Santa Fe Stuffing

Saw a package of bagged cornbread stuffing that happened to be vegan. On the back a recipe for Santa Fe Chicken Stuffing called out to me. I altered it and possibly improved it.



1 cup soy milk
1 cup corn
Small can of chopped green chiles
bag of Pepperidge Farm Cornbread Stuffing (or if you're feeling spry, 14 oz of your own homemade stuff)
1 avocado, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
2 cups veggie broth

1. Stir everything together. Put in casserole dish.

2. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.

3. Top with salsa or gravy.

4. Yummers.

Chopped Challenge-Fried Beets, Mushrooms, Pineapple Tomato Sauce, Tofu

Been watching a lot of Food Network's Chopped where the cooks have to take a basket of mystery ingredients and incorporate them all into one dish. I often have Julie take items out of our fridge and present them to me Chopped style, out of a basket, the cameras running.
This Chopped challenge: Fried beets (leftover, my friend Wendy made them, yum!), white button mushrooms, Pineapple tomato sauce (from Banyan foods) and the old standby, firm tofu.

I made a salad of the fried beets, red cabbage and bell pepper tossed with a quick vinaigrette. I battered in the tofu shake and bake style with flour, hot sauce, salt and chopped cilantro. The pineapple sauce is very sweet so I cut it with some soy sauce, garlic and sauteed mushrooms. Cooked the tofu in the sauce and lay it to bed on some rice with the salad encircling all of it. Very excellent.

African Peanut and Sweet Potato Stew

Been playing around with some Vegan Planet recipes. Some are too dependent on processed food (veggie burger crumbles everywhere!) and some do not have enough flavor. This is one of the best in the book. Had some friends over and they gobbled it up. Simple, hearty, different.
A fellow vegan also blogged this and posted the recipe here.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie

Had a few dessert disasters in the last few weeks. Nothing more disheartening then pulling out a flaccid cake or concrete cookies when you're ready for some sweets. This pie is easy and delish.

Store bought chocolate pie crust (surprisingly lots of these are vegan)
1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup root beer
2 big spoonfuls of peanut butter
1/2 cup soy milk
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup melted baker's chocolate

Blend everything together until smooth, dump into pie shell, put in the freezer for a few hours. Pull it out of the freezer about fifteen minutes before you're ready to eat it.

Vegan Sports: Tony Gonzalez

The greatest tight end of all time adopted a mostly vegan diet and lost weight which probably helped extend his career. This quick article gives some backward to the decision. Plus he saved a guy who was choking on a piece of steak with the Heimlich. Is that irony?

Vegan Kitchen Essentials: Nutritional Yeast

This is a magical hippy dust. First off, don't be scared off by the name or it's yeastyness. You'll soon be adding a salty, nutty flavor to many foods. As a plus, it also has B-12. It can be bought at stores like Whole Foods and sometimes other "regular" grocery stores in their bulk section. What can you do with it, you ask?

-Makes a great cheesesque sauce
-Toss into gravies
-Use in breading for frying tofu
-Spice up a tofu scramble
-Toss it in your popcorn

Product Push: Boca Fake ass Chicken

These are a nice treat, available in spicy and regular varieties. You just bake them in the oven for about 15 minutes and you're ready to grub on some faux chicken.

Here are some ideas on how to use 'em:
-On a bun, sandwich time!
-With gravy and mashed potatoes
-With marinara sauce
-Sliced on a salad
-Tacos