MoFo 16: And a Very Happy Thanksgiving to You!

Hey y'all. To any celebrating today I hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving!

I decided to go all crazy this year and make everything from scratch. We're also making everything from other people's blogs this year!

So, here's the menu for tonight:

Appetizer: Porcini and Pecan Pate, originally seen on Vegan Good Things.

Main dish: Festive Chickpea Tart from Dreena

Side #1: Cranberry and Orange Salad from Swell, with a few modifications.

Side #2: Green Bean Casserole from cute and delicious, also with a few modifications.

Dessert: Chocolate Cinnamon Babka from Vegan Dad.

We've got a few things taken care of already and we'll be eating dinner at normal dinner time with my brother and a friend from school. I'm thankful for so much (including Safeway being open at 3 PM for me to able to pick up something I forgot...) and it's nice to take time to take time out and remember that. I'm mostly glad I'm not at school today and can just relax and spend time with friends and family.

From my home to yours a very happy Thanksgiving (or happy thursday to those not in the states)!

I'll be back tomorrow with pictures and reviews for everything we made today!

MoFo 15: Kitty Love

No food or roundups today...I have to study up a storm tonight for my Human Anatomy final tomorrow, so I'm just gonna post some cute pics. My cats are super-adorable (of course not all the time, they're very good at running amok) and have been helping me study...by cuddling with me and being their cute little selves. Above they're hanging out in the kitchen while we make some food.

Here's Tosh helping me learn about Oral Cancer--that slide must be important!

Brody reminding me that I should take time out to get a sweat going!

And this last one melts my heart! I had a few stuffed animals around from years ago and Tosh has pretty much taken all of them as his personal playthings. This Flounder is just about as big as him and he carries him around in his mouth, tosses him, and here uses him for a pillow. He's also taken an Eeyore and a Banana Slug (UCSC mascot) for his own.

I'm so thankful to have these little guys in my life. They make me smile every day!

Have a good night!

MoFo 14: Savory Breakfast Tempeh and Corn Muffin

Sometimes when I wake up I don't want something sweet, but I still want a baked good. What a dilemma! I searched for a good, long time before deciding that there wasn't a recipe I could find for exactly what I was craving: a corn and tempeh sausage muffin. I found plenty of corn and bean muffin recipes though, so I adapted one for this concoction. I decided to use the recipe for Tennessee Corn Pone Muffins from Vegan Lunch Box and subbed the 1 cup of cooked beans for 1 cup of cooked tempeh sausage crumbles (any corn muffin recipe could work here though). I used some random recipe that I can't find now for the tempeh, but I'm sure the recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance (and on PPK) would work well, probably better, because mine lacked a little flavor. You'd only need 1/2 of the recipe though.

The corn pone muffin batter was super crazy thick. I'm guessing the 1 cup of cornmeal and 4 tablespoons of ground flaxseed might have had something to do with that. It made it a little hard to work with. The recipe also says it makes 12 muffins--no way! we filled the muffin tins about 1/2 full and got about 8 muffins before the batter was almost gone. Once they were filled to 1/2 we topped each one with some of the tempeh sausage crumbles, then put one more spoonful of the corn muffin batter on top to hold the tempeh in place a bit. Then just a sprinkle of nutritional yeast on them and into the oven. They were very tasty! I ate like half of them throughout the day. I still want to work with this because I think it can be even better, but I'd still call this a success!

Check out: I'm super-excited for the latest installment of Harry Potter. I've read all the books...multiple times. I won't have a chance to go see it 'til I'm out for the long weekend for Thanksgiving though (thanks Anatomy final). I'm glad other people are excited too: check out these adorable cupcakes over at Cute and Delicious to celebrate!

Win! manifest:vegan has a giveaway of an adorable rhinoceros messenger bag for her birthday; Vegan Appetite has a copy of The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life; and Baking is Hot has some fabulous items from Le Creuset up for grabs.

MoFo14: Survey Time

I didn't feel like doing a regular post today, so I decided to fill out the survey that's been making its way around the MoFo blogs. The picture above was some cactus we bought recently. My boyfriend is in art school and needed some cool food to photograph, so those came home with us. He took this photo, it's easy to tell that it wasn't me because it's way better that what I can do. I don't think I'm patient enough to be an artist...Anyway, I'd never had cactus before, so after he was done shooting it I looked up how to cook it! We cut off all the needles, wiped off the slime that comes out after doing so, then cooked it up with some asparagus and made fajitas. It was super-good. Another scary food tackled!

And now, for the survey!

