Refried Beans and Crumb Cupcakes

Refried Black Bean or Pinto beans

Makes about 4 or 5 Burritos

Oil- optional
Water, veg broth, or the liquid from your beans
1/2 Red onion
1 green pepper
1 can of beans ( I used black beans, I like pintos better though)
1 or 2 cloves garlic
salt

Dice the onions. Put about a little oil or water into you pot. Cook onions till translucent or carmalized. Depending if you want the sweet carmalized taste or not. Dice the green pepper. Add peppers & garlic to onions when you have cooked onions to about half there desired doneness ( do not burn the garlic it will be bitter). Drain and wash beans. Once the onions and peppers and soft add the beans and warm. If you would like some smokiness or tang add a little chipolta pepper sauce or the peppers themselves. Put all of pot contents into a blender or food processor. Processor till your like the consistency. Then add salt to taste.

Next, Today I was having sugar cravings so I decided to make apple crumb cupcakes/ muffins. They turned out really tasty but I little off looking. I didn't know that they would expand so much either so I put them in a small cupcake sized bunt pan. OOPs. So now I have to eat the out of my bunt pan with a plastic spoon.. But thats ok they are still super yummy! So make sure you don't bake them in a bunt pan!!! :)

Cake Batter: makes 12 cupcakes or 1 small cake
3/4 cup apple juice
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tsp vinegar
3 Tbsp apple sauce, unsweetened if you have it (I used Raspberry apple & Strawberry apple sauces)
1/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Topping:
3 to 3 1/2 Tbsp Smart balance light of other vegan margerine
1/3 Cup flour
1/3 cup Sugar (Brown sugar would by a yummy alternative!)

Preheat over to 375F
Place milk and vinegar in a bowl and beat. Place oil, apple sauce, and apple juice in the same bowl and mix till well combined. Add sugar and mix again. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Pour the flour mixture into your liquid mixture and combine. pour into pans. Mix topping ingredients with fork then sprinkle a good amount on each cup cake. Bake for about 15- 18 minutes.

These are yummy warm or cold. To add texture cut up an apple into small pieces and sprinkle into cake batter. Or cut apple into rings and place one on top then place the crumb topping over the apple! Or cut into slices and fan across the top of the cup cake. Play with the apple and make you cupcakes gorgeous. This cupcake was not baked with the bunt pan. And you can actually see the crumb topping alot better!

Sweet & Sour Tofu

After having the tofu for the general Tao's tofu I had to try it with Sweet & Sour dish. So last night I finally pulled the tofu out of the freezer and made it. John and I loved it so I had to blog about it today. So here is the what I used...

Carrots
Sweet peas
Pineapples- 1/2 cup
Red sweet peppers= 1/4 cup
Sweet & Sour sauce recipe or Jar (I was lazy and use the jar last night)
Frozen tofu ( Has a great texture and works really well)
Corn starch
Egg replacer- 2 Tbsp
Water- 6 to 8 Tbsp
Oil
Rice

Start your Brown rice about 15 to 20 minutes ahead of time. If you are using white you could just add in in with your veggies to cook.

First defrost your tofu and let it drain. Piece it up. Mix water and egg replacer to a good consistency. Make sure its not lumpy and that it isn't thick but not runny. Right in the middle. :) Coat your tofu a little at a time and place in cornstarch. This takes a good amount of corn starch. Just start with a bowl full. Cover in corn starch and place in a hot skillet w/ a small amount of oil. These cook more even when you only do say 10 at a time. But you can do them all at once. They are just not a pretty. You can cook this and set it aside or cook it while you cook your veggies. You can steam or boil the veggies till carrots are soft but not mushy. The sweet peas should still have a slight crunch. Put all the veggies, tofu, and enough sauce to cover all in to the veggie pan.
Warm up the tofu and then serve over your rice.

Freezing tofu: Something I like to do with my tofu is freeze it in the size I will need later. When you freeze it in small pieces it freezes faster and thaws quickly. Break apart into bite size pieces and freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet. After it is totally froze place in a freezer bowl or baggy. Tofu after setting in towels for about 15 minutes. This is one package of Nori Tofu. The kind that has the water around it in the cooler section of the grocery store. This kind has a better texture then the tetra packaged tofu. I cut it in half. So that more water would come out faster. Take the tofu and break into pieces or cut into sections. Place on wax paper in a single layer. The tofu takes on a yellow color when it is completely frozen. Do not try to cut the tofu when it is semi frozen. The way the ice crystals form it will just kind of break up. Place it in you storage bag or bowl and you have it when you need it!

To use place frozen tofu on a towel to soak up the extra fluid that drains off. Just defrost in microwave or just let thaw on its own. Let water drain well. Then its all ready to use. I don't know how long it will stay good in the freezer. I don't leave mine in there to long. Probably about 2 months is the longest I have had the small pieces in there.

Corn Dog Chili muffins, Mac & Cheese, & Fajitas

Well the last week hasn't been to interesting. But I have tried a few recipes off line and mixed some old favorites up a bit.

Starting off.... John loves veggie corn dogs and has been asking me to make them for a while. But instead I made these corn muffins for his lunch and added the chili and vegan smart dogs to them. They turned out really good. Something new and interesting for his normally mundane lunch.

Vegan Chili Corn Muffins
Used this Chili recipe from Vegandad.blogspot.com
Used this Cornbread recipe from Isa on PPK

Then I added some uncooked Smart Dogs (which I am not a fan off) to the chili. Made a little well in the center of the corn muffin and scrapped my spoon into it. I used paper in my muffin tins but that isn't a good idea they stuck really bad. The extra corn bread I put into a mini pie pan. It turned out really good and didn't stick. I think I will add an extra tablespoon of maple syrup next time. They just were not sweet enough for me. The corn bread recipe cooked for about 18 to 20 minutes and made 12 cupcake sized and one mini pie size corn bread. O 'yeah you might want to try to add some Vegan Teese Cheddar cheese. That would probably turn out really good.
The chili wasn't bad. I am not a big fan of cocoa and cinnamon in my chili. But alot of people like that. I will have to post my normal chili recipe soon. I used Boca & Morningstar crumbles instead of TVP. I used some of the chili for fries as well as freezing 2 bowls of it.

Delightful Vegan Mac & Cheese Recipe
Late last week I also tried a vegan mac & cheese recipe from vegweb.com. I have never found a vegan mac & cheese recipe that I will eat and I definitely haven't come across one I can say that I like. This is just another one to add the list of weird concoctions. That again some people may like but it just wasn't for me. It had a taste similar to what I remember some breaded chicken to taste like. But then again it has been a very long time since I have had meat so... maybe I am imagining things. It did taste ok. I just couldn't eat more then 10 bites.... But it does have a ton of good reviews so try it you my like it.

Last... I also had a veggie "Fajita" Kinda. I just cooked down a red onion till clear or further till carmalized and 2 green peppers. Added some garlic and that its. Easy and kinda dumb to blog about, but not bad.

General Taos Tofu

I have tried and failed miserably with tofu on more then one occasion. I keep it in the pantry just in case I get a wild hair to try it again. But I am glad I did. See I have had tofu I like. When we go to whole foods (which is only like once a year) we normally eat at their salad/ hot bar which I know is very expensive but its a treat. I had some tofu there that I really liked and couldn't figure out how to make it at home. But I have finally figured out a recipe (that isn't dessert) that I can cook the tofu myself. I am so excited!!!! I can try it this way in so many recipes. Only a couple times a month though because of all the grease. But This opens my eyes and tells me that I can eat tofu without gaging...lol So here it is...

General Taos Tofu from Veg web.....
I added some green peppers and used low sodium soy sauce instead.... Click the link above to get the recipe.
The tofu Fried. After being dipped in egg replacer and cornstarch....Yummy. I could yet this without anything. But it is pretty greasy so I will definitely restrain myself.
This is after everything was added. Right before plating. And last but not least the yummy finish.. We loved this stuff. John is even taking the left overs for lunch tomorrow... Go try this recipe.. Its really good.!!!


Update: As I sit here eating my left overs I do miss all the sauce from last night. So If you are going to leave some of this for left overs make extra sauce ( If your sauce was thick like mine).

Faux Tuna Sammies & Ginger Rice & Broccoli

I don't normally write about English Muffins but these are really good. They are from Food for life. They are the cinnamon raisin version. If is flour less and is made out of sprouted whole grains. I toasted it put some tofutti cream cheese and organic strawberry jelly.. It was so good....

OK now on to cooking.....

For dinner tonight I made something quick & easy. John really liked it and I will definitely make it again.
Rice w/ Broccoli Ginger sauce

Rice
1 1/2 cups Brown long grain rice
3 cups water

Broccoli & Sauce
Bag of Frozen Broccoli or 2 or 3 heads Fresh
3 tsp to 2 tablespoons- Garlic (Depends how much you like garlic
1/8 Cup soy sauce
1 tsp Ginger
3-4 Tbsp Sugar
1 cups Veg stock or water with veg bullion
1 cup water (only if you use veg stock, not bullion)
1.5 Tbsp Corn Strarch
2 Tbsp Cool water

Brown Long Grain rice takes about 45 minutes to cook so make sure you start it ahead of time by about 15 to 20 minutes. Follow rice instructions.

While rice is cooking in a separate pot place your broccoli on high heat and cook away the extra water from being frozen. After that brown it just a little. Don't burn or it will leave a nasty smell and taste... Add your vegetable stock, water, garlic, soy sauce, ginger, and sugar. Add some pepper flakes for a little heat. Like 1 0r 2 tsp. Let boil for 10 minutes uncovered. The sauce will begin to cook down. Add the cornstarch water mixture to further the thickening. Let boil a few more minutes. Then serve over rice.

You can also make the broccoli in another pan. This way it does not boil as long. Just do everything the same and add the broccoli the last 5 minutes of boiling the sauce. This way the broccoli can take on the taste of the sauce.

If you like this kind of sauce make double the recipe. I make double sauce and add sliced carrots and sometimes mushrooms.

JOHN's Fave Faux Tuna Salad- He loves this stuff.... ( Don't look at the white bread.. its very bad for you.. I just couldn't find anything else in my town the other day... and I was to lazy to bake..lol. )
Very simple lunch. Something you probably had before you became veg or vegan. Pretty much the same just with chick peas. I make a good amount to have in the fridge for his lunch sammies. This recipe makes about 6 sammies.

2- 15 oz cans of chickpeas, Drain and rinse
4 Tbsp Nasoya or other Vegan mayo sub
4 tsp mustard
2 Tbsp sweet relish, the pickle kind...lol

For the mustard you could use spicy, regular, or grainy....

Mash the chickpeas ( I leave some chuncks) Feel free to put it in a food processor if you like if smooth. Add the Nasoya, pickles, & mustard. Than mix..... and your done. You could also use shredded carrots or celery to mix in. Add to sammies, wraps, pitas, etc...... Here is a better pick with Food for life bread :)

TODAY

Today I am starting the rest of my life. I know that sounds a little overly dramatic... But I have finally gone totally vegan. I have been a vegetarian for about 9 years and for the last 2 pretty much 80% Vegan. But as of this year I am totally vegan and so is my husband. We just have to finish the remaining non-vegan veggie burgers and we are there... I am very excited. So I have started this new blog. It is exclusively for vegan food and food ideas. I also have another blog Respectlifeeatveggies.blogspot.com which is about food, animals, and everyday life. Later this year I intend to have menu ideas. So that when you go out and purchase food for a week and you want to try new recipes or just have a plan made it will be there. Plus I will work on making all the recipes coincide so that left over veggies do not spoil in your fridge. In other words if we use half a head of cabbage one day then within that week we will use the other half. These post will be labeled simply as "Duo Dining" until I come up with a better name. On this blog I am also going to work on posting more recipes, links to the recipes, or names of the books that the recipes came from so that you can use or find the recipe to use. Stick with me for a couple of months so that I can start putting some of those recipes together. I also have many other ideas for columns . So please stick with me...!!!! I also promise the pictures will be alot better then the ones listed below.... :)

I am also getting ready to start a store at Etsy.com which I am also extremely excited about. I still have to get organized and get a few more things pieced together before I do. There will be "Vegan " stuff, food, baby stuff, animal stuff, and who knows what else.....But stay tuned and for my blog readers I will leave discounts for my stuff.

I am so excited to start off this blog and because it is the first day of 2009 I have some food to leave you with. Its not alot but this is what I fixed today. I know that these two foods are not the best and they are super easy but stick with me for healthier foods.

"Butter Soy Milk" Dumplings

This is quick and simple and you can add veggies and tempeh or some other protein source. Or you can just leave them plane.

2 to 4 Cups- No- Chicken broth or Veg broth
2 Cups- Flour
1/4 Cup Canola oil or Vegan Butter
2/3 Cup Soy Milk
1/2 tsp Vinegar or Lemon Juice
3 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Baking Soda

Put broth in pan and bring to a boil.
Put the vinegar in your soy milk and let it set till it looks spoiled... Then add the oil to the other liquids. In a separate bowl combine all the dry ingredients. Pour in the wet ingredients and mix. Mis till just combined or your dumplings will be tough. Flatten and cut into small pieces like an inch or inch and a half wide. Lay in boiling broth. Turn once they fluff up. Take one out and check after a few minutes to see if it looks like a fluffy biscuit on the inside. Make sure there is no doughy stuff left. If you over cook them they will turn into flat hockey pucks. But they still will taste ok. But try to check one out of every bunch you throw in the pan. Don't put more than say 5 in at once. That way if you mess up you have more to try. Plus if you put to man in it will cool the broth and it will stop boiling. These turn out really good though. Hope you like them. This recipe can also be used for biscuits. Thats basically what a dumpling is just boiled... :)
If you want to add some protein like tempeh take the tempeh let it marinate in some broth to taste. Then put in the center of the dumplings. You can also do this with veggies.... They both turn out great.

Of course to start the new year off with good luck you have to eat something from the greens family. So I normally have sour kraut but today I chose to change it up... With....

Cabbage No- Roles
This is very simple. I was not a huge fan of it but John (my husband) liked it. O well. I have another recipe for cabbage roles that turns out great. I will list it later.

Half of a 3 pound Head Cabbage, shredded or Chopped
1- 28oz can of diced tomatoes
1 1/2 dry Rice white, brown or wild ( just very in cooking time)
3 cups water
Salt
Pepper

OK... The rice. White long grain rice only take 15 to 10 minutes to cook so you can throw it in. But Brown and Wild rice take upwards of 40 to 45 minutes to cook so you will need to partly cook it in advance. Leave about 20 then throw it in with the rest. So throw the rice in with the tomatos and cabbage. The rice will puff and take on the tomato taste and the cabbage will cook down. Depending on how small your cabbage is cut down will determine how long this cooks. Cook till cabbage is tender and the rice is done. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy.

Now starting the year off right I will do one of the Duo Dining meals... So what do you do with a half head of cabbage? duh.. you make another cabbage meal. So here is one. I will post the pictures later.

Pasta & Cabbage
Cabbage, half 3 lb head, shredded ( long shreds or to hide it put in a food processor)
1 box wheat pasta, rotini
3 potatoes, chopped
4 oz Smart Balance light or other vegan butter
3 to 5 cloves garlic, chopped, depends on how much garlic you like
2 or 3 fresh or dried sage leaves
1 tsp black pepper

Bring water to boil. Put in your shredded cabbage let cook for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes for about 5 minutes and then add the wheat pasta cook for 12 more minutes. In a separate pan while this is cooking add the butter to melt down with the sage leaves, garlic, and black pepper. Take 2 ladles of the starchy water and add to the butter. Let cook down a little. But do not scorch your butter. When your cabbage, pasta, and potatoes are done add the sauce mix to it. And again.. your done... We love this stuff !!!!!!

But stay with me. The blog looks rough right now but I will work on fixing it up...!