Erin's Birthday Cake, It's Vegan

As you dedicated readers can tell, spring and summer are my busy birthday cake seasons. I've been slinging cakes from the oven to the open mouths since March. But this cake was superass special. It was my first attempt at making a full size vegan cake. And it was remarkable.




Ever since my friend Erin decided to take the Vegan plunge, I've wanted nothing more than to feed her. I think it's some weird mothering, nurturing thing I have. Don't get me wrong, I love to feed everyone! But feeding a Vegan is a little more satisfying. Especially because this vegan has a developed palette and knows when she's being duped. (Side note: I also like to feed other challenged eaters - deprived, allergic to Earth, Brynne and such).


Hungry Erin:


Well, if you ever click on my links to the right, you'll notice that I link to a few vegan sites. Kittee, the woman responsible for Cake Maker to the Stars blog posted the recipe for her own personal birthday cake a while back. I thought that using a vegan baker's personal birthday cake recipe would be a great direction to bake in. So, I baked her Birthday Banana Cake with Vegan Cream Cheeze Icing. I highly reccomend trying to bake this cake if you ever desire a vegan cake. It was rather fool proof, except for that I added the seedless preserves to the cake rather than as a filling for the cake. But that was a mistake I will latch onto because it yeilded perfect results.

Cake Before Oven:


Icing Before On Cake:

Vegan Sloppy No's

J was pretty happy to title these little sandwiches as Sloppy No's. Actually, this is a PPK recipe and they call them Snobby Joe's. I like J's name better; we're not snobs, just vegetarians. This particular recipe came from Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook and it is wonderful. As I've mumbled before, I'm not a fan of cooking with meat substitutes (tvp, tofu and all the other textured meatless wonders). So I was pretty psyched to find a "sloppy joe" recipe with lentils. As my friend Erin stated, lentils are little "nutritional powerhouses" and any one should be happy to include them in a delicious meal.



Here is the link to the Snobby Joes Recipe on the PPK site. The only thing I might do different is substitute brown sugar for maple syrup. I know that sugar sucks and maple syrup is packed full of good shit, but brown sugar gives me nostalgia. So, ha.

Grilled Gazpacho Pasta Salad

I needed to make a family friendly side dish for our Mother's Day cookout in Indy. As much as burgers and brauts tempt me, I'm just not gonna do it. So I recreated a meal that I had made last summer, Grilled Gazpacho & Tubetti Salad. It is extremely nutritious and colorful, not to mention the wonderful hearty flavors of grilled veggies. Plus, it makes a ton so leftovers for the week!

Recipe:
10 tbsp. olive oil (estimate)
1 1/2lb cherry tomatoes
3 bell peppers (I use red and yellow, seed and cut in 1/4's)
2 medium red onions
4 medium zucchini, trimmed and halved lengthwise
4-6 garlic cloves, peeled
3 tbsp. Sherry Vinegar
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 box tubetti pasta
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
Optional: 1 cup herbed feta. Or slice a few spicy, grilled sausages for the carnivores.

Soak skewers for grill. Cut peppers and onions in quarters for grill prep. Toss all veggies with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Skewer veggies. Skewer your tomatoes 4-5 per skewer. Lay zucchini on grill. Wrap garlic in foil once oiled and seasoned. Grill it. Tomatoes grill the fastest in 3-5 minutes. Peppers take about 8-10 minutes. Onions and zucchini take 12-15 minutes. Once done, peel half the peppers and throw them in a blender with half of the other veggies (1/2 toms, 1/2 zucchini, 1/2 onion) and all the garlic. Add the vinegar, sugar and press play. Then coarsely chop the remaining veggies. Prep your pasta and mix in a large bowl with the blended ingredients. Top with chopped veggies, herbs and feta. Serve and eat warm. However, it is damn good once it is refrigerated.

Vegan African Peanut Stew

I'm on the hunt for new flavors and new recipes. So, I pulled out last summer's Vegetarian Times and experimented. I was a little nervous when we decided to try the Spicy Peanut Stew. I was mostly nervous because the picture sorta made it look disgusting and the flavor combination was a little foreign to me (peanut butter and tomatoes?). But, of course it was a hit. Not only was it a one dish (plus rice maker) meal, but the sink wasn't filled with dishes afterwards, which always makes my husband (aka dishwasher) happy!




