Please Feed the Vegans

Quick Miso Soup for One

2011-09-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, I was a little worried about how this was going to go after last week's miso debacle. I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, when you're talking about my tastebuds, you can never go wrong with the good ol' ginger-n-garlic combo. I love that shite.

Here's my soup in a purty purple bowl. I added some portabellos because I needed to use them up.

P.S. Did I seriously just eat a giant bowl of miso soup at almost 11pm?

Pancakes for dinner

2011-09-21T18:13:00.000-07:00

I'm so glued to the coverage of the Troy Davis situation on democracynow.org that it's hard for me to blog this right now.

I made the Raspberry Walnut pancakes. Here's proof.

I tried to eat the two large pancakes for dinner. I made it through about 3/4 of the second one.

Tomorrow: Miso Soup for One

Purty colors!

2011-09-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

Tonight's dish was the Tangy Black Bean Salad. Talk about eating the rainbow! Check it out...

I had mine in a whole wheat wrap with some baby spinach and (probably too much) cilantro. Next time I may go with the tortilla chips as I saw suggested at Joel's blog.

All in all, easy and not bad.

Cheers!

Stuffed Shrooms

2011-09-19T19:45:00.000-07:00

Today's challenge was Melissa's Stuffed Mushrooms. These things were TASTY. I mean, like, so good that they may end up on the Thanksgiving menu.

First you tear the stalks off your button shrooms (mine were actually baby cremini, 'cause I'm a rebel) and throw them in a food processor with some shallots, garlic, carrots, bread, rosemary (used fresh from the garden b/c I was out of dried) and parsley (which I omitted b/c something ate all of the parsley that used to reside in the garden). Once it's all mixed up, it looks like this:

Here's all my little caps, waitin' for their stuffing.

You take all that stuffing from the food processor, and cook it up in some melted margarine for a few minutes (which smelled HEAVENLY while it cooked).

Then you stick those puppies in your preheated-to-three-fifty oven for 15 minutes.

Mmm mmm good. We ate them ALL.

Toodles!

EPIC post aka 'I did it'!

2011-09-18T18:45:00.000-07:00

Peoples, I am BACK. Back from the grips of a head cold that sucked the ever-lovin' life outta me, I tell you. Thank gawd that's over! However, today when I finally came around to feeling well enough to catch up on my La Dolce posts, I realized that *eeeeek!* I had FOUR recipes to complete and a mere matter of hours in which to complete them. And I still needed some things from the grocery!

The thought of faking it came to mind, but dag nabbit...I have too much integrity for that! Not to mention, I don't want to cheat you dear readers out of my documented follies!

So, onward we march!

First up, I made the Soba Noodle Miso Soup. I hate to say it, but I just wasn't into how it tasted.

Could the world's saddest bok choy have been to blame?

Perhaps.

Or maybe it was the weird brand of tofu that I don't usually buy?

Could be.

Surely it couldn't be the Mellowness from the Miso Master himself?

*Shudder*

Here's what the broth looked like while it "steeped".

Here's the gomasio I used for garnish.

And here's what it looked like in the bowl before I ate it.

I have a crap-ton left over (sigh), so maybe it'll taste better later? But then I worry I'll "wreck" the miso by reheating. Oh, what to do? For now, it's sitting in a covered pot on the stovetop, until I decide it's fate.

Next up was Stephanie's Asteroids, another no-bake cookie recipe. One thing I have learned from this project is that I am apparently not a big fan of no-bake cookies. I have also learned that I don't feel good when I eat too much sugar. :-P

Here's the oats, coconut and cinnamon all mixed up and awaiting it's peanut-buttery glue.

And here's the aforementioned glue.

It's actually pretty tasty, I think I've just seriously overdosed on sugar.

Here's what they looked like all balled up and ready for the fridge.

Next was the Cherry Cobbler. It was super easy and came out real purty.

I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but it was still bubbling from the heat from the oven when I snapped the pic.

The final frontier was the Cool Cucumber Salad with the Creamy Soygurt Dressing.

The recipe called for a "large" English cucumber. Do you think this qualifies as "large"?

Does it still qualify as English if it's not from England?

And do they have to shrink-wrap the dang things for gawd's sake? Sheesh.

