Monday, October 31, 2011

Vegan Lasagna & Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies


I'd like to blame my photography skills, but this is how they looked.

 So, today I decided to try making vegan lasagna. It was delicous, and I didn't miss the cheese. (It was great, but the pic I took of it made it look freakishly dis-gus-ting, so I'm not even going to post it. You'll just have to trust me that I made it....and that it was damn good!)

Instead of ricotta as a filling, I used a Moosewood Recipe ("Vegan Lasagna") that called for a combo of firm tofu, spinach, basil, and a few other tastiness-es. It was uncanny how the texture of the tofu "stuff" resembled that of ricotta. Didn't even miss it!

For dessert, I made vegan pumpkin cookies with chocolate chips and almonds. Good! Instead of using an egg in the batter, I used 1/4 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of flaxseed. Benefit? You can lick the bowl and not worry about salmonella! Plus, you get a little bit of omega-3s in the flax. Win-win, I'd say!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Holy Pozole!



Okay, who thought it was a good idea to make vegan pozole? Yo!

Pozole is a traditional pre-columbian stewy dish that is typical in Mexico and the southwestern part of the U.S. It generally has meat, but I found a vegetarian recipe in a Moosewood cookbook. The basic ingredients include hominy, bell peppers, garlic, onions, chipotles, delicata squash, and garlic. The recipe also calls for cheese, but because my husband doesn't eat it, I skipped it.

Anyway, after stumbling across the recipe, I thought, 'hey, that sounds pretty cool' and then spent about 2 hours making it. Granted, the recipe says it takes about an hour to make, but because I am slow (and am also constantly chasing a toddler around), it took me much longer.

All in all, my husband liked it, and I thought it was way too bell peppery. I was a little disappointed, but...whatever! No importa! It was worth a shot, no?

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Random Roasted Veggies

Okay, this has got to be the simplest thing to cook. If I can do it, you can do it. Seriously.

Just chop up a bunch of veggies (assorted or not). I like carrots, squash, onions, garlic, tomatoes, etc. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (or less), put some olive oil on a cookie sheet (couple of tablespoons-ish). Put the cookie sheet with oil in the oven for just a few minutes. Take it out and then put the veggies on the cookie sheet and cook for about 20 minutes or more....until the veggies are to your liking. Stir mid-way. If you add tomatoes or spinach, just add those for the the last 5-10 minutes or so. If you add the tomatoes too early, the whole thing will be too watery.


Serve over pasta or rice or as a side. Or, just eat it as is and couple it with some hearty bread. (I added some apple-sage grain "sausage" to mine, and it was delicious!)