Thanksgiving Potluck Dins!

My good friends and I decided to do a potluck thanksgiving this year. We veganized most dishes, aside from scalloped potatoes and cheese sauce, and it was a complete success. I made stuffing, tofurky and cheesecake for the meal.


The vegan plate.......


Mmmm.. strawberry/chocolate blob cheesecake


Tofurky... baked at the wrong temperature

Stuffing

Pasta a la mmm!

I had a chunk of zucchini leftover from this amazing pasta sauce my friend whipped the other night - sadly not quite enough for zucchini bread (one of 3 zucchini recipes I know!). It was time to expand my horizons.

I threw together a zucchini sauce with some veggies over some pasta and was amazed how yummy it was! Sorry for the lack of measurements, I'm always cooking on a whim and only cooking for one. I plan to make this next time I have company!!

INGREDIENTS
• Pasta, cooked (I used brown rice fusilli)
• 5 medium brown mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 tbsp. earth balance
• 1/2 c. canned or fresh diced tomatoes

SAUCE
• 1/4 c. chopped onion
• 2 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. olive oil

º heat oil in a frying pan over med-high heat, sauté onions and garlic until slightly browned.
º set aside

• 3/4 - 1 c. zucchini grated or finely chopped
• 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. soy milk
• 1 tbsp. nutritional yeast
• dash of pepper (to taste)
• dash of salt (to taste)

º throw all ingredients in a blender and puree.
º sauté sliced mushroom in earth balance over med-high heat
º throw pasta, zucchini mixture and tomatoes in a saucepan and warm until preferred temperature
º serve on a plate or bowl, top with mushrooms and vegan parm.

Fried No-Egg Sandwich

Oddly enough I was a fried-egg tomato sandwich addict before I developed my egg phobia.
I hadn't considered it a possibility until I came across a recipe for "Egg McVegan" on vegweb. I was a little hesitant because Apple Cider Vinegar stinks so much, but Mmmm... oh so good!!

Anyways here's how I made it.
• Sliced firm tofu, baked in Apple Cider/Oil mixture and sprinkled with Tex Mex and Italian spices
• Mixture of equal amounts of Apple Cider vinegar, olive oil and a dash of salt
• Yves Canadian Bacon, fried
• Melted Tofutti cheese slice
• Tomato and ketchup
• 2 slices of light Rye toast

CauliPot Soup

Another slow day at work led me to many vegan food blogs and recipe sites. I had a ton of cauliflower to use up and wanted a simple healthy meal for dinner (and leftovers for lunch!).

I found this cauliflower soup recipe somewhere on the web, but as usual had to alter the amounts so I wouldn't be eating it for weeks! It takes very little time but tastes a little bland. It would be quite tasty with a cheese sauce mixed in - perhaps some nutritional yeast (?!) Oh well next time!

• 2 c. cauliflower, washed
• 1 med. potato, cubed with skin still on
• 3-4 c. vegetable stock
• 1/4 c. chopped onion
• 1 c. soy milk
• 1-2 tsp. nutmeg
• salt and pepper

º In a pot boil cauliflower and potato in vegetable stock until tender
º Drain about 1 c. vegetable stock and pour the remainder of the pot contents into the blender
º Puree for about 2 seconds, ensuring the consistency is slightly chunky
º Pour back into the pot, add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until ready to eat

Carrot Cake Muffins w/ Cream Cheese Goodness!

I found this recipe for a sugar-free carrot cake online and altered it just a tiny bit, mostly because I despise raisins! I also pulled the icing recipe from "The Garden of Vegan" and made several adjustments. The carrot cake muffins were deliriously moist and just the right amount of sweetness. I found it difficult to remove them from the liners until they had been refrigerated for at least a couple hours.

Carrot Cake
• 1/3 c. OJ
• 2 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 c. maple syrup
• 1/2 c. soymilk
• 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. packed grated carrots
• 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 2 tbsp. chopped (into very tiny bits) walnuts


º Preheat oven 350
º Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl
º Mix wet ingredients together in a different bowl
º Pour bowl contents together until just mixed
º Spoon batter into cupcake liners
º Bake for 20-25 mins until toothpick or other sharp utensil comes out clean


Cream Cheese Icing
• 1 tbsp. earth balance
• 1/2 tub of plain tofutti cream cheese
• 1 c. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

º Add more powdered sugar to achieve desired consistency

Shroomnach Pennoni

I'm quite curious whether cannelloni or mannicotti noodles exist in Toronto? I went to at least 3 different grocery/rabba type stores and not one had either of those types of noodles.

