Grape Jelly - CHECK

Camera - CHECK

Then the BLUE JAYS migrate thru....

The above photo only shows a few of the birds....at times we've had 50-100 birds at one time. Well it helps that we bribe them with peanuts.

So now you are wondering which birds brought the cookies. I must confess, they didn't....but I did make some Peanut Butter Chunky Cookies per Goods request.

Sorry for such a poopie picture - I was on the fly when I took it, no amount of PhotoShop could help it either.....but the recipe isn't poopie - totally yummy. It comes from the Jiff Website, I'm reposting it with my changes.

Ingredients-
3/4 cup Jif Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Vegetable Shortening (Spectrum)
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 Tbs rice milk
1 Tbs vanilla
1 egg replacer
1 3/4 c unbleached flour
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4-1 c. coarsely chopped unsalted
blanched roasted peanuts

Directions
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Combine peanut butter, Shortening, light brown sugar, rice milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended.
Add prepared egg replacer. Beat just until blended.
Combine flour, salt and baking soda.
Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended. Stir in chopped peanuts.
Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet.
Flatten slightly in crisscross pattern with tines of fork.

Bake at 375ºF for 7 to 8 minutes or until set and just beginning to brown.
Makes 3 dozen cookie

Just a note - THESE ARE GREAT COOKIES!
Definitely 5 out of 5 forks.

Flower of the week - May 5th, 2009

2009-05-04T11:34:00.004-04:00

Well, I'm bringing back "Flower of the Week" - I ditched buying fresh flowers for the house in the winter time, when the economy took a spiral. But now that it is spring, and things are sprung, I'm going to use Mondays to feature flowers or plants that we have growing in our yard.

The first plant I'm featuring is one of my all time favorites......

The plant name is: Epimedium x Youngianum - or commonly known as "Fairy Wings" - and here is a closer look to see whyI not only love the flowers (that bloom for 3-4 weeks) but the leaves are a beautiful heart shaped so it adds dimension in our garden for all of the growing season. It's a part sun to light shade plant. Highly recommend this plant if you are in the 5-8 planting zone (some varieties are 4-8 zone)

~Signs of Spring~

2009-04-22T18:00:00.000-04:00

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

2009-04-16T12:49:00.001-04:00

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

2009-04-09T12:36:00.007-04:00

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...

2009-04-09T12:28:00.004-04:00

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....

2009-04-04T04:04:00.009-04:00

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.

Black Lotus Brewing Co.

2009-03-31T13:51:00.008-04:00

Last Friday Goods and I were off to Whole Foods....it's a little jaunt away, so we don't get to go very often, but afterwards we thought we would try an new place for some grub. Black Lotus Brewing Co. in Clawson, MI.....
Of course I previewed the menu on line like any good little vegan would do. They had loads of vegan options....but ended up not having any VODKA, so I ended up with a beer with a hint of apricot in it. Not bad for beer. They had free popcorn too! I love popcorn so I scooped some up......

It was a pretty place....had setting outside too. Here is a pic of Goods trying to contain his excitement....

Goods had un-vegan food, but I had pizza, with tempeh, pineapple and toffuti cheese. I asked for extra sauce on it, but it didn't happen.

It was good, but nothing exciting. Here's another pic of the place in the other direction - they have a stage for entertainment...Good's wouldn't let me go up and dance, he can be a stick in the mud at times........

I doubt that we will go back, one because it's a jaunt away, and two, they don't have vodka....but it was nice to go to a place that I had loads of options!

Dee's a Little Squirrely....

2009-03-30T07:06:00.002-04:00

I love squirrels, I'm just nuts over them. They are just so cute and fuzzy, not to mention- so trainable. I really should have a squirrel circus, but that would be so un-vegan of me.

They come to our kitchen door looking for nuts...His name is John. And if you can guess why, then I'll send you and autograph picture of John

This is an OLD photo, this is Big Mamma....I wasn't expecting her to jump on me, but I acted all cool about it.

Guess I wasn't going fast enough for her, she had to try and speed things along....

They have ME eating right out of their hands, or would that be paws???

