Vegan Mofo: Make Something Inspired By a Film

Today, for Mofo, we're supposed to make something inspired by a book or film. And this was kind of a no-brainer for me since I make something inspired by one of my favorite films every single weekend. Ramen!!!! Inspired by the 2008 Brittany Murphy film The Ramen Girl. 

I had this lovely bowl on Saturday morning, in my PJs while watching Lost (yes, I'm just now starting this series, and I'm only on season one, so no spoilers!). It's a ritual that I've been doing every weekend for years — sleep in, get up and feed the critters, make ramen, eat in PJs while watching one episode of an hour-long series. I've enjoyed ramen while watching Mad Men, The Walking Dead, Girls, Newsroom, Downton Abbey, Big Love, etc. And now I'm on Lost.

But back to that film inspiration. If you're not familiar with The Ramen Girl, here's the basic plot: Abby (played by Brittany Murphy, RIP) moves to Japan with her boyfriend because he's working there. But in the first few minutes of the film, they break up. And then she's all alone in a strange country where she doesn't speak the language. So she happens upon a ramen shop, and she comes in and eats noodles. And they make her feel better. Before you know it, she's learning the art of ramen from the chef Maezumi, Karate Kid-style.

Sure, it's a little cheesy. But if you love ramen as much as I do, it's really great to see it glorified in the film. Ramen is essentially treated as a fine art and, perhaps, the key to happiness in this movie. And I believe those things are very true. Nothing makes me feel better than a bowl of noodles.

There's a lot of talk in the film about making a perfect broth. But I'm not that picky. For my homemade ramen, I usually use the flavor packets that come with the soup, but I add a few extras, like garlic powder, sesame oil, or ponzu. Sometimes, I buy the authentic noodle packs from the Vietnamese grocery store. Most of the ones at my local market are made with artificial meat flavors, so they're vegan. Like these artificial chicken and ginger noodles.

But they're still loaded with MSG, which I'm fine with, but sometimes I like to eat healthier. My faves are Koyo (baked ramen) and Lotus Foods (gluten-free ramen).

I don't have a recipe to share, just a basic formula. So here ya go.

Bianca's Guide to Making Ramen
1 package vegan ramen
1/4 package firm tofu
1/2 cup frozen veggies (my faves are corn, peas, carrots, and green beans)
Garlic powder
Soy sauce, tamari, or ponzu
Sriracha or Yellowbird sauce (I put Yellowbird Habanero in mine!)
Sesame oil or chili oil
Black pepper

Put about 2 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cut the tofu into bite-sized cubes, and saute in a skillet with non-stick cooking spray and some spices (I love garlic powder!). Saute until browned.

Add the frozen veggies to the boiling water in the saucepan. Allow it to come back to a boil. Add the noodles and boil according to package directions. Turn off heat and add in the tofu and ramen seasoning packet.

Stir in any extra spices — garlic powder, soy sauce, hot sauce, black pepper, sesame or chili oil. And serve with chopsticks and a wide soup spoon! Eat in PJs while watching TV.

Vegan Mofo: Recreate a Restaurant Meal

It's Day 6 of Vegan Mofo, and that means it's time to recreate a restaurant meal. But technically, this post isn't about a meal. It's about a cocktail. But you know, some nights, you drink your dinner. And some days call for a liquid lunch. Thankfully, this cocktail is loaded with healthy veggies, so it totally makes an acceptable dinner.

But before we get to the recipe, here's a little background. I mentioned White Owl Social Club in Portland in yesterday's sandwich round-up. I've had the place on the brain for awhile, as it was truly one of my favorite restaurants in Portland when I was there for Vida Vegan 2 in 2013. Not only did I eat the most amazing vegan fried mac & cheese sandwich there, I also drank the best bloody mary of my life there. It was made with fresh beet and veggie juice!

This drink was so perfect in every way. Salted rim. Fresh veggies. All the right garnishes. I've no idea why it's taken me this long to try making it home. But I was finally inspired to recreate it when Balls Vodka offered to send me a bottle of their vodka to create recipes with. 

First of all, they called it Balls!! That alone is enough to make me like the stuff. But it doesn't hurt that this 80 proof, grain-distilled vodka is distinctly smooth. It's the kind of vodka you can drink on the rocks without making a scrunched-up face with every sip. But of course, it's more fun in a cocktail. So I finally attempted to recreate the White Owl Social Club Bloody Mary.

