VeganMoFo: The Accidental Substitute

Oy and a resounding Vey! It is one of those days. Today I am writing about Don’t Eat Off the Sidewalk. Katie is the entire reason I joined the PPK. I’ve been a slave to livejournal since the time you needed an actual code to be all emo. She saw me post some food porn, talk about Buffy and told me to just sign up at the Post Punk Kitchen already. I have to say that joining the boards was one of the most intimidating things I had ever done. One of my Gemini twins is incredibly socially inept and misanthropic. The other one is typing this blog.

Anyway. So, I purchased DEOTS last year after all the crazy pumpkin cinnamon rolls porn. I bought it so late in the holiday season that I had already planned my meals. And then it got too hot to even think about holiday meals. And then I just focused on making the cinnamon rolls over and over. So…I went with the very first recipe in the zine: Vegetable Stew with Herbed Dumplings.

Vegetable stew from DEOTS

Okay. I’m gonna give it to you straight. I messed up horribly..sorta. Instead of being all responsible and looking the recipe over last night, I just started making it today. I had to change some things. My initial intention was just to add some peas. That was it. Then I discovered that I was supposed to peel the potatoes before adding them. Oh and I had no dried oregano so I substituted a tablespoon of fresh. And dammit! No soy milk so I used almond. I kinda hate myself right now. The one good thing about the changes is that I don’t think any of them affected the flavor of the stew.

I used herb de Provence for the dried herbs listed in the dumpling ingredients. This stew made my house smell fabulous and my belly feel happy. I highly recommend you make it today! It will definitely put you in a fabulous mood.

This is perfect for absolutely dreary skies like today. No sun at all. I’m feeling like it’s definitely another movie day. Target had the Bill and Ted series for $5.50 (as well as a She Devil and War of the Roses bundle). I also picked up Say Anything and St. Elmo’s Fire. I might just die from all the bliss.

VeganMoFo: Lazy Sunday

Today marks the beginning of calendar week 2 for me: Utilize My Cookbooks Week. I decided to start with Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer. How It All Vegan was the first cookbook I ever owned. I don’t give this series of books nearly enough love. Since I couldn’t find HIAV, I decided to do one recipe from both Garden of Vegan and La Dolce Vegan.

It’s Sunday so I decided to veg out and have a movie set marathon. First up is the Scream collection. I’m most likely following this with Blade, Underworld and Meet the Parents. No movie extravaganza is complete without popcorn. So I made the Cracker Janes from Garden of Vegan. The name is slightly misleading, as they taste nothing like Cracker Jacks. However, they do remind me of Crunch N Munch and they are so effing addictive it’s ridiculous. Try eating a small amount. I dare you! Not gonna happen. They are sweet and crunchy and buttery and caramely and just damn good.

Cracker Jane

I decided I should eat some real food so I don’t die of a sugar coma. Last week I did a big order from Food Fight. I bought an ass load of Indian food. I’m probably gonna have to buy some more and stock up on Ramen because it is just that good.

Delhi saag from Food Fight Grocery

I made the Aloo Mattar from La Dolce Vegan. This made my house smell so wonderful. It takes no time at all and it is delicious. Seriously good. I served both the Delhi saag and aloo mattar with a quick toasted cashew and cumin rice. Good Indian food in less than twenty minutes…all Sundays should be like this.

Aloo Mattar

I encourage all of you to remember those forgotten cookbooks. If you’re anything like me, you just use the same recipes over and over and then buy new books for the collection. I’m trying to stop that habit. Tomorrow I’m making a little something from a very well known zine. For now…have a good Sunday y’all!

VeganMoFo: Ice Cream Rules

Alternate title: when bad things happen to good people. Unfortunately, my ice cream maker didn't freeze properly so I am not able to produce ice cream photos today. Boo. Instead I would like to talk a little bit about my favorite ice cream flavors and some basic rules to follow.

First and foremost, you have to have quality ingredients. When I indulge I like to do it right. So no artificial vanilla or expired soy milk. Chances are that good ingredients will make a great ice cream.

soy nog ice cream

Numero dos: Always start with cold ingredients. It makes for a faster freeze and a smoother ice cream. I learned my lesson on this one. I like to mix everything together the night or morning before and keep in the fridge for several hours. It is so much better this way.

Letter C...For the love of good food, use a thickener! Whether it be an arrow root slurry in the heated up mixture or a block of silken 'fu, you want ice cream to be thick and delicious. If you are making sorbet, that's another story entirely.

banana ice cream (Vcon)

Finally. Don't overcrowd with mix ins. My general rule is about 1 cup to 1 1/2 quarts ice cream. But that may just be me.

When it comes to homemade ice cream I am a fan of the versatility and kickass flavor of the Veganomicon recipe. I've made vanilla, strawberry, banana and my personal favorite (and a mish mash of recipes):

fudgy wudgy blueberry brownie ice cream

I also think there are some very inspired ideas at Vegan Ice Cream Paradise. I have been dying to try that Chick-O-Stick one for a long, long while.

As for commercial stuff my favorite is the Purely Decadent line from Turtle Mountain. Flavors I've tried and loved: blueberry cheesecake, cherry nirvana, coconut craze, cookie avalanche, dulce de leche, pralin pecan, rocky road, turtle trails, and my favorite...pomegranate chip!


Hey, what can I say? I've eaten a lot of ice cream in the past seven years. I promise you pictures of that pumpkin gingersnap ice cream as soon as I get the bowl to freeze.