MoFo Day 18! Sweet potato black bean quesadilla

What do you call a quesadilla without queso?

I've been thinking about making something to this effect all week. I bought a bunch of sweet potatoes, intending to use them for soup, but I really haven't been in the mood for soup lately.

Tonight, I needed something quick to make for dinner. I was in the middle of baking cookies for the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when I realized I needed to eat.

I always have a few cans of black beans on hand, and I happened to buy some (oh so photogenic) red chile tortillas the other day. So, naturally, I thought about the awesomeness that is sweet potatoes with black beans. I was too hungry to roast the potato properly, so I zapped it in the microwave for about 6 minutes. I peeled the skin away and smashed it up with some olive oil and chile powder. For the bean layer, I sauteed some black beans with a little olive oil, a tomato and some Frontera Chipotle Salsa. Add slices from half an avocado, and it's a surprisingly filling meal. In fact, I'm sitting here, picking at the last quarter because I'm pretty damn full.

MoFo Day 17! Jerk Seitan

When I made pho the other day, I made a double batch of seitan. That second half paid off today. After physical therapy, I was super hungry. I had a quick banana to stave off hunger. Then I pulled out Vegan with a Vengeance and flipped to the Jerk Seitan recipe. I had everything to make it. Yay!

Well, I did sub out a red pepper for the suggested green pepper, because green peppers are unripened little devils. The sauce was really good. The spices were right on with the jerk flavorings I've tried in the past. I would have liked a little extra heat, but that's easily solved in the opening paragraph. Next time I try this, I'll add a serrano. I served the seitan with some brown rice and roasted sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt, chili powder and ginger. It was a tasty, easy little dinner. And there are plenty of leftovers.

MoFo Day 16! Party recap and three kinds of cupcakes

Last night was the 'We Miss You, KK' party. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of last night's festivities. I was having too much fun to drag my camera out of my bag. I do have some really, really terrible pictures of the cupcakes I made. Don't say I didn't warn you. Ugh. I don't know what was going on with the light in my living room last night, but it was gross. I promise they looked way, way better in person.

I made three different cupcakes: strawberry, cookies and cream, and gingerbread. All the recipes came from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. For the strawberry, I used the vanilla cake recipe and added extra strawberry flavoring. The frosting is the Raspberry Buttercream recipe, but I used replaced the raspberry syrup and extract with strawberry. I thought the icing looked too thick, so I added extra strawberry syrup. Unfortunately, I had a heavy hand, and it started to run. The cookies and cream use the variation of the chocolate cupcakes that's listed in the book. The gingerbread have Lemon Buttercream on top. Oh! Fred did most of the decoration. I had PT last night, and I didn't have time to make the icing and decorate and get ready when I got home. He's awesome. I love him!

The gingerbread were definitely my favorite. I was pleasantly surprised because I haven't been the biggest fan of gingerbread over the years. These were nice and mellow and include crystalized ginger. Yum! Also, I really love lemon-flavored anything.

The party was a lot of fun, and the food was great. And it was all vegan! I'm gonna do some bullet points, so the awesomeness doesn't get lost in one giant paragraph.

• The hosts, Matt and Kim (no, they don't like the band), made some awesome guacamole, and Matt grilled up a ton of yummy vegetables--mushrooms, zucchini, asparagus, potatoes, onions, etc.
• Jodi made a squash salad with roasted kabocha and buttercup squash, pomegranate, pepitas and arugula with an apple cider dressing. It was really delicious.
• Randi made oatmeal cookies. They fell apart a little, but tasted great. Sadly, Randi couldn't stay, because her dog was sick last night. I hope he's okay!
• Dave, one of our wine vendors, brought a bunch of wine for everyone to share (the hangover I've had all day tells me that I definitely partook in his generosity).
• Chris and Mandy made a seven layer taco dip with vegan sour cream and Daiya.
• Our friend Freddie, who quit months ago even showed up with a veggie tray.
• Kojak, aka Whiskers (seriously epic facial hair), made what we all dubbed 'Banana Dicks'. He drenched banana halves in an aged rum and brown sugar sauce, grilled them up and served them with vanilla ice cream for the omnis and coconut sorbet for me.
• One of my favorite dishes of the night was this shepherd's pie that Richard, my team leader, made. He used Uptown's seitan, Gimme Lean chorizo, cheddar Daiya, spinach, mushrooms and potatoes, of course. He likes to give me shit for being vegan, so I so stoked that he made that. Richard worked in a ton of kitchens over the years before he came to Whole Foods. I wasn't surprised it was delicious, but I didn't expect him to go all out with the substitutions like that.