I forgot the salted rim! But that would be a nice touch. I garnished this with some garlic-stuffed olives, but celery, lime, pickles, or even pickled okra would be great too.

You'll need a juicer for this one. It's basically just fresh veggie juice spiked with vodka. You could maybe try blending the veggies in a Vitamix and then straining out the pulp, but that sounds like too much trouble to me. Also, note that the amount of juice you get depends on your juicer and the size of your veggies. I used a big ole tomato, a fat cucumber, and a medium-sized beet, and this made about 16 ounces.

We Got the Beet Bloody Mary

Yields 2 servings

1 medium beet, top cut off

1 large cucumber

1 large tomato

1 large carrot

1 large green bell pepper, seeded

1 hot pepper (like a jalapeno or cayenne pepper), seeded

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 lime, peeled

Splash pickle juice, optional

Hot sauce, to taste

4 ounces Balls Vodka (or any vodka)

Ice

Garnishes (choose any): olives, pickles, celery, or lime slices, salted rim

Juice the beet, tomato, carrot, bell pepper, hot pepper, garlic, and lime. Transfer the juice to a shaker cup. Add the pickle juice, hot sauce, vodka, and ice. Shake and pour over ice. 

Vegan Mofo: Best Sandwiches Ever!

Today's Mofo post is dedicated to the best sandwich ever. Except it's pretty hard for me to pick just one sandwich! So I'm doing a round-up of my favorite sammies.

1) Fried Mac & Cheese Sandwich at White Owl Social Club in Portland, Oregon — Y'all!!!!! I had this at the Vida Vegan Con 2 pre-con meet-and-greet in 2011, and it has forever changed my life. I've still not recreated it at home, but I think it about it, like, every day.

2) Bianca Banh Mi at Midtown Crossing Grill in Memphis — I swear I'm not just including this because it's named after me! I really think this is one of the best sandwiches in Memphis. Crusty bread, marinated tofu, red bean hummus, homemade pickles, and jalapenos.

3) Reuben at Imagine Vegan Cafe in Memphis — Imagine has a great menu of sandwiches, and it's hard for me to narrow down a fave. But right now, I'm really into their reuben. They use a wheat gluten-based vegan salami, kraut, homemade Thousand Island, and a white vegan cheese sauce. It's totally messy, and by the end, you need a fork. But that's okay!

4. Radical Reuben at The Chicago Diner in Chicago — Since we're talking about reubens, you've got to include the grandmama of all reubens, the Radical Reuben. This sandwich is legendary, and there's a good reason for that. It's delicious!! They use a homemade seitan, a melty white cheese, kraut, and Thousand Island. The seitan is so tender and amazing. 

5. Veggie Burger at Fuel Cafe in Memphis — This is hands-down the best veggie burger in Memphis. It's a homemade patty that's hearty and meaty and holds together well. Served with vegan cheese and vegan mayo. They also serve this patty reuben-style during the lunch hour. Basically, every sandwich should be a reuben.

6. Fried Green Tomato & Tofu Sandwich from Cookin' Crunk — I wanted to include something homemade in this list, and this is definitely my favorite sandwich from my cookbook. Crispy, cornmeal-coated fried green tomatoes, marinated & baked tofu, sweet 'n' tangy dijon mayo. YUM!

Vegan Mofo: Recreate a Meal From Your Childhood

It’s the second day of Vegan Mofo, the Vegan Month of Food — the month when bloggers, Instagramers, and the like pledge to blog as much as possible and fill the internet with delicious vegan food. And this year, there are fun daily themes! Today’s theme is “Recreate a Meal From Your Childhood.”

So technically, I didn’t create a meal. I created a dessert. But hey, dessert can be a meal, right? Don’t try to tell me you’ve never had cake for dinner. Just cake. Lots of cake. All by yourself, over the sink so you don't make a mess with the crumbs. I've been there. You've been there. We've all been there. Don't judge.

If you can make a meal out of cake, you can make a meal out of rice krispie treats. When I was a kid, I loved when my mom would make rice krispie treats. I don't remember it being all that often, but when she did, they were awesome. My mom made amazing meals every single day, so I could have recreated any of them. But honestly, I had some Dandies that needed using. So I made Cookies 'n' Cream Rice Krispie Treats with Semi-sweet & White Chocolate Drizzle.

