La Vegan Loca

Couponing: $.93 Old Navy Flip-Flops and Free Cocoa Pebbles Treats

2011-05-21T18:54:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm a single mom I find I'm always looking for ways to pinch pennies. Like many others, I've found inspiration in the couponing fad of late. I'm a proud couponing newbie and can happily announce that today I landed a great score!

It was $1.00 flip-flop day at Old Navy today. Customers could purchase up to five solid-colored flip-flops for just a buck - such a deal! But I also saw on the The Krazy Coupon Lady that I could print a 15% off a single Old Navy it em coupon from Facebook. So, armed with my coupon I drove to my local Old Navy and grabbed the only color flip-flops I'm going to need this summer (because my dog ate last summer's black pair a few days ago... bad dog!!!).

Retail Price: $3.50

Sale Price: $1.00

Coupon Savings: 15%

Total Price Paid: $.93

Plus, they were running some sort of promotion for Cocoa Pebbles Treats. My cashier threw 8 of them into my bag for free! These little cuties will be a perfect addition to brown-bag lunches for The Boy.

Score!!!

I can see how this couponing thing can become addictive.

Today's Breakfast Smoothie: Blueberry Acai Vanilla

2011-04-18T09:06:00.001-07:00

Blueberry Vanilla Smoothie
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

I'm on a smoothie kick again. Hooray! This morning's impromptu concoction consists of...

1 cup Organic Rice Dream Rice Drink, Original and Enriched
1 rounded scoop vegan vanilla protein powder
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 shot GoodBelly Plus Probiotic Juice Drink, Blueberry Acai

Dump it all in the Vita-Mix and give it a whiz.
Enjoy!

Have a fabulous Monday, everyone!

Slow Cooker: Curried Butternut Squash Soup

2011-04-10T18:00:00.001-07:00

Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

First, allow me express my gratitude for the warm welcome back to blogdome. It means a lot to me that y'all are still here. Now, on with the show.

I love using my slow cooker. I love how easy it is. I love how the smell of whatever's bubbling away in there builds throughout the day to an olfactory climax 'round dinner time. Love love love. Especially when it's the type of recipe that allows me to dump ingredients into a pot, hit a button and forget about it for hours. I'm pleased to report that this is one of those recipes.

It's not, however, a perfect recipe. In fact, if I make it again, I have some planned alterations in mind. But I'll get to those in a minute.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Makes 6-8 Servings
About 10 minutes prep time

2 pounds butternut squash (or pumpkin), rinsed, peeled, seeded and chopped into 1-inch cubes
2 firm, crisp apples, peeled, seeded and chopped (whatever you've got laying around)
1 large yellow onion, chopped
5-6 cups veggie stock
1 tablespoon curry powder, sweet or hot
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped dried cranberries (optional)

Add squash, apples and onion to the slow cooker.
Pour the stock, curry powder and cloves on top. Give it a gentle stir.
Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or on LOW for 5-5 1/2 hours until the veggies are tender.
Using an immersion or traditional blender, blend the soup to desired consistency. Add salt and black pepper.
Garnish individual bowls with cranberries (optional).

I served mine piping hot with some ciabatta bread on a TV tray in front of the season finale of Being Human, the BBC version. Feel free to serve yours with whatever artisanal bread and television show you like.

This recipe was tasty. Not OMGdelicious, but tasty. As you may or may not have noticed, it's super healthy with absolutely no added fat, so it may be worth tinkering with. Which brings me to my planned alterations.

I think adding a smooth-skinned potato would help make it more creamy and not so obviously broth-based, though the fact that I was cooking with canned stock didn't help.
Also, I think the 1 tablespoon of curry powder may be better replaced with 1/2 tablespoon curry powder with 1/2 - 1 tablespoon cumin.
I'd also cut the cloves from 1/4 to 1/8 teaspoon.

I hope your weekend was fabulous!

Sesame Slaw

2011-04-04T12:50:00.001-07:00

Sesame Slaw
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Hello readers, if there are any of you left. My sincerest apologies for my extended absence. I've had some heavy personal upheaval-type stuff going on which I may or may not blog about at some point. But not today.

Today I've signed on to tell you about this delish and super easy salad my mom turned me on to a few weeks ago. The original recipe appeared in PEOPLE December 6, 2010. Apparently it's something that CSI Miami's Emily Procter used to whip up while she was in college. Well you know me, I've tinkered with it - I dare say improved it - and renamed it. The dish comes together in 15 minutes or less and is great for easy entertaining, though I've just been making it for myself because... yum!

Sesame Slaw
Serves 4-6

1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup raw sesame seeds
1/4 cup + 3 tbsp. rice vinegar
1/4 cup agave nectar (yes, you can use sugar if your cabinet is agave deficient)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground pepper
1/4 cup sesame oil (preferably organic)
1/4 cup canola oil (preferably organic)
1 16-oz. bag coleslaw mix
2 packages Ramen noodles, uncooked and broken up (discard the icky, sodium laden, and not vegan seasoning packet)

In a skillet (cast iron if you've got one) over medium heat, toast the almonds and sesame seeds until they are light brown and you smell the nutty goodness wafting up from the pan.
In a large bowl, combine the vinegar, agave nectar, salt and pepper. Whisk in the oils until you get an emulsion.
Throw the coleslaw mix and Ramen noodles on top and toss to combine ingredients with the dressing at the bottom of the bowl. Add and gently stir to combine almonds and seeds just before serving.

This is one of those recipes that gets better the longer it sits. The flavors come together over night and when you have the leftovers the next day it tastes even better.

I think it'd be great for a picnic, barbeque, potluck or as a side at a tailgate party. Play with the seasonings (maybe add some Chinese Five Spice?) and have fun!

And using my serious voice... if you're reading this, thanks for sticking around. It's good to be back.

Our 2010 Vegan Thanksgiving Menu and Prep Plan

2010-11-22T08:24:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is a holiday that we've tried to celebrate on our own since going vegan simply because planning a large holiday meal with my family is too difficult. Even if they try to "compromise", like they're doing this year, and make things we can eat, they don't provide anything of sustenance. For example, their offering to us this year is the steamed white rice they are already making as a bed for the chicken dish my mother is preparing. Inevitably, what ends up happening is I cook and transport an entire holiday meal (from appetizer to dessert), just about all of which they have no problem digging in to, while all we can eat of theirs is... well in this case, steamed white rice. And, not having made anything vegan, from the comfort of their own kitchen, they truly believe they've compromised and coordinated the meal with us as we lug dish after dish out of the back of our car.

What brought on this rant? I'm glad you asked. Having resisted the black hole of guilt from my mother with regard to Thanksgiving for the last two years, this year I've somehow been sucked into her omnivoric vortex. So, without further ado, I present to you the complete Thanksgiving meal, from appetizer to dessert, that I'm making and packing up to take to my parent's house. This is what a coordinated meal looks like to them...

I'm making:

APPETIZER

Lentil Pecan Pâté from the September 2008 issue of Vegetarian Times served with apple slices, cucumber medallions and rice crackers.

SALAD

Cranberry Pecan Salad with a Cranberry Vinaigrette from the Nov/Dec 2009 Vegetarian Times

THE MAIN EVENT

Old Fashioned Lentil Loaf from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
Mighty Miso Gravy to smother the steamed white rice with from How it All Vegan! by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer
Balsamic-Roasted Asparagus from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites by The Moosewood Collective

DESSERT

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Candied Cranberries from the Nov/Dec 2009 Vegetarian Times

See what I mean? At least I strategically selected dishes I can prepare ahead of time because what I really want to do on Thanksgiving, not that anyone asked, is watch football and drink hard cider.

Now I need to make my shopping list and figure out when I'm going to get all these ingredients. Then I need to determine how I'm going to manage to cook most of it ahead of time with my six-year old placing food orders like he's at a 24-hour diner and our new puppy constantly underfoot. My motivation: to suffer the least amount of stress and shared kitchen time as possible on Thanksgiving day.

That concludes my rant.

Oh... and Happy Thanksgiving. :::grin:::

Veggie Quiche

2010-07-05T17:09:00.001-07:00

Vegan Veggie Quiche
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

We went to a neighborhood party on Saturday night. One of those laid back events where everyone brings food to share and their own main course to throw on the communal barbeque. One of the side dishes was a delicious mix of veggies - mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, garlic and other veggie goodness all sautéed in some olive oil with salt and pepper. Simple. Rustic. Fantastic. We piled our veggie burgers high with the stuff.

Towards the end of the night, I was lending some help in the kitchen on clean-up duty. Bridgette, the woman who made the veggies, packaged up the leftovers and asked if I could use them. I had been wanting to try my hand at making a vegan quiche for quite some time, and thought the veggies would make a perfect filler. So, I happily took them home, promising I'd give them new life the next day.

I used the two recipes for quiches in Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz as a guideline, but I basically improvised my quiche as I threw it together. I was smart enough to take notes, though (this time). And I'm glad I did because it came out better than I ever could have imagined it would. Now, not only can I recreate it in all its quiche-y goodness, but I can share it with you! :::grin:::

Veggie Quiche
makes one 9" pie - eight slices

The structure of this quiche is designed to make use of veggie leftovers, but you can always make the whole thing fresh, from scratch.

3 cups leftover, cooked veggies (whatever you've got on hand)
2/3 cup raw, unsalted cashews
1 lb. firm tofu, squeezed & drained
3 fresh sage leaves, chopped
1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme (leaves removed from stems)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
salt and pepper to taste
1 9" whole wheat pie crust (from the frozen foods section) - or make your own pie crust if that's how you role

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Pulse the cashews in a food processor until you have fine crumbs.
Break the tofu up into chunks and add it to the cashew crumbs. Add the sage, thyme, turmeric and nutritional yeast. Process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of your food processor as needed.
Add one cup of your leftover veggies to the tofu mixture and pulse a few times to incorporate, but not obliterate the veggies.
Empty contents of food processor into mixing bowl along with remaining 2 cups of leftover veggies. Fold all ingredients together until well incorporated.
Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Pour mixture into frozen pie crust and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until center of quiche is firm and the edges are are starting to brown.
Allow the quiche to sit for 15-30 minutes before slicing and eating.

Quiche is one of those dishes that serves as a fantastic breakfast, lunch, or dinner. We enjoyed ours as part of our 4th of July dinner along with roasted asparagus, mashed potatoes smothered in Mighty Miso Gravy from How it All Vegan! and oven-roasted corn on the cob.

For dessert we had Whole wheat, Fat-Free Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Muffins - a recipe from the Happy Herbivore. They were amazing! Easy to put together, incredibly aromatic and insanely delicious, especially for how healthy they were. I'll definitely be making those again!

As for the quiche, I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. I look forward to experimenting with different kinds of leftover veggies and various fresh herbs from my garden. I hope you enjoy it, too!

My Workouts, Part I: Free Weights

2010-01-07T15:30:00.000-08:00

I started working out on a regular basis as part of a 2009 New Year's resolution. For all of last year, I did nothing but cardio workouts. Wii Fit, walking, various workout DVDs and the like were the crux of my activity for the year. For the first 7-8 months, they worked great. I consistently lost weight and, therefore, never varied my workouts. Don't fix it if it ain't broke, right? But that all came to a halt towards the end of the summer, when I hit a plateau and stayed there. And stayed there. And stayed there.

I didn't understand how I could be doing the very activities that had been so effective only the week or month before, and see absolutely no results. It was beyond frustrating. I just kept doing the same workouts and waited for them to start working again. I even did two 1-hour workouts per day one week thinking that would help break the plateau.

Nope.

As the holidays approached, I just gave up. I stopped working out altogether and allowed myself to indulge in all the decadent, naughty treats that Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas had to offer. As a result, I gained back about 15 of the pounds I had worked so hard to lose.

But now it's a new year. 2010, baby! I'm completely recharged and recommitted. I've done my research and understand that varying workouts is important to shock the body into responding. I'm doing more than just cardio, incorporating free weights into my routines and trying to change things up every couple of weeks, or so. And, I'm already seeing results.

Several of you have asked about my workout routines, so I'm going to start blogging about them. I've added a box on the sidebar that shows my current workout schedule. For January, it looks like this:

Weeks 1 & 2:

Monday: Upper body free weights and 30 minutes cardio
Tuesday: 60 minutes cardio
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Lower body free weights and 30 minutes cardio
Friday: 60 minutes cardio
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 60 minutes cardio

Weeks 3 & 4:

Monday: Upper body free weights and 30 minutes cardio
Tuesday: 60 minutes cardio
Wednesday: Lower body free weights and 30 minutes cardio
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Upper body free weights and 30 minutes cardio
Saturday: 60 minutes cardio
Sunday: Lower body free weights and 30 minutes cardio

My current weight routines are pretty simple. For weeks 1 & 2, I'm doing two sets of 15 reps using high weight for each exercise.

Upper Body:

Dumbbell Bench Press
Two-Arm Dumbbell Row
Standing Twisting Dumbbell Press
Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extension
Dumbbell Curl
Double Crunch

Lower Body:

Dumbbell Squat
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
Dumbbell Side Lunge
Dumbbell Reverse Lunge
Dumbbell Unilateral Calf Raise

If you'd like to know more about these exercises and routines, check out the January 2010 issue of Oxygen as that's where I pulled the information.

I'm excited to be exercising again, excited about the change to my routine and super-excited about the results I've already seen in such a short period of time. I'm committed to sticking with things this year, even if I hit another plateau, and I'm doing everything in my power to avoid that scenario.

I can't tell you as I approach that dreaded plateau weight that I'm not going to be a bit nervous. I'm sure I will. But I'm confident things will be different this time around. I'm better equipped, better informed and I'm certainly more fit than I was this time last year. Everything's in my favor.

This was Part I of what I think will be a 2-part, initial series on my workout routines. I hope to be back sometime very soon to explain what I'm doing for cardio and how I use my Wii Fit (and now Wii Fit Plus!) to full advantage.

If you have any questions just let me know and I'll do my part by blogging as I go with reports on how I'm doing, what's working and what's not.

2010 Resolution Roundup and My One LIttle Word

2010-01-05T10:34:00.000-08:00

I apologize for these being overdue. Over the past few days we've had some network issues but everything seems to be back online and buzzing now.

My resolutions for this year are rather simple. Some are specific and some aren't. Often I need wiggle room with large goals. If I lock myself into a hardcore resolution on something I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by, I have the tendency to eff it up somehow. Self-saboteur? Me?

Hell yes.

On with the show...

LOSE ANOTHER 50 POUNDS: Yeah, I know this one is super-specific, but since I lost 50 pounds last year I'm pretty confident I can do it again this year. Besides, I have several external motivations that'll help keep my fire lit. Like what? Well, like the fact that I'm getting my next tattoo in April, for one. From Daniel Smith! I'm so excited and yes, I'll post pics. Promise. I'm also training for the Mud Run in June and I want to beat my 2009 time. On top of that, I have wicked costuming ideas for this year's ComiCon and the more fit I feel, the more options I'll allow myself to consider. ComiCon's in July, so my external motivators will take me pretty far into the year. Plus, as I go I'm sure to come up with others.
CUT BACK OR NEARLY ELIMINATE CONSUMPTION OF REFINED SUGAR: See, now here's a case where I need to be vague. I don't consume a whole lot of refined sugar. I cut most of it out when I went vegan. But I do eat and drink more than I'd like and I really want to explore other natural sweetening options.
ONE SUBMISSION PER MONTH: I've had some moderate success with my writing over the past year, or so. I've won a couple contests and had a short story published here and there. Writing allows me to flex my noodle, release the bad whispers in a constructive way and genuinely feeds my soul. I'd like to continue this and up my output. I think one submission per month is reasonable, but as always I reserve the right to modify my resolutions as needed.
RE-COMMIT TO MY DAILY PRACTICE: My daily spiritual practice wavered and waned pretty hardcore over the holidays. I need to recommit to it because it anchors me through my days, fills me up and allows me a daily opportunity to exercise my will.
CONTINUE PURGING, ORGANIZING and REDECORATING MY HOME: This one's pretty self-explanatory. We were able to purge a lot of clutter this past year and I want to keep that momentum going. With the newfound space, I was able to organize things better and we began redecorating with the money we made from our multiple garage sales. I have no delusions that I'll finish my entire home this year, but as long as I continue to make forward progression throughout the year, I'll be happy.

That's it! I'm keeping my list short this year so I can focus more on a handful of goals rather than try to juggle too many.

My One Little Word for 2010? Will. The faculty by which people make decisions and initiate action. Yup. I want to rock my will this year.

What are your resolutions? Did you pick One Little Word for the year? What is it?

New Year's Day Eats

2010-01-01T20:36:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!

This is just a quick rundown of the food I prepared and enjoyed today. I don't know if I'll get to my resolutions post tonight, but I'll be sure to get it posted before this weekend is over.

Blueberry Banana Bread Pudding
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

We kicked off 2010 with bread pudding for breakfast. This recipe is one of our favorites and has garnered me a marriage proposal from a meat-loving omni. He's so dedicated to the consumption of meat, he sports a bacon tattoo on his shoulder and a sushi tatt on his forearm. But he loves it, despite it's vegan status, and we love it because it just rocks.

The recipe came to me after just a little tinkering and the desire to add texture to traditional bread puddings (that's where the topping comes in). It's a blueberry-banana bread pudding with a pecan-oat streusel topping drizzled in a warm and creamy lemon cashew sauce. The sauce isn't my recipe, though I did adjust it a bit. I got the sauce out of 1,000 Vegan Recipes by Robin Robertson.

New Year's Dinner 2010
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

The decadent bread pudding held us 'til dinner and I prepared a version of our New Year's Day traditional fare. We just finished big plates of toasted and steamed basmati rice topped with black-eyed peas, miso-baked tofu with a little liquid smoke thrown in for even more flavor, cornbread muffins, and red Swiss chard sautéed in Earth Balance with chopped pecans. So, so good!

Oh, and sorry about the flash photo, but it was totally dark by the time I got dinner on the table.

None of today's food was low-fat eating, but it was all vegan, homemade, mostly organic, and smack-yer-momma tasty. We're all so stuffed. Fat n' happy.

I'll be back soon to discuss my thoughts about and resolutions for 2010. I hope your New Year's Eve and New Year's Day was filled with good friends, big grins, great food, and happy surprises. May this coming year bring health and happiness to us all.

Resolutions and One Little Word

2009-12-31T11:01:00.000-08:00

I'm a fan of New Year's resolutions. Probably because I'm a fan of setting goals and working towards positive change. Over the years I've had to learn not to get idealistic to a fault or too specific while stating my resolutions (and I still occasionally struggle with that), but I've definitely benefitted from the resolutions I've set - particularly over the past few years.

On January 1, 2009 I set a resolution to get healthier. To make better food choices, establish a regular exercise routine, and begin making strides to embrace the lifestyle I've wanted for years. I wanted to be fit, lean, active, strong, healthy, centered and happy. I wanted to be in right relationship with the food I eat (part of why I made the transition to veganism) as well as my body (the main motivation behind the workout routines I established for myself this past year). I'm happy to report, it was a huge success. Over this past year, I've lost 50 pounds.

Let me say that again - I've lost 50 fucking pounds!

For most of the year, I worked out regularly on my Wii Fit and also did other things to get my body moving. I even participated in the Camp Pendleton Mud Run - a balls out, challenging 10K run with giant hills, tire obstacles, river crossings, two 5-foot walls with mud on both sides, a tunnel crawl, a super-slippery hill climb, and a final 30-foot mud pit all set to screaming marines there to "motivate" you. Yeah. I did that! I felt like such a rock star and I've already made plans to do it again in 2010. My goal: improve on my time. This is a picture of me and my friends towards the end of the run, by the way. I'm the girl in the back row wearing a black shirt.

I certainly wasn't perfect all year. I made some poor food choices and backslid on the scale as a result. I went lax with my workout routine a few times and in turn, got a bit lazy. But overall, I done good. Each time I found myself off track, I was able to recognize it and return to center, resolution in mind, without egregious amounts of self-flagellation. Each "mistake" was an important lesson. Every time I rededicated myself to my goals, it was an exercise in will and realistic expectations. Hell, I even started drinking water, which was huge for me. Huge!

When I hear people bag on resolutions, I'm fine with it. We are all entitled to our own opinions. But when I hear people make blanket statements like, "Resolutions don't work," I find it irritating. First, I'm living proof that they do. Ehem ... 50 pounds down, bitches! But more importantly, I'm saddened that people don't recognize resolutions for the opportunities that they are.

Resolutions are not magic spells or wishes made to come true by Old Man Time. You can't just blurt them out on January 1 and toss your feet up, waiting for them to come to fruition. You have to work on them. You need to apply your will and actions to manifest them. And you need to stick with them, allow yourself to stumble along the way, and reevaluate them as you go, making adjustments accordingly. They need to be realistic and attainable. Follow those guidelines and resolutions can be the perfect way to manifest positive change in your life.

Anyhow, I've been considering my resolutions for 2010 over these last couple months and I'm really looking forward to getting them in writing tomorrow (blogging them). Putting resolutions out there for the world, or maybe just your friends and family, to see offers up its own endowment of accountability. If people know what you're working towards, they're more likely to be invested in the outcome. And really, so are you.

So, set some attainable goals and share them! Then, do what you need to do to make them happen.

In that same vein, author, designer and scrapbooker extraordinaire, Ali Edwards, has a clever idea that could work great in tandem with or in place of New Year's resolutions. She calls it "One Little Word," and you can read more about it in her blog post of the same name. Basically, it "can be a catalyst for enriching your life." One word that you can "focus on, mediate on, and reflect upon," as you traverse the days of the upcoming year. A theme word, if you will, that will help focus your intention and actions as you move towards positive change. I really like the idea and I'm going to see if I can come up with a word that feels right, for me, for 2010.

Anyhow, that's all I've got for now. I'll be back tomorrow with my resolutions and hopefully "One Little Word," for 2010. In the interim, think about what sort of positive change you may want to bring into your life this next year and try to pick a friend or family member with which to share your resolution(s). Someone who will be supportive and call you on your shit when you stray from your goals, invent lame justifications for non-action, get too busy, or whatever the excuse du jour is. It helps if the person is someone you trust and love - someone you won't punch in the nose when they suggest that you have gotten off track.

Have a fabulous and safe New Year's Eve. Happy New Year, my pretties!

Creamy Roasted Garlic Mashers

2009-11-25T18:07:00.001-08:00

Creamy Roasted Garlic Mashers
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Raise your hand if you spent at least part of today doing prep work or pre-cooking for the big day tomorrow.

Yeah, me too. So far, I've got the Maple Cranberry Sauce made and I just finished my famous (at least amongst my family and friends) Creamy Roasted Garlic Mashers. They are amazing. I don't use a recipe when I make them, but today I measured everything as I threw them together just so I could create a recipe to share with you, dear readers. I can feel the love, can't you?

I'm serving the mashers tomorrow beneath a healthy slathering of Mighty Miso Gravy from How it all Vegan, which makes them even more heavenly. The mashers are definitely delish enough to be nommed without gravy, but it's Thanksgiving and in the American tradition of excess and indulgence, we're gonna go big or go home. Hence, gravy.

Everyone's got their own method for making mashed potatoes. Here's mine:

Creamy Roasted Garlic Mashers
makes about 8 1-cup servings

3 medium heads of garlic, roasted with the cloves removed - yes you read that right, 3 heads, we likes us some garlic preciousssss
4 medium russet potatoes, peeled
4 medium red potatoes, cleaned but not peeled
1 stick or 1/2 cup vegan margarine (Earth Balance)
1/4 cup vegan sour cream (Tofutti)
1/4 cup vegan cream cheese (Tofutti)
1/4 teaspoon (or more) freshly ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Cut potatoes into equal sizes. I usually quarter the red potatoes and then cut the russets into pieces that are about the same size. You want to do it this way so they cook in the same amount of time.
Boil all the potatoes in salted water until easily penetrated with a fork. The time varies here but start checking them at around 15 minutes boil time. Don't let them stay in the boiling water too long or they'll become water-logged and yicky. Yeah, that's a technical term: yicky. Yuck + Ick = Yicky. Mkay? Moving on.
When they are done, carefully retrieve the potatoes from the water and transfer them into a colander to drain. The tool that I've found works best for this is a spider skimmer but use what you've got. If you must resort to dumping the potatoes along with the water into a colander, just be gentle.
After they are drained, carefully transfer the potatoes into a large bowl. Slice the stick (yup, the whole stick) of vegan margarine into pats and artfully place them all over the surface of the potatoes. Okay, you don't have to get too artistic here because we're about to mix it all up anyway, but I just can't seem to help myself sometimes.
Using a masher, smash the potatoes by hand, mixing the vegan margarine in as you go. They must be mashed by hand. Do not, under any circumstances, take a mixer to your potatoes. You'll be breaking a major cooking Thou Shalt Not and you'll end up with a sticky, gluey mess. It'll be beyond yicky. I'm not even going to use the appropriate word here because my mom reads my blog now. Just take a deep breath, get out your masher and do it by hand.
When they are about half-way mashed, add your vegan sour cream and vegan cream cheese. Continue mashing and mixing keeping in mind that Though Shalt Not Over-Mash Potatoes.
When your potatoes are nearly at your desired consistency (I prefer a chunk here and there for textural interest over perfectly smooth potatoes), add the nutmeg, salt and pepper and give them one last mixing mash.
Taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to nosh.

This recipe can absolutely be tinkered with to suit your personal tastes. If you want "cheesy" tasting mashers, try adding 1/4-1/2 cup of nutritional yeast. Or, if you want to really wow yourself and your diners, substitute a portion or all of your vegan margarine with vegan pesto and eliminate the nutmeg. Pesto Mashers rock the Casbah and are best enjoyed topped with some toasted pine nuts.

I like to use a combination of both russets and red potatoes for my mashers because it makes them creamier. It also allows the inclusion of the skin from the red potatoes, which we totally dig. But, if it's not your thing, peel those along with your russets.

One of the best things about using this recipe for entertaining is that it can be made ahead of time and stowed in your fridge. When you're ready, simply warm it up in an oven-safe dish or in your microwave. It's delicious and so decadently creamy thanks to the combination of potatoes, egregious amount of vegan margarine, and addition of vegan sour cream and cream cheese. If you're watching fat and calories, make adjustments accordingly.

The nutritional breakdown per 1-cup serving, assuming you used about 3 tablespoons of olive oil when you roasted the garlic and the brands of margarine, sour cream, and cream cheese I recommended, is as follows: 348 calories; 19g fat; 6g saturated fat; 0mg cholesterol; 1272mg sodium; 41g carbohydrates; 4g fiber; 2g sugars; 5g protein; 0% Vitamin A; 32% Vitamin C; 4% calcium; 7% iron

NOTE: The final four percentages are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

DIY Gardening: Upcycling Broken Clay Pots

2009-09-12T18:42:00.001-07:00

Broken Clay Pot Used as Drainage
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Container gardening is certainly my preferred method of growing things. Now that The Boy is back in school, I've found myself spending more time outside tending to my poor, neglected container garden. Earlier this week, I pulled some dead plants and tossed them into the yard composting bin only to notice that a couple of my clay pots had developed cavernous cracks that will not last another planting season.

As everyone who gardens in containers knows, along with proper watering, drainage is an issue of utmost importance. I usually use rocks at the bottom of my pots to facilitate easy drainage. But, I was inspired by poor broken pots and ... well, let's face it, I'm a bit hormonal right now ... so I took a hammer to them and used the broken shards of ceramic in place of rock. Upcycling or repurposing something destined for the land fill rocks pretty hard but let's face it, breaking shit with a hammer rocks even harder.

Celosia
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

This particular pot ended up home to our wee garden gnome, Aingeru, and three new Celosia which is an annual that produces striking flowers in outrageous colors. Most importantly, because we're in the midst of a level two drought right now and it's been hot as Hades here, Celosia is quite heat-tolerant to boot. Score!

Canning Cantaloupe Jam

2009-08-26T14:56:00.001-07:00

Cantaloupe Jam
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

The Husband and I have been eating a lot of fruit lately. Partly because it's so damned hot here and we tend to eat as simply as possible when the mercury rises as high as it's been. And partly because we're still both working on losing weight (update on that very soon, I promise). But mostly because the fruit is so incredibly good right now!

One of our current favorites is cantaloupe - particularly the "Tuscan Cantaloupes." Holy magnificent melons batman, those babies are fruit of the gods if ever there were such a thing. The melons we've been getting are so sweet and juicy, it's ridiculous. Neither of us can remember cantaloupes being this good for a long time.

So the other day, as we sat at our dining room table with melon juice down to our elbows, we were singing the praises of the 'Loupe and I said I wished there were a way we could get melon this good year-round (while abiding by our pledge to eat in-season produce, most of which is locally grown, of course).

Perhaps the heat had gotten to my brain, but it really did take me a while to remember that I already know all sorts of ways of preserve the harvest! Freezing, dehydrating, liqueurs, syrups, canning ... I can do it all. So I pulled out one of my favorite canning books, Blue Ribbon Preserves by Linda J. Amendt, and much to my sticky-fingered delight, found a recipe for cantaloupe jam. Neither of us had ever heard of melon jam before, and since I had yet to start canning this year, I decided this recipe would be my first of the season.

I just pulled 7 half-pint jars of the most delicious jam I've ever made from my canner and practically danced around my kitchen as I heard each of them ping (a sign they've made a proper seal and all is well).

So I'm happy to report that we've got some seriously kick-ass jam to carry us through the cold winter. Um, and by "cold" I mean less than 70 degrees ... this is San Diego, after all. I'm even happier to report that I still have plenty of melons left over so I can put up a whole other batch (or three) of jam if I want. Actually, that's probably a good idea because the likelihood of these seven jars remaining untouched 'til winter arrives is nil. And finally, I'm happiest to report that canning season has officially begun! I've got all sorts of wicked canning fun planned. In fact, just yesterday I scored some killer green tomatoes so I can put up some Green Tomato Mincemeat Pie Filling, which not only tastes awesome but I think will make for great holiday gifts.

That it's for now. I think I need an afternoon snack. Perhaps toast with ... oh, I don't know ... jam?

The Boy's New Tooth Zombie Pillow

2009-06-24T10:11:00.001-07:00

Tooth Zombie Pillow
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

The Boy lost his first tooth last month. It caught us completely by surprise since it happened about 2 weeks after his 5th birthday. For you non-breeders, that's a bit young to start losing teeth. Most kids are about 6 when their choppers start wiggling loose.

The day his tooth came out I realized The Husband and I hadn't discussed what sort of Tooth Fairy-ish lore we were going to pass on nor had we even thought about how we were going to handle liberated teeth and their exchange for gifts or cash. When I asked The Husband about it, I got the stock response, "Whatever you want to do, baby."

Since I already knew I wanted to make The Boy's tooth receptacle (DIY or die!), I began googling for tooth fairy pillow patterns and inspiration. I came across a tutorial for an adorable Ballerina Tooth Fairy Pillow and decided I'd start there and alter it to suit our family aesthetic.

As I sat and read the instructions for the Ballerina Fairy, I realized the pocket in which the discarded teeth were to be placed was inside the fairy's mouth. Which begged the question ... "What kind of fairy eats teeth?"

Tooth Zombie Pillow - scratch
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

The tooth fairies from Hellboy II crawled through my brain for a moment and I briefly indulged the idea of trying to recreate one of those before I came to my senses and remembered how terrifying they were. Evoking terror in my 5-yr-old wasn't my goal, but I was on the right track with regard to a lovely twist on the traditional lore.

Then it hit me: Zombies eat people. Surely they eat teeth as well. I mean really, have you ever seen a discerning zombie picking out icky bits before sinking teeth into dinner? Nope. Me neither. And it's no secret that I love zombies.

I printed the pattern for the Ballerina Fairy so I could use the overall shape but pretty much changed everything after that. I gave my zombie a gaping maw and embroidered around it to reinforce the mouth pocket and underscore his zombie-ish-ness with pale blue lips.

Tooth Zombie Pillow - bite
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

I also gave him goofy teeth and a scratch that he probably earned wrangling a meal. I decided he'd also lost an eye at some point, and embroidered an "x" where it should have been. I selected a blue button for the other eye to match The Boy's blue eyes.

And, of-course, no zombie would be complete without a large wound. This zombie was turned when someone went after his brains and left a large chomp out of his head. I used glittery red felt to represent glistening brain matter.

On the back I embroidered the words "Tooth Zombie", the date The Boy lost his first tooth, and his name (though I've edited that out).

Tooth Zombie Pillow - back
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

I was going for campy-cute and I think I achieved it. More importantly, I had a blast designing and creating this little Tooth Zombie and The Boy absolutely loves it.

He now knows, every time he looses a tooth, he needs to feed it to his Tooth Zombie. In exchange, the Zombie (whom we have yet to name) will leave a small gift for The Boy. This time, it was a new set of 3D reels for his View-Master - The Animals of North America.

Just thought I'd share my latest project and remind you all to watch out for those Tooth Zombies!

School Lunches

2009-06-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

The Boy has been in preschool all this past year. Last week was the final day of the standard school year and today marked the beginning of summer school. The summer school hours are a bit longer than standard school hours and I neglected to read the fine print that announced each child will be provided a free lunch if they don't bring their own.

I already send him to school every day with juice and 3 snacks, but nothing substantial enough to be considered lunch. So today, when his teacher pulled out his lunch bag and saw there were only snacks inside, she assumed he would be one of the children receiving a free lunch.

Well, today's free lunch was chicken nuggets. Ack!

Thankfully, she remembered that we are vegan, and didn't allow The Boy to eat any chicken. It was an issue, though. He saw all the other kids eating chicken nuggets and wanted to eat some, too. He thinks he eats them at home, but it isn't real chicken, of-course. Unfortunately, because he's a special needs kid, I can't really explain the difference in a way he'll understand. At least not yet. So now I need to come up with some creative lunches to pack for him. Perhaps, when the school lunch menu becomes available, ones that mirror what the other kids will be eating so he doesn't feel left out.

When he's home, I cook for him and he eats a hot lunch. Sometimes he'll eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but most of the time he gets a freshly cooked meal. But, they don't have access to a microwave there and, beyond PB&J sammies, I'm at a loss as to what sorts of things I can send him to school with. If anyone has any experience sending your veg kids to school with packed lunches, I'd love to hear what sorts of things worked best for you.

In the interim, I ordered the following two books:

Better Than Peanut Butter and Jelly: Quick Vegetarian Meals Your Kids Will Love by Wendy Muldawer and Vegan Lunch Box: 150 Amazing, Animal-Free Lunches Kids and Grown-Ups Will Love! by Jennifer McCann. I'm hoping I'll get some groovy ideas from these babies that'll help me come up with things The Boy will eat and enjoy. As we experiment, I'll report back on what works and what doesn't. This should be interesting and hopefully, fun.

So, expect to see a couple book reviews and some lunch box food porn here in the near future and wish me luck. I have a feeling I'll need it.

Winner Winner Chickpea Dinner ... er ... Brunch

2009-06-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

If you've been following along this week over at Cafe VegNews you know they've been running a contest. Each day, they've given away a signed copy of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's new cookbook, Vegan Brunch. Yesterday, I decided to have a crack at their question of the day, which was:

"What's your favorite restaurant to go to for brunch?"

My answer:

"My fav restaurant for brunch is WaterCourse Foods. Everything on their menu is available vegan. They offer up mouth-watering tofu scrambles, a blue plate special, pancakes, french toast ... but not "normal" french toast, whoa no. *Banana Bread french toast.* Yes. Let's just take a moment to savor that thought.

...

Mewkay.

Also for the having, an Amsterdam Hash that's just as good as the name implies, and ... the nummers to end all nummers ... biscuits and gravy. Uh! So good, makes you want to smack yer mama. Metaphorically speaking, of-course.

And I'm not even mentioning the giant cinnamon rolls. Nope. This is me. Not mentioning them.

Did I say they're in Denver, CO yet? Thank goodness I live in San Diego, CA or I'd be working off a never-ending tab washing dishes or something. But every time I'm in Denver, I can be seen fogging up the glass in the wee hours of the morning, waiting for them to open and creeping out the wait staff."

Turns out they liked my answer, so they announced in today's post that I won! Le squee!

I'm so looking forward to diving into Vegan Brunch. I've heard great things about it and The Husband and I do love a hearty brunch on Sunday mornings.

Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE ZOMBIES?!?!?!

2009-06-18T17:37:00.000-07:00

Woody Harrelson and zombies?! I'm so there! Le squee!

nomnomnomnomnom

New DIY Zine

2009-06-14T17:09:00.000-07:00

I'll admit it - I'm a total sucker for magazines. There's just something about them that makes me weak in the knees. I love their seasonality, the articles and pretty pictures, plus they make great art and collage fodder.

So earlier today imagine my squee-ish delight when I spotted a zine I'd never seen before with the tag line, "Easy Ideas for Hands-On People." I practically started drooling. I grabbed it off the stand and immediately began thumbing my way through it. Inside I saw...

an article on 13 smart ways to snazz up your kitchen
building plans for a DIY kitchen serving cart
an article about throw pillows complete with DIY instructions
a piece on how to use color to create specific moods in various rooms
plans for building your own outdoor dining table and benches
decorating ideas
tips on hanging art
an article with instructions on 3 different ways to refinish an old table
plans for an outdoor potting bench
tips for DIY bouquets
clever garage storage ideas
plans for outdoor movable planter boxes
plans for a kick-ass arbor
a list of kitchen-scraps that make for great garden fertilizers
plans for making and instructions for flying your own kites (both diamond and box-styles)
tips on saving energy
info on cooking, product reviews, and more

All that just in the one issue! Plus, each of the projects has a DIY versus purchase cost comparison along with a difficulty rating and estimated time requirement. Needless to day, the zine took up residence in my shopping cart and I've had my nose in it ever since I got home. The name of this new gift from the pantheon of DIY deities is "Fresh Home" and, at least for now, I think I'm in love. There's only one thing about it I don't like at this point, and that's it's decidedly yuppie feel. I'm used to consuming my DIY literature smothered in punk rock/alternative sauce. But I'm willing to look past the pastels and sweaters tied 'round the shoulders as long as they keep coughing up great ideas, projects and plans. If you're a hardcore DIY'er like me, check it out for yourself. Because it's brand new, you can subscribe for only $10 (half off the cover price).

Score!

Memorial Day Barbeque

2009-06-01T09:50:00.001-07:00

BBQ'd Tofu, Veggies, and Slaw
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Last Monday we had another tasty barbeque over at my parents' home. We grilled veggie kebabs again, this time without sauce and just seasoned with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. On our kebabs were giant mushrooms, fingerling potatoes that I had parboiled that morning, and beautiful tomatoes.

We also grilled tofu slathered in homemade barbeque sauce. I used the recipe in Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites and it was delish. It had the taste of a traditional barbeque sauce, but with a kick from the pepper and a distinctly homemade texture. You just don't realize how much nicer it is to have homemade versions of sauces and condiments you typically buy until you make 'em yourself. Above and beyond anything you can get off the shelf of your local market, for sure. Plus, it was easy to make and virtually fat-free. I should have pressed the tofu, though. Next time, I'll remember to do so.

I threw together a slaw with red cabbage, jicama, raw pumpkin seeds, and seedless cucumber dressed with a little lemon juice, olive oil, parsley and some other stuff, but it wasn't nearly as good as the slaw I made for our last barbeque.

Grilled Pineapple
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

For dessert, we enjoyed grilled pineapple. Yum! We ate a lot of grilled pineapple last summer and I'm so happy grilling weather is back. We love this tasty, healthy, simple, and delicious dessert. If you've never had grilled pineapple, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. The heat from the grill caramelizes the sugars in the pineapple and adds some nummy crispy bits, too. Fabu!

Apple-Rosemary Oat Bars

2009-05-30T17:12:00.001-07:00

Apple-Rosemary Oat Bars
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Nancy Krcek Allen's article in the May/June 2009 issue of Vegetarian Times, entitled "Herbal Essences," caught my attention right away. I absolutely love cooking with herbs, experimenting with different combinations, and discovering new pairings. There's just nothin' like cooking with fresh herbs. That's part of the reason I maintain an herb garden. That and herbs are hella easy to grow.

Since The Husband and I are on the wane, I selected the recipe that delivered the lowest amount of fat per serving (4g): Apple-Rosemary Oat Bars. Oh man, are these little babies delicious!

First, they are not too sweet. I love that. So they can easily be eaten with a cup of coffee or tea for breakfast, as a snack any time of the day, or as a light dessert. Whenever you want, really. Second, the lemon zest and juice really balance out what little sweet there is in the bars, adding a fun little zing to every bite. Third, the rosemary. How I love rosemary! Paired with apple, it's just fantastic. Fourth, the consistency is just perfect. Nice little crunchy bits on the outside and a soft, moist center.

The only change I made to the recipe was I substituted spelt whole grain flour for the all-purpose flour. No problem there. The recipe offers several options with regard to nut butters - I used almond butter. Yum!

I'm looking forward to working our way through this batch of bars and I think this recipe could serve as a fantastic template to play with and create new herby, fruity bars. The possibilities are vast.

Winner!

Make Vegan Shoes Challenge on Bravo's The Fashion Show Tonight

2009-05-28T16:14:00.000-07:00

I'm off to set up my DVR!

The Vegan Relationship Survey

2009-05-28T09:14:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading the results of The Vegan Relationship Survey and I must admit, I had mixed reactions to it. Not the statistics, mind you. I have nothing against stats. I'm a sociology major. I heart stats. But the way the information was presented really squicked me.

Perhaps, in M. Butterflies Katz's defense, this is my own personal issue since I'm used to reading study results that are presented in accordance with a certain professional standard. To my knowledge, Katz never claims the study is scientific. As I read it, however, I couldn't help but lament over the poor writing and clumsy handling of the findings.

The worst part of the article, in my opinion, was the paragraph dealing with two survey responders who reported battling cancer. Katz uses these people's illness to segue into a rant about the toxic world in which we live and cites vegans that "eat loads of processed junk food." She wags her finger, reminding us all of the importance of eating a healthy, wholesome, and balanced diet. This evoked an audible gasp from me. Katz, unwittingly or not, actually implies that these people are culpable for their illness. I consider this an unforgivable injection of personal opinion that is not only myopic, but in poor taste.

