Gingerbread PIGS

Aren't they CUTE?!?!

Happy Holidays Internet!!

'Tis the season to make vegan Christmas cookies. In the spirit of the holidays I whipped up a batch of vegan gingerbread pigs! They came out adorable and tasted great! (a little spicy though, so if you aren't a fan of GINGER in your gingerbread, watch out!) I didn't frost them because I have issues with vegan frosting coming out runny, aka not good for decorating. These cookies are chewy and crunchy in all the right places.

Gingerbread Cookies (Recipe Courtesy of www.vegnews.com)
Makes 24 Cookies

What You Need:

• 2-3/4 cups pastry flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup vegan margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 1-1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons soymilk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease a cookie sheet. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together margarine, molasses, and brown sugar together until smooth. Add soy milk and vanilla and whisk thoroughly.

2. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix with spatula to form a dough. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.

3. Roll out dough onto a floured board, 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick, depending on desired texture (thinner cookies will be crispier, thicker cookies will be chewier). Cut into shapes with cookie cutters and place on prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness.

The Soy Sow Visits New York!

I know this blog is all recipes, but I HAD to tell you about a few amazing vegan places I tried on a recent trip to New York City! As usual, I dragged anyone I visited to every vegan place I could find.

First stop: Candle Cafe.

I knew of this restaurant because I buy their frozen dinners at Whole Foods. There restaurant blows those frozen meals out of the water. I went to Candle Cafe with my sister and cousin, so we got to try a lot of things on the menu. After trying everyone's I think I liked my sister's entree best, the "Cajun Seitan Sandwich."

My cousin had the "Tuscan Seitan Parmesan Sandwich": (sorry for the blurry photo!)

My sister had the "Cajun Seitan Sandwich":


Last, I had the "BBQ Tempeh Sweet Potato Sandwich": (sideways, my bad.)

After Candle Cafe, we headed to Lula's Sweet Apothecary.

Vegan ice cream sundae anyone?? This was the best sundae I have EVER had since being a vegan and my family had to pry me out of that place because it was AMAZING. My sister and cousin had milkshakes and they were impressed as well. Not to mention it is extremely cute in that little ice cream parlor!

To end my trip I headed over to Sprinkles Cupcakes.

The perfect afternoon snack is their "Vegan Red Velvet Cupcake." It.was.GOOD. As a vegan, I think I say after every meal "You wouldn't know it was vegan unless I told you, right?!?!" If I hadn't overused this phrase too many times before, it would be the perfect sentiment for this cupcake.

Overall, New York had some pretty amazing vegan food..does it compare with Chicago's vegan restaurants like Chicago Diner, Karyn's Cooked and more? No way.

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

I thought the orange peppers were a nice fall touch!

I am usually not a fan of bell peppers- between the waxy texture and the lack of flavor, they just aren't my thing...but these peppers blew me away. They reminded me of a healthy chili rellenos. The cream cheese makes them extra creamy, the bread crumbs are a super buttery crunch and the jalapenos give it just the right amount of kick.

MEXICAN STUFFED PEPPERS (Serves 8)
Ingredients:

• 5 bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise and gutted;
• 1 yellow onion, chopped;
• 1 bunch green onion, chopped (only the green);
  
• 1 box soy "ground beef" crumbles;
• 1/2 cup tofutti sour cream;
• 2 cloves garlic, minced;
• 2 tsp beef boullion (I use this brand- certified vegan, NO ACTUAL BEEF IN IT)
• 1 tsp garlic salt;
• 1 tsp pepper;
• 1 jar salsa ( I used Frontera tomato & garlic)
• Half container (about 1/2 cup) of tofutti cream cheese;
• 1/2 cup brown rice;
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs mixed with 1/4 cup butter and garlic salt, to taste.
• 1/4 cup diced jalapeno peppers (the kind for nachos)

How to Make:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. Start your rice first, rice takes way too long to make.
3. While your rice is cooking, saute your onion with the garlic and bouillon and spices until the onion is translucent.
4. Once the onion is done, add the "beef" to the pan along with the sour cream, 1/2 of the jar of salsa, green onion, and the jalapenos (your pan may be getting really full so once everything is warmed you can transfer to a bowl to mix better).
5. If you haven't yet, move everything in the pan into a large mixing bowl and add the rice and cream cheese- mix your filling thoroughly.
6. Pour the remaining salsa in the bottom of a casserole dish and then arrange your pepper shells in the dish.
7. Fill each pepper with the filling to the brim.
8. Top each pepper off with the bread crumb mixture.
9. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20-30 minutes.

