Summer BBQ With Friends

Went to some of our best friend's for a BBQ this hot, sunny, almost-summer evening...
.

Several of their family members are vegetarian, so we had wonderful meal and no one cared or commented on the "weird vegan food".
.

In fact, my baked beans AND macaroni salad were devoured right along with everything else.

My oldest "Sprout" enjoyed the large screen TV/computer and wireless keyboard.

She found she could even update her Facebook status with the keyboard UPSIDE DOWN!




Here's my DEE-LISH plate. The odd kahki-green thing is a quarter of an artichoke, pre-cooked and then charred a bit on the grill, SO yummy!!
.
The burger, which you can't see in the bun, was your basic Boca or Garden or something. Anything is awesome when grilled of course.
.

And I won't bore you with details about my standard picnic contribution, I've blogged both; the macaroni salad recipe's here and the baked beans are one of the few recipes I use from Veganomicon. (The recipe calls for canned beans tho, and I always make my own.)

My children feel the camera is a play-toy, so humor me and a few silly pictures...















If I'm looking tired by this point, it's only because we'd had a busy, productive day, never tired of my children's antics.................. of course!!

Happy Weekend Chipotle Tofu-Scramble

Hopefully many of you are enjoying the sun and a day or two off from your busy routine.

.


Brunch/breakfast this morning took on a Tex-Mex sorta theme with "Cheezy" Chipotle Tofu Scramble, roasted tomato salsa and some "bacon-like" homemade seitan.

.
The tofu is a little more detailed than my everyday throw-in-the-pan scramble, but my kids love the "cheezy-spicy-smokey" combination a lot.
.

Cheesy Chipotle Tofu Scramble

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp garlic powder (I use more)
1 tsp. Soy Sauce
1 cup soymilk
1 tsp. cheap yellow mustard
1 Tbsp. margarine
1/2 an onion, chopped
1/2 a green or red bell pepper, minced
1 pkg. medium firm tofu, drained and crumbled
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp India Black Salt (for "eggy" flavor)
1/4 tsp liquid smoke or Bacon Salt
Chipotle pepper sauce, amount used depends on the brand and your preferences
1/4 tsp cayenne
Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Make the 'cheezy' sauce: In a medium sauce pan combine the first 5 ingredients. Heat the mixture over medium heat until thick and bubbly.
Remove from heat. Stir in the mustard and butter until combined and the butter is melted. Set aside. (This is also great in mac-n-cheese, etc...)
In a separate pan heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat and then add your crumbled tofu.
Let it cook without turning a lot until you start to get some browned bits... add chopped onion and bell pepper.
Cook until tender and onions are mostly transparent. Set aside.
Add the turmeric, smoke flavor, black salt, chipotle, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper and the cheese sauce. (The cayenne pepper is optional!)
Continue cooking over medium heat for a few minutes until everything is heated through. Serve alone, with tortillas or on toast! (I think some black beans and corn would have been AWESOME here too!!)

The roasted tomato salsa was just something from a jar but very tasty and a perfect compliment; the "seitan bacon" is THIS RECIPE HERE from "The Vegan Cooking Club" blog, (though I didn't layer everything to make it LOOK all streaked and bacon-y) ... so while it may not look like bacon, it still tastes good!

Other "long weekend" activities today have included tackling the big horrible jungle of a back yard (finally) in hopes of starting a small garden.
.
.
(Yes, there are raised garden beds back there somewhere near my daughter and the weed wacker...).

. .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..

I also scored at a garage sale with a HUGE box of Hotwheels for my youngest Sprout. She was so excited she said I HAD to post a picture, so there you go.

I'm off to take my Middle Sprout to work for a caterer tonight; this is her first time and she'll be serving at a wedding, she's excited and I'm so proud of her (though she wasn't entirely thrilled with the uniform white-shirt-black-pants ensemble... ("So formal and boring, Mom!!"). Pictures to follow!!

Have a great rest of your weekend!!

Quick and Easy Broccoli "Cheese" Soup

First of all, these are my Mother's Day Flowers...

still BEAUTIFUL two weeks later, can you believe it?

The roses haven't even opened all the way.

SO amazing. I just had to post a picture!!

And next? A very simple supper of Broccoli "Cheese" soup and whole-grain toast. One of my standard go-to suppers when we're VERY short on time and rushing between baseball, soccer and ballet, theater, music and PTA. You know you have days like that too. As an added plus, everyone loves it. A person eats what is served around these parts anyway, but I DO like making "favorites" when I can.

This uses *gasp* a package of frozen, chopped broccoli from the grocery store for super-quick convenience, frozen veggies actually have just as much nutrition as their produce-section counterparts but if you'd rather, you can chop and cook a head of fresh broccoli instead, be my guest. The directions seem long for a "quick" meal but they're so easy!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

4 cups frozen, chopped broccoli (2 8-oz bags or whatever)
3 cups vegetable soup stock
3 tbs chopped parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 small onion chopped fine

3 tablespoons margarine
3 Tablespoons flour
2 cups plain rice or soy milk

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp yellow mustard

2 - 3 drops Tabasco
Fresh ground pepper

Bring stock to a boil, add frozen broccoli and onion, and simmer until barely tender, about two minutes.
With a slotted spoon, remove one cup of broccoli florets. Set aside.
Place remaining broccoli, liquid, parsley and salt in blender or whiz with an immersion blender. Puree until smooth. Set aside.

