Vegan Freak Podcasts and food

Alex and I have been steadily going thru the Vegan Freak podcasts for the last few days. We're no where near finished but it's been a lot of fun and very enlightening at the same time. If you want to go vegan I definitely recommend you tune in. They're very entertaining. My ipod has definitely gotten a lot of great use and I'm so glad I got it. So usually while I'm listening I try to think of what we should eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. While I don't have pictures for all of these things I have been enjoying making and eating it all.

This morning I made some multi-grain pancakes and waffles from Vegan Visitor, a new blog I happened to stumble upon. Actually I found a ton of recipes that I want to make from that blog and have them all bookmarked.

For lunch the other day I made the Lemon Basil Pesto in Eat, Drink and Be Vegan (ED&BV). No picture either but it turned out really really good. I'm actually wanting to make a spinach and basil pesto to put on some pizza I've been craving for the last few days. So more on that in the future. I also made the Black bean and Orange Hummus which is so good. I figured it would be good as a veggie dip or just spreading on the only vegan bread we can find in this city, a rye bread that is actually very good.

Tonight we had the Orange Sesame Tofu and some leftover Coconut Basmati Rice all from ED&BV. With a spinach salad I threw together with some green apples, green onions, cucumbers and walnuts and a homemade vinaigrette that Alex's mom actually showed me how to make. In all it turned out wonderful.

And for dessert, I decided to make the Basic Chocolate Cupcake from Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World. I contemplated making a buttercream but decided we had enough sweets for the day so I just topped it with some powdered sugar. Still very yummy.

A small break

I have been avoiding all work related to sewing and cooking for the last few days. I guess my body just needed some time to rejuvenate. Now that I'm rested up I'm going to dive right back in and finish up those last few gifts on my list. I'm leaving next Wednesday so I have no time to lose. And of course Ayla's diapers are being pushed back to the bottom of the pile. In all honesty we can get by with what we've been doing but it would just look more 'presentable' if I finished them up properly. On another note, we caved and bought some disposables just in case. I'm not sure how it's going to work out with the washing and drying of cloth diapers every two days while we're rushing here and there to see family and friends so we figured it would be safer this way. But I can honestly say that it really hurts me to use them and I'll probably try not to if I can avoid it. I really feel passionately about cloth especially since I've started using them and I'd hate for Ayla to have all those chemicals and crap they put in disposables up against her skin. And then I just think to myself, 'Omg! That will be 72 diapers I've committed to a landfill!'. I know I'm anal.

So last weekend I went to a potluck lunch with my girlfriends and had an amazing time. I brought some Mango-Ginger Tofu, Mango Summer Rolls and Toasted Coconut Cupcakes. The first two came from Vegan with a Vengeance and the last was from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. Everything turned out wonderfully and I'm so glad because I usually don't like serving anyone things I've never made before. I told Alex that I'd definitely consider making this for the family over the holidays because I loved the way it turned out.

After that filling lunch we all exchanged gifts and I got to give away the two aprons I've not yet posted on the blog. I'm so proud of them and I can't wait to make my own apron now after having worked on these two. I didn't have a pattern for either of them, I basically knew the design I wanted for both of them then just traced it out on tissue paper and worked from there. When I sew like that I call it 'organic'. Both of them suited the recipients very well. I wish we had thought to take a picture with them actually in the aprons. Maybe next time! I also gave some of my cupcakes away and the pinstriped charming handbag I wrote about on my last post. All very well received.

