The Post-A-Thon... Massive Unload Part 9

Recipe Reviews and Links:

Manjula's Kitchen's Aloo Baingan

I thought this dish was alright. I decided I only like Japanese eggplant... Regular eggplant just has an off putting texture and I like the eggplant to be over cooked (Cooked just right for me and kind of falling apart). I really think with some more heat this would have been better, I added Sriracha and it was good.

VegWeb's Melty Cheese 

This is my go to Nooch Sauce. Don't screw with the recipe follow it and use plain soy milk!

American Vegan Kitchen's Poblano Macaroni Salad

I am not so sure I like this salad anymore... Too much chipotle in adobo for me and I like spice! Black beans as suggested were a good addition, but still I tossed half... Sigh  

Spicy Eggplant with Tofu

I love this recipe so much and I suggest you make it now and just sub vegan oyster sauce and squirt on some Sriracha at the end!

Vegan Mouse's Mini Wet Burritos

I love these burritos! Make them now as well peoples! I expect batch cooking from you this weekend!

Peace, Love, and Vegansim <3

More on Convience Food... The Shame

Yep, I whore it out convenience food style sometimes... Here's some more on that! 

I suck at baking, for the record, but premade cake mixes I can do, thankfully. Here I used some premade cake mix and frosting (Seems vegan enough ingredient-wise for me) to make some delicious "Fall Inspired" cupcakes. I did have to leave off the sprinkles that came with the frosting as they are made out of Confectioners Glaze, a fancy word for Bug Secretion :) I subbed the eggs for Ener-G egg replacer eggs and that was my only change! 

I also buy this prepackaged Archer Farms Spinach Dip Mix at Target, good stuff! Just make your dip out of the vegan versions of mayo and sour cream... Awesome with crackers, pita chips, veggies, toasted bread, you name it!

I love pizza! Daiya (Vegan cheese) is growing on me only when it comes to lightly added to pizza. This pizza had green bells, spinach, onions, Daiya, and jalapeno, served up with a slathering of my Vegan Ranch. I bake my pizza at 400F and broil for a little towards the end (Takes less than 10), I always seem to forget about the damn thing and burn it a smidge so watch carefully when broiling!

Lastly, I have a huge package of thin Japanese soup noodles still needing to be using up. These noodles cook in minutes in boiling water. Here I added the cold noodles to garlic, crushed red chilies, SBL (Smart Balance Light), dried parsley, salt and pepper. Easy peasy and pretty good (I added too much crushed red chilies here).  

Peace, Love, Vegan <3

Veggie Grill

I hit up Veggie Grill  for an APRL event on Thursday last week (Half of the meal price was donated) and I was not disappointed! It seems to be kind of similar to Native Foods, and I've heard there is a connection between the owners so it makes sense... Sorry, VG, Native Foods "Chicken" Wings with Chipotle Ranch hold an unbeatable place in my little vegan heart. 

I tried the Buffalo Wings which were phenomenal! But the Ranch was a bit thin compared to Native Foods (And if you are a vegan ranch whore like me make it at least double serving seriously)...  The "Chicken" was definitely the same recipe as Native Foods, which I need to get my hands on ASAP!

I also got the Nachos, which were good as well. The cheesy nacho "cheese" sauce was definitely nut yeast based and I could have duplicated these at home, but yummmmmm!

"Milk" Making Adventures

I was outta funds but brainstorming foodie ideas as usual... I heard on VegWeb that you can make Oat Milk and was given this BAD RECIPE LOL for like Oatmeal Milk... I thought it was similar to drinking slime, though I've never actually drank slime though :) I say skip this recipe, though one VW user swears by it, I do not concur.

 (Plain Oat Milk)

(Chocolate Oat Milk ((Just added chocolate syrup)) was bearable when blended with some ice to make it shake-like)

Then I tried Rice Milk. First I attempted it in my Soyabella "Milk" Maker and it was a fail... Gooey mucous slime... 

 Then I tried This Recipe, with totally expected success cause this chick seems to know her shit, and slimy failure once again :( This could be my fault? I dunno.

 I've had a Soyabella "Milk" Maker since Christmas and finally decided to bust it out after months of dust collecting (First attempt at Almond Milk sucked cause you really need to purchase a Nut Milk Bag or it will be gritty). I had a shit ton of raw almonds in the freezer and some PURE VANILLA EXTRACT so I went for it. Epic SUCCESS! Here's what I did/ do:

Vanilla (Or Plain) Almond Milk:

1 cup raw almonds, soaked overnight and rinsed.

6 cups purified water

2 t PURE Vanilla Extract (Not cheap stuff!!!), omit if making plain "Milk"

1/4-1/3 cup white sugar (I like sweet "Milk")

1/4 t sea salt

Directions:

Follow Soyabella's instructions, this recipe is slightly adapted from the recipe book provided with the machine. Make sure you strain this through a nut milk bag once the milk has cooked and cooled.

(Vanilla Almond Milk served up with a toasted Pumpkin Bagel and Tofutti "Cream Cheese")

(Pumpkin Pie with crappy crust and modified version of Cashew Cream)

You will have leftover almond pulp/meal/flour if you strain through the nut milk bag... I didn't want to waste the pulp cause nuts are expensive homie! I tried making a pie crust which was an epic fail (Fell apart, my first attempt at using the pulp, I think it was too moist). The Pumpkin Pie was still good though, I just picked the crust off and dolloped some Cashew Cream on top! For the Cashew Cream, I recommend soaking the cashews and using "milk" in place of water and less.

To get the almond pulp less moist, I decided to bake it at 350F I believe for an hour or two, depending on how much pulp you have. One it loses it's moisture and cools a bit, I whiz it around in my food processor to make a flour like substance.

I also used VWAV's Pancake recipe to sub some almond pulp. I think I over did it though and subbed too much (I hear you can sub half for regular flour, I did like 3/4 cause I'm an idiot)... The pancakes were still very yummy with some cheapy "maple syrup" and powdered sugar :)

Feel free to send me some ideas on what to do with this abundance of almond pulp, I'm swimming in it.

I also tried Cashew Milk and strained it through the nut milk bag and got slime... Enough with the slime!

Peace, Love, Vegan <3

Spicy Eggplant with Tofu

Spicy Eggplant with Tofu is my favorite dish at my favorite restaurant Thai Garden in Foothill Ranch. I really want to recreate this dish sooooooo bad! This recipe comes close. The technique used for baking the tofu is a new technique for me that I plan on using often! The only substitute I made was to use vegan "oyster" sauce. 

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1774278

Recipes I've Posted On VegWeb

Here are pictures of a few of the recipes I've submitted on VegWeb. The first 2, I make ALL THE TIME... The last one, Pico de Gallo, I've only made once but it was heavenly :)

Vegan Taco Soup 

Nowadays, I omit the vegan ground "beef" crumbles and saute the onion and garlic in water to eliminate needless fat. I also add TVP usually towards the end of cooking (The fine granule kind, not chunks), about 3/4 cup and mix in to incorporate, as it cooks quickly.

My go to recipe for Potato Salad... Yummmm, think I might have to make some again this weekend!

Lastly, Pico de Gallo!

The recipe still hasn't been fixed on VegWeb but basically forget the liquid part in the directions! Just chop everything and mix it together, the tomatoes will omit enough juices on their own.

Peace, Love, Vegan <3

Breakfast at Mother's Market

Breakfast at Mother's Market:

As you peeps know, I love Mother's Market. Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to be treated to a breakfast feast by my friend Troy (Thanks Troy)... Troy watched Forks Over Knives and has decided he wanted to change his diet and came to me for some help and guidance :) This coming Sunday, I am driving down to San Diego to go shopping and teach my buddy how to cook some easy and delicious vegan grub.

Troy ordered the Ma's Flap Jacks, which were huge! Yummmmm! He also ordered some kind of carrot juice (I don't know where the picture went!) and a shot of wheat grass.

I got the Antioxidant Smoothie which was pretty good... Kinda icy and thick instead of creamy and smooth like I prefer, but good none the less.

I also got the Tofu Omelette stuffed with avocado, bell peppers, and onions, served with herb roasted potatoes and raisin swirl bread... The Omelette needed some nut yeast or something... I think I'm going to try to make my own this weekend... I'm guessing all you need to do it process the tofu into batter, season well (Which this omelette lacked), and add some sauteed veggies in the middle... Sounds easy peasy for sheezy :)

Peace, Love, Vegan <3

The Post-A-Thon... Massive Unload Part 7

Convenience Food:

As a vegan, I rely on my fair share of convenience foods, though I much prefer to cook a yummy meal or eat the typical leftovers my yummy homemade meals provide... Sometimes though, I just want to shove food in my fat little face with little effort and I recently hit up the 99 cents store and found an abundance of cheapy items! If I wasn't at work I would have picked up more veggies and cold stuffs!

I love me some Nissin Oriental Ramen, with about a tablespoon of garlic chili paste mixed in, as well as a cilantro garnish if I have it on hand.

I also love bagels, especially before bed (Bad I know) to settle my little tummy, typically slathered with some Tofutti Vegan Cream Cheese. <3 I just stumbled upon these Pumpkin Spice Bagels at Walmart today on my lunch break... Yummm

Gardein Crispy Tenders are the bomb peoples! Especially if you can steel some McDonald's barbecue sauce from your unsuspecting chicken nugget loving brothers. Ha!

I also love making french bread style vegan pizzas! Heat the oven to 400F pile with pasta sauce and your favorite veggies and sprinkle a little Daiya vegan "Mozzarella" and bake for about 10 minutes and you got some bomb pizza, especially if you have some Vegan Ranch for dipping purposes!

I also cannot live without Tofurkey Deli Slices! My current favorite is Hickory but Peppered is also legit... Look at this yummy sammie: Hickory Tofurkey, Vegenaise, avocado, tomatoes, romaine, spicy mustard... I think I'm in heaven <3 Especially with a little Sriracha squirted on every bite!

These Fudge Sticks are divine! Mind you, I am more lenient on iffy ingredients than a "Level 5 Vegan" unless I am told straight out that the company confirmed such things as "Monoglycerides" are animal sourced. These look vegan enough for me for the time being.

Lastly, some of my spread from the 99 cent store... Good finds include jarred pimentos, pasta, ramen (Which the packet ones are gross so far), spicy ramen noodle cups, onion dip mix...

Also, I grabbed a few produce items that I knew wouldn't take up much room in the work fridge, baby carrots and this big head of broccoflower!!!

I spent under $5!!! And I plan on going early this weekend to check out the produce at the 99 cent store closer to my house! They also have cheap bread! Squeeee :)

Peace, Love, Vegan <3

The Post-A-Thon... Massive Unload Part 6

Manjula's Kitchen (Indian Food):

Have you checked out this blog, Manjula's Kitchen? Sweet Baby Jesus, what an easy way to learn how to cook some bomb Indian food! All vegetarian and an abundance of vegan recipes with easy to find ingredients (Mind you, I live in So Cal, not out in the sticks)!

I made 4 dishes within a few hours and I loved all of them except for the Chana Masala (Pictured above), but mind you, this is the second recipe I've tried for this dish and I just don't get what the hype is and I am a huge fan of chickpeas!

Here are the other 3 dishes I loved:

 Aloo Masala

 Aloo Gobi

And my favorite so far... Aloo Mattar!

Go try and cook some Indian food! The main ingredients seem to center around Potatoes, Tomatoes, Green Chiles, Cilantro, Cumin Seeds, Turmeric, Hing, Ginger Paste, and Oil... 

Easy Peasy for Sheezy <3

The Post-A-Thon... Massive Unload Part 5

Restaurant Food Porn:

(Native Foods Green's Salad)

So I'm sure you peeps know, I live in So Cal where good vegan food is not so hard to find, thankfully! I do most of my "specialty" shopping (Cheap organic tofu, Earth Balance, Vegenasise, Tofutti Cream Cheese, Tofurkey Deli Slices, Nutritional Yeast, broth, etc.) at Mother's Market. Why I put "cheap" in bold is because I can still find most of these items in grocery stores but they are typically half the price at Mother's, as these aren't seen as such "specialty" items at a health food store chock full of vegan goodies! 

