Eat Me.

Anything you can do we can do vegan.

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Dream Fridge

When we move to Chicago I would really love to move into a space that is a blank canvas. No counters, no sink, no appliances and no layout. Our kitchen now is spacious but whomever designed it could have made a lot better use of the space. We have also only needed to replace the fridge and the dishwasher and unfortunately had to stick with Sears run-of-the-mill standards.

If I had to replace the fridge over again I would definitely spring for a Sunfrost. Sunfrost fridges are great because their compressors are at the top of the fridge and the cool air falls instead of having to be pumped up through the fridge. They are also crazily insulated and energy efficient so work really well with homes that are run with solar or other alternative energy sources. My favorite thing about them is they come in smaller sizes and any finish (over 100 standard finishes) you could want. Plus they don't break the bank at around 2,000$.

My personal favorite is the RF 16 or the RF 12. Super cute! Or I would get a R10 and F10 and hide them under my counters. The picture above is of a RF12 and was a feature in The Nest magazine. (Definitely not a subscription. This month was all about what sort of animals were best to BBQ.)

Now if Amos and I could only agree on which is better: under-counter or wall-mounted ovens.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Vegan Nutella Continued...

I just found a recipe for make-your-own nutella on a site called vegan represent. I might give it a try. I haven't been able to find a vegan version in a jar for sale yet but haven't looked that hard either. Nutella... drool...

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Vegan Thai Recipes

I was so pumped when Cee from Real Thai Recipes commented on my previous post about drunken noodle and offered to help me out with vegan adaptations of Thai recipes. Thanks Cee - I love your site and will make a list of things I need help with!

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Maple Walnut Granola


























Granola is way easier to make then I ever thought possible. I must mention here Surrey's, a hidden gem of a restaurant in New Orleans, that serves the best home-made granola in the world. Not to mention the best bagels and avocado mash ever. And their coffee is the best ever. Plus they have really good juice. But back to point - their crispy, clumpy, warm granola served with soy milk and fresh fruit inspired me to try to make my own.

Granola must be one of those things that people make a million different ways. I opted for a low-temp, non-honey, non-sugar recipe that turned out crackaliscious. The only thing all the recipes I surveyed had in common was stirring the granola while baking every 10-15 minutes.

The first picture is of the granola fresh from the oven. The other picture is of my breakfast yesterday: the last of the granola, fresh blueberries, and almond milk. So fantastic. I think I want to try a peanut butter granola next. And my goal is to uncover the secret that makes it clump. Wish me luck.

Maple Walnut Granola

You Will Need
3 Cups Old-Fashioned Oats
1 Cup Finely Chopped Raw Walnuts
1/2 Cup + 2 Tbsp. Maple Syrup
1/2 Cup + 2 Tbsp. Expeller Pressed Canola Oil
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 Tsp. Salt

Method
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a medium sized bowl mix together all liquid ingredients and salt. In large bowl combine oats and walnuts. Pour liquid mixture over dry ingredients and toss to coat evenly.

Spread oat/walnut/liquid mixture evenly on a 10x13 baking sheet. Place in oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Allow to cool on wire racks.

After cool store in an airtight container for up to a week. If it lasts that long around the house it can be frozen for up to three months.

Gateaux des Crepes.

Over the past week I have seen at least three blogs posting their very own home-made crepe cakes. I believe that bloggers must just egg each other on because now I want to make a crepe cake. Smitten Kitchen listed reasons to make a crepe cake above all other cakes. (Like I needed to be encouraged further...) The reason that touched me personally is crepe cakes are a low-heat affair. No oven, only stove top. Refrigeration even. I love to bake but not when it is 95 degrees in the shade.

Two posts of the three posts use the same recipe from the New York Times. The crepe recipe looks easy enough to veganize - we had crepes with creamed spinach two nights ago - but am not sure what to use instead of the custardy/creamy filling that holds it all together. I think it would be gross to use regular 'ole frosting.

If you are intrigued check out Smitten Kitchen's post here and Cream Puff in Venice's post here. Cream Puff in Venice has a fun little crepe cake story about the recipe developed by a Mme M. The name makes me think of a madam of a turn of the century Parisian brothel which of course always brings to mind crepe cakes. Right?!

