We don’t normally get too crazy with decorating the mantle, but I got inspired by Pinterest to make a wreath, with a lot of help from this felt flower tutorial.  I think it turned out really cute!

For the side dishes we stayed pretty traditional, changing things up just a bit from the year before.

We like our smashed potatoes chunky with the skins on, and add garlic, Earth Balance and almond milk.  I sprinkled on some minced chives before serving.

Dave made his most excellent stuffing with sourdough bread, shiitake broth, fresh portobello, and lots of herbs.

As a light counterpoint, I made this Green Cabbage and Red Apple Slaw.  I used kale instead of the brussels sprouts called for, and soaked the red onion to cut some of the rawness.  I really liked this salad but don’t know that everyone else loved it.  I think the raw greens and vinegar might be a little too bitter if you’re not used to them, even though the apple was nicely sweet.

Dave wanted something a little different than the usual green bean casserole, so I chose Lemony Green Beans with Almond Breadcrumbs.  This was really tasty, even though I tripled the recipe and the beans didn’t cook evenly since there were so many in the pot.

To our usual canned corn, I added minced sauteed shallot, red bell pepper, and fresh oregano.  I cooked it gently to keep the flavors mellow and buttery.

The recipe that took by far the most effort and time, but was so, so worth it, was Herbed Focaccia from veganbaking.net.

Look at those air pockets!  This was easily the best bread I’ve ever baked, but boy does it take a long time to make.  You make the herbed olive oil, mix the dough, shape, stretch, fold and rest three times (at 30 minutes each), rise for one hour, refrigerate twelve hours, rest three hours, rise three hours, and FINALLY, you bake!  Good things come to those who wait with this bread, and the flavor and texture were perfect.  If I can make this without screwing up, so can you!

I served the bread with caramelized onion butter, which was just Earth Balance blended with caramelized Cipollini onions.  It was delicious and sweet, but it melted everywhere by the end of dinner since the room was warm…

My entree was Trader Joe’s Turkey-less Stuffed Roast with Gravy.  I had bought the roast a few weeks before on a whim ($9.99 is a great price) and didn’t necessarily plan to have it for Thanksgiving dinner, but that’s how it worked out.  Luckily, I really liked the roast!  It’s similar to the Tofurky roast but maybe a bit more tender.  The gravy was a little sweet for my tastes, but still went nicely with the smashed potatoes.

The second best part about Thanksgiving?  Leftovers!  You better believe I had almost this exact same plate a few more times.  I also made great sandwiches with the focaccia, roast, cranberry sauce, and Vegenaise.

Next up, desserts.  Hopefully I’ll post before three months from now!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  Mine was so fantastic that I’m splitting it into three posts.  First up, the appetizers.  Friends were coming over early to start watching football, and we were waiting a little longer than usual to eat dinner to wait for one guest’s flight to land, so we wanted to make sure there was plenty to snack on.

I saw these recipes for Goat Cheese Torta online a few weeks before Thanksgiving, and knew right away I wanted to make a vegan version.   I kind of mixed up the two recipes in my head and ended up with a good combination.

For the cheese mixture, I made a double batch or C’est La V’s cashew goat cheese, skipping the baking step at the end.  I then blended it with one tub of Tofutti Cream Cheese, fresh oregano, and some black pepper.  I lined a bread pan with plastic wrap and layered a quarter of the cheese, pesto (recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance), a quarter of the cheese, sundried tomato pate, another quarter of the cheese, olive tapenade, and the remaining cheese.  Cover with plastic wrap and press it down a bit, refrigerate overnight, and turn onto a plate to serve.

When you cut into it, you can see the layers of deliciousness.  Mine wasn’t quite as prettily layered as the recipe photos, but I thought it still looked pretty nice.

The flavor?  AMAZING.  It was creamy, tangy, salty, fatty, herby, and every other good-sounding adjective.  Dave and one of our guests said that they wouldn’t have known it was vegan, which is always nice to hear when it comes to fake cheese.  The torta was mostly gone by the end of the day, which may have had a lot to do with me eating about a ton of it.

To keep things on the lighter side, I also put out a veggie tray with dip and grapes.  I found some really pretty produce at the farmers market, including purple cauliflower and multiple colored carrots.  The dip was Vegan Dill Dip, which I made true to the recipe except for using reduced fat Vegenaise.  The dried minced onion softened overnight and had a nice texture, and the only thing I would change next time would be to add even more fresh dill.

On the right is an antipasto platter, which Dave added to round out the spread.  (The appetizer table became the dinner buffet, which is why the serving dishes are hanging out in the back.)

For a pre-dinner drink, I made a pitcher of Cranberry Ginger Martinis.  I tied the fresh ginger and cranberries up in cheesecloth, and kind of estimated on multiplying splashes of this and that, and even after adding extra Sprite the drink was strong!  Good, but strong.  I made sure to put a few big ice cubes in each one and let them melt a bit first.

