Holy quiche!

I made something delicious.
Something marvelous.
Something rich and fabulous.

I made QUICHE.

Specifically, spinach tofu quiche. This one!

TOFU QUICHE!

This recipe utilizes silken tofu blended with spices and white miso for a creamy, filling quiche. I used a prepared crust like it suggested in the recipe, but there are tons of vegan pie crust recipes out there if you wanted to do that.

Pictures!

"I'm about to get BAKED!"

The smell of this baking was incredible. I thought I was in a bakery. Though I knew I wasn't since all my stuff was here and I was in my pajamas (not something I would ever wear to a bakery) but still. BAKERY.

Once it was done, I had a piece to test it out.

Testing 1, 2, Quiche...

After that, I promptly had a second and contemplated a third but held back to SAVE it for later. This morning, I had two more pieces for breakfast and reveled in the majesty so it was worth it. The flavor is so rich, but not overly so because the spinach balances it out really well. It's heavier on greens, rather than sauce, so you can hork down two pieces in your pajamas and don't feel like you have a boulder in your stomach. TOTAL AWESOME BONUS!

Go make some! Let me know how you liked it! Or don't! You can't have some of mine though. That's spoken for.

FYI: The next recipe challenge will be posted on or before (likely before) 3/15!

Bye!

FEBRUARY RECIPE CHALLENGE!

HELLO! It's RECIPE CHALLENGE TIME!

What was this month's secret ingredient? LEMONS!

This month, I made Lemon & Basil spaghetti which can be found here:

Vegan Lemon Basil Pasta

This was a fairly easy recipe to make. Cook the pasta, make the sauce while it cooks, combine pasta and sauce and DONE. EAT. DONE.

So easy.

When taking everything out for my "mise en place" shot, I realized two things.

1. These ingredients are so simple and there aren't that many to the recipe.

and

2. Once again, I accidentally put something in the photo that isn't supposed to be there. I'm lookin' at YOU, Rachael Ray veggie broth!

Derp.

To provide extra support, I invited my friend Oatmeal Stout to join the party.

Yes, I was indeed drawing with a marker back there before cooking. I am 12.

So...while the pasta was boiling away all crazystyle, I sauteed the garlic in vegan margarine. This probably created one of the most pleasing aromas I have ever experienced in my life. To put it lightly.

Can I just eat this? Like on some bread? Hello?? PLEASE???

Once that was nice n' toasty, I added the lemon zest, juice and coconut milk. I CAN'T EVEN DESCRIBE HOW PHENOMENAL THIS SMELLED. It was like a CANDLE and a DELICIOUS PASTRY got MARRIED and had an EDIBLE CANDLE PASTRY BABY that started dating BASIL as a REBELLIOUS ACT to ANGER ITS CANDLE PASTRY PARENTS and this metaphor has really gone too far.

I love you so much it hurts.

At that point, the pasta was done. Taking a look at my colander, I began to doubt if it could really fit all 16 ounces of noodles within its tiny little bowl.

"I may be small in stature, but I am large in spirit and can-do attitude!"

Actually, it all fit. All of it. Easily.

Such a magical moment.

Once COMBINATION happened, I had something lovely and creamy and wonderful. At the very end of the recipe it stated "garnish with remaining basil" and that was when I realized I didn't have enough basil. Oy vey. However, if you imagine some extra chopped basil on top this looks quite pleasant.

The basil is IN YOUR MIND.

Let me tell you. This tasted damn awesome. It's creamy from the coconut milk, yet the lack of dairy and the fresh lemon flavor makes it very light. Plus the basil! Oh! Basil! OMG!

If you live somewhere with cold winters, this would be an excellent dish for spring or early fall. If you live where the weather is nearly the same all year like I do, YOU CAN MAKE THIS ANY FREAKING TIME YOU FEEL LIKE IT. WOO!

Here's a fork shot.

"I'm a temperate climate dinner SUPERSTAR, bitches!"

GO MAKE THIS! NOW! It is SO GOOD!

Here are the other deliciousnesses!

Recipe Happiness
According to Kiki

Ok! Bye! See you next month and maybe a little bit before!

JANUARY RECIPE CHALLENGE!

HELLO! RECIPE CHALLENGE TIME!

The special ingredient was PURPLE POTATOES! WOO!

