good eats!

i gotta say, i'm kinda proud of myself these days. i've been cooking! now, to be clear i love cooking and i do it all the time, but lately i'm actually planning meals out. which never happens! evan and i usually stumble into the kitchen around 8pm to see what we can create out of what's in our cabinets, and while it's always delicious, it's rarely creative. for the past week though i've been prepping in advance and making actual dinners... kudos to me!

you already saw last weeks stuffed pepper night...

then there was zucchini boats and israeli couscous. these rocked my face off!

i even did dessert. warm brownies with cherry ice cream!

and tonights meal... a 10lb lasagna!

this beast is cooking as we speak!

it feels really good to switch things up a bit and add some delicious new vegan goodies to our routine. let's just hope this trend continues, cause it's making my belly happy!

vegan comfort food

a few months ago while evan and i were visiting my parents in atlanta, my mom busted out her beef stew recipe and veganized it for us. i think evan had been craving it every day since! so last night adam and steph came over for some cooking and hang outs and we whipped up a big ol' pot of stew. good lord was it yummy! it goes a little something like this...

VEGAN BEEF STEW

2- packages of gardein beef tips

1- 16oz bag of baby carrots chopped in half or so

1- bag of celery cut into 2" pieces

1- large onion chopped

2- bay leaves to be removed before serving (we actually didn't have these and it was still delicious!)

2- envelopes lipton onion soup mix

1- carton veggie broth, or 2 cans

there is really no exact way to do this so you can adjust and flavor to your liking as well.

first brown the beef tips in a bit of oil, this will give the gravy a bit more flavor. once browned, set aside. add broth and a few cups of water (start with 2 cups and add more later if needed) to a large pot. then add all veggies and bay leaves and bring to a boil. reduce to simmer and let cook for about 40 mins until veggies are tender. add beef tips, salt and pepper to taste (we added lots of pepper but no salt since there is a lot in the soup mix) and simmer for another 20 minutes. in a separate bowl mix corn starch and water together and slowly add it to the stew to thicken the gravy. definitely do this slowly because it thickens quick!

we served it over bow tie pasta with a side of crescent rolls (also vegan!) and it was the ultimate comfort food! it fed the 4 of us last night (and evan and adam can do some eating!) and we still have leftovers today. that's the kinda cooking i like! let me know if you give this a whirl. my momma would be so excited!

also, don't forget today's the last day to enter the nautical giveaway. i'll be announcing the winner later on... happy friday!

vegan reese's peanut butter balls

evan and i aren't really big valentine's day celebrators. we actually had absolutely nothing special planned for yesterday and we were both just fine with that. i went to yoga, evan worked late, and when we got home we ate some yummy dinner and caught up on 30 rock... a perfect evening in my book!

i did want to do one little special thing for evan since he's been so wonderful about me cutting sugar and carbs out of our dinners these past few weeks. so i got this recipe for peanut butter balls from our friend lia, who got it from our friend bryan, who i'm not really sure where he got it from. lia made us a huge batch of these for our wedding and they were a hit! evan loved them (as he loves anything involving chocolate and peanut butter), and i thought it would bring a little smile to his face to come home to such a fabulous sweet treat! they're so super easy to make and taste just like reese's peanut butter cups... which p.s. were my favorite pre-vegan candy so these really hit the spot for me! here's how to make 'em...

you'll need...

1 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup softened margarine

dash of vanilla extract (optional)

2 cups powdered sugar

chocolate chips

stir together peanut butter, margarine and vanilla in a mixing bowl. i was actually out of vanilla and didn't feel like going to the store, so i just left it out. i couldn't tell a difference. next add 1 1/2 cups of the powdered sugar. mix together starting with a spoon or fork, then use hands to knead it into a dough ball. add the remainder of the powdered sugar for a chalky (more reese's) consistency, or leave it out for a creamy filling. i added the extra!

melt the chocolate in a double boiler, and while that's melting make up your little peanut butter balls.

you can then either drop the balls in the chocolate to coat them...

or drizzle the chocolate over top for a fancy pants look! (note: i had to thin my chocolate with a bit of soymilk to get it to drizzle)

place on wax paper and let cool in the fridge...

these can be eaten while still warm and gooey, cooled in the fridge, or even as a frozen treat! evan loved them, and i even broke my no sugar for 21 days rule to enjoy one. how could i resist?

