Vegan Creamed New Potatoes YUM!

One of my fave things to do is take foods I grew up with "comfort foods" and veganize them... 

(John Calls it retrofitting...  lol)

And for some things thats not so easy... but this one is super easy !

As I wrote yesterday I haven't had any new potatoes in a few years...

So I cooked these the first chance I got!!!

They were so good... The texture of new potatoes are so creamy by themselves...

and I love them with gravy and peas...

Problem.. 

Thought I had 2 bags of frozen organic peas...

Did I?

Not That I can find...

Not that John can find in either freezer...

I swear I bought those peas...

I have posted my gravy recipe before but I figure I will post it again since I havn't posted in awhile and to make it easier to find...
All you need:
Unsweetened Almond Milk
Oil- I use EVOO
Vegan Butter (I use Smart Balance Light)
Flour
Pepper
Salt
Potatoes
and The missing peas.......

Just make it like normal...

Melt Butter in pan and add some oil and let heat up(Med heat)I also add pepper at this point. I like the flavor of using both.. (If you are using a butter with water let the water cook off) its 1tbsp Butter or oil to 1tbsp flour per cup of milk.... So put all the oil and butter in them measure out your flour and add it.. Let it cook a couple minutes to lose flour flavor.. Then take a whisk and whisk in about a cup of milk at a time so it doesn't get lumpy... Let thicken... add you peas a couple minutes before you take it from the heat.. Then add fork tender potatoes to gravy and serve...

I like to eat alone or on toast...

Whats Cookin' Latley: Waffles, Cupcakes, Muffins

Been trying out different recipes for the farmers market that I plan on setting up a table at very soon...

The Joy of Vegan Baking- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
These turned out really yummy but I will not be adding the chocolate
When I sell them they will just have nuts... I think more people will
be likely to buy them that way and they will be less expensive.

The Joy of Vegan Baking- Chocolate Peanutbutter Cupcakes
I made these a a Cakewalk Fund Raising for my Little sisters 3rd grade spring festival.
I will also be making these for the Farmers market

French Toast Muffins- 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes

The Best Banana Bread Recipe- 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes
I have become quite  a fan of banana bread and have tried several different recipes. Not because I didn't like it... Just because I like to try new ones... The only thing I changed in this recipe is that I added walnuts. I have never put nuts in our bread but to put some more nutrients into it I decided it would be a good Idea. I also doubled the recipe so I could freeze one for future use. They cooked up in 43 minutes and came out very pretty.

I will also be making these recipes at the first farmers market I go to....

The Joy of Vegan Baking

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Chocolate chip Cookies

Peanutbutter Cookies

German Apple cake

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Caramel Popcorn ( With added chocolate)

Vegan With a Vengeance

Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins

Vegan Celebration

Sweet Southern Cornbread

Other Recipes

Rhubarb Bread

Banana Bread

No Bake Cookies

Haystack ( Cornflake Cookies)

Later on I will be adding more recipes and switching them out and in as the summer goes on. I am excited and can't wait to go to my first... I have already missed the first 2 and will probably miss this weekends as well. But After that if all goes well I will be selling VEGAN baked goods at my local farmers market!!! Yay

I have also made some other new recipes from some of my fave cookbooks that I still haven't worked my way through.

Igors pasta from Vegan Vittles is one of those recipes that I return to over and over .. One of my faves! Made it twice last week!

This week though I have made:

Crispy Banana-Cinnamon Waffles from Vegan Diner. this is the first recipe I have tried from this book. But I will say with all the flour in the recipe I had to double the milk to get it to mix up. Then I had to double everything else but the flour to get the right flavor... So I am not sure exactly how I screwed up or if the measurements are just wrong in the book.... Who knows... But they did turn out really yummy! And are going to my freezer...

I had to set the waffle iron on its highest setting to get these completely done , brown, and crispy. They are so yummy once I got the right setting. They do take a while to cook even on high!

This made about 24 individual waffles that I am going to freeze some of. That is after the quick fix to the recipe.

