poopiebitch.com - a vegan food blog » testers

Warning: this post contains full-frontal squash

poopiebitch — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:03:42 +0000

Yeah, I missed a couple of days. I promise to make up for it soon, and starting tomorrow hopefully my posts will be more interesting. Not that MORE ISA TESTERS isn’t interesting…

Linguine with Edamame Pesto

What a fantastic idea. Delicious, green, fresh tasting pesto, without all the fat. I love love love this recipe. Paired here with linguine, mushrooms and onions, this was a very satisfying meal.

I had pesto leftover, but I wanted something a bit lighter at lunchtime – what’s a girl to do? Spaghetti squash was the perfect solution. If you’ve never cooked up one of these gems, I highly suggest you do. I just cut mine in half (it was fairly small), put it cut-side down on a baking sheet and put it in a 375ºF oven for about 30 minutes, until it was nice and tender. Larger squash will take a bit longer – you’ll know it’s done when you can easily pierce the flesh with a knife.

Now the fun part! Just take a fork and run it along from stem to stern, the flesh will separate itself into lovely spaghetti-like strands all on its own.

Spaghetti Squash!

Edamame Pesto with Spaghetti Squash

Then just use it like you would spaghetti! It was really fantastic topped with Edamame Pesto and crushed red pepper flakes, eaten out on the back patio on a cool day.

Last, I’ll leave you with a picture of Fauxstess Cuppies (from VWaV). I made these ages ago but never got around to posting the photo. And with all this healthy food I’ve been posting lately, I feel the need to balance it out with a hefty dose of sugar.

Fauxstess with the Mostest

And it was good

poopiebitch — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:26:23 +0000

Time for another MoFo post, also know as the next installment of: “Look! I made testers for Isa’s weight loss cookbook! And they were awesome!”

Cannellini Walnut Croquettes

I’ve actually made these twice, they were so damn good. Oh, and they freeze really well, too.

Garlicky Mushrooms and Kale

Garlic! Mushrooms! Kale! What is there not to love?

Marinara Olivada

I also learned that olives and marinara belong together, forever and ever, in holy matrimony, amen.

More of the same, but still delicious

poopiebitch — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 03:34:51 +0000

First off, I just have to mention that I cycled 22.58 miles today! The Brit and I went to my sister’s house and back again, which was fun but highly exhausting. Also, my ass is super sore now (because you needed to know).

I don’t have much else to say, but it’s okay because I know you really only come for the pictures of food anyway. More Isa weight loss testers!

Baked Falafel and Fresh Dill Hummus

So amazingly perfect for a light summer meal.

Black Bean Olive Tacos with Garlic Lemon Yogurt

Another great summer meal, and a combination that is pure genius. I made the tortillas all by myself, too.

That’s it for today kiddos! Happy MoFoing.

MoFo’in it up

poopiebitch — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 04:21:59 +0000

It’s the first day of Vegan MoFo, and I’m making it in just under the wire. I promise I won’t procrastinate like this the rest of the month, if you promise not to actually hold me to that.

My post today is brief, mostly because I’m tired (I just got home). Nonetheless, this is Vegan Month of FOOD, so let’s get to the goods, shall we?

Last night I made another tester for Isa’s upcoming weight loss cookbook (expect a lot more posts about testers for this book in the coming month). Probably one of my favorite meals to date – once the book comes out and you make it, you’ll see why. Easy and full of flavor, it was worth the time I spent tracking down the delicata squashes, which seemed to be impossible to find for a while. I was actually about to settle for butternut yesterday, stopped to buy one at a store I don’t usually shop at on the way home from the gym, and what do I find? Delicatas! How fortuitous.

Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin Mustard Tofu

If just reading “Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin Mustard Tofu” doesn’t make you drool, then you’re either a robot, or dead.

Unfried Fried Rice

You read that right. Fried rice, that isn’t fried. Impossibly good.

5 Spice Delicata Squash

Oh yes, the elusive delicata. Roasted to perfection with Chinese 5 spice and maple syrup.

Are you drooling yet, robot zombies?

