Christmas Eve

I know, I know. Christmas Eve was weeks ago. Whatever! Now is the appropriate time for me to post what I cooked!

Pictured above is my (totally awesome!) vegetable Christmas tree. Orange sweet pepper, broccoli, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, and pretzels. I was the most proud of this, even though it just involved putting chopped veggies on a tree-shaped plate. It was a big hit though. I was worried that people would be like, why are there raw veggies (and fruit! and pretzels!)? This is a holiday celebration - we don't have time for sensible appetizers! But no one can resist things in tree shapes.I served the veggies with Peanut-Sesame Hummus (from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan), Red Pepper Hummus (from Yellow Rose Recipes), and the Cashew-Cucumber Dip (from Veganomicon - not pictured). The Peanut-Sesame was the most popular, although the Cashew-Cucumber is my all-time favorite dip. I was a bit disappointed in the Red Pepper - I had to add a lot more roasted red peppers than it called for and the addition of curry powder really overwhelmed all the flavors anyway. The texture was great though and I will probably try to make it again, sans curry powder.

I have been looking for an excuse to make the Cheater Baked Beans (Veganomicon) for several months now. These are distinctly different from canned baked beans but still totally delicious. I am now curious as to why canned baked beans are brown, since these were a nice red color. Mystery! I didn't have any light molasses, so I just used regular molasses and added it until it tasted right. These beans also had considerable more texture than their canned brethren. I will definitely be making these again sometime.

For dinner, I also served Carrot Bisque (Vegan with a Vengeance) in adorable little bowls. Additionally, there were mashed (riced!) Yukon Gold potatoes with almond milk & Earth Balance
and roasted applesauce (Vegan with a Vengeance). Everything was a big hit, which means that all of these dishes are very omni-friendly.

My dad and I made gluten-free (and vegan, obviously) versions of the spritz cookies from one of Betty Crocker's cookbooks. I was unimpressed but, after eating one of these, I realized that I didn't like spritz cookies even when I was younger - so pretty but not tasty. My dad loved these those and that's all that matters! Plus, I got to dye things. YAY!

Thanksgiving

Yes, I realize that Thanksgiving was a week ago but after cooking a ridiculous amount of food and then eating mostly leftovers for the following days, I couldn't even think of what I'd made without groaning and having phantom back/foot aches. But I've finally recovered so here goes!

Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of most of the things I made because everything was so hectic. I even had to hold the stuffing for several minutes after it came out of the oven (using oven mitts, of course) because there was just nowhere to put it. This was my biggest culinary undertaking and I emerged victorious!The Home-Style Potato Rolls are delicious and adorable. They also nearly gave me a mental breakdown. The dough was ridiculously sticky, something that wasn't very noticeable until after it had risen the first time. I ended up adding at least 4 cups more flour (almost twice as much as the recipe called for) and reworking the dough made the rolls a little bit tougher than they were probably supposed to be but I don't think anyone noticed. The important thing is that I didn't cry into the dough, no matter how tempted I was. I topped them with poppy seeds or toasted sesame seeds and left a few unblemished for my seed-hating brother. The best thing about these is you can pull them apart into three pieces. Neat!

Mini-falafel with tahini dressing! I was really proud when I came up with this as an appetizer. I've made falafel more times than I've made anything else so I am fiercely proud of my work on this front. I can't remember the size exactly, but they probably had about the diameter of a quarter. The tahini dressing also came out great, although I think people were skeptical of it due to it having a heavy garlic/balsamic vinegar taste, which I loved but other people don't love garlic as much as I do (how they can live with themselves, I'll never know).

One of the other appetizers was the Mediterranean-style Cashew-Cucumber Dip from V'con (served with sliced pita bread). I've made this dip for various social occasions and it has always been a big hit. It's a great way to show your family that appetizers don't need to be covered in cheese! The texture for this one wasn't quite right. I suspect that I didn't squeeze enough of the juice out of the grated cucumber (I was rushed! And stressed!) so it was a tiny bit liquidy instead of its proper form - hummus' sexy cousin.

I also made:
- apple pie
- mashed Yukon Golds with Earth Balance and almond milk (I wanted to make roasted garlic mashed potatoes but was shot down. Someday!)
- The Best Vegan Green Bean Casserole from FatFree Vegan (I made some slight modifications so it would be gluten-free: arrowroot instead of flour and I skipped the crumb topping in favor of extra fried onions. I think this was the most successful/popular dish on the table.)
- roasted applesauce from Vegan with a Vengeance
- vegan stuffing/dressing

It was an intense several days, to say the least.

Maple Walnut Cookies - Gluten-free!

