Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Happy Halloween! It's my favorite holiday — skulls and witches and pumpkins and scary stuff. I can't get enough of that. I even leave some Halloween decor up in my house year-round because everyday should be Halloween. Oh, and I LOVE costumes! This year, I'm going as Rose the Riveter. I'll be wearing this to the Creep Show at the Hi-Tone on Halloween night.

I wore it last weekend to three parties, and I even won second place in the Friends for Life party costume contest!

Anyway, I'm hoping you're in the spirit too. And if you are, I'm assuming you're planning to carve or have already carved your jack-o-lantern. I'm an amateur when it comes to pumpkin carving, but I do my best. As long as it has something that resembles eyes and crooked smile, it's alright by me. I actually wrote an article in the Vegan Cuts Fall Harvest ebook all about fun things to do with pumpkin! It's a free download (get it here!), and it has all kinds of delicious fall recipes and tips by some of my fave vegan bloggers (Jackie Sobon, Melisser, JL Fields, etc).

You can really do all sorts of things with pumpkin — eat it, smear it on your face, drink it in a smoothie, etc. But my favorite thing is eating the seeds!

I always wash the stringy bits from my seeds and then coat them in spices, sugar, and oil before roasting for about 45 minutes. Then I keep the jar of roasted seeds on my desk at work for a quick snack.

Here's my recipe.

Sweet 'n' Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
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About 1 cup pumpkin seeds, washed, stringy bits removed
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. agave
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. powdered ginger
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

Stir together the pumpkin seeds, oil, agave, salt, and spices. Spread on the baking sheet, trying not to let too many seeds overlap. It's okay if some do.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until seeds turn golden brown. Allow to cool. Store in a glass jar.

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Speaking of fall recipes, check out these Masala Spiced Popcorn Balls that I developed for Earth Balance! The recipe is posted on the Earth Balance website.

When the Veil Between the Worlds is Thinnest...

... you hang out with your dead friends. Samhain (Halloween) is the night when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is at its thinnest. That is, if you believe all that non-Muggle hocus pocus. Every year, around this time, I take a few minutes to break bread (or in tonight's case, risotto) with my dead.

I know Halloween is actually on Thursday. But I'll busy passing out candy to kids that night, and I'm sure those little goblins would ruin my somber remembrance dinner. And tomorrow night, I have a pre-Halloween engagement with some friends. So I hosted my annual "Feast of the Dead" celebration tonight. First, I set the table with pictures of all of my dead friends and family (including pets!).

For at least seven years, I've made the same stew every year for my Feast of the Dead. It's a smoky seitan stew from Bryant Terry's Grub. But after seven years of anything, one should break tradition. So I switched things up with this Roasted Acorn Squash Risotto from Cooking By the Seasons, a vegetarian cookbook with a focus on Goddess-centered holidays.

Look. I know it doesn't look fantastic. I made the risotto the night before because I knew it'd take forever. And reheated risotto doesn't photograph well. Plus, I was too hungry to remember the parsley garnish. But I know you believe me when I tell y'all it was delicious. Arborio rice is cooked up with roasted, mashed acorn squash, pecans, and sliced vegan sausage. The cookbook is vegetarian, not vegan. But all of the recipes are easily convertible. I subbed soy creamer for the dairy creamer. It was creamy and hearty and just lovely.

On the side, I made Salad Greens and Oranges with Raspberry Vinaigrette from Cooking By the Seasons.

This is a simple autumn salad with black olives, orange sections, red onions, greens, and a homemade dressing of sesame oil, raspberry balsamic vinegar, sugar, and lemon zest.

You can't have a Feast of the Dead without a seasonally appropriate dessert! Imagine Vegan Cafe got a fresh batch of Halloween-themed desserts in on Monday night prepared by my friend Stephanie of Swell Baked Goods. I bought this Ginger-Deadboy to enjoy with my feast.

Cute, right?! He was actually chocolate, not ginger. But chocolate-deadboy doesn't have the same ring to it.

After dinner, I said "goodnight" to the dead and got to work carving my Jack-o-Lantern.

Happy Halloween!

