November Parties!

I thought I would wrap up the end of the month with a rundown of get-togethers and parties that filled November! Now that my anxiety, OCD and bipolar symptoms are on the wane (for now) it's time to get back to some cooking. 

Nov. 9th ~ Guy Fawke's Bonfire at my sweet English friend's home. The actual day they celebrate is Nov. 5th but that was a Tuesday so it was moved to Saturday. Such fun! Lots of food and an awesome bonfire burning of the Guy Fawke's effigy. I always try to bring a casserole or other substantial dish so I know I have at least one thing to eat. I made Black Bean & Sweet Potato Tortilla Casserole from Vegan Holiday Kitchen and Cowgirl Cookies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. 

This is an alternative to the Cowboy Cookies using cranberries and vegan white chocolate chips.

The Black Bean-Sweet Potato Casserole is always a hit. I even had one lady come up to me and tell me that her husband loved this dish! The pan was empty at the end of the night.

Nov. 15th ~ Rehearsal dinner at Macayo's Mexican restaurant for my son and his fiance'. They make a California Burro that I always order. I have them substitute the refried beans for black beans. And yes, I do include the cheese and sour cream. 

Nov. 16th ~ Wedding! A beautiful ceremony and reception at the Golf Club of Estrella for my baby boy (25 in February) and his beloved. Lots of great food; appetizers of hummus, pita bread, veggies, cheese, crackers, green salads, roasted veggies, scalloped potatoes, rolls and meat. And the wedding cake was delicious along with the champagne! Not too worried about watching what I ate that night. Celebrate!!!

Nov. 24th ~ Potluck Birthday/Bon Voyage Party at another dear friend's home. There is always a ton of food at these potlucks. Again, I made a casserole dish; Baked Chili with Cornbread Biscuit Topping from La Dolce Vegan. 

A wonderfully, sweet and spicy chili. This time I used Butler's Soy Curls instead of the frozen veggie crumbles (which bother my stomach.) Loved the addition of the soy curls; they gave it that meaty, hearty texture this dish needed. And it fooled all the meat-eaters! Again, another empty casserole dish. 

I love using these because they are just dried soybeans; nothing else. 

They are very kind to my stomach! 

Nov. 28th ~ Thanksgiving Day. My mom likes to cook a huge meal for everyone. I always bring the Tofurky with roasted carrots, potatoes and onions along with some Tofurky gravy. I also made Green Bean Casserole Redux from 1000 Vegan Recipes and Cranberry-Carrot Cake with Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting from Vegan Holiday Kitchen. It's a nice, easy trip to Mom and Dad's; they live right across the street! 

This year I basted the Tofurky and veggies with a mixture of my Poultry Seasoning, Bragg's and Roasted Garlic Infused Oil. My New York friend sells Tastefully Simple products and this Garlic Oil is delicious. It added a subtle sweet garlic taste to the veggies and Tofurky. I want to try it the next time I roast asparagus or green beans. Confession time~this is the last year I am making a Tofurky. Well, I'm the only one who eats it and also, it really gives me intestinal distress! Next year, I'm going to try making some stuffed squash but I like the roasted veggies so I'll keep making those.

Basting marinade. 

Fresh, organic green beans for the Green Bean Casserole. Instead of the usual cream of mushroom soup (which isn't vegan) you make a yummy sauce using chopped fresh mushrooms, seasonings and unsweetened soymilk. Of course you have to use a can of fried onion rings!

This tastes just like I remember a good old fashioned green bean casserole should!

The Cranberry-Carrot Cake hot from the oven. She suggested using a springform pan to make a prettier presentation. I mixed up the Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting according to the directions but it just tasted and had the consistency of the soymilk. Maybe a typo? I added about 3/4 cup powdered sugar and it turned out alot better. After drizzling on the cake I added toasted, chopped walnuts. 

Loved the flavors; the fresh cranberries were a nice, tangy contrast to the sweet frosting. Hubby especially liked it! 

Nov. 30th ~  Last but not least! As I was typing up my post, my son texted me and said "drinkin beer and eatin turkey tonight at my house". Heeheehee. I texted back and said "is that an invitation?" So I better bring something to eat for myself because who knows what else there will be to eat?! I'm going to whip up Wolffie's Fiesta Macaroni Bean Salad from La Dolce Vegan for tonight. 

