A Cooler Quiche

I must have ordered a custardy quiche at least once when I was a young veg. Quiche, lentil loaf, sprouts, carob almonds from a bin, and fresh squeezed carrot juice were the kind of foods I could find in a Venice, California hippie store in the late 70's early 80's.
I know I had a dog eared copy of Molly Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook which featured a Swiss and mushroom quiche. I bought Molly's follow up book the Enchanted Broccoli Forest and that had a spinach and broccoli quiche in it's contents. I don't remember making either quiche. I do remember an ex-fiance creating a cheezy eggy delight he paired with a green goddess salad and served up with too many bottles of wine. Years later a kind boyfriend's mom cooked a veg version of her quiche Lorraine just for me. Still I don't remember ordering or particularly caring if a quiche was part of my culinary arsenal or not. Truth be told, I appreciated everyone's efforts but quiche reminded me a little of dust.

I had one spelt pie crust left from the pie shell two pack, (sounds like a rapper), after I used one for the apple pie ice creme fiasco. As you know I eventually triumphed. You can read about the victory here. I just so happened to have all the ingredients on hand for a quiche from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Vegan Brunch. If Isa thought a quiche was cool, then what the heck.

Based on Isa's Classic Broccoli Quiche

canola spray
1 medium onion finely chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
3 C broccoli finely chopped
1 tsp thyme
TJ's 24 salute spice
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 C raw cashews
1 lb extra firm tofu
3 tsp mustard
2 vine ripened tomatoes
9 inch pie crust

 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Poke bottom of pie shell with fork about 5 times to prevent it to puffing up. Bake for ten minutes. Preheat skillet and spray. Saute onion and garlic for a bout 3 minutes, add broccoli and seasonings and cook for about ten minutes until soft. Add water if it gets dry.

Meanwhile in food processor pulse cashew into fine crumbs, give tofu a squeeze to remove some excess water and crumble into food processor with the mustard. Process until relatively smooth. When the broccoli is done cooking add one cup to food processor and pulse to combine. Transfer cashew mix to mixing bowl and add remainder of broccoli mixture and combine. Taste for salt. Use a spatula to get everything into the crust and smooth top. Place tomatoes around pie and bake for about 40 minutes until edges of the crust are slightly brown. Let sit for twenty minutes before digging in.

As you can see I did not cook the tomatoes and still it was quite good and not at all dusty.

Love and quiches, (so 80's I know).

GiGi

It's a Mad Mad Mad Matzoh World

It's spring. Vegan peeps season has come and gone. The bunny costume is in moth balls 'til your next gig. And that ugly green basket filler can't be composted. Well boo hoo hoo. Things are still looking up little ducky. After all it's still matzoh time. Matzoh is like the tofu of the Jewish World. Bland by itself but supernatural when mixed in with other flavors. Matzoh is a quick change artist. Today's post deals with all things matzoh. 

The Uncensored History of Matzoh

Once upon a time there were two Jews, probably living in Brooklyn. It was right around Easter.  Anyway these two Jews needed a snack so they went to their corner bagel shop. The corner shop was totally out of pumpernickel bagels, their favorite. Mr. Leven the owner, said, I'm out of leavening, which is very Un-Levened of me. Bahahaha, all the Jews guffawed. But here take some flour and New York water with you.They have this new cracker in Egypt called matzoh, maybe you can make it. It has no Levening. Bahahaha. The Jews guffawed again.
So the two hungry Jews went home and made something that looked a lot like cardboard.
One of the Jews chipped his tooth, but that was okay because the other Jew, (his friend) was a dentist.
This matzoh is tough.
Matzoh tough, yeah good luck with that.
Let me try.
Yeah Matzoh's tough. Good luck.
Still they thought this cardboard wasn't bad if they added some dead sea salt. Maybe tough to break, but something  that they still wanted to share with friends. They would just have to tell their friends that the matzoh was tough and good luck.
So each time the Jews gifted their friends with a box of this new matzoh, they would say, "matzoh tough, good luck". This later translated into Mazel Tov, which means good luck with the matzo.
It wasn't until like Zero A.D. that matzo became perforated, right around the same time thatJesus invented zip lock bags.

