Vegan MoFo VI, Day 2 - Cookbook Challenge - Vegan Diner

Over on the PPK, we're doing what seems to be the annual Cookbook Challenge.  The point of this (if you've forgotten from the last 3 years) is that we vote on cookbooks from which to cook, then cook from them - 3 recipes each for the week that cookbook is chosen - posting the results in the dedicated thread.

As I mentioned yesterday, this week's book is Vegan Diner by Julie Hasson.  I hate to say it, but for some reason, though many of the recipes struck my fancy (because Lard knows I love diner food), I've hardly made anything from this book.

Tonight I made the Smoky Potato Scramble, because brinner is the best meal of the day.  The only mods I made were to slightly decrease the oil and slightly increase the nooch.  I'm super particular about my scramble, so I'm always pretty reluctant to try new ones.  And this one didn't have any cumin, so.

As it turns out, this was really, really good.  It suffered a bit health-wise by having onions as the only veg, but it was super tasty.  It was really easy to make, too, though slightly time-consuming due to having to first boil potatoes (which she does mention you can do the day before).  I think I'd make this again, though I'd maybe add some spinach or something to make it a bit healthier.

I had planned to make the Blue Plate Special - this scramble, cornmeal waffles, and gravy - but I didn't have the patience for it.  But I'm not firmly committed to my project for tomorrow (since we already have a pretty sizable amount of leftovers), so I think I'll make the other components tomorrow.

Do you have Vegan Diner?  What are your favourite recipes?

Vegan MoFo VI, Day 1 - Mike Makes Monday Meals

It's MoFo time again!

Yeah, I've been pretty crap at updating, in that I've posted once this year before today.  But I moved house, and I kinda hate my kitchen (I'll probably use a weekend post to explain why), so I haven't been terribly motivated to cook.  But I'm sucking it up for MoFo.

So, a brief overview of some of my plans - I don't have a particular theme for every day, only because I won't always be able to do the stuff the same day of every week.  But here's what I'm thinking:

Sunday Baking - I checked out Have Your Cake and Vegan Too from the library, so I'm using Sundays to try out the stuff I like the look of.  I'll make it on a Sunday and take it in to work the next day so Mike and I don't have to get through a cake every week.

Mike Makes Monday Meals - I'm going away on holiday for 3 weeks in November, which means Mike will have to fend for himself.  So he'll be making dinner every Monday to learn how to cook a few simple things so that he doesn't eat nothing but biscuits and hummus every day for 3 weeks.

British Food Fridays - There are a few classic British dishes that I'd like to try my hand at, so I'll post about these on a Friday (though I may make them the Thursday night).  So far, the only definite things I'm making are treacle tart and bakewell tart.  My co-workers are gonna get so fat.

Because of how Mike's schedule works, I can't be definite with any other days, partially because one of the things I'm doing is restaurant reviews.  I'll also be doing the Cookbook Challenge that's happening on the PPK.

This post encompasses two of my themes.  Tonight, Mike made the Quick and Hearty Chili from Vegan Diner, which is the current Cookbook Challenge book.

This was a great recipe to start with.  Mike said that he didn't feel like there were any complicated directions and that it was easy to make.  It was also incredibly delicious.

The only subs we made were to double the TVP, add an extra can of beans (so one each of red kidney, pinto, and black beans), leave out the cocoa powder (we didn't have any), and add a couple drops of hickory liquid smoke.  OK, maybe that sounds like a lot of changes, but it wasn't too drastic.  Anyway, it came together really quickly.  We ate it with rice - I had mine bowl-style with some mixed baby leaf salad on the bottom.  It was so, so good.  I would definitely recommend it.

I'm looking forward to making more from this book, and I'm looking forward to the rest of MoFo!

PPK package swap!

It's the most wonderful time of the year ... that's right - PPK package swap time!  The swap always seems to happen around November/December, which is both good (treats are always good) and bad (let's just say I'm glad I already bought a party dress that's a bit too big).

The pic at the top is a bit small, so I'll just say what I got.  From left to right - soy curls, candy cane Joe-Joe's, TJ's maple cream cookies, dark chocolate bar, sea salt chocolate bar, Taza drinking chocolate, Clif spiced pumpkin pie and peppermint stick bars, two each of Go Max Twilight and Buccaneer bars, Sugar Plum Spice tea, agave sticks, and honey-flavoured agave nectar.  And everything is sitting atop an adorable Oregon tea towel!  We've already eaten a few Joe-Joe's and maple cookies, Mike had the peppermint stick Clif bar, and I made hot chocolate with the Taza chocolate.

It's such an amazing package, and I'm once again overwhelmed by the awesomeness and generosity of PPKers.  I also kinda feel like a dick because the package I sent was nowhere near as awesome.  I left out some stuff because postage was starting to cost more than the items themselves.  But then I got this, and she clearly spent more on shipping than on the stuff inside.  So I think Imma buy some more stuff and send her a second package (though maybe after Xmas so it doesn't get stuck in a warehouse for 2 weeks).

Oh, and bonus picture of the Taza drinking chocolate in action:

Lookit the foam on that bastard!  This was the first time I'd done proper Mexican hot chocolate (with the foaming, though I used my electric mixer with a whisk attachment instead of a molinillo).  It was pretty good, though it was kinda bitty.  Oh well.  The point to make here is that is a giant-ass mug, and it's half full of foam.  Mmm...foam.

I can't wait to see everyone else's swap packages!