Also in crepe news: Quebec is apparently rife with fantastic creperies. (Vegan creperies? Mais non. Tres triste.) Also I am thinking about launching a petition asking Nutella to go vegan. LOVE LOVE.

(Francophiles did you get my French joke in the subject? Gateau plural ha ha ha.)

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

End of the Workday Post

I just listened to the December 5th, 2006 episode of Animal Voices, a radio show out of Toronto, which profiled a few different vegan blogs. My favorite by far is a girl out of Seattle's blog, A Vegan Ice Cream Paradise. Just the name sounds good but the sheer number of ice cream recipes this girl has under her belt is very impressive indeed. Plus cookie and brownie recipes. (Hopefully a better cookie recipe than mine because apparently mine tastes like bread.) Maybe I can email her and ask for a green tea flavor? I love vegans - they are sooo do-it-yourself.

This other blog I am hesitant to post but it seems she has a lot of information on Toronto. And vegan info on a Canadian city is important to me why? Well have I told you all about my planned road trip? Well first things first I have a sad/happy announcement: we are planning on selling our beautiful home here in New Orleans and moving back to my old home in frigid Chicago. The varieties of feelings I have towards this move is substantial enough to be the subject of a whole other blog so we aren't even going there.

So in the meantime after we sell the house and have no ties to worldly possessions I thought we could start in Virginia and drive or train along the East Coast to Maine, hitting up NYC(!), Philly, Boston, Annapolis, Providence.... etc etc and not in that order. Then from Maine go west to Quebec(!) and then south to Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Ann Arbor then home to Chicago.

So back to the other blog. It is called Megan the Vegan and is sort of like our blog - her chronicling her vegan cooking posting pictures and recipes. It's really not that super fantastic but she seems like she's having fun. Another source for what's what in Toronto if you are vegan (probably a better source) is the Toronto Vegan Project. I have barely scratched the surface on this one and think you don't need to be going to Toronto anytime soon to enjoy this blog. That's all for now I want to go home!

Wait- If you have any knowledge of fantastic vegan places along my proposed route please comment - I will add them to my list of places to see.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

What We Ate This Morning

This is what we have been eating for breakfast recently: Home-made soy yogurt topped with dried currants, home-made granola and sliced banana. Alternate soy yogurt with almond milk (home-made of course) and the dried currants with mango or toasted coconut and it is our breakfast of champions.

Now I know that is a LOT of home-mades up there. It actually is not that bad and all that work keeps us vegan and healthy. I will dedicate separate posts to inform you of how to make these things but for now am just leaving you with a picture. Sweet dreams.

"Blueberry Bonanza Is Expected For The Area"


Blueberries and then beach - a summer's day well spent.

Find a farm near you here at www.pickyourown.org or if you live in Louisiana the Times Picayune article with a list blueberry farms in the region here. We went to Live Oaks Farm in Pass Christian Mississippi because of it's close proximity to the beach and because their berries are certified organic. More on the blueberries later when they are baked into pies or churned into ice cream....

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Found: Drunken Noodle Recipe

I have been on the search for a drunken noodle recipe that is comprehensive. So far the recipe I use is a slip of paper with about three different measurements for each ingredient because every recipe I have found so far varies wildly. It might also be I was looking under the English translation and not the Thai name Pad Kee Mao.

What is fantastic about drunken noodle is the fresh basil - we use purple basil from the garden. Then add tomato which makes is fantastic plus hotness on top of that... whew! And those fat rice noodles are so very good.

While I have no recipe of my own to share with you now I just found this blog about Thai cooking with a comprehensive drunken noodle recipe. I will have to see about fish sauce substitutions however. The site seems really well put together with lots of recipes and lots of information on technique and ingredients. If you love Thai food this site is definitely worth a look!

