Vegan Carrot Cake

I can't believe I haven't posted this yet, because I make it all the time. Here it is on Sam's Birthday. I also brought it over on Mother's Day with a crushed pineapple icing. This morning, I made it for brunch, because my parents and a bunch of Sam's friends randomly decided to come over. Sam was making potato pancakes and tofu scramble, but I was worried there wouldn't be enough food. The recipe is adapted from my friend Jolinda at vegetarian.about.com, and I highly recommend her recipes.

Ingredients:
-3 c. all purpose flour
-1 c. almond milk
-1 1/2 t. baking soda
-2 c. carrots, shredded (i usually shred one cup really fine, and grate one cup more coarsely)
-1.5 c. raisins (when we get the ultra-sweet raisins, I use less)
-2 c. water
-3/4 c. sugar
-1/2 t. salt
-1 1/2 t. cinnamon
-1 t. cardamom
-1 t. allspice
-1 t. cloves
If you are missing any of the above spices, vanilla, nutmeg, pretty much anything will make a nice substitute. unless you are out of cinnamon. You can't go without cinnamon.

In a pot on the stovetop, combined the carrots, raisins, water, and spices and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the sugar and salt and cook for a little longer (maybe 2 minutes). Remove from heat, and allow to cool. I am usually in a hurry, so I usually cool it in the freezer for about 20 minutes stirring Q 5 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking soda. Mix everything together, including the almond milk, and stir by hand until just mixed.

Bake at 350 for 1 hr in a greased pyrex dish.

NOM.

Caramel Rolls

My sister-in-law made these for easter, they were off the chain. Great for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. Also a great thing to bring to someone's house when you are invited over.

Ingredients:
-2 loaves frozen bread dough (she used Rhodes Bake-N-Serv White Bread)
-1 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup Earth Balance
-1 large pack vanilla pudding "cook & serve" - NOT INSTANT (Jell-O Brand has polysorbate 60 which isn't vegan, but Dr. Oetker's has a vanilla pudding mix that is vegan)
-2 T. almond milk
-1 t. cinammon
-chopped pecans

To Prepare:
1. Thaw bread until you can cut it / tear it into pieces
2. Cover bottom of 9X13 greased pan with pieces of bread
3. Melt butter and mix in remaining ingredients and pour over bread
4. Let bread rise for about 3 hours (or overnight in the fridge)
5. Bake for 30 minutes at 350. All the goo will sink to the bottom, DON'T PANIC!
6. Once done, flip it over onto a serving tray (carefully!) and top with pecans.

Stuffed Peppers!

-4 ripe red peppers
-3/4 c. TVP
-1 can diced tomatoes (i got "italian seasoning" flavor)
-1 small onion, finely minced
-5-6 cloves garlic
-1 c. cooked rice
-1/2 chopped spinach (frozen type)
-1/2 c. cheddar daiya (or any cheese alternative), optional
-1 T. oil
-1-2 T. vegan worcestershire sauce to taste (annie's or wizard's are vegan)
-1 veggie boullion cube
-1/2 c. water
-oregano, salt, pepper, chili powder, basil to taste
-breadcrumbs as topping (optional)

Reconstitute the TVP with the can of tomatoes and about 1/2 c. hot water. Dissolve the boullion cube in the water before mixing it in. While that is reconstituting, sautee the onion in the oil over medium heat, adding the garlic once the onions are translucent and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 5 more minutes. Mix onions and garlic in with TVP, add chopped spinach, cheese, rice, worcestershire, and seasonings. Add more water as necessary. Season liberally as TVP and rice are both quite bland.

Cut the tops off 4 red peppers, remove the guts. Spoon the mixture into the peppers and cook for 55-65 minutes at 350. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top for the last 5 minutes of cooking.

I served mine with a side of steamed kale.

Mochadoodles: Variation on a Theme

Last fall I posted a recipe for Mexican Snickerdoodle via The Post Punk Kitchen as inspired by The Ann Arbor People's Food Co-Op. This evening while I was napping, I dreamt that I made Mexidoodles with instant coffee (in the same vein as my Roti Boy recipe, so when I woke up, I decided to make them. I made some blondie ones and some choco ones, just because I wanted to see how the instant coffee behaved in the cookie (without being masked by the cocoa), but they both turned out well, so I'd advise you do the same. Makes about 18-20 cookies.