Matzoh Lasagna

Matzoh Lasagna up close and personal

Matzoh Lasagna Recipe

Approximately 1 box matzoh (any flavor) I used plain
20 oz ( I think) Hm marinara or in a pinch TJ's organic basics tomato sauce in can
2 cups broccoli (chopped)
2 C mushrooms
110 oz tofu drained and pressed
3 T nooch
1 8 oz. package of Shredded Daiya Mozzarella
T of oregano
canola oil spray or olive oil spray
sea salt
1 C H2O

Crumble the tofu in a bowl and add about 2 T of nooch and sea salt to taste. Set aside. Spray fry pan with oil and saute broccoli about 3 minutes, add mushrooms and saute about 2 more minutes. Remove from heat. Get out your 9x13 in. lasagna pan and some foil.
Ladle about 1/2 C marinara on bottom of lasagna pan. Layer with about 5 matzohs. Spread with tofu ricotta, then a layer of veggies and a about 1/4 C Daiya. Repeat with sauce....layering. Pour the H2O all over this baby in between the crevices too, (you don't want hard matzoh), then sprinkle with a little nooch and oregano. Cover with two overlapping layers of foil. Bake for about 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 20 minutes til bubbly and you just can't wait.

 Two Desserts: Here Comes Trouble

PB Matzo Sandwich Cookie

3-4 Matzos preferably perforated
1/4 C chopped walnuts or peanuts
3-4 T PB
1/2 C dark cocoa
4 T coconut oil melted or in liquid form
1/4 C agave
Line cookie pan with parchment paper and spray lightly with canola oil. Combine coconut oil with agave. Stir then add cocoa powder. Stir until it gets thick. Set aside. Spread PB evenly between matzos. Sandwich together. Cut in even rectangle or squares. Brush both sides with chocolate mixture and sprinkle with nuts. Place in refrigerator or freeze until solid.


Matzo Chocolate Brittle

Make Chocolate the same as above, but ignore matzo perforations. Cover Matzoh sheet in chocolate and freeze. Break or cut into triangle and serve with your favorite vegan ice cream.

P.S. Can I have a bagel now?
A big thank you to my photographer today Mr. Crazy Boy :)

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

Dear Everybody-

Veganville's Black Friday 4 Day Sale was spectacular, and had us working 12 hour days. Thank you to all the wonderful people who made purchases. A big shout out to my awesome readers who commented when I was MIA. Before we get down to business here I'd like to ask you a couple of quick but important questions. Most  importantly, do you all have my correct address so you can send me nice vegan gifts?
Just in case, you've misplaced my address here it is again:
                                               GiGi
                                               C/O the Pen Pal Program
                                                Attica
                                               Cell Block 7
                                               Sorry I forgot my zip
                                                   

Next question: Is it January yet? Did I miss Festivus or any fun ethnic holidays? You know I hate being late. I'd rather not do a recap of Thanksgiving in the first week of December like another blogger friend I know, ahem ahem Andrea. Instead I am going to be the first blogger in the world to post my recipe ideas for Thanksgiving 2012. I win! I win! Serve these roasted chickpeas to your Thanksgiving 2012 guests. Since they are roasted they might have a good shelf life.

I swiped this delicious roasted chickpea recipe from Michelle over at lovinlivivegan. Michelle testified, hence my new sentence. Sorry about the chipped plate, it is the best I could do in the can. P.S. these chickpeas are from a can.



This is the cashew-cuke dip on page 66 in Veganomicon, served with some toasted pita. Some of the stupid pita bread was moldy. I salvaged a couple of pieces and gifted the rest to my slumlord. I told him it was pesto. I made this recipe twice over the holiday and will make it twice over the Thanksgiving Holiday in 2012. Hit me up if you'd like the recipe. I'm in the pen pal program, you know.

You see this funky pie thing. Down there. This is my answer to the looming question about Thanksgiving. Why does everybody eat leftovers the day after Thanksgiving? Everybody loves leftovers so much, so why don't we all just eat leftovers on Thanksgiving Day. This is leftover pasta made into a pizza. Come to my house for leftovers on Thanksgiving 2012! I should be out by then. By the way I added Nasoya tofu to this delectable pie. The Nasoya people just sent out a tee shirt to me to tell you that I used their product. They sent along some coupons too. I'll be back in the next couple of days with a giveaway and your chance to win these same Nasoya goodies. Stay tuned. I'll bring you the recipe and brand new video too.



Leftover Pasta Pie For Thanksgiving 2012



These babies are the Molasses and Lemon Voopees for sale over at Veganville. I can't leave you without giving you a new coupon code. Get 20% off at Veganville with coupon code veganmeow.

Well I'm off to my "write and go free" class. Boy I miss sharp pencils! Happy Thanksgiving 2012 everybody.

xo

Your pal, GiGi

A Tale of One Ice Cream

You probably know by now that GiGi and her vegan ice cream maker didn't have much fun together during the month of October. In fact GiGi and her vegan ice cream maker were always at odds!

Sometimes GiGi was eleven, sometimes the vegan ice cream maker was 17, sometimes GiGi was 15, sometimes the vegan ice cream maker was 31. GiGi and her vegan ice cream maker never met on even ground.

