It has been a while since I have experimented with a totally new recipe. Last night I the most fabulous potato leek soup. It was a true hit with my family. I will definitely be making this one again.

5-6 large potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
1 head of cauliflower, cut into bite sized pieces
2 tbsp vegan butter spread
2-3 leeks sliced thinly
2 tbsp flour
6 cups vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste

Peel potatoes and cut up into small bite sized pieces. Boil in water for about 20 minutes, then add cut up cauliflower. Let boil an addition 15-20 minutes. Drain water and remove potatoes and cauliflower from pan. Put in two tablespoons of butter and saute cut up leek in it for about 5 minutes. Add two tablespoons flour and stir well for about 1 minute. Then add half of vegetable broth and mix well with leek/flour mixture. Add potatoes and cauliflower and then the remainder of the vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and add salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for about 15-20 minutes and serve.

This weekend we made the best barbecue “beef” sandwiches. We cooked a package of fakin bacon in a stainless skillet with a light layer of olive oil for about 6 minutes (3 on each side), then added some barbecue sauce and sauteed for another 3-4 minutes. Then we toasted some sour dough bread in the toaster. Spread the bread with veganaise and topped with the barbecue fakin bacon. It was so unbelievable delicious. I would definitely recommend this the next time you go to a gathering where everyone is making barbecue sandwiches. It is everyone else that will be missing out.

It makes me so sad that I haven’t had a lot of time for posting and cooking lately. I am probably only cooking about twice a week lately. This week I made some really good food though. I made Vegan Black Bean Soup on Monday, one of my dh all time favorites, and Tuesday I made Italian Portabella Sandwiches. They were so awesome. I sauteed portabella mushrooms, some orange bellpepper and Herbes de Provence in olive oil and then added basil tomato sauce to it and let the flavors meld together. Then I hollowed out a sour dough bread role and scooped the mushrooms and sauce into the bread cups, topped with vegan mozzarella cheese and toasted in the preheated (400 degree) oven for about 10 minutes. It was definitely heavenly.

This week we also tried Fakin Bacon. I was craving a bacon type flavored sandwich. Though the Fakin Bacon didn’t taste like “bacon” to me, it did taste kind of like barbecue beef. We put on toasted bread with veganaise and it was so good. It just needs a little barbecue sauce and it will be the perfect summertime barbecue sandwich. I have been experimenting more with tofu lately and have been really liking what I taste. Last night I had a blackened tofu burger from New Frontiers (local health food store). It was so good. They put blackened tofu on a vegan whole wheat bun with veganaise, shredded lettuce, shredded carrot, sprouts, and onion. It had kind of a spicy flavor because of the blackened tofu. I could eat that for dinner every night it was so good. I am hoping to have some time in the next week to go blog visiting, because I just haven’t had the time or energy lately. I miss reading about what everyone is up to so much. Hope everyone is healthy and happy and I will visit you all soon.

So I broke down and finally tried the Amy’s Mattar dinner with Daahl. It was absolutely delicious. I have tried over and over again to find good frozen Indian food and have yet to be impressed until trying this dinner. I particularly liked the Da. I could have eaten a whole bowl of that alone. If you like Indian food this is a definite must try.

The next time I go to the health food store I will definitely be picking up some more of these to keep on hand for those hectic days when I don’t have time to cook.

I don’t know how many of you have tried the peanut butter Tofutti Cuties, but they are to die for. The chocolate is so chocolaty and the peanut butter ice cream is perfect and creamy. My whole family is hooked.

Last night I made a new variation of the nachos from the night before. I took most of the same ingredients and put them into a tortilla and made quick and easy homemade burritos. They were delicious, even better then the nachos I think.

Vegetarian Tortillas
Vegetarian Refried Beans
Guacamole
Tofutti Sour Cream
Taco Sauce
Green Onions

Wrap all ingredients up inside the tortillas and enjoy!