Oh, and speaking of Halloween and fall-ish times, check out my posts on the Earth Balance website. The lovely folks at EB asked me to submit a couple recipes to them and do a guest post. One more goes up Wednesday, but so far, you'll find my recipe for Tipsy Dark Chocolate Pecan Pie (from Cookin' Crunk) and a post with an interview from me.

Spicy Mac Attack

Last night, I told y'all about my favorite new vegan cheese cookbook, The Cheesy Vegan by John Schlimm (of The Tipsy Vegan fame!). This full-color, picture-heavy book is filled with recipes for homemade vegan cheese (made with everything from cashews and agar to tofu and nooch) and dishes using those cheeses.

I made my own cheddar from John's book and used it in his beer cheese soup over the weekend (see yesterday's post). But for those lazy vegans who don't care to spend extra time in the kitchen making cheese, John's recipes say that storebought vegan cheese works just fine. I thought I'd put that theory to the test tonight when I made the Spicy Hot Mac Attack (okay, maybe I was just being lazy, but we'll pretend it was for the sake of review).

Do you see that creaminess staring out at you from your screen? I mean, can you even believe that? This is, hands-down, the creamiest mac I've ever had. Creamier than any dairy mac. Creamier than any vegan mac. The recipe calls for eight ounces (one tub) of vegan cream cheese and eight ounces (1 bag) shredded vegan cheddar. You can make your own, but I used Tofutti and Daiya.

When I first went vegan, the two cheesy foods I was most sad about giving up were pizza and macaroni and cheese. If I'd have known this recipe was in my future, I never would have worried about the latter.

The "spicy" in Spicy Hot Mac Attack refers to the habaneros in the recipe. I used two of our home-grown Peruvian habaneros plus two home-grown cayenne peppers. But believe it not, it wasn't too spicy at all. Just right.

As I mentioned last night, this book has an entire chapter devoted to mac 'n' cheese. In case you're wondering what all that chapter has to offer, here's a sampling: Creamy Seasoned Macaroni (made with cream cheese), Mac 'n' Cheese with Ground Cashews & Truffle Oil (speaks for itself, no?), Mac & Jack, Whole Grain Macaroni with Cottage Cheese and Cheddar, Two-Cheese Macaroni with Caramelized Onions (the two cheeses are vegan cheddar and feta), and of course, the Spicy Hot Mac Attack.

I enjoyed my creamy mac with a side of kale and a Creole Seitan Sausage from Cookin' Crunk.

So Cheesy

Before I went vegan, cheese was probably my second favorite food (after ramen, of course). I was never a fancy cheese girl. No, I don't think I've ever tried roquefort, cotija, or taleggio. Plain old cheddar, monterey jack, or mozzarella were more my speed.

And like with most vegans, giving up cheese was the hardest part for me. But once I learned that could make my own vegan cheese (these were the pre-Daiya days), I knew veganism was possible for me. The very idea of making my own cheese was so exciting. In fact, the first vegan cheese I tried wasn't Vegan Rella but a homemade block made with agar. It wasn't the best recipe, but it was good enough to convince me to give up dairy cheese once and for all.

Since those dark days, Daiya and some other tasty artisan vegan cheeses have hit the market. And there are a handful of amazing cookbooks devoted to teaching vegans to make their own cheese. One such book is John Schlimm's new volume, The Cheesy Vegan. This just might be my favorite cheese book yet!

The first chapter is filled with recipes to make your own cheeses — Swiss, feta, cheddar, mozzarella, wine cheese, American, blue cheese, etc. And the rest of the book contains recipes that use those cheeses in all sorts of ways. There's even an ENTIRE CHAPTER DEVOTED TO MAC & CHEESE!!! Yes, that alone makes this my favorite book. There's also a cheesecake chapter and a chapter on pairing the proper wine, beer, and other cocktails with the cheeses in the book.

I'm making a couple things from this book this week, so I'll show more tomorrow. But the first thing I tried was the seasonally appropriate Oktoberfest in a Bowl.

This is a beer cheese soup made with John's homemade vegan cheddar, beer (I used Heineken), and spices. It's served with toasted baguette slices for dipping. This was so comforting on a cold Friday night.

To make the soup, you can use storebought vegan cheddar or you can make your own using the recipe in the book. I made my own. The cashew-based cheddar gets its signature color from pimientos, and it's formed into a solid, sliceable block thanks to agar. Here's the Cheddar I made.