I’m still here

poopiebitch — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:33:03 +0000

No worries, I’m still here. A little slow getting back into the swing of things, but here nonetheless. I had to have some (very minor) surgery, so I’m a little sore and it’s hard for me to cook. I’ve managed to whip up a couple of things though! Yes, that’s right, time for yet more testers from Isa’s upcoming weight loss cookbook.

First up, a spicy and amazing dish:

Curry Laksa

So, so good. I would be tempted to go make another batch of it, if I didn’t have a few more servings of this deliciousness to fill the void:

Cauliflower Pesto Soup

So simple, but packs a ton of flavor. You won’t believe the nutritional stats on that rich and creamy bowl of yum, either.

That’s all I’ve got for now, but I promise not to stay away too long.

A few new testers

poopiebitch — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:54:05 +0000

I’ve been very lucky to be a tester for some awesome cookbooks. I tested for Kelly and Garrick’s Vegan Cookie Book (which I think is still going to be released eventually!), I’m still testing for Tami’s American Vegan Kitchen (wrapping up very soon!), and I’m also a tester for Bianca’s Southern Vegan Cookbook.

Well, you can add another book to that list. I’m now a tester for Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s latest project – a vegan weight loss cookbook! I can’t tell you how excited I am about this (and how much I NEED it). Here’s a sampling of the many (many!) recipes I’ve made so far:

Red Lentil and Root Veggie Dal

Caribbean Curry Black Eyed Peas With Plantains

Jerk Asparagus

Mushroom and Cannellini Paprikas with Scarlet Barley

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Toasted Cumin Seeds

Summer Lovin' Curried Corn & Veggie Chowder

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with Grilled Tofu & Peanut Mint Gremolata

I only wish I’d taken pictures of everything I’ve made, but trust me, there will be plenty more soon enough!

Odds and ends

poopiebitch — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:12:21 +0000

It’s really shameful that it’s been almost a week since I updated. Oops. I’ve been busy with lots of things though – not the least of which is cycling! The Brit and I dusted off our bikes (actually, he bought a new one and we dusted off mine, but whatever), and have been trying to get in as much cycling as possible. So far this month I’ve done 43 miles – my goal is 100 miles in May.

To help me keep up with my goal, I’ve put together a Cycle Progress Chart (some of you might have already seen it – it’s over there —>). If you notice it hasn’t budged in a few days, please feel free to give me a proverbial kick in the arse to get going again!

In other news, this last weekend Bianca of Vegan Crunk and I put together an awesome party. We called it the Prodigious Vegan Sushi-Palooza Madness Extravaganza. It totally lived up to its name. I haven’t uploaded any of my photos yet (not sure if I even have any worth posting), but go check out Bianca’s post about it – trust me, you won’t regret it.

I promise not to leave you without pictures of food! First, check out the pizza I made last week from some extra dough I had frozen:

Check out those crust bubbles.

The whole thing was covered in roasted red pepper sauce and onions, which is all The Brit wanted on his half (crazy man). I then added some tofu ricotta, black olives and arugula to my half, making it far superior.

Then I made a couple of testers for Kelly and Garrick’s Vegan Cookie Book (it’s in its final stages of testing! woo!). I made Rice Crispy Treats and Flapjacks.

No special vegan marshmallows or marshmallow creme required.

No, not pancakes... proper oat flapjack like they eat in the UK.

Both of these recipe were awesome, just like all the other recipes in their book!

Lastly, I’ve been helping a friend plan and purchase items for a joint birthday party for her daughter and nephew this weekend. We’re making a ‘Pink Princess Doll’ cake and a ‘Lightning McQueen’ cake (from the movie Cars). Did I mention there are 130 people invited to this party? Yeah. On the plus side, she wants to make all of the cake vegan even though no one in attendance (including her) is vegan! Awesome, yes?

Mediterranean brunch

poopiebitch — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:03:17 +0000

I love the weekends. Saturdays are perfect for sleeping in, making a big lazy brunch and avoiding the world.

Of course, just because you’re avoiding the world, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the flavors of it. Tami’s recipe for Mediterranean Scramble is perfect for waking your taste buds up on those sleepy days. If you hadn’t guessed it yet, this is another tester for her cookbook.

Bright, bold and flavorful.

