Vegan Baked Cheese Dip

 Yeah, so the top didn't quite melt- but it was still delish! Three kinds of veg cheese, "sour cream", refried beans, jalepenos and taco seasoning.

Cookies!

Tami's Apricot Cookies

Pistachio cranberry biscotti

Eggnog cupcakes, sparkled ginger cookies and those apricot cookies again- Yum!

Double Chocolate Chip cookies, PB Oatmeal with Toasted Coconut

Recent Goodies plus a chickpea angel

Lots of baking going on the past few weeks! I am so excited about my new cheesecake recipe. I've never been 100% happy with the recipes I've tried so I combined the best bits from each one and WOW! It came out exactly how I wanted. Take a look~

There is also a slow cooker cake which is a tester recipe for Robin Robertson's new slow cooker cookbook

And more-

Chocolate cakes with balsamic ganache

Chocolate cake with Mousse Frosting

Carrot cakes, both chocolate cakes and cheesecake squares

 

 

 

Thanksgiving plate - see the chickpea angel? I didn't notice til I went to post it

Seiten Gyros from Quick Fix Vegan

So I saw these on this blog last week: http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com/happy_healthy_long_life/2011/11/quick-fix-vegan.html

And as it happens I got to meet the blog writer at a potluck on Tuesday night. So I just had to make these asap. I don't know how I missed these in the book!

Doesn't that look delish?

"gyro" meat in the pan

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Seitan, lettuce and sauce on a pita

Mofo Sunday Breakfast!

Rye toast, avocado and a pinch of salt- amazing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inspired by ...Soup!

I never was a big soup eater until becoming vegan. Maybe because I just couldn't seem to make a decent soup. But no more. I love soup- and it's great to make a pot to have for quick dinners. It also freezes well. And I have gotten pretty good at making soup. I've even made up a few of my own recipes: http://terrabakery.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

and Bruschetta Soup (which I will have to make again and write down more precise ingredient amounts).

Bruschetta Soup

  I've also adapted several to my own taste like Sara Moulton's Cauliflower Caraway Soup, Farmhouse Vegetable Soup from Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet, and Chickpea Potato Soup.

Old pic of Farmhouse Vegetable Soup

And then there are my "go to" soup recipes that I make over and over again:

Farmhouse Vegetable Soup from Vegan Planet (with changes)

Black Bean Soup from American Vegan Kitchen (thanks Tami for this recipe! It always gets rave reviews).

Cream of Broccoli Soup from The Chicago Diner Cookbook. It's the last broccoli soup recipe you'll ever need. Seriously- I've attempted many and they just were missing something. This one is so simple- but absolutely delicious.

Greens and Beans Soup from Robin Robertson's 1,000 Vegan Recipes. This is another simple but delicious soup- plus it comes together and cooks very quickly. Sometimes I add some fennel seeds to give it a "sausagy" flavor. One of my all time favorites!

Beans and Greens Soup

 

 

Didn't have enough beans so added quinoa too.

Chickpea Noodle Soup from Veganomicon. This soup is soooo good! 


Lebanese Lentil Soup with Lemon and Orzo http://blogs.poughkeepsiejournal.com/dishnthat/2009/12/30/lentils-bring-luck-for-new-year/#comments

And you would never know it- but all of these soups are fat free! (not all started out that way, but I always saute the veggies in water or broth instead of olive oil for soup.) You'll never miss it. Seriously, have you ever had a great bowl of soup and thought-"hmm, it's missing something" then proceed to pour olive oil into it? I didn't think so. And I'd rather save the fat for something that you would notice. Like french fries :) or this-

Coconut Cream Pie

What do you think? Are any of these on your "go to" list? What is your favorites soup recipe?
 

Day 18

Random stuff from the last two days:

Chocolate Truffle Cake from Robin Robertson's new slow cooker book (tester recipe)

Broccoli, brown rice, chickpeas, and Caesar Chavez dressing

Salad with fresh corn, sprouts, black olives, tomato and avocado

More roasted carrots!

Mofo Fail

So it's the 16th already and not even close to 16 posts. But even though I didn't blog each day there are still some inspired by posts I want to finish. 

Coming soon- Inspired by.... Soup

                          ......       Robin

                       ..... ..          Fran  

                         ....      Candle 79
And maybe a few more.
                                                 

Inspired by ....Tami

Do you read this blog?  veganappetite.com
Or have this book?  americanvegankitchen

Well if you don't you really have no idea what you are missing! If you are craving comfort food then look no further. Tami has taken comfort food to the max! Fried Avocado Wedges? Genius! And the Coconut Bacon Bits are seriously addictive. 

I was lucky to get to meet Tami after I started testing for the book. (I had to drop out due to family health issues, but it was a great experience). As it turns out I now live on the same street that Tami grew up on! She and her husband came to the farmer's market and we got to chat for a few minutes- she is such a sweetheart! One of the nicest people you will ever meet. She even blogged about my lemon meringue tarts- how cool is that? http://www.veganappetite.com/2009/10/terra-bakery-all-kinds-of-wonderful.html

Now I like my sweets, but I try to balance it out with oil free recipes. Some of these are easily adaptable and are absolutely delicious. Black Bean Soup, Baked Beans, Cheezy Mac & Greens all can be made with little/no oil. 
 
From breakfast waffles to soups, salads, sandwiches, main dishes and desserts you have everything here to put together great family style meal. But don't take my word for it- get the book.


She is also working on two new books- one for grilling and a sandwich book. Looks like I need to get a grill soon- Yum!

Mofo Monday

 No recipes today- just some vegetables with coconut curry from Peppermint Thai shot with the new camera. Do you notice a difference? I'm not sure I do- but I'm having fun with it!

Mofo Day 7- Scramble and Salad

Inspired by ... coming tomorrow 
Today I have my basic tofu pinto bean scramble and my chickpea caesar salad.

First, the scramble: 

Am I the only one who gets cold hands from crumbling the tofu? So I took a page from the omni book and made pulled tofu- with a fork- no cold hands! 

 

 

Crumbled tofu with the scramble spice added

Pintos mashed with garlic salt and a little water

 All mashed together and ready to eat! Simple but delicious. One package of firm tofu and one can of pintos gets 3 single breakfast meals. The leftovers are good either hot or cold.

And next up: Caraway Chickpea Caesar Salad 

You heard me! The first time I made the Caesar Chavez dressing from Appetite for Reduction I made rye bread croutons and they were soooooo good! I didn't have any rye bread left but wanted the flavor of the croutons so I roasted some chickpeas with caraway seeds, tossed with the Caesar dressing and chunks of avocado and sliced black olives for an amazing salad. 

See? 

Inspired by...Heinen's

What is Heinen's and how can it be inspiring? Only those of you who live in Northeast Ohio may know about this local grocery chain- but inspiring? Really?
Yep! And here's one of the many reasons why:

Not only have they added a selection of brand name vegan items (such as Tofurkey, Daiya, Veganaise....) but they made their own vegan burger! I thought that was pretty cool. They also have their own chik'n patty. While I won't say they taste amazing.. they aren't bad either. Gotta give 'em an A+ for effort!

Inspired by....Isa

When I first went veg over 4 years ago- my first vegan cookbook was Vegan With a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. The variety of recipes was fascinating and exciting! My copy of the cookbook is stained and tattered. I have notations on many pages, and I've altered some of the recipes but it is the book that opened my eyes to the possibilities of vegan food. Yes Isa, I have all your other books too.. but VWaV will always have a place in my heart. 

Ginger Raisin Bran Muffins- with no ginger -nutmeg instead and half raisin half dried cranberries and sunflower seeds for crunch.

The Best Pumpkin Muffins- no changes! This was the perfect title for a perfect recipe.

Sparkled Ginger Cookies (on the right)

Big Gigantoid Crunchy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies. Made me a PB cookie believer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Some other favorites from the book are the Black Bean, Mushroom and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers and the  Chickpea Broccoli Casserole.

Day 2

Some exciting titles, huh? They'll get better as we go along- I promise! And since I haven't even started dinner yet- I'll give you a mid day snack- Carrot Fries!

Simple and delish.

Heat oven to 375. Cut carrots into french fry shape and lay on baking sheet in a single layer. Spray with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt and thyme. Roast for about 35-45 minutes turning once or twice. Eat