Be Vegan.

These are delicious and I have loved them from the first time they met my lips (and hips), that is for sure! It may not be common knowledge but I am now a corporate drone and work for HP (I actually like it a lot). The reason I mention this is because my team regularly brings in food and not so long ago I made these delectable buns for my teammates. They disappeared in minutes, bun appétit (bun… I mean pun most definitely intended).

Ingredients for rolls

2 1/2 teaspoons yeast 1 cup sugar
1 cup warm soymilk
2 “eggs” (recipe that I use instead of eggs at bottom of page)*
1/3 Cup + 1 Tablespoon melted Earth Balance (or Vegan margarine of choice)
4 1/2 Cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Ingredients for filling

1 Cup packed brown sugar
3 Tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 Cup Earth Balance (or Vegan margarine of choice)
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Ingredients for frosting

1 Cup powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Earth Balance (or Vegan margarine of choice)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 Tablespoons soymilk

Mix yeast, sugar, and soymilk in  large bowl. Let stand until foamy. Add “eggs”, margarine, flour, and salt. Mix well. Knead for 5-10 minutes until firm and smooth. Set aside in a covered bowl and let double.

Turn out on a floured surface and let rest for 10 minutes. Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Roll dough out into a 16 X 21 rectangle, spread with margarine and sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Roll up and cut into sections. Place rolls in a baking pan, cover and let double. Preheat over to 400 and bake for 15 minutes. Cover with frosting while still warm.

Got Buns Hun?

*Per egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 Tablespoons flour
3 Tablespoons warm water

It was chunky, warm, and easy.

Super Simple Corn and Potato Chowder

3 large potatoes, cubed

4 cups vegetable broth

2 cups soymilk

1 1/2 cups frozen (or fresh, of course) corn

salt and black pepper to taste (we used just shy of a teaspoon each

In a medium soup pot, boil vegetable broth, potatoes, salt and pepper until potatoes are tender. With a food processor or blender, blend about half of the soup until nice and smooth. Return back to pot with remaining potatoes and broth. Stir in soymilk and corn. Simmer for about another 5 minutes or so and then let sit for several minutes before serving.

You can use less potatoes if you’d like a more “soupy” soup but I like the thick chowder this recipe produces.

That’s it. Super easy and super yummy.

NOM.

That sign… that place brings back so many fond memories.  It is one of the symbols that represents the Eug  and many happy times and memories for us.  If you are ever in Eugene you MUST try Mommy’s Falafel.  Don’t let it being in a gas station scare you. That is all part of the charm.  I believe before coming to Eugene the owners had a restaurant and they have plans for opening a stand alone restaurant in Eugene.  Right before we moved they updated the food area (which you can see a little bit of in some of the pictures below) and made it pretty cool looking.  But, even before that it was still awesome.  This is probably one of the greatest finds in the history of personkind.  Beats having to make do with chips or cookies or  finding places such as Subway or Quiznos in a gas station any day of the week.  Not to mention the owners are a family and extremely friendly.

Here is me waiting for our food to be done. 

That huge smile is partly because I knew that I  soon would be having the deliciousness that is Mommy’s Falafel and fries which when combined with a soda/pop (depending on your preference ;))  is the Falafel Combo.  We are a fan of having them add hot sauce and highly suggest you do as well.

But the smile was more so because of the company that I had (Wozzie).  Finding/eating tasty food is awesome  but sharing the experience with good company is what makes it really great  and awesome and takes it “Over the Top” (Pretty awesome movie that you should check out.  Trust me ;)).  If you have that always make sure to take advantage of  it and appreciate it.

For some reason  they always gave me the messy sammie

and always gave Wozzie the neat sammie.

Hmmm…

I love several of the selections that Imagine Foods has for their soups and nothing beats their creamy tomato soup when you are looking to dip a hot off the skillet grilled cheese sammich. The “cheese” of choice for these, for me, is always Tofutti. While most would go with the American slices, my palate adores the Mozzarella for this comfort food.

So, anyway, silly easy and not much to tell but everyone has a comfort food, ya know. Tell me, what’s yours?

NOM.