Everyone seemed to have a great time. It made me miss work, if only for the company. I got to see so many people I haven't seen in a while, and it was so nice to catch up with everyone. I love everyone I work with, and I missed the people who couldn't make it. My friend Julie even showed up. She had my position before me, but transferred to another store to be closer to home. I was super excited to see her, because she's truly one of the most awesome people I know, and I've missed her ever since she transferred.

So, a lot of thanks and love to everyone who came! And thanks for such awesome vegan food! I love you guys!

MoFo Day 15! My second ever BLT

Kinda.

Last week, some douchenozzle broke the passenger’s window in my roommate’s car while she was at work. She didn’t have a day off until Friday, so she couldn’t get it replaced until then. We got a lead on a place that could fix it for cheap, but it was waaaaaay west. Like, in the ghetto west. C set out for the body shop, but after about 20 minutes, she called me. She’d gotten a little skeeved out, turned around and asked if I would go with her. I agreed, because who wants to drive to ghetto alone. Honestly, it wasn’t that bad, but I could kind of see where she was coming from.

Anyway. On the way back, I asked if we could take a quick pitstop to Whole Foods. I saw a post about BLTs the other day on someone’s blog, and then the next day, my roommate had a TLT, with smoked tofu instead of bacon. I had everything I needed to make my very first BLT, except Vegenaise, and I didn’t know where else to get it. When we finally got home, I made and ate my first BLT. I didn’t take a picture or post it that day, because I was so hungry that I totally forgot. Apparently, I’d also forgotten that I bought a jar of Vegenaise a while ago, and it was still in the fridge. I couldn’t remember how long ago I bought it, but it smelled and tasted fine.

Yesterday, I was so busy making a bunch of cupcakes for tonight’s ‘We Miss KK Potluck’, that I forgot about dinner. I could have heated up a bowl of soup, but I didn’t feel like it. That first BLT was so delicious, I wanted to recreate it.

So, a little tempeh bacon, some thick slices of roma tomato and Vegenaise make a delectable BLT. But the L is missing. I never keep lettuce in the house--I much prefer spinach as my everyday green. So, I guess I still haven’t had a BLT, but a tBST. I’m pretty sure the sandwich police don’t care.

MoFo Day 14! Oatmeal with Caramelized Bananas

In the morning, I want to eat things that don’t take much effort. Like, I like things that basically take zero effort. Toast and oatmeal are about as close to zero effort as I get. Last night, Fred & I went to the grocery store, and I got some bananas. I love bananas. They’re one of my favorite foods and an integral ingredient of my hangover cure.

I wasn’t hungover this morning, but when I stumbled to the kitchen and saw the bananas, I knew I wanted bananas and oatmeal. I zoomed back to my bedroom and looked up if frying bananas was possible. It is. It is also delicious.

I chopped up a banana and threw it with some Earth Balance and pan-fried it for a few minutes, until it started to brown a bit. Sauteeing the banana made it nice and soft, but also subtly sweeter. The saltiness of the EB helped to balance the extra sweetness. With a little raw sugar, maple syrup and pecans, this was some excellent oatmeal.

MoFo Day 13! Pho: First Try

Pho. I've only had it in an actual restaurant once, but that one time was enough to open my eyes to the awesomeness that is pho.

I've made it on my own, once before, but I couldn't find the recipe I used before. I'd heard good things about the one at Veglicious, so I decided to make it for MoFo.

The flavor of the broth was great, but I made a few silly mistakes that would have greatly improved the meal. I made a batch of V'con seitan yesterday, sliced it thinly and dropped it in the broth while it was cooking. I really should have sauteed the seitan. The texture was way too rubbery. The Veglicious recipe calls for rice noodles, but I accidentally bought bean noodles. Whoops. They weren't terrible, but rice noodles would definitely have been better. I think next time I make it, I'll cut the onion smaller and sautee them a little more.

