This was the favorite dish on thanksgiving, Everyone said it tasted just like chicken. I fried it in olive oil so I felt a little better about frying tofu.

here is the recipe
http://thegoddesseffect.blogspot.com/2009/11/veggiving-day.html

I made this delicious dairy free dish for thanksgiving, I have to say my family is hard to please but that absolutely loved it and couldn't tell the difference. I posted the complete recipe on my blog. Enjoy!

http://thegoddesseffect.blogspot.com/2009/11/vegan-baked-macaroni-and-ch...

Hi Everyone. This post is rushed because I am a little short on time. Anyway, I recently learned that Pillsbury Pie and Pizza Crust are vegan and I decided to make a pot pie since it was a cold day here in Baltimore. Let me tell you something, I cook often and this is by far one of my favs. I love Indian food so I wanted to use curry powder for that flavor. Here is the recipe. This is from an email I sent a co-worker who saw the pictures of my pot pie.

Buy the Pillsbury pie crust or pizza crust you unroll. (You'll need two. One for base and one for the cover) Have a glass 9 inch pan. Preheat oven to 375.

Sautee all the ingredients with 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan. I made the base of the pie, right over the crust a sweet potato base. The sweet potato I had baked in the oven for 1.5 hours on 350 degrees the night before. (Its so good and very necessary)

For the meat I used Chicken Style Seitan by Westsoy. You get it at whole foods. I sliced it up into small pieces.
I also chopped one small yellow onion, 1 large garlic clove, 1 cup sliced mushrooms, 1 cup unsalted green peas, 1 tomato, a package of Seitan, 1 cup cauliflower, 1 cup broccoli, 1 tbsp mustard.

Hey everyone. It has been awhile since I posted my overall dinner. That is because I haven't been able to cook like I wanted to. I am writing, and doing that workout challenge, and trying to hit the bed early as well.

Well, for the longest time I have wanted to utilize that can of black beans in my cupboard. My hairdresser and friend Tab told me that she prepared a really good black bean dish and it gave me the idea to create a healthier dip for tacos instead of using refried beans. Plus, I love black beans.
I also am trying to use everything in my cupboards as much as I can before I go grocery shopping again. Therefore I am making tacos tonight. It will turn into taco salad if there are no corn tortillas at the corner store and they only have Tostitos. Here is what I am going to do. First I will make the dip.

Black Bean Dip
1 Can of Black Beans drained
1-2 cloves of chopped or minced garlic
1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
1-2 Tablespoons of Sesame Tahini
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of cilantro
the juice of 21 lemon (I think lime would be good too)
dash of cumin and pepper

Put it all in the food processor until it's smooth

Veggie Tacos

Vegan Soul Is Here Finally

I know am the proud owner of the Vegan Soul Cookbook by Bryant Terry thanks to MoMo. I liken the purchase to recieving a new vacum for Christmas. It's like, "Here's your new vacum honey. Now you can really get in those corners!" Now I just will have more to cook. (I'm joking that's not why he bought it. It's because I threatened to steal it.) We are in a recession people. Always keep that at the fore front of your mind...

I have been waiting for this book to come out for months and I love it. I am so proud of him for doing this. He calls himself an eco chef. That conjurs up images of tree saving, solar energy and out door showers so I am not sure what that means but it definetely sounds cool. I like him already.

For those of you who read VD know that we are on a 7- day salad challenge. Now salad challengers please don't be angry with me. I know I have let you down in the past when I started my fast a day late last month. (I'm human stick me and I'll bleed.

This vegan thing really agrees with me. I feel very natural and comfortable in my skin. Like I mentioned before I was a vegetarian before for many years and then I met a man that bathed in pork and washed his face in fried chicken so I started joining in on the meaty goodness too. Well that didn't last long because I don't meat like that, I am more of a diary person. So after I pigged out at Thanksgiving I became a vegetarian. He was extremely helpful and supportive and so was my family. Then on March 1st I went vegan. I knew it was coming and so I prepared for it.

Family dinners are fine. Thank goodness his family are vegetarians and had no problem feeding me. Plus there is no shame in ordering vegetables or eating a salad. It is a grave misconception that you are dieting or starving yourself if you eat vegetables. Aren't they supposed to be good for you? When you were growing up weren't you supposed to eat vegetables, and not vegetables cooked within an inch of their life and slathered with butter either.

(See all the yummy food you can munch on...)

Wow, it seems like every time I turn around somebody else has now gone completely Vegan. How does that me feel? Ecstatic. My good friend D, who is constantly keeping me abreast of recipes and all kinds of things I can make vegan told me about the ladies over at Parlour Magazine getting in shape and going vegan. I was too excited. I mean, spinach going mainstream? I hope they add shallots and Chardonnay to make it decadent.

