My newfound love for "Ricotta" and longtime love for Ranch

I never cared much for ricotta in my dairy-eating days, but after trying the Cashew Ricotta from Veganomicon: I'm in love. I never thought that adding a little 1/2 cup of cashews to my usual ricotta recipe of food processed tofu, lemon juice, garlic, and basil would transform it into something this amazing. I did vary from the recipe slightly, because I ran out of cashews and had to sub almonds and since the fresh basil has all been made into pesto I used a few frozen cubes of that. I stuffed this "ricotta" into shells and covered it with premade tomato sauce (I admit this shamefully because I have garden tomatoes that need to be used).



On the side we had a raw kale salad with Ranch dressing. I was so excited to see all the baby kale still growing outside. It's been frosty every morning and we've already harvested the bulk of our kale. But at the top of each plant is a few beautiful curly leaves...I gathered them up and added another great find: green garlic!

I know- green garlic is usually just for spring, right?
Somehow we have little garlic babies sprouting up in the garden in November in Minnesota. It's true that I transplanted some green garlic from the community garden to the backyard garden in April. But no matter how careful I am, I can't get it to survive the trauma of being moved and produce a bulb. I guess it survived underground and decided to sprout up again right now. And I am happy to eat it!

I am so impressed that the boys will eat a raw kale salad. It's true that it needs to have a fair amount of ranch dressing on it, but still- I think it's pretty impressive. Most adults wouldn't even try a salad so hearty and deeply green.

I'd eat pretty much anything if it's doused in ranch dressing, though. I don't think I've ever really written the recipe down, but here's an approximation:

1/4 cup veganaise
3/4 cup unsweetened plain soy yogurt (My intestinal flora love Wildwood the best)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1Tbsp dried or fresh parsley
1 tsp dillweed
1.5 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Then just put it in a jar and shake it like a polaroid picture. You can add a little soymilk if it is too thick, but I like it thick for dipping things in.

VeganMoFo

As if I needed another reason to spend all of my time thinking about, cooking, or taking pictures of food...Now I have committed to participation in VeganMoFo, a Vegan Month of Food. (The link will bring you to Isa Chandra Moskowitz's blog, where you can read about it and follow links that I'm too lazy to put up). I will try to do some sort of blog about food every day. It might just be a picture of the ramen noodles I ate and a confession about how sometimes this is all I really want to eat. Or it might be an elaborate dinner, an essay on why I hate canned fruit, or as Katie suggested, a picture of me wearing nothing but a smile and Earth Balance. (Just kidding, Mom and Dad, that's on a different site). I suppose you'll just have to keep reading.

Halloween and Veganomicon

Only once a year do I post a picture of the kids on the internet- that's when they're wearing masks on Halloween. We watch way too much Law and Order SVU to put the boys faces on the web. So here's your one picture: Two Evil Knights!

I was super excited to be Nancy Drew for Halloween. I may have been the only person who saw and enjoyed the new Nancy Drew movie, but at least I know I'm not the only one who loved the books. Almost everyone recognized me as Nancy Drew, but only after I pulled out my magnifying glass- otherwise I just looked like I was dressed normally. Ha!
I just got Veganomicon, Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero's new megacookbook, in the mail yesterday. How overwhelming! I couldn't nail down a single item to try yesterday because everything looked so good. But today I decided to just choose something and cook it.

First I made the Chewy Oatmeal Cookies, but substituted 1/2 dried cranberries and 1/2 chocolate chips instead of the raisins. I'd also like to make these just as oatmeal cookies- no raisins, chips, or anything. They are really nice cookies- great chewy texture and perfect spice blend. I might have even liked them with raisins, but I just can't help doctoring a recipe.
Then I made the Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Seed Spring Rolls. These were super duper simple- just rice noodles, roasted squash, cilantro, and pumpkin seeds in rice paper wrappers. Fabulous idea to put in pumpkin seeds, but you should not use the pumpkin seeds from your Halloween pumpkins that you toasted. Use the kind that have the shells removed. Trust me. I had to open up my spring rolls and remove my seeds because they were soggy and un-chewable! But without the seeds they were awesome! They taste very healthy, but not in a boring bland way. In a really fresh and pure way.


By now I decided that these foods really should be my second dinner, not just fun with my new cookbook. (I often just start cooking without regard for my hunger level or mealtimes. For example, I had just eaten two bowls of stir-fry and rice before beginning this cooking spree)
I needed to add some protein to this meal, so I made the Asian Marinated Tofu and baked it.
Yum! They were nice and spicy. I might even put these tofu sticks inside the spring rolls next time.

Vegetables, Jack-o-lanterns, and a Root Beer River

This past weekend was both crazy and incredibly relaxing. Friday was fun- the kids and I carved Jack-o-lanterns while Mike's band practiced. The kids did a really good job of drawing faces and I didn't cut any fingers off carving them! The pumpkin seeds turned out really nice, too. I spiced them with cumin, coriander, and chili powder.

