VidaVeganCon & Anniversary Event

It's been awhile since I sat down and put together a blog post, so I wanted to apologize for the delay.  Just last month I had the great opportunity to cater the VidaVeganCon Galarama & Silent Auction benefiting Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary.  Both Gardein and EcoVegan were kind enough to donate some of their great products for me to create a menu around. Below is a copy of the menu.  I wanted to include something for everyone, taking dietary restrictions into account.

EcoVegan Mini Burgers

Gardein Crispy Tenders w/ our house recipe Sweet Mustard & BBQ Sauce

Thai Spring Rolls (Gluten Free)

Raw Salad Rolls (photo courtesy of Stephanie Christianson, click her name to see her blog)

Garlic French Bread w/ Spinach Artichoke Dip

The Galarama was a great event.  There was a never-ending line of hungry bloggers waiting for pizza from Sizzie Pie, the (vegan) caterer, and sundae bar from Coconut Bliss.  I want to thank my two assistants one of which was a volunteer that walked into the chaos and never skipped a beat.  

I would love to hear from anyway that was there.  Also it would be great to see some of your pictures from that night.  Last but not least I wanted to thank Jess, Michelle, and Janessa for putting together such a great Conference and Galarama.  These three put so much time into planning this and I believe they really did a great job.  I'm really looking forward to doing more events with them in the future.


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Also fairly recently we had the opportunity to cater an anniversary party for a great couple at the North Star Ballroom here in Portland.  Be sure to check that place out for your next event.  It was all hors d'oeuvres menu and Sweet Pea Bakery provided cake make out of cupcakes.

Here's what the menu looked like.

 

Hawaiian Kabobs

Fresh Fruit Kabobs

BBQ Soy Roast Sandwiches

Veggie Platter w/ Spinach Artichoke Dip

Homemade French Bread

Thanks again Portland for supporting a local small vegan business.  Please contact me through my website for all of your catering and event needs.  I've got some great plans to grow over the next year but I cant do it without your support.

teese.

In preparation for the upcoming Vegan Iron Chef: Operation Hot Dish this weekend I tested out a few Teese products the past few days. I've never really been a huge vegan cheese person, and have learned to adapt recipes over the years. With that being said, I could really see using both the Creamy Cheddar Sauce and the Mozzarella. Chicago Soy Dairy that make's Teese, also makes Dandies Vegan Marshmallows which I use when making my Sweet Potato Pie. 

Be sure to check out all of their products. They are a great company to support.

First off I made a Macaroni & Teese with the creamy cheddar sauce, broccoli, and a mozzarella & bread crumb topping. Served with some of my baked bbq tofu. Then in a last minute moment of clarity and combining things in my refrigerator and cupboard I put together whole wheat rotini, vegan meatballs, garlic spinach okara, creamy cheddar sauce, and a mozzarella & bread crumb topping. And then lastly, in honor of vegan pizza day that I've been reading about I made a pie with teese mozzarella, bbq soy curls, red peppers, mushrooms, and spinach.

Mac & Teese

Mac & Teese w/ Baked BBQ Tofu

Un-Meatball Whole Wheat Rotini & Teese

teese mozzarella, bbq soy curls, red peppers, mushrooms, and spinach pizza

pizaa by the slice

food food food food food!

Been busy working on a few different projects including some upkeep at the house. It's time for an update on all the happenings in the kitchen. First picture I roasted tempeh, yams, and red peppers topped with soy sour cream for some simple but really tasty fajitas. Next up Cranberry Almond Cookies from the Vegan Cookie Connoisseur. 

Getting back to some of the items on my menu I cooked up a batch of Crispy Tofu Squares which are baked not fried. Yea... I care about your health!  To balance out some of that health I made a 1/2 batch of Boston Creme Donuts. Plan to make some for the Vegan Iron Chef event in February.

Last night I made Tahini Tofu Wraps with roasted red peppers and red swiss chard. I found some rad Clay Oven Baked Lavash Bread at Trader Joes that I used for those. I'm pretty anti cake, but I had left over filling and topping from the donuts so I made a half dozen Boston Creme Cupcakes.