Okay, so my mom didn't make cookies 'n' cream krispie treats. She just made the regular kind with marshmallows, butter, and rice krispies. And those simple treats are fantastic. But y'all don't need a recipe for those! So I figured I'd step it up a bit. Dandies sent me some vegan marshmallows to develop recipes with, so I whipped this up. I used the new cookies 'n' cream Oreos (yes, they're vegan!), but regular old Oreos would work just fine. For the topping, I melted semi-sweet chocolate chips and vegan white chocolate chips. I brought these to a non-vegan potluck, and they were a huge hit! Paul loves them too.

As y'all may know, I'm working on a retro vegan cookbook right now. And turns out rice krispie treats have quite a history. It's believed that they were invented in 1939 by Malitta Jensen and Mildred Day at the Kellogg Company home economics department as a fund-raiser for the Camp Fire Girls, the first secular, multicultural organization for girls. How cool is that? So I'm definitely including this recipe in my cookbook! Oh, and Oreos debuted in 1912, so those home-ec ladies totally could have snuck some into their rice krispie treats.

Well, without further ado, here's the recipe! This one's for you, Mama Crunk! Thanks for keeping me fed all these years.

Cookies 'n' Cream Rice Krispie Treats

Yields 12 treats

3 Tbsp. vegan margarine

1 10-ounce bag Dandies vegan marshmallows (about 3 1/2 cups if using the minis)

6 cups rice crispy cereal

10 Oreos, roughly chopped

1/2 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup vegan white chocolate chips

1/4 cup almond milk, divided

Spray a 9x13-inch casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Melt the margarine in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until they melt, about 8 to 10 minutes. Vegan marshmallows melt a little weird, just keep stirring. They won't liquify. They'll stay in a melty blob, and that's okay. Just make sure the marshmallows are melted down and have lost their shape. Stir the entire time! Turn off heat.

Add the cereal one cup at a time, stirring to incorporate each time. As you add more cereal, it will be harder to incorporate. But put some arm work into it. Make it a workout! 

Once the cereal is all mixed in, add the crushed Oreos and stir to incorporate. 

Press the cereal into the casserole dish, spreading to all the corners and sides of the pan. Press down to make it even all the way around. Set aside.

In a double boiler, add the semi-sweet chips and 2 Tbsp. of the almond milk. Melt the chips slowly, stirring often. When they're melted, allow to cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a pastry bag or a ziploc bag. If using a ziploc, trim the end with scissors and drizzle over the treats.

In a double boiler, add the white chocolate chips and 2 Tbsp. of the almond milk. Melt the chips slowly, stirring often. When they're melted, allow to cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a pastry bag or a ziploc bag. If using a ziploc, trim the end with scissors and drizzle over the treats. Not all vegan white chocolate is created equal. Some melts better than others. I've had great luck with Vegan Sweets chips. They melt a little clumpy, and the color changes from white to off-white, but that's okay. When it dries, it will be white again. 

Cut treats into 12 equal-sized pieces. Eat!

Vegan Mofo: Rise & Shine!

It's the first day (or I guess it's night now) of Vegan Mofo 2015! Vegan Mofo stands for "vegan month of food." The month changes a bit from year to year, but this time, it's in September. Vegan bloggers, Instagrammers, tweeters, and other social media users will be attempting to break the internet with daily posts of mouth-watering vegan food porn. And this year, there are themes for every day. Most years, I stick with my five-day-a-week blog schedule during Mofo, but this month, I'm blogging EVERY SINGLE DAY. And I'm going to do my best to follow all the recommended daily themes. So please stop by often!

So let's get started. The first Mofo theme is "Rise & Shine: Tell Us About Your Breakfast." So, without further ado, here's what I ate for breakfast today — Grilled Tex-Mex Tofu Migas from the new issue of VegNews.

The recipe is by The Sexy Vegan Brian Patton. And they're so good! First, you grill up some veggies — tomato, peppers, scallions. I used my indoor grill. And then you scramble those with tofu, and because this is migas, you toss in a some chopped corn tortilla bits. Melt a little vegan cheddar. Scoop into a corn tortilla. Add some avocado, and, if you're me, you add Yellowbird Jalapeno Sauce. I enjoyed these with a side of sweet summer watermelon with pink salt. 

