Salad doesn't have to be punishment

Here's my new-ish favorite salad recipe that was inspired by my friend Lisa. We made it when I was at her house one day for lunch. It's really simple yet oh-so good. Of course it starred two of my favorite things in the world (tomatoes and avocados) so it was an instant hit. Scott would call it one of my "crazy Armenian salads without lettuce" -- but there isn't much Armenian about it so I beg to differ. I added a few things to kick it up a notch, and no, one of those things wasn't mint. . . though that's not a bad idea.

Mix the following together in a bowl and enjoy! You might want to chill it a little first, but it IS best eaten the same day that you make it:

-1 package of cherry or grape tomatoes (because I'm a little OCD I definitely cut these guys in half)
-2 ripe avocados, cubed/chopped
-finely diced red onion (scallions would be good too, not too much though, maybe 2-3 tablespoons)
-14.5 oz can black beans or chickpeas or kidney beans, whatever you like
-juice of 1/2 a lemon
-drizzle of EVOO
-a few healthy dashes of garlic salt
-freshly ground black pepper
-several dashes of dried dill weed

Vegan Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

I did it! I veganized one of my favorite Ina Garten recipes. . . SO exciting (and yummers!!) Just one note, I've only made it once so I'm still a little unsure as to the exact amount of milk I used. I would start with 1/4 cup and then probably add up to an additional 1/4 cup, so have 1/2 cup ready to go just in case.

-18 oz peanut butter (I used 365 brand creamy organic. . . it was one of them that you don't need to stir that has both salt and sugar in it. In the original recipe, Ina recommends Skippy or some other commercial brand because it generally works/mixes better than the "all natural stir it yourself" kind)
-1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
-1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil, whatever you have
-1 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup white sugar
-2 tsp vanilla
-2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp salt (kosher or whatever you prefer)
-1/4-1/2 cup of your favorite non-dairy unsweetened milk (I used original rice)

-10 oz raspberry fruit spread (or any that's not clumpy)
-peanuts (raw or roasted, salted or non, whatever your preference) to sprinkle on top

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9X13 pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, applesauce, oil, sugars, and vanilla until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/4 cup milk. You might need to get your hands in there if it gets too difficult to use a spoon/fork. The consistency should be sort of like cookie dough. If it sticks to your hands too much it's going to stick to the roof of your mouth, so adjust accordingly! (I'll try to remember to update this recipe when I make it again with more precise measurements).

Press about 2/3 of the dough as evenly as you can into the pan -- no need to go too crazy though. Spread the whole 10oz jar of jam evenly over the top. Spread the rest of the dough on top of the jam (and by "spread" I really mean take small clumps of it, flatten them a bit, and place them pretty close to each other, covering as much as the jam as you can -- don't worry it will all come together in the oven). Sprinkle the peanuts on top and try to press them into the dough a bit with your hands or a spatula.

Bake for about 40 minutes, I think. . . until slightly brown on top. This isn't a bar that will be hard and crispy when it's ready. It stays pretty soft and fluffy, so more like a blondie or lemon bar than, say, granola. It's amazing when warm from the oven but WILL break apart pretty easily so you should probably wait until they're kinda cooled to cut them. And then enjoy! And remember, you're eating peanut butter, so it's not all that bad for you ;)

CRACK MAC

I've made numerous vegan macaroni and cheese recipes over the past year and a half (NUMEROUS, I mean, you remember how much I use to love cheese, Jenni) . . . this is my new favorite and I had to share it. I like to refer to it as Crack Mac because, well, in my opinion, it's just that good. . . not that I know what crack is like or anything.

This recipe is my own adaptation from Vegan Vittles' Incredible Cashew Cheez Sauce. It's really easy to prepare, delicious (duh), low in fat, and pretty high in nutrition!

-3 cups vegetable broth
-1 cup water
-1 1/2 cups raw cashews
-1/4 plus 1/8 cup (so I guess about 1/3 cup) nutritional yeast
-1 1/2 tsp. salt (this amount was good if you're using 3 tsp. Better than Bullion like I've done. . . otherwise you might need to adjust the amount
-1 Tbs onion powder (which, when mixed with the tomato, reminds me of my childhood slash spaghettios)
-3/4 tsp dry mustard
-1/4 plus 1/8 tsp garlic powder

-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes in sauce (preferably no salt added), don't you dare drain this

-1 lb box of your favorite casserole pasta (I'm a big fan of cellentani and campanelle but medium shells or penne are always good choices)
-panko bread crumbs (I don't measure these)
-Earth Balance or your favorite non-dairy buttery spread (you don't need to measure this either)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and get a big pot of water boiling on the stove.

