lentil loaf and german chocolate cupcakes

It was Mark's belated birthday dinner last night. I had asked him, last week, what he wanted and he expressed a desire for something like a "meat" loaf. Only, as he always requests, keep the soy/tofu to a minimum...preferably without.

I went on a few sites and found a recipe on vegweb.com. Mark seemed okay with it and we went over all the tips left by the other users as to how to modify the original recipe. He offered to make the loaf and I was designated the task of baking cupcakes (the first recipe to be used from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World).

After much tweaking, Mark succeeded in making a fairly tasty loaf. It will be better next time, he promises, in the way of texture. The cupcakes, naturally, kicked ass. So delicious. His mother, whom we invited to sup with us, ate everything on her plate...a good sign ;)


naked chocolate cupcakes with unbleached paper liners (so eco-friendly)


holiday lentil loaf, up-close for the texture


the dinner: rolls, green beans, mashed potatoes with vegan brown gravy, and holiday lentil loaf


Mark's birthday cupcake. Make a wish!

Valentine's Day dinner <3

So, this year, I decided to make up one of our favorite dishes: Orecchiette with Cherry Tomatoes and Kalamata Tapenade, from Vegan With A Vengeance. For dessert, I tried a recipe featured in the February 2007 issue of VegNews for a Devil's Food Cake. It seemed intriguing.

Well, dinner was eaten fairly late as I had class that night and Mark works longer hours at his new job. Fortunately, I prepared most of the dinner ingredients beforehand however, I didn't have time to ice the cupcakes.

By the time we were ready for dessert, I was too tired to make up the frosting. Mark was jonesing for a sweet and doesn't care much for frosting anyway. He took one bite of these cupcakes and spit it out. Then, this coming from a man who is reticient to throw anything out, told me to throw all the cupcakes away! Oh, but I was to taste one before I threw them away to see what he meant. He was right, they were heinous! Last time I use a recipe calling for beets. And, the finished product did not look like the ever popular Red Velvet Cake. Pooh!

I'm sticking with the cupcakes from my new vegan cupcake cookbook. Lesson learned. I'd have posted a picture of the disastrous cupcakes but I threw out before I could capture them digitally. Pas de probléme.


one of the best recipes in VWAV

tomato soup, grilled cheeze, & onion rings

More results from the Everyday Vegan cookbook. This time I used the Grilled Soy Cheese Sandwiched and Velvety Roasted Herbed Tomato Soup recipes. The onion rings came from www.vegcooking.com



roasted tomatoes with garlic, fresh from the oven


onion rings and grilled soy cheese sandwich


Velvety Roasted Herbed Tomato Soup


bites from a tasty vegan meal

cornmeal chili bake and salad with basic balsamic vinaigrette

Last Saturday, I received two new cookbooks from amazon.com. One is The Everyday Vegan by Dreena Burton. The other is Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.

I haven't yet made anything from the latter but I was inspired to try two recipes from TEV. I didn't tell Mark as I wanted to surprise him. I spent most of yesterday afternoon (even had to skip my French class) cooking up a grand homemade feast for my hubby. Which included dessert, chocolate chip cookies by The Compassionate Cook.

Well, apparently the meal was so succesful that Mark ended up eating most of the smaller casserole dish. Thankfully, it was low in fat, lol.

I found that, with the amount of groceries purchased for the recipes, I was able to make a double batch. Which was a good thing.


cornmeal chili bake


mixed greens salad with basic balsamic vinaigrette

taco night!

I loooove eating Mexican food and I especially lurve tacos. Even more when they're served with homemade tortilla chips and salsa and guacamole. Big meal, lots of flavor.

We use a soy taco filling by Frieda's. I dislike the other brands, such as Lightlife. They are too gummy and sticky, imo. I like Frieda's because it's pre-spiced and tastes like the tacos I remember eating as a child. Plus, the texture is a bit drier and finer.

We serve our tacos with guacamole, salsa, beans, and rice. Everything is homemade except the beans. We use the Rosarita brand, instead. A blend of the vegetarian, black beans, and zesty salsa beans. Very tasty.

Garnish with cilantro, cabbage, tomatoes, green onions, and red onions and serve in fried corn tortilla shells sprinkled with chili powder. C'est magnifique!

falafel sammiches with "antipasto" & salad

Mark came up with some interesting new touches to our usual falafel and hummus meal.



The salad, with its homemade croutons and walnuts, was especially delicious.