How do you start your day & how do you end it?

Planning a wedding is very stressful. I have been cooking, eating, and even taking pictures, but have not had the time or should I say energy to post. I am also back to work 3 days a week, 4 hours a day. I know it may not seem like much, but when you don't move very well and you have to leave for work an hour and a half before you need to be there, just to find a parking place, the day is long and tiring. So for your enjoyment :o)

"Breakfast of Champions"

Here we have Susan's fantastic "Mini Crustless Tofu Quiche", fresh mango's, blueberries, and hash browns. Our family loves these quiche. If you have not tried them, what are you waiting for? Go for it and you will never turn back. I added cooked broccoli to them this time and they were gone in a matter of minutes. I can't even explain how good they are and this is coming from someone who has always had a great dislike for eggs. Give them a shot. No eggs equals incredible yumminess! Here are 2 of the best salads I have had all summer.

"Quinoa Spring Salad"

The first one is Quinoa Spring Salad from Dreena in her book Viva la Vegan on page 71. She had suggestions of amounts and ingredients. I used 3/4 cup roasted red bell peppers, toasted pine nuts, and left out the parsley, cilantro, or basil because I did not have any. It calls for 3-4 Tablespoons of a simple vinaigrette. I once again looked to Dreena and used her simple dressing on pg 57. What a fantastic dish! I can't say enough about it. I took it to a dinner with the ladies from my church and it disappeared almost instantly. Poor Brandie, she was so sad when I showed her the crumbs that were left.

"Cowboy Coleslaw"

Salad #2 is Cowboy Coleslaw from Alanna. I of course had to fool around with the recipe and it was a hit. Thank you Alanna for sharing it with us. Here is my adapted version:

COWBOY COLESLAW
2 cups grated carrot
2 cup thin-sliced red cabbage
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1 apple, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons toasted sunflower seeds

DRESSING
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, white or red
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon agave nectar
salt and pepper to taste
Gently combine the cabbage, carrots, and apple. Whisk together the dressing and add to your salad mix. Add the toasted sunflower seeds just before serving.

"Dreena's Tofu-Lovin Sandwich"

Have any of you seen the August issue of VegNews? Dreena has a couple wonderful recipes in there. Potato-Spinach Salad with Pine Nut Dressing, which I have not yet made and Tofu-Lovin Sandwiches, which are wonderful. The tofu is lightly fried with balsamic vinegar and tamari and mixed with garden goodies. Here I had it on sprouted grain bread, corn on the cob, and broccoli. DH loved it and mixed it with his green salad the next day for lunch. This recipe is very light and refreshing on these hot summer days. Thank you, Dreena for another wonderful recipe.

"Veggie Pizza"

A good old stand by! "Veggie Pizza" cheeseless of course. I love the mixture of roasted veggies, pineapple, and olives. So, so, good! This is a wonderful way to eat your gifts from your garden! If you have never had a cheeseless pizza you don't know what you are missing.

"Bumbleberry Crumb Pie"

What a better way to end a post than with dessert. Julie has graciously asked me to test, yet another one of her soon to be famous pies for her upcoming book. Friends you won't be disappointed. The lovely pie is a mixture of different berries ( I added extra fresh blueberries), with a whole wheat and oat crumb mixture. The smell, the taste, the drooling, and the final product with a side of Soy Delicious Vanilla. Thank you, Julie!

Nectarine Upside-Down Cake

Susan at Fat free vegan is such an awesome cook and photographer. She made the most amazing Peach Upside Down Cake. I had an overload of nectarines that needed to be used so made her recipe substituting the peaches with nectarines. I learned the following. You must use a 9 inch skillet. You must seal all fruit with the cake mix and you must laugh at your not so eye pleasing results and just enjoy the awesome flavor.

I only had an 8 inch iron skillet, but was afraid it would not be deep enough so I switched to my 8 inch iron skillet dutch oven. Wrong! My dutch oven is tapered so the bottom is not 8 inches. It is a bit smaller. Therefore my filling was too deep for the amount of cake mix. The cake came nicely out of the pan, but the amount of juice went pouring over the sides of the plate and the cake seemed more like a dumpling than "cake".

Even with all my minor problems this cake is wonderful. I followed the recipe exactly except for the sub of nectarines for peaches. The flavors and sweetness were perfect. Next time I will make sure to use a 9 inch skillet ( I think I just thought of a wonderful birthday present, which is only a week away), and try and be a little more fancy like Vegan Yum Yum . I know the taste is the same, but oh so cool looking.

Summertime brings great pies and BBQ ribz

Hi everyone! I hope you are enjoying a wonderful summer. I am excited with the fresh peaches and nectarines that are now in season. I was doubly excited to find out that Julie Hasson was looking for volunteers to test her recipes for her new cookbook. I jumped on that bandwagon real fast. My family is really excited, because it is a cookbook of yummy desserts. My DH has a sweet tooth that never stops craving her delicious desserts. Here we have her "Cinnamon Sugar Peach Pie" getting ready to be topped and put in the oven. I cheated and used a whole wheat vegan frozen pie crust.

Topped and ready to go in the oven.

Out of the oven, but now we must wait for it to cool. This is the hardest part for my family.

Ok, it's finally time! The first slice came out nicely. Boy, does it look good.

So the second piece didn't come out quite as nicely, but who doesn't like pie and soy delicious?

Summertime is grill time. Susan's ribz are fantastic.

This time I cut them apart once they were done baking and soaked them in BBQ sauce.

Because my sweet husband is my omniman we don't have a vegan grill. I use my Wolfgang Puck indoor grill for these yummy ribz. Here they are grilling and within minutes they are ready to eat.

These ribz are so good. I even took them to work for breakfast. They are just as fantastic cold. What a flavourful, high protein snack! I forgot to let you know that when I make them I don't use the liquid smoke ( I really don't care for that product), also I have not been able to find Spanish paprika so I use regular paprik along with 1/2 tsp. of cumin and the smokey flavor comes out perfectly. Susan also makes them with a sweet and sour sauce which I plan on trying very soon.