Thanksgiving Day Parade #11: Apple, Sage & Molasses Vegan Holiday Roast with Mother-In-Law Stuffing

Not the best photo of this best meal. 

So I'm back on my Mac today and I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the photo editor to flipping work... so not only is this not my favorite picture of this simple yet snazzy Thanksgiving recipe, but it's not frakking edited at all. Kill me. I have a much better photo--really beautiful, and you guys know how hard I can be on my myself--but it won't load. This whole photo situation is probably the most stressful part of this post.

The Treasure 

As you may remember, we've been searching for vegan holiday roasts all over New York City. Last week after a pretty tramatic* doctor's appointment, I found myself wandering around near Central Park. That's when I found them. NYC's vegan holiday roast stockpile was being horded away at the Whole Foods at Columbus Circle. So like a good little food blogger, I grabbed as many as I could carry and put them on our credit card. I may have had a little buyer's remorse halfway home when my back freaked out on the subway; but all was forgiven by the time I was preheating my oven. See folks, I didn't just find the usual holy grail of holiday roasts... I found the new kid on the block that's causing such a stir. Yes, I found a Gardein Holiday Roast!

We're big fans of Gardein (obviously) so we've been looking out for this roast since we first heard rumors that it exsisted. And I am happy to report it lived up to our impossibly high standards. Seriously, I'm rough on products and don't post things I think will make anyone question a cruelty-free lifestyle. I think this holiday roast has great texture and flavor, and makes a great canvas for our Apple, Sage, & Molasses baste--which means it's great for anyone who wants to personlize their holiday a little. Yes, we did include tips below on how to level up the gravy that comes with your roast. The only thing I didn't love is the stuffing center - though I love that they included cranberries. Next time we make one, I might just have to get out our flavor injector and doll that up a bit. But really, who can complain about an excuse to make a big pot of your own stuffing?

Hidden in the back of a display of chicken-flavored stuffings was a lone Whole Foods brand vegan stuffing package. It was a great find for lazy, emotionally-drained me and gave me a great excuse to pilage Whole Foods anti-pasta bar. See, I've been playing around with this idea of making an Italian-themed stuffing for awhile now... it's an idea who's time has come. I love this stuffing so much, I had some the next day for breakfast and then like an hour and a half later for brunch. The idea of an Italian-themed stuffing with green olives, mushrooms, and artichoke hearts isn't new. I've been making artichoke heart "oyster" stuffing for years... but I really think the combo of the baste and this stuffing makes for a holiday meal that's both sweet and zesty. Yeah, I used the word zesty. It's a silly word, but it does a better job of describing this really unique and appetizing flavor than, I don't know tangy, savory, or like, piquant. Though piquant seems pretty prefect too. 

Thanksgiving is almost here. I apologize for posting this so late in the season, but the clock is a-ticking so let's get started. 

The Betty Crocker Project: Vegan Chili-Lime Chicken

OK - So we had a huge bunch of cilantro and so we got a little crazy with it this week. I think there are worse crimes. If you're one of those who don't love the taste of this leafy green -- you can always skip that part of this recipe.

It's another fast and easy recipe that will get you in and out of the kitchen with little suffering. We had ours with some lemon pepper Israeli couscous from Whole Foods made with peas and had dinner in about 30 minutes. We defrosted our Gardein chick'n scaloppini breasts earlier so that definitely cut back on how long this took.

I know a lot of us might be feeling a little food prepping, dish washing and hostessing burn-out after yesterday's festivities so I thought this might help give you an out for dinner for the rest of the week. I mean making sure that the ice chest stays full while the BBQ coals don't go out and figuring out how to keep bugs away from the pie and Soy Delicious is fun at the time but after the fireworks... it's freaking exhausting.

We celebrated this year with an epic game of Civ5 and season 4 of Sons of Anarchy* because Dan caught some kind of death flu on his work trip to Seattle. Oh and we're total nerds. So there was no read, white and blue flag cakes or BBQ burgers for us this year. But that's what grill pans and liquid smoke are for right?

