This Week in My Kitchen: Stuffed Peppers and Chocolate Chai Cookies

Stuffed Peppers Two Ways

I love stuffed peppers. So much so, that one day I had it twice, for breakfast and lunch!

For this one I used a poblano pepper stuffed with Yves Ground Chicken and taco seasoning, baked it in the toasted oven and topped with melted Daiya cheese and salsa. I had some leftover rice, so I served it with that. Fantastic breakfast, if I do say so myself.

For lunch I stuffed a red bell pepper with a bit of ground chicken and a bunch of sauteed mushrooms and onions. I baked it in the toaster oven and melted some daiya cheese on it. Served with salsa, it was a delicious lunch.

Chai Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the the Chocolate Chai Shortbread Cookies from Vegan Cookies Take Over Your Cookie Jar. I had trouble slicing them because they're so crumbly, so I shaped them into little pucks and baked them that way. Despite the trouble forming them, they were really tasty. Recommended.

Vegan MoFo Day 5: Party!!

Last month I had a surprise engagement party for my friends Shannon & Matti. Now, we all know the best thing about parties is consuming vast quantities of yummy food (and some wine!). I love making party food! It's especially fun to feed a bunch of omnis vegan food and see them enjoying it. Here's what I made for this particular party...

Panzanella: I made up this recipe - cucumbers, tomatoes, crusty bread, red onions, black olives and dressing made of olive oil, red wine vinegar, mustard seeds & oregano. Mmmm!

Spanakopita made with phyllo pastry, non-hydrogenated margarine, spinach (fresh and frozen chopped), garlic and onions.

Crostinis (toasted slices of baguette rubbed with a garlic clove) with fresh three colour salsa (red, orange & yellow tomatoes, fresh seeded jalapenos, onion and spices) and homemade carmelized onion roasted garlic marmalade (just onions, roasted garlic and a bit of olive oil).

Mocha Kahlua Almond Cookies (minus the almonds). Find the recipe in ExtraVeganZa by Laura Matthias. These are my go-to cookies for any event. They're so freakin' good!

Dolce de Leche Coconut Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (I don't remember what the recipe's called and I'm too lazy to get up and check, but that's the gist of it). They were a bit of work to make, but tasted heavenly! That cake plate is from our wedding, by the way.

I also made Dough-less Samosas (just the filling - mashed potato, carrots, peas, onions & spices) made into patties and baked, and served with Crosse & Blackwell's Hot Mango Chutney. That chutney is so good it's difficult for me not to take a spoon and clean out the jar in one fell swoop. But I forgot to take a photo of the samosas, so you'll just have to use your imagination. You can kinda see them in the background of the first photo of the salad, but not really.

This Week in My Kitchen: Nachos, Burritos, Tostadas & Roasted Veggies with Couscous

So I haven't been very inventive in the kitchen this week. Instead, I've been falling back on old favourites, many of which are mexican-inspired.

Nachos
A couple of years ago I visited Toronto, and my friend Melanie took me to Sneaky Dee's, a pub on College Street with an unusual and amazing selection of vegan options. We had the vegan nachos, and they were seriously fantastic! Ever since, I've been trying to recreate the experience at home (minus the unsmiling wait staff, gross bathrooms and graffiti on the walls). Here's my latest attempt, which I have to say, was pretty damn good. I think the Tofutti Sour Supreme, something I generally don't have because it's not exactly health food, is what pushed them over the edge.

 tortilla chips, refried black beans, Ziggy's salsa from the deli @ Superstore, pickled

jalapenos, sliced black olives, Frank's Red Hot Sauce, Tofutti Sour Supreme, green onions

Burritos

One of my favourite quick and easy meals is a burrito. The fillings vary according to what I happen to have in the fridge, but this one has refried black beans, sliced avocado, pickled jalapenos and Ziggy's salsa from the deli at Superstore (my favourite store bought salsa) on a whole grain tortilla.

Tostadas
I found some tostadas (toasted corn tortillas) on sale at the supermarket the other day, and dinner was set! For each serving I topped two small tostadas with a warm mixture of rice (leftover from Indian take out), black beans and cubed smoked tofu. Then I added a salad of baby spinach, sliced orange bell peppers and baby carrots, salsa, sliced black olives and pickled jalapenos. It was super filling and yummy, and a great way to get Kirk to eat salad.

Roasted Veggies with Couscous
Exactly how it sounds. I roasted a quartered acorn squash with baby carrots, fennel and broccoli and served it with couscous mixed with chopped spinach, onions and smoked tofu. This meal would have been fantastic with quinoa, but I was out and had to use couscous instead.