So, I've moved

Clearly it has been a while. In that time I started eating dairy again, and gaining weight. Boo. I don't blogger all that friendly to use with my phone, so I'm moving to carrotfight.tumblr.com

See ya!

Wrapping Up

Nothing really exciting is going on here in our winter wonderland. I had hopes of pulling out my snowshoes, but that is on hold until things warm up a bit. I'm beginning to think hibernating animals really have the best plan for life.

Despite a relatively boring existence, one must continue to eat. Here's a few snapshots of what that looks like for my life lately.

Stuffed Pepper

Chickpea Pot Pie



Grilled Veggie Panini

Apple Cider

 

Meal Planning

• Lentil Loaf
• Southwestern Potatoes
• Tofu Souvlaki
• Naan Pizza

 

The Rest of my Life

• I finished reading Those who Save Us (it was ok), and Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (funny). I'm about to start The Flight of Gemma Hardy
• I have almost finished the hat I started knitting for myself last year and I have almost finished knitting a headband I made for myself recently. I'm not good at actually finishing things. I should be knitting my brother-in-law's keyhole scarf but it is uninspiring.
• The bunnies are pretty much ok, but two of them could use a grooming session...which consists of checking their bum area for poo hardened into their fur. Sounds fun, eh? I bet you even want to volunteer.
• Coming up: Review of Vegan Nacho Soup
• On my radar: Homemade Vegan Baileys and Vegan Peanut Butter Mousse

Chickpea Dip

One of my favourite treats from Christmas used to be crab dip....which no longer works in my life because the dip has crab and cream cheese. So, I decided to test out a vegetarian dairy-free version.

I wasn't sure I would like this with the 'fake' cream cheese, but once I chilled it I didn't notice much of a difference.

I like this stuff well enough that it's difficult not to eat it straight from the container. I have to force myself to eat veggies or crackers with it.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup canned chickpeas
• 4 oz of Tofutti cream cheese
• 1 1/2 tbs of French dressing
• 1 tbs of ketchup
• 1 tbs of chopped onion
• 1/4 cup of mayo (you could use a vegan one here)

Directions

1. Mash up the chickpeas with a fork or a potato masher. Mix in the other ingredients.
2. Chill for at least an hour.
3. Enjoy!

Daiya Havarti Style Wedge

I was so excited to find this that I didn't really pay attention to what I was buying. I saw that it was daiya (a cheese replacement) with a Havarti flavour. I thought I was getting cheese slices. I did not notice that it had a jalapeño kick or that it was a wedge.

Overall, I much prefer this to the shredded cheese by daiya. It has a better flavour and it has better melting potential.

Unfortunately, I'm a bit of a wuss so I find it a tad too spicy. To compensate, I try to use a little less.

Happy New Year!

After some time away from the blogging world, I returned to Feedly to catch up on everything I missed. And I noticed that many writers are sharing their New Years Resolutions. You won't really find that here because I don't really 'do' resolutions. Sure, I'd like to be kinder, thinner, happier, and all that jazz....and I probably shouldn't cut in front of elderly people at the grocery store anymore (uh, it only happened once and it was mostly an accident)....

But really, I believe in continual internal change that isn't dictated by a calendar.

Anyway, can you tell that I've been spending the start of the year bingeing on Dawson's Creek courtesy of Netflix? Man those kids were overly verbose and opinionated.

I really need to focus here. Ok. So as I returned to the blogging world, I realized that I haven't done a 'wrap-up' since October. This doesn't mean that I haven't been eating, baking/cooking, or reading. It just means I was lazy.

As of late, I haven't been creating recipes as much as I have been falling back onto favourites. (which could also mean relying on dull boring routines).

