Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad...

... for all your vegan cookout needs!

But first, I'd just like to make a quick announcement. The winner of my Third Friday Giveaway of a copy of Ani's Raw Food Essentials by Ani Phyo is:

Whitney of Vegan Sunshine!

Congrats, Whitney! I'll mail you your book and some snickety-snacks soon! And for everyone else, I still have one more book to give away, so stay tuned!

Okay, so I finally broke down and got myself a $30 food processor. My last one died this past Christmas while pulverizing some oreos. Since its untimely passing, I lamented all the homemade hummus, sauces, marinades, dips, and falafel that I could no longer make (unless I wanted to do it the long way with a bunch of effort). Needless to say, it took me a whole day to make something with it after it arrived in the mail!

Since I had a cookout yesterday, I decided I wanted to make some pasta salad. Good ol'-you-can't-tell-it's-vegan-because-it's-awesome pasta salad. Since I've had an insatiable desire for fresh basil and oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, I knew that those two ingredients would be important components in my recipe. A quick search revealed an easily-veganizable recipe from the Barefoot Contessa (whom I adore...). Overall, I cut down a lot of the salt and fat in her recipe, just because that's how I roll... Well, it was also because the commenters mentioned there was way too much salt. The original recipe called for sundried tomatoes, capers, kalamata olives, kosher salt, mozzarella, and Parmesan so you can imagine that it would be thirst-inducing (as well as cruelty-inducing). Also, I don't have much money and so I can't really afford to buy ingredients that I'm pretty sure I won't like (capers). AND, I had a coupon for the olives. Bwahaha!! My mom's getting into that extreme couponing and I think it's rubbing off on me... just a little...

Anywho, this pasta salad tastes bright and fresh, with just the right amount of salt and oil and a great depth of flavor from the tomatoes, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes. It makes the perfect side dish to any cookout. My boyfriend's parents even took leftovers before we went home and my boyfriend finished off what was left that night. So none made it past the first day. I will definitely make this recipe again and again!

Pasta Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Olives:
Salad:
9 oz. spiral pasta (3/4 a 12 oz. bag. I used the veggie spirals with the different colors)
1 lb. cherry tomatoes, preferably a mix of red and yellow, halved
1/2 c. chopped kalamata olives
1/2 Tb. olive oil

Dressing:
8 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained
1 c. fresh basil, firmly packed
2 Tb. red wine vinegar
2 Tb. olive oil
1 Tb. walnut oil (can sub olive)
1 Tb. minced garlic (2 cloves or so)
A few whole kalamata olives
1/8 tsp. black pepper

1. To make the pasta salad, cook the noodles according to package directions until tender. Drain, rinse with hot water (to keep them from sticking), drain again, then toss with the 1/2 Tb. of olive oil. Set aside to allow to cool, though occasionally give it a stir to keep it from sticking together.

2. To make the dressing, combine the oil-packed tomatoes, basil, red wine vinegar, olive and walnut oil, garlic, olives, and black pepper in a food processor. Process until pureed, scraping down the sides of the processor occasionally, to make sure everything gets combined.

3. Once the pasta has cooled, add the halved tomatoes and chopped olives and toss. Stir in the dressing and toss to coat. Cover and chill a couple of hours before serving. Makes a nice, big ol' bowl full with plenty to go around!

I hope you all enjoy your weekends!

Fruit-Full Honeydew Agua Fresca

Just a quick post today, I'm right in the middle of moving and I still have some more stuff to pack plus a full workout to squeeze in somehow. 

I mostly wanted to mention that the glorious honeydew is in season. When it is at its peak, it is perfectly sweet and juicy and makes a wonderful snack! I was able to find these melons for less than a buck apiece and I'm gonna keep eating them until they fall out of season and are replaced with cantaloupes and watermelons. I used to hate melon, but I've seriously grown to LOVE it. 

Since it has been kind of warm here, I decided to make a nice melon agua fresca ("water refreshments") to cool down with. Agua fresca are usually made with a combination of fruits, water, sugar, and/or ice, but because the melon is so naturally sweet on its own, I left out any added sugar. When paired with a touch of lime and kiwi, the result is a deliciously sweet and refreshing drink that would cool down any warm afternoon! Although my drinks usually are only enough for one person, this recipe makes enough for two large or four small servings.
 