This was probably the most firm agar-based slicing cheese that I've ever made. It actually had the same texture as dairy cheddar. It melts beautifully, so I grated it before melting into the soup pot.

The only thing I would caution about this soup: Because the basis for the soup is an agar-based cheese, and agar firms up as it cools, you need to eat this soup quickly. My leftover soup completely firmed up into a sliceable block of beer cheese in the fridge overnight. But the cheese melts quickly when you re-heat. I actually grated the leftovers into a pot so they'd melt faster.

This is such an awesome book! If you miss cheese or you know someone going vegan who is having trouble giving up cheese, this book is the answer. Stop back tomorrow for a peek at another Cheesy Vegan dish (hint: it's from the mac & cheese chapter!).

Food Porn Fun Time!

I've been so busy lately. October is my crazy month. It's a fun kind of crazy — birthdays, Halloween parties, fall festivals, haunted houses, and other spooky social obligations. I'm not sure how it's possible, but this time of year is far busier for me than the hectic time around the winter holidays.

And that means that I've not had as much time to cook from other books or work on my own cookbook or even catch up on all my friends' vegan blogs. But a girl still has to eat, even if it's quick meals, takeout, or grabbing dinner at a friend's house (I'm lucky to have amazing vegan cooks for friends!!). Here's a little hodge-podge of stuff I've been eating lately.

A couple weeks back, I had dinner at Stephanie's house (Ms. Poopie Bitch, if you're nasty). She made a perfect Biscuit Pot Pie in the biggest cast iron skillet I've ever seen.

I'm not sure everything that was in this, but I remember potatoes, carrots, and peas. Wonderful fall weather meal.

Speaking of Poopie Bitch, I also nabbed one of the Cinnamon Rolls she made for my friend Cassi's birthday slumber party a couple weekends back. Stephanie made the soft, sweet, sticky buns for us to eat when we awoke the next day. But I left Cassi's around 6 a.m. in favor of my own bed. I came back for a cinnamon roll later in the day and saved it for a weekday breakfast with fruit, almond milk, iced green tea, and my morning news on the laptop.

And while we're on the subject of desserts, check out this vegan Jelly-Filled Doughnut! Imagine Vegan Cafe has a rotating cast of desserts, so they don't have doughnuts all the time. But when they do, I'm on it! Nothing in the world beats a vegan doughnut. Nothing.

You know what goes great with doughnuts? Coffee! Specifically Turkish (or Arabic) Coffee!!

Leslie got me these adorable tiny coffee mugs specially designed for serving Turkish Coffee for my birthday. If you've never had Turkish coffee, you simply must try it. It's a strong, almost espresso-like coffee where the powder-fine grounds are actually boiled into water until they mostly dissolve. The result is a thicker, creamier coffee. If you order it in a Middle Eastern restaurant, they often season the coffee with cardamom, which gives it a fruity flavor. I bought the Arabic coffee grounds with cardamom already mixed in. And I bought the special pot to brew it in.

Finally, I've been eating a ton of Breakfast Miso lately.

After I read a few years back that miso soup for breakfast was common in Japan, I had all the excuse I need to enjoy this savory broth in the a.m. I always add tofu, carrots, and onions. But no seaweed. Breakfast is just too early for seaweed. When I have miso in the morning, I usually have a small bowl of brown rice with shoyu on the side.

Pies and Tarts with Heart!

I've been blogging for some years now. And along the way, I've made some amazing blogger friends. But sadly, many of the bloggers I "met" in the early days have stopped blogging and fallen away. I miss them.

But a handful are still around, and since we've known one another for about six years now, I feel like those old-timers are true blog family. I've even met a few of them at Vida Vegan Con. One of those bloggers, who I had the great pleasure of meeting at the first con in Portland, is Dynise Balcavage. I've known her through a couple of love interests, a couple of blog incarnations, and now three cookbooks! I have her first two books, and both are treasured stables on my cookbook shelf.

Now her latest book, Pies and Tarts with Heart, has just hit stands, and I do believe it's her best work yet! The gorgeous, full-color, glossy book is loaded with recipes for fruit pies, chocolate pies, raw pies, fancy tarts, and — my personal fave — savory pies!