Thanksgiving in Scotland

I think everyone is aware that yesterday was Thanksgiving in the US.  Thanksgiving is one of those sketchy holidays that you almost think you should stop celebrating because of all the dodgy history behind it.  I wish I could find that awesome video of the children's Thanksgiving play where they talk about giving the natives smallpox blankets to illustrate my point.  That said, a lot of people, myself included, have decided that Thanksgiving is really about the food.  And when you boil it down to its essence, that's really what it is - we survived a year in a hostile land and we now have a crap ton of food, so let's gorge ourselves on it.  Basically, Thanksgiving is a holiday all about gluttony, and I'm totally down with that.

This year was pretty good.  Unfortunately, my bff couldn't make it like she did last year (oh man, I wish I had some tamales), so I only took Thanksgiving day off.  I decided on the spur of the moment last Friday night to invite people over, so 2/3 of my Ethnology Crew came round, and then I invited a couple of Mike's gaming friends (who've been to dinner here before).  I was a genius and didn't decide on a menu until Wednesday night, but you know what?  It's the UK, and no one gives a crap, so I didn't have to worry about the shops all being sold out of everything I'd need.

And it turned out to be a good thing anyway, because Isa posted her new Seitan Roast Stuffed with Shiitakes and Leeks on Tuesday.  The laziness took over and urged me to buy Smash and stuffing from a box and then cover both with Sage Gravy from Quick and Easy Vegan Celebrations.  I also made roasted broccoli to balance out the white and brown.  (I had intended on making Q&EVC green bean casserole, but to my dismay, the only shop I ever saw fried onions in no longer sells them.  *sadface*)

Sorry about the darkness - the living room has even less light than the kitchen.

I know the roast is what everyone is here for.  First of all, it was actually pretty easy to make, and it was absolutely delicious.  It also reheated well in a microwave.  My problem with it was that I used UK vital wheat gluten and followed the recipe, so it was a bit moist.  I think it took nearly twice as long to cook as it was supposed to (I stopped keeping track after about an hour and 10 because I was trying to cook everything else).  But I'd definitely make this again - it looks good, it tastes amazing, and I went from decision to dinner (including shopping) in a few hours.  Oh, and it fed 6 people plus leftovers!  Next time, I'll use more vwg.

Rather than head right into dessert, we discussed our options and decided on nog.  No one but Mike had ever tried nog (even the non-vegan stuff), so everyone was intrigued.  I made my stand-by, absolute favourite vegan nog, Bryanna Clark Grogan's Pumpkin Nog.  Everyone thought it was good, and there was even discussion about making it into a custard (someone had mentioned having warm nog, and I said it would probably turn into custard if heated).

After sitting and chatting for a while to make a bit of space for more food, we moved on to dessert.  Naturally, I made pumpkin pie.  My go-to pie is usually the one I made last year, the Impossible Pumpkin Pie from the Fat Free Vegan blog.  But there was a pumpkin pie thread on the PPK, and Phoenix posted her Jack (the Pumpkin King) Pie.  A pie referencing The Nightmare Before Christmas and made with Speculoos cookie crust?  Hell yeah I'm making that pie.

It wasn't as burnt as it looks.

I served it with some Soyatoo Soy Whip (in a can - in my defense, the non-canned stuff is no longer being sold, and my only other option was Rice Whip).

Immediately after I took this picture, I covered the rest of the top with whipped cream.

I really liked this pie, but that's because I love a cookie crust.  The only thing I didn't like was that the crust didn't want to come up until day 2 (well, the last 2 slices).  But other than that, it was good.  The filling was pretty standard pumpkin pie filling.  But it was really easy to make and came out great.  We were all happy with it.

Along with the food, we also managed to polish off 2 1/2 bottles of wine between the 6 of us.  I usually don't drink much, but the Beaujolais Nouveau was released this week (I think), so I bought a bottle of that and had an astounding 2 glasses.  But with all the food, it barely made me sleepy.

And that was our Thanksgiving.  We're hoping to get to the US for T'giving next year, but we'll see how things go.  We'll be sinking a lot of money into the new flat, so we might not have it for traveling.

How was your Thanksgiving?  Did you celebrate even though you aren't American?

I completely forgot to post some tester stuff (I got lazy), so I'll try to write that up soon!

Vegan MoFo - Another lazy dinner

I had another convenience food dinner tonight.  Cooking was involved, but not a single thing actually eaten was hand-made by me.  I didn't even bother taking a picture because it was so simple and full of packaged goodness - a Redwood's quarterpound burger with a bit of smoked cheddar Sheese (made in Scotland!) between two pieces of store-bought bread (Alinson's batch baked wholemeal, in case you're interested) with mustard, Infinity Foods' smoked garlic mayo, and ketchup, with a side of microwave-steamed veggies (frozen 4-pack from Sainsbury's).  Simple, but quick and delicious, though I feel a bit guilty writing about it.  But it is Saturday, and I technically don't have to do an entry today, so whevs.

OK, so the guilt got to me and I did something.  It's not much, but it'll serve me well in coming months - homemade hot chocolate mix.

I used the Go Dairy Free recipe, which has always been decent.  Another quick and easy thing that will come in handy when Mike wants hot chocolate but I can't be bothered standing over the stove to make it from scratch.  I went with the plain recipe because I like to be able to customise my hot chocolate each time and don't want to be tied to a particular flavour.

