Showing posts with label Potluck. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Potluck. Show all posts

Friday, June 22, 2012

Vegan Meyhane Pilavi (Turkish Bulgur Pilaf)

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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!



Thursday, May 24, 2012

Simplest Red Fruit Salad ever & some of our favorite Summertime recipes!

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Life, our book and travel to foreign lands have kept us away. We have a guest post and several recipes waiting to be posted and shared with the world but today I need to work on the book -- so I'm posting a 4 ingredient treat in time for all those picnics, potlucks and BBQs coming up this weekend. This one is dedicated to that friend who always brings beer and salsa. This is a recipe* that even they can make.

But if you're more of a superstar than that -- you can click here to see a list of some of our favorite Summertime recipes and potlucking tips or you can check out some of these:

Cherry Cola BBQ Vegan Chicken Wings
Antipasto Pasta Salad
Curry Vegan Chicken & Potato Salad
Burger & Veggie Packet
The Cruelty-Free Crawfish Boil
The Chicago Beer Dogs
Apple Churros
BLT Crostinis
Vegan Ranch Mashed Potatoes
Sesame Teriyaki Beef-less Skewers


Of course, if you are firing up the grill this weekend we can't encourage you enough to try The Beer Can Tofurky! I know it seems a little intimidating but I hope this appetizing post by The Redundant Vegan will encourage you to take this vegan wonder on!

I have a great post lined up for tomorrow that I still need to edit the photos for so until then... enjoy this simple pleasure!


Thursday, March 22, 2012

The Betty Crocker Project: Maple Glazed Holiday Roast

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So I never grew up with a huge ham for Easter dinner. As many of you already know, around The Ol' Shannon Homestead we look forward to Passover every spring but that's not to say I don't appreciate many of Easter's fine qualities like Sweet & Sara's Vegan Easter Peepers & Skippers and big dinner or brunch parties. Since we became a "we", Dan and I have hosted some pretty outstanding secular Seders for Passover. I can tell you from experience that the best ones took awhile to plan. Which brings us to the other day when I realized we weren't gong to be able to host a huge Seder this year because we just don't have the room and I haven't had the time to rent a space. Last year we had to settle for a big dinner at a Thai restaurant because we were moving. So what's a grrl like me to do with literally years worth of pent up Seder planning? Well, she starts to explore Easter dinner.

She starts to look at the springtime vegetable dishes and desserts and wonder why she never really thought of Easter food as being more than candy, chocolate and of course those damn eggs. I decided to start with something pretty easy but also pretty crucial to any dinner party... the center piece dish!

Every dinner party has one whether they know it or not and from what I gather when it comes to Easter the traditional super stars are Ham, Lasagna and Manicotti. We used a Tofurky to replace the the less compassionate ham but still played around with the whole cloves and baked it with a smokey maple and brown sugar glaze to create a vegan dish that will feel right at home being the center of attention.


Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The Super Chocolate Vegan Hootenanny! Episode IIII : Girl Scout Cookies Remix & VegNews

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I know we disappeared there. I've been working on our new page layout and things are just taking longer than I thought. I know I keep saying it but I think it will all be worth it. That being said there were three pretty awesome things that happened last week that I kind of have to share! I mean I have to. This is my job now.

1. Dan and I took a road trip to New Jersey! We were invited to attend a Betty Crocker themed potluck held by Montclair Vegans. See nestled in this charming little town that Thomas Edison called home is a vegan friendly mecca. I have to tell you I was so impressed with the potato saladjalapeƱo corn bread, 3 bean salad and well just about everything. We haven't been to a potluck this impressive since we left Peta-ville (Norfolk). Thanks again MVs for the invite! It was really pleasure to get to meet so many of you in person and of course eat your food.

2. VegNews asked us to veganize our favorite Girl Scout Cookies! Can you imagine a better email to get?   I mean not only was this an excuse to add to one of our favorite spots The Super Vegan Hootenanny but we got to work with VegNews again - which is always a pleasure and honor! To get the recipes and see the spot just click here.  We've been enjoying the tester cookies for a week now and it's been the best chocolate hootenanny so far!  Please take a few minutes to check them out, make a few and show us a little love with a "like" or Tweet!

3. We've added a fully operational Pinterest button! You can find it at the top of every post with the the other share buttons. (insert cartwheels there)

Fingers crossed the new site will be up this week!