Today, I bought a container of strawberries from a local farmer at the weekend market. They smell great. I decided to make a cake with whipped cream frosting and strawberries. This recipe I concocted after reading many different recipes for basic white/vanilla cake. I definitely altered some stuff, so feel free to do that as well. I call this a “thin cake” because it doesn’t have a lot ingredients and does not make a lot. To the point- - it is smaller. I recommended it for coffee or tea time.

• 1 1/2-2 C flour
• 3/4 C sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 C [chocolate] soymilk (I bought commercially sold but make it yourself or just use plain)
• 1/4 C lemon juice
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• egg replacer (=1egg)

• strawberries
• frosting

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl.
3. Beat in soymilk, lemon juice, vanilla, and egg replacer.
4. I used a 13×9 in pan, but use what you want and bake for 25-30 minutes or until knife comes out clean.
5. Take out of oven and cool.
6. Frost with desired frosting (I used whipped cream frosting) and cover with halved strawberries.

I made the chickpea cutlets and mustard sauce last night from Veganomicon. I have heard that a lot of people really like the chickpea cutlets, so I decided to make them. To tell you the truth, I was a little disappointed. They were dry and just a little too chewy. There are barely any wet ingredients in the recipe and the directions call for these to be baked at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Perhaps if they were baked at 350, the problem could be skirted. This happened when I made another batch of bean balls. I found out that they should be baked at 375 (not 350 like in my post) and they came out a little too dry. I might try making the chickpea cutlets one more time and see if I can’t get them a little moister.

With the mustard sauce (it was recommended to be served with the chickpea cutlets) I was also disappointed. It was SOOOO salty. There was no plain salt in the ingredients list, but it had a bunch of salty ingredients: vegetable broth, soy sauce, capers (with brine). If I do make this again, I think I will substitute water for the vegetable broth and leave out the soy sauce. Too much saltiness.

I made the cutlets and sauce, and the boyfriend made a side of garlicy shells. This was incredibly heavy (maybe because we accompanied it with a glass of stout beer each).

Cutlets: chickpeas, olive oil, vital wheat gluten, bread crumbs, vegetable broth/water, soy sauce, garlic, lemon, dried thyme, Hungarian paprika, dried rubbed sage

Mustard Sauce: cornstarch, vegetable broth, garlic, thyme, olive oil, cooking sherry, soy sauce, dijon mustard, lemon juice, capers

NOTE ON INGREDIENTS: If you have a local health food store/ co-op, try going there first and check in their bulk section for items like vital wheat gluten, Hungarian paprika, rubbed sage. My supermarket sells wheat gluten for over $6 (the co-op: $1.95, Hungarian paprika (not at supermarket, co-op $0.76), and rubbed sage at the supermarket was $4 (co-op: $0.62).

This recipe comes straight from the Food Network’s website. It is definitely a keeper. This is so simple and really only takes about 20-25 minutes total, so I also included it as a quick meal. This recipe makes enough for 4 servings, leaving me with extras for the rest of the week. I stayed pretty close to the recipe. Instead of low-fat mayo, I used Veganaise and I did add a little extra dijon mustard to the mayo spread. Also, next time around I would add a little more adobo sauce to the mayo spread to give it extra spice. I think an avocado slice or two would be really good, too!

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I checked-out from the library Veganomicon. I will post a review of the book later once I make more recipes from it. But here is the first one I made last night: Spaghetti and Bean Balls (well, I didn’t use spaghetti). I did change a few things up. It called for Vital Wheat Gluten, but the recipe said you could substitute whole wheat flour, which I did. Instead of lemon zest, I just used lemon juice. I also added a dash of parsley to the mixture. One thing that I read about online was that there are A LOT of typos in this book and information is just missing, or too much added with no resolution. I decided to bake the bean balls instead of fry them, and when I got to the baking directions there was no temperature. I just baked these at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and that was perfect. By the way, these were delicious. When they came out of the oven, I just kept eating them. I could see them being great for a bean ball sandwich. I have leftovers, so who knows? One thing I liked about them besides the taste was that store bought vegetarian meat balls sometimes can be disgusting, so it is nice to have this pretty easy recipe on hand.

