This weekend, my awesome friend Jason visited and we made some DELICIOUS caprese-style sandwiches. They were perfect for the stupid-hot weather and we discovered a delicious new fake cheese, daiya brand, at the local-bourgey-chain market near me: Plum Market.
We talked a lot about how important it is to be conscious of what you eat whether it be vegan/cruelty-free/organic/etc, and it really reinforced my convictions as a vegan. Since moving to the middle of nowhere and spending more and more time with my well-intentioned but thoroughly nonvegan family, it's been really challenging to stay enthusiastic about what i "can't" eat.
Being vegan is rad!
Ingredients:
-french or italian bread (we got Livonia small batch local stuff)
-daiya brand fake mozzarella
-a ripe tomato, sliced thin
-0.25 of an avocado per sandwich
-1-2 leaves of fresh basil per sandwich
1. Under the broiler, toast the bread on both sides. While toasting the second side, liberally apply the fake cheese shreds to one side of the sandwich and watch it melt under the broiler... melty but not burnt.
2. Thoroughly wash and pat the basil dry. Tear it up into little tidbits. If you are pulling fresh basil off a plant that you got form Home Depot, always clip it from the top, right above the next row of leaves, that way your mom won't keep yelling at you for killing the basil plant every other week because you kept pulling leaves off haphazardly leaving all stems, sorry Mom.
3. Mash the 0.25 of the avocado and spread it on the other slice of bread.
4. Add tomato slices.
5. Add basil tidbits.
6. Squish it down flat. Cut it in half triangle-ways.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
cinnabons
so, this one time i went to the airport when i was little to drop my mom and sister off. my sister was going to a big national champion swim meet. i was supposed to go, but i had a bad ear infection, so my pediatrician said flying might rupture my eardrum. the eardrum ruptured anyways, but i wasnt able to fly. at the airport, i got a cinnabon. i was a meticulous child and i ate the bun from the outside in, saving the inside for last because it is the most delicious. walking through the airport (pre 9-11, so we were still allowed to go as far as the gate) by dad reached down and chomped the last tiny center bit of my delicious bun-- that i had been saving. it's been nearly 20 years since the incident and i am still traumatized by it, and now that im vegan i never get to eat cinnamon rolls.
ive just discovered vegan yum yum and i am blown away by her recipes. here is hers for her cinna-bunz which she swearing are spitting images of the kind my dad traumatized me with as a child. the recipe is really involved, and i havent tried them yet, but im hoping to be able to simply the recipe and repost my modified version in the future.
on a similar but unrelated note: weird al is vegan?
and i wish i still believed my friend when he told me dunkin donuts are vegan. i wish the nutrition info on dunkin donuts' website was still unavailable. i wish the midwest had a delicious vegan bakery so i could eat donuts comfortably and without shame or abdominal discomfort.
ive just discovered vegan yum yum and i am blown away by her recipes. here is hers for her cinna-bunz which she swearing are spitting images of the kind my dad traumatized me with as a child. the recipe is really involved, and i havent tried them yet, but im hoping to be able to simply the recipe and repost my modified version in the future.
on a similar but unrelated note: weird al is vegan?
and i wish i still believed my friend when he told me dunkin donuts are vegan. i wish the nutrition info on dunkin donuts' website was still unavailable. i wish the midwest had a delicious vegan bakery so i could eat donuts comfortably and without shame or abdominal discomfort.
Monday, May 31, 2010
celebrity cooking
to attract more traffic to my blog and exploit my friends for my own internet notoriety and eventual fame, the ever attractive and popular liam p wilson, bassist for the dillinger escape plan, is making a guest appearance today. this afternoon, we made a delicious thai-inspired coconut curry.
i was gonna post a picture of liam "shredding" on bass, as they call it, but i don't feel like googling for one, so here he is tasting the delicious curry and looking like a creep.