Lemon Waffles from Vegan w/a Vengeance . They are crispy and so good. I wish I had everything to make the blueberry sauce! I can just imagine how great it would taste on them! I had to add 3 or 4 tbsp of flour to thicken it up because every '/time I would cook 1 it would crisp up and over cook very quickly. So I also had to turn down my waffle iron that doesn't get very hot to begin with. It is trial and error right now trying to get them done but not overly so. also freezing what I have left of these after all the cooking problems. Hope they freeze well.

These are sweet and lemony and so good once you get the batter & temp just right. I really loved these
and wish I had the blueberry sauce to eat with them.

Ready to go into the freezer.

The first 3 that I really messed up... The batter was to thin and the iron was to hot!

I also added my first flowers to a cake... on 5/29/2011.. Jess's mom put the icing on the cake and then asked me to write and add some decorations.. I Don't normally do flowers or sheet cakes... so it wasn't the best job but I love that I learned something new like the sweet pea flowers...

1st Vegan Lasagna

My husband and I always loved lasagna. But when I stopped eating cheese I also stopped making lasagna because I thought I would really miss the cheese & because my fave Pre-made Pasta sauce had cheese in it and most store bought pasta sauces have cheese...So I gave up on red sauce with pasta all together really....

But my husband has been asking me to make one for some time. So the other day I bought a couple containers of pasta sauce that I thought I would hate... and decided I could always eat something else if it didn't turn out good.

I boiled the pasta (whole box),  Browned the Yves veggie burger (used 2 freezer packs) and added some light life sausage { 1 whole role) , then added the pasta sauce to the burger (whole jar plus some of the next jar) . (I never used veggie burger in my lasagna before, I always used to just use cheese, sauce, and pasta... )

Layered the sauce, pasta, burger mix, small amount of Daiya cheese, and a small amount of vegan parm. Made three layers than throw it it in the oven.. It smelled so good while it was cooking... We couldn't wait to try it....

Ready to go into the oven for 45minutes.. Covered with aluminum foil

And..............Success... It was really good. It filled my husbands craving and even with my husbands appetite we had left overs for the next day... Well two pieces and they were finished for breakfast. Plus I got to use one of my new Friendship casserole/cake/dishes....

All done and ready to go to our tummies! Yum!!!

Next time I will add less Yves, No light life sausage, and add some veggies. I really missed having veggies in it!

And I am also thinking about trying the Spinach Lasagna  recipe in The Vegan Table (Link includes the Spinach Lasagna Recipe) So maybe thats what I will make next time.

This one was my Fave.

As for the pasta Sauce, Surprisingly it was Muir Glen. I have never liked their pasta sauce before but I had never tried their Organic products until that day. It was really good and will now be my pasta sauce of choice!

Easter Dinner 2011

We had a good Easter. John and I had dinner with my parents the evening before Easter because John worked Easter. We didn't have our normal Tofurky... sadly no one in our area carried them last Thanksgiving/Christmas season when I normally stock up... So this year I have one left for this coming Thanksgiving unless I find somewhere to purchase them again... I hope I do... 

So we had breaded eggplant as the main course. Sides included Maple glazed sweet potatoes, stuffing, green beans & salad... And I also made 2 desserts. Lemon cupcakes and Rhubarb Apple Crisp. All the food turned out really well and we all had a nice evening. The next day My Mother, Sister, and I went to my Aunts for dinner and I took left overs with me. I did get to try wild mushrooms for the first time that day and I have been wanting some ever since and I am not a huge mushroom fan.. But those were really good... O yeah... After I try them my Aunt is like.... "Well if you ever get any make sure you soak them so all the critters will come out".... and I am like "What!?" lol... that was a little freaky... but they were good...