One can’t live on tofu scramble alone, though. I’ve gotta have something starchy with mine, and Tami’s Homefries #1 fit the bill nicely. These decadent fries are the perfect compliment to the light, clean flavors of the scramble.

Rich and delicious.

All in all, the perfect meal to fuel a day of doing as little as possible.

They were sitting, they were sitting on the strawberry swing

poopiebitch — Fri, 01 May 2009 03:54:20 +0000

Last week I went strawberry picking for the first time. Bianca met up with me (and The Brit, but he didn’t do any of the picking) at Windermere Farms, which is a locally-owned certified organic farm, run by a couple that she knows. I think they mostly grow strawberries, although I understand that they also have lima beans and squash later in the year.

We picked eight pounds of strawberries between us – three pounds for me and five for her. The whole experience of picking them was really fun, but nothing could be more fun than getting to eat them. And what better way to enjoy them than with some Chocolate Chip Quickcake?

Check out those beautiful berries.

I’m lucky enough to be testing recipes for Tami’s upcoming cookbook, and this recipe caught my eye right away. I already had all of the ingredients, most importantly the strawberries. Of course it helps that I’m always in the mood for something sweet. It was a breeze to put together, and the combination of not-too-sweet cake studded with chocolate chips paired perfectly with the juicy ripe strawberries.

This was my first tester for her book, but based on what I’ve seen, this is going to be another one you’re going to want!

Seitan and sweet ‘taters

poopiebitch — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:49:20 +0000

You want to see more testers for Bianca’s book, don’t you? Of course you do.

Behold! The deliciousness that is Dijon-Pecan Seitan with Maple Butter Glaze.

Yes, it's every bit as good as it sounds, plus a little.

And what better to go along with that yummy spicy-sweet seitan, than some yummy spicy-sweet Mashed Sweet ‘Taters?

Did I mention creamy? Mmmmm, creamy.

Trust me people, you will want this book. Seriously.

Keep the faith

poopiebitch — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 22:08:51 +0000

I’ve got photos of two more testers for Bianca’s book to share with you, both of which are amazing!

I’ll start with the Chocolate Gravy. I know what you’re thinking: Chocolate? Gravy? An excuse to eat chocolate for breakfast? Who thought of such a thing?! I don’t know, but I want to give that person a hug.

So perfect paired with Bianca's fluffy biscuits.

Next up, nothing short of a miracle. The Brit (in)famously hates squash. HATES. I cannot stress this enough. I (being the bitch that I am) insisted on serving him some of Bianca’s Creamy Squash Casserole anyway. He (being the ever-patient husband that he is) agreed to try it. When he took his first bite, I was very much encouraged when he didn’t immediately spit it out. When I asked what he thought, his exact words were: “it’s surprisingly un-revolting”… Then he ate the whole serving. Did you get that, people? HE. ATE. IT. *cue Hallelujah Chorus*

Creamy Squash Casserole, or gift from the gods? You decide.

Moral of this story? Keep the faith, children. Always keep the faith.

One a penny, two a penny

poopiebitch — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:27:00 +0000

First off, *thank you* to everyone who got excited with me over The Brit’s conversion! I’m still so stoked about it! We’re working on finding a non-dairy milk he likes right now. Soy was a no-go, rice was a definite no-go, as was almond… oat seems to be okay so far. Anyone have any other suggestions?

I hope everyone had a good Zombie Jesus Day! On Good Friday I made Hot Cross Buns. Except… I left off the crosses due to laziness. I tried to make pseudo-crosses by cutting an “X” in the top of each bun, but when they baked they ended up looking more like little horns. I guess I should have called them Blasphemous Buns instead.

I made another tester for Bianca’s cookbook! This time it was Buttermilk Biscuits – a southern staple. She hit the nail on the head again with this awesome recipe! They were light, fluffy, AND 100% whole wheat. I cut them into hearts because it’s cute.

And what would southern-style biscuits be without gravy? Bianca’s creamy Sausage-Sage Gravy made this an awesome breakfast.

This baked lemon-herb tofu didn’t turn out as fabulous as I’d hoped, but it was still tasty enough to eat! Mashed gold potatoes can make up for anything less than stellar, anyway.