Thai Lemongrass Tofu Tacos with a Lime-Sriracha Aioli & Basil-Cucumber Salsa

These are not the most photogenic tacos in the world but they are damn amazing.

These tacos came into our lives about a week ago when our darling friend and cookbook author Marta Holmberg posted this photo of Vegan Vietnamese Tacos made by The Mandoline Grill in Los Angeles. They had a strange combination of delicious things and being a bit ugly on the eyes. We're friends here. So we can be honest -- pink food can be hard to photograph.

But I really hope that you'll give these messy,spicy, savory and smokey tacos a try because they're more than worth the short amount of time it takes to make them (if you don't count marinading) and that rosy sauce is amazing on veggie burgers *, steamed artichokes, and with carrots sticks and really anything. Yes -- even corn on the cob. It's really a beautiful thing - even if it's pink**.

Now you might be wondering what makes these Thai tacos rather than Vietnamese like the originals.Well I am neither Thai or Vietnamese so my take on these cuisines comes mostly from restaurants and research. Both cuisines do share a lot of the same key ingredients like lemongrass, coconut milk, rice and noodles. Although Sriracha sauce is Vietnamese, my experience is that Vietnamese food is not as spicy as Thai and these tacos are actually really fiery. I mean they're hot.

I also added Thai basil, cucumbers and lime to the salsa recipe to add a freshness and a citrusy bite to keep the Lime-Sriracha Aioli from over powering everything with it's awesomeness. But really does that make it more Thai than Vietnamese? Hard to say.

So I guess -- long story short -- They might be dressed in pink but they kick ass. 

Vegan Meyhane Pilavi (Turkish Bulgur Pilaf)

There is a crazy thing that happens when you're a food blogger who hasn't been able to post reguraly because you're working on a book. You're still writing all the time but you can't decide what to post and then you end up not posting at all. This week we actually had a house guest! So it was double the posting drama.

I know! We actually let someone into our Fortress of Solitude that has become our Brooklyn apartment. Michelle Schwegmann from Herbivore Clothing Company and I stayed up late talking like we were having a slumber party and explored this not so little borough we call home. Including a happy jaunt around Park Slope and an afternoon in uber-hip Williamsburg. We had a vegan Creamsicle shake, vegan Caesar salads and some Buffalo fries with the lovely animal activist Amy Trakinski at Foodswings then took a walk over to see Leanne and her adorable dogs at Vaute Couture. Not a bad week. Not a bad week at all.

But it left little time for cooking and blogging. Then I woke up this morning with the remains of a dream in my head. In this dream, I was talking to people on a bus about how much I love bulgur and all the fun dishes I have made over the years with it. I was speaking with real purpose and passion about my adoration for this grain and at times would turn to people for validation to find that they were either completely captivated or looked like they were being held captive by a crazy person. Yes. It was an odd dream but it reminded me that I had a recipe I had been meaning to share since our return from Istanbul a few months ago.

Now some of you might remember when we made Vegan Turkish Tempeh Whole Wheat Lahmacun -- we mentioned that we bought a pretty interesting Turkish cook book. Well, we've made a few things out of it since then and everyone has been pretty much awesome. This dish was one of my personal favorites because (obviously) it's a very flavorful bulgur pilaf that gave us an opportunity to use some of the herbs we bought at The Grand Bazaar. The thing about this book is that it's full of inspiration but the recipes are strangely vague. For example the original recipe for this dish in the book calls for 150 grammes meat in small cubes. I guess it doesn't need to be any particular kind of meat and the liquids in the book are measured in "glasses". I'm not kidding.

Needless to say - we took some liberties like usual. Our dish is pretty delicious and makes a lot. You'll have a lot of leftovers to keep your kitchen cool this summer or to take to lunch for work. Whatever you want. That's not my business. What I can tell you -- this recipe will flip you for real!

