PETA Vegan Mushroom Risotto Review

Overnight Oatmeal Review

So I’m not a big fan of oat meal, steel cut or not. It’s not that I haven’t had amazing oatmeal before, it’s more of a texture thing. The texture of oatmeal, depending on how I’m feeling, kinda grosses me out. I want oatmeal to be my thing, I want to always want to WANT it. It’s good for you, healthily and hearty.

Chocolate Chip Pancake Recipe Review

So when I was young, my dad would make Sunday breakfast. There would be pancakes, eggs, bacon or sausage, and fried potatoes. It was always a joy, and I look back on those memories fondly.

Lemon Pepper Chickpea Salad Recipe Review

Lemon Pepper Chickpea Salad

RECIPES for EVERYTHING #4

A Kind of Black Bean Soup (recipe un-named)
Recipe at the bottom

So after a long night at the shop, I drove over to my local Kroger and picked up like 3 things I was missing for this EASY soup! Seriously! I saved some awesome recipes from like 3-4 years ago. HAHAHA!

RECIPES for EVERYTHING #3

Veggie Kabob’s!

By far super easy! I bought more of the veggies that I liked in the recipe. So lots of mushrooms and onions! I did a very small amount of shopping for this recipe, and luckily we had bamboo skews laying around… I have no idea where they came from.

RECIPES for EVERYTHING #1

That title is misleading….

So I’m starting to get back into making dinner again, with that I’ve noticed I hoard a lot of recipes…. From emails, to
Pinterest, magazines, ebooks, and anything I could get for free. I really want to clean out my computer of all these recipes. So I noticed on my desktop a folder labeled RECIPES for EVERYTHING. I have no idea how long it’s been there or what’s in it but it’s a good place to start.

So today we have stuffed mushrooms made vegan.

I changed somethings just because I’m lazy and poor, plus I just wanted to shop one place and not a million. Especially at 7am. Here’s the random snap shot I took (this is before I figured out how to put stuff on Pinterest).

So I didn’t have reduced-fat balsamic vinaigrette (didn’t even know there was fat in that), so I used this small bottle of balsamic vinegar from Old World Olive Press. My aunt gave it to me and I had no idea how I was gonna use it. But as bacon would be used I figured the “breakfast” theme was gonna be good.

So I went to Meijer and they didn’t have any good vegan “bacon”. Only the SmartLife brand and I HATE that brand. So I went with the Field Roast Breakfast Sausages, which by the way are AMAZING! I also have not seen any type of vegan spreadable cheese, so I skipped that. And the only vegan cheese Meijer had was Go Veggie, and they only had the Mexican blend. I wanted a Mozzarella style but beggars can’t be choosers. I did however add minced garlic to add the garlic part of the “garlic and herbs”. Adding to the things I changed, instead of plain bread crumbs I used Panko crumbs Japanese style. That’s just what I had in the house and I believe them to be the same in ways. I also used dried parsley, because I have a bunch of it. 

While I was cooking, the kitchen smelled of amazing maple syrup! It was just so very magical, between the mushroom caps in the oven and the sausages in the pan. To say the least I was excited to see how these would turn out.

I had some asparagus chilling in the fridge, so I boiled that up and put some Earth Balance (vegan butter) on it. That sided nicely, and just as I was finishing up Tom came home from work. 

The meal turned out really good, and prepping all those mushroom caps was well worth it. Can’t wait to see what I make next! 

Have you cooked anything tasty lately? 

Saved Pages of Mine #1

If you're not outside looking at all the pretty flowers, you should check out these links! 

I save a lot of links to my computer to read later. But when I get to them it’s like wwwwaaayyyy later. I’m sure some of you do it to HAHA! So while I was cleaning up my bookmark list I thought I would share some cool things I had found. 

I found the 100 rules of dinner to be fun and entertaining.

Dogs being silly jerks.

Tips for all you office ladies.

Need a little inspiration for a babies room? This monster themed one is soooo cute!

Do you have a whole bunch of beans hanging around your pantry? Here’s a way to make them more 

exciting.

Almost time to renew that business card design? I may go for the carnival ticket idea. Super Cute!

New Years 2014 and Resolutions

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a safe and fun time, I know Tom and I did. Now for the past 2 posts I'd been complaining about how I needed to figure out what food to bring to my friends new years party. Well I figured it out! Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Twirls!!

