Fun With Food, Zines and Cats

Fried open faced tacos inspired by a recipe in the April 2015 Food Network Magazine (The Big Breakfast Issue). Tortillas are fried in Earth Balance, sprinkled with cumin, topped with refried beans and Daiya then covered to melt. Top it off with salsa, soy sour cream and hot sauce. Everything has to be served with Matt's Mamas red rice and lemons from the neighbor as you know!

Post gym stir fry with mixed veggies, extra firm tofu in a red curry paste + soy sauce mix I made up on the spot. Simple stir fry dishes are perfect on gym nights to help with a hungry stomach and a flash to prep. I also find them helpful to use up pantry items sitting around.

A soy iced coffee and Banana Curl Vegan Girl zine. The zine is a must have for those looking for easy and accessible vegan recipes (the best kind!) and a handy FAQ suitable for helping the new vegans & vegan curious out with ingredient replacements. You can also check out Banana Curl on her blog.

A few weeks back we walked into Pet's Mart on adoption day to make a Mar's Memorial Birthday donation. We came across a beast of a fluffy cat and decided to bring him home. We named him Mortis and so far Mady and him are doing well together. So if my zines and blogging have been lagging blame fluffy cats and naps - they go together!

Food Network Fan Zine - Seeking Submissions

It's no lie I love me some Food Network. From Bobby Flay getting his but kicked on his new show to seeing Guy's outrageous dive food, I watch Food network a lot! I know I am not the only one. So I am hoping to put a comp zine together that showcases our likes and dislikes of the popular channel.

Here are some topics/prompts that I would like to explore. Use these if you like or make something up that is not covered. Submissions are due Aug. 30th 2014. If you contribute you get a copy of the zine mailed to your door!


Ideas to get your writing flow on:

-Create your own FN show - what would it be about - who would host it
-FN celebrity crush
-FN recreated recipe
-Fave FN show/why
-FN celeb you would most want to cook for you/why
-FN celeb that gets on your last nerves/why


Contact me at: missmuffcake(a)aol.com

[Vegan MOFO] WWGFE Wednesday - Firey Fieri Chili With Polenta Croutons

Guy cooked up a chorizo and polenta lasagna with a cranberry citrus side salad on Guy's Big Bite. I took some of the same ingredients and ideas and took it for a spin.

I made a soyrizo chili topped with polenta croutons and a cranberry, almond with spinach side salad. I added extra heat to the chili using up my farmer's market pepper stash and hot sauce. I kept the polenta croutons plain - so they could be mushjed up and absorb some of the heat and act like corn bread.
The salad is simple: dried cranberries, slivered almonds, spinach with a balsamic vinaigrette I whipped up super fast. The sweetness and tang go well to balance the fire of the chili.

Fiery Fieri Chili With Polenta Croutons 

[chili]

Olive oil for pan

3 (more or less) chili peppers – play around with heat varieties

½ package of soyrizo

2 cans of black beans drained

1 can of Muir Glen Diced Fire Roasted tomatoes (do not drain)

a few dashes of hot pepper sauce

[Croutons]

1 block of polenta cubed, drizzled with a touch of olive oil and baked at 350 for 20 minutes.

Heat oil in a soup pot, add peppers chopped up (remove seeds if you are afraid of heat), cook for a few minutes, add soyrizo, cook for 3 minutes add the rest of the ingredients, stir and cook covered over medium low heat for 30 minutes.

Place a big scoop of chili in a bowl. Top with a few polenta croutons and eat!

[Veagan MOFO] WWGFE Wednesday - Pittsburgh Portobello Salad

On DDD Guy stops by a place and they create a steak salad. The salad comes complete with fries, croutons, steak, ranch dressing and cheese crumbles. I thought that sounded intriguing so I set out to create my own vegan version.

I used an organic lettuce blend as the base, topped it off with oven baked fries (with a Johnny Garlic's twist: nooch, garlic and pink sea salt sprinkled on top), homemade basil croutons, portobello strips marinated in: vegan worstisheir sauce, spices, liquid smoke and Braggs, habanero ranch dressing and some spicy cultured cashew cheeze I bought from Whole Foods.
I had more veggies to use that day but I forgot them! I hate when that happens. It was a great salad, even for a mushroom dislike-r like myself it was tasty and good. I could have used vegan steak strips but wanted to try something new!Salads do not have to be all wimpy - if only every restaurant had a vegan salad option like this!

[Veagan MOFO] WWGFE Wednesday - Bacon Salad

If there was a way to log TV time, my charts would say that I watch 90% Food Network and Cooking Channel shows. I am kind of addicted to watching shows that are mostly stuff I will not eat. However the shows I watch give me inspiration to cook my own versions of what I see.

One cook/TV host that comes through each time with ideas for our meals is Guy Fieri.Whether he is at a 'funky joint' or cooking at home I am drawn to his food. Often when I need a meal idea I ask myself What Would Guy Fieri Eat?

 

In Guy's latest book he has a chapter dedicated to pork and in previous books he has had a lot of pork recipes and even a disturbing photo of dead pigs...Bacon seems to be the hold-strong trend lately so I thought my first WWFE would be something bacon related. 

I created a tofu bacon slab salad. I know that tempeh is the go to protein source for vegan bacon fun but I wanted to create a thicker cut and I am a tofu gal! I took strips of super firm high protein tofu and marinated them in liquid smoke (which he explained in a show he used to not use because he thought it was cheating or something), maple/agave syrup, cayenne powder, garlic, Himalayan pink salt and pepper. After about 30 minutes, I heated up some oil in a frying pan, fried each slab till it was brown.

The salad was organic greens, organic cherry tomatoes, rustic seasoned croutons, tofu-bacon slabs with my habanero ranch dressing on top (Guy is a fan of hot sauce). I added a side of cheezey garlic bread and it was all good! Maybe it is still to healthy to appear on a dive menu but the pigs will thank ya - not to mention your heart!