GiGi and her vegan ice cream maker even disagreed about the basics.

Back and forth. Back forth. They'd yell! Almond! Rice! Almond! Rice! Almond! GiGi would get so upset she would scream, "That's enough! You know what happened to Frosty the snowman don't you? That's right just a puddle and a carrot for a nose. Don't push my buttons, Frosty!" Yes GiGi and her vegan ice cream maker bickered and they even arm wrestled!

GiGi wins match 3002!

Come November neither GiGi nor her vegan ice cream maker felt good about their relationship. Vegans shouldn't act this way. So GiGi and her vegan ice cream maker decided to meditate for their higher good.

The vegan ice cream maker opened his eyes and peeked during meditation.

And then GiGi has a divine frozen dessert moment, where she is given the answers.


GiGi and her now vegan ice cream maker friend are ecstatic about GiGi's inspiration. They are now convinced that their vegan ice cream will take over the world, (but where has GiGi heard that before...take over the world?). GiGi and her vegan ice cream maker pal must make this new recipe right away, but first GiGi has to look up this cranberry recipe from Veganomicon  she has remembered in meditation. "I'll be with you in a minute, little buddy...hey bet we can make nutty buddies too bahaha :)"

GiGi opens Veganomicon to turn to the cranberry thingy and then she sees it. OMFG! Right there in front of GiGi is a recipe, but not just any recipe and not the cranberry thingy recipe either, but GiGi's divinely inspired frozen dessert recipe. It's right there in Isa and Hope's freaking book. Did Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero the two wunderkinds of the vegan cooking world think of this recipe first? or did GiGi? or more likely did Isa and Hope invade and take over GiGi's brain??? Just like they said they would?!!! Please watch below reenactment.

Well after I run around the block and exorcise the those two ^^^, I will claim this recipe as all mine...MINE! MINE! (I'm very sorry my lawyer just phoned and I have to say it's partly their recipe, damn them)

The Recipe
This works better if all your ingredients are cold.

About 8oz silken tofu drained
1/2 C creme of coconut  milk (Isa and Terry say)  Place can in frig over night and scoop 1/2 C off top
3/4 C almond milk
3/4 C agave
1 banana (peeled of course)
3/4 C Almond butter
1 tsp almond flavoring

Add to food processor or blender and blend well. Pour into ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's directions.

O, woe is me; To have seen what I have seen, see what I see! - from Shakes and Vegan Hamlet 
I bid you g'night.
xo
music and direction by
Sir Larry  AKA Psycho Boy

Mofo 13 Faker Feta With Kalamata Olives and other Stuff

Now that that is settled,(See video above) the manufacturer's directions tell me I need to leave the barrel in the freezer for 16 hours. 16 hours? 16 hours? I read the info about the 16 hours after I read the recipe booklet that said the ice cream would take 2 hours to sit in the freezer. Now that's 18 hours. There goes my big big plan of eating ice cream for dinner.

There is no way me and crazy boy are having popcorn again for dinner tonight. I feel like the Dead Sea after all that sodium. This of course won't keep me from salting our dinner tonight. I like to wake up looking like a cross between a Cabbage Patch Doll and Rodney Dangerfield.

Just for an update... Remember the 28 day Engine 2 Plan Diet Larry and I were on...we're still doing it. It's about day 35 of the 28 day plan. So we are still off sugar, oils, fats and any white (even unbleached organic) flour. I love doing it. The plan is great. It has kept me from noshing on too much sugar in the kitchen. I no longer have frosting jowls. I have more energy, and our skin looks good. We've lost our tire tummies too. I've lost a few inches (no not in my height). The scale arrow would go farther down if I could just kick the confounded almond butter addiction.

Tonight's Reluctantly Healthy Dinner is...

Broccoli with Cherry Tomatoes, Kalamata olives and Tofu Feta over Rice Penne
1 Package Rice Penne
2 Cups broccoli chopped
1 C kalamata olives
1.5 C cherry tomatoes halved (easier to half with a bread knife so they don't squirt in your eye)
1/4 C salsa
1 T vegan pesto (optional)
1 clove garlic
TJ's 21 Salute
canola spray

Feta
1 package of firm tofu, drained and pressed (about 15 minutes each side)
1 T sea salt
3 T red wine vinegar
2 T oregano
1 T basil
(dill and 2 T olive oil optional)

Put water on for pasta, while draining and pressing tofu. Spray skillet with canola spray, saute broccoli with kalamata olives, about 6 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes and saute another 6 minutes. If you are not on the Engine 2 plan feel free to add 2 T olive oil to the skillet or to the tofu faker feta. 

For the Faker Feta
Crumble drained and pressed tofu into bowl and mix with remaining ingredients. Add to skillet and cook for about 12 minutes. Serve over pasta or rice.

Buy some coconut ice cream for dessert unless you have 18 hours to wait. See you tomorrow. I promise to drink some water before I see you, so I Iook a little better.

MoFo Morning 1 Pie Jolt

MoFo Morning

MoFo Morning Espresso Yourself Pie
If you eat this for breakfast, you must eat broccoli for lunch. Below see components sans soy yogurt and cocoa powder I decided to add while processing.

The above espresso is better as a food ingredient, because really who wants to drink instant any kind of instant coffee.

First let's make the crust. If you are new to my blog , let me give you a quick recap of the last few weeks. My crazy man and I have been on the Rip Esselstyn Engine 2 Plan. Since we run a vegan baking company this has been a wee bit of a challenge. Plus Rip himself has not been very supportive, (he has deleted my last post from his site), even though I wanted to do an Engine 2 giveaway. More about that later. Here is the crust I ripped out of Rip's book.

Riffin on Rip Crust
1 C dates
2/3 C walnuts
1/3 C raw cashews
1 tsp non-alcoholic vanilla

Mix all the above ingredients together in a food processor until it's kind of sticky, because you are going to pour it into a pie plate. Press the crust evenly onto the bottom and about 1/2 inch up the sides of pie plate.

Caffeine Mousse
1 package silken tofu
2 T instant espresso
2 T cocoa
1.5 T vanilla soy yogurt
1/3 C agave

Raspberry Topping
As many raspberries as you want (washed)
1T raspberry jam
1T water

Sprinkling of cacao nibs

Blend all the Caffeine ingredients together so that they will go down smooth and give you a good buzz. Fill pie crust.
Add raspberries in concentric circles or just plop them on, who can see in the dark anyway. In separate cup mix water and raspberry jam to make a quickie glaze and paint on the plopped on raspberries.

Sprinkle with cacao nibs for an extra jolt. You might want to make this pie the night before so it sets in the frig over night. Remember to set your alarm for MoFo 2!

Sgetti Pie and Day 4 of Engine 2

I think crazy man (a.k.a my husband) is more scared than he's letting on. On day one, I asked him if he was excited about the new plan we were about to embark on, and he said NO! Committed, Yes!  I guess whooping it up and jumping for joy are not Larryisms. Oh, don't get me wrong, Psycho boy can be a real Mr. Funbags when he wants to be, but he's such a Taurus that I often have to prod him along. I'm more a whoopdeedo- let's do it kind of gal. So we started the Engine 2 Plan 3 days ago. If you are not familiar with Engine 2, it's a vegan plan/diet (diet seems so passe) devised by Rip Esselyn a triathlete/fireman. Phenom, Lance Armstrong used this eating plan to train for his last Tour De France. The jacket of the Engine 2 book calls this diet a 28 Day Save-Your- Life- Plan that Lowers Your Cholesterol and Burns Away Pounds. I think that blurb is important to attract readers. Not this reader though. Yes, I'd be happy to burn fat and get lean and mean and build muscle. My cholesterol is good, so is my husband's. He's thin, most people would say I am too, and we are both already vegans. If I lose 5-6 pounds that would be a fringe benefit with no fringe bikinis I promise!!!

So why this decision?
No I am not a cyclist. As a matter of fact I'm an idiot on a bike. I'm not training for a triathlon.
Neither is "have to push him off the couch and drag him to exercise, man".


Top 10 Reasons GiGi is Doing This:
1. I need something to blog about. (No but it sure helps with 28 days worth of blogs).
2. I bake for a living and stray chocolate chips often wind up in my mouth, and on my hips.
3. I bake for a living (I know I said that before) and leftover dough....please see number two (mouth/hips).
4. I bake for a living (there it is again) and I must test each and every frosting to see if it is good enough for my clients. (please see numbers two and three)
5. I have found myself saying, if only I didn't bake, I would not do sugar and flour...hmmm, so why let my baking be a limitation?
6. Speaking of limitations, I've realized some are self imposed, and I am in fact accepting things I can change. I am an ex-competitive athlete and coach. When I see people who are in terrific shape I say, "Eh well good for them. I had my day". Why should my days be numbered?
7. I've had sports related injuries. 3 herniated discs, (one neck, 2 lower back). Blown out knees and 9 years ago loss use of both arms for a year and a half. I walk, but lift weights and do core ball exercises infrequently. I already know what a vegan diet can do for me. I believe if I rid myself of the rest of these toxins I'll be able to work out consistently and without fear and run as well.
8. Family history- my 92 year old dad played semi-pro ball and played all kind of sports all his life. He swam up until a year ago. My mom now in her 80's and former professional dancer played tennis until two years ago. My sister was a runner, and tennis player and now just walks. None of them are on plant based diets. All of them suffer from severe arthritis and back and neck pain. In addition to this my sister suffers from severe migraines. Could you imagine how great they would feel from all those healthy sports if their diet had been/was different? I believe I can eliminate most inflammation by following this plan.
9. I like a good challenge.
10. I want more energy. I work long hours on my feet and am tired of being tired and sleeping away my time off. I want to embrace life.