Vegan Sweet Potato Perogies

So earlier this week or later last week.... hmmm 

Well I'm on vacation so my days blend together. haha! You all know the feeling. 

Always, so I found a recipe for Sweet Potato Perogies! Recipe  

I already had the mashed up sweet potatoes from Tom's mom, and really needed to use it before it went bad. So having this come in my email was perfect timing. 

hmmmmm sexy food shot

Things I Eat

As a vegan, I look up lots of tasty recipes to make and eat. Most vegan food pictures look amazing! Which is awesome! Makes me want to make amazing food like that even more. But what do you do when your just a normal person? Not a fancy food guru, not a master chef, not some stay at home Betty Crocker.

Just a normal everyday person.

Since I still live at home, and pretty much act like a locust when dad buys fresh produce. And I usually just concentrate on lunches and snacks. Work is where I am more then half of my day.

So here are some things I eat!

Rice with some sautéed veggies 

Spiced rice, veggies, tortillas 

Veggies, soup, fruit

Oatmeal with brown sugar and apples, with coffee

Nachos with anything I can find and salsa

And sometimes when I'm lucky, I get men to cook for me!

And there you have it! Just a slice in the food life of this vegan. Maybe once I get my own place I'll be able to plan a little bit more with my menu. 

But for now, I am content. 

So how do you eat?  

Hot Chocolate And Hot Cocoa: There's a Difference

So the difference the between Hot Chocolate and Hot Cocoa is pretty simple. One uses cocoa powder and the other a bar of chocolate, like a heresy's bar or something of that. When I made both there was a difference in taste and texture. 

Hot Cocoa or Breakfast Cocoa is more like a more like a chocolate milk at was heated up and made better. I made this to last me all week long or at least 3 days. It was made to serve 6. My experience is it's creamier, I will never go back to packaged cocoa. Not that I drink most common cocoa mixes anyway. (Most contain milk)

It may separate or settle after a while, but nothing a good stir could fix. I did put this in a large thermos and I drank though out the week. It's texture and flavor lasted, all I had to do was shake up the thermos before pouring into my coffee cup. I did keep that thermos in the refrigerator to preserve the freshness of the almond milk. 

Hot Chocolate is a little bit more bitter then Breakfast Cocoa. Mostly because you are using unsweetened chocolate solids. But the flavors are richer and deeper. I would definitely try pairing this with a fruit or berry. But I would not store it for more a day. This doesn't sit very well after it's cooled down for more then a day. The chocolate just gets more bitter and tries to become solid again. There for making it a bit difficult to reheat with out over cooking it. The recipe for this also makes a better big serving, so I thought I could make it last. Boy was I wrong, it tastes like spoiled chocolate milk, but please don't let that discourage you from trying the recipe! It was still super yummy! Just needs to be drank THE day you make it.

Once again I got these recipes from the super old Home and Gardens Cook Book from my Great or Great Great Grandma. And it's easy to make vegan, just use a alternative milk (almond/soy) and use a raw sugar (beet/agave/turbinado). So go out and entertain!    I know the weather is getting warmer, but for those of you who still have it a little chilly or have cold nights. This would be the perfect thing to make your night or morning. 

Apple and Berry Scented Quinoa and Macrobiotic Vegan Diets

Been looking into some new vegan recipes to test! This is a really yummy breakfast or snack! My boyfriends mom recently showed me a chef named Christina, you can find her here -----> Website

She's a vegan chef and a cancer survivor and super funny.

My diet recently started going down hill, to keep this long story short. My diet consisted of white rice and rice products. Here's a break down of my meals for a day, and that lasted maybe 3 weeks. 

-Breakfast-

Some type of rice cereal with rice milk

Coffee with raw sugar and rice milk

-Lunch-

Large amount of rice with a side of some kind of veggie

Maybe a small bag of potato chips

-Dinner-

Some type of Enriched Noodle w/ sauce 

And that made me bloated and now my skin is all broken out with acne. Lovely stuff happening here.

So I looked into the diet Christina cooks for, which is a Macrobiotic Vegan Diet. 

You can learn about all the different diets here --> Website

You can learn about the Macrobiotic Vegan Diet here --> Website

I figured I need to fix what I'm doing to myself and really eat foods for a reason, and not just because it's food. 