She also makes clear to us all, twice, that she is personally opposed to having children, or as she puts it, "continuing the overpopulation of the Earth." I know this is a hot button issue amongst vegans and environmentalists alike and even as a parent of my own biological son, I can appreciate this perspective. However, I don't want to have it, or any other personal opinion, thrown in my face when reading survey results.

I think this is the crux of my issue with this article. Are these study findings or is it a platform for Katz's personal opinions? Because the two should never catch sight of each other in a scientific survey. But then again, as I stated before, Katz never claims this thing to be scientific. It's good thing, too. If she had, I'm afraid she'd have half of academia after her.

That said, I'm actually happy to see this sort of survey done. I found the results very interesting, even if I had to soldier my way through the article. I recommend that you read it. And if you do, give me your opinion about it. Am I being too hard on Katz here?

Mexican Hot Chocolate Mini Cuppies & Our Latest Biggest Loser Throwdown Weigh-In Results

2009-05-25T09:23:00.001-07:00

Mexican Hot Choco Mini Cuppies
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Greetings vegans and veg-curious readers. Just thought I would let y'all know I tried another cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World this past weekend. I was tasked with bringing dessert to a Mexican food inspired get-together and decided on the Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes. I crowned them with the Chocolate Mousse Topping from the same book and sprinkled them with crushed Mexican Chocolate.

They were so tasty! They came out super moist with a fun kick from the cayenne pepper. The Chocolate Mousse Topping was over-the-top decadent. I know they look like little swirls of poo, but that's the inherent problem with chocolate swirls and smears. You just have to close your eyes and trust it'll taste good. And these definitely do!

By the way, to make these mini I reduced the baking time to about 13 minutes.

We weighed in Sunday morning and unfortunately, the win for last week goes to Team Red. :::booooo hisssss::: The Husband actually went two pounds in the wrong direction - bad Husband! And that was before the mini chocolate cuppies! I gained .2 pound, which basically means I stayed the same. Fine with me because it's That Time right now. I know it'll come off next weekend and then some.

We have fun things planned for Memorial Day - swimming and more barbeque. I hope to blog about it all very soon. Have a fantastic holiday!

Vegan Summer Nail Polish Colors

2009-05-22T17:49:00.000-07:00

I was out with a girlfriend last night and wandered into a store with a great selection of OPI nail polish. Now, I've had a long-time love affair with OPI colors ever since I discovered what's got to be the best red nail polish on the planet: I'm Not Really a Waitress. Yes, that's the name of the color. OPI colors have the best names!

When I transitioned to veganism, I was relieved to learn that OPI products are vegan but for the exception of their Ridge Filler, which I've never used. I've also heard that some of their pearlescent colors may not be vegan, but I'm not completely sure about that and I don't wear those either. If anyone knows anything to the contrary, please let me know.

Anyhow, OPI releases seasonal and other inspired collections every so often and the colors are always spectacular. While I tend to wear only red, black or nearly black, and pale pink polishes (depending on my mood and the time of year) sometimes I like to go wild with color. Especially on my toe nails during the warmer months when I'm wearing open-toed shoes and sandals. Problem is, their collections come and go real fast and if you don't grab them while the grabbing is good, they're gone.

So last night, when I stumbled upon this great OPI display, I noticed their summer collection is now available. It's called Bright Pair and is inspired by various colors of Paige Premium Denim. I eyed a 4-pack of mini Bright Pair bottles that includes three colors and a top coat. The price was in the neighborhood of $10.00. What a steal! So I grabbed one.

What I love about these little mini packs is that I can afford to dabble in multiple colors, without making the commitment of purchasing a full-sized bottle. Also, by the time summer is over, most of it will probably be gone.

The OPI Bright Pair Mini 4-Pack includes four 3.75 mL or 1/8 Fl. Oz. bottles of...

A Grape Fit! - A gorgeous light purple
Shorts Story - A super hot pink with cool blue undertones
On the Same Paige - A fabulous orangey-red
RapiDry Top Coat - Dries hard with a delicious high-gloss shine in minutes

Score! The changing of nail colors is part of my Friday ritual, so I'll be trying at least one of my new colors tonight. It's the little things that make us girls happy. And these little OPI sample packs definitely put a smile on my face.

Sunday Night Dinner: Za Za Ziti with Spinach Salad

2009-05-17T19:39:00.001-07:00

Sunday Night Dinners are back in la casa de La Vegan Loca and I couldn’t think of a better way to revive the tradition than with an Allison Rivers Samson recipe. As you may recall, she’s the creatrix of The Best Mac n’ Cheese Ever and the Clam-Free Chowdah that was so good, I couldn’t get pictures of it before it was devoured. So when I saw she had another recipe in the latest issue (May/June 2009) of VegNews, I knew it would be the one to usher Sunday Night Dinners back into our home.

Za Za Ziti with Spinach Salad
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Her latest offering is called Za Za Ziti and it is beyond indulgent. I must confess, when I read the recipe I was a little skeert. The Husband and I are still working diligently on loosing weight and Allison’s Ziti has macadamia nut ricotta cheese and a cashew cream sauce. That’s on top of fire roasted tomato saucy pasta. We weigh in every Sunday morning, so I strategically planned the meal in order to maximize “recovery time” before our next weigh-in. By the by, see the bottom of this blog post for the results of this morning’s weigh-in.

While reading it, I also noted there are several steps to the recipe. In order to get the most out of my Sunday, I spilt the work up over the course of the day. I started soaking the nuts for the macadamia nut ricotta cheese just before lunch. I also threw the cashew cream sauce together while I was in the kitchen, because it’s a quick and easy food processor or blender job.

Come mid-afternoon, I hopped back in the kitchen and made the tomato sauce.

When it was time to get serious about dinner, I had the three main components prepared so all I needed to do was boil the pasta, throw it together and bake it. No problem! Sure, there were some extra dishes to be washed, but this meal is worth it. I assure you. Besides, The Husband did all the dishes tonight. ☺

While the ziti was baking, I made an Italian salad with baby spinach, some extra macadamia nut ricotta cheese, toasted pine nuts, fresh Roma tomatoes, and hearts of palm. I tossed it with Newman’s Own Lighten Up Italian Dressing, which next to a big pile of Za Za Ziti is kinda like having your donuts with a diet coke, but whatever. It was tasty and I didn’t have to make a dressing.

We sat down to eat and both The Husband and I were shocked at how luscious this dish is. Some of the little bits of pasta that were sticking up got all crispy and nummy while baking which was an awesome contrast to the creamy goodness beneath. It was a very quiet dinner. And you know the food is good when nobody’s talking!

My notes for this recipe are:

I had to add a bit of extra water both to the cashew cream sauce and the macadamia nut ricotta cheese in order to get the proper texture and consistency. No problem there, just an FYI. These things happen particularly when you’re measuring things like nuts by volume rather than by weight.
Next time, I’ll make extra cashew cream sauce because the pasta soaked up most of it. I’m sure that added to the flavor, but the sauce was so delicious on its own, I think the dish would be even better with a bit of it drizzled over the top after it comes out of the oven.
Lastly, plan ahead. Like I said earlier, this is a multi-step recipe. You can’t wait ‘til late afternoon (when I usually start thinking about dinner) to start putting this baby together. It’s seems like a lot of work when you look at it, but if you break it up into manageable chunks, like I did, you’ll be fine.

That’s it for notes. I have no criticisms. Za Za Ziti rocks the Casbah. I’m officially an Allison Rivers Samson devotee. Try this recipe, or any of her others for that matter, and you will be too.

As for our weigh-in this morning, we rocked it. We dominated Team Red with a Blue Team total loss of 6 pounds this week. The Husband lost 4 and I lost 2. Now it’ll be interesting to see if we can recover from Za Za Ziti and register another loss next weekend. But we were smart and offed the leftovers as soon as we were done eating. We ended up feeding a family of four omnis with what was left in the pan and got rave reviews. They couldn’t believe it didn’t have any dairy cheese.

Winner, winner, chickpea dinner! Now I'm going to roll myself onto the couch and bask in the afterglow of my temporary self-indulgence.

Mexican Chocolate Tofu Pudding

2009-05-16T14:26:00.000-07:00

It's no secret I'm a fan of Mark Bittman. His book, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian is basically the main text book for my DIY culinary school program. He's not a vegan. He's not even a vegetarian. But his recipes are spot on and the things he has to say to omnis about reducing the amount of animals and animals products they consume in order to be kind to our environment and ourselves are quite encouraging. Why? Because he's a foodie, so people listen to him. They don't really listen to us. We're too fringy.

Anyhow, yesterday he published a lovely article in the New York Times encouraging people not to fear tofu and using a recipe for Mexican Chocolate Tofu Pudding as a selling point. There's even a cutie instructional video. Check it out!

(The above photo is from the online article. I believe it can be credited to Evan Sung.)

I Am Mercy for Animals

2009-05-12T07:57:00.001-07:00

A lovely and short video you can share with friends, veg and omni alike. No slaughter or cruelty footage. Lots of famous quotes are paraphrased. It would have been nice if they had credited them, but overall it's nicely done. Enjoy!

Mother's Day Barbeque! With cake!

2009-05-11T10:59:00.001-07:00

We just wrapped up a fantastic weekend filled with lots of great food and fun with the family. This past Sunday, we celebrated both Mother’s Day and The Boy’s (belated) birthday.

Grilled Veggie n' Tofu Kebabs
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

My parental units decided they wanted to barbeque, so after a little brainstorming, I decided to make tofu n’ veggie kebabs. I filled each skewer with big hunks of locally grown zucchini, mushrooms, gorgeous Amorosa tomatoes, and tofu marinated in a homemade Cherry Barbeque Sauce. I got the sauce, which we also slathered on the other veggies while grilling, from this Vegetarian Times recipe. Delish! A wonderful balance of sweet and savory with a lovely kick from the cayenne pepper. The next time I make this sauce, I’ll make a double batch. It was so yummy, there wasn’t enough to go around.

Mother's Day Vegan BBQ
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

I also made a beautiful Grated Raw Beet with Jicama, Avocado, and Orange slaw, another Vegetarian Times recipe. It was outstanding with some really unique flavor notes. Crunchy, fresh, and the perfect side dish for any barbeque. I’ll definitely make this again, too!

We enjoyed our grilled kebabs slid off the skewer and onto some whole grain buns, which we also grilled. We topped all that with some sliced avocado and it was a little bit of heaven. Alongside our grilled kebab sammies was the lovely, pinky-red slaw and some killer, locally grown, grilled corn on the cob. So summery and so so good!

Lime Coconut Cake w/ Lime Coconut Buttahcreem Icing
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

After we ate, we dove into The Boy’s birthday cake. I baked him the Lime Coconut Cake with Lime Coconut Buttahcreem Icing from Jae Steele’s awesome book, Get it Ripe. This was my first experience with this cake and it was definitely a winner. The cake, which was made with spelt flour, was super moist and dense deliciousness. The Lime Coconut Buttahcreem Icing was so incredibly tasty! I decided to try my hand at one of those rustic, drippy looking cakes and I think it turned out pretty well. I garnished it with more shredded coconut and some lime zest.

Vegan Cake n' Ice Cream
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

We served the cake along side some vegan vanilla ice cream that we topped with a homemade Lime Sauce. I just altered the recipe for Lemon Sauce from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. It was super easy, very pretty, and delicious on top of the ice cream. It really tied the flavors together with the cake.

A glorious and sunny, southern California day spent by the pool with family, good food, and a book. Perfection!

A note to my fellow bibliophiles: I’m currently reading and very much enjoying The Tricking of Freya by Christina Sunley.

Mini Vanilla Birthday Cuppies

2009-05-04T21:38:00.001-07:00

Mini Vegan Vanilla Cuppies
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Last week I had the pleasure of baking up a couple dozen mini cupcakes for The Boy to take to school in honor of his birthday. It was so much fun! He picked out the colors for the tie-died cuppies and then carefully observed as I frosted them all. When I ran out of coloring, I decorated the rest of them with multi-colored sugar sprinkles.

The next day, I dropped him off at school with 2 dozen mini vanilla cupcakes, a bunch of juice boxes, and a stack of napkins. He was so excited and his classmates were super stoked when they found out they got to eat cuppies for their mid-morning snack. They even made a cute Happy Birthday sign for The Boy. It was all way too much fun. Since he's in preschool, this was the first time I was able to play the role of the cool mom who bakes good shit to eat and I gotta say, I liked it!

Mini Vegan Vanilla Cuppie
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Also, I learned something really important: mini cuppies are dangerous. Their size makes them even harder to resist. What is it about things in miniature that makes them so alluring?

Anyhow, I used the recipe for basic vanilla cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and just reduced the baking time to about 13 minutes to accommodate the mini size. I frosted them with the killer vanilla buttercream recipe from the same book. These recipes never fail.

Winner, winner, chickpea dinner!

And after much effort, Man created swine flu

2009-05-02T17:41:00.000-07:00

If you abuse nature by mass-producing meat in appalling conditions, you pay the price by incubating diseases.

Follow the link to a very interesting article about mass "producing" animals in deplorable conditions and the consequences that come along with it. Worth the read.

Raw Banana Coconut Cream Pie and "Offsetting"

2009-04-23T10:13:00.001-07:00

This looks amazing! And watching the vid is zero calories. :)

Strawberry Banana Nut Waffles

2009-04-21T10:37:00.001-07:00

Strawberry Banana Nut Waffle
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

I decided to tackle the Banana Nut Waffles from Veganomicon this past weekend. I've made them plenty of times before, and for the record - they rock, but I wanted to see if I could "healthify" the recipe a bit.

I made the following changes:

replaced soy milk with nonfat soy milk
used only 2 of the 3 tablespoons of canola oil called for
replaced half of the flour with organic spelt flour
replaced the other half with unbleached flour, rather than AP
replaced half the walnuts with chopped, fresh strawberries

They came out great. There was no distinguishable difference in taste or texture from the reduction of fat, with the exception of fewer nuts, of-course. The exterior of the waffles was still crispy and the innards were still fluffy and light.

Win!

The nutritional info for my version breaks down like this:

1 serving = 1 regular waffle or half a Belgium-style waffle

126 calories; 4g of fat; 0g sat fat; 0g trans fat; 0mg cholesterol; 170mg sodium; 51g carbs; 2g dietary fiber; 5g sugars; 3g protein

1% RDA Vit A; 6% RDA Vit C; 5% RDA calcium; 6% RDA iron

I don't mean to be obscene, but ILVTOFU!

2009-04-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

The Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles turned down a request from a vegan driver to display ILVTOFU on a set of personalized license plates because the phrase could be construed as obscene, Tom McGee reports in The Denver Post.

I get it. I LV TOFU could just as easily be read I LV TO FU. But still ... really?

OMGWTFBBQTOFU!!!11!!1

Seed Balls

2009-04-16T08:24:00.000-07:00

I just read an interesting NPR article about seed balls. Apparently, they were created by a pioneer of natural farming in Japan and are used to plant in inhospitable and otherwise abandoned stretches of land. These little seed balls sound like a fun family and/or community project and an excellent vehicle for a little guerilla gardening.

Here's the 'how to' cut n' pasted from the article:

How To Make Seed Balls

Emily Gallagher, a NAG member who specializes in open space issues, says it's easy to make seed balls.

"First, we mix the mulch and a seed mixture," Gallagher says. "We try to pick a seed that is native to the area and can withstand drought. We mix those together, and then we knead it like bread into a red terra-cotta clay. It is important to use the red terra cotta, because other kinds have different chemicals in it that affect growth."

The mixture is rolled into little balls, which then has to dry. The group then puts them in bags and distributes them. The mud and clay protect the seeds from being eaten by birds and rodents. After three to five rains, the balls break down and the seeds germinate.

Read the full article and check out some pics of seed ballin' in action here.

All the little birds on J-Bird Street...

2009-04-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

... Love to hear the Marni goin' tweet tweet tweet.

So do you tweet on Twitter? I've recently been sucked into the Twitterverse and I must admit, it's hella fun. If you're on Twitter, please follow me and I'll return the favor. I tweet under the name HailSeitan.

Fascists and Google Bombs

2009-04-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

Attention writers, readers, and those that use language and value freedom of choice:

Amazon.com is "stripping the sales figures and accompanying rankings from GLBTQ books, erotica, and romance novels, particularly those with what they term "adult content." Quoted from this article over at the Smart Bitches Love Trashy Books site.

Authors are beginning to report that since having their sales ranking stripped, their books are no longer found in searches on Amazon.com.

What a buncha bullshit!

The smart bitches over at Smart Bitches have organized a Google Bomb:

Amazon Rank

I'm sure I don't have to spell out why this is important.

Do your part ... follow the link and repost it as many times in as many places as you can. The link should read: Amazon Rank

This is armchair activism at its finest!

Also, I just read that Powell's Books is considering organizing a GLBTQ book sale in response to Amazon.com's fascist asshattery.

Go Powell's!!!

Why is this important to me? Well, I love my freedom of choice and abhor censorship, of-course. But I also write erotica, which is one of the genres being de-ranked by Amazon.com. So yeah, this one's personal.

I'm am here.

2009-03-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

Wowsers. It's been a long time since I posted. Sorry to disappear so suddenly like that and thanks to those of you who checked in on me while I was gone. What happened?

Well...

As my regular readers know, I've been trying really hard to lose weight for quite a while. I'm much larger than I'm comfortable being and as I get older, things are starting to hurt. Oh my aching knees. Yikes, my poor back.

It occurred to me that I need to redefine my relationship with food if I was going to make any progress getting healthier, so I up and stopped blogging about food as an attempt to get inside my own head and parse out what I needed. Admittedly, it took a bit longer than I expected.

Anyhow, I realized I needed three things:

A form of exercise I can do at home, with my son in the same room.
Camaraderie masked as competitive motivation.
An eating plan that's not really a plan at all. No counting, measuring, figuring points, calculating grams, none of that shit.

Wanna know what I came up with?

Well, first we had a big garage sale and The Husband and I used the money we made to purchase a Wii Fit. So now, every afternoon I can be found in my living room, acting a fool with my son eagerly requesting that I play the running game or boxing game or whatever he's in the mood to watch. Every day I do a minimum of one hour of cardio vascular exercise on the Wii. If I have time, I also do strength training and yoga, but the aerobics always gets done first. It's working out quite well (no pun intended) and I've got to say the Wii Fit is an extremely motivating little thing. I love all the charts that clearly illustrate my progress for me. I also love the motivation the little animated balance board provides, though I do find it a bit creepy at times. Like when I fire it up first thing in the morning and it comments how early I'm up that day. But there advantages to that as well. For instance last week I was having a rather crappy birthday, and when I hopped on the Wii, I got exuberant birthday wishes complete with confetti. Nice.

Second, I devised a way to use my competitive nature as fuel to reach my goals. The Husband and I challenged our neighbors to a "Biggest Loser Throwdown." The four of us are working on losing weight and getting fit and we're using the friendly competition as motivation. We feel accountable to each other because we weigh-in together every Sunday morning and we support each other through our slip-ups and, more often, successes. They are the Red Team and we are the Blue Team. So far, the Red Team has three wins and the Blue Team has two.

Third, I've figured out an eating plan that's not too structured and it seems to be working for me. Each day, I eat nothing but fruit until midday. For lunch I enjoy a large salad with beans or tofu and a low- or non-fat dressing. I get my cooking fix in by creating delicious meals and most of them have been coming from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites. The recipes are delicious (we can't stop eating the roasted asparagus) and much, much lower in fat and calories than any other low-fat vegetarian or vegan cookbook I own. On nights I don't have time or energy to cook, we've been eating Boca burgers with beans and veggies or some of Amy's Organics Low-Fat and Non-Fat soups. When I need a "fix" I have a small bowl of organic kettle corn or, if I'm really feeling needy, a square of chocolate. I've also drastically increased my water intake, which is easy to do when you work out, and cut my diet soda intake to one per day.

Wanna know what sort of progress I've made? I hope so because I want to share!

Since I started trying to lose weight at the first of the year I've lost at total of 32 pounds. 18.4 of those pounds were shed over the last 5 weeks as a result of our Biggest Loser Throwdown. I'm so excited! I feel like I'm finally making progress in an area I've struggled with for years. And as I told some dear friends of mine recently, I used to diet and work out because I hated my body and now I do it because I love and appreciate my body. What a difference that makes!

So, I'm ready to start blogging again but I'm sure the flavor of my content will change. I'll post updates on our Biggest Loser Throwdown weigh-ins every Sunday or Monday so you can track my progress if you are at all interested in that. I'll also share healthy recipes I find or create and there will probably be other changes, I just don't know what they'll be yet. For now, however, I'm just happy to be back.

Cupcakes!

2009-02-13T14:10:00.001-08:00

I baked a bevy of cupcakes for a birthday celebration this week. Five dozen, to be exact. This is both a good and bad thing. Good, because I'm trying to branch out a little with my baking - getting my name out there, testing recipes, etc. Bad because I ended up eating a few more cuppies than I probably should have.

