Summer Check-in

Wow, I have not posted since my spring break! It has just been so hectic with AP tests, SAT's and SAT subject tests, finals, job searching, and then summer came and all I want to do is relax. I have been cooking a lot this summer but I have not been taking pictures of the food, sometimes it is more enjoyable to just eat the food instead of fussing with the camera for 15 minutes trying to change the aperture and shutter speed to produce "the perfect shot".

I had been contacted to be a tester for Probar and I am way over due in posting about them. I have always been loyal to Cliffbar but I wanted to give these a try. They have a very high fat content and not as much protein as I would have hoped for. The flavors were as follows:

cherry pretzel- good texture, but I did not like the intense cherry taste
cocoa pistachio- licorice after taste
kettle corn- okay but had the same after taste
maple pecan- very yummy
sesame goji- okay

Spring Break '08: Lots of relaxing, adventures, and much needed sleep!

Two posts in one week, this is a new record for me for this year. Today is the last day of my srping break, that means one huge two day long bio Ap final, and two different midterms, await me next week. I am planning to go study once I finish this post...

My spring break consisted of a lot of great adventures ("vegan ventures", if you will). One of the days, I took the train to New York City for the day with a friend. I have never been in the city alone before but I manadged to navagate just fine, with out getting lost! We had lunch at Teany, a great veggie cafe with 98 choices of tea!

Chocolate cheesecake from Teany. Perfect, not too sweet. I would have wanted a more intense dark chocolate flavor though.

I also took a trip to the beach for the day. It was the hottest day of the week, even though it rained on and off. I just had to see the beach, it was a nice preview for summer. Hope everyone is doing well, enjoy my darkly lit food picutures below.

Kung Pao Tempeh (from vegetarian times) with sugar snap peas and barley

International quinoa salad (from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen). I had a lighting issue.

***NEW POST***NEW POST***NEW POST***

It feels so weird to press the "new post" button after so long. So how is everyone doing? I cannot wait to check out everyone's blog and see what people have been up to in, and out, of the kitchen.

As for me, I have been crazy stressed with homework. Most of the work has been coming from my bio AP class which ends next week. I have no more homework to do for the class and I just have to study for my final and then for the AP test in May, but I no longer have the constant everyday homework load for that class. That class will be replaced with an easy current topics in biology class for the last quater of the year, which I am very exicted for.

My computer had a virus and everything was erased so I lost most of my unposted food pictures. The computer runs on windows 98 and had been running xp but once it crashed, i had to keep 98 on for a while until i was sure the computer was virus free. I can only get pictures out of my camera on windows xp. Very complicated. Oh yeah, I am on spring break right now, i am not going away or anything but it is such a nice break!

The one picture I still have:

It is amazing chocolate cake my friend made for valentines day. SOOOOO GOOOD!

Hope to post again very soon.

I AM TRYING

I have been trying to blog, I promise!

I have been having computer problems and I am now running a windows 98 OS, so I cannt upload pictures onto my PC. I will be using my dad's computer to upload picutres in the near future, I hope.

Lots of crazy things going on, mostly just school stress and the fact that bio AP has become my life. Sorry for typing so sporadically. I have some pics from Valentine's Day and lots of other events to share.

Thanks so all who have posted and hopefully I will get back to blogging and reading peoples blogs soon.
And thanks to the blogger of Don't Get Mad, Get Vegan for the tip on the meatloaf!

HI EVERYONE! I am so sorry for being the worst blogger in the world! Life has been so hectic around here with bio AP midterms and other life issues. My birthday was on November 29th and I got my license (the driving age is 17 here) and emptied my savings account and bought a VW Beatle! Christmas was great because I just hung with the family and went to my aunt and uncle's house in Massachusetts. I received the books Animal Ingredients A-Z and the Candle Cafe cookbook. Hopfully next post will not be months after this post, but I can not promise anything for sure.

My Brother Baked me chocolate cookies for my birthday.