I tried a couple recipes from the book. And I'll tell ya — it was tough narrowing down which recipes to make. I went with the Sweet Potato Pie for last weekend's kitschy Southern "church" potluck.

Lemme tell ya about it: Dynise is from Philly, but this girl can make a sweet tater pie now. Most of my friends at the party were already vegan or vegetarian, but I promise if you took this pie to a real church potluck and fed to a group of actual Southern church ladies, they would have no idea this pie was a) vegan and b) created by a Yankee. The creamy sweet potato filling just melted in your mouth, and the flaky, buttery pie crust was perfection. Crust has never been my strong point, but this may be my new go-to recipe.

Of course, I also had to try something from the savory chapter! That was the toughest selection. Everything just looked so amazing —tofu quiche, booze-infused mushroom polenta pie, seitan pot pie, hash brown-crusted breakfast pie!

But in the end, I settled for, perhaps, the simplest recipe in the book — Sun-Dried Tomato Tahini Tart.

This is a combination I'd never dream up on my own, but it's simply dreamy y'all. Puff pastry is topped with tahini, sun-dried tomatoes, and crushed pistachios. That's it! The pastry bakes up and gets all poofy in the oven. The tahini has that rich saltiness, and the tomato is chewy and umami. I had this as a side dish with a giant dinner salad topped with Italian tofu and Goddess dressing. Magic!

If you're looking for a great pie book, Pies and Tarts with Heart is it! There's a whole chapter on different versions of crust — pastry, cookie, nutty, grain-based, mashed potato, and hash brown. And the rest of the book is filled with ways to fill those crusts — gingered pear, pumpkin, banana cream, frozen chocolate mudslide, butterscotch pudding, lemon fluff, vegan cheeseburger, and caramelized onions.

Vegan Drinks 4!

Tonight marked our fourth month of holding a Vegan Drinks event in Memphis! We met up at Seksui Midtown tonight for veggie sushi and cocktails.

Our group was a tad smaller than usual. We had a few no-shows and some people who wanted to come but just couldn't. But there were still 7 people, including a Vegan Drinks virgin!

God, I love sushi. It's kinda pricey, but it's such a fun experience. I love the process of topping each roll with wasabi and ginger and dipping (okay, soaking!) in soy sauce. I love the burn as the wasabi moves through your nasal cavity. I love the warmth of hot sake and miso soup.

We arrived at 5:30, just in time for happy hour. That meant "buy one, get one free" hot sake. Like wine, some sake isn't vegan. But as I do with wine, unless I know better, I order and hope for the best. I really hope this sake was vegan because it was so comforting on a cold, crisp autumn day.

I started my meal with a hot bowl of Miso Soup, which along with the sake, helped ease the chill from my bones. It was in the 60s today, y'all. I'm so not ready for this frigid weather!

For my dinner, I went with the Vegetable Roll, the Pickled Daikon Roll, and Inari (the rice-stuffed tofu pockets).

Cassi had Pickled Plum Rolls, Inari, and a Veggie Roll (but she had cayenne pepper sprinkled on hers!).

Nathan, our Vegan Drinks newbie, had the DJ Qualls (a tempura sweet potato and veggie roll named for actor DJ Qualls, who created the roll when he was in Memphis filming Hustle & Flow) and the Project Greek Fork (another veggie roll with green rice paper). The Project Green Fork is typically covered in eel sauce, so if you visit Sekisui, ask for them to leave it off.

I got too busy stuffing my face and forgot to photograph everyone else's plates. But they looked similar to these.

Another great Vegan Drinks gone by!

Stuffed Pork Chops Without the Pork

I can't recall ever having been the biggest fan of pork chops, but that's likely because my mama rarely made them. At least I don't think she made them often. Honestly, I couldn't even tell you what a pork chop tasted like. I don't remember.

I did, however, have a pet pot-bellied pig named Pork Chop. I must have been seven or eight, and I'm not even sure how it happened. But one day, we suddenly had a pet pig. And I named him Pork Chop. It's sadistic, sure. I was just beginning to make the connection between animals and meat, but I wasn't quite to the point where I really and truly understood.

