Vegan Family Dinners

Moving right along...

2008-08-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!

So, after a year of Vegan Family Dinners, I've decided to move on, in the blogging world. There is far too much going on my life to stick to blogging just about food all the time, so I am in the process of starting a new blog that will cover all aspects of my life, from baking brownies to knitting booties (haha, nope, I'm not preggers.... just hypothetical).
I appreciate my small handful of readers that have stuck by me these last few months, and I really hope you will continue to stick with me.

This blog will remain here, but this will be the last Vegan Family Dinners post. It makes me a little sad!

The new blog will be found here. I hope to see you there!

Thanks for the year here, friends!

xo

Eats and Treats...

2008-07-27T12:47:00.000-07:00

Hello lovelies!

It's been a few weeks.. gosh I am a slack blogger these past few months. How shameful.

Okay, so. Here's some food for ya, since you're all so sweet and patient with me.

First off, I got a new cookbook, that I am totally in love with. I've only made a few things, but it's all been successful. (Not pictured, but amazing are the Chewy Peanut Buttah Cookies. So so good.)
Pictured is the Barbecue-Baked Tofu with Mushrooms and Bell Peppers. Oh, this was so lovely. I paired with with a simple cabbage salad.

Our building had a potluck barbecue thing a couple weeks ago, so I threw together a random pasta salad, bursting with rice pasta, bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, green beans, and the tofu feta from... Garden of Vegan, I think? One of the Sarah Kramer books. It is my go-to feta recipe. And I just used the marinade as the dressing. It was so great. Pasta salad is one of my favorite comfort foods.
I brought 2 dishes to the potluck. My second "dish", was Vive's Coconut Carob Pecan cookies, made with chocolate instead of carob... I was already serving people tofu feta, so I didn't want to freak them out too much.

So, there was a crazy, major power-outtage downtown a couple weeks ago, which means that Keith got 3 days off work. So, we randomly drove to the Okanogan to visit his parents. So, the day before we left, I was browsing the Vegan Essentials website, in the hopes of ordering some marshmallows for the summer. They were out of stock, so I checked out the Sweet and Sara website to see if I could get them anywhere locally. Well, they aren't sold anywhere in Vancouver, but I could get them in Kelowna! Woot! I stocked up. And, I got a few of the S'Mores, which I'd never had before. Holy sugar Batman! They were so so so good. Mmm.
We also stopped at an organic fruit stand, and loaded up on fresh, local peaches, apricots, cherries, and cucumbers. Lucky us!

Lastly, even though I had a conference last weekend, I managed to get in one day with my boys at the Folk Fest. And, there was a kiosk selling only vegan food. Yes. Mostly raw food (we enjoyed some raw cookies and popsicles), but Keith and I inhaled some chili dogs. Hells yes. So freaking awesome.
We also enjoyed some chocolate tofulati. Yum!

Lots going on in the next few weeks, including a trip back home, and Keith's high school reunion! I'll keep you posted!

xo

one.

2008-07-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we celebrated the first birthday of my littlest man, Baby Teague. We had a teeny party, with just the four of us (and my sweet mom and sisters watching via webcam), after enjoying a nice day at the beach.

For his cake, I altered a recipe from this book (veganized it, and made it quite a bit healthier...). Here's the finished product:

Teague's Healthy Carrot Cake

1/2 cup (scant) sunflower oil
9 tbsp applesauce
3/4 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
3 cups spelt flour
1/3 cup wheat germ
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 cups grated carrots
1 8oz can crushed pineapple, well drained

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly oil 2 8" or 9" round cake pans. In a large bowl, combine the oil, applesauce and pineapple juice, and stir well to combine. To this, add flour, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, and spices, and mix well. Fold in carrots and pineapple. Divide evenly between pans, and bake for 35 minutes. Allow to cool, and then ice with creem cheese icing.

Creem Cheese Icing

1/2 cup apple juice concentrate
16 oz. vegan creem cheese
2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup raisins
1 1/2 tsp agar agar powder

Combine 3 tbsp of apple juice concentrate with the agar agar powder, and stir until agar is dissolved. Set aside. Finely chop raisins using blender or food processor. Add remaining apple juice concentrate, creem cheese, and vanilla, and blend until smooth. Add agar mixture, and blend once more. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before using. Makes enough to frost one 8" double-layer cake.

I decorated mine with unsweetened coconut flakes. It was enjoyed by all.

Happy Birthday, sweet peanut.

Papa's Day

2008-06-30T10:22:00.000-07:00

Happy belated Father's Day to all the dad, daddas, papas, fathers, grandfathers, pops, etc, etc.

We had a very simple Father's Day, consisting of breakfast in bed, followed by a warm day at the beach.

Keith was treated to scrambled tofu (made with silken tofu, 'cause that's how he likes it), fresh fruit, and jam-filled mochi (my new favorite treat, from this book).

More to come soon... our neighborhood is great... the local Italian shop sells handmade, organic vegan ravioli!!!! So good. I'll give a full report soon soon.

Sooo.....

2008-06-29T20:46:00.000-07:00

I'm alive. We're here. We made it. We *just* set our computer up, and I'm in the middle of uploading an entire camera card worth of pictures, so give me time, loves, and you'll get an update soon.

In the meantime, you should all be reading Vegan Dad. Seriously. This guy blows my mind. I wish he was in Vancouver, so we could have a bbq and I could marvel at his culinary genius in person. Swedish IKEA-inspired meatballs?! He is beyond awesome. So go read his stuff while I get my act together.

Bye for now!
xo

Vegantario

2008-05-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

Hello lovelies! We are back from our Ontario vacation, which was lovely (much thanks to our gracious hosts, Glen and Jenny!!!), and are officially in moving crunch. I thought I'd better do a post now, since I won't get another chance to for about two weeks.

We stayed in Hamilton, with a couple day trips to Toronto. I am so grateful that we had such great "tour guides", who are vegetarian, and know all the great places to eat.

Our second day in Hamilton, we went to a downtown farmer's market, and then to a little cafe called Bread and Roses. Not completely vegetarian, the cafe served mostly local, organic food, and made a great rice bowl. And, they had vegan brownies! Hells yeah!!! I didn't take any pictures from this visit, but Keith and I got take-out for a picnic later in the week.

Our next adventure took us to Toronto's Vegetarian Haven, which shares a space with the Toronto Vegetarian Association. I can't remember what everyone ordered, but I got the Singapore Seitan, and Quinn had deep fried tofu, and shared some purple rice and steamed veggies with Teague. And for some reason, Quinn's soymilk came in a wine glass. He's such a classy guy.

Teague's B-Boy stance, reprezentin' vegan babies 'round the world:
Another adventure took us to the Toronto Zoo, which probably isn't very vegan of us, but it's a beautiful space, and Quinn had the best day of his life. So. No hate mail guys, 'kay? We stopped at Hamilton's natural food store on the way to pick up some picnic snacks.

On the way home from the zoo, after getting lost in Toronto, we attempted to go to the Urban Herbivore, but it was closed. Boo! So, reminding myself of Michelle's recommendation, we went to Fresh on Bloor for take-out. I, sadly didn't have any pictures, since we ate in the car in the dark on the drive home, but we got some great food! Vegan chocolate caramel bar? Yes please! Vegan carrot cake with cream cheese icing? Uh huh! Coconut tempeh? Mmmmm..... We got two great wraps, Magic Tofu for me, and Kathmandu for Keith. They were faboo. I am really wishing Fresh were in Vancouver. Sigh.

On our last day in Hamilton, we stopped at a little organic, fair trade coffee house for an early lunch. My Dog Joe is a cool little coffeehouse that had a few vegan options, and a killer Peach Iced Green Tea. Keith and I shared a 3-Bean Chili and a veggie panini, minus the mayo and cheese. And I finished the meal off with a vegan macaroon.

That's all she wrote, friends! See you in a couple weeks!
xo

Here I am, here I am!!!