After Vida Vegan Con in Austin back in May, I noticed that most of my blogger friends couldn't stop eating tacos when they got home. So many posts were about tacos! But as much as I love tacos, I needed a break from them for awhile. But I'm back on tacos now, big-time. 

While we're here, can we just talk about how great it is that VegNews is back?! I got my new Food Issue in the mail last week, and it was such an awesome surprise! And now Colleen Holland is running the mag, so you know it's going to be great again. You can find this breakfast taco recipe and more in the new issue!

"Pork" Chops & Applesauce - That's Swell!

Remember that episode of The Brady Bunch when Peter isn't happy with who he is, so he keeps trying on different characters? In one scene, he practices his best Humphrey Bogart impersonation and then he marches into the kitchen and asks Carol and Alice what's for dinner. They say "pork chops" and "applesauce," and then he repeats it —"Pork chops and applesauce. That's swell!" over and over.



That scene has stuck with me since I was a little kid watching The Brady Bunch reruns after school. I can't think about pork chops without thinking about applesauce. Well, it just so happened that last week, I had everything in my freezer and pantry to make a nice vegan pork chop dinner. And that's fantastic since, this Mofo, I'm trying to cook as much as possible using stuff I already have.

The pork chop is made from Match Meat Ground Pork Without the Pork, which I had in my freezer. I thawed it out, added some spices (garlic, onion, seasoned salt), coated in flour, and fried in oil. I also had applesauce (that I keep on hand for baking) in my pantry.

The mac & cheese is from a box — Earth Balance Vegan White Cheddar, which I stocked up on when it first came out. And the greens are rape greens that my Granny cooked down a few months ago and froze. I just thawed those out and added some more spices and hot sauce. Voila — a meal I didn't buy a thing for!

Cookie Dough Protein Smoothie!

We're well into the second week of Mofo and I'm sort of sticking to my Pantry Raid theme. Sort of. I'm supposed to be basing my meals around items I already have in my pantry or freezer. And I'm finding that, while I am indeed doing that, it's nearly impossible to find a recipe you don't have to buy anything for. Tonight's Cookie Dough Protein Shake is a perfect example.

I found this recipe on Chocolate Covered Katie's blog back in August, and I promptly pinned it to my Smooth(ie) Playa board on Pinterest. I pin recipes all the time, but I use the smoothie board most often. Since I make protein smoothie after my runs four days a week, I'm always desperate for new ideas.

This sounded like an awesome one! And indeed it was. I swear to goddess that it tastes exactly like raw cookie dough, but it's totally healthy and perfect for a post-workout meal. It gets that special cookie dough taste from Katie's not-so-secret ingredients — a pinch of salt and a pinch of baking soda! It's that twinge of saltiness that takes this from just another protein shake to a full-on cookie dough experience.

As for ingredients, I had almost everything I needed to make this. Had the almond milk, the salt and baking soda, the oats, the maple extract, the sweetener (I chose Bee-Free Honee), and the vanilla protein powder. I stockpile protein powder since I use so much, so I typically have five or six flavors. I'm fresh out of French Vanilla Vega One, so I used Nutribody Vanilla Protein Powder.

The recipe also called for chocolate chips. And even though I usually have those, I was fresh out. So instead of buying a whole bag and cramming the unused portion back into my overstocked pantry, I sought out an option in the Whole Foods bulk bin. I thought they had vegan chocolate chips in the bins, but I was wrong. They did, however, have carob chips. And I love, love, love carob! Maybe even more than chocolate (because I'm crazy, I know). So I bought just the amount of carob chips I needed to make a couple of these smoothies. Boom! One less contribution to the pantry crisis.

Vegan Mofo! Vida Vegan Con 3! And a Baby Squirrel!

If I didn't have you at mofo or VVC, I bet I had you at "baby squirrel." And there will be a baby squirrel in this post, but you'll have to wait for a few announcements.

1. It's Vegan Mofo 2014, y'all!
It's hard to believe that the Vegan Month of Food (MOFO) is here again. Didn't we just do that? Time really flies when you're gettin' old. But in case you're new to the vegan blogosphere, Mofo is the month when every vegan blogger comes out of the woodworks and vows to blog more often and typically with a fun theme for the month. Some of us, like myself, have been blogging all year, and Mofo is just business as usual.

