CARROT CAKE WITH TOFU CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Today I Made:

CARROT CAKE WITH TOFU CREAM CHEESE FROSTING for BREAKFAST.

Recipe from CANDLE CAFE COOKBOOK.

Today is my husband's birthday and I decided to make him cake for breakfast.

Who says you can't have birthday cake first thing in the morning?

I'm not a fan of carrot cake, but he is, and this recipe turned out great.

Spicy, sweet, moist, and full of color from the grated carrot, chopped fresh pineapple, raisins, and topped with chopped walnuts.

I made a slightly healthier version than the original recipe by using whole wheat versions of the flours.

And it's sweetened with maple sugar instead of refined sugar.

The recipe for the frosting was altered from the one in the book.

In the book, the directions call for silken tofu to be boiled for 5 minutes, then submerged in cold water, squeezed dry, and then blended up with Tofutti Cream Cheese, unrefined sugar, safflower oil, and vanilla extract.

Thanks to Green Earth Institute, I blended the cream cheese, sugar, safflower oil, and vanilla extract in my mixer until smooth and chill for 20 minutes.

No silken tofu required.

We both had one slice for breakfast along with our morning coffee.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY HUSBAND AND GRANDMA!!!

CESAR SALAD

Today I Made:

CESAR SALAD for DINNER.

Recipe from Veganomicon by Isa Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.

This may be the third time I posted about this salad. It's just that good!

If you own this book and have never made this salad, you HAVE to put it on your MUST MAKE list.

The DRESSING is tofu based with lemon juice, garlic, dry mustard, and ground up almond slivers.

The recipe calls for capers, which give it its salty flavor.

No anchovies required!

And the CROUTONS are flavored with roasted garlic, salt, lemon juice, and olive oil.

Baked not fried.

MMMMMM!.... looking forward to leftover salad tomorrow!

LEMON-BLUEBERRY MUFFINS AND PURE BARS

Today I Made:

LEMON-BLUEBERRY MUFFINS for BREAKFAST.

Recipe from COOKING LIGHT MAGAZINE APRIL 2003 .

Small blueberry muffins with a hint of lemon zest then drizzled with lemon powered sugar glaze.

The original recipe is NOT vegan, but I used Egg Replacer and soymilk instead of chicken eggs and cow's buttermilk.

Perfect with a hot cup of morning coffee.
So my husband and I fell in love with Mojo Bars a few months ago.

Unfortunately they were affected by the peanut recall.

So we've been without protein bars since.

But thanks to VeggieGirl: Episode 6 of VeggieGirl TV: News & Reviews, were back!

We agree with Veggie girl, Pure Bars are by far superior than any other bar out there.

Cliff Bars are way too sweet,

Mojo Bars, recalled and are more like candy bars.

Kashi bars, no comment.

Larabars, too sweet and not organic.

Last week, we went to our local Trader Joe's and were lucky enough to find the CHOCOLATE BROWNIE and CHERRY CASHEW bars.

We tried both and instantly fell in love.

The texture was perfectly soft and full of flavor.

We both preferred the CHOCOLATE BROWNIE.

Then last night while at Whole Foods, we came across the CHOCOLATE CHIP TRAIL MIX .

So now we have a new flavor to try.

They also had the APPLE CINNAMON and CHERRY CASHEW.

But no WILD BLUEBERRY.

I urge everyone to try these bars.

Why?

Because they are ORGANIC, use all natural ingredients. use dates and agave nectar instead of cane sugar, and they taste delicious.

At $2.39, they are pretty pricey, but you do get what you pay for.

THANKS VEGGIE GIRL!!!

PUMPKIN PASTA

Today I Made:

PUMPKIN PASTA and BABY GREEN SALAD.

Pasta recipe from EVERYDAY FOOD Magazine, but I don't remember which issue.

The sauce for the pasta is made up of 5 ingredients:

-olive oil

-kale

-canned pumpkin

-vegetable broth

-jarred sun-dried tomato pesto

-sliced almonds

Mix the sauce with the par-cooked pasta and bake for 30 minutes.

