Yeay! I made smoothies in the ice cream maker! Man that appliance is awesome! Soon I will make margaritas! Wee!

Making smoothies is a simple process with a little bit of hang time while the ice cream maker does it’s thing.

In a blender, blend banana pieces, strawberries, soy milk and silken tofu. I eyeballed the amount–just be sure you dont put more tofu than milk in. You can add sugar or whatever you want to sweeten it. I like the natural flavors of the ingredients. Once blended, pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and hit go. Let it churn for about 15 minutes or until it’s the consistency you want.

WOW! I’m an idiot! All this time living at my spot and I had no idea an amazing vegetarian Chinese food restaurant was 2 blocks away! The have a full menu including soy/potato based pork, shrimp, beef and chicken. Loren got the hot and sour soup and the curry chicken and I got wonton soup and house lo mein which featured all the faux meats!

We can’t wait to go back!

If I said Chipotle Smoked Tabasco sauce is delicious, would you understand what I meant? Because it’s delicious. I put it on a Morningstar Farms Chick’n patty with spinach and pickle on top of a cinnamon rasin english muffin. The cinnamon/rasin flavor is a really good match with spicy.

For our side I made Party at My Potato Salad. I diced red onion, red pepper and green pepper to mix with the potatoes along with vegan mayo, mustard, horseraddish and some other spices and seasonings. It’s a colorful item that jazzes up your plate!

A new twist on an old favorite. Tonight I made quinoa (pronounced KEE-no-uh) and added it to a sauté of red pepper, white mushrooms, green pepper, onion and tempeh.

While the sauté was going, to it I added crushed red pepper flakes, low sodium soy sauce and a spicy mango sauce (local).

Right before I combine it, I add halved cherry berry tomatoes to the pan and let them cook for just a minute and then pour the quinoa in.

Delicious!

Tonight I wanted to make something that was quick and hearty so naturally I pulled some soy tempeh out of the fridge. I cut it in 1/4s and cooked it in my grill pan with some extra virgin olive oil, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and preservative free vegan buffalo sauce. I cooked the buffalo sauce onto the tempeh (tempeh loves to soak up flavors) and also poured a little on top once plated.

I cooked my asparagus in a sauté pan with extra virgin olive oil, fresh ground pepper and salt.

…and then I drank the whole thing! I couldn’t hep myself. The pumpkin pie ice cream I made got so cold it’s a rock! I left it out for about 10 minutes so it would soften up a bit and put it in a mug along with some soy milk. Once mixed, it’s back to it’s ice cream state! Hooray!!

To make vegan pumpkin ice cream you will need:

1 cup soy milk
2 cups soy creamer
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup cooked mashed pumpkin
2 Tablespoons arrowroot
A little less than 1/2 teaspoon (each) of ground ginger, ground allspice, ground cloves and cinnamon (the recipe on Vegans paradise calls for 1 1/2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice but this works just fine).
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix 1/4 cup of soy milk with the arrowroot and set aside.

In a sauce pan bring the creamer, remaining soy milk, pumpkin, sugar and spices to just about a boil. Stir often! You want the spices and sugar to blend in with cream. Right before it boils, take it off the heat and add the soy milk / arrowroot mixture. You’ll notice the cream get thicker very fast. Stir in the vanilla and let it cool completely before running it through the ice cream maker.

-This recipe and many other delicious vegan ice cream flavors can be found at A Vegan Ice Cream Paradise.

Just because they’re leftovers doesnt mean you have to eat them as is. You can always get creative and it will take no time at all! Tonight I microwaved some leftover spaghetti and sauteed some fresh veggies to put on top.

I chopped up some white mushrooms, white onion and halved cherry berry tomatoes. Cook the onions and tomatoes first for about 3 minutes. Then squish the tomatoes with a fork and let the juice fill the bottom of the pan. Lower the temp and add the mushrooms. Once the mushrooms cook for about a minute add some red wine (just enough to grab the flavoring off the botom of the pan) and let the veggies soak it up.

Combine the spaghetti and veggies.

Delicious!

One of my dads (many) specialties is eggplant parmesan. We indulged ourselves in that as well as veggie lasagna tonight.

In my opinion, the less oil you use the better. Bread the eggplant and cover with some sauce, light mozzerella and parmesan cheese. Cook in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Sunday dinner was a veggie lasagna. Most people have their own lasagna recipes so I wont bore you with all the deets – just a few specifics.

First and foremost we use whole wheat noodles. For the veggies tonight we used cremini mushrooms (sliced and sautéed), spinach, onion, green pepper, zucchini (sliced and sautéed) and carrots.

The reason we sautéed the mushrooms and zucchini first is because they retain so much water…you want to extract that first so you don’t end up with an inch of water at the bottom of your dish.

I cook my lasagna noodles al dente before putting the dish together.  Put a thin layer of sauce at the bottom of your pan before you put your first layer of noodles down.  Then put more sauce on top, veggies, cheese, noodles, sauce, veggies, cheese, etc.  I put spinach on every layer and then trade off with the other veggies. Make sure you cover the entire top layer of noodles with sauce so they don’t burn and turn hard when cooking. If you like cheese, put some mozzerella and parmesan cheese in each layer (on top of the veggies) and make sure you put some on top of the sauce after the lasagna is completed.

Cook your lasagna (cover it with foil) for 40-45 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.  Take the foil off and cook for an addition 5-10 minutes to brown the cheese.  Allow your lasagna to cool for 15 minutes before cutting into it.  It helps the lasagna set itself and it won’t burn your mouth to bits when you eat it.

For an added burst of freshness and flavor, put a fresh basil leaf on top of each piece after it’s been plated.  It will turn an already delicious meal into a mouth party!

Growing up in Wisconsin my favorite ice cream was called Blue Moon. We could find it rarely in Milwaukee but we were always gauranteed to find it in a tiny lakeside ice cream parlor/general store in Shawano, WI.

Now that I make my own ice cream I was on a mission to recreate Blue Moon. With just one trial run I knew what I needed. Plain vanilla ice cream with anise and almond extract and a dash of blue food coloring.

Whammo!!

Big ups to MR for the wonderful photo