Combine the vegetable broth, water, cashews, nutritional yeast, salt, onion powder, mustard, and garlic powder in your blender or food processor. Blend for a few minutes or until completely smooth. Transfer this mixture to a medium saucepan (3 1/2-4 quarts), add the can of tomatoes, and cook on medium heat until thickened and creamy. This might take about fifteen minutes, but keep and eye on it and stir pretty often. You don't want it to boil, but a small simmer is okay. If it starts getting out of control and looks thick you can go ahead and shut it off. Meanwhile, I hope that your water is boiling and you're cooking the pasta (in salted water of course!)

Drain your pasta and transfer it and sauce to a greased casserole pan. Yes, you want to use all of the sauce. It will seem like a lot but trust me you want it all -- it keeps it moist even when you re-heat the leftovers, if you're lucky enough to have any. Remember this IS Crack Mac that we're dealing with. I usually put the pasta in the casserole first, then pile the sauce in, using a spoon to slightly spread it around evenly. You can mix it in a large bowl first though if you want. I just see it as one too many things to clean at the end. . .

Sprinkle as much or as little of the bread crumbs as you wish over the top and then dot with a little Earth Balance here and there. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until your preferred readiness. Enjoy! And share with friends, if you dare. . .      

Faux Egg Salad

I know that both Melanie and I have made this, and it's really good - and easy for lunches! It came from How It All Vegan, but we've both altered the recipe a tad, to make it less...intense. Here's the closest, I think, to my recipe.

1.5 pounds firm tofu, water pressed out, and crumbled

1/2 cup soy mayonnaise

(a bit less than) 1/4 cup relish

1.5 Tbsp dijon

2 stalks green onion, chopped

1 small green pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp tumeric

4 Tbsp parsley, chopped.

In a bowl, combine ingredients. Mix together well & chill before serving.

When I make a sandwich, I un-vegan it with a slice of cheese, some spinach, and maybe some avocado, cucumber, or other addition I have in the fridge. Delicious.

I should also remember that this makes almost more than I can eat in a week, so I should cut this recipe in half!

Clear-Out-The-Cupboard Chocolate Chip Cookies

I can count the days left in this house on one hand (ACK!) which also means, it's my job to use all the food left in the cupboards, or it gets thrown out. I have a full bag of Ghiradelli chocolate chips, and I WILL NOT throw those out. So, tonight I set out to make chocolate chip cookies.

Step 1: check your ingredients!

Flour, yes. White sugar, yes. Butter, yes (well, soy margarine). Baking soda, sort of (if we count the fridge box). Eggs, no. Brown sugar, no. Vanilla, no. Measuring cups and spoons, no. Baking sheet, no.

Step 2: gather substitutes!

Aluminum foil, silken tofu, maple syrup, snack-pac of unsweetened applesauce.

Step 3: go for it!

So, I preheated the oven to 350. I creamed one stick of Willow Run with what I estimated to be about 1/2 cup of white sugar. I was also without a mixing bowl, so this took place in a large tupperware container with a fork. When it was creamy (or, I was tired), I added what I estimated to be 1/4 cup of maple syrup. To me, the maple syrup replaced both the brown sugar and vanilla I was missing. Then I added in applesauce and a little silken tofu, to replace the egg. After combining this well, I added about 1 cup of flour, a tsp of baking soda, and some salt. Can't forget the Ghiradelli chips that started this whole process. At this point I crafted a cookie sheet out of 3 layers of aluminum foil and dropped teaspoon sized cookies onto the foil. I baked them for about 10 minutes, and let them cool slightly.

The result, actually, quite delicious. Good to know, because I have enough ingredients to do this again tomorrow. Who wants cookies?!?!

Added bonus, they are totally vegan!

Top Secret Operation Step 1: Vegan Chocolate Cakes

There's a top secret project going on over here, it was started yesterday. I baked some vegan cakes. They weren't intended to be vegan, although to be honest most of my baking is vegan these days. The first snag in baking my normal cake recipe was the lack of flour in my house. However, I found some cake flour I forgot I had. But then, there were no eggs. So I tried a new-to-me chocolate cake recipe. It was totally easy, and smelled delicious.

Cake Ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour (I used about 3 Tbsp extra because I was using cake flour)
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp distilled white or apple cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl, add water, vanilla, oil and vinegar and stir to combine. Pour into greased pan(s) - the recipe said 8x8, I used two 8 inch rounds. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cake tested come out clean.

Admittedly, my two layers were a little thin at first, but they rose a bit and seemed ok when they came out of the oven.

For my top secret project, I let these cool, wrapped them in plastic and aluminum foil, and put them directly into the freezer.

Next step, cake carving....

Vegan Mocha Fudge Cake

My first vegan cake!

This cake was. . . delicious. The recipe came out of a cute little cake cookbook that my mother in-law gave me for Christmas called 500 Cakes. The original recipe is simply called Chocolate Fudge Cake, but I made it with the mocha fudge cake variation, one of five takes on the original. Both the cake and the frosting have instant coffee in it. And if you like chocolate and coffee as much as me then you should go make this right now. Jenni, are you drinking coffee yet? 'Cause ya should.

