Dinner/Dance

On a Thursday night like this one, many hip Gainesvillains (as in, "Chillin' like a Gainesvillain") head over to the Atlantic for Indie Dance Night. It can be a pretty fun time when you've got the right people to dance with. The last time I was there, my roomies and I were very pleased to take part in a spirited singalong of Miley Cyrus's "Party in the U.S.A." - a song, the DJ announced with a laugh, he was playing "against his better judgment."

But tonight, the ladiez and I are bringin' the party to the Cheetah House. I'm being a little facetious. We're having Internet Café Time in the dining room until one of us puts on a New Boyz song and we practice jerkin'. (That's a dance, y'all.)

Anyway, for dinner, made...



Mom's Easy Cheezy Broccoli Soup
serves 4

1 1/2 cups broccoli, chopped
1/3 cup onion, chopped fine
1 tablespoon Tamari sauce
2 1/2 cups veggie broth
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/3 cup veganaise

Simmer broccoli and onions in broth, oil and Tamari until tender. Let cool for ten minutes or so and put it in a blender for a minute. Then add the yeast, paprika, veganaise, and s&p to taste.

Who doesn't love pizza?

I've been carb-obsessed lately. Last night, I was very, VERY pleased with the cheesy, cheesy mac that came of my dear friend over at Vegan Pandamonium's recipe. Threw in some kale and it was a deeply satisfying meal.



And toootally foodgasmed over the heavenly scent coming out of my oven tonight: BBQ tempeh, onion and (again) kale pizza on gluten-free crust, boyyyyy!



I've been trying to use up all the chiles in adobo sauce from the can that allowed me to make those BBQ Black-eyed Peas. BBQ is a theme for me, okay? Nothing feeds the soul like it.

BBQ Pizza
serves 4

1 box pizza crust mix
15-oz. can tomato sauce
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, chopped (and a lil' bit of sauce)
half a lime
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 packet pure Stevia
1/2 cup Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1 tablespoon & 1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon molasses
various veggies/fake cheeses/fake meats for toppings

Prepare the dough for rolling according to the package directions. I used a gluten-free mix. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a sauce pan over medium heat, put all ingredients starting at the tomato sauce and ending at the molasses. Roll out the dough on an oiled baking sheet, spread the warm sauce onto it, sprinkle all the toppings on and stick it in the oven for 15 minutes.

The kale we used right on top crisped up so nicely. It had such a great flavor all by itself. But the sauce was really where the flavor took over your taste buds. Sweet and spicy in perfect harmony. Another bbq'ed success!

Hodge Podge

Okay, I did something bad. I ate all the strawberry ice cream before taking any pictures. So I'm gonna hold off posting that luscious treat until I can provide evidence of its existence. (Don't worry, it won't be long.)

But, surprisingly, lots of other things happened this weekend that I will report on today instead! I guess when one is mostly confined to one's bed for a few days, food, sleep and gentle entertainment are the main concerns one has. Yesterday was deemed (by my lazy, bossy, croup-y self) movie marathon day. Boyfriend indulged me. As for feature films, we watched:


Courtesy of Google Image search!

A strange mix, but all kind of woven together with the theme of "intrigue." Actually, I was audibly frightened at some point during each of these movies. Haha, I'm a baby. Anyway, to my delight, we also got to catch up the last season of the Office.

Today, enVeg, the club I'm president of at school, hosted a vegan potluck!



It was a great spread. In the picture, I can identify a chocolate cake, a fruit-and-nut salad, the pot being passed around as my roommate's very successful version of the BBQ Black-eyed Peas from Vegan Soul Kitchen, and the orange pot in the center as the basic Red Curry I decided to make. No close-ups (gosh, I need to be more diligent in my photo-taking!), but here's the recipe regardless:

Easy Red Curry Potatoes and Spinach
serves 4 (as a full meal)

2 tablespoons oil (coconut, canola, olive...)
2 inches fresh ginger, minced
6 cloves garlic, minced
6 medium-sized potatoes, roughly chopped
1 large bag fresh spinach
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1 14-oz. can coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more if desired)
1/4 sheet nori
1 1/2 tablespoons Bragg's Liquid Aminos or tamari

Saute the minced ginger and garlic in oil over medium-high heat until very fragrant, though being careful not to burn. Add the potatoes and the curry paste and pepper flakes. Coat the potatoes well. Add the coconut milk and heat through. Plop the spinach on top of everything, cover and wait until partially steamed, so it can be folded in. Crumble the 1/4 sheet of nori into the the mixture, then add the Bragg's. (These two ingredients I just discovered are a fantastic fish sauce replacer!) Cook, covered, until you can stick a fork through the potatoes with ease.

