happy vibes

I feel so good. I haven't had any time for myself for months now. What did I do with my time? Well, hung out doin' stuff in my kitchen of course! I didn't do a ton, but I had myself a cooking/cleaning/dance party.

I pulled up my favorite website for music - pandora.com. I made some cookies, which I have been craving for far too long, it's shameful...really. And also strange considering I have never really loved cookies. I made some more sauce for leftover hawaiian haystack stuff, except I changed it by adding in 2 tsp maca powder (so good for you in so many different ways!). I'm kind of terrible at eating leftovers when not everything is there. I cut up some overripe bananas to put in the freezer for "ice cream" during the week. Yes, I plan on posting recipes for these things when it's not 1:00 AM. Oh! And...I cleaned my own dishes! It's a miracle.

I admit, I am the culprit of all my husband's chores - dishes.

He used to joke when we first got married that he would be the dishwasher, now I think he has swallowed those words whole. More like choked on them. Hard. *Please! Don't pity him* He's fine, that's his one task to do around the house, so he's all right. He's a good husby. I show him gratitude by making delicious baked goods and tasty dishes :)

Anyway...I just had to mention how good of a night I had all by myself doing exactly what I wanted to do while knowing my little guy was upstairs sound asleep dreaming of whatever happy little boy things might be.

shepherd's pie - mushroomized

I admit, the picture...not so enticing, I get it. It looks like mush in a bowl? Meaty mush. I know.

Think again. It.is.so.tasty! I made it a bit runnier because I love liquidy casserole dishes, full of flavor! The husby wanted to make a bowl immediately after taste testing for me. That is saying a lot - for those who read my personal blog, you know that I struggle to feed my guy. He's just not an eater. He useta could eat a-ny-thing! Now...phh, just get him a 24 pack of sprite through the year and some egg nog during the holidays and he's all set! That just doesn't fly with me :) I like knowing I gave my guy a well balanced, fill-your-tummy, meal! I just do, it's in my nature. So, you can imagine my happiness when he asked me if we he could make some up for himself! That is a huge compliment when I adore cooking so much and he hardly eats any of it. A true success!

shepherd's pie
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3 T earth balance margarine
4 large russet potatoes, scrubbed clean under lukewarm water, then chopped into large pieces (you can peel, if you don't like the skins. Remember, though, extra minerals are a plus!)
1/2 cup original soymilk (or anything other nut milk), plus additional tbsp's as needed
1 bag of morningstar farms burger crumbles
2 cans campbell's mushroom gravy (if you don't like it as runny as mine, maybe try a 1/4 cup veg broth with 2 T garbanzo bean flour or 1 T cornstarch over medium high heat to thicken, then add to other 1 can of mushroom gravy)
1 can organic peas, drained
1/2 of 1 large carrot, chopped
1 - 7oz can of sliced mushrooms

Seasonings:
1 tsp meat and poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
pinch (seriously, just a smidgen) of cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a large pot, boil the potatoes for 20-30 minutes. You want them to be very tender for mashing them up later.
3. While the potatoes are boiling, mix the burger crumbles, gravy, mushrooms, peas, carrots, n' spices. Pour into 13 x 9 casserole dish. Easy peasy! How's that for slaving over a hot can opener? ;)
4. Drain potatoes and place in a medium bowl. Using a hand mixer, mash potatoes with margarine and soymilk.
5. Top the crumble mixture in the casserole dish with an even spread of divinely mashed potatoes, making sure to get all the way to the edges!
5. Bake 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are starting to get a bit browned.

See? I like it runny. That Campbell's mushroom gravy is the devil, though! I'm a mushroomaholic, so it's my vise. (Shh, don't tell my dad that, it'll make him rethink his ways when I was a kid, lol. All those years shoving them down my throat while I would refuse. It was just a front I put on.)

Enjoy!

my version of momma's hawaiian haystacks

Hands down the most unusual mix of things that turns out the easiest and most convenient and most addicting concoction ever! This was a tradition in my house growing up and sadly, I haven't indulged enough in it for the past few years. I have created a delicious substitute for cream of chicken just so I could enjoy this once again!

momma's hawaiian haystacks
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cooked brown rice
crunchy chow mein noodles
pineapple tidbits in 100% pineapple juice
mandarin oranges in naturally sweet mandarin orange juice

toppings to choose from:
diced tomatoes
peas
olives
green onions
black beans (or whatever)
chopped green onions
bell peppers
carrots
shredded cheese
green beans
corn

cream of chicken sauce:
1 3/4 cups water
5 T garbanzo bean flour (add additional tsp's if necessary)
3 T no chicken base bouillon
2 T juice from the can of mandarin oranges
1 T juice from the can or pineapple tidbits

1. Since garbanzo bean flour is easier to work with as a thickener than cornstarch, arrowroot, or xantham gum, go ahead and add all sauce ingredients to a medium saucepan, stirring with a whisk constantly over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook over medium for about 2 minutes or until you reach desired thickness.
2. Add more flour if you want a thicker sauce.

To serve, add a layer of brown rice, cream of chicken sauce, then toppings of choice. Bare in mind, there are plenty of toppings you can come up with, but make sure to use the mandarin oranges and pineapple tidbits to garnish. It adds the perfect hawaiian flavor!

Note to parents: your kids will love this if you place all toppings on the table and let them choose what they get to put in their bowls to eat :)

egg nog pudding - or any other pudding!

This is scrumptious. Like heaven in your mouth. That is, if you like egg nog ;)

egg nog pudding
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1/3 cup turbinado sugar
3 T plus 1 tsp garbanzo bean flour
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
2 cups soy egg nog
1 tsp vanilla emulsion (or extract)
nutmeg

1. Mix sugar, salt, n' 1 cup of egg nog in a medium saucepan.
2. Whisk remaining 1 cup of egg nog with garbanzo bean flour in a small bowl.
3. Turn stove to medium high heat. Add in flour mixture, whisking constantly. Once heated through, reduce heat to low-medium, stirring constantly until thickened.
4. Remove from heat n' add vanilla. Let cool for about 10 minutes. Pour in a bowl, cover with saran wrap pressed down to touch the top of the custard, store in fridge for about 2 or 3 hours before serving. You want to make sure you press the saran wrap down in order to prevent a hard layer on your pudding mixture.

To serve, layer in a mason jar or any dish of choice with graham crackers or gingersnap cookies. Top with a smidgen of nutmeg or go with soy whipped cream topped with nutmeg and more graham cracker crumbs.

If you haven't already thought of it, I am just going to state the obvious here; try going with any other types of nut milk instead of using egg nog for a year round dessert! This would be killer with coconut milk (not canned, I'm talking about the stuff you see right with the almond and soy milk these days mmMmmmMMm!) I have made it with vanilla almond milk and used less vanilla emulsion, but added in different extracts before. It's really incredible. Always use a different crumble to compliment the flavor. Mint pudding would go well with shortbread cookies, coconut pudding would be delicious with some type of lemon cookie. Just go wild!

caeser salad cravings - check!

I have been craving caesar salad so much lately! Here is something to fix those insatiable needs for a fishy salad ;)

1 recipe for croutons (recipe below)
3 tbsp sliced almonds, roasted in a dry skillet until lightly browned
3 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp shoyu
3 tbsp honey dijon mustard (or just regular dijon if you're a vegan that doesn't agree with honey, but be weary and try a little at a time because simple dijon can overpower the recipe)
3-4 garlic cloves, pressed
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 large heads of romaine lettuce, either sliced or just torn (I try to use as much of the base as well for extra minerals)
1-2 tsp dulce powder
water, as desired

- combine all ingredients, except for lettuce and croutons, into a blender.
- drain the lettuce in cold water and add to a large serving bowl.
- add dressing to the lettuce in little increments until you get the desired lettuce to dressing ratio.
- serve and add croutons!
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Croutons:
5 slices sourdough or whole wheat bread
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp italian seasoning
olive oil

- preheat oven to 325.
- in a small bowl, mix all seasonings together.
- slice bread into cubes, either cutting off the crust or leaving on. I prefer to remove them.
- in a medium bowl, add bread crumbs and olive oil, making sure they are coated well.
- Add a bit of seasoning mixture, toss and stir to coat, then add more seasoning, repeating until well distributed.
- place seasoned bread crumbs evenly on a cookie sheet with lip (to help when needing to stir).
- bake for 10 minutes, stir. bake for 15 minutes. If not browned, stir and bake an additional 5 minutes at a time.

tahini cabbage and noodles with shoyu

This recipe is definitely on the easier side of things. Don't you love that? Isn't that what every parent hopes for? Delicious and simple/easy/convenient - ah hell, whatever you wanna call it!

