Mystery MoFo!

Ok, first I'll address that I didn't post yesterday. I had spent most of the day shopping, and then went out to eat with a bunch of vegans.  I inhaled my banh mi before taking pictures. Sorry!

When I was preparing for this year's MoFo, I thought it would be fun to have a Mystery Box Challenge like they do on Master Chef. I found a website that spits out lists of random ingredients, and decided to make a week of it. It got even more exciting when Chelsea from Suzie V. Homemaker joined in!

Today's Mystery Box Challenge: Use at least two of the following ingredients: asparagus, avocado, and lima beans.

The prawns I used are from the Asian market. I just sauteed them in Earth Balance, garlic, jalapeno,  and white wine before dredging in flour and chopped macadamia nuts, and broiling for a few minutes. The real star is the salad.

Succotash Salad
makes four servings

Corn from 3 medium ears,  or two cups of frozen corn, thawed.
2 cups lima beans, fresh or frozen and thawed
1/2 lb asparagus,  trimmed and cut into 1/2" pieces
1 sweet red bell pepper, diced
1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced

Dressing:
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
1/2 cup packed cilantro
juice of one lime
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Coconut bacon (I use Fettle Vegan's recipe, or there's the Phoney Baloney stuff)

Blanch the corn, asparagus, and lima beans if using fresh.  Set aside to cool.

In a food processor, combine all of the dressing ingredients. Process until smooth and creamy. Combine with vegetables. Serve garnished with coconut bacon and cilantro.

Burrito night!

So, today is payday. But, since I had to work today, I didn't get a chance to do a thorough grocery trip.  I was planning to make something out of my new Non -Dairy Evolution cookbook, but apparently soy lecithin and lactic acid powder aren't readily available in town. Making my own vegan buttermilk, butter, and creme fraiche will have to wait.

So, that leaves what I did grab at the store, which was some Beyond Meat chick'n strips and some Daiya cheddar shreds.  When I got home from work at 10:45pm, my brain could only come up with burritos.

Another super easy lunch or dinner.  All you need is some warmed refried beans or black beans, tortillas, some  vegan meats if you'd like,  leftover rice, and some sauteed onion.

Top with lettuce, vegan cheese, and salsa. Maybe some avocado and Tofutti sour cream if you have some.

Roll it up, and stuff it in your face!

Cheap and Good Bacteria

It's been a rough couple of years for vegan yogurt. First, Whole Soy & Co shut down production as they built a new facility. Wildwood disappeared from shelves locally, without so much as a goodbye. So Delicious released a coconut yogurt,  but it was sweetened.  Whole Soy came back, and after a few gritty batches, became a luxury purchase at $1.99 a serving. Also, still no unsweetened plain. I assumed I'd never be able to make my sweet potato chili again. Then,  Chelsea over at Suzie V. Homemaker told me how easy it was to make my own.

I ordered a yogurt machine online (the EuroCuisine one was a steal at $14.95), a box of vegan yogurt starter (I ordered this one, and now they've started carrying it at Whole Foods), and headed to Trader Joe's for soy milk. I read that it was best to use soy milk with very little added to it; especially without carageenan, because it may hinder the culture process.  Westsoy soy milks are purely soy beans and water, and maybe vanilla. The Trader Joe's brand organic, plain, unsweetened soy milk is the same, and a steal at $1.69 for a quart in an aseptic box. I got one of those, and a quart of Westsoy vanilla.

I did entirely too much work for my first batch;  heating the milk, cooling it, whisking in the starter, and finally breaking my candy thermometer. Then Chelsea pointed out that I could skip the heating part, since the milk was in the aseptic container. Also, no cornstarch, agar, pectin, etc was needed to thicken. A good 8-10 hours in the yogurt machine made seven little jars of soygurt, for a fraction of what it would cost to buy it already made.  Once the jars are cooled, mix in fruit, maple syrup, lemon juice,  or whatever you like in your yogurt.  Use plain for recipes, dressings, and vegan cheeses.

Homemade Slow Cooker Marinara

Last year, I was working at Whole Foods in addition to my current job, and I managed to save up a nice little stash of money. Since then, my position at WF was eliminated, my rent went up, my TV died, and my electric bill shot up to nearly $200 after a couple of very humid months living on the third floor. Until now, I was pretty comfortable.  Now, I'm trying to do more things from scratch in order to save some money.

I love spaghetti. I'm not going to lie;  I have it a couple times a week. After getting tired of paying anywhere from $3-$7 for a jar of marinara sauce, I decided to try making my own. That way, it would be cheaper, and I could make it just the way I like it: with lots of red wine and chunks of vegetables. My recipe is pretty simple.  Canned crushed tomatoes, sauce, paste, herbs, veggies, wine, and a pinch of sugar. Slow cooker on low while you're at work.  Here's what it looked like when I left this morning:

Eight hours later...

Slow Cooker Marinara

makes a little over a half gallon;  freezes well! 

1 large onion, chopped

1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms

2- 28oz cans crushed tomatoes

2- 8oz cans tomato sauce

1- 6oz can tomato paste

1 tbsp dried basil

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tbsp dried parsley

1 tsp salt

1 cup red wine 

1 tsp sugar

Throw all of that in the slow cooker, stir, and turn it on low. Cover, and let it alone for 8 hours or so. Turn it off, and add Gardein burger crumbles, or vegan Italian sausage if desired. Serve over pasta, put on pizza, whatever.

Vegan MoFo week one: What a Broke Ass Vegan Eats

All I can say in regard to this post is, next year, I'll be more prepared. I'm down to what's left in the house that I can fix fairly quickly since I've been running around all day and I'm HUNGRY.  Everything left in the pantry requires more time than I'm willing to wait, so tonight it's Gardein chick'n sliders with barbecue sauce, green beans, salad, and mashed potatoes with some Daiya cream cheese and rosemary.  I can't wait to get paid.

Let's do it!

Alright alright alright. Another MoFo is upon us. I'm actually going to try to make it through this one, even though I'm out of vacation time, money, and motivation. Yeah!

I was going to post a cheap and easy recipe tonight to kick off Broke Ass Vegan week, but then today happened, and I'm completely dead. Eight and a half hour shift on the first of the month, my feet hurt, and for some reason, my apartment is about 110°. A simple yet elegant pasta dish was quickly demoted to a bowl of Special K Chocolatey Almond,  but I'll be lucky if I can get it together for more than a couple caramel apple Oreos and a Wild Turkey on the rocks.

Happy Vegan MoFo, y'all. Tomorrow won't suck, I promise.

Cookbook Giveaway!

Hey guys!

Try to win: http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.ca/2013/02/american-vegan-kitchen-or-world-vegan.html?m=1