Barely COOKIng

Over a week of no blogging and all I got for you are these cookies. What else can I say? I have been so uninspired to cook lately. I do, however, realize the need to regather my kitchen energy and start on my culinary duties again!
These are Dreena's Coconut Lime Cookies from VLV. My kids seem to really enjoy the idea of baking contests that we have been doing them more often than I would like. One time, it was between the oldest and her best friend, another, with little sister, and today, with a playmate. A new trend in our house has begun: Iron Cookie Chef, Jr. edition. Sigh.



I just had to share this with you folks!

And she did get some attention from mall-goers.


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What is Zurielle's favorite thing to eat at buffet restaurants?

You guess it...


Speaking of buffets, I have been thinking lately about how we casually regard, and maybe favor, their existence. Have you ever been to a buffet restaurant right before closing time? Have you ever seen how much food gets wasted at the end of the day?
Provided they have to do the same thing at a regular restaurant, I still think it's insane! Especially for someone who grew up in a third world country.

Okay, I'm starting to get offtrack here so I'll just see you next week with... hopefully... more food!

Summer Goodies

We had planned another mini-getaway for last weekend but opted to stay home because of the extreme heat. Extreme, meaning regular, for you Arizona folks!

Hot summer days only mean breaks from hot stoves to make way for colorful, beautiful salads like this one.
The fresh pineapples serve the purpose of dressing. Yes, not a drop of dressing was used and yet this salad hits the spot, over and over again.


This has been my kids (and other people's kids!) favorite smoothie that we literally make it everyday.

I just load the Vitamix with
a few handfuls of frozen mangoes,
a handful of frozen pineapple pieces,
a cup of fresh squeezed orange juice
and a spoon of flaxseed.
(I also add strawberries or peaches once in a while for variations.)
Voila! Smoothies that Aliyah always says are better that Jamba Juice's. Even the neighbors' kids look forward to this. You simply have to try it!

Inspired by Dr. Fuhrman's Fudgsicles, we have been enjoying these fudge bars lately. There is a lot of fat because of the cashew nut butter, but it is so wholesome and healthy for the kids. For four popsicles like this one, and a lot more leftover for the kids to feast on as chocolate pudding, I used:
3 bananas
3/4 c. - 1 cup cashew nut butter
3 T. carob powder
1/4 cup soymilk (I used the chocolate kind.)

I just throw everything in the Vitamix and blend for 30 seconds. We would enjoy the fudgsicles the next day, but the leftover is good as ice cream after an hour or so in the fridge. Or if you are like my kids, you'd eat them straight from the blender.

Vegan Pansit Bihon

I have been wanting to write down specifics for my veganized Pansit Bihon but has never gotten to it, so a couple of weeks ago, I decided to take some photos while making it. Though I still haven't come up with a straightforward recipe, I'm hoping this is helpful for those of you who are curious about it.
I normally sautee with water or broth, but since the kind of noodles I'm using (rice sticks) thrives in oil, the chopped onion and (lots of) garlic were done the conventional (olive oil) way. Add to that the vegetables which in this case are: carrots, green beans and celery. Cabbage and peapods would be good too. Season with soysauce and freshly ground black pepper. Be generous! Add about 1/2 cup vegetable broth, let it boil and cover for a couple of minutes.
Keep more vegetable broth handy, as you can see here, it evaporates pretty quickly as you cook the vegetables. I use Imagine Foods no-chicken broth, but you could also use water mixed with vegan veggie cubes.
I add 3 or so more cups of broth to the wok as I remove the cooked vegetables from it. When the broth starts to boil, it's time to add the noodles. One by one- that is. I think most noodle packages would tell you to soak them in water for so long, or to boil them separately in water before adding to the dish. I would not soak this kind of noodles (bihon), which is- rice sticks made from rice, cornstarch and water, to keep them from sticking together.
Because they're unsoaked, the noodles are crispy, but they soften up pretty quickly once they come in contact with the boiling broth. Make sure to drizzle a little more olive oil in the wok to keep the noodles manageable. Once the noodles have absorbed all of the broth, which happens quickly as you are constantly stirring, put back the set aside veggies and season with more soysauce and freshly ground black pepper according to your taste.
I use wooden spoons on both hands to mix the noodles since I usually make a big batch (16 oz. versus the 8 oz. package) and it gets pretty heavy and hard to manage with only one.
There you have it... and a messy kitchen. Get the chopsticks out, and don't forget the lemon slices!