Vegan Tie-Dye Cupcakes
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

I started with the recipe for Golden Vanilla Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and oomphed it up a bit adding some premium ingredients and swapping out some others. The frosting was the Vegan Fluffy Buttercream Frosting from the same book colored as the birthday girl requested.

I made two types, both "Very Vanilla." The only difference between the two was the way I frosted them. The first batch received the tie-dye treatment, with fluffy swirls of pink, green, and purple sugary goodness.

Very Vanilla Vegan Cupcakes
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

The second batch was topped with a straight-up pink icing and edible pink glitter. Very girlie and exactly what the birthday girl wanted. I was happy to hear the positive reports roll in from the skeptics and kids alike. Hooray! More omnis primed for conversion. Soon, using vegan cupcakes as our proverbial carrot, we will lead humanity to live and eat with compassion and we really will take over the world! Muhuhwahahaaaaaa......

Did I say that out loud. Heh ... moving on.

Right now, I'm happy the two-day cupcake frenzy is over even though it really was a lot of fun.

The Bummer: I'm still trying to clean up all the powdered sugar dust coating everything in my kitchen.

The Upshot: When the husband saw how much I was struggling through making batch after batch of buttercream frosting with a hand mixer, he promised me a stand mixer when the tax return cometh.

Schweet!

Sunday Night Dinner: Chowdah n' Puddin'

2009-02-09T14:47:00.001-08:00

On last night's menu:

Clam-Free Chowdah! from the Jan & Feb 2009 issue of VegNews (pg 60)
Sourdough bread from a local bakery
Homemade Chai Rice Pudding

We had a couple guests for dinner last night so I wanted something I could make in advance and just heat up when we were all ready to eat. The soup and rice pudding recipes fit the bill. I made them both Sunday morning which made for totally stress-free entertaining.

First, I apologize for not having any pics of the Clam-Free Chowdah. I've made it twice in the past week now and each time it has been inhaled too quickly for a food porn photo shoot. But trust me, it's worth it.

This recipe, which is published in the current issue (Jan/Feb 2009) of VegNews is another brilliant brainchild of Allison Rivers Samson. You know, the creatrix of my favorite vegan Mac n' Cheese recipe. I had high expectations for the chowdah and Allison did not disappoint. If she continues to churn out these culinary gems I'll be forced to build an altar to her in my kitchen.

Hey Allison, when's your cookbook comin' out? :::hint hint:::

In this veganized version of chowdah, the clams are replaced by sauteed oyster mushrooms (yum!) which have a similar texture - chewy and delightfully meaty in that special mushroomy way. The soup gets its insanely creamy and silky-smooth texture and thickness from a base of pureed raw cashew nuts and cauliflower. Genius and delicious!

The only issue is that there is a typo in the recipe. The ingredients list calls for 2 cups of water, which are never accounted for in the recipe instructions. The first time I made the soup, the water was never added to the soup pot and we ended up eating stew, instead. Nummie, fantabulous stew, mind you, but stew nonetheless.

The second time I made the chowdah, I wised up and added the 2 cups of water when it seamed most logical: along with the remaining veggie broth, seasonings, cashew mixture, and salt in step #3.

I served the Clam-Free Chowdah in deep bowls, dished over hunks of torn-up, locally-baked sourdough bread. Oh yeah, baby. Now that's eatin'!

Vegan Chai Rice Pudding
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

For dessert, I made the vegan version of Chai Rice Pudding from the Vegetarian Times website. Not only is this dessert hearty and delicious, it's low in fat and will cost you a mere 4 Weight Watcher points per serving.

I dished out the puddin' into pretty tea cups, topped each serving with whipped Soyatoo, and added a dusting of cinnamon. Rich and delicious, just as rice pudding should be.

Hot chowdah and a hot, creamy dessert accompanied by freezing rain and storm that whipped our palm trees against the house ... it was pretty much the perfect combination and certainly a lovely way to end the weekend.

Hope yours was grand!

Strawberry Pancakes

2009-02-07T09:47:00.001-08:00

Strawberry Pancakes
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Another great Saturday morning breakfast. I do believe I've started a trend akin to my Sunday night dinner posts. Perhaps I'll add Saturday morning breakfast posts to the lineup.

Anyhow, just like last weekend, we started with the Pancake recipe in Vegan with a Vengeance. But rather than going with the blueberry variation listed in the book, I omitted the cinnamon and stirred in a cup of chopped, fresh strawberries instead. I garnished the pancakes with more strawberries and some sliced banana, drizzled 'em with a bit of maple syrup and enjoyed a scrumptious breakfast.

The Husband and I liked these even more than the Blueberry Pancakes we had last weekend. Plus, we had the satisfaction of using the locally grown strawberries I picked up at the farmer's market earlier this week.

A kick-ass way to start the weekend, if I do say so myself. And I just did. So there.

Resolution Roundup

2009-02-06T10:16:00.000-08:00

I listed a hefty set of resolutions for myself and this blog at the beginning of the year. It's my intention to check in with myself, as a way of making a run at accountability, once per month. So, here's goes my first roundup...

BETTER PHOTOS I'm working on this one. I think I'm getting better. I'm more aware of the light I'm shooting my food in and I'd like to start concentrating more on diverse settings and backgrounds, as well.
ORIGINAL RECIPES Yes! I think I'm rockin' this one. I've posted lots of original recipes already and, as promised, have stopped regurgitating published recipes as blog fodder.
QUALITY NOT QUANTITY Awesome. I've stopped pressuring myself to post something every day and I think my blog has improved for it. My stress level has also decreased.
THEME WEEKS & MOONSHINE MONDAYS I had a great theme week last month (Healthy Resolutions: January 12 - 18, 2009) and a new topic planned for February. I need to work on being more consistent with Moonshine Monday posts, though.
NUTRITIONAL INFO I'm getting better at learning how to calculate the nutritional info for recipes and was really good about posting it during Healthy Resolutions Week. I think I've slacked a little since then, so I need to get back to that.
RECIPE CONTESTS & PUBLICATION I've successfully entered one recipe contest and had one misfire (missed the deadline). I'm currently working on my third attempt and I'm also talking with an editor of a website that I might have the opportunity to write for at some point in the future.
A COOKBOOK Hmmm ... work on the cookbook has stalled out. I'll be sure to have something positive to report on this one next month.
ORGANIZE MY RECIPES This is very slow going because I have so many! I've gathered them all to a central location and worked out an organization system. Much progress has been made here as I tend to work on it a little almost every day. Perhaps next time I'll show pics of how I'm organizing them all.
STREAMLINE MY KITCHEN Unfortunately, I feel like I need a bit of money for this one and we don't have much extra cash floating around right now. I'll need to get real creative to show some progress on this goal.
Steepware Mugs for Tea
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina
GET INTO TEA Though I haven't bought any tea yet, I have purchased a couple of really cool Steeping Mugs for myself and The Husband from The Tea Spot. I grabbed them a few weeks ago when I saw they had gone on sale at my local market. They're plenty big, each holding 16 ounces. In addition, they each have a built-in basket with lots of room to hold loose tea with a lid to keep the heat in while steeping. One of the coolest features is that the basket fits perfectly inside the lid when you're ready to drink your tea. I can't wait to try these babies out.
WHAT'S IN SEASON I've brought back this column. It's on the right sidebar and I love having it there to remind me of all the great produce I can get locally grown at any given moment.
My New Thyme Plant
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina
GET BACK INTO MY HERB GARDEN It's not quite time to start planting things yet, but I have been planning quite a few items I'd like to add to my garden this year. Also, during a recent trip to a local farmer's market, I replaced my poor thyme plant. It fell victim to a freak frost we had a couple months ago. This is San Diego. We don't really get frosts here. I wasn't prepared. Anyhow, I'm more aware of the possibility of frosts now and my new thyme plant is currently residing in my kitchen window until it's ready to venture outside.
SHARE THE LOCA LIGHT So far, I'm only brainstorming here. I hope to have something new to report very soon.
DIVERSIFY MY POSTS I've dipped my big toe into this pool, having written recently about the wonders of water, weight-loss tips, and a brief op-ed piece on a skanky PETA commercial that (thankfully) never aired on TV. I feel like I'm moving in the right direction with this one.
DIY CULINARY SCHOOL I've worked out how I'd like to begin this process and will be posting about my plans some time within the next month.

Super Bowl Nibbles

2009-02-03T09:53:00.001-08:00

Build Your Own Vegan Nachos
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

The Super Bowl is always a mixed bag for me. The culmination of a season of exciting football (sweet) but also, the end of football season (bummer). On top of that, Super Bowl XLIII had its own layer of paradox to offer: the Cardinals lost but the food was great.

I made a big basket of build-your-own nachos that kept The Husband, our guests, and me munching through all four quarters and beyond. We picked up the chips, freshly made and still hot from a local tortillarilla the morning of the game. In one bowl I placed some homemade refried beans and in the other was the cheeze sauce from my favorite vegan Mac n' Cheese recipe, doctored up with extra cayenne pepper and garnished with some scallions.

To go with that I made some stuffed potato skins that were out of this world.

SoyRizo-Stuffed Potato Skins
Yield: 40 skins

Soyrizo Stuffed Potato Skins
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

20 small red potatoes (not the baby ones, those are too small)
some vegetable or canola oil
salt and pepper
1 package SoyRizo
cilantro or scallions for garnish

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Wash your potatoes and place them onto a rimmed cookie sheet. Drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss n' roll it all around, coating each potato, and when the oven is ready, pop 'em in and let them roast for 30-40 minutes or until they are fork-tender. Set them aside to cool.
In a large frying pan, place about 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Remove the SoyRizo from its casing and cook it in the hot oil, breaking it up as you go.
Adjust the heat so you don't burn the SoyRizo. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice them in half. Using a melon-baller, a small cookie dough dispenser, or a teaspoon, carefully scoop out the potato innards leaving at least 1/4-inch of the flesh behind. Drop the removed bits of cooked potato into the pan with the SoyRizo as you work, continuing to break it all up and incorporate it as you go. Return the heat to medium if necessary. Continue working until each potato skin is carved out and all the SoyRizo and potato has been incorporated and thoroughly heated through.
Stuff each potato skin with some of the SoyRizo mixture until each skin is full and all the SoyRizo mixture has found a home.
Garnish with cilantro or chopped scallions and serve with Sour Cilantro Cream from V'Con.

For the requisite "something sweet" I decided to make cooling meltaway cookies to balance out the heat from the Soyrizo and spicy cheeze sauce. I veganized the recipe for Lime Meltaways from Martha Stewart's Cookies, which was really simple since the recipe doesn't call for any eggs.

Vegan Lime Meltaways
Yield: 4-5 dozen cookies

Vegan Lime Meltaway Cookies
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) vegan margarine
1 cup organic confectioner's sugar or Veganized Powdered Sugar
Finely grated zest of 2 limes
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
1 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unbleached flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon kosher or other coarse salt

Put margarine and 1/3 cup sugar in a medium mixing bowl and mix using the whisk attachment of your mixer on medium speed 'til pale and fluffy. Add the lime zest, juice, and vanilla and mix 'til fluffy and fully incorporated.
Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt in another bowl. Add to butter mixture, and mix on low 'til just combined.
Divide dough in half. Place each half on its own large sheet of parchment paper. Roll each in parchment to form a log 1 1/4 inches in diameter, pressing a ruler along the edge of the parchment at each turn to narrow log. Refrigerate logs until cold and firm, at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove parchment from logs and cut them into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Space rounds 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake cookies until barely golden, about 13 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through cooking. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool slightly, 8-10 minutes. While still warm, toss cookies with remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a zip-top plastic bag. These cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Almond Tequila
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

In additional to all the delicious food, we enjoyed traditional margaritas and shots of my favorite tequila, pictured here. I've never seen it for sale in the US, so every time I know someone going down to Mexico, I have them bring me a bottle. It's almond tequila and it's pure heaven - so much so that it's a moral imperative to drink it straight up. I, and my guests, dutifully obliged.

I hope your weekend was grand!

Blueberry Pancakes and Super Bowl Prep

2009-01-31T12:53:00.001-08:00

Vegan Blueberry Pancakes
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

We're having a casual get-together tomorrow for the Super Bowl and I'm trying to knock out most of the prep work today. In order to kick the weekend off right, we tried another recipe from the fantabulous Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz: Pancakes with the Blueberry variation. Yum! Not only does this recipe go together super fast, with ingredients that pretty much every vegan kitchen has on hand at all times, it's scrumptious, too. We had ours with maple syrup.

So now, I'm putting the final touches on my shopping list and I've got pinto beans relaxing in a warm pre-soak on the stove. They'll eventually manifest as refried beans. My Super Bowl XLIII menu is Mexican-themed, and includes...

Potato Skins stuffed with Mexican Rice n' Soyrizo
Sour Cilantro Cream from V'con
Nachos with Refried Beans and Cheeze Sauce
Lime Meltaway Cookies
Margaritas n' Beer

Oh, and in case you're interested, we're rooting for Arizona. Go Cardinals!

PETA's Banned Super Bowl Ad

2009-01-30T07:56:00.000-08:00

"PETA's ad—which features a bevy of beauties who are powerless to resist the temptation of veggie love—was deemed too hot for the Super Bowl. NBC rejected the video because of concerns over "rubbing pelvic region with pumpkin," a woman "screwing herself with broccoli," and more!" - quoted from the PETA website.

'Veggie Love': PETA's Banned Super Bowl Ad

It's no secret I have a lot of issues with PETA. I've blogged about my concerns with them several times before. This ad is sexy (duh) and certainly would have caught the attention of many a meat-glugging football fan, but I doubt it would have made much of a difference. Perhaps I'm wrong.

Either way, I'm not sure exploiting women is the smartest or most responsible way to fight animal exploitation.

And since people tend to get all squicky and silent when I wax political on this blog and talk about anything other than food, that's all I'm sayin'. Dammit.

Tropical Tuile Taco

2009-01-29T14:12:00.000-08:00

This month’s challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

I love being a Daring Baker. I really do. But January's challenge threw me for a loop. I'd heard of tuiles before, but never tried to bake them. They seemed easy enough so despite my better judgement, I waited 'til the last day to give 'em a go.

Big. Mistake.

Again.

Will I ever learn?

I decided to use the recipe for Vegan Tuiles from Vegan Yum Yum because I'm so not about reinventing the wheel. My first batch, which I hastily threw together just hours before I was due at the dentist, was a disaster. I think the fact that I used turbinado sugar rather than granulated sugar was a big factor.

Keep in mind, this is The Day the postings for this challenge were due. So then, I told myself I'd work on another batch after I returned from the dentist. You know, fresh from a lovely session of root planing. :::insert maniacal laughter here:::

I'm sure you can all guess how that well-intentioned plan panned out.

Days later, after two more batches, I finally got it right. Or, at least "right enough" to post my completed project.

Tropical Tuile Taco
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

I fashioned my tuiles into taco shapes, draping them while still hot over the edge of a flask-shaped bottle. Later, I filled them with homemade, vegan Tropical Pina Colada Ice Cream (follow the link for Julie Hasson's recipe and an Everyday Dish TV video), and garnished them with coconut and fresh kiwi.

They tasted great but they were damn hard for me. I'm pissy that they were so easy for everyone else and feel like a culinary dolt for having issues with them.

So, now I'm going to backdate this post, hope nobody really reads it, skulk for a bit and start planning ahead for February's challenge.

La Vegan Loca out.

French Toast with Blueberry Maple Syrup

2009-01-25T10:41:00.001-08:00

Vegan French Toast with Blueberry Maple Syrup
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Nothin' like a hot breakfast on a rainy Sunday morning.

This morning, it was Fabulous French Toast I from How it all Vegan! by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer. We used a multi-grain bread - the kind with whole sunflower seeds and everything - and it was still delicious.. This is a tasty yet simple recipe that comes together fast and hits yer B Spot (uh ... that's B for breakfast, of-course) just right.

While the french toast was fryin' up, I dumped 1 cup of frozen blueberries along with 1/2 cup maple syrup into a small saucepan over low heat. I gave it an occasional stir as I worked and topped our french toast with it.

Now I'm all fueled up to do my grocery shopping. Hopefully, I'll be back later today with a Sunday Night Dinner post.

Have a great day!

Orange Muscat Polenta Cupcakes with Pine Nut Cream Icing

2009-01-24T16:07:00.001-08:00

This is the story of my almost Iron Cupcake: Earth entry.

I love cupcakes. Who doesn't? A couple of my new year's resolutions involve creating more original recipes and submitting them for publication and to recipe contests. Taking all that into account, it seemed to me like participating in Iron Cupcake: Earth would be a great way for me to get myself motivated and reach out a little.

This was my first opportunity to participate and I was really looking forward to the challenge. But when the secret ingredient was announced, I was a little bummed. You see, we were challenged to create cupcake recipes that incorporate wine. Oh geez, wine? I don't drink it, don't particularly care for it, and know absolutely nothing about it.

So I racked my brain trying to come up with an idea for this challenge as the days passed and the deadline approached. Finally, only a few days ago, I remembered a local winery that makes a wine I remember tasting many moons ago and actually liking. So, I procured myself a bottle of Muscat Love, an orange muscat wine from the fabulous Witch Creek Winery.

Vegan Orange Muscat Polenta Cupcake with Pine Nut Cream Icing
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Once I decided on the wine, the rest just fell into place. My vegan guides informed me that my cupcakes would be a marriage of California and Italian-inspired flavors. What I finally came up with in the end was a rather unique and most definitely adult treat: Orange Muscat Polenta Cupcakes with Pine Nut Cream Icing.

The cupcake itself combines the flavors of polenta via cornmeal, while providing texture with the incorporation of toasted pine nuts, and lots of orangey goodness with zest and orange extract. After they were baked, each cupcake was blessed with a small amount of syrup consisting of Muscat Love, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and sugar. Finally, they were topped with an icing of creamed pine nuts, sugar, and even more Muscat Love, orange zest and orange juice. Yum!

Unfortunately, my timing was all off and my cupcakes didn't reach the finish line 'til after the deadline had passed. I am, however, totally in love with the recipe I created and have committed myself to perfecting it even further, after which I will share it with the world.

As for meeting the Iron Cupcake deadline, I'll do better next month. This, I do swear!

And if you're able to get your hands on some Muscat Love, I recommend it. It's delish!

Sweet Potato Pie for Our New Prez

2009-01-20T15:03:00.001-08:00

President Obama.

President Barack Obama.

Mr. President Barack Obama.

It's just fun to say, isn't it?

I was trying to decide what special treat to make today in order to celebrate this momentous occasion when I stumbled across the following video of President Obama, gushing on and on about Sweet Potato Pie:

Sweet Potato Pie with 3-Nut Topping
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

That cinched it! I'd never baked a sweet potato pie before (at least not that I can recall), so I started pouring through my cookbooks and found what seems to be the only recipe for vegan sweet potato pie in my possession within the pages of Vegan with a Vengeance. Sweet Potato Pie with Three-Nut Topping, no less. So I got to baking.

I steadfastly resisted the fantastic aroma as the pie cooled and The Boy and I watched President Obama's Inauguration Speech. I've vowed not to get into the pie until The Husband gets home from work, but I'm sure it's going to be fantastic.

Sweet Potato Pie.

President Barack Obama.

Today is a good day, indeed.

Tips and Tricks to Keep Your Hand Out of the Cookie Jar

2009-01-18T18:10:00.000-08:00

I am, by no means, an expert on dieting and behavior modification. If I were, I'd probably have some initials after my name and actually be wearing those size 10s I've been aiming for. But, I have had enough experience with dieting and lifestyle alterations to have come up with some tricks for success. They aren't earth-shattering, but they work. Here are a few:

ASK YOURSELF THE HARD QUESTIONS. This one's the most difficult, but there are underlying reasons for all those quirky behaviors that land us in jeans that are two sizes too big. Whenever I find myself lamenting my size, I try to remind myself to sit with some deep questions. Why am I overweight? What am I really hungry for? The answers aren't easy. If I come up with a cute reply to either question, I know I haven't found the true answer yet. Once you figure out you're eating chocolate icing out of the tub because your boyfriend didn't call, it's much easier to walk away from the behavior. You don't want to give him, or anyone but yourself, that much power of you, right? Nope.
THE TEN MINUTE RULE. I actually use this one a lot when I'm shopping and it helps tremendously. We are creatures or both impulse and habit. Whenever I find myself reaching for an in-between meal snack, I make myself wait with the promise that if I still want to eat whatever I was reaching for in 10 minutes, I can. Usually, I don't. I either forget about it completely or that 10 minutes end up being enough time for me to make a decision with my evolved brain (instead of my reptile brain).
DIVERSIONARY TACTICS. These are for when I'm really having a hard time. It's 11pm and I've got the munchies. I really want to nosh something naughty and I'm having a difficult time avoiding the kitchen. So, I do something to prevent myself from eating. My two favorite diversionary tactics are dental care and manicures. For the first, I go brush and floss my teeth. I'm talkin' the full-on ritual with mouthwash and the whole thing. Who wants to eat with the taste of toothpaste and mouthwash lingering on their tongue? Not me. The second tactic is pretty obvious: I break out my nail tools and give myself a manicure. Not only does it take some time, but I'm loathe to mess up a fresh manicure by trying to stuff something in my mouth. This one's pretty effective, too.
WATER ... MY NEW BFF, REMEMBER? Often times, we mistake thirst for hunger. A simple glass of water can waylay pangs for food more often than not.
THE RIGHT KIND OF EXERCISE. Exercise is a big one. I can't go to a gym to workout. Not only do I not want to pay the monthly dues, but I have daycare issues as well. My challenge is to find exercise options that are unique and fun. For me, that means thinking outside the box. My favorite exercise routine right now is acting a fool in my living room playing Dance Dance Revolution on my Wii. This game can be played in a workout mode that allows you to set goals for either calories burned or time danced. It's wicked fun and pretty good exercise if you allow yourself to venture into the higher levels and just let yourself go. During the summer, I love to swim. I also love to roller-skate and ride my bike.
RELEASE ATTACHMENT. This one is the hardest for me. The Buddhists refer to this as the practice of non-attachment. Uncle Al wrote about it when he spoke of being "delivered from the lust of result." Either way, it's the path to personal liberation. Find your attachment to the outcome (If I don't get into a size 6 dress by my birthday I'll have failed!) and let it go. It's tricky work and, like I said, the part I struggle with the most. But it really is amazing how when you call out your attachments and really look at them with a critical eye, they often seem senseless, silly, and completely unhelpful.
BE KIND TO YOURSELF. The last one is about self love. I know it may sound sappy, but if you don't love yourself and treat yourself with kindness, you'll never heal yourself. It's that simple.

Sunday Morning Breakfast

2009-01-18T12:20:00.001-08:00

Vegan SoyRizo Hash
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

My Sunday meal post is going to be breakfast today because we've got plans later and I'm not making a big Sunday dinner like I usually do. I created this recipe on the fly this morning and The Husband and I were delighted with how tasty it turned out. It was our first experience with SoyRizo and we both thinks it's quite tasty. I was concerned it would be too spicy for me, but the spice was perfect. There was some heat to it, but it wasn't overwhelming. The Husband, however, dumped hot sauce all over his, because that's how he rolls. Anyhow, hashes can be eaten any time of the day, of-course, but we just decided to have ours for breakfast.

Here's how it all came together:

SoyRizo Hash
Serves: 4

2 TBSP peanut oil (or olive oil)
5 cups waxy potatoes - 1" dice (about 2 pounds, skins on)
1 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 of a large onion)
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 package of SoyRizo
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chives, rough chopped

Put the oil in a large skillet (like a fryer) over medium heat. When the oil is hot, carefully place the potatoes in the pan. Ensure they have good contact with the pan, but don't mess with them too much. You want to get a good crust going. Leave 'em alone until the edges begin to brown and the potatoes release from the pan, about 10 minutes.
Continue cooking, gently turning the cubes to brown all sides but moving them as little as possible. Add more oil if you need to (I didn't) to prevent the potatoes from sticking. If they are getting too much color, turn the heat down a bit. Cook 'til they are tender and golden, about 20 minutes.
Turn the heat up a bit to begin crisping the potatoes and add the onion and garlic. Remove the SoyRizo from the casing and put that into the pan at the same time. Cook, stirring gently to break up the SoyRizo, until the onions are soft and the SoyRizo is heated through.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Add most of the chives (reserving some for garnish)l and stir another minute or two.
Serve immediately, garnished with remaining chives.

Though this isn't really a low-fat recipe, per se, it is much healthier than the traditional version and uses a minimal amount of added fat. Even when I'm "dieting" I try to have one semi-indulgent meal a week so I don't feel deprived. The trick is not to go too bonkers and in the grand scheme of things, this one's not too naughty, anyway.

Per Serving:

317 calories, 124 calories from fat, 14g fat, 1g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 343mg sodium, 43g carbs, 7g fiber, 5g sugars, 10g protein.
eGL: 18
Weight Watcher points: 7

This dish is a very good source of Vitamin C, providing 72% of the RDA per serving (based on a 2,000 calorie diet).

Strawberry Banana Sorbet

2009-01-17T20:19:00.001-08:00

Strawberry Banana Sorbet
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

This is a fat-free treat that tastes like decadent, creamy ice cream because of the banana. No sugar required!

Strawberry Banana Sorbet
Makes 6 1-cup servings

4 cups frozen strawberries
3 bananas, peeled and broken up into 2-inch chunks
2 tablespoons lime juice

Place frozen strawberries in medium saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until they release their juice and begin to simmer, about 10-15 minutes.
Remove from heat and add banana. Using an immersion blender (or food processor or standard blender), process fruit until completely smooth.
Strain mixture through fine mesh strainer and add lime juice. Stir to combine. Allow to come to room temperature and then store in fridge or freezer until cold.
Pour cold mixture into your prepared ice cream maker and process per manufacturer's instructions.

Per Serving:

89 calories, 3 calories from fat, 0g fat, 0g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 3mg sodium, 23g total carbs, 4g fiber, 12g sugars, 1g protein
eGL: 6
Weight Watcher points: 1

Master Recipe for Minestrone Soup

2009-01-16T14:16:00.000-08:00

Soups are the perfect food to eat if you're trying to watch your weight. They're satisfying, easy to make, take a while to eat, are extremely versatile, and consist mostly of liquid. Though most soup recipes begin with a sauté of aromatics - typically onion, carrot, and celery (aka mirepoix) - the fat can be bypassed by eliminating the sauté oil and just cooking the aromatics in the soup liquid itself. This is usually what I do when I'm trying to lose weight.

Master recipes are a passion of mine and I really enjoy finding and formulating them because of the culinary versatility they offer. Once you have a template for a dish, the possibilities open up wide. Having master recipes for various meals means I can pretty much shop my fridge and cabinet and gather enough miscellaneous ingredients to create a wonderful meal. Sometimes, I even hit the jackpot and end up creating something so different and tasty, it becomes part of my repertoire. The other main thing I appreciate about master recipes is that I can select in-season produce, making the same recipe over and over through the seasons, always with different results.

This is my master recipe for "skinny" (no fat added) minestrone soup. I've used it countless times and it never fails.

La Vegan Loca's Master "Skinny" Minestrone Soup

Serves: 4-6

1 medium onion, chopped (whatever kind you like or have on hand - white, yellow, red, and bunch of green onions, several shallots, whatever)
1-2 carrots, chopped
1-2 stalks of celery, chopped
4 cloves or garlic, minced
about 2 cups of hard veggies (those that cook longer) like root veggies and winter squash varieties, peeled (if necessary) and rough chopped into 3/4-inch pieces - any combination adding up to approximately 2 cups will do
6 cups liquid (all water, all stock, 4 cups stock + 2 cups water ... whatever you've got)
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (Italian, unseasoned, again ... whatever is in your cupboard)
about 2 cups of soft veggies and/or precooked and drained leftover or canned legumes (those that cook quickly) like corn kernels, green beans, summer squash, dark leafy greens, beans, lentils, etc. peeled (if necessary) and rough chopped 1/2 inch pieces - any combination adding up to approximately 2 cups will do
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped herbs (1/4 cup for dry, 1/2 cup for fresh) - use anything you may have that goes with your veggies (parsley is a given, basil, cilantro, sage, chives, thyme, whatever you have that makes you happy)
salt and pepper to taste

Throw the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and hard veggies into a soup pot and place over medium-high heat. Stir often and when things begin to stick (and before you garlic burns), add the liquid and crushed tomatoes.
Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Cover the soup, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the veggies are a bit soft (but not totally mushy).
Add soft veggies and herbs and adjust heat (if necessary) to keep the soup simmering. Continue simmering, uncovered, another 15 minutes or so until all the veggies are tender. Taste and adjust the seasonings as you like. Serve and enjoy!

If you'd like to add a bit of pre-cooked pasta or rice to your soup, I suggest placing 1/4 - 1/3 of a cup of it in the bottom of your soup bowl before you ladle your soup in. That way, when you store the leftovers, the grains won't absorb all your soup liquid.

The measurements and times for this recipe are merely suggestions from years of experience. If it looks too wet, add more veggies. If it looks too dry, add more liquid. Just keep tasting it and adjusting it and you'll be fine.

I, obviously, can't offer nutritional information for this one because of all the possible ingredient choices, but rest assured this is a healthy dish that just about anyone will love.

Other additions you may consider include pesto, hot sauce, tofu, tempeh, and seitan, but I almost never feel the need to add anything.

Have fun!

Fat-Free Chunky Spaghetti Sauce with Fat-Free Roasted Garlic

2009-01-16T07:54:00.000-08:00

Vegan Fat-Free Chunky Spaghetti Sauce
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

My apologies for being MIA yesterday (Friday), I was completely derailed by a horrible headache. But I'm back today (headache's mostly gone) and will be post-dating my dinner posts for Friday and adding some wonderful dessert posts for today.

My first offering is a completely fat-free, super chunky spaghetti sauce that is quick and easy to make since it relies on canned veggies. I've adapted it from Vegetarian Times Low-Fat and Fast, but made several major changes to it making it even better. It's packed with flavor due to the tomato paste, artichoke hearts, balsamic reduction, and my discovery of a fat-free method for roasting garlic, of which I used a entire head. Best of all is the calorie and fat counts - they're so low, it's a zero Weight Watchers points sauce!

Fat-Free Chunky Spaghetti Sauce
Serves: 10 (1/2-cup servings)

1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup water
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 14.5 ounce can artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped
1 cup water
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
2 TBSP capers, drained
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
1 head Fat-Free Roasted Garlic (see below)
2 TBSP balsamic reduction (or balsamic vinegar if you don't have any reduced, just know the flavor won't be as intense)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

In a 3-quart saucepan, cook chopped onion in 1/4 cup of water over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally 'til onion is tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir in diced tomatoes, chopped artichoke hearts, 1 cup of water, tomato paste, capers, and brown sugar and mix well. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.
While the sauce is simmering, use the back of a spoon and mash the cloves of one head of Fat-Free Roasted Garlic (see below) with the skins removed with the balsamic reduction in a small bowl, making a paste. When the sauce has only a few minutes left to cook, stir paste in to incorporate. Serve over hot, al-dente pasta (preferably whole wheat).

If you'd like it less chunky, carefully process a portion of or all of the sauce in a blender or food processor. I like it chunky, though. Chunks are cool.

Other ideas for serving: try this sauce on spaghetti squash, polenta, baked potato, rice, or other cooked grains.

This sauce has no saturated fat or cholesterol. It is also a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Folate, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C and Manganese.

Per serving (sauce only, without pasta):

40 calories, 2 calories from fat, 0g fat, 0g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 199mg sodium, 9g carbs, 3g fiber, 4g sugars, 2g protein
eGL: 3
Weight Watcher Points: 0

Non-Fat Roasted Garlic
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

My newfound method for roasting garlic isn't technically fat free, but it uses trace amounts of fat so that it ends up being virtually fat free. Normally, when I roast garlic, I take a whole head, cutting the pointy end off and exposing all the cloves, pour a tablespoon of olive oil down inside, and roast away. This method breaks the cloves apart and employs the use of non-stick cooking oil instead. It takes less time and cuts the fat out of the equation. Here's how I did it:

Fat-Free Roasted Garlic

1 or 2 heads of garlic, cloves separated but paper left in tact
non-stick cooking spray (like canola or olive oil)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Spread your garlic cloves out on a 1/4-sheet baking pan covered with foil. Lightly spray them with cooking spray and season them as desired, shaking the pan to evenly distribute it all.
Cook in the oven until cloves are roasted, but still soft, about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them and do not let them get hard or over-roasted (aka burned and petrified).

Arugula, Clementine, and Jicama Salad with Balsamic Reduction

2009-01-15T17:02:00.001-08:00

Arugula, Clementine, and Jicama Salad w/ Balsamic Reduction
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

This is the last lunch entry for today - a lovely and bright salad of arugula, clementine, jicama, and balsamic reduction. It's very tasty, and easy on the waistline. The flavors and textures are all vastly different yet seem to compliment each other perfectly. I've listed quantities here for two salads (or salad for two) but feel free to fiddle as you like.

Arugula, Clementine, and Jicama Salad with Balsamic Reduction
Serves: 2

2 cups arugula
1 clementine, peeled and segmented with each segment sliced in half length-wise and seeds removed
1 medium jicama, peeled
2 tablespoons balsamic reduction
salt and pepper to taste

Super simple! Layer the ingredients as listed and drizzle with balsamic reduction. Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.

Per Serving:

168, 5 cal from fat, 1g fat, 0g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 23 mg sodium, 38g carbs, 17g dietary fiber, 13g sugars, 3g protein
eGL: 8
Weight Watcher points: 3

This salad has no saturated fat or cholesterol and is very low in sodium. It is also a good source of vitamin K and potassium, and a very good source of dietary fiber and vitamin C.

Though I haven't tried it, I imagine it would great with all sorts of fruits when clementines aren't in season. Strawberries, watermelon, grapes - you name it! Extremely simple and refreshingly delicious.

Shirataki Noodles

2009-01-15T15:11:00.001-08:00

Shirataki Noodles
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Until recently, I had never even heard of shirataki noodles. I had blissfully passed right by them hundreds of times at my local market, which I found amusing when I realized they live on the shelf between the tofu and the vegan cream cheese.

So what are they? Well, they are noodles with very little calories, fat, or carbs. They have a different texture than traditional noodles, offering a chewier, more toothsome bite. They are made from a potato-like root plant grown in Asia. The root itself has many names but the fiber used to make the noodles is called glucomannan, and is thought to help control blood sugar, help improve cholesterol, and even contribute to weight loss.

Noodles made from glucomannan can be a little rubbery. This is somewhat counteracted by the addition of tofu, which is what the manufacturers of the shirataki noodles available at my local market have added. Also, a reduced boiling time can help prevent the rubberfication. (Add 'em last and cook 'em short!) The longer you cook them, the more rubbery they seam to get.

As I said before, you'll find them in the refrigerated section of your market. They are packed in liquid and are ready to eat from the package. One thing I really like about how they are packaged is that they come in servings of two. It's pretty difficult to overindulge on something when there's only two servings per package.

And what, exactly, will one serving of these babies offer you? How 'bout 20 calories, 0.5g fat, and 3g of carbs. That's it! So .... go for broke and eat a whole package if you like! You'll practically burn off the calories washing your dish when you're done.

The Vegetarian Times website has a lovely recipe for Broccoli-Shirataki Noodle Soup available. This would be a great way to try them and see if you like them. If you do, there's no telling what creative things you could think to do with them. They come in several different traditional pasta cuts (fettuccine, spaghetti, angel hair, etc.) so they lend themselves to all sorts of dishes. My vegan guides just won't shut up about the possibilities. (Translation: I've got all kinds of ideas.)

Vegan Caesar Saladus Maximus

2009-01-15T12:37:00.001-08:00

Vegan Caesar Saladus Maximus
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Hooray! It's Lunch Day!

Before we move from snacks to lunches, I have a confession to make: I forgot to post my second snack offering yesterday. Why? Well, I was doing CPR on baby seals of-course. Don't believe me. Okay, ya got me! The truth is, I got too wrapped up in watching 4 hours of American Idol. It's one of our guilty pleasures. If I get the second snack posted later, I'll probably back-date it but I'll let y'all know.

K .... on with lunch!

This oil-free version of a vegan Caesar salad is awesome. We can’t get enough of it. The recipe has been adapted from Vegetarian Times Low-Fat and Fast in which they recommend feeding 6 people with it. Pfft. They clearly didn’t intend for it to be a complete meal. Anyhow, I’ve switched a couple things up and made it into a massive salad (hence the name) with a kick-ass calorie and fat count. Here’s how we are doin’ in our house.

Vegan Caesar Saladus Maximus
Serves: 2

3 tablespoons organic Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons almond meal*
3 cloves garlic, rough chopped
¼ cup water (plus more if needed)
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 large head of romaine lettuce, cleaned and chopped or torn into pieces
croutons (optional – see below)

Throw the mustard, yeast, almond meal, garlic, water, lemon juice and soy sauce into a food processor or blender and process ‘til smooth. Add additional water if desired.
Drizzle onto prepared lettuce, add croutons if desired, and nosh.

I’ve been preparing the lettuce and making the dressing at night and storing it all in the fridge ‘til the next day. That way, it’s ready for The Husband to grab in the midst of the morning mad-dash out the door.

* Almond meal can be purchased at Trader Joe’s, in or in the bulk bin section of your local health food store, or in the baking section of a well-stocked market.

Per serving (without croutons):

181 cal, 56 cal from fat, 6g fat, 1g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 1291mg sodium, 22g total carbs, 11g dietary fiber, 5g sugars, 15g protein
eGL: 7
Weight Watcher points: 3

The Husband and I have been eating this salad at lunch for days now. We both like a substantial lunch and we agree that this salad fits the bill. It takes a long time to eat, which makes you feel like you’re really getting’ to stuff yourself, and keeps you going through the afternoon. It also gives you some pretty gnarly garlic breath. You’ve been warned.

On the topic of garlic, let it be known that we love it. When cooking, I almost always double the amount of garlic called for in recipes. The first time I made this salad, I threw in an extra clove of garlic and it was a decision I regretted later. So, if you’re a garlic lover like me, try this one as written before you start tossing in extra garlic. Whoa, I’m fanning my mouth just thinking about it.

If you want to add croutons to this salad, as is traditional with Caesar salads, have at it. Use your favorite recipe or store-bought croutons. If you’re trying to keep an eye on calories in fat, you may want to try what we’ve been doing.

Low-Fat Easy Croutons
Serves: 2

2 slices whole wheat bread

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cube your bread and spread it out onto an aluminum foil-covered 1/4 – sheet pan for easy clean up. Toast them dry, shaking the pan and/or tossing them once or twice, in the your oven for anywhere from 5-10 minutes, depending on how crispy and brown you like your croutons. Keep an eye on them; they burn fast.

These croutons really don’t add any additional flavor, but they do provide a lovely crunch. If you want to add some flavor, once they’re cut, lightly spray them with some non-stick oil (olive or canola) and season them however you like before baking. If you’re tracking your fat and calories, just see your package of bread for nutritional information. One piece of bread per ½ head of romaine seems to be a good ratio.

4B Mini Muffins

2009-01-14T12:50:00.001-08:00

4B Mini Muffins
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

To kick off Snack Day for Healthy Resolutions Week, I present to you 4B Mini Muffins. The four Bs are:

Blueberries
Banana
oat Bran
wheat Bran

The banana in these little muffins keeps them moist and adds a subtle sweetness that compliments the maple syrup. They are, quite simply, the best bran muffins I've ever made. They're light (especially for bran muffins) and a little sweet. Their petite size makes them a great snack to keep you going between meals, though you can use the same recipe to make a dozen standard-sized muffins, as well. You'll just need to adjust the baking time. The trick with these little babies is not to over-bake them, lest you desire blueberry hockey pucks. I've adapted this recipe, making it vegan and even healthier with fewer calories, from The Biggest Loser book.

4B Mini Muffins
Makes 24 mini muffins

3/4 cup unprocessed wheat bran
3/4 cup oat bran
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (or other berries)
3/4 cup nonfat soy milk
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 ripe medium banana, broken into several pieces
1 Ener-G egg replacer mixed with water per package instructions
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Lightly coat 24 nonstick muffin cups with cooking oil spray.
In a medium bowl, combine both brans, flour, flaxseed, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add berries and gently stir to coat them with the dry mixture. (This prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins later.) Set aside.
In a blender, combine the soy milk, maple syrup, banana, prepared Ener-G egg, olive oil, and vanilla and blend until smooth.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in liquid ingredients. With a spoon, stir gently until just combined.
Spoon about 2 tablespoons of batter into each prepared muffin cup. Bake about 8 minutes or until the tops of the muffins spring back when pressed gently in the centers. Do not over-bake.
Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from the cups. Serve warm or cool completely on rack.

To freeze these muffins for later use, wrap cooled muffins tightly in plastic wrap and place in freezer bags. Freeze for up to 3 months.

NOTE: If you don't have both types of bran, you may substitute 1 1/2 cups of either kind.

Per Muffin:

72 calories, 17 calories from fat, 2g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 80mg sodium, 13g total carbs, 2g dietary fiber, 5g sugars, 2g protien,
eGL*: 6
WW points: 1

* eGL = that's estimated Glycemic Load for those of us that need to watch our blood sugar. Try to keep it to 100 or less per day.

APB Fruit Sushi with Low-Fat Peanut Butter Spread

2009-01-13T16:02:00.001-08:00

APB Fruit Sushi
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Here's another breakfast option that's great when you want something light and pretty to kick off your day. It looks and feels quite fancy yet it's so easy to make.

APB Fruit Sushi
(APB = Apple - Peanut Butter - Banana)
Serves: 1

1 whole wheat wrap (I used a Trader Joe's Organic Olive Oil Whole Wheat Wrap)
2 TBSP Low-Fat Peanut Butter Spread (recipe below)
1/2 banana, quartered length-wise
1/4 apple, cut into large matchsticks

Spread the Low-Fat Peanut Butter Spread all over one side of your wrap. Lay your pieces of pre-cut banana and apple all snuggled together in a line extended from one edge of the wrap to the other. Carefully roll your wrap into a sushi roll and slice it into 1-inch pieces with a sharp knife. Enjoy!

Per Serving:

313 calories
77 calories from fat
9g fat
1g saturated fat
0g trans fat
0mg cholesterol
359mg sodium
53g total carbs
7g dietary fiber
13g sugars
10g protein
eGL*: 22
Weight Watcher Points: 6

* eGL = that's estimated Glycemic Load for those of us that need to watch our blood sugar. Try to keep it to 100 or less per day.

This Low-Fat Peanut Butter Spread was inspired by something similar I saw come out of the Bigger Loser kitchen. You get all the peanut buttery flavor with less than half the fat of straight peanut butter. Use it as you would traditional peanut butter - as a spread, in sauces, or warmed up and drizzled on some chocolate sorbet. Oh yeah ... now we're talkin'!

Low-Fat Peanut Butter Spread
Makes about 2 cups
Serving size: 2 TBSP

1 cup silken tofu, soft (about 9 ounces)
1/3 cup organic natural peanut butter
4 teaspoons maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt

Throw everything into a food processor or blender and whirl it all together until smooth. You may need to stop to scrape down the sides once or twice. If it's too thick, add a bit of water. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Per Serving:

77 calories
50 calories from fat
5g fat
1g saturated fat
0g trans fat
0mg cholesterol
48mg sodium
3g carbs
1g dietary fiber
1g sugar
4g protein
eGL*: 1
Weight Watchers Points: 2

* eGL = that's estimated Glycemic Load for those of us that need to watch our blood sugar. Try to keep it to 100 or less per day.

Low-Fat Apple Harvest Oatmeal

2009-01-13T13:33:00.001-08:00

Low-Fat Vegan Apple Harvest Oatmeal
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Just as breakfast is an essential start to any day, oatmeal is a fantastic and healthy thing to have for breakfast. My basic breakfast repertoire consists of two things - fruit or fruit smoothies, and oatmeal. If it's hot, I go for the first. If it's cold or I'm feeling particularly hungry, I go for the latter.

My latest oatmeal concoction, which I'm calling Apple Harvest Oatmeal, is rich and creamy with chewy chunks of dates and crunchy slivers of apple. It has no saturated fat or cholesterol (of-course) and is a good source of fiber, and a very good source of manganese.

Apple Harvest Oatmeal
Serves: 2

1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats (not quick-cook)
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup non-fat soy milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped dates
1 large, sweet apple (like a Fuji or Pink Lady), grated (about 1 cup)

Over high heat, bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
Add the oatmeal, pie spice, and salt, stirring to incorporate. Cover and lower the heat so the oatmeal gently simmers. Continue simmering until the liquid has absorbed, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the remaining ingredients until well incorporated and warmed through. Serve hot.

This recipe makes 2 large portions.

Per Serving:

273 calories
2g fat
0g saturated fat
0g trans fat
0mg cholesterol
320mg sodium
60g total carbs
8g dietary fiber
32g sugars
7g protein
eGL*: 30
Weight Watcher Points: 5

* eGL = that's estimated Glycemic Load for those of us that need to watch our blood sugar. Try to keep it to 100 or less per day.

Moonshine Monday: Low-Calorie Cocktails

2009-01-12T20:58:00.000-08:00

If you're trying to lose weight, drinking alcohol is relatively contraindicated. You're drinking calories that you could be eating and once you've had a couple, your better judgement tends to recede into the noise of bar food cravings and midnight munchies. But if you must imbibe, or are merely trying to make smarter drink choices, here are a few guidelines.

Oh, two last things before we get started:

I don't drink wine, and the caloric info for low-cal beers is more readily available than that for booze, so I'm stickin' with the hard stuff for this post.
Not all alcohol is technically vegan. By technically, I'm referring to the less obvious exceptions. We all know that cream-based liqueurs aren't vegan (or low-cal ... or low-fat for that matter), but there are some other rather sneaky manufacturing methods and ingredients in some alcohols that make them not vegan. To know what's what, google is your friend. There are many lists out there explaining what's vegan and what's not. Just do some digging.

THE SKINNY BITCH

No, not you ... the drink. A Skinny Bitch, as it's called in common barroom vernacular, is merely a diet coke with vodka. I prefer Coke Zero over diet coke, but that's totally up to you.

1 ounce vodka
diet coke
squeeze of lime

Start with a highball (tall, thin glass) and add the vodka and ice. Fill it up with the diet coke of your choice and top it off with a squeeze of lime. Easy, tasty, and only about 70 calories.

TRADE YOUR MARGARITA FOR A MOJITO

If you're into margaritas, you may want to give mojitos a try. Since margaritas are typically made with a syrupy margarita mixer, they weigh in at about 338 calories each. Mojitos, on the other hand, counter with a much more reasonable 136 calories. Here's how to make one:

3 fresh mint leaves
2 teaspoons of sugar
3 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lime juice
1 1/2 ounces of light rum
club soda, chilled

In a highball (a tall, thin glass), crush part of the mint with a fork to coat the inside. Add the sugar and lime juice and stir thoroughly. Top with ice. Add rum and mix. Top off with cold club soda (or seltzer). Add a lime slice and the remaining mint, and serve.

KNOW WHAT YOU'RE WORKING WITH

Inventing cocktails is easy and way too fun. Inventing calorie-conscious cocktails is little more tricky. The last time I looked, there was no caloric breakdown listed on bottles of booze. I don't know why they don't provide that information, but I wish they would. If you keep in mind that most 80-proof alcohols (not liqueurs, those have sugar) deliver 96 calories per standard 1.5 ounce serving, you can build from there. Determining the calories in the juice, mixer, soda, or seltzer you are mixing it with is much easier.

STICK WITH LOW-CAL or NO-CAL MIXERS

Now that you know how many calories you're getting in your booze, you can minimize the impact to your ass and thighs by adding the least amount of additional calories possible. My personal favorite is club soda. It's fizzy and totally versatile with no artificial sweeteners. Tonic is also an option if you don't mind the twang it delivers, as are diet sodas and many others.

LA VEGAN LOCA'S NEW FAVORITE LOW-CAL DRINK

Winter Solstice Cocktail
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

I made these at the Winter Solstice Brunch I hosted last month and The Husband and I have been drinking them ever since. They are tasty, easy, and low-calorie.

The Winter Solstice

1.5 ounces orange vodka - 103.5 calories
.5 ounce orange liqueur (we're using homemade, but you can use Grand Marnier or Cointreau) - 38 calories
.5 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice - 4 calories
club soda - 0 calories
thin slice of orange for garnish

In a cocktail shaker, combine vodka, orange liqueur, lemon juice, and ice; shake until well combined. Strain into a chilled highball filled with ice and top with club soda. Carefully insert a thin slice of orange into the glass for garnish and serve. Only 145.5 calories.

Since the Winter Solstice is all about the rebirth of the sun, I like to garnish with a round of orange because it reminds me of the sun. But if you'd rather garnish with mint or berries, have at it.

Remember, moderation is the key. Hope that helps!

Tomorrow, I'll be talking all about breakfasts for Healthy Resolutions.

How to Accessorize a Glass of Water

2009-01-12T16:19:00.001-08:00

Water with Dill
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

There are many ways to infuse water with a bit of zing. When thinking about things to add to your drinking water, I find it's best to stick with those you find "fresh" and "clean" tasting.

Citrus is a perfect example. We've all had water with lemon or lime added and I personally find it to be a lovely combination. You may also want to try orange, grapefruit, and tangerine. Just slice a segment, squeeze it into your glass, and drop the whole thing in. Don't forget to wash off the rind if it's going into your water.

One of my favorite accessories for water is dill weed. It's bright, fresh, and slightly sweet flavor goes nicely with water. I especially love this combination during hot weather.

Another hot weather addition I enjoy is cucumber. Add a few thin slices to your glass with some ice cubes and give it all a gentle stir before you fill it with water. Delish. And if you're going for a spa-like indulgence, cucumber and dill are great together in water.

Minted water is a lovely treat. You may need to muddle the leaves or crush them with your fingers in order to get them to release their minty goodness into your water, but it's worth the effort and extraordinarily refreshing.

When berries are in season, they too make great water accessories. Slice up a strawberry or muddle a couple blueberries into the bottom of your glass and you're in for a treat.

Many varieties of melon are also wonderful in water. Add a small amount, like a melon-baller's worth, and muddle it with your ice. Yum!

There are lots of options available to add some razzle-dazzle to your water. Most of them are cheap and easy to get your hands on and you need only use a tiny amount to dress up your water. Remember, we're going for water with a hint of lemon, not lemonade.

Get creative and think outside the box. If you find other things to add to your water, I'd love to hear about them.

Viva la agua!

Water: My New BFF

2009-01-12T10:08:00.000-08:00

Water
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Ah, water. Tastes like nothing, 'cept when it tastes bad. Zero calories. Zero fizz. Zero fun. Yet totally essential to a healthy lifestyle.

We have a checkered past, water and me. One of those rocky on-again, off-again relationships. You know the type. I hate you. I love you. I don't want you anymore. Never leave me again. It's all so exhausting. Yet I really feel like if I can resolve my issues with water, I can get myself exponentially closer to my personal health goals.

Unfortunately, I'm not one of those people that naturally enjoys drinking water. Unless I'm exercising a lot, I pretty much have to force myself into it. Even then, it's a struggle. I make deals with myself, playing silly games in order to get it all down. I've tried not allowing myself to drink a diet soda 'til I get all my water down for the day. I've also forced myself to take 3 big chugs every 15 minutes, going so far as to set a timer to remind me. Just about anything you can think of, I've tried it in order to meet the magical quota for daily water intake. Which is ... what exactly?

8 8-ounce glasses? Well, yeah. We've all heard that one, right? But is it even true? Turns out, it might not be. There's even a Snopes entry proclaiming the 8 8-ounce glasses per day rule to be false.

Then, to complicate things further, there's a mathematical formula floating around out there requiring you to take your weight, divide it by your age, multiply it by your high school SAT score and add the number of tequila shots you can get down before you spew in order to determine the minimum amount of water you need to drink every third Thursday. Or something like that. Whatever, I'm not doing math to figure out how much water to drink.

Did someone say tequila?

Sorry, off topic. Back to water.

So what's a thirsty girl to do? Well, some sane-sounding advice tells us all to merely tune into our bodies and drink clean water whenever thirsty. But then some other sane-sounding voice reminds us all of the adage: if you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated. It's dizzying, isn't it? I'm wrapping it up soon. Promise.

Every day, your body loses water performing various functions that keep you alive. Your part of it all is to replenish the water lost so you don't die. You can do this two ways:

Drink water.
Eat foods with water in them.

The Institute of Medicine makes the following recommendations: Men should consume roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day and women should consume 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day. And although I'm not affiliated in any way with the Institute of Medicine, I'm pretty sure that by "beverages" they don't mean "sodas," "margaritas," or "milkshakes." We're talkin' water and water-centered bevies here, okay kids?

Of-course, there are certain factors that may impact your water requirements like exercise, weather/humidity, medications, medical conditions, pregnancy, and illness. All of these should be taken into account.

Also, to allow your body to enjoy the maximum benefit of your water consumption, it should be done slowly over the course of the day (with exceptions made for periods of exercise, of-course). So no chugging it all down in two hours and calling it good for the day.

And please, don't be an environmental terrorist. Bottled water is great in a pinch, but be a good earthling and get yourself one of those fancy (non-plastic) reusable water bottles. It's a small but worthwhile investment. Keep it with you at all times and sap often. If you don't think you can manage that, get a few of them and keep one stashed in your car, at your desk at work, on your bedside table, in your backpack, or wherever you think you may need it. Just make sure you have access to clean, filtered water and clean your bottle as needed.

As far as the temperature debate is concerned, I don't pay too much attention to it all. Yes, drinking icy cold water does make your body work a bit harder, thereby burning a little more calories each day. And I do mean little. But some people can drink it faster at room temperature and others have sensitive teeth. Do whatever works for you, just drink your water.

I'll be back later today with some tips tips n' tricks and bells n' whistles you can add to your water to make it more fun and, of-course, it's still Moonshine Monday, so I'll also be back at cocktail hour with some lo-cal drink options.

Now go drink a glass of water!

Healthy Resolutions Week Kicks Off

2009-01-12T10:03:00.000-08:00

It's almost been two weeks since the start of 2009 and many of us made resolutions to get healthy and/or lose some weight. Have any of you started to slip up yet? I certainly have. Whether you only need shed a few extra holiday pounds or you have some serious weight-loss goals, this week is for you.

Over the next seven days I'll be exploring healthy solutions to our resolution quandaries. Each day I'll tackle a different topic and by the end of the week, we should all be back on track, rip-roaring and ready to make positive dietary and behavioral changes in our lives. Here's how I've broken down the week:

MONDAY: All things liquid - the importance of water and even lo-cal cocktail choices
TUESDAY: Breakfast
WEDNESDAY: Snacks
THURSDAY: Lunch
FRIDAY: Dinner
SATURDAY: Dessert
SUNDAY: Behavior modification and week-end wrap-up

2009 Resolutions for La Vegan Loca

2009-01-08T15:28:00.000-08:00

Let me start by proudly announcing that on January 1 of this year, The Husband and I celebrated our one-year Veganversary. Making the transition to eating and living a vegan lifestyle has been the best thing I've done for my health and happiness. Not only do I feel better, but relearning how to cook this past year has ignited a passion for cooking in me.

As the new year approached, I began to think about some of the changes I'd like to make to this blog. My inaugural post outlined, among other things, my intentions thusly: "As far as what's going into this blog, I'm not 100% sure, yet. I'm envisioning personal reflections and insights, experiences, recipes, and resources I discover as I embrace a vegan lifestyle and start eating kala (clean)." I believe I've stuck to that and I still think it's a fine set of parameters, but I'd like to fine-tune things around here. I want La Vegan Loca to become more of what I like in a blog, and allow it to be a vehicle for my personal expression and growth as a cook and evolving human. To that end, I've set some resolutions. Some of them are strictly for me while others are for the blog. But they all deal with food, so I'm using La Vegan Loca as a platform to share them with you.

15 RESOLUTIONS FOR 2009

BETTER PHOTOS I'd like to work on my photography skills in 2009. I feel like I'm a decent enough photographer, and every once in a while I'm able to create some beautiful food porn captures. Other times, however, I'm shooting food in poor lighting on plates with water spots, and while it all represents true life conditions, I know I can do better.
ORIGINAL RECIPES I've posted a lot of recipes straight from cookbooks over the past year and in 2009, I'm going to focus more on publishing my own creations. With that in mind I will no longer type up recipes from cookbooks or magazines. I will, however, happily link to all online recipes I use (as long as they have been published by either the creator or with the author's permission). I will also post veganized and/or adapted recipes, always with credit given, and of-course, my own creations.
QUALITY NOT QUANTITY In the beginning, I was rather hyper about posting every day. I've gone through varying spurts of accountability in that regard, and have ended up posting some fluff pieces in order to fill my self-imposed quota. Well my friends, I will feed you fluff no more! This year, I'm going to focus on quality, thoughtful entries. I no longer feel the need to publish a post every day except when I'm hosting a theme week, which brings me to my next resolution.
THEME WEEKS & MOONSHINE MONDAYS I've received the nicest and most enthusiastic feedback on my theme weeks and plan to play with those more in 2009. My hope is to work one theme week into my blog every month which means I'll be planning ahead a lot more than I did in 2008. I've got ideas for themes based on single ingredients, regional cuisines, colors, and even kitchen appliances. I've written them all down and I'm quite excited about the possibilities for this year. I also had lots of great feedback on my Moonshine Mondays posts for VeganMoFo and plan on bringing those back. I hope to either share a homemade liqueur or flavored booze recipe, or a cocktail recipe every Monday this year.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION Whenever possible, I'm going to post the nutritional information for the recipes I publish. I really like when other blogs do this and since I'm working very hard to get healthy, I appreciate it all the more. If I like having the info, I know some of you out there will like it, too. I've created an account with the Nutritional Data website that Susan uses over at FatFree Vegan Kitchen and plan on beginning there. I've played with the website a bit over the past few days and it'll definitely take some time for me get proficient at it, but I'm excited about it and plan to stick with it.
RECIPE CONTESTS On a whim, I entered my first recipe contest a few days ago and while the results won't be announced for a couple weeks, I think I'm hooked. I'm a goal-oriented, competitive person and the process of creating and refining a recipe for a contest was too much fun. It was also a great learning experience. So in 2009, I plan on entering my original recipes in contests and perhaps even submitting them for publication in various print and e-publishing forums.
A COOKBOOK I'm going to start writing a cookbook. I'm not committing to shopping publishers or working on a pitch or proposal, but I am going to start compiling my original recipes in earnest. Even if it ends up being a family heirloom, I'm absolutely certain I'll generate great amounts of joy and learn a lot in the process.
ORGANIZE MY RECIPES Over the years, I've amassed thousands of recipes. Most of them are in books but a lot of them are torn from magazines, newspapers, or printed from the internet. This year, I'm going to work on organizing them all in user-friendly notebooks. I also began speaking with my dad about creating a family cookbook, which will be a huge project but if we can get it done in time, it'll make for great holiday gifts that I'm sure will be cherished by all.
STREAMLINE MY KITCHEN My poor, sad, tiny little tract home kitchen is not a fun place to cook. If we had the money, we'd do a complete kitchen remodel, but right now we don't. There are, however, some ways I can reorganize, streamline, and maximize the space I have and that'll be an ongoing project over the course of the next year. But if we win the lotto or come into a fat chunk of money this year, I'm tossing that out the window and doing a total remodel. Just sayin'.
GET INTO TEA This is more of a personal resolution, but since I'm sure I'll blog about it as the adventure unfolds, I'm listing it here. I want to get into tea. Quality, loose-leaf tea. Not the cheapie stuff you get in dusty boxes on sale from the end-cap of your local grocery store, but the good stuff. Oh yeah, I'm excited about this one.
WHAT'S IN SEASON I already do a pretty good job utilizing locally-grown produce in most of my recipes. What I'm referring to here is a little sidebar element I used to feature on my blog that I let fall by the wayside. I'm bringing back my "What's in Season in California" column because I enjoyed having it there. It reminded me of the plethora of fresh, local ingredients I have to choose from and it also made me proud to live in the produce mecca that is California.
GET BACK INTO MY HERB GARDEN We don't have enough property to grow a lot of food, but I do maintain a lovely little container herb garden. We also have a lime tree, and an avocado tree, both of which produce food for us every year. But I don't spend as much time in my herb garden as I could. I'd like to diversify the herbs I grow there and incorporate them more into the foods I cook. I'd also like to try my hand at other things I can grow in containers. Tomatoes, maybe. I haven't decided yet but it should be fun.
SHARE THE LOCA LIGHT This year, I hope to expand my blog. Specifically, I'm going to try my hand at interviewing other vegan cooks and perhaps even hosting a contest or two. I'd like to make things more interactive around here and this seems like a good place to start.
DIVERSIFY MY POSTS This goal is all about my desire to talk about more than just recipes. I'm hoping to include the occasional product or book review, technique tutorial, and information on creating vegan items you don't eat (like cleaners, bath, and beauty products).
DIY CULINARY SCHOOL This is the big one. As some of you may remember, I applied to a local culinary school this past year. I was hoping to earn a degree from their pastry program. But when I reviewed the syllabus, I realized much of the first quarter focused on general cooking skills rather than pastry skills. This made sense to me and I was fine with it until I realized it meant I was going to be asked to cook meat and even kill a lobster in class. When I explained to the school I wasn't willing to do that because I'm vegan, they refused to admit me. I was completely shocked and although I think it is a stupid (and perhaps even discriminatory) decision on their part, it galvanized my passion for learning even more. This year, I plan on constructing my own culinary curriculum using the resources I have at my own disposal.

So there they are. It's quite a hefty list but, as I've said so many times before, food is my passion. I think about it all the time and much of life revolves around reading about it, cooking it, eating it, and playing with it. My promise to you all is to keep you updated on my resolutions and share my progress along the way.

Wowsers, I've got a lot of work to do! This is going to be fun.

Canned Comfort

2009-01-05T14:12:00.001-08:00

Amy's Low Fat Minestrone Soup
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

So far, 2009 has not been a party. First thing New Year's day, we got a call from our neighbor informing us The Husband's truck had been broken into. The thief smashed the window and stole a lot of auto equipment and tools, none of which will be covered by insurance.

The rocky start to the day coupled with dealing with police and insurance agents just threw off our whole plan to enjoy the long weekend and we've felt rushed and out of sync since. I haven't posted my resolutions yet and I had some changes I wanted to make to this blog that I haven't completely parsed out because I haven't had the time.

And to add a layer of sadistic icing to my pity party cake, I spent the morning in the dentist's chair for root planing. I'll spare you the details but the end result is I'm sore from the injections and want nothing more than a little quiet and TLC. But, I'm a stay-at-home mom, so that'll have to wait. Once my face stopped feeling like a balloon, I did end up settling for something comforting to eat instead.

Can I just get a little amen for canned soup?

I started poking around inside my cabinet and saw several cans of Amy's organic soups and breathed an audible sigh of relief. While my soup was heating, I decided to treat myself to a little fine dining experience and broke out the table cloth which totally needs to be ironed, but that's so not happening today.

I also felt I needed flowers to round out my lunch. So I grabbed the empty can and headed out to my herb garden. A fistful of lavender completed the scene and I was eating (gingerly) and happy.

I'll get back to my normal blogging schedule and announce the exciting changes (at least they're exciting to me) I'm making here very soon, I promise. But for now, I'm going to sit down, put my feet up, and read.

I hope everyone had a happy New Year! If you didn't, things can only get better. That's what I'm telling myself, anyway.

Wee Cranberry Upside-Down Cakes

2008-12-31T14:25:00.001-08:00

Wee Vegan Cranberry Upside-Down Cakes
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

I was poking through my fridge this morning when I realized I still have cranberries that need to be used. When properly stored, cranberries will last a long time in the fridge (up to 2 months), but mine were starting to look a little sad. So I sat down with my morning cup of coffee and awaited direction from my vegan guides. They like offerings of caffeine, so an idea formulated pretty fast.

Individual Cranberry Upside-Down Cakes

1 stick (1/2 cup) non-hydrogenated vegan margarine, at room temp
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar (divided)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1 egg replacement (I used Ener-G)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup nondairy milk (I used almond)

Preheat your oven to 350 degree F. Take 2 TBS of margarine and shmutz it all around inside the cups of a large muffin tin (the kind that bakes 6 big muffins). Keep it nearby.
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, 1/4 cup of white sugar, cinnamon, and allspice. Use a whisk to incorporate and then divide the mixture evenly among the 6 greased muffin cups. On top of that, arrange the cranberries (1/4 cup of berries per cake) in an even layer.
Cream the remaining 6 TBS of margarine with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in a mixing bowl 'til light and fluffy. Add your egg replacement and vanilla and mix to combine.
In another bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. With your mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the margarine mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk, until well combined.
Spoon the batter evenly into each muffin cup on top of the cranberries and smooth it out with your finger or a small spatula (I recommend your finger, it's a lot more fun). Put your muffin tin on a baking sheet and place it in the oven. Bake your little cakes for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick poked in the center of a cake comes out clean.
Allow your cakes to cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes. Carefully run a thin knife around the edge of each cake and turn them out onto a large plate. Some of the cranberry mixture may stick to the bottom of the tin. Not to worry, just take a spoon and put it back where it belongs.

If you're feelin' frisky, top these babies with a whipped soy topping or drizzle them with a nut cream. Have fun!

Raw Vegan Holiday Nog

2008-12-30T13:57:00.001-08:00

Raw Vegan Holiday Nog
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

I just walked by my cookbook stand to see all the recipes I had placed there to try this month and realized the month is almost over! It wouldn't really be a big deal except for the fact that I'm highly motivated to get back on the losin' weight train and have marked January 1 as my deadline. So now I'm scrambling, trying to get a few last recipes made and tried before the apple drops and I'm kissing the new year in.

This fabulous recipe for Holiday Nog is raw. It's also vegan (of-course) but it's still a little naughty. Kinda like me and I know damn well, a lot of you, too. But not as naughty as traditional nog. The recipe states it makes 4-6 servings so if you split the diff and go with 5, each serving is 4 WW points. The entire recipe produces a little over a quart of nog (about 4 1/3 cups).

I found the recipe on the VegNews website a few weeks ago and it's a good one. I have only one note to add: I personally think it tastes much better chilled. So if you want to drink it right away, use very cold water and maybe even frozen cashews (though I'm not sure if that would effect how well they grind up in the blender). Other than that, I think it's perfect in every way. The longer you let your blender work on it, the creamier it gets.

If you're looking for something that tastes just like traditional egg nog (blurgh), this isn't it. Better to go with the soy egg nogs that are available this time of year. But this is definitely in the nog family and the creaminess and nutmeg makes it taste very familiar. Plus it's nice not to have to turn to soy all the time and it's really delish in it's own right. I've got a big jar of it chilling in the fridge right now and plan to drink it tonight with The Husband. Maybe with some rum. Which means it won't be raw any more, but it'll definitely be even more naughty.

Sunday Night Dinner Gone Wrong, Wrong, Wrong

2008-12-30T12:06:00.001-08:00

Pasta n' Pancakes
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Generally speaking, I have pretty good luck in the kitchen. I can discern pretty quickly which cookbooks rock and those that aren't worth the trees that died for them. I'm also a pretty good cook, and can usually save a recipe midway if I see it going wrong. Sunday night, however, was just not my night. As a food blogger, I think it's important to talk about when things go wrong in the kitchen, because it happens to everyone. So here goes...

I selected two fabulous-sounding recipes from How To Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman, a book which I'm absolutely obsessed with and have had overwhelming success cooking from. The plan was to make Whole Wheat Linguini with Chestnut Cream sauce (pg 457) and Mediterranean Style Tofu Pancakes (pg 654/5). If I had time, I was also going to make a mixed green salad with a roasted garlic dressing.

Thing that went wrong the first: I roasted one pound of chestnuts and as I was removing the shells, more than half of them were bad with mold on the inside. Argh! I needed 8 ounces of roasted chestnuts for the recipe and I ended up with only 4 ounces of useable chestnuts. So, I decided to substitute with raw cashews.

Thing that went wrong the second: The pancake batter came together just fine, but I was unsure about the thickness and what my final product was supposed to look like. In the recipe, Bittman states, "It should be the consistency of a thick batter..." which isn't all that helpful. So when I went to fry my little pancakes up, they didn't set up right. They were burned around the edges, gooey in the middle and impossible to flip. I kept adjusting the batter adding liquid, adding flour, but I just never got it right. I finally ended up giving up and in a last ditch attempt, I poured the batter into a bar pan and shoved it in a 350 degree oven. I finally ended up with little Mediterranean Tofu Squares, which was fine, but I was really bummed I couldn't create the dish as intended.

Thing that went wrong the third: The Chestnut Cream sauce called for cream or half-and-half and it was my intention to veganize it. I know, from personal experience, that you cannot use soy cream like you can dairy cream if the recipe requires simmering or boiling. Some sort of bad juju happens to it and it evaporates or something. It's no good. Well, I forgot about this and ended up with a chestnutty, cashewy, globby mess. I threw it all in the blender and added unheated soy cream, trying to save the sauce, but it was really, really thick.

Thing that went wrong the fourth: By now, I was so frazzled and pissy, I started doing things without thinking. My plan was to make the salad dressing at this point and prepare the salad, but in an angry haze, I added the sauce to the pasta early. Well, once you add a creamy sauce to pasta, the clock starts ticking towards coagulation. I started frantically trying to get the salad dressing made, flinging dirty pots out of my way and The Husband came over to find out what all the noise was about. After a slew of curse words and angsty lamentation, he suggested I scrap the salad and we just sit down and eat what I had ready.

So, that's what we did. I'm determined to go back to both of these recipes and master them. Determined, I tell you!!!! The flavors for both of them were absolutely fantastic, so I know there is hope. The Chestnut Cream sauce was really sweet, so after I figure out how to not eff it up, I may play around with adding a bit of heat to it. Cayenne maybe. We'll see.

Thing that went right the first: That's right, the night wasn't a totally cluster! The only thing that went right that evening, and it was a big one and totally saved the night, was that my Chargers spanked the Broncos, 52 - 21. We ate our sad little dinner in front of the TV and watched the Chargers hand the Broncos their own asses which made The Husband and me (and every other Charger fan) so happy after all the controversy surrounding the first Charger/Bronco game this season. And by some super freaky twist of fate and stellar alignment, the Chargers are now 2008 West Division Champions.

So, at least there's that. But Chestnut Cream sauce and Mediterranean Tofu Pancakes, you will be mine. Oh yes. You will be mine.

The French Yule Log That Never Was

2008-12-29T00:00:00.000-08:00

This month brings my first missed Daring Baker challenge. I'm kinda bummed but was so overwhelmed both financially and time-wise, I just couldn't pull it off. It was a doozy with lots of separate pieces, each with their own recipe and challenge, especially for vegan bakers. If you have the time, I highly recommend checking out the completed challenges. Particularly from the Alternative Daring Bakers cuz ... you know ... gotta represent n' stuff.

This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux.

They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand.

Christmas Day Eats

2008-12-27T15:00:00.001-08:00

Vegan Mexican Bread Pudding
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Against some pretty good odds, I finished all the prep work required and was able to have a relatively stress-free Christmas day. I worked all day Christmas Eve. Seriously. All day. But it was totally worth it. Everything was prepared and ready to go when we arrived at my parents' home Christmas morning and we enjoyed a day of family and constant grazing. Ahhh, Christmas.

We started the festivities with my Mexican Bread Pudding which came out so much better than I ever could have imagined. I have yet to write down exactly what all went into it, but am committed to doing so because it was too good not to recreate. It was sweet and rich with apples and raisins and lots of cinnamon. Even my "Ewww, it's vegan?" parents loved it. Hooray!

After that we all sat down to watch The Boy rip open gifts which was great fun. Santa was good to him though the man in red is on my shit list for bringing him one of the most annoying toys I've ever had the misfortune of trying to tolerate. It's a German Porsche Police Car complete with blinkie lights, shrieking sirens, and orders to, "Pull over and put your hands up!" ... in German. Loud German. I have a sneaking suspicion this toy will soon mysteriously lose its batteries.

Vegan Cranberry Guacamole
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Once there were toys, clothes, and DVDs everywhere and the living room was littered with wrapping paper and sad-looking bows, we were ready to begin preparing dinner. Fresh chips with Cranberry Guacamole kept everyone's fingers out of the cooking pots. This turned out to be a great combination - the tart cranberries and the creamy avocado were awesome together.

My part of it was easy since I'd done the majority of the work ahead of time and the most complicated thing I had to do was steam the tamales. We made two different kinds:

Roasted Tomato Seitan Tamales with golden raisins and capers
Butternut and Acorn Squash Mole Tamales with pepitas

Vegan Beans, Tamales, and Sour Cilantro Cream
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

They were both fantastic. The Husband preferred the seitan tamales while I liked the squash ones better. The refried beans were creamy and delicious. If you have How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, I highly recommend giving this recipe a try. We cooked a double batch using both the coconut oil and butter (Earth Balance) variations for extra naughty deliciousness. And tons of cumin. I love cumin. It's probably my favorite spice right now.

And finally, the Cilantro Sour Cream from Veganomicon was a big hit! Everyone thought it was "real" sour cream that I had doctored with cilantro and lime. It was quite refreshing and helped balance out the spice in the tamales. We'll definitely make it again and even use it as a salad dressing.

Vegan Margarita "Cheese"cake
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

After a long time allowance for digestion, we tore into dessert. My Margarita "Cheese"cake came out really great. First off, I was just happy to have it set since it was my first attempt at a vegan cheesecake. The texture and flavor were good, though I think I can improve on it a bit. But the lime zest, tequila, and orange liqueur really made it taste margarita-ish and the candied lime peel just pushed it over the top.

It was a great Christmas. It rained all day which always adds atmosphere to winter holidays and justified the fire in the fireplace. Everyone was on their best (well ... nearly so) behavior and there was not much family drama to moan about on the way home. We were back in our own living room just after dark in time to get The Boy to bed and we fell asleep on the couch watching A Christmas Story by the light of our holiday tree.

I hope your holiday was happy and full of laughter and hearty food!

The Margarita "Cheese"cake is Done!

2008-12-23T22:45:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't get as much done today as I thought I would, but I did make forward progression. The Margarita Cheesecake is now cooling on the stove and when it's ready, will be stored in the fridge 'til the time is right. I have no idea if it's going to turn out since it's my recipe and I've never tried it before. I hope so. I'm thinking about making some candied lime peel to garnish it, but it's not a priority.

The pinto beans soaked all day and are now nestled away for the night in the slow cooker with big chunks of onion, some crushed garlic, and a couple bay leaves. They should be cooked and ready to be fried in the skillet tomorrow.

The Husband stopped by a local tamale shop and bought some prepared masa for the tamales, so that should make things easier tomorrow.

Here's how my list is looking:

~~Grocery shopping for the following:~~
Mexican Bread Pudding (for breakfast)
Pumpkin Mole Tamales
Roasted Tomato Seitan Tamales
Refried Beans (in the works)
Cranberry-Avocado Salsa (just picked up some gorgeous locally grown Avocados yesterday - I love living in Southern California!) with fresh tortilla chips from a local tortillarilla
Sour Cilantro Cream (from V'con)
Pomegranate Margaritas
~~Margarita "Cheese"cake~~

My plan for tomorrow is to consume massive quantities of caffeine upon rising and at strategic and periodic intervals throughout the day. I'll attack the two tamale fillings first and then the beans. The Sour Cilantro Cream will go together very quickly and when The Husband gets home from work, we're planning on sitting in front of the TV and stuffing tamales.

The Mexican Bread Pudding and Cranberry-Avocado Salsa will go together Christmas day as will the Pomegranate Margaritas. Many times over, I'm sure.

There, that doesn't sound too bad. Right? :::gulp::: :)

Christmas Day Menu

2008-12-22T15:48:00.001-08:00

Now that the cookie extravaganza (pics coming shortly) and Winter Solstice Brunch is out of the way, I can concentrate on preparing for Christmas Day eats. Here's the menu as it looks thus far:

Mexican Bread Pudding (for breakfast)
Pumpkin Mole Tamales
Roasted Tomato Seitan Tamales
Refried Beans
Cranberry-Avocado Salsa (just picked up some gorgeous locally grown Avocados yesterday - I love living in Southern California!) with fresh tortilla chips from a local tortillarilla
Sour Cilantro Cream (from V'con)
Pomegranate Margaritas
Margarita "Cheese"cake

Take that! Ha! Should be good. I'd better get busy. :)

Sunday Brunch: Winter Solstice

2008-12-21T17:35:00.001-08:00

Winter Solstice Brunch
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Our Winter Solstice Brunch was a huge success. Not only was my morning stress-free from having done the majority of the work ahead of time, but all the food was fantastic. The Sweet Potato Waffles smothered in Maple Cream were amazing. Pointing to them with his fork, one of my guests proclaimed, "These taste like Christmas." Awesome.

Baked Apples
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

The Mac 'n' Cheese was killer, as always. I believe it to be the best I've ever tasted, omni or vegan. And the Baked Apples were just ridiculous - stuffed with chopped dates and sugar and other good things and baked with a crisp coating of sugar and nuts. Each apple received a drizzle of some homemade Apple Liqueur before going into the oven and they came out perfect.

Winter Solstice Cocktail
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

The Toasted Brown Rice Tea was light and warming and the Winter Solstice Cocktails were quite effective and really hit the spot. I had two. :)

All in all, it was an overwhelming success and I got praise from my guests and family. I asked everyone if they'd be willing to come over more often to test additional recipes and allow me to hone my cooking and hostess skills and they each enthusiastically agreed. I even told them I'd been considering writing a cookbook and ended up getting lots of support, which felt really nice.

Tomorrow, I'll start working on my To Do List for Christmas Dinner. I hope you Winter Solstice and weekend was filled with good food and lots of belly laughs.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-21T06:02:00.001-08:00

Our Holiday Tree 2008
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

I got up reeeeealy early this morning to sneak this shot of our tree while we were still covered in the darkness of the longest night of the year. Wishing each of you Chanukah, Solstice, Festivus, Kwanzaa, and Christmas happiness!

Marni's Maple Cream

2008-12-20T21:35:00.000-08:00

I'm as ready as I can be for tomorrow's Winter Solstice Brunch and let me just take a moment to say, ready feels good!

I prepared the "cheese" sauce for the Mac 'n' Cheese and have stored it in an airtight container in the fridge for the night. I also made a maple cream sauce for the sweet potato waffles that is dynamite. Here's how I put it together:

Marni's Maple Cream

8 oz. container vegan cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
a pinch of ground cloves

Throw everything in the food processor and flip the switch 'til smooth and fully incorporated.
Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge 'til your ready to partake in the maple-creamy deliciousness. Allow to come to room temp or warm slightly before serving.

Time to cross more items off my list!

To Do List for Winter Solstice Brunch

~~Sweet Potato Waffles with Maple Cream~~

~~Mac 'n' "Cheese"~~
Baked Apples
~~Toasted Brown Rice Tea~~
Winter Solstice Cocktail

So tomorrow morning, all I have to do is boil the pasta and throw the Mac 'n' "Cheese" in the oven, prepare the baked apples, toast the waffles, and shake up some Winter Solstice Cocktails. Hooray!

The Cookies Are Baked!

2008-12-19T22:02:00.000-08:00

Sugar and Gingerbread Cookies
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Today I knocked another item off my list of things to do and baked all the cut-out cookies I'm taking to the cookie party tomorrow night. I used the recipes for Sugar Cookies and Gingerbread Cookies from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. I was impressed with both recipes but especially impressed with the gingerbread cookies! Too often, gingerbread cookies come out teeth-shattering hard. But not these, they are chewy and soft with lots of spice.

Rolling Cookie Dough
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

While I'm talking about cookies, I thought I'd pass a long a little trick I use to ensure I roll perfectly thick dough. In this picture, you can see I've got my dough resting between two sticks. These are standard dowels that you can purchase at nearly any crafting or hardware store. They come in various sizes and I keep 1/8-inch and 1/4-inch dowels in my kitchen just for this purpose. They are extremely cheap, easy to clean, and easy to store. Just place one on either side of your dough and roll until your rolling pin is resting on the dowels. Easy! And perfect results every time.

So I baked two batches of sugar cookies and one batch of gingerbread cookies. I had fun breaking out all my cookie cutters and the house smells absolutely heavenly. I'll have fun decorating all these cookies at the cookie decorating party I'm going to tomorrow. Wow. I feel so ... prepared n' stuff. I like it!

To Do List for Cookie Decorating Party

~~bake cookies~~
prepare icing in lots of colors
decorate 'em!

To Do List for Winter Solstice Brunch

~~Sweet Potato Waffles~~ with Maple Cream
Mac n' "Cheese"
Baked Apples
~~Toasted Brown Rice Tea~~
Winter Solstice Cocktail

I'll be posting and begin working on my To Do List for Christmas Dinner very soon. Tomorrow, I'll be doing final prep work for my Winter Solstice Brunch.

Toasted Brown Rice Tea

2008-12-18T17:01:00.000-08:00

To further prepare for brunch this weekend, I made the Toasted Brown Rice Tea. This drink can be made a few days in advance and stored in the fridge. When you're ready, it can be served hot or cold, though I'll most likely be serving it hot on Sunday morning. It's based on a similar recipe in Grub. Here's my version:

Toasted Brown Rice Tea

1 cup brown rice
2 quarts plain rice milk (8 cups or 64 ounces)
1/4 cup maple syrup

In the bottom of a large pot over medium-high heat, toast the brown rice while stirring often until it is nutty and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
Add the two quarts of rice milk, 4 cups of water, and maple syrup and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat so mixture simmers. Partially cover pot and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Strain and serve or store for 2-3 days in the fridge before serving.

I like it just as it is, but it would be nice to serve it with additional maple syrup in case your guests prefer a sweeter drink.

And now, I get to cross something else off my To Do List for the brunch! Wheeeeee!

~~Sweet Potato Waffles~~ with Maple Cream
Mac n' "Cheese"
Baked Apples
~~Toasted Brown Rice Tea~~
Winter Solstice Cocktail

Holiday Granola

2008-12-17T22:58:00.000-08:00

Holiday Granola
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Continuing with the current theme, today I sat down and made my shopping list for the rest of the supplies required for brunch this weekend. However, by the time I was done it was raining so hard I didn't want to leave the house. We San Diegans don't drive well in the rain. We don't get much practice!

So I ended up making several batches of granola instead. This is a great activity for a cold and rainy day for several reasons. First, it takes a long time. The granola crisps up in the oven at a low temperature for over an hour per batch and must be tossed for even browning every 15 minutes or so. Second, it makes the house smell fantastic, which rocks no matter what the weather is like but seems extra lovely when it's nasty outside. And finally, it keeps the oven on a long time, which helps make the house toasty.

So I enjoyed a leisurely day making granola for holiday gifts and dreamed up a new muffin recipe that I'll probably try sometime in the next couple days. My holiday granola is a bit different every year, though I work off a master recipe that I hold close to my chest because it took me so long to figure out the perfect formula. My 2008 holiday granola has almonds, pistachios, and sweetened, dried cranberries. Delish!

Sweet Potato Waffles

2008-12-16T14:10:00.001-08:00

Sweet Potato Waffles
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

The Sweet Potato Waffles are done and are currently taking turns on sheet pans in the freezer. Once they're all frozen, they'll get stored in a zip-top freezer bag 'til Sunday morning.

I couldn't find a recipe for vegan sweet potato waffles, so I had to get creative. I started with the Banana-Nut Waffle recipe from N'con (because we've made it a lot and know it's a solid recipe) and made the following adjustments:

replaced 2 average-size bananas with 2/3 cup sweet potato puree
increased nutmeg to 1/2 teaspoon
replaced walnuts with pecans

They came out perfect! This planning ahead thing is nice. Plus crossing items off To Do Lists feels pretty great. So, here goes...

~~Sweet Potato Waffles~~ with Maple Cream
Mac n' "Cheese"
Baked Apples
Toasted Brown Rice Tea
Winter Solstice Cocktail

Hooray! Oh, and that's our tree in the background of the photo above. Isn't it pretty? I'll try to post more pictures of it soon.

Winter Solstice Brunch Menu

2008-12-16T06:32:00.000-08:00

The menu for my upcoming Winter Solstice Brunch:

Sweet Potato Waffles with Maple Cream
Mac n' "Cheese"
Baked Apples
Toasted Brown Rice Tea
Winter Solstice Cocktail

I'm starting the prep work today with the intention to make the waffles ahead of time and freeze them. That way, the morning of the brunch I can just pull them from the freezer and toast them up. We actually think homemade waffles taste better this way, so it should work beautifully.

The New Theme: Holiday Planning and Preparation

2008-12-15T23:57:00.000-08:00

Seems like every year I get caught up in the holiday whirlwind. Before I know it I'm running around like a rabid tasmanian devil and my husband is shielding our son and throwing martinis and anxiety meds at me. This year, I vow it will be different.

The idea for this theme began worming its way through my head in October when I took on the month-long theme of "Putting Food By." Throughout VeganMoFo I touted my own food preservation skills and now I plan to put those skills to good use. My goal is to ensure the holidays are as stressless as possible by planning the menus, organizing myself, and preparing as much as I can ahead of time. So everyday, or thereabout, between now and December 25 I'll be doing something to make my life easier for the following three events:

A bake-a-thon and cookie decorating party on December 20
A winter solstice brunch on December 21
Christmas dinner on December 25

Hopefully, this will afford me some time to do the other things I like doing every year, like crafting new ornaments for the tree, sending off some homemade cheer to long-distance friends, watching A Christmas Story several times, and actually sitting down to enjoy myself and my family.

The prep work starts tomorrow. Holidays, I pwn you!

Graphic from Anne Taintor

Sunday Night Dinner: Savory Chocolate Seitan Pie with Salad

2008-12-14T17:46:00.001-08:00

Savory Chocolate Seitan Pie and Salad
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

I'm so stuffed. For tonight's dinner, I tried a recipe I spied on the VegNews website the other day called Savory Chocolate Seitan Pie. It's an awesome mix of unsweetened chocolate, curry, seitan, and veggies that cook in an apple juice reduction and then get baked with a mashed potato topper. The finished product is reminiscent of an Indian-style mole. It's really different and it's very good.

By the way, if you give this recipe a try you can save a dirty dish by cooking the seitan and veggies in an oven-safe skillet. That way, when it's time to pop it all in the oven, you are ready to go and don't have to dirty another dish. I used a cast iron skillet and it worked perfect.

I paired it with a salad of mixed greens and garbanzo beans dressed in a simple lemon tahini sauce with roasted garlic. The bright lemon flavors seamed to balance out the heaviness of the pie and everything was delicious.

Did I mention I'm full? I couldn't finish my plate. That's so not like me.

I hope your weekend was wonderful! I'm starting a new theme week tomorrow. More on that ... you know ... tomorrow.

Old School Lunch on a Cold Day ... and Another Movie Night!

2008-12-13T15:43:00.001-08:00

Baked Tater with Broccoli n' Cheezy Sauce
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

I love how my diet has expanded since going vegan. I eat a far greater variety of foods as a vegan than I ever did as an omni or a veggie and I discover new things I love to eat all the time.

But every once in a while, it's good to go old school and stick with simple, easy, comfort food. Today is one of those days. We had a storm blow in last night and I just haven't been able to get warm since. As I sat wringing my hands for heat and pondering my options, I occurred to me it would be smart to pick something that requires an extended stint in the oven.

Ah-hah! Baked potatoes! Perfect.

So, I baked some taters and when they were done, I steamed some broccoli and made a quick batch of Eazy Breezy Cheezy Sauce from How it All Vegan!

Delish, easy, and totally satisfying. The trifecta of food.

We were supposed to attend another movie night under the stars tonight, but it's too cold and rainy to sit outside. We'll probably end up hosting in our living room instead. I'm planning on making white hot chocolate with booze, popcorn, and maybe something sweet to eat. Also, I'm thinking we may just have our first fire of the season in our fireplace.

Tonight's movie will be Tropic Thunder which is probably the funniest movie I've seen in a few years. As soon as it came out on DVD, I ran out to buy it. I can't wait to share it with The Husband. I laughed so hard when I saw it in the theater, at one point I flipped my popcorn out of my lap. Heh ... here's a preview:

Hope you have something fun planned for tonight!

The Best Oatmeal Cookies Ever

2008-12-10T13:34:00.001-08:00

Monster Cookies
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

It was my friend Jonah's birthday this past weekend and I was blessed to have him over for good conversation and dinner. Of-course, I wanted to bake him a birthday cake, but his less than exuberant replies to my queries as to his favorite cake left me confused. Upon further poking, turns out Jonah's not a cake man. He's a cookie man instead.

So, I told him I'd make him birthday cookies. Oatmeal is Jonah's favorite cookie, so I began searching through my recipes for oatmeal cookies. However, none of them seemed special enough to warrant birthday cookie status. So, I hopped online and began poking around.

Nearly immediately, I ran into a Donna Haney recipe that had been adapted by Paula Deen for something she was calling Monster Cookies. That sounded intriguing, so I read on.

These babies called for candies, chocolate chips, raisins, and peanut butter. No wonder they're called monster cookies! After seeing literally hundreds of rave reviews, I decided to adapt the recipe myself and give it a try.

What emerged from my oven has got to be the best, most naughty, over-the-top oatmeal cookies I've ever tasted. Jonah heartily agreed. What else would you expect from Paula Deen, right? Best of all, the recipe was easy to adapt and made 4 dozen cookies, half of which went home with Jonah. Happy birthday!

So here's my version of monster cookies with some additional notes at the end.

Vegan Monster Cookies

3 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon water
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups organic, creamy peanut butter
1 stick (4 oz., 115 g, or 1/2 cup) vegan margarine, softened
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup raisins
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups rolled oats (I like Bob's Red Mill Organic Rolled Oats)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.
Combine ground flax seeds and water in a food processor and whirl until the liquid becomes viscous and thick, about 1 minute.
In a very large mixing bowl, combine the flax mixture and sugars. Mix well. Add the vanilla, peanut butter, and margarine. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips, raisins, baking soda, and rolled oats. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not overbake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags.

NOTES:

That "let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool," part is important. Don't try to remove them from the baking sheet before then or they'll just mush up on you.
Instead of 3/4 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup raisins, the original recipe called for 1/2 cup multi-colored chocolate candies, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, and 1/4 cup raisins. I couldn't find a vegan substitute for the multi-colored chocolate candies, however, so I split the difference between the chocolate chips and the raisins. But if you know where to get vegan multi-colored chocolate candies, give it a try. And let me know where to get them, too!
I think this recipe would be fun to experiment with. I'd like to try using other nut butters, adding nuts, using vegan white chocolate chips, swapping the raisins out for a different dried fruit, and maybe even trying other rolled grains like quinoa to replace the oats.

Sunday Night Dinner: Seitan Sammies

2008-12-08T15:40:00.001-08:00

Seitan Sammie with Root Veggie Crisps
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Last night's dinner was a big departure for me. I almost never make sandwiches ... unless it's peanut butter and jelly. I'm certainly not known to make them for company. But last night, that's exactly what I did.

The sandwich started with a sweet n' sour cabbage and apple dish I made in the morning. It was a beautiful purple color (from the cabbage) and flavored with cloves and fresh lemon juice. Absolutely delish. Very rich and warming with bold flavors.

I then made a sandwich spread. I started with a container of French Onion Tofutti and let it come to room temp. I tossed it in the food processor with a head of roasted garlic and a few splashes of liquid smoke to taste. Yum! More bold flavor.

The Husband picked up a fresh loaf of pumpernickel from a local bakery and I already had a grainy mustard on hand.

When dinnertime rolled around, I roasted thin slices of orange sweet potato, beets, and parsnips. The sandwiches were built on toasted pumpernickel and consisted of a mound of the cabbage and apple dish, pan-fried seitan, the mustard on one side and the creamy spread on the other.

Out of this world, I tell you! All the flavors were incredible together and perfectly underscored the cold and rainy weather that rolled in last night. How I wish I could just go to a sandwich shop and get something like that!

After dinner, I baked the best oatmeal cookies I've ever tasted, which I promise to share more about very soon. I hope your weekend was fantastic!

Caramelized Onion & Shroomed Seitan Stewskie

2008-12-04T16:20:00.001-08:00

Caramelized Onion & Shroomed Seitan Stewskie
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

I've been developing recipes like a mad woman as of late. I've got computer files and notebooks full of ideas and things I want to try. Today I finally got off my ass tried one of them.

For now, I'm calling it a Caramelized Onion and Shroomed Seitan Stewskie. It's a hearty combination of sweet from the caramelized onion and savory from the mushroom seitan. A brewskie (a lovely pumpkin beer in this case) provides the base for the stewing liquid, hence the play on words.

I've got to say, it's really freakin' good. The Husband gets the final word on it tonight when he gets home from work but I'm confident he's going to love it.

Why am I developing recipes?

Well, it's no secret I have dreams of writing and publishing cookbooks some day. I'd also love to own my own bakery and/or catering business. You know, on top of being a stay-at-home mom of a child with special needs and a college student. In my "spare time." Ha! But really, it's this...

For most my life, cooking food has been how I expressed myself. Since going vegan, this has become exponentially true. Making the transition to veganism almost a year ago has allowed me to foster a new relationship with my food. One that is built on a foundation of compassion and true joy. Out of all that ooey-gooey happiness, a true passion has emerged.

I love food.

I love to feed people.

I love when people love my food.

It's that simple. I have no idea where all this recipe development will lead me, if anywhere at all. But I know I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.

NEXT DAY EDIT: The Husband loved the stew and proclaimed that I "hit one out of the park." He stuffed himself with two big bowls and took another container of it to have for lunch. Hooray!

Vegan Stuffing Wins Big on Top Chef

2008-12-03T19:29:00.000-08:00

So, last week's episode of Top Chef was quite exciting. First, the elimination challenge was hefty: they had to cook Thanksgiving dinner for the Foo Fighters and their entire road crew without a kitchen! They we outside without a fridge, freezer, or stove in sight. They had only microwaves and toaster ovens to work with and in the middle of it all, they got rained on. It was a serious challenge.

But something even more amazing than that happened: the dish that nearly everyone went bananas over was a vegan stuffing! Hooray! I just get excited whenever I even hear the word vegan on TV, but to see a bunch of foodies get psyched about vegan food is very cool.

Now, the recipe was originally published on the Bravo website with a typo which which made it appear as though it's not truly vegan. However, it has since been fixed and I'm really looking forward to trying it. So without further rambling, I give you....

Radhika Desai's Roasted Veggie Vegan Cornbread Stuffing

6 egg and dairy free corn muffins
1 yellow squash, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 red pepper, diced
3 T minced garlic
1 T oregano
1 T rosemary
1 T thyme
1 T basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 quart vegetable stock
1/2 cup olive oil

Small dice squash, zucchini, red pepper.
Toss veggies with olive oil, herbs and salt and pepper.
Put in 350 degree oven in one layer, and roast for approximately 25 minutes, or until soft.
Sauté garlic in oil, combine herbs and add to garlic.
Crumble in the corn muffins.
Toss and combine with veggies.
Spread in large casserole dish.
Pour over stock and bake for 15 minutes.
Garnish with chopped scallion and serve.

If you want to watch the episode, you can do so here.

Here's to more vegan yummies on Top Chef!

Sunday Night Dinner: Roasted Root (Veggies)

2008-11-30T19:29:00.001-08:00

Roasted Root Veggies
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

It's been a while since I've posted a Sunday Night Dinner entry and I'm happy to bring it back! We had a fabulous but simple supper tonight: oven-roasted beets, taters, carrots, onions, and garlic with fresh rosemary from the garden, olive oil, salt and pepper. We served it over the last of the leftover millet from Thanksgiving and noshed while watching Iron Chef America. It was a Cora V. Symon Holiday Battle complete with oversized glass ornaments. Oooooo, shiny.

:::spoiler alert:::

The secret ingredient was .... CHOCOLATE!!!!!!

Hope your weekend was fun!

Caramel Chameleon

2008-11-29T13:57:00.001-08:00

This month's Daring Baker challenge marked the official end to "the savory streak," and just in time for the holidays! In fact, the baking challenge this month offered up the polar opposite - a holy-bananas-that's-sweet Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting. Yowza!

The original recipe is the brainchild of Shuna Fish Lydon of Eggbeater. Not only it is her brainchild, it's her signature caramel cake, so ... you know ... no pressure or anything. Now that I've tasted it, I know why: It's sinfully delicious. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The gauntlet was thrown down by Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity, Jenny of Foray into Food, and Alex of Blondie and Brownie. Offering up assistance to we Daring Alternative Bakers was none-other than Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go.

Caramel Cake w/ Caramelized "Butter" Frosting
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

I decided to make this caramel confection as my dessert offering for our Thanksgiving feast and it was enjoyed by vegan and omni alike. I had originally intended to do something different and creative with it ... cupcakes ... or wee bunts ... or something .... but alas the time restraints of Thanksgiving day shut that plan down right quick. When am I going to learn to plan ahead?

The recipe makes plenty of extra yummy caramel sauce, which I intended to drizzle all over the finished cake. But those plans were also shut down when I was icing the cake. You see, I wasn't looking while my husband decided to "help me" by stirring the caramel sauce as I slowly reheated it on the stovetop. He stirred and stirred and stirred and well, if you know anything about cooking with sugar, you already know what happened. All that agitation caused the sugars in the caramel to crystalize turning it into a cloudy, gritty mess. (Hence the Chameleon portion of today's title. Plus, alliteration is hot and we just don't get enough Boy George references these days.)

He meant well.

Caramel Cake, sliced
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

So I had to come up with a last-minute cake decoration - toasted pecan pieces. Yeah, I know it's totally lame. Oh well. Next time.

To veganize the cake I made the following alterations to the original recipe:

replaced unsalted butter with Earth Balance
omitted kosher salt because EB has plenty already
replaced the 2 eggs with 6 tablespoons silken tofu
added 1/2 teaspoon baking powder for additional lift
replaced AP flour with unbleached because I don't eat bleached flour
substituted soy milk for cow milk

To veganize the frosting I made the following alterations to the original recipe:

replaced butter with Earth Balance
substituted vegan powdered sugar for standard powdered sugar
replaced heavy cream with coconut milk
substituted 1 teaspoon vanilla extract with the seeds from one vanilla pod because it tastes good and gives you those great specks in the frosting

Yum. Yum. Yum. This cake is awesome and it was easy to veganize with great results. I'd absolutely make it again.

Bring on the next challenge!!!

Our First Vegan Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T10:06:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving Dinner 2008
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

I've been so sick lately and was afraid I wasn't going to be able to cook my own first vegan Thanksgiving. But alas, my cold abated just enough for me to get to the store the day before Thanksgiving for supplies to cook a lovely meal for my sweetie and me. For our main course I made Stuffed Acorn Squash. For side dishes I made Green Bean Casserole and Cornbread Pudding.

Stuffed Acorn Squash
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

The stuffed squash was an original recipe (I'm so proud!) and so delicious. I stuffed my little beauties with mustard greens, toasted pecans, millet, and more. So tasty and a really beautiful presentation.

Green Bean Casserole
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

The Green Bean Casserole was made from all fresh ingredients - no can opener needed! I even toasted up my own onions. The mushroom gravy was delicious beyond compare and the fresh green beans maintained their integrity, offering up a lovely snap when eaten.

Cornbread Pudding
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

The Cornbread Pudding was divine. Di. Vine. It was everything that's good about bread pudding and more. Creamy, comforting, rich, warm, spicy, sweet, and savory. I'm getting all Pavlovian just thinking about it right now.

Pecan Pie
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

After we ate, we packed up and joined my parents and great-grandma at my parents' home for dessert. My dad took his first crack at vegan cooking and made a pecan pie. It wasn't an overwhelming success, but it was good and we really appreciated the effort he took to accommodate our way of eating. Thus far, it's the first culinary olive branch they've extended to us since our going vegan, so it was great progress.

I also made a dessert, but you'll to have wait 'til tomorrow to read about it.

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving and the first in what I'm sure will be many explorations into vegan harvest cooking. I hope your holiday was grand.

And now ... time to hang holiday lights. Hooray!

Movie Night in Suburbia

2008-11-17T13:56:00.001-08:00

Popcorn
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

It's not often we suburbanite parents of small children get to do something cool and exciting. Certainly not on our own turf. This weekend, however, we got together with some neighbors and had our first Movie Night out in the cul de sac. And dare I say, it was cool and exciting.

I'm a huge fan of horror, as is one of our neighbors. We swap movie recommendations, borrow each other's DVDs, and spend lots of time discussing favorite horror movie moments and the sickest Halloween decorations imaginable.

We've been trying to get together for a Saw moviethon for several months now and just haven't been able to coordinate. Between his kids and ours, it's tough. But this past weekend, the planets aligned and the gods of horror were smiling up at us.

When it got dark, he set up a DVD player and a projector on his driveway so he could project the movies onto his garage door. We all sat out under the stars, in perfect San Diego weather and watched Saw II and III together. It was so much fun.

I used this opportunity to try out Alton Brown's method for popping perfect popcorn and the consensus was that it's pretty much the best popcorn ever. You can follow the link above for the method, but I'll post it here too, for the link-phobic.

Perfect Popcorn
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 3 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 3 1/2 to 4 quarts

3 tablespoons peanut oil (I used my falafel fryin' peanut oil, which gave the popcorn a delicious flavor)
3 ounces popcorn kernels, approximately 1/2 cup
1/2 teaspoon popcorn salt (see below)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (we used Earth Balance, of-course)

Place the oil, popcorn and salt in a large, 6-quart, metal mixing bowl. Cover with heavy-duty aluminum foil and poke 10 slits in the top with a knife.
Place the bowl over medium heat and shake constantly using a pair of tongs to hold the bowl. Continue shaking until the popcorn finishes popping, approximately 3 minutes.
Remove the bowl from the heat and carefully remove the foil. Stir in any salt that is on the side of the bowl.
Melt the butter in the microwave. Slowly drizzle over the popcorn, while spinning the bowl. (I also added some garlic powder and Faux Parmy at this point.) Serve immediately.

So delicious, it was ridiculous!

And if you don't have popcorn salt, you can make your own.

Popcorn Salt

1 cup kosher salt

Throw the salt into a food processor for 10 3-second pulses.
Store it in a shaker with a few (unpopped) popcorn kernels to absorb moisture.

7 Things About Me

2008-11-17T10:47:00.000-08:00

I would have gotten to this sooner but I'm still fighting The Sick that The Boy decided to gift me with recently. Aw, so sweet. I'd have preferred a macaroni necklace or a finger painting but thanks, baby. This is the cold that keeps on giving. Ugh!

First thanks to the following lovely ladies, all of whom tagged me for this meme. I hope I don't disappoint. Please check out their blogs as they each have a unique voice and oodles of interesting things to say:

Now for the rules (more like guidelines, really):

Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links.
Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So, seven random and/or weird facts about me .... here goes!

I became a published author before I graduated high school. I could kick myself for not pursuing writing after I graduated, but I'm trying now. Which leads me to ...
I've entered two writing contests over the last three months and won honorable mention in both of them. I'm currently trying to figure out how to make room in my life to write more because I really enjoy it.
I've only ever had one cavity and I didn't get it until I was 30 years old.
I met my husband in a mosh pit. Actually, I ran into him. Literally. I was 17 and he was 20 and the mutual attraction was instantaneous. He tried to ask my name, but he couldn't hear me over the band so he started calling me Mosh Pit Girl, instead. Even though I was dating another guy at the time, I ran into my hubbie-to-be several times over the course of that summer. One day, towards the end of the summer, my then-boyfriend invited me down to meet his new roommate, "The coolest guy ever." As I entered my boyfriend's new apartment, I heard someone say, "Hey Mosh Pit Girl!" I looked up and it was Future Husband. In some strange twist of fate, they ended up roommates. In an ensuing not-so-strange twist of fate, I ended up swapping out my boyfriend and the rest is history.
Food is my passion and I have fantasies about owning my own bakery and penning cookbook after cookbook. I have an entire bakery menu planned out and a growing list of cookbook ideas.
I'm a total bibliophile. I own and have read thousands of books. I read several at a time, stashing them around the house, in my purse, in my car, and will pull one out whenever I have a moment. I have several rare editions and hope to one day own a home with a library and one of those cool rolling ladders.
I have an irrational fear of airplane potties. Up until recently, I refused to use them, which makes long flights interesting. So fierce was my resolve that I even managed to avoid the loo on two flights between Los Angeles and Amsterdam.

And now we've come to the part where I'm supposed to tag 7 people to do this meme. Though I enjoy being tagged, I'm not really a tagger. Plus, just about everyone who's blog I read has already participated. If you're reading this and you haven't yet played, consider yourself tagged.