Vegan MoFo: Cupcakes!!

Big ones and minis!! And so yummy!

Vegan MoFo: Friday, November 9

Ok, so I missed Thursday because I just ate leftovers and green cactus all day and didn't get home until it was kinda late. I'll do an extra long post now to make up for it.

Friday turned out to be a really good day vegan-wise. At work, a woman came in and asked how the french toast bagels were. I said I've heard really good things about them, but I never had one myself because I don't eat egg. She asked me why and I told her I was vegan (and explained what vegan meant). So normally people would be like "oh wow, I could never give up chicken and cheese" but this woman said it was really cool and that she was thinking of going vegan. She asked when I usually work, so I guess I'll probably see her again.

Later, at Heather's fondue party, I came early and made an enchilada casserole thing. I based it off of this recipe at Fat Free Vegan, but I changed it a bit. I put tortilla chips all along the bottom, covered that with refried beans, then black beans, then tomatoes, then veggies (which I had previously sauteed with taco seasoning, cumin, and chili powder), then salsa and enchilada sauce. And I made another layer like that on top and baked it until the party started. By then, the chips got soggy, but they were still good. When I was ready to eat it, I added fresh chips and guacamole. SO GOOD!

Just a couple more fun things: Diana, who teaches at Tammy's school, told me that she tried to be vegetarian and quit so she was asking what has kept me going with veganism. She was really nice and so sweet. And later I found out that Candace is vegan too and she thouroughly enjoyed the casserole, so yayyy.

I plan on making cupcakes this weekend, so stay tuned for that!

Vegan MoFo: Tofu and Quinoa

This is the dish that I am totally obsessed with right now. It's just amazing. I previously thought quinoa was just okay, but once I tried this I loved it! The first time I cooked it was for this dish. Make it!

I got the recipe at a Vegetarian Expo. Here it is:
2 cups Quinoa
2 blocks extra firm tofu, pressed and cut into small cubes
1/4 cup tamari
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 scallion, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup peanut oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
red pepper flakes and black pepper to taste

-Rinse quinoa, add to 4 cups of boiling water, reduce to simmer, and cook for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.
-Place tofu into a bowl and pour tamari over the top and toss. Marinate for 45 minutes.
-Place marinated tofu on cookie sheet and bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until slightly crispy
-While quinoa and tofu are cooling, chop scallions, cilantro, and red onions.
-In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients.
-In a large bowl, mix quinoa, tofu, and veggies; pour the dressing on; and mix.

Vegan MoFo: random

This is a really lame post but it's late and I want to go to bed. I just want to be able to say that I posted something every day for the vegan month of food. So just a story:

I've never been afraid of vegan food the way most people are. A lot of people freak out when I mention tofu or something "abnormal," but I never did. Maybe because I tried it before the media infiltrated my mind with "tofu is weird" messages (like the Everybody Loves Raymond episode where Debra puts them on some healthy meatless diet and forces them to eat a tofurkey on Thanksgiving and they carry on like it's the worst thing that Debra's ever done to them). Or maybe it's just my natural inclination to accept everything without question. I remember Jen experimenting with vegetarianism and making something tofuy. And then some years later I found a recipe for a low fat lasagna that had no noodles or meat, just tofu, cheese, and sauce. And it was really good. I've probably had tofu every once in a while since then. It wasn't until I went vegetarian that I really learned to love it though.

Ummm...the end. goodnight.

Vegan MoFo: Jelly Donut Cupcakes

In honor of Vegan MoFo, I decided to bake something. I picked Jelly Donut Cupcakes--my virst recipe from Veganomicon!
They were good, but the jelly sunk all the way down to the bottom! Despite the warnings in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and Veganomicon, I still haven't gotten an oven thermometer, so that could have been the problem. Either that or my jelly is too heavy.
Pictures:

Vegan MoFo: The Beginning!

Everyone on the ppk set up this thing called VeganMoFo. It's a Vegan Month of Food for blogs. Every day you have to post something related to veganism. I know I'm not going to be able to do it every day, but I'll do it as much as I can, since I now have Veganomicon and I'm excited to make new stuff.

For the first time in a long time, I have a fridge FULL of vegan stuff! I have chinese food from the other night, pasta with sausage and ricotta that I made last night, a frozen pizza, tofu scramble that I made a couple of days ago, veggie meat balls, and extra tofu.


And no food post is complete without pictures, so here's what I made last night (it was SO good!)