I did end up putting a bit of cinnamon in this, and topped it off with vanilla soy milk to cool it faster and make up for using less-than-vanilla-y vanilla sugar.

BTW, do us a favour and check out PPKer Jen's blog, That Pain in the Ass Vegan, a couple of times a day.  She's trying to get a million hits during MoFo so she can donate the money generated to her local food bank and animal shelters.  Unfortunately I can't help (other than trying to get the word out) because only US hits count.  Boo-urns.  So click it, share it with your friends, and then just keep refreshing the page all day.  That would be swell.

Vegan MoFo - Cookbook Challenge: Appetite for Reduction (pt 2)

I did a couple more recipes from Appetite for Reduction for the Cookbook Challenge.  Today was Broiled Blackened Tofu and Mac & Trees.

I think you can tell by the picture which of these recipes I preferred.  I loved the Mac & Trees.  I'm pretty sure I've made the pea version before, but never the original broccoli version.  It was really good - it tasted like comforting, creamy, cheesy mac and cheese, but the broccoli and the fact that it's low-cal made it feel OK to eat (which I did, repeatedly, one spoonful at a time every time I went to the kitchen).   Even Mike liked it, and he hates cooked cheese-type foods.  He liked it enough to want to eat it again!  So this is a definite winner.

Also, I just love that cheese sauce.  It takes all of 15 minutes to make all told, and it's really really good.  And no added fat!  That's what you want in a cheese sauce.  And the best thing about vegan cheese sauces - easy clean-up.  You can let a vegan cheese sauce cool and still be able to rinse out most of it.  +1 for veganism.

The tofu, however, was not my favourite.  The flavour was OK, but I didn't dig the texture.  I think, once again, it was my nemesis thyme.  I love/hate that bastard substance.  I almost didn't put it in, but then I decided to go with the original recipe.  I kinda wish I hadn't.  I kept getting jabbed in the gums by it, and at one point, I had a hard time getting a piece out of my gum.  It was uncomfortable, which is the exact opposite of how I want to feel when I eat.  Also, I don't really have a broiler, so I had to just bake the tofu on high heat close to the element.  It didn't blacken, though I think that was the least of its problems.

So, yeah, I'll make the hell out of the Mac & Trees, but if I try the tofu again, I'll leave out the thyme.

In other, non-food/veganism related news, we were approved for a mortgage!  We're hoping to put in an offer on a flat soon.  We're super excited.  For me anyway, it's mostly because I get a cat after the majority of the work has been done on it.  So keep your fingers crossed for us that everything goes smoothly and I'll be cuddling a kitteh soon!

Vegan MoFo - PPKlassics: Pandacookie's Butterscotch rum cake

I think this might be my saddest post ever, because it's a post about failure.

I'll be honest, I'm not used to baking failures that are my own fault.  I mean, I can handle something like the Irn Bru cupcakes that didn't come out the first time because it was an experiment and I couldn't have known what would happen.  But when I fail at something that has been tested and approved by others, I feel kinda crappy.

There's a thread in the Kitchen about PPKlassics - recipes that made the rounds on the old boards or early days on the new boards.  One of the recipes mentioned was Pandacookie's Butterscotch Rum Bundt Cake - a yellow cake made with rum and butterscotch chips.  I know, it sounds amazing.  I didn't actually have anything to write about today because Mike came home tired and didn't want anything elaborate for dinner, so we just had sammiches.  Then I remembered I had been gazing longingly at that recipe, checked that I had the ingredients, and went for it.

Well, in the interim, I got upset about something (I won't talk about it here), and I didn't tend to the cake as I should have.  I tested it, but I must have tested the wrong bit, because, after cooling, I discovered that it was still gooey on the inside.  I ate a bit, hoping it would be at least acceptable for home consumption, but it was really bad.  I actually think I may have gotten buzzed off the rum that didn't bake out.

So, yeah, my cake was a failure, so my previous upset was compounded by failcake (that I can't even make in to cakeballs).  Not only did I waste the time, I also wasted almost all of the rest of my stash of imported butterscotch chips and most of a bottle of Morgan's Spiced Rum.  But since it's my own failure and not that of the recipe, I'll post it here.

Pandacookie’s Rum Butterscotch Bundt Cake

2 1/2 c all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c rum
1/2 c canola oil (I used 1/4 c oil and 1/4 c applesauce)
1/2 c soy milk
equivalent of 2 eggs (I used ener-g)
2 tsp vanilla
1 c vegan sour cream (I used soy yogurt)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 c butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease and flour a bundt pan.
Sift flour, baking soda, salt and sugar into a large bowl.  In another bowl combine rum, oil, milk, egg replacer, and vanilla.  Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and mix.  Fold in the butterscotch chips, then fold in the sour cream.  Add the vinegar and stir briefly (the vinegar will, react making pale swirls in the batter).  Quickly pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 35-45 minutes.  Cool 10 minutes before turning out of the pan.

If you try this, let me know if it works out for you.  Maybe it was the subs, or maybe it was taking it out too early, or maybe it was the pan being too small.  All I know is, I am sad that I have no cake, because that one is going in the bin.

Vegan MoFo - Cookbook Challenge: Appetite for Reduction (pt 1)

So, we're doing the Cookbook Challenge again.  It seems to always coincide with MoFo, which actually works out great for me.  It not only gets me to use my cookbooks, but it also gives me something to blog about!

