VeganMoFo Day 17: Eggplant Parm!

hello! I missed a day yesterday, but that's okay. Blogging on the weekends is extra, so it totally evens out. I went to see Where the Wild Things Are last night and have been listening to the stream of the soundtrack all day. Soo good! I wanna build a fort! I super-loved it and had a stupid smile on my face the whole movie I think. It was so pretty too.

Anyways, eggplant parm! It's a favorite, but I don't make it that often 'cause it tends to use a bazillion dishes to make it. And Nik is a hater when it comes to eggplant (!!), and hates veggies in his marinara (I know! hater!) I just did a simple breading with flour + spices for this, and baked them in the oven, drizzled with olive oil, 'til tender. Combine with marinara sauce in casserole dish and baked again, with Teese shredded on top for another 20-30 minutes. It was super-tender and crunchy (from the breading) in parts. Yum!

Are you guys ready for Iron Chef tomorrow?? Lemon and Ginger are the two ingredients and there is still time to get yours in!

VeganMoFo Day 15: Grilled Portobellos!

I've been super into all things mushroom lately, and couldn't resist picking some up portobellos from a local farmer at the farmer's market I frequent. Since summer is over (and I don't have a grill or access to a backyard anyway *sadface*), I use my handy cast iron grill pan. Check out my grill marks! Side of leftover veggies from my stirfry, and some homemade pickled beets (yum!).

VeganMoFo Day 14-Stirfry!

Boogie down veggie friends! Drawing-a-day is fun! And it keeps me on task for some reason, planning what to eat/post for VeganMoFo, but also plan how to illustrate it.

I made a stirfry the other day, 'cause I still had veggies from last week's CSA, along with the new. Overload! I also had these weird, large protein things from the asian market that needed to be used. They're like giant soy curls (too giant! they take forever to soak and I have to cut them down after cooking or they are too spongey. Quite yummy after all that!) I steamed most of the veggies and then added them with the sauteed onions and soy things before putting them over noodles.

VeganMoFo Day 13: Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes

I looooove these so much and don't make them nearly enough. I think the capers in the sauce make this complete, but I think that capers do that to any meal. Yum yum yum. Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes, from Vegan Brunch, with heirloom tomato/cucumber salad, and steamed green beans.

VeganMoFo Day 12: Mini Apple Pie!

Oh it is apple pie season all right! I just got some cute little mini tart pans and just HAD to whip up some mini apple pies. I'm being bombarded with apples and pears in my CSA, so expect lots of baked fruit in the next month or so. I used the crust recipe from the Heart-shaped Apple Galette recipe in Veganomicon, and brushed some earth balance over it for optimal browning (this crust is sooo flaky!) Oh, and yes, that is Fox Mulder peeking in, for some size reference and to check for any paranormal activity.

VeganMoFo Day 11, Part 2: Iron Chef Challenge #2: Lemon and Ginger!

This week's challenge is Lemon and Ginger! Random number generator was giving me some not-so-good combos from this list, so I just picked two ingredients that sounded interesting for this week's challenge. If you have a combo that you would make a good challenge for next week, drop me a line!

Same as last week: Basic rules are just to make sure and use both ingredients, but anything goes after that! Sweet, savory, whatever floats your boat. This is just for fun, so no winners or anything, just a friendly challenge. Post your results here by 7pm (eastern time) next sunday, and I'll highlight some on my blog, along with the next challenge info.

VeganMoFo Day 11: Iron Chef Challenge #1 Results!

This week's Iron Chef Challenge featured the lovely Okra and horseradish combination, and there were some beauties submitted. Everyone seemed to have the similar idea of stuffing/breading the Okra and making some sort of horseradish creme to go with, but there were still different ways to go about this idea.

Geeky White Girl kinda took my breath away with her Beer Batter Fried Stuffed Okra with Blue Cheeze Horseradish Dipping Sauce. Hello okra wing night!


Veg-in-Training doesn't even like okra, but rose to the challenge to make something that even okra-haters will go gaga over with this super-meal. I'm super-envious of her amazing cornmeal crust. I can never get mine to look like that! Cornmeal Crusted Stuffed Okra served with Durty Rice Cake and Creole Sauce:



Cardamom and Cast Iron shared my same concerns about the slime factor with okra, but she knocked it out of the park with her amazing Spicy Cornmeal-Crusted Okra with Dipping Sauce. That crust! Yum!


Peace By Pastries gets super-points for being the only one to deviate from the stuffed/breaded route for this challenge, with her Crispy Okra Fritters with Horseradish Creme. Fritters are like, the best thing ever. Holy salivating!


I stuffed mine with a horseradish-cashew creme (I actually ruined my appetite because I noshed on this too much while prepping, d'oh!). Sooo addictive; I just took the Cashew Ricotta recipe from VCON and added about 6 TBS of horseradish. I breaded the okra with a panko herb crust, and baked it up all crispy like. Delicious! I was a little frightened by this challenge, as my only experience with okra has been of the slimy frozen variety, but fresh okra is a whole 'nother ballgame and worth messing around with. And ohhh, horseradish is a PERFECT pair for this lovely vegetable.


If I missed anyone, apologies all around, and feel free to post them in the comments! Stay tuned for next week's challenge shortly!

VeganMoFo Day 10: White Pizza vs. Chocolate Pizza!

I did something kinda crazy last night, and decided to make a white pizza AND a chocolate-crazy-awesome pizza. I know, I know, I'm so crazy on my friday nights! White pizza was comprised of the VWAV pizza crust, a cashew-tofu ricotta, and some teese cheese on top. A bit on the dry side, and could have used a wetter sauce to help it along. Better the next day, reheated with extra teese on top! Now, this chocolate pizza, was some kind of wonderful. I had split up the pizza dough before the heavy kneading part, and mixed in a little sugar and cocoa powder to make the chocolate crust. It is spread with Dark Chocolate Dreams (I have an addiction to this stuff!), topped with bananas, chocolate chips, maraschino cherries, and Dandies! Seriously, so so good. Fabulous for some Lost watching (I'm almost to the end of season 2 and officially hooked!) on a relaxing friday night.