Anyways today started off with French toast straight off the pages of "How it all.." and how delicious! It reminded me of growing up with my brothers who both loved FT.

Right, back to business. This pennoni was a complete experiment but turned out better than I could have hoped. Hooray for lunch tmw!

• 12-14 pennoni noodles, cooked
• 1/2 28oz can of diced roma tomatoes
• 3/4 can of tomato sauce
• 3 tbsp. vegan parm.

FILLING
• 1/2 pack of firm tofu, crumbled
• 2 large shiitake mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 c. spinach, chopped
• 3-4 tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tbsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. olive oil

º Preheat oven to 350
º In a blender of food processor add filling mixture and blend until well mixed
º Evenly spread 1/2 tomato sauce across the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish
º Pack filling into pennoni noodles using a small spoon/end of a chopstick (which is what I used!) and place noodles in the baking dish
º Dump the diced tomatoes on top of the noodles
º Top with the rest of the tomato sauce
º Sprinkle parm over top
º Bake for approx. 40-45 min or until noodles are very tender.

Confusion Casserole

Years ago, during my vegetarian days, we had a Thanksgiving potluck at the townhouse I lived in during my 2.5 yr stint at Sheridan College. I brought this cheesy potato casserole from home that my mother made once before and I loved.

I have since tried to find that recipe and been unsuccessful each time. My mom maintains it doesn't exist but I know it lies somewhere buried.

So, this is my first attempt at recreating it. I named it Confusion Casserole as I've never made a casserole before let alone tried to veganize one. You know it's a rough draft when your measurements are in handfuls. Serves 3-4

VEGGIES
• 3 med. potatoes cut in chunks
• 2 handfuls of chunked cauliflower
• 1 handful of 1/2 inch squares of onion
• 1 med tomato cut into cubes

SAUCE
• 1/4 c. soymilk
• 1/4 c. vegetable broth
• 1/2 c. nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp. soy parm
• 1/2 tbsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 squirt of braggs seasoning (can be substituted with 1 tsp. soy sauce)

TOPPINGS
• 1/2 c. shredded vegan cheese (cheddar or mozza - your choice!)
• 3/4 c. vegan cornflake type cereal
• 2 tbsp. melted earth balance



º Preheat oven to 350.

º Boil potatoes and cauliflower until potatoes are only slightly firm. Drain and place in a 9 x 9 (approx) baking dish. Mix in tomato chunks.

º In a frying pan sauté onion in a drizzle of olive oil until translucent. Remove from pan and place in the potato/cauliflower mixture.

º In a pot combine sauce ingredients over low heat, whisking intermittently until it starts to thicken.

º Pour sauce over the vegetable mixture in the casserole dishs. Ensure the liquid comes up to at least 1 inch from the top of the dish. If it doesn't add more vegetable broth.

º Spread shredded cheese evenly over top of veggies.

º Place cornflakes over top of the cheese evenly.

º Drizzle melted earth balance across the entire circumference of the cornflakes.

º Cover and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft.

This casserole is not perfect yet, but it's still really good.

Cheesy cheese cheese Mac

This is my take on the traditional vegan mac & cheese and I've added it to my weekly rotation.


• 2 c. cooked Prarie Harvest Organic Macaroni noodles (my fave noodles so far!)
• 1-2 slices American flavoured Soy Cheese (more = creamier texture)
• 2 tbsp. Soy Parm
• 2 & 1/2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 tbsp. soy milk
• 1/2 tbsp of mustard
• as much Ketchup as you like (optional)

º In a pot on the stove, on low heat add the cheese slices, stirring constantly.
º Once they start to melt add remaining ingredients and continue stirring until well blended. For creamier cheesy cheese cheese add more cheese slices. I usually use a ton of paprika and ketchup because I like it that way!

Product Reviews

CHEESE EDIBLES

Sheeze
• Now this I was excited about. After reading so many raves about this scottish vegan cheese, I assumed it had to be good (and I wasn't expecting it to taste like cheese). It bought the mozza flavour and was horrified to discover it smelled, looked and tasted like cement or paste.

Soymage Vegan Parm
• I honestly cannot tell the difference between real parm and these sprinkles of deliciousness.

Roads End Organics Mac & Chreese - Whole Wheat, Cheddar Style
• Grainy and tastes like paste. Every recipe i've made so far has turned out a bajillion times better than this bunk.
You're better off making your own.

MEATIBLES

Yves Breakfast Links
• These I am definitely partial to. Pre-veg I wasn't a big sausage fan, but nothing accompanies my hashbrowns better than these with a nice dolop of ketchup.

