Shopping Odds n Ends

Yepper I got my pudding yesterday, and a bunch of other goodies. I picked up some marshmallows for a dessert recipe I'm working on. A bunch of spices, some fresh veggies, picked up some daikon radish, hadn't had that in awhile.

Don't know what to make for dinner tonight. I am leaning towards sushi since it's friday and I don't want to do any labor intensive cooking. Whatever I decide I'll post pics.

Undecided
Duo

Soy Pudding and Dinner

I should probably start using my light box to take these photos the food looks so much better in real life LOL


I was in a desperate mood for some soy pudding! and this is from a person that really doesn't like pudding, but I wanted some and I was determined to have it!

Stopped by the publix near my house and I spied the ZenSoy Soy Pudding, flavor chocolate ummm ummm. I picked up my purchase just as happy as can be until I got to the checkout line and decided to look at the packaging. And here is where my dismay set in. The expiration date stamped on my precious pudding was June 12th. *sigh*

Needless to say the stockperson that was attending to all the regular pudding re *non vegan* kinds; keeping them fresh and nicely rotated, looked at me in confusion and couldn't understand why I just didn't get some of the other brands of chocolate pudding, I dunno maybe cuz they weren't vegan?

We all know the outcome don't we, I came home puddingless and slightly annoyed, not just because of the pudding, but they were also out of Tofurkey and I wanted a sandwich damnit! Just like the one I had at lunchtime.

So I made myself some comfort food, some good ol' mac and cheese. I need to tweek the cheese sauce a little bit more before I think it's cookbook ready, but it was good enough for dindin last night.





I will have my pudding today!
Duo

Lunch Time Wrap

Light lunch but oh so deliciously satisfying. No pic since it so simple.

Tortilla Sammie Wrap

Slices of Oven Roasted Tofurkey
Slice of Tofutti Cheddar Cheese
Dollop of Veganaise
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Bean Sprouts
Black pepper and dash of salt
Dash of chili oil cause I likes it hot

Wrapped up nice and tight and washed down with a glass of ice cold lemon water.

Wrap It To Go
Duo

Creamy Rotini Casserole

We had this for dinner. Wanted some pasta and this is what I came up with. This one is definitely going in the cookbook.

Started by creating a creamy red sauce, whipped up something similar to "ricotta" cheese, added some follow your heart mozarella cheese, there was of course garlic and onions and some sour cream thrown in for a really robust and rich flavor.

It was delicious, everyone wanted seconds!

Pasta for Me
Duo

Breakfast for Dinner

It's friday and we didn't feel like having "traditional" food for dinner, so why not something quick, yummy and breakfasty?

These were some of the BEST ever chocolate chocolate chip pancakes I ever made. I've been tweaking the recipe, and I feel this is the one to stay with.

They were moist, chocolatey with just the right amount of sweetness, could only eat 1 and a half, they were very rich and filling. Washed them down with some chocolate soy milk and went into chocolate coma mode.

Got Chocolate?
Duo

Spicy Cheesy Cornbread

I was in the mood for cornbread with dinner, not the sweet one I usually make, something spicy. So I created the above and boy was it good! Just the right amount of spicy bite, and the cheese actually melted. It hit the spot!

The rest of my dinner was a garden salad. Just a regular ol garden salad so no pic of that.


Feelin' the Spice
Duo

Mexican Pasta Casserole

Mexican Pasta Casserole

We had this delicious casserole for dinner, it had just enough spice to hit the spot!

In our version we used rotini noodles, veggie crumbles, corn, vidalia onions,tomato sauce and a can of diced tomatoes with roasted chiles, I also dice up some jalepenos and throw them in there for a touch of fire, and mix in vegan cheese.

You can substitute seitan for the veggie crumbles, I've also used tofu and left the 'meat' out all together.

Spicy
Duo

Tasty Treat

Because I really, really wanted a cupcake, I decided to make these things of beauty. Although you can't see the cupcake itself for all the creamy frosting and the wrapper. Take my word for it when I tell you it's a very dark chocolate cupcake made with dark rich cocoa, I also crushed up some newman-o's and added it to the mix for extra "oreo" goodness.



The frosting was a fluffy buttercream concotion also containing crushed up newman o's (see the trend) the vanilla and almond extract really gave it a delicious taste.



These were by far some of the best tasting vegan cupcakes, I've had recently. They were rich, moist and fluffy. Obviously, my friends and family thought so too, because before I could bat an eyelash twice they were gone. I was the victim of a drive by cupcake nabbin'. The fighting was brutal and the damage fierce. I was only able to save two of the these little dark delicacies.



Were they healthy? Well if you mean healthy in that mental health sort of way when craving something sweet and having the added benefit of chocolate. Then yes... yes, it was healthy.

I got this yummy recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

This is one of my favorite cupcake go to books. I still use it just as much now as I did back then when I first got it.

Sinfully Sweet,
Duo

General Tso's Tofu

I wanted to have tofu for dinner, so I made General Tso from Veg Web It's a great recipe. I tweaked it a bit added a few things and took out a few things. You can see the changes below. This is pretty delicious.

General Tso’s Tofu

Serves four

1 box of firm tofu extra firm
egg substitute for 1 egg flaxseed (1 TBSP + 3 TBSP Water)
3/4 cup cornstarch
vegetable oil for frying

3 chopped green onions 1/4 section of a vidalia onion
1 Tbs tsp minced powdered ginger
1 Tbs minced garlic
2/3 cup vegetable stock 1 veggie bullion cube
2 4 Tbs soy sauce
4 Tbs sugar
red pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon sherry (optional)
1 2 Tbs white seasoned rice vinegar
steamed broccoli

I Added on the side

Green & Red Peppers

Mung Beans

Directions:

Drain, dry and cut tofu into 1 inch chunks, or you can purchase the prechunked tofu. You can freeze your tofu overnight for a more chewy texture, (I did)but it isn't necessary.

Mix the egg replacer as specified on the box and add an additional 3 tablespoons water. Dip tofu in egg replacer/water mixture and coat completely.

Sprinkle 3/4 cup cornstarch over tofu and coat completely. Watch out that the cornstarch doesn't clump up at the bottom of the bowl.

This is where I make it easier on myself. after dipping in the egg mixture I put the tofu in a large ziploc bag dump in the cornstarch and shake it like a polaroid picture :) until the tofu pieces are evenly coated. It's Quick, Even and less mess.

Heat canola oil in pan and fry tofu pieces until golden. Drain tofu on paper towels.

Heat 3 Tablespoons canola oil in pan on medium heat. Add onions, ginger and garlic, cook for about 1 - 2 minutes on med high. Be careful not to burn garlic.

Add vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper (if used) and vinegar. Mix 2 Tablespoons water with 1 Tablespoon cornstarch and pour into mixture stirring well. Add fried tofu and coat evenly.

Serve immediately over your choice of rice or noodles.

I usually double the ingredients for the sauce. I've found that there really isn't enough sauce without doubling, I've even tripled it but, that was a bit too much sauce. Try it and see which works best for you. Increase or decrease the amount of red pepper flakes dependant on the amount of spiciness you desire. I like it hot.

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Pleasantly full,
Duo