Underdog Vegetables by Bitchin' Kitchen

Nadia G. doesn't disappoint by turning underdog vegetables, parsnips and brussels sprouts into delicious sides you'll want to flaunt. Check out her awesome website here.

Dairy Free Vegan Chocolate Pudding

My friend Magali from the Boulevard Montreal bought Eden Soy's Chocolate Soy Milk and wasn't too impressed with the taste. Being resourceful, she created the following easy peasy pudding recipe, repurposing the milk and making a delicious desert.

Soy Chocolate Pudding for 2
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 cup chocolate soy milk
1 square 85% dark chocolate from Lindt broken in small pieces.

Mix the starch and sugar in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the milk. On medium low heat, bring to a slow boil, while continuously mixing. When it reaches a boil, add in the chocolate and keep mixing for 4 to 5 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Celebrating one year as a vegetarian and it's World Vegetarian Month too!

It's taken the Twitterverse by storm, October is officially World Vegetarian Month, which is timely because I'm celebrating my first year as a vegetarian. :)

It was a whole lot easier than I thought, with a supportive boyfriend, and understanding friends that really went out of their way to accommodate me. I'm a very lucky lady indeed. I've had my struggles, where I felt unbelievably weak - iron deficiency - but it was quickly corrected with supplementation and dietary changes.

It does require a whole lot more planning on my part and regular grocery stores don't necessary carry everything I like to eat but it's really a lifestyle change. I pretty much ignore half if not more of the store. I do love the health food places though.

I kind lost my taste for tempeh, sorry, I used to love it but now... No thanks. Seitan, delicious and so easy, I wish I had known it before! Tofu, where would I be without you? Beans, lentils, greens, bring it on. :)

If you are on twitter and want to share your vegan recipes just type #veganmofo or vegetarian #vegetarianmofo . You can also search by using those hashtags and find many other Twitterers out there that are like minded.

Incidentally, I'm on Twitter too, you can follow me at Twitter.com/CassiesKitchen

Mock chopped liver or vegan mushroom pate

I bought this huge package of sliced mini bella mushrooms with the intent to making Sarah Kramer's Mushroom pate from Vegan-a-GoGo. Unfortunately, I can't find my book and needed to whip up this recipe in less than an hour. I discovered that Everyday Dish had its own version of mushroom pate as mock chopped liver. It doesn't use all the ingredients used in Sarah's recipe but I recall it using ground flax seed and refrigeration to set so I've mashed up Julie Hasson and Sarah's recipe into this:

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds sliced baby bella mushrooms
4 portobello mushrooms, washed, sliced
2 sliced small red onions
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
2 tablespoon braggs
1 tablespoon no salt seasoning
pinch of cayenne
pepper to taste


I cooked down the onions and mushroom in olive oil until there was no moisture left at the bottom of the pan and was completely cooked through. You can use a little bit of stock to help the cooking process in the beginning as the mushrooms can stick before they start releasing their moisture. In the food processor, I pulsed down the walnuts, added in the cooked mushrooms, flax, braggs, no salt seasoning, cayenne and pepper. Pulse until completely pureed. You can serve it immediately or line a baking dish with plastic wrap and let it set for a few hours in the fridge. It freezes well and is delicious on sandwiches, crackers, pita, etc!

Here is Julie's recipe and watch the video below for the how to:

Pumpkin Spice Recipe with a Twist!

On the subject of squash and pumpkins, another rarity in Montreal is pumpkin spice. I haven't found one grocery or retailer that sells it but it's so easy to make yourself. Traditionally, pumpkin spice is a blend of 4 parts ground cinnamon, 2 parts ground ginger, 1 part ground nutmeg and 1 part ground allspice.

I like to jazz up mine with an extra 1 part ground cardamon and 1 part ground cloves. Combine spices together and store in an airtight jar. Use liberally in your baking. Enjoy!