As I was saying, on Sunday, Ms. D shoots me an email letting me know that the women of Parlour Magazine were hosting a blog show where they were discussing the decision of one of them going vegan. It was really interesting. I mean it was basically two ladies, mourning the loss of their meat, but excited about their transition. That's always something I can get behind. One of the ladies said she needed her pork. Understandable. Yet, I believe had they read this article http://www.swedish.org/111038.cfm regarding the hormones in meat and dairy they may feel a little differently about the piggy. Here's a snippet:

I've been wanting to make some butternut squash soup for a while, and I realized that butternut squash itself is an obstacle...which is why I only make anything with it every decade or so...ANYWAY, I didn't want to go through all the roasting and extra stuff that makes soup, but I wanted the squash. Bad. I decided that it was time to enlist the help of my sidekick in the kitchen, the Crock-Pot. Next to my knife, this is probably the most useful utensil in my arsenal. I searched around the net, and mixed up some of what I found.

I combined squash, lentils and some other delectables, and voila...Spicy Squash and Lentil Stew. It's super easy, just chop and drop, make a pot of rice, and let it be. Enjoy!

You'll need:
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
2 tsp garam masala
1 small onion, minced
4 or 5 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 c dried brown lentils, sorted and rinsed
Vegetable broth to cover, about 5 cups
Salt and ground cayenne to taste

Usually when I get ready to cook, I know what I'm going to make, and I've already gotten a cart full of whatever during the week to follow my mealplan from my shopping the week before. HOWEVA...today, was nothing like that.

I wanted to make something wholesome, but not boring, and I didn't want something we'd already in the past, oh I don't know, six MONTHS!!! So what I did was rummage through the cabinets until I came across some recently forgotten jewels, a bag of dried adzuki beans I'd gotten during my "dry goods" stock-up trip a few weeks back. I pulled them out and realized that for as excited as I've been about cooking with this low maintenance legume (no soaking necessary!), I never did more than the typical bean soup. Adzukis are delicate enough to grace some delectable desserts, and at the other end of the spectrum, they are hearty enough to make a mean stew. At least, I think so. Here's what I came up with. Try it and tell me what you think.

Adzuki Bean and Green Stew

3 or 4 cups of dried adzuki beans, rinsed several times and sorted for debris
3 bay leaves
1 small onion, halved then thinly sliced lengthwise
5 cloves garlic, smashed and minced

Ok, so last night I was planning on making my vegan jambalaya and chopped up all my veggies and what not. Then I decided to do some dough for a pie crust and add a few more ingredients and I got such a tasty creation that I had to share.

Pie Crust
3 cups of flour: white or wheat
About ¾ cup of vegan margarine (I used Earth’s Balance, I believe that’s the name, but I forgot)
1 teaspoon of Salt
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Parsley
Cold water until the dough sticks together

Pie Filling
1 to 2 medium or large onions chopped
1 large green bell pepper chopped
2 minced garlic cloves
Diced tomatoes (I just used the rest of an open can)
Vegetable Oil
Vegetable broth
Garlic Salt
Onion powder
Cooked brown rice (how much you like)
Chopped small yam
Chopped small carrots (packaged baby carrots)

A press release came to the job and to my surprise it's this brotha, Bryant Terry coming out with a cook book called Vegan Soul Kitchen (VSK): Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine.

I rarely have time to cook, but when I do make the time I like to put together something real nice. I'll post a review when I get my copy.

I have always loved the inexplicably addicitive flavor combinations of the Eastern world. One of my favorite anytime meal fillers is falafel, and recently my love for this spicy concoction has grown sweeter with the inroduction of an unlikely flavor companion - the sweet potato. Combined, the resulting blend of savory and mildly sweet will break the will of any diner to go back to the table for seconds. I found this recipe in Very Vegetarian, a cookbook by Jannequin Bennett, and I hope you find it to be a welcome change for your palate. Go for the fresh herbs, and save this recipe for a day when you've had baked sweet potatoes the night before to save time.

You'll need:

1 c falafel mix
1 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
1 tsp ancho chili powder (the mexican blend works fine, too.)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cayenne (if you have little ones or family squeamish about heat, leave it out)
1 tsp lemon juice
1 c mashed sweet potatoes (one large baked one should do nicely)
Salt and pepper to taste (though, you shouldn't need it)
2 tbsp oil

Organic Red Bell Peppers (as many as you like)
Organic Brown Rice- 2cups
vegan cheddar cheese shred -2cups
onions-half
organic carrots-1cup
Sea Salt- to taste
Ogranic Chives- 1 cup

Heat oven to 325* degrees
Cut tops off peppers, spoon out seeds, boil rice, dice onions and chives, peel and shred carrots. Drain water from rice, place rice in bowl, add vegetables, sea salt and cheese, mix.
Spoon mixture into peppers. Place stuffed peppers onto baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes...Enjoy!!!! Nummy!! :-)

Organic Red Bell Peppers (as many as you like)
Organic Brown Rice- 2cups
vegan cheddar cheese shred -2cups
onions-half
organic carrots-1cup
Sea Salt- to taste
Ogranic Chives- 1 cup

Heat oven to 325* degrees
Cut tops off peppers, spoon out seeds, boil rice, dice onions and chives, peel and shred carrots. Drain water from rice, place rice in bowl, add vegetables, sea salt and cheese, mix.
Spoon mixture into peppers. Place stuffed peppers onto baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes...Enjoy!!!! Nummy!! :-)

Okay this is one of my favorite lazy day recipes it is made with canned red kidney beans but pls feel free to pre-boil dry beans and use those!

