Broccoli Pesto Pasta for St. Patty's Day

Happy St. Patty's Day!  Every year I wish I were back in New York because it's just not the same in Phoenix.  It's a much bigger deal back home. I was never a fan of corn beef and cabbage, so although I saw many veganized recipes for the traditional holiday fare, I just wanted to make something green.  It is my favorite color, after all, and obviously not a very tall order for a vegan diet.  I found a recipe for "Broccoli Pesto Pasta with Chickpeas" that looked simple and delicious.  They had me at broccoli.

The dish turned out to be quite tasty.  I did not include the lemon zest or the nutritional yeast.  I would also recommend mincing the garlic in the food processor first, so that you don't have to use additional tools.  Obviously I had to pair it up with a beer. We'll just pretend it wasn't a Blue Moon.

Chef's Soundtrack: U2 - "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

Food Trucks and Banana Bread

A Blog Entry, In Two Parts:

Part I: Food Trucks

Yesterday afternoon I finally tried out the food trucks at the Phoenix Public Market.  The Open Air Market is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but I had never been on a Wednesday before.  It's a bit different because there are less vendors and the food trucks set up around the perimeter.  There are lots of tables and chairs set up.  There was also live music right in the center, instead of on the outside.  The food trucks were as follows:

BuzznBeez Good Food Truck- soul food
Jamburritos Cajun Grille Express
Mojo Bowl - smoothies, shaved ice, and handmade pretzels
Pizza People
Q Up! - smoked meats, nachos, tacos, and sandwiches
Short Leash Hot Dogs -  gourmet hot dogs
Zone Lambay Concepts LLC - Filipino Street Food

There a number of different vegan options.  Jamburritos offered a veggie bowl.  Pizza People created custom-made pizzas, complete with vegan cheese.  Short Leash Hot Dogs had a vegetarian hot dog, but I'm not convinced that it was vegan.  I went with a vegan dish from the Filipino food truck, which involved rice, spinach, coconut milk, and mung beans.  I had never heard of nor eaten mung beans before, but they were tasty.  

My favorite part of the whole thing was eating outside because the weather has been fantastic in Phoenix this week.  Oh, and of course the good company of friends!



Part II: Banana Bread

I had a few very ripe bananas sitting on the counter yesterday, so I decided to make banana bread.  It's one of my favorite items to bake, but oddly enough, I don't have one go-to recipe.  Instead, I use a different recipe each time, depending on the ingredients I have available.  This time I used a recipe from Post Punk Kitchen, for a "no frills" banana bread, which was exactly what I wanted.  All of the other recipes I have used from this site have given awesome results, and this one did not disappoint.  I substituted 1/4 cup apple sauce in for one of the bananas, since it called for three and I only had two, and it was still great.  If you are thinking about making banana bread in the future, try this recipe, whether or not you are vegan.  You won't even miss the butter or eggs.  Really. 

Blogger/Chef's Soundtrack: John Mayer - "Bold as Love"

Spicy Lemon Black Bean Hummus

I'm on spring break, so I'm getting all kinds of things done that have been on the "to-do" list for ages.  For example, I made these cute rustic candle holders (by made, I mean I tied some lace around a mason jar and inserted a candle):

I have also been trying out some new recipes.  Today I made black bean hummus by slightly modifying a recipe I found on allrecipes.com.  You might have inferred from my title that I found the results spicy.  My mouth was on fire after a few tastes, but my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt, since it doesn't take much for my nose to start running, eyes watering, and tongue tingling.  Apparently the Southwest cuisine hasn't made enough of an impact on me yet.  I could also definitely taste the lemon juice alongside the cumin and cayenne pepper, though, and that evened things out.

 Ingredients

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper  

Directions

• Mince the garlic in the food processor.
• Mix all of the other ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
• Add everything to the food processor and process until a smooth consistency is reached.
• Chill in the refrigerator for about one hour before serving (at least I prefer it that way). 

This hummus was delicious, and I think it would also taste great with the traditional chickpeas rather than black beans. 

My cat always tries to steal our chips. 

Chef's Soundtrack: The Beatles - "Twist and Shout"
I periodically go through Beatles phases.

Sunday Morning Cinnamon Rolls

I have been thinking about making cinnamon rolls since the last time I was on break from school at Christmastime.  I often bring in cinnamon rolls for my morning class and I can never eat them!  I had originally wanted to use a recipe from Vegetarian Times for "Sweet Potato and Pecan Cinnamon Buns with Maple Glaze," but the thought of cooking and mashing sweet potatoes on a Sunday morning did not seem appealing.  I saw a recipe for "Coffee Cake Cinnamon Rolls with Orange Frosting" which seemed more doable, so I decided to use that one instead, making some of my own modifications.

The recipe was not complicated.  You make the dough, roll it out, and cover it with the vegan butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, and walnut toppings.  It was a lot of fun, and reminded me of the time we made cinnamon rolls in "Careers" class in seventh grade.  I discovered that I need a new rolling pin because both of the handles kept falling off while I attempted to roll out the dough.  I am working in a hodge-podge kitchen, so things like this tend to happen a lot.  After all of that, I rolled up the dough and sliced it into ten lovely rolls.

The recipe called for more brown sugar and walnuts, but I thought there was already plenty, so I didn't add any more to the top.  I also did not have any vegan cream cheese, so I had to forgo the frosting.  The house smelled great as these were baking, and I couldn't wait to try them.

I have to say that I was kind of disappointed with the overall flavor of  the dough.  I didn't add as much of the extras as the recipe suggested, but the dough itself didn't taste sweet enough.  Maybe sugar or cinnamon should have been added to the dough itself.  They sure looked nice, though.  Baking on Sunday mornings is the best.     