vegan comfort cooking

one of the things that i'm striving for in life is to actually use all of the cookbooks that evan and i own. currently they sit in a cabinet and generally only see the light of day about 2 or 3 times a year. terrible, i know! i would love to be the kind of person that plans out meals for the week (or at least for that day) and isn't rummaging through the cabinets at 8pm wondering what evan and i should eat for dinner. i really love cooking, so this shouldn't be such a big task. it's just that i'm not that much of a planner. i'm kinda a fly by the seat of my pants type of gal.

anywho, for the past few days i've been going through our cookbooks and post-it noting everything that i wanted to try sooner rather then later. i made a list, went shopping, and got it all checked off. kudos to me! so without further adieu, i give you, last nights dinner!

chickpea broccoli casserole

-from the vegan with a vengeance cookbook-

admittedly it's not the prettiest of things, but it was so super delicious and yummy! the chickpeas take on a creamy mashed potato effect and it's like the ultimate comfort food!

and on the side we had...

garlicky kale with tahini dressing

-also from the VWAV cookbook-

these were knock my socks off gooooood! i've been craving kale lately, and i also have a love for tahini that just can't be described, so this really hit the spot for me!

i definitely recommend giving this meal a go. it did take a good deal of prep time, but it was absolutely worth it! i've also got enough casserole left over for another 2 dinners! gotta love that :)

here's the casserole...

3 cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 large onion, thinly sliced

3 carrots grated, about 3 cups

1 head of broccoli chopped, about 4 cups

2 tablespoons chopped chives

1/2 a cup of bread crumbs

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup veggie broth

1 tsp salt

preheat oven to 350

first, mash up the chickpeas using either a potato masher or a large fork. this takes a few minutes, but not every single chickpea needs to be broken down. think chunky mashed potatoes! next add the onion, carrot, broccoli, and chives and mix it up. then add bread crumbs, mix. add oil, and mix again. last add broth and salt and give it one last stir up. i also added a few splashes of braggs liquid aminos at this point just to give it a little extra nums! dump it all into a 9" x 13" casserole dish and press firmly. cover with foil and bake for 45 mins. remove foil and bake for another 15 mins. at this point it's all set to eat. i however put it on broil for just a few more mins to really get a good crisp on top. apparently a lot of people say that this is somewhat bland, but it can certainly be dressed up anyway you like. i thought it was absolutely perfect though, just the way it is! (evan added salt, but that's to be expected)

and now the garlicky kale...

2 or 3 cloves of garlic (they suggest 5 or 6, but i thought less was just fine)

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 bunch of kale, rinsed and chopped (remove stems from below the leaf and also if they're more then 1/4" thick)

saute garlic in olive oil for a few mins until it's golden brown. add kale and a splash of water. toss it around and get it all coated in the delicious goodness. i also added another splash of braggs here. i just love it! cook about 5 mins and serve with tahini dressing...

the dressing...

8 tsps olive oil

3 cloves garlic chopped

1/2 a cup of tahini

2 tsps balsamic vinegar

1/2 a tsp of salt

juice of one lemon

a bit of black pepper

1/2 tsp of paprika (which i was out of and it was just fine anyway)

1/4 cup lightly packed fresh parsley

1/2 cup cold water

heat garlic in 6 tsps of the olive oil just until it starts smelling yummy. place the garlic, and everything else except the parsley, in a blender and blend until smooth. add parsley and pulse a few more times. stick it in the fridge for at least half and hour before eating. a little bit more water can be added if it's too thick.

enjoy!!!

vegan chicken salad

the other night i whipped up a little vegan chicken salad, which i hadn't done in quite some time, and it was so super yummy i just had to share it. this is quite possibly one of the easiest things to make because it doesn't require any measuring whatsoever... well at least the way i do it :)

INGREDIENTS-

TVP (textured vegetable protein)- i get it in our health food stores bulk section and that's generally the cheapest, but you can also buy it bagged.

