Monday, October 24, 2011

Mofo Sunday Breakfast!

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




                                                                                                                                                                  

Sunday, October 23, 2011

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?
 

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

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!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

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!

Monday, October 10, 2011

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!


Friday, October 7, 2011

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? 


Wednesday, October 5, 2011

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!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

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.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

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

Saturday, October 1, 2011

MOFO Time!

Not off to the greatest start- it's cold, rainy and dark- and I didn't have time to go pick up my new camera today.  Like the camera is really gonna help my photography skills :)

Anyway, I have decided on a theme for this month and it is Vegan Inspiration. People, cookbooks, recipes, and products that inspire me. Hopefully you will find some new things here that will inspire you too! I'll be posting every day this month with pics, recipes, etc....

And to start if off:




An army of ice cream cone cup cakes in Halloween colors. These are mini cones filled with chocolate batter and and orange "butter"cream icing. I adapted the icing recipe from my mom's notes when she used to decorate cakes ( 40 years ago).
And here it is: 

Wedding Frosting

¼ cup EB
¾ cup shortening
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup almond milk

Beat 5-10 minutes in stand mixer. This is perfect for decorating- not too thick and not too sweet.