Next up, the main meal.

I was thrilled that I was able to attend my sister-in-law Kiersten’s baby shower back in March on the east coast, since I don’t get to see my family very often.  Kiersten chose a Dr. Seuss theme for the nursery, so that was the shower theme as well.  I signed on to bake cupcakes, as I like to do!

My mom did an awesome job with the food and decor.

fruit skewers

green (deviled) eggs, no ham

veggies and hummus, which I ate much of

I wanted the cupcakes to be whimsical and unexpected, and, of course, delicious.  The first flavor I made was banana split, from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.

We adorned them with cute picks that my mom made from Dr. Seuss stickers.  The cupcakes were a bit of work between all the components, but they were really tasty and very fun!

The second flavor was root beer float, dressed up as Thing 1 and Thing 2.  I felt pretty clever about this idea, but to be fair, I found it on the internet.

The labels didn’t stick on the liners with tape or glue, so it was fortunate that mom had a cupcake holder where we could just kind of tuck them in.  The frosting (“hair”) didn’t turn out exactly as I had hoped, but all things considered, I thought they were pretty cute.  To make them taste a little more special, I added a bit of butter extract (which is totally vegan) to the frosting, so it tasted more like vanilla cream.  The root beer cupcake recipe was from My Sweet Vegan, and turned out nicely after I added a bit more flour to the batter.  The root beer flavor wasn’t overpowering; those who didn’t know what flavor to expect had a hard time putting their finger on it, but once told they could definitely taste the root beer.

After snacking and some games, the lovely Kiersten opened presents.  I only wish that I could’ve spent more time at home, and now that baby Josie is here I can’t wait to meet her!

For many years, I read blogs written by people who had a Vitamix and coveted them from afar, entering giveaways to no avail and thinking that maybe someday I could save up and buy one.  Then last year my boyfriend surprised me with one for Christmas!  Best. Christmas. Gift. EVER.  I seriously love my Vitamix so much that I’m not sure I can convey it in words.  I don’t have a storage space for the container in the kitchen, because it’s pretty much always being used or on the dish rack.  Think of the most velvety smooth sauce or soup you’ve ever had in a restaurant – it was probably made in a Vitamix!

Brand new blender with its first smoothie.  So much more majestic than the old blender!

What I use the Vitamix for the most is green smoothies.  I have a green smoothie for breakfast every weekday morning, a habit I picked up from reading the No Meat Athlete Half Marathon Roadmap.  I was concerned at first that they wouldn’t have staying power, but I find they keep me full for longer than a typical breakfast like toast with peanut butter.  Here are a few quick cell phone shots of smoothies I had recently.

frozen cherry berry mix, banana, almond milk, chocolate hemp protein powder, carob powder, kale

ugly but tasty – frozen strawberries, banana, almond milk, hemp protein powder, ground flax, coconut butter, rolled oats, vanilla extract, kale

frozen pineapple, banana, almond milk, Vega One Natural flavor, spinach

I love the color of the last one!  I’ve fallen into a bit of a rut with my green smoothies lately, it’s almost always frozen fruit, banana, almond milk, a scoop of Vega One, and some greens.  I really like the flavor, texture, and nutrition of Vega One but do want to start varying my smoothies a bit, especially after reading this article on getting more out of your smoothies last week.  I’m really interested in making my own fortified nut/seed milk instead of using store bought almond milk like I normally do.

The Vitamix comes with a cookbook full of great recipes ranging from beverages, soups and sauces to breads, breakfasts and desserts.  I tried the Broccoli Cheese Soup, substituting We Can’t Say It’s Cheese Smoked Cheddar-Style Spread for the cheese in the recipe.

Other than steaming the broccoli, there’s no cooking involved at all!  You just put everything in the Vitamix, including raw onion, and let the motor run on high for about 10 minutes until it’s steaming hot.  It’s pretty incredible, really.

The Vitamix blends stuff that I wouldn’t think possible without adding a bunch of liquid.

This kale salad was tossed with Creamy Hemp Seed Dressing, which you can’t really see but was fantastic.  It’s just hemp seeds, raw red bell pepper, miso, lemon juice, and a little bit of water, and it blended up with no trouble.

This was a clean-out-the-fridge stew with black eyed peas, potatoes, summer squash and fresh dill.  I had some fresh corn on the cob, and my original intention was to just throw the kernels in the soup.  Then I thought “Self, you have a Vitamix!  Blend the corn!”, and so I did.  The corn kernels blended into a silky, thin sauce with absolutely no liquid added, and when I poured it into the soup pot it made a wonderfully creamy broth.  It was a great way to make the soup creamy and comforting without adding something like oil or coconut milk.

