VeganMofo #1: Soba Noodle Salad

My co-worker shared with us a tasty soba salad for lunch. It's topped with pesto Gardein Chick'n Strips.

Belle said to wake her when the salad minus the soba was ready.

New Family Member - Introducing Benny the Bunny!

We went to the shelter to visit a pair of guinea pigs. Two days later, we came home with a rabbit. Today, I still smile to DH and whisper, "Guess what? There's a bunny in the house!"

Benny the Bunny

Introducing Benny, a brindle short hair rabbit that won us over with his friendliness. I like to tell people that he chose us because adopting a rabbit was never on our mind - another guinea pig, yes, but a rabbit? Yet, after meeting Benny, we couldn't forget him. We visited him again the second day where he further charmed us and that night, I did some heavy thinking about whether we were ready for such a big change and responsibility. Only after the third day when DH said he was open to the idea that I knew he was coming home with us that evening.

I have much to learn. Aside from their diet, rabbits and guinea pigs have rather different needs. I needed to learn Benny's body language, his likes and dislikes, and observe his normal behavior so I know when he's not well. And since he doesn't have a bunny friend, we have to spend extra time with him to ensure he's emotionally content. We also have much to do to bunny-proof the house. That's for another post!

Benny enjoying some petting

So far we know he's very affectionate. He'd come to us in the morning for some head scratches. He is nearly impossible to hold. Even the vet and nurse had trouble holding him down during his examination and had to do it sitting on the floor. I have not tried picking him up yet and don't know how I'll do so after seeing how much trouble the professionals had. You have to do it right or else they'll kick hard and break their back. Yikes!

And what might Bert and Belle think of him? We've introduced them several times. Bert is a little wary of the new guy. Belle doesn't mind and is happy so long as her share of the veggies remains the same. :-)

*****

In other news, we've hit the jackpot with our zucchini plants and I'm now in a bit of conundrum of how to use them all aside from roasting them. I've tried two recipes:

Savory Zucchini Cakes by Happy-Vegan.com
These were a hit with DH. I realized after the first few cakes that you didn't need much oil to cook them. They really were just like pancakes.

Low-Fat Zucchini Bread by Holy Cow!
These turned out dry and dense the bread machine. I'm starting to learn the bread machine isn't the way to go to bake most of the recipes I find but I'm too darn lazy to do it the normal way!  ;-)

Other recipes I've tried were:
Cornbread Biscuits from Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
These went well with tofu scrambles.

Mango Muffins by Holy Cow!
This was the first time I baked without using a soymilk/apple cider vinegar mix. It turned out nice and fluffy but no one could tell it was mango. Go figure.

Chickpea "Tuna" Salad by Robin Robertson
I didn't have the sea vegetable flakes and I guess that's what made my version just okay.  It made for a nice light lunch though.

What have you been cooking lately? What do you do with zucchinis?

Vegan Brunch: Lemon Muffins

Happy Easter, everyone!

I'm trying to get my blogging mojo back. I was on a roll last month with Appetite for Reduction until the Japan earthquake hit. The horrifying images of the tsunami shocked me to the core. We even had our own tsunami alert for the California coast the following morning. For the next several weeks, I was glued to the news about the nuclear reactor problems and recovery efforts, then stocked up on emergency supplies. What happened in Japan could very well happen in California!

In April I fought a really bad cold/cough and at the same time, Bert developed a severe head tilt all of a sudden. It caused him to lose balance and topple over when he ran (which he always is, from one safety place to another). The vet said it's either an inner ear infection or brain tumor. "Say what?!" She prescribed antibiotics and we crossed our fingers hoping that would fix him. After a week, his head began to tilt the other way a little. We were flabbergasted. Fortunately, one week later, he was straight as a button and all was right with the guinea pig world for a sweet period...

...until Belle's vet visit next week for her tooth trim. :-)

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We noticed that a neighbor whom we've never met has a beautiful big lemon tree just dripping with ripe lemons in his yard. It seemed so wasteful seeing the fruits drop and rot on the ground. This morning we saw the neighbor tending to his garden so I wondered out loud half-jokingly to hubby if he thought the neighbor would sell the lemon to us. Hubby then proceeded to walk over and asked! The neighbor was really nice and invited us to pluck what we wanted for free. Yay! Of course we didn't feel good taking it without giving anything in return, so the moment we returned with our small bucket of lemons, I pulled out Isa's Vegan Brunch to make lemon muffins for him.

