"Friends"giving

I could not have had more fun with this newly invented holiday!  When I first decided to call it "Friends"giving I was only thinking about a Thanksgiving meal shared with friends, but the more I talked about it I realized that any vegan thanksgiving meal should be called "Friends"giving because it's friendly... No one gets harmed on "Friends"giving because ALL the food is cruelty free!

The event began with Tempeh Sausage Pastry Puffs (Vegan Brunch).  I made them in a different shape than the recipe called for and was very happy with the way they looked and held together.  I would say that they were delicious, but I never even got the chance to try one.  They were gone before I knew it!

My roommates Chris and Alexis made a fresh salad.  It was very yummy and the salad dressing came in a spray bottle!  How fun is that?

I made Caramelized Onion Butternut Roast with Chestnuts (Veganomicon) for the third time this holiday season and I have to say that the third time was a charm!  It was perfect!

Sarah made these amazing green beans.  They had almonds and sauteed onions and were so good I could eat them all day!

For the main course I made Pumpkin Seed-Crusted Tofu and Baked Pumpkin and Cranberry Relish (Vegan With A Vengeance).  It turned out well although it had a rough start.  The tofu I defrosted and stuck back in my fridge refroze because my fridge sucks, so Sarah and I had to run out at the last minute to get more.  I was still cooking when everyone arrived... Leia helped with the tofu and the pumpkin and Sarah and Nick helped with the cranberry relish.  It is always so nice to have help in the kitchen, thanks everyone!

These are mine and Sarah's plates.  I didn't get a picture of the Sweet Potatoes that Alicia made, but you can see them featured on both our plates.  They were made "Mexican" style and were quite possibly the best sweet potatoes I've ever eaten!

This is everyone that came and ate with us minus Kipp who was taking the picture.....  The second picture we took for my Mom.  She LOVES to have group pictures of everyone posing as Dr. Evil.  This one is for you MOM!

For dessert I made Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting (Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World) and Leia made a Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Cranberry topping.  Leia and Tony worked very hard on the topping and I think it was well worth it!  Great job guys!

 Dessert was awesome, but the best part was everyone chipped in and cleaned up!  I didn't need to wash a single dish!  Love you guys!  "Friends"giving could not have been more perfect!

A Trip to Karyn's Cooked

Tonight I got to hang with two of my favorite ladies, Liz and Danni.  Danni's family is in town and all of them happen to be vegetarians so, we decided to go to Karyn's Cooked (738 N. Wells St.) my favorite vegan restaurant in Chicago!

The menu is magical to me!  It is so rare to go to a restaurant and have choices. 

We ordered SO much food it was ridiculous!    We started with Buffalo Wings, Peanut and Barbecue Thai Skewers, and Jerry's Pizza...

The appetizers were delicious! I'm not usually a huge fan of seitan, but they did it right at Karen's...
Everyone got something different for a main course, and all of us were equally pleased!

I ordered The Flautas. They were filled with a mixture of tofu and carrot and were covered in vegan sour cream and came with homemade Pico De Gallo, Guacamole, and Refried Black Beans.  It was an excellent choice!  Delicious!

Liz ordered The Stuffed Eggplant without bread.  She is a South Beach  eater, so this was here real only option that fit with her diet...  She let me try some and it was very yummy!

I believe that this was a jerk tofu wrap, but I could be wrong.  It looked tasty though!

Danni's sister got the Lasagna.  She raved about it so I'm sure it was good!

Danni got the Taco Salad Bowl. It was HUGE!

Danni's bro got the Steak Sandwich.  It looked incredible!  I am definitely getting this on my next visit!

As you can see I ate almost everything on my plate!

 After all the food and drinks we were too stuffed to eat dessert, but also could not pass up the opportunity for gourmet vegan dessert! So we ordered it to go.

After I digested most of my food I dug into my dessert...  Coconut Cake. Yum!  I loved my trip to Karyn's Cooked!  Thanks Liz and Danni!!!!!

Sharing Vegan Cookies

 Today I decided to make cookies for the class that I tutor.  Most of the kids in this class are familar with how delicious vegan cookies are, since I have had many of them in previous classes, but some of my new students were still skeptical. 