The Betty Crocker Project: Vegan Chicken & Cashew Dinner

Editing a book is a deceptively slow process. It's the kind of thing that seems to go fast and is pretty easy till you realize you've actually gone through several pages and you don't even remember what you've just read. I've heard of similar things happening to truck drivers with great mix tapes on long highways in Kansas. It's not unlike what happens when you start watching Battlestar Galactica or Sons of Anarchy. Except in those cases, you're so amped up, the blur comes from an overdose of awesome.

I've been living lately in this kind of state. I love our book and I think you will too but I hate that I'm a terrible typist*.  I find whole sections of the day disappear in a blur of shortening this and formatting that and then more website stuff and more emails. I take breaks to tweet and post updates on our Facebook page but I've lately come to find an even more sincere appreciation for Betty's Quick and Easy Recipes. In Betty's recipe, she makes the dish more "healthy" by deceasing the number of cashews (fat) but we went another route. We took out the birds and added vegetables and a lot more ginger. It's a fast and flavorful dinner that made our home smell lovely.

No matter what you're busy with right now or what level of chef you are... you can make this. You can do it! 

Now let's high five and go make some dinner...

Pasta alla Puttanesca with Vegan Sausage - not your everyday red sauce

Rome is often called "The Eternal City."

Perhaps it's because it has survived being burnt to the ground, sacked and rebuilt again and again. Maybe it's because even Alaric, the Visigoth king that burnt most of the city to the ground and took a large percentage of the population prisoner, looked to Rome as a foundation of civilization and tried to negotiate peace rather than destroy her. The first time I walked down the gradual incline of Via Cavour and saw my first glimpse of the  Colosseum between two buildings. Just hiding in an alley like a pick pocket. I literally stopped and thought "Nothing lasts forever but Rome is damn close."*

A few months ago Dan and I spent a few days in Rome during a freak snow storm that shut down the city. Like most of the city we took advantage of the weather to eat and sample wines. See Rome can be a pretty vegan friendly place with Penne Arrabiata and Marinara Pizza on menu's all over the city. Of course, if you don't trust the servers when they tell you the pasta is eggless, there is always Il Margutta, Rome's most popular vegetarian hot spot. They have several vegan options. 

Before we left I picked up a ridiculously thick book of Pasta recipes to veganize and I've been playing around with some the easiest and most intriguing ones first. I could say it was a good excuse to work on my Italian but really I just love pasta. 


Pasta alla Puttanesca is actually called Pasta alla Sorrentina in my book - probably because Puttanesca means something like "whore style." Even with a name like that, this Neapolitan dish is pretty well known and popular in restaurants everywhere. Which is impressive because in Italy's long and well documented history, Pasta alla Puttanesca is pretty new on the scene and for generations was considered "poor people food." It wasn't even mentioned in books till around the 70s and its interpretation doesn't just seem to differ from region to region - but by city and sometimes even neighborhood. The kosher Puttanesca I had in Rome's Jewish Ghetto was actually accidentally vegan because it was their option for those with allergies or who wanted to lose weight. The ones on the menu near the Trevi fountain were not. The key elements seem to be a red sauce with garlic, onions, capers, oregano, olives, basil, parsley and anchovies (although that is sometimes replaced with seaweed or in our case kelp). We tossed Tofurky Italian sausage, red bell peppers, spinach and played around with the ingredients a bit to level it up. 

It's lovely and spicy in a unique way that makes it more than just another red sauce. I know I should dive into my arsenal of adjectives to describe this better but really - it's just more. 

Mangiamo!

The 5 Minute Lentil Soup

I wish I could tell you I've been busy with exciting adventures. Something hedonistic and scandalous would be fun too but sadly - no. I've been editing our book. You know the painful and slow process of replacing commas and shortening paragraphs. I took a stab at doing my taxes but moving to another state, changing jobs, paying off debts, a book advance and a mountain of receipts that need sorting have put our taxes in a whole other league. You know that one where you can't rely on google to handle the tough questions. Then there is the constant battle with the new website. This dreamy oasis of easy to access recipes and a working "As Seen On" page has continued to allude me. Sigh.

