Roasted Edamame Salad

Roasted Edamame Salad
From Elton Brown's Edamame Show

Recipe link above. I skipped the scallions & the basil and this still turned out tasty. Wasn't a big hit the first time I ate it. but the next day I craved the red wine vinegar that was all over the salad but I really liked it on the tomatoes and that more I ate of it the more I enjoyed it. It's a nice fresh crisp taste. But would also be great to take on a trip or as a picnic, or maybe just for lunch. It was really nice. I will definitely make it again. But I will still leave out the basil.

Can't wait to have this as a nice side dish in the summer.
But its good all year round

Update: This has become one of my go to lunches. I love this stuff. Sometimes I eat it like listed above sometimes I just eat it as edamame, corn, oil, garlic, salt, & Pepper. Either way it is a great lunch and healthy. Love it

Vegan SloppyJoed Hot dogs w/ Omega 3's

I watch alot of cooking shows and covert alot of recipes. I was recently watching my DVR-ed Racheal Ray's talk shows and seen her make the Sloppy Dawgs. I was being lazy and wanted something quick to make. So of course I go cut up the Green Peppers & Onions and put them in the pan to cook and then looked up the Recipe. I didn't make it to her specks. I did start off the same but added some stuff to it. They turned out really good. Plus I was surprised when just the Peppers and onions were cooked with the hot dogs that alone was really good. I myself had never treid Peppers on my dogs... so that great!

Yes w/ Omega 3. I know weird for a recipe like this.. right? well I have been tring to get more in my diet. Because I have faces the fact that although I talk about eating healthy, I don't always do so. I get lazy and then I snack on Junk. So today I cooked.... Something easy :)

Vegan Sloppy Joed Hot Dogs w/ Omega 3

1 Pound/Pack Vegan hot dogs
1 or 2 Medium Green Pepper
1 or 2 Medium Onion

Chop all. Cook hot dogs till drown. Put in Green peppers & Onions. Cook till Soft.- Sauce listed Below.

Sauce

1- 8 oz can Tomato Sauce
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
3 Tbsp Brown Suger- (Depends on desired sweetness. I don't add quit that much)
2 Tbsp Flax Seed- (You can add more or less- Its optional. But you don't even taste it!)
1 tsp Pepper
1/2 to 1 tsp hot sauce- I like them hot but my husband doesn't
1Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Worchisire sauce ( I was out so I used some steak sauce, John eats it on Vegan boca
burgers. lol. Strange I know. But I did miss the W- Sauce tang)

After the Hot dogs are brown and the Peppers & Onion is soft dump in the sauce. Let it heat up good then your done. Put on Toasted hot dog bun or toast and enjoy!

4th of July, Strawberry pie, Blueberry cobbler, vegan hot dog sauce, boiled peanuts, coffee cake

The fourth of July, although different for us this year, went over really well and we all had a great time. We have always had company but this year we didn't have any company. But thats ok. We still cooked &watched the parade. Then John, Chey, and I went to See Ice Age in #D.. It was pretty good. Chey loves 3D movies but they keep raising the price. It was $7 then $8 now it is like $9.50 per person.. Thats just getting a little to high I think. But the movie was cute. Then after the movie even though I said said we wasn't going to go to the Concert at the park... We wnet.... I couldn't help myself... It was free... It was a really good concert. I don't really listen to contry music at all ... and it was on all country.. But it was really nice. Even can I say.... good music... lol...But I didn't have my camera.. All I had was the cell and It took horrible blurry shots.. So I am so sad I didn't get any pictures... But Nana Sharp, The Davidson Brothers, And to top it all off w/ a cherry Billy Ray Cyrus was there. And I was a huge fan when I was little... He did songs from his past and present albums.. and the old songs brought back some memeries.. But good ones... The concert lasted for over 5 1/2 hours. But it was awesome... Deffinalty have to go to some more concerts. That was my first but it won't be my last. We then stayed and watched most of the fireworks In Fairmont. But Since John had to work today we decided we should come home. We didn't get home till almost midnight..so we didn't let off our fireworks. But thats ok...