And my friend made me vegan cupcakes. They were amazing!

Pumpkin pancakes I made over my christmas break. I used the VWaV waffle recipe and added more soymilk. SO good!

My baby!

(picture with camera phone)

It feels great to have paid for it with my own money because most people in my school are given cars. I have been saving my whole life. It is a 1999 Volks Wagon Beatle and I bought it at a used Honda dealership. It only had 30,000+ miles on it and I got it for a very, very good price. I even have money left over.

Thanksgiving- The Good, The Bad, and The Yukky

Oh, Thanksgiving. The special time of year when I get to show case my cooking skills to the family. This year I made my pies the day before, so I had lots of time for cooking the next day. In the crazy rush, I had to take fast pictures so the quality of some of them are not so good.

Pumpkin pie (whole wheat crust from scratch)

Chocolate silk pie (crust from scratch)

Sesame tofu from whole foods

Green beans cooked in the wok with soy sauce

Salad

Corn (bad pic)

Sad sweet potatoes. I worked so hard to scoop all the insides out of the skins and then I poured the soy milk over them and THEN noticed the lumps and the smell. Sadly, the milk had gone bad. New rule, ALWAYS smell before using.

Waffles Gone Wrong and Veganomicon

Everything has still been pretty crazy, but I managed to find time to cook. I had to try out a few things from Veganomicon because I have not used it yet. I have, however, read it cover to cover.

Waffles
I have been wanting to make waffles forever. I got a really nice waffle for christmas when I was 13 and have yet to make vegan waffles. I tried to use the VWaV pancake recipe to make waffles, but when I opened the waffle maker up they stuck and pulled apart. I tried extra oil but nothing worked. They half waffles still tasted good though. Oh well, that is what I get for using a pancake recipe to make waffles.

Hot and sour soup (V-con pg. 143)

All I can say is, wow! The flavors are perfect.

Smoky grilled tempeh (V-con pg.130)

I did not use liquid smoke and I broiled them, but they came out pretty good.

Served with salad and mashed sweet potatoes.

COMEING UP: Thanksgiving big post!

I am Alive!

HEY EVERYONE!
I am so sorry that I was missing for over a month. There was (and still is) so much going on that caused me to have have very little time to blog and cook. I quit my dry cleaning job because I was having trouble balencing it with my school work. I also felt really sick the whole time I was working there and I found out that people can have reations to the perk (or perc) used in cleaning chemicals. I have a lot of blogs to visit and I can not wait to see what people have been cooking and eating. Veganomicon can in the mail a few days ago and I have post-it noted about 20 recipes. Reading through it has inspired me to get back into blogging and cooking.

Veggies and chickpea couscous rice

Baked falafel on pita

I have no quote to end my blog this time. I needed to post quickly so sorry for any spelling errors.

BUSY BUSY BUSY!

Sorry I have been MIA to the max. I have just had a lot to deal with this month.
I am taking Bio AP, enligh 3 honors, spanish 4, and art 2 (my fun class) this semester and it has been a lot to balence along with the 3 days a week job I just started at a dry cleaner. I feel extreamly overloaded! Not a lot of cooking has been done, but I do have some pictures I will upload when I get the chance (though I do not know when that will be). Hope all is well with everyone.

The Best Kept Secret In Tomato Sauce

FIRE ROASTED TOMATOES!!!

They give the sauce the best flavor of smokey goodness you could ever imagine!

Tomato sauce:
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 28 ounce can diced *fire roasted* tomatoes
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
salt and pepper and onion powder to taste

Sauté the garlic in a saucepan with olive oil until it becomes translucent.Add the remaining ingredients, and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Pasta with sauce and nutritional yeast

Grilled pizza (recipe)

This grilled pizza looks like a lot is going on, but it was an experiment gone very well. I used my left over homemade sauce making this pizza completely homemade from scratch. It was awesome! On one side I have nutritional yeast. and on the other I have VeganRella. I had been wanting to try VR and I finally found some. It tasted gross plain but really good melted, hm. I don’t really miss cheese too much so I could go either way. I also topped my pizza with spinach and mushrooms.