Honeydew Agua Fresca:

2 cups diced honeydew melon

Juice of one lime
About 1/4 tsp. fresh lime zest 

1 kiwi*

1 c. water
Ice

1. In a blender, combine the honeydew, lime juice, lime zest, kiwi, and water. Blend thoroughly until smooth.

2. Add enough ice to make it slushy and enjoy!

*I leave my kiwis unpeeled for their nutrition and fiber, but unless you have a high speed blender, I would recommend peeling your kiwi. Getting a chunk of kiwi peel in your drink is a little off-putting!

So, this glorious RAW drink is a perfect allude to the RAW cookbook giveaway I have going on! The giveaway doesn't end until midnight tonight, so leave a comment here in order to win your very own copy of Ani's Raw Food Essentials by Ani Phyo!

A Winner! An Annoucement! And Tu-No Salad!

The winner of my Second Friday Giveaway is:

Amber of Almost Vegan

Using a random number generator, the number 8 popped up and Ms. Amber just happened to be the third person to leave a comment. She wins a copy of Veganize This! by Jenn Shagrin as well as a few vegan goodies. Congrats, Amber!

But you still have another chance to win! My Third Friday Giveaway is the book Ani's Raw Food Essentials by Ani Phyo. According to Amazon, "Chef Ani Phyo is back with Ani’s Raw Food Essentials, full of everything you need to know to master the art of live food. Phyo shows you how to whip up simple, fresh recipes using what you’ve already got in your kitchen while also offering tips on dehyrating and more sophisticated techniques. Looking for innovative meals that are healthy and delicious? Phyo offers everything from classic comfort foods like nachos and burgers to Reuben sandwiches and bacon, along with more gourmet dishes like risotto, angel hair pasta, and her “you-won’t-believe-they’re-raw” desserts.
Ani’s Raw Food Essentials once again proves that you don’t have to sacrifice taste to reap the benefits of raw foods, all while living a greener lifestyle. Recipes include: Broccoli and Cheeze Quiche, Kalamata Olive Crostini, Cashew “Tofu” in Miso Broth, Grilled Cheeze and Tomato Sandwiches, Cheeze Enchilada with Ranchero and Mole Sauce, Pad Thai, Pesto Pizza, and many more."

This book couldn't come at a better time, what with all the farmer's markets and home gardens starting to produce fantastic fruits and veggies. The temperature is also getter warmer, which I know holds some people back when you live in colder climates. The time is ripe for some raw food!

So if you would like to win this book, all you have to do is leave a comment to get one entry. To gain up to three additional entries you can facebook it, twitter it, and/or make a post about the giveaway on your blog with a link back to mine. The contest ends at midnight on Wednesday, May 25 and is open to everyone! So happy entering!

Now time for a little garden update! The lettuce we planted back in April is finally ready! This buttercrunch lettuce is tender with a mild crunch and flavor. It would be real good mixed in a salad or eaten on a sandwich.

I however, decided to use it as a bed for my Tu-No salad (mock tuna salad), along with some whole wheat pita. I've made this recipe many times before, but it was just recently that I noticed that I've never actually written a post about it. So how about that? This recipe tastes very similar to tuna salad, due to the ingredients, but without the fishy aftertaste or the overharvesting of the ocean being involved!

Tu-No Salad:

1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 Tb. veganaise
1 rib of celery, finely chopped
1/4 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 Tb. dill pickle relish
1 1/2 Tb. horseradish mustard (or regular brown)
1 tsp. nooch (nutritional yeast)
1/8 tsp. celery salt
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Rinse and drain the chickpeas. Make sure you get all the excess water out so that your salad won't be runny.

2. Stir in the veganaise, celery, onion, relish, mustard, nooch, celery salt, and salt and pepper.

3. Once everything is nice and mixed together, use a fork to mash up some of the chickpeas. You could also pulse it in a food processor for a little bit. This makes about three servings with around 190 calories a piece.

