Veganomicon Review: Cheesy Sauce

I needed to use up some broccoli before it went bad, so this week I whipped up some of Veganomicon's Cheesy Sauce, made with onions and garlic sauteed in olive oil, vegetable broth, flour, a bunch of nutritional yeast (what Veganomicon calls nooch), and seasonings.

I'm not sure what I was expecting (cheddar cheese?) but the first bite was a surprise. I wasn't sure about it. Then I poured it over steamed broccoli and liked it. By the time I poured it into a container to put what was left in the fridge, I was licking the spoon.

It's very noochy but I'd make it again. I think it would be good in some of the other Veganomicon recipes.

Veganomicon Review: Black Beans with Chipotle Adobo Sauce

Ayyyyyyyyy! Spice alert! These were HOT! However, trying to be resourceful, I used twice as many chipotle peppers as the recipe called for so I didn't have to throw them out. If you make this recipe, don't make my mistake unless you want to cry as you're eating it and have a belly full of heat for about an hour afterwards. I also ladled on the sauce like gravy, when I should have just drizzled.

Heat aside, this was really good. It was very easy to make and used just a few ingredients. The black beans (canned) simmered for 40 minutes in water with an onion and a bay leaf, resulting in very flavorful and tender beans. They would taste good plain.

I served them on a bed of spinach on a tortilla and way too much of the chipotle adobo sauce. Lesson learned!

Week 1: Project Food Budget

One of my new year's resolutions was to save money on food by being more resourceful with ingredients, making more of my own food from scratch, growing my own herbs, and shopping sales. So I was excited to see The Reluctant Vegetarian's Project Food Budget and decided to join her.

I set my weekly budget at $100. Because I rarely leave Giant Eagle (Pittsburgh's biggest grocery chain) with less than a $150-$200 bill, this seemed daunting. I was pleasantly surprised with the results! These are the totals from last Friday through today.

Goal: $100
Actual: $87.81

Staple items purchased:

• 2 bags whole-wheat flour (on sale at Right By Nature)
• 3 jars tahini (also on sale)
• Earth Balance shortening
• Soymilk
• Olive oil
• Cooking spray
• Chocolate chips (yes, I consider this a staple!)

Food made from scratch:

• Whole-wheat bread
• Vegetable stock

Meals for the week:+

• Red Beans and Rice with Whole-Grain Flatbread
• Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts
  
• Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions
• Cajun Stuffed Mushrooms
• Steamed Broccoli with Veganomicon's Cheesy Sauce
• Tofu Scramble
  
• Truffled Mushrooms over Whipped White Beans*
• Black Beans with Chipotle Adobo Sauce Wraps*
• Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits*

Items to make for a dinner party this weekend:

• Hummus*
• Cookies and Cream Cupcakes*
• Lemony Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream Frosting*

Other:

• Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Fruit and veggies for breakfast and snacks

+Regarding breakfast, I exercise in the mornings and need a high-protein breakfast. I usually have some combination of a bunch of fruit, soy milk, a high-protein fruit & soy milk smoothie with flax meal, whole-wheat bread, and peanut butter. I also make an endurance drink before exercise. All that is included in the above. Lunches all this week have been leftovers.

*items purchased, but haven't made this yet

Thoughts:

• I think my total this week was so low because I had so many ingredients on hand.
• The food I made on my own saved me about $8.
• I've never paid attention to sales before now, but I'm seeing it really pays off.
• It also pays to not shop at Giant Eagle for everything. I now shop at Trader Joe's for most fruits and veggies and some staples (their vegan chocolate chips, for example, are nearly $4 less than Giant Eagle's!) And Right By Nature has good sales, plus a reward program.

Read how others who are participating in this challenge fared this week:

• Reluctant Vegetarian: http://reluctantveggie.com
• Maria Marz: http://mariamarz.com/category/foodie/
• Veggie Converter: http://www.veggieconverter.com/
• Low Budge Veg: http://lowbudgeveg.blogspot.com/
• Ashley's Dairy Free Cooking Blog: http://dairyfreecooking.about.com/b/
• Beauty, Fitness, and Health...Oh My!: http://beautyfithealth.blogspot.com/
• Motor City Girl In the Steel City: http://thesteellife.wordpress.com/
• Baked Beans and Broccoli...Vegetarian Budgeting: http://vegetarianbudgeting.blogspot.com/
• Sweet Rehab: http://sweetrehab.blogspot.com/

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made about 300 cookies for the holidays--the first time I've ever baked for the holidays. After each new batch, I cut a single cookie in half for my husband and me to try, then immediately put the rest in the freezer. Until I made these cookies. They were so incredible, I ate three in a row. They were my and many of my family's favorite holiday cookie.

This recipe is from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. I modified their basic chocolate chip recipe only to add the peppermint extract, a tip I got from Sweet On's blog.

I think this is the best chocolate chip cookie ever--soft and chewy on the inside, a little crispy on the outside, and wonderful. The mint makes it just perfect. I made these tonight to bring to work tomorrow (thought kept quite a few for myself).

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 24 2-inch cookies or 16 3-inch cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk or your favorite nondairy milk (I used regular soy milk)
• 1 tablespoon tapioca flour (I used arrowroot powder)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two large baking sheets.
2. Combine sugars, oil, almond milk, and tapioca flour in a mixing bowl. Use a strong fork and mix really well, for about 2 minutes, until the mixture resembles smooth caramel. There is a chemical reaction when sugar and oil collide, so it's important that you don't get lazy about that step. Mix in the vanilla and peppermint.
3. Add 1 cup of the flour, the baking soda, and the salt. Mix until well incorporated. Mix in the rest of the flour. Fold in the chocolate chips. The dough will be a little stiff so use your hands to really work the chips in.
4. For 3-inch cookies, roll the dough into balls about the size of ping-pong balls. Flatten them out in your hands to about 2 1/2 inches. As they cook, they will spread just a bit. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes--no more than 9--until they are just a little browned around the edges. Let cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes then transfer to wire racks.
5. For 2-inch cookies, roll dough into walnut-sized balls and flatten to about 1 1/2 inches and bake for about 6 minutes.

My notes: I've made these three times. Two of those times, the dough was so un-stiff, I couldn't roll it into balls. Instead I just dropped it by the tablespoon onto the cookie sheet. Also, even though each batch of mine were small and made between 24 and 30 cookies, I still had to bake them for 8 to 9 minutes.

Cajun Stuffed Mushrooms

I wanted a veggie side to go with my leftover Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions, so I made these stuffed mushrooms, a recipe I adapted from WeightWatchers. This is quick, easy to make, and very low-cal. Makes a good, quick, snack by itself or a meal when combined with a salad and some type of beans or lentils.

Note that you'll likely have filling left over. It's good scrambled up with some tofu.

Cajun Stuffed Mushrooms
Makes 24 stuffed mushrooms

Ingredients

• 1 spray(s) olive oil cooking spray
• 1 pound(s) button mushrooms, about 24 large mushrooms
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1cup(s) onion(s), chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 10 oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 - 2 slice(s) whole-wheat bread, processed into bread crumbs (I used 1)
  
• 1- 2 tsp Cajun or Creole seasoning (I used 2)
  
• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a jelly roll pan with cooking spray.
2. Remove mushroom stems from caps and finely chop stems; reserve caps and set aside.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Sauté mushroom stems, onion, garlic, and spinach until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and stir in remaining ingredients until well-combined.
4. Stuff each mushroom cap with 2 tablespoons of filling mixture. Place mushrooms, stuffed sides up, on jellyroll pan. Bake, uncovered, 15 minutes; serve warm.
5. Note: The mushrooms can be stuffed in advance, covered, refrigerated and then baked later in the day to save on last-minute preparation time.

WeightWatchers PointsPlus: 1 for 4 mushrooms

5 Great, Quick Workouts

I read a lot of fitness magazines. Near the holidays, most featured quick workouts for when time's tight. These are my top picks. I do them either for a second workout in the evening, in lieu of my regular workout if I'm short on time, or before strength training. Note that you should do at least five minutes warm-up (light cardio: walking or jogging in place, step, jumping jacks, or just dancing around) before any workout and five minutes stretching afterwards to prevent injury.

1. Total Body Recharge: Energy-Boosting, Muscle-Burning Workout from Fitness Magazine
Video | Slideshow
This takes about 20 minutes, requires no equipment, and really does boost your energy. You can do it anywhere, even in a hotel room while traveling. Image from one of the exercises at right.

2. Crush More Calories: 15-Minute Workout from Women's Health Magazine
This is the best, quick workout for a serious shot of cardio. The moves also sculpt, so your muscles work hard while you blast fat.

3. 10-Minute Sculpting Blast from Shape Magazine
This is a really good, quick cardio workout, and you only need a weighted ball (or dumbbell). I don't use a jump rope--just my hands.

4. Your Do Anywhere Workout from Shape Magazine
Circuit 1: Melt Fat Fast | Circuit 2: Firm & Burn | Circuit 3: Total Body Sculpt
This workout features three five-minute circuits. You can do them all at once, or break them up if you really only have five minutes to spare.

5. Two-Minute Sexy Arm Exercise from Shape Magazine
This exercise actually works your back, biceps, shoulders, abs, and legs. If you have time for only one strength training move, this should be it.

Veganomicon Review: Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions and Spiced Pita Chips

After spending a few months with Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, I started to worship Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. They are my heros. Because I want Veganomicon to make them a lot of money so they will continue spending their time creating fantastic recipes, I won't post the recipes I try as part of the Cookbook Club. Or maybe I'll post just one favorite. If you like how these sound, you should buy the book too!I love Mujadarah so was excited to try Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions and Spiced Pita Chips. The book describes it as "Spiced red lentils transform into a creamy, golden mash that just melts right into the fragrant rice and rich caramelized onions." That's right on the money. The recipe calls for roasting two pounds of onions in olive oil for a long time, until they're deep brown and very sweet and then adding them to spiced lentils and rice. The result is a fragrant, heavenly, creamy dish. I served it with their Spiced Pita Crisps, which are pitas cut up, sprayed with cooking spray, and sprinkled with spices (I used garam masala).

I give it 5 out of 5 for deliciousness. It's awesome. I would serve this for a dinner party or bring to a potluck. It's sure to impress.

It was very easy to make, though my cooking times were way off from the recipe. My onions needed to roast twice as long as it called for, and my lentils and rice absorbed the water in 30 minutes less than it called for!

(Note: It's a whopping 10 WeightWatchers PointsPlus, but worth it!)

Loved this dish. An auspicious start to reviewing this cookbook!