St. Patricks Day meal

Things don't always go according to plan.
Case in point, this was going to be a big deal meal. Then the guest of honor was MIA, so there you have it.
Rather than a multi course, all Irish, bread included, I scaled down some and made one "traditional" side and an entree that was heavy on the green.
The Colcannon Puffs from fatfreevegan.com were to die for. Just amazing. Once again, I used the Kale salad mix for the called for vegetable  with outstanding results. Although mine did flatten a bit, they were a winner.
The main event was a Spaghetti Squash Casserole, from Peas and Thank You.
Over the years, the Spaghetti Squash and I have had our run ins. I really want to love this veggie, and have attempted many times to find that winner meal. Until now, I was left empty handed.
This is a real simple, yet incredibly yummy creation. The keys to success here are the choices on Marinara Sauce, brand of non-dairy cream cheese, and the cheese for the topping.
Feeling a bit adventurous, I went with making my own cheeses, using recopies from the Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook.
The dish turned out great, satisfying and bursting with flavor and texture.
Plans do change, but that did not stop us from having a wonderful meal.

Pig Out - Vegan Style

WayFare Foods, the makers of the oh so addictive "We Can't Say It's" line of spreads, sent me a sample of their new product, Pig Out.
Although not the first on the market to have  imitation bacon bits, this is an OUTSTANDING new item.
Made of oats rather than soy is a really nice change.
It's crunchy, smoky, salty and so very yummy!
Moments after the picture below was taken, I pigged out and eat the rest of the sample!
(Hope out local health food stores start carrying this pronto)

AFR - My new buddy

So, here we are, three months into 2012, and with some major changes going on, my weight has gone up.
(Funny, how when you stop teaching 20+ classes a week and still eat like you are, the muffin tops and the rest of those lovely areas just keep on growing). :)
Appetite for Reduction to the rescue.
First up were a trio of soups. The Arabian Lentil and Rice was the clear winner here.
Knowing that one could not live on soap alone, and that the Bird likes a full meal, I ventured further into the books and came up with this awesome meal : Blackened Tofu, Garlicky Mushrooms and Kale, and some steamed corn. Spicy, and sweet, crunchy and velvety, just a fantastic trio for a Sunday night meal.

I used the Kale Salad mix. So easy and love the added veggies that come with it.
Next time, and there so will be an encore, will double the spice mix for the tofu.
Looking forward to trying more from this great book in the upcoming weekends.

Holy, Healthy, Guacamole

I love avocados. Used to eat them with a spoon. Ah, the days of not worrying about things like fat, calories and gaining weight.
Over the years, for many of the reasons listed above, avocados have become more of a treat.
How awesome to find that the very wise and always inventive Bryanna has come up with a version that not only keeps the fat at bay, but adds other great goodies? Very!

I sort of goofed a bit and had to add spinach rather than the green beans, and of course also added a tablespoon of hot sauce. The chips are the yellow corn variety from Guiltless Gourmet.

Pumpkin Srambled Tofu

This is NOT adding a new recipe to the trilion already floating around in cyberspace. It's a review of an ingenious twist by AsttoNOMZ. So there. :)

Here is the kicker. I don't like pumpkin. Never have.
Yet when coming across this post, I sort of feel in love with the idea of it, and of letting go of some long held food aversions.

It turned out to be a good call. This dish is, well, delish!
Only change was to add a tablespoon of hot sauce after all the other yummy ingredients where in the pan.
For the greens, I went with a pre-mixed kale salad from Harvest Sensations. It is pre-washed and includes red cabbage and carrot shreds. The local health food store, as well as Von's, stock this.

Tummy approved.

Tofu "Bacon"

What the blog sphere is not in need off are more Tofu Scramble and Fake Bacon ideas. Yet, all the same, here is my take on the latter.
It's worthy of a post since, well, it's my first time sharing a recipe!
Having read, and tried, many variations on the theme, I've come up with one that is easy, relatively fast, and IMHO, tasty.

As we all have our preferences please note that these measurements are at best an approximation. (I cook like my Grandma, by feel)

1 Block extra firm tofu (16oz) (The ones from Trader Joe's are perfect.)
* Less then extra firm tofu will need to be drained a bit first. *

2-4 Tablespoons Tamari (Soy Sauce or Brags will work as well)
1/2-1 Teaspoon Liquid Smoke
1-2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup

1-2 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast

Start by slicing the tofu into thin (1/4 inch) UNIFORM slices. (We want these to cook evenly. A wired cheese slicer work great for this)
In a small bowel mix the liquids.
Have the Noosh at the ready.

