Vegan Tasties

Vegan Butterfingers

2011-07-30T11:22:00.001-05:00

Pretty much everyone loves butterfingers. Who didn't grow up with Bart Simpson skateboarding around telling people off for trying to eat his butterfinger? However, since becoming vegan, they're sort of off the table. Which is why I was sort of irritated nobody every told me about Chick-O-Sticks until last week:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick-O-Stick

Chick-O-Sticks are exactly like the middle of butterfingers. Super delicious and peanut buttery. After finding this part, it was easy to make a full butterfinger.

I bought 3 packs of Chick-O-Sticks (if you live in Chicago, you can find these at an awesome candy store called Candyality).

I improvised my sort of double broiler by placing a metal bowl over a pot of boiling water (works just as well) and then dumped in 1/2 a bag of semi sweet Ghiradelli chocolate chips to melt. I always add about a teaspoon of vanilla when melting chocolate, but that's my tastes. If the mixture is too thick or fudgey, you can add small amounts of vanilla or chocolate soymilk. This will make it easier to dip the sticks.

I just broke up the Chick-O-Sticks into 3 pieces to make it easier, but theoretically you could do the whole thing. I tossed them in the melted chocolate, then rolled them around till they were coated and pulled them out with forks. I laid them out on a tray lined with wax paper and put them in the fridge to cool. Pretty simple!

I want to use these to try to make butterfinger cheese cake, but I'll need to get a good peanut butter cheese cake recipe first.

Loaded Vegan Nachos

2011-07-26T22:19:00.000-05:00

I think just nachos and cheese are rather boring. Instead, I like to put all sorts of stuff on top to make them delicious. There are a few different ways this could be made.

Take a base of tortilla chips, whichever kind you like best, and dump them into a baking dish (the sort you would make a cake in, the deepest you have).
Preheat the oven to about 250 - you only really need to warm everything up and melt the daiya cheese.
Take whatever kind of vegan taco flavored crumbles you like and add a package of this on top of the chips. You can also use chili. My three favorites are Amy's Medium Chili, Fantastic Foods Vegetarian Chili, or Fantastic Foods Vegetarian Taco Filling. Then, add 1/2 to a full can of vegetarian refried beans. I also like to add a can of kidney or black beans.
Add a cup of your favorite vegan cheese. Daiya cheddar works particularly well.
Put this in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, until everything is heated thoroughly.

While this is heating, chop up 2 avocados, one large tomato, 1/2 a red onion, and a little cilantro (if desired). If you want spicy nachos, add fresh or pickled jalapenos.

Once the nachos are done, add the veggies on top and serve.

Sangria

2011-02-11T22:58:00.000-06:00

Sangria is the best drink ever. It's like an alcoholic fruit salad. I made it with some friends from work for one of the girl's Superbowl party on Sunday (She's the one who taught me). It's really good, and you can use whatever citrusy style fruits you have on hand.

You want to start with a pitcher that is approximately a gallon. We used one like this. Then take any 750mL bottle of white wine. I've used chardonnay, white zinfandel, and pinot grigio with good results for all. I've heard you can use red too, but I've never personally tried it.

Chop up any combination of citrusy type fruits. Tonight I have lime and strawberry. On Sunday we used green apple, nectarine, orange, and lime. If you actually know stuff about wines, you can probably pair flavors to the wine. Add the fruit to the wine in the pitcher, and let it sit overnight if possible. It's also good if you make it and drink it right away.

Once you're ready to drink it, fill the rest of the pitcher up with sprite or 7up. If you want it to be stronger (because otherwise it will be fairly weak like this), add about 2-3 shots of vodka, to taste, and mix well. You could shake things up a little and try raspberry or lime vodka.

Volia, you have a delicious fruit drink that will make any night better.

Frushi at Orange on Clark st.

2011-02-07T14:59:00.000-06:00

I just went to the restaurant Orange, near Clark and Fullerton. It's sort of a brunch place. I got fruit sushi (frushi) for the first time and it was amazing. They had 2 different kinds, one in a nigiri style and one in regular sushi style, and the flavors change frequently. For the sushi roll, they had lime infused rice rolled with pineapple and for the nigiri, they had coconut infused rice with a green apple slice on top. They were drizzled in strawberry and orange sauce. I loved the lime and pineapple ones, I thought they tasted like fruity Popsicles. It was fairly cheap too.