Vegenaise- that's vegan mayo, if it wasn't obvious by the name

Carrots

Celery

Apple Cider Vinegar

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Salt

Pepper

first you need to reconstitute the TVP. to do this just pour boiling water over it slowly. you just want to add enough to get it all wet, but not create a soupy mess. add more as it absorbs if needed. if you've never eaten TVP, it's an amazing meat substitute. really great texture and can even fool the most devout meat eater!

while that's cooling, you can do the rest of your prep work. chop up come celery. i like a lot in mine, but you can add as much as you see fit. a little tip... you can also use celery salt instead if you'd like the flavor but not the crunch :) then it's carrot time! i use a cheese grater for my carrots. much easier and quicker then chopping! also just use as much or as little as you like...

once your TVP is reconstituted and cooled you can put it all together. add however much vegenaise you would like. it does take a good deal to coat everything. then add a splash of apple cider vinegar. add garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to taste.

at this point it's all ready to be gobbled up!

the first night evan and i had it on toasted bread with some lettuce and tomato. super yummer! then the next day we had it for lunch on a bed of greens, which is my personal fave. any way you eat it, it never disappoints!

enjoy!

vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes

one of my all time favorite little treats to make during the fall/winter months are pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes (to me they seem more muffin like though) from the vegan cupcakes take over the world cookbook.

they are so super easy to whip up and equally super yummy! most of the ingredients are things that you probably already have in your pantry, and i make sure to keep chocolate chips and canned pumpkin on hand at all times for whenever this craving occurs!

so this morning when the craving hit, i couldn't help but get in touch with my inner betty crocker!

topped with a bit of cinnamon sugar glaze, and along with a cup of tea, they made for quite a delightful little breakfast!

the recipe...

1 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup oil
1 c granulated sugar
1/4 cup soy milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. preheat oven to 350.

2. in a med. bowl, stir together pumpkin, oil, sugar, soy milk and vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir together with a fork -- don't use a mixer, as it will make the batter gummy. Once well combined, fold in the chocolate chips.

3. Fill cupcake liners two-thirds full. Bake for 22 to 24 minutes (or approx 14 mins for mini's). Transfer to a wire rack and let fullly cool before icing.

CINNAMON ICING
1/2 c. confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 T. margarine, melted
1 T. soy milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Place sugar & cinn. in small bowl. Add margarine, soy milk & vanilla and stir with a fork until smooth. Keep at room temp until ready to use. The mix should look opaque and honey brown; if it's glistening a lot or looks too liquid, add a little conf. sugar.

weekend in review...

welp, Rock & Shop was AMAZING! i had so much fun and it was a fabulously successful event. it ended up snowing all day up in durham, but not even the fluffy flakes could keep the shoppers away. if you're in the area for the next one, i definitely recommend giving it a go. here are a few pics i snapped up of my table real quick before the event got going...

can't forget about my assistant... best hubs ever!

it was so busy the entire day that i didn't even get to sneak away from my booth to snap pics of everyone else. i guess that's a good thing, but i would have loved to share more. they should be posting some pics up on their flickr site at some point, so feel free to browse those too :)

in other positively giddy news, remember last week when i said i was now on the hunt for the perfect christmas stockings. well, i've already found them! on sunday evan and i went to sleepy poet, here in charlotte, with some friends just to do a little browsing. i had never been there before and had heard some amazing things about it. after about 2 hours of meandering we were getting about ready to head out. that's when i saw them. these two absolutely adorable, vintage quilted stockings. at just 8 bucks each, i simply couldn't say no!

eeeep... i still get so excited looking at them! so here is our little festive nook in the living room. it's so cozy when we've got the little fireplace on, with a pup curled up in front of it. i'm pretty pleased as punch about it all!

hope everyone had just as fantastic of a weekend. i think i shall go make a bit of hot cocoa now with these vegan marshmallows that we picked up, and settle in for a little relaxation time. it's the little things that make winter a.o.k!

raising vegan...

i wanted to share this little blog entry i just read and found to be pretty interesting because of a recent discussion evan and i had. though we don't have any children just yet, we know that when we do we will definitely be raising them vegan. i know people often think that raising children vegan is unhealthy, but that just tends to be based on a lack of information. though it is admittedly more work, in my opinion there is no question as to whether or not it is worth it. i am a healthy vegan, my husband is a healthy vegan, and our child will be a healthy vegan.

anywho... evan and i are in no doubt that our home will remain an all vegan home even with little ones running around. however, the point we don't quite see eye to eye on is what will occur once they are old enough to make their own decisions. evan thinks that if we're completely open and honest with our kids right from the start, then they'll understand why veganism is so important and seeing as they've never known any different, they won't have any desire to stray from that path. i however tend to think that they'll often feel left out of certain things, like cake at friends birthday parties, and candy on halloween, and will eventually choose to stray from veganism. then i read this post...

