Food, Feminism, & life

VeganMoFo: Chocolate chip & vanilla bean pancakes

I apologize for the awful picture. I didn’t realize my camera was on a weird setting until I went back to look at the photos.

I made these for Frank & he loved them. We saved the leftover batter so he could make pancakes for himself during the week. In all honesty, these tasted like dessert to me. You could leave the chocolate chips out if you want to cut down on the sweet.

Pancakes can easily be made out of a box, but I didn’t have a box of mix in my house. I did have all of the ingredients for pancakes made from scratch so I went that way. They’re so easy to make that I doubt I’ll buy a boxed mixed again.

And what the heck is this stuff? Pancake mix in a spray can? Gross.

Chocolate chip & vanilla bean pancakes

This makes a ton of batter. Definitely enough for about 6 people, or one person with a lot of leftovers.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 7 tsps baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsps salt
• 2 TB white sugar
• 2 1/2 cups soy milk
• Egg replacer equivalent to two eggs (I imagine bananas would be awesome)
• 6 TB vegan margarine/butter, melted
• 1 real vanilla bean, split, scraped, and the beans added
• 1 TB ground cinnamon
• 1 TB pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup seltzer (I know, weird. Trust me) - you can leave it out if you don’t believe me
• Dark chocolate chips, vegan.

Directions:

1) Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, except the chocolate chips (flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, salt, sugar,). Make a hole & add the wet ingredients (egg replacer, margarine, vanilla bean, extract, soy milk, seltzer). Beat together with a hand mixer until smooth, or one of those fancy counter top mixers that I do not own.

2) If it seems too thick, add some more soy milk.

3) Make a griddle hot & rub some margarine on it. Pour batter about a quarter cup at a time, sprinkle some chocolate chips on top. Let the batter bubble, flip, brown on both sides & eat!

Vegan MoFo: Taquitos! Black bean, corn, & roasted veggies.

These are the result of having leftover veggies, a bottle of good enchilada sauce, and my favorite corn salsa in my fridge. The enchilada sauce is from Trader Joe’s & so is the salsa. I was confused because the enchilada sauce said “chicken style base,” and I assumed that meant chickens. Turns out it’s a seasoning base that would be used for chickens, not actual chicken derivatives. An email back from them confirmed this (a very quick email I should add).

This was part of the email: “The ‘chicken-style’ base that is used is just
spice blend that would be commonly used on chicken, but does not contain
any chicken itself.  We hope this is helpful.”

Thanks, Trader Joe’s!

You can really put whatever you want in these, but the sweetness of the corn salsa + the hint of spice from the enchilada sauce really did it for me.

Taquitos! Black bean, corn, & roasted veggies

Servings: 4 ● Points Plus: 5

Ingredients:

• 8 corn tortillas
• 1/2 cup black beans, cooked or canned
• 1/2 cup enchilada sauce
• 1/2 cup corn salsa (about 1 TB per taquito)
• 1/2 cup Daiya shredded cheese
• Roasted veggies - I used butternut squash, mushrooms, and onions

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees, line a baking tray with aluminum foil & spray with non-stick spray. Roast veggies if you need to.

2) Heat 2 corn tortillas at a time for about 15 seconds. If you don’t heat them then they will crack as you roll them. Layer the bottom third of each with 1 TB enchilada sauce, 1 TB corn salsa, some black beans, veggies, and about 1 TB of Daiya shreds. Roll & place seam side down on the baking tray.

3) Repeat with all 8 corn tortillas & bake on the bottom oven rack for 16 minutes, flipping halfway through.

*If you fill them too much don’t worry. They’ll still be crunch but you might need a fork & knife when you eat them. I forgot to spray my pan with non-stick spray so mine ended up needing to be cut up to eat.

Vegan MoFo 10: Crunchy Cheezy Casserole

I have been craving a creamy & cheesy casserole for days. Yesterday was the perfect day to make one, especially since I needed a big bowl of comfort food to eat while catching up on Private Practice. I had no idea how this was going to come out because I kinda made it up as I went along, but it came out exactly how I wanted it to. Next time you want a creamy casserole with a crunchy top you should make this.

