Back in the saddle again…

I think most bloggers will agree with me – have you ever had a post that attracted a lot of buzz, the most hits, the most comments, yada, yada, yada… So you decide to leave it up for a while. Then as the days pass you wonder, I am ever gonna be able to replicate that? All of  a sudden nothing seems “blogworthy” and well, you all probably know the rest of the story. So I decided that today is the day I finally post something, anything, and as it might not be as exciting as Daiya cheese here is what I’ve been up to in the kitchen lately…

Testing, testing, testing and then some more testing. I have to admit, I love testing recipes for upcoming cookbooks! Here are some pictures for Julie Hasson’s  upcoming Vegan Diner book:

Dark Chocolate Cherry Cake

Slice o Cake!

Chocolate, cherries, and rum = yum!

Chocolate chip cookies, also from Julie:

Cookies!

Next up is Vegan Latina food porn, Terry Hope Romero’s  upcoming book. Check out these seitan and potato tacos – one of my favorite taco recipes:

Seitan & Potato Tacos

Roasted Corn

Roasted corn like the kind you get from street vendors with cashew cream and ancho chili powder. I could eat this everyday! Oh and look at this lovely horchata:

Horchata!

I almost died when I had this – VEGAN CUBAN SANDWICH – that’s right! Terry is a genious:

Cuban Sandwich!

And finally some bread pudding with mango and guava – delicious!

Mango Guava Bread Pudding

So I guess that’s it for now. Leave a comment and say Hi! if you want, my feelings won’t get hurt if you don’t…

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Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Ever!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Seriously these are the best oatmeal raisin cookies I have ever had – crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and just the right amount of sweetness. They are another tester recipe for Jae Steele’s  upcoming book, Ripe From Around Here.  Here’s a close-up:

Cookie Close Up

I’ve also been testing more recipes for Terry Hope Romero’s  upcoming book, Vegan Latina. First up I made some vegan posole – man o man was this good!

Posole!

I also made some homemade corn tortillas to go with the posole:

Corn Tortillas

Next up is tempeh asado tacos and savory orange rice. The rice is outta this word tasty. If you are into latin food this book is gonna rock your kitchen. I can’t wait for it to come out and I have access to the recipes!

Tempeh Asado Tacos

Here’s a close-up of the orange rice – yum!

Savory Orange Rice

Til next time…

Scones, Greens, and Falafel!

Apricot Oatbran Scones

This post is mostly just food porn – enjoy! These lovely scones are a tester recipe for Ripe From Around Here. I can’t even tell you how much I liked these – I hope the picture does them justice! I also tested this shiitake and dandelion greens saute, even though I am not a huge bitter greens fan this was tasty:

Shiitake and Dandelion Greens Saute

As a treat for eating my greens, I made a baked potato with Tofutti sour cream and chives!

Baked Potato

As it starts to get warmer here in So. Cal I’ve been craving falafel and tabouleh because this is one of my favorite summertime meals. I’m always on the quest to find a great falafel recipe and this time I tried the one in Vegan With A Vengeance – tasty indeed!

Falafel!

The tabouleh has parsley, mint, millet, red spring onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, lemon juice, olive oil, and a bit of salt & pepper. It tastes even better a day later!

Tabouleh

Oh and the hummus recipe is also from VWAV – I made it super garlicy and threw in some green spring onions too and it turned out spicy – delicious!

Til next time…

Ripe From Around Here and More!

Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins

Strawberries, rhubarb, and spelt flour make for one heck of a muffin! These beauties are for the upcoming book Ripe From Around Here by Jae Steele and the recipe can be found on her site. Yes folks, I am testing for another book and am truly enjoying Jae’s recipes which focus on local ingredients. These pictures don’t do these muffins justice, they are fabulous:

Strawberry Rhubarb Muffin

I also made this very tasty roasted cauliflower:

Roasted Spicy Cauliflower

I definitely have other recipes that I am excited to try out so stay tuned for more RFAH porn!

This week I also made Spring Onion Pancakes. If you’ve never had these chinese delights I highly encourage you to. They are pretty simple to make and with the abundance of spring onions at the farmer’s market it’s a great time!

Spring Onion Pancakes

The recipe is pretty standard: for 4 pancakes I used 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup boiling water, and 1 tbs. of cold water. Stir to form dough and then on a lightly floured surface knead for a few minutes. Cover and let rest for about half an hour. Divide dough into 4 balls and roll each into a disc. Spread some sesame oil and sprinkle chopped onions. Fold in half and roll into a log and then roll the log lengthwise to make a spiral (kinda like a cinnamon roll). Let rest for 15 minutes. Flatten out each one into a flat disc and your onions should be incorporated into the pancake.  In a skillet add a 2 tbs of oil and fry til golden.

Pancakes!

They are oh so tasty! Next time I will defintely make more because these were gobbled up in a minute. The dipping sauce is Blackberry Wine Soy Sauce with some toasted sesame seeds and onions added. Here’s a close-up of the dipping sauce in my cute little fish bowl!

Fish Bowl

And last but not least, have you tried Coconut Bliss  yet? If not, what are you waiting for?? Best vegan ice cream EVER! Seriously!

Coconut Bliss

This is the Naked Coconut flavor with some sliced strawberries – pure bliss! Luna & Larry definitely got the name of their product spot on – this is coconut bliss! So go out and get some, you won’t be disappointed!

Til next time…

Vegan Diner!

So if you follow me on Twitter  then you already know that I am testing for Julie Hasson’s  new book, Vegan Diner. All I can say is these cinnamon rolls are worth the price of admission alone!

Cinnamon Orange Rolls!

They are gooey, sticky sweet perfection!

Rising Buns!

This next one is homemade biscuits, hollandaise sauce, breakfast sausages – Julie’s version of Benedict rocks!

Breakfast Benedict

And last but not least are theses Mocha Muffins:

Morning Mocha Muffins

This sampling barely scratches the surface, this book is gonna rock your vegan comfort foods socks off!

Vegan Latina Tester Recipes Tease!

So I am a recipe tester for Terry Hope Romero’s  upcoming Vegan Latina cookbook. This is my first time being a tester and I feel very fortunate to try out new recipes and especially because they are Latin recipes. I am Cuban and am accustomed to eating lots of Latin food so veganized old favorites is just well, fantastic. So far everything I have tried has been great – I can’t wait for the book to come out! Here are some teaser photos, enjoy!

Pupusas

Yeah, that’s right, homemade pupusas! Aren’t they pretty and oh sooo tasty!

Yellow Rice with Garlic

This yellow rice gets its color from annatto infused oil.

Arroz con Gandules

Arroz con Gandules is a traditional Puerto Rican dish and this veganized version rivals any I’ve ever had.

Pickled Red Onions

Very addictive condiment that has a beautiful color.

Pine Nut Crema

I can’t stop eating this stuff – its like a Latin hummous when served cold and sets up up like cheese when baked! 

Chile Relleno with Pine Nut Crema

Hopefully the pics speak for themselves! Stay tuned for more yummy Latin food!