Elementary, My Dear Vegan: Risotto and Cheese Sticks

Hi everyone! Today’s “Elementary, My Dear Vegan” is from S2E7 (“The Marchioness”). Mycroft, the brother of Sherlock Holmes, requests that they take on a case for his ex-fiancee. Later, Holmes finds Mycroft cooking in the kitchen.

Mycroft: I thought I’d make myself useful. I know you and Joan rarely sit down for a meal.
Holmes: That’s by design. A lingering dinner, especially in the midst of a case, is an indulgence.
Mycroft: You think conversation is an indulgence?
Holmes: The meal itself is an indulgence. Conversation is an annoyance within an indulgence.

Holmes then opens the fridge, takes out some cheese sticks, and starts eating one as he leaves the room, having decided that it would be “harmless enough” for his brother to prepare dinner. In the next scene, Watson and Mycroft are enjoying dinner while Holmes continues working in the other room.

Watson: This is the best risotto I’ve ever had. Why are you hiring a chef? You should do it.
Mycroft: Owning restaurants is a lot more fun.
Holmes: (from the other room) He means less work.
Mycroft: (to Holmes) Yes, I suppose you could say that. (to Watson) I don’t quite believe I’m gonna say this to a grown man. (to Holmes) Your food’s getting cold.
(Holmes comes to stand at his place at the table and eats a single forkful of risotto.)

Last night I made the saffron-scented risotto alla Milanese from The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen, and it was amazing! I’m definitely going to have to make this again soon! I also tried the Daiya mozzarella cheese sticks (I found them at Wegmans), and they were pretty good! 

P.S. Phoenixville VegFest is today!

Here’s a silly spinny Daisy… 

Peace. :)

Bookmarked Recipe: Vegan Cheese Queso Dip (Plant Based Living)

Hi everyone! Today I made another recipe from Vegan MoFo 2015 – the vegan cheese queso dip from Plant Based Living – and it’s so, so good! I had a major nostalgia moment because it tasted exactly like the spicy cheese dip that Zach used to share with me in college before I went vegan! If you’re not a spice person, just skip the queso step; the vegan cheese sauce is amazing on its own! 

Here’s Daisy up in the tall cat tower… 

Peace. :)

Vegan Bacon Cheese Dip (House Vegan)

Hi everyone! This week I tried a new recipe from House Vegan – Vegan Bacon Cheese Dip – and it was really good! (I made it without the bread bowl and the scallions and didn’t add any salt.) I had it first as a dip for tortilla chips…

And then used some of it in mac & cheese (with peas & carrots)…

 Here are the kitties!

Daisy hanging out in the empty laundry bin

Cringer at the top of the tall cat tower

Leela on the bed

 Peace. :)

Hot Dog with Mac & Cheese

Hello on the 16th day of the Vegan Month of Food! It's hard to believe that this grand blogging adventure is already halfway over! Today, my Nostalgia Week post is a vegan version of "hot dogs and mac & cheese," which was the quintessential Monday dinner of my childhood.

Hot Dog with Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

(mac & cheese)

--1/2 cup elbow noodles

--1/4 cup soy milk

--1 tsp vegan butter

--1/4 tsp turmeric

--vegan cheddar cheese (didn't measure, but it was probably ≤ 1/4 cup of the Daiya shredded cheddar)

--salt, to taste

(hot dog)

--vegan hot dog (I used a Lightlife Smart Dog)

--vegan hot dog bun (I forgot to get some when I last went grocery shopping, so I improvised with a slice of bread, just making this meal further nostalgic, as that was what we'd do if we happened to be out of hot dog buns)

--mustard

(corn)

Cook noodles, strain, and return to pot. Add remaining ingredients, simmer on low to allow cheese to melt and soy milk to be (mostly) absorbed before serving. In a second pot, prepare a hot dog; I did the stove top option, which was to simply boil water, turn off heat, and place the hot dog in the water for 2 minutes (other options are grilling or microwaving). When it's done, serve on a bun. Enjoy the hot dog and mac & cheese with corn on the side (I later added a pickle, too).

I remember "Hot Dog Mondays" fondly, especially "drawing" on the hot dogs with mustard. My dad (who loves puns, riddles, and jokes) commented once, "This hot dog has my name on it." We looked to his plate only to see his name literally written on the hot dog in mustard. After that, it became a fun little tradition to use mustard to spell out our names or draw something (I often did stick people, for whatever reason) on our hot dogs before digging in to dinner. 

I tried to draw a stick person, didn't turn out too well...

For all the fun that that was, I always enjoyed the mac & cheese more. Growing up, I loved the boxed macaroni, the more creamy and orange, the better. Often my mom would add a handful of cheese in addition to whatever cheese/flavor packet had come in the box to make it even cheesier. As a vegan, I've experimented with a bunch of mac & cheese variations (hello, nutritional yeast!), and I'm a lot less picky than I was growing up (vegetables in my mac & cheese would have been unthinkable back then!), but it's nice to go back to plain and simple versions like this for nostalgia's sake.

Also, yay, I finally did a "Mac-and-Cheese Monday" post (see the Vegan MoFo official daily themes)!

If you haven't seen it already, be sure to check out yesterday's Mutts comic for a simple yet powerful vegan message.

Peace. :)

Pizza Bagels

Hello on the fifth day of the Vegan Month of Food! Did you know that today is National Cheese Pizza Day? I had no idea until I saw it mentioned by a fellow Vegan MoFo blogger, Melissa of New Orleans in Green (see Happy National Cheese(less) Pizza Day!). Today's post, therefore, features vegan cheese pizza in the form of...

Pizza Bagels

    

Ingredients:

--plain bagel, sliced open

--tomato sauce

--spinach, chopped

--shredded vegan cheese (I used Daiya, both mozzarella and cheddar)

--garlic salt

Place the open bagel halves on a baking sheet. Add tomato sauce, spreading evenly. Layer on some spinach, add the cheese, give a quick shake of some garlic salt, and put in the oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!

This is a super quick & easy meal to make. I like to have them with potato chips and a pickle on the side. 

Zach likes his pizza bagels without the spinach and with a sprinkle of salt instead of garlic salt.

And to close tonight's post, here's a photo of Mystery snuggling with her little pink bear.

Peace. :)