"The Happy Herbivore" Hippie Loaf

A few months ago I bought an awesome cookbook called the Happy Herbivore. It is an awesome book and I have tried some of the recipes with good results. So tonight I decided to try the hippie loaf. i enjoyed it and even my dad (meat eater) said it was good. It doesn't taste like meat, but that doesn't make it any less yummy. I decided to serve it with green beans and mashed potatoes. Here is what you need for the loaf:

1 can rinsed black beans

1/2 cup of diced onion

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 large carrot, peeled and shredded

2 celery stalks, shredded

1 c. chopped mushrooms

1 c. cooked quinoa

1 tbs Italian Seasoning

3tbs whole wheat flour

2 tbs soy sauce

2 tbs ketchup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grase an 8 inch loaf pan

Mash black beans and combine the rest of the ingredients until evenly combined. Transfer to prepared pan and pat down firmly using a spatula. bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, until firm and brown. Allow the loaf to cool 15-20 minutes before serving. I can't wait to eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow :)

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

So today was the last Sunday of the year teaching my class. I decided to to make the kids some cookies since I will be out of town for the next 2 weeks. The kids loved them and I have to be honest so did I. Here is what you need:

2tbs of milk, I used my favorite milk which is the Silk Dark Chocolate Almond Milk
1/2 c. chunky peanut butter
1/2 c. earth balance
1 banana
1/3 c. cane sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
1c. all purpose unbleached flour
1c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. chocolate chips

Cream the earth balance and the sugar together. Add in the banana, peanut butter, vanilla. slowly add in the rest of the ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips. Bake for 8 minutes in a 350 degree oven. enjoy!

Spinach Quesadilla

So I was browsing pinterest and everything had cheese in it. Bread options were slightly limited. I had spinach wraps and pitas on hand, so I got out the spinach wraps, earth balance and vegan mozzarella cheese. It was really easy and super tasty.

Finding Inspiration in unexpected places

This post is not about food, it is about something I love as much as food. Duct Tape. It comes in so many different colors and patterns. It is easy to work with and makes a great gifts :) So on my bike ride today I came across a mail flat in the road. I am not sure how it got there, but there it was. So I stopped and decided to bring it home, which was no small feat since I was about 2 miles from home.

When I got home I decided to pick some of the tangelos that were growing in the back yard. I was considering painting the flat to get the US Postal Service off of it, then I thought about covering it with duct tape. Then the real inspiration hit and I decided to make a smaller version of it out of duct tape.

I wasn't sure how to go about it, I decided to use Zebra for the bottom and blue for the sides. I think it came out super cute, and it will make a great Christmas present for my best friend who also has a love of duct tape. Good thing she is coming over tonight to exchange gifts, since I am not sure how long I could keep something this cute from her.

Mac and Cheese

I know what you are thinking, it is about time. I agree. Why did I wait so long? This is awesome and it was super easy. I totally used my great grandmothers baked macaroni and cheese recipe, well I veganized her recipe, but you wouldn't know it by eating it. It is amazing.

Here is what you need:

4 tablespoons Earth Balance Spread

1 bag of Diaya Cheddar Shreds

1/4 cup soymilk

1 lb cooked macaroni

Mix all ingredients together in a baking dish and salt and pepper to taste. Bake about 30-45 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Enjoy. I know you will.

AHHH......Vegan Thanksgiving :)

So this is my first Thanksgiving as a vegan, and my family was supper supportive letting me make all of the sides vegan. Of course there was a turkey, but I didn't have to buy it or cook it. My daddy took care of the turkey, everyone said that it was good. I am proud to say I have no clue what it tasted like.

I made some awesome lentil loaf that I substituted for the turkey. I unfortunately don't have a picture of it, since I turned the leftovers into a shepherds pie. One thing that I am thankful for is that since going vegan (17 weeks ago) I have lost 38lbs. I am also grateful that I got to spend time with my family, especially my adorable neices that took a 2 mile walk with me after lunch. So I realize that the pictures are not the greatest, I am still looking for my camera. Hope I find it soon, I guess in the mean time you will have to settle for the pictures that I take with my phone. Now for the stars of the day, the sides:


Acorn Squash Casserole

So I was at the farmers market last weekend and decided to get some fresh veggies for Thanksgiving this week. I saw some beautiful acorn squash and couldn't resist. So I decided instead of sweet potatoes, why not have squash casserole. I will admit I didn have a recipe so I just kind of winged it, but the results were pretty awesome.
Here is what you need:


3 cooked acorn squash, cut in half seeds removed
3 tablespoons Earth Balance
1 cup of brown sugar, divided
1/2 cup chopped pecans

To cook the squash I cut in half and scoop out the seeds. I then pierce the inner flesh with a fork several times and microwave until tender, you could also bake them in the ovrn, but it takes a lot more energy and time. Scoop out the squash and mix in the rest of the ingredients. Top with the remaining brown sugar and bake for 30-45 minutes.

