3rd Annual SoCal VegFest Cooking Demo: The Monte Cristina

The Monte Cristina from Vegans Go Nuts! by Joni Marie Newman and Celine Steen

Last weekend was the 3rd Annual SoCal VegFest held at the OC Fairgrounds. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of vegans, vegetarians, and veg-curious folks filled the humongous venue and enjoyed a weekend of learning, shopping, music, community, and of course, eating!

Peanut Butter French Toast Dippers with Peanut Butter Maple Pecan Dipping Sauce

It's getting to be that time of year, even in sunny Southern California, where it's still tipping the therm at over 80 during the day. But mornings and evenings are indeed starting to get chilly, and the fall flavors of maple and pecan just feel right. This recipe originally appeared in Celine and my newest book, Vegans Go Nuts! (Now available wherever books are sold.)

Peanut Butter French Toast Dippers with Peanut Butter Maple Pecan Dipping Sauce
*Soy Free
*Quick and Easy

What's up MoFos? Day 1: S#@! on a Shingle from Cozy Inside

That's right, today is day numero uno of what is going to be one amazing Vegan MoFo.  "What is Vegan Mofo" you ask?  It's only the coolest month on the blogosphere all year long.  A month full of vegan food, pictures, inspriation, stories, and recipes from bloggers all over the world.

Throwback Thursday! Breakfast Style Chicken Fried Seitan Steak Smothered in Sausage Gravy

Throwin' back this Thursday to 500 Vegan Recipes, Celine and my first book together.   It's fun to look back and see what VegNews had to say about the book way back when!  And as Celine and I just started working on our fourth book together (Can you believe it's already time to write The Complete Guide To Vegan Food Substitutions, Volume 2?) it was predicted the two of us would go on to write recipes together for a long time to come.

Throw Back Thursday! Maple Corn Fritters from Cozy Inside

These little fellas area throwback to my very first ever cookbook, Cozy Inside, that I wrote and published all by myself way back in 2007.  Now I admit, the way this book came out, it was more like a 'zine than a book, but I stand by these recipes, even if the poor grammar, layout, shamefully close up photographs, and typos made that book one helluva mess.

The nice thing about looking back to this book, is it really shows how far both I, and the world of veganism, have come.  Back then it was already getting pretty east to be vegan, but there was not nearly as many blogs, cookbooks, and vegan products on the market as there are now.

Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites, French Toast, and a GIVEAWAY!

Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman

Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites...It's out!  Yeah, I know...already?  I could hardly believe it myself!  But it's true, and this hefty tome full of lip smacking, belly filling, home-style recipes, guaranteed to keep everyone (even the meat eaters) fantastically full, is now available through all the regular channels, like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and of course, my favorite, HERBIVORE!

A little bit about this book...besides the fact that Celine has totally outdone herself with some of the most amazing photos you'll ever see...it's totally full of comfort foods.  Lots of deep fried deliciousness, lots of heavy sauces, lots of foods you might find yourself noshing on at a state fair.  We've never claimed that this was a health food book, only that it is full of cruelty free recipes that are sure to please even the pickiest of carnivores.  This is the book you can turn to when you are cooking for your in-laws for the first time to prove that you aren't starving your spouse by feeding them only twigs and berries.  This is the book you can turn to when you are craving that doughnut, and aren't anywhere near Voodoo!  This is the book you can turn to when you want a vegan version some crazy fast food concoction (read: the KFC Double Down).  You know, the stuff you know you shouldn't, couldn't, or wouldn't eat everyday, but know that it's important to indulge every now and again.

And because I know times are tough...how about I give a couple away?  Just leave a comment letting me know what your favorite pig-out food is, and I will pick out 2 at random on Saturday night (July 9, 2011 at 9 pm PST) to send a free copy.  (YES, I will ship internationally.  I only ask that those of you who enter the giveaway, please check back to see if you have won, because otherwise I have no way of getting in touch with you to send you your book!) 

CONTEST NOW OVER!  CONGRATS TO THE WINNERS:
 #47 that would be fries. Although i'm very into choclate cake at the moment. By Katharina H.  on 7/7/11
and#12  Oh, this is weird: in theory, I always want scalloped potatoes, and then I make them and don't love them so much. I think this would change if I had your cookbook and the scalloped potato pie which I am dying to try. Until then, the other thing I really love to pig out on is tacos! By celyn  on 7/6/11

KATHARINA H. and CELYN:  Please send me an email to joni@justthefood.com with your snail mail address so I can send you your books!


And just to give you a taste of the hearty goodness you'll find inside, here is a freebie from the book:

The Captain's French Toast (page 23 in HVMFMA)

The Captains French Toast

As far as actual Cap'n Crunch goes, you do not need the real thing...although it does appear to be vegan, it does contain an insane amount of weird things in the ingredients, so try using a natural variety such as GORILLA MUNCH, if for no other reason then it has such a cool name!