One Today!

Today is a special day. Our cruelty-free, compassionate, vegan kitchen is one year old!

Okay, so it has seen fish a few times, but other than that, it is a proud kitchen.

Not a drop of dairy... not a drop of flesh...

but enjoyable meals everyday of the week.

The Vegan Chop Suey Comeback

We had a lot of leftover cut-up veggies from the party tray last Saturday and all I could think of was "Chop Suey." So I made that the other day when my dear Ron decided to leave work early, in time for lunch. Here it is again:
Sautee garlic and onion in veggie broth.
Mix in carrots and celeries, diagonally cut. Add more broth as needed.
Add the cauliflowers, broccoli, or other veggies that you have. Cook covered for a few minutes. Use a vegan seasoning cube to flavor.
Add red/green bell peppers towards the end, maybe mushrooms.
Mix a teaspoon or so of cornstarch with cold water and use to thicken sauce.


That was a cinch, and even easier with the vegetables already cut-up. To add to that, Ron did most of the work for the veggie tray and even the fruit tray. It is always nice to have him in the kitchen.

I was able to make this tofu dish too, which disappeared rather quickly in that Saturday omni-crowd.

This is how we Iron Chef!

The kids requested to make chocolate chip cookies when cousin Kareena came over to play. Well, I got too many volunteers to help, so we decided to do a baking contest between Kareena and Zurielle. Aliyah was okay to be the judge and do the clean-up with me. Lyrica was content to be the tester.
I didn't have maple syrup at the time, but the "judge" assured me that agave nectar would do just fine. They look very serious, don't they?

Kareena opted for the dark cookie sheet...

and Z. took the light one. So who do you think won?

You're right! They're both winners.

And just to share from my FIL's garden:

Tofu and Bell Peppers with Black Bean Sauce

This is something I just threw in together, so no measurements were used. I'm planning to make it again today with a bigger batch. Hopefully, I could replicate and measure.

Using jarred black bean garlic sauce, I marinaded the (extra firm) tofu, which had been pressed to remove excess water and then cubed. I sauteed onions and garlic until browned. I added the tofu and green bell peppers and stir-fried them with the rest of the marinade and some hoisin sauce.

I'm planning to add red bell peppers, and make it spicy this time since I will not be making it for the kids. For those of you watching your sodium intake, this is not a friendly dish at all! Otherwise, this is great with a bowl of brown rice.

It's another busy weekend, but I'd be back on Monday. Have a great weekend everybody!

Midweek Munchies

A Veg*n Meme What wonderful foods did you bring home from the grocery store?

Today, I ran to the co-op with the kids and ended up spending over $73 on 16 items! The only produce we got were organic mangoes. I have to check if the organic produce stand is open yet and if not, off to Farmers Market we go tomorrow. Then to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's for the rest of what we need. Worth mentioning is the GIOVANNI air turbo-charged natural mousse that I got. The label says cruelty-free and no animal by-product. I love finding products like that. I'm not really sure what else I have at home that would make me feel like a gravesite for animals, but I consider myself more aware now... I also bought Giovanni White Tea lotion and body wash , but these are not for me. I hope the recipient likes them! What are your favorite cruelty-free and vegetarian products? The most expensive item on my list was the dark maple syrup from the bulk section- $15.09 and that includes my so humble member discount! I wanted to stop halfway in the container but Aliyah kept saying, "More, Mama, more, so we can make lots of chocolate chip cookies!" (From Vive Le Vegan, that is.) My favorite thing at the co-op: raw and vegan Flax Peanut Butter Bars. I'm listing the ingredients here because I really want to be able to make something like that at home, but haven't had the time nor creativity yet: Oats, organic evaporated cane juice, natural peanut butter, non-hydrogenated soybean oil, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds & vanilla. Just that, and yet, these bars are soo good! Do you have a similar recipe or such?

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Special thanks to Running2Ks and Rift for all of their help with coding, graphics, & encouragement for this project.

Put together by a small group of Veg Women, we hope to spread the word about healthy vegetarianism while obtaining idea starters for meals, recipes, learn about new products, and meet other female veg*n bloggers. Visiting and commenting on other participants lists are encouraged but not required. Have fun and Go Veg!