...And we're back! (again)

Finally! This will just be to catch up on things I've made since the last time I posted, which was in (gulp) November. I really did have every intention of updating, but life frequently gets away from me. Unfortunately I have very little recollection of the order in which I made things at this point =P

First up, Winter Squash Stew with Pinto Beans & Corn, a la Fat Free Vegan. My pictures will never be as beautiful as hers, but Susan's recipes are always perfectly delicious. I have yet to be disappointed!

Next up, Pumpkin Spice Bread from the PPK. I kind of wish this had been more pumpkin-ey and more spice-y, but now I know what do adjust for the next time. It was tasty nonetheless and I had it for breakfast for a few days.

This is an absolutely amazing cake that I made 3 times within 2 weeks for different functions (well, one just for myself) - and no one cared that it was vegan! It was that damn good. It's the Cranberry Upside Down Cake recipe from the Urban Vegan. The photo is the first one I made for myself; you can see that I had a bit of trouble getting it out of the cake pan, but that never happened again. This cake was just wow all around - tangy cranberries, a slightly lemony cake... how can you go wrong?

But I had some cranberries left over... what to do? Add them to the pumpkin spice muffins (VwaV) that you've been having a love affair with for months! This added a whole new dimension of awesomeness to these muffins.

I made them multiple times, actually, since I made the cake multiple times and kept having a small amount of cranberries left. I brought a giant batch of them to the final exam for my evil class, figuring we all need something tasty in our bellies, and boy did these go quickly. Naturally I was procrastinating by making the muffins instead of studying, but that's just what I do.

Back in November I gave the Veganomicon Chickpea Cutlets o' greatness a try, after seeing them appear on so many of the other vegan food blogs. I made a portobello mushroom gravy to go with them (some fried, some baked, just to experiment). Sadly, I wasn't impressed this first time, but a month or so later I gave them another shot and figured out what I was doing wrong: not kneading enough! You really need to beat the crap out of the "dough" (or at least I feel like I'm beating the crap out of it!). Then they come out much more tender and tasty. I now keep chickpeas permanently stocked in my pantry, just in case I get a craving.

I continued baking in the weeks before Christmas with this Vanilla Pound Cake (Veganomicon). It was nice and moist, and had a good flavor, but it just didn't do for me in the "pound cake" category. I'm still trying to figure what would make it pound cake-ier in terms of texture. The flavor works well though, and it was very good warmed up with some blueberry sauce.

Since I had more time to cook once classes were over, I went for Veganomicon's spicy tempeh and kale (I think that's where the recipe was from??). The flavors were good (how can you go wrong with kale?!), but I think I'm having issues with tempeh because its texture was just bleh to me. I think I'll try it with tofu next time.

Then Christmas came rolling around and I needed a gift for my landlords downstairs and our upstairs neighbors. I absolutely did not want to go out shopping, so cookies it was! I gave them a dozen each of VwaV ginger snaps (which I've made previously), Veganomicon Almond Cookies (so good! very German tasting), and chocolate chip cookies (I think also Veganomicon?). Naturally I made a few "extra" for me to nosh on. I neglected to tell everyone that they were vegan (I think they'd have ditched them if they knew), but they got rave reviews from the recipients (and me!)!! It was worth all the effort baking them the weekend before Christmas.

Now, these were a total impluse buy at Whole Foods and really expensive, but it was soooooo worth it just to try them once. These are Sweet & Sara vegan marshmallows!!! I haven't had marshmallows since I went veg at 13, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But oh my heavens, these are almost exactly how I remember marshmallows! A little denser, but the flavor is spot on. Pathetically, I kept roasting them over a burner on my gas range; then the texture and flavor were absolute perfection. I just wanted to stuff them all in my mouth! They were a really great one time treat.

I hadn't eaten brussels sprouts since probably middle school. One day I decided it was time for the sprouts and I to have a reunion, but how? Someone gave me the brilliant idea to roast them, and they were FABULOUS. I'm actually about to have them again this week (the last time I made them was January). Just cut the suckers in half, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper to coat, throw on a pan lined with parchment, roast, and bingo! Sprouty awesomeness! Who'd have thought that such a detested veggie could be so succulent and delicious?

And finally, random meals that I threw together:

Quinoa pasta with lemon herb sacue, Temp-teh from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan (my impulse gift to myself while Christmas shopping!), and lemony steamed kale.

The use what you have dinner: spinach & mushrooms with tofu feta (storebought - didn't love & had to use up somewhere) and Tamari Chickpea spread from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan (which I am absolutely obsessed with... probably because it has vegan mayo in it, mmmmmmm).

Obviously there were many more things made over the last few months (I lost my pics of my Thanksgiving extravaganza!), and even more delicious things consumed, but alas, this is the only photo evidence. Well, not all, I've already started amassing more pictures on my other memory card :) Stay tuned!