2 cups (72 g) sweet corn cereal such as Cap'n Crunch, crushed into a powder
1/2 cup (62 g) all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (235 ml) vanilla flavored nondairy milk
6 slices of stale fench bread about 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thick
3 tablespoons (42 g) nondairy butter for frying

Mix together crushed cereal, flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a shallow dish. Mix in milk to make a thick batter.
Preheat a frying pan on high heat. Melt some butter in the pan, use about 1 tablespoon (14 g) for every 2 slices of french toast.
Coat each piece of bread with the batter. Since the batter is thick, you may need to help to smear it on the bread with your fingers.
Pan fry for about 2 minutes per side, or until golden and crispy.
Serve hot with pure maple syrup.

Yield: 6 slices

Sunday Breakfast

Geez, with breakfast being my favorite meal of the day, you'd think I'd make it more often! I took advantage of a few free moments this morning to make myself a BIG hearty breakfast.



Let's start with the scramble. A basic crumbled tofu-turmeric-garlic-onion-salt and pepper combination with some Daiya tossed in at the end for good measure. The potatoes were just some frozen shredded potatoes fried up and served with ketchup. The tempeh bacon was simply marinated in about a tablepoon of liquid smoke mixed with about 1/4 cup of maple syrup and then pan fried until crispy.

VeganMoFo and Caramel Ginger Apple Compote over Pancakes

So I have decided to take the Vegan Iron Chef Challenge. The 2 "secret ingredients" are ginger and apples. I have an unexpected Sunday morning off of work, so I decided to make pancakes!

Yet, there are no apples or ginger in pancakes. In comes the Caramel Ginger Apple Compote!



Ingredients
3 apples, cored, peeled and cubed
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup soy creamer (vanilla or plain)
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water

Directions
In a sauce pan, add the apples, sugar, ginger, cinnamon and salt. Toss to coat. Bring to a simmer on medium low heat, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. As the sugar melts and the apples release their juices, a soupy delicious smelling mixture will form. Reduce heat to low and simmer until apples are nice and tender...about 15 minutes. Add in the margarine ans creamer. Stir to melt, allow to come back to a simmer. Mix together the cornstarch and water to create a slurry and slowly add to the mixture, stirring constantly. Turn off the heat, and continue to stir until a nice caramelly sauce consistency is reached. Pour over pancakes or waffles or french toast or ice cream and enjoy this sweet, slightly salty treat!

No-Fail "Buttermilk" Pancakes

Sunday morning breakfasts are my absolute favorite. Unfortunately for me, I usually have to work on Sunday morning. So, when I had a Sunday all to myself, I made my favorite...PANCAKES!

The recipe is very simple. It is an adapted version of the "Buttermilk Pancake" recipe in the good old red and white Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.

"Buttermilk" Pancakes
Ingredients (makes about 6 regular sized pancakes)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 scant cup vanilla soymilk
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp vegetable oil
equivalent of 1 beaten egg (I use Bob's Red Mill brand egg replacer in this recipe)

Directions
In a liquid measuring cup, place the lemon juice, then add enough soymilk to make one cup. Let sit five minutes to "sour." In a mixing bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking pwder, baking soda and salt. In a seperate bowl (or in the measuring cup) mix together the oil, egg replacer and soured soymilk. Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir until there are very few lumps. Heat a skillet or frying pan to pretty high. I like to use a nonstick spray when making pancakes. Drop about 1/3 cup of batter onto the hot skillet and cook until edges begin to lift, and the uncooked side is nice and bubbly. Flip and cook an additional minute. Serve warm with a HUGE dollop of Earth Balance and a very generous puddle of dark amber maple syrup.

Muffin Cup Quiche

Sunday morning with my dearest girlfriends...what a treat! I made these muffin cup quiches for the event. Not all the girls were vegan, or even vegetarian, but every last one of them got gobbled up, so I would have to say they were a big hit.



I made two variations, a mediterannean influenced sundried tomato and spinach one, and a brocolli "cheddar"version, complete with fake bacon. I used phyllo dough for the crusts. I will give you the recipe for the base quiche mix, and let you know what I added in for the different variations, but seriously, you can make these any old way you want to. In fact, you don't even have to make individual cups. One recipe would fill a premade pie crust quite nicely.

Basic Quiche Mix
Ingredients (makes 12 muffin cup sized quiches)
1 block of extra firm tofu, pressed, drained and crumbled
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp yellow prepared mustard
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup chickpea (besan) flour
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions
In a mixing bowl, add all ingredients and mush it all together with your hands until well incorporated.

For the mediterranean style quiche I added 2 cups of spinach leaves, chiffonade, and about 6 sundried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped into little pieces.