Lastly, tonight I tried something I’ve been wanting to try for quite a while – whole foods juice.  It’s basically a vegetable juice, like you would prepare with a juicer, but blended from the whole ingredients so you still get all the fiber.

before

after

I cored the pear, peeled the ginger and lemon, and roughly chopped the hard vegetables, and tossed it all in the blender with only about a quarter cup of water.  It tastes fresh like a juice would, but feels a little more like a smoothie.  Mine wasn’t completely smooth, I think because I used a firm pear and tough ginger.  If I wanted it to be more smooth I could’ve added more liquid and blended longer, or you can strain the mixture through cheesecloth for a truer juice feel.

Lastly, I want to mention how easy cleanup is!  Most of the time I just rinse the container out immediately after using, and that’s usually enough.  Vitamix recommends that you fill part way with warm water and a bit of dishwasher detergent, then let the motor run a bit.  Works like a charm!

I feel like I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what the Vitamix can do, and can’t wait to try out more recipes and techniques!  Have I convinced you how awesome Vitamix is?  If so, please consider entering my raffle by donating to The ASPCA!

My current project is that I’m training for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Los Angeles Half Marathon with Team ASPCA.  The ASPCA’s mission is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States, a mission close to my heart.  I’m really happy to be a part of Team ASPCA and honored to be raising both awareness and funding to support the ASPCA’s programs!

As part of my fundraising, I’m hosting a raffle!  Head on over to the Raffle Page and check it out!  The list of prizes is really awesome, if I do say so myself, with an estimated value of over $1,100.  There are over 30 great prizes to be won, and you can enter for as little as a $5 donation!  To entice you, here’s a pile of some of the prizes, just waiting to be shipped.  The bottom right box might be of particular interest to some people…

Please check out the Raffle Page on The Vegan Weight Watcher and consider donating to The ASPCA!  The deadline to enter for the first drawing is this Friday, September 14th, at 12PM noon PDT.

I started running around July of last year, and have been training for one race or another ever since.  Between working full time, training, and other obligations, I don’t have much time to cook, but on the other hand, I need healthy meals to fuel my training.  So, I’ve turned to a few particular cookbooks and fast meals to get by.

First up, Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.  I posted a review here and more photos here, and this continues to be my go-to for flavorful and balanced meals that don’t take a long time.  The book has an index of recipes that are ready in under 30 minutes, which makes it even easier to pick out quick meals.

This is Goddess Nicoise Salad.  I don’t normally love olives but liked them in this, and the cooked green beans and potatoes made it feel hearty enough to be a full meal.

Thai Roasted Root Vegetable Curry is the perfect way to use fall CSA produce.

Pasta con Broccoli may look a little dry, but it’s actually quite flavorful and moist.  I added chickpeas to round out the meal, as the author suggests.

With only about 20 minutes active cooking time involved, Kidney Bean & Butternut Jamba Stew is a delicious, spicy meal in a bowl.

Forty-Clove Broccoli & Chickpeas and Colipots was really intensely delicious, but not as filling as I had hoped.

Fusilli Roasted Vegetable Primavera teaches you a great way to make a flavorful summer pasta without too much effort.  I added mushrooms and chickpeas, and wouldn’t make it again without.

Quick Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson is a cookbook which is geared specifically toward speedy vegan meals.  Luckily, most of the recipes are relatively healthy too, with plenty of veggies.  Looking through the index, there are plenty more recipes from this book that I want to try!

The Roasted Asparagus Soup gets its creaminess from potato and non-dairy milk.  The soup was delicious, but I thought it missed some of the asparagus flavor by adding the other ingredients.  On the side, I made a quick potato, corn, and black bean hash.

Barbecue Pinto and Portobello is like a souped up version of baked beans, with a fast homemade barbecue sauce.  It’s intended to be a sandwich filling, but in an effort to keep it a little more light, I had the beans on their own with a side of coleslaw pasta salad.

This Indonesian Vegetable and Tofu Scramble was a great way to use up all the bok choy I receive from the CSA.  Adding hoisin sauce and ground coriander made it really different from other scrambles.  On the side is chili-lime roasted sweet potatoes.

Tropical Quinoa and Black Beans develops the flavor of the islands in a short amount of time.  I served it over steamed kale, topped by pumpkin seeds, which were nice textural contrasts.

Since I’m also watching my budget, I turn to Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson as well.  The recipes tend to rely on fresh vegetables a little less than I like, which is understandable based on the title, but I have found a few good ones so far and plan to try out more.

The mix of sweet and spicy in this Moroccan-Inspired Lentil Soup was great.  I served the thick soup over grits.

I added some chipotle chili powder to this Southwestern Black Bean and Corn Chowder, rendering it spicier than expected, but it was still quite delicious topped with avocado and served with sprouted blue corn tortilla chips and steamed broccoli.