I raided my kitchen and decided to add in whatever I had that didn't sound good together to see if it WOULD taste good together. Backwards? Perhaps. But super fun!
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1 head cabbage, cut into stips
1 lb noodles of choice
1/2 + 3 tbsp earth balance margarine
4 green onions, chopped roughly
2 tbsp shoyu (or soy sauce, or bragg's liquid aminos. Although, for the aminos I might use less - it's potent)
1 large carrot, sliced
4 T Tahini
1/4 cup veg broth
4-5 tbsp raisins
2-3 generous pinches of fine sea salt

1. Begin to boil a large pot of water for cooking your noodles.
2. Melt the margarine slightly in a large pot or wok. Add the cabbage strips, carrot, and a pinch of salt, let simmer over medium-high heat until the cabbage is a bit yellow.
3. While the cabbage and carrots are simmering, begin to cook your noodles in the boiling water.
4. Once the cabbage is nice and yellow-y, add in tahini, shoyu, and veg broth. Let simmer about 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until everything is warmed through and mixed thoroughly. Add raisins, green onions, and another pinch of salt, to taste. Simmer, stirring constantly, for about 2 additional minutes.
5. Drain noodles. Add wet ingredients to noodles and stir completely. Add pepper (this is a pepper-friendly dish...you can't really add to much) and more salt if needed.

Enjoy!

I might experiment with this recipe a bit more to make it a healthier option (ie: less margarine!). Maybe some oil instead? We'll see, but it was extremely tasty! The raisins make this recipe. Every time I had a bite with a raisin I was in heaven ;) Even Aus, who hates raisins in mostly everything, thought this was rather tasty :)

how do you get your protein?

A friend of mine was recently mentioned in a post in the Livin' La Vegan Loca and Vegan Recipes from SLC Bloggers. Her and her blog were featured. Go Kaycee!

I wanted to share a little blurb at the bottom of the post that talks a bit about protein.

Every vegan is asked about getting an adequate amount of protein. When I talk to my mother, she gives me the talk about calcium supplements and protein. The good news is that when I was tested almost a year ago, I had a slightly high level of protein and everything else measured in the normal areas.

Much has been written and researched on the topic of protein and where a vegan or vegetarian might be able to get it from. Here are some facts from savvyvegetarian.com about protein:

• Too much protein is as harmful as too little, and is linked with shorter life expectancy, increased cancer and heart disease risk, widespread obesity and diabetes, osteoporosis, kidney stress, and bad digestion
• High-protein diets bring about temporary weight-loss, at the expense of overall health, and people quickly regain weight once they return to a normal diet
• A varied vegetarian diet with a balance of protein, fats and carbohydrates, and adequate calorie intake provides more than enough protein
• Complete animal protein is not superior to complete protein from more than one plant source – they give the same result in different ways
• Protein from plant sources doesn’t include excess calories from fat, toxic residues, or an overabundance of protein, which stresses the kidneys.

As a vegan, you get a sufficient amount of protein even by eating very simple! You don't have to make an extravagant meal to make sure you're getting the "perfect" amount of protein in your diet - trust me!

- For breakfast, have a bagel (9 grams of protein) or oatmeal (6 grams) with a cup of soymilk (7 grams).
- For lunch, have 2 slices of whole wheat bread (8 grams) with eggless salad made with garbanzo, also known as chickpeas, (around 6 grams or more of protein). I love Oroweat brand of whole wheat bread. You can find it conveniently at Walmart, Harmon's...just about anywhere.
- For dinner, make a tofu, seitan, or tempeh dish simply by stir frying with some veggies, spices, and soy sauce (about 11 grams or more) served with 1 cup of brown rice (5 grams)
- For a snack at anytime of the day, 6 crackers (2 grams) with approximately 2 tbsp smart balance chunky peanut butter (7 grams). I love the smart balance chunky stuff because I'm throwing in some much needed Omega 3's! Need us some fatties ;) Tip: Get your youngens used to eating this chunky stuff for.that.reason! Those fatty acids are essential for growth.

Vegans get a lot more protein than I think people realize. I would be interested to visit my doctor and see where my current protein levels are at.

...Maybe I will!