Chocolate Nut Bombs, Kid Eating Green Stuff and Farmers Market Stew

I rarely make desserts.... honestly I do not really like sweets, but once in a while I go there and it's not pretty....
This is a simple chocolate nut log unit:
pecans
walnuts
sesame seeds
coconut
sunflower seeds
I toasted then added raw sugar about a 1/4 cup per cup of nut mix, added cinnamon and nutmeg. When the sugar melted I turned off the heat and stirred in chocolate chips and scooped into a muffin tin. The final result was like those mall nuts, covered in chocolate! Quite tasty!!!






A funny picture of Carter eating pea shoots... HA HA HA










This was a stew from farmers market finds:
Fresh potatoes
Little carrots
Broccoli
And Tofurky Bratwurst
Simple decent and delicious!!!!

Vegan Chorizo Tofu Scramble and Oven Browns

There are times when I could eat nothing but breakfast for a week!!!
So simple, so tasty, and so easy!!!
This was actually a dinner meal:

• Scrambled tofu with soy choriso
• Oven hash browns, frozen hash browns with a touch of oil, garlic powder, onion powder and salt, baked on parchment at 400 until browned.
• Warm tortillas.

When I was growing up and as a young adult, going out for breakfast was one of my most favorite things to do, getting up early, hot coffee, warm and savory breakfast made to order.
Nikki has been vegetarian as long as I have known her and so early in our relationship and marriage, breakfast was a meal that we could easily enjoy together. The shift to veganism really hit hard in the breakfast department because it took out some of the key ingredients that defined breakfast for us.

Eggs, Cheese, Butter, Milk, and Cream

At the beginning it was hard to come to grips with the idea that 99% of menu items at breakfast places are not vegan.... so basically we did not go out for breakfast anymore. We did some experimenting that yielded some not so awesome substitutes.
We have had some great vegan breakfast meals while traveling, but in general breakfast at a restaurant is not something that is easy to veganise.
A few years ago a small Co-op restaurant opened and started doing vegan breakfast on the weekends, we went there and it was so incredible to be able to go somewhere and have a vegan meal that was tasty, simple and fresh. They offered pancakes, french toast, scrambled tofu, and breakfast potatoes. Unfortunately the Co-op restaurant did not last long, but in some ways offered the hope that maybe there would be others in the future.
We have a "formal" breakfast meal a few times a month and it is just as good or better than anything you could find in a restaurant(including non vegan restaurants). But there is something lost when you have to make it yourself.... I miss being in a space with other sleepy people enjoying their first meal of the day. I am looking forward to taking a trip in the fall and finding a vegan breakfast place.... I hope their tofu scramble is as good as mine!

Shredded BBQ Tofu - Corn - Potato Salad

Wow what a summer.... now it is getting cold and it is time to get up to speed and share some of the meals that we have eaten over the past few months.
This was a real winner...
This is shredded baked tofu with BBQ sauce on white bread. I did the random baked tofu method(recipe link) to cook the tofu with sweet onions. When baking I seasoned with salt, pepper, and paprika, then finished with one of the many bottled Kansas City BBQ sauces that happen to be vegan.
The potato salad is pretty basic with veganaise, dill, onions, salt and pepper. The corn this summer was freakin' awesome, I would like to travel back in time and eat some more. Of course we used vegan butter, and plenty of it!!
I love this tofu method, like I have said before it is the only method that I have found that can hold up to tomato based sauces and retain its texture.

CSA Bounty Meals... you never know what you will get!

I love summertime and the bounty of the farmers market and the weekly Rolling Prairie CSA veggie pick up. I usually go to the farmers market at least one week night and on Saturdays. Generally speaking the offerings at the farmers market are pretty much tied to is ready and most of the vendors have similar items. But not all veggies are created equal, some vendors work harder to produce their bounty and you can see the dedication on their faces and in how they respect what they are sharing.
I try to spend at least $20 per farmers market trip, which is spread around to the various vendors I have come to know over the years.
The Rolling Prairie CSA is a different deal... there are some choices, but you get what they bring. I love the fact that they bring things that I would never imagine buying on my own, and in some cases things I have never seen. This year we have been getting Parslane, which is great in salads and has some interesting medicinal benefits.
The bounty of Rolling Prairie is shown in these pictures, a salad with Russian Kale, Asian Cucumber, Tomatoes, Green Chili (Anaheim), and the Fava Beans were from a can. We also had corn on the cob, and boiled new potatoes. It was not a typical meal for us but everything was fresh and vibrant.
I will be doing some posts soon with all of the magnificent chilies that I am able to get locally. There is a wide variety that can be prepared and stored used all year.

Future Vegan Food Bloggist

I have to admit that I do not share the kitchen enough!!! I am usually in too much of a hurry and with my cooking background I know quite a few short cuts.
My 13 year old daughter is very interested in cooking and has begun preparing her own lunches and occasionally cooking dinner for herself and her little brother.
This was one of her efforts one night when I had to work late... I think she is going to be a food stylist some day!!!
She did not really push any culinary envelopes with the Bocas, but she is starting to develop a taste for spicier foods so she has been doing some basic experimentation with Asian Noodles with basic sauces. She is starting to learn basic cooking technique, which she picks up quickly and excels rapidly. I think she enjoys the scientific side of mixing flavors and textures.

Sponge Bob Vegan Pants - Happy Birthday Carter

This post is only 60 days old... I posted photos on Facebook, but forgot to do a blog post.
Carter aka "soy boy" requested his favorite meal for his birthday dinner. which was not technically on his birthday. You parents out there know that birthdays are a long, drawn out series of three or more birthday related events: first the school day treat, then the birthday party/s then the family get-together.
Carter chose Chick-Pea-Patties with Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, and Broccoli. This is just such an awesome combo that works well for special occasions. Nikki makes the Chick-Pea-Patties and I make the rest, we have gotten good at this and we can do the whole meal in around an hour. We make extra of everything and we have great leftovers!!!!

For family birthday dessert Carter chose ice cream (So Delicious - Vanilla Coconut), chocolate syrup, bananas, and cherries. Of course he had to have a #6 on top!!

Happy Sixth!!!!

This is the cake from his Birthday Party,
Sponge-Bob-Vegan-Pants!!!!!

Vegan Roti and Curry Cauliflower

Nikki really likes Indian food.... so do I but I tend to be recipe adverse so light curries tend to be as far as I go.
We go to a couple of places in Kansas City every once in a while to get her a FIX.
Nikki wanted Indian one night so she settled on curried cauliflower with edamame. She prepped everything and worked on cooking the cauliflower. She also made vegan roti (Indian flat bread), and formed the dough balls and then flattened. I did the roti cooking. I really enjoy when she takes on a recipe, she is focused and I work to be her kitchen helper.. its fun!!! She does not give herself enough credit for her cooking skills, she really does a great job!!!




Two heads of cauliflower in the big pan, with onions, garlic, curry, and edamame.



The finished product served with roti, and brown rice. The kids tend to be more adventurous with Nikki's cooking over mine.... They loved the cauilflower, but were not thrilled with the edamame.