So you get the gist, that I love squirrels. So now you can you can just imagine my excitement when I found this T-shirt, for Goods, at a local Marshall's....

(thank you Goods for modeling)

Fluffy, was not amused, she thought she should be the one on her Daddy's chest instead of that squirrel.

THE END

Dee F. Changs

2009-03-26T18:03:00.005-04:00

I heart, PF Changs. Loads of VEGAN options for me and the food is great....and they make great cocktails to boot!

I normally get their Coconut Curry Vegetables, because it's so yummy, and also because Goods isn't gaagaa over curry so I don't use it much at home. But....I was perusing some blogs, one of which was "Yeah, that Vegan Shit" because she's so funny (I think she's a she)...and there was a new link to her new site "Vegan in Cleveland" - I know where Cleveland is so I followed the link. She mentioned that at PF Changs you can get ORANGE PEEL TOFU.

When went to PF Changs a few days later, I looked for it. Well I saw it in the "dead chicken section" of menu, so I asked them to sub tofu. I WAS IN HEAVEN- it was the yummiest! Here is a pix of some left overs.....
No veggies with it, but that was okay, the dish wasn't really saucy, but yet so flavorful...brown rice was perfect with it.

So this past weekend I wanted it again. One problem, I wasn't at PF Changs, I was only in my kitchen. On line I found the copycat recipe - Looky here: ORANGE PEEL CHICKEN MINUS THE CHICKEN RECIPE.

I, of course, used tofu...and mine turned out saucy!
I served it with some veggies from leftover kabobs I made a few days before. Here is the sauce recipe I used from the link above; with the exception of the water, I substitute orange juice for it.

Sauce:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 tablespoons minced garlic

4 green onions, sliced

1 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup water (OJ for me)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Prepare sauce by heating 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add minced garlic and sliced green onions. Add tomato sauce and water quickly before the garlic burns. Add sugar, chili garlic sauce and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Simmer 5 to 6 minutes or until sauce thickens, then turn off the heat.

Last night for dinner, was fridge cleanout night, and I scored the rest of the orange peel tofu. I added a chunk of leftover bbq tempeh, and ate it over some tofu noodles. It was a lovely dish of protein! I think next time I will make the orange peel tofu with tempeh instead, it was totally yummy in it.

So after dinner it was time to go to my weekly ceramic class. I was excited to go since this was the day I got to take home the finish product of my hard work (BTW 3 coats EACH COLOR!!!!!) from the last few weeks.....TAH DAHHHHHH...

I designed, drew, and painted a "DAY OF THE DEAD" plate. Goods and I collect Day of the Dead art, so I was excited to bring it home to our collection. If I choose, I can even serve vegan food on it!

The weekend is almost here - ENJOY!

Moooove Over Real Cows....

2009-03-25T14:02:00.001-04:00

Not that I have ANY interest in buying or consuming milk, but this is just so wrong on so many different levels....

CLONED COW DAIRY!

That is all I have to say....

Vegan Chocolate Chips- SCORE!!!

2009-03-21T11:06:00.006-04:00

No fancy title for this post - just doesn't need one.
I'm not a big chocolate fan, as shameful as it is, but I do like a good chocolate chip cookie once in a while. I've used a few different brands of vegan chocolate chips that aren't bad, but now I found one that is GREAT and at the local grocery store TO BOOT!

LOOKIE!!!!!
No, your eyes are not deceiving you...they are KROGER BRAND- Private Selection Organic, No Preservative Semi-Sweet!! I believe they are $3.99 a bag- so the price is great too! They are the BIG chips, not the mini size chips.

Here is the list of ingredients: Organic Sugar, Organic Chocolate Liquor, Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Soy Lecithin. THAT'S IT!!! It does say that it "may contain milk" well "I may win the lottery" too...so the way I look at it- I'm using them!

Besides eating them solo (for taste test purposes of course) I made Brownies. I've been out to find the best brownie recipe for a while now -I made this one ; it was very good, but mine turned out all crumbly-I have no clue what happened....but as you can see, it didn't go to waste.

Maybe add an "egg" next time (and of course you know I mean a fake egg).

So go score yourself a bag!