But some of my favorite bloggers only get super-serious about blogging around this time, so I love catching up on what they've been doing all year. You can find round-ups everyday on the Vegan Mofo website.

And after years and years of participating in Mofo without a theme, I've finally decided to commit to one this year. My theme is Pantry Raid! (Get it, like "panty raid" but with "pantry." Ahem.) My pantry (and freezer) are out of control again because I'm a food hoarder who can't turn down a Kroger Manager's Special. So every dish I make at home this month will be centered around ingredients I already have. I'm allowed to buy fresh produce and the occasional supplemental ingredients, but the base of the recipe must come from things I already have.

2. I'm speaking at Vida Vegan Con 3!
I'm super thrilled and honored to have been chosen to speak at VVC again this year. Somehow, I've been lucky enough to speak at the past two cons, and I figured they'd be sick of me by now. But nope! I guess not! Yay! I was gonna go anyway because I wouldn't miss it for the world, but I'm so excited to be speaking.

I'll be leading a talk (or maybe a panel?) on the Ethics of Vegan Dining and Boozing. We'll be discussing how we each handle sticky situations in non-vegan restaurants. Do you ask lots of questions? Are you more concerned about being an easy-going vegan and not asking questions? Do you worry about whether or not your wine is vegan? Do you tell someone at the table when they accidentally order something not vegan?

The conference is in Austin from May 29th-31st. And I'm super excited that my BFF Sheridan and her partner Drew are coming this year! Vegan breakfast tacos, here we come! If you need tickets for VVC, go here. 

3. And now the moment you've all been waiting for.

That, my friends, is Baby Herman. A few weeks ago, Paul let the dogs out in the backyard and heard a loud screaming sound. He went outside and Maynard, our pittie, was playing with a tiny baby squirrel and most likely about to make that baby a snack. The baby was screaming for help! Paul scooped him up and took him inside. We never saw a nest or a mama squirrel, so we took the little guy in. I googled "how to take care of an orphaned baby squirrel" and got some good tips. He loves puppy formula. Here he is in the first week or so. Look how tiny and wrinkly!

It's been about 4 weeks now. Herman's eyes are open, and he's getting way more active. He's such a crazy little guy! This morning, he discovered that my pants are basically the same as trees.

We plan to release him when the time is right (websites say between 12-16 weeks), but for now, he's still on formula. Hoping to introduce solids this week since he just got in his baby teeth! I'll certainly keep y'all posted.

Let Me Eat Cake!

I've been eating vegan cheezecake and chocolate pecan pie leftover from Thanksgiving for days, so I really don't deserve a piece of cake. I mean, I always deserve cake because I'm awesome! But you know, my body probably doesn't need any more sugar. Thankfully, I made this yumilicious Yella' Cake with Fudgey Frosting last week, so I couldn't have a slice now if I wanted it (and of course, I do!):

This recipe was the final new recipe to be developed for my cookbook. I've been busy testing and re-testing recipes that I've developed over the past two years, but for some reason, I was holdin' out on creating a vegan version of my favorite cake — a simple yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I knew I wanted to include a recipe for it in the book, but I kept putting off development.

The cake part was, um, a piece of cake since I'd already developed a moist yellow cake (that's yella' if you're from these parts) for my Coconut Icebox Cake. But the frosting was kind of a bitch. It took me three tries in one night to achieve the creamy, fudginess that I was aiming for. It was a work night, and I started baking late. I think I stayed up until nearly 1 a.m. tweaking the frosting. I threw out two batches before I got it right.

I guess third time really is a charm because the last batch was exactly what I had in mind. I brought the finished product to work and it was quickly devoured by my co-workers. I'm so thankful that I have dessert-loving colleagues to pawn sweets off on. Like I said earlier, I always want cake. But my hips know better.

What's your favorite cake/frosting combo?

Vegan Mofo: Thanksgiving at the Office

Almost every year, my company hosts a Thanksgiving lunch a few days before we get off for the actual holiday. Some years, we do a potluck. But this year, the company ordered a catered lunch from Corky's, a local barbecue joint (for the record, the 'cue joint served traditional Thanksgiving food). We have at least six vegetarians at the office, two of whom are vegan (including me!). In case you're wondering, I write for an alt-weekly, The Memphis Flyer.