Meal Planning

Grocery shopping is so much easier when you have an idea in your head of what you will be making. This week, that includes:

• Black bean quesadillas
• Inside-out Shepherd's Pie
• Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti
• Empty the fridge soup (a non-recipe loosely based on previously blogged squash soup recipes)

In the Rest of my Life

• I reached my goal of reading 45 books last year and have set a goal for 50 this year. I'm about to start Those who Save Us and continue to muddle my way through The Moral Lives of Animals, and The Highly Sensitive Person
• I spent most of November and December knitting. I will use this month to knit stuff for myself...including finishing last year's January-focus-on-self project
• Bunny Zayne is doing mostly ok. She needs drops in her eyes daily to reduce irritation. And now in addition to being deaf, she is elderly and pretty much blind. Luckily, she has a bunny companion (Behr) who helps her find her way around.

Baking Review

I had planned to blog about my holiday baking as I went along, but then the holidays got into the way. So I figured I would clump it all together in one post.

 

Vegan Oreo Truffles

 

 

I already blogged about these here. They seemed to be a favourite of the bunch and no one made comments on the use of vegan cream cheese. They will continue to be part of my regular holiday rotation.

 

 

 

 

 

Big Soft Ginger Cookies

I make these every year and continue to be satisfied with how they turned out. I didn't veganize the recipe but I did sub out the dairy ingredients. The recipe is found at allrecipes.com. Click here for a direct link. Sorry for the crappy picture quality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caramel Squares

This was my favourite creation. I have a few things to tweak (the chocolate cracked when I cut it and I overcooked the base) but overall, they were delicious. I veganized the original recipe, which is found here. I replaced the sweetened condensed milk using a recipe to condense almond milk. Unfortunately I didn't find that they froze well, which really just means eat them right away. And you will want to anyway.

 

 

 

And then I got lazy with the camera. In addition to the above, I also made Peppermint Patties (which everyone raved over), and Fudgee-o Cookie Bark (it was ok).

Vegan Oreo Truffles

These are probably one of my favourite things to make for the holidays. They take minimal ingredients and I only get mildly annoyed with the chocolate dipping.

I can't really take credit for this recipe, but if you are anti-clicking on links, basically you take a mashed up bag of Oreos and mix with vegan cream cheese. (I used Tofutti). Then you roll them into balls and dip them in chocolate. I chill mine a bit first to make them easier to work with.

You can make endless creations. Pre-dairy-free days, my favourite was regular Oreos dipped in white chocolate with crushed candy cane sprinkled on top.

This time around I opted for regular Oreos with vegan chocolate chips with a smidgeon of mint extract and gingerbread Oreos with vegan chocolate chips

Both versions are delicious. Next time I might add a bit of coconut oil to the chocolate so it is easier to work with.

If you are worried that all of this seems to simple, click the links to prove I'm not lying. I've included vegan and non-vegan links:

• Regular Oreo Truffles
• Vegan Oreo Truffles

A year later

So, I've been a vegetarian for over a year now. Things haven't always been easy but I have been lucky to be surrounded by supportive friends and family.

The dairy-free thing is a bigger struggle. I don't often get it right. I keep trying though. Overall, I would say that I'm a lot healthier and way more open-minded to 'weird' food...and as a result I feel better and have found some new favourites.

Going forward, I will continue to try to be dairy-free. I will continue to veganize recipes, even though I'm not vegan. I will make better consumer and ethical purchases.

For the blog, I would like to return to more regular posting again...and for December this will likely happen because I will be doing a lot of Christmas baking.

I would also like to do more product reviews and start doing the wrap-ups again. So, if you stick around, I will be here.

Happy reading!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

From the recommendation of my sister, I decided to veganize a stuffed pepper soup recipe from skinnytaste.com.

I serve smaller serving sizes when it comes to soup it seems, and got about 9 servings (1 cup each) out of this in comparison to skinnytaste.com's six servings.

Ingredients

2 cups of cooked rice
1/2 cup of chopped of a coloured bell pepper
1/2 cup of green pepper
1 cup of chopped onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 can of lentils (about 2 cups)
28 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
1 3/4 tomato sauce (I used spaghetti sauce)
2 cups of veggie broth
Italian spices

Directions

1. In a large pot, sautee onions, peppers, and garlic for a few minutes.
2. Add the lentils, tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, and spices.
3. Cover and simmer for approximately thirty minutes.
4. Meanwhile, cook your rice.
5. Serve soup and top with your cooked rice.
6. Enjoy!