I chopped it up as instructed.

Don't forget your "large tomato".

This one was actually too large. I only used about half.

After harvesting a bit of mint from the potted plant in my front yard (1 tsp), I whipped up the dressing and threw it all together.

It was....eh. Ok I guess. Maybe it will be better tomorrow after it sits in the dressing for a while. Flavor-meld and all that.

After all this work, I had to have a plate of "victory cobbler". Deeelicious.

Feeling very accomplished right now. And full.

Peace, y'all!

Cumin Spiced Rice and Espresso Cake with Chocolate Glaze

2011-09-13T19:00:00.000-07:00

Continuing on with the La Dolce Vegan Challenge, here we have the Cumin Spiced Rice:

I mixed in a little baby spinach toward the end of the rice cooking, for added veggies and nutrition, and I topped it with the Gardein Beefless Tips. If you've never tried them; highly recommended. Very tasty. A number of local grocery stores carry them, if you're a local reader. I get them at the Giant and/or the ShopRite on Concord Pike.

I thought the rice was tasty. I cooked it in veggie broth, I don't know if that's why.

I also baked the cake today:

Mmmm...cake. Cake is one of my sweet-tooth weaknesses. After Hubs and I had a piece for dessert, I realized I'd have to give a substantial amount of it away or else I'd end up eating it all myself. So, off three pieces went with me to my bass lesson tonight, to give away to the staff there.

This whole "blogging every day" thing is tough. Mad props to those that do it.

Peace out, y'all.

I made the burrito pie

2011-09-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

See? (Please ignore the less-than-artful presentation...I'm pretty effin' tired.)

The Hubs was, as I suspected he would be, a huge fan. He loves Mexican. I thought it was pretty good too. It probably would have been better when it was actually hot, but I ate it after I got home from rehearsal, and I was too tired to heat it up.

I used the Daiya pepperjack here and it worked really well. A note to local folks near Wilmo who'd like to get some - the only place I'm aware of that carries it at this time is the Newark Co-op.

'Night y'all!

More lies, more ketchup

2011-09-12T05:54:00.000-07:00

Heyo!

I'm baaaaack!

So, although I did some cooking yesterday, apparently I was unable to manage to blog about it. That's OK...back on the horse. Or wait...that doesn't sound very vegan. Back on the bike?

Anyways...first up we have the Noodle Salad with Spicy Nut Dressing.

This dish was super easy and super tasty. Although, I did make a couple little changes; after reading Raven's post, I decided to heed the call and added more veggies. I diced up some red onion and some portobello 'shrooms and added them to the mix.

The Hubs had two helpings, so I assume that means he liked it (although perhaps it just meant he was hungry...?). I definitely dug it and am halfway tempted to go get the leftovers out of the fridge to have for breakfast right now.

After that I whipped up the Blueberry Dilip.

In my mind, I'm having a hard time determining how "Dilip" is pronounced. Is it like "Phillip"? Or is it more like "Dil-eep"? (Sounds like something on the menu at an Indian restaurant. Mmmm...Indian.)

Anyway, this was also super easy to make and a huge hit with the ol' tastebuds. I felt it was reminiscent of a blueberry cake donut. I have to admit, I was a little worried while watching it cook in the oven...so much bubbling Earth Balance! Surely it must be too much! But NO...it was superb. I omitted the ground ginger because I was out of it, but I can't say it was missed.

So there you have it. I promise one of these days I'll actually get around to using this blog for it's original intended purpose.

Cheers y'all!

OK, I lied

2011-09-09T05:49:00.000-07:00

So, I know I promised the noodle salad post today, but it's my birthday today ( :D ) and I just don't see where I'll have time to fit it in. I know...excuses, excuses. I'm thinking Sunday's going to be a big catch-up day for me.

Have a great Friday, all, and I'll be back by Sunday at the latest.

Cheers!

Well dang, that was tasty

2011-09-08T09:34:00.000-07:00

Today's VCI LDV challenge was Baby Spinach and Apple Salad with Sweet Red Wine Vinaigrette. I have to admit that when I hear the word "salad" I don't get excited. And it's so weird, because then I eat a salad and I'm like, "YUM". So, whatever, I'm a weirdo.

I sincerely apologize for this overexposed washed-out weirdness of a photo of my ~~ghosty~~ pretty salad, but I was working without my usual equipment.

I did a few substitutions; pumpkin seeds went in place of the pine nuts, Craisins went in place of the raisins. This is what I had on hand, so I went with it.

Also, for the dressing it calls for "oil" and then lists several varieties as suggestions (hemp, flax, grapeseed). I didn't have any of those so I used avocado. Totally a worthwhile splurge, if you can swing it. Makes a good gift.

So there you have it. Tune in tomorrow for "Noodle Salad (*sigh*, haha) with Spicy Nut Dressing".

Blueberry Dilly-Dally

2011-09-07T17:40:00.000-07:00

So, I'm going to have forego tonight's challenge to make the "Blueberry Dilip". I just can't in good conscience prepare such an item without a.) someone here to share it with and b.) some of this. So, I'll get back to it later.

For tonight it's just me and some leftover leek and potato soup.

Lo siento, mis amigos. Hasta luego.

Sopa

2011-09-06T17:19:00.000-07:00

Today's post will be a shorty. A series of events left me with little time for blogstuffs, apologies.

The recipe of the day was for Simple Leek and Potato Soup. I followed the recipe relatively exactly, with the exception that I used all 4 of the leeks that came in the bunch I purchased.

Too many leeks? Perhaps.

But alas, the proof is in the ~~pudding~~ soup.

A pretty yum accompaniment to my Tofurky sammie, and a welcome salve on this rainy, rainy night.

Cheers!

Today's a Two-fer

2011-09-05T10:49:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Getting caught up here. Today's challenge is Estrellasoap.com Peanut Butter Fudgie Mounds. I was pretty stoked to find that I had all of the necessary ingredients already on-hand.

So I got to cooking.

You like that live-action shot of the stirring, don't you? ;-)

Sadly, my results turned out less-than-picturesque. They taste pretty darned excellent, however. Messiness factor notwithstanding.

I also took care of making Day 2's challenge, The No Salt Shaker.

Here's my "creative" shot.

It reminds me of this sand sculpture my mom had around when I was a kid.

I guess now I know why mom never let me play with it.

Happy labor day to US readers and cheers to all!

La Dolce Vegan Challenge - Gerry’s Artichoke Heart and Basil Pasta

2011-09-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

Ok folks, here we are at day 3 4 (thanks Raven! whoops!) of Vegan Culinary Institute's cook-through of La Dolce Vegan challenge.

So here's my funny story about going to the grocery store. I looked over the recipe for today and realized that I'd have to go out and pick up a few things. One of the things I was missing was the 6oz jar of marinated artichoke hearts.

I head up to the closest place. The first location in which I find artichokes in the store is in the canned vegetable section. They had canned un-marinated artichokes, and then they had "Rosa" brand marinated chokes. I see the 12 oz jar on the top shelf and sitting next to it is what I assume is the 6oz jar, but there's no label for me to confirm. NONE of the jars in that size had a label. I thought this odd, but chalked it up in my mind to a manufacturing defect and perhaps an oblivious stock clerk. In an effort to avoid a difficult time at checkout, I decide to see if I can find a jar elsewhere.

Further on down the same aisle I come across the "italian" section. Again, top shelf I find jars of "Cento" artichoke hearts in the 6oz and 12 oz size and AGAIN, no label on the 6oz!

I don't know what possessed me to grab one of the unlabeled 6oz jars...

But that's when I noticed this...

Hahaha! I am an IDIOT.

(I went back and got the Rosa ones since they were 20 cents cheaper. Yes, I am a cheapskate.)

Anyways, I traipsed around the store and gathered up my remaining missing ingredients. (I actually showered, dressed and made it out of the house today...aren't you impressed?)

The pine nuts, the tomato and the garlic came from the store. The fresh basil came right out of my herb garden! (Yay!) I felt pretty confident that the tomato I chose qualified as "large".

So everything got sauteed up in a little bit of olive oil.

And tossed up with some pasta.

And voila! Dinner is served.

More dark dinner photos...sorry. Hunger often trumps artistic display around here.