Pork Chop was awesome! He grunted a lot, and he squealed if you tried to pick him up. At least, I think he did. That memory is fuzzy too. I do remember quite clearly, though, coming home from school one day to find that Pork Chop was missing from his pen in the yard. My parents had given him away to a new family. I remember being very sad.

Anyway, it was only a few years later that I swore off meat (and pork chops) for life. And now after all these years, I'm able to eat pork chops again. But these are vegan Match Stuffed Pork Chops. These are pork chops that my old pig buddy would be happy to see me eat.

I've no idea if they taste at all like the real thing, but considering that all Match "meats" I've tried so far are eerily similar in taste to their meaty counterparts, I'm sure these are quite a bit like pork. I had one last week with a plate of vegan cheese-covered steamed veggies.

Inside, the chops are stuffed with onion, celery, cilantro, green chiles, parsley, and garlic. Just amazing! The stuffing blends in with the meat just a bit, so it's hard to tell where the meat ends and the stuffing begins. But it all tastes like cruelty-free, meaty goodness of the best kind.

To Pork Chop the Pig, cheers!

The Last Supper

Last birthday post (at least until next year). I love my birthday, and I like to drag the celebration out for a good week. Today, I held a birthday potluck at my house with all my friends. We usually have a big throw-down weekend party, but this Sunday afternoon party had a very special theme.

I'm 33 now, the same age as Jesus when he died. And for years, I've been dreaming about having a Last Supper-themed potluck for my 33rd birthday. I'm not religious, but I do love the kitschy factor. I called the event The Last Supper: Bianca's Birthday Potluck of Biblical Portions. Clever, no?

Anyway, we had the party on a Sunday around 2 p.m. so we could pretend it was a good old Southern church potluck. We dressed like church ladies and stuffed ourselves with casseroles. Cassi went with the classic church suit. I had some kind of crazy 80s Designing Women thing going on. And Sheridan was more Stepford Wives. By the way, Cassi provided the fabulous church hats, courtesy of her grandma.

Unfortunately, casseroles don't look terribly sexy in photographs, so the pics you're about to see don't do these baked classics justice. I made my Mama's Hash Brown Casserole from Cookin' Crunk (shredded hash browns, Daiya cheese, vegan cream of mushroom soup, onions, and vegan sour cream topped with cornflakes).

I went to plenty of Southern church potlucks as a kid, and nearly EVERYTHING is covered in either cornflakes, crumbled potato chips, and French fried onions. I was so happy Sheridan made a Green Bean Casserole topped with fried onions!

Cassi brought Baked Spaghetti topped with melted slices of Daiya Cheddar. That's another thing you see at all these potlucks — cheese slices melted atop casseroles. Classic!

Greg made a crucifix with green beans in his Green Bean & Squash Casserole. It was topped with a nooch cheese sauce and vegan bacon bits!!

Diane gets points for bringing the healthy dish to the smorgasbord of brown casseroles. This is Spaghetti Squash and Artichokes.

Another dish present at every church potluck is Ro-Tel Dip in a crock pot. Mike took care of that with his amazing and creamy Daiya Ro-Tel (just melted Daiya, Ro-Tel from a can, and almond milk).

Shay made her famous Vegan Pizza! She makes everything from scratch — the crust, the sauce. This time, she topped the pizza with mushrooms and Beyond Meat chicken.

Stephanie always brings the sweets because she's our local vegan dessert master. This was a Mock Eclair Cake. Soooo good! It's made with layers of vegan pudding, vegan cream cheese, vegan whipped cream, graham crackers, and chocolate frosting!

I made a dessert too! The Sweet Potato Pie from Dynise Balcavage's new pie book, Pies and Tarts with Heart. But I'm on Dynise's blog review tour on Wednesday, so I'll save the picture for that post.

Oh, and I almost forgot. We washed everything down with vegan communion wine FROM A BOX! We really classed things up today. This Bully Hill Vineyard Red Table Wine was just a tad sweet, and it reminded me of the wine we drank in church when I went through my Catholic phase in high school.

The devil even made an appearance! Here's Misti with Demon Greg.

We had a lovely time! Hallelujah!

Vegan Comfort Foods Cookbook Giveaway!!