Chocolate Fudge Cake

(for the cake)

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
4 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup water
4 tbsp. vegetable oil (I used canola)
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar (apple cider vinegar would also be fine, or even lemon juice)

(for the frosting)

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp. boiling water
1 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking soda, and cocoa into a bowl, then stir in the sugar and make a well in the middle. Pour the oil, vinegar, and water in to the well and stir together quickly. Immediately pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes until risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Turn out onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

To make the frosting, put the oil, cocoa, and boiling water in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir to combine, then gradually stir in the sugar and mix for about 2 minutes until thick and glossy. Add a drop more water if too thick. Pour the frosting over the cake and let it set for a few minutes before serving. [I just whisked it all together, didn't sift the confectioner's sugar or bother with the double boiler, and it was fine. . . ]

A few variations:

Chocolate & Orange Fudge Cake: Prepare the basic cake recipe, using orange juice instead of the water, and adding the finely grated zest of 1 orange with the oil and vinegar. [Note: If you make this you must invite me over to sample. Holy holy.]

Mocha Fudge Cake: Prepare the basic cake recipe, adding 1 tablespoon instant coffee dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water with the oil and vinegar. For the frosting, dissolve 1 tablespoon instant coffee in the boiling water before mixing with the sugar.

Chocolate Rum Cake: [I want this one too] Prepare the basic recipe, adding 1 tablespoon rum with the oil and vinegar. [Why stop at 1 tablespoon?]

tofu scramble omelette

It seems I've been keeping a secret, unintentionally, as it came up when I was talking to Mel on the phone last night. I...don't eat meat anymore. It's been a while, maybe since April. I don't really use the "V" word, mostly because I don't have a stance. I never really ate much meat. I was to the point where I never cooked it myself, and was really eating only chicken on occasion. I decided, I really didn't need it. So, out it went.

Enter tofu. I've never really cooked much with tofu. I guess you can say the same thing, I don't see the point. I'd rather more veggies and cheese to the tofu. But, I suppose there is some benefit, like say protein.

Now, most of you all should know by now, I'm not a fan of eggs. In fact, I hate them. Anything that tastes egg-y...yuck. But, recently a vegan friend of mine was telling me about this tofu-based omelette thing, and I was struck by the fact that, the tofu wasn't really there to TASTE like eggs. It was more a vehicle to get the other goodness into your mouth. And, a dream was born. One day, I will wake up on a Sunday, tired and hungry, and I will make an omelette. And it will be good.

That dream came true on Sunday, and it wasn't good. It was DELICIOUS.

I read various things, about omelettes and scrambles. And I decided the omelette route was mine. I diverged from the above recipes, mostly because of what I had on hand. First I began with my filling. I sautéed some white onion and garlic, then I added some asparagus. Once that was mostly cooked I added some fresh spinach. Is anyone else amazed at the significant size reduction of sautéed spinach. I put in so much, and it just shrunk down. And then, when the spinach was all cooked, I added a few tomatoes. Along the way I added some salt and pepper and our Cajun seasoning that tends to go in everything.

I left this on a low burner while I focused on the tofu. I pressed out some of the water, but I wasn't really careful to get it all. Then I sliced it, and put it through my little mini food chopper. It was somewhat paste-y at this point. I added some soy milk, although I didn't measure it - likely just shy of 1/4 cup. I mixed this up. It was still rather paste-y. Then I went to town with some seasoning. Cajun seasoning, salt, pepper, oregano (I think), and something else for sure.

Now, according to the omelette recipe, I was supposed to pour the "batter" onto a hot frying pan. My "batter" wasn't pourable, so I scooped it into the frying pan, and I tried to spread it around. I had some olive oil in the pan, and the tofu began to brown. Then, I put the filling on the tofu batter, and covered it with some freshly grated colby-jack cheese. I covered this, and let it sit for 4 minutes. At thing point, I was supposed to fold the omelette in half. This clearly wasn't happening, but I tried. It resulted in more of a "stirring" of the whole thing. So, this is when I switched from tofu omelette to tofu scramble. I just continued stirring and scrambling the whole mess. When it seemed done (brownish and warm), I scooped it on to a plate. I added more cheese on top, and ate it up.

It was so delicious, that I ran to give some to RO'D. He's pretty skeptical when it comes to these types of things. Veggie burgers, lentil tacos, tofu stir-fry, it takes some convincing. But, I tried. I said "Try this, it's delicious!" He asked "what is it?"

"Tofu scramble"
"oh, with egg replacements?"
"No, with tofu!"

So he ate a bite, and thought it was great. And said, "Wow, you can't even taste the eggs!"

"because, it's tofu!"

This is a winner!