I think I'd also like too try it again with tofu or mushroooms. Pho's a great warming soup for the chillier weather that's right around the corner. Since it's fairly inexpensive and easy, I'll definitely try it again with a few variations

MoFo Day 12! Peanut Butter Pillows

Oh, boy.

Ever since I first bought Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, I've wanted to make the Peanut Butter Pillows. The picture in the book looks soooooo delicious, and peanut butter and chocolate is probably my favorite cookie combination. Shit. It's probably favorite flavor combination ever. Why have I waited so long to make these?

Oh, right. I'm lazy. But these were way easier than I expected. And they are superdelicious. I especially like the peanut butter innards. I think I might make some peanut butter cups with them at some point.

MoFo Day 11! Nooch Toast

After reading about it so much on the PPK boards, this morning, I finally decided to try nooch on toast. Holy cats. Yum! Why did I not know about this before!?

After I ate about half a slice, I headed back to the kitchen to double the amount of nooch. It tastes like a really aged cheese, similar to a musty, mature cheddar. I think I'll look around for a nooch spread recipe. I think I'd like that even more than I enjoyed it just sprinkled on top. I read somewhere that it's really good to add garlic. Someone also suggested broiling it. Oh, god. The possibilities! All day long, I've been craving nooch. I may have found a new addiction.

Unrelated to MoFo, but still awesome and vegan...

So I've been out of work for over 2 months. I had surgery and am now dealing with some complications that have extended my recovery leave. Sucks.

The other day, my friend Kim posted something on my Facebook wall. "Hey KK. What's new? Hit me up sometime. I was thinking we could have a lil' fall potluck/bbq or somethin for you before the weather is too awful to be outside. Miss you sweets!"

I read it, simply excited to hear from her. I've really been missing work and all of my friends there, and Kim is one of my favorites. I go in to buy groceries and talk to our PBS and stuff, but it's not the same.

It wasn't until I'd already responded that I noticed she said "for you". What!? For me? Whoa. I wasn't expecting that.

Yesterday, I went in to drop off some paperwork, and I saw Kim. We caught up and she mentioned the potluck again. And again, she said it was for me. It'll be at her house, and all the food will be vegan. We settled on Monday night.

So, at least one of my MoFo posts will be about the food at the potluck. Squee! I'm excited!

MoFo Day 10! Tomato Rosemary Scones

Lately, I just haven’t been craving sweet things for breakfast. Yesterday morning, I ate chips and hummus out of sheer laziness. So, knowing I had to get up kinda early today, I decided to make some savory scones last night. I’ve never really had savory scones, but the Vegan Brunch Tomato Rosemary Scones had some pretty awesome reviews on the PPK boards.

The mixing process gave me some trouble. I’m not really sure what I did, but the dough became really gummy and sticky. I ended up having to add a bunch of flour just to get it to not completely stick to the counter. I’m guessing I overmixed. Or maybe there was too much baking powder. Or liquid. I don’t know. I ate one last night to make sure they were edible. They totally are. The flavor is awesome, but the texture was more like a puffy biscuit. Not bad, just not the scone-y goodness I was craving.

MoFo Day 9! Chickpea Noodle Soup

I caught a cold over the weekend, so I’ve been hopped up on cold medicine since Sunday. Yesterday was bad--runny nose, stuffy sinuses, mild headache. My nose is still red and chapped from wiping it so much. When I got home from running errands, I had such an intense craving for Veganomicon Chickpea Noodle Soup, but I was too hungry to wait and make it.

Today, I had time. I love, love, love this soup so hard. It’s one of the first recipes I ever tried from the PPK recipe bank. The recipe isn’t on the PPK site since the revamp, but if you don’t already own Veganomicon, you need to buy it. NEED. Just do it. Not just for this soup, but for the general awesomeness.

This is one of my all-time favorite soups, and fall is the ultimate soup season. Even before I got sick, I knew I wanted to make it soon, but it’s so perfect when I’m under the weather. It’s warm and flavorful, simple and comforting without being unnecessarily complicated. It’s almost, almost worth getting sick.

