Ain't No Party Like A Vegan Party...

Cuz' a vegan party don't stop!  I know, I know, corny title, but it suits the post, ok?  Anyway, I recently hosted a little soiree at my home for about 10 of my closest non-veg friends and was a little worried about what to serve.  I was tempted to simply cater the event with regular food from a restaurant that I knew they would enjoy, but then I decided to make the event a project. 

I challenged myself to make vegan dishes that the non-veg people would not only enjoy, but not even realize they were vegan.  Now I generally don't like to trick people, so I decided at the beginning of the day that if anyone asked me, I would totally fess' up, but I wasn't going to offer the information up voluntarily before that happened.  Luckily for me, no one asked, so my experiment went on as planned.  :)

As I go along here, I do have to warn you, this is party food, not health food.  I am sure some of these items contain MSG or food coloring, and I am POSITIVE they contain fat and sugar, LOL!  That said, they do not contain any animal ingredients, which was my only goal.

First on the menu, chips/veggies and dip.  This was totally easy, a no-brainer.  I got Lay's BBQ chips and Bugles (both naturally vegan) and then mixed one container of Tofutti with a package of Wylers Onion soup mix.

As you can see there was a tiny package of Ranch dip that wasn't vegan, but it came with the veggie tray and was the only non-vegan offering of the day.  On an amusing note, that dip went unfinished and people kept raving over the vegan one, including some folks who wouldn't have even tried if they knew it was *GASP* vegan. :)

Secondly, a party just isn't a party without spinach dip.  Really.  If there isn't going to be a hollowed out bread bowl at your event, count me out. ;)  Luckily, the traditional Knorr Vegetable Dip mix is vegan, hurray!  I conveniently swapped out the mayo and sour cream for Vegenaise and Tofutti Sour Supreme, and added the green onions and water chestnuts as usual.  I was able to buy the bread at my usual grocery store bakery as it was already vegan. 

I served the dip with the bits of hollowed out bread, as well as some tasty whole wheat crackers.  It was TRULY indistinguishable from regular.  And you can trust me, I am picky about my spinach dip.

Third on the menu was fondue.  If you haven't tried fondue, you are missing out on a really fun and generally messy experience.  Although in my pre-vegan years I was obsessed with cheese fondue, I now obviously stick to chocolate fondue.  When I first went vegan, I thought I would also have to give this up as I liked Milk Chocolate best, but happily I have discovered that semi-sweet works wonderfully too.

You will need:
1 bag semi-sweet chips (make sure the brand you buy is vegan, shop rite's store brand is, and thats what I used)
Almond Milk
Powdered sugar

Pour the chips in a pot, put the heat on low.  Add a splash of almond milk.  Let them melt a little, stirring continuously. As they become fully melted, add about 2 tbs powdered sugar.  After this you have two choices.  If you don't have a fondue pot, leave it on the stove on super low heat and enjoy from there.  If you DO have one, pour the mixture into it, and light the candle or sterno to keep it warm.  Do this close to your event time so you don't burn your chocolate.

I served mine with fresh fruit and both chocolate and vanilla Oreo's, which are both naturally vegan.  This was a HUGE hit.  There is something about fondue that just brings people together.  Didn't hurt that this was a group of women and a pot of melted chocolate. ;)

Finally, I think every party needs some sort of cake.  Ideally some sort of cake art, or alternatively cupcakes.  I took the easy way out of course and used boxed mix.  I forget which brand at the moment, but I believe it was Duncan Hines (I just read boxes till I found one without eggs/dairy).  Then, instead of preparing it with the eggs it called for, I added a cup of unsweetened applesauce.  For some reason, applesauce acts in just the same manner as the eggs without adding any cholesterol or harming any animals, yay!  It also makes your cake lower in fat and fluffy/moist, YUM! 

I frosted it with strawberry icing, also I think from Duncan Hines, BUT seriously I don't remember for sure, so READ THOSE LABELS before you buy, please! :)

For decorations I topped them with Ring Pop's because they were colorful and adorable.  I don't think anyone ate the Ring Pop's, but they were cute to look at anyway.

Everyone seemed to have a great time, no one asked me "Uh.... is this vegan?", no one seemed to chuck a full plate of food in the garbage and I got a ton of compliments on the food.  The best validation that it turned out ok?  No leftovers. :)  Always a good sign!  Happy vegan entertaining!

This Brunch Will Leave You Stuffed

Ahhh, weekends.  The perfect time for sitting down to a hot, indulgent brunch that you would never take the time to make on a week day. 