If you eat dairy and/or aren't vegan, it would be super yummy with cheese on top.

Recipe Review: Raspberry Chocolate Bars

As usual, when working with someone else's recipe, I wonder what tweaks I can make to make it my own or to suit our needs. I did the same with this recipe, but in the end, I'm not sure I would change anything. I thought about meshing this recipe with one I want to veganize, but sometimes you just shouldn't mess with a good thing.

It doesn't have tons of ingredients and it is easy. My kind of recipe.

But in the spirit of honesty, I have to say that I messed up and didn't get seedless jam and I only used 1 cup. It still worked though. Yummy chocolate-y goodness with some raspberry added in.

Anyway, I found it at the Vegan Chronicle: Raspberry Chocolate Bars

Recipe Review: Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

My first attempt at these cookies was not that successful. Personally, I blame my 2 year old assistant. Something about the texture of the dough was off. I added more flour and then the cookies were cake-y.

So, I did what all good aunts do....I fired my niece and tried again. Attempt # 2 yielded much better cookies. My final product didn't quite brown as much as shown in the pictures from the original, but in my opinion those look overcooked.

Unfortunately, I cannot take credit for the recipe and I didn't change enough to call it my own. The only change was that I used applesauce instead of the flax egg....only because I didn't have flax. I also flattened the cookies slightly based on other tester reviews.

These cookies are really good.  They will be my go-to going forward.

Anyway, another successful recipe from oh she glows:  Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Spaghetti Squash Au Gratin (Veganized)

It seems that lately I can only find spaghetti squash in massive quantities. Since my husband doesn't eat it, I've had to explore ways to use it up that isn't just spaghetti. In my hunt for recipes, I came across a recipe by Martha Stewart for Spaghetti Squash Au Gratin. Naturally, I had to make a few changes to make this vegan.

I also adjusted quantities to yield fewer servings.

Overall, I enjoyed the recipe and I would make it again if I needed to use up some squash.

 

Ingredients

• 1/2 tbsp. Earth Balance (or other dairy free butter alternative)
• 1/2 cup mushrooms
• 1/2 cup onion
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1/2 cup chickpeas
• 1/2 cup veggie broth
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
• 2.5 cups of spaghetti squash (I partially cooked mine in the microwave first)
• 1/2 cup vegan breadcrumbs (I used a mix of breadcrumbs and flavoured croutons)
• 1 tbsp. soy parmesan
• dash of spices of your choosing

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a small frying pan, sauté your mushrooms, onion, and chickpeas in butter. Set aside.
3. In a medium pot, bring broth, almond milk, and garlic to a boil and let boil at medium-high for a minute.
4. Slowly whisk in the flour and reduce heat to a simmer to allow the mixture to thicken slightly.
5. Add your mushrooms, chickpeas, onion, and squash. Stir ingredients so squash is well covered with sauce.
6. Transfer to a bread pan.
7. In a small bowl, mix your breadcrumbs, soy parm, and spices. Sprinkle on top of the squash mixture.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Recipe Review: Lentil Walnut Apple Loaf

Just imagine this less blurry and with
general improved picture quality

Someone recommended that I try Lentil Walnut Apple Loaf from ohsheglows.com. I generally like recpies found on this site, so I figured I would give it a chance.

I went to the grocery store to gather my ingredients. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get walnuts so I figured I would sub in almonds. I didn't know if this would work but I didn't see an alternative.

When I got home and started the prep work, I began to think that it was a mistake....not because of the recipe itself, but because I never ever liked a true meat loaf....the texture, flavour, meat....blech. However, I felt kind of committed to follow through with my plan so I forged ahead.