I really like raw foods during the summer months, both for their speed and simplicity.  One book I’ve really been enjoying is Practically Raw by Amber Shea Crawley.  Some of the recipes require time or dehydrating, yes, but many of them are really quick and accessible.

The Deconstructed Sushi Bowl was a really fun way to enjoy sushi without cooking rice and bothering to roll anything.  Since the meal was mostly vegetables, I bulked it up by adding edamame and a quick spicy sauce.  I’ll write a full review of Practically Raw once I’ve had the chance to try more recipe!

These Gingery Sunflower Seed, Cabbage, and Red Apple Rolls from Choosing Raw were simple and delicious!  I wrapped mine in collard leaves instead of the nori sheets, just because that’s what I had, and the sweet apples were a great contrast to the bitter greens.

One obvious time saver is the slow cooker, which I don’t utilize nearly often enough.  Maybe once the weather turns cool again I’ll yearn for more stew-like, comforting dishes.

Here’s a non-soup recipe from The Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Hester, Sweet Potato Enchilada Casserole.  You layer corn tortillas and sweet potatoes with canned enchlada sauce and beans.  The recipe called for one can of beans and vegan chorizo, but I used two cans of beans instead to try to keep it a little more whole-foods oriented.  I topped the casserole with a little slaw and salsa verde that we happened to have in the fridge, and served roasted brussels sprouts on the side.

Slow cooker minestrone, adapted from this recipe, with leeks, yelllow squash, zucchini, lima beans, green beans, swiss chard, and quinoa pasta.

I LOVE salads for summertime meals.  I’ve been known to use an entire head of lettuce for an entree-sized salad!

Kale salad with avocado, blood orange and chipotle-ginger tempeh.  Since the tempeh was the only cooked component, this one came together quickly.

Black bean, zucchini and corn fajita salad with salsa and Daiya Jack style wedges.  I really like the new Daiya wedges!

Reuben-ish salad with lettuce, carrot, celery, dill pickle, roasted chickpeas, sauerkraut, bacon bits, sunflower seeds, and Healthy Thousand Island Dressing from Eat to Live.

Blackened seitan salad with cusabi dressing.  The seitan was broiled with the blackened seasoning mix from Appetite for Reduction, and the cusabi dressing was a first stab at veganizing the cucumber-wasabi dressing that turned out okay, but not great.

Kale salad with red cabbage, carrot, edamame, tahini dressing, and sesame seeds.  Shredded red cabbage in kale salad is my favorite!

And, of course, the easiest way to make quick meals is to have some cooking knowledge and experience up your sleeve so that you can throw something together from what’s in the fridge that turns out edible!

Sesame-tangerine soy curls with bok choy, bean sprouts and brown rice.

Red curry lentil stew with wild rice, brown rice and spinach.

Clean-out-the-fridge tofu scramble with shallot, mushrooms, tomato, broccoli, shredded carrot, alfalfa sprouts and leftover grilled potatoes.

Socca with herbed white beans, Daiya mozzarella, and balsamic roasted carrots and raddichio.  Socca is the best, you just mix equal parts chickpea flour and water, a pinch of salt, and a little olive oil if you want, then cook it like crepes!

Broiled tofu and roasted cabbage over brown rice with dulse flakes and sesame seeds.

And lastly, the SUPER simple.  I can’t tell you how many times over the past year I’ve come home from a workout and warmed up a veggie burger because it’s all I could muster!

Tofurky and hummus, my very favorite sandwich!

Grits, canned refried beans, salsa and pickled jalapeno.

Grilled Daiya mozzarella sandwich with tomato-miso-leek soup.

And I’m glad I did!  I don’t need to eat gluten-free, but I do sometimes coincidentally by eating a whole food vegan diet, and I certainly sympathize with those who do need to eschew gluten for medical reasons.  The Dairy-Free & Gluten-Free Kitchen is a great book to show anyone who might be worried about cutting out gluten that it can be done.  There is a chapter on basics like gluten-free flour mix, milk alternatives, beans and whole grains, and other sections for breakfast, small bites, salads and dressings, soups, vegetarian and companion dishes, sauces and spreads, yeasted and quick breads, sweet endings, and meat and fish dishes.  Vegetarians beware – there are pictures of meat and fish dishes sprinkled throughout those sections.

The first dish that caught my eye was Oyster Mushrooms Rockefeller.  For some reason I assumed the recipe wouldn’t be vegetarian, but it was completely vegan as written!  To turn it into a meal, I also made the Spicy Roasted Cauliflower.

The Oysters Mushrooms Rockefeller was really interesting and tasty.  You layer oyster mushrooms, wilted spinach and seasoned gluten-free bread crumbs, then top it off with a cashew cream.  The recipe calls for making bread crumbs from homemade gluten-free bread, but I had some store bought gf bread in the freezer so I just used that.