There was nothing less than stellar about this pizza, though! I made apple-sage sausages to grill at my parents’ house on Saturday, and this was the perfect way to use the leftovers.

This was the first pizza I’ve ever made 100% from scratch. The ‘ricotta’ and pesto were inspired by the Isa Pizza in VwaV, but I didn’t have the right ingredients so I fudged it. Homemade: pizza dough, roasted red pepper sauce (no tomatoes – The Brit isn’t a tomato fan), tofu ‘ricotta’, spinach pesto (I didn’t have any fresh basil), apple-sage sausages and caramelized onions. This pizza was AMAZING.

And the best part? I still have half the pizza dough leftover, wrapped up in my freezer. I foresee much more homemade pizza in my future!

Catching up

poopiebitch — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 22:07:00 +0000

I know it’s been a few days, but I have been cooking, I promise! Here, I’ll prove it…

First off, yummy shepherd’s pie. It looks a mess on the plate, but is so yummy. We ate it two days in a row.

Next up, roasted potatoes! Oh, how I love them with an unreasonable passion. Oh yeah, there’s also chickpea cutlets, roasted carrots, peas and bread sauce. But look! Roasted potatoes!

I loved Bianca’s chicken fried tofu wafflewiches so much last time, I had to make them again. This time I kept the sauce on the side for dipping (I made extra for that very purpose!).

I also made a sort of stroganoff type thing. It had sherry in it, so it was good.

Lastly, today’s lunch! Asian marinated grilled tofu from VwaV, pineapple quinoa, glazed carrots and green beans.

I cooked the quinoa in half water/half pineapple juice, with a dash of soy sauce – it was so good that way! I also took the leftover tofu marinade and added some pineapple juice to it, and cooked it down to make a glaze. This was my first time grilling tofu (I know, what?!) and I was super-happy with the results. Yummilicious.

I grilled the tofu inside on my cast iron grill pan, but it was so nice outside we decided to eat it on the back patio. It almost felt like spring!

From wintry to warm

poopiebitch — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 05:39:00 +0000

The weather has been insane lately. On Sunday, there were six inches of snow on the ground and a definite nip in the air. Today the temperature was in the 70′s and I went out without so much as a sweater.

To warm up from the cold weather I made another tester for Bianca’s cookbook, Seitan and Dumplin’s! The Brit wasn’t a huge fan, but I really enjoyed it. In fact, I had leftovers for dinner tonight and I think it was even better than the first night.

In celebration of this current warm weather I enjoyed a smoothie for breakfast. Frozen strawberries and bananas blended with chocolate almond milk and some flax seeds. Yum!

I sure hope this weather calms down soon.

There’s food in here, I promise

poopiebitch — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:45:00 +0000

Well my lovelies, as promised in my last post I’m going to tell you WHY I will be updating more often. It is a product of some other changes in my life I am making, which are all good and necessary. I’ll explain.

Recently my friend Bianca and I were shopping for peanut butter and beer together (as you do) and I told her about all the nut butters I already had at home (almond butter, chunky peanut butter, cashew butter, dark chocolate peanut butter)… as I picked up two new jars to purchase (maple peanut butter and white chocolate peanut butter). She accused me of being a hoarder, and after thinking about it for a moment, I realized that she was right. I’m particularly bad about the nut butters because I love them so (I don’t want you to think I keep six kinds of everything on hand), but I admit it, the label fits.

Hello, my name is poopie, and I am a hoarder. Problem number one.

The Brit and I are going through a financial program to help us budget better and get out of debt. Oh yes, the evil thing that no one wants to talk about. We have DEBT. Budgeting can be difficult for us because since we’re both self-employed, our income is anything but steady and reliable. We have to keep a large sum of money in the bank at all times, because income could dry up at any given moment and we still have bills to pay. I’m hoping this program will help give us some tools to make things more efficient.

In going through this program and making a budget etc, I realized how much we were eating out. And more importantly, how much we were SPENDING on eating out. Ouch. Problem number two.

These two things combined to result in a new resolution for me: we will still allow ourselves to eat out once a week, but the rest of the time I will cook.