I accidentally started my Thanksgiving cooking early (what, that doesn't happen to you?). I meant to make a half-batch of these as a test run but, oops, made a whole batch. This happens to me every time I mean to make a half-batch of things, I should just give up on that dream. Fortunately, cookies freeze really well.

On a night filled with pies and pumpkin-y grossness, I wanted there to be a dessert my dad could eat. I also plan to force other people to eat them so they can be astonished that, yes, Virginia, gluten-free and vegan cookies are delicious. And if people start talking about what a culinary genius I am then, well, so be it. That's my burden to bear.

These cookies were great! Your kitchen will smell like syrup when they're baking, but the maple flavoring isn't overwhelming at all. The batter smelled and tasted too maple-y, but don't be put off by that, the flavor really becomes much more subtle after baking. The biggest obstacle with gluten-free baking is the texture, which was barely noticeable especially with all the chopped nuts. I think that only people who are familiar with gluten-free baking would be able to tell that these weren't made with wheat flour.

Recipe!:
- 1/2 c canola oil
- 1/4 c pure maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp maple extract
- 3/4 c sugar
- 1/4 c rice or soy milk
- 2 Tbsp tapioca starch [I used this] or arrowroot or corn starch
- 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour [I used a 1/2 c each of quinoa flour, brown rice flour, and oat flour]
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 c chopped walnuts
- 3 dozen walnut halves [I mostly used pecan halves because it is hard to find whole walnut halves]

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease three cookie sheets or line them with parchment paper.

Combine the oil, maple syrup, molasses, vanilla and maple extracts, and sugar in a mixing bowl and stir until well combined. The oil will separate a little but it's okay. Add the soy milk and tapioca starch and mix until the tapioca is dissolved and the mixture resembles caramel.

Add the flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. Fold in the chopped walnuts.*

Drop by tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Press a walnut [or pecan!] half into the center of each cookie. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, let sit for 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.


* My batter was really liquidy, which I've read is a fairly common problem. Just add flour (a couple tablespoons at a time) until it is not so runny. I added 1/4 c more tapioca starch and 2 Tbsp brown rice flour and that worked perfectly.

Day 31: Apple Pie-Crumb Cake Muffins

It's the last day of VeganMoFo! I managed to post every weekday so, hey, good on me. Now I will return to my usual schedule of posting, eh, when I feel like it. I hope to post at least twice a week, but sometimes I get lazy or my pictures don't come out as nicely as I'd like. But I digress. Onto the food!

Apple Pie-Crumb Cake Muffins! I've been pretty immersed in politics lately and baking is the best way to decompress. And I cannot resist muffins with crumb toppings (c'mon, we all have weaknesses). Next time I will make these with a little extra grated/chopped apples because they kind of just taste like cinnamon muffins with little apple surprises. Which might be the point!

A reason why muffins are so great: You can freeze them. As much as I love muffins, I usually can't eat a whole batch. Well, I could but, blah-blah, self-control, can't have a muffin for every meal, blah-blah. Just toss some of the muffins into a ziploc bag or tupperware, freeze them, then microwave when you are ready to eat. They don't really lose anything in texture or flavor and won't get all moldy. Because no one loves a moldy muffin.

Day 29: Fresh Mango Summer Rolls and Peanut Sauce

I thought about making these all summer but... whatever! I can make summer rolls during the fall! It snowed the day I made these, which was depressing - but these brightened everything right up!

These were so easy to make. I thought that rice paper wrappers would be harder to work with! There were only two (small) problems: the first couple wrappers got stuck to themselves but that didn't happen any more after I got used to handling them; the wrappers soak two-at-a-time and sometimes they would get slightly stuck to each other - they just needed to be gently pulled apart though and no ripping occurred.

I could barely taste the mango in these. I don't know if it's because they're not really in season or because I loaded up on the rice noodles and bean sprouts. This recipe could be easily modified - shredded (or matchstick) carrots and cucumber would be especially nice.

The thing that pulls this recipe together for me is the peanut sauce. I didn't use Isa's peanut sauce recipe but instead used the recipe I got from my aunt. When I think of peanut sauce, this is what I think of.

Here is the recipe (I don't know where my aunt got the recipe or if she came up with it herself so, if it's yours, sorry):

- 4 garlic cloves (I really like garlic, but if you are not such a fan then you should cut back)
- 4 tablespoons onion, chopped
- 1 cup peanut butter (I like to use crunchy - for texture - but creamy is fine)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup coconut (I usually just use a whole can. But only use a cup if you want it less creamy and more peanut-y)

Combine the garlic and onion in a food processor until well chopped. Add peanut butter, lemon juice, soy sauce, and cayenne pepper. Blend briefly. With motor running, slowly add coconut milk through feeder tube. Process sauce until smooth and well blended, scraping sides as needed. Heat on the stove or in the microwave until warm.

Day 21: Roasted Applesauce

I had some leftover apples after making an apple pie (which I'll post about tomorrow) and they were already peeled so I thought, hey, roasted applesauce! I've been meaning to make it for awhile and the perfect opportunity finally arose.

I usually don't like warm applesauce, but this was perfect. I'm sure I will be making this many times this fall. I ended up thirding the recipe and it made two good-sized servings.

The little disc sticking out of the applesauce is one of my favorite treats since I was a child: take leftover pie crust dough, liberally sprinkle cinnamon sugar over it, and bake until the edges are lightly browned. Best eaten a couple minutes after they have come out of the oven. You might be okay eating them later, but they've never lasted that long for me.

Recipe!:

3lbs McIntosh (about 10) [I used Empire apples - I think tart apples work best here]

juice of 1 lemon [I skipped this]

2 tablespoons canola oil

¼ cup pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp lemon zest [skipped this too]

pinch ground allspice [skipped this, blech, allspice]

¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400°.

Peel, core, and slice the apples into 1 inch chunks. Sprinkle with the lemon juice. Set aside.

Combine the oil, maple syrup, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon zest in a glass baking dish and whisk together. Add the apples and toss to coat.

Roast until the apples are very tender, about 25 minutes or so, turning once after 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and mash [I used my ricer instead]. If you prefer smoother applesauce, you can pulse it a few times in a blender or food processor. You can serve this warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

Day 4: Maple-Mustard-Glazed Potatoes and String Beans

I never would have thought of combining maple syrup and dijon mustard, so I have to thank Isa for introducing me to one of my favorite flavor combinations (there is also a really great maple-mustard dressing in V'con).

It does take 75 minutes to cook, which may put some people off, but really, you pretty much just stick it in the oven and then take it out and mix it up every 25 minutes. Easy. Peasy. ... One-two-threesy.

I've made this several times and each time it was very successful. Even my vegan-skeptical family members really enjoyed it. It's definitely a great fall/winter dish (having your oven on will warm up your house! the food will warm up your belly!), although I also like to eat it straight-out-of-the-refrigerator and cold.

Recipe!:
- 2 lbs. small Yukon gold potatoes (halved, about 1 inch pieces) [I don't know if other people buy freakishly small Yukon gold potatoes, but it only takes 4 potatoes for me to get to 2lbs., so I just chop up the potatoes into bite-sized pieces]
- 1/2 lb. string beans, halved, ends cut off and discarded [I used frozen green beans]
- 1 yellow onion, thickly sliced [I used a large yellow onion because, mmm, onions]
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 T. tamari or soy sauce
- 1/4 c. pure maple syrup
- 3 T. Dijon mustard
- 2 T. olive oil

Preheat oven to 400. Put the potatoes in a 9x13 inch casserole dish (or rimmed pan). Stir together the remaining ingredients until the mustard is dissolved. Pour over the potatoes and mix well. Cover with foil and put in oven. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, add the green beans, and toss. Turn oven down to 350 and cook for 25 minutes uncovered. Remove from oven and toss again, cook for 25 minutes more uncovered. Let them cool down a bit after they are cooked so that the sauce becomes more sticky. Best served at room temperature [or cold, I swear].

Day 2: Seitan Portobello Stroganoff

The Seitan Portobello Stroganoff from Vegan with a Vengeance is one of my favorite meals EVER. One of the best things about stroganoff is how flexible it is. I don't think I've ever made it the same way twice. For example, the first time I made it, I didn't have any seitan so I just added more mushrooms (I also hadn't yet been introduced to the wonder that is Red Star nutritional yeast. Now that we've met, we are in love and couldn't be happier.). You can serve it with whatever noodles you have on hand or, and this is my favorite way, spoon some stroganoff (I affectionately call it "strogie") onto a big pile of mashed potatoes and mix it all together. Mmm... comfort food. Even my picky brother liked this recipe, though he ruined it by putting butter on his noodles.

I'm going to have to congratulate myself on getting a pretty decent photo of the stroganoff. From most angles, it just looks like cat vomit on noodles.

Oh! Hello to all the new readers who found me through VeganMoFo. Comments! Excitement!

VeganMoFo. Also, Huge Peanut Butter Cookies. YES.

October might be one of the best months of the year solely because of VeganMoFo (Vegan Month of Food). My goal is to post every weekday but um... I don't know how likely that is. I do have a backlog of things to post (that I was maybe saving for this month, shut up) so, hey, who knows?


Onto the food!

Big Gigantoid Crunchy Peanut Butter-Oatmeal cookies from Vegan with a Vengeance.

I am going to tentatively state that peanut butter cookies are my favorite kind of cookies. But in order to declare it my favorite, I will first need to taste every kind of (vegan) cookie in the world. A mission!

Right. So. Holy crap, these cookies were so good. And huge! The recipe even says that it makes "about 12 huge-ass cookies". How could I resist? I tried to do a little size-referencing by photographing it with my hand. I could only eat half of a cookie at a time. My sugar tolerance has dropped since going vegan, which is probably a good thing but it makes me feel old.

Recipe!
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup natural crunchy peanut butter [I used salted peanut butter, but cut back on the added salt]
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk [I used plain soy milk and added a little extra vanilla]
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two cookie sheets.

2. Toss together the flour, oats, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the oil, peanut butter, sugars, soy milk, and vanilla.

3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix. The dough should be very difficult and moist. Pack a 1/3-cup measuring cup with dough, pop out and roll the dough into a firm ball and flatten just barely on a prepared cookie sheet, spacing the dough balls well apart. Lightly grease the bottom of a glass or heavy ceramic pie plate [I used the bottom of a Pyrex mixing bowl]; press the cookies to flatten to a 1/2-inch thickness. Bake for 12-15 minutes until cookies have puffed a bit and are lightly browned. Allow to cool for at least ten minutes before moving off the cookie sheet. [Leaving them to firm is really important - I was worried that the cookies weren't quite done, but after leaving them for 10 minutes they were perfect]

Peach-Blueberry Cobbler

I slightly modified the recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance for this cobbler because I only had 5 peaches (the recipe calls for 8) and a crapload of tasty blueberries. Plus, blueberries and peaches are soulmates and they want to be together. In a 450° oven. True!

This cobbler was way tasty and even my little brother (who spurns most of my baked goods) gobbled it up. The only downside was that I didn't refrigerate it so it wasn't so good after 3 days. Fortunately, there was only one piece left. So refrigerate! Or eat really fast.

If you google "peach cobbler" and "vegan with a vengeance", googlebooks will give you the recipe. And then your conscience will hiss at you to buy the book. Oh, and here's a hint! Slice the tops and bottoms of your peaches with a little "x" - they'll be easier to peel that way. Then blanche them for 30 seconds or so, maybe less. I had a hard time getting the pit out because the peaches were a little squishy, so I might have blanched them for too long.

Carrot Bisque

Up until 2 years ago or so, I wouldn't eat anything with even the smallest amount of carrots in it. Look how far I've come! One day I had some carrots in soup, then I had it shredded on salads, and suddenly I'm peeling so many carrots that my hands change color!

This soup was a big hit with my whole family. It's basically just carrots, curry powder, and coconut milk - what's not to like? The taste surprised me, I was expecting it to be super-carroty but it was actually somewhat sweet and savory (probably due to the coconut milk).


Ingredients:
3 lbs. carrots, peeled and diced into a little smaller than half-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 Tbl. peanut oil (vegetable oil will do)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbl. curry powder
1/2 tsp. salt
a few dashes fresh black pepper
3 c. vegetable broth or 1 bouillon cube dissolved in 3 c. water
1 (13 oz can) coconut milk
1 Tbl. maple syrup

Directions:

In a stockpot over low-medium heat, cook the carrots and onions in the peanut oil for 7 to 10 minutes; cover and stir occasionally. You want the onions to brown but not to burn, although if they burn a little bit it's not the end of the world. Add the garlic, curry, salt, and pepper; saute for 1 more minute. Add the 3 cups of broth, cover, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.

Add the coconut milk and bring to a low boil. Turn the heat off. Use a handheld blender to puree half the soup [I pureed the whole soup]; if you don't have one, then puree half the soup in a blender and add it back to the soup pot. Add the maple syrup and stir. Serve hot.

Banana-Pecan Pancakes

You know how the top of banana bread is the best part and, while the rest of the bread is also good, you are the most excited about eating the top? It might be just me, but I'm right. These pancakes taste exactly like the top of banana bread. I ate a few of them with Earth Balance and syrup, but then I ate the rest unadorned and cold. I prefer the latter! I think the recipe was only supposed to make 9 pancakes, but I easily ended up with 15 or so.

Eat Your Fruits and Veggies

We've been getting some fantastic peaches from the Farmers Market this year. Very juicy, but a little too tart for my tastes. What to do, what to do. Add agave nectar! Put it all in a teacup and eat it in a garden (any garden - peaches and agave nectar in a teacup trumps trespassing charges).

Brussels Sprouts from Vegan with a Vengeance.
I never had brussels sprouts as a child, so I don't have the aversion to them that many people do. I think anyone who claims to hate brussels sprouts should try this recipe. Vegetables should not be steamed or boiled into a mushy mess! They should be roasted and covered in garlic! And then taken to the seaside.