LonG tiMe nO UpdAtE

So again it has been a long time since I have updated the blog but here is a crazy amount of photos of food I have cooked over the past few months.

Brown Rice Sushi

1 cup brown rice, 1 avocado, 2 green onions, 1 cucumber, 1 carrot, package of baked tofu or any fillings that interest you

Bowl 1 cup brown rice. Make vinegar - agave - salt mixture (tablespoon of apple cider vingear, tablespoon of agave, teaspoon salt.) After the rice is done cooking, about 40 minutes, let rice cool for at least 20 minutes. Then add mixture and slice it through the rice to evenly coat each grain. Prep veggies, I used a mandolin, but you could also slice things however you desire. Then wave the nori over an open flame until it turns bright green. Lay out on sushi mat and wet your hands. Grab some rice and make a thin layer leaving a little strip of just nori at the end. Then put your fillings in the middle and roll it up! My first roll was not a success. But by the second one I had got the hang of it.

Shredded Carrot Jesus ( or my friend Mickey)

Funfetti!!! ( I am actually fist-pumping right now)

My girlfriend made these cupcakes for a vegan potluck our friends were having. She is a cupcake freak, her favorite book is Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, honestly, the pages are falling out. So you can buy this excellent book and use the plain cupcake recipe and add sprinkles to the batter. We made frosting using butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and soymilk. Basically, just use a handheld mixer to cream room temperature butter then add a little vanilla. Put in the powdered sugar slowly until you get the desired thickness. I usually just use the smilk if it gets too thick.

Mock Duck Confit, Napa Cabbage, Oyster Mushrooms, Creamed Cauliflower Puree

mock duck seitan (1 can, found at asian grocers)
2 cups cabbage

1 package oyster mushrooms

1/2 head cauliflower

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in pan, add drained and chopped mock duck. Cook over low heat for 5-10 minutes, until browned. Take mock duck out of pan. Add 1/2 an onion chopped finely, 2 cups cabbage, 3 cloves of minced garlic. Cook until cabbage is translucent. Meanwhile, steam 1/2 head of cauliflower, until very tender, then break up and put in blender with salt and pepper to taste and 2 tablespoons smilk to get the puree started. Puree should be thick though in the end. Then crisp the mushrooms in a pan over high heat with lots of oil. To assemble, put puree on the bottom, then mock duck and cabbage, and top with crisp mushrooms. Our cat Oliver really wanted a bite of this meal.

Whole Wheat Soft Pretzels!!!!

3 cups whole wheat flour (more if needed)

1 package fast rise yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cup water

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon agave

Add yeast to the warm water. Let sit for 10 minutes until bubbly. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix until combined. Put on floured surface and knead for 8 minutes. Then put into ball and into a bowl covered with a wet towel. Let sit in a warm place for a couple hours until it doubles in volume. Then punch down the dough and let it rise again for 30 minutes. Then you can cut it up and make the pretzels! (Or instead of making this dough, you can buy pizza dough and let it rise. I sometimes buy Trader Joe's dough if I am feeling lazy.) After you have shaped the pretzels, to get the brown crispy outside you need to put then in a baking soda water bath. To make this, you add a couple tablespoons to 6 cups of boiling water. Put the pretzels in this bath a few at a time, boil them for 1-2 mins, they should get puffy and darker brown. The put them on an oiled baking sheet and bake for 450 for 10-12 minutes.

Kale and Potato Enchiladas with FYH cheddar

My girlfriend made this for dinner one night, it is from Veganomicon.

Crusted Tofu and Roasted Cauliflower "Steaks" with Shiitake "Bacon"

topped with Cauliflower Puree and Cashew Paprika Sauce

1 head cauliflower

1 package extra firm tofu, drained and pressed

3 tablespoons nooch

2 tablespoons smilk

1 small package shiitake mushrooms

1/2 cup raw cashews

1 roasted red pepper

1 tablespoon paprika

1/4 cup water

3 tablespoons soy sauce

salt and pepper

Cut head of cauliflower in half. Steam until tender. Remove one half from steamer and cut into "steaks" (large flat pieces). Leave other in steamer to cook until extremely tender, probably another 5-10 minutes. Brown cauliflower pieces in pan with some oil, season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, set oven to 425ish, coat shiitake slices with a little bit of oil, salt and pepper. Put in oven until crispy and bacon-like, about 15 minutes. Brush or dip tofu with soy sauce, then dip in nooch, put in pan and sear on both sides. For the sauce, puree the cashews, red bell pepper, paprika, water, and salt to taste in the blender. Put this aside. Then put the rest of the cauliflower into the blender with the smilk, salt, and pepper. This should come out thick. Assemble with cauliflower puree on bottom, then put on "steaks" and tofu, top with "bacon" and cashew sauce.

Seared Seitan Cutlets, Braised Napa, Shiitake "Bacon"

Asparagus with hollandaise

Cut seitan into thin pieces, sear on both sides in pan. Meanwhile, cook napa cabbage in another pan. Make shiitake "bacon" like in the previous recipe. Boil asparagus for 2 minutes. To make the sauce use 1/2 package silken tofu, a couple tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon nooch, salt, dash of cayenne pepper, dash of tumeric, and a tablespoon of butter. Put in blender until smooth.

Pink SnowBall CAKE !!!!!

I made this for my girlfriend's birthday in the summer. She gave up processed sugars so I had to find a recipe online. I used a maple syrup chocolate cake recipe. For the frosting I used Ricemellow, agave nectar and earth balance. I made pink coconut by mixing it with cherry juice concentrate, just a little to make it light pink and not give it a cherry flavor.

Tofu Scallops from the Hezbollah Tofu website. ( I want to bathe in that sauce)

http://hezbollahtofu.blogspot.com/

Wilted Spinach Salad with Roasted Chickpeas and Tomatoes, Quick Fried Mushrooms and Fresh Mache with an Avocado Cream

Wilt spinach in a pan. Put chickpeas in another pan with tomatoes, salt and pepper. Roast in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. Fry mushrooms in a pan with lots of oil until crispy. Make avocado cream by pureeing avocados in the food processor with salt.