Coca-coconut chili w/ kinda corny muffins.

Well, I did it! I got my Eat Drink & Be Vegan cookbook! After reading it from cover to cover, I found it a bit difficult to decide what to make first! So much goodness! One of my problems you see my little Eli is allergic to cashews- how sad huh? And well, Honey reacts to raw nuts. Funny thing is those recipes that call for cashews were just calling my name! Drats. Maybe it is time to make a huge pot o spaghetti so the boys could have left overs and Emma and I could enjoy some cashew goodness! I just dread making two dinners, this way everybody is happy..

Anyhoo

I thought I would try the Coca-Coconut Chili first w/ the kinda corny muffins. I have tried MANY different chili recipes on the little ones - they just are not chili fans. Emma gave this one a sideways thumb- i.e. not a thumbs up but, not a thumbs down either. Both kids ate their dinner all gone though.. w/a little coaxing. It was good, just a tad different. I didn't add the whole amount of coca powder it called for- maybe it was the brand I used it seemed a bit overpowering. Who ever would have thought to add a can of coconut milk and shredded coconut to chili?

The muffins were awesome! I haven't done much wheat-free cooking and was surprised how good they turned out.

A couple of days later I recycled the chili into a hamburger helper kinda of the dish (dare, I use that term here?). I boiled up some macaroni -drained and in the same pot made some nutritional cheese sauce. I mixed half the sauce w/ the cooked noodles added the chili and topped it off w/ more cheese sauce. Now that was a hit w/ the kids!

Stay tuned for more ED&BV goodness to come! ohh and I got my veganomicon cookbook over the weekend.. If a need me I will be on the couch reading my new cookbooks.

Some of our family’s favorites

Awhile back I had a hankering for some tomato soup. Well, in the name of blogging I tried a new recipe from the 125 Best Vegan Recipes cookbook. All though, it wasn't bad I really should have just made everyone in our house all time favorite cream of tomato soup.

That's okay, we all ate our soup and quesadilla then the next night I recycled the left over soup into a pasta bake.. This went over much better! Topped w/ veganrella and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast flakes..

From my last post I did it again, I made the Lunch box roast beef and like I said I should have done the first time, this time I did make two.. One for honey to grill and one so the kids could take some yummy sandwiches to school. Like Ms. Megan said -it is a time investment to make.

So really making two roast is the way to go!

Well, I have sense learned that if I do make this again it will be only for my family. I am MSG/nitrate/ sulfate sensitive and evidently it was the marmite which is yeast extract sent me off to migraine land. I was clearly in denial hoping it wouldn't get me. The first time we ate it I wanted to believe that my migraine was hormonal but, after eating it again it is confirmed.. It was the seitan pot roast.. bummer because it re ally is good. I was trying to come up w/ some sort of replacement for the marmite, does anyone have any suggestions? I might try using the vegan worcesterchire sauce? or just leave it out and see what happens.

Honey giving the grilled seitan roast beef a thumbs up..

Behold the grilled beauty! We served them hamburger style on buns w/ all the fixins.

Again from the Vegan Lunch Box the triple chocolate cupcakes. I made them as only double chocolate- I left out the icing part. That way one, they travel better and two this recipe makes 24 so I could freeze some of them.

I am not much of a baker unless I have too. And well, the kids were invited to a birthday party, so I had too. This recipe intrigued me because there were no egg substitutes required- no soy yogurt, flax seeds, egg-replacer nothing. There is also nothing nutritionally redeeming about them either.

One thing I learned- I should not try and cook all of the cup cakes at the same time. Evidently my oven has hot spots and some of the cupcakes got a bit too toasty. Very good moist vegan chocolaty goodness!

On one of the days Daddy was out of town I made the kids and my favorite alphabet soup..From the Vegetarian family cookbook. Heck after all that seitan I was ready for some veggies! I was out of the little alphabet noodles and replaced them w/ some animal shaped + spiral rice noodles.. all was well.

After readings SaraJanes post about her Vegan "Chicken" and Dumplings I had had another hankering. After the whole tomato soup thing I didn't try hers (which don't get me wrong looks fantastic! I didn't have the soy cream or even plain soy milk). Our family's favorite comes from the well, the cookbook Vegan Family Favorites (ironic?). It is so easy and so good. This time I added some frozen 'chicken' tofu, onion, garlic, corn and instead of veggie broth I used water w/ no chicken flavored cubes. Perfect! The kids have never had real chicken and dumplings so, when Emma asked what we were having for dinner I told her using my exaggerated quote fingers "chicken" and dumplings to which she replied ohhh you mean dumpling soup Yum!Notice the fine silverware setting? Eli and Emma came up w/ a new game to play this weekend. When they set the table they set all six places when we only need four.. See that way we can play sit anywhere you want night. Evidently we should be wild and crazy once in awhile and not just sit in our normal spots ALL the time!

vegan lunch box -seitan pot roast..ohh baby!!

Excuse my very long absence. Life is good it has just been busy and it seems I have just been cooking ol'stadbys that I have already blogged about. Nothing really seemed that blog worthy.
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Until last night.
If you have the Vegan Lunch Box Cookbook YOU MUST TRY THIS! pg 119. The wheat gluten pot roast and gravy. Man oh Man! The recipe says it serves 4 w/ leftovers for lunch. But, really it was all we could do to stop stuffing our selves and eating the whole darn roast in one night. My family really loved it. If I knew how good it was going to be I definitely would have made two roast. The only minor substitutions I made was instead of red wine I used 1/4 cup red wine vinegar w/a 1/4 cup water and instead of fresh thyme I used a 1/2 tsp dried. On the side is of course mashed potatoes (1/2 white the other 1/2 sweet I use the pressure cooker w/ about a cup of veggie broth salt and pepper)

sorry about the bad photo
Okay so we did manage to save enough for three sandwiches (lucky kids and honey!)... BEHOLD the beauty! That seitan looks kinda freakishly like the real deal doesn't it? My hubby believes that this would pass with any skeptical omni test. He also wants to try doing this recipe only try to shape the seitan more like a tube to be cut up into burgers and then grilled... mmmm that boy is always thinking.
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Well, I started a post about our summer vacation many moons ago but, never got around to posting it. Here is little Emma enjoying her very first doughnut from Ronald's Doughnuts in Las Vegas.
It was cute - all though she has never seen the Simson she started chanting just like Homer Simson ...mmmmmm doughnuts


Emma has dairy allergy's and has never had a doughnut! The poor kid huh? Well, a couple of years ago her and I were in Seattle and I had tried to make it to the vegan doughnut shop there. But, I got lost and frustrated because of my poor timing we had hit five o clock traffic so we never made it, she still remembers to this day.

I think I made up for it though.

So here she is standing in front of the surgery goodness! All but three trays on the bottom are vegan. The lady behind the counter was SOOO NICE!!
So if you are ever in the Las Vegas area I recommend hitting up Ronalds - as a bonus it's not to far from the Trader Joes.