This weekend I found some inspiration from an old non-vegan favorite; stuffed French toast.  I fugured it wouldn't be too hard to veganize, and luckily for me I had some free samples of the new Galxy Nutritional Foods cream cheese to work with. (Thanks guys!  Free samples? *swoon* I love the perks of being a blogger!) Cream cheese is essential for stuffed French toast, and I have to say, I really love this new brand.  It worked perfectly for the filling, which was super easy to make, and ridiculously good.  Like lick-the-plate good, even if I do say so myself.  ;-)

If you plan to make this dish, you will need to make the filling first, so it has time to set while you make the rest of it.  There are only three ingredients in the filling, so it's pretty easy to make. 

You will need:

1/2 package plain vegan cream cheese
4 decent sized strawberries
4 tbs powdered sugar

You will need to clean and cut your strawberries first, and you will want to cut them into tiny pieces, like this:

Cutting them into smaller pieces helps the berries release more flavor into the cream cheese. 

Stir the strawberries into the cream cheese with the four tbs of sugar, and put into the fridge to set while you make the French toast.  This will make it firm up and increase the flavor.  It should look like this:

For the French toast, you will want to start out with my classic recipe, which you can read here.

In addition to the ingredients from that recipe, I added 1/2 a tsp of Indian black salt for egg flavor and a dash of tumeric for color.  (You can't see the color in the french toast mixture, but it shows up when it cooks, so don't add extra tumeric, 1 dash is enough)

You can see how yellow one dash makes it when it cooks here:

Totally looks like omni French toast, right?  Yum!

Anyway, when your toast is done cooking, bring out the filling you put in the fridge earlier, spread on the toast and fold on a diagonal.  Then top the toast with some additional fresh strawberries (blueberries would have been even better, but I didn't have any), a little powdered sugar, and a dollop of soy whip. 

Oh wow, I cannot even tell you how much I enjoyed this breakfast.  It has weekend brunch written all over it, doesn't it?  This is perfect weekend food, but please, don't just take my word for it, this has to be tasted to be believed. 

Happy eating!

My Spinach Puffs!

Today's title is courtesy of Kronk, from The Emporer's New Groove.  During a political coup, plans go awry for fear that his delicate spinach puffs may burn.  Naturally, being a Disney movie, hilarity ensues. :)  Of course Kronk's concern for his spinach puffs is understandable, if all spinach puffs are as tasty as the vegan beauties I will be sharing with you today! Kronk is definitely the inspiration for this delicious vegan appetizer.

For those of you unfamiliar with The Emporer's New Groove, you are missing out on one of Disney's all time funniest movies.  My family quotes it constantly, and we work "Wrong Lever!  Why do we even have that lever?!" into many situations where it technically does not apply.  Kronk (voiced by the awesome Patrick Warburton) is a highlight of the movie, and you will find yourself quoting him later.  You will also want some spinach puffs to snack on while you watch, because spinach puffs are yummy, and at least in this case, ridiculously easy too!

You will need:

One roll Pillsbury Crescent Dough, Original (Yes, it's vegan!)
Soy Feta by Veg Cuisine
spinach (I think I used maybe... half a cup?  eyeball it)
1 tsp Earth balance
Garlic Salt to taste


Preheat your oven to 375 (or whatever the pillsbury dough says.... I am writing this from memory)

Heat the frozen spinach in the microwave with the Earth Balance and Garlic Salt. 
(This is actually optional, if you want you can use canned spinach without butter or salt if you want it to be less fattening/salty.  I do not recommend fresh spinach in this case, unless you boiled it first)

Roll out your dough in two sheets and cover evenly with spinach, and slices of the Feta cheese substitute. 

Take one end of the sheet and roll inward, like you would a beach towel, till you have two rolls. (you should take it from the end, not the long sides)

With a sharp, serated knife, cut each roll into four pieces, for a total of 8.  The dough will want to tear, try to cut carefully.  This is the tricky part!  When completed, they should look like this:

As you can see, some turn out better than others.  This doesn't matter, even the ugly ones are delightful!

Put the tray into the preheated oven, and set the timer for 12 minutes.  This should make them the perfect golden brown  color, something to this effect:

These spinach puffs are buttery golden perfection, a real crowd pleaser every time.  It is my favorite kind of recipe, delicious like you worked on it all day, quick like you only had fifteen minutes to come up with something, LOL!

Anyway, I would like to go out a high note, with some of Kronk's best moments.  Thanks for the inspiration, Disney!  Happy eating, folks! :)

http://www.youtube.com/embed/BqF7JBlqkOA

Penne No-Vodka

As I have mentioned previously, I am a huge fan of Italian food.  I love it so much, I am pretty much made of pasta.  Every inch you can squeeze on me is directly attributed to either dessert or noodles, something I struggle with daily, lol!