Wow! What a month! I'm sure December will be just as wild and crazy. I'm getting all of my fall decorations gathered up today while I've got the hubby out in the garage bringing in all of the winter holiday decorations. I think tomorrow will be busy! 

Out Of The Rabbit Hole

Whoo-eee! I feel like I'm starting to finally crawl out of the rabbit hole and see the light again. This last month has been something else. My anxiety, OCD, irritability and exhaustion were in overdrive. They actually still are; just trying to do a little posting therapy! The biggest event finally arrived on November 16th with the marriage of my baby boy to his beloved sweetheart. And of all days, I had the worst vertigo ever. For some reason I thought a salt bath would help and as soon as I laid my head back on my bath pillow I thought the world had exploded. I had to hang over the side of the tub to stop the world from spinning and stop the nausea. Just trying to get this post typed is making me dizzy and nauseous. I see my doctor on Monday; hopefully she can give me some answers. I really wanted to cook out of Isa Does It for the Vegcookbookclub this month but my brain was so fried I didn't have the patience to try and make a decision on any new recipes to try; let alone read and comprehend a lengthy list of ingredients and instructions. When I'm in this mindset my body craves any and all food; especially carbs and sugar so my food choices have been atrocious! Food-my drug of choice. Dairy cheese which then makes me feel worse after I eat it. Donuts, tortilla chips, pizza, soda, even some meat slipped in there! Ugh! I was still trying to get to the gym and do my Pilates but this past week I haven't even been able to do that because of the vertigo. Whew! That was a load off my chest. So here are a few easy meals I have been making (in between the binges of pizza, cheese, ...)

 I made this soup at the beginning of October. The recipe was on the back of Bob's Red Mill Black Bean Soup Mix. 

Lots of butternut squash! It called for roasted corn; you just throw some frozen corn on a cookie sheet and bake it for a few minutes until browned. 

I served the Black Bean Soup with my favorite cornbread from La Dolce Vegan-Wolffie's "Buttermilk" Cornbread.

These 'lovely' looking things were supposed to be whoopie pies. It was my hubby's birthday the middle of October and he loves German Chocolate cake. I had great success with my last whoopie pies so I thought I would try another recipe from Betty Goes Vegan. I followed the recipe exactly and this is what I got! I kept trying to bake them a little longer and then they just turned out chewy on the inside and crunchy on the outside and the whoopie just turned to whoops! I had already made the Coconut Pecan Frosting (which was excellent) so I just filled the 'Whoops' Pies with it. They ended up tasting really good but the longer they sat the more greasy and soggy they became. So obviously, the recipe has one or two typos in it! 

By this time my anxiety, OCD, bipolar rollercoaster is starting to rise so my cooking and eating goes downhill from there. I made easy meals with Gardein Chik'n Scallopini, baked potatoes and a veg; tostadas; spaghetti and veggie meatballs; supplemented by too many fast food pizzas, subway sandwiches, taco bell, and cheese quesadillas with a few meat tacos thrown in for good measure. Another comforting carb-satisfying meal I make alot is Spinach Artichoke Pasta. I never seem to take a picture after I make it. I'm too ready to dive in and eat it all up! You can find the recipe for it here.

My daughter found this recipe using spaghetti squash. It was so easy to make using roma tomatoes, basil, garlic, spinach olive oil, salt & pepper; I used Daiya mozzarella for the cheese. For so few ingredients it tasted delicious and satisfying (no heavy carbs!) You can find the recipe here. 

I served the Spaghetti Squash Caprese Bake with my favorite Dijon Mustard Brussels Sprouts from La Dolce Vegan.

Last but not least, this super simple "open a can and dump together" meal!

 Fireplace Chili Mac from Kathy Hester. What a perfectly yummy, carb craving no thinking required meal. I'm going to take this recipe with me to our cabin in Sedona. So easy! 

Now that I've had an extended posting therapy session I feel so much better. Still dizzy and nauseous but I feel like I got something accomplished! Hmmm, what to make for supper now?!

Mock Chicken Noodle Soup

 These past few weeks have just flown by as the weather gets cooler and cooler. I haven't really felt like cooking anything lately. This time of year is kind of a down time for me emotionally; or as I like to call it, "I'm on the bipolar rollercoaster!"  I'm working on getting through it and coming out the other side. I am looking forward to cooking with the VegCookbookClub again in November. We will be cooking out of Isa Does It! I told myself I wasn't going to buy any more cookbooks but my willpower was weak one day and I broke down and ordered it from Amazon. I've been watching her cooking videos on her site. Love them! I really want to try the Rosemary-Chocolate Chip Cookies; they sound so interesting and daring.  