1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. maple syrup
1 t. vanilla extract
1 c. refined sugar
3 T. milk
2 t. (or 2 servings) of instant coffee crystals (I used crappy Kroger Brand)
1 t. almond milk
1 2/3 c. flour
1/4 c. cocoa powder.
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon

a couple more teaspoons of sugar and some cinnamon for the sugary topping.

Preheat oven to 350. Mix the oil, syrup, vanilla, sugar together. Dissolve the crystals in the almond milk, and add that. Stir briskly until blended. Slowly sift in the flour. Add in the baking soda, salt, cinnamon and just one heaping tsp of the cocoa powder. Set the rest of the cocoa powder aside. Stir until blending. Roll walnut-sized balls of dough, press into a mixture of cinnamon and sugar (ratio of your choice) and bake for about 7-10 minutes. The tops will get crackly. Be careful, as this recipe will turn crispy fast if you overcook them (I prefer chewy). After the first batch (9 cookies on my cookie sheet), add in the rest of the cocoa powder and finish the rest of the dough balls.

Yum.

"beer" battered "burger"

Going along with the below recipes, Sam and I have continued our deep-frying spree. I have balanced this spree with 4 miles a day of running, and eating Kashi Go Lean instead of other unhealthy food... because the amount of frying we've been doing could lead to obesity. Anyhow, VegNews ran a decent recipe this issue for beer battered tempeh fish, that we modified and made last night.

1 c. quinoa flour
1 T. baking powder
1.5 t. salt
1 t. cayenne pepper
0.5 t. garlic powder
0.5 t. black pepper
12 oz. something carbonated like beer(truth be told, we don't ever drink beer so we used lime seltzer...)
0.25 c. vinegar
1 T. agave
A dusting of cornstarch for the tempeh (0.25 c.?)
tempeh patties or strips- one package
hot sauce (optional)
oil for frying

Mix together flour, baking powder, seasoning with beer/carbonated beverage. It should be pancake batter consistency. Steam the tempeh for 5-10 minutes until it is thoroughly warmed. Combine agave and vinegar in a shallow dish. Wash over steamed tempeh. Warm oil over medium heat. Dust tempeh in cornstarch, dip in batter and fry until golden brown. This batter is awesome because it puffs up (as you can see in the picture... our patties were regular veggie-burger thickness).

Serve with hot sauce. A bunch of it.

Onion/Spinach Pakoras

Sam's sister got him this "Indian Street Food" book that is very, very tasty and most recipes can be veganized without too much trouble. The book is by a photographer, and I didn't read enough of it to see where she got the recipes. The pictures are great as well as the recipe.

We adapted the pakora recipe as follows:

-bag of frozen spinach, thawed
-onion large onion, coarsely chopped
-1.5 c. chick pea flour
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-2 t. chili powder (to taste)
-1 t. salt
-1 t. curry powder
-dash of cayenne to taste
-water
-vegetable oil for frying

mix the flour, seasonings, baking powder together. Add water until it is the consistency of cake batter (runny). Preheat the frying oil in a small pot over low-medium heat (depending on your stove... ours seems to be directly connected to the earth's core so we have to set it very very low since magma is very hot). Test the oil by dipping an onion in the batter and then holding it in the oil. It should sizzle around the edges immediately. Take some spinach and onion, about a pingpong ball size, and coat it in the batter. Drop it in the oil and fry for 3-4 minutes until golden brown.

The biggest challenges were getting the dough on the inside to cook thoroughly. if yours are raw in the middle, try 3 things: 1) reducing the heat on the oil, 2) making your pakoras a bit smaller, 3) watering down your batter a bit.

We dipped our in Sri Rocha with some curry powder and garlic salt mixed in.

Eat More Vegetables.

