Dining In - Caramelized Onion "Bacon" Dip

Caramelized Onion "Bacon" Dip - This Can't Be Vegan

On special occassions like Super Bowl Sunday it can be a challenge to come up with tasty vegan appetizers and side dishes that stack up against the competition of more traditional, though less healthy wings, nachos, and creamy dips. This incredibly rich and savory dip is a perfect addition to the Game Day feast. However, it would be wrong to call this healthy, so enjoy with moderation. I recently made this for a work event and people never knew it was vegan, with bacon in the name I can see why, but it was pleasing to see the taste had them fooled! You can find the specialty vegan products for this recipe at Whole Foods. I saw this recipe in a VegNews article called "13 Most Decadent Vegan Recipes Ever." You might recall I made another recipe from the list not too long ago - The Aurora Borealis. This one comes from a site called This Can't Be Vegan (see my earlier post about a delicious dessert recipe I tried). And now for the last link.. see the full recipe here :)

2 teaspoons Earth Balance margarine
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 lb. sweet onions, chopped
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (I used balsamic vinegar and it worked out fine)
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped (or a pinch of dried thyme will do)
1/2 cup Tofutti sour cream
1/2 cup Veganaise (or Trader Joe's Reduced Fat Mayonnaise, yup it's vegan!)
1/3 cup Daiya shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup soy bacon bits (Betty Crocker Bacos or generic Stop & Shop Brand, found with the salad dressings)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat margarine and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, sugar and salt. Cover skillet and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until onions are a golden brown, being careful not to burn them. 

Creamy Mixture for Vegan Dip

Remove onions from heat. Mix in vinegar and thyme. 

In a medium bowl, combine sour cream, vegan mayonnaise, cheese, bacon bits, and pepper. Add in the onions and stir. Transfer to a small oven safe dish, that can hold about 2 cups. Sprinkle a handful of cheese, if desired.

Cook for about 20 minutes, the dip should bubble and cheese will melt. Serve with pita chips, crostinis, or other dipping vessel of your choice. 

Caramelized Onion Facon-Bacon Dip - Before the Oven

Dining In - LA-Style Chimichurri Tacos

LA-Style Chimichurri Tacos - Chloe's Kitchen

Oh Chloe, you've done it again! Another fantastic recipe from Chloe's Kitchen. This isn't just a taco, it's a well crafted, healthy, delicious flavor combination that makes you reach for more until you realize you can't possibly eat another bite. I made this for dinner for my non-vegan boyfriend and I and we both loved them. I am not a fan of mushrooms and yet it was still very tasty with them hidden in there. The chimichurri sauce tasted fresh with a hint of sweetness. 

You get about eight or so tacos out of this recipe and two makes a nice meal, but I have to admit I had three! It's even more shameful because the recipe says it serves six! That would just be cruel to try to feed six people with this. You can find this recipe and others in Chloe's Kitchen (buy your copy here).


Tomato Rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 diced tomato
1/2 cup uncooked white or brown rice
1 cup vegetable broth

Chimichurri Sauce
1 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/2 cup olive oil (I used a tad bit less)
1/4 cup lime juice
4 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Mushroom & Bean Filling
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 oz. crimini or baby bella mushrooms, trimmed and chopped
15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream

Corn tortillas (available at Trader Joe's, and labeled vegan!)

Optional Toppings
Diced avocado
Chopped lettuce
Non-dairy sour cream (I used Tofutti brand, available at Whole Foods)

In a large saucepan, heat oil on medium-high and cook onions with salt until softened. Add diced tomato, rice and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer and cover. Cook rice (probably 10-15 minutes). Then turn off heat and let sit, covered for 15 minutes.

Blend all Chimichurri Sauce ingredients in a food processor until well combined and herbs are finely chopped. 

In a large skillet, heat oil and cook mushrooms until they look moistened and soften up. Add black beans and 1/3 to 1/2 of Chimichurri Sauce (reserving the rest for topping) to pan. Cook until heated through. 

Assemble taco by filling a warmed tortilla with Tomato Rice, Mushroom and Bean Filling, lettuce, avocado, Chimichurri Sauce, and sour cream. 

Enjoy!

Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale

For an update on how the bake sale went, see my other post HERE!

 *Photo Sources: Chefchloe.com, shortbreadbakery.blogspot.com, kblog.lunchboxbunch.com, newyork.seriouseats.com

DETAILS

Join the Facebook Event Page!