Corky's doesn't offer any vegan food. Thankfully, I was lookin' for an excuse to cook up my Tofurky Vegetarian Feast, which Turtle Island Foods offered me for free in exchange for a blog review. So I spent last night and this morning cooking up the contents of the feast box — one Tofurky roast (now 20% larger!), one package of Tofurky Giblet Gravy, and an Amy's Chocolate Cake. I also whipped up an extra side dish and dessert.

Now I've had Tofurky plenty of Thanksgiving's before, but in recent years I've switched to Field Roast's Celebration Roast (nothing against Tofurky ... I was just trying to switch things up from year to year). I was excited to give the Tofurky roast another try, cooked up with an olive oil/soy sauce/sage baste and some chopped white potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and onions:

I've always loved Tofurky, but I swear it was tastier than it used to be. The texture seemed more tender, and the taste was more, um, turkey-like. Another co-worker commented that it tasted better than she remembered too. If you haven't had a Tofurky in awhile, try it again and see what you think. I think they've changed the recipe for the better. Several of my omni co-workers tried (and liked) the Tofurky as well, and my boss even called it "passable."

Though I didn't photograph the "giblet" gravy, it was also included in the feast box. I'd never it tried before, and it was pretty darn delicious for a frozen heat-and-serve gravy. Tasted homemade.

The box also included an Amy's Organic Chocolate Cake:

Now I've seen these advertised in VegNews, and I've noticed the frozen loaf-size cakes in Whole Foods. But I rarely ever buy pre-made desserts. I figure if I'm gonna splurge on sugar calories, they better be from something homemade. But y'all, this cake is fan-freakin-tastic. OMG. You just take it out of the freezer, thaw for a few hours, and voila. No baking involved. The cake is so, so moist. You could even eat this stuff with a spoon. It reminded me of cake batter, but in solid form. I ate one piece at work and finished off another two pieces later. I wish I had more right now. Thankfully, the feast box comes with coupons for more cake.

I asked other vegetarians in the office to contribute a dish to our alternative feast if they wanted and Hannah (the other vegan) brought a yummy veggie pot pie with phyllo crust. Very fancy. She was worried that it would taste like poop, but it was delicious! Sheryl brought some savory wild rice that really hit the spot. I wish I'd snapped a photo of both dishes, but by the time I saw their food, I was more concerned with eating than taking pictures. I did snap a plate shot, but it came out blurry. Boo.

To make sure we had enough food, I also brought my Hungry Jill Casserole — a baked bean and biscuit dish topped with Daiya:

And I made some Chocolate Pecan Tarts:

The tarts aren't quite where I want them yet, but they're almost there. I figure if I tweak the recipe one more time, I'll have a winner. Both the casserole and tarts will be included in my cookbook.

Several of us herbivores sat together at the company lunch. Here's Susan and Mark, enjoying their cruelty-free fare:

After lunch, Hannah and I fought over the Tofurky Jurky Wishstix:

This cute jerky "wishbone" was also included in the feast box. I'm not sure who won, but Hannah managed to score the bigger half. I think that means she won. Cheater. :-) By the way, check out my festive and seasonally-appropriate "Save a Turkey, Eat Tofu" shirt.

What do you serve as your Thanksgiving centerpiece?

Vegan Mofo: Salad Doesn't Have to Be Boring!

I know some vegan cookbooks steer away from "salad sections" because many vegans want to get away from the myth that we only eat lettuce and carrots all the time. And I get that. But lettuce and carrots are yummy, and good for you!

My book will have a combined "salad & sandwich" section since I view both as super lunch-y foods. In real life, I generally make big ole everything salads with no recipe to speak of. I just throw whatever salad-y stuff I have into a bowl and toss with a convenient bottled dressing. But my book will have some real recipes that include homemade dressings and carefully-paired salad ingredients, like in this Seitan & Red Pear Salad:

It uses the Seitan Chicken from another recipe in the book, red pears, green onions, walnuts, and my homemade white pear vinaigrette. It seems a little fancy for country cookin' book, but even the most downhome cook likes to make gourmet stuff sometimes.
What's your favorite salad combination?

