Sweet Potato and Seitan Chorizo Enchiladas

This has become one of my favorite things to eat. Simply roast sweet potatoes with sweet corn and onions, mash and add seitan chorizo and you have the perfect filling for Vegan enchiladas. In fact, I am making these bad boys tonight for my friend's birthday potluck. I hope she loves them!



I found some "accidentally" Vegan enchilada sauce at Sunflower Markets which made making these a whole heck of a lot simpler. The seitan chorizo recipe I got from 500 Vegan Recipes. They were very tasty but, for me, the texture was a little less than desirable. I think next time I will make the chorizo out of tofu or TVP.



Top with a sprinkle of Daiya cheddar and pair with homemade re-fried beans and Spanish rice. Yum!



(Sorry the photos are poor quality the light in our kitchen is ancient and started to burn out, but we fixed that so hopefully no more crappy images)

Portland, day 2 (Back to Eden)

Oh Portland, how I love you so. You have showed me the joy of seasons, wearing multiple layers and faux cheese. I have had the pleasure of Vegan pumpkin lattes, truffles, corn dogs and reubens that it is so hard for me to sit here in Arizona typing this when all I want to do is hop on a plane and see you again. I miss you my dear city...

Ahem, uh so anyway this is what happened on day two. Timmy and I awoke thankful for our heating blankets and space heater. We dressed warmly and were dropped off on Alberta street to walk around and wander around appreciating all that Portland has to offer. Meanwhile, Lucy was delivering Meals on Wheels (isn't she amazing?) and Kyle was hard at work lubing up bike chains. So what did Timmy and I do? We ate of course at Back to Eden Bakery.


Back to Eden was amazing and the girl working there was so sweet and genuinely nice that we felt at home immediately. We ordered a large array of things and all of the food was over the top tasty!


look how cute it is inside. It is a little place but it slowly started filling up with hungry vegans looking for some good grub.




I could have eaten all of this, no really, I could have.


Pumpkin Whoopie pies and tarts, oh my!


their adorable menu, if it wasn't freezing I could have gone for some ice cream


Timmy checkin' himself out while waiting on his delicious caramel apple cider drink.


we ate a quiche with tempeh, broccoli and mushrooms. We quickly followed the quiche with...


a slice of pumpkin streusel pie. Holy fuck this was good, yes, it merits a fuck word. (:


we ate ALL of it!


Now we are happy and ready for whatever awaits us.

Stay tuned for more of day two...

Cakes!

I have been a lazy blogger. I think if maybe I distract you with images of yummy cakes you will forget my lack of daily posting. I have a lot of cool stuff going on right now and the Internet is the furthest thing from my mind, which at times makes me a little sad because then I don't get to keep up with my email friends, by favorite tumblrs and of course all of the wonderful bloggers out there who I try to read often. Here are two cakes I baked over the last week I hope you like them as the birthday ladies they were for did! (: Enjoy!



chocolate avocado cake with raspberry filling and a chocolate buttercream frosting with yummy chocolate lattice and pink sugar pieces



gluten free cake with rainbow layers for Willow's 5th birthday

Ask A Vegan! Pt. 6

I love Tracy! Really, I do. She is one of my most favorite people that I have met through the wonderful world of blogging. I was graced with a comment by Tracy in April asking me if I would like to partake in a Vegan Bake Sale she was doing at an event I was already catering and I thought, hey what is one more pan of cupcakes in the oven? I decided on brownies, blondies and the ever tasty monkey bars from 500 Vegan Recipes and I think that day when I delivered my baked goods Tracy and I became smitten like kittens for one another. She loved my goodies and I fell head over heels with her handmade soaps and her cute little smile. (: I have done two bake sales with her and we are going to do a third in about three weeks. (Post coming soon on bake sale details...) I could rant on about Tracy for day, but instead I will let you see her amazingness for yourself.

Name: Tracy Perkins
Age: 28
Location: Maricopa, AZ
Website: http://strawberryhedgehog.com



How long have you been Vegan? Since 2001.

What made you decide to go Vegan?
I had been vegetarian since 1995 and the more I learned about factory farming practices and misinformation with regard to “cage free” and “free range” products the more my conscience drove me to omitting all animal products from my life.

How do you feel health wise with this diet choice?
In the past I had never been very interested in nutrition. I am very much an ethical vegan, any health benefits are entirely secondary. Since birth I have had unusual health so perhaps I am a special case but I did struggle to find the right balance of diet and supplements. Working closely with my naturopathic doctor, Dr. MaryK Geyer has helped tremendously and I recommend everyone interested in feeling better see her! :c)

Are you open about your Veganism?
This strikes me as a strange question, I do not keep my veganism a secret from anyone but at the same time I don’t like the idea of throwing it in anyone’s face. If I am declining foods with animal products, if I think it matters to the person in question, I will be clear to mention I am vegan.

If so, are you involved in any activism i.e. protests, leafleting etc… I feel like my vegan business and lifestyle are activism enough. I know many people may disagree with me but I think leading by example, showing it is easy, showing it is fun, showing how gross and cruel the alternative is when the time is right is the best way to actively change things.


Tracy with her hand crafted Vegan soaps

What do your family, friends, co-workers think about your diet?
I think my family has had enough years to adjust to it but it was rough at first and still is around holidays. They expect me to make exceptions for special occasions but that is not how it works for me and that unfortunately can cause loved ones to become offended. I am lucky to have a great group of friends who love my vegan cooking and who are quite wonderful cooks themselves so we have a great time!

What advice would you give those interested in becoming Vegan? Don’t get discouraged; don’t be too hard on yourself. I think many people get discouraged early on and give up. You make your own rules here and as long as you are true to those you are all good.

Would you eat at Mc Donald’s if they carried a Vegan burger? Not likely, while I do go to other fast food places on occasion I am particularly turned off by McD.

What is your least favorite question that you are asked about your diet? I’ve heard them all and don’t get too bothered by questions or comments generally but the most annoying, simply because people think they are so clever saying it and I’ve heard it a zillion times is “plants have feelings, too!”



What is your favorite dish?
I am a sucker for breakfast, I love a good tofu scramble with loads of colorful veg, really great toasted whole wheat sourdough, and a side of fried garlicky golden potatoes.

What do you typically eat at Thanksgiving?
I am a huge fan of the UnTurkey. I usually make mashed potatoes, a veganized version of my grandma’s rolls, and pumpkin spice cupcakes. It is a feast! My family and in-laws live out of town so it had been a pain in the past but my mother in law went vegan about a year ago so last Thanksgiving was a vegan-dream!

If I could make you any flavor cupcake in the world what would it be? This is a tough one, I love cupcakes and when a variety comes to mind I usually make them. One I haven’t done and would love would be a German Chocolate cupcake.


Please share your favorite Vegan recipe.
My favorite recipe is my summer harvest ratatouille: http://strawberryhedgehog.com/2009/06/18/summer-harvest-ratatouille/

Sneak Peek

Tomorrow is the Coffee, Cookies and Crafts affair in Phoenix and I have been hiding away in the kitchen for most of the day preparing to delight tons of people with my goods. I am glad to say that I have finished my baking and my cupcake decorating and now it is time to r-e-l-a-x. I will hopefully take photos of some super cool crafty things made by the genius inhabitants of Phoenix, so keep an eye out, who knows you may find your new favorite "what have yous" on this blog. There will also be a World Wide Vegan Bake Sale event at this same location and I have provided the sweets for that along with Tracy from Strawberry Hedgehog. Sweeeeeet! Here are some drool worthy photos for you to enjoy, and now I am off to slumberland...


my baby


monkey bars from 500 Vegan Recipes


gluten free chocolate cuppies


yum!


raspberry blondies from VWAV

Cakes and Funerals

This last week has been both a creative and fun cooking extravaganza and also has been a week filled with sadness. A friend and mentor of mine passed away on Monday and had left me devastated, but today having gone to her funeral I have found peace and I have said goodbye to as her son put it, "The body that was just a carrier for her amazing spirit." She was a teacher, a mentor and a great figurehead in her community. Her inspiration will stay with me always. I also had to say goodbye to a hero of mine Howard Zinn a pioneer in his time and a man that shaped my future in being proactive in the world around me. He led me to be a free thinker and a bit of a rebel, but a rebel with a cause. Then there was JD Salinger the creator of my favorite fictional character Seymour Glass. He is the reason I devour books the same way I devour cupcakes. Through all of the tears and sadness I feel lucky. I am so very lucky to have known Mrs. Nach, to have read Zinn and Salinger. I am lucky I was given the opportunity to have these brilliant people inspire and shape my future. To these three I say thank you and you will be in my heart and mind forever.

And then there was cake...
In the middle of this emotional soul retching I was also given the opportunity from my beautiful and very much alive friend Julia to come up with some desserts for a week long yoga training class. I made desserts for three of the five nights, they consisted of a banana custard with a plantain rum sauce, gluten free pistachio cupcakes and a gluten free German chocolate cake with an agave fudge frosting (recipe from 500 Vegan recipes, sans gluten of course). It was a great way to divert my mind from all things grim and to embrace my love of baking.

All of the desserts were filled with robust flavor and most of all, love. It may sound silly but every ounce of my food is filled with a piece of my soul. My good thoughts and good intentions go into every cookie, cake or biscuit. I could feed the world with my sadness and my many joys. Food is so personal and such an expression of one's self that to eat a simple truffle or scone would be like shaking someones hand or giving them a hug, and sometimes like reading a page from their diary. All of you bakers out there know exactly what I mean.

And I will end on that note. Have a happy Friday, hug someone you love, hug a stranger, make friends and remember to say cheers because we never know what tomorrow will hold.


Gluten Free German Chocolate Cake


Banana Custard with Plantain Rum Sauce

Barley and Cranberry Chili

I cannot wait for a day off, I cannot wait to prepare dinner while still in my pajamas, I cannot wait for the new year! Until then, here is a little somethin' to fill the tummy and not stress out the brain. I got the recipe from 500 Vegan Recipes and added cranberries to it. It was tasty but next time I make it I think I will add a little more broth, as my friend David said, "It was very good, but was more like beans and rice then chili," and so it was...