Then enjoy in all the ways you use to enjoy tuna salad: on crackers, in tu-no melts, on a salad, in a pita, and in your lunchbox at work or school!

As a variation you can also add about 1/2 tsp. or so of curry powder and omit the celery salt to get a nice curried tu-no salad. It's quite tasty as well.

So to enter my cookbook giveaway, just leave a comment. Do you guys have any plans for Memorial Day? Or any thoughts on tuna salads or summer vacations? On cabbages and kings? Or why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings?

Whew. I just woke up. The mind tenders to wander at such an hour. Anywho, have a great day!

Mocha Protein Shake!

I know a lot of you out there drink protein shakes/smoothies for breakfast. I do too, when it's warm outside. Lately, I've been doing an actual strength-training rountine in addition to my regular cardio and I've been making a conscious effort to get plenty of clean-burning, efficient, plant protein in my diet. I'm not gonna lie, I've been reading this one magazine that has awesome articles and sample routines, but it really pushes the whey protein (which totally grosses me out). Blech. But anyway, I was browsing protein shake recipes on their website and I saw one for a "java shake". Java... hmmm... The shake itself was inedible (made with cottage cheese!), but the instuctions called on your to make up a batch of coffee and then freeze it in an ice cube tray to add to your shake.

Could this possibly be the most awesome breakfast shake idea EVER?

I immediately brewed a batch of strong coffee, let it cool, then poured it in an ice cube tray to freeze. Meanwhile, I thought about the rest of the ingredients for my shake, and I decided I wanted to make this one a mocha (coffee + chocolate) protein shake. The next morning, I popped all the ingredients in the blender and then danced around the kitchen in success. It was awesome. Awesome and almost 30 grams of protein. It was also just like an iced mocha (haven't had one in years!). Feel free to play with this a little to suit your specific tastes.

Mocha Protein Shake:
1 c. strong brewed coffee
1 (6 oz.) container unsweetened, plain soyogurt
1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I use Lifetime Life's Basics Plant Protein)
1 tsp. cacao nibs (optional, but makes it chocolate chip-y!)
1 tsp. cacao powder
1 capful vanilla extract (about 1/4 tsp.)
1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk
Sweetener, optional (kind of depends on if your powder powder is sweetened)

1. After brewing the coffee, let it cool, then pour it into an ice cube tray to freeze solid.
2. When ready to make the shake, combine the soyogurt, protein powder, nibs, cacao powder, vanilla extract, almond milk, and sweetener (if using) in the blender and blend.
3. Add previously frozen coffee ice cubes (I used six) and blend until slushy. Enjoy!

Protein breakdown:
Soyogurt - 8 grams
Protein powder - about 19 grams
Cacao nibs and cacao power - about 1 gram total
Almond milk - about .5 grams
For a total of about 28.5 grams of protein, about 285 calories, and around 8.5 grams of fat. That's pretty much better than any vegan protein bar out there! It also costs less than a protein bar and can still be made soy-free if you use something such as rice or coconut yogurt. (Lifetime Life's Basics Plant Protein is soy-free. It's a blend of pea, hemp, rice, and chia... and yet, super tasty!!). I haven't found a single vegan protein bar on the market that is soy-free. Of course, if you use rice or coconut yogurt the protein count will be less, but you can always boost that back up with some tasty hemp seeds (about 5.5 grams per tablespoon).

Ahh. Frosty goodness.

And since it's a "breakfast" shake, you could easy add in such things as a couple tablespoons of oats, or flax, or wheat germ, or a banana to give it a boost. Not to mention... it's already got your coffee blended right in!

Have a great day and don't foget to enter my Second Friday Giveaway! It ends tomorrow at midnight.

Second Friday Giveaway Announcement!

Good news, everyone! It's now time to announce my second Friday giveaway! This cookbook is Veganize This! by Jenn Shagrin.