This week is actually supposed to be Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry, but I don't have that book, so I'm going back to week 1, Isa and Terry Week.  I still haven't cooked much out of Appetite for Reduction (in my defense, I've been testing for Alicia for several months now), so I decided to focus on that.  I have the rest of the books after that, and there's a 2nd Isa/Terry week, and I'm really looking forward to using a few books I haven't had for long.

It's kinda late and I'm pretty tired, so I'm just posting the recipe I tried last night, which was the Smoky Split Pea Soup.

Split pea soup is another one of those things that I didn't try for a very long time because my mom always made it seem like something vile.  Pea soup was the stuff of nightmares, and this was before I saw The Exorcist (or did my Linda Blair impression at that Halloween party a few years ago).  I've since learned to love split pea soup.  How could you not?  It's creamy and savoury and comforting.  It's like a bowl of liquid hugs for your insides.

Isa's smoky, low-cal version is great.  It mimics that bit of ham you'd get in an omni split pea soup without the fat or cruelty.  The only thing I didn't like about it was the thyme.  I wish there was a way to have the flavour of thyme without the texture.  Those little bastards always stick in my teeth.

To be honest, I tested another low-cal split pea soup recipe for Alicia that I like better, so I'll probably stick with that.  But until the rest of you mortals have access to that one, I would recommend this one.

Vegan MoFo - Ruby Rose's Macarena Muffin Pie

This summer, I went PPKamping in Dorset with MessyVeggie, holylopez, baps, hana, and jojo.  We met up with Ruby Rose at Monkey World (!), and naturally the conversation turned to odd foods.  It turns out that Ruby Rose (aka Amy) had a dream about making a pie with a shortcrust base, apple filling, and cinnamon muffin topping.  She then sold it at a bake sale while doing the Macarena.  I think that was how the dream went.

Well, as soon as she said this, I thought, I must make that pie.  Then someone else mentioned using Lotus biscuits (out of which Speculoos spread is made) to make a cookie crust (completely unrelated to the previously mentioned pie).  My thoughts then turned to, I must make that pie with Speculoos crust!

I finally got around to making it today.  One thing I have to say - I forgot just how much I dislike making apple pie.  The coring, the peeling, the slicing - it takes SO. LONG.  But I soldiered on for the good of humanity (or so I assumed). 

The crust recipe is a variation on this cookie crust.  The apple filling is a variation on the filling for the Gingerbread Apple Pie in Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz*.  And the muffin top is my own cinnamon muffin recipe (minus the chocolate chips).  I now give you...

Macarena Muffin Pie

Crust:

• about 20 Lotus/Biscoff biscuits
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 6 tbsp margarine, melted

Preheat the oven to 350F/175C.

Crush the biscuits into small pieces (or whiz them in a food processor).  Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix until combined.  Press into a pie plate and bake for 5-7 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool as you make the other elements of the pie, but leave the oven on.

Apple Filling:

• 1 pound apples (I used Pink Lady), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tbsp arrowroot

Combine everything but the arrowroot in a large bowl.  Sprinkle the arrowroot over the mixture and stir until the starch is dissolved.

Assemble:

Have ready one recipe of cinnamon muffins without chocolate chips.  Pour the apple mixture into the prepared crust, then top with the muffin batter**.  Smooth the batter over the apples so that they're completely covered.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the muffin top is brown and slightly cracked and a toothpick inserted in the middle (but not too far down!) comes out clean.

The Verdict - OMG it's so good!  I have to say, though, that the crust as written isn't perfect.  It doesn't actually stay together, so it's more like one of those cakes with a pudding bottom.  Still, it's freaking delicious.  And I'm glad I left the 1/4 c of maple syrup out of the apple filling because it would've been way too much sugar, as it's a bit of sugar overload as is.  In fact, I forgot to take pictures of the first piece and had to have a second, and I think I might go into a diabetic coma soon.  I might try it again with the shortcrust (or shortbread crust, which was another variation I thought of trying before the mention of Speculoos crust).  I might also just put cinnamon in the apple filling as it felt a little overwhelmed with spices.



And in case you didn't notice, I got a new camera.  Naturally, the first photos I post from it are brown and messy.  Awesome.


*Many thanks to Isa for letting me print my variation.
**You won't use all the batter, so throw some chocolate chips into the remainder and bake in muffin cups after you've baked this.

Vegan MoFo - On freezers and freezing

I was about to have to miss a day out because we were both too hungry to wait for me to cook, so I had a Freenut Butter and jam sammich and Mike had cereal for dinner.  I couldn't think of anything to talk about until, about 30 minutes ago, I realised that I was still pretty hungry and needed a snack.  And that's when I realised, I haven't talked about my freezer!


When we moved into this flat, it had a TV but no freezer.  We asked them to get rid of the TV (we didn't want to pay for the license) and put in a freezer.  They did neither.  So I lived with a dusty TV and no freezer for over 2 years.  If we ever got frozen food, we had to eat it all within the day (or 2 days, depending on what it was), so we were eating entire tubs of ice cream between the two of us in one go.

I finally decided I couldn't stand for it any longer.  In all seriousness, not having a freezer was contributing to my weight gain, and we were wasting food (and therefore money) on food we could've frozen before it went off.  So, for my birthday this year, I demanded gratefully received a freezer.

I love having a freezer.  It's actually helped me eat better because we now have veg on demand without having to buy it the same day.  I can eat a small amount of ice cream and put the rest back.  And I can eat an actual portion size of tots rather than half a bag one day and the other half the next (though I never actually had a problem with that).  I can now make things one night and save them for a meal weeks later (in fact, I made some beans a few days after I got the freezer and still haven't used them).  I MADE MY OWN JELL-O PUDDING POPS!!!