So, I bought a copy of Veg News the other day (because it had a vegan bucket list and the nerdy girl from The Big Bang Theory aka Blossom had an article in it) and read a statistic that only 26% of Americans eat 3 or more servings of vegetables a day. I didn't believe it, since they are pushing their radical vegan agenda, so I consulted the USDA website, and Healthy People 2010 fact sheets. It was TRUE and that totally grossed me out. The USDA also has some interesting (though sadly predictable) breakdowns of their data by gender, SES, income, age, and BMI. Here is a link to the USDA fact sheet I read: here (warning it's a 10 page PDF).

So, here are some recipes (aka my dinner tonight) for more vegetables. Probably my favorite vegetables. Besides spinach. And snap peas. And sprouts. And carrots.

Steamed Kale

Kale always intimidated me to cook because it's so chewy/tough, and I thought only level 8 night elf vegans were allowed to be good at kale. But I love it. The Detroit Zen Center has this totally badass raw kale/quinoa/sesame salad at their illegal supper clubs. They just started selling it at the food co-op but it's like $5.49 for one large serving, so I swallowed my kale fears and decided to just go for it.

-1 bunch kale
-1 c. water
-1 T. nutritional yeast
-1 t. sesame seeds
-1 T. Balsamic vinegar
-2 T. Bragg's (or soy sauce)
-splash of lime juice
-pepper and basil to taste

Rip all the kale off the tough stalks. Discard stalks. Rinse kale thoroughly and place in metal colander, that is set in a covered pot that has about 1.5 inches of boiling water at the bottom. Steam like that for 15-20 minutes. Mixed the nutritional yeast, sesame seeds, liquids, and spices in a little bowl and let set until the kale is done steaming. Test it-- it should be tender but not soggy. Remove from ghettosteamer and let set out in the open for a minute or 2 so some of the extra moisture can escape. Dump the kale into a large mixing bowls and stir in the seasoning liquid. I added about a teaspoon of water at this point, but I have no reason why.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts (aka Bruzzel Spruzzels)
-1.5 T. earth balance
-1 t. salt
-1 t. pepper
-cayenne pepper to taste
-garlic powder to taste
-1 16 oz carton of brussel sprouts.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the little butt-end off all the sprouts, and slice them all in half. Chop the 1.5 T. of earth balance up into some small squares and put them in a pan with the sliced sprouts-- either a pyrex baking dish, a loaf pan, or a cake pan. I always include all the little leaves that come off the sprouts while you chop them because they get crispy/brown/extra tasty and I like that. Throw the unmelted butter/sprouts into the oven for 3-4 minutes. Remove, stir up (the butter should be melted), and add seasoning. Return to the oven to coo for about 30 minutes (or until brown) stiring every 10 minutes or so so they brown evenly.

Baby Portabella Mushroom Pilaf
-1 carton baby portabella mushrooms
-1 T. earth balance
-3 T. Bragg's
-1-2 t. dried basil to taste
-pepper to taste
-1/4 c. cooked brown rice (more if you like rice... I don't)
-raw cashews for garnish (photo was taking pre-cashew garnish)

Melt the earth balance in a skillet on medium heat, add mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes, reduce heat and add Bragg's, simmer for a little longer and add the seasoning to taste. For the last 2 minutes, stir in cooked rice. If you like rice, add more... I just don't much care for rice. I would've just ate the mushrooms except for all the extra liquid that needed soaking. Garnish with some chopped up raw cashews.

Vegan Traverse City

Being vegan is difficult in Michigan. Especially outside of Ann Arbor. Especially in the Northern part of the state. I spend a lot of my spare time in Traverse City, and have compiled a list of vegan-friendly places to eat.

1. Oryana Food Co-Op (260 East 10th Street) has "Lake Street Cafe" that has several vegan sandwiches-- my favorite is the Chipotle Tempeh wrap. Oryana also has it's own homemade tofu brand (Soyworks) and a delightful bulk-bin section.

2. The Dish Cafe (108 S. Union St) has convenient location as it's main draw. The "wasabi wrap" is good because it has wasabi peas in it, and the "grumpy" greek wrap is vegan if you order it without feta. Some of their other sides/salads/whatever are also vegan.