I made Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar)

When I got to school, I forced Milton, my favorite security guard, to sample his first vegan cookie... He said it was okay, but he was sure that the kids would not be impressed.  I didn't have any worries though.  I knew the kids would devour them!

Some of the other teachers tasted them and they seemed to like them....

The true test came in with my class and as expected, I won them over with my baking powers! They could not believe that the cookies were vegan.  Some of the even sampled some Almond Milk that I brought to go with the cookies so that they could  have the full vegan experience. When class was over they were all sure to let Milton know how wrong he was and told him that the cookies were not just "okay", but they were "Amazing".  Looks like Sharing Vegan Cookies was a great success!

My Love of Kombucha

Anyone that knows me, knows I have a deep love and commitment to drinking Kombucha...
For those of you that don't know about this amazing tea, let me tell you a little about it. It is a Chinese tea that is cultured for 30 days and over that time, essential nutrients form such as: Active Enzymes, Viable Probiotics, Amino Acids, Antioxidants, and Polyphenols. All of these nutrients help keep you in balance.
When I first started drinking this tea I was suffering from chronic stomach aches. Since I don't have insurance and I am always looking for home remedies for my ailments, a friend of mine suggested that I try drinking Kombucha. After I began to drink this tea a few times a week, my stomach aches that I had been suffering from for years completely went away! It is a miracle beverage. Some say the taste takes some getting used to, but I love the flavor, maybe because it leads to a happy tummy, but it tastes good to me none the less.
If you are going to try drinking Kombucha, please be sure to get G.T's Kombucha. It is the only brand that I have found so far that isn't filled with sugar and tons of additives. This brand is made up of 95% Kombucha where as the other brands do not even come close.... (at least in the others I have looked at) Whole Foods Market always carries G.T's and if you REALLY like it and are adventurous in the kitchen you can even brew your own. Hopefully one day I will find the time and brew it myself and blog about my experiences here....

Vegan Goddesses

This post is all about my favorite Vegan ladies Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. They are the ultimate vegan duo. They used to host a vegan cooking show called Post Punk Kitchen and have put out several cookbooks together as well as independently. I have made countless amounts of their recipes, in fact the majority of what I cook are their recipes.
If you are a vegan, vegetarian and you don't own these books, you NEED to go to half.com right now and purchase them. They are well worth every penny you will spend!


Vegan With A Vengeance- Just a great cookbook with a variety of delicious recipes! If you follow my blog you will see that I use this one often!


Veganomicon- Also know as my vegan Bible. This cookbook taught me everything I know about cooking! The recipes in this one can get complicated, but it is written so beautifully that you know what you are doing every step of the way!

Vegan Brunch- Brunch! Need I say more... A cookbook filled with nothing other than brunch foods!
Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World- Cupcakes galore! You would never know they were vegan...
Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar- This was a great investment for Holiday season last year! I made so many different cookies and vegans and non-vegans alike LOVED them all! I can't wait to bake out of this one soon...
Viva Vegan!- All Latin recipes... Right up my alley! Again, need I say more?
So, get busy and buy these books, or you can also click on the link to The Post Punk Kitchen Blog on the right, loads of free amazing recipes there too!

I Love Bustelo in the Mornings

A friend of mine that lives in South Florida turned me on to Bustelo and I can't thank him enough! It has become my delicious morning ritual. I don't know what I would do without it actually... If you are a coffee lover and you haven't brewed this brand of coffee yet make a stop at Dominick's and pick some up. You won't regret it!

A Traveling Dinner

Tonight Vegan Family Dinner was postponed because I had a Holiday Potluck to attend at my friend Nicole's place in Arlington Heights. I made Caramelized Onion Butternut Roast with Chestnuts (Veganomicon). In order to make this recipe I had to roast chestnuts, which was pretty exciting to me for some reason! The roast turned out wonderfully. I am absolutely making it for Thanksgiving this year. It tastes like a yummy version of stuffing. Even though I was the only vegan there, everyone seemed to love it!