Do you have any idea how long it has been since I had any BBQ? Do ya? Well it has been a long time, and that is all you need to know. I have had serious withdrawals not having this stuff. I mean as a vegetarian what do you BBQ? Well I am finding out you can do wonders with BBQ sauce. Teek me a while to realize that and then to find recipes to fit into my new regime. But alas, I found a very do-able. This delicious gem comes from Post Punk Kitchen And let me tell you, this rocks. Now she does suggest to add some water to thin it out. Take her up on that suggestion. It is extremely thick and is not pourable (I made that word up). But add a bit of water and you will be good to go.
Ingredients:
2 small cans (12oz total) tomato paste
1/2 cup tamari or Braggs
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
a few chipotles in adobo (we skipped this part)
1 tsp liquid smoke
dash of cocoa powder (we used about 1/4 t)
Directions:
Mix the tomato paste, tamari, molasses, brown sugar, nutritional yeast, chipotles in adobo, liquid smoke, and dash of cocoa powder in the bowl. Stir with fork till completely blended.This tends to make a fairly thick sauce. Thin with water as desired.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Get Your Game Face On
I'm talking Super Bowl ladies and gentlemen. I do have to admit I enjoy football. But due to my husbands lousy Sunday schedule, he has not seen one entire game this season. But he did get an early shift this Sunday for Super Bowl, so Savanah and I are on a mission to get our game menu ready. Yeah we are in-home tailgaters. If that is even possible. We go all out, chips, dip, veggie tray, you name it we have, it is the healthy version to junk food. Well I was scouring, yet again, through How it all Vegan and found this vegan alternative to cheese spread. Whoa!, this is to die for and oh so simple. It has a bit of a tangy twist, but trust me when I say that no one will be scraping this off their chips. So sit back, relax, grab your favorite beverage and enjoy the game.
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
3 T flour
4 t arrowroot powder or corn starch
1/2 t salt
1 cup water
1 T olive oil
2 t Dijon mustard
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a small saucepan, whisk together the yeast, flour, arrowroot or cornstarch, and salt. (No heat at this time) Add the water and oil and continue to whisk thoroughly. Stir over medium heat until sauce becomes thick, then stir in the mustard. Heat for another 30 seconds more and serve. Makes 2-4 servings.
This will definitely be on some chips on Super Bowl Sunday in this house.
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
3 T flour
4 t arrowroot powder or corn starch
1/2 t salt
1 cup water
1 T olive oil
2 t Dijon mustard
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a small saucepan, whisk together the yeast, flour, arrowroot or cornstarch, and salt. (No heat at this time) Add the water and oil and continue to whisk thoroughly. Stir over medium heat until sauce becomes thick, then stir in the mustard. Heat for another 30 seconds more and serve. Makes 2-4 servings.
This will definitely be on some chips on Super Bowl Sunday in this house.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
You can shoot me now, cuz your going to shake your head at this one. I am not a big chocolate fan (ducks behind a sofa or anything big to protect her). Yep, you did not misread that last sentence. But I live in a home filled with chocolate obsessed folks. So I have to succeed to those I live with. My daughter usually takes care of all the chocolate recipes, but once in a while I feel super-domestic and get a fire under my hiney and cook like the dickens.
As you all may have read, I bought my daughter the book, How it all Vegan! I have been pulling so much from this book that it is scaring me, but my family is in no way complaining. So I dove in and tried chocolate chip cookies, for the better of the family. So here is a recipe from her book of goodies.
3/4 cup dry sweetener
1/2 cup margarine (we still use regular butter)
1/2 cup oil (we used canola)
3 T water
2 t vanilla extract
2 & 1/4 cups flour (we used a combination of hard white and hard red)
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1-1 &1/2 cups chocolate chips (we had chunks in the house so in they went)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Preheat oven to 375 F. In a small bowl, stir together the sweetener, margarine, oil, and vanilla. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the margarine mixture and the chocolate chips and mix together well. Scoop spoon-sized portions (we used a tablespoon scoop) onto an unoiled cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are browned. Let cool before removing from cookie sheet. Makes 6 large or 12 small cookies. ( we had the small versions)
WOW! There may not be any left for Mr. Cooking Lady when he gets home. Go make these...now!
As you all may have read, I bought my daughter the book, How it all Vegan! I have been pulling so much from this book that it is scaring me, but my family is in no way complaining. So I dove in and tried chocolate chip cookies, for the better of the family. So here is a recipe from her book of goodies.
3/4 cup dry sweetener
1/2 cup margarine (we still use regular butter)
1/2 cup oil (we used canola)
3 T water
2 t vanilla extract
2 & 1/4 cups flour (we used a combination of hard white and hard red)
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1-1 &1/2 cups chocolate chips (we had chunks in the house so in they went)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Preheat oven to 375 F. In a small bowl, stir together the sweetener, margarine, oil, and vanilla. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the margarine mixture and the chocolate chips and mix together well. Scoop spoon-sized portions (we used a tablespoon scoop) onto an unoiled cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are browned. Let cool before removing from cookie sheet. Makes 6 large or 12 small cookies. ( we had the small versions)
WOW! There may not be any left for Mr. Cooking Lady when he gets home. Go make these...now!
Order Pizza In
Someone would have to be a fool not to like pizza. OK, you can start calling me a fool. If given a choice, I would prefer not to eat pizza. Yeah, I know how un-American is that. But do not get me wrong, I eat it, it is just not my favorite comfort food. But we do have it in this household about once a week. For if not, I would have a mutiny on my hands.
But for those of prefer to make your own and not order out, you know it can be a real booger if it is a last minute decision. But I found just such a pizza crust that will definitely do in a pinch. I scoured all my veggie blogs to see what I can find (See ladies and gentlemen, this is where labels come in REAL handy), and low an behold, I found a great fast easy doable recipe over at Wing it Vegan and let me tell you this will most definitely do in a pinch. But be ready, this is not your classic style pizza dough. And for those of us who grew up on Bisquick, it will take you down memory lane. As I was making the dough that was the first thought that came to my mind, but let me tell you this is so much better. So if you are ready for more of a biscuity dough then by all means try this puppy. We did.
2 cups of flour (1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup white or whole wheat pastry works great)
1/2 tsp of salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of soy milk or any milk
4 tbsp of oil
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mix the dry ingredients, add the liquids, mix everything together, spread on a greased baking dish, add toppings and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
We followed this recipe to the T, as I always do on a first time recipe. We had 2 pizzas. One with just cheese for my picky son and thee other one was topped with pineapple, fresh tomatoes, and Morningstar Farms sausage patties, ground up in my mini-chopper. Ooo la la. I love a heavily topped pizza, and this was a wonderful experiment and it came off without a hitch.
But for those of prefer to make your own and not order out, you know it can be a real booger if it is a last minute decision. But I found just such a pizza crust that will definitely do in a pinch. I scoured all my veggie blogs to see what I can find (See ladies and gentlemen, this is where labels come in REAL handy), and low an behold, I found a great fast easy doable recipe over at Wing it Vegan and let me tell you this will most definitely do in a pinch. But be ready, this is not your classic style pizza dough. And for those of us who grew up on Bisquick, it will take you down memory lane. As I was making the dough that was the first thought that came to my mind, but let me tell you this is so much better. So if you are ready for more of a biscuity dough then by all means try this puppy. We did.
2 cups of flour (1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup white or whole wheat pastry works great)
1/2 tsp of salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of soy milk or any milk
4 tbsp of oil
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mix the dry ingredients, add the liquids, mix everything together, spread on a greased baking dish, add toppings and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
We followed this recipe to the T, as I always do on a first time recipe. We had 2 pizzas. One with just cheese for my picky son and thee other one was topped with pineapple, fresh tomatoes, and Morningstar Farms sausage patties, ground up in my mini-chopper. Ooo la la. I love a heavily topped pizza, and this was a wonderful experiment and it came off without a hitch.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Why It's Good To Be A Vegan
Because you can always lick the spoon...whippers...bowl...spatula and anything else that goes on in a vegan kitchen. That just hit me today. I crack myself up!
Corn Tortillas
I am married to a Cuban, who loves Mexican. What's up with that? So, we have always made Mexican food, but we used to use boxed taco mix with packaged taco mix. Yeah, you can stop cringing now. We have since moved on...evolved, if you will. We still purchase flour tortillas, for I have not been that adventurous as to make them on my own. I do however, visit my friend every once in a while and make a batch or two with her. But like every other carb in our home they last for a fleeting few days, more like hours.
But my husband wanted us to try making corn tortillas. And if you have not gone over to Chile Chews may I make a suggestion? You know you have to hear it. Go and make these delicious little devils. Now, she does mention in her post that you cannot eat them or you will have none left for your meal.
She is right!
These things were easy schmeazy to make and oh so delicious, in a simple kind of way. A very rustic type of bread, if you will. Harkens back to the days of pioneers and what they were given to cook with. Makes me glad I am in the 21st century. These corn tortillas will definitely be on our list of new keeper recipes. We have now made 2 out of the 3 of the items in this post. Number 3 will have to wait a bit, for hubby is having to curtail his spicy food. Grrrr.
Make this and hope that you all enjoy it as much as we are.
But my husband wanted us to try making corn tortillas. And if you have not gone over to Chile Chews may I make a suggestion? You know you have to hear it. Go and make these delicious little devils. Now, she does mention in her post that you cannot eat them or you will have none left for your meal.