And then, during the PPKamping trip, someone told me about Fry's Vegetarian chicken-style burgers.  I bought them pretty much immediately after I got back.  They are truly delightful.  I ate one tonight, pan-fried with just a spray of oil, between two pieces of wholemeal bread with the cheesy mustard mayo from American Vegan Kitchen.  It was one of the nicest things I've ever eaten - quick, easy, delicious, a little greasy.  So good.

BTW, when I looked for the link to the burgers, I discovered that Fry's are coming out with new products, including "Louisiana Tenders" - vegan chicken strips!  And popcorn "chicken"!  I can't wait for those.

So, talk to me about frozen convenience foods - what's your favourite?

N.B. - Apologies for any possible typos.  I'm super tired and can't be bothered proofreading right now.

Vegan MoFo - Me and Sammiches

I was gonna write about ice cream, pancakes for dinner, and things of that nature today, but a friend was in a pickle (pun intended) about sammiches, so I offered to help.

Ruth, who blogs at dorkymum, posted about Perfect Sandwiches (caution: not vegan!) a few months ago.  Today, a reader commented that she doesn't eat sandwiches because she's dairy-free and (presumably) can't find a dairy-free spread.  Rather than simply comment about dairy-free spreads, I offered to write up a little something for her to pass along.



I wrote a whole bunch of superfluous stuff, and then I wrote what follows, which frankly is enough on its own.  So let's just go with this - a few ideas for spreads and sandwiches that will get you back in the sammich-making game.  FYI - most of this is aimed at the UK reader (e.g., the bits about where to buy), but there are a couple of things that will be helpful to anyone. 

Margarine - Pure do a variety of non-dairy spreads, made from soya, olive oil, and sunflower oil.  These can be found at the vast majority of big box stores.  Some of the big boxes also carry Vitalite, which is my personal favourite.  It's more spreadable and just has a nicer flavour.  You might also be able to find Suma spreads at health food shops like Holland & Barrett, Real Foods (Edinburgh), Roots and Fruits (Glasgow), and Whole Foods (London). 

Mayo - Mayo shouldn't actually have any dairy in it - its creaminess comes from an emulsion of egg and oil.  Regardless, there are a few good vegan mayos.  You can get Tiger Tiger plain or garlic mayo at larger Sainsbury's stores.  There's another brand found at most big box stores whose name escapes me.  Some health food shops will also carry Plamil mayo, which comes in a variety of flavours (garlic, chili, tarragon and chive, etc.).  My current favourite, which I bought at Real Foods in Edinburgh but which should also be available in Brighton and probably London, is Infinity Foods' organic vegan smoked garlic mayo.  I want to eat it with everything!  OK, everything savoury.  It's much thicker than standard mayo, but it's crazy good. 

Mustard - I admit that I rarely eat mustard without something else, but it can be good on wholemeal bread encasing a plain old (homemade) seitan cutlet.  You can make them beefy or chickeny (or even hammy), but they'll all be good with a swirl of mustard.  In fact, mustard is pretty much the only thing Mike will eat on his sammiches. 

Dressings - Some salad dressings would make a great sandwich spread, especially if you can make them yourself and cut out some of the liquid to make them more spreadable.  For a few ideas, click on the look inside thing on the Amazon page for Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.  The salad section usually comes up first, so you could try a few of those out before you buy the book (which I would recommend because it's amazing). 

Sandwich ideas - Check out the (small) selection of sandwiches in the PPK Recipe section.  This is another place where Amazon's look inside feature is helpful - you can preview The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet by Joni Newman (FYI - if you log in, you can see more).  And if you can wait a while, Tamisin Noyes, author of American Vegan Kitchen (which, incidentally, has a section on sandwiches, though unfortunately has no look inside option) and Celine Stein (co-author of 500 Vegan Recipes and a couple others) are writing a cookbook all about sandwiches!  Tami has 43 sandwich-related posts on her blog!

I hope Ruth and her reader(s) find this helpful.  Or maybe you're new to veganism and didn't realise just how little you actually have to give up in the sammich department!  Either way, hopefully this wasn't just an exercise in remembering where I've bought or seen certain products.

What's your favourite sandwich or sandwich spread?

Vegan MoFo V is almost upon us!

Holy shit! I only found out yesterday that Vegan MoFo V is in October! That's less than a month away! And is this really the fifth year of Vegan MoFo?!

For those who don't know, Vegan MoFo is the Vegan Month of Food, when vegan bloggers from all over the world, well, blog about vegan food for a month. Last year, I think we had something like 600+ participants, so maybe we'll have over 1000 this year!

The goal is to blog every weekday, but some people blog every damn day. I did that my first year, but last year MoFo was in November, so I couldn't blog daily. I'm not making any commitments this year beyond the weekdays, but we'll see how it comes out.

Most people try to have some sort of theme, but I don't think I can confine myself to a single theme.  Last year I did a couple of different things, like Mix v. Scratch, but nothing to tie everything together.  This year, I think one of the things I'll try is vegan versions of Scottish foods/vegan foods made with iconic Scottish products (like mince and tatties and Irn Bru cookies/cupcakes).  I'd like to try to veganize some of my grandmother's recipes, which I'd wanted to do last year, but I'm still waiting on getting the recipes from my family.  But we're also doing another cookbook challenge on the PPK, so I'll be posting reviews from that.

