Easter Feast

If you're ever in a jam about hosting a holiday dinner for non-vegans and especially non-vegan parents, you can find a lot of great recipes on-line and in the great selection of vegan cookbooks these days. We really had fun prepping this meal - our first time hosting my parents for a holiday meal. I went all out, but it was a fun adventure from thinking up the menu to eating it! Here's what we can up with - it can work with both Easter and Christmas or other days that are important to you.

Let me just highlight the Tofu Roast. It was really fun to make and while the look wasn't as perfect as Ying Ying's Tofu Roast, it is pretty tasty and made from scratch by yours truly. The only thing i couldn't do was make my perfect stuffing as i had run out of sage without knowing. What's stuffing without it? Though i have to say i kept stealing mouthfuls of the leftovers (cold and in the fridge no less) of the next few days.....

On the Menu for Good Friday:

Tofu Roast by La Dolce Vegan - notices the three stages of it in the photos above.
Mapled Brussel Sprouts from The Vegetable Dishes I can't Live Without
Hedgehog Potatoes from Super Natural Cooking
Miso Gravy by Juice for Life (Fresh restaurant's first book)

Carrots
Orzo Salad
Roasted Garlic Bread from Ace Bakery
Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake by Novel Eats
Oh, and this added bonus by Bunners, our local vegan gluten-free bakery! Vegan Creme Egg (the white stuff on the side is just cream of coconut milk i had extra of). It was pretty yummy and a sweet (pun intended) treat, but as it's the same size as the 'real' egg i don't think it was worth the $4.50. I ate it too fast for that price!

Our Sunday Morning - Shaking the Dressing

We were visiting family today and took a mixed bean and veg salad with us for lunch. As i was shaking the salad dressing, C wanted to help out. So, i passed him the jar and he had fun helping mama shake! I only got the before and after photos, of course.

Here's the recipe if you want a quick and easy salad to go:

Quick Bean and Veg Salad

2 cup chick peas, cooked or from a can and rinsed
2 cup corn kernels
2 cups carrots, cut into small cubes
1 apple, cubed
1 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh watercress, chopped
optional - cheese cubes, smoked tofu cubes, red peppers, celery

Just cut all ingredients, place in bowl and refridgerate with dressing for at least 30 minutes

Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp pear juice
1 garlic, minced
1 tsp miso
1 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper

Place in mason jar and give it a shake!

Our Sunday Morning - Apple Sauce

We had a lovely and quiet day at Chez JVC. After a busy weekend of seeing friends, hosting a dinner party, and having overnight friends, nothing finishes it off better than staying indoors in your comfy clothes.

While C had his nap, i took the time to make apple sauce. We get a bi-weekly food box and always get the same staples. You know, carrots, potatoes, greens, and apples. So, as C loves 'appy' so much, i thought this was great chance for him to have some homemade stuff!

There are many apple sauce recipes out there, but i didn't want to add anything, especially sugar. So we loosely followed Get it Ripe's recipe (always a good reference for healthy cooking regardless) and it is perfect. Eight medium apples to one cup of water and bowl for 20-30 min! Done.

What to Do When You Grow Some Freaky Zucchini

We scored this year with some wonderful veggies in our garden. Specifically, we grew some zucchini and it was definitely very happy with the soil (or something) this year. Not knowing a lot about yellow zucchini growing, we just chanced it. Had a little battered squash blossoms a few weeks back, and then voila - the biggest squash this side of the Junction we've ever seen!

So, what can you do with 3 large zucchinis? So far, we've made Zucchini Mint Balls, Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes, and Zucchini Chard Quiche.
Since i had to improvise and tweak a non-vegan zucchini croquette recipe (source: The Vegetable Dishes I Can't Live Without) to make this my own, i thought i would share it with you. They turned out quite lovely - simple, fresh, and summery.