ETA: D'oh! I was eating a bowl this afternoon, and realized that I'd forgotten to add the kale I usually add to this soup. I knew something wasn't quite right. It's delicious either way, but I do kind of miss the kale now that I know.

MoFo Day 8! Carrot Raisin Spice Cookies

I love cookies. I unnaturally love cookies. I would love to eat cookies for all my nourishment, but I’m pretty sure I’d balloon up to 1000 pounds. Fred (aka The Boy) bought me Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar last winter. One day it just showed up on my stairs from Amazon. I had no idea he’d ordered it, I just found it when I checked the mail one day. On the packing slip it said, ‘You better make me some damn cookies!!’

I always oblige that request, though probably not as often as I’d like. Fred is my guinea pig when it comes to cooking and baking. Thankfully, he loves everything I’ve ever made. But then again, he eats anything and everything.

Whenever I buy a new cookbook, I take a stack of tiny post-it flags and mark the recipes that sound best. VCIYCJ is one of the only cookbooks without any flags. Why, when I love cookies so much? Simple. Every damn page would have a flag, so why bother?

So, yeah. This weekend, I told Fred I’d make him some cookies because he’s been helping me out a lot since my surgery, and he’s just a generally awesome guy. Plus, I love him. His favorite type of cake is carrot cake, so when I told him I’d bake him cookies, I knew this time I’d make the Carrot Raisin Spice cookies. I haven’t tried that recipe yet, and they sounded awesome.

(For some reason I felt the need to pile all 2 dozen cookies on one tiny little plate.)

I refused to tell him what kind of cookies I'd made until he got here. His first reaction was that they tasted like crispy muffins, but in a good way. ‘They’re fucking so good,’ were his exact words.

I totally loved them. The orange zest and coconut give them an almost tropical flavor that I wasn’t expecting. The crispy edges with the chewier center were a great contrast. We ate them plain, without the suggested lemon glaze. I don’t know that they need it. They have the perfect level of sweetness, much of wich is from the natural sugars of the carrot raisins and coconut. I like glaze, but these were so amazing on their own. Totally going in my cravings list.

MoFo Day 7! Hummus and Feijoada

Two things tonight to make up for all the late posts recently, also to celebrate the return of internet. First up...hummus! Like any/every vegan, I’m completely addicted to hummus. I think it’s a requirement. I could eat hummus every day, for every meal. In fact I have some weeks. I have no idea where I originally found this recipe. All I know is that there is a .jpg file on my computer that was originally marked ‘hummus’. One day, after making this recipe, I decided to look it up. Based on some of the clues in the picture, I figured out that it’s from Vive le Vegan by Dreena Burton. The first pic below is the original file I found, complete with someone’s notes. I don’t follow the notes. I like the hummus as written. I usually use 4 T. lemon juice and sometimes I add less tahini. I’ve tried a few different hummus recipes over the years, and this is my favorite I’ve made. The second picture is the hummus I made this afternoon. I usually eat it with Garden of Eatin’ Blue Corn chips or carrot sticks, but it’s great with pitas or on sandwiches or straight out of the blender. Yes, I’ve nicked my fingers on the blades on multiple occasions trying to get every creamy bit.

(This is not my picture! I found it somewhere online.)

Tonight I finished the feijoada from Urban Vegan. I started soaking the beans on Wedesday night, but didn’t get around to putting them on the stove until Saturday around 2pm. Then around 3, Fred called, asking if I wanted to go bowling. I did, so I turned off the heat, threw a lid on the pot and headed out the door. Fred and I ended up hanging out all night, and I stayed over at his house. This afternoon, when I came home, I turned on the stove as soon as I walked in the door. This is a long recipe, but there’s hardly any active prep, just soaking the beans, chopping an onion, some garlic and the tempeh bacon.

I think the recipe has potential, but I found the actual flavor somewhat lacking. It had a nice smokiness from the tempeh bacon, but I thought it needed some salt and more pepper flakes. I’d also like to try it with hot sauce and avocado, maybe more garlic too (says the garlic fiend). Now that I think of it, there’s no salt in the recipe. I’m assuming it’s because of the two packs of tempeh bacon. I think like most soups and stews, this will taste better tomorrow, once the flavors can meld a little more. It was filling, inexpensive and easy. And the brown rice gave a nice texture contrast.