Now back to the food. This year I didn't make cake although I did make dessert. I made a Strawberry Pie, a Blueberry cobbler, & a coffee cake. I also made some boiled peanuts & vegan hotdog sauce.

The Strawberry Pie was my fav dessert this year. It was nice and sweet but had that tang at the end from the lemon. It was nice. I wish I would have had some rhubarb though.


Preheat oven to 425F
5-7 cups of strawberries (depends if you want a pie that
domes or is flat.)
2-3 T Lemon juice
1 T Lemon Zest
1/2 - 3/4 C Sugar
3 T Corn Starch
2 Pie Crusts

I used half frozen half fresh but you use which ever works best for you. Thats just what I had on hand. If you use frozen let the berries thaw and dump the water off of them. Then put mix all ingredients and let them set for 10 -15 minutes before you dump them into the pie. After the 15 minutes dump into the shell place top shell on. Make sure you cut a vent hole.

Bake at 425F w/ edge of crust covered for 30 minutes. Then lower the temp to 350F for 40 minutes of until crust starts to brown. Don't let it burn. Uncover the edge of the crust about 15 minutes before you take it out.

The Blueberry cobler cake from the book " The Joy of Vegan baking" this was Johns fav. This link will take you to the recipe. This recipe I also used half fresh/ half frozen and it turned out great.









The Coffee cake came from " The Joy of Vegan baking" aswell. If you haven't guess thats my goto dessert book. All of the recipe I have made from it have turned out great. I made this primarily for my Non-vegan mom. She always goes out and buys dounuts before the parade on the 4th of Juky. So I thought if I made this it might hold her off of buying the not so animal friendly doughnets. It turned out nice and she really liked it.. and guess what.. No donuts were bought.. :) I should have got a picture after I took it out of the pan..oops.














Boiled Peanuts.... My husband was born and raised in Charelston, SC.. So that is were the peanuts come in. It has been I think 3 years since we have been down there. So to bring a little bit of the south to him I made him some boiled peanuts. We stop at the road side stands and convence stores everytime we are down there. At the convenace store they sit right beside the sweet tea just asking to be eaten...so he has me hooked on them aswell. It has been hard trying to find raw peanuts around here but just by luck last week we ran into them at an International Store in Morgantown. We bought 2 1/2 pounds. So I thought I would surprise John and make them for the 4th. They turned out really great. They are a little extra salty but I will cut that back in the recipe I post on here. They are super easy to make. So everyone should try these. And if you ever go anywhere Down south they are a big thing for locals so try them their aswell.

2 1/2 pounds raw shell on peanuts
1/2 to 3/4 cup salt

Rince all the peanuts in their shells.
Fill pot of water. I used the pot I make my soups & beans in. Its just the 6qt pot I think. The biggest pot that comes with a set. lol... Add salt and peanuts. Cover. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer. Then let simmer for around 4 hours. Check the bigger peanuts when they are soft not crunchy they are done. Check the little nuts aswell to make sure they are not getting to done. You don't want them totally mushy. But 4 hours should do it. Store them in your refridgerator in there liquid. If you think they are still a little salty put them in half their cooking water and half fresh water to set in the fridge.

You can also make cajun. They are really good too.

Vegan Hot Dog Sauce
When I was younger and still consumed meat I still didn't eat ground meat. So I never ate hotdog sauce. But I made this a few years ago but veganised and loved it. I even eat it like a sloppy Joe.

2T salt
1tsp Tabasco sauce
3tsp Paprika
2tsp Chili powder
1 small onion, optional
2 1/2 cups water
2T Vinegar
2T Brown Sugar
4T vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 small Bottle Katchup 12oz
1 small can tomato paste
2 packs Boca or Morningstar ground burger ( I used one of each). Brown, add 2 cups water & onion. Let the water cook out. Then add all other ingredents. Let cook till it thickens. Which shouldn't be that long. I let it simmer for about 30 minutes after it thickens. This makes 3 to 4 cooks. It freezes well.