My highest concern when going vegan was veganizing my beloved Italian favorites, but alas my continuing struggles with fettucine alfredo have been well documented, and there hasn't been any success on that front so far.  Tonight I thought I would try my hand at my second favorite Italian dish, Penne Vodka, which is a delicious dish consisting of penne pasta and a creamy rosa sauce. 

Bear in mind, I have never made this dish before, even when I wasn't vegan I left it to the professionals.  Because of this, I had no idea how to make it, and I totally winged it.  I do know the real deal contains vodka, (the alcohol cooks off, but it's supposed to do something for the dish.  No idea what.) but I don't keep that in my home so that was out.  I just kind of guessed at what else I thought might be in it, and created a little dish I like to call "Penne No-Vodka", which just so happened to turn out delicious and actually pretty close in flavor.

If you want to make it, you will need:

1/2 Box Whole Grain Penne
1/3 of a jar marinara
1/2 package Trader Joe's Chicken-Less Strips
Mushrooms
2 tsp Minced Garlic
Generous splash So Delicious plain coconut creamer
3 tbs Garlic Chive Galaxy Nutrition Vegan Cream Cheese (New product, SOOOO good!!)
3 tbs Wayfare foods We Can't Say it's Sour Cream
2 tsp sundried tomato spread (if you can't find this, it's totally optional, but I liked it)
Galaxy Nutrition Vegan Parmesan to taste

Putting it all together is pretty easy.  I started by sauteeing the mushrooms, garlic and chicken in a tiny bit of olive oil while I put the pasta in to cook.  When they were slightly browned, but not burned, I added the other ingredients and put it on simmer.  With the creamer, mushrooms and vegan parm, I just eyeballed it.  It's one of those situations where it is subjective to taste, so I will leave it up to you.

I continued to stir the simmering sauce on and off until the pasta was done cooking.  After draining the pasta, I topped it with the sauce, and put some additional parm on top, as well as dusting of garlic salt, but I have to remind you yet again, I am a garlic lovin gal, so add with caution! :)  This is how it turned out:

Honestly, I was really pleased with this dish.  I was so happy to discover you don't need dairy, or even vodka for that matter to make a decent penne vodka.  It was rich, creamy, and total comfort food.  All while having whole grains, protein, and a serving of veggies through the marinara.  If you threw in a salad, this would be a pretty balanced meal, even if it's not exactly low cal, I would put money on the fact that it blow's it's omni counterpart out of the water nutritionally. 

I was home alone tonight, so this recipe is geared towards dinner for one.  It made enough for the shown bowl of pasta, and a lunch sized portion to put away for later.  If you are feeding a group, use the whole jar of marinara and the whole box of pasta, and eyeball the rest of the ingredients.  Don't worry, you can do it.  You are a good chef, I have faith in you! :)

My only recommendation for next time would be sauteed onions, I think that would have made it perfect!  Anyway, hopefully you enjoy this dish, and have a wonderful weekend.  Happy eating!

Ya Gotta Ask Yourself One Question This St. Patty's Day, Do I Feel Lucky?

It's your lucky day, there is a new recipe!  And in my opinion, it's a good one, too! :)  As you probably know, this Thursday is St. Patrick's day, and while I am not Catholic, I am (at least partially) Irish, so I will be celebrating anyway.  Don't worry, whether you personally are Irish or not is irrelevant, everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's day, and (ok, almost) everyone will like this recipe! 

I wish I knew more Irish recipes, but unfortunately I only know one.  Luckily for you, it's a recipe for Irish soda bread, a delicious pastry that is great any time of year.  I don't know that traditional Irish cooking is very vegan-friendly, but this is one recipe easily translates into a vegan version that is indistinguishable from it's traditional counterpart. 

You will need:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup unbleached flour
5 tablespoons vegan white sugar, divided

1 tbs brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons earth balance
1 cup almond milk with 1 tbs white vinegar mixed in
1/3 cup brown raisins
1/3 cup golden raisins

Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease 8-inch-diameter cake pan. Combine flour, 4 tablespoons white sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in large bowl. Add earth balance in chunks, heat briefly for 20 seconds in microwave. Rub in earth balance until coarse mixture forms. Make a divot in the center of your flour mixture. Pour in almond milk/vinegar mixture. Gradually stir dry ingredients into milk to blend with a rubber spatula. Mix in raisins.

Pour dough into prepared pan and flatten slightly. Sprinkle dough with remaining 1 tbs white sugar, 1 tbs brown sugar and a light dusting of cinnamon.

Your mixture should look like this:

Bake bread until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. This should be about 40 minutes. Cool bread in pan 10 minutes.  If desired, melt a little earth balance in the microwave and brush onto the surface of the bread with a pastry brush. This bread is best served warm with earth balance spread on top. 