Crunchy Cheezy Casserole

Servings: 6 ● Points Plus: 7

Ingredients:

• 2 cups unsweetened soy milk
• 3 TB Light Smart Balance
• 2 TB flour
• 3 TB nutritional yeast
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 cup Daiya shreds (I used pepper jack)
• 1 bag frozen broccoli & cauliflower
• 1 bag frozen carrot slices
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees & cook the rice.

2) Melt the Smart Balance in a sauce pan. Once melted whisk in the flour to form a blonde roux. Slowly whisk in the soy milk & bring to a boil then simmer. When it begins to bubble add the salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika. Whisk in the nutritional yeast & Daiya. Let simmer a few minutes, whisking every once in a while.

3) Place the brown rice on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish & pour the frozen vegetables on top. Pour the cheeze sauce over the vegetables & toss everything together with the sauce. You don’t want layers. You want a creamy mix of everything.

4) Pour the panko bread crumbs over the top & bake on the middle rack of your oven for 30 minutes. If you want, season the panko crumbs with a little salt, pepper, and garlic before using them.

Vegan Mofo 8 & 9: I’m slacking. Here’s a Survey!

I have some recipes to post, but I’m feeling lazy & sleepy so they have to wait until tomorrow. Here’s a vegan survey for now!

 What is one food you thought you’d miss when you went vegan, but don’t?Cheese, duh. I still don’t know if I’m going to remain dairy-less after October, but man do I miss cheese!

What is a food or dish you wouldn’t touch as a child, but enjoy now?Pudding, even though I still don’t really like it. Giggly & gross.

What vegan dish or food you feel like you “should” like, but don’t?Tofu scramble. Maybe I just haven’t had it prepared the right way, but it just doesn’t do it for me.

What beverage do you consume the most of on any given day?Seltzer. Non-stop all day long.

What dish are your “famous” for making or bringing to gatherings?My roasted butternut squash with cranberries & onions is always requested at Thanksgiving.

Do you have any self-imposed food rules (like no food touching on the plate or no nuts in sweets)?I despise nuts in sweets & especially in chocolate. I also don’t eat in layers so everything needs to be ready to go at the same time. I like sorta mixing everything together.

What’s one food or dish you tend to eat too much of when you have it in your home? Chips & salsa.

What ingredient or food do you prefer to make yourself despite it being widely available prepackaged? Pancakes.

What ingredient or food is worth spending the extra money to get “the good stuff”?Really good olive oil & balsamic vinegar.

Are you much of a snacker? What are your favorite snacks? Kinda. I’m a savory snacker. Olive oil with salt, pepper, and Italian bread is one of my favorite snacks.

What are your favorite vegan pizza toppings? Mushrooms.

What is your favorite vegetable? Fruit? Butternut squash, mushrooms, onions, leeks, baby corn. Kiwi!

What is the best salad dressing? Olive oil with red wine vinegar, apricot preserves, salt, pepper, & shallots.

What is your favorite thing to put on toasted bread? Mashed avocado & tomato with olive oil & sea salt, or smart balance & fig preserves.

What kind of soup do you most often turn to on a chilly day or when you aren’t feeling your best? Roasted tomato.

What is your favorite cupcake flavor? Frosting flavor?Lemon cupcake with raspberry.
What is your favorite kind of cookie? Sugar.

What is your most-loved “weeknight meal”? Tostadas, or cheezy casseroles. They’re both easy & comforting.

What is one dish or food you enjoy, but can’t get anyone else in your household to eat? My fiance basically doesn’t eat anything so I can’t even answer this. He will not try an avocado, brussels sprout, or anything made with nutritional yeast. He seriously just eats meatballs & hamburgers. We live in an interesting home, but we make it work for us.

How long, in total, do you spend in the kitchen on an average day?At least an hour.

VeganMofo 6: Sliders & sweet potato cheeze fries

Last night was the elimination game for the Yankees, so I wanted to make “baseball food.” I really really really don’t like soy dogs, so I went with vegan sliders instead. I just can’t get past the texture of soy dogs. Yuck.

There wasn’t much *cooking* involved with this meal. Frank chopped me up a sweet potato & made french fries out of them in our deep fryer (best engagement present ever), and I made the sliders. The sliders are small slider buns, which you can get in Trader Joe’s or the regular supermarket, topped with a Morningstar Vegan Griller that I cut in half, sauteed onions, vegenaise, ketchup, pickles, and pepper jack Daiya.

The Daiya sorta looks like eggs in this picture, no? Weird. It was perfect on top of these sliders & on top of the fries. I broiled everything for about 2 minutes to get it all melty & then slathered the fries in ketchup.

The entire meal was 14 Points Plus, which was a total win.

VeganMofo 5: Cheezy Autumn Empanadas

This was my first shot at using Daiya. My mind was blown. It was so good that I don’t even know if I’ll miss real cheese, and I’m obsessed with cheese.

I’ve had these in my head for a while. Nothing screams fall to me more than a pan of roasted butternut squash & a jar of mango chutney. I’m not really sure why I associate chutney with fall, but I do. The roasted squash is combined with onions, mushrooms, & pepper jack daiya for a crunchy, sweet, spicy, & cheezy empanada. These were so awesome that I almost went back for thirds. 

These were a bit time consuming but so worth it. If you roast the veggies ahead of time then you’ll save about 45 minutes. Store the leftovers in your fridge to eat all week!

Cheezy Autumn Empanadas

Servings: 8 Points ● Plus: 6 each

Ingredients for the dough:

• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp Mexican chili powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 TB kosher salt
• 1/2 cup butter substitute
• 3/4 cup ice cold water (has to be very cold!)

Ingredients for filling:

• Butternut squash, cut into small pieces (about 1”)
• About 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 small yellow onion, thin sliced
• Daiya - Pepper Jack (1 TB per empanada)
• Mango chutney (about 1 TB per empanada)
• 2 TB olive oil
• 2 TB agave nectar

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees & chop up all your veggies. Toss the butternut squash & onions with the olive oil & agave nectar and a little salt & pepper. Spread on baking sheets to roast.

2) Using the baking blade in your food processor combine the flour, salt, and spices. Once combined pulse & add the butter in small pieces at a time. Pulse until it resembles a course cornmeal. Add the cold water a little bit at a time until the dough begins to form a ball. Once in a ball remove from food processor & knead about ten times. Refrigerate for at least a half hour.

3) While the dough is chilling, roast the butternut squash & onions at 400 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. The onions should be removed after about 20 minutes. Toss the squash halfway through. Saute the mushrooms in a pan.

4) Once the vegetables are roasted roll out the dough into a thin sheet (you might have to roll out a few thin sheets like I did). Use either a small bowl or large cup to cut out circles. Roll each circle out a little thinner.  

5) To assemble, spread a little chutney on each circle & top with some roasted vegetables and 1 TB of Daiya. Fold the circle over into a half moon & seal with a fork. Line them on a baking sheet, spray with non-stick spray, & sprinkle with some paprika. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes, checking after 15 minutes.

Remove, let cool a bit, & eat while they’re still cheezy!

VeganMofo 4: My wedding will be delicious.

No, my wedding will not be vegan. It won’t even be all vegetarian, but it will certainly be full of both vegan & vegetarian food, especially since two of my bridesmaids are vegans (and the loves of my life). I will also have quite a few gluten-free guests so there must be something served for them as well! 

I adore food. I also adore cooking & feeding people & watching the smiles on their faces as they take seconds. I am dead set on making sure that the food served at my wedding is not only amazing, but that there is something for everyone. To me, the idea of guests coming to my wedding & not being able to enjoy the food is awful, especially with all of the drinks that will be going around!

Here is our wedding venue again for those of you who haven’t been following along for too long. It is so beautiful! My family is friends with the owner & his wife so I’m pretty sure that my food requests will be happily met. I’ve been stockpiling links of things to take to my venue when we design our menu & I will definitely update on how things turn out.

