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Hello and welcome to another edition of "I <3>

First up, these Sweet and Sour Moroccan meatballs. I originally got this recipe from Shelly last year, and have been making them since. Shelly originally veganized a recipe from a magazine, and I think she has created a perfect texture. I'm reposting the recipe here, noting my changes in orange:

2 cups tvp flakes
2 teaspoons marmite dissolved in 2 cups boiling water (I use Vegemite instead)
8 oz. fresh figs, finely chopped (I use rehydrated dried figs when fresh aren't available)
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 large piece of whole grain bread, crumbled
2 teaspoons each minced garlic, ground coriander and ground cumin, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup wheat gluten (gluten flour)
1 cup ketchup (I don't make the sauce, eating mine with simple ketchup or BBQ sauce instead)
1/4 cup each red wine and water
1/4 teaspoon each ground cinnamon and cayenne

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In large bowl combine tvp flakes and marmite broth. After about 10 minutes, and most of the liquid has been absorbed by the tvp, add figs, onion, bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon each of garlic, coriander, cumin, and salt. Mix well to blend. When mixture has slightly cooled, sprinkle gluten over the mixture and quickly stir to incorporate. Form into balls about 1 inch in diameter and place in single layer on greased baking pan. (I bake these in cast-iron skillets, which browns them up nicely) Bake for about 30 minutes, flipping balls over once (the original recipe said 10-12 minutes but that was not at all enough time for this vegan version. I kept resetting the timer for 5 minutes and lost track of time :) Just bake until they are browned and fairly firm to the touch)

Meanwhile, in large saucepan, combine ketchup, remaining 1 teaspoon each of garlic, coriander, and cumin; add wine, water, cinnamon, and cayenne. Cook over low heat until heated through, about 4-5 minutes. Place finished meatballs in a large serving bowl and pour sauce over them, stirring gently to coat.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.

Click here and here to see two previous posts where I've made these meatballs.

Next up, my very first vegan mac & cheese! This is the New Farm recipe, posted here and made famous by Jess and others. Daiku and I decided to take the plunge and bake them exactly as the recipe called for, fatty fat fat and all. And it was good! We broiled it for the last few minutes, ensuring a crunchy texture on top. We knew we had a hit when we finished the entire dish within 24 hours. I can't wait to try it again, this time playing around by adding greens or breadcrumbs.

Next, we have english muffins, courtesy of Amey over at Vegan Eats and Treats. I've made these before, and love them because they are so easy and so foolproof. I usually use about 75% whole wheat pastry flour and 25% white bread flour and the texture is wonderful. Above, you see one of the muffins with açai jam. I think it's perfection with just a little dab of Earth Balance margarine, but it also goes perfectly with savory things like soup. They also freeze really well.

Check out these nooks and crannies!

There's a lot of consensus among bloggers that Bunnyfoot's veggie burgers are the best. I am very picky about veggie burgers. (I have them categorized into 3 distinct categories: "veggie", "bean" and "meaty") These definitely fall into the meaty category, but I really like their texture. However, the flavor was a little too salty for me, as I'm pretty sensitive to salt. I'd definitely decrease the soy sauce next time, and perhaps play around with the spices a little.

Here is the burger into the bun, waiting to be anointed with all the fixin's:

Now for dessert!

Here are two cookies. On the left, we have molasses cookies from Vegan Yummies and on the right, we have Dreena's banana oat bundles. (Scroll down the post for the link to the recipe). I chose both cookies because they were simple, relatively healthy, and most importantly, I had all the ingredients in the house. Definitely worth turning the oven on for on a hot day.

Late one night, I was in a baking mood and really wanted something chocolaty, but had very few ingredients in the house. I mean, a serious shortage: no flour, no baking powder, very little soy milk, you name it. I googled "vegan oatmeal chocolate cookie recipe" and the first recipe that popped up were these wheat free chocolate chip cookies from the Post Punk Kitchen. These were amazing! I just ground up some oat to make oat flour and I was good to go. The cookies came out so well, and they are the chewiest, most "cookie-like" cookies I've baked since going vegan! The fact that they're 100% gluten-free (edit, 3-4-08: it was pointed out to me that even though oats don't contain gluten, they might have traces of gluten due to the production process, so tread carefully if baking these for someone with a true gluten allergy) and super simple is just the icing on the cake. I will definitely be making these again, as they keep so nicely.

Well, I have a serious backlog of food to write about from the past couple of weeks, and another meeting with a fellow blogger (yay!) so I'll be putting up plenty of posts and recipes in the coming days. Meanwhile, as a thank you to all my fellow bloggers for the constant inspiration, here's a photo of a double rainbow that Daiku and I caught last week. I feel lucky to have been able to photograph it, because the whole thing only lasted a few seconds, and my camera batteries ran out right after I snapped 2 photos. Double rainbow, 2 seconds, 2 photos... hmmm.

One year ago today:What was I writing about on 20 Aug 2006

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