And then today, the reason I was motivated to sit down and write this entry, I got my Joyoung Soy Milk Maker. Personally I drink a lot of soymilk also almond milk from time to time. Also with all of the cooking & baking I tend to go through of a lot of 1/2 gallon containers. It amazes me how many Silk containers I recycle when we take our bimonthly trip to the recycling center. 

Within 15 minutes of UPS showing up I started my first batch. Didn't bother looking online for flavoring recipes yet just wanted to see how the machine worked. Added some agave and vanilla. Really liked it. Looking forward to making some almond milk in the next day or so also.

The last picture is from tonight. I made a "burger" with okara, bread crumbs, corn meal and seasonings on dave's killer bread with tomato and pan seared spinach. The smoothie is avocado, frozen strawberries and bananas, and soy milk from the batch that i made today. Okara is the left over pulp when making soy milk. 

Until next time...

roasted tempeh, red pepper, and yam fajitas.

cranberry almond cookies

crispy tofu squares

boston creme donuts

tahini tofu squares

boston creme cupcakes

okara burger & smoothie

gluten roast w/ stringbean & sweet potato casseroles.

Gluten Soy Roast w/ String Bean Casserole

String Bean Casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole

Gluten Soy Roast

 I'm a little bit last in typing this up but I spent a good part of 1/1/11 in and out of the kitchen. First I made the gluten soy roast from my menu. Its a pretty lengthy process but it's totally worth the results. Then looking through finding vegan I found a simple sweet potato casserole recipe that I wanted to try. It's more or less mashed garlic sweet potatoes with candied pecans on top. Simple, but very flavorful. Lastly I made the string bean casserole from my menu that happens to be another recipe from growing up that I converted to vegan. Definitely fit for a holiday meal.

clear skies, cold days, warm soup.

Carrots, potatoes, ginger, hing, and earth balance getting to know each other.

Carrot Ginger Soup.

We're in the midst of a 4-5 day stretch of clear skies here in Portland. The sunshine is welcome, however the temperature is not. It's easily 10 degrees warmer when we have cloud cover. Also rain in town means fresh snow out at the mountain. Enough about the weather. With the cold temperatures I thought it was a great change to cook up a batch of Carrot Ginger Soup from my menu. Cant beat the simple earthy tones and flavors of this one. Happens to be gluten free as well. Enjoy.

christmas eve style.

Baked Ziti w/ Tofu Ricotta & Garlic Bread.

Got back to the basics this xmas eve. For as long as I can remember my family has made Italian food the night before that jolly guy drops by with some presents. It all started yesterday morning. Was in search for a new french bread recipe. Not only did I find a great and simple recipe but a new vegan blog to follow as well. Its the Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes blog. Definitely worth following if you arent already. Here's the recipe. So after making this, I put together a garlic spread and made garlic bread. Also made the baked ziti with tofu ricotta from my menu. What's nice about baked ziti is you can prep it in the afternoon and put it in the oven to bake about an hour before you are ready to eat and throw in the garlic bread halfway through. My friends Mark & Sherry from here in town came by to eat and brought some vegan cinnamon rolls. All in all a great quiet way to spend xmas eve. Happy Holidays everyone!

Jailhouse Chili for the Hendricks.

Jailhouse Chili w/ Cornbread.

After that brief period of dry days here in Portland yesterday was back to normal here. Cold, wet, and periodic heavy rain throughout the day. Good friends of mine have been asking for another round of my chili so before they flew off for the holidays I cooked up a batch for them last night. 

This is a recipe that my family has been making for years. Starts off with slow cooked kidney beans, added to garlic and spices. Add in a tomato base, soy curls, and some chopped yams. My favorite part of the recipe has always been "and let it cook for awhile". The longer you let it stew it seems the better tastes. Served the chili over some brown rice with a side of my fresh backed corn bread.