Daring Bakers Challenge became a family affair!

Well, folks I don't know where November went, but it is almost over and today was the November Daring Bakers Challenge due date.

This months challenge was CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING.

Brandie got hold of the camera so here I am stirring the Golden syrup.

Brandie was excited to do the decorating. She is an awesome cake decorator.

I made 12 mini bundt cakes, which were decorated in a perfect fall theme by Brandie.

Thanks Brandie!

Look at those cute pumpkins!


All pretty and ready to be devoured!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

How has everyone been? I have been busy with family and our grandson, which has left me with little cooking time. I appreciate everyone stopping by and saying hi while I have been away from my blog. So many things to write about. First off I have been given a blog award by Virginia. Thank you so much! Everyone check our her blog, she is a real sweetie and her blog is fantastic.

Other big news is about our sweet grandson. He turned 5 months old 7 days ago and cut his 2 bottom teeth. He is growing up too fast. Check out Brandie's blog for some really cute pictures. This is one of his new 5 month old pictures.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was made perfect by some great recipes that many of you were kind enough to share.

First I made the Vegan Turkey Roast by Brian McCarthy, which all of you can see and learn over at Julie's site Everyday Dish. I used a flour sack dish cloth to wrap it in because I was out of cheesecloth. I also added 1 tsp of poultry seasoning. I wish I had an electric meat slicer because this roast is going to make some really kick bootie sandwiches!

Next item on our menu was The Best Vegan Green Bean Casserole from Susan over at Fat free Vegan. Instead of baking this as one large casserole I put it individual dishes. Remember my problem with cooked mushroom? Well, this recipe is so good I challenge all of you who have a fear of mushrooms to go for it. Delicious!!! I always hated cream of mushroom soup and was leery, but this mushroom sauce is out of this world!

You can't have Thanksgiving with out stuffing and gravy and thanks to Bryanna we all ate way to much. :o) Her Bread stuffing and rich brown fat free gravy made our meal a huge hit! I used "no-chicken" broth for the stuffing and added an extra teaspoon of poultry seasoning too. If you don't know who Bryanna is go visit her blog, recipes galore!!!

Darn forgot to take pictures of these. You will just have to take my word for it! Delish!

Finally what I wait for all year long, Brussels sprouts. Brandie and I adore them so when winter comes we are all over them. These were roasted with some olive oil, salt, and garlic. Yum!

Sorry no desserts kids. I have been off sugar for nearly 2 months and am doing my best to continue, so apples have become my favorite dessert. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. :o)

I am indeed grateful for all of my blogging buddies. Your kindness and inspiration are a blessing to all.

Hugs!

Frustration and I've Been Tagged

Me and the kitchen are having issues today. Well, not everything, but some. I made some wonderful English muffins and some super sausage, but when it came to bread today I fell flat. I make bread every week so when something terrible goes wrong I have a hard time understanding my stupidity. First I spent 2 hours making Dave's' killer bread from Everyday dish. Now I make this all the time as you can tell from my post here, but today all was well, until I realized I forgot the salt. Nasty! I think unsalted bread is for the birds and I mean that literally. The ducks love it. With that failure under my belt I went to plan B, which is another favorite of the family, My 7 or 9 grain. All was going well until it was time to take it from the pan. It stuck, I mean stuck. The pan was greased well, but still it wouldn't budge. I finally cut it out of the pan, which left us with a very ugly loaf of bread. Next get the camera and document the disasters so all of you can have your giggle of the day and the camera won't work. The batteries have been charging for 3 hours or more and still nothing. Thank goodness I was tagged or I would have nothing to write about. :o)



Well I have been tagged so here are 7 random things about me.



1. I brush my teeth for 2 minutes every morning and 4 minutes every night. I also floss every night before brushing.



2. I rarely chew on the left side of my mouth.



3. I like the taste and texture of raw mushrooms, but can't stand the smell or texture of cooked mushrooms. I really want to and am trying as hard as I can to get past my issues.



4. My second toe on both feet are longer than my big toe, in fact my second toe on my left foot is 5/8 of an inch longer than my big toe. Brandie, my daughter has the same kind of toes and so does our grandson! Yeah! Keep the long toe gene going.