Ok. So, I had a soup recipe for the aforementioned potatoes planned out. I took pictures, made the food, wrote sentences with a bunch of commas (and parentheses) in them, and something just wasn’t quite sitting right with the whole shenanigan.

For one, the soup wasn’t very good. For another one, the recipe was in a copyrighted book so I ran the risk of getting eaten by the copyright monster (totally real - like Santa) if I posted it and wanted to do more than just give you a link to a book saying something like “Buy the book and you can see how to make this crappy soup!”

That just wasn’t gonna fly.

SO.

Here’s a take on the classic vegan breakfast dish - the TOFU SCRAMBLE. Most of you reading this may not have made such a dish, so this will be entertaining and also informative!

(DISCLAIMER: I cannot guarantee entertainment nor accurate information.)

PLUS because I made it up as I went along (and actually wrote it down this time), you get a recipe too! WIN WIN!

What is a tofu scramble, you say? Well it’s simply tofu scrambled like eggs with veggies. Or, rather, it’s that and SO MUCH MORE.

So here we go! What should I call this?

Tofu Scramble!
(Wait. That’s boring. Every vegan whatever has a tofu scramble recipe. Let’s give this recipe a more “edgy” and exciting name, shall we?)

Purple Potato Tofu Scramble!
(Hmm. No. Still boring. How about...)

Michael’s Happy Purple Potato Tofu Wonderment!
(Ok. That just sounds like some kind of acid. It needs something “edgy” and “in your face” because it totally makes sense for a recipe to be in your face. It’s FOOD. Wait...I think I have something...)

VEGANLICIOUS PURPLETATO TOFU SCRIZZAMBLE!!!!!
(I LIKE IT.)

The Nuts and Bolts (but not really nuts or bolts)

½ Package Extra Firm Tofu
2T canola oil
1 small onion
1T minced garlic
1 large carrot, peeled
2 small purple potatoes (purpletatoes)
½ small head broccoli (or some other green veggie)
2T Nutritional Yeast
1/2t Turmeric
Salt and pepper to taste

First, chop all the veggies (except the onion and garlic) up into small pieces. I’m sure there’s a fancy gourmet word for that but I have no idea what it is. Chunkify?

Next, put 2T of canola oil into a large, non-stick frying pan and let it warm on medium heat while you prepare the onions and the garlic. By “prepare the garlic,” I mean chop the onion and take the jar of minced garlic you bought at the dollar store out of the fridge. Or you could mince fresh garlic. Whichever. Fancypants.

THE PAN SHOULD BE WARM NOW. Plop the onion and garlic in there and let them smizzle a bit (sizzle and mingle). Once the onions start to get translucent, add the rest of the veggies and mix them about.

Cover the pan. While that’s happening, open the tofu, cut the block in half and wrap the half of the block you’re using in 2-3 layers of paper towels. Put the other half somewhere. I don’t care where. You don’t need it for this recipe.

Standing over the kitchen sink, squeeze lightly from all 4 sides to get out excess moisture. You want a little moisture left in there, but not too much or it will turn out gloppy. Once the paper towels are saturated, it should be sufficiently unmoistenated. Remove and discard the paper towels and place the tofu on a plate next to the stove for easy access.

Uncover the pan and test the potatoes. If they need to be cooked more, mix and cover again for a few minutes. Once the potatoes are fork-tender (tee hee), begin to crumble the tofu on top of the veggies by squeezing it in your hands and spreading it around (don’t burn yourself - use a fork to move the tofu around after squeezing it, yo).

This is what it needs to look like.

Once that is done, take a break and have some wine (optional).

Now that you’re feeling awesome, add the salt, pepper, turmeric and nutritional yeast.

Seasoned pan!

Mix it all up nice!

The turmeric gives it a yellow color. It is also a natural anti-inflammatory. Aren't you glad I told you that?

FINAL STEP: Cover the pan once more, turn off the heat, and let the flavors marry and have kids.

Now you're done! Serve with toast! Or wrap it in a tortilla for a breakfast burrito! 
Or put it in a bowl! OMG! A BOWL!

This is also excellent with a little hot sauce drizzled on it. Especially if you’re going the burrito route. Holy crap add some avocado too. Just thought of that. SO GOOD IN A TORTILLA WITH AVOCADO AND HOT SAUCE.

I don't have a picture of that. Sorry.

Please see the other purpletato delights that my cooking friends made!

Recipe Happiness
According to Kiki

BON APPETIT!