Over on at 425. Let it preheat.
Spray a large baking sheet with oil, place the sliced tofu on the oiled sheet single file, and spray again with the oil.
Pop the baking sheet into your preheated over, and set the times to 5 min.
Once the times goes off, remove the sheet and flip the tofu slices.
Back into the over they go for another 5-8 min.
You want these ALMOST crisp, but not too much that they are no longer chewy. (This is a big YMWV. I like mine real chewy, so keep them in for a shorter time. Like 'em crispy? More time in the over for yours)

Remove from over, drizzle the liquid mixture evenly over the freshly backed slices, follow with a light shower of the nutritional yeast, toss the slices to get all parts covered, then serve, or use in your own favorite way.

The block of tofu ready to be sliced.

On the baking sheet and ready for the oven.

Having been flipped and put back into the oven, these are ready for the flavor treatment.

Coated and ready to be devoured. (Yeah, like I'd only have 4 at a time...)

"CHIKN BRESTS" WITH ROSEMARY AND WHITE WINE

They say that you never forget your first. My first vegan cookbook, as well as blog, was by a very talented, extremely knowledgable, and all around great person, Bryanna Clark Grogan.
There are many blogs and books these days that cover plant based diets, and I follow and enjoy a wide selections of these. But back to Bryanna...
A resent entry on her blog was for a childhood dish, done vegan. As it reminded me of a dish from my own very distant past, I thought, why not, let's get cooking!
Since seitan is not in hight demand with the carni, I made these using her "Breast of Tofu".
I wish we had doubled the recipe, it was THAT good. Served with roasted potatoes and steamed peas, it was fulfilling, comforting, and just plain yummy. Five stars for sure.

This picture does NOT do the dish the justice it deserves. Just make it!

I need to cook more. That is for sure. But for now, I'm loving this "push" that Vine and Dine is providing, and the opportunity to blog about it. We had the pleasure of R visiting this weekend, and since France is her second home, making the next V&D a week early made sense, it being a French inspired dish.
The delight this time is Cassouletter form World Vegan Feast.
The only change, and it was not an intentional one, was that the can of tomatoes had diced hot peppers.
(Can you ever have too much spice?)

This is the dish, pre bread crumb mix. I doubled the mix amount this time. 

Bread crumb mix on board, ready for the oven treatment.

90 minutes later, and here it is, ready for the close up.

Okay, so clearly my photo, and presentation, skills need some TLC. All the same, the full (very much so) plate.

Puppy J showing, and in much more cuteness, how full and content we were after the meal. (The puppies had their own treat)


In a word, devine! It was such a success. Homey, comforting, filling, bursting with flavor. Yum!


Since the dish had a bit more kick than intended (Those hot green peppers that sneaked in...) a white wine seemed like the perfect companion. We went local, and had the Bianchi Pinot Grigio which the winery said was vegan. It's a nice sharp white, with a hint of fruit, and was a knight in shinning armor to the dish it was paired with. 
All in all, this was an outstanding dinner, awesome food, fantastic wine, and great company!

Finishing up about Pizza Fusion

Okay, so I'm slow.

The first thing that has to be said is this - Soy cheese, good as it may be, just does not melt and behave like milk cheese. Yeah, it gets gooey and all, but it becomes more like a sauce than anything else.
So, with this in mind, here goes:
Pizza Fusion is cute. Small, a bit noisy (We sat by the kitchen, and the staff were entertaining one another). The crust of the pizza, the whole grain, was good, the tomato sauce fine as well, and the Soy cheese, well, I gave that away already...
On a scale of 1-5 I'd give it a 4. Nothing to rush back to, but somewhere to go eat out that is nice. The wine, from Girasole vineyards, was awesome!

First post, and of course, it's about food.

Food and fitness. Two of my passions. As a good friend once said, " I exercise so I can eat".
Well, that is only one reason to stay fit, but it works for me.

The Central Coast of California is knows for many splendid things - miles of beautiful coastline, mild temperatures, incredible vineyards and wonderful places to eat. Yes, food again. As long as you are not vegetarian, or worse, vegan, the Central Coast does offer an array of fantastic dinning opportunities.
So what is a Vegi to do? After five years, I can actually "taste" all the vegetarian menu items at the few local eateries, making the act of actually going out to eat there a bit of a lost cause.
(Big Sky, Natural Cafe and all those Veg. Burgers that seem to be the "healthy" option on many a menu)

So imagine my joy at learning that our area is getting a Pizza Fusion restaurant!
Not only do they offer Pizza (Duh) which is at the top of my food fantasy chain, and add in the fact that they offer up a mostly organic menu, but they also have a Vegan pizza!
So today, in a few short hours, I will be taking my Sunday lazy bum and driving to San Luis Obispo to try this place out.
Full report later.