Honey Glazed Carrots

Now I know what you are thinking honey? I thought this girl was vegan, homey comes from bees. It is kind of controversial, honey, yes it comes from bees, but last I checked the bees are not harmed in the honey making process. So I use honey. I only buy local, and I check with the beekeeper to make sure that humane practices are used.

Here is what you need:

Carrots
Honey
Earth Balance

Boil the carrots in water until tender. Stir in the honey and butter and heat thoroughly and serve


Broccoli Casserole

This is a staple in my family at holidays. I tried a few weeks ago to make a vegan version of this and it was not so good. Well I guess what I should say is that it did not taste so good, it was great learning experience. I must say that I think that in this case practice paid off, and Mackenzie even said that she like the vegan version better than the original. She loves me what can I say?


Here is what you need:

1 block of mori-nu tofu
8 oz mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of onions
1 bag of Diaya cheddar shreds
1 cup veganise
2-3 lbs broccoli, steamed
2 tablespoons of Earth Balance
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the Earth Balance over medium high heat and saute the mushrooms, garlic and onions add salt and pepper to taste.
Place the block of mori-nu in the food processor and add the sauted mushrooms, garlic and onions. (This replaces the traditional cream of mushroom soup.) Pulse a few times. Add in the mayo to complete what we in my family call the goo.
Place the cooked broccoli in a baking dish, stir in the goo and top with Diaya cheddar shreds. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

Cranberry Salad

So when Gram was alive we made cranberry salad one year for Thanksgiving, I have not stopped thinking about it, and wishing she was here each year to make it for me. I decided to take matters into my old hands and try to figure it out. I think that it was a little different than hers, but that may be a good thing it was delicious.

Here is what you need:

1 bag of cranberries

2 oranges, one with most of the peel

1 can of crushed pineapple, drained

2 apples cored and seeded

1 cup of organic cane sugar (or less if you want it more tart)

Place all of the ingredients minus the pineapple in the food processor and pulse a few times. Stir in the pineapple and refridgerate over night.

Wild Rice Pilaf with Apples and Walnuts

I found this recipe in one of my cookbooks, called Vegetarian Celebrations by Nava Atlas. It was marked $3 at Angel Aid on one of my visits and the entire store was half off, so I got it for a whopping $1.50. How cool is that, even better is that I used this recipe and the lentil loaf recipe out of it for Thanksgiving this yeah, total score.

Here is what you need:

2 granny smith apples, cored and seeded

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 1/2 cups of wild and brown rice, cooked

1teaspoon of salt

2 tablespoons of Earth Balance

1/2 onion

2 celery stalks

1/2 cup of sliced scallions

Place the onion, celery, and apples in the food processor. Heat a skillet over medium high heat and melt the Earth Balance, mix in the onion, celery and apples and saute. Add the cooked rice and dried cranberries. Heat thoroughly. Top with scallions.

Banana Dark Chocolate Chunk Bread Revisited

Ok so a few months ago, I posted a not so good recipe for Banana Nut Dark Chocolate Chunk Bread. I have since perfected the recipe or in other words I have fed this recipe to several people and they have all asked for seconds. I also got this adorable individual brownie pan, and so I used it tonight so that my sister could get an idea of what I was talking about when trying to explain it to her.Trust me this is way better than my earlier post, so ignore it, and go make some of these now. I make them almost once a week because I am constantly buying too many bananas (on purpose:-) Here is what you need:

2 or 3 ripe bananas
3 tablespoons of canola oil
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. dark chocolate chunks
1/2 c. Lite No Sugar Added Applesauce

Place the bananas and oil in the mixer bowl and with the flat paddle attachment mix until banans are mashed. Add in the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, chopped walnuts and applesauce. Mix thoroughly. Stir in chocolate chunks. Pour into an oiled muffin pan. Bake 20 minutes