Oooh this is definitely a favorite now. I made some seitan yesterday and wanted to try a new BBQ sauce. So, I pulled out my trusty copy of the cookbook, Vegan with a Vengeance and looked up the recipe for Barbeque Pomegranate Tofu. I used just the sauce in this recipe. I would have garnished with pomegranate seeds, but I couldn't find a pomegranate anywhere.I cooked the sauce until it was reduced quite a bit and thickened to make a nice coating for the seitan. This was absolutely delicious. Words cannot express, honestly. We served it with some steamed asparagus, mango slices and coconut almond jasmine rice.

Roasted Red Pepper Penne w/tangy veggies

For pasta and Red Pepper Sauce

4 Roma Tomatoes, halfed and seeded
2 large red bell peppers, quartered and seeded
drizzle of balsamic vinegar
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

---for after the tomatoes and peppers are roasted---
1/4 cup water or olive oil
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 clove garlic

whole wheat penne, cooked, enough for 4 people.

Preheat oven to 400.

Take the tomatoes and peppers and place them in a baking dish. Toss with olive oil and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Salt and pepper as desired.

Bake at 400 for 50 minutes or until veggies are well done. Remove from oven and set aside until cooled. Then combine the vegetables, basil, water or olive oil, and garlic in the blender and blend until smooth. I often make this ahead of time and just keep it on hand for when I need it. To serve, mix the penne with the sauce on the stove top. Keep on low while making the tangy veggies.

Tangy veggies
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 pound of cremini mushrooms, ( I get them small and keep them whole, but you can slice larger ones)
2 small zuchinni, sliced
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
olive oil
salt and pepper

Pour some olive oil in a pan (enough to fry some veggies). Fry the onions for 2 or 3 minutes, then add the zuchinni and saute for an additional two minutes. Then add the mushrooms and stir in the balsamic vinegar. Finish frying the veggies for an additional 2 or 3 minutes or until cooked through. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve up some pasta on a plate, top with the veggies.

It's getting that time again. Well, it is here anyways.I have been making my own frozen treats for a while. This recipe is nice because you can get some good ole flax into those kids. This is basically a smoothie sort of thing with some chunky fruit that has been frozen. I usually use molds but for the life of me can't find them. So we did them this way for now.

Peach pops

1 banana, cut into piecs
2 peaches, sliced (one set aside)
6 oz orange juice concentrate
3 Tbsp flax meal
1 small container of vanilla soy yogurt
1/2 to 1 cup of rice milk
2 tsp agave nectar(optional)

5 oz cups
popsicle sticks

Take the peaches that you set aside and divide them between 6 or 7 cups. Put the rest of the ingredients into the blender. Blend until smooth. Pour mixture into the 5 oz cups. Put the cups all on a cookie sheet or something flat(cake pan) and put them in the freezer for an hour or until thick enough to hold the popsicle stick. Freeze until solid. Store in a freezer safe bag.

I have more recipes for frozen treats that I will be adding.

You can skip the yogurt all together. I make a batch without any because I can't eat them otherwise :( Also, the OJ concentrate can be quite powerful so feel free to use less if you like. You can use regular orange juice as well, just remember to use less rice milk.

I just ordered some ricemallow for the filling in the cookie from the Food Fight Grocery in Portland. Portland is pretty close so it shouldn't take too terribly long to get here. Meanwhile, I will work on the cookie recipe. I do have an idea for it that I think will work.

I am working on something, I promise. Do you remember or have you seen those Little Debbie Oatmeal sandwich cookies? Well, I have a kid that used to love them. Apparently, they used to give them out at school for snacks(pre-veg days)...eegads. Well, I am going to work on veganizing them. Hopefully, making them even just a little healthier. Although, I am sure there will be some guilt factor. Now, I can't say that I've ever had one. So, I am relying on my children to tell me what they taste like. My daughter says they will definitely need ginger. Anyone else have any idea what they taste like? I will test bake a batch this week and let you know how it goes.

You know, I don't think I had ever even seen a scone until I left North Dakota for the great Southwest. And then, when I saw them in Phoenix, they weren't vegan. They had milk and milk and I just do not agree on so many levels. Now, I am not sure why I never attemped to veganize them. Maybe I wasn't sure I would like them or something. I had totally planned a batch of chocolate chip cookies today. But, thanks to my boyfriend's chocolate chip habit, I didn't have enough chocolate chips. So, I set out to find something else to make. I have been on baking hiatus for far too long. I felt completely compelled to bake something, anything! So, I picked up Vegan with a Vengeance and paged though it, stopping at the Orange Scone recipe. I had all the ingredients. I love oranges. Before I knew it, I had made up my own mind(that's actually really hard to do). So, yes I did make some substitutions. Why? Because I always do and I can't use soy(except soy margarine doesn't seem to bother me). So, I substituted some rice milk for soy creamer and half of the flour got replaced with spelt flour. I didn't know if I dare go all the way with the spelt flour. Maybe that is a quest for another day. I also pressed the rounds of dough into slivered almonds. I have the opinion that almost anything baked is better with nuts.

I want to say that I hope I have made it entirely clear that vegans and vegetarians alike should run to the bookstore(or surf amazon or whatever) and buy Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Oh and yes, the scones are delicious.

I am going to be busy with doctor appointments for my son. I probably won't have much time for baking/cooking/posting. He needs to have oral surgery :( poor kid.