Vegan Mofo: Quinoa Queen

According to Sarah Kramer's 2010 Go Vegan wall calendar, I'm the Quinoa Queen for a Day. That's because I made the recipe of the month — Rustic Quinoa & Yam Salad:

November features a kitschy-cute picture of Sarah donning a pageant crown and a big ole bowl of unadorned quinoa nestled in one of Vegan Dish's awesome bowls (By the way, mom and dad ... if you're reading this, a Vegan Dish mug would be a great Xmas gift idea! Hint, hint!) Anyway, Sarah deserves her crown for inventing this yummy salad.

The quinoa is mixed with cooked sweet potatoes, red bell pepper, onions, cilantro, lemon juice, maple syrup, and Bragg's. So, so good. Thankfully, the recipe makes a ton so I have plenty more for leftovers.

A word on "yams": I've never eaten, nor even seen, an actual yam. I've eaten my weight (or more) in sweet taters though. That's all you'll find around here. Yams and sweet potatoes are too totally different tubers. Sweet potatoes are orange or yellow with a brown-ish skin. Yams are purple, white, or red with a dark skin. I've never understood why people confuse the two.

And I'm not totally sure if Sarah intended on her recipe to include sweet potatoes or actual yams. But regardless, it's delicious made with sweet potatoes!

Have you ever eaten a real yam? I want to know what it tastes like....

Vegan Mofo: Bluffin' with My Muffin

I've been craving muffins somethin' fierce lately. Not sure why, but it has been a long, long time since I've baked fresh muffins for breakfast. It was time to fix that, and who better to turn to than Isa Chandra Moskowitz?

I flipped through Vegan Brunch, hoping one of the many muffin recipes would call to me. And sure enough, these Pumpkin Bran Muffins were all, "Make me Bianca, make me!" I heeded the call and here's what I got:

Nothin' fancy to look at. In fact, they got a little browner around the edges that I would have liked. But damn are they good! Isa really knows what she's doing. I had some doubts when I saw the recipe called for an oven temperature of 400 degrees, but I was reassured with my first bite.

The batter is loaded with pureed pumpkin and oat bran flakes, so I feel extra healthy when I eat these ... even if they do contain a little sugar. I guess I'd never tried bran flakes before, but I liked the subtle gritty texture the flakes lent these muffins.

I washed them down with a half-cup of Silk Pumpkin Soymilk mixed with a half-cup of regular soymilk. That's a little trick I learned from Nora at Pride & Vegudice. The Silk Pumpkin is way too sweet, and it's a whopping 170 calories per cup. Mixing it with plain soymilk cuts the calories and takes a bite off the sweetness.

What's your favorite muffin flavor?

Vegan Mofo: More Barbecue!

Remember last night when I said Memphis was built on barbecue? Yep, still true. Rock 'n' roll and barbecue. That's what we do here. I can even do barbecue two nights in a row ... how rock 'n' roll is that?!

This time, I went the "dry rub" route with the final version of my BBQ Dry Rub Seitan Ribs:

Y'all have seen these before in various stages of development. But I've finally got the recipe where I want it. The 'cue flavor in these tender "ribs" comes not from a sauce, but from a combination of spices and a hint of brown sugar.

I served my ribs with a helpin' of my Cheezy Broccoli Rice Casserole:

Not the best photo, I know. But it's hard to make a casserole look nice. You can see a prettier shot here from last December. I don't know about y'all but I grew up eating a not-so-healthy version of broccoli rice casserole — loaded with Velveeta, white rice, and condensed cream of mushroom soup. I promise mine is way, way healthier! But still tasty.

In case you're wondering about a cookbook update, I'm in the home stretch. I have until the first of January to finish testing and make the final edits before submitting my manuscript. That's why you've seen so many test recipes lately.

Don't forget to enter Rick's Nacho Mama Vegan Queso giveaway over at the Health Sleuth blog!

Back on the 'cue theme, what's your favorite vegan way to enjoy barbecue sauce or rub?

Vegan Mofo: BBQ Tempeh Pizza

The streets of Memphis are paved with barbecue sauce. Seriously. The people here live, eat, and breathe the 'cue. So it's no wonder that my cookbook will have lots and lots of vegan barbecue-based recipes. Thankfully, you can do a million and one things with barbecue sauce. Down here, we put 'cue-sauced protein on our sandwiches, nachos, salads, spaghetti, and even pizza!

