Have a Safe and Happy New Year

I just wanted to wish everybody a spectacular New Year's Eve.  2012 is going to bring a whole lotta awesomeness on this blog.  I basically have all of January to catch up in the blogging world.  I have a few reviews and some giveaways planned.  Plus, more recipes.  So excited.

And I feel like I'm obligated to show what we had for Christmas, because I totally forgot to.  We basically spent the past week lounging around and eating way too many tamales.  For brunch we had sweet potato-pumpkin cinnamon rolls w/ maple cream cheese glaze, Spanish omelet from VWAV w/ romesco sauce, and sauteed spinach and chorizo (adapted from Vegan Brunch w/ Viva Vegan chorizo).

sweet potato-pumpkin cinnamon rolls

sauteed spinach w/ chorizo and lemons from our tree

spanish omelet and romesco sauce (in background)

spread of Viva Vegan awesomeness

Overall, this year has been incredibly pleasant for me.  I read a lot.  I wrote a lot.  I took a chance on something and almost succeeded, but the real win is that I didn't give up.  Vida Vegan Con was everything I dreamed it would be.  I went back to school (and straight owned my classes).  I learned a lot and struggled a bit.  Next year is gonna be even more epic.  I can feel it.

Wishing y'all a truly happy and safe night!  Have fun!  Stay safe.  See you on the other side of 2012.

A Festivus Miracle!

On Saturday, Era and I threw our first official Festivus since moving to California.  I was slightly worried because the two other parties we attempted, resulted in practically nobody showing up.  This party, however, was epic.  Dancing!  Drinking!  Food!  Fun!  So, I'd like to share with you how I did it.

homemade garland.  everything was from the dollar store.

Planning.  This is the key to any successful party.  I plotted out the menu.  I drew sketches so I knew where I wanted food to go.  I also decided what food would go in a certain dish.  You don't have to be as crazy as me, though.

dance floor before people arrived.

Know your guests' drinking habits.  Back home, my friends were all about liquor and Era's friends were about beer.  We make sure to have plenty of both on hand.  However, always go light on the beer because people WILL show up with beer.  Save yourself some money.  We started out with maybe 20 beers, and I don't even know how many bottles I recycled.  Also, treat your designated drivers and non-drinkers with respect.  Make sure to have plenty of juice and water.  This year, thanks to the PPK, I had a cider station.  It was a huge success!

i only bought three new liquors for this party.

cider station: pear cider, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, and crystallized ginger.

Every room or area serves a different purpose.  The formal living room was the dance floor.  Dining room had most of the food.  Kitchen had the cider station, hot food, chips, and salsa.  Living room had pretzels, nuts, chocolates, and holiday movies.  Back yard was the smoking section.

world's simplest centerpiece.  cost 2 dollars to make.

fireplace decorated.  a friend brought me the poinsettias.  very thoughtful!

Have a menu that kills.  I made the appetizers center around cheese and crackers.  We were in mixed company, but everything was vegan except a small tray of dairy cheese, some eggnog, and Era brought some chocolates (there were also vegan versions of all of these).  I made the almond feta from Vegetarian Times.  I also set out Wayfare's hickory cheddar spread.  I also had a tray of pickles, grapes, olives, nuts, and apricots.  Plus, I made some olive salad, salsas, and a spread of Indian food.  Desserts were rice krispie treats, peanut butter fudge, gingerbread cupcakes from VCTOTW, and chocolate chip chai shortbread from VCIYCJ.

gingerbread cupcakes w/ lemon buttercream and crystallized ginger

almond feta

Have fun.  This is the most important thing.  Dance.  Drink.  Relax.  Talk to guests.  The best time is when you go from host to partygoer.

dancing machines

more dancing partygoers

Make sure to get a pole.  Trust me when I say that Home Depot is your best friend.  Do not pay $30 online for a Festivus pole when you can buy something similar for less than $10.

tabletop pole

I should be blogging again for Christmas, so see you soon!  Have a festive holiday season!