And then of course there was the TV sizzle (promo reel) we shot last week. Yes. We were asked to make a promo reel to be shopped around on The Food Network and Cooking Channel. Who knows maybe you'll be able to visit with us in the comfort of your home once a week. I'm trying really hard to not get my hopes up. I'm just flattered we were asked.

I'm also kinda freaking out because our Facebook page Vegan Foods = Joy has almost 10,000 fans! I know several of you have had a hard time finding us on Facebook because the page isn't called Meet The Shannons. But see the before there was ever a blog, there was a Facebook page and Facebook won't let us change the name. 

When you're busy with nonsense it's easy to just put on some Doctor Who and G.I.Joe cartoons and get down to work. I'm a pretty focused person and I can let other things drop off if not careful. And well I'll also be honest when I say that the internet has been seriously upsetting and disappointing me lately.  This isn't where I vent so I'll save it for the next time I have too much wine but I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who wishes that the world was kinder and that cruel people kept their opinions to themselves. 

Needless to say that even when I'm feeling a bit frustrated with the rudeness and ignorance of others and busy with the painful day to day of being a adult, I still eat. I'll admit that we ate a lot of lentils when we were in Greece and Turkey and you'd think I'd have enough of them but really I think that trip really just got me hooked. I've perfected a 5 Minute Lentil Soup that is so simple - well I feel weird calling it a recipe. It's just awesome.

So enough chatter... To the lentils!

Hot & Sour Soup with Sesame Garlic Tempeh

Tempeh not pictured... I ate it all too fast. 

Ever have a weekend you needed a weekend to recover from? This past weekend I had the pleasure of helping out at The Herbivore Clothing Company booth at The NYC Vegetarian Food Festival. It was a blur of friendly new and familiar faces, food and lots of fun. I know "fun" is kind of a lazy word to describe a day but I stand behind it. If you missed it - you can see the photos on our Facebook page by clicking on this sentence.

There's something kind of wonderful that happens when you're exhausted and busy though... with the right mindset you can look at the random collection of leftovers from meals past and see something new. This isn't a traditional Hot & Sour Soup - it's more a collection of wonderful that makes up a soup that is hot and sour but we loved it.

It might be March already but it's still cold out and that means soup season is still here! Enjoy it while we still can!

Turkish Tempeh Whole Wheat Lahmacun (kinda)

We got back from Istanbul a few weeks ago and since then it's been one project, road trip and Valentine's day after another. I've barely had a chance to catch up on my stories. Mostly I've been working on upgrading this blog into something a little fancier but I've also been baking a lot, figuring out my trip to Minnesota to visit The Betty Crocker Test Kitchen and veganizing recipes from the cookbooks we brought home from our trip.

I feel like I should tell you - I was unprepared for what an amazing city Istanbul is. I knew Turkey would be one of my favorite parts of our trip and that it would be freezing. What we didn't see coming was how we would feel when we walked into the Hagia Sofia for the first time. For a place so remarkable - there just isn't words. Here's the slideshow of the photos from the part of our trip we were in Turkey if you want to see for yourself.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

But that brings us to today and this recipe... You can find Lahmacun in shops and stands all over Istanbul.  Usually made with ground lamb meat, this portable meal is usually rolled up like a New York slice or folded like a taco and wrapped in paper. We actually didn't have one of these in Istanbul for pretty obvious reasons but we started with this recipe because we wanted an excuse to use the new spices we bought in The Grand Bazaar and I was craving pizza. That's why our Lahmacuns are more like personal pizzas you'll need a fork to eat than flatbread wraps but they're still a great dinner and an excuse to expand our spice inventory.

If you're also looking to expand your spice rack - here are the two items you'll need to locate:

• Sumak/Sumac : This is a dark red powder made from a berry sourced in Anatolia. It has a bitter flavor similar to lemons. If you can't locate it - you can replace it with Cumin or Paprika in the recipe below. 
• Green Bazilicum/Fesleğen : I hope you get a little laugh out of this - I did. Behind these foreign names, this green herb that we found in a small spice shop hidden in the winding streets of The Grand Bazaar is just a type of basil. I mean it's a different type than the one we commonly use in The US and it has a very subtle fresher flavor similar to mint but it's basil none the less. So if you can't locate this particular type of basil - I'm sure you'll be able to find a substitution.

