It's official.

I know the holidays are here. It's gingerbread latte time.

Pumpkin soup. Mama & Papa.

We had the folks over for a fantastic harvest dinner tonight (complete with matching aprons).
Ten years ago when I first announced I was becoming a vegetarian, I dealt with quite a bit of skepticism...especially around the holidays. So much has changed and I feel so blessed that all these years later not only do they accept my decision, but it is embraced wholeheartedly! And they LOVE the food.

reflection.

This month has been one of indulgence, Fall has a way of bringing heavy rich foods into my life. Lately I've allowed myself to forget that one of the few things in my control is what I put into my body; and how what I consume directly affects the way I feel. A few months back I did a juice fast and really got in touch with how fantastic I felt when I made an effort to consume raw whole foods. So this is my commitment to myself to spend the extra time and effort to juice more often.

Maple Coconut Ice Cream with Coconut Bacon Crumble Topping...

I have a love affair with anything coconut...so this challenge is a little overwhelming.
A few years ago I discovered coconut milk ice cream and my life has not been the same. So, my first thought was "I HAVE TO MAKE COCONUT ICE CREAM!".
More recently, my sister discovered coconut "bacon" and constantly raves about it, so my second thought was "I HAVE TO MAKE COCONUT BACON"...so the only logical thing to do was combine these two desires..."I HAVE TO MAKE COCONUT ICE CREAM AND PUT COCONUT BACON ON TOP AND EAT IT ALLLLL!!!!!"

So here it is folks, a marriage made in heaven:

Maple Coconut Ice Cream:

2 cans coconut cream (14 ounce cans)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup agave nectar
1 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp sea salt
2 1/2 tbs arrowroot powder
1 vanilla bean (just the seeds!)

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat and stir often until it begins to thicken. Once the mixture is thick and creamy, put it in the fridge to chill for a few hours.
Put the mixture into an ice cream machine and follow the directions for your particular machine.

Coconut Bacon:

1 cup dried coconut shreds (the thicker the better)
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs braggs liquid aminos
1 tbs maple syrup
1 tsp liquid smoke
vegetable oil for pan frying

Combine all ingredients until the coconut is sufficiently coated. Pan fry on high heat until brown and crispy!

Serve the Bacon over the ice cream & enjoy!

Drunken Noodles

I used to LOVE drunken noodles, but I have yet to have a decent vegan version. This comes close, but I still have a little work to do on it.
(I remember drunken noodles tasting a little bbq-y so I added some liquid smoke...interesting.)

Drunken Noodles with Tofu
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 block extra firm tofu
vegetable oil for pan-frying
1 14 ounce bag rice noodles (the FAT ones)
4 cloves garlic- minced
3 thai chilies- diced
1 shallot- diced
1/2 cup chopped thai basil (I used regular sweet basil, it's all I had in the garden)
1 bell pepper-sliced
4 tomatoes- cut into wedges
sauce:
3 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs mushroom sauce (or vegan oyster sauce)
1 tbs sugar
1tsp liquid smoke

Prepare the rice noodles according to the package directions and set aside.
In a small bowl stir together all the sauce ingredients and set aside.
Slice the tofu into medium sized triangles and pan fry.
In a large frying pan saute shallots, once the shallots begin to get transparent add in the minced garlic, sliced bell peppers, basil, tomatoes and saute. Slowly add in cooked rice noodles stir, and cook on medium heat while adding in sauce until the whole mixture is evenly coated. Add tofu. Serve garnished with fresh tomatoes and basil. (Forgive me if I missed a few steps, I'm half asleep).

Oh, and can I just say...I AM SO EXCITED for the iron chef challenge...SOOO excited...coconut?

Home Sweet Home

I just got back home after a fantastic vacation. I'm exhausted, but excited to get back to my routine...and back in the kitchen. Puerto Rico was a beautiful place, however food did prove to be a bit of a challenge. Thank goodness for trail mix and clif bars. I must say the fruit I ate was amazing, and I ate my body weight in plantains...so I never did go hungry.
Our last night in San Juan we stumbled into Cafe Berlin, a veggie friendly place right in the heart of old town, so we drank and ate ourselves silly. Mmmm.
Tomorrow...I'm back in the kitchen.

Mofongo? What?

Puerto Rico is fabulous. Beautiful beaches, quaint buildings, amazing history, lush vegetation, and mofongo? What's Mofongo? Um delicious. It is smashed plantains filled with meat (no thanks), veggies, beans and spices. We arrived in luquillo earlier this afternoon and set up camp in our hotel. The weather took a walk on the wild side so we opted to stay local and venture to a nearby restaurant. Thankfully my lovely traveling companion noticed the "vegetarian menu available upon request" sign. Apparently we wandered into the right place.
I ordered the eggplant mofongo, but they were all out of eggplant!!!!! So I went for the soy beef with veggies. I also got a guava and soy cheese turnover. Mmm completely satisfying.
Next on my list is to figure out how to better upload photos from the blogger app.