2008-05-10T19:06:00.001-07:00

Look! I didn't lie! Here is it, Saturday night, and here I am at the computer writing a post. Hurrah!
Okay, so here's a quickie life update before we get to the food. I'm afraid I have mislead you.... we haven't actually moved yet!!!! Eep! We leave in 3 weeks, and my absence up 'til now has been a combination of many things:
1. Getting our house "move ready". This includes getting rid of tonnes of crap. Our new place is way tinier than our current house, so we had to do some serious downsizing, as well as cleaning, deciding whether to sell or rent this place, finish up some lingering renos....the list goes on.
2. I took a doula course, which consumed a bit of my time. But, I'm a doula now, so yay!!!
3. My sweet sister was very very very sick, and was in the hospital (we're talking ICU) for over a week. But she's better now, so hooray! We love you, Janet!!!!! xo
4. I've been sewing baby slings for a friend of mine. Or, trying too. I'm a terrible procrastinator (as you all well know), and sewing/ ironing around curious babies is just a bad idea. So.
5. I went on a couple trips (Kelowna to visit the in-laws, and Vancouver to visit the new house.... I'll do a post on the great Vancouver veg-restaurants after we move), and we are heading our to Hamilton, ON in less than a week...we will be heading to Toronto for a couple days, so if anyone has any great veg/kid-friendly restaurants, I'd love to hear your suggestions!!!
6. I started organizing a rally to fund midwifery in Alberta, and ended up passing it on to someone else, because my brain was about to explode. I still went to the rally though, which seems to have been successful, since it looks like midwifery fuding is finally underway!!! See, all my busy-ness resulted in positive outcomes. :)
I think that's all. Anyways, I've been busy. And will probably continue to be busy for, like, ever. But I digress. Back to the food! I have a month and a half (!!!) of stuff to post about, so I'll start on some dinners.

First: V'con's Chickpea cutlets & Caesar salad, with ED&BV's Lemon Broiled Asparagus and Polenta Croutons. Yum!!!

A brown rice and split pea dish from.... I don't remember where. Whoops. And Sweet-Potato Spelt Biscuits from the Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook.

Traditional Mac 'n' Cheese (I think) from the Uncheese Cookbook, with peas and broccoli thrown in.

ED&BV's Polenta Casserole. Quinn's new favorite meal.

Simple salad with homemade croutons, and ED&BV's "Honey" Mustard dressing. This dressing blows my mind, and I am totally in love with it.

V'Con's Chickpea Cutlets (these things are delicious, and so freaking easy to make!!!), and ED&BV's Popcorn Fries (looooove!!!!) and Lemon Broiled Green Beans.

And, to bring you up to speed on Baby Teague's wee eating habits, he has now had non-gluten grains, lentils, almonds (ground), hemp seeds, sunflower seeds...lots of new things that I can't remember. He also refuses to eat baby food, or be spoon fed, so I have oodles of baby food in my freezer that I have to get rid of in 3 weeks. Hmmm. Anyways, he will only eat finger foods, so he's been eating a lot of rice pasta, peeled and cubed cucumbers, melon, banana, apple...etc.
His new obsession is pulling my cookbooks out of their little bookshelf in the kitchen (behind him in the above picture). A little foodie already. ;)
I hope this will tide you over for a little while, and I promise promise promise that my next post will not be in a month and a half.
xo

Gahhh!!!

2008-05-08T12:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, kids. I promise a post this weekend, with a full update. Promise promise promise. That's four promises. Now I have to do it. That, and Monika K has been holding her breath for like, a month, waiting for me.
Okay. Give me three days. I'm going to put pressure on myself and say Saturday night. There. I said it.
I have about 8 million things to post about, so prepare yourselves for a longie.
Thanks for the patience, lovelies!
xo

Around...

2008-03-24T21:34:00.000-07:00

Yo!
I'm around, but engrossed in moving right now. We've bought a house in Vancouver, which makes the move officially official. Yikes!
Expect a post soon, but don't hold your breath!
xo

Tag! You're it!

2008-03-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged again! This time by VeganDad.
Y'all know the rules by now, right?

1. I went through a phase in college where I was obsessed with Iris Murdoch. I have a tattoo of her quote, "If one doesn't have words, how does one think?", on my back.

2. Also during those wild, Iris Murdoch-obsessed college years, I had dreads! Not for very long. They totally destroyed my hair, and I had to cut it all off. I've been trying to grow it back ever since. That's obviously not going well, since it's been 5 years, and my hair is barely chin-length.

3. My first job was at a Burger King, believe it or not. I was the only employee who would try the veggie burger when it first came on the market. Ha!

4. The first night I met my husband, I took him back to my place, and we watched Three Men and a Baby. Yup. I own the sequel too. What?

5. I really don't like weddings. I used to work at a bridal boutique, and that is likely a huge contributing factor.

Anyone out there who hasn't been tagged with this meme yet? If so, I tag you!

The little post that could...

2008-03-10T17:53:00.000-07:00

At last! The long awaited infant nutrition post! Here goes....

0-6 months
Breast milk is all baby needs for the first six months of life. Human milk is perfectly formulated for human babies, and will ideally be babies only food for the first half of their first year. Although breastfeeding can be challenging, help is readily available. If you are having problems, contact your local La Leche League leader, a public health nurse, or even a friend who has breastfeeding experience. Some great resources are The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, The Breastfeeding Book, and any Jack Newman book.

If breastfeeding is absolutely not possible, then the baby should be fed formula exclusively for the first six months. At this time, I do not know of any vegan infant formulas, as even soy formulas contain lanolin, a derivative of sheep's wool.

6-9 months
Beginning solid foods is a very exciting time for parents and babies! It is best to wait until the baby is 6 months old before starting solids, but some babies can start earlier. If you think your baby is ready to start foods earlier, discuss it with your naturopath, or pediatrician.

The best foods to start with are fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are structurally similar to breast milk, and are easy for baby to digest. These foods will also help baby develop a taste for healthy foods. Juicy fruits and vegetables are best to start with (such as cucumber and pear). Lightly steam, then puree each food before serving, mixing with breast milk or water to thin, if decided. A handy trick is to make large batches of a particular item at once, and then freeze in ice cube trays, making perfect baby-sized portions that are easy to thaw and gently heat.

It is common to give baby a fortified infant cereal at six months, but grains are harder to digest, and can be rough on baby's sensitive tummy. The reason that infant cereal is often suggested as a first food, is that baby's iron stores begin to deplete around six months of age. If you are concerned about iron, steamed and pureed greens (such as kale, spinach, and chard) are great iron-rich foods.
Note: Tomatoes, strawberries, corn and citrus are common allergens, and should be avoided until 1 year of age.
Note: Foods should be given in a 3-day block, meaning that after each new food is introduce, do not introduce another new food for 3 days, to see if baby has a reaction. This holds true for all new foods, not just fruits and vegetables. Some reactions may include rashes, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, irritability, congestion, eczema, and diaper rash. Consult your naturopath or pediatrician if you have a history of severe allergies, or are concerned about your babies reactions to certain foods. Do not mix a new food with any other foods until you are sure that the baby does not have any allergies or sensitivities to the foods.

9-12 months
At nine months, it is safe to introduce lentils, split peas, non-gluten grains, and nuts and seeds.

Lentils, split peas and grains (non-gluten grains include rice, quinoa, amaranth and millet) should be cooked, and pureed until baby seems ready for different textures.

Nuts and seeds should initially be ground, and mixed with breast milk or water to create a paste. Always use raw, unsalted nuts, such as flax seeds, almonds, sunflower seeds, and hemp seeds. If your family has a history of allergies, you can delay the introduction of nuts and seeds until 18 months or later. Peanuts are a common allergen, so their introduction should be delayed until at least one year of age.

Around 10 months, once baby has a few teeth, he/she may be interested in trying finger foods. Finger foods should be soft enough for baby to "gum". Good finger foods include small pieces of banana, avocado, or steamed, cooled fruits and vegetables or gluten-free pasta. Kamut and rice puffs are easy to eat, and are still a favorite for Quinn.

12-18 months
Once baby is a year old, it is a good time to introduce legumes, soy, and gluten grains, as well as the allergenic fruits that were avoided at 6 months.

Although it might be tempting to treat baby to a sugary birthday cake, it is best to limit the intake of sugar. A quick internet search will lend you plenty of sugar-free cake and treat recipes that are easy to veganize.

Other important points:
- Babies are much more sensitive to toxic pesticides than adults, so it is important to buy organic whenever possible.
- Breastfeeding should continue until at least two years of age. If it ceases before that time, it is important to supplement with DHA fortified formula, or integrate a DHA oil into the baby's diet.

Some good resources for feeding infants and young children are Raising Vegetarian Children, the New Vegetarian Baby, Disease-Proof Your Child and the infant feeding section found in Vive le Vegan.

If I left out anything, or you have a specific question, please feel free to ask in the comments, and I will try my best to answer as soon as possible.
xo

Tagged (aka. procrastinating....)

2008-03-07T21:22:00.001-08:00

Okay, infant feeding post coming soon....yada yada yada.
Until then, I've been tagged by Michelle to reveal 5 things about myself, then pass it on to 5 other bloggers.