When done it should look like this:

Irish soda bread is somewhere between a raisin bread and a scone.  Some are dry, but this one is a moister version than many.  This makes it ideal to eat warmed up with some earth balance, and it also doesn't hurt to make a steaming mug of decaf with french vanilla soy creamer to go with it for the perfect evening snack.

So, try your hand at making some Irish Soda Bread this Thursday, and ask yourself one question: Do you feel lucky?  Well, do ya, punk?  If you make this recipe, I don't see how you couldn't be!  Happy eating, and happy St. Patrick's Day! :)

Cocoa a Go-Go (Away Winter...)

So, I am really, really, REALLY done with winter.  I could not be happier with today being the last day of February.  Last week on Monday we had a teaser of this GORGEOUS weather.  It was warm, it was sunny, life was good.  What do I wake up to the next morning?

Ridiculous!  I can't take it anymore!  I mean, I can acknowledge that the snow is beautiful and all, but really.... C'mooooon!!  We got totally dumped on this winter, and I think we met our quota for the year back in January. The state of New Jersey is known for it's schizophrenic weather, but really, haven't we all had enough?!  That same day I received this cartoon in my e-mail, and it seemed to perfectly describe the way I was feeling:

(I did not draw this cartoon, it is not my property, please don't sue me... I just got in an e-mail)

Only in NJ can you have weather in the 60's one day, and then bitter cold, whipping winds, and about 6-10 inches of snow overnight.  Joy.  Anyway, even though I am really moving on to Spring from all this nonsense, I jumped on the chance to have some more hot cocoa, even if I hope it is the last time I need is this year.  When the craving strikes, I like to turn to Ghiradelli and Sweet and Sara Marshmallows, SO good.

Believe it or not, Ghiradelli is naturally vegan, and totally delicious. S&S Mini marshmallows really just amp things up a notch.  They take it to 11, if you will. :)  There are non-vegan directions on the back, but here is how I make mine.  Fill a large mug halfway with water, and four tsp's of mix.  Stir vigorously, and heat for two minutes (watch your mug, sometimes it can boil over).  Add almond milk to the top, stir and taste.  You may want to add some more powder, if you like it rich.  Then, obviously, top with mini's and enjoy.  It should all look a lil' something like this:

Mmmmmmmmmmmm.  Cocoa is just about the last thing I find tolerable about this winter.  Happy last day of February everybody, may we not need anymore cocoa till next winter!

Hooray for Common Sense!

When I first started this little adventure, I was met with quite a bit of oppostion.  Not so much from my carnivorous friends, but from vegans.  True vegans, you see, do not believe that one can be very nearly vegan, and I can respect that.  All or nothing, I get it.  But what I don't get is the people who felt compelled to tell me so in a VERY nasty manner.  Why curse at a stranger who is trying to better her life and decrease her dependence on animal products?  Apparently, some people have too much time on their hands, and maybe a little too much soy-powered rage.  That kind of approach is a big turn off to me.  When someone behaves in such a manner, my first instinct is to guzzle milk while they watch.  "You like that, big boy?  Wanna see me make an omelette?  Suffer!"  But really that is no better of an attitude, so I try to quell that urge.  My personal philosophy is that you should always be kind to animals, but not moreso than you are kind to humans. 

I also don't enjoy the overly heavy-handed approach, where the angry vegan beats the civilian about the head with graphic slaughterhouse footage.  People know where meat comes from, and grossing them out (if it makes any difference at all) will be a temporary fix at best.  Sell them on veganism with your own life.  Just simply show it works for you, and in my experience at least, they will ask YOU.  My very meat-y co-workers try everything I bring in.  I am the only vegetarian they know, so this is definitely a foreign concept to them.  Common sense kindness is my secret weapon to convince people that tofu is not a dirty word, and dinner doesn't need to be dead! 

Anyway, I was happy this evening to see an article from a like-minded individual that I enjoyed, so I thought I would share it with you:
*warning, the title is profane, but don't worry, the article isn't*

http://blogs.westword.com/cafesociety/2011/02/an_open_letter_to_militant_veg.php

Anyway, enjoy your weekend, eat some awesome vegan food, and FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER!!  :)

@VeryNearlyVegan

It was brought to my attention that I didn't mention the supportive vegans in my life.  I gain inspiration daily from the positive Facebook and Twitter posts of Sara Sohn of Sweet and Sara's marshmallows, Leia Carrington Llewellyn of Evolution to Green, the delicious, hilarious, non-judgey cook books of Isa Chandra Moskowitz, and the awesome vegan baked goods of Claire Gosse among many others.  I especially gain support from my dad who is a living example every day of how being vegan can change your life!  Thank you SO much to all of you for inspiring me and to so many others who are too numerous to mention.  In the future, before I am critical of people who are too critical.... I should remember to thank the people who aren't. :)