Please keep up with me on this. I'll let you in on my goals, and Larry's reason for doing this too.

For more information on Engine2 plan please visit:http://engine2diet.com/

Here is what we had for dinner on day 2.
Day one was brown rice penne, marinara sauce, broccoli and nooch.

E2 Sgetti Pie
1 C leftover cooked brown rice pasta (or any whole grain pasta)
2 C broccoli chopped
2 C mushrooms sliced
1 clove garlic
1 vegan sausage sliced and cut in half
1 C E2 approved marinara sauce (sans oil and sugar)
1 tofu drained
1/2 Cup Daiya Mozzarella
1/4 C nutritional yeast
1 T dried oregano
spray oil
sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray an 8 inch pie pan and set aside. Spray heavy bottomed fry pan and heat. Add broccoli, and garlic and saute for about six minutes. Add veggie sausage and saute for two minutes. Add shrooms and saute another couple of minutes, add the marina and stir. Meanwhile in a big bowl, crumble the tofu until it is the consistency of ricotta. Add the cooked ingredients to the tofu and mix well. Stir in the nooch and 1/4 cup of the Daiya, and oregano. Empty bowl into prepared pan and press firmly. Go ahead it's fun. Top with remaining Daiya and sprinkle some more nooch if your little heart desires. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool for about 3-4 minutes.

Today is day four.



Feel free to jump in any time. Do you have any goals right now?

Your Toast or You're Toast

Today I will attempt to explain some unkind things to you. I don't want to necessarily make your day suck or anything, that's all up to you and your lonesome. Remember, we can always change our days around by taking positive action, so your day never really has to suck that much. Even making tiny changes can be so empowering.

Anyway, this post is rated PG for PG, partially gruesome. I'll give you a recipe at the end of the post so if you want, you can just bypass the graphic stuff. Hey speaking of bypass, you do know that eating animal products can cause quadruple bypasses, right? Yep. Thump, thump, stop! So if you wanna keep that heart a pumpin' and a thumpin' it might be time to eat more of a plant based diet.

Today let's take a glance  at one of the animals you might still be putting on your plate. I applaud you if you've give up red meat. It's a start but don't think you are totally in the clear, buddy! This isn't just about your health any more. It's about compassion. Like I've said before, comapssion is good for your soul, hence your heart.

Let's take a look at chicken, shall we. Let's imagine what the chicken feels like when confined to a battery cage.
WARNING!!!! DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME! Just imagine How it Feels! I repeat! Don't Do This At Home! I take no responsibility for burnt toast.

Imagine this scenario:
You take your favorite morning multi-grain bread out of the frig and place it in the toaster. You savor it, and say to yourself, (because you always talk a lot to yourself in the morning), this flax seed toast is going to taste so good especially if I put some softened Earth Balance on it! 
You, get some organic coffee brewing, plug in the toaster, place the flax seed spelt bread in the slot and press the highest, darkest toaster setting. You pour yourself a steaming cup of joe,  and consider getting baptized even though you are Jewish.
You shout Thank you baby Jesus for free trade caffeine!
You sip your morning java. Ah java.
The world is a beautiful place.This is better than the 70's. Peace. 
Yes this is a beautiful life, it's such a beautiful world I might be able to share the earth with Ann Coulter.

Uh oh is that toast burning? OMG! And just like that you are Snapped out of your disgusting Ann Coulter revery. Thank Goodness.

Crap. Just when you were going to catch up on all your Vegetarian Times reading too and live in placid co-existence with Tea Party folk, the revery ends. Oh no! The smoke alarm in your tiny digs is crazy loud. Your moron next door neighbor the one with the "don't save the dolphins unless they have beer" trucker hat is pounding on the wall of his trailer. Your freakin' toast is stuck and won't pop up. You grab the nearest knife, the one that was going to spread your softened Earth Balance on your whole grain toast. You stick the butter knife in the slot. What?! Don't tell me. You didn't unplug the toaster! Expletive. Expletive.

Zap! Jolt! Hey bub, you still with me? Oops. Sorry about that.

