Voting Yes on Proposition "Raw Cake"

Like an outdated lolcat meme, I was skeptical, yet curious. Ultimately, I found this Ani Phyo recipe to be a success!










It's really fast: you blend dates, walnuts, and cocoa to form the cakes, layer them with fresh berries and a frosting made with cocoa, dates, agave and avocado. It works! Of course it does, it's sweet and full of yummy healthy fats! Especially with coconut vegan ice cream.

BBQ Tempeh Rice Bowl

I can't really give you much info on the cooking methods or ingredients, because Tomas made it, but I can tell you it was delicious. Brown rice topped with kale braised with chili and garlic, BBQ tempeh chunks, carmelized onions, sliced avocado with sesame seeds.

Nacho!

Vegan nachos are really glorious with cold beer. Really. *Pats tummy* Multi-grain tortilla chips layered with vegan cheese sauce (nutritional yeast, raw cashews, cornstarch, tomato paste, lemon juice, oregano, pepper, onion and garlic powders, salt, turmeric), vegan sour cream (silken tofu, raw cashews, salt, lemon juice, umeboshi vinegar), guacamole (avocados, cilantro, lime juice, salt), black beans, chopped bell peppers and scallions.

101 Tacos, er, posts!

Happy 101st Bitchin' Vegan Kitchen post! Enjoy this celebratory taco! (Filling: soy beef, black beans, sauteed in olive oil with onions, bell peppers, garlic, tomato paste, vegetable broth, cumin, oregano, paprika, chile powder and salt, served in a corn shell with lettuce and tomato and guacamole: avocado, cilantro, salt, and lime juice.)

Note: it is impossible not to like this. True story!

Sushi, cupcakes and dip: the belated birthday post

My birthday was um, a month ago. I had an awesome party and ate awesome food. Much thanks to Roommate for help making sushi (which is usually more fun to make when you don't also have to clean your apartment the same day). Here is the spread:




Peanut avocado rolls.















And mango, cilantro and red pepper rolls. I also made butternut squash and shitake rolls and spicy chickpea rolls (chickpeas mashed with vegenaise, sriracha and tamari).










A sesame-peanut dip from The Native Foods Cookbook with rice crackers and fresh veggies.













Awesome vanilla cupcakes from the Vegan Lunchbox blog topped with berry jam and fresh sliced strawberry.

Vegan Japanese...ish

Vegan sushi: spicy chickpea roll (mashed chickpeas, veganaise, sriracha, scallions, tamari, cucumber), mango nigiri with cilantro, and an "elephant roll" (peanuts, avocado and red pepper, black and white sesame seeds sprinkled on top). Use toasted nori sheets, keep your hands very wet when working with the sticky stuff, and don't forget to to prep that rice with rice wine vinegar, sugar and salt, it makes a BIG difference. Oh, and I just rolled these guys using a big ziplock freezer bag since I didn't have a bamboo mat-- and it worked out pretty well. Still need some help? These nice ladies explain it all. It's actually really fun and pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Will certainly be making again soon.



Perfect vegan tempura: Used this recipe from veg web except I used half AP flour and half rice flour. I battered my veggies (1 sweet potato, 1/2 bunch broccolini and 1 onion) and then dredged them in panko bread crumbs. Fried in some veg. oil (peanut might be even better next time) and served with a simple dipping sauce (tamari, mirin, scallions, sesame seeds).

Fun Fact: shojin ryori is the name of a traditional vegan Buddhist cuisine . While the above especially bastardized meal is in no way an example of it, it's interesting to read about. As Buddhism affected Japanese culture, vegetarian cooking in major cities and temples influenced Japanese cuisine. Not hard too imagine when you think about all the soy and gluten preparations made famous there. (Agedashi tofu!)

For more Japanese food check out The Vegan Ronin's blog with some seriously yummy looking pictures.