On Saturday we had to clear out the garden, because there was a chance of freezing weather and we were going out of town for our anniversary. So here's the bounty:

We also filled 16 gallon baggies with lacinato kale, green curly kale, and collard greens for freezing. We gave away about 6 more bags and still have an entire row of red Russian kale. Anyone need any greens?


Since we were going on a road trip to Lutsen on Lake Superior, we needed plenty of road food. These "You got peanut butter in my chocolate" Cookies from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan were perfect! Probably my new favorite cookie.



Here's us looking silly and cold in front of Lake Superior.
The highlights of this trip include:
Losing $9 in a casino
Jacuzzi, tator tots, and Desperate Housewives
Hiking up down-hill ski slopes in amazing 50 degree sunny weather for 3 hours
Seeing the Cascade River Falls (it looks like a river of root beer)
Sipping chocolate, Jacuzzi, and CSI
And eating tempeh reubens with my sweetie

Spicy Pinto Yam Soup

This soup only took about 45 minutes to make...and 30 of those minutes were used up just doing the dishes so that there were spoons and bowls to use! Really, this is so quick and easy I think anyone could do it.

Spicy Pinto Yam Soup
Serves 4

2 medium yams, peeled and diced
1 16 oz can pinto beans, drained
6 cups water
1 vegetable bouillon cube
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 avocado, peeled and diced
pickled jalapeños (optional, but highly recommended)

Put everything except the cilantro, avocado, and jalapeños in a pot and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the yams are tender. Puree for a few seconds with an immersion blender, leaving some texture (or skip this step for a more brothy and chunky soup). Throw the cilantro, avocado, and jalapeños on top when you serve this and it'll look real pretty.

*If you can't find pickled jalapeños in the grocery store, you should pickle your own! It's really not that hard and then you can say that you have 24 jars of jalapeños on hand at any given time. You know, just in case there's a bird flu outbreak and you have to survive solely on the food in your basement. I think it's good to plan ahead.

Food for 8-Year-Olds

The boys turn 8 years old tomorrow and I wanted to make the ultimate kid dinner for their little party tonight. So after being inspired by iloveyoubobbybrowns's post on the PPK, I decided on Macaroni 'n Cheese Pizza. I used the New Farm Mac & Cheese recipe on top of a 1/2 whole wheat, 1/2 white flour & pesto crust. I debated about whether or not to put tomato sauce under the mac n cheese, and decided on a thin layer. I thought it turned out great- but it was so rich and so filling that I was about to explode after eating 3 small squares of it. There were some serious carbs in this dinner. The boys really enjoyed it, but I think I was more excited about it than they were.

Everyone in our house gets their choice of birthday cake flavor each year. This year the boys chose chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting (I didn't even have to suggest this combo to them...but I would have). Wow. It was incredible! I used Dreena Burton's chocolate cake recipe with a bit of extra cocoa powder and 2 layers instead of 3. Then I used Isa and Terry's Peanut Buttercream from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and a ganache topping.
I've never had a piece of cake in front of me and not been able to finish it. But tonight, after that pizza (and licking lots of beaters and snacking on frosting), I couldn't finish my last two bites. I was in a sugar coma for hours.
Here's what I made the kids for their birthday present. It's a "Spy Belt". It has a magnifying glass, mini pen and notebook, mini flashlight, measuring tape, fingerprinting kit (black eyeshadow for powder, a mini make-up brush, and tape), and a mini digital camera. They totally loved them!
Here's what we're bringing to share with their class tomorrow- Indoors S'mores! It's just graham cracker halves spread with chocolate ganache and Ricemellow creme and sandwiched together. Yum!

Seitan Stew, Curry Squash with Zucchini Pancakes, and Orange Scones

I must have seen a Dinty Moore commercial or something, because I was craving stew for several days before I got to make this Seitan Stew with Chanterelle Mushrooms. I made seitan with "beefy" type seasonings (miso, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and onion) and flattened it out on a baking sheet and baked for 30 minutes at 350F. I've been using this method for all my seitan lately. It turns out crispy and browned on the outside and still tender on the inside. Someday I'll post a real recipe. Then I made a stew with the seitan, carrots, potatoes, and onion. Thick and hearty!
I had no idea what I was making for dinner tonight until it just happened.

Curried Squash, Chickpeas, and kale
5 heirloom tomatoes, chopped
1 can chickpeas, drained
2 cups mashed butternut squash (or pumpkin or anything like that)
1 cup chopped kale or greens of any sort
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1.5 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds

Fry up the onion in the oil and when almost transluscent, add the mustard seeds. When they start to pop, throw in everything else and simmer about 15 minutes or longer, depending on if you remembered to start the brown rice yet.





The zucchini pancakes are from James Peterson's book called "Vegetables". They absorbed too much oil, I thought, but had good flavor with tons of garlic and sage.

***Do not rest freshly fried foods on recycled paper napkins if you don't have any paper towels. They are paper thin and will stick to your food. Trust me. You're better off just eating the extra oil or ruining a cuptowel.

Orange Glazed Scones from Vegan with a Vengeance are my favorite scones ever. I "accidentally" made too much glaze and had to eat it with a spoon.