November Calendar of Recipes for Challenge!

It seems we have had a breakdown in communication! Luckily, I had printed out copies of all the calendars for the year. I retyped them to make it easier for me to read. I will post each month's recipes on my blog for those that need it. Keep on cooking!

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge
November 2011

Tue. 11/01: Matthew’s Spicy Tomato Peanut & Kale Pasta-134
Wed. 11/02: Vegan German Potato Salad-89
Thu. 11/03: Maple Streusel Muffins-237
Fri. 11/04: Seaweed Soup-104
Sat. 11/05: Catch Up Weekend (I added Wolffie’s Eggnog Muffins-273)
Sun. 11/06: Catch Up Weekend
Mon. 11/07: Veggie Goulash-140
Tue. 11/08: Curry Almond Burgers-160
Wed. 11/09: Debbie’s Peanut Butter Coconut Squares-203
Thu. 11/10: Choice of Salad & Wolffie’s Dijon Maple Dressing-97
Fri. 11/11: Punk-Kin Pasta-128
Sat. 11/12: Double Chocolate Muffins-236
Sun. 11/13: Faux Ham-286; Basic Instant Gluten-284
Mon. 11/14: Hot & Sour Soup-104
Tue. 11/15: Cinnamon-Spiced Roasted Veggies w/Couscous-139
Wed. 11/16: Fruity-Fruit Squares-215
Thu. 11/17: Cumin Fried Potatoes-192
Fri. 11/18: Mama Mayhem’s Tofu Extravaganza-160
Sat. 11/19: Sharon’s Black Pepper Coffee Cake-249
Sun. 11/20: Baked Chili w/Cornbread Biscuit Topping-173
Mon. 11/21: Frenchie Onion Soup-101
Tue. 11/22: Lindsey’s Peanut Butter Cupcakes-239
Wed. 11/23: Adam’s Black Bean & Corn Salad-74
Thu. 11/24: Shook n Cook Zucchini-57; Shook n Cook Breading-56;
                   Faux Turkey-289; Cranberry Sauce-299
Fri. 11/25: Mama Mayhem’s Perfectly Easy No-Bake Cookies-220
Sat. 11/26: Roasted Carrot Coconut Soup-112 (I added Sassy Sandwich Bread-271)
Sun. 11/27: Emily’s “Meat” Loaf-166
Mon. 11/28: Danica’s Popcorn Balls-65
Tue. 11/29: Wolffie’s Fiesta Macaroni Bean Salad-73; Creamy Fiesta Dressing-91
Wed. 11/30: Apple Pie Pancakes-38

Maple Streusel Muffins~pg. 237

Vegan Culinary Institute La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

I will definitely make these again. They are not overly sweet and I love the streusel topping. The muffin batter calls for 1/2 cup of maple syrup which can get pretty pricey in the stores. I have a wonderful friend from New York who sent me a whole 1/2 gallon of New York maple syrup! It is being put to good and tasty uses. I will probably freeze these and take one out when I want one (or two) for breakfast.

Vegan German Potato Salad~pg. 89

Vegan Culinary Institute La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

This was very creamy, warm and comforting; I will make this again. The vegan bacon really gives it that authentic taste of a german potato salad. The recipe didn't specify what kind of vinegar so I used white wine vinegar and it worked really well.

I served the potato salad with  mixed veggies and the ever-popular Faux Parmesan garlic sourdough bread. (see Seasoning post from 9/2)

Matthew's Spicy Tomato Peanut & Kale Pasta~pg. 134

Vegan Culinary Institute La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

Well, I'm sorry Matthew but you can keep this one. One word-blah! I need more flavor and substance in my food. I did get to use the rice noodles I had frozen and they worked really well. I like the texture of them. I just defrosted the noodles and ran hot water over them to heat  up before I added  to the sauce mixture. I used the alternate almond butter instead of peanut butter in the sauce.

I added some mushrooms that I had left over from the Cabbage Rolls which I just sauteed in Earth Balance margarine and garlic powder. It added some texture to this dish. I also sprinkled some gomashio seasoning on top to give it more spice. Now I just need to find a delicious recipe to use up the rest of my good organic curly kale!

Apple Cinnamon Granola~pg. 47

Vegan Culinary Institute La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

I almost burned this batch; 20 minutes is almost too long to cook it. But I caught it just in time!

Homemade granola is so easy to make I don't know why I ever bother to buy it. I love the flavor of the apples, cinnamon and oats combined.

Apricot "Cheesecake"~pg. 242

Vegan Culinary Institute La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

Homemade Graham Crackers (pg. 281)

I wanted to try making these for my crust and they were not on our scheduled calendar of recipes so now I can check these off my list! The recipe calls for graham flour which is hard to find so I just used whole wheat flour as the option. Of course they aren't as sweet as store-bought graham crackers and unless you live next to a huge health food chain vegan graham crackers are impossible to find. I didn't do a very good job making them look uniform and pretty since I knew I was going to crush them up anyway for my cheesecake. But whenever a recipe calls for graham cracker crumbs I will use these from now on. Easy to make!

My "cheesecake" chillin' out in the fridge.

(I made this on Saturday so it will be ready to eat on Sunday!)

I can die happy now-I finally found a non-dairy cheesecake that is worth eating! It is smooth and creamy and luscious. I didn't add the apricot glaze on top because I was afraid it would get gooey since we won't be eating this all at once.

My omnivore husband declares this delicious. He said you can't even tell the difference between a "real" cheesecake. I told him he can eat more of this than a "real" cheesecake because there are no animal fats so it's healthier for you (still extra calories though!)

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls~pg. 165

Vegan Culinary Institute La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

Quick All-Purpose Garlic Tomato Sauce (pg. 179)

Be aware there is a typo when the sauce recipe is listed in the Stuffed Cabbage Rolls. The can of tomato paste is listed as (1) 15.5 oz. can instead of (1) 5.5 oz. can. That would be a mighty big can of tomato paste if you used a 15 oz. can! I have made this sauce before and added fresh basil and Italian seasoning. It's a good, quick pasta sauce.

A nice side view so you can see the cute little cabbage rolls.

I ended up making eight cabbage rolls. I've always hesitated making this recipe because it looked too time-consuming. But everything went together fairly quickly.

A close-up of all the yummy goodies inside the roll.

I love using bulgur; it gives it a nice, chewy texture along with the mushrooms.