Recipe: (for stew...hold on, you should make the salsa too)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
1 celery stalk, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 tbsp. grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks (about 2 cups +)
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with chiles
1 1b. butternut squash, cut into 1 inch chunks (about 3 cups)
1/2 lb. cauliflower florets (about 4 cups)
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (I used 365 Brand, Organic)
6 cups cooked brown rice
1 head watercress, stems removed (I did not add this ingredient because mine wilted)

Heat oil in large pot on med-low. Add onion and celery and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic and ginger and cook another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add potatoes and tomatoes. Increase heat to medium and cook for another 5 minutes until sauce is thicker, stirring occasionally. Stir in 2 cups of water and season with some salt and pepper (i always under salt my meals for health reasons, but this one really needs some salt). Simmer partially covered for 10 minutes or so. Add squash and cauliflower and cook 15 minutes or so, until vegetables are tender. Whisk together peanut butter and a 1/2 cup warm water. Add to the stew. Cook another 5 minutes and stir constantly. Pour over rice.



Recipe: (for salsa on top)
1 cup roasted peanuts
1 cucumber peeled, seeded and diced
1/2 cup cilantro
2 jalapeno peppers
4tbsp. lime juice
2 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1 tsp. salt



On this recipe, I doubled all the amounts above because there was a group consensus that the cucumber salsa was a key component to this dish. So, no need to double up because I did it for you. But simply toss all those ingredients together and spoon on top of your stew.

Vegan Bean Salad

So, I've been e-mailing my lady Erin about food and life and how much I miss chugging caffeinated beverages and working out with her. She's pretty much over cooking/baking. I can't blame her. She has worked in the restaurant industry for about a decade! But, I made this little number for dinner tonight in homage to Erin. It's pretty, it's simple and it's packed with wonderfulness (just like her).

Recipe:
I bag Frozen Organic Shelled Edamame
3 Fist fulls of Green Beans (trimmed and cut in half)
2 Ears of Sweet Corn (cut off the cob)
1 15oz can Red Kidney Beans (drained and rinsed)
Dressing:
1 large Shallot (diced)
1 tbsp Poppy seeds
1 tbsp Dijon
2 tbsp Honey
1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3 cup Veg Oil (I used Organic Canola)

So, boil some water for the edamame. Once its boiling, throw the edamame in and let it get back to a boiling temperature. Once you are there, throw the green beans in. Cook for 4-6 minutes. Drain. Steam your corn if it's not fresh and then cut it and mix all beans and corn together in a bowl. Then (either whisk or use a food processor) mix the vinegar, shallot, mustard, honey, poppy seeds and oil (oil last) for the dressing. I found that this made two times the amount of dressing that I needed so I saved it in hopes of making more Bean Salad later this week. Last, toss the Bean-Corn mixture with dressing and eat. I don't mind eating this dish a little warm, but its much better if you make it and then eat it the next day for lunch. It is superb when it's cold.

This meal should take you no longer than 15 minutes to prepare. It's a fast one!

Vegan Beet Burgers

Let me preface this post by admitting that I'm not a fan of the beet. In fact, before a few weeks ago I was known to have ran to the bathroom to spit out the last beet to touch my tongue.

And then Alicia called. I was home alone and they were cookin' so I was a polite guest and ate what was prepared for me...a delicious beet burger! It was Alicia's first attempt at a beet burger and we both agreed that the recipe needed to be mastered and tried again. So, last night the four of us mastered the beet burger. (Erin, only thing not vegan is that cheese on top).



Recipe:
2 beets boiled, skinned and cubed itty bitty (like egg salad cubed)
1 can black beans, drained
1 1/2 cups short grain brown rice, cooked
1 cup (about) panko bread crumbs
1/2 red onion, diced and sauteed
3 cloves garlic, diced and sauteed
1/2 red pepper, diced and sauteed
6 tbsp. ketchup
2 tbsp. spicy mustard
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Saute onion, garlic and red pepper with 3 tbsp of ketchup, salt and pepper. In large bowl, add saute mix, beet cubes, black beans, rice, bread crumbs, mustard and remaining ketchup. Mix it with your hands and get all dirty. (Note: right after the photo below was taken I ran on the porch yelling to my neighbor Shannon that "I'm having my baby". I thought it was hilarious and she lost her appetite.)



Patty them up and grill 'em or pannini press 'em. They are fucking delicious. We ate them with spinach salad and sweet potatoes. Yummmmmmmm.

Vegan Zucchini Banana Muffins

Part of the reason I have yet to go totally vegan is the unnaturalness of all of it. Tofu doesn't grow on trees. Where the hell does fake butter come from, a chemist? Egg replacer wtf! I just have more of a hard time justifying eating a synthetic rather than milking a cow and creaming it to butter, you know? So, I read that bananas can substitute for eggs in some baked goods and that made me happy. And then created these delicious muffins that will now be a breakfast staple at the Vaughn-Pierce household. J loves them with his hot black coffee in the morning.

Recipe:
2 zucchini (shredded chunky with a cheese shredder)
2 ripe and squishy bananas
3 unbleached, organic cups flour
1 1/2 cups organic canola oil
2 cups vegan sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp bk. soda
1/2 tsp bk. pwdr
1 tsp cinnamon (i think i used more, but not sure)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
lemon zest (just do it until you are bored)
chopped walnuts (maybe a 1/2 cup)

whisk flour, soda, powder and spices in one bowl. mix sugar, oil, banana, zucchini, vanilla and zest in another bowl. mix them 'chocolate chip cookie style' in a mixer. add walnuts by hand and i put in a handful of chocolate chips last minute. grease your pan.

for a loaf 350 for 45-60
for big ass muffins (like a 6 pan, never tried a 12) 350 for 25min or so

let them cool for 20 minutes before you dump 'em out and eat 'em.

Ouinoa Salad

I could write how wonderful of a food quinoa is, but instead you should just click the word quinoa and read up on it yourself. I found this full source of protein last summer before we all went down to Dale Hollow Lake. Erin , J , Ashleigh and I mowed it after some ol' fashioned relaxin'.

Recipe:
Throw whatever in the bowl that can add flavor and eat!

Edamame
White Corn
Dried Cherries
Sunflower Seeds
Red Pepper

Dressing:
White Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Honey
Dijon
Lemon Juice

Corn Chowder

This is my favorite soup recipe. I can't believe I found sweet corn on the cob in January in Kentucky. I love Paul's Fruit Market! The recipe makes a lot but it never seems to last longer than 48 hours at our house. I wish I had a pot big enough to make a double batch. P.S. Erin, I have made this without the cream and it is just as delicious. Veganize it, please!

Recipe:
1 large vidalia/yellow onion (chopped)
2 large carrots, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 celery rib, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 red bell pepper, cut into a 1/4 inch dice
2 cups white wine for cooking
2 yukon gold potatoes, cubed to 1/4 inch cubes
1 small sweet potato, cubed to 1/4 inch cubes
6-8 cups low sodium vegetable broth (the more broth, the more chowder)
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
6-8 ears of corn (the more the better. i use white, sweet corn)
1 cup heavy cream
Sea salt and cracked black or white pepper to taste

Garnish with leftover thyme or chives

Cut corn off cobs. Boil empty cobs in the vegetable broth in large pot on the stove at least 10 minutes (this helps the broth thicken). While cobs are boiling, simmer onion, carrots, celery and pepper until onion is soft in saute pan. Remove cobs from broth and add the onion mixture, potatoes and sprigs of thyme. Cook until potatoes are soft (about 15+ minutes). Add corn, cream, salt and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes. With an immersion blender, blend the chowder to your desired consistency ( I like it smooth with some chunks of potatoes remaining). If you dont have an immersion blender, I have also put half of the chowder in a food processor/blender and then added it back to the remaining in the pot. Both yeild similar results. Enjoy!