Zucchini Mint Balls
1 large yellow zucchini (or 2 regular size ones), chopped roughly
1 cup fresh mint leaves
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup fresh chives
1 cup bread crumbs - Japanese Panko ones are a nice touch!
1/2 nutritional yeast
1 tbsp olive oil + some for fry pan

1) Place zucchini, mint, and cloves in food processor and chop until fine and combined.
2) Place in bowl and then add chives, bread crumbs, yeast and 1 tbsp of oil. Mix with spatula lightly until well combined.
3) Using a medium fr pan, heat on medium with some oil. When nice and hot, shape rounded tsps of batter and place in pan. Press down lightly so that they turn more into patties or dumplings ( i am so terrible and keeping things into precise balls!) Cook for about 3 minutes and then gently turn over and fry other side until all is golden brown.
4) Transfer onto plate with some paper towels to absorb excess oil and serve warm.
Yum!

Happy Father's Day to a New Daddy

We just feasted on Tofu Florentine for brunch, all 3 of us! I love how we can now share more meals together as Lil C gets closer to 1. He of course, only had the tofu, spinach and sweet potatoes fries, but he Loved them.

Happy Father's Day to my honey, my main man. A wish too to my dad, Lil C's Deda, and Happy Father's Day to yours too.

Amuse Bouche New Years

We hosted an epic dinner party for New Years. We love dinner parties and themed ones at that. So, to join in the trend of amuse bouche dishes, we thought of having an 8-course feast.

Of course, the dishes are small, so we thought eating so much would be okay. We were wrong! We each took turns preparing our dishes in the kitchen, while the conversation and drinks flowed in the dining room. Bad idea...it took a long time to make the food and the drinks were too good to sip delicately. We had some Rosemary-infused Martinis, wine, and Champagne/Cava. I, of course was on baby duty and breastfeeding, so i kept my sips to ladylike proportions!

The menu was quite extravagant and we definitely outdid ourselves. J and i contributed a Parsnip Pear Soup recipe i found online and served in small eggnog cups. I substituted coconut milk for the regular milk it calls for, making it a lovely, simply dish (and vegan too). I also am in love with balsamic vinegar reductions!
J made a fun Sloppy Joel - with the topping from Veganomicon (lentils instead of typical TVP) and Quinoa Quinoa Cornbread from Vegan Soul Kitchen. Good stuff.
We almost made it to 2010 by course 7, but alas we had to eat the best Tempeh sandwich ever after...not a bad way to start a year, in my opinion! It had homemade BBQ sauce and a lovely cole slaw mixed in it. Goodness! Luckily, it is bigger than a typical amuse bouche, as all our dishes were!

Vegans Can Do Soul Food

I was recently given the book, Vegan Soul Food: Fresh, Healthy and Creative African-American Cuisine by Bryant as a lovely surprise gift. I hadn't even seen it around, so it wasn't on my radar. I guess having a newborn does that to us, right? Anyway, after having some tasty grub (which i also lovingly call my breast milk, but that's another story) at the Red Bamboo restaurant in NYC, i was hopeful that i could make my own 'Po Boys' and Johnny Cakes. And i was right!

J and i tested out the book with 2 simple recipes - Fried Green Tomatoes and Johnny Cakes. The tomatoes we used were from our own backyard. I've never had them before so i can't compare to anything. But, they actually were juicy and i loved the Multipurpose Coating for Dredging Food recipe that came with it.The cakes were nice and plump, and better served with a tasty gravy or chutney of some kind. I can't wait to try more recipes like Blackened Tofu Slabs wit Succotash Salsa, Sweet Cornmeal-Coconut Butter Drop Biscuits, and Spicy Mafe Tempeh. Any of them would go down nicely with a glass of Cinnamon Applejack Toddy.

A lovely touch to the cookbook are Terry's addition of suggested music for each recipe - a great idea because who doesn't dance around in the kitchen while cooking?! I sure do - it keeps Li'l C happy while i'm busy cooking.

Not Quite Canning, but Close

I wish i had time to can all the great stuff that is in abundance in Ontario right now, but at least i canned some tomato sauce from the tomatoes we had - grown both in our garden and my parents. Remember this post?