5. When I hit 5' 3" I cried for days. I have blue eyes and loved being 5 foot 2 eyes of blue. Shoot now I am 5'4". Maybe when I get older I will shrink back to 5 foot 2 eyes of blue. :o)



6. I love lizard and snakes. People think that is weird since I am a girl. Right now I only have one snake named Zero. I have had her for about 12 years.



7. I have a phobia of dirty door handles. Especially when you walk out of a public restroom. I always open the door with a paper towel. Hey, some people don't wash there hands. Nasty!!




There you have it. 7 random things about me. I am sure there are many more, but after my frustrating day in the kitchen this is all I could muster up.

Have fun playing this game!
I tag:

Brandie

Becks

Vegetation

Of course there is always a bright light at the end of a frustrating day and that is our grandson.
Isn't he a cutie? Ok, he does not have the Alfalfa look going on. That line is a branch from the haunted Halloween tree that was on the background of the photo shoot.

Can it be? Vegan Corned Beef

Fall is in the air and we have had our first drop of moisture. *cheering*!! We have had a long hot summer here in sunny southern California and today's sprinkles, wind, and patchy clouds were very welcomed. My blogging vacation is over and it time to get back to posting. Have you ever had a craving of something that you have not eaten in a long time? In fact so long ago that you don't know what it really tastes like, but you still want it? This happened to me this past week. I was craving corned beef. It has been so long since I had it that I really can't remember what it tastes like, but I was still determined to make VEGAN CORNED BEEF! After searching the Internet I found Bryanna's New Seitan "Corned Beef" recipe. Let me tell you that it takes some work and I had to use 2 crockpots because it made 2 huge roasts. I even let it sit in the refrigerator for 2 days an idea from Bryanna, which I am sure let the "roast" flavors meld and the texture to form. We sliced it up and gave it a quick heating before serving it up. FANTASTIC!!! Brandie also loved it. Her only suggestion would be to cut back to 3 whole cloves as the recipe calls for 6. This roast has an amazing texture, which in my opinion comes from the minute tapioca in it. Moist, tender, unbelievable! Click on the link above to make this mouth watering recipe. We served ours with chive mashed potatoes, zucchini, and a green salad. Look at that "corned beef"! Sorry for the little green chive stuck on the roast, but it escaped from the potatoes. :o) This recipe has not soy except some soy sauce, but it is made with vital wheat gluten. Bryanna is certainly the Queen of Vegan Corned Beef! Thank you, Bryanna!

VeganMoFo Day 31 Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Today is the last day of Vegan MoFo. I did it. I made it all 31 days. Yes, I feel accomplished. Today's post is a quick lunch that Brandie and I had together. It is about as scary as I can muster up. :o) Two great cooks and one Halloweegan blogger were my inspiration. Lindsay and Vegan dad have recipes for Chickenless Nuggets. I did not have all the ingredients for Lindsay's (Happy Herbivore) so I used part of Vegan dads recipe. Actually the nuggets are from Lindsay's E-book, but the breading is from Vegan dad's blog. The Frankenstein look is from River. She has had amazing Halloweegan treats posted this MoFo.

I give you Frankenstein Chickenless Nuggets!

And now I must get ready for all the little trick or treaters that will soon be arriving.

Ya'all come back now, ya hear! :o)

VeganMoFo Day 30 Mock Tuna Eaten Two Ways

Can you all believe that we only have one more day of MoFo? How quickly this month flew by. Wow I woke up this morning to some clouds and a cool breeze. I was sure today would be a little cooler day and thoughts turned to stew or chili, but as the morning got hotter and hotter that idea flew right out the window. Although it was a warm day bread had to be made. We have been out for a few days and I really hate to spend hard earned money store bought bread. Besides what is costs for a loaf in the store you can make at least 6 or 7 loaves at home.

I was also visiting many blogs and stopped in to Happy Herbivore. Lindsay had her "Mock Tuna Salad" recipe posted with pictures of an amazing sandwich, which I just had to make. Stop by her blog and see her amazing recipes she shares with all of us. She also has her secret stash of recipes that she puts into E-books, which we can all purchase. She is about to release her second E-book on Saturday. Go for it! You won't be disappointed. How about some food porn and my version of her recipe.

Here I used the "Mock Tuna" as a filling for lettuce wraps.

Fantastic! This was one good for me green plates. :o)

This is the delicious "Mock Tuna Salad" on fresh homemade bread. Oh my, I could eat the whole bowl, but I didn't. It is all about control. :o)

Here is my version of her recipe, which is very similar. You can see her recipe here. Now don't laugh, but my version is mostly done by grams. I am trying to track what I eat, so I can find my girly figure, and the program works better with grams.

Mock Tuna Salad

1 15oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (236 grams)

chopped celery, (92 grams)

Sweet pickle relish (33 grams)

1 Tablespoon Tamari or soy sauce

2 Tablespoons of light vegan mayonnaise

finely chopped onion (16 grams)

1/2 teaspoon kelp powder

Mash the chickpeas, I use a potato masher, add the rest of the ingredients, mix well, and chill. Eat and enjoy.

Check out the original recipe for normal measurements. Also I forgot the nutritional yeast, why who knows, but I would for sure add it next time. I love the stuff.

VeganMoFo Day 29 Daring Bakers Challenge

My very first Daring Bakers Challenge. Lets just say this was very interesting. I was thrilled that it was vegan so no substitutions were necessary, but a pizza challenge where you had to toss the pizza was a bit hysterical to say the least. DH took about 10 pictures of me tossing and never got the pizza in the picture. It was too high and I was too low. Yes, he did finally get one picture that makes me look like the wicked witch of the west, but hey it is me tossing a pizza. I told him look at me, gross take another one and I will try and smile. It didn't happen. We couldn't get both of us in the picture. lol... seriously.

Here the little pizza doughs getting ready to rest for the night.

Italian sausage, pepperoni, bell pepper, spinach, and olives with basic pizza sauce with yummy Follow Your Heart Cheese.

We had to make 2 pizzas so here is our second one. This pizza has zucchini, spinach, bell pepper, pepperoni, and Follow Your Heart Cheese.

After all that I forgot to take a picture of the cooked pizzas. Guess we were too busy eating. :o)

VeganMoFo Day 28 Mini sandwiches

Hi everyone, sorry no pictures from the potato bar, but let me tell you the line was long and by the time we got to the table all that was vegan was a potato. Luckily Brandie and I had brought Earth Balance and some nutritional yeast. I did take a picture of a fun lunch earlier. These little mini rice cheese sandwiches are made from some mini rolls I made earlier this week. They are about as big around as a very small juice glass. :o) I just cut them in half, then cut the rice cheese with the little juice glass and gave them a quick fry. Hey like silver dollar sammies. I wanted to cut out a face and make it like a mini jack-o-lantern, but alas, too hungry.

I leave you with a cute picture of Brandie, Micah, and little Micah. What a awesome family!

Look at little casper. :o)

VeganMoFo Day 27 Light and easy

It's a hot one tonight folks. They say our Santa Ana should break by Wednesday and am I ever ready. Bring on the fall weather or at least at close as we can in the San Diego area. I so miss cool temps and colored leaves. I guess that's the price we pay to live here and boy, do we pay the price. Even DH wanted a salad tonight. Not that he is not a salad eater he loves them, but he went without lunch and I figured he would be really hungry. He settled for a very small portion of leftover spaghetti and the salad. Spaghetti was too much for me and I opted for beans. Quick and easy. Of course veggies were included. It always kinda bums me out when I cook up a big pan of spinach and look whats left. Yes, that is the the whole pan I didn't even give any to DH. :o)So sad. Now I know why frozen spinach is so expensive.

Can you believe Mofo is almost over? Tomorrow is shopping day and a Halloween party at church. I will try and get some pictures since it is a baked potato bar vegan eating should be pretty easy. I am making steamed broccoli and a yeasty cheese sauce. :o)

VeganMoFo Day 26 Wanna go on a boat ride?

It would be a blast if we could all get together for a super duper vegan boat ride, but for now we will have to enjoy a zucchini boat ride. :o) I have a some really nice zucchini and wanted something different than steamed or stir fried. I changed around the normal recipe to stay away from bread crumbs and Earth Balance. The filling for my boats consisted of diced onion, zucchini, a Field Roast Italian sausage, and about 1/4 cup of cooked brown rice. Once the filling was cooked and the veggies soft I added a small bit of marinara sauce. I pre-cooked my boats to speed up the process. What can I say I was really hungry. Once the boats were filled with goodness they were sprinkled with a tiny bit of vegan Parmesan and a very thin slice of Follow your Heart mozzarella cheeze and placed under the broiler. Served up with steamed broccoil and a nice bowl of fresh fruit salad this dinner really hit the spot.