1. What is one food you thought you’d miss when you went vegan, but don’t?

String cheese, I used to eat that stuff all the time

2. What is a food or dish you wouldn’t touch as a child, but enjoy now?

All sorts: avocado, mushrooms, onions, eggplant, spinach...I was verrry picky pre-veg

3. What vegan dish or food you feel like you should like, but don’t?

Kombucha. I don't get it, it's disgusting

4. What beverage do you consume the most of on any given day?

Without a doubt: water

5. What dish are you famous for making or bringing to gatherings?

Either a dessert (usually cookies because they transport well) or hummus

6. Do you have any self-imposed food rules (like no food touching on the plate or no nuts in sweets)?

It's not a rule, but I usually don't like nuts in cookies or brownies--it just ruins them

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

Kettle Chips Salt and Black Pepper. I don't like too many chips but these are terribly addicting

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

Hummus and veggie burgers

9. What ingredient or food is worth spending the extra money to get the good stuff?

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

10. Are you much of a snacker? What are your favorite snacks?

If I'm stressed I'm a gigangtic snacker. I like to keep Clif bars around for quick on-the-go snacking and hummus and fruit for when I'm home

11. What are your favorite vegan pizza toppings?

Cashews, tomatoes, and spinach...so good

12. What is your favorite vegetable? Fruit?

Favorite veggie is kale; favorite fruit is tomato (oh, you wanted something more "fruity?" I also love strawberries)

13. What is the best salad dressing?

The house tahini dressing from New Leaf Market. I'm still trying to recreate it, or at least something comparable

14. What is your favorite thing to put on toasted bread?

Avocado and tomato. Second would be Earth Balance and Tofurky (don't knock it 'til you try it!)

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

If I feel like cooking: Chickpea Noodle Soup from Veganomicon. If I don't: Anderson's Split Pea from a can

16. What is your favorite cupcake flavor? Frosting flavor?

I don't have a favorite, but you can't go wrong with chocolate...or margarita, or spice, or...yeah cupcakes

17. What is your favorite kind of cookie?

Plain old chocolate chip, freshly cooled from the oven (when they're still warm, but not melty)

18. What is your most-loved weeknight meal?

Dragon Rice Bowl from reFresh

19. What is one dish or food you enjoy, but can’t get anyone else in your household to eat?

Brown rice with steamed kale, seaweed, sesame oil, soy sauce, and sesame seeds. To me this is like perfection in a bowl--I'm alone in this at home

20. Favorite non-dairy milk?

Trader Joe's Chocolate soy milk. I love that stuff, if I didn't stop myself I could probably drink the entire carton in one day.

21. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?

When I made cookies by myself from scratch for the first time, I was about 10. The directions said 2 1/4 cups flour; silly me put two one-quarter cups (1/2 cup) of flour. I didn't know why it was written that way, but I went with it. Needless to say it was a runny mess...runny all through the oven. I still get teased with that story. I guess I could have far worse stories, luckily I've never lit the house on fire or anything

22. Favorite pickled item?

Dill pickles, the giant ones

23. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods…what would they be (don’t worry about how you’ll cook them)?

Tofu, peanut butter, and chocolate

24. Fondest food memory from your childhood?

My grandmother making chocolates with me, teaching me how to paint on designs. That was fun...she recently passed away and this memory still makes me smile. The chocolates were in the shape of teddy bears!

25. Favorite vegan ice cream?

Purely Decadent Turtle Trails (vanilla ice cream with caramel swirls and chocolate-covered praline pecans)

26. Most loved kitchen appliance?

Vita-mix

27. Spice/herb you would die without?

Garlic and cinnamon

28. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?

Strawberry. Raspberry is a close second

29. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?

Sweet and Sour Tofu with Broccoli and Almonds from Vegan Yum Yum

30. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?

Tofu, but I'm a fan of them all

31. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?

Dinner on a non-crazy night. Breakfast on weekends is also nice on a lazy day.

32. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.

Bananas, blueberries, peas

33. What’s on your grocery list?

Nutritional yeast

34. Favorite grocery store?

Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Rainbow Co-op (SF)

35. Name a recipe you’d love to veganize, but haven’t yet.

Chicken and dumplings

36. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa’s because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3?

Oh She Glows. I don't know how Angela does it, but she usually updates twice (!) a day and has tons of great-looking recipes

37. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?

Not candy, per se...but Rice Dream makes these mint chip ice cream oatmeal cookie sandwiches that are so good! Divvies caramel corn is pretty awesome too

38. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?

Dr. Cow tree nut cheese

And there you have it. I'm a little sad that I wasn't able to answer pumpkin to any of these answers because I really do love it, but alas, no survey can cover everything.

