I'm Back & Look What Dan Made! Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

I may have gotten a little crazy with the frosting - I swear the roll is in there.

I was MIA. I admit it. I could list my excuses or make up something exciting like ninja training or doing this*. But we're all friends here so I'll come clean. I had an out patient procedure that while not life threatening or anything exciting like that... pretty much kicked my ass and left me stranded on the sofa for about a week drugged and ridiculous. Fable III was launched but I was too deliriously well delirious to even play really or do much of anything really. Most weeks I would find a way to enjoy this. I'm a pretty positive person but this is was pretty much the worst week it could have happened because I missed some really great stuff... in no particular order.

• Halloween! I missed Halloween. I'm not one of those gals who needs to go out every night and drags Dan to dance clubs or parties. But when it comes to Halloween. I'm a party girl. I love it more than anything and this Halloween we played Civilization V and I was asleep by 9pm. 
• The Rally to Restore Sanity. I would have done anything to go. I looked forward to it for months but it was not meant to be. I will forever have to live through the photos and anecdotes of my friends. Soon we'll be living in LA and I can't help but get a little sad thinking about all those times I've marched on Washington. This would have been a really nice high note to end my East Coast Era on. 
• We had to postpone having a food writer and her photographer over for dinner because I just couldn't get off the sofa. It pretty much broke my heart.  

On a positive note though there is a lot to look forward to...

• This morning we got up to have one of our favorite dates - Voting Day Date! Getting up before dawn to beat the rush and take steaming hot travel mugs over to the elementary school to do our our part as good citizens**. Don't forget to vote today! Especially if you are in Missouri. Those puppies need you to support Prop b.
• Yesterday was our first post as part of Vegan MoFo! What's that? It's a clever little project created by the gals over at Post Punk Kitchen where basically we're going to post at least 20 blog entries this month (that's every weekday) about being vegan. Yeah - I know that's what we do around here anyways... but It's OK to belong to something that supports what you do - especially something that is doing so much to help animals by making vegainism cool! 
• Thanksgiving is coming! We love Thanksgiving around here. We have pretend Thanksgiving dinner a few times a year... So yeah... our Thanksgivings are kinda a big deal and this year I'm hoping we can really bring it!
• The much anticipated Vegan Girl's Guide to Life is out! If you live on the East Coast you should check out one of these events! 
• Dan's Birthday! YAY! (if you never click on any of my links - this time make an exception)

There's more but let's just get back to these Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls that Dan made and we'll get to the rest in good time...

The Betty Crocker Project : Crepes

So Dan and I had a great weekend! We were like kids again; we stayed up till 4 am so I could beat my video game, and even though we're way too old for that shit and we suffered a little bit for it the next day, it was totally the best... or was it? Although I have to admit I loved seeing those game credits scroll up the screen, I liked making a fancy brunch Sunday morning even more (Xbox hangover and all). We're super married*.

Some of you may remember that I have this long standing love affair with France. It's a strictly a platonic thing that encourages me to take long flights across the Atlantic from time to time, and when I can't, take my own little French Stay-cations in our apartment. It makes me watch movies I have to read, and wear hats.

To us Americans, crepes are a fancy breakfast item you pay an extra dollar for at IHOP (well, not to us vegans; those bros have eggs in them). But if you go to Paris, one thing you can't miss is the adorable crepe carts set up through out the city. You can spot their striped umbrellas and long lines a block away (or huge weather-warped signs if you happen to be walking through a less affluent area). I would love to tell you these crepes are just like those, but those crepes have eggs and lard in them, so I've had to pass. These crepes are vegan, and although I can't tell you they're good for you , they are healthier than their egg-ridden comrades, ridiculously easy, and délicieux!

SO - Faisons des crêpes!

The Betty Crocker Project : Double Corn Chowder

There's been a lot going on around here lately. Busy busy busy*.