Tomorrow there will more Betty baking but tonight we recommend making yourself something kind of different and undeniably delicious! 

The Betty Crocker Project : Cuban Beef-Less Steak Dinner (similar to Ropa Vieja)

Our Cubanelles began to ripen while we were away - making them them beautiful and multi-colored.  

So there's this thing that happens when you get back from an adventure: you realize how many little things you do every day in your regular life. I came home with a small stack of Italian, Greek, and Turkish cookbooks, and dreams of bringing our adventure to your kitchen and tummies, but sadly this required fresh vegetables and bread, which we didn't have. It also required time that was quickly eaten up by catching up on emails and news, following up on our new blog/website, unpacking, and various other forms of being "productive."

Which brings us to today. I had planned to post a recipe today for Carciofi alla Romana (Roman-Style Artichokes) but yesterday I burnt the first and second batches. I know. I can't believe it either. But those little jerks were singed beyond being pretty - although I admit I cut off all the crunchy leaves and still enjoyed the filling and hearts with lemon, all while being reminded the hard way that even the easiest recipes require your undivided attention. So today I have a new bag of artichokes and we're going to try again, because this is a recipe I really believe will improve all your lives. 


So today I'm posting a recipe that I was saving for our friend Cassandra's birthday this summer. Right now our beautiful vegan friend is in medical school in Cuba and making the world a better place. We had planned to add this recipe to our New Friday Philosophy; which usually involves Mexican food, but sometimes you just have to get a little crazy and mix it up*. This recipe is similar to a Cuban dish called Ropa Vieja, except we skip the cows. It may look like something you've had before, but there's a unique fresh flavor from the Cubanellle peppers that really comes out with the lime juice and a subtle sweetness from the rum. It's a lot like our Cassandra. It's also super easy and can be made using things you have hanging around your house; well, except the fancy peppers that you can easily replace with green and red peppers. So tomorrow night when you get home from work, all cold and kinda beat, you can treat yourself to something a little more exotic than the typical soy cheese pizza or veggie burgers** before hitting the town. 


May the New Friday Philosophy be with you! 

Vegan Chicken Amandine

Still working on a new computer & with a new camera.

The other day I was looking through our cabinet and decided it was time to use the almond slivers and wild rice I'd been hoarding like some stingy squirrel. I started looking around for a good recipe where these almonds would get a chance to show off a little. Enter the world of Amandine recipes.


See Amandine is a culinary term used to describe several different types of dishes that are garnished with almonds. These dishes range from green beans and rice pilaf side dishes to main course seafood recipes. Here's another crazy thing... there seems to several different takes on what a Chicken Amandine recipe should look and taste like. Some included a light gravy-like cream sauce and some has more of a lemon pepper marinade or rub. One thing they all had in common was that they relied on butter and the fat or grease from the chicken breast to add both flavor and for lack of a better word "juice".


Ours is not only nicer to birds but nicer to you. We replaced the butter and chicken fat with olive oil and used smoked paprika and lemon to flavor our Amandine. Then we included green beans and served it over wild rice to sort of combine all the best Amandines into one remarkable dinner that never had a chance to become leftovers because we had so many helpings that night. 


I assume this recipe would serve 4 normal people but I know it will feed 2 vegans eating to win! 

Vegan Buffalo Chicken Sliders with Ranch Dressing & A Gardein Contest! Damn.

The word "Epic" and "Legendary" are used a little too liberally these days. To paraphrase Louis CK  - if you use words like "Amazing" to describe a basket of fried food - you're setting yourself up for a pretty mediocre life. This is a bad habit I'm guilty of. I mean I'm like a shameless serial offender of painting the world "Amazing". So one of my New Years Resolutions is stop being lazy with my language. I think this might be harder than reducing salt, sugar and caffeine in life. Days like today  make it borderline impossible. See - Today is officially Good News Monday!* 

Here's a bit of good news that happened this weekend : A blogger in China helped rescue over 1,000 dogs who were on a truck in route to a slaughterhouse. In the animal rights movement we don't get to hear happy stories everyday. It can make you feel helpless and overwhelmed a lot of the time. So this is a story I'm going to file away for bad days. There is always hope and our actions matter.