Yves Veggie Ground Round - Original
• This is a staple. I refuse to eat chili or spaghetti without it. Thank you Yves!!

DAIRY

Rice Dream
• I can literally eat an entire carton in one sitting!

Soy Delicious
• I bought this once and it was incredible.. but then I noticed the warning label stating it may contain dairy ingredients??!! I haven't purchased it since.

Tofutti Cuties - Vanilla
• I believe these to be MUCH MUCH tastier than the real ice cream sandwiches. My only complaint is that they're too tiny.

SoGood Yoghurt
• I eat this every single day - I love it in smoothies, by itself and with fresh blueberries and granola tossed in.

SoGood Chocolate Soy milk
• Maybe it's just me, but after a couple glasses it eerily starts to resemble rubbing alcohol.

BAKED GOODS

New Moon Kitchen
Chocolate Chip Cookies
• A damn good cookie! I was amazed that they lasted so long.

Nana Bread
• The bread was pretty dry, which is unfortunate because everything else about it was good.

Sweets from the Earth
Carrot Cake
• It curbed my craving but it was pretty oily and didn't settle well in my stomach, I think it was all that vegan c. cheese icing.

Spiced Nut Biscotti
• I have tried to recreate this, but nothing comes close to the original. Mmmm...

Choc-Coco Pumpkin Bread

The fact that I STILL don't have a measuring cup after the move has not kept me from baking. Like most days I woke up craving my mom's traditional Halloween pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I was not prepared to wait another month to indulge in something that most likely was not vegan friendly. During a slow day at work, I came across an online recipe for a "super moist pumpkin bread" which sounded like it might satisfy my pumpkin baked good craving.

I made some alterations to the recipe as I'm not a big walnut fan nor was I able to find pumpkin puree at the health food store and I added chocolate chips, because everything is better with chocolate. Please note: due to the lack of measuring utensils these are guesstimates and miraculously it still turned out quite nicely! I have never smelled anything more heavenly emerging from my oven! Mmmmm...

• 3.5 cups (or 3.5 tiny colourful ikea plastic cup)all-purpose flour
• 2 c. packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 c. white sugar
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1.5 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 (14 oz) can of pumpkin pie filling
• 1/2 c. oil
• 1/2 c. applesauce
• 2/3 c. lite coconut milk
• 1 c. vegan chocolate chips
• 2/3 c. shredded coconut

- Preheat oven to 350

- In a bowl stir together flour, b. sugar, w. sugar, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.

- Add pumpkin, oil, applesauce, coconut milk and stir together until just mixed.

- Add chocolate chips.

- Pour into a 13 x 8 inch pan and sprinkle coconut across the surface of the batter.

- Bake for approx 65 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

- Remove from oven and cover with foil for 10 minutes (i'm not sure what this is all about.. but I followed this from the orig. recipe).

LAZY SUNDAY HOMEFRIES

This recipe is suitable for max 2 people so add another potato for 3-4 and adjust ingredients.

• I really dislike cooking in the microwave, but I was particularly lazy one morning so I cut up one large white potato into cubes (washed, obviously, with the skin still on) and stuck it in the microwave for 5 minutes

• After your nuked potatoes are finished, cut them into 1/2 mm slices

• Melt 1 tablespoon per potato of Earth Balance in a frying pan and add the potato bits

• Sprinkle 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of pepper and 2 tsp of garlic per potato

• Fry for approx. 5 mins or until they reach desired crispiness, tossing every minute or so.

I like them with ketchup!

Reviews, Restaurant Discoveries..

As far as eating out in Toronto goes.. i've been doing a lot of it and as we all know it can be tricky! Working in the hardcore downtown area, it's been difficult finding places that cater to my lifestyle. Sadly, i've walked away from numerous places that refuse to embrace animal-free edibles - ahem Kernels!

Still, i've sampled many a "vegan" meal so here are my findings so far!

VEGETARIAN HAVEN
• My initial experience at this restaurant was not so pleasant. I ordered a burger with soy cheese. Bad idea, the ENORMOUS burger was not so delicious, possibly due to this mysterious soy cheese.

The second time I ordered takeout. I had a mango smoothie which was fabulous and veggie fried rice, also fabulous.

FRESSEN
• I've only dined there once, but can't wait to return. I was more than happy to fill up on the hummus and bread that accompanied our table, but sampled a few different dishes too. To start I had the peppery rocket arugula with pears, pumpkin seeds and seared tempeh in a poppadum canoe, I was completely apprehensive, but man was it good! I tried the squash ravioli and potato gnocci, both incredible!