And there you have it, a Mexican fiesta in your mouth that you can eat and not feel like you just ate 2000 calories (unless you get carried away and eat all the peppers at once, which I won't judge you if you do.)

1960's Tater Tot Casserole

I used my 1960's camera filter- do you like?

As a vegan, I generally eat pretty healthy. Mostly because a lot of foods that are un-healthy are not vegan. But this recipe is definitely not healthy. Although it is filled with veggies, everything else in it pretty much cancels that fact out.

Tater Tot Casserole:
Modified from Snarky Vegan, see her recipe HERE.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag tater tots;
• 1 bag frozen mixed veggies;
• 2 cups soy milk;
• 1 container soy "ground beef" crumbles;
• 1 onion, diced;
  
• 2 tablespoons of flour;
• 7 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine;
• 1 bag Diaya Cheddar Cheese;
• Salt & Pepper; to taste;
• Garlic Salt to; taste.

How to Make:

1. First, to make the sauce: create a roux with the flour and 3 tablespoons of margarine.
2. Once that is browned, remove from heat and slowly add soy milk.
3. Once the soy milk is all added- place back on medium heat and stir constantly until thickened.
4. In a large casserole dish pour in: frozen veggies, beef crumbles, onion cheddar cheese and spices.
5. Pour your white sauce over the top of the casserole.
6. Then add 4 tablespoons of margarine in each corner of the casserole.
7. Arrange your tots on top to cover the dish.
8. Cook at 375 for one hour.

By the time this beast emerges from the oven you will most likely burn the roof of your mouth off because you can no longer wait to eat it. We doused our casserole in Siracha and ketchup as well.

Black Bean Dip

Side view so you can see all the gooey-goodness inside!

You would think Paula Deen would be the anti-Christ when it comes to vegan food, but this weekend, when looking for a perfect game day snack, Ms. Deen's recipe came to the rescue. A few vegan modifications and it was just as delicious as any butter-laden recipe she has!

Black-Bean Dip
You can find Paula's recipe HERE.

Here is how I made it:
Ingredients:

• 2 cans black refried beans;
• 1 tomato, diced;
• 1 can of black olives, diced;
• 1/2 an onion, diced;
• 1 small can diced peppers (you can choose how hot you want these)
  
• 1 packet spicy taco seasoning;
• garlic salt, to taste;
• cayenne pepper to taste;
• 1 tub Tofutti cream cheese;
• 1 bag Daiya vegan cheddar cheese.

How to Make it:

1. Mix your beans, tomato, black olives, onion, 1/2 bag of Daiya cheese, taco seasoning and spices in a bowl;
2. In a casserole dish, cover the bottom with cream cheese (Paula says to grease the dish with butter- but this step is unnecessary!);
3. Next, layer on the black bean mixture.
4. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes- until bubbling.
6. Serve hot.

You can make this without the vegan shredded Daiya too- just put some tin foil on top to protect the beans. Sure to appease even the most macho football fan!

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

Perfect for a fall brunch!

I usually hate fall and winter but every once and a while you will get a sunny, warm day that feels just like summer with the added bonus of beautiful fall foliage that makes me semi-somewhat-kinda like fall. Those days just call for a fall treat.

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins:
I adapted this recipe from Isa Chandra-Moskowitz's recipe HERE.

The changes I made included:

• Instead of a loaf pan I used a muffin tin (the kind that makes MEGA size muffins- it made 6)
  
• Instead of: 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves = I just added pumpkin pie spice to the same ratio.
• I added a 1/4 cup more sugar because I like my chocolate SWEET!
• I added a few more chocolate chips because you can never have too many of those!
• I used vegetable oil- not canola or coconut.
  
• The muffins take about 20 minutes- a lot less time than the loaf recipe, so watch the clock!

These muffins are SO MOIST. They literally melt in your mouth. And the semi-melted, gooey chocolate chips are amazing. Don't expect a chocolatey-cupcake type flavor though, the chocolate is much more subdued so you can taste the pumpkin.

The Black and White Cookie

Thank God I gave some of these away or I may have not been able to button my pants on Monday.

Almost every other weekend I make homemade cookies to snack on during the week. This weekend, I was missing my sister in New York so I decided to make Isa Chandra Moskowicz's vegan black and white cookie. This was completely her recipe, so I can't claim it as my own- you will just have to drool over the picture or buy her cookbook: "Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar."

For as fancy as they look though, I will tell you- they are easy to make!