Here's some good news that's happening right now! We're partnering with Gardein this week for an epic contest! We're going to be giving away 2 coupons for a Free Gardein Product of Your Choice! To win just leave a comment below telling us which 2 Gardein products you're going to get and what you're going to make with them. Then we'll randomly choose ONE Comment from a Member and send that Member your coupons! 

We're choosing randomly so you can be yourself. In other words, we won't judge if you're stocking up on their burgers and plan to eat them all in one sitting. In fact, that actually sounds kinda impressive. Sorry folks you have to live in the United States to win. You also have to be a member so we can contact you later to send you your feast! If you're not already a member, you can find the button to join in the right hand column. We'll be choosing the winner on Friday January 27th. 


In prime Betty Crocker fashion we're including in this post the recipe for one of our favorite Gardein Products : Buffalo Wings! These little sliders are more than just tasty and easy. They're the right amount of spicy and give you a great excuse to make a huge batch of vegan Ranch dressing. These little sliders are perfect for Super Bowl Sunday or can make a snowy Thursday night a little less chilly.

I hope you love these little buddies as much as we do and good luck with the contest! May the odds be ever in your favor!

Smokey Vegan Bacon, Spinach & Kale Mac with Butternut Squash Cheese

Yes, I know the internet is full of butternut squash mac and cheeses. It's a lovely phenomenon of golden casseroles that is completely breath taking. A movement if you will that we support 100%. I first had butternut squash "cheese" sauce over chili fries in 1994 at a vegan potluck/sewing circle in Portland, Oregon and although I was thoroughly impressed, I was a busy college kid who found all the steps involved exhausting to even listen to.

It's funny how things change. Honestly, this is a super easy recipe that you can make while you play video games* or catch up on a sea of email. It also has a nice "cheddary" flavor with out a lot of fat. Seriously, this recipe is actually pretty good for you... as cheese sauces go.

Before we dive into this sunny and spicy  wonderdish! Check out this awesome video. It's always great influential people take time to remind the world that animals matter. Gold Star for Martha Stewart!



OK - Let's eat!

The Betty Crocker Project : Marinated Tempeh Ratatouille Heroes

 

Back when I was a little vegan, one of the very first dishes I ever made was Ratatouille. Now if you're not familiar with this traditional French Provençal dish that is usually already vegan -- well that's a shame. See this dish sounds fancy but it's actually very easy and great way to get not-yet-vegans to enjoy a meat-free dinner. Don't believe me that the French could have a dish without obscene amounts of butter and cream in it? Check out Julia Child's recipe. 

But after years and years of roasted veggie platters being the only option at weddings and restaurants with table cloths -- vegans can find it hard to really appreciate even the best Ratatouille. That's why we were originally less than super excited when it came time to tackle Betty's Ratatouille Heroes. I felt I was obligated -- no -- it was my duty -- to make something special with this recipe. The world didn't need another vegan roasted veggie sandwich and we need to complete our mission of making our way through Betty's Big Red. I also couldn't help but notice that the building blocks of Ratatouille have so much potential for something more. 

We really hope you'll give this sandwich a chance... it might not be pretty but sometimes a sandwich comes into your life at just the right time and is full of all kinds of good things that might make you feel a little better about all those cookies you want to eat later. 

This could be that sandwich. Don't worry - cookies are coming up next.

The Betty Crocker Project: Thanksgiving Day Parade #9 : White & Green Beans

Yes, the rumors are true! We have another contest launching tomorrow! But until then, please accept this healthier take on a Thanksgiving classic: Green Bean Casserole.