Cool goings-on in the blog world today:

1) Want an original way to use up Thanksgiving dinner leftovers? Hannah from Bittersweet has got you covered with a Thanksgiving quiche!

2) I have a bag of TVP granules sitting in the cabinet that's been there for months now. I know I bought them with some recipe in mind, but I can't remember what it is. Well, now I'm glad I have them because manifest:vegan has a recipe for a pasta bolognese that looks fan-tastic!

Also quite a few giveaways going on, up for grabs: So Delicious products at An Opera Singer in the Kitchen; Caribbean Vegan at Cake Maker to the Stars; and Skinny Bitch in the Kitch
at Weekly Vegan Menu. Good Luck!

MoFo 13: White Bean and Roasted Garlic Soup and Focaccia

I don't know what caused me to stop on this recipe in Vegan with a Vengeance, but I'm glad I did. It was another night when the fridge was pretty bare, so this dish worked out perfectly. Besides the time it takes to roast the garlic this soup comes together super fast. It was so good too! It tastes rich and like it took a long time...gotta love the complexity that simple roasted garlic can add. I'm not the biggest fan of white beans, because of their tough texture, but I love their versatility and when they're blended up (like in the biscuits with white bean gravy also from VwaV) then they're right up my alley!


We like to have something to dip when we eat soup. Cuz we're super classy like that...so I made the focaccia from The Urban Vegan to great results. I loved that everything was just tossed in the food processor to be mixed up and then baked. I cooked it a tad too long, so it was a little tough, but still good. Some fresh herbs in place of dried would take this fantastic little flatbread to new heights.

Round-up:

1) Remember the obligatory green bean casserole at holiday dinners? I remember really liking the crunchy onions (even though I didn't like onions...I guess if you fry anything) but the rest left me wanting to gag. Not so with this version from cute and delicious! A cheesy nooch sauce has replaced the cream of mushroom soup and now it just looks yum-my.

2) Something that makes my heart happy: Babycakes is now serving up vegan, gluten-free baked goods at Walt Disney World. I think my love of Disney has been made quite apparent (especially the last few days--I really need a vacation) and this makes me so excited. They're one of the few parks to actually have veg options at almost every single restaurant and to cater to vegan or other dietary needs at their fancy sit-down restaurants. I've had some of my best meals in restaurants ever at DisneyWorld (especially at California Grill and Jiko--the latter even has a vegan menu); they send the chef out to talk to you and make up something special based on what you like--it's awesome! Where they were lacking was the dessert department, although a couple of their shops do now sell Divvies, but looks like they're taking care of that now too!

3) I recently had the opportunity to eat at Encuentro in Oakland. It's an all-veg wine and tapas bar. It was a bit pricey, but it was good. We ordered the vegan cheese platter and I loved the idea of the different nut cheese spreads and pates. I want to put one together sometime for my next house party...maybe Thanksgiving or Christmas. Anyway, over at Vegan Good Things is a porcini and pecan pate (recipe from Gather in Berkeley, and a nominee for one of the 10 best restaurant dishes of 2010) that looks so tasty and would be the perfect accompaniment to a lovely vegan cheese platter.

4) My mom's signature dish used to chicken and dumplings. My whole family loved it--she made it well. After being away for awhile that's the dish we would always ask for, it was also what I missed the most after going vegetarian. She's since come up with some great vegan recipes (her black bean soup is amazing) for when I visit, but I think it's about time we try to veganize this old family favorite! Tofu Mom over at Tofu 'n' Sprouts has been doing a different post about gravy for the entire MoFo. Yup, I didn't know it was possible either, but she's doing it and doing it well! Today is a recipe for "Chicken" Gravy with Dumplings--it's full-on comfort food and I can't wait to try it out!

Win! This week Robin Robertson has a copy of Vegan Fire & Spice
up for grabs.

MoFo 12: Tamari Roasted Chickpeas

Extreme close-up. Straight from the oven. I'd heard a lot about these little beauties from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan (recipe also posted on Dreena's blog) and decided, being the chickpea lover that I am that it was finally time for me to try them. They were tasty little guys, the perfect amount of salt. I think if I were having a party or needed something to mindlessly munch while watching a movie these would be perfect, but for everyday snacking I'll just stick to my dear friend hummus.

Now for a round, round, round-up! (That's repeated because it's three days' worth and I'm trying to be clever, not because I have a typing stutter...)

1) Soup! Again! I've never put quinoa in soup before because I've never thought of it. It definitely seems like a good idea and this Holiday Soup for the Soul from Oh She Glows looks fantastic.

2) Weekly Vegan Menu has been veganizing restaurant favorites and this time it's Red Robin. While I was never a big fan of that restaurant (alright, they have good french fries) the veganized Bruschetta Burger looks mighty good!

3) I think I've just found what I'm making as my Thanksgiving entree: this decadent looking Festive Chickpea Tart from Dreena's recipe blog. I can't remember making any of Dreena's recipes that haven't been amazing and this seems seasonal and perfectly unfussy.

4) To go with it I think we might need some of these Cranberry Coolers from manifest:vegan. I love the color, and I think the addition of some spiced rum would be the perfect holiday drink, if you're of the imbibing type.

5) Just when I was starting to think I'd seen it all when it came to pumpkin recipes, Christy from The Blissul Chef pulls out the wild card of Pumpkin Hot Chocolate! Mmmhmm...if that doesn't have my name written all over it I don't know what does.

6) Amey at Vegan Eats & Treats has mofo travelled her way to Hungary in the form of Hungarian Eggplant Paprikash. I love eggplant when it's cooked well and this sure does look cooked well. Since it also doesn't look like eggplant I might even be able to get my boyfriend who typically doesn't like it to give it a go. I have to admit I picked this post not only because it looked tasty, but because it reminded me of "When Harry Met Sally." I never knew what paprikash was, and Harry says it at some point to Sally. I don't remember where, but trust me it's in there. That movie is one of my favorites.

Win! Yummy baking goodies are up for grabs at Diet, Dessert, and Dogs. And An Opera Singer in the Kitchen has a giveaway for Fresh and Fast Vegan

MoFo 11: Caramel Corn

I've never been a fan of popcorn. While other people munch away happily at the movie theater (in fact I've known people who want to go to the movies sometimes just so they can get some popcorn) I don't see the appeal. However, if you cover it in sugar then I'm a believer! I picked up a bag of Divvies caramel corn as a sweet snack while in Disneyworld last year and ever since then I've been wanting to make my own (I've also recently tried their kettle corn, which is also great). This was my first attempt. I found the recipe on VegWeb (using their handy dandy iPhone app). It was pretty good. It wasn't super special though. A few days later I tried again and using the variations I left out the margarine and added peanut butter. Wow was that a winning combination! My only complaint is that the popcorn doesn't get firm. And after a few hours it was a little bit soggy. There's a recipe in the latest VegNews for a chocolate caramel corn and it has directions to bake the popcorn after adding the caramel to firm it up. I think I'll try that one next!

This was also the first time I tried popping my own popcorn kernels. I found them in the bulk section and followed these directions from wikihow.

Blog posts to peruse:

1) I grew up making just about nothing from scratch. My parents were busy and it was convenient not to. In fact, I honestly didn't know until my adult cooking years that it was even possible to make certain things without a bag mix (silly, I know). The first time I made a cake myself I was amazed. I had a bit of that same old feeling when I saw this post on pumpkin nog over at Manifest:Vegan. I have no idea what's in traditional eggnog (egg?), but it's another one of those things that never occurred to me to make from scratch or to make a different version. This one sounds great. So warming and perfectly spiced for this time of year.

2) Oh, Isa. Another fabulous looking recipe over at the PPK, this time for Cashew Vegetable Korma. I was looking at this post at school and I had someone come up to me and ask me what I was looking at because it looks amazing. I have to agree!

3) I've made several different recipes for chana masala (here's one, and another). I love it. I've been wanting to find a recipe for one that's a little saucier and this one over at Oh She Glows looks like it might fit that bill perfectly! Also, this recipe for garlic pumpkin mashed potatoes with spinach that Angela wrote up later the same day sounds sooo good.

4) mmm...these baked tofu steaks with mushroom gravy look so tasty. This recipe is from Veggie Belly and the texture of that tofu looks perfect!

5) Pretty much the only way I'll eat cauliflower is if it's curried (here and here) or spiced up like crazy (like here). So, naturally this spicy cauliflower with sesame seeds from 101 Cookbooks spoke to me. It said "eat me." Who am I to argue with talking cauliflower?

6) This gingerbread house post from the gluttonous vegan has visions of sugarplum fairies dancing in my head. I can't believe it's almost Christmas-time! Her gingerbread house looks adorable (and tasty). It reminded me of when I first went to DisneyWorld with my family (heavy on the Disney in the post, but I love it...). It was on Christmas eve and decorated so beautifully. The details they go to are just unbelievable--I mean check out this gingerbread house! It is actually the size of a house. Now if only it were vegan...

Win! Robin's at it again. This time she is offering up a copy of Vegan Unplugged. Noelle over at an opera singer in the kitchen has some coconut products from Coconut Secret up for grabs.