FRESH
• You know I always hear how great this place is, but for me it's just mediocre. Not super fantastic, but not bad either. I had the deluxe burger w/o cheese last time I was there and it was good - but nothing to get too excited about. I also had the urban wrap minus the mayo but I wasn't a fan. Maybe i'm ordering the wrong items?!

URBAN HERBIVORE
• It took me awhile to actually make it there before closing, seeing as how my schedule does not correspond well with their hours. It was a bit of a let down. Mostly I was disappointed they spread some olive/bizarre mixture on my sandwich without asking if I wanted any. I despise olives so I barely made it through half the sandwich.

RICE BAR
• I ordered some basmati rice bowl with coconut green curry, I had them replace the regular milk with soy and added bok choy and another vegetable (?? it's been awhile). It was quite good, although my smoothie was a little too runny.

FIT FOR LIFE (Commerce Court)
• This place was reccommended to me by a coworker, so I went in with high expectations. I asked for a california pita dealio and was unimpressed. The combination of vegetables weren't too appetizing and it was messy as hell! I'm pretty certain I had half the pita contents on my face and the other half covering the circumference of the bench I was sitting on.

NATURALLY YOURS
• This is the closest health food store/veg takeout place to my work. I've tested out the veg chili and chickpea roti wrap - both very filling and flavourful. If you're looking for an excellent home-cooked kind of veg meal, this is a great place to go. As far as the store part goes - it stinks for finding vegan products!

PIZZAIOLO
• Man I love this place! Not only is the staff at the Dundas/Mccaul location amazing (they delivered even though they did not have a delivery person), but their vittoria pizza is the best I've ever had. In my pre-vegan days I could eat 1 piece MAX, now I will not rest until the entire box is devoured.

THAI PARADISE
• The staff is more than happy to make your pad thai just how you like it - fish sauceless and eggless! It's one of my favourite places for pad thai yet - and i've been to a TON of thai restaurants.

DHABA
• My first real Indian food experience. It was all positive aside from the $12 margarita. I assume they charge so much because the drink tasted like pure tequila. The waiter recommended okra okra (I sheepishly had to ask what okra was...cucumber/zucchini veg, for those who like me, are unfamiliar with exotic veggies). I also discovered you have to order rice to accompany the dish. The rice was flavoured with what, I couldn't tell you, but the combined flavours of the rice and okra okra it was spicy, slightly sweet and fantastic. We also ordered garlic naan bread, which he told me was vegan (although he had a suspicious look on his face when he answered). The bread was pretty burnt, but the non-blackened bits were very good. I would definitely go back, but i'd stick to the $3 juice for a beverage.

Chili

One vegan meal i've been enjoying for many years is veg chili. For awhile this was the only veggie recipe my mom knew how to make so I ate it often. After a recent move even further downtown and farther from any organic/natural/health food stores I was unable to find some key ingredients for this fabulous chili. In lieu of TVP, stewed tomatoes and many other veggies I usually toss in I substituted whole roma tomatoes, canned lentils and tomato paste.

Generally when i'm improvising I don't keep track of the amounts (also my measuring utensils didn't quite make it to the new place). Anyway here's the ingredients list.

• Can of tomato paste
• 1/2 can lentils
• Chopped celery
• Can of roma tomatoes and juice
• Kidney beans
• Diced onion
• Chopped garlic
• Chili powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Diced green pepper
• Chopped Mushrooms
• Red pepper flakes

Tastes delicious with Earth balanced buttered toast... mmm...

CJs Summer Veg X-travaganza Pasta

• 1/2 c. green pepper
• 1/2 c. red pepper
• 1/2 c. yellow pepper (all sliced like preparing for a pizza)
• 1 c. onion
• 5 cloves fresh or minced garlic
• 3/4 c. chopped zucchini
• 1/2 c. mushrooms
• 2 c. crushed/diced tomatoes
• 2 c. cooked spaghetti noodles
• 2 tbsp. basil
• 1 tbsp. marjoram
• 5 tbsp. olive oil

- Cook pasta
- Sauté onions and garlic in 1 tbsp of oil until translucent
- Toss in chopped peppers, zucchini and mushrooms
- Throw in tomatoes, marjoram and basil
- Add in spaghetti noodles and rest of oil
- Toss for a few mins.

* A nice additive to this recipe is dethawed frozen smoked tofu, it kind of tastes like sausage (if I remember correctly what sausage tastes like!).

Experimental Biscotti...