While the flavor of the overall dish was fantastic, I would change up the method a bit next time.  The mushrooms and spinach go in basically unseasoned, then the very flavorful bread crumb mixture went on top, so unless you got a bite with every layer it was a little unbalanced.  I would add a pinch of salt to the mushrooms and spinach, and maybe mix some of the breadcrumbs through, and then I think it would be really outstanding.

The Spicy Roasted Cauliflower was good, and also included carrots, potato and onion.  It was a basic roasted vegetable dish with curry powder and other spices, with some gf bread crumbs tossed in for crunch.

Next I wanted to veganize one of the meat dishes, since I figured it was a shame to skip over two whole chapters.  I chose the first recipe listed, Poached Cod Over Glass Noodles, because it sounded really healthy and flavorful.  My plan was to substitute tofu, although I wasn’t sure how well braised tofu would work out.

The answer is that braised tofu can be amazing.  You can’t really tell from the picture, but this tofu was so flavorful.  The broth was hearty, sweet, sour and pungent, with flavors from tomatoes, date syrup, lemongrass and ginger.  The bean thread noodles were a great textural complement, and while the bok choy was tricky to cut into, it made for a nice presentation.

I figured in order to do the book justice, I ought to try one of the breads using the gluten-free flour mix.  Many of the bread recipes do have eggs, so I attempted to veganize the Sweet Potato Cornbread.  I rounded out the meal with the Spicy Green Smoothie and the Sweet and Tangy Jicama Slaw.

I served the Spicy Green Smoothie as a cold soup, which worked out nicely.  It was light, refreshing and spicy, but also smooth from avocado.  The Jicama Slaw was crunchy and tasty, with cabbage, carrot, red bell pepper and a dairy-free mayonnaise based dressing.  I wouldn’t really say that I got the “sweet and tangy” part though, I thought the dressing could’ve been a little more flavorful.  Maybe it just seemed that way because I was having it with the spicy smoothie though.

The Sweet Potato Cornbread worked out pretty well, considering it was gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free AND sugar-free.  Right after baking it was pretty squishy and had a soft, dense texture, but after sitting overnight it firmed up a bit and felt more like “normal” cornbread.

Even though it’s not a vegan cookbook, I’m happy to have The Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free Kitchen in my arsenal.  While some of the recipes are quite basic (I don’t think you need a recipe to make gf French toast if you know that gf bread exists), some of the recipes are really interesting and quite delicious.  I would definitely recommend the book to anyone seeking whole foods based dairy-free and gluten-free recipes.

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of this book for review purposes.  The words, opinions and photos here are entirely my own.

A few days ago, Isa from The PPK issued a challenge on Facebook – Vegan Chopped!  I’m a fan of Chopped and have seen most of the episodes, so you can bet I’ve imagined competing on a vegan version of the show.  The mystery ingredients were blackberries, mint, canned black eyed peas, and bittersweet chocolate, and the challenge was to make an entree using all four.  Lucky me, I had just picked some blackberries from our back yard!

From watching Chopped, I’ve definitely picked up on some of the techniques the chefs use – “transform” the ingredients but don’t hide them, balance the flavors (sweet/salty/spicy/bitter/sour), and be mindful of the textures in your dish.  I tried to create a restaurant quality dish, building as much flavor as possible while still featuring the mystery ingredients.

I’m happy to say that this dish turned out exactly how I had envisioned.  The spicy black eyed pea cakes included lots of savory veggies and spices, with a base of oat flour.  They browned up perfectly in the pan and weren’t too soft, like some bean patties can be.  The cauliflower puree was rich, and the addition of coriander and nutmeg were just enough to make it delicious in its own right.  The cocoa-coffee collards were the real surprise hit of the meal.  Bittersweet chocolate, coffee, and collard greens are all bitter foods, and I was worried that combining them would lead to one big bitter bite.  On the contrary, the chocolate melted and the espresso dissolved (as I had hoped), creating a dark, instantly deep sauce, and the caramelized shallots were the perfect complement.  The blackberry-red wine reduction was tangy and sweet, and pulled the whole dish together.

Spicy Black Eyed Pea Cakes with Cauliflower Puree, Cocoa-Coffee Collards & Blackberry-Red Wine Reduction

It seems like a lot of ingredients and steps, but you multitask and cook all the components at once, so it doesn’t take too long.

Serves 4.

