our first all-vegan thanksgiving, part deux

More pics from our Thanksgiving meal. The only food item I was disappointed about was the pumpkin pie. Though I followed the directions, it had a bitter aftertaste. The pecan pie was suprisingly delicious. It's a keeper!


Mark's version of "jellied" cranberry: real cranberries mixed with lemons, oranges, and pineapple. Not usually my cuppa but I admit this was tasty.


fresh sautéed veggies (my personal favorite) including: spinach, corn, carrots, onions, celery, and porcini mushrooms


my plate, heaped with tasty vegan vittles. No animals harmed in the making if this meal!


pumpkin pie and pecan pie


yes, we always have a slice of each, with a dollop of non-dairy whip cream

our first all-vegan thanksgiving!!

Except for a few mistakes, this Thanksgiving meal was a delicious success!



fresh green beans with fried onions


roasted butternut squash soup (from VwaV)


creamy rosemary garlic mashed potatoes


celebration roast garnished with thyme and sage


A view of the feast: mashed potatoes, rice pilaf, yams, butternut soup, green beans with fired onions, field roast, and gravy


See next entry for remaining photos.

Mushroom Barley Soup & Pumpkin Spice Cake

I had a few things in mind when I spent Saturday afternoon scanning VegWeb for inspiration and....
I knew I wanted soup with barley and/or wheatberries and something like a spice cake for dessert.
I lurve this time of the year! The changing leaf colors, the brisk chill in the mornings and night, the layering on of clothing. Yes, 'tis the perfect weather for hearty soups, spicy cakes, and french-pressed coffee!

This is what I ended up cooking yesterday:
Mushroom Barley Soup and Pumpkin Spice Cake. With only a few simple modifications, they both turned out fabulous!

With the Mushroom Barley Soup, I used 15 mushrooms instead of the 10 the recipe calls for. I think I used well over a cup of the pearl barley, too. Oh, and I added an extra potato, 8 oz of vegetable broth, a few dashes of vegan worcestershire sauce, and used an entire head of cabbage. I forgot to add the turmeric but no big deal. Mark made some pan-toast and served along with the soup.

With the Pumpkin Spice Cake, we didn't have enough pumpkin purée nor maple syrup so I supplemented 1/3 of a banana with the pumpkin. For the maple syrup, I used 1/2 cup maple syrup + 1/2 cup granulated sugar + 1/2 cup Sugar in the Raw to equal the 1-1/2 cups the recipe called for. Other than those two improvisations, I realized I had forgotten to add the apple cider vinegar to the batter after I'd put the cake in oven. There were several good hints on the VegWeb page regarding this recipe. I followed the one about the extra leavening by adding up to 1/2 teaspoon each of baking soda and baking powder. Maybe that helped save the cake without the apple cider vinegar? One more comment: I preheated the oven but I still had to bake the cake for an additional 10-15 minutes. I checked every five minutes til the toothpick came out clean. When it was done and had cooled off a bit, I served a slice to my hubby, after dusting it with a light coat of powdered sugar and he loved it.

The pics:

Wholesome veggies, prepped and ready for the soup


The finished product, served with Mark's pan-toast


Pumpkin Spice Cake with a dusting of confectioner's sugar

saturday breakfast

We haven't had a savory breakfast in some time. It's been sweet the last 3-4 week ends. So, for a change, Mark got creative and whipped this up. I'm still trying to figure out what to make for "linner" or "Dunch", a combo lunch/dinner, today. I'm not that much of a morning person and Mark works early on the weekdays and half of Saturday so we usually have one day to enjoy a leisurely breakfast. Which is why he usually prepares it for us. This week end, Mark was given nearly 3 days off (woot!) so we're excited to try some different culinary choices. I'm happy with what he chose today :)

The dogs liked their breakfast, too. Only because I'm a soft touch and added a bit of what we ate into their usual kibble-broth-wet food mix.

Here are the pics:


A scumptious morning feast: Orange juice, fresh pineapple with maple-syrup-toasted walnuts, English muffins smothered in Earth Balance margarine, fried potatoes, and Tempeh Scramble (from VWaV)


The Tempeh Scramble, up close and personal

food pics, part trois

Last entry chronicling the archived food photos:


Yummy Falafel in pita with soy tahini dressing and served with rice pilaf (Mark's creation), dolmas, hummus, and kalamata olives


Super Moist Chocolate Cupcakes (from VegWeb) topped with Vegan Fluffy Buttercream Frosting (VCTOTW). Sublime :)
Notice the festive coloring? Orange for Halloween ^o^


Mark was in the mood for pasta this past weekend and this is what he came up with: angelhair pasta tossed with basil, garlic, and tomatoes served with balsamic-glazed portabello mushrooms and kalamata olives. The soup is one he made from scratch, as well. The meal was topped off with Rosemary-Olive Oil bread with an olive-oil-balsamic vinegar dip.

food pics, part deux

Five more pics of delish vegan food!




Coconut Heaven Cupcakes (from VWaV). These were tasty but I wasn't happy with the way the frosting looked


A typical Sunday breakfast feast, prepared lovingly by my hubby. In this pic, there is fresh OJ, a ricemilk mocha, oatmeal with all the fixin's, fresh fruit, and pecan-raisin toast.


Gingerbread Apple Pie (from VWaV)


A creation of Mark's: angelhair pasta tossed with basil, garlic, and tomatoes served with balsamic-glazed portabello musrooms, sautéed veggies, and french bread with homemade vegan pesto. It was so delectable.


S'mores Cupcakes (from the upcoming book, "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero). These were absolutely divine. I totally need to buy this book!

first entry

Ok...so lately I've been on a kick where, whenever we cook or bake something new and/or delicious, I take a picture of the meal before I eat it. In starting this blog, I thought I would start posting the pics and recipes accompanying it. There is a slight backlog of pics that I'll post today but, after this first post, every entry will have a separate meal. These next few post will be the glut of pics I've been saving :)


In the Le Creuset casserole dishes are the beans and vegan enchilada casserole my hubby made for my sister's baby shower. The stuff in the aluminum containers were non-vegan Mexican food my mom brought from Castillo's Mexican Restaurant. Not to be biased, but our stuff was tastier.


My first vegan birthday cake. Taken from Vegan With a Vengeance. The cake is Raspberry Blackout Cake with Ganache-y Frosting. It was devilishy delicious :P


My attempt at baking Carrot-Raisin Muffins (VWAV). Note for next time: don't rush it and peel the carrots!


I made the soup, Bean Soup, from Ultimate Vegetarian Recipes. Mark made the "Not-Chicken" pot pies from scratch. Very delicious.


The Bean Soup, again, with Grilled Ricemilk Cheeze Sandwiches. The sandwiches taste best when served hot.