INGREDIENTS: kidney beans, soy sauce, tomato paste, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, bread crumbs, whole wheat flour, dried oregano, thyme, parsley

This isn’t vegetarian related at all but I thought I would post some ways that I deal with migraines. The internet is a great place to find information of the ever devastatingly painful evil maniacal F-ing migraine! Since I have used the internet to gather info, I figured I would add my two-cents.

GENERAL INFO:

I started getting migraines a couple of years ago and I had no idea why. I would keep track of them: when did they happen, what was I doing, how often was I getting them, etc. I finally went to my doctor where he prescribed me Zomig. I should just say without Zomig my migraines would be so much worse then they are now. However, where Zomig can take a lot of the pain away, it doesn’t seem to help all too much with migraine-related symptoms (nausea, sleepiness, etc.)

HERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT I DO TO HELP WITH MIGRAINES:

• I realized that a lot of the time my migraines stem from my neck or not sleeping well. I try to get a good night’s rest and I also see my chiropractor occasionally for a readjustment.
• Eating. Migraines can happen if you don’t eat, so I try to eat a balanced diet and not go too long without any food. If I do have a migraine, I will try to eat something filling but not unhealthy. Usually an English muffin or toast with peanut butter. Sometimes it is hard to eat when you are feeling this way, but once I do get myself to eat, it is such an improvement.
• Posture. Since my migraines shoot up from my neck, I try as hard as I can to have good posture.
• Strengthening. Last summer I took out a beginner’s yoga DVD from the library. A lot of the neck stretches help a lot with preventing and relieving migraine symptoms.
• Shower. Taking a hot shower can help a lot to relieve migraine symptoms.
• Peas. Okay, not really peas, but a pack of frozen peas. I keep them in my freezer. Just take the bag and put it on the ole forehead for some quick relief.
• Tea. Make sure to have some back-stock of Black tea in your pantry. I try to drink a cup or two of an English/Irish tea or Chai (a spiced tea). Drinking tea/coffee has been a remedy for headaches/migraines in many cultures, ancient and present.
• Allergies. Not specific to myself, but some people have food allergies that trigger migraines and they might not even know it. Keeping a journal might help figure it out. I don’t get migraines after eating or drinking but some people can get triggers from: MSG, soy, wine, chocolate, etc. (pretty much anything it seems like!).
• Pillows. I changed my pillow a few months ago and it has been a huge step in relief. Even if your migraines don’t stem from your neck, if you are having a migraine, laying your head down on suitable pillow can help a great deal.
• Remember, prevention is the best. If you are eating poorly, sleeping terribly, etc. you might want to change something. I try my best at prevention, but if that doesn’t work, some of the above mentioned tips help.
• Feel free to share your tips, too.

***

Rupert was quite happy today. I think if you were a 10 pound kitty you would be happy too if a large bag of food showed up…

*Rupert inspecting.

*Rupert attacking kitty kibble.

***

I also went to the library today because I finally was able to get a copy of Veganomicon. I wish I could just buy it but money doesn’t grow on trees around here, so the library it is.

This recipe comes straight from a great cookbook that I have called Pasta. The recipes are restaurant-worthy and pretty simple. This allows you to mix it up a but. I recommend this book; it can be purchased on Amazon (and probably other sites and book stores). I would also like to note that the boyfriend helped prepare this meal. He did most of the later cooking and slicing.

Sorry there is no photo. I didn’t have my camera, but we will probably be making this again sometime soon.

• 2 oz Fontina, julienned (substitutions for Fontina: Camembert, Brie, scamorza)
• 2 oz Gorgonzola, crumbled (substitutions: Roquefort, Stilton, other blue-veined cheese)
• 2 oz Swiss, julienned (substitutions: Gruyere, other firm-textured melting cheese)
• 1/2 C cream (we used light, but you can use a heavy cream if desired)
• pasta ( I recommend a short pasta like gemelli)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• grated parmesan
• We also added: splash of sherry and 2 cloves of pressed garlic. Don’t add too much garlic. You don’t want to overwhelm the taste.

1. Cook pasta according to box directions.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan add together the cream and first 3 cheeses (Fontina, Gorgonzola, Swiss). Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes until almost dissolved. (At this step, we also added a splash of sherry and a tiny bit of pressed garlic).
3. Once pasta is done, top with cheese sauce, salt & pepper, and Parmesan.
4. Serve this right away!

*Note-You might also find a sharper version of Fontina packaged using the name ‘Fontinella.’ We used Fontinella because it was cheaper and it is also pretty tasty to accompany some pre-meal red wine.

**Okay, here is a photo of some cheese. Maybe this will entice you to make this recipe??

I had a request for my RSS feed on the About page from a fellow veggie (from the Philippines). Sorry, I am a little slow when it comes to this stuff and I had to actually look it up in the WordPress FAQ, but I have added a button to the sidebar you can click. This will take you to my feed where you can subscribe. If there are any problems let me know.

My friend Pamela’s kitty, Brina, has some serious medical problems right now. Pamela has an awesome blog with awesome recipes (you would think they were out of a cookbook). She made a posting asking for any amount of donation to help Brina (she is at a specialist right now). Pamela also posted her etsy shop’s link. She has amazing hand-knit (custom work available) scarves and hats. Good karma can go a long way.

Help out Brina - -you can donate via Paypal or purchase some of Pamela’s awesome hand-knit items.

This is a great way to clear out your pantry of any canned pumpkin you might have leftover from fall/winter. Unless you plan on making a ton of these raviolis, I am sure you will have extra pumpkin puree. Tomorrow I am going to finish it off by making pumpkin butter. Don’t be scared by these instructions; it really isn’t that hard to make from-scratch raviolis (trust me!). I have a couple of photos that might better display some of the steps. Also, at the end of this recipe, I will post how to store any extra dough.

RAVIOLIS:

• 2 C flour (I used 1 part all-purpose:1 part whole wheat)
• Egg replacer (=2 eggs)
• 1/4 C tomato paste
• water

PUMPKIN FILLING:

• 1/2 C pumpkin puree (actually use as much as you think you will need)
• splash of milk
• nutmeg

***

1. In a bowl put flour. Separately beat together egg replacer and tomato paste. Make a well in the bowl of flour and add egg replacer/tomato paste mixture. Envelope flour over mixture until you have a round ball of dough. You might need to add a few tablespoons of water to bind the dough.
2. Section off the dough into quarters. With a rolling pin, roll out each section into a thin rectangle. Make sure to put some loose flour down on your workspace and rolling pin so the dough doesn’t stick.
3. With a sharp knife or a fluted wheel, evenly cut strips of dough.
4. In a separate bowl mix together pumpkin filling ingredients.
5. On a strip of dough, drop a small amount of pumpkin filling every inch or two apart.
6. With a wet napkin, dab across border and in between each filling drop.
7. Cover with a second strip of dough and cut between each drop forming the individual raviolis.
8. REPEAT for as many more strips of dough desired.
9. To cook ravioli, boil water. Once the water is boiling, add raviolis and adjust to medium heat.
10. The raviolis should dropped to the bottom and as they cook they will rise to the top of the water. Raviolis tend not to take long to cook (~5 minutes), so keep an eye on them.
11. HOW TO STORE DOUGH: Securely wrap any extra dough in saran wrap and put inside a tightly sealed container. You can freeze dough for up to 8 months.

Top with whatever sauce you would like. Here, I drizzled olive oil and topped with Italian seasoning.

BONUS PHOTOS OF RUPERT!