The recipe calls for a 9x13 baking dish, I used small ramekins instead.

Perfect serving size.

The top is crunchy and the bottom soft and creamy.

Reminds me of macaroni and cheese.

Easy, tasty, and it looks beautiful too.

The salad is a mix of baby greens, julienned beets, pomegranate seeds, chickpeas, red onion, pumpkin seeds, and our favorite dressing, ASIAN MIRACLE DRESSING.

KOREAN RICE AND STIR-FRIED VEGETABLES AND SOY BEAN SPROUT SALAD

Today I Made:

KOREAN RICE AND STIR-FRIED VEGETABLES AND SOY BEAN SALAD for DINNER.

Both recipes from VEGNEWS magazine Nov/Dec. 2005 issue.

The stir-fry was super easy to make.

Canola oil, minced garlic, carrots, asparagus, spinach, and soy sauce.

Simple, clean , and delicious.

The soy bean salad originally called for bean sprouts but Whole Foods only had the soy sprouts.

The dressing is a rice vinegar, ginger, toasted sesame oil, and a few other asian ingredients.

Super crunchy and super fresh taste.

Personally, I would have preferred the bean sprouts.

But, husband liked it.

GARDEN PATTIES,GRATED RAW BEET SALAD, AND BROCCOLI

Today I Made:

GARDEN PATTIES, GRATED RAW BEET SALAD WITH JICAMA AND GRAPEFRUIT, and BROCCOLI WITH VEGENAISE SHOYU DIPPING SAUCE.

The garden patties are literally filled with vegetables,grains, and nuts.

Millet, quinoa, onions, red bell pepper, carrots, celery, spinach and tons and tons of nuts:

Almonds, pumpkin seeds, and cashews, and spices.

Overall, they turned out delicious, but they fall apart easily.

I followed the recipe pretty much to the letter, with one exception, I used cashews instead of sunflower seeds.

Once all the ingredients were combined, I ended up having to add vegetable broth to make it more pliable, because it was just too dry to come together.

I also refrigerated the patties for an hour, so they wouldn't fall apart on the skillet.

They turned out really tasty.

Savory, crispy, and crunchy.

I described them to my husband as being similar to a trail mix bar but savory.

I topped them with my mom's homemade salsa.

The raw beet salad added even more crunch to the mix.

Julienned raw beets, jicama, grapefruit sections, chopped cilantro, and a grapefruit dressing.

The original name for this recipe is GRATED RAW BEET SALAD WITH JICAMA, AVOCADO, AND ORANGE, from this month's VEGETARIAN TIMES.

But, I didn't have any avocado, oranges, or orange juice concentrate.

Even though, it was delicious, refreshing and very memorable.

The broccoli dipping sauce was actually a vegan adaptation of a sauce my mother-in-law introduced me to years ago.

Mayonnaise, shoyu ( Japanese for Soy Sauce ), and ground sesame seeds.

While busting my head trying to figure out how to serve this amazing broccoli from the Pasadena Farmer's Market, I realized that I could veganize my mother-in-laws dipping sauce by just using Vegenaise instead of mayonnaise.

Turned out just the same and even better since it was cholesterol free.

This entire dinner was made even more special because we bought all this week's produce from the farmers at the Pasadena Farmers market this weekend.

The quality of the produce bought at the farmer's market compared to what you get at Whole Foods or even a regular market is so much more superior.

Unfortunately, the market is on Saturdays and it's 25 minutes from our house.

It's also too hard to get up early on Saturday mornings.

So, this week's produce is a total treat for us.

CLASSIC MINESTRONE

Today I Made:

CLASSIC MINESTRONE and GARLIC TOAST for DINNER.

Recipe from EVERYDAY FOOD MAGAZINE.

Unfortunately I could not remember what issue it's from and I couldn't find it on their website.

Carrots, onions, celery, cabbage, green beans, cannellini beans, in a tomato based broth.

The broth has a hint of red chili pepper and rosemary.

Very clean soup and suprisingly full of flavor.

Lots of chopping, but well worth it.