So far I’m sticking to meal plans, and actually enjoying it. It’s more fun to cook when you know ahead of time what you’re going to make, and already have the ingredients on hand. I’m even doing some prep the day before so the cooking goes faster. The Brit has been much more open to my cooking than in the past, and he hasn’t eaten meat since Monday! It is cheaper and healthier than eating out, and it is abundantly more rewarding. Plus, I’m slowly making my way through my over-stocked pantry.

So, more structure = more home-cooked meals = more pictures = more blogging!

If you’ve actually made it this far without leaving, thank you. I will now reward you with pictures of food. And for those of you who just scrolled down to get to the goods… you’re probably not reading this either so I don’t know why I’m even addressing you.

Last night I made another tester recipe for Bianca‘s cookbook. If you’ve never lived in the south, you’ve probably never heard of the phenomenon that is chicken and waffles. It’s pretty popular in these parts, and seeing as Bianca‘s cookbook is of SOUTHERN vegan food, it pretty much had to be in there.

She’s done it again with this recipe. The beer battered chicken fried tofu is out of this world, the waffles are perfect and the maple-dijon sauce? Unbelievable.

The Brit opted to eat his the traditional way:

I took Bianca‘s suggestion and made it into the most amazing wafflewich ever. I wasn’t sure if I would like it all put together like this, but I had no trouble polishing it off once I tasted it. OH YES.

Last but certainly not least, brunch this morning. I’ve had a lot of trouble with pancake recipes for some reason… they never work for me. So this morning, I put away my cookbooks, closed my computer, and used the force. I mean, I trusted my instincts and what I know about cooking and baking, and made pancakes without a recipe. These were THE BEST pancakes I have ever made (thank goodness I wrote down what I did after I took my first bite!). They need a little tweaking, but for a first try at my own recipe, I was very pleased.

And so, without further ado, I give you: Blueberry Pancakes.

I hope that picture was worth reading through the whole damn post.

What you want, baby I got it

poopiebitch — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:07:00 +0000

I made this a few weeks ago and have only just got around to uploading the pictures – shameful! Another tester for Bianca, and another winner! Southern Fried Tempeh Steak with Milk Gravy, and Creamy Corn Casserole (served up with mashed potatoes and peas).

The fried tempeh was sooooo good!

And the corn casserole was so rich and creamy and decadent. The Brit said he ‘loved’ both of these dishes – score!

Next up, dinner loaf. I’ve been trying to use up stuff I already have on hand, and this fit in with that plan nicely. I used this tool to build my recipe, changing just a couple of things to fit what I had on hand and personal preferences. Another hit with The Brit – he even asked me to make sure I wrote down what I did so I could make it the same way again. Served with mashed potatoes, green beans and gravy (not shown). Sorry for the mediocre picture, but you get the idea.

And last, but certainly not least, orange tamarind glazed tofu! This was really yummy, just a teensy bit too sour. Next time I will cut down a little on the tamarind paste – otherwise, super good. Served up with quinoa, peas and glazed carrots.

That’s it for now – look forward to more frequent updates from now on… find out why in my next post!

No New York Yet -OR- I love alliteration

poopiebitch — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:48:00 +0000

Yeah, that’s right, my lazy ass hasn’t sorted through the pictures from NYC yet. I will do it, I promise. I have been cooking though! Shown below, in a somewhat nonsensical dinner-lunch-breakfast order, are my latest yummies.

First off, Bianca‘s Chipotle Chickpea Chili, another tester for her book. Holy mother of beans, this stuff is good. Even The Brit ate it, and he’s the pickiest person I know. I made some double corn bread muffins to go along with it. Thank goodness this made enough for leftovers tonight, because I’ve been craving it since I got up this morning. I almost had it for breakfast. Seriously.

Up next, I have possibly boring but incredibly delicious lunches from the last couple of days. First, roasted red pepper hummus, avocado, tomato and cucumber in a whole wheat pita. So easy. So good.

Next, essentially the same thing but with leftover tempeh bacon and Vegenaise in place of the hummus. Serious yum.