For the broccoli "cheddar" quiche. I added 1/2 of a medium white onion, diced finely, 1 tablespoon of mello white miso, about 2 cups of brocolli florets, and about 1/4 cup of imitation bacon bits.



For the crust, I used phyllo dough. First, you need to prepare your muffin pans by spraying them liberally with nonstick spray. Following the instructions on the box, I carefully unrolled the package of dough, and, using a pizza cutter, I cut the dough into 8 even pieces. Then I oiled each layer lightly, and grabbed about 3 or four layers for each "cup". I pressed it into the muffin pan, and then scooped some of the quiche mixture into the cup.



I baked mine at 350 for 15 minutes. Checking them at 10 minutes. I am still experimenting with my electric oven, so no guarantees to accuracy of timing and temperature. Take them out of the oven when the crusts begin to brown.

Fried Farts & Garlic

This recipe is dedicated to my mom. When we were little we would constantly ask her, “What’s for dinner?” And she would constantly reply, “Fried farts and garlic.”

Well, Mom, next time you come to stay at my house...I'll gladly serve you up a whopping plate of Fried Farts and Garlic!

"Sausage & Egg" Breakfast Burritos

Mmmmmm....Breakfast burritos. Handheld yumminess to get my day off to a good start. This one has TVP sausage, Tofu Eggs, Potatoes and Easy Tofu Sour Creem, and of course, ketchup!

S#@! on a Shingle

Otherwise known as "Beans on Toast." This is my protein packed version of a breakfast classic.

Maple Corn Fritters

This is one of the recipes from my upcoming book "Cozy Inside." They are Maple Corn Fritters smothered in Earth Balance and Maple Syrup.

Omelet Update

I made this again today, this time with spinach and topped with Tofu Feta...

Spinach Tofu Omelet with Easy Tofu Feta

Here is the exact measures for the recipe:

Spinach Tofu Omelet (makes 4 - 8" omelets)
Ingredients:
1 package extra firm tofu, drained and pressed*
1/4 cup chickpea flour*
1 cup rice or soy milk*
1 15 oz can of spinach, drained
1/2 cup nutritional yeast*
1 tsp basil
1 tsp turmeric*
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil for frying

Directions:
Crumble tofu into a medium to large size bowl. Add soy milk. Blend to the consistency of yogurt with a handheld immersion blender. (I suppose you could also do this in a regular blender or a food processor.) Add all of the other ingredients and mix well. Heat a frying pan on medium high heat. (I use an 8" pan to make a perfectly round 8" omelet) with about 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add the omelet batter and smooth out to about 1/2" thick. Fry until the edges are golden and crispy, and the omelet moves around as one unit when you shake the pan. Flip. (Flipping is tricky. I have no flipping skills, so I slide it out of the pan onto a plate, cooked side down, then put the pan on top of the plate, and flip the uncooked side of the omelet back into the pan.) Cook the other side for about 5 minutes.

*These are the main ingredients for the batter...from here you can probably add just about ANYTHING you want to your omelet.

Tofu & Seitan Omelet

I made this on Easter Morning, thinking I was so cool, and that I had invented the ultimate vegan breakfast. I was seriously so excited, I brought it out to my husband and told him, "I think I have just invented the best vegan breakfast ever!!!"

To my dismay, this has already been invented. MANY TIMES, BY MANY PEOPLE! Any how, I loved it, and am going to continue to play around with my recipe until I get it just right.





Basically, I blended a package of drained and pressed extra firm tofu with my handheld immersion blender, then added turmeric, nooch, some oregano, cumin, a little soymilk, chickpea flour and some chopped up bits of seitan. I poured this mixture into a small nonstick pan with some olive oil and fried it until it was gloden. Then I flipped it and fried the other side.

I think next time I will add spinach, tomatoes and mushrooms. Maybe some tofu feta. That sounds good, doesn't it?

New Year's Eve Snack followed by a New Year's Hangover Cure

Originally Posted on Tuesday, January 02, 2007

These are not prettydishes, but man are they tasty!

I made this really easy, really fattening and really YUMMY spinach artichoke dip to bring to a party:



Spinach Artichoke Dip:

• 2, 15 oz cans of artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
• 1, 15 oz can of spinach, drained
• 1 shallot, (or any onion) diced
• 1/2 cup nooch (Nutritional Yeast)
• 2 (or more) cloves of garlic, minced
• 1, 8oz tub of Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
• 1/2 cup Vegannaise
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• Fresh Cracked Black Pepper to taste

Mix up all of the ingredients well, and put into a casserole dish, sprinkle the top with a little extra nooch, vegan parm or ground cashews and bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly. Serve hot/warm with pitas, flatbreads, or crackers.
And New Year's Day Hangovers were cured with an attempt at Pumpkin Pancakes and the VwaV Tofu Scramble:
In my new cast Iron Skillet:

In my bowl:

A lonely and burnt, but still yummy, pumpkin pancake: