Dec 28 2012

Pumpkin Alfredo

Photo courtesy of manifestvegan.com.

Recipe: http://www.manifestvegan.com/2010/09/pumpkin-alfredo/

Can I get a WHOOP WHOOP!?  This was awesome, and sooooo fast.  I mean really, with an ingredient list that involves pumpkin, alfredo, and pasta, how bad could it be, right?  Right.  The only *minor* complaint my husband had was that he thought the sauce was a little too thick.  (Whatev, honey.)  So you might want to add a bit of pasta water to get your desired level of creaminess.

How does it taste?  Like love, and a big cozy comforter.  (Not that I’ve ever tried to eat a comforter…)  AND the whole thing is done in the time it takes to cook the pasta.  You know how I feel about that.  This is a major win.

Oh, and the pinterest label on this recipe cracks me up:  “Vegan pumpkin alfredo!  What are you even talking about recipe?!”  Lol!

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Wow – I’d like to point out the pantload of protein in this recipe.  Gee, where DO vegans get their protein??  ;oP

Pumpkin_Alfredo

Dec 26 2012

(Not) Refried Beans

(Follow the recipe link for photos that are much prettier than mine!)

Recipe:  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/refried-beans-without-the-refry/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=slowcooker%20refried%20beans&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page

While I was at a client’s house, she was mashing something up in her slowcooker, and it smelled FANTASTIC.  I asked her what she was working on, and she said it was refried bean without the “refry.”  When she finished mashing and stirring and mashing some more, she brought me some in a little dish.  Oh. My. God.  These should have been called ”The Best Refried Beans You’ll Ever Eat In Your Entire Life.”  She sent me the recipe, and I went home and made some immediately.

Take it from Aunt Kristy kids:  TRY not to stand there eating beans out of the slowcooker.  It’s just not lady-like.  (But they ARE that good!)  By now you know that my husband is not really a gusher, but even HE freaked out over these beans.  Yeah, for reals. Continue reading »

Dec 24 2012

Vegan Out To Eat: MacNiven’s

Photo courtesy of macnivens.com.

A couple of weeks ago we were in Indiana visiting family for the holidays, and we went up to Indy to see Straight No Chaser. (Which was fantastic, by the way.)  Before the show, we went to a Scottish restaurant called MacNiven’s.  Prior to our trip, my sister-in-law had very kindly emailed me several menus, so I could choose the restaurant with the best selection, and MacNiven’s won hands-down by having four, count them, 1-2-3-FOUR vegan options.  Holy smokes!  Practically unheard of!  My choices were: Continue reading »

Dec 20 2012

Dinner Conversation

I am a huge fan of the old-fashioned idea of families sitting together around the dinner table, discussing their day and their thoughts.  Admittedly, this almost never happens in my house, although I wish it did.  I was going through one of my old (pre-vegan) recipe files last weekend, and this little paper-clipped stack of circles fell out into my lap.  I don’t know where they came from (package?  magazine?), but they are from Hormel, and each circle has a little question to start conversation at the dinner table.  Obviously, I held on to them because I thought they were a great idea… maybe I’ll even get to use them some day!  Meanwhile, I wanted to share them with you.  Do you have any others to add to the list?  Please share!

  • If you could excel at just one thing in life, what would it be?
  • What is your best trait, and how would you make it better?
  • If you could teleport anywhere on earth for 90 seconds, where would you go, and why?
  • How many of the world’s seven natural wonders can you name, and which would you most like to visit?
  • If you had 4 minutes with the President, what would you chat about?
  • What’s the boldest thing you’ve ever done?
Dec 19 2012

BBQ Chickpea Cranberry Wrap

Photo courtesy of thefamilykitchen.com, and I assume it was photographed by Kathy Patalsky.

Recipe: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/11/02/bbq-cranberry-chickpea-wrap/

Ok yes, the bbq / chickpea / cranberry flavor combination sounds a little weird, but I figured hey, I like all three of those things, so it’s probably worth a shot, right?  RIGHT!  Holy smokes, super delicious, and ready in about 5 minutes.   Zippy, tangy, not too sweet, great texture… Yum!

Open Pit was the bbq sauce I happened to have in the pantry, and it was great.  We omitted the the tomatoes and onions (because I hate onions and tomatoes just didn’t sound good), and added avocado and brown rice.  Ian also added some leafy greens to his, but I prefer my wraps without.

One word of caution:  Continue reading »

Dec 18 2012

Chickpea Ratatouille

Photo courtesy of plantpoweredkitchen.com.

Recipe: http://plantpoweredkitchen.com/recipe-page/?recipe_id=6025875

Yet another epic win for Ms. Burton:  chickpea ratatouille is out-of-this-world good.  You know what it is?  I think it’s her combinatin of seasonings.  I mean, what would make you think to add apple cider vinegar, or allspice to something like this?  I will admit that as I put this dish together, it didn’t look that great, but any doubts I had were alleviated about ten minutes later when the smell started wafting from the oven.  Better still, because I always keep chopped, portioned veggies in the freezer, the recipe comes together in about five minutes.  Continue reading »

Dec 14 2012

Simple Vegan Tofu Lasagna

Photo courtesy of wholefoods.com.

Recipe: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/simple-vegan-tofu-lasagna

Oh lasagna…  I love you so much.  Why must you be such a pain in the butt to make??  *sigh*  Mind you, that is not a reflection on this particular lasagna (which is no more complicated than any other), just lasagna in general.  Boil the noodles, drain the noodles, pry the noodles loose from one another, warm the sauce, spread layers of things that really don’t want to be spread, bake for another hour…  Blargh.

And yet… Continue reading »

Dec 10 2012

Sweet Potato Cauliflower Soup

Photo courtesy of manifestvegan.com.

Recipe: http://www.manifestvegan.com/2011/10/sweet-potato-cauliflower-soup/

Meh.  This wasn’t bad, but I’ve had some really amazing soups lately, so the bar is pretty high.  In order for this to work for me, I would have needed a couple of things:

  • Probably 2 heads of cauliflower.  I didn’t havenearlyenough cauliflower to throw back in the soup after blending, and I love me some cauliflower chunks.
  • I used 1 ginormous sweet potato, but 1 ginormous and 1 medium would have been better.  Again, after blending, I wanted more chunks, and they were pretty skimpy. Continue reading »
Dec 6 2012

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Photo courtesy of veganbaking.net.

Recipe: http://www.veganbaking.net/cookies/50-chocolate-chip-cookies

Shut up.  Just shut right the heck up.  These might be the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had.  And I’ve had A LOT.  Remember my feelings on oatmeal raisin cookies?  Well that would be my husband about chocolate chip… times a million.  He’s a maniac.  I think he would actually kill for chocolate chip cookies under the right circumstances.  (Like, you tried to take one away from him.  Not recommended.)  Pre-vegan days, I spent about a year perfecting what I (mistakenly) thought was the best chocolate chip cookie ever, only to go vegan and have to start over.  Well, I stand corrected, and lucky for me, this was the very first vegan chocolate chip I attempted.  They are just the right amount of crispy on the outside, and delightfully chewy on the inside.  Om nom nom nom… Continue reading »