TLC

I am once again trying recover from a cold! Jeez! Obviously haven't been taking great care of my body, if I'm relapsing within a week of getting over the last one. I'm devoting this entire weekend to rest and real recovery. So there, cold.



Of course, the world doesn't stop for a cold. Now that I've taken a lil' break from blogging to stay on top of school things, I'm back because I seriously needed some tender lovin' cookin'. Felt inspired to make a traditional Italian four-course meal (antipasti, first-course pasta, second-course salad, dessert), but I kinda lost some steam as the evening wore on. Turned out to be only three. Oh well! We had some delicious fresh bread dipped in olive oil and Herbes de Provence, then my vegan adaptation of penne alla vodka, and something I'm saving for my next post - homemade strawberry ice cream! Actually, in keeping with the theme, I'll call it "gelato." Harhar. Anyway, here's the pasta recipe. It was yummy!

Penne Alla Vodka
serves 4

1 box whole wheat penne
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
3 tablespoons vodka (it was in short supply, but it worked!)
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup pignolis
1/4 cup agave nectar
s&p

Cook pasta according to directions while you...

Saute the onion and garlic until softened. Add the tomatoes, herbs and vodka and cook on medium-high heat until heated through and soft. Stir in the nooch (nutritional yeast), pignolis (pine nuts), agave and s&p. Pour the sauce into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour over da pasta.

Brunch is da best.

It seems like on Sundays and, on long weekends like this one, Mondays, brunch is a welcome inevitability. I lounge around in my jammies until it's just too late in the day for three full meals to be feasible. So on this lovely MLK Day, we made a big ol' skillet of home fries and some quick stove-top ketchup! I am so excited to have found such an easy ketchup alternative, since I really dislike high fructose corn syrup.



Home Fries
serves 4

4 tablespoons canola oil
6-7 medium potatoes, diced
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon dried thyme
s&p

Heat the oil in a skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high. Add the onions and saute until slightly softened. Add the potatoes. Keep turning over the layers throughout the next 20 minutes, but do allow the bottom to begin to brown between tosses. Toss in your thyme, s&p. Test a larger chunk of potato for doneness.

Homemade Ketchup!!!
a slight adaptation of Jae Steele's recipe, serves 4

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon arrowroot starch

Place all the ingredients but the tomato sauce and arrowroot in a small saucepan on high heat to bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, stir in the sauce and starch, cover and cook for about 8 minutes.

Scoop some ketchup onto a big pile of potatoes, mix 'em up and EAT.

BBQ B-EPs, OMG

This introduction is already long overdue. Readers, meet Vegan Soul Kitchen.

Bryant Terry has seriously accomplished something wonderful with this book. He has captured the essence and incredible flavor of soul food without a single ham hock!

Tonight, I wanted to treat my bf, recently recovered from some nasty mouth surgery, to a home-cooked meal. Because of the rain, we were aiming for something really comforting, so Vegan Soul Kitchen immediately came to mind. Landed on Barbeque Black-Eyed Peas. Great decision.




I've tried a number of Terry's recipes in the past, many of which can be found in this Google Book preview, if you're interested in testing a few. Uncle Don's soup, the Cajun-Creole-spiced tempeh with grits and yellow potato soup are all VERY good. The BBQ recipe is on there, too!

Now, you too may go forth and make soul food.

[edit] Sammi thankfully pointed out that the Google book preview does nottt list the b-ep's, but there are a few good 'uns on there anyway.

Humble little squashies.

Not too much of my own spin on this little dish, but it was tasty and very pretty, so I wanted to post it anyway. I trust in VegNews.



For the roasted squashies, I had three miniature ones from the farmers' market that I wanted to cook in tact, so I hunted down these instructions on the Food and Wine website.

For the wild rice stuffing, VegNews, as usual, knew exactly what to do. Click here for that goodness.

I'll be back soon with more creative things, I promise.