I adore Green Bean Casserole. It's one of my very favorite dishes on the planet, but I can completely understand why some folks might want to enjoy a flavorful green bean dish this Thanksgiving not include the flour or the margarine. This recipe is a really delicious substitute. It's a side dish with some character and charm--it's like the Captain Kirk of green bean dishes. Or maybe Jean-Luc Picard, since it has Dijon mustard in it.

Is it exactly the same as the classic green bean casserole of old? Sorry, no, not exactly--but it's damn good, and what's fun about everything being the same all the time?

I wish I had more time today to write a better post to go with it, but we're less than a month away from the deadline for our book and I really need to be typing out the donut section today. See you tomorrow!

The Betty Crocker Project: Thanksgiving Day Parade #8 - Roasted Rosemary & Dark Beer Tofurky

So this is one of those blog posts where I feel like complete honesty in easy to follow bullet points is called for:

• This recipe is an amazing way to level up your Tofurky. It has a dark and rich unique flavor that is intended to recreate what you get when you brine a turkey. Our process isn't really anything like the long one used to brine turkeys but the result of this recipe seems very similar. 
• This recipe makes a thin but flavorful crust on the outside of your Tofurky that doesn't recreate a "skin" completely but it's wonderful. So you can really appreciate it.
• We cooked Brussels sprouts in the dark beer marinade like Betty suggested but it was not my favorite thing to ever happen. The marinade reduces over the vegetables to makes something too strong for me but I do suggest instead steaming or roasting your Brussels sprouts and then using the leftover marinade to make a gravy by adding 1 cup of vegetable broth.
• You can skip the flavor injector step if you want but it's kinda cool.  You really should give it a try if you can.

I think this photo shows you the delicious crust.

 And don't forget to enter to win a coupon for a Free Tofurky Feast!

You ready to show this Tofurky who's boss!

2011's Thanksgiving Parade begins with #7! Roasted Tomato & Fennel Bisque

OK. I admit we might be pushing it a little bit by adding this to the Month of Baking but you do use your oven to melt the vegan cheese. I've also noticed a lot of Tweets and Facebook Statuses about runny noses and sore throats so I thought it might be a good time to post a recipe that takes your mom's tomato soup a step further.

Original bisques are French soups made with crustaceans that were too beat up to be sold in the market but over the years the term has also been used to also describe cream-based vegetable soups. Sometimes the term means both. So not the most compassionate soups on the block. We used fennel, sea kelp and some vegan sour cream in ours to make it a bit nicer to both sea spiders and our bovine friends. We decided to add the toasted crouton (that you can't see) and melt the Daiya vegan cheddar on top as a little shout out to tomato soup's BFF grilled cheese sandwiches.

I got the idea to serve the soup in espresso cups from Martha Stewart's Wedding page. When I was planning my wedding, I remember seeing it and thinking that it was a really adorable idea for serving soup to a large group of people and I wanted to share it in time for Thanksgiving. Soup isn't generally thought of as being part of Thanksgiving but if you're looking for something different, these little buddies might make a good opening course. We got a lot of emails last year from folks who served our Macaroni & Sheese Cups as starters at their family get together and loved them. So the individual serving soups in espresso cups that you can sip like you're pretend British and eat with those adorably dainty coffee spoons seemed like it could possibly make for the most adorable starter for any dinner party ever.

You can also enjoy it in a bowl. Yawn.

Leftovers Edition Episode II - Vegan Ranch Mashed Potatoes

 It's starting to feel like autumn in Brooklyn. The trees on our street are starting to lose their leaves and I'm trading in my afternoon iced tea fix for a mug of Earl Grey. Hot. The other day Dan and I left our apartment to walk around the city and drink coffee by the fountain in Bryant Park. I'm even thinking of starting my triennial* Buffy & Angel marathon to celebrate the season change but have been distracted with the second season of the British Being Human while I bake and bake and bake. I know you're all judging the choice but sometimes it's nice to mix up your vampire television consumption.


