Friday, March 26, 2010

Recipes: Chili Boats with Pepper Jack Rice Cheese

We hadn't tried the Pepper Jack Rice Cheese, but since it has peppers in it and claims to be spicy my husband and I were both game to give it a try. Though its not Follow Your Heart cheese, or anywhere near Diaya, it wasn't that bad and did have a bit of kick and spice to it.


Hollow-out bread, and lay vcheesev on it... preheat oven to 350, and place pan inside while you prepare everything else (leave in long enough to melt vcheesev- many vegan cheeses take a long time, so don't worry about burning the cheese as much as burning the bread- why the lower oven temp... sometimes I also vbutterv the bread with earth balance to help keep it from being too dry/burning)


Sautee onions, tomatoes, garlic, jalapenos and sometimes I'll also add some bell peppers before adding the beans... I use a little bit of Extra virgin Olive Oil, and a dash of salt and pepper... stirring frequently, until onions become clear. Then add beans (two cans of black beans, or bean of choice) and Soy Rizo.

I keep my soy rizo frozen, and chop it into tiny pieces before adding to the beans/chili to make it incorporate faster (also wash and chop veggie toppings and put aside for the end)...


Sometimes I'll also add some Nutritional Yeast to thicken the chili and add more of a vcheesyv flavor. I also add Chili Powder, and a TINY bit of Cumin- a little goes a long way do not over do it, for a good chili taste.

By the time the chili is done, I take the bread out of the oven, and add heaping spoonfuls right on top, then add fresh sliced tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, and/or lettuce for more fresh veggies, nutrition and crush.

This is a very hearty meal, and easy to make! My version was adapted from an episode of Rachel Ray's "Chili Pizza Boat" recipe.... but instead of pizza toppings, we opt for salad over our chili and way less vcheesev. YUMM!

Recipes: Trailer Park Vegans

Money's been a little tighter than usual lately now that our housemate has moved out and we are footing the enter rent bill... Small adjustments were in order, so we stocked up on sale food items at Big Lots. Spinach Rice, Rice-a-Roni is vegan, and can be "jazzed" up with fresh sauteed garlic, jalapenos, onions and spices (nutritional yeast, parsley, basil, fresh ground pepper etc...).We also like it because it calls for a can of diced tomatoes to throw in, so we're getting more veggie flavor/chunks of tomato in it.

Here's our first Trailer Park Vegan dinner, the whole meal cost us no more than $6 to make (and served a LOT of food, my husband can eat a lot!). Whenever we make "cheap" "junk" food, we always eat it with a healthy portion of salad to be sure we're getting more nutrition out of our meal.


Recipes: Vegan Popcorn Night

1 cup of dry popcorn kernals, with a little bit of sunflower oil, salt and pepper in a pan

covered and melted some Earth Balance butter while it popped, shaking frequently so it wouldn't burn or stick to the bottom of the pan

when all was popped, topped with melted vbutterv nutritional yeast and sat down to watch House off our DVR! yumm

Animals: Photos of my Family


Enjoying some of the first rays of Spring Sunshine, from left to right: Molly, Roxy, and Zombie.
All rescues, and all amazing, amazing animals. I love my fuzzy babies!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Events: SXSW 2010

This year I was able to join the masses in enjoying the SXSW festivities that my city has to offer (AKA not having to work a 9-5 the whole time like last year). There was a lot of great music, so many great people- many of which traveled far and wide to stay with us, and yes lots of great vegan action.

Brooklyn Vegan took over a few daytime showcases that were free to the public, and offered "Free" vegan snacks, tacos (went fast! we didn't get any), vice creamv (yum!) cupcakes, and other treats like the most amazing espresso-chocolate truffles I've ever had.

Though these events advertised their vegan treats as "FREE" the people behind the tables tended to refer to the goodies as being on "Sale" which was extremely confusing, but I'm always down to give to a cause a believe in, so I chipped into their tip jars regardless. In anycase, I was very excited to see a lot of the vegan action going on around Austin, and I had a brilliant week! Sorry I haven't been posting, as you can see I've been busy :)

Though I'm not the biggest fan of Peta, I was stoked to see this chick walking around, gaining some Austin, TX awareness

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Recipes: Another Night of Gnocchi

Last night I made more of my tried and true homemade Italian Fresh Gnocchi from scratch.

This recipe never fails to please the senses, and grumbling bellies. Mmmm...

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Dining: Pizza Party

We were really excited yesterday to see a plain, vegan, daiya "cheese" take-and-bake pizza at Whole Foods, so we bought one! I added our own toppings and it was incredibly delicious. It was my first time trying Daiya's cheese, and I can definitely say that after all the fuss I'd been hearing about it, Daiya lived up to the hype. Whole foods Austin doesn't sell this cheese (yet...?) but you can order it here: http://www.cosmosveganshoppe.com/.
UPDATE: My husband also found that they sell it at Wheatsville Co Op, though its back-ordered at the moment...

 

Added Parsley Flakes, Cayanne Pepper, and fresh ground pepper...


Pre-oven, added fresh tomatoes, pineapple, fresh chopped garlic, and vegan Parmesan "cheese". Then on Jason's half (left) Mushrooms and Fresh Jalapenos. On my side (right) I added sliced black and kalamata olives.



Cheese Melted! Was stretchy, creamy, and so unbelievably delicious.