3. The Boathouse (14039 Peninsula Dr) is a pretty fancy restaurant that I wouldn't recommend unless someone else is paying or you are trying to impress a group of snobby nonvegans. There is nothing actually vegan on the menu, but on the bottom of the menu it says something like "dietary restrictions? we love a challenge". I was a little pissy when my parents brought me here because I was like "I'm vegan, what can you make me?" and the waitress was like "I'll go check". She never came back and about 20 minutes later (right before our food was going to be served) she came out and was like "do you like surprises?". Truth be told, I hate surprises, but you can't tell a stranger that you hate surprises when she is about to surprise you or else you sound like a complete wet sandwich. So I was like, "yea...". And she brought me out an enormous tray with all these little partitions and multiple different vegetable things all over. For instance. Some fingerling potatoes with truffle oil and morel mushrooms (dried morels, but still). Some marinaded artichokes. Some roasted red peppers with peanut shoots or something that looks like a clover (I love eating anything that looks like clovers because I feel like a bunny when I do). Strawberries, etc, etc, etc. It was very good.

Aaaand.... that's about it. If you're vegan and vacationing in Traverse City, you'd best stay somewhere with a kitchen. Or come over to my house-- my mom will cook you something vegan.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I have been on an insane running kick, and am therefore on an insane sugar/carbohydrate kick. It's strange/convenient how few sweets my body craves until I start exerting myself on a daily basis... and when it does... I blew through about 3 dozen cupcakes in 5 days (granted, i gave 4 to my sister and 9 to my veterinarian, and Sam ate approximately 4). I used the recipe from my red velvet birthday cake and used Pillsbury storebought cream cheese icing (VEGAN WTF) as well as rainbow sprinkles. They are pretty much the cutest and best cupcakes ever.

Tortellini Tuscan Stew

My office manager photocopied this recipe out of Good Housekeeping for me. She said it was delicious. I haven't tried it yet, but I always lose photocopied pieces of paper.

1 (2 lb) butternut squash (peeled, seeded, and cut into one inch cubes)
1 large zucchini (one inch cubes)
1 large yellow summer squash (one inch cubes)
1 large onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 oz green beans cut into 2 inch segments
1 can crushed tomatoes
12 oz veg broth
2 T. fresh oregano, chopped (or dried... whatEVER!)
2-3 cloves chopped garlic
1 t. salt
1 package frozen tortellini/ravioli (Rising Moon Organics has several vegan varieties to choose form in the freezer section)
1 bag (5 oz) baby spinach

Throw everything except the raviolis and the spinach in the crock pot. Cook on low for 6 hours (or high for 3). When you get home form work, it should look awesome. Turn it on high and stir in the raviolis and spinach for 10-15 min.

OM NOM NOM NOM.

Ridiculous junk food items that shouldn't be vegan, but are

I also refer to these items, among others as "accidentally vegan" or "so cheap/gross it's vegan"

1.  Oreos, Nutter Butters, and the majority of Meijer brand "Fudge Treasure" cookies, as well as Meijer Organics brand "Chipsters"
2. Kroger brand Orange Flavored Cinnamon Rolls
3. Sweet Spicy Chili (Purple Bag) Doritos
4. Goldberg's Peanut Chews
5.  Cinnamon Toast Crunch
6. Fruit By The Foot

so gross and good.

Vegan Lasagna

This one has a long ingredient list, but it worked out very well, so I am posting it anyhow

-Lasagna noodles
-mozzarella Daiya Cheese
-1 eggplant, sliced into small cubes
-1 c. chopped spinach
-4-5 button mushrooms, diced
-1 jar of tomato sauce
-1/2 a log of "Gimme Lean" sausage
-1/2 small onion, chopped''
-1 package of "firm" tofu
-2 T. vegan gourmet sour cream
-2 heaping T of nutritional yeast
-about 1/4 c. almond milk
-salt/basil to taste
-1 T. oil
-nonstick cooking spray/oil
-salt, garlic salt, basil, seasoning to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a saucepan, mix together the tomato sauce, onions, and sausage. Using a spoon, mash the sausage into bits while simmering on low, stirring occasionally. While you're doing that, saute the spinach, eggplant and mushroom in the 1 T. of oil in a skillet.Also bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

While those things are cooking, mix the firm (well squeezed-out) block of tofu, the sour cream, the milk, yeast, and seasoning in the blender. This makes a very convincing ricotta cheese layer.