Taco Salad

I know, my avocados could have ripened longer

I am a sucker when it comes to a good taco salad. My co-worker always brought in this amazing looking gluten-free taco salad that I would drool over every day as I ate my measly can of soup, or whatever I dragged out of the cupboard, so I decided I HAD to make for myself. It was amazing. And the best part about it; is that it is good hot or cold so it is perfect for lunches at the office!

Taco Salad
INGREDIENTS: (you can really put whatever you want in your salad, these are just my favorites)

• 1/2 box white quinoa, cooked
• Tofutti Sour Cream
• Avocado
• Taco Sauce (this is like the dressing- could use salsa too)
• Shredded Lettuce
• Black Beans
• Diced Tomato
  
• 1 Small Can of Black Olives
• Approx. 1/2 Bag Frozen Corn
• Fake Meat (I used baked tofu, but ground crumbles or seitan or chik'n work well too!)

DIRECTIONS:

1. After the quinoa is cooked, I spread it on a cookie sheet and either pat it dry (if I am in a rush) or stick it in the oven, to dry it out a bit. I hate when quinoa is mushy and dense with water.
2. Then get a giant casserole dish or tupperware to layer your salad (any order is fine, just make sure the lettuce is at the top so it doesn't get soggy): Quinoa, corn, black beans, tomato, olives, meat, avocado, sour cream & lettuce!
3. You can either eat it now hot or put it in the fridge and eat it as a cold salad the next day!

This recipe is amazing because it is also SUPER protein punch! Between the protein in the beans and quinoa - any vegan is set for the week!

Roasted Chickpeas- A Healthy Alternative to Chips or Popcorn

Chickpeas for all!

Our apartment goes through chips and cookies like its our job. We love snacking, and usually... it is on the unhealthiest things. I needed to find a healthy alternative that still would fuel our craving for something salty and crunchy. Enter: Roasted Chickpeas.

Roasted Chickpeas
INGREDIENTS: (serving size: 4 large snacks)

• 2 cans of garbanzo beans- drained and patted dry;
• Olive oil;
• Salt to taste;
• Any spices you want to flavor your chickpeas with, I used: Cayenne Pepper, Salt, Pepper, Cumin, and lime.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 420.
2. Scatter your chickpeas on a cookie sheet (or 2) with a little bit of olive oil.
3. Place in oven and bake until they are dried out and crispy (anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on how "done" you want them)

WARNING: Chickpeas like to pop in the oven...If they start to get out of control, or you like to keep your oven sparkling clean, turn down the temp and cook longer on lower heat. You can also cook them in a skillet but then you have to stand there the whole time!

4. Last, take the chickpeas out of the oven, and while they are still warm, toss in a bowl of your favorite spices. Then enjoy with your favorite movie. :)

I loved this recipe because it is ridiculously easy and cheap and also you can switch it up with Mexican spices, Italian, something sweet...whatever your taste that day is!

Very Blueberry Muffins

A very BLUEberry muffin!

This weekend I was trapped at home the better of Saturday morning waiting for the dreaded cable guy to come. To make the best of a bad morning, I whipped up these muffins for breakfast.

VERY BLUEBERRY MUFFINS (servings: 12 muffins)
**This recipe is modified from America's Test Kitchen

LEMON-SUGAR TOPPING:
(I made extra of this because I really wanted a lot of sugar topping on my muffins)

• 1/3 cup sugar
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated zest from 1 lemon

1. Stir together sugar and lemon zest in small bowl until combined; set aside.

MUFFINS:

• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 1/8 cups sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• Egg Replacer = 2 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons Earthbalance, melted
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup "buttermilk" = Soymilk + tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar.
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

MAKING JAM:

1. Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar (I added more to my blueberries because they were bland store blueberries) to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat.
2. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes.
3. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes

THE BATTER

1. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl.
   
2. Whisk remaining 1 1/8 cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick.
   
3. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined.
   
4. Whisk in "buttermilk" and vanilla until combined.
   
5. Fold egg replacer and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.)
6. Divide batter equally among muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon teaspoon of jam into center of each mound of batter.
   
7. Using chopstick, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion.
   
8. Sprinkle lemon sugar evenly over muffins.
9. Bake 17-19 minutes until muffin tops are golden and firm, rotating muffin tin halfway through baking time.
   
10. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.

Breaded Eggplant

Breaded Eggplant & Linguine

Mondays are always rough, that is unless you come home after a late night meeting to find your wonderful boyfriend has a homemade dinner waiting for you! This post is brought to you by the amazing Mansoor, with the alternate title of "101 Reasons why my Boyfriend is the Best."

