Vegan alfredo sauce

Standing in the pasta sauce aisle at Whole Foods yesterday, sick of tomato sauce, I was hoping to find a quick, easy, pre-made vegan alfredo sauce. No such luck. So, iPhone to the rescue, I googled a recipe, found one and bought the ingredients.

The recipe is, as it's name suggests, easy. The only thing I'd note is go very easy on the nutmeg...it can be overpowering and you definitely taste it, so I was glad I was conservative with it. I threw in some asparagus with the pasta, the recipe calls for broccoli, but I think most green vegetables would work...sugar snap peas? spinach? Yum. The not-quite vegan fiance (that's right, we're engaged now) loved it. I will definitely be making this one again.

Cooking therapy

What a week! Busy, non-stop, stressful, exhausting... It was one of those weeks where for every five things I got done six more things piled up. I love my job, but I couldn't wait for Friday this week...just make it to 5pm Friday...ok, 7pm Friday, but who's counting?

Tonight, I needed a break—away from the laptop—so I got to cooking. I made a vegan lasagna and some kabocha squash and adzuki bean stew. Meals for the weekend. It might sound weird, but taking 2 hours with a glass of wine to just cook—it's relaxing and I feel pretty accomplished when I'm done. Granted, I'm so tired I'm hardly hungry once the food is ready, but the lasagna is better the next day anyway. It's like a vegan cooking mind cleanse...just concentrate on putting the lasagna together, or chopping up the squash and a crazy week melts away.

Happy weekend everyone! 

Dip!

Tonight I made vegan artichoke dip using a recipe from The Kind Diet. The recipe is incredibly simple: a can of artichokes, a clove of garlic, some veganaise & soy cheese...

In the oven it goes and a half hour later...YUM!

 

I made a half batch this time, just to try it...next time I think we'll need a whole batch though. I'd like to try it with spinach too. I just toasted up some sour dough bread and it's going fast... (primarily b/c I'm eating it all.)

 

Love an easy Sunday evening snack! GO GIANTS :) 

Tonight

At about 5pm, and I went outside with Cooper for his evening walk. We weren't 12 steps beyond our gate when I spotted a cat. This is not unusual, as there are quite a few stray/outdoor cats in our neighborhood, but unlike the other cats—who at the site of Cooper dart away—this cat didn't move. It just stared at us. We got a little closer and still no movement. I got closer still and finally the cat hissed and then dragged itself about a foot...the poor babe had a broken leg. Likely hit by a car on the big boulevard outside our condo—the little one had dragged itself to safety and was laying on the side of the road.

I flashed to Oscar—my nearly 6-year-old indoor cat, who I found outside when he was just 3 months old, injured and bleeding. Something had to be done for this cat—I couldn't just leave it there, it would surely die. So I called the local police department, since it was Saturday and animal control was closed. Shockingly they sent an officer over in a matter of minutes. The very friendly officer was determined to help. Through the dispatcher they called a local rescue group (that also happens to be a no-kill shelter) and an amazing woman with a net and a crate came out and masterfully captured the, at this point, pretty pissed off kitty. Off she went with the cat to the animal hospital and I breathed a huge sigh of relief—a phone call and a community that actually cares and this poor little cat has a chance. Thank goodness for that. Maybe someday that cat will be living the sweet life like our Oscar...

 

The lesson for me is don't ever assume nothing can be done or that no one will help. You may just find some great people who decide that a little furry life is really worth quite a lot. 

***UPDATE*** I checked in with the amazing woman who came out to rescue the cat and sadly the little one didn't make it. He had a shattered hip and spine and was paralyzed. The vet said the injury had been recent though—within 3 to 4 hours, so the he didn't suffer long and one of the vet techs held him until he went. A sad and less than ideal ending, but at least the poor babe didn't go alone, out in the cold. I guess I'll just tell myself Oscar has a new guardian angel. Rest in peace little cat.

Cold weather comfort

It snowed! Ok...just a couple inches, the plow came—we're all good. But when the white stuff is falling it's time to make soup—that's the rule. I decided a vegetable chowder would be nice, and I'd found this recipe by Martha Stewart, that is surprisingly uncomplicated for a Martha recipe. The only thing not vegan about it is the milk, which I swapped for soy milk. I also added about a half-head of cauliflower.

It takes some chopping, (but less since I used frozen corn and frozen green beans—worked perfect and cut out quite a bit of prep time,) and about an hour on the stove—but it's a great recipe if you have a little time, a little wine and some hulu to catch up with. Stay warm everyone!

Easy vegan lasagna

I've wanted to try a vegan lasagna for awhile. I'd made lasagna several times before I became vegan, but vegan lasagna is brand new territory. With snow on the way—and craving some hearty comfort foods—I figured how hard can it be? Just a few substitutions... I'll wing it. 

Ingredients:
16oz container of Tofutti vegan ricotta cheese
12oz of mozzarella flavor Rice Shreds (about a package and a half)
two 9oz jars of the tomato sauce of your choice (I used Whole Foods Market roasted vegetable pasta sauce)
one package of Ronzoni oven ready lasagna
Boca soy crumbles
fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tbsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
pepper

I preheated the oven to 375° and began with the Tofutti vegan ricotta cheese. I found that it's not as fluffy as regular ricotta, so it needed a little help. I emptied the container into a bowl, added about a 1/2 cup of soy milk and mixed it up—that seemed to help it. I also added some oregano, salt and pepper.

 

I decided to use oven ready lasagna noodles so there was no boiling water or soaking necessary. Once the ricotta mixture was done I was ready to start putting the lasagna together. I poured a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of the baking dish, placed a layer of noodles, a layer of ricotta (about half the mixture), and then a layer of soy crumbles—which I just thawed, I didn't pre-cook them. I added a layer of fresh baby spinach leaves, followed by mozzarella shreds, another layer of sauce and lasagna noodles. Then I repeated that process, sans the mozzarella, and topped it with one last layer of noodles, sauce and mozzarella shreds on top.