“I am a 14 year old girl and have been vegan my entire life. People always ask me, 'Why are you vegan? Isn’t it so hard?' But the truth is, it’s so easy to be vegan. Maybe that’s because it’s been my lifestyle for 14 years, who knows? Sure, there have been times when I’ve walked past a dessert store and have seen delicious cakes, but I know that if I took one bite of any of those cakes it wouldn’t appeal to me. I think that’s because I grew up without that kind of food, and I’m not used to it, so it just doesn’t sound good to me.

So many people say things like, 'I could never be vegan, because I hate soy milk and fake meat,' but I think that those people think that way because they’re not used to those foods, the same way that I’m not used to dairy-filled cakes.

People always think that as a vegan, your food options are so minimal, but that is because those people haven’t actually tried to be vegan, when in fact it’s so easy to find vegan options.

As the holidays come around, I am asked the same questions. Especially around Halloween, kids wave around Kit Kats, Snickers, Hershey’s chocolate bars, and other various sweets in my face saying, 'Oooohhhh too bad you can’t have this stuff!' But the truth is, I have no cravings for those sweets, and there are so many other options – much healthier options. On Halloween, parents always think that it's OK to let their kids eat all of those sweets, because it's just for one night. But one night can change a life – there are poisons and chemicals moving throughout the body as people digest these unsafe treats.

I spend my Halloweens just like any other kid, going around to each house, asking for candy. But at the end of the night, instead of eating all of that candy, I give it to my friends.

It is so easy for me, and it’s my own personal life choice – my parents aren’t forcing this lifestyle on me; it’s my decision. I remember when my dad sat me down once and said, 'Sweetie, if you ever decide to go another direction with your diet, just tell me first.' He was probably saying that so that he would be able to talk me out of it, but now I see that I won’t need to have that conversation with him, because it’s my life choice, and my life choice is to be vegan."

well, obviously i was proven wrong in this case, and i'm rather glad that i was too! i guess because i've never known anyone who has been vegan from birth, i don't have anything to base my opinions on. once i started hunting around a bit more, i noticed that there are quite a number of young vegans out there who are really excited and motivated about remaining animal product free. i guess with any parenting decision you can pass along all the information and facts to your children and just hope that some of it sticks. i suppose only time will tell..

so here's to all you young vegans out there!

feeling festive...

this weekend was all about getting into the halloween spirit!

saturday night steph and i had a little "gals only" sleepover. we've both been kinda stressed lately, so this was a much needed night of kicking back middle school style. we stocked up on snacks, beverages and ample scary movies! (ps, did you know that you can get a set of the first 4 nightmare on elm st movies at walmart for just 13 bucks!) laughs were shared, nails were painted, and a good night sleep on the comfiest couch ever was had. i woke the next morning feeling quite refreshed indeed!

sunday afternoon steph, evan and i all went halloween costume shopping, (i won't share just yet what the costumes are, you'll just have to wait for the pics) and then regrouped at adam and stephs later that night. we decided to let the boys in on some halloween fun and we all did a little pumpkin carving.

steph and i hadn't carved pumpkins since we were wee little ones, so we both decided to keep it pretty simple and not get too far ahead of ourselves. stephs is the above scary one on the left, i'm the goofy one on the right :)

the boys of course decided to get a bit more intricate. adams is the friday the 13th style pumpkin... and evans is the scary fanged monster.

and naturally the best part about pumpkin carving, is pumpkin seed roasting! i highly recommend this made up buffalo pumpkin seed recipe...

*wash and clean seeds of all pumpkin stringies and fibers

*spread seeds in a single layer on oiled baking sheet

*add salt, pepper, garlic powder and minced onion to taste

*splash on as much franks hot sauce as you like (i like a good bit!)