BREADED EGGPLANT - AKA Eggplant Parmesan minus Cheese
(Servings: 6 slices of eggplant)

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant
• Olive oil
• Bread crumbs
• All-pupose flour
• Egg Replacer (Equivalent of 3 eggs)
• Garlic Salt
• Pepper
• Linguine
• 1 jar pasta sauce

Directions:

1. Cut the eggplant about 1/4in thick slices.
   
2. Then, season the eggplant slices with olive oil, garlic salt and pepper.
   
3. Set up 3 flat dishes: 1 with bread crumbs, 1 with all purpose flour, 1 with egg replacer.
4. Dip and coat each seasoned sliced of eggplant in flour, then egg replacer, then bread crumbs.
   
5. After all slices are coated, fry the eggplant in a pan until they are browned (2-3 minutes a side, depending on how thick the slices are).
6. After frying the slices, transfer them into a casserole dish with pasta sauce on the bottom, as well as a little sauce on top of the eggplant.
   
7. Bake for about 15-20 minutes at 375. Keep an eye on the oven to make sure they don't burn (they cook really fast).
   

This made the perfect dinner with leftovers for lunch the next day. We both agreed the thin slices of eggplant would be delicious in sandwich form (similar to a meat ball sub).

Peanut Butter Chocolate Drops

Peanut Butter Chocolate Drops

About once a month I get an extreme sweet tooth that forces me to bake something over-indulgent that I always regret eating. These "cookies" hit that sweet spot, especially since I am always looking for a vegan peanut-butter chocolate something to replace my past life love affair with Reeses.

The best part was too, that on a hot summer day, these are no bake!

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE DROPS (Serving: 25 pieces)
I am not going to list the recipe because I copied Chef Priyanka's recipe almost exactly. So go here, make these, and thank me/her later. (Hers came out prettier than mine (it is hard to get the nuts ground up really fine) but regarless of what they look like they still taste AMAZING).

NOTE: When rolling the 'dough' I was really tempted to make giant balls because they look so delicious- who wants such a small serving, right? BUT... these are VERY rich so the small balls are definitely the size you want.

Substitutions/changes I made:

• I could not find Hazelnuts in my grocery store, so I substituted Filberts.
• I used regular (not all natural) peanut butter because I am cheap.
• In the "Nutella" mixture, I added more soy milk and powdered sugar and oil. I made enough of the chocolate to make about 3 more batches of these suckers.

Fruit Dip

Healthy and filling fruit dip

I am worst with my diet when I am sitting at my desk at work. I seem to munch on everything I can find- which is usually potato chips, candy or something from 7-11. This fruit dip is a great snack (or breakfast) that really hits your sweet spot.

FRUIT DIP (servings: usually lasts about a week)

Ingredients
(these are all flexible to how sweet you want it, if you want it more yougurt-ey or peanut buttery...etc...)

• 1 24-ounce container of SOY vanilla yogurt (Silk, Whole Soy Company...)
  
• 1 16-ounce container of cashew butter (you can use any kind of peanut butter but cashew butter is DELICIOUS)
• 1 heaping tablespoon cinnamon (add more/less to taste)
• 1/3 cup agave nectar

Making the Dip

This recipe doesn't really have any steps besides placing all your ingredients in the blender and pressing puree.

After you blend everything, put the dip in the fridge for a few hours to chill and thicken. I stick solely to apples for my dipping pleasure but I am sure any fruit would be good in this dip, or even just some granola mixed in.

Macaroni Salad

Creamy, refreshing macaroni salad

This weekend I was in the summer spirit (probably due to the 100-degree heat wave) and decided to make a macaroni salad to go with my Tofurkey Italian Sausage and corn on the cob. As mayo is the main ingredient in a macaroni salad, I was a little hesitant about the flavor, but this salad came out GREAT and I think if you brought it to a family bbq no one would know the difference.

Macaroni Salad
(Serves: an entire family reunion, this makes A LOT of pasta.)

Ingredients
Baked Tofu:

• 2 packages extra-firm tofu;
• 2 teaspoons black pepper;
• 6 tablespoons olive oil;
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice;
• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke (give or take depending how smokey you want your tofu); and
  
• 6 tablespoons soy sauce.

Macaroni Salad:

(This is a recipe you can modify based on what you have in your pantry, i.e. if you don't have peas, use carrots or corn, if you don't have tofu, use fake chick'n or potatoes.)