Mother's also has an awesome deli case with a deal for 3 hot items for $6.99 (Perfect for lazy hungover weekend days!). Some days they don't have much to offer, other days, it's a gold mine! I am usually happy if they at least have a vegan pizza out so I can have two Daiya cheese covered slices along with another item from the case. 

Last weekend, I chose 2 vegan pizza slices (One pictured above) and some barbecue soy "chicken". The "chicken" was especially tasty with some leftover rice from some vegan Thai takeout at Jumbo Thai Cuisine.

So on to Jumbo Thai Cuisine (Sorry their website isn't up an running yet so I used the best link I could find above)! I love the fact that they have a small section labeled "Vegan Dishes" but what I don't understand is that the restaurant has a huge VEGAN sign in the window yet most of the dishes they serve are not vegan?! 

I do appreciate how helpful the owners are in letting you know what meat dishes can be veganized but I feel like Jumbo Thai alienates both of their potential audiences: Typical "sheepoles" who want to mack on Thai animal fragments and run the opposite direction at anything vaguely vegan and vegans/ vegetarians who foolishly go in thinking that this is a legitimate vegan restaurant. 

I mean shit, what if I was that big if a dumb ass that I just phoned in my order thinking the Mongolian Beef was "Beef" made from wheat gluten or something?! I am developing a relationship with the owner, a VERY friendly lady, who knows me since I have come in a few times and talked to her while I was waiting for my food and the restaurant was empty... I am eventually going to tell her she should lose the sign that screams "VEGAN" so that this little gem stays in business!

First off, I would like to mention, the prices are cheap, especially the lunch specials! Here are a few dishes I tried when my battery was getting replaced at the Pep Boys nearby.

Spicy Eggplant with Tofu (This is my favorite Thai dish typically at any Thai restaurant so ya, I liked it!)

Pad Thai sans the egg (barf) before a good mixing...

Post mixing... Very good! I needed to dump on some Sriracha though to make it spicier.

 This is Young Ginger Thai Style with Tofu... This was okay, lots of shrooms and ginger... The owner recommended it. I personally wouldn't order it again though even though I don't particularly dislike any of the ingredients, it was just overkill.

(My personal favorite thing on Earth: Native Foods "Chicken" Wings)

Lastly, my love child, Native Foods, that has blessed this sweet Earth with happy hour every Friday 3pm to 6pm, which encompasses half priced appetizers and drinks! 

(My sisters favorite, Sweet Potato Taquitos... Sorry peeps these are greasy tacos, just sayin!)

I rush over straight after work to meet up with my sis every week we possibly can coordinate our schedules so we can stuff our happy, fat little vegan faces with as much food as we possibly can!

(Native Nachos are the bomb!)

This week, Chef Tanya was at the Aliso Viejo location we always hit up and was delighted to see us squealing with our typical joy as we fill up on half priced appetizers galore. She had us shoot a little video for yelp or something telling how we (Well my sister cause she was all dolled up so I nominated her for the role haha) loved Native Foods. We got a free Strawberry Shortcake Parfait for our difficult task :)

Saigon Roll (This is purdy but not orgasmic or anything)

Peace, Love, Vegan <3

The Post-A-Thon... Massive Unload Part 4

The Vegan Mouse's Mini Wet Burritos:

These Mini Wet Burritos, or rather enchiladas in my opinion, are the bomb, seriously peoples! They even take the cake over VegWeb's Cheesy Bean and Cheese Enchiladas, and believe me, that means a lot! My love for this easy casserole probably comes from the fact that it incorporates quinoa, which I love, and I without a doubt almost always have every ingredient on hand... Go make these asap!

I had enough of the filling mixture leftover to fill some additional corn tortillas and was able to use up some homemade enchilada sauce I has laying around and just made some extra drizzle (The smaller batch with the greenish sauce and corn tortillas). I love how the drizzle turns from light pink to and orange "cheesy" looking color once it bakes in the oven, brilliant!

Peace, Love, Vegan <3