Are you ready for some football?

Saturday was UTs first home football game, and the event was not going to go off without some sort of celebration. There was a gathering of sorts (normally I call these things tailgates, but recently someone has gotten very angry with my description of tailgates not being actually in a truck in a parking lot) So, I guess it was a BBQ. Full of people all in their burnt orange. All with tickets to the game. Who all walked over to the game together. A tailgate.

Anyway, a celebration of this magnitude required some new and delicious snacks. I'd recently scored a Rachel Ray magazine in the airport (ok, recently, the end of July), but it takes me a long time to get through all the things I like in her magazine. So far I've made three DELICIOUS dishes.

The first one was some simple couscous. You cook some couscous, garlic flavored if you dare. To it you add about a cup of chopped dried apricots, dried cranberries, golden raisins, chopped green onions and crumbled feta cheese. Oh boy, it couldn't be simpler. Or more delicious. I did not bring this to the football game, but I did debut it for a friends birthday back in August.

Next I tried some potato salad. I didn't really follow the recipe all that well, because I didn't have some things - like fennel. At first I had to google image search what fennel was so I could figure out where in the store to find it. And then when I found it, it was going to cost me a whopping $5. And something I saw on google suggested that it tasted like black licorice. No thanks. So I've modified the recipe. But, it's so delicious. You quarter (or eighth, seriously, who can eat a quarter of a potato) small red potatoes, and cover them with just enough water and salt (the salt in the water is key, according to one of my roommates who thinks my food needs more salt in it). Boil these and let them cook until they are soft, but not mushy. Then you combine 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and 3 finely chopped green onions. The first time I made this I had some asparagus, so I cut the tips and sauteed them a little in a pan and added those to the potatoes when they were done. The second time, I added nothing. Like I said, I didn't use fennel. I used dill. And what seemed like a bunch. I'm not sure how much. I kept sprinkling and stirring it into the dijon mixture, until it tasted good. Then you combine the potatoes and the dijon mix, and stir it up. And, good lord, it's delicious. This was debuted during a boat adventure on Lake Travis, and remade for the football game. Both times, it was a huge hit. Added bonus, for those of you who are interested - this dish is also vegan.

And for my last recipe attempt, and I must say the most fun, I tried beer-battered green beans with a tarragon aioli sauce. I was a little afraid of the beer-battering, but this was so much fun. First it was 2/3 cup of beer (I think I threw in a little extra for good luck, but they did taste beer-y, so maybe a whole can/bottle is too much. I didn't use the whole thing, a girl needs something to drink while she cooks!) 1/2 cup flour and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Let this sit there for a bit. Then I made the aioli, which was a whole lot of mayonnaise, tarragon (I used dried), dijon, garlic and salt and pepper. I really just kept putting stuff in and tasting, until it tasted good and I had a quantity that seemed appropriate.

Then, for the frying! I used about 2.5 cups of vegetable oil in a pan and turned the burner to high. I stuck a candy thermometer in there, to gauge the temp - RR says get it to 375. This happened quite quickly. When it's starting to hiss and sputter you're basically there. I dropped a small bit of batter in, and it formed a ball and floated to the top sizzling. That means I'm good. I whisked the batter a little bit more, and I threw my washed and trimmed green beans in. I stirred them around a few times to get them nice and coated. I dropped them into the oil in smallish batches, and the batches all tended to clump together - which actually made for easy flipping. I tried to flip them after about 2 minutes, and took them out when they were golden in color. They were probably lighter than golden. I let them dry off on a paper towel.

Sadly, because I live in Texas where it is hotter than hades, I then put them in a tupperware container and in the fridge. Next time, I will not do this. They got a little soggy. Or, they were just crispier before going in the fridge. But, they still tasted great - and were a crowd favorite. Also, without the aioli to dip in, these are vegan (right? I don't see anything vegan-offensive in there).

These three recipes are so terribly simple, and so delicious, I'm sure to make them again and again...and again!

Vegan Muffins for Running!

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to be in New England, and spend the day with Mel (yay!!). And, in true BIFL fashion, we spent the morning baking! Mel helped me adapt her amazing healthy muffin recipe, to exclude the eggs and make them vegan. We used 1/2 a banana per egg (and since we doubled the recipe, we ended up using 2 bananas). We made 2 dozen muffins, so that I could bring them with me on my amazing race (also, here and here, and photos) and share them with the 12 other people on my team.

Mel, I hate to admit it - I forgot to share with all 12. Somehow the bag of muffins remained in our van the whole time. Although, I don't think the van minded. They were a perfect combination of fruity and nutty, and seriously hit the spot after we ended our legs. I know Lisa and I enjoyed our fair share (and probably one or two other peoples fair share as well). Thanks for making them with me, and providing me with all the ingredients. I love it when BIFL can having simultaneous baking IN THE SAME KITCHEN!