Happy Herbivore

The weekends can be crazy for us - we’ll leave early in the morning to go mountain biking or rock climbing and come home HUNGRY and exhausted at dinner time… Thanks to my crockpot, we always come home to hot, nutritious dinner that’s ready and waiting for us.
(Don’t forget to get in on the contest to win a free copy of my next e-cookbook!)

I was in the mood for lentils and found this recipe on FFVK (I omitted the frozen spinach and used long grain brown rice). My only complaint is that some of my lentils weren’t completely cooked… but I did use green lentils, so that could be why… Otherwise, it was really easy to make and very good!

Tags: MoFo

I was stoked when Vegan Dad posted his recipe for Roasted Red Pepper Soup. Just a few days prior I had purchased red peppers thinking they could lend for a delicious fall soup… and while I love coming up with my own recipes, I also enjoy inviting others into my kitchen. I didn’t have any potatoes on hand so I substituted with 1 lb yellow squash… which made my soup turn orange! Everyone at work kept asking me if I was eating carrot soup.

Since cooked squash can be pretty watery, I opted to sautee my squash with the onions, garlic and oregano in a little broth until the squash was soft and practically falling apart. Then I transfered my roasted peppers and squash-mixture to my blender where I added soy milk as needed to get the right consistency.

This soup is just delightful and if you like roasted red peppers, I highly recommend it.

Tags: MoFo

This dish comes from “A Vegan Taste of Mexico.” It’s easy to make, delicious and presents beautifully. We really enjoyed it.

Tags: MoFo

This soup is lovely. I can’t come up with another word. It smells lovely when its cookin’, it tastes lovely when its being eaten and the fact that it can be thrown together in 20 minutes… even lovelier if you ask me. Oh!! and I made it for my lovely friend Mindy, who told my red lentil soup was her fave.
(Get in on the latest HH Contest!)

Makes 4 cups

Ingredients:
1 small onion, sliced thinly
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups of water, plus a little more
1 cup uncooked red lentils
16 baby carrots, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp mild curry powder
1″ fresh ginger, minced (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
1 tbsp minced fresh cilantro
red pepper flakes as desired (or other heat spice)
1/4 tsp cloves
1-2 tsp garam masala
1 cup fat free soy milk or lite coconut milk
salt/pepper to taste
cilantro for garnish

Directions:
1. line a large pot with a thin layer of water
2. turn heat on high and add onions
3. boil/saute for three minutes, add garlic
4. continue to cook until most of the water has cooked off
5. add water, lentils, carrots, bay leaf, curry, ginger, cilantro, flakes and cloves
6. bring to a boil
7. cover and reduce to low
8. simmer 20 minutes
(or until lentils are cooked and most of the water has absorbed)
9. stir in garam masala
10. let sit (no heat, but covered) 5 minutes - optional
11. transfer to a blender
12. add soy milk or coconut milk
13. puree until smooth and creamy
14. salt and pepper to taste
15. garnish with fresh cilantro leaves

Note: the older the soup gets, the more flavorful it becomes– if you can, make it a day in advanced.

Tags: Carrots, Cilantro, Coconut Milk, Curry, Fast Meals, Indian, Lentils, MoFo, Soup, Spicy

I’m not sure if this dish can actually qualify as a “hash” necessarily, but it sounds a lot cooler and hip than “sweet potatoes with corn and black beans.” Anyway, it’s really delicious and healthy! It’s a great Fall Harvest side dish but can also be a meal… and with the help of the crockpot, its effortless!I have a feeling it will be showing up at many vegan Thanksgiving tables this year.

Serves 1 as a meal, 2 as a side

Ingredients:
2 small sweet potatoes, skinned and cubed
1 leek, thinly sliced
1 cup frozen yellow corn
1 tsp chipotle or 2 tsp chili powder
2 pinches dry basil (or 3-4 fresh leaves, chopped)
juice of 1 small lime
2 tbsp water
1 cup black beans
salt and pepper to taste

note: You can also use roasted frozen corn.

Directions:
1. combine potatoes, leek, corn, spices, juice and water
2. stir so it’s evenly mixed
3. cook 3-4 hrs on high/5-6 on low
4. when the potatoes are tender, it’s done
5. add beans, salt and pepper to taste

If you don’t have a crockpot, try baking the mixture in a oven safe dish covered with foil at 375 F. You might want to spray the mixture with oil to prevent drying out (but crockpot works best).

By the way, throw your leftovers in a tortilla and have one sassy veggie & bean burrito!

Tags: Basil, Black Beans, Chipotle, Corn, Crockpot, Mexican, MoFo, Spicy, Sweet Potato, Thanksgiving

It’s my birthday and I can have cupcakes for breakfast if I wanna! I made 36 cupcakes for my birthday party… I made my (fat free, whole wheat) vegan carrot cupcakes and two cupcakes from VCTOW: cookies ‘n creme and sexy low fat vanilla raspberry cupcakes. I even went outside my norm and made the VCTOW exactly as the recipe called for — using all the ingredients I normally swear off. (Hey, I wasn’t eating them!)

The carrot cupcakes were the all-around party favorite - we only had one left; no one seemed to like the sexy ones — we had 6 left and begged a friend to take them with her; and only 4 of the cookie ones were eaten… Thankfully, two guests took those leftovers home too. I would have felt bad throwing them in the trash. Honestly, I had only made the carrot cakes ones so Scott & I (and our friend Hannah) would have cupcakes to eat. I assumed the others would go for the cookies ones first and the berry ones second… but alas! Everyone wanted carrot cake! P.S. Most of our guests were omni’s who don’t eat the strict, healthy diet we do, so ROCK ON healthy-er vegan cupcakes! you stole the show!

Don’t forget to get in on the CONTEST & Join the FUN! (details below)

Tags: VCTOW

I’ve created a flickr group for the e-cookbook, so if you’ve taken any photos of my e-cookbook recipes, make sure to upload ‘em there!

WHY? Because the masters behind the three best photos will receive a FREE copy of my next e-cookbook! (Voting for the best photos will be held the last week in October… and even if you’re a crappy photographer like me, still upload ‘cuz I’ll be giving away another “e-cookbook for effort!”)

If you’ve blogged about a recipe, leave a link to the post in the comments and those photos will count as well!

Lastly, I’m sorry I haven’t posted any recipes lately… I’m sort-a hoarding them so I can post something every day during VeganMoFo which starts October 1st.

My delightful Rainbow Thai Stir-Fry recipe was featured on Tipnut.com today. The article,  Recipe Hit List: Stir Fry Recipes For Each Day Of The Month, features 31 stir fry recipes (most are not vegetarian) selected by the author. The listed stir-frys vary from easy to extremely complex and all this talk about stir-frys is making me hungry. I know what I’m having for dinner

To anyone who stumbles on my blog via Tipnut.com, WELCOME!

Tags: Press

I know, I’ve been on a Vcon kick lately. It actually all started with this recipe. My good friend Vegyogini had recommended this soup to me and once I dug the mighty Vcon out (I moved recently) I figured, well, hell, why just make one recipe? Truth is, I’ve owned Vcon since it came out about a year ago and I’ve only made about 5 dishes… so it’s been nice to “get my monies worth.” Anyway, I went a little nuts with this soup. I started adding in all sorts of vegetables that weren’t called for in the recipe and it ended up being so chunky I couldn’t add the noodles (so I guess I should call it ‘chickpea veggie soup’) and of course I omitted the oil, but otherwise I did follow the recipe and its freakin’ fantastic. I’m seriously in love with it. In fact, I’ve made it twice in the past two weeks for our lunches because its.just.that.good!

Tags: Vcon

Thank you again to everyone who bought my e-cookbook. I have enjoyed seeing my creations on your blogs and getting reviews about how much you loved the low fat chocolate chip cookies! (Hey, I warned you they were ridiciously addictive!) Over 100 copies have already sold so a big hug to the many bloggers who gave my e-cookbook shout outs on their blogs!!

Upcoming e-Cookbooks:

Pudge-Free Holidays will be for sale after Halloween and will feature recipes inspired by the fall harvest and traditional winter holiday meals. Sinlessly Sweet, a fat free deserts e-cookbook, will be released in early 2009 and Livin’ La Vida Sano, a Latin American cuisine e-cookbook, will be released in early 2009 as well. I’m also planning to eventually write Sassy Soups, a self-explanatory e-cookbook (wink), and the European Foods of My Childhood e-cookbook… the possibilities are endless…