So. Here we go. This is tougher than it seems. All I can think of writing about myself right now is how sleepy I am...

1. I have naturally curly hair (just like that bratty girl in Charlie Brown, but with much less attitude).

2. I'm a total birth junkie, and plan on becoming a doula - holistic nutritionist.

3. I'm super-close with my family, and my mom and sisters are my best friends.

4. I online shop. Like, a lot. Well, not a crazy addictive amount that puts our family in debt or anything. To be fair, I mostly window-shop online. I don't know what you'd call that. Etsy.com is my most favorite place.

5. I've been so stressed out lately because.....we're moving! To Vancouver! Scary. Well, scary for me. I'm going crazy over here! I don't know anyone in Vancouver! Ahhhh! More on that another time. Sigh.

Okay, so I tag Katie, VeggieGirl, VeganMomma, Paulina, and Monika K.
Rules:
Link to your tagger and post these rules.
Share 5 facts about yourself.
Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

Now go forth and reveal yourself!

I suck...

2008-03-03T13:09:00.000-08:00

... at this blogging thing lately. Big time stress at our house right now. Details to come.

In the meantime, keep an eye out for an infant nutrition post in the next few days.

Later gators!
xo

Will you be mine?

2008-02-19T16:21:00.000-08:00

I made a couple batches of cookies to share with family on Valentines Day last week.

First, V'con's Chewy Chocolate Raspberry Cookies:
Everyone loved these...except me. I think I would've liked them if I weren't expecting raspberry, but I was, and I was a wee bit disappointed. I think the almond extract was too overpowering, and if I make them again, I would leave it out.

And, from the Joy of Vegan Baking, Sugar Cookies with White Icing (I actually can't remember if that's what the icing is actually called, but I used whatever the book recommended):
I colored the icing with some pink water leftover from cooking beets for Baby Teague. I thought that beets were a fitting Valentine's Day food for the little guy, and he seemed to enjoy them.

Longer post coming.....sometime. ;)
xo

A week of Vegan Family Dinners

2008-02-07T09:50:00.000-08:00

We've had a pretty mellow week. It's still mega cold here, but we will survive (hey! hey!).
So, I have 5 new dinners to share.

First, last Wednesday, I made ED&BV's Sweet Potato-Lentil Chili, with a sprout salad and ExtraVeganZa's Red Pepper Hemp Cornbread.
The chili was *awesome*. I loved it. I'm a recent sweet potato convert, and I thought this was so good. It was a hit with everyone. The cornbread was a tad sweet for my taste, but good. I think next time I'll add less sugar, and maybe throw a minced jalapeno in. But isn't it pretty?

Thursday we had spaghetti at my dad's which was super yummy, as usual.

Friday, we had ExtraVeganZa's Root Vegetable Pot Pie.
I didn't have any rutebegas, so I threw in beets to even the score a bit. It's full of (purple) potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and the aforementioned beets. It was super comforting yummy. Perfect winter food.

Saturday my in-laws were in town, and we went to a great Vietnamese restaurant we live right around the corner from. They have a huge vegetarian menu, and we got a bunch of yummy dishes to share, like salad rolls, mango and tofu curry, and lemon tofu. Mmm.

I don't remember what we had on Sunday, but I think it was just a quick pasta.

Monday I made V'con's Pinneapple-Cashew-Quinoa Stirfry (or something to that effect...).
I knew Quinn would love this. It is full of his favorite things: cashews, quinoa, peppers, pinneapple, and peas. What's not to like. The quinoa is even cooked in pinneapple juice for extra pinneapple-y flavour. We all liked it, but I think I'd make this again just for Q.

Tuesday was my new favorite food, V'con's Chickpea Cutlets, served alongside a tomato-basil salad, and some roasted cauliflower.
Sigh. I heart those cutlets.

Last night I made V'con's Po' Boys and ED&BV's popcorn fries.
Sweet goodness, this dinner rocked my world. Okay, so it's obviously not healthy. The only veggies were the Veganaise-drenched cabbage, and a few slices of tomato. The french bread is white. Yada yada yada. Whatever. This was awesome. It made me smile with every bite. Oh yum. I want more. Yum. Oh, and although the recipe doesn't call for tomatoes, I highly recommend them. I left off the pickles, and without the tomatoes, it would've been a tad dry. Also, I left off the chipotle mayo, because chipotle, and really, all things smoky, make me want to gag a little bit. (I ran out of chili powder a few weeks ago, and accidentally bought chipotle chili powder to replace it. *shudder* So, now I have chipotle chili powder that I will never use. Sigh.)

And our lunches (no pictures), have been ExtraVeganZa's Peanut-Lime-Cilantro soup, and ED&BV's Monkey Minestrone with Polenta Croutons, which I looooved. I used Tinkyada's Sweet Dreams pasta, with all the fun shapes, and Quinn loved it. My hubby loved the croutons and said that they reminded him of chips (his favorite thing in the world).

I've done a bit of baking too, this past week. My grandpa's girlfriend (that's not as weird as it sounds) had a birthday last week, so I made her a batch of ExtraVeganZa's Lemon-Lavender-Blueberry Muffins.
I can't believe I haven't mentioned these muffins here before. They are my most favorite muffin in the whole world. Okay, that's a bit of a lie. They are tied for first with Vive's Stork Muffins. But whatever. These are lemony and lavendery and perfect and yummy.
We also made, but don't have pictures of, ED&BV's Cocoa-Banana Muffins (yum!), ExtraVeganZa's Apple-Walnut Spice Muffins (I thought these were good, but they are the first muffin ever that Q didn't like), and Hide and Seek Muffins from Pretend Soup (which we've made before.

And the only new food we've given Teague is yams.
He loved 'em. He's been cut-off from broccoli, as it made him a wee bit, ahem, gassy, and he would therefore, keep me up all night (moreso than he already does). I plan to make a bunch more food for him this weekend.

And that's all, folks.
Peace and love.
xo

Back to the food

2008-01-30T13:39:00.000-08:00

It's been three long weeks of cooking, so prepare yourselves for a lengthly-ish post.
First up, is the Portobello Mushroom Tofu Quiche from ExtraVeganZa. I didn't have any portobellos, so I subbed porcini mushrooms, which, the dear Food Network chefs have taught me, are really just baby portobellos. The quiche was super yummy, but a little labor-intensive, since it involved a few steps, as well as making a crust. I'm sure I'll make it again though.
I was supposed to use red pepper strips, which would've been prettier, but I had yellow on hand, so there you go.

My sisters turned 20 last week (they are twins... hence the sharing of the birthday....), and we had a small family dinner for them at my dad's house. My stepmom, who, like most of the amazing people in my life, always makes an effort to veganize food for us, made a vegan version of one of my sisters' favorite foods: Jamaican patties. Mmmm. I haven't had these in years....like, maybe 7 or 8 years. Wow. They were awesome.
While we're talking about awesome people, I'd like to give a shout out to everyone else who has been sweet to us in the past few weeks: thanks to my friends Audrey, for the pizza and the soup, Nicolette for the sushi, Trina for the rad bean-cookies, and to my family, who are always super supportive, and always have chocolate soymilk around for Quinn. :)

Next up is two ED&BV recipes put together: Living Caesar Salad and Blackened Tofu. It was super-yummy, but I totally effed up the tofu and burned the crap out of it somehow. I know the idea was to blacken it, but not to burn it to a total crisp. Whatever. I scraped the badly burned parts off and dug in. My husband loves all things burny (despite the carcinogens), so he kept his intact and loved it.

At the farmers' market on Saturday, I picked up, among other things, a huge savoy cabbage. I've never seen a savoy cabbage before, but they are really ginormous. My husband was reluctant to get it, since I rarely cook with cabbage, but it's the dead of winter, and the market has some pretty slim pickens. I knew I had a recipe that called for savoy cabbage in my ReBar cookbook, so I went ahead and bought it. As it turned out, ReBar had two vegan recipes using my new giant cabbage. I made the BigBarn Bowties. It was described as "humble and earthy" (just like me!!! haha), and it did not disappoint. Topped with nutritional yeast, it was a lovely winter meal.

Shockingly, I haven't done too much baking lately. I certainly should be, with the ridiculously low temperatures here. Last week, aside from a batch of ExtraVeganZa's Carob Mint Oatmeal cookies (or something to that effect), Quinn and I made a batch of ED&BV's Oatmeal Raisin cookies (inspired by VeggieGirl), with the addition of some carob chips. Quinn always likes to have a job when we bake (when we make muffins, it's his job to line the tray with muffin liners), so I gave him the oh-so important job of smushing the cookies down a bit before they went into the oven.
The cookies were super yummy, and baking with the boys (Teague is usually in a baby carrier of some kind) is the best way to spend a morning.