I'm open to suggestion - Any Scottish recipes you'd like to see veganized?  Any recipes from the books in the cookbook challenge you want to see (bearing in mind, I don't have Vegan Soul Kitchen or either of the Colleen Patrick Godreau books and will probably do another week of Isa/Terry)?  I have 20 days to come up with some stuff, so if you have ideas, let me have them!

MoFo plans

ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?!


Vegan MoFo IV, the Vegan Month of Food, will be upon us in 2 days! For a run-down on what's happening and who's participating, go to Vegan MoFo International Headquarters. There are [EDIT] over 500 MoFo'ers right now. If you're interested in participating, you have until 2 November to sign up.

I've got some very loose plans for this year's MoFo. Some people have every day planned out, others are just gonna wing it, but I've basically got a weekly idea and a couple of things that I'll stick in for each themed week.

My first week is basically "cleaning out the pantry". I'm experimenting with getting a huge order of bulky/heavy groceries in every month and only buying fresh fruit and veg from the store, as well as things I can only get in person (e.g., nooch or cheeze). To make this feasible, I need to sort out my storage. I also need to actually use the stuff I buy in. So for week one, I'll focus on cooking things that I already have on hand and only shopping for fresh ingredients.

Earlier this year, I tested for Alicia Simpson's new book, Quick and Easy Vegan Celebrations, and I just received my tester copy today. I loved so much of what I tested (as did those I fed everything to), but I didn't even see most of the recipes in the book. So in week two, I'll be making recipes from Q&EVC that I didn't get to test. I've only just had a quick look, but I've already seen plenty I want to make.

Week three isn't set in stone, but I might do something like "allergen week". If you know me at all or have even skimmed my blog, you'll know that I have loads of food allergies and sensitivities - several types of nut, melon, avocado, and the newest, quinoa. I know loads of people who are gluten- and soy-free. I'm thinking, for this week, I'll focus on foods that are allergen-free.

In week four, my best good friend Eva is visiting from Newcastle. We're taking the opportunity to sit around and do nothing for three days. However, we will be making tamales, and that happens to also be Thanksgiving week. As a couple of Americans in the UK, we're often forced to come home from work and have sad little T'giving celebrations with our husbands (or alone) while we listen to our friends and family back home talk about getting the day off and gorging on massive feasts with everyone else they know. This will be the first time we've celebrated T'giving together. So the theme for that week will be "PARTY TIEMS".

Throughout the month, I'll also have a couple of other things going on not necessarily connected to the theme of the week. One of my projects will be "Mix v. Scratch". I'll make both a boxed mix and a homemade-from-scratch version of four things - swirl cake with fudgy frosting, lemon drizzle cake, gf chocolate chip cookies, and gf muffins. I'll ask co-workers, friends, and Mike to compare the two on taste and texture, and I'll weigh in on the time it takes to make each.

In addition to that, I'll have a couple of events on - a retirement party, a roller derby bout (volunteering, not skating), and possibly a birthday party, I dunno. I'll do my best to document how I get on with those.

I'll probably post about MoFo prep tomorrow. It's gonna be a busy-ass month. And unlike last year, I'm also working! We'll see if I can even keep up with blogging, let alone themes and projects.

Gearing up for this year's MoFo and a challenge.

VeganMoFo is just around the corner. I know October seems a long way off, but it's really only 2 months away. Woah! It's a little scary. This year I have a job, so I don't know if I'll be able to keep up like I did last year, but I'll do my best. Hopefully we'll have some other challenges on the PPK like we did last year. I found that really helpful in giving me something to talk about.

So, here's the challenge part. This year is my 5th veganniversary. I went vegan sometime around June of 2005, but I backslid a bit when I moved to Scotland because I was still uneasy with my veganism (OK, I didn't like vegetables), and I didn't know where to buy the things I liked for a while. But I went back to veganism around October - which is the month of VeganMoFo! This year, I'd like to challenge 5 (or more!) of my non-vegan friends and family to try veganism for one week in October and keep me updated on how they do. It would be even more awesome if anyone could pledge to go vegan for the month!

Obviously, if anyone does take up the challenge, I can offer advice (where to shop, unintentionally vegan products, vegan on the cheap, etc.) and recipes as and when they're needed. And if bribery is more your style, I'll bake you some cookies at the end of the week! (Even if you're in the US, they should be OK to ship since it'll be cooler.) So why not help me celebrate the anniversary of one of the best decisions I've ever made and go vegan for a week in October!

Plum brandy conserve and raspberry jam tart

A few days ago, I saw this post in my blog feed thingy, and I thought, that looks good. You see, I like the concept of pies et al (crust and sweetness, possibly topped with ice cream or whipped cream - hell yeah!), but I don't like the texture of bits of fruit that is inevitable in such items (well, of the fruit variety). This seemed like the perfect solution. Also, I've had a jar of plum brandy conserve in my cupboard that I got at the Farmers' Market months ago but could never bring myself to open it for some reason. However, as you can see from the thread, it doesn't actually have a recipe. It links to two other blogs that do have recipes, but neither of those is vegan. As you can see from the original post, it calls for one whole egg and one egg yolk, and I wasn't exactly sure what to do there. I mean, I know how to sub eggs in cake, but since I've only ever made eggless pie crusts in recent memory, I wasn't sure what I should sub for the egg (well, the yolk more accurately). So, after some PPKonsultation, I settled on soy yogurt. I give you ...