This is another soup recipe from Vegan Soups & Hearty Stews for All Seasons by Nava Atlas.

The recipe calls for baked tofu but I used the rest of my seitan that I had frozen; time to make some more! I cubed the seitan, sprinkled a little Chik-Style Seasoning on them and browned in a little oil.

For the 6 cups broth I used Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base. It gives the soup an authentic 'chicken-y' color and flavor.  I used broken-up fettuccini noodles which were a little thick; next time I'll try and use a finer noodle. 

Mmm~  Love the No Chicken Broth; it tastes just like good old fashioned canned chicken noodle soup my mother always fed me when I was sick! The seitan gives it the needed meaty chunks without using any chicken. The hubby gave this one a thumbs up! Maybe he'll be getting this kind of chicken noodle soup the next time he's sick. Hehe!

Thai-Flavored Coconut Vegetable Soup

It's finally cooling down for some soup weather; still wearing shorts and tank tops though! This recipe is from Nava Atlas' Vegan Soups & Stews for All Seasons. Lots of great ideas for soups and stews. There are even recipes for muffins and breads to accompany the soups. I wanted to try this one because I had two cans of coconut milk getting ready to expire in my pantry. It called for light coconut milk but I only had the full fat kind-oops! What's a few extra coconut milk calories. 

Simmering the veggies in the coconut milk broth.

Optional ingredients I added were cilantro and red curry paste.

This soup only takes about 25 minutes to make and it's so creamy and delicious. I served it with some vegan garlic naan bread. Well, I enjoyed it anyway.  The hubby didn't really care for it so I'll be eating left-overs for lunch!

A New Cookbook & My Favorite Breakfast!

Well, my first attempt at Vegan MoFo was not quite a success. I did well up until the last week of September and then just fell apart. I think I just ran out of things to say and got tired of cooking. Also, I have a problem with authority; hehe , I don't like being told when to do something and how to do it. Eh, I gave it a shot. Anywhoo, I really, really needed another vegan cookbook (wink, wink). Blame it on VegNews. I like to read their book reviews and this one sounded too good to pass up. I like funky, fun cookbooks and this one fits right in. I'm not a wrestling fan nor am I into punk; I just like a different perspective on life! Bake and Destroy-Good Food for Bad Vegans by Natalie Slater:

I always like to try the tofu scramble recipes in any new cookbook. Plus, I was really hungry this morning! This recipe "The Non-Cop-Out Tofu Scramble" has lots of yummy ingredients and spices. Italian seasoning, garlic, nutritional yeast, sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives and spinach. Extra, extra flavorful!

My favorite toast toppings~Earth Balance margarine and Mango Chutney.

Tofu Scramble with hash browns and mango chutney toast. 

I ate every bite! 

Cacciatore Noodle Bake

Another great recipe from Vegan on the Cheap. I had some Simple Simmered Seitan I had made a few months ago and frozen. It was so easy to thaw out and use in this delicious dish.

Browning the seitan cubes.

Cooked fettuccine and the browned seitan.

Sauteeing onions, bell pepper, mushrooms and garlic.

All combined in a casserole dish along with some canned tomatoes and spices and baked in the oven for 30 minutes. So simple!

Yay! My Sprouts market has Go Veggie! Vegan Parmesan.

Cacciatore Noodle Bake with a side of steamed broccoli. 

Barley Vegetable Stew

Celebrating the start of autumn with a nice hearty stew. This recipe is from Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson. It's so easy to throw everything in the slow cooker in the morning and then I get to smell it cooking all day! I'm glad I was home to watch it because it didn't take 8 hours to cook like the recipe stated. 

A great, big slow cooker full of stew. This filled up my 4 quart size Crock Pot. Lots of yummy veggies, barley and Great Northern beans.

This is definitely a thick, hearty, homey stew. I like my food a little spicier so I added some Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce on top of mine. Perfect with some crusty Italian Herb garlic bread.

Time to make some more Italian Bread Herb Mix. This dried herb mix comes from Herb Mixtures & Spicy Blends. Last Christmas I quadrupled the recipe and packaged bottles up for gifts along with other herby items.