Date: Saturday, April 27th, 2013

Time: 11:00am - 4:00pm

Location: MSPCA Boston Adoption Center 

(at the MSPCA-Angell Headquarters in Jamaica Plain)

350 South Huntington Avenue

Boston, MA 02130

Directions: Google Maps

Proceeds: MSPCA - Boston Adoption Center

See the listing here on the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale website

FLYERS:

If you have questions or are interested in helping, please contact me at veega.co@gmail.com!

Background on This Event

Back in January of 2013 I started planning a vegan bake sale in the Boston area, as part of a larger initiative called the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale. I stumbled upon this website www.veganbakesale.org last year and thought what a great idea! The organization received recognition in the press, too - on VegNews and CNN. Groups from across the world hold charitable vegan bake sales during April 20-28, 2013 in an effort to promote cruelty-free food and raise money for a good cause. I love to bake and vegan baking has now become one of my favorite pastimes. What better reason to do it than to give other people in my community the chance to learn how delicious vegan food can be and benefit a charity of your choice. 

The plans are in motion and I have now set a date, charity, and location for my bake sale! See details above and be sure to join the event on Facebook. 

Hope to see you there!

Dining Out in New Hampshire - Cafe Indigo (Part Two)

Sunday Brunch Sampler Plate - Cafe Indigo

I've posted about Cafe Indigo before, when I took home one of their mini vegan carrot cakes from the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival. Well, I finally had the chance to dine at the vegan restaurant in Concord, NH this past weekend. On the way home from a snowboarding trip my boyfriend and I took a detour, and I really mean detour. Unfortunately Cafe Indigo is not in an ideal location, it's not far from the highway, but it's hidden in an industrial-looking office park. The space itself is small, with a little storefront area for their desserts and a dining area with mismatched tables and chairs. Hopefully with the success of their baked goods they can relocate, as I can guarantee they'd get a much higher volume of visitors. 

Sunday Brunch (Vegan) Buffet - Cafe Indigo

We went for Sunday Brunch, which they only offer twice a month. It was a great deal - for $15 per person you get your choice of entree and all-you-can-eat appetizers, side dishes, and desserts (includes their well-known Carrot Cake) and coffee and tea, set up on a side table. It was a treat to have a whole spread of dishes to choose from and serve yourself - there was pea salad, coleslaw, hummus, salsa, chips, raisin bread, and a peanut noodle dish. They offer wheat-free versions of their menu options, too.

Carrot Cake, Chocolate Cake & Lemon Poppyseed Cake
- Cafe Indigo

For my meal, I ordered the Sampler Plate, because why not try it all at once. It came with cinnamon french toast, lemon rosemary potatoes, tofu scramble, a cornmeal pancake, and a homemade soy sausage patty. Overall it was very satisfying. I excitedly proclaimed, "this is the first vegan french toast I've had!" It was delicious, probably my favorite thing on the plate. My boyfriend ordered the Cornmeal Pancakes which also came with homemade vegan sausage patties and potatoes. Whenever I take my boyfriend to an all-vegan eatery I'm a little uneasy, wondering if he'll enjoy his meal or come out of it thinking "you owe me one."  He loved the cornmeal pancakes and the potatoes, but when he bit into the sausage patty he reached for his water, and then his coffee to um, wash it down. You win some, you lose some. 

Cornmeal Pancakes - Cafe Indigo

After our meal, we dragged ourselves over to the dessert case to take home some goodies. As I've mentioned before it's difficult to find vegan baked goods in Boston so I was eager to stock up. We took home a Whoopie Pie, Blueberry Muffin, Mini Donuts, and slices of the cakes from the breakfast buffet. Reasonably priced and so yummy, particularly the Whoopie Pie. The cream filling was outstanding!

Vegan Carrot Cake - Cafe Indigo

Vegan Whoopie Pie - Cafe Indigo

Vegan Blueberry Muffin - Cafe Indigo

Vegan Mini Donuts - Cafe Indigo

I was happy to read recently that Cafe Indigo got a deal with New England Whole Foods stores to sell their cakes. Later that day I happened to be grocery shopping and spotted their products on the shelves!

I'm going to be craving their desserts now, guess I just have to stop in to my nearby Whole Foods to satisfy my taste buds.

Cafe Indigo Cakes on the Shelves at Whole Foods!