It’s been nearly 3 years since I decided to be a Vegan and that decision wasn’t taken lightly; it made complete sense for me at the time and still does today. Lately, though, things have become difficult. Maybe it’s the holidays, maybe because I’ve started dating an amazing person who happens to be an omni, or perhaps maybe it’s just because I’ve become comfortable in my day to day routine that I began to forget why I do what I do. I began to go through the motions and not think about the reasons behind my Veganism: all those little lives, faces, feelings.

There are a lot of people I love in my life that don’t understand exactly why I’m Vegan, nor will they ever be Vegan themselves. I don’t judge them or love them any less for this. We are all on our own journeys and paths in life and I love them more for not judging my choices, but rather embracing who I am and incorporating aspects of that into their own lives.

So this isn’t some big, long, logical explanation about why I’m Vegan because there really isn’t one. It’s all emotion and all heart. I understand the other reasons and I use those arguments when people come at me defensively (which people tend to do when they find out I’m Vegan…what’s that about anyway?!), but if you want to know why I’m Vegan, I’ll simply show you why. (All photos were taken at Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY this summer).

Theresa is a rescued dairy cow. She would have been raped over and over again for 5 or 6 years to produce calves she couldn’t even give the milk that was meant for them. After which point she would have just been slaughtered and thrown out like trash. What? Did you think they just MADE the milk?

Then there’s Cash who would just have been used again and again for his wool. Think that’s not painful? Look up flystrike and you’ll think differently. He’s such a handsome boy:

Also, because I’m Vegan, chickies like these aren’t giving up their lives for me as nuggets, get to live beyond the 42 days of a broiler chicken, and don’t have to be ground up alive as a “by-product” of the egg industry. (And if you’ve never seen little chicken butts run to dinner time, you are missing one of the cutest things on Earth):

And lastly, make all the lame bacon jokes you want, but these guys are amazingly intelligent, sweet and loving. They aren’t meant to be on a pizza, BLT, or a double cheeseburger thankyouverymuch.

So really, that’s it and that’s all. It’s why I am who I am and why I do what I do. And what I’ll continue to do…for them. Now pass me Divine Cupcake, please. NOM.

This post is a thank you. Not a thank you to any one person, place, thing, or idea really. But rather to a period of time in my life.

I recently changed emails for several reasons. I had the old one since 2003 (possibly before but I can’t remember exactly haha). I was going through and forwarding some of the important emails in my old email to my new email. It feels like I am moving into a new chapter of life. And seeing old emails has got me to thinking and reminiscing.

I won’t list anything specifically but some people, places, things, and ideas played a bigger role than others and while I said this is not a thank you to any one thing I would like to give extra thanks to these people, places, things, and ideas.

One person especially played a much larger role than any other person, place, thing, or idea. You know who you are ( I hope so at least). Thank you so vair much for being such a great friend. Thank you so vair much for helping me along in my journey. Thank you so vair much for being there for me. Thank you so vair much for at times being what allowed me to make it through the day. Thank you so vair much for so many other things (things that if I listed would take up pages upon pages). I look forward to having you in this next chapter of my life and would like to thank you in advance for playing a role in it. Thank you so vair much for everything you have done and everything that you will do.

2003(?)-2009 thank you, you have helped me become the person I am and the person I will be

Goodness knows that Saucy Shells have been a staple comfort food ever since it crossed these Vegan lips over 2 years ago. Yes, I love those shells and have to admit, I felt like I was cheating on them a bit last night when I tried a new recipe.

The main difference in the recipes is making a roux with margarine and flour vs. blending tofu and all the rest of the goodies. And after the last time I made Saucy Shells and had a blender fandango occur at the 11th hour, well, I was a bit gun shy and this allowed me to try something new. I’ll never stop lovin’ on those shells, but I’m certainly glad I tried this new yummy number that was given to me in a recipe book as a giftie a couple years ago.

Behold the Mac and Cheeze:

All I can say is that this little number was ridiculously EASY to make and way DELISH. Here’s how you can get your paws on them:

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. cooked pasta

1/4 cup margarine (I recommend Earth Balance)

1/4 cup flour

1 3/4 cup hot water

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon soy sauce (I added a little more…I can’t ever get too much!)

1/8 cup olive oil

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt margarine in a saucepan and whisk in flour to create a roux. Add everything else but oil and nutritional yeast. Once thick and bubbly, add in remaining ingredients. Pour “cheeze” over pasta and bake for 15 minutes.

