I have my new computer mostly figured out now. Pictures are still giving me a bit of problem but I'll brave forward.

I can only hear about how awesome a recipe is for so long before I have to cave and try it. This is how it was with the Blackened Tofu from edbv. I can totally see what all the hype is about. I loved the crust that the tofu got and the seasoning was spot on. Even the kids liked it.
I bought The Nutritional Yeast Cookbook because it was on sale for like $4. Who could pass that up. The first recipe we tried was the Melty White Cheese. I served it over macaroni and Ramsey was the only one who would eat it. I didn't even bother with a picture.

I was a little afraid with that kick off but found another promising looking recipe. I crossed my fingers and made Pasta with Sweet Onions & Pine Nuts. This was much better. Joe and I both enjoyed it and the kids were cool unless they got a chunk of onion. The dish itself looks pretty bland and would be a bit more eye catching, and healthy, with some broccoli or other veg. I'll make this again.

Last up is a slight variation on Lolo's Baked Vegan Donuts. We had a friend in town who is as crazy over lemon as I am. I made her lemon donuts as a treat. I left out the nutmeg and cinnamon and used lemon juice instead of soy milk. They turned out great and were frosted with left over lemon cream cheese frosting.

Hopefully, I'm back on track now and can figure out this new photo software.

Busy, busy, busy

We've been having a crazy busy week. I apologize for the lack of posts. I have a new computer and I'm learning all it's bells and whistles. I'm also still transferring stuff over from the old one and that includes pictures.

Right now, it is 10:21 at night and our house is 90 degrees. It's making sleep a wee bit difficult.

You still won't believe it's Vegan!

Alright, this is going to sound like bragging because it totally is. Honestly, I think more then half the people who read this blog know me in person. The little bit of bragging here isn't going to come as a shock.

On to the bragging. Isn't this picture awesome! Yah, I wish it didn't have the stuff in the background but COME ON! It's awesome.

The awesome picture is of Chickpea Socca from You Won't Believe It's Vegan. It was a very beautiful dish and super filling. The recipe was slightly labor intensive but that had a bit more to do with the timing then the actual work. The layers are of a white bean puree, sauteed greens, marinara, the chickpea socca and topped with caramelized leeks. This is super impressive for company.
Ok, so this is not an awesome picture but it was a fun day. We had a girls day with my mom, friend Denise, her two girls, me and Ramsey. We made the Crispy Wonton Packages and they were wonderful. Even the kids liked them. I really thought that there would be to many but we managed to polish them all off.

We also made a few dessert wontons. Growing up my mom would make these but I have no idea if they are her recipe. You mix together equal parts sugar, shredded coconut, and walnuts. Fill the wontons and fry like normal. They are to die for even if you aren't a coconut fan.

The Baked Samosas recipe was a very pleasant surprise. I was to lazy to make the traditional samosa dough and figured these samosas wrapped up in a tortilla would be good enough. They were much better then good enough.

Once the tortillas were brushed with oil and baked, they were perfectly crispy. The filling wasn't to bland but not overly spiced to where the kids didn't like it. I had the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Also shown is the Cashew Rice without the cashews, I only had raw not roasted. We all liked the rice, even Ramsey who is a rice snob.

So far, You Won't Believe It's Vegan has not let me down.

Sweet Tooth

I wanted to try out another batch of cookies and found a great excuse to make one of the recipes. On Thursdays we often do a little bit of science, and a lot of eating, with a friend of mine and her two girls. Both big kids are the same age and both little ones.

Bella decided that she wanted to know more about teeth. Denise and I got together some pictures, explanations and worksheets the night before. Today, while me and the kids were waiting for Bella and them to come over, I had a mini brilliant plan. Below are my efforts.
The kids were very impressed with the cookie tooth cake. Us adults thought the frosting might ruin the chocolate chip cookie for us but we were wrong. The frosting was awesome and we all loved it. Here is a picture of the unfrosted cookie cake.

An apricot foldover tease. These were way to easy to just keeping popping.

And some almond cookies.

I need a big glass of soy milk.

Foxy Poxy

Here's Foxy Poxy and her spotted brother. I wish I could show you her back but she won't let me take a picture. (My children are both some how 10 times more modest then I am. Go figure.) She has about 5 times as many pox on her back as he has on his whole body. In any case, both pox monsters are on the mend. We should be past our contagious stage tomorrow as everything has scabbed over. So, we are really looking forward to our weekend.

I have learned something of interest during a 2 am bath of Ramsey's. I bought the kids bath crayons to distract them during oatmeal baths. I was dead tired and just started writing random letters on the bath tub. Evidently Ramsey can read both uppercase and lowercase letters. Out of order, not just memorized. I had no idea she knew that. Then we were in the car yesterday and she points to a sign and tells Isaac it says zoo. She was right.

So, not only do I feel stupid for not knowing she could do this. A touch smug that my kid is smart. But validated that my laid back approach to homeschooling is working out all right.
And just to tease, here is a picture of a recent batch of tester cookies. They are thin and crispy peanut butter cookies and they are wonderful. I'm not a giant pb cookie fan but I loved these.

More cookies coming soon.

Atomic TuNo Salad

In our pre-gan days tuna sandwiches were about the only thing that Joe could make. Or at least make well. I was thinking about it the other day and had to veganize his recipe.
Joe's Atomic TuNo Salad

1 can garbanzo beans
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/4-1/2 cup broccoli, chopped
1/4 cup of cilantro, chopped (or more)
Veganaise to taste
balsamic vinaigrette (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Mash you beans with a fork or potato masher. Add the remain vegetables and mix together. We end up using about a 1/2 a cup of Veganaise but it's personal preference. I also add a splash of balsamic vinaigrette because I like the tang. (In the pre-gan days we were Miracle Whip fans. I plain on testing vegan versions of Miracle Whip in the future)

We like our Atomic TuNo on toasted sourdough bread with lettuce and tomato. Try it out.

I actually have an excuse for my delay in posting this week. The kids have chicken pox. I'll try to get a good picture out of them tomorrow.