Lemon Muffins from "Vegan Brunch"

 The original recipes called for poppy seeds, which I didn't have. No matter, the end result was still so good! I don't know if it's the freshly plucked lemons or what, but the muffins were so deliciously fragrant and melt-in-your mouth yummy! (Of course I had to taste test one before giving it to the neighbor. ;-) I love how quick I was able to put it together; the recipe is really very simple and easy. There will definitely be more lemon muffins in my near future!

Cinnaholics Cinnamon Rolls

The Daily Gourmet recently had a deal featuring Cinnaholic, a local vegan bakery specializing in cinnamon rolls, that was too good to pass. So I ordered. One week later, a box of 12 huge cinnamon rolls arrived in the mail. And I do mean huge. They're the size of my hand with my fingers spread out! The rolls came with four kinds of toppings packaged separately. I added the strawberries myself, so don't blame the company for the looks!

Delicious Cinnaholic rolls. Yum!

*****

Here's another cute guinea pig video I came across recently:

Appetite for Reduction: Classic Black Bean & Veggie Chili

Before learning to cook, I rarely ate beans. I didn't like the taste and texture of it. My first like of beans only happened in college when I bought a veggie burrito with black beans in it. Love! Since then, I bought canned black beans just to replicate that burrito at home.

So it was a departure from my regular eating routine to make Isa's Classic Black Bean & Veggie Chili. I can count the number of times I've eaten chili on one hand, usually because they're spicy which I can't take. But I had to use up the leftover black bean from the quinoa salad and this seemed tasty.

For the veggies, I used corn, cauliflower, green bell pepper, carrot, and onion. As I was cooking, DH came over for a peek and commented, "Wow, looks really healthy." That's code for, "I don't think I'll like it that much." DH isn't a bean person at all.

Classic Black Bean & Veggie Chili

My modifications:
1. I left out the chili powder since I can't take the heat. I guess I can't really call this chili now can I?
2. I didn't have diced tomatoes, canned or fresh, nor tomato paste. But I did have a jar of pasta sauce! Worked out okay, methinks.

Verdict:
I ended up eating the bulk of it since, ahem, someone really doesn't like beans. ;-) This works great in a tortilla wrap too, but then again, what doesn't? As I like to say, everything tastes better in a wrap!

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This funny video demonstrates why guinea pigs aren't a good choice for film. Thanks to Papua Piig for sharing!

Appetite for Reduction: Bhutanese Pineapple Rice & Masala Baked Tofu

Have you ever seen pineapple rice served in the shell of a pineapple? The first time I saw it, I was so amazed at the presentation. It's so clever, don't you think? And no dishes to do afterward, bonus! :-)

Though I didn't serve Isa's Bhutanese Pineapple Rice in a pineapple shell, it was nevertheless simple and delicious. The addition of fresh cilantro was a nice touch. I served it with Masala Baked Tofu.

Bhutanese Pineapple Rice & Masala Baked Tofu

My modifications:
1. used white jasmine rice, not Bhutanese red rice (never heard of such a thing!)
2. used curry powder since I was out of red curry paste
3. sauted the pineapple chunks at the beginning with the onion, garlic, and ginger instead of adding it at the end; I like my pineapple a little caramelized.

Verdict:
This is my favorite recipe from the book thus far. DH thinks it's a keeper too.

*****

I've been remiss in telling you about the TofuXpress gadget I won last year and that is not to say I haven't been using it. Quite the opposite! I'd never bothered to press my tofu before I got this handy gadget. Now tofu rarely gets cooked without going into the Tofuxpress first, even if just for a few minutes. The instruction tells you to press the tofu for an hour or more, but five minutes usually squeezes out enough water for my purposes. With the water out, the tofu fries much faster. DH also marveled at the difference it makes. I love this thing!  Does anyone else use the TofuXpress?

*****

"Move your butt!"

This is Bert and Belle squeezing for space along the crook of my arm while we cuddled in bed. I usually have just one at a time so they're not used to sharing the space. ;-)

Have a great week ahead!

Appetite for Reduction: Herb Roasted Cauliflower & Bread Crumbs

Isa's recipe for Herb Roasted Cauliflower & Bread Crumbs seemed similar to how I usually make roasted cauliflower but the bread crumbs were a new twist I had to try!

Herb Roasted Cauliflower & Bread Crumbs

Usually when bread crumbs are involved, there's a batter of some sort to make it stick to the food. But nope, not in this recipe! Isa just instructs us to lightly dampen the cauliflower and the bread crumbs would stick just fine. Brilliant!

My modifications:
1. I didn't use any oil or cooking spray.
2. I added onion and garlic powder to season the bread crumbs.

Verdict:
Yum! I brought it to work and a non-vegan said it tasted like there was Parmesan on them because of the seasoned bread crumbs, which surprised me since I didn't even add nooch. Hmm, that's another idea...  :-)