Market!

Yesterday, Brett and I went to the local market. Kaiserslautern's Farmer's Market is on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Saturday is the standard day for us, and they have more vendors then. But we were out of town this weekend and needed veggies stat, so we headed downtown.

Let's start with the artichokes. Aren't these simply gorgeous?!


Then I picked up some random beans. They were pretty, and I love beans, so I thought, why not?


And of course, I got a kilo and a half of tomatoes. You can never have enough!

This is what our kitchen looks like after a market day:


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Vegan Derby Pie

So my mother and mother-in-law make this FANTASTIC dessert called a Derby or Kentucky Derby Pie. It is basically a chocolate chip pecan pie, and tis the best thing that ever came out of the South (besides collard greens, of course).

Most desserts I try to veganize fail the first few times. I often give up or just wait a few months to try it again because I'm not a dessert person, and if I have sweets lying around, I or my darling sweet tooth of a Hubby will devour them within a couple of days.

This confection, however, is a family favorite. And because it's been so long since we've had one of mom's famous Derby pies, we decided to make one ourselves.

I cannot give out our family's secret recipe, but if you are interested, I'm sure Google can appease you.

To veganize, simply substitute Ener-G for eggs and Smart Balance vegan substitute for margarine.

We started with dry...


Added in the wet ingredients...


Baked...


And ATE!


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Pasta and Hummus

Matt and I decided to have a little party for the Women's World Cup Final last Sunday, since we were unable to attend.  There were all kinds of goodies, including mashed cauliflower and vegan burgers and such.  

But two of my favorites were my friend's (Lara's) family's hummus and some noodle concoction I threw together.

Fawaz humus is always my favorite, and it gets rave reviews!  I could bathe in the stuff.

And the noodle stuffs.  I wanted to make a filling side, so I just boiled some macaroni (wheat is best, but I couldn't track any down), mixed in some squash, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs I had lying around.  Then, I mixed in some marinara and baked it in a 200* oven until I felt it was ready.  I think it took about 45 minutes.  Just make sure you cover it with foil when you bake it so it doesn't dry out!

YUMMY!  

Now, for a post on my latest vegan dessert!

Simple Pasta Dish

The other night I made a dish after a good friend, Ms. Brett Zima, told me about something her mom used to make.

I simply boiled some pasta (I like to use quinoa pasta), and while it was cooking, halved cherry tomatoes and laid them on a pan with fresh crushed garlic.  After a sprinkle with safflower oil (similar to olive oil) and the "spicy" Mrs. Dash, it all went into a 250 or so oven for about 30 minutes.  Just until it got a bubbly and you could smell it all through the house!

I removed it from the oven, tossed with with the pasta, and let it sit while a few pieces of whole wheat bread toasted up in the remaining olive oil :)  Deeeeeeeeeeeeelish!

So quick and easy, and perfect for when you don't feel like cooking a complex meal.

Another dinner

Every week we eat at least one dinner at the Zima house. Last night we had eggplant medallions and spinach and white beans.



Mine was sans cheese




Patton being a snuggle butt with Brett and Shawn.

4th of July

We had an amazing cookout to celebrate Independence Day!  So many delicious goodies, including a flag cake :)

For the cake, I just made a typical vegan yellow cake, vanilla frosting, and topped with blueberries and strawberries.

We also grilled vegan burgers, veggie kabobs, cous cous salad, corn, and a delicious mac and cheese alternative.  For the mac and shews recipe, click here!   Isa Chandra is the best.

Hope you enjoyed your 4th of July :)

Patton loves Tofu!

Sir Pookerson was whining today as I was making something with tofu.



Naturally, I gave him some. He loved it!!



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