Here's some frushi that my friend got the other day (I forgot to take a picture when we went out). We're hoping to experiment and figure out how to make it ourselves.

Caterpillars

2011-02-04T18:54:00.000-06:00

This is an easy little snack that would also be cute on display for parties.
Take a bag of stick pretzels.
For each pretzel, dip one end in creamy peanut butter so that it gets a q-tip sized ball of peanut butter on it.
Set on a plate and then push 2 chocolate chips (non dairy) into the peanut butter on either side of the pretzel, so that they look like 2 bug eyes. Cute!

If I can think of something that would look like wings, I want to make a "dragonfly" version.

Mine are a little melted from sitting on my stove while baking something, but they still tasted delicious.

Blood Drive #2 results

2011-01-31T21:10:00.000-06:00

The blood drive at my work was yesterday, and it went really well. I was surprised by how many walk ins we had, and how well it went in general. I've been reading about all the trouble the recent storms have been causing for the red cross and their blood supply, so I had that in my mind most of the day. I posted a brief article on it alongside the posters in the window for the drive.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703439504576116182306439262.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

"The American Red Cross said it was alerting disaster workers and seeking blood donations, because more than 18,000 expected donations have gone uncollected in recent weeks due to other storms."

Our goal was 23 pints, and we got 24 successful donations, so that was great. I'm going to post thank you signs at work for all the donors with a visual of all the people that could help (72 pictures of people I found on the internet. 72 since you can save up to 3 lives with each donation). It looks really cool to see it laid out visually like that.

Aplastados

2011-01-26T11:11:00.001-06:00

In 2008, I spent a few weeks in Ecuador on a study abroad trip, which was really awesome. I spent time with some amazing people, seeing awesome things, practicing Spanish, teaching at after school programs, hearing stories, and learning another way of life. Each night our group came together with some of the volunteers there and made dinner together, and the funny thing is that most of our meals were vegan. Meat is a treat there. (Actually, I met my first vegan on that service trip and went vegetarian myself shortly after coming back). We used lots of plantains, among other things. Instead of doing standard banana chips (thinly slice plantain bananas and frying them), here's a twist on that recipe.

These are called aplastados, meaning smushed or smashed in Spanish. You use plantain bananas; the longer, thicker ones that can usually be found in grocery stores (although sometimes you have to ask). You want it to be green. Pour a layer of canola oil into a frying pan and put it on medium heat. Get one or two and peel them (Note: this is harder than with a regular banana. It helps to cut a slit down the side of the peel and work it off with your nails.) Cut the bananas into slices about an inch thick while the oil is heating up, then put them in to fry until they turn a golden yellowish color (3 minutes), then flip them and do the same on the other side (2 minutes). Pull them all out of the oil and put them on a durable surface that won't melt. You will probably need to temporarily turn off the heat under the oil so it won't burn during the next step. Take a glass or ceramic glass and, using the flat bottom of it, "smash" each banana disc.

Once they are all smashed, put them back in the oil and make sure it is back on. Heat each side for another minute or two, then pull them out and salt them. Delicious!

Using the above times, yours will turn out less brown than mine. If they seem to be cooking too fast, turn the heat down.

Nectarine Sorbet

2011-01-20T21:08:00.001-06:00

This is my second time making nectarine sorbet, and it has turned out deliciously both times. I adapted a recipe I saw in The Ultimate Book of Vegan Cooking for Iced Clementines (which look really good) for the proportions, and then changed the rest around.

Take 6 nectarines and puree them in a food processor. Strain the result through a fine sieve. I had to do one at a time because my food processor is small, but just strain each one and mix it together. Once you have strained all of them, you can process and strain the remaining larger chunks again to maximize how much sorbet you'll get. Throw out the rest. (Or, if you're Steve, mix it with sugar and the pulp of the limes/lemons you'll have to juice and spread it on toast).

Put 1/2 cup sugar and 4 TBPS water in a large sauce pan on a low heat. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Boil for 3 minutes without stirring, then turn off the heat.

While this is cooling a little, squeeze one lime and one lemon. Add the resulting juice to the sugar mixture and stir.