Because our oven is full of baked goods and our stove top is crowded with pots of caramel and berry fillings... it's been hard to find the time and space to make a proper dinner. That's where all those leftovers come in handy and lord knows we have enough. We get a lot of questions about what we do to make those leftovers special and for tips on how to reinvent a dish. In particular, how to make the Ranch Mashed Potatoes I mentioned like a year ago. So here they are! Ta-Da! One of my very favorite ways to enjoy potatoes! Sorry for the delay.

I think if you're looking for an easy recipe to make your dinner a little more special, you've found it. The vegan sour cream does make them a bit creamier and I recommend getting some vegan bacon bits like Bac-Os to toss over the top because the smokiness and ranch really work. And if you're one of those folks who doesn't just live off potatoes... I recommend grabbing some Match Vegan Meats and making these "chicken fingers" and making a pot of smokey collared greens too. And if you're an over acheiver who really loves food and your friends, you'll toss all that on a piece of toasted baguette and pour a little gravy over the too. You'll have an open-faced sandwich that will win over the heart of even the meatiest of your loved one. I mean that sandwich is like the Kenny Rodgers of sandwiches**, little bit country - little bit rock & roll and a whole lotta awesome.


SIGH. Now I'm hungry. To the electric hand mixer!

Baked Buffalo Tofu Steaks with Ranch Dressing Dip

Can you think of anything more kick-ass American than ranch dressing? I mean, maybe pick up trucks or eagles... but you shouldn't eat those.

A while back we veganized Betty's Buffalo Wings and Ranch dressing. This was back in the beginning when The Betty Crocker Project was still new. We were still considered "newlyweds" then, and doing the best we could in our little submarine kitchen with a junky stove. Even though both those recipes turned out pretty awesome, I always kinda wanted to do something else with them. I've been playing around with today's recipes for a while in my head. They're super easy. The tofu is hot in all the ways people use the word "hot" in a non-ironic way, and the ranch dip has completely won me over to The Cult of Ranch.
 
I know you're all dying to see the photos of delicious food and sharp-dressed vegans at Vegucated's NYC premiere, and all the sexy superhero costumes from Comi-Con... but I haven't gotten around to going through them and posting things. I know this is a huge blogger faux pas, but sometimes faux pas just happen and you just have to roll with it. I mean what would the world be like if every little faux pas stopped us from enjoying awesome things like Buffalo Tofu Steaks? Bad -- and not in the Bad means Good way -- that's what. So please accept these easy and delicious all-American recipes as my apology for being a bad blogger and for actually leaving my apartment for a few hours.

This weekend I also worked a bit on a gluten-free seitan recipe that will be coming soon... so if this isn't enough to win back your hearts... hopefully I can bribe you with that.

Ready to buffalo some tofu?

The Betty Crocker Project : Sesame Teriyaki Beef-less Skewers

One would think that resigning from your job would make life simpler. That afternoons would open up and every day would be like Saturday. This isn't the case. I mean at least not for me. Probably not for anyone who has projects they care about and talented friends who are making the world amazing.

My dear friend Marisa Miller Wolfson is one of those talented and dedicated activists for animals I'm talking about. She's the Esprit Créatif behind Vegucated, a feature-length documentary that follows three meat-loving New Yorkers while they adopt a vegan diet for six weeks. It hasn't just been a hit within our little animal loving community either. At this year's Toronto Independent Film Festival, Vegucated got a standing ovation and took home the award for Best Documentary. Tomorrow night is the NYC Premiere! This event promises to be the vegan event of the year in a city full of some pretty amazing vegans, and is the first of ten stops on The Let's Get America Vegucated! Autumn 2011 Tour. If you don't have your tickets yet, there is still time--but not a lot, so no more lollygagging. And who knows, maybe tomorrow night you'll spot a Shannon or two.

Living in an exciting city with beautiful, accomplished people can make it hard to have lots of time to cook. So I've been burning through a lot of Betty's 20 minutes or less type of recipes. This one is pretty much my favorite thus far, and goes great with some brown rice or on a split baguette. It's also a little fancier than it would seem considering how easy it is.

Even the most novice vegans and chefs are going to love this one. Start your ovens!