Melt margarine in soup pan. Stir in flour and let bubble a bit. Stir in rice milk with a whisk, bring to a boil then turn heat down and simmer till thickened, stirring constantly with the whisk. Add nutritional yeast, lemon juice, mustard and tabasco and heat another 30 seconds.
Stir in broccoli puree. Adjust salt if needed, add pepper to taste.

Heat gently (don't boil). Serve immediately with some of the reserved broccoli florets scooped into each bowl.

Crispy Tofu and Brown Gravy...

Cube well-drained, extra firm tofu, and toss with seasoned cornstarch. (That's just cornstarch mixed with a good dose of whatever you like - we used lemon pepper, cayenne, sage and a little salt).

Pan fry (yes... FRY!) until browned in a thin puddle of peanut oil, turning as needed.
Keep tofu cubes warm in a low oven.

Wipe out skillet to remove most of the excess oil and crumbs.

Make gravy:
Melt 2 Tbsp. margarine in the same skillet. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp. flour over margarine, cook and stir over medium heat until tan-brown. Turn heat down and gradually stir in 1 cup soymilk, then flavor with 2 tsp veggie buillion powder ("beef" flavor if you have it, though veggie flavor is fine too), 1/2 tsp. sage and 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper.
Stir (a wire whisk is best) until all browned flour is well incorporated. Whisk in 1/2 cup water. Increase the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring constantly, until the gravy thickens, about 7 minutes. If it boils too hard, turn heat down a little. Taste, and season with salt and pepper.

Drizzle (or POUR) gravy over tofu. Enjoy.

Poor (Vegan) Man's Almond Roca

My sisters swear this is a "secret family recipe, but 3,000 pages with the same recipe are only a Google-click away, so either someone's given away our family "secret" or (*gasp*) we've been duped... Seriously I think this recipe, or variations, have been around forever.

For the un-initiated "Almond Roca" is actually the Pacific Northwest's famous foil wrapped almond-and-chocolate covered buttercrunch toffee in the trademark pink can. These candies are insanely good, but sadly, every single variety is buttery, chocolate-y and so very un-vegan... as are the copycat "Poor Man's" recipes across the Internet.

So what's a chocolate-nut-toffee-loving vegan blogger to do, but try this recipe with somewhat more animal friendly ingredients? I think the results speak for themselves. This took a couple rounds to get "just right". The addition of coconut oil helps the margarine behave and cook up more like butter. I don't quite know the science behind that, but perhaps Alton Brown could tell me. One warning. Immediately freeze 3/4 of this recipe or you'll nibble at it all night long, it's that addicting....

Poor Man's Vegan Roca

• 1 sleeve Saltine crackers (most varieties are vegan)
• 3/4 cup vegan margarine (I have had the best luck with Nucoa or Willow Run Sticks; a soft, tub margarine will NOT work here)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup brown sugar (you can use white, but I like brown better)
• 2 cups vegan chocolate chips (we prefer Guittard semi-sweet - MUCH better than most health food store brands, though the "Enjoy Life" brand is a good option too)
• 1 cup lightly toasted sliced almonds or pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Line a jelly roll pan (cookie-sheet with edges - I always have people ask what this is) with foil and spray with cooking spray.

Arrange crackers on foil to cover bottom of pan.

In saucepan, melt coconut oil, margarine and sugar. Boil just for 2 minutes, then pour over crackers and quickly spread evenly to cover all crackers.

Put in oven and bake for 7 - 10 minutes until light tan and bubbly.

Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over the cracker mixture. Wait a moment or two and chips will melt. Spread evenly with a spatula. Sprinkle with nuts and press nuts in to make them stick to chocolate. Cool in fridge until completely hard. Break into pieces.

.

Try not to eat it all in one sitting. Keep extra (AS IF!!) in the fridge, it melts easily.

MOTHER'S DAY and Vegan French Toast

.
Wheeeeeeeeee! My amazing daughters totally surprised me and absolutely outdid themselves this morning. BEST MOTHER'S DAY EVER!!!!!!
.
I was treated to an incredible brunch consisting of: vegan French Toast with strawberries and whipped Coconut Cream (A can of coconut cream, chilled, sweetened and whipped, easy as that) AND home-fries, fresh OJ, a coffee from Starbucks and vegan brownies!! All of it absolutely delicious and beautiful.
.
(Yes, there's CoolWhip there too - SOME people in my family like it better than coconut cream *gasp*).
.
They were even nice enough to plate the dessert all fancy-like 'cause they KNEW I'd be taking pictures.
.
This is just your basic vegan brownies with the white frosting from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, drizzled with Hershey's syrup (yes, it's vegan too!!). Are they talented kids or WHAT!?!?!? So proud of them!
.
I also received a scrapbook, cards, a beaded key chain, a trinket box, my favorite lotion and did I mention Starbucks?
.
I really hope your Mother's Day was equally wonderful and filled with people (or furry-pet-babies) that you love.
.
So - Here's our family French Toast recipe; Sorta similar to the recipe in Vegan with a Vengeance, but changed up with cashews, cinnamon and vanilla soymilk. Not sure my kids had ever made it completely by themselves, but it turned out PERFECT as did everything else! .