I also made pumpkin bread pudding for Thanksgiving dinner with friends, from Hannah's great blog Bitter Sweet. It called for Fudge sauce, and since we had so much left over, i get to store it. I love Bonne Maman jars, and it looks so scrumptious with chocolatey goodness inside. Too bad i sneak a spoonful of it from time to time...too bad for my post-baby belly i mean!

Zucchini Blossom Goodness

We have been busy here getting to know baby, but fortunately we were lucky enough to create a lovely dinner with friends recently. Better still, some of the items for our dinner came right from our garden.

We are growing all kinds of veggies - squash, zucchini, and cucumbers - that love to crawl. So, since we had a lovely supply of zucchini blossoms, we recalled recipes that existed where we could get a taste of the lovely yellow flowers. There are oodles of recipes on-line, and my non-vegan friends really enjoyed this one. I made a vegan cream cheeze with dill/chili pepper cream that was lovely too. We also did a simple batter of spelt flour, club soda and salt instead of the more elaborate one. With the left over batter, we made onion rings and yummy (i swear!) deep fried bananas with chocolate chips!

Tofu Burgers

After our recent garden party, i had quite a bit of extra firm tofu left over. Since we didn't just want to make scrambled tofu all the time, i looked at creating some other tasty dishes. Here's one i loosely based from the cookbook Everyday Vegan. I made it my own mainly because i didn't have all their ingredients, but also because it was fun to experiment!

The burgers came out nice and plump, and quite light - not as dense as i expected. I'm happy to report that a tofu-based burger, one that is pureed even, is quite nice!

Tofu Burgers

1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
1 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp Braggs
1 package extra firm tofu
1/2 cup beans in tomatoes
1 cup bread crumbs
1 tbsp fresh dill
1 tbsp Braggs
2 tsp stone ground Mustard
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp chili powder

1) Saute onions in oil, over medium heat. Season with s/p and add carrots. Saute both until softened, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, pepper and Braggs. Continue to cook until all softened and combined well. Remove from heat.
2) Break tofu into chunks, and then place in food processor. Puree until mashed.
3) Place all above ingredients into large bowl, and stir to combine with spatula. Then add remaining ingredients, making sure to mix well.
4) If not moist and/or sticking together well, add more breadcrumbs and/or sauce from beans.
5) Scoop mixture into hand, or alternatively a ice cream scoop, and form patties. Using the same pan, coat with more oil. Fry patties over medium for about 5-6 minutes, or until browned.

We made these into sandwiches, and since it made a lot, also over salad as leftovers!

Going All Out Lasagna

I love lasagna and i love thinking of ways to love it even more. Today, on a quiet Sunday afternoon, i made it my vow to make a vegan lasagna that covered all the bases - hearty, healthy, and heavenly. Usually, my lasagnas just have a few food items that are repeated throughout. Today, i can no longer claim this! I had veggie ground meat ( i call it 'ground veet'), breaded eggplant, almond cream, and steamed kale, along with the usual marinara sauce and noodles.

Here are some step-by-step photos, or at least some of the ingredients i used! Here's the list, followed by instructions.1 package of lasagna noodles
2 cups ground veet
1 medium eggplant
1 bunch kale
2 cups marinara sauce
1 cup almond cream (recipe follows)

To make, follow these simple steps. Really, while making this pie can take a few steps, none are that complicated!

1) Make your standard marinara sauce. If you don't have one, look anywhere on-line and or in your favourite cookbook! Set aside
2) Make almond cream, and then set aside. To make, here are the ingredients:
1 package silken tofu, extra firm
1/2 cup roasted almonds
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cornstarch
nutmeg, small sprinkle
salt/pepper to taste
1/4 cup water, optional (to make the consistency you would like)

Steps: First, place almonds and lemon juice in food processor. Puree until creamy. Add all other ingredients, adding as much water as you need. I like my thick, so i added about 3 tbsp of water.3) Make eggplant rounds: Cut one eggplant into rounds, not too thick! Dip each round into shallow bowl of olive oil, and then bowl full of breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast, and dried basil (about 1 cup crumbs and 1/2 yeast). Place onto oiled bake sheet, then in an oven pre-heated at 400, bake for 15 minutes. Take out, turn, back for 15 more, or until both sides are crispy and darkened. I sprayed a bit of oil on both sides too. Set aside

4) Make your lasagna noodles as per package specifications. I added a bunch of kale near the end too - to save on water and cleaning up pots. When noodles are about 3-5 minutes away from being done, toss in the greens!

5) Make your ground veet. Follow package instructions, but what i do is boil water and add 1:1 ratio of water to ground veet. I needed two cups of it, so 2:2. I also added herbes des provence for some added flavour.6) Now that you have all your parts, assemble as follows:
a) 1/2 marinara sauce goes on bottom of 9x13 pan
b) add noodles - about 3-4 of them
c) add ground veet
d) top with eggplant slices
e) place kale on top
f) next comes 1/2 of almond cream, make sure to spread around if necessary
g) add rest of noodles
h) top with rest of marinara sauce
i) finish with rest of almond cream or vegan cheeze if you wish

7) Wrap with tin foil and bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes. Take off foil and bake for 10 more minutes or until golden and bubbly.

Quick and Easy Fudge

New Year's Eve, we partook in a Murder Mystery party. Set in 1926, the caper involved a murdered lead actor, only to be found killed by yours truly, a young understudy with a bad streak. I don't think i played good murderer, but i did bring some good treats to keep things warm and sweet. Like me, out of character...ha ha ha.

Found in My Sweet Vegan and perfect for a night of danger and mayhem, i made her "5 Minute Coconut Chocolate Fudge." It really did take mere minutes, and didn't involve any baking. I have never made fudge, but i couldn't help but recall images of fudge makers laboriously working over the stiffening fudge as they mixed it in the bowl. That was me for a few minutes!

To make the recipe a bit more 'holiday-y' i added cinnamon. About a teaspoon i think. So in the end, the recipe could lovingly be called "The 3 C's Fudge" - cinnamon, coconut, and chocolate.

a crafty vegan's 12 Days of Christmas - Day 10

Creamy Holiday Dips: Eating Well Over the Holidays

I love eating food that i seem to reserve for the holidays - things that are loaded a bit more in calories and are otherwise decadent and delectable treats. As i'm off work for 2 weeks starting yesterday, it has already happened! But, another great part of the holidays are all the parties and get-togethers to have with friends. Bringing a dip like this with chips or veggies is an instant success! Of course, all the snow we've had lately is an instant way to walk off the added weight and calories - each lift of a leg seems to be weighed down by all the snow!

Creamy Artichoke Dip

Now, i have no idea what the traditional non-vegan version tastes like, but this is mine:

6 oz silken tofu, medium consistency preferred
1/4 cup vegan mayo
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup pickled artichokes, diced
6 fresh mushrooms, small dices
1 garlic clove, minced
dash of salt and pepper

1) Cream tofu and mayo in food processor, until smooth.
2) Add other ingredients, mix until combined
3) Enjoy! This is good for about 6 servings, but it is easy to double for a larger party.

Good Eats

I've made some yummy dishes lately and here's a wee photo spread of them: veggie calzones, vegan club sandwiches, and pumpkin pie...the calzone dough recipe is from Garden of Vegan and is a lovely soft and bubbly dough. The club is made with vegan salami and chicken (i called it vi-ken instead because it feels too weird to refer to these items as meat) and it was my first time having home-made club sandwiches. The pie recipe is from Get it Ripe and we also made the Cashew Creme to go with it. Lovely - dense and rich.

The First Weekend of September

The first weekend of September is always a busy one for me and here's why:
1) Toronto International Film Festival - great to see some movies and some stars
2) Cabbagetown Arts Festival and Yard Sale Extravaganza!
3) Junction Arts Festival - my nabe's annual party
and
4) Toronto's Annual Vegetarian Food Fair.

While the weather could have co-operated a wee bit better (rain yet again), it was a great weekend nonetheless. Besides eating a lot and strolling even more, J and i got to go all over the city on our bikes. I just love weekends like this.

At the Food Fair, we nibbled on some tasty treats and left with another new vegan cookbook in our hands, Get it Ripe: A Fresh Take on Vegan Cooking and Living. One by our very own jae steele, and if the recipes we already tried out are anything to gauge by, this book will not disappoint. Yum yum. Can i say Cashew Gravy anyone? She fills the first section of the book with very informative and useful stuff - like why all the food is actually good for you, and quick reference charts on how to cook beans and grains. I say that this book would be great for anyone, even if you already have all the other 'staples' of vegan cookbooks!

Maybe this picture will help ya out:Last night's dinner consisted of Quinoa Tabboulleh, Cashew Gravy, Buttamilk Biscuits (not shown) - all from her book, with roasted potatoes and veggie steak.

When a Vegan Goes Camping...

I went camping with a bunch of friends this past weekend. It was my first time doing so in a few years. I'm not sure why we haven't been in so long - i am a true urbanite, but i do love the escape to nature every now and then. Maybe it's because i've had a few cottages to go to each summer, and i must admit i prefer that to camping. But, now that we have our very own tent (thanks to my sis and her partner), we were ready to go and test it out!

The weather co-operated with us for the most part, and we went to a conservation park that i used to go when i was a kid, so that was fun and nostalgic. Ironically enough, we also stayed in the same camp site i went to with my sweetie on an anniversary about 6 years ago - oh, and happy 8 years to us this week!

When going camping, it can present a certain challenge to be vegan and still eat well, especially being the only vegan in a group. But, i have to say we were pretty successful. When doing some searches on-line for more ideas for menus, i came across Cooking Camper or Camping Cook's blog. There's a great post all about tips on how to prep food for camping. A great resource for sure - and it's vegan! So, while i didn't get to use any of the recipes there, on the menu was:1) Bannock dogs and beans (simple recipe of bannock placed over a veggie dog that was cooked over an open fire)
2) Pancakes (brought a homemade dry mix that we added soy milk and oil to). Recipe was found here
3) Hummos and crackers like these awesome ones!
4) Burritos - stuffed with veggies cooked in the open fire (peppers, mushrooms and onions), refried beans, vegan cheese, avocado, and salsa
5) Chocolate-stuffed bananas - if only i got a photo of this loveliness. I simply cut small chunks of bittersweet chocolate, and then cut a scratch into a banana. Don't cut all the way, treat the banana like a hot dog bun. I then covered it in tin foil and placed it in the open pit for about 10 minutes or so.
6) Breakfast burritos - used left over beans and cheese from the night before. I also had a bagel with peanut butter - boy, one sure gets hungry when camping!
7) Vegan Brownies - made by a great friend who made them from the trusty Rebar cookbook

Plus, lots of good wholesome snacks like veggie chips, fruit (mmmm, local strawberries!) finished off with some lovely Pomtinis!

Can't wait to go again!

Ruby Red Pie

My in-laws celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary recently, and J and i made a pie as a contribution. We found out that this anniversary is marked by rubies, so we decided to make a nice red berry pie. It was such a delight to see our little nephew, who incidently loves pie so much that it his whole face lights up when we say pie, let alone when he sees it, or even eats it!

We followed a simple pie crust recipe from ReBar, but you can use any old pie crust recipe - the one in Veganomicon for Seitan Pot Pie could work even better. We then created our own pie-filling. Here is the filling ingredients:

1 pint of strawberries (about 1 lb), sliced
1/2 pint of raspberries
handful of small rhubarb stalks (approx 1/2 lb)
1 mango, cut into small cubes
1 orange, zest and juice
1 small lemon, juice
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour

1. Prepare fruit by washing and cutting to similar bite-size pieces. Place in large bowl.
2. Add orange zest and juice, as well as lemon juice. Mix in sugar and flour.
3. Toss gently as to not bruise fruit and get rid of any thickening clumps.
4. Pour into prepared pie shell, and be mindful to not add too much liquid as it can get quite juicy. It might help to bake pie in a larger baking pan just to be safe.

A Green Long Weekend

Victoria Day long weekend has come and gone - it seemed a bit early this year, and cold. We busied ourselves in the city, and spent the bulk of the day today in the garden. Supposedly, this first long weekend of the summer is associated with the first real bulk of garden work. Being new to gardening, and accompanied by such cold weather, i'm not sure if this was the best weekend to start! That said, i can't wait for my first batch of peonies to blossom (picture above).

So, i busied myself with other green things too:
I made this yummy Tofu Florentine from the Veganomicon. Tasty! I don't think i've ever had the 'real thing,' and while i know this isn't actually like it, i don't need it to be. The fresh green spinach added such a nice touch, as this wonderful photo taken by J!
Not quite for this weekend, but i made my mom this bulletin board for Mother's Day. It's green (her favourite colour). First, i sewed some pockets on to the fabric, and then i used a new cookie sheet with a lip, and used fabric adhesive to put this lovely vintage fabric on. Since it's magnetic, i also got a great collection of magnets too!

This old classic, first printed in the late 1880s seems to be a distant grandmother to these new books being printed today. The title may be hard to see, but it's called House and Home: A Complete House-Wife's Guide. My mom found it on the side of the road. I think this edition was printed in the 1940s or so, but it could be older. With chapters on "the Etiquette of Family Life," "Licensed Beggar or Business Partner" (a chapter on marriage), and a whole section on menu-making, i'm sure this book was the prize gift for any new bride. It's been fun reading this 'classic.' It's been fun reading it this weekend! Here's a quote:

One must, in mental and spiritual stature, get her head well
above the dust of conceit and the fogs of ignorance before
she can appreciate the dignity of true womanhood.

First BBQ of the Season

J and i bought a fun charcoal BBQ with an added smoker feature recently. We were excited to test it out and did so over the weekend, when the weather was still teasing us with warm hints of summer. I was hungry for something Indian and J wanted to grill our cauliflower, so i thought we could try making a Tandoori Cauliflower recipe that i found on-line. I just used vegan plain yoghurt and readymade tandoori spice mix and it was the easiest tandoori dish to make. And, very tasty i might add. The recipe was pretty straightforward otherwise, and the BBQ worked well, though i'm sure an actual tandoori overn is that much better and more authentic.I also made a lovely Saag Paneer curry (spinach and cheese) where i used Sunergia's Indian Masala Tofu as the paneer. It was lovely. For this dish, i followed a recipe from an old vegetarian Indian cookbook i had. Because i had some leftover tandoori sauce, i incorporated that in too. I'm sure you can find many recipes on line for this dish, but i highly recommend finding this great tofu to use instead of paneer as well as basic tofu. It has a great combination of spices as well as texture that added to the curry in ways regular tofu doesn't.

To compliment the dish, we grilled some asparagus on the BBQ too. Of course, we made Basmati rice to complete the meal too.

A New Cookbook

After hearing about this book for a few months, and wondering, 'do i need another vegan cookbook?' i just couldn't resist it anymore. This book is like vegan porn for me. I can just sit with it for hours and just read over it, gently. With just a few photos to wet my taste buds, my creative eyes take the leap into vivid dreams of loveliness.

With books such as Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and Vegan with a Vengeance, let alone the amazing website Post Punk Kitchen, it's no wonder that Veganomicon is brilliant. I have already tried a couple of the recipes, namely the Asparagus Quiche (with just a 'slight' sub of leeks instead of asparagus) and the results were yummily stumpendous!
Run to your bookstore, on on-line store for a copy, it will not disappoint! Have it with a nice cup of Bambu, like i did!