Blackberry-Red Wine Reduction
1 ½ cups blackberries
¾ cup red wine
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp agave nectar
1 Tbsp Earth Balance

Spicy Black Eyed Pea Cakes
1 Tbsp olive oil
¼ cup minced red onion
¼ cup minced celery
¼ cup minced orange or red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded & minced
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp paprika
A few dashes ground cayenne pepper (less to make it less spicy)
½ tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup rolled oats
1 15-oz can black eyed peas, drained & rinsed (about 2 cups)
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
3 Tbs chopped fresh mint, plus more for garnish

Cocoa-Coffee Collards
2 tsp olive oil
2 large shallots, sliced
Sea salt
1 bunch collards, stems removed, thinly sliced
1 tsp instant espresso powder
2 Tbsp finely grated bittersweet chocolate

Cauliflower Puree
2 small heads cauliflower, cut into florets
¼ tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
¾ tsp sea salt
Dash of ground white pepper
2 tsp Earth Balance
Unsweetened almond milk

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Place a wide, flat pan and a medium sauté pan over medium heat.
2. Puree the blackberries and strain through a fine mesh sieve into a small pot.  Add the red wine, balsamic vinegar and agave nectar and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has reduced to half of its original volume.  Once reduced, turn the heat to low to keep warm.
3. Meanwhile, add the first six black eyed pea cake ingredients (olive oil through jalapeno) to the wide sauté pan and cook a few minutes, just until softened, making sure not to burn.  Remove the vegetables to a bowl, leaving the oil in the pan.  Mix in the cumin, paprika, cayenne, ½ tsp salt and black pepper.
4. Add 2 tsp olive oil, the shallots, and a large pinch of sea salt to the medium sauté pan, and reduce the heat to medium-low.  Cook gently until soft and caramelized.
5. Grind the rolled oats in a food processor until they are mostly a fine flour; a few larger pieces is okay.  Add the black eyed peas and pulse to combine.  Add the vegetable mixture, cilantro, and mint, and pulse until well combined, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.  The mixture should still be a little chunky.  If needed, move to a mixing bowl and mix more with a spatula to make sure the mixture is thoroughly combined.
6. Place the collards in the boiling water and cook a few minutes, until bright green.  Use a slotted spoon to move the collards to the medium sauté pan, on top of the cooking shallots.
7. Place the wide pan back over medium heat.
8. Place the cauliflower in the boiling water and cook until easily pierced with a fork.
9. Form the black eyed pea mixture into 8 patties and cook in the wide pan, spraying with more olive oil if needed.  Cook 5-6 minutes on each side, until browned.
10. Wipe out the food processor.  When the cauliflower is done, place it in the food processor (in batches if needed).  Add the coriander, nutmeg, white pepper, ¾ tsp salt, and 2 tsp Earth Balance, and puree.  Add a splash of unsweetened almond milk if needed to get the mixture moving.
11. Add 1 Tbs Earth Balance to the red wine sauce and stir to melt.
12. Add the espresso powder and chocolate to the pan with the collard greens, and use tongs to combine the mixture.  The chocolate will melt to form a sauce, and the espresso should dissolve.
13. Taste the sauce, cauliflower, and collards, and adjust seasonings if needed.
14. To serve, place a mound of cauliflower puree on the plate and spread it out a little.  Lean two cakes on the puree, and the collards next to it.  Spoon the reduction over the cakes and around the plate, and garnish with a little chopped cilantro and mint.

We were eating fairly early in the afternoon on Christmas Day, so I made one light appetizer, mini quiches.

I used FatFree Vegan’s Mini Crustless Tofu Quiche recipe for the base, with red bell pepper and fresh basil for Christmas colors, and baked them in phyllo cups.  I also added a bit of kala namak to make the flavor more eggy.

Dave made steak for our guests, and I handled the side dishes.

Wild Mushroom and Cipollini Salad with Horseradish Dressing, from the Candle 79 Cookbook.

For the obligatory potato dish I sauteed a LOT of garlic in a good bit of Earth Balance, then tossed in halved cooked potatoes and sprinkled with fresh parsley.  These were some of the best potatoes I think I’ve ever made!

My plate, with Gardein Beefless Tips and corn.  I though the flavor of the beefless tips was good, but that the texture was a little soft inside to eat them on their own like this.

I had Candy Cane Jo Jo’s on the mind (and a box in the pantry), so for dessert I made a chocolate mint pie.  The crust is your typical cookie crust, made with the Jo Jo outsides.  The filling  used the recipe for Old-Fashioned Chocolate Pudding Pie from Vegan Pie In The Sky, with chopped up bits of cookies mixed in.  For the topping, I used a box of Healthy Whip and mixed in some pieces of the cookie filling which were left over from making the crust.

The pie set up quite nicely, and was both very chocolatey and minty.

A few days after Christmas, I flew to Florida to hang out with my family in Anna Maria Island.  Of course, I did the requisite research before going by googling “Anna Maria Island vegan”, but…there really wasn’t much info available.  I wasn’t too worried through, because the  house we were staying in had a kitchen and there was a Publix on the island, so I knew I’d at least survive.

Upon picking me up from the airport though, my dad told me that he had seen a sign outside of a restaurant that actually said vegan on it.  And it was a barbecue restaurant!