If you have any wonderful ideas please send them my way! For now, here are some of my favorite ideas for our cocktail hour (possibly the best hour of the day, aside from saying “I do”).

Autumn spiced popcorn in small popcorn bags:

Panko stuffed mushrooms:

Veggie empanadas on sticks! (this link is non-vegan)

Avocado fries, because everyone loves avocado. (the recipe to this link is not vegan - from Adventures in Cooking)

Some sort of soup in mini pumpkins. It is a fall wedding after all.

VeganMoFo 3: Chickpea cutlets, duh.

Everyone makes these at least once, right? I like to keep frozen ones in my freezer to cook up for quick dinners & they seriously are just incredible. I wanted crispy comfort food the other night & these did the trick. I smothered them in my favorite vegan mushroom gravy (which I promise no one will know is vegan) & served them with mashed potatoes on the side. Comfort food, commence.

You all know the deal. The recipe is from Veganomicon & can be found on Post Punk Kitchen. Here’s what I did different:

• I used fresh thyme instead of dry because I had it on hand.
• To save WW Points I pan fried them in 1 TB olive oil & then baked them for 25 minutes at 375 degrees. I make sure that they all get at least 5 minutes on each side on the bottom rack of my oven. This makes them very crispy.
• I added some lemon juice to the dough instead of  the zest.

Servings: 8 ● Points Plus: 6

VeganMofo 2: Soup! All is not lost.

Today was the first day that it truly felt like fall in the last month. As soon as I felt the crisp fall weather when I woke up I knew that soup was going to be on my menu. That’s when I turned to the Creamy Roasted Tomato, Garlic, & Onion Coconut Soup I had saved from Oh She Glows. I thought that vegan eating would make me really miss the creamy soups I love to devour in the fall, but this soup delivered on the creaminess factor. I couldn’t even tell that there was no cream in it. All is not lost (thanks, coconut milk!).

I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to find decent tomatoes since the season just ended, but I lucked out & found great ones. I’m pretty sure this is the last batch of good tomatoes left so I’m glad I got my hands on them.

I planned to follow this recipe exactly as it was written, but I did wind up slightly changing a few things. Here’s what they are:

• I roasted a few heirloom tomatoes with the regular romas. The heirlooms were just too pretty to pass up at the store.
• I used 4 cups of vegetable broth & 1 cup of coconut milk instead up 3 cups broth & 1 can light coconut milk. I only had regular on hand & didn’t want the amount of fat an entire can would be.
• I used my food processor because I don’t own a blender.

Servings: 6 ● Points Plus: 4

Please try this soup. It was just as head spinning as the blog post described.

VeganMoFo 1: Yup, I’m going vegan this month.

That’s right. I’m participating in VeganMoFo this year & I’m very excited about it! I’ve been eating vegetarian for a little over a month now & I’m psyched to blog about all things vegan in my life for the next month.

For those who read regularly, all of my food (and lots of non-food) posts will be vegan or about vegan things until November 1st. That means no cheese :/ Most of my recipes are awesome & simple & can be easily switched up however you like. If you want to add some non-vegan ingredients then go for it but you won’t be seeing any non-vegan ingredients from this girl for the next few weeks.

I’m encouraging all of my readers to be adventurous & eat my vegan recipes. I promise they will be kickass, and if they aren’t then tell me that!

Now for my VeganMoFo kick off. 

I stopped at Trader Joe’s last night to pick up something for dinner. Frank & I were staying in to watch the first Yankees playoff game & I wanted something that was delicious but easy to eat since I had another root canal this past week. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw that Trader Joe’s had BIRDS NESTS in stock. I haven’t seen them in nearly a year at my local Trader Joe’s!

What better way to kick off a month of vegan eating than to have your absolute favorite frozen vegan food available? I bought two boxes & considered doing a back flip in the aisle (I can’t actually do back flips so that would have been weird).

Happy VeganMoFo! Check back tomorrow for my first batch of recipes. xO.