Cafe Indigo

128H Hall Street 

(Corporate Office Park, Building #3)

Concord, NH 03301

Cafe Indigo Website

Dining In - Southern Skillet Black Eyed Peas with Quick Buttery Biscuits

Southern Skillet Black Eyed Peas with Quick Buttery Biscuits - Chloe's Kitchen

I've made my way through many of the recipes in Chloe's Kitchen, but for some reason I put this one off. What a shame, because it's delicious! It's hearty, sweet and salty, with a kick. It won over my boyfriend too, demonstrated by his second and third helpings. It's a meal you can feel good about, low in fat, full of veggies, and very filling from the high fiber content of black eyed peas. The biscuits were a great complement, but be careful, you might get carried away and want to eat two or three. I had the leftovers for lunch the next day and it tasted just as great! This one is a keeper. You can find this recipe and others in Chloe's Kitchen (buy your copy here). 


Southern Skillet Black Eyed Peas
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cups cauliflower florets, chopped (1/2 inch pieces)
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 15 oz. cans black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 14 oz. can tomato sauce (I could only find a 15 oz. can, if you run into the same issue just reserve 2 tablespoons and that will bring you to the right amount)
1 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Quick Buttery Biscuits
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine (plus a couple tablespoons more for brushing finished biscuits)
3/4 cup plain almond milk

To Make Southern Skillet

Vegan Black Eyed Peas Stew

In a large deep-sided skillet or large saucepan saute onions and green peppers with the oil on medium-high heat, for about 3 minutes, until softened. Add cauliflower and stir, continue cooking for 5-8 minutes, until lightly browned.

Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, cinnamon, cayenne and salt. Stir and cook for a few more minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in remaining ingredients: black eyed peas, tomato sauce, water, soy sauce, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar. Simmer, uncovered for 15-20 minutes, until vegetables are fork tender.


To Make Quick Buttery Biscuits

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare a baking sheet, lightly grease or use parchment paper.

The key to making great biscuits is to work quickly so the margarine doesn't melt! Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add margarine and mix into flour using a pastry cutter (I didn't have one so I just used my hands). The texture should be crumbly with some larger chunks. Add almond milk, and stir. 

Transfer dough to a floured surface and flatten until about 1 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter or something around the kitchen that is about 2 1/2 or 3 inches in diameter. Cut out biscuits and place on baking sheet. Brush the biscuits with melted margarine. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Allow to cool and serve with Southern Skillet stew!

Dining In - Strawberry Cupcakes

Strawberry Cupcakes - Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cookbook

A fun spin on your traditional cupcake - these vegan cupcakes are super moist and have a lovely subtle strawberry flavor from real strawberries in the batter. The batter is a pretty pink color but they do look a little brownish when done. You can cover that up with some white frosting and then garnish with chopped strawberries. The Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cookbook suggests a buttercream frosting recipe found within the book, but this did not work well for me. It was more like an icing and quickly started melting off the cupcakes. Though great tasting, I wouldn't make it again and I recommend a thicker buttercream frosting recipe, one that I've posted about before. You can find this recipe and others in Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cookbook.

2 cups flour

Trader Joe's Silken Tofu

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup almond milk
1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/3 cup silken tofu, drained (new product now available at Trader Joe's!)
1 1/4 cups fresh strawberries, chopped

Buttercream Frosting Recipe


Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pan with paper liners, lightly grease. 

In large bowl mix flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. In separate medium bowl mix oil, milk, sugar, and two extracts. 

Blend Strawberries & Tofu

In a blender combine tofu and strawberries until combined and smooth. Add this mixture to the wet ingredients.

Dig a small pit in the dry ingredients and pour in wet mixture. Stir until just combined. Pour batter into cupcake liners. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. 

Allow to cool before frosting with your favorite vanilla frosting (the one included in this cookbook and suggested for this recipe was really an icing and did not work well on these). 

Vegan Strawberry Cupcake Batter - Ready for the Oven!

Dining In - Amy's Light & Lean Spaghetti Italiano Bowl

Light & Lean Spaghetti Italiano Bowl - Amy's

I've made a couple posts about convenient, ready-made meals (see Vegan Products page) that are still vegan, here's another: Amy's Light & Lean Spaghetti Italiano Bowl. A satisfying quick, microwaveable meal that is still healthy and low in calories (only 240)! This one has organic semolina pasta, meatless meatballs made with lentils, quinoa, and tofu, with tomato sauce, roasted garlic, and broccoli.  Just 4-5 minutes in the microwave and you've got yourself a quality meal!

Vegan-Labeled Ingredients List

The Amy's brand is known for selling natural and organic food so I feel a little better about eating a frozen meal with that in mind. The ingredients lists on the packaged goods denote when it's vegan, making it easier to shop. You can also find a full list of vegan products on their website, check it out here. I was surprised to find so many! I just wish my local grocery stores carried them all.