Whole wheat pizza dough

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 (1/4 oz.) package of yeast
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup lukewarm water(115- 125 degrees)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine flour, yeast, salt, and sugar in a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon. Add the water and olive oil and mix until dough forms. Knead the dough for ten minutes. Oil a bowl. Put the dough in the bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise for 45 minutes.

In the meantime: Cook your choice of veggies. With your leftover time you can clean up, start the grill, and even do a little dance if feel the urge. I mean come on, your only minutes away from amazing grilled pizza, you should be happy!

When 45 minutes is up, take the dough out of the bowl. The trick is to break the dough into four personal size pizza balls then roll them into circles on oiled pieces of foil. The one at the right is about 8 inches in diameter. Put half of the coals on one side of the grill (that's your direct heat) and leave the other half without coals (that's your indirect heat). Put the pizza dough side down on the direct heat side of the grill (go ahead and put it directly on the grate, it wont burn if the grate is oiled, I swear) and then slowly peal the foil off. Cover the grill until the dough looks charred. Flip the pizza over and put your sauce, veggies, and soy cheese (or your choice of any vegan cheese, or no cheese) on top. Cover and cook until the cheese is totally melted or the crust feels crispy. Remove the pizza and be prepared to change the way you view all other pizzas forever. This recipe can be altered in many ways.

There are a million different topping, sauce, and cheese combos to test so go crazy.

*I watched a special on Jane Goodall a few nights ago on Animal Planet. She is a vegetarian (possibly vegan?) and one of my heros. I will leave you with two quotes by her:

"The least I can do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves."

"The more we learn of the true nature of non-human animals, especially those with complex brains and corresponding complex social behavior, the more ethical concerns are raised regarding their use in the service of man -- whether this be in entertainment, as "pets," for food, in research laboratories, or any of the other uses to which we subject them. "

-Jane Goodall-

Welcome to Paradise

I have been back from my vacation in Long Beach Island, New Jersey for a while but have been very busy and unable (and forgetting) to post. I had a great time with pretty good weather and awesome waves! I found amazing shopping at Ron Jon’s Surf Shop and Ferias Surf and Sport. With a little pre-vacation research, I found the only veg restaurant on The Island called Living on the Veg! (the ! is part of the name) and if you are ever in LBI, the restaurant is located between 132nd St. and 133rd St., Beach Haven Terrace (phone # 609-429-4066). I am going to the beach with my friend all next week so goodbye for now, hope everyone’s summer is going great.

I learned that you CAN order a cheeseless pizza without any questioning remarks. Ponzone's Pizza has the best sauce out there! This pizza was loaded mushrooms and peppers.

*Here are my Living onthe Veg! pictures:

Green Burger (this picture was taken with my phone). I ordered this and my mom ordered the Tofu Burrito below and we split. They were aweomse!

Avocado Club

We had to go back again. My mom ordered this.

My dad ordered the Southwestern Burgerrito and it was fantastic!

I ordered the Atomic Veggie

A side of couscous

My dad's yummy smoothie

"In any weather, at any hour of the day or night, I have been anxious to improve the nick of time, and notch it on my stick too; to stand on the meeting of two eternities, the past and the future, which is precisely the present moment; to toe that line."

-Henry David Thoreau-

Surprise! I Made Desserts

On Saturday we had a surprise party for my dad. I helped out by doing almost all of the cooking. Since my job was to make all the non-meat dishes, I of course had to make them vegan and awesome. For hor’dourves, I made hummus with veggies and guacamole. For the main dishes we had sesame peanut noodles, corn and black bean salad, grilled veggies, and a bunch of fruit. For dessert I made dark chocolate brownies and carrot cake cupcakes. Since I was the designated photographer for the night, I had a chance to quickly snap pictures of the dessert table before they were gobbled up. I made a ton of brownies so we still have enough brownies to feed an army, though I gave some away to my friend, but the carrot cake cupcakes were devoured.

On a side note, I am going to the beach on vacation for a week but I will be back with a long post. I plan to visit the only vegan restaurant for miles and take plenty of pictures.


Very dark chocolate brownies
topped with powdered sugar
Recipe

Carrot cake cupcakes with basic buttercream frosting
(from VWAV)
My dad LOVES carrot cake so I decided it would be classier to make it in cupcake form. I had two cuppers and ate about a cup of frosting during the prep. My brother and dad had about 6 or more each. I made plenty but they did not make it to the next day.



"I went to a restaurant, and I saw a guy wearing a leather jacket, eating a hamburger, drinking a glass of milk. I said, "Dude, you are a cow. The metamorphosis is complete. Don't fall asleep or I will tip you over." "- Mitch Hedburg

On Top Of The World

Italian tempeh nuggets from Students Go Vegan Cookbook over pasta and peppers

Stir fry with tofu, sugar snap peas, peppers, and bean sprouts

Pasta and tomatoes

I made a "tomato sauce" with crushed tomatoes, red peppers (my neighbors gave us a bunch of peppers and I am trying to use them up), veggie broth, spices, and spinach

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Wow I am in desperate need of a post. I have been way busy doing so much, and then absolutely nothing at the same time. I started volunteering where I remove invasive plants. It is great to know I am helping the envirnment and I love working outside. I went to visit my aunt in Massachusetts and we went up to New Hampshire and climbed to the top of Mt. Monadnock. It is the world’s most climbed mountain and to top has been reached by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau; two of my favorite writers. It was awesome to reach the summit and feel like I was on top of the world.

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Above tree line

View from the top

Marker on the summit

Me at the summit (check the boots from my earlier post)

"I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and culture merely civil... to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than a member of society."

"Whatever my own practice may be, I have no doubt that it is a part of the destiny of the human race, in its gradual improvement, to leave off eating animals, as surely as the savage tribes have left off eating each other when they came in contact with the more civilized."

-Henry David Thoreau-

A Quicky

I went to a BBQ for the Fourth of July at my friend’s house and made a great salad. They had grilled Portobello mushrooms for me and lots of fruit. It is really nice when people go out of their way to provide food that I can eat. I love when People surprise me.

Corn and Black Bean Salad

2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 cup diced bell pepper (about one pepper)
1/2 cup chopped black beans
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons oil (I use safflower)
1.2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash of salt

Combine corn, bell pepper, onions cilantro, and beans in a medium bowl. Mix vinegar and remaining ingredients in a small bowl (I find it easier to measure out the vinegar and add everything to the measuring cup). Drizzle vinegar mixture over the salad and toss to evenly coat. Cover and chill for a minimum of 30 minutes. Garish with avocado slices.

I made a burrito with the left overs and ate it with salsa and Terra chips.

Chai Tea Soy Lattes

I mixed cooled double strength chai tea (the kind without honey) with ice and soy milk. So, so good!

"When I look out into the world, I see the forces that would bring us disaster. I see the deep night of unthinkable cruelty and blindness. But I also look within the human heart and find something of love there, something that cares and shines out into the dark universe like a bright beacon. And in the shining of that light, I feel the dreams and prayers of all beings, In the shining of that beacon I feel all of our hopes for a better future, and the strength to do what we are here to do."

-John Robbins (The Food Revolution)

Being Vegan Is About More Than Just Food

Hello, Hello! I hope everyone is having an awesome summer and enjoying the fairer months and the seasonal foods. I do very well when it comes to eating vegan food. I have never conscienceless eaten something non vegan, but have made a few accidental mistakes which I am sure has happened to everyone sometime or another. I do, however, use a few products that depend on exploiting animals. My old running shoes are made of leather and I am waiting to wear them out. I stopped using all my non leather belts, except a peace sign one that my dad made and I cannot bear to part with it. I used soap and shampoo that is most likely tested on animals and use a bunch of other things that I am sure are tested on animals that I am not in charge of buying so they are out of my control. I know when I am able to choose the cleaning products I buy, I will get ones that are not tested on animals. Over the past few weeks I have needed to buy new shoes and soap and I made a conscience effort to buy vegan.
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I heard about Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap from a friend and I think it is really amazing! You are supposed to be able to use it for 18 different things, but just a word, DO NOT TRY IT FOR TOOTH PASTE OR YOU WILL BE SORRY! I have not tried washing my hair with it yet but it works great as soap and shave gel.


Shoes!
I love shoes and have been buying vegan shoes for a while. I always had canvas Converses in the past but I wanted to try somthing different. I saw a girl wearing these Keds slip ons in the mall and so I went online to find them. They are very comfortable and have no leather in them.


I am starting my volunteering at the wildlife sanctuary soon and I really need hiking boots (last year I had to wear sneakers which was horrible). I went on a quest from non leather boots and found them on Zappos.com in the vegetarian section. I recomend checking Zappos whenever you need vegan shoes. They were majorly on sale with free overnight shipping both ways.

AND NOW FOR THE FOOD

My two newest vegan loves are Newman's Own plain popcorn (which I melt EB to put on top) and Rice Thins rice crackers.

My aunt came yesterday and bought me two HUGE bags of dark chocolate covered espresso beans and dark chocolate covered cranberries! Need I say more?

TLT (Tofu lettuce and tomatoe) on pita

Italian-flavored tempeh nuggets over salad

I found the recipe for the nuggets in the Students Go Vegan Cookbook (pg. 124). They were so easy to make and came out perfect. Don't forget to simmer and steam your tempeh first to get the bite out.
One last thought to end my long post. Many people feel they need to be protesting animal rights on the streets, this is great if you have the courage and drive to do it, but I think everyone with a vegan blog is positively protesting in favor of the animals. When we get people interested in good tasting vegan food, we get them interested in why we eat this way. Isa Chandra Moskowitz (author of Vegan With a Vengeance and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World) writes on this idea of “culinary activism” here. Good job everyone and keep up the amazing work!

SUMMER TIME... and the livin's easy

Guess what? I am officially on summer vacation! For Father’s Day I made my dad biscotti and we ate it with espresso (I have an espresso machine). The farmer’s market was up for the first time but it was pretty bare. I plan on going every weekend. Yesterday I went to the beach with my friends for the first time of the year. It rained but we still had a great time. We stopped at this great soft serve Italian ice place with ices that were so creamy, they tasted like ice cream.


Grilled pizza


Stir fry


Biscotti (from Vive le Vegan) and espresso


Peas from the farmer's market

I forgot the name of these but the are from onions

I love the beach!

Seven Things and Why I love My Brother

Sorry I have been MIA for a while. My teachers have been piling on the work at school and I just have not had a break. I have final exams this week and next week, but I am finally on summer vacation on the 20th!
Midwest Vegan tagged to say seven random things about myself:

1. I have no cousins. I love my family so much and I do not really mind not having cousins, but people always think it is strange that they have 20 or more cousins and I have none. My aunt has a dog so he is kind of my cousin.

2. I have never been on a plane. My dream is to fly to California someday.

3. I like going to the dentist. I love the feeling of getting my teeth cleaned. I have never had any major work done or had braches. It’s weird, but I really love my teeth.

4. I like black coffee.

5. My favorite shows are Gilmore Girls, Entourage, Little People; Big World- to name a few.

6. My favorite sport is skimboarding. When people think of skimboarding they think of 7 year olds sliding around on the sand. I take it to the next level and do it as an extreme sport. To learn more about it you can go to skimonline.com.