Mr. Bones is a really interesting little restaurant; they had a coffin full of beer, odd masks all over the walls, Asian specialties in addition to their barbecue menu, and a whole separate page of vegan food!

I started with the appetizer sized peanut noodles, which surprised me by being served cold.  The flavor of the sauce was really nice and a little spicy.

While the veggie burger sounded really good, I couldn’t pass up the General Moe’s Watercress, sauteed with garlic and ginger and served over curried rice.  The dish was a little oily for my tastes, but I was really happy to be able to eat a giant plate of vegetables.

Mr. Bones even had a vegan cobbler on the dessert menu, but I was far too full to give it a try.

The next morning, I ate overnight oats that my mom had made.  Mom’s the best, she brought chia seeds on vacation!

Lunch was a nice wrap with hummus, peppered Tofurky, cucumber and greens.  I ate a few of the Terra Chips on the side before I read the label and realized they weren’t vegan…oops…I guess I wrongly assumed all Terra Chips were vegan.

That afternoon I walked down the dock to the river and hung out with some fish friends, and that evening, as a present, I cooked a four course dinner for my family.

First, I spent a few hours making a giant mess of the kitchen.

I went with kind of a Moroccan-spiced theme for the meal.  The appetizer was Tangy Morrocan Carrots, pita chips and hummus.  The little dish in the upper left was for my sis-in-law, who I found out doesn’t like cilantro.  The carrots are steamed then left to marinate in the fridge, and I thought they were a nice, light way to start the meal.

Next up was the Wild Rice Salad with Oranges & Roasted Beets from Appetite for Reduction.  To go with the spice story (should I trademark that phrase?), I added ground cumin and coriander to the dressing, which was a nice touch.  I really liked the texture contrast between the wild rice, crisp lettuce and buttery beets.

For the entree, I chose Moroccan-Spiced Chickpea Cakes with Red Bell Pepper-Curry Sauce and Apricot Chutney from the Candle 79 Cookbook, which I talked about in this post.

Lastly, dessert was spiced chocolate fondue with bananas, strawberries, and pretzel rods.  I used this Rachel Ray recipe as the base, basically heating soy creamer and adding chocolate chips until it was the right consistency.  I also added some ground cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne pepper to spice it up.  This was the perfect dessert to have right at the end of a meal, because it only took a few minutes to prepare.  Through rigorous trial and error, my brother and I figured out that the best bite was strawberry and banana together.

The next day was my sister-in-law’s birthday, so we headed to Sarasota to hang out at the Mote Aquarium.  The first order of business was lunch at The Old Salty Dog, which has the cutest mascot ever.

I was surprised to find a salad on the menu that was vegan as is, no modification needed!

The Chickpea & Edamame Salad came with corn, dried cranberries, cucumber, tomatoes and Greek dressing, and it was mighty tasty.  It was going to be a long afternoon, so I got some fries too to fuel up.

At the aquarium, I got to see this ugly mug.

…and learned that manatees have gas.

Dinner that night was the ol’ side salad and baked potato at a local bar and grill, but afterward we got to the good stuff.

A Candy Cane Jo Jo cake for sis-in-law’s birthday.  I added mint extract to a basic chocolate cake recipe, and mixed cookie crumbles into a can of vegan Duncan Hines frosting.

And just like that, my trip to Anna Maria Island was sadly over.

The cookbook is a large hardback volume with gorgeous color photos and delectable sounding recipes.  Including appetizers, soups, salads, entrees, sides, sauces, brunch, desserts and drinks, there are plenty of different types of dishes to try.  What first caught my attention about this book is that it is high end, yet it doesn’t call for expensive ingredients or crazy techniques.  It’s just good cooking methods mixed with quality ingredients and interesting flavor profiles, resulting in delicious food.

I received the cookbook just before Christmas, which seemed like a great time to try out a few recipes.  We had a few friends over for Christmas dinner, and Dave made steak for their entree.  I wanted to prepare some sort of vegetable side dish, and the Wild Mushroom and Cipollini Salad with Fresh Horseradish Dressing seemed like a perfect match.

The salad starts by roasting the onions and sauteing the mushrooms.  I couldn’t find cipollini onions, so I used small sweet onions instead.  The flavorful and creamy horseradish dressing calls for sauteed shallot, horseradish, silken tofu, white wine vinegar and olive oil.  It was a perfect, rich and spicy counterpart to the fresh arugula and cherry tomatoes.  The recipe calls for pre-mixing and plating the salad, but I chose to serve it buffet style so that everyone could choose the quantity of ingredients.

The dressing also made a nice sauce for my entree, which was Gardein Beefless Tips.

After Christmas, I went to visit my family for a vacation in Anna Maria Island, Florida.  I wanted to cook a nice big fancy meal for them as a gift, making interesting vegan food that wouldn’t scare my brother away.  I chose the Moroccan-Spiced Chickpea Cakes with Red Bell Pepper-Curry Sauce and Apricot Chutney as the entree.

