Pizza, pizza, pizza!

I know it's been quite a few days since I've blogged but I've been catching up on

house and garden work. Last Monday I came down with the stomach flu and it was BRUTAL! It totally screwed my stomach up and I've only just gotten some what of an appetite back.

On to better things. Homemade pizza! (This was actually made before I got sick). In our house homemade pizza is definitely a treat due to it being kind of time consuming(making the dough, cutting and grilling the veggies, making the pesto etc) and it's just a family dinner that is kind of fun! My intentions were to grill the pizza but it was so flippen cold out that I will have to wait until summer. Oh well. We like thin crust and with the recipe dough I can make 3 pizzas from that one pizza dough recipe. So I made 3 different pizzas. I only remembered to take a picture of one, my husband said it was definitely a blog worthy photo. First I grilled the vegetables and set aside. This pizza consists of a basil pesto base layered with zucchini, eggplant, portobello, artichoke, sundried tomato, onion and sprinkled with oregano. This was our favorite out of the three. The other two were a marinade base and a cilantro pesto base. The cilantro one was my second favorite, i'll post more about this one in the summer.

Spaghetti Casserole;just like mom used to make

Okay, let me just start out by saying when I first saw this recipe on Karina's Kitchen I knew I had to make it. This reminded me of spaghetti casserole that my my mom used to make us using Capellini pasta, mozzarella, jack cheese and topped off with spaghetti sauce. My husband brings this dish up sometimes because he loved it and I haven't made it since I've been vegan. Until now I haven't tried to replicate it. I'm not a big fan of vegan cheeses and you use alot of cheese in the original recipe so it would be loaded with fat. Back to the blog, Karina shows this lovely picture of a vegan pasta pie on her blog and I said to myself "I just found the recipe to spaghetti casserole". The result was amazing. My husband loved it, I loved it, we all loved it. Can I tell you how much we loved it? lol. You need to try it and add it to your comfort food list.

There were a couple of changes I made to it in that I used capelinni pasta, added more mustard to the sauce, at the end of the directions it says to add 2T. of rice flour, I only add 1T, and I topped it off with a basil marinara instead of adding veggies, just 'cuz I wanted it to be more like the one I used to make. Let me know how you like it if you make it.

Black bean burgers

First I must say this isn't the best picture. I really need a new camera.
Spring weather. Warm days, cool nights. ahhhhhhhhhhhh. Getting ready for the bbq and stove top instead of that oven that heats everything up. First up, Spicy Black Bean Burgers one of my husband's favorites, he's been begging me to make it. Another one of our favorites is her Mushroom Pecan Burgers. This recipe is from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau at Compassionate Cooks. I love Colleen, does that sound weird? Well I say this because I found her website and started listening to her podcasts shortly after becoming vegan. She really helped realize that I did make the right choice in becoming vegan. Anyways, back to the food. I make my own focaccia bread and brush olive oil, oregano and red pepper flakes on top. For the burger part I made a cilantro pesto, spread that on the inside of the bun, then add the black bean burger, lettuce, red onion, tomato and avocado. Also if you have some of that spicy miso mayo you can squirt some of that on there too if you choose. YUM!

Cupcakes for Cancer!

My son comes home from school on Monday and says "oh mom, I signed you up to make 40 cupcakes for the school bake sale on Thursday". Wow that's alot, I was thinking. Not 12, not 24, but 40? I asked him why he signed me up to make so many and he told me that if they didn't get enough cupcakes baked then they couldn't have the bake sale. (Each classroom has sign-ups for the bakesale on Thursday after school.) The reason he wanted to make sure there was enough cupcakes was that this is just no ordinary school bake sale, it's for kids with Cancer.

It all started with a local girl who had gone through chemo. a couple of years ago. She had heard of a young local boy who was diagnosed with leukemia and it hit home with her because she could relate to the chemo. It is a touching story about this young girl wanting to help raise money for this boy and for other kids as well. She started "Cupcakes for Cancer" and you can read about her, what she is doing and the article on the young boy on the following site http://www.myspace.com/cupcakesforcancer. It's really nice to know that there are alot of young people that do care for others and are doing something about it. I was also touched at knowing that my son cares as well. I guess I'm doing something right as a parent.

So here are my 40 vegan cupcakes I made. One batch was lemon with lemon buttercream(these were awesome), chocolate with mint buttercream and drizzled with chocolate ganache, last but not least, chocolate with chocolate frosting.

Citrus Agave Grilled Tofu/Portobellos w/wild rice

I was craving wild rice the other day and was thinking about how I could use it in a main dish as well as using the grill outside. POP! An idea popped in my head and the end result....it totally hit the spot! My son gave me a high five. This has a very light tangy, savory & lightly sweet flavor. It's really perfect for a Spring evening.

Marinating Tofu:

• 1/2 block of extra-firm tofu or( I use Trader Joes that comes in a two pack-15oz, I use one pack)
• 4 Tbsp. Agave syrup
• 3 Tbsp. Soy Sauce or Bragg's liquid Aminos
• 1 1/2 tsp. brown rice vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• juice from 1 small orange
• 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme

In a small casserole dish mix all marinade ingredients except for tofu, set aside. Next, slice tofu into 5 pieces, then with a paper towel or clean cloth towel press down on each slice to get as much liquid as possible out. Add tofu slices to marinade and coat. Every half hour or so flip tofu so marinade coats it well. Marinade for at least 2 hours, the longer the better.

Wild Rice Medley:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup Imagine No Chicken Broth or vegetable broth
• 1 cups wild rice medley(mixture of wild rice and brown rice)
• salt to taste

Bring 2 cups water to a boil then add the wild rice medley, stir cover for 45 minutes or until done.

Veggies:

• 5 medium portobellos, thickly sliced
• 4 oz. snow peas, cut in half
• 1 1/4 cup brocolli, sliced
• fresh thyme and oregano to taste

Slice portobellos and brush with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Set aside to grill.

In a small saucepan bring some water to a boil and blanch snow peas and brocolli, about 1-2 min. In a strainer rinse with cold water to stop cooking.

Heat bbq up and grill tofu and portobellos (reserve tofu marinade). This takes about 15-20 minutes. Dice tofu into bite sized pieces.

In a heat resistant bowl add the wild rice, snow peas, brocolli, portobellos, reserved marinade, thyme and oregano to taste. Stir thoroughly then add the tofu and gently stir. You can add a dash of salt if needed but unlikely.

Hope you enjoy we did!

Brownies- tried and true

I must tell you that if you love brownies that are a bit crispy on the outside and more gooey on the inside these are it. Perfect everytime! I've tried other recipes but I always go back to this one. This recipe can be found at Vivacious Vegan .

Happy 6th Birthday Cleo! (our dog)

Our dog Cleo is 6 today!!!!

On another note. I haven't really posted much in the last week or so. Things have been a bit stressful. I have a wonderful coconut cookie recipe that I will post real soon, I promise!