Saturday morning, I woke up and watched The League in my boxers while I drank my coffee. I admit I'm not a football fan, so about 1/3 of the jokes are kinda gibberish to me. But I am married to Dan Shannon, fantasy football addict, which allows me to find another level of humor in this show--one that I have come to adore. I hope they bring back Mr. McGibblets this season. After my morning chuckles, I turned on the Xbox and played Fable II for 10 hours. It might have been more like 14. Somewhere in all that busy, I ordered some Thai food and ate soup with my husband, but it is all kind of a blur of shooting Hollow Men with fire balls and keeping that Bandit Coast free of the, well, bandits.

Sunday I was more productive.

We have a pretty good little system around here. Every Sunday, I try to make a casserole or soup that we can eat all week. It usually works out pretty well, although some recipes are better than others. This Sunday, I not only put our kitchen floor on blast (see link above), I also made New York Cheesecake and this soup. This creamy, wonderful, meal-in-a-bowl soup.

Now, if you're following along in your own Big Red, you'll notice some additions to our version. Here's why: as much as we freaking love corn and potatoes, it needed some protein to be eaten as a meal--hence the garbanzo beans and extra veggies (note the peas and green beans). Betty's version would be perfect with a side salad or sandwich, but for our needs, the recipe was a solid building base for this hearty fall soup that we've been enjoying all week.

I think you'll enjoy it too.

Oh and did I mention there was an article about Meet The Shannons is on The Food Channel website? Please take a minute to check it and share it with friends.

The Betty Crocker Project : Artichoke & Spinach Dip

Yeah - Yellow but DAMN good.

Is there anything cuter in the vegetable world then a little green onion? Hmmmmm. Nope.

Lately Dan and I have been focusing quite a bit on cute. We've had a lot of cute things in our lives these days, and I'm about to gush about one of them: a little XBox Live Arcade game featuring the artwork of Dan Paladin (Ed. note: no relation.) called Castle Crashers.

We spent a good part of Saturday night beating this game, and I was almost sad to see it end. From the second the adorable little castle band starts to play, I was totally hooked. Even the ghouls and zombie polar bears are freaking precious but you don't have to take my word for it. You can just watch this (you have to hit 'read more' at the end to see the player):

Another charming item making a special appearance this week: The Artichoke. Man, I love artichokes! They're delicious, spiky flowers that I would eat everyday if I could. Expect some artichokes this week; we have another recipe coming up that I think is going to rock.

Until then, bake yourself up a dish of this incredibly delicious dip that is the perfect bribe to get your friends over to play Castle Crashers. Castle Crashers and this dip are designed to share with loved ones. I'll be honest: it's kinda rich. Here's a photo of the not so vegan at all version - ours isn't nearly as rich as that. Actually, it isn't even close to being as rich as the "lighter" version suggested in the cookbook. But put this on a thin cracker or pita... this dip is pretty much divine.

Yeah, I said it. Divine. Thank you Betty. This dip completes me.

The Betty Crocker Project : Beef (Gardein) with Bordelaise Sauce & Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

Hurricane Earl is at Norfolk's doorstep. Trees are waving in the wind, and the birds and squirrels who are usually up at dawn are being being all crazy, hiding away in the courtyard of our apartment building waiting for it to pass. Right now as I type this, I have a huge Siamese cat on my lap looking for comfort and another, much smaller cat under my chair. But the funny thing is that while there are folks out there filling their freezers with 15 loaves of bread and OBX is being evacuated, there's another group out and about without even an umbrella.

The Shannons fall into the watching-the-G.I.Joe*-movie and playing-Xbox category. Obviously that means we should make a fancy French dinner to go along with our evening of high culture. I mean, what goes better with a movie that literally shows the Eiffel tower being eaten than some Vegan Bordelaise?

I get asked a lot why we aren't veganizing Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, since this project was inspired by the movie Julie and Julia. Especially since I freaking love French everything. The answer is simple.

Dan and I asked ourselves what we wanted to do with this project - what were our goals and what would help the animals the most. It was pretty clear. We wanted to prove that you can make anything vegan. We wanted to show people how to use vegan products and share little tricks we have learned to maximize the potential of these products. The choice was pretty clear after that: Betty Crocker.

We get to still make the fancy French stuff that made Julia swoon, but we also get to experiment with more American cuisine, like Cheeseburger pie. Betty is the undisputed champ at teaching America how to be creative with products and foods that you may never have thought were capable of such levels of awesome-ness. We just want to show vegans that they can do that too, and dispel the myth that we're stuck with veggie burgers or quinoa pilafs... not that those aren't pretty amazing sometimes too. We're just trying to show that going vegan doesn't mean sacrificing some of your favorite dishes... like, for example, a schmancy Bordelaise sauce.

This dinner was so easy and so good, I've fallen in love with it. When we make this again (and we will) we're planning on a side of steamed asparagus or green beans to go with it... maybe some vegan fondue too. Both vegetables would be very good with the Bordelaise. That's not to say the Rosemary Potatoes didn't compliment this dish perfectly. If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm a sucker for a good rosemary dish.

This may not seem like an obvious recipe to post for Labor Day Weekend, but with Earl making his way up the East Coast, many of us are going to be trapped inside playing Zombie games. This is a great Date Night dinner that you many already have the ingredients for already. Plus, what warms up a rainy night faster than a deep glass of red wine?

Bon Appetit...

The Betty Crocker Project : Spicy Skillet Chicken & Limeade

Back in the day, Dan and I suffered from a pattern that many other couples I know have found themselves stuck in. We called it The Friday Night Fight.

After a long week, 10-12 hour days and dealing with folks who... let's just say found themselves surprised it was Friday, and just realized they had things they needed to do this week but hadn't, or whatever the reason they were rude or unprepared all day long... well, Dan and I would find ourselves on Friday night a bit frustrated, fried, and easily irritated. This isn't really a great state of mind to go into a date with, and that's where we'd get ourselves in trouble. We'd try to plan these big dates and end up frustrated with each other when we missed movies or had to wait 45 minutes for a table.

It didn't take us long to recognize the problem and fix it. We're pro-active folks and career activists, after all. Hence the development of the New Friday Philosophy (Ol' Abe, The Great Orator, said it better than I could). No longer would our Friday nights hang under the shadow of "A Plan" or attempts at a "Date Night". We'd get off work when we were done, come home, and play some nerdtastical game till the wee hours of morning, because we had the luxury of sleeping in. We even introduced Gardein Beef Burritos with extra Guacamole from a local spot Dan can stop by on the way home so we could skip doing dishes. Basically we would just be excellent! It didn't take long for Friday to become the best night of the week.

I think that's why at our house, Mexican food always brings with it a relaxing happiness. We dance little jigs as we cook it, and we eat way more than we should in one sitting. We go to bed those nights with big smiles, and wake up excited for the next Friday.

Dan made Betty's Limeade to go with this Mexican themed dish, and together we made a perfect meal for a summer night and brought a little of our New Friday Philosophy to the middle of this very long week.

The Betty Crocker Project : Oven Pancake

Ever have a weekend so great you find yourself doing this?

Just kidding. I don't have that hat.

But I did have a great weekend. Many of you already know that I'm the Manager of Online Communications for the animal advocacy group In Defense of Animals. This weekend, we launched our first Virtual Demo for the International Day of Action for Elephants in Zoos, and it was a huge success. I mean, I'm still amazed. People all over the world participated, changing their profile photos, posting comments, and tweeting at zoos - letting the zoos, their fans, followers, friends, and the whole online world know that wild animals don't belong behind bars. Over the weekend, more than 7,000 online actions were taken, 500 new people were introduced to our organization, and almost 200 people changed their profile photos to the day of action "sign". As someone who spends all day, every day online advocating for animals, this is the best day I've had in long time! I'm already looking forward to our next one.

But it didn't end there. Just when I thought the weekend couldn't get any better - Sunday morning we had these quick, easy and delicious "pancakes" for breakfast and I got to play a video game with my best friend.

