Pizza, Muffins and Soup

I woke up this morning and just knew I needed to cook. After some store bought bagels with Toffuti Cream Cheese, diced red onions, capers and sliced tomatoes for breakfast I decided to get serious.  I made a Veggie Pizza for lunch (I always use the ingredients listed on the linked post -- today I added vegan pepperoni slices, my olives, which I switch around from green, black, etc. were deli marinated, and I added mushrooms I had sauteed with a bag of fresh baby spinach as a l big topping just before adding the cheese)

Then I decided to make the Black and White Muffins I found online last week.  They were delicious, moist and definitely a make-again. (I used Toffuti Cream Cheese and Silk Light Soy Milk).

Then I decided to make a big pot of Beef and Barley Soup (that I blogged back in December.) It is currently simmering away and smelling delicious.

It's been a great fun day of cooking delicious food. Enjoy!

Sichuan Stir-Fry Seitan with Peanuts

Stir-fries are such a nice weekend dinner, they come together so fast. Don't let this list of ingredients startle you Some of the same ones are used in the marinade and the sauce so the list seems long. Just grab all of your ingredients, prep all the veggies and then you are ready to cook. The original recipe was from Cooking Light and used chicken.

Marinade:

• 2 tablespoons Bragg's
• 2 tablespoons Mirin (rice wine)
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 package WestSoy cubed Seitan

Stir-Frying Oil:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

Sauce:

• 1/2 vegan Chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons Bragg's
• 2 tablespoons Mirin (rice wine)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons minced green onions
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced ginger
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 7 cloves)
• 1 teaspoon chile and garlic sauce

Remaining Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups drained, sliced water chestnuts
• 1 cup (1/2-inch) sliced green onion tops
• 3/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts
• 6 cups hot cooked long-grain rice

To prepare marinade, combine first 5 ingredients (listed under marinade) in a medium bowl; cover and chill 20 minutes.

To prepare sauce, combine all of the ingredients (listed under Sauce); stir well with a whisk.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the seitan mixture; stir-fry about 4 minutes or seitan is slightly brown.

Remove from pan; set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in pan. Add the sauce ingredients and cook for about 1 minute until it slightly thickens.

Stir in seitan, water chestnuts, sliced onion tops, and peanuts; cook for 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Serve over rice.

Rosemary & Sea Salt Focaccia

Last night I decided to make my Baked Penne for dinner since it makes a lot, is simple and everyone loves it. Anna, my daughter would be here for dinner so I wanted something delicious, quick and hot. What to go with it? A salad, sure - but I just received this wonderful Vegetarian Kitchen cookbook from Angie and saw this awesome looking recipe for Rosemary & Sea Salt Focaccia. So I made it. The difference here is mine is rolled out to fit my cookie sheet (not round) and the next time I make it I'd use Kosher Salt not the sea salt. My sea salt is in a grinder that makes a fine grind, this would be better with a chunky salt on it. With that said it was delicious. You can see Taylor my granddaughter had a great time helping.

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 packet reapid-rise yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small red onion
leaves from 1 large rosemary spring
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.

Stir in the yeast, then make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in the water nad 2 tablespoon of the oil. Mix well, adding a little more water if the mixture seems dry.

Turn the dough on to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a greased bowl.

Let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour until doubled in size. Punch down and knead the dough for 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425F. Roll out the dough (about 1/2 inch thick) to a large shape that will fit on your greased baking sheet. Brush dough with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Halve the onion and slice into thin wedges. Sprinkle over the dough with the rosemary and sea salt, pressing in  lightly.

Using a finger make deep indentations in the dough. Cover the surface with greased plastic wrap, then let it rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Remove the plastic wrap and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden. Serve warm.

Cold Peanut Sesame Noodles

I was looking for something fairly quick to throw together the other night and came across this recipe for Sesame Noodles. It has very few ingredients but is big on flavor. By default it's vegan as long as your Peanut Sauce doesn't have animal products lurking around, read the label to be sure. I only made 1/2 of the recipe so the ingredients reflect that. If you want to feed more like 6 or 8 folks double this. Our local Publix just started carrying the Gardein Mandarin Orange Crispy Chicken and we hadn't tried it yet. I had a package in the freezer and decided it would be a good side, so I fixed it according to the package directions, it was DELICIOUS! I really love the Gardein products.

