Monday, January 28, 2008

Extra Clean!

Miso is an odd cat, no? The second he hears the water running in the bathtub he comes running into the bathroom. He waits until most of the water is out before he gets in and lays down. In this picture he hopped in with Ramsey after she pulled the plug. He then checked her over to make sure she was extra clean. Cat breath is a good smell on Ramsey.
I have nothing new to say about baked donuts but if you had a new pan wouldn't you post another picture? I know it will come as a shock considering my last post, but I think I liked the not chocolate donut best. Shocking!
Avocado & Pinto Bean Enchiladas with Cornmeal-Crusted Plantains from edbv. I left the mushrooms out of the enchiladas and these were excellent. I almost think I could take the mushrooms in this if they were chopped up. This wasn't to spicy and believe it or not RAMSEY ate it. Ramsey really liked the plantains, also. They were mildly sweet and a great side dish for a spicy meal.
I have a new favorite dessert. Mini Icebox "Cheese" Cake from My Sweet Vegan. This little cheesecake is made was made in a 6" pan and served 4-6. I'm pretty sure if I put my mind to it I could have ate 1/2 by myself. This was quick and easy to throw together and was amazing.

This cake isn't baked, instead it is frozen. It was creamy and not to sweet. The crust was to die for. While this would be great for a dinner party, I don't think it would do very well at a potluck. This mini cake does not like to be out of the cold very long.
Isn't it so shiny and big? I hated our old toaster oven. Joe hated our old toaster oven more then me. We have been looking on and off for a new one but never found anything that Joe would settle for. On Bryanna's most recent post she talked about this little brick oven toaster. I turned around and showed Joe.

Well, you can obviously see what happened. This was the maiden voyage of the pizza stone. I was lazy and using some Trader Joe's pizza dough. On top was some caramelized onion, roasted bell peppers and artichoke hearts.
The pizza turned out super, fantastic, crisp, chewy, just wonderful!!!
New toaster oven test number 2. Peanut Butter Cookies from JVB. I was able to fit 9 cookies on the little toaster cookie sheet. The baked up perfectly. This was also my first shot at the cookie recipe. This peanut butter cookie recipe is a total winner. It's been awhile since I've had a good peanut butter cookie. Joe already wants more, peanut butter is his favorite.

As a side note, we have fallen in love with the Peanut Butter Zigzag ice cream from Purely Decadent. They would make an awesome little ice cream sandwich in between these cookies.
I wanted some nachos with chili and came up with this. The chili is from a can but the "cheese" sauce I made up after looking over a bunch of other recipes. It was good. Here's the recipe if you're interested.

Put all of this in the blender.
2 cups water
1/2t paprika
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2t garlic salt
1/2 cup flour
1/4t chili powder
2T margarine
about 1/4 cup salsa (or more)
sprinkle of garlic powder
generous pinch of cayenne
Blend everything until it's smooth. Then pour into a sauce pan and heat stirring constantly until thickened.
Thick and Hearty Split Pea Soup from Fatfree Vegan Kitchen. I made this soup in my pressure cooker for dinner tonight. It didn't even involve using my brain as Susan has already provided PC directions. This soup was very good and I enjoyed all of the vegetables.

In the future I will add a touch more water then is called for, but that's no big deal. I like my pea soup a touch thinner, even if it's "hearty". I also needed to add a lot of salt to my bowl. Again that's personal preference. I liked the addition of liquid smoke and the other seasonings were spot on. I'd make this again.

That's it for this week. I feel my new little toaster oven has one more test to be run through. Expect a pie next week. The apples are already waiting for me to get crackin'.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am in love with your donuts!! I like the chocolate one best, too. It haunts my dreams.