Plum Brandy Conserve and Raspberry Jam Tart



9 tablespoons (110g) margarine, at room temperature
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c plain soy yogurt
1/8 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 c plain flour
1/2 c stone-ground cornmeal or polenta
pinch sea salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 c plum and brandy conserve
1/4 c raspberry jam
turbinado or demerara sugar, for sprinkling


1. Cream together margarine and sugar. Mix in the soy yogurt and almond extract.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder. Gradually add the dry ingredients, just until the mixture just comes together.

3. Measure out about 2/3rd of the dough, wrap it in cling film, and chill it. Take the remaining dough, wrap it and chill it, too. (I chilled for about 2 hours, but only because I was distracted.)

4. Preheat the oven to 350F/175C. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature. Press the dough into the bottom and sides of an ungreased removable bottom 9-10"/24cm tart pan or springform pan, patting it evenly.

5. Spread the conserves and jam evenly over the dough (they'll mix together as you spread - no need to combine them ahead of time if you can't be bothered).

6. Form the extra dough into disks, then lay them over the jam. Top very generously with coarse sugar (as much or as little as you feel like).

7. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool before serving, and serve at room temperature.



The Verdict: I'm not gonna lie, it's kinda like a giant fancy pop tart - a crusty icing sugar glaze wouldn't have felt out of place here. And I wasn't keen on the texture of the crust, to be honest. But overall, the taste was great, and it was even better the next day (as was the texture).

I'll make this again, but I might experiment with a finer grind of cornmeal. It was pretty close to a shortbread crust, so that's another possibility. Also, as the original recipe suggests, you can use pretty much any jam, preserve, etc., in place of what I used - this is just what I had on hand. I might try again with raspberry jam and chocolate chips, since it's always been a winning combination. I might also try to do a GF crust, just to see if it works and to do something for the GF peeps.

I've uploaded all of my pictures from the past, oh, 8 or so months, and I've managed to get them into my Food Porn album on FB. I have to say, trying to label everything (thank jeebus for AllyChristine's cookbook/blog challenge compilation post) reminded me about a lot of good food I haven't made in ages. And it made me hungry. Part of me wants to do a post (or 10) to catch up, so I might do later. But I have meal planning and grocery shopping to do, so it'll have to wait.

Swap!

Earlier this month, a vegan goodies swap was proposed on the PPK. This was the first time I had participated, since you have to have been registered and active for over a year (or have over 1000 posts). Anyway, I got my swap package from Mary (aka mittenmachen) today!


Clockwise from the top left - mint Newman-O's, seasoned popcorn, Chocolate Raspberry, Chai Tea, S'mores, Cookies & Cream, and Lemon Zest Luna bars, coffee extract, maple cream, and chocolate extract. I've already eaten the popcorn (which was yummy but is probably why I feel like my stomach is about to burst - popcorn doesn't like me as much as I like it) and the maple cream (delicious on crumpets, but not with Marmite - what was I thinking?!). Oh, and I've obviously had mint Newman-O's before, and they are wonderful. I might make mint cookies & cream cupcakes, or we might just eat them on their own.

I also tried to make hummus today. Well, it was supposed to be an approximation of the limited edition sun-dried tomato and basil stuff Tesco sold for a while. The problem came when I got out my basil, and it was a bit funky. So while my hummus is good, it's not as good as that stuff. I might give it another go some other time.

I made you a muffin, but I eated it.

I mentioned yesterday that I made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins (I only used 3/4 c of sugar, left out the soy yogurt (which isn't an ingredient in VwaV) and bunged in a 100g bag of Dairy Free chocolate chips), and that we ate the entire batch in less than 24 hours. I decided to make another batch, since we ate the last one so quickly that I didn't get to take a picture.


They're just that good. Unfortunately, I couldn't do a low-fat version because I hadn't made any more applesauce yet. It turns out that you really can tell the difference between low-fat and full-fat versions of this one. The full-fat muffins are more crumbly and slightly less moist, somehow even more delicious, and - bonus - the paper comes away from the muffin much more easily. But since I'm trying to at least keep off the weight I've already lost, this will have to be a one-off, unless I make them for the ceilidh or something.

Dinner was a cookbook challenge recipe - Red Lentil Pasta from La Dolce Vegan

(Sorry for the rubbish picture - it wouldn't have looked that great even if I hadn't already eaten some and taken the picture under bad lighting.)

I was not a fan of this. First of all, it gives the impression of coming together in about 15 minutes. Well, not if you want your onions translucent and your lentils cooked. I used some chopped tomatoes in their juices and (at least) an extra 1/4 c of water and cooked the lentils about twice as long as the recipe called for, and they still felt underdone. Even after I blended everything, I could still feel individual lentils. And they're red lentils - the kind that cook down into a paste! I don't know how that's even possible. Apart from that, the flavour was nothing special. I prefer the Punkin Pasta over this one.

I think most of the rest of the recipes I'm making from this book are desserts (because lord knows I need more desserts), so we'll see how those go.

Farmers' Market haul and new chocolate

Today's oatmeal was wonderfully simple - golden syrup and a dash of cinnamon. I usually like my oatmeal quite sweet and dessert-like, but I've been thinking about branching out. Interestingly enough, today I saw this thread on the PPK. I might try some savoury oatmeal for lunch sometime next week.