I have been doing simple cooking this week while adjusting to the new work schedule. Anything that I can cook in minimal time with maximum leftovers. I plan on doing a big thing of mashed potatoes tonight and make a big pot of Native American beans this week (can easily be converted into burritos and nachos, love the flexibility). Anything that I can cook in bulk and then turn into several dishes is definitely right up my alley.

I have picked up a couple of Amy’s Indian Food frozen dinners, but have been scared to try them, because all of the frozen Indian Food dinners I have tried so far have not been good and I love Indian Food. Nothing is worse then being all excited to try something and having the taste in your mouth and what you get tastes nothing like it and barely edible. Has any tried the Amy’s Indian Food dinners? If so, how were they? If I get brave enough to try them this week I will report back to you all on how they tasted.

It is funny, because I read the other day something about Tofutti cream cheese and Tofutti sour cream having partially hydrogenated oils. Apparently Tofutti cream cheese and sour cream comes in two versions, with or without hydrogenated oils. There was a whole discussion about how the non-hydrogenated version tastes chalky. I thought, Oh my God! I have been consuming partially hydrogenated oil, and I didn’t even know it. Because the Tofutti I eat tastes great, and the comments about how it isn’t very good were many, I just assumed I had been eating the hydrogenated version, based on the discussion. So the next time I went to the store I read the labels, and it turns out that the stores I shop at don’t even carry the hydrogenated version. That being said, I still love the products and don’t think they taste chalky at all, so there is no reason for the hydrogenated version.

I suck at remembering to take pictures of the food I make and last night was no exception. It sucks to, because my nachos were so pretty and tasted so absolutely fabulous. Anyway, here is the recipe and I will post pictures the next time I make them.

Vegan Nachos

1 can vegetarian refried beans
4 green onions chopped
1 cup Tofutti Sour Cream (non-hydrogenated version)
1 cup guacamole
1 cup salsa
1/2 can chopped black olives
4 cups tortilla chips

Heat refried beans on the stove until warm. Line a medium sized baking dish with chips. Cover the chips with refried beans. Top beans with salsa. Top salsa with guacamole. Top guacamole with sour cream. Then top sour cream with onions and olives. That’s eat, quick and easy dinner and oh-so-delicious.

Guacamole

1 ripe avocado
1/2 cup vegannaise
1/2 cup salsa (add more if you like your guacamole spicy).

Mash avocado and mix in vegannaise and salsa. Serve with chips or place on top of your favorite burrito, taco, or nachos.

Okay, everyone I am hoping to be back to blogging almost daily, though next Monday and Tuesday I may not get a chance to blog. I have been doing my dad’s job for him this week and next week while he recovers from surgery so that he doesn’t lose any income. I have missed everyone so much. I am really excited to be back to blogging and plan on doing some blog hopping this afternoon to catch up on what everyone has been doing.

Last night we went to New Frontier Health Food Store in San Luis Obispo. I have been there before, but haven’t been overlly impressed, but it appears they have changed things around and gotten in a lot of new (vegan friendly) items. I was most impressed with their deli case, which had several vegan options. I got the blackened grilled tofu (delicious beyond words), sauteed sesame kale (I definitely recommend trying this if you ever find it where you are at). Next we went to their bakery (I always have to take a peak), and low and behold they had several vegan desserts including vegan chocolate cupcakes, vegan lemon poppyseed cake, vegan mocha chocolate cake, vegan apple cranberry cake, and vegan strudels. I resisted the urge to try absolutely everything they had and settled on the vegan mocha chocolate cake. The frosting was heavenly, though the cake was a bit dry. But all in all I have it two thumbs up. I was good and only ate half my piece. I took the other half to my parents to share.

Isn’t that cake beautiful.

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is coming up next week. If you are like me, you already have menu planned. This year I will be making vegan green bean casserole, vegan bread stuffing, vegan sweet potato casserole and sour dough rolls. My sister-in-law was very sweet in that she asked what I might like for her to make. She said she wanted to make sure she made things that I could eat and enjoy, so she is working on vegan pie crusts. She also wants to make a spinach pie, that I told I would help collaborate on. She wants to make a nice vegan crust for the outside and I will help her with the spinach filling. I might try my hand at a vegan key lime pie, though I may just save that for Christmas, because it really sounds as if we will have enough rich foods. I will try to take lot’s of pictures of these beautiful dishes, but want to provide you all with the recipes now, in case anyone needed some great ideas for vegan foods.

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

3-4 cloves garlic
1 package mushrooms
2 tbsp canola butter
2 tbsp flour
1 cups rice milk
2 cups vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste
4 cans green beans
French fried onions
4-5 potatoes
½ cup rice milk
½ cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp canola butter
½ teaspoon pepper

Cut up potatoes and put in water and bring to a boil. Cook potatoes until soft. Mash potatoes add 2 tbsp canola butter, ½ cup vegetable broth, ½ cup rice milk, salt and pepper and mash until smooth. In a iron or stainless steel sauté garlic and mushrooms in canola butter. Add flour and create a rue. Add rice milk, vegetable broth, salt and pepper and cook until the consistency of a cream soup. Open green beans, drain and put in a casserole dish. Add mushroom soup mix and 1 cup French fried onions. Top casserole with mashed potatoes and cook in a 350-degree oven for 25 minutes. Top with another cup of French fried onions and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Vegan Bread Stuffing

Bread Cubes
1 package sliced sourdough bread, cut into cubes
¼ cup vegan butter spread

Stuffing
4 tbsp vegan canola butter
1 onion
2 stalks celery
4 cups vegetable broth
All bread cubes
2 sprigs fresh sage, cut up
2 sprigs fresh thyme, cut up
½ tbsp salt
1 teaspoon pepper
½ tbsp poultry seasoning

Cut up sliced sourdough bread and let sit out overnight. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt ¼ cup of butter spread in a small saucepan. Brush bread cubes with melted butter spread and place in oven for 15 minutes. Chop onion and celery. In an iron or stainless steel skillet melt 4 tbsp butter and sauté onion and celery until the onions begin to become translucent. Place bread cubes in a large mixing bowl. Add onion and celery and mix in. Add vegetable broth and seasoning and mix lightly to make sure all bread cubes are coated. Place in a casserole dish and into oven for 45 minutes to an hour at 350 degrees.

Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole 

4 large sweet potatoes
¼ cup agave nectar
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup pineapple juice
¼ cup apple juice
2 tbsp canola butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
1 cup chopped unsalted cashews
4 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup maple syrup
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut sweet potatoes into smaller chunks and boil in water until soft. Let sweet potatoes cool and peel. Blend sweet potatoes until smooth with a mixer. Add butter, honey or brown rice syrup, maple syrup, pineapple juice, apple juice, nutmeg and cinnamon. In a skillet heat olive oil. Add chopped cashews and sauté. Add syrup and cinnamon and continue to sauté until cashews begin to caramelize. Top sweet potato casserole with cashews and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Here’s my recipe for Spinach Pie, though we will be serving a modified version of this recipe:

Spinach Pie 

2 packages frozen spinach
2 medium onions, cut into slices
1 tbsp Arabic Seven Spice
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
10 tbsp olive oil
6 phyllo pastry sheets

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put 5 tbsp olive oil in a skillet, heat and add onions. Cook onions briefly for about 1-2 minutes, leaving them slightly crisp. Add spinach, Seven Spice, salt and pepper and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. Put remaining olive oil in a small bowl. Open your phyllo pastry package and lay sheets flat, keeping them all together. Do not pull the phyllo sheets apart. Brush top phyllo sheet with olive oil and place in a glass pie dish. Brush remaining sheets of phyllo one at a time, pulling each sheet off of the remaining sheets only once it has been brushed with olive oil. Immediately fold up remaining phyllo sheets and place in the refrigerator. Spoon spinach mixture on top of the phyllo dough in the pie dish. Wrap the tops of the phyllo dough on top of spinach, closing it up like a pie. Place in the oven and cook about 15-20 minutes, until phyllo begins golden brown and crisp. Serve immediately.

Oh, and I almost forgot, no holiday would be complete without spinach dip. Here is my spinach dip recipe again with a pic to go with it.

1 cup veganaise
2 cups Tofutti sour cream
1 package Knors vegetable soup mix (still looking for a version of this without horrible chemicals)
1 package organic frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 sour dough bread loaf
1 box of triscuits

Mix veganaise, sour cream, vegetable soup mix and spinach together in a bowl, cover and let sit in the refrigerator at least four hours (over night for best results). When ready to serve, hollow out the inside of bread loaf and fill with spinach dip. Serve with bread insides and triscuits.

Here is another great some with some wonderful Thanksgiving recipe options. Check out Thanksgiving isn’t out of reach for vegans.

An interesting note, Joan Jett (for those of us to remember Joan Jett) has paired up with PETA to encourage people not to buy turkey for Christmas. She is a long-time vegetarian and is calling on Butterball hotlines to tell them that their is no good way to cook a tortured turkey. Interesting article, check it out at Joan Jett Talks Turkey on PETA’s Holiday Hotline.

I recently posted a vegan dessert in response to someone looking for vegan desserts on Yahoo!Answers and was chosen as the best answer. I was very excited. You can check it out at Yahoo!Answers.

There is also a great little interview with Joaquin Phoenix that I recently read that I would like to share with you. It talks about one of his first experiences of animal cruelty and how it effected it. It is a short read. Check out Fake Leather Please.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, with minimal stress. I am really looking forward to my very first vegan holiday, starting off my very first vegan holiday season. I may have to try to through a Christmas party with beautiful and elegant appetizers. I have many ideas that I am dying to try out.

Okay, I have some food pics for you all tonight. The first picture is of my delicious Vegetable Corn Chowder. I still plan on making that again this week. It was so creamy.

This next picture is a variation of my Spaghetti Florentine in White Wine Sauce. It was delicious. A very classy dish and a perfect replacement for rich and creamy pastas in white sauce.

Spaghetti Florentine

1 yellow onion, chopped
1 yellow or orange bellpepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
10 mushrooms, sliced
8-10 leaves fresh basil, chopped
3 tbsp vegan butter spread
3 tbsp flour
1 cup vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups rice milk
1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed
Salt and pepper to taste
1 package whole wheat spaghetti noodles
8 cups water
1 tsp olive oil

Begin heating water and olive oil in a large pot. While water is heating saute onion, garlic, mushrooms, bellpepper and basil in butter spread. Saute for about 7 minutes. Then add flour and mix in well. Slowly add rice milk and vegetable broth, stirring constantly to make a smooth creamy sauce. Add salt and pepper and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Add spaghetti noodles to boiling water and stir. Let cook for about 12 minutes. Stir sauce and add drained spinach. Mix in and turn off heat. Let sit while noodles are finishing up. Once noodles are cooked drain out all of the water. Spoon in white sauce and reserve any leftover sauce for a soup starter.

This final picture is of my Open Faced Mashed Potato Sandwiches. This is a recipe I came up with tonight. I was craving the different flavors and decided to put them together.

Open Faced Mashed Potato Sandwiches

4 potatoes
Leftover white sauce from Spaghetti Florentine (about 1 cup)
1 cup frozen chopped spinach
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 slices sourdough bread
4 tbsp vegan butter spread
Garlic Salt to taste

Boil potatoes in water until fork tender, about 45 minutes. Butter sourdough bread and top with garlic salt and set aside. Once potatoes are fork tender, add chopped spinach to boiling water and place bread in the broiler. Cook potatoes and spinach for about five minutes and drain. Mash with a potato masher and add white sauce, mix until smooth. Pull garlic toast out of the oven and put on plates. Top garlic toast with mashed potatoes and serve.

I made the yummiest vegetable chowder for dinner tonight. I forgot to take a picture. We ate it at my mom’s house, but I have leftovers and will post pictures tomorrow. It was so delicious, and creamy and perfect for fall.

Vegetable Chowder

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
12 medium mushrooms, sliced
2 generous tbsp vegan butter spread
3 tbsp flour
4 potatoes
2 cups frozen broccoli
2 cups frozen corn
3 cups vegetable broth
3 cups rice milk
Salt and Pepper to taste
Peel potatoes and cut into small pieces. Boil the potatoes in water for about 40 minutes or until fork tender. Saute mushrooms, onion, garlic, and celery in butter spread for about 5 minutes. Mix in flour and cook for about 4 minutes, then add rice milk and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and add potatoes, corn, and broccoli. Add salt and pepper and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.

This will be a staple in my house this winter.

Tonight I made the most wonderful risotto. It was so full of flavor and creamy. The pic doesn’t do it justice.

Vegan Risotto

6 cups vegetable broth
2 cups brown basmati rice
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp vegan butter spread
1 cup cream of mushroom soup
3 cups frozen peas

Heat vegetable broth in a medium sauce pan. Saute onions and garlic in vegan butter spread for about 5 minutes. Add rice and saute another 2-3 minutes. Add 3 cups vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let simmer without the lid until almost all of the liquid is gone. Ladle in another two cups of vegetable broth and continue cooking until liquid is absorbed, then ladle in a cup of vegetable broth and 1 cup water and cook until all liquid is absorbed. Continue this process for a total of about two hours. Heat cream of mushroom soup in medium saucepan and add peas, cook until peas are warmed all the way through. Put cream of mushroom soup mixture in the risotto and stir.

This recipe takes a while, but is totally worth it.

Vegan Fashion Blog is gaining recognition by mainstream fashion blogs. This is very exciting. There was a great write up on Vegan Fashion Blog by Are You a Beauty? entitled Beauty Blog Hunt: Looks That Don’t Kill. This is very exciting because it is highlighting that fashion doesn’t have to include torture and death. If I could get just one person to turn away from leather jackets and fur linings while showing them that they can still be fashionable, then the whole blog is worth it for sure.

Check out this great article on SPEAK, on organization seeking to stop the building of Oxford University’s new animal experimentation lab. FYI, this company has already put a stop to the construction of a similar lab in Cambridge. Go SPEAK.

I came across a great service for any interested in animal activism. Be forewarned, some of what you read will bring you to tears and may invoke the urge to scream (or more). But these are all calls to action to contact local representatives to right injustices. Check out IDA eNews.

Okay, one last great article that is of interest to all us vegans, entitled Cruelty-Free Living. It gives a great definition of vegan, as well as a long list of reasons to become vegan. It is a great read and much less distressing than the previous link.

I have a great reason of my own for going vegan, besides the obvious one of not wanting to perpetrate harm on animals. Lately, I have been eating pretty poorly. By that, I mean I have been eating more starchy foods and more snacks. The good news, because the food is vegan and therefore very difficult to make truly bad, I have not gained a pound as a result. I may not have lost weight (which is my overall goal), but I did not gain any either. Pretty good for someone who hasn’t exercised this week due to being sick and eaten without much abandon. I am feeling better now, though the cough has become a bit annoying.

Last night I made my famous (at least in our family famous) cream of potato soup, except instead of putting in celery I used orange bellpepper from my garden. This is one of my favorite recipes. It screams fall and is so comforting. Cooking has been a bit simple lately. I need to use up the last of my zucchini, though I am getting a bit burned out on it. I should be able to cook up some artichokes from the garden next week, which makes me very, very happy because I love artichokes. I already have two that are pretty much full grown and one more that is on it’s way. Happy eating this week.