Don't forget some fancy-pants eye-talian agua for good measure.

Ciao bellas!

Ketchup post

2011-09-04T06:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, no actual ketchup will be featured in this post. This post was supposed to go up yesterday so...you get the idea.

Yesterday, continuing on the La Dolce Vegan path, I made the "Portobello Pot Pie" recipe. In keeping with my ~~past bad behavior~~ established theme, I ended up subbing some ingredients for items I already had on-hand. So, in reality what I made was a "Shitake Pot Pie", since no portobellos were actually involved.

I also subbed a small sweet potato for the small potato called for, so as you can see there is a lot of orange in this pot of chopped up veggies.

It smelled so good when it was simmering on the stove. What made it smell so good? I suspect these guys are the culprit.

For liquid, we added some veggie broth and a couple of tablespoons of (my apparently well-loved) tamari.

Crap, did I remember to preheat the oven?

Haha, yes I did.

I didn't photograph the dough-making process, but I assure any dough-fearers out there (like myself), that the process was easy and relatively painless.

And so, after some simmer time and about 25 minutes in the oven we had a lovely little dinner on our hands.

Sorry about the dark photo...I was too hungry to fuss with it!

There were no leftovers.

I hope to post Friday's challenge later on today along with today's challenge, and I also promise to get my first field report up very soon as well.

Hope y'all are having a great weekend so far, signing off for now.

La Dolce Vegan Challenge - Day 1

2011-09-01T08:56:00.000-07:00

Just as I decided that I would venture into the wild world of serious and committed blogging, I ran across Vegan Culinary Institute's cook-through "La Dolce Vegan" challenge via Krys of Two Vegan Boys. I have never cooked through an entire cookbook before, but it is definitely something I'd like to try. Today's challenge, the first, is to make "Wolffie's Banana Blueberry Muffins" for which, thankfully, all of the ingredients are already in my cupboards.

Once I actually started measuring out and combining I found I was a little light on ground ginger, so I just dumped in the remainder of the jar. It appeared to be less than the prescribed 1 tsp., but I wasn't too worried about that.

My bananas probably didn't qualify as "large", but I was afraid if I used two that it would be too much.

Always trying to put a healthy spin on things, I opted for the "White Whole Wheat" flour from Trader Joe's.

Aw, look at this cute little group of ingredients, huddled together.

As you'll note in the photo, I opted to use coconut oil for the "oil". You can get it much cheaper if you buy it at an indian/asian market, as opposed to a health food store.

Here's what I used as "milk".

Can't forget the sugar, although I did cut it back to a little more than 1/4 cup, as Raven at VCI suggested.

Slap it all together, and after 20 minutes in a 375 degree oven you get...muffins!

I had to make mine mini, because my full-sized muffin pan is a little rustified, and I was out of liners (and ~~too lazy~~ not properly dressed to go out and buy some).

Verdict: pretty darned tasty! The hubs and I enjoyed them warm out of the oven, spread with a little whipped Earth Balance.

Thanks Raven for organizing this challenge! I look forward to the rest of the journey!

Starting with Wilmo

2011-08-31T07:09:00.000-07:00

Hello there lovely citizens of the internets! My name is Miranda and I am a vegan. I live in Wilmington, Delaware, a veritable vegan food "desert". If my husband and I want a nice vegan meal, we mostly have to travel to other cities to get one. The aim of this blog is to not only make it easier for you to find a decent vegan meal, but also to raise awareness of the ever-increasing popularity of veganism, so that restaurant owners start to take notice and to begin making changes and accommodations to their menus.

I'll be starting out reporting from here in my hometown and eventually spreading out to the Mid-Atlantic region (then nationwide, then the WORLD :D). I plan to cover every local restaurant to find out the skinny on what items on their menu are vegan, how "vegan-friendlly" they are, whether or not cooking equipment is shared with non-plant-based foods, and the like. I will also, from time-to-time, provide coverage on grocery stores, to let you know who carries which vegan items, and at what prices.

So, all that being said...sit back, relax, and allow me to so the heavy lifting. You just go on out and eat.

Cheers,

~m.

P.S. Feedback encouraged and appreciated! mirbrewer AT gmail.