(The only plates at the rental house were bright red!)

Upon searching for images of this dish online, I found out that at the restaurant they serve the cake on top of a round of vegetables, so that is what I did.  The base is Red Bell Pepper-Curry Sauce, which includes coconut milk, onion, tomato paste, cilantro and spices.  The sauce was very tasty, but personally I could’ve used a little more spice.  I roasted the cauliflower very simply with olive oil and salt, and even my self-professed cauliflower-hating brother liked it.  To make the cakes, you combine chickpeas, onion, celery, flour and spices, including Old Bay.  I didn’t have access to a food processor, so I just mashed everything up with a fork.  My cakes were probably a little more chunky than they’re intended to be, but they held together fine.  The apricot chutney toed the line between savory and sweet, with onion, ginger and agave nectar.  It was decidedly not apricot season, so I bought dried apricots and reconstituted them in hot water.  To top it all off, you sprinkle on some toasted slivered almonds, which provided a nice texture contrast.

This dish was a little bit of work, and it’s definitely not weeknight meal material, but I would make it again for company or a fancy dinner at home.

I wanted to try one more recipe, and I got some really nice avocados in my recent CSA delivery, so I chose the Stuffed Avocado with Quinoa Pilaf and Chipotle-Avocado Dressing.  I’m watching my fat intake, so the stuffed avocado half became more of an avocado sliver, but this dish was delicious regardless.  The recipe is technically a salad and calls for mixed greens as the base, but I had kale in the fridge and steamed it to use instead.  This turned out to be a good decision, because the kale stood up well to the somewhat heavily dressed quinoa pilaf.  The pilaf incorporates corn, bell pepper, carrot, scallions and parsley, and you mix it with the dressing of  shallot, cilantro, guajillo chile, chipotle chile powder, white wine vinegar and even more avocado.  The dressing was very strong in flavor, but didn’t overpower the vegetables, and radish and hemp seeds were nice fresh toppings.  Plus, now I have chipotle chili powder in the pantry and I want to put it in everything.

Overall, I’m very impressed with the recipes in the Candle 79 Cookbook.  The recipes are well written, and range from simple to complex, so there’s something for everyone.  Some recipes that I hope to try in the future are Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Crispy Sage Leaves,  Kale, Vegetable, and Spelt Berry Salad with Chive Vinaigrette, the famous Seitan Picatta, and Chile-Grilled Tofu with Avocado-Tomatillo Sauce.

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of this book for review purposes.  The words, opinions and photos here are entirely my own.

We had a big group this year, twelve guests in total, so we cleared all the furniture out of the living room and moved in some tables.

Dave decided we needed a fancy menu like a fancy restaurant…

We prepared a huge meal, so I kept the appetizers light – grapes, veggies, crackers and cashew cheese spread.

The whole spread…The green bean casserole is my recipe, with canned fried onions on top.  Dave was in charge of the sourdough stuffing, which included homemade mushroom broth and lots of fresh herbs.  For the mashed potatoes, I simmered smashed garlic cloves in the almond milk while the potatoes cooked, to have the garlic flavor without the garlic pieces.  I also mixed in truffle salt and white pepper.  They were quite the tasty potatoes.  You can’t see the braised greens here, but they were slow cooked with onion, garlic, fresh tomato and homemade vegetable broth.

I also made Oh She Glows Fluffy Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls, except I let them go too long on the second rise and they turned into cut-apart diner rolls.  Even so, they were light and tasty.  As a special treat, I also made “honey butter” using Earth Balance and Just Like Honey Rice Nectar.  I used to love biscuits with butter and honey, and not having had honey in over six years, I really liked the Just Like Honey.  It has that sweet tang that I remember honey having.

I didn’t want to have to prepare an entree for myself, so I bought a Field Roast Celebration Roast and just zapped it in the microwave.  It turned out a little dry, so the canned cranberry sauce was a nice accompaniment.  I was going to make some gravy but ran out of time; I missed it a little but certainly had plenty to eat.

Dessert was a whole ‘nother extravaganza.  The three pies were store bought because, you know, six desserts are better than three!

By request, I made pumpkin whoopie pies with cream cheese frosting, which are always a hit.

This is The PPK’s Triple Apple Cider Bundt Cake Stuffed with Apples, which was really tasty!  My glaze, sadly, was too thin, but it was yummy nonetheless.

Lastly, Gingerbread Biscotti from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.  I had never made biscotti before, and it’s quite easy.  You just make regular cookies in log form, bake, cool, slice, and bake again.  Takes a little longer, but the crispy-chewy bite is definitely worth it.  These guys were dark and spicy and gingery, and definitely more-ish even at the end of a big feast.