The only thing I changed was the use of almonds instead of walnuts. The end product was pretty good. The apple sauce gives it a nice flavour. The only thing I would do differently next time is chop my almonds smaller. My chunks were too big and out of place.

Soft Pumpkin Cookies (Vegan)

I came across this recipe and decided to veganize it. I also experimented and changed the finished project for three different versions of the cookie. All testers agreed on the best cookie, which is the main recipe below.

I like this recipe because it is really easy and not that time consuming.

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup vegan margarine
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/3 cup of applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla
• sugar for rolling

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix the remaining ingredients and slowly add the dry ingredients.
4. Form the dough into round balls and roll each ball around in a bowl of sugar. Place the balls on a cookie sheet and flatten them slightly. (I find it is helpful to chill the dough first, but that's up to you)
5. Bake cookies for 15 - 18 minutes.
6. Let them cool and then enjoy!

Other versions:  As I mentioned above, this is the version that all testers preferred. The other options were Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (same recipe, just add vegan chocolate chips), and the same cookies minus the sugar rolling but with a frosting/glaze on top.

Squash Soup

I know I recently blogged about a squash & veggie soup, but here is another recipe. This one is yummy and has less of a bite to it. I had to make a couple of minor changes because I didn't quite have enough squash (I subbed in a bit of pumpkin) but I am blogging the original recipe.

My only taste tester (that wasn't myself) prefers this recipe to the previously blogged recipe.

This recipe yields about 8 servings of 1 cup each. I've been told it freezes well, although I have not tested this. I avoid freezing things because then I won't open the freezer six months from now and wonder what the mystery frozen item is. If this isn't an issue for you, test it out.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. dairy-free margarine
• 1 onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 carrot
• 1 celery stalk
• 3/4 tsp each of cinnamon, ginger, & nutmeg (I upped the cinnamon and decreased the ginger)
• 6 cups of squash (peeled, seeded, & chopped)
• 1 medium potato
• 900 mL of veggie broth
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (I would omit this)
• 1 cup water (I just used more broth)

Directions

1. Melt margarine in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Add onion, garlic, carrot and celery.  Saute for 5 min until veggies are softened.  
3. Stir in spices.  
4. Add squash and potato, broth, water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer partially covered until squash is tender (30 min)  Let cool slightly.  
5. Puree in batches in blender and then pour back into pot.  
6. Stir in maple syrup.
7. Serve and enjoy!

Blackfish

Blackfish played on CNN recently so I set the PVR to see what everyone is talking about. Essentially, it explores how SeaWorld has exploited orcas for entertainment. Some reviews I've read expressed concern that it portrays orcas as frightening and that this takes away from the point of the documentary.

However, I feel that this was balanced well and it was clear that orcas should not be used as entertainment. They should not be forced to live their lives in aquariums.

After watching Blackfish, I'm left with an understanding of the bigger picture of animal exploitation and that I don't want any part of it. If you are 'into' documentaries, I highly recommend you check this out.

The official site: Blackfish and facebook page.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (vegan)

 

 

It looks like the weather jumped from summer to winter and missed fall completely. But while mother nature may not respect tradition, my kitchen does.

I got this recipe from my sister, who got it from someone else. After taste testing, I adapted the original recipe for round two and am satisfied with the results.

It should make about 18-24 muffins depending on your preferred muffin size.

 

Ingredients

• 1 medium banana
• 1/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 3/4 cups of flour
• 1 1/2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips (check labels if you want the vegan stuff)

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Peel and mash banana. Stir in applesauce, pumpkin, vegetable oil, and sugar.
3. Combine baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and flour.
4. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Divide mixture into muffin tin and bake at 400 degrees F for 16 to 20 minutes.
6. Enjoy!

Lessons

You know how we are born just knowing certain things about life? Like how to breathe? Well, one of my lessons was to stay away from fuzzy food, especially if it was green or white. Some of this instinct has been confirmed over the years.