*mix it up so that all the seeds are coated, and spread back into a single layer

*bake at 325, checking and turning every 10 mins, for about half and hour

i totally made this recipe up, but they came out AMAZING! just enough heat to keep you coming back for more.

i'm super excited for more halloween antics this week! anyone else do any fun festive goodies over the weekend? do share :)

mmm mmmm good!

happy monday, i hope a lovely weekend was had by all! the mr and i had quite a busy weekend and i must admit i'm pretty happy when my peaceful monday rolls around. i realize that i am one of the few folks in the world who enjoys this day, so i won't linger on that thought too long.

today i wanted to share one of my new go to recipes. i mentioned in my last post that one of my recent obsessions is zucchini pasta. not only am i in love with it because it's so stinking delicious, but it's also so super easy to make and clean up after.

as you may or may not already know, i've been making an effort to incorporate more raw foods into my diet. since doing the master cleanse a couple of weeks ago, i now crave healthy delicious raw foods pretty much every moment of the day. more raw foods = more living foods = more energy going into your body = a happier me! i can say without a doubt that i notice a difference in how i feel when i'm eating less processed foods and more whole, raw, delicious goodies! so without further adieu, here is zucchini pasta in all its glory...

this has become my raw food bible. the recipes are so easy, and so far all fabulous!

the recipe...

the ingredients...

bell pepper, tomato, onion, basil, oil, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, zucchini, salt, pepper, and a spiral slicer. i purchased this slicer to really do the job right. i absolutely love it and would recommend it to anyone! you certainly don't need one to make this dish though. you can use a veggie peeler instead and make wider noodles. just as yummy!

the sauce prep work...

chop it all up and throw it in a food processor or blender. easy peasy!

the finished sauce... mmmmm!

making the pasta...

this slicer makes it ridiculously easy to make long spaghetti type noodles. some ended up being about 3 feet long and i realized i should probably go ahead and slice them up a bit before serving. it takes all of about 30 seconds to turn one zucchini into a bowl of noodles!

beautiful!

then just pick out your favorite pasta bowl...

evan and i always eat pasta out of these super cute bowls our friend lesli made us for a wedding gift.

and just like that you've got an amazing raw, vegan pasta meal you can feel fantastic about devouring! we went ahead and ate ours at room temperature and it was amazing, but you can certainly warm it up a bit if you like. the goal of eating raw is to retain as much of the nutrients as possible without cooking them away, so you just don't want to heat it above 116 degrees F.

i've made the pasta for lunch a few more times since this, and just had it with fresh basil, olive oil, and chopped sun dried tomatoes. it's been amazing each and every time i've had it. you simply can't go wrong!

if you're thinking about working some raw meals into your diet this book is a great place to start. almost all of the recipes use about 5 or 6 ingredients, and they're often things that you would already have in the house. i'm the kind of person that gets easily overwhelmed by cookbooks, but i've found this one to be a great intro into the world of raw food. amazingly easy, and equally as tasty! you can also watch the author, jennifer cornbleet, make this recipe here, and some of her many other creations here.

also check out her "not tuna pate". it's the perfect thing to keep in the fridge for a quick healthy raw lunch. i especially love it on a simple bed of arugula, with a drizzle of olive oil, a splash of lemon, and a bit of ground black pepper. yumm-o!

let's talk chicken!

the other night evan made a meal that knocked my socks off! vegan fried chicken. it's been days since we had it for dinner and still i dream about it.

while visiting some friends in NYC recently, we stocked up on may wah faux chicken products. if you are vegan and have not experienced these you're missing out! most vegetarian restaurants use these goodies in their dishes. evan fried these up, after coating them in a batter that consists of a good deal of mustard and a dry mix with a good deal of nutritional yeast, and they were like little pillows of heaven. greasy pillows, but pillows none the less! we had it with sides of broccoli and mashed potatoes and ate until we wanted to barf.

check out the recipe and cook some up tonight. it does not disappoint!

taco salad night!

i would just like to take a moment and share with ya'll the amazingness of last nights dinner. it all started off with me trying to figure out how to get rid of some of our perishables in the fridge before we head out of town for the weekend. what came of this fantastic task not even i could have predicted! taco salad night!

we had some left over corn tortilla shells that i cut up into triangles and baked for a few minutes. what yummy little chips theses made. we had half a head of left over lettuce, half a block of vegan cheese, 6 cherry tomatoes, a few scoops of vegan sour cream, a can of cuban style black beans, and a splash of salsa. i threw all of those goodies in two bowls and voila! taco salad night was born...

i'm often a big fan of making "concoctions". throwing a bunch of random ingredients into a bowl and hoping for the best. this one, i must say, was one of my more successful endeavors!