Because one find I've found out being a vegan for about a year or two, is that. Just because your a vegan doesn't mean your healthy. I was between being a junk food vegan, and then just eating what I could get my hands on without spending money. 

That didn't help, all I ate was rice and whatever was in my parents kitchen. Which wasn't catering to my nutritional needs. 

So I'm once again trying to redeem myself (this isn't the first time) and hopefully this time it all works out for the best. 

Check out the recipe for the Apple and Berry Scented Quinoa here --> Recipe 

This was my first time using quinoa, and I was surprised it took so long to cook. But it was worth it! Soooo good in that apple juice! And I also splurged on some fresh blueberries and raspberries! $4.00 for each pint...you bet I bit that bullet. And I bought all I could organic, it was a bit more then I thought it would be. But I figure if I eat right now when I'm young, it'll buy off in the future. 

Hope you enjoy this light and refreshing breakfast! 

And if you're interest in some other breakfast ideas, I have you covered!

Cranberry and Chocolate Scones

Banana Almond Oatmeal

Mixed Fruit (goodness this is a old one)

  

Poor Mans Soup

Have you ever heard of Poor Mans Soup? To tell you the truth I didn't know what it was either, till I made it one night. And to be completely honest I gave it that name, but basically it is what it sounds like. I've come home from work (11am-7:45pm yikes!) and there really is almost no time to cook. Almost.

So I invented Poor Mans Soup, you just take anything you find in your kitchen and throw it in a pot, add water or broth or both. Mix. Boil. Let Set for a couple minutes. And BAM! soup! It's not the most lavish of meals, but it'll fill you up and if you make enough. There's lunch or dinner or breakfast for the rest of the week.

Cheers!

And a note from the wise, if your going to throw in noodles. Don't put them uncooked in the broth with the other things, thinking the noodles will soak up the flavors and be yummy. 

They won't.... 

You soup will taste thick and starchy and gross.

So cook the noodles separately and add to the soup whenever you think it's close to being done. 

Have fun with your soup and don't be sad while making it because you think you have nothing in your kitchen. Instead think "wow I'm making something super tasty from nothing!"

Skewing

Good Thursday! one more day till Happy Friday! Those who work in offices or go to school, will understand what I mean on that. :D

Any who, back to what really matters! FOOD!!! Food is a very important thing in ones life, and so is experimenting! So I made these skewers last month, and I experimented! I was suppose to have long sticks of fresh rosemary, which I didn't have. But I did have wooden skewers! I didn't have mushrooms, so I used tofu and I added green bell peppers to liven up my lack of ingredients. While making the skewers I noticed I chopped the ingredients a little to small. Also on a side note, I've never grilled skewers before....   

I also had to grill on top of tin foil, so that my food didn't touch the grill (psh..vegan problems). While grilling I noticed that I should have oiled the tin foil because my tofu was sticking to it (still learning to master the art of tofu). But all in the end the skewers turned out great, I made a lot! and I got full off 4!

The sauce I sometimes have to get used to. You grow up making things with a tomato sauces from jars, which taste nothing like real sauce. To me with the sauces I've made for recipes are sweeter and less salted and spiced up. I get to really taste the sweetness of the tomatoes when I make my own sauce and I love it! I don't drown my noodles in sauce if I make my own either, the taste of the sauce is stronger and sweeter. That being said, I only need a little sauce to really enjoy the flavors of a dish.

Recipe from: Step-by-Step Delicious Vegetarian Food page 110

Things I'm Up to at the Moment

Getting my 3 gifts for secret santa at work ready! I'm really excited! This is my first office job secret santa! Preparing cookies to give out by the 19th, got my idea off Pinterest! Getting laundry done, while drinking coffee. Wrapping and putting last minute touches on gifts, while stressing out if I'll have the money to buy the very last of them in time for the holidays. 

~ So how do you like your tomato sauce?~ 

Sandwiches and Randazzo Market

When you ask mom if she wants a sandwich and she say "yes", Well you make her one amazing sandwich!

Made with spicy mustard, spinach leaves, avocado, tomatoes, and something else....I think. OH salt and pepper was in there to! Oh italian white bread that we got from the local Randazzo Market. In fact I think we got everything from that market. 