ingredients:
-2 cans of coconut milk
-small can of bamboo shoots
-2-3 heapings tsps of green curry paste (to taste)
-half a bunch fresh spinach, washed and chopped
-1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
-one red pepper, sliced
-one vidalia onion, chopped
-6-8 leaves of fresh basil, chopped
-3 cloves of garlic, minced
-shiitake mushrooms, sliced
-salt to taste
-rice or noodles
in a skillet or saucepan, bring the coconut milk to a boil add the sweet potatoes and cook them until soft in the coconut milk. add the curry paste, chopped spinach, and basil. in a separate skillet, sautee the onion in some oil, turn down the heat and add the garlic, then add the mushrooms and the red peppers. sautee them for a few minutes, and then dump them in the other saucepan where, by now, the potato should be about cooked. add salt to taste and serve over rice or noodles-- i like the soba buckwheat and wild yam noodles.
i was gonna post a picture of liam "shredding" on bass, as they call it, but i don't feel like googling for one, so here he is tasting the delicious curry and looking like a creep.
ingredients:
-2 cans of coconut milk
-small can of bamboo shoots
-2-3 heapings tsps of green curry paste (to taste)
-half a bunch fresh spinach, washed and chopped
-1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
-one red pepper, sliced
-one vidalia onion, chopped
-6-8 leaves of fresh basil, chopped
-3 cloves of garlic, minced
-shiitake mushrooms, sliced
-salt to taste
-rice or noodles
in a skillet or saucepan, bring the coconut milk to a boil add the sweet potatoes and cook them until soft in the coconut milk. add the curry paste, chopped spinach, and basil. in a separate skillet, sautee the onion in some oil, turn down the heat and add the garlic, then add the mushrooms and the red peppers. sautee them for a few minutes, and then dump them in the other saucepan where, by now, the potato should be about cooked. add salt to taste and serve over rice or noodles-- i like the soba buckwheat and wild yam noodles.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Vegan Chicken and Dumplings
I'm all about midwestern comfort food and I'm so psyched to try these. The recipe looks similar to my mom's... which is an awesome recipe...
http://www.vegfamily.com/vegan-recipes/entrees/vegan-chicken-and-dumplings.htm
http://www.vegfamily.com/vegan-recipes/entrees/vegan-chicken-and-dumplings.htm
Sunday, May 16, 2010
IT IS MY BIRTHDAY
Well, next week is my birthday. But I'm going to NYC for the weekend, so my family celebrated it today. The cake was so good!
http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/recipes/vegan-red-velvet-cake-with-buttercream-frosting
for the batter:
3.5 c unbleached all-purpose
1.5 c granulated sugar
2 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 t cocoa powder
2 c milk (i used plain soy)
2/3 c oil
3 T red food coloring (red #40, not the "E" one cuz that = beetles)
2 t white vinegar
2 t vanilla extract
frosting:
1/2 c Earth Balance, at room temperature
3 c powdered sugar
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
2 T milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; (180 degrees C, or gas mark 4). Lightly oil two 8-inch (20 cm) round cake pans.
To make the batter, in a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Create a well in the center, and add milk, oil, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla, and mix until thoroughly combined.
Divide cake batter evenly between prepared cake pans. Place pans in the oven spaced evenly apart. Bake for about 35 minutes, rotating 45 degrees halfway through. When the cakes pull away from the side of the pans and a toothpick inserted into the center of each comes out clean, they are ready.
Let cakes cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides. One at a time, invert cakes onto a plate and then reinvert onto a cooling rack, rounded-sides up. Let cool completely.
To make the frosting, with an electric hand or stand mixer, cream butter until it is smooth and begins to fluff. With the mixer on low speed, add confectioners' sugar and fluff for another few minutes. Add vanilla, milk and food coloring (if using).
Once all ingredients are well-combined, beat on high until frosting is light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons more milk to achieve the right consistency. Cover the icing with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out until ready to use. Rewhip before using.
