vegancooking

My friend and her mother-in-law gave me a big bunch of sweet potato leaves to try (They grow them and only eat the leaves, whereas I only eat the root. hah!).
But I'm not sure what to cook them in.
Any ideas?

I was thinking just sauteing them with maybe some vegan oyster sauce. But I'd also like some other ideas that aren't the hum drum stuff I always make.

So, in addition to a sponge cake recipe, I have a bit of a strange offer for you all.  I'd like to mail you some vegan treats.  See, I just moved from a rather large apartment to a rather small apartment, and I have a few things that I need to get rid of.  Namely, a bunch of brand-new mason jars.  I bought them to put edible gifts in last Christmas, but then I changed my mind and used different containers, and now I have quite an abundance of jars and nowhere to store them.  I'd like to still use them for gifts, and I'd ideally like to use them for vegan gifts, but, sadly, I just don't know that many vegans in my neighborhood.  So, if you'd like a vegan gift in a mason jar to magically appear in your mailbox, let me know!  No cost necessary.  I'll even crochet your jar a little sweater.  :-)  You can email me at alisonmakins (at) yahoo (dot) com.  Also, here's the recipe for one of my favorite cakes...

EDIT:  Wow, everyone responded so fast!  I've promised away all of the jars that I have, so I'm sorry if you're just reading this now!  Also, thank you for all your kind words--I really appreciate it!

Vegan Sponge Cake with Strawberry Jam

Vegan margarine (for greasing)
1 ¾ cups whole-wheat self-rising flour
2 tsp baking powder
¾ cup sugar
6 tbsp canola oil
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp strawberry jam
Powdered sugar (for dusting)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Use some margarine to grease two 8-inch cake pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl (If there’s any bran caught in the strainer, mix it back in with the rest.)  Stir in the sugar.

Pour in the oil, water, and vanilla extract, and mix well for about a minute.  Divide the batter evenly between the pans.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the cakes spring back when touched in the center.

Let the cakes cool a bit, then turn them out to a wire rack and remove parchment.  When cool, spread one cake with strawberry jam and place other cake on top.  Dust with powdered sugar.  LOVE.


Time:  1 hour
Bake time:  25-30 minutes 

 

I've been making this basil mint pesto (basimesto) for a while now - I've got the basic recipe from VWAV memorized now - it's a great basic recipe - and I change it up every time depending on what I have in the kitchen. A couple of friends we over, so I decided to make something nice for both of them. I grilled up some veggies and arranged them on the pesto'd pasta (you can use any kind of pasta you want, I'd imagine it would taste god with any). Took about thirty minutes altogether. It's great to make when you've got a bunch of people to cook for, as it's very easy to make a lot of. And it's delicious!




Basil Mint Pesto (from VWAV - improvise as you like, I always do)

Ingredients:
2 cups basil leaves
1 cup fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup walnut halves
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Toast the walnuts in a toaster oven for 5 minutes, or on a baking sheet in a conventional oven for 10 minutes, turning once.

Combine the basil mint and oil in a blender until smooth. Add the toasted walnuts and garlic and blend until pureed. Add the lemon juice, nutritional yeast and salt and blend once more. It's now ready to be used or stored in the fridge in an air tight container.


Grilled Veggies in Garlicky Herb Marinade

Vegetables to taste (I used mostly squashes - summer squash was my favorite - mushrooms, and onions)
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup tamari (or soy sauce)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 white red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, minced

Basically, just combine all of the ingredients in order above in a bowl and whisk until well blended. Add the veggies and marinade for a bit - the longer you can wait, the stronger the taste will be, of course. Grill until done.


Toss the pasta with the pesto, and put the grilled veggies on top!

Hi guys. I recently cooked my boyfriend his dream birthday dinner, and thought I'd share some pictures. Please keep in mind that I just have a lousy little camera phone and pretty bad lighting, but hopefully the food still looks yummy. :- ) Hopefully these ideas will be helpful next time you are planning on cooking some asian food!

Hey everyone,

I'm having a luau this weekend to celebrate my and two other friends' 21st birthdays. Almost all the people coming will be Vegan and I was wondering....

Does anyone know of any luau-ish Vegan recipes?

I thought it'd be fun if the food could go with the theme....if not, how about just some summer-y outdoor grilling kind of recipes?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. ;)

Thanks!