Speaking of the boys, we have a lot to catch up on with Baby Teague's dining experiences.
First, blueberries! He loved 'em, no surprise there.
Next, butternut squash, which also went over very well.

Also on the menu, without pictures, are broccoli, blackberries, bananas, and peas. He doesn't dig broccoli on it's own, but doesn't mind it mixed with other veggies. Oddly enough, he really doesn't like blackberries either. Huh. Maybe the seeds?

And lastly, that sneaky guy tried to rebel against our vegan values and eat a cow! We caught you Teague!
"Crap! I've been outed!"

Stiil here...

2008-01-27T19:51:00.000-08:00

Hey friends! I'm still here... still cooking. I have much to post about, but have been too busy/ lazy to upload pictures onto my computer.

There's mega snow here....temperatures tomorrow will be -30 C for the high. Wow.

And, since I don't have enough on my plate, I'm working on opening an etsy shop. Details on that to come... right now I'm thinking that it will be mostly baby/ toddler clothing made from recycled thrift shop clothes. Maybe children's backpacks, cloth diapers, pouch slings, and mei tai baby carriers. We'll see. (Yeah, that's not vegan-food related, but it's one of the reasons I've been absent. So.)

Anyways, I hope to have a post up in the next couple days. From the looks of the forecast, it looks like I won't really be leaving the house too much in the coming week.

I hope you are all a lot warmer than us!

Recent stuff

2008-01-09T19:55:00.000-08:00

Not too much going on around here. Things have slowed down mega since the holidays, which is lovely.
Here are a few recent goings-on from our kitchen.
My most favorite grocery store/ restaurant closed last month, which breaks my heart. (And makes me hate giant chain grocery stores, but that's beside the point....) I used to get this really awesome tofu tahini rice bowl there, and I tried to recreate it, with a little help and inspiration from the rice bowl recipes from the Fresh at Home cookbook. Brown rice, marinated tofu, diced tomatoes, avocado, spinach, sunflower seeds, and tahini sauce. Yummers.
And after Michelle's hardy recommendation, I decided to make V'con's Leek and Bean Cassoulet. I've been wanting to try this recipe since she first posted about it, but it always looked so complicated, especially since I always wait until the last minute to make dinner. In reality though, it was super straight forward, and no trouble at all. Oh, and did I mention that it was totally delicious?
And my fancy-pants dinner: roasted portobellos, tomato couscous (both from V'con), roasted cauliflower, and steamed chard. It would've been fancier if I would have put it in a little cup, so it would've been all molded, and, well, fancy. But that was an afterthought. So. This is as fancy* as it gets.
I also made another one of the expensive vegan cheesecakes last weekend, and Quinn helped me clean up. :)
(Note the adorable sock monkey pants that Grandma made Quinn for xmas!)
And now for the feeding pictures! Two new foods for baby Teague. Spinach:
and swiss chard:
Both went over well, now I need to get back to my steamer and food processor, and decide what to make next!
Have a great week everyone!
*I refer to this meal as fancy, because couscous and roasted portobellos seem very restaurant-y to me. :)

Happy Holidays!

2007-12-28T19:01:00.000-08:00

Hey all! I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday.
I have much to post, so let's get to it!

Last Saturday, before Christmas, we had a big Holiday/ Solstice party with a few friends of ours. It was an after-dinner party, and I made a few big pots of Chai Latte from The Joy of Vegan Baking (no pics, sorry... just imagine a big pot of.... chai. ;) ), and Lemon Cheesecake from the same book. Holy hannah, that lemon cheesecake rocked my world like crazy. Yikes. Sure, it was pricey, and a good $20 worth of soy cream cheese went into it, but damn. I was pretty sure that my cheesecake days were over, but I am so relived that they are not. Oh yum. I topped with a raspberry coulis. Ah, life is sweet.
Each of my guests took home a goody bag full of holiday baking: Jam-Print Cookies, 5-Spice Cookies, and Chocolate Mint Melties from ED&BV, Sparkled Ginger Cookies from Vegan With a Vengeance, and Mexican Wedding Cookies from The Joy of Vegan Baking. Mmm.

Our christmas dinners (one at my mom's, one at my dad's) consisted of tofu roast, potatoes, veggies... the usual suspects. Nice!
One of my sisters is in university right now, so to save on cash, she made everyone treats for christmas instead of buying gifts. Fine by me! Here's what she made us: Double-Chocolate Almond Explosion Cookies and Fudgy Brownies from Vive, and chocolate-covered pretzels. Holy crappola. Chocolate covered pretzels rock my world, and I haven't had them in years. Le sigh. I heart my family.

Speaking of loving my family, can we talk gifts for a minute? My awesome hubby got me a mug from VeganDish that I am in love with! And look at how cute my guys are in their new Herbivore duds.
And here's a cute picture of my Grandpa ( vegetarian for 25+ years) sharing some cashews with Quinn. Awww.

For our post-christmas Boxing Day dinner, I made Fresh at Home's Golden Curried Dahl, and a batch of ExtraVeganZa's Spelt Chapatis. (On a side note, a dear friend just pointed out that me, and a few other friends, have been pronouncing this book Extra Vegan Za, although it seems like it's actually extravaganza. I feel like an idiot.)

Although I didn't mention it last month, I got a big ol' gift certificate to a bookstore for my birthday, which I, naturally, used to buy cookbooks. :) I picked up Fresh At Home, Real Food Daily, and The Joy of Vegan Baking (which I looove so far). Does anyone have any recommendations for what to make from which?

And, last but not least, (not-so) little baby Teague had his first not-from-the-boob food tonight! Some organic steamed pears, pureed, obviously.
I have done a lot of research on vegan infant nutrition, and have am quite nearly finished my holistic nutrition school, so I feel confident in doing a full post on the subject in the near future, if anyone would be interested. I will be following a feeding guide given to me by my naturopath, as well as my own knowledge on the subject.

Happy Holidays, everyone!
xo

Quickie

2007-12-17T20:44:00.000-08:00

I am insanely swamped right now.... trapped under a seemingly endless pile of sewing, baking, and card making/ writing/ sending.
Anyways, back to the food. My mom and stepdad came for dinner last week, and I made V'Con's Chickpea Cutlets, with Mustard Sauce, and some roasted veggies (blue potatoes, parsnips, and carrots). Hot Damn I love those cutlets.
And, since we're covered in snow, and super cold temps, I made the husband and I a batch of ED&BV's Cocoa. All I had was full-fat coconut milk, which I used the whole can of, against Dreena's advice. I really should've listened to the well-meaning advice, because it was way too rich. Still good, but more like.... if-I-drink-a-whole-mug-of-this-I-might-throw-up good, y'know? I must add light coconut milk to my grocery list and try this again.
Oh, and a quick side note.... have any of you tried VitaSoy's Chocolate Peppermint Soymilk? Oh. My. God. If you haven't tried it yet, then run to your nearest health food store and buy a case...erm, a carton asap. Seriously. You will not be disappointed. Mmmmm. Damn the seasonal soymilks!

Yikes!

2007-12-06T13:06:00.000-08:00

Holy crappola it's been a long time since I've done a food post. It's about time, no?
Last week Quinn and I made a batch of muffins from the Pretend Soup cookbook (by Mollie Katzen). This cookbook is very un-vegan, but easy to veganize and super fun for kids. These were called Hidden Berry muffins.... or something (I'd check, but there's a baby sleeping on my lap, and I daren't wake him).
I'm a bit of a muffin addict. Yum.
My husband's employers bring breakfast in every morning for their 300+ employees. Among the fresh fruit, cereal, and soymilk (!!!), are carrot muffins with cream cheese frosting which he pines over. So, because I'm the greatest wife in the world (har har), I made him some vegan ones, using VWaV's carrot muffin recipe, and VCTOTW's cream cheese frosting. These hardly lasted 2 days, which is a little sad...
Here's Veganomicon's Chickpea Noodle Soup. It was good, but the rice noodles I used were very absorb-y, and didn't keep well.
And just for fun, here's how my silly toddler ate his sushi last week...
Thanks to everyone for the well wishes. :) We are all better now. We've been crazy busy though (xmas, sewing, craziness....), and had a bit of a cat-knocking-camera-over-and-breaking-the-lens incident. We bought a new lens, but I don't love it, so I hope we can get a better one soon.
I hope you are all well! There's snow like crazy here.... stay warm and cozy!
xo

Blargh!

2007-11-21T19:43:00.000-08:00

So, we're all sick. Well, all except me, the momma bird. So, I've been busy trying to take care of everyone and doing lots and lots of yucky laundry.
But, I do have one quick recipe for you! I made this super healthy soup tonight, and it is really tasty, and full of immune-boosting ingredients.

Julie's Immunity Soup

2 tbsp olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 med. onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 parsnips/ carrots, diced
1 tsp each: dried oregano, thyme, mustard seeds
2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup amaranth
5 1/2 cups water or veg. broth
2 dried bay leaves
1 1/2 cups aduki beans

In a large saucepan, heat oil over med. heat. Add garlic, onion, ginger, celery, parsnips/ carrots, oregano, thyme, mustard seeds, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes, until onions are softened. Add remaining ingredients and simmer, covered, for about half an hour.
Optional: Add 1 cup of frozen peas in last minutes of cooking.

(P.S. *waving* Hi! I'm Julie! Believe it or not, VegMomma is not my real name. Tee hee!)

Happy Thanksgiving, American neighbours!
Stay healthy everyone.
xo

Vegan MoFo Questionnaire

2007-11-14T18:29:00.000-08:00

Here's a MoFo questionnaire copied from Peggy the Veggie. :)

1. Favorite non-dairy milk?
So Nice Plus, or Ryza Vanilla.

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?
Oh my goodness, top three??? How about every recipe I haven't made yet from ED&BV, Veganomicon, and ExtraVeganZa. There. How's three cookbooks instead? :)

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?
Earth Balance and nutritional yeast.

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?
Pre-vegan zucchini feta pancakes. Blegh.

5. Favorite pickled item?
Beets!

6. How do you organize your recipes?
They're in cookbooks, organized for me. :) Otherwise on the computer.

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?
Compost or trash.

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods...what would they be (don't worry about how you'll cook them)?
Eep! Quinoa, red peppers, and garlic!

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?
Hmm....this is a toughie! My mom, who worked full-time, always managed to prepare a home-cooked meal. I really can't think of any bad food memories, or any that particularly stand out... Yeah, I have no good answer for this one.

10. Favorite vegan ice cream?
Purely Decadent's Turtle Trails. Mmmm.

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?
Oh, my food processor, without a doubt.

12. Spice/herb you would die without?
Fresh basil. Mmm.

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?
How it All Vegan.

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?
Raspberry. Although, I have to give a honourable mention to Elderberry jam. My mother-in-law picks Elderberries and makes jams and syrups that my husband lives for.

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?
Any cupcake from VCTOTW, or a good, hearty rice and bean dish.

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?
Tofu, then seitan. Tempeh just hasn't won me over yet.

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?
Dinner. Or dessert....

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?
Two cake platters.

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.
Flax meal, peas, hemp seed nuts.

20. What's on your grocery list?
Umm.... onion powder, paprika, chickpeas, kale/ chard, rice milk, frozen berries... I could go on and on...

21. Favorite grocery store?
Organic Roots.

22. Name a recipe you'd love to veganize, but haven't yet.
A recipe my stepmom makes called Treasure cookies.

23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa's because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3?
Tiger the Lion, Vive le Vegan, and Chocolate-Covered Vegan (isn't she the cutest?!).

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?
Crispy Cat bars. Holy crap, these rocky my vegan world.

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?
My birthday's on Sunday, so I was frivolous and ordered myself assorted chocolates and a box of champagne truffles. Mmm.

26. Worst kitchen injury?
Slicing my finger open while chopping onions for Thanksgiving this year.

Happy Friday!

2007-11-09T12:48:00.000-08:00

Just a short (late!) post today. We're super busy, and the boys are really sucking my energy, so I haven't been doing much exciting cooking.
Halloween was last week, and we gave out some organic, vegan chocolate balls wrapped in "Earth" foil. Cute! Too bad they weren't very tasty.
We hardly got any kids anyways. We live in a community with lots of families, but we also live close to a mall, so I think the majority of kids flock there.
We go for dinner at my mom's every Sunday, and for dessert this week, we had the Chocolate Upside-Down Pudding Cake from How It All Vegan. (My first vegan cookbook! A x-mas gift from my mom about 5 yrs ago.) The cake was delicious, and ridiculously easy. Mmmm..... I could go for another slice about now....

I made my first Veganomicon recipe this week, the Chickpea Cutlets. To accompany them, I made some mac 'n' cheeze (using the Amazing Mac 'n' Cheese recipe from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook), and some sauteed chard with tahini sauce (from VWAV). I didn't make a sauce for the cutlets, but did smother them in HP sauce. Hot damn. I love HP sauce, and I haven't eaten it in years, so the cutlets (which were really good on their own too!) were a perfect vehicle for this "steak sauce".
Yum. They were really easy to make and will certainly become a regular dinner.
Tonight, we're off to dinner with my sister and some friends to the only vegan restaurant in Edmonton, which happens to be run by the nicest man you will ever meet. Seriously!
Have a good weekend, everyone!

Cookies, Veganomicon, and more!

2007-10-30T15:17:00.001-07:00

I had a bit of a posting hiatus.... my apologies! Life's been crazy, and it doesn't look like it's going to slow down any time soon. But no matter, let's get to the goods!
ED&BV's Mellow Lentil Sniffle Soup
I love red lentils. I think they may surpass garbanzos as my fave legume. Mmmm.
Vegan Lunch Box's Tofu Fish sticks, paired with sauteed purple and green curly kale and a tomato-basil salad drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Yum!
And, from ED&BV, the Quinoa Chickpea Confetti Casserole and Raw Red Pepper Aioli.
And, of course, cookies! (All from ED&BV)
Super-Charge Me cookies (for my sisters)
Walnut-Carob-Cranberry Clusters
The Double-Carob Cashew cookies (again), and Green Tea Cookies I made up (I'll post the recipe later in the week).
And look what I got in the mail today!
I'll try to do a Halloween post later in the week!
Happy Halloween all!

ED&BV....le sigh

2007-10-18T14:10:00.000-07:00

I am borderline obsessed with this book. I think the anticipation built prior to receiving the book, combined the fact that it is truly an awesome cookbook validate the obsession.
My favorite recipe so far is the Lemon Garlic Pasta. Yes, I made this twice in two weeks. I think it is my new lazy supper. But I will make it even when I'm not feeling lazy, because it is wonderful. Mmm. Goodbye store-bought tomato sauce, hello lemon pasta. I threw in some tomatoes and spinach from the Farmer's Market for extra health and yumminess. (I used spinach rice pasta both times I made this...hence the colour.)To accompany the pasta, we had the Living Caesar Salad, which was lovely and yummy, and will certainly be made again in the near future.
And for last night's dinner, the Brown Rice and Beans "Jumble-aya". We didn't have a can of diced tomatoes, or kidney beans, so we compromised, using diced cherry tomatoes and black beans. It was so simple to make, and really good.
For breakfast yesterday morning, we made the Peanut Banana Tortilla Turnovers with Molassa-Dip. They were, of course, so good!
And for a snack while we watched America's Next Top Model (oh reality tv....my terrible guilty pleasure.....), we made the Softly Spiced Nuts, though I failed to get a picture.
One last ED&BV item.... The Chocolate Mint Melties. I took these out of the oven less than an hour ago, and my house smells minty-licious. Mmmm. I am bringing them to my step-sister's birthday party tonight (Happy 14th Birthday, Nicole!), and am fighting not to eat them all.
Okay, so I think my husband is scheduling an ED&BV intervention as we speak, so I'll move on.
A few weeks ago, my lovely new friend Nicolette and her son (who's just a tad younger than Quinn) came over to spend the morning with us. Not only are they vegan, but Nicolette is also a Holistic Health Practitioner, which is super cool. Anyways, we decided to make some smoothies with veggies (which, oddly enough, Dreena posted about a few days later). I didn't get any pictures that day, but here's a picture of my smoothie-covered boy on a different day, and the recipe Nicolette shared with me.
This smoothie had purple kale, hence the purple-ness.
Nicolette's Pear-Mint Smoothie
4 ripe pears, cored and sliced
4-5 leaves kale
1/4 cup mint leaves
4-5 dandelion leaves
2 cups water
Throw is all in a blender and enjoy!
This recipe is great, because the sweet mint really overpowers the flavour of the kale. I like to add a few tablespoons of Udo's DHA oil as well. :)
I'm going to a potluck this weekend, and will be making the tofu roast again (by request), as ell as some other goodies that I'll post about early next week.
Peace!
xo

Lots and lots of stuff....

2007-10-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

Yikes! I have so much to catch up on. I have pre and post-Thanksgiving food to post about, so let's get to it!
Here's a batch of Energy Cookies from Vive. My sisters recently moved out together and went veg. One of them has heard some veg*n horror stories, and is super-concerned about iron, so I made them a batch of these yummy iron-rich cookies. They loved them, and are asking for more.
Next up is a picture of the leftover tofu roast, just so you get an idea of what the inside looks like. (This little piece was all that was leftover from two roasts!)
And from ED&BV, Lemon Pasta, Popcorn Fries, 5-Spice Almond Cookies, and Double-Carob Cashew Cookies.
Holy hannah... it was all so good. The pasta was perfect and easy, and I want more! The fries were....oh my goodness.... the best fries I've ever had in my life. Seriously. Wow. (Hubby made them and I was very impressed with his potato cutting skills! I gave myself a giant cut while preparing Thanksgiving dinner last weekend, and am feeling a little leery of knives...) The cookies were both super good, and I can't get the carob ones out of my mind. (Okay, so, to be honest, I made them with chocolate, because we had company, and I wanted my vegan goodies to impress, and you know how some people can be about carob. I promise to use carob next time.)
My step-sister and brother-in-law (the aforementioned company) came for dinner on Friday, and I made the Potato Squashers and Chickpea Sensation Patties, both from ED&BV, along with some steamed swiss chard. Yum! These were really good, and the picture does them no justice.
Cooking and breastfeeding, because that's how we roll. :)
In other news, we got a new fridge! Yay! I had to take a picture when it was all clean and organized.
And in one last bit of non-food-related vegan-ness, check out the cute Isabooties I got Teague! The blue pair is for xmas, so shhh!

Tofu Roast

2007-10-12T11:35:00.000-07:00

This recipe was such a hit! I found a copy online (posted with permission from Sarah Kramer) to share with you all!
I have been cooking from ED&BV this week, and will have a big post coming up this weekend.
xo

The Thanksgiving Post

2007-10-07T21:42:00.000-07:00

Phew! It's been a while! We have been so busy, it's ridiculous. I keep waiting for life to calm down, but it just never seems to happen. Our trip to the mountains was lovely, but not as relaxing as I'd hoped. I have lots of things to post about, but I think I'll save it for later, and make this an exclusively Thanksgiving post.
This Thankgiving, I am thankful for family, friends, and Canadian cookbook authors! Did I mention that I got my copy of Eat, Drink and Be Vegan this week? Yahoo! I think I spent a good couple of hours looking through it with awe and excitement. Naturally, I had to put it to use in my holiday meals. Being the daughter of divorced parents, we generally have 2 celebrations for each holiday (if my husband's family lived nearby, we'd likely have 3). To make my life a little easier, I decided to make the same dishes for each dinner, varying only the desserts. Here's what we had (2 nights in a row...):
The Tofu Roast from La Dolce Vegan. This received rave reviews from pretty much everyone. I think it will definitely become a holiday staple. In the midst of my cooking/ eating frenzy, I neglected to take any pictures of the final product, so all I have for you are 2 pre-oven, pre-basting pics. Sorry!
Saturday night was dinner at my dad's, and for dessert, I made the Pumpkin-Cheese Pie from ED&BV. Yum! It was awesome. I used the Brown Rice Pumpkin Seed pie crust from ExtraVeganZa. It was so good. Everyone loved it, and my grandma wants the recipe (for this and the tofu roast!). (On a side note, my grandpa has been veg for over 25 years... how cool is that?!)
Tonight we had dinner at my mom's, and I made the Chocolate-Pumpkin Pie from ED&BV (which Dreena has kindly posted here). Wow. Seriously... go make this now. It is that freaking good. Everyone loved it. It is super rich and decadent, and oh-so yummy! Why are you still reading? Go make this pie!
Pre-oven:
And post-oven:
I made the Walnut-Cocoa Crust (or something to that affect) from ExtraVeganZa. Not only is it healthier than store-bought, but we couldn't find any vegan chocolate pie crusts. (Which is actually quite odd, since Oreos are vegan... We were able to find vegan graham cracker crusts, which is also odd, since graham crackers usually contain honey. Strange.)
My side-dish contribution was the Roasted Root Vegetables and Squash from ExtraVeganZa. It's filled with sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, rutabagas and more! And look how pretty it is...
Apparently I mostly take pictures of things before they're cooked. Ah well. You get the idea.
I also whipped up the Traditional Cranberry Sauce and the Thick 'N' Rich Gravy from ED&BV. So good!
Here's tonight's dinner, all put together:
My sisters made the super-yummy vegetable salad, and my step-sister made the green salad (with walnuts and a pear-vanilla vinaigrette, which was awesome).
And here's a pie of Chocolate-Pumpkin Pie, that I saved just for you!
Mmmm. (Yeah, I think every member of my family - my sisters, my mom, my dad, and I - has the plain white Corelle plates. Weird.)
It was a busy weekend, and I'm looking forward to slowing down and relaxing tomorrow.
Oh, and by the way, check out what we got from the csa this week:
Yay!
Have a happy Thanksgiving, Canadian friends. Everyone else, enjoy your weekends!
Peace!

Where am I?

2007-10-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

My apologies for the extended blogging absence. We've been busy! I do have stuff to post about, but no time, so I am planning on doing a huge post on Monday (it's a holiday in Canada, and the hubby will be home, which will hopefully give me an hour or so to catch up on things).
Until then, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Soups and snacks

2007-09-24T18:20:00.000-07:00

With my husband working very late hours recently, I have been alone with the boys for 11 hours a day. I have thus discovered a new love for soup. It's easy, fast, and only requires one pot. Perfect! And, as a bonus, hubby can easily take the leftovers for dinner the next day. (Actually, his company brings dinner every night, and almost always provides a vegan option...apparently the CEOs are vegetarian!) Anyways, aside from being simple, soup if perfect fall food, and it is definitely fall here.
Here are a few of the soups we've sampled in the past week.
A soup my mom made for us. She found the recipe in the paper....I think it was called a Harvest Soup or something? I don't remember, but it was good! Perfect fall food.
I was feeling a little under-the-weather last week (anyone who's ever nursed, or knows what mastitis is will feel my pain), but with the some rest, a healthy dose of vitamin C, and a few big mugs of rosemary tea, I managed to avoid antibiotics. To help nurse me back to health, my husband made a batch of the Cure What Ails Ya Garlic Soup from La Dolce Vegan. Whoa! It sure was garlicy! But yummy, and it did the trick! I was feeling better in no time.
I finally tried the Earthy Lentil Soup from Vive. I've been wanting to try this recipe for a while....I'm a sucker for anything with 'earthy' in the title. ;) It was just as delicious as I hoped it would be. Unfortunately, my dining companion is going through a texture phase, and didn't like the texture of the lentils (I used red instead of brown, so the disintegrated and got mushy...just the way I like!) Anyways, he ended up having a snack later on to make up for the lack of soup he ate. But the husband (who got the leftovers) and I really enjoyed it! Quinn and I made the Whole Wheat Biscuits (with spelt flour instead of ww) from The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook. They were a little dry, but we ate them up!
I got a new cookbook today! ExtraVeganZa. I have flipped through it, and it looks fabulous! I made a recipe from it tonight, the Spicy Peanut Lime Cilantro Soup. Except that I didn't have any lime. Or cilantro. So, it was more like a Spicy Peanut soup, but whatever. Quinn loved this! Seriously. It is the first meal, in his life, that he has ever said, "This is good!" about, without prompting. Yes! I win this round!
While I was making the soup, Quinn snacked on frozen peas, something I used to do while my mom made dinner. Say PEAS!!!
On to the snacks.... Late last week we made a batch of the Banana Oat Bundles from Vive. We threw in some dried cranberries and carob chips. Yum! They didn't last the day, so I made a second batch the next day, except with applesauce instead of mashed bananas, because we didn't have any more. They turned out great too!
This morning, before he went to work, my husband made me the Carob Coconut muffins (I think that's what they're called...) from Vive. They are so good! Thanks honey! Look at sneaky Quinn stealing a carob chip!
And, on a random food note, we got some giant garlic from the CSA this week. The heads are the same size as regular garlic bulbs, but there are only about 5 cloves per bulb.
Well, that was a long-winded post! Phew. Go make soup!