Here is a picture of my big brother eating his second piece:
http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/recipes/vegan-red-velvet-cake-with-buttercream-frosting
for the batter:
3.5 c unbleached all-purpose
1.5 c granulated sugar
2 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 t cocoa powder
2 c milk (i used plain soy)
2/3 c oil
3 T red food coloring (red #40, not the "E" one cuz that = beetles)
2 t white vinegar
2 t vanilla extract
frosting:
1/2 c Earth Balance, at room temperature
3 c powdered sugar
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
2 T milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; (180 degrees C, or gas mark 4). Lightly oil two 8-inch (20 cm) round cake pans.
To make the batter, in a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Create a well in the center, and add milk, oil, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla, and mix until thoroughly combined.
Divide cake batter evenly between prepared cake pans. Place pans in the oven spaced evenly apart. Bake for about 35 minutes, rotating 45 degrees halfway through. When the cakes pull away from the side of the pans and a toothpick inserted into the center of each comes out clean, they are ready.
Let cakes cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides. One at a time, invert cakes onto a plate and then reinvert onto a cooling rack, rounded-sides up. Let cool completely.
To make the frosting, with an electric hand or stand mixer, cream butter until it is smooth and begins to fluff. With the mixer on low speed, add confectioners' sugar and fluff for another few minutes. Add vanilla, milk and food coloring (if using).
Once all ingredients are well-combined, beat on high until frosting is light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons more milk to achieve the right consistency. Cover the icing with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out until ready to use. Rewhip before using.
Here is a picture of my big brother eating his second piece:
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Pineapple Basil Sorbet
I'm obsessed with the pineapple-basil combination for spring and summer because it makes me feel alive.
-2 cans of pineapple
-fresh basil
-3 tablespoons coconut milk
Open the cans and dump EVERYTHING into a freezer bag or tupperware and freeze overnight. Throw it in a food processor with as much basil as you like (or as much that needs to be picked from your mom's basil plant when you are still living at home even though you are employed) along with about 3 tablespoons (give or take) or coconut milk or any other creamy dairy alternative you have laying around... something sweetened, in my book. Food process it until its homogenously creamy and the basil bits are chomped up.
Yumsville.
-2 cans of pineapple
-fresh basil
-3 tablespoons coconut milk
Open the cans and dump EVERYTHING into a freezer bag or tupperware and freeze overnight. Throw it in a food processor with as much basil as you like (or as much that needs to be picked from your mom's basil plant when you are still living at home even though you are employed) along with about 3 tablespoons (give or take) or coconut milk or any other creamy dairy alternative you have laying around... something sweetened, in my book. Food process it until its homogenously creamy and the basil bits are chomped up.
Yumsville.
Enchiladas
I swear I posted this before, but I can't find it, so I'm posting it again. This is one of my favorite things because it's easy, well balanced, full of fiber, not full of fat, and you can eat this for dinner and lunch for like a week. They reheat well, but if you're a gynecologist like me, people might get weirded out if your cuticles are stained with orange enchilada sauce, so be careful with that.
-1 pkg large flour tortillas
-1 can of black beans (I use spicy), rinsed
-1/2 can corn, rinsed
-frozen chopped spinach
-frozen tri-color peppers, I suppose you can use fresh.
-really any vegetables you have laying around, I often use up the almost-empty bags of everything I have in the freezer
-2 cans enchilada sauce
-oil to coat baking dish
-one box spanish rice, prepared according to the directions on the box
-optional: a fake meat: tofu, crumbles, tempeh, whatever.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. I like to wrap the tortillas in a wet towel and put them in the oven while it's heating up in order to soften up the tortillas. Prepare the rice. Thaw all the vegetables, they don't have to be thoroughly warmed, just not in icy chunks. I use a handful of frozen spinach, and a generous amount of the frozen peppers. Mix them in a bowl with the beans and corn and half of one can of the enchilada sauce. Add some salt, pepper, cayenne, fajita seasoning, whatever you have. Fill the tortillas with 2 spoonfuls of rice, and several spoonfuls of the filling. Roll up the tortilla and place it on the oiled baking dish, seam side down (so they stay closed). Repeat with all the tortillas. Cover with foil and cook for 20 minutes, removing the foil for the last five minutes.
-1 pkg large flour tortillas
-1 can of black beans (I use spicy), rinsed
-1/2 can corn, rinsed
-frozen chopped spinach
-frozen tri-color peppers, I suppose you can use fresh.
-really any vegetables you have laying around, I often use up the almost-empty bags of everything I have in the freezer
-2 cans enchilada sauce
-oil to coat baking dish
-one box spanish rice, prepared according to the directions on the box
-optional: a fake meat: tofu, crumbles, tempeh, whatever.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. I like to wrap the tortillas in a wet towel and put them in the oven while it's heating up in order to soften up the tortillas. Prepare the rice. Thaw all the vegetables, they don't have to be thoroughly warmed, just not in icy chunks. I use a handful of frozen spinach, and a generous amount of the frozen peppers. Mix them in a bowl with the beans and corn and half of one can of the enchilada sauce. Add some salt, pepper, cayenne, fajita seasoning, whatever you have. Fill the tortillas with 2 spoonfuls of rice, and several spoonfuls of the filling. Roll up the tortilla and place it on the oiled baking dish, seam side down (so they stay closed). Repeat with all the tortillas. Cover with foil and cook for 20 minutes, removing the foil for the last five minutes.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Roasted Red Pepper and Asparagus Pasta Salad
I start my new job tomorrow, so I am making food to bring to eat all week. And it's spring. So I'm making pasta salad. I posted a pasta salad/bbq vegetables recipe awhile ago, and this is similar to that, but with less ingredients, and faster.
First, roast some red peppers.
This was initially intimidating to me and I was all like "omg, how do you do this, it must be so hard. i must google this and read 20 different websites to make sure i'm doing it right". you actually just put peppers under the broiler til the skins are black. It's about as difficult as making toast (if you are a toasterless hobo such as myself). So yea. First, do that to one pepper. After you broil them, put them in a freezer bag til they cool (the bag lets the flavors ruminate) for like 20 minutes.
The skins should peel off easily at this point. If they don't, whatever, skins are full of fiber and good for your bowel movements.
Here are the ingredients:
-bunch of asparagus, the skinnier the better
-half a sweet onion, sliced
-pasta
-1 roasted red pepper
-4 oz (1/2 a package) of tempeh
-olive oil
-salt
-pepper
-garlic or garlic powder
-crush red pepper (optional)
-the juice of a lime
-balsamic vinegar
-dried or fresh basil to taste
Sautee the onion in olive oil until translucent. Dump it into a bowl. Add some more oil, and sautee the asparagus until tender, with salt and pepper, dump into the bowl. Cut up the tempeh, add some more oil, crushed red pepper (optional) and some salt, sautee the tempeh until browned (i like all the burned crap that is on the pan at this point to give the tempeh a little extra flavor, but if that grosses you out, wash it off in between). Dump that in the bowl too. While you are doing this, you should've been boiling some pasta. I don't know how much because I like my vegetable to pasta ratio to be mostly vegetables, while some prefer mostly pasta. Once the pasta is done, drain it well and let it cool. mix everything together, add balsamic vinegar, a splash of oil, probably some more salt. Fresh basil is really good (home depot has the plants for like $1.99 and my mom has been out of town for 2 weeks and i managed not to murder her plant, so they are easy to take care of). Refrigerate until cool, taste it once more before you serve it and add more oil/vineger/salt/whatever before serving. I find the tempeh really sucks up a lot of moisture.
First, roast some red peppers.
This was initially intimidating to me and I was all like "omg, how do you do this, it must be so hard. i must google this and read 20 different websites to make sure i'm doing it right". you actually just put peppers under the broiler til the skins are black. It's about as difficult as making toast (if you are a toasterless hobo such as myself). So yea. First, do that to one pepper. After you broil them, put them in a freezer bag til they cool (the bag lets the flavors ruminate) for like 20 minutes.
The skins should peel off easily at this point. If they don't, whatever, skins are full of fiber and good for your bowel movements.
Here are the ingredients:
-bunch of asparagus, the skinnier the better
-half a sweet onion, sliced
-pasta
-1 roasted red pepper
-4 oz (1/2 a package) of tempeh
-olive oil
-salt
-pepper
-garlic or garlic powder
-crush red pepper (optional)
-the juice of a lime
-balsamic vinegar
-dried or fresh basil to taste
Sautee the onion in olive oil until translucent. Dump it into a bowl. Add some more oil, and sautee the asparagus until tender, with salt and pepper, dump into the bowl. Cut up the tempeh, add some more oil, crushed red pepper (optional) and some salt, sautee the tempeh until browned (i like all the burned crap that is on the pan at this point to give the tempeh a little extra flavor, but if that grosses you out, wash it off in between). Dump that in the bowl too. While you are doing this, you should've been boiling some pasta. I don't know how much because I like my vegetable to pasta ratio to be mostly vegetables, while some prefer mostly pasta. Once the pasta is done, drain it well and let it cool. mix everything together, add balsamic vinegar, a splash of oil, probably some more salt. Fresh basil is really good (home depot has the plants for like $1.99 and my mom has been out of town for 2 weeks and i managed not to murder her plant, so they are easy to take care of). Refrigerate until cool, taste it once more before you serve it and add more oil/vineger/salt/whatever before serving. I find the tempeh really sucks up a lot of moisture.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Best Vegan Food in Detroit, according to me
So, I'm originally from Metro Detroit, but haven't lived here in about 7 years. Been having a hard time adjusting to the lack of vegan options/difficulty eating out, so I have rarely strayed from my comfort zone (hot bar at Whole Foods).
1. Blue Nile (9 mile near Livernois): All-you-can-eat Ethiopian (with a veg option)... it's pretty spendy, but nice.
2. Tokyo Sushi (2 locations that i know of: Squirrel and Walton in Rochester, and next to Noir Leather in downtown Royal Oak). I always get an order of "air conditioner rolls" (asparagus, cucumber, avocado), an inari pocket, and miso. To me, best sushi in town.
3. Mind, Body, Spirit (on Main St in downtown Rochester)... I haven't been here yet, and it's had mixed reviews. Restaurant.com has one of those cheap coupon things, I bought one, but haven't gotten around to going yet.
4. Inn Season Cafe: (4th street, just east of Main Street)... it's good, sorta spendy and always obnoxiously busy. I don't go there a lot, but it's a nice place. Everything is vegetarian, and pretty much everything can be made vegan.
5. Chipotle and Qdoba: i love burritos and hav yet to find a delicious non-chain with vegan options. I guess there is one in Ann Arbor/Ypsi, but I haven't been out there yet.
6. Palm Palace (everywhere, I go to the one on Squirrel and University).... these places have popped up in all the vacant La Shish buildings after they shadily shut down all overnight... nowhere near as tasty as the $16 million dollars of tax evasion that probably funded terrorism, but still delicious because Middle Eastern food is the most delicious. Nothing will ever be as delicious as La Shish.
7. AJ's Music Cafe (on 9 mile in downtown Ferndale)... coffeeshop that has a lot of vegan options. The vegan philly cheesesteak sounds and looks disgusting, but is actually tasty. The mexican tofu wrap thing was meh, but the dudes there are always super nice.
8. Zoup (I go to the one in Somerset mall): finding vegan mall food is so difficult, but Zoup is really delicious. Soup is actually my favorite food. The pea soup is AWESOME. The sourdough bread is vegan (I checked). They mark things as vegetarian or dairy free, but not vegan, but have a binder of all the ingredients behind the counter and are really nice about it.
ok. that's all i feel like writing. I am still in search of a brunch place.
1. Blue Nile (9 mile near Livernois): All-you-can-eat Ethiopian (with a veg option)... it's pretty spendy, but nice.
2. Tokyo Sushi (2 locations that i know of: Squirrel and Walton in Rochester, and next to Noir Leather in downtown Royal Oak). I always get an order of "air conditioner rolls" (asparagus, cucumber, avocado), an inari pocket, and miso. To me, best sushi in town.
3. Mind, Body, Spirit (on Main St in downtown Rochester)... I haven't been here yet, and it's had mixed reviews. Restaurant.com has one of those cheap coupon things, I bought one, but haven't gotten around to going yet.
4. Inn Season Cafe: (4th street, just east of Main Street)... it's good, sorta spendy and always obnoxiously busy. I don't go there a lot, but it's a nice place. Everything is vegetarian, and pretty much everything can be made vegan.
5. Chipotle and Qdoba: i love burritos and hav yet to find a delicious non-chain with vegan options. I guess there is one in Ann Arbor/Ypsi, but I haven't been out there yet.
6. Palm Palace (everywhere, I go to the one on Squirrel and University).... these places have popped up in all the vacant La Shish buildings after they shadily shut down all overnight... nowhere near as tasty as the $16 million dollars of tax evasion that probably funded terrorism, but still delicious because Middle Eastern food is the most delicious. Nothing will ever be as delicious as La Shish.
7. AJ's Music Cafe (on 9 mile in downtown Ferndale)... coffeeshop that has a lot of vegan options. The vegan philly cheesesteak sounds and looks disgusting, but is actually tasty. The mexican tofu wrap thing was meh, but the dudes there are always super nice.
8. Zoup (I go to the one in Somerset mall): finding vegan mall food is so difficult, but Zoup is really delicious. Soup is actually my favorite food. The pea soup is AWESOME. The sourdough bread is vegan (I checked). They mark things as vegetarian or dairy free, but not vegan, but have a binder of all the ingredients behind the counter and are really nice about it.
ok. that's all i feel like writing. I am still in search of a brunch place.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Banana Rum Cake
My friend Jolinda, who I met in West Sumatra, writes for vegetarian.about.com. She made this recipe for vegan banana cake which I modified and am posting here.
-2 cups flour
-1.5 t. baking soda
-0.5 t. salt
-0.25 cup oil
-0.25 c. soy/almond/hemp/whatever milk
-3-4 bananas (very ripe)
-1 cup sugar
-1.5 T. rum extract
-1/2 t. cinnamon
-1/2 t. ginger powder
preheat oven to 350. combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Mix together suger and oil, add milk, mash in banana, the extract, and the flavorings (i used a potato masher, then a egg beater thing with the hand crank... no clue what that's called... fast stirring with a spoon and a strong bicep muscle or an electric hand mixer will work). Bake for like 45 min (til a toothpick comes out clean).
You can ice it, or just serve it with vanilla ice cream. i don't really like icing, so... you can google how to make plain icing if you don't know how, but i'd just serve it with ice cream if i were you.
I tried to estimate calorie content, because my parents are on a diet, and i think the entire cake has about 2500 calories, so don't eat the entire cake if you are on a diet. It looks like it'll make 12 slices so that comes out to about 210 calories per slice (but i didn't put it in a bomb calorimeter or anything, just googled "number of calories in 2 cups of white flour", etc).
-2 cups flour
-1.5 t. baking soda
-0.5 t. salt
-0.25 cup oil
-0.25 c. soy/almond/hemp/whatever milk
-3-4 bananas (very ripe)
-1 cup sugar
-1.5 T. rum extract
-1/2 t. cinnamon
-1/2 t. ginger powder
preheat oven to 350. combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Mix together suger and oil, add milk, mash in banana, the extract, and the flavorings (i used a potato masher, then a egg beater thing with the hand crank... no clue what that's called... fast stirring with a spoon and a strong bicep muscle or an electric hand mixer will work). Bake for like 45 min (til a toothpick comes out clean).
You can ice it, or just serve it with vanilla ice cream. i don't really like icing, so... you can google how to make plain icing if you don't know how, but i'd just serve it with ice cream if i were you.
I tried to estimate calorie content, because my parents are on a diet, and i think the entire cake has about 2500 calories, so don't eat the entire cake if you are on a diet. It looks like it'll make 12 slices so that comes out to about 210 calories per slice (but i didn't put it in a bomb calorimeter or anything, just googled "number of calories in 2 cups of white flour", etc).
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