• 1 box macaroni, cooked and cooled (I added a pad of earth balance to my pasta as it cooled to prevent sticking.)
• Half a bag of frozen peas;
• 1 red onion, diced- small;
• 4 stalks of celery, diced- small;
  
• 1/4 heaping cup of sweet relish;
• 1 heaping cup Veganaise;
  
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder;
  
• 2 tablespoons cajun seasoning;
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast;
• 1 teaspoon celery seed;
• 1 tablespoon pickle juice; (I used spicy pickle juice to add a bit of kick- this ingredient is optional but I liked the relish flavor and was trying to add to it.)
  
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
  

This salad is broken down into 3 steps: Tofu, Macaroni, Dressing.

1. TOFU
Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.

1. Cut your drained tofu into even slices.
2. Mix all the marinade ingredients together and marinate your slices in a shallow dish for at least an hour (flipping occasionally).
   
3. Once they are marinated, lay them out on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. DO NOT DISCARD THE LEFT OVER MARINADE- you will use it later.
4. Bake the tofu slices about 10 minutes on each side (depending on how thick they are and how well you drained the tofu- mine took about 12 a side).

After they are done, set them aside to cool, then cut into small pieces for the salad.

2. MACARONI

1. Cook the entire box of macaroni per the package.
   
2. Drain, add Earth Balance and place into LARGE bowl (this recipe makes a lot so make sure you have a bowl with enough space).
   
3. Add the peas and place in the fridge to chill.
4. Once it has chilled, add the red onion and celery.

3. DRESSING

1. In a small bowl, mix the remaining ingredients: Veganaise, left over tofu marinade, garlic powder, creole seasoning, nutritional yeast, celery seed, relish, lemon juice and pickle juice.
2. Stir well to get out all the clumps and ensure the spices are incorporated.
3. Once all the components are ready, pull out your big bowl of macaroni from the fridge and mix in the dressing.

Once the pasta in coated, add the tofu last and you are done! I recommend refrigerating your salad overnight or at least a few hours to let everything set.

Vegan Fried Rice

Vegan fried rice

Tonight we decided to recreate fried rice without the msg, eggs, or meat products that you usually find at a Chinese restaurant. This recipe took a lot of prep time, but honestly, you could probably do most of it the night before and then just throw everything together after work on the stove.

Fried Rice: (serves 6-8 people; aka A LOT of leftovers)

• 2 cups of COOKED rice (we used brown basmati) - My mom recommends day-old rice...that probably would have helped keep the rice from getting sticky.
• 1/2 bag Frozen veggies (we bought a bag that had carrots, peas, corn and green beans)
• 1/2 an onion diced (we used red onion because we had one, but any kind will do- some people recommend scallions)
• 1 package water chesnuts, drained
• 2 cups diced mushroom
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 tablespoons Earth Balance for the wok (you can also just use the sesame oil)
• 1 block extra firm tofu- diced and fried (after I press and dice the tofu, I lightly coat the small pieces in cornstarch to make sure they fry crispy)

fffffNOTE: I also added Sriracha sauce to the tofu while I was frying it to make our fried rice spicy. The color of hhhhhhhhhhhh the sauce plus the oil in the pan really made the tofu look like eggs.

Sauce: (the sauce measurements are give and take - add more or less depending on how much seasoning you want, we had a lot of rice so we needed a lot of sauce!)

1. 8 tablespoons soy sauce
2. 6 teaspoons hoisin sauce
3. 5 teaspoons sesame seed oil
4. 5 tablespoons rice vinegar

Equipment:

1. Wok
2. Frying pan (for tofu)
3. Sauce pan for rice

Cooking the Rice:
After waiting 45 minutes for the rice to cook (we really should have done that the night before) and chopping alllllll the veggies we were ready to start frying! Mansoor took over the wok while I handled the tofu (see tofu directions above).

All our veggies, ready to go!

• First: add your onions and garlic to the wok with the Earth Balance and let them saute for about 5 minutes until they are soft.
  
• Then: add the mushrooms and water chestnuts and cook an additional 5 minutes until the mushrooms seem cooked.
• Next: we added the rice to the wok along with our sauce mixture.

gggggggg NOTE: We added ALL our rice at once, which made it REALLY hard to get it to ffffffffffffffffffffff have the "fried"feeling. We recommend adding a little at a time so you can fffffffffffffffffffffffreally get your rice nice and fried.

• Last: we added our frozen vegetables and tofu. We let everything cook for a good 15 minutes before caving in and eating.
  

Overall, the rice was a hit! We both added more soy sauce and sriracha sauce to our rice as we ate, but we were ok with that. We served our rice with frozen egg rolls, which this brand was vegan and DELICIOUS, I was super impressed and would buy them again in a heartbeat.

Best eggrolls ever.