According to Amazon, "Veganize This! shows herbivores and carnivores alike how to turn the delicious dishes from their previous butter- and beef-filled lives into tasty vegan creations that go well beyond the sprouts-and-groats fare often still associated with veganism. For the gastronomist, Chef Jenn’s creations include Jumbo Lump Jack- Fruit Crab Cakes with Spanish Garlic Mayonnaise and Quattro Formaggio White Truffle Macaroni and Cheese. Craving something a little more down-home and comforting? Check out the recipes for DIY Vegan “Doritos®” and Chicken Fried Tofu Steak. With tips and tricks throughout—from making your own mock meats to killer dairy substitutes—Veganize This! is also accompanied by a healthy side dish of sass; Shagrin’s comedienne-by-day humor makes this a read that’s satisfying for the funny bone as well as the belly."

So there you have it! Want to win it? All you have to do is post a comment at the end of this post for one entry. A Facebook or Twitter shoutout gets you one additional entry per shoutout, and if you have a blog and you link back to my blog and this giveaway you can also receive an additional entry. This giveaway ends May 18th at midnight and everyone in the continental U.S. is allowed to enter. There is also still time to enter last week's giveaway as well, though it ends at midnight tonight.

I will say one thing though, the right bottom corner is a little bent because I think it got smushed when I placed it in the bag with the other hardback books. It is brand-new though, and I promise to make up the bent corner with some vegan cookies and nut butters. :)

So let the entering begin!

Are there any dishes you would like to veganize, but haven't yet?

I have a killer dessert pizza that I used to make, but I haven't made it since becoming vegan. I'd also like to make some vegan brownies and I think I have the perfect way to do it. My goal is to put all the other vegan brownies out there to shame! Bwahaha!! I'll probably make some this week or next and share the results with y'all.

Chocolate Chip-Walnut-Banana Pancakes

Oh yeah, I went there!

It was a crazy morning. I woke up at four a.m. for no apparent reason and could not get back to sleep. I laid in bed until 5:15-ish before I finally decided that:

1. I obviously was not going to fall back to sleep

2. I had a very important stats final in about three hours

3. I needed some pancakes if I was going to get through it!

Also, I needed to study... more...  Since I had one very ripe banana and a couple tablespoons of vegan chocolate chips leftover from cookie-baking (as well as over two pounds of some walnuts), I knew they needed to be tossed together in one glorious pancake. Along with these pancakes and a couple cups of coffee with almond milk, I was finally ready to take on my final.

Little known fact: Pancakes make you better at math.

Chocolate Chip-Walnut-Banana Pancakes:
1 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. sea salt
1 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 very ripe banana, mashed well
1 Tb. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 Tb. mini vegan chocolate chips
1/6 c. chopped walnuts (about 2 1/2 Tb.)

1. In a small bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix with a whisk and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the almond milk, mashed banana (mash the nanner before adding the milk), brown sugar, and vanilla.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and chopped walnuts and stir to mix.
4. In a preheated skillet or griddle sprayed with some nonstick. Cook a couple pancakes at a time. When the pancake is dry around the edges and has bubbles in the middle, flip it once and cook another minute or two until done. Repeat with remaining batter and occasionally respray the skillet with some nonstick. It's best to cook the pancakes over medium heat to prevent them from cooking too fast.

Serve with your choice of stuffs: butter and syrup, nut butter, fresh fruit, powdered sugar, plain, etc. This recipe makes 9-ish pancakes. Per pancake, you get 121 calories, 3.3 g. fat, 3 g. protein, and 8.7% of your calcium RDA.

How did my final go, you ask? Well, about 45 minutes into the final there was a bomb threat. We didn't get an all-clear until the final was almost over (it was a two hour final), so our professor told us we could walk with the grade we had. Luckily for me, this turned out to be a pretty sweet deal. Also, there were no bombs. And I got to go home and sleep. All in all, it was just kind of a weird day!

And don't forget my first Friday Giveaway, only a couple more days to go!

It Was Cinco de Mayo: Gorditas Zacatecanas!