Add in the nectarine puree and mix everything together thoroughly. Pour it into a large container, preferably with a lid so that it doesn't get freezer burn. Freeze for at least 4 hours, stirring the mixture vigorously every hour or two. After it freezes completely, enjoy. You'll have delicious sorbet. Now I want to experiment with other fruits, and possibly make the Iced Clementines. That would be really cute for a party.

The Ultimate Book of Vegan Cooking

Re-energizing Trail Mix

2011-01-18T22:22:00.000-06:00

Trail mix is full of vegan protein and good, healthy fats. Also, its delicious. This is the trail I make when I want a quick pick-me-up. I also make it for the donors who come to the blood drive at my work. I use raw nuts and roast them myself, which can be tricky. It seems like half the time they never want to brown, and the other half they burn. However, this is what works for me:

Combine in a large mixing bowl:
1 cup raw cashews
1 cup raw almonds
1 cup raw pecans
1 cup raw walnuts
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, shelled.
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt, then to taste

Preheat the oven to 350. Toss until everything is coated in oil/salt and evenly distributed. Pour it into a baking tray and spread it out into an even layer. Put it in the oven for 15 minutes or a bit longer if it doesn't look like it has browned at all. Be very careful not to burn it. Once you have pulled it out and it has cooled, mix in 1 cup cranberries. It's great for when you need a little mid-day energy.

Little things from the week

2011-01-16T12:16:00.000-06:00

I don't have one cohesive recipe for this post, but rather a lot of little vegan things to share.

I went to Ian's pizza on vegan night with some friends this Thursday. It was great! The whole time we were there, we kept hearing group after group order vegan pizza. I tried the chicken seitan taco pizza and the pepperoni sausage from Upton's Naturals. The chicken taco was really spicy, but both were extremely delicious. I got to have my punch card punched and I'm halfway to a free piece of pizza. The other thing that was really cool was knowing there were other vegans in the restaurant. Considering I only know 3 other vegans, and one lives in Minnesota, it was a new experience to know that I was surrounded by other people who had the same challenges and subscribe to the same philosophy as me. It's like at work how, after 2 years of being the only non-meat eater at work, there's now another vegan and 2 vegetarians. Anyway, the night was great.

I accidentally discovered that if you freeze a silk yogurt, the result is delicious. It tastes how I would imagine frozen yogurt tastes (I've never had it), and like a really creamy strawberry ice cream. I highly recommend it.

I got some nectarines on sale this week, so I'll be trying to make some nectarine sorbet again, and hopefully posting the recipe soon after. Also, I'm trying to find a recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies and substituting in cranberries. We'll see how my time management skills are. Until next time...

Meatless Meatballs Using Rice & Lentils

2011-01-15T20:35:00.001-06:00

I got the base for this recipe from an awesome vegan cookbook called Vegan Lunch Box, but I modified it to match my own tastes. This works really well with traditional pasta and sauce. It's good to eat it just with sauce too.

Take:
1/2 cup rice
1/2 cup lentils

and cook them in 1 1/2 cups boiling water for 30-40 minutes. While this is cooking, preheat the oven to 350. After they are done and drained, dump them into a large mixing bowl and add:

1/2 cup flour
2 tsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp Italian herb seasoning

3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix this together and then add 1/4 cup water. It should look sticky and paste-like, but if it's too dry add a little more water until it looks right.

Roll the mixture in to meatball-sized balls and place into a baking pan or onto a cookie sheet. Brush the balls with a bit of olive oil. Cook for about 30-35 minutes, or until browned.

January Blood Drive at Work

2011-01-12T21:47:00.000-06:00

I know this has nothing to do with food, but I wanted to mention the blood drive we're having at my work. Donating blood is a quick, easy thing you can do to help others where the results are immediate and directly save lives. One of my least favorite misconception that I've heard about vegans/veganism is that by helping animals you can't help people too. I can choose not to eat meat, but at the same time I can choose to tutor children, or work with the elderly, or donate to a humanitarian charity. So here's a way where, no matter what you choose to eat, you can help others. Each donation (about a pint) can save three lives and most people will at some point in their lives know someone who has needed a blood transfusion at some point in their lives. You may help a premature baby, accident or surgery survivor, or someone who needs to receive transfusions throughout their life due to a genetic condition.

You get a free iron test, mini physical, and your blood is screened for various things. Also I will be making vegan puppy chow and trail mix (and the red cross provides such vegan treats as juice, oreos, pretzels, nutter butters, ect), so there's delicious reasons to attend as well. If you can't make it to this drive, there are plenty of others listed on the red cross's website so please consider going.

Sunrise Assisted Living of Lincoln Park - January 30, 2011 Schedule

Interesting Blood Donation Facts

Also I wanted to share this poem that was in the last red cross enewsletter. I thought it was really touching.

The Gift of Life

By: Christi Mead Nielsen

Someone saved my life today.
I don't know who they are or even know their name.
I don't know if they are male or female or the color of their eyes or skin or hair.
I don't know how they make their living or what they dream of doing when they go out to play.
I don't know if they believe in God or just the kindness of strangers.
I don't know what made them open that door and leave a part of themselves inside.
I do know their priceless gift was the difference between life and death.
My life. My death.
Without their gift my husband would be without his wife, my son without his mother.
People I love would mourn a sister, a daughter, a friend.
Without their gift my dreams would have died unrealized, unshared, unexplored.
But someone saved my life today with a sacrificial gift of blood.
My family lives together whole.
I live a life of dreams I now make real.
Someone saved my life today.
I don't know who or where or why.
Whoever you are I would just like to say
Thank you.

About the Author

Christi Mead Nielsen
Christi suffered from serious heart problems for the past 12 years and consumed many blood products during her battle. Christi unfortunately passed away a few weeks ago and her husband found this poem she wrote thanking blood donors for saving her life.

Basil Tomato Toast

2011-01-10T14:03:00.000-06:00

I made up this recipe one morning over the summer when I had an abundance of fresh basil and needed to use it up. There's a few different ways it can be made.

2 pieces of toast
1/2 avocado (optional)
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
4 leaves fresh basil (or 1 tbsp dried in a pinch)
2 tbsp Italian dressing

Once the bread is toasted, if you're using avocado, cut the portion in half and spread one half on each piece of toast. Tear up the basil leaves and sprinkle them over the bread. Divide up the cut cherry tomatoes between the bread as well, putting them on top (if its cut side down, it sticks better). Other types of tomato could be used, but cherry is a little sweet and the flavor works best in this recipe. Finally, pour on the dressing. This goes well with breakfast.

Peanut Butter in a Pinch

2011-01-09T13:00:00.000-06:00

So last night I was trying to make some peanut butter and jelly with Steve, but we ran out of peanut butter. We decided to make our own. We took my food processor and some honey roasted peanuts I had on hand, and it came out really well.

Add
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/tbsp olive oil
salt to taste

into a food processor. Blend it until it becomes creamier and looks more like real peanut butter. You'll probably never be able to blend it enough for it to be smooth, but if you like chunky peanut butter, it comes out pretty well. If its too dry, or not breaking up enough, add more oil, and if its too oily, add more peanuts. Pretty simple!

Simple Apple Cider

2011-01-06T14:00:00.000-06:00

I wasn't sure if this was worth a post, but I had to look up Apple Cider recipes for Thanksgiving and they were all unnecessarily complicated. I like the way my experiment turned out, so here it is. You need a crockpot for this recipe.

1 gallon of Apple Juice
2 Tbsp ground cinnamon (cinnamon sticks would also work)
1 Tbsp vanilla

Combine all of this into a crockpot and heat. Serve when warm. It also smells delicious.

Ian's Pizza - Chicago

2011-01-04T21:58:00.000-06:00

For any Chicago vegans, Ian's Pizza is doing vegan pizza by the slice (on Thursdays, starting this Thursday at 5. Ian's Pizza is super delicious and their cheese is pretty good. I'm pretty excited to not have to round up some friends and buy a whole pizza whenever I wanted some (plus I love getting "buy 10 get 1 free" punch cards, which maybe I can do now). If you like vegan pizza, try to show your support and stop by. Maybe they'll start offering it more frequently.

"Chicken Seitan Taco, pepperoni and sausage seitan, Vegan Florentine and vegan 3 veggie are all making an epic comeback featuring ingredients from Chicago Soydairy and Upton's Naturals."

Facebook Event:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=115750418495051&index=1

Winter Vegetable Soup

2011-01-04T21:01:00.001-06:00

Winter always puts me in the mood for a warm bowl of soup, so here's another soup recipe featuring some winter vegetables. Hopefully you have a crockpot, otherwise a big soup pot will work.

Start boiling water to prepare the broth. Using Knorr vegetable bouillon cubes works really well to create a broth, or you could use some kind of liquid broth. I used a whole box of cubes (about 6), which equates to about 12 cups of water. I like to boil it before I add it to the crockpot when using bouillon cubes because it helps dissolve them better/more easily.

Broth
6 Knorr vegetable bouillon cubes
12 cups water
1 tsp ginger powder
2 cloves crushed garlic/1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp pepper

After this is boiling and everything is dissolved and mixed, pour into the crock pot.

Vegetables

1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 Russel potato, cubed
1/3 cup diced mushroom
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
1 small sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1/2 box (about 8 oz) medium shaped pasta

Add all these things to the crockpot with the broth and allow to cook for about 35-45 minutes, or until everything is soft. This was pretty successful at Christmas Eve.

PS. I can't believe I kept a blog for a whole year. I'm a bit proud of myself.

Cumin Quinoa

2010-12-27T13:00:00.001-06:00

Cook 1 cup quinoa (2 cups water will be needed)

While quinoa is cooking, in your big frying pan, the one with high walls, heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil.
Add 2 cloves pressed garlic.
1 can corn
1 can chickpeas
1 cup frozen peas
1 carrot, peeled and diced

Add quinoa when it is done. Add another tbsp olive oil. If things start drying out, add a little more.

Add spices:
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp coriander
2 tbsp cumin
grind in some pepper, maybe about 10-15 cranks
3 tsp salt, add more to taste

Sweet Potato Pancakes

2010-12-26T13:00:00.001-06:00

I got the base for these from the weekly Meatout Monday email I receive and served it at my Winter Solstice Party last Tuesday. (I'd recommend signing up for the emails to get weekly recipes and news. Vegan outreach is another good place.)

4 cups of grated sweet potatoes, packed (about 3 or 4 sweet potatoes)
2 Tbsp grated yellow onion, drained of excess juice (about 1 or 2)
1 Tbsp diced fresh parsley (dried works in a pinch)
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Add all ingredients in a large bowl and mix everything. Add vegetable oil to a skillet and heat it. Take approximatley 1/4 cup handfuls and roll/flatten them into disks and then put them into the frying pan. Press on them with a spatula to help them hold together better. Cook until brown, flip, and then cook the other side til brown. If it start to fall apart a little bit, push with the spatula and let it cook a little longer. Each side takes about 4 minutes. Repeat until all the mixture is gone.

Christmas Eve Menu 2010

2010-12-25T16:45:00.001-06:00

Last night I made Christmas eve dinner for my family (8), neighbor, and 2 friends. Here's what I made:

Guacamole with tortilla chips
Roasted Garlic on French bread

Lasagna
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Cumin Quinoa

Vegetable Soup
Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Apple Crisps

For my parents and older attendees, it was their first time having a full vegan meal. My mom told me she could eat vegan a lot more often if it was like that. My grandma said she was worried about my nutrition when I first became vegan, and she thought all the food must be bland, but now she changed her mind. That's why I love sharing my food with everyone. It makes it fun to surprise people.

Thanksgiving Menu 2010

2010-12-25T13:32:00.001-06:00

So I went a little crazy for thanksgiving, and even though only 4 people came I still made enough food for about 25 people. I sent everyone home with a tupperware of food, and I still had leftovers for about a week. Here's a list of what I made, with links to recipes I've already posted, and I'll hopefully be posting the rest soon.

Appetizer:
Stuffed Mushrooms
Hot Apple Cider

Entrees:
"Chicken" Pot Pie
Mashed Potatoes
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Quinoa loaf (good with mushroom gravy)
Green Bean Casserole
Candied Squash
Rice Pilaf and Apple Sage Sausage

Desserts:
Blueberry Cheesecake
Apple Crisps
Oreo Pie
Vegan Jello (you can get it at whole foods or vegan websites like veganstore.com or veganessentials.com)

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

2010-12-20T12:20:00.000-06:00

So I went with some friends the other day to a restaurant called Old Town Social, and I got these really delicious roasted Brussel sprouts. Of course, within a few days I had to figure out how to make them myself. Here's the recipe I've come up with, which is just as tasty as what we had in the restaurant.

