Cranberry Orange bread

So when my sister announced an impromptu game night at her place last night I was in need of something edible to bring and share. Last year when we did this I brought marshmallows on a stick, hand dipped in dark chocolate then rolled in a variety of toppings (toffee, mini chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, crushed candy cane). They were a HUGE hit with everyone so I knew I needed to bring something great again this year. But with no time to hit the store and little time to get creating, I set out on a frantic internet search.

Fast forward through many recipes that just weren't right... or would take too long to make... or I didn't have all the ingredients! UGH! Then I found the cranberry orange bread recipe. I am utterly in love with the cranberry-orange combo. It's so bright and tart and incredible!! I want to eat it every day. And yet somehow I have never actually made it for myself! But I had most of the ingredients, with suitable substitutes for the things I didn't have... so cranberry orange bread it is! YAY!

I did alter this recipe to make it vegan, and of course it was still totally delicious! I may or may not have eaten half the finished batch of bread all by myself...

maybe. 

ok, so I did. -_-

Anyway, here's the recipe as I made it:

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups raw cane sugar
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance buttery spread, melted
• 1 cup mandarin orange segments, drained
• 3 cups cranberries, roughly chopped
• Ener-G egg replacement (equal to two eggs)
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 3/4 cup non dairy plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease two 8x4 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Mix in melted Earth Balance until the mixture looks crumbly. Stir in cranberries and oranges. In a separate bowl mix together egg replacement, yogurt, orange juice and vanilla extract. Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir just until blended. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted into the crown comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool in the pans for a while, then remove from pans and place on wire rack to cool completely.

I URGE YOU to follow that last bit in the instructions there. I was eager to taste the bread when it came out of the oven. In addition to burning off three layers of tongue flesh and the roof of my mouth with the *hotter than molten lava* cranberries, the bread tastes a MILLION times better once it's cooled. I don't know why, I just know that it does. When it was still hot from the oven I could taste a less than pleasant flour-y taste. But once the loaf cooled, and I guess the flavors had time to mix and mingle and chill together, you don't taste that at all. You just taste the bright, delicious cranberry orange flavor of the yummy bread you just slaved over!

Oh... one more tip. If, like me, you moved to another state last year and your new kitchen is SO TINY that you haven't unpacked all of your pans and whatnot... just know, should you try to make this bread in a single 8x8 pan instead of the two 8x4 pans called for... it will take A LOT longer for your bread to cook all the way. I don't even know how much longer, but it was pretty much forever! So definitely go for the two separate pans if you can!

I will definitely be making this again, soon! What came home from game night was quickly devoured by my 15 year old who LOVED it! Maybe next time we'll share with everyone else! ;)

Black Bean Vegetable soup

I am OBSESSED with soup right now. Until last year I'd never made soup from scratch. What?! Never?! That's right, never! The first soup I tackled was a tasty copycat black bean soup because I'd really like to eat at Panera every single day but my money tree seems to have picked up root and left the state. It's definitely in our regular rotation now and 2 out of 3 boys love it (though the third will also eat his share as long as I provide lots of bread for scooping).

For the last month or so though I have pinned loads of new soup recipes and there are just not enough days to try them all! Today I looked through my soup folder on All Recipes (what?? you don't have a soup folder?!) for something I could fix fast since I spent all day running errands. I found a recipe for a black bean veggie soup that sounded simple, so I decided to give it a go. As always, I made a few changes so this is the altered recipe as I made it.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 4 cups organic vegetable broth
• 2 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 oz) can white beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can corn (no salt added)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 cup uncooked brown (minute) rice

Directions:

1. In large saucepan heat oil over medium heat, cook garlic and carrots, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add chili powder and cumin, cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add broth, white beans, 1 can of black beans, pepper and corn. Bring to boil.
2. Meanwhile, in blender, puree together tomatoes and remaining can of black beans, add to pot. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes. (longer if the soup is still too watery for your taste, it will cook down and become thicker the longer it simmers)
3. Add 1 cup uncooked brown rice during the last 10 minutes of cook time.

I enjoyed this soup. I can't say it was my favorite, truthfully it could use a bit more seasoning, but I would make it again and just add a bit more spiciness next time. I served this with Tofutti Sour Supreme, Daiya cheddar style shreds and some crushed tortilla chips. Had the leftovers for dinner tonight and it was just as good as last night, maybe even a little better because it really thickened in the fridge and was almost like a stew today. YUM!

Christmas Dinner 2012

I'm SOOO excited about Christmas dinner this year! I will be cooking my first 100% vegan holiday meal, completely from scratch, for my (extended) family. I tried to get them to go vegan for Thanksgiving, sadly to no avail, but in the interest of compromise they let me have Christmas dinner to go crazy. Thanksfully I've cooked for them plenty of times before so they are pretty confident my meal won't kill anyone! I'm very much looking forward to being able to eat every single thing on the table that day instead of just the veggie tray! :)

I planned my menu out almost a month ago now and tonight I have been finalizing, making my grocery list and planning out when to start each dish. As of right now, here is my 2012 Vegan Christmas menu...

APPETIZERS:

• veggie tray and dip
• black & white bean dip w/chips
• hummus w/pita

MAIN DISHES:

• lasagna
• mac & cheese  --I chose these as my two main dishes because I thought they were basic enough that my picky nieces and nephew would at least try them (and hopefully like them)!

SIDES:

• garlic mashed potatoes with gravy --a request from my oldest son
• brussel sprouts --a request from my brother in law
• garlic mushrooms
• sweet potatoes stuffed with apples, cranberries and pecans
• cranberry sauce
• dinner rolls

DESSERT:

• cherry pie
• banana cream pie
• apple cranberry pie
• double chocolate cookies
• peanut butter reindeer cookies
• raspberry bars --a request from my father

I cannot even begin to tell you how thankful I am for vegan bloggers and the Pinterest obsessed cooks who pin them! ;) I've got a three day game plan in order to get everything baked, cooked, prepped and ready... hopefully saving as little as possible for the actual day of. I can't wait to take pictures and then EAT everything!!!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Cauliflower, Carrot & Potato Soup

From a non-vegan recipe that started out as Cream of Cauliflower soup, I made a few changes and came up with a simple but tasty soup that I'll call "Cauliflower, Carrot and Potato" from here on out. I don't know that we'll eat it all the time like my favorite black bean soup. But I do think I'll make it again, as 3 out of 4 of us liked it enough to have seconds and thirds. :) Here is the recipe as I edited it...

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons Earth Balance buttery spread
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 2 (32 oz) organic vegetable broth
• 1 large head of cauliflower, chopped
• 2 cups non-dairy milk of choice
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup cheddar style shreds (I used Daiya brand) - optional

Directions: 

1. In a large pot, over medium heat, melt Earth Balance. Stir in garlic, cook approximately 5 minutes. Stir in potatoes and carrots and cook 5 minutes more. Pour in vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Stir in cauliflower, cover, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, 10-20 minutes. 
2. Stir in milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne pepper and cheddar shreds. Stir and heat through.
3. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley before serving. (optional)

The vegetable chopping took me a while, but it always does. I did omit one additional step that the original recipe called for, and that was to puree about half of the soup after step one (before step two). It wasn't bad, but I've discovered that I really prefer my soups with a bit more 'chunk' to them. Pureeing it made it a little too smooth for us, even though I did leave some of the vegetables untouched. When I make this soup again I won't puree at all and I think it will be even tastier.

This is actually double the original recipe because I'm feeding three teenage boys, one of whom LOVES leftover soup for breakfast ;) and I always like to have leftovers for lunch the next day. A reviewer on the original recipe said this soup freezes well, though I know our batch won't make it that far. ;)

It's good {if a little simple} but two of three my children, who made all sorts of faces and noises when they saw the cauliflower on the counter, ate MULTIPLE bowls! I think that says something!

Roasted Sweet Potato & Corn Soup

A few months back I decided to make the switch from vegetarian to full on vegan. After being a vegetarian for more than a year now, I found it the hardest to let go of cheese. All my life I've been a big cheese lover. But a few undercover dairy farm videos later, and I found it EASY to give up the dairy I'd been hanging on to. 

Both of my blogs sort of fell off the map because I moved from Michigan to Ohio just after my last post. That said, I made an outstanding soup last night so I've decided to revive the blog and start posting recipes again. My 13 year old's first reaction was, "ewww, too many vegetables", then he promptly devoured two big bowls. Then between the two of us we polished off the left overs for breakfast and lunch today! It will definitely be in the regular dinner rotation from here on out. 

Ingredients:

• 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (12 ounce) package frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup finely diced celery
• 1 cup diced red onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 10oz can diced tomatoes w/green chilies (Rotel)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 4 cups vegetable broth 
• 1 can white beans
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 potato, peeled and cubed
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Place the sweet potatoes into a 9x13 inch baking dish, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Stir to coat the sweet potatoes in oil. Roast in the preheated oven until the sweet potatoes are golden and tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Stir occasionally as they cook so the sweet potatoes cook evenly.
2. Meanwhile, measure out 1 cup of corn kernels and set aside. Place the remaining corn into a blender, and puree with the water until smooth; set aside.
3. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the celery, onion, and garlic. Cook and stir until the onion has softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Rotel and dried thyme leaves; cook 1 minute more. Pour in the vegetable broth, corn puree, bay leaf, salt, and cubed potato. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the potato is tender, 25 to 35 minutes.
4. Once the potato is tender, remove and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the whole corn kernels, sweet potato, and chopped parsley. Return to a simmer and season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

I edited this slightly from the original (which I found on All Recipes) and I think next time I will add another potato or two. It was a great filling soup and even though it took a bit of prep time, it was perfect for dinner on a chilly Fall night!