Dining In - Ginger Molasses Cookies

Vegan Ginger Molasses Cookies - Chloe's Vegan Desserts

I was looking for a good ginger molasses cookie recipe after eating a delicious one at Fiore's Bakery. My boyfriend is a huge fan of ginger so I wanted to surprise him with a batch. I was happy to stumble upon a recipe from Chloe Coscarelli. This one isn't actually in her current cookbook Chloe's Kitchen, but is in her upcoming new cookbook Chloe's Vegan Desserts, due out in February 2013 (you can pre-order your own copy here). For now you can find this recipe on FitSugar like I did.

These passed my taste test with flying colors! I was proud of myself for having the final outcome look just like the photo, and hopefully taste like it too :) They were chewy and sweet with a hint of spice from the cloves, nutmeg, and ginger. I appreciated that they were smaller so you don't feel as guilty when you have two or three... I'll be making these again. This was a quick and easy recipe to prepare. 

Makes about 30 cookies

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine
3/4 cup sugar, plus more for garnish
1/2 cup molasses
1 tablespoon water

Ginger Molasses Batter Rolled in Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line one large or two medium baking pans with parchment paper. 

In a medium bowl combine all dry ingredients: flour, baking soda and powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves. Using a stand mixer, in a large bowl, blend margarine, sugar, molasses, and water. 

Slowly add flour mixture to wet mixture (it will be very dark from the molasses). The batter will be thick upon adding all the flour. Mix until well combined.

Scoop a tablespoon-size of batter and roll in sugar before placing on pan. Repeat until all the batter has been made into cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes. 

Dining In - Iced Apple Cake Squares

Iced Apple Cake Squares - Chloe's Kitchen

This is a rich, heavenly dessert that mimics an apple crumble or pie. The first time I made it I shared it with my boyfriend's family. We finished the whole pan in no time and no one could believe it was vegan. I also made it for an office bake-off because I thought it had winning potential. I am sad to say it didn't win, but it still got votes! Here's the kicker, I'm almost embarrassed to note this, but I feel I must warn you - it has one cup of oil, gulp, over a cup of sugar, eek, plus another cup of powdered sugar, yikes! Okay, so you can't call this healthy, even with the three apples it's hiding, but man it's good. I would add a few minutes to the cook time to dry up the middle, and of course feel free to reduce the oil right off the bat and experiment by using applesauce to substitute. You can find this recipe and others in Chloe's Kitchen (buy your copy here). 

2 cups flour

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3 Braeburn or Gala apples, peeled and chopped
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons almond milk


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom of 8 or 9 inch square baking pan with parchment paper and lightly grease. 

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate medium bowl, mix together oil, vanilla, and vinegar. 

Pour wet mixture into dry and stir until just combined. Fold in walnuts and chopped apples. It will seem like there is not enough batter to cover the apples (see photo), but don't worry they will soften up when cooked and the batter will distribute itself. 

Press into pan and cook for 30-45 minutes, until top is browned, check middle to make sure it's set. 

To prepare icing, combine powdered sugar and almond milk in a medium bowl. Drizzle icing over warm cake. Serve cooled to room temperature or warm. 

Dining In - Tasty Bite Channa Masala

Channa Masala - Tasty Bite

I enjoy Indian food on occasion. My favorite, before going vegan, was Chicken Tikka Masala, mildly spiced, with lots of flavor. The difficulty with Indian food and a vegan diet is use of clarified butter in most dishes. I haven't actively sought out a vegan Indian meal yet, but this ready-made packaged meal does the trick. I taste-tested the brand Tasty Bite at the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival and bought it for the first time soon after. I went with the Channa Masala, chickpeas slow-simmered with onions, tomatoes, and spice. It's filling and has the right amount of mild spices and flavor with tender chickpeas. The entire packet has two servings but if you found yourself consuming the whole thing, no worries, it only has 360 calories. It's also labeled vegan!

The prep couldn't be easier. Tear the pouch and microwave for 90 seconds. To make it a complete meal, pair with brown rice. I used Trader Joe's frozen brown rice pouches, which only take 3 minutes in the microwave. Talk about a lazy meal! The outcome is still delicious and healthful though. 

Trader Joe's Brown Rice & Tasty Bite Channa Masala

Give it a try! You can usually find the Tasty Bite products in the ethnic food section of your local grocery store.