Hey! Now you know that this is how a chicken confined to a battery cage feels everyday of his existence. These poor chickens never even get to experience their morning coffee. Yep, these poor creatures are debeaked too, so they never ever get to wake up and smell the coffee. Yep, these poor chickens are toast!

Please think about what you eat before you eat!

Hey! Let's have a real life breakfast!!! You deserve it.

I heart the new marinated tempehs from Turtle Island Foods Inc. At least the ones I've tried, like Smokey Maple Bacon and Coconut Curry.

The Smoky Tempeh Bacon is perfect in a tofu scramble with tomatoes and peppers and onions. They are already pre-sliced. Of course the tempeh is perfect in a BLT as well. I know I promised breakfast, but really who wants it after the toaster ordeal. Let's do lunch instead.

BLT Taco Salad with Broken "Tortilla Flats"
with a nod to John Steinbeck

Half-Assed Recipe Because I'm Toast Today (serves 4 "Big Baby" salads or 4 baby salads)
For the Salad

About 16 ounces of butter lettuce
8 cherry tomatoes
package of the tempeh featured up there cooked according to package directions
2 T canola or olive oil
About a C of your choice of your favorite shredded Daiya
Crispy corn tortillas as many as you can handle

For the Fake Blue Cheez Dressing
1/2 a block "tofu life" lemon garlic smoked tofu crumbled
1 C vegenaise
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp sea salt




Directions: Plate it so everything looks pretty. Decorate with broken tortillas while you nosh on some.

Dressing Directions: Whisk all ingredients together except the crumbled tofu. Fold that in last.
Serve over your pretty salad.


Enjoy tomorrow's breakfast.

MoFo #17 Fast and Easy Does It Din-Din

Tonight I introduce the lilliputian blog. (just for tonight) notice the lilliputian text. And lack of rambling.
This text kind of sucks though,especially if you have Magoo- like tendencies. Ah back to normal or back to the way I usually am. I won't keep you. Just thought I'd quickly share what our dinner of champions consisted of tonight.

1. Chunk up delicious smoked tofu.
2. Place spinach and tofu in soup bowl.
3.Make soup according to directions, when ready pour soup over spinach and tofu.
4. Add tsp of sesame oil.

Fast, Easy, Effective like tonight's blog ;)
Nightie-night.

MoFo 16 What a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts

I'm a driven idiot. Here it is 11:33 at night and I can't let one day of MoFo go by without me contributing something. Insite, crap, drivel. I wanna take another survey. Are we allowed to take more than one MoFo survey? Is that against the rules? I think I used mine up already. It wasn't one of the good surveys though. I don't think I got to answer what my favorite milk or ice cream substitutes are:
1. Vanilla Rice Dream
2. Almond Dream Butter Pecan Praline
3. As if anyone cares

The person I want most to convert to veganism is still:
1. Mel Brooks

And since I promised a dessert blog every other day. Here is a scrumptious Banana Coconut Parfait.

Banana Coconut Parfait

Serves 3
112oz silken tofu
1/4 C canola oil
1/3 C agave
 2 T coconut milk

1/2 C coconut milk
1 banana sliced
2-3 T shredded unsweetened coconut (toasted or raw)
1/4-1/2 C brown sugar

Line up 3 parfait glasses. Blend silken tofu, canola oil, agave and 2 T of coconut milk in food processor.
Layer sliced bananas evenly on bottom of the parfait glasses. Top each parfait glass with silken tofu mixture. Add brown sugar, drizzle coconut milk and top with shredded coconut. Refrigerate 45 minutes or more. Chow down my little coconuts.

MoFo 10 Lasagna-An Aerial View

Yes the road is paved with good intentions. I fully intended to write a recipe blog on roasted veggie and meatless ground round lasagna. I realize all my MoFo recipes thus far are laden with Daiya so I probably need to switch it up a bit. Plus my stupid lasagna photo looks like an aerial shot of Smyrna, Georgia.

Look closely. That might look like a black olive far right but it is actually the house Julia Roberts grew up in. A little to the left of Julia's birthplace- the thing that looks nothing like an onion- is the acting school Julia's parents owned.
Oh for goodness sake, I promised a savory recipe today and by God I'll post it.