Enjoy the ride!

VeganMoFo Day 25 It's even hotter in the kitchen today!

Merry Christmas! Oops, it isn't even Halloween. I had many requests to see the Christmas craft we made at church so I introduce: Rudolph (2 versions) and Frosty! Rudolph is made from clear Christmas light bulbs and Frosty is made from a clear Christmas ball ornament. Add some paint, fake snow, pipe cleaners, pom poms, bells, google eyes, and ribbon and your done. Quick, easy, and fun!

Now on to food. DH has been after me for months to post his very own chili recipe. Even though it is 97 degrees outside I decided to make it for him, so here it is. I warn you, if you don't like spicy and I mean spicy cut back on the peppers and the amount of spice heat that you use. If you love HOT AND SPICY, I challenge you to go for it. This chili has heat, but it also has a deep, rich flavor that is out of this world. DH actually made this recipe in a dream one night. When he woke up he went to work writing it down. DH's theory is: "If your eyes don't water and your nose doesn't run, it is not hot enough". Myself and Brandie can't do the full version, but our SIL loves it! We hope you do too.

Chuck’s Hot and Spicy Chili

Olive Oil for sauteing (or you can water or broth saute)
1 large onion, diced
1 large stalk of celery, diced
½ of each red, green, and yellow bell pepper, diced
1 Habanero chili, finely chopped
1 Serrano chili, finely chopped
1 Jalapeno chili, finely chopped
8 cloves of garlic (Yes we love garlic)

1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 6ox can tomato paste
1 15oz can tomato sauce
2 cups of vegan beef broth (see recipe below)
2 Tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbs Emeril’s South West Essence (link to make your own)
½ Tbs ground cumin
1 Tbs. Cayenne pepper
½ Tbs ground Coriander
1 Tbs. Red Pepper Flakes
2 Tbs. freshly ground black pepper
1 Tsp. Emeril’s Cajun Creole Seasoning (link to make your own)
1 Tbs. New Mexico Chili powder
½ tsp. Oregano
Dash of fresh ground nutmeg

2 15oz cans of chili beans including liquid
1 15oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

Salt to taste (I have never added any salt)

Saute the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic until translucent and soft. Add tomato products, “beef” broth, and Worcestershire sauce stirring well until combined. Next add in the remaining spices and once again mix well. Last add in the beans of your choice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about an hour or so.

I use a vegan beef broth from a recipe in a very old cookbook, Simply Heavenly, the Monastery Vegetarian Cookbook. (Fantastic cookbook) Which, is no longer in print, but you can buy it used.

Unbeef Broth

2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp Kitchen Bouquet
1 Tbs. nutritional yeast
¼ cup chopped onion
1/8 tsp rubbed sage
1 tsp corn oil
2 cups water

Combine and simmer for 5 minutes or more. I use this whole recipe in the above chili.

And that's all folks!

VeganMoFo Day 24 It is hot again!

All day my question to myself was, "What to have for dinner? All I really wanted was veggies. I was just feeling like a light meal, due to the fact that another Santa Anna hit us and this is the third day of really hot weather. Finally when it was getting close to dinner I opened the fridge and started slicing and chopping. I did it, minutes after DH got home dinner was served. Steamed broccoli and zucchini, braised Swiss chard in some "No Chicken Broth" with fresh garlic, and mashed/pureed cauliflower with chives and a touch of curry. Just look at that awesome color. :o) At the last minute falafel sounded good too. You gotta love "Fantastic Falafel Mix"

Fresh sliced tomatoes added just that touch of color.

Tomorrow Rudolph and Frosty are coming to dinner.

Sleep tight everyone. :o)

VeganMoFo Day 23 Quick meals rock!

I am teaching a Christmas craft class tonight for the ladies at church so dinner is a quick one. Macaroni and Cheeze, broccoli, and a mixture of leftover beans. Protein, carbs, and veggies. I cheated on this meal using Roads End Vegan Cheeze sauce. I really like it! Off to make a snowman and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer ornament. :o)

T.G.I.A.F!!!!!