Now on to my gifts! I LOVED everything! I couldn't get over how thoughtful the girls had been! I mean everything I got was exactly what I wanted. You know how sometimes it's hit and miss with gifts but this time around it was all hits! I've already read each book cover to cover and just tonight I used my cookbook stand with a two recipes from my new cookbook, Eat, Drink and Be Vegan (another amazing cookbook by Dreena Burton!). And I'm contemplating making a gift from the Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts book as well. It's just all perfect! I'm saving the PJs I got for when I go to Montreal and I'm so happy I got them because they'll really come in handy since they've had more than one snow storm over there already! Blah. So all in all I'm thrilled with my gifts and can't wait to give and receive more. Oh, I should also mention that Ayla got some great clothes that she really really needed and a gift box set of Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little. I'm contemplating when I should start reading them to her. I've never read Charlotte's Web (I know for shame!) but I would like to enjoy it with her but that won't be for a little while yet so I might just go ahead and read it to her now. I'm sure we'll read it over and over again before I get tired of it. In any case, her clothing is all washed and ready to be packed. I can't wait for the family to meet her. I think this just might be my best/favorite Christmas ever!
Just a few random pictures that I've taken over the last few days. First up is tonight's dinner Blackened Tofu with the Autumn Purée both from my new cookbook Eat, Drink and Be Vegan. Loved, loved, loved this recipe! I'll definitely be making it again. I also had some leftover coffee butter cream icing from my Toasted Coconut cupcakes so I decided to make some chocolate cupcakes using my new black cocoa (Yes!) that I got shipped to my friend Twee's place and then had her bring to me here (why can't there be a distributer in Canada?!). These cupcakes are so black it's unbelievable! And the flavor is so intense it's like eating an Oreo cupcake. Heaven!

Next is the Pancake recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance. I had read on Vegan Dad about how good these pancakes were and had to give them a try. And they don't disappoint! I think the key to making great pancakes is using a cast iron pan. Those pans make every pancake turn out a winner I swear it never fails!
And last, a picture of all my cookbooks that I've collected on top of my fridge. I'm quite proud of my collection and I love looking at them up there. Still, there's so many more that I want that I suspect I'll need to be getting a bookcase very soon.

Things handmade

I have so much to write about but my head is bursting with all of it. I think I'm going to tame it down and just give some more pics of what I've been up to with brief captions. I decided to make all of my Christmas gifts by hand this year and so my month of November will be a very busy one.

Starting with this wonderful bag I made from Bend-the-Rules Sewing. The Pleated Beauty Bag. I whipped this up in a couple of hours and I just LOVE it! Too bad I'm giving it away.

I must admit I did make one for myself but it's my diaper bag for now. I will make a more toned down one just for myself at a later date. Don't mind the fluff, Ayla's blanket was resting on it today before I took the pic and I was too lazy to pick it all off. =)

I've a whole list of things that I'm making for everyone from that book including some knitting that I must get started on pronto if I'm ever going to finish! I still have yet to complete my scarf but I just bought yarn to make mittens to go along with it since I was shown how to knit with 4 needles! My coworker and I are going yarn shopping next weekend hopefully to buy some more stuff for my gifts. I can't wait.

My next update will include some softies! I'm making the Olive doll by Hillary from Wee Wonderfuls for my nieces for Christmas. I've had my eye on that doll for a long time. I wanted to make it for Ayla and I will but first things first. I decided not to make Archie because they're twins and would probably fight over who has Olive and who has Archie. I don't want to cause any problems so two Olives it is. I'll also be attempting to make them the two quilts using the Lap Quilt pattern from Bend-the-Rules Sewing, we'll see how that works out. Fabricland got a lot of business from me this weekend with all the fabrics and notions I ended up buying for all of this. But so far so good so I'm not complaining!

On to food! I've still been cooking up many things and my cookbook also arrived in the mail! It's a nice thick hardcover book that I can't wait to dive into. I've only made one thing from it so far. I like to read my cookbooks cover to cover before I make anything in them. Yes I know... But I get so into the little stories behind each recipe and it makes me feel like I know the author or authors just a little bit better.

So I went to a Home & Gift party on friday at my coworker's house and I brought these chocolate cupcakes. They were a real hit and the frosting is made with tofu. Recipe for the frosting came from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I used the Fauxstess recipe again from VwaV for the cupcakes, subbing applesauce instead of oil.

I also made the Sunny Blueberry Corn Muffins from Vegan with a Vengeance. They're so yummy! I'm trying to tone down on eating all these great desserts so I only have them for breakfast. I also realized that my baking powder is losing it's effectiveness on seeing how little these rose so I bought some more today. Hopefully I'll have fuller muffins next time.

I tried the Black bean, Quinoa and Mushroom Stuffed Peppers from VwaV. I couldn't put mushrooms in there so I just upped the quinoa. It was the best stuffed peppers I've ever had! Not that I've eaten many stuffed peppers. I thought I wouldn't like it because I'm not too fond of bell peppers but it was great. I had it with steamed jasmine rice.

