The Conclusion of Operation Sweetie Pots

Last week I finally finished Operation Sweetie Pots.  For those who don't remember, we had at least 25 lbs of sweet potatoes to get through at the beginning of the year so I made a ridiculous amount of puree.  I froze half of it and ended up making some awesome things.

clockwise from top left: sweet potato hamburger buns, sweet potato cinnamon rolls, sweet potato pretzels, and Hungarian sweet potato bread

I made hamburger buns, cinnamon rolls, pretzels, bread, and a huge 9x13 pan of spiced sweet potato blondies (from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar).  It took me two days to get everything done, but it was well worth it.

sweet potato cinnamon roll zoomage

For the hamburger buns, I went with the King Arthur's flour recipe I found online, but I tried to do the cool technique I saw here.  It didn't really work out that well.  If anybody can figure out how to veganize that recipe, please let me know because those buns look awesome!

For the pretzels and cinnamon rolls, I simply subbed sweet potato puree for the pumpkin in two very popular recipes.  You can find the recipes for Katie's pumpkin cinnamon rolls and Kittee's soft whole wheat pumpkin pretzels in the provided links.  This was actually my first time ever making pretzels from scratch.  I didn't have atta flour so I substituted more all purpose with a bit of vital wheat gluten mixed in.  I also used sunflower seeds instead of pumpkin because I need to go shopping like woah.  The results, though misshapen, were absolutely fantastic!  Much easier than I thought it would be.

By far, my favorite thing to make was this Hungarian potato bread.  I subbed a generous 3/4 cups sweet potato puree for the russet potato in the recipe.  It was the first time I made bread that came out with a crisp and crackly outside, soft and chewy inside.  It was fantastic.  Even tasted slightly sour.  I'd make this again soon because it was that delicious!

I love this time of year because I get to enjoy orange food.  I can't wait to buy and use my first can of pumpkin.  That's pretty much the way I celebrate the beginning of fall.  Now, if only the weather could catch up to the season...

Tofurky Day Redux

It's December already! What the hell? November went by so friggin fast.

And now I present to you the ultimate in Thanksgiving leftover sammiches:

Take two pieces of bread. Slather cranberry sauce on one side and dijon mustard on the other. Place tofurky (or equivalent) on the side with mustard and stuffing/dressing on the side with cranberry. Top both sides with mashed potatoes and gravy. The key is to use minimal ingredients. And serve with pickled okra, which is my latest obsession.

I hope everybody's holiday went well. I spent mine with my husband and family. We did Thanksgiving at my parents. I brought pumpkin baked ziti, the newly revamped and veganized Onion, Pepper, and Spinach Quiche Bites from Vegetarian Times, and some cookies.

The quiche bites were a huge hit. I'm happy to say that the changes I made were most excellent in a Bill and Ted sorta way.

Quiche Bites
1 Tbsp olive oil
nonstick spray
2 Tbsp bread crumbs (I used Panko)
1 10oz pkg frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of liquid
1/2 cup onion, finely diced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
3/4 cup grated white cheddar Cheezly (or whatever cheeze you like)
1/2 cup blended silken tofu
1 tsp arrowroot powder
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 tsp salt
16 2 inch square crackers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 glass casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray and coat the bottom and 1/3 up the sides with the bread crumbs.

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and bell pepper, cooking until soft. Add the spinach and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and place in the casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheeze.

In a food processor or blender, add the silken tofu, arrowroot, almond milk and salt and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture over the veggies and cheeze. Be sure to smooth it down and let it soak into the casserole.

Bake 45 minutes to an hour, until the casserole is a golden brown color. Cool completely before slicing into 16 pieces. Serve warm or at room temperature.

On Saturday, my husband and I had our own vegan Thanksgiving. I made a lot of recipes from the Nov 08 Vegetarian Times. We had tofurkey, pumpkin cornbread stuffing (idea stolen from Wes and made from Crystal's cornbread recipe), roasted sweet potatoes, champ, DEOTS gravy with mushrooms added, VT's green beans with walnuts and shallot crisps, VT's classic chestnut soup with marsala mushrooms (pictured above), VT's cranberry-pecan salad (also pictured above), and the holiday cranberry sauce from Vcon. Twas delicious.

I also made the lemon bars from Vcon after I made a pie from My Sweet Vegan that turned out horribly for me. The lemon part of these bars would make fantastic jello shots. Just sayin'...

Perhaps my greatest discovery this week was white Russians made with soy nog. Thanks, Pamela! I also found Seagram's espresso vodka at the liquor store and it has changed my life. LOVE!

Happy Holidays y'all!

Inept Couriers and Easy Cheezy

It's that time of year again when almost every package I order gets lost. My local post office is filled with idiots who constantly deliver mail to the wrong house. I have lost numerous comic books this way. The latest thing is: a cd I ordered has gone missing. Then a netflix dvd disappeared. And all I got was this cellophane bag with my torn netflix sleeve in it. Now UPS let me down. Good thing my neighbor from a street over delivered it to me. It was filled with Vitasoy Chocolate Peppermint Soymilk, Papa Tofu and Vegan De Guadalupe. HOLLA!


The first thing I created was a veganized version of the Onion, Pepper, and Spinach Quiche Bites from Vegetarian Times (Nov/Dec 08,pg 38). I don't have a finalized recipe and probably won't until Thanksgiving. Changes I made: FYH monterrey jack for the gruyere, 1/2 cup blended silken tofu plus 1 teaspoon arrowroot for the eggs, and soy creamer for the milk. I also baked it for an hour because it took that long to brown. The result was good, but kinda sweet. Because the peppers and onions have natural sweetness, I plan to use unsweetened almond milk next time. Also, I will most likely be using Cheezly because people rave about it. I suggest letting these cool in a fridge completely before slicing. Serve at room temperature or hot.

Next up, I made some stuff from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook by Joanne Stepaniak. Pictured below is the White Bean Boursin. I've never had boursin so I don't know how close it is. This was good though. Herby goodness, creamy, and salty. The umeboshi paste adds a tangy and salty punch. It couples with the creaminess of the white beans and really has a cheesy taste. I advise pairing this with unsalted things. It works great with baguettes and cucumbers.

I also made the Gruyere from the book. Never had gruyere before so I don't know if it compares. What I can say is that it was noochy, bitter from the tahini, and zingy from the lemon. It was good if you like nutritional yeast. It was pretty great in the French onion soup I made. And look how gooey:

Finally, I adapted Crystal's queso recipe and made chili con queso. I omitted the Rotel, added a bit more liquid and added crumbled chipotle sausage. I like this version more with a spicy Italian sausage because it reminds me of the stuff my mom used to make.

I'm getting back into food blog mode. There will be much commenting tomorrow. Also, I will be making pepper jack. Expect to see an original pesto jack recipe in the near future.

The Great Cheeze Project

This is a quick entry to let you know what I'm doing and where I've been. After all the mofo stuff, I needed a great sabbatical. I'm still having fridge troubles and won't be able to buy a new one for another two weeks, so my fresh food stash is limited. This is the main reason I haven't been posting. I also still have about two days worth of mofo entries to read. Sorry I haven't been commenting on journals or responding...I just need to find the time to get back into food blog mode.

My next endeavor is an exploration of vegan cheeze. Besides eggs, it really is the hardest vegan substitute in my mind. I was never heavy into it, but I do miss things on occasion. I will be creating, using and reviewing recipes dealing with cheeze in all forms. I'll also be purchasing cheezes for a sort of "face off." Oddly enough, this all started with me trying to recreate the Canadian Cheese Soup I loved so much as a lacto veg.

I'm not going to make this entire thing about cheeze, though. With the holidays coming up, I have a ton of things I'd like to try...so I hope to be back soon.