A long time ago — back when I first started my cookbook project — I developed a BBQ Tempeh Pizza. But the early incarnations were more of a first draft. You can see old pics here and here. At first, I wasn't sure how to slice my tempeh for a pizza topping. But duh. I finally figured out that crumbled tempeh was the only way to go. Past versions weren't quite barbecue-y enough, but I've finally perfected my BBQ Tempeh Pizza:

The tempeh is sauteed in my homemade Memphis-Style Barbecue Sauce (heavy on the vinegar with a lovely hint of sweetness). It's crumbled atop a homemade nutritional yeast-based cheeze sauce and a bed of fresh baby spinach.

There's no red sauce though. The nooch sauce takes the place of a traditional marinara and, thus, erases the need for shredded vegan cheeze. Nothing against shredded vegan cheeze pizzas though. Daiya pizza totally rocks my world. But I feel like the nooch sauce is a better complement to the tangy crumbled tempeh.

Speaking of cheeze, don't forget to enter Rick's Nacho Mama Vegan Queso giveaway over at the Health Sleuth blog!

Vegan Mofo: From Mexico to Mississippi

For the past couple of days, I've shared photos of my vegan breakfasts, lunches, and dinners on our family Carnival cruise to Cozumel, Mexico. While I found plenty to eat on the boat, I also ate pretty well on land during the trip.

On Saturday, our ship — the Carnival Triumph — docked in Cozumel, Mexico just after breakfast. Another Carnival ship, the Ecstasy, docked right next to us a few minutes later. Check out this view of the two ships from the shore in Cozumel:

By the way, you might have noticed that I misspelled "Cozumel" in my last two posts (both have been corrected). Thanks to a commenter for catching the error. I was spelling it with a "y" as "Cozymel" instead of a "u" as "Cozumel." I blame that on the fact that Memphis used to have a restaurant called "Cozymel" with the "y." Oops!

Anyway, after a bit of shopping in the tourist area of Cozumel (yes, I bought LOTS of Mexican wrestler masks!), we wandered off the beaten path in search of a quiet place to eat lunch. An employee at a nearby hotel suggested we try Las de Guanatos .... and he gave us a coupon for three free drinks!

I chose a plain margarita on the rocks, and it was one of the best I've ever had:

My parents opted for blended mango margs:

Their menu didn't have any vegetarian options, so I asked the server if they could make me some vegetarian fajitas. He said that wouldn't be a problem, and then he brought us these homemade corn tortilla chips with the world's most perfect dish of pico de gallo for snackin' while we waited:

When our food finally arrived, I was so delighted to see what the chef had concocted for me — French Fry Fajitas!

Some healthier vegans might have been disappointed, but I can think of no greater meal than sauteed French fries, peppers, and onions piled onto a homemade corn tortilla. Carbtastic! This reminded me of a Mexican version of my favorite New Orleans sandwich, the French Fry Po' Boy. I wasn't so sure about the beans being totally vegan, but I ate them anyway. Sigh. And the guacamole was out of this world!

After lunch and more shopping, we boarded the boat to head back to New Orleans. You've already seen what I ate on the ship Saturday night and Sunday. On Monday morning, we docked in NOLA, made our way off the ship, and piled into the car for the six-hour drive from NOLA to Memphis.

As if by fate, we just so happened to be passing through Jackson, Mississippi around lunchtime. Since it was a weekday, that meant my favorite vegan lunch-only diner — the High Noon Cafe — was open. The High Noon Cafe serves delicious vegan fare inside the Rainbow Grocery Co-op, but it's a three-hour drive from Memphis so I only eat there about once a year ... when we're passing through for a New Orleans trip.

This time, I opted to start with the soup special — Tomato Lime:

This chunky tomato soup was well-spiced with only a hint of lime. It was served with a half-slice of sprouted grain bread.

Since we'd been pigging out on the cruise all weekend, I wanted something a little healthier for my entree (had to make up for those French fry fajitas!). I decided on the Blue Bowl:

Brown rice is topped with flavorful baked, marinated tofu, lightly steamed carrots, cauliflower, and edammame. And it's topped with a yummy Thai peanut sauce. The perfect end to a lovely family vacation.

On another note, y'all should get over to Rick the Health Sleuth's blog to enter his giveaway of Nacho Mama's Vegan Queso. This stuff is all natural, low-cal, animal-free vegan cheeze dip. I wish I coulda had some of that to top my French fry fajitas. The contest is open through Nov. 17th, but get over there now!