Smyrna Lasagna
1/2 box of 16 oz no boil lasagna (365 is vegan)
20 oz, ( I think), Hm marinara or in a pinch TJ's organic basics tomato sauce in can
1 cup of baby carrots
2 cups broccoli (chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
About 7 oz of spinach thawed and water squeezed out.
1  10 oz tofu drained and pressed
1 clove of garlic smashed and chopped
3 T nooch
2 tsp olive oil
1 8 oz. package of Shredded Daiya Mozzarella
1 package Yves meatless ground round
1 T of oregano
canola oil spray or olive oil spray
sea salt
1C H2O


Preheat oven 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment and spray with oil. Place veggies on prepared pan. Spray again and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake about 20 minutes. Meanwhile back on the farm....
Crumble the Yves in one bowl and the tofu in another. Get out your 9x13 in. lasagna pan and some foil. 
For the ricotta...add garlic salt, olive oil and nooch to and mush it. Set aside.

When the veggies are done well take them out of the oven silly. Turn oven down to 375 degrees. Now assemble.
Ladle about 1/2 C  marinara on bottom of lasagna pan. Layer with about 6 overlapping noodles. Spread with ricotta, then spinach, then Yves, then a layer of veggies and a about 1/4 C Daiya. Repeat with sauce....layering. Pour the H2O all over this baby in between the crevices too, (you don't want hard noodles), then sprinkle with  a little nooch and oregano. Cover with two overlapping layers of foil. Bake for about 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 20 minutes til bubbly and you just can't wait.

OMG I swear I  can see Julia Robert's face in my lasagna.

4 my blog by Vegan Chick on Polyvore.com

Vegan Confidential MoFo 3

Confession time. I'll cop to it. I read a lot of cookbooks. They are not always vegan. I'm not a regular subscriber to the Cauliflower Chronicle and I still have one pair of worn in  leather Harley boots hiding in my closet behind my hemp shoes. Yesterday following my midnight post Larry caught me fondling and skimming through a back issue of Bona Appetit. He took away my flashlight.
Sure I bypass those very disturbing photos of racks of meat. I never dwell on anything eggy or fowl. Once in a while I get supreme joy from veganizing something formerly considered unveganizable, like Sole Meuniere, (pronounced muhn-yair).

Meuniere is French for Miller's wife and refers to the cooking technique, (saute). It's a classic French dish that is often prepared with great flourish table side.

Tofu Meuniere With Capers

1 10 oz firm tofu drained and pressed cut width wise and then into 3 pieces across (will give you 6 pieces)
Enough unbleached organic flour for dredging
5 T Earth balance
2 T olive oil
1/2 Lemon
4 T capers
sea salt
(seasoning of your choice)

Pour flour into pie plate and dredge tofu with it. Dredge on both sides. Sprinkle with seasoning and squeeze of lemon.

Heat 4 T of Earth Balance and olive oil in skillet over high heat. When it stops it's foaming action, carefully add the tofu fillets. Cook for about 8 minutes turning tofu consistently until browned.  Add capers.  Remove tofu. We plated the tofu over a bed of sauteed mustard greens. Add remaining Earth Balance to skillet to melt. Spoon over tofu fillets. Serve with lemon wedges.

Happy eating. Don't tell anybody I hid another flashlight in one of my Harley Boots.

For Pete Sake it's a Pizza

I am not a tea drinker. I shun most teas except wimpy sweet teas like Good Earth Tea and an occasional Soy Chai Tea with lots of cinnamon. In the early 80's I worked at Good Earth Restaurant and wore the uniform wrap around skirt which was very hard to wrap and was often tea stained. I once rolled " Morning Thunder Tea " into a cigarette and smoked it. Morning Thunder Tea was touted as having 2,000 percent more caffeine than coffee so why not? Who cared if my skirt unwrapped after that? Other than that I pretty much hate tea. A lot of people in California ask me if I'd like to meet them for tea, socially. A social tea, I guess. Remember those cookies " Social Tea Biscuits "? They were good with coffee. 

Meeting someone for tea feels like getting together to pull out my fillings. Let's just do coffee. While we're at it, how come nobody here ever says, " let's go have a bagel " or " let's go get a slice "?  Well because in Northern California you might as well say, " let's go eat a slice of cardboard -or in the case of a bagel, " let's go eat some cake ". Even if I did live in New York I wouldn't eat a drippy oozy pizza unless it was Vegan of course. Check out this Vegan Pie, but please, please don't eat it with tea.

Broccoli Pie Recipe

1 Corn Meal Pie Crust (I like Vicolo Organic)

1 firm tofu drained and pressed

1/4 of onion chopped

2 C broccoli chopped

1/4 C sundrieds in oil chopped plus 1 T for topping

1/2 C nutritional yeast and 1 T for topping (nooch)

2 T olive oil for pan and then 1 T for topping

1/4 C shredded Daiya Cheddar (optional). ( I know you are thinking why not Mozz...I like the Daiya Cheddar better that's why! )

Canola or olive oil spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spritz fry pan with canola or olive oil spray. Heat pan and add 1 T of oil. Add onions and saute for 2 minutes. Add broccoli and saute for another 5 minutes. Crumble tofu into pan and stir with a wooden spoon. Stir in 1/2 C nooch, 1/4 C sundrieds. Cook for about ten minutes. Place corn meal shell on cookie sheet. Top with tofu broccoli filling. Use back of spoon to flatten and bring to the edges. You will probably have some topping leftover to munch on while you are waiting for your pie to cook. Top with 1 T of nooch, 1 T of sundrieds, Daiya Cheese if using and remaining oil. Bake for about 12-14 minutes.