A couple nights ago, I posted a review of Veronica Grace's new cookbook, Vegan Comfort Foods from Around the World. It's a collection of 60 low-fat recipes for classic comfort food dishes. We're talking vegan mac & cheese with broccoli, ranch dip, spaghetti with French lentil sauce, sloppy joes, baked ziti, you name it. If it's comforting, there's likely a recipe for it in Veronica's new book.

Well, I was supposed to host a giveaway of her book in that post. But I blog late at night, and I forget important things all the time. So I forgot to post about the giveaway! Here it is.

You can read the full review here. And then you should leave a comment on this post letting me know about your favorite vegan comfort food. What one meal just warms the heck out of your little heart with every bite?

Be sure and leave your email address in the comment unless you know I can find you through a blog or something. I just need a way to contact you. I'll randomly select a winner on Tuesday night.

(P.S. I've noticed that a few people have left comments on the review post linked above to try to win rather than this one. Sorry for the confusion! But please comments on THIS POST! To be fair, I'll include those folks who commented on the other as well. But it'll be easier on me if you comment here instead of there).

Best Food Birthday Ever!

Today, I turned 33. Here's a selfie I took this morning, so I'd remember what I looked like at age 33.

Since Wednesdays aren't exactly wild and crazy party days, I decided that my celebratory focus should be all about food. Today, I would eat whatever my little (and kinda old) heart desired. Don't worry — I'm having a proper birthday potluck this weekend.

So I started the morning with my very favorite breakfast — Tofu Omelette from Fat-Free Vegan!

For years, this has been my go-to recipe for vegan omelettes. I like that it just makes one omelette for a single birthday diner like myself. I stuffed this one with vegan mozzarella, sauteed bell peppers, and shredded hash browns. I used black salt in the recipe for an eggy taste, but I also sprinkled black salt liberally on top because one can never have too much black salt on one's birthday. On the side, I had sprouted grain toast with Earth Balance and hot pepper fig jelly.

For lunch, my friend/co-worker Shara and I went to Chiwawa! This is a fun Mexican/hot dog joint that serves a vegan dog named after yours truly! Of course, I had to get a Bianca Dog on my birthday!

This is a spicy vegan brat on a pretzel bun topped with black bean paste and slaw. And guess what? It was Weiner Wednesday! And that meant half-off hot dogs! It also rained today, and when it rains at Chiwawa, they pour half-off draft beer. Yes, I did have a Dos Equis at lunch on a work day. It was my birthday. Sue me.

On the side, I had their refreshing Mango, Cucumber, and Jicama Fries with Chili-Lime Salt. Healthiest thing I had all day!

Every Wednesday, my friends and I go to Imagine Vegan Cafe. So of course, that's where I wanted to have my birthday dinner. I ordered one of my favorite dishes — Vegan Chicken Fried Steak with Gravy, Vegan Mac & Cheese, and Mashed Potatoes & Gravy. Sorry this pic isn't the greatest. It was totally dim in the dining area where we sat.

Wednesday at Imagine is also the day my friend Stephanie delivers fresh desserts for them to sell. I was just about to order a slice of her vanilla-caramel cake when Imagine owner Kristie walked out of the kitchen carrying this!

They gave me a cake, y'all!!!! Imagine gave me my very own birthday cake because they're awesome and like family to me. This was Stephanie's peanut butter bomb cake!!! Btw, I'm not sure what that green is on the frosting in the picture. Some weird light that reflected from my iPhone camera? The peanut butter frosting was all brown.

I tucked three candles into my pocket before I left because I expected I'd need them for the slice of cake I was planning to order. But turns out I needed them for an entire cake!

I just can't believe Kristie and Adam and Stephanie did that!! I really have the best friends ever.

After dinner, we walked over to the new Cooper-Young wine bar, Greencork. This is the coolest! When you walk in, you put as much money as you want onto a card. You stick the card into a machine that looks something like a soda fountain, and you can pick a two-ounce pour, a four-ounce pour, or a six-ounce pour. Fun!! And you can refill the card with money again and again, so it's like a Starbucks card for wine!

Well, my birthday is pretty much over. But I had a blast. Between the vegan nacho bar my mama made me last Sunday, today's delicious eats (and cake!), and my planned Sunday birthday potluck (post coming next week!), I can say with certainty that this was the best food birthday ever!