Mother's Day French Toast

◘ 10 (more or less) slices really thick bread (slice your own homemade, or use store-bought: some brands of "Texas Toast"-style bread, like the slices in the picture, are just basic white bread and accidentally vegan!!)
◘ 1/3 cup cashews soaked overnight (if you remember to soak them, great!! If not, they won't blend up as smooth, but will still be fine)
◘ 1/2 cup vegan coffee creamer
◘ 1/2 cup vanilla soymilk
◘ 1 tablespoon cornstarch
◘ 1/4 cup chickpea flour

◘ pinch salt
◘ 1/4 tsp cinnamon
◘ 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
.
Blend cashews in a food processor until a paste starts to form (this can take a few minutes). Scrape down the sides then add soy creamer and blend until you have a nice creamy "milk". Pour into a wide, shallow bowl, add soymilk and whisk well. Mix in the cornstarch and stir until dissolved. Add the chickpea flour, salt and cinnamon and mix until mostly absorbed; some lumps are okay. If batter is too thick, add more soymilk.
Heat a nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Add a good teaspoon of oil and brush around.
Dip the bread slices in the mixture, let soak for a moment if you like your French Toast more moist, scrape off excess if you want (depending on how soft you like your French toast) and then transfer to the skillet.
Cook each side for about 2 min; if they are not brown enough when you flip them, heat for 1 to 2 more minutes on each side. They should be golden brown with flecks of dark brown.
Serve right away.

Freezer Spaghetti Sauce

.
Lunch today. And another spaghetti sauce recipe. Repetitive, I know, but mainly, this picture was too pretty not to post.

The sauce is from home-grown tomatoes, I made and froze it last summer - super easy and super quick way to use up extra tomatoes. (Especially easy if you have a crock-pot/slow-cooker).

.

Handy to know as we start into gardening season once again, right? And you're all putting in a couple tomato plants, right? They grow on the tiniest patio space, you'll be amazed.

And the sauce? It's still fresh and tasty 9 months later - YUM! I served it with Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Angel Hair pasta which is really light and doesn't taste "whole-wheat-ish" at all, homemade garlic bread and some cute little grilled zucchini.

.

Freezer Spaghetti Sauce

2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup good olive oil
8 cups chopped tomatoes (remove skins by blanching in boiling water for a few seconds)
1 Tbsp. oregano
2 Tbsp fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
2 Tbsp sugar or agave
2 tsp. salt or to taste
1/2 tsp cracked pepper
pinch of cayenne
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
Put onion, garlic and olive oil in pan. Cook on low until onion is transparent, this takes a while but any higher and you'll burn the garlic - you want them to cook together. You can add bell peppers too, I don't care for the texture when frozen though.
In large pot (here's where I use my crockpot!!) add the chopped tomatoes, oregano, basil, parsley, sugar, salt, pepper and tomato paste. Cook down for 2-3 hours on low heat stirring frequently if on the stove; if in a crock-pot, cook about 4 hours, and just stir once or twice. I "taste-test" several times during cooking and usually add more seasonings. I then blend with an immersion blender, 'cause my kids don't like "chunks" in their sauce, but it's great as is too...

Let sauce cool. Pour into quart size containers or freezer bags. Store in your freezer about 9 months to a year, supposedly the quality deteriorates after that, but I never have any left anyway.
.
Hope you're all having a great weekend, and Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow Blogger-Moms.

Oatmeal-Blue-Corn Waffles

Well, I had lots of blue-corn meal and oats in my pantry so have been experimenting with our family's favorite breakfast food - Waffles!! I admit, these took a couple batches to "perfect". My sister is now gluten-free, so I'm experimenting in that arena sometimes too. I like that these turn out nice and crisp and not too heavy. If you try these, please let me know how they work for you.

Oatmeal-Blue-Corn Waffles

4 1/2 cups water

2 tbsp. ground flax

6 soft, pitted dates, chopped
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup blue (or yellow) cornmeal
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (OR sorghum flour, I just tried this as a gluten-free version and they're GREAT!!)
1/4 cup chickpea flour
5 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract (or pecan or butter-rum flavoring)
1 1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp oil (you can leave it out, but they tend to stick after the first one or so...)

Preheat waffle iron. Blend water, dates and flax until liquidy.

Add the rest of the ingredients and blend for several minutes until batter is smooth, light, and foamy - add a splash of soymilk if too thick.

Pour a generous amount into lightly greased waffle maker. (I use a Belgian waffle maker, these work with a regular waffle maker, just need less cooking time) Cook for about 4 - 6 minutes or until waffle is golden brown and crisp.

Serve with Butter-Pecan Syrup.

Butter-Pecan Syrup

1 tablespoon Earth Balance or other vegan margarine
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1 1/4 cups maple syrup

Toast pecans in margerine in a small skillet for a few moments, add syrup and warm through.