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
Friday, August 29, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Eats and Treats...
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
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
Saturday, July 12, 2008
one.
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.
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.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Papa's Day
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.
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.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Sooo.....
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
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
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Vegantario
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
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
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Here I am, here I am!!!
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
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
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