Easy Apple Nachos

Our oven is currently out of commission due to the heating element having popped (super startling by the way, haha!), so when I was looking through my bookmarks from last year's Vegan MoFo, I knew AfroVeganChick's recipe for Easy Apple Nachos was just what I needed. 

I didn't have walnuts, so those weren't included, and the peanut butter was already liquid-y enough so I didn't bother heating it up in the microwave. 

Simple, quick, and delicious! 

Here's Leela on my desk... 

...and Buttons on the bed. 

P.S. The Bethlehem VegFest is only a week away; hope to see you there!

P.P.S. The sign-up form, badges, and banner for Vegan MoFo 2015 can be found here.

Peace. :)

Pierogi

I tried another bookmarked recipe this week with my sister Alena, and it's one that I've been looking forward to for a while: the Potato and Cheese Pierogi from The Judgmental Vegan. We often had pierogi (and kielbasa) growing up, so it's something I've missed, plus our Poppy would get super creative with fillings the times when he made his own pierogi. 

I halved the dough recipe and only kneaded it for 5 minutes instead of the full 10 since my hands were cramping up. We made two different fillings, the first being potato and cheese (with some salt, pepper, and vegan butter), and the second being potato and blueberry since Poppy's blueberry pierogi stood out in our memories. 

They turned out pretty good, and now that I know how to make my own pierogi from scratch, I'm definitely going to make them more often and experiment with different fillings.

potato and blueberry pierogi

potato and cheese pierogi (side one)

potato and cheese pierogi (side two)

Here's Buttons sprawling out, and Leela hanging out in the bathroom. They both seem to prefer the hottest parts of the house during the day. Silly kitties.

P.S. Coming up in a week is the Chester County Vegan Festival; hope to see you there!

Peace. :)

Chick'n Stromboli

This week, inspired by another bookmarked recipe, the Vegan Ham Cheese Stromboli at Veganopoulous, I decided to make stromboli with my sister. 

Unable to find vegan ham slices, I decided we'd try a chick'n stromboli, using the chick'n strips from Lightlife. 

I cooked the chick'n strips, seasoning them with some parsley and rosemary. Then we rolled out the dough, splitting it in half, and layered on spaghetti sauce, chick'n, Daiya cheddar and Follow Your Heart mozzarella. 

After that, we rolled up the dough, sealed the ends, cut slits along the top, and sprinkled on a bit of garlic salt. We then baked them at 400°F for 11 minutes.

They were delicious! I definitely want to experiment with different fillings for the stromboli, especially if I can find some vegan ham slices, but this was a pretty good version to try first! 

Here's Buttons being cute and sleepy...

...And Leela being silly with her lower half sticking out from under the bed (whenever she does this, it makes me think of The Wizard of Oz, with the Wicked Witch of the East's legs sticking out from under the house).

Peace. :)

Lemon, Lavender, Vanilla, Pistachio Bites

This week I tried another of my bookmarked recipes from Vegan MoFo 2014, the Raw Lemon, Lavender, Vanilla, Pistachio Bites from REAL FOOD + TRAVEL.

My main changes were using roasted & salted pistachios instead of raw, using hemp (instead of vanilla) protein powder because I had a little sample pouch lying around, using cranberries instead of pitted dates, and leaving the lemon zest out of the coating.

These were simple to put together and I love that they didn't need to be baked. They turned out well, a bit sweet, but good. I'm definitely interested in trying out different variations of this recipe in the future.

As for Buttons, she did great at her yearly checkup earlier this week and was weighed to see that she has lost one pound in her first year with us! Yay for Buttons and her 15 pounds of cuteness!

And here's Leela; she proved her adventurousness today by jumping up onto my lap while I was sitting in my desk chair, and then jumping from there onto my desk, where she posed regally, taking in the sights from her new vantage point. (Buttons has jumped up onto my desk several times, but this was Leela's first time.)

Peace. :)

Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Banana Wraps

So, I have finally gotten around to trying out another bookmarked recipe from Vegan MoFo 2014, the Banana Breakfast Rollup from A.Cook in the Making. 

as a "burrito"

It's quick and simple to prepare, though I still haven't figured out a way to keep it all in the wrap, so it's a bit messy. But I really can't complain; it's delicious and a perfect lunch for these hot days, so it's worth a little mess. 

as a "rollup"

Here's Leela reading Calvin and Hobbes.

And here's Buttons being a cutie. 

Peace. :)