Vegan MoFO Day 5: Lentils and Rice with Carmalized Onions and PIta Crisps

Cookbook: Veganomicon
Author(s): Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero

Result: This is another recipe I made a year or so ago with my Mom, and remembered fondly. Well, I remembered the flavors fondly, the mushy red lentils that dissolved during cooking, not so much. I decided to give it another go this evening, using some French green lentils I had in my pantry. These lentils held together much better, and there was no mush! The cloves, allspice and cinnamon added to the rice and lentils while they simmer makes the kitchen smell divine, as do the onions roasting in the oven. The whole meal takes over an hour to cook, and by that time after being stuck in my tasty smelling apartment, I was ready to eat!

The pita chips are perfect for scooping up the rice and lentils, and are so simple to make. If you have never made your own pita chips, do it now. Go to the store, buy some pita, cut it up, brush it with olive oil, shake your favorite spices on top, bake it, and enjoy. You won't be sorry. Trust me. We also threw some kale in the oven at the same time to make some kale chips, just for kicks.

I asked my taste tester for some concluding thoughts about this recipe. He deemed the meal "highly delicious," and commented, "I would eat it again." Works for me!

I've been giving the Veganomicon a lot of love. My other cookbooks might be getting jealous, but I can't help it, it truly is the Mother of all vegan cookbooks.

Vegan MoFo Day 4: Creamy Yellow Potato Soup with Rosemary Oil and Crispy Rosemary

OK, this is kinda cheating- I made this soup on Monday. But we ate leftovers all day and are about to head out for some brick oven (vegan) pizza and olives... Will hopefully be back to cooking tomorrow after work!

Cookbook: Vegan Soul Kitchen
Author: Bryant Terry

Result: An easy, quick(ish) and comforting soup. I love that you make a fresh rosemary infused olive oil first, and then use it to saute your onion and garlic and finish your soup. Homemade veggie stock gave this extra flavor, and cumin gave it an interesting kick you won't find in traditional potato soup. The recipe says to put the soup in the blender in the end and then put it through a strainer or something, but I used my immersion blender and it turned out just fine. All in all the soup still isn't as great as the one my Mom makes (that's a pretty high standard though), but I will definitely be making it again.


I couldn't decide if I wanted to serve the soup with bread or a salad, so I made a salad pizza. Great combo!!!

Vegan MoFo Day 3: Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits; Apple Wrapper Pie

Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits
Cookbook: Veganomicon
Author(s): Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero

Result: I had made this recipe about a year and a half ago when I was at home with help from my mom. I remembered it being delicious and very comforting. It was pretty good again this time, although it lacked a little bit in flavor, so I added some more salt. It was still a little bland, but over all a filling fall meal with a good dose of protein (I added the suggested seitan).



Apple Wrapper Pie
Cookbook: Betty Crocker's Cookbook
Author: Um.... Betty Crocker?

Result: I love having people over for dinner because it always gives me an excuse to make a pie. I turn to my handy-dandy Betty Crocker cookbook whenever I need a really basic recipe, and it always comes through for pies. I wasn't in the mood to make a double crust pie today, but had a request for pie made from some apples scored at the Farmer's Market this morning.

The "Wrapper" pie is an easy and perfect solution when you want pie but don't want to put in a whole lot of effort, and don't want the fat that comes with two pie crusts. I sub Earth Balance soy butter for the shortening the recipe calls for, but the result is still a flaky and delicious crust, and I highly doubt most people can tell the difference... We enjoyed this puppy with some vanilla coconut ice cream.

Vegan MoFo Day 2: Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Cookbook: Babycakes
Author: Erin McKenna

Result: It probably does not pay to be a cheapskate. I opted to leave out the xanthan gum in this recipe because it was $10 at Whole Foods, and I was not in the mood to pay that much. I used some ground flax seeds mixed with water to replace it (as a binder), and that worked OK, but the batter was kinda runny and lumpy. Not sure if that was because of the xanthan/flax switch up, or the recipe itself.


I chose this recipe because I was craving some pumpkin muffins, as it is now October, and I find very few things more adorable or perfect than pumpkins. I looked through a few of my cookbooks, but every recipe I found called for a lot of sugar. This one only called for 2/3 cup of agave nectar, and 1/2 cup of coconut oil. The muffins were a little less sweet than your traditional pumpkin muffin, and I would probably throw some raisins or chocolate chips in next time. But, all in all they turned out moist and pumpkin-y, and made 16 muffins! Pumpkin muffins for breakfast for all, all week!

Vegan MoFo: A Cookbook A Day!!!!!!!

I know it's already the 2nd day of Vegan MoFo, but I have an idea finally!!!!! Yay! I hope someone notices!!!

So, I have a lot of cookbooks. Most of them are vegan, a few of them are not but still have a lot of great recipes. I have so many, and buy them so often, and I don't think they all get enough love and attention. So, copying "Julie and Julia" a little bit, I will try to attempt to cook one recipe a day from one of my cookbooks. I have a pretty busy month ahead of me, so hopefully I can stick to the plan...

As a side note, my camera is really starting to crap out on me and taking blurry and out of focus pictures... My bday is next week, so here's hoping I get a new one...

DIY Veggie Stock

I am sure a lot of people have much more exciting things to do on a day off then sit in their apartment making homemade vegetable stock, but I am not one of them.