Cleaning , sewing, and hibernation plus dinner

Well I have been working on cleaning up the house some. It always seems to stay a huge mess and I get so tired of it. So hopefully I will get closer to it being cleaner. I think we just need a bigger house... and its getting about that time. But until then I have been organizing everything into those 3 shelf store containers. 2 stacks of them around my house now. Just seems to be the easiest way to organize everything and not have to worry about it any more. But every time I got o buy one of those drawer the price goes up. I must be the only person supporting their company.... They started at $15 a year ago and they have been at a steady rise till they hit $20.... who knows what they will be next time I want one... anyways moving on....

I have been working on things to start my etsy store. But I need to go to the store to get some notions I forgot.... and that won't happen till probably Thursday... Thats a long drive just for Velcro, elastic, and fusible interfacing... So I haven't brought myself to do it yet... Have I mentioned my sewing projects have taken over my kitchen table. So I haven't done a ton of cooking lately but I have done some.

Moving on to hibernation. Well when I am doing something like cleaning or sewing the cats & dogs can't seem to stay away. They must have invisible strings attached to me. So that every time I move they know and come to get right in the middle. But when I decide to sit down for a while or when they get tired of walking around what I'm doing.. They fall over and decide its time to hibernate. and they won't move.... and if I move them .. when I turn around they come back to the same spot. Even if I want to put a large box there...
So here are some pictures of my babies when they finally decided to lay down. After I was done cleaning for the day I finally went and cooked dinner. We had Rice with Ginger broccoli. It turned out pretty good although I should have let the sauce cook down a little more. This Rice & Broccoli RECIPE is super easy and pretty quick. I also made a Faux Tuna Sammie for Johns lunch. He loved it!!!! Click on the links and it will take you to the recipes. Located on my other blog.

Peace out everyone!!!!

Vegetarian Junk food/ Chili Cheese Fries

Yesterday I had a bad craving for Chili cheese fries. Its funny because when I was younger and ate meat I never had chili cheese fries. I didn't like Hamburger at all. So now when I get a craving its just a little strange to me. Anyways yesterday I was watching The Racheal Ray show and she made Chili cheese fries. I could not help myself. So I took her recipe and made it veg and here it is. Very simple. The recipe is on her web site. I just substituted the meat and put the ground boca in. Plus some extra oil because the boca really has no oil. For the Cheese sauce I used soy milk, no-chik broth, light vegan "butter", and a little cheese. If you are a vegan and or can buy vegan cheese in your area you could probably make the same sauce. (As long as the vegan cheese you buy is the kind that melt.) There are oven fries under all that Boca. Just made with some smoked Chipolta pepper, Cayenne peppers, & olive oil.

Oat, Granola, & Dried Fruit Bars

I know this is a bad picture. Most of my pictures are bad but this one really isn't good. Anyways. "J" really liked these. He took them to lunch everyday with him. He wants my to make them again but I have yet to do so. They are very easy to make. I will add the recipe later. I'm not home so no recipes will be listed till later.

Energy Smoothie..We will see....

Well I am really bad at finding smoothie recipes that satisfy me and my belly. Especially in the morning. Normally I drink it and my stomach is sick for next hour. Today I mixed up a simple smoothie. That had protein, fiber, Omega 3's. It didn't seem as heavy on my tummy as they normally do. Even though the cup felt like it weighed ten pound... It still went down smoothly. For the most part when I make smoothies at home I don't like the taste or texture. I am very picking. And smoothies should be a very easy thing to make. Anyways. Here is the recipe I used this morning: (Recipe to post soon)

And here is the end result....

The little bit of spinach I did put in turns the whole thing GREEN..... Yummy... But It really didn't change the flavor. It only took out some of the sweetness.

Mixed grilled veggies

Well nothing exciting today. I throw together some veggies (Peppers, squash, zuchnini, Onions.) They were cooked on the grill. I had a peper and onion snadwich. I was so engrossed that I forgot to the the other mixed veggies off the grill. Oops.. :)

Yves Veggie Ham Sami...

Nothing really baked or anything that takes more then 5 min to cook. So we have a veggie ham sandwich.











Morningstar Bacon (BLT), No mayo, just mustard...













Boca Burger & fries...








My meal skills have been out of whack lately.. I have been lazy since I have been working.. Bad Bad Bad. Isn't it..?

Banana "Ice Cream" Vegan

I love this sweet treat in the summer. Vegan, sweet, and yummy. You can add different stuff to it to make it taster. I use chocolate, cinnamin, sugar, sugar free syrup, berries, etc.

This is just one banana. Makes about 1/2 to 3/4 cup. Just put it in the blender or juicer. In a blender you will need a little water or soy milk. not alot or it will turn out runny.

With cocoa powder.

Black Bean & Corn Salad

This is another new one for me.
Corn
Black Beans
Balsamic Vinegar
Green Peppers
Orange Juice Fresh squeezed
Tomatoes
Whatever herbs you would like.

"J" Liked it. He made rice to go with it. I really wasn't into it. Its not that it tasted bad. I just wasn't that interested. So "J" ate all of it.
Sorry I haven't been blogging lately. I have been working a lot.

Chapoti Bread

I hope I spelled that right. My husbands mothers side of the Family are from India. So my husband grew up with Middle eastern style cooking. Which I can say last year during Ramadan I ate at their house and what ever it was It was awesome. (Luckily it didn't have any meat in it). I also had this style of bread. Since we had a 15 hour drive home they sent some with butter & sugar spread on it. It was really yummy. This was my 1st try at the bread. They use it to pick up food with. This verson was ok. I would much rather have his Grandmothers version though. I first tried it with white flour then with whole wheat. The white turned out better. Maybe one day I will get her recipe.

Calzones

They look a little ruff.. But they were a big hit. I made 6. 3 Sauce, Veggie Pepperoni, Mozzarella Cheese, & 3 Onions, Mushrooms, D- Mustard. They both turned out perfect. I also added green peppers to 3 of them and they turned out ok. But they were so good I have another batch of Calzone dough raising right now. This will definitely go in my cook book. Def 10 out of 10..

Soy Pigs in a Blanket

This recipe is from GOV. It takes a biscuit recipe and you role it around the soy dog. They turned out really nice. "J" Loved them. I am not a big hot dog person and I have never had these before. But I think they turned out good. My little Sister "C" didn't even want to try them and gave me a funny look. But thats ok. More for us.

GOV Portablello Muchroom Sandwich

WOW, I really didn't have much hope for this meal but I decided to try it. Mushrooms are not my favorite and my husband really doesn't like them. But I have been trying to use them in different ways. This sandwich was a mega hit... The mustard adds an edge, the onions fried in balsamic vinegar and oil had a sweet taste, and the sauted mushrooms really added a texture along with a "buttery" & "meaty" flavor.. It was really very yummy.. I know lots of adjective. I was just really surprised. A picture will post tomorrow. ( I didn't use the Caesar sauce recipe that was listed with it though.) This is a very satisfying sandwich.

Spinach & Cheese Pizza

My Lunch today was yummy simple Spinach pizza. Crust, spinach, and cheese, not even sauce.

Cinnamon & Raisin Biscuits From Garden of Vegan

"J"s Breakfast & lunch

Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits

from Garden of vegan.

I have never liked raisins cooked into anything and I really like these. John loves them to. He eats them for breakfast and he takes them in his lunch.

I know I said no more late night cooking but for some reason that always seems like the best time. So again my measurements were a slight bit off on the first batch. I made these 2 times a couple nights ago. (Once at midnight and once at 3am) The first time I used the wrong measuring spoon. ( I know leave it to me to measure wrong.) and didn't realise it till I went to do the dishes. So I made some more. Both turned out tasting fine. The second batch was a little better. But both batches they were kind of flat and heavy. I probably kneaded them to much. O'well they were still yummy.