Garlic Shoot Pesto

2007-09-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to make this since Lolo first posted about it. Although we get garlic shoots (or scrapes) from the CSA, my husband always uses them up in a stirfry or something (I recall him making a garlic shoot-almond butter sandwich....what a weirdo), so I finally went down to the farmer's market and got myself a huge bag, determined to finally make the pesto.
I'm so glad I did! It was so good, I found myself craving more later in the evening!
I've been ill the past few days, and my husband's been working late, which makes for lazy cooking. I hope to be myself again soon! Until then, have a great weekend!
Peace.

Chocolate-Zucchini Muffins

2007-09-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

I've made these a few times in recent weeks, since my garden has been producing zucchini the size of small cars faster than I can use them. I've grated and frozen a few, just so I can make this recipe again and again, because I love it that much, and I hope you will too! The zucchini makes for a super-moist muffin, and I like to think that they add a bit of healthiness. You could ice them if you want (thereby transforming them into a cupcake), but, seriously, these are decadent enough on their own.

Chocolate-Zucchini Muffins
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup melted margarine (I use Earth Balance)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
6 tbsp flax meal + 1/3 cup water (combine well before adding)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup "milk" (I use soy, or rice) + 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 cups grated zucchini
1-1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
2 1/4 cups spelt flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cloves/ nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Optional add-ins:
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F, and grease muffin tin, or line with cupcake papers.
In a medium bowl, cream the margarine, oil, and sugar until well combined. Add flax-water mixture, and stir until incorporated. Stir in "milk", vanilla, zucchini, chocolate chips, and additional add-ins, if desired.
In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients, and stir until well-mixed. Add liquid mixture to wet mixture, and combine thoroughly, but be careful not to over-mix.
Use 1/4 measuring cup to spoon mixture evenly into prepared muffin tin, and bake for approx. 30 min, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool, and proceed to stuff your face. :)

Comfort Food

2007-09-13T13:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I think that yesterday marked the official end of summer here in Edmonton. Temperatures hovered around 5 degrees (C) most of the day. I even had to bust out Teague's little fleece MEC onesie! As much as I love the fall, it's always sad to see summer go.
It's a good thing we had a big Farewell To Summer firepit at my mom's this past Sunday! We dined on veggie dogs and pasta salad, and, of course, I had to try out the marshmallows I'd ordered by making s'mores!
They were so ridiculously good. Unfortunately, my tolerance for sugar has been really low lately, so I didn't get to enjoy more than a couple, but I was so impressed. Yum. I can't wait to use the marshmallows again. Good thing we have plenty left-over! I give them 5 enthusiastic stars!
We were doing our weekly grocery trip, when I spotted these beauties at Planet Organic:
Red bananas! They were too cute! They tasted very similar to bananas, but had almost more of a creamy texture, and a faint floral-y taste. The sign said that they tasted like raspberries. My husband agreed, but I didn't make that connection. I was a little disappointed that the fruit was the same colour as the standard banana. I was kind of hoping that they would be bright red inside. :)
And, from our CSA, a purple potato!
Isn't it lovely? I roasted bite-sized pieces, and served with the Bean and Nut Loaf from the Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook, and a giant salad. They potatoes maintain their colour when cooked (unlike purple beans). I remember having mashed purple potatoes as a child and thinking that they looked like playdough. :)
And from the Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook (I don't know why I overlooked this book for so long....it has been sitting in the bookshelf collecting dust for over a year, but it is really fabulous!), a Shepherd's Pie.
Believe it or not, I don't think I've ever had Shepherd's Pie in my life prior to making this. My mom used to make a reverse kind of thing, with the potatoes on the bottom, and it wasn't baked in the oven. Anyways, this version was super yummy. It was filled with aduki beans, carrots, kale, broccoli, corn, peas....the list goes on. It was darn good! Perfect fall comfort-y food.

Triumph and Disappointment

2007-09-07T12:50:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's Friday already! Yahoo! Unfortunately, the temperature here has dropped... I could see my breath this morning! Yikes!
I got some presents in the mail this week. (Although, I suppose they're not really presents if you bought them for yourself...) First, tempted by Peggy's post, I ordered (and received) a copy of World Vegetarian. I haven't tried anything from it yet, but it is gigantic, and I've had fun leafing through it. Along with the book, came big package from Vegan Essentials. I did a little splurging... There were a few things that I'd been dying to try, and, well, there's no time like the present!
First, success! I ordered some Eco-Planet "Cheddar" crackers, that emulate the little fishy crackers many of us know and loved. I thought the Eco-Planet crackers were really yummy, and tasted very similar to their non-dairy counterpart. I don't think I'd order them again, but if I could get them in the city I might pick them up occasionally.
Secondly, I was very curious about Scheese. I'd heard great things about it, but was skeptical. I ordered the mozzarella and medium cheddar, and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, my expectations were just too high, I think. I used half a block of each (the blocks, or wheels, are really quite small) to make a macaroni and cheese casserole (from a recipe found somewhere online).
It didn't do the trick for me. I think I'll try using the rest in a dish where "cheese" isn't the predominant flavour, and I hope I'll have more success. Anyways, obviously many people enjoy this product, but I wasn't a huge fan. My husband and I agreed that we'd rather have our "mac" with a nutritional yeast sauce. That said, I may have to order some Cheezly, just to compare. ;)
I also got two packages of Sweet and Sara vegan marshmallows, which I am saving for a fire-pit at my mom's this Sunday. I'll be sure to post about them afterwards.
So, aside from fancy new foods, I did some real cooking this week too!
This week marks back-to-school for many people, and, while no one in my household is in school, I have other family members, and friends, who are. So, to celebrate that, as well as my sisters moving out of mom's and into their own place, I made the Kamut-Hemp Chews from Vive Le Vegan. Yum!
I also made a batch of the Buttery-Lemon Cut-Outs (or something like that) from Vegan With a Vengeance. I cut them into apple shapes, and iced them with the Green Tea Glaze from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, using lemon extract instead of almond. They received rave reviews, but have a lot of not-so-healthy ingredients, so they are definitely a once-in-a-while cookie treat.
I bought some kamut berries last weekend, and was itching to use them, so I made a batch of the Kamut-Bean Stew from Vive. I altered it slightly, using carrots and leeks instead of celeriac and red onion.
We paired it with the Mock Tuna Salad posted about by Lindy Lou at Yeah That Vegan Shit and Michelle at Tiger the Lion. It was super good, and we will definitely be making both recipes again and again.
Wow... I can't believe the baby let me finish that post!
I'll finish off with a picture of Quinn enjoying the Kamut-Bean Stew. (Yes, we're having dinner in the living room... our kitchen isn't quite put back together yet.)

2007-09-04T13:56:00.000-07:00

Phew... time flies! I didn't intend to go a whole week without a post, but there really just aren't enough hours in the day!
For our lazy Sunday morning breakfast, I made a huge fruit salad, decked out with bananas, apples, strawberries, peaches, and some blackberries from the farmer's market.
Quinn tried to help, but he just couldn't resist temptation..
Sneaky little guy! I know, a fruit salad isn't really blog-worthy, but it was darn pretty, so I don't care.
Oh it was so good. We topped it with some walnuts, which makes for beneficial food-combining. (Nuts are the only food that should be eaten with fruits, to promote good digestion.)
Here's last night's dinner, the Groovy Garden Vegetable Casserole from La Dolce Vegan:
It would've been really tasty, but I was a little heavy with the Braggs. I didn't measure, just squirted. I think I will try it again, and use the braggs much much more sparingly. To accompany the casserole, I made a quinoa pilaf with red pepper, green beans (actually, purple beans that turn green when cooked), and fresh basil from my basil plant. Yum!
I have lots to post about this week, so stay tuned! I just need to find a few minutes of solitude to do post.... twice in one week might be asking a bit much... ;)