MoFo Day 6 (late)! Hangover breakfast!

Okay. So internet should be back at my apartment as of last night. I was pretty busy yesterday, and I stayed at Fred's last night, so I haven't been home to check yet. But that's the rumor. I'm damn determined to post 30 times this month. Comcast be damned!

Today's breakfast came about pretty easily. I could have made oatmeal in about 5 minutes, but I wanted something savory. I really wanted tofu scramble (in fact, it's rare that I don't want tofu scramble in the morning), but I didn't have any veggies to spare. Stupid strict budget. But! I did have an extra potato of questionable age chillin' in the crisper, as well as some tempeh bacon that needed to be used. Pesto-rosemary potatoes, it is!

I just winged it on the potatoes, but I did pay attention to what I was doing. That's a first.

1 T oil

1 yukon gold potato, diced

1 T onion, minced

1 tsp pesto paste

1/2 tsp rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

-Heat oil in skillet on medium, sautee onion for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant

-Add potatoes and sautee for 5 minutes

-Add pesto, rosemary, salt and pepper

-Cover and reduce heat to medium-low until potatoes are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, about 10 minutes

While the potatoes were covered, I threw in the tempeh bacon and fried until it was browned and crispy, turning once. I like my potatoes a little on the charred side (thanks, Dad!), hence the brownish-blackish awesome below.

With a slice of wheat bread and some Bonne Maman Four Fruits Preserves, this isn't exactly the heathiest, most balanced breakfast, but it was exactly what I needed to sop up some of the beer still sloshing around my tummy.

My roommate had an extra ticket to see Ben Folds the night before, took pity on me and bought all my beer last night. I love her! I also loved the nostalgia quotient of last night's show. It brought me back to high school and early college, but in the best way possible. Thanks, C!

MoFo Day 5 (really late)! Filler post about cookbooks! Part the first.

I have a lot of cookbooks. Way more than I probably need. Definitely more than I actually use. But since I didn't feel like cooking today/eat anything interesting/do anything else even remotely blogable, this is what you get (in no particular order, which is how I do everything, 'cause that's how I roll). Onward!

1. Vegan with a Vengeance, Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero

The first time I went vegan was on 1 November 2008 (oddly coincidentally World Vegan Day). I was dating this cute beardy vegan boy and it seemed like the thing to do. For Christmas that year, I basically just asked for cookbooks. The one I wanted more than any other was Vegan with a Vengeance, which my brother, who was 19 at the time, gave me. Best little bro ever! Two years later, it's easily my most used, most loved and most stained cookbook, and it really is the book that started it all. Prior to VWAV, as its fans so lovingly shorten it, I hadn't really cooked. I'd cooked, but not really cooked. Trial and error was the name of the game back then. I lived on pasta with jarred sauce, rice and curry packets, veggie burgers and an alarmingly small amount of vegetables. That vegan boy introduced me to vegan pizza. With mushrooms. Which I previously hated. But ate anyway. Because he was that cute*. He also started my love affair with Ethiopian food, which I would probably eat every day, if I could.

Favorite recipes:

-scrambled tofu

-cherry almond muffins

-chipotle, corn, black bean stew

-classic pesto

-sundried tomato gnocchi

-mango ginger tofu

-green thai curry

-sundried tomato pesto

-pumpkin oatmeal cookies

-PB oatmeal cookies (I always add chocolate chips)

-raspberry chocolate chip blondies

-ginger macadamia coconut carrot cake

-lemon gem cupcakes

-gingerbread apple pie

*Cute beardy vegan boy was cute, but it didn't work out. You know what did work out? Fred. Hi, baby! You're way cuter than the vegan boy (even though you're omni). A million hearts!

MoFo Day 4! African Quinoa Peanut Soup

Things are a little down at IWEAtF HQ. One very big reason why I have so much time to cook these days is that I'm on medical leave from work. I'm experiencing some post-surgical complications and since my position is so incredibly physical (and a topic for another day), work won't let me come back until my restrictions are manageable. Manageable to them means zero. Yesterday was the two month-iversary of my surgery. After today, I'm pretty much completely broke until my short term disability check arrives. When that is? I have absolutely no idea.

