BBQ Soy Curls and Mac & Cheese

I bought a bag of Soy Curls in Austin and I knew I wanted to make something BBQ with them. I tried to make the smoky curls recipe from Vegan Diner, but I didn't think they were very flavorful. I poured some of my favorite BBQ sauce into the skillet to make them delicious. I served the soy curls on the hamburger buns I baked using the recipe in Vegan Diner with some shredded lettuce and a sprinkle of Daiya. I served these with the baked mac and cheese from Chloe's Kitchen. The mac and cheese recipe makes a 9" x 13" pan, so the mac and cheese leftovers lasted longer than the sandwich leftovers.

Homemade Andes Mints

I have been browsing the web trying to find ways to use the vegan white chocolate chips I bought in Austin. You can order them on Amazon here, but I did not want to commit to multiple bags without trying them first. I stumbled upon a recipe for homemade Andes Mints on a vegan blog. I immediately knew that I *HAD* to make them. I used to love Andes Mints! They were incredible!! I'd recommend lining your pan with parchment paper, because my chocolate stuck to the glass pan.

Caribbean Lentil Patties

When I was at the Texas VegFest, I bought a copy of Caribbean Vegan. I saw many interesting recipes, but I picked the lentil patties as a weekend afternoon project. I made the dough in the afternoon, so it had time to chill. I loved the flavor of these patties, even though I used a little bit of jalapeno pepper instead of scotch bonnet or habanero pepper. I decided to use up the extra bunch of kale in the fridge to serve as side dish. I seasoned the kale with many of the same spices used in the patties. I wish I would have made more turmeric wash though so the whole patty top would have looked yellow. I can't wait to make more recipes from this book!

Quan Yin - Houston, TX

My friend Beverly loves Quan Yin. She requested that we go there for our last meal together. She accepted another postdoc position in Stonybrook. We went to Quan Yin with another one of our vegan friends and we split the dishes between us. We had a sweet and sour soup as a starter, then split the salted tofu, orange peel chick'n, and some grain-based fish dish. I'm really going to miss her. It's not everyday I meet another vegan scientist. I saw her one more time after this meal when we made s'mores in her oven using the giant Dandies that I bought in Austin.

Homemade Pizza

Miss Adie is recovering from her surgery, so it's time to start blogging again. While I was home with her all day after bringing her home from the vet, I decided to make pizza from scratch. I used the dough and sauce recipes from Vegan with a Vengeance. I topped it with some Daiya mozzarella shreds, Phoney Baloney coconut bacon, Kalamata olives, sauteed onions, and sauteed mushrooms. I loved it! The dough recipe makes enough for 2 thin crust pizzas with a 14" diameter. I didn't get mine quite that big, but they were still delicious. The sauce recipes make enough for 4 pizzas, so I froze the unused half in 1 Tbs aliquots in a silicone ice cube tray. You only need 1/3 cup sauce per pizza to prevent the dough from getting soggy.

Kitty Surgery

After taking one of my cats in for an aural hematoma a couple weeks ago, the other cat vomited a couple times during the week. I thought they were developing allergies, but the vomiting cat's were more severe. After taking her in for another exam and a X-ray, the vet determined that she had something foreign in her tummy. She was rushed into surgery and 1/4 lb of hair bands were removed from her belly. They were VERY nasty!! Several were stuck together with hair and food. Based on their appearance, the vet said they've been in there a looong time. Based on the time frame she would have access to the cabinets where these were stored in my previous apartments, she likely ingested them in 2011. Yikes! I think a stomach X-ray will become standard at their yearly exams after this whole ordeal. I've spent $1300 at the vet in the last 3 weeks! I also put all small hair accessories into a mason jar, even though she has yet to try to open the drawer they were stored in. I'm just waiting on her to have a bowel movement, but she'll have to go to vet again if she doesn't poop by Monday. I've been keeping the cats separated by placing a baby gate in the stairwell. They're in the same room right now for the first time since Tuesday morning, but I'm supervising so that she doesn't mess up her sutures. Anyway, I just wanted to give an update. I'll be back to blogging about food this weekend or early next week, I've got a couple photos waiting to be turned into posts. :)

Kale & Mushroom Stuffed Shells

There is a recipe for tofu ricotta in Artisan Vegan Cheese. It has non-dairy yogurt added for creaminess. There is also an almond ricotta recipe, but I didn't have enough almonds for that recipe. I sauteed some onion, garlic, kale, and portabella mushrooms to mix with the tofu ricotta. I used the Italian veggie marinara from Victoria Vegan Sauces. It was still marked down a little at Fiesta. I could see chunks of artichokes through the glass, so I blended it to make it smooth. I even bought some Daiya mozzarella to sprinkle on top! Yum!