(Thank God it's almost Friday)

See you all tomorrow

VeganMoFo Day 22 Football and pizza

Since we were busy playing with our grandson all afternoon dinner had to be quick. Our daughter picked up the baby about 4:30 and we were having company at 6:pm. I had made the salad this morning so there was nothing quicker than to toss a pizza in the oven for 7 minutes.

Dinner served. Quick and easy!

Pizza toppings included marinara sauce, follow your heart cheese, smart life pepperoni, field roast Italian sausages, spinach, black olives, and red and green peppers. No time to caramelize onions. Bummer! Sadly folks, pizza is a RED LIGHT FOOD for me and I forget when to stop. :o) Thank goodness Vegan pizza is better for you than omni versions.

I leave you with a smile! We were playing football and having a blast. :o)

VeganMoFo Day 21 It's Emeril's Fault

I don't know how many of you have the channel, Planet Green, but if you don't there is a show called, "Emeril Green". Yep, Emeril is not only on the Food Network. Today we were watching one of the Emeril Green shows that we taped (we hate commercials) and he was making lentils and rice. Sorry, honey now I am craving lentils and rice. :o) Luckily DH loves lentils. So here you have it, simple brown rice, garlic, salt, pepper, and lentils. I added a bit of soy sauce to mine too. So there are my protein and carbs and here are my veggies, salad with all the goodies, steamed zucchini, and cooked broccoli with a bit of left over broccoli soup on it from last night. Hey is makes a great sauce. Enjoy!

Tomorrow we get our grandson, so dinner will something quick and easy.

Hey, playing with the light of our lives is important. :o)

VeganMoFo Day 20 Monday Night Special

Monday Night Special

Cream of Broccoli Soup by Vegan Dad

Grilled Rice Cheese Sandwich

Fruit Salad

Taking freezer pictures reminded me that we had leftover Cream of Broccoli soup and what better to have with soup than grilled Vegan rice cheese sandwiches. (Careful folks some of the rice cheese contain casein, which is not vegan) I just finished cutting up honeydew, cantaloupe, and strawberries so fruit salad became another addition to to nights meal. One very satisfying meal.

VeganMoFo Day 19 My Vegan Freezer

OK, my friends,
As promised, here are my Vegan freezers. :o) We have two refrigerators in our house and one garage freezer so you are getting the full picture. :o)

INSIDE FREEZER 1




Garbanzo Bean and Amaranth Flours





Yellow Corn Meal (2 jars of it)





Wheat Germ and Brown Rice Flour






Smoothie central: Peaches, Mango's, Unsweetened Carob chips, and Banana's hiding








Blueberries and Acai puree









Pureed Strawberries, Lemon juice, Oat flour, Barley Flour hiding.









Split pea soup, Lasagna, and some Breakfast Faux Sausages









Repeat. :o)






Seitan Stash: Homemade Italian sausage, Breakfast Patties, and 1/4 lb RFD seitan blocks

GARAGE FREEZER

Vital Wheat Gluten



Homemade marinara sauce and wheat germ

Whole wheat pastry flour



More Vital Wheat Gluten and Marinara Sauce

Wheat Bran, Rye Flour, and Steel Cut Oats

INSIDE FREEZER

Whole Wheat Pita Bread, Roasted Almonds, and Filo Dough

Corn Tortillas, Red and Green Bell Peppers, Walnuts

RFD seitan, lemon juice cubes, cooked white beans hiding, and homemade vegan cheese

Veggie drawer: spinach, snow peas, green peas, corn, and green beans

Flax seed Meal, Whole Almonds, and Sliced Almonds

Yeast packets and Ice Packs

Pecans and Raw Cashews

More Sliced Almonds, Whole Flax seed, and Pecans

Pumpkin Seeds, Pistachios, and Pine nuts

I am actually missing a couple photos, but bare shelves, ice packs haven, and my frozen grapes prolly won't be missed. Happy Sunday!!!

PS: I have fought a good fight and I still can't get the last pictures and descriptions to match up. Sorry guys you will have to figure the last on out on your own. Life is an adventure and so is the big bad BLOGGER. HEHEHEHE