Mangia. Please eat socially.

Somewhere Beyond the "Dee"/Easy Indian Food

I bet you're not particularly fond of narrow minded people either. I mean why pass judgement when you don't have the facts. You know that old adage. Point one finger and there are three pointing back at you. I'd like to think of myself as a kind, just, non-discriminating person. The other day while minding my own business I realized how much I love to create other people's biographies without even knowing one iota about them. Oh come on, I don't care what a good hearted little vegan you are, you know you do it too. It's true.To add fuel to the fire, I mix people up. I don't have a television but I love to watch the Food Network in my head, (of course I'm the star), and I often visit their site to peruse their recipes. Because I don't have the Food Network outside my cerebral palace, I honestly thought that Sandra Dee, who incidentally died in 2005, had a new cooking show. I didn't even know Gidget could cook. I glanced at one of her books once. She has this 70/30 ready made philosophy going. She believes that 70% of your ingredients should be ready made and 30% from scratch. What a cheater. Poor Bobby Darin. Sandra Dee's teeth are a little too white, and her makeup is a little too perfect. I think she should be wearing a nose ring in her cookbook author picture.

Much to my chagrin I just went over to the Food Network to look at her true story. My apologies, Sandra Lee - Lee. Lee. Lee, as in Bruce Lee. Sh**



GiGi 70/30 Vegan Apology Recipe

1 Butternut Squash

2 T Agave

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

sea salt to taste

1 Bag TJ Biryani Rice

1/4 Bag frozen organic Peas thawed

1 C raisins (optional)

1 Jar TJ's  Vegan Curry Sauce

1 10 oz. Firm tofu drained and pressed or drained and wrapped in non-fuzzy towel and water leached

2-3 T olive oil

1 tsp Garam masala

1 tsp Cumin

sea salt to taste

canola spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash squash, cut in half and spoon out that yukky stringy stuff and seeds. Cut in half or thirds. Spray with canola spray. Place face down on lightly greased pan. Drizzle each half with one T of agave and sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg and sea salt. Bake for 45 minutes, turn over halfway through baking.

Tofu Sticks. Cut tofu in half width wise, then cut into 6 sticks lengthwise, which will give you a dozen, smarty pants. Lightly spray pan and place tofu sticks on top.Spray tops with canola spray, then turn over and brush with olive oil and sprinkle with seasonings. Place in oven with the squash. It's the same (400 degree temp). Bake for 20 minutes and then flip and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

Here's the Sandra part. Cook Biryani Rice according to package directions. Add thawed peas half way through. Open jar and heat in sauce pan. When everything is ready to go, plate and pour curry sauce over whatever your little heart desires. Now take credit for a beautiful meal. I won't tell.

I'm Feta Up

Why don't vegans eat cheese? I mean Roquefort cheese isn't an animal, right? If the heinousness of factory farming is Greek to you, then you have come to the right place, unless of course you are loathe to puns. Cows are kept in dry lot operations and fenced in very tiny spaces, tinier than my apartment even. In order for cows to produce 2,000 gallons of milk a year the cows are kept pregnant. When the cows have babies, the male calves are separated from their moms to make into veal. The female calves are made into milk cows. The cows who can no longer produce milk are sent to slaughter. On that happy note, after I've made you falafel, I hope you are more feta up with the cheezy dairy industry than my puns. Woo hoo... still hungry? Then let's make some vegan feta, and look at some really great cheese substitutes.

Vegan Feta

1 block tofu drained and pressed (My friend over at Vegan Aide does have other ideas about the press/drain method)
1/8th C water
1/8 - 1/4 C red wine vinegar
2 tsp Sea Salt
1 T dried dill
1/2 tsp Basil
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano (optional)

Whisk all ingredients except for the tofu together in a medium bowl. Crumble tofu into the mixture. Marinate over night in your refrigerator. Great in a salad, wrap, or in a vegan scramble with spinach.

Eco Planet = Those cheezy cracker thingies

Tings = Cheeze Doodles

Look Nacho Cheeze Dip almost!

Holy Cow! Now you can munch away with a clear conscience. BTW - those are vegan sandals.