Arnold’s Way, Nachos!

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Another picture taken with my cell phone, but it’s not as bad this time!  :)  I went to Arnold’s Way again in Lansdale, PA (www.arnoldsway.com) and got a green smoothie with berries and the nachos, with carrot-flax-buckwheat bread, sunflower seed cheese, beet sauce, avocado, tomato, mixed greens, and carrots.  This was an excellent meal; I loved the cheese, which tasted slightly sweet and was super creamy.

Raw Cheezburger - Arnold’s Way

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(Disclaimer - picture was taken on my phone camera!)

www.arnoldsway.com

In Lansdale, PA, there is a raw vegetarian cafe with juices, smoothies, entrees (wraps, soups, sandwiches), and desserts.  There is also a store section with produce and miscellaneous items, such as agave, seeds, nuts, dried fruit, seaweeds.

I went there yesterday with my friend Tracey and purchased a green smoothie along with this cheezburger, with flax bread, red sauce, a patty with beets (see website for all ingredients), sunflower seed cheese, avocado, broccoli, carrots, and onion.  I loved the bread, cheese, and vegetables.  The patty was so-so; I only liked it combined with the other ingredients, but keep in mind that I’m not a HUGE fan of beets.  As you may be able to tell from the photograph, this item is eaten with a fork.  :)

We will definitely be going back to Arnold’s for these treats and they also have raw potlucks monthly.

Guest Star, Tunisian Chickpea Soup

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Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen

Coming to you all the way from California….some hot chickpea soup to combat the freezing weather and subsequent snow that covers the www.vegan.com headquarters.  This is one of my favorite soups ever, with cumin, carmelized onions, and harissa.

Corned Seitan Sandwich

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I was all set to make rye bread to go with my seitan today.  Until I had the yeast proofed and the caraway, molasses, and cocoa powder mixed in with some spelt flour and the yeast mixture.  It was at that time that I started looking for my rye flour.  Except I didn’t have any rye flour.  Coming from someone who has almost every kind of flour there is in her cupboards, I was a little frustrated with myself for not checking first!  I went to two stores, even the Indian-Pakistani store nearby, but no rye flour.  So the bread is teff-spelt.  :D

The sandwich has a thousand island dressing and sauerkraut as well.  I didn’t see the need to make a cheese in addition to dressing or even to grill the bread with Earth Balance, so the bread is simply toasted.

Recipe for seitan here:  http://everydaydish.tv/Recipe%20Pages/seitan_corned_beef.html (I cut out half of the fat and used my special “hot” paprika.)

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(Sorry, the seitan is so close in color to the bread, it’s hard to tell what’s what….)

The seitan is awesome and the resulting sandwich with fresh bread the same.  I had two for dinner!

One of my biggest (maybe only) gripes about my kitchen is the oven.  It’s gas, which is great, but when you press “clear” to turn off the timer, it does not turn off the timer; it, instead, turns off the oven, even though the oven temperature is not currently displayed.  Luckily, I realized this soon after starting the bread, seeing the thermostat at 250F, and quickly turned the oven back on.

Bread. Need I say more?

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http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=5716.0

The above link and recipe has been passed around on several forums that I’ve seen homemade bread discussed.  Being home all day today, I decided to finally try it, after much procrastination.  I halved the recipe and used whole-wheat flour and refined spelt flour.

As the smell of bread filled the air of my apartment, I grew very antsy.  And hungry.  Having only eaten kale so far today plus about 10 cups of tea, I was ready for something more filling!

I threw two ice cubes into the oven when I placed the bread inside to ensure a crispy crust.

The bread is so soft and light - make it.  :) 

VeganMoFo - Veganomicon, Potato Rolls & Squash

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Veganomicon

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Butternut Squash with Carmelized Onions, Chestnuts, and Sage Breadcrumbs

(I added sweet potatoes and left out white beans)

I found this dish to melt in my mouth!  I admit to being a bit nervous when I first smelled these baking.  It seemed that there was too much thyme.  But then, after everything was baked and the flavors melded, I found my fear was put to rest!  The onions were perfect. 

Note:  I don’t know if I’m hugely fond of chestnuts.  I like crispy nuts better! 

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Potato Rolls

I saw a picture of these a month ago or so and wanted to eat my screen!  With white poppy seeds on top.  They were really good and could go well with margarine or jam.  I even used part whole-grain flour.

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[huge pile of] Hot & Sweet Seitan (no cookbook)

This is just something that I made up, just wanting to make a simple seitan sauce that didn’t require 20 ingredients or much thought.  The seitan is pan-fried in peanut oil, then glazed with a mixture of kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), ginger juice, and hot sauce (in this case, Frank’s).  I like the flavor, resembling a sweet barbeque.

Lord Krishna Cuisine - Salad, Rice, Chickpeas, Stuffed Bread

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Cucumber and strawberry salad with mint & orange dressing.  Simple and delicious!

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(Not gluten or wheat free) Stuffed chapati bread w/ spiced potatoes.  I have been eye-balling the stuffed breads in the Lord Krishna book for a while now.  I figured they’d be time-consuming and when I saw how much oil was used, I said, “Forget it.”  But this was surprisingly easy and I lowered the fat content substantially, with great results.

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An old favorite from the book.  The recipe is titled something like “Savory Rice with Peas” but I have never put peas in the rice and probably never will.  I like it as-is, with whatever nuts sound good and the perfect mixture of Indian spices.

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It’s not a chana masala, but somewhat similar.  This is chickpeas in tangy tomato sauce.  I think the difference is the lack of onions and the addition of curry leaves and black mustard seeds, but I’m no expert!  It was pretty good - I like chana better.  :)

Yemisir/Miser Wat

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With injera a block away, I couldn’t resist this as my first meal at my new home!

Steamed Chinese Buns

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The Maui Vegetarian

Steamed buns, with a hint of sesame flavor and whole-grain spelt and unbleached white flours, stuffed with a delectable mixture of seitan, broccoli, onion, green bell pepper, garlic, celery, cilantro, and hoison.  I added carrots to the mixture, too, to add more color!  For what it’s worth, I thought it was so fun to fill the dough with the mixture and squeeze it up to form the bun shape.  It was my first time making buns with filling like that.  :)

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Aloha! Artichoke Dip

The Maui Vegetarian (www.themauivegetarian.com)

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I know this isn’t the best picture, but I made this at midnight tonight, after the bread had been proofing for the sourdough starter Sunday night and then rising all day Monday.  And I’m really going out on a limb with the heat, considering all of the raw food every one else is eating and how hot the kitchen is now.

Truth is, I couldn’t wait to try this artichoke dip.  I was generously sent this cookbook a few days ago, and it includes pictures for the majority of the recipes.  I sat on the train, flipping through the pages, my mouth watering, hoping my destination was a bit further so I could finish reading! 

The dip is very cheesy-tasting, with a lemony cashew cream, chopped artichokes, onions, red bell peppers, garlic, and chiles.  It is baked until browned on top.  Mine did get brown on top, but I ended up inverting the dish it was in.  Regardless, the dip/spread is amazingly good and easy to make.  I spread it on top of the bread.

The dip is gluten-free and, if you omit the 1 tsp. of Bragg’s, soy-free.

I couldn’t resist the organic red bell peppers I found at the store….I roasted about 5 of them in total!