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Month: October 2009

Soup, Stew, and Chili Roundup for 10/30

Soup, Stew, and Chili Roundup for 10/30

MoFo is coming to an end and as the month of October comes to an end, most of the Northern Hemisphere is cooling off. For me, this time of year means getting cozy with a big bowl of soup.

Jes of Cupcake Punk cooks up a nicely spiced Curried Winter Squash Soup, perfect for using up the squash popping up at your local farmer’s market.

Curried Winter Squash Soup

Tom from Yours for Good Fermentables also uses squash in his Never Ending Veggie Pot o’ Soup, but also fortifies it with beer, something he knows plenty about. Dannibazaars Vegan Emporium veganizes a pumpkin soup from the Food Network, and Deb at Invisible Voices cooks up a recipe perfect for the autumn harvest.

Harvest Moon Soup

MoFoers also cooked lots of hearty bean soups and chili this week. Smacky Tomato fed her family a cannelini bean soup with my favorite vegetable, kale. Meanwhile, the Whole Food Vegan creates a three bean chili using heirloom beans. I have some beans in my pantry just begging to be used in this recipe! Beer makes another appearance in both the chili and bread at What Your Momma Didn’t Know. I’m not a beer drinker, but I love the taste it gives to certain foods! There is also a lovely raw chili featured at Fashion Peace while the chef at Intellectual Blackout uses hummus and lentils to create a yummy chowder.

Chili Photo 004

Kelly at Vegan Thyme lists miso as one of her reasons for being vegan, then uses it to whip up a hearty Miso Soba Noodle Soup while Cyn at What the Hell Does a Pink Haired Girl Eat? whips up a classic Potato Leek Soup from fellow blogger Jessy, who also enjoys some lovely soup with her sister at a local restaurant.

I’ve really enjoyed reading all of the blogs this month, and I hope Vegan MoFo has been as inspiring for you as it has been for me!

xoxo
Luciana

Party Foodz Roundup 10/29

Party Foodz Roundup 10/29

Whether you are throwing your first vegan potluck like Melissa or you’re a seasoned pro at hosting shindigs, this time of year seems to bring the party out of people.  With Halloween around the corner and the rest of the holidays coming up, I thought it would be nice to do a roundup of some great party ideas!

Since Saturday is fast approaching, why not get a candy making party together?  Have your friends come over and do all the hard work under the guise that fun will be had!  Muahahaha.

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Or you can get the spook in by serving your Halloween guests these gnarly eyeballs courtesy of Allyson at Manifest Vegan!  Mmm.  Just look at ’em staring back at you.

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Maybe you want to, heh, charm your guests instead of scaring them.  Use some not-so-wicked magic with this fantastic book o’ spells from our very own Jeni Treehugger!

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I don’t know who decided that parties have to be super extravagant.  Why not invite some friends over for some alphabet tots?  But if you want to be all fancy, here is a cool idea that makes any party look like a million bucks: float some pomegranate seeds in a glass of sparkling dranky drank like Kat Reeves did.

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Of course, desserts are a must at any decent party.  Lisa Marie uses leftover pie filling to make these fantastic pumpkin pie cups!

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For the chocoholic in us all, take a gander at these babies.  Chocolate Truffles from Herbivore Dinosaur!

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For the more advanced party hostess/host, why not throw a Vegan Chopped Challenged.  Test your cooking skills and entertain your friends with your supreme food geekery!  Best picture ever:

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Make sure you don’t forget the dips!  Everybody loves a good layer dip and Jessica made a killer one.

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And a party isn’t a party until the hummus shows up!  Look at all this chickpea and tahini action.  Mmm.

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Hope you got some great ideas for the holiday season.  With only a few days left, I just wanted to say it’s been a pleasure MoFos.  Y’all are an awesome bunch!  Also, have a safe and happy Halloween!

-Mo

 

tuesday good news day

tuesday good news day

wow! we are really rounding the last corner of VeganMoFo III here! Tuesday will have been the 5th to last day of the month! How are your mofos coming along? If you need a little inspiration, here are some of the coolest posts from mofotown in the last few days…

Mihl, over on Seitan is My Motor, gives us the science behind Speculoos (a.k.a. those quintessential holiday spice cookies so popular in Europe). And then, she kicks it up a notch by using the same spice mixture to make, wait for it, wait for it, SPECULOOS WAFFLES!!

Holy pink alcohol, Batman! Go check out these Pink Russian cocktails over on Scrumpdilly blog:

Life on the Vegan Highway is Good is the name of the blog, and mock tuna is the name of the game – go check it out!

This cake from Mama VeeGee’s Vegan Kitsch-n is kind of absurdly fabulous:

Yes, those are peanut butter cookies you see all up in there.

Woah woah woah. Go here to the Mama kocht vegan blog and enter to win one of these serious-looking chocolate bars!

Finally, the always lovely Elizavegan blog gives us this recipe for Welsh rabbit/rarebit, with nary a rabbit harmed in the process, natch. Perfect cold-weather stick-to-your-ribs comfort food here!

-bazu

Vegan on the Cheap

Vegan on the Cheap

Don’t know about you, but I’m not exactly rolling in money lately, and my cheaper standards, like bread, soup, and sundry boiled dried goods, tend to get a bit monotonous after a while. So when I was reviewing MoFo posts from the last few days, I was particularly keen to find decidedly less spendy food and recipes for inspiration. Kelly at EasyVegan was clearly on the same wavelength, with a Monday Mashup of sixteen inexpensive food ideas harvested from Flickr.

693872037_KHetY-MSoup’s always a nice option for the financially strapped (especially since you can get away with using leftover veg even if it’s at something less than the peak of freshness, make a big pot, and stretch it out over a few days), and there have been quite a few cheap and easy soup ideas lately. Deb at Invisible Voices writes about the harvest moon soup (pictured to the right) made from the first cookbook she purchased. Our own Mo shares a recipe for tofu fried rice noodle soup. Kat, on A Bear’s Fare, has been making borscht. Brittany’s Veg Kitchen has a recipe for one of my favorites, butternut squash soup. And Kip at The Messy Vegetarian Cook has been making chili, which I suppose is in the general soup family.

3719734327_f229c54b1eMaking bread at home saves some serious cash once you get the hang of it. I get all twitchy these days whenever I have to buy a loaf at the store. Amy at tahinitoo has been baking up some rye. Bonnie at Eating with the Rabbits shares a couple ideas for variations on wholewheat loaves, pictured here. And, on a bread-related note, Megan at Down Home Vegan made a variation of what’s also one of my inexpensive staples, a simple pizza crust topped with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic.

And finally, if the economy is really getting you down, you can always spend your last few pennies to drown your sorrow with a good beer. And Melissa at Ok, All Together Now! reminds us how to keep those libations vegan…

– H-Dog

It's The Final Countdown (do da do do, do do do da do, do da do do….)

It's The Final Countdown (do da do do, do do do da do, do da do do….)

HAH!

Get that song stuck in your head.

Can’t believe we’re in the final week of MoFo! How quickly October has flown by is probably to do with the fact that my time is taken up by reading all the wonderful MoFo blogs, and you know what they say; “time flies when you’re having fun”, and I’ve been having a ball!

Of course everyone knows what a special day the last day of October is and so many MoFo’ers have been gearing themselves up for all the fun and frivolity.

Just look at theses ghoulish cookies from Cute and Delicious

Ghost Cookies

Nom Nom Nom has been busy veganising a Starbucks recipe.  How good do these Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins look!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

Check out Ozzy over at  V for Vegan in all his Halloween finery.

Ozzy
How cute is he!!

And this Jack O’ Lantern carrot platter is a GREAT idea for all you MoFo’ers planning a Halloween Party

Jack O'lantern carrot platter

So simple yet SO cool

Vegan Chubosaurus had the family over for a day of Pumpkin Carving.

Joker Pumpkin

How awesome is this Jack O’lantern!

I know the MoFo’ers have not been short on Pumpkin recipes, but if you want to try something different then just look at this Pumpkin Bread that Madcap Cupcake whizzed up.

Pumpkin Bread

NOM!

This Baked Yoghurt Cheescake excites me

Baked Yoghurt Cheese Cake

As do these Garlic Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers from My Veggie Kitchen

Garlic Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers

Über YUM!

And who can resist a cute bunny? Not me

Cute Bunny

Hope you all have a magical week.

xx

A is for Artichoke

A is for Artichoke

Artichoke

As bad as it looks has a lovely shot of red callaloo.  Too bad there’s no such thing as red spinach.  Someone please let me know if it does exist, I’d love to rock some purplish saag.

Banana

In a Gadda da Vegan (who might just win for best vegan blog name ever) reveals a true Lebanese recipe for tabbouleh and explains why fresh parsley is not only energizing but so very healthy.

Cucumber

Herding Cats is working the Fall weather by stuffing chili into hollowed out pumpkins and chasing it with cheezy macaroni.

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Disposable Aardvarks Inc., might just be the new Wing it Vegan with very inspiring and awesome scary Halloween bentos.

Beware!  This olive spider is about to make off with all your couscous!!

Eggplant

Eating with the Rabbits reminds us what Summer is like with raspberry vanilla cupcakes topped with coconut creme.  Cream or Creme?

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Full of Beans gives it up for peanut butter. Actually, let’s all take a minute and hold hands in group appreciation.

Green Smoothie

Grow Peace shares a pesto dish made with home grown purple pesto!

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Hugger Food has been packing expert lunches full of nutrient dense food such as quinoa and ruby red grapefruits.  I want that.

Idly

The I-40 Kitchen has been rockin’ the MoFo nonstop.  Recent highlights include tasty smoked yeast and desserts for The Dead.

Jackfruit

Just the Food, tries to make me less cranky with XgfX chocolate chip cookies made with coconut flour!  Coconut flour sounds much tastier than the garbanzofava recipes I know about.

Kiwi

Kellybot ruminates over what to make for Thanksgiving.  Go help ‘er out!

Lemon

Over at Lisasthoughts, they’re doing it right with warm pumpkin donut holes and steamy hot beverages.

Mango

Oh my!  Madcap Cupcake has gone mad with a layer cake; sweetened with maple syrup and iced to perfection.  Seriously, the pictures are eye-ball poppin’.  Go have a looks-y at the others.

Nachos

Not Just Greens has gorgeous photos of chili topped spaghetti.  I really want this right now, even though I just had two slices of pretty good pizza.

Onion

October Vegan is collecting mac ‘n’ cheeze recipes.  Got any to share?

Popcorn

Get on over to P.H.D. Delicious ‘cuz there’s crazy stuff going on over there with Dandies, chocolate and peanut butter.

Risotto

Don’t know what to do with kohlrabiRecipe for Water gives us a recipe plus inside and outside shots, just in case you don’t know what one looks like.

Strawberry

Mollyjade from Scratch and Sniff offers a review of yet another new vegan cookbook, Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food.  Check out her post to spy a cute pod o’ okra.

Turnip

The Green Bite has all sorts of yummy treats going on, but I can’t help but be distracted by the birthday cheesecake, all decked out on top of an oatmeal crust!

Umeboshi

How the hell have I missed Urban Girl Scout Cooking all month??  Seriously, there is crazy stuff happening over there like banana splits and microwaved date/peanut butter sundaes.  Seriously, just up my alley, I need a week to catch up.

Vanilla

Jeannette’s giveaway over at Vessels and Wares is so awesome that it deserves as much  MoFo Headquarters attention as possible.  Get over to her blog and win a handmade MoFo mug, she’s gifting a few of ’em.

Watermelon

Whole Food Vegan made me do a double take with pictures of their Dr. Cow’s aged cashew cheese.  The most cheese looking non cheese I have ever laid my eyes upon.

Tofu Xpress

I have no idea what’s happening over at xbeepsx, ‘cuz I  am far  too distracted by whatever is topped upon their holiday pumpkin pie.  Whatisititlookssogood!

Huh??

Yam

Yo Soy hits a paneer free saag with lots of love and some tomatoes.  A blog after my own heart…

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Finally, Zoey’s Kitchen is so overwhelmed with all the Autumn squash, they’ve taken to feeding it to their cat.  Since the cat won’t eat it, Mr. Zoey took over and now all is well.

xo kittee

Quick Thursday Night Roundup 10/22

Quick Thursday Night Roundup 10/22

Well, we only have a week to go and I wanted to do a Halloween roundup but there is hardly any Halloweeny love!  What’s all this, please?  So this MoFo is brought to you by things that are made of awesome.

 

Andrea from Very Vegan Holiday is getting ready for a huge party.  She’s got some great ideas in tune with the holiday spirit.  Just look at these fabulous pumpkin bat cookies.

 

Nothing calls to me quite like a delicious brunch or brinner.  If you say “waffles,” I’m there!  So, naturally, I gasped when I saw these.waffles

Ooh!  Check out this badass giveaway from Jeanette at Vessels and Wares.  Awesome VeganMoFo merch!giveaway

Woah.  Is it nog season and nobody told me?!  Much thanks to Vegansaurus for the heads up.silk nog

 

Finally, check out these lower fat pumpkin muffins courtesy of the Vegan Minded Blog.twopump
That’s all for now.  Only one week to go.  I can’t believe it’s almost over.  Keep on pushing, MoFos!

 

-Mo
Thursday Roundup – Pizza, Dumplings, and Other Doughy Things

Thursday Roundup – Pizza, Dumplings, and Other Doughy Things

With a little more than a week left, there is still lots of MoFo deliciousness. Lots of bloggers are featuring pizza, sandwiches, and other creative ways to use dough. I’ll eat pretty much any (vegan) thing if you stick it on crust or baked in a pie.

Vegtastic Voyage shares a pretty amazing veggie calzone with us, and In-A-Gadda-Da Vegan orders up a wonderful cheeseless pizza piled high with veggies.

Calzone

Meanwhile, Amey over at Vegan Eats & Treats whips up a beautiful tomato pie in a cornmeal crust.

I’ve yet to make any of the recipes from Vegan Soul Kitchen, but I really want to try the BBQ Tempeh Sandwich with coleslaw that is featured over at Cooking Vegan With Soul.

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Columbus Vegan whips up jackfruit carnitas and stuffs them into a lovely, cheesy chimichanga, and Veg Chef-to-be whips up some homemade arepas stuffed with black beans.

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You’ll want to save room for dessert, though! Dandelion bakes up some tasty and sweet apple dumplings, a perfect ending to any fall meal.

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That’s it for now. With a little over a week left, I can’t wait to see what everyone cooks up as MoFo wraps up!

-Luciana-

Tooooooooosday

Tooooooooosday

I’ll be honest with you, MoFoers: I kind of thought Tuesday might be a bum day to wrap up. I know; it’s judgmental and unfair of me, but I’m an imperfect person. However! I was clearly wrong about Tuesdays, since the MoFoers keep churning out amazing recipes, photos, and writing. Keep it up!

Speaking of amazing, check out this Seitan En Croute from Joni at Just The Food. I’d type more about it, but I’m too busy licking my screen.EnCroute

Rose at Dandelion is taking the tomato-soup-n-grilled-cheeze concept and fancifying it with cheeze croutons and basil. Megan at Down Home Vegan is cooking up some Minnesota Hotdish (including recent vegan culinary craze ingredient: tater tots!) from a family recipe. The Carnal Vegan is cooking up chiogga beets, which I know I’ve always been curious about. They’re pretty!

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Over at Happy Vegan Face, Jessy is doing up one of my favorite kinds of things: delicious food from ingredients I probably have in my pantry! In this case, it’s lentil balls, and they look delicious. Claryn from Hell Yeah It’s Vegan whipped up some sparkly, melty, chocolate peppermint cookies that are making me drool as I type. Naomi Rose is killing it with her pumpkin pie recipe (seasonal and delicious!) for The Gluttonous Vegan.

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Bex from How To Feed A Vegan lays some smackdown on “happy” and organic meat by appealing to the olive lover in each of us. Andy from In My Vegan Life takes on a personal cookbook challenge of her own, with delicious results. Finally, The Lazy Smurf’s Guide To Life takes a road trip to the organic farm and comes home to whip up some absolutely stunning gumbo! 4025855333_d028c0564a

Tuesday Treats

Tuesday Treats

I’m cold! I’m tired! I’m cranky! (wah, wah) Today’s round-up is all about stuff I would like to treat myself to RIGHT NOW. Think of it as instant virtual cozy gratification for the mofo.

Carlota, of the Garlic Pepper blog, celebrates Kid’s Day in Brazil with a delicious smoothie and PAÇOCA for dessert. I’ve never had this peanut-y concoction, but it looks awesome and I feel like I need it.

The Geeky White Girl Grows Up blog features these delicious stuffed cabbage beauties. Cabbage = comfort food. The fact that it’s a grandma recipe just makes it even awesomer.

Everyone’s favorite Megatarian, Megan, made many MANY cakes this week, for the occasion of her Nana’s 90th b-day. (I think we have ourselves a theme here!) Here’s just one of them, but you’ll have to hop over to the blog to look at (drool over) all of them.

There is a blog called Vegan Dance if You Want To. The name alone was enough to get me hooked, but then sister had to go and make gnocchi with cilantro pesto??? OH NO SHE DIDN’T! (oh yes she did)

over on the p.h.d.elicious blog, we have a wonderful version of Veganomicon‘s Acorn Squash and Pear Soup with sautéed shiitakes. Why haven’t I made this soup yet? WHY?

Finally, DESSERT! (yes, I know I had the peanut candy appetizer and the cake, er… intermezzo, but this is dessert, I swear!) C’est La Vegan blog brings us this dreamy trifle. Look at it. Admire it. Make it your own. Eat it.

I don’t know about you, but Tuesday’s comfort-y treats certainly have made ME feel better.

-bazu