Last, breakfast this morning was tofu scramble, which is so hard to photograph because it rarely looks pretty, but I tried anyway. This was basically a ‘clean out the fridge before I go out of town again’ breakfast, using up leftover tofu, mushrooms and onion. I normally like something green in my scramble, but I didn’t have anything so I tossed in some sun-dried tomatoes instead. Doesn’t really make sense, but whatever. The muffins are just leftover cornbread with blueberry jam.

The Brit and I are leaving tomorrow to go to Nashville for the weekend, so I probably won’t post again until Monday. Have a good weekend everyone!

Inauguration Day breakfast

poopiebitch — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:47:00 +0000

I had an awesome time in NYC, but I haven’t sorted through all my photos yet, so you’ll have to wait to read about it. Don’t worry, I have something equally as good – if not better – for today’s post.

Seeing as it’s such a special day, what with the inauguration of President Obama and all, I figured I should make a special breakfast. And what could be more special than testing Bianca‘s Cinnamon Pecan Waffles and Tempeh Bacon from her upcoming southern vegan cookbook! I couldn’t decide on which photos to share, so I thought I’d just share a bunch!

Let me tell you – these were the best waffles I’ve ever made. Seriously. The flavor was awesome, cinnamon-y and not too sweet, and the texture was perfect! Crispy and delicious. And since The Brit isn’t a fan of pecans, I get to eat all of these waffles myself! Yay! I even have enough leftover to last the rest of the week.

The tempeh bacon was also the best I have ever made. Of course, I’ve only tried once before, but it was a total disaster. Bianca’s recipe was so easy and so tasty, I can’t wait to make it again! I definitely see some rockin’ TLT’s in my future.

Pictures from Manhattan to come, but in the meantime, happy inauguration day everyone!

Just cookies

poopiebitch — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:39:00 +0000

Sorry for the sporadic postings lately – I will try to do better! Also, I am working on getting caught up on reading blogs, I promise!

I promised to post a picture of the ice cream sandwiches I made. I made half with Vanilla Rice Dream (shown) and half with Tofutti Better Pecan. I love both, but I think I love the Vanilla a little more because the others seem just a little too sweet. These are so perfect on a hot day I can’t even tell you.

I made another tester for Kelly and Garrick’s vegan cookie book today. Soft Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. I subbed some of the regular PB for White Chocolate Wonderful PB, and increased the chocolate chips. They are so soft and amazing, I want to eat them all.

They practically require a glass of soy (or rice or almond) milk.

If you are a peanut butter/chocolate lover, it will be worth buying the book just for this recipe alone.

Also, my friend Ahnah has started a vegan blog of her own, so go check it out!

Cake, cookies and SUSHI!

poopiebitch — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:53:00 +0000

Saturday I made another wedding cake, and I got to use my new cupcake stand for the first time! It was 80 jumbo cupcakes – 40 chocolate with mocha icing and 40 chai with maple icing – and two top tiers that were white almond with rosewater icing covered in vanilla fondant. All assembled the cake was about three feet tall!

I finally made another recipe for Kelly and Garrick’s Vegan Cookie Book – Chewy Banana Cookies!

I made a triple batch because I had some bananas that had to be used pretty much that day. I also made them a little bigger than called for, because I had so many to make.

I’m glad I did that, because I made ice cream sandwiches with the extras, and they are awesome. I will post a picture of those later.

To prove I don’t exist solely on cupcakes and cookies, here are some pictures of my first ever sushi! I made a ton of nori-maki. This was my first roll ever:

I made three kinds. Spicy tempeh rolls with green onions and avocado (the recipe is in V’con), curried butternut squash rolls with apples (my own creation!) and simple avocado and cucumber rolls. Notice I even made the butternut squash rolls inside-out!

I ran out of nori sheets but still had a little bit of rice and fillings left, so I made some nigiri sushi.

I will be making more sushi soon for sure – it was so much easier than I thought it would be!

Cake!

poopiebitch — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:00:00 +0000

As promised, here is a picture of the cakes I delivered on Friday:

The groom is a private investigator, hence the magnifying glass on the groom’s cake. It’s made of sugar and is completely edible.

I made another pizza yesterday. I think this one might have been even better than my last one. I cooked some Tofurky Italian Sausage, which is made with sun-dried tomatoes and basil, and put that on there along with onions, peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil and soy feta:

I also finally got around to making another batch of Kelly and Garrick tester cookies. These were Thin Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Yummy.