I finally managed to make it to the Farmers' Market with more than 20 minutes to spare before they packed up. Unfortunately, I didn't really get much - spinach, potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms. I normally wouldn't buy mushrooms, since Mike won't eat them, but I'm thinking about cooking a couple to throw in my calzone tomorrow.

Yesterday, I went to Real Foods and found this -

an Organica Swiss Chocolate Couverture bar - in the discount bin, at what I thought was half price, because it was broken. Mike really liked it, so he asked me to get another bar. Unfortunately, it turned out to have been much less than half price, because an undamaged bar was £2.39. That, to me, is a lot to pay for chocolate. Regardless, I bought that and a new (to me) flavour of Divine Chocolate -


Oh yes, chocolate makers are finally jumping on the chocolate and raspberry train. I saw a chocolate raspberry bar in Tesco a few months ago, but it wasn't vegan. But this is! The raspberry lends a slight tartness to a lovely, smooth dark chocolate, with a little bit of crunch due to the raspberry being freeze-dried. It's quite nice - something you eat one wee square at a time, very slowly, rather than scoffing it.

Next week's cookbook challenge is How It All Vegan, which I don't have. I went to look at a copy at Waterstone's today. I flipped through the whole thing, and there were a few recipes I would like to try, but I didn't buy it because it's in UK measures. I just can't get my head around weighing my ingredients. I might have to see if I can find a copy with US measures. I actually borrowed this book from a friend many years ago, but this was pregan and when I still didn't eat many vegetables, so I didn't get out of it what I could have. Now, though, it's a very basic book, very much meant for newbies, so I'm torn on whether or not I should buy it. I'll see what everyone else says about the recipes, and maybe try to get someone to send me a recipe in US measures to try out something new.

On a non-food related note, Mike was looking for things to watch on BBC.co.uk, and they had a show called 'Synth Britannia', looking at the history of synth-pop and early industrial music. It was as if someone at the BBC had said, 'What can we do to get Rachel to watch?' So we're trying to watch that now. It's making me happy.

Cookbook challenge, week 1, day 5 - Veganomicon

I know I said I wasn't gonna make anything for today, but I lied. I was reading through the PPK forum thread about the cookbook challenge, and someone else had posted that they'd made the Lower-Fat Banana Bread because that was all they had ingredients on hand for. Then I realised that I had 2 bananas that were in danger of going off because I never got around to making the smoothies they were intended to go into, so I decided to try something new and make the banana bread.

And when I say 'try something new', I really mean it, because I've never made banana bread before today. I'm not a huge fan of bananas - I only really like them when their taste can be masked by other flavours, which is why these particular bananas were initially smoothie-bound. But I made the Banana Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding ages ago (late winter/early spring, I think), and I liked the way that the bananas combined with the chocolate and carob chips made the whole thing taste a bit like it had alcohol in it.

So, for today, I decided to make the bread as muffins (as suggested in the book) and added about 1/2 c carob chips (I took them out a few at a time because they fused together in my sister's luggage on the plane over here). I used slightly less oil/more applesauce than the recipe says to cut down on the fat as much as possible without leaving it out altogether. Here's the result:



I've had two already (after an hour at the gym and the 25 minute walk home, my small serving of leftover spaghetti and beanballs just didn't cut it). They're not bad - a bit of spice and the (insufficient) carob chips mask the banana flavour pretty well. I probably won't go out of my way to make them again, but if I do, I'll add more carob chips.

Cookbook challenge, week 1, days 2 & 3 - Veganomicon

Yesterday was day 2 of the Veganomicon cookbook challenge, and I made the Applesauce-Oat Bran Muffins.



They were nice the day of, though I wish I could've had one while they were still warm. My only complaint for the first one was that the cardamom was a bit overwhelming, but I got used to it after a few bite. On day 2, the spices seem to have mellowed, so it's just a nice spicy muffin.



And it's healthy! Loads of applesauce and only 2 tbsp of oil (though the recipe calls for 3), made with wholemeal flour, and only 1/2 c of sugar. This is the kind of thing you make when you want to bake but don't want to feel guilty about eating all of it. I'll definitely make these again, though I might up the cinnamon (just because I love cinnamon) and grate an apple to add to the batter (I didn't have any yesterday).

Tonight's dinner was roasted spaghetti squash from the Farmers' Market with V'con Beanballs and Roasted Garlic Marinara



and new leaf salad with Miso Tahini dressing and wholemeal croutons.



The spaghetti squash was weird. It was really liquidy - I poured off about 3 cups worth of liquid when I took it out of the oven, and then at least another 2-3 once I'd shredded it. It wasn't terrible, but I won't spend £5 for another one. However, the marinara and beanballs were delicious, so much so that I ate my entire plate of food even though the squash was funky. I'll be using the leftovers to stuff pitas (because I have pitas and not sub bread). The beanballs weren't an exact replica of meatballs texture-wise (I think tofu balls do a better job of that), but they were very close in taste. And I think they might even have been a little easier to make than tofu balls, as well as being cheaper (beans are cheaper than tofu) as long as you have vital wheat gluten on hand.

It took a while for the dressing to grow on me. It was very salty. Unfortunately, since there's no actual salt in it (it's just equal parts miso and tahini and warm water to thin it out), there's not much you can do to make it less salty. I added some pepper and garlic powder and used about twice as much water as the recipe called for, but it didn't really help much. It was good, but I don't think I'll make it again because of the saltiness issue.

Tomorrow I'll be making the Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits, and I'll probably make the cookies again, but with a bit of a change.