1/2 package multigrain spaghetti
1/4 cup Padang Peanut Sauce
2 green onions (scallions), sliced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Prepare pasta according to package directions. While it cooks chop all of your veggies.

Now toast your sesame seeds in a small skillet, keep your eye on them they can go from toasting to burning pretty quick.

In a medium sized bowl add peanut sauce, green onions, red bell pepper and lime juice. Mix well.

Toss your drained pasta into the bowl and give it all a good mix.

Add the toasted sesame seeds.

Serve with the chicken or whatever you prefer on the side. Enjoy!

Fellow Blogger.....

An Opera Singer in the Kitchen is celebrating her 2nd anniversary blogging with

Second Blogiversary and Giveaway

 go check out her site to enter the giveway for 5 great prizes. 

Club Quesadilla

We love all kinds of sandwiches and had not made quesadillas in a long time. I came across a recipe that that was similar to a club sandwich but was on tortillas. Yummy! this vegan sandwich is so tasty. Go grab all of your ingredients and be sure to have everything sliced, diced, etc before you begin. We each ate an entire tortilla for lunch, but depending on the size of your tortillas you may want to split one.  For each complete quesadilla you will need:

• 2 tortillas
• 1/2 medium tomato, sliced thin and into bite sized pieces
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 2/3 cup Diaya Pepper Jack cheese shredsd
• 4 slices Tofurkey (your pick of flavor), sliced into strips
• 2 pieces Smart Bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 tablespoon Vegenaise
• 1 tablespoon Spicy Brown Mustard
• 1/4 avocado, sliced
• Several dashes Frank's Hot Sauce (to your liking)

  

Heat your cast iron skillet over medium-high. Spread one tortilla with Vegenaise and the other with the mustard. Place one tortilla in your skillet with the dry side down. Add 1/2 of the cheese, all of the tomato

 

Then add the Tofurkey and bacon

Now add the avocado, scallion and hot sauce

And the rest of the cheese.  Top with the other tortilla, dry side up. Press on the top tortilla with your hand or a spatula do squash it down and make everything stick together. Once the bottom tortilla starts to brown carefully flip it over. Let cool for a few minutes before cutting.

Enjoy!!

I am a winner

I'm sure that headline got your attention. I just found out I won two copies of Vegan Unplugged from the Vegan Heritage Press site. I am so excited. Once I receive these cookbooks I'll have a drawing to give away one of them. Be sure to check back often so you can enter.

I've been really busy lately and remade a few dishes over the weekend that you should check out incase you missed them the first time. Baked Potato Soup is delicious and I don't normally do very much 'cooking' in the microwave (but remember the I've been really busy lately part!).

 This soup is really delicious and I decided since I was already cooking in the microwave to add my Refried Bean Poblano with Cheese to round out the meal.

I also decided to try the Tuna Salad recipe from Happy Herbivore and I'm hooked. I took some to work to share with a coworker and she couldn't belive it wasn't tuna. Lindsay has this recipe on her site -- go try it. The only differences I made was to use chopped onion instead of onion powder and Bragg's instead of soy sauce.

Red Beans & Rice

The weather turned a little cooler (if the high 80's is cooler for you) and I have been thinking about a big bowl of yummy. I like to use my slow cooker on occasion and when I came across this recipe, I just knew I was going to make it vegan. One of the best things about this dish is you DO NOT soak the beans, just dump it all in and turn it on.

• 1 pound dried red beans
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
• 1 package Field Roast Italian Sausage, thinly sliced 
• Hot cooked long-grain rice
• Hot sauce (optional)
• Garnish: finely chopped green onions, finely chopped red onion

Combine first 7 ingredients and 7 cups water in a 4-qt. slow cooker.

Cover and cook on HIGH 7 hours or until beans are tender. Add the sausage and cook until they are good and hot. I cooked on low for about an hour to help the flavors marry.

Give a final stir before serving.

Serve red bean mixture with hot cooked rice, and, if desired, hot sauce. Garnish, if desired.