Vegan Lemon Cupcakes. I used the white cupcake recipe from The joy of vegan baking... I added 3 tsp or lemon extract.. I would say only add 2 and try that because these came out with a little to much lemon in them. The icing was good though and it was 1/2 Earth Balance, 2 Cups powder sugar, couple tbsp almond milk, and I think I used 2 tsp lemon extract... I would love to try lemon oil because I am thinking it would have better flavor. I would also like to find a recipe with a better crumb. But I love lemon cupcakes and I have become obsessed with them since I went to Columbus, OH to Patty Cakes Bakery.. They have the best vegan baked good ever!!!!!! :)

I cut fresh rhubarb from the garden and wanted to use up last years frozen... Plus my rhubarb plants were from my Grandfathers (My mothers father)  garden. He passed a couple years ago and my husband and I dug up most of his rhubarb and brought it home and planted it. So I really wanted to share that rhubarb with the family. But this crisp was so yummy. A little sweet but had that touch of tart in the background.. So it was really good. I used this recipe on about.com and just used vegan supplies... Look for more vegan Rhubarb recipes in the future I have a ton of rhubarb this year and will be sharing alot of recipes I try.

mom made a salad always better when someone else makes it for you??? I don't  know but it has started a salad craving I have been fighting off with huge yummy salads ever since :)

One of my fave Sweet potato recipes that I make for every holiday now!!! Maple glazed sweet Potatoes... 

This is the Breaded eggplant. I just long cut the eggplant, sprinkled with salt and let drain for an hour or so,  dipped them in flour,  then almond milk, then I mixed whole wheat bread crumbs, panko bread crumbs, black pepper, & salt, dipped the eggplant in that then placed it on a baking dish and cooked it in the oven at 375F to 400F for about 20 minutes or until slightly brown and cooked through. I also like these fried.. They turn out good both ways.

Most of the food in my nice Friendship Pyrex that I love!!!!! I forgot to use my new small ones though :(

This is the 2nd apple rhubarb crisp I made to take with me to my Aunts house to share with everyone. That is my Flamingo Pink Pyrex baking dish... Such a pretty pink... Which reminds me I haven't been antiquing lately and I am feeling the pull!!!

How many people does it take to find the last 4 eggs.... Alot and there was still two missing at the end.. Atleast they were the plastic kind.... but we all had a good day and visiting with the finally was really nice!

Ratatouille Subs

Watching Rachael Ray A couples days ago and I love the Idea of Ratatouille Subs. I have kinda had the thought of doing it and really hadn't taken the time. But mine wouldn't have included Fried Red Tomatoes... But I did use the red tomatoes and even though it wasn't as good as I though it would be it was still pretty good. If I would have had another pasta sauce it would have been alot better (I didn't use her sauce recipes either). Here is a link to her not vegetarian version.... But I changed it a little bit to make it vegan...

Ingredients list

2 Medium Zucchini

2 Hard red tomatoes

1 Eggplant

2 or 3 cloves garlic

Almond milk

Flour

Panko Bread crumbs

Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs

Vegan Parm

Canola Oil

Italian Buns/Subs

Slice all the veggies, add salt to the Eggplant and Zuccs and sit aside for 20 minutes. While that is draining. Mix the two types of bread crumbs with vegan parm, salt and pepper, put into a dredging dish, put milk in one, and flour in the last. Cover the bottom of your pan with oil, let it heat but not smoke. Add a few pieces of fresh sliced garlic. Do not let the garlic burn you are just flavoring the oil. Let it fry for a couple minutes then take it out. Then you are ready to dip your veggies in flour, then milk, then bread crumbs and then fry. Pick the tomatoes up with a flat spatula. If you try to pick them up with a fork they will fall apart... Try to fry them very quickly as well. The longer they are cooking the mushier they will get and you don't want that. but you do want them to get a nice crust on them. 

                                     

After you fry your veggies you can put them on a cooling rack and on a baking sheet and put them in the oven at 200F to keep them hot. 

When your done frying Add the veggies, the sauce of your choice, and some daiya and pot into oven to toast and melt.

Pasta with Kale, Tomato, Garlic, & Thyme

Link to Recipe Below!
I loved this recipe so much. It took a couple minutes to make because I made it all in one pot. But it was worth it! Most of the time is inactive and the flavor is awesome! I am excited to make this for my husband because I know he will love it!

This is another Martha Stewart Website Recipe. I changed only one thing I added a couple pinches of dried thyme instead of fresh. Plus the pasta is pictured but not talked about in the recipe... So I used a 16oz pack of Fettuccine. Well Actually half of it since I only made half a recipe.