7. My favorite bands/musicians are: AFI, Hellogoodbye, Jack Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, Acceptance, Dashboard Confessional, Eric Clapton, Led Zepplin, Sublime, Cream, Blinl-182, Ok Go, 30 Seconds to Mars, Dispatch, My Chemical Romance, OAR, Paul Anka, Panic! at The Disco, Taking Back Sunday, Yellow card, The Postal Service, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Phantom Planet, The Starting Line, The Used. Chevelle, Greenday (old stuff), Queen, Coheen and Cambria, Story of the year, Motion city soundtrack, Say Anything, Reliant K...to name a few.

My brother is home from college and I came home one day after school to find that he had cooked blueberry muffin bread. We had no cow’s milk (only soy) and the only butter we have is Earth Balance so they were vegan! The next day he decided to make vegan banana bread, even though we had cow’s milk. I was so happy that he cared enough to make vegan food so I could eat it too. Both the breads turned out fantastic!

My brother is amazing!

Strawberries are in season! I also put grape fruit in the bowl with them.

Where My Muffin Tops At?

Hey everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the almost-summer and supporting your local farmers market. I still have a few more weeks until the farmers market starts up, but I cannot wait! I recently made muffins, but I disappointed because they don’t have tops and come out like cupcakes. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to add to the recipe so I will have enough batter for there to be tops on the muffins? A few more weeks until I am out of school so I an start posting (and commenting) a lot more.

Tempeh Burritos

(From my cookbooklet: Powered By Plants)

Marinade:
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder (or more for added spice)
3 tablespoons salsa
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice (you can use lime)

Combine all ingredients in a shallow bowl big enough to fit all the tempeh and stir.

8 ounces of tempeh (1 package)
6 corn or whole-wheat tortillas

Cut tempeh in half length wise. Place the tempeh in a pan with enough water to cover and simmer for ten minutes. Remove the tempeh and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut the tempeh in strips 1/2 an inch thick. Add the tempeh strips to the marinade and stir to coat the pieces. Marinate at room temperature for an hour, turning the tempeh at least once.

In an oiled frying pan on medium high heat, cook tempeh for 30 seconds. Turn the heat down to low and cook, covered, for 3 minutes. Remove cover and use a spatula to flip the tempeh and cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes, or until the tempeh is browned. Remove tempeh from pan.

Heat tortillas in a dry skillet until heated and soft. Fill with tempeh and your choice of fillings, fold your burrito, and enjoy!

Full Meal Muffins

From vegan lunch box

Stir Fry

My weekly staple

Can You Believe I Have Not Had a Cookie In A Year? Yeah, I Had To Change That

I have been craving good old chocolate chips cookies and I finally made some that my whole family devoured. I get out of school on June 20th so be prepared for a lot of food experiments once the summer is in full swing.

Pasta with tomato sauce

Always a classic



Sitr Fry

Black bean burgers

Recipe

This is a Powered by Plants recipe. It amazes me how much these resemble hamburgers. I used some Anne's Smokie Maple BBQ sauce.

Tofu and veggie skewers

Chocolate chip cookies

This recipe is from Eats Like A Bird (thank you so much). These cookies are just the way I like them, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.


So moist and yummy!

We had some really nice weather last week with almost 90° temperatures; I even got a slight tan! It was nice enough to use the grill for the first time of the season. I made grilled pizza and wow, did it taste good! I also finished my cookbooklet and am going to start giving it out to people.





Grilled Pizza

Recipe




Tofu Burritos

I have been going a little burrito crazy lately. I used tofu that I had been marinating in BBQ sauce, soy sauce, and a little garlic and cooked it in a cast iron pan with a few shakes of Tabasco sauce. Then I warped the burrito with lettuce and dipped it in salsa.

Stir Fry

I think I stir fry in my wok at least once a week. This stir fry has tofu, snap peas, broccoli, yellow squash, zucchini, and spinach.

The cookbooklet is nice and compact and contains six of my best recipes:

black bean burgers, tempeh burritos, granola, fruit and nut energy bars, lasagna, and sesame peanut noodles.