I also made a variation of a recipe from Veganomicon, the Spicy Marinated Tempeh except I used tofu and the Spicy Cajun Fries from VwaV except I used sweet potatoes. With a side of steamed green peas. I thought it turned out really well. I must confess I'm getting addicted to those little peas I've had them with many meals this week.

Since I'm on a chocolate binge I've decided to also make truffles this year to include with some of my gifts. But I'll most likely only be making those once I get to Montreal so maybe there won't be any pics.

TGIF

Well thank goodness it is Friday again but unfortunately I still do not find myself with anything interesting to report. So what do I do? Ignore blogger and will something interesting or thought provoking to come into my life. Of which nothing does of course. I'll just update with some of the great food I've been indulging in all week for all you food porn fanatics out there (you know who you are!). And do I even need to mention that they're all from Vegan with a Vengeance? I think we all know I have what some might call an unhealthy obsession with it at the moment.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Maple Walnut Cookies (You might be inclined to ask why I have two admittedly large batches of cookies on here in one week. And the honest answer is that I ate off single handedly the first batch of cookies in about 3 days. Yes I'm very ashamed... So ashamed in fact that the second batch has almost gone the way of the first...)
Ethiopian Seitan and Peppers
Green Thai Curry (admittedly not very green)
Brooklyn Pad Thai (Last night's dinner)
Pictures of delicious cupcakes I would like to make from my wonderful cookbook Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. It finally arrived in the mail! Unfortunately Chapters forgot to put my other book in the same box so that will be arriving next week. I can't wait!

And last but not least, if you take a look in the picture above you'll see a ball of yarn and part of my current project. I'm knitting a scarf. It's taking awhile as I'm a very slow knitter but it's coming along great. I can't wait to finish it. I got it from this pattern. Easy enough for a beginner, I didn't want to waste good money on yarn in case I didn't finish it or it turned out like crap not unlike my many other knitting projects so this yarn is cheap stuff from Wal-Mart. I'll need two skeins though so I wonder if I'm really saving... Sorry for the blurry pictures, you know how lazy I can really get.

Coconut heaven

I know I said I wouldn't make another cupcake till my book arrived. But there was only one left to be made in VwaV and I couldn't let it go untested. And boy am I glad I didn't! Holy coconut! I made the Coconut Heaven Cupcakes and they are divine! If you are a fan of coconut (as I am) then you'll absolutely go crazy over these.
I also tried the Beet, Barley and Black Soybean Soup with Pumpernickel Croutons (say that five times fast). It was good and I don't think I've ever tasted a soup that shade of red! Sorry about the blurry picture. I was hungry and not paying attention but you get the idea.

Cupcake madness and other food porn

So I'm on a cupcake binge. I can't get enough of the stuff. I finally got around to making that Chapters Wishlist and Vegan Cupcakes take Over the World was on it. But I couldn't help myself and I ordered it yesterday. I'm anxiously awaiting it's arrival in the mail. I shall not make another cupcake until I receive it. I also ordered Veganomicon, Isa's newest cookbook which isn't even released yet and Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol, for the crafty woman in me. I saw a really cute purse/bag on a flicr group the other day and realized that I must make it immediately so I didn't put off buying the book for another second. I actually flipped thru the pages last Saturday with Meese on my unplanned trip to Calgary. But back to the matter at hand. Cupcakes. I love them. They're so wonderful. It's like a cake for one. And not just a measly slice, but something you can devour with your eyes before plunging into it's moist deliciousness. So I caved and made the Fauxstess cupcake in VwaV. Well not really caved, I don't have the black chocolate so I decided to just make a regular chocolate cupcake with a ganache frosting and none of the other fixings. I had a raspberry chocolate bar from Tropical Source hanging around that I wasn't sure what to do with so I used it to make the ganache (hence the little flecks in the frosting). It all turned out heavenly. My mouth waters just thinking of it now. Alex was thrilled and couldn't get enough... he loves chocolate. He asked me if I couldn't make some for his coworkers. He likes when I make things that are unbelievably good cause then he tries to get me to share it with the non-vegan world. As if to say 'Can you believe this is vegan!?' LOL.