I know it's a few days past the Fifth of May, but hey, I got a lot of catching up to do! Remember how I once said that I subscribe to a magazine called Saveur? It's a foodie magazine and it is decidely NOT vegan, but I love to veganize recipes. Especially authentic ones. Well, this month's issue featured a spread on authentic Mexican food in honor of Cinco de Mayo, and lucky for me, almost every single one of the recipes was either accidently vegan or super easy to veganize. I had a hard time deciding which recipe to make first (I'm going to make them all!), but since I decided I had an undeniable craving for masa, the Gorditas Zacatencanas (Zacatecas-style Baked Masa Cakes) got made first.

First things first though, I had to make a stop at one of the grocery stores in the area that has a large selection of Hispanic foods. In order to make these, you need a specific kind of corn flour called masa harina. It's real fine, finer than cornmeal. I don't think it's actually that hard to find. Almost every store around here sells it.

Once I had my masa harina, I was ready to make some gorditas! I had made a pot of pinto beans the night before, so all I had to do was pull them out of the fridge. I started with dry beans because they're a million times cheaper! Of course, you can always skip this step, use canned, and go straight to gordita making!

Big Pot o' Pintos:

1 1/2 c. dried pinto beans

2 bay leaves
2 Tb. chopped garlic

2 tsp. cumin

1 1/2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 Tb. fresh lime juice

1 tsp. kosher salt (this is an estimate, it is to taste)

1. To begin, I always do a "quick soak". Rinse the pinto beans a couple times and pick through them to find any bad ones or stones. Add enough water to cover them completely, plus an additional one inch of water on top of them. Cover, bring them to a boil, and boil them for three minutes. Turn off the heat, and let them sit, covered, for at least one hour. Sometimes I let it sit all morning.

2. Once beans have soaked, drain off the soak water and fill with fresh water to cover, plus about one-half to one inch above the bean line. Add the bay leaves, garlic, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about an hour or until beans are done.

3. Once beans are done, you can drain off some off the excess water, then add the lime juice and the salt to taste. ADD THE ACID AND SALT AT THE END!! Otherwise, your beans will never soften. The beans are now ready to use or to put in the fridge.

Now, let's get to gordita making! These were really tasty, and surprisingly simple and quick to make! However, you may need to add slightly more water to the masa dough. I didn't because I had already rolled them into balls and was lazy, so they crumbled a little on me when I was filling them. However, when they baked the crumbles stayed in place, lol. Next time I make these, I will just roll the dough flat, top one side with bean filling and then fold the other half of the dough on top of it. I'm not gonna worry about pinching them together or rolling them up because they bean filling doesn't ooze out of them. I also used only 1/3 c. of shortening, and I don't recommend that. They need the full 1/2 c. to get them all flakey and delicious.

Gorditas Zacatecanas:

For the bean filling:

3/4 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. garlic

1/3 c. yellow onion, finely chopped

2 c. cooked pinto beans, drained of excess liquid

1/2 c. water

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

For the gorditas:

2 c. masa harina

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 c. unhydrogenated vegetable shortening

1 1/4 (ish) c. water

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Make the bean filling: In a skillet sprayed with some nonstick over medium heat, saute the onions for about three minutes or until softened. Add the cumin, chili powder, and garlic and saute until fragrant, another 1-2 minutes. Add the water and pinto beans. Mash with a fork and cook until thickened, but not dry, about 15-20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Turn off heat and set aside.

3. Make the gorditas: In a large bowl, whisk together masa harina and salt; add shortening and 1 1/4 cups water, and stir until dough forms. Divide into eight 2″ balls and flatten each into a 1/4″-thick disk, and place 1 heaping tbsp. bean filling in center. Wrap disk around filling, pinching edges together to seal, then transfer, seam side down, to a parchment paper–lined baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

To serve these babies, I topped them with some green salsa, avocado cubes, tomato chunks, and chopped yellow onion.

These were everything I expected them to be, and more! They're kind of like a lazy tamale, so if you are looking to fix a tamale hankering (and you don't want to pay $5 for a certain brand's delicious frozen ones...), I highly recommend this recipe! I will be experimenting with this recipe more in the future. I'm also going to try and figure out how to make mine look like the ones at Saveur's website... Oh, and the salsa I recommend is Herdez's canned green salsa (they also make red if you aren't a fan of green). It's made in Mexico and is fairly cheap. It has like, five ingredients: tomatillos, salt, cilantro, serrano peppers, onions; with no preservatives and no artificial colors or flavors. It is authentically tasty! I don't know how easy it is to find elsewhere, but this too is all over the place here.

