Mucho Margarita Cupcakes

*modified from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

1/4 cup lime juice 1 cup soymilk 1/4 cup canola oil 2.5  tablespoons tequila 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 1/3 cups white flour 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Combine wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately

Add wet to dry and mix thoroughly

Fill each cupcake paper 2/3 full

Bake for about 20 minutes

Frosting

I used store bought frosting for these (I know, shame, shame, shame) but I don't exactly have the equipment here to whip up a fluffy batch of frosting.  None the less, I made the frosting my own, adding a little lime juice and about 1 tbl tequila to 1 cup of frosting

Frost cupcakes when cooled and roll in sugar

Baking with tequila and lime is a lot of fun. It adds new kick to baked goods that I had not previously experienced.  This is a great recipe to make if you're looking for something unique and festive.  

This recipes produces cupcakes that are fluffly and delicate with a hint of tequila and lime.

Acapulco is my (other) happy place

 

 

Linda Vista, Acapulco

Mexican Coffee fired with Cinnamon and Brandy

Vita #3

Vegan Soup du jour: Creamy Garlic Tomato with Vita's Homemade Herb and Onion Bread (without which a trip to Vita would not be complete)

  When people ask me about my favorite vegan-friendly restaurant in Portland, it's difficult to choose just one.  Portland has so much to offer and where you choose to eat on any given night really comes down to what you're in the mood to eat.   If I had to choose just one restaurant though, I think I'd go with Vita Cafe.  Their Alberta Street location and huge cakes surely have an influence on my decision but I also love the atmosphere of the restaurant and diversity of food options, which have influences from all over the world.  When you go to Vita, it doesn't really matter what you're in the mood for because they have pretty much everything.   And of course, if you can't decide you can just eat a freakin huge piece of their amazing cake (of which I should eat more often so I can enlighten any blog readers who have not yet had the opportunity to endulge in a piece of Vita's cake).  

Papa G's Organic Vegan Deli on Division

For as long as I can remember, Papa G's has had a stand at the annual VegFest in Portland offering free tofu samples from their original recipes. I usually return to the stand for seconds and thirds and so on. I finally made it to their restaurant for the first time about two weeks ago. They moved from Hawthorne and now have a quaint spot on Division.  

Everything they serve is vegan (with a multitude of gluten free options) and they pride themselves as the most organic restaurant in Portland.  The dining experience is casual with good to-go options.  They have a soup and salad bar and orderable entrees at the counter.  It's a good option if you're looking to get something quick without sacrificing health and heartiness.  

 

 

Garlic mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy

 and rosemary roasted vegetables

Chili

Salad bar and sides

Dahl Soup

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Did you know poppy seeds symbolize death and sleepiness or that the world's great lemon distributor of lemons is India.  

Poppies and lemons are somewhat of an odd conglomeration but whoever came up with their joining was absolute genius.

We had a lot of friends from various walks of life join us over the holiday.  These lemon poppy seed muffins from The Joy of Vegan Baking were greatly appreciated by friends and family as awoke from their slumbers and wandered into the kitchen.  They paired nicely with a large cup of Stumptown coffee and agave.

Welcoming the new year with Enchiladas

These Enchiladas were stuffed with sauteed portabella mushrooms and garlic.  You can use store bought tortillas or make your own.  The original recipe can be found here.  The olives were omitted and the enchiladas were topped with FYH cheddar before going into the oven.

Portland is my Happy Place

 

 

 

 

 

Gingerbread Carrot Cake

I don't recall making a bundt cake before and I will not forget this bundt cake experience as it was somewhat disastrous along the way.  I have long journey ahead of me in bundt cake making before flirting with the perfection of  bundt cake baking.  

The cake was indeed quite tasty, and not disastrous in this sense.  (Mom said it was the best cake she' ever eaten, though she has probably made the same statement about a number of other cakes I have baked) 

When I took the cake out of the oven, I did not know whether to let it sit or invert it and let it fall out onto a rack.  

Well I inverted it, bad decision, and the whole inside of the cake fell out while the top layer remained in the pan. 

Needless to say, the cake was smaller than expected and missing its cover and bundt shaping.  Either I need to prep the pan better, or be more patient with inversion.  I shall explore this further in future bundt attempts.