So naturally, kiwi was on my 'potentially poisonous' list. But did you know that kiwi is actually edible? With the encouragement of my maybe-future sister-in-law, I bought a kiwi. I figured if she eats kiwi, then it can't be that bad. I mean, she is the pickiest person ever. Anyway, all of that to say that I tried a kiwi.

And I'm not entirely won over. However, I am willing to move it from the 'potentially poisonous' list to the 'maybe just once in a while' list.

Also, I have learned that it is not a good idea to dance while:

• using a knife
• pouring water
• eating trail mix

No injuries will be reported, but you may want to tuck that little tidbit away in case you are tempted to bust a move in less than ideal conditions.

(in my defense I'm trying to get my 10 000 fitbit steps in).

Squash & Veggie Soup

I love fall. I love the weather, the scenery, and the food. It's such a comforting time of year. Be warned, after this post, there will be an onslaught of pumpkin posts (soup, muffins, cookies, oh my!)

But for today, the focus is on Squash & Veggie Soup. I found the original recipes on one of my favourite sites, ohsheglows.com. There it is titled Luxurious 7-Vegetable and "Cheese" Soup. It's kind of a mouthful and definitely scary if you aren't a vegetable fan. I mean, seven vegetables? Let's not get excessive and point that out. For you non veggie fans, you will notice fewer veggies in my version...mainly because I realized I didn't have sweet potato once I had started. Oh well.

Anyway, I made a few changes and thought I would share the changes with you. First things first, I divided the recipe in half and then I went from there.

Ingredients

• oil (for sautéing)
• 2 cups of onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup of celery
• 1/2 cup of carrots
• 3 1/2 cups of broccoli florets
• 2 cups of butternut squash
• 3 cups of vegetable broth
• 2 tbs of soy parmesan
• dash of chili pepper, crushed chili pepper flakes, cinnamon

Directions

1. Chop and sauté the onion and garlic in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Add celery, carrots, broccoli, and squash as you chop them. Sauté for a few minutes.
3. Add veggie broth and squash. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the squash softens slightly.
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool significantly.
5. Add the soy parmesan and other spices. Stir gently.
6. Using a blender, blend the mixture in small batches.
7. Return all smoothly blended batches into the pot to stir together (and reheat).
8. Serve and enjoy.

Cookie Dough Won Tons

I have totally dragged my heals on posting this recipe because I don't want to contribute to the obesity problem. And if you make these, you will eat them.

Do you know what is better than cookie dough? Cookie dough fried in won tons. If I had to pick one thing to eat for the rest of my life (and not gain weight) this would be it. I struggled with the title of this recipe, wavering between:
 

Baked vs. fried

1. The road to world peace

2. This is all I ever need

3. and back off jerk, I'm not sharing



I found the recipe Seeded at the Table. They called theirs Cookie Dough Eggrolls. I made a few changes beyond replacing the egg rolls to lighten it up slightly. I also tried a baked version that just cannot compare.

Anway, here you go. My version resulted in 18 of the finished product but it could vary depending on how full you stuff the won tons

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of Earth Balance or other dairy-free butter replacement
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1 cup of flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup of chocolate chips
• 36 won ton wrappers (approx.)
• vegetable oil (for frying)
• chocolate sauce (optional)

 

Directions

1. Cream together the Earth Balance and brown sugar.
2. Add the flour and vanilla. When combined, stir in the chocolate chips. Set aside.
3. On a clean surface, join two won ton wrappers by wetting one edge with water. Press together. This will give you a rectangle shape. (see pictures below)
4. Wet the outer edges of this rectangle.
5. Spoon your cookie dough mixture into a line in the centre of the rectangle. Fold up the top and bottom, and then roll the rest, pressing it together gently.
6. Heat slightly less than 1/2 an inch of vegetable oil in a deep but small skillet. (I heated mine on medium-high).
7. Fry each piece ten seconds per side. They should brown and crisp. Place fried pieces on paper towel to drain off some of the oil.
8. Continue until all the pieces are done.
9. Serve warm and with chocolate sauce if you so desire.
10. Try to share with others in your household.