Ever since the veganism began, I've missed my biscotti along side my coffee at Starbucks. Inspired by a delicious spiced one from Sweets From the Earth, a vegan bakery here in T.O, I found a recipe on the net and went to work. The recipe called for applesauce, but after discovering my applesauce had mold in it (sadness), I used the closest thing - apple butter.

Biscotti certainly wasn't the easiest kitchen creation i've attempted, Almonds were flying in all directions across my apartment.

It turned out quite well, slightly gooeyer than I was hoping for, but after dipping it in chocolate I was impressed!

Saucey goodness!

It's the weekend (thank goodness) and that means many hours slaving away in the kitchen. Tonight's menu consisted of my first attempt at lasagna. I used the recipe from "How it All.." but added some chopped shrooms and sprinkled parm, which I believe only enhanced the succulence of this recipe. I had a little trouble with the rice noodles - the sticky bastards - so it turned out quite sloppy but nevertheless absolutely delicious!

I had tons of leftover noodle bits and thought, while tossing them in the garbage, they would be good for a vegan version of "hamburger helper."
Oh well, another time.

Getting Creative

Since I have perpetually forgotten to take photos of the burritos i've been gorging on for the last week (apparently I love refried beans) I decided to post this little number.
After craving the Sandwich Box's delightful grilled veggie sandwich I had two weeks ago and denying myself the indulgence, I threw this together hoping it would somewhat resemble a SB menu item.

I have to admit it's not too shabby. More fillings (i.e sweet onions) would have improved the flavour, but it served it's purpose. If you're curious to test it out (and possibly create your own variations) i'll post the recipe seeing as how I didn't steal it from a cookbook.

To roast the red pepper and portabello shrooms, cover whole vegetables in olive oil (or whichever oil you prefer) and place under the broiler, turning every few minutes. Keep your eye on these bad boys because they can burn fast if you leave them too long. The red pepper took approx. 5-10 minutes longer and I eventually ended up slicing it into strips to speed up the process. I used a George Foreman grill for grilling the sandwich, but i'm sure you could use other varieties of grilling devices.

• Mash avocado (I used 1/2 for one sandwich)
• Spread dijon mustard and vegan mayo on 1 slice of bread (as much as you'd like).
• Spread avocado on other slice
• Toss a little sprinkling of chopped garlic into the avocado
• Thinly slice vegan cheese of your choice (I used rice mozza) and place on top of avocado
• Throw on a small handful of arugula
• Slice and lay 1/2 a roasted portabello on top on arugula
• Slice 1/3 of the roasted red pepper into strips and place on top of portabello
• Drizzle tiny amount of oil onto both sides of grill
• Sandwich goes onto the grill for about 5 minutes, depending on the type of grill you're using.
• Remove and devour

Let me know if any variations of this recipe turn out spectacularly!

There is something about tofu scramble that makes me feel so good after devouring it. Every Sunday I look forward to trying a new one. It seems you can't really go wrong as far as ingredients go.

This particular scramble has onion. red pepper, green pepper, mushrooms, tomatoes, salsa, braggs, numerous spices (chili, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne, salt) and since I have a hard time incorporating spinach into my diet, I threw it in this scramble and was quite pleased with the result! I like mine on top of light rye toast! Yum!

SWEET SASSY MOLASSY!

I made these wheat-free, vegan espresso brownies today. These bitches are incredibly moist, unlike the dry ones I generally find at health/organic shops. I was delighted to discover something vegan could taste so orgasmic!

This sloppy joe was one of my first samples from "How it all..." and it instantly became a new staple. I ate these (on yummy artisan buns) for a week straight!

A bit about me

O.K, so I like food - a lot!
I've been cooking for myself since I was 14 and decided to become a vegetarian. Growing up in a house of meat-eaters, the meal was always prepared for the majority and so I had to fend for myself - not to say my family wasn't supportive. Occasionally my mom made a mean veggie lasagna and chilli with veg. ground round (don't tell my brothers).

I tried eating meat again after high school, but it just didn't fly. Even a minuscule bite of red meat would send my stomach into an angry frenzy. I could manage chicken but after awhile it just grossed me out.

Recently I made a giant leap into veganism - but only dietary (so far).
2 months in, after growing tired of the same old same, i've become forced to experiment with food. I bought the cookbook "How it all vegan!" and fell in love with Tanya and Sarah's fabulous recipes. I made a few recipes from the book and ran out to buy the remaining two.
I can honestly say I don't miss dairy (not even ice cream or cheese!).

Every weekend (the only free time I seem to have) I cover more of the books pages with food fingerprints and try to come up with some of my own creations.
So I thought why not blog my experiences in the kitchen and post a few photos of how things did (or didn't) turn out.