This is it.

It's been over a year since I've last posted anything on Vegan Mutts. Baker and I have been doing a lot of traveling, transitioning and exploring. We've finally settled down and are rooted for the time being. However, everything's temporary. We might be up for some more adventure soon! Costa Rica? :)


I've had a blast blogging, cooking and creating but have made the decision to stop. Life is amazing and so beautiful. It's about time I really get up in it. I hope you do the same!

Be well and stay compassionate!

I'm not Martha Stewart, deal with it.

My Grandma is a huge fan of Martha Stewart. She will talk about her as if they are best friends. It is pretty dang adorable. I admit it, I am a fan of Martha, too.

For my birthday, she gave me a subscription to Martha's Everyday Food. Let me tell ya -- it's a great publication. Fast, cheap and easy recipes. All of them I've made have been really easy to veganize or get ideas to inspire my own creations. What I really like about it is that there is not a lot of advertisements in it. There are some, don't get me wrong, but not a crazy amount. Maybe it is because the magazine isn't typical magazine size, it's really small!

Tex-Mex Feast!

Anyway, the June edition had a sweet spread of Mexican food. It is rare that I do this, but I actually made something out of a magazine! I followed the steps annddd most of the ingredients. Some friends came to enjoy the tex-mex goodness with us. Good friends and fresh salsa.. Mmm. Next time, I'm making the jalapeno poppers hotter, they needed a lil' more zing.

If Martha Stewart came, she probably would have been impressed with my vegan feast, but sad I didn't decorate enough or make knit sunbreros for my guests. I do love Martha, but I think our personalities would clash a bit. Maybe we'd be friends over some margaritas.

Cookies and Commencement

I wish I was graduating. Two of my spectacular friends graduated today. I was lucky enough to stop by and spend some time with them and their families. They are just so grown up graduating and starting a life in the arts! It is just too great. I love seeing what they are both currently doing and what they will continue to do. Way to go, Kellen and Sabrin!


One of my friends is a vegetarian/vegan. He's a doll. I made him a batch of Dreena's cookies which were soo delicious. I was bummed that it only made about 8 cookies, but dang, it was so worth it! I also loved that they did not require Earth Balance. It is nice to make cookies that don't call for certain 'vegan' ingredients. Of course I ate more than I should since I did make them as a gift... I had to explain that I accidently ate three of them... Make them, seriously. You will be impressed. Good ingredients, good consisetncey, good taste. Yum.


After teaching this morning, I met up with an ol' friend that I hadn't seen in months. It was so great to catch up with her. Since then, I've run around from party to party visitng. I am completly cashed. Finals, teaching my butt off, parties, birthdays, etc. I've been pretty busy. After the last party I went to tonight, I stopped off to get a bottle of wine and am now relaxing. Finally!


I'll be continuing my evening drinking some fabulous vino and nibbling on some nuts listening to gypsy jazz. Mmm. Hope you are enjoying your Saturday! Love to you all.

A Paw Print!

I know I have been skimping on recipes and posts about food lately. May is just so busy! School is wrapping up and I am getting ready to go and volunteer for three weeks on a farm in Northwestern Wisconsin. It is going to be such an amazing experience! I'm pumped.

This spring I took a printmaking class. It was awful. Okay, I'm being a little harsh and dramatic. But, I did struggle with it a lot at first and definitely couldn't stand the attitude of the professor. Maybe she struggled a little with my awesomness. My first prints were collographs that had multiple plates and I had to precisely align them with one another. I did an awful job at that... Most of my prints were off in their registration. It is hard for me to be very precise in a lot of things! It did get easier and I started to enjoy it towards the end. I really liked the last print I did of B's. The girls at my table thought I was crazy carving my dog into some linoleum. Once they saw it printed, they were jealous. Yeah, I'm amazing.


Off to write an artist statement about it and wrap up my semester! Tomorrow is my last day! It is going to feel so frickin' good to be done! Well, until summer school... Expect some goodies soon!

Viva Mexico!

First of all, Happy Cinco de Mayo! I am excited to see all the Mexican flags flying around town today. I love Mexican culture - the art, music, celebrations and food. Mmm... Mexican food. Don't even get me started on luchadores! We're fans, we have lil' figurines of luchadores throughout the house. We get plenty of questions, 'Uh, what is... That?' I'm planning on making enchiladas later tonight for dinner and relaxing with a cool Modelo. How will you be celebrating Mexico today?


This next recipe is Mexican, too! Well, it could be Cuban or Brazilian or anything, really. It's my own take on a black bean soup. When I got home from teaching last night I was completely famished. Thankfully, this soup is a breeze to toss together.


Easy Breezy Black Bean Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
pepper to taste
2 celery stalks - sliced n' diced
2 carrots - thinly sliced
2 cans black beans - rinsed and drained
1 can salsa- I adore Mrs. Renfro's, delish!
3 cups water
fresh cilantro and lime to garnish

Saute the onion and add the celery and carrots. Let saute together for a bit before adding the black beans, salsa, water and spices. Once everything is all in the same pot, let simmer until your house starts to smell delicious. Pour yourself a bowl and garnish with some goodies! I cut up some left over tortillas and placed them in the oven at 350 on the pizza stone to crisp. They make a fun garnish. Ooh! Don't forget to put some avocado on top, too! Enjoy!

Oh, peanuts

I love peanut butter. In a weak moment, I'll eat it out of the jar with a spoon. Although that habit has gotten better, I still love it and would do it if I didn't end up feeling like a pudgy elephant afterward.

Today was absolutely beautiful. The sky was blue, the sun was out and buds are beginning to bloom on the trees. It even smells sweet. I love this time of year. Usually, in Wisconsin, we jump from winter to summer in a blink. The 'in between' time is usually lost. This spring we've been really fortunate with pleasant weather and I am completely in love with it.

I spent the morning studying and working on weeding the garden. Bakie's ol' man and I are going to make some raised beds to put in our garden this year. I came in to make a snack mid-morning to find a refrigerator with a container of hummus, celery and and cilantro that has been in the vegetable drawer for over a month now... Pickins' were slim. Not too slim or slimming 'cause I tossed together a batch of Your Vegan Mom's PB rice crispies. Hot dang were these delicious! Between the two of us, we noshed on the whole pan 'till the afternoon. I hit my high and crashed. I took a good solid hour nap only to wake up and crave some more. Darn peanut butter haunting me in my dreams!

Over the past two days, I just can't get enough peanut butter or peanuts! Something about it is just calling me. I'm blaming PMS or maybe the end of the semester... I don't know, but I've got to tame this recent crazy obsession otherwise I'll be flopping my way through summer on my belly. Reallly bad visual...

To another nut! Cashews!

Penne in Garlicy Cashew Sauce

I've read a ton about pureeing cashews to make them into a cheesy sauce. I finally experimented with it a bit this weekend and am completely excited to try it out again! My sauce was a little on the dry side. I either didn't make enough, baked it for too long or didn't give it enough liquid to begin with. I don't know. I'll post the recipe when I feel completely at peace with it. Besides being a tad dry, it had great flavor. Mmm! :)

One more week of school before finals! I can so do this... Hey-- Have you seen my peanutbutter? :)

Wisconsin- a true gem

Life is always crazy and busy. Especially right now being the end of the semester. Deadlines for papers, projects, exams and presentations fill up my day. Between all that mumbo-jumbo and teaching, Baker's Pop and I rarely get to see each other.


He planned a darlin' getaway to Bayfield, Wisconsin for the weekend. We stayed at the most darling B&B that had adorable rooms with a sweet bathtub! Never underestimate taking a bath. I haven't taken one in eons and it was so delightful to sit in a tub and soak. Oh, not to mention, they had great breakfast and were accommodating to various diets.


It was such a relaxing weekend, we were even able to find a yoga class on Saturday morning! We had great weather for hiking and taking in the sights along Lake Superior. We hiked along the Sea Cave Trail. It was so perfect, not too muddy, buggy or hot. Wisconsin is so diverse. Multiple breath taking sights, pure air, sweet people and a wholleee lotta cows...cheese and beer. I admit it, I'm a Wisconsin character and proud of it!


Enjoy the pictures! I highly, highly recommend you visit Wisconsin if you haven't and if you're from Wisconsin, enjoy it for all it's worth!

Back to the grind!

In the Defense of Potato Chips!

It is hard to tell what encouraged me to make potato chips. My original plan was to make thin crispy slices of potatoes. It was not until after I ate my first batch when I realized 'Hey, these are potato chips!' Sometimes, I'm a little slow.
My first batched I sliced thin in nonuniform shapes pretty much slicing n' dicing wherever on the spud. They looked less chip like and more uh, I don't know, amoeba- like? It was easier keeping them in the same circular shape.
I don't even like potato chips. Well, I do like kettle chips - Theee Kettle Chips. Potato chip fans know what I'm talkin' about! A year ago I was in Ottawa visiting a friend who is a feen for kettle chips. I ate more than my fair share when I was visiting. I'm afraid to buy a bag, I might turn into a kettle monster!
Eventhough these chips I made were far from Backyard BBQ Kettle Chips, it felt so good to have made some junk food from scratch. Yeah, yeah, that sounds disgusting. But really - olive oil, salt, pepper and potatoes in the oven can't be that bad- it's not kale, but it's also not some packaged hydrogenated crap. While I snacked on them, I felt good. I made something most people wouldn't and like Michael Pollen said, "make your own junk food."

I made that! How crazy!

Above are the more uniformed chips. I dusted some salt, pepper, cayenne and garlic on them. Delish!
Baker even liked them!

Finally, some falafel!

Is there a better way to end a busy week than taking a yoga class with a good friend and going home to make a delicious falafel salad - I can't think of a better way to begin a weekend. Well, maybe, someone making me falafel? I'm not that picky I guess...

I can almost remember the last time I had falafel. It's been too long. In Minneapolis, falafel was at my fingertips. There were tons of shops and restaurants that had it to purchase, especially on the fly. Falafel King and Holy Land were two of my favorite places. I haven't had a dank falafel sandwich since my move back to Green Bay. Sad, yes I know.


Baker's daddy is not a huge fan of falafel. Granted, after the falafel wrap I made him with my leftovers may have changed his mind. I knew he was going to be working late on Friday so I gave into my falafel craving and whipped up a batch of beany-bean falafely balls! They were perfect. I placed them with some spinach, chopped red onion, carrots and tomatoes. To give it a lil' more oomph, I tossed together a thaini dressing. I tried to keep it as simple as I could. About a tablespoon of tahini, lemon juice to thin, garlic powder, pepper and some water to thin it into more of a dressing. For being really simple, it was so flavorful! Yum.


I love the simple things. It felt so good spend some alone time and make dinner, chill in my sweats with Bakes and be in bed by 10:15. It was like being single again!

April Showers?

I admit it it, I thought we were free of cold and snowy weather. I guess I was a bit over confident when I put away my winter warmables. We got a bunch of snow last night and this morning. When I woke up, I was amazed to see snow on the ground. It was absolutely beautiful!


When I finished teaching my classes this morning I ventured out with Chubs for a walk. It was so strange to see snow covering the trees and bushes budding!


It has been pretty dreary all week with colder rainy weather. Perfect for baking! All I've wanted to do this week is make delicious cookies or bars but have been to busy to do so. I did make a batch of smokey black bean soup. I modified it a bit from Suzane's at Fat Free Vegan. I added a few more vegetables and some collards. I am really into collard greens right now. Delicious and so healthy. Between me and Baker's daddy, the soup went pretty quick. We both love spicy-mexicanlike food.

Enjoy the rest of your Thursday!

It's 'Chick' to have Balls

I used to think that meatballs were such a childish dish. That's weird, because growing up, we never had them. It wasn't until my later years that I started to get into balls. That sounded a little off. In my early 20's I became a fan of spaghetti and meatballs or a meatball sub. Once, we went to well known Italian restaurant in De Pere, Pasquale's and I ate a whole frickin' meatball sub. Yes, that is embarrassing on multiple levels...

As a vegan, I love making 'balls'. I don't care for any pre-packaged fake meat of any kind. There are way too many chemicals, extra packaging and aren't that nutritious. If I have a craving for a bean burger or whatever, I'll make it from scratch. The only thing that I'm not sold on is wheat gluten. Most home made recipes call for a little or a lot of it. I can't tell if the strings of wheat gluten make me feel light headed when I'm mixing it or if I get light headed from eating it. Sometimes I feel like I'm totally buzzed after having just a bit of seitan. It's hard for me to tell if I like it or not...

Anyway, I bought some chick peas to make falafel this weekend. I didn't get around to it and after thinking about it, falafel is a lot similar to an Italian meat ball. Just with chickpeas, right? Right! And I made it work!

We had a bunch of leftover vegetables that I wanted to use up in a pasta dish and rolled out some 'chickie' balls. These gluten free and soy free balls will only make you smile. They're easy to make, easy to clean up and pack a bunch of flavor. The sunflower seeds add a nice ground meat-like texture that's really filling, and not too heavy.

Chickie Balls

1 cup chic peas

1/4 cup ground sunflower seeds

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

4 tablespoons chic pea flower

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano and basil

1 1/2 dried parsley

salt n' pep

In a food processor process the sunflowers until a few chunks remain. Remove from the processor and set aside in a bowl. Next, process the chic peas with about 1/4 cup of water until smooth. It's okay if there are some bigger pieces, it helps to add a nice texture. Scoop the chic peas out of the processor and mix with the sunflower seeds and balsamic vinegar. Stir in the spices and chic pea flower. Add enough flower so when you form the balls they stay together and are not too crumbly. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 until crisp.

These would be pretty tasty in a sandwich, too. Enjoy!

Lazy Sunday madness

When it comes to sports, poor Bakie's can't catch a break. His Pop is known to be a little vocal when watching any sporting event. Throughout the football season lil' Bakes will hide behind me or find a comfortable shelter away from all the action. I defiantly don't blame him. Listening to grown men clap, jump, yell and hug watching a game is bad enough, when I have to listen and watch it, it makes me want to hide, too. He stayed strong through the Olympics and is now being a good sport watching NCAA Championship. I'm going to get him some earmuffs for the World Cup this summer, they'll be much needed.

I would have opted to finish watching Twin Peaks this afternoon, but basketball won... That's more than fine 'cause I made a huge batch a popcorn to accompany our lazy Sunday afternoon.

My mom was about to toss her old air popper, the PopCorn Pumper a few years ago. I immediately claimed it and have been giving it plenty of corn to pop. Air poppers are great! They're perfect for any popcorn lover that enjoys healthier options. I usually melt a lil' Earth Balance in it's little melting area and toss whatever seasoning I want on top - Garlic and Cayenne, Salt n' Sugar, Cajun spice and nutritional yeast or just plain ol' butta' n' salt. However you like to season your air popped corn, I guarantee it's healthier for you and for the environment.

If you don't have an air popper and are interested in popping your own, start by popping some over the stove. Not only is it fun - it is! But, it's fast and easy! Microwave popcorn is a thing of the past! Once you taste how good stove popped or air popped corn tastes, you'll never go back to some crummy disposable bag of blah.

How do you like to pop your corn?

Raise your glass and let's Roast!

Boy o' boy am I in love with roasted vegetables. I've always loved the taste of them, but recently fell back in love with them this week. I've certainly done my fair share of roasting vegetables - intentionally and unintentionally. But, right now, I'm really into intentionally roasting up some goodness in the kitchen!

I went to visit my sister in Madison, Wisconsin and picked up a beautiful medley of baby potatoes at their indoor farmers' market. I need to say it, I'm ecstatic for spring and the farmers market in Green Bay to start! It was great to get some good local snacks and the potatoes I ended up roasting were just delicious.

One of my girlfriends came over for din-din and I roasted pretty much everything we ate. Once you've established a relationship with your oven and how long to cook things, roasting is a super easy technique to use when entertaining. I staged everything out and put things in at the right time. It gave me and my BFF plenty of time to catch up and giggle over some brews.

If you're looking to entertain with minimal involvement, roast! Roast your veggies and you'll have more than enough time to clean up your kitchen and enjoy good conversation with your guests. I promise the picture above of my messy kitchen was a breeze to clean up!

Spring's on the way!

Spring break is over. I'm heading back to school later this afternoon. I've got my game face on for the rest of the semester. Believe me, it's scary.

Minus my concerns about school, I am absolutely in love with life right now. Spring is coming! It's finally beginning to warm up and things are beginning to sprout. I am so excited to start planting the garden and for warmer weather. It feels so good to get outside again. Another and obvious reason why I love spring so much is knowing that grill season is starting. I guess grilling knows no season. But, when the weather is warm and friends can gather in the backyard and have some cocktails, that's grill season. Right? What do I know, I'm usually the person having a cocktail, I leave the grilling to Baker's daddy.

Last night we got together with some family for a birthday gathering. The spread definatly felt like summer - spinach salad, potato salad, asparagus, grillables, etc. So good. Everyone brought something that was pretty dang tasty. I'd never made a potato salad until last night and the one I made was actually good! That's why I'm blogging about it. :)

Potato Salad to make Your Mom proud

4 potatoes - boiled

2 celery stalks

1/2 cup or more raisins

1 avocado

1/2 cup chic peas

3 tablespoons tahini

1 1/2 - 2 tablespoon spicy brown mustard

1 tablespoon maple syrup

juice of lemon

salt n' pepper

Boil the potatoes. Drain and dice when cooked. chop up the celery, avocado and toss into a bowl. In another smaller bowl, whisk the tahini dressing. Add more lemon or water to make it to meet a dressing-like consistency. Coat the potatoes evenly and serve with a huge smile.

Luck o' the Irish

Happy St. Patrick's Day! This year, I'm trading in my traditional Harp larger for a cup of tea and a relaxing evening in. Sure, this might sound lame for an Irish gal - but wait - I got season one, disc 2 of Twin Peaks from Netflix today. No way am I going out to cause a ruckus when I can watch Twin Peaks! People, come on!

For din-din I thought of making a shepherds pie but the weather has just been too nice to make anything heavy. I opted for some roasted asparagus, lima bean pesto pasta with sun dried tomatoes and peas. I tried to make the meal as green as I could!

Be safe and have an excellent night celebrating!

When in Rome

I've been recovering from vacation... We went to the Dominican for a friends wedding, which was beautiful. Beyond the wedding, it was quite the experience. We had interesting and delicious meals, met interesting people from all over and got bit by mosquitos. Well, I did. I came home with more mosquito bites than a tan, it rained 85% of the time! Boy, did those bites itch! I'm pretty sure I don't have malaria... Without any more details, it was an adventure and I'm grateful to be home with my lil' Bakies and cooking again.

Power lines in Santa Domingo

mangroves

the beach in Las Galaras

Socksnatchers... you don't say!

I've been on a roll! Since Sunday night I've been making super nutritious dinners. After a weekend of eating birthday cake and PB cups I needed some hardcore nutrition. I've been really mindful in my sugar intake and feel amazing! It's astounding how sugar reacts in my body and how good nutritious whole foods feel. The sweetness of a fresh grapefruit is just perfect!

Sunday I made some beanie tacos, Monday I tossed together a crazy delicious and spicy stir fry and last night made up this vegetable mash. It's loosely based off of Chris and Carolyn Caldicott's book, World Food Cafe. I was at the library on Sunday afternoon and brought back a ton of cookbooks and one of my favorite children's book, The Socksnachers by Lorna Balian. I loved her picture books as a kid and she's from Wisconsin! Anyway, why on earth did a check out a children's book when Baker can't read... Well, in our house, we have a sock problem. Mates go missing and there is a growing pile of mismatched socks. What causes this? I don't know. Growing up, we always had a mismatched basket of socks. I figured this was the norm, but Baker's Daddy doesn't think so. I know other homes have this problem, too! When we were doing laundry on Sunday, I told him the Socksnatchers took our socks. He of course, had no idea what I was talking about. This drove me to the Brown County library to pick up a copy of it. The cookbooks were just a cover. :) Even though he read it, He's not convinced there is a family of socksnatchers in the basement...

Back to the food! This dish is amazing. The hot sauce which takes seconds to whip up offers such heat and complements the sweetness of the cardamom and sweet potato so well. I am pretty much in love with this dish.

Vegetable Mash

1 sweet potato

1 can garbanzo beans

1 package of chopped frozen spinach- thawed

1 1/2 cup lima beans

1 onion - sliced

1 teaspoon cardamom

salt n' pep to taste

Boil sweet potatoes as you prep the other vegetables. Use whatever vegetables you have on hand, it's pretty versatile. Mix spinach, lima beans and 'bonzos together over medium heat until incorporated and warmed through. Remove from heat. Add a little oil to the pan to heat, add the onion and saute. While the onions are sauteing, mash the sweet potato adding the other vegetables with it. When the onion becomes translucent, add the rest of the vegetables and spices. Stir together and get ready to chow!

Peppa' sauce

3-4 garlic cloves

3 serrano chilies

4 tomatoes- deseeded and chopped

1 onion

1 red pepper

parsley

lemon to blend

dash of salt n' pep

Chop up everything and place into a blender or food processor. You'll love the spice of this! We had plenty of leftovers which will be nice to accompany other dishes this week.

Together, the sweetness of the cardamom and the spiciness of the peppers makes this a delicious treat. Healthy and so darn flavorful! I made up some quiona to serve with it as a dish. It can easily be eaten alone, it's so filling!

For the love of Peanut Butter!

Like I need any more fat, but frickin' A, these were amazing!

I was looking to find a rice crispy PB bar with chocolate on top- Scotcheroos I think they're called? I did find a recipe for them, but stumbled on a much betta' looking recipe and hoooole-e-cow! I might not need a boyfriend anymore!

You'll be far from Clueless if you whip these up in the kitchen. They are Alicia Sliverstone's peanut butter cup recipe. If you haven't made these yet, do yourself a huge favor and make them! Savor them and maybe even share them-- You will not be disappointed. Check out the recipe here.

Chocolate and PB lovers of all walks of life will fall madly in love with you if you make these for them. They are amazing. :)

Happy Birthday, Chubby!

Baker's Birthday came and went. I am so happy that he's 11, healthy and still full of personality. I see quite a few birthdays in his future! Not a day goes by where I don't think I'm the luckiest for having him. He's the best companion and not to mention the cutest mutt around!

For his party, I made up a carrot cake and a spicy pretzel mix for our guests to nibble on. We gave Baker a piece of cake which he housed in three bites- a true chow hound!

Happy Birthday, Chunk!

Pretty sure he hated that birthday hat...

Pretzels and almonds... Yummm

Spicy Pretzel Mix

1 cup raw almonds or any nut

2-3 cups pretzels

1 teaspoon cayenne

2 teaspoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons canola oil

Mix everything together in a bowl and spread onto some parchment paper. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, stirring every 10. It will be a hit!

The cake went too delicious and went fast to take a picture of it finished and individually sliced! It was that good!

Carrot cake sliced in half, ready to be frosted!

Batch of cream cheese frosting- delicious and very unhealthy!

Prepping the cream cheese frosting

Frosting in process!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Getting it right.

It feels like I've been playing around trying to find the perfect granola bar recipe for years. However, this week I had a breakthrough. I made delicious bars that turn out pretty well! As good as they were, I think they need a bit of tweaking, they were a lil' too soft and gooey. I'll be modifying the recipe in the upcoming weeks to get it right to post it!

Barley malt syrup bound everything together and made it a bit sticky. I'm thinking about adding less next time, another grain or maybe even some flour. If anyone has a spectacular, to die for recipe, let me know! Or if you have any other tips on how to make granola bars stick, with out being too hard or soft without being too gooey.

On another geeky note, we're having a birthday party for Bakie's today! He'll be 11! Whaaat a sweetie. :)

Isn't he handsome?