Test cookies, care package and Food Not Bombs

poopiebitch — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:36:00 +0000

My latest batch of test cookies for Kelly and Garrick’s vegan cookie book were Peanut Butter Molasses (or Mary Jane) Cookies. Apparently they taste like the candy Mary Janes, but for those of us who have never had it, they taste to me kind of like PayDay candy bars. If you’ve never had either, just trust me that they taste like awesomeness.

I am glad I found time to bake four test recipes this last week, because I’m pretty sure I won’t be making any this week. I have a wedding cake and groom’s cake due on Friday, and believe it or not I’m a little baked out. By the end of this post you may understand why.

I sent a little package to my friend Cloudy last week, and now that I know that everything arrived in okay condition, I’ll post what I made (all vegan, of course)!

Low Fat Banana Bread:

Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti (my first ever biscotti!):

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies (I call this photo “cookiehenge”):

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies:

Spicy Savory Nuts:

Spicy Sweet Nuts:

And here is a shot of everything together, all wrapped up and ready to go:

Cloudy informed me that everything arrived in good condition, and amazingly still fresh! I guess my mad wrapping skillz payed off. One day I will figure out how to ship a decorated cake.

On Friday I made some cupcakes and cookies for our local Food Not Bombs group. The Mid-South Peace and Justice Center put together a huge event called Bands not Bombs on Saturday, at which Food Not Bombs had a booth and planned a little bake sale to raise money for the pantry, which is used to feed the less fortunate.

My contribution was 16 (I know, weird number, whatever) Vegan Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes, brushed with Kahlua and topped with Espresso Buttercream (sound familiar?):

And five dozen Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies:

I don’t know how the sale went yet (I wasn’t able to make it out to the event), but I’m hoping we were able to raise at least a little money.

And that is why I am kind of tired of baking.

Pizza and more tester cookies

poopiebitch — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:01:00 +0000

I just made the most awesome pizza, and The Brit won’t even try it. Anybody want some pizza? I used a store-bought crust (because, as I believe we have established, I am lazy) and topped it with pizza sauce, peppers, onions, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, pineapple and soy feta. I didn’t have any black olives, but they would go perfectly on this pizza.

I have also been busy fulfilling my duty as a tester for Kelly and Garrick’s vegan cookie book. Such a chore, I know.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies, before baking:

And after:

These were so good! Rich and chocolaty with just the right kick of spice. The friend I mentioned in my last post ate like nine of them. Seriously.

A story and tester cookies

poopiebitch — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:47:00 +0000

I ate the Stir Fried Eggplant with Tofu again yesterday. I couldn’t help myself. I still didn’t get a picture, but I have a great story to make up for it!

After dinner The Brit and I decided to go hang out at Starbucks. Yes, I practically live at Starbucks (I’m there right now), because I used to work there and it really is a home away from home. Anyway, I could only eat half my food so I took the rest to go. When we got to Starbucks my friend (who works there) started talking about how he hadn’t eaten all day, so I gave him my leftovers. He ate it, and LOVED it. He’s a total omnivore, but he seriously went for this eggplant and tofu big time.

After he got off work we decided to go out again (yes, he’s the same friend I hung out with two nights before – haha!). The Brit decided to go home rather than go out again, and my friend and I went to Huey’s, which is a local hangout that serves burgers and such (and the best onion rings you will ever eat). It was pretty late at this point and we decided to get some food. He let me order so we could split something, and I got a veggie burger with onion rings. They make the best veggie burgers.

Anyway, after we ate that he looked at me and was like “I could totally go vegan if the food is all this good!”. Did I mention I’ve also been bringing him vegan cupcakes and cookies practically every day? I have now made it my goal to convert him. Mwuahahahaha!

Speaking of cookies, I have been selected as a tester for an upcoming vegan cookie book, which is seriously going to rock your face off. I’ve tested two recipes so far.

Zesty Coconut Lime Wedding Cookies:

And Lemon Cornmeal Cookies:

These were so freakin’ good, I can’t wait to try out more recipes!