Why I Hate Apple Pie

My disdain for apple pie knows no bounds.  I hate it on a few levels.  First of all, the kinda pies I like are the stir and dump kind.  Just mixing all ingredients and pouring them in a crust is as invested as I like to get with pie.  So, I absolutely loathe peeling, chopping, and coring a bunch of apples for pie.  This year, I figured I'd throw the boy a friggin bone to see what dessert he wanted because he hates lemon and I was for realsies making lemon mousse pie.  Naturally, he said "apple," the most boring of all the pies.  My hatred is irrational, but what can I say.  Still...it was good pie (cosmos apple).

full spread, but the potatoes aren't pictured

This year went by in a freaking blur.  I didn't prep as much as last year, but we were eating pretty much on schedule.  Onto the menu...

Thanksgiving 2011

Bryanna's Soy and Seitan Turkey

Cornbread stuffing

Gravy

Cranberry Sauce

Mashed Potatoes

Green Bean Casserole

Mac and Cheese

Yams

Unity Inn Rolls

Salad

Cosmos Apple and Lemon Mousse Pies

Rad Whip

2 Buck Chuck all day, son!

mashed potatoes

there's some mac in that sea of cheese

As you can see, I love me some Tyler Florence.  My favorites this year: soy and seitan turkey, pies, rolls, and Alton Brown's mac and cheese.  Seriously.  I will never ever make another mac and cheese for Thanksgiving.  Easily subbed (I used blended silken tofu for the egg), and absolutely wonderful.  More expensive than I generally like, but definitely worth it.

green bean casserole w/ croutons instead of nasty onions

candied yams

Things I'd improve on: green beans, yams, cranberry sauce, and gravy.  The green beans were most excellent (those croutons are legit!), but I wanted more of a creamy base to tie everything together.  Though, I will definitely make this again with that minor tweak.  The yams were too sweet for my liking.  The cranberries were not sweet enough.  And the gravy...blech.  I just didn't like it so I made a quick poultry gravy.  Overall, we had a fantastic day and got drunk off of $2 wine.  Awesome!

roast was marinated in sparkling cider and roasted with carrots and onions

Happy Leftovers Day!  I'm buying nothing, doing nothing, and don't plan to leave my pajamas.

VeganMoFo V: Home for the Holidays in Style

Next month begins the non stop holiday season, though I've already been assaulted by the foul scent of decaying cinnamon brooms.  Well, last year I never blogged about how I got prepared to visit family.  Era and I are a road warriors so we drove 18+ hours non-stop to Texas w/ 2 chihuahuas and a trunk filled with gift bags.  This is how we do it without the stress:

tags

1. If you are bringing gifts, pick a theme.  It makes it so much easier.  I like to do baking themes because the assembly is streamlined.  Last year it was holiday cookies and confections.  I've done breakfast themes, game night themes, and so on...

tins!

2. Head to the dollar store.  There is no need to spend so much money when you can get something for $1.  Those sweet ass tins and gift tags are from my neighborhood Dollar Tree.  Holler.

cookie power!

3. A nice presentation makes people feel appreciated.  The cookies above are covered in plastic wrap.  See what a difference some curling ribbon and a tag makes?  I ended up filling each bag with some sort of beverage, several different types of cookies, savory snack mix, focaccia, a tin of fudge, and a mini loaf of either banana bread, date cake, or baklava bread.

Nana Marg's Nuts and Bolts from Garden of Vegan

cookies from VCIYCJ and 500 Vegan Recipes

4. Plan and bake ahead.  Keep in mind about the picky eaters and people with allergies (Mom and sis hate coconut.  Era and bro-in-law hate raisins.  Sister hates peanut butter.  Sis-in-law allergic to bananas).  Bake the cookies and freeze until ready to assemble.

seriously delicious date cake (thanks to Kmouse for talking it up!)

5. Most of all, don't forget to pack the leftovers for yourselves!  Muahahaha.  Era and I always back snack mix, meal bars, fresh fruits and veggies, drinks, caffeine, and sammiches on our trips.  Such a fun time!  I love my road trips with my dogs and the boy.

a lil' sumthin' for the road

Woo!  All right.  Tomorrow it's gonna get all tea party up in herre.  Have a great Friday everybody.

Happy Festivus!

The video is finally finished after multiple setbacks!  Sorry about the quality.  We are away from our usual equipment.



Onto the recipes...  This salsa is really good and perfect for winter when the tomatoes are pink and disgusting.  Letting it sit overnight is non-negotiable.  The flavors have to mesh, but it's worth it.  I like adding lime right before serving to make it taste extra fresh.

muy caliente!

30 Second Salsa
28 oz can diced tomatoes, rinsed and thoroughly drained
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded or not, roughly chopped
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1/2 cup tightly packed cilantro
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 tsp salt
lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor, pulse the tomatoes, garlic, jalapenos, onion, cilantro, vinegar, and salt until the consistency of chunky gazpacho.  Pour into a bowl and refrigerate overnight, the longer the better.  Right before serving, add the lime juice and taste for salt and pepper.

Ginger Balls are a variation of Oreo Truffles.  Super easy to make, which works great for a party.  Save money by using store brand cookies and buying chocolate chips in bulk.

Ginger Balls
1 pkg creme-filled ginger cookies (like Ginger-Os)
8 oz vegan cream cheese
12 oz (generous 2 cups) semi sweet chocolate chips
crystallized ginger, chopped

In a food processer, chop the cookies into fine crumbs.  Add the cream cheese and blend until combined.  Scrape into a bowl and refrigerate for 45 minutes, until easy to roll into balls.  Roll into balls and place in the freezer until firm.  Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave (stir every 30 seconds).  Dip the balls into the chocolate and top with ginger.  Freeze until solid.  Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

Spiced Caucasians are just a holiday tradition at our house.  There really is no measuring.  Just add as much alcohol as you like.  Here's what I do...

deliciousness

Spiced Caucasian
ice
lowball glass
1 oz coffee liqueur like Kahlua
1 oz espresso vodka like Seagram's
vegan nog
freshly grated nutmeg, optional

Fill the glass with ice.  Top with liqueur and vodka.  Fill will nog.  Stir.  Top with nutmeg, if so desired.  For a truly caffeinated version, try Mocha Kahlua!

I hope everybody has a great holiday season!  Happy Festivus and Happy New Year!

VeganMoFo IV: Baskets, Road Trips, and More!

I can't believe it's over already!  Well, sorta.  This month feels like it started forever ago, but the year is swiftly coming to an end and I'm wondering where the time went.  This has been my favorite VeganMoFo to date.  I just felt more connected to a community that I have come to thoroughly enjoy over the past few years.  I saw some of the greatest blogging in my life this year.  There are tons of new blogs I fell in love with (and thousands of posts I have to read).  More than anything, I'm proud of pushing myself further than I ever thought I'd go.  So, thanks to everybody for a wonderful November!  I have a ton of blogs to catch up on but I will do it...even if it takes several months. :)

I decided to make a short video about my vegan journey and why I know I'll be vegan for the rest of my life.  Pardon the video thumbnail.  Youtube seriously hates me because there was this one and two others with my mouth wide open and me looking crazy!



Next month, Era and I are taking the dogs and driving to San Antonio.  I'm dreading it a bit because of my Spring Break trip, but I'll have another driver with me this time so it shouldn't be so bad.  I'm excited and trying to think of some good, healthy road trip foods because I hate wasting money at fast food places and would rather not stop.  I'm the type of road tripper who loves going for 5 hours straight, only stopping to get gas.

I've also spent today thinking about Christmas/Festivus gifts to give to the family.  I'm doing gift bags this year because I can't afford more than that until Southern California decides it wants to hire people again.  I always love making gift baskets or bags because it's cheap but takes a lot of effort.  I thought I'd share my formula with you.

I try to go with something sweet, something savory, something inedible, and something d-i-y.  I'm still trying to narrow down the cookies I'm making.  But I think I'm going with a couple of different cookies, biscotti, breads, and crackers.  Also thinking candy and spiced nuts.  Each person gets a little of each.  Here are examples of stuff I did in the past.

Breakfast Basket
Jam, Wholesome cookies
Cocoa/Coffee
Mug
Pancake Mix

Secret Santa
Coffee
Mug, Tin
Three kinds of cookies
Savory Crackers

Christmas 07
Candles
Cookies, toffee, bread
Mugs

Game Night
Board Game, Cards
Popcorn
Candy
Chips, Snack Mix

The possibilities are endless.  That's why I love giving them.  It's never a boring ordeal.  What do you like to put in a gift basket or bag?

VeganMoFo IV: How Many Pics Does It Take...

...'til you get to the center of a Thanksvegan?!  Seriously, though.  This year was insane with the food!  INSANE!  I was really happy with most of it.  The stuffing and gravy from the vegan turkey was horrible, but I totally made my own as well.  Are you ready for the pictures?  Here's the full spread (with links)...

this food wouldn't fit on the table so we used our counter

Martin Cisneros ThanksVegan 2010 Menu

Appetizers

Smoky and Tex Mex Deviled Tofu

Black Olives

Spicy Pickled Okra

Main

Vegetarian Plus Whole Vegan Turkey

Gummy Bread Stuffing

Gravy Puddin'

Sides

Cornbread Stuffing

Cranberry Sauce from Veganomicon

Sweet Potatoes

Smashed Potatoes w/ Mushroom Cashew Gravy

Smoky Collards

Maque Choux

Mac N Cheese

Green Salad

Unity Inn Dinner Rolls (Thank you, JohnP!)

Desserts

Triple Apple Cider Bundt Cake (or the half that actually came out of the pan...ha!)

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie from 500 Vegan Recipes

clockwise from top left: collards, sweet potatoes, smashed potatoes, salad, triple apple cider bundt, mushroom cashew gravy, pumpkin cheesecake pie, rolls, pickled okra, gravy pudding, olives, vegan turkey, and maque choux

Prep work saved my arse this year!  We were eating by 1PM, and that's only because I woke up late.  Everything exceptin' the aforementioned gravy and stuffing was AMAZING.  The only mishap was an undergreased bundt pan and half a cake clinging to the bottom of it.  Still, the cake is so frickin delicious!

This was a lot of food.  Today is leftovers, tomorrow I'm having my sammich, then all of this gets packed the fork up in a freezer or potpie or something.  More than ever, I wish we had friends in this city because it's such a shame to have such good food and not share the wealth.

various shots of my leftover plate...and pie

Here's how crazy things were yesterday.  I didn't even begin to finish my one plate of food!  Neither did Era...which is pretty much unheard of.  Even my leftover plate, which only had one single soup spoonful of each food, was a lot of food.  I think that's the best problem to have because cooking will be so easy for the next week.

The shining star of the show was definitely the rolls!  I have been ogling these things since John wrote about them.  I didn't even test them to see if I'd like them.  I just knew!  And they were gorgeous coming out of the oven!  Era and I tasted them before we ate because we couldn't take the taunting.  I even told my mom they were the best rolls I've ever had.  Her response?  A totally unamused, "You're treading into my territory now."  Bahahahaha!

Unity Inn Rolls of DOOM

I didn't change the actual recipe, but streamlined the execution to make my life easier.  Instead of rolling them out (I had no counter space at the time), I just made 24 balls.  I flattened them and folded them in half like the recipe stated.  I also didn't dip them in Earth Balance.  I brushed the pan and rolls with EB.  They were gooood.  These things are even great the next day!

I was also majorly in love with the Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie.  It's basically a veganized Keebler recipe.  Imagine a pumpkin pie/pumpkin cheesecake hybrid and that's what you've got.  I don't even like pumpkin pie and this was truly excellent to me!  Mmmm.

So, that was our Thanksgiving!  How was yours?  Today, I'm buying nothing because my schedule is lookin' like this: leftovers, pie, nog, maybe booze, Buffy, reading blogs, rinse, and repeat.

Happy Friday, y'all!

VeganMoFo IV: Vegetarian Plus Whole Vegan Turkey Review

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!  I'm drinking cider laced with Jameson and watching Buffy right now.  I thought I'd share my experiences with the Vegetarian Plus Whole Vegan Turkey.  That way, it's here for anybody else looking for reviews.

The entire thing comes with one turkey shaped roast, stuffing, and gravy.  It's a huge box and the price is around $40 (but it is 4 times the size of a Tofurky).

photo from Vegetarian Plus website

Roast: It's just cooked in foil and no basting necessary.  It was pretty moist coming out of the oven.  It's also ginormous.  4 lbs.  I was incredibly weirded out stuffing it, though.  It split on one side and I said to Era, "Hold this so I can stuff the cavity."  I never want to say that again.  Ever.

Stuffing: I had to add sage, salt, and pepper.  It was okay before it went into the oven, but sorta gummy after being baked.  Plus, there was way too much to fill the roast.

Gravy: When it thawed, it was weird.  The starch completely separated from the broth.  When I cooked it, it had the consistency of pudding.  Pudding!  I don't know what starch they use, but I didn't like how fast and fiercely it thickened.  The flavor was pretty okay.  Nice and peppery.

Pros
4 lbs
moist out of oven
no basting
comes unstuffed so you can put what you want in it
texture looks freakily turkey-like

Cons
gummy stuffing
gravy pudding
comes unstuffed so you have to stick your hand in a cavity...brr
though the texture looks great, it's not Gardein chick'n scallopini great

Basically, if you are crazy enough to spend 40 bucks on a Thanksgiving main just buy 4 Tofurkys.  I think I just want to make my roast from now on.

I'll update with the full meal tomorrow.  Hope everybody is enjoying their day.

VeganMoFo IV: Preparation Thanks

I am seriously burned out right now.  I haven't finished editing the show yet, so that's coming tomorrow.  Sorry for the lack of commenting lately.  I promise I'm going to catch up with blogs super soon.  I have Thanksgiving on the brain and I won't be thinking of anything else until I am chewing on some pumpkin cheesecake on Thursday.  So, this post is really about the prep work I'm doing. Since I'm a fan of lists, this will be in listy format.

Monday
thaw vegan turkey
chop vegetables and bread
make Viva Vegan chorizo

vegetables/bread for stuffing, onions for collards and onions/poblano for maque choux

Tuesday
marinate vegan turkey
make 4 cups vegetable broth
bake sweet potatoes
bake cornbread for stuffing

the marinade is Jess' method: sparkling cider, garlic, rosemary, and I added tamari

Wednesday
cook greens
prep mac n cheese, stuffing, and sweet potatoes up to baking point
make maque choux
prep deviled tofu
make desserts (apple bundt and pumpkin cheesecake)
make cranberry sauce
prep gravy

Thursday
make rolls
cook vegan turkey
bake sweet potatoes, mac n cheese, and stuffing
make mashed potatoes and gravy
eat and fight "the -itis"

I'm sorta surprised I've kept on track.  I usually have the best intentions but end up cooking for 5 hours on the actual day.  This is going to be one speedy Thanksgiving!

How are your Thanksgiving plans coming along?

VeganMoFo IV: Thanksgiving Tryouts

Before I begin, run to your nearest Trader Joe's and pick up the pear cinnamon cider!  So. flippin. fantastic.

Thanksgiving is most definitely my favorite eatin' day of the year. It's always a recipe for disaster when your entire family gets together, but the food is good (and the booze is even better). I usually start planning as early as September, trying to narrow down the menu. This year is different because I'm really trying to find the perfect recipes to keep as regulars. We never have the same menu every year and things would be simpler if I kept some staples and maybe had one rotating dish a year.

I've been trying to figure out the main dish since last month. We actually bought a Vegetarian Plus vegan turkey, but I had (and still have) extreme doubts. Era thought it would be a good idea to have one less major thing to worry about, so he bought it anyway. As far as mains go, I've already made the Festivus Loaf and Seitan En Croute from 500 Vegan Recipes. Right now, the Seitan En Croute is winning as an alternate to what we already have.  I took this picture when my camera broke so it's not the best:

I still need to make Bryanna's soy and seitan turkey to see if that's what I'm going with. My sides are pretty set.  I'm just trying to find the best version of them  Tonight I made some mac and cheeze, collard and sausage stuffing, baked tofu, and cashew gravy.

The mac and cheeze was good, but I'm probably just making Jess' adaptation of the New Farm recipe.  The stuffing was a ridiculous thing on my part because I was never a fan of meatiness in stuffing.  This called for andouille, but I used the sausage I had on hand (Yves Italian).  The collards and sausage took away from the "cornbreadiness", which is my absolute favorite part about stuffing.

closer look at stuffing

The baked tofu is just something I threw together.  I marinated extra firm tofu in fresh squeezed orange juice, soy sauce, olive oil, poultry seasoning, thyme, and slivered garlic.  The cashew gravy was from Megetarian, and that ish is the jam!  It's seriously good and frickin' easy.  Totally added to my menu.  I might throw some mushrooms or thyme in there, but it was delicious as is.

Thanksgiving at our house is a meal with huge variety and it's usually filled with soul food.  Growing up the sides were cornbread, mac and cheese, pinto beans, collard greens, cornbread stuffing, canned jellied (brrr) cranberry sauce, and dinner rolls.  Maybe some other stuff that I can't or don't want to remember.  This year I'm going back to that sorta...except I always needed green salad and tons of color.  Also, I cook entirely too much food because I have to have variety.  At least there are guaranteed leftovers.

The Tentative Menu
Appetizers
deviled tofu
pickle and olive tray

Main
cornbread stuffing
mashed potatoes
collard greens (adding garlic and veg broth to this)
sweet potatoes
maque choux (w/ Viva Vegan chorizo)
mac and cheese
pea salad (maybe)
green salad
cashew gravy
cranberry sauce from Vcon (w/ orange juice/zest and brown sugar)

Dessert
Pumpkin Cheesecake

After tonight and the two slices of meat cake last week, I'm almost Thanksgivinged out.  I'm gonna freeze all of tonight's leftovers so if I get a hankering for stuffing in March it's there.

What about you?  Have you finalized your menu yet?

P.S.-Thanks for all the great words yesterday.  Y'all made me smile when I was having a bad day.
P.P.S-Smackers and I baked a mini gay cake.  I'll be sure to post it later this week.
P.P.P.S.-I forgot to say that I won a giveaway!  I'm getting Vegan Unplugged!  Thanks again to Robin Robertson!

VeganMoFo IV: Never Trust a Pig Farm and a Smile

Happy World Vegan Day!!!!  Another VeganMoFo has begun!  I am super duper excited this time around because I will finally be doing video!  Now, everybody can see my stupid face and hear my voice.  Awesome!

As the season of vegan blogging begins, I'm already feeling frazzled.  I'm currently typing on three hours of sleep.  Anybody who tells you that building a gingerbread house is fun...they're lying.  Or maybe they just employed child labor.  Seeing as how my dogs don't have opposable thumbs, I spent way too many hours building a gingerbread barn by myself.  The fun part is definitely decorating.  The not-so-fun part is all the royal icing and waiting for things to dry.

This, my friends, is my last year doing gingerbread of any kind.  It's just too much work.  But this is definitely my favorite one yet.  Why?  Molding marzipan detached limbs is just as fun as it sounds.  So I present to you...Haunted Gingerbread 2010: Serial Killer Pig Farm.

front of barn, back of barn

side of house, marzipan pig, jack-o-lantern dots, front door

To make the house,  I used the PPK gingerbread recipe.  I got the template from Ultimate Gingerbread.  The house is sitting on a chocolate cake (from Papa Tofu) and I used the same frosting as last year.  For decoration I used black Twizzlers, Dots, Sweet Tarts, pretzels, colored coconut, and marzipan.  I think my favorite part was shaping the little piggies of death!  I have never worked with marzipan before but it's really so much fun.  Now, for close ups of the carnage.  I even carved little fingers and toes into the dismembered body parts.  Isn't it fun to take a cute concept and make it completely morbid?!  Haha.

tons of gore

don't trust these pigs at all

I can has HANDburger?

In my best Cryptkeeper voice: Well, that's all for now, kiddies!  See you tomorrow, boys and ghouls.  Bahahahahahahahaha.