Accidental Lentil Loaf!

Hello!

This is not part of the recipe challenge, but it actually turned out pretty good so I wanted to share.

I made this: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=6394

Except I really didn’t. I took the ingredients and plopped them into a loaf pan rather than making patties and baked it instead of frying it in a pan. Because I am lazy. HOWEVER it turned out REALLY GOOD so it’s ok!

This is what I did differently. The onion and carrots were blended in a food processor rather than grated (lazy). I combined everything in the bowl like it said, then baked it in a greased loaf pan at 350F/176C/Gas Mark 4 for 30 minutes covered nice and snug in foil. Then, baked an additional 15 minutes uncovered for full loafability.

See? Totally loafable.

Lentils are awesome. The fact this was made with them gave it a very savory flavor and hearty texture. Like meat, but not like meat at all. Yet, like meat a little (and also not).

Actually, if you haven’t eaten meat in a while and are thinking some sort of meaty-like loaf sounds delicious, you would really like this. If you regularly eat meat, this will be a new and exciting adventure, and one you may enjoy. Because, you know, lentils. 

I made some green beans with sea salt and black pepper to go with my loaf. Also I added ketchup. Everything is better with ketchup.

Totally not meatloaf - YET IT IS SOMEHOW.

It was GOOD. I had two pieces it was that good. Definitely worth a repeat!

The next recipe challenge post should be up by 1/15, by the way.

Bye!

DECEMBER RECIPE CHALLENGE!

HELLO! So, I have finally gotten around to using this thing. Woohoo! Some friends from Recipe Happiness and I decided to start a RECIPE CHALLENGE. So this means I cooked something and am now contractually obligated to blog about it. AREN'T YOU SO EXCITED?! I am.

The RECIPE CHALLENGE (must be in caps) required a special ingredient, and that special ingredient was winter squash. There was a recipe I've wanted to make for some time that had zucchini in it that I decided could be switched out for winter squash (I chose spaghetti squash) so I went for it with very mixed results.

This is what I attempted: Ratatouille Taco Towers

Doesn't that sound so delicious and fusion-y? Ratatouille from France on TORTILLAS?! What?! Inspire my senses, Monsieur Guerithault!

 (He created the recipe in case you didn't bother to read it up there. You're welcome.)

As delicious as this LatinoFrenchian combination sounds, it didn't turn out so great. This is completely my fault. I learned a few things from this journey:

1. I'm not great at making ratatouille.
2. Spaghetti squash is much too watery for this recipe.
3. Whole wheat tortillas are not a good substitute for white flour ones.
4. I'm not French.
5. Recipe modifications can lead to certain disaster (please see #2).
6. I do not have a decent understanding of the term "finely chopped."
7. I'm not French.

So, with no disrespect to the creator of this fine dish, here is a photographical (is that a word?) review of its undoing. JOIN ME ON THIS JOURNEY OF RECIPE CHALLENGE CRAPULATION!

Ratatouille Taco Towers: Deconstructed Very Poorly

So, right here, there's already a problem. Broccoli isn't in the recipe. I bought the broccoli for another recipe and forgot when I was happily grasping vegetables from the fridge in preparation for the "photo shoot." Stupid broccoli. Also there's too much crap on my counter.

Halfway through sauteeing onion, I realized I had forgotten to bake the spaghetti squash. Whoops! Here it is being frantically prepared while vegetables burn in the pan next door. Fun times!

This actually looks ok.

Instead of standard salt and pepper, I added this. It's salt, white pepper, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Honestly, had I cooked it right, the food might have benefited from the additional flavors.

The squash and 'touille had to bake together. Why is this sideways?

Together again for the first time!

Here is the assembly station. 

Bye taco towers! Have fun baking!

Soggy wonderment.

Wow. That looks...just...awful.

To be honest, these were edible. Watery and bland, but edible. I ate them for a day or two, then threw the rest out. So it wasn't a complete disaster. However, they were not enjoyable and had I not modified the recipe they might have been a little bit more enjoyable. Ugh. Oh well.

TUNE IN NEXT MONTH FOR ANOTHER RECIPE CHALLENGE!

Oh! Well hello there!

Welcome to this blog! I am in the process of fine-tuning some lovely vegan deliciousness and will begin posting those recipes soon! With photos! Aren't you excited?? Aren't you??!

You're totally excited.

See you soon!