My fridge has been looking pretty barren for the last few days, so I went grocery shopping this afternoon. I took a list of ingredients for 9 different meals (all soups, oddly) and stuck completely to that list aside from replenishing a few pantry staples. I love soup in the fall and winter, especially since I can spend one day cooking and have anywhere from 4-8 meals. So, I definitely have enough to get by for quite a while. It's a good thing I like soup.

If you can read my scribble, you can probably figure out what I'll be making soon.

So. Look for a bunch of soup recipes in the coming weeks. Aside from pantry-based baked goods, that's all that'll be around for a while. Thankfully, I love soup. A lot.

Enough sad stuff. Food!

Tonight, I made the African-Inspired Quinoa-Peanut Soup from Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Season by Nava Atlas. Despite my love of soup, I haven't really explored this book much. Since I had some zucchini already cut from the quiche I made the other day, I decided to make this recipe first.

I wasn't totally sold on this soup from the look of it. But once I tasted it, I found it to be warming and subtle and slightly sweet. The peanut butter gives it a nice richness and the quinoa adds an almost crunchiness. I used chunky peanut butter and was glad I did. The few bits of peanut I had really added to the soup. I'm all about texture.

Even though I'm in a money crunch I don't want to get too repetitive with my meals. I portioned out the soup into some old hummus containers. I'm going to freeze a couple so I can pull one out in the coming weeks. I'm bummed that I have to be so frugal, but I'm kind of excited to see if I can pull it off. Thankfully, most of the recipes I'll be using call for ingredients that will keep well in the fridge until I can get around to them.

MoFo Day 3 (late)! Simple Fall Oatmeal

I missed a day already. Dammit Comcast! Why do you suck so much? We’re having difficulties with them. Our service was interrupted. We paid to turn it back on (or so we thought), had internet again for 24 hours, and then they turned it off again. I called today and they said the payment my roommate made went to some deposit. But we paid the deposit months ago. Gaaaah! It’s so frustrating. We’re planning on going to the office to sit down with someone to figure this all out. Until then, I’m intermittently going to Fred’s to snag his internet.

Anyway. Food!

Oatmeal is a pretty standard breakfast for me. The one in today’s pic is a little different, if only for the fact that I accidentally made twice as much as I normally do. Whoops. I sadly couldn’t eat it all. I hate throwing away food. The combo, though is pretty standard.

I usually simmer the oats in whatever non-dairy milk I have open in the fridge instead of any water. Usually, I have unsweetened almond milk. It’s a 1:2 oats to milk ratio. I typically make half a cup of oats to one cup milk.

I usually like to switch it up on toppings. I almost always have berries in the freezer, which I’ll thaw in the microwave, and I’ll usually add some sort of spice (cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger are pretty standard roatation). Today, I wasn’t feeling particularly berry-y or especially spicy. I wanted something a little simpler. I threw in some dried cranberries, pecans, a smattering of raw sugar and some maple syrup. Very fall. Very yum. I just wish I could’ve finished it.

MoFo Day 2! Seitan Shepherdess Pie

First things first...internet is back! Yeah!

Back to business. A few weeks ago, I made the Tempeh Shepherdess Pie from Veganomicon. I totally loved it, and have been craving it ever since! I’m not the biggest tempeh fan, so I made a mental note to revisit it again using seitan. That time has come!

This afternoon, I made a batch of Simple Seitan, also from V’con. The instructions for the pie say to boil the tempeh. I knew that wouldn’t work for the seitan and I would end up with a giant blobby mess. So, I looked around the book for another method of prepping the seitan before assembling the pie. The instructions for the Almost All American Seitan Pot Pie worked perfectly the last time I made it. So I sauteed the finished seitan in 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil for about 10 minutes and drained it in a colander. Making seitan is definitely a lot more work than buying tempeh, but I’m in a bit of a monetary crisis at the moment. Plus, I’ve been working on my seitan techniques lately after numerous failed attempts.

This was sooooooo good. I added some extra almond milk in the potato layer (on accident--chronic over-pourer), which made it extra creamy. I was afraid the seitan was a little mushy at first, but by the end of the piece I ate, those woes were long forgotten. The tempeh in my first go-round gave an almost lentil texture that I did like. Either way, this recipe is a total winner.

Fresh out of the oven.

A little steam action on the serving shot.

Vegan MoFo Day 1! Quiche & Pumpkin Pockets

Yeah! MoFo! I'm really excited that I started my blog just in time to participate this year. Plus, today is World Vegan Day, which is totally appropriate. Okay! Here goes....

Hands down, the books by Isa Chandra Moskowitz (and Terry Hope Romero) are my most used. Buuuuut….I have somewhere in the vicinity of 20 cookbooks. Most sit on the shelf, yearning to be as dog-eared and nooch-stained as VWAV and V’con. Sorry, guys. I try. I really try. I alwayslook at the other books, but Isa & Terry’s always sound so good! So, with this whole MoFo/fancy new blog thing, I’m going to make a concerted effort to expand my cookbook horizons.

First up! Urban Vegan, by Dynise Balcavage. I’ve made a couple recipes from here since I got it. I love the Punk Rock Cakes (post for another day). They’re super easy and give you that scone-y feeling without going through the trouble of making scones. The rock cakes are fool-proof. Scones, somehow are not (for me, anyway).

Anyway, I’ve been craving quiche for a while, and I thought that my first step out of the PPK box would be the Quiche Du Jour. It wasn’t until I was ready to start assembly that I realized she called for all of the fillings to go on top. Hmmmm. Okay. I’ll go with it.

The recipe is designed to be flexible. Basically, add 2 cups of whatever fill-ins you want with the tofu mixture. Sweet! I can handle that. I used some of my favorite veggies: zucchini, red pepper, sundried tomatoes, kale, garlic and onion. The combo was good, but I really think I would have preferred it if the veggies were integrated with the quiche mixture. Since the veggies were just sitting on top with nothing to hold them together, the quiche fell apart as I was eating it.

If anything else, this recipe introduced me to the Flaky Pie Crust recipe from the book, which is oh so good. I like the idea of using whole wheat pastry flour along with straight-up all purpose. This is probably the first time I haven’t over-mixed my dough, pretty much ever.

The hot quiche action:

Man, the lighting in my kitchen is horrible.

Dessert looks better. Promise.

There’s a bakery in town that sells Pumpkin Empanadas. Anytime I see them in the case, I have to buy one. They’re flaky, handheld bits of love. But unlike pumpkin pie, these suckers are mostly crust. That’s pretty appropriate, since an awesome crust can seriously make a pumpkin pie.

While I was rolling out the dough for the quiche, I knew there would be more than enough. Conveniently, I had half a can of pumpkin purée sitting in my fridge from the VWAV pumpkin oatmeal cookies I took to a Halloween party. I threw in some cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger and maple syrup, gave it a good stir, tucked the filling in the leftover dough, and sprinkled a little raw sugar on top.

It’s not a perfect recipe, by any means. The ratio of spices, etc was a little off, and I stuffed them a little too full, but they were a quick and tasty. They were so tempting that I ate one before I snapped the picture. I think I’ll revisit these guys again someday. *Mental note*

I hate using the flash, but they do look slightly more appetizing. These guys were in the oven for about 15 minutes or so. I didn't really time them, I kept checking until they looked done.

Well, there's my first official food post. Many more to come.

So, this sucks.

MoFo starts tomorrow. Our internet is out. That'll make MoFo a challenge. I'm at the boy's house currently. I really hope it gets turned back on soon. Internet woes, be damned! I will figure out how to post every day, regardless.

I hate Comcast.

Let's get this out of the way already.

I've been vegetarian since age 16. It's been 12.5 years. Two years ago, I started dating this vegan boy. It didn't last, but I did go vegan for about three months. I felt better, I had more energy, I lost weight, and I felt good, just plain good all the time. I went back to ovo-lacto for a year or so, but I just never felt as good as I did when I was vegan. One thing that did stick was my love for cooking my own meals and exploring vegan baking. I went back to being primarily vegan, but sometimes when I travel, I find it easier to do my best, but not beat myself up if I can't eat entirely vegan.

This is where I chronicle all the awesome vegan things I make and eat, just in time for VeganMoFo 2010.