Sigh. Good times...

The Betty Crocker Project : Italian Chopped Salad & Asiago Bread

So you had to know this was coming. We're going to talk about Star Trek today.

Many people know that Dan and I live in a house divided. He grew up in the Red Sox Nation and I'm from Yankee stock. I love TV that is so bad it is amazing and Dan would prefer to spend his TV time with nobler pursuits like killing Xbox mutants. When it comes to one of the most heated debates in The Nerd Nation, my husband, The Love of My Life, thinks Jean Luc Picard is the baddest cat to wear a Federation Starfleet uniform. OK, I have to admit that the photo the Picard link goes to is sweet but I can't help it- I'm more a Kirk girl.

It's not like we're Trekkies or anything. Though I would put the movie Trekkies in my top 100 desert island movies. I find them fascinating. This is just one of those things that comes up in the life of someone who is not exactly "cool" and you develop a stance on. Probably in the same way people who are "cool" have opinions on Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirts and spray tans. I'm getting to my point. 

This week you are going to notice a lot of vegetable recipes because we totally loaded up at the farmer's markets on the way home from Assateague Island. You may love some more than others but unlike Star Trek Captains - you don't have to have a favorite. You can love them all equally. *

Ready to eat? Make it so. 

The Betty Crocker Project : Stuffed Crust Pizza

Until this weekend if you had asked me about my immediate family - I would have told you all about my 2 loving yet willful kittens, my dashingly perfect husband and my loyal cast iron skillet. I might mention my hand mixer - a hardworking little worker bee that comes out on the weekends and special occasions for cupcakes and muffins. I may even mention our Xbox. . . always good for some Katamari or a movie. Dan and the Xbox have made the world a safer pace several times over. Together they have conquered many evil kingdoms, killed Nazi zombies, fought their way through a failed underwater utopia and captured  randomly depraved supervillians galore. This weekend we welcomed into our home a new friend. A comrade that I know will grow to become a trusted and cherished member of our little clan.

Welcome Home Pizza Stone!

To celebrate we made some of the best pizza south of The Belt Parkway. . . pizza not just topped with fake cheese but STUFFED WITH FAKE CHEESE!

And now you can make it too.

• 1 Package of Whole Wheat Pizza Dough ( we used Trader Joe's which is vegan - Betty suggests using pre-made bread dough thawed )
• 1 Bag of Daiya Vegan Cheese ( Mozzarella )
• 1/4 Cup of Pizza Sauce 
• 2 Tofurky Italian Sausages ( sliced into coins ) 
• 1 Package of Smart Deli Pepperoni
• 1/4 of Large Red Onion ( chopped )
• 1 Can Black Olives ( sliced ) 
• 1 Can of Artichoke Hearts ( Halved )
• Fresh Basil
• Nutritional Yeast
• Cornmeal 

Preheat the oven as per the directions on the Pizza Crust package.
Dust the pizza stone with cornmeal and where you are going to roll out the dough.

Roll dough into a circle ( around 13 inches in diameter ) and then move very carefully to the pizza stone. Create a little pocket/canal  along the edge of the pizza. Fill the canal with Daiya Cheese. Be careful to not use more than a 1/3 of the bag and to stay inside the pocket. Seal the cheese in by folding over the outer edge and pressing lightly.

Spread the Pizza Sauce over the dough in the center. Sprinkle Fresh Basil. Spread out a small handful of Daiya cheese. Sprinkle the Sausage coins and Pepperoni. Spread another small handful of Daiya cheese over the fake meat. Sprinkle the Onion, Artichoke Hearts and Olives over the pizza. Spread another small handful of Daiya Cheese.

Follow directions on Pizza Dough to know how long to cook. It should take around 15-20 minutes. Just wait till the crust is golden and cheese is melted.

Sprinkle with a little Nutritional Yeast and repeat after me "Meat Lovers Stuffed Crust Deep Dish Pizza Commercial - YOU HAVE NO POWER OVER ME!"