  

Overall it took about 15 minutes to put together. I baked the lasagna for about 45 minutes, and voila!

 

It formed a really nice "cheese" crust on it and came out great. I wouldn't say it comes out just like regular lasagna...it is a vegan version, but still very good. I think it's even better reheated the next day after it's had time to set up. My favorite part is the baby spinach. I might try to add other types of veggies next time and maybe forgo the soy crumbles. Overall it was a nice hearty winter meal.

Happy New Year!

I can't believe it's 2012! 2011 flew by in a flash, but as much of a whirlwind as it was, it was a year filled with blessings that I am endlessly grateful for. We had a quiet new years celebration at our house...just the boy and I at home with the dog & cat, all snuggled up.

I made (and by made I mean turned the oven on and opened some packages) some vegan hors d'oeuvres—including one of my favorite snacks these days—Sukhi's Samosas. You'll find them in the frozen section at Whole Foods...OMG they are good. I adore Indian food, but I'm kind of picky about samosas, and for frozen food these are exceptionally good. Pair them with some Geeta's Mango Chutney and you won't be sorry.

We drank sparkling apple cider from Trader Joe's and watched reruns of "The Closer," turning on the crazy NYE tv just a few moments before the ball dropped...a nice mellow start to the year. I hope 2012 brings everyone health and happiness. Happy new year!

O M G

Vegan candy bars by Go Max Go...flavors that will remind you of a Nestle Crunch, an Almond Joy, Peanut Butter cups, Snickers...only VEGAN. I officially need to go back to the gym now.

Image from Go Max Go.

A vegan gift guide

Last holiday season my boyfriend proudly handed me a box...he was so excited, I had no idea what it was. I opened the box and found a sky blue down coat—then I cried. He had good intentions. I am not the most robust of northeasterners and I am ALWAYS cold. Practical guy that he is, he wanted me to be warm. Warm to him = down. Down to me = geese being tortured. In his defense he says he thought it was ok because I had a down coat I'd bought years before I became vegan. (If you'd like to learn more about where the down in your favorite warm coat comes from, take a gander over here.)

Since last holiday wasn't entirely merry, I thought I would pull together a vegan gift guide to help any lost souls who might be taking advantage of a great sale at Wilson's Leather for their vegan loved one.

Let's start with my favorite stocking stuffer: Hurraw! Lip Balm. This stuff is AMAZING. I received some from a good friend as a gift last year. It's creamy, not sticky, they have great flavors and it's VEGAN. (If you're interested in what animal ingredients might be in old your lip balm, click over here.) Some are tinted and they have a new nighttime balm I'm excited to try. I'll be stuffing these in the stockings of quite a few omnivores this holiday season...it's that good.

Image from Hurraw!

Another great gift is vegan soap—a sampler pack like this one from Prunella Soap. (See above link for animal ingredients that might be in your soap.)

Image from Prunella Soap.

For the fashion-conscious vegan in your life, a vegan handbag is a great gift. TRACCEbags are the latest to have caught my eye. Made from faux leather (that to me you'd never know it wasn't leather) these rich bags area about a third of the price of a Coach bag and come in some really interesting, original styles. Their etsy shop is currently offering 25% off.

Image from TRACCEbags.

I also love this wristlet, by ninu, also in vegan leather:

Image from Ninu.

Cookbooks are always a welcome gift...at least for me. I'm always looking for a new recipe idea. This year the two Candle Cafe cookbooks were on my wishlist: The Candle Cafe Cookbook and Candle 79 Cookbook. I'm a big fan of the Candle Cafe line of prepared desserts and frozen meals available at Whole Foods, so I'm excited to dive into both of these books.

Images from Amazon. 

If the vegan you're buying for likes to cook, beyond cookbooks, cooking tools are also a great gift. This year I had this mortar and pestle by on my list by Clam Lab. They have a lot of really gorgeous looking ceramic pieces.

Photo by Clam Lab

Art is also an awesome (and affordable) gift. Check out sites like 20x200, The Working Proof and Tiny Showcase. All offer affordable prints, and the last two donate a percentage of each artist's print to charity. The Working Proof prints below by Penelope Dullaghan and Caitlin Keegan each donate 15% of proceeds to Farm Sanctuary, as do a number of other prints that can be found here.

By Penelope Dullaghan. Image from The Working Proof.

By Caitlin Keegan. Image from The Working Proof.

The holidays for me are always a time of reflection and recognizing how blessed I am by friends, family and circumstance. I have a lot to be grateful for, and in a way I hope living a vegan lifestyle is paying it forward a little. Happy holidays everyone!

This is important people

(Quoted from the petition) 
Support policy and legislation protecting citizens, the environment and animals from factory farming’s harmful effects

At the first National Conference to End Factory Farming, animal protection, public health and environmental advocates convened to confront factory farming’s common threats. Together, we seek change that protects our shared interests:
1. Food policy and nutrition education that reduces consumption of animal products and increases consumption of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole plant foods – minimizing factory farming’s impact
2. Sustainable agriculture practices that lessen resource use, pollution and land degradation
3. Elimination of non-therapeutic antibiotics in animal agriculture
4. Eradication of intensive animal confinement, de-toeing, de-beaking, and tail docking
5. Improved regulation of waste disposal affecting rural communities

Sign the petition to reform our food system! 

23,165 more signatures are needed by December 28, 2011. Sign the petition and let's take a first step toward our government addressing these issues. (You have to sign up on the White House site to sign the petition—it takes 1 minute to do and you don't have to receive any future emails.) Sign it. This is life or death people.