If your in the Macomb/Warren/Clinton Twp. Michigan area I suggest you check it out. They have some really interesting fruits and veggies that I've never seen before. But depending on what you buy in what season, the food there is pretty cheap. One of my favorite place to shop for fresh foods! 

What are some of your favorite food markets? 

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! 

Pumpkin Pull-Apart Rolls

A while back I was looking through Vegan Dad's Blog, and I found this recipe for pull apart rolls. I LOVE ROLLS! ok I just love bread, but these rolls turned out so good! They weren't dry, and didn't taste of pumpkin. The pumpkin just left behind a nice orange-y color and kept the rolls nice and moist. I made so many they went bad before they were all finished. But I'm sure the birds enjoyed the left overs.

Check out his recipe here

Vegan Brownies and Fika

Fresh brownies....how I love fresh brownies, and I'm sure everyone else EVERYWHERE loves fresh brownies to. That's why I made some!

From my Vegan Junk Food Cookbook

I didn't have chocolate chips or crushed almonds. So I used coconut and crushed walnuts. But I'm going to say you could use anything that you like in this brownie recipe.

Mixing things up!

 This was also one of the first recipes that I learned to make buttermilk for. I always thought you had to buy buttermilk from the store, that there was no way to make it. In my mind buttermilk was butter finely mixed into milk. But it's not! It's actually a byproduct of churning. Buttermilk is the left over liquid after milk or cream is churned for butter!
Vegan Buttermilk can't be bought in a store (that I know of), but it's super easy to make! All you have to do is add lemon juice or vinegar to the soy or almond milk. Then let that sit for 5 minutes and you got "buttermilk".   :D

All mixed up!

 This batter....is AMAZING! I seriously almost ate the whole bowl waiting for the oven to heat up. And the best part is you can't get sick from it. With no raw eggs in it, there's no way for you to get sick. So it's perfectly okay to eat raw.

All ready to go!

YUMMY!

TA-DAA

Don't they look amazing!
While waiting for these to bake, I was on Yahoo and I learned how other countries relax. One tradition I learned about was Fika (pronounced "fee-ka"), which happens in Sweden. It's basically a coffee break. I read it takes place around 3pm, but I'm not sure if that's true since I don't live there. But it just so happened that around the time the brownies were it done it was close to 3pm.

Fika Time!

So my boyfriend and I decided to try Fika. I know it's silly, because it's just a coffee break. But we turned off the TV, and the computer and sat at the table and had a nice conversation. It was nice to just unplug for 15 minutes and talk. I highly suggest it! So now if it's around 3pm and I notice the time, I try to have some coffee or tea and just relax. It may not happen everyday, but it's definitely a new part of my routine.

Brownies to go!

 

 

 

Before Tom went to work I wrapped up 2 big pieces for him to take with him. I love bragging about how good some vegan cooking is! Because it's really not as gross and bland as some people say it is. 

So the people he shared it with loved it! And it was really good to hear that one person in general really liked it. A while back he bought a vegan seaweed brownie (it was actually green) from a Whole Foods store and he was not pleased at all. So I was so happy to redeem his faith in a vegan brownie!

Has anyone tried anything new today?

Happy Baking!

Curry and Baps!

I love curry! but since I went vegan I have a hard time finding curry mixes that don't use honey, milk or an animal stock. Luckily for me, Tom happened to find the one curry mix out of the many at the store at didn't use either! I was very excited! So excited that I made a short comic.

Draw a couple months ago

So now we all now how excited I am over curry. :D

Alone with the curry, I was going to make Baps! Baps are basically morning rolls. I found the recipe in my schools library. Since AiA has a culinary degree, they have a large section of cookbooks in the library. I couldn't tell you the name of the book now though.

Preparing everything! 

So since I couldn't fill my curry with meat, I use practically any vegetable I have. And then I cut it all up! 

Rising Baps!

The baps actually came out really good, even though I had to change some of the ingredients. And the curry turned out great! I usually make it with rice, but not this time.
I wonder how many people nowadays make homemade meals? In my opinion it's pretty easy and baking fresh breads and rolls is easy and cheaper then going out and buying bread from the store. I try to at least cook 3 meals a week at home. For someone who's only 22, I think I'm doing pretty good. ^_^

How about you, how many meals do you cook at home a week?

CURRY!!!!

All Done!