She is right!
These things were easy schmeazy to make and oh so delicious, in a simple kind of way. A very rustic type of bread, if you will. Harkens back to the days of pioneers and what they were given to cook with. Makes me glad I am in the 21st century. These corn tortillas will definitely be on our list of new keeper recipes. We have now made 2 out of the 3 of the items in this post. Number 3 will have to wait a bit, for hubby is having to curtail his spicy food. Grrrr.
Make this and hope that you all enjoy it as much as we are.
Bagel Schmagel
I made a dozen 2 days ago and they are gone. Who knew. Suffice it to say I found a great bagel starter recipe (not starter as in sourdough). This was simple enough, a bit time consuming, but not complicated. What you have to remember is that if you want a good New York style bagel, your recipe needs to entail boiling your dough before baking it. I found such a recipe.
I had stumbled on to this site/blog a while back and have been back to check them out. So if you get a chance, go and check out Baking Bites And you will see just how simple making bagels really is. Will I have New Yorkers knocking down my door? I highly doubt it, but all I am concerned over is if my own family will like them. And with a dozen bagels being one in less than 48 hours, I think I have my answer. But here is the recipe and try them, you will not regret it.
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1& 3/4 cups water, warm (100-110F)
4 cups bread flour (not all purpose)(we used our own ground whole wheat)
1 tbsp salt
1 egg, for egg wash( we declined)
In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) combine yeast, sugar and water. Let stand for 5 minutes, and then stir in flour and salt. Mix dough thoroughly until it comes together in a large ball, pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Add an additional tablespoon of flour or water, if needed.If kneading by hand, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until very smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If using a stand mixer, knead dough with the dough hook until elastic, about 8 minutes on a low speed. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil and preheat the oven to 400F.
When dough has risen, turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces (first quarters, then thirds). Shape each piece into a tight ball as illustrated below, pinching the corners together at the bottom of the piece of dough. When all the balls are shaped, let the dough rest for 30 minutes covered with a clean dish towel.
Once dough balls have rested, the bagel shape can be formed. Using your fingers, poke a hole through the center of each dough ball. Stretch out the dough into a ring with your fingers and be sure to make the hole a little larger than you want the finished bagel to have, as it will shrink slightly while the bagel is expanding during the baking process. Let bagels rest for about 10 minutes.
Working four at a time, drop the bagels carefully into the boiling water. Boil for 2 minutes on the first side, then flip and boil for an additional minute. Using a slotted spoon or strainer, transfer bagels to a clean towel to drain for a moment, and then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining bagels.Brush boiled bagels with lightly beaten egg (a pastry or bbq brush is a good tool for this) and bake for 20-24 minutes, until golden brown.Cool completely on a wire rack.
Slice and toast to serve. Makes 12 bagels.
I had stumbled on to this site/blog a while back and have been back to check them out. So if you get a chance, go and check out Baking Bites And you will see just how simple making bagels really is. Will I have New Yorkers knocking down my door? I highly doubt it, but all I am concerned over is if my own family will like them. And with a dozen bagels being one in less than 48 hours, I think I have my answer. But here is the recipe and try them, you will not regret it.
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1& 3/4 cups water, warm (100-110F)
4 cups bread flour (not all purpose)(we used our own ground whole wheat)
1 tbsp salt
1 egg, for egg wash( we declined)
In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) combine yeast, sugar and water. Let stand for 5 minutes, and then stir in flour and salt. Mix dough thoroughly until it comes together in a large ball, pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Add an additional tablespoon of flour or water, if needed.If kneading by hand, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until very smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If using a stand mixer, knead dough with the dough hook until elastic, about 8 minutes on a low speed. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil and preheat the oven to 400F.
When dough has risen, turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces (first quarters, then thirds). Shape each piece into a tight ball as illustrated below, pinching the corners together at the bottom of the piece of dough. When all the balls are shaped, let the dough rest for 30 minutes covered with a clean dish towel.
Once dough balls have rested, the bagel shape can be formed. Using your fingers, poke a hole through the center of each dough ball. Stretch out the dough into a ring with your fingers and be sure to make the hole a little larger than you want the finished bagel to have, as it will shrink slightly while the bagel is expanding during the baking process. Let bagels rest for about 10 minutes.
Working four at a time, drop the bagels carefully into the boiling water. Boil for 2 minutes on the first side, then flip and boil for an additional minute. Using a slotted spoon or strainer, transfer bagels to a clean towel to drain for a moment, and then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining bagels.Brush boiled bagels with lightly beaten egg (a pastry or bbq brush is a good tool for this) and bake for 20-24 minutes, until golden brown.Cool completely on a wire rack.
Slice and toast to serve. Makes 12 bagels.
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