Mmmm. Canned salsa.

Now, don't forget! There is still a couple more days before my first Friday Cookbook Giveaway ends! The contest ends Wednesday at midnight!  

First Friday Giveaway and Life in the Garden

Ooh. Let's do a garden update! I haven't done one of these in awhile! Lol. It's been a little hectic around here. April wasn't really a good month (it's wasn't that bad, but it wasn't that good, either). There were only a few handfuls of days were the sun even shone, and it was cold, windy, and rainy for almost the entire month. My greens didn't make it, but the tomatoes are still holding on, as well as the bell pepper plants and zucchini. Here's a look at the garden:

As you can see. It's pretty damn big! On the left, those small plants that start at the front are tomatoes (celebrities, juilets), followed by an assortment of peppers in the back (hot bananas, long cayennes, poblanos). Behind my boyfriend is six rows of sweet corn and about four rows of green beans. We also planted some cucumbers in mounds after this shot was taken (small picking cucumbers and tasty eating cucumbers). There is also a row of butter beans on the very left, but they're not above the ground yet. To the left of the tomatoes we're going to plant some Roma tomatoes and eggplant.

On the right, you can see a little plastic container in the front. I have a zucchini plant in there. They're a little tempermental, so they have their own little "greenhouse" for now. I have five zucchini plants total. I have a feeling I'm going to be swimming in zucchini... Also on the right, near the font of the garden you can see potato plants. Most of them are covered in a layer of grass to keep the sun off them. And the back has a row of turnips, kohlrabi (usually a fall plant), radishes, butter lettuce, and a dozen rows of onions; mostly green onions and I think some yellow ones.

We haven't even planted the melons and bell peppers yet!

Once this garden starts producing, I'm going to learn how to can as well. I'm looking forward to that! I'm working on all my homesteading skills, lol.

I was also able to take home my first "harvest" of the season! The turnips needing thinning out, so I was able to take home a whole bag full of baby turnip greens, as well as some green onions.

Beautiful! And since nothing goes better with greens than beans, I made some of that to enjoy for supper that night! I had sauteed greens with garlic and onions and some large butter beans. I'm not gonna lie though, after that picture was taken I doused that plate in hot sauce and more green onions. I'm a fiend for all things onion-y or hot-sauce-like.

Anywho. So that was my garden update! I'm just now starting to get my finals out of the way, so you can except some good ol' fashioned recipe posts soon. I've mostly been eating stir-fries and noodle stuffs because they're quick and easy, although I did make up a batch of my famous Super 'effing Awesome Chocolate Cookies, by request. Oooh! And I discovered the most glorious tofu scramble magic evah! But that's a post in itself! I'm also going to make some Cinco de Mayo deliciousness tomorrow. Since I'm down for all things autentico Mexicano. Luckily, my May issue of Saveur contains some accidently-vegan recipes! 

And one last thing before I bounce out: 

Now that my giveaway has been posted, it is time to begin our First Friday giveaway!

The first book is The Conscious Cook by Hal Ronnen:

In order to qualify to win this book, all you have to do is leave a comment about anything! It could be about cookbooks, gardening, daily life, winning stuff, etc. Just leave a comment! That will get you one entry. To gain another entry you can post an entry about this giveaway on your blog, and then link back to me. To gain a third and fourth entry, you can facebook and/or twitter about it. Since I don't have a facebook or a twitter, I'll just have to take your word for it! Lol. Anywho, the winner will be picked by a random number generator. The deadline to enter is Wednesday, May 11. I know I said it's a "Friday" giveaway, but by making the Friday the midpoint, you get a whole week to remember to enter. :)

The winner will also get some super-awesome, secret, snickety-snacks in their book box! Good luck! Oh, and anyone can enter. You don't have to be a regular reader to get in on this! Have a great afternoon!