Monday, June 11, 2007

Quick Spaghetti


I'm on a role so I am posting two things tonight. For a little over a year I was totally against buying spaghetti sauce in a jar or even canned tomatoes. I then realized that was crazy and decided to snazz up a jar of sauce. I chopped some onion and garlic and sauteed them in a sauce pan and added the JAR, some basil, and and a cup of TVP. I then topped it with what we have been calling PARMA (A walnut, nutritional yeast, and sea salt blend). The result was better than expected and reminded me of the spaghetti of my childhood. That being said a sauce made with two ripe tomatoes, two Japanese eggplants, peppers, onion, garlic, basil, sage, and oregano can't be beat.

Ballpark Sushi


This is my (the other half of the WE) first post. I will start with my one of my favorite things...Sushi. People generally think of raw fish when they hear sushi, but the real tastiness is in the rice. I have made my own sushi about a half dozen times and have learned these few things. First, it takes a long time to make the rice properly but is not hard at all. Second, it is best to let people make their own rolls or else you never get to eat. Lastly, avocado is key. My favorite ingredients for fillings are avocado, cucumber, asparagus, sweet potato, eggplant, tempeh, peanuts, and some sort of hot sauce or mustard. If you can roll all these things into one roll more power to you but it is easiest to just make simple combinations of one to three things. Our last sushi dinner consisted of vegan hot dog rolls complete with mustard, ketchup, and pickle relish. They tasted somewhat gross but you probably already figured that out after seeing the picture.

One cup of rice generally is enough for about four rolls. I am not going to go into detail about how to make the rice because that info is everywhere on the internet and comes with most sushi mats and seaweed wrappers. Basically you rinse (5 min), soak (15 min), dry (15 min), cook (5-8 min), steam (10-15 min), set (10 min), and finally mix in sushi-su (recipe below) while fanning. I am not patient enough to dry the rice but it seems to work well enough without that step. The rice itself is good enough to eat.

Sushi-Su for 1 Cup of Sushi Rice

2T rice vinegar
2t sugar
1t salt

Once the Sushi-Su and the Rice have been mixed and are close to room temperature you simply spread some rice on the nori with wet hands or a rice paddle. Leave about one inch at the top of the nori to seal the role. Add your ingredients and roll. The vinegar in the rice purposively re-acts with metal blades so it is best to use a ceramic knife to cut the rolls.

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Mortar and Pestle

I just found A+R Store through a post on Tastespotting. I want everything in their cooking department. The prices are so reasonable as well!

All these range from 20-30$. Aren't the bones funny?! Are the bones vegan? They aren't real bones. I also love mixing simple things like pancake batter in larger measuring cups so the mix and measure bowls are perfect. And I am so sick of crushing things in a plastic bag with a hammer or underside of glass jar a mortar and pestle is just what I need. We also have housewarming and wedding gifts to catch up on...





Monday, June 4, 2007

Vegan Cookie Update

I really have to wonder if anyone ever reads this because I try to put out good information on representing the vegan baked goods and what happens? My own sister bakes vegan cookies that she compared to bread. I think my mom must be getting used to this now because all she said was the cookies were "different." Oh the trials and tribulations of baking vegan. She did say they tasted fine and she did do the really uber-lowfat variation with no butter or oil. I guess the pictures are working though because she said she doesn't actually read the blog. I love my little sister- she is really the best!

I also had a redeeming third-party vegan cookie experience last Friday. A girl from our yoga class brought in vegan chocolate chip coconut cookies that were awesome. However she brought them in because she is moving to Belgium. Guess I won't be getting that recipe anytime soon.

Friday, June 1, 2007

The thing about sushi...

The thing about sushi is the variety. You must watch this video taken from a camera placed on the sushi conveyor belt in a restaurant in Tokyo. The people sitting along the side and in the background are fantastic. I also loved how as the little film moved along the architecture of the restaurant revealed itself and was especially delighted as the camera passed through the wall and into the kitchen. And you get to sneak peeks at all the other yummy looking items living on the conveyor belt.

Now, If you thought I was going to blog about how awesome vegan sushi is so sorry. But it is and if you need vegan sushi references I suggest post punk kitchen's vegan sushi party page and preparing a bit of cucumber salad with wa-fu dressing to start with.

Now guess what I want for dinner?