20 brussel sprouts, cut in half (top to bottom)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed.

Add the garlic and the olive oil in a bowl and let the garlic infuse for a little while, while the brussel spouts steam.
Steam the brussel sprouts for about 10-13 minutes (a steamer is a great investment for any cook). When it is finished, put the brussel sprouts into the oil and mix them around. Put all of this into a baking pan and put it into the broiler of your oven at 350. Let it cook for 10 minutes, then rotate or mix it with a spoon and let it cook for another 10 minutes. Take out, and serve.

Lasagna

2010-12-18T19:02:00.001-06:00

Last night was my office Christmas party, which was a blast. Since it was catered, I decided to bring a veggie option to share (there's 4 of us now!), and also because I like cooking for large groups of people and am starting to be known for my tasty vegan food. I brought apple crisps, which has been a favorite since I made it at a baking class at work, sausage and stir fried rice, and I wanted to bring some lasagna too. So this recipe was born, half from something I found online. It was all gone by the time I came home, and a few people who didn't know I brought it didn't even realize it was vegan, which is usually how I tell it something was a success or not.

Preheat the oven to 350. Get a square baking pan out and ready.

Sauce:
2 cans tomato sauce 15 oz
1 can tomato paste 6 oz
1 yellow onion, chopped
about 4 oz of fresh mushroom, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped or crushed
1 tbsp basil
1/2 tbsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
dash of cayenne
1/2 a bag of morningstar ground crumbles

Heat this all up together and stir well. When everything else is heated up and ready to use, take a package of firm tofu and crumble it into the pot. Stir this in, trying to make sure there are no clumps that are too large.

Take some lasagna noodles and start layering this, the sauce and fresh spinach leaves. Start with noodles on the bottom, sauce, spinach. I made the mistake of making the sauce layer too thick, so maybe make it 1/4 inch thick. Don't put noodles on the top layer because this just burned and I had to pick it off after I baked it.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Peppermint Truffles

2010-12-13T22:51:00.001-06:00

Silk has a few holiday flavors that have recently started showing up in stores. My favorite is the peppermint chocolate milk (they also have nog and pumpkin spice) and I'm going to be very sad when its season is over. They've got an amazing recipe on the side of the carton for these peppermint truffles, which aren't that much of a pain to make (aside from crushing the candy canes) but taste delicious.

First, finely crush about a dozen candy canes. I used a hammer and the bottom of a flat bottle. Then filter it with a sieve.

If you have a double broiler, great. If not, what I did was I set a metal mixing bowl on top of a pot of boiling water, which worked reasonably well. Then you combine:

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used a bag of vegan chocolate chips from whole foods)

1/2 cup silk mint chocolate

1 TBSP earth balance or other vegan butter.

Once this all melts into a nice, creamy mixture, add:

1 TSP peppermint extract or flavoring

Pour this into a shallow pan and put into the refrigerator for about an hour. You'll want to check on it every so often so that it doesn't get to solid. Whatever you do, don't leave for an adventure and let it set for several hours, or it will get too hard and you'll have to reheat it and it will become a mess.

Once its done, scoop out about a teaspoon at a time and roll it into little balls with your hands. Then roll it in the crushed candy cane (or you can use cocoa powder but that's not sweet enough for my tastes). Re chill it, and serve. Super delicious.

Pass Along Recipe - Baked Potato Soup

2010-11-26T22:32:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to pass along a great recipe I found for Baked Potato Soup. This was one of my favorite types of soup back in the day, and its great to find a recipe that replicates the taste and creamyness so well. Its great topped with Daiya cheese, tempeh bacon, and green onions.

http://www.cestlavegan.com/2010/11/loaded-baked-potato-soup/

I'll post some recipes from Thanksgiving soon. Everything turned out really well, but I made way too much food. Sometimes I get over zealous about showing how delicious vegan food can be.