By now, the water should be boiling, dump in your lasagna noodles... maybe about 25 of them depending on the size of your pan. Once they all sink into the water, take care to separate them so they don't stick together. You should not cook these until they are "done". They should be very very al dente, since they will continue cooking a bit more in the oven and you don't want them soggy. Mine took about 6-8 minutes, but they were whole wheat. Remove from heat, drain, rinse with cold water thoroughly.

By now the spinach mixture should be cooked and the sauce should have simmered enough. I use a large pyrex baking pan, but use whatever. Start laying. First put down a layer of nonstick cooking spray, then noodles, then spinach mixture with a bit of ricotta cheese. Then another noodle layer, then a sauce layer, then a noodle layer, then the remainder of the vegetables and sauce and all the ricotta, then a noodle layer, and top with daiya cheese. I suppose you could insert a layer of daiya anywhere you wanted, but I like it on top. Plus, I'm on a "diet" and with only 3/4 c. daiya, this recipe comes out to be approximately 200 calories per 1/16th square of this recipe.... sooooo... yea.

Caramel Corn

1.5 c. unpopped kernels
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. Earth Balance/any soy margarine
1/3 c. Agave/corn syrup/maple syrup
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2-1 c. peanuts, shelled (optional)
nonstick cooking spray/oil to grease a pan.

Preheat oven to 250. Pop the popcorn in an air popper, set aside. In a saucepan, melt the butter, sugar, syrup, and salt together over medium heat, stirring constantly. The mixture will begin to boil, and then get frothy. Let it go for 5 minutes at froth-stage stirring continuously all the while, then remove from heat. Immediately stir in the baking soda and the vanilla and pour the whole mixture over the popcorn which is in a greased baking pan. Stir thoroughly.

Cook for 60 minutes at 250 degrees fahrenheit stirring the mixture every 15 minutes. Let cool on paper (rip open a paper grocery bag and lay it flat, let it cool on there).

Vegan PF Chang's Orange Peel Beef Seitan aka "crappy mall Chinese Food"

Crappy mall food is one joy in life that was ripped from me in my silly decision to become vegan. BUT LO AND BEHOLD. I have made Crappy Mall Chinese Food-- specifically a rip of PF Chang's Orange Peel Beef.


1 package WestSoy Seitan
Sri Rocha Hot Sauce to taste (I used about 1 t.)
3 T. Bragg's (or any soy sauce)
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 c. flour
1 c. oil for frying

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Mix the seitan with the hot sauce, Bragg's, and garlic. Use a fork to separate any big pieces. Toss them in flour, dump them in the hot oil (dip the corner of one piece in to see if it starts to bubble to be sure that the oil is hot enough). Deep fry for about 3-5 minutes until golden brown. Remove with a metal strainer, and set on paper towel to cool/crisp up.

1 yellow onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of minced garlic
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 c. mushrooms (any kind), chopped
1 c. frozen peas
1-2 t. chili garlic sauce (to taste)
any brand of "mandarin orange sauce" from the grocery store (avoid the "marinade" with soy sauce in it)
1/2 c. plain tomato sauce (secret ingredient)
3 T. Bragg's
1 T. oil

1 package of spaghetti, soba, or udon noodles (or rice)

Saute the garlic in the oil, add the onions and reduce heat. Saute until translucent. Add the vegetables in the order that you normally stir fry vegetables (carrots, then peas, mushrooms last). Add the Bragg's and the chili garlic sauce and let the stew for a few minutes. Mix in the orange sauce and the tomato sauce and the cooked noodles. At the VERY LAST COUPLE MINUTES add in the fried seitan. If you add it to early, it'll get soggy.

SO GOOD!