Yes, yes it is my dear. I also made the Carrot Bisque and the BBQ Pomegranate Tofu. Both turned out excellent! Except I didn't have any pomegranate molasses, so I subbed in some blackstrap molasses. I know it's totally not the same but I'd have to order pomegranate molasses online because there's no way I'd find that in Red Deer. Maybe Calgary or Edmonton though, I'll have to think of it the next time I go to either of those cities.

And finally today's breakfast and dinner. Oh my! I made the Lemon Corn Waffles with Blueberry sauce also from you guessed it VwaV. I can't say enough good stuff about it! I'll definitely be having seconds tomorrow morning.

I decided to digress from VwaV for a moment and make a spaghetti sauce for dinner tonight. In our family spaghetti sauces are usually Alex's domain. But I decided that I would make my first real sauce using a cookbook I bought especially for him. Nonna's Italian Kitchen by Bryanna Clark Grogan. And you guessed it, it's a vegan Italian cookbook. I must say, it's a phenomenal cookbook. I mean all of my cookbooks are great but I just love the stories behind almost all the recipes and the fact that most people would think you couldn't veganize anything Italian. But she has and to great success. So I made the Ragu alla Nepoletana, it was delicious! She recommends simmering it for 2 hours but I had mine simmering for practically the whole day.

Hopefully I can get to crafting once my book arrives. I know this has all been about cooking so far but as involved as it looks that's all I seem to have time for lately.

Lazy sunday

Today I had my head filled with all of the things I wanted to do but unfortunately that is usually my problem. Too much to do so nothing gets done. But luckily I have been keeping busy the last few days that I didn't post. On Thursday night I believe, I decided to make some cupcakes. What happened to those lovely muffins you ask? Well I ate all 9 of them. Yes I fully admit it. Not to take the full blame for being so gluttonous I must say that I did try to give one to Alex for his lunch but he never ate it, so I helped him out. Anyway, I'm a big dessert person and I can't have a pantry devoid of sweets. And seeing as how I'm on a big cooking binge right now I made the Lemon Gem Cupcakes in VwaV. Can I mention now that I've decided to make Vegan with a Vengeance my cookbook of the month. It's so incredible and about 90% of the things I've been making have come from it. And so far I haven't been disappointed.

The cupcakes turned out delish even Alex had one and proclaimed that they were 'really good!' He's a sucker for anything with icing on it though. The next cupcake I would like to make is her Fauxtess one. You know in replica of those Hostess cakes they sell. But I haven't been able to find anywhere that sells black cocoa in Canada (not even online). Not Dutch process, but black. Like the kind they make Oreo cookies with. So I'll keep looking and if not I'll just have to order them to someone who lives in the States and then get it shipped to me. A real hassle!

So this morning I was itching for some scrambled tofu and I really wanted to try that recipe again in VwaV for Tempeh Bacon. I had some tempeh that I bought that was cooling it's heels in my freezer for quite some time. It turned out pretty good. I would say that it's a definite bonus since I haven't been able to find the veggie bacon that Yves makes at my grocery store anymore. So this could be a good second for when I'm in a pinch and craving it. I think that I would still tweak some things here and there in the recipe to suit my palate even better. And well my scrambled tofu that's just my own creation. I don't like the scrambled tofu recipes that I've found in most cookbooks and on the web. To be honest I like the plain taste that's closer to scrambled eggs than anything. I can't take strong flavors so early in the morning. So here's my recipe for the more delicate morning taste buds.

Eesh's Scrambled Tofu

1 package of Mori-Nu silken tofu (firm or extra firm)
3 scallions chopped
1 small tomato chopped
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
2 slices of Yves veggie ham chopped finely (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well combined (the nutritional yeast flakes will 'dissolve' into everything). I usually use my cast iron pan but you can use whatever frying pan you have on hand. Spray lightly with vegetable oil first. Fry for 10-15 mins or until some of the tofu starts to get a golden brown. Enjoy!

Yesterday I took an unplanned trip to Calgary to visit Meese. It was so lovely being out of the house. We went to the mall and I carried Ayla in my sling for the first time. She didn't fuss at all and fell asleep shortly after getting there. While we were walking around I got it in my head that I'm going to make a diaper bag. I couldn't get the thought out of my head once I came up with it and spent the better half of the day and night thinking about designs and color schemes. So maybe in the near future you'll be seeing fabrics and then a finished diaper bag on this blog.