Camping and Beet Cake

2007-08-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

So, camping this weekend turned out to be less than fun. The wedding itself was lovely, but the weather was terrible. It rained the whole time, and we were freezing in our little tent. The boys and Keith slept fine, but I was damn cold! We also forgot our pillows, which made the night even less pleasant. Damn Alberta and its random temperatures!
Here's a picture of our "breakfast in bed":
Okay, so let's just ignore the fact that I look like I'm about 12 years old in this picture. We decided to try some hemp milk (a special treat the husband picked up for me), and brought along a little carton of Hemp Bliss. While it isn't fortified, it does contain much more fat than regular soymilk (So Nice Original, to be specific), but the amount of saturated fat in the hemp milk is lower. Anyways, we decided that we will buy it again and give it to Quinn on a semi-regular basis, since it's full of healthy fats, and we don't want him to drink soy exclusively. I'm not overly concerned about too much soy intake, but I don't think that anyone should consume too much of anything, so replacing one glass of "milk" a day with hemp milk seems like a good idea. Healthy fats are so important to young children, so hemp seems like an ideal choice. Quinn didn't like the taste at first, but he ate it in his cereal, and didn't mind. He had a glass again tonight, so maybe he's developing a taste for it. Heck, he's a toddler! His palate changes every 5 minutes!
There wasn't a lot of food for us to eat at the wedding, which we were expecting, so it's a good thing we had filled up on the Angelic Tofu sandwiches beforehand!
My husband's been working very late hours this week, so it's been a busy week. On Monday it was just the boys and I for dinner, and I made the Bean and Nut loaf from the Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook, and some basmati rice mixed with nutritional yeast, corn, and peas. I was going to make a big salad, but Quinn wouldn't have eaten much of it, and I was feeling a little lazy and didn't want to go to all that work to make a salad for one. I had a huge salad for lunch that day, so I didn't feel too guilty about missing my dinner greens. ;)
I wasn't able to snap any pictures from Monday's dinner. Same story for Tuesday. On Tuesday my mom and sister came over for a little to hang out with me and the boys. I made the Hummus-Quinoa casserole from Vive Le Vegan, which is a favorite around here, and a biggie salad. Yum!
We got a new batch of veggies from the csa yesterday. Potatoes, carrots, leeks, lettuce... and lots more! Mmm. Last year was the first time I'd ever cooked with leeks (we got so many from the csa, I was overwhelmed!), and the potato-leek soups from La Dolce Vegan became favorites. Once the weather cools down again (which will likely be in about five minutes), I'll definitely be making some soup!
We had dinner at my dad's tonight. To accompany the veggie dogs he made, I made the Dijon Potato Salad, from the Garden of Vegan, using farm-fresh potatoes, carrots and celery. This salad always gets rave reviews.
I didn't really use proper potatoes, since these ones kind of disintegrated after being cooked, but I didn't mind. They almost give the salad a creamy texture, effectively standing in for the mayonnaise that is usually the star of potato salads.
We got a ton of beets from the csa, so I decided to make a little beet cake to bring to my dad's tonight as well.
I used the recipe in The Vegan Sourcebook for Red Devil Cake, but modified it a bit, using spelt flour instead of whole wheat, and adding chocolate chips and dried cranberries. It was really moist and delicious. After adding the chocolate chips, I didn't bother making an icing. I thought it was plenty pretty enough as it was!
Phew...it's been a long week! I can't believe it's only Wednesday. Thanks goodness for the long weekend! I'm planning on making a huge grocery trip on Friday, and cooking up lots of beautiful food this weekend. And maybe even catching up on some much-needed sleep..... ;)
Enjoy the rest of the week!

So many colours in the Rainbow...

2007-08-24T21:02:00.000-07:00

Anyone else a Harry Chapin fan? :)
Phew, so it's been a busy week. We've started doing some kitchen renos, but I have managed to get some cooking done.
Here's last night's dinner. (Note the cardboard box that was serving as my prep station.)

My husband made this chana masala over quinoa, and, inspired by our abundance of zucchini, I threw together a modified version of the Zucchini-Avocado Salsa from The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook. The recipe called for avocado (hence the name...) and cilantro, but I didn't have either, so I used tomatoes and parsley. It was filled with beautiful veggies, and was really lovely.
This weekend we are attending a wedding at a campground, and we will be camping overnight, so I spent a good part of today preparing for that.
This morning I made the Simple Crunchy Granola from La Dolce Vegan. I modified the recipe a little, using only 1/4 cup of maple syrup (instead of 3/4), and adding hemp seeds.
I sampled some with some soy yogurt this morning, and it was really delicious.
And to accompany it on our mini-getaway, I sliced up some grapes and strawberries, and they were just too pretty not to snap a shot.
Since it is quite probable that there will be no vegan desserts at the wedding tomorrow, I made some. Is it in bad taste to bring your own dessert to a wedding? I'm not sure. I've never met the bride or groom (my husband's cousin who has never lived close by), so I'm quite sure that they have no idea of our diet. I figure that we'll sneak back to our campsite and gorge on what I made: a veganized version of the Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes from the ReBar cookbook. Another one of the guests (another cousin-in-law, with whom we are very close) is quite nearly vegan, mainly due to her daughters' allergies. Her youngest little nursling has a few sensitivities, one of which is soy. Unwilling to give up the chocolate chips the recipe calls for (selfish me! the chocolate chips I have contain soy.), I divided the batter in half, adding chocolate chips to one half and baking that in an 8x8" pan, and adding dried cranberries and coconut to the other half and baking those in a muffin tin. They both look amazing, and to be honest, my husband and I each sampled one of the cranberry-laden cupcakes, and they were fantastic.
I didn't get a picture of the chocolate chip "squares", but I will try to get one before they are all gobbled up tomorrow. (Aside from my husband's cousin, my mother-in-law is also making the switch to veganism after being vegetarian for over 15 years! Needless to say, I'm sure that we won't return home with a full tray of sweets!)
For lunch, I made a batch of the Angelic Tofu Sandwich Filling from Becoming Vegetarian, which is tasty, but not so photo-worthy. But what is, are these completely beautiful vegetables that I chopped/ shredded to accompany the tofu in some wraps.
All lovely, organic, beets, green peppers, and carrots. Yum! We have oodles of beets coming in from our wonderful csa, and I'm just itching to use them!
And lastly, just because I'm so thrilled I can hardly stand it, here is the absolutely gorgeous new countertop that we ordered today.
Okay, so it's a little hard to see, but it is so amazing.
I'll be sure to do a post-camping post, and report on some of the store-bought goodies we are taking along.
Happy weekend, all!
xo

From the Garden

2007-08-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

We just started renovating our kitchen, so it has been in complete disarray for the past few days. As a result, there hasn't been much cooking going on.
Since I can't really do any cooking, here's some garden talk. I picked this gigantic zucchini a couple of days ago.
Since zucchinis tend to be slightly bitter when they get this big, I plan on using it to make a ridiculous amount of muffins (for the new moms in my life) and cupcakes (we are going to a wedding this weekend, and the chances that there will be a vegan dessert are slim). Mmm.

Wild On: Soup! and other tasty treats...

2007-08-19T19:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a dinner from last week that we thoroughly enjoyed. A soup made up of wild rice, wild mushrooms, carrots, and various other yummy tidbits. Truth be told, I'm not a huge mushroom fan, but the soup was lovely and comforting nonetheless.
To accompany our soup (it had been a particularly rainy and chilly week), I made a loaf of Sarah's Sandwich Spelt Bread from La Dolce Vegan.
Mmmm.
A friend of mine gave birth to her second baby boy this week (go Audrey!!!), so I whipped up a batch of Diane's Stork Muffins from Vive for her. Ye gads, I am obsessed with these muffins. Seriously. I always throw in some chocolate chips, because I have a small chocolate 'problem', and I'm pretty sure I could eat these every day. Sweet sweet muffins. She enjoyed them as much as I do....if that's even possible.
We got a big 20lb box of organic peaches from BC this week (that we split with some friends). They have about 5 minutes left of being ripe, so if anyone has any peach recipe suggestions, let me know! (Although, really, eating them on their own is plenty delicious enough...)

Sunflower-Lentil Pie

2007-08-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

For our first blog-dinner, Quinn and I made one of my favorites, the Sunflower-Lentil Pie from Dreena Burton's Vive Le Vegan. Mmmm. I love this dinner!
Here's my, ahem, first helping. :) The pie was pureed a little more that I would normally like, but my little helper kept turning the food processor on as soon as my back was turned!

To accompany the sunflower-lentil tastiness, I mashed some potatoes and dill (both from the wonderful CSA we belong to), with some vegan cream cheese, and made a tasty salad with some veggies from our garden. We topped the salad with this dressing, which I am completely in love with. Unfortunately, it's a little pricey, and the bottle we have has only lasted a week. :(
My beautiful garden cucumber:
Food processor glee:
And my second helping (hey! I'm a nursing mother! I need the extra calories...):

The beginning...

2007-08-13T17:47:00.000-07:00

My family and I have been vegan since my oldest son, now two years old, started eating solids, roughly a year and a half ago. I have created this blog in an attempt to answer some of the many questions I am frequently asked about our diet, as well as inspire people to think outside the standard food "box"
I hope to show our Vegan Family Dinners for what they are: healthy, easy, and delicious!