NOM.

For dinner I made Seitan based off of the recipe on Vegan Mafia (although I couldn’t find any nutritional yeast around here), dinner rolls based off a Vegweb recipe (I changed it slightly and added some pumpkin), shepherd’s pie using Sarah Kramer’s recipe, corn on the cob with Earth Balance and spices, mashed sweet potatoes, and squash with Earth Balance and brown sugar. Some Omnis tested the Seitan and thought that it was pretty good

For dessert I made pumpkin shortbread cookies (we posted about them last year) and cooked a store bought apple pie. The desserts resembling a bird was as close as I got to eating turkey or any other animals products. And that is how it should be.

Hope everyone has a great rest of the year!

#3

Congratulations Kelly! Thanks to everyone who entered.

We will definitely have pictures of food and/or recipes to post from today so check back often the next few days

All four flavors are “deeee eeeee lissssh us” and have a great texture. Our favorites, however, are the coconut and cinnamon pecan flavors. These marshmallows are great just by themselves straight out of the refrigerator. The vanilla and coconut flavors are also great for making Vegan s’mores. They melt and get all gooey mmmmmm. They are especially good if you have access to Rice Milk bars (we HIGHLY suggest Terra Nostra’s Ricemilk Choco Bar). We have not tried making s’mores with the other two flavors but we are sure they would be vair tasty too.

And if you don’t feel like making your own s’mores? Then Sweet & Sara has you covered with their Original and Peanut Butter flavored S’mores. They are good cold, at room temperature, or heated up. Our favorite is the Original but the Peanut Butter variety is also nom worthy.

You might be saying to yourself right around now “Wow, that is a lot of tasty looking products. There is no way they could have even more.” If so, you would be wrong! This is one of the times it pays to be wrong though so don’t worry :D. S&S now offers mini vanilla marshmallows that could go great with some Vegan hot chocolate or maybe you could add them to a bowl of cereal :D. And finally there is the Rocky Road Bark which has a big bite.

Wozzie used to own and run her own Shoppe and she sold S&S marshmallows and s’mores. They were some of the best selling items in the shoppe! Woz says that Sara was great to deal with too. We would like to end the review by begging Sweet & Sarah to bring back the Mexican Chocolate flavored marshmallows. Please, please, please, please Sara!!

Now for the giveaway. To enter leave a comment telling us your favorite Sweet & Sara marshmallow flavor. If you have not tried any of the flavors let us know which one you look forward to trying the most. Is one entry not quite enough for you? Then follow us on Twitter (we are HHVeganos) and Tweet about the giveaway. Then make another comment on here linking to your Tweet to get a second entry into the contest. The winner will be chosen at random. Winner will be chosen on Friday, November 27. Good luck to all of you! Sorry, contest is for the USA only.

“This sale offers 50% off all vintage goods and Artella eCertificates up to $50.00, PLUS a fun Holiday eBasket full of gifts designed to inspire holiday art-making!”

Congratulations to our winners

#28
“The Twilight Bar sounds amazing!!

Comment by Bryn — November 16, 2009 @ 9:47 PM”

#20
“I like Mahalo. It’s tropical essence gives me a reason to break out
my ukulele and celebrate.

Comment by Susie — November 16, 2009 @ 9:10 AM”

#15
“I love the Twilight bar because milky way was my favorite candy bar
prevegan days, but I hadn’t been able to enjoy one in almost 20 years!
So thank you Go Max Go for making these!

Comment by Tracy — November 14, 2009 @ 12:19 PM”

Stay tuned for the Sweet & Sara review and giveaway  coming up!

Behold the wonders known as Mahalo, Buccaneer, Jokerz, and Twilight:

The fine folks at Go Max Go sent us these to sample and review. So we rallied up two willing omnivores to also join us in this taste test to get a good gauge on how these bad boys really measured up. The omnis were pleasantly surprised at how good these candy bars were, with the Twilight being their favorite. “This is Vegan? Really?” seemed to be the question at hand. Yes, yes, they are Vegan and damn good, too.

Although tasty by their own merits, the appeal of these to many Vegans is they are quite similar to the candy bars we loved before we knew any better. Twilight is the cruelty free version of the Milky Way bar, Buccaneer is the modern day Three Musketeers, Mahalo is the twin sister to the Almond Joy, and Jokerz is the Snickers bar that no cows had to suffer for to be so delish. These candy bars are rich, quite tasty, and simply amazing. The only criticism received came from both the Veganos and the omnis: the Jokerz needs more peanuts to truly stack up and satisfy. Make no mistake, however, it did the trick and then some.

So, here’s where you come in. Tell us your favorite flavor and why. If you haven’t tried them yet, tell us which one you’d like to nosh on and why. We will randomly pick THREE WINNERS next Tuesday with the prize being your very own Go Max Go bars sent directly from them. Okay, go (Max, go)!

NOM.

“I’ve never had the opportunity to try Coconut Bliss, so I’ll have to hope for luck of the draw…and wow, chocolate hazelnut fudge sounds heavenly.

Comment by Bekki — October 4, 2009 @ 10:56 AM”

 
The most creative winner is

“My favorite flavor of Coconut Bliss is the dark chocolate and I enjoy it with some organic locally grown raspberries and a glass of Malbec wine on the side. It’s the ultimate indulgence!

Comment by Sarah — October 1, 2009 @ 12:18 AM ”

 

Thanks to all of you that commented and entered the contest. There were several creative ideas and it was hard just picking one. Enjoy the Bliss!

So to walk a few blocks and find this in the middle of what was otherwise a residential street, well, it just makes sense for Eugene. Ladies and Gentlemen, Off the Waffle:

Although we only got to go there a few times before we headed East (and then back West AGAIN), it quickly became a favorite. A fun little place owned by guys with amazing hairdos (the sign is truly what their hair looks like…yeah, it’s that awesome) was just as interesting on the inside as it was on the outside.

In addition to the free book exchange and Jenga blocks strewn about, if you happened to have a shine for waffles but may be short the cash, well, let’s barter on that, baby:

In addition to an assortment of teas, the menu was simple and happily sported a Vegan option called the No Dairy Gary:

Each waffle is made to order and super yummy:

While these may be a wee bit pricey for the size, they definitely had an amazing flavor. And we just learned that since we’ve moved (sniff sniff), they’ve opened a new location near the U of O campus. So if you haven’t been off your waffle yet (and are fortunate enough to live in Eugene), it’s really about time you did.

NOM.

Serve on toast, 2-2 1/2 pieces per person.

Put all ingredients (except the toast of course) into the pot and stir them together. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat to let the chili simmer for about 10 minutes.

We like to rip our toast into small pieces and then cover it with the chili, but you can do yours however you like. I like to spread Earth Balance on my toast before I rip it apart.

 
From the back of the book:

This book includes recipes both new and adapted from her previous books; all are a cinch to prepare with easy-to-find ingredients but guaranteed to deliver energy, nutrition, and great flavor. The book also contains information and advice pertinent to Vegan travels, and is small enough to slip into one’s pocket or purse with ease. Full of Sarah’s high-energy with and verve, Vegan á Go-Go! makes life for Vegans on the go-go a lot less stressful and a lot more fun.

We highly suggest getting this book as it has a lot recipes that are quick and simple yet filling and delicious.

One of our favorite places ever is Wandering Goat in Eugene,Oregon. Sadly, we no longer live there and can just get on our bikes and be there in 10 minutes. I am reminiscing because my 4 year Veganniversary is on October 10 and last year on my Veganniversary we stopped at the Wandering Goat for some Danishes and hot drinks.

AND Woz surprised me with an awesome Wandering Goat mug that I love. I haven’t used it much recently,but when I was on a coffee kick I used it all the time. We were told there are some very good places to get coffee here in Albuquerque so I hope to use it soon :).

Wandering Goat is just a little place but it has a big presence. So many different types of people can be seen there throughout the day. White collar people, blue collar people, vagabonds, students, younger people, older people, and the list goes on. People just go there to sit and relax, read, do homework, and to listen to the live entertainment. We usually went there for the tasty treats and to talk, but we also liked to play Connect Four which we found in the Goat’s collection of board games. The games just sit there, waiting and hoping that some customer will come and remove them from their boxes and get some enjoyment.

Wandering Goat isn’t 100% Vegan as they offer the choice of dairy for their hot drinks (which they actually charged a premium for compared to the soy and rice milks),but all of the baked goods and the soup that they offer are Vegan. I never checked out all of their cold drinks in the refrigerator so I do not know if any of those happened to contain honey or dairy.

If you are ever in Eugene we highly suggest you check out the Wandering Goat. They have delicious baked goods, great coffee and tea, and an awesome atmosphere that you will only find in the Eug.

We miss you Wandering Goat!

(these two pictures are from Wandering Goat website)

Now that the serious part is out of the way I would like to post these two videos. They are videos actually making fun of Vegans but they are still pretty hilarious. Most Vegans seem to agree. If you are Vegan and these offend you I apologize.

I (rahzh) entered a little contest that @foodoro tweeted on Twitter which was actually being held on their Facebook page for a prize on their website (confusing I know but try to keep up because it is worth it). The first two people to guess what the Mystery Item was had the choice of Vegan Gourmet English Toffee or Vegan Gourmet Coconut Brittle. The toffee is made by Chocolate Inspirations, INC and you can find several other delicious looking Vegan options on their site as well. I chose the toffee because chocolate covered toffee is one of my most favorite things ever. I used to love Heath and Skorr bars. And I am pretty sure I haven’t had any toffee (chocolate covered or uncovered) since becoming Vegan almost exactly four years ago. If I have had it I do not remember, that is for sure.

The toffee and the brittle come in a bulk 1 pound bag or a 1/2 pound gold tent box.

They are $15.00 and $20.50 respectively. The 1 pound bag is a much better buy at about $1.29 per ounce compared to the 1/2 pound which is around $1.86 per ounce. The toffee is crunchy and nomilicious while the Swiss dark chocolate couverture covering is rich and smooth. The chopped pecan topping is just the right amount making this dessert all around delectable. The toffee and brittle are just two of the many Vegan products Foodoro carries and if the rest are even half as good as the toffee then they are worth trying.

As of this post Foodro has 278 Vegan items, but be careful as they do have a lot of non-Vegan items and I do not recommend those as the animals would not appreciate it :). Just make sure to search the term Vegan and you shouldn’t have any worries.

*Edit*

*Foodoro now has a Vegan Shopping Guide that can break items down into multiple categories based on price, craft, health&nutrition, foodmaker,etc.*

Finally,here is what you have been waiting for, the toffee and all its glory.

We have come a very long way in a year (In real life and online) and have also moved beyond just being a blog.  We have many visitors, readers, and posters involved with HHV.  In the last few months we created a Twitter account and we now have over 1,200 followers!  If you follow us on Twitter  you will get to see things that you wouldn’t on the blog such as links to contests, articles, recipes, giveaways, and other people’s blogs.  You, of course, will get a daily serving of the Hungry Hungry Veganos by following us there as well.  We have a Facebook page where we make sure to post our new blog posts and occasionally link to other info (and others have posted some information as well). Don’t forget to become a fan!

This last year has had a lot going on for the Veganos (our wedding,multiple moves, job changes,etc) so we didn’t get to post nearly as much as we wanted to. We were cooking,eating, taking pictures, and making recipes the whole time though which means we have many posts in queue. We plan on posting much more this upcoming year and Vegan MoFo is a good time to start.

The idea behind Vegan MoFo is to write as much as you can during October. There aren’t really any strict guidelines but most aim for 20 posts during the month. Some set the goal higher and go for a post every day of the month. MoFo should be a good jump start in our posting for the year and that means much more noms for you.

The good folks at Luna & Larry’s (the creators of Coconut Bliss) were kind enough to send Wozzie a t-shirt for being such a fan. Say soy cheeeeeeeese!

In addition to the fabby shirt, they also sent coupons for their yummy dessert. Oh how we heart them! So, although we’d LOVE to use those coupons to get our little hands on the Bliss, we are going to pass along the happiness to YOU! We promised you a contest and here are the details to win a pint of any flavor Coconut Bliss your tummy desires. All you have to do is leave a comment telling us your favorite Coconut Bliss flavor and how you like to eat it (in a float? in a cookie sammie? in a bowl at 5 a.m.? You get the picture…) Haven’t tried the Bliss? No worries! Simply go to their site and pick a flavor you’d like to try and let us know why! We will be choosing TWO winners; one will be chosen at random from the comments and one will be for the most creative way to partake in the Coconut Bliss. We’ll be choosing the winners on October 10 (which happens to be Rahzh’s 4 year Veganniversary).

Still craving more Bliss…and really, who wouldn’t? Be sure to enter Luna & Larry’s A Night of Bliss contest! On November 7th, Coconut Bliss will be making people smile with fifty simultaneous parties across the United States. They’ll provide the Coconut Bliss and you host the party. Together you’ll create a critical mass of ecstasy that will ripple across the country, awakening joy and delight from Petaluma to Poughkeepsie. Not a bad way to spend an evening, eh? Click here for complete details. Be sure to hurry, the deadline has been slightly extended until October 7!

With so many ways to get your hands on Coconut Bliss, what are you waiting for?

NOM.

]]> https://hungryhungryveganos.wordpress.com/2009/09/30/we-heart-coconut-bliss-remembering-eugene-pt-2/feed/ 64 555 wozzie wozcoconutbliss https://hungryhungryveganos.wordpress.com/2009/09/27/missing-my-sushi-domo-remembering-eugene-pt-1/ https://hungryhungryveganos.wordpress.com/2009/09/27/missing-my-sushi-domo-remembering-eugene-pt-1/#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:43:36 +0000 http://hungryhungryveganos.wordpress.com/?p=542 Okay friends, it has been WAY too long since the Veganos have posted but we’ve been transients up until landing in the Land of Enchantment just two weeks ago. Wozzie took a job and has bitten the corporate bullet (*gasp*). There are surprisingly quite a few positives to this development including our roomiest kitchen yet (yay for not having to store the kitchen utensils in the living room!) for Rahzh to experiment with recipes new and old. We haven’t named this pretty new kitchen just yet and will be holding a contest VERY SOON to name said cocina. The prize will be a yummy little number by the name of Go Max Go. (Oh yes!) More details soon.

We have quite a few posts that need to be made (we are always taking the pictures) and found the we have several Eugene reviews to do. One of the things Wozzie misses the most from Eugene is Sushi Domo and their options for the Vegan sushi. And since she is quite sentimental and missing the Eug after talking to a new work pal and explaining how he must get his hands on some vegan sushi STAT, this seemed like a good time to spread the yummy word.  Here are some pics from our very last visit. Wozzie can taste the soy sauce now…

We’d always start the evening off with some edamame, spicy, natch:

Followed by several nice sized rolls. Wozzie’s personal favorite was the Crop Burning which contained avocados, cucumbers, and shiitake mushrooms topped with hot sauce:

And Rahzh had a shine for the Iron Man which was smoked tofu, cucumbers, and avocado:

We definitely need to find a good sushi place here in Albuquerque soon because Wozzie has a bottle of lonely soy sauce ready to roll. Pass the chopsticks please.

NOM.

And here’s how you can have them, too!

• 2 cups walnuts
• 3 T canola oil
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 t vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups oat flour
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t salt
• 1/4 t ground cinnamon
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (or 10 1/2 ounces vegan bittersweet chocolate, chopped)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper.
2. Blend walnuts in food processor 30 seconds, or until ground into a fine meal. Add canola oil in a stream with the food processor running, and blend for 2 – 3 minutes more, or until mixture has the consistency of natural peanut butter, scraping down the sides of the food processor occasionally. Transfer to a bowl.
3. Whisk together brown sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan, and bring mixture to a boil. (Watch this, as when it starts to boil it can quickly boil over.) Pour brown sugar mixture over the ground walnut butter, add vanilla extract, and stir until no lumps remain.
4. Whisk together oat flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Stir oat flour mixture into walnut mixture. Cool 10 minutes. Fold in oats, then chocolate chips.
5. Shape cookie dough into 1 1/2 to 2 inch balls (I used a spring-type ice cream scoop, and I used 2 different sizes, varying the baking time), and place two inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Now the original recipe calls for flattening the cookies with a glass dipped in water. I forgot with the first batch that went into the oven, and they turned out just fine with a lovely cracked top to the cookie. They did take a little longer than the recipe called for when I made them this way.
6. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until cookies begin to brown and tops look dry. Cool three minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
7. Enjoy with a tall glass of rice or soy milk!

So satisfy that sweet tooth of yours and don’t worry about feeling guilty one bit. NOM.

This past weekend we found ourselves just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio visiting my brother, David. Jungle Jim’s was hosting their second annual Weekend of Fire, and with Papo Delgado in town for the weekend, too, it was a no-brainer that’s where we’d be spending the afternoon.

Hot sauces, salsas, hot jams, jellies, rubs – this event had it ALL!

Papo Delgado bought us all a round of Coronas and the tastings began!

Naturally, we are reading all labels to ensure Vegan goodness, so we were extra pleased to see this booth:

And even with all the options, Woz loves her Cholula!

Woz and Papo didn’t attempt this:

Dave and Rahzh, however, did. Keep in mind that Dave loves hot sauce and most are no big deal to him. Yet these were the results:

Time to cool off with Jimmy’s Italian Ice that nicely sported a nice NO DAIRY sign:

We made one more round (and all had one more beer!) and finalized our purchases. Dave carried out the loot:

So of course a chili was beggin’ to be made after that!

Weekend of Fire Chili

1 Cup Tomato Juice

3 Cans of Chili Beans
1 Can of Kidney Beans
1 28 oz. Can of Diced Tomotoes
2 Jars of Spaghetti Sauce
1 Package of Chili Seasoning
1 Cup Sliced Mushrooms
1 Celery Stalk
2 1/2 Cups TVP
Pepper, Cumin, and Garlic to taste
Hot Sauce to taste and tortilla chips as garnish

In large pot, add 2 cups water and 1 cup tomato juice. Bring to a boil and add pepper, cumin, and garlic. Next add TVP and continue to boil until all liquid cooks off. Drain kidney beans and add to pot. Add all remaining ingredients to pot. Heat to desired temperature and serve.

This makes A TON so invite folks over or be ready for lots of leftovers. NOM.

Ingredients:

2 portabello mushrooms
1 bottle of Italian dressing (or favorite marinade)
Sandwich rolls
A1 Sauce
Vegenaise

Remove stem from portabellos and soak overnight in Italian dressing in fridge. Remove from dressing and heat in skillet until “browned” on both sides and good and hot. Cut mushrooms into strips and place in sandwich rolls and dress it up with A1 Sauce and Vegenaise to your liking (or whatever else you’d like!). Makes two big sammies.

So again, we know this was almost too silly to post, but we love it so we thought we’d share. NOM.

Rahzh prefers the chocolate and Wozzie is a vanilla gal. Luckily, Rice Dream makes both! These are, quite possibly, perfection on a stick. If you’ve not had a chance to have one, well, get one and get it now! They make gorgeous views even more stunning and they make Vegans smile like this:

Happy Lazy Veganos. That’s us today. NOM.

People often gasp when we say we don’t spend more than $80 a week on groceries and that includes breakfast, lunch, dinner AND desserts for the week. One of the big tricks to this is to actually plan our meals out for the week so we can head to the grocery store with a list. Yes, this does take some time up front (but really only about 20 minutes or so) and we aren’t left wandering around the aisles of the store asking “What do you want for dinner?” only to get the response “I don’t know, whatever you want.”

For instance, this week we are having shepherd’s pie, white sketti, portabello burgers, chickpea cutlets, falafel, potato soup, and a rice dish called Mexicali. Throw in a couple fruits a day and cereal every morning and you’ve got yourself a basic week with the Hungry Hungry Veganos. How much did all the ingredients for all these dishes come to at the grocery store, anyway?

Your eyes do not deceive you, the total for a week’s worth of groceries did indeed only cost us $47.40. So, with the extra money, we may splurge on some Coconut Bliss (Vegan ice cream at its best!) throughout the week or save it up for a night of Vegan sushi. We did make sure to get these from a local co-op on our way home just because who on Earth could pass up yummy cupcakes when you have over $30 left over in your grocery budget?

So we, quite frankly, call bullshit on whomever says it’s too expensive to go Vegan. We do it on the cheap and don’t for one minute feel deprived on anything. No sir, not for one moment. We think it’s time for some homemade cookies now. NOM.