Whether you are a vegan or not, chances are you use vegetable stock in your cooking from time to time. Sure, it's convenient to grab some prefab stock at the store, but read the label on one of those sometime- ick!

If you really want to make your food taste extra yum, you have to make your own stock. Luckily, it's pretty easy. There are lots of great resources out there on how to make your own, I particularly enjoy this post at vegan yum yum.

In my neighborhood, I can grab a huge thing of "soup greens" for about a buck fifty at the corner deli. Sadly they are not organic, but I can get a bunch of carrots, celery, onions, leeks, turnips and parsley for cheap. Does this type of thing exist outside of Brooklyn? I find it magical.


Anyhoo, basically I just chop up the aforementioned soup greens and throw them in a some heated olive oil in a large soup pot as I go. I then add eight or so whole peeled cloves of garlic, any fresh herbs I have on hand (this week it was rosemary), a few tablespoons of tomato paste and a few tablespoons of tamari. And salt and pepper, of course.


Finally I add about ten or so cups of water, bring the whole thing to a boil and then down to simmer for an hour or two. When the veggies look very brown, pale and sad I strain the broth a few times, let it cool, then freeze it or put it in the fridge for a couple of days.



It sounds complicated, but it's pretty easy peasy, and strangely therapeutic to make your own stock. And it really does make a world of difference in soups, sauces, etc.

Vegan MoFo - My Vegan Soap Box

To begin this Vegan Month of Food (Vegan MoFo), I thought I would share some of my musings about veganism. To the fam, I do talk about my reasons for being a vegan and animals, but I think you should read it. It's my blog, darn it!

I stopped eating meat when I was about eight or nine years old. My family likes to blame it on "the family down the street who went vegetarian," and they are partially correct. The family down the street did indeed influence my decision, simply by explaining that they went vegetarian because meat came from animals who were killed, usually in a very inhumane way. I guess it was the first time I actually thought about what was on my plate, and realized I had the choice to eat it, or not. As a serious animal lover and advocate, the decision to become a vegetarian was a no brainer. My family was not pleased about my choice, but after realizing I was serious and would starve if they did not allow me to become a vegetarian, they became supportive.

I have to point out that having parents who supported their nine year old daughter, even reluctantly, in her decision to stop eating meat is pretty rare. My mother is the person who taught me how to cook tofu, and my dad made many a pbj sandwich for my school lunch. Even though my parents still pull the "I don't know what I am supposed to cook you for dinner with your strange diet" card, they continue to make sure I have a tofurky at holiday meals. My extended family has been very accommodating as well. If all families were this supportive of their young teenager who wanted to stop eating meet, I guarantee you would see a lot more vegetarians.

When I was 23, I started to feel like I was relying way too much on dairy for protein. I always said I would never become vegan unless I had a personal chef, but a friend encouraged me to try for a few weeks, at least to detox my body from dairy. After a few weeks I felt great, and decided to keep going with the whole vegan thing. I will admit there were times throughout the next two years I would try to eat some cheese or cream, but every time I did I would my stomach would attack me, and it wasn't pretty. After a while I decided to give in and admit it, I was a vegan.

There have still been times I have cheated a bit, eating a muffin with egg or butter in it, but for the most part I have been hard core about it. Especially the past three months, when I have really cracked down on not eating any traces of animal byproducts. Along my vegan journey, I began googling for recipes and buying vegan cookbooks, and for the first time in my life I became really excited about cooking and baking. There is a world of resources out there, and a huge online community of people making awesome vegan food. Every year it seems the world around me becomes a bit more vegan friendly, and when a deli opened up across the street from my apartment this past spring serving vegan sandwiches, baked goods and soy milk for coffee I could not believe my luck.

So, to my point (finally). I don't think it's my job to turn the world vegan. Or even the world around me vegan. At this point I am vegan just as much, if not more so, for the ethical reasons, the health benefits are an added bonus. Most of my friends, family, and my significant other eat meat and dairy. I try pretty hard not to lecture everyone on how many animals they could save from the slaughter house every year, how meat and dairy production is contributing to destroying our planet and how animal products pollute our bodies. I don't force everyone to sit down and watch just one video on PETA's website about meat and dairy production, which I truly believe would turn most people vegan immediately. While I strongly support groups like PETA, I have found my best ammunition to fight the fight is food. Particularly baked goods.

The more we vegans can make delicious food for those around us, the more we can convince others we are not strange hippies who eat gross hippie food. Even making one vegan meal for friends could save a chicken or two, or a pig or cow. Bringing a vegan cake or pie to a dinner can save some poor hen in a battery cage with no beak from laying a few eggs. It may seem like a small effort, but it adds up. And it helps me sleep a little easier at night. The thing about this vegan food I am making for others is it has to be kick ass. I have worked hard to perfect my cake, cookie and pie baking skills, and now when my family gathers to celebrate a birthday or have a special dinner they ask for Lindsey to "bring one of her cakes." That, to me, is a sweet sugary victory.

So, here we go with the Vegan MoFo. I will do my best to post every day (yikes!) about scrumptious vegan food that I eat or make. Don't be afraid, dear readers, try to make something, or go to a vegan or vegetarian restaurant for dinner one night. Or at least have me over to make you some cookies or come to Brooklyn and I will feed you pie. I make a mean blueberry pie.