Chef's Soundtrack:  Maroon 5 -  "Sunday Morning" on Jack Johnson Pandora Station

"Keeping it Fresh" with Fajitas

One of my favorite things to do on Saturday mornings is to go downtown to the Phoenix Open Air Market.  If you live in Phoenix and you haven't been yet, you are missing out!  There are lots of food vendors, including produce, baked goods, and local arts and crafts.  There are usually various food trucks and often live music.  I haven't tried out anything from the food trucks, but I have been told that there are tasty vegan options; more to come on that later.

Today was the perfect day to stroll around downtown and check out the Market.  I visited the Treehouse (vegan!) Bakery and picked up my favorite chocolate chip macadamia cookies, freshly made whole wheat tortillas from Tortillas Rosario, and lovely tomatoes and romaine lettuce at other stands.  I got back into my car munching on a vegan cookie, blasting The Beatles, and feeling great about purchasing fresh and delicious food and supporting local business.  Plus, the tomatoes, lettuce, and tortillas would work perfectly for vegetable fajitas tonight.

There are lots of variations on fajitas, but my recipe is pretty great.  If you want to have a fantastic fajita, make sure you have fresh ingredients first!

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 white onion
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp dried cilantro
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 green bell pepper
1 small zucchini squash
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 lime


Directions:
1.  Heat olive oil in large skillet.
2.  Slice onion into thin slivers and simmer until translucent.  Chop garlic and continue to simmer for 2 minutes.  Add cumin and cilantro.
3.  Add sliced bell peppers and zucchini squash.  Simmer for 5 minutes or until cooked.
4.  Add black beans.  Squeeze lime juice over the entire dish. Simmer until heated.

You can add whatever you like to top off your fajita.  I went with mashed avocado, chopped tomatoes, and lettuce.  I used the freshly made tortillas I mentioned earlier, and this dish was fantastic.  I ended up with enough food to make four generous fajitas. 

A few weeks ago I found the following message written on my board at the end of the school day:

This recipe is definitely fresh.  In both senses of the word.

Chef's Soundtrack: The Beatles: "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"

 

"Lala how life goes on."

Accidentally Vegan

Being vegan doesn't mean that you necessarily have to give up all of the "normal" foods that you love.  Let's be real: there are going to be lots of changes.  And as a result of those changes, you are going to be healthier, happier, and hotter.  But that doesn't mean you can't still shop at your regular old grocery store and buy plenty of regular old foods.  There are lots of foods that we shall call "accidentally vegan," meaning that they just so happen to conveniently lack animal ingredients.  You can visit PETA to find a more comprehensive list, but here are some of my favorites:

1.  Oreos
     Thank heaven.
     Also, in serendipitous fashion, I just found out that today is the 100th birthday of Oreos.

2.  Nature Valley Dark Chocolate and Nut Granola Bars
     This flavor happens to be my favorite, but most of the others are vegan, too.
     I pack one in my teacher lunch bag every day.

3.  Frito's
     Probably the most unhealthy food I dare to consume these days.

4.  Keebler Vienna Fingers
     More cookies.

5.  Nabisco Nutter Butter Cookies
     These things take me back to my childhood.

6.  Nabisco Teddy Grahams
     You can still eat food shaped like animals!

7.  Ritz Whole Wheat Crackers
     All of the Ritz crackers are vegan.  I enjoy the whole wheat variety the most.

8.  Wheat Thins
     What's not to love?

9.  Thomas New York Style Cinnamon Swirl Bagels
     Delicious with Tofutti cream cheese.

10.  Duncan Hines Creamy Home Style Frosting - Classic Vanilla
       Much easier than frosting made from scratch!

11.  Ghirardelli and Starbucks hot chocolates
       Chocolatey goodness mixed with soy milk.  

There are lots and lots of other "accidentally vegan" foods, and you will find them too, once you start reading food labels.  You can add most cereals to the list, many varieties of chips, and quite a few candies.  I do not recommend stocking up on vegan junk food, but hey, it's nice to know you can eat a few Double Stuf Oreos at a party or grab a bag of Sour Patch Kids at the movies and not abandon your vegan philosophy.

Ingredients: SUGAR, UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID), HIGH OLEIC CANOLA AND/OR PALM AND/OR CANOLA OIL, COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CORNSTARCH, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA AND/OR CALCIUM PHOSPHATE), SALT, SOY LECITHIN, VANILLIN--AN ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CHOCOLATE; CONTAINS: WHEAT, SOY

Review: Avocado Lime Dark Chocolate Mousse

If you are a vegan with a sweet tooth, and you have not checked out the blog Fragrant Vanilla Cake, go there now.  Check that.  If you are anyone with a sweet tooth, take a look at this blog immediately.  The recipes and photographs for cookies, cakes, and a variety of other desserts are out of this world mouth-watering.  I really like this blog because many of the recipes are quite inventive, and include ingredients that I would have never thought to use. 

Last weekend, I decided to try out the recipe for Avocado Lime Dark Chocolate Mousse from this site.  It was the night of the Oscars, and I thought it would a great dessert choice, particularly since the photos depicted it served in martini glasses. It's not difficult to make, but I do believe I used every dish in the kitchen, between throwing the avocados into the food processor, melting the chocolate, and whipping the coconut milk.  My pictures aren't great for this one, because once it was ready, we couldn't wait to eat it!

This is a very decadent dessert; definitely one for the chocolate lovers!  The mousse was extremely rich and sweet.  I didn't love the whipped coconut milk.  It was meant to contrast with the richness of the chocolate, but it just wasn't sweet enough for me.  Besides that, I loved the dessert.  Now I just have to decide which dessert recipe to try next.