The cover, still in the pan, became somewhat of a finger food appetizer.  The insides, still intact and circular were given a new cover: peppermint pieces over sprinkled over buttercream frosting (earthbalance, powdered sugar, soymilk and vanilla) 

Dad's Birthday Dinner

On the menu:

White Bean Soup with herbed potato foccacia

Cinnamon coffee cake with homeade vanilla icecream

 

Vegan Pizza, Increased creativity

 

I've been inspired by the vegan slices of pizza I've been eating lately at the pizzerias local to Portland.  At $2.75 a slice, I'm ready to make my own.

The sauce was simple but truly made the pizza, a gernerous combination of sauteed garlic, tomato sauce and herbs.  The dough was topped with sauce, nutritional yeast, more herbs, pepper, spinach, steamed squash slices, mushrooms and peppers.

Pumpkin Scones

These are amazing, I made them three times in  one week (the only can of pumpkin we had was huge and I didn't want it to go to waste).  My family gobbled up each batch within 12 hours of baking.

The original recipe can be found here.  Tthey can easily be made more healthy by using half whole wheat flour and replacing some of the oil with more pumpkin.

Tempeh Sushi

   

This sushi has the vegetarian basics with a little extra soy protein.  Tempeh is a nice touch to sushi.  The preparation method of the tempeh was quite simple.  I steamed it a little water and soy sauce for about 10 minutes and then sliced it into strips before baking it on a metal rack in a 400 degree oven until crispy.  You could infuse the tempeh and make it much more flavorful.  My use of tempeh in the sushi was somewhat spontaneous.

Other stuffings include steamed carrots, avocado, cucumber and brown rice.

COOKIES

I have been home from college for less than two days now and my seemingly endless energy for cooking and baking has yet to seize. I find baking for loved ones so rejuvenating. In the last 40 hours or so, I've cooked/ baked 3 kinds of cookies, fudge, sushi, garlice stir fry, lentil soup and vegan mac 'n cheese. (I don't think I will be missing the dining hall or cramped kitchens any time soon.)
*Pictures feature sugar cookies, chocolate chip adapted from Pillsbury Family Cookbook, Mint Chippers adapted from Sunset Magazine

Thanksgiving Dinner

Inspired by the authors of What the Hell does a Vegan eat anyway?, I decided to make seitan roulade as the main dish for thanksgiving dinner.
I used the seitan recipe from the PPK and filled it with a mushroom mousse and sauteed kale and shitakes. After baking it was slathered with gravy.

It turned out fine in the end and everyone thought it was amazing but making it was quite an adventure.
In my ideal world, advice hotlines for cooking turkeys on Thanksgiving would be unheard of and and hotlines for making seitan roulades would replace them.
However, the whole world has not yet gone vegetarian and so I had to solve my seitan roulade woes by myself.
Seitan is pretty simple to make. It gets harder, though, when the goal is to rolls it into long sheets for a roulade. (It likes to bubble in the most unfavorable places).

Other dishes from Thanksgiving dinner: Stuffing, Wild Rice Salad, Twice Baked Potatoes with Dill and Earth Balance, Apple Cake, Pumpkin Pie with Vegan Ice Cream and Chocolate Pudding Cups

The Dawn's First Breath

The Dawn's First Breath is musical duo composed of Tyler Price and Corrina Snow. The two of them are currently on a bike tour from Northern California and are making their way back down the west coast, sharing their talent on the way. They're playing at music venues along the coast and if you're lucky you might also come upon them sharing musical goodness on the streets.
They were kind enough to stop by Red and Black Open Mic early this week and share their amazingness..

Their music is surprising, very unique like nothing you've ever really heard before and once you hear it you'll desire more. There are a lot of varying influences in their music, including hiphop, reggae, folk and other worldly genres but they encourage listerners to create their own description.

Check them out- Let your soul Dance

Hotcakes: Chocolate Chip Banana

A variation of the Pancake recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking. I swear by these pancakes because they are delicious and fluffly. I added vanilla and raw sugar to contribute to the fluffing. The bananas were mashed and tossed in with a plethora of large chocolate pieces.
(The batter is good too, if you're a pancake batter person like me...)