2 Kale Soups & Raspberry Vanilla Cupcakes

Kale is highly nutritious filled with antioxidants and is also an anti-inflammatory food. So when I notice we haven't been having enough greens in our diet I turn to kale. There is a ton of ways you can make it and I have been trying some of the recipes I have found online out. Here is the first two I tried this time. I will have more to come though. In the past I have also posted about Kale & Potato Soup & Kale and Potato Enchiladas. 

Sausage and Kale Soup

This is one recipe I loved from the Martha Stewart Website. She has a whole list of kale recipes and this has been my favorite. 

 Here are my simple & quick changes I made to make it vegan. So Simple.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes

5 potatoes (1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1 1/2 Boxes of No Chicken Broth By Imagine or Veg stock of your choice

1 Bunch kale (12 ounces), stemmed and shredded

1 Package Light Life Veggies Sausage, Pre-Cooked before you add it to the soup. You could use Tofurky sausage as well. 

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Sausage-and-Kale Soup - Martha Stewart Recipes 

Kale and White Bean Soup

This was also from the Martha Stewart Website. It turned out ok. But It wasn't one of my faves.
It would be a good soup when your sick. It kinda reminds me of a "chicken" soup type soup. But with an extra boost of Nutrition!!! So I will have it next time I get sick... But with some added pasta. The left overs I used as pasta topping :)

The Changes I made to this soup recipe was that I used No chick broth by Imagine and No Parm Cheese. Oyeah and I forgot to buy bread, so no bread...

Cupcakes for My Mom's B-day! Yum.

The Joy of vegan baking Vanilla Cupcakes! Yum.

Homemade Raspberry Sauce for the Cupcakes. This sauce reminds me of the sauce that is in those Non Vegan  swirl cakes in the cookie section of stores. It was so good and I had a lot left over. So I have been adding it to

I used this recipe for Strawberry filling minus the soy milk. When it was cooked down quite I bit I started adding powdered sugar to the raspberries because they are more sour/bitter then strawberries and take alot more sugar. So I just kept adding extra heaping tsps of Powdered sugar till it was a good taste for me. Probably atleast 8 heaping tsp.

http://dulcedoblog.blogspot.com link above.Frosting
Adapted from a recipe by Cheryl at The Cupcake Bakeshop
1 cup butter, room temperature
6-8 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup light vanilla soy milk

Vanilla Cupcakes from The Joy of Vegan Baking. With some Fudge icing and shredded chocolate.

These are the same vanilla cupcakes from The Joy of Vegan baking with the Raspberry Glaze under the icing. With Raspberry Vanilla "Butter" Creme. John and I Loved these! I added a little to much "Butter" to the frosting so it kept melting... oops. But it was so good. I used two tubs of Premaid vegan icing and then added 2 sticks of Vegan butter. It was really good but wouldn't hold shape.  Plus I added some Raspberry sauce to the frosting. Next time I will drizzle the raspberry sauce over the cupcakes to make them super cute! And fill them.

Redo of Rock Soup w/ Pecans and Cheesy Crescents

Rock Soup, I make it a hundred times and a hundred different ways a year but this way was so great I had to talk about it.. and give the new recipe.

Pecans go so well with this soup. I was so surprised but its an awesome way to get some extra nutrients and some more yummy flavor. Even if you have never used nuts in soups, rice, etc. just because you think you wouldn't like it... try them they are awesome and are sometimes the cherry on the cake...  :)

Rock soup

All the flavors melded together so nicely that this was the best Rock Soup I have ever made.

2 Tbsp Olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 large sweet potato, peeled & chopped

5 to 7 carrots, peeled & chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

3 medium potatoes, peeled, chopped

3 Garlic cloves, grated into soup

2 Bay leaves

2 heaping tsp smoked paprika

1 15oz can Chick peas/ Garbanzo beans, drained

1 15oz can Pinto beans, drained

1 15oz can Kidney/ or red beans, drained

1 cup corn- I added half a frozen bag

1 cup peas- I added half a frozen bag

Broccoli- I just dumped in the who bag

1 28ox can diced tomatoes

8 cups No chicken broth by Imagine, 2 Boxes

1 Tbsp Chipotle Hot sauce

1 Tbsp Hot sauce

1 Cup Pecans or pecans to your liking

Try to use a Big, heavy cast iron or hard anodized pot. This recipe makes alot. 

Heat pot with Olive oil in it. Add all the chopped veggies, garlic, bay, and paprika. Let this cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until the onions are translucent and veggies are starting to cook down. Add the frozen and canned veggies, broth, & hot sauce. Simmer for 20 minutes or until carrots & potatoes are tender but not falling apart.

Spin into bowl and add pecans to top. I add a good amount like 1/4 a cup maybe a little more.  I really love the pecans in this. 

Enjoy!

Cheesy Crescents

These are such a great appetizer but they will go fast!

Can of vegan crescents

Daiya vegan cheese

Tomato sauce or marinara of choice

These are super fast and easy and come out tasting awesome!

Simply role a small amount of daiya up into the crescent and then bake a directed. Warm to tomato sauce and serve. We have these with soup and other dishes sometimes as well. But they are yummy by them selves. We had these with our rock soup one night. 

Vegan MOFO Day 24- Baking with the in-laws and our first Thanksgiving Dinner

Every year my husbands family starts the Thanksgiving celebration out the day before with a day of baking. I went to the first one 4 or 5 years ago and hadn't been to one since. But I like to bake and I like to be around people who like to bake. And in my family no one really does. So I decided to go spend some time at his families which we never get to do. I took Chey with me and she played while I baked.

I made a Cherry pie and an apple pie.

Here they are after they cooked. Sadly they were not vegan. Nothing was that day so I couldn't try any of it...
O well. 

Here are all  the kids sitting down for lunch. Johns family have alot of kids and we had  10 or 11 with us that day.

This is Dale... He was supposed to be shaking the chocolate peanut butter 

chex mix but didn't check the zip lock first so.... lol

Then I went home to start cooking for John and I. we was supposed to eat at my parents house. So I started out making the vegan cream cheese filling for my first vegan pumpkin roll.

I used my moms pumpkin role recipe and just took the eggs out and added 2 yogurt eggs and a flax egg. It came out flat...
So next time I will have to try another egg replacement. But its flatness didn't stop of from eating it. It was still really tasted.
I love pumpkin Roles!!!
Then I made a pumpkin pie... wish I would have used libbys and not the organic brand. I try to eat all organic. But when you grow up with a brand its funny that it just doesn't taste right when you just use a different brand of pumpkin.

Recipe for the pumpkin role will post soon. I have to get it again....

It set up pretty good. And the homemade crust was good. But I couldn't find my good rolling pin so the crust was super thick.. which wasn't a bad thing.

John finds this when he walks back to the kitchen... Guess what it is?

That is a paw print. I am not sure which gat did it.. but... someone stepped on my pretty pie.
But It was still tasty none the less. Even with the wrong pumpkin.

O..I have a picture of the crust! See how thick it was....

Here is the rest of our dinner. We all kinds of vegan yumminess!  A Tofurky, Roasted Glazed sweet potatoes,
 stuffing, and Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli. Everything was so good!

and check it out. I even got to use the new antique set of Friendship Pyrex I got on ebay. I really love these bowls.

The tofurky turned out really yummy. I glazed it with Oil, soy sauce, sage, like it said on the box. That is the version I always use. But this time I added some brown sugar to it for just a touch of sweetness and it turned out really tasty! I will make it like that for now on.

This is one of my good pro cookie sheets I used for baking syrup and brown sugar on the sweet potatoes. Instead of scrubbing it I took out of the oven put some hot water on it and stuck it back in the oven for some easy deglazing. This way You don't scrub the pan to death and it doesn't take forever for the hard sugar to some off.

Well after all that cooking my parents decide hey wanted to eat so ... I didn't get to have dinner with them. John got home 15 minutes later. I was annoyed because we said 7:30 and he was home by 7:30 but I guess thats just how things work out sometimes.