1 cucumber
1 red onion
1 Scotch Bonnet (make a small batch without this for the kids!)
100 ml water
100 ml vinegar (white)
A few grains of Chinese sugar (this is like a sweetener be careful it is very sweet and needs to be added grain by grain to be able to control the sweetness You may substitute with 2 tablespoons of sugar)
1 tsp whole dried allspice berries
5 cloves
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
optional pinch of ajinomoto *

Cut cucumber lengthwise de-seed and cut in slices about 1,5 inch thick, cut red onion in rings, cut pepper in half de-seed. Put water and vinegar in a bowl and add sugar, dried allspice berries, cloves, adjinomoto, salt, black pepper stir well and add cucumber and red onion. Make day before so all the flavors have infused.

• 3 tablespoons of evoo
• 2 zucchini's (in cubes)
• 1 onion chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic (crushed)
• 4 cans of tomato cubes
• 10 tablespoons of dried mixed Italian herbs (you can choose to buy fresh herbs I don't because the wilt before I can finish them)
• 1 tablespoons of brown sugar (you can add a bit more to taste)
• Aromat to taste (1,5 tablespoon)

This sauce I use as a basis for homemade pizza's or as pastasaus. this is enough for serving a family of 4 twice so half of it can go in the freezer.

Heat 2 tablespoons of evoo, add onions until "glassy" add garlic, dried Italian herbs and 1 tablespoon of evoo. On medium heat keep stirring until your kitchen smells like the herbs, add zucchini stir, lower heat put lid on and leave to simmer until zucchini is a little softer (not too soft!) add tomato cubes stir and add brown sugar and aromat to taste. Let simmer for about 10 minutes to allow all the flavors to infuse. Use staff mixer or blender to make into a smooth sauce or leave as is if your family likes chunks.

I am not 100% vegan but I enjoy trying out vegan desserts and baking! I recently made these vegan chocolate & ginger cupcakes and they were really good, and I probably ate them much too quickly...breakfast, lunch, and dinner. LOL. The recipe called for Apple Cider Vinegar, but I do not recommend using it. I thought it left a bitter unfamiliar taste in the cupcakes, the I could have probably done without. Does anyone no why so many of the vegan cupcakes/cake recipes call for using Apple Cider Vinegar? as you can see I was totally out of cupcake liners so I just used regular household foil and sprayed them a little with veg spray...they came out great though!

So here is how I fixed mine:

1 C. Vanilla Almond Milk
3/4 C. granulated sugar
1/3 C. canola or vegetable oil (you can substitute with almond/soy milk)
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla
1/2 C. All Purpose unbleached Flour
1/2 C. Unbleached Bread Flour
1/3 C. Cocoa Powder
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt

i love me some black eye peas, and had a mighty strong craving for some a week or so ago...i figured...i'm a savy cook, i can veganize grandma's southern salt pork version that i grew up on...

now, since i was working on the fly, and making things up as i went along, this isn't exactly a "tight" recipe, in other wards...i was adding a lil bit of this...a lil bit of that...tasting, until i got the right balance.

so follow this "loose" recipe, and taste and adjust as you go along...

ki-ki's veganized southern black eye peas

1 package of dried black eye peas
1/2 yellow onion
1/2 bell pepper
1 half strip of kombu*
1-2 tbl. of liquid smoke (i use hickory)
1-2 tbl. of soy sauce
1 capful of vegan bacon bits plus more for garnishing
2 bay leaves
1-2 tsp. onion powder
1-2 tsp. garlic powder
spike *salt-free seasoning to taste
salt and pepper to taste

My lil and big men just absolutely love falafel! It was the first vegan dish that they all kept asking for over and over again. I think they like both the taste and the "fast food" look of the it. I have to confess that I always make falafel out of a box the mix is vegan and there are no artificial flavors, it makes a quick meal (just add water and some more seasoning to taste, form small balls and fry) and it is healthy we eat it with pita and a fresh salad of lettuce, tomatoes, some corn, cucumbers and red onions thinly sliced the men add some garlic sauce (we don't have the vegan kind yet so this makes it a veggie dish all of a sudden LOL)

I found a great online tutorial on how to make falafel and I am planning to try this recipe not only with chickpeas but also with black eye peas to make an Caribbean version called Kala. Wanna give it a try as well? Check out the video!

I ran across this great video on the tube on how to prepare a raw/vegan strawberry shortcake alternative: