Birthday Food: Homemade Bread, Muffalettas and Cake!

It was Mr. Bananas for Smoothies's birthday the other day, so I decided to go all-out and make him a birthday feast of his favorite foods.

I haven't made them in a couple of years, but I remember how much my hubby loved the Veggie Tempeh Muffaletta sandwiches from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan. It's a delectable mix of chopped olives, capers, red peppers (raw & roasted), sauteed tempeh, celery, green onions, garlic, red wine vinegar, and olive oil. It's salty, tangy, and uber-delish.

The filling is layered on crusty bread and topped with some avocado, spinach, and sliced tomatoes. Lousy baker that I am, I would normally have bought some bakery bread, but I took a chance and tried to make my own bread - the Sunflower Artisan Loaf from 1,000 Vegan Recipes.

Success! It rose beautifully and was super-easy to make, even for a novice like myself. In fact, the dough rose so much that I ended up splitting it into 2 loaves before baking. I just cut 5 minutes off the baking time and it came out perfectly.

I sliced one of the loaves horizontally, like so:

Then I scooped out much of the middle part in order to make room for the yummy filling:

Next, I added some sliced avocado:

Then I topped it with some sliced tomatoes and baby spinach:

Finally, I put the top back on and pressed down hard to smoosh everything together:

Finally, I used a serrated knife to cut the sandwiches in half. Here's an inside look:

I was tired after all my bread-and-muffaletta-making, so I just threw some sweet potato tots in the oven for a side dish:

My hubby was thrilled to have his beloved muffaletta sandwich again :) And he was very impressed by my attempt (and victory!) at bread baking!!

We made sure to save some room for birthday cake and ice cream. I don't make cakes very often, but I immediately thought of the delicious Apple-Cardamom Cake with Lemon-Maple Frosting from Vive Le Vegan!:

This cake is as healthy as cake can get - it is made with oat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, applesauce, spices, and a minimum of oil and (natural) sugar. The frosting is silken tofu-based and includes maple syrup, lemon juice, lemon zest, and agar powder. The best part is that you can eat an two enormous slice of this cake and not feel gross afterward. Yay for natural sweeteners and whole-grain flours!

The only thing I didn't make was homemade ice cream. Hey, that's what Trader Joe's is for! Cherry Chocolate Chip Soy Creamy....oh yeah!

Happy birthday to my sweetie!

Comfort Foods

Some days you just need a hug.

Some days your tummy just needs a hug, too.

Here are some of my recent tummy-huggers :)

Soft Broccoli Polenta from Appetite for Reduction...it's warm, creamy, and oh-so-comforting:

Sometimes I like it along with a bowl of soup, like this Monkey Minestrone from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan:

Other days, comfort comes in the form of a bunch of healthy, raw ingredients I can just toss in the Vita-Mix, like Kristen Suzanne's Raw Moroccan Gazpacho:

Along with the soup, I served a quick Moroccan Raw Carrot Salad from Olive Trees & Honey:

A few days ago, I cooked some Lemon Chickpea Lentil Soup (also from ED&BV), steamed broccoli, and Chickpea Pancake with Rosemary from 1,000 Vegan Recipes.

This "pancake" is actually socca, a savory flatbread made with chickpea flour. The unleavened batter is poured into a preheated cast-iron skillet and baked in a hot oven for about 15 minutes. It has a delightfully crispy-yet-soft texture that satisfies your craving for salty carbs :)

Finally, here's a big steaming bowl of Chickpea Rice Soup with Cabbage from the PPK. It's loaded with super nutritious foods (cabbage, carrots, chickpeas, onions, garlic) and it's a breeze to whip up.

I think I learned some lessons from this post:

Soup comforts me.
Chickpeas comfort me.

I think I'll go hug a chickpea today :)

Random Eats

Here's a random assortment of things we've eaten lately:

Quinoa, steamed broccoli & cauliflower, raw & steamed carrot, baked tofu, raw kale, and AFR Caesar Chavez Dressing:

Curried Chickpeas and Greens from Appetite for Reduction, along with some steamed cauliflower and Traditional Cranberry Sauce from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan:

One Wild Chick Soup from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan, along with some Fancy Biscuits from How It All Vegan:

A saute of fresh zucchini, yellow pepper, and red onion, seasoned with some basil, oregano, salt, and pepper:

Sweet Potato Drop Biscuits (subbed with canned pumpkin) from AFR:

A homemade, on-the-fly baked rotini casserole, with shredded carrots, zucchini, spinach, onions, garlic, tofu ricotta, and tomato sauce:

Mellow Lentil Sniffle Soup from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan:

Have a great weekend!!

Monkey Minestrone with Polenta Croutons

If I could give one piece of advice to other parents of toddlers, I would say this: soup is your friend. My son will be 3 next month, and my boy has been eating soup since he started eating solid foods. Soup is perfect toddler food, and for so many reasons: you can use tons of different veggies, beans, grains; you can vary the flavor profiles to expose your child to different cuisines (Italian, Mexican, French, Moroccan, Thai, etc.); the components are soft and easy to chew; and it's a simple, one-utensil meal, perfect for little hands learning to self-feed. It's also perfect for me, as I can prep all the ingredients and throw them in a pot to simmer, giving me more time with my family and less time chained to the stove.

One of my favorite cookbook authors, Dreena Burton, is a busy mama herself. Like me, she also enjoys feeding her family delicious meals that pack a lot of nutrition into each bite. Many of my favorite soup recipes are in Dreena's Eat, Drink & Be Vegan, including Monkey Minestrone.

This soup is loaded with good stuff - celery, carrots, garlic, tomatoes, chickpeas, kidney beans, corn, green beans, and a bit of pasta (I used some Trader Joe's brown rice rotini). Dreena suggests topping the soup with some Polenta Croutons, also from EDBV. This a super-simple recipe made with a tube of prepared polenta (like this), olive oil, salt, and pepper. All you have to do is cut the polenta into cubes, season them, and bake for 30 minutes - that's it! They come out soft at first, but then get crunchy as they cool.

One of my favorite tricks for cooling down soup fast is to put a bunch of frozen veggies in the bottom of my son's soup bowl, then adding the hot soup on top. It works like a charm and adds even more veggies to his meal!

We all loved the texture and crunch the croutons added to the soup, and it sure beats Campbell's Soup any day!

I'm Still Here....

...but Vegan MoFo nearly killed me.

Well, not really. But it sure did make me want to take a blogging break!

I've still been cooking, baking, and trying new recipes. I just haven't been motivated to blog about them :) But here is a sample of what I've been cooking lately:

Apple-Cinnamon Pancakes from Peas and Thank You:

Blueberry Carob Pancakes from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan:

Mini Tofu Frittatas, also from Peas and Thank You:

Sweet Potato Lentil Chili and Cornmeal-Crusted Plantains, both also from EDBV:

Spinach Salad with Persimmons and Spiced Pecans in Shallot Lemon Dressing, with a side of steamed mixed veggies, from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen:

Two Step Southwestern Stew from Vegetarian Times:

...along with some Cowgirl Cornbread from Peas and Thank You:

More cornbread-y goodness: Fresh Corn & Scallion Cornbread from Appetite for Reduction:

Classic Black Bean & Veggie Chili, also from AFR:

A Vegan Bowl from AFR - quinoa, baked tofu, carrots, red pepper, steamed broccoli, and Caesar Chavez dressing:

Portobello Salad with Spicy Mustard Dressing from Veganomicon:

Perhaps I will be getting my blogging mojo back soon. It is fall, after all, and that means lots of yummy breads, soups, and pumpkin-y foods for me. I definitely need to up my pumpkin consumption!

Vegan MoFo Day 31: A Smorgasbord of Vegan Food

It's the last day of MoFo, so I wanted to leave you with a smorgasbord of yummy stuff I've eaten the last few days. I haven't traveled to Sweden, but I'm Swedish on my mother's side of the family, so there ya go.

Lemon Lentil Soup from Peas and Thank You:

Oatmeal Bread from How It All Vegan!:

Lotsa Veggies Lentil Soup from Appetite for Reduction:

Everyday Chickpea-Quinoa Salad (with avocado), also from Appetite for Reduction:

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies from Vegan with a Vengeance:

Orange-Date-Walnut Bread from 1,000 Vegan Recipes: 

Bean & Corn Tortilla Lasagna with Avocado from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan:

I used black tortilla chips and Daiya vegan cheddar to make it look very Halloween-y :)

I'll be back with a MoFo recap soon!