Well, it looks like VeganMoFo is coming up quickly. For those of you not in the know, it's a month-long project where people write about food.

Isa says it better than me, so just listen to her. "The idea is to write as much as you can for the month of October about vegan food. The blog entries can be about anything food related - your love of tongs, your top secret tofu pressing techniques, the first time your mom cooked vegan for you, vegan options in Timbuktu - you get the idea."

So, I'm gonna try to update this blog as much as I can throughout October. Here's hoping I stick to it!

Vegan Cupcakes Take Over My Kitchen

I made 4 dozen cupcakes for my brothers wedding this past weekend. I ate about a dozen, a few people had some, my mom dropped about half of them after the reception, and the rest got stale.

Nekkid

2 dozen vanilla, 2 dozen chocolate

Half vanilla and chocolate with vanilla frosting, ,half vanilla and chocolate with chocolate frosting

I. LOVE. QUINOA.

Today I threw together a bunch of slop, and it was delicious.

I cooked 1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups of water using my rice cooker. In the meantime, I heated together a can of black beans and a can of collard greens on the stove. I added them together with the quinoa and proceeded to eat 3 bowls of it. Oh yeah, and I added a generous amount of cholula. I don't think I'll ever eat rice and beans. From now on, it's quinoa and beans.

No picture because it looked disgusting.

Pancakes

Pancakes for one are always depressing
because having breakfast with you was such fun
Pancakes for one are no fun

Anytime I eat pancakes, I think of that song (Pancakes for One by Of Montreal). Sometimes I just want something sweet and easy for dinner, so usually it's pancakes.

The recipe is so easy and takes no skill whatsoever.

2 cups bisquick
1 cup soy milk (or whatever kind of milk you prefer)
(I also add flax, but it's not necessary)

Mix together, heat on pan like you do for any pancakes.

Bisquick is totally vegan, incase you didn't know. The directions on the box say to add an egg, but I think that is only there so people feel like they are doing a lot more work than is really required. Or maybe because people might not believe that they could make pancakes without eggs? I have no idea.

In the background, I have a smoothie/shake made from frozen bananas, soy milk and chocolate syrup. And behind that is our very messy kitchen table. I swear, it's not my mess!

Middle Eastern dinner night

The other night I decided to just go for it and make a bunch of Middle Eastern food. I had chickpeas, quinoa and plain soy yogurt in the fridge and came up with the perfect idea: Quinoa Tabouli, falafel and tzatziki sauce. It was great because I only had to run to the store for tomatoes, a cucumber, pita bread and some salad mix. And the store is only 2 minutes walking, or 30 seconds driving.

Quinoa Tabouli


I found a recipe online as a guideline, and it came out pretty boss. I'm pretty sure I added way more quinoa than I was supposed to, but it's still good.

2 cups cooked quinoa
1-2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt (or to taste)
1 cup fresh chopped parsley and/or mint leaves (more of less to taste)
1 cucumber, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
freshly ground pepper (to taste)

1. Mix quinoa and parsley/mint together
2. Add rest of vegetables
3. Add lemon juice and olive oil, stir adjust to taste
4. Season with salt and pepper, to taste

Falafel (from Vegan with a Vengeance)


I don't have the recipe right now, but I'm sure you could probably find it on google. I baked it instead of frying it and it came out so good. I don't understand why so many people have a problem when making this recipe.

Tzatziki Sauce

This was seriously so delicious. I've never made it before, but thought it would be a nice change from having Tahini sauce (since I was out of tahini).

1 cup plain soy yogurt
1/2 cucumber, peeled and cut into little chunks
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 of a lemon, juiced (I just put in some and hoped for the best)
dill
minced garlic (however much you want, I use a lot)
salt & pepper to taste

1. Mix it all together and let it sit in the fridge for awhile to let the flavors "mingle". Serve it on falafel or salad or whatever! It's really good.

Mac n Cheese, and beets

I made this the other day and it was delicious. It's my go-to mac n cheese recipe.


1 1/2 cups soy milk
1 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 cups nutritional yeast
1 tbl paprika
1 tbl garlic powder
1 tsp salt (it says 1 tbl, but I never noticed until now. That would be way too much)
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup margarine
1 tbl mustard

noodles

1. Boil/drain pasta
2. Add all the ingredients for the cheese sauce into a blender
3. Put the pasta in a casserole dish and cover it with the sauce
4. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes covered, then 10 uncovered

I added some turnip greens since I have a ton, but I usually add a can of diced tomatoes.

Price Rite - Holy Crap!

I just got back from my first venture to Price Rite. I had heard that the prices there were wicked good, but I just hadn't had the chance to get out there. I bought 21 items, and my bill came to $21.70.

Canned:
Vegetarian Baked Beans - 2 @ .99 each
Turnip Greens - .49
Sliced Beets - .49
Huge can of Whole Tomatoes - .89
Chopped Kale - .49
Collard Greens - .49
Mustard Greens - .49
French Cut Green Beans - .39

Fresh:
16oz Romaine Hearts - 1.69
Macintosh Apples, 3lb - 2.69
Mangoes - 2 @ .69 each
Cantaloupe - 2.49
1lb Strawberries - 2.49
5lb Potatoes - 1.89

Packaged:
Graham Pie Crusts - 2 @ .89 each

Etc:
3 Cards (2 graduations and 1 fathers day) - .50 each