Monday, September 26, 2011

Vegan French Bread

I will never buy bread ever again... You really don't need too.  Sure it takes some time to rise but seriously it's so cheap and the outcome is warm delicious bread that makes the whole house smell amazing! I think that its a good stress reliever too.  Grab the recipe


Sunday, September 25, 2011

Veggie Fried Rice

Fried rice is always a favorite… but why spend the money to go out to a restaurant and buy it or to call and have it delivered, when you can make it at home!?  It’s easy and super cheap to make (less than $1.50 per serving)! So why not make it at home?  I call it “Fake-out” hehe.  Best part is you can use leftover rice and leftover veggies! Perfect way to clean out those veggies that are about to go bad too! I like to make a lot of fried rice so that I’m sure to have leftovers for lunch. 


Okay, time out… I've got a funny story to share with this recipe, Read it

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Mac N No Cheese!! AMAZING-NESS!!!

A while ago I tried a Mac-N-Cheeze recipe that had squash and a bunch of different soy cheeses in it.  Well I’m trying to slow down my soy intake so when I stumbled on this recipe, I had to try it out! There’s no soy, no fake cheese, and it’s got lots of B-12 in it thanks to the Nutritional Yeast (something that vegans tend to not ingest enough of).  I was a little worried about what the non-veg heads would think of it… Here's what they thought:







Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Vegan "Goat" Cheese

Okay so I know I haven't posted in a while but that's pretty much because I've been living off of pasta and fruit since dance has started up.  But, my mom is (FINALLY) coming to visit me since I moved out (a year ago), and she's amazed at some of the things I've been doing with raw cashews.  She had no idea that they could be turned into a consistency that could resemble cheese... That being said I will definitely be making some of this cheese for her visit this weekend!  It's a long process but "Good things come to those who wait!!"

WAIT NO MORE! Here's the recipe

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Veggie Burgers

A while ago, on my old blog, a reader asked me about veggie burgers.  They were disappointed with the quality of frozen burgers (the @gardein burgers hadn't come out yet) and they wanted to know if I knew of any recipes for a veggie burger that was "actually good". 

Well, yes actually!  I found this recipe from one of my favorite Food Network personalities.  It looked so good, I had to try it.  I ended up having to make a few changes to the recipe to make it vegan but still, a great patty and it's soy free!  Changes Made

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Szechuan Green Beans

Spicy, crunchy, saucy, YUMMY! Szechuan green beans were another thing I always ordered.  I just wish I knew if they were vegan or not... Well this time, instead of chancing it, I knew they were because I made them!! Granted this time they weren't 100000% right on like the take-out green beans I got but they were pretty darn close! :-)

How Close? Get the Recipe!



Friday, September 2, 2011

Mongolian Beef-less Tips

Crispy Beef, Sesame Beef, Mongolian Beef...  These three dishes can sometimes be interchanged for one another.  A restaurant my family orders from calls Crispy Beef what another calls Mongolian Beef, what ANOTHER restaurant calls Sesame Beef.  This became particularly confusing when we'd forget which dish went with which restaurant.  I thought I'd go for Mongolian Beef to see if it was like my dad used to order... Did I get it? Find out!

Delicious Chocolate Cake!

You know the scene in Matilda where The Trunchbull forces Little Brucey Bogtrotter to eat that huge chunk of chocolate cake?  This is it... Or Better! Seriously, Get the Recipe

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Cincinnati Chili Vegan friendly

Well, I’m not exactly from Cincy but it was my weekend getaway when I was at school in KY.  My senior year of school I was introduced to my first ever taste of Cincinnati Chili (aka Skyline)!  At skyline, there’s a certain way you have to order your food.  The meat based chili on top of spaghetti and you can get it 3-way, 4-way or 5-way.  Which means with cheese, with cheese and either diced onions OR red beans, and with cheese, onions, AND red beans. 


Well, what’s a vegan girl to do when she wants her some skyline... and no longer lives near a Skyline??  Find Out!

Holy guaca-Mole!! 2 Guacamole Recipes!!

Guacamole is one of the greatest, most versatile and simple things to make.  "Versatile" you're wondering... Yes, not only can you serve it as a chip/veggie dip at you're next tailgate but what about smearing it on a bun to top off your veggie burger, adding it to your next burrito bar, use it instead of mayonnaise on your lunch-time sandwich, or how about making a breakfast scramble and topping it off with some guac?!

See!? VERSATILITY!  Another great thing about guacamole is it is completely fresh and raw.  Raw foods are good for you because you don't cook out any of the nutrients.  (You know when you boil veggies like carrots, broccoli, or sweet potatoes, and the water changes color... HELLO THAT'S THE NUTRITION!)  

I've made lots of guacamole's in my time, and this post will highlight 2 of my favorite recipes.  One with the smaller, Haas variety and the other with the BIG, Florida variety.  There isn't much of a difference between the two recipes, but they end up as 2 very different guacamoles.

The first one I'll share with you is a recipe I worked on to mimic the guacamole at a large restaurant chain.  (Perhaps you've heard of it... Chipotle...?)  It features the smaller avocado.  In my experiences with guacamole, I've found that there is less moisture in the Haas variety.  The guacamole ends up being more chunky and less water-y because they contain less water than the Florida variety.


2 Hass Avocados

1/2 of a Jalapeno pepper, seeded, and minced (for more heat leave the seeds)

1/4 of a red onion, finely chopped

2 heaping Tablespoons of Cilantro, finely chopped

1/4 of a lime, juiced

1/4 of a lemon, juiced

1/4 teaspoon salt


Cut avocados in half, remove pit, scrape out the good stuff.

Mash avocados in large mixing bowl. You don’t have to get it to the final consistency yet, but it’s easier if they’re at least partially mashed at this point.

Add the other ingredients, and continue mashing until desired chunky-ness.

When you go to store it, put a layer of plastic wrap directly on the guac and squeeze the air out, then put another layer of plastic or tight fitting lid over whatever container you’re using. This keeps the guacamole from oxidizing and turning all brown. Depending on how long you keep it in the fridge, the top might turn brown anyway, so just skim off the top layer before serving.
Notice how you can see the chunks of avocado?  The "shine" over this guacamole is only due to the plastic wrap covering it.  When this is uncovered, there is less of a shine and more of a yummy green color, much like when you first slice open the avocado.

Now, here's the recipe I used with a Florida variety. 

1 Florida avocado (can use 2 Hass Avocados instead for a less water-y guac)
1 cup red onion, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1 large tomato, seeded and diced
2 TBSP lemon juice
Juice from 1 lime
Season with salt and pepper

Because there is more water in this avocado variety, it's best to just scoop it out of the shell, add all of the other ingredients and mix with a spoon, breaking up the avocado as you mix. 

See the difference in the water content?  It looks more like a avocado soup.  I used this tonight on my "Not So Fish Tacos". It was a great contrasting consistency to the crunchy shredded slaw that the tacos were topped with.

Make them both to see which you prefer.  I like them both for different reasons and for different purposes.  But, you're tastebuds may be different than mine... Which one did you like?


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